Twilight's Pupil

Twilight's Pupil Chapter 1

by Crystal Secret

The Royal Canterlot Gardens were brimming with life at this time of year and it was also the perfect weather for a cup of tea with one's closest friends. Which is why Princess Celestia had decided to invite her most faithful student out for a cup of tea.

As Princess Twilight Sparkle took a sip of tea from her fragile, porcelain cup, she took in her surroundings.

Flowers all of kinds were in full bloom and their colors contrasted as they swayed lightly in the wind. Celestia's sun shone down upon the garden making it even more beautiful. It was a sight of which very few got to see and Twilight was one of the lucky few. Her attention soon turned to Princess Celestia, who was also enjoying the scenery.

"Thank you for inviting me out for tea Celestia. The royal gardens are so beautiful at this time of year, especially since all the flowers are in full bloom." said Twilight who was still admiring the scenery.

A smile lit up the purple alicorn's face as she took another sip of her tea.

"It's my pleasure Twilight. I actually have something I need to talk to you about." she asked as a look of concern spread across her face.

"And what's that Celestia?" asked Twilight noticing her sudden change of mood.

"Last night one of the Royal Guards informed me of a unicorn filly lying unconscious in the outskirts of Canterlot. He told me that Shining Armour had found her and brought her to the hospital wing. But that's not all, he also said that unicorn filly was on the brink of death and that it didn't have its cutiemark." said Princess Celestia taking a sip of tea.

"Is the filly alright?" asked Twilight in a concerned tone.

"Yes the filly is fine, the nurses are taking care of her. But that's not the only thing I wanted to talk to you about. The other thing is the next stage of your life which I am quite sure you are ready for." the princess took a sip of tea before continuing.

"You've been my most faithful student for a very long time now Twilight and I feel that you always will be, but I think it's time you had your own personal protege. A young filly with lots of potential and plenty of eagerness to learn. It will be your choice in the end of whom that shall be but remember, I will always be by your side every single step of the way." concluded Princess Celestia.

"Are you sure I`m ready?" asked Twilight after a few moments

.

"Yes, I am positively sure that you`ll succeed. If you want, you can think it over for a few days."

"Thanks Celestia, but how exactly will I choose my pupil?" asked Twilight uncertain of it all.

"Well Twilight, I was going to allow you to interview students from my school and then choose from that but whoever you choose is entirely up to you." replied Princess Celestia taking a sip of tea.

"Okay, I guess that could work."

The pair sat in a comfortable silence as they finished their tea. It would seem that there were no more words to be said and so they would just spend the rest of their time enjoying one another's company and looking out at the splendorous garden that seemed to just lay at their hooves. The flowers swayed in the wind, the sound of chirping birds hung lightly in the air and for just that moment, the world was at peace. The moment seemed to last forever but ended with the sound of hooves rushing towards them on the narrow stone pathway.

A royal guard soon appeared before them, panting and out of breath he quickly bowed in respect before the two princesses before addressing them.

"Your highness's, it is requested that you come to the hospital wing right away." said the royal guard still panting.

"What for?" asked Princess Celestia in her soft yet powerful tone.

"The unicorn filly, it has awoken." replied the royal guard.

"Well then, I guess we should hurry." said Princess Celestia

The royal guard escorted the two princesses to the hospital wing  as they ran at top speed and it wasn't long before they arrived at the entrance.

However, before they could even enter the hospital wing, a flash of light escaped through the entrance and almost blinded the three ponies standing there. Bolts of lightning surged from inside and created large holes in the walls.

Suddenly, there was a flash of pink aura that created even bigger holes in the walls followed by another bright flash of light. As soon as the commotion died down, the royal guard escorted the two princesses into the hospital wing.

Inside the hospital wing was a row of beds on either side sectioned off by curtains. The royal guard led the princesses to a bed near the end of the row on the left side.

As the princesses stood in front of the bed they noticed that there was a little, dark purple unicorn filly sitting upright on the bed staring up at the princesses in awe. It's eyes were wide and it's cheeks were a rosy red and the filly looked as though it had just woken up from a very long sleep. The filly finally spoke.

"Um, where am I?" asked the filly looking rather confused all of a sudden.

"You're in the Canterlot Castle hospital wing. You were rescued by a royal guard who found you unconscious on the streets so he brought you here." replied Princess Celestia in a soft, comforting tone.

"Would you kindly tell us your name?" asked Twilight Sparkle with a friendly smile.

"Oh, um, it's Starlight Shimmer." replied the filly who still looked rather confused what was going. But to be perfectly honest, the princesses hadn't had the slightest idea what had happened either.

"Twilight? Why don't you and Starlight Shimmer get to know each other? I need to go and talk to the nurses." asked Princess Celestia.

"Oh, ok." was all Twilight could say in response.

Princess Celestia quietly walked away and left the two ponies to talk.

"So, Starlight Shimmer why don't you tell me a bit about yourself? So, where are you from?" asked Twilight in a friendly tone.

"Well, Im not exactly sure. You see, Im actually an orphan." replied Starlight in a disheartened tone.

"Oh. I`m sorry. What do you like doing in your spare time?" asked Twilight trying to change the mood.

"I draw pictures, read books and try to imagine what it would be like if I ever go to meet my real parents." replied Starlight simply.

The two ponies continued to chat slowly getting more comfortable with one another's company. Meanwhile...further down the hall...

"Nurse Redheart, would you be able to tell me what just happened a few moments ago?" asked Princess Celestia in her calmest tone.

"Well, I`m not expert on magical stuff but when the little filly woke up I think...I think...she had a magical outburst or something....

Nurse Redheart went over to the little filly's bed, it looked so peaceful lying there with its eyes shut.

Suddenly, the filly's eyes shot open and instead of a normal colored iris, it's eyes glowed white. The filly slowly ascended into the air and created a bright pink force field around itself. Nurse Redheart gasped at the sight.

The force field filled the room with a single flash of light that broke the surrounding windows and even put a couple of holes in the walls. As the light disappeared, bolts of lightning surged from the force field and shot out in random directions creating even bigger holes.

Then, there was a wave of pink aura and soon disappeared. As the filly started to descend, the force field gradually shrunk and the little filly sat on the bed in an upright position and completely oblivious to what had just transpired.

....and the last thing I remember seeing was the little filly sitting on the bed with an expression that showed that she had no idea what had just happened." Nurse Redheart finished her story with tears in her eyes and a worried look on her face. The princess listened intently as she finished.

"Thank you Nurse Redheart, your information has helped me understand the situation." replied Princess Celestia.

"Anything for you, your highness." replied Nurse Redheart.

Princess Celestia turned and walked back to the end of the row where Twilight was still talking to Starlight. Princess Celestia just stood there for a moment, watching the two fillies and how they interacted with one another. It would seem that the little filly had already befriended her mentor or at least she hoped so. She couldn't help but smile at how the Starlight was already giggling with Twilight. If this was truly meant to be then they would have an incredible bond for the rest of their lives.

Instead of interrupting them, Princess Celestia decided that she would wait for another time to tell Twilight of Starlight's great potential and what had happened inside the hospital wing while they weren't there. Besides, watching Starlight Shimmer playing and talking with Twilight reminded her of the times back when Twilight was only a filly, and she too had laughed and played with her teacher. Oh, what fun times they were. Now, it was the beginning of a new time and her most faithful student was about to enter a very important stage in her life, one that Princess Celestia hoped to see a lot of.