The Truth is a Harsh Mistress

My light hovered a foot or so above my head bathing the dark forest in a cool blue light. Trees twisted into various shapes to each side of the path, the cold nipped at my thin coat, and the autumn leaves rattled in the wind -

“Those aren’t leaves.”

I spun around as the creature clambered onto the trail behind me, an earth pony skeleton with an abnormal coloration holding a jagged dagger between its teeth.

“Bloody Skeleton. Heals fast. Weak to blunt force, won’t stay down for long. Need holy water.”

I grabbed a pair of flasks off my bandolier, my horn field glowing a strong green color, as I scanned the surroundings. Three - no, make that four more skeletons climbed the steep slope to my left, three pegasi and a unicorn. One flask was tossed their direction and made a satisfying pop as the liquid ice froze two skeleton’s hooves to the ground. Not a permanent solution, but I preferred waves to a horde.

I waited until the first skeleton started charging me to throw the second and my magic guided the throw true. The flask hit my target dead-center and a sticky black resin burst out, coating its body and causing its hooves to stick to the ground, its attack halted.

“Need protection. Cast Staunch Aegis to guard. Get some distance, make them come to you.”

The thought had barely entered my mind before I started casting, and by the time the two skeletons I hadn’t frozen reached the road a translucent shield hovered at the ready and I had moved further down the road. As expected the skeletons gave chase, a pegasi that flapped useless wings trailing behind a unicorn that leveled a broken horn as it charged. I suppressed a shudder at the sight as it rammed headfirst into the shield which had interposed itself between the monster and myself.

“Sizeable fallen branch to the right, useful as club. Fight one-on-one.”

At my urging the branch levitated and bludgeoned the unicorn skeleton, taking out its left legs in one swipe. I had just enough time to breath before the pegasi reached me, wings outstretched in a horrid display of avian bone structure. I struggled to maintain my grip on the club as it and my shield worked in tandem to block the frenzied swipes from the skeleton. As it pulled on my club I let it go and grabbed another pair of flasks - the first hit the ground, coating it with an oily substance and causing the skeleton to slip, while the second hit the pegasi on its barrel as a burst of alchemical fire set it aflame.

“Earth pony skeleton is breaking free. Need a diversion, buy time to whip up some holy water. Twinned Limning will do.”

I cast my spell just in time - the skeleton charged and crashed into my shield which fell apart under the immense pressure. It swung its knife at me. I dodged downwards and to its right, horn blazing with effort, and with a flash -

One of the remaining pegasi slammed into “me” only to pass straight through and crash into the earth pony skeleton. I ignored the urge to laugh from my spot just off the trail in the woods and continued mixing. The reserve spell lattice I kept packed away for emergencies burned away as it catalyzed the final reaction with holy power, blessing the contents of my canteen. With the most pressing issue solved I turned my attention back to the skeletons.

“No bludgeoning spells, but a concussive blast should work just fine.”

I pulled a sphere out of my saddlebags and levitated it over to the skeletons who were just starting to stand back up. I covered my ears as I applied pressure and twisted the cap before letting it drop between the two of them. The grenade exploded loudly as the force behind the fiery explosion battered the skeletons and I heard them fall apart from behind my tree. I sighed with relief and quickly left cover to anoint the skeletons and lay them to rest. I focused carefully on each body for signs of (un)life but found none and unscrewed the cap to my canteen.

I felt more than heard the remaining skeleton creeping up behind me as I sprinkled the holy water on one of the pegasi. I cursed as I tried conjuring up a basic shield but the force of its blow shattered my hastily-called barrier and knocked me over. My horn felt like someone had stomped on it, and in a way it had - abjurations broken by brute force usually cause the caster to take negative feedback. It swung a hoof at me. I dodged left and grabbed its hoof, pulling it. The skeleton staggered, off-balance. I turned and bucked as hard as I could. Not hard enough, despite the stinging pain in my hooves. It snapped at me with its teeth - I pulled away just as its jaw closed. It unfurled its wings and swung. I grabbed the nearest bone and blocked what I could, wings and hooves making contact with my barrel and legs. I moved back quickly and tried to throw a flask at it, but my hooves were unpracticed. The flask broke on the ground between us and I cried out as the acid splashed against my coat. I took solace knowing the skeleton had felt it as well.

“The other skeletons are reviving. Find it, quickly.”

I used the time to scan the forest and hill - I didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. The skeleton was coming at me again. I grabbed every bone I could reach with my magic and held them in front of me in a makeshift barrier. The pegasus skeleton slammed against the bones and I grunted with effort. I was stalling, and the skeleton hit my bone shield hard to wear me down. I grabbed my last flask and lifted it over the shield, hoping it would be enough to take out -

“Ah… hahaHA! You clever plothole!”

I put the flask down and instead ran my magic over my coat, feeling for anything abnormal, and sure enough it was there. I lifted the small paper disk in front of me and as the skeleton finally broke through the bone shield I cast a spell on the paper. The skeleton passed straight through me and vanished, followed shortly by the rest.

I sighed and laid down on the ground, tired, as the forest and hill around me shimmered and faded away to reveal an open courtyard nested at the bottom of a valley. It was a large grassy field with sidewalks criss-crossing at imperfect angles every now and again, a fountain with six statues depicting the Elements of Harmony sitting at one end next to a long, winding set of stairs built into the hillside. The yard looked rather plain, but I knew for a fact that it would be filled with flowers of all shapes and colors come spring. Somepony really put effort into maintaining the area.

I heard somepony clapping and looked up to see Professor Hazy Mirage smiling as he walked over and levitated a potion to me. I took it in my own field and drank it greedily, feeling a soothing sensation tingle along my body as it soothed my wounds and accelerated my body’s natural healing process. I’d still feel the bruises later, but for now I felt like I hadn’t been hit once.

Professor Mirage chuckled and said “Well done, Dusty Tome! Well done indeed!” I laughed a bit myself, blushing at the praise.

“I was a bit sloppy, to be honest, forgetting that fifth skeleton like that. But putting the illusion tag on my body? That was sneaky! I almost didn’t find it!”

The professor did a quick, joking bow to an imaginary audience. “All part of my brilliant test! So, how’d you find it? I hid it pretty thoroughly. Layering that many illusions on top of a powerful spell like that isn’t easy, you know!”

“To be honest, professor, it was mostly luck. I was using Twilight Sparkle’s Truth Sense to locate it, but it wasn’t going to find the tag if I couldn’t see it. When I lifted up that last flask I saw my back in the reflection and the spell picked it up.” I wasn’t thrilled that it had been mere chance that allowed me to succeed.

“Ha! Good to know! I didn’t put any reflective surfaces in that one, but I’ll have to work out a solution to that. Perhaps I’ll put it on the underside of the student’s barrel next time? But that area is more sensitive, they might feel it… Maybe if I layer another? But it already has so many! If I could just…” I rolled my eyes as the professor started mumbling to himself about ways to improve his spell. If I hadn’t cast Truth Sense beforehand I’d be quasi-real skeleton chow, ferried off to the medical wing.

“Well, anyway, back to business!” The professor spoke back up again, his talk of formulas and magical interference quickly forgotten. “You performed admirably, Dusty. I can tell your studies are paying off. That was excellent use of Trixie Lulamoon’s Twinned Limning, by the way!”

“Really? I kind of forgot to make my double blink. I thought they just didn’t notice because skeletons are mindless.”

“I wouldn’t have worried about that! Most ponies won’t take notice of a minor detail like that during a fight - hay, most casters won’t realize it until it’s too late if you time your spell right!”

I shrugged - who was I to argue with the School’s most talented illusionist? “So… I take it I passed then?”

Professor Mirage laughed. “With flying colors, no less!” He leaned in and whispered as if passing a secret. “Truth be told, your grades in this class are high enough that you’d have passed even if you couldn’t figure it out, so I decided to make things a little harder. You know, as a sort of challenge for my #1 student.” He stepped away and snarked “Of course, I should’ve known you’d use one of Princess Twilight’s spells against me. That’s basically the same as cheating.”

“Heh, yeah, I guess so. It took me months to get it to work right. Say, have you ever tested her?”

The professor groaned and said “By the stars, don’t even remind me. She’s truly one-of-a-kind. What do you think happened?”

I thought for a minute. “Um, she’s got plenty of skill and the raw power to back it up, so… I guess she’d use Truth Sense as a wide-radius detection spell rather than sensory alteration, pinpoint the tag’s location, and destroy it with some kind of force missile?” The professor’s eyes grew haunted and he shook his head. “No? Then, maybe she used an arcane sight spell to see where the illusion’s magic was originating and dispelled the source remotely?”

The professor sighed and looked down at the ground. “She didn’t use magic.”

I’m pretty sure even the crickets stopped chirping.

“WHAT?! How is that- no, how did- was it some kind of-”

He didn’t even look at me when he said “She’s by far the most intelligent mare I’ve ever met. She sat in on a few classes to see how I was faring as a teacher and took some notes. When she asked if she could do a demonstration for the class she told me to do whatever it took to fool her, so I cooked up the most elaborate veil I could think of. As soon as the test began she started rattling off her observations on my personality, just using what she saw in class, like she was analyzing my life. While she lectured she just walked over to where it was hidden and tore it in half with her bare hooves.”

I couldn’t believe it. No magic, no special powers, just deductive reasoning? “No way.” I breathed, in awe.

“Yes way. She turned back to the class and told them that in any kind of conflict the most dangerous opponent isn’t the one with strong spells, special powers, speed, physical strength - not even the most intelligent. No, the most dangerous enemy is the one who knows you, who understands you on a level that nobody else does. If you know how another pony thinks, how they’re likely to act and react, you control the course of the conflict.”

Amazing. “‘Princess of Friendship’, indeed. Must’ve been rough.”

He chuckled at that and smiled as he looked up at me. “Well, not really. I think I was part of the class in her mind that day. What she said has many implications for illusion magic as well - knowing how the enemy will act and react gives you a distinct advantage in that you can mold your spells to their expectations. It’s difficult, sometimes - empathizing with the enemy, that is - but it has merit. And, hay, if you understand the enemy you might not even need to fight.”

I understood that much. “I get it. She didn’t have to fight the creatures or the illusion you threw at her because she knew how you’d think. She avoided the conflict through understanding. That’s pretty ingenious.”

“It sure is! But enough about that. You ought to get back up to the college, lunch is going to start soon and you don’t want to miss the next meal - it’s one of those special ‘Exam Meal’ dealies where they really pull out all the stops. It’s supposed to be enhanced with stress-relieving herbs or something. Though, if your other exams are going as well as mine I suppose you won’t need them, eh?” he ribbed.

I blushed a bit again and said “Yeah, I’ll get going. Thanks for the story, Professor! Good luck with the rest of the students!” as I turned and trotted up the stair path back towards the School.

“Ha! You really ought to be wishing them luck!” He waved at me as I climbed the stairs, and as I got about halfway up I heard him shout “You better be signing up for my intermediate course next semester, young stallion! I’ll make a proper illusionist out of you yet!”

I snorted and let out a laugh that rang across the valley. “Wouldn’t dream of missing it!” I climbed up the rest of the stairs, a spring in my step, and gazed upon the wondrous architecture of Canterlot. As Equestria’s old capital city the buildings here were simply astounding, arching and reaching towards the sky in ways that framed the sun on its journey every day. The white marble reflected much of its light, making the city seem bright and cheery even on a cloudy day. There were monuments everywhere dedicated to the Princesses, heroes of old, and of course the six mares who saved the world time and time again.

The Elements of Harmony. Everypony knows they existed, once, but it has been a long time since the last mortal Bearer passed. They say Princess Twilight keeps them in her quarters at Ponyville. I’ve heard that the city expanded so rapidly that it became a hub of activity for the whole kingdom, and with the newest and most popular princess’ castle there it wasn’t long before most of the nobility moved from Canterlot. Which was all fine by me, of course - Sparkle’s School for Gifted Unicorns was devoted to education away from all the intricacies of politics and the nobility. Sure, lots of rich ponies lived here even now - And who could blame them? The city is gorgeous. - but they’re more often than not business-owners and rich retired ponies who want a nice quiet life. I half-expect that Princess Twilight petitioned for the capital’s relocation so her home-away-from-home would be more peaceful. Besides that, Princess Luna had a permanent residence at the Canterlot Castle and decided to stay after the move - the nobility never cared much for her anyway and were glad to be rid of her heavy hoof on the court. If you ask me I think she prefers it this way. Night Court is still held each night, though it’s not the same as it used to be. Nowadays the Princess gets more astronomy students and stargazers than petitioners and legal disputes, and she displays her nightly creations for the whole city to see. Nopony would call her princess-like in the strictest definition of the word, but there’s a casual beauty and grace to her countenance, a kind heart that resonates with the people, and a childlike glee that makes her very popular with the foals. We really couldn’t ask for better.

My thoughts trailed off as I reached the School’s imposing marebau timber doors etched with the unmistakeable symbol of the Element of Magic. I walked over to the side where the pull-chord for the doorbell sat and passed it, reaching out with my magic for the puzzle next to it. The solution changed daily, and you weren’t allowed entrance without solving it - the doorbell was for students who gave up. It was quite embarrassing to have the doors opened for you, but better to be embarrassed and inside than stubbornly prideful and outside. Today’s puzzle was rather tricky, and I considered casting Deductive Guage to supplement my thought process but realized the solution moments later and started twisting the pieces around. With a satisfying click they all fell into place and the door opened. I walked through and heard the whirring of the puzzle resetting as the doors closed behind me.

Tired as I was a break was in order. I dropped by the cafeteria and took a meal to go, and once I trudged up the stairs to my room I realized I was dead beat. I resigned myself to a nap, lazily casting a preservation spell on my meal so I wouldn’t have to put it away or reheat it later, and closed my eyes.

She looked down on the foal, tears flowing down her cheeks as she apologized. The sun was meant to set ten minutes ago, it wasn’t like her to miss her schedule, but she ignored the thoughts. With a gentle tenderness she lifted the colt in a soothing golden-yellow field, and despite her sobbing the colt giggled and cooed in her magic’s grasp. She allowed a smile to grace her features, the moment of happiness stirring up her guilt once more, and everything seemed so still for just a moment.

Light played across the broken glass just inside the window creating rainbows, mixing the world’s beauty with its harshness in a testament to the cruel irony of reality. She carried him through the front door, broken down at the hinges, out into the sunlight which persisted long after it should have been dark. As the colt reached out, grasping at strands of her hair, she held him at a distance. She couldn’t allow herself to feel joy after this. The mare absentmindedly began to sing an old, mournful song and started off on the long journey home.

The night came late that day.