Never Judge A Book By Its Cover

by LightStriker

Rating: everyone
Tags: Twilight Sparkle, Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Sad, Original Character
Length: 10410

A filly Earth Pony has a cutie mark related to magic. Is pony society ready for her?

Twilight finds a filly Earth Pony hidden in her basement, reading magic tomes and eating her sandwiches. The little one claims her special talent is related to magic and that pony society had no place for one such as her.

Twilight is awestruck by the claim. Is pony society not welcoming of the differences?

Sequels:
- Purity
- Fighting Destiny

Editing and pre-reading by: Web of Hope, shutaro and Dusk Watch

Published 2012-05-02 02:44:01 UTC
Last updated 2012-05-08 22:09:16 UTC

Uninvited Guest

"Twilight!" Spike shouted. "Twilight!"

"I'm here Spike," Twilight Sparkle replied as she stepped out of the library’s small kitchen. Her friends had planned an evening outdoors near Fluttershy’s cottage, and she had been double-checking the basket she had prepared for the picnic. The meeting was still hours away, but she always prefered to be too early than too late. "What's wrong?" she asked a bit annoyed partially for being interrupted.

He was carrying a large dusty brown book, which Twilight easily identified a tome about magic-matter transformation. "It's the third book we...” he started before remembering that keeping the inventory of book was his direct duty. “I've lost this week." He had a hard time with admitting to losing or misplacing a book. While not as maniac as Twilight about checklist and order, he had a deep pride in his ability at keeping the library in order. He knew almost every book’s names, author and location by heart. Which was quite a feat considering Twilight research surges that occurred a few times per month and would end up with large quantity of books piled up randomly all over the place. He raised his claw to show the book he was holding. "And I found the last book I... lost two days ago."

She stared at him skeptically. "Are you sure you simply didn't misplace it?" She regretted asking it as soon as the words came out of her mouth. He always kept her library, in Canterlot or here, in order even against the worse situations, some she had created herself, and that for years.

"Twilight!" he whined.

She let out a small laugh. "Just kidding. I know how well you keep this library ordered." She sighed and pointed at the kitchen. "Any idea where the sandwiches I made for today's picnic disappeared to?"

Spike frowned. "Well, don't look at me. Unless you put a diamond on top of it, I wouldn't go eat it. You know… grass," he replied with a scowl of disgust.

"Right," she said with amusement.

They stared at each other as they both thought about the situation. "You’re thinking what I'm thinking?" Spike asked playfully.

"Owloysius doesn't steal books!" she countered.

"Twilight!" he exclaimed while rolling his eyes. His feud against the resident owl ended month ago, but somehow Twilight kept thinking there was a relationship issue between them. Sure, he would probably never call the bird a friend, but he accepted Owloysius as a much needed help when Twilight would go on a research frenzy and would turn the place into a general mess. "I meant I think we may have an intruder."

"Right! That makes more sense." She put a hoof to her jaw. "That's actually a good thing! I will be able to try that new life detection spell I learned last week!" she cheered while hopping around like an excited jumping bean. She was always excited by new magic spells and this one was no exception.

"As long as it's alive," Spike added for himself. He wasn’t as cheerful. Considering this town propension to attract troubles and monsters of all kind, he wouldn’t be surprised if it turned out to be some kind of ancient, evil, twisted world-ending monster bent on destroying the world, one book at a time, with a side-taste for sandwiches.

She simply ignored the comment and stepped in the middle of the library. She closed her eyes and started to focus. The spell wasn't an easy one as it required sending magic in all directions and making it resonate when coming in contact with the magic residing in any living being. Her horn started to glow brightly as she kept pouring more magic into the spell. When she felt the structure of the spell was holding, she released it. A sphere of bright purple energy expanded outward like an explosion.

"Woah!" Spike exclaimed as his scales started to glow in a deep green hue, color of his internal magic flow.

Twilight opened her eyes and looked around. She could see the ponies walking outside, unaware of her spell. They appeared outlined with the color of their inner magic. She had made sure only she and Spike could see the highlighted color as she didn’t want to cause any panic to Ponyville’s already jumpy population. She looked around, watching for anypony that would be inside the library. She couldn't see anything coming from the kitchen, bedroom or restroom. Finally, she looked down toward the basement and spotted a small dot of aqua. The source was too small to see any proper shapes.

"There!" she said while pointing at the floor. "There's somepony in the basement."

She opened the door leading to the basement with her magic and they both walked down the stairs trying to make as little noise as possible. Spike was protecting himself with the brown tome he was still holding. Once they reached the last step, Twilight pointed at the back of the room. Her spell was slowly fading away, but she could see a small blue form behind a bookshelf.

"I think it's sleeping," she noted as the small shape lay unmoving on the ground, breathing slowly.

They adopted a defensive posture as they got ready to jump around the furniture. They nodded to each other, ready to face whatever was behind. They leaped... and froze. They dropped their aggressive stance as they found a small filly sleeping wrapped in a bed sheet. Her head was resting inside a large open spell book. Beside her there were some leftovers from Twilight's picnic meal. Her coat was a light metallic blue and her mane was jet black with a vibrant strip of blue, almost the color of the sky on a sunny day.

Twilight made a sign to Spike to not make any sound. She focused on Spike, the filly, and herself and closed her eyes. She ran the magic flow up to her horn and let it go as a spell she was quite used to. When she opened her eyes, they were all in the middle of the library, the filly still sleeping. Usually she needed a direct view on her teleportation destination, but she knew the library by heart and could do without it.

The sunlight bathing the main floor was much brighter than the darkness in the basement. It slowly pushed the filly out of her sleep. When she opened her eyes to find out where all that light was coming from, she found a purple mare and a small dragon who both appeared to look at her angrily. Of course they were not angry, but Spike had his defensive posture he took in front of any unknown and Twilight were displaying that face of inquiry she had in front of an unsolved mystery. Combined with the fact that she had been found trespassing and stealing sandwiches, it was enough to drive the filly to panic. Her slumber disappeared all at once as adrenaline poured into her veins. She jumped to her hooves and quickly dashed for the nearby door.

Twilight focused some more magic and quickly summoned a metallic gate over the library's exit. The filly stopped as fast as she could, almost hitting the gate head first before turning around to find herself trapped between the dragon and the gate.

"I'm sorry! I... I didn't mean to," she quickly apologized. "Don't send me back. I don't want to... I..." She let out, almost to the point of crying.

Twilight and Spike looked at each other, puzzled by her reaction. “Don’t worry,” Twilight said, trying to sound as reassuring as she could. “We won’t be sending you anywhere. We don’t even know who you are!”

She looked at the floor. "I'm Azure," she said softly.

"Azure who?" Twilight asked again.

"Azure Tomato," she said in an inaudible whisper. Had Twilight not had experience understanding Fluttershy when she was being shyer than usual, she might have missed it.

"Tomato? Of the Tomato family?" Twilight asked puzzled.

Azure didn't answer; she only nodded as tears began coming up to her eyes. Twilight walked to her and sat. She put a hoof forward and raised the head of the small filly. "Now, what's wrong? Where don't you want to go back to?"

"Back home, to school, outside, anywhere… I..." she let out in one shot before starting to cry.

Twilight moved forward and hugged the small filly, waiting for her tears to run dry. When she was only sobbing, Twilight got up. "Come in the kitchen. I have tea, milk and some honey."

Twilight was sitting in front of Azure, sipping from a red cup. "Feeling better?" The smell of green tea was slowly rising from the steaming water.

"A bit." Azure was trying her best to not cry again. She was holding a similar cup and slowly sipping it. She put the cup back on the table. "I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to stay long or to steal food. I... But... but you got some incredible books," she explained while staring at her tea.

"Think you can explain what you were doing in my basement?" Twilight asked.

Azure looked around; she needed to tell her story to somepony. Anypony. She was tired of running away. "I'm sure you know of the Tomato family?" she asked.

Twilight rested her head on her right hoof. "I know they are the biggest producer of tomatoes in Equestria. The biggest competitor of the Apple family, if I remember right." She remembered Applejack mentioning them a few times, in less than kind words. However, she wouldn’t take her word for it; Applejack could be so competitive when it came to her family business.

"Right." Azure agreed. "The Tomatos all have a strong bond with the land. Their ability to grow plants in some of the worst conditions is quite renowned. They are all strong earth ponies with a passion for agriculture." She lowered her head in shame once more. "I'm not," she sighed.

Twilight banked her head, more puzzled than ever. "What do you mean?"

"I... I found my... my special talent a few months ago." She stood up and showed her flank. Twilight frowned at the white eight pointed star that was displayed on her blue coat. She quickly sat back down, happy to hide her sides.

Twilight blinked a few times. She had a good idea of what this cutie mark could mean as their meaning had been analyzed countless times through the ages, but she needed to ask. "What is it?"

"Magic." Azure answered as if it was the most shameful topic.

Twilight's eyes widened. Her heart had already told her the answer before her head did, but the later kept repeating it wasn't scientifically possible. "How is that possible? You're an earth pony!" she almost yelled. Seeing the filly was about to start crying again, she stood up and went around the table to hug Azure once more. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to yell,” she said while trying to calm the filly.

After a few moments, the filly pushed her away. "I... I have no future in this world," she mumbled between two sobs.

"That's not true!"

"It is!" Azure countered.

"Is not!" Twilight claimed.

The filly stared at the mare, trying hard to keep her tears inside. "What would you have done if you were born without a horn?"

Prejudice

"What make you think your cutie mark is truly about magic?" Twilight Sparkle asked.

Azure looked down at her tea. "I guess I should explain how I got it." She sighed before taking a long sip off her cup. "I always loved books, all kind of books."

"I can understand that!" Twilight said with a huge smile.

Azure ignored the interruption and continued. "My family lives in Fillydelphia. Near our home, there's a huge library. Anytime I had some free time I would go there and dig in books." She let a small smile at the memory. "One evening, I found a old tome about magic. It was so interesting, I was fascinated. I passed the whole night there reading it, and once I was done with it I found another one. The old mare who takes care of the library knew me well, she warned my father where I was."

She let out an uneasy laugh. "It wasn't the first time that I would pass the night there. However, that night was different. I didn't even notice the passage of time, I just ate tome after tome. When the librarian came back the next morning, she found me asleep, face first in my sixth tome. She woke me up and congratulated me. I didn't really understand until she pointed my flank."

"So... Your cutie mark is about books... or magic books?" Twilight tried.

Azure let out a long breath. "It's about magic knowledge."

Twilight decided to drop the topic, after all no pony knows a cutie mark better than his own. "Alright, it's about magic. What is the problem with that?"

She stared at her, unsure if she was joking or not. "The problem? The problem is that our society doesn't accept that."

Twilight frowned. "You're overreacting."

"If a pegasus is talented in something related to the ground, nopony ask any question." At this, Twilight had a flash of Fluttershy helping a critter. "Ponies might find that odd, but they won't question it. If a unicorn is talented in growing plants or flowers, nopony will care." Twilight thought about the Flim Flam brothers whose cutie marks were apples or some unicorn mares in Canterlot that grew and sold flowers.

"But an earth pony with a cutie mark about magic? Ponies react like you... or worse." she finished explaining. Twilight stood there trying to analyze her own reactions.

I never questioned Fluttershy's talents. Why did I react like that to Azure's?

Her logic kept coming back to the same answer and she didn't like it one bit; she was protective of something only unicorns were known to be.

It makes no sense! Anypony could learn about magic, why be so protective about knowledge?

"Earth ponies are strong, pegasi are swift and agile, unicorns are intelligent." Azure explained. "It's the way things are; unicorns are better than pegasi and pegasi are better than earth ponies."

Twilight's eyes widen at the surprise. "That's not true!" she shouted.

"It's mostly unicorns that live in Canterlot, the place of power. Tell me, you never heard any unicorn say something against a pegasus or an earth pony, based on what kind of pony they are?" Azure asked with a sad voice.

Twilight's first reaction was to deny it, but her memory quickly gave her a dozen occurrences when she overheard some unicorns in Canterlot speaking against a 'dumb' earth pony or a 'feather brain' pegasus. She put a hoof to her mouth, ashamed of what she just remembered.

Why I never thought about it before?

She tried to push that thought aside. "But... but why you don't want to go back to your family? How did they react to your cutie mark?"

A smile brightened Azure's face. "My family has been great about it. My father and mother didn't really understand what it meant to me, but they always supported me. I think they were a bit sad that I wouldn't help in the business like my brothers. And my brothers, they are great. When I started to get bullied in school, they always defended me."

"Bullies?"

"Unicorns would only avoid me, they wouldn't even look at me. As for pegasus and earth ponies, they would laugh... 'The magician without magic'." She explained, half sad and half angry. "My mother... she understood too well. She always knew instinctively what happened in a day of school."

Azure took another sip at her tea, finding it was now cold. "I don't know how many strings she had to pull, contacts she had to ask or favors she had to return, but a month ago they managed to get me an audience. They managed to get me to do the entrance exam of Celestia's school."

Twilight tried to hide her surprised. She knew very well that exam as she had almost failed it. If it wasn't for Rainbow Dash's sonic rainboom at the right moment, she wouldn't be here now. But even if her nervousness didn't prevent her for casting any spell, the test she received was a hard one. Making a dragon's egg hatch is no easy task, even for a talented unicorn.

"I was nervous but so happy. I could be in a school that was focusing on magic, I could learn without any limit! At that time, I didn't know how hard it had been for my family to get me to that exam." Azure explained with a smile.

"Then came three teachers to test me. I had no idea what the test would be." At this moment, her face only displayed anger. "They came in, looked at me and without a word they left the room laughing." She felt her tears coming back at that shameful memory, but she kept them in.

Twilight simply stood there, unable to say anything. She knew very well those teachers could be very harsh, but passing a judgment without a single question was beyond rude.

"I overheard them when my father, furious, went to ask what it was all about. 'It's Celestia's school for gifted unicorns! Earth ponies have no place here.'" She sighed.

Twilight was shocked. She knew that kind of conservative mind was still present in some small far away town, but from the elite of Canterlot, from the teachers she looked upon for guidance? She felt ashamed to have been a student in a school that would treat ponies like that.

"My family... I love them and I know they love me very much. But after that event, our sales in Canterlot dropped sharply. They pushed very hard to get me in that exam, too hard. Too many favors, too many deals, and the shame from that day spread in the high sphere of Canterlot. It... it was better for my family if I left." she said as a tear rolled on her cheek.

"What you are matters more than who you are." Azure concluded.

Prodigy

"Alright." Twilight said with a smile.

"What?" Azure asked, puzzled by the sudden reaction of the purple mare.

Twilight hit the table with her right hoof. "You're at the right place to find a solution. Mind if I ask you a few questions?"

"About?" She asked, cautious of the sudden burst of excitement show by Twilight.

Twilight crossed her foreleg. "Magic, of course!"

"Oh, you want to know if I'm not faking or something? I don't mind I guess. I love magic, so go ahead and ask whatever you want." She finished with a prudent smile. She had been as ready as she could be for the entrance exam. There's no way she would mind some questions about her passion. She knew it inside, it was who she was.

"Let's see... What are the three basic laws of magic?"

Azure laughed. "That's easy! First, a spell can only be performed if it is supplied in magic with at least the sum of the value of its components. Second, the relationship between an spell's force 'F', its number of components 'c', and it's magical strength 'm' is F = m * arctan(c). Finally, for every magical element exist its equal and opposite element." she said with a huge smile, obviously proud of herself.

Twilight smiled back. It's was a fairly basic question every unicorn would learn in school. Of course, most would quickly forget all about it as soon as they would leave school as most would only remember the practical applications. "Who said: 'Everything can become anything but nothing can't become something.'?"

Azure banked her head. "Star Swirl the Bearded, in 253 A.D." she replied without a pause. "You know, you can ask harder questions!"

Twilight frowned. The question itself wasn't really that hard, but she knew very well that most ponies wouldn't know about Star Swirl the Bearded. She knew about that as she dressed as him two years ago for Nightmare Night. Back then, the only pony who managed to identify her costume was Luna, but she had an unfair advantage as she knew him personally.

"Alright hot shot! Describe me the magical structure, components and elements of a teleportation spell." Twilight smiled proudly. Unicorns that were able to perform a teleportation spell were rare as the spell itself was complex and required a lot of magic to travel any meaningful distance.

Azure frowned and lowered her head.

Ah! I got you. Don't be ashamed, there's probably only two dozen unicorns currently alive that could answer that one correctly. Thought Twilight while taking a sip at her tea. She was quite proud of being one of those.

"Which one? Clover's, Dumblehooves' or Gandhay's version?" Azure asked with a concerned look.

Twilight almost spitted her tea but managed to avoid it at the last moment. Instead, she found herself choking on it.

How can she know that?

Most wouldn't know but Twilight's teleporting spell was originally designed by Clover the Clever, the student of Star Swirl. It was the simplest of the teleportation spell, requiring an average amount of magic but with a very short range. Even if it was the easiest teleporting spell, it was still a fairly hard one to perform. Dumblehooves’ was a longer range spell that was requiring a beacon as anchor. Twilight was able to perform that one too, but it was pushing her to her limits. As for the Gandhay's one, the only pony Twilight knew able to cast it were Celestia and Luna. It was, in theory, a spell that could allow a pony to travel all over Equestria.

"Huh... Clover's version is fine." She said after coughing the tea she inhaled.

"Ok. It's a five components dodecahedron overlapping layered structure. The inner component is made of the Heisencolt element and serves as catalysis to..." Twilight simply stopped listening to her explanations, while her brain simply kept track on its own, telling her Azure's answer was spot on.

How can a so young filly know about all this? Was I as young as her when I learned that? Younger? Older?

To her surprised, she actually felt threatened by the filly's ability. Was she better than her? Her first reaction was to challenge her with harder questions. She wanted her to fail, to make an error.

That's insane! Why would I? I should be happy to have found out another pony who love magic as much as I do!

Twilight raised her head, noticing Azure had been staring at her for a moment. Automatically Azure dropped her sight to the table, blushing. "Did... Did a make a mistake?" Twilight stared at the shy filly.

It’s because I was that young special talented pony not long ago. A part of me wants it to stay that way, to be unique while another is happy to have found somepony like me. There are probably not many ponies who can understand her passion as I do. It would be terrible to not encourage that talent.

"No, not at all. It was perfect."

Azure raised her head, a huge smile brightening her face. "You got some amazing books in your library!"

Twilight nodded while smiling. "Thanks. Some of them weren't easy to find or to get. By the way, which one were you reading?"

"Gandhay's treatise on mind communication. His spells are so awesome!" she said with her eyes sparkling.

Twilight laughed. "Yeah, he was a real genius. I also have a compilation of his... if you..." she froze mid-sentence, her brain working hard. "Of course!" she shouted before running off the kitchen, leaving Azure confused about her behavior.

After a few moments, Azure ran after Twilight. "What? Of course what?" When she reached Twilight, she was in the library, levitating the tome Azure was previously reading. Twilight was flipping the pages fast, obviously searching for something.

"I remember that story. One of Gandhay's friends had an accident and lost his horn. He was a well known researcher in healing spell. To help him, Gandhay created a telepathic spell that allowed his friend to remotely use Gandhay's horn. That way, he managed to heal his own horn by using Gandhay's one." Twilight explained while getting near the end of the tome.

"I don't understand."

Twilight stopped flipping the pages and looked at Azure. "If I can find it and cast it, I could allow you to use my horn to cast a spell."

Azure's eyes widen in surprise. "You would?" she asked having a hard time to believe what she heard.

"I make no promise, I don't know if it will work, but let's try!"

Azure started bouncing around Twilight, shouted "Yes!" in repetition.

She does remind me of somepony. thought Twilight while resuming her search.

After a few moments, she found the chapter about that specific spell. "Oh... That's not an easy one."

Azure stopped bouncing and stared at the floating book, reading the structure of the spell. "Wow! You think you can cast something like that?"

Twilight raised her head, taking that statement as a challenge. "I think so." She focused on the book, reading the spell a second, and then a third time. When she was sure she memorized the spell, she closed the book and stepped back. "Here goes!"

Twilight closed her eyes, focusing on her inner self. She brought the needed magic toward her horn, slowly shaping it in the correct elements and shapes. It was a work of precision and any error would make the spell fail or worse, make it behave in an unpredictable way. After a good minute of focus, when she was sure the structure was holding and was as described in the book, she opened her eyes and looked at Azure. "Ready?"

Azure looked around, nervous. "I think so... Yes. Yes! I am." She closed her eyes and tightened her jaws.

Twilight smiled and let the spell off her horn, aiming it at the young filly. It floated toward her and slowly vanished in her head. "Feeling any different?" She said when she was sure the spell was completed

"I... I don't know. A small headache, maybe." said Azure as she opened her eyes.

"Let's try it! Try to cast a spell."

Azure looked around, not knowing what to do. "Huh... I don't know what spell to do."

Twilight sat down and thought about it. One of the first spell she ever performed was to flip the page of a book, a very simple spell for a unicorn, but she was much younger than Azure when she did it. She remembered the first day at Celestia's school; the teacher asked them to conjure a cupcake. One at a time, the young ponies came to the front of the class to try the spell. Twilight was so happy as she did it on her first try. She remembered the teacher was also quite impressed how she did it with ease.

"How about you try to conjure a cupcake? I'm sure you know the structure of that spell." Twilight finally said.

"I think so." Azure said before closing her eyes and focusing.

Twilight could feel magic slowly pouring in her horn. The magic was formless and chaotic and was let out of her horn before it was transformed into a real spell. A small spark shut out of her horn and vanished. Azure opened her eyes and blushed hard. Twilight smiled, remembering the first time she ever tried to cast a spell. "Don't be ashamed, nopony cast their first ever spell on their first try."

"Can... Can I try again?" Azure asked while staring at the floor.

"Of course."

Azure closed her eyes and focused once more. This time Twilight felt a tiny string of magic being manipulated. When Azure felt she was getting the hang on shaping it, she added another string and another. After two minutes of adding layers and components to the spell, Twilight was about to ask Azure what she was doing as the spell didn't really look like a basic conjuration. Sure, she could see the needed parts for a cupcake, but there was so many other structures surrounding it that Twilight was actually surprised it was stable. Just as she opened her mouth, the spell was released. A small sphere of magic slowly drifted toward the floor where it faded in it.

Even if it didn't do anything, it was quite an impressed attempt.

Just as Twilight was about to cheer up the filly that was staring at the floor, it started to glow of a soft blue color. Twilight tilted her head, surprised at the effect. Conjuration of a cupcake should have been an instantaneous spell; a small flash of light and one baked cupcake to eat. Instead, the spell was everything but instantaneous. As she watched the floor, it was as if someone was drawing shapes on it. Out of those shapes, a flat cupcake wrapping slowly raised and floated in midair. Over it, as if someone was painting the air, slowly appeared the shape of a cupcake. Once fully formed, it lowered itself on the paper which promptly wrapped itself around the cake.

Twilight checked her horn, finding it fully inert. Whatever was happening right now was coming from the single spell she casted. The wrapped cupcake slowly floated down. As it was about to touch the floor, a small tornado formed itself around it. The air speeded up and one color appeared at a time, until it was a miniature rainbow cone of spinning air. The tornado shrunk on itself, reducing to the size of the cupcake while becoming transparent. The tornado disappeared, revealing a swirl of rainbow colored icing on top of the cupcake.

Twilight was staring at the sweet on her floor. After a few moments, she noticed her jaw was hanging low and she promptly closed her mouth.

That was... That was awesome!

Azure was staring at Twilight with a huge smile. "I did it!" she shouted as she started bouncing around Twilight once more.

Twilight simply didn't know what to say, the spell wasn't terribly complex and she could replicate it with ease. However, it was crafted in a way she never saw or heard about before. Her thoughts were cut short as somepony knocked on the door. Instinctively she opened the door with her magic, letting a joyful Pinkie Pie enter the library.

"Hey Twilight! You know what? My Pinkie senses told me there was something very tasty in here. Normally, my right hoof only shake once when there's a tasty sweet nearby, but it did four shakes! It's like there was something fourtasty in here. I don't know, but I never tasted something fourtasty! Must be pretty awesome to..." Pinkie Pie said in one breath before she stopped, staring at the small cupcake on the floor. "Oooooh"

Pinkie Pie bounced toward the cupcake and ate it before anypony could say anything. "Wait Pinkie!" Twilight finally said as the pink pony started chewing.

Pinkie Pie's eyes rolled off and she felt on her back. She started giggling while she never stopped chewing, her legs beating the air. Twilight and Azure looked at each other, not knowing what to do. After a moment, Pinkie Pie jumped back on her feet and stared at Twilight. "That was incrediblawesome! I didn't know you could make cupcakes like that Twily!" Pinkie shouted with her eyes sparkling.

"That was Azure who..." Twilight started to explain.

"Wow! You're really a great baker!" Pinkie said while bouncing in front of Azure. Azure stepped back a bit, surprised by the pink furry of energy.

"She actually conjured it with magic." Twilight explained.

Pinkie Pie looked at Twilight, then back to Azure. "Really? That's awesome! You're really talented!" Pinkie said with a huge smile. Suddenly she sat down and looked worried. "Wait... I was going somewhere before I got the shakies... Oh yeah! I got to finish that cake for Lyra's birthday!" On that, she ran off the library without a look back.

Both staring at each other, Twilight and Azure started to laugh.

"Yeah, that's Pinkie Pie alright."

Rejection

I need to help her, such potential must not go to waste. But how? I have never been a good teacher and I surely don't have the time to take care of a filly.

Then it hit Twilight, she realized which teacher Azure needed.

"I know!" Twilight shouted. Azure stopped laughing and stared at her. "I know exactly the teacher for you."

Azure frowned and tilted her head. "Who?"

"Princess Celestia!" claimed Twilight with a huge grin.

Azure wasn't sure if Twilight was joking or not. She did look serious, but there was no way somepony like Celestia would take her as a student. Her school had flat out refused to even acknowledge her existence. She watched Twilight's face and couldn't find any trace of malice in her smile.. "You're serious? There's no way she would take me as student!"

"You're wrong. The princess is very kind and even more intelligent. I know, after all I'm her personal student," Twilight claimed with pride. "I'm sure when she sees what you can do, she won't hesitate."

Azure's eyes widened and sparkled. "You're the student of the princess? Wow! You lived in the castle?"

Twilight laughed. "Of course I did." She turned around and started climbing to her room. "Wait here, I will take a few things for the road."

"What? We are going now?" Azure asked, surprised it was all going so fast.

"Why not? It is still early and if we catch the train, we should be in Canterlot before noon." Twilight explained.

The filly stared at the floor. "Huh... Are you really sure it's a good idea?"

Twilight walked to the young pony and put a hoof on her shoulder. "Trust me. You will see she's great."

"Okay," Azure replied. Twilight smiled and turned once more toward her room. "But why the train?"

Twilight stopped and looked at the filly. "Well, it's the fastest way, and I haven't grown wings yet," she explained with a smile.

"Can't you teleport us there?"

At first Twilight was surprised by the idea, then she started laughing. "Ponyville is over a hundred kilometers from Canterlot. I'm good, but not that good. If I had a spatial beacon in place in Canterlot, I would be able to reach it with ease." She thought about it for a moment. Why hadn't she put one up in the city? After all that time, it would have been logical to have a way to reach the castle in an instant. Besides, she already had one in place in the library.

"Hmm..." Azure let out while staring at the floor.

Twilight frowned. "What's wrong Azure?"

"It's... I..." She only managed to say.

"Come on! Don't be shy!" Twilight cheered her up.

"Do you... Do you think I could try a spell I designed?" Azure asked, feeling very small at that moment. She wanted to run away, afraid of what could happen.

Twilight stood there, surprised by the request. After a moment, she started laughing. "Of course!" She stepped forward and hugged the blushing filly. "Don't be afraid to ask." Twilight closed her eyes to focus and found that the telepathic link was still in place. "Whenever you want."

Azure closed her eyes once more and focused on the magic inside her, sending it toward Twilight's horn. Twilight was wondering what kind of spell it would be. At first she noticed the basic structure of a teleportation spell but soonthe components and elements were placed in a way she had never seen before. After a minute of casting, she was surprised to find a spell far more complex than she thought Azure able to create. After another minute, the spell grew in complexity beyond what Twilight was able to cast on such short notice.

What is this? The magic requirement of that spell is low, I could cast dozen like that. But there is no way I could keep all those components stable!

She opened her eyes and stared at the filly. Just as she did, Azure let the spell off her horn. It exploded outward in a sphere of blue magic and quickly vanished. After a second, as if the library was only a decor, part of it started to be ripped off in the same way if somepony was tearing out wallpapers. Beyond the library a market and dozens of ponies walking around became visible. A few second later, she was standing in the middle of the market district with Azure at her side. She didn't feel dizzy like she used to with long range teleportation. She looked around, it was really Canterlot.

It then hit her.

She is not talented! She is a genius! She sees and thinks about spells like no unicorn would. She could very well create a whole new branch of magic research.

"We are in Canterlot! That's amazing." Twilight said. She started to think about the spell. It would probably take her a month to replicate a spell that complex, but she had no doubt she could do it with enough time. It didn't make sense for her, teleportation was about transferring something instantaneously from one point to another. That spell was like the cupcake conjuration, it wasn't instantaneous at all. "What exactly did you do?"

Azure blushed. "The spell put two places on top of each other, then slowly removed the place we started from, leaving us at our destination. It's like doing a step forward, but without moving."

Unicorns would never think of a spell this way. She takes a completely different approach, one that takes far less magic than I thought possible.

"That was great. You will have to teach me it! But for now, we have a princess to meet,” she said as she turned around toward the white and gold castle that towered above the market. As they walked closer to the gate, she could see some royal guards talking to each other. While getting closer, one of the guards pointed at her, making another turn around.

"Twiley!" Shining Armor said with a huge smile galloping toward her. "I didn't know you were in Canterlot!"

"Good morning Shining!" she replied hugging him. "Well, a few minutes ago, I didn't know I was in Canterlot too."

"What?"

Twilight laughed. "Nevermind that. New teleportation spell, I will explain it to you later."

He smiled back, not really surprised about his little sister trying new unusual spells. "I take you want to see the princess?" For the first time he noticed the small filly follower her sister. "And who would you be?" He asked while stepping beside Twilight. The little filly stepped back and hid herself behind Twilight's purple tail, obviously impressed by the size of the captain of the guards.

"She's why I want to see the princess." She explained, amused by her reaction.

"Go ahead. The morning meetings shouldn't start for ten or fifteen minutes. They are probably getting ready in the throne room. They should be in the throne room getting ready." He explained while tilting his head toward the large golden door.

"They?"

"Yeah, Luna is there too.From what I understand, she's trying to switch her sleeping cycle around. Sleeping at night. Something about always missing the fun." He shrugged.

"Thanks." Twilight replied while walking toward the door.

"Hey! Stop by sometime." He shouted.

She turned around. "Will do! Promise." Reaching the door, she looked at Azure, who was still hiding behind her tail. "Don't be afraid! He's my brother and he is really nice."

"I'm not afraid!"

"Of course not." Twilight replied with a smile.

"The princesses... Are they nice?" She asked with a shaking voice.

"They are great! You will see." Twilight reassured her. She stepped forward and opened the doors. The guards let her pass as they knew her well, after all those years she lived in the castle. She entered the throne room and trotted toward the two princesses that were talking to each other beside their thrones.

Azure looked everywhere, obviously overwhelmed with the display but staying as close to Twilight as she could. Maybe she was not afraid, but she was most definitely impressed. It's not every day you got to meet the rulers of the country.

Luna noticed Twilight first and smiled at the approaching unicorn. "Twilight Sparkle! I'm happy to see you!"

Celestia turned around. "Twilight! Good morning."

"Princesses." Twilight said while bowing down. Azure was hiding herself behind Twilight.

"No need for formality, my faithful student." Celestia said with a huge smile while walking toward the purple unicorn. Luna followed her on her left.

"Well, I guessed a bit of decorum was in order, since I'm kinda here to make an official request." Twilight explained. "I would like you to take another personal student."

Celestia was surprised and didn't try to hide it. "Oh? That is an unusual request. And who would be that special pony?"

Twilight stepped aside, removing Azure's hiding spot. She appeared to shrink, the large size of the princesses didn't really help her. "This is Azure, she is really talented and..."

"Oh Twilight, you know very well I only take unicorns as students," Celestia cut her in the middle of her sentence. "After all, I mostly teach magic and..." The princess didn't finish her sentence and Twilight was staring at her with an angry look she had never seen before.

Azure simply ran off the room crying. "Azure! Wait!" Twilight shouted, but the filly wasn't listening. Once Azure passed the doors, Twilight turned her sight to Celestia. "I can't believe you said that! Azure is one of the most talented..."

"Twilight, she might be able to learn the notion of magic, but it would be a waste as she cannot perform it." Celestia cut her once more with the look of a mother who's explaining natural stuff to a child. To her surprise, Twilight managed to look even angrier.

"Would you have taken me as a student if I hadn't been born a unicorn?" Twilight asked.

"Of course not Twilight, I..." Celestia stopped in mid-sentence, realizing what she just said.

Twilight eyes widened and she instinctively took a few steps back as tears were coming to her eyes. "I... I can't... I can't believe..." She turned around and ran off toward the doors.

"Twilight!" Celestia shouted.

The purple mare stopped in front of the doors and looked back. "I think... I think you have nothing left to teach me Princess," she said with a soft voice, tears flowing from her eyes freely. She crossed the doors, running after Azure.

Celestia was stunned by what had just happened, she simply didn't know how to react. Was she supposed to run after Twilight? She only stated facts of life; earth ponies are strong, pegasi fly and unicorns perform magic. What did she say that could so upset the two ponies? Surely nothing they didn't know already.

She felt as if someone was staring at her, drilling a hole in her skull. She turned her head to the left, only to find Luna staring at her with a look as angry as Twilight. "What? I..." Celestia started to say, but she was interrupted by Luna slapping her face with her right hoof.

She raised her left hoof to her cheek, more surprised than hurt as the princess of the night left the throne room without a look back.

When was the last time Luna slapped me? It was... it was over a thousand years ago, when blinded by my pride I started a war with another country. Am I... Am I blind to something?

Apologies

Dear Twilight Sparkle,

I wish you to read this whole letter before passing judgment, which I hope, could salvage our friendship. I know it is ironic that I'm asking you to do what I failed to do multiple times myself; with you at Cadance's wedding and with Azure, when you asked me to become her teacher.

There are no words strong enough to express how sorry I am. From the bottom of my heart, I apologize for my behavior.

When Luna came back with Azure a month ago and claimed she was taking her as student, I thought it was a foolish idea but I didn't argue with her decision. My sister needed the company of other ponies even if this experiment would prove fruitless. On this point, I was right. I haven't seen my sister that happy in well over a millennium. She now has a new purpose beside raising the Moon at dusk. I would have been the worst monster to keep her from this happiness. Her smile was enough to keep me from voicing my opinion.

But how wrong was I about this young filly. When I read the spell diagrams she drew, genius is the only word that comes to my mind. She reminds me of you at her age. It makes my heart ache when I’m thinking that without Luna, I would have prevented such talent to bloom.

However, I've started to fully understand my errors only a few days ago when I went to my school's archives and pulled the records of the entrance exam of the last five hundred years. I was devastated when I found out that ten pegasi and eight earth ponies attempted the exam and were turned back without even being tested.

Were they as talented as Azure? Did I destroy eighteen lives, passions and ponies' futures? How much knowledge and discovery did I prevent from occurring by not knowing better? How many more never managed to reach the entrance exam of my school? Ignorance in this case has no place, I simply have no excuse.

This week I gave the order to rename my school to "Celestia's School for Ponies Gifted in Magic". I haven't really been surprised when I received complaint letters and the resignation from three of the school's teachers. But every time I receive one letter against my decision, I only need to look outside, in the castle garden, at Luna and Azure as they train and design new incredible spells and I know I've made the right decision. Not because my brain tells me it is the natural way things should be, but because my heart shouts it is right.

This time, you were the teacher and I was the student. Am I too old, too inflexible to be able to learn without damaging the few friendships I have left? Or was it a reminder that I should never take anything for granted and that I should question everything around me that I thought was right? Am I unable to keep up with how fast our world is changing?

When I first meet you, if you had not been a unicorn, I wouldn't have taken you as a student. That would have been, without any doubt, the worst mistake of my life, I understand that now. Even if you were not a unicorn, there is no doubt in my mind you would still be the Element of Magic and you would still be a shining star. I hope you will find a way to forgive my foolishness.

Your friend, Celestia.

Celestia was sitting on her carpet as she watched the letter burning in her fireplace, knowing very well Spike would receive it in a few seconds. She looked at her school's records still on her floor. How much did she cry when she found out about them. How can she weight the future of a young pony, prevented from happening because of her own stupidity.

She asked her assistants to find if any of the ponies on those lists were still alive. Hopefully some would still be and she wanted to apologize in person. It was the least she could do. And with luck, some might have retained the passion for their talents.

She had never been good at apologizing and in the past terrible things happened because she was unable to admit her errors. Those last events actually made her wonder if she really had learned the lessons. Friendship is simply too important to put in jeopardy with some misplaced pride. She should have run after Twilight a month ago.

"Princess?"

The voice made Celestia jump in surprised. She looked over her room finding it still empty until Twilight appeared out of thin air as if she simply stepped in the room. "Twilight!"

Twilight blushed. "I'm sorry Princess, I didn't mean to intrude. I tried to arrive outside your room, but I guess I still don't control Azure's teleporting spell that well."

A small smile formed on Celestia's face. "I'm impressed you managed to do it, there's a wall missing in the atrium from my last attempt."

Twilight coughed and brought forth a serious facade. "I'm here to talk about your letter."

"Yes?"

"I accept your apologies... But only with three conditions." Twilight explained.

Celestia tilted her head in surprise. It wasn't going as she thought it would, she was expecting refusal or acceptation. She thought about it and there wasn't a condition that Twilight could ask that she would refuse. "I'm listening."

It's when you lose something that you truly understand how important it was for you. Twilight's friendship? I would give up my crown if it meant not losing her respect.

"First, I want you to apologize to Azure." Twilight said, obviously following a mental checklist.

Celestia nodded. "I already did, but if you want, I can make it more official."

Twilight smiled. "No need. Second, in the future, I want you to listen to me when I'm telling you something. I know I'm still young and naive, but I'm not bringing something to you if I don't think it's important."

Celestia nodded once more. "You're right. More than once I should have listened to you. I promise you I will put all my efforts into being more patient and attentive."

"And finally..." Twilight started. "I want you to never stop questioning how things are. There's always way to improve how we live, but if our leaders stop looking forward, we will stagnate and perish."

Celestia raised her head, surprised at the last 'condition'. "Do you... Do you think I'm too old to lead Equestria?"

Twilight sat down and stared at the fireplace. "I don't know. How do you feel?"

She took a few moments to think about it. "I do feel old, as if the world has changed but I didn't notice it."

"And how do you feel when you watch Azure?" Twilight asked.

Images of the young filly with her sister came to her mind, bringing a bright smile on her face. "As if the future was full of promises."

"As long as you work for tomorrow to be brighter than yesterday, as long as your heart beats for those promises, you're can never be too old."

Celestia tilted her head in surprised. "Twilight, when did you become so spiritual?"

Twilight laughed. "I had a lot of time to think about in that last month, waiting for your letter to arrive."

A sincere smile slowly came to Celestia's face. She grew so much since the moment I took her as my student. she thought with pride. "Today, you were the teacher and I was the student. You're a good teacher, you know? I guess I still have much to learn. Twilight?"

"Yes?"

"Please never change, your heart is in the right place."

Light in the Night

Luna was walking to her bedroom, angry at her sister.

How can she be so inconsiderate? She didn't even listen to what Twilight Sparkle had to say before shutting her down.

She was wondering if Celestia changed in that thousand years she passed sealed in the Moon. She always been the eldest sister, but now that Luna skipped a thousand years sealed, it was as if she lived a thousand more years than her. From her point of view, her banishment was instantaneous. One moment there was war and the castle of the two sisters and the next the world was different; the castle laid in ruins in the middle of the Everfree forest and Canterlot was a shining beacon of light high on a mountain. One moment they were seen as Goddesses that freed the ponykind from the God of Chaos, the next they were only princesses which every decision had to be accepted by a high council elected by the people.

She didn't mind most of the changes, they did their share of mistakes over a thousand years ago. Luna would be the first to admit that, Nightmare never being far in her memories. But now Celestia was less patient, more prone to take a decision quickly without listening to all sides. It was as if she had saw and experienced everything. The same thing happened a month ago when Twilight warned them all about the false Cadance and nopony listened. When she heard that story, she was quite disappointed her sister didn't even apologized for not trusting her own student. She didn't even investigate her claim.

Sure what happened a few months ago could explain how Celestia had a short temper, but that alone was no excuse. After what she did to him... She pushed the thought away, it wasn't productive.

Luna arrived at her apartment, locking her door behind her. Celestia might come to ask her questions, but right now talking to her was the last thing she wanted. Twilight was her friend and she wouldn't let the situation stall like that. She quickly focused and casted a simple detection spell. Almost right away she sensed Twilight in the middle of the market square with the young filly. Just as she was about to teleport herself toward the square, the presence of Twilight vanished.

Wondering if her spell failed, she casted it once more. However, this time she didn't sense Twilight at all. Surprised, she increased the power of her spell and casted it a third time. This time she got a feedback from far away, coming from Ponyville.

Luna was quite surprised. Sure Twilight was talented, after all she defeated Nightmare Moon and Discord, but long range teleportation tends to be tiring and even the princesses would prefer traveling the old normal way instead of teleporting. She once heard one of Twilight specialties was teleportation. Thinking about it, Twilight was at the castle quite early in the morning, and the only way she could have been there was if she took a train for Canterlot in the middle of the night.

Or if she teleported here. Two long range teleportation spells with another pony in the same morning? No wonder my sister took her as personal student.

She focused her magic and aimed it at the faint presence of Twilight. When she opened her eyes, she was in front of Ponyville library. She took a small moment for her head to stop spinning. She never liked long range teleportation as it tended to give her headache. Her change of sleep timetable sure didn't help. When she was sure her brain was once more stable, she lean forward and knocked on the door.

Twilight opened the door and was surprised by Luna's presence. At first she tried to gave an angry look at the princess, but failed, too tired to keep her anger up. Luna noticed her cheeks were red as she obviously continued to cry after she left the castle. "I... I'm sorry princess. I... Good morning." She managed to say.

"Good morning Twilight Sparkle." Luna greeted her with a sincere smile. "I would truly like to apologize on behalf of my sister, but I can't. Only she can do that. But trust me, she didn't mean to hurt you." She explained. "However, I think I can help you."

Twilight raised an eyebrow. "How?"

"Do you mind if I come in?"

Twilight shook her head. "Sorry, sure. Would you like some tea?" It was still early in the morning, but Twilight felt as she didn't sleep for a few days in a row.

"I would love to." Luna said as she stepped in. "Where's the filly... Azure I think?"

Walking toward the kitchen, Twilight turned her head toward the princess. "She's upstairs sleeping on my bed. Poor thing probably cried all the tears of her body."

Luna put a hoof on her shoulder. "You too?"

Twilight stopped and stared at her hooves. "Yeah." After a moment she resumed walking and started preparing the tea while Luna sat at the table.

While working, Twilight's magic flickered and dropped a cup on the floor. "Oh. Sorry, I'm a bit tired after doing that teleportation."

Luna smiled. "No need to apologize. You sure became powerful. Two long range teleportation in the same day with a passenger is no easy task."

Twilight let a smile laugh. "No, only the one to come back to Ponyville. I wasn't sure Azure could focus enough in her state to cast it."

Lune frowned. "Twilight, are you implying Azure teleported you both from Ponyville to Canterlot?"

She didn't answer, instead she levitated a cup of tea in front of Luna and let her grab it with her magic. After a moment, she sat in front of Luna with her own cup. "I'm not implying anything." She said softly before taking a sip of her tea.

Luna's eyes widen in surprise. "I think you should tell me the whole story Twilight."

After a few moments, Twilight had the whole morning summed up, from the moment she found the filly to the moment she ran off Canterlot. Both teas were slowly getting cold.

"So, she used your own horn?" Luna asked, surprised at the idea.

"That teleportation spell she did... I could cast it a dozen times without getting tired, it doesn't consume a lot of magic. That is... If I could replicate it." She shifted her weight on her chair. "You should have seen it. You know when you watch a painting of a known artist and you wonder how they could manage to do it, to add all those small details? Or listen to a one of those music compositions that use dozen of different instruments in perfect harmony? It was like that." She sighed loudly. Remembering what Luna said when she came in. "So, what did you mean when you said you could help?"

Luna finished her tea before answering. "I want to take her as student. Celestia isn't the only one who can take a student. I've been thinking about that for quite some time now. I don't know if I would be a good teacher, but I want to try. I came here to offer her that, your words about her was enough. But now that you explained me how talented she is... I think she must accept! Such talent must not go to waste."

And perhaps proving my sister wrong could help her see her errors.

Twilight nodded. "Sounds like a good idea. However, I'm starting to think you will face a lot of hard time to have an earth pony as student in magic."

Luna laughed. "You mean like being an outcast? Wouldn't be the first time for me, would it? But I think this time it would truly worth it."

"Lot of ponies won’t be looking forward things changing." Twilight said.

Luna smiled. "I did a thousand years jump in the future. For me, the world changed a lot in an instant and will keep changing. See? I think I managed to learn the way ponies speak today quite well."

A small smile crept on Twilight's face. "You sure did. You actually learned pretty fast." She sighed. "Luna... I never got to apologize for what we..." She was interrupted as Luna put a hoof on her mouth.

"Don't. You did what you had to do. We all did." She stood up. "Now, I think I need to properly introduce myself to a young pony."

Twilight took the lead and walked upstairs. Luna stayed in the doorframe as she came beside her bed and gently nudged the filly. "Azure, please wake up."

Azure turned around, slowly waking up. Her cheeks were still red from her crying to sleep. "I'm sorry Twilight, I shouldn't have dragged you into this. I..."

Twilight put a hoof on her shoulder and waited until the filly was calm once more. "You didn't do anything. I'm a big pony and I make my own decision. As for my relation with Celestia... I will hope for the best, but it's in her hooves right now to do the next steps. Again, it wasn't your fault." She smiled at the filly. "Now, I got a surprise for you." She said pointing at the door of her room.

Azure's eyes widen in surprised and she jumped behind Twilight seeking protection behind the mare. Luna had a wide smile at the sight of the filly's reaction. Twilight stepped aside, but this time Azure followed her and managed to stay behind her. "Don't be shy Azure! This is Princess Luna. She came here for you."

Azure lowered her head. "For me? What I did wrong?"

"Nothing young one." Luna explained while keeping herself from laughing. "I want you to be my student."

"Re... really?"

With a smile, Twilight levitated the filly down the stairs. Azure appeared to shrink in front of the princess, obviously impressed by her presence. "Twilight told me you’re quite talented."

"But... but... I'm no unicorn. I..." Luna motioned her to stop.

"And I don't care that you don't have a horn. However, I don't think you will find my teaching easy. It won't be easy! If you think you are not up to the challenge to learn the knowledge I have to teach you..." She said with a smile, letting a small wink in Twilight's direction.

"I... I am!" Azure said, finding strength in the remaining of her pride.

"Twilight told me you created an impressive teleportation spell... Care to show me?" Luna asked while lowering her head at the level of the filly.