Magic Kindergarten

Chapters

The Summer-Sun Celebration
The Pursuit of Magic
Magic Kindergarten
Two Tests
The Prince
Ostracization
Reappraisals (i)
Reappraisals (ii)
Epilogue

The Summer-Sun Celebration

The lavender filly stood at the rear of the multitudinous crowd: a voluminous mass of ponies one thousand deep; the greatest number she had ever seen in one place. Ponies from all over Equestria had gathered to this one city for this celebration. The task before her she knew would prove to be herculean, and this was daunting for her. But she had to do this. She had to reach the front. She had to grasp that for which she had waited so long. For a year and a half, she had dreamed of this day. She had seen it in her dreams and it had become all but a reality until this moment. Each day she drowned herself in an ocean of eagerness. Each day Twilight readied herself.

It had started as just a wish when her mother mentioned her experience to her as a bedtime story. Twilight said that she would like to go someday. When she went to bed that night her mind weaved the events her mother had spoken into an extremely detailed actuality. Her dream made it quite real for her. And when she awoke that next day, that dream had become a desire.

For a long time she was never fully awake. When she was conscious she was daydreaming; her mind filing in each and every detail of what it would be like based on her mother’s vague story. When she dreamed at night, she lived through those details. It was so wonderful. It was almost like she was really there to see the wonders. Yet there came a day when that “almost” was not good enough for her. That dream had become a desire, and that desire was about to become a dream again. That dream was now so close to being a reality.

So she begged her parents to allow her to go that year. Unfortunately, they told her that she was too young to go to an event with so many people alone, and she didn’t want them to hold her back from getting to the front so they could not accompany her. So the event came, and she was forced to watch the sun rise from her bedside; knowing that her dream was only miles away from her in the same city. She was very distraught that week.

The next year came and once more she went to her parents and asked them. But they looked at each other with nervous faces and reluctantly told her that her aunt was being married on that day and that she had to attend the marriage ceremony with them. Imagine that! Who plans a wedding on the same day as a major event that only happens once a year and in one part of the world? Twilight tried to reason with them, but they would not budge. At the wedding, she was among those crying; though her tears were not joyful. Those two rounds were painful and regretful; precious time lost. She felt like a piece of her was cut away with each chance that she missed. This dream was something that she desired so greatly, and yet petty hindrances like marriages and her safety stood in her way.

Her fifth birthday arrived and she seized her chance. She asked her parents once more, one last time. If she failed, she would stop asking. Then she would put any thoughts or memories of it out of her mind. It was simply too painful for her to keep losing. Yet behold: out of the darkness of her long-suffering endurance there came a light. Their answer was finally a good one. If she was a good filly, then she could attend.

Twilight resolved to keep her promise rigorously. Each day preceding the day she tried her hardest to be good. She answered every adult by “Sir” or “Ma'am.” She did her chores before she was asked. She was respectful in every circumstance, and she never did anything naughty. The dream that drove her was now so within her grasp that she could not risk anything out of line. The prize was looming closer; just a nanometer from her reach. She could not allow anything to compromise her chances of taking hold of it. She had to have it. “I must have it.” She said. The day inched nearer and nearer. The slow drag of time was agonizing. It tore at her each second. She almost screamed aloud at one time, “Why won’t time go faster?”

Finally, the day came. At last it had arrived! It was before dawn that she raced through the streets of the capital city of the world. She galloped down the paved roads at twilight; cursing herself for not having woken up earlier. She looked ahead from atop the hill and saw that the sun was awaiting the call of its mistress for just a little longer than usual for this day. And descending into the valley, she came to the outskirts of the city, where the great sea of ponies stood. Truly, this was the time. This was what she had been striving for, for so long: The Summer-Sun Celebration, the one morning of the year when the magical Princess Celestia went to the ponies of the world and displayed her majesty and power before them. Today she would raise the sun from its hiding place before the ponies in Canterlot. How amazing that would be to see!

As she readied herself, an enemy loomed. Inside of her, feelings of doubt started to attack her. “What if it isn’t what I’m expecting?” She asked herself. “What if I’ve been making a mountain out of a molehill and I’ve wasted all this suffering for nothing?” She paused. “Maybe I should just turn back. I don’t want to be disappointed.” She turned around to run home, but then she remembered. “Twilight,” she asked herself angrily. “What are you doing? Was all that work for nothing? Did you work all those days so that you could run home to mommy and daddy? Get ahold of yourself.” Her own words inside her head strengthened her and she felt that she was ready to accept anything that she saw. She had great faith that anything and everything she saw would change her forever.

So she turned once more to the crowd. She had gone through a lot for a filly. She had been determined to this day. She had braved the loss of her childish pride when she forced herself to respect adults and lost valuable minutes that she could have used to play rather than listen to her dad and go straight to bed. Yet these were but mere hedges that she had to skip over. Now, between Twilight and her goal was a tremendous stone wall that she would have to break through. But in addition to being simply a monstrous whole, it was also composed of many parts. Each and every pony in the crowd was against her. They did not care for her or her dream. It may have just as well been that all the ponies in Equestria were against her; being there for no reason other than to impede her.

But now was not the time to tremble at the multitude. Now was the time to move. Every second that she spent worrying about the challenge ahead of her would be another precious second closer to the coming of the princess. She had to go now. There was no time for any more hesitation. She faced a hole in the sea and readied herself. Taking a deep breath, she charged towards the gap with a tiny yell.

She easily breached the outer part of the wall nudging aside two ponies who paid her no attention. Yet this was no victory. She had to keep moving. She immediately was stopped by a big stallion whom she could not get around. She had to race over to the right to pass through the legs of a larger pony. Then a path opened up before her and she sprinted onward through the masses. She hit a roadblock every ten levels or so and had to head to the sides to find another way. Occasionally, she even had to make herself backtrack.

It was difficult work, but she raced through the crowd like it was a maze. Her heart was pounding and within minutes her tiny legs were begging for a break. Yet she pressed onward. Each time that she had to nudge aside somepony it became harder. Every time she slammed against one that would not move, her morale weakened. Very soon her lungs were on fire and she was panting as she could not pace herself. She could not rest. She had to keep going.

It was taxing mental work as well. Every now and then, she would need to pause and think which way was the best course to take. She ran left and right down the rows to find a gap. Sometimes, she would actually have to ask someone to step aside, and even though they did not want to, Twilight was determined to make them move. So she talked them into it, using every kind of tactic she could from frowning and pouting to annoying those who would not let her pass.

She pressed on and on through the big crowd, yet there did not seem to be an end. At times she felt that she was about to lose hope. She could not see the end and it was demoralizing not to know how far she had left to go. Yet in spite of this she kept moving. In spite of all those against her, including her body which was begging her to stop, she carried on through the trial. She must have seen every kind of cutie mark then: baseballs, horseshoes, planets, mangos, just name it. If it had a visual image, Twilight saw it as somepony’s cutie mark. She saw many beautiful ponies and many ugly ponies. She saw mares and stallions who were young and old, and tall and short. All of these had come to Canterlot to see what she was motivated to see. All of them in front of her had arrived before her and were against her because of it, an army of thousands against one filly.

As she moved on, she looked up and saw that the sky was becoming lighter as the faintest rays of the sun crept up into the sky in anticipation for its rising. This meant she did not have a lot of time left. She did not know how far she had to go, but she pushed herself harder through the horde. It was at this time that she became very aware of the level of noise that was brushing past her. For a while, the throngs had been docile, but as time passed on, she thought that she noticed that an air of excitement was rising. That could only mean that the time for the princess to arrive was drawing nearer.

She had to go faster. She had to push harder. She had to keep going. Because of all of the physical exertion that her little body was not used to at all, half of her wanted to stop and settle for a spot halfway into the host. But she knew that she could not do that. She would never be able to see over all the tall adults in front of her. Her body ached all over and her coat was covered in sweat, but she kept going. She had sacrificed too much to stop now. It felt to her like she was now dragging lead weights tied to her hooves, yet the pain made her only want to run faster. It meant that she was one step closer each time she pulled along the ton attached to her.

Then she saw it. Through a mass of about fifty ranks, she saw a glimpse of white stone: the stage that she was moving towards. The goal was in sight. The prize was within her grasp! Once more she lifted her hooves which felt like they had been set ablaze, and trudged onward. Three times she was forced to stop and argue her way through, but when those in front of her saw her determination, they allowed her to pass. Ten times she had to backtrack to get around. Yet at last she was gazing upon the final bound. There was a clear gap in front of her. Without thinking, she leapt towards her prize and landed. She planted her hooves firmly upon the earth at the very front; staring at the ground.

Then she began to raise her head. As she did so, more doubt came to mind. “What did I just do? I’m more exhausted than I’ve even been before. Now that I’m in the front, what if I figure out it wasn’t worth it? That was so hard. How can anything ever amount to that?” And she stopped looking upwards. “Maybe I should just…” The words which she was about to let through her head were unthinkable. She was not going to turn around now. Not only had she spent so much time and effort to come here, but she had ran the gauntlet to arrive at this specific spot. She was sure that there were only a handful of ponies in the world who could say that they labored in the way she had just now. “I’m confident that this will be worth it.” She said. The filly looked up with confidence at the stage.

Her faith was immediately rewarded. Before her was the huge stone stage with the morning sky in the distance. In the center was a tall pole with a circle open at one point. On the sides were several stallions in shining brazen armor and holding trumpets. The stallions seemed all of a sudden to realize something. Then all at once, they filled their great lungs with air and blew into their trumpets. The blast of the instruments was deafening because Twilight was so close. It reverberated through her body and she could feel it in her chest.

Then in huge juxtaposition, everything was suddenly silent as a cemetery. As though there was an unspoken command to be quiet, nopony in the entire crowd said a word. Twilight leaned forward in anticipation as she waited for something to happen. Then, from the other part of the stage, she saw a figure rising up. First, she saw a horn; long and pointed. Then she saw an unfamiliar face rising above the steps, and then the rest of the body ascended. Twilight gaped in awe of what she saw. Before her was a beautiful white pony; the likes of which she had never before seen. It was true that she had a horn, but she also had wings. What kind of princess was this that was neither pegasus nor unicorn nor earth pony?

She also saw her stunning mane, which blew in the wind gracefully … except that there was no wind. Twilight could not believe her eyes, her wondrous multi-colored mane was flowing as though there was a breeze, and yet she felt none. Yet that was not even the best part. She was also big. And not just big, she was colossal. While most adult ponies were only three and a half to four feet tall, she stood at a height of six feet. And upon her face was an endearing smile as she looked upon her subjects as a mother would her children. Here she was, Princess Celestia, the ruler of all of Equestria.

Looking at the entire great crowd, the hybrid monarch bowed down and her horn began to glow. Twilight looked with glee and wonder as she saw this color. Then, without warning, she spread her wings which made her look even more sizable, and took off from the ground. There was a terrific sound and a gust of wind as she did so. And she flew up to the top of the pole which had the circle upon it. As she ascended, Twilight gasped, because so did the sun. As she climbed upward, the great fireball began to rise and shed the light of dawn on the ponies below.

When she was parallel with the circle she stopped and waited for the sun to meet her level. The great circle finally rose up and aligned perfectly with the circle in the pole. And as it did, Celestia spread her wings further apart and the light engulfed her as well as the whole crowd. Suddenly there was a huge burst of color, and it looked like the princess was made up of fire. At all this, the crowd suddenly went wild.

Amidst the mass of cheering ponies, Twilight stood in awe and wondered, “That was magic? Wow, I wonder if I could ever do anything like that.” The princess’ fiery appearance began to fade with the assembly still shouting with an abundance of excitement. She lowered her upraised head and seemed to look Twilight straight in the eye. Celestia smiled at her.

The Pursuit of Magic

Twilight stood at the bottom of the steps leading to the Great Library of Canterlot. The edifice, twelve stories high, was the second most massive building that she had ever seen after the palace atop the mountain of the city. It was a megalithic mass of polished stone with many windows and vines growing on its walls. Each level had a different design upon its walls, based upon what kind of knowledge it held. Each design became more and more elaborate as one’s eyes ascended up in their examination of the wonder.

Its porch was very large, boasting tall Corinthian columns at its entrance. Its overhang provided a good deal of shade. It was commonplace for many of the world’s greatest scholars and magi to congregate and converse with one another upon it. Twilight gazed at them for a moment and saw one group of unicorns that appeared to be in a heated debate over some philosophy. Though they were not shouting, they were speaking dynamically against one another with wisdom.

This brought Twilight back to her situation. All day on the Sunday of the Summer-Sun Celebration, her mind had been digesting what she had seen. She played the scene over and over again in her head and no matter how many times she imagined it, the memory never became dull or repetitive. Everything about what Princess Celestia did made her wonder: the colors of the dawn, her immense size, the power that she wielded, and the grace by which she carried out her scared duty.

Her dreams came easily that night, and during one of the replays of the episode, she made a pact with herself. She would learn as much about magic as she could. She would study and learn to use it better than anyone else. And maybe one day, she might hope to do something as awesome as what she had seen the wonderful princess do. But how would she do that? The answer was immediately evident. The city library would have plenty of books on magic. She would start there.

With this in mind, she started climbing the stairs. Though they were many, reaching the top was nothing compared to pushing through a crowd. She soon stood upon the porch and, traversing it, came to a pair of great iron doors, towering to a height of twenty feet. The gate-like entrance bore four designs, three flags with three different types of ponies: one represented a unicorn, another a pegasus, and the third was of farmlands, which she guessed must have represented the earth ponies. In the middle of these flags was a large image of Celestia’s face. The sight of the doors captivated her for a moment, but she shook her head and focused on her task. She put her head against one door and pushed hard. After a moment’s effort, the portal gave way and opened up for her. She walked in and it swung shut behind her.

Though she had glimpsed the outside, she had never been inside before. She froze after taking a few steps. Everything she saw was awesome. She looked above and saw the ceiling of the first level which must have been twice the height of the others (maybe about seventy feet). To her surprise, it was made of transparent glass. She guessed magic must have made it indestructible. The temperature was also a little cool, so magic as well must have kept the sun from heating up the inside too much. But not only this floor, but the ceilings of every other floor were also made of glass; allowing her to view the magnificent blue sky from the ground level. This made the whole building seem so open. Being able to see not only the endless sky, but also the thousands of bookcases above made her feel like nothing she searched for could be kept a secret. The morning sun illuminated the giant bookcases. Every shelf was filled was books both new and old. Twilight stood aghast as she took in the meaning of what she was seeing. All of the knowledge of Equestria was here. Anything and everything that was known was written in these books.

A voice interrupted her thoughts. “Well hello there. Can I help you find something?”

Twilight looked towards the direction of the voice. Now in front of her was standing an elderly tan mare with a blond mane and tail. She was wearing reading glasses and had a horn protruding from her head. She was smiling sweetly at Twilight. The lavender filly responded, “Oh, yes. I’m looking for some books on magic.”

The librarian chuckled. “Well dear, we have quite a few books on magic. Is there any specific field you are looking for?”

Twilight paused as she had not really thought that far into this. “I, um…well, I want to learn magic.”

A twinkle appeared in the mare’s eye. “Oh, I see. Well, follow me and I think I can easily find an introductory book for you.” So she led Twilight from the entrance up to a grand staircase on the left. They traveled upwards; passing five floors and then stepped out next to the rows of shelves.

As they walked down the rows, Twilight found it hard to believe that there could be so much written on the subject. “Are all these books about magic?” She asked.

Again the librarian chuckled. “Well, actually, this is only the first floor with books for simple spells. The six floors above us also are filled with more.”

Twilight found it hard to wrap her head around this. This floor itself seemed huge and went on in both directions for as far as she could see. “Wow,” she said in a whisper. “I’ve got a lot to learn.”

The old unicorn responded, “You seem like a smart young mare. I think you’ve got what it takes if you put your mind to it.”

Those words made Twilight feel empowered. As fanciful thoughts streamed through her, the librarian turned into a row and brought her down it until she reached the wall next to a window. Her horn glowed with a blue color and she began to pull out books. The tomes hovered in the air with a glow that matched her horn. Twilight gasped. “You can do magic?” She screamed out excitedly.

The mare cringed, and quickly put a hoof to her lips; reminding Twilight that they were in a library.

Twilight blushed and lowered her voice. “Oh, sorry. You can do magic?”

“How else would I be able to take these books out of their places?”

Twilight was now very excited. She had taken it for granted before, but every now and then she noticed that her Mom or Dad would make something fly like a fork or a newspaper. She had not really questioned it at the time, but after she had seen Princess Celestia raise the sun, the idea was suddenly very amazing. “How are you doing that?” She asked the elder unicorn. “Is it hard?”

She continued to select and levitate a couple more books. “Well actually dear, most unicorns my age can levitate light objects. Haven’t you seen your parents do it?”

“Well yeah, but I went to see the Summer-Sun Celebration yesterday. And then I saw Princess Celestia bring up the sun.”

The mare’s eyes lit up. “Ah, well, as you can imagine, the sun is a bit heavier than a few books.” She had found five books. Now she organized them into a stack. “Alright, I think I’ve got you enough to start with. Excuse me.” She said as she stepped around Twilight and guided her further down the floor.

They came to a table with several chairs around it, and the librarian set the books down atop it. “There you go. Here are five books that every foal should read when they start with magic.”

Twilight jumped up into the chair in front of them. “Thank you.”

“You’re very welcome. If you need anything else don’t hesitate to ask.”

“Thanks again. My name’s Twilight.”

The mare smiled and responded, “Very nice to meet you Twilight. My name is Sandy Tomes, but you can call me Miss Sandy.”

“Alright, Miss Sandy.” Said Twilight. With that, the mare stepped away and left Twilight to her books. Twilight then pulled the top book in front of her and pushed the others away. The hardcover book was not huge, but it was bigger than most of the books she was used to reading. Its cover read, “The Pursuit of Magic, Revised for Foals.” Below were two lines for the authors. The first had a single name, Platony. The second read, “Translated and revised by Sandy Tomes.” She gasped and smiled when she recognized the name. Eagerly, she opened up the hardcover. Yet it took a moment to reach the right page because of her hooves. Eventually though, she managed to find the page with the word, “Introduction” at the top.

Twilight began to read. As the words poured into her head, it became immediately apparent this this book was unlike anything she had read before. While most of the literature she had read until now consisted of stories and tales, this did not seem to have any characters. Nor was there anything happening. It was like the whole was one big exposition. She found this at first difficult to deal with. Yet as Miss Sandy had said, Twilight was a smart filly, and her brain soon compensated for the problem.

She envisioned that she was standing in white space, looking around at nothingness. In front of her suddenly appeared a maroon stallion with a long grey beard. He too was a unicorn. “Who are you?” She asked the phantom.

He answered with a clear, Equestrian accent. “My name is Platony. One of the ancient magi.”

Realizing that she was imagining the author of the book, she asked, “Can you teach me about magic?”

The stallion smiled. “Are you willing to learn from me?” He asked in response.

She said confidently, “Oh, yes; I’ll do anything it takes.”

“Then I it is possible I may be able to help you. Unfortunately, my words are too incomprehensible for you; my thoughts too complex. You are not yet ready for them. Though you may listen, you will not hear.”

Twilight was now puzzled. “But then how-”

“But though my words are not fit for you, do not lose hope; for another has made them useful to you. She will be your translator. Look now; she comes.” Saying this, he gestured to his left and she saw an image of Miss Sandy appear out of nothingness. She smiled and waved at Twilight. Platony continued. “By her words, you will listen to mine, and by her guidance, your ears will be open. And then one day, you will understand my words as though they were hers.”

He spoke again, but no sound came from his mouth. When Twilight was about to say something, Miss Sandy spoke; anticipating her question. “You can’t hear him anymore because I’m going to speak for him now.”

Twilight immediately understood. “Then what did he say?”

“He said, ‘Now, shall we begin?’”

The filly answered her, “Yes.” Then the mouth of Platony started to speak rapidly. While he spoke, his horn glowed and images filled the open white space of the world that she was imagining. Soon, the white nothingness became a dim cave. Upon the walls of the cave, she saw shadows and behind her she perceived that there was a light but she could not turn her head to see its source. When she asked about the cave, Miss Sandy said, “This is the cave of ignorance. This is where you’ll stay and learn for a little while. Those are shadows of knowledge and Platony is going to explain them to you through me.”

But Twilight was unsatisfied. “But why can’t I see what they really are? Why just the shadows?”

Miss Sandy answered, “That’s a good question. ‘Why can’t you see anything other than shadows? Well, all fillies begin in this cave. Why don’t you look down at yourself?”

Twilight looked down and saw that she was in chains. She squealed and asked, “What is this? Why am I all chained up?”

Her teacher’s expression became sympathetic. “Like I said, all fillies begin here. Your goal is to break out of those chains, but you can’t do it yourself. That’s why we’re here. We’re going to help you out of them, but we can’t just yet. In order to break out of them, you first need to learn a little about your surroundings. Namely, let’s learn about the shadows first. Can we do that?”

“But isn’t there a faster way?” Twilight asked.

“This is your first lesson Twilight: There are no shortcuts in life. And there aren’t any in learning either.” She heard these words and trusted Miss Sandy. And again Platony started speaking about the shadows. Twilight’s mind was filled with a myriad of ideas over the course of time. She was completely immersed in the world that her imagination had created for herself. Even when she turned a page with difficulty, her concentration was not broken. As she read the words on the pages, she did not perceive them as dull words, but she heard them from the mouth of Miss Sandy. She learned about magic and began to understand some of the basic rules that surrounded it. She found herself captivated by what she was hearing as her eyes poured over the pages. It was so interesting to learn about everything she was being told. She felt like she could do this forever.

A hoof tapped her on the shoulder. She was back in the library again; sitting at the table with some books in front of her. She looked up to see Miss Sandy. The librarian said, “Sorry to disturb you dear, but it’s getting late. Don’t you think you’d better get home soon?”

Twilight looked out the window and saw that the morning sun that was in the east when she began was now close to its setting in the west. “Oh,” she exclaimed. “You’re right. It is getting late. My parents are gonna wonder what happened to me.” She stepped out of the chair to leave.

“Would you like to take that book with you?” Miss Sandy asked.

Twilight’s eyes lit up. “Can I?”

“You have to bring it back in less than eight days, but up until then, you can take it anywhere.” The little filly cheered and did a little dance. The elder unicorn smiled and picked up the book. “My, you’ve gotten quiet far into this, for only a day.” She said as she looked at the page number: two hundred. She was only five pages from the finish. “Would you like to take those other books with you as well?” Again Twilight cheered and said, “Oh, yes!”

Magic Kindergarten

Twilight peered over the cover of the next book inside the comfort of her room. This one’s title was written in gold letters: “Seven Cardinal Laws of Magic, Revised for Foals.” As was the case with “The Pursuit of Magic,” this one had two authors as well. It was translated and revised by Miss Sandy of course, but the author of this book was another stallion by the name of Day Cart. She giggled and thought it seemed like a funny name.

Last night, she had finished the “The Pursuit of Magic.” Within her imagination, she asked her teacher, “Am I out of the chains yet?”

She responded, “I can only answer questions that can be answered within the context of the works that you reading. It is true that I am a projection of your thoughts that are being formed by reading, but remember, I’m also a figment of your imagination. I cannot answer questions about you (let’s call those ‘introspective’ questions from now on, dear). Only you may do that. But your question is not difficult to answer. Simply look at yourself.”

Twilight looked within herself and envisioned the cave once more. Yet when she looked down, she found that she was still in chains. “Darn it! I’m still in the same place I was. What do I do now?”

Platony appeared next to Miss Sandy and answered, “Though I still have much to teach you, the limits of this work have been exhausted.” He paused and then said forlornly, “I wish I could teach you myself. There is so much that I could show you. But alas, my thoughts are still too complex for your understanding. There is only but one solution. You must continue on and read the next book. Let us find another teacher for you.”

At the idea of learning more and meeting a new author, Twilight became very eager. “Yes, that sounds like a great idea. Let me just-” Her train of thought ended there. It was late by this point and time for her to go to bed. She fell asleep at her desk.

She was a bit distraught that her body was so weak. She did not like the prospect of wasting time to sleep, but it could not be helped. As soon as she woke up, she looked at the copy of the “Seven Cardinal Laws of Magic.” Once more, she opened up the book mundanely and took pains to reach the introduction page. When the labor was accomplished, she began to read this work. She now envisioned another teacher. Her mind’s eye conjured an image of a pale pony with a black mane and tail. He also had black mustache. “So, Mr. Day Cart,” Twilight said, “What do you have to teach me?”

The pony spoke with the same, Equestrian accent as Platony. “Unlike my predecessor who taught you of the freedoms of magic, I am present to show you its limitations. Yet we have in common that our words are too complex for an unlearned filly.” It was with this that Twilight was beginning to realize that she could discern many things about the authors of these books. Though they were dead, they were once living ponies with unique personalities. She knew this because Day Cart seemed to talk down to her. But she shook her head of this and looked to Miss Sandy who spoke in lieu of her new teacher and related to her the very basics of his work. By the end of the day, Twilight had understood the contents of that book. As with the previous night, she was about to begin on another book that was also originally authored by Day Cart, yet she fell asleep even before she could read the title.

Over the next three days, Twilight read the other three books, each of which was around two hundred pages long. She also met a new teacher, Star-Swirl the Bearded. Unlike her first two teachers, he apparently came from a time where wisdom was at an all-time low. Yet despite the depravity of the world, he was apparently one of the greatest magi that ever lived. She was proud to say that she was learning from him. So she had spent five days reading five books rewritten by Sandy Tomes that a foal could understand. One of these was from Platony, two were from Day Cart, and two were from Swirl-Swirl the Bearded.

After she had read these, she called the three of them together. “So, I’ve finished all the books.” She said. “What do you think I should do now? Should I bring these back and get more?”

Day Cart answered, “No, you have consumed enough. I believe it is high time you digested all of this.”

The filly asked, “What do you mean?”

Again he spoke but no sound came out. Miss Sandy, who had appeared, spoke for him. “You have done a very good job Twilight and you should be proud of yourself.” The little unicorn blushed. “However, you need to do more than memorize all of this information separately. Now you need to synthesize and make sense of what you’ve learned.”

“Synthesize?”

“Yes, you need to take all the knowledge you have now and mold it all into a single whole. In other words, you need to pit their ideas against each other.”

“How do I do that?”

“You can have them argue in your head.”

The next few hours were one of the most exhilarating experiences Twilight had ever had. Each of the three stood in a circle and passionately discussed with one another excitedly. Their wisdoms clashed in the sport of debate. Though she could not hear them speak, the elderly mare spoke for them. Yet their body language displayed all the passion that was necessary to make it interesting. Twilight smiled with glee as she saw the best of the best magi in all of history pit the knowledge that she had learned against one another in verbal combat. Each time one spoke, it was like he swung a sword against another. And when the other defended his viewpoint regarding the topic at hand, she could almost hear with her real ears the sound of the shining sword bang against a metal shield. She wished she had done this before, because while gathering information was fun, dissecting it was thrilling.

A voice interrupted her thoughts again. “Twilight?”

She was suddenly pulled from her rapture and looked behind her. Twilight’s mother was at the door. “Oh, hey Mom.” Her mother was a white unicorn with a mane and tail colored with white and lavender stripes. Her eyes were a light cerulean and her cutie mark was of three purple stars. “I was just thinking about what I’ve been reading.”

"Her mother asked, “Is that what you’ve been doing over the past few days? You barely come out of your room anymore.”

“Yep. I’ve been studying magic.” She said happily.

Her mother suddenly beamed with an expression of both surprise and gladness. “Really? What brought you to that?”

Telling the story never became dull for Twilight. “When I went to the Summer-Sun Celebration, I saw Princess Celestia raise the sun with magic. And now I want to learn all about it.”

“You know, if you want to learn magic - which is something that most unicorns try at some point or another - you could go to school.”

This caught Twilight’s interest. “What would that be like?”

“Well, if they want to get really good at magic, most unicorns go to school. There they have lessons every weekday with others their age. And if they study hard enough, they can get a degree and maybe go on to become a mage.”

Though Twilight was familiar with the term, she was not entirely sure of what being a mage entailed so she asked, “What’s a mage?”

Her mother answered, “A mage is a pony that dedicates her or his life to studying magic. Some teach other young unicorns, and others study kinds of magic that haven’t been studied. And a select few serve as advisors in the court of Celestia.”

She added that last sentence with an emphatic tone. Twilight picked up on that immediately. She asked excitedly, “So, you mean, if I went to school, then one day I could work for Princess Celestia?” When her mother nodded, she exclaimed, “So can I go to school?”

“Well I suppose it would be good for you. Your dad and I were thinking about sending you to regular school soon. You’re about the right age. But because of what you’re interested in, I think we should enroll you in magic kindergarten.”

Twilight gave a shout of cheer. “When can I start going?”

“Well it just so happens that a new school year is about to begin on Monday. You could start going then.”

Twilight could barely sleep that night. Her thoughts of one day serving in the royal court were too exciting to allow for her to drift off. She thought about meeting the princess face-to-face and she showing her all the secrets of how she raised the sun. Finally, somewhere in the night, she fell into dreams of walking through the hidden places deep inside the palace with Celestia; exploring the tunnels which led to libraries that the commoners knew nothing about. She dreamed of becoming the most powerful mage in the world and working alongside Celestia to uncover the most unexplored regions of magic.

Then she began to entertain the proudest fantasies that a young filly could imagine. She dreamed of confronting old stallions thrice her age and defeating them in debates; reforming the uncontested laws of magic before their eyes. She envisioned herself sitting on a cushioned, golden throne at the right hoof of Celestia; being second in command of all of Equestria and answering only to her princess. She was enthroned in the great solar palace, the great castle which had endured since ancient times. And Celestia, wishing to lighten her load, endowed Twilight with the authority to raise the moon each evening.

These fancies made it all the easier to study on Saturday and Sunday in preparation for this “magic kindergarten” Somewhere during the course of her reading, it occurred to her that this sort of activity was different than what she did before. While she usually went out to play strenuous games with Moon Dancer and Lyra, now she was doing something that seemed like it should be less exciting. She was not running around like when they played tag or agilely skipping like when she played hopscotch. She was just sitting there with her eyes glued to a book. Yet the she realized that while it may have been less sensational than playing a game, she desired to do it.

On one hand, she knew that studying would help her pursue her dream. It was by reading that she could achieve what she wished for. She did not consider it to be work, but if she “worked” hard, then she could one day serve in the court of the princess. But she also found that after she had begun reading, in addition to the motivation that she had, now she also realized that studying could be fun. She loved to see the images which her mind created for her when her teachers spoke of a type of magic, or see the detail that pervaded her thoughts as they described a place. She loved even more though to reason out what she had learned until she could determine what was true and what was not. Learning was great, but thinking for herself was even better. It was this realization that she considered in her head even until she was walking into the classroom of the school.

She sat in a classroom with nineteen other unicorns. The walls were painted with a shade of faded pink and purple, but had several posters lined up with motivational words written in bright, colorful hues. Twilight sat next to the left of a white stallion with a mane colored a light amber. His eyes were a bright artic blue. She noticed that several of the other foals were talking with one another, so she spoke to him. “Hello, I’m Twilight.”

The unicorn looked as if he would not respond for a moment, but eventually said, “My name is Prince Blueblood.” His voice, though high pitched, was quite posh.

“Prince? That’s a first name I’ve never heard before.”

“It is not my name. It is my title.”

Twilight’s eyes dilated. “Oh, you’re a prince?”

He looked like he was very glad to hear this question and said with pride, “Yes, Princess Celestia is my great-great-great- [he continued repeating the word for such a long time that Twilight lost track of the number] great-grandmother’s sister.”

When the notion that he was related to her role model came to her, she became ecstatic. “Oh my gosh, you know Princess Celestia? I have so many questions for you.”

It was at that moment that a white, female unicorn with a blue-mane walked in. “Alright my little ponies," She said. "Settle down. It’s time to begin our first day.” Twilight screamed in frustration inside her head. Oh, well, she would have plenty of time to interrogate her classmate later. When everypony was silent, the teacher continued. “Welcome everypony to magic kindergarten.” She said with an enthusiastic voice. “My name is Miss Selene and I will be your teacher. Now, the first thing that I want to do is play a game.” At this, most of the class cheered. The notion of combining learning and games at first excited Twilight. But then Miss Selene said that the point of the game would be to learn about their classmates.

Twilight did not like the idea that she would spend her time that she could use to learn more about magic in order to know other ponies, yet she thought that it would be at least good to meet her fellow inquisitors into the field of magic. So while they played the game, she tried her hardest to remember everypony’s name and what their favorite food and color were.

After this, Miss Selene said, “Good job, everypony. I think that this effort calls for snack time.” She said with emphasis on the last two words. All in the classroom shouted happily except for Twilight who was again denied the chance to begin her studies. Yet nonetheless, the brightly colored treats that the teacher had brought made her lose her focus for a while. So along with her classmates, she rushed to devour a large portion of sugar.

After this, Miss Selene had all the foals sit in their seats again. Then, to Twilight’s relief, she finally said, “Alright, now I think it’s time that we did a little learning. Now, who can tell me what we are here to learn?”

A dozen hooves shot up in the air. Twilight’s was among the first. The teacher called upon one of the fillies just left of the left-center. “Yes, Amethyst? What are we here to learn?”

The magenta filly answered, “Magic.”

“Very good.” Miss Selene exclaimed. “Now what we are going to be learning this month, are the first two of the seven rules of magic.”

Twilight immediately began to regress within herself. She saw her teacher Day Cart and she asked him, “Are those the things that you taught me?”

He answered, “She is indeed speaking of the Seven Cardinal Laws of Magic, which you have read a summary on.” And speaking as a projection of her memory, he said, “The first two laws are thus. One: Magic should always be used for the good of ponies. Two: Magic will cause the mage to fatigue at a rate faster than she/he normally would, and proportionally to the difficulty of the magic being used.” Hearing this, Twilight immediately resurfaced. That recollection process had taken but a second. She raised her hoof.

The teacher, not expecting a response to a statement, said, “Yes, Twilight; do you have a question?”

“No,” she answered. "I know what the first two rules are."

The white unicorn was surprised. “Really,” she asked. “Can you tell me?” Twilight recited the words verbatim. “Wonderful,” Miss Selene exclaimed. “You are going to have a jump on things, because that’s what we will be doing for the next month.”

Again, Twilight regressed inside herself. This time, all three of her teachers were before her. “Did you hear that?” She asked with disappointment. “We’re only going to learn about two of the laws for the whole month. But I’ve already read the book on those.”

Miss Sandy tried to reassure her. “Be patient, Twilight. Do you remember all those bookshelves in the library? Well, some of those shelves are filled with entire books on just those laws. So while you are learning about the first two laws, you can read more on them.” Her teachers nodded in agreement.

That was all the learning Twilight did that day to her dismay. After they had recited the first law five times, they went out to recess, where she had a degree of fun playing games. Yet during this time she could not help but regret that she was wasting valuable time. The same was true for nap time (there was no way she could sleep) and an extended lunch period. At last, she and her classmates returned to recite the first law again, yet that concluded the day and everypony went home. Twilight’s mother picked her up and escorted her home. Yet it was not long before she found herself returning to the library to have her fill of knowledge that she was denied that day.

Two Tests

Twilight continued to search for magic as the days passed and she began to undergo what she felt when at the Summer-Sun Celebration. The world seemed to be against her. Every factor of her life was structured to discourage her from accomplishing her dream. On the one hand, her days in magic kindergarten were passing agonizingly slow. Her desire for knowledge was like a ravenous hunger. She went to school so that she might be fed. Yet when she arrived, she found that the teacher dangled out little strips of food that she had to beg for like a dog. Each day when it finally came to learn something, her heart would leap up at the mention of food. Yet just before she could begin on anything other than the appetizer, they moved on. To make matters worse, when they did move on, she occasionally did not realize it. When Miss Selene happily exclaimed it was time for a snack she could not help but lose focus on the distant prize and favor instead the immediate one. It was like the educational system was designed to lead her astray from the straight path that she was walking.

On the other hand, when she went into the world of a good book and met once more with her teachers, the experience was like drinking water. If she drank a lot of it, she would be full for a little while, but soon she would feel hunger again. Yet despite this, it was all she had to fill herself. So she spent a great deal of time in her room studying; desperately trying to fill the rumbling stomach that was her mind. The problem was that while Miss Sandy was a very good writer, there were occasionally concepts that Twilight did not understand. There were questions that still lingered in her mind after reading a certain passage. Yet there was nothing other than what was written on the pages. She needed a physical teacher. That was why she wished so dearly that magic kindergarten was more challenging.

But her acquisition of knowledge was not only affected by internal factors. There were several other problems that she had to deal with daily. Very soon, Twilight started to feel a bit lonely. She started to realize that studying all day and sleeping all night would not do. She was not antisocial by any means and felt a need to be around other foals her age. So she had to return to her friends and spend time with them. This too was like a hunger that had to be satisfied from time to time. And as is this case with eating delicious food, playing with her friends was quite enjoyable. She did not regret that she enjoyed their company, but when the day had suddenly flown by, she felt a pang in her mind: She could have used that time to pursue magic. Again, everything seemed to be against her.

Yet as far as schooling went, she reminded herself that she was there not only to achieve inner success, but also gain outward credibility. She was there to pass the class. That was how she would show her future employers that she had the right stuff for the job. And that was why when Miss Selene announced that after the conclusion of the first month that they would have a test, Twilight became very excited. “This is my first chance to prove myself.” She said. “This is the reason that I’m here. Finally, all this is about to become worthwhile.”

The same could not be said for her classmates. When the test was announced, Twilight was the only one with a grin on her face. Everypony else seemed quite worried and moaned. Even Prince Blueblood, who seemed constantly overconfident, remarkably did not express his gladness that he would be able to prove his abilities. Twilight had a difficult time understanding this, yet she believed that the reason would make itself clear soon enough.

The content of the test would come as no surprise. Miss Selene announced in the preceding class that they would have to write down the first cardinal law of magic word for word as it was written upon the whiteboard. This brought another unexpected chorus of moans from everyone but Twilight. Though she already knew the law verbatim, she spent two hours the preceding night writing and rewriting it. She had to make sure every word was in its proper place and that even the punctuation was correctly positioned. Though despite her certain chance of earning a perfect score the night before, she was still worried. She went to the teachers of her mind and asked them, “What if I don’t pass?”

Star-Swirl the Bearded, now speaking not as a projection of the knowledge in a book, but as Twilight’s perceived notion of how he would answer such a question, answered, “But you most certainly will pass. How could you not? How could it be any simpler?”

“But what if I get nervous and somehow forget?”

“Twilight,” he said. “You know not only this, but the other six laws as though they were carved into your hoof. You will pass this with flying colors.” And hearing this assurance from her mentor, gave her peace of mind. She slept easily that night with the comfort that the next day would hold a brilliant future for her.

The time came. She sat at her desk in the classroom with a blank sheet of paper in front of her and a pencil in her mouth. Her task was to write a simple sentence. Never had such a simple thing seemed more complicated than now. With extreme care she began to write the sentence; making sure that every piece was exactly where it needed to be. When she was done, she began to erase portions of it and made them neater. She had to be absolutely certain that no letter or punctuation mark could be mistaken for another. With the skill of a calligrapher who has practiced his art for years, her muzzle traced the each letter onto the page. Focusing on each microscopic fragment of a letter, she did not allow even the tiniest stroke be anything less than perfect. When she was finished, she widened her field of vision once more to examine her work. She was satisfied:

Magic should always be used for the good of ponies.

In the end, when ten minutes had passed, everypony was done, and that concluded the actual work for the day.

That night she could not overcome her anxiety. She had done all she could to make sure she could receive a perfect score, but what if it was not enough? What if she had somehow overlooked the simplest and most careless error? The possibilities welled up inside of her. Those possibilities soon became fears. And those fears soon become very certain realities. What if that one little mistake through off her entire score? What if she even received a negative grade? She might have to repeat magic kindergarten. She might be stuck there for years to come. What if her parents finally gave up on her after her failing many times and sent her to normal school? What if she was unable to pass that too? The series of possibilities went on and on through her head. This continued throughout the night until the sun finally rose in the morning and it was time to go to school.

Before she knew it she was sitting in that desk again next to Prince Blueblood. She flinched as Miss Selene announced, “Alright, my little ponies, I’ve graded your tests last night and I’m going to pass them out now. Some of you did very well, and others not so well. But for those of you who didn’t get a perfect score, don’t get down. You’ll have plenty of chances to make up for it.”

Twilight could not hear her last sentence over the sound of blood pulsing through her ears. Her heart was beating like a jackhammer and she was sweating like a pig. “This is it, Twilight.” She told herself. “This is what’s going to determine the rest of her life. Get ready.” As Miss Selene passed out the papers, she seemed to be moving in slow motion. Each second that passed was an agonizing year. She felt also like a ton of weight was upon her shoulders and that she was going to have to bear it all this time. The lack of sleep made her weary, but the adrenaline rushing through her system did not allow for the comfort of sleepiness.

As the white, blue-maned unicorn neared, Twilight imagined that she was dressed in a black robe. What was visible of her her body was not covered in fur but was made of only bone. She approached her slowly; being in no rush. With her horn she carried a white piece of paper, but to Twilight it did not seem so. It was instead a black scroll sealed with a red seal from the princess herself. It was a notice of her impending execution. As the scroll was laid on her desk (in truth placed with the words down), she did not want to open it. She did not want to read the words that would herald her coming doom. But something compelled her to as though her hooves moved of their own accord. They broke the seal (turned over the sheet) without her command, and her head which was turned away involuntarily moved to gaze at the writing.

A fraction was written at the top of the page. The denominator, she knew, represented the standard. It was the number that was necessary for her life’s continuance. That her whole life ahead of her could be bound by something as small as a number fazed her, yet she brought herself to read it: One hundred. One hundred was the defining factor. She had to earn one hundred points in order to be deemed worthy. And the fact that she could do nothing about it made her feel intensely helpless. Her destiny had already been written before she came to read it. Her lifespan determined (by her own hoof) ere she arrived to hear it.

Her eyes moved slowly upwards; approaching the end result. How she wished her eyes would remain in the low depths and never ascend to the terrible truth that loomed above. How she wished that she could remain in the silent comfort of the grave. This idea of her present uncertainty brought back a memory. She thought about the chains that bound her inside the cave of ignorance. And though they were cruelly restricting, at the same time, now they seemed sympathetic. The chains kept her safe from the terror of the light; the light which revealed the unforeseen and unknown truth. Now, she thought that they seemed like they were kind. This made her consider for a moment never allowing her eyes to move above that line that separated her from the standard of perfection, and reality. She did not have to gaze upon the harsh light of reality. She did not have to leave the comforting dark of the cave that she knew so well and venture out into the light which held so many unfamiliar things.

Yet as the sweat poured down her body and her heart labored to pump fresh blood throughout her body, somewhere inside of her mind, a voice spoke. It was not any of her teachers, yet it was a voice that seemed so familiar. After a moment’s thought, she realized it was her own voice. Yet the voice was much deeper and more developed, as though she was as many as fifteen years older. At first it was quiet and she could not understand the words. But as the eternities passed, it became stronger. It increased several times in volume, and she heard her own words loud and clear. “The truth is worth it.”

These words were repeated so that she could hear them two more times. And they reverberated inside of her mind; echoing through the hallways of her soul. Hearing these words, her spirit was strengthened with a sudden mighty passion. For a moment she thought about doing all she could to break out of the chains; to fight and struggle with relentless passion against them until her unyielding spirit broke them. She thought about how great it would be to go into the world of the light and see more than just the shadows of truth. She dreamed that one day she would be able to break those chains which restrained her from being all that she could be and pursuing with all her strength the prize that she longed for. Just the idea suddenly filled her with a great strength. Thus in spite of all of her fear, she looked upwards and gazed upon the number above the line which separated the ideal and the reality. She broke the barrier and looked upon the truth: One hundred.

Time, which had slowed to a stop, suddenly quickened to its normal flow. Twilight was back inside of the classroom again. The massive weight upon her shoulders was lifted. Though in its place, a tidal wave of relief crashed against her and her head fell forward onto her desk. Her breathing and heartbeat slowing down, and being cooled by the ocean of sweat upon her, her racing body had finally come to an exhausted rest. After she left school, she went home and slept until evening. In her dreams, her teachers chided her for making the simple task of looking at her grade so difficult. Ms. Sandy said, “Mares entering adulthood sometimes feel stress on that level, but for a filly, it’s just unnatural. You really should take it easier Twilight. Doing well is important, but a small setback won't be the end of the world.” Though Twilight paid little attention.

Her first successful test by no means gave her incentive to take time for leisure. Instead, it reignited her already burning passion and strengthened her will to continue on. She had passed the first test, but maintaining her perfection, she thought, would still be difficult. So she continued to spend her days with her nose in her books; lost in the world that her mind had created for her. Her teachers, seeing the overwhelming effort that she was putting forth, praised her, but Platony and Ms. Sandy in particular took pains to try and convince her to lighten the load that she was placing on herself. “You don’t have to spend all day reading. Why don’t you go have fun?”

Twilight only responded, “I can’t do that. I have to keep studying as much as I can. Besides, this is fun.” The cycle in her class renewed itself. She and her classmates were still subject to the same daily activities, but now they were practicing memorization of the second law, which, of course, Twilight had already burned into her mind. Yet as with before, she did not take the task before her lightly. In addition to pursuing her studies personally, she spent about an hour each day repeating the law aloud and writing it down with the skill of a calligrapher in preparation for the upcoming test.

In terms of her personal endeavors, she had not yet begun traversing the matter of applicable magic, but was developing her understanding of it by researching theory. It seemed good to each of her teachers also to take time to instill within her the ethics of magic and well as philosophy. This kind of teaching was specifically interesting to Twilight. Hearing Day Cart and Platony debate with each other about the idea of perception was far beyond what her mind could comprehend, but it stimulated her to ask questions to which there were always answers.

So another month came and rolled by. Twilight went to the library to acquire a new set of books every week. The next test was approaching. She knew exactly what would be on it. She had to write down the second cardinal law of magic; however, once more, Twilight was becoming anxious. While the idea of the last test was dreadful for her at the time, this one was somehow even more maddening. Now, not only did she have to worry about passing the test, but she also had to worry about meeting the standard she had made for herself. By doing so well on the last one, she had boxed herself into a small claustrophobic cage, with little legroom. But she pressed on. She studied hard, and by the night preceding the test, she believed that she was ready. Though of course, sleep once more evaded her, and she was half exhausted by the morning of the second test.

Once more the classroom was silent as the test began. Once again, she sat there with a blank piece of paper which would determine her fate. As she traced out the glyphs of the Equestrian writing system, she felt it was necessary to erase and rework each one. Each symbol had to be perfect, lest it be confused for another, or worse, illegible. She was very careful not to let any of her sweat to fall on the page. The whole of the paper had to be flawless and without blemish. She was going to achieve perfection. While she worked, she noticed that she was not as nervous as she thought that she would have been. Rather, she was simple determined; absorbed in her work. This realization that she was not panicking further soothed her. So by the end of the test, she was confident that she had achieved the goal that she had set for herself. There was no error in her writing, be it of the identity of the law written on the page with respect to what it really was, or of the neatness of her muzzle writing.

The night came and she fell into a deep sleep. Yet her dreams that night were nothing like she had before experienced. Though they were usually very vivid, these dreams were filled with blurry images and faint, unclear noises rather than the usual distinguished words. At some point in the course of the dreams, she believed that she saw an image of herself. Yet she was much older; probably by about fifteen years. She was frowning as she looked at her younger self. The filly asked the phantom, “Why are you sad?”

The phantom answered with a question. Her mouth did not move, and the sound of her voice seemed muffled as though she were underwater. “Are you willing to do anything to learn magic?” She asked.

The little Twilight replied, “Of course. That’s why I’m working so hard.”

The elder’s eyes suddenly welled up with tears. Her voice came again faintly. “I know that you believe so, but there is a test coming up which will be unlike any you have yet taken.”

“What kind of test?”

Once more the mare did not answer directly. “I believe that your performance on your last test may have triggered a series of events which will lead to your doom.”

At this, Twilight became very nervous again. “You mean I didn’t pass?”

“On the contrary, your grade is perfect.”

She was taken aback. “Then why-”

The older pony cut off the filly. “That is why. Be prepared.”

Twilight awoke minutes before the sun rose. The dream troubled her, but she put it out of her mind. Maybe it was just something she ate, she thought. She went to school and the teacher handed back their tests. Twilight was not so unwilling to look at her grade this time and after a moment’s struggle with herself, she looked at the mark. She had once again received a perfect score.

After she had passed back all the tests, Miss Selene said, “Well, I just want to tell everyone that they did a good job on their tests. Yet they could have been better. I want to point out that Twilight was the only one of you to get an A. Good job, Twilight.”

Hearing this, Twilight suddenly was caught in rapture. Not only had she done well. But she was performing better than all of her classmates. Things were looking up for her. Maybe she would pass after all! As they passed through the day’s events once again, she entertained more thoughts of serving in the court of Celestia, and working alongside her. In fact, she was so consumed by her daydream, that she did not notice the obvious looks of contempt from all of her classmates towards her.

The Prince

Prince Blueblood was pacing. He moved back and forth across his large bedroom inside the fourth floor of his father’s mansion in Canterlot. He had had a good deal of room between its walls: about fifty feet, so his direction changed only every minute or so. An outsider would have spent a lot of time simply staring at the tiles on the ground. In them was interwoven an elaborate design that the most skilled artisans in Canterlot had made.

Every now and then he would glance up at the ceiling for a moment to stretch his neck which was cramping because he was looking down all the while. Any normal pony would have then been imprisoned by the splendor of his ceiling which boasted a wondrous painting. The picture was a recreation of a work by one of the most famous painters of all time. The vividness of the scene made one feel like if he could reach up high enough, he could assimilate into it. The use of color was so real and so detailed that no mere artist could have made it. It had cost a great deal for Blueblood’s father to find one skilled enough to recreate the masterpiece. But for the rich, neither time nor money is an object.

Yet Prince Blueblood took no interest in these wonders. He spent nearly every day in this room. Nor did he even have a particular care for art. The marvelousness of his room had long since died to him among other wonders. When he felt like exerting the effort, he would still whine for more fancy furnishings to put inside his room. “One can never have too many nice things,” was his motto.

Though there was another subject on his mind. He was not thinking about what other ways that he could improve his room. That could wait for later. Now there was a much more pressing issue at hand. It had robbed him of his joy before, and now once more it was nipping at his psyche. That issue was his classmate, Twilight Sparkle.

Even removed from the situation at hand, he did not like her. She boasted no noble relations that he could name. By Canterlot’s standards, her family was common. She did not dress well in fine clothes as he did. But most of all, she was just too energetic; always trying to compel him to talk more about his aunt whom he rarely saw. This he did not fully understand. Celestia was the princess of Equestria, and was naturally a topic of conversation and speculation, but this filly made her seem far too interesting than she was likely to be. Twilight was far too common for his liking.

Yet these traits alone did not cause Blueblood to hold anything against her. After all, many were commoners. Being commoner was not a reason to be hated, but there was something else that he did not like about her: She worked too hard. She took school too seriously. She was always the one in his class just about to jump out of her seat when Miss Selene asked a question, which she would always have the answer to. And worst of all, she would always make perfect marks on tests on which he had difficulty scoring eighty percent.

For this reason, he now despised her. She was fast becoming his enemy. He hated people like that. And there were two very good reasons for this: First, there was the obvious reason. He did not mind the sole fact that she was receiving good grades, but the fact that she was receiving grades that were supremely higher than his made his blood boil. This could not be accepted for two sub-reasons. First, he always wanted to be the best at everything. And second, he was expected to be the best at everything. Twilight, in scoring better grades than him, was thwarting his social and personal goals.

Yet there was a much deeper reason than this. She was a thorn in her side for this reason. Yet if this was the sole reason, he may have treated her as a threat to keep his eye on. But for the second reason, she was now his mortal adversary who he had to deal with before she killed him. This reason was that she was challenging the natural order of things.

For Blueblood, Fate was the master of all things. Fate is determination. Determination is destiny. Ponies were chosen by Fate and born into their fate that they may grow up to achieve a predetermined and unchangeable destiny. To put things more explicitly, Fate chose some to be born into rich and successful families related to the royal line of Princess Celestia. And Fate chose others to be born outside of the royal house to serve their noble masters. The house of Twilight Sparkle would always serve the house of Blueblood. No amount of hard work could ever change this fact. Twilight was not simply trying to take out good marks, she was trying to become successful though she had not been chosen to be. She was trying to undo the very system of classes which Fate had set up. She was effectively rebelling against the crown, transgressing upon him and his entire family, and questioning the order of the mightiest of deities. As a prince of Canterlot, Blueblood was not going to stand for such insurrection. Rebels are traitors, and traitors are to be dealt with in the severest manner possible.

As he paced back and forth, this train of thoughts developing in his mind, his distaste for her grew into hate. And that hate soon grew into rage. Before he knew it, his pace had quickened until he was just short of cantering across his room before turning to the opposite way. He had to do something about this, yet he could not come up with a plan to do away with her. He could not risk physical methods. That was not the noble way. Nor could he simply point out to her that she should stop. She was too audaciously adamant. After a long time, he found he was at a loss.

Though Blueblood did not despair. Princes are not meant to make decisions alone. They seek council. And Blueblood was by all means a prince. So he went to his father whom he found in the study on the second floor of the east wing. If it had been a weekday, Blueblood may not have been so fortunate, but on Saturdays he could always be seen in the study around noon.

The stallion, Prince Lucian Ulrich Machiavelli, the head of the Machiavelli clan as well as being the head of the Ulrich family, was sitting like a noblepony upon an ornamented chair and reading a thick book. With his long blond mane and artic blue eyes, his son resembled him; though Prince Lucian’s features were much more developed than his son’s. He was an aging pony; one of fifty years who had seen much in his time. Having the rank that he did required a great deal of attention and the stress had made him age prematurely. His face was accumulating wrinkles and his expression was beginning to wear. He had passed his prime physically, but mentally, he was a force to be reckoned with.

Blueblood approached him and asked, “Father, do you have a moment?”

The aging stallion looked up from his book, closed it with magic and set it down on a table next to him. He gazed at the colt for a moment with the pleasure that a father has when he sees his son and answered, “For you my son, I have all the time in the world.”

“Can I talk with you about your job?”

Lucian chuckled. “Does my son wish to grow up and be a prince so early? It’s not all fun and games, you know.”

“I have a problem that I think you could help me with.”

“And what might that be?”

Blueblood had thought about being specific, but he dared not speak of his underperformance against a commoner to his father, the leader of the clan bearing the noblest blood in the entire kingdom. So he chose another route. “How do you deal with rebellion?” The question was worded personally.

The elder prince raised an eyebrow. “Why do you ask?”

Unfortunately, Blueblood was not yet trained in rhetoric enough to dodge the question, so he had to lie. “I’m just curious.”

His previous statement about having a problem clearly contradicted this answer, but Lucian did not see it yet fit to accuse his son of dishonesty. He chose a more subtle route. “Do you feel it necessary to deal with rebels now? Canterlot is experiencing the happiest of times, and the cities are equally content.” This was a weak truth.

Blueblood now knew he was treading on thin ice. He did not want to delve into specifics. “I just think that some commoners I know aren’t respecting the order of class.”

“Ah, so now we are getting to the heart of the matter. Has some unruly ruffian offended you?”

Blueblood shifted. “Yes, she does all the time.”

The father disregarded the universal affirmative. “So do you feel it necessary to deal with her as a prince would his subjects?”

The colt responded, “Yes.”

Now Equestria had not seen war since ancient times, but every now and then throughout history, certain rebellions would pop up around the world. There was never any physical violence, but there were always threats and harsh words. In recent years, these rebellions had become far more frequent. It used to be that the lower classes kept their mouths shut and did their work like good little ponies. Yet recently, some trouble makers had come onto the scene and forced the nobles and even the crown to relinquish some of their power.

Prince Lucian unfortunately had to deal with quite a few such rebels in his time. Because of his strict manner of dealing which such ponies, he had earned the title of “The Repressor” among some of the more liberal provinces. Fortunately, he was able to minimize the damage by playing the game of the merchant: giving the peasants much less than he would be willing to give and acting like he was pushing his limits for them. It was fair to say that the throne of Princess Celestia itself had been saved more than a few times by his shrewdness.

Nonetheless, his title was appropriate for him. He controlled his territory with an iron scepter and dealt the highest possible punishments that the crown would allow. He also made it his endeavor to influence his fellow nobles to do the same so that he would not have to give an answer for varying degrees of license throughout the country. This meddling into others affairs, or rather being the power behind the other lords’ thrones, was a stressful business and had caused his health to deteriorate, but he viewed himself as a martyr for a good cause. He would not tolerate any of the lower classes stepping out of line, and his attitude towards the commoners influenced his son.

So he answered the inquiring colt, “Well my son, if you are looking for advice on that subject, you have come to the right place.” And he proceeded to lecture his son on the role of the prince. His words were chosen carefully so that Blueblood would understand, but Lucian did his best not to lessen their meaning. After a lengthy discussion on the qualities of a prince, most of those narrowing down to being strong willed, he said, “Now you must realize that the prince is a general ruler. He cannot constrict himself to a particular area of his rule. Should he commit this error, he neglects the other areas, and his rule falls apart at the weakest point. But how then can he hope to pay equal attention to each area?

“How do you suppose Princess Celestia rules all of Equestria during the day; attending to all of its issues and areas? The answer is that she delegates. She does not rule a kingdom, but she directs the princes of the ten provinces of the kingdom. She gives them a general mission -that is to keep the peace and attend to the basic needs of the ponies- and leaves it to them to decide the specific course of action needed to accomplish that mission. The same applies to the prince. The prince rules his province, but he does so through the delegation of tasks. He ultimately makes the decisions, but he has many under him to whom he assigns general tasks, and they complete those tasks in a specific way based on their discernment. He also asks for advisors to help him make those decisions and lighten his burden: For the groaning farmer, he hires economists and for the unruly rebel, he hires captains of the guard.

“This is how the prince operates during peace, and the same should apply when he deals with unrest. When one of the peasants presents themselves as a threat to the prince, the ruler must deal with them swiftly and resolutely; lest the threat spread across his dominion. Nor must he deal with the problem singlehandedly. He must go to those who can deal with the problem as it stands. He appoints ponies to censor the rebel’s words. He picks out spies among the ponies to spread his propaganda. And if necessary, he hires assassins to deal with the threat accordingly. Do you understand what I am telling you my son?”

Blueblood took a moment to ponder what he was being told. It was quite a lot to take in for such a young colt. When he thought he understood the basic idea, he said, “Yes, Father.”

The prince saw that he did not totally comprehend the situation, he summed up. “In conclusion, it is too much for one pony to try to attend to all the issues of a province on his own. The good prince does not act. He decides what action must be taken and appoints his subjects to take that action.”

This much, Blueblood was able to understand, and very soon, the gears of his mind began to turn. They were spelling out a plan. With this, he thanked his father and walked out of the study. As he walked slowly down the hallways, his plan became a plot. It at first started with the main goal: Eliminate the threat. But then the steps towards that goal became evident. Nor would he have to do much work. All he would have to do would be to speak.

Prince Blueblood suddenly found himself at the house of one of his classmates named Dissonance. The filly’s kind mother welcomed him inside, and showed him to her. The colt greeted his classmate as amiably as possible, and the filly returned with some awkwardness. They had not spoken much before, yet Blueblood put their lack of acquaintance with each other aside and said, “Dissonance, I have a deal to propose.”

She answered, “What did you have in mind?”

“Do you agree with me when I say that Twilight Sparkle is making us look bad?”

The grey filly recoiled a bit at the name. “Yes, I hate her for that.”

“Then I suggest we team up and take her down together.”

This excited the filly. “How’re we gonna do that?”

The prince smiled maliciously. “Well, first, you’re going to destroy he reputation with the class. If they all hate her as much as we do, it’ll be so much easier for us.” And he went on to describe the part of his plan regarding her. When she heard it, she giggled and agreed to follow his course of action. The two pressed hooves and he departed.

As he approached the house of the next pony on his list of delegates, he couldn’t help but smile because things were going so well already. And he came to the house of a colt named Tricky Framer, who welcomed him at first with skepticism. Yet when he heard Blueblood’s plan, he gladly consented to ally with him. So the young prince acquired his services as well, and there were three who had sworn to deal with Twilight Sparkle. Dissonance would kill her esteem, and Tricky would obliterate her good standing as a student. But he did not stop there. He after that, he went to the houses of several other of his classmates. Everywhere he went, he had the same results. By the end of the day, he had half of the class ready to strike the arch-fiend down. Lastly, he sent a letter to Twilight asking for her to meet him at his mansion. Twilight wrote back saying that she could meet him late on Sunday evening.

So on that Sunday evening, Twilight stepped over the threshold of the Ulrich family mansion and was guided through its great halls to the dining hall where her opponent was waiting. As she passed by, she could not help but gape at the passing art and architecture which beautifully adorned the inside. When she arrived, the two sat across from each other; a large table separating them. A bountiful feast of a dinner was set out for them and Blueblood invited her to dig in. And for a moment, the two ate in silence.

After he was sure Twilight had partaken of a little of every delight within her reach (they being midway through the second course), he began. “So Twilight, it has come to my attention that you are doing quite well in Magic Kindergarten.”

Twilight looked up from her plate. “Oh,” she said. “Thank you. Yes, I try my best.”

Moving right along, he continued. “In fact I believe that your graded performance outranks the entire class by a considerable margin.”

Not realizing where this was going, she responded, “Oh yeah, I’ve got a perfect score in the class so far.”

“Yes, well do you not think that might hurt the feelings of your fellow classmates?”

Twilight paused for only a moment and said happily, “Well, I suppose it might make them a bit jealous. But that’s okay. It’ll make them work harder.”

Blueblood had to stop himself from facehoofing. He did not expect this to go as he would have liked, but he certainly did not expect it to be this difficult. He sighed. “Well dear Twilight, let me put it this way: Do you think that hard work can overcome the natural order?”

“I think that hard work can do anything. You should try it too.”

Blueblood was starting to lose his patience. The density and insolence of this filly were fast becoming intolerable. He had a right to do better than her and he should not have to work for it. “Alright, how about this: Do you think that the nobles should get better grades than those with less noble blood?”

“I don’t think social class has anything to do with learning class.”

She was now poking a sleeping dragon in the eye. Blueblood was now about to lose his temper. It was time to stop beating around the bush. His voice now had that dangerous growl to it that appeared when someone was just short of shouting. “Alright Sparkle, I’m just going to get to the point then since this looks like it’s going nowhere. I called you here to offer some advice.”

“And what might that be?” She asked; not seeing his building anger.

“Stop upstaging me in class and get normal grades like everybody else or something bad might happen.”

Blueblood’s purpose for his conversation up until now and his intent finally clicked for Twilight and she knew what was going on. She spoke calmly, but firmly now. “I’m sorry Blueblood. I know I’m making you look bad, but I have to get a perfect score in this class if I’m going to become a mage.”

Blueblood’s eyes shot open. This was sacrilege. “You!” He roared. “A mage? You have so little noble blood in you that you could never become a mage.”

Twilight ignored him. “And after I do that, I’m going to serve in Celestia’s court as an advisor.”

That was the final straw: a peasant like this working alongside the princess of the sun? This was pure blasphemy. He spoke in a deadly tone. “Very well, Sparkle. I tried to deal with you nicely. But you would not accept kind terms. If you will not bow to your prince now, speaking this … this folly [not the word he would have liked to use], I will be forced to do my duty as a prince and make you kneel. We are now enemies, you and I. You are the fugitive rebel and I am the prince who has no choice but to deal with you accordingly. I had planned to ask you to drop your grades just below mine, but now I will make sure you are annihilated and forgotten. The next time we meet, you will be on your way to absolute failure.” So saying this, he stormed out of the dining room.

The declaration of war was made formally. Now anything was game.

Ostracization

It started with just a few dirty looks one day. Twilight walked into the classroom that was full of chattering students. As soon as they saw her enter, most of her classmates hushed themselves and glared at her as she went to sit down. A few were left discussing what they would be doing after school in the corners; oblivious to what was going on. As for Twilight, she could not help but feel the weight of the many angry eyes upon her. For a few moments, she imaged that the whole room was completely silent. To her, those glaring appeared to have a bloodlust in their souls; being desperate and eager to tear her limb from limb. She wanted to ask why they were all staring at her, but she was too afraid to do so. Miss Selene soon walked in and class began.

She was treated similarly at recess. When she went to play with those who she enjoyed time with regularly, they shot her those same dirty looks and gave her terse rejections. Seeing that she would find no friendship at the time with those who had some unspoken gripe with her, she went to play with those who had no hoof in the matter. But when she tried this, her passive aggressors simply shouted at her would-be-playmates, “Don't play with somepony like her!” And they treated them in the same manner that they did Twilight until they took the hint and turned a cold shoulder to the untouchable filly.

Twilight could not study that day because of the nagging feelling that something was terribly wrong. She was fairly certain that her maltreatment was not something that would simply disappear overnight. She made efforts to guess what they had against her that made them desire to treat her in such a manner; considering how she had treated them up until that point. For a while, she was at a loss. She had always treated her classmates with kindness and respect; for example, allowing them to borrow her pencils when they had forgotten to bring one. But then her conflict with Blueblood came to her mind. He was the only one whom she could guess had anything against her as of late. Was it possible that he could have made everyone act this way?

That was the best she could come up with. Her classmates must have been influenced by the colt and now they wanted her to stop doing well in school so that it did not look bad for them. She sighed. Giving in to Blueblood’s demands was not an option, but then, she could not simply let this go on. It was probable that they had not done their worst by staring at her angrily and refusing to play with her at recess. She brainstormed all that evening and when bedtime came, she believed that she had a plan.

The next day started out the same way. She walked into class the meet the stares that bored into her like a drill. Walking over to her seat and sitting down, she addressed all of them amidst the silence. “I made a guess as to why you all are doing what you’re doing now. I think that you're all angry at me because I’m getting better grades than you. Am I right?”

There was a pause. Nopony answered until Prince Blueblood finally said, “It is as I said, Sparkle: Your overachievement might hurt the feelings of your fellow classmates.”

Twilight sighed. “I thought so. Well, I just want to tell you all what I told Prince Blueblood the other day. I don’t think that you all should hate me for doing well. In fact, shouldn’t you want to try harder because of that? I want you to do better just like Miss Selene does. I believe that if we all work harder, we can bring up our grades, and then we can all be smarter and happier.”

More silence ensued. Twilight shifted uncomfortably after a moment. Their expression had not changed. Once again, Blueblood spoke for them. “We have already come to an agreement, Sparkle. We think that it would be easier if you just stopped working so hard so that Miss Selene will go easier on us.” His voice suddenly carried a touch of harshness. “It is because of you that we have to do what we’re doing already. You’re the only one whose making it hard and we don’t think that the many should suffer to cater to the few.”

Twilight said desperately, “But that’s not right! You should try your best if you-”

“Enough!” Blueblood interrupted. “We have made our decision, and if you don’t do what we want, we’ll just have to make you.” At that moment, Miss Selene walked in, and the students put on a façade for her.

As class went on, Twilight considered bringing this up to the teacher when she had the chance, but how she would prove what they said, she didn’t know. She also feared that they would retaliate in worse ways than she could deal with if she “ratted them out,” as it was called. That was out of the question. Thus she resorted to another course of action: wait it out. She hoped that they would give up soon. Nopony tries the same method repeatedly and expects to receive a different result, right? If they saw that she was unresponsive to their tactics, then eventually, they would give up, right?

The days wore on and still there was no change. Each day she dealt with the same antagonism in class and each evening she tried to come up with a solution to no avail. The next test came up and the worry of her classmates hating her even more added to her usual stress, though she remembered her goal and studied as hard as she could. When Twilight again received a perfect score, everypony looked very vexed, but Blueblood in particular was furious, all to the ignorance of the teacher.

At recess that day, another filly who sat near her in class approached her. It was Dissonance, the first that Blueblood had conspired with against her. Since everyone had effectively stopped associating with her, she had brought one of her books and was reading from it. “Hey,” she said unkindly. “What are you reading?”

Twilight looked up, having just noticed them, and said, “Oh, actually it’s-”

Dissonance raised a hoof and swatted the book to the ground. Looking at the title, she read, “‘Obscure Unicorn Magic’? Since when do we have to read that for class?”

Twilight was disturbed by the act, but answered, “Well, I just thought I’d read this for fun, you know? This has some really cool stuff in it.”

Dissonance looked at her with a strange expression, but then she began to laugh. She fell over onto her side and held her stomach as she, for no reason conceivable to Twilight, hysterically enjoyed herself. Everyone on the playground looked at her strangely until in between breaths, she said, “Hey everypony, big surprise, but Twilight’s an egghead.”

Hearing this, suddenly, everypony in the vicinity burst into mocking laughter along with Dissonance. Then after a moment, Dissonance, who was recovering quickest from her bout, started chanting rhythmically, “Twilight’s an egghead. Twilight’s an egghead.” After a few seconds, the whole playground caught on and began chanting with her.

The chorus went on for far longer than it should have. For minutes, they mocked her. It didn’t take long for Twilight to be affected. Very soon, she curled up into a ball and just decided to wait out the ordeal. She just lay there in shame and humiliation for Celestia knows how long. The rhythmic chant pounded against her soul and made her feel horrible for some inexplicable reason.

It occurred to her that she didn’t even know what an “egghead” was. Logically, she thought that she shouldn’t be bothered by what she was experiencing at all, but after moment of introspection, she knew why she felt so humiliated. It wasn’t the name at all that bothered her. The way her classmates were acting specifically told her that there was something with her that they disapproved of. Something about her reading that book was abnormal and wrong, and they found it was good to punish her accordingly. Eventually, they grew disinterested in torturing the poor filly and resumed playing; leaving Twilight to sulk. Recess ended soon later, and everypony went inside.

When she asked her parents what the word “egghead” meant, they did answer her. Apparently it was a slanderous term for one who read more than others. From her point of view, Twilight didn’t see how that could be something someone would want to make fun of, yet her classmates seemed to find it hilarious. So, as far as she was concerned, that was all that mattered. Yet of course her parents did pry her for information, and Twilight was compelled to tell the about what had happened; however Twilight foresaw this and asked them not to tell anypony. Instead she asked them to give her advice on what to do. When she explained to them her reasons, they agreed to remain silent for the time and gave her a long talk about bullying, but in the end, it amounted to a dose of fluff and the phrase “sticks and stones.”

Once again Twilight lay sprawled out on her bed; pondering how she would deal with this like she always did. She was coping emotionally with what she had suffered, but at the same time, she knew she had to distance herself from the situation if she was going to decide on the proper course of action. She didn’t have much experience with these things, but at this point she thought she had read enough about them to see how they would go along.

In the end, she knew what it would all come down to: Was she resilient enough to brave the challenge of enduring disdain or would she give into the pressure? To answer this question, she weighed the pros and cons. On the one hoof, if she remained assiduous, she would set herself on the right path. She would now surely pass Magic Kindergarten with flying colors. In doing this, she would be one step closer to the prize: a place in the palace of Princess Celestia. She spent a few moments imaging what that would be like and how awesome it would be. If she passed Magic Kindergarten, all she would have to do would be to pass the other seven grades of schooling and she could be apply for a position at the University of Canterlot. If she showed promise there, then she be recommended by one of the high mages. Only then would her dream be recognized. She was confident that she could attain this goal if she tried. The means were clear and there was no chance of error. The prize was right in front of her. All she had to do was reach out and grab it.

But on the other hoof, there was something that was stopping her. The prize was pleasing, but in order to reach it, she would have to forsake any chance of friendship. The problem was she desired socialization. Although Twilight had been driven by what she had seen at the Summer-Sun Celebration, she, like every other filly, wanted to make friends. Now all of her friends had either moved out of town by now or were in her class. Thus at the present point in time, she was officially friendless. It was a problem that was causing her more and more stress as she dwelt on it. Her mother and father did provide some company, but as for ponies her age, she was very lonely now. Unfortunately, the only way that she could gain more friends would be to forsake her dream. Either way, she was going to have to sacrifice something. What she sacrificed would come down to which of the two she valued the least.

Twilight rolled around in her bed; the shadows of her dream and her desires flowing in her mind. Both had allure so she desired to have the best of both worlds. The possible worlds she foresaw clashed with one another within her and the agony of the schismatic dilemma drained her quickly. As time passed, she found herself becoming drowsy. Although she did not have an answer, sleep was taking hold of her and she did not know how much longer she could resist its embrace. Finally, she gave up the conscious quest that night and conceded; falling into the hallways of her soul.

Twilight’s dreams were more vivid than ever before. She arose from the blackness between the realm of what they call reality and the realm of dreams. She was sitting in a wide open prairie at midday. She looked above and saw the boundless blue sky with white clouds drifting overhead. All was quiet and peaceful. There was no sign of wild life around. The warmth of the sun was beating down on her coat and every so often a refreshing breeze would pass by. In front of her, she saw a road paved with bricks that led off into the horizon. Seeking to see where it led, she walked down the road for a good while.

As she walked down the path, she realized that she was becoming thirsty, so she looked around for something to drink. As if to answer her need, necessity had left a small oasis of water to the left of her path. Gratefully, she went over to the oasis and drank. The water was cool and refreshing and seemed to have a sweet taste to it. So she was very glad that she had filled her stomach with the water and quenched her thirst.

She continued walking down the road, and not long after she had found the oasis, she realized that she had become quite hungry. So once more, she looked around, and once again, necessity had placed a feast of wheat and oats on the right side of the road. Being grateful once again, she went over to the food and ate her fill; becoming glad for a short while because she had satiated her hunger. But as she was beginning to finish, she noticed that she was suddenly becoming thirsty again. So she walked down the path until she found another oasis and drank from it and quenched her thirst. But once more, as she was completing the task, she suddenly became very hungry again. This cycle of hunger and thirst continued on for a long while.

Eventually, she came to a fork in her way. The road split into two pathways separated ninety degrees apart from one another. For a moment, she forgot about fulfilling her bodily desires and examined the ways before her. On her left she saw a street made of golden bricks which shone in the radiance of the sun. The road was straight and wide and was very neatly built. Not a single brick was out of place for as far as her eyes could see. Though as she looked further off, she noticed that she could not see where it led, because it trailed off beyond the horizon.

Then she looked to the path on the right. The right path was a dirt walkway that led into a large forest. As she looked into the forest, she saw that it was very dark and daunting. It was also full of thorns and housed dangerous creatures. But as her examining gaze continued onward, she looked up and saw where the pathway led at the far edge of the forest.

At the end of the forest was a huge mountain that towered up into the heavens. She saw that its height was so great that its peak pierced the clouds. However it would not be difficult to climb because there was a pony-made stairway which led up it. She could not see its summit, but as she looked upwards, she had to look down immediately. A glorious light shone through the clouds that surpassed the brilliance of the sun even though time had remained constant at midday. The star was directly overhead, but this light was much brighter so that she was blinded for a few seconds.

Witnessing this, she desired greatly to see what was at the peak of the mountain that gave off such splendor even though it was blocked by the thick clouds. But she looked once more at the forest and saw its deterring nature. Then she gazed at the path on the left again and saw the ease with which she could traverse it. Not knowing which path to take, she was at a loss. So she called upon her advisors, the manifestations of all the knowledge that she had gained by reading some of the many books in the library of Canterlot.

They heeded her summons and each came to her. Then she asked them, “Which way should I go?”

Platony answered with soundless words and Miss Sandy acted as his mouthpiece. “We cannot tell you which pathway you should take, but we can tell you what you will find at their ends; for your soul already holds the knowledge of the paths’ ends. You simply have not brought it to mind.”

This was not what Twilight had hoped for, but she took what she had. She asked Platony, “Okay, well, what is at the ends of the paths?"

Star-Swirl the Bearded stepped out and answered her; his words too being voiced by her interpreter. “The experiences you have had in this dream are symbols. They are the manifestations that your mind has created to visualize the dilemma before you. Your hunger and thirst are symbolic of your desires. Your hunger is your desire for success, your nature’s need to pursue your dream. Your thirst, in contrast, is symbolic of your desire to make and maintain friendships. As you have seen and experienced, satisfying one flares up the other. You cannot satisfy both. The only option left then is to forsake one and satisfy the other.

“In the same way, the paths before you are symbols. As you found food on your right, so the right-hoof path symbolizes your decision to forsake hope of friendship and pursue your dream. It displays the hardships you will endure along the way. One the other hoof, the pathway on your left, the same side as you found water on, symbolizes your decision to forsake your dream and pursue friendship. It shows the ease by which you may travel down it.

“If you choose the left-hoof path, forsaking your resolution to do your best and deliberately alter your performance for the worse, you just may gain some friends. Possibly, you could gain the favor of all of your classmates. They could welcome you as a friend and play with you every day as you desire. You may be still able to pass Magic Kindergarten and move into the grades. You might pass through the grades as an average student; performing in the same average manner as before. Your work will have been sufficient and you will maybe become a mage. Then, securing a position where you are able to sustain yourself, you will settle down and make many friends and live life in contentedness.”

This idea was bittersweet to Twilight. The idea of this sort of life sounded easy. She would barely have to work to attain it. She could live easy and grow old and enjoy her life. It was comforting that she had this option. Yet at the same time, there was something that made her insides churn in disgust. She knew choosing this option would mean that she would only get by in life. She would be an average unicorn with maybe a little more than average job. She would have done the minimum to exist; completing only what was necessary. This sounded not so bad at first glance, but soon she realized that the idea was horrible. Just moving on through life, doing the least possible that was required of her, was purposeless. It would mean that her life would have no meaning to it.

As she was thinking about this, two ponies, more recent additions to her circle of teachers and contemporaries in their day, stepped forward. They continued where Star Swirl had left off through Miss Sandy. “But should you choose the right-hoof path, you will suffer many great trials. You will be tested time and time again and your hardship will seem endless. But if you persevere down the right-hoof path, you will take great joy in these hardships, because you will know that they will make you mature and wise. We tell you, if you press on towards the goal to win the prize, you will not fail.”

They gestured towards the mountain. “You have seen splendor of the prize at the top of the mountain. You saw that it is so bright that you cannot gaze upon it even though the clouds dim its brightness. The bright light is also a symbol, but its meaning is twofold. In one respect, the brilliant prize at the mountain’s peak represents the splendor of the rewards that you will earn should you brave the challenges and sufferings of the woods. The joy that you will receive from taking hold of it will surmount any pain you suffer more than one hundred times over.”

They waved their hooves in the air and Twilight was brought into a different dream. She looked around and saw that she was facing the wall of the cave of ignorance. She turned her head and she could see the same bright light in her peripheral vision. The teachers went on. “But the dimmed light also symbolizes the fire inside the cave, which is a symbol in itself. As we have said, the fire is key to finding your way out of the cave. If you wrestle with all your might against the chains which bind you, your attempts will not be in vain. As we said, ‘We are here to help you break of the chains.’ Though our help has not yet ended, it is nearly so. We have been hacking at the chains for the longest while, and with time, they will break. You will break free and will, after a while, be able to gaze upon the flame.”

This possibility sent a chill down Twilight’s spine. It was a good feeling, the kind that one had whenever they saw or heard something amazing. Then she asked them, “What will happen then?”

Miss Sandy answered Twilight’s question herself this time. “I cannot describe to you, with words you are familiar with, what lies beyond becoming used to the fire in the cave, but to give it a try, you will be able to leave the cave and gaze at what is on the outside. On the outside is the world of truth, where you do not gaze upon shadows, but where everything that is real is clear to you.” The thought of this amazed Twilight and gave her another chill. Hearing this, she awoke. It was now morning and she was no longer at a loss for what to do.

Once more, Twilight entered into the hostile zone, the classroom full of her antagonists. And once more, she declared that she was not going to give into their maltreatment. So she earned another derogatory title and another session of laughter directed at her. But she remained firm. Over the next days, she fixed her sights on the prize and the prize only; not losing her focus or letting her gaze waver to the left or right. Like the wounded warrior, she endured the hardship of the constant loneliness and aggression that was impressed upon her.

Every day, she went to school and ignored everypony. Although the base cuts and remarks hurt her, and burned deeply, she remembered the words of her teachers. After she exited class, she went straight to the library and filled her soul’s stomach with the solid food of knowledge. But as was bound to happen, after a while, loneliness started to take its toll. Ignoring the pain of humiliation was one thing, but coping with her thirst for friendship was another. Several times, she tried to befriend those who were not against her, but as before, no pony would associate with her for fear of alienating themselves from their other classmates.

The school year’s end was now in sight, and all of the students including Twilight in her class knew it. Still, the gifted unicorn had earned a perfect score on every test, and the whole class knew this too. It seemed that she was immovable, that she had held fast against them. Despite her classmates’ best attempts to persuade her to throw a test, she had not changed. So one day, the colt sitting to her left said to her, “I give up. Let’s be friends.”

Twilight was not sure what he meant. “What?” she asked.

“Let’s be friends.” He repeated himself. “I don’t want to keep being mean to you if you’re not going to do anything about it.”

At first, she thought he was teasing her, but when recess came, he offered to play the make-believe game with her. Seeing this, many of his classmates ordered him to stop, but he would not listen. “I’m going to play with her whether you like it or not.” He said. He was true to his word. Twilight, though puzzled at the foal’s change of heart, spent the early afternoon with him and made a friend. After school, he wanted her to come over to his house and play. Despite her desire to continue studying, she wanted to socialize more; having been thirsty for so long for it. So she asked her mother if she could go to his house. Her mother was delighted that Twilight had made a friend and let her go over.

This seemed to be a turning point for the filly. She might just be able to have her cake and eat it too. The colt seemed to be genuinely interested in being her friend, though she did not know why. It also surprised her that he was not averted when she talked about what she was reading in a book every now in then. It appeared to her that with this one friend, she might just be able to triumph over Magic Kindergarten and the following grades, while still satisfying her need for friendship.

She could not believe the luck of her situation. Not only did he desire to socialize with her, but now he also dealt with the same taunts and underwent the same antagonism from all their classmates as she did, all for her sake. It did not seem reasonable that he wanted to be friends with her when he lost an entire body of friends in the process. Perhaps, she thought, this meant that she was one step closer to the prize. Perhaps this colt was fate’s way of showing her that she could reach her dream.

The day of the penultimate test came, after this one, she would have only one more test in two weeks’ time and she would pass magic kindergarten. This time, she finally had learned to not stress over the tests so much. She still took extreme care with ever little detail, but she did not worry about the result; for she knew her effort would be sufficient. Again her pencil touched the paper that would decide her fate and she wrote upon it the words that would pave the way to her success.

In the same way that she always did, she drew the words with the skill of a calligrapher. Her muzzle-writing was as slow as it could be and with all deliberation. Twilight was completely focused on the absolute perfection of words that she saw within her mind which she would replicate and transform into tangibility.

A “Psst” from her left broke her concentration for a moment. She ignored the annoying noise, but then moments later, she heard the sound again. So she looked to her left to see what the disturbance was. Her friend was motioning to his test and trying to direct her attention to it. At first she made a gesture with which she tried to convey that she was working at the moment, but he seemed to think that the matter was urgent. So, she leaned over and looked at his test.

At the bottom of the page were written the words. “I’m so happy we’re friends, Twilight. I want to be your friend more than anything else.” The message immediately captivated her. All this time she had contemplated the idea that they were friends. She knew they were friends, but to see it in writing was something else. For her, words, especially written words, gave meaning to things. They gave form and solidity to what was previously just an idea.

It seemed to her that this message was now a complete recognition that she had achieved an impossible benefit. She no longer could, but instead would have both her dream and friendship. These words brought everything all together. She read each of the words again, contemplating their meaning and recalling the individual definition of each one. This for Twilight, was a peak moment, an actualization of her impending victory.

The colt, whose name was Tricky Framer, raised his hoof. “Miss Selene.” He said. “Twilight’s looking at my paper.” With this, immediately and as quickly as he could, he erased the message; leaving only the sentence that he had written as part of the test.

The teacher looked up and saw Twilight leaning over and staring at Tricky’s paper. “Twilight Sparkle!” She said in surprise. “Are you cheating?”

Twilight’s mind suddenly was not functioning properly. Her brain was trying desperately to process what was happening but it was failing. She responded in the negative, but could do nothing other than that. Miss Selene went over to look at Tricky’s test and saw only one of the Cardinal Laws of Magic written on it. He had written the message for Twilight only lightly and it was now well erased. Twilight, unfortunately, seemed to have the same amount of progress, though her words were more finely written. Miss Selene was quite convinced, based upon what she saw, that Twilight was cheating, and Twilight was too mentally destroyed to give a proper defense. Being accused of cheating was bad enough, but the implications of Tricky Framer’s actions were debilitating.

To the lavender filly, the words that came out of Miss Selene's mouth were like the sound of nails scraping upon a chalkboard. “Well, Twilight, I know that this is your first offense, but we can’t tolerate cheating. I’m afraid you’re going to get a zero on this test.”

The world around Twilight suddenly became surreal. Time had stopped and the room started to spin all of a sudden. Twilight felt very weak and queasy as she heard the words which had before only occurred in her darkest nightmares. Except this was not a nightmare. Those evil, black dreams of immense tragedy had become reality. The intensity of the situation was far too much for Twilight, and she fainted.

Reappraisals (i)

Once more Twilight and Prince Blueblood found themselves sitting in the largest dining room that the Ulrich family had to offer. The colt had chosen this place to once more display his majesty in belonging to the noblest family of the most regal clan in Equestria. The walls were lined with burgundy wallpaper and decorated with a golden pattern which flowed elegantly across the room. Beautiful and expensive paintings framed with mahogany were spaced evenly around the room to flaunt the heroes of Blueblood’s ancestors. The older ones depicted scenes of the fabled war with the dragons. Apparently the Machiavelli clan had vanquished quite a few, though of course, these were only legends. A white tablecloth with a coat of arms laid across it showed the attributes of the Ulrich family. Below the seal was embroidered a tree which displayed the close ties of the Machiavelli clan to the princesses.

For Twilight to even set hoof in the room after the extent of her rebellion against the higher classes was an evil for the young prince. She was profaning not only his house with her presence, but also desecrating the purity of his eating quarters. Yet he waved these disgusting admissions away as necessary evils. The glory of his first triumphant victory over one who dared raise her hoof against the established order of things gave him a thousand times the pleasure compared to the pain of her filthy hooves staining the sanctity of the room. It seemed like a perfect place for him to accept her unconditional surrender.

Blueblood was seated at the end and Twilight three seats down on his left. They were midway into dinner; or rather, Blueblood was. Twilight had barely touched her food. While she was sitting silently her head down and a grim look on her face, the colt was sitting upright with a triumphant grin on his face. He had been soliloquizing all the while.

“…And therefore my victory is complete. You no doubt finally realize the consequences of a commoner attempting to contend with royalty. There can be only one end: The Prince brings down his iron hoof upon the trouble maker and his conspirators if need be. I took no pleasure in striking you down…” This was obviously a complete lie. “…but you had given me to choice in the matter. It is my future duty to rule over a province and I will never be able to hope to enjoy peace if I do not suffer the horrors of war now. I am one of the chief weapons of Fate, the omnipotent ruler over all things. Not even my aunt can muster the audacity to challenge her. Not that she would have any reason to, mind you. She has been elected by Fate, chosen to reign eternally over all the world. I, myself can enjoy a similar disposition. You, on the other hoof, can say no such thing.

“It was all very easy, you know. All I had to do was give the word and your fellow subjects did the work for me. Your defeat was inevitable from the start. Yet what really surprised me is that you fell for Framer’s faux friendship. I expected you to see right through it, but then again I suppose you didn’t take the war seriously enough. It wasn’t a game, but you certainly treated it like one. I did warn you that you had incited the wrath of a supreme authority, but you didn't heed my words. What surprised me even more was that you continued with your insolent rebellion despite being outnumbered, outranked, and destiny-bound for failure.

“Ponies like you should be taught a lesson. It is the nature of commoners to serve the nobles. They should serve them with fear and rejoice in their servitude with trembling. Look at your classmates. They exalted me because they know their master and they know that when provoked, my awesome power can strike my enemies down in an instant. Nor did I take joy in my wrathful destruction. Although I now look upon you with contempt, before you crossed the point of no return I desired nothing else than to help you. I wanted to show you the way to prosperity: The way to reach happiness as a commoner is to honor one’s superiors and respect them, and not seeking to glorify oneself above what is natural.

It was my will to show you this, so I invited you into my house and gave you an equal seat at my table. I tried to talk with you as an adult despite being only a foal, and I believe I held that goal well. But notwithstanding all my hospitality, you blasphemed in this house and claimed that you could resist the decree of fate - that you would remain in servitude- and boasted that you, through labor alone, could achieve one of the highest positions. Not only was this purely disgraceful for yourself, myself, and all in this world, but it is also illogical. The lower classes labor and the higher classes direct their protectorates’ labor. Does it not seem idiotic that one could reach a higher position by doing the work of a lower one?”

He continued to ramble on, but though Twilight was hearing his words, she was not listening. They may as well have been seeds that fell on concrete. The filly was not present in the material world, but was within the deepest recesses of her soul; conversing in one of the innermost cells. Behind a steel-like gate, Twilight was once again with her teachers. They were attempting to give her counsel, but she was grieving before them and their words must have been seeds that fell on soil filled with rocks. Although the seeds germinated, they could not take root and quickly died under the scorching heat of the sun.

“I just can’t go on like this anymore.” The downhearted unicorn said. “I gave everything that I could to ignore them, but they just found another way. What’s more, now I’ve failed a test.” Twilight was kneeling on the ground with a downtrodden gaze. Her bloodshot eyes were directed at no specific point, and though her teachers were looking intently at her, she was looking off into the distance of the woods she had imagined. Her mane was matted and her tail was in a horrible state of disarray. Since the test three days ago, she had neglected personal hygiene and had only lay in bed all day. “I don’t see any point in trying any longer. I haven’t made any progress in a while with my studies and if I try hard, I’m punished for it. It would be better if I just gave up.”

Star-Swirl the Bearded spoke up. “That’s not entirely true. You have made great progress. In my day, fillies like yourself would have spent twenty years learning what you have gained in just nine months.”

Then the two who had told her about the end of the woods took the floor. “Nor would giving up do you any good. If you turn back and take the wide road that many travel on, you will only find failure. But should you remain on the road less traveled, you will see that the present sufferings are incomparable to the joys of what you will find at the mountain’s peak.”

Twilight’s hoarsely answered. “Losing would be a rest. I can see the prize’s light even though my head is down and the forest is thick, but it’s too far away. I could die if I keep going. Or worse, I may get the prize and be left with no life to enjoy it.”

Miss Sandy spoke for herself this time. “I know it’s hard, Twilight. I know that you feel like you can’t do it. I went through something similar when I was your age, but after it was all over, I found out that all the hard work made me a better mare.”

The filly was losing the will to even answer, but managed to say with exasperation, “It’s not just about working hard, or keeping on going. They don’t hate me so much for that. They hate me because I’m different. They want me to go away because I want them to be different with me. If I work hard, they have to too or they’ll be punished. I want them to be like me, but being me is hard for them. They want to be like everybody else. We all can’t just remain the same either –me being Twilight and the world being the world- somepony has to give their identity up.”

Saying this, she fell silent. Her teachers went on to lecture her and promise her good things, but their words were now like seeds which fell onto a plain of weeds. The seeds quickly took root, but they were then choked and killed by the larger plants. Immeasurable amounts of time passed. Outside her world, Blueblood was still pridefully talking about his victory and his plan leading to it. Her teachers, continuing to ramble, were no longer advisors, but berating coaches who urged her to push harder than her body would allow.

In in the midst of the commotion and dissonance of the many noises, Twilight stopped. Her body was already motionless in the material world, but she laid down her soul and completely ceased moving. Caring for nothing, she closed her eyes. It was then that she became aware of something. She felt different, as though she had been wearing a suit of some kind, but now she had removed that suit. She opened her eyes and saw that she was in a room that was somehow simultaneously enshrouded in total darkness and lit with the most brilliant light. Twilight stood up and looked down at herself, but saw nothing. She quickly moved around to figure out where she was and what had happened. Upon inspection of the room, she saw a figure. Somehow, without legs she moved to the figure and identified it. It was her, only she was much older, maybe what she would look like at the age of eighteen.

She looked without eyes at her older self and asked, “Who are you?”

The older Twilight answered, “You spoke with my shadow before. You don’t know?”

“How could I know? You look like me.”

The elder smiled. “It’s true that looks can be deceiving, but you’re not looking with eyes right now, are you?”

“No, I guess not.”

“Then what can you say if I look like you, and your sight can’t be wrong?”

“You’re me?”

“In a manner of speaking.”

The filly was now very confused. “But if you’re me? Then who am I?”

The elder unicorn laughed cheerfully. “Well, what do you think?”

“I think I’m Twilight Sparkle, but if you’re Twilight Sparkle, then I can’t be.”

“Why not? Couldn’t we both be different parts of Twilight?”

The filly thought about this for a moment. The mare waited patiently. After a moment of trying to wrap her mind around what was going on, the younger said, “So we’re both Twilight?”

The unicorn jumped up and clapped her hooves. “Very good!” She said happily. Then, while still maintaining a happy on her face, her voice become a little more serious. It still sounded like the mare enjoyed to explain things just as she did. “But you have to understand. You are what’s called the ‘essence’ or the ‘spirit’ of Twilight. You’re what makes Twilight, Twilight, but I’m what’s called the ‘nature’ of Twilight. I'm the ‘principle of change’ or the thing that makes Twilight grow mentally and physically.”

The little unicorn didn’t struggle to understand this. She had read a little about these kinds of ideas in Miss Sandy’s versions of Platony’s works. She asked, “Where are we?”

“Have we moved?” The elder asked.

“No, but everything looks different. We must be in a different place.”

The mare raised her eyebrows and smiled again. “Well that’s a little harder to explain. Let’s just say that you’re in the same place, but you’re seeing things from a different view. We’re still inside your mind, but unlike Miss Sandy or Platony, I’m not a projection of your mind. What you’re seeing now is real and I’m real. With the teachers, you’re really just talking to yourself, but with me, (or us) your speaking to somepony different. It’s hard to say how, because I am you, but I’m a different part of you that you don’t have control over.”

As expected, it didn’t make sense to Twilight, and the mare’s answer almost seemed like a non sequitur, but then it came to her that she was being told these things for a reason. So she was prompted to ask, “So did you come here, or did I come here?”

The elder Twilight looked very pleased at this question and answered, “Well, strictly speaking, I came here to speak to you, but of course, you had to come to this state first.”

“So do you have something to tell me?”

“I’m glad you asked. Yes, I came to tell you something while you’re here. You seemed like you were having a bit of trouble out there.”

The filly looked up hopefully. “So you can help me then?”

“Well, let me just explain a little more, and I think I may be able to indirectly answer you. As the nature of Twilight, my job is to change her until she becomes actualized. That means that I’m going to lead her - that means you - to the telos.” The little filly stared blankly, so the taller mare went on explaining. “The ‘telos’ is the ultimate goal. It’s like an ultimate place far beyond the prize that you’re striving for now. If you can get to the telos, there will be no one to stop you. The prize will be the groundwork and the least of your pleasures. Every day living with the telos will be the best day of your life.” Yet then the elder frowned and her voice became more sullen. “But to get to the telos, you’ll have to go through a bit of hardship.”

At this, the younger Twilight sighed. “Oh,” She said with another wave of exasperation crashing over her. “So, you’re here to tell me what they’re telling me? I’m sorry but I don’t think I can go through this pain anymore.”

The mare looked up. “Oh no,” She said apologetically. “I’m not here to add another pony to force you into a decision you don’t want to make. I’m here because I’ve seen you take hold of the telos.” This earned the nature an inquisitive stare. She answered, “In order to be the principal of change, I have to know what I’m going to change Twilight to, right? Well, the only way I could know that while maintaining the ability to change you is if I were a personal transcendent.” She paused to see essence’s blank stare. “That is, I’m both inside and outside of time. I see your beginning and I see your end, so I know what I’m trying to change you to. I’m here to tell you that no matter what happens, you are going to get the telos, and it's going to be so much more awesome that you could ever believe.”

This brought a mix of thoughts to Twilight. On the one hoof, she was very excited and nearly ecstatic to hear what her nature had to say; for it did not seem that she was lying, but on the other hoof, this raised several questions. She spoke to her nature. “So, does that mean that no matter what I’m going to get it? If I do nothing will I still reach it?”

“That’s a really good question.” The mare answered. “If you are destined to get to the telos, then anything you do won’t alter that destiny. That’s what you’re thinking right now, but it’s hard to say why that’s not right. To put it in a way that you can understand, let’s look at the converse. If you stopped eating right now and never ate again, you’d die of starvation regardless of what fate you have. The problem is that’s a conditional statement where the antecedent, or sufficient condition, hasn’t been confirmed. In other words, it’s possible that you could do something that will alter your destiny. That’s the concept of free will. You can do whatever you want and fate has no say in that, but that fact is, you aren’t going to do something that will alter your destiny. Following the example, theoretically, you could stop eating until you died, and alter you fate, but, in reality, you aren't going to do that. So what I’m telling you doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try to make the best decisions, it just means that whatever those decisions are, you’re still going to meet the same result because of the good decisions you’ll make.”

The filly was confused, but knew that the conclusion was inconsequential if it was somehow true. She asked, “So if I still have to work just as hard to get to it, then why are you telling me this stuff?”

One final time, the elder Twilight smiled and said, “I’m here to tell you that you’re about to go through a really hard time. Whatever decision you make, it’s going to be like Tartarus for you. The reason I’m telling you all of this is because no matter how dark things may get, just know that things will get better. Just know that I’m always going to be here with you and I’ll be using your hardships to make you into a better pony.”

At this, the younger Twilight was about to inquire further, but then she heard a noise. “Sparkle? Sparkle, are you listening?” It said.

Instantly, Twilight was pulled out of her reverie and back into the real world. No longer was she dealing with the comfort of inaction, but now she was back in the hostile territory. The secluded regions of her mind had given way to the unobscured and well lit dining room, where she was suffering the onslaught of the colt who had masterminded her demise. Prince Blueblood was looking angrily at her. Twilight looked at him and answered without thought, “Oh yes.”

Blueblood turned up his chin and seemed to brush the moment off. “Good, I would have been a little disconcerted if you had been daydreaming or something while I was speaking.” He paused and took a moment to recollect his thoughts. “As I was saying, we both agree that you have been defeated and you are here to relinquish yourself to me; being at my mercy. I am fully prepared to accept this decision of yours; however, the only problem is the subject of the terms. Before your rebellion, I offered you the chance to perform accordingly with your social class. In return, I would not destroy you. Yet I did make a promise when you would not submit: that you would be annihilated and forgotten. Therefore, the only way to serve justice would be for me to go forward with that promise, but though I am a just ruler, I am also a loving one, and I think that I have found a way to show you mercy.

“I cannot completely pardon you, but neither do I want to pay you back the full extent of what you so righteously deserve. Thus I have reached a compromise (In retrospect, I have no idea why I am doing this. It is the duty of the prince to deal with treason in the harshest manner possible). For two years after the school year ends, the class which will follow into the next grades with you will treat you with the same contempt. On the third year, you will be forgiven and I will give the order to cease their scorn. Does this make you happy, Sparkle? Will you accept these terms?”

In contrast to the immaterial thoughts that were running through Twilight’s mind just previously, this world was now so surreal. While the shrouded halls of her soul were comforting, save for her hounding teachers, the world that she had just entered was full of sorrow and pain. Surely she could not be hearing properly. Certainly she was not about to endure such prolonged torture. Yet she knew these thoughts to be false. The world she was viewing now was more real than anything within her and the harshness of reality was all the more painful because she had experienced a brief respite.

As she opened her mouth to answer the conquering prince, she was aware of her weariness. She had not slept much over the last few days and she had eaten very little. On top of that, her mind in the first two days had been in a horrible state of chaos where she could do nothing but wait out the agony. Slowly, Twilight answered the colt, “I can’t fight it anymore. You win, and you can do whatever you want. Just leave me alone.” Saying this, she asked to be excused. After some formalities from her judge, she was permitted to leave and went home.

The next few days were some of the worst of her life. She went to school and they oppressed her as they had before, but this time Twilight had no will to even resist them. Repeatedly, she sat in the lonely desk of the school with all of the world against her, and every day was the same as the one before it: glares, continual attempts to create trouble for her, and ostracization. Her thirst for friendship exacerbated daily, but she could do nothing about it.

She longed for somepony outside her home to reach out to her and tell her that everything would be alright, but there was no comfort for her. There was no comforter to ease the agony of friendlessness. She lived in Canterlot, hopelessly bound to her grief. The Canterlot she had knew only year ago had changed along with all the world and the days of her life were being spent worthlessly; dragging by like centuries. Her goal was no longer to achieve anything great, but instead to survive to see the next day.

The end of the school year finally arrived. She scored eighty one percent on her last test and passed by with a better than average final grade. The summer came and the sun shone its radiant beams of light which were brighter than those in any other season. Yet for Twilight, the days had never seemed so dim. With the cessation of school for a while, the lost filly was left to pursue knowledge on her own, but her appetite had been missing as of late.

After a while, when she was lying on her bed one day with nothing to do, her thoughts instinctively drifted so that she was once more in the council of her advisors. When they found her once more, each expressed their joy that she had returned to her thoughts. Miss Sandy in particular asked her whether or not she would soon be continuing her studies. To answer both her and her other teachers briefly, she said, “A lot of stuff has happened since I last talked to you guys, and I know you all won’t be happy about this, but I can’t talk to you anymore. There’s no reason to and it just makes everything worse. I don’t see any reason to keep trying to get smarter if all it does is make ponies hate me more.”

To this, Miss Sandy cried out, “But what about your dream? Are you going to give all that up?”

“I was stupid to even think about that kind of thing, much less believe I could do it. If everypony is against me then I could never hope to get into the palace. You keep on promising me all these wonderful things which will make me better than everpony else, but I just realized something. I don’t want to be better than everpony. I just want to be an average pony. I used to think that would be bad, but now it doesn’t seem so. So this is goodbye.” All of her teachers continued to protest and urge her on to turn around, but Twilight shut them out and returned her consciousness to the material world, hoping never to go back. Thus it was finished.

Reappraisals (ii)

The filly suddenly had a load of free time on her hooves with nothing to do. Half of her wanted to pick up a novel to pass the time, but the maltreatment she had received had conditioned her at this point to find no pleasure in reading. So she spent her days in her bedroom looking for something to do other than think; anything to take her mind away from the agony. The first few days after she had stopped introspecting, she was sunk deep in depression and felt that the pain would never end. Her parents tried to cheer her up, taking her to get ice cream, going on walks, and many other fun things to no avail.

Yet despite her belief that she who be a forever mourning pony like in the storybooks, she found a way to be happy. One day, she walked outside her house and decided to run around the circuit of the city. After returning home, she realized that she had passed most of the day without thinking and the physical exhaustion she felt was preferable to anything she could be moping about. In addition, she developed quite a physical appetite and started eating a lot more. Running then was how she spent her days.

It was not long before she began in internalized schedule. She woke up, ate a big breakfast, went for a morning run, returned home, and ate lunch. Then she spent a few hours walking until she felt that she could run again. Along the way she admired the beautiful architecture of the city. Though most of it was built into the mountain in its early days, in this age it had grown into a sea of color and design. One could spend eons gazing at the wonderful buildings throughout the city, and for Twilight, this provided the perfect way to occupy her time. She returned home and ate dinner, and then conversed with her parents for about an hour. Then she went to bed early. This habit continued throughout the summer.

The school year arrived and Twilight found herself in the first grade. Unlike kindergarten, the first grade did not have as many breaks between learning periods, to her dismay. Only a year ago, she would have jumped for joy at this, but now such business was a minor inconvenience. School consumed of a large portion of her day and she had time only to go on a short run on each one. She went to school and did the homework that she had to do, and then went back to her preferred business.

As Prince Blueblood had promised, her classmates maintained a degree of hostility towards her, though in several ways that was significantly less stressful than it had been the previous year. Now that she was doing only the same amount of work that they did and no more, only her previous studies were giving her the ability to pass through the course. On a normal basis, she would have been taking out grades of around seventy five percent, but instead she was scoring around ten points higher than that which each test; however, this was of course only passing by her previous standards.

It was this reduced effort and performance that gave her classmates little reason to spite her. Now few held much against her, and the ones that did had close ties with the prince, who was gradually gaining popularity through his money and status. Twilight was no longer a pariah, but just one that nopony bothered to approach. The filly still felt the lingering and festering thirst that nagged at her daily, but she repressed it well enough. As a result she was content but not happy or joyful, which was good enough for her.

The school year flew by her with great speed. Before she knew it, it was April and its end was right around the corner. As before, she studied what she could and passed through the last two tests with relative ease. Thus another summer came and once more Twilight began running through the city; admiring the beautiful view and seeing more detail every day. She had no plans to become an athlete. Although she was becoming very good, becoming faster and able to run greater distances without tiring as easily, she thought that she was too small and did not have the right build to be able to compete with the lightning-fast and enduring stallions of Canterlot. Running was a nonproductive task that passed the time and repressed any undesirable thoughts. If she rested from this routine, she may have stopped because her nature did not approve of spending time on nonproductive chores, but she did not ever allow for such thinking.

Repetitively and as before, the second grade presented itself as a hindrance. It was not an obstacle as before, but rather an annoying duty. Once more she had to deal with the occasional crony of Blueblood causing trouble for her. To make matters more troublesome, she could see that the course work was becoming steadily more rigorous and contained fewer chances to break. Nap time and snack time had been sacrificed to make way for more subjects and the tests were no longer based on memorization, but on understanding of principles, to Twilight’s dismay. All of this meant more work for her inside and outside the classroom, though admittedly it did produce the same affect as running. She didn’t like running because it was arduous and tired her out. She liked it because it redirected her thoughts. When she understood this, she treated schoolwork the same way. She didn’t enjoy it, but it became a diversionary tactic. She passed through it all.

Finally, following the summer of second grade, the prince was true to his word and what remained of her classmates –some of them were dropping out and going to regular school with earth and pegasus ponies- treated her with relative kindness; no longer avoiding her like the plague. She involuntarily made a few acquaintances, but her prolonged two and a half years of isolation made her into a creature that had forgotten how to make friends. She played with a few ponies outside of the inner circle of the colt prince, but made no attempt to truly befriend them. Her thirst for friendship had been quelled. Once being a burning pain, it was now a negligible twitch.

This continued on for three years. For three years Twilight passed down a road of apathy. Gradually, she assimilated into the crowd until she was hardly distinguishable from the rest of the crowd. Her grades were no better than anypony else’s. She generally struggled to keep her average at around an eighty. Her mannerisms were not her own, but were directed by the mob. She learned the jargon, spoke as they spoke, and liked what they liked. Eventually, she spent a good deal of time with other ponies. The filly was introduced to many ponies around the city and associated with them. Few of them could be called her friends and most of the time she wondered what their names were. It was amusing that as they moved into the sixth grade, the crowd that she was with promoted individuality and freedom of choice with their mouths, but if anypony among them acted differently, they were outcast. Freedom of speech was the slogan, but enforced homogeneity was the unspoken law.

One day, she was walking down the road to the market to buy some groceries. To get there, she had to pass by the library. The sun was completing its circuit in the west and the shops were beginning to close down, so the unicorn was in a hurry. However as she was passing the library, it happened that Miss Sandy in the flesh was exiting. Walking out of the great edifice, she saw the filly for the first time in ages. Recognizing her immediately, she called to her and cantered across the distance to her. “How are you, dear?” She kindly asked. “It’s been ages since I’ve last saw you and you’ve certainly grown.”

Stopping, the filly took a moment to identify this person. Soon, she recognized her as the mare who had helped her in the library those years ago and had been teaching her through her books since. “I’m okay, Miss Sandy.” She answered.

“Have you been reading any lately?” The elderly mare asked.

“Um, no really.” The young mare answered nervously. “I don’t really read too much anymore.”

“Really, why ever not?”

“I don’t see any reason to, and my friends don’t do it.”

The mare smirked and raised an eyebrow. “Are your friends the main reason?”

“I guess.”

“Will you do me a favor then?”

The filly hesitated, but realized that she should get moving and answered, “What is it?”

The mare reached into her saddlebag and pulled out an old, leatherbound tome. “Could you read just one more book for me? I think you’ll like this one.”

“I don’t know if I’ll have the time to…”

“This one isn’t a revised version, dear. This is the original manuscript written by the author himself. To my knowledge, you haven’t read anything that hasn’t been revised by me and I think that you’re more than ready for it.”

These words piqued her interest. She had indeed never read a book outside of what she was required to read for school that wasn’t dumbed down. The idea of viewing an original text brushed over a part of her that she instinctively couldn’t resist. Additionally, she was in a hurry and didn’t have time to argue, so she accepted the book and promised that she would read it when she had the chance. Then she rushed off to do some shopping.

It was a few days before the filly came to fulfill her promise. She went about her business as usual: socializing with the crowd, studying what she had to for an upcoming test, and doing nothing of particular use. Though one night after dinner, she had no plans and retired early to her bedroom. When she was about to turn in for the night, she looked at her nightstand and saw the book which Miss Sandy had given to her. Because the night was young and she had nothing better to do other than sleep, she raised the book and went over to read it at her desk.

As she set down the heavily leather book and climbed up to her seat, she felt a sense of petty pride that she was reading a book on her own for the first time in ages. While her acquaintances did not practice the deed and looked down on it, part of her old nature still lingered in her. She had an inkling that there was a great store of knowledge in this book. Though this would most likely be her last time, she reminded herself that it was her first time reading a book that was not edited for a younger audience. Thus she felt both more mature and smarter for deciding to honor her promise.

However, another part of her presented itself to her before she could so much as gaze at the title. She was reminded that this sort of thing was want gained her a hell of a life in her younger years. There was a good reason why she did not read often coupled with the fact that the idea had become dull and pointless. With these thoughts in mind she was about to have a change of heart, but decided that wasting good waking hours wasn’t the way to go.

She looked at the cover that had gold letters engraved into the leather. They read, Collected works from Emerstallion. She opened the over and flipped to the first chapter which was called “Self Reliance.” Involuntarily, her mind brought her once more to the cave of ignorance as she began to read. The view that she saw with the mind’s eye was not a pleasant memory, but she ignored it and pressed on. As the words poured into her soul, she began to visualize the author much easier than she had with any other book.

There was a handsome, white stallion in his late thirties standing in the cave with her. He was dressed in fine and fancy clothing like those among the elite of Canterlot. When he had taken a full form, he addressed her. His voice was melodious and stern. His words though kind, carried a tone of great authority. “It has been an eon since anyone has invoked me, Twilight Sparkle. For the longest time my words have been forgotten and collected dust, but here you are now reading them. You must have a good reason, especially since you are young.”

She answered, “A friend of mine gave me your book and said that I would like to read it. Do you have anything to teach me that I would want to know?”

“If I were to teach you anything, it would not come from me, but from you. I am no teacher. I am a mere pony who shows people a better way to live.”

The filly was already growing impatient. “All right, do you have anything to tell me that I would want to hear?”

“Trust thyself, Twilight.”

The stallion’s response was terse. When he said no more, the unicorn assumed that she was supposed to think about it. When the implications of his command presented themselves, she argued, “I trusted myself for a year and only bad things happened.”

The stallion smirked. His eyes grew haughty and shone even in the darkness of the cave. “What sort of bad things?”

“I wasted a lot of time pursuing a goal that was only a dream. Ponies hated me for it, and I ignored them until I couldn’t ignore them anymore. Then I stopped trusting in myself and turned to other ponies. They haven’t steered me wrong yet.”

The stallion chuckled. “Hah, so it’s true then. For nonconformity, the world whips you with its displeasure. Its rage is decorous and prudent; for its inhabitants are timid as well as being as vulnerable as you. But when the ignorant and the poor are aroused, when the unintelligent brute force that lies at the bottom of society is made to growl and mewl, it requires the will of Celestia or Luna to treat it as an inconsequential trifle.”

The filly rolled her eyes. “Tell me about it. I thought I had that will, but I didn’t. I took the smart way out and stopped going against the flow before it killed me.”

Emerstallion continued. “Ponies hate you, Twilight, for your nonconformity, but do you believe Star-Swirl the Bearded or Platony were loved in their time? You claim that your choice to assimilate was smart, and the world believes the same. It sees nonconformity as foalish and foolish, while the mob’s ways are mature and ingenious. Its desires you to forsake yourself and believe as it believes. Take for example, your love of wisdom. While you once loved pursuing wisdom, the world hates wisdom and compelled you to give up that love. Now you find little pleasure in the practice because you have become part of the world. I am not here to tell you that such a thing is right or wrong –such things you must determine for yourself- though I will say that it was once your will to search for wisdom as it was once your will to pursue that dream. That dream was once a reality for you, but the world belittled until it was only a fairy tale.”

The growing filly was annoyed by this retrogressive thought. “Platony and Star-Swirl were geniuses who ponies loved. They didn’t dream up some wild goal and then try to do it when everypony else was trying to stop them. What you’re saying sounds good, but it’s just not realistic enough. I thought I was smart, but I wasn’t. I only was able to get perfect scores on my tests in kindergarten because I studied too hard. But all that wasn’t worth it. I’m doing fine now and I’m not studying at all.”

Emerstallion continued to smirk. “The geniuses before you were not loved until the twilight of their lives. Nor were they successful because they were ‘realistic’ about their goals. The geniuses and the successful ponies were great dreamers. They dreamed mad and even audacious dreams and chased after the impossible goals that only mad ponies chased after. They may not have received all that they wished for, but they tried. And as a result, they accomplished many times more than the average pony in the mob.

“Great ponies have always trusted in themselves and pursued dreams that the world called insane. They were called foalish among the so called 'geniuses' of their ages, but they believed that absolute trustworthiness was enthroned in their self and not in the world; working through their hands and predominating in all their being. You are a filly who will soon become a mare. To be recognized as a mare and not just as a big, older filly, you must accept in the highest mind the same destiny as those geniuses before you. Accept not the destiny of the minors or the invalids in a protected corner, or the cowards fleeing before a revolution. Doing this, you will be not hated, but revered as a guide, a redeemer, and a benefactor; obeying the Almighty effort, and advancing on the Darkness and the Chaos.”

The unicorn sighed. He was giving her the same promises that her teachers had given her many times before. “Look, I’ve already heard this stuff and I tried it, but it didn’t work out. I had no friends and nopony wanted anything to do with me.”

“Such failure to pursue your innermost desires is not the mob’s fault entirely. The power that the mob possesses to spite you and deal you pain was bequeathed to them by your none other than yourself, Twilight. Nothing that ponies do to you can hurt you unless you allow it. Your desire for friends is what has been hindering you from the actualization of your purpose all this time. Therefore, your flesh constantly tempts you to fulfill its desires above all else. The only way to rid yourself of this pain is to make war against those desires. Say to the whole mob, ‘I no longer desire to live in your favor if I must first sacrifice the sanctity of myself. My flesh says that I must live among you, but my spirit tells me that I need not your sickly company. I am no longer yours, nor will I be tossed about here and there as your fickle minds are; for I am the mistress of my fate, the captain of my soul!’”

These words cut to the heart of the filly. She had told herself this time and time again. It was a question of thirst or hunger, but that was where the analogy broke down. Did she really need to have friends? Did she require socialization with peers for the continuation of her life? The thought came to her that she had been framed and failed a test, but in the end, that was insignificant. First, it was one test, and she still passed, with an above average grade. Second, she knew she wouldn’t fall for it again and she was sure she could defend herself should something happen like it again.

The stallion warned her when the thought came to her mind. “Yet do not entertain yourself with the idea that warring with your desires will be an easy task. Do not be fooled into assuming that the mere motivation I am now imparting to you will be sufficient to contend with it; for the flesh is strong, and the soul is weak. For now your soul is the servant to your body, but you must beat your body and make it your spirit's slave if you wish to have any hope to attain the prize.”

Twilight looked up with curiosity; her heart sinking. “Then how can I win? I tried fighting it before too, but I failed.”

“Before you ignored the problem, but running away from the battle is even worse than losing. In war, unless one faces their opponent head on and relentlessly and assiduously continues to fight against them, it is impossible to achieve victory. Should you desire to pursue the prize, you must rush for it without halting as you did before, but you must also do so bravely and shamelessly. When those who persecute you raise their hooves against you, stand firm and raise your hooves against them. For your will in the height of its brilliance has potential to be a thousand times stronger than theirs. And when your flesh cries out because of its loneliness, say to it, ‘Be silent, flesh! Torment me not; for you will gain nothing from whining.’ Hold fast and fight then.”

The old desire for the prize was welling up in Twilight once more at the epic words of Emerstallion, but she still had her doubts. There was once more a good deal at stake. Pain was pain, and telling herself that something didn’t hurt wouldn’t make it any better. Giving up the wide, brick road and walking down the wooded and thorny path would not be an easy task. In truth, she was not even sure at this point she could make it through. Not only was there the potential for her annihilation as before, but now, it being later, she could have wasted too much time. So she asked him, “But what if I fail?”

Twilight expected him to renew the promises of her older teachers about leaving the cave and all the wonders and pleasures she would enjoy if she didn’t fail, but he did not. Rather he answered. “As surely as the sun will rise tomorrow, you will not fail. But if by some unforeseen enemy or malicious foe you are unexpectedly stricken down, it will matter little; for though you will have not achieved your goal, neither did those great ones before you. It is a fine thing for a good pony to die while fighting for the greatest of treasures. Though she did not gain the unattainable prize, she came so close to it and paved the way for the next after her to do so.

"Such a pony will have her name carved into the stone of the walls of Canterlot and it will not be blotted out from the princess’ chronicles, but the pony who gives in to fear and adversity will be hated with dishonor when she lives and forgotten after she dies.” After this, Twilight came to the end of the chapter, which she realized was an unorthodox essay, but Emerstallion, as one last act, walked to where she was and struck at the chains binding her in the cave of ignorance with his hoof. From the blow, there was a noticeable crack on one of the chain’s links.

Twilight was no longer the filly that she had been six years previously, but now at the age of eleven, that great passion that she had before she even knew about magic kindergarten was rekindled. Just as on the day when she battled her way through the crowd at the Summer-Sun Celebration, so now she was pushing her way through the realms of knowledge. Right after school the following day, she returned for the first time in ages to the library and checked out five thick books at the intermediate level. She spent all of her time studying these books as well as heavily focusing on her school work. All the while, she affixed her thoughts on the court of Celestia.

Covertly, her grades started to rise again, and towards the end of the year, just as before, her classmates began to grow aggravated as her repeated perfect scores evinced themselves. After a while when she was breezing through the tests, Prince Blueblood thought it was necessary to take action again. He invited Twilight to have dinner with him, but received no response. Twilight was now taking the war as seriously as he, and as for as she knew, he wasn’t going to negotiate, and she wasn’t going to submit.

Thus Blueblood called together the sixth grade class which consisted of several of those who had lasted since magic kindergarten, and incited them to treat her just as they had before. So Twilight received plenty of dirty looks and nasty words and names. She was also in danger of being framed on more than one occasion, but she was much more prudent this time and fraternized with no one. On one such occasion, the teacher suspected her of cheating but she pleaded a well formed apology and showed beyond a reasonable doubt that she was innocent. Needless to say, Tricky Framer was expelled this time.

With great intensity and without stopping, she returned to the counsel of her old teachers as well as many new ones formed by the opinions of several other authors. As time passed, she began to form her own opinions about what she read and began to argue and debate with her teachers; even winning several engagements. It was at this time that she was not happy (because happiness is caused by good circumstances); however she was very joyful. She found the greatest joy and thrills from diving into a good book and draining and filtering its contents by her disgression. Knowledge was more precious than diamonds, more costly than gold, and sweeter than honey.

The present sufferings that she endured from her fleshly desires were negligible when in the presence of her great joys and discoveries. No longer did the opinions or company of others concern her. She found the greatest joy in studying. Every morning she awoke to the radiant sun with all the energy that her body could muster. Each day was an adventure and an awesome journey. Just as an army of soldiers, hopelessly outnumbered but armed with experience and training that equip it with the most invincible ability advance step by step, little by little take ground against the untrained enemy, even so was her life was so full of meaning that advanced ever deliberately upon a sole purpose. Nor could she stop her steady progression if she tried. Although her body was weak and unwilling, her spirit had now dominated Twilight and urged her onward; giving her the most passionate desire to break the chains in the cave as well as certain happiness in completing that objective.

It was not long before she was beginning to learn practical magic. Not too long ago she had prided herself in mastering the turning of a page but now she was studying much more intricate spells such as levitating many objects at once and learning to wield those objects to perform tasks such as writing, which required a great deal of concentration.

Keeping the words of Emerstallion in mind, nothing could stop her as she pressed on. She destroyed any test that was thrown her way, stood firmly and unafraid of those who opposed her, and gained knowledge greater than all of her classmates’ combined many times over. After a great struggle with herself that lasted for a year and a half, she finally beat her flesh into submission and the need for friends did not cross her mind for ages to come. All of her being was now only focused on pursuing the prize.

After this feat had been accomplished, Twilight saw that the end was in sight. For almost eight years she had trudged through the trials of the secondary magical education, but when she passed the seventh grade, she would be ready to apply for one of the academies where she would begin her advanced studies as well as look for a high ranking mage to appoint her to a position. Yet though she was keeping the end in mind, at the time, she had to focus everything she had on finishing out the grades strong. She rested little and ate only enough for three weeks; studying as hard as she could and anticipating the questions she would encounter on her final exams. Her efforts proved effective. She made it through the home stretch, and just as she did when she leapt into the hole in the crowd with all her strength to reach its front, she utterly annihilated each of her exams; passing through the grades with an overall score of ninety five percent.

As for her peers, most of them didn’t make the cut and Prince Blueblood passed only because his father had hired a private tutor for him (and maybe he cheated as well), but Twilight paid no attention to how her peers had done. She had fought the good fight. She had finished the race. She had remained true to herself. The prize then was just around the corner.

Epilogue

“Well I don’t really think it matters where the energy comes from song long as it produces the intended effect.” Said Twilight.

The old scholar, Platony, now speaking through a new translator, returned with, “But do you not think it is important to understand where the energy is coming from to begin with? After all, according to thermodynamics, the energy has to come from somewhere. What if the practice of magic in itself is remotely committing illegal siphoning?”

“That’s just silly if you ask me.” The filly said. “You can’t disprove that because there would be no way to produce a universal negative.”

Platony threw his hooves up in the air. “Oh there you go bringing this ‘scientific’ approach to it. You’re almost as bad as my greatest student was.”

Twilight was taking a break from official studying and was debating with her teachers on the theory of magic. It was midsummer and she was giving no thought to school, but was by no means slacking in her studies. Very soon she was able to start learning about how to manipulate matter based on its properties; however, it was getting late and before she turned in for the night she liked to have a riveting theoretical argument.

Twilight readied herself to apologize for science. “Well when you really look at it, magic is scientific a lot of ways. It’s observable, reproducible, and deliberate. I, for one, don’t understand why you always have to look at it so metaphysically.”

The sage chuckled and said, “My dear filly, you have much to learn. It just so happens that the highest divisions of the practice are anything but those things. They are by all means logical, but not scientific. Take for example the fabled omniomorphic spell of which I am sure you have heard. Star Swirl claims to have invented it, but he only rediscovered it and popularized the goal to harness it. In my time, it was called the weapon of the gods because of how powerful and unpredictable it was. We found that out first hand when it destroyed our homes and to this day, your ‘scientists’ are still trying to discover a way to use it like it were a tangible tool. No pony will ever be able to show how it works solely by observation, but we can show how it came to be and how it works by logic.”

Twilight slapped her hoof to her face. “That’s a defeatist’s way of looking at things. You think that because its complicated the we’ll never understand it?”

A clear voice muffled Platony’s response, “Twilight, sweetie?”

Twilight was brought out of her immersion back into the material world, inside her room. She turned to see her mother. “Oh, hi mom. What is it?”

The mare entered into the bedroom and said, “Well your father and I have been talking and we’ve noticed that you’ve been spending a lot of time studying and that you did really well in grade school.”

The filly blushed. “Well, I could have done better. I just wish that I could have been a little more serious in the middle grades.”

Her mother smiled. “You did what you could given the circumstances and we’re very proud of you.”

Twilight’s cheeks grew redder. “Thanks mom.”

At this point, her father walked into the room and said, “And your outstanding performance is exactly why we went ahead and enrolled you in Princess Celestia’s Academy for gifted unicorns.”

Twilight nearly fell out of her seat and sputtered, “What? That’s the most selective school in the nation. Only one in every thousand applicants ever gets in!”

Her mother continued, “We know, but we applied for you anyway, and they accepted you. All you have to do is pass an entrance exam.”

This took a moment to register in Twilight’s brain. When she understood, she looked at her mother and father and squealed with joy. “Oh yes!” She cheered. “That’s so awesome.” Then she preceded to parade about the room with her parents happily watching. She stopped after a moment though. “Wait, what did you say about an entrance exam?”

♦ ♦ ♦

From her birth, Twilight, like many other fillies and even mares, was chained hopelessly and unknowingly in the cave of ignorance. Until the age of five, she lived as any normal pony, spending her days playing games with friends and doing whatever she felt like on a given day. She was content and happy with her way of life, but she was also blown to and fro by whatever circumstances came her way. It is the nature of ponies to opt for complacency and so she did.

Yet at the age of five, she witnessed something that changed her life. She saw something that made her incredibly dissatisfied with her disposition. This dissatisfaction sprung up in the form of a desire within her that caused her to pursue a single goal. She placed all of her being –body, soul, and spirit- into this goal; pursuing invariably the same object even in the face of the most shaking adversity.

She had many enemies, some of which had great influence. Everypony abandoned her and many betrayed her; breaking her spirit and compelling her to forsake the goal which she so greatly desired. They deliberated against and triumphed over her. Thus, she knew only pain; being given no reason to rise above the call of duty, save for the vague promises of rewards in a faraway future. Not even the most despicable of ponies deserve the kind of treatment that she was subjected to, but still her enemies showed her no mercy.

The bards cannot say that Twilight remained steadfast. In less than a year’s time she gave into the immense pressure upon her. For a time, she lived as she had before she saw the splendor of the princess of the sun, but fate would have it that she would come across one who would question her manners. He urged her onward towards what she had been walking towards in a new way. Did she truly thirst for friendship or was it something she could overcome? If she forsook associating with ponies altogether would she survive?

The answers to these questions came to her after only a short time. What good where friends if she gave up herself? What purpose did friendship serve if it distanced her from magic? With these ideas in mind, she renewed her resolve and set herself back on the course towards her self-ordained goal. When they beat her, she did not bleed. When they struck her, she did not flinch. She beat her body into submission and it obeyed her to the very end. When the dust had cleared, she was the most honored by far over all her peers in the capital of the world.

Such honors in academia were not the limit of her rewards though. Not long after conquering the grades, she was submitted to a final test and brought before four who would decide her future. They gave her an egg with a vague description to open it with magic. At first, she could not complete what was required of her, and she thought she had failed. After thirteen years of the hardest and most determined pursuit of a sole purpose, it had all been for naught. So she spoke aloud words not in spite of her examiners or hatred for their choice of her test. “I’m sorry I wasted your time.” After all she had fought for, there was no hope for her. She was defeated.

But the fates had something different in mind. They had a different plan for her; one that was more far reaching than she could ever imagine. Before the entrance exam, she hoped to be among the lowest of the best for her efforts. Despite having fought the good fight, she would have settled if they would have called her gifted, and she would have gladly continued to run the race towards the palace. It was enough for them to simply pass her, to call her acceptable among the greats. But the fates gave her far more than she could ever imagine.

On that day … when she thought that she had failed, when all was lost for her, and her hopes and dreams came crashing down upon her like tidal waves upon an unwalled city, and when she thought defeat had placed its terrible hooves upon her carcass … on that day, a brilliant and widespread sign appeared in the heavens, and she gazed once more into the eyes of Princess Celestia herself; this time closer than ever before. The princess, seeing what lay inside of her from afar, approached and placed her majestic hoof on her; gazing at her with loving and kind eyes. Celestia, the prize for which the filly had been fighting tooth and nail for such a long time, said,

“You, Twilight Sparkle, are very special. Today I choose you to live in my house and learn under my wing; for I have never seen one with such potential as you. Come and I will show you wonderful, astonishing, and amazing things.”

From that day forth, all knowledge was like the most filling delicacy to Twilight. Everything which the princess showed her was a blessing and was more appreciated than anything she gave to any of her subjects. Though she could never consume enough knowledge, she was never hungry for it. And each day, the princess made another crack in the chains that bound her good and faithful student.