When The Sun Setsby Weeping AngelChaptersEvil Demon LadyTomatos Taste Funny"Crappy" Is Not LadylikeSuckstersEvil Demon LadySunset Shimmer Sunset Shimmer set the quill down, which was already dull. She had been up all night to finish this stupid final essay, and even though it had turned out amazing (seriously, one of her best works) she felt so tired she could fall asleep with one hoof tied to her head, and another tied to her mane. But her work was not done. There was two hours until her alarm would ring, reminding her that she has to go, and she still must complete the task of organizing all of the pages. Today was the day the highest level Unicorns, known simply as Powers, would decide which of the ponies from Sunset's class would graduate to Power. Adjusting to life back in Equestria was hard enough, but failing this kind of test? Unspeakable. Sunset was a powerful Unicorn, and she would make sure the ponies knew this, despite her failure as Princess Celestia's student. Now, the level she was at, being a Unicorn, was not shameful in any way. She was a second highest level Unicorn, powerful enough in Equestrian society. There were five levels of Unicorns, descending from lowest to highest. The first level is known as the Born, which are Unicorns who were born to do anything but this type of magic, such as the royal guards, who, despite being Unicorns, did not deal with any magic except for the ones they needed to protect Equestria and their princesses. Another example of this would be Rarity from Ponyville (whom Sunset only knew because everypony in Canterlot would speak about her amazing fashions) who uses her magic for her special talent: fashion. This level is not shameful at all, in fact it is one of the most important positions. Without these types of ponies, Equestria would not be stable. The second level wasn't bad either. They are known as the Fillies, because this level applies to new students of magic, such as in Magic Kindergarten. Then comes the third level, rudely called "Sucksters". As the name implies, they are very bad at magic, despite going to the schools. The fourth level was called the Pros. Sunset was a Pro, the second most powerful pony type except for the Powers. Many of the Pros became teachers of magic at Magic Kindergarten and such, which was an honorable position. But Sunset would not settle for "honorable". She would be a Power, and she would be a mentor to other aspiring Powers. For this was what a Power would do. They would make their own spells and magic, then mentor other powerful Unicorns. Just what Celestia did with Sunset. Sunset sighed as her eyelids drooped. What she really needed was sleep. Maybe just for a few minutes... She awoke to the sound of the alarm clock blaring. "What the hay?" she exclaimed. The clock read 6:00 AM, one hour before she would have to leave for the academy. Apparently Sunset had not slept for "a few minutes". She wasted the two hours she needed to put together her report, which was laying still unorganized on the desk in front of her face. Hastily, Sunset began to paper clip the two hundred and thirty-eight pages of her report, section by section, ignoring her frizzy mane and bags under her eyes. After she finished organizing the first ten sections, Sunset realized that she would look terrible for the graduation. Oh, well. If this was the cost for being a Power, it would have to do. Sunset worked in a rhythm. She levitated the ten pages of each section and paper clipped them together in order (the professors despised staples). Then, after she was done with all twenty-four sections, she organized them section by section in order. Finally, she heaved a sigh of relief. It had taken her fifty minutes, not two hours, to complete her task. Unfortunately, her mane was still in shambles as she scrambled to put her precious report into her saddlebag along with the books she had to return to the academy. Sunset strapped the saddlebag to her back, tightening the straps tighter then she normally did. Then she ran out of her dorm room, slamming the door behind her as she ran down to the academy. Suddenly this seemed too real. Was Sunset really here? She had been dreaming about this her whole life, to be somepony...important. Of course, Sunset really didn't know if she would become a Power or not. No, that decision was in the hooves of the professors. But she did know she had written the longest final report in the history of the academy. Maybe that alone was enough to convince the professors. As Sunset dashed into the auditorium, turning in her report to the bin in front, she could hear the professors beginning their speech. Er, professor. Professor Neigh stood there, making the speech while the others began to start reading the essays. Sunset knew how this would work. Professor Neigh would announce the younger ponies' achievements first, going through the Fillies, Sucksters, and Pros first. This would take approximately two hours, more than enough time for the other professors to make their decisions about the Powers. Then, Head Professor Aura would announce the new Powers. Only two ponies will be selected out of the two hundred that applied. Sunset's mind raced as she imagined the pain of having to continue studying at the academy another year, and having to apply for Power next year as well. Utter embarrassment. As Professor Neigh droned on about the new Fillies and Sucksters and Pros, Sunset daydreamed about what it would be like to rub it in Princess Twilight-freaking-Sparkle's face that she was a new Power. Twilight wasn't technically a Power, despite her princess-hood. Take that, sucker! "And now, the moment you have all been waiting for!" Professor Aura exclaimed. Sunset snapped out of it. Had two hours really passed already? Wow, time flies when you're thinking about Twilight's ugly face, she thought. "These two magnificent ponies have worked amazingly hard to become what they are today," Aura told the silent ponies. "I will not bore you with their life stories, as I am sure you are all anxious for the announcement." She cleared her throat and opened an envelope. "The first pony ascending to the rank of Power," Aura said, "is Amethyst Star!" Ponies clapped cheerfully for the pony, but Sunset scoffed. Amethyst was the Unicorn equivalent to Twilight, stuck-up and full of herself. "Thank you, thank you, everypony!" Amethyst exclaimed to the cheering crowd, flashing that annoying smile. "I couldn't have made this achievement without you!" She droned on about how 'amazing this opportunity is' and how 'I will make you proud!' and cheese like that. Soon, however, Amethyst shut up and Aura returned to her spot at the podium. This was it, Sunset thought. Now or never. "And our other pony ascending to Power is a pony many of you may underestimate due to some...complications in Equestria. Nevertheless, she deserves your praise. Please congratulate our star student, Sunset Shimmer!" Sunset thought her ears had fooled her. But no, she was a Power! An overwhelming joy overcame her, washing over her like a flood. She loved it. "Thank you, everypony!" she gasped out at the podium. She was returned with smiling faces from the crowd, which made her overjoyed. Sunset was about to say a speech to thank everypony when Amethyst shoved her away, standing on the podium, a crazed look on her face. "You have to be kidding me!" she yelled to the crowd, and they gasped. Sunset felt the dark magic in her build up, threatening to destroy this imposter. But she held it together. "This joke should not be a Power! Look at her!" All eyes went on Sunset. "With her mane uncombed, bags under her eyes, she looks deranged! This is not a Unicorn, this is a monster! And do you even remember what she did? She almost DESTROYED the Princess! And let evil loose! She. Is. A. MONSTER!!!" At this note, Aura stepped in, pulling Amethyst away. Sunset felt tears build up in her eyes. "That is ENOUGH, Amethyst!" Aura yelled at her. "As Head Professor, I can have you stripped of your Power-ship!" Amethyst froze. This was obviously very important to her, and it was showing. "You can't really want her?" she asked incredulously. "Yes, Amethyst. In fact, it was unanimous. This pony right here is our star student, more powerful than anypony. And this was not the case for you," Aura demanded. Suddenly security guards surrounded Amethyst, and they took her away. She was beginning to bawl on one guard's shoulder. Sunset felt bad for the guard. With a final word, Aura dismissed the audience and beckoned for Sunset to follow her into her office. They sat down, and Aura sighed. "I'm sorry about that, Sunset. For the record, I did not vote for her to be a Power." Sunset nodded. "Anyway," Aura continued, "I called you in here because I have a special message from Princess Celestia." A wave of curiosity swept over Sunset Shimmer. She and the princess had not exactly been close after she returned. In fact, the only time they talked was after her last evil act, when she had turned into a demon lady, (Literally. Demon. Lady.) and that conversation was about how reckless and unneeded the act has been. "Of course, I have not read the summons. A letter from a princess to a Power? Highly classified. However, the princess has given me authority to hand it to you," Aura handed Sunset the letter, stamped with the red seal of Equestria. Sunset gingerly put her hoof on the seal and broke it apart. She took out the letter and levitated in front of her as she read silently. My dear Sunset Shimmer, If you receive this letter, it means you have been brought up to the rank of Power. Congratulations on your achievement! I am very proud of your stellar performance at the Academy of Magic Learning. Now, you must be wondering about why I am sending a message to you a year after we last saw each other. I must admit, the relationship I had hoped for between us has not been so great. But it is for a good cause. I am writing to you because I have an important job for you! As a Power, you are now a highest-level Unicorn. Your talents in magic are never-ending, and you are respected to the highest degree in Equestrian society. However, you must of course take on a role in the community of Powers, as all of them do. You, of course, have a choice on what you want to be. Will you be a professor of the academy, like Head Professor Aura or Professor Neigh? Or will you be a chemist or a scientist, writing your own spells like the great Starswirl the Bearded? Or will you be a mentor, like I was to you and like many of the Powers are, having your own students? Now, you must be wondering what job I have for you. This, my dear Sunset Shimmer, is one of the toughest jobs a Power has to take on. Training a complete and utter noob in magic. This is a task I know you can complete. But, to make it even harder, I am giving you not one, but TWO students who know nothing about our magic and how it works. You may choose to disregard this message and become anything you want to be. That is fine. But, you may want to consider that if you do not like mentoring ponies, you can stop their mentoring and continue working in a different role. Also, you will be rewarded greatly. By succeeding to mentor these two ponies that I assign you, you will be placed in the rank of Head Mentor of the Unicorn Society, and will get a place in the High Unicorn Council as well as a home in the Canterlot Castle. Think about this, Sunset Shimmer. If I knew you could not complete the task, I wouldn't have assigned you to it. You are allowed to use any type of magic that is available to you. The possibilities are endless. But you must train both Unicorns to a Power level. You do not have a time limit. See, simple! If you choose to take on the task, please come to the Canterlot Castle the day after your Power level is finalized, and tell the guards at the front that you are Sunset Shimmer, and have come to see Princess Celestia, code word "MAJOR". Sincerely, Princess Celestia Princess of Equestria, Ruler of the Sun Tomatos Taste FunnyTrixie Lulamoon Trixie sighed as yet another tomato splattered on the cape she just dry-cleaned. Seriously, she should definitely get a new profession. Ponies boo-ed as Trixie took a final bow, overcome with exhaustion. But Trixie could only promise herself things would get better, though she doubted they would. As Trixie entered her caravan, she sat stubbornly on her couch, levitating the letter of approval. This was the most important thing in her life right now, this letter. It proved to her that things could get better. Better yet, it was a beacon of hope for the poor blue Unicorn. Trixie was overjoyed when the mail pony dropped the letter off. She had sent a request for teaching over three months ago. Apparently, they had a long waiting list. Although Trixie was a bit disappointed that she would not be the only pony taught by the Power, Trixie was proud of it. Anyway, of they had a long waiting list, they probably had to cut a few corners. And it made Trixie so excited to think that maybe, if she works really hard, in the next few months (or years, or decades, she wasn't sure), she could be a Power. In a few hours, she was scheduled to meet Princess Celestia. "Code name 'MAJOR'" she had said. Well, the only thing Trixie could do was get ready for the meeting, and look her best. Plus, it would take at least an hour to ride to Canterlot itself, so she'd better get ready. Soon enough, Trixie had put on her favorite wizard's hat and cape just as soon as the taxi-pony knocked on her caravan's door, ready to hitch it up to the back of his taxi. The ride to Canterlot was pretty smooth, and not a lot of traffic. Good, she thought, better get there early and impress princess Celestia. What she didn't think, however, was that the cab thought they were supposed to turn to Fillydelphia, another hour AWAY from the desired destination. "Hey!" She yelled to the taxi-pony, who grunted. "We're supposed to be going to Canterlot!" The taxi-pony mumbled something in derision and promptly turned around, making Trixie late once again. Eventually, however, the caravan did make it to Canterlot. And half an hour later than the desired time, she grunted the code word 'MAJOR' to the guards and was escorted to a table where a fancy looking pony, a pony that looked pretty familiar to Trixie, and Princess Celestia sat, drinking tea. "Ah, Trixie Lulamoon, wonderful for you to show up," Celestia said, in a tone that sounded a bit too sweet. "I'm so sorry, your highness. My taxi got a bit back-tracked, and we ended up in Fillydelphia instead of Canterlot. I-" "It's fine, Trixie. At least you're here now," Celestia replied. Then she pointed to the two other ponies sitting at the table. "This is Fleur De Lis, the other student you will be working with, and Sunset Shimmer, your mentor." Sunset Shimmer looked anxious, gulping the tea like it was an espresso. Fleur De Lis, on the other hand, was daintily sipping bits of it into her mouth. Celestia beckoned for Trixie to sit down next to her, and Trixie happily obliged. "We were just talking about your upcoming assignment," Celestia said happily, bringing another wave of melancholy over Sunset. "Oh, yes, my dear Trixie," Fleur De Lis cut in, her voice sounding as sweet as honey. Trixie could sense a bit of Manehattan accent. It seemed appropriate. Fleur De Lis seemed like a very spoiled pony, brought up in the richest cities of Equestria. "Sunset Shimmer here was just saying about how much she is excited to be teaching us!" Fleur finished. Trixie looked at Sunset. She looked anything but excited. In fact, Trixie felt sorry for her. She needs to teach not one, but TWO ponies who were terrible at magic. Especially Fleur, who seemed like the type of pony who was too stubborn to learn anything. On the contrary, Trixie would listen to anything Sunset would tell her, and accept it happily. After a few more comments from Fleur De Lis, with Trixie zoned out the entire time, she began to notice something strange about Sunset Shimmer. Why, she looked...familiar. Trixie was about to say something about it when Celestia cut in, explaining what was to be done. Sunset cringed the entire time. She was obviously not very happy to be doing this, or maybe she was just nervous. Either way, there was a lot of negativity in Sunset's face. Soon, Celestia said her goodbyes and ushered the three to the private rooms Celestia had let them rent, Sunset's being the biggest suite. "Okay, guys. See you in the morning," Sunset said, waving them away. "Bye, bye, my darlings!" Fleur De Lis flipped her hair and entered her room, humming. Trixie was the only pony left in the hall. What she wanted to do was go to sleep, today had been exhausting enough already. But for some reason, she didn't. With a great act of courage, Trixie knocked on Sunset's door. "Um...Sunset?" she called. The door opened, revealing a very tired and ticked off Sunset Shimmer. "What do you want, Trixie?" she asked. "I...um...I just wanted to ask you a question," replied a very scared Trixie. "What?" "Well, I recognized you back at the table," she started, "but I couldn't put my finger on it. So, um, is there anything that, well, you know, you would be known for?" A look of pain flashed through Sunset's face. "Y-Yes," she replied. Trixie knew she was pushing her luck, but she asked, "what was it?" Trixie was replied with a door in the face. Sighing, she went into her suite, and threw off her cape. She jumped up on her bed, and the pressure immediately went off of her aching hooves. Laying back, Trixie tried to remember from when she knew Sunset Shimmer... Trixie jumped up on her father's shoulders, giggling. It was her seventh birthday, and her parents had something very special planned for the little mare. "Here we are!" Her mother told her, and looking up, Trixie squealed. Her parents had brought her to the annual Summer Sun Celebration, which happened to fall on her birthday this year. This year, Princess Celestia had something very special planned. She was going to show her new student today, a Unicorn by the name of Sunset Star, or something. Anyway, Trixie and her family were offered a VIP to the event, meaning that they had a first-row seat to it. Soon, the crowd settled and the princess walked up on the stage with a young Unicorn with frilly red and yellow locks. She looked nervous, and trailed behind the princess skittishly. "Ladies and gentlecolts!" The princess announced, and the pony jumped. "I would like to introduce my student, Sunset Shimmer!" Princess Celestia pointed to the small pony, who cringed. Soon, the ceremony continued. Trixie opened her eyes, stunned. This was Celestia's old student? No wonder Sunset Shimmer felt so awkward around her! Trixie wanted to go tell her something, like "you're awesome!" or "so, howwasitliketobeCelestia'sstudentSunset?" with no spaces, really fast. But she didn't. She thought it best not to confront Sunset Shimmer with such childish words. So instead, Trixie leaned back and fell asleep. "Crappy" Is Not LadylikeFleur De Lis Well, today was a crappy day. Of course, Fleur De Lis would never say the word "crappy" in public. It wasn't ladylike. But it was, in fact, a crappy day. She was still yearning for Smarty Pants, her old boyfriend. Fleur De Lis loved Smarty Pants so much, and she couldn't bear to lose him. Unfortunately, this had already happened. Smarty Pants had ditched Fleur for the hot-shot Sapphire Shores, and Fleur was angry, to say the least. Fleur De Lis sat down, exasperated, on the bed. It was almost eight o'clock, two hours since the meeting between Sunset Shimmer, Trixie, and Celestia. She just hoped she used the correct, ladylike language and gestures. What was Fleur De Lis, anyway? Just another pretty Unicorn with a pink mane. (You want to know a secret? Fleur's mane was originally green until she dyed it. Have you ever heard of a Unicorn with a green mane? Unspeakable) The Unicorn had signed up for an internship mainly because she didn't want to be a trophy wife anymore. How many times has she been tossed out the door after another hotshot stallion stomped on her heart? Countless. She wanted to be...needed. Loved. Worth something more then her pretty face. Being a Power would give her that luxury. Fleur De Lis would be accepted into a community that loved her, that would bow down to her awesomeness. Awesomeness. Another unladylike word. If Smarty Parts found out, she would have been dumped ages ago. Fleur De Lis thought about her intentions when suddenly she began to drift to sleep, sprawled out on the bed. She would start training in the morning. "All right, cupcakes!" yelled out Sunset Shimmer like an army general the next morning. Trixie had gotten rid of that ridiculous wizard's hat and cape, while Fleur De Lis averted some terrible bed-head damage (using a few tips from Lotus Flower, Fleur's beautician). "Okay, so, today we will be doing something to let me know where you're at with magic," Sunset continued. "What I will be doing is creating an illusion with my magic, transporting us, so to speak, to a different location where there will be some tasks you must complete. Don't worry about passing this one, this is normally what we use at the final test. "So, what I will need you to do is just show me what you would do as a Unicorn to defeat this villain. Don't worry about a thing, this is ONLY an illusion, and you won't actually get hurt." Fleur and Trixie nodded simultaneously, and Sunset smiled. Her horn began to shimmer with a red aura. Soon, Sunset shut her eyes from the force of the magic, and the scene started to shift into what looked like the wrecked Canterlot Castle. Fleur started to panic, taken aback by the weirdness of the situation. Weirdness. How unladylike. Suddenly a form which looked like an Alicorn shimmered into place, and it started to become more detailed. The Alicorn's wings shifted into an oblong, oval-like shape, and its coat turned black. Her mane was misty, and her eyes were very cat-like. Trixie gasped. "Night Mare Moon!" It was, in fact, Night Mare Moon. Fleur screamed in terror at the sight. She had never seen Night Mare herself, but she knew the terrors that monster brought. Night Mare laughed. Fleur looked over at Sunset, who was taking notes on a pad of paper, completely unnerved by the situation. Trixie started to conjure up a spell. Fleur looked at her in awe. Was she seriously trying to beat this monster? Trixie suddenly looked up, done with her spell. Soon, a little rope, no longer then three feet, appeared and started to fly over to Night Mare to tie her legs. The black mare cackled, apparently amused by Trixie's antics, and she snapped the ropes without much effort. Trixie gasped, and ran back a bit, screaming. With a surge of confidence, Fleur stepped up to the Mare in the Moon, holding her head high. In the corner of her eye, she saw Sunset's eyes shoot up. Using a spell Fancy Pants had taught her, Fleur's horn started to glow a light pink aura. She started to summon all of her strength, and a surge of lilies started to fly from her horn each glowing a white light. The lilies wrapped around Night Mare Moon, strapping her legs together. Night Mare's eyes shot up, looking surprised. The glare from the lilies made the Mare in the Moon wince in pain, and screamed, not of pain, but of anger. Fleur's confidence sank lower then the sun. The spell itself was low rate and crappy. How much Fleur wished she could say that in public! Soon, Night Mare got fed up so much, in a flash of mist, she destroyed the lilies. Fleur watched them wilt. Then the mare reared up, yelling out a battle cry, and lunged towards Trixie and Fleur. The two Unicorns screamed, scattering everywhere. Somewhere in Fleur's thoughts, she knew she would die. Night Mare Moon galloped towards Trixie first, catching up to her quick. Trixie kept teleporting every few meters, though, causing the mare to scream in rage, shooting bursts of night magic everywhere. Trixie kept teleporting so much, that Night Mare soon got bored of her and threw her across the room using her magic. Trixie slammed against the wall with a slam, then slid down. Her body was limp on the floor. Fleur De Lis stifled back a scream, then turned her attention towards the evil mare. With a jump, Fleur realized how foolish she had been for taking her attention off of the Mare in the Moon, who was now hurtling towards her at top speed, horn glowing with a powerful magic. The horn pierced through Fleur's body, killing her instantly. "Well then," Sunset Shimmer remarked as the two Unicorns began to stir. "But...I thought I was dead!" Trixie stammered out, shaking out the last of her shivers. "Yes, well, I did tell you nothing would happen. It was just a projection," Sunset replied. Fleur was still shaking from her encounter with the evil mare. In fact, she was certain she could still feel Night Mare Moon's horn piercing through her heart. "So, how did we do, miss?" Fleur asked her, almost forgetting to put on her Manehattan accent. Sunset sighed. "Well, we have a lot of work to do." SuckstersSunset Shimmer Great. Sunset sighed as she entered her room again. These Unicorns were terrible at magic! Seriously? A toy rope and a bouquet of flowers? Pathetic. They were most certainly Sucksters. Not even good enough to be a Born. What could Sunset do? Teach them? From what the two showed her, would it really help to teach them simple spells and watch them progress? Tomorrow would be better, she thought to herself as she drifted off to sleep. Sunset was invited to breakfast with the Powers the next morning. Before she left, she told Trixie and Fleur De Lis about her whereabouts, and told them to go walk around in town for a couple of hours. Just to meet her back at the arena at twelve, where they would start training. Sunset sat on the chair in the Imperial Dining Room meant only for Powers and greeted Head Professor Aura and the other Powers. "Good morning," she told them. This time, Sunset made it a point to make sure her mane was swept back in a neat way and that she didn't have bags under her eyes. "Morning, Sunset," replied Professor Neigh, who sat down next to Aura. Amethyst Star was two minutes late. She rushed in, and took her seat next to Blue Belle, her sister who had graduated a few years ago. Two minutes late was unacceptable in Unicorn society. It was either on time, or late. Blue Belle glared at her sister as if she was an anomaly. She looked run-down, scared, and tired. Sunset almost felt bad for the pony. Almost. "Now, I assume you know why we have called a meeting," Head Professor Aura started. Sunset nodded. "To talk about our jobs." "Correct. Now, Sunset, we do know about Princess Celestia's plan for you. Would you like to tell us what the job is?" Sunset nodded again. "Princess Celestia has assigned me two ponies for mentoring. If I bring those two ponies up to Power level, I will be granted the title 'Head Mentor', get a spot on the Unicorn High Council, and get to live in the Canterlot Castle." Amethyst Star's mouth dropped. "Wh...What?" "Amethyst, what job have you chosen?" Aura interrupted. Amethyst shook it out and straightened out. "I have chosen the job Potion Maker, to experiment with ingredients and make something better for the pony community," she said. "Wonderful," Aura replied, not looking all too impressed. "Now, Sunset, do we know these two ponies?" "I...I don't think so," Sunset stammered out. "Do you know the Great and Powerful Trixie and Fleur De Lis?" The Powers all shuddered. "Trixie? She's a joke!" "My sister knows a pony who knows a pony who knows a pony that knows Smarty Pants!" "I threw a tomato at Trixie once!" "Fleur De Lis? Isn't that French?" "I really have to pee!" The jumble of Power voices echoed through the room. Amethyst Star was smirking, staring at Sunset with cold eyes. What had Sunset ever done to her? "SILENCE!" Aura ordered, and the whole table did as she said. "Sunset is a very remarkable young Unicorn, perfectly capable of mentoring two ponies, even if their magical capacities are...low." "Ha! Low?" Amethyst shouted out, oblivious to the Powers staring at her. "These ponies literally have nothing to prove. It is impossible to teach such terrible beings!" Amethyst opened her mouth for more, but Blue Belle cut her off. "That's enough, sister. Sunset Shimmer will teach these ponies, I know she will." Blue Belle looked at me, her eyes confident. Blue Belle seemed like a nice pony. She obviously was the favorite among her parents, Sunset presumed. After the meeting was over, Sunset started to trot to the arena where Fleur De Lis and Trixie were hopefully waiting. Suddenly she felt a tap on her shoulder, and she turned her head. Blue Belle was standing over her, levitating a few books. Like her sister, Blue Belle was a Potion Maker. Maybe that's why she was looking at her sister with the evil eye. "Hey Sunset," Blue Belle greeted her. Sunset returned it. "So, um, sorry about my sister. She's kind of a flank-hole." Sunset nodded. "If, uh, you need any help with this project of yours, like a potion or something for training, just tell me." A friend of Blue Belle's waved over to her, and she scampered off. When Sunset arrived at the arena, Fleur and Trixie were already there. "So, what are we doing today?" Trixie asked. She looked rumpled, as if she had fallen asleep on an awkward position. "Basic magic," Sunset answered. Pulling out an overhead, she called on her skills as a teacher. Based on what Sunset saw yesterday, they were going to have to start at the beginning. Magic Kindergarten. "All right," Sunset said, sitting the two Unicorns down. "Now, we're going to learn the basics." She put a transparent sheet depicting an aura on the overhead. "What is this? Does anypony know?" Trixie raised her hoof. "It's the magic glow-y thing that happens when we call on our magic!'' "Right, but what is it called?" Trixie scrunched up her face. "Glow?" "No." Trixie hung her head in shame. What an idiot, not even knowing what an aura was. "Fleur?" "Huh?" Sunset's anger grew. "Do you know what this is?" "An aura." Sunset smiled. "Correct." Trixie looked at Fleur with wide eyes. "Hold on a sec," she said. "How the buck does she know something that I don't know?" Fleur looked at her. "My dear, I'm sure you're mistaken. I am Fleur De Lis. But before I was beautiful, I was an A-student." "What?" "Plus, I'm not an idiot. Come on, all of us are taught this in preschool. Even Pegasi and Earth ponies." Sunset face-hoofed. "First of all, Trixie, do not use that kind of language at class. Secondly, Fleur, we do not call ponies idiots!" After a few more hours of listening to the two bicker about questions, Sunset knocked over the whiteboard. "Screw it, I'm done," she said, exasperated, and ran off away from the arena, Trixie and Fleur De Lis calling her name. ~~~~~~ An hour later, Sunset was sitting at the bar in the Canterlot Castle. "What can I get ya?" asked the bartender. "A cider." He obeyed, filling the glass up, and handing it to Sunset, who grabbed it greedily. "So what's got you down, miss?" Sunset sighed, clearing her throat. "I'm supposed to mentor these two Unicorns, see, but they are terrible. Literally terrible. Never had a proper lesson in their lives. I just spent the last four hours teaching them elementary stuff, which they had problems with. And I'm supposed to make them Powers!" The bartender smiled. "Teaching them what?" "Well, about auras and how to levitate frigging quills!" "Maybe you're, well, boring them too much." "Boring them? These are things they should've known before they even applied! And they can't even name Starswirl the Bearded on sight!" He sighed, nodding his head. "Okay then. I'm just a bartender, there's not much I can help with. But I can tell you one thing: we all have cutie marks for a reason." He nodded to Sunset, and went on to the next customer. Sunset sat for a second, pondering what he just told her. We all have cutie marks for a reason? Obviously. But what did that have to do with her students? Then she remembered something. What had the two done with Night Mare Moon? Trixie used a show rope, as she might've used in a magic show. Fleur used a bouquet of lilies, which she might've used in a fancy party. Their cutie marks corresponded with the magic they chose. Show ropes, cutie mark adorned with a magic wand, used only at shows. Lilies, cutie mark with a fleur de lis. It was all coming to her now. She wouldn't be able to change their magic choices. All she could do was amplify them. Sunset dropped two bits for the cider, gulping down the remains, and a ten bit tip for the bartender. "Thank you, sir!" She said as she stormed out. The bartender waved.
Evil Demon LadySunset Shimmer Sunset Shimmer set the quill down, which was already dull. She had been up all night to finish this stupid final essay, and even though it had turned out amazing (seriously, one of her best works) she felt so tired she could fall asleep with one hoof tied to her head, and another tied to her mane. But her work was not done. There was two hours until her alarm would ring, reminding her that she has to go, and she still must complete the task of organizing all of the pages. Today was the day the highest level Unicorns, known simply as Powers, would decide which of the ponies from Sunset's class would graduate to Power. Adjusting to life back in Equestria was hard enough, but failing this kind of test? Unspeakable. Sunset was a powerful Unicorn, and she would make sure the ponies knew this, despite her failure as Princess Celestia's student. Now, the level she was at, being a Unicorn, was not shameful in any way. She was a second highest level Unicorn, powerful enough in Equestrian society. There were five levels of Unicorns, descending from lowest to highest. The first level is known as the Born, which are Unicorns who were born to do anything but this type of magic, such as the royal guards, who, despite being Unicorns, did not deal with any magic except for the ones they needed to protect Equestria and their princesses. Another example of this would be Rarity from Ponyville (whom Sunset only knew because everypony in Canterlot would speak about her amazing fashions) who uses her magic for her special talent: fashion. This level is not shameful at all, in fact it is one of the most important positions. Without these types of ponies, Equestria would not be stable. The second level wasn't bad either. They are known as the Fillies, because this level applies to new students of magic, such as in Magic Kindergarten. Then comes the third level, rudely called "Sucksters". As the name implies, they are very bad at magic, despite going to the schools. The fourth level was called the Pros. Sunset was a Pro, the second most powerful pony type except for the Powers. Many of the Pros became teachers of magic at Magic Kindergarten and such, which was an honorable position. But Sunset would not settle for "honorable". She would be a Power, and she would be a mentor to other aspiring Powers. For this was what a Power would do. They would make their own spells and magic, then mentor other powerful Unicorns. Just what Celestia did with Sunset. Sunset sighed as her eyelids drooped. What she really needed was sleep. Maybe just for a few minutes... She awoke to the sound of the alarm clock blaring. "What the hay?" she exclaimed. The clock read 6:00 AM, one hour before she would have to leave for the academy. Apparently Sunset had not slept for "a few minutes". She wasted the two hours she needed to put together her report, which was laying still unorganized on the desk in front of her face. Hastily, Sunset began to paper clip the two hundred and thirty-eight pages of her report, section by section, ignoring her frizzy mane and bags under her eyes. After she finished organizing the first ten sections, Sunset realized that she would look terrible for the graduation. Oh, well. If this was the cost for being a Power, it would have to do. Sunset worked in a rhythm. She levitated the ten pages of each section and paper clipped them together in order (the professors despised staples). Then, after she was done with all twenty-four sections, she organized them section by section in order. Finally, she heaved a sigh of relief. It had taken her fifty minutes, not two hours, to complete her task. Unfortunately, her mane was still in shambles as she scrambled to put her precious report into her saddlebag along with the books she had to return to the academy. Sunset strapped the saddlebag to her back, tightening the straps tighter then she normally did. Then she ran out of her dorm room, slamming the door behind her as she ran down to the academy. Suddenly this seemed too real. Was Sunset really here? She had been dreaming about this her whole life, to be somepony...important. Of course, Sunset really didn't know if she would become a Power or not. No, that decision was in the hooves of the professors. But she did know she had written the longest final report in the history of the academy. Maybe that alone was enough to convince the professors. As Sunset dashed into the auditorium, turning in her report to the bin in front, she could hear the professors beginning their speech. Er, professor. Professor Neigh stood there, making the speech while the others began to start reading the essays. Sunset knew how this would work. Professor Neigh would announce the younger ponies' achievements first, going through the Fillies, Sucksters, and Pros first. This would take approximately two hours, more than enough time for the other professors to make their decisions about the Powers. Then, Head Professor Aura would announce the new Powers. Only two ponies will be selected out of the two hundred that applied. Sunset's mind raced as she imagined the pain of having to continue studying at the academy another year, and having to apply for Power next year as well. Utter embarrassment. As Professor Neigh droned on about the new Fillies and Sucksters and Pros, Sunset daydreamed about what it would be like to rub it in Princess Twilight-freaking-Sparkle's face that she was a new Power. Twilight wasn't technically a Power, despite her princess-hood. Take that, sucker! "And now, the moment you have all been waiting for!" Professor Aura exclaimed. Sunset snapped out of it. Had two hours really passed already? Wow, time flies when you're thinking about Twilight's ugly face, she thought. "These two magnificent ponies have worked amazingly hard to become what they are today," Aura told the silent ponies. "I will not bore you with their life stories, as I am sure you are all anxious for the announcement." She cleared her throat and opened an envelope. "The first pony ascending to the rank of Power," Aura said, "is Amethyst Star!" Ponies clapped cheerfully for the pony, but Sunset scoffed. Amethyst was the Unicorn equivalent to Twilight, stuck-up and full of herself. "Thank you, thank you, everypony!" Amethyst exclaimed to the cheering crowd, flashing that annoying smile. "I couldn't have made this achievement without you!" She droned on about how 'amazing this opportunity is' and how 'I will make you proud!' and cheese like that. Soon, however, Amethyst shut up and Aura returned to her spot at the podium. This was it, Sunset thought. Now or never. "And our other pony ascending to Power is a pony many of you may underestimate due to some...complications in Equestria. Nevertheless, she deserves your praise. Please congratulate our star student, Sunset Shimmer!" Sunset thought her ears had fooled her. But no, she was a Power! An overwhelming joy overcame her, washing over her like a flood. She loved it. "Thank you, everypony!" she gasped out at the podium. She was returned with smiling faces from the crowd, which made her overjoyed. Sunset was about to say a speech to thank everypony when Amethyst shoved her away, standing on the podium, a crazed look on her face. "You have to be kidding me!" she yelled to the crowd, and they gasped. Sunset felt the dark magic in her build up, threatening to destroy this imposter. But she held it together. "This joke should not be a Power! Look at her!" All eyes went on Sunset. "With her mane uncombed, bags under her eyes, she looks deranged! This is not a Unicorn, this is a monster! And do you even remember what she did? She almost DESTROYED the Princess! And let evil loose! She. Is. A. MONSTER!!!" At this note, Aura stepped in, pulling Amethyst away. Sunset felt tears build up in her eyes. "That is ENOUGH, Amethyst!" Aura yelled at her. "As Head Professor, I can have you stripped of your Power-ship!" Amethyst froze. This was obviously very important to her, and it was showing. "You can't really want her?" she asked incredulously. "Yes, Amethyst. In fact, it was unanimous. This pony right here is our star student, more powerful than anypony. And this was not the case for you," Aura demanded. Suddenly security guards surrounded Amethyst, and they took her away. She was beginning to bawl on one guard's shoulder. Sunset felt bad for the guard. With a final word, Aura dismissed the audience and beckoned for Sunset to follow her into her office. They sat down, and Aura sighed. "I'm sorry about that, Sunset. For the record, I did not vote for her to be a Power." Sunset nodded. "Anyway," Aura continued, "I called you in here because I have a special message from Princess Celestia." A wave of curiosity swept over Sunset Shimmer. She and the princess had not exactly been close after she returned. In fact, the only time they talked was after her last evil act, when she had turned into a demon lady, (Literally. Demon. Lady.) and that conversation was about how reckless and unneeded the act has been. "Of course, I have not read the summons. A letter from a princess to a Power? Highly classified. However, the princess has given me authority to hand it to you," Aura handed Sunset the letter, stamped with the red seal of Equestria. Sunset gingerly put her hoof on the seal and broke it apart. She took out the letter and levitated in front of her as she read silently. My dear Sunset Shimmer, If you receive this letter, it means you have been brought up to the rank of Power. Congratulations on your achievement! I am very proud of your stellar performance at the Academy of Magic Learning. Now, you must be wondering about why I am sending a message to you a year after we last saw each other. I must admit, the relationship I had hoped for between us has not been so great. But it is for a good cause. I am writing to you because I have an important job for you! As a Power, you are now a highest-level Unicorn. Your talents in magic are never-ending, and you are respected to the highest degree in Equestrian society. However, you must of course take on a role in the community of Powers, as all of them do. You, of course, have a choice on what you want to be. Will you be a professor of the academy, like Head Professor Aura or Professor Neigh? Or will you be a chemist or a scientist, writing your own spells like the great Starswirl the Bearded? Or will you be a mentor, like I was to you and like many of the Powers are, having your own students? Now, you must be wondering what job I have for you. This, my dear Sunset Shimmer, is one of the toughest jobs a Power has to take on. Training a complete and utter noob in magic. This is a task I know you can complete. But, to make it even harder, I am giving you not one, but TWO students who know nothing about our magic and how it works. You may choose to disregard this message and become anything you want to be. That is fine. But, you may want to consider that if you do not like mentoring ponies, you can stop their mentoring and continue working in a different role. Also, you will be rewarded greatly. By succeeding to mentor these two ponies that I assign you, you will be placed in the rank of Head Mentor of the Unicorn Society, and will get a place in the High Unicorn Council as well as a home in the Canterlot Castle. Think about this, Sunset Shimmer. If I knew you could not complete the task, I wouldn't have assigned you to it. You are allowed to use any type of magic that is available to you. The possibilities are endless. But you must train both Unicorns to a Power level. You do not have a time limit. See, simple! If you choose to take on the task, please come to the Canterlot Castle the day after your Power level is finalized, and tell the guards at the front that you are Sunset Shimmer, and have come to see Princess Celestia, code word "MAJOR". Sincerely, Princess Celestia Princess of Equestria, Ruler of the Sun
Tomatos Taste FunnyTrixie Lulamoon Trixie sighed as yet another tomato splattered on the cape she just dry-cleaned. Seriously, she should definitely get a new profession. Ponies boo-ed as Trixie took a final bow, overcome with exhaustion. But Trixie could only promise herself things would get better, though she doubted they would. As Trixie entered her caravan, she sat stubbornly on her couch, levitating the letter of approval. This was the most important thing in her life right now, this letter. It proved to her that things could get better. Better yet, it was a beacon of hope for the poor blue Unicorn. Trixie was overjoyed when the mail pony dropped the letter off. She had sent a request for teaching over three months ago. Apparently, they had a long waiting list. Although Trixie was a bit disappointed that she would not be the only pony taught by the Power, Trixie was proud of it. Anyway, of they had a long waiting list, they probably had to cut a few corners. And it made Trixie so excited to think that maybe, if she works really hard, in the next few months (or years, or decades, she wasn't sure), she could be a Power. In a few hours, she was scheduled to meet Princess Celestia. "Code name 'MAJOR'" she had said. Well, the only thing Trixie could do was get ready for the meeting, and look her best. Plus, it would take at least an hour to ride to Canterlot itself, so she'd better get ready. Soon enough, Trixie had put on her favorite wizard's hat and cape just as soon as the taxi-pony knocked on her caravan's door, ready to hitch it up to the back of his taxi. The ride to Canterlot was pretty smooth, and not a lot of traffic. Good, she thought, better get there early and impress princess Celestia. What she didn't think, however, was that the cab thought they were supposed to turn to Fillydelphia, another hour AWAY from the desired destination. "Hey!" She yelled to the taxi-pony, who grunted. "We're supposed to be going to Canterlot!" The taxi-pony mumbled something in derision and promptly turned around, making Trixie late once again. Eventually, however, the caravan did make it to Canterlot. And half an hour later than the desired time, she grunted the code word 'MAJOR' to the guards and was escorted to a table where a fancy looking pony, a pony that looked pretty familiar to Trixie, and Princess Celestia sat, drinking tea. "Ah, Trixie Lulamoon, wonderful for you to show up," Celestia said, in a tone that sounded a bit too sweet. "I'm so sorry, your highness. My taxi got a bit back-tracked, and we ended up in Fillydelphia instead of Canterlot. I-" "It's fine, Trixie. At least you're here now," Celestia replied. Then she pointed to the two other ponies sitting at the table. "This is Fleur De Lis, the other student you will be working with, and Sunset Shimmer, your mentor." Sunset Shimmer looked anxious, gulping the tea like it was an espresso. Fleur De Lis, on the other hand, was daintily sipping bits of it into her mouth. Celestia beckoned for Trixie to sit down next to her, and Trixie happily obliged. "We were just talking about your upcoming assignment," Celestia said happily, bringing another wave of melancholy over Sunset. "Oh, yes, my dear Trixie," Fleur De Lis cut in, her voice sounding as sweet as honey. Trixie could sense a bit of Manehattan accent. It seemed appropriate. Fleur De Lis seemed like a very spoiled pony, brought up in the richest cities of Equestria. "Sunset Shimmer here was just saying about how much she is excited to be teaching us!" Fleur finished. Trixie looked at Sunset. She looked anything but excited. In fact, Trixie felt sorry for her. She needs to teach not one, but TWO ponies who were terrible at magic. Especially Fleur, who seemed like the type of pony who was too stubborn to learn anything. On the contrary, Trixie would listen to anything Sunset would tell her, and accept it happily. After a few more comments from Fleur De Lis, with Trixie zoned out the entire time, she began to notice something strange about Sunset Shimmer. Why, she looked...familiar. Trixie was about to say something about it when Celestia cut in, explaining what was to be done. Sunset cringed the entire time. She was obviously not very happy to be doing this, or maybe she was just nervous. Either way, there was a lot of negativity in Sunset's face. Soon, Celestia said her goodbyes and ushered the three to the private rooms Celestia had let them rent, Sunset's being the biggest suite. "Okay, guys. See you in the morning," Sunset said, waving them away. "Bye, bye, my darlings!" Fleur De Lis flipped her hair and entered her room, humming. Trixie was the only pony left in the hall. What she wanted to do was go to sleep, today had been exhausting enough already. But for some reason, she didn't. With a great act of courage, Trixie knocked on Sunset's door. "Um...Sunset?" she called. The door opened, revealing a very tired and ticked off Sunset Shimmer. "What do you want, Trixie?" she asked. "I...um...I just wanted to ask you a question," replied a very scared Trixie. "What?" "Well, I recognized you back at the table," she started, "but I couldn't put my finger on it. So, um, is there anything that, well, you know, you would be known for?" A look of pain flashed through Sunset's face. "Y-Yes," she replied. Trixie knew she was pushing her luck, but she asked, "what was it?" Trixie was replied with a door in the face. Sighing, she went into her suite, and threw off her cape. She jumped up on her bed, and the pressure immediately went off of her aching hooves. Laying back, Trixie tried to remember from when she knew Sunset Shimmer... Trixie jumped up on her father's shoulders, giggling. It was her seventh birthday, and her parents had something very special planned for the little mare. "Here we are!" Her mother told her, and looking up, Trixie squealed. Her parents had brought her to the annual Summer Sun Celebration, which happened to fall on her birthday this year. This year, Princess Celestia had something very special planned. She was going to show her new student today, a Unicorn by the name of Sunset Star, or something. Anyway, Trixie and her family were offered a VIP to the event, meaning that they had a first-row seat to it. Soon, the crowd settled and the princess walked up on the stage with a young Unicorn with frilly red and yellow locks. She looked nervous, and trailed behind the princess skittishly. "Ladies and gentlecolts!" The princess announced, and the pony jumped. "I would like to introduce my student, Sunset Shimmer!" Princess Celestia pointed to the small pony, who cringed. Soon, the ceremony continued. Trixie opened her eyes, stunned. This was Celestia's old student? No wonder Sunset Shimmer felt so awkward around her! Trixie wanted to go tell her something, like "you're awesome!" or "so, howwasitliketobeCelestia'sstudentSunset?" with no spaces, really fast. But she didn't. She thought it best not to confront Sunset Shimmer with such childish words. So instead, Trixie leaned back and fell asleep.
"Crappy" Is Not LadylikeFleur De Lis Well, today was a crappy day. Of course, Fleur De Lis would never say the word "crappy" in public. It wasn't ladylike. But it was, in fact, a crappy day. She was still yearning for Smarty Pants, her old boyfriend. Fleur De Lis loved Smarty Pants so much, and she couldn't bear to lose him. Unfortunately, this had already happened. Smarty Pants had ditched Fleur for the hot-shot Sapphire Shores, and Fleur was angry, to say the least. Fleur De Lis sat down, exasperated, on the bed. It was almost eight o'clock, two hours since the meeting between Sunset Shimmer, Trixie, and Celestia. She just hoped she used the correct, ladylike language and gestures. What was Fleur De Lis, anyway? Just another pretty Unicorn with a pink mane. (You want to know a secret? Fleur's mane was originally green until she dyed it. Have you ever heard of a Unicorn with a green mane? Unspeakable) The Unicorn had signed up for an internship mainly because she didn't want to be a trophy wife anymore. How many times has she been tossed out the door after another hotshot stallion stomped on her heart? Countless. She wanted to be...needed. Loved. Worth something more then her pretty face. Being a Power would give her that luxury. Fleur De Lis would be accepted into a community that loved her, that would bow down to her awesomeness. Awesomeness. Another unladylike word. If Smarty Parts found out, she would have been dumped ages ago. Fleur De Lis thought about her intentions when suddenly she began to drift to sleep, sprawled out on the bed. She would start training in the morning. "All right, cupcakes!" yelled out Sunset Shimmer like an army general the next morning. Trixie had gotten rid of that ridiculous wizard's hat and cape, while Fleur De Lis averted some terrible bed-head damage (using a few tips from Lotus Flower, Fleur's beautician). "Okay, so, today we will be doing something to let me know where you're at with magic," Sunset continued. "What I will be doing is creating an illusion with my magic, transporting us, so to speak, to a different location where there will be some tasks you must complete. Don't worry about passing this one, this is normally what we use at the final test. "So, what I will need you to do is just show me what you would do as a Unicorn to defeat this villain. Don't worry about a thing, this is ONLY an illusion, and you won't actually get hurt." Fleur and Trixie nodded simultaneously, and Sunset smiled. Her horn began to shimmer with a red aura. Soon, Sunset shut her eyes from the force of the magic, and the scene started to shift into what looked like the wrecked Canterlot Castle. Fleur started to panic, taken aback by the weirdness of the situation. Weirdness. How unladylike. Suddenly a form which looked like an Alicorn shimmered into place, and it started to become more detailed. The Alicorn's wings shifted into an oblong, oval-like shape, and its coat turned black. Her mane was misty, and her eyes were very cat-like. Trixie gasped. "Night Mare Moon!" It was, in fact, Night Mare Moon. Fleur screamed in terror at the sight. She had never seen Night Mare herself, but she knew the terrors that monster brought. Night Mare laughed. Fleur looked over at Sunset, who was taking notes on a pad of paper, completely unnerved by the situation. Trixie started to conjure up a spell. Fleur looked at her in awe. Was she seriously trying to beat this monster? Trixie suddenly looked up, done with her spell. Soon, a little rope, no longer then three feet, appeared and started to fly over to Night Mare to tie her legs. The black mare cackled, apparently amused by Trixie's antics, and she snapped the ropes without much effort. Trixie gasped, and ran back a bit, screaming. With a surge of confidence, Fleur stepped up to the Mare in the Moon, holding her head high. In the corner of her eye, she saw Sunset's eyes shoot up. Using a spell Fancy Pants had taught her, Fleur's horn started to glow a light pink aura. She started to summon all of her strength, and a surge of lilies started to fly from her horn each glowing a white light. The lilies wrapped around Night Mare Moon, strapping her legs together. Night Mare's eyes shot up, looking surprised. The glare from the lilies made the Mare in the Moon wince in pain, and screamed, not of pain, but of anger. Fleur's confidence sank lower then the sun. The spell itself was low rate and crappy. How much Fleur wished she could say that in public! Soon, Night Mare got fed up so much, in a flash of mist, she destroyed the lilies. Fleur watched them wilt. Then the mare reared up, yelling out a battle cry, and lunged towards Trixie and Fleur. The two Unicorns screamed, scattering everywhere. Somewhere in Fleur's thoughts, she knew she would die. Night Mare Moon galloped towards Trixie first, catching up to her quick. Trixie kept teleporting every few meters, though, causing the mare to scream in rage, shooting bursts of night magic everywhere. Trixie kept teleporting so much, that Night Mare soon got bored of her and threw her across the room using her magic. Trixie slammed against the wall with a slam, then slid down. Her body was limp on the floor. Fleur De Lis stifled back a scream, then turned her attention towards the evil mare. With a jump, Fleur realized how foolish she had been for taking her attention off of the Mare in the Moon, who was now hurtling towards her at top speed, horn glowing with a powerful magic. The horn pierced through Fleur's body, killing her instantly. "Well then," Sunset Shimmer remarked as the two Unicorns began to stir. "But...I thought I was dead!" Trixie stammered out, shaking out the last of her shivers. "Yes, well, I did tell you nothing would happen. It was just a projection," Sunset replied. Fleur was still shaking from her encounter with the evil mare. In fact, she was certain she could still feel Night Mare Moon's horn piercing through her heart. "So, how did we do, miss?" Fleur asked her, almost forgetting to put on her Manehattan accent. Sunset sighed. "Well, we have a lot of work to do."
SuckstersSunset Shimmer Great. Sunset sighed as she entered her room again. These Unicorns were terrible at magic! Seriously? A toy rope and a bouquet of flowers? Pathetic. They were most certainly Sucksters. Not even good enough to be a Born. What could Sunset do? Teach them? From what the two showed her, would it really help to teach them simple spells and watch them progress? Tomorrow would be better, she thought to herself as she drifted off to sleep. Sunset was invited to breakfast with the Powers the next morning. Before she left, she told Trixie and Fleur De Lis about her whereabouts, and told them to go walk around in town for a couple of hours. Just to meet her back at the arena at twelve, where they would start training. Sunset sat on the chair in the Imperial Dining Room meant only for Powers and greeted Head Professor Aura and the other Powers. "Good morning," she told them. This time, Sunset made it a point to make sure her mane was swept back in a neat way and that she didn't have bags under her eyes. "Morning, Sunset," replied Professor Neigh, who sat down next to Aura. Amethyst Star was two minutes late. She rushed in, and took her seat next to Blue Belle, her sister who had graduated a few years ago. Two minutes late was unacceptable in Unicorn society. It was either on time, or late. Blue Belle glared at her sister as if she was an anomaly. She looked run-down, scared, and tired. Sunset almost felt bad for the pony. Almost. "Now, I assume you know why we have called a meeting," Head Professor Aura started. Sunset nodded. "To talk about our jobs." "Correct. Now, Sunset, we do know about Princess Celestia's plan for you. Would you like to tell us what the job is?" Sunset nodded again. "Princess Celestia has assigned me two ponies for mentoring. If I bring those two ponies up to Power level, I will be granted the title 'Head Mentor', get a spot on the Unicorn High Council, and get to live in the Canterlot Castle." Amethyst Star's mouth dropped. "Wh...What?" "Amethyst, what job have you chosen?" Aura interrupted. Amethyst shook it out and straightened out. "I have chosen the job Potion Maker, to experiment with ingredients and make something better for the pony community," she said. "Wonderful," Aura replied, not looking all too impressed. "Now, Sunset, do we know these two ponies?" "I...I don't think so," Sunset stammered out. "Do you know the Great and Powerful Trixie and Fleur De Lis?" The Powers all shuddered. "Trixie? She's a joke!" "My sister knows a pony who knows a pony who knows a pony that knows Smarty Pants!" "I threw a tomato at Trixie once!" "Fleur De Lis? Isn't that French?" "I really have to pee!" The jumble of Power voices echoed through the room. Amethyst Star was smirking, staring at Sunset with cold eyes. What had Sunset ever done to her? "SILENCE!" Aura ordered, and the whole table did as she said. "Sunset is a very remarkable young Unicorn, perfectly capable of mentoring two ponies, even if their magical capacities are...low." "Ha! Low?" Amethyst shouted out, oblivious to the Powers staring at her. "These ponies literally have nothing to prove. It is impossible to teach such terrible beings!" Amethyst opened her mouth for more, but Blue Belle cut her off. "That's enough, sister. Sunset Shimmer will teach these ponies, I know she will." Blue Belle looked at me, her eyes confident. Blue Belle seemed like a nice pony. She obviously was the favorite among her parents, Sunset presumed. After the meeting was over, Sunset started to trot to the arena where Fleur De Lis and Trixie were hopefully waiting. Suddenly she felt a tap on her shoulder, and she turned her head. Blue Belle was standing over her, levitating a few books. Like her sister, Blue Belle was a Potion Maker. Maybe that's why she was looking at her sister with the evil eye. "Hey Sunset," Blue Belle greeted her. Sunset returned it. "So, um, sorry about my sister. She's kind of a flank-hole." Sunset nodded. "If, uh, you need any help with this project of yours, like a potion or something for training, just tell me." A friend of Blue Belle's waved over to her, and she scampered off. When Sunset arrived at the arena, Fleur and Trixie were already there. "So, what are we doing today?" Trixie asked. She looked rumpled, as if she had fallen asleep on an awkward position. "Basic magic," Sunset answered. Pulling out an overhead, she called on her skills as a teacher. Based on what Sunset saw yesterday, they were going to have to start at the beginning. Magic Kindergarten. "All right," Sunset said, sitting the two Unicorns down. "Now, we're going to learn the basics." She put a transparent sheet depicting an aura on the overhead. "What is this? Does anypony know?" Trixie raised her hoof. "It's the magic glow-y thing that happens when we call on our magic!'' "Right, but what is it called?" Trixie scrunched up her face. "Glow?" "No." Trixie hung her head in shame. What an idiot, not even knowing what an aura was. "Fleur?" "Huh?" Sunset's anger grew. "Do you know what this is?" "An aura." Sunset smiled. "Correct." Trixie looked at Fleur with wide eyes. "Hold on a sec," she said. "How the buck does she know something that I don't know?" Fleur looked at her. "My dear, I'm sure you're mistaken. I am Fleur De Lis. But before I was beautiful, I was an A-student." "What?" "Plus, I'm not an idiot. Come on, all of us are taught this in preschool. Even Pegasi and Earth ponies." Sunset face-hoofed. "First of all, Trixie, do not use that kind of language at class. Secondly, Fleur, we do not call ponies idiots!" After a few more hours of listening to the two bicker about questions, Sunset knocked over the whiteboard. "Screw it, I'm done," she said, exasperated, and ran off away from the arena, Trixie and Fleur De Lis calling her name. ~~~~~~ An hour later, Sunset was sitting at the bar in the Canterlot Castle. "What can I get ya?" asked the bartender. "A cider." He obeyed, filling the glass up, and handing it to Sunset, who grabbed it greedily. "So what's got you down, miss?" Sunset sighed, clearing her throat. "I'm supposed to mentor these two Unicorns, see, but they are terrible. Literally terrible. Never had a proper lesson in their lives. I just spent the last four hours teaching them elementary stuff, which they had problems with. And I'm supposed to make them Powers!" The bartender smiled. "Teaching them what?" "Well, about auras and how to levitate frigging quills!" "Maybe you're, well, boring them too much." "Boring them? These are things they should've known before they even applied! And they can't even name Starswirl the Bearded on sight!" He sighed, nodding his head. "Okay then. I'm just a bartender, there's not much I can help with. But I can tell you one thing: we all have cutie marks for a reason." He nodded to Sunset, and went on to the next customer. Sunset sat for a second, pondering what he just told her. We all have cutie marks for a reason? Obviously. But what did that have to do with her students? Then she remembered something. What had the two done with Night Mare Moon? Trixie used a show rope, as she might've used in a magic show. Fleur used a bouquet of lilies, which she might've used in a fancy party. Their cutie marks corresponded with the magic they chose. Show ropes, cutie mark adorned with a magic wand, used only at shows. Lilies, cutie mark with a fleur de lis. It was all coming to her now. She wouldn't be able to change their magic choices. All she could do was amplify them. Sunset dropped two bits for the cider, gulping down the remains, and a ten bit tip for the bartender. "Thank you, sir!" She said as she stormed out. The bartender waved.
