A wannabe sorceress struggles to find her true purpose. Or rather, refuses to accept that her purpose lies elsewhere.
"I just don't see how it could be anything else..."
"My mom and dad, and even my older sister... they got their Marks early on in their studies. Symbols of their destiny as powerful mages. But not me. I've been at it for years, but no matter how hard I try, or how much I learn, or how far my skills improve, I'm still..."
"Maybe if I just give it a little more... just learn one more spell... then I'll finally be good enough."
Crash! A tall stack of books fell to the librarian's desk with a thud. "Aaaaalright, miss! I think I'm ready!" There at the desk stood a unicorn with a purple coat, a long blue mane, and a wide grin on her muzzle, beaming with excitement over the books she was planning to read.
Behind the desk stood the librarian, Amber Sage, another unicorn with a blue coat, a dark orange mane that clearly hadn't been well maintained, having a pencil poking through one of its many curls. She looked up from her paperwork with a look of 'of course it's you' on her face. "How many do we have here... 4, 6, 8... only 9 this time?" She was blatantly snarky, but knew this unicorn well enough to know her humor was well received.
"Yup. Just these for now." She giggled. "Going to have a busy weekend of studying, so won't have as much time for recreational reading." Her grin only widened further.
Amber Sage started floating them across her desk, her light blue aura enveloping each book as she did so one by one, noting down the titles of each, along with the date and who was checking them out. "The fact that you have any time for recreational anything is a bit surprising. Isn't it exam season?"
"Oh, don't worry about me. I've worked out the perfect study-to-rest ratio to keep my mind in peak performance to pass every subject." She sounded confident in herself, even proud of herself. "You know, if either of your daughters need any help with their studies, I'd be happy to-"
The serenity of the library was broken by a loud popping sound coming from one of the upper rooms. The whole library froze. The librarian's mane suddenly straightened out as she dropped one of the books. The upper rooms of the library were actually an attached apartment where she and her family lived. Amber immediately knew one of her daughters was up to something. She looked to her assistant, an earth pony with a grey coat and dark red mane, wearing a pair of wide frame glasses. She spoke robotically, trying desperately to maintain her composure. "Primrose. Would you please finish checking these out for me? I'm needed upstairs. It's urgent." Before Primrose could even respond, the librarian took off towards the stairs at full gallop. She ignored the other patrons of the library hushing her as she did so. Who were they going to tell, anyways?
Up the stairs, across the balcony, and through one of the doors. She frantically looked for the source of the popping sound, and it didn't take her long. There in the living room, lying on the floor was her youngest daughter, Power Trip. Her light pink coat covered in ash, especially around her face. Her purple and orange mane specked with pieces of... wax? Taking in the rest of the room, the floor was covered with partially melted chunks of wax as well. In the center of the room was the base of a candle, the remains of the wick still smoldering.
Power Trip seemed to be more angry than hurt. "Stupid spell!" The filly kicked a piece of wax across the floor with a huff. "Cinder always made this stuff look easy! Why can't I do it?!" She growled as her horn started to glow, ready to cast a spell of some kind. Certainly nothing good.
Amber announced her presence with a small cough. She looked down at the filly with an expression that did more correcting than any real scolding could on its own.
Trip looked up at her mother towering over her, and the glow of her horn instantly faded as her frustration turned to fear. She knew she was in trouble. Big trouble. "I'm really sorry! I was just trying to light the candle the way Cinder showed me! I didn't mean to make a mess! I'll clean it up, I promise!" She puffed out her bottom lip as tears welled in her eyes.
Amber let out a sigh. Her daughter's over-acting aside, she knew she really did feel bad for what happened. Her expression softened. "Listen, Trip. I know you want to do magic like your sister, but she's much older than you. You aren't ready to be doing this kind of magic unsupervised yet. You've been told this already."
Trip protested. "But you and dad both work in the library all day, and Cinder is always out with her friends. How am I supposed to learn this stuff if I can't practice on my own?"
"You will, I promise. But right now, you're still too young for these kinds of spells." Amber gestured to the remains of the candle on the floor. "Last I recall, basic levitation was still a challenge for you. Have you been practicing that at all?"
Trip groaned. "Ugh, yes, I can do that just fine now. Watch." Her horn glowed a warm orange as a small piece of wax on the floor was wrapped in her aura. She peeled it from the wood with ease, and held it high for her mother to see. "See? I can handle more than you're willing to admit. I just need to practice more, and then I'll get my Cutie Mark, just like yours!"
Amber glanced at her flank. A white crescent moon eclipsing a red sun, a physical manifestation of her talent as a sorceress. "I see... so, that's what this is about." She thought back to how excited she was when she first earned hers. How happy Cinder Charm seemed. The memory of those elated cries brought a smile to her face. "We can talk about this later, Trip. For now, I want this floor clean before the library closes. Got it?"
Trip nodded, though still visibly dissatisfied with this outcome. She got to work using her magic to peel the pieces of partially melted wax off the floor and walls. Luckily this was one of the rooms that didn't have carpet, so the task was easy. Brushing the pieces out of her mane would take a bit more time. She sat on her bed, watching through her window as the sun set behind the tall buildings in the distance. She never got tired of watching this, imagining such a monumental task being carried out by a single pony. She wanted to do something special like that someday. Then came the rising of the moon, the craters on its surface forming the silhouette of a unicorn. Seeing that always made her uncomfortable for some reason. Like she was being watched. Still, seeing it move in the sky filled her with wonder all the same.
With her mane back to its former glory, she moved on to disobeying her parents' wishes in a way that came with less evidence; reading. Specifically, reading one of Cinder's magic books. She knew she wasn't allowed to cast any of them, but that wouldn't stop her from using her imagination. Teleporting from one end of the city to the other, turning broccoli into cake, creating brilliant, dazzling lights for all to see. The possibilities seemed endless, and she wanted to learn it all.
Her daydreaming was interrupted by a knock at the door. She quickly stashed the book inside her pillow case. A trick she learned since last time. They only move the pillow, never check inside of it. "Hellooo?" She cheerily asked through the door. Absolutely nothing suspicious going on in here, after all.
The door creaked open. Poking her head through the door was a unicorn with a dark purple coat and a short, wavy, orange mane. It was Trip's older sister, Cinder Charm. "Hey, doofus." She spoke with genuine concern in spite of her choice of words to open with. "Heard you were practicing again, yeah?" She entered the room fully now, closing the door behind her. "Mom also told me why. You think that if you can master the right spell, you'll get your Cutie Mark, right?"
Trip's eyes widened with excitement. Finally, the two of them could talk about magic without being interrupted. "Yeah! I think I'm really close to figuring this one out, but if you show me again-!"
Cinder raised a hoof, indicating that Trip was to stop talking. Something only their parents usually did. It was strange seeing her sister do this. "Trip, there's something you might not fully understand about how our Marks actually work. You see, our mom and dad both have the same special talent, that being magic. I also happen to have this same special talent," She gestured to her own Cutie Mark, a yellow star with four points. "Not because of either of them, but because it's what I'm meant to do."
Trip got excited again. "Yeah! And just like the three of you, I'll be great at magic! Maybe even better!"
Cinder really didn't want to be the one to say it, but knew it would be easier coming from her than either of their parents. "Trip, you need to listen. There is the possibility that magic won't be your special talent. You might not be able to do anything beyond the basics at all because you're meant to be great at something else."
Trip flapped her lips at the idea. "Puh-lease. Like I'd ever do something lame like 'being good at folding laundry' as my special talent. Don't be read-ick-all-us!"
Cinder didn't know where to start. Her impulse was to correct her pronunciation of the word 'ridiculous', but there was something far more wrong here. "Power Trip, you know that no one talent is more important than any other, right? I mean, magic is pretty great and all, sure, but that doesn't make me better than the pony that knows everything about flowers, or the one that can make a scale replica of Manehattan out of icing. We're just different. And that's a good thing."
Power Trip stopped listening at this point. She didn't care about how other talents were special or important. She only cared about the one she had chosen for herself. She was going to be a great and powerful sorceress unlike any other Equestria had ever seen. But until then, she needed to keep practicing, and that meant getting back to reading. "Yeah, I get it, Cinder." She let out a fake yawn while stretching out her legs. "Mind if we talk about this more in the morning? It's pretty late." The sun had only set less than an hour ago, and Trip never wanted to sleep. The act was decent, but her audience knew better.
Cinder smirked, scooped up Trip's pillow, and ran for the door. A playful shouting match ensued as the two trotted back and forth around the room, Cinder keeping the pillow just out of reach while Trip thwarted any attempt at using the door.
Outside the room, down the hall, and into the living room, Amber Sage joined her husband, Sunstone, for some tea. Sunstone, a unicorn with a light yellow coat and a grey-blue mane, leaned back in his chair taking a sip of his tea, listening to the playful screams from the other room. "Well, I think it's going rather splendid in there. Don't you?"
Amber wasn't amused by his sarcasm. "Sun, this is serious. She's put a lot of pressure on herself at such a young age. I really think you should try talking to her."
"After how our last talk went? I'm keeping myself out of this." Sunstone scoffed as he took another sip. "Besides, she'll figure out what she's supposed to be sooner or later, and then she'll finally be over all this studying in secret nonsense."
This did little to ease Amber's concerns. Power Trip had been misbehaving more and more lately, all in pursuit of something she might not even be destined for. They've both been rather lenient about this, secretly hoping her rebellious actions might actually result in her being a sorcerer like them, even if signs already point towards this not being the case.
For now, it seems, they would all have to be patient. Destiny comes for us all, and finds us whenever it pleases, whether we like it or not.
"Snacks... check. Sleeping bag... check. Toothbrush... check. Books... check. Backup capes... two, four, six, check!" Having double-checked her pack list, Power Trip clicked the trunk shut and began wheeling it out of her room, pulling it behind her with her magic. Heading down the hall and into the living room, her mother was already waiting to see her off.
Amber Sage, Trip's mother, pulled her in for a tight hug. Maybe too tight. "Oh, I can't believe you're gonna just leave. Are you suuuure you have to go?" She squeezed Trip tighter, to the point of no escape.
Trip wanted to return the hug, but she could barely move. Her body began making an uncomfortable cracking sound the tighter the hug got. She strained to speak, "hey, uh... could you please... loosen up? My spine... my spine, mother!"
Amber relented, giving her daughter time to breath. "Oh, I'm sorry. I'm just going to miss you so much. Feels like just yesterday you were levitating blocks into a stack, and now you're going to study at a proper magic school."
Trip composed herself, straightening out her white cape and ensuring it flowed properly to just above the floor behind her. "I know! Well, maybe. I haven't actually been accepted yet. Are you sure you can't tell me anything about the exam?"
Amber raised an eyebrow. "Now, Power Trip, you're not really going to ask me to help you cheat, are you?"
Trip kicked one of her forehooves over the other. "Eh, can't blame a mare for wanting to be prepared." She clearly knew her mother wasn't going to give anything away. This was her way of expressing she was nervous about the unknowns surrounding the school's entrance exam.
Amber knew her daughter's quirks better than almost anypony, and knew that what she really needed was encouragement. "Hey, I know this is a little scary, but you've done so well with your personal studies over the years, I know you'll figure it all out. Have some faith in yourself. Like I do." She leaned in for another hug, a gentle one this time.
Power Trip returned the hug. Even though they couldn't properly see, they each knew the other was softly crying. Trip whimpered, "I'm gonna miss you too, mom. I really, really will." Now Trip was the one squeezing too tight. "Maybe if I leave my capes here, you'll fit in the trunk." They both laughed through their tears at the idea. They stood there hugging for some time before Trip finally let go, rubbing her tears away. "I should probably get going. Don't want to miss the train." She started pulling her trunk towards the door. "I love you, mom."
Amber used her magic to pull a box of tissues to herself. She was going to be needing them for a while. "I love you too, Honey-Pie." Blowing her nose in the least graceful way a pony can.
As Trip approached the door, she glanced into the next room over, the kitchen. There stood her father, Sunstone. The looks on their faces said everything that needed to be said in that moment. A silent exchange of words, and those words were not kind.
Leaving her emotions behind, she trotted out through the front door, down the stairs, and into the library. Passing through, several other ponies, acquaintances of hers, said their goodbyes to her. Wishing her luck, reminding her to write, telling her to visit soon, all the stuff she expected to hear. She didn't really pay them much mind, politely smiling and letting her mental auto-pilot come up with a response for each of them. 'I probably said the right things' she would think to herself afterwards. Not that she didn't care about them. She just had other things on her mind, like getting to the train station on time, actually riding the train, getting to the school before dark, attending classes, learning new spells, following her dream of becoming a great and powerful sorceress. Matters both big and small, the future weighed heavily on her.
She left the library and made her way up the road towards the station, when a voice called out to her from the opposite direction. "Hey, doofus. Aren't you gonna say goodbye?" It was her sister, Cinder Charm. Her timing was... something.
Power Trip stopped and smiled before turning to face her sister. She chuckled, "You know I don't like being called that." keeping her tone positive, though it did bother her.
"Yeah, I know." Cinder used her magic to lift an object from her saddlebag; a small giftwrapped box. "Sorry I missed your birthday yesterday. Work was a nightmare."
Trip used her own magic to pull the box to herself, setting it atop her trunk. "Oh, I heard. How in Equestria did an ursa major get into the castle, anyways?"
Cinder let out a groan, putting a hoof to her forehead. "I'll give you a hint. Her name rhymes with Mixie."
Trip rolled her eyes, knowing exactly who Cinder was referring to. "Of course it does." The two of them giggled as they both started walking towards the station. "So, I guess being a guard in the princess's castle isn't as glamourous as it sounds?"
"Oh, the work is fine, albeit unpredictable. Some nights I'm splitting myself into three to keep everything under control, others I fall asleep standing at my post." She was clearly exasperated by the lack of consistency, though she did truly love her work. "Enough about me. Are you excited about school?"
Trip practically jumped into her next step forward. "Oh, you have no idea! Mom told me they have all kinds of books we couldn't get in the library!" She squealed with delight at the thought. "I've been doing basic magic for years, now I can finally learn the good stuff!"
Cinder looked back down the road at the library. Their father had removed the magic section entirely a couple years ago, so Trip really didn't have much to work with aside from what she had already memorized from before then. Going to a magic school, she'd have access to any spell she wanted. Any spell. The thought of her younger sister living up to her name crossed her mind. Images of a wicked mare conjuring lightning to strike all whom oppose her swirled in her mind. Then she looked at her sister, who was practically dancing as she walked. Cinder shook the thoughts from her head. "Well, try not to become too powerful, m'kay?"
"What? You worried I'm gonna take your job?" Trip teased, nudging her sister's shoulder with her own. "Trust me. Knowing what kinds of shenanigans happen in that castle, I am not envious in the least."
Cinder nudged back with a smirk. "Good. Last thing I want to to fly out to the middle of nowhere to take you down."
Trip pushed Cinder away with a hoof. "I'd like to see you try!"
Continuing to push each other back and forth, carrying on with this pointless argument, they eventually reached the front of the train station.
"Well, then I'd cast occular hexus, and blind you!"
"Oh, yeah?! Well I can do magic with my eyes closed just fine!"
"Oh, yeah?!"
"YEAH!"
The two sisters had their foreheads pressed against each other's at this point, sparks shooting from their horns as they crossed. They glared at each other in silence for a few moments before bursting in to tearful laughter. Trip pounding the pavement with a hoof while Cinder did her best to return to a more professional demeanor. Maybe walking through town loudly fighting with her sister in the middle of the day wasn't the most appropriate thing for a member of the royal guard to be doing. Even so, her smile never faded.
Trip adjusted her cape, pushing it back to its proper length. "Well, it was really nice getting to talk to you again before leaving. Too bad it wasn't for long. Sorry." Her ears drooped. The two of them barely got to talk these days.
Cinder wiped away her laugh-induced tears, having now calmed down. "I'm just glad I could get away from my post before you reached the station. Almost missed the chance to say goodbye to my favorite little sister." Trip was, of course, her only sister.
The two embraced as the conductor announced, "All aboard! Next stop, Ponyville!"
"Well, don't you worry. I'll be back in a couple months." Trip took a few steps up the stairs and onto the platform, levitating her trunk and giftbox along with her. "And when I do, I'll be a real sorceress!" She made the last few steps towards the train, ready to board. As she did, she continued her thought, though spoke quietly enough so that only she herself could hear...
"Whe'e ya headed off to strangah?" Sitting across from Power Trip was an earth pony with a yellow coat and a purple mane, tied up in a fancy bun. She wore a suit and tie, some kind of business-mare, Trip assumed.
"Oh, um, I uh..." Trip fumbled over her words nervously. Not only was this her first time on a train, this was her first time ever leaving Canterlot by herself. Somehow the rumbling of the car was more nerve-racking than being in a balloon miles above the ground. Now add a stranger asking questions to the mix? How could things get any worse?
"Oh, whe'e a'e my mannahs? Name's Cha'treuse Shade, and befo'e ya ask, yes, my fathah is colahblind! Oh ho ho ho!" The accent this pony spoke with was unlike anything Trip had heard before. Maybe from Manehattan? Though she herself had never been there. Her sense of humor was also... unique. That's for sure.
Trip laughed along, more out of politeness than anything else. "Well, I'm Power Trip. Nice to meet you?" There was no hiding the fact she had phrased it like a question, and certainly no way to recover from it. She never did have the best manners when it came to conversations, but was always aware of when she made a mistake.
Chartreuse didn't seem to notice or mind. "Well, it's nice to meetcha too, dahling. I can tell by the way ya hooves is rattlin' ya not usedta trains, a'e ya?"
Trip looked down. Her right hoof had been tapping against the seat of the bench throughout the entire conversation without her notice. It was as natural as breathing, and took effort on her part to make it stop. "Uhhh, yep. First time." She cleared her throat, now putting her whole focus on the conversation itself. "Anyways, back to your original question, I'm going to the Everfree School of Advanced Magic Studies. Ponyville is the closest station to it, so that's where I'll be getting off."
"Oh, I've hea'd about that one." The mare looked Trip over. Her tail had started swishing about under her cape, no doubt another of her nervous ticks. "You're not the type I woulda expected to be goin' inta a place like that. Ne'vous about train rides, but think ya can brave the Evahfree Forest?" This would get the attention of a few other passengers. The Everfree Forest is infamously dangerous, after all.
Home to all sorts of creatures and plants, uneven terrain making it difficult to navigate, and unpredictable weather. Worst of all, the school itself isn't on any map. Anypony who wants to attend would be going in totally blind. Only the bravest sorcerers with the greatest potential can even reach the front door to take the entrance exam. In a way, the forest itself is the first part of the exam.
"Well, the Everfree Forest doesn't have any trains, so I think I'll be fine." Trip was starting to speak with more confidence in her voice. Somehow, thinking about the dangers she'd face at her destination had taken her mind off of the fact she was still on a rumbling train.
"Well, if ya sure, don't let me change ya mind, dahling." She leaned back and flipped open a magazine. "Just be ca'eful out the'e is all."
Things went quiet after that, letting Trip's mind wander. She still hadn't quite figured out a plan for finding the school once she reached the forest. A bridge to cross once come to, she thought, but that bridge was getting closer. Even more taxing was the actual exam itself. Her mom knew one of the headmasters of the school, so she knew there was an entrance exam of some kind, but knew nothing of what it would actually require. What if the books she had memorized weren't the right ones? What if there was a specific spell that she hadn't learned that was a prerequisite for even getting in? Worst yet, what if they reject her outright for not having her Cutie Mark yet? The whole purpose for her going in the first place might be her greatest obstacle. Her tail started swishing about faster and more loudly as the number of possible obstacles increased.
Finally, her thoughts were interrupted by the sudden jolt of the train stopping. She sprang up and, towing her belongings behind her, galloped for the door. Her traveling partner probably said something to the effect of a 'goodbye', but she was laser focused on getting off the train, and hopefully, never boarding one again. Next stop: The Everfree Forest.
