This, That, and a Whole Lot of Something Else
Friendship is Magic, Part ?
“And that, class, concludes my lecture on the beliefs of ancient pony summoners and conjurers of the Starswirlian era. Do any of you have questions on the topic?’
A heavy crack broke through the resulting silence, startling even the crickets living under the students’ chairs. A few papers scattered onto the floor near a where a lavender mare and her now closed book sat, fuming. That is to say, the mare was fuming and not the book itself, as the book was quite ordinary in nature.
“Miss Twilight Sparkle, I must ask you not to sla-“
“I have a question.”
“Miss Sparkle, the standard procedure to ask involves raising one’s hoof,” The bearded pony in the center of the lecture hall lowered his half moon glasses in a wearied fashion, “It does not involve potentially damaging school property.”
“The book is fine,” Was twilight’s curt response, voice raising slightly to be heard throughout the corners of the room, “But what I want to know is why we have this belief that the celestial goddess and the lunar goddess are merely constructs of magic as opposed to the belief held by the great ancients that they were,” She paused for a breath of air, adding a dramatic affect to what she said next, “real ponies?”
Both ponies, now the center of the class’s attention, snorted, though in very different fashions.
One snort spoke clearly the words, “How ridiculous this child must be, surely she was dropped from the High Tower in her youth.”
And the other snort, not to be outdone, spoke as well, “Close-minded, old stallion couldn’t see beyond the edge of his muzzle if it wasn’t for those rubbish glasses.”
Both snorts believed themselves to be right, though neither could be farther from the truth. The professor could, in fact, see just fine. The glasses he kept around purely for appearance of being intelligent. And as for Twilight Sparkle, well, she never fell any farther than she could handle.
“That question, Miss Twilight Sparkle, only barely relates to the subject at hand. I am going to simply ignore that you uttered it and I will say only this; no unicorn has ever existed that was powerful enough to raise the sun. The same goes for the moon.”
“But-“
“Alicorns do not exist, Miss Sparkle. Class is dismissed.”
Twilight’s mouth hung open at an almost comically wide way.
“What a freak.”
“Whatever, at least she distracts the teacher.”
“I know, right? It’s like she actually cares about this history stuff.”
“I heard she thinks those old mare’s tales are actually true!” Laughter cackled after that remark.
The mumbled whispers of her classmates draped over her like a thick scarf, obscuring thoughts of anything else.
“No wonder she doesn’t have any friends!”
By now the voices were letting up and with a realization, the mare realized that only a few stragglers were still stuffing their bags with ink stained feather quills and equally stained and doodled upon parchments.
‘Twi-twi, you have me.’
The purple unicorn winced as the voice echoed through her skull, resonating through her horn. Ducking underneath her desk, she began to stuff her bag full of all the necessaries in a distracted manner.
“Not now, Spike,” Her voice instinctively lowered itself to almost inaudible levels, “We can’t have anyone knowing that you’re here.”
‘But…Twi-‘
“Spike! Not right now!”
‘Celestia is calling you!’
The quill held so carefully in Twilight’s magical grip wavered and clattered to the floor.
“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?!”
‘I was trying to…’
It was with a flurry of hooves and the loss of many valuable notes that carried her swiftly to the room she had called home ever since she had joined Equestria’s official School of Magic. It was a room that she had to specially request, with the desire to be placed s far away from others as possible. While the reason was partly due to her studious nature, there was quite more depth to it than that.
Though they were still worshipped by the ponies of Equestria, there was a decline among the youths to believe in the celestial and lunar goddesses. If one of her class peers was to step into Twilight’s room, her standing would have dropped like a hot potato straight of the fire. For not even those raised with a strict belief in the goddesses would or could be found with a shrine in place of a desk.
A shrine that was currently covered in a white mist that lit the room.
“Twilight Sparkle,” The voice was like a physical thing, unspoken but there, “ I do hope your studies are going along well? ”
Twilight stammered some, thinking back to the class which she had just left.
“Twilight Sparkle, how long have you believed in me?”
“Always, Celestia! How could I not?”
“ Twilight Sparkle, I think you know what I mean. How long have you believed in me personally? Do you remember the day you got your cutie mark? The day Spike was placed at your feet, weak and mewling? ”
“Of course I do. It was the most magical day I could imagine! And my talent is magic itself!”
“I need to ask a favor of you, my dear child. Do you still want to know why I was crying that day? Why I entrusted you with one of my luck dragons?”
With all the light of a bursting star held in her eyes, Twilight Sparkle, personal friend of a being most believed as an idea, could do naught but nod.
“I need you to go to Ponyvale.”
~
“I don’t see what is so special about Ponyvale.”
Twilight’s words could not have rung more true at that very moment. Despite being not yet in the village itself, and rather on a dirt pathway leading into it, differences ran amok from what Twilight could see. In fact if you were to look at the conditions that Twilight had grown up in, this village was plain…
“What smells?”
‘I think it’s poop,’ Spike paused, ‘Chicken poop perhaps.’
“I knew it! I knew a purple unicorn was going to come! I told ya!”
Any enquiries over the scent of the village in the valley were cut short as a pink blur suddenly appeared in front of the two. Appearances of unexpected blurs tend to have that affect upon conversations, regardless of the color.
“I told ya, I told ya,” The bouncing ceased suddenly to reveal an earth pony in all pink, “I almost forgot!”
As suddenly as she had arrived, the earth pony mare, once blur, was gone. Comically enough a trail was left behind with the faint echo of a foal’s toy horn with it.
“Aw, shucks, don’t mind her. That’s just Pinkie for you. She can be a few apples short of a full bushel sometimes. She came by mah farm this mornin’ blabbing on about something,” The newcomer tipped her hat, “Ah’m Applejack, and this is my brother, Big Mac.”
“Eyup.”
“Ponyvale must have a large earth pony population…” Twilight seemed a bit out of it, despite the explanation over the peculiar, pink, prancing pony.
“Why, um, yes it does. Where do you call home, Miss…?”
“Oh, I am so sorry. My name is Twilight Sparkle. I’m a resident of Canterlot and a student at the School of Magic.”
“Well, howdy do, Miss Twi. I can tell you that Ponyvale is going to be a mite different from what you’re used to.”
Author's Note
Join us next week for the next exciting installment.
