Noblesse Oblige

"NO!!!"

The usually calm and collected Princesses' shout pierced the air, ringing through the stadium. The spectators went quiet as the alicorn teleported next to her battered student, twitching faintly on the ground. The pegasus tilted his head in confusion, creaking sounds coming from him as the ice he was covered in from hoof to ear formed cracks along his neck.

"That... That's enough. You won. She is defeated. You can stop now," The Princess declared, carefully examining Twilight while keeping one eye on her competitor.

The pegasus snorted in disdain, steam wafting through the sides of his icy helmet. "Really, princess, what is this statement even supposed to be? This was a contest, not a fight to the death. Are you implying that I forgot that in the heat of battle? Or that I am so undisciplined that I'm unable to control myself? This is just an insult, plain and simple."

Celestia opened her mouth, before closing it again and recomposing herself. After making sure that Twilight really was fine and her tournament amulet indeed protected her from any kind of permanent harm, she offered a small bow to the stallion.

"I apologize. That was the most intense magic duel I have witnessed in... Centuries, if not longer. You have fought with a ferocity I haven't seen in a long, long time, and I was worried that your last strike might have even broken the amulet. Twilight is very capable academically, but in applying her knowledge practically, she is still a novice, and I grew concerned she wouldn't manage to protect herself from getting harmed. I got... A little overexcited, I suppose. Congratulations on your victory."

The pegasus cracked a smile - literally, as a horizontal crack ran across his helmet along his mouth, several pieces of ice falling off and exposing a grinning mouth. He slowly began laughing, quietly at first, but the volume of his jubilation kept rising until the entire stadium was echoing with his laughter. Slightly wobbly, he rose on tattered wings, raising his hooves up and celebrating his victory.

"Oh yeah! Oh yeah! You hear that, everyone? Who's the baddest badflank in town? Well, not me, 'cause I'm the damn best! Ha! Whoooooooooo! Bet all those unicorns who were betting against me are quite sore now, eh? Haha! That's right, the best mage around is a pegasus! How'd you like them apples?!"

The stands erupted in cheers, the loudest coming from the gathered pegasi and earth ponies, though most of the unicorns cheered as well, acknowledging his impressive victory over the Princesses' personal student in a climactic magic duel. He circled the arena a couple times, hitting various points on his body with his hooves and shedding his frozen armor piece by piece. Chants of "Hurricane, hurricane" were soon started up by a few enthusiastic pegasi, the sound carried across the stands by their powerful lungs.

Meanwhile, Twilight Sparkle groaned, opening her eyes. After a minute of waiting for her eyes to refocus, she saw the face of Princess Celestia, who managed to look both concerned and amused at the same time. Trying to raise her head, she hissed as various points across her body throbbed painfully.

"And here you were saying how you didn't want to participate because being my personal student gave you an unfair advantage and you'd wipe the floor with the competition," Celestia said in her amused/concerned voice.

Twilight flinched, lying back down and groaning again. "Yeah, there was some wiping of the floor with the competition done, alright... Not by me, though... Ow. I think I learned a lesson about humility somewhere in there, but I don't think I can properly formulate it right now. Oooh, that smarts. I'm going to feel that in the morning. And for the next week, probably."

Celestia chuckled, gently lifting the unicorn up with her magic and carrying her off. "Don't sell yourself so short. You fought him to a standstill several times, and almost took him out before the end with that beam attack."

Twilight cringed, remembering how the stallion twisted out of the way the last moment, taking the hit on his wing instead of his chest like she was aiming for. He was unharmed, but almost all the feathers on his left wing got disintegrated completely. Even though she knew that causing lethal damage was impossible due to the tournament amulets, she still had trouble using her full power to attack ponies like that, especially after she saw the effects on her opponent's wing. It was hard to overcome her instincts and go all out, despite the intellectual knowledge that it was safe to do so.

The stallion had no such issues. He flung hail, lightning, water, wind, clouds, and everything else he could think of at her with wild abandon. As her shields were worn down, she began to have serious doubts that she would win against him even if she did go all out on her attack.

"Yeah... Almost. He still won, though, and it wasn't a fluke. He beat me, Princess, fair and square. That... Princess, that was amazing! Who - what - how - where'd he even come from?!" She babbled, her academic curiosity instantly overtaking any concerns about losing the tournament, the entire matter already forgotten.

The Princess chuckled again, looking fondly at her ever so predictable student. "All good questions, Twilight. Ones which I would like to ask him myself, in fact. I'm afraid I haven't the foggiest about any of the answers, though. Naturally, I went to the ponies who admitted him into the tournament, but they couldn't tell me anything, either. "Stormsinger" seems to be an alias, a stage-name of sorts, not his real name. He passed the entry test effortlessly, but was rather tight-lipped about how, where, or from who he learned to do what he does. He was only interested in the competition, and didn't stay around to chat after his matches."

Twilight furrowed her brows, dredging up every tiny tidbit she could remember about the pegasus mage that she learned while observing his duels. There wasn't much. Plenty on his abilities, but practically nothing about the actual pony. She only came out of her deep contemplation after Celestia set her back down on the ground, standing up on shaky legs.

"Everything alright, Twilight?" The Princess asked.

"Hrrrg," Twilight grunted, stretching out her limbs like a cat. "I'm fine. Just sore all over. And tired, but I'm fine now," she reassured the Princess, looking around.

She was standing on a platform next to the judge's podium, where Celestia observed the competition and where the final trophies were going to be awarded to the winners. The pegasus - Stormsinger - touched down close by, landing a tad heavily, but with a huge smile on his face.

She took the opportunity to examine him more closely, now that he wasn't covered in ice any more. That ability of his still baffled her immensely - in unicorn duels, freezing your opponent was an incredibly effective tactic to shut down the fight almost instantly, while he somehow managed to flip the whole thing on it's head completely. Somehow, he'd pull moisture right from the air, and craft incredibly durable and strong armor that also managed to remain flexible.

It made perfect sense, in a way - pegasi were well known to be able to manipulate moisture, cold, heat, ice, and all sorts of weather effects, but to combine those skills into freezing yourself while simultaneously imbuing the armor with pegasus magic to make it near indestructable was an application of skill that was completely unheard of, along with many of his other tricks.

"Not tricks," She reminded herself. "Magic. All pegasus magic, yet applied with such skill and creativity, everyone was left stunned."

He could summon lightning from thin air, shooting absolutely massive bolts of electricity from any part of his body (she learned that when she teleported behind him in hopes of surprising him, and he blasted her with a bolt from his tail), instantly freeze everything around him, hold the very air in front of him like a shield, or even pull the air from your lungs.

Twilight shuddered. That one was terrifying.

Shaking her head, she came back to the present. Examining the stallion again, she didn't find anything out of the ordinary. In fact, he was almost aggressively average - his coat was a slate gray, with a white mane and tail, mimicking the cloudy coloration of many pegasi. The only outlier was that he was quite tall, matching her brother in stature, though not in physique - he still had the sleek pegasine build, making him look a bit lanky with his height. She grimaced a bit at seeing his torn up feathers.

Princess Celestia gave a polite "ahem" into the microphone near her stand and spoke, addressing the crowd.

"It is my great pleasure to announce the winner of this year's Canterlot Grand Mage tournament, master Stormsinger of Cloudsdale!" Waiting for a moment for the applause to die down, she continued. "And what a victory it was! It has been some time since a self-taught mage managed to become the champion of this ancient competition, and it is certainly the first time in the entire history of the tournament that a pegasus even applied, let alone defeated every challenger that stood before them. I don't think I need to tell you how truly impressive the last mage duel was - you all saw it with your own eyes. And so, I am proud to present the first place prize to this year's champion!"

She levitated a small box from below the podium, opening it and holding out the object inside. Stopping before the stallion, Celestia hesitated, evidently having forgotten one tiny, crucial detail - the trophy was a golden horn ring, engraved with the year's date and the tournament's symbol. And the pegasus didn't exactly have a horn.

"Ah...."

Seeing her hesitate, Stormsinger put a hoof on his mouth, trying not to burst out laughing. After getting his mirth under control, he grabbed a stray piece of ice still stuck in his coat, licking it and forming it into a long icicle. With a *splop*, he stuck it on his forehead where a unicorn's horn would be, freezing it in place.

"There we go. Problem solved," he spoke, puffing up his chest and standing proudly like a peacock.

There were a few snickers from the spectators. With a smile, Celestia stuck the horn ring right on the icicle, stepping back a moment later. Retrieving another ring, this time a silver one, she stepped towards Twilight.

"And for the second place, the one who gave it her all, Twilight Sparkle!"

There was plenty of applause for Twilight as well, though slightly less than Stormsinger received. Closing the box, Celestia stepped away from the two tired, bedraggled, but proud contestants. There was no third place in these competitions - in the first years, there wasn't even a trophy for second place. When competing in olden times, unicorns really tended to only praise the very best of the best.

Having stowed the box, she approached the pair again, her eyes firmly on the pegasus. He was fixing up his wings, creating new feathers from fluffy hoarfrost and ice where he had gaps in his plumage. Marveling at yet another display of his fascinating magic, she cleared her throat, which had the effect of both getting his attention and snapping Twilight out of staring at the stallion in open-mouthed wonder.

"So, master Stormsinger, you certainly were the wildest wildcard I have ever seen in any of these tournaments. I have never seen nor heard of anything like your magic, ever. Before you leave us, would you kindly join my student and I for a cup of tea?"

The stallion grimaced a little, attaching another feather to his wing. Being covered in frost really didn't seem to bother him in the slightest. "Eh... No offense, Princess, but tea doesn't sound like the kind of drink you'd go for when you're celebrating a grand victory in battle. Now, a mug of cider or ale... Heh. Also, most teas don't really agree with my stomach."

Celestia chuckled, giving him a diplomatic smile. "Oh, believe me, I'm used to entertaining all kinds of guests, master Stormsinger. I certainly have some good cider, ale, and all kinds of drinks in my cellar. I think I can break out the "good stuff" in light of your amazing show of skill."

"Master... That's like the wizard thing, right? Haven't really studied the whole unicorn mage hierarchy."

"Yes, an accomplished wizard is often called a master, even if the exact qualifications for that title are a little foggy. The title tends to get awarded to ponies that are respected by their peers, but there have been instances of all kinds of hedge wizards no one ever heard of showing up from the wilderness to test their mettle against their "civilized" counterparts, and winning. Any unicorn - or any pony, I suppose - that won a tournament like this instantly earns the title."

The pegasus considered her offer for a moment, before giving a shrug and a nod. "Oh, I could stay to catch my breath before I fly off, I suppose."

This made Twilight squee in delight, trotting in place excitedly before her sore muscles made her stop. "Oh my goodness, this is so amazing! I thought that maybe this was some kind of lost ancient pegasus fighting art, but if even Princess Celestia never heard of it, you must have come up with it all by yourself! Oh, I can't wait to hear all about it!"

Stormsinger shrugged, making a "so-so" gesture with his foreleg. "Mostly on my own, though there were some old texts I read... And really, I'm not overly surprised that the princess of unicorns hasn't heard anything about it."

The casual remark had a sudden and immediate effect. Twilight stopped, looking at him in confusion. Celestia's expression changed as well, though she was wearing a slight frown. Pursing her lips, she addressed the stallion.

"Master Stormsinger, I assure you, I care about all of my little ponies equally, not just unicorns. I really don't know where you got such strange ideas."

That made him let out a massive, long-suffering groan, his whole frame sagging. Standing up again, he muttered through gritted teeth. "This is why I keep to myself..." Louder, he spoke. "And have I said you care about unicorns more than other tribes? No. No, I did not. I just stated the obvious fact, and it has nothing to do with tribalism. Obvious for me, at least - I've long since got used to the fact that my observations are never understood correctly by ponies and are considered either inappropriate, nonsensical or crazy. Such as my ideas for improving my magic," He explained, snorting bitterly. "Since my wild, outlandish thoughts clearly don't interest you any more, I'll be taking my leave. Good day, your Highness."

He gave her a short bow and was about to take off, before Twilight recovered her wits and jumped in front of him. "Wait! You can't just leave! Not after... After that! You can't just accuse the Princess like -"

"What Twilight means," Celestia interrupted, draping her wing across her student's back comfortingly. "I am sorry if I offended you with my misunderstanding. Judging from your reaction, this seems like a sore topic for you. However, I must insist that you see it from my perspective, as well. I don't really see how I could have misconstrued your statement. If I love all my ponies equally, then how can I be a "Princess of unicorns?"

Celestia's tone wasn't overly apologetic, and it was obvious that she was using her vast experience of diplomacy to remain polite, though she was quite curious, as well. After a pause, Stormsinger huffed, before sighing. "How in the world are you not?"

Trotting closer to the pair, he turned towards Twilight. Looking the unhappy mare in the eye, he asked her. "You are her student, yes? So, you would be rather well suited to answer this question, I think. Miss Twilight, what is a Princess?"

This stumped the unicorn, so she turned towards Celestia, examining her. "Well... Alicorn? Though not historically. Um, ruler of a nation? The highest rank of nobility?"

"All correct," he nodded. "Though, where does it come from? Where does the idea, the notion, the word, the concept, the context of a princess comes from? As you said - historically, alicorns weren't the first princesses. Those were the unicorns, and ONLY the unicorns. Did pegasi have princesses? Uh, no. We had senators, legates, and so on. The Earth ponies had mayors, chancellors, and other elected officials. The whole structure of the nobility was the exclusive domain of unicorns."

Twilight was frowning, and opening her mouth to protest, before Stormsinger wagged a hoof in front of her face.

"Ah ah ah! No interruptions. Let me finish, please, or I'm leaving." After a pause, he continued. "So, the very idea of a princess comes from unicorns. That includes, as I said, the context of what a princess is. Observe - she's wearing a crown," He said, pointing to said article on Celestia's brow. "Again, neither pegasi nor earth ponies ever did that. The way a princess is "supposed" to be - from what she wears to how she behaves - comes entirely from unicorn traditions. Having a throne, holding court, "proper", "ladylike" behavior, and so on. "

Celestia listened to him talk with rapt attention. She had to admit, she never actually analyzed her station like that, despite being a princess for so very long. She ascended the throne somewhat young, and over time, the habits of how a princess was supposed to carry herself just got ingrained into her behavior. Meanwhile, the stallion continued, walking around to her side, pointing at her flank.

"Secondly... Her talent. Raising the Sun? Think about it. What used to be the unicorn's ancient duty, before she took it over? Raising the Sun and Moon, shepherding the day and night cycles. Her special talent literally encapsulates the duty of the entire unicorn tribe. It is quite obvious that she is a master of unicorn magic, and unicorn magic only. She has a school for gifted unicorns, for goodness sake. Any schools for gifted pegasi, or earth ponies? No, not really. The simple facts speak for themselves."

Twilight was looking more thoughtful than angry now, examining Celestia's cutie mark with some interest, her mind obviously somewhere else. Meanwhile, Stormsinger pointed at her wings.

"And those... Princess, with all due respect, you wear those wings like you wear your crown - as a right to rule."

That made Celestia open her mouth, though she didn't know what to say. Slowly, she closed it, looking at the pegasus with an unsure expression, wondering how to even answer to such an unusual remark. It appeared that he still had more to say on the matter, though.

"Really, when was the last time you went flying? Let me guess, it's "inappropriate" for a princess to get sweaty and use her own limbs to move around instead of being dragged around in a carriage, like a proper noble of such high rank? Once more, unicorn traditions lead the way. Do you know how pegasi leaders lead, though? From the front. They lead the charge, cleaving through the wind and air, while the others form up in a wedge behind them, following the leader in their wake. For a healthy, flight-capable pegasus to get carried around in a carriage, like you do when you arrive in Cloudsdale - well, even in these modern times, any pegasus attempting to show off their "status" by having other ponies fly them around would get laughed out of town."

It took all her willpower for Celestia not to fold her ears in embarrassment as she heard quiet mutters of approval from some of the pegasi spectators.

"So, to summarize... I never said you're a bad pony. I never said you favor unicorns over the other tribes. You're a fair leader and you do the best you can for Equestria, and every pony in it. The way you do it, though? All unicorn. All your knowledge, your skills, your style of governing... Everything is built according to old unicornian traditions."

Everything was dead quiet. You could hear a pin drop.

The silence dragged on for a while.

Eventually, Twilight shuffled in place awkwardly, scuffing her hooves against the floor.

Celestia blinked, then coughed, turning her head towards Stormsinger, who was still standing by her side.

"That... That was a fascinating perspective you presented me with, master Stormsinger. Thank you. I think... I think I need to think on this for a while."

"Heh. Blew your mind a little, huh?"

Celestia let out a light, airy laugh, smiling at him. "You could say that. Thank you again, truly. After living for so long, it is very rare for someone to... Pull the rug from right under me like that, in a manner of speaking. Are you... Still up for drinks?"

"Well, isn't that something, I'm not getting yelled at or banished. Lead the way, I suppose. Fair warning, though, if you really want to keep talking to me, be prepared for more unusual observations and statements. My thoughts wander through strange paths."

"If that's the case, then I highly look forward to our future conversations."

Royal Audience

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"Shall we go right now?" Celestia inquired.

The pegasus looked like he was about to reply in the affirmative, but changed his mind at the last moment.

"Hold on just a minute, I need to make some changes to today's plans. I already agreed to go out celebrating with Arc afterwards," He explained, rising into a hover.

"Perhaps you could invite your friend to come along, then? I'm quite certain I can find a seat for another pony."

"Eh... I think I'm going to end up repeating a lot of the same things I already explained to her. I'll ask if she wants to come, I guess."

"Who's Arc?" Twilight inquired.

"Arcane Weave, one of the contestants I beat during the middle of the tournament. Which was it, the fifth duel? Or sixth? Either way, she was one of the few unicorns that actually both took me seriously and didn't act like I was some kind of freak of nature. She didn't whine about "shamefully losing to a pegasus" like some of the others did, either. We agreed to talk over some food after the fight, and she stayed on to watch the rest of my duels. As she told me, she finds me terribly fascinating."

"Ponies shouldn't talk like that. You won fair and square..." Twilight said, causing the pegasus to let out a bark of laughter.

"Well, I suppose I was the upset in this tournament, wasn't I? And I guess that left some of the contestants feeling a little, heh, upset. I don't entirely blame them - I'd be shocked too if I was, say... Hmm..." He trailed off for a moment, trying to find an appropriate analogy. "If an earth pony showed up and beat me in flying, for example. But yes, I'd like to think that I would have the grace to accept my defeat without whining about it, at least. Oh well, sour grapes and all that. Be right back."

He took off, flying with no problems despite the fact that most of the feathers on his left wing were replaced with ones made of fluffy-looking ice and frost. Now that he wasn't wearing his ice armor, Celestia took a peek at his retreating backside before he got out of sight, examining his cutiemark.

At first glance, it looked like a completely normal mark, fit for a pegasus on a weather team - a dark cloud with two snowflakes and a lightning bolt shooting out of it. However, instead of just a jagged line like most stylized marks had, the lightning bolt instead forked in every direction to form a third snowflake, an odd symbolism she hadn't seen before. Lightning and snow together were a very rare phenomenon as well, which was rather fitting for a pony with such unusual skills.

Twilight was quiet, likely mulling over the things Stormsinger had said before. Celestia was likewise turning his words over in her head, absently watching the stallion fly over the slowly emptying spectator stands, getting hoofbumps here and there from a few airborne pegasi. Soon enough, he reached his target, landing in between two rows of seats.

He was too far to make out the details, but Celestia could see him gesturing in her direction to an indistinct pony. After a minute, he took wing again, the pony following after him, a glow surrounding it's form. As the pair approached, she examined the newcomer. The emerald unicorn - Arcane Weave, she guessed - was wearing some kind of large, flowing cloak, flying through the air with her legs spread wide to her sides. Overall, it made her look like a massive flying squirrel as she magicked herself towards them.

"Your Highness," The mare immediately fell into a bow after landing.

"Rise, my little pony. Arcane Weave, I presume? You performed quite well in the tournament, as I recall. Until you went up against Stormsinger here, of course."

The mare tittered, raising her head and glancing at the pegasus. "All of us did. He really blew through the competition, at least until he went up against your student. Me, well, I'm surprised I got as far as I did, honestly."

Twilight tilted her head, absently reaching a hoof towards the mare's cloak. "Why? I watched his duels when I could, and I think I recall you were quite fast and very precise with your spellwork."

Arcane Weave shrugged, extending her cloak and draping it over Twilight's hoof. "I'm more of a craftsmare than a real mage. An enchantress, to be precise. I have a lot of precision and patience for the long hours of weaving magic into objects, but my raw power is lacking. If I could bring my equipment into the contest, I would have a serious edge, but you know that that's against the rules. "Only your magic and your wits", as the rules state," She explained, while Twilight gently ran her hoof on the faintly shimmering fabric.

"A rather important rule if we want to keep it fair and balanced, unfortunately," Celestia added. "We were just about to go to the Palace for some celebratory drinks and snacks with master Stormsinger here. Will you join us?"

"I'd be honored, your Highness," she nodded.

"Then let us away."

Celestia led the group through a small side door behind the judge's stand, making her way through a corridor towards where her carriage was parked. As she went through the door leading outside, the guards standing next to it all saluted, before hitching themselves up to the carriage. As she climbed aboard, she saw a tiny smirk on Stormsinger's muzzle. Rolling her eyes, she smiled at him, addressing him in a faux-threatening tone.

"Not a word."

He snorted, but kept quiet, finding a seat. Twilight sat next to her, while Arcane Weave found a place next to the stallion. With a nod from her, the guards all moved forward as one, the carriage rolling for a short distance before the pegasi opened their wings, smoothly bringing the whole thing into the air. As they flew, Celestia kept looking at her guest, wondering where to start.

"So, master Stormsinger... I'm sure you understand that I want to ask you all kinds of things about your magic, but first - I was told that might not even be your name? As the clerk who was taking down the contestant's details told me, you introduced yourself with that alias, rather than use your name."

""They call me Stormsinger, so might as well go with that." That's what I told him, yes. He told me that it's not uncommon for ponies to use nicknames, titles or various aliases for these kinds of competitions," He replied with a shrug.

"Mm, quite. However, the most common reason for that is pride. Plenty of ponies want the fame if they win, but don't want their name to appear in the list of ponies who lost if they fail. You don't strike me as the type of pony to care about that, though. In fact, I'm curious as to why you entered the tournament at all. You would always leave right after your duels, so recognition didn't seem to be your goal. Is that the reason? You gave an alias because you didn't want fame?"

"Eh, well... The only reason I joined was for the challenge. I know I'm quite good at what I do. I know I'm capable, and quite powerful - I have trained and honed my magic for many years. But, seeing as I'm the only pegasus I really know with such skills, I never really had anyone to properly measure up against. I guess it wasn't even the challenge, just... Evaluating just how good I am in comparison to the "real" mages, I suppose? I had no idea of what I'd be up against and whether I would win or not, honestly. Becoming the champion was a real surprise for me as well, but not an unpleasant one."

"I see. And... If it is something personal, you don't have to tell me anything, but - your name?"

He weighed his words for a minute, slowly breathing in and puffing up his cheeks. Arcane Weave glanced at him curiously. Eventually, he breathed out. "Whisperwind. Or just Wisp for short."

Twilight blinked in surprise, while Celestia raised an eyebrow. "Quite clashing names, those two. One evokes thoughts of the faintest whispers of a breeze, and the other... Well. We saw just how loud you can get when you're flinging lightning at your opponents."

He chuckled, nodding. "Yes, I'm really not a loud or boisterous guy at all, which is why my sudden appearance in the tournament was such a big shock to everyone. I largely keep to myself and train in secret, so I imagine the news of my victory are going to take a lot of ponies by complete surprise. As for "Stormsinger" - I'm actually not the who came up with the name. I like to train by flying through the massive autumn storms, the ones where all other ponies lock every door and window and hide inside. And a few times, what with the sheer energy, the pounding passion of the storm, well... I might have... Broken into song a few times..." He finished quietly, turning away with his ears folded.

"Oh now, why the embarrassment? Lots of ponies break into song when they feel joyful about something," Celestia said with an encouraging smile.

He grimaced a little. "Stage fright. Seriously, I can do lots of things in front of people. Not sing, though. I couldn't sing to save my life. Only reason ponies called me Stormsinger instead of "Stormscreamer" or something was probably because they couldn't hear me clearly over the howling of the storm."

"But wait, I thought you said you trained in secret, and ponies didn't really know about you. So if they stuck this nickname on you, how'd you remain secret?" Twilight inquired, confusion written on her face.

"Well, I never said they saw me. I became somewhat of an urban legend around Cloudsdale, you see - the next few days after a storm, I'd hear all sorts of wild and hilarious rumors as to who or what I supposedly am. Everything from a spirit of broken-hearted pegasus that lost his lover in a storm to a mad scientist trying to harness the storms for some nefarious purposes, singing away my plans for world domination. Some reporters even tried taking pictures of me, but none of them really managed to get close enough," He explained with a laugh.

That was the point where the chariot touched down in the palace courtyard, the charioteers expertly guiding it to the ground with a feather's touch. Celestia disembarked first, the others following behind her. With a nod from her, the guards saluted again, moving the cart away to it's berth while she led her guests towards the palace. She caught the eye of a maid waiting in the shadows near a doorway, gesturing towards her three guests with her eyes and flicking an ear twice. The maid nodded and soundlessly disappeared through one of the many servant's passages, off to alert the kitchens and prepare the second tea room. By the time they would arrive, a fresh pot of tea and snacks would already be waiting for the group.

"So..." Twilight ventured carefully. "What do we call you? Whisperwind? Stormsinger? Do you want to keep your second identity secret?"

"Wisp or Whisper is fine. And I don't think the whole Stormsinger thing is known outside of Cloudsdale."

"Ohoho, but it will be," Arcane Weave declared confidently. "Seriously, you flipped thousand's of years worth of history on it's head by becoming the champion. Papers all over Equestria are going to be writing about you, I'm sure."

He made a face like he ate something sour. "Not something I wanted. I didn't see any reporters in the tournament, though..."

"Because usually, the CGM is nothing unusual. Magic tournaments have been around for a long time, and they rarely get more than a footnote in the papers. All the excitement is only really worth seeing in person, not reading about in a paper. But this time, well... Something tells me there's going to be a lot more interest, once they get wind of this. I guess you can take consolation in the fact they won't have pictures of you, at least."

Whisperwind grumbled under his breath as Arcane Weave tittered quietly. Twilight tilted her head questioningly.

"So if your alias gets famous, but no one will know how you look, does that mean you're going to become an urban legend all across Equestria?"

"Huh..."

The master pegasus mage mulled on his fame as Celestia opened a door to a spacious room. As she expected, cushions were set up next to a low table, a fresh pot of tea with tiny cakes and cookies arranged artistically on several plates. Gesturing for the guests to sit, she waved over a butler.

"Now, usually, I only have these little snacks to go along with the tea and conversation, but I know that magic takes a lot out of you, and you must be terribly hungry by now. So, don't be shy, and order anything you like. My chefs will be happy to provide."

After some thinking, Whisperwind ordered a plate of pasta with "an unreasonable amount of cheese", and asked for a glass of red wine to go with it. Twilight fought against her temptations for a while, but eventually asked for a whole lot of hayfries and other junk food (though given the quality of the Palace chefs, the food was likely going to be quite high quality and actually healthy). Arcane Weave wasn't that hungry since she didn't participate in any duels, so she only asked for a salad. Celestia, meanwhile, stuck with the tea and snacks.

They made small talk until the food arrived. The two hungry mages began devouring the offerings while the Princess and Arcane slowly nibbled on their food. Soon enough, Twilight was sitting with a cup of tea in her hooves with a sheepish smile, while Whisperwind was slowly nursing his glass of wine.

"So, master Stormsinger..." Celestia started.

"Ah, you plied me with food, now here comes the interrogation," He replied with a smile.

"Precisely. So, could you tell me where it all began?"

"Honestly? That part is a little hard to nail down. I mean, they teach us about the different tribes and their magic all the way back in kindergarten. I didn't just wake up one morning and went "You know what? I'm going to become the best pegasus mage there ever was!", though. It might have been seeing the posters for some unicorn magic show plastered around town when I was little. After they explained what a magic show was, I think I vaguely remember asking my parents why I never saw any posters for pegasi magic shows. They just laughed at me in that way adults do when they think foals are asking silly questions," He mused, taking a sip from his glass. Savoring the taste for a moment, he continued his tale.

"Now, obviously, that went nowhere. But I remember running into a few similar situations over the years. Despite the fact we're all taught early on that the tribes have their own unique ways of expressing their magic, whenever I'd bring up the idea of "pegasus magic", everyone would just look at me like I was speaking gibberish. And yet, it made perfect sense to me. All ponies have muscles, right? Almost all living creatures, really. And with exercise, you can train those muscles, regardless of your tribe. So, if all ponies have magic abilities that they can use..." He trailed off with a shrug.

"Then all ponies must have a way of improving and honing those abilities!" Twilight exclaimed enthusiastically. "It's such self-evident logic!"

"Right. Not to others, though. Maybe I wasn't able to word things properly, or put them in the right context or something, but no matter how I tried to explain to ponies, they'd always completely miss the point, and end up asking the most ridiculous questions. No matter how hard I tried to point out that if unicorns are able to shoot lightning from their horns with the right spell and it's magic, then how come pegasi that are able to charge clouds and shoot lightning are not performing magic? Or how causing directed hurricanes to lift water up to Cloudsdale is clearly magic? But no, that was just weather control, and I was being silly.

And so, I grew up in a cloud city, surrounded by pegasus magic on all sides. Yet, whenever I told the other pegasi that I want to learn magic, they'd pat me on the head and tell me that I was a pegasus, and all that flashy nonsense was for unicorns. Or, they would ask me why I wanted to use telekinesis or other tricks when I could fly. Or just outright tell me that I was dense," He groused, putting on a dumb expression and changing his voice, imitating some other pony." "And how are you going to do that, you featherbrain? Don't exactly have a horn, do you? Grow one, and then we can talk." Feh."

Smiling, Arcane Weave opened her mouth to say something, though she immediately choked when she glanced at the Princess. Puzzled, Whisperwind smacked her on the back a few times. "What happened? Choked on your tea?"

"N- n- nothing," She choked out. "D-dumb joke. Carry on."

He raised his eyebrows slowly, though once he got what she was (likely) aiming for with the joke, his eyebrows lowered to give her a supremely flat look. Twilight was simply confused, and Celestia tried not to appear too amused.

"Anyway... As I was saying, somehow, the word "magic" became completely and utterly inseparable from the idea of "unicorn". And if I told them that I wanted to train, they would only offer flying lessons. Nothing on shooting lightning, creating snow or wind, or any of the other cool stuff I saw all around me. It was like flying was the only thing pegasi were capable of - which made me disappointed, since while most unicorns could only do telekinesis and a spell or two, their mages were capable of far, far more. I found no such examples of pegasi, though.

Sometime in my teens, I got sick of it. Since ponies weren't helping, I started reading books, a lot. I devoured all the "Weather manipulation for beginners" manuals I could find, then went on to read the more advanced stuff, but I wasn't satisfied. The biggest things in those books were hurricanes and storms, but the individual contributions of the pegasi boiled down to "Fly in formation at X speed for Y amount of time to achieve result A". Everything was still framed entirely in the context of flying and wing power - it was like the pegasi were just following instructions without even thinking about the very obvious magic they were performing."

Twilight was looking on in approval at his mention of hitting the books, though she obviously got a little scared when he mentioned that there was something he was unable to find in a book. Arcane Weave was nibbling on a cookie, while Celestia sipped on her tea. With a hum, she took a guess.

"So, I'm assuming that you either began doing your own research into the matter, or found a like-minded individual to teach you. I do recall you mentioning some old texts back in the stadium, however."

Swallowing the sip of wine he was savoring, he nodded and continued. "Yes, though that came a little bit later. I did start with research. First, I tried to learn some weather magic, to see if I could take it further than the manuals said was possible. I did it my way, though. I'd stand with my wings spread wide in places with high winds to really get a feel for the forces I was going to be working with. Breathe in freezing air and rub clouds to gather static on my coat to get a feel for cold and lightning. Wave my hooves around in the air to try and gather the moisture out of the air and make at least a tiny wisp of a cloud.

Now, obviously, between my "dumb" questions about magic and "strange" behavior, not to mention spending most of my time binging on books, I was marked as a weirdo and a target to get harassed by various bullies. I often ended up hiding in various gaps and hollow spaces in between cloud structures so I could practice magic in peace without ponies annoying me. Meant I spent a lot of time alone, but in a way, it was great fun. I found so many spaces where the cloudstuff of old buildings that was supposed to be impenetrable decayed, and I could slip through the gaps to various nooks and crannies under the foundations, untouched for centuries. There, I could sit and goof around all I wanted. It took me weeks to get even the tiniest results, but when I finally broke through, I almost cried with relief."

Twilight was smiling, leaning in closer. "Oh goodness, I remember when I managed to really do magic for the first time. Well, it was a surge and I wasn't really controlling it, so I guess, it wasn't really me doing it, but still...At least you probably managed to do it a bit less destructively than I did. I doubt you broke a building with a dragon you grew, or anything else..." She trailed off, blushing.

"Broke... Building... With a dragon?" Arcane Weave seemed to have a hard time wrapping her head around the statement, Whisperwind likewise looking at Twilight with wide eyes. Celestia, meanwhile, used her best poker face to stop herself from laughing.

"Damn. That was your first big magical feat? You lead a wild life, Twilight. All I did was make a drop," He explained with a shake of his head.

"A... Drop?"

"Yup. A tiny little droplet of water. That day, I decided to try and make a snowflake. To do that, I kept trying to lower the temperature in various ways. I flapped my wings, I imagined it being cold, I tried the instructions in the weather manuals. Nothing seemed to work. Eventually, I just started breathing in and out to try and calm down, moving my hooves back and forth from my chest. Suddenly, a drop of water fell on my nose, distracting me. I looked around in confusion, wondering where it came from. Now that I was paying attention to my surroundings again, I noticed that my hooves were damp for some reason. I was confused for a moment until it clicked: I wasn't going to make a snowflake from nothing. As temperatures dropped, water didn't freeze immediately; the first step was condensation."

He demonstrated it by raising his right foreleg ever so slightly, pointing it towards the teapot on the table. It had cooled down, but a tiny wisp of steam still wafted from the spout. Suddenly, it lurched towards his extended hoof, wrapping around it, and then vanishing. The three mares watched with rapt attention as small droplets appeared on his hoof, before freezing, covering his hoof in frost.

"That was the first step. And the rest, as they say is history. Now, I am obviously grossly oversimplifying things, but you get the idea. It took me several weeks to go from condensation to actually reaching freezing temperatures, but at that point, it was just a matter of practice. At first, I could pull and freeze a couple tiny droplets of water from the air. Then, I could cover my hooves in frost. Months later, I could form an icicle. Years later, I could flash-freeze everything around me with a breath, covering my entire body in ice without hurting myself. And in a few more years, I figured out how to leave the joints flexible and move around in that ice shell, using it like armor."

"Just like magic," Twilight surmised. "Unicorn magic, that is. Practice something a lot, and you become better and better at it. Master it, and you suddenly start improvising and finding new uses for old spells."

"Quite," Celestia agreed. "But freezing things wasn't the only thing in your arsenal, as I recall. Lightning, amazingly sharp gusts of wind, the ability to instantly flood the entire arena with fog, even magical shields..."

"Right. Some of it, I came up with myself through practice, just like the frost. Ah, I remember trying to figure out lightning... At first, I'd just rise in the air and rub my coat all over, trying to build up static, getting zapped with tiny sparks. Some schoolmates found me once like that, just spinning in the air like a top, rubbing my hooves and trying to make sparks dance between them. They didn't even bother insulting me - they just started laughing their flanks off. To be fair, I must have looked absolutely ridiculous, but they stopped laughing pretty fast when I shot a lightning bolt their way," he chuckled, looking through the window with a faraway look, lost in his memories. A minute later, he blinked, coming back to the conversation.

"Good times. The bullies quickly stopped annoying me once they learned I could blow them away across a city block with a single flap of my wing. I kept improving and thinking up new ways to train my magic, and well, here I am."

Twilight licked her lips, formulating her next question. "Is there a list of... Spells? That you can do?"

"Not really. I don't think it's really possible to express pegasus magic in "spells". I read a little about how unicorn magic works, of course, and I think it's a lot more... Structured? You put in enough magic power to achieve very concrete and certain results, right?" At Twilight's nod, he continued. "Well, there's no arcane sigils for you to read to know how to do pegasus magic. You pour your will and magic towards something, see what kind of results you get, and just learn by doing. There's no really crazy stuff like teleportation or transfiguration that you can do, either, though I have came up with some pretty unusual ways to use my magic."

"Do tell," Celestia prodded, trying not to appear too eager.

Whisperwind rubbed his chin for a moment, before his eyes went wider by a tiny fraction. The others missed it, but Celestia was too experienced to miss such cues. With a smile, he finished his wine and spread his wings, putting his empty glass down.

"Don't panic," He said, while the others watched with some confusion.

At first, nothing seemed to happen. Then, when Celestia tried to breathe in, the air just... Refused to move. Forcefully sucking the air in, she tried to turn her head to check how the others were reacting, but found herself barely able to move, like she was swimming in syrup. And a moment later, it was over.

"How did you do that?!" Twilight demanded. "You did something similar in our duel! I thought I was going to pass out!"

"Magic," He chuckled. Seeing Twilight frown, he elaborated. "I was holding the air, Twilight. Pegasi are able to cause great winds in an area around them just by flying and flapping their wings. One day, I thought... What if I tried to do the opposite? What if I tried to force the air to be still? If I force it hard enough, I can form a shield of sorts around me. Bit weaker than a unicorn shield, but with my ice armor, it gives me quite a high level of protection."

"Ooooooh...."

Arcane Weave, who remained remarkably calm through the demonstration, reached for another cookie. "Oh, that's nothing. He showed me all kinds of things already. Wait until he shows you how to fly without wings."

Celestia and Twilight looked at her in confusion, then at Whisperwind, with curiosity.

"Right. I saw how you kept staring at my missing feathers, Twilight. Well, even if I haven't learned how to replace them - something I needed to come up with as I kept losing mine in the storms I kept flying through - I don't really need wings to fly."

"Okay, now that's just ridiculous. That's like saying you don't need a horn to do unicorn magic. You can't just fly-"

Twilight was cut short as Whisperwind raised his forelegs over his head, grabbing on to absolutely nothing, and lifted himself up and off the cushion.

"Wh- Huh?"

With a smirk, he kept climbing into the air with all four legs, like he was simply walking on a flat surface. Except he was a at a ninety degree angle, and he kept hanging in the air without even spreading his wings.

While Twilight was gawking, Celestia tried to analyze his actions. There was one big clue: after he put his hooves up and moved away, a foggy hoofprint would be left hanging in the air for a few seconds.

"Your hooves..."

"Yup. After all, pegasi use both their wings AND hooves to use their magic - we fly, but we also stand on, shape and manipulate clouds with our hooves. Standing on clouds happens completely unconsciously, but with some effort, I figured out how to simply stand on air - after all, there is moisture in the air, even if it's not nearly as much as a cloud. It takes some effort, but..." He trailed off, righting himself and then simply trotting in a circle around the room, several bodylengths above the floor. Like before, a trail of cloudy hoofprints were left in his wake for a short while before they dissipated.

"Alright, that just looks like cheating," Twilight declared, making him snort and land back on the floor.

"So if you lost all your feathers, you could just gallop across the sky all the way to Cloudsdale?" Celestia inquired curiously.

"Probably? It is slower than flying, but I think I could. Also, I've been trying to figure out if I can stand on water. Nothing yet, but I want to try some more before giving up."

"Best of luck with that. Anything else you'd like to show off?"

"Well... I can breathe cold," He said, demonstrating by taking a deep breath and letting out a puff of freezing vapor, making a few snowflakes form in midair over the table before melting.

"Like some kind of reverse dragon," Twilight remarked. "But what's the use of such a skill? You seem far better at creating cold with your hooves and wings."

"Well, if all of my limbs get pinned down in a fight and my opponent drops their guard thinking that they won, then it could be a hidden ace to distract them while I break free. And I learned this mostly because I thought it would be really cool to be able to do that."

"Ahh, of course. Can't forget to look cool when you're doing something."

"Exactly! Also, this one wasn't exactly my idea. This one was from some of the old texts I studied."

This caught Twilight's full attention, Celestia perking her ears up as well.

"Alright, so, while going through various books, I kept looking and looking for any references to any great pegasi heroes. I really, really wanted to know if I truly was the first one to come up with the idea of pegasi mages. And I found some translations of really old stories, ones penned somewhere around the Unification era. Unfortunately, it was impossible to say whether I found historical records or a bunch of foal's tales," He said grumpily.

"But... Surely it should be possible to tell the difference between factual history and fiction?" Twilight asked, completely confused.

"Ah, Twilight... In old times, historians tended to... Take certain liberties when recording events, or describing historical figures. Especially since those historical figures often were the ones paying the scribe's salaries," Celestia explained.

"Right," Whisperwind nodded. "For example: "He was a giant, nay, a mountain of a stallion. He had the appetite of six earth ponies, the wingspan of six pegasi, and the wiles of six unicorns. With his breath, he would flatten mountains...""

Twilight pursed her lips, thinking it over. "That... That sounds like tropes from some of the old foal's stories, alright. Surely that couldn't be a description of an actual historical figure?"

"See, the thing is, it might. Naturally, I ended up reading about unicorn mages as well, and their descriptions tended to be just as flowery. One prince from princess Platinum's line was described as "Aurum the Magnificent, He Who Guides The very Sun across the Heavens with His mighty Hoof, shepherding the Day and Night with his indomitable Will." If you take it literally, you might just imagine him as a titan ten times the size of Canterhorn mountain, actually pushing the Sun around with his hooves. And we know that wasn't the case."

The mares all giggled at the mental image while he reached for one of the few remaining cookies. After taking a bite, he chewed contemplatively before shrugging.

"So, yes, I have found a number of references to various pegasi that - allegedly - were capable of various crazy magical feats. Breathing blizzards and roaring loud enough to crack rock; smiting foes with lightning or shards of ice, and so on. And now, I have no idea if those heroes of old were real and I'm following in their hoofsteps, or if it's all fake, and I made them real."

"Oh... That's a little disheartening. I hate it when my research leads to inconclusive results," Twilight pouted.

Whisperwind shrugged, waving it off. "Ah, well, I was already on the path to becoming a mage when I found those, so I guess it doesn't matter. Would have been nice to have some paragons to be inspired by when I was younger, but I made it to where I am regardless."

Celestia sighed, frowning a tiny bit. "That is a shame. You truly found no like-minded pegasi while growing up? No one to at least point you in the right direction?"

"Nope," He casually replied. "No one. No one else was interested or even understood the idea of diving deeper into pegasus magic, to go beyond just flying and some basic weather manipulation. Even the supposedly best of the best of all pegasi were really unimpressive when I went to see their shows."

"Do you mean the Wonderbolts?"

"Yup. Laaaaaame."

That made Celestia raise both eyebrows in surprise. "I never heard a pegasus refer to the Wonderbolts like that before. Even those that weren't interested in sports acknowledged their flying skills, at least."

"Well, sure, I acknowledge that. Hay, most of them might even be able to outfly me on a clear, sunny day. I just don't find it all that impressive. I can fly in storms that would shear the feathers from their wings, holding the air around me so I don't get blown away. I can toss lightning bolts from my hooves, wings, and tail. I can blow gusts of winds so strong, they'd shear clouds in half a mile away. I know - I tried. And all they do is... Fly fast. Tell me, Princess, what makes a master mage? It's not just raw power, is it? If, let's say, a unicorn practices their telekinesis so much that they're able to lift mountains, but they don't know any other spells, could they win in a tournament like I did?"

Celestia refilled her tea, pondering on the question. She didn't have to think long. "There have been several such instances, actually. Unicorns that built up lots raw power - often working in loading heavy cargo and similar professions - would sometimes apply for the tournament, hoping to beat their "nerdy" opponents through brute force. They'd do well enough at first, but none of them ever managed to reach the finals. Sooner or later, they'd come up against someone that had spells they just couldn't counter, or was even stronger than them."

"There you have it, then. Sure, the Wonderbolts are good, but they're good at one thing: flying fast through a neat, orderly track. The few times they showed off "rough" weather flying, I had trouble trying not to burst out laughing. They're really barely better at using their magic than the average pegasus."

"I see... I am curious about something, however. Suppose those ancient pegasi heroes were real, and you're not the first pegasus mage - why do you think the knowledge was lost?"

"Oh. Good question. Let me chew on that," He said, finishing the cookie he was still holding. After chewing for a few minutes, he eventually concluded. "Peace and industrialization, I would guess?"

Celestia nodded, but the two unicorn mares looked unconvinced. "Peace?" Arcane Weave asked, with Twilight going "Industrialization?" at the same time.

"But peacetime always leads to greater wealth, which makes culture flourish, and encourages ponies to develop and advance now that they don't have to fear for their lives any longer. It is in wartime when archives get burned and knowledge becomes lost," Arcane argued.

"And industrialization made knowledge available to the masses! The printing press is the greatest knowledge-preserving invention there is!" Twilight exclaimed passionately.

"Yes, but during peacetime, wartime knowledge often gets forgotten," Whisperwind pointed out. "And in pretty much every story, the pegasi heroes were famous for slaying monsters, defeating massive armies, and breaking up huge storms. Unlike the unicorns, who use their magic for invention and science as well as war, the skillset of the pegasi was best suited for violence. With peace extending for centuries, fewer and fewer ponies would be interested in training all their lives only for those skills to go to waste. As for industrialization - two words: Rainbow Factory."

Seeing their confused expressions, he elaborated. "A lot of the tasks that needed hundreds of pegasi - making thousands of clouds from the water reserves, pounding them into shape - have been completely automated, which made lots of pegasi look for employment in other fields, back in the day. In a way, we pegasi obsoleted the need for ourselves. Or, the need for individuals exceptionally skilled in weather magic, at least."

"Oh..."

The conversation petered out after that. With a light clink, Celestia put her cup down, giving a radiant smile to her guests.

"Well, this was a fascinating discussion, but it would appear we have ran out of steam for now. It was a pleasure having you both here. Much as I would love to learn more about your magic, I..." She trailed off, a thoughtful expression on her face.

"What's the matter, Princess? You look like you're plotting something. Are you going to ask me to teach you pegasus magic, or something? Now that would be something ponies talked about," Whisperwind joked, shaking his head.

Was she?

The idea intrigued Celestia. Even if she didn't manage to ever find a practical use for it, exploring that side of her abilities still was a fascinating proposal. However... Mentally checking her calendar, she saw a very important date approaching.

"The summer Sun celebration..."

"I am honestly tempted, master Stormsinger. However... I am afraid I'm going to be terribly busy for the next few months. My entire schedule is quite packed, unfortunately. Afterwards, though... Perhaps when your own notoriety dies down a little? Like Arcane Weave said, you're likely going to be the talk of Equestria for a while."

"What, for real?" The stallion balked. "I mean, I guess? I was mostly joking... I've no idea if I can teach others the things I do. There's that saying I heard... "Those who can, do; Those who can't, teach." What if the reverse is true? I do well enough, but I never taught anyone anything before."

"Why, Whisperwind, I am a teacher. Are you saying I can't do magic?"

The pegasus sputtered for a moment as the unicorns giggled. Eventually, he settled on a flat "No comment.".

"Well, in that case, I suppose this is where we part ways. I'm certain I can contact you in Cloudsdale, unless you're plannning to move away. Or, you could just get my attention by crashing another unicorn tournament somewhere some time later. Good day to you."

"Fair winds," He waved goodbye, Arcane Weave following along.

The Princess of Unicorns

by Wingnut

Noblesse Oblige

Royal Audience