Magus Magesterimby Blackhorn_The_FaithlessChaptersTimeFadeRiftScarsLesson one: SafetyTimeTime was a cruel mistress, and the only mistress the princesses of Equestria ever had to adhere to. Not that they aged. It was quite impossible for an Alicorn to age over time, the amalgamation of earth, unicorn and Pegasus magic alluded to a body that never degraded, the perfect species for lack of a better term. Four Princesses to hold their kingdoms above all else as it were, and all immortal. Two of them were used to watching loved ones wither away and die. Celestia and Luna had lived for thousands of years, what was another six hundred? But Cadance and Twilight were much less suited to the task, and their losses in the first half century devastated them. Shining Armour was the first to go. Cadance was inconsolable, and for a time the Crystal Empire fell into a deep depression that mirrored their leader's, mourning the loss of their prince, their knight in shining armour. But, after a period of ten years, Cadance seemed to move on, and instead of remaining idle, began expanding her empire, and her armies. Concerned, the other three princesses approached her, and Cadance welcomed them with open arms, explaining her plans of a grand empire across her borders, capable of defending against windigos, ice giants and the Changeling hordes that had killed her husband so mercilessly. She still wasn't the same, there was a seriousness about her that wasn't there before, but she seemed stable, so the others stepped back, and let her continue on her way. Almost three decades later, Twilight's friends began to die around her. Twilight's period of mourning lasted much, much longer. The first to go was gentle Fluttershy, and then Rarity, then Rainbow Dash, killed in a stunt gone wrong when she was well past her prime. Then Pinkie Pie, and lastly Applejack, who had buried her grandmother several decades before. Applejack bore no children, but the Apple line continued by her brother, and her sister. Twilight shunned all contact for almost a century, pushing away her own descendants from her sister in law's line, her mentor and Luna, even her friend's grandchildren couldn't budge her. Spike tended to the grieving princess the best he could, but even he couldn't stand to be near her for long without becoming depressed. Ponyville went on without her for almost a century, as though nothing had ever happened, electing mayor after mayor, and treating the town as it always had. Twilight's guard became fat and lazy, and she became a bit of a joke within their ranks. But when she emerged from her grief and saw what had become of her kingdom at the end of the one hundred and tenth year, a city rife with crime and corruption that not even Celestia and Luna had been able to annex and control, it cemented a resolve in her nopony ever knew she had. She took to the streets like a magical plague, crushing everything in her way. Corrupt guards found themselves in dungeons or gallows, whole guilds of thieves and crime rings were obliterated overnight as Twilight's rampant magic destroyed almost half of her once beloved Ponyville, now turned haven for crime lords. The smoke alerted the other Princesses to their sister's plight, but by the time they arrived they were too late. Ponyville stank of burning and blood, and in the middle of it all was the fabled princess of Magic, cold of eyes and deaf to the protests of her victims. Afraid she would become the next Nightmare Moon, the other three prepared for a fight, but upon seeing them, Twilight had merely burst into tears, and sought comfort in her mentor's hooves. Twilight, poor innocent Twilight, had exposed herself to the horrors of a war nobody had ever expected, and had come out on top. Whilst Executions didn't happen, her crusade had drawn the attention of overconfident crime lords who'd sent for her to be killed, and in that environment, it was kill or be killed, and she'd shown she could kill with the best of them. But at the end of the day, scared she'd slip back into a coma of grief, the other princesses tried to get Twilight to take back her throne. She did, and with it came change. The guard was thrown to the winds. Every guard in her city was fired, and disgraced. Those still loyal to her were left standing, but were purged of former rank and set to go through a strict training regime and psychological evaluation. If they passed, they returned to their jobs at the rank Twilight saw fit. Thus, her trio of soldier's regiments were formed. The Magisterim, Unicorns of the highest degree trained to fight non-lethally and lethally depending on situation. Iron willed, Resolute and ultra disciplined. The Aeronauticus, Pegasi of swift and deadly wings, wielding only the finest magesteel blades and armour. The assassins of her empire. And the Entranchun, Earth Ponies of strength beyond compare. And thus, Ponyville was militarized, and she worked her way from the ground up. This took almost another century before Twilight was ready to build another city, and build she did. She produced guilds of exceptional quality, highly trained officers to manage them so she didn't have to, and she expanded. But, three cities later she stopped. Her population was steady, and thus her people were okay. Left with more free time that she'd had in the last century and a half, she started studying again, which made Celestia, who hadn't smiled in decades since her Twilight's apparent fall, smile again. Twilight seemed back to her old self. By this time, Cadance had figured out how to make Replica Crystal hearts that could channel the Heart's energy back to the other cities she held, keeping her ponies empowered as they were. Things were finally peaceful. Two hundred years Twilight Studied magic, all magic. Whilst the others did seem worried when she studied the dark arts, she came out unscathed. Over time, her body grew, as did Cadance's. Cadance took many suitors in her time. As Princess of Love, it was her duty. It also made her very wise in the ways of love and loss. Celestia seemed destined to celibacy, and Luna simply didn't bother. Twilight actively sought to ignore potential suitors, perhaps in a subconscious bid to be more like her mentor. Eventually, she took her first apprentice, and things started to get more interesting. Twilight's teachings were much more in depth than that of Celestia's, including all the branches of magic. The first apprentice she took, she had to strike down upon the fourth lesson of dark magic, and she did so without pity or remorse. This vicious side of her worried Celestia, who had dubbed her Princess of Friendship, and that seemed to defy all the teachings of Friendship. However, a gentle reminder from Luna that she was closer to that of magic gave Celestia pause, and she had let it go, albeit hesitantly. She had two more apprentices in her time, one that tried to get a little too close to her in her teenage years and stormed off after Twilight explained how it could never work, and another that was almost as powerful as Twilight herself had been years before. But that one was doomed to fail, and after being possessed by a spirit that Twilight had seen before, a spirit that terrified her, she had locked them away, encased in the trunk of a six hundred year old tree that would feed off her ex student's magic for generations, until Twilight found a way to kill the spirit within them, and not the student herself. But, over time, she came to realise it was... impossible. Impossible without the elements that is. And that was something she could no longer use herself. And without another way to use them... So, filing the problem away for later dealings with, she adopted another student. A much younger student, and more impressionable than her others. Closer to her age when she'd begun learning. And thus, the story of Fade Rift began, as well as his teachings, and the adventures he'd have along the way. FadeThe castle as his playground? Check. A few hours before lessons? Check. Nopony up? Check Princess Twilight still asleep? Check! A pale green colt with a yellow and jungle green striped mane sat on a pillow at the top of the biggest flight of stairs in the entirety of the Ponyville Castle, already heart racing with the implications of what he was about to do. This broke at least ten different castle rules according to the maids, fifty to the nobles, and goodness knows how many to his mother figure and mentor. But, it was totally going to be worth it. His horn lit up in Indigo magic and he gave himself a telekinetic shove. With that, he started to slide down the bannister. It'd been freshly polished the night before, so he had very little friction between himself, his pillow and the bannister itself. Because of this, he picked up a lot of speed very quickly. Ponyville castle was a big place, but the biggest set of stairs was those that led to the entrance of the great Crystalline tree castle. It was these steps that the colt had chosen to slide down. There were several times where the bannisters didn't continued that he'd have to make his own path for, but as the chosen Apprentice to the aspect of magic herself, he was hoping that wouldn't be a problem. He could make his own magical path but... "Oh krud..." He was going a lot faster than he'd expected. The wind rushing through his mane felt fantastic, but he could barely keep his eyes open with the intensity of the whipping winds in his eyes. He couldn't see where he was going. Tears streamed out of the corners of his eyes and he yelped as his pillow momentarily lost contact with the bannister. He came to the first gap in his road, and just barely managed to cast his spell, speeding along a new 'bannister' he made himself. He managed to slow himself down a bit with it, but it went right on with its speed the moment he hit the recently polished bannister again, and he couldn't catch anything with his magic irritatingly, he was going much too fast. This had gone from being fun, to being dangerous. He was only seven! He'd been practicing magic for only two years, he didn't have the strength! His magic held onto his pillow and the bannister, but it wouldn't catch. It wasn't helping. He wasn't going any faster, but he wasn't slowing down either. Essentially, the catch wasn't catching, at all. It wasn't strong enough. It was phasing through the bannister supports entirely, and that was the biggest problem. It showed he wasn't focusing hard enough, he didn't have a mind clear enough to make it tangible enough to catch hold to either slow him down or stop himself entirely. And then he hit the second gap, and didn't make the path in time. He skipped over the gap, but didn't make it far enough. He screamed as his pillow flew out from under him, and he hit the start of the next path. He didn't stay on the railing however. The impact had him spin off course, and suddenly he was in empty air, falling. Nobody was up to help him, nothing to stop him from falling to his death in the place he called his home. Nothing to save him and Nothing to help. In desperation, he called upon his own magic, reaching out with a tendril of magic to snag the railing, but it proved too fragile and, after only a moment, it snapped, leaving him to fall still, only a strangled yelp of pain as his concentration was broken and his magic recoiled. His scream took on desperate form, and tears filled his eyes. I don't wanna die... help me mumma! And then he stopped. The sudden stop of momentum took him by surprise and he oofed in shock and took a deep breath before looking around. He was at one of the landings, the one leading to the library. And his saviour? "Goodness Fade Rift, I'd thought you'd had more sense than that. At least make sure the bannister's not too slippery for you to hold onto." Princess Twilight Sparkle, fourth Princess of Equestria, stood upon the landing, her magic keeping him aloft. It was a gentle thing, and warming indeed. The look on her face wasn't angry, or even worried, but merely amused. He barely came up to her knees, if that, and her mane and tail flowed in an ethereal wind that never stopped blowing. Unlike her sister in law, Twilight's own innate magic had infused her being, and thus her mane resembled her old mentor's in all but colour, and she'd replaced her crown a long time ago. Now, it was made of pure silver, which was the metal that held the most magic, and inlaid with amethysts, which was her own testament to the element of magic's colour upon her old crown, which she no longer wore. Her neck was decorated with a dainty circle of silver as well, inlaid with runes of protection, and her shoes were the purest silver as well. Overall, it was a pretty combination of purple and silver. "P-Princess!" He squeaked, his face flushing bright red, "I... I thought you were still asleep!" "Then it's certainly a good thing I wasn't, hmm?" She posed the question with a hint of a challenge in her voice, which Fade didn't notice. But he nodded. "Thank you Princess... And sorry," He said a little forlornly. Twilight laughed richly, and brought him to her, setting him gently down upon the floor before sweeping him up in an embrace. "It's alright my silly student, we all make mistakes," Her gentle voice full of laughter, "But please, don't go sliding down the bannisters again hmm? Not until you have more practice at slowing down at least!" He giggled with her, rubbing his face in her chest just under her silver necklace. It was good to live in the palace, but it was great to live under the tutelage of Princess Twilight Sparkle, Fourth Princess of Equestria. **)~(** Their Royal Highnesses Princesses Luna and Celestia Fade's studies are going well. Perhaps a little better than I thought, in fact. His grip of magic is growing at an exponential rate. I believe that this just might be the one I've been looking for all these years. And just in time too. The tree is beginning to wilt. The spell won't be lasting for much longer. A few decades perhaps? Decade at worst. But I can't be certain. I must be certain. Our magic lessons are great, but I need to know that his magical growth is going to continue, or that his potential is as big as mine was. Hopefully, it is. If not, I'm afraid things are going to get bloody, and I'll need your help. I don't want to resort to violence, but If I must, I will kill my old student. I await your reply Fellow Princess; Twilight Sparkle. RiftTwilight had come to honestly love all of her students. All of them held a special place in the vaults of her mind palace, and in her heart, beating with boundless love and friendship. But, over time as they'd failed or turned on her, she'd learned to do other things too. Her Mind Palace was something she'd done unconsciously for years before she became a princess, and she'd developed it afterwards. Now, she was capable of shutting away more than simple memories. "Now Fade, this lesson I'd like to teach you a little something different." Fade Rift was a curious little colt really, and he loved magic. His mind worked in strange ways sometimes, ways that belied his age in intelligence and, occasionally, wisdom. But he was still a colt, and with it came his coltish sort of enthusiasm for all things practical, and lack of for all things... theoretical. "What is it Princess? A new spell? Can you teach me how to make myself a thousand hooves tall? Or make myself shoot lasers out of my eyes?" Twilight giggled and shook her head. "No, I'm going to teach you something I taught myself a long time ago, to help with your memory. Remembering things, and being able to call upon that knowledge at a moment's notice. I call it a mind Palace." The pair were in Twilight's favourite part of her rather unorthodox castle, the library. In the restricted areas of the great book repository was a small room dedicated to Twilight's magical experimentation and, coincidentally, where all Twilight's magical lessons, theory or practical, were taught. It was virtually indestructible, and Twilight had been careful to design it as such. "A mind palace?" Fade asked, his brows furrowing in confusion, "What's that?" Twilight, who had Fade under her wing as she lay upon the rather attractively comfortable shag pile rug she'd laid on the floor some century or so back, smiled down at him. "Like I said, it's a memory technique. I'll try to show you." Twilight called upon the magic laying ready within her, an almost boundless wellspring since her ascension, and called an image of her mind's workings to being, in their raw form. "This is my brain right now," She explained gently, "Well, not physically. All those little bright spots? They're electrical signals being sent around the different receivers in my brain." "... It looks a little like space does during Astronomy class Princess," Fade replied dubiously, "Are you sure you're not just remembering that?" "Pinch me," She simply replied with a giggle, "And you'll see." Unsure of himself, but obedient, Fade did pinch her on the shoulder as gently as he could. Instantly, a flare of bright light lit up a part of the mind map. "That was the nerve centre for pain Fade," She explained, watching her mind work with a serene sort of look on her face, "It lit up like that because my body's nerves sent it a message saying I'd been pinched, and that it might hurt. Don't worry, you didn't hurt me-" She felt an apologetic nuzzle at the area he'd pinched anyway, and couldn't hide her smile. "Believe me now?" "Yes Princess... But I don't understand still. What's a mind palace." Twilight let the initial illusion she'd summoned fade, and conjured a new one, a mighty palace she'd built long, long ago within the recesses of her mind. "This," She said softly, "Is my mind palace." It was a thing of beauty really, soaring spires of marble topped with elegant conical rooves, a great door of blackened wood with golden embellishments... But they didn't enter. "It's something I created to help me hold onto important memories and lessons, so that I'd never forget them," She told him gently, "Each room in the palace holds something or somethings important. Some rooms share memories, others hold records of my history. I remember the date, time and location of everything that's happened for a long, long time." "Sounds a little silly to me." Twilight, quite surprised, actually let her illusion waver, and looked down at her pupil, who looked a little disgruntled. "I'm sorry?" "Why a palace?" he asked her in his childishly blunt manner "Palaces and castles can be broken into, I read about that all the time in the books you make me read on history. I mean, the Changeling Invasion of Canterlot like, six hundred years ago? They didn't even get detected until the wedding, and they almost succeeded. Before that, it was dragons and griffons, both of them got in easily enough. I just don't think it makes sense." Twilight, now more intrigued than insulted, narrowed her eyes as she thought, looking back at the illusion of her mind palace. "Then what would you choose?" She asked curiously. Fade seemed to think on this for a while. "A Submarine," He answered confidently. Twilight was still confused. "A submarine?" She asked, "Why a submarine?" "It's harder to bust into," He answered with a shrug, "All the books suggest so. I mean, you have to be on the submarine in the first place to get in it right? And there's no key locks, it's all air locks or something right? It has to be able to not let water in, and keep air in, so it's secure that way. You have to get a submarine to the surface to get in it too, you can't just open the doors underwater. You'd drown everypony and everything in it." "You wouldn't be able to open the door anyway actually," Twilight said quietly, her tone curious and introspective, "The pressure differential is too great, it takes far too much force to open the doors underwater at the necessary depth, even a unicorn would have trouble." **)~(** Night had fallen. It was cold, and Fade was having a nightmare. He couldn't remember exactly what it was that had scared him in it, it had faded from memory too quickly, but he was shaken. And he didn't want to sleep on his own, it was too scary, too much risk of the nightmares coming back to eat him, or something similar. No, he couldn't sleep in his room. So, he left his room, and went searching through the castle. He knew where he was going even before he was heading in that direction. Princess Twilight rarely slept, and when she did it was always after visiting the same place. Her laboratory, which was just off of the library, in case she needed a book or something he guessed. In fact, it was connected to the training room she taught him in. So all he had to do was slip into the darkened library, where he stopped and shivered. Something felt... off. The darkness was oppressive, as it had always been to poor little Fade, but there was something evil about it now, it felt off. Very off. The books, instead of being comforting like he was used to, seemed almost to leer at him, cursing him with their emotionless gaze instead of welcoming him like he was used to. He didn't know how long he stood frozen there, but when he finally forced his hooves to move, he felt cold and the fur on the back of his neck was raised. Something was very wrong. He made it to the training room, and here it felt even worse. The shag pile rug seemed to be waiting for him to step on it so it could wrap him up and crush him, maybe eat him afterwards. The racks on the left wall holding the wooden training staves and weapons that he'd been told he'd learn when he was older seemed to quiver in anticipation of something, and the bookshelves had the same feel to them as the ones outside. And there was a light underneath the doorway leading to Twilight's laboratory. Not the light of a candle, which is what Fade was used to seeing. This one was a sickly green and tinged with purple darkness. With a gulp, he approached it, pointedly avoiding the rug and staying away from the books. Suddenly, the nightmares didn't seem so bad. He wanted to turn around and go back to bed, his warm, safe bed where he could pull the covers over his head and pretend nothing was wrong. He didn't know what drove him to open the door that day, to peek in at his mentor in her lab rather than running away and going back to bed. Maybe it was providence, or morbid curiosity, or maybe it was just good old fashioned stupidity. Whatever it was, he did open the door to look in on his mentor, and what he saw horrified him. Twilight was there, naturally. Her horn shone in the oppressive darkness, beating it back. A little over two meters in front of her was a green ring of some sort, hovering in mid air. Twilight herself could have easily fit into it without even having to crouch. But it was the thing looking at Twilight, and talking back, that terrified him. It stood taller than her, and wasn't pretty. Its skeletal face dripped bloody tears from the eye sockets, and flesh rotted on the bleached bone. Through the purple darkness that surrounded its form, Fade could vaguely see a long spinal column, and the remnants of a ribcage, but it didn't seem to have legs, nor arms. It simply seemed to hover, perfectly level, with no regard for gravity. And its voice.... It sent chills down his spine. A horrifying sound, like bones being crushed under a steamroller and the sound of crumpled flesh blended together, guttural and dark. Clearly this creature didn't belong in this realm. It seemed they hadn't noticed him... And then the door, still swinging open, creaked on its hinges. Both of them stopped talking suddenly, and swung to look at him. Twilight's eyes widened in terror, but the creature seemed to grin around its horrible rictus. "Fresh meeat..." it growled, and Twilight spun back to face it, her horn suddenly bursting with light. The creature, however, clearly knew what she was going to do, and an arm formed out of blackness, bony and clawed, and viciously backhanded the Princess, sending her through the air like a ragdoll, and with a tyrannical roar, it bounded for Fade. Time seemed to slow down as Fade's mind, at the height of adrenaline levels, perceived the world around it in microseconds. The creature in front of him, bounding towards him, now with legs made of shadow and stubs of bone where a hip bone, previously unseen, showed itself through brief gaps in the shadowy cloak around it. Its mouth was open, clearly to bite Fade in two. Princess Twilight, tumbling through the air and her instruments, a cry of pain and terror. He dimly registered she'd screamed at him to run. But something kept him there. An alien calm washed over the little colt, like he knew it was going to happen this whole time. focus.... The voice floated through his mind and, instead of cowering, he smiled. He felt his magic, deep within him, blaze forth in power he'd never felt before. His eyes blazed with light, and his horn flashed in indigo brilliance, A spell he'd never cast rose, unbidden, to his mind and he cast it. With a hideous screech, the veil between worlds wasn't just opened, it was shredded under Fade's power, ripping open a rift between worlds. Had the creature eyes, Fade was certain they'd be popping out of its head as it tried to bring its shadowy bulk to a halt. But somehow it couldn't. It was like a vacuum coming from the portal. And from within it, fire roared its anger at being disturbed. The creature said something, but the world was moving too slow for Fade to understand it. It was pulled off of its feet, the shadow cloak being stripped from the creature as it was dragged into the abyss of the portal that Fade had torn open. It was pulled in, and with another blaze of magic, Fade fixed the rent he'd made in space, closing the portal completely and locking whatever creature the thing had been away in wherever he'd deemed necessary to place it. Within the vaults of his mind, he heard a delighted voice crying out in exultation. And then it faded, and time began to move normally again, and he collapsed, twitching as the magical backlash of what his little body had just achieved hit him and hit him hard. He was dimly aware of Twilight running over to him, calling his name before he blacked out. **)~(** Urgent Missive to Princesses Celestia And Luna Fade Rift is the first Element. Author's Note Updates will be sporadic, maybe once or twice a month. Sorry if that disappoints you guys. ScarsGenerally speaking, the hospital wing in Ponyville Castle was the most advanced in Equestria. Machines that only Twilight's handmaidens and nursing staff knew how to use made up the majority of the equipment, whereas magical medical remedies had been mostly left as they were. This being because, even though Twilight had studied them extensively, she hadn't figured out a way to make 'a better healing spell' yet. It was in one of the pristinely white beds that Fade had slept for the past seven days, only briefly waking up now and then in a horrible fever, to be coaxed back to sleep again by Twilight. On the fourth day, three visitors had arrived at Ponyville Castle, and greeted with a royal welcome, for all but about fifteen seconds, before Twilight's urgency had seen them all rush to the medical wing. The magic sickness Fade was experiencing was extreme in its intensity, and had him hovering on the edge of total mental breakdown several times during his weeklong pseudo coma, but he never went over the edge. When he finally woke up however, it wasn't his mentor or even her mentor watching over him. It was somepony else. Somepony he hadn't seen in a year or so. "Momma?" He asked blearily, his head aching, "Is that you?" The pony whose head had been on the bed stirred and looked up at him, then smiled. "Hey there kiddo," His mother answered softly, reaching up to stroke his head gently, "You okay? You gave us a bit of a scare there." Fade's mother was, for lack of a better term, a plain mare. She didn't do anything with her mane or style her tail, and she never wore make up. She also didn't have a horn to cast magic with. Nope, his mother was a good honest earth pony who'd worked on a rutabaga farm all her life. Her farm. She shared fade's green coat, but had a brown mane that fell over one eye constantly if it was left to its own devices. Like she had it now, she generally kept it in a strict ponytail to keep it out of her face when she was working. "What happened?" he asked with a yawn, "Where's the Princess? is she okay?" His mother couldn't help it, she laughed and hugged her son to her chest. "Oh Fade, she's fine... She's the Princess of Magic, she's tougher and stronger than all of us. You should know that by now~" He winced, but welcomed the hug through the pain in his head, hugging her back gingerly. His whole body was starting to hurt, and he was hungry. So very, very hungry. "But there was a monster..." he said quietly, screwing his eyes shut painfully, "It hit her, and she hit the wall and stuff..." "I assure you my loyal apprentice, I'm quite alright." Fade didn't need to look up to know Twilight had entered the room, and hearing her voice made him feel infinitely better about what he'd done. "You, on the other hoof, are still recovering from your misadventure with magical backlash, and the demon." "Demon?" "Yes child, a Demon. You were meant to be in bed, asleep. I even dismissed my guards. I suppose I must teach you about them now, seeing as you've seen one, and sent it... somewhere else. But first I must ask, how did you do what you did?" "That is what we would like to know as well." The second set of voices did make the mother-son pair look up and around, looking at the new voices. Two other princesses held the air in suspense, both as regal as each other. Princess Celestia, Tall and proud and startlingly white, dominated the space around her with a kind sort of light. She was in full regalia, golden shoes, crown and solid gold, gem encrusted neck brace. Her rainbow mane and tail waved in an invisible breeze, as it always had, even when she wasn't moving. Beside her stood her sister, Princess Luna. Luna had grown in six hundred years, almost as tall as Celestia was now, only shorter by a bit. Her deep blue coat mirrored the night sky's beauty, and her mane and tail moved on an ethereal wind like her sister's, but was an exact replica of her beautiful night sky. Upon her rump was a crescent moon on a dark background of splattered blue. Both of them were impressively beautiful, and many would have bowed in their presence. However, Fade's mother did not. "You ought to teach your student better Princess," His mother demanded angrily, "To summon demons within the castle walls! Where poor Fade could get in as well! We're lucky all he has is a scar and magic sickness! He could be dead right now!" Twilight flinched, and actually looked a little ashamed. Celestia, however, merely raised a brow. "I'm certain, Raze Lundry, that Princess Twilight was taking every precaution she could to prevent such things happening. Fade is an exceptionally talented mage, if our information is to be believed, and Twilight has never had reason to lie to me before." "She was in the practice room," he said, his voice suddenly sounding very small inamongst the three Princesses and his mother, "It's warded... I just... I'm allowed in so... And what scar?" A silence fell over the quartet of mares in the room as they all looked at Fade. The little colt suddenly felt a pit of dread form in his stomach, twisting his gut into painful knots. It was Luna who finally acted, drawing upon her deep blue magic to form a magic mirror before Fade as his mother backed away. It was then that the damage was made rather clear. On the left side of his face was a long, hideous scar stretching from the upper limits of his maneline down to the upper limits of his cheek. It stretched down across his eye, but it hadn't touched the eyeball itself, and that was a miracle in and of itself. "Your eye was a little mangled, but the eye is a simple enough thing to repair if you know what you're doing," Twilight said softly, "I even managed to keep it the same colour as your other one. But... the scar was made by a Demon's claw, and there was little I could do but heal it as best I could. Even with my advances... Demons have strange effects on ponies." "It shouldn't have been in the castle at all," his mother grumbled quietly, but all of the Princesses let it go. "I'm afraid you'll never be rid of the scar my loyal apprentice, but you should be proud," Twilight continued, a bit more warmly this time, "You not only survived an encounter with a demon, but you banished it too, on your own. I didn't even have to lend you power." Fade could barely even breathe at this point, looking at the jagged scar on his face, and then he fainted. **)~(** "Dear Twilight," Luna began, now locked in Twilight's study with her sister and Twilight herself, "Forgive me, but I must question you for a moment. You swear by your Princesshood that this one is the next Element of Magic, but how can you be so certain?" Twilight had been pacing the whole time they'd been locked in her study, and Luna and Celestia sat before her desk. Celestia had been quiet since they'd entered, and Luna had been the first to speak. Twilight replied quickly. "I may have been lying slightly about Fade's achievements earlier," She said, "It wasn't simply a banishment, that wasn't what it was." "Then what was it?" Luna shot back, "What's so special about him?" Twilight stopped pacing, and looked at Luna seriously. "He opened a rift. A rift between dimensions Luna. Tartarus, he didn't just open one, he tore open the walls between worlds, and shoved the demon through. It's simply not possible for a colt of his age." "He's too young to have achieved that level of power," Celestia said quietly, "You remember our lessons in magic do you not sister?" Light dawned in Luna's eyes as she figured out what her sister was saying. "A pony doesn't reach full potential until they hit a certain age," Luna continued the lesson, "Their ability to control magic, and their ability to handle more magic grows with age, and stops at a certain point." "Save for Alicorns such as ourselves, yes," Twilight said with a nod, "Our magical limit is slightly more flexible, mine especially. It's a fact I've been trying to study for centuries to figure it out. The only times I've been able to find in terms of magical flux at this magnitude is when the element of magic came around. Once six hundred and one years ago, when I took up the challenge to hatch Spike, and twice before then. One of those times was your own ascension I believe Celestia." Celestia didn't speak. "Now this? Believe it or not, this was the biggest surge I've observed recorded. Pillars of light, that's one thing. Making a dragon grow? That's another. But tearing a hole in space itself? That's not just magical discharge of the massive degree, for a pony his age, it should have killed him. Destroyed him perhaps. But he not only survived, it was only with a scratch. His grasp of magical and mental exercises is progressing at a rapid pace, and now I have to teach him about Demons, and dark magicks. I only hope he doesn't turn out like my first student." "And if he does?" Celestia asked faintly, looking at her student with pained eyes. Twilight paused, but answered with a steel in her voice that was icy cold, and harder than diamonds. "I'll kill him myself. There's nopony else who's strong enough." Lesson one: Safety"Keep up Fade!" Twilight's harsh voice barked back at the flagging colt, "If you fall behind in here, you won't find your way home." Fade, the poor colt, had only recovered from his fainting act a few hours ago, in time to hear his mother arguing with Twilight about him staying with her. She'd said that it was too dangerous and that the princess was too irresponsible. Twilight had countered with the argument of 'who will train him in this magic other than myself?'. He remembered her telling his mother he'd torn the fabric of reality, and it wasn't something just anypony could do. After a very pointed dismissal of his mother, Twilight had left Fade for a short time before dragging him out of bed and out of the castle, right into the Everfree Forest. He didn't know where she was taking him, but he did know that the forest was dangerous, and the horror stories he'd heard over the years hadn't helped his opinion of the place. Which was the biggest reason he was flagging right now, falling behind Twilight rather seriously. But her words did make him rush a little, catching up with Twilight and hiding behind her legs whenever he heard something. "You have breached the walls of reality itself," She began, still walking, "Your cutie mark proves your talent lies in powerful magic, which means simpler magics will be easy for you. Magicks such as yours are complicated and incredibly powerful, and you must learn the risks of using it." Fade didn't even bother looking back at his rump, where his new cutie mark rested, a flash frame of a portal ripped open, like he had that night. He was too busy watching out for red eyes or dark shadows flitting on the edges of the path. "Rifts and Portals are dangerous, and we can't practice in the city, or in the castle. If you open a rift wrong, you could deconstruct the entirety of my castle, and I'd prefer you didn't do that. I've had it for about six hundred years, I'm rather fond of it." Fade didn't answer that particular piece of info, and instead flinched at a crack in the bushes that sounded like a twig snapping. "So, instead, we're going to some old ruins I know of in the forest, where the only thing we can damage is old granite and maybe scare a few forest creatures." "W-will the demon come back?" He asked in a small voice. Twilight frowned. "I'm not sure he's even able to get back here," She said uncertainly, "I tried to summon him whilst Celestia and Luna were here, and he didn't answer. He cannot be conjured anymore, so he's probably in an alternate dimension now. That's not what we're here to practice however. I need to know what you're capable of now." The castle was misty when they arrived, and it was worse off than Twilight remembered. Vegetation was picking the whole place apart. There were vines growing through the walls, cracking the bricks into pieces, and there wasn't anything sentient there by the look of it. That said, It had been the location of the biggest magical fight for the past two thousand years so... "This is our new practice arena from now on. Your power is dangerous, and thus we must treat it as such. Whether you want it to be or not, it's something you have to learn to control it, or risk killing anypony you come into contact with." This, Fade felt couldn't be denied. He'd sent a Demon to another plane of existence, which wasn't something a colt his age could do, normally. In accordance to Starswirl the Bearded's Fifteenth Law of Magic, what Fade had done was physically impossible. Opening portals was advanced enough. It was similar, Twilight had explained to him, to Teleportation magic, but much more complex, and difficult. Whilst teleportation magic was a personal 'portal' to another place, it's more based on the idea that, by letting the world move around you, you could appear almost anywhere instantaneously. Whereas Portals are bends in the fabric of space, or tears in the fabric of 'reality', to enter another. The magic required to do so is phenomenal, and is normally only accomplishable via several very powerful mages, or an Alicorn with lots of preparation. Not a seven year old colt. And definitely not a seven year old colt without preparation. "We will start with a more in depth explanation of the possibilities of your power, your talent." With a flourish, Twilight produced an 'illusion board', a spell she'd created herself, an illusion board was essentially a blank slate of magic, easily malleable and molded simply to form what the caster wished. It was only illusory, so it's not possible to touch, but it's perfect for instructions and demos, which was what Twilight had in mind. "Portals into other dimensions is where we shall start. A portal is a ring of magic that holds between two points, allowing passage between one place and another. It can be as simple as from your house to the toy store, or from Griffa to Canterlot, or it can be complex, like between dimensions or, on rarer occasions, two points in time." As she spoke, the illusion board warped to show what she meant, even if it was a rather simple explanation so far. Fade paid very close attention. It was rare he saw his mentor so serious, but she was now, so he figured it was important enough to take serious notice. "Now, the magic required to open one of these can range from small amounts, to phenomenal. The smaller the size of the portal, the less magic required to open it. The less space traversed, the less magic required. So, In essence, The larger and longer the portal is, the more magic it takes to keep it open. Now I'll explain exactly what these could be good for, other than travel." The illusion board warped and began showing small, instantaneous pathways, then a battle. "An adept of this magical discipline could be capable of redirecting shots any opponent throws at them, turning their attacks against them. It would require quick thinking, and lightning fast reflexes, but it could be done. A master would be able to do so for an extended period of time." The board warped again, this time into a small bubble, with a hole in one end, opening and closing. "There was a rumour of a pony capable of opening a bubble in space to store whatever he felt was required, and then being able to open it again and remove them without damage. Whether it's possible in practice or not is questionable, but the theory is sound." The board faded, and Twilight's serious tone went grim. "Now. The dangers. Fade, I can't stress enough how dangerous your talent is. Teleportation has its fair share of risks, but if you're good at visualisation, it's a cakewalk. Opening doorways is more dangerous. Going in one side, and then walking out into peril could very easily happen. Walking off cliffs, or from high heights because of a messed up thought could lead to your death, and I have no idea what'd happen if you tried to bypass magical security systems. I wouldn't suggest trying it." Fade shook his head emphatically, not eager to end up inside out or exploded or whatever other grisly scenes he could picture himself becoming in any of those situations, especially the unknown of magical security. "Also, opening a door into another plane, or rather the wrong plane, and letting something nasty through, is a big problem. If you accidentally open a door to Tartarus instead of Canterlot, and a Demon comes through, it's liable to rip you into pieces and devour your soul, then move onto others. Do you understand this risk as well?" Fade had gone pale, and looked sick at Twilight's rather brutal explanation. He nodded, slowly. Twilight sighed. "I need your promise that you'll never use your power in a silly manner Fade," She said seriously, "I need your oath. Once made, you can never break this promise. Misuse of your abilities will not be tolerated in my kingdom, and if I must I will exile you. I don't want to, I swear that to you. You're like a son to me, and I couldn't bear to part with you. But if I must, I will. Swear to me you won't misuse this power you wield." Fade swallowed heavily, and raised a trembling hoof. "I-I s-s-swear," he stammered, "I'll never use portals for trivial or silly means." Twilight looked at him piercingly, her beautiful eyes dark, before sighing softly. "Alright. Then let us begin."
TimeTime was a cruel mistress, and the only mistress the princesses of Equestria ever had to adhere to. Not that they aged. It was quite impossible for an Alicorn to age over time, the amalgamation of earth, unicorn and Pegasus magic alluded to a body that never degraded, the perfect species for lack of a better term. Four Princesses to hold their kingdoms above all else as it were, and all immortal. Two of them were used to watching loved ones wither away and die. Celestia and Luna had lived for thousands of years, what was another six hundred? But Cadance and Twilight were much less suited to the task, and their losses in the first half century devastated them. Shining Armour was the first to go. Cadance was inconsolable, and for a time the Crystal Empire fell into a deep depression that mirrored their leader's, mourning the loss of their prince, their knight in shining armour. But, after a period of ten years, Cadance seemed to move on, and instead of remaining idle, began expanding her empire, and her armies. Concerned, the other three princesses approached her, and Cadance welcomed them with open arms, explaining her plans of a grand empire across her borders, capable of defending against windigos, ice giants and the Changeling hordes that had killed her husband so mercilessly. She still wasn't the same, there was a seriousness about her that wasn't there before, but she seemed stable, so the others stepped back, and let her continue on her way. Almost three decades later, Twilight's friends began to die around her. Twilight's period of mourning lasted much, much longer. The first to go was gentle Fluttershy, and then Rarity, then Rainbow Dash, killed in a stunt gone wrong when she was well past her prime. Then Pinkie Pie, and lastly Applejack, who had buried her grandmother several decades before. Applejack bore no children, but the Apple line continued by her brother, and her sister. Twilight shunned all contact for almost a century, pushing away her own descendants from her sister in law's line, her mentor and Luna, even her friend's grandchildren couldn't budge her. Spike tended to the grieving princess the best he could, but even he couldn't stand to be near her for long without becoming depressed. Ponyville went on without her for almost a century, as though nothing had ever happened, electing mayor after mayor, and treating the town as it always had. Twilight's guard became fat and lazy, and she became a bit of a joke within their ranks. But when she emerged from her grief and saw what had become of her kingdom at the end of the one hundred and tenth year, a city rife with crime and corruption that not even Celestia and Luna had been able to annex and control, it cemented a resolve in her nopony ever knew she had. She took to the streets like a magical plague, crushing everything in her way. Corrupt guards found themselves in dungeons or gallows, whole guilds of thieves and crime rings were obliterated overnight as Twilight's rampant magic destroyed almost half of her once beloved Ponyville, now turned haven for crime lords. The smoke alerted the other Princesses to their sister's plight, but by the time they arrived they were too late. Ponyville stank of burning and blood, and in the middle of it all was the fabled princess of Magic, cold of eyes and deaf to the protests of her victims. Afraid she would become the next Nightmare Moon, the other three prepared for a fight, but upon seeing them, Twilight had merely burst into tears, and sought comfort in her mentor's hooves. Twilight, poor innocent Twilight, had exposed herself to the horrors of a war nobody had ever expected, and had come out on top. Whilst Executions didn't happen, her crusade had drawn the attention of overconfident crime lords who'd sent for her to be killed, and in that environment, it was kill or be killed, and she'd shown she could kill with the best of them. But at the end of the day, scared she'd slip back into a coma of grief, the other princesses tried to get Twilight to take back her throne. She did, and with it came change. The guard was thrown to the winds. Every guard in her city was fired, and disgraced. Those still loyal to her were left standing, but were purged of former rank and set to go through a strict training regime and psychological evaluation. If they passed, they returned to their jobs at the rank Twilight saw fit. Thus, her trio of soldier's regiments were formed. The Magisterim, Unicorns of the highest degree trained to fight non-lethally and lethally depending on situation. Iron willed, Resolute and ultra disciplined. The Aeronauticus, Pegasi of swift and deadly wings, wielding only the finest magesteel blades and armour. The assassins of her empire. And the Entranchun, Earth Ponies of strength beyond compare. And thus, Ponyville was militarized, and she worked her way from the ground up. This took almost another century before Twilight was ready to build another city, and build she did. She produced guilds of exceptional quality, highly trained officers to manage them so she didn't have to, and she expanded. But, three cities later she stopped. Her population was steady, and thus her people were okay. Left with more free time that she'd had in the last century and a half, she started studying again, which made Celestia, who hadn't smiled in decades since her Twilight's apparent fall, smile again. Twilight seemed back to her old self. By this time, Cadance had figured out how to make Replica Crystal hearts that could channel the Heart's energy back to the other cities she held, keeping her ponies empowered as they were. Things were finally peaceful. Two hundred years Twilight Studied magic, all magic. Whilst the others did seem worried when she studied the dark arts, she came out unscathed. Over time, her body grew, as did Cadance's. Cadance took many suitors in her time. As Princess of Love, it was her duty. It also made her very wise in the ways of love and loss. Celestia seemed destined to celibacy, and Luna simply didn't bother. Twilight actively sought to ignore potential suitors, perhaps in a subconscious bid to be more like her mentor. Eventually, she took her first apprentice, and things started to get more interesting. Twilight's teachings were much more in depth than that of Celestia's, including all the branches of magic. The first apprentice she took, she had to strike down upon the fourth lesson of dark magic, and she did so without pity or remorse. This vicious side of her worried Celestia, who had dubbed her Princess of Friendship, and that seemed to defy all the teachings of Friendship. However, a gentle reminder from Luna that she was closer to that of magic gave Celestia pause, and she had let it go, albeit hesitantly. She had two more apprentices in her time, one that tried to get a little too close to her in her teenage years and stormed off after Twilight explained how it could never work, and another that was almost as powerful as Twilight herself had been years before. But that one was doomed to fail, and after being possessed by a spirit that Twilight had seen before, a spirit that terrified her, she had locked them away, encased in the trunk of a six hundred year old tree that would feed off her ex student's magic for generations, until Twilight found a way to kill the spirit within them, and not the student herself. But, over time, she came to realise it was... impossible. Impossible without the elements that is. And that was something she could no longer use herself. And without another way to use them... So, filing the problem away for later dealings with, she adopted another student. A much younger student, and more impressionable than her others. Closer to her age when she'd begun learning. And thus, the story of Fade Rift began, as well as his teachings, and the adventures he'd have along the way.
FadeThe castle as his playground? Check. A few hours before lessons? Check. Nopony up? Check Princess Twilight still asleep? Check! A pale green colt with a yellow and jungle green striped mane sat on a pillow at the top of the biggest flight of stairs in the entirety of the Ponyville Castle, already heart racing with the implications of what he was about to do. This broke at least ten different castle rules according to the maids, fifty to the nobles, and goodness knows how many to his mother figure and mentor. But, it was totally going to be worth it. His horn lit up in Indigo magic and he gave himself a telekinetic shove. With that, he started to slide down the bannister. It'd been freshly polished the night before, so he had very little friction between himself, his pillow and the bannister itself. Because of this, he picked up a lot of speed very quickly. Ponyville castle was a big place, but the biggest set of stairs was those that led to the entrance of the great Crystalline tree castle. It was these steps that the colt had chosen to slide down. There were several times where the bannisters didn't continued that he'd have to make his own path for, but as the chosen Apprentice to the aspect of magic herself, he was hoping that wouldn't be a problem. He could make his own magical path but... "Oh krud..." He was going a lot faster than he'd expected. The wind rushing through his mane felt fantastic, but he could barely keep his eyes open with the intensity of the whipping winds in his eyes. He couldn't see where he was going. Tears streamed out of the corners of his eyes and he yelped as his pillow momentarily lost contact with the bannister. He came to the first gap in his road, and just barely managed to cast his spell, speeding along a new 'bannister' he made himself. He managed to slow himself down a bit with it, but it went right on with its speed the moment he hit the recently polished bannister again, and he couldn't catch anything with his magic irritatingly, he was going much too fast. This had gone from being fun, to being dangerous. He was only seven! He'd been practicing magic for only two years, he didn't have the strength! His magic held onto his pillow and the bannister, but it wouldn't catch. It wasn't helping. He wasn't going any faster, but he wasn't slowing down either. Essentially, the catch wasn't catching, at all. It wasn't strong enough. It was phasing through the bannister supports entirely, and that was the biggest problem. It showed he wasn't focusing hard enough, he didn't have a mind clear enough to make it tangible enough to catch hold to either slow him down or stop himself entirely. And then he hit the second gap, and didn't make the path in time. He skipped over the gap, but didn't make it far enough. He screamed as his pillow flew out from under him, and he hit the start of the next path. He didn't stay on the railing however. The impact had him spin off course, and suddenly he was in empty air, falling. Nobody was up to help him, nothing to stop him from falling to his death in the place he called his home. Nothing to save him and Nothing to help. In desperation, he called upon his own magic, reaching out with a tendril of magic to snag the railing, but it proved too fragile and, after only a moment, it snapped, leaving him to fall still, only a strangled yelp of pain as his concentration was broken and his magic recoiled. His scream took on desperate form, and tears filled his eyes. I don't wanna die... help me mumma! And then he stopped. The sudden stop of momentum took him by surprise and he oofed in shock and took a deep breath before looking around. He was at one of the landings, the one leading to the library. And his saviour? "Goodness Fade Rift, I'd thought you'd had more sense than that. At least make sure the bannister's not too slippery for you to hold onto." Princess Twilight Sparkle, fourth Princess of Equestria, stood upon the landing, her magic keeping him aloft. It was a gentle thing, and warming indeed. The look on her face wasn't angry, or even worried, but merely amused. He barely came up to her knees, if that, and her mane and tail flowed in an ethereal wind that never stopped blowing. Unlike her sister in law, Twilight's own innate magic had infused her being, and thus her mane resembled her old mentor's in all but colour, and she'd replaced her crown a long time ago. Now, it was made of pure silver, which was the metal that held the most magic, and inlaid with amethysts, which was her own testament to the element of magic's colour upon her old crown, which she no longer wore. Her neck was decorated with a dainty circle of silver as well, inlaid with runes of protection, and her shoes were the purest silver as well. Overall, it was a pretty combination of purple and silver. "P-Princess!" He squeaked, his face flushing bright red, "I... I thought you were still asleep!" "Then it's certainly a good thing I wasn't, hmm?" She posed the question with a hint of a challenge in her voice, which Fade didn't notice. But he nodded. "Thank you Princess... And sorry," He said a little forlornly. Twilight laughed richly, and brought him to her, setting him gently down upon the floor before sweeping him up in an embrace. "It's alright my silly student, we all make mistakes," Her gentle voice full of laughter, "But please, don't go sliding down the bannisters again hmm? Not until you have more practice at slowing down at least!" He giggled with her, rubbing his face in her chest just under her silver necklace. It was good to live in the palace, but it was great to live under the tutelage of Princess Twilight Sparkle, Fourth Princess of Equestria. **)~(** Their Royal Highnesses Princesses Luna and Celestia Fade's studies are going well. Perhaps a little better than I thought, in fact. His grip of magic is growing at an exponential rate. I believe that this just might be the one I've been looking for all these years. And just in time too. The tree is beginning to wilt. The spell won't be lasting for much longer. A few decades perhaps? Decade at worst. But I can't be certain. I must be certain. Our magic lessons are great, but I need to know that his magical growth is going to continue, or that his potential is as big as mine was. Hopefully, it is. If not, I'm afraid things are going to get bloody, and I'll need your help. I don't want to resort to violence, but If I must, I will kill my old student. I await your reply Fellow Princess; Twilight Sparkle.
RiftTwilight had come to honestly love all of her students. All of them held a special place in the vaults of her mind palace, and in her heart, beating with boundless love and friendship. But, over time as they'd failed or turned on her, she'd learned to do other things too. Her Mind Palace was something she'd done unconsciously for years before she became a princess, and she'd developed it afterwards. Now, she was capable of shutting away more than simple memories. "Now Fade, this lesson I'd like to teach you a little something different." Fade Rift was a curious little colt really, and he loved magic. His mind worked in strange ways sometimes, ways that belied his age in intelligence and, occasionally, wisdom. But he was still a colt, and with it came his coltish sort of enthusiasm for all things practical, and lack of for all things... theoretical. "What is it Princess? A new spell? Can you teach me how to make myself a thousand hooves tall? Or make myself shoot lasers out of my eyes?" Twilight giggled and shook her head. "No, I'm going to teach you something I taught myself a long time ago, to help with your memory. Remembering things, and being able to call upon that knowledge at a moment's notice. I call it a mind Palace." The pair were in Twilight's favourite part of her rather unorthodox castle, the library. In the restricted areas of the great book repository was a small room dedicated to Twilight's magical experimentation and, coincidentally, where all Twilight's magical lessons, theory or practical, were taught. It was virtually indestructible, and Twilight had been careful to design it as such. "A mind palace?" Fade asked, his brows furrowing in confusion, "What's that?" Twilight, who had Fade under her wing as she lay upon the rather attractively comfortable shag pile rug she'd laid on the floor some century or so back, smiled down at him. "Like I said, it's a memory technique. I'll try to show you." Twilight called upon the magic laying ready within her, an almost boundless wellspring since her ascension, and called an image of her mind's workings to being, in their raw form. "This is my brain right now," She explained gently, "Well, not physically. All those little bright spots? They're electrical signals being sent around the different receivers in my brain." "... It looks a little like space does during Astronomy class Princess," Fade replied dubiously, "Are you sure you're not just remembering that?" "Pinch me," She simply replied with a giggle, "And you'll see." Unsure of himself, but obedient, Fade did pinch her on the shoulder as gently as he could. Instantly, a flare of bright light lit up a part of the mind map. "That was the nerve centre for pain Fade," She explained, watching her mind work with a serene sort of look on her face, "It lit up like that because my body's nerves sent it a message saying I'd been pinched, and that it might hurt. Don't worry, you didn't hurt me-" She felt an apologetic nuzzle at the area he'd pinched anyway, and couldn't hide her smile. "Believe me now?" "Yes Princess... But I don't understand still. What's a mind palace." Twilight let the initial illusion she'd summoned fade, and conjured a new one, a mighty palace she'd built long, long ago within the recesses of her mind. "This," She said softly, "Is my mind palace." It was a thing of beauty really, soaring spires of marble topped with elegant conical rooves, a great door of blackened wood with golden embellishments... But they didn't enter. "It's something I created to help me hold onto important memories and lessons, so that I'd never forget them," She told him gently, "Each room in the palace holds something or somethings important. Some rooms share memories, others hold records of my history. I remember the date, time and location of everything that's happened for a long, long time." "Sounds a little silly to me." Twilight, quite surprised, actually let her illusion waver, and looked down at her pupil, who looked a little disgruntled. "I'm sorry?" "Why a palace?" he asked her in his childishly blunt manner "Palaces and castles can be broken into, I read about that all the time in the books you make me read on history. I mean, the Changeling Invasion of Canterlot like, six hundred years ago? They didn't even get detected until the wedding, and they almost succeeded. Before that, it was dragons and griffons, both of them got in easily enough. I just don't think it makes sense." Twilight, now more intrigued than insulted, narrowed her eyes as she thought, looking back at the illusion of her mind palace. "Then what would you choose?" She asked curiously. Fade seemed to think on this for a while. "A Submarine," He answered confidently. Twilight was still confused. "A submarine?" She asked, "Why a submarine?" "It's harder to bust into," He answered with a shrug, "All the books suggest so. I mean, you have to be on the submarine in the first place to get in it right? And there's no key locks, it's all air locks or something right? It has to be able to not let water in, and keep air in, so it's secure that way. You have to get a submarine to the surface to get in it too, you can't just open the doors underwater. You'd drown everypony and everything in it." "You wouldn't be able to open the door anyway actually," Twilight said quietly, her tone curious and introspective, "The pressure differential is too great, it takes far too much force to open the doors underwater at the necessary depth, even a unicorn would have trouble." **)~(** Night had fallen. It was cold, and Fade was having a nightmare. He couldn't remember exactly what it was that had scared him in it, it had faded from memory too quickly, but he was shaken. And he didn't want to sleep on his own, it was too scary, too much risk of the nightmares coming back to eat him, or something similar. No, he couldn't sleep in his room. So, he left his room, and went searching through the castle. He knew where he was going even before he was heading in that direction. Princess Twilight rarely slept, and when she did it was always after visiting the same place. Her laboratory, which was just off of the library, in case she needed a book or something he guessed. In fact, it was connected to the training room she taught him in. So all he had to do was slip into the darkened library, where he stopped and shivered. Something felt... off. The darkness was oppressive, as it had always been to poor little Fade, but there was something evil about it now, it felt off. Very off. The books, instead of being comforting like he was used to, seemed almost to leer at him, cursing him with their emotionless gaze instead of welcoming him like he was used to. He didn't know how long he stood frozen there, but when he finally forced his hooves to move, he felt cold and the fur on the back of his neck was raised. Something was very wrong. He made it to the training room, and here it felt even worse. The shag pile rug seemed to be waiting for him to step on it so it could wrap him up and crush him, maybe eat him afterwards. The racks on the left wall holding the wooden training staves and weapons that he'd been told he'd learn when he was older seemed to quiver in anticipation of something, and the bookshelves had the same feel to them as the ones outside. And there was a light underneath the doorway leading to Twilight's laboratory. Not the light of a candle, which is what Fade was used to seeing. This one was a sickly green and tinged with purple darkness. With a gulp, he approached it, pointedly avoiding the rug and staying away from the books. Suddenly, the nightmares didn't seem so bad. He wanted to turn around and go back to bed, his warm, safe bed where he could pull the covers over his head and pretend nothing was wrong. He didn't know what drove him to open the door that day, to peek in at his mentor in her lab rather than running away and going back to bed. Maybe it was providence, or morbid curiosity, or maybe it was just good old fashioned stupidity. Whatever it was, he did open the door to look in on his mentor, and what he saw horrified him. Twilight was there, naturally. Her horn shone in the oppressive darkness, beating it back. A little over two meters in front of her was a green ring of some sort, hovering in mid air. Twilight herself could have easily fit into it without even having to crouch. But it was the thing looking at Twilight, and talking back, that terrified him. It stood taller than her, and wasn't pretty. Its skeletal face dripped bloody tears from the eye sockets, and flesh rotted on the bleached bone. Through the purple darkness that surrounded its form, Fade could vaguely see a long spinal column, and the remnants of a ribcage, but it didn't seem to have legs, nor arms. It simply seemed to hover, perfectly level, with no regard for gravity. And its voice.... It sent chills down his spine. A horrifying sound, like bones being crushed under a steamroller and the sound of crumpled flesh blended together, guttural and dark. Clearly this creature didn't belong in this realm. It seemed they hadn't noticed him... And then the door, still swinging open, creaked on its hinges. Both of them stopped talking suddenly, and swung to look at him. Twilight's eyes widened in terror, but the creature seemed to grin around its horrible rictus. "Fresh meeat..." it growled, and Twilight spun back to face it, her horn suddenly bursting with light. The creature, however, clearly knew what she was going to do, and an arm formed out of blackness, bony and clawed, and viciously backhanded the Princess, sending her through the air like a ragdoll, and with a tyrannical roar, it bounded for Fade. Time seemed to slow down as Fade's mind, at the height of adrenaline levels, perceived the world around it in microseconds. The creature in front of him, bounding towards him, now with legs made of shadow and stubs of bone where a hip bone, previously unseen, showed itself through brief gaps in the shadowy cloak around it. Its mouth was open, clearly to bite Fade in two. Princess Twilight, tumbling through the air and her instruments, a cry of pain and terror. He dimly registered she'd screamed at him to run. But something kept him there. An alien calm washed over the little colt, like he knew it was going to happen this whole time. focus.... The voice floated through his mind and, instead of cowering, he smiled. He felt his magic, deep within him, blaze forth in power he'd never felt before. His eyes blazed with light, and his horn flashed in indigo brilliance, A spell he'd never cast rose, unbidden, to his mind and he cast it. With a hideous screech, the veil between worlds wasn't just opened, it was shredded under Fade's power, ripping open a rift between worlds. Had the creature eyes, Fade was certain they'd be popping out of its head as it tried to bring its shadowy bulk to a halt. But somehow it couldn't. It was like a vacuum coming from the portal. And from within it, fire roared its anger at being disturbed. The creature said something, but the world was moving too slow for Fade to understand it. It was pulled off of its feet, the shadow cloak being stripped from the creature as it was dragged into the abyss of the portal that Fade had torn open. It was pulled in, and with another blaze of magic, Fade fixed the rent he'd made in space, closing the portal completely and locking whatever creature the thing had been away in wherever he'd deemed necessary to place it. Within the vaults of his mind, he heard a delighted voice crying out in exultation. And then it faded, and time began to move normally again, and he collapsed, twitching as the magical backlash of what his little body had just achieved hit him and hit him hard. He was dimly aware of Twilight running over to him, calling his name before he blacked out. **)~(** Urgent Missive to Princesses Celestia And Luna Fade Rift is the first Element. Author's Note Updates will be sporadic, maybe once or twice a month. Sorry if that disappoints you guys.
ScarsGenerally speaking, the hospital wing in Ponyville Castle was the most advanced in Equestria. Machines that only Twilight's handmaidens and nursing staff knew how to use made up the majority of the equipment, whereas magical medical remedies had been mostly left as they were. This being because, even though Twilight had studied them extensively, she hadn't figured out a way to make 'a better healing spell' yet. It was in one of the pristinely white beds that Fade had slept for the past seven days, only briefly waking up now and then in a horrible fever, to be coaxed back to sleep again by Twilight. On the fourth day, three visitors had arrived at Ponyville Castle, and greeted with a royal welcome, for all but about fifteen seconds, before Twilight's urgency had seen them all rush to the medical wing. The magic sickness Fade was experiencing was extreme in its intensity, and had him hovering on the edge of total mental breakdown several times during his weeklong pseudo coma, but he never went over the edge. When he finally woke up however, it wasn't his mentor or even her mentor watching over him. It was somepony else. Somepony he hadn't seen in a year or so. "Momma?" He asked blearily, his head aching, "Is that you?" The pony whose head had been on the bed stirred and looked up at him, then smiled. "Hey there kiddo," His mother answered softly, reaching up to stroke his head gently, "You okay? You gave us a bit of a scare there." Fade's mother was, for lack of a better term, a plain mare. She didn't do anything with her mane or style her tail, and she never wore make up. She also didn't have a horn to cast magic with. Nope, his mother was a good honest earth pony who'd worked on a rutabaga farm all her life. Her farm. She shared fade's green coat, but had a brown mane that fell over one eye constantly if it was left to its own devices. Like she had it now, she generally kept it in a strict ponytail to keep it out of her face when she was working. "What happened?" he asked with a yawn, "Where's the Princess? is she okay?" His mother couldn't help it, she laughed and hugged her son to her chest. "Oh Fade, she's fine... She's the Princess of Magic, she's tougher and stronger than all of us. You should know that by now~" He winced, but welcomed the hug through the pain in his head, hugging her back gingerly. His whole body was starting to hurt, and he was hungry. So very, very hungry. "But there was a monster..." he said quietly, screwing his eyes shut painfully, "It hit her, and she hit the wall and stuff..." "I assure you my loyal apprentice, I'm quite alright." Fade didn't need to look up to know Twilight had entered the room, and hearing her voice made him feel infinitely better about what he'd done. "You, on the other hoof, are still recovering from your misadventure with magical backlash, and the demon." "Demon?" "Yes child, a Demon. You were meant to be in bed, asleep. I even dismissed my guards. I suppose I must teach you about them now, seeing as you've seen one, and sent it... somewhere else. But first I must ask, how did you do what you did?" "That is what we would like to know as well." The second set of voices did make the mother-son pair look up and around, looking at the new voices. Two other princesses held the air in suspense, both as regal as each other. Princess Celestia, Tall and proud and startlingly white, dominated the space around her with a kind sort of light. She was in full regalia, golden shoes, crown and solid gold, gem encrusted neck brace. Her rainbow mane and tail waved in an invisible breeze, as it always had, even when she wasn't moving. Beside her stood her sister, Princess Luna. Luna had grown in six hundred years, almost as tall as Celestia was now, only shorter by a bit. Her deep blue coat mirrored the night sky's beauty, and her mane and tail moved on an ethereal wind like her sister's, but was an exact replica of her beautiful night sky. Upon her rump was a crescent moon on a dark background of splattered blue. Both of them were impressively beautiful, and many would have bowed in their presence. However, Fade's mother did not. "You ought to teach your student better Princess," His mother demanded angrily, "To summon demons within the castle walls! Where poor Fade could get in as well! We're lucky all he has is a scar and magic sickness! He could be dead right now!" Twilight flinched, and actually looked a little ashamed. Celestia, however, merely raised a brow. "I'm certain, Raze Lundry, that Princess Twilight was taking every precaution she could to prevent such things happening. Fade is an exceptionally talented mage, if our information is to be believed, and Twilight has never had reason to lie to me before." "She was in the practice room," he said, his voice suddenly sounding very small inamongst the three Princesses and his mother, "It's warded... I just... I'm allowed in so... And what scar?" A silence fell over the quartet of mares in the room as they all looked at Fade. The little colt suddenly felt a pit of dread form in his stomach, twisting his gut into painful knots. It was Luna who finally acted, drawing upon her deep blue magic to form a magic mirror before Fade as his mother backed away. It was then that the damage was made rather clear. On the left side of his face was a long, hideous scar stretching from the upper limits of his maneline down to the upper limits of his cheek. It stretched down across his eye, but it hadn't touched the eyeball itself, and that was a miracle in and of itself. "Your eye was a little mangled, but the eye is a simple enough thing to repair if you know what you're doing," Twilight said softly, "I even managed to keep it the same colour as your other one. But... the scar was made by a Demon's claw, and there was little I could do but heal it as best I could. Even with my advances... Demons have strange effects on ponies." "It shouldn't have been in the castle at all," his mother grumbled quietly, but all of the Princesses let it go. "I'm afraid you'll never be rid of the scar my loyal apprentice, but you should be proud," Twilight continued, a bit more warmly this time, "You not only survived an encounter with a demon, but you banished it too, on your own. I didn't even have to lend you power." Fade could barely even breathe at this point, looking at the jagged scar on his face, and then he fainted. **)~(** "Dear Twilight," Luna began, now locked in Twilight's study with her sister and Twilight herself, "Forgive me, but I must question you for a moment. You swear by your Princesshood that this one is the next Element of Magic, but how can you be so certain?" Twilight had been pacing the whole time they'd been locked in her study, and Luna and Celestia sat before her desk. Celestia had been quiet since they'd entered, and Luna had been the first to speak. Twilight replied quickly. "I may have been lying slightly about Fade's achievements earlier," She said, "It wasn't simply a banishment, that wasn't what it was." "Then what was it?" Luna shot back, "What's so special about him?" Twilight stopped pacing, and looked at Luna seriously. "He opened a rift. A rift between dimensions Luna. Tartarus, he didn't just open one, he tore open the walls between worlds, and shoved the demon through. It's simply not possible for a colt of his age." "He's too young to have achieved that level of power," Celestia said quietly, "You remember our lessons in magic do you not sister?" Light dawned in Luna's eyes as she figured out what her sister was saying. "A pony doesn't reach full potential until they hit a certain age," Luna continued the lesson, "Their ability to control magic, and their ability to handle more magic grows with age, and stops at a certain point." "Save for Alicorns such as ourselves, yes," Twilight said with a nod, "Our magical limit is slightly more flexible, mine especially. It's a fact I've been trying to study for centuries to figure it out. The only times I've been able to find in terms of magical flux at this magnitude is when the element of magic came around. Once six hundred and one years ago, when I took up the challenge to hatch Spike, and twice before then. One of those times was your own ascension I believe Celestia." Celestia didn't speak. "Now this? Believe it or not, this was the biggest surge I've observed recorded. Pillars of light, that's one thing. Making a dragon grow? That's another. But tearing a hole in space itself? That's not just magical discharge of the massive degree, for a pony his age, it should have killed him. Destroyed him perhaps. But he not only survived, it was only with a scratch. His grasp of magical and mental exercises is progressing at a rapid pace, and now I have to teach him about Demons, and dark magicks. I only hope he doesn't turn out like my first student." "And if he does?" Celestia asked faintly, looking at her student with pained eyes. Twilight paused, but answered with a steel in her voice that was icy cold, and harder than diamonds. "I'll kill him myself. There's nopony else who's strong enough."
Lesson one: Safety"Keep up Fade!" Twilight's harsh voice barked back at the flagging colt, "If you fall behind in here, you won't find your way home." Fade, the poor colt, had only recovered from his fainting act a few hours ago, in time to hear his mother arguing with Twilight about him staying with her. She'd said that it was too dangerous and that the princess was too irresponsible. Twilight had countered with the argument of 'who will train him in this magic other than myself?'. He remembered her telling his mother he'd torn the fabric of reality, and it wasn't something just anypony could do. After a very pointed dismissal of his mother, Twilight had left Fade for a short time before dragging him out of bed and out of the castle, right into the Everfree Forest. He didn't know where she was taking him, but he did know that the forest was dangerous, and the horror stories he'd heard over the years hadn't helped his opinion of the place. Which was the biggest reason he was flagging right now, falling behind Twilight rather seriously. But her words did make him rush a little, catching up with Twilight and hiding behind her legs whenever he heard something. "You have breached the walls of reality itself," She began, still walking, "Your cutie mark proves your talent lies in powerful magic, which means simpler magics will be easy for you. Magicks such as yours are complicated and incredibly powerful, and you must learn the risks of using it." Fade didn't even bother looking back at his rump, where his new cutie mark rested, a flash frame of a portal ripped open, like he had that night. He was too busy watching out for red eyes or dark shadows flitting on the edges of the path. "Rifts and Portals are dangerous, and we can't practice in the city, or in the castle. If you open a rift wrong, you could deconstruct the entirety of my castle, and I'd prefer you didn't do that. I've had it for about six hundred years, I'm rather fond of it." Fade didn't answer that particular piece of info, and instead flinched at a crack in the bushes that sounded like a twig snapping. "So, instead, we're going to some old ruins I know of in the forest, where the only thing we can damage is old granite and maybe scare a few forest creatures." "W-will the demon come back?" He asked in a small voice. Twilight frowned. "I'm not sure he's even able to get back here," She said uncertainly, "I tried to summon him whilst Celestia and Luna were here, and he didn't answer. He cannot be conjured anymore, so he's probably in an alternate dimension now. That's not what we're here to practice however. I need to know what you're capable of now." The castle was misty when they arrived, and it was worse off than Twilight remembered. Vegetation was picking the whole place apart. There were vines growing through the walls, cracking the bricks into pieces, and there wasn't anything sentient there by the look of it. That said, It had been the location of the biggest magical fight for the past two thousand years so... "This is our new practice arena from now on. Your power is dangerous, and thus we must treat it as such. Whether you want it to be or not, it's something you have to learn to control it, or risk killing anypony you come into contact with." This, Fade felt couldn't be denied. He'd sent a Demon to another plane of existence, which wasn't something a colt his age could do, normally. In accordance to Starswirl the Bearded's Fifteenth Law of Magic, what Fade had done was physically impossible. Opening portals was advanced enough. It was similar, Twilight had explained to him, to Teleportation magic, but much more complex, and difficult. Whilst teleportation magic was a personal 'portal' to another place, it's more based on the idea that, by letting the world move around you, you could appear almost anywhere instantaneously. Whereas Portals are bends in the fabric of space, or tears in the fabric of 'reality', to enter another. The magic required to do so is phenomenal, and is normally only accomplishable via several very powerful mages, or an Alicorn with lots of preparation. Not a seven year old colt. And definitely not a seven year old colt without preparation. "We will start with a more in depth explanation of the possibilities of your power, your talent." With a flourish, Twilight produced an 'illusion board', a spell she'd created herself, an illusion board was essentially a blank slate of magic, easily malleable and molded simply to form what the caster wished. It was only illusory, so it's not possible to touch, but it's perfect for instructions and demos, which was what Twilight had in mind. "Portals into other dimensions is where we shall start. A portal is a ring of magic that holds between two points, allowing passage between one place and another. It can be as simple as from your house to the toy store, or from Griffa to Canterlot, or it can be complex, like between dimensions or, on rarer occasions, two points in time." As she spoke, the illusion board warped to show what she meant, even if it was a rather simple explanation so far. Fade paid very close attention. It was rare he saw his mentor so serious, but she was now, so he figured it was important enough to take serious notice. "Now, the magic required to open one of these can range from small amounts, to phenomenal. The smaller the size of the portal, the less magic required to open it. The less space traversed, the less magic required. So, In essence, The larger and longer the portal is, the more magic it takes to keep it open. Now I'll explain exactly what these could be good for, other than travel." The illusion board warped and began showing small, instantaneous pathways, then a battle. "An adept of this magical discipline could be capable of redirecting shots any opponent throws at them, turning their attacks against them. It would require quick thinking, and lightning fast reflexes, but it could be done. A master would be able to do so for an extended period of time." The board warped again, this time into a small bubble, with a hole in one end, opening and closing. "There was a rumour of a pony capable of opening a bubble in space to store whatever he felt was required, and then being able to open it again and remove them without damage. Whether it's possible in practice or not is questionable, but the theory is sound." The board faded, and Twilight's serious tone went grim. "Now. The dangers. Fade, I can't stress enough how dangerous your talent is. Teleportation has its fair share of risks, but if you're good at visualisation, it's a cakewalk. Opening doorways is more dangerous. Going in one side, and then walking out into peril could very easily happen. Walking off cliffs, or from high heights because of a messed up thought could lead to your death, and I have no idea what'd happen if you tried to bypass magical security systems. I wouldn't suggest trying it." Fade shook his head emphatically, not eager to end up inside out or exploded or whatever other grisly scenes he could picture himself becoming in any of those situations, especially the unknown of magical security. "Also, opening a door into another plane, or rather the wrong plane, and letting something nasty through, is a big problem. If you accidentally open a door to Tartarus instead of Canterlot, and a Demon comes through, it's liable to rip you into pieces and devour your soul, then move onto others. Do you understand this risk as well?" Fade had gone pale, and looked sick at Twilight's rather brutal explanation. He nodded, slowly. Twilight sighed. "I need your promise that you'll never use your power in a silly manner Fade," She said seriously, "I need your oath. Once made, you can never break this promise. Misuse of your abilities will not be tolerated in my kingdom, and if I must I will exile you. I don't want to, I swear that to you. You're like a son to me, and I couldn't bear to part with you. But if I must, I will. Swear to me you won't misuse this power you wield." Fade swallowed heavily, and raised a trembling hoof. "I-I s-s-swear," he stammered, "I'll never use portals for trivial or silly means." Twilight looked at him piercingly, her beautiful eyes dark, before sighing softly. "Alright. Then let us begin."
