Chapter 2

Bittersweet

Herbal yawned. She shook her head slightly, rustling her hair from a neat position to one that implied that she hadn’t brushed it when she woke up. The papers beneath her hooves crinkled upon her portion of the wooden desks. With bagged and slightly blurry eyes, she tried to pay her drowsy attention to those papers that lay half crinkled. She scrolled over a few lines of notes, and then felt her flank feel a bit numb, so she repositioned it on the wooden bench that followed the circular pattern of the giant lecture room. She hadn’t noticed it for a while, but as soon as she began to wake up further, the sound of her professor spoke out loudly and bounced off the walls, irritating her sensitive ears.

She started listening to the lecture again, knowing her class was almost over, and she needed to at least look like she had been paying any attention. I knew taking advanced introduction to tactical and illusionary magic was going to be too much to handle… I just wanted to do well in Tomb placement at the end of the year.

She sighed and looked down from her spot in the room to the clock above the door. There was still about ten minutes left from what she could see from her still waking eyes. She placed her chin upon her upstanding hoof on the desk and lazily listened to the rest of the lecture.

"-And so we can assume that when one transports one’s self into the past, it can only be for a limited time. Otherwise you run the risk of collapsing your individual realmspace, and getting caught in a loop hole of time, tearing each atom in your being apart little by little… A… Black Hole, if you will. Therefore, you may only time travel once, as implemented into the spell rules of the only existent time travel spell, made by Starswirl the Bearded.”

The professor held his demeanor proudly, and placed his hoof over his mouth while briefly coughing to clear his throat, as if to change the subject. The stallion checked the clock above his door, and then stood back in his regular position.

“Now, I hope everyone sees that more clearly. We’re almost out of time for today, so instead of continuing on to chapter 93, I will instead give an announcement.”

Herbal perked up a little, more awake than before.

“The Exams are coming up very soon. I know not all of you are graduating out of the academy this year, but for those of you whom are, I have words to convey to you.” He said looking proudly out to the auditorium full of ponies.

Herbal payed close attention to him. Taking in every word, and every breath that gently came from his snout.

“These exams… They are not like any others. This is Magi Mana Academy of Moongleam city. The most prestigious Magic academy in the New Lunar Republic. These exams aren’t the type where you sit down and write a thesis, no. You will be tested on your physical ability to understand, learn, and cast those spells. However it isn’t a closed session either. Does anyone know what the exams here are actually called?” He asked pointing his head up and around looking at everypony.

On mare a few rows over from Herbal raised her hoof.

“Yes Ms. Bell Blossom?”

“The Mana Exam… Also known as the Battle of the Spells…” the pink and brown mare said timidly, pushing her glasses up with her hoof.

“Excellent Ms. Blossom. Now, do you know why it is called that?” He asked back to the pink mare.

Bell Blossom noded. “It is called such because, in order to graduate from Magi Mana, you must prove to the council, and Luna herself, that you have studied under her will, and are ready to serve as a Transitional Mage for her highness… Basically, to become proficient in your two categories of magical arts, you have to face off against other graduates and place in the first 50 mages in order to graduate.”

The professor clapped his hooves a few times. “Excellent. I know who is ready indeed. But, “are you sure you can pass?” is the actual question.” He stopped clapping and turned his mood back into a serious one. “You see, knowledge is only half of it. You might know everything about everything, but here is the catch. You must be able to prove yourself worthy enough to pass the exams. You must know how to cast. If you can’t cast proficiently, and you are gifted with exceptional knowledge, I would recommend you go to the Scout academy… They sure could use some more knowledgeable individuals like the lot of you.” He said in a very stern tone.

The bell rung out through the classroom, however the ponies did not move. They waited for dismissal. The professor stood still looking upon all the ponies.

“Let me say this. Magic, is most powerful in positivity. It comes from within someone's psyche, and therefore can be manipulated to fit a mind frame. If you want it to be filled with rage, fill it with rage, or if you want to help someone, it will heal. The point is, to cast well, and possibly to graduate, you must believe that you are capable enough to do so…” He broke, and sighed, looking down for a second. “Dismissed.” he said, and the ponies all shot up from their seats, and rushed out the doorway.

“Come on! We are almost there!” Herbal screamed out to the rest of her tomb.

They ran as fast as they could, bushes and tree branches slapped their bodies cutting them, making them feel stiff. As quickly as the cuts were created, they disappeared thanks to Herbals magic. They continued to hurry, and finally burst through one last layer of brush before falling into an opening. As soon as the trees ceased their noises of rustling, the tomb ceased their movements as well.

They had ran into some more patrols and thought they had been followed, caution was extreme.

The breathing of the ponies was very heavy and fast. To calm herself, Terra Nova took a deep breath, shutting her eyes and saying. “Huff I think we lost them… Huff.”

The other two, tired and weary, nodded while Angelica said “Indeed… Huff.” She had just dismissed her sight spell, and was certain she hadn’t seen anypony.

Once they were all certain, they all collapsed to the ground, their breathing still heavy. They had finally made it to the meeting point of which they were supposed to be at around 5 hours ago.

Herbal perked her head up. “Their late... “ She said hesitantly.

“So are we… Severely... “ Terra said.

Herbal shook her head and looked at Terra Nova with sarcasm. “We didn’t know these patrols were going to be here... “

“Listen I’m trying not to worry Cap’!” Terra said putting her hoof up, as if so stop her from saying any more.

Herbal nodded. “That’s reasonable I suppose. Especially since you have a loved one in the field… I promise you he will be okay. He’s the best heavy there is!”

Terra smiled sweetly in thought of him. “Brax…”

Herbal snapped up. “It’s dark… We need to build a fire. By my clock it looks like it should be post sunset. We need to rest. I’ll take first watch, you all sleep.”

“No. You should rest Herbal Remedy. You’re our Healer and leader. You’ll need more energy than I. I’ll take first watch.” Said Angelica.

Herbal nodded. “Fine.” She said.

Herbal stood. Her muscles strained and her head felt cold and dizzy almost. She summoned a glow to her horn. “Do you still want a Campset?”

Angelica nodded, while shooting an arrow into a tree. “Yeah, sure. Thanks.”

Herbal shot her magic a the ground three times in a circle pattern. Each magic spot began to form into a more solid opacity, and form shapes. Then, three tents, fully equipped with blankets and pads popped out of the magical light. Herbal nodded at them, almost proud of her work.

Terra Nova went to her tent, and sat inside of it. She looked around at the boxes that were scattered about, and sighed, begging to unbox things here and there. She lifted a folding table on one side of the tent, and placed it firmly and unfolded on the material in front of her. She began to get her equipment from the boxes, that included various books, a microscope and a few other technical looking tools. She even summoned vials of chemicals and various liquids, placing them neatly along the table. She searched through her saddle bags, digging out preservation baggies with differing plant specimens in them, placing them as well on the table. She began to examine these plants little by little, putting them each through various tests and examinations.

Then suddenly she stopped. Her heart rate racing, her pupils tiny, her mind almost panicking. Her eyes began to well up in tears as she could be heard wheezing and whimpering from outside her tent. Herbal and Angelica came rushing in. Herbal signaled for Angelica to not leave her post, and regretfully, Angelica returned, unknowing of what exactly was happening to her friend. Herbal rushed to the side of her panicked team mate. She cradled her as Terra began to become stricken with complete terror.

“Terra. What is happening? What is wrong?” She put a hoof to Terras face, hoping to snap her out of her frantic state.

“B-brax! He.. He is dead isn’t he? He must be! He is late! He can’t die! He can’t!” She said squirming about, her condition staying constant.

Herbal held her tighter, cradling her and softly shushing her.

“Shh, Terra. We don’t know that. Brax is a heavy. He can hold his own. I know you’re worried about him, but you must be stronger than this if you wish to live on. We are on a mission Terra, we need to not be afraid of our loved ones being in harms way, when there is simply nothing we can do but be strong, and try our best so that they don’t get hurt.” Herbal continued to rock Terra Nova back and forth, calming her.

Terra sighed, her eyes flooded with tears. “I-I don’t wanna d-die here Herbal.” She says weeping. She seemed terrified. Herbals heart broke. She knew someone like Terra especially is liable to die on a mission such as this; as much as she didn’t want to lie to Terra, she wanted her to level herself again. Herbal gave a peck on her forehead. “You won’t.” She said without hesitation. “Nor will Brax…” She hesitated, holding back tears. “-I promise.” She said.

Terra was left to her lonesome to get out a good sob, but was told to return to her duties as soon as she could. Understanding that, she returned to her table, and began to examine those plants again. Herbal marched out of her tent, staying proud and strong until the tent curtain behind her folded over and she was out of sight. Herbals head plummeted. She felt absolutely terrible. She cannot guarantee their safety, all she can do as the Healer is try her best to protect her Tomb. She felt pained because she has seen so many other ponies suffer with these panic attacks. Nopony was supposed to see this level of terror. This isn’t even the most terror one can face, and still look at how badly some ponies are effected by the shock. She mourns the war, and all the violence that is created in turn. However she knows it is the necessary step towards creating peace for Equestria.

Terra wakes slowly. She She values the next few moments of her lazy waking, and cherishes the small beams of moonlight coming through her bed-top window, as it welcomes her back into the world. She sighs and sits up, slumping over, she can feel her curly hair fizzier and messier than usual. She yawns and looks over to a piece of paper laying on her bedside mini-table. She checks the time, and writes it down on the paper, tracking how many hours of sleep she had gotten this time.

Three hours and forty-two minutes… Best this week. She thinks to herself and yawns, stretching out. She hops up and out of bed, slow to make her way to the kitchen. She hears a slight crackle of fluid running through a machine, pushing the last little bits of liquid through. She yawned again, this time, inhaling the scent of freshly brewed coffee, and an entire pot of it this time. She led herself to the kitchen sleepily, taking out an aluminium cup from her cupboard; setting it on the counter with a clink.

She poured as much coffee into the cup as it would allow, and then sipped it, walking away as she did. She sat at a small wooden table, the majority of which taken up by books. She picked up one from a higher pile to the right of her, and began browsing through it, probably for at least the fifth time. She had read all of these books at least twice, in an attempt to memorize them. It was going to be Tomb placement soon, and she didn’t want to have a doubt in her mind that she would get the best Tomb there is. She continued sipping her coffee until she had started sipping on a dry cup. Unknowing of this until at least the third time she had sipped, she looked into her cup with a blanked face, and then rose to get more.

As she did, she heard a heavy sigh come from the bedroom. Soon the covers were rustling around, and a creak of the floor as somepony else rose from their resting place. Hoof-steps could be heard, carrying heavily somepony from the bedroom, a figure appeared in the hallway above the small flight of wooden steps that led down to the dining room where Terra was currently sitting.

“Well then, good morning sleepy head.” Terra said, paying her attention back to her book halfy. She smirked.

“Uhhg, good morning to you too, early bird.” The stallion said, smirking sleepily at the mare sitting in her chair reading her book and drinking her morning coffee.

“Yeah, can’t afford to oversleep now, can I?” She said as the stallion made his way down the small steps and past the table, kissing her as she bent backwards in the chair to reach his lips.

The stallion grabbed an aluminium cup as well, and poured a fair amount of Coffee. He had come in from his duties earlier, so he had gotten much more sleep than Terra Nova. He sat next to her, carefully pushing a pile of books over to set his cup down on. He shook his head, resettling his bedhead. Then a stern silence held the room, chilling almost.

“Terra… I know you’ve been working really hard lately… I know what I promised to you…” The stallion said, but he was cut off by silent weeping.

“Brax... Please… We get one life… I don’t want have to give it up for war! Let us live life like the war isn’t happening! Let’s get married!” She said to him.

Brax lowered his head in sorrow. “Terra.. How many times do I have to say it? We can’t live like there is no war when we’re actively involved in it! We will never be able to lead normal lives… No one will, not until this war is over. Which is why we’re here. We’re the best of the best, we can better our cause. Then I promise you we can get married.” He said. She looked up at him, sniffling. “Cross your heart?”

Brax smiles. “Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.” Brax wiped Terras few remaining tears away.

“I-I’m sorry…” She confessed. Brax smiled and embraced her. “Don’t worry about it love. I love you too… Believe me I wish we could go on with the wedding as much as the next stallion, but it’s just so difficult to raise a family in this day and age.”

Terra Nova nodded sorrowfully. “Thanks.. Brax.” She said. He hugged her again, not saying anything. He kisses her on the forehead, and then stands from his chair.

“Well I better be off. Don’t want to be late for training…” He said nervously.

Terra nodded. She stood as well. “Indeed, I need to be off as well... “

Brax started out the door when Terra stopped him. “Hey Brax? Good luck in Tomb placement today.”

Brax smiled and nodded. “You too love. Be safe.”

Terra nodded. Her eyes glassy and sore. She poured the rest of her coffee pot into a thermos. She went and equipped her armor, taking one last glimpse of a picture of her and Brax before heading out the door, and into the cold night.

Author's Note

Hope you enjoy so far!