Might not have sight anymore but there's always magic... It might take some time to learn it, though.
What senses do you use? And how often do you use them? Which one do you think you use the most? The least? If you had to choose one to enhance? One to give up? Sometimes, you don't get the chance to choose. Glassy eyes leave one crippled but, maybe there's hope in the form of telekinesis.
This story is simply about a blind filly's start in life. Though, she's not all that she seems...
"Of all the schools of Magic, there are only a few spells that have yet eluded attempts to categorize them. One of the most notable examples has been the spell Levitation." Cotton paused to breathe. "This spell can only barely be called a spell as it is more a force of will. Levitation is speculated to have been the reason Unicorns discovered our ability to even use their magic at all over our species' developments." Another breath, "Because it functions as such, it is one of the earliest spells all Unicorns learn. Visualizing the object moving while usually staring at it does the trick for any Magic-capable Unicorn... Oh! That's why you wanted me to read this isn't it?" A white mare turned toward a tiny filly next to her with a grin on her face.
A smile blossomed on the Blue filly's face, "You got me. Once I heard about magic, I've wanted to learn, but no one would even describe it to me. Probably because they don't want me to screw up and not be able to fix it nor improve." The small one gestured to her scarred eyes with a hoof, "Because of... y'know..."
"I understand," Cotton nodded solemnly, "I just don't understand who wouldn't at least try to help. It's as much a part of you as flying is for me! Sure it might take you a while longer to learn, just as it did me but, that's almost cruel." She said with a hint of defiance.
"Nah, it's likely that the ones I did ask were simply too busy. It's sad but, understandable. And see? People like you are willing to help. Maybe it's because you want to distract yourself, maybe to avoid working, or maybe you just wanted to help. Anyway, thank you, Cotton Ball." The filly looked up in Cotton's direction with a larger smile.
Cotton shied away from the filly's empty gaze and her wings shuffled. Even knowing that the filly was blind didn't relieve the embarrassment. "Y-you're welcome. I just wanted to help however I could. Even if I won't be able to understand most of the Magic mumbo jumbo, I can at least try to read it out to you." Cotton looked back towards the book on the ground in front of her.
"Seriously, Cotton. Thank you."
Cotton lightly shoved the filly, "I said you're welcome!" The push was still enough to move the frail filly. She fell over and a resounding 'oof' came from the filly. "S-sorry!" The mare reached over to help the filly back into her seated position, checking to make sure she was fine as she did so.
"Cotton-Cotton. It's fine. Cotton, I'm fine." The filly chuckled.
"Right right... Sorry." Cotton sheepishly got back to her position.
"I said I'm fine. You don't have to apologize," The filly said, smiling.
"I'm sorry." The filly chuckled again, "A-anyway, want to continue?" Being met with a nod, Cotton turned back down towards the book and cleared her throat. "Because Levitation is so simple to learn, and subsequently, cast, most already know how to cast it." A breath. "If you already know how to cast Levitation, skip forward till section one point two. Section one point one: Learning Levitation." A small hoof-pump from the filly, "In order to cast any spell, let alone Levitation, one must have mana and be able to channel it. To channel one's mana, you have to start with your core. Start to..."
"The ball twitched!" A small shout briefly turned heads towards the two in the corner. Cotton and the filly were lounging on pillows in the common room of the orphanage. Cotton looked up from her book. "Yes! I finally got it!"
Cotton Ball smiled down at the little one, "Congratulations. One step closer to becoming an archmage. Can you do it again?" A nod in response.
"Let me try, gimmie a sec." The filly's horn slowly lit up and nothing happened. A few seconds later, the ball started faintly glowing and shuddered. Both glows went away suddenly.
"Yes, I did it again!" The little one put a hoof in the air before letting it drop with a clip.
"Good job! Is it tiring at all?" The filly was lightly panting with Cotton looking on in concern.
"Just a tad. I just need to use it often and ill get better. Thats what the book said at least. In time I'll be able to lift a... uhh, I don't know, something heavy for hours. Just gotta give it time. Well, that and practice. I'm gonna keep at it." The filly's horn and the ball glowed before the glow disappeared. Then reappeared on repeat.
Never really did understand magic. Cotton looked down at her book just in time to hear a commotion from the fronk desk. Looking up, she saw ponies bowing down towards somepony entering the front doors. A giant white mare strode in with a grace beyond mortality. Princess Celestia, ruler and mother to all, walked in while smiling at the fillies and colts playing. Cotton Ball dipped her head in a bow. The royal orphanage did occasionally get visits from The Princess. But, being busy ruling everything, it normally only happened once every few years.
The Princess began conversing with a Stallion at the front desk. Being too far to, even intentionally, listen, Cotton raised her head and looked. The Princess had two guards with her, standing at the doors. Even while conversing with the annoying stallion at the front desk, The Princess had a smile on her face. She really does love us all... Even the annoying ones. While speaking to him, she handed over a paper and got one in return. The stallion, Clear Water if I remember correctly, was fumbling about. The Princess smiled wider and nodded before saying something. The Princess turned around and slowly headed towards the door.
"Whoosh... That's... really exhausting. Like taking a run after eating a Than-" The filly cleared her throat, "a large meal. How's your book, Cotton?" She looked up at Cotton.
"Uh... umm, my book is nice, but I've barely read it. The Princess is here." Cotton looked back towards the entrance, only to see The Princess standing still, looking at them with a smile. While looking, Cotton saw something in The Princess' eyes. Wow... Just like mom...
"Oh! Wait, really?" The filly's eyes shot wide open, showing the grey, destroyed eyes. Head and ears turned around this way and that, attempting to locate said the princess. "Uhh... Should I be bowing or... uhh..." The Princess' smile shrunk and eyes widened upon laying eyes on the blue filly's eyes. Only a fraction of a second later, the smile was its previous size.
"Y-yeah." Cotton bowed her head to the floor she was sitting on.
"Oh." The filly closed her eyes and started bowing.
The Princess could be heard giggling suddenly. Cotton looked up to see The Princess was covering her mouth with a hoof while looking towards the two of them. Cotton turned to look at the filly.
"She got into a minor accident, so I'm to be your attendant for the next few days." A large red stallion stood next to the blue filly.
"Oh, that's not good. Is she okay at least?" Despite being blind, even her eyes look concerned.
"She is." A nod. "From what I've heard it was only a sprain. Cotton Ball's a tough one, she is. Most pegasi would have broken their fetlock."
"Silver linings I suppose..." The filly turned back down to a wooden ball at her hooves. This filly's really odd. Though what filly isn't?
"Eeyup." Phalanx's armour clinked as he nodded. Solid Phalanx looked up and saw the norm. The front room of the orphanage was crowded with the little ones, with the occasional adult helping them out or supervising. As mind-numbing as his job could be at times, it trained him to enjoy boring moments such as these. And so, Solid stood solid with a faint smile on his muzzle. Occasionally the filly would knock her ball around and make a noise or ask a question about magic he had no way of answering. It's nice. Seeing a blind filly doing something as simple as playing with a ball. It may be wooden, but it's still a ball.
A voice snapped Solid from his reverie. "Oh uhh, sir? Can you get the ball for me? I lost it." She was looking up at him with her eyes closed. Looking around, he found the ball less than two hooves from her. Chuckling under his breath, he nudged the ball back towards her. "It's not that funny. Now if it was right behind me, then it would be." She heard that? He looked at her. She does have large ears... The filly went back to doing magic on the ball. He didn't know if what she was doing was attempting levitation or some entry-level transformative magic.
Solid settled back into his stance now that his charge needed no more assistance. Lazily scanning the room, as most guards did when on calmer jobs, he saw fillies playing some sort of game, colts chasing each other or smashing toys against each other, adults trying their best to reign in the little ones. Solid stood solid with a faint smile on his muzzle.
Some sort of altercation occurred between what looked like two fillies which grew to four, then eight. Suddenly a quarter of the room broke into chaos. Solid would like to go help, but he was tasked with taking care of this little filly. Also not that good at dealing with foals. Looking back up, he saw a tall yellow mare walking into the hurricane with a smile. She fluttered from filly to colt to filly. Not ten seconds later, The children were back to normal, though a few of them looked slightly disappointed. Ah, Sunny Disposition. Don't know how you do it.
She looked to the other side of the room, where Solid was. He did his best to appear as professional as possible. Scanning their side, she lightly smiled, noticing the two of them. He wished she would walk over, but alas, he was too good at his job. This side is calm, and so is my charge. Looking down at the filly, she was still fiddling with her magic, trying to make the ball move more than a simple twitch. After trying for almost a week now, if his report was correct, she was obviously frustrated. Her ears pointed down and the occasional thud from her hitting the ground.
"Hey. Why don't you take a break? It's making you frustrated and nopony can learn while frustrated."
The filly let out a groan and hit the ball with her hoof. "God, It's just so annoying! But, yeah, that's probably a good idea." The filly started to calm and sit straight. Weird to think that a filly her age is even able to meditate. Looking back up, He saw Sunny looking at them with a smile one last time before disappearing further into the orphanage.
Solid stood solid with a larger smile on his muzzle.
Sunny Disposition had been helping out the orphanage in her rare free time. She enjoyed helping out the little ones. Scanning the room for anypony in need, she spotted a small blue filly sitting by herself, doing almost nothing. Fillies nor colts weren't known to sit still if they had the chance to move. And so, Sunny made her way over to the little one. Along the way, she found that the filly was familiar. Being the only little one who wasn't moving, who also had their eyes closed most of the time, it was a little hard to miss her in the common room.
Along her short journey across the room, she studied the filly. A light blue unicorn filly. Large ears. Long white mane and tail. Exceedingly fluffy. If she didn't look too hard, and was at the right angle, she could mistake the filly for a small pile of cozy blankets. Upon getting closer, Sunny realised just how large she was in comparison to the filly. Sunny's figure was already taller than all but the largest earth ponies. She was very thin, however. This filly was only as large as Sunny's head. She weaved around and over a pair of colts seemingly playing tag. Sunny smiled as she reached the filly.
"Hello, little one. How do you fare?" The filly twitched and looked in the direction of the voice. A yellow pegasus mare looked down at the blue filly.
"Huh? Oh, I'm doing okay, I suppose. I'm learning how to do magic stuff, but It's a slow process... Not to be rude, but um, who are you?" The filly tilted her head and ears to the side. The filly's voice was a high-pitched and yet, smooth.
She's so cute. The pegasus giggled with a hood in front. "My name is Sunny Disposition, little one. It is nice to meet you."
"I... I would give you my name but, well..." The filly faced downwards at her hooves and the little ball between them "I don't have one yet."
"Oh my," Once more a hoof to cover her mouth. "I'm sorry to hear that, little one." What happened to her family? I'll have to check her record later. "But on the good side, you can still name yourself whatever you like. If you had to choose a name right now, what would you choose?"
"Uh... Um... I don't know. Giving something a name takes time. You got to brainstorm, mull over choices, and get familiar with the object in question." Surprisingly mature for a filly her age. How old is she?
"You are the only one who can know yourself. Is there anything you particularly like or are good at?" The filly looked down in thought. "Well... how about your magic?
The filly shrunk inward. "Eh... I'm not exactly good at it."
"That's okay. Nopony starts out being good at anything. Not even if it's your cutie mark.
The filly held up her hooves. "I know, I know, it's just annoying."
"For the time being, is there any temporary name you would like?" Sunny grinned. "Or should I just refer to you as 'the filly'?"
"Ha! I'd imagine that would get annoying quick." They both shared a laugh together. "For... convienence's sake, uh... I don't know... something like Solar or somethi-." The filly abruptly stopped and turned to Sunny. "Wait, what colour am I?"
"A mix of blue and white" Sunny got out between giggles.
"Ah. So no, on the whole Solar idea. Hm... How about Aqua?"
"A calm name. It is nice to meet you, Aqua." Sunny courtly bowed her head .
"Same to you, Sunny." Aqua faced the ball between her hooves before falling silent.
A minute passed with both sitting in content silence before Aqua broke it. "I really wish I could get this levitation down. Even though it's literally the easiest spell, it's taking so long."
"I understand that yearning. If you want, I can try to walk you through some spells." Sunny turned to the filly.
"R-really? That'd be awesome! Thank you Sunny." Sunny sat down on Aqua's right, laying her wing on her. Her wing, being almost three times bigger than Aqua, was closer to a blanket than a wing for the filly. Upon the touch, Aqua twitched, but didn't move. Sunny smiled.
"Wait, you're a pegasus?" Sunny giggled.
Sunny wrapped her wing around the little one, trying to make her snug. "I may be, but I have more than enough knowledge to help, little one. My sister was a unicorn, after all." The filly cringed after a second.
Aqua looked up at Sunny with sympathetic eyes. "Ah... I'm sorry to hear that." This filly... has seen death. I really must find her record.
"Thank you. It is not as bad as it sounds but, it is a matter of the past. Let us begin with the tutoring." The filly giggled under her breath before scowling for a sliver of a second. Sunny noticed the scowl but avoided pointing it out.
Smiling with a raised eyebrow, Aqua responded, "Quite enthusiastic there."
"It has been a long, long time since I had last tutored somepony. There was once a reason for the hiatus, but it matters little now." She thought back to her sister. In time... "Well, are you ready?"
The filly looked at Sunny with a huge smile, her dead eyes filled with life.
Something just touched his side. Solid looked and saw a white floating ball. Behind the ball, Aqua had her hoof at her mouth, trying her best to hold in a laugh.
"Ma'am, what are you doing?" Aqua burst out in laughter.
Hitting the floor with a hoof, she slowly regained what little composure she had. "S-sorry, Solid. Haha. Y-you gotta learn to relax, man. There's no official business nor some high-priority VIP you're guarding. I even poked you twice before you reacted! I'm just a blind child, I'm no one important." Aqua had put the ball back down beside another identical ball between her front hooves.
Solid cleared his throat, "Actually, ma'am, The Princess herself requested that you have some form of guard."
Her head snapped up towards Solid. "What!? Wait, why?"
"Ma'am, with all due respect, you are blind and young. I have never heard of a filly nor colt being blind."
"O-oh..." Aqua shrunk in on herself.
"I'm certain The Princess wishes to allow you a normal life despite your eyes. Speaking of, You are likely going to go to school within the week." Solid saw the filly's rapid breathing.
Aqua looked back to Solid and slowly nodded. Aqua pushed away from the balls near her. They rolled a few feet away. She then rested her head on her hooves. Aqua whispered to herself for a few seconds. Solid only caught the words 'again,' and 'school.' He didn't want to pry, but he did want to help. If only Sunny was here. She'd know what to say. Solid briefly scanned the room before the hope fell from his face.
After a minute of thinking, he replied, "You will still have an attendant, so there's no need to be nervous ma'am."
"Uh... t-thanks, Solid." Solid released a breath he didn't know he was holding. Aqua slowly brought herself into a sitting position and feebly reached around for the training balls. "H-hey, Solid... can y-"
Solid cut her off, "Yes ma'am." He walked over and nudged the balls back to her with his hoof. She twitched upon them touching her legs.
"Thanks, Solid." She concentrated, horn and one of the balls glowing her natural colour, white.
"Ma'am, if you don't mind me asking, why are you using balls that have magic resistance? You are just learning, so wouldn't it make more sense to use regular objects?"
"These are magic-resistant? I... I wasn't aware. Huh... That might explain why it was so difficult to grasp them..." Aqua turned toward solid, "Solid can you do me a solid and give me something not magic-resistant? Heh... solid." While the last part was quieter, he could hear it.
"Um. S-sure." Looking around, the closest thing was a wooden block. He brought it over to her and guided her hoof onto it before backing up. "Considering the fact that you've been working with an object with magic resistance, you might want to take it slow," he cautioned.
Aqua then started concentrating. Her horn lit up. One of the balls lit up. The ball twitched. Then the block started glowing alongside the ball. The ball twitched and started floating. The block twitched. Then the block rose slowly and shakily. It rose higher than the ball, twitching less than it had been. "M-ma'am? The block is getting mighty hi-" The block clunked against the ceiling.
Cotton looked down at her brace-covered hoof. It had hurt for a while, but now it was little more than a dull twinge when she pushed too hard with it. It was rather unfortunate that she almost crashed into somepony. Cotton was aware that she was rather durable in comparison to other pegasi, so she was glad she was the only one who got hurt.
Cotton was flying to the orphanage from her house in the middle-quarter of Canterlot. Bored with her flight, she thought back to the blind filly at her destination. Wonder how she's doing. She has such weird ponyisms and seems so mature despite her age. I wish we knew where she's from or how we could help her but, no matter how much anyone has asked, she hasn't said anything about it. Other than a simple 'I don't want to talk about it,' we're at a loss, here. I just hope she's doing okay... I got to remember to ask her about her magic practice. Given that she, despite being a unicorn, hasn't had exposure to magic at all. It makes sense that she's taken to it like a fish to water. It's concerning, but great she's found something she loves already. A smile blossomed on Cotton's face. I can tell she's going to be an amazing mage despite her late start.
Touching down in front of The Royal Orphanage, Cotton shuffled off the little snow that had accumulated during her flight. Pushing through the front doors, she could see the orphanage was as active as usual. Being snowy today, it was bound to be at least this active. She took off her scarf and hung it up after wiping her hooves on the mat. She approached the front desk to sign in before she was stopped with a hoof on her back.
Turning, Cotton saw a yellow hoof, and in turn, who it was attached to. "Oh! Hello, Sunny! How're you doing?" Both smiled.
"I'm doing good, myself, thank you for asking. I wanted to welcome you back after your injury." Nodding with concern towards cotton's hoof, "How is it doing?"
"It's doing better, an occasional twinge, but otherwise fine. Thanks for asking. I know I wasn't supposed to come back until tomorrow, but I just couldn't stand doing nothing at home. I get antsy easily."
Sunny shuffled her wings. "You aren't the only one. Most pegasi cannot sit around much."
"Yup! And so, here I am." Cotton's eyes shot wide open. "Oh shoot! I'll be right back, I almost forgot to sign in!" Leaving Sunny to chuckle to herself, she half-trotted-half-ran to the reception desk. Cotton looked for the clipboard. She found it on the wall to the right of the desk. Only after signing in did she breathe a deep sigh of relief. I know I can't exactly be late nor am I even supposed to be back yet, I'd still prefer to be early every time.
Turning to leave, Cotton was interrupted once more. The Golden mare at the desk spoke up, "Oh just a heads up Cotton, The blind filly decided on a temporary name. Sunny talked to her about it and got her to decide on one." She was smiling.
"Really?"
"I know, right? Surprising isn't it?"
"Yup, it is. So, what is the name she picked?"
"Aqua. Personally, I think it fits her. Both in looks, and how she's able to simply flow through any conversation. It's kinda weird how little she gets flustered."
"Yeah, she's a special one. Anyway, have a good one, Golden."
"You too, Cotton. Happy to have you back."
"Thanks! You to-!" Cotton sheepishly cut herself off with a blush as Golden giggled. Turning around a bit faster than needed, Cotton trotted back to Sunny.
Eventually slowing down to a much more sedate pace, she looked around at all the fillies and colts. They seem to be all doing just fine. She thought with a smile. Upon getting back to Sunny, Cotton started, "Sorry for that, Sunny. Also, I heard from Golden that you talked to the filly?" Cotton prodded with a smile.
"You caught me. It is true. upon hearing of her situation, I wanted to help. I asked her name, and when I found she didn't have one, I simply asked what she would like to use as a temporary name to avoid confusion. She went with Aqua as her name. After that, I helped her along with some of her magic. She... is a unique one. I quite like her."
Cotton tilted her head. "You helped her with her magic? How so?"
"I helped her along. She's intuitive with how she casts and despite being blind, she has little trouble visualizing that which is around her. It's why she can already levitate something and not have it hit her. I look forward to what she will achieve."
"Wait, she can levitate already? That's great!" Smiling, Cotton continued, "But I meant more how did you help her? With both of us being pegasi, it doesn't exactly come naturally."
"Ah. In my younger years, I had helped my sister, who was a unicorn, learn how to control her own magic. We both worked through it together and it feels almost second nature to me. Since then, I've tutored a few fillies and colts." She clarified.
How old is Sunny? She looks as young as me. "Oh... That makes sense. You have quite a bit of an advantage over me in that department. I'm just a normal pegasus."
"I'm certain she doesn't think of myself as a replacement for you. You were with her from the beginning of her stay here..." Sunny looked towards a familiar corner. Following her gaze, Cotton saw Aqua mediating with two balls floating in a circle in front of her. "She likes you, you know. She asked about how you were doing numerous times. She'll be glad to see you back." Turning back, she saw Sunny was looking at her with a motherly smile. Cotton smiled back.
Cotton looked up at the sign reading Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. I hope this goes well. Looking to her back, she saw Aqua trying to concentrate on levitating her training balls while on Cotton's back. It was going well. She's only dropped them once and, heh, hit Solid once. In front of her, Solid took the lead and pushed open the front door.
"Come along, ma'am."
"Right, right..." I'm not the one applying to the most prestigious magic school ever. Why am I even this nervous? I don't even need to take any tests! Princess Celestia's School mostly had young fillies and colts join and stay for most of their academic career. She'd heard of those that got lucky enough to join later on in life, but those were closer to horror stories than miracles. Cotton looked to the filly on her back. She had stopped training and put the balls away into her saddlebags. Her ears turned this way and that listening for sounds that Cotton was certain only Aqua could hear. While it's tragic that she's crippled at this age, I'm a little glad she's still so young while joining. Walking in, she stood to the side of the door, awkwardly looking around. Thankfully for her, Solid noticed and took the lead. Solid trotted up to the elderly stallion at the front desk.
"Hello, sir. Here with an applying student, Aqua, for the appointment with the vice principal." The stallion looked up over his glasses.
"Ah... yes... Aqua..." Flipping through papers on the desk, his eyebrows raised. "The blind filly, correct?"
"Yes, sir."
"Mhm." The stallion pulled out a page and wrote a few things on it before handing it to Solid. "Here you go. Her door is just down the hall; the twelfth door on your left. It should have a star on the front of the door." He pointed down the hall on Cotton's left before going back to writing.
"Thank you, sir." Solid, once more, took the lead and trotted in said direction. Cotton quickly matched his pace. She looked around, soaking in the visuals. Posters of famous magicians, paintings of tomes, cabinets of trophies, and a repeating picture of a florescent star that varied in colour. It was surprising that such a simple symbol kept being reused. While the hallway was long, They were close to the end when there was a sudden shift from Aqua on her back.
Turning around, Cotton noticed that Aqua was staring at a painting on their right. It was a painting of a sleeping white filly. Coat, mane, and tail. All white. She was staring ahead with a measured look on her face. Wait, staring? Cotton heard two balls smack into the floor behind her. Looking back, Cotton saw Aqua with her eyes closed and mouth open. Even still, she was facing the painting. She was even tracking it as they moved. Suddenly, Aqua twitched and started rubbing her eyes with her hooves.
"A-aqua... are you... Are you okay?" Eyes flaring with concern, Cotton hugged the filly on her back with her wings.
"Y-yeah... I... I-I just got something in my eye." Aqua rubbed her eyes a little more before opening them and smiling at Cotton. She was struggling to keep her eyes open, however. Aqua's eyes sparkled when Cotton could see them. Her eyes were wet after all.
Not relieved, Cotton replied, "Okay..." Inspecting the painting, Cotton noticed the filly's cutie mark was the star that littered the hall. Aside from the notable star, she found nothing but a painting. Shaking her head, she turned to the training balls on the floor. Picking them up with her wings and putting them into Aqua's lap, she continued forward. In front of her, Solid had paused for them. Upon their return to reality, he continued... for four hooves. They were there.
Solid knocked on the door with no response. Knocking again resulted in a muffled voice through the door, "Oh, sorry! Come in, come in!"
Solid opened the door and stood to the side. Cotton looked back at the painting one last time. Walking forward into the principal's office, one thought came to mind, The background was always starry, right?
"Well, let me say, it's good to meet you, little one. Not often do I meet someone like you." In front of her, Shimmering Sky saw the smallest filly she ever met. Her time as a principal of the biggest school in Canterlot, perhaps all of Equestria, had allowed her to see a multitude of different body shapes. This unicorn filly looked closer to a thestral than a unicorn. Her fluffy coat, large ears, and surprisingly piercing eyes. Her eyes look like she's studying you... and she can't even see!
"Thanks?" Aqua replied.
Sky laughed, "It is a good thing, I assure you. It's rare to find one in as unfortunate a scenario as you. And even despite that, you're still so passionate. Makes me think back to a younger me." Aqua awkwardly laughed as all foals did. Sky always found it cute. "Anyway, I assume you want to take the aptitude test, yes?"
"Uh... yeah. Um... what exactly does this aptitude test consist of? Do I need to take a written test, do a collection of exercises or...?"
"It's a little easier than that, little one," She laughed. "There are three parts of it. In order, a capability test, a competence test, and a capacity test. Put simply, the first test shows if there is a specific school of magic you align with. The second displays your ability to make what you want to happen, happen. The third only tests how much mana capacity you have."
"Ah, okay. That makes sense. So... What do I do?" Aqua was looking up at Sky with a tiny smile. Fits perfectly on her tiny self.
Giggling with a hoof covering her mouth, Sky got up. "Follow me. There's a different room for the testing." She opened a door on the far end of her room. Through the door was a virtually-empty large magically-resistant room. Most weren't able to tell how many enchantments have been put in it, but she could. Sky had taken a part in making it, after all. With Princess Celestia's help, the room had been fitted with two-hundred and thirty-eight different enchantments for damages of both physical and magical natures. Most of them are fail-safes to prevent disruptions towards the room even in the event of a serious magical surge.
Sky cantered to the side of the room where three instruments sat. The first had a large clear magical gem in the middle of a wide bar. On both sides of the gem, there were eight smaller gems of varying colours. The second was a small dial with a ring sitting next to it. The third was simply a large clear gem atop a cylinder.
Picking up the first instrument and bringing it over to the filly, she set it down on the floor in front of her. She directed the filly to pour a small amount of mana into the gem in the center of it.
The filly shuffled in place nervously. "Ummm... How do I do that?" Sky sighed. Oh, Celestia, why this one?
Sky cleared her throat. "I'm sorry little one, I had forgotten about your background." Another clear of the throat. "An easy way to put mana into something is to visualize yourself grasping it with telekinesis, but without the will to move it."
"A-ah. Thanks..." Aqua's head perked up, and Sky could see a small smile on her face.
"It's an elementary way to go about it, but it works. You'll learn more about it later." Sky leaned down with a matching smile. "Well then, little one, are you ready?"
"Yup!"
"Then, begin!" Aqua then leaned down and bonked her head. She moved it left and right, taking two tries to get her horn into the correct spot. "Remember you don't need to pour in your mana, only a little is needed." Sky reassured the filly. Sky didn't think Aqua needed it, but it would be appreciated nevertheless. Looking towards the little one, she seemed to have steadied herself and was simply focusing on transferring her mana.
Turning her attention to the gems on the device, Sky noticed that they were glowing as usual when being used. However, none of the main gems were glowing enough to show any proficiency. The clear gem used simply to input your magic, however, was much brighter than usual. Her eyebrows rose. Strange... I'll have to contact her. Sky put a hoof on the filly's back. and she noticed just how small the filly was. "That's enough. You did well."
Aqua jolted. "A-ah... Okay, what does it show?"
"While it's nothing to be ashamed of, it didn't show any specific proficiency."
Aqua slumped. "Oh... that's... Damn."
"Hey, language." Aqua shrunk in on herself.
"Oh, right... sorry."
At least she's sorry. Sky cleared her throat. "The clear gem that you put your mana into, however, shone brighter than the rest. Perhaps there is something to look forward to in this regard..." Aqua's little smile came back. "Alright, next one?"
A nod. "Sounds good."
"For this next test, we'll be testing your finesse in mana manipulation. You're going to and turn this dial, but keep it from turning out of this area in the middle of it. First, you need to put this aptitude ring on... Oh, right. Let me get it for you." Sky levitated the ring over and onto Aqua's horn. It fit down to the base with extra room to spare. "Oh dear, it's a little big for you. Hm... I'll be right back."
Sky trotted quickly back into her office as the three left in the testing room chatted to each other about some nonsense. She rarely paid any attention to those airheaded maids nor the dull guards. She dug through a small top drawer in her desk. Pulling out a smaller aptitude ring. The gem on this ring stuck out more than it did on the other ring. The gem's size couldn't change or the ring wouldn't work. Shaking the useless thought from her head, she turned back to the training room and went in.
Sky trotted up to Aqua and pulled the original ring off her horn via telekinesis before replacing it with the new one. "Ah. there we go; fits like a charm... Hm... Grabbing the dial might be a little awkward, but follow my lead." Sky levitated the foal's hoof and touched it to the dial. "This is the dial. You will need to turn it about halfway to the other side and try your best to keep it there. Understand?" Aqua nodded. "Good. Begin whenever you're ready."
Noticing the beginnings of Aqua's telekinesis, Sky subtly pressed a button on the side of the dial. Hope her training with those weights she brought has paid off.
The dial slowly spun toward the middle. "There you go. Try to keep it there, Aqua." The device was designed to twitch this way and that with varying levels of pressure. Most foals could only make the dial twitch slightly less than usual at their best and make it twitch even more as their worst. The average adult could reduce the twitching by a moderate amount. Sky herself could almost minimize it completely. She was the vice principal and was very proud of herself. Princess Celestia was quite a lot more skilled than her. She was approximately ten percent better than Sky at keeping the dial still. It would still twitch.
Giving Aqua a few seconds to acclimate to the device, Sky recognized the slowing of the dial... Only for it to continue slowing down. Sky's eyes widened. A few more seconds and the dial was barely moving. Eventually, the dial's twitching steadied at a minimal twitch.
"Uh..." Sky shook her head and cleared her throat. "T-that's enough, little one." Aqua's magic cut out and the dial went back to its default movement. Sky pressed the button on the side and turned off the device.
Lightly panting, Aqua asked, "H-how did I do, miss Sky?"
"You... You did good, Aqua." Sky patted the top of the foal's head. "You did really good. You're about as good as I am at controlling your mana flow. I'm impressed."
"I-uh. T-thanks. I've just had a little practice." With how good you are, I wouldn't call that little by any means.
"Well, I'll give you a moment to regain your breath then we shall continue with the last test." Sky floated the ring off Aqua's head before floating it and the dial back to the side. "Are there any questions you want to ask about the school or magic?"
"W-well, I did want to..." Aqua froze as Sky's words sunk in. "Wait, are you saying I'm in?"
Sky smiled. "Pretty much. Your skill with controlling your magic is easily good enough to be proud of. We just have to continue with the last test."
"Ah... T-thanks... Oh yeah, I did want to ask." The filly tilted her head to the side, with her ears and mane flopping about. Aqua rubbed at her eyes with her hoof. "Do you know of any teleport spells?"
Sky hummed with a smile. "There is. I'm surprised you know of them. The easiest one to perform is a personal teleport spell, meaning you can only take yourself. It is also a high-level spell. Normally it would be hard to control, not to mention avoiding a miscast. But with your control, it would be achievable. Assuming, you had the mana to expend, that is... Do you think you're ready for the last test?"
"Yeah..."
"Alright." Floating the third and bulkiest instrument over, she placed it in front of the filly with a clunk. "For this one, you have to lay your horn down in the groove at the top of the device... here, let me help." Lightly pushing Aqua's head down so that her horn was atop the device. The surface area While the maximum surface area wasn't the most important factor, it could still change the outcome. "Make sure to keep your horn completely against the device. It helps the reading." Before anything happened, Sky checked the sides of the tube, inspecting the gems on the side. Two gems were on the side of the tube. The top one shined in relation to how much mana was being transferred per second. The bottom one, for how much total mana had been put into the device.
"Do you remember how in the first test you only needed to put in a little mana?" At the filly's nod, she continued. "This test is the opposite, try your best to pour in as much mana at once as you can. Keep the flow as high as possible until you're out of mana. Also, before you start, this might be very exhausting, so just a heads up." Sky pressed a button on the side. "Begin when you're ready, Aqua."
And begin she did.
The top gem lit up like a condensed bonfire for a full second before suddenly dulling back to what it was before the test.
The bottom gem barely lit up at all.
What? Is that it? How could she put out all her mana that fast, and have the total be so below average? Recomosing herself, Sky noticed the maid holding a panting Aqua.
Clearing her throat, Sky came closer to them and sat down. "A-are you alright, little one? That was quite a display." Both of them looked down at the filly. A weak and slow nod. "Good to hear. Well, there's good and bad news... Your mana output is bafflingly high, and yet your maximum mana seems to be..." Sky cringed as she looked back at the lower gem. "Below average..." A sniffle came from the filly. "Hey, hey... It's okay." Sky wiped Aqua's eyes with her hooves. "Your ability is more than enough to get you into the school. You're in." A tiny smile blossomed on the filly's face. That's a much better look than the tears. "You're a unique pony. I look forward to seeing how you'll improve the efficiency of spells." Sky backed up with a smile.
"... T-thanks..."
"Besides, you can improve all of your abilities with practice and training. I've seen ponies with tiny mana pools grow to have huge ones. You're going to be fine, Aqua..." Sky got up and peeked into her office. The clock on the wall said eleven twenty. Ten minutes left. "I'm sorry, but my time is up. I need to get ready for my next appointment."
The maid picked up Aqua and put her on her back between her wings. The guard simply nodded before walking towards the door. The guard and the maid exchanged words. The maid followed after a moment. "I'll send word to you for your next step soon, Aqua. I'll see you soon." Sky gave a wave and received a tiny hoof in the air. "Oh, don't forget these." Sky levitated the two training balls into the maid's bag.
A quiet, "Thanks." came from the filly.
Sky got one last glance of Aqua before the trio headed out the door. No cutie mark still. Surprising. I couldn't even count how many foals have left the testing room with one. The little white filly barely even looked awake.
Sky noticed her hooves were tingly.
Looking down at her hooves, Sky noticed they were smeared with a cosmic purple.
She looked down at little Aqua with a smile. The little filly was curled up, laying against Sunny's side. Sunny rubbed Aqua with her wing. With her wing dwarfing the little one, sunny did little more than twitch her wing. Little Aqua had a little smile on her face. She looks so content. Sunny glanced down at the book in front of her. She had been reading it to pass the time. Sure, she may have read every book in the library, but she enjoyed going through some stories again. This specific book detailed a pony, by the name of Metallic Sparkle, and his short adventure in making a magical alloy. It was, of course, a different and embellished version of the truth. It was still enjoyable.
Sunny closed the book with her hoof before looking back down to Aqua with a smile. Her little twitches here and there responded feebly to her dreams. Her nose scrunched up too, only to be conquered by a scratch from her little hoof. Simply adorable. It had been the first time Sunny had seen Aqua while she slept. Her previous experiences had all been while Aqua was practising or interacting with others. Quite a contrast from her awake self. I almost like her more like this. "I almost envy you, you know..." Sunny whispered more to herself than to the filly. "You have no major responsibilities yet. Nothing to cloud your sight nor worry your mind..." Her smile faded. "And then I remember your past... You, little Aqua, have your own weights. I only wish I could help beyond being here... Though I suppose the orphanage is a good start..." Sunny closed her eyes and lost herself to her thoughts.
After some time, Sunny opened her eyes and looked down at the filly. A smile blossomed alongside drooping eyes. Sunny leaned down and nuzzled Aqua. "You're making me sleepy, you little rascal..." She opened her eyes once more and shuffled her book away. Sunny curled her long neck on the floor around the filly. "And I'm okay with that..." Sunny let herself be taken by dreams with a content smile on her muzzle.
"Cotton, can you get a piece of paper and a pencil?"
"Sure...?" Looking back at Aqua, Cotton got up. On her way to the front desk, Cotton had previously wondered if Aqua once knew how to read and write. To be so fascinated by something she can't access by her lonesome. It must be hard on her, though it does force you to meet ponies. At the front desk she asked the stallion for paper and a pencil. With them on her back, she headed back to Aqua.
Cotton sat back down next to her. "So, not to sound mean or anything but, why do you want these?" She put the pencil and paper at Aqua's hooves. Aqua was looking down and she couldn't quite see her face.
Aqua stayed silent for a few seconds. "I wanted to try drawing again... Like I used to."
Cotton cringed. "O-oh... Sorry."
"Yeah, no you're fine... You were just curious."
"Still, I'm sorry."
Aqua looked up "I just said you're okay. Don't worry about it." Aqua wore a sad smile with her eyes open. It had been a few days since she last opened her eyes. Upon seeing Aqua's eyes, Cotton gasped. She could see such depth in said eyes. Sorrow, a longing for the past, hope, exhaustion and the fact that Aqua's eyes were a strange sparkly purple. Cotton had seen Aqua's eyes enough to know that her eyes were a faded grey. They reminded Cotton of the night sky around the Faced Moon.
Snapping out of her reverie, Cotton opened her mouth before closing it a second later. I-I'm pretty certain there isn't supposed to be purple where her tears are. I-I'll bring it up later. Still, that doesn't look normal... I'll bring it up with the physician tonight. "Alright, Aqua..."
Cotton looked up from the drawing filly and lazily scanned the room. It was quiet today. None of the fillies or colts was making a particularly loud racket. They all seemed to be sluggish compared to normal, actually. Cotton hummed to herself. There was that field trip yesterday. That might be the 'why.' Cotton didn't go with the rest of the orphanage. She stayed with Aqua. Thinking about it, did anypony notify Aqua to ask if she wanted to go? O-oh... they likely assumed I would. "Hey Aqua," Cotton cringed and looked down at Aqua.
The filly looked up to her. "Yeah?"
"I'm really sorry that I forgot to ask you if you wanted to go on the field trip yesterday. They went to a museum." Cotton said sheepishly.
"Wait, there was a field trip?" Aqua looked to the side. "Oh..."
"I'm really, really sorry."
"Aqua's ears slumped. "N-Nah... It's okay. I don't think I would've wanted to go... So it's fine." Cotton could tell from the body language alone that Aqua was disappointed.
"No, it's not okay. I'm supposed to be your attendant. I need to keep track of these things." She leaned over and gave the filly a strong hug, before whispering, "I'm sorry, but I'll try to be better from now on. I'm sorry." Aqua was frozen for a few seconds before eventually leaning into the hug.
They held like that for a long time.
Aqua broke the silence with a mumble into cotton's chest fluff. "...didn't quite catch that." Cotton broke away from the hug and held Aqua at hoof's length. "Sorry, I didn't quite catch that, what did you say?"
The filly shied away from Cotton's attention. "I... I haven't been hugged like that in years... T-thanks..." Aqua sniffled. Cotton could see small tears, sparkling purple. Once again...
Her hooves clacked on the cobblestones. Gibberish blabbered around her. The early morning sunlight warmed her fur. The wind tickled her wings.
She was walking. And walking. And walking.
Cotton knew it was a nice day, but she was tired. Though, not physically. She could fly a race right now. Probably couldn't win, though. Cotton was always an endurance flier. Not much for speed. She was content with that. A mumbling came from behind her.
Cotton felt a tap on the back of her head and she jolted. "H-huh?" Cotton turned around to the filly on her back. "O-oh. Sorry. I was spaced out. Did you say something?"
Aqua held a sceptical gaze and hummed. "Are you okay? I kinda poked you twice and you didn't notice."
"Oh... sorry. I uh- I didn't sleep well."
She hummed again. "Okay... Well, I did wanna ask what's around us, but it's fine."
"No-no it's okay. Uh..." Cotton swivelled her head. "We're at a market... There's a few stalls around selling food. Uh... Mainly vegetables with a few fruit stores around. In the windows, I see lettuce, carrots, squash, uh... some potatoes, apples, bananas, a few of- Oh! There's a pony selling jam and honey over there. Might have to try some of that sometime."
Aqua gave a quiet giggle. "Make sure you get some for me too."
"Alright. Sounds good to me." She said with a smile.
"If you want to know more, most of the stores and stalls are themed. The one closest on the right is selling different kinds of grapes and seem to have a few bottles of wine. The stall is covered in vines that have grapes growing out of them. The name of the stall is Grapes o' Plenty. Cute name..."
"That it is," Aqua said with a nod.
Cotton turned back forward and kept walking as a comfortable silence descended upon the two.
After nearly ten minutes, Cotton felt her neck get nuzzled by Aqua.
"Hey, Cotton, I'm kinda nervous..."
Cotton nuzzled Aqua. "Don't you worry your little head too much. It's gonna be fine. I'll be there for you." Cotton turned forward and kept walking. On the horizon, Cotton spotted the school.
Me too, Aqua. Me too.
Cotton's eyes went back to the road but didn't glaze over.
Cotton looked up at the sign reading Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. Cotton chuckled.
As cotton walked through the front doors, Aqua mumbled out. "You good?"
"Yeah, just had some déjà vu."
"Ah, gotcha."
In front of Cotton was the same front desk with the same old green stallion at the desk. "Um, Hello. I'm here with a student, Aqua for a meeting with a..." Cotton extended her wing and looked at the paper slip it held. "A Helping Hoof. I believe was her name."
"You'd be correct..." He mumbled. He wrote something down on a notebook with what looked like names and times on it. "She's down the hall," he pointed to his right, "eighth door on your right." His head went back down to the papers he was writing in.
"Thank you, sir..."
He mumbled out a quiet, "Yeah," not looking up from the desk.
Cotton shook her head lightly and started down the hall.
"He was a little rude," Aqua whispered into Cotton's mane.
"Yeah, just a little bit," Cotton whispered back while Aqua giggled. Always so cute... Turning forward, Cotton busied her eyes with the paintings on the walls. Some paintings were the same, and some different. The new ones varied from a calm, snowy cabin to energetic spellcasting rituals. More of those star cutie marks... In the distance, she spied the painting with the white filly. The painting was different from the last one, though. This time, the filly was sitting up, looking proud with a prideful smile on her face. Behind her, was a simplistic castle reminiscent of the Canterlot castle.
Cotton stopped in front of the painting so she could look closer at the painting. The white filly was rendered beautifully. Cotton felt like she could feel every hair and every groove on her horn if she reached out to touch it. She had to stop herself from reaching out to the painting. She wouldn't want to damage it, nor the glass. She noted the filly looked like a copy of Aqua. Aside from Aqua's light blue coat and her lack of eye colour due to her blindness, They looked almost like siblings Turning around, Cotton noticed Aqua was facing the painting just like last time. Her eyes were closed and ears forward.
"Aqua, are you okay? Are your eyes fine?"
Upon Cotton talking, Aqua jolted. "Huh? O-oh. Yeah, I'm fine... I just felt like I could hear something in the distance..."
Looking around, Cotton could see a mare near them, the end of the hall in the distance, and the rude receptionist. She couldn't hear any sound herself. She does have better ears... Cotton looked back at the painting. I wonder who this filly is?
Turning towards the mare walking their way, Cotton called out, "Excuse me! Um... do you know anything about the filly in the painting?"
The purple mare stopped and looked at the painting. She said nothing and adopted a calculating gaze. "No." The mare turned to Cotton with an annoyed look. "But her name is Secular Sound." She continued walking.
"You just said you didn't know..." Cotton mumbled to herself.
"There's a plaque."
Cotton sheepishly replied, "Oh..." And turned back to the painting with her ears flat. That there is. Whoops... Looking closer, she read the plaque quietly, "Secular Sound. 17 Before Schism - 3 After Schism." Oh... A shame she didn't live long... Still don't know who she was though. I'll ask the counsellor when we see them... Cotton leaned back to standing with a blank look on her face. Suddenly, Cotton jolted.
Helping Hoof, the counsellor sat behind, what Cotton thought was an elegant oak, desk. The pony was lithe with a light blue. Close to Aqua's colour, but paler. Perhaps what she'll look like when she's older...
"Do you happen to have a student id yet?" Helping Hoof asked.
"No... Was I supposed to?" Aqua replied from Cotton's side.
"Considering your situation as well as the fact that the school year has already begun, no."
"Oh."
Helping hummed. "But fret not. We shall arrange to get one for you... Normally there's a small event outside the school before the year has started and that's where the student ids are made. Instead, we shall simply send you it once it has been made and everything becomes official."
"Ah. Thanks. That's really helpful."
"Indeed. We, here, try our absolute best to be the best school any school is capable of being..." Helping Hoof trailed off as she glanced down at a stack of paper on her desk. Hoof hummed to herself before turning to Aqua and continuing, "Have you received a letter relating to tutoring yet?"
"Uh... not to my knowledge?" Aqua turned up to Cotton and tilted her head.
"We haven't gotten anything, though it's possible it got mixed up in the mail." Cotton supplied.
"Hm... Alright. For now, I'll tell you what to expect in the letter as well as what'll happen during your tenure here. Later today I'll make sure if it had been sent yet." Aqua nodded at Hoof's reply. " In the letter you're to be expecting, it will first cover the fact that you've been accepted and welcome you to our fine school. It was probably delayed due to the fact that it's in the middle of the school year. Alongside that, it will likely have a second part to the letter covering said fact and how it affects you. Mainly being the fact that you'll be assigned a tutor. This tutor will have a focus on catching you up to the year you should be at. So don't worry about missing previous years' lessons. You'll have fine scaffolding underneath you. Albeit you will have to work hard, focus, and help your tutor. It's going to be hard for you to go through it but, like all students who get into our school, you have the tenacity and focus to be able to do it easily."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence, counsellor. I just hope I'll be able to do well despite my rushed start."
"Do not worry, young Aqua. I believe you can do it."
Cotton bumped Aqua's side lightly. "As she says, Aqua. I've seen you study before and practice. You've got this."
"To elaborate a little bit more, you'll have a tutor assigned to you at least a bit into the start of the next school year. Our school year will end in a month, after which will be a break lasting around another month and a half. After those two and a half months, we have an introductory, welcome to the school slash welcome back to the school, week. At this point, you'll very likely be a shadow to your tutor who will teach you how school life goes. All in all, it'll be a rather smooth process for you. We, at our school, always try to make it the smoothest process for newer students."
Cotton's smile strained slightly but reigned it in before Helping Hoof could notice. Sure...
"Despite our staff's wishes to make our students' lives as free as possible, I do have to caution you about some of our more... aggressive students." Hoof pauses and adopted a strained look. "Some of them... have... very high standards is a nice way to put it. With your condition, you're likely going to face a small amount of unfair criticism. I'm certain you'll be fine, and that you can always come to me if you need help, whether that be dealing with anyone who bullies you, or help with a decision on things. Trust me, you'll be okay."
Cotton's eyebrows raised. She's surprisingly transparent, but that's still not a good thing to say to a foal. Looking to Aqua, she expected to see a nervous filly sitting beside herself.
Aqua merely smiled at the sheepish Helping Hoof. "That's fine. Thanks for the heads up."
Cotton was sitting down on a blanket in the main room of the orphanage. She was in the corner often taken up by Aqua. Aqua had yet to wake up today, so Cotton was merely relaxing and waiting. The letter had arrived last night after Aqua had fallen asleep in Cotton's lap. Looking down, she admired the stamp on the letter. Suprising that they got that letter out so soon. We had only been there yesterday, and yet here the letter is... Kind of funny that everything related to the little filly is directed by The Princess... Cotton's mouth drifted into a small frown. More sad than funny. I can't even imagine not having my parents to go back to, nevertheless not being able to see.
A shuffling nearby broke Cotton from her thoughts. As she looked up, she noticed a group of colts and fillies leaving with saddlebags. Off to school, I suppose. If everyone else is up, I should probably wake her up too. Cotton pondered before putting the letter back into her saddlebag. Cotton waited for the commotion of the children to quiet down. Eventually, she got up, put her bag on, and started walking into the hall on the right. Three doors on the right. Cotton knocked three times on Aqua's door.
"You awake yet, sleepyhead?" No response. Three more knocks. "It's already morning. Everypony else has left already." No response. "Alright, Aqua, I'm coming in!" Cotton opened the door slowly.
The orange morning light streamed through the window onto the floorboards. Cotton could see the dust slowly falling. She stopped in the doorway and watched the dust calmly come to a rest. A relaxed smile found its way onto Cotton's face. She watched the sun's rays dim and brighten as clouds rolled past outside. What a relaxing day. She closed the door behind her. The room was sparse of toys or anything a filly or colt would have, unlike the other rooms. Cotton liked it; it reminded her of a wood cabin in the middle of a sunny meadow. She felt her worries fade with only contentment to arise.
Cotton looked toward the bed and saw a lump on the bed. She saw the edges of the filly's hair coming out from under the blankets. Still asleep. Cotton looked back to the window and traced the sunbeams once more. Understandably. Thank you, Princess... Cotton slowly walked to Aqua's bed. She then giggled, noticing how the bedsheets were bundled up, in a pseudo nest near the corner with Aqua snug in the middle.
She quietly slid onto the bed, trying not to wake Aqua. Once on the bed, she shuffled closer to the filly. Cotton pulled in the bundle of blankets known as Aqua and gave it a loose hug. She then lightly petted the bundle. Finally the filly mumbled. Cotton giggled once more. Just like a cat. She leaned in and whispered to Aqua, "Morning, sleepyhead," only to receive another mumble. "It's time to wake up, Aqua. I know it's extremely comfy but you don't want to ruin your sleeping schedule."
Cotton waited for a reaction and when she got none, she simply poked the bundle. Aqua made a few more mumbles before poking her head out of the bundle and slurring, "I'm up... I'm..." She yawned. "I'm up."
"Good morning, Aqua. How did you sleep?"
Aqua had yet to open her eyes with a small smile on her face. She hummed before continuing, "Good. Better than..." Another yawn. "Usual."
"Good to..." Cotton yawned. "...hear." She giggled before continuing. "Now you've got me yawning, silly filly." Aqua merely giggled in response. Cotton looked up from the tired filly and back up to the sun coming in through the window. Thank you, Princess Celestia.
With a smile on her face, Cotton hugged Aqua closer.
"C'mon, sleepyhead, let's go check out what the school sent." Cotton was leading Aqua to the main room. She had left the letter and her stuff in the main room.
"Yeah, yeah..." Aqua stood up on the bed and stretched. "I'm coming, I'm coming." She hopped off the bed and stood there as she yawned.
Cotton watched from the door. "Are you sure you're not a cat? 'Cause, you seem to act like one."
"Oh, now that'd be nice." Another yawn from the filly, before she put on a smile. "Getting to just lay around all day, be fat, and still look cool? I'll take it!"
Cotton laughed. "True, but then you wouldn't be able to use magic anymore."
"Darn. True, true, that is a big drawback... Alright, let's go read that letter and see what the school has in store..." Aqua yawned one last time before following the mare out the door and towards the common room. Aqua's messy mane and tail dragged behind her on the wood floors as she thought to herself. "Did you read the letter already or nah?"
"Haven't even opened it yet. It isn't my letter."
"Makes sense... Who do you think will be my tutor? Know anyone from the school?"
"One of my old friends went there, but they're not really a scholar, so I doubt it."
"Ah. Hmm..." Aqua looked down in thought and Cotton, it looked like she wanted to say more but stopped herself.
"At least we know what school sent the letter, hm?" Cotton said with a smile.
Aqua giggled. "True, true."
The both of them entered the common room and started heading towards 'their' corner, as the other orphans had deemed it. Cotton headed towards her bags, while Aqua shuffled awkwardly.
Cotton stopped and looked at the filly. "Are you okay, Aqua?"
"Yeah, just trying to find one of the training balls. I coulda' sworn I left them here."
Cotton briefly scanned the area but couldn't find them. "Sorry I don't see them, but we can look for them after we read the letter, okay?" digging back in, she found the letter.
Aqua sighed. "Alright. Well, let's see what the letter says. I can't exactly read it, so you're gonna have to open it."
Cotton reached back inside her bag and pulled out a letter opener before carefully opening the letter. No reason to damage what's inside by accident. Inside the letter were two pieces of paper and a small card. A brief look confirmed the card as Aqua's new student identification. "Inside looks to be two letters and your I.D. card... For the year that just ended."
"Nice. What's the card look like?" Aqua nudged Cotton's side.
"It has a picture of you on the left, and general information, though it seems to be lacking your name and cutie mark," not that you have one yet... Cotton almost said the last part out loud.
"To be fair, my current name, Aqua, is really just a nickname, so it makes sense... Also, how did they get a photo of me? Don't remember ever getting my picture taken. Did they take it while I was asleep or something? Feels like a serious invasion of privacy. And what's a cutie mark?"
The mare looked down at Aqua. "I don't know. They could have made one magically? It looks a little different than you... We can ask the tutor or the counsellor later. And a cutie mark is a small image that appears on your side when you find out your special talent. I'm..." Cotton hesitated, wondering how to continue. "Sort of surprised that you've never heard of a cutie mark before."
Aqua hummed to herself briefly before replying. "I... I haven't really mentioned it because I don't like to talk about it, but I'll just mention I don't really remember anything. I've been told I was found of the doorstep of this orphanage, but I... I don't know, it's weird." The filly looked down and tapped the floor in front of her. "I... yeah, it's weird..." To Cotton, it looked like Aqua wanted to continue, but couldn't or wouldn't.
Cotton leaned down to nuzzle Aqua. "I understand... If you ever want to talk about it, we can." She wrapped the little one in a wing hug before turning back to the letter.
"Maybe later..." Aqua grabbed the wing wrapped around her and pulled it tighter while she brushed one of the feathers with her hoof. "I'm sort of excited and sort of hesitant about the whole school thing... It's going to be interesting learning all this new magic, but I hope they teach more than just magic..." Aqua cracked a small smile and giggled to herself. "If they don't then the other kids are going to be so stupid."
Cotton chuckled. "Well, I'm sure they'll teach you other things than just magic, but it's going to be interesting nevertheless..." Cotton looked back down at the letter and while reading, found the name of the soon-to-be tutor. "Found the name of the tutor. Apparently, their name is Raven Inkwell..." Her eyebrows furrowed. "Hm. Never heard their name before..."
A white and black mare walked down the hall. She held her head up with purpose and dignity. If one looked closely they could have seen her twitch every few steps, her eyes glazed over. She had no trouble traversing the school. The familiar halls almost guided her. As she walked, a question burned in her mind. Why? She was among the highest-scoring in her grade, so logically she could see it, but it refused to sink in. And it's not as if she was unworthy either, she's helped many of her classmates but, it still bugged her.
Why do I need to take care of somepony important who I've never seen nor heard of before? He or she is likely some noble's foal who can't take no for an answer and will be a pain to deal with. She groaned. I'm sooo lucky to have been picked for this. An eye-roll.
She was a few doors away before stopping. Taking in a deep breath as she closed her eyes, composing herself. I'd be best to not embarrass myself at the least. She breathed out, reopened her eyes, and continued.
In front of her was a door that lead to a small study room. One push and she'd be inside. One more breath in and out, as she put on a facade of a smile. She pushed on.
Opening the door, slowly, but not too fast as to seem reluctant, she peered inside. She called out a practised and respectful, "Hello?"
There was nopony inside.
She blushed and closed the door behind her as she walked in. She felt like an idiot. Another mistake, but thankfully nopony saw it. Putting down her saddlebags, she sat down at the far side of the table. Why am I panicking? It's not as if this meeting with this noble will decide my fate at all. It's not as if messing up at all will get me punished... She quietly whimpered as a few hairs in her mane sprung up, almost ruining her perfect bun. Taking off the band in her hair, she straightened her hair out, before putting it back up into a bun. She breathed in and out. In and out.
"Might as well get set up," she mumbled to herself. out of her bags, she took out a notebook and three paper packets. On the front cover of the notebook were a few doodles she had made while she was younger. Most were made while bored in some of her more stale classes. Especially that math class. It was so darn basic and boring. She rested her head on a hoof and let out a loud sigh. Like what kind of pony didn't know how to multiply double digits at 6 years old?
She much preferred the magic theory classes. They weren't nearly as basic and actually asked questions that couldn't be answered with less than a sentence. She enjoyed math as much as the next pony, but it had to be actually engaging.
A sound from the hall roused her from her reverie. The latch on the door clicked as the door opened.
A white mare poked her head in and coughed lightly. "Is this room 256?"
"Yes, it is, ma'am. Come on in." As the mare came in through the door, she noticed that the white mare looked more akin to a maid than a noble. Perhaps she is an attendant for the pony? The white pony was a pegasus and had an orb floating behind her. Looking past her, there were no unicorns in the hallway, before noticing the small glow from the mare's back.
The mare made to sit down at the table and revealed a small blue and white unicorn filly on her back. She's a tiny little thing, but she seems to have a good focus on her magic. The white mare put the filly gently down beside her which broke the filly's concentration on the ball. It fell, but the pegasus caught it with seemingly practised grace.
"Hello, you two. May I presume that I am to tutor the little one?"
"Y-yea, that's right."
"Splendid. May I have your names? I'm Raven Inkwell."
"Hi, I'm Cotton Ball, and this here is..." Cotton gestured down to the filly at her side.
"Hey, nice to meet you. I'm Aqua. I would shake your hoof, but I wouldn't know where to aim." Aqua pointed at her dull eyes. "I'm more than a little blind, you see. Heh. See." She giggled quietly.
Oh my... Raven bowed her head. "Ah... I'm sorry to hear that. I know I'm your tutor and it's my job, but if you need any help, just let me know."
"I gotcha', thanks. Anyway, how should we start this? Do we do like a first lesson today or next time we meet or...?" Aqua trailed off with her head tilted.
Raven regained her composure and cleared her throat. "Ah. I was thinking I would give you a few aptitude tests to see where you're at in terms of both knowledge and practice. That would give me the understanding to make the first session beneficial."
"Makes sense, but... And no offence but, I assume the tests are written?"
"Yes, But I could just read out the questions for you, or you could have Cotton Ball read them out for you."
"Sounds good to me." the filly thought to herself for a moment before continuing with an apprehensive look on her face. "What subjects are these tests on?"
"Mainly just the three basic subjects the school focuses on. Sciences, mathematics, and magical theory. Each packet has its own major subject"
"Makes sense... So should I just start it now or?"
"Feel free." Raven pushed forward the three packets. "Do you want me to read the questions out to you or do you want Cotton to?"
"No offence but, I'd like Cotton to."
Raven heard a cough that broke her from her reverie as she looked up from her math textbook. "Are you two are done?"
Cotton nodded. "Yeah, we just finished through what Aqua knows." Cotton pushed the packets back to Raven. "Here you go."
Raven nodded before using her magic to briefly inspect the different pages. Most of the questions had been answered with Cotton's, admittedly very nice, hoofwriting. Raven briefly inspected some of the mathematics answers. Interesting... After a few more glances at the different sections, she put down the packets. "Well, thank you for finishing the tests. Next time we meet, I'll have a full lesson plan made. Do you two know when you're available? Like every week to meet on Tree Day?"
Aqua furrowed her eyebrows and after a second of silence, replied first. "Yea, that's good for me, I think. I don't know for Cotton, though..." The filly looked up at the mare next to her.
Cotton turned to the ceiling and looked thoughtful before eventually turning back to Raven and nodding. "I should be free every Tree Day. Sometimes, something might come up, but as far as I know, it works. What time of the day would you prefer for this?"
"Around five p. m. gives me enough time to set up a lesson plan on Tree Day." Letting the silence hang in the air for a second, Raven decided to break it. "If there's nothing else, I'll be going then. It was nice meeting you, Aqua." Giving the slightest of bows, Raven started to pack her saddlebags.
The filly spoke up once more."Sounds good. Well, it was nice meeting you, Raven." Cotton and the filly then began to converse.
Raven paid them no attention, and eventually left the room, packets in her saddlebags. That... was definitely a unique foal... I can't imagine it'll be easy teaching her, but it'll be much better than some noble's privileged child. Now, who are they and why was I chosen for this? Raven lost herself in thought as she made her way out of the school.
As Raven walked through the halls of her school, she only had one question on her mind. "Why?"
Aqua was sitting down underneath Sunny's left wing. A habit the little one had adopted whenever they sat together.
"I didn't think much to myself before I... I lost my sight... I used to think to myself semi-often, sure. Like when walking across your house, when I used to draw, or while bored. But that was rarer. Now, most of my time is spent thinking, if not talking." Sunny hummed to herself for a few seconds upon hearing. "Even while I'm practicing my telekinesis, most of my focus is idly thinking..."
"You don't need to focus on what you're holding?"
"Sort of, yeah? Is that unusual? It feels as if I'm just holding something when I do... Sort-of like holding your leg up continuously; you don't need to really focus on it, but it'll start to ache after a while."
Sunny hummed in surprise before stating, "It seems as if you have an affinity to telekinesis, my little pony." Aqua faced Sunny for a second, before looking down at the floor, looking lost in thought.
Looking down, Sunny saw her forgotten book. Eyes began to trace the words, only to also be forgotten as well. Sunny had been lying to Aqua. Harmless, but ultimately, distancing. I only hope she would forgive me, no matter how small the lie. She thought to herself over the course of a few minutes and arrived at a decision.
Breaking the silence, "Aqua, what do you think of Princess Celestia?" Sunny asked with trepidation.
Aqua hummed and faced Sunny. "I've never been much a fan of monarchies, no matter what they call themselves. Though in all fairness, I've barely heard anything bad about her. That could be either perfect propaganda, or they're just that good. But yeah, I've never met the m-... err, mare. So I really don't know." The filly tilted her head in thought.
Sunny nodded before sitting there awkwardly. Oh right, blind. Silly me. Lightly tapping her forehead with her hoof, she responded. "That's one of the more unique opinions I've heard of her. I haven't met her myself in pony either, but I've heard many speak of her."
"Oh, uh... I did meet her once, I think. I was just sitting down with Cotton and practising this whole magic thing. I think I was just exhausted from attempts and she told me that Celestia was there. I didn't really know what to do, so I asked if I should bow or not." Aqua giggled and continued, "I ended up bowing, but it was towards a wall." A louder laugh came out and Sunny joined in on giggling.
"That must have been quite funny."
"Kinda. Embarrassing in the moment, but in hindsight? Hella funny..." Aqua snorted to herself before humming quietly. "You know, she didn't scold me or get mad at all, to my knowledge, so I think she's probably a good person. And if she's not, then she's really good at hiding it."
Sunny smiled and nodded. "She certainly seems quite nice." If only she knew... "I can't imagine ruling an entire country and not learning to control your emotions, so maybe you're on to something there." Sunny giggled before letting silence drift into the conversation. Slowly, a frown adorned itself on her face. In time, mayhaps.
She looked down at little Aqua with a smile. Sitting up, Aqua was bobbing her tiny head, hearing a tune in her mind. Mane and ears flopping to the beat. How does she always look content? Sunny's eyes caught the length of Aqua's mane and tail. I'm surprised they're as long as mine. She must really like her mane to have them this long.
Shaking her head, Sunny continued the dead conversation. "Are you ready to continue, Aqua?"
"Yeah."
And so Sunny ended their small study break and continued the lesson on mana.
"Is it just me or is she really, really nervous?" Aqua whispered to Cotton.
"It's not just you." Looking up from the collection of papers known as a 'study guide,' Cotton saw Raven struggling to understand something in one of her own courses. I may not know much of her, but she certainly is a hard worker. Glancing back down at the papers, she thought of the subjects Aqua was given. Surprising how little history she knows... Not that she's talked about her history much... Maybe she simply doesn't remember? Cotton hummed. I want to ask, but it's a sore subject...
The two of them were working on memorising historic events for the better part of an hour. Aqua had obviously lost interest and was fiddling with what looked to be a pebble. Cotton shook her head. I told her not to pick those up... Not to say that Cotton hadn't gotten bored either; she was bored. Very bored. Though a dual front of laziness had won over and both had started doing idle things to pass the time. Cotton wanted to leave, but she was here to watch Aqua, so she was going to stay until Aqua wanted to leave. Merely waiting for Aqua to bring it up. Cotton thought they had finished the lesson for today. Raven mainly gave them references for textbooks and where to look in them but also had given a small packet she had prepared. She told the both of them to ask her any questions that came up and then began working on her own homework. She had mentioned for which subject, but Cotton wasn't listening at the time.
A muttering from across the table brought the sight of a twitching Raven. "Miss inkwell, are you alright?"
The pony twitched and looked up. "Hm? Oh, yes. I'm trying to figure out minute details between the conflicting theories about how magic began in ponies of all tribes and how each has resulted in varying skill levels between individuals." Raven focused back on her work.
Oh. Okay... I understood that. Yeah... Nodding twice with an awkward smile, Cotton leaned down to Aqua and whispered, "Do you want to keep studying or do something else?"
"Something else, please. This is so boring. Never did enjoy history class. I think I'd even rather do chores than this."
Suppressing a chuckle, Cotton turned back to pony across the table. "Raven, is there anything else we need to cover today?"
"Hm? Oh..." Raven looked up and to the left. "Oh! We need to go over a basic spell. The first spell most unicorns learn is the light spell. The light spell is more akin to an easy application of will, like telekinesis, than a spell. There are obviously variations of it that more resemble spells like Spotlight, for example." Pausing to take a deep breath, she continued, "You know how to use telekinesis, right..?"
An eyebrow raised. Hasn't she... seen Aqua lift things before? Cotton looked down at Aqua. Her little horn glowed and four pebbles began to orbit around her as a response.
"Ah..." Sheepishly lowering her head, Raven continued, "Right, sorry. The light spell begins with roughly the same process. Intent. You then funnel your mana towards your horn and let it do most of the work. However, with spells more advanced than telekinesis, which is entirely a force-of-will-based spell, you will need to learn how to directly control your mana as it goes through your horn. For most ponies, this takes a while to learn to even start doing, as well as it is where the study of spells actually helps you cast said spells."
Aqua tilted her head to the right before responding. "Huh. Okay, kinda neato. I imagine that's the most annoying part as this comes fairly easily." The filly gestured towards one of the floating grey pebbles around her.
"I suppose..." Raven looked like she wanted to say something, but didn't open her mouth.
Don't know if that's just nervousness, anymore...
Raven continued failing to teach the light spell to Aqua for the next half hour.
Sunny waved to the foals behind her as she walked away. Never a dull moment with the little ones. Looking around, the pleasant scenery of the park soothed her mind. Such a good idea to have a park next to the orphanage. Foals always need space to move. Scanning the park for colts and fillies in need, she spotted one white and blue filly, sitting alone in the grass. Sunny altered her path, turning towards the filly. She took her time, meandering across paths towards the filly.
As she made her way, she idly noted a few scattered guards standing watch, and nodded to each as she passed them by. One large red guard stood nearby to the little filly. She also passed by a flowerbed on the side of the path. Sunny slowed to a stop and lowered her head. A collection of flowers greeted her eyes. Mostly poppies, with a few miscellaneous flowers mixed in. She nosed through the flowers and despite the abundance of poppies, she could smell the violet mixed in. One might say her nose scrunched up if someone looked closely. Wiping her face clean, she shifted her head to a different part and breathed in deeply. If only there was lavender...
Raising back up, she looked up and smiled. It may have been winter, but she rarely felt cold. She could tell that it was pleasantly warm, despite her inclination. She shuffled her large wings and continued on her path. When Sunny got closer, she saw that Aqua was wearing a striped blue and white scarf that was clearly too big. It almost looked like a blanket or an overcoat with its size. Sunny smiled. Must have been given to her by Cotton Ball. She should grow into it nicely, I hope. Like usual, there were a few objects floating around her. The pegasus shook her head lightly, confused. Getting close, Sunny waved to Solid Phalanx, and got a wave back, before approaching the filly.
Sunny called out, "Hello, little one."
Little Aqua jerked and dropped the magic-resistant training balls floating in her grip creating. Four muffled thuds sounded out as they hit the grass. "Huh? Who is it?"
"It's me, Sunny." A giggle from the pegasus. "How are you doing, little one?"
"Oh! Hey, Sunny. I'm doing okay, I suppose. I've been trying out a light spell my tutor tried to teach me." Aqua snorted. "Emphasis on tried. It hasn't been working out that well, so I decided to take a break and relax for a bit. How about you?" Aqua began feeling the ground around her, looking for the training balls.
"I'm quite good, thank you for asking. Do you mind if I sit next to you?" Sunny tilted her head.
"No, no problem. Feel free."
"Thank you. Also, relaxing?" Sunny looked at the spheres starting to float around Aqua.
"Uh... yeah? It is a nice day. I'm surprised how warm it is. It barely even feels like winter."
"It is a very nice day. I'm thankful for the weather ponies who scheduled a sunny day... Celestia's sun also helps."
Aqua mumbled to herself.
"Are you okay, little one?"
"Uh... Nothing. It's fine." The filly's muzzle faced the ground.
Before silence could develop between them, Sunny Disposition hummed. "When I asked about you relaxing, I was referring to the fact that you're practising your telekinesis as a..." She paused, a grin splitting her mouth, "Break."
"Oh, yeah..." The filly's brow wrinkled. "I assume... that with your reaction, this isn't normal?"
Sunny hummed aloud and nodded. "You would be correct. It has been a long while since I last checked any records, but the last pony that had a proficiency akin to yours with telekinesis was over five hundred years ago." She was so kind about it as well... "If nothing else, you are certainly unique, my little filly."
A silence grew between the two as Aqua looked down in contemplation. The sounds of birds singing, leaves rustling, and foals playing in the distance provided background noise.
They sat together under the sun for a long time. Neither counted the seconds, nor the minutes. Both soaking in what little sunlight there was.
Eventually, that silence was broken by Aqua.
"Y'know, I used to have some pretty bad eyesight. It's actually kinda funny actually that it got worse." Aqua giggled. "I used to basically require sunglasses when going outside, just so I could see. Still needed to squint even with them on but, hey, at least I could see..." Sunny watched the filly as Aqua's grin slowly changed to a sad smile. "It's ironic... Now that I'm blind, I can enjoy the sun better. Granted, I can't see the beautiful sights, but hey, who knows; Maybe I can feel the mountains in the distance." Aqua chuckled.
Sunny covered her mouth with a hoof and giggled. She then looked up in thought. ...believe that might be possible... but... She began to think for a minute, but was interrupted by a guard. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed one of the guards giving her a silent signal. Sunny deeply sighed and got up. Back to work...
"I'm sorry little one, but I must go. I wish you the best of luck in your endeavours of learning a light spell."
Aqua looked up at her. "Aw... Well, I suppose I'll see you around, Sunny. Have a good day."
Cotton breathed back in and looked up from the textbook on the ground in front of her. "Did that help at all, Aqua?"
"Um, give me a minute. I think it'll help, though."
Cotton nodded and closed the magic textbook with the bookmark in place. "Alright." As Aqua faced the ground in concentration, Cotton looked upwards at the rest of the foyer. The foals and fillies were mostly in bed by now, with how late it is. It wasn't quite bedtime for them yet. Another hour, give or take.
Cotton looked at the clock on the far wall.
Yep, another hour. Cotton began stretching. It felt terrific after not moving for a while. Cotton had been reading passages aloud from one of the magical textbooks recommended by Inkwell. Cotton's focus drifted to her fetlock. She raised her right hoof and stretched it out gingerly. Still a little sore. Kind of like going on a run... It has been a long time since I went on one. Aqua had been struggling with the light spell, so she offered to help. Cotton knew Aqua didn't really find learning that fun but, despite her hyperactivity, the little filly calmed down and sat in place while Cotton read to her. It's kinda cute... Though if Cotton was reading something like an adventure book, Aqua would even stop levitating those training balls she somehow kept getting more of.
Cotton turned back to the said filly, who was still concentrating. It's... impressive how much she's improved. With how Raven describes every little detail about the magic and what is average, Cotton, at the very least, knew that Aqua was improving at her telekinesis exceedingly quickly. Hm... I wonder... Eyes having drifted off while thinking, she looked back at the filly.
The first thing Cotton noticed was that the filly was beginning to sweat, concentrating hard on her task for light. Cotton smiled. It's inspiring. Just how much effort she's putting in. It's just like how I was with cleaning when I was young. It's always cute to see that passion in these ones. She looked up at the dwindling amount of little ones still awake in the foyer. They always try their best, and all we can do is try to help them. Her smile began to droop and she deeply sighed. ...to be young...
A small flash to her left. Cotton looked and smiled. She did it! The little filly was lightly panting with a small light emitting from her horn. The light wouldn't light up a dark room enough to read, but it was a light nonetheless. Cotton watched Aqua hold the light and began to frown. I... Wait... why did Raven assign a light spell to a blind pony? Maybe just to practice? I'll ask next time. Shaking her head, Cotton focused back on the filly and her light... Only for it to cut off suddenly with a gasp.
Cotton leaned over and wrapped the filly in hooves and wings. She leaned down to whisper, "Good job... How do you feel?"
"Like ass."
Cotton snorted with a smile and pulled away, leaving her left wing on the filly's back. "Now now... Language. Buuuuut... I'll let it slide this time."
"You better," Aqua quietly said with that lopsided grin of hers.
The two sat together, in their corner for a few silent minutes in content. Cotton glanced at the clock. "Alright, young lady. I know you like staying up late, but after that workout, you're gonna be tired. It's time for bed."
Cotton turned back to the filly, only to see a snoring pile of fur. Cotton smiled and shook her head.
"I'm sorry... I meant for it to be something useful, but I didn't think. I apologize."
"It's okay Raven, I honestly find it sort of funny. Imagine if my talent was making really cool lights? Some of the most ironic shit ever." Aqua held a sly grin on her face as Raven flinched. Not used to Aqua's vocabulary yet, I see. Aqua looked down suddenly before looking at Cotton "Wait... do I have that as a mark?"
Cotton opened her mouth to respond, but Raven cut her off. "Uh... no... Still, I feel horrible about it, so once more, I'm sorry."
Aqua held up a hoof. "You don't need to be formal to me, Raven. Considering how I speak; do you really think I'm a stickler for that kind of talk?" Inkwell squirmed in her seat, obviously wanting to say something, but didn't. "Anyway, let's get off that topic; what's another spell I can learn? Those are always interesting, even if a bit hard for me. I haven't mastered the light spell yet, but in-between learning a new spell, I can take a break to work on the light one."
Inkwell hesitantly nodded. "If you're sure..." She then looked to her scattered notes and mumbled to herself in contemplation. "Give me a moment to pick one that you might be able to cast as well as one that's useful despite your condition."
Aqua shook her head with a small smile before turning to Cotton and whispering, "It's going to take a while to train her not to be formal, don't you think?"
"Yup," Cotton whispered back with a giggle.
After a few quiet moments, Inkwell hummed briefly and nodded. "I have an idea of a few, you pick which one you like the best, and we can do the rest later."
"Sounds good."
"The first three I have in mind are as follows: a twinkle spell, a lightening spell, and a warming spell."
Aqua mimed looking down at herself. "Well, I once heard from an ex-friend that it's best to enhance your strengths, rather than covering your weakness. Granted, it was only in..." Aqua's smile evaporated and her ears flattened, "Something I used to do... God, do I miss those... Anyway, I choose the teleport spell." Aqua spoke with confidence and grinned. "Just kidding, I think I'll chose the lightning spell."
Raven chuckled. "First let me describe the three, then you can choose."
Aqua sheepishly shrunk. "Ah... That would be a good idea."
"First is the twinkle spell. The twinkle spell is a beginner training spell used for foals to practice. As the name implies, all it does is make a small twinkle sound. It's fairly simple, and I recommend it first of the three because of how easy it is to cast and. It's also a good starter spell because it trains you to control your mana better... The second option is the lightening spell. All it does is simply make and object weight less temporarily. It's really helpful when helping carry books for the librarians..."
As Raven finished her explanation of the second spell, Aqua's ears flattened. "Oh."
Inkwell tilted her head and looked at Aqua. "Hm? Is something the matter?"
"It's nothing. I just thought the lightening spell was a lightning spell. You know, like the electricity in the clouds."
Raven's eyes shot open. "Oh, Celestia, no! That's a very dangerous spell, and it's much too advanced for you currently. I won't teach you that, nor would I even be able to, due to it being too advanced for me as well."
Aqua tsked and did a weird motion with her right forehoof. "Darn... Well, what's the warming spell do?" A sarcastic grin.
Raven had an uncertain expression. "I don't know if I should teach you that one, actually. Considering you would have chosen a lightning spell. This one could be dangerous if not properly used on a pony."
"What if I promise not to use it on a pony then. Would that help?" Aqua tilted her head, and Cotton could tell she was trying to look at cute as possible. Cotton never found it that convincing, but she had worked with foals for a few years now. It's been... what, three and a half years? No, no. I started... Celestia, it's been four years.
Cotton could tell Raven was conflicted with her scrunched nose. "I... " Eventually, her resolve failed. "Okay. As long as you promise."
Looking to Aqua, Cotton noticed an immediate change in her demeaner. Aqua rose out of her natural tilted slouch, her ears rose to attention, and put her right hoof to her chest. "I promise not to use the warming spell on any pony..." Aqua began slouching after she finished. Continuing, she asked, "Can I at least use it on someone if it's self-defense?"
Raven slumped. "You won't be attacked here in Canterlot, but... fine." She then pointed at Aqua with a stern voice, "I'll teach you the warming spell, but if you hurt somepony, you'll be punished harshly."
The filly smiled brightly and nodded quickly. "Perfectly understandable. I'd expect to face punishment if I hurt a pony."
Inkwell curtly nodded. "Before we start, let me describe the warming spell first. The spell is meant to warm a non-living object up, such as tea or food. Normally, and to the average caster, it can only warm things up to being warm. If powered sufficiently, the spell can be used to start a campfire... And if mis-casted, you instead, may catch on fire."
"Okay. I'll make sure to take it slow as well then. Don't want to become firewood." Aqua chuckled.
"Alright. So... to begin..."
Cotton tuned Inkwell out. She didn't have a horn; she had wings. Cotton glanced at her filly. But... If I want to help her, I should listen, even if it's boring and goes over my head. Looking to the other mare in the room, she began to listen.
"... in the mana theory we've reviewed, the catalyst used for this spell is the manathaumic catalyst..."
Serrated Fabric stopped listening and glanced at the corner behind her friends. There was a small blue filly attempting to cast a spell. She's really young. Serrated couldn't tell what spell the filly was attempting, but she could tell it wasn't going well. Serrated wondered who the filly was. She had seen her a few times but didn't know anything about her. How long has she been here? Probably not long. I don't know her... Serrated glanced across the room, towards the other group. They best not be planning anything.
Looking back at the blue filly, Fabric noticed sparks emitting from the filly's horn. They weren't very bright, and it looked as if she was bad at casting. Serrated looked up at her own forehead, seeing only blue and pink mane. She wasn't exactly an expert, but she could tell the filly was struggling.
Serrated fabric looked back at her friends and picked up the ball on the ground. "So, does anypony want to go play hoofball?" She was met with cheers.
Serrated glanced at the filly in the corner as she exited the orphanage with a frown on her face.
"How are you feeling?" Sunny leaned down over Serrated, almost covering the filly entirely with her wings as she inspected her wounds.
"It hurts, Sunny." Sunny could tell the filly was on the verge of crying and was trying her best to be a big mare.
"It's okay, Fabric. It's just a small scratch. We'll get you fixed up in no time." Sunny helped the filly up to her back, beginning to carry her towards the orphanage doors.
Around her, Sunny could see a few groups of fillies and colts doing a variety of things. There were a few playing games like hoofball. Fabric's group was among these and was only beginning to play again. A colt leaned against a tree, reading. He'd be a good fit...
Climbing the stairs, Sunny got one look at Celestia's sun. Sunny hummed to herself. Upon entering the building, Sunny went up to the front desk and tapped her hoof against the wood.
"Hello, Golden."
Said mare lifted her head up, looking away from a book. "Oh! Hello, Sunny. How may I help you?"
Sunny smiled back. "Little Fabric here hurt herself while playing with her friends. She's going to need a band-aid or two."
"Ah. The usual." Golden chuckled to herself and reached underneath the front desk. Pulling herself back up, she gripped three bandages of varying sizes. She reached over and hoofed them to Sunny. "Here you go." These should do. Turning to the filly next to the yellow mare, Golden tsked twice. "What have I told you about getting hurt, little miss?" It happens too often. Hope you get better soon, though." Golden finished with a smile before turning back to her book.
Sunny led Serrated to one of the couches with the bandages on her wing.
"Alright, let's patch these wounds, Fabric." She only got a small sniffle and a nod in response. Sunny patted the couch. "Hop on down, and we'll start." The filly jumped onto the couch and held out her left foreleg. "Ooh, that's a nasty one, isn't it?" Sunny unwrapped the largest of the bandages before lining it up and putting it on. She lightly patted the bandage. "Next one?" The pegasus filly held out her right foreleg as she looked at a familiar corner. Oh? There was a tiny cut that didn't need a bandage. It would make the little filly feel better. Sunny unwrapped the smallest bandage and put it on her. Sunny leaned in and gave the little pegasus a full-body hug.
"There there. All patched up. Feel any better?" A small nod in return. Sunny smiled. "Good. Now, if I may ask, who caught your eye?"
The filly raised the less injured foreleg and pointed at a blue unicorn filly across the room. "Who's she?"
Sunny glanced at the said unicorn. Still practising, hm? Diligent one, you are. "Ah. That is Aqua. She's fairly new. Been here around a month, if I'm remembering correctly. why do you ask?"
"She's weird."
"She may be weird, but what pony isn't? Why don't you go ask her about her magic?"
"Uh... Okay." Sunny picked up the filly and set her on her withers. As they got closer, she heard the filly on her back whisper something to her. "Her eyes are weird..." Indeed they are...
"Hello, Aqua. Serrated Fabric here wanted to ask you a question about your magic."
"Huh? Oh sure... I could use a break." Aqua stood up and held out her right hoof to the side of Sunny. "Nice to meet you, Serrated Fabric, my name's Aqua." After finishing the sentence, Aqua put her hoof back down. "Oh right. Sorry." Aqua looked up at Sunny. "Where is Serrated?"
Sunny looked behind her to see Serrated was attempting to cover herself in Sunny's wings. So cute. Sunny covered her mouth with a hoof and giggled. "She's here, just hiding."
Aqua sat back down. "Oh... Well if you wanted to ask a question, just ask away."
Sunny turned back around. Serrated was peeking over her wings. Sunny smiled. "Who are you? You're weird."
The little unicorn snorted with a smile before giggling. "And who are you? You sound mighty weird to me. I can't see you, so you might be a monster and I wouldn't know."
Serrated jumped off Sunny's back and stomped a hoof in protest. "I'm not weird. and I'm not a monster. You're a monster."
Aqua's smile got bigger. "Oh am I? Well then, If I'm a monster, then I think I'm going to eat you!" Aqua crouched and began slowly stalking towards the little pegasus.
Despite being a lot taller than the blue filly, Serrated shrieked and hid behind Sunny's tall legs. Sunny giggled and put a hoof in Aqua's way. "That's enough, Aqua."
Aqua straightened, looked up, and put on a pleading look. The look was impeded by the fact that Aqua wasn't looking directly at Sunny. "Aww, but I'm really really hungry..." She tsked. "Darn, okay. It's nice to meet you, Serrated Fabric. Sunny said you had a question?"
Serrated was peeking out from behind Sunny again. "What magic were you doing?"
"Oh that's easy; I was practising a warming spell my tutor is trying to teach me..." Already? Hm...Aqua rubbed one of her hooves and cringed. "It's not working very well."
"Oh, okay. Thanks. I'm going to go." Serrated waved as she began to walk outside.
A short silence grew between the two. Aqua smiled and shook her head. "Cute kid..."
Sunny looked down at Aqua with an eyebrow raised. "Indeed she is."
She shuffled the ledger on the desk in front of her. She looked up at the roof of her office and put her quill into its inkpot. Retracing a path her eyes had paced an uncountable times. Mahogany. Has been so long that I can't even remember who chose it. After finishing following the track, she looked down at the pile of papers on her desk.
She closed her eyes.
Three in the afternoon; One break before it starts.
The white pony opened her eyes and stood up on the carpet. Walking out of the door, she paused and looked back. What I wouldn't do for some help...
The white pony continued out of her office. Slender horseshoes met marble and clacks reverberated through the air, echoing. Her face developed a slight frown. One nopony could see, but she could feel.
The clacking slowed her not, walking through the massive hallways. She took a left, then a right, then another right. Legs on autopilot, her mind was beyond the clouds. And soon, the clouds could be seen.
Arriving at a too-familiar hallway, she looked out at the clouds through stained glass windows. Taller than even her, they were beautiful, and let in a myriad of colours into the dead hallway. But they were not her focus.
She stared at the clouds through coloured glass. For a minute. For two. For five. For ten. She stared. The room began to heat and she closed her eyes. She breathed in deeply once and breathed it all out. She opened her eyes and looked downwards. The city greeted her eyes in all of its white blinding glory. Her eyes meandered through streets and across roofs.
It was an old sight, even for her, but her eyes lingered on a building. Closer than most, the brown wooden building made her ever-present invisible frown reverse. The building had a large courtyard in front, with a few colourful shapes moving and bouncing about. There was a large park nearby with a few more of the colourful blobs vibrating.
Her smile became noticeable.
Her eyes continued on and made one last stop. A large marble and gold building with multiple floors, and a grand presentation.
Her smile got bigger.
She lingered at the last building, before closing her eyes. It's time. Her smile began to erode.
Opening her eyes, she begrudgingly set off into the white halls. She passed by familiar paintings after familiar paintings, with the occasional, not-so-flavourful, set of display armour.
She arrived at a Massive door. Larger than even the rest of the monolithic doors found in the halls.
She stared at it as the vestiges of her smile evaporated.
She pushed the doors open with her magic and walked inside. She walked forward. She walked forward up the stairs. She walked forward to the dias. She turned around and sat down.
She closed her eyes as she sat. Her horn lit up and she cast a spell by instinct alone.
Both Aqua and Cotton sat on Aqua's bed. For the majority of the morning and evening, they had been. Aqua jumped from activity to activity, coming back to spellcasting roughly every half hour. Aqua had accepted and adjusted to a practising schedule after a week of none. Aqua quickly became burnt out during that week and so, she had suggested a schedule to the filly.
Today was a small exception, however. Cotton noticed that Aqua had been feeling down since she woke up. Cotton had first suspected that the filly might have caught a cold, and it was only beginning. She was a unicorn in winter, after all.
Cotton stayed nearby to the filly if she needed it.
Aqua had been staring off into space with a frown for a while now. It wasn't unusual to see the filly space out. Fairly common, in fact. Happens a few times a day... Cotton turned away from the filly's expression. Cotton looked outside.
It was overcast today. The rain had layered the ground a few times with nothing more than a light sprinkle. But the rain kept coming back. May be a pegasus but, I'm no weather pony. Knack never developed. Cotton grew a melancholy smile. Mom and dad weren't happy to hear that at first... Still love 'em...
Suddenly, Cotton heard a sound she had not heard before from the filly.
Cotton looked back at Aqua.
Aqua was crying.
Cotton immediately snatched the filly into a tight hug. Cotton whispered into Aqua's white mane, "You okay?"
The filly didn't respond quickly. She gripped Cotton's barrel with a fierceness not seen before. After a few more seconds, Cotton repeated herself.
"I-..." the filly's voice faltered in-between sobs.
"It's okay. You're fine... Take your time."
"I-... I... I won't- I can't-..." Breathe in. "I-it's hard..."
Cotton lifted the filly off to let her explain, before realizing nothing else would come. She brought the filly back to her as the filly buried her muzzle into Cotton's fur once more. "Shhh. Shhh. It's okay. It's okay..."
The mare held the filly tightly to her chest but heard nothing other than quiet sobbing.
They stayed like that until the filly was asleep.
She slowly and quietly put the filly to bed.
Cotton looked up at the clouds as a tear escaped her eye.
She lightly rubbed Aqua's whithers with her wing. The filly hadn't woken up yet. Cotton glanced at the window. The Princess' sun was already up and was nearing noon. Cotton had thought, Past time to wake her up, but it is a weekend... And she probably needs the sleep.
Looking back down at the filly, she watched the foal's face. Her little nose was scrunched up. A few ideas of dreams flew past her mind as she watched. Cotton smiled a troubled smile. She knew that the filly wasn't old, but it was easy to forget. Nothing about Aqua's personality came off as young. Almost nothing. She does occasionally start laughing out of nowhere at seemingly nothing. And when she tries to explain, it all falls apart. But she keeps laughing. She pet Aqua's mane.
Aqua twitched, and Cotton feared she put too much force behind the petting. But she continued.
The filly's expression and her grip on the blanket relaxed as Cotton continued. Cotton wished she could help the filly, but beyond working as a caretaker, she wasn't able to do much. She had no experience with emotional problems other than her own. The fact that she couldn't help hurt her. She is my responsibility but, she's grown on me... Cotton looked down at her hooves on the bed. She shuffled on top of the blanket. Feel like a foal again... confused and out of control... all I can do I try...
Hearing a shuffling not her own, she glanced at Aqua. Pulling back her own wing, she watched and waited for the filly to wake up.
She watched as the filly stretched out wide with no regard for the blanket and pillow being pushed away. Big stretch. A small smile from Cotton. The filly then relaxed and didn't move.
The filly blearily opened her eyes, staring at nothing with nothing. She adopted a confused look for a second as she grunted to nopony. "Oh... right..."
She barely heard what Aqua mumbled. Cotton looked down. ...over a month since...
Shaking her head, Cotton cleared her throat to announce her presence.
The filly turned to her. "Hm..? Cotton?"
Cotton hummed an affirmative and continued, "Yeah, it's me. How are you feeling? How was your sleep?"
"Oh..." She glanced up in thought. "Decently, I guess..." Aqua yawned and smacked her lips twice. "My neck isn't as stiff as when I got here, though that's probably because of the pillow."
Did she not have one befo-
Aqua cut off her thought unknowingly with a chuckle, "That pillow sucked ass, but I had it for years." Aqua sat up as her demeanour changed from relaxed to reserved. The filly became quiet and thought to herself.
As a silence grew between the two, Cotton debated with herself before nodding and risking it. "Want to talk about it?"
Aqua looked in her direction slowly. "...Last night?"
Cotton hummed and affirmative.
The filly looked down and began to twidle her hooves. "I-... A-alright..."
Cotton reassured her with a short wing hug. "You can take your time."
Aqua mulled over what to say before beginning, "I... I had a good life. Before coming here, I mean..." Aqua glanced down as she paused. Cotton tightened the hug.
When the filly looked back up, Cotton noticed a purple tinge in the filly's tears. They're back again...
Aqua continued, "I-it's hard to think about... Imagine you lost everything. As if life gripped you by the balls and pulled hard. I didn't have everything, but I had enough..." The filly sniffled. "I... I'm pretty certain I've told you but... I used to draw. Not enough, but a decent amount. Then, suddenly..." Aqua looked directly at Cotton. Dead blue and greyish eyes pierced Cotton's soul. Sorrow and well-hidden restrained anger could be seen.
Cotton broke the eye contact first. "Oh..."
"Yeah..." Another sniffle as the filly looked down. "It... It hurts to think about sometimes, as I'm sure you can imagine. Last night was just one of those days... Those days... come more often than they used to..."
How do I- No. Don't think, just do. Cotton shook her head and pulled Aqua in tighter. "I- I'm sorry. I... know I can't fix that but, I'll be here if you need me."
"You know it's not your fault but... thank you." The filly finally leaned into the hug and squeezed her tightly.
Together, they stared out the window for the better part of an hour while they silently hugged.
Aqua eventually broke the hug with a giggle and a proclamation, "I'm hungry."
Cotton smiled. "Well then, let's fix that."
Cotton picked up the filly, who responded with an audible gasp, and put Aqua on her back.
And so, off the bed, out the room and towards the cafeteria they went, with small smiles on their faces.
"...Is something to try. But for now, you have been working for quite a while. Why don't we take a break?" Sunny suggested.
Cotton nodded and hummed an agreement. It has been a while... Cotton looked down at Aqua who had yet to respond. "Aqua?"
"Yeah, yeah..." The filly shook her head. "It's probably a good idea." She pointed at her head. "Don't want to fry this piece of junk."
Both the mares adopted concerned looks as Cotton leaned in close. Enough for only her and Aqua to hear. "You okay?"
The filly replied at a normal volume. "Yeah... I'm just so damn bored. I'm still used to being so busy. Before all this, I used to be doing so much, pretty much at all times. Granted, it wasn't bad don't get me wrong but, it's still so much less to do... So I dive into learning magic." Aqua grinned." "'Cause magic is cool."
"Still, young one, even though," Sunny joined Aqua in grinning, "Magic is cool, ponies need to have other interests. Even if those interests are as simple as making friends."
Aqua mimed looking past Sunny. Following her gaze, Cotton saw the other fillies and colts of the orphanage. "I think I'm good. Not to shit-talk the others but-."
"Aqua. Language."
"Oh shi- uh... Right... Sorry, Cotton." The mare nodded in satisfaction. "Uh... Oh yeah. They're a bit hard to hold a conversation with. At least, for me... Fun to talk to for a few minutes or short exchanges but... beyond that? Not really."
Sunny had motherly disappointment visible on her face. "Remember this, little one; You will need friends in the future. Even if you don't know it yet."
"Oh yeah, I'm fully aware, don't get me wrong... It's just they're," The filly pointed behind Sunny again, "Just are a little too immature to be true friends with, is I guess what I'm trying to say."
"Then you must endeavour to find ones you would call 'mature.'"
"Yeah, I fully intend to just... I ain't got much for options at the moment."
An audible hum from Sunny. "Aside from the aforementioned topics, are there any other interests you have or intend to pursue?"
"I-... Hm..." Aqua looked up in thought. "I... might want to try carving or moulding? Like, with clay. I know I told Cotton, but I don't think I've told you, Sunny..." Sunny tilted her head. "I... I used to draw before..." Aqua pointed at her eyes with her left foreleg and lightly shook her head. "Yeah... I used to draw. well, more akin to sketching, actually..." Aqua smiled, "I never really got past the sketching phase unless it was an assignment, but I enjoyed it. It was fun to do while talking to others or just thinking."
Sunny interjected, "I see."
"Yeah, it was fun. Especially once I showed it to my friends and art teacher..." The filly's smile grew. "I quickly found out my teacher doesn't like spiders." Aqua giggled. "Not that that stopped me, anyway. well, until she banned me from drawing them in assignments..." Aqua happily sighed, "Good times..."
"Going from drawing to moulding makes sense to me." Cotton looked up in thought. It's been forever since I last made something out of clay... Five or six..? Might join her in that... "I could help you if you want, with that, Aqua. I once played with clay when I was younger."
Aqua looked to Cotton. "Sure! More the merrier, as they say."
Cotton looked down at the metal cube Aqua had been tying to practice the warming spell with. Taking her quite a while to learn... I wonder why... Bring it up with Raven.
Cotton's brow furrowed. "It's only been a month and... almost two months."
"Yup. A long time..."
Cotton could hear as Solid leaned in and whispered to Cotton. She leaned into the red guard. "Long time for her age."
Cotton nodded at the guard. I suppose...
Cotton glanced at the clock as Aqua continued, "...I mean like going to the doctors'. It was a fairly common thing for me. Not weekly, but still often."
"Oh..."
"Yeah. Pretty much never anything life-threatening but, still went often because of a few problems I don't really care to repeat or remember." She paused and looked up. "Hm, we probably should have collected a sample before coming. I can't exactly cry on command." She giggled. "Never learned."
Cotton patted the filly on the withers. "Well, that's not really a skill anypony learns... Not unless they're an actress or actor, though..."
"Ah, well that right there is the problem!" Aqua giggled again. "I took an acting class a while back. For one of the solo performances, I intended on learning but I never got to it. The performance was some old section of paragraphs I chose to say as an emotional-." Cutting herself off, Aqua tilted her head, with ears at attention, making no sound. "Yup, doctor's here." Cotton could barely catch the next part, as Aqua whispered to herself, "Should be a nurse first, actually."
Both Cotton and Solid glanced at the door for a few seconds. Nothing. Both looked at the clock. On-time... Both looked back... Still nothing.
Then, a knock on the door as it creaked and opened. Cotton glanced at the filly, before focusing on the door. How good even is her hearing?
"Hello?" A young white stallion poked his head in.
Aqua waved. "Ayo, you our man?"
The doctor had a puzzled look on his face before responding. "If you are Aqua, then yes."
"That's me. Come on in."
At this, the stallion entered, a clipboard floating behind him. "My name is Doctor Windhorn," Cotton glanced at Aqua. "I'll be your examiner today. Could you remind me what your problem was, again?" The clipboard floated in front of him as he began to read it.
Cotton spoke up, "Yes, sir." The doctor chuckled. "When Aqua was crying, I noticed her tears were purple."
The doctor's eyebrows rose as he looked over his clipboard. "... Say that again?"
Aqua Interjected, "Tears are clear, right? Well, a clearish, whiteish, blueish, right? Yeah, apparently mine aren't, I guess. I can't exactly see to confirm it..." Cotton glanced at Aqua again.
"Oh..." Doctor Windhorn cleared his throat. "... Well, that's certainly unique... This has happened multiple times, correct?" A pencil floated out from his lab coat pocket and began to write on the clipboard in front of him.
"Umm, yes. It's been about three times that I've noticed it now." Four if you count that one...
Windhorn hummed to himself as he wrote something down. Stopping to flip through the pages in the clipboard, he said nothing for a few seconds. He looked up to the three of them. "Can you elaborate, or rather, describe what happened?"
Both Aqua and Solid glanced in her direction. I see how it is, you two. "Um... The first time I noticed it was while we were at Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. We were just headed to meet with the vice principal, Shimmering Sky." Cotton briefly saw the doctor's eyes shimmer.
Aqua interjected, "And I have no idea when it started, I ain't exactly able to see colours, nevertheless see"
Cotton continued, "While we were there, we passed by a painting of a foal in one of the halls by the name... I- I'm sorry I can't remember. Anyway, when we passed the painting, Aqua suddenly started crying and her tears were sparkly. More than normal tears are, at least."
"Hm. Interesting."
"There rest were a few times where a sad topic came up." She looked down. "Her tears simply were purple. But aside from the first time where her tears were just sparkly, they've been a thick glimmering purple. Do... Do you know anything about it?" Cotton looked up from the floor back to the doctor.
The doctor laid the clipboard down on a nearby counter and put the pencil back in his pocket as he hummed aloud. "I'm not certain yet. For now, may I take a look at your eyes, Ms. Aqua?"
"Yeah. I'm a lil' concerned but, honestly? Having purple tears is one hell of a thing to brag about." Aqua giggled and grinned.
"Well then, let me have a look." Doctor Hornhoof approached the filly in her seat as she sat up. The doctor sat on the floor in front of her as to match her eye-level. "Ms. Aqua, I want you to try hard to look straight ahead for me. It would help a lot."
"Alright. It isn't really hard to look straight. I wasn't always blind, after all." Aqua commented without movement. "Even after a few months, it still feels right to be looking around with my eyes, even if I can't exactly see with them. It... I don't know exactly how to explain it but, it's sort of like mannerisms. You sort of just doing without thinking of needing to do it, plus it helps those around to understand..."
Windhorn nodded as both his horn and Aqua's eyes softly glowed brown. "I understand. Now please, keep still."
Aqua grumbled quietly to herself as Cotton heard Solid chuckle quietly. "That kind of tingles... What kind of spell is that?"
"One moment." The doctor adopted a frown and he stared into her icy grey eyes.
Eventually, the glow faded as he stood up and backed off before walking over to the clipboard. He took the pencil back out and began writing something down while occasionally glancing back at the seated blue filly. a few mumbles to himself. Aqua could probably hear what he's mumbling though... Cotton turned towards the filly who was almost grimacing. Probably not good...
The doctor stared at the clipboard and nodded. Turning around to face the group of three, he broke the silence. "So, I'm not certain how this affects you yet but, your tear ducts are saturated with mana. That is very likely the root cause of these... purple tears..."
"That's... interesting... I have no idea if that's good or bad, doc."
"At the moment, neither am I... I will have to ask you to schedule a follow-up appointment and bring samples since we don't keep any onions here. I'll give you something to store them in... To address your earlier question though, the spell I used was one to analyze your body's magic flow and mana. Specifically looking at the eyes. Aside from damaged eyes, the only abnormal thing was the excessive amount of mana in your tear ducts."
"If... you don't mind me ask-... Nevermind..." Aqua cut her own question off as her head drooped. "Yeah, I'm studying spells right now, so I was curious. Thanks..."
Ask her later...
But Cotton had one of her own, "Doctor Windhorn, is it possible for you to also check her ears? She's got very good hearing, and I want to make sure a loud sound wouldn't hurt her."
"Hm." He nodded. "Once more, Aqua, look straight ahead and try not to move your ears. I know it might be hard but, try hard for me."
Aqua looked and sat back up."Alright..."
The doctor's horn and Aqua's ears glowed briefly. "They seem to be fine. No current damage... Done." The doctor ended his spell and backed up with a nod. "My only guess is she was just born with larger ears or maybe eardrums. It probably would be a good idea to avoid consistent loud noises to avoid damaging them, though." After that thought, the doctor leaned down below the counter, opened up a drawer, and pulled out a small glass capsule with a lid on it. "This is what you should store the sample in when you get it. Try to get the sample to us as soon as possible while it's fresh as well..." Windhorn slowly levitated the little capsule over to Cotton as she grasped it with her wings.
Both Aqua and Cotton responded at the same time, "Alright..." They glanced at each other before turning back to the doctor. Cotton continued, "Is there anything else?"
"I don't think so, no... I will be seeing you again soon, Aqua." Doctor Windhorn nodded and back out of the room with his clipboard floating behind him.
Aqua smiled a bittersweet smile. "Yay... Another doctor's visit done. Feels just as stiff as before... And well..." Cotton looked down at the vial as Aqua commented to them all, "This'll be interesting..."
Raven looked up from the study guide on elemental magical theory she was given. "Hm?"
"While I was at the doctor's yesterday, the doctor used a neat spell. I don't remember if he named it when I asked about it but, it allowed him to check if a part of me was fine. Like a scanning spell... Do... do you think I could learn that spell next? I know I still don't have the warming spell down but, I really want to learn it next if possible."
Raven furrowed her brows and looked up in thought. "I... don't know that spell. I can look around for it for the next time we meet, though.
"Oh f-" Aqua cut herself off by clearing her throat as Cotton Ball looked down at Aqua with a frown.
What's-? Hm. I can ask later.
Aqua continued after a moment. "Sorry... A-anyway! Yeah, that'd be great. Thanks, Inks."
Raven leaned backwards for a secondWhat? "... Inks?"
Raven saw Aqua shuffling nervously in her chair. "Uh... yeah. It's a nickname I just thought up... If you... if you want, I can stop it."
Raven felt her cheeks flush. Does she... consider... No. Doubt it. "I'm okay with it. You can call me that." Raven's eyes snapped back to her homework.
An awkward silence began to grow between the three. But, before it could form, Cotton Ball broke it. "Raven, I wanted to ask..."
Raven released her magical grip on her pencil and looked up at Cotton Ball. "Yeah?"
"How long have you been a tutor?"
"Um... Around a year now. Why do you ask?"
"Mainly just curious..."
Aqua spoke up, cutting off Raven's would-be reply. "Hey, Raven. Another question: Uh... When you look at me, what do you see? I know it's a weird question but, yeah." The filly then stood up and planted her forehooves on the table, staring in Raven's direction.
Raven put down her pencil and looked at the filly in front of her and smirked. "Tiny. I see a tiny filly."
Aqua giggled. "Oh, ha ha. I mean more like describe what you think of me... God, that's weird to say..." Cotton looked at Aqua with furrowed eyebrows.
"I- uh... Give me a moment." She is... She's weird... Most foals her age don't really enjoy studying and she seems to understand the topics pretty quickly... And she's small- also how old is she..? Is the room getting warmer? Raven brushed her forehead with a hoof before responding, "I... I think you're weird." Raven's eyes shot fully open. "W-weird in a good way! I-I mean... Like... Most ponies your age don't really care or want to study things but, it's cool that you are- wanting to study, I mean... It's also impressive just how fast you grasp what I'm trying to teach you. It's surprising..." Then, quieter, "In a good way."
The filly in question spoke up, "Huh... Neat... Thanks! Heh, you're kinda cool too." Aqua looked satisfied.
Raven leaned forward. "Okay, now a question for you, missy."
Aqua grinned. "Oh? A question for moi?"
"Yeah; how old are you?" Aqua visibly flinched and barely leaned back, though Raven noticed it not. "You're quite small for how old you seem. On the outside, you look roughly six? Maybe seven?" Focusing back on the filly, Inkwell noticed Aqua was avoiding her gaze.
A few awkward seconds later, Aqua looked up at Cotton next to her, who also looked curious. "I... Uh..." The filly faced Raven once more and continued slowly while shrugging, "I... don't really know..?" Aqua looked like she was in pain.
Raven's ears flattened as Cotton quickly wrapped up the filly in a wing-hug. "I'm sorry."
Raven could hear a voice from beneath the feathers, "No, no. It's fine. It's just... weird and confusing..."
Cotton whispered something to Aqua as she slowly released the hug.
"Really, really. I'm fine. I wish I knew but, I don't. I could be eight, or I could be three. I have no clue..."
Cotton responded, "We'll check with the doctor next time." The pegasus then leaned to the filly while holding out an empty vial.
The two conversed in whispers before filly shook her head and ended the dialogue.
Aqua then looked to both of them. "Also, am I really that small?"
She's been having trouble with that spell... Good idea to practice here. Cotton glanced at the clock. Four twelve... Almost another hour. Cotton lazily looked over at Raven. Raven was talking to Aqua and helping her along with that warming spell. The filly had, after two or so weeks, eventually been able to cast it. She could cast it, but it would always go wrong. Thinking back, Cotton giggled. She still faintly smells like apples. Wasn't a very smart move for her to try it on a rock, though... She looked at the filly's left foreleg. Yep, still has a bandage.
With time and boredom, Cotton's thoughts began to drift. She thought about Aqua. She thought about her job. She thought about her life. She thought about her family. I need to visit mom and dad again soon... Been way too long. Though it'll be hard without somepony by my side... I'll send a letter this weekend.
A shout broke her out of her reverie, "Yes!" Cotton looked over to see a panting Aqua with her forelegs straight up.
Did she finally get it? Cotton looked to Raven. Raven was simply smiling while looking at the filly.
Aqua had a grin on her face. "I think I finally got it down. It took more than a little while, but hey, we're here now." Aqua held up one of the few apples with magic that they had brought along to test on. The apple was steaming.
Cotton turned back to "Congratulations, Aqua." Once step closer to becoming an archmage...
Raven piped up, "Now it's time to learn that mana sense spell."
"Finally!" The filly shouted. Aqua put down the apple onto a plate they had also brought, giggling uncontrollably all the while.
Once the laughter quieted, Raven began with a smile, "Rest for a bit and regain your breath... While you do, I'll start out by describing what the spell does. This Mana Sense spell only allows you to sort of see, or sense, one's own flow of magic and of those you touch. When using this spell to sense your own flow, the spell is very efficient but, when using it on others, it becomes much, much more complex."
"Why's that?"
"Other ponies don't have your mana. In multiple ways. Everypony's mana flow is different so, you will need to adjust the spell to... translate... your mana to theirs to see their own flow. You will also need to prepare if they have a larger mana pool or smaller mana pool than yours. If they have too much, it can be uncomfortable, to the point of pain for you. If you have too much, it will be painful for them instead."
"Uh oh... Is this another one I'll have to promise not to use on some-pony?" Aqua apprehensively asked.
Raven looked at Aqua with a smile and tilted her head slightly. "You didn't hurt anyone but yourself with the warming spell, so I think it'll be okay. The spell is fairly complex, but if you exercise caution, I think it will be good for you to learn. Both to improve your own capabilities, and because you obviously want to learn it." Raven looked to the side and mumbled something before continuing, "Think of it as an extension of that previous promise."
"Alright, sounds good! Now..." Aqua grinned deeply. "Let's begin."
"Very enthusiastic. Good."
Aqua's smile faltered. "Well, yeah. Any chance to see, even artificially, I'm gonna take."
Raven's gaze softened and she nodded twice. "Then, let's begin. We'll start by doing exercises to feel your own mana flow. They aren't nearly as precise nor as effective as the spell itself. Then, I'll cast the spell and then cast it again on you. This way should hopefully stimulate your own mana flow to make it easier for you to learn."
"Ugh. That first part is gonna be boring, yeah?"
Raven smiled. "Very likely, yes."
Aqua gave off a large, exaggerated sigh. "Dammit."
"Okay, I'm beginning the spell. If it gets uncomfortable, let me know."
Aqua heard a shuffling in front of her alongside the almost-silent hum of magic flowing through Raven's horn. Raven's hoof touched Aqua's shoulder. Aqua's back leg began to rhythmically move in nervousness. I really need to break that habit.
Aqua twitched as her shoulder suddenly felt cold. It's almost like a really, really cold shower. The chill seeped through her veins, spreading to her neck, her legs, and her chest. Wow. That is incredibly uncomfortable. But I can do it.
The cold spread, coating everything with artic water as it approached what felt like Aqua's heart.
And when it did, Aqua screamed as reality ceased.
"... Has to have been strengthening it while practising the two spells along with her using Telekinesis more than the average adult pony..."
Aqua was warm.
"So you're saying her mana pool is really small?"
Aqua felt feathers.
"Yes. It's concerningly small. Mine is below average, so I expected nothing to happen, but here we are."
Aqua heard a heartbeat.
"Yeah... At least we finally got this, though."
Sounds like Cotton's.
"What is that?"
Aqua's ears twitched.
"The doctor wanted me to collect a few of Aqua's tears. I know it sounds weird and scary, but look."
Aqua began to listen.
A gasp. "Why are they purple?"
Aqua opened her eyes.
"The doctor wasn't sure but, he said her tear ducts might have a lot of mana building up."
Aqua's chest twinged with pain. "Ouch."
Shuffling. "Oh! How are you feeling, Aqua? Are you okay?"
"Ye-yeah... Hurts a little..." Aqua felt the feathers around her move and likely give the others a better view, while still surrounding her.
Cotton reiterated, "You sure you're okay?"
"Yeah... My heart just hurts a little... It's not much... Doesn't stop it from being annoying, though." Aqua hazarded a laugh.
"I'm really sorry, Aqua. I didn't think the spell would hurt you. My... my mana pool is small, so... Anyway. I'm really sorry." Raven, this time.
"It's fine, we gotta take risks to learn." The pain was lessening.
"I'm your mentor, it's my fault. I'll be more careful In the future. For now, though, you need to rest. Your chest is likely going to hurt for a while..." Shuffling. "Probably should stop this spell and practice other ones more first."
"It's magic, Raven. A little pain isn't gonna stop me."
"Hm... Fine. We can try another method next time we meet. Until then, rest."
"Won't hear me complaining... much..."
Shuffling and silence.
"I have to say I'm a little confused, though. Do you have much trouble casting the other spells repeatedly?"
"I mean, for the warmth spell, I haven't really cast it much, considering I just got it down... The other one, the light spell is easy, but it does drain me quickly..."
Shuffling. "Hm..."
"It's a little weird, though. My Telekinesis doesn't even feel draining anymore." Am I just efficient with it?
Shuffling. "That's... interesting... and very confusing. Definitely unique, though." Then Raven whispered to herself. "I should write to the counsellor and ask them what to do..." Aqua heard the scratching of a pencil.
"I can't wait till tomorrow... Not being able to do any magic stuff is really boring."
"From what I've heard it described, I can easily understand. Almost like if us pegasi are told to not move..." Sunny smiled. "It only ends with us in a different spot and, likely, something knocked over."
"Heh. Lemme guess: The wind pushed it over?"
Sunny giggled. "Learning quickly..." Note to self: don't tell her about broken horns.
After a few seconds, Aqua questioned, "You know what happened yesterday, yeah?"
"Only brief notes. You're suffering from magical overexertion, your chest hurts, and you need to stay in bed, missy."
"Yeah, yeah... But, you got it. Raven, my tutor, was showing me a spell at my request. The spell was supposed to let you 'see' your own, or another's flow of magic. I saw it used by a doctor I met about a week back, so I asked about it. She showed it to me and then later tried it on me, but I think something went wrong."
Sunny hummed to herself in thought. Is she lacking in magic? That spell shouldn't cause this much harm, even if one party lacked mana.
"My leading guess is that I just have very little mana capacity... Though that doesn't really explain why the doctor's cast didn't have the same effect..."
"Not unless Raven Inkwell had drastically more mana than the said doctor." Sunny stopped her eyes from rising. Shouln't have said that...
"It's entirely possible... Actually, that makes a lot of sense. She is in the school that literally has 'Gifted Unicorns' in the name..." Aqua continued barely loud enough for Sunny to hear, "Though I'm also in that school, so I don't know what that says."
Sunny released a sigh. She didn't notice. "As you go higher in that school, students' skill and mana capacity multiply. It's easily possible that she has more mana than a doctor. A majority of alumni are researchers in the magical field, after all." Thank Fate for Shimmering...
"You got an opinion 'bout the school? That sigh meant something, I'm sure."
Sunny giggled. "I'm sorry. I forget who I'm talking to. No, the school is fine... It's actually one of the reasons I'm in Canterlot."
Aqua smiled as she interjected, "Oh?"
Grinning, sunny continued, "I did teach you a little of magic..."
"Oh! Wait, I suppose I should've asked this like a month ago but, are you a teacher there?"
"You could say that."
Aqua adopted an accent Sunny had never heard before. "Well, Iii'm sorry for not realising your greatness, dear princess."
Sunny struck a pose and also spoke with a fake accent. "Finally, somepony who learns..." I may not be affected normally, but this filly cannot be good for my heart.
One second of silence before they both broke out in giggles. As they winded down, Sunny laid down around Aqua and laid a wing on her."You know Sunny, I used to do that all the time with my old friends... From before. Used to do voices all the time. I'm... I'm actually surprised it hasn't come up yet. I used to generally do it with everyone but, that's probably changed to just close friends I guess..."
Sunny looked down at the blue filly under her wing. Aqua was smiling a bittersweet smile. She almost always... Sunny ruffled Aqua's hair with her wing and whispered into her ear. "Aqua. You're destined for greatness. I can tell."
"Heh. Thanks. I don't know if that's true, myself, but thanks nonetheless... It's just fun to be sad sometimes." Aqua quieted, "Well, fun probably isn't the correct word to use..."
"I understand... In our lives, there's-"
A loud wooden thunk made them both jump. Looking over, the door was open and standing there was Cotton.
"I got the food!"
Aqua began, "Cotton, you don't gotta slam the door. I can hear you walking from down the hall."
"Watch your tone, missy. Are you calling me fat?"
"Not yet, but if you keep making a major deal out of food, you might become a little on the heavier side."
Cotton had walked over and laid down their lunch on the bedside table before poking Aqua in the side.
"Hey!"
"Are you sure I'm the one that's a little heavy?"
"It's normal for children to be a little fat! It's so they have extra energy to run around and grow."
"I don't see you running around a lot."
"Well, I-..." Aqua harrumphed as Cotton and Sunny giggled.
Sunny had been watching with a smile but interjected when she saw her chance, "Well if you two are done calling each other fat, would you like to begin eating?"
Both Aqua and Cotton faced each other. "Truce 'till the traitor is dealt with?"
Aqua rolled a ball from one hoof to the other on the wooden floor of the common room."Well, I'm bored. I know we've definitely talked about it at some point before, but can you tell me more about the cutie marks?"
Why does she sound uncertain? Cotton put down her book. "Well, uh, they're basically to symbolize what a pony both is good at and loves in life. Like if you discovered you really liked cooking, you might get a cutie mark of a pan with food on it."
"That's-... I-... Wouldn't that feel... Eh... Nevermind. Does a mark show exactly what you like, or is it more of a general give-or-take of what you're good at?"
More uncertainty... Has nopony ever even talked to her about it? ... The way she's acting, somepony might have told her off. Cotton frowned at the filly. Despite losing her eyes, it's probably better here than wherever she was...
"Cotton? You good?"
"Oh! Sorry. Lost in thought." The pegasus rubbed the back of her neck. "Sorry, what was your question again?"
Aqua snorted. "Does one of the marks show exactly what you're good at, or a more general symbol of it?"
"Mn. The second. It's just vague enough to keep you on track through life, but it doesn't feel like it defines you... It's... hard to describe. When you follow your mark, it just feels right. Satisfying, I suppose. Soon, when you get your own, you'll fully understand."
"I hope..."
Cotton leaned in to hug the downtrodden filly. "It's not a hope, it's a will. Since the beginning of The Princess' rule, ponies have been getting their cutie mark consistently earlier. You still have another few years." Patting Aqua's head with a wing, she continued, "There's no need to worry; you've got a lot of time."
"Ponies started getting their mark earlier?" Quietly, the filly continued to herself, "Prolly because of the peace?"
"Mhm. The Princess really has made the Equestria a better place in every way."
"Actually, speaking of her, what's her mark? She's prolly got a unique one what with her basically being the sun avatar here and all..."
Sun avatar? It does fit... "The Princess's is just the sun itself. I don't think I've seen any other cutie marks close to hers."
"Hm. Makes sense. What about you, Solid? You seen any like hers?"
Solid twitched out of his statue-eske impression. "Huh? Oh. Aside from The Princess, only one comes to mind. A high-ranking solar knight."
"Ooh. I love that name. Are solar knights different from the guard?"
"Yes, ma'am. They're knighted by The Princess herself. They mainly act as her close guards and are leaders to the actual guard.
"Well, the leadership roles make sense but, from what I've heard of her, does she even need bodyguards?"
"To be honest, ma'am, no. The Princess's magical ability far surpasses any unicorn I've met. I've seen her lift her throne with ease where it usually would take at least five unicorns to do so."
Aqua's eyebrows shot up. "Wow. Okay, she does sound pretty powerful..." Aqua's mouth split into a grin. "Though I may beat her in telekinesis alone come time. I'm getting pretty good at it. I would show you, but I'm not allowed to use magic till tomorrow..."
Solid chuckled. "You'll be fine, ma'am. I've seen cases much worse than yours."
"Thanks, Solid. Oh, yeah. What about that solar knight's mark?"
"Her mark is of a sun with a beam of light coming out. I'm aware you learned the warming spell. Her speciality is making things extremely hot. She's stronger during the day."
"Huh... Well, that's not dangerous at all... It doesn't take a genius to figure out how she'd be good for a fighting position..."
Cotton spoke up, "There's a governmental agency for that kind of thing... Right, Solid?"
"Correct, ma'am. They're called the E.C.M.A. Equestrian Cutie Mark Agency. They register dangerous, beneficial, and unique cutie marks. Mainly for protection toward the pony registered."
The filly interjected. "Ah. The whole situation where like if someone has a mark of like a skull or whatever, and others are freaked out by it?"
Solid nodded only to get no response. Cotton could see him mentally berate himself as she stifled a giggle.
"Sorry, ma'am. You're correct."
"Huh? What happened? What, did he nod or something?" Aqua giggled lightly.
"I did. Sorry, ma'am. But you are correct in your assumption of cutie marks."
"I gotcha... Makes sense..." Aqua looked straight ahead for a few seconds. "What's your guys' and Sunny's?"
Solid hummed questioningly.
"Y'know, the butt mark. What's yours? I can't exactly see it myself, so I'll just ask." Aqua said, pointing at her eyes. "Also, I probably should've asked this first, is it rude to ask about that?"
"No, ma'am. Most are okay with it. Who wouldn't want to talk about their greatest interest in life?"
"Ah, so don't ask the ones who haven't got it, right?"
Cotton spoke up and put her book down, "It's a good idea to not ask any growing filly or colt about it..."
"Well, that's absolutely not going to cause problems in the future... I can't exactly see if they have one to ask about." A sigh. "Yay, me... Anyway, your marks?"
Cotton responded first. "My cutie mark is of a feather duster. I'm very good at cleaning things up. I work here because I like seeing the cleanliness actually help the foals. And ease the stress for the others." Cotton looked to Solid, beckoning him to speak her a hoof.
Solid nodded. "My cutie mark is of a tower shield protecting a pony. It's not terribly interesting, but I'm happy."
"Sick. Well, I see why both of you help me so much... Ah! That's why you disappear so much, Cotton?"
Cotton hummed agreement. "Yup. Oh, I remembered you asked; Sunny's mark is of a hearth, with warmth radiating out."
"Also fits... I don't know why, but she's like a living campfire..." Aqua trailed off and stared into space.
Cotton leaned over to Solid and whispered, "What do you think she's thinking about?"
"I'm not su-" Solid started before being cut off by a high-pitched voice.
"I heard that!"
Solid whispered, quieter. "I can never tell what she's thinking." Cotton nodded.
"I swear, everyone here is just bad at whispering. Every time, I can hear it all."
Cotton and Solid looked at each before Cotton nodded as she deadpanned at the filly, "Aqua, you're probably the only pony in Equestrian that could hear that."
Said filly crossed her hooves before looking away dramatically and then looking back. "Nuh-uh. You're all just bad at whispering." A snort.
A pegasus stalked through the hallways. Like a ghost, she barely hovered off the ground. Her wings silently flapped to keep her even quieter. As she rounded a corner, she spotted her current target. Cotton continued towards the door in view. The door was practically glowing to her. Getting close, she touched down before coming in contact with the door. Silently, she pushed in the doorknob. Just enough for a crack between the wood. Peering through the barely-open door, she had her true interest in sight. A blue and white filly, sleeping soundly. Not for much longer... Silently opening the door the rest of the way, then almost closing it just the same, she laid her bag down. After, she crept forward. Nearing the bed, the pegasus tensed up and spread her wings, reading for a fight. Once suitably ready, she jumped into the air.
A loud poof filled the air as hooves met cloth. As Cotton hit cotton. Cotton nuzzled the sleeping filly and whispered, "Wake up Aqua... It's tomorrow!"
A delayed response of a twitch and an incomprehensible sound, "Mn..."
Cotton giggled and leaned back. "Wake up sleepy-head."
Another, "Mn," as the filly began to stretch out in all directions and tremble a little as she stretched. A small sigh followed by her leaning forward and opening her eyes, staring at nothing. She began to blink rapidly and wipe her eyes. At that failing to fix the problem, she licked her hooves and wiped again.
"It's time to get up you little filly."
Aqua continued to stare but turns to Cotton with a slight tilt instead of straight ahead. "Mn. Mornin'"
The pegasus giggled again, "Well, guess what?"
Nothing but a simple, "Mn."
"You can use magic again today!"
A single quiet laugh from the filly and a small, "Yeah," before she yawned. "You're right."
"Considering how excited you were last night, I'm surprised you aren't waking up faster..."
"Hey... Sleep is good." Another yawn. "The wake-up process takes time... Anything interesting?"
Cotton put a hoof to her chin. "Not really... Oh! That filly, I think you called her scissor filly, asked about you. I told her you were resting."
"Ah yeah, her. She's a weird filly. Really likes those scissors of hers. Cute, though."
"I suppose..."
A knock on the door took both their attentions.
Aqua was the first to respond, "Come in!"
Solid peeked through the door, "Ma'ams?"
"Come on in, Solid. We ain't doing no- heh- Girl talk."
Solid walked inside and stood off to the side of the door before saluting and giving a nod.
"So yeah Cotton. Am I clear for takeoff?"
Cotton's brow furrowed. "What?"
The filly waved it off, "Ah. Nothing. I'm good to use magic again, right?"
"Yes. I need to watch for any signs you're not okay, though. They told me what to look for."
"Fair." With that, Aqua leaned back to her pillow and put a hoof underneath it. Pulling her hoof out, Aqua held one of her training balls.
What? "Aqua..."
Aqua, now sitting back up, held the ball in front of her. "Huh? Yeah?"
"Why do you have one of those underneath your pillow..."
"Oh..." Aqua looked confused. "I... I don't know. Just in case?"
Cotton facehoofed. "You can't call others weird when you do things like that, Aqua."
Aqua looked smug. "Psh. Yeah, I can. Just as they can call me weird. It makes sense." Aqua focused back on the ball in her hooves.
Cotton gave off a long-suffering sigh and she thought she heard one from solid as well.
"Okay, gonna start now." Aqua's horn began to glow.
"Okay. I'll say if something's wrong." Seems to be normal.
The ball began to glow.
Normal.
The ball slowly began to rise and then hover in place.
Also normal, if a bit slow.
Aqua then slowly let the ball down before letting go it fell the last hoof off the bed as the glow faded from the ball and her horn. The filly mumbled to herself, "Damn... Can never get that distance right."
"Well, it seems to have worked out fine from what I saw... Want to give that light spell a try?"
"Yup, will do. Gimmie a sec to remember it. Also, tell me if you see any light." Aqua closed her grey eyes and sat still.
"You've got it."
Once more, Aqua's horn began to glow.
Normal.
Aqua's horn still continued to glow without any other light.
Normal, but slow.
Aqua's horn continued to glow as she scrunched her eyebrows.
Noticibly slower.
Light began to coalesce from the filly's horn as she grunted.
Concerningly more effort than used to be. "I see light, Aqua."
Suddenly, the glow and the light ceased as Aqua began to sigh audibly. "Well, that was significantly harder than it used to be... At least it's not a particularly useful spell."
"I suppose... It's still concerning, though."
"True. Okay, next is the warming spell. You got anything I can test it on?"
I should have something that should be fine... Cotton hummed and looked to the door for her saddlebag. Spotting it near the door, she called out. "Solid, could you hoof me my bag?"
Solid grunted and hoofeded it over.
Looking in, Cotton spotted her green sponge. She pulled it out and hoofed it over to Aqua, "This should be fine."
Aqua held it and slowly turned down to face it. "Cotton." Aqua deadpanned at her. "Why do you have a sponge in your bag?"
"Just in case," Cotton said back in a smug tone with a grin.
A snort and a smile from the filly. "Well, whatever. I'll try not to break it..." Confusion erupted on her face as she began to speak to herself. "Can you break a sponge? Or is it just considered to be ripped? Maybe shattered if it was frozen? Wait, then broken would work again..."
"Aqua..."
"Huh?"
"It doesn't matter."
Another snort. "Right. Okay, I'll start." Aqua held the sponge in her hooves as she did with the ball. Aqua's horn began to glow again.
Normal.
Eventually, the sponge joined her horn in glowing.
Normal... Not that I can really tell.
Aqua slowly furrowed her brows as sweat began to form on her forehead.
Haven't seen her cast it much, but I think it's working.
Aqua visibly began to tense up as she sweats more intensely.
Or maybe not.
Aqua gasped as the glow cut out. Panting, she sat there, glaring at nothing. "I can't do it."
Solid had been standing guard for a while now. He was a guard and what he did was guard. He was inside the orphanage, just inside the front doors. To avoid disturbing the foals while they sleep... He had been here most nights since he was assigned to Aqua. Solid was not much of a night pony. He definitely wasn't a bat pony. But he had been making it work for the duration. Thankfully, he wasn't assigned this for every night, just the unlucky ones. Most of those assigned to the orphanage weren't supposed to guard inside. With the filly's disabilities, one had been stationed inside the building since she arrived. I've yet to hear how she arrived here.
Thumps from the hallway on his right broke his thoughts. It was the second time tonight, but It had gotten louder. Solid should check on Aqua.
He trotted down the hallway to the now-silent source of the sounds.
Solid knocked quietly on Aqua's door. "Aqua, it's Solid."
A second of silence before she responded, "Come in."
As Solid opens the door and trots in, he notices the state of the room. Furniture has strayed from their original spots a little, and anything not large nor bolted down now lies haphazardly around the floor. The bed is the only thing that didn't look like it was moved. In the middle of the chaos was Aqua. She was sitting in the centre of the room, holding a block of wood. One of the stacking blocks, with letters on it. She was curled around the block and looking at it.
Without turning, she tiredly interrupted his scan of the room. "You good, Solid?"
He walked in and closed the door behind him. "I... feel like I should be asking you that, ma'am."
"Hm... Probably." Aqua began to lightly push the block with one hoof, then the other, back and forth.
Solid stood near the door for a few seconds before deciding. Not the best at this, but I'll try... He closed the distance. "How are you feeling?"
"Annoyed. Extremely fuckin' annoyed." Solid noticed she was batting the block harder now as he sat down at her side.
"From the..?"
"Yeah."
An uncomfortable silence grew between them. Solid thought about how to continue and comfort Aqua. Really not good at this...
Aqua broke it before Solid. "Why did it have to happen to me? I'm already crippled, goddammit." She then adopted a mocking tone, "Oh yeah, they're already blind, they can take it." Now muttering, "Fuck you, too. Piece of shit."
Solid's eyebrows raised.
Louder now as Aqua stood up, "I just fucking wish I could catch a fucking break. I've only been here for about a fucking month and I'm already getting shafted again." She hit the block and it stopped with a small thunk against the door. "I'm already way out of my fucking element, isn't this shit enough?" Her horn lit up and she lifted the previously unmoving bed. She strained as she attempted to throw it, but it only shifted slightly. She let it go and it hit the ground like a loud crash.
Aqua stood in place, panting. Solid lightly put a hoof on her back after she was done. Eventually, she sat back down and faced the floor in front of her
Solid sighed, breaking the silence. "I heard something like this happen to some of our unicorns in the guard a while ago..."
Aqua hummed for him to continue.
"She was one of our best shielders..." Solid looked down at the filly. She was still staring at the block between her hooves, no longer moving. "She had an accident happen involving her horn. Nearly broke it from how much magic was going through it. She ended up out of commission due to it. Her cutie mark involved making shields. She became depressed and barely did anything she didn't need to..."
Aqua began, "I don't-"
Solid interrupted, "But it was okay. She heard good news. The doctors had a breakthrough and figured something out. She would be able to recover within six months. Soon after, she began to throw herself into her magic training. Four months later, she was back to how she was before the accident. Now, she's even better... She still has the best shields out of us all."
Aqua turned to Solid for the first time tonight.
"This was a long time ago now. Before I even grew up. She's retired now... You'll be okay." Solid rested a hoof over the filly.
Aqua was silent and turned back down to the block. "It's... possible to get better?"
Solid nodded. "Yes, ma'am."
"Good... It's really fucking annoying."
As the filly leaned into his side, Solid awkwardly hugged her as she quieted.
Solid, meanwhile, was debating mentioning the small crack he heard earlier when she activated her horn.
Cotton spotted the door as she rounded the corner. The hallways of the school blend together, but with how many times they've come to get tutoring for Aqua, she's remembered the path. Mainly through muscle memory. Approaching the door, Cotton began to push the door in only to get interrupted by a blur rushing out of the room. Said blur rushed towards the filly on cotton's withers. She had to forcefully stop herself from rearing up so Aqua didn't fall off.
The blur stopped on Cotton's right side and spoke quickly. "Aqua! Are you okay? How does your horn feel? Does it hurt?"
Cotton turned around and saw Aqua leaning away from a far-too-close Inkwell. "Woah, there. Hello to you too, Raven. You drink too much coffee this morning?"
Ears flattened. "Not... not too much."
"You sure?"
Cotton shook her head with a smile. "Be careful there, Aqua. Others can hear that grin."
"But are you sure? They don't have ears like me." Aqua threw her nose up and spread her ears in a pose.
"With your tone, they could be deaf and hear it." Both Aqua and Raven started giggling.
"Good." Aqua suddenly made her voice deeper, "I am the main character, after all." Cotton joined the two in giggling.
"Sure you are, Princess."
Winding down from the laugh, Aqua turned back to Raven. "Anyway, yeah, Raven. It's okay and I'm fine. Horn is a little bit sore and I think I need to re-learn my spells, but otherwise good."
"What do you mean you need to learn the spells again?" Raven's eyebrows raised and walked back into their private room, "Oh, right. come on in."
Cotton followed Inkwell in as Aqua spoke, "Well... The best way I can say it is that after the thing, organizing the spells has become harder..."
Raven looked concerned. "Is the pain that bad?"
Aqua paused halfway through getting off Cotton's withers. "Huh? Oh, nah. I can visualize the spell in my mind just fine. And the soreness isn't that bad. It's... It's almost as if when organizing the spell in my horn, I need to..." Aqua Scoffed. "It's hard to explain but it's as if I need a smaller brush when painting. If that translates to magic at all. You get me?"
Raven nodded before humming to herself. "That's weird. Very weird. Do you mind if I look at it?"
"Uh. Yeah sure."
Raven got up and rounded the table towards Aqua. "Sorry, this is going to be a bit awkward."
"Wait what?" Aqua started before Raven grabbed her head with her hooves to hold it close.
After a few seconds of silence, Raven let go and spoke. "From what I can tell, it looks fine." Raven walked back to her seat. "It would be a good idea to avoid casting anything extensively and tiring yourself out until your- Wait, you two already got a Doctor's appointment set up, right?"
"Yeah, Cotton did... Which reminds me," Aqua turned to the pegasus in the chair next to her, "Thanks, Cotton."
Cotton smiled. "No problem!"
"So, yeah. I wouldn't say my horn changed because that's absurd, but it certainly feels like it got up and got someone else to fill in for it." Both the adults let out a chuckle. "It's really annoying, honestly. I could probably, eventually learn how to cast them again considering I've done it before... Oh! I did want to ask a question, Raven. With that in mind, is it possible to create new spells by essentially thinking them up? Like, obviously, taking a while to calculate it all and all that, but is it possible?"
"Oh, yes! A few of the higher ranks of researchers do that for a living. It's very dangerous, so it's not encouraged, but It is possible. I want to do that in the future, myself." Raven began to almost whisper to herself, "Though my casting ability isn't that good."
"Well, if it's any consolation, you're better at it than me."
Aqua's smile was contagious as it spread to Raven.
Doctor Windhorn rubbed his chin with his hoof. "An external outburst causing this... Who was the one who caused it?
"A Unicorn named Raven Inkwell." Quickly adding, "It wasn't intentional and she didn't mean any harm! I actually asked her to try something out and teach me..." Aqua hung her head before Cotton rubbed her back with the wing.
The doctor mumbled to himself, "Raven inkwell... Hm. Don't know her..."
Aqua continued, "Last time or so when I came here, you did that magic scanning trick on my eyes. I wanted to see if I could learn it considering..." Aqua pointed a hoof at her eyes and raised her eyebrows. "Yeah... It didn't work out, as you can see."
The doctor hummed to himself and started sketching on his clipboard.
Cutting through the awkward silence, Aqua spoke, "So... What do you think we should do?"
Doctor Windhorn looked up briefly, "One moment." He then went back to scribbling on his clipboard for another awkward moment.
Aqua turned up towards Cotton and shrugged her withers.
"Ms Aqua, I would like to test your mana capacity."
"Oh, uh... Alright."
"Great. Are you familiar with the devices used to measure your capacity?"
The filly rubbed the back of her neck. "Uh. Barely? I mean I did it once with that Sky lady..." Turning to Cotton, she continued, "You know everyone I've met here has really memorizable names, I gotta say..."
"I'm sorry. Did you say Sky? As in Shimmering Sky? The Principal of Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns?"
"Uh, yeah? I applied to join the school and she did the examination."
The doctor rubbed his chin. "Hm. Principal Shimmering Sky doesn't examine students individually. I studied there myself and never once met her." Windhorn smiled and put down his clipboard. "She was sort of a living legend. About three ponies in the entire school had met her during my time there. Count yourself lucky, young Aqua..." The doctor's eyes started to fog as he looked off to the side.
"Huh. Weird, but cool..."
Windhorn then shook his head, pulled out a large device, and continued the conversation, "Indeed. As for this machine, I'll give you the instructions again:
Windhorn slowly nodded as he put away the measurer, "I have an idea as to what's happening, but I will need to look into it. Do you think you would be able to come again in a week?"
Cotton looked down at Aqua and stared. Oh, right... Cotton opened her mouth to respond.
Only to be cut off by Aqua, "Uh, I mean I think I'm able to? I'll admit, I don't exactly plan ahead farther than a few days." Aqua faced Cotton. "What about you Cotton; You good?"
"I think I should, yes. I'll be free next Grass Day so this works."
Windhorn continued, "Alright. Same time?" He looked from Cotton to Aqua and back.
Aqua nodded. "Yeah, I'm good with that."
Cotton also nodded. "Mhmm."
With a single clap of his hooves and a sudden smile, Windhorn stood up, nodded, and began to trot out of the hospital room.
Aqua opened her mouth and cocked an eyebrow, "It might just be me, but that was a bit abrupt, wasn't that?"
Sunny's ears perked up. She had been surveying the orphanage for any foals in need of help. Helping a pegasus foal by the name of Rainbow Crayon draw a large mountain. Helping an Earth Pony filly by the name of Rough Thud find her lost toy block. Helping a unicorn filly by the name of Sharp Taste solve a puzzle. She had been looking for another foal in need.
Turning towards the sound, Sunny spotted a cyan and white unicorn filly lighting tapping a ball from one forehoof to the other and back. Annoyance was clearly written on the filly's face as she slowly bobbed her head back and forth. Aqua... What is the matter..? With a new target in mind, Sunny trotted over to the filly.
The filly's ears perked up and turned towards Sunny. As she continued to approach, the bobbing of the filly's head also came to a slow stop.
As Sunny got close, Aqua titled her own head and called out in her direction. "Uh... Solid? That you?"
Sunny giggled.
"Ah." Aqua put on a scowl, "You." Before flipping to a small smile and giggling, "Just kidding. Hey, Sunny! How're ya doing?"
"I am doing excellent. How are you feeling?" Sunny pointed to the filly's side, "And if you don't mind, may I sit here?"
"Oh yeah, no problem. It's fun talking to ya. And good to hear... I'm... not so good, I guess."
Taking a seat on the right of Aqua, Sunny questioned, "Oh? How come? What is eating at you so?"
Rubbing a hoof against the other, Aqua looked down, "I'm just really fuckin' tired of all this magic stuff... I don't hate the magic, but just how tedious this is becoming."
"What exactly is happening, young one?"
"The doctor isn't sure yet. Something something magical overload I think." Aqua tilted her head and squinted. "I think the phrase he used was external outburst?"
An external outburst? Very rare... Covering her mouth, Sunny responded, "Oh my. If you don't mind me prodding, what caused the incident?"
"Oh, Raven, I'm pretty certain I've mentioned her to you before. She's my tutor. So, Raven was trying to teach me a spell that essentially allowed you to sense the presence of magic in a very small area or something. I asked her to teach it to me after I heard about it from the last doctor's appointment." Aqua pointed at her eyes with a forehoof, "Y'know, any way to see and all that. Anyway, It didn't exactly go right and I think I blacked out for... a minute or two?" Aqua threw up both forelegs. "Essentially, It was just a precaution to not cast any magic, to make sure everything was okay for a day or two. Did my time and waited, bored as fuck. Time was up and I cast again, though it felt like I had to re-learn how to use my own horn. It was really, really weird. Then we went to the doctor's on..." Aqua hesitated for a second, "Grass day and he told me to essentially avoid casting as much as possible till we meet again next Grass Day. It's just annoying, having to wait."
I would like to look at your horn, but I shall wait. "I understand your frustrations, Litte one. I too have something I have been waiting on for a long time."
"Not to cut you off, but your long time is probably a lot longer than my long time."
"More and more you show your maturity... It makes me curious as to what you've endured."
Aqua looks away and waves a hoof dismissively. "Eh not that much, honestly. The usual plus the obvious... Well, I guess also the chance to learn magic fairly late, I'd imagine. I guess I just got unlucky."
"Still. You deem it as long, and so it is."
"Yeah... I just gotta wait through it..." Aqua let the conversation die as the two of them sat together.
Deciding to voice a question, Sunny started, "If I may ask, why did you think it was Solid Phalanx approaching you?"
Aqua put a hoof to her chin as her eyebrows furrowed. "Hm... I think it's your steps. Like with your shape, I think. I haven't exactly seen you. Only felt..." Aqua sat up straight. "Wow, that feels weird to say. You have a more slender build from what I've gathered you got the whole sleek and graceful thing down like I'd imagine most that have your body type would. But like... Sorry, it's really hard to explain. But like you've got a weight behind your steps?" Scoffing before continuing, "It feels like you hide a strength or something, I-I don't know..."
Sunny raised her eyebrows. Astute. "I'm surprised you could guess so well. In my heyday, I was quite strong compared to those around me. I even had a few suitors who were particularly fond of that fact..." Sunny looked up and to the side. Ah... Stalwart Gem, you were a unique knight.
Aqua grinned. "Ah, a pretty one, eh? Or are you ugly and just really strong? Not that I can really tell anymore..." The sides of her grin twitched downwards. "But hey, maybe now I'm forced to focus on the real thing:" Aqua winked and giggled, "Personality."
Raising a hoof to cover her smile, Sunny tried to hide her laughter, even as her chest and wings shuddered lightly.
"Ey. I can hear your laughter. I know it was a bad joke. Eh, at least it was funny."
"Indeed it was, little Aqua."
"Hey, maybe I could get a career as a comedian. With all of my," Suddenly deeper voice, "one," normal again, "jokes I should be just fine."
Sunny snorted and shook her head. "Perhaps. Perhaps it is best if the world is not doomed to laughing for eternity."
"Bah, you're right. The world couldn't handle all this..." Aqua gestured at her chest with both forelegs before scrunching her nose and leaning backwards. "Wow, that's... I never thought I would actually repeat that."
"I understand that feeling, little one. Many things come and go, but never does it change."
"Yup. That's just how it is."
Always surprises me. A silence developed before Sunny broke it. "I feel a need to point it out: your mane and tail are getting quite long..."
"Oh yeah. I actually completely forgot about that. Eh, I think I might want to just grow it out, anyways." Aqua grabbed her tail and wrapped it around her right side, nearly reaching around to her front as she hugged it.
Sunny grinned. So cute.
"It's so fluffy like this. I love it. Here, feel." Aqua held out her tail in her hooves.
Sunny reached out and lightly brushed it with her left forehoof. "You're right. It is quite fluffy! Just do not forget to take care of it. I've seen mares with their tail longer than they are." Sunny tilted her head to the left. "Sometimes they take care of it..." Then to the right. "..."
"And sometimes they don't." Aqua finished with a grin.
Giggling. "Correct."
"Don't worry, Sunny. I'll forget, so it's all good."
"Oh, you'll forget will you now?" Looking to the side, Sunny spotted a brush on a shelf a few paces away. Standing up for a brief moment to grab it, she brought it over. Looking back at Aqua, now armed with a brush, Sunny continues with a large grin, "I believe this is something I can fix with some focused effort."
"Oh, uh..." One of Aqua's ears perked up as she faced away from Sunny. "I think I can hear one of the other kids needs help..."
"There are other volunteers. They shall deal with it."
Aqua visibly slumped as her ears flattened. "Aw, damn. I thought that would work..."
With the brush raised, Sunny grabbed Aqua's tail. "You shan't get away from your fate, little Aqua."
Solid tensed his legs as he looked around the foyer. He spotted his charge sitting amongst the group of foals. Noting a small smile on Aqua's face, his mouth twitched upwards. In front of Aqua was a group of foals sitting in a circle. From the distance, it was hard to hear, but it looked like a foal's game of duck duck goose. Aqua didn't seem to be playing, merely sitting off to the side. The foals clearly tolerated her though, and she was laughing along with them, if a bit subdued.
Occasionally, one of the foals would go over to Aqua and sit next to her. A violet pegasus filly. He'd seen her a few times taking a peak at Aqua. Should keep an eye out. He would see them chatting while the others played. While it was normal behaviour for her, Aqua's emotions were calm next to the other filly's exuberance. The distance made it too hard to hear, but Solid could still tell that they were having fun. With it all, it's good she's able to smile. Very good.
Solid briefly eyed the filly's horn. Doesn't look like anything happened. Should mention it to Cotton though... Solid scanned the room lazily before his eyes landed on Aqua once more. Need to bring her for a manecut. She has the longest hair I've ever seen a foal have. Another thing for Cotton to do. Solid chuckled. Thankfully I don't have to do that... I hope. Watching a manecut is more boring than getting one.
He stood there in silence, as any good guard must.
Eventually, though, his thoughts drifted further as a dreamy smile arose. Those massive wings of hers... Solid looked around the foyer once more, only to be disappointed. She's usually here today... Wonder if she's okay. Solid shrugged his withers and snorted. She'd likely be fine dealing with even criminals. Looking out at the colts and fillies once more. She knows how to deal with foals... He then blushed and started to shift nervously. Gotta ask her sooner or later... Could do it on Pollen day if she's here.
He hummed to himself and absentmindedly looked back at Aqua. Should also send my parents a letter. I'd love to meet up with them again. Been nearly two... three years? By The Princess, I miss them. "Yeah, I think I'll see if I could meet up with them again." Solid whispered to himself.
To the right of him, he heard a syrupy mare's voice. "Meet up with who?"
Solid jumped away from the voice, tensed, and turned, only to see Sunny Disposition where he was. He put a hoof to his chest to calm his heart. "Hello, Ms. Sunny. You really scared me."
She giggled, "I believe they call it a prank?" she 'helpfully' added.
Still trying to calm himself down, he came back to his spot with a tinge on his cheek. "While I'm glad to see you, don't do that again. How did you even sneak up on me?"
She lightly brushed a wing against his side as she walked past him. Looking back at him, she teased, "A secret~. Perhaps you shall learn someday."
Solid sighed and smiled as he watched her walk off towards Aqua. I can't wait. He resolved himself. Tree day. I'll ask her out on Tree day.
"How about you?" Cotton waited for a few seconds without response before looking to her right. Solid was looking across the orphanage's attached park at a distant yellow pegasus. "You really like her, hm?"
Solid shook his head. "Yeah... She's nice." His head dipped down, "And not-to-mention, strong."
"Good luck, Solid." Aqua stood up. "She's a hard one to catch."
He sighed, "I figured."
Silence stretched on as Aqua approached. When the filly got close, Cotton spoke out to her. "Hi Aqua. How'd you know where we were?"
Aqua nodded her head upwards. "Hey, guys. Oh, I could just hear you two talking. Recognized the voices and all that, y'know?"
Cotton deadpanned. "Aqua, we were a few hundred hooves from you."
An eyebrow raise from the filly. "Well, yeah. I couldn't hear what y'all were saying, only recognize the sound."
"That's weird." Looking to her side at Solid, she continued, "That's weird, right?"
Solid hummed and looked up in thought. "Only a little, really."
Cotton tilted her head. "Huh?"
"Some of the higher-ups are pretty good at recognizing voices..."
Aqua interjected, "Oh yeah, that'd make sense."
Now looking at the filly, "Huh?"
"You're sounding a bit like a broken record there, Cotton." She nodded. "But yeah, if there's a lot of chaos going on during... let's say some scuffle, you gotta be able to pick out the important voices in a crowd. I've gotten a lot better at it since..." Aqua looked down. "Yeah..." Cotton closed the distance and hugged the filly. There was a quiet yelp before Aqua buried her face in Cotton's mane. A muffled, "Thanks."
A crack of thunder went off in the clouds above. Cotton's feathers rustled. It's going to rain. "We should probably head inside." Cotton pulled the filly up so she could climb onto her withers.
"Can we stay by the-" She shook her head. "On the front porch?" Aqua scaled the tower that is Cotton and nestled between her wings.
That feels really nice... "Alright, but why?"
"I wanna listen to the rain..." Solid beckoned Cotton to follow him back. "Does it look like it's going to be heavy?"
Cotton began to trot to the entrance of the orphanage. "Yeah. I can feel it."
"You can?"
"Yeah. In my wings." She ruffled her wings, brushing them against Aqua's sides.
"That just a you thing or a pegasus thing?"
"A pegasus thing."
"Huh. Neat."
At the end of their walk, Cotton sat down just outside the front door, looking out at the rain. Solid stood behind them, but after some time, he sat down next to the two.
None of them cared to say a word as they listened to the rain.
Solid fidgeted with his hooves as he stood. "She does. Or at least, she usually does."
Aqua snorted, "How do you know that?"
"I'm a guard. Most of my time is spent watching ponies."
"Little creepy, but that makes sense, I suppose. Well, you definitely can't deny you have a crush on her now."
Solid turned to glare at the filly.
"See? Cotton, tell me you can see this. He's definitely in love."
The pegasus covered her mouth as Solid began to glare at her. "No comment."
"Y'all got no sense of humour sometimes, I swear."
"Ma'am, when your humour consists of poking fun at somepony else, it isn't really funny."
Aqua lightly scoffed, "Eh. I guess that's true." She then covered her mouth with a hoof and stage-whispered, "If you're a coward."
Cotton scuffed the back of Aqua's head as she saw a blotch of yellow out of the corner of her eye.
Rubbing the back of her head, "Ow. Point taken. Message received."
Cotton nodded and looked back out. Spotting the yellow, she could tell it was Sunny despite the far distance. Mainly due to her size. Cotton glanced at Solid. Should probably wait a minute to mention it so it doesn't get awkward... Can he see that far? He is an earth pony...
Cotton began to pay attention again as Aqua was talking. "... intending on just one date to get a feel of her? Or more?"
The pegasus glanced at the filly. Does she know..?
She could see Solid's blush despite his red fur as he was trying to tactfully avoid pointing out what the filly had just said.
Right as he opened his mouth, Cotton decided to bail him out. "I-"
She interjected with a hoof pointed towards the distance golden pegasus, "Solid. Sunny's here."
His previous comment forgotten, he nodded and mumbled out a "Thanks. Wish me luck."
Aqua waved as he trotted off. "Don't die!"
Cotton glared at the filly.
With her glare unbeknownst to the filly, Aqua commented, "He seems so anxious."
The pegasus leaned towards Aqua. "With all your teasing, I can see why. Still, at least he didn't hesitate."
"True that. It's probably because he's in the guard."
Looking down at the filly, "What do you mean?"
"You know. Military types. Do or do not type of stuff. You get the thing done. The training gives you confidence and all that... Well, less like confidence, and more like discipline to do it."
Quirking an eyebrow, Cotton smirked. "And how do you know anything about military types?"
Aqua looked down and blushed. "Oh, you know..."
A giggle. "No, really."
"Alright, fine. I was always interested in it and stuff. Don't get me wrong; I know I'd be bad at it. Likely horrible, actually." She pointed a hoof at her face. "Even before the happening..." Aqua sighed and shook her head. Looking up, she continued, "Well, I could be an officer at least. Don't think I'd be a very good guard with these."
Aqua had a lopsided smirk and her grey eyes were sparkling. Cotton moved and sat down beside Aqua as she covered the filly with her left wing. With softening eyes, Cotton responded, "It's gonna be alright."
The filly let out a heavy sigh and faced ahead. "Yeah... Yeah, it is. It always is... Not that that's a bad thing, but hell if it isn't annoying sometimes." Aqua put on a posh accent, "To endure and all that."
Cotton decided not to voice her question about Aqua's wording as she looked ahead. "True. Thankfully, you have friends." Even if we're older... Looking out, Cotton saw Solid. He looked dejected. Guess she said no. Sorry, Solid. She saw him continue talking.
Aqua shuffled underneath the wing-blanket. "Yeah. My whole situation is weird. Not that I really have a frame of reference, but you get my point."
Cotton hummed an agreeance. Suddenly, she giggled and turned towards Aqua. Looking down, she saw Aqua nuzzling the underside of her wing.
Aqua paused to turn towards Cotton. With a few feathers covering most of her face, she spoke up. "I could hear ya turn. You good?"
The pegasus put a hoof to her mouth as she giggled again. So cute! "Yup." Cotton rubbed the wing against the filly.
Aqua nodded, "Good."
Looking out, Cotton saw Solid with a small smile on her face. So did Sunny, now that she looked. Wait, what? "Solid is heading back. He and Sunny are both smiling, though I'm confused as to why he was looking sad earlier."
The filly snorted. "Maybe she doesn't want a relationship, but she's down for hookups..."
With that and her earlier comments... Leaning in and looking Aqua directly in the eyes, she whispered back, "Aqua. We're going to talk about that later."
Aqua immediately looked more anxious than Solid did earlier. "Oh. Okay."
Right. I can't just say that to a filly. Especially not one that might be abused. "I'm not mad, I just want to ask about something."
"Oh."
At least she looks less nervous now... She could hear Solid approaching. turning to him, she spoke up. "How did it go?"
Moving to stand beside the filly, he responded, "Not as well as I'd hoped, but not as bad as it could have been."
Cotton raised her eyebrows as she looked at him. "So..? What happened? Did she say yes, no, or something worse?"
With a smile, he elaborated. "She said she doesn't have time as her schedule is always backed up. She said she would likely be able to make a spot in roughly a month."
Cotton looked up. Not as bad as it could be... Well, he didn't lie. "Backed up a month? Where does she work; at the castle?"
He nodded. "Yes, actually. She said she mainly does paperwork and rarely gets time to leave. Apparently, she goes here to unwind. It is beyond me how somepony can unwind while corralling foals."
Cotton smirks. "It's not for everypony. Though, I don't think I've seen a pony who handles foals like her, though."
"She definitely is unique..." Solid was looking into the distance.
Following his eyes, she spotted said pegasus. Shaking her head, she looked up at the clouds. Even the winter chill doesn't stop the weather ponies from doing their job.
Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Solid trying to get her attention. Looking down, he pointed with his eyes at Aqua and mouthed a question: "Is Aqua okay?"
Cotton nodded and mouthed back, "She should be."
Solid nodded once and retook the pose he does when guarding the filly.
Looking down, she saw the filly fidgeting her forehooves against each other. Using her wing, Cotton hugged the filly closer.
Ever since earlier that day, Aqua has been trying to avoid attention. Cotton could see her being to open her mouth to say something. Even hours later, the filly did not do much. It was obvious that the filly was stopping herself from playing with anything, especially not something that could make a loud sound.
As the pegasus carried Aqua through hallways to her room, she thought back to earlier. She's obviously miserable. At least we can talk in a moment.
Cotton opened Aqua's door and closed it behind her.
Apparently, Aqua winced as she took notice. "Uh. Why did you close the door? I've been able to get up myself for nearly a month now."
Waiting till after she laid Aqua on the bed, Cotton responded. "Aqua, I want to ask about what you said earlier today."
The filly, already not looking at Cotton, faced her forehooves. "Y-yeah?"
Cotton sighed. "How do you know what a hookup is?"
"I uh... I used to watch people a lot. When watching, y-you also tend to hear a lot..." She responded quickly.
Cotton leaned in. "Are you sure?"
Aqua was fiddling her hooves together. "Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?" The next part, mumbled, "What happened to letting them come to you?"
Cotton sighed even deeper. Might as well peel off the bandage. "Aqua, do you know of the term abuse?"
Aqua scrunched her nose. "I- uh. Yeah... What does that have to do with anything..?"
"Aqua, were you abused?"
The filly shook her head quickly. "No! No... I'm fine. Well, not truly fine, given everything, but you get my point..."
Cotton heard sniffling coming from the filly. Just as she had done earlier, she laid a wing over Aqua's withers.
"I- I don't want to make it about me. You shouldn't worry... I-... Nevermind."
Cotton leaned in as she hugged Aqua tighter. "Is it was happened to you?"
The filly curled tighter. "Well, yes, but... no."
"Your eyes?"
The filly jerked. "It isn't related to my past," Aqua said loudly. "I just..." She groaned audibly. "Why is it so hard?"
Cotton took a second to respond, "I don't know, but I'll be there with you."
The filly quietly responded, "Thanks, Cotton." The two of them leaned into each other for a few as Aqua's sniffling came and went a few times. After a while, she slowly spoke up again, "I'm kinda tired. Can I go to sleep?"
Cotton nodded slowly. "Okay... Goodnight, Aqua. I hope you feel better." The pegasus squeezed the filly once more before getting up off the bed. Once she reached the door, she heard a quiet voice speak up behind her.
"Cotton?"
Looking back, the filly was facing her with sad, sparkling eyes, face stained purple. "Yeah?"
"I-... I just woke up with my eyes gone..."
"I-..." What do I say to that? Cotton stood there, frozen. After a few seconds, the filly began to curl into a ball, hugging her tail close. Cotton decided not to use her words, and instead headed back to the bed. Climbing atop, she pulled her close, both wings surrounding the filly.
The filly mumbled into Cotton's chest, "... the same day I woke up here..."
Once more, Cotton hugged the filly closer.
The filly cried as she mumbled into Cotton's fur for a few minutes, though she could not parse anything other than the phrase, "I miss them."
Eventually, she became quiet. Cotton could hear and feel the filly's now-quiet breathing slow down.
Cotton looked up, through the window, spotting the moon, hidden behind a few white clouds. The face upon the surface peeked over the cover.
A thought came to mind about the filly as she looked up, Same as the other night...
Aqua spoke up, rousing Solid from his thoughts. "Hey, Solid? Can you tell me if there's anyone who's good at some kind of sensing magic or like divination magic in the guard? Like anyone you might have heard about or anything."
Solid blinked slowly and turned to his left. "Sorry, ma'am. What?"
"Do you know of anyone in the guard who knows about divination magic? Think like anyone who's good at figuring out information through spells and stuff."
"Ma'am, you're not supposed to be casting anything until you see the doctor again in two days."
She smirked. "Yeah that's true," She tilted her head towards him yet off to the side. "But who said anything about casting anything? I'm just thinking about it." She leaned back and shrugged. "Stuff that might help and all that. Theory-crafting, if you will."
Solid hummed and shook his head as he began to think of ponies in the guard. No. No. Not her... I don't think he uses magic. I'm pretty certain he just stalks everypony... She... might? "None come to mind, ma'am. I can ask around when I get the chance if you want."
"Darn. Yeah, that'd be nice. Thanks, Solid." Aqua giggled and faced the stallion. "Hey, Solid?"
"Yeah?"
Aqua wore a large grin."You're doing me a Solid."
Solid face-hoofed. "If you're curious enough, you could mail a letter to The Princess. She opens letters of those who couldn't make it to court before every session. She always replies too." Solid smiled. "From what little I've seen, especially so for foals and fillies."
Aqua's eyes perked up as she leaned towards him. "Oh, really? That's..." The filly put a hoof on her chin and looked upwards for a few seconds. "... convenient..."
Solid's eyebrows furrowed. Weird phrasing... He turned to look out from Aqua's corner over the sea of foals. Same as usual... Better than the alternative.
As Solid began to focus on his thoughts, Aqua poked him in the left foreleg. "Oh... Hey, uh... Sorry about teasing you so much yesterday."
The stallion blinked and turned to look at her.
Aqua was tapping her hooves together. "I talked with Cotton last night... Well, she talked to me, really. Anyway, I've been pretty stressed recently and was taking it out on you in a way I'm fairly used to. So yeah... Sorry, Solid..."
The way she's used to..? Solid shook his head and nodded. "It's alright, ma'am. There is nothing to apologize for. It was innocent teasing." Isn't nearly as bad as the other guards do for fun...
The filly nearly stood up. "The thing is-... Uh. Yeah, that's true I guess." Then, Aqua deflated.
What? Solid focused on the filly. Can you read my mind? A second later. Guess not. Solid wanted to prod Aqua about that response, but he didn't know where to start. So, he stood there in silence... Awkwardly...
"I'm pretty certain I sound like a broken record at this point, but wow I hate doctor's visits. Yeah, they're useful and it's also good to know what's happening, but sometimes you just don't want to be haunted by the knowledge or whatever the phrase actually is..."
Cotton stared at Aqua as she sat on one of the two desks reserved for patients. Cotton smiled. Seems happier, after the other day.
Unknowning of Cotton's thoughts, Aqua continue to ramble. "Why are they called Doctor's visits anyway..? Actually, they probably came to you once upon a time..."
She was perfectly content to let her talk. Probably helps with stress. Doesn't hurt that it's cute...
"What is it now, three times? I don't really keep track of doctor's visits. Third time's the charm and all that."
Cotton looked up and furrowed her eyebrows. Has it been three times?
Aqua's ears perked up, before she smirked. "Hey, Cotton, watch: I can be psychic. The exact words he's going to say are..." The filly coughed and lowered her voice in a terrible imitation of Doctor Windhorn as she sat up straight in her chair, "Do you want the good news or the bad news first?"
Cotton snorted in a very unmarly fashion and began to speak, "I don't think that-," before two knocks sounded from the door.
Aqua grinned and whispered to Cotton, "Watch." Speaking up, "Come in!"
Doctor Windorn walked through the door as it opened, before closing it behind him with his magic. "Hello, Miss Aqua. How are you feeling today?"
Looking down, Cotton couldn't see a hint of amusement from the filly. "Eh, you know. The usual... Oh, right. I'm good. Forgot I was talking to a doctor for a second." She giggled. "And you?"
The doctor sat down at a tiny desk on the other side of the white room. "I'm doing good as well... Well, before we begin, I want to make it known that The Princess even gave a tip for finding out what your situation was!"
Aqua leaned back with wide eyes and spoke after an awkward second of silence. "Uh... That was nice of her..?"
The pegasus tilted her head. Aqua?
The doctor nodded firmly. "Indeed it was. There is good news and bad news. Is there a preference to which one you would like to hear first?"
Cotton heard the filly whisper to herself. "Damn." She then leaned towards Cotton and whispered slightly louder, "I was close though."
Cottom smiled, shook her head, and lightly shushed Aqua before speaking, "Well, Aqua? Which one first?"
Aqua slouched. "Uh... Probably the bad news, that way I'll be feeling better afterwards."
"It's your horn. The external outburst irritated your mana pathways. The calculations in spells will be hard for you to learn and continue to practice. Simple spells will still be possible and might get easier..." Doctor Windhorn then looked down as he spoke, "I'm sorry, Aqua."
Cotton looked at the filly. I'm so sorry, Aqua...
There was a grimace on the filly's face as she spoke to herself, "Well, that's just great... Twice now, too... More chaos to the pile..."
Cotton quickly looked around the room with wide eyes. Spotting nothing immediately wrong, and barely noting that the Doctor was also doing the same, Cotton turned back to Aqua. Aqua...
Aqua turned quickly between the two of them and broke the awkward silence, "Uh, are you two okay? Did something happen?"
Cotton looked towards the Doctor with a quirked eyebrow before gesturing to Aqua with her eyes. The doctor shook his head and turned back to Aqua. "Don't worry about it, miss Aqua..."
Cotton nodded. Too young.
Doctor Windhorn continued, "There is still good news to hear."
Aqua was facing the floor before shaking her head and responding slowly. "Ah, uh, yeah. Sure."
"In comparison to your ability to cast complex spells, your casting simple magic, like telekinesis, will become slightly easier."
Aqua's head jerked backwards as an eyebrow quirked, "Wait, what? Why?"
"Due to the excess of mana that entered your mana pathways, it irritates the ones in your horn to grow. This will cause your horn to grow slightly larger than most unicorns. While it will not majorly increase your ability, it will become more precise. The condition is called the Unfettered Horn Disorder..."
Aqua looked down. "Oh... That's... neat... Yeah, that's the word I'm going to use..."
The doctor looked at her in a way Cotton couldn't identify. "Most unicorns do not use a large variety of spells. Mostly only researchers at The Princess' school do that."
Looked close to pity?
The filly slowly nodded. "Gotcha... So essentially, I'll be fine as long as I'm not trying to graduate from Celestia's school."
Cotton leaned a hoof on the filly's withers and said forcefully, "Aqua."
Said filly deflated and hung her head slightly. "Yeah, yeah... Sorry."
Looking back up, Cotton noticed that the doctor looked uncomfortable. "Your own ability to cast spells doesn't determine your grade..." He smiled and steadied himself. "In fact, one of the most respected professors has a cracked horn. It hurts her ability to cast, but she's a master of theory."
"Huh. Well, that's actually neat."
The doctor nodded. "It's definitely curious, Miss Aqua."
Aqua faced the doctor. "So, just to be clear, I'm good to cast and stuff, right? Just gotta keep an eye out and all that?"
Cotton held back a comment.
"Essentially, yes. There will likely be a small amount of discomfort and maybe pain as you are growing into adulthood. Though, It very likely won't be troubling, if it does annoy you, feel free to come in at any time to get a check-up."
The filly nodded firmly. "Sick."
The doctor raised an eyebrow before speaking. "Is there anything else you want to mention?"
"Uh..." Aqua spoke slowly, "I don't think so..?"
The doctor headed to the door. "Very well. If that's all, then I shall be going. I wish the two of you a good day and I'm sorry for being the bearer of bad news." With that, he disappeared outside the almost-closed door.
"I swear, that dude really doesn't like talking to people, huh?"
Cotton looked at the door curiously. "He has left quickly twice..."
"Eh, probably just got other patients to talk to." Turning to the filly to pick her up, she saw a smile on her face. "Well, Cotton, I'm not dead yet." Aqua nodded. "I'd say that's reason to celebrate."
Do you always have to sound so down? A little sterner than earlier, "Aqua..." Cotton shook her head and reached to pick up Aqua to put her between her wings.
"What? It's true! Plus, I wanna distract myself from all that... By chance do you- oop!"
Cotton replied sheepishly with a quiet, "Sorry."
Now secured between Cotton wings, the filly continued, "Anyway, do you have one of those training balls on ya? Kinda want to play with one now that I'm cleared to cast... Heh. That's sounds funny."
Cotton paused on her way out the door of the room. "I think I left them back in your room."
Aqua clicked her tongue. "Aw... Well, all the more reason to hurry home."
Cotton nodded with a smile as she walked through the hallways of the hospital. She took it fairly well.
Aqua hugged the back of Cotton's neck and giggled, "Well, what are you waiting for? Entertainment awaits!"
Cotton lightly shook her head. Turning around, she saw Aqua's grin. Cotton's smile grew as she turned back around. Cotton deepened her voice and attempted to imitate Solid as she sped up to a trot. "As you command, ma'am."
Hooves pushed his door open before stopping to smell the air. He closed his eyes and tried to guess what flowers were being sold at the market today. A smile developed on his face. "I think I smell daisies." Opening his eyes, he saw the sun coming out from behind a few fluffy white clouds. To Hooves, they reminded him of something that he couldn't quite put his hoof on. "Hm," He mumbled to himself. "I feel like it is on the tip of my tongue, but I cannot seem to think of it!" Shaking his head, he-
There was a gasp to her left. Cotton looked up from her book to Aqua.
Aqua's face was scrunched up as a magic training ball bounced away from her.
"Are you okay?"
Aqua shook her head and turned to Cotton. "Yeah, I just dropped the ball on my face."
"I've heard that isn't a fun experience."
Aqua had an exasperated look on her face. "Yeah, you can say that again." She shook her head, "Well, while you're here, can you go pick up the ball? I think it probably stopped rolling by now."
Looking out, the ball had indeed stopped rolling a few paces away. "I never left" Cotton got up to go pick up the ball.
"Yeah, physically. You were really engrossed in that book. I could almost hear the dialogue through your ears."
Cotton paused. "I wasn't that distracted!"
Aqua smirked. "Yeah, you were. I heard you say a few lines. Something something Hooves dude going on a walk."
Cotton smiled. "You're hearing things, Aqua."
The filly snorted, "Nah. You're saying things."
"I-..." Cotton shook her head. "Never mind." She continued towards the ball.
"See, there you go again! You're talking."
A long-suffering sigh came from Cotton as she picked up the ball with a hoof and brought it back. Once she got back, she placed the ball between the filly's hooves, lightly tapping the right one with the ball. "Here you go."
"Thanks."
Cotton laid back down, and began to pick up the book as Aqua spoke up again.
"Hey, Cotton? Is there anything else heavy that I could try to pick up as well? Like anything that wouldn't matter if it was dropped?"
The pegasus raised an eyebrow as the ball floated up and down in front of the filly. "What do you mean?"
"I don't know, something like a school textbook or whatever. Nobody cares about those. Also, I want to f- uh... mess with something heavy. I know these trainers are," Aqua sat up and waved her hooves in the air while she deepened her voice, "magically resistant and supposed to help," Back to normal, "But I don't really think that really has the same feeling as something actually heavy... Or at least, that's what I want to check."
"Uh..." Cotton began to look for anything that could be used, while still being heavy.
She shrugged and continued, "I also kinda want to tire myself out. Exhaust myself to improve and all that. If I'm going to be magically stunted in one way, I might as well try to compensate for it."
Cotton looked down briefly before shaking her head and looking around. "I don't think anything inside would work. Not if you didn't want to break it, that is."
"Ah, that's fair. Unfortunate, but makes sense."
"You could probably use a rock if you wanted to go out in the rain right now," Cotton responded.
"Yeah, uh, no... Conveniently, I'm just starting to feel tired!" A small thump as the previously floating ball hit the floor. The filly giggled, "Gonna have to take a rain check on that one."
Cotton shook her head with a smile.
"I'm not really tired, but my horn is starting to ache..." The filly put a hoof to her horn and hissed quietly. "Actually, I should probably take that as a sign to stop. What with it being what it is now."
"That's probably a good idea. It is constantly aching, or only when you're casting?"
"Very light, dull pain, but it gets a little worse when I do."
"Hm."
Suddenly, Aqua yawned.
"Oh? It's only early afternoon. You're tired already?"
Holding a hoof over her mouth to cover another yawn, she replied, "Y-yeah. I don't know why but I'm feeling real tired for some reason... I'll probably take a nap here in a minute or two."
Cotton smiled and shuffled towards Aqua till they were touching. "Well then, climb on."
Aqua tilted her head as her ears flopped to the side. "On your back?"
"Sure." She began to guide the filly with her left wing.
Standing up and slowly climbing onto Cotton's back, Aqua gingerly settled between the wings. She was facing the same direction as Cotton's body with her eyes closed.
She's so cute! Cotton fluffed her wings up so they were against Aqua's sides.
The filly spoke through another yawn, "T-thanks, Cotton."
Cotton turned back around and picked up her book. "It's my pleasure."
The filly laid her head against the back of the pegasus' neck and mumbled out a quiet, "Yeah."
Looking for where she left off on the page, she responded, "Sleep well."
"Your heartbeat is nice," Aqua mumbled.
Cotton's smile grew. Weirdest compliment I've ever gotten, but thanks.
Shaking his head, "A shame... Still, it's nice out. Now would be a perfect time for my daily walk." And so, Hooves began to trot to...
"Hey Sunny, do you know anyone who might know any divination or scrying spells? I... remember you said you know a lot about magic so you'd probably know or know someone who does?"
"While I am sad to say I cannot cast anything with these wings I am aware of a vast amount of spells and their schools."
"Oh, actually! Real quick, I wanted to ask since you're somehow experienced with magic-" Aqua tilted her head to the side and faced Sunny for the next phrase, "Which I also want to ask you about that at some point, by the way- Is suddenly being tired after using magic a good or bad thing? Like mainly exerting yourself fully, or at least what feels fully. Sore horn and all that."
The tall pegasus giggled. "While being made exhausted by using excessive mana is quite normal, it isn't normal for it to make you tired enough to fall asleep..." Sunny looked up and tapped a hoof to her chin. Perhaps her age?
"Well, I'm young and all that, so..." Aqua trailed off before shaking her head quickly. "A-anyway, about the sore horn?"
Sunny tilted her head. Hm... "Indeed... The sore horn is normal, though it is not recommended. For reasons as I am sure you learned, and the fact that exerting it excessively stresses the bone. Straining it likely will cause it to be sore for around a day. Longer, if it was really exerted."
The filly hummed audibly. "That's interesting... and weird. 'Cause my horn stopped being sore as soon as I woke up from the nap and I only slept for something like two hours? I think. Cotton doesn't really have a watch on her. Oh, I can probably also continue to play around then." Aqua then took out one of the magic-resistant balls from... somewhere and started to make it hover beside her.
Where did she..? The adult shook her head before she tapped her chin with a wing. "That is curious..." That makes sense. Sunny left Aqua to her thoughts as her ears perked and she scanned the common room. Which filly is it..? Roguh Thud... Looks to have taken a tumble... Sunny spotted a navy blue unicorn mare headed towards the crying filly. Looks like Clear Water will comfort her. The pegasus nodded to herself.
"Hey, Sunny?" Aqua was no longer holding up the ball as it shuffled between her front hooves as she looked nervous. "Did you go to the school? The uh... the princess' school."
"While Celestia owns many schools, I imagine you are talking about the one named Clestia's School for Gifted Unicorns? I believe you are going there soon, correct?"
Aqua blushed and faced away, "Uh, yeah. And, well, when you put it that way, that wasn't a very smart question, was it?"
Sunny lightly laughed and covered her mouth with a wing. "I did not go there, though I did teach a few classes there once upon a time."
Aqua blinked. "Oh."
"I do not think I would be allowed to become a student there... I learned with the use of tutor and friend."
"Oh..." Aqua blinked again. "Well, that answers my earlier question I suppose..."
Sunny looked down at her hooves.
"Hey, Sunny? Uh... I-..." The filly clicked her tongue. "This uh... This whole thing is going to sound weird, no matter how I word it. Does the uh... Does the word reverent mean anything to you?"
Sunny quirked an eyebrow. "That... That is certainly a question, Aqua."
Aqua's head and ears were leaning to the side. "I- uh... I hope it is?"
Sunny giggled. "It is..." The pegasus then sighed deeply. "The world means many things to me... It can mean respect, it can mean love, it can mean holiness in some regards, though, it can also mean isolation..."
Aqua had a light smile on her face. "Okay, so while this is going to be awkward, it isn't as awkward as it could have been..."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, you work in the castle, right?" Aqua furrowed her browns and looked down. "Pretty certain Solid said that..." The filly shook her head, "Anyway, I wanted to ask you about Celestia- the princess. So, you know about my magical troubles-. Sorry to go on another tangent in the middle of another tangent," The filly giggled, "But apparently, it got worse again... Well, more like what was happening a while ago developed into this, or rather, was this. We just didn't know it at the time." The filly shook her head.
Sunny giggled.
"Anyway, so apparently Celestia gave a... I think the specific word used was tip about the condition. She's sup- uh, old and all that, so she must have some knowledge about it. I'm just wondering why she's got me in her sights... I know Cotton said that a blind kid is like extremely rare, but I don't really think that'd be enough to garner a qu- monarch's attention... Especially if I'm a commoner or whatever."
Hm... Perhaps..? No. "I have not met her as most of my time is spent in my office. Mostly writing paperwork is not an enjoyable job, but it must be done."
The filly clicked her tongue. "Aw. Darn."
"I merely said I had not met her..." Sunny stifled a smirk. "Living in the castle has given me a good amount of knowledge about her... It has been... enlightening..."
"Oh. Okay, then. I bet you know tonnes of rumours then." Aqua smirked at the pegasus. "At least, based on how you phrased that last sentence. I wanted to ask you about her. I know you actually asked me about her a while ago, but I wanted to ask the question earlier just to be certain... Mainly cause you're the only one I've heard actually say her name outside of a lecture. Everyone always says The Princess, rather than her actual name. So I wanted to ask, does she often focus on random people and is she actually really nice? 'Cause I'm not gonna lie, I'm... a little concerned... And maybe frightened, if she really is as powerful as everyone says."
Sunny nodded and stifled a laugh. "Of what I have heard, she loves foals... I believe the reason is due to the fact that they are not scared to act like themselves around her..."
Aqua nodded. "Yeah, I guess that makes sense..."
"And finally, you are here due to her help, are you not? This building is directly financed and managed by her."
"Yeah, I guess that's fair... Though, I don't know... It just feels weird, having someone important looking at you, I guess."
"I suppose I can understand that. While I have not had someone looking out for me in a long time, it is rarely good to deny the help..." Sunny looked down.
"Yeah... That's true. As weird as it is... Oh," Sunny felt Aqua lean into her side, and as she looked, the pegasus saw a mischievous smile, "And don't think I didn't catch that. Don't be out there giving advice to strangers if you don't follow them yourself. Don't forget to take care of yourself too, Sunny."
Once more she shows wisdom beyond her years. Sunny's face grew a smile. "Very well. You speak with wisdom."
Aqua closed her eyes and pointed her nose up at the ceiling. "Oh, I always speak with wisdom. I always do. Even when I'm not." She opened her eyes and stared at Sunny. "Well? Hows about it?" The filly reached a hoof straight out with the hoof facing upwards. "You sound like you need a friend... I know you might be going on a date with Solid at some point, but hey, ain't no problem with having more friends."
Sunny stared at Aqua's hoof. The smile didn't leave her face. Very well. She put a hoof on top of the filly's miniature hoof. "I believe I shall have to take you up on that offer."
The filly was holding her hooves on top of her head, around her small horn. "Yeah."
"Is a... hornache.. better or worse than a headache?"
Aqua sat up and faced the pegasus but with a grimace on her face. "Probably a little more painful... Or at least, what I have is. From what Sunny said, they can get a lot worse than I got. Anyway, while the horn is sore, it's more like a leg is sore from working out kind of thing instead of a headache. I don't know why, but I'm glad what I got isn't as bad as a bad headache. I think the word is migraine. I'm also glad that the horn itself doesn't sting... Like it doesn't hurt because I touch it, it just hurts constantly. Dull, but constant."
Cotton nodded and hummed aloud to let Aqua know to continue.
"I've read how bad migraines were but I've never experienced one myself. Actually, I might have and just don't know it. I've had bad headaches but the feeling kinda pales compared to what I've heard others say one is like."
Cotton giggled. "Then It's good you don't have a headache then, missy."
Aqua went back to laying her head down and resting her hooves near the horn as she groaned quietly."Yeah... That's true. That'd definitely make this worse..."
The mare frowned. "Do you want me to get something to help with the pain?
"No, I'm goo-... Actually, yes... I've got a bad idea I want to try but It's probably a good idea to have something for the pain on hand."
"Aqua," With a stern voice, Cotton warned the filly. "What are you going to try?"
Aqua looked sheepish. "I- uh... I wanted to try casting like this. 'Cause I don't think this is directly because I've done a bit of telekinesis since the doctor's, but it probably doesn't help. I just want to try it for a few seconds to test if the pain gets worse."
"Aqua."
Aqua held her hooves up as she sat up. "That's it! Honest."
The pegasus leaned in, narrowed her eyes, and stared at Aqua's grey ones. After five seconds, Cotton pulled back, eyes still narrowed. "Alright, then. But you're not allowed to use the special balls and you're going to wait until I get back with an aspirin."
The filly deadpanned at her. "Cotton, That's what I actively recommended. Like I literally just said that..." Aqua sighed and shook her head. "Sorry, I'm a little irritable for obvious reasons."
"It's fine." Cotton got up and began to traverse the large room.
As she started heading towards the front desk and the yellow mare sitting down there, she looked back at the filly she had been overseeing for around two months. Cotton's eyes drooped. It has been two months, hasn't it? I still wonder if she's actually doing better with us instead of the ponies she was with before... With how she talks, she must have had to act maturely for those around her... I wish she would open up more, but she really doesn't like doing that... And then she gets saddled with this whole horn-sickness so soon after losing her sight... Cotton shook her head. I just hope we're helping.
Cotton heard a throat clear behind her. "Huh? Yeah?" Cotton turned around to the voice.
A yellow earth pony mare was staring at her. "Are you okay, Cotton Ball? You looked mighty out of it."
Cotton rubbed the back of her neck with a hoof sheepishly. "Yeah, Golden, I'm fine. I was just lost in thought. Thinking about little Aqua."
Golden looked around the pegasus as she pointed with her wing at the filly in question. Aqua was fiddling with what looked to be a wooden block with a letter on it. Golden nodded. "Ah, the mysterious blue filly that nopony knows much about... 'Nd what little I've heard is sad..."
She probably wants to use the block... "Yeah..." Cotton shook her head. "Anyway, I wanted to ask you for something to deal with her pain. She's got a hornache Do you have any in that front desk of yours?"
The older earth pony smirked. "Of course I do, sweetie. I always carry some with me. You have no idea how many times they've saved me."
Cotton smiled. "I believe it."
"I've heard those hornaches are right nasty themselves. Let me go get one for the little filly." The mare then walked over to the desk and reached down behind it. She fiddled with something before walking back over. "Here you go. I usually take three when the pain gets bad, but with her size, I'd only recommend one." The elderly mare chuckled and hoofed Cotton the tablet. "It'll probably be more effective for her than three are for me."
Cotton giggled but refrained from responding.
"Don't forget something to wash it down with."
"Oh. I actually did."
The elderly mare chuckled. "Cups are over there, sweetie." She pointed next to the doorway connecting to the cafeteria. There was a table with cups on it.
How did I never see those? She shook her head. "Thanks, Golden."
The yellow mare nodded and sat back down at her desk. "No problem."
Cotton arrived at the table and found the cups already had water in them. She looked side to side. Is somepony refilling these? She shook her head as she grabbed one of the cups with her wing. Carefully trotting back to Aqua, she announced herself to the filly, "I'm back. Is your horn any better?"
The filly put the wooden block off to the side and shook her head as her ears flopped side to side. "No. It feels almost as if it's getting worse... Did you get painkillers?"
The mare quirked an eyebrow. "Uh... yeah." She put the cup down in the crook of Aqua's right forehoof and the tablet into her left hoof. "Here's the water and the medicine."
"Thanks..." Lighting her horn up, she popped the tablet in her mouth and filled her mouth with some water. Her cheeks bulged outwards as she seemingly refused to swallow.
Cotton giggled. "You're supposed to chew then swallow, Aqua."
The filly grunted out her nose. Eventually, she swallowed before sticking her tongue out. "Blegh... Always hated vitamins... Used to take them a lot... Wow, I've said that phrase a lot... Like always hating things, I mean."
Cotton adopted a concerned look on her face. She used to take a lot of medicine before?
The filly giggled and shook her head. "Ow. Right. Okay, so I lifted the painkiller and the cup with my magic, though I didn't notice it hurting more..." Aqua's eyes narrowed. "Yeah, no. It doesn't seem worse yet... Maybe... Okay, so I'm going to lift the block up and then around and see if that gets worse."
Cotton slowly nodded. "Okay, but stop if it does get more painful."
Aqua didn't answer and instead reached for the wooden block. Holding it in front of her, she lit her horn as the cyan aura surrounded both her horn and the block. After a second of no movement, she slowly lifted the block. It floated up until it was twice the filly's height off the floor. After another second of no movement, it began to orbit in a circle above her head. Five full, slow rotations later, the block descended to the floor. As it was dropped, it made a small clunk sound. "Ow." She reached up to her horn with a hoof.
Cotton lightly glared at the filly. "Aqua... What did I say about if it was hurting?"
Aqua waved a hoof dismissively. "Yeah, yeah. I get you. But this is for science! And sadly, science is painful..." The filly rubbed the top of her head.
"Aqua..."
The filly giggled. "I'm fine. It did get a little worse, but surprisingly, not as much as I thought it would. It feels almost as if the pressure has increased a bit." Suddenly, the filly grimaced. "Okay, I take it back, it's just taking a little bit to feel worse... I kinda wish painkillers took less time than like ten minutes."
Cotton shook her head. "Well, it's good you only did a little bit to test it, then."
Her grimace got a little worse. "Yeah... That's-" A quiet crack sounded from Aqua's head.
Cotton hugged Aqua instantly. "Aqua? Are you okay?"
The filly looked confused with a hoof gingerly tapping her horn rather than hurt. "I... Yeah... While that sound was extremely concerning, I... actually feel a lot better," Aqua spoke slowly. "Now, I might be presumptuous, but I don't think that was the painkiller kickin' in..."
Cotton applied a hoof to her face.
"Yeah, I actually feel a lot better. It's sore, but it's... I don't really know how to describe it, but it doesn't feel uncomfortable, just painful... Which sounds kinda contradictory, but that's how it feels..." Without warning, The filly covered the block with magic as it began to float.
Cotton shook the filly, causing her to drop the block. "Aqua! What are you doing?"
The filly grinned as the block hit the floor with a louder thud. "Testing... It hurt less than it did earlier... Well, my horn is still slightly sore, so I'll wait until later to do anything else... Wonder when the painkiller will start affecting me.
"I swear, Cotton." Aqua giggled as she smiled. "I swear, it doesn't hurt! I know it made that cracking sound yesterday, but It doesn't hurt at all. I even used a little bit of telekinesis as I woke up. And that barely got sore for a minute!"
"Hearing your horn crack isn't a good thing, Aqua."
"I feel fine, Cotton. Look: even the doctor said I'd have some... What's the word..." The filly shook her right hoof up and down for a second. "Ah! Discomfort. Or at least some word like that while I was growing up. I think yesterday could be classified as discomfort."
Cotton shook her head. "Still..."
"Look. I'm okay. I'm not in pain. I'm doing good. If my horn starts to hurt when I use magic today, I'll stop. Okay?"
The pegasus sighed. "Okay, Aqua..." As the two descended into silence, Cotton continued on her walk.
The pegasus was giving a ride to the smaller of the two around a park by the name of Cattail Hill. The park had a hill in the middle of it with a pond surrounding it. It is nice, I'll admit. Aqua had requested a change of scenery from the usual large yard around the orphanage that doubled as a park. How she can differentiate between there and here I have no clue... Cotton shook her head with a small smile. With it being winter, Cotton couldn't hear any ducks despite the warm sun. Though, my teeth do chatter occasionally out here. She then frowned and turned to look at the filly on her back. She had her eyes closed with a serene look on her face, ears occasionally twitching this way and that. I'll ask how she stands it later...
Cotton looked forward. She's not a pegasus, so how can she be so comfortable in this chill? Not many ponies were out and about. Even rarer to see one off the main paths that led to the market and popular shopping areas. When Cotton spotted not one, but two ponies lounging underneath a tree, she was thoroughly confused. Are they a couple..? Why else would they be out here other than for a date? They are both pegasi...
"Hey, Aqua?"
Cotton felt a jolt of movement on her back. "Y-yeah?"
"How are you feeling?"
The filly took a second to respond. "Good."
Cotton giggled. "No, I mean are you cold?"
"Oh." The filly joined her in giggling. "Nah. A little bit, but I like the cold."
"Ah." Cotton nodded.
"Yeah. Where I used to live it was cold often."
Cotton frowned. "Oh"
"This one time I remember not wearing any clothes for the snow, but I was out there having fun for probably an hour or so... Not enough snow to make a snowman, but we made do..."
Cotton opened her mouth as Aqua continued. Guess I'll ask about the cold later...
"Yeah. Me and my brother did that a few times. I still remember those big forests... God, it feels like it's been forever since then."
Cotton paused in her gait, turning to face the filly. "Wait. You had a brother?"
Aqua looked very nervous. "Uh... W-well..." The filly furrowed her eyebrows. "Wait, I've never told you?" At Cotton's lack of immediate response, she looked down and hummed aloud. "Huh... I think you're right... I don't think I ever mentioned him... That's one's on me, I suppose. Hm... Anyway, yeah, he's doing good. Or at least, the last time I saw him he was..." Aqua went quiet.
"Do you think he's still okay?"
"I... Honestly, yeah... He knew a lot, but that didn't really help him..." Aqua hung her head.
Cotton looked at her in pity. "Did he-"
Aqua cut her off as she looked up to Cotton's. Her eyes were sparkling purple. "Thanks for caring, Cotton, really. But I don't really want to think about it."
The pegasus' eyebrows were raised. "Are... Are you sure?"
Aqua nodded firmly. "Yeah."
"Alright, Aqua." Cotton slowly nodded.
The filly closed her eyes and laid her head down. "Thanks."
After that, she didn't say anything... Cotton stared at Aqua. Did I say something wrong? The filly was sitting in the same corner she usually took up. Maybe it was her brother? Though, the filly had her back to the corner, directly touching both walls. Is that comforting to her? Cotton shook her head lightly. Did he do something to her..?
The filly's front right hoof was jittering back and forth. Up and down. Otherwise, she was only moving her mouth. The filly was talking to herself. Cotton glanced at a clock for a second. Been mumbling for nearly an hour... She wasn't close enough to hear everything the filly was saying, but she could catch a few phrases.
"... pick Aqua..?" Aqua sniffled.
Cotton frowned.
"Why did..?" Aqua's hoof stopped moving.
Something about us trying to help her?
"Did I..?" Aqua rubbed her eyes with a hoof.
Is she okay..?
Aqua shook her head suddenly and spoke up. "I can't be thinking like that." The filly looked up in Cotton's direction. "Hey Cotton?"
The pegasus's eyes widened. "Yes, Aqua?"
The filly rubbed one leg with the other. "S-sorry about earlier today... I... kinda forcefully stopped the conversation and was kind of an asshole about it."
Cotton opened her mouth to comment on her choice of language but didn't say anything. Not the time.
"I wanted to apologize for that as well as..." The filly hung her head.
"With my brother... The last time I saw him, he was doing pretty good. Though, I don't know how long it's been since then, so I... I don't know..."
Cotton slowly nodded." Aqua... I forgive you, but... Your brother. Did he do..?" Cotton caught herself. "Did you like your brother?"
Aqua nodded. "Yeah. A lot. Though, sometimes I feel like I wasn't really a good... sibling... Anyway, yeah."
"Do you... Do you want to talk about him?"
Aqua started to nod before she stopped herself. "I... No. I... want to avoid thinking about that for a while... There's some... Nevermind. I can't tell you."
Cotton's head tilted. "You can't say?"
"It's not that you're not trustworthy or anything stupid like that, just... I... I'm sorry. I just can't. Not yet, at least." The filly slowly shook her head.
The mare's eyebrows drooped. "Okay... Just... When you think you're ready to talk-"
Aqua jolted forwards. "Cotton!" Quickly shaking her head, she looked at the pegasus, "Cotton, sorry to cut you off again. I just want to make sure you know for sure before it can get worse. I wasn't abused. I know it sounds like it, what with how I'm avoiding giving details and how some of this sounds..." The filly groaned and lightly tugged on her mane. "Look. I know I wasn't, or at least, not intentionally, nor badly... I wasn't, so please don't think that I was..."
Cotton reached a hoof out, but it didn't go anywhere. "I-..."
"Look. I know not thinking about it-... This whole thing I mean. Not thinking about it or talking about it isn't healthy. I know... Just..." The filly hung her head and fully laid down. "Not yet..."
Cotton leaned back, her eyes wide. How did she..?
The filly spoke up and sat up again. "I just... I don't want to cause confusion or annoyances down the line... And... Trust me. You're the- When I- You'll be the first I talk to..." Aqua nodded firmly as she put a hoof to her chest. "I promise."
Cotton opened her mouth.
The filly slowly faced the floor and nodded weakly."I promise..."
Cotton closed her mouth. What..?
The filly nearly whispered to herself as sparkling water dripped onto the floor. "I promise..."
Cotton pulled the filly into a hug. Oh, Celestia... What do I do?
Cotton stopped beating her wings. Beginning to descend, she spread her wings wide and tilted forward. Cotton began to glide downwards and closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath of the cold, winter morning air. She exhaled, though it could not be heard over the wind. Cotton smiled. Opening her eyes again, she was much closer to the wooden building. She tilted to the left, beginning to circle above the building while losing altitude. Eventually, she got close enough to the ground. Beating her wings quickly to slow her remaining velocity, she hovered down to the ground.
With two pairs of hoof clops, Cotton landed. She began to trot towards The Princess' Orphanage. As much as she loved the chill while flying, it got to her on the ground. Something to do with moving to keep you warm? Cotton shook her head and headed inside. Pushing the doors open, she saw a splotch of red to her right.
Cotton waved. "Hello, Solid!"
He nodded with a new smile. "Hello, Cotton. How are you?"
She smirked. "Doing better, now that I'm inside. How about you?"
Solid nodded. "Also okay, if a bit tired." He gestured towards her scarf, "May I?"
Cotton mock-swooned. "Such a nice stallion!" She smiled and hoofed him the scarf. "You may."
He hung the scarf up on one of the few coat racks in the front and nodded once more.
She thought back to the previous day and smiled. Feather is doing okay. I need to meet up with her more. Cotton quietly sighed. Life is nothing like school anymore. Glad she's doing alright. Realizing that she had been standing in place, Cotton shook her head, clearing away her thoughts. "So, did Aqua cast anything yesterday?"
He nodded. "She did. Though, she avoided anything while she said her horn hurt."
Cotton groaned.
"With all due respect, good luck, Cotton." Solid had a smirk on his face.
She shook her head. "Thanks, though she's the one who needs it." Beginning to hear other foals wake up, Cotton decided she should go wake Aqua. She never wakes up by herself...
"True enough."
Cotton walked towards the bedrooms, occasionally passing fillies and foals, some dragging along bedding. Is that a duck pillow? She shook her head and continued towards Aqua's room. She knocked on the door three times and waited a few seconds before pushing the door in. Knowing no sound would wake the filly, she approached, reaching a hoof out. The filly was holding a small pillow she had been given. A small square cushion. She was wrapped around the cushion more akin to a snake than a pony. Her tail wrapped further around, nearly circling the larger-than-Aqua-sized cushion twice.
Cotton held back an audible appreciation of what was in front of her. She's too cute for her own good...
Continuing with her hoof, she rubbed the filly's whithers, side to side. Slowly, the filly stirred with a mumble. "Nuh..."
The mare leaned in and whispered to the filly, "Aqua... It's time to wake up, Aqua."
The filly mumbled once more, beginning to move.
"Aqua... Food'll be waiting for you."
The filly spread out her hooves in all directions and quietly groaned.
"There you go, Aqua. It's time to wake up."
After holding the stretch for a second and then collapsing, she turned her head to face Cotton. The filly slowly opened her eyes, facing her, yet not focused.
Cotton smiled. "Almost there, Aqua."
The filly blinked once. Twice. A few times... She then hummed aloud.
"It's morning. time to wake up, sleepyhead."
Aqua blinked a few more times and rubbed her eyes. "Oh yeah... 'M wake."
The pegasus patted the filly's back. "There you go."
"Morning..." Aqua yawned. "Morning... Cotton?"
She nodded and hummed in an affirmative tone. "Yep. Are you hungry, Aqua?"
The filly slowly smiled lazily. "In a moment... Come closer."
Cotton leaned in. "Yeah?"
The filly suddenly jerked towards Cotton as her horn glowed. The pegasus let out a yelp as she felt like she got shoved into the bed. Cotton lost her balance and fell onto the bed, thankfully not landing on the filly.
"Heh. You fell for it... Literally." Said filly sleepily climbed onto the collapsed pegasus. "Now I get to climb Mount Cotton." The filly then yawned and lightly grimaced as she rubbed her horn. "Ow."
Cotton frowned as she got her hooved under herself again, still laid down so as to not jostle her living saddlebag. "I thought you weren't going to be using any magic until we saw Raven tomorrow?"
"I mean..." Aqua covered her mouth with a hoof and spoke quietly. "That's not what I said."
Sternly "Aqua."
"Alright, alright. I did do some yesterday, but just as I said, I was only gonna do it when it wasn't painful." She lightly rubbed her head with a hoof. "Sadly, it's still painful."
"So you just lied?"
Aqua looked up with a focused expression, thinking. "Technically, no..." The filly smiled. "Anyway, other than soreness, nothing else happened.
Incredubiously, Cotton replied, "And how is that technically not a lie?"
Aqua snuggled closer and yawned. "Well, I was talking about yesterday, not today."
"Aqua..." The pegasus face-hoofed. "That's still a lie."
"Nuh-uh." The filly shook her head. "No, it's not. It's so close it might be, but it's not."
Cotton sighed.
Aqua rubbed her horn lightly. "Anyways, how's Feather doing? She doin' okay?"
"Yeah. She's good. Mostly the same as usual, but now she has a crush on this one coworker. He's a unicorn accountant by the name of Clear Ledger."
Aqua tilted her head, ears following. "Oh?"
The pegasus hummed. "Yeah. They both work at the castle, so they even up coming across each other. Fairly often, too."
"Makes sense. Hope it goes over for her well."
Cotton nodded before getting off the bed, the filly still holding on. "Same." She smirked. "Well then, not-quite-a-liar, let's go get some food for you."
Aqua blanched with exaggerated disgust. "Ew. That requires leaving the bed. I think I'm good without that."
Cotton started walking to the door. "So, you're saying you're not hungry?"
Aqua leaned to the side. "Well... That's not what I said."
An eyebrow quirked and a smirk. "Is that so..?" Cotton closed the door behind her and began to head towards the cafeteria.
The filly sounded smug. "Yeah."
Cotton expected the filly to continue, but when she didn't, she shook her head. "Alright then. Let's."
A tiny hoof tapped the back of the pegasus' neck. "Oh, can we make a stop by the restroom before eating?" Aqua spoke through a yawn.
Cotton giggled and turned around. Seems we have a little delay.
Raven was staring at a small, light blue horn. The horn moved left, the horn moved right. "Hm. It looks fine on the outside..." The white unicorn scratched her chin and backed up.
As Raven backed up, Aqua put a hoof back on top of her head and hissed lightly.
"It hurts to touch, yes?"
"Yeah, It does. Not a ton, but it hurts the harder you touch it. If something is just touching it, it's fine. But if something hits it, yeah. I just screwed up and accidentally hit it. Anyway, it's been painful on and off the last two days, but since early yesterday, it's barely lessened at all."
Sounds like mana fatigue. "And does it feel tiring to cast anything last time you did?"
The filly shook her head before hissing in pain again. "Ow. Hit it again. No, not noticeably."
"So you haven't cast since early yesterday?"
Aqua shook her head again, this time slowly. "No. A few days ago when It did this, I did, and it ended up doing something and then it felt pretty much entirely better."
"You said something happened last time. Do you know what it was?"
Cotton spoke up. "Her horn made an audible cracking sound."
Raven's eyes widened and she opened her mouth.
The filly cut her off. "Yeah, but it felt better instantly. Look can I just try it again?"
Raven looked up in thought. She idly noted that the pegasus was looking to her for an answer. From what she said, it sounds like a symptom of that disorder mentioned... Unfettered Horn Disorder, was it? Maybe...
"Uh... Raven? You good?"
"Hm?"
The filly was facing her, still holding her horn. "You just got silent. Can I?"
What? Oh right. The unicorn rubbed the back of her neck. "Sorry. Give me a moment." Raven then leaned to Cotton so she could whisper.
Cotton shook her head with a smile while looking at Raven. "That wouldn't work. Aqua can hear when anypony whispers in the same room."
Aqua smirked and giggled. "No, you all just can't whisper, I swear... Though, I suppose with my ears, maybe I can just hear better too."
The pegasus gave off a long-suffering sigh and turned back to Raven with what looked like a tired look.
The filly spoke up. "Hey, Raven I got a quick question slash request. Do me a favour and put your ear near Cotton's back. Also, Cotton, don't move. I got an idea."
Raven tilted her head but slowly moved to the pegasus sitting next to the filly. "Okay..?"
"Do you hear her heartbeat? how near are you?"
Cotton shifted and tilted her head. "Why are you testing it with my heartbeat?"
The filly shrugged and smiled through her grimace. "I don't know. It's nice to listen to. Plus, I know how loud it is. Anyway, Raven, how close are you?"
Raven noted the pegasus shift back slightly halfway through what Aqua said. "Around two hooves away."
The filly smirked. "Your hooves or my hooves?"
Raven glanced at the filly's hooves before looking at Cotton's back. "Around five of yours."
Aqua snorted. "Can you hear it?"
She shook her head. "No"
"Get closer... Actually, just get close enough till you can hear it. I'm curious." Aqua rubbed her horn. "Ow."
Raven slowly leaned in further before she began to hear a quiet pulse. "At about one of your hooves away. I have to really listen for it."
Aqua nodded as she got a little closer to the pegasus. "Ok cause If I get a little closer, I can hear it from about where I am... I can't right now, but if I got a little closer I could."
Raven began to move back to her seat before freezing. That's... creepy. "That's... fascinating." Raven noted Cotton very slightly leaning back from the filly.
Aqua shrugged. "Yeah. I'm cool like that. Anyway," Jokingly, "Anyway, am I allowed to cast, mother?"
The unicorn sighed. It should be fine to at least lest... "Alright, but only do it slowly. Very slowly. Don't use a lot of power, either." She looked around before looking at her saddlebag. That should work. Raven pulled out an empty notebook she needed for her next class. Laying it down on the table in front of Aqua, she spoke up. "This should do. It's a notebook I'm going to use later."
"Thanks. I'll try not to destroy it." Aqua rubbed her horn one more time before she put her hoof down and began to light her horn. Her frown grew as the notebook shakily rose. Lift up Raven's saddlebag "Yep, it hurts. Starting to feel like a headache, but where my horn is. Also harder to move it than a day ago."
"Alright. Is the pain getting worse over time?"
Aqua spoke through clenched teeth. "How am I supposed to know? I just know it hurts. It's slow if it is. I won't notice it. Same as the whole thing with frogs."
Raven tilted her head. "What?"
The filly rolled her grey eyes. "Look, Y- Ow. Yes, it's getti-" Aqua's eyes widened as she flinched and froze. The notebook she was holding suddenly became steady.
Cotton reached out a hoof and tapped the filly on her wither. "Aqua..? Are you okay?"
Aqua didn't respond for a second. Then, she shook her head, horn still lit. The filly tilted her head and looked confused. "It... Okay... I think it did the thing again."
Raven leaned in. "The crack from earlier?"
Aqua waited a second as she rubbed her head, no longer grimacing. "Well, not quite... I didn't hear a crack. It... I suppose the best way to describe it is like feeling something shift..." Aqua barely sneered, though Raven noticed it. "In you... Though I doubt you two know what that feels like..."
What. Raven looked at cotton. She was looking at her with a shocked expression.
Turning back slowly, she saw the filly shook her head. "Actually, maybe you have, I don't know you two as well as you do. Anyway, it almost felt like the bone moved. It was extremely uncomfortable for a split second, but then the pain was mostly gone."
What do I say to that? "Uh..."
Aqua continued, despite the lack of response. "Like... Think of something being sore, but not quite painful after getting your arm crushed or whatever. So like the aftereffects of pressure, I suppose..."
Cotton was the first to respond. "Do... you mean like a headache?"
The filly nodded. "Yeah, kinda. Headaches are caused by pressure, after all. So I guess maybe just a headache but in my horn instead."
Shaking off her confusion, Raven commented. "That does sound like using your horn too much after a magical workout..." Raven looked up. Perhaps it's because of that... "You said that the Doctor mentioned that your horn would grow further as you do?"
"Yeah... Is that it? Cause I could see it..." The filly sighed as a smile blossomed. "I remember when..." Aqua shook her head and topped her smile. "Nevermind... That's off-topic. So, do you think that's it?"
The unicorn mare slowly nodded. "It might be. I'll look into it..." Raven blinked and realised the filly hadn't dropped her notebook. "Aqua, you can drop the notebook, by the way.
The filly hummed to herself and giggled. "Oh yeah. I actually forgot about it." Aqua put the notebook down and frowned again. "Am I back to a no magic policy till then?"
"It would probably be safe."
"Gotcha. So only do it while alone. That way no one'll find out."
Cotton sighed.
Probably the time to ask about that... Raven looked at Cotton. "Cotton, may I talk to you for a second?" She glanced at Aqua.
Cotton nodded. "Give us a second, Aqua."
The filly shrugged. "Ok."
Raven led the way out the door and closed it behind the pegasus. There was nopony else in the hallways. Is this why I was chosen? Raven mentally sighed before turning to Cotton. "So-"
Cotton leaned in and cut her off. "Whisper. She might not be able to hear it."
Raven nodded and joined in on leaning in. "What was that comment that Aqua made?"
"The one about the shifting feeling?"
The unicorn nodded.
Cotton sighed deeply. "As you know, she's at the orphanage. She was found asleep right in front of the main castle doors. Nopony knows how she got through the outer walls to even get there."
Raven blinked.
"Yeah... She was sent to us so we could help and find out what happened... But that hasn't been fruitful. Aqua is... hesitant... to talk about what happened."
Raven looked at the marble tiles. "Oh."
"We assume she's had bad things happen to her, and are trying to help, but she's slow to accept it as well."
Raven looked back up at the pegasus. "But with what she said?"
Cotton had a sad look on her face. "That isn't the first time she's said concerning things... It hurts me to see it, but I can't go prodding her about everything. She won't open up that way."
"Oh." Raven wasn't an expert on this topic.
"I've tried asking her about it. She's denying it, but... how else could she know about things at her age?" Cotton slowly shook her head. "Yes. It's very concerning, and sometimes you can't tell if it's intended to be a joke, but... we're trying to help."
"Oh." That's... Raven glanced at the door leading to the filly. I'm sorry, Aqua.
"Yeah." Cotton began to speak at a normal volume. "Okay, let's not make her wait too long."
Raven nodded and pushed the button on the door, opening it. Cotton went inside first. Raven followed her inside, closing the door behind her with a quiet click. Moving to pick up the notebook with her magic, Raven noted Aqua's ears following her as the filly shifted in her seat. Cotton had sat back down in her seat. "So, once more, Aqua... Try to avoid using magic."
She rolled her grey eyes. "Yeah, yeah. I got it... No fun allowed."
Raven noted that Cotton shook her head silently with a sad frown at Raven.
Aqua spoke up with a sarcastic tone. "I love not being able to do the one interesting thing. It's so fun."
The pegasus sighed. "All right, Aqua. Let's get out of Raven's mane."
The filly nodded. "Yeah, yeah, I gotcha." The filly held her hooves up to Cotton and waited for the pegasus to pick her up.
The pegasus headed to the door and began to push it open. Cotton turned back to Raven. "Thanks for the help, Raven. Hope you feel better."
Raven furrowed her eyebrows as the two exited. I'm not sick, though... Wait... Is it to throw Aqua off...? Raven thought back to the pegasus and nodded slowly. Raven shook her head and glanced at the clock. I've got some time to do some work... She sat down and picked up the notebook. As she picked it up, Raven noted that it was open and that there was an empty page ripped out. Raven tilted her head. Cotton did say Aqua used to draw a while ago...
"So yeah, that's why I'm not allowed to use magic."
Sunny slowly glanced above the filly at the floating box of markers. "And yet, the box levitates."
The filly sighed. "Yeah. It's just been three times where I've not been allowed to use magic now and at this point, I don't really care enough."
"I can understand your frustrations."
Aqua briefly glanced at Sunny. "Thanks... Well, when it does the popping thing, probably at least decently okay... Okay no it's probably not, but it feels good when it pops. I know drugs make you feel good but aren't actually good, but this is more natural... I hope."
Sunny's eyebrows furrowed. "You say your horn popped?"
"Yeah, it did this funny thing where if was using too much magic, it became painful. But if I did it more while it was painful, it made something like a cracking sound the first time, though it didn't do it the second. Anyway, it popped and the pressure relented." She shrugged, "Felt pretty much completely fine after both times."
Sunny looked up and nodded. "That does sound like Unfettered Horn Disorder..."
"Apparently, yeah. That's what the Doctor called it, at least. Supposedly I'm just going to be worse at everything magic-related..." Aqua rolled her eyes, annoyed. "And I'm supposedly going to a school that teaches magic... Yay."
"If I remember correctly, that condition excludes simple magics, such as levitation." Sunny pointed at the floating box of pencils with a hoof.
"Yeah, I remember the doctor saying that too, but the few times I've done it, it didn't really feel like I was any more powerful or anything..." The filly shrugged.
"I can understand the frustration, though I doubt your ability to cast levitation will get better immediately. Magic rarely improves so quickly."
Aqua sighed in resignation. "Oh, I'm certain it very likely actually does improve, at least somewhere down the line, but frankly I'd much prefer to be able to do cool things like teleport or create a mini black hole... "
Sunny blinked. What?
The filly's head tilted in thought. "Actually thinking about it, probably not that last one. That'd probably kill everyone. Including me." She snorted in amusement, "Which is generally a bad thing when it comes to magic."
Sunny nodded slowly. "Indeed... It is a sad occasion, nonetheless."
"Yeah, you can say that again... well, I'll complain about it more, but later. It's on a cooldown..." The filly smirked, dropped the pencils, and looked at Sunny. "Well, since we're officially friends as of... was it weed day? Flower day? Somewhere around the 2nd day of the week. I don't know. Four-ish days ago." She shrugged. "I lose track easily."
Sunny's face shifted to a wistful smile. "I wish I could lose track as you put it..."
Aqua smirked. "Oh, well, now I got a new question. Why can't you? Is the paperwork at the castle that bad?"
Sunny covered her mouth with a yellow hoof as she quietly laughed. "More or less... Though, it is more my other duties. While I am not a noble, I do perform many deeds that one of them would."
The filly's eyebrows rose. "Yeah? Like what?"
Sunny glanced at the wooden roof. "Recently, I have met with several foreign dignitaries. I often assess some aspects of The Guard, though mainly only in paperwork. I look over reports of all kinds. Then there are other actions such as those." Sunny faced the filly once more.
Aqua leaned back in surprise. "Woah... that sounds... Really boring."
Sunny laughed before remembering to cover it. "You would be correct, little Aqua. Onto your next question?"
Aqua was stifling a laugh of her own. "Okay, okay. Next question... Uh... Alright, this is gonna sound awkward, but how old are ya?" She smirked, "And don't say older than you. I know you're older than I am, duh. But like am I talking with an elderly woman, or some in-their-prime kinda girl?" She snorted, "Not that I can really judge anyway."
Sunny's smile shrank. "I am quite old... I prefer not to think about it, so I cannot tell you the answer as I do not remember it."
Aqua scoffs jokingly and whines out, "That's what everyone tells me... Eh, I get it." The filly began to speak breathily like an old mare, "Don't you know it's rude to ask a woman her age?" She shook her head. "Yeah, I get ya. I won't ask."
Sunny giggled and nodded. "Thank you."
"No problem," She mumbled. "Uh... So, next question... Uh... So, you volunteer here, right? Do they pay you or is it just like you do it 'cause ya wanna?"
Sunny grew a smile. "I am here because I love to see little foals and fillies, such as yourself, smile... There is also the matter of being able to simply leave if I am needed."
"Sh I gotcha." The filly smirked. "And I can give you a smile. Here." The filly pointed at her face with her right hoof. Aqua was attempting to smile as big as possible, closing her eyes and tensing every possible muscle. It was one of the most forced smiles Sunny had ever seen.
Sunny laughed.
Aqua stopped the sarcastic attempt at butchering a smile and joined the pegasus in laughing.
Eventually, her mirth died down and Sunny shook her head. "I also have a minor connection to this place..."
The filly continued her cute little giggle. "What, are you secretly Celestia, and hiding it from just me?"
Sunny smirked. "I am missing more than just a horn to be Celestia, little Aqua."
The filly's laughter finally quieted. "Oh? Like what? Now that I think about it, I don't actually know what she looks like..." She rubbed her chin with her right hoof. "Actually, I barely know what anyone here looks like. I know you're yellow, fairly tall, got some very fluffy wings, and have a mark of a hearth or something..."
Sunny hummed. "Well, passing over Celestia's combination of wings and a horn, she has a large white frame. Much larger than Cotton or I."
The filly spoke up, "Oh, well that's gotta be awkward." She snorted, "Imagine going in for a hug and getting kicked in the face." The filly giggled and shook her head.
The pegasus covers her mouth for a second. "There are other differences as well. She has a multicoloured flowing mane."
"Oh, that's... neat... Wait, flowing? I know flowing can mean the regular type of flowing, but the way you said that makes it sound like it's not just regular hair."
Sunny nodded. "You would be correct. It is not. Her hair billows through the air even without wind."
"Wait, really? That's pretty weird..." Aqua glanced at Sunny for the next sentence. "Cool, but weird."
Sunny giggled. "That it is."
Aqua opens her mouth to voice what Sunny assumed was another question, but froze for half a second. The filly then slowly turned to Sunny and talked just as slowly in an accusatory tone, "Wait... How do you know what she looks like? Didn't you say you've never met her?"
Sunny leaned in with a smirk. "That's a secret, little Aqua."
the filly leaned back with a quirked eyebrow and a smile. "Ah... You got secrets too, then..." Her expression cleared. "Oh wait, she goes in public often, right? I think I saw her... Well, the word saw is wrong, but you get what I mean. Think it was... nearly a month or two ago? I don't know, somewhere around there."
Was that the last time? "She does visit here, though I have missed most of them. She does also travel the city and appear in public on occasion."
Aqua snorted in amusement before nodding. "Oh. Welp, that'll do it..." The filly looked up in thought. "Wait..." Turning back to Sunny, Aqua began speaking in a suspicious voice along with a smirk again, "You're twisting your words, aren't you, miss Sunny?"
She caught on. Sunny smiled and nodded. "Perhaps... But if I am, how so?"
The filly put a hoof to her chin. "Well, if I'm remembering correctly, you did say that you didn't see her while working at the castle... but that's all you said. You were really just saying you were too busy working to come across her." The filly grinned with a smile belonging more to a wolf than a filly, "You've seen her elsewhere, you dirty, dirty liar."
Sunny giggled as she covered her mouth. Sarcastically, she spoke up. "Oh no, I have been caught! What ever shall I do?"
Aqua leaned closer and poked the yellow mare with her tiny hoof. Aqua was smiling. "Idiot... I don't know. Uh... Do a flip..?" She shrugged. "I don't know, I got nothin'."
"Excuse me, I need to use the little filly's room."
"Gotcha, Cotton." Sunny saw Aqua smirk. "Good luck!" The filly called out.
Cotton shook her head as she walked out of the common room
Sunny turned back to the filly. "You seem to have quite a unique group surrounding you."
Said filly turned to the yellow pegasus and tilted her head. "Huh?"
"Both Cotton Ball and Solid Phalanx."
An expression of understanding blossomed on the filly. "Oh. yeah..." Aqua smirked and spoke smugly, "They're pretty cool, but I'm cooler. They just want to be around me."
Sunny giggled. "Perhaps... perhaps they are trying to siphon off this so-called coolness you supposedly exude."
The filly sat back and crossed her hooves as she pouted. "Hey! I'll have you know my coolness is one hundred percent real."
Leaning in, Sunny dramatically peered around the blue filly. "Are you sure? I cannot see it about you. I cannot hear nor smell it. To me, it does not seem like you have it."
Aqua scoffed and looked up at Sunny. "That's what you think. You just can't fathom it." She pointed her nose to the sky and spoke through her nose, "It's simply beyond you."
Sunny hummed. "Are you sure you are not simply imagining things?"
The filly blew a raspberry. "Oh, I know for a fact that I'm not. When you imagine things, you can alter them." The filly lost a bit of her confidence. "Mostly, at least."
The yellow mare tilted her head. "And how do you know so much about imagining things, little Aqua?"
Aqua began to scuff the floor with a hoof. "Well, you know how I liked to draw..." She began to mumble to herself, "Not like it's useful anymore."
"I do not believe I have said I am sorry about that..."
"It's not like it's your fault. Just unfortunate is all..."
Sunny looked down. And yet it was I who brought you to the orphanage...
Aqua shook her head. "Anyway, drawing involves a lot of thinking and, of course, creativity. Sure, you can paint a landscape, but where's the fun in that? That's all so boring. Why not create a landscape instead?" She emphasized the word create.
Raising her eyebrows, Sunny gave a go-on motion with a hoof. "Oh? Can you do me a favour of creating one in your mind?"
Aqua put a hoof to her chin and looked up. "Oh yeah... Hm... Let's start with an idea. So let's go with some mountains... Hm. Maybe add in a floating island. Let's have some rivers running off that island. There's probably some magic that transports the water back up, so you don't gotta think about it. Though, there's a certain want," Aqua glanced at Sunny, "Almost need, to when making a landscape, to make it realistic..." The filly shrugged. "Well, relatively realistic. If something exists, it's fun to write a reason for it... Like, take this floating island... Let's say it was magically locked in place thousands of years ago after... let's say some massive flood came about. And if you don't know, water isn't really good for a house. So, this wizard decides to lift it and coincidentally, most of the ground around it. But there's a problem. The flood doesn't drain. In fact, it just settles in the now-missing land and made a minor sea below the island. So we can add in a large body of water below. Now, let's take the mountains from earlier and surround that water." Aqua leaned back and spread her front hooves out above her with a smile. "Boom. You have an interesting-looking landscape. Took like maybe five minutes to think up."
Sunny, with high eyebrows, rapped her hooves against each other in appreciation. "Impressive... I believe you have argued for the existence of your imagination successfully..."
Aqua rubbed the back of her head and she laid back down. "Y-yeah... I'm cool like that."
Sunny glanced up upon hearing hooves approaching. Turning, she spotted Cotton returning. She also saw the clock behind her and mentally sighed. Time to go. "Welcome back, Cotton Ball.
Cotton spoke up upon getting close. "What'd I miss?"
Sunny looked at the filly. "Little Aqua here designed a landscape in her head."
Cotton's eyes grew wide in addition to a smile. "Did you, now?"
Aqua nodded. "Yeah. It's a cool idea and all. Now I wanna draw it..." The filly looked at her hooves, scuffing the floor once more.
"You should share and describe it to Cotton Ball. However, I am afraid to say I have to go." Sunny got to her hooves.
"Aw. Alright then and will do..." The filly nodded in the direction of the larger pegasus. "Thanks for stoppin' by, Sunny. Have a good one."
"And the same to the both of you. I hope you two have a good day." Walking towards the front desk to sign out, she heard the filly begin describing a beautiful landscape.
"So, I was talking about this one floating island I made up..."
"You know, I had a thought. How do unicorns know where to go with a teleport?"
Cotton frowned. "How am I supposed to know?"
Aqua giggled. "Not you specifically. I know you can't do magic spells..." Aqua frowned for a second. "Unless there's some non-horn-based magic. Is there like a system of runes or whatever that can be used?" She shook her head. "Anyway, I'm just posing the thought. How does one know where they're arriving when they teleport? What if they can't see where they're going?"
Cotton blinked. "That's... something you'll have to ask Raven. She'd probably know."
"I could also ask Sunny. She seems to have a lot of the theory on magic down... She could probably also tell me about if there's magic that doesn't require a horn. Y'know. Just in case something happens."
Cotton leaned towards the filly. "Aqua that's..."
The filly nodded solemnly and cut her off. "Yeah. Planning for the worst and all that but hey, Bad things have happened before. Who's to say they won't happen again?" Aqua shrugged.
Cotton's face softened. "We are, Aqua. I am..." Cotton pulled the filly into a hug.
Aqua grew quiet.
After a few minutes of holding the, admittedly comfy, filly, Cotton heard somepony approaching her from her left. She shook her head. Standing up and turning around, she saw the sound coming from an orange pegasus. He had a saddlebag that looked very full on his sides. "Excuse me, are you Cotton Ball?"
'Yes, that's me."
A smile blossomed on his face. "Thank Celestia... A letter arrived for Aqua. I was told to find you. Here you go." The stallion hoofed a letter to Cotton.
"Okay. Thanks!"
The courier nodded his head. "Have a good day, Miss Cotton."
The mare nodded. "Same to you." Cotton sat back down beside Aqua.
The filly poked her. "Yeah? What's the letter?"
Cotton poked Aqua's side, causing the filly to giggle. "I haven't had time to look at it, silly."
Recovering from her giggle, she smiled. "Slowpoke."
Cotton shook her head with a smile. Looking down, she read the return address. It was from Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. Cotton's eyes widened.
Cotton's eyes widened. She slowly opened her mouth. "It's from the school."
Aqua jerked and shuffled into the pegasus' side. "Really? Uh... Okay... What's it say?"
Cotton peeled back the cover of the letter with a wing, revealing a page with text. "Give me a moment to read."
Aqua smirked and shook her head. "Slowpoke."
Cotton briefly turned to the filly. "Shush. Let me read."
The filly held up her front hooves. "Okay, okay... Take your time."
Focusing back on the letter, Cotton began to read. Welcome to Celestia's School for Gifted... The new School year will be starting at the beginning of next week, on Grass Day the First, Stem month, 756 C.B.... Ending on the last day of Pollen Month... We hope you enjoy the... "It's... an introductory letter..." As Cotton got to the end of the letter, she felt another letter underneath.
Aqua suddenly let go of a breath and put a hoof on her chest. "Oh, okay. Well, that's nice, I guess... Well, I'm glad it's not bad. Like being denied due to the whole magic thing." She pointed at her horn peeking through her white mane. "Though, maybe they haven't found out yet..." Aqua didn't sound so sure of herself as she looked down.
Cotton rubbed the back of the filly with her wing. Looking down at her, she tried to reassure the filly, "I'm sure it's fine. I'm pretty certain they get your medical reports, and that they don't mind."
The filly slowly raised her head and began to nod. "True..." Her nodding sped up. "It's probably fine..." The filly looked up at the mare and leaned into her side. "Thanks, Cotton."
Cotton nodded and woke a small smile as she hugged the filly closer. "You're welcome. There is another letter. Let me read it." Pulling the new letter in front, something dropped onto the floor from between the letters. Looking down, she realised it was a small card. Cotton picked it up and looked at it. "It also came with a card... Oh! It's your I.D. for the new school year!"
Aqua smiled. "Aye. That's nice. good to hear. What's written on it?"
"It's got your name, status as a student, student number, and it's got a picture of you." Cotton furrowed her eyebrows. "You're smiling in the picture..."
Aqua hummed out a questioning sound. "Twice now... When did they take my picture? I don't even remember posing for one... Especially not a second one now."
"Neither do I..." Curious... "Well, you look nice in it... Brushed mane and all..."
"That's... Huh. Thanks, I guess. Still a little confused, but okay. Maybe we can ask another student whenever that happens."
The pegasus nodded. "Probably..." Cotton focused back on the letter. "I'm going to read the other letter now."
"Okay."
Cotton scanned the letter. Dear Aqua... Welcome to the school... Cotton looked up. Sounds more informal... She shook her head. The attached letter is the general letter given to all students.... Your situation is a special one... As you're unaware, you may dispose of any previous Identification Cards the school has given you... Instead of any of the pre-school events... Just come to my office the day before school starts... ...won't need any supplies other than snacks... I believe you had a guardian escort or two with you last time. You may also bring them once more... Once more... Thank you for choosing Celestia's school for... From, The Principal, Shimmering Sky. Cotton blinked. "It's... a little informal, but it's from the principal."
Aqua blinked as well. "Uh... Shimmering Sky, right?"
Cotton hummed an affirmative as she nodded. "She says that due to your circumstances, you'll get to avoid a lot of the beginning preparation for the school year."
"Neat. Also, an informal principal is a good principal. That way, you can actually talk to them about things. It's always nice."
Cotton stared at the filly for a second. "She also says you'll need to come in on..." She glanced at the letter. "Cactus Day to talk with her in her office. She said you won't need to bring any supplies other than perhaps a snack. Lastly, me or solid can come if we want to."
Aqua looked confused. "Well, why wouldn't I want either of you to come?"
Cotton looked down and shrugged. "It's your choice."
Aqua snorted and giggled. "I'm blind. What am I gonna do, navigate crowds and hallways to meet someone who I've only ever met once?" Aqua shook her head firmly. "Nah, Y'all are coming..." Aqua titled her head. "Well, if either of you can, that is."
"I'll be there." Cotton nodded and giggled. As the two of them grew silent, she began to fold the letter back up. Cotton glanced at Aqua's student I.D. once more. The filly in the picture looked like Aqua. Cotton glanced at the filly in question, who was facing their hooves. Something is different... She looked at both the card and the filly next to her. Can't put my hoof on it, though. With a small shrug, Cotton put the card back in the envelope with the two letters.
Aqua spoke up. "I had almost forgotten about when it was happening. School starting. This feels a little sudden... I know it's not. But it feels like it is..." The filly was idly tapping her forehooves together.
Cotton slowly nodded. Once more, she used the wing laid atop Aqua to squeeze the filly reassuringly. "A lot of things feel that way. And with all that's been happening, I think you may have a pass on being distracted."
"That's fair, but still... It just feels wrong..." She shook her head slowly. "Well, there's no use dwelling on it. It's a week away, anyway... You said she mentioned that I don't have to bring anything, right?"
Cotton giggled. "Other than a snack, yes."
The filly nodded firmly. "Sick. At least we don't have to go shopping for pencils and other boring things. And before you say anything, yes I know I'm saying that about the thing that I used to use to draw. Look, think about it this way, when you were preparing for school," Aqua titled her head and corrected herself, "going back to school rather. Anyway, it's great cause you get to see friends again, but the shopping beforehand? Bleh." Aqua lazily mimicked the motions of dry heaving without any sound.
Cotton snorted.
Aqua giggled. "Y'know, imagine if someone did that pose, but you like put something in their mouth. Like poked their uvula. Make them actually throw up." Aqua shook her head with a small smirk.
Cotton leaned back. What? "Aqua..." Cotton began to speak, but didn't know what to say."
Aqua looked up at the pegasus and nodded. "Yeah, you're right. Never mind, it's a stupid idea. You wouldn't ever want to do that. After all, if you did, you'd be in the splash zone."
The mare let out a large sigh after the ponies disappeared through doors across the room from her. Finally alone, she slouched in her large chair. She leaned forward and covered her face with her gilded white hooves as her wings went limp at her sides.
Rubbing her face with her eyes closed, she sighed once more. Still moving her hooves, she thought about the time. Too late... Her hooves ceased their movement as she sighed once more. Putting her forehooves below her once more, she stood up from the chair. She walked to the exit.
Pushing the conference room doors open, she gracefully strolled through, soft clacking following her hoofsteps. She was reminded of an old thought. Better this than breaking the marble. She wanted to shrug. She didn't.
Taking a right, she closed the door behind her. Just as she did every day, she followed a path she had followed before. Sometimes, she wished she couldn't remember every time. But she could.
She walked. She practically flowed throughout the white halls. She wasn't in a hurry, though none could tell one way or the other. Too much practice... She wanted this all to be over with. But it wasn't.
She began to think back to what was said a few minutes ago. Reports of climbing- She squashed the thought. The mare wanted to shake her head. She didn't. The day was stressful. Like always, she was never done. Always one more thing to do...
The white mare continued through halls, passing intricate coloured windows. Normally, she paused here. Today, she wasn't feeling up to it. They would survive without her looking out for one day.
Another couple of turns later, she arrived at a scarcely-populated collection of standard marble hallways. She approached a pair of gold and orange doors, an unremarkable symbol of a sun placed in the centre of the two doors' pattern. Beside the door stood two large Solar Knights. The one with a horn was tall, but the one without was nearly half his size again in both height and weight.
The two saluted.
Both saluted at nearly the same time, but she could see the slight hesitance in Sturdy Pillar's movement. Compared to his partner, Solar Flare was the slightest bit faster. Sturdy Pillar is the junior of the two...
She nodded. The two opened a door each, though the unicorn barely struggled with the weight of the door. She walked inside as the two closed the doors behind her.
Finally, inside her quarters, she threw off her regalia and fell to the ground suddenly, all attempts to stand up ignored.
Now that she was alone, she found herself speaking her thoughts aloud, "I almost wish I hadn't outlawed sedatives of the mind..." She sighed. "I could use one right now." The mare sighed. She wished she had not finished today's paperwork so quickly. Nothing like paperwork to dull emotions. Have to wait for tomorrow.
The white mare lay limp for a second. A few seconds. A minute. A couple of minutes. Five minutes. Ten Minutes.
She tilted her head to the left, able to see the soon-to-be sunset's rays on the clouds despite her position on the floor. She shook her head.
Sluggishly standing up, she walked over to her balcony. The curtains were left open by her this morning. The temperature was never a problem due to the enchantments that permeated the room and the air inside.
The white mare looked up at her other half. The balefire in the sky was reaching out to her, requesting the mare to do her duty. She complied.
She stood tall and lit her horn. Her magic gripped the unbreakable metaphysical connection she had. Pouring in more mana than most would have collectively over their life, she felt her mind meld with The Sun.
The mare quivered. She felt a euphoric heat flowing through her veins despite the exhaustion of her magical reserves. The Sun always loved the connection.
The mare sighed as the feeling ebbed away. She sighed. One more. Once more.
The mare stood straight once more. Closing her eyes, she began her search for the other celestial sister. She flinched as she found it. While it never once hurt her, The Moon clearly didn't appreciate her presence, nor her command. The mare's tongue tasted of poison, though she dared not lose her focus.
She offered up an incomplete connection, saturated with mana. The Moon had never completed the connection. The mare hoped it would, though never expected it to. The Moon barely reached out to hold it as it always has.
Celestia ... guided ... The ... Moon ... above ... the ... horizon. ...
Celestia ... severed the connection.
The mare heaved as she struggled to stand. She felt cold in a way she could no other. The Moon always hated the connection.
She opened her eyes, her sun replaced by another's moon.
"Soon, my dear sister... Soon..." She stared at the speckled face on the moon for a long while.
The mare eventually turned and closed the curtains leading to the balcony with her magic. She struggled to put one hoof in front of the other on her way to the large orange bed. It took her longer than normal to close the distance. When she did, she simply flopped onto the bed with no energy to be seen.
Despite her slowly-dissolving hold on her emotions, her tear ducts did nothing. She had cried more than a generation's worth of tears. Soon, Luna.
She felt a shuffling against her left side. She turned her head towards the origin of the feeling. Upon seeing nothing, Aqua shook her head. I still do that... "Yeah, Sunny? You good?"
Sunny hummed questioningly. "I am yes. Why do you ask?"
"Ah, nothin'. Probably just you adjusting how you're sitting or whatever. I felt you move and wondered if you were good."
Aqua heard Sunny hum to herself as she shuffled once more, though Aqua couldn't feel it.
Deciding to be playful, Aqua levitated the ball a bit away, still in her magical grip. Getting better at holding the ball steady from the small bursts of wind... Aqua leaned in, ducking her head and looking up at where the voice sounded from. "Nodding, are you? Without me..?" Aqua shook her head. "For shame, Sunny..."
Sunny began to stifle a giggle.
"I thought you were better than this. Better than nodding to a blind child." Another shake of the head, "For shame..."
"You are perceptive enough to notice, little Aqua."
"Damn right, I am. Hell, I'm even able to tell who's walking based on just the sound of them walking. Like their cadence or whatever. Or even just hear someone's breath and know who it is..." Aqua's head dipped slightly and her eyebrows felt heavy. Reminds me of hanging out with friends...
"I... Yeah." Aqua nodded lightly before a corner of her mouth twitched upwards. "And hey, I noticed that! Glad you're starting to learn how to talk like the rest of us. Congratulations."
"It is a very slow process." Aqua could hear the smile in her voice.
Aqua raised a hoof and leaned further into Sunny's side. "Well, Let me help you with some tips. The first thing to make you sound more hip-." Aqua snorted. Yeah, that's the perfect word for it. "First thing to make you sound normal is definitely to use contractions..." Aqua turned to the side for a second, "I think that's the word." Turning back, she continued, "Anyway, the things you put between two words that become combined or whatever. Things like the word- phrase, my bad- I am to the word I'm. Like, in writing, when you use the apostrophe between the I and the m after it."
Sunny giggled. "I will endeavor to practice that. Do you enjoy the study of language, Aqua?"
Aqua shrugged. "Eh, not really. There's a thing here or there that I find interesting, but that's about it."
"Are you able to think of one thing?"
"Oh. Uh..." Talking with my brother at night would work, I guess. "Yeah, alright I got something. So back when me and my brother lived together, we'd be on different bunks. Me, being the younger one, I was spoiled and chose the top bunk. Though, I think he preferred the bottom bunk. Anyway, bed time came by and we'd do all the normal getting ready for bed stuff, but when it was actually time to fall asleep, we'd start to talk. Normally nothing of substance, but just talk. Talk in the way that siblings often do. Sometimes it'd be nice, other times it'd be a miniature fight. But when-." Aqua heard a particularly unstable breath from Sunny. "Sunny?" Aqua bumped a hoof into Sunny's side. "You- you good?" Did I say something fucked? Aqua felt her eyes twitch upwards and shook her head, stabilizing herself. Not now. Gotta focus on Sunny.
Sunny took a while longer than usual to respond after the pegasus shuffled. "Yes. I am fine. Continue."
Aqua's eyebrows furrowed upwards and she spoke softly, "Are you sure?"
Aqua felt a wing wrap lightly around her back. "Yes, little Aqua. I am fine."
She's lying. "You really didn't sound fine, but alright. I won't pry... Do you want me to continue the story?"
"Yes. I would like to hear it."
Slowly, Aqua continued, "Alright... I think I was talking about me and my brother's late night talks..." Think I just gave context... "Okay, so we'd talk after bedtime, but when we were having an argument or a debate, whatever you want to call it, there'd be some misunderstanding. Like we'd be arguing about something about something, and like after wasting half an hour to an entire hour of us talking in circles, I'd realize that there'd be one critical word we'd completely misunderstand. Not exactly that one of us had the meaning wrong in our head, though that was also sometimes true, it was a thing of I'd know the word to mean a certain thing and set of things connected to it that'd be adjacent or work in close to the same context... Anyway, I'd realize how we understood the word was different... I ended up finding that really, really interesting. But like only that. Pretty much nothing else about language really grabbed my attention. I just like knowing about those differences in word meaning to different people..."
Sunny was still slow to respond. "I... Understand."
Aqua spoke up once more. "I- uh..." I shouldn't give them more... "You know what? Never mind." Aqua shook her head. Hearing shuffling to her left, Aqua spoke up again. "Look, Sunny." I sound old saying that... Aqua leaned further into Sunny's side and put a hoof on her shoulder. "There's something on your mind, and while I don't want to be pushy... Are you sure you're okay? Is there any way I can help?"
Aqua stayed still in that position for what felt like a whole minute before Sunny spoke up, "In the future, yes. But not now, Aqua."
Fuck. Aqua slowly nodded and tried rubbing Sunny's side, though it was hard considering how much larger and taller Sunny was. "Alright... Sunny just remember. We're friends, even if fairly new ones. You can say what's on your mind to me. I promise that I won't tell anyone... And if I can help, even if it's only just listening, hit me up... While I'm not a therapist, my mom was one." Shouldn't have said that. Too late now. Works as sharing trust. Aqua feigned a chuckle and a tiny smile. "She almost wanted me to become one. Last time I talked to her I think she still did... Anyway, my point is that I picked up some insights, if you ever want to just vent."
Sunny hugged Aqua closer with her wing and spoke up, "Maybe soon, Aqua..."
"Alright." Aqua nodded and faced the larger person as her mind raced. She's not okay. Maybe..? No. Maybe it's a sibling problem..? That might be it... It would make sense.
The two sat in the late afternoon breeze in silence, though Aqua was focused on Sunny.
Sunny adjusted her right foreleg, lightly brushing against the little one. The squirrels are quite fortunate that they are able to take a break in the winter.
Sunny heard a sound from her close right. "Yeah, Sunny? You good?"
Sunny turned her eyes away from the nature around them towards Aqua. She hummed questioningly. "I am yes. Why do you ask?"
The filly suddenly had amusement showing on her face. "Ah, nothin'. Probably just you adjusting how you're sitting or whatever. I felt you move and wondered if you were good."
Oh... Sunny hummed an acknowledgement and nodded as she leaned back to get a better view of the filly.
Deciding to be playful, Aqua levitated the ball a bit away, still in her magical grip. She is improving quite well if she can hold the ball steady in the wind... Aqua leaned in, ducking her head and looking up at Sunny. "Nodding, are you? Without me..?" Aqua shook her head. "For shame, Sunny..."
Sunny began to stifle a giggle. Only a foal...
"I thought you were better than this. Better than nodding to a blind child." Aqua shook her head once more. "For shame..."
Sunny's eyebrows raised up. "You are perceptive enough to notice, little Aqua."
Aqua straightened out and beat her right hoof against her chest.
Sunny's eyebrows lifted further.
"Damn right, I am." Aqua smiled with an almost-fake wideness. "Hell, I'm even able to tell who's walking based on just the sound of them walking... Like their cadence or whatever."
She has adapted well...
"Or even just hear someone's breath and know who it is..." Aqua's face fell as her head drooped.
I understand your plight, little Aqua... Sunny changed her expression to one of concern. "Aqua? Are you... good?"
"I..." The filly's head twitched up before freezing. "Yeah." Aqua slowly nodded. After a second, she looked back up and grinned, "And hey, I noticed that!"
Sunny's pulled her head back slightly. What?
The filly was still smiling. "Glad you're starting to learn how to talk like the rest of us. Congratulations."
Oh... Sunny touched a hoof to her chin. I suppose. Sunny felt the corners of her mouth raise as she stared at Aqua. "It is a very slow process."
The filly animatedly put a hoof up as she leaned her body and head onto the larger pony. "Well, Let me help you with some tips." The filly's grin got bigger as her one of her eyebrows went up while the other stayed down. "The first thing to make you sound more hip-." Aqua giggled to herself and put a hoof to her mouth. "First thing to make you sound normal is definitely to use contractions..." Aqua turned to the side for a second and moved her hoof to her chin, "I think that's the word." She turned back to the direction of Sunny as her hoof went back up. "Anyway, the things you put between two words that become combined or whatever. Things like the word," She quickly glanced directly towards Sunny's neck with her head and hoof. "phrase, my bad" Back. "I am to the word I'm." The filly shrugged. "Like, in writing, when you use the apostrophe between the I and the m after it."
She seems quite passionate about language. Sunny put a hoof to her mouth and giggled. "I will endeavor to practice that." Sunny nodded once. "Do you enjoy the study of language, Aqua?"
Aqua shrugged dramatically and leaned away from the yellow pegasus. "Eh, not really. There's a thing here or there that I find interesting, but that's about it."
Sunny furrowed her eyebrows. Hm. "Are you able to think of one thing?"
Aqua looked straight for a second. "Oh. Uh..." Suddenly, the filly's eyelids drooped as her seemingly ever-present minor grin faded.
Sunny focused on Aqua's eyes. She may not be able to see, but she still moves her eyes as if she still could. Sunny grew a frown and leaned in further. Still did not get an answer about her past... Sunny suddenly heard giggling and mentally chided herself before listening to Aqua once more.
Aqua leaned to the side and covered her tiny smile. A second later, the filly shook her head. "Anyway, bed time came by and we'd do all the normal getting ready for bed stuff, but when it was actually time to fall asleep, we'd start to talk. Normally nothing of substance, but just talk. Talk in the way that siblings often do."
Oh...
Sunny suddenly felt a small hoof jab into her side. "You- you good?"
Sunny saw little Aqua was looking up at her with concern clear on her face. Sunny blinked and noticed that her eyes were wet. Sunny disguised her wiping her eyes with a wing before responding. "Yes. I am fine. Continue."
Aqua's eyebrows furrowed upwards and she quietly asked again, "Are you sure?"
Sunny spread her currently yellow wing over the filly before giving her a soft hug with it. She nodded. "Yes, little Aqua. I am fine."
The filly furrowed her eyebrows.
She has a good sense for lying.
The filly turned her head to the side and looked up at Sunny. Aqua slowly continued, "You really didn't sound fine, but alright... I won't pry." Aqua glanced down with her eyes for a second before speaking once more, "Do you want me to continue the story?"
It would be a good distraction. Sunny nodded. "Yes. I would like to hear it."
Slowly, Aqua continued, now looking at Sunny's side. "Alright... I think I was talking about me and my brother's late night talks..." The filly stopped talking and froze for a second. The filly nodded. "Okay, so we'd talk after bedtime, but when we were having an argument or a debate, whatever you want to call it, there'd be some misunderstanding. Sunny looked down, still listening. Sunny nodded as her eyes searched the ground. Out of the corner of her eye, Sunny could see Aqua rolling her eyes, shaking her head, and shrugging. "Like we'd be arguing about something about something, and like after wasting half an hour to an entire hour of us talking in circles, I'd realize that there'd be one critical word we'd completely misunderstand."
Sunny's eyelids drooped. More than a simple word for us two. She steeled her expression and forced herself to look at the filly.
"Not exactly that one of us had the meaning wrong in our head, though that was also sometimes true, it was a thing of I'd know the word to mean a certain thing and set of things connected to it that'd be adjacent or work in close to the same context... Anyway, I'd realize how we understood the word was different... I ended up finding that really, really interesting. But like only that. Pretty much nothing else about language really grabbed my attention. I just like knowing about those differences in word meaning to different people..."
Sunny leaned back as her eyes widened slightly, staring at Aqua. "I... Understand."
Aqua spoke up but cut herself off suddenly. "I- uh..." Aqua looked down to the side shakily. "You know what? Never mind." Aqua shook her head.
Sunny leaned her head down, watching Aqua from an even height. Is she..?
"Look, Sunny." The filly looked the other way before turning back to Sunny with a sympathetic look. Aqua leaned into Sunny's before the filly lifted a hoof. The filly put the hoof on the side of her barrel. After making contact, she looked up where Sunny's neck. Sunny moved her head so the filly would be looking at it. "There's something on your mind, and while I don't want to be pushy..." Aqua leaned in a little bit more. "Are you sure you're okay? Is there any way I can help?"
Sunny's eyebrows lifted. More than a little perceptive... Sunny looked towards her own wing lightly wrapped around the mostly-blue filly. Sunny's eyes moistened. Like we used to do. Sunny mouth changed to a sad smile as she looked up at the sky. Sunny breathed out heavily as she stared. Tonight. Shaking her head, she turned back towards the filly. Sunny nodded. "In the future, yes. But not now, Aqua."
Aqua froze before giving a subdued nod. The filly then leaned into Sunny once more. "Alright..." Aqua looked back up at where Sunny's head was with a somber expression. "Sunny just remember. We're friends," A quick glance to the side, "Even if fairly new ones. You can say what's on your mind to me. I promise that I won't tell anyone... And if I can help, even if it's only just listening, hit me up..." Aqua suddenly continued quickly, "While I'm not a therapist, my mom was one." The filly then flinched as if she were pinched. Aqua forced out a fake laugh and gave another sad smile. Aqua looked away before jerking her head back. Continuing, the filly spoke with an embarrassed tone. "She almost wanted me to become one. Last time I talked to her I think she still did..." Another look away and tear back. "Anyway, my point is that I picked up some insights, if you ever want to just vent."
Sunny looked at the filly and smiled. Hugging the filly closer, Sunny spoke up, "Maybe soon, Aqua..."
"Alright." The filly spoke uncertainly and nodded slowly.
Looking at the filly, Sunny waited for her to continue, but she didn't. The filly faced the pegasus for a few seconds before slowly looking straight ahead. Sunny could tell Aqua was thinking about her.
As Sunny stared at the smaller, blue filly, Sunny sighed. So much like Luna... Sunny faced the sky once more.
Cotton could feel the filly twitching on her back as Cotton walked.
"Like, I just. I don't know. I wanna be there already, but it's class, so ew."
Cotton giggled. "You remind me of myself when I was younger. I-" Cotton intended to continue, but was cut off.
The filly spoke with not a small amount of snark, "Well, yeah. I'm just you but younger. In like every way. Absolutely. One hundred percent. My name is even Cotton."
Cotton sighed and hung her head. Slowing her pace, she facehooved.
The filly's giggling bled into her sentence, "Anyway... It's- I'm excited. It's the first day of the school year. At a new school too! Why wouldn't I be excited, Cotton? Sure, some kids would be very against it. You know, those ones who just kinda dislike school and shit." The filly tensed.
"Aqua. Language." Cotton sighed again.
"Yeah, sorry. I know I can't talk like that at the school but anyway, So like those people don't really like doing stuff, or just kinda don't like being bored. I mean, hell, being bored is just like the opposite end of having fun. You gotta be bored now and then to have fun, right? And if something is really boring, and then you get to do something that's only a little fun, it's great suddenly!"
Cotton forced herself to look forward as she trotted down the street. Other ponies were glancing this way. Don't blame them. Cotton mentally sighed.
Aqua continued, unaware of the attention she was gathering. "Sure, that boredom isn't fun itself, but that's life. You gotta go through the boring, unfun stuff, or else you don't get the fun stuff. Sure, school is sometimes fun, and sometimes, though it's often more than just sometimes, not fun. But that's why you choose the good classes. Well, good is also subjective, but damn. Some classes aren't ever fun. Like take math, for example."
Cotton could feel Aqua talk animatedly, slightly moving about atop her back. Does she know ponies are watching?
"Math really isn't fun. Well, unless you're a nerd or a geek or something. I don't remember the proper terminology. Anyway, where was I? Oh right, math. Math isn't really fun at all. It's boring and basically you just input funny number into funny equation and work it out. It's like if you made a puzzle but just made it not fun. Sure, you're gonna be able to complete it in time, but it's just boring. Well, not if you're one of those mathematicians who like make new theories and stuff. Though that's more physics and other stuff like that. Not really what you would do in a class. You don't go around changing the world in a single class, after all."
Cotton turned to the filly on her back as she walked slower.
"That kind of stuff comes after the classes, and like after you've graduated." The filly leaned to her side slightly, "At least that's how I think it works." Leaned back. "There's very likely been people who really did change the world with like one simple theory in classes." Aqua turned her head. "I think some famous geniuses did that. But that's beyond the standard for someone to expect or even strive for. It's really annoying sometimes, though. Comparing yourself to someone great, but like also, that could be you." Aqua's forehooves shot into the sky. "You just don't know yet! All you gotta do is just keep trying! Well, that and hope for the best. Though sometimes that doesn't really help. But then you got other problems like depression." The filly breathed in deeply, nearly hyperventilating due to how much air she just used up.
Cotton opened her mouth to speak.
Only to be cut off as the filly looked straight forward and slightly leaned back. "Wow I'm really energetic." Which meant she was now facing Cotton's face. Aqua's ears also began to twitch and turn this way and that. "Oh." Her cheeks and ears reddened.
Cotton giggled. At least she knows. Turning back to the road, she spoke to the filly, "Relax, Aqua. It's your first day of class. You'll be fine."
Aqua laughed. "Oh I'm not anxious I'm-. I know I said I was nervous or something, but that's normal. I'm only normally nervous. But I'm not anxious. It's like a... a... uh... I don't know, something like anticipation for both the event and for the event to be over, I suppose? So like excited and maybe just slightly nervous, but like it's gonna be weird... Yeah."
"It'll all be okay, Aqua."
"Yeah, I know. I just gotta stop being so energetic. Unfortunately I can't really go running around while we walk. WAIT! I can just do the levitation thing. That bleeds off energy, right?" Cotton felt the filly reach a hoof into the saddlebags on Cotton's back.
"Aqua, we're almost there. Just wait a little bit, okay?"
Aqua groaned, hoof still in bag. "How long you thinking? Can you see the building?"
Cotton giggled again. "Yes, but you can see it from most of Canterlot. We are close, though."
"Oh, okay. Why didn't you start with that, though? And I got you... How tall is the building if you can see it from most of the city?"
The pegasus looked over the nearby storefronts at the large building not far in the distance. "I'm... not sure. It's almost four or five houses tall? And the highest points are all towers."
"Oh okay, so more like a cathedral rather than just a really really large building. Makes sense. Easier to build, as well."
Cotton's eyebrows furrowed. "You know how to make buildings?"
The filly giggled. "No, I just know some things here and there that are fairly important. Arches, and how pyramids work." The pegasus could hear the smile on Aqua's face as she lowered her voice for a second. "Stack rock on rock. Simple."
Cotton laughed. Turning a corner, the pegasus could now see the front doors of Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. Cotton looked back at the filly on her back and smirked. "Hey Aqua."
The filly had a smile on her face as she tilted her head. "Yeah?"
Cotton shuffled forward as the line in front of her shrunk one by one. Most ponies in the line were colts and fillies with their parents, but a few of them appeared to be young adults checking themself in with the receptionist. The filly on Cotton's back was twitching even more than a minute ago and she mentally sighed. Thank Celestia she's been quiet though. The pegasus once more thought about the papers in her saddlebag. Identification, registration, transfer papers, though I don't think that will be that helpful to them, and finally... Cotton turned to the filly on her withers. Aqua.. The pegasus nodded to herself. I think we have everything. Said filly was twitching and trying to hold herself in place, though it was very clear it was not working. She also seemed to be sporting a fickle smile.
The other colts and fillies seemed to be a lot less nervous than Aqua was, most only being slightly nervous. The older students didn't even look nervous at all! Cotton blinked as she realized something and looked down at her own hooves. Cotton was also shifting in place as she waited. The pegasus softly grinned and leaned into Aqua before whispering to the filly, "I think your nervousness is also making me nervous." Cotton giggled.
Aqua leaned in as well and whispered as well, "Nah, I ain't nervous. As I said outside, I'm just excited. Really excited."
Cotton kept her grin. "You sure?"
The filly nodded. "Yup. I'm getting into a school where I get to learn about magic!" The filly whispered and raised her hooves slightly, careful not to make too much of a spectacle.
Gotton giggled. "Whatever you say, Aqua."
Aqua raised her nose and spoke like some nobles Cotton had talked to in the past. "Indeed I do."
Cotton suddenly heard a sound behind her. Looking past the filly, she spotted a unicorn mare with a colt by her side. The mare was making eye contact with Cotton and pointing past her towards the desk. The pegasus whipped her head around to see one more pony in front of her. Letting out a sigh of relief, Cotton turned back to the mare and nodded, though the mare didn't look that happy now that she got a second glance at her. Cotton blushed and faced forward once more.
Above the magenta-coloured receptionist was a clock on the wall. The clock read a little past seven forty. Cotton glanced back down at the pony in front of her. Right on time. The pony in front of Cotton was a blue stallion and on his side was a small purple filly nearly twice the size of Aqua. Looks to be a year or two older than Aqua as well, though a much healthier size than her... Shaking her head, the pegasus noticed the two in front of her begin to lean towards right side of the reception room. Left is offices and right is classes?
The two ponies walked off and Cotton found herself walking forward on unsteady hooves. On the other side of the desk was a thin unicorn mare behind the large desk. Wow she's stunning.
The receptionist spoke up with a smile before Cotton could. "Hi! My name's Velvet Dreams, miss. How may I help you?"
"Hi! Nice to meet you, Velvet. I'm here to sign in a filly named Aqua. It's her first year here but she was too old to join in with the other first years... Oh, right! Here's her papers and school I.D." Cotton turned quickly and fished into her saddlebags with a hoof.
When cotton turned back, Velvet looked at the filly with a smaller smile. "Aw. I'm sorry to hear that, Aqua. Trust me, though, the first year's orientation isn't much more than what you'll be seeing. You're gonna see the orientation with everypony else. The first years have an extra thing first which is basically just a big test in an open room. And if you're already in, then you're already done with tests. You'll be fine."
"Thanks, Velvet. I know I'm gonna be fine. I just gotta get used to it, is all."
As Cotton found and pulled out the correct papers, Velvet Dreams continued, "That's a good way of looking at it. You're quite smart."
"Thanks."
As Cotton hooved the packets of paper over the desk, Velvet grasped them with her purple magic and began to scan them quickly with her eyes. "Let me just look over some of these real quick."
Aqua spoke up first, "All good."
Glancing back at the filly, she was bobbing her head side to side with her eyes open, as if she were hearing music. Cotton's ears perked up, but she couldn't hear any music. Eventually, Cotton turned back forward, occasionally glancing at Velvet. Said unicorn's face was going from emotion to emotion, though to her credit, she kept up a smile the whole time. With a small look of pity, Velvet made eye contact with Cotton and spoke quietly, "May I see her real quick?"
To see Aqua? Cotton reacted perhaps a little slower than she should have, but turned and leaned slightly, allowing Velvet a clear look at the blue filly atop her withers.
Velvet's smile dampened even further, pity taking residence on her face. Glancing at the filly, Cotton saw Aqua facing Velvet, still lightly bobbing her head, but ears fully focused on the unicorn. As Cotton looked forward once more, the unicorn nodded solemnly at Cotton. Over the course of one second, the magenta unicorn's smile was as perfect as it was when Cotton walked up to the desk. "Well, you're all set, Aqua!"
"Ah, great to hear."
"Yup, it is!" Aqua's papers floated back to Cotton and she grabbed them with a hoof. "So, all you two need to do is go down the hallway on your right," Velvet pointed down the hall to her left with a hoof, "and just follow the signs. They'll lead you straight to one of our assembly rooms. You two'll be free to go inside and find a seat. Just sit and listen, and you'll be fine. Afterwards, you'll have to talk to one of the staff. They're all wearing a dark purple stripe of cloth in their manes. They'll get you sorted properly... Also," Velvet glanced down at a paper on her desk for a second, "Cotton Ball, is that right?" At her nod, the unicorn in front of her continued, "Unfortunately despite being as close to being her guardian as you are, you'll need to leave once Aqua's sorted with the staff."
Cotton began to protest, "Really? But-"
"The staff will take care of Aqua." Velvet looked at Cotton, her smile smaller and more genuine than her earlier one. "It's not the most ideal situation, but neither of you need to worry. She'll be in good hooves."
"I-" The pegasus started, only to be cut off again.
"Cotton, it's fine." Turning to look at the filly, Aqua continued with a placating smile, "I'll be fine. It's like the biggest school here. They definitely have the funds and support. Plus, you're with me for at least a bit more." Aqua then smirked and raised an eyebrow. "That is, unless you wanna chicken out."
Cotton sighed and relaxed slightly. "Alright." Turning back to Velvet, she continued, "Okay. Thank you, Velvet Dreams. I hope we meet again soon."
Starting to walk off to the right, the unicorn waved and smiled at the both of them. "I do as well. Now, have fun you two!"
Aqua and Cotton both spoke out a, "Thank you!" and started down the hallway.
After turning a corner, Cotton spoke up to the filly as she twitched on the pegasus' back. "Are you sure you're gonna be okay?"
Aqua giggled and nodded. "Yeah, I'll be fine, Cotton." The filly breathed onto her hoof and rubbed it against her chest. Putting on a deep voice, she continued. "Besides, this isn't my first day being blind. I'm practically a pro at this point." The filly giggled once more.
Cotton found Aqua's laugh contagious and joined her, though with a more subdued laugh. "Well, if you think you're gonna be fine, then alright. Let's go see this orientation."
"Sounds like a plan."
Following a large sign, Cotton turned one more corner and saw an open door with sounds of people coming from within.
As Cotton continued down the hallway, Aqua spoke out once more, "Well, here we go..."
As the two made their way through the door of the Assembly, Cotton was overwhelmed with sound. Briefly covering her eyes with a hoof, she looked around the sun-flooded room. Above her, the ceiling was almost entirely stained-glass windows depicting The Princess and other ponies accomplishing scholastic feats Cotton didn't recognize. The colours filtering through the windows painted the room in an almost ethereal multi-hue light that the pegasus found beautiful.
A light touch on the back of her neck and a voice just behind her, "You good Cotton?"
Cotton shook her head as she was broken out of her reverie. "Yeah, sorry, I was just... distracted."
"Ah I got you. There is a lot going on from what I can hear... This is the Assembly room or whatever right?"
The pegasus nodded. "Yeah." Looked around for a place to sit, she saw a large collection of cushy seats slightly curved around a podium on a small stage. Wow. Everything is amazing. Polished woods, shining marble... it's beautiful. There were a few open seats across the room. Sadly all the seats in the back are taken.
"You sure you're okay?"
"Sorry. I was looking for a seat."
Aqua hummed aloud. "Which ones are taken?"
"Most of the seats are taken, and only a few in the front or middle are empty"
"Oh, okay. Yeah, just go for the front seats then... Wait, describe the room. Like the general layout."
"Um. The room has a podium on the far side, where I imagine the principal will talk to everypony. On the close side are rows of seats, slightly curving around the podium."
"Okay, yeah. Just pick one of the front seats. slightly to the left or the right, if those are open." Cotton began to trot towards the left front side of the seats. "So, uh... You good? You were frozen a bit there."
Cotton nearly tripped as she descended the stairs between rows of seats. "Oh..." She doesn't need to hear it. "It's nothing. Just something that I remembered."
"Oh? Like? You crushing on someone?"
Cotton giggled, loud enough for Aqua to hear it, but didn't respond otherwise. What would I even tell her? That she can't see how nice the room is? That would just be mean. The pegasus shook her head, focusing back on finding a seat. Nearing the front row, Cotton decided on a section near the aisle on the second-to-front row. Shuffling into the row, Cotton opened her wings to help Aqua get down into a seat. "Aqua, we're at the seat. Follow my wings."
Aqua let out a little gasp as Cotton's left wing lightly supported the filly's left side. Cotton right wing opened flat, letting Aqua slide down it directly onto a cushion.
Turning to the filly on her back, "Sorry. Aqua. Down my right wing is a cushion you can sit on. Do you think you can do that?"
Aqua grinned. "Heh. I should be. As long as nothin' comes out of nowhere." The filly began to climb down the provided wing.
Cotton furrows her brow and leans her head back, taking care not to move her barrel or withers. "What?"
Aqua briefly stopped and waived a hoof downwards. "Ah don't worry 'bout it. Unfunny joke, is all."
"Alright," Cotton slowly responded.
Aqua was almost onto the cushion, so Cotton began to help lead the filly now that she was no longer directly on her back. Aqua made another tiny noise, but didn't otherwise protest. A second of help later, and the filly was sat on one of the red cushions. "Oh wow, these are nice cushions."
Now joining her in sitting down, Cotton agreed, "You're right, they are."
The filly had a smile on her face as she looked downwards, "I know I said that this place was well-funded, but I can really feel it now."
The pegasus giggled. Looking up, she noticed a clock off to the side of the room, on both sides now that she looked at the other side. Five or so more minutes... Cotton looked down at Aqua. The filly's smile was smaller now, and her ears twisted this way and that. She's probably having a hard time being able to hear so much better than others in the room... Glancing at the rest of the room, those with parents or the occasional pony sitting next to another near the same age, were talking openly. The parents with their children were a little more quiet than the pairs, though. Probably nervous?
Aqua broke the silence between the two, "How long do we gotta wait, ya think?"
"The clock says a little under four minutes till eight, so that long, is my guess."
"Ah. Well, I got a great way to spend the time." Turning to Aqua, she found a grin on the filly's face. "Small talk!"
