No Godsby AkoumaChaptersPrologueChapter 1Chapter 2Chapter 3PrologueLuna huffed angrily as she slammed the massive door to her chambers. Four hours of petitioners would make anypony at least a little annoyed, but today had been especially vexing. One of the earliest subjects had the audacity to actually say he was only there because he had awoken too late to bring his problem to Celestia. For the rest of the time she’d been in the throne room, she’d had to endure the nobles looking down at her while sharing jokes at her expense as the rumor circulated. They always thought she couldn’t hear them; she continued letting them believe this. She didn’t bother talking to her sister about it this time. Luna knew exactly what Celestia would say if it was brought to her attention, because it would be the same thing Celestia said the last time they’d had this discussion. She’d say something to the effect that demanding they stop would display weakness they couldn’t afford to show the public. “Your composure needs to be as unshakable as your armor,” she would often say. “If either fails you, it will be your end.” The most infuriating part of all of it was Luna understood exactly why her sister would say that. She’d seen countless nobles over the years lose their composure for just a moment, and then immediately lose whatever influence they held. But did that really apply to her? No matter how important the nobility might think they were, they didn’t actively control the heavens like Luna did. Celestia insisted that she care about public opinion, however. Unfortunately, that left Luna with a problem. She could drop her mask and lose face with the public now. Or she could bottle it up until such a time as she couldn’t take any more, likely cause a bigger spectacle, and be even worse off. As Luna climbed into bed, all these thoughts swirling in her head, she mumbled to herself as the sun began to rise. “It’s enough to make a pony go mad.” ________________________ “It’s enough to make a pony go mad,” Celestia said to her advisor as she examined a written petition demanding the repeal of a recent tax increase. “‘Celestia has gone too far with this egregiously high increase?’ Do they even read the news? My hooves never touched it! Luna brought it before the parliament, campaigned for it, and signed it before I could so much as tell her I thought it was a bad idea. I swear, every time Luna or the nobility gets some idea into their heads that could never work, I somehow always end up with the public backlash.” Celestia leafed through the papers on her desk, eventually finding another example in a newspaper column. “‘Dragon hunts claiming too many lives?’ Apparently, according to the article, that was my decision alone, and not parliament’s. If I could bring the hunts to an end, I would, but the dragons are a serious threat to Equestria. Everypony’s just reacting badly to losing Captain Armor. I miss him as much as anypony else.” She sighed as she moved the papers around her desk in frustration. Her advisor made to speak, but was cut off as Celestia continued. “‘Celestia favoring the northwest with pleasant weather patterns.’ I’m sorry, but the northwest is mostly urban areas that don’t need rain for crops. ‘Celestia considering a draft’ is an outright lie; I personally vetoed the draft when parliament proposed it.” Celestia deflated a little as she shifted to a more comfortable position on her chair and buried her face in a hoof. “I just don’t know how to get through to Equestria that I am not some kind of tyrant.” Finally having an opportunity to speak, Celestia’s advisor cleared her throat. “Princess, I think that your subjects sometimes forget that you are not the sole executive power in Equestria. Perhaps make an effort to point out that these policies are coming from other ponies?” Celestia sighed. “I would, but Luna frequently loses her head when trying to deal with the public. She seems to take every little jest or jab far too personally, and pointing out her mistakes will bring more of the wrong sort of public scrutiny onto her. No, for now I’ll just have to deal with the fact that sometimes my little ponies don’t quite understand that I always have their best interest at heart.” As the advisor took her leave, Celestia couldn’t help but mumble to herself. “Even if dealing with those little ponies can be a chore.” "Perhaps allow Luna to take over Equestria in its entirety for a short time to alleviate some of your stress?" ________________________ “Absolutely not,” Twilight Velvet yelled. “This isn’t up for discussion!” Twilight Sparkle sighed. She had expected it to be almost exactly like this, although maybe a little angrier. “Mom, this is my decision.” “Twilight, you don’t need to follow Shining’s hoofsteps,” Nightlight said in a much calmer tone than his wife had taken. “Your mother and I would both sleep easier knowing you haven’t.” “I’ve just been feeling like my talent is being wasted. My burst channel is ten thousand vortices, and all I’m doing with that is lifting things, for princesses’ sakes! I thought working in that bookstore would be fun, but all I ever do is move giant stacks. You keep saying I’ll find a job that fits my special talent, and I think the Guard is a great fit.” “Twilight, I know how much magic you can throw around. Being able to move that much energy doesn’t make you good at using it,” Twilight Velvet said as she rubbed a hoof against her forehead. “Shining always said he wished he had more unicorns that could learn more than a couple advanced spells.” Twilight’s voice cracked a little as she spoke, but she managed to be firm. She’d actually assumed when she was practicing this in her head that she wouldn’t be able to do so. She supposed things were actually going a little better than expected, then. “I am absolutely sure he’d agree with me on this decision if he were here right now.” Twilight Sparkle couldn’t help but glance across her parents’ kitchen at the wall with all the family photos. Her brother smiled back from several of the frames. As she did so, her mother reared up, slamming her forehooves on the table and snapping Twilight’s attention back to the conversation. Twilight Sparkle noticed there were tears beginning to form in her mother’s eyes. “But Shining Armor is not here, and he will never be coming back! Making yourself a dragon’s dinner won’t change that!” Nightlight placed a hoof on Twilight Sparkle’s shoulder gently. “We’ve already buried one of our children, Twilight. Please don’t make it two.” “Mom, dad. I was just coming to tell you that this is happening. I’ve already made my choice,” Twilight Sparkle said in as even a tone as she could manage while she telekinetically dug through her saddlebags to retrieve a piece of paper bearing the Royal Diarchal Seal. “I signed the last of the paperwork earlier today. If I don’t report for training in a couple of days, it’s desertion.” A light blue aura fought with a dark blue one for dominance of the paper. Eventually, light blue won out, and the document floated its way towards Twilight Velvet. She examined it, and the tears began to flow in earnest. A few moments later, her daughter wrapped her up in an embrace. “I know you don’t want me to do this, but I had to do something with this talent. I love you both, and I’ll be back from training by the New Year.” Twilight Velvet’s expression softened somewhat. “I hate this idea, Twilight. But what’s done is done. I’d rather have to worry about you while you’re away than visit you in prison.” “Promise to write whenever you can?” Nightlight asked her daughter as he brought her and Twilight Velvet into a hug. “All the time, dad,” Twilight Sparkle replied. The conversation stopped for a few minutes after that. Nopony wanted to be the one to break the moment. Once the three broke apart from their embrace, Twilight Sparkle went about packing what belongings she could bring with her to training. All the while, her parents peppered her with more questions. By the fourth time she confirmed the address they could send letters to, everypony’s tears had stopped. By the end of the night, Twilight Sparkle could tell her parents were still not completely comfortable with her decision, but they were trying to be supportive. After giving both of her parents one more hug, she went to bed early. Tomorrow was going to be a big day. Author's Note Welp, I finally went and made a thing. I hope you like the thing. And any critiques are welcome. Also, a big thank you tooooooooo... Kwakerjak maskedferret Blackbelt Caliaponia Ekevoo Seriously, this required a few kicks to the head to get into the state it is now. If I forgot one of you guys (for which I'm ridiculously sorry), please let me know. And consider these fine folks that have stories of their own your homework. No, seriously, I've emailed your respective bosses and teachers. Your wage/grades depend on it now. Chapter 1The proctor, a grey unicorn stallion with a white mane, checked off another item as Twilight stood before him. Clouds of steam puffed out into the cold air as her breathing slowly returned to normal after the run she had just finished. “Alright, that’s the last of the physical exams. Now onto the magical portion of the test.” He led Twilight over to a target range, with several unicorns already at this point at this point in their own test. “Please cast an offensive spell.” Twilight gathered her power, and magical energy lanced through the target, a little less than three inches away from the center. The proctor let out a small spark from his horn, and the target began to move erratically. “Again,” he said. Twilight watched the target for a few moments; if there was a pattern to its movements, Twilight couldn’t tell. Lightning travels nigh-instantly, she thought. It might be more appropriate than the raw magic if I can’t lead a shot. A moment later, a bolt charred the surface of the target at about the same distance from the center as her previous attempt. The proctor cocked an eyebrow, then asked for a few more shots. After three more attempts, the target was almost too charred to see the scoring lines. “Good. The next stop is telekinesis,” the proctor said as he jogged to the next station. A pile of weights were placed in front of her when she arrived. “Lift as many of these as you can, then hold them for one minute.” Without much difficulty, she lifted the whole group. After she put them down, the proctor closed his jaw before examining the weights. It wasn’t unheard of to lift five hundred pounds with telekinesis, but most unicorns had trouble holding about half of that. “Could you do more, kid?” the proctor asked. “Probably, this kind of thing was my job for almost a year before I enlisted.” He trotted over to an unused station and brought over its weights. “We need to figure out what your limit is. I can keep giving you weights until you can’t take any more.” After bringing over weights from four other stations, he appeared to doubt that statement. A crowd had started to gather, made up of the exercising soldiers whose weights had been commandeered. Twilight was almost as surprised as they were at how much she could hold, and how intense the light from her horn was getting. Each one of these workout stations is five hundred pounds, Twilight thought.. I’ve got six here and I could definitely do more. I guess that training paid off, after all. “Alright, kid,” the proctor said, snapping her out of her thoughts but unable to remove the grin forming on her face. “I’d have to start delaying tests to get more weights for you. Let’s just say you passed. And the rest of you, clear out!” After the onlookers had gone back to their own stations, the test resumed. “Alright, I need you to take those weights and spread them out, so they’re not all in one field. One weight per field, however many fields you can make.” He was hardly surprised when she had ten of them spinning around her before she looked to be straining. “Is ten pounds each your limit for multiple fields?” Twilight shook her head, but didn’t say anything. Had she tried to, she probably would have dropped the weights. They weren’t too heavy, but splitting her focus this much was a problem. She barely even noticed when her proctor placed the remaining weights from her station into the fields, doubling each of them. “Kid, whatever construction site you were at, they weren’t paying you enough,” the proctor joked as he wrote down the results of the test. Twilight chuckled. “Um, it was a book store, actually.” The proctor’s jaw went slack for a moment before he could speak again. “You’re kidding!” Twilight broke eye contact, busying herself examining her hooves as she mumbled. “I wasn’t anywhere near this good until I got some training, but seriously, books are heavy.” The two walked inside for the final portion of the test. The proctor led them to a sparsely furnished room, and lay down on the only bench. Once he was settled, he spoke again. “I want you to cast a spell without producing any light from your horn.” Twilight gulped. This was one she always had trouble with. “What kind of spell?” she asked nervously. He shrugged. “Anything you like. Let’s go with levitating my clipboard.” As Twilight gathered the energy to cast, she tried to hold in her aura. Shining had tried to teach her this trick a few years ago, but she just couldn’t separate her aura from the energy she unleashed. Her horn was a little dimmer than usual when she levitated the clipboard, but was still glowing. “That’s all I can manage,” she said with her eyes lowered. At least this wasn’t a crucial test element; she could still pass without getting it. After a few more attempts, the proctor noted Twilight’s first failure thus far, and brought out a gramophone from the room’s closet. He started it up, and Neighthoven’s Fifth began to play. “Cast a silencing spell on the gramophone.” Twilight wasn’t great with sound-based spells, but she could at least manage a basic silence. Soon enough, the room was quiet. The proctor put away the record player, and Twilight could hear him talking from the closet. “I’m going to throw this at you. Block it with a shield, and don’t just grab it with your telekinesis,” he said as he returned with a bouncy ball. Shields were something Twilight knew well. Her brother had been an expert with them, after all. Practicing those spells together with him had been one of her favorite pastimes as a filly. She easily brought a purple bubble up in time. “Okay, your reflexes seem to alright, but we need to find out how big you can make your shield. Expand it as much as you can without losing strength.” The shield expanded to fill most of the room. “Good. Now we need to find out its strength.” The proctor went back to the closet, and came back with a banged-up mannequin and a warhammer with a gauge on the handle and wires running to its head. Twilight recognized the gauge as a device for measuring the force of an impact, similar to ones she’d used in science classes at the Diarch’s School for Gifted Ponies. She had never seen strapped to a weapon, however. “I want you to put your strongest shield around this mannequin, and I’m going to hit it.” Twilight complied, focusing as hard as she could on creating a nice, strong shield. The first few hits were light, but her concentration began to shake as the blows came down harder and harder onto the purple dome. When the needle was about halfway up the gauge, it finally broke through. The proctor checked the gauge, then turned back to Twilight. “Your shields are a little stronger than average.” He moved over to the door to the hallway. “Now, I’m going to leave the room for a moment. I want you to communicate with me through the walls in some way.” After the door shut behind him, Twilight grabbed a blank sheet of paper and the proctor’s pen off of his clipboard. She wrote “test” on the paper before teleporting it, using the clipboard as an anchor back to its owner. Shortly afterwards, the door opened once again and the proctor walked back in and began rummaging in the closet again. “Alright, so we know that you can teleport. Guess we can skip that part of the test. Unless of course you can only teleport things.” Twilight shook her head. “My record for somewhere I couldn’t see is twenty-five hundred feet, but I don’t want to push it with how dangerous teleporting can be. It was also to an area I’d been to before.” Twilight couldn’t see what the proctor had been holding in his mouth, but from the sounds of things he had dropped it. “Twenty-five hundred? As in, two thousand and five hundred? Almost half a mile?” Twilight nodded. “And you don’t consider that ‘pushing it?’” Twilight nodded again. The proctor whipped around to face her. “Kid, some unicorns don’t ever even learn to teleport! Most that do can only go a hundred feet or so. How in Tartarus can you teleport twenty-five hundred feet without anything going wrong?” “Well, my doctor says I have an unusually powerful ability to channel magic, and my special talent is magic. I guess stuff that’s only hard because of how much energy you need always just came easily to me.” The proctor went back to the items in the closet, finally retrieving what he had been looking for. “Well, if your doctor told you that, you’ve probably seen one of these before,” he said as he put a block with an emerald sticking out of one end on the bench. From the side with the emerald, two wires protruded, which led to a small metal ring just wide enough to fit around Twilight’s horn. “Yes, I’ve seen a vortometer before. So I guess you’re going to measure my channels now?” Twilight guessed. The proctor tapped the bench with a hoof. “If you’ll just have a seat, I can get this on your horn.” After she did as he said, he slid the ring into place. “We’re going to do your burst channel potential. When I tell you to, just pump as much magic as you can into your horn,” the proctor said as he continued adjusting the settings on the vortomoter. After a few moments of fiddling with the knobs, he put it down on the bench. “Alright, let’s see what you’ve got.” It was only three seconds, but beads of sweat began to form on her face as she strained. After it was over, the proctor examined the readout on the equipment, and tried not to lose his composure again. “Kid, do you know wanna’ know what the limit on what this vortometer can handle is?” Twilight pondered a moment. Her doctor had mentioned something about it the last time they’d had to measure her magical ability. “Um… I think a normal one measures up to twenty thousand?” The proctor took a deep breath in. “Well, a civilian one does. We frequently deal with unicorns that are a lot more powerful than that here. This one goes to about fifty thousand,” he said slowly. “And at about fifty-five thousand it fries.” “Is there any particular reason you’re telling me this?” There was an obvious reason Twilight could think of, but she was sure that it also couldn’t possibly be correct. He let out a short laugh before turning the meter’s readout to face Twilight. The emerald that the wires connected to appeared to have turned to a mist-like substance inside, and the panel where one would normally read the numbers had a fresh burn mark in the center. “Because you broke it, kid.” This time, it was Twilight’s turn to be shocked by her magical ability. “But how? I’m not that powerful! My burst was only ten thousand before I enlisted! There’s no way it could have gotten that much stronger all of a sudden.” Her breathing began to accelerate as she realized she could be one of the most powerful unicorns currently alive, and the possible implications of that began coming unbidden into her mind. The proctor gently laid a hoof on her shoulder. “Hey, calm down. Most unicorns going through our training see a pretty big increase in how much magic they can throw around. We usually get somepony who breaks the meter every few years or so. Heck, you heard of Sunset Shimmer? I hear she broke one of those meters they use to measure multiple unicorns at once! By herself!” Twilight frowned a little. “I just wish you could give me a hard number. Can you at least give me an estimate I could use?” The proctor shook his head. “Sorry. Don’t have a more powerful meter. For what’s it worth, you definitely passed.” As he spoke, a grey glow surrounded the damaged emerald, freeing it from its housing in the rest of the equipment before floating over in front of Twilight. “And here, take this. It’s beyond repair, but it might make for a nice keepsake.” Twilight smiled as she stowed the gem into her saddlebags. “So, what now? Was that the last test?” “Yeah kid,” the proctor said. “You are officially Private Twilight Sparkle in Their Majesties’ Royal Guard.” His horn glowed briefly, and a previously-flat surface on her armor’s metal formed into a chevron. “Congratulations. Can’t wait until ponies are telling me how there’s this crazy mare who’s got the dragons running scared.” ________________________ “I humbly request your Majesty to waive the restrictions regarding the study of certain less-savory magics in this instance. The potential medical applications are staggering!” Luna sighed. “I’m afraid I must remain firm once again. Some things simply weren’t meant to be tampered with. While I respect your desire to help ponies, the study of dark magic brings only suffering.” She looked past the mare towards the line of ponies behind her. “Next petitioner!” As the next pony began to say his piece, Luna heard what sounded like laughter from among the assembled nobles sitting along the walls to the throne room. Curious as to what was so humorous, she cast a spell to enhance her hearing, while doing her best to make it seem like her attention was still focused on the stallion before her. It seemed that the group talking consisted of four nobles. “—the fifth time Nightingale has tried to convince Luna to let her learn dark magic. I daresay that pony is either too insane or too stupid to realize that nothing is going to change unless she takes a different approach!” Another stallion chimed in. “Which pony, Nightingale or the Princess?” The four of them laughed quietly at that. It wasn’t a terribly good joke, but nobles would laugh at anything if it meant appeasing somepony further up the ladder. And of course, Luna was the butt of the joke. However, they had finally crossed the line from saying Celestia was her better to saying something was wrong with her. As much as she wanted to let it go, this could not stand. Luna held up a hoof, indicating the stallion should stop speaking. “Allow me a moment,” she said as she walked over to the group that had been laughing at her. Before they could ask what she wanted, they were nearly struck deaf by the magnitude of Luna’s voice. “You dare mock your Princess?” she shouted, each word increasing in volume. “You have the audacity to say I am insane? And you do so within my own court?” The group of ponies had begun attempting to make excuses, but Luna wasn’t even listening. “Begone from this court, until such a time as you have learned proper respect!” The four of them needed no further prompting and bolted for the door in such terror that those who had borne witness to the event would likely never let them forget it. As Luna calmly walked back to her throne, she drank in the silence of the room. It was as though something had rendered all the nobles and petitioners mute. Well, Luna thought to herself, it looks like I’ve finally begun to command some respect around here. Perhaps Celestia is wrong, after all. Perhaps I should try that more often. ________________________ A bell above the door chimed pleasantly as Twilight walked into the shop. She wondered if the sign claiming she could get a jeweler’s services here was accurate; all she could see were dresses. Before she could start looking around the store for the owner, she heard a voice approaching from behind one of the racks. “Welcome to Carousel Boutique, where every garment is chic, unique, and magnifique!” As she was speaking, a white unicorn with a heavily-styled purple mane rounded the last corner between them. “Now, what can I help you with?” she asked in an accent that Twilight guessed was supposed to sound like the one used by Canterlot’s upper crust. It didn’t quite match, but to her credit, that was only because it was less obnoxious. “I was walking around town waiting for my train and saw a sign saying there was a jeweler here. Would that be you? I have a stone I was hoping I could get set into a necklace.” Twilight said as she opened her saddlebags. Finding what she was looking for, she levitated the emerald from the vortometer and her bitpurse out of the bags. “I’m only in town until the train comes, but I could pay to have it shipped. It would still be better than the insane prices a jeweler in Canterlot would charge me.” “That would be me. My name is Rarity. A pleasure to meet you, Miss...” “Twilight Sparkle,” she replied. Rarity took the gem into her own telekinesis, looking puzzled. “I can’t say I’ve ever seen anything quite like this. It’s clearly an emerald, but the mist inside is so strange. It looks lovely, though. Wherever did you get this?” “Oh, heh. You know what a vortometer is, right?” “Why of course I do,” Rarity said as she tapped the tip of her horn with a hoof. “Well, I just got out of basic training for the guard yesterday. The last test was just measuring my burst channel. I um… overloaded the meter.” A small blush came over Twilight’s face. “Apparently that’s what happens to the gem at the core when you do that.” Rarity led them over to a table in the corner, and produced a jeweler’s loupe to get a more detailed look at the emerald. “Well, that would explain why it’s already cut. You mentioned you were in the royal guard? I hope you weren’t planning on wearing this onto a battlefield. It would be destroyed!” Twilight chuckled. “Oh, don’t worry about that. I can just enchant it. It should be fine.” After a few questions about Twilight’s preferences, Rarity had sketched out a design that she assured Twilight would be “absolutely fabulous.” “And let’s see, you’ll be providing the stone, so my estimate is…” She added up a few figures in her head. “Five hundred bits.” Twilight’s ears went flat as she frowned. “Oh, I didn’t know it would be that much. I hoped that I would save a little more because I already had the stone. I’m sorry, but I don’t have quite that much that I can afford to spend.” Rarity took a long look at the gem still on the table. “Oh dear. Well, that shouldn’t be a problem. I could bring it down to three hundred if we used silver instead of gold.” “I’m so sorry, I really thought the stone made up more of the cost than that. I only have about one hundred I can really afford spend.” “I’m sure we can work something out, Miss Sparkle. I should have asked what budget we were operating on in the first place. Do you care for white bronze? It’s a less expensive option that would look quite nice alongside your armor. It would also stay inside your budget. Perhaps a little less filigree...” As Rarity talked, she picked up the sketch she had made. Within moments, she had already penciled in the first alterations for the different material. “In fact, with these alterations-do tell me if you don’t care for them by the way-I think I could probably fit this project into… fifty bits in material cost.” Twilight looked over Rarity’s shoulder at the new sketch. It definitely looked like something she would love to wear. “Okay, so what’s your estimate for the total?” “Why, fifty bits of course,” Rarity said with a chuckle. Twilight blinked. “What?” “I’m offering to make the necklace at cost, Miss Sparkle. I'm quite eager to work with that stone,” Rarity said with a chuckle. “Although if you’re uncomfortable with that, I suppose I could make you a deal instead. You said you were waiting for your train. Are you going to be staying in Canterlot until you ship out?” Twilight was still trying to process what she was being told. “Oh, um, yes. I’ll be with my parents for a few weeks. Is there something you need there?” “Nothing in particular. I was just thinking you could provide my sister and myself the pleasure of your company for tea tomorrow. Some of your time for some of mine seems like a fair trade to me.” Twilight stammered a bit, not knowing how to respond at first. “But you have to have other projects this is taking time from! Please, you can add at least some labor to the cost,” she said as she began going through her bitpurse again. A blue aura surrounded the purse, which quickly found its way into Twilight’s saddlebags. “I simply won’t hear of it, Miss Sparkle! Now then, would jasmine be alright? The tea that is, not the stone! Or we could reschedule to a few days later, if tomorrow isn’t convenient.” “Um, that’s fine. I’ll be seeing you tomorrow. And jasmine tea is my favorite.” Author's Note So, two months later... Sorry this probably wasn't the kind of chapter length you were hoping for with the wait. Unfortunately I write slowly, and since my schedule is kind of hectic getting in touch with my prereading friends can be a crapshoot. Speaking of prereaders, thanks to: Kwakerjak Blackbelt maskeferret Caliaponia I'm pretty sure that's everyone I sent it to on this round. I'm sure they'll let me know otherwise if I forgot them. (Preemptive apologies for the person/people I inevitably forgot.) And as always (is two chapters too soon to start saying "as always?") thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed. Chapter 2The irate dragon reared back, towering over the group of ponies below after having repelled all their attempts to defeat it thus far. “Is this really Their Majesties’ finest?” it thundered, sounding more like two mountains crashing together than any voice Twilight had ever heard. The earth buckled under the dragon’s weight as it came back down, swiping one of its claws in a wide arc. If the dragon completed its sweep, Twilight knew most of the ponies attempting to engage it would be crushed. I have to do something, she thought. I’ve got it! A brilliant flash of light lit the grass beneath her as the glow of her horn grew so bright that it nearly blinded her. A violet aura engulfed the dragon’s arm up to the elbow, rapidly dragging it to a stop. Just as the dragon began to look down to see what was preventing it from completing its attack, its claw wrenched backwards faster than anything of that size should have been able to move. The great beast yelled in pain before looking around, its eyes eventually settling on the bright light emanating from Twilight’s horn. She let her hold on its claw drop a moment later, but the dragon had already selected a new quarry. It took in a massive breath, and Twilight knew what was coming next. I need something. Teleporting’s no good; he’ll just do it again. A shield would just give me a wall of heat. The fire’s about to come. Think, Twilight! Think! A wall… that’s it! Putting her idea into action, Twilight tore the ground immediately in front of her apart, sliding it up to create a makeshift barrier. Heartbeats later, she could see licks of flame curling around the edges. The stone soon began to glow, and the heat radiating from the rock would still have been enough to roast her alive, but her armor’s enchantments could compensate now that she was no longer in the fire’s direct path. It wasn’t quite enough to stop the sweat from forming, though. With the dragon occupying itself spitting flames, Twilight took the opportunity to catch her breath, only to go into a coughing fit from the smoke pouring over the side of her protection. When the flames stopped, she chanced a peek around the edge of her fortification. A blue pegasus had gained the dragon’s attention, harassing it with lightning strikes. It was taking another deep breath, disrupting the mare’s flight path with the sudden change in air currents as it inhaled. Right as the first plumes of flame emerged the pegasus went into a dive, and a flash of light enveloped the pegasus, bringing her over to Twilight. Unfortunately, this had the side effect of the pegasus plowing head first into the ground from her attempt to dodge before she had teleported. “What the heck?” the mare yelled, trying to get her bearings. As she got back to her hooves and looked around, her gaze settled on Twilight. “Oh, unicorn. Freaky magic. Figures.” After looking over her new comrade to see if she had any obvious wounds, Twilight poked her head around the side of her earthen wall again. The dragon briefly looked for its lost target, then did a quick sweep with its tail to ward off the opportunistic soldiers trying to take advantage of the distractions. Its attackers held at bay for the time being, the dragon turned back towards Twilight. Whether it had realized what happened or not, it clearly intended to resume hunting her. “Hey, can you still fly?” Twilight asked the pegasus. The other mare turned away from watching the dragon. “Yeah. Got a plan?” “That depends, are you fast enough to dodge it if you get close?” The pegasus gave a cocky grin wholly inappropriate to how much danger they were in. “The fastest!” Twilight nodded. “Right. So, the plan is for you to fly in as close as you can get, as low to the ground as you can. Get its attention, and try to stay near its face. If you can lure it to bring its head low enough, I think I can hold it down.” She took a nervous gulp, hoping the other mare didn’t notice. “And then all we have to do is um… finish it.” “Get him low, keep him low. Got it!” Without any further parting words, the pegasus sped off to meet the dragon. Twilight thought she heard a battle cry of “hey ugly” right as the pegasus’ front two hooves connected squarely with the side of the dragon’s mouth. Its attention acquired, she proceeded to stay inside its reach, close enough to make doing anything about her presence difficult. Eventually, she dropped to mere feet above the ground, slowing down considerably. The dragon took the bait, bringing its great maw down over her with a roar, only to catch nothing but air as the she accelerated again. Before it could recover, shining chains of magic erupted from the ground to bind its neck and limbs. As it thrashed against the fetters, one more set of magical restraints appeared to force its jaw shut. Twilight knew several spells she could use. A well placed bolt of magic would be the easiest with her target unable to move. The sergeant that had briefed them on this deployment had shown them in a diagram exactly where to aim. She just had to put the biggest bolt she could manage right through its eye. Instead, she froze, barely maintaining enough concentration to keep the dragon bound. She had personally witnessed it hurt (and probably kill) several ponies in the fight already. It was fighting with the intent to attack Equestria if it broke through the line. It had tried to kill her, very nearly succeeding. She knew this needed to end sooner than later. But the dragon was still a living, thinking being. No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t bring herself to actually act. In the Royal Guard Academy, they’d taught her how to kill, but not how to find the courage. Even knowing everything she did about why this was necessary, and that ponies needed to be able to count on her to do this kind of thing, she just couldn’t. Her thoughts were interrupted by somepony near the dragon’s front claw firing a bolt of their own. Twilight turned away from the scene once it had gone limp, letting the effort she’d put in start to get to her. As the adrenaline wore off, a headache began to blossom right at the base of her horn. The pegasus who had acted as her distraction came flying back over, looking far less tired than Twilight felt. “Hey, good work out there, Spearface,” she said. Twilight couldn’t help but chuckle, even though it wasn’t very funny. “You did pretty good yourself. And it’s more of a wand, really. If I tried to use it like a spear, it would probably splinter on impa-” “It was a joke, lady.” Twilight rubbed a hoof on the back of her head in embarrassment. “So uh, I don’t think I caught your name.” The mare in front of her puffed her chest raised her head a little higher. “Rainbow Dash!” The pegasus extended a hoof, which Twilight bumped with her own. “Twilight Sparkle. Thanks for your help out there. I don’t know how much longer I could’ve lasted against that dragon if you hadn’t zapped it.” Twilight narrowly resisted the urge to look back towards the dragon’s remains. Bolts of magic weren’t a particularly grisly way to go, but she didn’t want to look at a corpse. To keep her mind off of it, she used what magic she could muster through her growing headache to find the pill to alleviate that pain. “Heh, yeah. You would have been in some serious hot water if I hadn’t flown in,” Rainbow said as she shined a hoof against her chest. “What was stopping you from finishing it off, though?” The fog that had been gathering in Twilight’s mind dispersed a little as she chewed on the tablet of solidified magical energy. It was only one thousand vortices, but it would keep her from collapsing until she could make it to somewhere she could sleep. Her attention returned to the conversation now that she could properly focus on it. “I was getting close to passing out from that stunt already. I didn’t need to add to that stress.” It wasn’t exactly a lie, but she was still neglecting to mention that she easily could have fired one bolt without any issues. Rainbow thought about that for a moment as she sized up Twilight, who tried to not appear uncomfortable lest she be found out. After completing her examination, Rainbow looked Twilight directly in the eyes. “So you chickened out. I don’t know much about magic, but if you could do that I get the feeling a laser wouldn’t have set you over the edge.” Twilight didn’t attempt to deny it at this point. Her breathing quickened, and she placed her hooves on Rainbow’s shoulders frantically. She looked around to make sure nopony else was listening before speaking. “Okay, yes! I couldn’t do it, alright? Just please don’t tell an officer! I’ll do better next time, I-” “Hey, hey. Easy now,” Rainbow said as she brushed Twilight’s hooves off of her. “It’s alright. It’s not like you were useless out there or anything, Twilight. If it wasn’t for you, that dragon might have gotten all of us. As long as you’re pulling your weight, I won’t tell anypony. And if you can do that again, you’re definitely pulling your weight. But you might want to get better at not looking guilty if you want to keep this up.” Twilight took a deep breath, bringing a hoof to rest on her chest where it clinked against her necklace. “Thanks. Now let’s get back to camp, I could really use a rest.” “Yeah, I could use a nap myself,” Rainbow said, not even covering her mouth when she yawned. ________________________ Celestia heard a knock from the other side of her study’s door. The various wards told her it was her advisor, and so she opened them as glanced back at the document she’d been reviewing. “Good evening, Perspicacity. What news do you have for me tonight?” The earth pony mare placed a clipping from a Canterlot newspaper on her desk. “I believe this should be the first order of business. I believe the article here speaks for itself.” Celestia took a moment to read the article. Apparently, somepony had founded a religion dedicated to the worship of her. The first service had been held the previous morning, and was calling itself the “Sunfire Fellowship.” The founder claimed their principal tenant was that Celestia wasn’t merely the pony who controlled the sun, but the spirit of the sun given form - a goddess. According to the one leading the congregation, Celestia’s divine nature rendered her incapable of being wrong. It wasn’t true, of course, but she at least appreciated some ponies thinking she was right for once. It wasn’t the first time she’d become the object of worship for some cult or another. It was just a natural consequence of being both immortal and powerful. Normally, she would either meet with the head of the congregation to set them straight, or mention publicly she’d rather not have ponies calling her a goddess. Either way, the group would usually disband not terribly long after that. The longest she had ever seen one last was a few years, and that had been generations ago. But what’s the harm in just letting them continue? Celestia thought. They’re not hurting anything with their worship. Maybe I’ve been a little too heavy-handed with the issue. Besides, even though I’m no goddess, they’re not technically wrong about me being a sun spirit. I guess… “I say we let them have their fun, Perspicacity. I’ll follow their development closely, and put a stop to things if I think they’ll become a threat to anypony.” Celestia’s advisor stayed silent for a moment. “As you wish, Princess,” she finally said in a puzzled tone. ________________________ Twilight had very much hoped to have the opportunity to sleep more before being given additional work. But when an officer was willing to overrule the medic’s recommendation that she be given a few days to recover from the magic fatigue, she had no choice but to go with it. The sun was just barely rising as the green mare bearing the markings of a lieutenant led Twilight to the command tent. As they crossed the threshold she saw three ponies all in the purple and gold associated with being a captain in the Royal Guard. Twilight couldn’t help but gulp when she saw them. Whatever it was that she was here for, it was definitely not something small. One of the three captains - a pegasus stallion with a red coat - looked up from their conversation and saw Twilight. Twilight was put a little more at ease when she saw him smile, before she remembered to salute. The resulting clink was enough to draw the attention of the remaining two officers in the room. “Private Twilight Sparkle, reporting as requested, Captains.” “At ease, Private,” said another captain, this one a yellow earth pony mare. Twilight put her hoof back on the ground. The officer who had first seen her enter spoke back up again. “We’ve called you here to congratulate you. The dragon that you dealt with probably would have claimed many more lives if not for your intervention.” Twilight couldn’t help but smile. “With all due respect, sirs, it wasn’t a solo effort. I had a lot of help there. I don’t think I could have dealt with it all on my own.” “Actually, Private, we think you could have,” said the green unicorn stallion who had up until this point been silent. Twilight’s heart skipped a beat, and she had to remind herself to breathe. She managed to retain her composure when the captain smiled warmly at her. “Either way, a lot of ponies owe you their lives, which is why we are proud to present you this.” As he spoke, a silver disk a little smaller than a bit floated towards her wrapped in the captain’s aura. “Their Majesties’ Royal Guard Medal of Heroism.” Twilight’s jaw dropped as a brief flash of light affixed the medal to the plate on her shoulder, right next to her rank insignia. “B-but I didn’t do anything somepony else wouldn’t have! At the very least, Rainbow Da-” “Has already been awarded hers,” said the mare, holding up a hoof. “Speaking of Rainbow Dash,” the pegasus said. “She mentioned the stunt she pulled to distract the dragon was your idea. That’s some good instinct. Tell me, do you have any ambitions towards an officer position?” “Yes sir, eventually. My brother was actually a captain before this whole…” Twilight tried to find a word that wouldn’t make her sound bitter. “Conflict, with the dragons. I think he would have been proud to see me as an officer too.” “Shining Armor, right? I guess the ridiculous things he could do with magic must run in the family,” the earth pony said with a hint of sadness. The unicorn cut in, trying to steer away from the melancholy quickly overtaking the room’s atmosphere. “We only ask, Private, because we have been monitoring your progress since we saw how well you did on your final exam in training. We think the time may be right for you to begin officer training. Do you accept?” To Twilight, there was no question what her answer would be. “I don’t know what to say except yes, sir,” she exclaimed without any hesitation. “Excellent. You’ll ship back to Canterlot tomorrow morning. Until then, you are dismissed, Private.” Twilight walked back outside the command tent, where she saw Rainbow Dash proudly showing off the bit of silver on her shoulder while a few of her comrades sat listening. “-nd then he goes to chomp on me, but I sped up and he plowed face-first into the ground. So then, that unicorn did this crazy thing with her magic and all these chains came up-” Rainbow stopped when she realized that the unicorn in question was standing right next to her. “Oh hey, this is her, guys!” Her gaze drifted to Twilight’s shoulder, and she noticed that Twilight’s new adornment. “Oh my gosh, you got a medal too! It’s so awesome, isn’t it?” Rainbow asked with a grin. Twilight found the good cheer of her comrade to be infectious, and smiled herself. “Yeah, it’s pretty awesome.” She kept the fact that she was being promoted quiet; she didn’t want to ruin Rainbow’s moment. Author's Note As always, thanks for reading, and thanks to Caliaponia, Kwakerjak, Blackbelt, and maskedferret for being awesome prereaders! Three out of four of these guys have stories of their own, by the way. They're pretty good. Maaaaaaybe you should read them, too? You won't be disappointed. Chapter 3The small stack of gems clattered onto Twilight’s desk as the pouch containing them was upended. They were all rough and unworked. Many of them were discolored in places, cracked, or otherwise notably imperfect. They still had applications in tools and magical constructions, but they would never be used in jewelry. Which, thankfully for somepony on a soldier’s budget, made buying a whole stack of them relatively inexpensive if you knew who to talk to. “Thanks, Fancy,” Twilight said to the stallion who had brought her these new treasures, before levitating over a small bitpurse set aside for the transaction. Fancy Pants gave one of his brilliant smiles that had helped make him so popular among the Canterlot elite. “Think nothing of it, my dear! And do tell your parents I said hello. In fact, I saw them just the other day, and when I mentioned that you had contacted me about this, your mother requested-” “I’ll come to see them next time I have leave,” Twilight cut him off. “I’ll probably get at least a few days after I’m out of officer training. Until then, they’ll have to come here or live with the daily letters.” Fancy Pants looked over Twilight’s shoulder as bits of wire and gemstone were moved around in Twilight’s aura. Whatever she was doing, she wasn’t wasting any time before starting. “I’ll let her know. Pray tell, what did you need all these gems for? And why are you strapping wires to your horn?” Twilight kept talking as she referenced a chart containing the magical resistances of various gemstones. “See the emerald on my necklace?” The necklace in question floated over so her guest could get a better look at it. Meanwhile, Twilight had found the entry she was looking for. “Only forty-five hundred vortices on an uncut amethyst? Really?” she mumbled. Fancy Pants examined the necklace, scrutinizing the gem in particular. “It’s lovely. Does this have something to do with the enchantment that makes the inside look like mist?” “Oh, that’s no enchantment.” A brief spark emanated from somewhere in front of Twilight, and Fancy Pants couldn’t quite see it from where he was standing. As the light faded again, Twilight produced the amethyst she had been attaching wires to a moment ago. The inside of the stone now matched the one on her necklace. “That’s just what happens when enough magic is put through a gem to exceed it’s magical resistance, but not enough to destroy it entirely. Every analysis spell I’ve thrown at my necklace has said the gas doesn’t do anything, but I don’t believe it! It has to do something besides look pretty, right? Some property that ponies haven’t noticed yet?” As Twilight continued, she turned in her seat to face Fancy Pants as she began to wave her hooves to match the emphases in her speech. “Oh, I wish that there was a Diamond Dog I could talk to about this! They’re so much further ahead of unicorns in terms of what they can do channeling magic through gems. I tried to see if I could get books on it imported when I worked in the bookstore, but all of their big advances are state secrets. I mean, I don’t want to make a death ray or anythi-” A blue hoof covered her mouth before she could continue. “You seem to be getting a little off track, Twilight. And while this is all well and good, isn’t there something more productive you could be doing? I was under the impression officer training was quite a bit of work.” Twilight grinned as she went back to her project. “Oh, I already finished the coursework and my physical regimen for the night. I wouldn’t mind getting started on the work for the rest of the week, but a girl needs to have fun sometimes, right?” “Right... ‘fun,’” Fancy Pants said as another flash of light tortured another gemstone. As Twilight went to put the new test subject in a pile, her concentration slipped from how many various items she had been handling. The wires, the book, the gem she had just finished pulsing magic through, and the next gem in line all crashed onto her desk. The gem she had just finished with was the only one that was damaged by such a short fall; its structure having been weakened by its interior turning to vapor. The crack reached all the way to its misty core, and a thick haze surrounded her. Not knowing if the substance was safe to breathe, Twilight tried to use a locator spell to find her fan through the fog. She quickly dismissed the spell when it gave her nothing but mental static. Twilight calmed a little as she realized that she could see through the cloud now. It was still thick in the room, but she could see the room. Continuing her search without the aid of magic, Twilight saw Fancy Pants trying to open the door with his own telekinesis. She couldn’t figure out what was giving him trouble; it wasn’t locked. It would have to wait until after she’d done something about the gas in her room. After a few more moments of searching, Twilight found her fan. She reached out to telekinetically put it on the table as well as open the her dormitory’s window. As she did so, she realized that it was taking significantly more effort than it should have. It was almost like… “The smoke is magically resistant like a gemstone!” Twilight yelled, overjoyed to have finally found something notable about the mist. This had the unfortunate side effect of her mouth being open, allowing the smoke into her lungs. It was unpleasant to breathe, but no less so than ordinary smoke from a fire. Extended exposure in an enclosed space might be dangerous, but it didn’t seem so hazardous that she would need to panic if she breathed it. Between the fan and the window, the room was quickly clear again. Twilight heard Fancy Pants clear his throat from across the room. When she turned to look she saw that he’d brought the collar of his shirt around to cover his face and his eyes were wider than Twilight had ever seen them go before. “W-well Twilight,” he said in a voice trying and failing to hide the fact that he was rattled, “while it’s b-been lovely to see you, I… I think it’s time to get home to Fleur for dinner. Shall I tell her you send your regards?” Twilight realized just how badly she must have scared him. “I’m so sorry, Fancy! I’m pretty sure the smoke is safe. I’m so, so sorry though!” Fancy Pants continued to wait silently until Twilight answered his question. He was eyeing the door, but Twilight knew it would have been rude to leave without closing the conversation properly. “Yes. Tell Fleur I said hello. And can I send a letter if I need more gem samples?” Fancy Pants took a step closer for a brief hug. “By all means. Although if you could wait until after we’ve finished with pleasantries to put me in fear of my life next time, I would appreciate it.” After parting, he chuckled as he regained some of his composure. “And I do hope you’ll be able to accompany your parents to my next garden party.” “Oh, I would love to,” Twilight lied, “but right now I really need to focus on my training, and I think I’m going to be giving most of my free time to this. In fact, I think I’ll go back to prepping more gems. Always nice to see you though, Fancy.” “And you as well, Twilight,” Fancy Pants said as he made his way to the door. Her social obligations to a friend of the family completed, Twilight turned back to her project with renewed interest. She finally had test subjects, and an avenue she could pursue. She would stay up all night if that’s what it took to find any remaining mysteries the gems had in store for her. ________________________ Luna walked among the shelves, looking back at her companion every few steps for anything suspicious. Nightingale seemed content to just walk behind Luna, glancing occasionally at the titles of the books and scrolls around her. When they passed in front of a scroll rack, her coat nearly blended in with the parchment. For the first time since they’d entered the library, she spoke. “Princess, may I ask you something?” Luna turned stopped and turned around, fixing Nightingale with her gaze. “You may.” Nightingale didn’t respond immediately. “What made you reconsider my petition?” “Your persistence, mostly,” Luna admitted. “I still do not believe there is much to be gained from your pursuits, but I am hoping I can prove it to you. Once we have concluded, as I know we will, that there is nothing to be gained here, you will stop using my valuable time with my petitioners. And if it turns out your theories have merit and can be safely controlled, so much the better.” Nightingale’s ears drooped. “Princess, I know that my ideas might seem… unsavory at first glance. I’m not deaf; I know that ponies say I’m a madmare bent on the destruction of Equestria. And I know that we would be playing with dangerous forces. Unlike most ponies, however, I believe there is no such thing as ‘forces beyond our control.’” Nightingale dropped to her knees before Luna, begging. “Just give me a chance to prove it. Help me prove it. Please.” “You may rise,” Luna said as she considered Nightingale’s plea. “Explain to me your theory, please. In more detail than simply ‘use dark magic for medical benefit.’ I’m already well aware that there exist healing spells in dark spellbooks. Those that are safe to use have already been added to the catalogue of modern medicine.” “My theories have nothing to do with direct healing spells. Most of those can only speed the healing process, or heal very minor wounds. You’d need to be almost as powerful as, well, you in order to fix anything major. Not even you can repair defects ponies were born with.” Nightingale turned to the books on the shelf beside her. They weren’t in the restricted wings yet, so there was very little pertaining to her theories here. There was one on basic demonology, though. She opened it to check its contents, then flipped to the page beginning the chapter on possession. “Now, historically speaking, fixing these things is the most common type of offer from dark entities looking for a vessel. Most ponies that play host to a demon or the like find their bodies in better shape than they’ve ever been before.” Luna couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “You can’t be serious! These entities take over your body in exchange, or take your soul to Tartarus. You are worse off than before when you indulge these kinds of offers. Even ponies who are exorcised and recover suffer from mental disorders for most of their lives afterwards.” Luna seized the book in her telekinesis, shoving it roughly back into its place on the shelf. Nightingale smiled as she returned to the spines of the books to her right.. “I’m aware of all this, Princess. I’m not going to just start shoving demons into ponies. My theory is that if a pony does this in a safe environment, they can be exorcised immediately following their healing. I just need to craft a sufficiently strong spell that wards against mental invasion to avoid the ramifications of having a demon inside the patient’s head. Creating that spell would be the focus of this project.” “Did you even need access to the restricted section for such research?” Luna asked as she began walking towards the sections regarding mind magic, Nightingale in tow. “While there are spells regarding mental protection in there, they have mostly been transcribed and deemed safe for the general public. Having some findings regarding this spell may have helped my initial reception of your presentations.” Nightingale pondered this for a moment as she walked. “I hadn’t thought of that, no. On the other hoof, I can’t make much progress on a spell specifically designed to repel the mental influences of demons without knowing what exactly a demon does in a pony’s head. While I could start by researching particularly strong mind-defending spells, I still have no idea if it would interact in any way with possession.” At this point, Luna still wasn’t sure whether or not to force Nightingale to discontinue the project. Certainly, it was dangerous, but setting up failsafes for the research seemed to be a straightforward endeavor. Proper containment rituals were simple enough, and doubly so when one knew they were needed before that containment was required. Exorcising the victims of failed tests was also easy, albeit somewhat risky. As long as the test subjects were well-informed volunteers, she didn’t see anything wrong with potential damages. Really, the situation wasn’t all that different from more conventional medical research. In addition, it would be a chance to help with a major breakthrough, she thought. Another scholarly achievement may remind ponies that there are still areas in which I outshine my sister. “Very well, Nightingale. This project, strange though it is, may have merit. Moreover, I wish to aid and oversee your work myself. We shall begin in earnest tomorrow morning, immediately after the Night Court closes.” ________________________ Her research for the night was finally done. Twilight stacked the additional reference material she had borrowed from the academy’s library off to one side of her desk. Once everything was organized again, she went over her notes from the evening’s experiments. 12th day of Summer, 1174 Harmony Era The gem delivery from Fancy Pants just arrived. Accidentally broke one amethyst after treating it, creating a cloud of smoke in the room. Smoke appears to have magical resistance properties similar to the gemstones it is made of. Further testing required. several hours later, no negative effects noticed from breathing in gem smoke medical officer confirms there is nothing wrong in or around my lungs going to be wearing safety gear going forward anyway should have worn some to start got too eager to begin testing created 17 samples excluding one that broke, current of 1000 vortices over their maximum resistance. Will try lower/higher current samples in next batch. ran magical pulse through glass box containing smoke into waiting vortometer. Smoke’s resistances below (adjusted +129 vortices for known resistance of glass): -quartz 2893 vortices average among 4 samples (uncut quartz stones average a resistance of 5810) -amethyst 2237 vortices average among 2 samples (uncut amethyst stones average a resistance of 4500) -carnelian 5964 vortices average among 3 samples (uncut carnelian stones average a resistance of 12000) -garnet 3877 vortices average among 4 samples (uncut garnet stones average a resistance of 7801) further testing required because of such a small sample size but pattern appears to be just under half of the initial stone’s resistance is retained after the change in state cracked one of each stone immediately in front of muzzle to test how long it takes for the smoke to dissipate enough that a pony can see through it heavier stones appear to take slightly longer but average was close to 3 seconds after this point smoke is still present but can be seen through without notable difficulty as a result the gems are nearly useless as smoke bombs has applications against magic-using opponents any spell trying to penetrate the cloud requires a significant expenditure of additional energy that some unicorns (and other magical creatures) can’t even channel enough to overcome the resistance on any level more realistic threats would become tired very quickly unless they had access to vast quantities of energy cloud also scrambles all magical communication going through it all spells i was capable of casting that provide information on area or object came back as static when used on or within the smoke all such spells turn up empty space where the smoke is when used on an area wider than the area the smoke covers non-unicorns might have trouble cracking gem if this is going to be used i need a delivery system gem too hard to reliably crack without magic got lucky it landed on hard surface first time referenced book on common military equipment most smoke bombs are airtight pots with smoke mixture inside kept in enchanted box to keep from breaking in field could replicate for practical application by cracking gem inside one then quickly sealing will attempt at later date once more i have more samples and more research into this project As Twilight put down the sheet of barely legible scribbles, she couldn’t help but sigh. “Proofreading this is going to be awful,” she mumbled as she grabbed her red ink. Author's Note And so we have chapter 3, in which things get science-y. All complaints about the inaccuracy of scientific methods employed by my characters will be read, considered, then most likely not acted on. (I'm sure my friends that work in chemical labs would be slapping me silly if they read this.) As always, special thanks to my friends and prereaders, Kwakerjak, ur;=[http://www.fimfiction.net/user/Blackbelt]Blackbelt, Themaskedferret, and Caliaponia. They're the best. Go read them. Or you don't get any dessert. I even made their names all green and stuff so you know which bits to click.
PrologueLuna huffed angrily as she slammed the massive door to her chambers. Four hours of petitioners would make anypony at least a little annoyed, but today had been especially vexing. One of the earliest subjects had the audacity to actually say he was only there because he had awoken too late to bring his problem to Celestia. For the rest of the time she’d been in the throne room, she’d had to endure the nobles looking down at her while sharing jokes at her expense as the rumor circulated. They always thought she couldn’t hear them; she continued letting them believe this. She didn’t bother talking to her sister about it this time. Luna knew exactly what Celestia would say if it was brought to her attention, because it would be the same thing Celestia said the last time they’d had this discussion. She’d say something to the effect that demanding they stop would display weakness they couldn’t afford to show the public. “Your composure needs to be as unshakable as your armor,” she would often say. “If either fails you, it will be your end.” The most infuriating part of all of it was Luna understood exactly why her sister would say that. She’d seen countless nobles over the years lose their composure for just a moment, and then immediately lose whatever influence they held. But did that really apply to her? No matter how important the nobility might think they were, they didn’t actively control the heavens like Luna did. Celestia insisted that she care about public opinion, however. Unfortunately, that left Luna with a problem. She could drop her mask and lose face with the public now. Or she could bottle it up until such a time as she couldn’t take any more, likely cause a bigger spectacle, and be even worse off. As Luna climbed into bed, all these thoughts swirling in her head, she mumbled to herself as the sun began to rise. “It’s enough to make a pony go mad.” ________________________ “It’s enough to make a pony go mad,” Celestia said to her advisor as she examined a written petition demanding the repeal of a recent tax increase. “‘Celestia has gone too far with this egregiously high increase?’ Do they even read the news? My hooves never touched it! Luna brought it before the parliament, campaigned for it, and signed it before I could so much as tell her I thought it was a bad idea. I swear, every time Luna or the nobility gets some idea into their heads that could never work, I somehow always end up with the public backlash.” Celestia leafed through the papers on her desk, eventually finding another example in a newspaper column. “‘Dragon hunts claiming too many lives?’ Apparently, according to the article, that was my decision alone, and not parliament’s. If I could bring the hunts to an end, I would, but the dragons are a serious threat to Equestria. Everypony’s just reacting badly to losing Captain Armor. I miss him as much as anypony else.” She sighed as she moved the papers around her desk in frustration. Her advisor made to speak, but was cut off as Celestia continued. “‘Celestia favoring the northwest with pleasant weather patterns.’ I’m sorry, but the northwest is mostly urban areas that don’t need rain for crops. ‘Celestia considering a draft’ is an outright lie; I personally vetoed the draft when parliament proposed it.” Celestia deflated a little as she shifted to a more comfortable position on her chair and buried her face in a hoof. “I just don’t know how to get through to Equestria that I am not some kind of tyrant.” Finally having an opportunity to speak, Celestia’s advisor cleared her throat. “Princess, I think that your subjects sometimes forget that you are not the sole executive power in Equestria. Perhaps make an effort to point out that these policies are coming from other ponies?” Celestia sighed. “I would, but Luna frequently loses her head when trying to deal with the public. She seems to take every little jest or jab far too personally, and pointing out her mistakes will bring more of the wrong sort of public scrutiny onto her. No, for now I’ll just have to deal with the fact that sometimes my little ponies don’t quite understand that I always have their best interest at heart.” As the advisor took her leave, Celestia couldn’t help but mumble to herself. “Even if dealing with those little ponies can be a chore.” "Perhaps allow Luna to take over Equestria in its entirety for a short time to alleviate some of your stress?" ________________________ “Absolutely not,” Twilight Velvet yelled. “This isn’t up for discussion!” Twilight Sparkle sighed. She had expected it to be almost exactly like this, although maybe a little angrier. “Mom, this is my decision.” “Twilight, you don’t need to follow Shining’s hoofsteps,” Nightlight said in a much calmer tone than his wife had taken. “Your mother and I would both sleep easier knowing you haven’t.” “I’ve just been feeling like my talent is being wasted. My burst channel is ten thousand vortices, and all I’m doing with that is lifting things, for princesses’ sakes! I thought working in that bookstore would be fun, but all I ever do is move giant stacks. You keep saying I’ll find a job that fits my special talent, and I think the Guard is a great fit.” “Twilight, I know how much magic you can throw around. Being able to move that much energy doesn’t make you good at using it,” Twilight Velvet said as she rubbed a hoof against her forehead. “Shining always said he wished he had more unicorns that could learn more than a couple advanced spells.” Twilight’s voice cracked a little as she spoke, but she managed to be firm. She’d actually assumed when she was practicing this in her head that she wouldn’t be able to do so. She supposed things were actually going a little better than expected, then. “I am absolutely sure he’d agree with me on this decision if he were here right now.” Twilight Sparkle couldn’t help but glance across her parents’ kitchen at the wall with all the family photos. Her brother smiled back from several of the frames. As she did so, her mother reared up, slamming her forehooves on the table and snapping Twilight’s attention back to the conversation. Twilight Sparkle noticed there were tears beginning to form in her mother’s eyes. “But Shining Armor is not here, and he will never be coming back! Making yourself a dragon’s dinner won’t change that!” Nightlight placed a hoof on Twilight Sparkle’s shoulder gently. “We’ve already buried one of our children, Twilight. Please don’t make it two.” “Mom, dad. I was just coming to tell you that this is happening. I’ve already made my choice,” Twilight Sparkle said in as even a tone as she could manage while she telekinetically dug through her saddlebags to retrieve a piece of paper bearing the Royal Diarchal Seal. “I signed the last of the paperwork earlier today. If I don’t report for training in a couple of days, it’s desertion.” A light blue aura fought with a dark blue one for dominance of the paper. Eventually, light blue won out, and the document floated its way towards Twilight Velvet. She examined it, and the tears began to flow in earnest. A few moments later, her daughter wrapped her up in an embrace. “I know you don’t want me to do this, but I had to do something with this talent. I love you both, and I’ll be back from training by the New Year.” Twilight Velvet’s expression softened somewhat. “I hate this idea, Twilight. But what’s done is done. I’d rather have to worry about you while you’re away than visit you in prison.” “Promise to write whenever you can?” Nightlight asked her daughter as he brought her and Twilight Velvet into a hug. “All the time, dad,” Twilight Sparkle replied. The conversation stopped for a few minutes after that. Nopony wanted to be the one to break the moment. Once the three broke apart from their embrace, Twilight Sparkle went about packing what belongings she could bring with her to training. All the while, her parents peppered her with more questions. By the fourth time she confirmed the address they could send letters to, everypony’s tears had stopped. By the end of the night, Twilight Sparkle could tell her parents were still not completely comfortable with her decision, but they were trying to be supportive. After giving both of her parents one more hug, she went to bed early. Tomorrow was going to be a big day. Author's Note Welp, I finally went and made a thing. I hope you like the thing. And any critiques are welcome. Also, a big thank you tooooooooo... Kwakerjak maskedferret Blackbelt Caliaponia Ekevoo Seriously, this required a few kicks to the head to get into the state it is now. If I forgot one of you guys (for which I'm ridiculously sorry), please let me know. And consider these fine folks that have stories of their own your homework. No, seriously, I've emailed your respective bosses and teachers. Your wage/grades depend on it now.
Chapter 1The proctor, a grey unicorn stallion with a white mane, checked off another item as Twilight stood before him. Clouds of steam puffed out into the cold air as her breathing slowly returned to normal after the run she had just finished. “Alright, that’s the last of the physical exams. Now onto the magical portion of the test.” He led Twilight over to a target range, with several unicorns already at this point at this point in their own test. “Please cast an offensive spell.” Twilight gathered her power, and magical energy lanced through the target, a little less than three inches away from the center. The proctor let out a small spark from his horn, and the target began to move erratically. “Again,” he said. Twilight watched the target for a few moments; if there was a pattern to its movements, Twilight couldn’t tell. Lightning travels nigh-instantly, she thought. It might be more appropriate than the raw magic if I can’t lead a shot. A moment later, a bolt charred the surface of the target at about the same distance from the center as her previous attempt. The proctor cocked an eyebrow, then asked for a few more shots. After three more attempts, the target was almost too charred to see the scoring lines. “Good. The next stop is telekinesis,” the proctor said as he jogged to the next station. A pile of weights were placed in front of her when she arrived. “Lift as many of these as you can, then hold them for one minute.” Without much difficulty, she lifted the whole group. After she put them down, the proctor closed his jaw before examining the weights. It wasn’t unheard of to lift five hundred pounds with telekinesis, but most unicorns had trouble holding about half of that. “Could you do more, kid?” the proctor asked. “Probably, this kind of thing was my job for almost a year before I enlisted.” He trotted over to an unused station and brought over its weights. “We need to figure out what your limit is. I can keep giving you weights until you can’t take any more.” After bringing over weights from four other stations, he appeared to doubt that statement. A crowd had started to gather, made up of the exercising soldiers whose weights had been commandeered. Twilight was almost as surprised as they were at how much she could hold, and how intense the light from her horn was getting. Each one of these workout stations is five hundred pounds, Twilight thought.. I’ve got six here and I could definitely do more. I guess that training paid off, after all. “Alright, kid,” the proctor said, snapping her out of her thoughts but unable to remove the grin forming on her face. “I’d have to start delaying tests to get more weights for you. Let’s just say you passed. And the rest of you, clear out!” After the onlookers had gone back to their own stations, the test resumed. “Alright, I need you to take those weights and spread them out, so they’re not all in one field. One weight per field, however many fields you can make.” He was hardly surprised when she had ten of them spinning around her before she looked to be straining. “Is ten pounds each your limit for multiple fields?” Twilight shook her head, but didn’t say anything. Had she tried to, she probably would have dropped the weights. They weren’t too heavy, but splitting her focus this much was a problem. She barely even noticed when her proctor placed the remaining weights from her station into the fields, doubling each of them. “Kid, whatever construction site you were at, they weren’t paying you enough,” the proctor joked as he wrote down the results of the test. Twilight chuckled. “Um, it was a book store, actually.” The proctor’s jaw went slack for a moment before he could speak again. “You’re kidding!” Twilight broke eye contact, busying herself examining her hooves as she mumbled. “I wasn’t anywhere near this good until I got some training, but seriously, books are heavy.” The two walked inside for the final portion of the test. The proctor led them to a sparsely furnished room, and lay down on the only bench. Once he was settled, he spoke again. “I want you to cast a spell without producing any light from your horn.” Twilight gulped. This was one she always had trouble with. “What kind of spell?” she asked nervously. He shrugged. “Anything you like. Let’s go with levitating my clipboard.” As Twilight gathered the energy to cast, she tried to hold in her aura. Shining had tried to teach her this trick a few years ago, but she just couldn’t separate her aura from the energy she unleashed. Her horn was a little dimmer than usual when she levitated the clipboard, but was still glowing. “That’s all I can manage,” she said with her eyes lowered. At least this wasn’t a crucial test element; she could still pass without getting it. After a few more attempts, the proctor noted Twilight’s first failure thus far, and brought out a gramophone from the room’s closet. He started it up, and Neighthoven’s Fifth began to play. “Cast a silencing spell on the gramophone.” Twilight wasn’t great with sound-based spells, but she could at least manage a basic silence. Soon enough, the room was quiet. The proctor put away the record player, and Twilight could hear him talking from the closet. “I’m going to throw this at you. Block it with a shield, and don’t just grab it with your telekinesis,” he said as he returned with a bouncy ball. Shields were something Twilight knew well. Her brother had been an expert with them, after all. Practicing those spells together with him had been one of her favorite pastimes as a filly. She easily brought a purple bubble up in time. “Okay, your reflexes seem to alright, but we need to find out how big you can make your shield. Expand it as much as you can without losing strength.” The shield expanded to fill most of the room. “Good. Now we need to find out its strength.” The proctor went back to the closet, and came back with a banged-up mannequin and a warhammer with a gauge on the handle and wires running to its head. Twilight recognized the gauge as a device for measuring the force of an impact, similar to ones she’d used in science classes at the Diarch’s School for Gifted Ponies. She had never seen strapped to a weapon, however. “I want you to put your strongest shield around this mannequin, and I’m going to hit it.” Twilight complied, focusing as hard as she could on creating a nice, strong shield. The first few hits were light, but her concentration began to shake as the blows came down harder and harder onto the purple dome. When the needle was about halfway up the gauge, it finally broke through. The proctor checked the gauge, then turned back to Twilight. “Your shields are a little stronger than average.” He moved over to the door to the hallway. “Now, I’m going to leave the room for a moment. I want you to communicate with me through the walls in some way.” After the door shut behind him, Twilight grabbed a blank sheet of paper and the proctor’s pen off of his clipboard. She wrote “test” on the paper before teleporting it, using the clipboard as an anchor back to its owner. Shortly afterwards, the door opened once again and the proctor walked back in and began rummaging in the closet again. “Alright, so we know that you can teleport. Guess we can skip that part of the test. Unless of course you can only teleport things.” Twilight shook her head. “My record for somewhere I couldn’t see is twenty-five hundred feet, but I don’t want to push it with how dangerous teleporting can be. It was also to an area I’d been to before.” Twilight couldn’t see what the proctor had been holding in his mouth, but from the sounds of things he had dropped it. “Twenty-five hundred? As in, two thousand and five hundred? Almost half a mile?” Twilight nodded. “And you don’t consider that ‘pushing it?’” Twilight nodded again. The proctor whipped around to face her. “Kid, some unicorns don’t ever even learn to teleport! Most that do can only go a hundred feet or so. How in Tartarus can you teleport twenty-five hundred feet without anything going wrong?” “Well, my doctor says I have an unusually powerful ability to channel magic, and my special talent is magic. I guess stuff that’s only hard because of how much energy you need always just came easily to me.” The proctor went back to the items in the closet, finally retrieving what he had been looking for. “Well, if your doctor told you that, you’ve probably seen one of these before,” he said as he put a block with an emerald sticking out of one end on the bench. From the side with the emerald, two wires protruded, which led to a small metal ring just wide enough to fit around Twilight’s horn. “Yes, I’ve seen a vortometer before. So I guess you’re going to measure my channels now?” Twilight guessed. The proctor tapped the bench with a hoof. “If you’ll just have a seat, I can get this on your horn.” After she did as he said, he slid the ring into place. “We’re going to do your burst channel potential. When I tell you to, just pump as much magic as you can into your horn,” the proctor said as he continued adjusting the settings on the vortomoter. After a few moments of fiddling with the knobs, he put it down on the bench. “Alright, let’s see what you’ve got.” It was only three seconds, but beads of sweat began to form on her face as she strained. After it was over, the proctor examined the readout on the equipment, and tried not to lose his composure again. “Kid, do you know wanna’ know what the limit on what this vortometer can handle is?” Twilight pondered a moment. Her doctor had mentioned something about it the last time they’d had to measure her magical ability. “Um… I think a normal one measures up to twenty thousand?” The proctor took a deep breath in. “Well, a civilian one does. We frequently deal with unicorns that are a lot more powerful than that here. This one goes to about fifty thousand,” he said slowly. “And at about fifty-five thousand it fries.” “Is there any particular reason you’re telling me this?” There was an obvious reason Twilight could think of, but she was sure that it also couldn’t possibly be correct. He let out a short laugh before turning the meter’s readout to face Twilight. The emerald that the wires connected to appeared to have turned to a mist-like substance inside, and the panel where one would normally read the numbers had a fresh burn mark in the center. “Because you broke it, kid.” This time, it was Twilight’s turn to be shocked by her magical ability. “But how? I’m not that powerful! My burst was only ten thousand before I enlisted! There’s no way it could have gotten that much stronger all of a sudden.” Her breathing began to accelerate as she realized she could be one of the most powerful unicorns currently alive, and the possible implications of that began coming unbidden into her mind. The proctor gently laid a hoof on her shoulder. “Hey, calm down. Most unicorns going through our training see a pretty big increase in how much magic they can throw around. We usually get somepony who breaks the meter every few years or so. Heck, you heard of Sunset Shimmer? I hear she broke one of those meters they use to measure multiple unicorns at once! By herself!” Twilight frowned a little. “I just wish you could give me a hard number. Can you at least give me an estimate I could use?” The proctor shook his head. “Sorry. Don’t have a more powerful meter. For what’s it worth, you definitely passed.” As he spoke, a grey glow surrounded the damaged emerald, freeing it from its housing in the rest of the equipment before floating over in front of Twilight. “And here, take this. It’s beyond repair, but it might make for a nice keepsake.” Twilight smiled as she stowed the gem into her saddlebags. “So, what now? Was that the last test?” “Yeah kid,” the proctor said. “You are officially Private Twilight Sparkle in Their Majesties’ Royal Guard.” His horn glowed briefly, and a previously-flat surface on her armor’s metal formed into a chevron. “Congratulations. Can’t wait until ponies are telling me how there’s this crazy mare who’s got the dragons running scared.” ________________________ “I humbly request your Majesty to waive the restrictions regarding the study of certain less-savory magics in this instance. The potential medical applications are staggering!” Luna sighed. “I’m afraid I must remain firm once again. Some things simply weren’t meant to be tampered with. While I respect your desire to help ponies, the study of dark magic brings only suffering.” She looked past the mare towards the line of ponies behind her. “Next petitioner!” As the next pony began to say his piece, Luna heard what sounded like laughter from among the assembled nobles sitting along the walls to the throne room. Curious as to what was so humorous, she cast a spell to enhance her hearing, while doing her best to make it seem like her attention was still focused on the stallion before her. It seemed that the group talking consisted of four nobles. “—the fifth time Nightingale has tried to convince Luna to let her learn dark magic. I daresay that pony is either too insane or too stupid to realize that nothing is going to change unless she takes a different approach!” Another stallion chimed in. “Which pony, Nightingale or the Princess?” The four of them laughed quietly at that. It wasn’t a terribly good joke, but nobles would laugh at anything if it meant appeasing somepony further up the ladder. And of course, Luna was the butt of the joke. However, they had finally crossed the line from saying Celestia was her better to saying something was wrong with her. As much as she wanted to let it go, this could not stand. Luna held up a hoof, indicating the stallion should stop speaking. “Allow me a moment,” she said as she walked over to the group that had been laughing at her. Before they could ask what she wanted, they were nearly struck deaf by the magnitude of Luna’s voice. “You dare mock your Princess?” she shouted, each word increasing in volume. “You have the audacity to say I am insane? And you do so within my own court?” The group of ponies had begun attempting to make excuses, but Luna wasn’t even listening. “Begone from this court, until such a time as you have learned proper respect!” The four of them needed no further prompting and bolted for the door in such terror that those who had borne witness to the event would likely never let them forget it. As Luna calmly walked back to her throne, she drank in the silence of the room. It was as though something had rendered all the nobles and petitioners mute. Well, Luna thought to herself, it looks like I’ve finally begun to command some respect around here. Perhaps Celestia is wrong, after all. Perhaps I should try that more often. ________________________ A bell above the door chimed pleasantly as Twilight walked into the shop. She wondered if the sign claiming she could get a jeweler’s services here was accurate; all she could see were dresses. Before she could start looking around the store for the owner, she heard a voice approaching from behind one of the racks. “Welcome to Carousel Boutique, where every garment is chic, unique, and magnifique!” As she was speaking, a white unicorn with a heavily-styled purple mane rounded the last corner between them. “Now, what can I help you with?” she asked in an accent that Twilight guessed was supposed to sound like the one used by Canterlot’s upper crust. It didn’t quite match, but to her credit, that was only because it was less obnoxious. “I was walking around town waiting for my train and saw a sign saying there was a jeweler here. Would that be you? I have a stone I was hoping I could get set into a necklace.” Twilight said as she opened her saddlebags. Finding what she was looking for, she levitated the emerald from the vortometer and her bitpurse out of the bags. “I’m only in town until the train comes, but I could pay to have it shipped. It would still be better than the insane prices a jeweler in Canterlot would charge me.” “That would be me. My name is Rarity. A pleasure to meet you, Miss...” “Twilight Sparkle,” she replied. Rarity took the gem into her own telekinesis, looking puzzled. “I can’t say I’ve ever seen anything quite like this. It’s clearly an emerald, but the mist inside is so strange. It looks lovely, though. Wherever did you get this?” “Oh, heh. You know what a vortometer is, right?” “Why of course I do,” Rarity said as she tapped the tip of her horn with a hoof. “Well, I just got out of basic training for the guard yesterday. The last test was just measuring my burst channel. I um… overloaded the meter.” A small blush came over Twilight’s face. “Apparently that’s what happens to the gem at the core when you do that.” Rarity led them over to a table in the corner, and produced a jeweler’s loupe to get a more detailed look at the emerald. “Well, that would explain why it’s already cut. You mentioned you were in the royal guard? I hope you weren’t planning on wearing this onto a battlefield. It would be destroyed!” Twilight chuckled. “Oh, don’t worry about that. I can just enchant it. It should be fine.” After a few questions about Twilight’s preferences, Rarity had sketched out a design that she assured Twilight would be “absolutely fabulous.” “And let’s see, you’ll be providing the stone, so my estimate is…” She added up a few figures in her head. “Five hundred bits.” Twilight’s ears went flat as she frowned. “Oh, I didn’t know it would be that much. I hoped that I would save a little more because I already had the stone. I’m sorry, but I don’t have quite that much that I can afford to spend.” Rarity took a long look at the gem still on the table. “Oh dear. Well, that shouldn’t be a problem. I could bring it down to three hundred if we used silver instead of gold.” “I’m so sorry, I really thought the stone made up more of the cost than that. I only have about one hundred I can really afford spend.” “I’m sure we can work something out, Miss Sparkle. I should have asked what budget we were operating on in the first place. Do you care for white bronze? It’s a less expensive option that would look quite nice alongside your armor. It would also stay inside your budget. Perhaps a little less filigree...” As Rarity talked, she picked up the sketch she had made. Within moments, she had already penciled in the first alterations for the different material. “In fact, with these alterations-do tell me if you don’t care for them by the way-I think I could probably fit this project into… fifty bits in material cost.” Twilight looked over Rarity’s shoulder at the new sketch. It definitely looked like something she would love to wear. “Okay, so what’s your estimate for the total?” “Why, fifty bits of course,” Rarity said with a chuckle. Twilight blinked. “What?” “I’m offering to make the necklace at cost, Miss Sparkle. I'm quite eager to work with that stone,” Rarity said with a chuckle. “Although if you’re uncomfortable with that, I suppose I could make you a deal instead. You said you were waiting for your train. Are you going to be staying in Canterlot until you ship out?” Twilight was still trying to process what she was being told. “Oh, um, yes. I’ll be with my parents for a few weeks. Is there something you need there?” “Nothing in particular. I was just thinking you could provide my sister and myself the pleasure of your company for tea tomorrow. Some of your time for some of mine seems like a fair trade to me.” Twilight stammered a bit, not knowing how to respond at first. “But you have to have other projects this is taking time from! Please, you can add at least some labor to the cost,” she said as she began going through her bitpurse again. A blue aura surrounded the purse, which quickly found its way into Twilight’s saddlebags. “I simply won’t hear of it, Miss Sparkle! Now then, would jasmine be alright? The tea that is, not the stone! Or we could reschedule to a few days later, if tomorrow isn’t convenient.” “Um, that’s fine. I’ll be seeing you tomorrow. And jasmine tea is my favorite.” Author's Note So, two months later... Sorry this probably wasn't the kind of chapter length you were hoping for with the wait. Unfortunately I write slowly, and since my schedule is kind of hectic getting in touch with my prereading friends can be a crapshoot. Speaking of prereaders, thanks to: Kwakerjak Blackbelt maskeferret Caliaponia I'm pretty sure that's everyone I sent it to on this round. I'm sure they'll let me know otherwise if I forgot them. (Preemptive apologies for the person/people I inevitably forgot.) And as always (is two chapters too soon to start saying "as always?") thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed.
Chapter 2The irate dragon reared back, towering over the group of ponies below after having repelled all their attempts to defeat it thus far. “Is this really Their Majesties’ finest?” it thundered, sounding more like two mountains crashing together than any voice Twilight had ever heard. The earth buckled under the dragon’s weight as it came back down, swiping one of its claws in a wide arc. If the dragon completed its sweep, Twilight knew most of the ponies attempting to engage it would be crushed. I have to do something, she thought. I’ve got it! A brilliant flash of light lit the grass beneath her as the glow of her horn grew so bright that it nearly blinded her. A violet aura engulfed the dragon’s arm up to the elbow, rapidly dragging it to a stop. Just as the dragon began to look down to see what was preventing it from completing its attack, its claw wrenched backwards faster than anything of that size should have been able to move. The great beast yelled in pain before looking around, its eyes eventually settling on the bright light emanating from Twilight’s horn. She let her hold on its claw drop a moment later, but the dragon had already selected a new quarry. It took in a massive breath, and Twilight knew what was coming next. I need something. Teleporting’s no good; he’ll just do it again. A shield would just give me a wall of heat. The fire’s about to come. Think, Twilight! Think! A wall… that’s it! Putting her idea into action, Twilight tore the ground immediately in front of her apart, sliding it up to create a makeshift barrier. Heartbeats later, she could see licks of flame curling around the edges. The stone soon began to glow, and the heat radiating from the rock would still have been enough to roast her alive, but her armor’s enchantments could compensate now that she was no longer in the fire’s direct path. It wasn’t quite enough to stop the sweat from forming, though. With the dragon occupying itself spitting flames, Twilight took the opportunity to catch her breath, only to go into a coughing fit from the smoke pouring over the side of her protection. When the flames stopped, she chanced a peek around the edge of her fortification. A blue pegasus had gained the dragon’s attention, harassing it with lightning strikes. It was taking another deep breath, disrupting the mare’s flight path with the sudden change in air currents as it inhaled. Right as the first plumes of flame emerged the pegasus went into a dive, and a flash of light enveloped the pegasus, bringing her over to Twilight. Unfortunately, this had the side effect of the pegasus plowing head first into the ground from her attempt to dodge before she had teleported. “What the heck?” the mare yelled, trying to get her bearings. As she got back to her hooves and looked around, her gaze settled on Twilight. “Oh, unicorn. Freaky magic. Figures.” After looking over her new comrade to see if she had any obvious wounds, Twilight poked her head around the side of her earthen wall again. The dragon briefly looked for its lost target, then did a quick sweep with its tail to ward off the opportunistic soldiers trying to take advantage of the distractions. Its attackers held at bay for the time being, the dragon turned back towards Twilight. Whether it had realized what happened or not, it clearly intended to resume hunting her. “Hey, can you still fly?” Twilight asked the pegasus. The other mare turned away from watching the dragon. “Yeah. Got a plan?” “That depends, are you fast enough to dodge it if you get close?” The pegasus gave a cocky grin wholly inappropriate to how much danger they were in. “The fastest!” Twilight nodded. “Right. So, the plan is for you to fly in as close as you can get, as low to the ground as you can. Get its attention, and try to stay near its face. If you can lure it to bring its head low enough, I think I can hold it down.” She took a nervous gulp, hoping the other mare didn’t notice. “And then all we have to do is um… finish it.” “Get him low, keep him low. Got it!” Without any further parting words, the pegasus sped off to meet the dragon. Twilight thought she heard a battle cry of “hey ugly” right as the pegasus’ front two hooves connected squarely with the side of the dragon’s mouth. Its attention acquired, she proceeded to stay inside its reach, close enough to make doing anything about her presence difficult. Eventually, she dropped to mere feet above the ground, slowing down considerably. The dragon took the bait, bringing its great maw down over her with a roar, only to catch nothing but air as the she accelerated again. Before it could recover, shining chains of magic erupted from the ground to bind its neck and limbs. As it thrashed against the fetters, one more set of magical restraints appeared to force its jaw shut. Twilight knew several spells she could use. A well placed bolt of magic would be the easiest with her target unable to move. The sergeant that had briefed them on this deployment had shown them in a diagram exactly where to aim. She just had to put the biggest bolt she could manage right through its eye. Instead, she froze, barely maintaining enough concentration to keep the dragon bound. She had personally witnessed it hurt (and probably kill) several ponies in the fight already. It was fighting with the intent to attack Equestria if it broke through the line. It had tried to kill her, very nearly succeeding. She knew this needed to end sooner than later. But the dragon was still a living, thinking being. No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t bring herself to actually act. In the Royal Guard Academy, they’d taught her how to kill, but not how to find the courage. Even knowing everything she did about why this was necessary, and that ponies needed to be able to count on her to do this kind of thing, she just couldn’t. Her thoughts were interrupted by somepony near the dragon’s front claw firing a bolt of their own. Twilight turned away from the scene once it had gone limp, letting the effort she’d put in start to get to her. As the adrenaline wore off, a headache began to blossom right at the base of her horn. The pegasus who had acted as her distraction came flying back over, looking far less tired than Twilight felt. “Hey, good work out there, Spearface,” she said. Twilight couldn’t help but chuckle, even though it wasn’t very funny. “You did pretty good yourself. And it’s more of a wand, really. If I tried to use it like a spear, it would probably splinter on impa-” “It was a joke, lady.” Twilight rubbed a hoof on the back of her head in embarrassment. “So uh, I don’t think I caught your name.” The mare in front of her puffed her chest raised her head a little higher. “Rainbow Dash!” The pegasus extended a hoof, which Twilight bumped with her own. “Twilight Sparkle. Thanks for your help out there. I don’t know how much longer I could’ve lasted against that dragon if you hadn’t zapped it.” Twilight narrowly resisted the urge to look back towards the dragon’s remains. Bolts of magic weren’t a particularly grisly way to go, but she didn’t want to look at a corpse. To keep her mind off of it, she used what magic she could muster through her growing headache to find the pill to alleviate that pain. “Heh, yeah. You would have been in some serious hot water if I hadn’t flown in,” Rainbow said as she shined a hoof against her chest. “What was stopping you from finishing it off, though?” The fog that had been gathering in Twilight’s mind dispersed a little as she chewed on the tablet of solidified magical energy. It was only one thousand vortices, but it would keep her from collapsing until she could make it to somewhere she could sleep. Her attention returned to the conversation now that she could properly focus on it. “I was getting close to passing out from that stunt already. I didn’t need to add to that stress.” It wasn’t exactly a lie, but she was still neglecting to mention that she easily could have fired one bolt without any issues. Rainbow thought about that for a moment as she sized up Twilight, who tried to not appear uncomfortable lest she be found out. After completing her examination, Rainbow looked Twilight directly in the eyes. “So you chickened out. I don’t know much about magic, but if you could do that I get the feeling a laser wouldn’t have set you over the edge.” Twilight didn’t attempt to deny it at this point. Her breathing quickened, and she placed her hooves on Rainbow’s shoulders frantically. She looked around to make sure nopony else was listening before speaking. “Okay, yes! I couldn’t do it, alright? Just please don’t tell an officer! I’ll do better next time, I-” “Hey, hey. Easy now,” Rainbow said as she brushed Twilight’s hooves off of her. “It’s alright. It’s not like you were useless out there or anything, Twilight. If it wasn’t for you, that dragon might have gotten all of us. As long as you’re pulling your weight, I won’t tell anypony. And if you can do that again, you’re definitely pulling your weight. But you might want to get better at not looking guilty if you want to keep this up.” Twilight took a deep breath, bringing a hoof to rest on her chest where it clinked against her necklace. “Thanks. Now let’s get back to camp, I could really use a rest.” “Yeah, I could use a nap myself,” Rainbow said, not even covering her mouth when she yawned. ________________________ Celestia heard a knock from the other side of her study’s door. The various wards told her it was her advisor, and so she opened them as glanced back at the document she’d been reviewing. “Good evening, Perspicacity. What news do you have for me tonight?” The earth pony mare placed a clipping from a Canterlot newspaper on her desk. “I believe this should be the first order of business. I believe the article here speaks for itself.” Celestia took a moment to read the article. Apparently, somepony had founded a religion dedicated to the worship of her. The first service had been held the previous morning, and was calling itself the “Sunfire Fellowship.” The founder claimed their principal tenant was that Celestia wasn’t merely the pony who controlled the sun, but the spirit of the sun given form - a goddess. According to the one leading the congregation, Celestia’s divine nature rendered her incapable of being wrong. It wasn’t true, of course, but she at least appreciated some ponies thinking she was right for once. It wasn’t the first time she’d become the object of worship for some cult or another. It was just a natural consequence of being both immortal and powerful. Normally, she would either meet with the head of the congregation to set them straight, or mention publicly she’d rather not have ponies calling her a goddess. Either way, the group would usually disband not terribly long after that. The longest she had ever seen one last was a few years, and that had been generations ago. But what’s the harm in just letting them continue? Celestia thought. They’re not hurting anything with their worship. Maybe I’ve been a little too heavy-handed with the issue. Besides, even though I’m no goddess, they’re not technically wrong about me being a sun spirit. I guess… “I say we let them have their fun, Perspicacity. I’ll follow their development closely, and put a stop to things if I think they’ll become a threat to anypony.” Celestia’s advisor stayed silent for a moment. “As you wish, Princess,” she finally said in a puzzled tone. ________________________ Twilight had very much hoped to have the opportunity to sleep more before being given additional work. But when an officer was willing to overrule the medic’s recommendation that she be given a few days to recover from the magic fatigue, she had no choice but to go with it. The sun was just barely rising as the green mare bearing the markings of a lieutenant led Twilight to the command tent. As they crossed the threshold she saw three ponies all in the purple and gold associated with being a captain in the Royal Guard. Twilight couldn’t help but gulp when she saw them. Whatever it was that she was here for, it was definitely not something small. One of the three captains - a pegasus stallion with a red coat - looked up from their conversation and saw Twilight. Twilight was put a little more at ease when she saw him smile, before she remembered to salute. The resulting clink was enough to draw the attention of the remaining two officers in the room. “Private Twilight Sparkle, reporting as requested, Captains.” “At ease, Private,” said another captain, this one a yellow earth pony mare. Twilight put her hoof back on the ground. The officer who had first seen her enter spoke back up again. “We’ve called you here to congratulate you. The dragon that you dealt with probably would have claimed many more lives if not for your intervention.” Twilight couldn’t help but smile. “With all due respect, sirs, it wasn’t a solo effort. I had a lot of help there. I don’t think I could have dealt with it all on my own.” “Actually, Private, we think you could have,” said the green unicorn stallion who had up until this point been silent. Twilight’s heart skipped a beat, and she had to remind herself to breathe. She managed to retain her composure when the captain smiled warmly at her. “Either way, a lot of ponies owe you their lives, which is why we are proud to present you this.” As he spoke, a silver disk a little smaller than a bit floated towards her wrapped in the captain’s aura. “Their Majesties’ Royal Guard Medal of Heroism.” Twilight’s jaw dropped as a brief flash of light affixed the medal to the plate on her shoulder, right next to her rank insignia. “B-but I didn’t do anything somepony else wouldn’t have! At the very least, Rainbow Da-” “Has already been awarded hers,” said the mare, holding up a hoof. “Speaking of Rainbow Dash,” the pegasus said. “She mentioned the stunt she pulled to distract the dragon was your idea. That’s some good instinct. Tell me, do you have any ambitions towards an officer position?” “Yes sir, eventually. My brother was actually a captain before this whole…” Twilight tried to find a word that wouldn’t make her sound bitter. “Conflict, with the dragons. I think he would have been proud to see me as an officer too.” “Shining Armor, right? I guess the ridiculous things he could do with magic must run in the family,” the earth pony said with a hint of sadness. The unicorn cut in, trying to steer away from the melancholy quickly overtaking the room’s atmosphere. “We only ask, Private, because we have been monitoring your progress since we saw how well you did on your final exam in training. We think the time may be right for you to begin officer training. Do you accept?” To Twilight, there was no question what her answer would be. “I don’t know what to say except yes, sir,” she exclaimed without any hesitation. “Excellent. You’ll ship back to Canterlot tomorrow morning. Until then, you are dismissed, Private.” Twilight walked back outside the command tent, where she saw Rainbow Dash proudly showing off the bit of silver on her shoulder while a few of her comrades sat listening. “-nd then he goes to chomp on me, but I sped up and he plowed face-first into the ground. So then, that unicorn did this crazy thing with her magic and all these chains came up-” Rainbow stopped when she realized that the unicorn in question was standing right next to her. “Oh hey, this is her, guys!” Her gaze drifted to Twilight’s shoulder, and she noticed that Twilight’s new adornment. “Oh my gosh, you got a medal too! It’s so awesome, isn’t it?” Rainbow asked with a grin. Twilight found the good cheer of her comrade to be infectious, and smiled herself. “Yeah, it’s pretty awesome.” She kept the fact that she was being promoted quiet; she didn’t want to ruin Rainbow’s moment. Author's Note As always, thanks for reading, and thanks to Caliaponia, Kwakerjak, Blackbelt, and maskedferret for being awesome prereaders! Three out of four of these guys have stories of their own, by the way. They're pretty good. Maaaaaaybe you should read them, too? You won't be disappointed.
Chapter 3The small stack of gems clattered onto Twilight’s desk as the pouch containing them was upended. They were all rough and unworked. Many of them were discolored in places, cracked, or otherwise notably imperfect. They still had applications in tools and magical constructions, but they would never be used in jewelry. Which, thankfully for somepony on a soldier’s budget, made buying a whole stack of them relatively inexpensive if you knew who to talk to. “Thanks, Fancy,” Twilight said to the stallion who had brought her these new treasures, before levitating over a small bitpurse set aside for the transaction. Fancy Pants gave one of his brilliant smiles that had helped make him so popular among the Canterlot elite. “Think nothing of it, my dear! And do tell your parents I said hello. In fact, I saw them just the other day, and when I mentioned that you had contacted me about this, your mother requested-” “I’ll come to see them next time I have leave,” Twilight cut him off. “I’ll probably get at least a few days after I’m out of officer training. Until then, they’ll have to come here or live with the daily letters.” Fancy Pants looked over Twilight’s shoulder as bits of wire and gemstone were moved around in Twilight’s aura. Whatever she was doing, she wasn’t wasting any time before starting. “I’ll let her know. Pray tell, what did you need all these gems for? And why are you strapping wires to your horn?” Twilight kept talking as she referenced a chart containing the magical resistances of various gemstones. “See the emerald on my necklace?” The necklace in question floated over so her guest could get a better look at it. Meanwhile, Twilight had found the entry she was looking for. “Only forty-five hundred vortices on an uncut amethyst? Really?” she mumbled. Fancy Pants examined the necklace, scrutinizing the gem in particular. “It’s lovely. Does this have something to do with the enchantment that makes the inside look like mist?” “Oh, that’s no enchantment.” A brief spark emanated from somewhere in front of Twilight, and Fancy Pants couldn’t quite see it from where he was standing. As the light faded again, Twilight produced the amethyst she had been attaching wires to a moment ago. The inside of the stone now matched the one on her necklace. “That’s just what happens when enough magic is put through a gem to exceed it’s magical resistance, but not enough to destroy it entirely. Every analysis spell I’ve thrown at my necklace has said the gas doesn’t do anything, but I don’t believe it! It has to do something besides look pretty, right? Some property that ponies haven’t noticed yet?” As Twilight continued, she turned in her seat to face Fancy Pants as she began to wave her hooves to match the emphases in her speech. “Oh, I wish that there was a Diamond Dog I could talk to about this! They’re so much further ahead of unicorns in terms of what they can do channeling magic through gems. I tried to see if I could get books on it imported when I worked in the bookstore, but all of their big advances are state secrets. I mean, I don’t want to make a death ray or anythi-” A blue hoof covered her mouth before she could continue. “You seem to be getting a little off track, Twilight. And while this is all well and good, isn’t there something more productive you could be doing? I was under the impression officer training was quite a bit of work.” Twilight grinned as she went back to her project. “Oh, I already finished the coursework and my physical regimen for the night. I wouldn’t mind getting started on the work for the rest of the week, but a girl needs to have fun sometimes, right?” “Right... ‘fun,’” Fancy Pants said as another flash of light tortured another gemstone. As Twilight went to put the new test subject in a pile, her concentration slipped from how many various items she had been handling. The wires, the book, the gem she had just finished pulsing magic through, and the next gem in line all crashed onto her desk. The gem she had just finished with was the only one that was damaged by such a short fall; its structure having been weakened by its interior turning to vapor. The crack reached all the way to its misty core, and a thick haze surrounded her. Not knowing if the substance was safe to breathe, Twilight tried to use a locator spell to find her fan through the fog. She quickly dismissed the spell when it gave her nothing but mental static. Twilight calmed a little as she realized that she could see through the cloud now. It was still thick in the room, but she could see the room. Continuing her search without the aid of magic, Twilight saw Fancy Pants trying to open the door with his own telekinesis. She couldn’t figure out what was giving him trouble; it wasn’t locked. It would have to wait until after she’d done something about the gas in her room. After a few more moments of searching, Twilight found her fan. She reached out to telekinetically put it on the table as well as open the her dormitory’s window. As she did so, she realized that it was taking significantly more effort than it should have. It was almost like… “The smoke is magically resistant like a gemstone!” Twilight yelled, overjoyed to have finally found something notable about the mist. This had the unfortunate side effect of her mouth being open, allowing the smoke into her lungs. It was unpleasant to breathe, but no less so than ordinary smoke from a fire. Extended exposure in an enclosed space might be dangerous, but it didn’t seem so hazardous that she would need to panic if she breathed it. Between the fan and the window, the room was quickly clear again. Twilight heard Fancy Pants clear his throat from across the room. When she turned to look she saw that he’d brought the collar of his shirt around to cover his face and his eyes were wider than Twilight had ever seen them go before. “W-well Twilight,” he said in a voice trying and failing to hide the fact that he was rattled, “while it’s b-been lovely to see you, I… I think it’s time to get home to Fleur for dinner. Shall I tell her you send your regards?” Twilight realized just how badly she must have scared him. “I’m so sorry, Fancy! I’m pretty sure the smoke is safe. I’m so, so sorry though!” Fancy Pants continued to wait silently until Twilight answered his question. He was eyeing the door, but Twilight knew it would have been rude to leave without closing the conversation properly. “Yes. Tell Fleur I said hello. And can I send a letter if I need more gem samples?” Fancy Pants took a step closer for a brief hug. “By all means. Although if you could wait until after we’ve finished with pleasantries to put me in fear of my life next time, I would appreciate it.” After parting, he chuckled as he regained some of his composure. “And I do hope you’ll be able to accompany your parents to my next garden party.” “Oh, I would love to,” Twilight lied, “but right now I really need to focus on my training, and I think I’m going to be giving most of my free time to this. In fact, I think I’ll go back to prepping more gems. Always nice to see you though, Fancy.” “And you as well, Twilight,” Fancy Pants said as he made his way to the door. Her social obligations to a friend of the family completed, Twilight turned back to her project with renewed interest. She finally had test subjects, and an avenue she could pursue. She would stay up all night if that’s what it took to find any remaining mysteries the gems had in store for her. ________________________ Luna walked among the shelves, looking back at her companion every few steps for anything suspicious. Nightingale seemed content to just walk behind Luna, glancing occasionally at the titles of the books and scrolls around her. When they passed in front of a scroll rack, her coat nearly blended in with the parchment. For the first time since they’d entered the library, she spoke. “Princess, may I ask you something?” Luna turned stopped and turned around, fixing Nightingale with her gaze. “You may.” Nightingale didn’t respond immediately. “What made you reconsider my petition?” “Your persistence, mostly,” Luna admitted. “I still do not believe there is much to be gained from your pursuits, but I am hoping I can prove it to you. Once we have concluded, as I know we will, that there is nothing to be gained here, you will stop using my valuable time with my petitioners. And if it turns out your theories have merit and can be safely controlled, so much the better.” Nightingale’s ears drooped. “Princess, I know that my ideas might seem… unsavory at first glance. I’m not deaf; I know that ponies say I’m a madmare bent on the destruction of Equestria. And I know that we would be playing with dangerous forces. Unlike most ponies, however, I believe there is no such thing as ‘forces beyond our control.’” Nightingale dropped to her knees before Luna, begging. “Just give me a chance to prove it. Help me prove it. Please.” “You may rise,” Luna said as she considered Nightingale’s plea. “Explain to me your theory, please. In more detail than simply ‘use dark magic for medical benefit.’ I’m already well aware that there exist healing spells in dark spellbooks. Those that are safe to use have already been added to the catalogue of modern medicine.” “My theories have nothing to do with direct healing spells. Most of those can only speed the healing process, or heal very minor wounds. You’d need to be almost as powerful as, well, you in order to fix anything major. Not even you can repair defects ponies were born with.” Nightingale turned to the books on the shelf beside her. They weren’t in the restricted wings yet, so there was very little pertaining to her theories here. There was one on basic demonology, though. She opened it to check its contents, then flipped to the page beginning the chapter on possession. “Now, historically speaking, fixing these things is the most common type of offer from dark entities looking for a vessel. Most ponies that play host to a demon or the like find their bodies in better shape than they’ve ever been before.” Luna couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “You can’t be serious! These entities take over your body in exchange, or take your soul to Tartarus. You are worse off than before when you indulge these kinds of offers. Even ponies who are exorcised and recover suffer from mental disorders for most of their lives afterwards.” Luna seized the book in her telekinesis, shoving it roughly back into its place on the shelf. Nightingale smiled as she returned to the spines of the books to her right.. “I’m aware of all this, Princess. I’m not going to just start shoving demons into ponies. My theory is that if a pony does this in a safe environment, they can be exorcised immediately following their healing. I just need to craft a sufficiently strong spell that wards against mental invasion to avoid the ramifications of having a demon inside the patient’s head. Creating that spell would be the focus of this project.” “Did you even need access to the restricted section for such research?” Luna asked as she began walking towards the sections regarding mind magic, Nightingale in tow. “While there are spells regarding mental protection in there, they have mostly been transcribed and deemed safe for the general public. Having some findings regarding this spell may have helped my initial reception of your presentations.” Nightingale pondered this for a moment as she walked. “I hadn’t thought of that, no. On the other hoof, I can’t make much progress on a spell specifically designed to repel the mental influences of demons without knowing what exactly a demon does in a pony’s head. While I could start by researching particularly strong mind-defending spells, I still have no idea if it would interact in any way with possession.” At this point, Luna still wasn’t sure whether or not to force Nightingale to discontinue the project. Certainly, it was dangerous, but setting up failsafes for the research seemed to be a straightforward endeavor. Proper containment rituals were simple enough, and doubly so when one knew they were needed before that containment was required. Exorcising the victims of failed tests was also easy, albeit somewhat risky. As long as the test subjects were well-informed volunteers, she didn’t see anything wrong with potential damages. Really, the situation wasn’t all that different from more conventional medical research. In addition, it would be a chance to help with a major breakthrough, she thought. Another scholarly achievement may remind ponies that there are still areas in which I outshine my sister. “Very well, Nightingale. This project, strange though it is, may have merit. Moreover, I wish to aid and oversee your work myself. We shall begin in earnest tomorrow morning, immediately after the Night Court closes.” ________________________ Her research for the night was finally done. Twilight stacked the additional reference material she had borrowed from the academy’s library off to one side of her desk. Once everything was organized again, she went over her notes from the evening’s experiments. 12th day of Summer, 1174 Harmony Era The gem delivery from Fancy Pants just arrived. Accidentally broke one amethyst after treating it, creating a cloud of smoke in the room. Smoke appears to have magical resistance properties similar to the gemstones it is made of. Further testing required. several hours later, no negative effects noticed from breathing in gem smoke medical officer confirms there is nothing wrong in or around my lungs going to be wearing safety gear going forward anyway should have worn some to start got too eager to begin testing created 17 samples excluding one that broke, current of 1000 vortices over their maximum resistance. Will try lower/higher current samples in next batch. ran magical pulse through glass box containing smoke into waiting vortometer. Smoke’s resistances below (adjusted +129 vortices for known resistance of glass): -quartz 2893 vortices average among 4 samples (uncut quartz stones average a resistance of 5810) -amethyst 2237 vortices average among 2 samples (uncut amethyst stones average a resistance of 4500) -carnelian 5964 vortices average among 3 samples (uncut carnelian stones average a resistance of 12000) -garnet 3877 vortices average among 4 samples (uncut garnet stones average a resistance of 7801) further testing required because of such a small sample size but pattern appears to be just under half of the initial stone’s resistance is retained after the change in state cracked one of each stone immediately in front of muzzle to test how long it takes for the smoke to dissipate enough that a pony can see through it heavier stones appear to take slightly longer but average was close to 3 seconds after this point smoke is still present but can be seen through without notable difficulty as a result the gems are nearly useless as smoke bombs has applications against magic-using opponents any spell trying to penetrate the cloud requires a significant expenditure of additional energy that some unicorns (and other magical creatures) can’t even channel enough to overcome the resistance on any level more realistic threats would become tired very quickly unless they had access to vast quantities of energy cloud also scrambles all magical communication going through it all spells i was capable of casting that provide information on area or object came back as static when used on or within the smoke all such spells turn up empty space where the smoke is when used on an area wider than the area the smoke covers non-unicorns might have trouble cracking gem if this is going to be used i need a delivery system gem too hard to reliably crack without magic got lucky it landed on hard surface first time referenced book on common military equipment most smoke bombs are airtight pots with smoke mixture inside kept in enchanted box to keep from breaking in field could replicate for practical application by cracking gem inside one then quickly sealing will attempt at later date once more i have more samples and more research into this project As Twilight put down the sheet of barely legible scribbles, she couldn’t help but sigh. “Proofreading this is going to be awful,” she mumbled as she grabbed her red ink. Author's Note And so we have chapter 3, in which things get science-y. All complaints about the inaccuracy of scientific methods employed by my characters will be read, considered, then most likely not acted on. (I'm sure my friends that work in chemical labs would be slapping me silly if they read this.) As always, special thanks to my friends and prereaders, Kwakerjak, ur;=[http://www.fimfiction.net/user/Blackbelt]Blackbelt, Themaskedferret, and Caliaponia. They're the best. Go read them. Or you don't get any dessert. I even made their names all green and stuff so you know which bits to click.
