Noctris Girlsby BlackyoshiChaptersEpisode 1: Two SoulsEpisode 3: Spiteful WitchcraftEpisode 2: Fabulous MisadventureEpisode 1: Two Souls“Is that seat taken?” Lis asked the little pale blue girl sitting alone in the back of the biology lab. She shook her head. “Is it ok if I take it?” The girl looked at Lis before silently nodding. Lis sat down and took out her things. “Great, thanks. My name is Lis, by the way. What’s yours?” The girl answered, but her voice was so sheepish that Lis couldn’t understand it. Lis put a pen on her notebook and slipped both to the girl. “You can just write it down, if you like. You don’t have to talk.” A smile stole itself on the girl’s face for just a moment. Then she wrote something down and slipped everything back. I’m Ocellus, nice to meet you. “Nice to meet you too, Ocellus,” Lis said smiling from ear to ear, “You have a very pretty handwriting!” Their teacher came in and started the lesson. Lis followed it attentively. First lesson and it’s about humans! Perfect! Writing without magic is a pain, though. But I promised Syri to not openly use magic, and I can see why that’s a good idea. The only time Lis’ attention was taken away from the teacher was when she told them about human genders, and that they were determined by their chromosomes. Lis noticed how Ocellus grabbed her pencil harder and muttered something about the teacher being wrong. I’ll definitely have to put a pin in that one, Lis thought. After biology, Lis’ class had a double period PE. She had already changed into her sports clothing when she noticed something. “Hey, did anypo— I mean, did anyone see Ocellus?” “She’s exempt from PE,” a blue haired pink girl told her, “If you ask me, something isn’t right with ‘her’.” Lis was annoyed by how condescending the girl sounded. “And who are you?” “I’m Cozy Glow. You’re new here, right? Wanna be friends?” That’s the fakest bitch I’ve ever seen in my lives, Lis thought. “No thanks.” “Oh, pretty please? I would be a way better friend than that freak.” Lis was about to slap Cozy when another girl pushed her away while saying, “Shut it, Mozy, and get on the field. We’ve got something to settle.” Cozy put on a smile. “You really should learn to behave like a girl, Smolder, or everyone will think you are a boy.” “Do I look like I care?” Smolder turned to Lis. “Come, Freshling, just ignore her.” “You… I like you,” Lis said to Smolder before following her into the gym. During roll call, their PE teacher, Principal Celestia herself, noticed that Lis was wearing a golden bracelet with three green stones. “You have to take that off… Lysinda, was it?” “Yes, ma’am, but I can’t take it off, sorry.” Celestia raised an eyebrow. “Why not?” “I… I promised my mom. She wears the other one, and because she’s always gone for so long, we promised to never take them off. Can I keep it on, please?” Lis looked at her with star sprinkled puppy eyes. Celestia sighed. “I guess I can make an exception, but make sure it doesn’t break.” Then she explained what they’d do at first. “It’s a version of prison ball played with two balls. We will push two vaulting boxes in the inner courts, and the prisons of each team will surround the enemy field. One member of each team will start in prison as the queen, the others start in their courts. If all players of a team are in prison, the queen enters the court and gets both balls. You can go back from prison to the court if you hit an enemy. If you catch a ball, it doesn’t count as a hit. Any questions?” Nobody had questions, so Celestia decided that Smolder and Wind Sprint would choose teams. Wind Sprint began and chose Cozy. Smolder chose Lis. She walked to Smolder and waited. It was obvious that Cozy was telling Wind who to choose. “So we get to throw balls at Cozy’s face?” Lis asked her. “That would be awesome, but not worth the detention Celestia would give you.” “Can’t we just say that we aimed for something else?” “She’d just say that it only matters where we hit. And you already look like the kind of kid teacher’s just wait for an excuse to punish, Freshling.” “Thank you! I’m doing my best… well, worst.” Lis was on her way to the library when she ran into a green haired senior student, causing both to trip to the ground. “Oh, sorry, I should have looked where I’m walking,” Lis said. “Just forget about it,” the senior said walking away, a hand in her bag. Huh, that’s a weird one. Let’s see where this is going… Lis shook her head and proceeded to the library. Just as Smolder had said during lunch, Ocellus was sitting between two bookcases in the least frequently visited corner. “Hey, Ocellus.” “H-Hey, Lis,” she said with a weak smile. “What are you reading?” “It’s about occult rituals,” Ocellus said, “but you would probably think it’s boring…” “Maybe, maybe not. Why don’t you tell me more about it?” Lis said, sitting down beside Ocellus, and was rewarded by her excitedly fangirling about it to Lis for the next thirty minutes. “...but that only covers the basics of it,” Ocellus ended her monologue. “Wow, no wonder you sneak away to read about that stuff,” Lis said, “it sounds amazing! But I think we have to go to music class now.” “Yeah…” They both stood up and left the library. When they reached the staircase in the entry hall, they could hear a girl rushing down the stairs while shouting, “STAIRS! stairstaristairstairstaris,” on the way down, jumping over the last two and yelling one last, “STAIRS!” when landing. “You really like stairs,” Lis said with a grin. “Sure do!” The girl looked closer at Lis. “Hey, you’re the one that kept throwing balls at Cozy’s head in PE, right?” “You did?” Ocellus asked. Lis grinned mischievously. “Near her head, yeah. The rules say I can’t hit her in the face, but nothing about almost hitting her in the face, and making her flinch doing so. Anyway, who are you again? I didn’t catch your name.” “I’m Silverstream. And you’re Lysinda, right?” “Lis, yeah. But let’s get to music before we end up being late.” Lis wanted to leave the music room as soon as class was over, but she noticed that Ocellus was still sitting in her seat, all her stuff on her table. And she seemed to be shaking a little. So Lis waited until everyone was gone, walked up to her and asked, “Hey, what’s the problem?” “It’s—it’s Cozy. You really made her angry in PE.” “Yeah, so?” “She’s gonna let that out on me, she always does. And I have to take the same bus she does, and that’s for three-quarters of an hour.” Lis’ face went dark for a moment before softening up again. “I’m sorry, I didn’t want you to get in trouble with her because of me.” “No! I mean, you don’t have to. It’s not your fault that she’s like that, and she deserves to be put down a notch.” Ocellus sighed. “But I’m still afraid about the bus ride.” “I wish I could help you, but my bus goes the other way.” Ocellus calmed down a bit and started to pack her things. “Too bad I can’t just come with you today…” “Hey, why not?” “What?” “Just come with me. We can do our homework together, and you wouldn’t have to go on the bus with Cozy. I can’t see why not.” “Wouldn’t your parents be mad?” “It’s just me and my big sis, and I’m sure she’s chill about that.” “I have to ask my parents first.” Ocellus got her phone out and texted them. It took them a few minutes, and Syringa promising to bring Ocellus home later, but they eventually managed to get Ocellus’ parents' permission. “... and this is my room,” Lis said while walking through the door. Ocellus followed her and looked around. “It’s really nice.” It was a large room, and even had a couch and coffee table with a tv on the opposite wall in the back, but apart from that, looked oddly normal for a girl like Lis. “Thanks! We just moved in, so it still lacks some personality, at least in my mind.” She pointed at the console connected to her television. “Wanna play a bit?” Ocellus nodded and they started to play an arcade racing game. They had a lot of fun, both winning sometimes and losing sometimes, but eventually Lis asked, “Hey, what’s up with your name, by the way?” “Wha—What do you mean?” “Your name, Ocellus. It’s grammatically male, right? But you’re a girl. I was just wondering why that is.” “Uhm…” Ocellus’ eyes frantically shot around the room. Come on, something to avoid answering that! TV? no. Desk? Not interesting enough. Pile of pillows? She probably just cleared of her— wait, she has no bed! “Why don’t you have a bed in here?” Lis looked like she was just caught doing something bad, and Ocellus saw her chance. “It’s your room, but there’s no bed. Where do you sleep?” “Oh, uhm… I forgot about that,” Lis giggled nervously. “Tell you what, I tell you why I don’t have a bed, if you promise to explain what’s with your name. Deal?” She offered Ocellus her hand to seal it with a handshake. For a moment, Ocellus thought that she saw a weak, blue aura surrounding Lis’ hand, but it was gone in a blink. She took her hand. “Deal.” “Ok, then. The reason I have no bed is that I don’t have to sleep. And the reason for that is that—” Lis took off her bracelet. Her pupils became slits and her teeth turned into pointy shark teeth. A magical glow surrounded her and lifted her off the ground. Her legs turned into hooves and she grew a horn. She turned in a pirouette, drawing a rainbow in the air above her head“—I’m a magical princess from another dimension!” Ocellus was speechless, her mind blank. “Specifically, a Nachtmare,” Lis went on to explain, “We’re creatures with a very strong connection to the dream realm, and we have two—” “Two souls!” Ocellus exclaimed, “One being asleep, the other awake! I read about that in a book a bit ago. I thought your kind was just a legend!” “Well, I’m as real as it gets. Although in the end, reality is an ambiguous thing, right? We’re just characters of a bigger story.” “What?” “Oh, just ignore that. But yeah, I’m not a legend, at least not yet. But this form is kinda tiring, so...” Lis turned back into her human form in a flash of white light. “But I thought your kind dies in sunlight?” “In our world, yeah. But this world’s sun lacks the magical punch of ours, so it’s safe. Even though I’m not used to how bright it is during the day. How can you bear that your entire lives?” “Sunglasses.” “Huh, yeah, that might work.” “What’s the bracelet for?” “It’s a suppressor for my magic. If you grow up with it, you kinda just use it by instinct. But it would be a bad thing if everyone just knew about me. It’s not working properly, I still can use magic when wearing it, but I really have to put in the extra effort. So I can’t use it accidentally. “So, I kept my promise, now it’s your turn.” “Yeah, I know. But promise me to not tell anyone.” Lis put her hand on her chest. “Hand to heart, I swear on my lives to keep your secret.” “Okay…” Ocellus avoided looking at Lis’ starred eyes. “The reason for my name is that… that I’m… I’m… trans. And my parents gave me my name when they still thought I was a boy. I haven’t changed it yet, because honestly, you were the first to notice that it’s not a girl’s name” Ocellus expected a shocked reaction, or confusion, or even disgust. All things she’d had to face when coming out to someone in the past. What she didn’t expect was Lis’ actual reaction. In a casual tone, Lis said, “Makes sense.” “You… You know what that means, right?” Ocellus asked. “Yeah, born in the wrong body, in your case a boy’s, but you’re actually a girl. I honestly thought the story of your name is more interesting.” “You think that’s boring?” Lis seemed embarrassed. “I mean, it’s not boring, just not as interesting as I expected. Of course, it’s cool that you understand yourself so well already. That is interesting. But it’s not something I’d make a fuss about. You’re trans, so what? I care more about how people are on the inside, anyway. So why would I care if you got the wrong packaging to your pretty mind?” Ocellus pulled Lis into a hug. “Thank you! Just—Thank you for being understanding!” “Hey, no problem,” Lis said surprised. Ocellus let Lis go and took a step back, now with the same glow in her eyes she had had in the library. “You have to do a lot of catch up for school, right?” “Unfortunately, yeah.” “Why don’t you connect us? I read that Nachtmares can link two minds together, and that those two than share their knowledge.” “That really would be a lot of help. And you really would be ok with that?” Ocellus nodded enthusiastically. “Reading about the occult is great, but experiencing it is even better!” “Then let’s do this! Grab a pillow and sit down.” Ocellus took a teal coloured pillow from the pile and sat down on it in the middle of the room. Lis sat down cross legged in front of her. She rested her arms on her legs and held her hands to Ocellus, the right hand with the palm up, the left one with the back of the hand up. “Hold my hands the same way. So that your hands mirror mine.” Once they were holding hands, Lis said, “Now, close your eyes. I have to give you a tiny bit of magic first, that might tickle a little… Ocellus stopped feeling her surroundings as soon as the magic arrived. That felt like falling asleep, but being awake… She opened her eyes. “I’m hovering in a black void.” She knew that she was talking, but her voice seemed to come from somewhere far away. “That’s normal,” Lis said in a clear voice, “don’t worry. Now imagine yourself to be in a room.” “What room?” “Whatever you feel comfortable in. You’re using the dreamscape to create a magical mind palace for yourself. You’ll need that for the connection later.” Ocellus focused, and her own room appeared around her. But it was horribly crammed with everything she can remember. “Ok, I did it.” “Good. Are there any things in there that you don’t want me to see?” “Yes.” “Imagine your room to have a door, leading to another room. Somewhere to keep your secrets in.” Ocellus concentrated, and a closet door appeared in the wall next to her. It swung open, and everything she wanted to hide flew through it. Once the last thing was in it, the door closed shut and locked. “Done.” “Good. Now create another door, a door that leads towards my own mind palace.” As Lis was saying that, Ocellus noticed another presence on the edge of her mind. She concentrated on it, and a door appeared opposite to the closet. She walked towards it and opened it. A small, white unicorn was standing outside. “Very good, Ocellus.” “You’re a pony!” Ocellus said surprised. Aww, she’s cute like that! “Well, yeah, I told you. It’s just easier for me to take that form in the dream world.” “Makes sense.” They stood there in silence for a moment. “Why don’t you come in?” “You have to invite me in.” “Oh, okay. I invite you to enter my room. So, how does the connection work exactly?” “The gist of it is that we link one of your rooms with one of mine,” Lis explained,” and we then have access to what is in each other’s room. I would make another room where all school knowledge goes to, or whatever else you want me to know. I did the same on my side.” Ocellus nodded and a third door appeared. She walked through it and entered the library she just created. The shelves filled themselves with books about everything she had learned in school. “And what now?” “You have give me something from this room, and I give you this from me.” Lis levitated a necklace of a crescent blue moon into Ocellus’ hands. Ocellus tried to decide which book to give lis, but then she had another idea. This is a dream, I can just make whatever I want. She created a necklace of her own, with a green bug symbol instead of a moon, and gave it to Lis. Lis nodded. “Thanks. I just need to get back to my room for a second.” She disappeared, but Ocellus could hear her voice. “Concentrate on your necklace. Try to move your dreamscape towards it.” The wall on the far side of the library dissolved as soon as she did, revealing Lis’ room, a chaotic array of desks and pinboards, with sheets of papers scattered everywhere, connected by multiple, different coloured strings of yarn. Well, can’t say I’m surprised about that, Ocellus thought. “That’s it?” “Yes,” Lis said grinning brightly, “I can remember all the stuff you learned, and you should remember what I learned. And the best thing is, it will update itself automatically when we learn something new in school!” “So, we’ll learn twice as fast?” Ocellus asked. “Huh. I think so. I think so, yes. Since we learn it twice automatically. And if we concentrate on it.” We can even talk telepathically! How did you do that? Wait, how did I do that? Magic! Episode 3: Spiteful WitchcraftAuthor's Note DISCLAIMER: If you want to understand what is going on here, you need to have read AppleWitch first! Episode 3: Spiteful Witchcraft Diamond Tiara was in the mall to get herself a new outfit. Was about time for a new style, she thought, and my old clothes don’t fit anymore, anyway. Her first stop was the sportswear store Scootaloo had recommended. She found a sweatshirt that caught her attention. Hot pink, long sleeves, with two black stripes on the sides… Spoiled would hate seeing me in that… It’s absolutely perfect! She grabbed one and went to the fitting room, but it wasn’t quite big enough. Two sizes bigger, then. Granny’s pie is just too good to resist. Then she grabbed a pair of dark grey walking boots, paid, left the store, and changed into it in a restroom. Now I only need a skirt or something… Where’s that store Sweetie Belle told me about… No, that’s too short… And that’s so long that I’d step on it all the time… She put the neon green skirt away again and looked at a light grey one on another shelf. A bit longer than the knee… Oh, who’s that? Diamond noticed a white haired girl with blue, starred eyes watching her. I guess I got a bit carried away… Eh, might as well get a second opinion. She turned to her spectator, held the skirt to her waist and asked, “Hey, what do you think?” The girl tilted her head. “Hm… I mean, it’s cute, but it's not really fitting for your arc, don’t you think?” Arc? Diamond wondered, Does she mean my figure? “Why don’t you try the store over there—” the girl pointed at the far end of the mall “—They have really awesome combat skirts.” “I’ll give it a try, thanks.” Diamond looked at the name of the store the girl had recommended. ‘SnowRose Amory’... Never thought I’d ever go into a larp store to buy clothes… Diamond entered the store, and was overwhelmed by the interior design. She looked around, slowly taking a few steps further into the store. The floor was made from old, dark wood, the second floor was supported by wooden pillars in a lighter colour, the lights looked like medieval lanterns, and the walls were made from crude stone. And I thought the CMC is insistent about their aesthetic. A store clerk approached her. “Good day, and welcome to our humble store!” “Um… hello.” “Is this thee first visit here, fair maiden?” “It is,” Diamond said, with a grin, “But I’m not a fair maiden. I happen to be a witch.” “Ah, terribly sorry for the mistake,” the clerk said without breaking character, “In what magical endeavour may I assist thee?” “I’m looking for combat skirts.” “Then thou have come to the right place. Follow me.” The clerk lead her through the store, passing all sorts of garments, armours, and weapons before reaching their destination. Diamond looked through the stock, eventually picking a wide, ankle length black skirt with four slits going up to her knee. Stylish and practical, exactly what I need. She left the store, her old outfit stuffed in a bag, and took the bus back to Sweet Apple Acres. While sitting on the bench in the back, she thought, Today’s the big day, it's finally happening! Ah never would have thought that’s possible nine months ago, but a lot has happened since then… Sleeping on a mattress on the ground isn’t too horrible, but I won’t miss it, Diamond thought, At least Applebloom doesn’t snore… She looked at her watch. Oh for the love of—five minutes to six? She sighed and turned around again. Five minutes later, her alarm forced her to wake up. She turned it off quickly, but not quickly enough to not disrupt Applebloom, who, still half asleep, tried hitting her own alarm clock. “Sorry, Ah must have forgotten to turn that thing off…” “No, that was mine, actually,” Diamond said while getting dressed. “Wha…” Applebloom opened her eyes just enough to glance at the clock. “Diamond,” she said without getting up, “Its summer break, there’s no chores, we can sleep as long as we want… why the hell did you set an alarm?” “I want to train.” Applebloom set herself up on her bed, with a severe case of bed hair. “You want to do what now?” “Train. Get stronger. I’ll just carry a bolder around, or something like that.” “You have no idea how that works, right?” “I’ll figure it out,” Diamond said confidently. “You’ll break yer back,” Applebloom responded matter-of-factly. “Well, thanks for the warning. Just go back to sleep, I’ll go train.” Applebloom looked at her reaching for the doorknob before saying, “Alright, fine, Ah’ll come with ya. But just for an hour.” “Thanks.” “Yer welcome. Now get out.” Diamond was waiting outside when Applebloom came out. “Again, thank you, I really appreciate that you—” “Yeah, yeah, you’re welcome. Now tell me why you want to do this.” She crossed her arms and looked around, shifting her weight from one leg to the other. “Well, you see, I want to be able to help around the farm, while I’m here, and I figured it would be better if I do it when I’m not bothering anyone else…” She turned to Applebloom. She’s not buying it… or she’s just tired… Diamond let her arms drop down, sighed and said, “Alright, I admit, I want to spite my mother, ok? She always harped on muscular girls for being too brutish, and I just want to stick it too her that she can’t control me anymore.” Applebloom lifted an eyebrow. Diamond hesitated for a moment before adding, “and if she slaps me again, I want to be strong enough to slap her back.” “Fair enough. Now let’s get this over with.” Diamond suddenly pulled Applebloom in for a hug. “Thank you! Just... thank you for helping me.” “Ah'm way too tired for this," Applebloom said, “let me go.” “Oh, sorry.” She took a step back, then grinned from anticipation. “So, what should I lift?” “Diamond, Ah’m not even sure if ya have muscles in those noodles you call arms. I’m not gonna let you lift anything before Ah’m sure that you have some endurance.” “You could have said that nicer,” Diamond said, the grin disappearing from her face. “Ah could have gone back to sleep, too.” With a sigh of defeat, Diamond said, “Fine, what do you think I should do, then?” “We’ll jog to the clubhouse, without stopping, to warm up.” They both stood there in silence for a minute before Applebloom said, “Come on, you need to give the pace. ” “Oh, right, sorry,” Diamond said flustered. She started to jog away, but only came a few steps. “Hey, Diamond,” Applebloom said. Diamond stopped and turned to Applebloom, who gestured to her right and said, “The clubhouse would be that way.” After a few more wrong turns, they arrived at the clubhouse. “Congrats, ya made it,” Applebloom said. Diamond had to lean on the wall to stay on her feet, and tried to get her breathing under control. “Ya should have gone a bit slower, though.” “Oh, you… think… so…” Diamond replied between breaths. “See it as lesson one. Don’t overestimate yourself.” “Next time… tell me… before I… kill myself.” “You survived, didn’t ya? But if you want to stop for now and continue later…” “No, don’t worry. My muscles may be burning—” She pushed herself away from the wall and gave Applebloom a look of pure determination “—but my spite is burning stronger. Ya won’t get rid of me so easily.” “Good, because now we have to do the same thing back.” The way back took longer, but Diamond didn’t overwork herself to the point of collapsing this time around. “What now?” “I’m… not sure,” Applebloom admitted, “I never really trained just to train, ya know? Just working on the farm is enough to stay in shape.” “But I don’t have the luxury of spending years gradually building up muscles.” “Ah know… Ah think I might have an idea.” She walked over to the barn, Diamond following her. “And what?” “We could use a carrying pole as a barbell, and buckets as weights. It’s exhausting to carry buckets full of apples around all day, so it should do the trick.” She found what she was looking for, and put the pole with two empty buckets on Diamonds shoulders. “Isn’t that a bit too light,” Diamond asked. “Hm… wait a minute.” Applebloom walked back into the barn and came back with two bags full of apples. “Those are five kilos each,” she said while putting them into the buckets, “that ain’t much, but should be enough for the beginning. Now, do squats.” Eventually, Applebloom looked at her phone. “Would ya look at that, the hour is over.” “Already?” Diamond set the buckets on the ground, sighing from being free of the weight. “Didn’t seem like that long to me.” “But it was. Ah’ll go back to bed. And ya should as well.” “I think I—” she was cut off by a yawn “—Okay, yeah, you’re right.” They went back to Applebloom’s room. Diamond looked at her mattress on the floor. “It would be nice to have a proper bed,” she thought out loud. “Just grab your pillow and blanket, and hop in,” Applebloom said while pulling her stuff to one side of the bed. “Really?” “Sure, why not. It’s big enough for two, and not really that different from a slumber party. Just stay on your side, or I’ll kick you out of the bed.” I’ll remember to not wake her up again. The bus arrived at Diamond’s stop, so she got up and walked the now very familiar path from Sweet Apple Acres to the CMC’s clubhouse in no time. The others weren’t there yet, but Diamond had a lot to prepare, anyway. She looked through the jars on the shelves, her eyes stopping on one with a single red pebble in it. Still enough there, good. Would have been a hassle to get one in time, otherwise. Then she picked up a basket and sickle, and went into the forest to gather the other ingredients. First on her list was foxglove. Okay, where did the book say that stuff grows… partial sunlight to deep shade, and basically everywhere in or around forests… very helpful. Wait, it’s also supposed to grow in moors! Bloom told me about a small patch of it. It’s… that way. Diamond knew that she had reached her destination when the ground turned into rubber. She yelled, “What in tarnation,” while fighting for balance. Waving her arms around, she just so managed to prevent herself from falling to the ground. “Okay,” she said to herself, “that’s not normal. Thank goodness I didn’t ruin the skirt on the first day.” Taking another step forward caused more waves to go through the ground. “Hm… what if…” She jumped as high as she could. Even the trees wiggled around when she landed. “How does this work? You know what? That doesn’t matter right now.” She searched the area and eventually found foxglove, harvested a handful of plants, and put them in her basket. On her way to the Apple-Pear-Tree, Diamond happened to come across the last item on her list, belladonna. Well, that was easy, but I ain’t complaining about it. She harvested enough of the plant for her potion, and soon arrived at the tree. She had no problems climbing trees anymore, so she climbed up to the top, cut off a part of the mistletoe, and made it safely down to the ground in less time than it had taken her to just get up the first time around. Back at the clubhouse, she lifted the cauldron off the fireplace and put a small pot on it. Then she filled it with water and started a fire to get it boiling. She took the red stone and grinded it to dust in a mortar. The CMC arrived shortly later. Applebloom, wearing her witch hat, was the first to say something. “Did ya find everything?” “Yeah, wasn’t too hard.” Scootaloo said, “That shirt is from the shop I told you about, right?” “It is, yes. Thanks for recommending it.” Diamond turned to Sweetie Belle. “I couldn’t find something in the one you told me about, though.” Sweetie Belle looked at Diamonds new outfit for a moment before saying, “Still looks good. If Applebloom gives you her hat, you’ll even look like a witch. I like it.” “Me too,” Scootaloo said. “Me three!” Applebloom followed Sweetie’s suggestion and put the hat on Diamonds head. “A fully-fledged Diamond-Witch.” “Well, almost,” Diamond said with a little blush, “I still have to pass my cauldronation.” “Right, Ah almost forgot. Whatcha makin’?” Diamond grinned. “You’ll see in a moment.” She threw all ingredients into the now boiling water, and said, “With the help of the tree of Apple and Pear, I will change forever the colour of my hair.” The potion turned deep black. “A hair dye potion? Well, colour me surprised,” Applebloom said. “Is it supposed to be black?” Sweetie Belle asked. “I’m not sure.” Diamond filled the potion into a flask. “Ah thought it’d turn into the colour I want my hair to be, but it didn’t really say anything about that in the spellbook.” “Ya can try another potion, if ya don’t want to risk it.” “I know I could, buuuuut…” Diamond downed the potion. Her hair first turned dark black, then completely white, and then stopped at green. “It worked!” “You wanted green hair?” Scootaloo asked. “I did. Applegreen, to be exact.” Episode 2: Fabulous MisadventureFour hours of sleep isn’t enough, Twilight thought when her alarm forced her out of bed, but there's no helping it now. She got up and started her morning routine. Bathroom, breakfast, dressing, gathering everything she was going to need during the day. She was already halfway out the door when a thought crept into her mind. You forgot your wallet. Twilight sighed, checked her bag, and didn’t find. She turned around and rummaged through her other jackets. She was sure that she had left it in one of the pockets, but had no luck. Your desk, in your room. She went there and found it. She was about to pick it up, but something caught her attention. Something weird in the corner of her eyes. She turned around to look at her reflection in the mirror, but she didn’t see herself in it. Instead, Midnight Sparkle stood there, awkwardly waving at her. Hey, Twilight… I’m back. Twilight froze up. Countless thoughts and questions raced through her head, all screaming for her attention. Midnight pressed her hands on her temples, her knees giving in a bit, forcing her into a hunched position. Stop that! Just be quiet! I can explain, I promise, but focus on one thing! “Easier said than done,” Twilight hissed at the mirror. Why is she back? I was never gone, Midnight said between deep breaths. She stood back up again. I just wasn’t strong enough to show myself. But I don’t want to fight. “And I’m supposed to believe that? You’re evil! Or a hallucination. Or I’m going insane. I don’t know.” I’m unscrupulous, not evil. That’s not the same. And yeah, in normal cases, you should probably seek professional help because of seeing and hearing me like that, but when were things ever normal since you discovered magic? Twilight hesitated before saying, “I guess that’s a fair point…” I’m an entity of curiosity first and foremost, you see? And since the Friendship Games, I had a lot of time to think. There’s so much to learn from both our world and Equestria, it would be a shame to destroy them already. And my best chances to learn more about them is working together with you. “That’s it? That’s all you’ve got to convince me to trust you? Did you really think that was going to be enough?” Midnight visibly sighed, but Twilight didn’t hear anything. Yeah, I thought it wasn’t going to be enough. But could you at least give me a chance? Twilight contemplated it. Also, it’s not like you could ignore me, right? I’m literally a voice in your head right now. Twilight contemplated it some more. Midnight pointed at the clock. And you’re about to miss your bus. Twilight’s first class of the day was math, together with Rarity and Fluttershy. All of them were standing around her table and chatted. You have to admit that ending up here made you more sociable. Rarity told the others about a new makeup technique she had discovered over the weekend. “But I can’t try it on myself! It’s specifically for applying it to others.” Twilight nodded. Yes, and I’m happy to have friends here, as you obviously know. And you would have never enrolled here if it weren’t for your curiosity, i e me. Oh, shut it. “Fluttershy, dear,” Rarity asked, “do you have time after school? I have some marvelous ideas for your makeup.” “Uhm, sorry, Rarity. The animal center got a few new rescues, and I volunteered to help them settle in.” “Twilight, what about you?” “What?” she asked, being startled out of her thoughts by Rarity. “I asked you if you would—” “Sorry, I don’t have time, either.” “Maybe I’ll ask Rainbow,” Rarity said, “Anyway, do you know who the new one is?” She pointed at someone sitting at the table closest to the door in an old looking deep purple dress and long brown hair wearing headphones that would make Vinyl proud. Finally someone noticed, Midnight told Twilight, I was getting curious myself. Twilight shook her head. “Never saw him before.” “I saw her talking to a raven earlier,” Fluttershy said, “in front of the school. She even gave her some food. And that raven is really distrustful.” “Anyway,” Rarity continued, “that kind of dress wasn't in season for, well, one or two hundred years, but I must admit that it really suits… him? her?” Now Twilight took a closer look at the new one. “I’m not sure.” “Me neither,” Fluttershy admitted, “the raven also just called them ‘the tall one who gave me food.’” The voice should clear things up, Midnight said. “Let’s just wait until they say something,” Twilight suggested. The others agreed and returned to their seats. When the teacher came in, he asked the new one to stand up and introduce themselves to class. Twilight noticed that they were wearing a rose gold, heart shaped necklace with a blue stone, and that they were at least a head taller than most of their classmates. “Hello, I’m Silent Syringa, it’s an honour to be here,” they said with the most androgynous voice any of them had ever heard. Midnight shouted, OH COME ON! Be quiet! Right, I wouldn’t want to ruin your favorite class, Twili. Syringa’s next class was cooking. They took out their notebook, but realized that their pencil case was gone. Oh, dammit. They turned around and asked the violet haired girl and the rainbow haired jock using the table behind him, “Could you keep an eye on my stuff? I forgot something in the chem lab.” “Why, of course, darling,” the violet one said, “not a problem.” “Thank you.” Syringa gave them a little head bow before putting on their headphones. They strode out of the room and back to the chemistry wing. They looked around the room. Empty. Ok, where’s my… there we go! The pencil case lied on the teacher’s desk. They levitated it into their hand, left the room, and rushed back to cooking class, giving Vinyl a high five when they walked past each other on the way. Oh, sneaking into an empty lab, are we? Midnight said, And here I thought I’m the evil one between us. “I have a free period,” Twilight muttered, “and the rule about students not using the labs outside of classes is ridiculous.” She was looking for a certain chemical in the storage room next to the lab. “What are they afraid of? I have my own lab at home, and I never blew up that one, either.” Well… “I blew up an erlenmeyer flask, not the entire lab.” You probably shouldn’t do even that much here. It would be a shame if you were expelled. “I know. I just want to… why am I explaining my plan to you? You know what I’m thinking.” Because thinking out loud is calming… someone opened the lab door. Twilight walked over to the door and peeked into the lab. The new one. What are they doing here? Forgot something last period, I’d assume, Midnight responded, Just wait, they’ll be gone in a moment and—why are they stretching out their arm like that? I don’t know, it almost looks like— Syringa’s pencil case levitated over to them, held in a orange glow. They left the room. Twilight put a hand on her geode. “It’s still here... but how—” They can use magic! Midnight said with excitement, This just got very interesting, wouldn’t you say? “Or very dangerous.” Eh, that’s hardly a difference, anyway. “Please, Dashie, I need someone to try it on! I could do wonders with your face!” “For the last time, no!” Rainbow took out the tray from the oven. “You know I’m not into fancy stuff.” “Oh, is that so? And what about your… unusual sport?” Rainbow’s face turned red. “I told you about that in confidence, and still no. Go ask your girlfriend.” Rarity sighed. “Trixie is on a magician competition and won’t be back till Friday, but I need to test it before that. I can only borrow the set for two days.” “What’s the problem?” Syringa asked. “She needs a guinea pig for some crazy new makeup thing,” Rainbow told them. “Dash, why do you have to say that like I’m a crazy scientist?” “Because that’s how you act?” Rarity was about to respond to Rainbow, but Syringa was faster. “If you give me a few tips on how to apply makeup myself, then I would happily volunteer.” “Wonderful! Would you mind coming with me after school?” “Not at all.” Rarity told Syringa to sit in on the stool in the middle of her dressing room. “So, Darling, do you have anything in mind?” “Not really, sorry,” Syringa said, “I’m not familiar with makeup around here. Just do what you think is best.” “You—you give me a free hand?” “I mean, yeah. You’re the expert, after all.” Dear Nyx, please don’t make me regret what I just said. Rarity looked at their face, walked around them, and started to form ideas. “Could we maybe do away with that braid?” “No.” “But you just said—” “Rarity, no. I had that braid with the stone since I was twelve. It stays.” “I think I have an idea already. A dark red lipstick, and black, winged eyeliner and a royal blue eyeshadow. I’ll just take off your necklace before I begin, it really wouldn’t go well with the rest.” She stepped behind Syringa and opened the lock of the necklace. Wait, necklace… Syringa thought, Oh, shit! Rarity took the necklace and went to place it on the shelf with her makeup, but she had only taken one step when Syringa asked with a very deep voice, “Could I have that back?” causing Rarity to yelp. She jumped back in surprise, dropping the necklace. Great. Just great. Syringa stood up, picked up the necklace, and put it back on. Their voice was back at being androgynous. “So, I guess I owe you an explanation.” “I’d say so, yes,” Rarity said, still shocked. “Well, you see, I’m from Equestria. Well, not Equestria the realm, Equestria the world. But from the Schattenrealm. And my necklace is enchanted, it makes my voice like this.” “Why would you need that?” “Look at me. By your world’s standards, I look like a mare—a girl, sorry, still getting used to that. But whenever I say something in my natural voice, it brings people off balance. Some even reacted aggressively. But I honestly just like this style of clothing too much to give it up, so I made this necklace instead.” “Oh, I can totally see why. You really wear it well… So that means you’re a guy?” Syringa let out a deep sigh. “I’m biologically male, yes. An earth pony stallion, back in my world.” “Should I call you a he, then? Or do you prefer something else?” “I’d prefer they, honestly. In the Schattenrealm, ‘he’ and ‘she’ literally only touch upon the biological sex and nothing else. There’s no roles assigned to it. But here, everyone expects guys to act a certain way, and girls to act another way, and I just don’t want any of that. I really don’t feel a connection to either gender, anyway. That’s also why I made my voice androgynous instead on full on female.” “Oooh, you’re agender, I understand. Not a problem, Darling, I’ll stick with they.” “Thank you, really.” Syringa hesitated for a moment. “You will keep my secret, right?” “But of course! Now, let me get everything I need to work my own fabulous magic on you. Would you mind telling me what brought you into this world?” “Oh, I’m mostly looking after my little sister, Lis. She went through the portal a few months back and wanted to give this world a try. And our mom was okay with me going as well.” “Princess Twilight made it sound like she protects the portal like a treasure,” Rarity said while comparing two shades of red lipstick, “How could your mother get her to let you two through?” “Well, being a queen comes with its perks…” “Wait,” Rarity stopped dead and turned to Syringa, “your mother is a queen? “She is.” “Doesn’t that mean that you are a prince?” “Yeah, technically. I guess that makes you my official royal stylist, then.” Rarity squeed from that realisation. She picked a lipstick, went back to Syringa and said, “Now I need you to stay perfectly still, Darling.” Syringa finished the last stroke of their eyeliner. After Rarity had completed her work, she had shown them how to remove makeup, and then explained step by step how to apply it. “Like this?” “Exactly, Darling,” Rarity said, “you will have to practice more before you’re as good as I am, of course, but for now, it’s good enough. If you really want to get into makeup, we should go shopping this weekend.” “It would be a pleasure.” Syringa stood up from the vanity. “Thank you again for the lesson.” “You’re welcome, Syri. Now, I know you don’t want to let go of the braid, but I think I have an idea for the rest of your hair.” “I’m sorry, I should leave now. Lis has a friend over, and I promised to bring them home.” Syringa drove back to their home and parked in the driveway. Lis and Ocellus were already waiting for them. "Hey, Syringa, nice makeup," Lis said walking past them, Ocellus following closely. "For someone who got all the time, you're really impatient, Lis." Syringa locked the front door and went back to their car. They took the driver's seat, Lis and Ocellus the back seats. “That’s a nice car,” Ocellus said, “Thanks, It’s a 1933 Bentley.” They put Ocellus address into the gps. “Good, just ten minutes from here.” Syringa drove back on the road and continued, “It’s an older car, yes, but it has all kinds of modern conveniences. Air conditioning, central locking, gps, a modern engine and radio… but it still retained all of its charm and beauty.” “Sis really fell in love with it,” Lis joked. “I simply appreciate high quality engineering." Lis thought about something. "Hey, can't we pick her up tomorrow morning before school? If it's just that little bit more way?" "Sure."
Episode 1: Two Souls“Is that seat taken?” Lis asked the little pale blue girl sitting alone in the back of the biology lab. She shook her head. “Is it ok if I take it?” The girl looked at Lis before silently nodding. Lis sat down and took out her things. “Great, thanks. My name is Lis, by the way. What’s yours?” The girl answered, but her voice was so sheepish that Lis couldn’t understand it. Lis put a pen on her notebook and slipped both to the girl. “You can just write it down, if you like. You don’t have to talk.” A smile stole itself on the girl’s face for just a moment. Then she wrote something down and slipped everything back. I’m Ocellus, nice to meet you. “Nice to meet you too, Ocellus,” Lis said smiling from ear to ear, “You have a very pretty handwriting!” Their teacher came in and started the lesson. Lis followed it attentively. First lesson and it’s about humans! Perfect! Writing without magic is a pain, though. But I promised Syri to not openly use magic, and I can see why that’s a good idea. The only time Lis’ attention was taken away from the teacher was when she told them about human genders, and that they were determined by their chromosomes. Lis noticed how Ocellus grabbed her pencil harder and muttered something about the teacher being wrong. I’ll definitely have to put a pin in that one, Lis thought. After biology, Lis’ class had a double period PE. She had already changed into her sports clothing when she noticed something. “Hey, did anypo— I mean, did anyone see Ocellus?” “She’s exempt from PE,” a blue haired pink girl told her, “If you ask me, something isn’t right with ‘her’.” Lis was annoyed by how condescending the girl sounded. “And who are you?” “I’m Cozy Glow. You’re new here, right? Wanna be friends?” That’s the fakest bitch I’ve ever seen in my lives, Lis thought. “No thanks.” “Oh, pretty please? I would be a way better friend than that freak.” Lis was about to slap Cozy when another girl pushed her away while saying, “Shut it, Mozy, and get on the field. We’ve got something to settle.” Cozy put on a smile. “You really should learn to behave like a girl, Smolder, or everyone will think you are a boy.” “Do I look like I care?” Smolder turned to Lis. “Come, Freshling, just ignore her.” “You… I like you,” Lis said to Smolder before following her into the gym. During roll call, their PE teacher, Principal Celestia herself, noticed that Lis was wearing a golden bracelet with three green stones. “You have to take that off… Lysinda, was it?” “Yes, ma’am, but I can’t take it off, sorry.” Celestia raised an eyebrow. “Why not?” “I… I promised my mom. She wears the other one, and because she’s always gone for so long, we promised to never take them off. Can I keep it on, please?” Lis looked at her with star sprinkled puppy eyes. Celestia sighed. “I guess I can make an exception, but make sure it doesn’t break.” Then she explained what they’d do at first. “It’s a version of prison ball played with two balls. We will push two vaulting boxes in the inner courts, and the prisons of each team will surround the enemy field. One member of each team will start in prison as the queen, the others start in their courts. If all players of a team are in prison, the queen enters the court and gets both balls. You can go back from prison to the court if you hit an enemy. If you catch a ball, it doesn’t count as a hit. Any questions?” Nobody had questions, so Celestia decided that Smolder and Wind Sprint would choose teams. Wind Sprint began and chose Cozy. Smolder chose Lis. She walked to Smolder and waited. It was obvious that Cozy was telling Wind who to choose. “So we get to throw balls at Cozy’s face?” Lis asked her. “That would be awesome, but not worth the detention Celestia would give you.” “Can’t we just say that we aimed for something else?” “She’d just say that it only matters where we hit. And you already look like the kind of kid teacher’s just wait for an excuse to punish, Freshling.” “Thank you! I’m doing my best… well, worst.” Lis was on her way to the library when she ran into a green haired senior student, causing both to trip to the ground. “Oh, sorry, I should have looked where I’m walking,” Lis said. “Just forget about it,” the senior said walking away, a hand in her bag. Huh, that’s a weird one. Let’s see where this is going… Lis shook her head and proceeded to the library. Just as Smolder had said during lunch, Ocellus was sitting between two bookcases in the least frequently visited corner. “Hey, Ocellus.” “H-Hey, Lis,” she said with a weak smile. “What are you reading?” “It’s about occult rituals,” Ocellus said, “but you would probably think it’s boring…” “Maybe, maybe not. Why don’t you tell me more about it?” Lis said, sitting down beside Ocellus, and was rewarded by her excitedly fangirling about it to Lis for the next thirty minutes. “...but that only covers the basics of it,” Ocellus ended her monologue. “Wow, no wonder you sneak away to read about that stuff,” Lis said, “it sounds amazing! But I think we have to go to music class now.” “Yeah…” They both stood up and left the library. When they reached the staircase in the entry hall, they could hear a girl rushing down the stairs while shouting, “STAIRS! stairstaristairstairstaris,” on the way down, jumping over the last two and yelling one last, “STAIRS!” when landing. “You really like stairs,” Lis said with a grin. “Sure do!” The girl looked closer at Lis. “Hey, you’re the one that kept throwing balls at Cozy’s head in PE, right?” “You did?” Ocellus asked. Lis grinned mischievously. “Near her head, yeah. The rules say I can’t hit her in the face, but nothing about almost hitting her in the face, and making her flinch doing so. Anyway, who are you again? I didn’t catch your name.” “I’m Silverstream. And you’re Lysinda, right?” “Lis, yeah. But let’s get to music before we end up being late.” Lis wanted to leave the music room as soon as class was over, but she noticed that Ocellus was still sitting in her seat, all her stuff on her table. And she seemed to be shaking a little. So Lis waited until everyone was gone, walked up to her and asked, “Hey, what’s the problem?” “It’s—it’s Cozy. You really made her angry in PE.” “Yeah, so?” “She’s gonna let that out on me, she always does. And I have to take the same bus she does, and that’s for three-quarters of an hour.” Lis’ face went dark for a moment before softening up again. “I’m sorry, I didn’t want you to get in trouble with her because of me.” “No! I mean, you don’t have to. It’s not your fault that she’s like that, and she deserves to be put down a notch.” Ocellus sighed. “But I’m still afraid about the bus ride.” “I wish I could help you, but my bus goes the other way.” Ocellus calmed down a bit and started to pack her things. “Too bad I can’t just come with you today…” “Hey, why not?” “What?” “Just come with me. We can do our homework together, and you wouldn’t have to go on the bus with Cozy. I can’t see why not.” “Wouldn’t your parents be mad?” “It’s just me and my big sis, and I’m sure she’s chill about that.” “I have to ask my parents first.” Ocellus got her phone out and texted them. It took them a few minutes, and Syringa promising to bring Ocellus home later, but they eventually managed to get Ocellus’ parents' permission. “... and this is my room,” Lis said while walking through the door. Ocellus followed her and looked around. “It’s really nice.” It was a large room, and even had a couch and coffee table with a tv on the opposite wall in the back, but apart from that, looked oddly normal for a girl like Lis. “Thanks! We just moved in, so it still lacks some personality, at least in my mind.” She pointed at the console connected to her television. “Wanna play a bit?” Ocellus nodded and they started to play an arcade racing game. They had a lot of fun, both winning sometimes and losing sometimes, but eventually Lis asked, “Hey, what’s up with your name, by the way?” “Wha—What do you mean?” “Your name, Ocellus. It’s grammatically male, right? But you’re a girl. I was just wondering why that is.” “Uhm…” Ocellus’ eyes frantically shot around the room. Come on, something to avoid answering that! TV? no. Desk? Not interesting enough. Pile of pillows? She probably just cleared of her— wait, she has no bed! “Why don’t you have a bed in here?” Lis looked like she was just caught doing something bad, and Ocellus saw her chance. “It’s your room, but there’s no bed. Where do you sleep?” “Oh, uhm… I forgot about that,” Lis giggled nervously. “Tell you what, I tell you why I don’t have a bed, if you promise to explain what’s with your name. Deal?” She offered Ocellus her hand to seal it with a handshake. For a moment, Ocellus thought that she saw a weak, blue aura surrounding Lis’ hand, but it was gone in a blink. She took her hand. “Deal.” “Ok, then. The reason I have no bed is that I don’t have to sleep. And the reason for that is that—” Lis took off her bracelet. Her pupils became slits and her teeth turned into pointy shark teeth. A magical glow surrounded her and lifted her off the ground. Her legs turned into hooves and she grew a horn. She turned in a pirouette, drawing a rainbow in the air above her head“—I’m a magical princess from another dimension!” Ocellus was speechless, her mind blank. “Specifically, a Nachtmare,” Lis went on to explain, “We’re creatures with a very strong connection to the dream realm, and we have two—” “Two souls!” Ocellus exclaimed, “One being asleep, the other awake! I read about that in a book a bit ago. I thought your kind was just a legend!” “Well, I’m as real as it gets. Although in the end, reality is an ambiguous thing, right? We’re just characters of a bigger story.” “What?” “Oh, just ignore that. But yeah, I’m not a legend, at least not yet. But this form is kinda tiring, so...” Lis turned back into her human form in a flash of white light. “But I thought your kind dies in sunlight?” “In our world, yeah. But this world’s sun lacks the magical punch of ours, so it’s safe. Even though I’m not used to how bright it is during the day. How can you bear that your entire lives?” “Sunglasses.” “Huh, yeah, that might work.” “What’s the bracelet for?” “It’s a suppressor for my magic. If you grow up with it, you kinda just use it by instinct. But it would be a bad thing if everyone just knew about me. It’s not working properly, I still can use magic when wearing it, but I really have to put in the extra effort. So I can’t use it accidentally. “So, I kept my promise, now it’s your turn.” “Yeah, I know. But promise me to not tell anyone.” Lis put her hand on her chest. “Hand to heart, I swear on my lives to keep your secret.” “Okay…” Ocellus avoided looking at Lis’ starred eyes. “The reason for my name is that… that I’m… I’m… trans. And my parents gave me my name when they still thought I was a boy. I haven’t changed it yet, because honestly, you were the first to notice that it’s not a girl’s name” Ocellus expected a shocked reaction, or confusion, or even disgust. All things she’d had to face when coming out to someone in the past. What she didn’t expect was Lis’ actual reaction. In a casual tone, Lis said, “Makes sense.” “You… You know what that means, right?” Ocellus asked. “Yeah, born in the wrong body, in your case a boy’s, but you’re actually a girl. I honestly thought the story of your name is more interesting.” “You think that’s boring?” Lis seemed embarrassed. “I mean, it’s not boring, just not as interesting as I expected. Of course, it’s cool that you understand yourself so well already. That is interesting. But it’s not something I’d make a fuss about. You’re trans, so what? I care more about how people are on the inside, anyway. So why would I care if you got the wrong packaging to your pretty mind?” Ocellus pulled Lis into a hug. “Thank you! Just—Thank you for being understanding!” “Hey, no problem,” Lis said surprised. Ocellus let Lis go and took a step back, now with the same glow in her eyes she had had in the library. “You have to do a lot of catch up for school, right?” “Unfortunately, yeah.” “Why don’t you connect us? I read that Nachtmares can link two minds together, and that those two than share their knowledge.” “That really would be a lot of help. And you really would be ok with that?” Ocellus nodded enthusiastically. “Reading about the occult is great, but experiencing it is even better!” “Then let’s do this! Grab a pillow and sit down.” Ocellus took a teal coloured pillow from the pile and sat down on it in the middle of the room. Lis sat down cross legged in front of her. She rested her arms on her legs and held her hands to Ocellus, the right hand with the palm up, the left one with the back of the hand up. “Hold my hands the same way. So that your hands mirror mine.” Once they were holding hands, Lis said, “Now, close your eyes. I have to give you a tiny bit of magic first, that might tickle a little… Ocellus stopped feeling her surroundings as soon as the magic arrived. That felt like falling asleep, but being awake… She opened her eyes. “I’m hovering in a black void.” She knew that she was talking, but her voice seemed to come from somewhere far away. “That’s normal,” Lis said in a clear voice, “don’t worry. Now imagine yourself to be in a room.” “What room?” “Whatever you feel comfortable in. You’re using the dreamscape to create a magical mind palace for yourself. You’ll need that for the connection later.” Ocellus focused, and her own room appeared around her. But it was horribly crammed with everything she can remember. “Ok, I did it.” “Good. Are there any things in there that you don’t want me to see?” “Yes.” “Imagine your room to have a door, leading to another room. Somewhere to keep your secrets in.” Ocellus concentrated, and a closet door appeared in the wall next to her. It swung open, and everything she wanted to hide flew through it. Once the last thing was in it, the door closed shut and locked. “Done.” “Good. Now create another door, a door that leads towards my own mind palace.” As Lis was saying that, Ocellus noticed another presence on the edge of her mind. She concentrated on it, and a door appeared opposite to the closet. She walked towards it and opened it. A small, white unicorn was standing outside. “Very good, Ocellus.” “You’re a pony!” Ocellus said surprised. Aww, she’s cute like that! “Well, yeah, I told you. It’s just easier for me to take that form in the dream world.” “Makes sense.” They stood there in silence for a moment. “Why don’t you come in?” “You have to invite me in.” “Oh, okay. I invite you to enter my room. So, how does the connection work exactly?” “The gist of it is that we link one of your rooms with one of mine,” Lis explained,” and we then have access to what is in each other’s room. I would make another room where all school knowledge goes to, or whatever else you want me to know. I did the same on my side.” Ocellus nodded and a third door appeared. She walked through it and entered the library she just created. The shelves filled themselves with books about everything she had learned in school. “And what now?” “You have give me something from this room, and I give you this from me.” Lis levitated a necklace of a crescent blue moon into Ocellus’ hands. Ocellus tried to decide which book to give lis, but then she had another idea. This is a dream, I can just make whatever I want. She created a necklace of her own, with a green bug symbol instead of a moon, and gave it to Lis. Lis nodded. “Thanks. I just need to get back to my room for a second.” She disappeared, but Ocellus could hear her voice. “Concentrate on your necklace. Try to move your dreamscape towards it.” The wall on the far side of the library dissolved as soon as she did, revealing Lis’ room, a chaotic array of desks and pinboards, with sheets of papers scattered everywhere, connected by multiple, different coloured strings of yarn. Well, can’t say I’m surprised about that, Ocellus thought. “That’s it?” “Yes,” Lis said grinning brightly, “I can remember all the stuff you learned, and you should remember what I learned. And the best thing is, it will update itself automatically when we learn something new in school!” “So, we’ll learn twice as fast?” Ocellus asked. “Huh. I think so. I think so, yes. Since we learn it twice automatically. And if we concentrate on it.” We can even talk telepathically! How did you do that? Wait, how did I do that? Magic!
Episode 3: Spiteful WitchcraftAuthor's Note DISCLAIMER: If you want to understand what is going on here, you need to have read AppleWitch first! Episode 3: Spiteful Witchcraft Diamond Tiara was in the mall to get herself a new outfit. Was about time for a new style, she thought, and my old clothes don’t fit anymore, anyway. Her first stop was the sportswear store Scootaloo had recommended. She found a sweatshirt that caught her attention. Hot pink, long sleeves, with two black stripes on the sides… Spoiled would hate seeing me in that… It’s absolutely perfect! She grabbed one and went to the fitting room, but it wasn’t quite big enough. Two sizes bigger, then. Granny’s pie is just too good to resist. Then she grabbed a pair of dark grey walking boots, paid, left the store, and changed into it in a restroom. Now I only need a skirt or something… Where’s that store Sweetie Belle told me about… No, that’s too short… And that’s so long that I’d step on it all the time… She put the neon green skirt away again and looked at a light grey one on another shelf. A bit longer than the knee… Oh, who’s that? Diamond noticed a white haired girl with blue, starred eyes watching her. I guess I got a bit carried away… Eh, might as well get a second opinion. She turned to her spectator, held the skirt to her waist and asked, “Hey, what do you think?” The girl tilted her head. “Hm… I mean, it’s cute, but it's not really fitting for your arc, don’t you think?” Arc? Diamond wondered, Does she mean my figure? “Why don’t you try the store over there—” the girl pointed at the far end of the mall “—They have really awesome combat skirts.” “I’ll give it a try, thanks.” Diamond looked at the name of the store the girl had recommended. ‘SnowRose Amory’... Never thought I’d ever go into a larp store to buy clothes… Diamond entered the store, and was overwhelmed by the interior design. She looked around, slowly taking a few steps further into the store. The floor was made from old, dark wood, the second floor was supported by wooden pillars in a lighter colour, the lights looked like medieval lanterns, and the walls were made from crude stone. And I thought the CMC is insistent about their aesthetic. A store clerk approached her. “Good day, and welcome to our humble store!” “Um… hello.” “Is this thee first visit here, fair maiden?” “It is,” Diamond said, with a grin, “But I’m not a fair maiden. I happen to be a witch.” “Ah, terribly sorry for the mistake,” the clerk said without breaking character, “In what magical endeavour may I assist thee?” “I’m looking for combat skirts.” “Then thou have come to the right place. Follow me.” The clerk lead her through the store, passing all sorts of garments, armours, and weapons before reaching their destination. Diamond looked through the stock, eventually picking a wide, ankle length black skirt with four slits going up to her knee. Stylish and practical, exactly what I need. She left the store, her old outfit stuffed in a bag, and took the bus back to Sweet Apple Acres. While sitting on the bench in the back, she thought, Today’s the big day, it's finally happening! Ah never would have thought that’s possible nine months ago, but a lot has happened since then… Sleeping on a mattress on the ground isn’t too horrible, but I won’t miss it, Diamond thought, At least Applebloom doesn’t snore… She looked at her watch. Oh for the love of—five minutes to six? She sighed and turned around again. Five minutes later, her alarm forced her to wake up. She turned it off quickly, but not quickly enough to not disrupt Applebloom, who, still half asleep, tried hitting her own alarm clock. “Sorry, Ah must have forgotten to turn that thing off…” “No, that was mine, actually,” Diamond said while getting dressed. “Wha…” Applebloom opened her eyes just enough to glance at the clock. “Diamond,” she said without getting up, “Its summer break, there’s no chores, we can sleep as long as we want… why the hell did you set an alarm?” “I want to train.” Applebloom set herself up on her bed, with a severe case of bed hair. “You want to do what now?” “Train. Get stronger. I’ll just carry a bolder around, or something like that.” “You have no idea how that works, right?” “I’ll figure it out,” Diamond said confidently. “You’ll break yer back,” Applebloom responded matter-of-factly. “Well, thanks for the warning. Just go back to sleep, I’ll go train.” Applebloom looked at her reaching for the doorknob before saying, “Alright, fine, Ah’ll come with ya. But just for an hour.” “Thanks.” “Yer welcome. Now get out.” Diamond was waiting outside when Applebloom came out. “Again, thank you, I really appreciate that you—” “Yeah, yeah, you’re welcome. Now tell me why you want to do this.” She crossed her arms and looked around, shifting her weight from one leg to the other. “Well, you see, I want to be able to help around the farm, while I’m here, and I figured it would be better if I do it when I’m not bothering anyone else…” She turned to Applebloom. She’s not buying it… or she’s just tired… Diamond let her arms drop down, sighed and said, “Alright, I admit, I want to spite my mother, ok? She always harped on muscular girls for being too brutish, and I just want to stick it too her that she can’t control me anymore.” Applebloom lifted an eyebrow. Diamond hesitated for a moment before adding, “and if she slaps me again, I want to be strong enough to slap her back.” “Fair enough. Now let’s get this over with.” Diamond suddenly pulled Applebloom in for a hug. “Thank you! Just... thank you for helping me.” “Ah'm way too tired for this," Applebloom said, “let me go.” “Oh, sorry.” She took a step back, then grinned from anticipation. “So, what should I lift?” “Diamond, Ah’m not even sure if ya have muscles in those noodles you call arms. I’m not gonna let you lift anything before Ah’m sure that you have some endurance.” “You could have said that nicer,” Diamond said, the grin disappearing from her face. “Ah could have gone back to sleep, too.” With a sigh of defeat, Diamond said, “Fine, what do you think I should do, then?” “We’ll jog to the clubhouse, without stopping, to warm up.” They both stood there in silence for a minute before Applebloom said, “Come on, you need to give the pace. ” “Oh, right, sorry,” Diamond said flustered. She started to jog away, but only came a few steps. “Hey, Diamond,” Applebloom said. Diamond stopped and turned to Applebloom, who gestured to her right and said, “The clubhouse would be that way.” After a few more wrong turns, they arrived at the clubhouse. “Congrats, ya made it,” Applebloom said. Diamond had to lean on the wall to stay on her feet, and tried to get her breathing under control. “Ya should have gone a bit slower, though.” “Oh, you… think… so…” Diamond replied between breaths. “See it as lesson one. Don’t overestimate yourself.” “Next time… tell me… before I… kill myself.” “You survived, didn’t ya? But if you want to stop for now and continue later…” “No, don’t worry. My muscles may be burning—” She pushed herself away from the wall and gave Applebloom a look of pure determination “—but my spite is burning stronger. Ya won’t get rid of me so easily.” “Good, because now we have to do the same thing back.” The way back took longer, but Diamond didn’t overwork herself to the point of collapsing this time around. “What now?” “I’m… not sure,” Applebloom admitted, “I never really trained just to train, ya know? Just working on the farm is enough to stay in shape.” “But I don’t have the luxury of spending years gradually building up muscles.” “Ah know… Ah think I might have an idea.” She walked over to the barn, Diamond following her. “And what?” “We could use a carrying pole as a barbell, and buckets as weights. It’s exhausting to carry buckets full of apples around all day, so it should do the trick.” She found what she was looking for, and put the pole with two empty buckets on Diamonds shoulders. “Isn’t that a bit too light,” Diamond asked. “Hm… wait a minute.” Applebloom walked back into the barn and came back with two bags full of apples. “Those are five kilos each,” she said while putting them into the buckets, “that ain’t much, but should be enough for the beginning. Now, do squats.” Eventually, Applebloom looked at her phone. “Would ya look at that, the hour is over.” “Already?” Diamond set the buckets on the ground, sighing from being free of the weight. “Didn’t seem like that long to me.” “But it was. Ah’ll go back to bed. And ya should as well.” “I think I—” she was cut off by a yawn “—Okay, yeah, you’re right.” They went back to Applebloom’s room. Diamond looked at her mattress on the floor. “It would be nice to have a proper bed,” she thought out loud. “Just grab your pillow and blanket, and hop in,” Applebloom said while pulling her stuff to one side of the bed. “Really?” “Sure, why not. It’s big enough for two, and not really that different from a slumber party. Just stay on your side, or I’ll kick you out of the bed.” I’ll remember to not wake her up again. The bus arrived at Diamond’s stop, so she got up and walked the now very familiar path from Sweet Apple Acres to the CMC’s clubhouse in no time. The others weren’t there yet, but Diamond had a lot to prepare, anyway. She looked through the jars on the shelves, her eyes stopping on one with a single red pebble in it. Still enough there, good. Would have been a hassle to get one in time, otherwise. Then she picked up a basket and sickle, and went into the forest to gather the other ingredients. First on her list was foxglove. Okay, where did the book say that stuff grows… partial sunlight to deep shade, and basically everywhere in or around forests… very helpful. Wait, it’s also supposed to grow in moors! Bloom told me about a small patch of it. It’s… that way. Diamond knew that she had reached her destination when the ground turned into rubber. She yelled, “What in tarnation,” while fighting for balance. Waving her arms around, she just so managed to prevent herself from falling to the ground. “Okay,” she said to herself, “that’s not normal. Thank goodness I didn’t ruin the skirt on the first day.” Taking another step forward caused more waves to go through the ground. “Hm… what if…” She jumped as high as she could. Even the trees wiggled around when she landed. “How does this work? You know what? That doesn’t matter right now.” She searched the area and eventually found foxglove, harvested a handful of plants, and put them in her basket. On her way to the Apple-Pear-Tree, Diamond happened to come across the last item on her list, belladonna. Well, that was easy, but I ain’t complaining about it. She harvested enough of the plant for her potion, and soon arrived at the tree. She had no problems climbing trees anymore, so she climbed up to the top, cut off a part of the mistletoe, and made it safely down to the ground in less time than it had taken her to just get up the first time around. Back at the clubhouse, she lifted the cauldron off the fireplace and put a small pot on it. Then she filled it with water and started a fire to get it boiling. She took the red stone and grinded it to dust in a mortar. The CMC arrived shortly later. Applebloom, wearing her witch hat, was the first to say something. “Did ya find everything?” “Yeah, wasn’t too hard.” Scootaloo said, “That shirt is from the shop I told you about, right?” “It is, yes. Thanks for recommending it.” Diamond turned to Sweetie Belle. “I couldn’t find something in the one you told me about, though.” Sweetie Belle looked at Diamonds new outfit for a moment before saying, “Still looks good. If Applebloom gives you her hat, you’ll even look like a witch. I like it.” “Me too,” Scootaloo said. “Me three!” Applebloom followed Sweetie’s suggestion and put the hat on Diamonds head. “A fully-fledged Diamond-Witch.” “Well, almost,” Diamond said with a little blush, “I still have to pass my cauldronation.” “Right, Ah almost forgot. Whatcha makin’?” Diamond grinned. “You’ll see in a moment.” She threw all ingredients into the now boiling water, and said, “With the help of the tree of Apple and Pear, I will change forever the colour of my hair.” The potion turned deep black. “A hair dye potion? Well, colour me surprised,” Applebloom said. “Is it supposed to be black?” Sweetie Belle asked. “I’m not sure.” Diamond filled the potion into a flask. “Ah thought it’d turn into the colour I want my hair to be, but it didn’t really say anything about that in the spellbook.” “Ya can try another potion, if ya don’t want to risk it.” “I know I could, buuuuut…” Diamond downed the potion. Her hair first turned dark black, then completely white, and then stopped at green. “It worked!” “You wanted green hair?” Scootaloo asked. “I did. Applegreen, to be exact.”
Episode 2: Fabulous MisadventureFour hours of sleep isn’t enough, Twilight thought when her alarm forced her out of bed, but there's no helping it now. She got up and started her morning routine. Bathroom, breakfast, dressing, gathering everything she was going to need during the day. She was already halfway out the door when a thought crept into her mind. You forgot your wallet. Twilight sighed, checked her bag, and didn’t find. She turned around and rummaged through her other jackets. She was sure that she had left it in one of the pockets, but had no luck. Your desk, in your room. She went there and found it. She was about to pick it up, but something caught her attention. Something weird in the corner of her eyes. She turned around to look at her reflection in the mirror, but she didn’t see herself in it. Instead, Midnight Sparkle stood there, awkwardly waving at her. Hey, Twilight… I’m back. Twilight froze up. Countless thoughts and questions raced through her head, all screaming for her attention. Midnight pressed her hands on her temples, her knees giving in a bit, forcing her into a hunched position. Stop that! Just be quiet! I can explain, I promise, but focus on one thing! “Easier said than done,” Twilight hissed at the mirror. Why is she back? I was never gone, Midnight said between deep breaths. She stood back up again. I just wasn’t strong enough to show myself. But I don’t want to fight. “And I’m supposed to believe that? You’re evil! Or a hallucination. Or I’m going insane. I don’t know.” I’m unscrupulous, not evil. That’s not the same. And yeah, in normal cases, you should probably seek professional help because of seeing and hearing me like that, but when were things ever normal since you discovered magic? Twilight hesitated before saying, “I guess that’s a fair point…” I’m an entity of curiosity first and foremost, you see? And since the Friendship Games, I had a lot of time to think. There’s so much to learn from both our world and Equestria, it would be a shame to destroy them already. And my best chances to learn more about them is working together with you. “That’s it? That’s all you’ve got to convince me to trust you? Did you really think that was going to be enough?” Midnight visibly sighed, but Twilight didn’t hear anything. Yeah, I thought it wasn’t going to be enough. But could you at least give me a chance? Twilight contemplated it. Also, it’s not like you could ignore me, right? I’m literally a voice in your head right now. Twilight contemplated it some more. Midnight pointed at the clock. And you’re about to miss your bus. Twilight’s first class of the day was math, together with Rarity and Fluttershy. All of them were standing around her table and chatted. You have to admit that ending up here made you more sociable. Rarity told the others about a new makeup technique she had discovered over the weekend. “But I can’t try it on myself! It’s specifically for applying it to others.” Twilight nodded. Yes, and I’m happy to have friends here, as you obviously know. And you would have never enrolled here if it weren’t for your curiosity, i e me. Oh, shut it. “Fluttershy, dear,” Rarity asked, “do you have time after school? I have some marvelous ideas for your makeup.” “Uhm, sorry, Rarity. The animal center got a few new rescues, and I volunteered to help them settle in.” “Twilight, what about you?” “What?” she asked, being startled out of her thoughts by Rarity. “I asked you if you would—” “Sorry, I don’t have time, either.” “Maybe I’ll ask Rainbow,” Rarity said, “Anyway, do you know who the new one is?” She pointed at someone sitting at the table closest to the door in an old looking deep purple dress and long brown hair wearing headphones that would make Vinyl proud. Finally someone noticed, Midnight told Twilight, I was getting curious myself. Twilight shook her head. “Never saw him before.” “I saw her talking to a raven earlier,” Fluttershy said, “in front of the school. She even gave her some food. And that raven is really distrustful.” “Anyway,” Rarity continued, “that kind of dress wasn't in season for, well, one or two hundred years, but I must admit that it really suits… him? her?” Now Twilight took a closer look at the new one. “I’m not sure.” “Me neither,” Fluttershy admitted, “the raven also just called them ‘the tall one who gave me food.’” The voice should clear things up, Midnight said. “Let’s just wait until they say something,” Twilight suggested. The others agreed and returned to their seats. When the teacher came in, he asked the new one to stand up and introduce themselves to class. Twilight noticed that they were wearing a rose gold, heart shaped necklace with a blue stone, and that they were at least a head taller than most of their classmates. “Hello, I’m Silent Syringa, it’s an honour to be here,” they said with the most androgynous voice any of them had ever heard. Midnight shouted, OH COME ON! Be quiet! Right, I wouldn’t want to ruin your favorite class, Twili. Syringa’s next class was cooking. They took out their notebook, but realized that their pencil case was gone. Oh, dammit. They turned around and asked the violet haired girl and the rainbow haired jock using the table behind him, “Could you keep an eye on my stuff? I forgot something in the chem lab.” “Why, of course, darling,” the violet one said, “not a problem.” “Thank you.” Syringa gave them a little head bow before putting on their headphones. They strode out of the room and back to the chemistry wing. They looked around the room. Empty. Ok, where’s my… there we go! The pencil case lied on the teacher’s desk. They levitated it into their hand, left the room, and rushed back to cooking class, giving Vinyl a high five when they walked past each other on the way. Oh, sneaking into an empty lab, are we? Midnight said, And here I thought I’m the evil one between us. “I have a free period,” Twilight muttered, “and the rule about students not using the labs outside of classes is ridiculous.” She was looking for a certain chemical in the storage room next to the lab. “What are they afraid of? I have my own lab at home, and I never blew up that one, either.” Well… “I blew up an erlenmeyer flask, not the entire lab.” You probably shouldn’t do even that much here. It would be a shame if you were expelled. “I know. I just want to… why am I explaining my plan to you? You know what I’m thinking.” Because thinking out loud is calming… someone opened the lab door. Twilight walked over to the door and peeked into the lab. The new one. What are they doing here? Forgot something last period, I’d assume, Midnight responded, Just wait, they’ll be gone in a moment and—why are they stretching out their arm like that? I don’t know, it almost looks like— Syringa’s pencil case levitated over to them, held in a orange glow. They left the room. Twilight put a hand on her geode. “It’s still here... but how—” They can use magic! Midnight said with excitement, This just got very interesting, wouldn’t you say? “Or very dangerous.” Eh, that’s hardly a difference, anyway. “Please, Dashie, I need someone to try it on! I could do wonders with your face!” “For the last time, no!” Rainbow took out the tray from the oven. “You know I’m not into fancy stuff.” “Oh, is that so? And what about your… unusual sport?” Rainbow’s face turned red. “I told you about that in confidence, and still no. Go ask your girlfriend.” Rarity sighed. “Trixie is on a magician competition and won’t be back till Friday, but I need to test it before that. I can only borrow the set for two days.” “What’s the problem?” Syringa asked. “She needs a guinea pig for some crazy new makeup thing,” Rainbow told them. “Dash, why do you have to say that like I’m a crazy scientist?” “Because that’s how you act?” Rarity was about to respond to Rainbow, but Syringa was faster. “If you give me a few tips on how to apply makeup myself, then I would happily volunteer.” “Wonderful! Would you mind coming with me after school?” “Not at all.” Rarity told Syringa to sit in on the stool in the middle of her dressing room. “So, Darling, do you have anything in mind?” “Not really, sorry,” Syringa said, “I’m not familiar with makeup around here. Just do what you think is best.” “You—you give me a free hand?” “I mean, yeah. You’re the expert, after all.” Dear Nyx, please don’t make me regret what I just said. Rarity looked at their face, walked around them, and started to form ideas. “Could we maybe do away with that braid?” “No.” “But you just said—” “Rarity, no. I had that braid with the stone since I was twelve. It stays.” “I think I have an idea already. A dark red lipstick, and black, winged eyeliner and a royal blue eyeshadow. I’ll just take off your necklace before I begin, it really wouldn’t go well with the rest.” She stepped behind Syringa and opened the lock of the necklace. Wait, necklace… Syringa thought, Oh, shit! Rarity took the necklace and went to place it on the shelf with her makeup, but she had only taken one step when Syringa asked with a very deep voice, “Could I have that back?” causing Rarity to yelp. She jumped back in surprise, dropping the necklace. Great. Just great. Syringa stood up, picked up the necklace, and put it back on. Their voice was back at being androgynous. “So, I guess I owe you an explanation.” “I’d say so, yes,” Rarity said, still shocked. “Well, you see, I’m from Equestria. Well, not Equestria the realm, Equestria the world. But from the Schattenrealm. And my necklace is enchanted, it makes my voice like this.” “Why would you need that?” “Look at me. By your world’s standards, I look like a mare—a girl, sorry, still getting used to that. But whenever I say something in my natural voice, it brings people off balance. Some even reacted aggressively. But I honestly just like this style of clothing too much to give it up, so I made this necklace instead.” “Oh, I can totally see why. You really wear it well… So that means you’re a guy?” Syringa let out a deep sigh. “I’m biologically male, yes. An earth pony stallion, back in my world.” “Should I call you a he, then? Or do you prefer something else?” “I’d prefer they, honestly. In the Schattenrealm, ‘he’ and ‘she’ literally only touch upon the biological sex and nothing else. There’s no roles assigned to it. But here, everyone expects guys to act a certain way, and girls to act another way, and I just don’t want any of that. I really don’t feel a connection to either gender, anyway. That’s also why I made my voice androgynous instead on full on female.” “Oooh, you’re agender, I understand. Not a problem, Darling, I’ll stick with they.” “Thank you, really.” Syringa hesitated for a moment. “You will keep my secret, right?” “But of course! Now, let me get everything I need to work my own fabulous magic on you. Would you mind telling me what brought you into this world?” “Oh, I’m mostly looking after my little sister, Lis. She went through the portal a few months back and wanted to give this world a try. And our mom was okay with me going as well.” “Princess Twilight made it sound like she protects the portal like a treasure,” Rarity said while comparing two shades of red lipstick, “How could your mother get her to let you two through?” “Well, being a queen comes with its perks…” “Wait,” Rarity stopped dead and turned to Syringa, “your mother is a queen? “She is.” “Doesn’t that mean that you are a prince?” “Yeah, technically. I guess that makes you my official royal stylist, then.” Rarity squeed from that realisation. She picked a lipstick, went back to Syringa and said, “Now I need you to stay perfectly still, Darling.” Syringa finished the last stroke of their eyeliner. After Rarity had completed her work, she had shown them how to remove makeup, and then explained step by step how to apply it. “Like this?” “Exactly, Darling,” Rarity said, “you will have to practice more before you’re as good as I am, of course, but for now, it’s good enough. If you really want to get into makeup, we should go shopping this weekend.” “It would be a pleasure.” Syringa stood up from the vanity. “Thank you again for the lesson.” “You’re welcome, Syri. Now, I know you don’t want to let go of the braid, but I think I have an idea for the rest of your hair.” “I’m sorry, I should leave now. Lis has a friend over, and I promised to bring them home.” Syringa drove back to their home and parked in the driveway. Lis and Ocellus were already waiting for them. "Hey, Syringa, nice makeup," Lis said walking past them, Ocellus following closely. "For someone who got all the time, you're really impatient, Lis." Syringa locked the front door and went back to their car. They took the driver's seat, Lis and Ocellus the back seats. “That’s a nice car,” Ocellus said, “Thanks, It’s a 1933 Bentley.” They put Ocellus address into the gps. “Good, just ten minutes from here.” Syringa drove back on the road and continued, “It’s an older car, yes, but it has all kinds of modern conveniences. Air conditioning, central locking, gps, a modern engine and radio… but it still retained all of its charm and beauty.” “Sis really fell in love with it,” Lis joked. “I simply appreciate high quality engineering." Lis thought about something. "Hey, can't we pick her up tomorrow morning before school? If it's just that little bit more way?" "Sure."
