Twilight pulled herself out of bed. Brushing her mane straight briskly before she stepped downstairs for breakfast. Her father was in the garden managing the vegetables as she greeted him with sleepy eyes. Her father smiled, obviously having been awake for at least an hour.
“Where's mum?” She asked, stretching our her front leg.
“She's still asleep. She was up all last night working on some magic. Shining's already in there.” He turned back around and continued to tug at the garden.
Twilight could hear Shining Armour already as she stepped carefully into her mother's room. Shining was sighing as he pushed and pulled at his own parent to get her out of bed.
“It's morning already! Get up! You shouldn't push yourself so hard! Jeeze...”
Twilight's magic was weak, but she had excellent control over levitation magic. She pulled open the curtains from the other side of the room, and pulled off her mother's blankets. Her mother rose and walked slowly into the bathroom as Twilight briskly followed.
The two ponies washed up side by side in the bathroom, each working at their own thing. They spoke mumbled words as they brushed their teeth.
“So how's Lyra?” Her mother asked after spitting out the stuff in her mouth.
“She got another love letter. We're pretty sure it's from BonBon.”
“That's what, the third one this week? How cute!” Her mother smiled as she brushed out her hair using her magic. “And miss Cheerilee?”
“Still with Big Mac. She's going pretty well this time.”
“It's good to have a special somepony.” Her mother laughed, finishing up her morning routine.
Twilight was looking at her hoof at a bow that her mother had bought for her. “Should I wear it or not..?”
“Of course you should. It makes you stand out. All the colts will notice you with that on.” She smiled.
“I dunno if I want that...” Twilight laughed as she threaded the ribbon into her hair.
–
Although she had been a little later than usual, the school was a short walk from Twilight's house. She quickly trotted through the clean warm streets letting the early morning light warm up her body. All thoughts of the dream from last night had been washed away by the cleansing light of day. Her eyes searched all around her, admiring the well kept trees and pathways. The air smelt so refreshing and beautiful that she was entranced.
Ahead of her she saw her two best friends. Lyra and Rainbow had spotted her already, waving to her as she came closer.
Rainbow flapped her wings briskly as she nagged Twilight. “You're late, Twi. We were thinking you'd stay home today. Seems not, though.” She smiled and wrapped one hoof around her friend in a relaxed hug. Her eyes settled on the ribbon in Twilight's hair. “Oooh. That ribbon looks good on you. It's the same colour as my eyes!”
“Y-You don't think they stand out too much?” Twilight asked, adjusting the ribbon with her magic nervously.
“No way! You need to look good when you're in public, you know!”
Lyra nodded in agreement. “Almost as good as hands!”
Dash shot a blank look at Lyra as Twilight tilted her head in confusion. “Hands?” Twilight asked.
Dash shook her head briskly and pulled Lyra forward with one hoof. “We're going to be late at this rate, slow unicorns!”
The group laughed lightly, enjoying their short time together before classes.
“I told mum about that letter you got sent!” Twilight grinned. “She thinks it's adorable. BonBon should just ask you out though.”
Lyra blushed and turned her head. “We don't know if it's her yet!” She squeaked.
“I wish I had a girl chasing after me~” Rainbow teased gently, Lyra looked embarrassed.
“I wish I could get a love letter just once...” Twi sighed dreamily.
Dash looked shocked “No way! Twi wants to be popular? I bet that's what the ribbon is all about then. Can't steal my spotlight though!” She leaped forward and playfully jumped on her friend. “I need my best friends at my side when for when I join the Wonderbolts, after all! Not with some colt!~”
“D-Dashie!” Twilight laughed as she stepped to the side trying to avoid Rainbow.
Lyra laughed gently to herself and then looked around. “School's going to start.”
The two ignored her, or simply didn't hear. “You'll have to be tough though,to fend off the attention!~”
“Let go of me! You're ruffling my hair!”
Lyra raised her voice slightly. “Ponies are watching you two..”
“And then we'll go to my private yacht-”
“That's my tail!”
“I AM GOING TO EAT YOUR HANDS.” Lyra shouted, knowing that it would catch their attention.
Dash turned her head and jumped away from Twilight, batting her wings to help her move. “Lyra I told you, hands are an old pony's tale.” She looked around and saw the crowd of colts and mares laughing at them. “Oh..”
–
“And so, when someone tells you that your milkshake was only stirred, what should you say?!” Cheerilee shouted angrily. No one in the class seemed to move.
Twilight was sitting in one of the rows of chairs that were strictly organised inside the glass cubicle of space. Outside this square, many other classes and teachers were working together.
“Didn't go too well with Mac?” Dash turned around and whispered to Twilight.
“Seems not.” She replied with a slight smile as her teacher snapped the pointing rod in her hoof.
She took a moment to walk backwards and sigh. “There's a new mare joining the class today. She was hospitalised just recently so she needs to take it easy.” She turned to the door with the old happy smile. “Come in!”
Four white legs and hooves caught Twilight's attention as they stepped into the classroom, working with practised elegance and precision. The walk, almost strut, was slow and careful, yet the owner of the hooves seemed carefree. Three strips of purple worked their way into Twilight's vision. A mane and tail. Curled to perfection. Beautifully balanced. Twilight shrunk into her seat as she watched in total silence.
The class around her spoke in between themselves as they admired the work of beauty in front of them. Hooves, perfectly polished, hair perfectly set and styled, and those eyelashes!
“B-But I've seen her...” Twilight whispered to herself as she tried to work out what was happening. Time did not allow for thought as Cheerilee spoke again with the same old cheer.
“Introduce yourself to the class, if you will!”
The pony silently nodded and turned to a hanging board behind her. Her horn lit up as she wrote her name in large letters on the board. The lettering was perfection also.
“I am Rarity. Pleased to meet you all.”
The class was silent for a second, then shouted out friendly hello's and the like. Rarity shot a cold stare at Twilight before she walked to her seat, a cold familiarity settling inside her head. It was the same pony, she had no doubt. Minus the scratches and dirt from the dream, it was the perfect image of her.
Rewind a couple thousand years ago this wouldn't be surprising. Back then, magic was strong and could be used for things other than levitation. Pegasi could use their wings to fly, not just glide, and earth ponies had their own magic that shined through different forms. She had read about something similar happening a lot back then, more so in unicorns than any other race. It was a form of telepathy caused by the excess magic in the air. It could tell the future or show the past, show events happening, and could happen when you were awake or asleep. These days magic is rare because it's so much harder to use. The only wizards and witches these days prefer to be called monks and train hours and hours every day non stop.
The last recorded telepathic episode had happened fifty years ago to a witch named Celestia. She was the most powerful witch, in charge of correcting the weather, tides and the sun and moon.
So why did Twilight see this pony?
–
Class had ended for the first two periods, so everyone was left to wander the school until the bell should ring again. Twilight lingered in the classroom along with Dash and Lyra, watching the new pony as she was plagued with questions. Each answer was barely audible from the back of the classroom where the three sat, but they listened nonetheless.
Lyra had been staring at her all day, her magic was at least as strong as the magic dux of the school, so she had very good perception skills. “Rarity doesn't feel right... It's strange.”
Dash furrowed her brow and she turned to Twilight. “Do you know her? She gave you a look that gave me the creeps earlier. Seriously frightening.”
Twilight didn't want to talk about it. At least, not to Rainbow. It was hard for other races to understand the feeling of telepathy, if anyone could understand it would be Lyra. “Maybe. I think I saw her..”
Twilight looked up as Rarity came closer to them, gaze fixed on her. She felt like she needed to get away, very quickly.
“Twilight Sparkle... You're the health monitor, correct?” She asked, eyes still fixed on Twilight.
Twilight's throat tightened somewhat, as she nodded meekly. “I am...”
“Could you accompany me to the nurse's office, please?” She asked darkly, her face creepily blank of any emotion.
Twilight got out of her seat as her two friends looked on. Dash had that fierce grin of hers that said 'if she tries anything, I'll break her in two!'
They walked together in silence, the majority of students watching them. “U-Um... Rarity?”
The white mare turned her head slightly to the side in acknowledgement.
“How did you know I was the health officer?” She asked, subtly trying to get information from the new student.
“Miss Cheerilee told me.”
“Ah... Okay..” Her eyes darted around the hall as she thought of what to say next.
“We can go this way then. Turn -”
“Right?” She asked rhetorically, moving with that same practised precision.
“Y-Yes...”
The halls grew quieter as they crossed the out of bounds line. You were allowed to pass only to see teachers, not to hang out. Nopony was around, making Twilight feel closed in and anxious.
“You look like you, kind of, know the way yourself...”
Rarity averted her gaze, closing her eyes tightly and trying not to breathe.
“Did you just bring me along, or...? It's okay if you did!”
The pony paused as they crossed into a walkway that was separate from the building in front and behind them, someway off the ground. The grounds outside were clear of students, the atmosphere silent and desolate. She turned, the shadows dancing across her figure.
“Twilight Sparkle. Do you treasure your friends and family? Do you love them? Is your life important?” Her body seemed deadly still, a sense of pride running through her.
Twilight didn't need to think about the question. She already knew what she had to say.“O-Of course it is! Of course I do! I love my whole family, and all my friends... just like Celestia teaches us to!” She smiled, hoping to get a similar response from the unicorn in front.
“...I see.” She stopped and looked Twilight dead straight into her eyes. “Never change. Never become someone else. Do not interfere with harmony. If you do, it'll all be gone.” Her face softened. “Just be Twilight Sparkle. Singular. Small. Unimportant. Amazing, Twilight Sparkle.”
Twilight's fear was replaced with a similar emotion. One that she did fear. One that was embedded in the pony's eyes in front of her. It was an empty and lost feeling. Loneliness.
“You... You can be my friend too!” She said, stepping forward quickly. “I can value you as well! I want to be your friend, please let me-”
She was cut off by a sharp inhalation from the white unicorn. Her face twisted into a look of anger. Not at her though, at something she felt inside of her. She turned wordlessly and teleported away with a flash of light.
Twilight didn't care about the rare magic she had just seen. The look in that pony's eyes were daunting. Scary in fact. She didn't move or breathe for a few seconds, allowing the past minute to run through her mind.