What does it mean to be a unicorn? To have spells that create fire, and have light at one's beck and call? The ability to conjure illusions, and grasp and throw objects with just a thought?
There is a point in every unicorn's life when they must decide whether to live with magic as a mundane thing, a simple tool, or to steep themselves in the higher learnings that is their birthright.
For three young mares that have been chosen to be taught by Princess Celestia, herself, their studies have only just begun.
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Trixie Lulamoon was ecstatic. From the pep in her step to the tell-tale look of smugness plastered on her face, her happiness was plain as day.
Resplendent white marble columns soothed her eyes, as did the shimmering hues and tones of light streaming in from the stained glass windows that painted the walls. The intimately detailed panes were as tall as the ceiling, which arched way overhead the unicorn filly.
In a touch of her magic, the silver-maned pony couldn't help but grasp the finely quill-written letter addressed to her, bringing it out of her saddlebag to read once more. Carefully unrolling it so it remained in its pristine condition, Trixie continued trotting happily down the plush red carpet that was placed in the exact center of the hallway.
The flowing script, the perfectly traced lines... Oh, how Trixie regretted hating writing class when she first began her formal training in magic kindergarten just two years ago. To think that she railed and complained about how learning to write was a dumb and pointless exercise in the first week of class. But now that she knew better, as she was much more mature and sophisticated at the age of seven, she found the skill to apply the right touch of the pen point against the paper something so awe inspiring that nopony should ever know. Especially given how vocal she was in front of the whole class during those days. It would simply have to remain a secret, made all the easier given how far away she expected to be from any of her former classmates from this point on.
Trixie didn’t even completely mind that she would be away from her family in order to attend advanced private instruction from none other than Her Highness herself, Princess Celestia. While boarding at the palace no less. Her parents, as dear to her as they were, were modest folk. Much more settled than her grandfather who traveled across the world performing feats of magic and escape...and sometimes chicanery. Her father an actuary and her mother a grocer, Trixie lived a perfect, quaint life with her brothers and sisters.
And that bored her.
It hadn’t taken long for Trixie to start making mischief here and there to liven things up whenever she wasn't arguing with her siblings or enjoying taco night. A false alarm here, and a game of “hide dad’s important documents” there.
Then, one fateful day, she had met her grandfather, who came to babysit thanks to everypony else in town not being able to handle four frightfully rambunctious foals. As it turned out he had just been released from the local jail for petty theft, but she paid no mind to her dear grandfather's colorful background. No, Trixie was too busy being awed by the older unicorn's acts of prestidigitation and illusion. Most especially illusion.
He made flowers appear and silverware disappear; he asked them to bring their mother’s necklace and other jewelry and made them disappear before their very eyes. A bag of bits? Gone, no matter how hard she focused and tried to follow the stallion’s hoof movements. All of this managed to happen without magic.
Bluebeard then showed off how he could bend light with traditional unicorn spells to make it seem like he was invisible, or shoot sparkling fireworks of vibrant blues, reds, oranges, yellows...other, lighter blues...
Trixie was taken in and amazed, even when her siblings grew bored of the show and fell asleep on the couch next to her.
The fact that Star Runner and Greensleeves managed to come back to a house that wasn’t torn up—or hopelessly on fire—as they had expected it to be had locked Bluebeard as the go-to foalsitter. He even told her parents that she was his little assistant, though by then even a filly like her couldn’t stay up way long past her bedtime and was already falling fast asleep.
The following day at breakfast, Trixie remembered being asked how it had felt to meet her dad’s dad. “Grandpa showed me all sorts of tricks!” she remembered saying, then began to regale her parents with the show that had occurred and all the things that Bluebeard the Magnificent could make disappear. Then, for the next couple of weeks after that, Trixie didn’t get to see her grandfather. She remembered her mom being really upset and screaming at her dad that Bluebeard was a “clipped toe...” something...
It didn’t matter what her mother said, as eventually Trixie was able to see her grandfather again. And ever since, Trixie learned all she knew from her grandfather. The tricks of the trade; the art of illusion and misdirection, amongst other things.
She smiled from such fond memories and, from the corner of her eye, Trixie noticed that the help must have arrived to take her things to wherever her room would be. It was expected that the palace would be staffed with maids, butlers, and the like. Floating behind her in a soft purple glow was a set of luggage and a traveling trunk that was then set onto the floor nearby the ponies standing a little ways ahead of her.
“Yes, if you could please take these for me,” Trixie said with a heightened feeling of privilege to have other ponies work to her whims despite not having a drop of noble blood in her. She turned away to admire the scale of the hall when one of the servants unexpectedly asked,
“And what am I supposed to do with these?” The surprisingly young-sounding maid sounded irritated in her tone, prompting Trixie to spin back around in confusion at the situation.
“I...what...here, too...huh?” Once her eyes settled upon the two fillies standing and looking back at her, Trixie stammered and stuttered nonsensically when she recognized the fiery-maned unicorn, her lifelong rival Sunset Shimmer, and standing next to her...the purple one.
Sunset gave her a smirk in return, enjoying how quickly the usually straight-faced filly’s demeanor had changed in a single moment. "I got an invitation, Tricky," Trixie oh-so hated that nickname, and she ground her teeth as the other filly continued loudly exclaiming, "so you probably just got one of my extras that they sent out to make absolutely certain that one of them reached me."
"Um, I got one too," the purple one said in an attempt to join the conversation.
Ignoring her, the two other ponies continued their heated conversation. "Well the addressee on this invite is quite a misspelling of your name, Somersault Shummer."
Sunset gasped as though insulted and then growled out, "My name is—"
Trixie rolled her eyes in response. "I said it wrong on purpose."
Hearing this, Sunset narrowed her eyes and glowered. "What's your deal, Tricky?"
Trixie bristled from hearing that yet again. "For the last time, my name is Trrrrrrrrixie," she said with a roll of her tongue, emphasizing what Sunset was supposed to correct.
"I'm Twilight. Twilight Sparkle," the other filly said, stepping forward with a polite smile. "We were in the same class, remember?"
Trixie and Sunset found themselves glancing at each other for a short moment before they turned their attention back to the unicorn looking at them. "Right..." Sunset addressed the matter curtly. “In any case, there’s no way you could have gotten an invitation to meet the princess, Lulamoon. Twilight I can understand, as much a goody-two-shoes she is.”
“Thanks,” Twilight chirped, not realizing how she’d just been sniped at.
“Well, I’m surprised a bully like you who was held back a year would be asked to show up at the palace.” Trixie decided to go for the kill, but for her daring she earned a crazed stare from Sunset. For the slightest moment Trixie wanted to jump back, but she stood her ground, keeping a stern face against the other pony’s legitimately intimidating appearance.
In short order the wide-eyed look disappeared and it turned back into the cool, haughty smirk as before. “‘Bully?” Sunset said with a scoff, combing back her wavy mane with a hoof in a blasé manner. “It’s called being a winner.”
"Truth be told, all three of you received invitations." A familiar voice echoed throughout the chamber. The voice was authoritative yet gentle, loud but fitting the grand expanse of the room they were in. The three fillies wasted no time following the length of the red carpet, their eyes climbing the high staircase to spot a tall figure who had appeared and was watching them.
From atop the staircase stood a mare with a snow-white coat and a flowing mane, unmistakable even to ponies who had never seen her before. Ponies learned as early as foalhood who she was. From her posture to the very way she regarded the three animated fillies, everything about the mare bespoke a regal nature.
"Princess!" the fillies called out in unison. The three of them bowed toward the alicorn, who smiled at their display of proper decorum.
"You three have each proven yourselves to be astounding in your respective fields of magic, and at such young ages, no less,” the slender, tall alicorn said while descending each step. “I can sense great potential in each of you, and would be honored to have you be my students."
Sunset Shimmer was the first to respond, unable to keep up her attitude in their kind ruler’s presence. Celestia had managed to earn Sunset’s respect, it seemed. “Y-Your highness, I think I speak for all of us here whe-”
“Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!” Twilight jumped out and surprised them all, hopping around in circles around Celestia and continuing to cheer loudly, unaware of how embarrassing her behavior was.
“H-hey! Don’t interrupt me like that!” Sunset shrieked, her helium-like voice cracking slightly.
As Sunset continued yelling at Twilight to stop, the princess simply smiled and turned her attention to Trixie with an expectant look.
Pressured by the feeling of being watched, as she was ignoring the other fillies’ noises up to this point, Trixie looked up from the floor and was caught in Celestia’s curious gaze. “W-What’s wrong?” the filly twitched and stammered, forgetting herself from the undue, intimate attention that didn’t occur from performing in front of a crowd.
“Nothing’s wrong,” the princess chuckled warmly in response, smiling in a manner that soothed Trixie’s nerves more so than the white columns had. In fact, the tension seemed to melt away as the waving, resplendent mane reminded the filly of the light that streamed from the stained glass windows.
“So...you want all three of us to study under you?” Trixie finally asked, standing straight and looking up to Celestia as she would to any adult.
“That was the plan, yes,” Celestia replied slyly, chuckling once more. She remained standing tall, keeping in direct eye contact with the stern-looking Trixie.
The filly noticed how the princess wasn’t leaning down to take the same eye level as her like most adults would. Of course, most stallions and mares simply weren’t as imposing a figure as Princess Celestia, requiring Trixie to take just a step back to comfortably remain in eye contact. It wasn’t at as if she was intimidated. Far from it, actually. The princess gave a light chuckle at the sight, managing to do so without making the filly feel self-conscious about the size disparity.
“So?” Celestia asked after a moment passed. “What do you say?”
“What do I say?” Trixie asked in return, not fully understanding what she meant. “You’re the princess, so...if you want us to be your students…what you say goes”
At this Celestia let out a surprisingly loud laugh that simply couldn’t be stifled, making the other two fillies stop in their places.
“Princess?” Twilight was the first to ask aloud when Celestia raised a hoof to wipe away a tear. She looked to each of the three fillies in turn, then maneuvered herself so that everypony could see her when she looked once more to Trixie.
“I may be responsible for raising the sun and moon everyday, and making sure my little ponies are safe from harm, but that in no way makes ‘what I say go’ just like that. Rather, it’s up to each of you and you alone whether to give me the chance to be your teacher. And I would very much like that chance to show you your true potential, Trixie Lulamoon,” she looked away while continuing to address the other fillies. “Twilight Sparkle, and you as well, Sunset Shimmer.”
Trixie had long since learned how to read an adult’s eyes to discern what they actually meant. Her grandfather made it a point to teach her never to take anypony’s word at face value. Unlike most of the adults that her grandfather always had her meet, the princess’ eyes shone clearly and lucidly like a marble in the sunlight. Her intent was bare for everypony to see. A bit too upfront, almost, that the filly had to look away else she’d forever be caught in them and forget everything Bluebeard had warned her about adults. “Yeah,” Trixie said noncommittally with a shrug of her shoulders. “Sounds like fun.” The princess was quite pleased with the answer when her attention returned to Trixie.
“Oh, me too! I’d be honored if I could be a student of yours, princess!” Twilight ecstatically announced, hopping into sight right next to Trixie.
Sunset nodded quietly in agreement, lending a soft smile and appearing on the silver-maned filly’s other side.
“Girls,” Celestia said with a wide smile of her own. “I’m so happy that you’ve all agreed! Now, let’s get started with the first lesson.”
Trixie furrowed her brows and deadpanned, “Wait…right now?”
Sunset Shimmer nickered, feeling completely irritated. And bored. On the surface, she looked much more calm and serene than the young fillies on either side of her. Twilight Sparkle and the blue one were more or less entirely focused on the task ahead of them, giving looks of pure and semi-concentration, respectively. But she wanted no less than to stop doing these pointless drills and move on to some real magic casting. Like teleportation, weather control, or even counter-spells. She knew for a fact that the forbidden magics were entirely out of the question.
That didn’t matter anyways, since the princess insisted that they review basic things like casting a fireball. The exact sort of thing that unicorns were doing in regular magic class! Nonetheless, Sunset relented, hoping-more-than-thinking that it would lead to them learning an advanced fire spell. It was with great reluctance that, for the past three days, she proceeded to continue the most elementary sort of magic after using telekinesis. In her opinion, at least.
Sunset recalled her previous lessons and proceeded with each step just as she was taught: she began by imagining a lick of flame at the very tip of her horn, as though it was a candle. Imagined its heat and light. Then heard the crackling of the small ember growing larger. Consuming not just the air around it, but the stream of mana she was sending to it. Letting it feed off of the carefully made balance between the inner and outer forces. And then as though sneezing, Sunset tensed her mind and fed that fire a concentrated ball of her energy, sparking and igniting a burst of flame twice her size to roar into the target before her.
The scarecrow placed a few dozen hoofsteps away was subsumed in brilliant fire before magically extinguishing itself. The dimwitted look on its face never changed as the reactive spell it was imbued with took effect by immediately countering the magic it had been attacked with. The filly afforded herself to grin at the amount of time it took the scarecrow to be finished with its self repair. Sunset glanced at her left and right, watching as Twilight Sparkle and Trixie Lulamoon could only singe their targets. Whenever they managed to hit them at all, that is.
"Again," Celestia commanded, striding back and forth behind the three fillies as Twilight and Trixie gathered their thoughts into manifesting a flame once more.
Sunset huffed but followed through the steps yet again, setting her target dummy aflame at least twice before either Trixie or Twilight let out another shot. Once their marginally smaller attacks flew across the floor and missed their respective dummies, the princess declared, “That will be all for today, girls.” Sunset along with her classmates turned their attentions to their teacher. She watched with quiet displeasure how the other two had actually managed to break a sweat from such a simple exercise, but her thoughts were interrupted as Celestia continued. “Now rest up because tomorrow will start with more review, then some classwork. Be sure to understand the fundamentals of elemental spell casting in case of a quiz.”
“Yes, Princess,” the girls replied, with varying levels of enthusiasm.
Without further ado, the alicorn turned to leave the room, leaving the girls to wonder how to proceed.
“Do you girls want to keep practicing?” Twilight asked earnestly, excited for the promise of their first quiz.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been this sore…” Trixie muttered, tentatively checking her horn. “I think I got a sprain,” she whined out. “Can you even sprain your horn?”
“No...I think? I don’t remember reading about anything like that, though,” Twilight said, thinking aloud. “Maybe you’re just not used to casting so much magic?”
Trixie quickly rebuffed that suggestion. “I cast plenty of magic, thank you very much! Spells, however, are a different story.”
Twilight balked at that seemingly contradictory statement, her curiosity driving her to figure out what the other filly meant.
Trixie sighed as though the very thought of having to explain was itself a chore. Despite the appearance of finding it bothersome, however, she puffed her chest out in pride and proclaimed, “I am an illusionist, you simple pony! I perform feats of amazing skill without needing to do all of that boring studying.”
“Studying isn’t boring,” Twilight stated as fact and sounded even a little bit offended. Just then, her eyes lit up as she shouted in excitement, “We could do a group study!” The filly hopped about with her usual grand smile, making Trixie regret even replying to her in the first place. “We can make flashcards and come up with mnemonics and play memorization games!”
“Didn’t I already mention that my head is hurting, Sparkle?” Trixie interjected in annoyance. “So in all honesty, I’d rather-”
Completely caught up with her idea, Twilight was oblivious to Trixie’s complaints and approached the third filly. “What about you, Sunset? Do you want to study with us?”
“Huh? No. I don’t need it. I’ll see you around,” Sunset replied while hastily leaving the room. She left the other two without saying anything further, using a touch of magic to push open the large oak doors of the training room. Closing the doors behind her, the filly caught sight of the princess’ tail just as she turned the corner. Sunset followed her down the hallway, turning around each corner until they both were in Celestia’s private quarters. Sunset made especially sure to close the door behind her before entering.
The single high-ceilinged room of the princess’ quarters was adorned with simple yet elegantly designed furnishings, as well as a fireplace that for the moment remained unlit. Nearby the large bed in the middle of the room was a cradle where a recently hatched dragon lied, curled up and sleeping soundly.
Sunset carefully approached the mare so as to not wake up the hatchling. “P-princess…”
The older pony tut-tutted, moving closer to brush back a loose strand of Sunset’s mane. “You don’t have to be so formal all the time, Sunset,” Celestia said in a light manner.
She could only blink at that. The filly contemplated the request for a moment, but ultimately chose against it. Albeit hesitantly so. “Ever since you publicly made me your student, I feel it’s doubly important to be,” Sunset admitted, averting her eyes from meeting the princess’.
“I personally wished you wouldn’t,” Celestia said, managing to hold back most of her sigh. “But I’ll respect what you’re comfortable with, Sunset.”
“Thanks,” Sunset said in turn with a ghost of a smile appearing on her face. She owed so much to the regal, beautiful mare before her. The filly was beyond words that Celestia would still be gracious enough to afford her a little bit of selfishness, even if it led to some distance between the two of them. But in her mind it wouldn’t do to even think that she could be as close to the sun as she wished without possibly being burned by the expectations.
Before she could continue onto what she wanted to say, however, Celestia asked, “Are Twilight and Trixie still in the practice room?”
“I guess,” Sunset said and shrugged.
With a nod and smile, Celestia suggested, “Since it’s been a while, maybe we should have supper together. The four of us, actually. What do you say? I think it’s important to have you get to know your classmates a bit better. Don’t you?”
Sunset’s eyes lit up at the idea of having dinner with the princess after so long, but had to contemplate the rest of her suggestion. “O-of course. That’s sounds good.” She figured that some time to cool off would serve her better, so she could formulate exactly what she wanted to say to the princess, rather than mess up if she pushed it right this moment. It wouldn’t do to let her nerves get in the way, after all.
---
Dinner had been served early, for the sake of Princess Celestia to spend some time with her students before she went to bring in the night.
It felt a bit more informal than their teaching sessions, but Sunset still felt restrained nonetheless. Too preoccupied by her thoughts and mental scripting of what she wanted to talk to Celestia about after the dinner to fully participate in the conversation going on during it. As she lied on her bed, her curtains drawn but the sun’s light peeking through the heavy material, Sunset couldn’t even recall what it was she ate while the other fillies enjoyed themselves chatting and giggling with the princess. In addition, Celestia had to excuse herself in order to set the sun and raise the moon.
She nickered at the half-formed memory and sat up from her bed, feeling too restless to go to sleep this early. Sunset had chosen not to wait and simply returned to her room. But even with the stars taking the place in the sky and the sun’s light waning from behind the curtains, the filly meandered to deal with her boredom by taking a glance at her textbook. It was a large tome that was about the size of her head, and would be too heavy to carry herself without using magic. Hopping onto her chair, Sunset opened to a random page—just so happening to land on Elemental magic.
In a quick movement, Celestia peered into the room and smiled to find Sunset studying at her desk. “This is a surprise,” she said. The mare walked over to the desk and a surprised-looking Sunset Shimmer. “I can’t recall ever seeing you in front of a book, before.”
“I thought...it would be worth giving the whole studying thing a try,” Sunset said tepidly, as though trying to continue the conversation for the sake of it.
“Ah. I see,” Celestia replied simply. As quiet settled between them, her teacher proved once more to the filly that she could easily read her emotions. “Sunset? Is there anything in particular on your mind?”
She sat with back straight and head raised. “Yes. In fact, there something I want to talk to you about.” Sunset knew she had no better time than this. Taking a deep preparatory breath in and a steadying exhale out, she said without further preamble, “I think you should teach me more advanced magic, princess.”
Celestia’s response came swiftly and without hesitation. “No, Sunset. You’ll learn alongside Twilight and Trixie.”
Sunset frowned, then realized what she was doing and quickly corrected herself. “Then what was the point of taking everything you’ve taught me to heart? The magic you’ve showed me? The history you’ve taught me?” As she continued to speak, Sunset felt her irritation bubble up to the surface once again and she said in a louder voice, “I...I thought you said you respected me as your student!” Her eyes lit up in surprise and she immediately stared down at the floor, embarrassed that she let her emotions carry her like that yet again.
“I expected my student to respect her teacher’s decision,” Celestia returned in a tense manner.
“I...I’m s-” she began to say with great remorse before she felt a hoof touch gently against her chin to tilt her face upward.
“No need to apologize.” Celestia offered a tempered smile. “You know you mean the world to me, Sunset. You’re all that I have left. You’re talented and have enormous potential. I’ve told you that often. But what you need to do is master what you already know, not seek more spells for the sake of it.”
Despite knowing the princess’ comforting intent, she couldn’t help but hear those words as anything but patronizing. “But I’m ready.” Sunset pleaded for the princess to see that. “I know that I’ll be able to handle more advanced magic!”
“I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you’re capable,” Celestia then stated, her expression now relaxed. “We live in peaceful times and for that I’m thankful. Which is why I’d rather you focus your efforts on ways to improve the lives of your fellow ponies and retain that peace. Trust me when I say that you’ll be more than enough of a match to anypony foolish enough to attack you if you master what I’ve already taught you.”
“But what if it isn’t enough? What if something bad happens?”
With quick wit Celestia interjected, “But what if you just trusted yourself just as I trust you? Hmmm?
“You don’t seem to trust me enough to teach me more advanced magic…” she grumbled out curtly.
Without hiding the fact that she heard that, Celestia sighed and frowned. “And it’s things like that that makes me worry about your intentions, young lady.”
“...I just want to impress you...make you proud…”
“Sunset, you don’t need to make me proud. I’m plenty proud of you, already. As for impressing me, well. Actually heeding my advice about the current issue would certainly impress me. As would cooperating a bit more with your fellow classmates, I suppose.”
“I get it,” Sunset huffed out, rolling her eyes to the princess’ teasing. “I’m not perfect.”
“And I’ll never ask you to be, Sunset.” Celestia brushed back the filly’s mane with a tender touch of her hoof, rather than use her magic. The simple act managed to pull out a smile from an otherwise frowning pony. After a soft sigh, she said, “It’s about time I go to sleep before the sunrise. And speaking of which, you go rest up as well, Sunset. It wouldn’t do to have you sleepy tomorrow.” Sunset nodded without a word to the princess ending the conversation like that. Without warning however, Celestia poked her hoof against the filly’s withers, causing her to spasm and flail in gleeful surprise.
“S-stop it!” Sunset giggled out, barely trying to escape Celestia’s assault. She tried her best not to fall off of her chair. “I hate,” she shrieked from a particular powerful urge to laugh occurred. “I hate getting tickled!”
“Do you, now?” The mare laughed mischievously and continued her assault. Sunset dodged her hooves, then galloped the short distance over to her bed where she suddenly found herself wrapped in her blanket, which had come to life under Celestia’s magic. She screamed out in surprise and tried her best to struggle and fight with her own aura against the princess’ but to no avail. She was finally set down when her vain attempts to fight back weakened and laid her head onto her pillow.
“I...I could’ve gotten out of that,” she said in exhaustion, punctuating her statement with panting.
Celestia chuckled at the thought and continued flatly laying out the blanket over Sunset and tucked her in using her magic. Caught under the same glow, the lamp at the desk opened to let out the fireflies and the book was closed. The two of them remained quiet, Sunset glancing up at the ceiling with Celestia seated on the floor next to the bed.
Then, Celestia broke the silence, speaking softly. “I’m...only trying to do what I think is best for you. And I wish I could explain and say more than ‘it’s complicated,’ but...”
“No, it’s alright,” Sunset said. “I understand what you’re trying to do. You didn’t have to take me in like you did. But I’m really happy that you did.”
Celestia looked away from a moment, hiding as best she could the blush that appeared on her face from behind her bangs. “I love you, my little Sunset.” She leaned in and lightly kissed her forehead, and tenderly brushed back the filly’s orange and red fiery-striped mane a second time upon sitting straight up.
Sunset blushed at the unwarranted affection, feeling compelled to respond in kind. “...love you too, mom.”
The Crystal Empire, which once spanned two continents and across five time zones, has fractured from centuries of endless war. Ranging from conflicts of rebellion to those of an internecine nature, several scholars have cited the Empire’s brutal campaign of colonization and terraformation as the primary factors to the “Eternal Empire’s” gradual decline. Its policy of slave labor and the treatment of its prisoners of war have strained diplomatic relations for generations, causing a calcification of antagonistic attitudes amongst those states that lie on the historical borders of, as well as those nations that have only recently re-emerged from the grip of, the Empire.
Theories abound for why the Empire has managed to remain so steadfast despite resistance and revolt from without and within. Arguably the best of which is the famous treatise by Starswirl the Bearded himself, who had written one of the earliest such accounts that made mention to the Crystal Empire nearly two thousand years ago. His forecast of the then-Crystal Kingdom’s rise to near absolute dominance during the great dynasties of Ibex, Gryffon, and Roc, is far and away the most detailed primary source still in existence, especially given how many if not all of his contemporaries doubted what Glashtyn of the Manx called, “A Yearling struggling toe[sic] graze the expired lands oef[sic] ice and snoew[sic]” to survive. But beyond the military paradigms of strategy and warfare, and without the academic lenses of economics and hippology, the territory held by Imperial forces certainly undergo a drastic change. Not simply by cultural means but literal, physical phenomena have been observed...
“...have been observed,” Twilight Sparkle muttered to herself and paused in her writing. She glanced over the opened book placed before her for a moment and quickly scanned the page. Her eyes crisscrossed the span of words for the relevant information regarding crystal formation, which had drawn her to this topic in the first place. Twilight was fascinated by her spontaneous desire to look more deeply into the subject. For example, it was remarkable to her that the few scholars that had touched upon the subject in any deep manner did so using solely mundane explanations rather than supplement those with arcane understandings.
Her casual look into the geology book laid open on her study table raised a question in her mind; an itch of curiosity that needed the salve of explanation from gathering the few texts in the Canterlot library that had readily available information. But for all of her researching the young mare only found herself asking more questions that needed answers.
For example, the eponymous crystals that became a prominent feature of Imperial territory and its colonies presented a number of puzzling roles and rituals throughout the Empire’s history and culture. Those very same crystals that were so unique to the Empire have unfortunately yet to be thoroughly looked at and analyzed, despite the centuries of their known existence. The small amount of samples that were carried outside of the Empire and looked at and studied were woefully inadequate, providing few discoveries. It seemed that their noted traits and purpose became all but naught to unlock once spirited away from their “native soil” due to “alien habitats,” as the naturalist Cyril of Ibexine had noted. Unlike the many mundane suppositions and theories that prominent scholars like Cyril, Manx and Goathe forwarded and built upon, Twilight was sure that magic was key to their formation and purpose.
Setting her quill down, Twilight reviewed what she had written with a feeling of satisfaction. The ever detail-oriented student pored over her work for any mistakes—aesthetic, factual, or otherwise. She took notice from the clock that it was already noon. Twilight sighed, almost regretting the action, since this meant her scheduled free study time was more or less over for today. She stretched her legs and let out a loud, unencumbered yawn before making her way to the vanity on the other side of her room. As she’s done countless times before, Twilight stroke her brush through her mane the proper number of times, proud of how kempt and straight her single-striped hair was.
She was never found wanting for the items required to remain looking and feeling proper. The various resources available to a student of her stature made sure of that. Room and board were taken care of, not to mention that maids and other cleaning staff were employed to take care of matters such as tidying up the bed and cleaning the students’ living spaces. She quickly learned the sorts of things the maids did and soon began to leave her room as they were trained to do before she left for the day. While she very much appreciated the time and effort that was put into making everything neat and tidy, Twilight didn't exactly agree with some of the decisions of where certain things were placed and how some of her items were organized.
Having ample amounts of scroll paper at all times, Twilight looked over her list of chores for the day, as well as her pre-planned itinerary. She was due to spend some time with Spike before catching up with her fellow classmates, Sunset and Trixie. With that plan in mind, Twilight made her way out of her room and down the spacious halls of the castle, politely greeting the wait staff as they passed her by.
Up ahead she saw her teacher and mentor, Princess Celestia, heading in her direction. Twilight observed the proper decorum and stood to the side of the hall, bowed her head and in greeting said, "Good morning, Princess."
“Good morning, Twilight," the princess said in a cheery fashion and replied in kind with a nod of her head. She then asked, "Do you have a moment?"
Still in mid-bow, Twilight shot up to look at the mare in barely restrained excitement. “Of course, Princess! What is it?"
Celestia couldn't help but chuckle as she continued. “Could you be so kind as to bring Sunset and Trixie with you and meet me in the throne room? Let’s say, around-...”
Eager for the opportunity to spend time with her teacher outside of class, Twilight dutifully cheered, “Yes, princess! Right away!"
"Oh no, it's nothing that important, Twilight," the princess quickly added, letting out a warm bit of laughter in appreciation to her subject’s response. "Please don’t be in a hurry on my account. Let’s meet at three o'clock this afternoon?"
"I..." Twilight blurted out, embarrassed from how she let herself get carried away. After taking a moment to regain her composure, Twilight said, "Of course, Princess. Three o’clock; me, Trixie and Sunset; throne room. Got it."
“I’ll see you girls then,” Celestia said with a regal smile. Twilight once more bowed as the princess continued her way down the hallway.
After the prescribed three seconds had passed, the young student took off in as casual a manner she could while excited at the prospect of a new assignment. Of course, Celestia never mentioned anything about an assignment for her students, but Twilight couldn’t think of any other reason. Her gait proceeded at the speed of a happy trot. Despite her excitement Twilight let out a long sigh, feeling more exhausted from that short talk with the princess than she did from her five hours of her morning self study. Not to mention famished. Her early morning breakfast was well long forgotten by her grumbling stomach. Thankful that no gurgling occurred for the princess to hear, Twilight trotted ahead to begin searching for her classmates, who she all but lost track of outside of class.
Besides the group lectures on Tuesday and practicums on Friday that involved all three of them, the princess made sure to give private lessons. Monday and Wednesday belonged to Sunset and Trixie, respectively, while Twilight relished the time she had alone with Celestia on Saturday to discuss magical theory.
The breadth of subjects and spells that Twilight strived to impress the princess with her knowledge of were only dwarfed by the number of magic spells that she had yet to read about. Celestia always managed to hint at some more astounding spell or archaic practice of ancient ponykind, driving Twilight to learn all she could so they could converse about them the following session.
Other than that, she and her fellow classmates had the rest of the week to themselves to practice and study what they learned, or in Twilight's case, to read and practice what they were scheduled to learn next.
However there was a task that took precedence. Twilight wondered where she would be able to find her classmates.
Trixie and Sunset couldn't have been a more different pair. It was understandable that they probably never would have associated with each other if it wasn't for Princess Celestia. And Twilight felt especially lucky to have them as her classmates in magic.
She smiled at the thought of Sunset's indomitable spirit; her decisive style of spell casting that was characteristic of unicorns with a strong affiliation to fire elemental magic. Sunset was famous for her stoic demeanor. While Twilight could agree to that assessment somewhat, she could never understand where whispers of her classmate being “haughty” and “stuck up” came from.
On the contrary, Trixie was quite open about her thoughts. So open in fact that she always seemed to get detention from professors all over the school despite the fact that Princess Celestia was technically her only teacher. The Princess was surprisingly lenient to the extent of appalling the highly vetted, oftentimes quite conservative magic experts that didn’t exactly enjoy the way Trixie “sullied” the esteemed traditions and history of unicorn kind.
Turning the advanced and complex formulae of weather and aging magic into sideshow acts and comedy skits tended to seem that way to ponies that spent their lifetimes on such subjects. She used makeup and props and did her fair share of name dropping—names were slightly changed to “protect” the sensitive—to poke at certain respectable professors that had tenure. The greater sin that caused the greatest ire was the lack of motivation, according to a number of professors that were brought in to supervise the progress of Celestia’s pupils. More often than not they would catch her playing with cards and practicing slights of hoof.
Leaving the castle to begin wandering the surrounding grounds, Twilight continued to ask herself how she would find Trixie and Sunset. She was only with them during lectures, tests, study sessions, or the odd group assignment. Outside of class the other girls made it a habit to go off on their own. In a textbook example of finding someone in the least expected place, Twilight looked ahead and saw Trixie walking toward an intersection in the road up ahead of her. “Oh. Trixie!" Twilight called out to her classmate. “Do you know where Sunset is?”
Trixie frowned upon hearing that name and said, “No I don’t, Sparkle. And if I I could I'd wish it would remain that way.”
“O...kay...anyways, I’ve got news,” Twilight stated, earning the other pony’s attention. “Princess Celestia wants to see us at three, today.”
“Is it an… assignment?” Trixie grimaced upon hearing Twilight’s announcement. “She's not making us deal with that damn Phoenix again, is she?"
Trixie's comment quickly reminded Twilight of the week-long ordeal the three students had trying to take care of Philomena, the princess' pet Phoenix. None of them knew a thing about the bird species, which meant there were long days of trial and mostly error, and sleepless nights full of studying and researching.
“It wasn’t that bad,” Twilight cheered.
“Says you, Sparkle,” Trixie muttered and rubbed her temple for a moment.
“Well in any case, since it won’t be for a while, do you want to do a group study, Trixie? For the test we have coming up soon?”
“Sure...if you’re offering…”
“Great!” Twilight nodded and started heading toward the white spire closer to the main campus where she and Trixie usually studied. “Maybe if we run into Sunset we could have her join us.”
“Tsk. That’s unlikely.” Trixie grumbled while walking alongside her. “She never studies, yet gets the same grades as you do!” Twilight’s neutral reaction didn’t seem to be approved by the young mare as she began to say, “Most if not everything we’ve been learning is abstract theory. I consider myself a practical mare, Sparkle. If I had two bits for every time Professor Preakness waddles in to demand I work on my spell’s flourish instead of something useful like its, I don’t know, casting speed, I’d be a rich mare. You know how I like to learn things that I’ll actually use outside of the classroom. Or a beauty pageant. Can you believe that’s a thing? Anyways, honestly, what’s the point?”
“Oh, yes. I forgot who I was talking to for a moment, as a showmare that spends an hour perfecting how to face an audience just right needs useful things.” Twilight said in reply, which earned a hint of a smile from Trixie.
“Is that sarcasm I hear? Good. You’re learning.”
“Thanks!” Twilight felt her chest swell in pride at the compliment. Such a snide remark was exactly what Twilight had intended. The studious pony wholehearted put effort to fit ‘How to Strike Up A Conversation’ by Primrose Pageant as a part of her self study, alongside her research of the Crystal Empire, of course. Trixie needed not just somepony to talk to, but an opponent to exercise wits against. Since recognizing this Twilight aimed to deliver. Primrose’s book mentioned that it was important to connect through shared interests. ‘Chapter 2: What Do You Like?’ It was also imperative to show an interest in the other pony’s pastime or hobby.
For Trixie, Twilight knew just what to mention. She nodded to herself. Then, as casually as she could, said, “Speaking of which, I really enjoyed the recent show you did, Trixie.”
“Show?” The other unicorn repeated the word, unsure what Twilight was referring to for a moment. “Oh yeah, last week. Well, I can’t say I’m that surprised since you probably only saw it for Spike,” Trixie stated matter-of-factly.
“It’s true I went to see him help you with your act, but Trixie, you were really good!” Trixie gave her version of a neutral reaction this time, prompting Twilight to continue. “Your knowledge of magical principles showed in how steady you kept the illusions you were producing, even when Spike made a few mistakes during the show. The fireworks were also a really great application of Phoenix fire that we learned last week. I wouldn’t have thought to use them like pyrotechnics like that.”
“Thanks,” Trixie’s stone-faced demeanor finally cracked into an appreciative smile before she nodded and groaned out. Despite the sound a happier look remained on her face. "For what it’s worth, dealing with Philomena and her...’pranks’... helped inspire a few of my tricks from that show. But I'll be a happy mare to never have to see that deranged bird again."
"Say no more. It was a pretty tough assignment,” Twilight agreed despite the fact that Philomena was the princess’ pet. “Just one thing," she added, catching the other mare's attention. "Your stage name, 'The Fantastic and Mesmerizing Trixie'? Doesn't exactly roll off the tongue."
"Yeah, I figured as much," Trixie said with a shrug. "You wouldn't believe how many times I flubbed it in rehearsal."
"Trust me, Spike gave me an earful!”
"Oh did he, now? The little worm..." Trixie pouted and grumbled to herself. “Maybe I should go ahead with that sawblade trick, after all?”
"Would it be ok...to attend your next rehearsal? I figure in exchange for how much help I give you with homework and studying, and all."
Her train of thought broken for the moment, Trixie eyed Twilight with an arched brow. “Really? That's all?"
"Well...yeah, I guess. You've always been really private about the shows you do."
"Only because I know I'm not much of a unicorn compared to you and Shimmer..." Trixie nickered and shrugged her shoulders.
"Oh don't be like that, Trixie. I think you're great at magic.
"Hmph. I get enough patronizing from the seniors when I perform at the retirement center, Sparkle. Trust me."
“I'm not trying to patronize. And I wouldn't lie to you or Sunset. We've been studying under Princess Celestia together since we were foals. We're practically like sisters!”
Trixie paused from hearing that. "Sisters?” She turned around and watched Twilight earnestly nod her head and the stagepony seemed to take the simple gesture wholeheartedly. They started walking side by side, the both of them lightly smiling. “Wait...but then wouldn’t that make Shining Armor my brother?” Trixie started to deeply contemplate the ramifications, so much so that she stopped walking for a moment.
“Trixie? Equestria to Trixie, hello?” Twilight waved her hoof in front of the mare’s eyes, trying to grab her attention.
It seemed to have worked, as Trixie was quick to reply after a fluttering set of blinks. “It’s nothing.” She began to walk once more with a noticeably faster gait.
Twilight shrugged and followed. “Oh. Ok, then.”
--
The girls eventually entered the main campus, where classes for Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns took place for primary and junior high students. It was also where most of the faculty offices and administrative departments were, so that the young colts and fillies that first entered the school would be under the careful watch of professors. The high school and college branches were placed farther away from the main campus.
It didn’t take long after entering the quad that Twilight noticed a purple and green baby dragon chatting with a trio of unicorns, whom she recognized as senior high school students. She waved when Spike looked her way and he enthusiastically reciprocated.
Twilight assumed that he said goodbye as the trio began to walk away, and she watched as Spike hurried over, panting by the time he reached where she and Trixie stood. It took only a short moment for the baby dragon to catch his breath.
“Hey...Twilight. You finished with self studying?” He said in greeting, looking up to her as a result of his smaller stature.
“Yes I am, Spike,” she replied dutifully as she brushed back one of his spines with her hoof.
He accepted the gesture without much difficulty, though he made sure to return the favor but parting his claw through a messy strand of hair in Twilight’s mane. “That’s great! You wanna come over to the party?” He asked, looking mostly toward Twilight after he was sure the slight tangle was corrected.
“Party?” Twilight wondered aloud, not sure what he was referring to.
“Yeah. The birthday party! Moondancer’s holding a big bash at her place and nearly everypony’s been invited, remember?”
“Can’t...say I do…”
“Whether you remember or not, it’s gonna be fun. Come on, Twilight!”
“And have to deal with your lame jokes?” Trixie grimaced at the thought and rolled her eyes after interjecting. “No thanks.”
“I wasn’t talking to you, anyway,” Spike quickly returned fire and proceeded over to the other unicorn. “C’mon, Twilight. You really oughta spend some time with ponies other than Trixie all the time.”
“Oh, I don’t know, Spike. Princess Celestia just told us that she’d like to see me, Trixie and Sunset later, and I’d really like to be ready to meet with her at the assigned time without being tardy, and...”
Trixie shot the dragon an irritated look. “Hey, I’m the problem? What about Shimmer?”
“He didn’t mean anything by that, Trixie,” Twilight said, breaking out of her train of thought to be diplomatic between the pony and dragon on either side of her. “And Spike, be nice.”
“Sure, sure,” Spike said half-heartedly, then returned to the original topic. “And y’know, it just so happens that Shining Armor’s gonna be there,” he ever so subtly tacked on this bit of information while looking ahead at Twilight for her answer, making Trixie tense a bit in anticipation.
Trixie’s ears perked at the sound of the stallion’s name, but did her best to keep her aloof composure. All while steadily making her way closer, step by step, toward the pair.
“I-it wouldn’t hurt to spend some time with our fellow classmates, right?” Trixie asked Twilight and moved ever closer to the still-indecisive pony to start nudging her forward.
“I still don’t know.” Twilight voiced her hesitation when her stomach decided to chime in with its opinion.
“There’ll be food there,” Spike said. Persuaded now, Twilight let the baby dragon lead the way. He chuckled as the the three of them began to walk to Canterlot town, outside of the palace’s gates.
Moondancer’s parents were low ranking nobles that worked as managerial clerks on several important councils. While students in general were expected to live on campus in the dormitories there were of course, exceptions to that policy. As nobles of all ranks lived within walking distance of the school, their attending children were given the luxury of staying home. They were, however, still held by the curfew in respect to their grade and class standing.
The birthday girl herself was quite renowned in magic. As class president, despite being Twilight’s age, Moondancer was already in charge of the student council. Well known and overall liked by both the students and instructors, few ponies were able to garner as much excitement as Moondancer for social gatherings that wasn’t a ploy to jump ahead in the social ladder. That was quite obvious to Twilight when she, Spike and Trixie arrived at Moondancer’s house. Correction: as they arrived at the end of a line that extended all the way from the front door, through the yard, and down the sidewalk for a full block.
“I can’t wait to get in by the time it’s curfew, Spike,” Trixie scoffed, sounding a bit more anxious than usual.
“Wait, nothing. I got this. Trust me!” Spike marched on to the front of the line, looking as cool as a cucumber despite the annoyed looks on the faces of the ponies he passed by. Hardly five minutes had gone by when he returned, gesturing for the girls to come over. “Twilight, Trixie, hurry up already!” Thinking that the mares didn’t hear him, Spike began to hop in place and frantically wave his arms. “TWILIGHT! Trixie! OVER HERE!”
The two of them could only smile awkwardly as several pairs of eyes suddenly shot over toward them, curiosity mixed with awe cascading the unicorns over the fact that they were being allowed to move ahead. The ponies quickly moved from their spot in line toward the exuberantly cheering dragon, slipping through the front door to take in the sight of the ornate interior.
As spacious as the house was, the sheer number of ponies present made it difficult to move without bumping into someone. It took some effort for Twilight and Trixie to follow Spike as he weaved through various groups of students talking amongst themselves until they pushed into a relatively clear space toward the outer edge of the open concept living room.
“I’ll be back in a sec,” Spike said loudly enough to pierce through the party’s din then scampered off to disappear into the crowd toward where the beverage tables were.
There didn’t seem to be any signs of the birthday filly from where they remained near the snack table. Which, in Twilight’s case, led to an awkward moment of trying to choose what chapter was the most appropriate to employ. “Chapter seven? No…” she muttered to herself. “How about nine? Maybe...Oh, I know!”
“Sunset’s birthday is coming up soon,” Twilight finally said aloud, hoping to start some idle chatter.
“What do I care?” Trixie snapped in reply.
Twilight thought about how to continue the conversation, like how Primrose Pageant suggested. She remembered the five points to staying on track that was explained in ‘Chapter 5: Keep It Up’ and decided she was already in need to keep the topic positive. “It’s her birthday, Trixie! You can’t ignore your fellow classmate’s birthday like that!”
“Well I’ll simply be returning the favor.”
Twilight wasn’t sure if Primrose had ever gone over this sort of situation. ‘Perhaps in another book of her ‘Friends Are Just Ponies You Haven’t Met Yet’ series? In any case, ‘Chapter 12: The Good, The Bad, and the Hyperbole’ will have to do. Particularly the section regarding perceived slights and rumors.'
“What? Sunset hasn’t ignored you. She’s given you a gift every year, hasn’t she?”
Trixie seemed to bristle at the question Twilight posed. “She might as well have been ignoring me. You remember, right? How she gave me bottles of glitter for my birthday the first five years we knew each other? And then she has the nerve the next six to give me nothing but pinecones! Without any reason, at all! I swear, there’s something wrong with that girl. She’ll probably give me glue the next seven years, just you wait.”
Twilight let out a nervous chuckle, not sure if she should mention her growing collection of rubber ducks over the years. “W-well, pinecones aside, weren’t you happy to get that glitter from her?”
“Yes,” she admitted. “At first. Then after the third year of the same brand, the same color, even the same card and gift wrap accompanying it? What am I supposed to do with that much of the same exact glitter?”
“Can’t say I know,” Twilight said, trying to hold back a smile. “But what’s more, I’m surprised, Trixie. Based on what you just said, you’re willing to tolerate seven more years knowing Sunset?” she asked the mare with a raised brow.
Trixie was stunned. Frazzled even, as though Twilight had just accused her of a high crime against the princess, herself. “I...what? No! I-it’s just a figure of speech!”
Twilight chuckled at her reaction. “Sure.”
“Hmph!” Trixie huffed and practically stomped away into the crowd.
“Spike, could you make sure she doesn’t disappear on us again?”
“Do I have to?” the dragon groaned out with cups of punch in each claw, clearly familiar with what such a duty entailed.
Nonetheless, Twilight asked with a saccharine tone. “Please?”
“Oh, alright. But you owe me.” The little dragon sighed and gulped down the punch he had, then hurried to catch up with the silver-maned unicorn as she made her way into the crowd.
“You've got a sapphire with extra fine cuts waiting at dinner tonight, Spike,” Twilight added as an extra incentive and then went off to find her brother after the dragon went off after Trixie.
--
Looking around, Twilight recognized a few of the unicorns as fellow magic students, though she didn’t really know them by name. Mostly by face as they moved from class to class at Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. Being accepted to the school was no easy feat. As the name implied, Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns had a level of prestige that opened doors for a unicorn that sought entry into the nobility, or to keep up her family’s expectations of excellence if they already came from nobility.
Strangely enough Twilight belonged to the rare, third kind of student: a unicorn that simply wanted to learn magic for magic’s sake. Like many of the ponies that entered with this frame of mind before her, Twilight put a good deal of thought in becoming a researcher or professor of magic and everything related to it. Of course, the vast majority of ponies that sought entry to the school didn’t have such lofty or altruistic goals. Not to mention that she couldn’t recall any pony being taken under the princess’ wing for private tutelage, either.
Satellite schools existed in cities all throughout Equestria, and several private academies had also been founded. The quality of life had improved by leaps and bounds, not to forget the contributions of Earth ponies and Pegasi, of course. In any case a good majority of unicorns never went beyond magic kindergarten and instead go into apprenticeships for different trades or sometimes pursue a destiny based on their cutie mark.
There were also unicorns that sought to learn magic to protect their fellow ponies. Ponies such as, “Shining Armor!” Twilight said happily in recognition of the stallion that appeared through the crowd.
“Twiley! Hey, I knew Spike wouldn’t let me down.” Embracing Twilight in a familial nuzzle, Shining Armor chuckled and stepped back to look around the crowd. The stallion had a quizzical expression on his face when he turned back to his sister. “Where is the little guy, anyhow? Not to mention your partners in crime?”
“Trixie’s around here, somewhere,” Twilight shrugged and said in an unconcerned tone. “She was actually really excited to come here until just a moment ago. Spike just went off to find her.”
“Alright.” He nodded in understanding then next asked, “Any reason you’re leaving Sunset out of the fun?”
“Leaving her out? No, I’m not leaving her out of anything,” Twilight replied. “I...I was looking for her before Spike told me and Trixie to come here.”
“Oh, really? Didn’t mean to hold you up.” Twilight didn’t know how to react about her brother not questioning her willingness to just leave a party.
“It’s not a problem. Rather, I want to know how you’ve been! Did you get a chance to see mom and dad?”
“Yeah, I stopped by home on my way over here. Mom talked my ear off about getting you to visit more often.”
Twilight blushed from hearing that and said, “I’ve really been meaning to, Shining. In fact, I’ll go right after I speak with the princess, later. Now quit turning the subject back to me and tell me more about how you’ve been doing? How’s the frontline?”
“Oh, y’know. Chilly. Captain Pauldron figures that I might have what it takes to start leading a team, soon.”
Twilight nodded, waiting for her brother to say more.
“Uh...the other guards really liked the cookies that Trixie sent last week?”
“Uh huh…” Twilight sent Shining Armor a knowing look, which made him stammer all the more as he clearly understood what it was she wanted to find out about. The stallion rubbed the back of his head and explained,
“...I haven’t been able to get in touch with her.”
Twilight was clearly disappointed, but didn’t let it overwhelm the fun party mood that she had. “Oh. Well, I’m not surprised that she’s busy, all things considering…”
“Yeah…”
A moment’s pause settled between the two amidst that chatter and music going on around them.
“I’m going to find Sunset and see if I can get her to join us!”
“I won’t wait up,” Shining Armor chuckled out as Twilight left through the front door much to the surprise of the ponies in line waiting to get in.
She decided to head toward the palace, which required her to cut through the main campus. As classes had already finished for the day, and most students were either in town or taking part in their clubs or extracurriculars, the area was mostly empty.
Even after all these years Twilight didn’t know just where Sunset manage to disappear to from time to time.
It seemed to become an ever increasing occurrence the last few days.
Coming closer to one of the several study towers that contained a small library archive, Twilight decided to pause to figure out where to start looking first. Her eyes were naturally drawn toward the tower as it jutted into an otherwise clear skyline. Like the towers like it on campus, it was available to students as an extension of the primary archival collection at the palace, allowing for a rotation of books and other primary sources for perusal as well as ordering a specific book without having to go all the way to the palace.
This one in particular was the one where she and Trixie held most of their group study sessions since it was so close to the town, main campus, and relatively quiet compared to the other study towers more frequented by younger students. Twilight looked around to contemplate where to start looking. “If I were Sunset Shimmer,” she began to mutter to herself, “where would I…” By a stroke of luck a distinct-looking mare ran into her field of view. Twilight watched nonplussed as the fiery-maned pony galloped up the steps of their study room, at the top of the ivory tower. Twilight quickly followed, making her way to the brightly-light study that overlooked a great deal of the campus and Canterlot town below. Through the open doorway found at the top of the stairs, she spied her fellow student picking out a book from the top-left portion of a shelf several stacks high and carrying it in her magic out of sight.
Twilight proceeded forward, unable to believe what she had just seen. “Sunset?” she asked. Though quite sudden, her appearance didn't seem to cause much panic in the other pony. “What are you doing?”
“Who's there?" Sunset took notice that she wasn't alone and moved to hide something behind herself. She stepped in front of a platform where Twilight was sure a book had been placed. "Sparkle?" Her guard relaxed somewhat when she realized who had found her.
"Are you...studying? Ah ha! I knew that you studied, Sunset!" Twilight smirked and took a step forward.
"Of course I study," Sunset admitted without hesitation. "Only an airhead like Lulamoon would actually believe that I don't."
"Oh," was all Twilight could say to Sunset's statement. "So...what is it that you're hiding?"
To this the mare did not immediately have an answer. In fact she took a moment to show how she weighed whether to explain at all. Sunset wasn't one to waste words, Twilight found, but wasn't sure what to make of a Sunset Shimmer that didn't have anything to say.
It was honestly surprising that even Sunset could take moments of careful consideration. "It's okay," Twilight spoke out, lending a polite smile. "If you don't want to talk about it, I won't pry." As she turned around, Twilight heard Sunset's voice cut through the silence.
"It’s...a prophecy," she announced.
What caught Twilight's attention wasn't so much the content as it was the way Sunset had called out to her. A hint of desperation, almost like a plea.
“A prophecy?” As she turned to face her classmate, Sunset stepped aside to show the large tome sitting atop the low pedestal. Twilight approached the pedestal and began to sift through the book’s contents, her eyes rapidly moving back and forth as she scanned the words. “The Mare in the Moon?" She ultimately sighed, finding the whole situation more adorable as a result of who it was that showed it to her. "More like an Old Pony’s Tale, Sunset,” Twilight chuckled at what she was seeing.
Sunset didn’t seem to find the observation as chuckle-worthy, making the levity Twilight tried to bring feel a bit awkward when she glanced at the pony beside her.
“I’ve been reading up on something called the ‘Elements of Harmony’ which were used to defeat an evil pony called ‘Nightmare Moon.’ And the books here mention an evil pony that was sealed in the moon by the Elements of Harmony, the Mare in the Moon.
“And you’re saying that Nightmare Moon and the Mare in the Moon are one and the same,” Twilight concluded, finding some sense in what Sunset told her.
“Next year’s Summer Sun Celebration marks one thousand years since Nightmare Moon’s banishment,” Sunset explained, pointing at the page with her hoof. “And her prophesied return.”
“...and the stars aid in her escape from the moon,” Twilight easily recounted the tale. She couldn't immediately jump aboard to the idea of what Sunset was saying, but something about this situation stoked her curiosity. "Are you going to tell the princess?"
Sunset gave a soft exhale and replied in a somber tone, "Who knows…?"
--
The three students met in the throne room at the appointed time as they had all those years ago. This time, Celestia was already present as Twilight, Sunset and Trixie approached. “Girls, it’s good to see you,” she spoke in a friendly greeting.
“We’re ready for the assignment, Princess!” Twilight skipped forward and then stood excitedly before her teacher. Trixie and Sunset sidled up on Twilight’s left and right, waiting for Celestia to speak.
“Assignment? Oh no, Twilight, this isn’t an assignment,” Celestia said with a bit of a giggle. “It’s really more of a request. An invitation, actually. To the north.”
“Princess Celestia?” Twilight asked with surprise hinted in her voice, her guess for this meeting now thrown into the wind. Hearing Celestia speak with such vague terms caught her off guard, but she was hard pressed to think of ‘The North” to mean anything other than toward the border with the Crystal Empire. “What is it that you need us for?”
“You’re making us go on an adventure, aren’t you?” Trixie asked flatly, knowing full well what the princess’ answer was going to be.
Not at all fighting the less-than-enthused pony’s expectations, Celestia flashed a dazzling, albeit mischievous smile. “You’re absolutely right, my dear Trixie. You always seem to know what I’ve got hidden up my sleeve.”
“Oh. Goody,” she sighed with a tiny pout at her teacher’s ever incisive assortment of puns.
Twilight had to admit that there were times when it was difficult to figure out if the princess was joking or not. Hearing her reply to Trixie like that certainly didn’t help things.
Celestia gave an amused chuckle before speaking to her students altogether. “It’s been decided that this year’s Summer Sun Celebration will be held in Neighagra Falls. I want the three of you to go ahead to help make sure that the preparations are on schedule; setting up the displays, coordinating with the Mayor and the local leadership there. Sunset, this will be your main responsibility.”
The young mare in question nodded her head
“In addition, I need this letter delivered to a special envoy. I’m afraid I’ll be busy speaking with Captain Pauldron and his fellow council members to do it myself. And it’s simply too important to give to a normal courier. Twilight, can I depend on you to do this in my stead?”
“O-of course, princess! If it’s really that important!”
“Wait,” Trixe stated in a guarded tone. She then asked, “What about me?”
“Why Trixie, you have the most important task of all.”
Trixie perked at the princesses’ happy demeanor, her tail waving slightly in curiousity. “I do? What is it, Princess?”
“Inspecting the quality of the entertainment! It wouldn’t be good for the attendees to be bored, now would it?,” Celestia teased yet again.
“We won’t let you down, princess,” Sunset declared confidently.
“You can count on us!” Twilight added enthusiastically, spurred on by Sunset’s confidence.
Trixie remained steadfast where she was, slouching slightly more than usual. “Woo,” she chimed in like a deflating party balloon.
As Neighagra Falls roared in the distance, a royal carriage pulled by two pegasus stallions landed on the outskirts of a small town. Although larger to accommodate more passengers, it was far from the ornate single-seat carriage that the princess would ride on important occasions.
There were three passengers in all that stepped off of the carriage. As Twilight sought to thank the guards that had brought them to the eponymously named Neighagara Falls town, Trixie was setting her belongings on the ground at her hooves with a simple levitation spell. She had enough sense to wait until after the carriage and its drivers left before she started her complaining. “That ride was less than accommodating,” Trixie sighed in disappointment.
Sunset was quick to retort and roll her eyes. “Then why in the world are you lugging a huge trunk, you airhead?”
“I’m sure that she has a reason, Sunset,” Twilight tried to rationalize, trotting closer to the two after seeing the carriage off. “Right, Trixie?”
“Of course,” she replied.
“...and that reason, is?” Twilight asked.
“Hmm? What do you mean by that, Sparkle?”
“Heh...nevermind…” Twilight said, able to see Sunset get more and more irritated by the second. “Let’s focus on Princess Celestia’s task for us, shall we?” Along with a slight nervous chuckle, Twilight led the group into town.
Looking around, Trixie was sure that there were more ponies working at the palace than there were living in this town. Of course, the population was sure to swell for the day with the upcoming Summer Sun Celebration. Already tourists were making their way to shops and restaurants that had begun theming their wares and services for the annual event.
“I’ve made a list of each of our duties,” Twilight cheerily announced as they walked, floating pieces of parchment to the others.
Trixie glanced at the copy that was floated over to her. The first thing she discerned was the quality of the cursive. Her expression became pensive as her eyes scanned the sheet that was now held aloft in her spell once Twilight’s receded. There were a few particular loops that Twilight made that always seemed to remind Trixie of the cursive textbooks. It happened when the quill tip was not applied with enough pressure at the end stroke.
It was clear and concise, not at all flashy or messy. The precise effort necessary as per academic standards. It failed to impress Trixie and so her attention quickly switched over to the meaning of the words written instead of the presentation and arrangement.
“...so let’s meet back here in two hours,” Trixie heard Twilight declare. She half nodded and returned the always-eager student’s expectant look with a neutral almost-bored one of her own.
“Sure, sounds like a thing,” Trixie said. She could figure out the context of Twilight’s spiel easily enough: “Quality of Entertainment” was at the top of her sheet in bold, after all. The several bullet points outlining her “Expected duties and (optional) additional tasks” were most likely the word-for-word summary of what Twilight had been talking about.
It was clear that Twilight recognized the sarcasm but she remained steadfastly positive, almost admirably so, Trixie had to privately admit. “Alright. See you later, Trixie!” A simple glance alerted Twilight to the fact that Sunset had long since wandered off to perform her own duties, preventing what was likely another part of Twilight’s list to be checked off as she tried to chase after her.
Smacking her lips and looking around, Trixie picked up her trunk in her magic and sauntered about for a bit. She took in the sights and sounds of what was currently active. There were booths that could be found at a local fair intermingled with grander-looking stages and displays. Food, cookware, carnival-like games and street shows all commingled together to catch the attendees’ eyes, ears and stomachs. By chance she made her way over to a small gathering and peered through the crowd to watch what was going on, carefully setting the trunk down by her side.
“Welcome all, mares and gentlestallions! Let me introduce myself: I am Amber the Amazing!” The young presenter called out, looking over the assemblage with a set of wide pale yellow eyes and an animated expression. Trixie focused not on the young mare as she talked about her recent travels and studying under a renowned magician—the basic sort of spiel to draw the audience’s attention to where it’s wanted—but on all of the likely prefabricated points of the makeshift stage that would be used for the set.
“I hope you all enjoy our fair little town while you’re here for the Summer Sun Celebration this year!” As soon as she made that declaration the performance began. Or at least, that’s how it was to the common pony. Everything was part of the show, from where the magician stood to how she glanced and winked at members of the audience, to even how she selected a volunteer from the audience. While it didn’t seem to be that the young stallion who walked up to choose a card from the deck held aloft was actually a planted member of the magician’s group, he was definitely brought upward to change that skeptical look on his face to one of amusement for the rest of the audience to watch.
Overall it was a very by-the-book show for a non-unicorn. Feats of non-spell magic along with illusions and dove appearances. Even a false dismemberment to shock and awe everyone.
Trixie remained as the crowd dispersed at the end of the show and she even waited for the couple of foals excited by the act who were bothering the magician to finally be pulled away by their mother. With no reservations, now that the coast was clear, Trixie stepped forward and stated, “I spotted that switch.”
“W-what?” The earth pony stammered out, not sure what to make of what she just heard from this pony that just said this out of the blue.
Trixie didn’t even blink when she said, “Your overhoof switch needs to be faster, and with less wasted movements. Think of it like pulling a tablecloth so quick that the cutlery and plates remain.”
She seemed hesitant but slowly her hooves moved into position after giving it some thought. She first brought out a bag of bits as she did during the show. The bag jingled and made the appropriate amount of noise from her practiced movement to draw the audience’s attention in, before she waved her hoof over the bag and it deflated as though everything within its confines disappeared without a trace.
“Oh wow. It worked!”
“Hmph,” Trixie audibly huffed. “Of course it did.”
The mare chuckled and agreed with that point, giving a slight bow of her head. “Th-thank you! My name’s Amber. Nice to make your acquaintance…?”
“Trixie Lulamoon.”
“Right,” Amber giggled. “Trixie Lulamoon. Are you here to perform as well? You’re not thinking of stealing attention from me now that you’ve scoped the competition, are you?”
“Not really,” Trixie curtly responded. There were already plenty of other performances that she had to take a look at and Trixie definitely didn’t want to have Sunset crowing about her not doing her job. “I’m really here more on separate business at the moment.”
“Oh, I see,” Amber said in understanding. “Right. I guess I’ll be seeing you around town? Well, if you find yourself getting some time off, make sure you come to my show later tonight. As thanks for helping out, you can come for free! I’ll definitely have the switch down by then. And a lot of other tricks too, I promise!”
Her horn was aglow once more, lifting the large trunk off the ground with ease. “I’ll see you around, I guess,” Trixie said. She returned to her wandering, assessing the various booths and stalls of Equestrians that even included a number of non ponies trying to catch the eyes of the ever-increasing number of tourists and visitors before finding Twilight and Sunset strolling up ahead. It didn’t take long to get within a few paces away at a quick gait when she called out, “So are we done, yet? Lugging this around is getting tiring.”
Sunset let out an irritated nicker and growled out, not needing to turn around to recognize who had just complained. “Seriously, what was the point of you even bringing tha-...?”
“Cadance? Cadance!” Twilight suddenly exclaimed and lunged forward much to Trixie and Sunset’s surprise. She bolted ahead of the others toward a tall—statuesque, even—pony dressed in a less-than-fetching brown hooded cloak. Twilight’s excited calls attracted the pony’s attention and caused her to turn in curiosity. Light purple eyes lit up in joy upon seeing Twilight and she moved around to embrace the smaller unicorn in a familial nuzzle.
“Twilight? It’s been so long! I’ve missed you so much,” she said in a warm tone
“I’ve missed you too, Cadance!” Twilight cheered.
By the time Trixie and Sunset reached the pair Twilight and the other mare had already finished some weird song and dance. It drew a predictable number of stares and amused looks from the ponies around them, just as it drove home to Trixie just how embarrassing it was to be associated in any way with Twilight Sparkle more than it already did.
Trixie only half paid attention to the conversation between Twilight and who she gleaned was named Cadance, to include quick introductions of Sunset and herself, when a look of realization appeared on the eggheaded mare’s face. “I think...this is for you.” Twilight passed the letter from the princess kept in her saddle bag over to the other pony, exchanging it from her magic’s grasp to Cadance’s.
Nothing seemed to be particularly important about the letter as she opened it, but that impression changed when Cadance began to read the contents on what seemed like a high quality stock of paper. "Oh...Shining..." She swooned and sighed. Trixie narrowed her eyes when she heard his name pass through the older unicorn's lips.
“Ah, there you are, Cadance.”
Cadance returned to reality when the stallion’s voice registered in her mind and she stepped to the side of the comparatively shorter stallion. “Oh, I’m sorry. Everyone, this is Chancellor Tapioca of the Free Pony Federation.”
“Charmed to meet you ladies,” he said with a polite and stiff bow of his head.
Trixie recognized the name. It was part of the drier lessons of Equestrian history taught by an eggheaded mare that managed to put even Twilight to sleep. Chancellor Tapioca was elected to represent the loose collection of ponies recently liberated from the Crystal Empire’s control that no longer felt they had to remain entirely in Equestria’s sphere of influence. Princess Celestia quickly acceded to the call for independence, much to everyone’s surprise, then even went so far as to propose an alliance with the Federation. While most if not everything she ever learned in that class was dumped out of her memory in favor of something more useful or at the very least interesting, the purely rote review of this part of Equestrian history was probably forever ingrained in her mind. Trixie could still see the “Fill In The Blank” questions of dates and names floating around in her nightmares.
“Oh, you’re a descendent of Chancellor Puddinghead, aren’t you?” Twilight mused aloud. She stepped forward. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, your Excellency. My name is Twilight Sparkle, this is Trixie Lulamoon and Sunset Shimmer,” she introduced her classmates and in turn he politely nodded to each of them.
“W-well, yes. You certainly know your history, Ms Sparkle.” He fought to keep his composure when that name was mentioned, but the stallion could hardly stop the grin from curling the corners of his lips upward.
“Heraldry, actually,” Twilight said along with a chuckle, nodding toward his distinctive cutie mark. “But I can see where you would make that mistake in distinguishing the two.”
He seemed to take Twilight’s correction in stride and smile back with a chuckle of his own “Ah. Apologies regarding my mistake, then.” Along with a nod, Tapioca returned to looking as dignified as one could when standing next to the much taller Cadance. “I’m simply quite excited to be invited as an honored guest at this occasion,” he gushed. “I mean, on behalf of the ponies I represent, of course.”
“Of course,” Cadance giggled politely.
“Well we’ve mostly checked over everything for Princess Celestia’s arrival,” Twilight said. "Sunset already spoke with the mayor and I guess that letter was for Cadance this whole time."
“What was that, Trixie?” Twilight asked with some amusement when a pair of Wonderbolts arrived.
“The Princess has left Canterlot and is on her way,” one of the distinctly uniformed pegasi said.
Twilight nodded, quickly calculating the estimated time of arrival like the egghead she was. “Right. We can start seating everyone, then,” Twilight stated, to which the guards quickly spread the word to the guests and visitors all over town.
Along with an influx of visitors crowding the streets of the normally quiet town, the presence of ponies clad in the finest armor and wielding impressive weaponry had quite the calming effect. Just beyond the falls was the border with the Crystal Empire and the ever present risk of invasion that was the very reason why the town never grew despite the picturesque location and plentiful grazing lands. Neighagra Falls was first and foremost a military post meant to ward off opportunistic attacks by the Empire. However, word of the princess’ arrival this year boosted enough confidence in Equestrians to visit for the Summer Sun Celebration.
That meant traffic and crowd control, security for both the civilians’ safety as well as to tamp down on crime like thievery and rowdiness from a massive population growth in such a short amount of time. Trixie could tell from how Twilight interacted with the mayor—a pegasus stallion by the name of Windrush—that the town had met the challenge of hosting this event and then some. Which, she had to admit, was impressive given her classmate’s high standards and sometimes obsessive expectations. Sunset Shimmer, as per the princess' orders, focused on coordinating where everyone had to be while Twilight immersed herself in the logistics of the whole affair. They made quite the team, Trixie had to admit.
By comparison, she was pretty much killing time by her trunk while Twilight, the mayor, Cadance, the Chancellor, Sunset and a number of townspony volunteers were doing the final preparations for the princess’ arrival at the main stage. A certain illusionist by the name of Amber didn’t seem to be present, but Trixie was able to spot a few charlatans and cons trying to make their living from the unexpecting crowds. It didn’t take much to turn the game around on them from her perch at the edge of the stage overlooking the designated celebration grounds in the center of town. A minor trip spell here, pickpocketing the pickpocket to return valuables to their rightful owners there, when she overheard Twilight announce to Cadance while approaching, “Assuming that everything continues on schedule, I expect tha-”
A quick glimmer in the distance caught Trixie’s eye but it was the only warning Cadance needed before she spun around, her horn aglow in magic just as several dozens of shots in a multiple-hued barrage of roaring energy lit up the sky. The audience around them was at first awed by the sight, but when the delayed ferocious roar of the attack tore through the air and exploded upon impacting Cadance’s barrier, they screamed in abject terror. The violent concussions of the blasts shook the ground and made even the air around them waver and vibrate against them.
“Wow,” Trixie gasped in awe at she was witnessing. ‘No wonder Twilight knows her barriers. Besides Shining Armor, of course. What’s going on between him and this Cadance girl, anyway? Is it her height? She’s pretty, I guess...’
"Let's go," Sunset whispered, drawing Twilight and Trixie's attention.
“Heh? What? Oh.” Trixie snapped out of her steadily meandering thoughts and followed the girls.
The guards sprung into action to corral the screaming civilians and mount a defense at the still-unseen enemy. The various ranking soldiers doled out orders and their subordinates shouted back in compliance.
Trixie had just left the stage as black armored stallions made their appearance, crashing into the stage and various guards’ positions with offensive spells. They were all brushed off by the spectacular display of prowess from Cadance before a counterspell shot back with no casting needed despite the incredible amount of magic it had to have contained. “No way!” Trixie shouted at the absurd sight, unable to comprehend that the endless warnings of an incoming invasion back at Canterlot from ponies she deemed were paranoid and nonsensical were finally bearing fruit.
Soon squads of invaders began to appear, clashing with would-be defenders. Three of the heavily armored attackers split off from the group to take on the advancing guards. They engaged the guards and with no hesitation swung their weapons and cast spells.
Trixie nearly stumbled as her eyes caught sight of growing amount of destruction from less than a minute of fighting. “Get your head in the game, Lulamoon!” Sunset shouted in excitement, easily jumping out of the way of the energy that crashed into the ground where she just was. With a look of sheer joy on her face, Sunset quickly countered with a barrage of fireballs that trailed after the armored attacker. Each successive shot came closer and closer to hitting him until one grazed his foot, causing him to falter upon landing.
“This isn’t a game, Shimmer!” Trixie shrieked, realizing her own immediate danger as she dove out of the way of an energy blast sent her way. The ground crackled and a deep crater was bored from the resulting explosion, sending pieces of rock flying everywhere.
“Trixie!”
“Twilight! There you are!” Trixie shouted in relief at the sight of her classmate running toward her. “Listen, Sunset isn’t listening to me to get to safety so I need you to-”
“Safety! Yes, of course! I’ll help to protect and evacuate the townsponies with Cadance. You need to help Sunset, Trixie!” With that, Twilight galloped back with her horn glowing bright to summon a pair of floating orbs that were quickly thrust into the sky, shooting them up just as they exploded like fireworks.
“Wait, that’s not...M-me? With that power freak?!” Trixie scowled at the thought. The light of the signal flares recognizable by every royal guard and soldier quickly dissipated as the lingering wisps of energy twinkled less and less. More so as attack spells of all kinds shrieked every which way across the sky.
Twilight chuckled over her shoulder. “It’s ok, Trixie. I trust that you’ll take care of her.”
Trixie clicked her tongue and began to contemplate her actions amidst the maelstrom of spells ripping the town apart. “The heck does Sparkle think I’ll be able to do, anyway?” She sighed and muttered with limited calm before making her way to her hot headed classmate.
--
Only minutes had passed since the initial magical volley and already parts of the town was set ablaze and mostly in ruins. The streets were riddled with rubble, but thankfully clear of any civilians. The shouts of soldiers and metallic clanking and clash of steel weapons and armor echoed amidst the sounds of spells and explosions. All the while, from relative safety behind mounds of wood fragments and collapsed brick siding, Trixie watched as Sunset shot volley after volley at the attackers. Squads of intimidating armored stallions charged forward and were repelled by a single pony. No matter how the armored invaders tried to dodge her attacks, it was no different than aiming at stationary scarecrow targets for the mare.
“Ugh...is she...is she actually smiling?” Trixie whispered to herself. The garish display of force was a reminder of a barbarous past better forgotten. A time of tribal warfare and petty arguments over land.
Trixie found it absurd how ponies could still be so violent in this day and age. Competitions, duels, sports and the like were supposed to have replaced actual fighting, were they not? Presentations of skill and power within the confines of rules and guidelines should have been more than enough to prove one’s superiority over another.
There was just something distasteful about taking another’s life like that. Trixie grimaced, however, at the sight of how little that worldview seemed to apply to her classmate.
Sunset rushed forward to meet the pair head-on, her mane engulfed in flame. She charged the one nearest her, headbutting the armored giant of a pony and casting the fire onto him. Twisting around, Sunset threw her weight to whip her hind legs against the foreleg of the second guard, toppling him over so she could promptly buck her hooves against the visor.
“Ok, the Princess sure as heck didn’t teach us that one…” Trixie said, unable to look away from her classmate’s fierce style of fighting. It was messy, more appropriate for a brawl in an alley than against an opponent in a proper duel. It couldn’t be any less of a surprise, considering how jumbled Sunset’s writing seemed to get at times.
Once she was done with the two attackers, Sunset’s horn glowed. The dust and confetti scattered about swirled into the air, fluttering from the pressure building up from the unicorn’s spell. “Is that all you’ve got?!” She called out to her opponents.
Trixie frowned, taking notice more and more how the supposedly heavily armored soldiers flew back after getting hit by Sunset’s fireballs. The disconnect in action and reaction was too great not to notice for the star performer. Trixie’s focus increased as her critical eye analyzed the amateurish show before her. “It’s like there no mass to them at all,” she whispered to herself and the answer quickly clicked in her mind. She spotted her target within the crowd of armored enemies.
Trixie reached into her cloak’s inner pocket, fetching the items necessary for her experiment. She pouted for a moment at the implication but poured her focus into the task before her. She took hold of a set of pinecones, vials of glitter, and glue.
--
A ball of light, as though a brilliant fire was condensed into an orb, struck against the soldier and adhered to his armor before exploding in a show of light and heat. The stallion was dizzied and frantic from the effects of the flash and subsequent blast of oppressive heat, striking out around him in a haphazard manner in obvious show of blind panic.
“Phoenix...fire?” Sunset muttered softly, recognizing the spell. She only had to focus for a moment to knock him out with a shot of magical energy against his helmet. The soldier was whipped back as though some devastating attack was just done to it.
“Yeah. This’ll do,” Trixie huffed from her hiding spot when she watched Sunset manage to get to her own cover. From under her cloak, dozens of glitter-covered pinecones were carried in her magical grasp and seemingly lit by an intense flame. She lobbed the pinecones as hard as she could, to make them look as believable as possible. A volley of nine pinecones, coated in glitter and made to dazzle and shine with Trixie’s illusion magic, surged onward,
She brought her trunk forward and opened it, taking out her whole storage of pinecones, glitter and glue. The preparation was automated by a spell to use all of her supplies. As soon as she was ready, another volley, in greater numbers, was hurled at a larger force. While certainly impressive looking, three pine cones bounced harmlessly against a set of confused invaders while a dozen more were apparently tossed aside by some great spell.
“Ha! Knew it!” Trixie screamed when she saw her theory proven true and she picked up the last of her prepared Phoenix Fire illusions intermixed with a few dense wisps of energy intended for the real enemies hidden within the horde of fakes. Some pinecones phased through soldiers while others were blasted away. Other pinecones bounced harmlessly against armored stallions now hellbent on attacking her, only to be targeted by wisps of energy that immobilized them in brilliant explosion and heat or sniped by Sunset’s precise energy blasts.
From within this confusing mess of action Trixie spotted the cloaked puppetmaster. Trixie could spot the correlation of the illusion invaders’ movements with the enemy mage’s attention, timing her charge just as it began to focus more and more on Sunset’s devastatingly accurate shots. She kicked off from a wall of wind, riding a summoned gale directed at the true danger of this attack and closing a distance of a hundred feet in a matter of seconds. “Don’t blink or you’ll miss it!” Trixie declared and growled in effort as dozens of pinecones and real Phoenix Fire wisps shot out in all directions.
The roaring winds and Trixie’s presence so deep within what was supposed to be a buffer zone managed to break the enemy pony’s concentration, immediately cutting down the invasion force from several squads to less than a dozen armored attackers. The illusion’s caster was also obviously confused, unable to determine how to have the conjured projections react while the actual invasion force was taken out.
Taking advantage of the situation, Trixie grasped the pony’s leg with her magic. “You’re one hundred years too early to try upstaging me, Amateur!” Trixie whipped her head rightward, throwing the masked pony into the building’s side. Slipping into her stage persona, Trixie had a great need to crow about her accomplishments. “You must be wondering how I could tell you that were the real one, huh?” She frowned from not getting a response. Not even an exclamation of how brilliant or even lucky she was to figure the trick out. Well, she figured something that dramatic wasn’t going to happen, but Trixie didn’t expect the reaction to her appearance to be so...underwhelming.
“Tsk...you were just lucky, Lulamoon. It’s not like I needed your help. Don’t think you did anything brilliant, alright?” Sunset huffed and strode up with a tense look on her face. The remaining force of invaders had been taken care of, it seemed. Trixie sighed, already preferring the masked pony’s silence to Sunset’s version of a “thank you.”
The masked pony’s horn glowed brightly in an amber hue, catching Trixie’s attention once more. “Wait, horn?” She blinked and took a second glance, wondering if the pony had been a unicorn the whole time. Despite her thoughts, Trixie readied herself, preparing a defensive spell. She conjured the wind, remembering the elemental she most closely resembled. A wave of fatigue interrupted her gale shield for the slightest moment, but she regained her composure and stood her ground as best she could. The winds whipped her mane, tail and cloak about, having a similar effect on the other mage by revealing what was under the pony’s hood. It most definitely concerned her to see how jagged and imposing that horn looked.
‘That’s a crystal!’ She realized right away. The quartz-colored protrusion shone with an unmistakably dense amount of magic and fired a straight beam of energy just like what happened at the beginning of the assault. Trixie couldn’t even gasp as she jumped as best she could out of the beam’s way, feeling her gale shield tear away from the attack. Immediately Trixie manipulated the light within her shield to hide herself while projecting an illusioned self to continue stumbling forward while she juked the opposite direction. Her recently-made clone didn’t stand a chance and was hit dead center in her chest from a follow-up attack, tearing a hole straight through to the other side.
Trixie gulped at the sight and had to skid to a halt when the enemy spun around to bat away Sunset’s attack, making the energy blast her classmate shot to roar and singe the grass right before her. The blast careened harmlessly into a pile of rubble, blowing it up with a disturbing amount of lethal force.
Sunset had taken all of the attention away from her and Trixie knew she didn’t have much time left to use this opportunity to the utmost. Only a few seconds remained for her to spot where the enemy mage was. The very moment that the clone dissipated into a cloudy mass Trixie rushed forward, breaking out of her light-bending barrier to strike the masked pony before she could fire another shot.
The pony was so focused on attacking Sunset again that she was completely taken off guard by Trixie’s sudden appearance. Even as her eyes turned and recognized the silver-maned mare’s hoof striking her in the face, she could not do anything in response. The masked pony spun away in a helpless manner like a top toward the ground. Her crystal horn was already lit up for another attack, and shot harmlessly into the air.
Trixie was panting heavily and wiped her brow. She was sure that a light breeze would be able to topple her at this point.
“Heh...that was...great…” the pony groaned out while struggling to pick herself up. “To think...you were that skilled?”
“Oh?” That voice was familiar, even if she only met the pony just today. “To think you were so gifted at misdirection after all,” Trixie replied, feigning confidence at this complete turnaround. Nonetheless she couldn’t bear to admire such an involved performance. “Maybe we could take a break to trade notes?”
“A magician never reveals her secrets, remember?” she declared, getting back to her hooves. “Now, shall we start round two?” she asked, her horn glowing once more.
“Funny! I was just about to ask you the same thing...” Trixie blurted out and puffed out her chest despite how much it burned to breathe by this point. It was all she could do to prevent the coughing fit that was sure to happen if she let it. Her legs were shaking and threatening to buckle at any moment. It was only thanks to her cowl helping to hide her exhaustion that she only had to focus on looking as though she was undeterred.
This became all the harder to do when the armored soldiers appeared at the pony’s side. They had surrounded Sunset, catching her outside of effective cover from whatever attack they might still be able to do. Trixie felt as if the walls were going to close in on her and Sunset until a voice called out that was so loud it rumbled throughout the remnants of the alley they were in.
“ENOUGH!” Someone landed between them, impacting the ground under her hooves, with wings so large and beautiful that they could be mistaken for Princess Celestia’s. Her stance was proud and stature regal as she bellowed toward the crystal horned pony, “I am Princess Mi Amore Cadenza. I command you to leave these ponies alone!”
Trixie gaped at the alicorn standing between them and the armored group. Cadance’s wings spread to their full span was an intimidating sight to behold. Flickering beads of magic, like shining droplets at the base of a waterfall on a sunny day, filled the air and surrounded Trixie and Sunset in a protective manner.
In response to the awesome display the pony immediately bowed in deference. “Your sister only wanted to protect you when she heard you were taken again, Princess!” She said.
“Skyla did?” Cadance questioned the explanation and lowered her wings as she did her guard. Her surprise was quickly suppressed as she made a regal expression once more. “Well despite her...good intentions...I came here of my own will.”
“My apologies, Princess,” the pony bowed ever more so with a quivering voice.
Cadance nodded and added, “I want you to return and tell my sister that I wish to speak to her soon.”
“Of course. As your highness commands!” As she stood up, the pony’s crystal horn glowed. Trixie watched as the glow spread over to the rest of her body, turning it entirely into crystal. “We’ll finish this another time, Trixie Lulamoon!” Amber declared. Just before she and the armored soldiers disappeared, she added, “My rival!”
Trixie figured she was exhausted. If it weren’t for all the pointless drills and exercises she was put through in Canterlot day after day, Trixie was sure she wouldn’t have survived even the first wave of attackers, much less remained standing at the end. All of that training, however, apparently wasn’t good enough to keep her from imagining things. “...her what?”
Twilight galloped over along with a number of guards following behind her. “Trixie! Sunset!”
Trixie looked over and felt her whole body loosen like it was rubber. Twilight sped up with alarm to catch her before she fell to the ground. “Nice...nice…” Trixie would’ve laughed at how tired she must’ve been to not even be able to say the word ‘catch’ if she wasn’t too busy coughing and feeling lightheaded. She then would’ve growled in irritation as Sunset approached, looking no worse for wear.
“Are you alright, Sunset? Any injuries?” Twilight glanced at the other unicorn while trying to shift Trixie in her grasp to a more comfortable position. Her load was lifted, quite literally, by a healing mage arriving with the rest of her support squad.
“I’m fine,” Sunset responded. She looked over at Trixie and wordlessly nodded, then looked back to Twilight. “You?”
“Tired, but alright.” It seemed to be her turn to glance at Trixie, followed by a light chuckle. “Nothing compared to how you must be feeling, huh, Trixie? Were all those Phoenix Fires from you?”
Trixie coughed and nodded. The concerned medic wasted no time in using a recuperation spell to provide an infusion of mana for Trixie to self heal what minor wounds she could, as well as soothe her exhausted muscles and magic circuits. Both Sunset and Twilight were looked over as well, along with the rest of the ponies in the area.
The destruction, while not total, was a shocking sight for Trixie. It only took a few minutes for her reserves to be topped off before she was able to walk about with her classmates. She didn’t know how to breach the subject of Cadance’s...well, condition while she spoke plainly with Twilight and the others as they headed back to the main square in the center of town.
“Girls, are you alright?” A voice that drew a sense of comfort in Trixie called out ahead of them toward the stage where the ceremony was supposed to take place.
“Princess!” They said in unison and respectfully bowed as Celestia approached them, flanked by a pair of guards and just as a contingent of Wonderbolts soared overhead, patrolling the sky.
“Auntie,” Cadance said with a nod and curtsy to the princess. She and Celestia walked away from the girls and began to talk amongst themselves.
“Y’know…” Trixie finally said, her thoughts still mostly a jumble as Twilight stood next to her. “I thought she was the Chancellor’s secretary or something.”
“Nope. She’s a princess. Always has been.” The response was plain and simple, much to Trixie’s chagrin. She could only watch in awe as the alicorns discussed something out of earshot, both of them regal and exceptionally beautiful in their own ways.
“And she was from the Crystal Empire this whole time?” Trixie asked.
Twilight nodded affirmatively. Trixie was nonplussed by how normal such a circumstance could be. The gears in her mind creaked at a snail’s pace from how spent she felt, and her eyes looked around to witness an entire host of Royal Guards patrolling and taking action in this once sleepy town. Even Captain Pauldron was present, directing the efforts with the help of a few officers. Shining Armor, however, didn’t seem to be amongst the Equestrian force.
"I'll be sure to ask the empress why this was allowed to happen,” Cadance’s soft voice carried over to Trixie’s ears, causing her to twitch a bit.
"Just be careful, Cadance," Celestia said. And with that, Cadance flew off to the direction of the border, undisturbed by a squadron of pegasi as they veered out of her path.
Following the mind boggling sight, Trixie saw a more mundane, down-to-earth scene of political drama take place. Tapioca, covered in soot and his mane slightly burned at the fringes, approached trying to put on a brave face. “Your highness, I’m afraid that I must return to the Federation capital forthwith. It will not do to worry my citizens regarding this wanton act upon my life and safety!”
“I take matters of your safety and well being seriously and with my utmost attention, Chancellor,” Celestia said in a confident, warm tone. “Rest assured I will place my best guards to protect your life. Will that do to assuage your concerns, at least for the time being?”
“...y-yes, I think...I think that will be more than plenty. I am quite, er...well, happy that you would do so much for me, your highness.”
“As my ally and my friend, I couldn’t bear to treat you with any less, Chancellor.”
“F-friend?”
Celestia nodded.
All it took was a slight glance over to Captain Pauldron who in turn sent a pair of armored pegasus stallions to appear on either of the Chancellor’s side.
“They will escort you to the inn until the ceremony begins. It’s quite safe.”
“Thank you, your highness. I’ll see to it that my citizens know how true a friend you are when I get back!”
“I look forward to that,” Celestia replied, straining to keep her forced smile for just a bit longer. When he finally disappeared around the corner, the princess sighed and her face turned to a more neutral, if not a little somber, expression.
“Excuse me, Princess…” Just as she was about the address her captain of the guard, Trixie approached her teacher and asked, “There’s a lot of important things going on and all, but...Did you know...that Twilight’s babysitter is from the Crystal Empire?”
“Why yes I did,” the princess replied in a calm demeanor.
Trixie nodded at that simple statement. “Oh. WHAT?!”
In the rear courtyard of the palace, Sunset Shimmer grimaced as she watched Twilight dance about with a stream of water in her magic’s grasp. It glowed in the unicorn's characteristically violet magic, flowing wherever and however Twilight willed it at a rhythmic pace, entrancing Shimmer as she watched it flow through the air.
Sunset, by comparison, was glaring up at the bulging mass of water she held up before herself and sweating. Hers was moving about like a fish tossed onto the shore, flapping and splashing about erratically. It remained lopsided and consistently dripped onto the marble floor while made to imitate Twilight’s movements in a not-really-similar way. Soon enough, there was hardly any left to manipulate and Sunset released the water that remained from her grasp in a show of reluctant defeat.
There was nothing more frustrating than having to deal with something she couldn't immediately master. She was quite literally out of her element when it came to manipulating water. It lacked the raw, fierce energy that fire exuded; it did as it pleased in a very lackadaisical way, unlike fire’s harsh fight for control whenever it had a chance.
It required an entirely different frame of mind than how Sunset carried herself. An analytical mind; one that was always thinking and able to figure out how to bend the water’s wishes to her own. The moment she realized this, it quickly dawned just how well suited Twilight’s personality was to it.
Sunset was reminded ever more just how suited she was to the fire element. Fire was straightforward. It didn’t need to be persuaded by anything other than a show of strength and determination. It would never submit or be tamed, but made instead into a powerful ally should the mage calling for its power be deemed strong.
She thought back to the events of Neighagra Falls a few days ago, her first real mission. It was nothing like how it was in training. Of course, Sunset knew that would be the case, but she didn’t even have words to describe how she felt about the sheer gulf of difference. There were no practice dummies, no referees or judges to determine “correct” nonlethal attacks. It was all real; actual life or death fighting took place. And under such dire circumstances, Sunset was able to take on the opponents that stood before her. It turned out, much to Sunset’s disappointment, that those few invaders that were real soldiers, those that aimed to cause havoc and destruction, were no tougher than the practice dummies she had tossed aside time and time again.
That enemy mage was on an entirely different level, though. While she was able to distract the illusionist mage long enough for Trixie to stop the illusions, that had been the extent of her abilities to fight in a real battle. The mage was nowhere close to the princess, but much more skilled than any of the students. The young mare that seemed to know Trixie would likely even give a few professors and Royal Guards a run for their money.
Thoughts such as those haunted her since they returned to Canterlot. Sunset realized just how unprepared she was. How naive and too self assured in her skills she was. She realized that she needed more power. She couldn’t be taken off guard like that again. She wouldn’t be helpless to stop anyone that would harm her friends.
Sunset sighed, then ran a hoof across the puddle of water she had left before her. Her reflection was left distorted as the water rippled behind her hoof.
"Sunset, are you ready to try again?" Twilight said. Sunset watched her approach. “You seemed a bit distracted that time. Maybe, I thought, well…you wanted to do it a third time? Or did you want to take a break? I’m not saying that you should, or anything, but I’d suppose.…”
“Twilight,” Sunset interrupted her classmate before the worried pony got caught into an endless loop of social acrobatics. “Here’s an idea: why don’t we start back with your explanation of the water element. It still feels like I’m…missing something.” She waved her hoof around in a meaningless gesture.
“Oh,” Twilight’s eyes widened, then she gave Sunset a timid smile. “Well, sure. A little review could give us a bit of perspective on the matter.” Despite her words, one corner of her mouth arced up as she thought for a moment where to start. “Well, we can start with a few of water’s characteristics.” Sunset nodded and Twilight continued. “Water is a very deliberate element...It’s often mistaken for being...well, I wouldn’t go so far as to say it’s lazy, but...it’s more like, water will always seek out the path of least resistance. If something seems too difficult, water would rather be patient and wait for a better opportunity rather than rush in and force things in its favor...”
While she didn’t fully understand what Twilight was trying to get at, Sunset huffed at the underlying principle of what was said. She found it much easier to just overpower or tear through an obstacle. She knew well enough not to try biting more than she could chew, but no one besides the princess had proved much of a challenge to deal with until the Crystal Empire mage.
Sunset soon realized that during her musings, Twilight was continuing her quick review, oblivious to her classmate’s wandering thoughts. Sunset didn’t have the heart to ask Twilight to repeat herself and simply tried to follow along based on context clues. “..and so obviously, it’s not very practical to carry water around with me all the time. Though it’s possible to use any water I find in the environment around me, or even summon a source of water using a spell, that’s an additional chunk of my mana being used up that I may need in a desperate situation in a fight. So, instead of literally relying on water in my elemental casting, I often use the principles of efficient magic to supplement my spellcraft.”
Sunset couldn’t argue with that sort of logic: the idea of applying magic as a style just as much a particular method of channeling one’s mana. It was ingenious in its simplicity. “It’s important to calibrate just enough energy for the corresponding goal you want to achieve. In order to do that, a great deal of study is needed to familiarize oneself with the properties of a great deal of subjects. So in fact, as I’ve come to greatly enjoy, water plays just as important a function in magic as it does in the rest of nature.” Twilight’s face lit up in a bright smile, helping to finally ease Sunset’s apprehensions toward the water element.
That was when she heard Twilight ask, “Have you made any of your own spells, Sunset? I can only imagine what sorts of ideas you have given how good you are with fire. I’ve found that making a few of my own spells helped transitioning to other elements that much easier. There are a few water-based spells that I’m really proud of. Some that Spike says I should work on, so they aren’t really ‘ready’ just yet. I’ve only started a little bit on air and next I plan on fire. Mostly theoretical so far, but I was hoping that you could help me with your insights on the element. Oh! Let me show you my notes on elemental spells!” Twilight produced a notebook with notes scrawled all over the page, in some places compressed in the margins.
It was nearly impossible to hold back a groan from seeing formulas and equations actually written down to be applied for all of the spells they went over. Sunset always got the feel of a spell. A unicorn needed to understand the magic not from a technical standpoint, but an instinct that was developed from being immersed.
“I think...we could get back to doing some practicing, Twilight,” Sunset said in hopes of changing the topic.
“Really?” Twilight asked with a tilt of her head. “Does that mean you figured out what you were missing?”
“...yeah, sure…” was Sunset’s reply. Twilight took the response at face value and happily smiled, of course, but worry flashed on her face when a clock tower chimed in the near distance. She jumped in place, as though the chimes sent a jolt of electricity from the crown of her head down to her hooves. “Is it nine o’clock, already? I’m sorry, Sunset, but I have some tutoring to do in about two hours and I want to review my planner to make sure that I have everything ready for the lesson. Let’s continue this later, alright? At one?”
“Alright,” Sunset said with a tiny nod. “One o’clock it is.”
Twilight flashed a smile that blended her unique brand of relief and worry as she added a new item to her mental checklist. “Until then, keep practicing!”
Sunset watched her classmate leave before she began heading off toward the main academic building to look for a certain pony.
---
Sunset prowled down the central hallway of the Academy’s main building, cautious and wary of the ponies she passed by.
Twilight was completely right. She needed a new fire spell, something that would help her transition into learning the water element, and Sunset knew the pony that would teach it to her. Around the corner she found her target and strode up to her silver-maned classmate, who was walking in the opposite direction. "Lulamoon. I want you to teach me how you did that Phoenix Fire spell the other day," Sunset declared.
Stopping in her tracks, Trixie cocked her head as she wore a bemused expression. "I don't believe it. The proud and mighty Sunset Shimmer is asking me to teach her a spell!" After a short fit of gleeful laughter, Trixie paused and realized, "Hey, that's not half bad. 'The Proud and Mighty Trixie'...hmm."
Sunset was far too focused on her objective to be derailed by Trixie’s initial response. "I'm not asking you, I'm telling you. Or would you rather I tell Shining Armor that a certain pony has a schoolfilly crush on him?"
"I don't have a clue what you're talking about," Trixie replied, relying on her pride as a magician to hide her surprise.
"Fine. Be that way. I’ll just have to tell Shining Armor for real if you don’t give me what I want."
The haughty expression on Trixie’s face quickly melted away. "You can't be serious."
"Oh I am serious, Lulamoon. Just as serious as that creepy shrine you have in your clos-"
"Fine!” Trixie exclaimed. Jumping in place, she immediately searched about to determine if anyone had heard what was just nearly said, then she aimed a seething leer at Sunset for a quiet moment before resigning herself to defeat this time. “Fine. I'll help you." Her eye made a subtle twitch as she began walking forward. “Follow me. We’ll go to where I practice some of my tricks.”
Sunset made a smirk and followed her, only to become steadily more surprised as she realized that they went to the same courtyard that she had just practiced with Twilight. She looked toward the now-dry spot where she had so much difficulty with the water element. Sunset quickly shook that memory out of her mind, confident in being able to learn something more akin to her preferred fire magic.
“Phoenix Fire isn’t an offensive magic to say the least,” Trixie began with a flourish. She spun on the tips of her hooves as though she was at a performance and the spot where she stood was a stage. “ Phoenixes use it purely for the sake of defense and escape from enemies and predators.”
With a noticeable glance Sunset pondered if the stage magician was contemplating a “live demonstration” for such a purpose. It didn’t really matter if Trixie stayed to give a detailed explanation or not. Sunset was sure she could at the very least learn the mechanics from watching a simple example. It wouldn’t be the first time for such a thing, after all. One only had to ask a few of the Academy’s professors who were confident that a filly was incapable of understanding the magicks that they had spent most of their careers studying and mastering.
Sunset decided to go with coaxing Trixie if she wasn’t feeling particularly cooperative. "You could have fooled me. I’ve seen your shows once or twice and I always thought you were using fireworks or something."
Trixie wasn’t exactly sure how to take that mixed compliment. "Who do you take me for, Shimmer? Besides...fireworks are expensive." After a slight pause she continued. "Point is, Shimmer, you need to have an imagination. Which, I should explain, is different from your delusions of grandeur."
“The only deluded one here is you,” Sunset immediately countered.
Rather than retort in kind, a sour expression appeared on the showmare’s face. “Are you done being condescending, Shimmer?” Trixie huffed out in frustration.
Sunset was surprised by the change in demeanor. Unsure if this was simply a new tactic to catch her off guard, she stayed the course with the expectation that her equally sharp-minded classmate would go back to her usual self. “It’s not my fault that you’ve been acting defensive this whole time. In any case, don’t forget that I could always tell Shining.”
“Let’s just get on with it already, ok?” Trixie huffed out with a roll of her eyes.
“I’m waiting,” Sunset said.
“Fine,” Trixie said and took a deep breath. “After dealing with that loathsome Philomena, I decided to do some research. As it turns out, the average phoenix has about a hundred year-long lifespan. Over the course of its life, a phoenix grows in both size and power by accumulating large amounts of prana from its environment and converting that energy into its own mana.” The more she continued, Sunset noticed, the more passionate Trixie seemed to get. “Even more extraordinary, phoenixes have the ability to renew themselves by bursting into flames and rising from the ashes left behind, effectively starting a new ‘life’ . Which means that they’re pretty much immortal!” So even if I could get my hooves on that deranged bird…”
“That’s all well and good, but how exactly does that help me learn how to cast Phoenix Fire?” Sunset asked, earning a smirk from the other pony.
“All in good time, Shimmer. It’s very important that I give you as much background as possible for you to fully appreciate the spell!” Vindictive sarcasm oozed out of Trixie’s voice as she visibly relished going on and on about the results of her research.
Regret would have swallowed Sunset for underestimating just how determined Trixie was to make her suffer if it weren’t for sheer dumb luck when she glanced behind the pony that continued to drone on and on about phoenix nesting habits. “Oh Shining Armor, what an unexpected surprise!” Sunset called out, managing to immediately halt Trixie’s lecture.
Though surprised at first, Trixie’s more confident demeanor reasserted itself. “Tch, like I’m going to fall for something that basi-...oh-my-gosh-it’s-actually-you!” Trixie froze on the spot the moment she saw Shining Armor stride up right beside her.
“Hey, Trixie. Sunset,” he greeted each of them in a casual way. He even smiled, which made Trixie return a goofy one of her own before she hid her face under the wide brim of her hat to regain control of her expression. “Have either of you seen my sis?”
‘Of course he’s looking for Twilight,’ Sunset thought, unsurprised. It didn’t take much to notice the stiff demeanor of the young mare in front of her before she wiped the goofy grin from her face. A wicked smile of her own appeared when Sunset got an idea. “Say, Shining Armor,” She began in a sly tone, “You’re not going to believe who has the cutest crush on you…”
“A crush on me?” He chuckled at the thought, scratching his chin with his hoof. “Nah, I doubt it.”
“Oh come now,” Sunset continued, going so far as to send a mischievous glance toward her now panicking classmate. She looked once more to Shining before he noticed. “I’ll give you up to three hints if you play along and try to guess.” A barely concealed squeal escaped from Trixie’s throat as Shining seriously considered the offer. “Fine. I’ll give you a free hint: She always wants to be the center of attention, but becomes a wallflower the moment you look her way…”
Unable to stand the indirect teasing anymore, Trixie suddenly screamed out, “Shining Armor, I think I know where your sister is let me help!” Her outburst immediately shifted attention toward the now uncharacteristically stage-frightened pony.
“Really?” Shining asked, taking a step closer toward her. “Where is she?”
“Just...ahead…” Trixie answered, nervously taking a step backward. “But could you meet me at the palace gates? In public? Where others will see us? I can lead the way from there!”
Shining Armor blinked and nodded in half understanding. “Uh...sure.” The moment he turned to leave, Trixie shot a murderous leer at an ever-smirking Sunset.
“You’ll pay for this dearly, Shimmer! Trixie mouthed silently before galloping away, muttering to herself in excitement the whole time.
Distracted by how entertaining the whole event was, Sunset realized too late that she was just ditched. “Hey! What happened to teaching me that spell? Don’t you care that you’re risking complete embarrassment?”
“Fine. Whatever. I don’t care anymore!” Trixie shouted out, concerned more with catching up with the stallion of her dreams. Once she disappeared around the corner, nearly bowling over an unsuspecting gardener in the process, Sunset sighed and looked skyward, wondering what it would take for her to learn how to just shut up sometimes.
"Oh? Are you already done studying with Trixie?"
Sunset froze and turned to face Princess Celestia. “Princess! I...uh…” She stammered out and looked around, unsure of what else to say. “Yes I am. Quite done, in fact. Totally free with my time, now.” She hoped against all hopes that she didn’t ask how things turned out, unable to decide whether to lie outright or to mumble some sort of half-truth.
“Ah, that’s good. If that’s the case, shall we have a practice match?” Celestia asked.
Sunset gulped, suddenly unsure if she was ready. She was confident in her abilities, of course. When it came to her “matches” against the alicorn, she was unable to hold back her thoughts. “You’re just going to go easy on me, princess.”
“Well, that goes without saying,” she teased, bringing out a surprised guffaw from Sunset. For the slightest moment she forgot her doldrums and a part of her figured that that was the princess’ aim.
“Don’t try to find some hidden lesson or consider this a test. In the academic sense, at least. Approach this as a challenge to overcome, Sunset. What do you say?”
She smiled upon hearing this, able to see just how well the princess understood her. Her mood lightened a bit more. “Well...ok, Princess. That’s something I can definitely do.”
Celestia flashed a happy smile of her own. “If you could lead the way, please.”
Taking the lead as prompted, Sunset wordlessly began to walk over to the gardens, particularly the maze that from a pegasus’ point of view, was an intricate, breathtaking piece of landscaping. They entered the hedgerows of the maze, making their way toward the center. It was a mostly secluded spot where park benches were arranged in a more-or-less circular fashion in view of a set of flower beds displaying various colors. It made for a tranquil place to rest and relax while remaining close to the castle. In the middle of this clearing, where four pathways met, Celestia cast a spell that opened up into a large opaque sphere, much like a soap bubble. Sunset recognized the soap bubble as a partition: a kind of barrier that interfered with the magic flowing around it, which made it a perfect instrument for mages of all levels to meditate.
They stepped into the partition and entered a space that was magically expanded beyond the confines of the hedgerow garden. The serene interior was off putting at first, but it provided the perfect environment for Sunset and her classmates to delve deep into themselves to discover their primary elemental affiliation. If they wanted to grow as mages, Celestia had told them, they would have to become familiar with and eventually master the other basic elements.
Sunset remembered how hours would pass in the blink of an eye while contemplating even the simplest questions about which element would best suit her. When she became more accustomed with being inside the partition, what felt like a total of a few hours to realize her affiliation with fire actually took a month’s worth of meditation and then practice.
When she felt ready, her matches with the princess began. Bit by bit, classroom theory was put into practice. It took some time for Sunset to adjust to sparring in the partition’s environment, where the magical flow of Canterlot was cut off. Sunset likened it to the thin atmosphere that existed at high altitudes. But before long, it wasn’t as difficult to “breathe” while casting spells. While she couldn’t conjure as well as she did outside of the partition, her mana reserves had definitely increased since she began the training.
Before she knew it they had already taken their starting positions. Sunset looked ahead about fifty feet where Celestia always stood. “You may begin,” Celestia announced in a neutral tone and hard to read expression on her face.
Sunset gave a simple nod in reply. Although prepared, she stood in place, unable to shake off the tension that occurred the moment her teacher said those words. Even though she knew she was in no danger whatsoever, the memory of every past fight had been ingrained into her body. Made her stronger. Faster. More aware. Every stumble and fall, bruise and injury; each and every one of them was a lesson.
Sunset sent off a volley of magical blasts to start the match. Celestia batted them away easily enough with a basic arced shield, which only formed in the critical spots where the attack targeted, much like the paint trail following the stroke of a brush. Not at all surprised by the use of a fundamental defense spell, Sunset readied her next set of attacks by gathering the necessary mana at the tip of her horn.
Remembering from previous matches, Sunset knew she’d have to set up for her true attack from the get go. It took precise timing and a great amount of mana held in reserve, but from her research she figured out a combination that would let her earn her first point against the princess: a barrage of time delayed fireballs, five in total linked together by a thin, nearly imperceptible thread of magic; followed by a roaring carpet of flames that sprouted into a tower of fire that whirled toward Celestia.
She immediately attacked with the first two fireballs, watching them get within inches of the princess before exploding. Before the smoke cleared, the spiraling, roaring fire tower closed in. Sunset smiled from ear to ear but returned her focus to what still needed to be done. Each attack was to be stacked upon the next, in order to consume the air and fill the space of the partition in a blinding light. She knew for sure that just that wasn’t enough.
As the third linked fireball crashed and exploded into its target in the center of the partition floor, Sunset took advantage of the illumination of the encroaching fire tower by forming a barrier above them, one that spanned the entirety of the partition. A fourth explosion rang out, alerting Sunset that it was time for the last part of her combination. She took control of the remaining fireball with her magic and threw it toward the still spinning fire tower. The magic thread was caught on the tower, making the fireball it was connected to spin faster and faster. A simple use of telekinesis magic was all that was needed to redirect the spin to an upward trajectory. The fireball slammed against the barrier, causing it to shatter. Jagged pieces of dense energy rained down no differently than heavy broken glass, showering everything with a multitude of lethal force.
When the smoke finally cleared, Sunset balked and stumbled back in disbelief. “No…” she said when pearl white wings came into view. Every single spell. “No...way…” Had failed.
“No!” Sunset yelled in frustration. Celestia was completely unscathed. The alicorn didn’t even move from her spot. Sunset quickly jumped back, reacting to feeling the slightest shift in magic in the air.’ Her back started to tingle and hooves became itchy.
Her instincts were warning her, and Sunset immediately rushed rightward the instant a movement restriction spell activated where she was just standing. A net of chains sprang out from the ground to grasp for prey that just barely escaped. Just when she thought she could make her counter attack, the chains began to form into a bulb-like shape until they became a single huge, metallic venus fly trap.
It snapped at Sunset and writhed about to take chase every time she dodged its attack. The ground rumbled every time it moved and shook whenever its maw crashed harmlessly after missing its prey. Every so often she shot an opportunistic fire ball, only managing to singe it a bit. Anything stronger she could throw at it took too long before it had a chance to strike.
Thinking she would be able to keep maneuvering around the lumbering beast until she could position herself for a counter attack, Sunset gasped when she heard metallic clanging from behind her. Before she could react the chain beast’s tail whipped about to entangle her from her hind legs up to her torso and lifted up. Sunset screamed in surprise when the chains wrapped tightly around her, not only restricting her movement but squeezing tighter as though seriously trying to harm her. Sunset craned her neck toward her teacher only to see the neutral eyes of an opponent looking back.
Sunset grunted in effort, struggling to wiggle out and escape. Having failed that, she began instead on focusing as much of her mana to the surface as possible. She twisted and turned violently to shake the chain around her body loose for even just a moment before taking a deep breath in. “Let…GO!” She roared, releasing a torrent of flame that engulfed the chain beast.
It melted away from the sheer heat and ferocity of Sunset’s magic, barely able to let out a whimper in its death throes. ’The princess isn’t holding back, this time,’ Sunset thought. ’I can’t, either. But what if she summons something like that again? What if she does something else I’ve never seen before?’ She readied a variety of spells as insurance before she landed on her hooves but then canceled the enchantments when a sense of vertigo suddenly washed over her. It felt like the magic within her had a mind of its own and it wanted to surge out beyond her control. She would even go so far as to say that it wanted to envelop and possibly even consume her. The uneasiness made her head spin while she fought the urge to retch. The best way to describe it was a sort of hunger.
’Need. More...’, her mind raced with this thought. Her breathing became shallow and rapid like the air around her thinned. ’I can’t...I need more…power!’ At that moment, Sunset’s eyes glazed over. She became entirely focused on defeating the opponent before her. She needed to be faster. Stronger. Waves of heat radiated outward from body, turning the enclosed space into a sauna almost instantly.
Celestia sensed the change in her daughter and adjusted her footing, angling herself to a more aggressive stance. Sunset charged forward, effortlessly closing the distance then following up with a slam of her front hooves downward at the halt. The ground cracked and bubbled from the intense and immediate transfer of heat which surged out from the epicenter.
The princess evaded with ease, gliding to the left and out of the area affected by the attack. She motioned toward Sunset’s blind spot while never turning her back on her opponent. Sunset’s eyes followed Celestia’s movements effortlessly. She waited for the right moment to strike, tensing up her hind legs. Just as the princess moved to the edge of her vision, Sunset bucked her hooves, lobbing a blast of fire where she expected Celestia to be.
Wasting no time Sunset spun around while her weight was on her front hooves, using the inertia of her attack to do so. Not even a moment after her hind hooves touched the ground, Sunset charged once more, weaving through the sudden spate of attacks sent her way while she galloped at top speed. The cooler air around them crashed inward after being torn through by her movement, causing violent concussions and deafening thunder claps.
Celestia held her ground against the phenomena and unfurled her wings, answering with a single flap to counter the gale that surged towards her. This also stopped Sunset in her tracks, who had been riding the wave of the sonic boom, causing her to stumble. The moment her student managed to halt herself, Celestia flapped her wings a second time and dashed forward.
Sunset balked at the sudden turnaround. She strained her eyes to follow the princess but was forced to roll out of the way of whatever sort of spell that was shot at her. Several more attempts were made but she barely managed to escape each time. It was a much more aggressive tactic than Sunset was used to dealing with from the princess, but she nonetheless made sure not to underestimate her teacher. She looked around as quickly as she could, forced to only react to whatever Celestia’s next move was.
“Ooh, so close!” she heard Celestia call out. The taunt succeeded in drawing Sunset’s attention behind her. By the time she looked back over her shoulder, all she heard was “Gotcha!” before everything went black.
With her sleep spell in effect, Celestia caught her now-unconscious daughter in the crux of her left wing. She gingerly lowered her to the ground then took this opportunity to lay down beside the smaller pony. A short moment passed where it was only the quiet sound of breathing that cut through the silence. Celestia brushed back her daughter’s mane with her hoof after taking off a royal ornamental horseshoe. She was in awe of just how much stronger Sunset managed to become. Surely by leaps and bounds compared to the last time the she had to quell Sunset’s latent abilities. The attacks that the still growing pony displayed were a splendid sight to behold. With that in mind, she glanced up to see deep cracks where light from Canterlot managed to seep through. It was a wonder how the barrier managed to hold on just long enough. Things would most definitely have turned out differently if Sunset used more than just ability enhancement, Celestia thought to herself.
It wouldn’t be too long before getting the young mare to vent her growing powers became more difficult, but Celestia had hopes that Sunset was able to control herself before that happened. She wouldn’t even entertain what would happen otherwise.
“Sunset,” Celestia cooed to her daughter. “My little Sunset, it’s time to wake up.”
“Hmmm? Wha?” Sunset sat up, resting on her haunches. “...I...lost?” she asked, still trying to find her bearings.
“It seems that way,” Celestia said with a fond smile.
Hearing that, Sunset seemed a bit disappointed but not at all upset. “You’re steadily improving, Sunset. All thanks to your hard work, study and practice.” Celestia brushed the pony’s mane, earning a happy nicker from her. “You know, I’m feeling a bit peckish after all of that activity.”
“Yeah, same here,” Sunset admitted.
“Hmm, how about we…” Celestia stopped, however, when she took notice of the pony waiting just outside the barrier’s edge. Sunset sensed her distraction and looked in the same direction her mother did. Wordlessly they stepped out of the partition and Sunset braced herself for the surge of energy that was normally filling Canterlot. While a bit woozy, less so than when she was a filly at least, she saw a dark grey stallion in an attendant’s suit standing by.
“Pardon my interruption,” the stallion called out. “But the delegates have arrived, your highness.”
After acknowledging his message, Celestia turned back to her student, looking no worse for wear. “I’m sorry, Sunset. We’ll have to continue after my meeting.”
“Not a problem, princess. I understand. I’ll clear away the partition, as well.”
“That is most appreciated, Sunset,” Celestia said. She stopped for a moment to nuzzle the pony affectionately then returned to walking alongside the attendant back toward the palace.
The student remained in place for a full minute with a smile on her face before it was dropped. It hardly took a thought for the partition to dissipate behind her as she followed along as best she could after the princess and the attendant. The moment they entered the palace, Sunset rushed out from behind a set of hedges and snuck in as well.
Once she got through the doors, she hurried over to the first pillar on the other side of the hallway. She made sure to only step over the thick ornate rugs so her hooves didn’t strike against the bare floor. While it wasn’t completely unheard of for the princess to make use of the servant access hallways to travel the palace grounds without being seen by visiting delegations and well wishers, the princess’ gait was much faster than usual. Not only that, but for a supposed delegation that had gathered for a meeting important enough for Celestia’s presence, there was a complete lack of activity by royal workers bringing glasses, cutlery, hors d'oeuvres, etc. to and fro from wherever the meeting was taking place—likely because it was an unplanned or even unannounced meeting, Sunset supposed. An emergency session, perhaps? The only reason she could think of related to the Neighagara Falls attack. Regardless, Sunset would have no way of knowing if she didn’t make it into the conference room.
Never one to try some elaborate alternate route, Sunset decided on going in through the main door. She had only watched Trixie do this a few times, but Sunset warped the light around herself and rendered herself invisible. It felt like she was wearing a cloak that would fly away the moment she let her concentration slip. Once she was satisfied with her work, Sunset resumed following after them. Getting past the increased guard presence was easy enough to manage. She paused for the unicorn guards to pass by and cautiously moved ahead as the pegasi stallions neared. However to be safe she remained as far back as possible
Unicorns could passively catch the subtle trails of magic much like how a pegasus can feel for the wind to carry themselves aloft. However the sensitivity to such trails depended on a number of factors such as the breadth of one’s magical knowledge or the development of their magical circuits to sense the magic around them.
She only chanced a peek at first, moving the door slightly ajar to look into the room. Dozens of voices could be heard. When she was sure there was a clear path, she stepped inside, closing the door behind her, and made her way over to the other end where a series of pillars offered additional cover in case the cloaking spell was broken or to mask as unintended movement of hers. From her vantage point toward the back of the downward sloping room, Sunset took note that while a few of the hundred-or-so seats were taken by representatives and diplomats of their respective kingdoms and races, spots at the table in the front of the room were occupied by projections of leaders themselves, namely: the First Prince Garland of the Northeastern Mountains, Lord Bristlecone of the Western Forest, and Madame Pele of the Southern Isles.
The three of them created a heavy atmosphere to the gathering, yet Princess Celestia’s presence alone managed to prevent the air from getting stifling. “I’d like to welcome you all to the humble kingdom of Equestria. I am especially thankful of your attendance given the extreme short-notice of the event.
“We are glad to see you well after news of the dastardly attack on your citizens, your Highness,” Garland began to say. His greeting prompted the other dignitaries to engage with their own comments, which Sunset saw managed to elicit a polite smile from the princess. After waiting for the gathering to quiet down, the imposing-looking griffon continued. “In fact, you have but to send word and our warriors will join you on your counter-attack.”
“I seem to have been mistaken,” Celestia said almost immediately, in a calm and even tone. “While your intent brings great warmth to my heart, young Garland, there will be no such counter-attack. I would rather settle this with words and diplomacy, not violence. Patience will be key, not the determination to use force.”
Garland let out a low growl then asked with increasing intensity, “Why do you hesitate so? Drop this pretext of kindness and respond in kind! We must show the Empire that we are not weak, lest others suffer the same fate but with much more dire consequences. Unlike Equestria, we smaller nations of the coalition can neither shrug off the damage and embarrassment of a willful intrusion on our lands, nor muster the power to repel any invaders!”
“Are you implying that my Federation is unable or dare I say it, too incompetent to come to your aid in a time of need, dear friend?” Chancellor Tapioca asked, not with any malice in his tone, but mischievous curiosity as his lips curled into a sly grin.
“This is exactly why the scholarship program should be expanded so more of our own can be prepared!” one of the diplomats in the middle of the congregation called out, taking the opportunity to voice her suggestion of a solution. “The coalition benefits when all of its members can take part in its defense, which begins with training and education. The future of our children depends on it!”
She was all but ignored as Garland squawked back defensively, “Casting aspersions does your entire nation a disservice, Chancellor!”
“My, my, Your Highness, no need to be so wound up,” Tapioca gave a wry assurance to the flustered-looking griffon. It didn’t take much more than that to set the rest of the room off. Sunset watched with amazement at how the dignitaries around her were quick to bicker and gripe about every little thing.
“We were just about to come to Neighagara Falls’ rescue!”
“There needs to be some sort of action, taken!”
“Won’t somebody please think of the children?!”
“It pains me to sound like a broken record, but patience is key,” Celestia stated calmly and rationally. To that single sentence, silence swept over the whole room like a fog, catching everyone’s attention and directing it toward the princess. The thin veil of politeness that Sunset recognized in the princess’ tone made the student instinctively gulp. The open arguing amongst the diplomats and dignitaries turned into hushed whispers and mutterings.
“An easy thing for you to say, don’t you think?” Garland muttered under his breath. “Able to both use magic and fly, not to mention tha-…” It took only the quickest of glances from Celestia to make him sputter in surprise mid-complaint.
The other representatives turned silent as tension settled onto the meeting. “Very well,” The princess’ voice finally sounded out amidst a light sigh. A dignified smile returned to her expression as she continued. “A full convention must be held before any further discussions are to be made. I shall leave the finer details regarding scheduling in your very capable hooves.” She aimed a kind glance to her diplomats who all bowed at the attention.
“Yes, Your Highness,” the mare that led Equestria’s five pony diplomatic corps responded.
In that very instant the fog lifted and a more animated discourse filled the air about the logistics and planning required to see Princess Celestia’s “suggestion” through. The projections of Garland, Bristlecone and Pele disappeared after a quick and quiet word with the princess. After some formalities, the room began to clear out.
Sunset was amazed by Celestia’s deft management of the political battlefield. Not just a moment ago trepidation and anxiety of some sort could be seen among all of the representatives. By the end of the meeting, a number of agreements were made on all matters of things. Least of which was a greater gathering to discuss the Crystal Empire issue.
When the last of the Equestrian diplomats left the room, Celestia looked over in her direction. Sunset froze, unsure what it meant. “You did that quite well” Celestia finally said. “However, I’d ask Trixie how to cover up your shadow, next time. ” Dumbfounded, Sunset looked to the floor and saw that her shadow was still visible. She cursed her failure in missing that little detail. She couldn’t imagine what would have happened if she had tried to use the spell for the first time in a situation with real danger. Regardless of her personal frustrations, Sunset stepped out of the cloaking spell since she was caught.
Celestia didn’t seem at all angry or upset as Sunset became visible once more. Rather, she seemed expectant to hear from her student. With this thought Sunset asked the first thing that came to mind. “So is it true...about the Crystal Empire?”
Celestia said immediately, “You’re to keep quiet of what you’ve seen and heard during the meeting and continue your lessons. Nothing more, Sunset.”
“Well of course I will, princess,” Sunset said in an excited manner. “It’s just that…”
“Am I clear on that, young lady?”
Sunset halted when she took notice of Celestia’s tone and lowered her head until she made a proper, formal bow. “Yes, your Highness.” Without needing further instruction, the young mare showed herself out of the meeting room.
As she walked down the hall back to her room, Sunset felt her back and hooves tingle as the trails of magic around her felt more prominent than usual.
As the clock struck eleven Twilight made certain that everything for the tutoring session was in pristine condition. The physical space had to be clean and orderly lest something distract the young mind that would soon be under her charge from fully engaging in the lesson: she trotted around the study room that she had reserved weeks prior, inspecting the bookshelves that lined the walls; the syllabus and worksheets placed neatly on the table; textbooks and reference scrolls set in order by expected difficulty.
Rehearsal took up the bulk of the two hours Twilight gave herself for preparation, yet even when she figured out how to deal with six different scenarios depending on her student’s learning style—which would be determined by a few exercises prior to the lesson’s conduction—she still had a serious case of butterflies in her stomach. It didn’t help that her own esteemed teacher Princess Celestia remained prominent in her thoughts. Comparisons raised Twilight's expectations for herself.
What’s more, the Neighagra Falls incident definitely made an impression on the young mare. Twilight had to admit that the drills she and her classmates had been doing these days took on a different feeling since taking part in a battle. When compared to the high adrenaline, high tension stakes of real life-or-death fighting, it just seemed inappropriate to use stationary targets or even ones that moved back and forth in a simple pattern. There was so much activity and volatility that made Twilight realize, looking back, that had she known more; taken care to prepare for the mayhem to truly prepare her. Had Cadance not intervened, Twilight feared what sort of damage beyond the town of Neighagra Falls would have taken place before Princess Celestia arrived.
A light knocking echoed out from the front door, drawing Twilight out of her thoughts. “Hmm?” Twilight hummed aloud when she heard it. Anxious that it was only her imagination playing tricks on her, another set of knocks made her heart skip a beat. “It’s really her!” she chirped in surprise. Though unwanted, her subconscious took initiative to hedge on her excitement. “Then again…” Twilight mumbled quietly to herself. She waited for a final confirmation before answering the door.
Perhaps it’s just a lost pony asking for directions, a voice quipped in her mind.
“Don’t even joke about that,” Twilight gave a pout and muttered in reply. She gained some conviction to check on the visitor whether there was another knock or not, as though to spite the voice. As she moved forward grasped a sheet from the table with her magic before opening the door. When the top of the spiraling spire steps came into view, a white-coated filly looked up at her, her gray-green eyes full of expectation. “Hello there. I’m Twilight Sparkle, and I’m your tutor…” she glanced down at her sheet to confirm the name of her student. “Sweetie Belle?”
The little filly’s voice squeaked in excitement as she called out, “Yep. That’s me.”
“It’s good to see you here right on time,” Twilight observed. “That’s a very good habit to have.”
“Thanks! My mom said that when she dropped me off, too.”
Twilight chuckled and nodded in further approval to the filly’s pleasant demeanor and excellent manners. It wasn't too much trouble that the mother had already left. In fact, it spoke volumes to how much trust she apparently had in her child. Twilight took a step back then said, “Please, make yourself at home. We’ll start in just a bit after I give you the lesson materials and syllabus.”
Making a silent nod Sweetie Belle entered as prompted. She followed closely behind Twilight and much to the mare’s enjoyment the filly gasped in awe at the study, looking around at the shelves upon shelves of books. Twilight couldn’t hide a smile while walking over to the table with the prepared materials.
“If you don’t mind me asking, Ms. Sparkle,” she began to say though Twilight felt the need to interrupt.
“No need to be so formal, Sweetie Belle. Twilight will do.” She guided the filly toward her seat and watched her would-be student hop onto the chair before sitting on the floor behind the numerous notebooks and sheets of paper.
“Oh, ok,” Sweetie said in understanding. Her eyes took note of the items placed before her on the table as she continued. “Twilight, will I get to meet Trixie or Sunset?
“Hmm, perhaps.” Twilight hadn’t thought to involve her classmates in the tutoring session, but it definitely made an interesting idea to have the girls provide their own insights to better round out her student’s magic education. “I’ll have to ask about that.”
“Cool!”
“Yep, definitely cool huh?” Twilight made sure to write the idea down in her teacher’s notes. “Well since we’ve started off with a bit of a detour,” Twilight said, deciding to use this moment as a segway toward the lesson she had in mind.
Not knowing the mare’s plan Sweetie felt like she did something wrong. “Sorry,” she said in response.
“What? Oh, it’s nothing to be sorry about, Sweetie. In fact it’s made me want to start with—even though we won’t really touch upon it for a few weeks from now—something I think is quite interesting.” In a quick touch of magic Twilight placed the large book placed on the left corner of the table in Sweetie’s reach. “Now open up your book to page three hundred and ninety four.”
Sweetie Belle did so with a bit of effort, nudging the large tome open with her snout at first before using her hoof to flip the rest of the pages. Knowing full well the topic contained within that section, Twilight watched Sweetie’s reaction to a detailed illustration of a fiery maned and wild-eyed pony with bat-like wings.
“Whoa,” Sweetie said. “Cool.”
“Quite the opposite,” Twilight joked and chuckled a bit at her own joke, though it didn’t immediately dawn on her that the filly wouldn’t understand that. “That, Sweetie, is an ifrit. It’s an ancient infernal creature from Saddle Arabia, said to be extremely gifted in magic and spells, to the extent of supposedly being able to grant wishes.” Sweetie Belle listened with curiosity and wonder as Twilight continued. “The truth however is much more sinister. They trick unwitting travelers into making what they think are wishes while actually sucking away their magic to feed on. Like other magical carnivores, ifrits are unable to grow in large numbers because of the difficult and austere living conditions are opportunistic hunters. In other words, they survived by taking advantage of others. But because they had such a large appetite it was never enough. Ifrits only consumed magic, instead of being a part of its cycle.”
“Oh,” the filly murmured from hearing this, her dreams of making all sorts of wishes now dust in the wind.
“You see, just like the ifrit, those who use magic only for themselves ‘will eventually be destroyed by magic.’ That’s probably one of my favorite quotes from Cyril of Ibexine, by the way. A bit hard on the tongue in the original language, but that’s not what’s important here. Magic isn’t simply a form of energy that unicorns, pegasi, earth ponies and alicorns use on a daily basis. For many races and species magic is a way of life.” Twilight felt a bit of joy from how impressed Sweetie looked and continued her lecture. “Now let’s return to the main topic of this first conference, ‘Introduction to Magic: History and Principles’. You can see the chapters we’ll be going through on the syllabus I set on the table…”
---
“Before we take a break, do you have any questions?”
Sweetie gave a pout and admitted, “Twilight, my head’s sort of hurting. When are we going to learn magic?”
“But...we were,” Twilight said, unsure what else to say.The lesson plan on history of magic was pretty self explanatory, and she was sure that knowing where magic came from was a major building block to truly appreciating it. Twilight observed the filly rub her head and was honestly stuck in a situation she hadn’t contemplated.
“Huh?” Sweetie gasped in surprise. “But all we’ve done is talk.”
Twilight quickly tried to have Sweetie see things her way. “In order to properly use magic, you must first learn its history.” Twilight saw her quietly contemplate the explanation. It was about a minute before she made eye contact with the filly again.
“You were able to fight the Crystal Empire when all you got was a lecture from the Princess?” Sweetie Belle asked with measured belief in her tone.
Twilight blinked and said, “Well no, of course not,” she said. Besides asking to become their teacher, she recalled that day years ago, the first thing they did on the first day were practical exercises. Of course Twilight never intended to only provide lecture in place of practicums, so on that point it wasn’t entirely a fair assumption of the lesson so far. But a seed of doubt was planted, nonetheless. “I had planned it for later, but I guess there’s no harm in helping to review your spellcrafting, then.”
Picking up the itinerary and a feather quill she made the appropriate edits to the original schedule. “Now, what spell would you like help with, first?” Twilight asked with eager anticipation.
The filly looked down, her ears pinned against her head. “I...can’t cast any spells,” Sweetie Belle confessed.
“...you can’t.” Twilight said after a pause. Yet another setback; something else she had never even imagined as a possibility. When Sweetie Belle nodded, Twilight tried to choose her next words as carefully as possible. The filly looked on the verge of crying, after all.
Twilight had already managed to cast a few spells by the time she was Sweetie’s age. In fact, though she couldn’t fully recall, she managed to cast an incredible spell that impressed the princess enough to have her be a student. “...I believe that there’s a bit of a misunderstanding, Sweetie Belle.”
“There is?” The filly asked with a bit of hope tinging her tone.
“It’s not so much that you can’t cast a spell, but that you just haven’t cast one yet. I can’t be certain what it’s like for Trixie and Sunset, but for me, casting a spell feels like writing a well thought out, fully edited report. Up until that point, doing research, learning how to write sentences and how best to string words together to make those sentences are all important steps to do that. You certainly know all of the steps to make a report, you just have to put one together. Casting magic, however, is a bit more instinctual. I’d almost liken it to, well…imagining my horn light up to attract fireflies on a clear summer night. Do you understand the difference?”
Gears were turning in her head. “I...think so?”
Twilight presented a confident grin as an idea popped into her head. “Let’s look at a few examples of non-unicorn spell casting, okay?”
Her curiosity was piqued. Sweetie hadn’t expected to hear about non-unicorn magic. Her eyes widened and lit up in excitement. “Sure!” she cheered loudly and hopped a foot off the floor. Twilight proceeded to lead the filly around the study area. First, to the cauldron where potions had traditionally been made. Of course more precise instruments of measurement were available today. Twilight spent a short moment explaining a bit of the cast iron cauldron’s properties before turning toward the beakers, glassware and bunsen burners when Sweetie Belle asked, “What’s this do?”
Twilight looked back over her shoulder to see the filly. “Oh, that’s…” She spotted a hot plate she had been using to do research on a particularly exotic form of potion making based on what was known from information gleaned through defectors from the Crystal Empire.
“Wait, what’s this?!” Sweetie asked with increased excitement, cutting Twilight off. She rushed over to the glassware where and started poking and prodding a flask filled with a red liquid.
“D-don’t!” Twilight grasped at the flask in her magic but to her dismay, her concentration broke from a sudden rapid ringing of the doorbell and she dropped the flask onto the table. It bounced with a loud clank right for the filly resting her forelegs on the table’s edge. Sweetie Belle shrieked in surprise, unable to jump away fast enough. With her eyes clenched tight, the filly’s horn sparked and the glassware tumbled away in a different direction before falling to the floor with a crash. Crystal formed out of the puddle on the floor, but Twilight was too awestruck by what she just saw to notice.
It wasn’t exactly a spell, but a sign of magic, however weak, was still a positive sign. More importantly though, was the filly’s safety. She looked over Sweetie with breath held to be sure she wasn’t harmed.
Looking back at her teacher, the smile on Sweetie’s face was bright enough to light up a cave. “Twilight!” She exclaimed. “Fireflies!” she exclaimed to the now bewildered mare. “It felt just like you said! I concentrated really hard for fireflies to appear all around me.”
The doorbell rang in rapid succession again, tugging at Twilight’s attention, who wanted no less than to congratulate Sweetie on her accomplishment. “H-hold on, please!” Twilight called out to the door. She looked back to Sweetie Belle. “That was amazing, Sweetie! I’m really proud of you!” She’d have liked for Sweetie to learn under less terrifying circumstances, but results were results, as Goethe had once said.
“Thanks, Twilight!” Sweetie cheered in a happy tone.
After mussing up the filly’s mane, Twilight switched back to the door and rushed over to meet the apparently anxious visitor. “Sweetie Belle, are you here? I’m here to pick you up” A voice called out from the other side of the door. “You’re not causing trouble for your tutor, are you?”
“Just a moment, please!” Twilight called out.
Twilight opened the door only to have it swiftly smack against her snout in greeting. “Sweetie?” A mare asked as she trotted in. She looked about in search of the filly when a pained groan caught her attention. She realized what happened and hurried over to help the other unicorn off the floor. “Oh dearie I’m so sorry!” Then the mare said with wide eyes, "Wait a minute. Aren’t you...you're Twilight? The Twilight Sparkle? Well I’ll be!"
Being recognized by ponies she didn’t know was still something that she was getting used to. While it’s always happened to a certain extent as one of the princess’ students, Twilight noticed that the frequency increased after the Neighagra Falls incident. "Um...yes. Can I help you, ma’am?"
“Oh, where are my manners? I’m Sweetie Belle’s mother, Cookie Crumbles. Call me Cookie or Cee Cee, just none of this ma’am stuff, y’know? Oh, and especially no need to introduce yourself. I mean, gosh it’s such an honor to make your acquaintance, hun,” the mare gushed with a smile. “Twilight Sparkle teaching my daughter. Just wow.”
“R-really? Well...nice to make your acquaintance, too.” Twilight took a step back from the doorway. “Please, come in.” She led the mare over to where Sweetie was. The filly was busying herself with pushing the glass potion around on the table an inch at a time.
“Oh goodness!” she exclaimed with a titter at the sight.
“Mom! Check it out!” Sweetie clenched her eyes tight and as soon as her horn lit up in a pale green the flask skirted along the table yet another inch. As soon as she heard the glass scrape against the table she opened her eyes and looked back to the other ponies. “Ta dah!”
“I don’t even know what to say!” Cookie said happily. Twilight was speechless herself when she noticed that the mare was almost close to tears despite the big smile. “I tried my best to teach her but didn’t even know where to start.”
“Your daughter is very talented,” Twilight admitted. “It honestly wasn’t much work on my part.”
She turned to face Twilight and took a moment to collect herself. “We don’t really have anything in the way of money to pay for her tuition to attend on a regular basis. Which is why finding out about this tutoring opportunity seemed like a gift from the Princess, herself.” Twilight was aware that Academy was open to tutor non-students but for a price. It was common for affiliate institutions to charge even students for their attendance, as they didn’t have the vast coffers that the main academy had for room, board and other things.
“My husband and I—he would’ve been here if he didn’t sprain his back playing a round of golf last week—we were planning a trip but decided to use it for her fees. It’s our little surprise present for her.”
Twilight was taken aback by Cookie’s offer and moved to keep the mare from taking out a pouch of bits from her saddlebag. “No, that’s ok! I wasn’t planning to charge anything for this tutoring session, so it’s completely unnecessary. If anything, I’d prefer to be paid by seeing Sweetie Belle’s happy smile after taking the exam.”
“W-well, that’s the thing, you see,” the mom said. “As hard as she tried, Sweetie unfortunately didn’t pass the entrance exams last month. She hadn’t been able to even show a sign of any magic until now, after all.”
“Oh. I see.” Twilight didn’t realize that Sweetie had already gone for the exams She still had a second and final chance to apply, but not for another year. “Well…” Twilight began to say, trying to think of something. “She’s an excellent student and I’m sure we can work something out with the local Academy affiliate where you live.”
“But I couldn’t, Twilight. It’s quite generous of you, and I really do appreciate it, but we’ve only just met. I haven’t the slightest idea how to pay you back!”
“Like I already said, Cookie. I’d prefer to see Sweetie pass the exam instead of any amount of bits. More importantly, it would be a shame to let her potential go to waste.”
The mare seemed like she wanted to shed a happy tear once again, but simply sniffed and wiped her eye while flashing a big smile. “Well, if one of princess’ students says that, how can I say no?” With a nod she looked over to her daughter and nodded a second time. “I can’t thank you enough, Twilight. Really.”
Twilight didn’t know how to respond, surprised but how important a result this had to have been for Cookie. She couldn’t imagine what sort of expenses would have accrued if a private institution was involved. Without warning Twilight was embraced in a hug. “Thank Celestia for your kindness, Twilight,” she heard Cookie say. It lasted a few seconds leaving Twilight completely speechless when Cookie Crumbles broke the hug and stepped away. “Sweetie Belle,” Cookie called out to her daughter. “It’s time to go.”
The filly in question looked up from a book she was reading, her eyebrows arched up and lips upturned in a pout. “Aww! Can’t we stay for a little while longer?”
”We can see if that book is in the library back home, ok?” Cookie said, mussing up her daughter’s mane as she helped to organize the desk that was left in disarray since the lesson. Put it back on the desk so we can catch the train back home.”
“Ok…” Sweetie reluctantly did as she was told and followed her mom toward the door.
“You can borrow it if you like,” Twilight spoke out. She picked up the book, one about simple telekinesis, and floated it back over for Cookie to grasp it in her magic.
Sweetie’s eyes bulged wide in happiness when she heard this, grinning ecstatically between her mom and Twilight. “Really?!”
“Well aren’t you the mare that just keeps on giving?” Cookie giggled happily while placing the book into her saddlebag. “If you ever find yourself in Ponyville, don’t hesitate to give us a visit. I’ll make sure to cook up a soy bean hotdish for you.”
“I intend to,” Twilight said with a smile. “After all, I’ll eventually need that book back, right?”
Sweetie Belle giggled when she heard that. “Right. Bye Twilight!” she called out excitedly.
After the two of them stepped out Twilight looked at the clock. At twelve thirty, she was happy to see her first tutoring lesson end at just about the expected time. She eagerly turned to clean up and meet with Sunset like she promised when Spike hurried in, holding a rolled up scroll in his claw above his head. “Twilight!” He called out. “Twilight, the princess wants to see you at the castle for an important announcement.”
“Something important? Sure thing, Spike. I’ll just have to Sunset that-”
“No sweat, Twilight. The Princess wants to see her as well,” Spike added. “Trixie, too.”
The gears in Twilight’s head instantly began to move when he said that and then she made her way towards the door. She stopped when Spike rushed past her. “Whoa! Wait Spike, you’re not coming with?”
“No,” he grumbled a bit sourly. He turned around and jogged in place. “At least, not yet. I found and told Sunset, then you, now I gotta figure out where Trixie is. You go straight to the princess, Twilight. I got this handled.”
“I bet the princess is really happy to have someone as reliable as you, Spike,” Twilight said, feeling a bit of pride at how hardworking and determined the little dragon had become. After a grin and quick salute he rushed out ahead of her, not bothering to close the door behind him as he quickly but carefully went downstairs.
Since it was apparently important enough, Twilight decided that she could leave the rest of the clean up for when she came back. She went downstairs and out onto the main courtyard toward the palace, trotting at a brisk but not harried pace.“Twilight, there you are!” A voice exclaimed from across the courtyard. “Excuse me, do you have a moment?” Twilight halted and remained in place as a young mare, just about Twilight’s age, hurried over. It was hard not to recognize the pony that called out to her and harder still to ignore the curious glances of the ponies milling about that wanted to know why she would need Twilight’s attention.
Sporting a pair of fashionable, thin-framed glasses, Moondancer slowed her approach and trotted the little bit of distance left between herself and Twilight. “Oh it’s been so long, hasn’t it? Listen, I’m having a little get together after our classes tomorrow. Being the princess’ student I know you must be busy and all, but I would love it if you could come by.”
Twilight looked at Moondancer as though she were a stranger. They hadn’t talked in years beyond the courteous greeting or well wishes on birthdays or special occasions. It was usually Spike that helped in that regard, what with Twilight ever immersed in arcane research. Even though they were close back in magic kindergarten, these days the other pony might as well have been someone Twilight barely knew.
Moondancer had been just as studious and intensely focused on books as Twilight was, at least, before the latter became Princess Celestia’s student and spent more time with Trixie and Sunset. That wasn’t to say that Twilight had a decreased appetite to learn since becoming the princess’ student. It just so happened that Twilight now indulged in her pastime in the company of others, mostly her fellow classmates, and sometimes much to their chagrin.
Twilight didn’t know why but at some point the less-than-social academic Moondancer bloomed into the well regarded student body president that she was known as today. The number of well-wishers was proof enough, and she didn’t even speak with the birthday pony to even wish her a happy birthday.
Despite all of that, it wouldn’t do to leave the invitation without any sort of reply. “I’ll have to check my schedule, but I’ll definitely let you know if I’m free.” It was the best response Twilight could come up with at such short notice.
Moondancer smiled and nodded, satisfied by the answer. “Yes. That’d be wonderful. I’ll be expecting your reply soon.” She turned and walked away, greeting the ponies she walked past.
“O-okay.” Twilight couldn’t understand why she felt a bit intimidated. Without her realizing it, Twilight let out a sigh of relief the moment Moondancer disappeared around the corner.
---
“Hey Sunset,” Twilight said in greeting to her classmate just outside the palace where they promised to meet a few hours ago. Sunset looked a bit somber before she noticed the other pony, then her expression normalized somewhat. Taking a moment to look around, Twilight asked, “Have you seen Trixie around?”
“Trixie? Last I saw her she was looking for you with Shining Armor,” Sunset said.
“Shining Armor?” Twilight asked in surprise. “He never came by to see me.” Sunset could only shrug.
“We’ll probably see little miss airhead when we meet with the princess.” After saying this, Sunset headed toward the castle entrancee.
“Right,” Twilight said with a nod, following along. For a quick moment Twilight’s thoughts turned toward Cadance. She hadn't seen her since the incident in Neighagara Falls, but knew she had nothing to worry about. She was sure that her foalsitter was alright. She had nothing to worry about, and neither did Shining Armor.
---
Twilight and Sunset found their teacher speaking with an attendant and waited patiently until her attention turned toward them. After he received his instructions the stallion bowed and left. Celestia looked to her cherished students. “Hello, girls.”
“Hello, Princess!” The two of them said in unison with a bow. Celestia responded in kind with a modest nod of her head. Just as she was about to ask, Trixie strode in, a goofy grin plastered on her face.
A number of questions arose in Twilight’s mind but her attention returned to the important matter the Princess had. “Trixie, Sunset, Twilight, we have much to discuss.” The girls followed their teacher, sharing similar looks of wonder regarding what Celestia said. They were led through the hallways, making a number of turns until arriving at the chariot hanger. To their surprise the space was bustling with activity. Teams of mechanics were working on three sets of chariots and it looked like there were an equal number of royal pegasus drivers on standby, checking over their harnesses and stretching their wings.
They all dutifully greeted the princess but focused primarily on the work before them. It seemed that Celestia viewed their productiveness quite favorably as her attention returned to her students. “Girls, in order for all of you to grow, it’s important to expand your understandings of magic. For a number of reasons, there’s only so much that I can teach you. That said, I’ve prepared chariots for each of you to meet teachers to learn different aspects of magic from.” Twilight had already taken note of the chariots. Her curiosity had increased after hearing that they were related to their training. “You’re all going to leave right away. Upon arrival to your destination your studies will begin.”
Twilight was taken aback by the suddenness of everything going on. She had her suspicions but wasn’t certain about what had brought this all on.
“Sunset, you’ll be going to the Southern Isles.” As Celestia said that, a broad chested stallion wearing flowers on his head approached. While it wasn’t all too out of place for a pony from such a far away place like the Southern Isles to be in Canterlot, Twilight knew through a reliable source—Spike, that is—that there was an important meeting involving a number of diplomats and representatives of Equestria’s allies today. Twilight recognized the stallion in particular. “Wakea is our honored guest that represents the Southern Isles here in Canterlot, on behalf of Madame Pele.”
With a confident stride Sunset walked over to the diplomat. She then bowed gracefully and said, “Ahau whakahonoretia ahau ki te whiriwhiri.”
“E mohio ana koe ki te reo?” He said in surprise. He continued with, “Ko ahau te tangata e whakahonoretia te,” before returning a nod of his head.
Twilight felt lost by what took place, never realizing that Sunset had learned the Southern Isles language—technically one of its thirty four dialects, actually—much less any foreign language. After nuzzling with the princess she looked to her classmates. “Guess I’ll be seeing you girls around,” Sunset stated simply. Without further ado she went to the chariot and hopped on. The pegasus team readied themselves with their pre-flight checks and soon took off with their two passengers.
“Twilight,” Celestia said to her, “You’ll be going to meet an old friend of mine in Shimmerwood. She needs a bit of help and I recommended you as the best pony to provide it.”
“I’m honored that you’d do such a thing, princess!” Twilight said, her focus now on her instructions. If her memory served her right, Shimmerwood was also south of Canterlot, but on the opposite coast. It was maybe a ten hour flight without stops. She wondered what sort of task awaited her, as well as how this was supposed to relate to her training.
“She’ll tell you everything you’ll need to know,” the princess continued, already understanding what sorts of things Twilight would be thinking about. “I needn’t remind you to behave, so all I have left to say is to be safe, Twilight. Spike.” She looked to each of them in turn with a kind smile and nuzzled them like a mother would.
“Of course, Princess,” she said with a smile after their familial embrace. Twilight stepped onto the chariot shortly after Spike hopped in, watching with amusement at how excited he was.
“Twilight’s got this in the bag, Your Highness,” Spike proudly declared as he found his footing within the open-air carriage. “You have my word!”
“I can definitely sleep soundly knowing that,” Celestia said with an appreciative smile. “Be sure to write me about your progress, alright?”
“Will do, Princess!”
“Sure thing!”
They waved and felt the chariot begin to move. It was a more-or-less smooth transition from takeoff as they rose into the sky,banking at a slight leftward tilt for a minute. Then they headed south, following behind Sunset’s chariot before taking different paths. She watched as the other chariot continued its course while hers turned toward a westerly direction.
“Isn’t this exciting, Spike?” Twilight said, hollering as best she could over the wind. When she looked over to her little assistant, she could only giggle when she realized that Spike already managed to fall asleep. As her mane fluttered in the wind, Twilight turned her attention elsewhere, glancing over her shoulder to where Canterlot, her home, was.
The fading sight of the picturesque mountainside city made her realize that this was the first time in her life she ever left Equestria. Admittedly a bit of unease grew in her chest from the completely new experience.At the same time, a giant smile broke out, stretching the corners of her mouth from ear to ear as she looked forward once more. She wouldn’t fail the mission the princess had given her. Twilight was certain of that.
Trixie waited and watched as first Sunset and then Twilight got their assignments and well wishes from Princess Celestia. The happiness she felt from being able to spend the last couple of hours with Shining Armor, taking him around Canterlot looking for his sister first at the library, the science lab, for a cup of tea at a nearby cafe, then a walk through a park side by side, was slowly fading away, but would never be forgotten.
Now a different sort of excitement and anxiety grew at the prospect of being sent to a foreign land instead of yet another dusty old building at the Academy. The monasteries in Fawntaine were world renowned for possessing books with beautiful calligraphy adorning their pages. Seeing the hieroglyphs of the pyramids outside Nadira could be worth the trip, as well. Having a pint or two in Flankfurt on the way to Shanghay to see Ibex logograms written out before her eyes would be perfect. Then again even if those were exciting prospects, somewhere a little closer to home would be preferred. While Manehattan was the bigger metropolis, there was nowhere better to find expert street magic than in Fillydelphia. Maybe take time in Las Pegasus to study with the great headliners and amazing performers like Sapphire Shores or even a great illusionist like Shiny Chariot. The possibilities were endless!
“Princess, where am I going for my studies?” Trixie asked, unable to help her tail wagging to and fro.
Celestia smiled as she was wont to do and said, "Rather than having you seek tutelage like Sunset and Twilight, what I have in mind for you will be a simple test, Trixie. All you have to do is get back to Canterlot.”
Trixie's ears flattened to that. "What?"
A royal guard appeared from behind and unceremoniously dropped a heavy saddlebag onto Trixie’s haunches. After the initial surprise she adjusted her footing to accommodate the load. “There are enough rations in this saddlebag for a month. You will also be provided a number of supplies to help you through most anything you may come across, Celestia continued. “Remember your lessons, and stay alert. Most importantly, be safe, Trixie,” Celestia said, walking behind the pony and ushering her toward the center of the room by the supplies which comprised of the unicorn's trunk and a few wooden crates.
“When did you even…?” Trixie wondered in amazement at the sight.
“I’m quite excited to see how much you develop from this experience.” Celestia’s horn glowed brightly and Trixie found herself enveloped in the warmth of her teacher's magic.
“Seriously, wh-?” Before Trixie could say anything else the palace grounds disappeared in a flash. In its place the cool smell of a forest and shade offered by tall tree branches filled the pony’s senses. For a full minute Trixie looked around, only able to see thick brush and trees where she stood. Nothing seemed familiar, though it wasn’t like she was even remotely any good at land navigation in the first place. Foliage crunched under her hooves as the soft mossy earth muffled the sound of her increasingly frantic steps.
She fought to take control of her anxious breathing as the alarm bells in her mind rang less and less in the unfamiliar setting she found herself in.
Retreating backstage amidst the sound of raucous hoots and hollers, Twilight let out a frustrated groan and wiped sweat from her brow. “That was not how dress rehearsal went!” Just as she jutted her hoof accusingly at Trixie, Twilight felt the jewel bedazzled saddle she was wearing shift and catch a few of her hairs. She clicked her tongue and hissed from the discomfort and quickly adjusted herself.
Trixie took the opportunity to check herself as well, making sure that her cloak and hat were presentable. “What are you talking about?” she asked. “Thanks to you, each of the tricks went exactly like in dress rehearsal.”
“That’s not what I meant! Since I didn’t have to during the dress rehearsal, I never thought that I’d be wearing something like this during the actual show!!”
Trixie gave Twilight a once over. The diligent student was actually quite fetching with the right makeup and evening saddle. It was hard not to notice the dumb smiles and gawking of the stallions in the front row watching Twilight prance around with an exaggerated gait during the act, which was precisely what the saddle was designed to do.
Even if she never practiced it during rehearsal, Twilight managed to adapt to the saddle’s shape in a short amount of time before the show. Frankly Trixie was impressed. Not to mention surprised that Twilight still decided to be a part of the show, with a little bit of coaxing. “Because I knew you’d be against it. Besides, even if you find it embarrassing you still performed exactly like we practiced.”
Twilight gave a skeptical expression, raising an eyebrow. “Oh? I never realized you were that observant to know what I’d be for or against.”
“It’s, uh...because I told her, Twilight.”
“Spike!”
The baby dragon approached with bottles of water and towels in his arms. The girls gladly took a bottle and towel for themselves and said their thanks. “They absolutely loved you, Twilight,” Spike said encouragingly. “No joke.”
Trixie was nodding her head in agreement and said after taking a sip from a bottle, “I knew that awk-weirdness of yours would work out.”
“What was that?” Twilight asked mid-drink of her own bottle.
She was quick to reply with a question. “What was what? Oh, I think I hear the audience asking for more!”
Twilight was sure that Trixie was just trying to dodge the question, but decided to play along. “Fine. It can wait. Now give me a moment. I’m not going back out there until after I get this off-MEEee!” She could only yelp in surprise as Trixie dragged her along back onstage, the bright lights blocked by the heavy curtains momentarily blinding her.
She stumbled to a stop, feeling the focused heat of the lights pointing down at her and very quickly causing her to give off a light sweat. Out of instinct Twilight made sure to smile as Trixie suddenly called out, “Let’s give my lovely assistant another round of applause, mares and gentlestallions!”
Thunderous applause and hoof stomping ensued, overwhelming Twilight with the amount of energy that the audience suddenly projected her way. Her cheeks flushed a deep red and she could feel her heart pound against her chest in excitement. She looked out to the sea of ponies waving and smiling to her. The cheers were simply contagious and Twilight found herself giving a wide smile, which only managed to make the audience cheer even more wildly. In the few seconds she was out on stage Twilight could only fall into her default sign of appreciate and wave to the audience before she was abruptly pulled back behind the curtain.
She glanced over to see Trixie’s hue of magic surrounding her hoof dissipate once they stepped out of the stage lights. “...we won, by the way,” Trixie said.
Twilight froze is confusion. “When did they announce that?”
“A bit after we went back out on stage. You completely zoned out, Sparkle. After the announcement I was calling out to you for a whole minute,” Trixie said with a chuckle.
She didn’t realize. Her body was still trembling from the rush of adrenaline coursing through her veins. “It...was amazing,” Twilight finally managed out in an exhale.
“Trust me Sparkle, it can get addicting.”
Twilight nodded at the thought, definitely able to imagine given how electrifying an experience it was.
The night’s surprises only continued when Trixie floated a bag for Twilight to clumsily catch with her hoof. The bag jingled with the tell-tale sound of bits. Here, your share of the prize money,” Trixie casually explained.
“What? Trixie, you shouldn’t have. I mean, all I did was act like an awk-weird ditz…”
The stage mare waved that comment off. “I knew how badly you wanted that science...chemistry...thingy.”
“How?”
“Spike,” Trixie said simply.
“Oh. Right.”
“B-but don’t forget that you owe me for this, Sparkle. I didn’t do this out of the kindness of my heart, y’know!”
“I wouldn't forget a friend's favor like that!” Twilight said without the faintest hint of hesitation. “See you in class, tomorrow!” She turned and left, forgetting that she was still dressed in the fancy dress saddle.
She waited until she was sure that Twilight had left before quietly saying, “Huh. Friend. I like the sound of that.” Trixie smiled to herself, feeling happy that Twilight thought of her as a friend.
“I knew it. You did do it out of the kindness of your heart,” Spike announced with a smug look on his face. “Next you’re gonna want to hang out, then plan slumber parties and braid each other’s mane…”
“Sh-shut up you damn lizard!” Trixie instinctively hollered, but only managed to earn an even louder guffaw from the dragon.
“You don’t have to yell at me like that, Trixie! I thought we were friends~”
Trixie could only pout, feeling tongue tied and flustered from embarrassment. At the very least, it was a step in the right direction.
The sounds of the waves’ ebb and flow onto the sandy beach just out of sight pierced through the darkness.
It was half a day's worth of flying from Canterlot to the Southern Isles and from where they landed near the northeastern coast the group of Equestrians and their guide weaved through the sleeping village without so much as a word. Sunset followed the large pony named Wakea along the torch-lit trail, passing by a number of huts illuminated by flames dancing in the evening ocean breeze.
The pegasus guards walked closely behind, still wearing their armor. Along with their accompanying hoof steps clacking against the spiraling cobblestone steps that peeked out of the well worn trail, the leather and metal construction of the guards' armor creaked and bounced in contrast to the natural sounds of the surf and wind.
Wakea stopped, prompting the rest of the train to do so. “This hut will be yours for the duration of your stay,” he said as he turned to Sunset. "It will do you well to get some sleep as soon as possible. You've had a long day of travel, after all. Breakfast will be ready at the pavilion further down the trail toward the beach.”
Sunset nodded politely. “Right. Thank you for your hospitality.” When she stepped out of the line with her luggage in tow, the group travelled along and Wakea proceeded to assign the guards their own huts from the ones that neighbored her own. She turned back to face the door to her hut, noticing that several torches were already lit inside. She opened the door with her magic and entered.
Sunset placed her bags to the side next to a dresser and following the advice she was given, made a beeline for the bed, flopping onto the surprisingly firm yet soft mattress. It was a bit rougher and uneven than what could be found in the palace, but at the moment she was far from being choosy. Sunset was exhausted from the trip and promptly went to sleep the moment she closed her eyes.
---
Sunset felt a weight shift against her side. It reminded her of the times when Spike, hardly out of his hatchling years, would rush to her side after having a bad dream. Out of habit she stretched out her foreleg to bring her baby brother close to console him when her eyes snapped open in realization.
There was a sizable difference between the baby dragon and whoever was currently sleeping next to her. She glanced down, confirming that it was a pony, not a dragon, that sought out some comfort last night. Sunset didn't know what to say to the filly that chose to intrude into her hut.
The filly's mane was braided into several thick brownish-red coils, and though she didn't know the exact name for it, Sunset approximated the filly's coat to a dark neon green.
As though feeling her eyes observing her, the filly slowly stirred and looked up at Sunset. Her senses slowly returned and her eyes grew wide. "Y-you're awake," the filly stuttered out.
"Yes I am," was Sunset's deadpan reply.
With a sudden burst of energy the filly leaped off the bed and landed a few feet away. A fierce blush was illuminating her cheeks with red and she began making her way out of the hut. "D...don't misunderstand why I was sleeping...It’s not like you remind me of my sister, or anything…” the filly muttered out. She stopped in the doorway and turned around to yell out, “I...I will tell my dad that you’re awake now!” As if without a moment to lose she galloped out of sight, leaving Sunset to stare for a moment in confusion.
The young mare let out a sigh and got out of bed to stretch out the kinks in her back and legs. Out of habit she fixed the bed and sought out her bathroom to clean up, only to find that it was on the opposite side of where she normally went back at the castle. Next, Sunset stepped out of the hut and upon stopping at the end of the trail, took in her immediate surroundings. From across the white sand beach the water was crystal clear, stretching out into an endless horizon that blended with the blue sky. She smelled the cool salty ocean air drift by her and couldn't help but feel invigorated.
Of course, Sunset knew that this wasn’t a vacation. Princess Celestia trusted that she and her classmates would succeed in their training. Neighagra Falls remained at the forefront of her mind, as well as the powerful Mage that had led the attack. The world was indeed much bigger than she ever really considered until recently. But, Sunset thought with a smile, that was the exact reason Celestia had sent her students abroad. To better prepare for the challenges that lay ahead. Sunset couldn’t let her mother down.
She walked along the beach, feeling the fine sand against her hooves. Spotting a line of smooth stone steps, Sunset followed the artificial path until she reached the pavilion that Wakea had mentioned last night. The large pony in question was easy enough to identify when she approached what she determined was a communal buffet table. Before her was a whole assortment of fruits, vegetables, nuts and eggs laid atop large banana leaves.
"Don't be a stranger. Sit and eat, Sunset," Wakea said before taking a bite of an apple slice. She sat as prompted and grabbed what caught her eye as he continued. "You've already seemed to have made quite the impression on my daughter, Snapdragon."
As he chuckled Sunset took notice of the filly just as she glanced away, obviously trying to pretend she was focused on eating.
“As you already know, your princess has arranged for you to learn our ways in magic;” Wakea began to say, getting Sunset’s attention back. “I have been tasked by Madame Pele to guide you. I have seen how your teachers and schools work in Canterlot. By comparison, I am not a demanding teacher. In fact, just a simple look around and you can see that life here is not at all demanding. And so I reflect that. As such, I want you to spend the day experiencing the island for yourself.”
That took her off guard, to say the least. Sunset couldn’t recall a time she trained or taught with such little structure. It would certainly drive Twilight mad, while Sunset was certain Trixie would just go back to her room or wander off into town. Not like that didn’t happen when there was structure, anyway. “If that’s how you want to proceed,” Sunset finally said after mulling it over. The guards were already on their way down from their huts when she turned to leave.
They exchanged greetings when they passed, but it seemed that the usually serious stallions were a lot more relaxed. In any case, Sunset had her instructions. She believed that everything would fit into a grander narrative of what she was to learn while in the Isles. She wandered along the trail, looking about her surroundings.
---
Dinner was a raucous affair. Unlike the quaint breakfast she had this morning, it almost seemed like the whole village was in attendance. Along with a diverse platter was a whole assortment of drinks that the guards more than happily imbibed. They exchanged drinking songs and more than enough of their favorite games.
The following day went much the same as the day before. Sunset had breakfast with Wakea and his daughter, then he beckoned her to explore the island. She indulged his request with a more overt reluctance.
Rather than stroll along the beach Sunset chose to head inland where the dinner feast was held. She followed along the trail she first took when she arrived on the island and came upon what seemed to be the marketplace. There was much more activity in the village than what she initially thought. It wasn’t that big of a surprise, given the number of ponies in attendance at dinner.
---
When Wakea told her yet again to explore the island, the frustration was palpable. It was unmistakable that he sensed it. “Take me along and tell me what you see. What you feel.”
She just barely managed to keep from rolling her eyes. “Sure.” At least today it would be marginally different, she figured. She still trusted that since this was an assignment from the Princess that what she was to learn here was important. She had to believe it. She did believe it.
She decided to take him to one of her points of interest that wasn't too far. At a purposeful trot it took Sunset about ten to fifteen minutes to reach the nearby lagoon, which afforded an enviable view of the shoreline. It was a sight that Sunset was slowly straining to enjoy, as without telling her Wakea decided to take a leisurely stroll. It took about half an hour for him to finally arrive. It was another five minutes before he asked, "What do you see here? I am interested to learn what you know about it. What you think and how you feel about it."
"It's a lagoon," she answered, tapping her hoof as she had been doing while waiting for him to arrive. She took note of her behavior and promptly stilled her restless leg, continuing her explanation. “Lagoons are shallow bodies of water separated from the ocean by sandbars, barrier islands, or coral reefs. The protective sandbars, barrier islands, or coral reefs protect the lagoon from storm surges and other strong ocean waves.Coastal lagoons are brackish, with water that is less saline than the ocean but not entirely fresh.” She glanced upward when movement caught her eye. Sunset wasn't sure of the scientific name of the pair of birds circling overhead.
Wakea had yet to tell her to stop, so she decided to deliver everything she knew on the subject with as much feigned enthusiasm as possible. Hopping onto a nearby boulder, Sunset began to regale her alleged teacher, putting on a big smile for good measure. “This lagoon in particular is an atoll lagoon. Atoll lagoons are similar to coastal lagoons. Instead of being sheltered by sandbars or barrier islands, however, atoll lagoons are protected by coral reefs. Atoll lagoons form as coral reefs form around volcanic islands. Over millions of years, the island subsides into the ocean. The ring of coral reefs, however, remain. The reefs become the atoll, protecting an enclosed lagoon where the volcano used to be.”
With a hop, skip and a jump, Sunset moved to another boulder and continued on her lecture, undaunted by Wakea’s stoic attention. “Atoll lagoons are marine ecosystems. The organisms found in atoll lagoons are usually the same ones found outside it. Because of the ringing atoll, many lagoons have few indigenous species at all. Organisms, such as fish and jellies, surf in as waves from the ocean crash over the atoll and dump them in the lagoon. Many species of jellies thrive in this protected environment, but larger predators have few food resources.
“The water of atoll lagoons are often a striking light blue due to their shallow depth and their interaction with limestone. Coral reefs and coral sand are made of limestone, the remains of billions of tiny coral exoskeletons. As limestone leaches into the lagoon, it turns the water bright blue.” Satisfied that she gave him more information than he ever would have known before, Sunset patiently awaited Wakea’s response.
His response came right away. "Your knowledge of the world around you is superficial," he said with a sigh.
Sunset was surprised by how irritated she was to hear that, not to mention to see how Wakea even shook his head. "Excuse me?" She asked for clarification.
"You think differently, do you?"
“Yes, in fact, I do,” she replied sternly.
“You’re very good at parroting what you can find in a library, Ms. Shimmer. Next time, I very much hope you can learn something on your own, rather than just recite what you’ve memorized.” With that, Wakea left Sunset speechless and headed back to the pavilion.
Sunset galloped along the shoreline, feeling her hooves sink into the sand in every stride. She pushed forward, fighting as best she could to keep momentum. She panted and felt her form grow sluggish. Her legs dragged against the sand more and more. Her eyes settled on a pair of coconut trees about twenty feet ahead and she designated them as her makeshift finish line. With that settled, Sunset took off into a sprint until she passed the coconut trees. The feel of the morning ocean mist helped cool her off somewhat as she managed into a trot to her starting point nearby. She let out a long exhale before guzzling down the coconut filled with fresh water and pulp she had set aside before her exercise, and let out a more satisfied sigh after quenching her thirst.
There was a direct link to one’s well being and the effectiveness of their magic circuits. Breathing control was of the utmost importance in spell casting, after all. Running also helped Sunset manage her stress. At least, somewhat. Being active rather than idly contemplating nature for hours at a time did plenty to calm her anxiety, though it would be much better in the longer run to deal with the source of her nervousness instead of treating the symptoms.
In her tired state, Sunset proceeded to muster as much focus she could to produce a partition around herself. The battle at Neighagra Falls made it quite clear to her that one of her biggest weaknesses was her endurance. Since then she put as much effort as she could to push past her boundaries, while also going out of her comfort zone when it came to the study of magic. The water element, for example. Of course, dealing with Wakea’s demands for some sort of “communing with nature” was also putting her off balance.
There were missteps to be sure, but even when she stumbled, Sunset knew ahead of time what the end goal of her efforts was.
---
Instead of having breakfast at the patio Sunset made her way to the market. What she purchased wasn’t all too different from what she could have gotten for free, but having a bit more time away from Wakea was worth it. Nowhere near as large or bustling as what can be found in Canterlot, the islanders made do at the decidedly rustic collection of stalls with the products of various trades and crafts meant to be sold to each other as well as those from neighboring islands. Goods from farther away sometimes made their appearance but more often than not it was a reliable number of tourists every season that took something that reminded them of the islands back with them.
"Ah, Ms. Shimmer! Come check out my wares!" Sunset walked over to a boisterous merchant who waved her over to his stand near the food vendors and looked over the new wood carvings and other knick knacks he had on display. She first came across the stand a couple of days ago, drawn partly out of curiosity and partly by the enticing smell of the food stalls nearby.
Lono flashed a wide smile at her interest in his newest knick knack. “This is a tiki.” He began his sales pitch in earnest, pushing the item forward on the table towards her. “Carved by yours truly, and blessed by none other than Madame Pele!” Sunset nodded as the energetic islander continued. “Depending on the blessing it receives, a tiki can provide any number of effects. Good luck, increased stamina, you name it.”
Sunset figured it was like enchanting an object for greater durability. Glancing back at the little figurine, she could somewhat pick up magic emanating from the object. It was much fainter than what could be perceived from a spell cast on it, And yet, it also seemed a bit more resilient to erosion than a spell.
An idea came to mind as she had been wracking her brain the last few days as to what to get the girls. “Would it be possible to make one for, say, focus while studying? Or...a successful performance?”
“Hmmm...I don’t see why not,” he said after a bit of thought. “Is that what you're looking to get? It'll take a bit to do another carving and have it blessed, but it shouldn't take more than a week.”
“The two examples are exactly what I'm looking for, Lono,” she said happily.
“Hmmm, I can't say I'm familiar with any pule for those in particular, cuz, but I'll ask for you.”
Sunset smiled in relief. “Mahalo, Lono.”
“A‘ole, cuz,” he replied with happy laughter. “I guarantee you’ll have it with you before you step off the island.”
---
While lazing about on the flat surface of a rock jutting out into the lagoon, Sunset tugged at a stick, wondering why the crab was so earnest in holding on the other end. It appeared not too long ago while she was trying to find something interesting to contemplate, though it wasn’t the first time she had seen this crustacean. She didn’t know how, but Sunset was sure it was the same crab she had seen before.
As she continued the mock tug-of-war, a voice called out to her from afar. "So this is where you've been, Sunset." She took minimum notice of Wakea's presence before her attention returned to the feisty crustacean before her. “I see I’m intruding,” he said, unable to hold back from grinning after watching such a strange situation unfold before him.
“No, it’s not a problem,” Sunset said. She let out a sigh and looked away from the tug-of-war contest still going on. It wasn’t like it took much concentration on her part of keep hold of the stick with her magic. “Is something the matter?”
He shook his head while looking on in interest at the events play out before him. “I just wished to see your progress,” Wakea explained. “I felt some...frustration...in our last exchange. If there’s anything I can do to make amends…?”
Seemingly surprised by this admission Sunset recognized she was staring wide-eyed and felt exonerated with her feelings. There was a mix of guilt over how petty she must have been and she shook her head. “No, there’s no need, Wakea. I should be the one seeking amends. I’m used to being...well, praised for every little thing. I guess I was just being self-entitled.”
Wakea wordlessly nodded. “Your recognition of your faults is praiseworthy, Ms. Shimmer. Your mother has raised a fine daughter.”
Sunset felt a blush heat up her cheeks from the unexpected compliment and she lost control of her magic levitating the stick. “Wow, uh...that was...thanks, I guess? You don’t have to go that far.” In a rush she looked around in hopes to change the subject.
"Progress...progress...uh…well, this little annoyance showed up about a week ago. I named him Bubbles." Sunset didn’t bother with telling him the story of how she came across it during one of her morning runs. It had claimed the coconut she set aside and was pretty persistent no matter how far she floated it away with her magic.
"I see," he said with a nod. He remained silent for a moment, watching her amuse herself before speaking out once more. "You are much more engaged with your surroundings than before.”
"Am I?" She lifted the stick up with her magic, bringing the crab up as well. Rather than lose its grip, it was the stick that failed under the pressure of Bubble’s claws and it snapped into pieces, causing the crab to drop harmlessly onto her head.
She yelped in surprise while it scrambled into her mane as though it was a coral reef. “H-hey, get out, you bug!”
Though technically giving into her demand, the crab scuttled away from Sunset's mane and along the slope of her back, out of her field of vision for a moment, then promptly clamped its claw on her tail. She felt the tug and yelped in surprise. She lifted her tail, now only half-paying attention to Wakea's presence as she dealt with the annoying crustacean interloper. “You realize that was a mistake, right?”
Bubbles clacked its free claw, staring silently back at her.
Wakea couldn’t help but laugh at this point in time, his expectations completely dashed by how the young mare before him was acting now. “What a fine relationship you’ve developed, Ms. Shimmer!” he said mid-chuckle.
Made more self aware by how she must have looked, Sunset lowered her tail in order for Bubbles to return to the ground, blushing all the while. Turning to face her, the crab snapped its claws before skittering into the water like it had the last time she saw it. Without realizing it, Sunset lifted her hoof to wave goodbye.
Still smiling, Wakea began to say, “The people of this island, we all learn from the time we are born to have a relationship with nature. Not just the animals, but the rocks and trees; the water and sky. Everything is connected. Both living and not. Animate and inanimate. This force is called-..."
"Mana, of course," Sunset interrupted.
He blinked and nodded. "Ah. It's good you know that term. Mana. Please, explain."
It was her turn to blink. Sunset paused for a moment to prepare herself to do her best Twilight impersonation in hopes of recalling what she learned. To start things off, she brought her hoof to her temple, miming the act of adjusting a pair of glasses on her snout, before saying, “Mana, a sacred force in the direct universe that can be harnessed by all, but is most prominent in living things. While unicorns and alicorns can use it in the most obvious way, pegasi use it in order to walk on clouds and control the weather, and Earth ponies are only as strong as they are because of it.
“Some may call it power, others may refer to it as the bond that ties the spiritual and physical borders of our world together. It is a spiritual quality considered a sacred impersonal force existing in the universe by others.” She puffed out her chest in pride and awaited to hear how impressed he was.
"That explanation, Ms. Sunset," he began to say in a tone quite reminiscent of when she first took him to the lagoon, "is mediocre."
Sunset was baffled and freely scowled. Was it a mistake not to dumb it down, or something?
“You may be very good at reciting Twilight’s Sparkle’s ‘Sociological Approach to Mana and Magic’, but you have yet to explain it to me in your own words.”
She was definitely surprised by Wakea’s familiarity with Twilight’s work, but didn't want to change the subject. “Why don’t you take a crack at it,” she muttered under her breath, choosing to look away as her mood darkened.
Her complaint didn’t go unheard, as much as she meant it to be. In response, Wakea explained simply, “Thousands of years ago, the ancestors took notice of the great force that nature could bring to the islands in thunder, storms, or wind. Over time, it was realized that there was an energy that connected us all. To have mana is to have influence and authority, because it can be obtained in one of two ways: through ‘love’ or ‘hate’. That is mana.”
He said one more thing before he left, as though he sensed just how much Sunset was chomping at the bit to have the last word. “I suggest you get as much sleep as possible. Tomorrow’s lesson begins quite early.”
---
As promised, Sunset woke up just before dawn and met Wakea for breakfast. Even this early in the morning there was quite a sizable platter to choose from. After finishing, Wakea led the two of them toward the base of the volcano at the center of the island. Sunset recalled walking by this area a number of times during her “self study”, always feeling somewhat drawn to it without knowing why.
“There is no surprise in my mind. It is the most sacred place on the island, after all,” he said, commenting on her experience. “A great concentration of mana is contained within. You will be one of the privileged few to be invited to the cavern up above.”
“I’m...honored…?” was all she could say, not really sure whether it was because of Princess Celestia’s influence, or for some other reason. She still felt somewhat frustrated with him for yesterday, but held her tongue. They proceeded onward, traveling up a well worn path that became steeper and steeper until they reached the cavern entrance about halfway up the volcano’s side. The distinct sour smell of sulfur—like rotten eggs—affronted her nostrils the moment they entered the cavern and walked deeper toward the center.
Next she felt waves of heat bearing down onto her; Sunset likened it to an oven getting ready to bake. But besides the heat, she realized how peaceful it was inside the cavern. She closed her eyes and stopped in place for a moment, feeling absolutely no magical interference from the outside world. She couldn’t remember the last time she felt such a serene calm. “It’s just like a partition,” Sunset remarked and opened her eyes.
Wakea nodded. “Very good insight,” he said, then had her follow him just a little ways more to the central chamber of the volcano. “Without even trying, you can feel it. We are nestled within the very energies of the world, which acts like a natural partition.”
She was taken aback by the ease he had in using those terms but stopped short of voicing it aloud.
"Give it a try," he said. "Meditating here."
"What am I supposed to meditate on?" She asked.
"Try to converse with the world," he suggested after a moment of thought.
Sunset sat on her haunches and did what came naturally to her. The moment she closed her eyes, however, the differences were immediately obvious. Compared with the less-than-perfect partitions she’d make in Canterlot, Sunset felt absolutely no magic from the outside. It was actually a disturbing feeling, as though sitting in a complete vacuum. Her eyes opened so she could recenter herself as she was already feeling some fatigue.
As she’d make the comparison before, artificial partitions were akin to being in a high altitude environment. She had done plenty of training under such circumstances, becoming more and more comfortable and able to cast spells and even spar with the princess. But only just after a few minutes of contemplation—actually, she wasn’t sure exactly how much time had passed since she saw Wakea sitting in a different place than she’d remembered—Sunset already knew how difficult it would be to cast the simplest of spells in the volcano cavern.
To test this, Sunset closed her eyes and concentrated on the image of a candle and lighting the wick with a gathering of mana. However, her deep seated doubts were realized when nothing happened and her fire spell failed to produce anything at all. The wick remained unlit. Rather than get frustrated, however, Sunset accepted the challenge with a smirk on her face as she took another calming breath.
Wakea nodded in approval, feeling the erratic swirls of Sunset’s aura slowly begin to rearrange themselves. What he saw were the jumbled energies of a confused youth still trying to find herself, yes, but he could also sense something else entirely. Despite his vast experience it was something he was unfamiliar with. If even Celestia herself needed his help to identify it, Wakea knew to be wary.
Sunset let out a frustrated sigh as she rolled onto her stomach, feeling the rocky protrusions of the ground poke at her. As she stood up, she heard Wakea’s voice clear as day despite how the rest of the world around her, such as the roiling lava, was muffled by the natural power of the volcano’s partition. “Trust in your senses, Sunset,” Wakea said.
She huffed, “How can I ‘trust my senses’ when I can’t sense anything in the first place?”
“It’s simple, Ms. Shimmer. You focus.” he replied, full of certainty. He took a deep breath in and out and traced his hoof up and down the center of his body as he continued. “Focus with everything you have. Knowing this, the rest is easy!”
“Hmph. Simple doesn’t mean easy.” she said under her breath.
“No, it certainly does not. Nonetheless, I implore you to try again” Wakea instructed. By this point, Sunset didn’t care whether or not Wakea heard her. The sound dampening effects didn’t seem to prevent him from offering her his ‘pearls of wisdom.’ While short of thinking he could actually read her mind, Sunset just wanted to be done with this game. “Don’t forget to turn around. The hurdle is right behind you.”
“Yeah, yeah,” she dismissed. On top of being unable to use her magic, it certainly didn’t help that she was blindfolded, which served to make her heartbeat and breathing seem louder and got in the way of her attempts to pay attention to her surroundings. Sunset went back to the starting point then proceeded forward yet again. Reluctance hung heavy in her mind, but she still took step after measured step, relying on the memory of her past failures more than attempting to search around with her currently limited abilities. “Where are you?” she asked rhetorically, inching closer and closer to the hurdle.
She couldn’t help but feel skeptical about Wakea’s instruction for the last few days. She found it near impossible to use her magic to “see” while inside the Sacred Chamber, which was the source of the island’s energies. Her readings mentioned how volcanoes, especially older kinds such as the one that made the Southern Isles’ main island, were natural outlets of the Earth’s magic. They were connected to major ley lines, veins pulsing with energy throughout the world like the magical circuits in a pony’s body. To try to cast a spell within such a phenomenon was akin to trying to speak at a normal volume while next to a concert loudspeaker set to eleven, blaring the most recent Sapphire Shores single.
Without telegraphing that she was essentially as blind as a bat, Sunset took one step back before starting her approach. She sped up to a canter, keeping her stride steady, and then reached forward and down with her neck to lower her forehead and center of mass. She counted down in her head then suddenly strutted her forelegs in front of her body, effectively braking in place. The moment her hind legs carried under her body and began to push against the ground, Sunset lifted her forelegs up and hoped to successfully leap over the unseen bar propped up in her way.
It went exactly as she feared it would.
“Ow…” She groaned, rolling onto her back. From the way breathing hurt, Sunset expected a bruised rib at the very least. .Frustrated, Sunset pulled off the blindfold and caught Wakea’s tepid expression.
“I feel that we’ve made as much progress as we could today,” Wakea said, patting Sunset’s shoulder to ease her frustration. “Tomorrow, you are to focus on resting. While you are fond of taking runs on your day off, I suggest that you take it easy, instead. We will reconvene here early the following day, and you will try to use your magic to navigate the obstacle, okay?”
Getting back up to her hooves, Sunset politely nodded and made her way outside. She wanted nothing more than to be out of the cavern, anyway. As it had happened plenty of times before, the sudden rush of blinding light made Sunset growl out and squeeze her eyes tight. The headaches she got whenever she left the cave couldn’t possibly be a sign that she was improving, right? Not to mention the stench that stuck to her coat and mane. She could do without smelling like rotten eggs everyday.
The first fresh breath of air in hours was less comfortable than she imagined, but it still brought a smile to her face. Instead of a shower, Sunset figured that tonight she could use a long soak in the bath. It may not have been all that long since she began training with Wakea, but Sunset was exhausted, mentally and physically. Not to mention the fact that every session left her more and more frustrated.
As for what she was going to do on her “day off”, well, there was only one thing she could think of that would relieve her stress...
---
She tapped her hoof. Bubbles snapped its pincer.
Hoof tap. Spin around. Rear up.
Pincer snap. Hobble in a circle. The process repeated itself for a few more rounds until Bubbles finally toppled backwards.
“Ha! I win,” Sunset giggled as she righted the crab with a simple use of her magic. She couldn’t help but grin when the crustacean seemed to excitedly snap its claws at her. “A rematch, really? This late in the game?”
Amidst the crashing waves, a voice called out, “Hi, Sunset! How’s your training with Father going?”
Sunset turned around and looked at Snapdragon, who set her longboard onto the ground. She couldn’t help but feel impressed by the skills the islanders had in navigating the waves on what were pretty much planks of wood. Just as impressive was the quality of the boards themselves. At first glance, they looked quite plain, but on closer inspection Sunset could see how finely hewn and manually shaped what was once a large piece of wood had become. She had expected intricate carvings and gaudy baubles all over but was pleased to find how practicality was the focus. “I wouldn’t really call it ‘training’,” was Sunset’s reply.
“Is it that you’re having trouble with reading aura?” Snapdragon asked. “I remember having a hard time with it myself when I first started.” She tilted her head and watched with baited breath for Sunset’s answer.
From the look on the filly’s face, Sunset realized that she must have let a bit of frustration slip into her tone. Sunset blinked. “Reading aura?” she repeated aloud, trying to discern what Snapdragon meant.
Sunset’s confusion dissuaded the filly from pursuing any further. “Oh. I guess that’s not what you and father are doing, then…”
“If that’s what I have to look forward to, I guess I haven’t even gotten that far. We’re still at the ‘make a clown of myself’ portion of training,” she said, batting away a pebble into the nearby lagoon. She recalled the numerous times she fell flat on her face trying to jump the hurdle. “Maybe I should just join a circus or something.” Sunset figured that if she’d never understand Wakea wanted her to learn. The more she thought about it, the more the circus life seemed appealing. With a bit more practice, she could even give Trixie and her magic shows a run for her money.
“I don’t really understand what you mean, but I’m sure you’ll get it, Sunset!” Snapdragon paused to glance at the volcano in the distance and seemed to have been struck by inspiration. “You must remember the fact that father has already recognized so much of you, already! In fact, very few ponies even get the opportunity to train with my father or Madame Pele, much less to do so in the Sacred Chamber. That’s something not even I’ve had the honor of. You see, my sister and father would spend much time together in the Sacred Chamber. She is his successor, after all. Well, not to mention that she’s talented. Which means you’re very talented!”
“Yeah, I guess.”
Sunset was told all her life that she was talented, that she had a responsibility to manage her innate magical strength and potential for the sake of everyone’s safety. But everywhere she turned, Sunset found herself confronted by ponies much stronger than her, all achieving feats that she couldn’t even imagine were possible.
“Have you made any of your own spells, Sunset? I can only imagine what sorts of ideas you have given how good you are with fire. I’ve found that making a few of my own spells helped transitioning to other elements that much easier. There are a few water-based spells that I’m really proud of.”
While Twilight’s voice echoed in Sunset’s thoughts Snapdragon continued, the other pony’s half-hearted reply had gone unnoticed. “My sister had an exceptional affinity to wield mana in so many ways. She was able to help wayward sailors that were lost and stranded, locate ponies that became stranded after terrible storms. There was even a time she was called upon to placate an angry volcano that was going to erupt before it was supposed to!”
Even Trixie succeeded in making that Phoenix Fire spell of hers.
A ball of light, as though a brilliant fire was condensed into an orb, struck against the soldier and adhered to his armor before exploding in a show of light and heat. The stallion was dizzied and frantic from the effects of the flash and subsequent blast of oppressive heat, striking out around him in a haphazard manner in obvious show of blind panic.
“I get it…” Sunset muttered out, gritting her teeth.
“Just like my sister, you can communicate well with animals. She made so many friends around the island. Like otters and seals—oh, even the ones on the other islands, too!”
“Alright, that’s…”
“There are so many different animals that vary from island to island. Would you like to come meet them?”
“Just listen when…”
“I’m sure you’ll get along just like my sister d-”
“Well that’s great and all, but I’m not your sister! I’m never going to be your sister, so just stop it with your obsession over her!”
Snapdragon stopped, her eyes wide.
“Listen.” Sunset sighed, catching herself before she said anything else she’d regret. “I...appreciate what you’re trying to do, but that’s enough.”
“I’m...just trying to help,” she whispered guiltily. Her ears pinned low against her head. She couldn’t bring herself to look up from the ground. “I—I’ll leave you alone now...” Snapdragon meekly said before galloping off.
Sunset hadn’t even spent that much time with the filly in the first place. Yet, there was an ever-familiar feeling wrenching her insides. She sighed in an effort to relieve the uncomfortable sensation. “What did Twilight’s books say about stuff like this?” Sunset asked herself.
--
Overlooking the water, Sunset sat on the edge of the lagoon. She felt an unnatural chill, one that made Sunset’s hairs stand on end despite the temperate weather. She couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong, and her attention immediately went toward the volcano where a thick chimney of ash had already begun to darken the skies.
“Sunset, we must depart,” she heard Wakea call out to her. She turned around to see the stallion approach. “It is much too dangerous to stay.”
“Is there something going on with the volcano?” she asked.
He nodded grimly “Indeed. The portents are both grave and unclear. Whatever the cause. It is...not natural,” he said. “Madame Pele has thus issued a warning for everyone to leave the island.”
“Right. Makes sense,” Sunset said as she stood up.
He looked around. “Where is my daughter?” Just as he asked that, a sudden screech of birds in the distance was followed by a low rumble which made the both of them brace themselves. When nothing followed, the two shared glances. Before Wakea could say anything further, however, Sunset suddenly ran off in the direction of the volcano. “Where are you going?”
“To get Snapdragon!” She screamed, not looking back. The trees zoomed past in a blur as her focus was entirely on what was ahead. All around her the shrieks and calls of birds and other wildlife grew louder and louder, all indicating that they were going opposite of the danger she was deliberately running toward. Something was telling her that the young filly she had scared away was at the volcano, in the Sacred Chamber. Sunset galloped up the trail, heading to the cavern.
There was a violent shudder all around her, causing Sunset to tumble back and slip on the loose gravel under her hooves. She yelped but fought to regain her footing. Clenching her jaw tightly, Sunset pressed forward into the volcano.
“Help! Someone! Anyone!” A faint call echoed through the cavern, and Sunset galloped ahead toward it and through the antechamber until she reached the main entrance to the volcano shrine.
Sunset was stunned to discover that the volcanic lava was much higher than before, roiling and bubbling loudly, threatening to erupt at any minute. Her stomach churned from the way the air swirled around the cavern, making her feel as if she was riding a flying carriage through turbulence. “Snapdragon!”
“Sunset!”
Through the wavy haze, Sunset managed to spot the filly trapped on what was once a bridge, now a precarious island in the middle of the lava lake. “I’m going to get you out of here, I promise!”
“Sunset, no!” She shook her head and pleaded. “My dad will know what to do!” The moment Snapdragon said that, the platform toppled and tilted onto its long edge, making the filly screech in terror.
"No!" Sunset screamed, leaping toward one of the few rocks protruding above the magma flow to use as as a step. She desperately looked around until she finally spotted another boulder and jumped to it then once more to reach where Snapdragon was. As quickly as she could, Sunset placed the filly onto her back and actively produced a shield for her, concentrating to retain its form as best she could. The fluctuating strength of the partition was unpredictable but she had plenty of other worries to deal with at the moment. The simmering pot of lava began to stir more violently as Sunset retreated back towards the entrance, cautiously skipping from stone to stone. Lava swallowed up the path behind her, and she began to panic. Her eyes could barely sift through the billowing black smog enveloping the rocks around her.
Finding it harder to breathe, Sunset gulped and peered as best she could through the heat-induced haze. But just as she regained her vision, she saw that there were no more stepping stones she could use to get across without grave injury. She cursed under her breath. There was simply no other way to get to the mouth of the cavern.
She racked at her brain for a solution. The lava continued to rise, and she didn’t know how much time she had left. Even if she could have extended the shield to include herself, Sunset knew that it would strain the overall strength of the spell. The lava surrounding them was imbued with mana from the leyline that crossed under the volcano. She could feel interruptions to her shield every time lava from the rising tide of molten rock splashed against it.
Looking at the exit in the distance, Sunset wished she could just fly them over there. “No.” Even if she knew a self levitation spell, much less one to grow wings, Sunset didn’t think she had enough magic to keep up two active spells at the same time. Worse, still, was the unpredictable frequency of the chamber’s effects on her magic. “Wait!” She recalled the idea of cloud walking. Griffons and pegasi did it naturally, interacting with the environment without needing to cast any spells.. Thinking about it, lava was much denser than a cloud. It was also hundreds to a couple thousands of degrees hotter. ‘Still, given the alternative…’ She shook away the thought and instead set her mind toward concentrating mana in her hooves.
“You can do it, Sunset,” she said to herself. “It’s just going to hurt. Really, really bad. That’s all it is. Simple. Oh boy.” She extended her leg, trying her best to imagine herself simply dipping her hoof into a lake. Of lava. Sunset winced and clutched her foreleg against her barrel. “C’mon, c’mon, she’s counting on you!” she hissed out.
The cavern shook violently once again, causing parts of the ceiling to crash into the lava and splash molten rock all around them. Snapdragon cried out in terror, and she felt the blasts of heat, and luckily nothing else so far, penetrate the barrier.
Hearing the filly’s shriek, Sunset immediately ignored every instinct screaming at her in her mind not to move forward. She couldn’t afford to think even for a moment at the risk of hesitating. She extended her leg once more and took her first step.
Though it was awkward at first, Sunset managed to find purchase on the constantly shifting surface, enough to take a few more steps until she was fully off the isolated patch of rock.
On the way to the exit, the first thing she noticed was the nauseating stench of burning skin and searing hairs. Once it registered, the pain shot up her leg like lightning. The shock to her nerves was instantaneous. Sunset howled throughout the caverns, her roars competing against the erupting volcano for dominance. Realizing that she was screaming, she did her best to restrain it, turning it into a stifled growl.
“Sunset!” the filly’s voice echoed from within the protective barrier.
“Th-this is nothing,” Sunset just barely managed to stammer out. “You’re...you’re going to be alright, Snapdragon. I promise.” She trudged forward and clenched her jaw tightly as the searing heat made each step worse and worse. She focused on getting Snapdragon to the exit. When the sharp, jagged pains in her legs made that goal seem harder and harder, she focused instead on making it toward a set of rocks just barely jutting out of the lava, just a little over a few feet away.
From there on, she could see the cavern entrance up ahead within a short gallop’s reach. She managed to reach the makeshift platform but immediately collapsed from the exhaustion and sheer agony of the mind numbing pain. Just a few more steps and Snapdragon would be safe enough to escape the volcano on her own. She clenched her eyes, panting and wheezing and just needing a short break. She wanted to just sleep, to just hope for rescue. But even without looking, she could sense the magma continue to rise. “Need to...keep going…” Sunset managed to say, pushing herself up to get Snapdragon to safety. “No different...than my beach runs…” She smiled to herself.. ‘Maybe if each grain of sand was a piece of glass, sure’
Her concentration slipped for a short moment when she laughed at the thought, letting her left hoof touch the magma directly without a layer of mana to protect it. Sunset howled and nearly fell face first. She heard Snapdragon screaming and willed out more mana in order to envelop her leg before slamming her left knee onto the lava’s surface. She fought with all her might not to completely buckle, but she was unable to recover.
‘Get up!’
Sunset struggled to stand. Her legs were trembling, and she gasped for breath in the intense heat of the cavern. Her concentration was split between maintaining the barrier at its maximum strength while also keeping enough mana in her hooves to stay above the surface, but she was sinking more and more as the seconds passed..
‘I said to get up, already!’
‘I’m...trying…’ Sunset hissed through gritted teeth. ‘I’m…’ She forcibly swallowed her desire to whine as her tears evaporated the moment they touched her cheek.
‘I never said anything about trying, did I? No. I didn’t. I told you to get up. Her life depends on it. Focus with everything you have. Now get. Up!"
“Don’t look!” Sunset shouted, making the filly shriek and quickly bury her face against the mare’s nape as though trying to hide. Through her gritted teeth she proclaimed, “I said...I’m getting you...out of here…” With a pained growl Sunset fought to move forward and planted her front left hoof onto the magma once more. “Just keep your eyes closed, kid! We’re almost there!” She felt Snapdragon nod in harried acceptance.
Sunset thought only of moving forward. Of reaching the exit. Of getting Snapdragon to safety. Even though the heat was incredible. Even if she knew she’d never see her friends and family again. Especially because Sunset felt that her mother would do the exact same thing in her place.
The moment she felt solid ground beneath her feet, Sunset collapsed. She sensed Snapdragon hop to safety and heard her scream and sob. What she was saying was anyone’s guess.
Just as the world around her cut to black, she heard a serene voice whisper, ‘Heh. You did it. Your efforts finally paid off! Don’t worry. I’ll take it from here…’
---
A calm ocean breeze caressed Sunset in kind warmth. Her eyes opened and she looked around. “Huh? Where...am I?” Sunset groaned.
“We are in your hut,” Wakea answered. From the corner of her eye, she spotted him sitting hunched over a basket while carving an apple. With some effort, she lifted and turned her head to confirm it was him before lying back down.
“No, that can’t be...” she slowly said with some hesitation. Sunset looked up at the straw hut’s ceiling for a moment, sensing that something was off. It wasn't a matter of simply looking around for anything that was amiss. It was something more basic. Somehow she knew that the very flow of magical energies around her was acting in a completely different way. She hadn’t even realized it until that moment. “We’re on a different island.”
He grunted in approval of her observation. “It’s not uncommon, and I hope it remains a part of this island’s life for many years to come. Like our ancestors of my great grandfather’s generation, we’ve taken refuge on the surrounding islands until the lava flows have cooled down to return.”
“That’s awful,” she exclaimed. “What about your homes?”
He gave a slow chuckle. “No concern is needed. The size of the island will expand, not to mention the soil will be all the more fertile. It will all work out.” When he tried to offer an apple slice she nudged it away.
“Where is Snapdragon? Is she okay?” Sunset asked. She waited with baited breath, but her anxiety was quickly dissipating from watching his calm demeanor.
Wakea ate the slice for himself then carved another. “She is fine—tired, after helping with the evacuation and spending hours in worry over you, but fine nonetheless.” He nodded toward the sleeping filly at the foot of the bed. Relief washed over Sunset, and she exhaled the tension out of her body.
Standing sentry on the covers nearby, Bubbles snapped its claws.
“Heh. Glad to see you made it too,” Sunset greeted the crab warmly. Bubbles excitedly snapped its claws in response.
“What happened to your fiery attitude, hmm?” Wakea asked, offering her a slice again.
A self derisive chuckle escaped her lips and she took the offering with her magic. “I’ve...had enough fire for a while…”
“Indeed, you must rest. For in a month's time, you will return to Canterlot.”
She blinked and sat up. “A month? It only took half a day to get here in the first place.”
A wide smile stretched his mouth from ear to ear. “That is true. But surely, since you’ve taken the time to learn some of our language and even a bit of our history, your readings have informed you that the celebration of passing our sacred rite takes one whole month to do?”
Sunset’s ears flattened. “You’re kidding me.”
“I do not kid, tamahine o te puia,” he said with a gravelly chuckle. “I hope you have a large appetite. Tonight, the feast begins!”
She looked over her hooves and saw that now there wasn’t so much as a burn. “Tamahine o te puia...Daughter of the Volcano? Hmph.” Her expression pensive, Sunset took a bite of the apple slice.
Princess Celestia had long understood that life was precious, but it wasn't until now that she really felt how delicate it was.
The little foal carried in her forelegs yawned and squirmed about, causing Celestia to stay perfectly still, as if one wrong move would end in catastrophe.
"Ponies aren't that fragile, Your Majesty," the nearby stallion explained with a chuckle.
Even though she appreciated his attempt to assure her, Celestia puffed out her cheeks and sent a warning glare, as she felt especially vulnerable to his brand of teasing at the moment. The stallion in question looked back toward her with an unflinching gaze, eventually making the mare break eye contact first. To cover up her growing embarrassment, she chose to glance back to the sleeping foal, hoping to dote on the child a bit more.
"And that foal you saved isn't fragile, Your Majesty,” he said to repeat his sentiment. “In fact she's healing at quite an extraordinary rate."
Indeed, the cuts and bruises hidden under the foal's coat were nearly gone, much to the princess’ relief. There was a bit of concern over what effect magic would have on the child, but Celestia supposed that the injuries weren't life threatening.
“I know,” she said, regaining her composure just by looking at the sleeping child. “I just can’t help but worry.”
“It’s that sort of attitude that guarantees you’ll be a great mother. Just make sure not to stress yourself too much, please? I can only do so much as the Royal Physician.”
Celestia quickly looked at the dark blue-coated pony. “Do you...mean that? About me being a great mother?”
“I swear on my great grandfather’s name, Your Highness. His beard, even.”
“That won’t be necessary, Crescent,” Celestia said, just barely managing to suppress her laughter.
“Well, if there’s anything else you need, I’ll be at home.” He paused to yawn while gathering his things into his saddlebags. “The missus wouldn’t be happy about me coming home late again this week, but she never said anything about being called back for a summons.”
“Goodnight, Crescent Moon,” Celestia said with a wry chuckle.
“Goodnight, Your Majesty.” After giving a respectful bow, the stallion made sure to leave the room as quietly as possible, taking care to gently close the door behind him.
Even though she knew she could trust him in great confidence, Celestia waited until she was alone with the foal. “Did you know, little Sunset? You mean the world to me because you’re all that I have left." Her voice quivered as she spoke, but at the same time it felt like a great weight was lifted off her chest. Celestia brushed back the yellow and red beginnings of the foal's mane with a tender touch of her hoof "I'll do my utmost to make sure you grow up into a proper lady. One that can take a joke. One that cares for friends and loved ones. One who understands the burden of responsibility because for good or for bad...you have enormous potential. You won't be alone, of course. I will stay with you all our days together, my little Sunset. I promise."
