Anecdotes of Heart

Chapters

The Blind Leading the Blind
Lucid Dreams
I Can't Imagine
An Icy Alliance
Anecdotes of Heart
The Celestia's Academy Course Catalogue

The Blind Leading the Blind

Date: A few days after Dinky's graduation

"You didn't have to come with me, you know..."

Scuffle snorted loudly. "I know, but I'd be crazy not to," he countered, nervously watching the fields roll by outside the train's window. "Your parents are still gonna be super pissed about bringing Dinky to hide out at the farm before, and they're gonna be even more pissed when they find out you're moving in with a stallion. I'm gonna be there, in case things get ugly."

Honeydew sighed. "You really think it might get that bad?" she asked weakly.

Scuffle softly tapped the nick in the back of his fillyfriend's horn. "Your parents don't exactly have the best track record..." he pointed out. "If you were going home under normal circumstances, I think it'd be fine, but considering you almost lost your horn as a foal, and Dinky got an angry mob sic'd on her a month or so ago, I don't think making them angry while you're alone is the best idea..."

At the mention of her past, Honeydew anxiously rubbed at the small slice in her horn. "You're right..." she mumbled, her small frown given more weight by the clouded grey eyes above it. "At least we're just going there so I can move out. If they want, they can have nothing to do with me after that."

"And if that's what it comes to, well... you'll be alright," Scuffle encouraged. "You've got me, and once we move into Ponyville, Dinks and Clarity will be right down the road. So don't worry, yeah? Stick by me, we'll get through this."

Bolstered slightly, Honeydew smiled. "Thanks," she whispered, leaning across the bench and snuggling against his chest.

The usual almost electric jolt of enjoyment shot through Scuffle's body as the filly cozied up against him. Growing up with cold, aloof ponies, Honeydew had always been a bit affection-starved, so was usually quick to hug or cuddle the very few ponies she felt safe around. And after they'd started dating, that affection had only increased, although Scuffle was certain she still hadn't figured out exactly how much he enjoyed it.

With practiced care, Scuffle wrapped his forelegs around the delicate mare, shivering slightly as she purred in approval and nuzzled into his fur. Listening to her slow breathing, he felt he wouldn't have minded if she'd simply stayed like that forever.

The experience was painfully short-lived. The train whistled loudly as it ground to a halt at the station, prompting Honeydew to wiggle free of Scuffle's embrace and sit up. "We're here..." she mumbled, standing and using her carved cane to locate the direction of the aisle. "Let's get going."

Scuffle hopped up, watching his fillyfriend's steps closely and helping her down the stairs and onto the station platform. Out of habit, she triggered her Lifesight spell the moment she was out in the open air, but in the center of the station, Scuffle knew the only thing it allowed her to see was other ponies, which didn't do much for safe navigation. She looked at him sheepishly.

"Um, I'll just follow right behind you," she decided. "You remember the way, right?"

"Yeah, it's not a big town," Scuffle confirmed. "C'mon, it won't take us long."

The couple stepped outside into the early December air, and Honeydew hurriedly bundled up with a wooly scarf. Scuffle led the way through the small village, trying not to react to the stares of all the earth ponies watching the glow of Honeydew's Lifesight spell warily.

Soon, the town center was left behind, and a plain dirt path, bordered by a picket fence, led the way to the pair's destination. Honeydew's Lifesight grid reached the edge of the path, and Scuffle grinned as the young mare clambered over the fence so she could walk in the field on the other side. Her pace quickened, and she moved much more confidently with the aid of the biological information her spell was receiving from the grass.

Soon, the pair of ponies arrived at the top of the hill, and Scuffle looked down at the farm in the valley below. The fields that had been laden with vegetables a little more than a month prior were now almost bare, but the farmhouse and barn remained just as cute and quaint as he remembered. It would've been quite picturesque, if he wasn't aware that two of the most ill-tempered ponies he'd ever met dwelled inside.

"We're there, aren't we?" Honeydew mumbled, unable to see that far with Lifesight.

"Yup," Scuffle said flatly. "Are we gonna try to start this off on their good side, or shouldn't we bother?"

"We're not going to be on their good side regardless," his fillyfriend sighed as she quickly tucked her long mane up into a tight bun. "But I guess we might as well not make it worse than it already is..."

Scuffle heart sank as he watched Honeydew extinguish her magic. The green energy grid faded, and as it did, a part of Honeydew seemed to hide away with it. Her cane, filled with enchantments that would be just as much of a problem, was stowed away in her bag as well. Now well-and-truly blind, she feebly reached out into the air to try to grab hold of Scuffle's withers.

The colt stamped a hoof as he carefully supported her. "This is so stupid!" he barked. "You shouldn't have to handicap yourself just because your parents are so magic-phobic! We're surrounded by life; you'd be able to walk down there just fine on your own, but they'd rather make you act like you can't do a damn thing by yourself."

Honeydew didn't reply. She just held tightly to the colt and gently tilted her head, encouraging him to walk forward.

In somber silence, the pair of unicorns made their way to the little farmhouse's front door. Honeydew raised her hoof to knock, but Scuffle gripped it with his own.

"Listen," he said softly. "If your parents try anything like they did the last time we were here, I'm using magic to defend us. I won't hurt them, but I'm not sticking to their rules if they're gonna be barbarians, especially if you aren't using Lifesight."

Honeydew nodded. "Thanks," she whispered. "Let's get this over with."

She knocked. The sound echoed across the empty field behind them. There were a few hoofsteps, and then the door was pulled roughly open, causing Scuffle to suppress a flinch as the terribly severe countenance of Honeydew's father, Melon Rind, came into view. Immediately, the older stallion's eyes flashed with anger.

"There you are," he grumbled. "I figured your term at school was about over. But you've got one of those unicorns in tow again. Where's that hellspawn you brought last time? Is she lurking in the shadows around here somewhere too?"

"Dinky's not here," Honeydew said flatly, her head slightly bowed. "Can Scuffle and I come in?"

"Depends. Is that colt expecting food or hospitality from us?" Melon Rind asked.

"No sir," Scuffle said quickly. "I'm just accompanying Honeydew on her travels."

"And why does she need accompaniment?" came a second voice as Honeydew's mother, Berry Basket, appeared at the door. "I think Honeydew's perfectly capable of finding her way back to her own home."

"Not... not quite, no," Honeydew admitted sorrowfully, looking roughly in the direction of her mother.

Melon Rind harrumphed. "What, have they filled your head with so much magic nonsense that there's no room for common sense anymore?" he growled.

Berry Basket, much to Scuffle's surprise, wasn't so quick to throw insults. "Hold on a moment," she said, raising a hoof to ask her husband to pause as she looked at her daughter, surprised. "Honeydew... has something happened to your eyes?"

"She can't see," Scuffle said flatly. "I guided her over here because she's gone blind."

Berry Basket flinched, but Melon Rind's expression only grew more furious. "Blind?" he repeated, nostrils flaring as his face curled into a snarl. "Perfect. Wonderful. What did you expect, Honeydew!? You went and fooled around with dangerous spells for all those years, and now you've gone and hurt yourself with them, just like we always said. Now how is a crippled filly supposed to work the fields?"

"Dear," Berry attempted to cut in, anxiously twiddling the strings of her bonnet.

"All these years, we bit our tongues and let you go get that magical education you wanted so badly," the stallion continued, ignoring his wife as he paced around the foyer, shaking a forehoof angrily, "and what do we get in return? A daughter who's gone and made herself a burden for us! How are we supposed to balance running the farm with taking care of an adult daughter with barely more agency than a newborn foal!?"

Honeydew hung her head so low her mane brushed the ground. She mumbled an inaudible reply.

"Well!?" Melon Rind demanded.

"You're not," Scuffle interrupted loudly. "Now can we come in, or what?"

"Don't you dare talk back to me, boy!" the earth pony snapped. "You're lucky I didn't run you off my property the moment I saw you, after the trouble you and those other unicorns caused last time. Why would you need to come in, anyway? You've done your job, and brought Honeydew— or what's left of her, at least— back home, so we can spend our fading years supporting a helpless mare. You've got no more business here. Get out."

"That's not why he's here. That's not why either of us are here."

Scuffle hadn't expected Honeydew to even find her voice, much less to speak before he did. He watched as she carefully placed a forehoof on the step inside the door, causing her father to take two steps back so she didn't collide with him. Almost as soon as she was fully inside, Berry Basket was at her side, guiding her to the kitchen table.

"Melon, let the boy in," the mare said as she pulled out a chair and watched Honeydew carefully feel her way forward in order to sit in it. "It's not worth the argument. Let him say whatever he came here to say and then send him on his way."

Melon Rind snorted angrily, but finally stepped aside. Scuffle slunk toward the far end of the table.

Keep it cool, Scuffle, he reminded himself as he took a seat. Don't give them any sass, that'll just make it worse...

"Now Honeydew," Berry began, visibly agitated. "What happened? How did you end up like... like this?"

"A pointless question," Melon interjected, frowning deeper and adjusting the collar of his starched shirt. "She's been using dangerous magic for years, and it finally blew up in her face. The better question is, if you're not here just to take up our space and resources, why are you and that other unicorn even here?"

Scuffle glanced nervously at Honeydew. The answer to that question, no matter how it was worded or when it was presented, wasn't going to go over well.

"To... get my stuff," Honeydew answered, tucking her forelegs against her chest in a guarded posture. "I'm not living here anymore. I'm moving out."

Melon Rind scowled more deeply than ever. "To where?" he barked. "Some facility for the disabled? I suppose you might as well drag them down, rather than us."

"No," Honeydew mumbled. "Ponyville. I'm moving in with Scuffle."

Berry Basket clapped her hooves over her mouth, rapidly glancing between the three other ponies at the table with pupils like pinpricks. Melon Rind, however, sat stone still, with a perfectly neutral expression on his face.

"Now, I would assume," the grizzled old farmer said through clenched teeth, "that when you say 'moving in', you mean you happen to be living in the same apartment complex or something. Because I know my daughter isn't about to share a living space with a stallion she hasn't even married."

"L-look, I'm not your p-problem anymore, just like you wanted," Honeydew stuttered, looking seriously on edge without her magic letting her know her parents' positions or expressions. "Just let me get my stuff and I'll go away forever and—"

"You!" Melon Rind hollered, ignoring Honeydew as he turned suddenly to Scuffle. "You've got some real nerve, showing up here. I knew you were trouble, just like all the other unicorns!"

Scuffle blinked. "Wha—"

"First that school brainwashes my daughter... twists her mind with whatever sort of witchcraft they teach there and makes her lose sight of how to act like a proper mare her age," the stallion ranted, pounding a hoof on the table, "and then you swoop in to tempt her, to turn her away from her family and her community with whatever sort of immorality you unicorns practice. Seducing her with ill-intent, sugarcoated in that sparkly magic that's got her so captivated!"

"Wait, hang on, I don't have any ill-intent towards Honeydew!" Scuffle insisted, scooting back a few inches until his chair was against the wall to try to put more distance between himself and the enraged stallion across from him. "I really care about her! I've done everything I could to be there for her, for years now!"

"Like horseapples you did!" Melon retorted, slamming the table again, hard enough to cause both his wife and daughter to jump.

"R-really!" Scuffle cried, panicking. "How could you think I'd ever betray her? Especially after she gave her sight to heal my wounds, I'd never—"

"That was your fault too!?" Melon Rind roared, leaping out of his chair and advancing on the colt. "So you're the one who's befouled my daughter, mentally and physically! I'll send you to Tartarus myself if I have to, you devil!"

Scuffle, stunned by the outburst, didn't realize he was about to be physically struck until it was too late to do anything about it. Unable to throw up a shield in time, he winced and shut his eyes.

Clunk!

The sound of an impact echoed through the kitchen, but Scuffle felt no blow. He chanced opening one eye.

The shield spell glimmered in midair, seperating him from his aggressor. A shield that wasn't the typical aqua, but pale green.

"That's enough."

Honeydew was on her hooves. A bright aura circled her horn, powering both the shield impeding her father's aggression, and the Lifesight grid that now shimmered across the kitchen. Berry Basket froze in her seat, staring at the pattern of light crisscrossing her body in absolute terror, as if the tiniest movement would cause it to slice her apart.

Melon Rind wheeled around, looking at his daughter in astonishment.

"You—"

"I said that's enough!" Honeydew repeated, letting her horn glow brighter. "Scuffle has done nothing wrong, and even if he had, you have no right to assault him! Now back off."

Staring at the young mare's horn, Melon Rind slowly backed off. Honeydew let the shield fade, but kept her Lifesight active.

"Honeydew, d-dear, don't... don't hurt your father... p-please..." Berry Basket rasped, quivering as she tried to inch ever so slowly away from the source of the magic.

Honeydew rolled her sightless eyes. "Believe it or not, mother, it's possible to use magic for things other than hurting somepony!" she replied angrily. "I came in here intending to do as you asked; to respect your rules and not use my magic. But if you two are going to attack my coltfriend just for sitting quietly and answering your questions, then what do you expect me to do!? Respect goes two ways, and you didn't respect our boundaries, so why should I respect yours?"

Scuffle looked on in shock. The mare that had crept into the farmhouse with her tail between her legs a few minutes ago was gone. Honeydew typically wanted nothing more than to avoid conflict, and it had been a long time since he'd seen her level temper reach its breaking point, but she clearly no longer intended to resolve the situation diplomatically.

And it seemed to be working out for her, at least for the moment. Behind the outrage, Scuffle could see a flicker of fear in Melon Rind's eyes when faced down with Honeydew's (admittedly completely harmless) spell.

"I don't know why I didn't just do this in the first place," Honeydew continued, glaring at her parents. "What was the point of trying to keep things genial? I came here to grab my belongings and leave for good, and clearly, I should've marched right in and done just that, and not tried to explain myself. You don't want one of those disgusting, monstrous unicorns living here anyway!"

"B-but Honeydew," Berry Basket whimpered, "you know... when we say those things, w-we don't mean you. You're different from those other unicorns."

Honeydew paused. Her expression slowly changed from anger to one of simple comprehension.

"That's the problem," she said, much more softly. "You think I'm different from other unicorns, and that's why you can't understand why I want to associate with them."

Honeydew's parents exchanged a glance, but neither spoke, still watching their daughter uncertainly.

"Do you think I avoid using magic here because I want to?" Honeydew asked. "Do you think I usually just agree and accept what either of you say because we actually share the same opinions? Do you think I wanted to stumble blindly down here, without magic to help guide my way? I don't do those things because I want to, I do them because you demand it of me."

She started to make her way across the room, feeling for nonliving obstacles that her Lifesight would overlook. "Well, I'm leaving for good, so I'm done dealing with those demands," she announced, nodding matter-of-factly. "I'm done putting up with all the emotional abuse. I'm done following all the offensively out-of-date customs you still insist on living by. I'm done standing by while you insult my friends. And most of all, I'm done pretending to be an earth pony for you, especially since it's never even made you treat me any better! I know you've always resented that I wasn't born an earth pony, but I'm a unicorn, and I'm done living a life that stops me from being who I am."

As she reached the doorway leading upstairs to her bedroom, she pulled the bands free from her hair with a flash of magic and threw them on the floor, shaking her long mane free from its bun as she turned and slowly made her way up the stairs.

"Oh, and Scuffle," she called as she disappeared, "if they give you any more trouble while I'm packing, defend yourself. Father won't be able to force his way through your shields."

And she was gone, leaving the other three ponies sitting in the kitchen in total silence. After several stupefying seconds, Berry shakily stood up.

"I should... see if she needs help," she murmured. "It might be... difficult for her to gather up everything if she can't even see."

Nopony had any response for her, so after a moment, she simply turned and softly trotted into the hall. Melon Rind watched as she left the room. After a few more moments of silence, the farmer gently pulled his hat down so the brim obscured his eyes, sank back into his chair, and placed his head in his hooves.

Scuffle waited. The seconds turned into minutes, but the other stallion didn't speak, or move, or acknowledge that he was even still there at all. For a moment, he considered keeping it that way, and just sitting silently until Honeydew returned. But as the panic of conflict finally subsided, curiosity started to get the better of him. He cleared his throat.

"Uh... Mr. Rind?"

No response.

"Mr. Rind, you alright?"

"I've got nothing to say to you, boy," Melon Rind muttered, not lifting his head.

The silence returned, but Scuffle didn't let it last long.

"Why are you even upset?" he asked finally. "Honeydew's right, isn't she? You don't like her. You want her gone, don't you?"

Slowly, Melon Rind's deep grey eyes appeared from behind his forehooves. "She didn't have to be this way," he grumbled. "Sure, she was born a unicorn, but it was her choice to live like one. Her horn wouldn't have been a problem if she would've just behaved like we did. Unicorns can do everything earth ponies can do; she could've lived a rich, full life without magic, but she chose to go against our ways. What else is there to say?"

Scuffle, admittedly, didn't even catch the end of what the older stallion had said. One particular sentence had commanded his full attention.

Did he just say... Unicorns can do everything earth ponies can do?

"Mr. Rind, have you been a farmer all your life?" he asked.

Melon finally sat up, looking across the table at Scuffle with a deep frown. "I have," he admitted. "It's a simple life, with simple pleasures. A unicorn like you wouldn't understand it."

Scuffle ignored the comment. "When you're out in the field, early in the year, and freshly sown seeds are starting to sprout, can you tell how the upcoming growing season is going to be? Can you feel the vitality, the potential, in those plants?"

"Well, yes," Melon replied, with a skeptical raise of an eyebrow. "...Why?"

"And when your fruit crops are growing, you can cultivate them to bring out that potential, can't you?" Scuffle continued instead of answering. "I'm not talking about good farming practices like watering or fertilizing; I mean just that innate way you can bring out the best in what you're growing. That connection to the life around you, a sort of... communication, without any words?"

"Yes, but so what?" Melon Rind barked. "It just comes naturally. Anypony who learns to work the land can do that with a bit of practice.

Scuffle shook his head. "Honeydew can't. Not the way you do, anyway."

"No, Honeydew just won't bother," the older stallion snapped. "Because she's got her head in the clouds, thinking about charms and hexes and all the other unnatural things she can do."

"She can't because she's a unicorn," Scuffle corrected, keeping his tone calm and level. "Mr. Rind, y'know all that stuff I just said about plants? That's an earth pony skill. It's not something all ponies can innately do. Honeydew's not unmotivated in the slightest. But as a filly, she didn't start out with the kinds of abilities you and your wife had since foalhood, because she's not an earth pony."

Melon Rind crossed his forelegs and snorted. "Ok, so what?" he groused. "She doesn't have that part, but anypony, even a unicorn or a pegasus, can learn to work a field. That's just a trade, learned through education and practice. She already knows how to do that much, so why did she need to run off and study magic instead?"

Scuffle looked right into the other pony's eyes. "Because she loves the living things in the world around her as much... or probably even more... than you do, Mr. Rind," he answered.

"Now you're contradicting yourself, boy," Melon growled. "What are you trying to say?"

"I know you've probably never given Honeydew a chance to talk about what she actually studied at school the last five years," Scuffle said. "She's hardly even been here, to be honest. She's spent the time between terms in Ponyville or Whinnychester, with me and her other friends. But as it turns out, the main thing Honeydew's been doing at the academy is studying life magic."

Melon Rind grimaced. "Life... magic? What an irreverent combination," he said, scrunching up his snout as if Scuffle had presented him with something rancid. "Manipulating life with magic... what's she doing? Pursuing immortality? Reanimating the dead? What a disgrace, messing with the cycle of life."

Scuffle couldn't help but chuckle. "Yeah, you don't have a clue, I see," he answered, ignoring the other pony's angry snort. "That's not what life magic is for. It's for connecting deeply with other living things, tapping right into their heart and feeling what they feel, both physically and mentally, and sending and receiving information through those connections. Honeydew can do a whole lot of things with that field of magic; in fact, she might be one of the best in the world at it now. But the main thing she uses it for is just... to do what you do. To be at one with the life around her, the way you and your wife can. She's not using magic to spit in the face of the natural flow of life, just to tune in with the hearts of all the living things she encounters, so she can learn to help and heal the world around her. All these years, she's shared your simple, down-to-earth view of life, but she got nothing but grief for learning to experience life the way you do... just because the tool she needed to do so happened to be magic."

Melon Rind looked away, staring blankly at the empty kitchen, seemingly lost in thought. Scuffle waited.

"Even if you're telling the truth," he said finally, "it's just not worth the price. I mean, look at her now. She's blinded, cause she used some kind of magic to... what was it? Do something for you, she said. You don't even care that you've crippled her, do you?"

Scuffle had been feeling pretty proud of himself for letting the earth pony's insults go up until then, but that one made him wince. "As a matter of fact, Mr. Rind, I'm devastated that that happened to her," he said angrily. "A lot more upset about it than she is, actually. I know your opinion of me is lower than dirt, but no matter what you think of me, you better not insinuate that I don't care about Honeydew."

"Really?" Melon Rind asked gruffly. "Seems like you're no more than just another magic-loving bad-influence, leading her to do reckless, dangerous things."

Scuffle grit his teeth, but managed not to light his horn; he didn't want another altercation like the one a few minutes earlier. "Fine, you wanna know what happened?" he shouted. "We were attacked. I'm sure you head about the recent siege of Canterlot. We were there. That monster that captured the city came after us. She tried to kill Honeydew: tried to run a razor sharp spire of crystal right through her."

The earth pony did not look convinced. "I can't help but notice she doesn't seem to have any grievous wounds," he pointed out, glaring.

Scuffle sat back in his chair, displaying the dark scar on his undercarriage. "Yeah. That's 'cause I pushed her out of the way and took the hit. If I hadn't done what I did, Honeydew wouldn't have come home at all, so I really don't appreciate you saying she means nothing to me."

Melon Rind scoffed. "Can't have been that serious if you're here talking to me," he countered.

"Oh, it was a mortal wound, for sure," Scuffle argued. "But Honeydew was having none of that. So she took that powerful life magic of hers and tried to heal me. In fact, she was so desperate to keep me alive that when she ran out of juice in her horn, she pulled energy out of her body to convert to extra magic. She saved me, but only by using magic way above and beyond what a unicorn ever normally would, and endured terrible pain to make it happen. That's how she lost her sight."

"So it was a magical mishap, then," Melon Rind said, with a hint of self-satisfaction.

Scuffle pounded the table with a hoof. "Are you even listening!?" he snapped. "I literally was ready to lay down my life for Honeydew, and then she turned it around and knowingly damaged herself to save mine. Whether or not magic was involved is irrelevant; you're only seeing Honeydew today... or ever again, for that matter... because of what happened that night! And if you're willing to downplay that just to argue about some spellcasting, then I guess you're the one who doesn't give a damn about her, not me!"

The stallion opened his mouth to reply, but didn't speak. After a moment, he closed it again, looking more befuddled than actually mad. "I... I do care..." he mumbled, staring at the empty table. "It's just—"

"—You hate magic. You think it's unnatural and you're scared of it. I get that," Scuffle said softly. "But Honeydew needs that magic to be who she is, especially now. She's developed something called Lifesight, that lets her 'see' living things in her mind with a spell. It's almost like she isn't blind at all, at least when she's outdoors. Now, if that means she can't live here, or be around you or her mom, that's fine! She's ok with that. That's why she's moving out now. But if you do actually care at all about what happens to her... don't you think you should let her go to a place where she can use her magic to live a happy, mostly-normal life?"

Melon Rind frowned, though less deeply than usual. "With you?" he asked. "Even if she's got her... Lifesight thing, that's not going to help her everywhere. It's gonna take a lot of work to get her to the point where she can do most of her normal daily activities again. And she'll probably always need help with some things. Are you about to tell me you've got a plan all perfectly laid out to compensate for all her difficulties?"

"Well, not all at once, no," Scuffle admitted. "I don't see how anypony could. It's new territory, and it comes with new challenges. But she'd be with a partner that understands her limitations and how her magic can lessen them, and is totally dedicated to her safety and happiness. And if there's something me and her can't tackle ourselves, we have more friends living just down the road."

Honeydew's father didn't reply. Realizing he might be making some headway, Scuffle pressed on.

"Mr. Rind... Honeydew may not be an earth pony, and may not share some of your values, but she is your daughter," he pointed out. "Her mind's already made up, of course, but if you actually want what's best for her, as a pony, unicorn or not... maybe you should support her on this one."

Melon Rind heaved a long sigh. "It's just... hard for me to believe that this will be as ideal as you say it is," he confessed.

An idea suddenly struck Scuffle. His eyes widened.

"Then come with me to Ponyville for a day."

Melon Rind raised an eyebrow.

"If you stay clear of Honeydew, she won't know you're there," Scuffle explained. "Her Lifesight only extends as far as that green grid of hers. Come and watch— from afar— and see what kind of life Honeydew is able to have when she isn't here. Then you can draw your own conclusions about her decision."

Melon Rind glanced toward the stairs, where the sounds of rummaging up above indicated his wife and daughter were nearly done packing the latter's things. "...Fine," he said finally, standing up and smoothing his shirt with a hoof. "After you two head to the train station, I'll let Berry know what's going on, and follow behind a few minutes later. You better hope you can prove what you've said, boy."

"You'll see when we get there, Mr. Rind," Scuffle assured him. "Just follow along... and leave the rest to me and Honeydew."

It was after sunset. As soon as the train pulled away from the station, Honeydew groaned and leaned against Scuffle with a frustrated sigh. "Well, that went every bit as poorly as I was worried it would," she lamented. "Sorry for making such a scene. I just got so mad when father tried to hit you, I couldn't help myself."

Scuffle gave his fillyfriend's mane a gentle stroke. "No harm done, Dewey," he comforted. "Besides, everything's gonna get better from here. All your stuff's in the baggage car, and by morning, we'll be in Ponyville. It'll be almost like when we were at school; I'll be around all the time, and you'll be able to see Dinks and Clarity whenever you want."

Honeydew smiled slightly at the thought. "I really did love spending Midsummer Holiday or our winter break in Ponyville," she admitted, shifting as she did so to find a comfier position to relax against the colt. "Hopefully, once we get everything unpacked, it'll be easy to settle in."

"Well, you remember the plan?" Scuffle asked. "First thing in the morning, I'll take all our stuff to our new place and move everything in, and you'll go into town and pick up some food, and all the additional bits and bobs we'll need for our own place that we didn't need for dorm life at Celestia's Academy. Y'know, kitchenware, bedding, whatever supplies you can think of, really. You gonna be alright getting around town by yourself?"

"Should be!" Honeydew chirped. "Ponyville's got enough patches of greenery around town that I should be able to avoid any big obstacles with Lifesight, and I'll use my magic cane too. It'll probably take me longer to get through the errands than it would've when I could see, but I'll get it done."

"Great," Scuffle replied. "Let's try and put today's drama behind us then, alright? Tomorrow's gonna be better."

Honeydew sat up and nodded. "It doesn't look like my parents will ever understand or approve of my life," she sighed. "There's nothing to do now but... forget about them and move on."

Silently, Scuffle peeked over the back of the seat, spying the wide straw hat poking up from over the top of an open newspaper in the very back row of the train car. After a moment, he turned back around, placing his foreleg around Honeydew's shoulders.

"I guess... we'll see."

With nothing else to say on the matter, the unicorn pair settled in for some rest as the train cut through the dark countryside.

The next morning was bright and clear in Ponyville. A perfect day to welcome two new residents.

"Alright Dewey, I've got everything we brought along in the cart," Scuffle said, tapping the side of the hefty wooden cart he'd rented with a forehoof. "The delivery ponies should be getting to our new place with my stuff from Fillydelphia, plus all the furniture we ordered, so I'm gonna go meet them there and get started. Once you're done shopping, wait for me at that cute coffee shop we went to a whole bunch when we were here last winter."

"Two streets down from the road to Dinky's cottage?" Honeydew asked.

"That's the one," Scuffle confirmed. "Are you gonna be able to find it okay?"

Honeydew nodded happily. "I remember there was a really nice magnolia tree outside of it," she pointed out. "I'll know it the instant it's in range of my Lifesight."

The colt raised his eyebrows. "You were only here on vacation and you already know places by their local foliage," he chuckled. "You're something else, Dewey. No wonder Professor Chestnut was always raving about you."

Honeydew blushed. "S-shush," she giggled.

Scuffle leaned over and nuzzled his fillyfriend, earning an appreciative little squeak from her as she quickly returned the gesture. "I'll let you get to it then," he said. "Seeya later."

He watched for a few moments as Honeydew trotted off. Just as she disappeared around the next corner, he felt an imposing presence behind him. He didn't need to turn around to tell who it was.

"Morning, Mr. Rind."

Melon grumbled out a greeting. "So, what's this plan of yours, boy?" he asked, tugging on his hat to block the morning sun.

"Plan?" Scuffle asked. "It's hardly a plan. We're just gonna follow Honeydew from a distance for a bit. All you gotta do is make sure you don't get close enough to be inside that grid of light that extends out from her horn."

"Avoid the magic," Melon Rind summarized. "Don't worry. I'd be doing that anyway."

Scuffle suppressed a snide remark. "Come on, let's catch up to her."

It didn't take long to do just that. Even when she could see, Honeydew wasn't the type to rush about if she didn't have to, preferring to take in everything around her at her own pace. From a distance, the pair of stallions watched her amble down the street, with a grid of soft green light moving with her. Her carved cane, held in front of her with a bit of levitation magic, slowly swung left and right at an even rhythm, helping her keep clear of obstacles. When it came to other ponies, though, she never came close to a collision. The moment any passerby had a single hoof inside the grid's borders, she was already swerving to give them plenty of space. Occasionally, she'd start to drift toward the roadside, but each time she did, her Lifesight would fall upon a lawn or a flowerbed, and she'd use its position to reorient.

"See that?" Scuffle asked quietly. "You saw her when she was at the farm, reaching out in front of her groping in the darkness to try to stumble her way around without hurting herself. Does this look like that to you?"

His companion didn't respond, but he kept his eyes on Honeydew as she reached the end of the street and trotted out into Ponyville's open-air marketplace.

Standing in the middle of the square, the young mare pulled a small shopping list from her bags and cast a brief spell on it. Although it was impossible to tell what effect it had from that distance, it quickly became clear when she slowly slid her hoof over the paper's surface several times, furrowing her brow.

"What's she doing?" Melon Rind questioned.

"Ah, that'd be the braille enchantment one of her professors taught her," Scuffle explained, smiling as he watched her. "She's still really slow at reading it, but hey, she's only been blind for a couple weeks. Even so, being able to turn written text into braille is gonna help her a ton."

"I... see."

He left it at that. Scuffle suspected it was because he couldn't drum up anything negative to say on the topic.

For several minutes, the two stallions watched in silence. Honeydew meandered from stall to stall, chatting merrily with shopkeepers and occasionally passing a few bits to them as she picked up items on her list. Scuffle couldn't hear any conversations from such a distance, but her bright smiles and cheerful body language got the point across.

"Hmph," Melon grumbled, narrowing his eyes. "Honeydew used to help her mother with the shopping all the time when she was a foal. Every week it was the same thing; shuffling around with her head down, placing a bit or two on the counter and slinking off with whatever item was closest. She'd hardly say a word. Why'd she spend years making us look bad if she's capable of conducting herself like this?"

"You gotta be kidding me..." Scuffle said under his breath.

"What was that?"

"Honeydew went shopping. In your town," Scuffle pointed out, trying to fathom how the pony beside him was actually this clueless. "You know, the town full of earth ponies who hate unicorns. If she wanted to make even a single purchase, first she'd have to endure a glare and a hoofful of disparaging comments. And she was expected to just take it; Celestia forbid somepony with a horn on their head be treated like any other shopper."

"Alright, alright," Melon Rind snapped, turning away. "You've made your point, boy."

"Honeydew was seriously antisocial when I met her," Scuffle admitted. "That academy you hate so much is where she learned not to be scared of everypony around her."

Having gathered a bag full of fresh produce, Honeydew ventured on ahead, and the two stallions followed again from afar. Soon, she led them to another part of downtown Ponyville, where pawn shops and specialty stores lined the streets. She slowed to a stop, looking uncertain. She took a small step in one direction, then another, but ultimately remained standing in the road.

"Aha," Melon Rind said, with a hint of smugness in his voice. "There won't be much to guide her in those shops. Now how's she supposed to manage?"

Honeydew calmly held her cane upright, so the little wooden adornment shaped like a bird faced skyward. She tapped it with a hoof once, twice, three times, and with a squawk and a puff of feathers, a tiny green bird popped into existence.

"That's what Cornelius is for," Scuffle said simply.

Honeydew spoke softly to her summoned friend. His reply was loud and shrill enough that Scuffle could hear it even from a distance. "Stuff for the kitchen, eh?" he crowed, scanning the surrounding buildings as he flapped up and perched himself on the mare's notched horn. "Two more doors down and on your left, kid."

Honeydew and her little passenger disappeared into the shop. Scuffle turned to Melon Rind, who simply stared, bewildered, at the spot his daughter had been a moment before.

"So... do you see what I'm saying here, Mr. Rind?" he asked hesitantly. "Honeydew's hardly even disabled when she has access to all the tools available to her."

"Well, she's... she's not quite the same pony I've seen at the farm all these years..." Melon Rind mumbled. "She's always seemed frail, withdrawn, and disinterested, so I thought..."

He trailed off. Scuffle raised an eyebrow.

"...Yes?" he prompted.

"...Haven't you tarried a bit too long with this little field trip?" the older stallion asked, abruptly changing the subject. "I seem to recall you're expecting a delivery at your new address soon."

Scuffle glanced at the clock tower near the town square. "Shoot, you're right!" he realized. "I gotta go!"

"I'm coming too," Melon announced. "I suppose I'd better at least see what sort of place Honeydew's planning to call home now."

"Better keep up, then," Scuffle responded, knowing he had no time to argue as he broke into a brisk trot. "It's this way. Now let's go!"

Scuffle skidded to a halt at his destination. Melon Rind, despite being several decades older, had no trouble keeping pace, which wasn't too surprising, given the years and years of manual labor he had under his belt.

In front of them was a very typical looking Ponyville home, with tan walls with a neat brown trim under a thatched roof. Several arched windows appeared to let in plenty of light, and there was a small balcony, just big enough to hold two or three ponies, on the upper level.

"So how'd you manage to get this place?" Melon Rind asked suspiciously. "I somehow doubt a few jobs between terms would've made you enough for a down payment."

"Well uh, me and my friends did kinda save Canterlot a few weeks ago," Scuffle reminded him. "Princess Celestia asked each of us if there was anything she could do to repay us. Me and Honeydew cashed in our favors on a new home."

A large shadow fell over both ponies, and Scuffle looked up to see a bulky, airborne shipping container, pulled along by two pegasi, slowly descending toward the front lawn. He stepped out of the way as it touched down.

"Are you Scuffle?" asked a yellow and teal mare as she approached with a clipboard, while her partner started unloading the furniture onto the roadside.

"That's me," Scuffle replied. "Right on time, too. We just arrived."

"We do our best!" the chipper pegasus replied, as Scuffle signed for his delivery. "And hey, I think I know you. You're one of Dinky Doo's friends, right?"

Scuffle grinned. "Yup, me and Dinks are pals," he confirmed. Melon Rind scowled at the mention of Dinky, but luckily the pegasus didn't seem to notice.

"Great!" she exclaimed. "Tell her to let her mom know Raindrops says hello!"

"I'll do that," Scuffle promised, passing the clipboard back to her. "I paid in advance, so, we good?"

"Yep, you're all set," Raindrops announced, as the other pegasus hauled the last of the items out of the shipping container. "Thanks for choosing Cloudsdale Mail and Freight!"

They took off again, leaving Scuffle with only his surly companion. Not waiting for an invitation, Melon pushed the door open and stepped inside.

The interior was as standard as the outside. A hall from the foyer led to a roomy parlor, with a wide doorway leading to an open kitchen and dining area. Nearby, the stairs led up to a smaller second story, with a few bedrooms, bathroom, large closet, as well as a glass door leading to the balcony.

There was one detail that set the house apart from those surrounding it though: railings at about flank height were installed on almost every wall.

"I came by for a couple hours the day after we graduated and installed rails while Honeydew stayed with Dinks and Clarity in Canterlot," Scuffle said proudly. "Those should make it easier for her to get around, once she learns the layout of the place, huh?"

Melon Rind slowly made a lap around the ground floor, examining the empty rooms and the mobility aids Scuffle had installed. "How... uninspired," he said finally.

Scuffle cocked his head. "Un... inspired?" he repeated. "They're hoofrails. How 'inspired' can they possibly be?"

Without answering, the older stallion turned and made for the front door. "You might as well unpack," he grumbled. "I'm sure it'll take you no time at all, floating couches and tables around and such. I'll be back in a half-hour."

And with a rather forceful slam of the door, he was gone, leaving Scuffle standing bewildered in the empty foyer.

"Steady... steady..."

With a wide-reaching levitation spell, Scuffle slowly lowered his mattress onto the bed frame in what was to be his new room. He smiled in satisfaction as it touched down neatly in place.

"Alright, that's all the big stuff, I think," he said to himself as he trotted out into the hall. "Now I have to start unpacking the boxes of—"

Bam! Bam! Bam!

Scuffle practically jumped out of his skin as the sound of a hammer echoed through the house. He galloped downstairs, horn aglow, to see what was going on. Skidding around the corner into the foyer, he came face to face with Honeydew's father and a large pallet full of boards. The stallion was building something into the wall, just below the railings meant for Honeydew.

"Mr. Rind, what... what're you doing?" he asked.

"Building," the other stallion grunted.

Scuffle flattened his ears against his head. "I... can see that. Building what?"

"A better guidance system for Honeydew."

Scuffle winced as Melon Rind placed another nail and hammered the next board into place, creating a hollow, box-shaped space between the railing and the wall a few inches behind it. "I don't... I don't follow," he said finally.

Melon Rind's gaze seemed to pierce through him. "Aren't you academy unicorns supposed to be geniuses or something?" he griped. "All day long, you've been like a broken record, reminding me over and over that magic is apparently the key to all Honeydew's problems. And then you bring me here and all you've got for her to use to get around is some damned wall railings?"

"...What does any of that have to do with you vandalizing my wall?" Scuffle asked finally.

The stallion sighed, exasperated, and jerked a hoof at the wooden box just beneath the rail, as if Scuffle couldn't see it. "We build a box," he explained. "Leakproof it; maybe you can save some money and do that magically, knowing you. Fill it with soil. Repot some flowers and other small vegetation. I bought dozens, they're out front. Repeat around the rest of the house. Honeydew sees the plants with her... you know... grid-thing. And then she can walk around the home as if she can see perfectly, unless I'm grossly misunderstanding how that life magic you were raving about so much actually works."

Scuffle, dumbfounded, took several moments to process the idea. Too long, apparently, since Melon Rind turned away and began hammering in the next board.

"You... you did get what I've been saying then!" he realized, breaking into a wide smile. "You're really on board with giving Honeydew the means to improve her quality of life with magic?"

Melon Rind glared at him. "You're supposed to go retrieve Honeydew in just a couple hours," he pointed out. "We have a lot of house to cover. Are you going to help me or not?"

"O-of course!" Scuffle said quickly. "Even working together, we're not gonna get it done in time working with hooves alone, though. You think you could put up with it if I use my magic? Just to pick stuff up and move it around. Nothing else, I swear."

"...Fine," Melon Rind agreed. "No funny business, boy."

"I won't," Scuffle promised, as he levitated the next board into place next to the ones Melon had already finished. "This is actually an amazing idea, Mr. Rind. Honeydew's gonna love it. And that's what we both want, right?"

Melon Rind stared at the board, wreathed in magic, for a few seconds, and then gingerly placed a hoof on it, apparently expecting to be burned by the aura or something. When nothing of the sort happened, he put the next nail in place and began to hammer it in. "Less talk, more placing the boards, boy," he said flatly. "We've got a lot of work to do."

The dangling bell jingled as Scuffle pushed open the door to the coffee shop. It was easy enough to spot Honeydew, seated in the corner and sipping on a white chocolate latte topped with a generous scoop of whipped cream, slowly running her hoof over lines of braille in the book in front of her. Grinning, he trotted over and slid into the booth next to her.

"Heya, Dewey."

Honeydew's Lifesight flared to life and she turned to the pony beside her with a sweet smile. "Hi!" she replied. "Gosh, the afternoon really flew by. I got all the things on the shopping list. Did you do okay with the house?"

"Everything's all set," Scuffle affirmed. "All it's missing now is the mare who's gonna live there with me."

Honeydew giggled softly. She wasted no time cozying up to him when he put a foreleg around her shoulders.

"Ready to go home?" he asked.

Honeydew looked thoughtful. "It's... weird to think about," she said slowly. "All my life, 'going home' has been just about the most negative thing in the world. It was the source of stress, instead of the place I could go to escape it. And obviously that's not how it's supposed to be. It's almost like... I've never really been home. Until today, I guess."

"Well... y'know, the definition of home doesn't have to be that cut and dry," Scuffle mused. "I'd argue that home's the place where you feel most at ease, and you're with the ponies that love you. Like at the academy, with Dinks, Clarity, and me. And now that place is here. It's a new location, sure, but with us around, it'll feel like home in no time at all."

That brought a smile to Honeydew's face. "Alright then," she said with a resolute nod. "Let's go home, Scuffle."

The two unicorns (and a cloud of shopping bags floating in Honeydew's aura) left the coffee shop. It was just a quick trot to the house waiting a few blocks away. It took every bit of Scuffle's willpower to act casual and not hint at the dramatic renovations that had occurred in the last few hours. After a minute or two, the couple arrived at the edge of the property.

"We're here," he told her. "I'll take the bags. You go ahead and check it out."

Honeydew stepped forward, extending her Lifesight across the front lawn curiously, and Scuffle followed her as she took in the details. The cobbled front walk, of course, was something that would appear in her mind's eye as just a stretch of darkness, but it was lined on either side by a border of white and purple petunias, which clearly demarcated the path she needed to take. A large maple tree stood at one side of the yard; it had lost most of its leaves for the year, since it was nearly December, but Scuffle knew it'd be a great shady spot in the summer, and a beautiful display of foliage in autumn.

On the other side of the yard, one large patch of soil was devoid of any plants, including grass. Honeydew stopped, staring at it questioningly, since it would've shown up as a large blank spot in her limited vision.

"Nothing there yet," Scuffle explained. "But I've known you long enough to know you're gonna want a garden when spring comes around, right?"

A smile grew across Honeydew's face. "I hadn't even thought that far ahead, but you're not wrong," she laughed. "Should we go inside now?"

Scuffle nodded. "Lead the way!"

Honeydew followed the flower-lined path to the front step, and then took her cane from her bag. Her coltfriend stepped up beside her and placed a hoof on it.

"I don't think you're gonna be needing that..." he said, giving her a sidelong smirk.

"What do you mean?" Honeydew asked quizzically as she pushed open the front door. "Once we're inside, I'm not going to be able to use my Lifesight to... to..."

Grinning a bit, Scuffle simply stood back and watched as Honeydew stepped further into the house, looking stunned.

The foyer was now lined with planters along every single wall, containing a variety of plant life, some flowering, some leafy, but all small enough to fit in the space made for them. They perfectly mapped out the dimensions of the room, breaking only for doorways. The stairwell nearby had matching vines wrapped in a spiral around bannisters on either side, clearly defining the route upstairs.

At the end of the hall, the now-furnished parlor was similarly decorated, but with even more additions to help with Honeydew's navigation. Not a single piece of furniture was left without some sort of botanical marker for her to detect; each end table sported a potted plant atop it, and there were even hanging baskets dangling from the ceiling directly over the couch to point out its location from above. There wasn't a single obstacle in the room that wasn't marked with a beacon of life so the young mare would be able to see it. Scuffle watched her move through the room, her cane limply at her side, unused.

And it didn't stop there. In the kitchen, trellises had been installed on the outside of cabinets and appliances. Ivy snaked through the wooden lattice, effectively showing Honeydew the shape and position of all the room's amenities. The dining table, of course, had a large centerpiece full of a whole rainbow of flowering plants.

"Wha... what?" Honeydew babbled. "This... this is..."

"It's pretty much the same upstairs, in case you were wondering," Scuffle said casually, as he put a foreleg over her back.

"B-but... how did you..."

"Well, I wasn't alone," Scuffle admitted. "I had a lot of help setting this up from, er... somepony who, y'know... thought they'd be able to help you live a little more comfortably. So uh... what do you think?"

Honeydew turned to him with tears in her cloudy eyes and a look of awe on her face. "This is... amazing," she breathed, swinging her head left and right to move the grid of light across different surfaces. "I-it's all so well planned out! Lifesight is usually great when I'm outside, but now—"

"—Now you can have your own private space, and be able to see your way around," Scuffle finished. "It didn't seem fair that you had to choose one or the other. You deserve at least one place where you can have both."

Honeydew leaned into Scuffle's coat, prompting him to hold her a little tighter. "Th-thank you," she sniffled. "Scuffle, I don't know what to say..."

Scuffle caught a glimpse of movement to his left. He turned his head to look out the kitchen window.

Melon Rind stood in the yard, well beyond the radius of Honeydew's Lifesight. His expression was silently questioning, making sure everything had gone well. Scuffle gave him a discreet nod, and Melon reciprocated with one of his own, before turning to make his way around to the front of the house to head back to the station. As he disappeared from view, the colt turned back to his fillyfriend.

"So, whatcha wanna do now, Dewey?" he asked.

"Let's go over to see Dinky and Clarity!" Honeydew exclaimed, turning and heading immediately for the front door. "I have to tell them all about this!"

"W-wait, right this second?" Scuffle sputtered.

There was no time to act. With the aid of all the plant life guiding her, Honeydew was already in the foyer. Scuffle galloped down the hall to try to catch her.

"Hang on, hang on!"

Too late. Giddily, Honeydew pulled open the door and stepped out onto the front walk. Her Lifesight grid extended forward, shimmering over the front lawn and everything on it... including the grumpy old stallion that hadn't even reached the edge of the yard yet. She stopped so abruptly that she nearly stumbled, her expression changing rapidly to shock and then to outrage.

Melon Rind stiffened. For a moment, there was a tense standoff between the two ponies.

The stallion pursed his lips. "Um, Honeydew—"

"Get out," Honeydew interrupted, her voice suddenly anguished. "I can't do this again. I just can't!"

"But—" her father tried to reply.

"You're not welcome here!" Honeydew cried, as her eyes filled with tears. "Get out, or I'll... I'll use my magic the way you always feared I would!"

Her horn flared brighter, and the maple tree nearby shuddered, creaking as it stood at attention, ready to move if she willed it. Melon Rind glanced at the tree and then back at his daughter, terrified.

"Dewey, stop!" Scuffle urged, sprinting down the walk and skidding to a halt in between the two ponies at odds. "Hold on, no need for a confrontation!"

Honeydew looked bleak. "It's my father," she deadpanned, as if suspecting Scuffle didn't recognize him. "Why wouldn't you expect a confrontation?"

Scuffle hesitated. He glanced between Honeydew's skeptical expression and Melon Rind's guarded look.

"Because..." he said carefully. "Your dad, he's, um... he's the one who designed and organized all those plantboxes and baskets in the house. I just helped him set it all up."

Honeydew blinked. She stood in the middle of the walkway, her expression vacant. It seemed she had no idea what to say or do to respond to that.

"Originally, I just had railings put in," Scuffle continued, "which would've worked, but definitely not as well. Your dad figured out how to arrange things in such a way that you'd be able to get around with Lifesight, without actually blocking any walkways or filling half the floorspace with plant pots or something."

Honeydew tugged anxiously on the trailing ends of her mane for a moment.

"...Why?" she asked finally.

Scuffle slowly stepped aside so father and daughter were face to face again. Honeydew's horn returned to a gentle glow, just maintaining her Lifesight spell.

"...Honeydew," Melon Rind said finally. "Let's be frank here. Magic's got no place at our farm, or in our town. That's not going to change."

"I got that, yes," Honeydew replied dryly.

"But that being said, we— that is, your mother and I— we weren't... we weren't trying to actively hurt you," he continued, stumbling over his words a bit. When you were born a unicorn, we saw that as if..."

He trailed off, but Honeydew continued to wait, until he was forced to continue.

"...it was the same to us as if... you'd been born with a disability," he muttered, his gaze now locked firmly on the cobbles under his hooves. "We raised you how we did not because we hated you, but because we saw your... um, unicorn-ness as a condition that needed to be overcome. It never occurred to either of us that being born with a horn on your head had the potential to be anything other than an obstacle, so, like with some other disabilities, we thought with the right kind of upbringing, you'd be able to live a 'normal' life despite it."

"...You chose some awfully cruel ways to try to make me 'normal'," Honeydew said finally.

"W-we were frustrated!" Melon sputtered, putting up his forehooves defensively. "As a filly, you were listless. You seemed to have no interests. So we thought you were lazy. In public, you kept your distance, and rarely made eye contact or spoke, so you seemed aloof and antisocial. So we tried— harder and harder— to mould you into the pony we hoped you could be. We thought your behavior was simply defiant, and we chalked it all up to the effects of that horn on your head. So we got more strict, more severe hoping one day it'd finally snap you out of it."

Honeydew's bitter expression grew deeper. "Well, it had the opposite effect," she said hoarsely, sinking down onto her haunches. "You, and everypony for that matter, were against me. I shut the world out. What choice did I have?"

She looked like she was about to cry. Melon Rind took a few small steps forward, and sat down across from her, removing his wide-brimmed hat and clutching it against his chest.

"...Your friend here," he said softly, angling his head in Scuffle's direction. "He, well... he told me a bit about your life these days. He says you've got lots of friends, you've poured your heart and soul into a subject you love, and you're growing more confident and outgoing every day. And of course, I thought that was odd. It didn't sound anything like the lazy, frail, antisocial filly that grew up at the farm."

Honeydew wiped her eyes. "What are you trying to say?" she asked.

"I'm saying that when you were a foal, you needed somepony to cultivate your talents and interests," Melon sighed. "It wasn't the kind of mental and social enrichment you could get on a small earth pony farm. We thought we were in charge of determining what you needed, but it seems from the day you were born with that unicorn magic twinkling somewhere inside you, you were destined for a different path. We didn't know how to raise a pony like you, and on top of that, we weren't aware we didn't know. It was... really a case of the blind leading the blind."

Honeydew's mouth hung open slightly. "I... s-see," she stuttered.

"When I arrived here, I saw something I'd never seen before," the stallion confessed. "I saw you using your magic, yes. But I also saw you with a level of agency you never showed at home. Motivated. Conversational. And um... happy. Other than the magic part, I saw the pony your mother and I dreamed of raising when we were new parents."

The disbelief on Honeydew's face was growing with each word out of her father's mouth. Hesitantly, the stallion lifted a forehoof and placed it lightly on her shoulder. He looked her right in the eyes, and even though she could only see him with her magic, she stared back regardless.

"Let me ask you just one question, Honeydew," he said slowly. "Do you need magic to be that kind of pony?"

Honeydew, her expression as certain as Scuffle had ever seen it, nodded immediately. "Yes."

"...Thought you might say that," her father replied. "In Ponyville, you've got ponies that understand that magic, and love you for it. They celebrate it, cause it seems it ties together all the elements that make you who you are. And I was thinking about it, and... I suppose you couldn't hope to circumstances like that back at the farm. I helped your friend with the house because I figured, well... by Luna's moon, I might as well try to do one thing right when it comes to creating an environment that you can flourish in."

"Wait, so... you mean you agree that I should live here, with Scuffle?" Honeydew asked, incredulous.

"I'd say the 'you' I've seen today has only ever really lived here," Melon Rind said thoughtfully. "That filly that grew up under our care... well, she was hardly even the same pony. The Honeydew sitting in front of me now is the Honeydew I was hoping to raise. If that Honeydew can only exist alongside unicorn magic... well, I guess I'll cut my losses on that part."

He stood up, leaving Honeydew sitting flabbergasted on the front walk. Before leaving, he turned to Scuffle.

"And you, boy," he barked. "Honeydew seems convinced that you're the pony who will continue to bring out the best in her, day in and day out. So I'd better not catch wind of you dragging her down, you hear me?"

Scuffle smirked. "Loud and clear, Mr. Rind. Don't you worry."

Melon harrumphed. "Then I suppose there's nothing else to be said," he grumbled. "Don't let me down, bo... err, Scuffle."

And without a further glance back, he spun around and marched out the front gate and out of sight.

Knock, knock, knock.

Scuffle stirred. With a snort, he rolled over, rubbing his eyes.

"Huh?" he managed, barely conscious.

With a barely audible click, the bedroom door opened, and grid of gentle green light illuminated the previously pitch dark room, revealing Honeydew in the doorway.

Scuffle sat up. "Dewey?"

"Sorry for waking you," Honeydew apologized immediately.

"No problem," Scuffle answered, as his visitor made her way into the room, navigating quite well with the aid of the ivy on the walls and the little box of flowers on the bedside table. "It's like two in the morning. You okay?"

"Can't sleep," the filly mumbled, frowning.

Scuffle looked her over. Even in the dim light, it was clear in her expression that she was exhausted.

"What's wrong?" he asked finally. "You look like you're about ready to doze off on your hooves."

"I didn't say I'm not sleepy. Just that I can't sleep," Honeydew corrected, pouting. "My head's still spinning from everything that happened the last two days. Do you think... I could sleep here? Being with somepony familiar will probably help."

Scuffle immediately scooted over and patted the bed, inviting Honeydew to join him. Carefully, she crawled into the big bed, wrapping her forelegs around him almost immediately and laying her head on the fluff on his chest. Smiling, he softly stroked her wavy mane with a hoof.

"Comfy?" he asked.

"Mhm."

A few moments passed in silence. Just as Scuffle was beginning to grow drowsy again, Honeydew spoke.

"...How did you do it?"

Scuffle looked down at her. "Huh?"

"My father," Honeydew clarified. "How did you get through to him? I tried so many times, for so many years..."

Scuffle considered how to answer. "Well, you remember what I said when we stayed at their place when we were on the run with Dinks last month?" he asked softly. "Sometimes it seems like somepony could never, ever change. Not in a million years. And occasionally, that might be true. But other times, they're just missing a certain perspective that makes everything click. I'd say... your dad had never really met the real you. Not that I'm trying to take the blame off him or anything; he was at fault for never even giving you a chance to show who you really were in the first place. But even so... I guess that's what it took for him to admit to himself that he'd been wrong all these years."

Honeydew yawned. "Guess so," she mumbled sleepily. "My parents will never find any sort of harmony with unicorn magic, but... maybe someday, they can find some sort of common ground with me after all."

"Someday, yeah," Scuffle agreed, snuggling the filly a little tighter. "But for now, I think everypony's fine with it if you keep to your world and they keep to theirs for a while."

"No arguments here," Honeydew giggled quietly. "I'm more than okay with staying right here with my Ponyville friends, this amazing new home... and you, Scuffle."

"Same," Scuffle chuckled. "After all the drama lately, all I wanna do is spend time with my favorite mare in all of Equestria."

Honeydew purred softly as she relaxed into his fur.

"Y'know, if you sleep easier spending the night with me," Scuffle mused, "we could just share this bedroom and convert your room into that study you wanted."

Honeydew didn't weigh in on that. Scuffle glanced down and discovered she was fast asleep in his arms.

"Guess that kinda answers my question," he whispered.

The colt's eyes slid shut, and soon, the pair of unicorns both enjoyed a peaceful slumber, together in their new home.

Lucid Dreams

Date: A few weeks after Dinky's graduation

"Alright, Spritz. You got this. No big deal. It's just one of the most astounding ponies in all of Equestria. Watching your every move. Judging every word you say. No big deal. No big deal!"

Spritz, a baby-blue pegasus mare with a short-cut, yellow and white mane, paced up and down the street. Resting on the rooftop above her, another pegasus, this one with a pale purple coat and a straight, darker purple mane, rolled her eyes.

"Spritz, you're psyching yourself out again," she mumbled boredly.

"Who's psyched out? I'm not psyched out! Do I sound psyched out!?" Spritz replied frantically. "I mean, c'mon Shoal, it's just an interview. An interview with her."

The last word came out as a breathless squeak. Shoal rolled her eyes again and fluttered down from the rooftop, alighting beside her companion.

"An interview that you are super prepared for," the dark coated pony reminded her, speaking in her usual level, always unperturbed voice. "Your resumé is pristine. You've got management experience. You know everything about that company and what it does. And everything about its president too, though if I were you, I'd tune the fangirling back just a bit when you actually talk to her."

"I'm tryiiiinnnggg," Spritz whined, shimmying in place like a frustrated foal. "But I've been such a big fan of her work for years! It's hard to even think about the possibility of actually working for her without making all my feathers stand on end!"

Shoal slowly glanced at the clock in a nearby store window. "Then you might wanna get going," she pointed out dully. "Isn't your appointment in like... five minutes?"

Spritz glanced desperately at the clock. "Sweet Celestia, you're right!" she gasped. "Gotta go Shoal seeya later bye!"

She blasted into the air, leaving Shoal standing far below, slowly shaking her head.

The cold air made Spritz's eyes water as she soared above her town. She was used to the nip of high elevation winds, having spent so much time working in the sky with the local weather team. She certainly didn't mind her weatherpony job, and it was a bit of a source of personal pride that she could whip up such a mean rainbow, even when doing it the old fashioned way, as her rainbow cutie mark proudly displayed. After all, the lack of a modern weather factory like they had in bigger cities like Cloudsdale meant the pegasi on her team had to do everything by hoof.

But if today went how she so desperately hoped it might, there was a possibility she could finally leave the weather business in favor of her true passion.

She flapped hard to reach her cruising altitude, noticing a bit of ice forming on the tips of her feathers. It was December, after all, and Hearth's Warming was barely a week away. For a moment, she stressed over everything she still had to do before her family visited for the holiday.

"No time to think about that now!" she reminded herself. Aloud, as usual; she was fully aware of her rather persistent habit of talking to herself. "Interview first, Hearth's Warming later!"

The pegasus stopped flapping and spread her wings wider, cruising along on the breeze toward her destination. She looked down, able to see almost the entire town from up here, with the train station up on the hill on one end, and the sparkling sea all the way on the other.

The coastal town of Whinnychester, where she'd lived all her life, was always a delight to view from the air. But today, Spritz's gaze quickly locked on one large, reflective building downtown. She tucked in her wings and dove downward, landing with ease right at the large facility's main gate.

The building had a tidy courtyard with a fountain bubbling merrily in the center. The edges of the circular space were rimmed with flowers in a variety of colors, though all of the same type, with wide, outstretched petals that made each look almost like a bright firework, frozen in time. Spritz marveled at them for a moment before something dawned on her.

"Wait a minute. It's December."

The pegasus stepped closer to investigate. Carefully, she stuck a hoof into the flowing fountain... and found only dry, cold concrete. Likewise, her hoof passed right through the flowers and ended up on bare soil with a thin layer of frost on top.

"Oh, I get it! Illusions!"

She turned back to the edifice before her. The company's name, displayed in big, bold letters that constantly cycled through a whole palette of colors thanks to a yet another clever illusion spell, hung just above the double front doors.

Mirage Effects co.

Mirage Effects corporation was not just famous in Whinnychester; it was one of the biggest producers of visual special effects in the nation, able to hold its own even in business competition with similar companies in major cities like Manehattan. Festivals, grand openings, concerts, and premieres all around Equestria relied on the potent combination of magic and technology that they provided to turn any event into a dazzling display that nopony in attendance was likely to forget.

But something was different now. Something that, in Spritz's mind at least, elevated the company to new, even loftier heights. Ownership of the organization had recently changed hooves. The former owner had stepped down, and his vice president now sat at the helm as the new CEO.

That mare, the smartest, most talented pony Spritz had ever known, was in charge now. A pony she'd idolized for at least five years, though always from afar, just a lowly fan basking in the glory of her hero.

But today, Spritz was more than just a fan. Today she was aiming much higher, and one only had to look at the large sign in the front window of the office to see why.

Now Hiring: Vice President of Operations.
Please see the receptionist for an application form.

Spritz had already done the application part, of course. All that was left now was the interview. One on one. With her.

"Keep it calm, Spritz. Keep it calm and cool and collected," Spritz told herself, in a voice that was anything but. "It's in the bag. You've got laser focus. Eye of the tiger and all that. And next thing you know, you'll be her right-hoof pony! After today, your career will have nowhere to go but up! Spritz, vice president of Mirage Effects, and second in command to the one and only—"

Bong! Bong!

The chime of the clock echoed across the courtyard, snapping the pegasus back to reality. 10 AM had arrived. It was time.

Spritz straightened up, dusted off her coat and smoothed her bright mane, and nervously trotted through the glass double doors.

The lobby was bright and clean, with pale blue tiled floors that almost matched Spritz's coat. The walls were filled with framed photographs of dazzling fireworks displays, laser light shows, and fantastic constructs of light and magic from famous events and celebrations. A stallion, seated behind a polished wooden desk, waved as she entered.

"Hello! Welcome to Mirage Effects!" he greeted, beckoning the pegasus to come up to his desk. "How can I help you today?"

"I-interview," Spritz stammered, working her wings nervously. "I've got an appointment."

The stallion checked a clipboard for a second. "Ah, Spritz, right? Right on time. The president should be ready to see you right away."

Spritz attempted to put on a convincing smile despite her heart thudding in her chest, and followed the receptionist down the hall and up a gleaming staircase. On the landing up above was a portrait of a handsome, smiling stallion labeled "Our Founder". Spritz recognized him immediately: she'd seen him at many events that Mirage Effects had been contracted to work at.

The stallion noticed her looking as they walked. "Ah, our former president, Crystal Clear," he said nostalgically. "Mirage Effects isn't a very old company yet, so Mr. Clear was in charge from its creation right up until just a few weeks ago! We all miss seeing him here every day of course, but luckily, things have still been going very smoothly. He passed the company down to his eldest daughter, you see, and let me tell you, I can't think of more capable hooves to have left it in. It makes sense, though; she's been the vice president ever since she graduated from Celestia's Academy for Gifted Unicorns five years ago, so she already knows the company and the ponies who work for it inside and out. To say nothing of the fact that she's an absolute savant with both technology and illusion magic."

Spritz already knew all this of course, so she just nodded politely. "I can't wait to meet her," she replied. "I've been looking forward to an opportunity like this for a while. Do you think I've got a chance of impressing her?"

"I'm sure you'll do fine," the receptionist replied as he arrived at the end of the hall and gestured to a polished wooden door. "Your interview will take place in here. Good luck!"

With a quick smile, he turned and trotted away, leaving Spritz standing at the end of the hall. Slowly, she faced the door. She worked one wing, then the other, and folded them neatly in place. Taking a deep breath, gently pushed the door open and stepped inside.

The office was very bright, owing to an almost floor-to-ceiling window replacing one wall. On both sides of the room, shelves were full of optical devices and even a few tiny dioramas of some of Mirage Effects' biggest shows, using illusion magic to silently replay miniature replicas of dazzling fireworks or whimsical illusions again and again.

And at the center of the room, behind a large desk that was just as smooth and polished as the door, sat a single pony. Spritz felt her heart skip a beat.

The pony at the desk was a unicorn mare, with a coat colored fairly dark grey and a rather voluminous, bright purple mane that hung around her shoulders in big curls. Three bright firework rockets decorated her flank, and her bright red eyes peered out from behind a pair of red-rimmed glasses.

There was no mistaking her. The new president of Mirage Effects, in all her glory.

Eventually, the mare looked up from the forms on her desk and focused on her visitor. "Um, hello!" she called out, looking at the pegasus curiously. "You don't need to wait for an invitation. Come in, sit down!"

It dawned on Spritz that she'd been standing still in the doorway for almost thirty seconds. Rigidly, she moved across the room and seated herself across from her host.

"Welcome to Mirage Effects," the president greeted, extending a forehoof across the desk. "I'm Lucid, the new president. And you are?"

"S-spritz" Spritz stammered. "H-hello, Miss President, ma'am,"

The president shook her head quickly, leaving her glasses a little askew. "You don't need to be all formal like that," she said with a bit of an awkward laugh as she straightened her spectacles. "It was the same thing a few weeks ago with all the others; they always called me by my name when I was VP, and then suddenly it was 'Miss President' when I took the helm. And you know, I was, well... not exactly the most social pony growing up. I think being on a first name basis with ponies makes things feel more relaxed, don't you?"

Spritz nodded. "Yes ma'am. I mean Lucid!"

Lucid smiled warmly. "Well, let's go ahead and conduct the interview, Spritz," she said, taking a copy of the pegasus' resumé in her aura and glancing it over. "I see you've got quite a bit of relevant experience here that we definitely look for in anypony joining the Mirage Effects team. Would you mind telling me some more about your qualifications?"

Spritz's ear twitched nervously, but she quickly shook off the anxiety, determined to make the best of this opportunity. "Right, of course!" she chirped. "I've been keeping up with almost every event Mirage Effects has provided the visual entertainment for in the last few years, and I think my experience could be a big asset to orchestrating future ones!"

For the next few minutes, Spritz listed all the details she'd been rehearsing all week, from her encyclopedic knowledge of the company's preferences in equipment and stage design, to her knowledge of electronics and pyrotechnics, to her pony-management experience as a squad leader with the Coastal Southern Equestria Weather Team. Lucid listened carefully, occasionally breaking up the monologue with a question of her own, and furiously scribbling down notes on Spritz's background with a quill in her aura.

"So, to sum it up, I think I've got the knowledge and pony skills I need for the job, and definitely the passion!" the pegasus asserted. "Mirage Effects has had me captivated since I was a filly, and I've poured every ounce of effort I could into preparing myself for this chance. There's really nothing I'd love more than to work with you on your amazing effects displays, Lucid!"

"Your knowledge of the field really is detailed," Lucid admitted, nodding approvingly as she scanned the resumé one more time. "Your performance here, if you don't mind me saying, is just as impressive as your application suggested. You've really got the qualities, and qualifications, we're looking for at Mirage Effects."

Spritz's eyes widened. "D-does that mean what I think it means?"

Lucid chuckled. "Well, let's not get too far ahead of ourselves," she warned. "I want to talk to a few of the other admins to see if they're in agreement, but you're definitely on the short list of candidates for the new Lighting Tech Team Supervisor."

There was silence for just a moment. Spritz blinked.

"Um... Miss Lucid, maybe there's been a mix-up with the application?" she asked meekly, working one wing and then the other nervously. "Or... maybe you just misspoke, so just to clarify, you do know I'm applying for Vice President of Operations, right?"

Lucid froze, and though the bright smile remained on her face, it suddenly looked rather plastered-on.

"Oh. Well. I'm... sorry for the mix up," she managed finally, wringing her forehooves a bit. "They must've overlooked that downstairs when they were sending me your application info. Not that that changes anything about your qualifications, of course. Let's see now, in regards to that particular role..."

"I know it's a higher position, but don't worry, I still think I've got what you need!" Spritz piped up hopefully. "I have the technical background, and I have experience managing a team of ponies that do complex work. After all, coastal weather teams have to deal with a lot of weather patterns that inland teams don't."

"Oh, I don't doubt it," Lucid assured her. "You have a lot of the right qualifications, even when talking specifically about the vice president role.. There is... one concern though. You're right, of course, that the VP will need to work well with ponies in all parts of the company, and have knowledge of how we set up equipment and conduct our shows, and you excel in all of those categories, but there's one major thing the pony in that position will need to do that you... can't..."

"What is it? I can learn!" Spritz insisted, leaning forward and flaring her wings as she placed her forehooves on Lucid's desk. "I'll take any classes or training courses you need me to! I'm sure I can get caught up in no time!"

"Err, well—" Lucid fumbled with her words for a moment. "Spritz, I'm sure you know Mirage Effects is definitely not the only company in Equestria who does live special effects. Do you know what makes our particular performances so unique and sought after, all across the nation?"

"Um, you're the best of the best?" Spritz asked, with a nervous laugh. "I've seen plenty of festivals and stage performances and fireworks displays, and nopony does them like you and your team."

Lucid chewed her tongue for a moment, thinking about what to say. "And do you know what it is about our team that lets us create that special brand of effects?"

Spritz considered the question. "Well... Mirage Effects puts on shows that defy expectations," she said slowly. "It's not just light and color; it's always something absolutely captivating that leaves the audience wondering, 'how did they do that?'. I guess that'd be because you employ so many talented illusionists?"

"Exactly," Lucid confirmed with a slight smile, as she lit her horn and created images of a herd of tiny, glowing ponies traipsing across her desk. "We use mechanical lighting and pyrotechnics and other physical effects, of course, but what really sets us apart is how heavily we incorporate top-notch, cutting-edge illusion spells into each show."

Spritz nodded eagerly. "I can tell!" she complimented. "I've seen your work with illusions. It's absolutely inspiring!"

Despite the praise, Lucid's little smile slowly faded, and the miniature pony illusions faded with it. "Well, thank you," she said softly. "Many of the illusory effects you've seen at our shows in the past few years were my work, during my time as vice president. After all, in addition to administrative work, some of the VP's biggest responsibilities are planning and designing illusions, practicing and perfecting illusions, casting many of the most difficult illusions at large scale performances... do you... see where I'm going with this?"

Spritz's heart sank with each word Lucid spoke. "You... need to be a unicorn to be the VP, huh?" she mumbled, her ears and wings hanging low. "That... wasn't on the job ads..."

Lucid cringed. "I— I know, and I'm so sorry about that, that was my mistake," she stammered. "I guess I... didn't even consider a non-unicorn would apply for that role. Apparently, the team downstairs didn't either, which was why it was just assumed you were applying for the other open position. I'll get that clarified on the ad immediately."

Spritz felt her cheeks redden, and it only compounded her misery when she noticed her embarrassment and dejection seemed to be making her idol even more anxious.

"I just— I need to— I want to make it totally clear that I have nothing against pegasi or earth ponies," Lucid stuttered. "There are plenty of all three pony races employed at Mirage Effects. Just... not in upper level administration. Your interview was just as impressive as I was hoping, and pegasi are more than welcome on the lighting team, if you'd like to be considered for that supervisor role instead."

"I'll... get back to you on that," Spritz muttered, staring at the floor. "I... need some time to think. You said you still have to talk to the other admins anyway, right?"

Lucid nodded. "I'm so sorry about the confusion," the unicorn apologized, rising from her desk and trotting to a large cabinet. "Let me try and make it up to you. I've got free admission tickets in here for the Hearth's Warming Eve Spectacular in Trottingham next week. Front row seats. All access backstage passes. The works. Bring a friend! I'll even make sure to make time for you if you want to discuss the Lighting Supervisor role with me after you take some time to think it over. Sound good?"

Spritz nodded vaguely, her cheeks still burning with shame at her mistake. "How could I have thought I was good enough to be her second-in-command?" she whispered to herself.

"Did you say something?" Lucid asked as she pulled the tickets from the cabinet.

Spritz simply shook her head as Lucid gently pressed them into her outstretched hoof. A few seconds of uncomfortable silence followed.

"So... see you at the big event?" Lucid asked finally.

"Yeah," Spritz replied, still finding it completely impossible to make eye contact with the pony beside her. "Thank you for your time."

Without further comment, she rose to her hooves and quietly slunk out of the office, leaving a flustered Lucid standing alone.

"Spritz, you dunce. What were you thinking?"

"You're talking to yourself again," Shoal pointed out.

It was late afternoon. The two pegasi lay together on a wisp of cloud hanging over the sea a few miles from Whinnychester, drying their feathers in the sun after directing a scheduled rain shower over the town. Spritz stared up at the empty blue expanse above her listlessly.

"Why're you beating yourself up about it?" Shoal asked, rolling onto her back to match her companion and putting her forehooves behind her head. "Wasn't your fault. Sounds like just an honest mistake, really."

"It's my fault for thinking I had a chance," Spritz said bitterly. "I should've known better. Of course only a talented unicorn illusionist would even have the possibility of reporting directly to Lucid, greatest illusion crafter for hundreds of miles around. Some pegasus nopony like me could never fill those horseshoes. I was a fool to even try."

Shoal rarely deviated from her calm, measured demeanor, but at that comment, she sat up and snorted loudly. "You're not a nopony," she retorted. "Spritz, you're a popular mare around Whinnychester. It seems like everywhere we go, somepony knows you, and they always have something nice to say. Literally yesterday, we got stopped four times between the train station and my place, because everypony wanted to thank you for that volunteer work you did at the animal shelter, or chat about the Buckball playoffs, or ask about the planned weather for Hearth's Warming week."

Spritz didn't look convinced. "Sure, but just having friends doesn't mean I—"

"—Doesn't mean you're talented?" the purple pegasus finished, with an unamused glare. "Spritz, you can't cast illusions, but you're the most weather-savvy pegasus in Whinnychester. You're the one who always calculates what the sea breezes are going to be like, and figures out which days are best to schedule storms that will bring enough precipitation without being violent enough to put ponies at risk. Not to mention, as a beach town, the tourism board practically relies on you to make this place a vacation paradise in the summer."

"You're good at all those things too," Spritz pointed out dully, rolling over on the cloud. "It'd be easy for you to take over the weather team if I got another job. Don't try to convince me Whinnychester's weather would fall apart without me."

Shoal frowned. "Okay, fine, but even I can't do—"

"Hey, Spritz!" called a male pegasus, as he fluttered close to the pair of mares from somewhere below. "The 2nd division is pushing the rainclouds out of town in a minute, and we've got sunlight coming in at an ideal angle when they part. Mind putting up a rainbow?"

Spritz sighed and got to her hooves. "Be right back," she mumbled to Shoal as she launched into the sky.

Rainbows could be a tricky thing, as far as hoof-crafted weather went, but Spritz had it down to a science. She glided through the cold air as she watched two groups of pegasi gradually pull apart the cloud bank as it floated away from town and toward the sea. As soon as the distance was just right, she tucked her wings and dove.

Fwoosh!

Without waiting for an invitation, she dipped down below, and then rocketed upward directly into the thick tuft of cloud. She gave a single, powerful flap while turning to one side, causing her body to spin into a corkscrew. With skills honed by years of practice, she made sure to keep her bearings, never losing sight of which way was up as she spun, and causing cloud to be pulled in around her, clinging to her fur and feathers as condensation as it touched her warm body.

As the increasing brightness signaled that she was about to exit the dense vapor, Spritz prepared for the next step. The moment she burst out of the top of the cloud, she banked sideways and spread her wings wide, so one pointed nearly straight down, and the other, almost directly up, though with a slight lean to account for the angle of the sun. As her momentum carried her upward and outward in a graceful arc, condensation streamed off her bright blue wings and even her tail and hind hooves, catching the sunlight at the perfect refractory angle.

Spritz tucked and rolled, landing atop the other section of the divided cloud bank, and leaving a stunningly bright rainbow hanging in the air along the path she had just taken. She took only a second or two to admire her handiwork, before shaking off the excess moisture and fluttering back toward the bit of cloud where Shoal was waiting.

"Thanks, Spritz! Looks great!" one of the other pegasi called.

Spritz just raised a forehoof as if to say 'no problem', not even looking back as she flopped down again beside her best friend.

"Alright Shoal, you were saying?" she asked.

"I'm saying I can't do that," Shoal answered, gesturing to the glittering rainbow with a wingtip. "I've never seen anypony, anywhere in Equestria, whip up a rainbow like that. Those liquid ones they make at weather factories these days may be a lot easier to mass produce, but they don't have the sparkle yours do. Why should your talent be any less valid than anypony else's?"

Spritz rolled her eyes. "You know what happens when a pony sees a Rainbow, Shoal?" she asked glumly. "They say 'ooh, pretty', and get on with their day. You know what happens when a pony sees Mirage Effects put on a big performance? They're absolutely spellbound. They can't look away! They remember what they saw for the rest of their lives!"

Shoal frowned, but didn't immediately offer a counterargument. Spritz lowered her head, resting her chin on the cloud.

"I wanted to be a pony who could do that too..." she mumbled. "Lucid's so incredible, and her shows are so amazing, and all I ever wanted was to be right beside her, helping her make those visions into reality for ponies everywhere."

The two pegasi looked out at the horizon, watching light dance on the sea as evening drew near.

"I thought I could be Lucid's right-hoof pony," Spritz admitted. "I thought I really had what it takes to capture the hearts of ponies young and old. But turns out those were just dreams. Lucid dreams."

"Can't you... take that other position Lucid mentioned?" Shoal asked. "Maybe it's not what you envisioned, but you'd still get to be a part of the show."

"Well... setting up a bunch of electronics hours before showtime doesn't exactly have the same energy as the job I was hoping for," Spritz pointed out. "Not to mention, I definitely wouldn't be working directly with Lucid; I'd be lucky to see much of her at all."

"But... better than nothing, maybe?" the other pegasus chanced. "I mean, at the end of the day, the lighting is still part of the experience for the crowds you wanted to amaze."

Spritz sighed. "I'll... have to think about it."

"How about this then," Shoal piped up, flipping the clasp on Spritz's saddlebag and indicating the tickets inside. "Let's at least go to the Hearth's Warming Eve Spectacular. Think it over during the next few days, and then next week you'll get to see Lucid again there and let her know what you decided. That way, no matter what happens with the job, at least we'll still get front row seats to an awesome show. Seems silly to pass that up."

Spritz forced herself to stand, giving her wings a quick shake to remove the last of the condensation sticking to her. "Alright, I suppose that's as good a plan as any," she agreed. "Make sure you're packed for a long flight, Shoal. We're heading to Trottingham on Hearth's Warming Eve."

Snow flurries floated lazily down upon the city of Trottingham as two pegasi alighted on a rooftop, looking out over the bustling downtown. The sun had already nearly set, but old-timey streetlights kept the area illuminated, showing off shops and diners decorated with wreaths and bows and gold and sliver tinsel. The festive energy in the air was enough to bolster Spritz's mood a bit, even after a week of moping and anxiety.

"So where's this show?" Shoal asked.

Spritz pointed across town, indicating a gap in the clutter of buildings. "There's a huge park along Coronet Way where they've set up a stage," she answered. "The Hearth's Warming Spectacular starts in twenty minutes, so Lucid and her team are already there."

Shoal slowly unfolded her wings. "Lead the way."

It took only a minute or two of flight for the park to come into view. As soon as she got a good look at what was below, Spritz simply couldn't help but smile a little.

The stage that had been set up was easily big enough to host a world-class Manehattan musical, and was raised high enough that it would be easily visible even from the furthest rows of seats. Upon the stage was a winter wonderland scene, with drifts of surprisingly convincing snow and at least a dozen stately pines decorated with garlands and ornaments galore, the largest of which stood right behind center stage and was easily ten pony lengths high. The facade of a cozy log cabin was set up as well, with snow matted to the roof as if it really was a hideaway in the wintry woods. Behind it all, a towering wooden wall was painted like the starry sky, adding to the overall image as well as concealing everything backstage.

"Cute," Shoal commented with a little smirk.

"It's cute now," Spritz corrected. "But all we're seeing right now is the display the Trottingham events board set up. It's gonna be a lot more than just 'cute' once the show actually starts and Mirage Effects gets involved. And we've got front row seats!"

Shoal looked a bit smug. "I figured this would cheer you right up," she teased. "Nothing's gonna be able to keep that inner fangirl in check when she's this close to the action."

Spritz wanted to argue that point, but truthfully, Shoal was right. Mirage Effects, even if she wasn't a part of it, was still capable of wonders that took firm hold of her imagination when she so much as thought about them.

"Show's not starting yet," Shoal pointed out, capitalizing on her momentum. "How about we put those backstage passes to use? Might as well check out what they have rigged up back there to prepare for the show. Who knows, maybe it'll turn out the lighting team they want you to join does some really cool stuff. And hey, even if they don't, you'll still probably get a minute to chat with Lucid."

The prospect of speaking with Lucid again caused the weirdest feeling to rise up in Spritz's stomach. Squarely halfway between excitement and dread, her admiration warred with her feelings of shame and embarrassment still lingering from the interview. Deep down, though, she knew nothing that had happened was Lucid's fault, and the illusionist was probably hoping to see her again tonight.

"...Okay. Let's go."

The pair of pegasi flew around the side of the stage, where there was a door to the space behind the show's backdrop. A Trottingham police officer held up a hoof, but caught sight of the backstage passes in Spritz's hoof before he could say anything.

"Ah, VIP's," the stallion said with a smile and a token Trottingham accent, as he stepped aside and gestured to the doorway. "Go right on in then, and have a lovely holiday, ladies."

Spritz and Shoal ducked into the backstage area, keeping clear of performers donning their costumes and stagehands making last-minute adjustments.

"So where's your idol?" Shoal asked, glancing casually around.

"I'm sure she's here somewhere..." Spritz replied, taking a flap or two into the air to glance over the heads of all the other ponies. "I would think she'd be easy to find, since she'd probably be surrounded by ponies listening to her instructions. When it comes to this stuff, nopony is as organized and put-together as Lucid, after all."

A side door banged open, and Lucid staggered in, glasses askew and eyes looking almost frenzied. "No no no this isn't gooooood," she whinnied as she hurried further backstage.

Shoal raised an eyebrow. "Yup. The very picture of a put-together pony."

Spritz ignored the quip, already trying to push her way through the crowd in the direction Lucid had run. The two pegasi peeked around the corner and spotted Lucid conversing with two other unicorns.

"So they're all gone?" the CEO asked desperately, sitting back and wringing her forehooves. "You weren't able to save anything?"

"One of the unicorns shook his head sadly. "We couldn't have predicted it. Just a freak accident."

"Now what are we gonna do?" the other of the pair asked.

"I... I don't know!" Lucid admitted, grabbing a clipboard from her saddlebag and paging through the large ream of paper tacked to it. "Give me just a second, maybe we can reallocate some of the other equipment in such a way that we can at least do something resembling the original plan..."

One of the other two unicorns noticed Spritz and Shoal peering around the corner curiously. "Um, Miss President, it looks like somepony else needs to speak with you too," he pointed out.

Lucid glanced over her shoulder, and managed a weak smile upon locking eyes with the familiar pegasus. "Oh, Spritz, you made it," she said, turning almost immediately back to her clipboard. "I'm really sorry, but we're going to have to talk after the show. We're dealing with a bit of an emergency right now..."

"What happened?" Spritz asked, trotting to Lucid's side while Shoal watched from a few paces away.

"A cart carrying some of the equipment we were going to use in this show lost a wheel, right next to the Shetland River," one of the assistant unicorns explained. "The whole thing tipped sideways and dumped most of the contents into the water. The couriers were able to recover almost all of it, but basically everything electrical is ruined."

"What?" Spritz gasped. "So, you have no lights or anything for the show?"

Lucid chuckled. "It's bad, but it's not that bad," she clarified. "The big stuff, like adjustable spotlights and overhead stage lights, as well as the sound system, were all in place yesterday. What we lost was a lot of the more decorative stuff: most notably, the strings of colored lights that were supposed to spiral up the Hearth's Warming Trees. The show can go on, at least, but a lot of the things that were going to take it that extra step from 'great' to 'incredible'... we might have to make do without this time."

"So, I could be wrong here..." Shoal cut in, joining the huddle of ponies, "but Spritz tells me you're like... a really good illusionist. Can't you, y'know... just magic a buncha lights up there that look like the electric lights?"

"Strictly speaking, yes, that'd be the most straightforward solution," Lucid agreed. "The problem is, the show already involves an illusion much bigger and grander than that. I'm the only one who can cast it, and my attention during the show is going to be fully occupied with maintaining that. My other illusionists have their hooves full as well, and even if I had one to spare, the tree lights aren't the only electric element we lost! There were realistic-looking fake icicles in there that were supposed to hang from the cottage and be turned on during the big finale. They glowed in such a way that the light would've shimmered and danced across the front of the building at the same moment the other lights in the scene came on. The fact of the matter is we just don't have enough illusion-trained unicorns to make up for the losses."

Spritz scrunched up her brow, lost in thought. After a moment, she peeked though the stage backdrop, examining the trees and the rest of the set. Beyond it, hundreds of ponies were assembled in the seats below, clearly expecting something that lived up to the name 'Hearth's Warming Spectacular'.

An idea began to form in the corners of the pegasus's mind. She glanced left, then right, eyeing up each part of the set.

"Ok, so those three trees are in range of the spotlight on stage right, and the big one will be lit up by the one down in front of the audience, so with that angle, we'd have to... hmmm... yeah, that could work..."

Lucid slowly cocked her head. "Spritz?" she asked concernedly.

"She does this," Shoal said dryly, patting Lucid on the back with an outstretched wing. "Let her talk to herself; it's her process."

Spritz's body suddenly went rigid, and her ears stood on end. "Wait. This could work. This could work!" she gasped, turning around to face the other ponies gathered there. "How long until showtime?"

"About ten minutes?" one of Lucid's assistants estimated.

"Just enough time!" Spritz declared. "Shoal! Clouds! Go get as many clouds as you can, condense them, and bring them down to either side of the stage."

"You're the boss," Shoal said with a shrug and she turned and headed for the exit, leaving behind a bewildered Lucid.

"Spritz, um, what are you up to, exactly?" she asked, scratching her head.

"I think I know how to make the Hearth's Warming Eve Spectacular look almost how you planned it, even without the lost equipment or extra illusionists!" Spritz declared. "You and your team just do everything the way you planned. I'll do what I can to cover the rest."

Lucid's two unicorn companions looked uncertain. "Miss President, I'm not sure what your friend can do on such short notice..." one of them advised. "What if her plan doesn't work?"

"There's no time to explain it all now," Spritz urged. "If we're gonna do this, I need to help Shoal with those clouds right away. But I can help, Lucid! I just need you to trust me."

Lucid glanced at her clipboard one more time, sighed, and nodded. "There's no time to make another plan," she agreed. "I hate to put this on a pony who doesn't even work for me, but anything you can do to help is better than nothing. We'll do the show the way we planned, and you... just do what you can, please."

Spritz saluted. "I won't let you down! Back in a flash!"

She jetted out of the room, over the heads of the crowd of ponies backstage. She caught Lucid's final words to her on her way out.

"Good luck, Spritz! I'm counting on you!"

"Lucid's counting on me," she mumbled to herself as she shot up into the sky. "This Hearth's Warming Spectacular is still gonna be... well, spectacular if I have anything to say about it!"

A spotlight flashed on, illuminating a coffee brown earth pony mare in a bulky winter coat at the center of the stage. The audience quieted as she held her microphone to her lips.

"Happy Hearth's Warming Eve, Trottingham!" she greeted, waving to the crowd. "As another year draws to a close, and the cold of winter sets in, we come together as we do every year for a celebration of family, friendship, and togetherness for all pony kinds. Let's let the warmth in our hearts brighten up this dark December evening, as our performers present for you, the Trottingham Hearth's Warming Eve Spectacular!"

The crowd cheered, but Spritz was hardly paying attention to them. She sat out of sight of the spotlights beside the stage, next to a mass of clouds that Shoal was holding securely in place so it wouldn't float out over the stage. Nearby, Lucid and her illusionists stood in a nook near the back of the stage, out of sight of the ponies in attendance but still fully able to see every aspect of the performance.

Music began to play as the Trottingham Chorus, dressed in old-timey getup that wouldn't have looked out of place in a production of "A Hearth's Warming Tale", trotted onto the stage. The spotlights highlighted them, throwing most of the wintry backdrop into shadow, as they began to perform and sing holiday carols. Above, some of the pegasi from Mirage Effects worked to create snowfall, with big, whimsical flakes that fluttered down upon both the performers and the audience. All in all, it was a quaint and charming musical performance.

And then Lucid's horn lit up.

As the music swelled, Spritz and Shoal watched in wonder as a massive, dome-like illusion surrounded the entire park. The decorated buildings and snow-lined streets of Trottingham disappeared behind completely new surroundings. In just seconds, it was as if the entire performance had been transported to the heart of a snowy pine forest that blended seamlessly with the stage's original backdrop. Even the sky, also part of the illusion, had become deep and dark and clear, with bright white stars twinkling overhead.

Shoal glanced at Spritz, her mouth agape. Spritz just smirked back. "Told you it was gonna be more than just 'cute' once Lucid got involved," she whispered.

The other illusionists quickly got to work as the performers continued to sing. Light sprung up in the windows of the fake cabin, as if a cozy fire was crackling in the hearth inside. Occasional shooting stars streaked across the illusory night sky above. The falling snow twinkled in the air like diamonds. Each time the carolers moved to the next song, another layer of effects were added, making the scene more impressive.

But as the classic tune, Hearth's Warming Eve is Here Once Again, began to play, there was no new illusion to be seen. Slowly, quietly, Spritz spread her wings and nodded to Shoal.

"My turn."

The pale blue pegasus dove through the bank of cloud and then launched into the air, flying almost straight upward as fast as she could. After a moment, she phased through the top of the illusory dome, but didn't stop there. Puffing and panting from the altitude, she climbed as high as she could, feeling the air around her grow bitterly cold.

She waited just a tick, watching the drops of water clinging to her wings until they just began to freeze, and then dove downward as fast as she could. Air rushed past her, forcing her to squint as she passed back through the top of the illusory dome, causing Trottingham to be replaced once again with the forest scene.

"Gotta do this just right..."

The pegasus angled her wings straight back, though given that she was moving vertically, her wingtips pointed almost straight up. The moisture, extremely cold but not quite frozen, slid to the tips of her feathers.

The little cottage facade barreled toward her. At the very last second, Spritz pulled up, intentionally letting her outermost weathers smack the edge of the roof as she did so. She grunted at the stinging sensation, but it had the desired effect. The supercooled water was jolted off her wingtips and froze solid almost instantly as it left the faint warmth of her wings and touched the edge of the roof, creating long, clear icicles that grew from the eaves in a matter of seconds. One of the spotlights illuminated the little edifice, and shone right through the perfectly clear, pure ice, glimmering beautifully across the wood walls of the cottage.

Spritz vanished from the audience's view almost immediately, hearing their cries of delight behind her as she returned to her hiding spot in the shadows beside the stage. She touched down shakily, panting.

"Impressive," Shoal commented. "You got something coming up that's gonna top that?"

"Y-yeah, actually," Spritz puffed. "Just let me catch my breath."

After the song concluded, the chorus fell silent. The earth pony who greeted the audience at the start of the performance stepped onto the stage again.

"Thank you, everypony, for coming to our show tonight," she cooed into her mic. "Before you go, we've got one last song for you, of course. After all, it wouldn't be Hearth's Warming Eve without a rendition of The Heart Carol!"

With a rolling boom of a base drum, a cheery violin melody, and the ringing of holiday bells, the music to the carol that ponies all around Equestria knew began to play. Determined not to let Lucid down, Spritz spread her wings one more time.

"Man I hope this works," she muttered as she stepped into the large tuft of cloud, coating every inch of herself with condensation. With no time to waste, she leapt into the air.

As the music swelled and the chorus prepared to sing, Spritz raced toward the three Hearth's Warming trees on the right side of the stage and flew around one, bottom to top in a tight spiral, shaking droplets free from her wings as she did so. They hung in the air, cloaking the outside of the tree in a shroud of tiny droplets that twinkled in the beam of the spotlight like bright white decorative lights. As fast as she possibly could, she swirled around the next tree, and the next, giving each the same treatment in just a few seconds each. Just as she finished, the performers began to chant the familiar lyrics.

The fire of friendship lives in our hearts,
As long as it burns we cannot drift apart,

Done with the right side, and trying to ignore the dizziness from flying in such tight circles, Spritz dove into the other cloud bank on the left side of the stage, and repeated the process with all the trees on the left. She wasn't quite sure how she managed to stay steady, but soon, the trees on the left matched the ones on the right, bedecked in a garment of suspended water that shined as bright as any electric lights could have.

Though quarrels arise, their numbers are few
Laughter and singing will see us through,

"Now for the hard part."

With one more pass through the cloud, the determined pegasus launched herself toward the great big tree at the center of the display, which was at least twice as tall and wide as the others. As she did so, she glanced toward the central spotlight, just in front of the audience, doing her best to calculate its angle.

"Ok," she mumbled, her voice easily drowned out by the singers, "correct my wing angle by twelve degrees, decrease speed, spread wings wide, and..."

Spritz swept around the tree, spiraling upward in a grand helix. This time, however, she positioned her body to make sure the drops of water trailing off her wings were deposited at just the right angle to refract the incoming spotlight.

To the amazement of everypony in attendance, shimmering drops in a whole rainbow of colors quickly encircled the tree, positioned with practiced care so that the white light striking them from the spotlight below was split into reds and blues and greens and many other colors besides. It looked as if the tree truly had been decorated with colored lights; if anything, the droplets glowed even brighter and more vibrantly than their mechanical counterparts would have. A growing cheer began to form in the audience as the singers' voices rose to hit the final notes.

We are a circle of pony friends,
a circle of friends we'll be to the very end!

Spritz reached the top of the tree as the chorus below drew out the last note. She had one final plan, one that Lucid hadn't even planned for, but she was determined to pull it off anyway. After one more mental calculation, she adjusted her body again and let the remaining water trail off her feathers in a wavy pattern, creating something that looked convincingly like a sweeping, blue and green aurora, even though it was merely water rather than anything electromagnetic. She flew a lap of the illusion dome, accounting for the position of each of the lights below as she painted auroras across the pseudo-sky.

The cheers and delight from below filled her ears as she quickly disappeared from sight, touching down a moment later next to her companion. Shoal simply looked at her, dumbfounded.

"Well... damn, girl."

"I hope that was good enough," Spritz panted, ignoring Shoal's praise. "I don't know how Lucid planned it originally, but... well, I did my best. The audience seemed to like it, at least."

"Thank you so much, everypony!" the coffee-colored earth mare called as all the illusions faded away and revealed Trottingham's downtown again. "And have a very happy Hearth's Warming!"

Exhausted, Spritz trudged backstage, where there were now noticeably less ponies than there had been before the show. She slumped into a little wooden chair in one corner and waited.

"Now, we just wait for Lucid to get back," she said to Shoal. "She should have time to talk about that lighting supervisor position now."

The words were barely out of her mouth when hoofsteps echoed in the doorway. Lucid stepped slowly around the corner, flanked by her team of illusionists, her glasses quickly going foggy after moving from outside to the warmth of backstage.

"Spritz..."

Spritz fidgeted in her chair. "Hey Lucid," she greeted. "I did all I could. Hopefully the show was... almost as good as you had planned?"

The unicorn glanced at her employees, as if confirming they'd heard the same question she had. "Almost? Almost??" she babbled, stepping forward. "Spritz, that was better than anything we originally planned! The droplets you set up around the tree took on so many more colors than any string of lights could have. And then the aurora! How did you even do that?"

Spritz blushed slightly and shrugged her shoulders. "Years of making rainbows?" she offered, turning her hips so her cutie mark was visible. "All it takes is a little mental geometry and some fine motor control to make water refract light in just the right way. I'm just glad I was able to save your show. Like I said in my interview, I really love the work you do, and I would've hated to see it ruined because of an accident beyond your control."

Shoal nudged Spritz with an elbow. "Speaking of which, what'd you decide about that position with Mirage Effects?" she reminded her. "Better discuss that before we split."

"Oh, right!" Spritz realized, sitting up straighter. "With all the chaos surrounding the performance, I almost forgot. Lucid, if you have time, could we talk for a bit about the lighting position you offered?"

Lucid smiled gently and stepped forward, leaving her employees lingering behind. "Spritz, do you know what an illusion is?" she asked softly.

For a second, Spritz was thrown for a loop by the unrelated question. "Ma... manipulating light with magic to change an object's appearance?" she replied uncertainly. "We already talked about this at the interview."

Lucid chuckled and shook her head. "That definition is actually too specific," she corrected. "Anything that fools the sense of sight can be an illusion. Magic, while capable of creating illusions, is not a prerequisite to their existence."

Spritz flattened one ear. "O...kay, fair enough," she answered finally. "Why is that important?"

"Because one way to create them without magic is to bend light by other means," Lucid explained. "For instance, our company's namesake, the mirage, is an illusion created by light refracting through air layers of different densities, fooling the sense of sight by seemingly displacing objects. Water also refracts light, creating colors and reflections by bending the white light passing through it. While not made by forcibly manipulating light with magic, those effects are still illusions, and a pony who is skilled at manipulating water in those ways would be considered a very talented illusionist."

Spritz felt a little faint all of a sudden.

"Are you... talking about me?"

Lucid sat down and stared guiltily at the floor. "Spritz, I really need to apologize," she admitted, tapping her forehooves together self-consciously. "Mirage Effects' goal is to utilize fantastic illusions in our productions, and all my life, I've found magic is the best way to create them, so I just kind of assumed that when hiring illusionists, they'd need to be unicorns. Clearly I wasn't thinking creatively enough, because there's a wildly gifted pegasus illusionist sitting in front of me right now that I foolishly turned away just because she didn't have a horn."

Spritz glanced at Shoal, who shot her a grin, before turning back to Lucid. "So... does that mean..." she started, her heart thundering in her chest.

Lucid looked at the pegasus pleadingly. "Spritz, you've got a vast knowledge of our organization, management and quick-thinking skills that any leader would need, and an exceptional talent for both planning and actually creating a type of illusions my team is sorely lacking right now," she listed. "After the interview last week, I wouldn't fault you for having set your sights on something else, but just in case you're still interested... I'd like to revise my earlier judgement. It seems you're exactly the kind of pony I'm looking for as Vice President of Mirage Effects."

Spritz blasted out of her chair so fast, a small sonic boom shook the stage. "YES!" she cried, throwing her forelegs around Lucid while still in flight and sliding the both of them several pony lengths backward. " Yes, yes, absolutely, I accept!"

"Comin' on a little strong, there," Shoal pointed out, with a faint smirk.

Spritz realized what she'd done and hurriedly backed off, but relaxed when Lucid broke into a delighted laugh. "Oh, what a relief," she sighed. "I would've been kicking myself for months if I'd missed this opportunity after what I saw you do tonight. I don't want to interrupt your holidays, so how about you report to the office in Whinnychester just after the new year begins, and we can get you settled in to your new position?"

Spritz wiped her eyes, giggling in shock and excitement. "S-sounds good," she managed. "Can't wait."

Lucid beamed. "Thank you again for all your help tonight," she said as she packed the last of her supplies and made her way toward the exit with her team of illusionists in tow. "Happy Hearth's Warming, Spritz! See you soon!"

The president trotted from the building, leaving Spritz standing somewhat shell-shocked in the middle of the room. Shoal sidled up to her, wagging her eyebrows playfully.

"Well, you said your goals were just lucid dreams," the purple pegasus chuckled, "but the funny thing about lucid dreams is you can make them turn out any way you want them to. So, in hindsight, I guess you were right all along."

Spritz laughed and threw a foreleg around her friend. "Shoal, from here on out, the only kind of dream this will be is a dream come true!"

With an unshakable smile, she led the way as the two ponies soared into the night sky. This was no illusion; it was a reality, and she just couldn't wait for it to begin.

I Can't Imagine

Author's Note

If you haven't read "Shipping and Handling" in a while, this chapter takes a lot of context from Chapter 7 and the Watt and Glow bonus chapters in that story, though most of it will be briefly re-explained here.

I Can't Imagine

Date: About three months after Dinky's graduation

The clock tower chimed eight times.

"Uh oh. Late for work."

Sunlight glinted off the icicles hanging from the eaves, and a healthy layer of snow seemed to muffle all sound. Until that moment, it had been a peaceful winter morning in Ponyville. Unfortunately, it didn't last.

A yellow blur hurtled through the streets of Ponyville. Bright paper Hearts and Hooves decorations were torn from doors.
Pink and red ribbons strung between the light posts flapped wildly in the wind created in its wake. Ponies held tightly to their winter hats and cloaks as they whipped about in the breeze, giving the streak of color plenty of space as it blasted by.

The door of Equestria Speedy Shipping Services was thrown wide, and just like that, the object's blistering speed stopped on a dime, and the yellow blur became a simple yellow earth pony. He raised a hoof in greeting to the four ponies gathered around the meeting table: three pegasi and a young unicorn mare.

"Mornin' ponies!" Watt called to the others. "Sorry I'm late! I know we've got a morning meeting today!"

Clarity looked away from the clipboard hanging in her aura to glance at the clock. "...Late?" she asked finally. "It's eight o'clock now. You're right on time."

"Eight o'clock and eighteen seconds," Watt corrected, gesturing to the clock's second hand.

Cloudcover chuckled. "You've got to understand, Clarity, our dear friend Watt seems to operate on a bit of a different time scale than the rest of us," he reminded her.

"You'd be surprised what you can get done in eighteen seconds!" Watt chirped, nodding sagely.

Clarity's bright blue curls swung slightly as she laughed. "Well, you didn't miss much," she assured him. "We were just about to get started."

Watt zipped to the one remaining chair and sat down next to his coworkers.

"So what kept you?" Ditzy asked, still grinning at the whole situation.

"I had to swing by Sugarcube Corner real quick," Watt explained. "It is Hearts and Hooves Day after all, and Pinkie's been super busy lately between the bakery and, uh, official Elements of Harmony business, I guess. She's got her hooves full again making heart-themed treats today, but we've hardly seen each other all month, so I had to make sure I gave her the where and when for our big Hearts and Hooves day date tonight!"

"I figured you two would be doing something tonight," Breeze commented, clapping Watt on the back with an outstretched wing. "Ditzy and I have plans after work too. Put your best hoof forward for Pinkie, alright?"

"I always do!" Watt affirmed, rapidly tapping his forehooves on the table as he nodded.

"On a related note, we should get started," Clarity chimed in. "I'm saving most of the day-to-day stuff for our next meeting, 'cause as Watt pointed out, it's Hearts and Hooves day, and though this is the first one since I started working here, I'm kinda assuming it's gonna be a really busy day for a matchmaking company."

"One of the busiest of the year," Ditzy confirmed. "But a lot of times, it tends to be one of the most fulfilling, too. Hearts and Hooves Day shipping assignments always end up so heartfelt and sweet."

"Aww," Clarity cooed. "I hope you four will tell me all about it tomorrow. But I don't want any of you to miss your dates tonight, so I think the game plan for today is to get out there bright and early and start doing what you four do best. I've got your first assignments right here, and more have already come in, so hurry back to pick up your next one once you're done."

With a flicker of magic, she distributed sticky notes with assignment details to each pony. Watt snatched his up as soon as it was in reach.

"Dr. Clarity's right, lot's to do, and we're on a tight schedule!" he declared. "See you all later!"

"Still not a doctor, Watt," Clarity called, but her words went unheard as the excitable earth pony, determined to make his reservation that evening, jetted out of the room.

The clock tower chimed six times.

This time though, no pony-generated windstorm whipped through town. This was because Watt had already parked himself in front of the busy eatery, clad in a bright red bowtie, as he waited for the mare of the hour to arrive. Glancing at his reflection in a nearby window, he took a moment to run a hoof over the wild brown spikes of his mane, which had a complete lack of any effect. He nodded, satisfied.

A minute or two later, Pinkie Pie trotted around the corner. The two ponies locked eyes, and Watt rapidly waved a foreleg in greeting as she approached.

"Hey Pinkie! Ready for dinner?" he asked as his date arrived. "This new place has been the talk of the town lately! Ol' Cloudcover told me you won't find a better carrot fritter outside of Canterlot!"

Rather than respond, Pinkie stared blankly at the restaurant's edifice, her vision slightly unfocused.

Watt tilted his head. "Uh, Pinkie?"

"What? Oh! Yeah! I'm sure it's gonna be super duper tastebud-tingling-tastic!" she piped up, with a pearly smile that looked more than a little forced. "Sorry about that, I'm just a little... distracted! Sooooo many Hearts and Hooves orders at Sugarcube Corner and all that. You know how it goes, right Watt?"

"Trust me, I know," Watt laughed. "Things were just as crazy at Equestria Speedy Shipping Services. But it's ok! Now we can just relax and enjoy a quality meal and an evening together, right?"

Pinkie was staring at the wall again. "...Uh, right! Yep!" she said, after several seconds pause.

The restaurant seemed to be going for the typical Hearts and Hooves ambience. The lights were low, and tables were lit by candlelight. A brown stallion softly played a piano in one corner, choosing only quiet, unobtrusive melodies that wouldn't affect the diners' conversation. A waiter provided the couple a basket of steaming bread almost immediately.

Watt peered over the top of his menu as discreetly as possible. Across from him, Pinkie stared at her own menu, but the stallion couldn't shake the feeling she wasn't actually reading it. The mare's ears twitched sporadically, occasionally flattening against her head, and she glanced around every few moments, before quickly returning her gaze to the menu.

Even fast-talking Watt often struggled to get a word in edgewise when around the mass of hyperactivity that was Pinkie Pie, so when almost a full minute passed without a single word leaving her lips, there was no denying it any longer; something was off.

"Alright Pinkie, what's wrong?"

Pinkie Pie jumped at the sound of his voice. "Oh, pssh, nothing's wrong!" she replied, dramatically waving a forehoof and producing a giggle that sounded so nervous it was bordering on deranged. "I'm just concentrating suuuuper hard on what to order, obviously. Haha. Heh."

Watt stared at the mare for a moment. Her pupils gradually grew smaller.

"Well—"

Pinkie suddenly grabbed both menus and propped them up on the table like a tent. Motioning conspiratorially for Watt to join her, she ducked her head into the makeshift space. Ignoring the stares of nearby diners, Watt carefully inserted his head into the other side of the tiny shelter.

"Ok, I admit it," Pinkie whispered. "I need your help, Watt. Something's really wrong in, you know..."

"In where?"

"In Inanima!" Pinkie hissed. "Something strange is happening to that world, and I don't think it can wait much longer!"

Watt frowned. "Well, you know I'm happy to help, but I'm sure they can hold out till after dinner, right?"

Pinkie's expression grew more frantic. "I mean... maybe... but... well, the high council wanted to convene right away, but they can't do much without us there, but I know how much you were looking forward to our date tonight, but I don't know if I can just sit here and eat when I don't know what's going on, but its Hearts and Hooves so I feel obligated to be here too so I feel like I should be in two places at once and—"

"Okay, okay!" Watt interjected, silencing Pinkie, whose voice had been growing higher and faster as her sentence went on until she almost sounded like a recording being played in fast-forward. "Let's go check in on Inanima. Maybe if we're quick, we can still come back and have our dinner date afterward."

"Woo! You're the best!" Pinkie cried, throwing her forehooves skyward, which catapulted her menu halfway across the restaurant and into some unsuspecting patron's soup. "C'mon, let's go!"

Pinkie pushed open the window of the restaurant and stuffed her hoof into the snow-covered bush on the other side of the glass, inexplicably retrieving Gummy, her pet alligator, from somewhere in its depths.

"In case of Gummy emergency," she explained, noticing Watt's raised eyebrows.

Stuffing the little reptile into her mane, she grabbed Watt by the hoof and hurried to the narrow hallway where the restrooms were located.

"Ready?" she asked quietly.

Knowing what was coming next, Watt nodded. Pinkie stared at the door of the fillies' restroom, concentrating hard, and then pushed it open. On the other side of the door, instead of tile and porcelain and artificially-scented air fresheners, was a sprawling field, and in the distance, a medieval style castle, with flags flying from the parapets.

Most ponies would have found that strange. Some might say impossible. Perhaps "an affront to every known law of space, and possibly indicative of a catastrophic tear in the very fabric of our dimension" if you were somepony like Twilight Sparkle. But Watt was not at all surprised to see the familiar scenery suddenly occupying the space that had presumably been a restroom the moment before. That was just how the realm of Inanima worked; any door could lead you there, as long as you truly believed it was waiting on the other side.

Pinkie bounded through the doorway and Watt wasted no time following her. In just a few steps, the music and ambience of the restaurant fell away, replaced with the sound of a gentle breeze and the feeling of sunlight on their coats.

Clearly, Inanima had no need to conform to the time of day, or even the season, that it was back in Equestria. But considering it was a realm of sentient inanimate objects somehow born from Pinkie Pie's imagination, and then evolved over the years to incorporate parts of Watt's fantasies after he became a regular visitor, the mismatched weather seemed insignificant by comparison. Even after five years of helping Pinkie deal with a never ending stream of strange goings-on here, Watt still hadn't determined if Inanima was some sort of pocket dimension Pinkie had stumbled into that was able to be bent to a pony's will, or if it didn't actually exist at all, and was merely some sort of shared hallucination. His coworkers, strangely, seemed very averse to theorizing about it over lunch. Especially Ditzy.

There was no time to worry about that though. Watt turned to his partner as she surveyed the landscape.

"So, what's the big emergency, Pinkie?"

"Sir Lintsalot said various places around the kingdom are dealing with earthquakes," Pinkie explained, as a wave of vibration ran down the length of her body from snout to tail to illustrate. "But that's actually not what I'm worried about. There's like a kajillion different things you and I have imagined up over the years, so I'm sure one of them could be causing earthquakes. The part that's really got my tummy all tied up in nervous knots is uh... well here, look."

She stamped a hoof down on the grass. When she lifted it again, what remained couldn't truthfully be called "grass" anymore; nothing but a dry, green powder coated the ground in the circular hoofprint she'd left.

"What?" Watt asked, putting a hoof down slightly less hard and still finding the grass beneath almost totally obliterated when he lifted it. "It's like it's so dry that it's crumbling to dust, but look at it! It's as green as the Canterlot Gardens in mid-Spring."

"Right!?" Pinkie agreed. "I don't think it's just grass either. Lots of things around Inanima seem to be getting brittle. And for some reason, it's making me feel... bad. Like something's really, really wrong. A lot more wrong than the latest interkingdom dispute, or spacepony invasion, or hypnosis-inducing game show, or nationwide plague of unstoppable wind-up toys, or—"

"Maybe we should get to the High Council meeting and ask what they've discovered," Watt suggested. "No reason to panic, Pinkie. We've saved Inanima many times before, and we'll do it again!"

Normally, Pinkie would've been emboldened by such words, and energetically lead the way to the castle to spearhead the latest effort to solve Inanima's problems. So it left an uncharacteristic pit in his stomach when Pinkie's only response was a nervous smile and a mumbled "I hope so..."

There was a short pause. "Let's get going," she suggested. "Gummy! We need you!"

The ground began to shake, but not from one of the quakes Pinkie mentioned. A shadow fell over the pair of ponies at the now dinosaur-sized alligator stepped up behind them.

"Why does Gummy get huge when he comes to Inanima, anyway?" Watt questioned. "I never thought to ask."

Pinkie shrugged. "He's here almost as often as you and me. Maybe being super Giganto-Gummy is part of his imagination!"

It was as good an explanation as any. Watt followed Pinkie onto the back of the massive reptile, and the three of them swiftly began to make their way to the castle.

A ball of lint, a bag of flour, and a small pile of rocks sat around a large table bearing the royal crest of Inanima's northern kingdom, engaged in hushed conversation. Their discussion was cut short by the sound of a trumpet.

"Hear ye, hear ye," the trumpet in the doorway declared, after it had finished its musical fanfare. "Announcing the arrival of Inanima's deities, Pinkie Pie and Watt!"

"Late as usual," said Rocky gruffly as the two ponies entered the room.

Sir Lintsalot sighed. "Captain Rocky, will you ever learn to show even a modicum of respect for the beings who created our realm?" he asked tiredly.

"Depends if they ever learn to be punctual," Rocky grumbled.

"Yeah, sorry," Watt chimed in. "It's hard to be on-time when the meeting you're supposed to be going to is in a dimension with a totally different cycle of time than the one you're from."

"Miss Pinkie, Master Watt, it is lovely to see you both," Madame LeFlour greeted in her thick accent. "I wish our visit was on happier terms, but I suppose ze High Council rarely meets at times of peace."

"Yeah, we really need to have a get-together when the country isn't in peril one of these days," Pinkie mused.

"Speaking of peril, we really need to address the matter at hand," Sir Lintsalot said urgently.

"Pinkie and I don't really have the full picture," Watt confessed. "Mind filling us in on anything you know about what's going on?"

"Junk's fallin' apart left and right," Rocky blurted, shifting angrily in his seat. "Earthquakes knockin' down towns. Trees snappin' like they were battered by a storm, on a perfectly still afternoon. Heck, we're meetin' at Lintsalot's castle today cause LeFlour's castle in the south kingdom is practically comin' apart at the seams! And that place is... or was... probably the sturdiest building in Inanima on account of it once being the late King Turnip's fortress."

"The damage is not consistent with earthquakes alone," Sir Lintsalot clarified. "There must be an additional force at play here."

"And I'm sure you noticed ze grass and small plants are simply deteriorating from even the slightest touch," Madame LeFlour added sadly. "My beautiful royal gardens are disintegrating! Soon there will be nothing but dust left!"

"Worryingly, that problem doesn't stop at just the plants," Lintsalot continued. "Anything tiny in the environment seems to be suffering the same effect. When our citizens tread on gravel pathways, the pebbles beneath them crush into dust from just a few pounds of weight. It's like everything's just becoming so..."

"...Brittle," Pinkie finished, shivering.

Watt's eyes widened as a thought struck him. "So, wait, is there any chance these two problems are actually one in the same?" he asked. "Tiny things are crumbling to dust. Big things are crumbling into smaller pieces. Maybe the ground is shaking because... the land beneath our hooves is starting to crumble too?"

"Are you suggesting there's some kind of... decay spreading through Inanima?" Sir Lintsalot gasped. "Some force that it physically undermining our land and everything in it?"

"Can't be right," Rocky argued. "Sure, all kinds of crazy threats have sprung out of lil Pinkie's, or even Watt's, imaginations, but I don't see how somethin' could be wrong with Inanima itself. This place is only even capable of being whatever the ponies who created it can imagine."

A nervous whimper escaped Pinkie as Rocky finished speaking. He swiveled in his chair, presumably to face the mare's direction, though without a face, it was hard to be sure.

"You ok there, little missy?" he asked. "It's not like you to be mopin', even at a time like this."

"Pff, me? I'm fine!" Pinkie replied, a little too loudly. "Just, y'know, worried about Inanima! Definitely nothing else!"

"Are you su—" Watt started.

"Quick, Watt!" Pinkie interrupted, jabbing a hoof at the pony beside her. "This problem must be coming from something one of us imagined! What could be responsible? Do the spaceponies have a disintegrato-ray or something?"

"N-no, this seems a little, uhh, darker than what we usually dream up," the stallion admitted.

"Well zen I am afraid we are rather lost," Madame LeFlour lamented. "Anything zat occurs here must be directly connected to one of you two, no? Zere are no other outside forces zat shape Inanima."

Pinkie's eyes went wide as saucers. "Actually, there is one that could be," she realized. "Watt, do you remember? One other pony lives in Inanima!"

The memory came rushing back to Watt. There was indeed another pony living here— well, more like sealed here— though "pony" needed some serious quotation marks in this case. He looked at Pinkie in shock.

"Could... could she really be responsible for this?" he asked. "She hasn't caused any trouble outside of her little corner of the land since we first locked her in here."

"Who else could it be?" Pinkie cried. "Rocky, gather a squad of your best soldiers and meet us at Gummy ASAP! We've gotta go confront Screwball!"

Thump. Thump. Thump.

The reverberating footsteps echoed in the still air as Gummy plodded along the plain, ferrying Pinkie, Watt, Rocky, and four elite soldiers that all appeared to be various forms of kitchenware, toward their destination. Pinkie peered off the side of her pet, sighing uncertainly as plants and rocks simply disintegrated under his feet with each step.

"So, I'm gonna need an explanation here," Rocky demanded. "There's been a third pony in Inanima this whole time?"

"Yes, but it's kind of a long story," Pinkie replied apologetically. "You could fill like, three whole chapters with context!"

"Summarize," Rocky grunted.

"Basically, there's this creature in our dimension who has chaos magic," Watt explained. "A long time ago, he made a false pony named Screwball to help him spread it around. Screwball started causing trouble for some ponies Pinkie and I know personally, and her weird magic was too strong for us to stop her or keep her away, so we sealed her in Inanima so she couldn't impact our friends back in Equestria anymore. She's twisted one corner of Inanima beyond recognition with her chaos magic, but she generally stays in that little enclave. If she's responsible for what's happening to Inanima, then this is the first time she's acted out like this."

"Maybe she's bored?" Pinkie suggested. "She has been here a while now. Maybe she's run out of ways to keep herself entertained inside her little chaos bubble, and decided to spread chaos to the rest of Inanima. She's not evil; she probably just doesn't realize the harm she's doing, and we just have to convince her to put everything back to normal!"

"If she ain't evil, why are we bringin' a squad of highly trained Inanimate troops with us?" Rocky asked skeptically.

Pinkie winced. "Screwball may have a teeny-tiny case of not knowing her own strength," she admitted, bringing her forehooves within an inch of each other to illustrate. "When you have as much magic as she does, something that's dangerous to us is just a game to her."

"Still, it seems weird," Watt chimed in, reclining against one of Gummy's scaly spines. "Like you said, Screwball's not evil; this seems way more sinister than something she'd do. Now, if the sky changed color every time somepony sneezed, and Sir Lintsalot's castle was suddenly made of chocolate-coated mashmallow fluff, that'd be more up her alley."

Pinkie huffed. "Well, it's not something I imagined, and it's not something you imagined, and it definitely can't be Inanima itself! So all signs point to Screwball!"

Gummy trod past a light-up signboard that was waddling along the path in the opposite direction. Its display was suddenly illuminated with a digital image of a screw and a baseball, as well as a bright neon arrow pointing in the direction the alligator was headed.

"See? See??" Pinkie squawked, gesticulating wildly at the visual gag.

"Kid, I'm not doubtin' ya," Rocky snapped back. "Just tryin' to get the facts straight is all."

Watt fidgeted nervously. Why is Pinkie being so defensive today? he wondered. She definitely knows more than she's letting on...

Gummy rounded the edge of a cliff, and his passengers were suddenly greeted with an abrupt change in scenery. Inanima's coast lay ahead, with sheer stone cliffs dropping hundreds of feet to choppy waters below. Miles in the distance, a number of islands could be seen dotting the shallow expanse of ocean. However, there were no islands interrupting the waves immediately in front of the ponies and their party; instead, what were formerly islands now floated upside-down in midair, with tropical trees growing downward as if unaware they were inverted.

On the largest of the floating landmasses was a castle, just as unbothered by gravity as everything else in its vicinity. It clung to the underside of the isle, and appeared to be built of balloons that, against all conventional physics, managed to maintain a rectangular shape while inflated, mimicking brickwork. Row after row of balloons were held together by a mortar of chocolate syrup. Flags flew from the castle's reversed turrets, defiantly flapping against the direction of the breeze rather than with it.

A long narrow path, patterned with white and purple checkers and composed of shiny, smooth material that was reminiscent of cheap plastic foals' toys, extended from the edge of the cliff all the way to the gate of the castle hanging in the air, despite a total lack of any supports keeping it there. It didn't seem particularly useful as a way to reach the inflatable fort, considering it turned several loop-de-loops and at least one corkscrew on its meandering route through the air.

"Well, blow my bugle and call me Tabitha!" Rocky exclaimed. "There's somethin' you don't see every day. Even in a land like this."

"I guess we found Screwball," Watt commented. "Gummy's gonna have to wait out here, though. The path's barely big enough for us, let alone a dinosaur-sized gator."

Pinkie guided Gummy between two conveniently-painted white lines on the dusty ground, hopped off, and slipped a bit into a parking meter jutting at a strange angle from the rock. "Good to go!" she announced with a smile.

"Now hold on, you two," Rocky ordered. "How exactly are we gonna negotiate that path up to the gate? One false move and its a two hundred foot plummet into the ocean. And last I checked, neither of you two are those winged-variety equines."

Watt placed a hoof on the brightly-colored causeway. Noticing no immediate motion, he stamped harder, but the walkway remained firm, somehow fixed in place despite the lack of anything keeping it stable. "Seems sturdy enough," he reported. "Let's go. Be careful, everypony."

Watt was used to moving from point A to point B at breakneck speed, but for once, taking it slow and steady seemed to be the better option. Placing each hoof with care, he led the group along the winding ramp toward Screwball's wacky castle. At least, until he arrived at the first loop-de-loop. While it looked possible to jump through the loop and land on the next flat bit of floating path once it had righted itself, he wasn't a particularly big fan of actually trying to do so; the path was barely wide enough to stand on, which meant even slightly overshooting his leap would most likely mean plunging into the sea far below.

Pinkie raised her forehooves like she was trying to frame the scene in front of her at a certain angle. She closed one eye and stuck out her tongue, focusing hard.

"I've got it!" she declared, stepping carefully around Watt. "When it comes to chaos magic, you just have to stop worrying so much about what would be logical everywhere else. If Screwball's the one making the rules here, all we have to do... is follow them!"

Pinkie trotted confidently forward, and proceeded to effortlessly stroll up the path as it curved upward, until she was standing completely upside-down at the top of the loop, as much in defiance of gravity as Screwball's creations.

"Don't see that every day either," Rocky muttered.

"Nice one, Pinkie!" Watt congratulated, trotting forward himself and watching the orientation of his surroundings change completely so that the path always seemed to be below him. "Just another reason you're my favorite pony. Nopony thinks outside the box like you do!"

Strangely, Pinkie's triumphant demeanor seemed to deflate at the compliment, rather than increase. "Heh. Um, thanks Watt," she replied more softly, failing to make direct eye contact.

Watt knitted his brow. "What's wrong? Something I said?"

"No!" Pinkie squealed, before catching herself. "I mean, it's just um... you don't need to give me all the credit. We're all gonna have to do some thinking outside the box if we're gonna roll with the punches long enough to get Screwball under control."

"I'm sure we can manage. This isn't the first time either of us have dealt with chaos magic," Watt reassured her. "Rocky, you and your soldiers just follow our lead. If we can just manage to go with the flow of the chaos, we should reach Screwball in no time."

Rocky growled. "This is already givin' me a headache."

"You don't have a head," Pinkie pointed out.

"Just get a move on, Pink!" the pile of rocks snapped back. "Let's get this over with."

Traversing the loops and twists with care, the pair of ponies led the way into the colorful fortress ahead of them.

Bang!

Watt bucked open the doors to a room in one of the inverted castle's highest— or maybe lowest was more accurate— tower, and watched both doors burst into a cloud of ladybugs and butterflies when they impacted the wall. He and Pinkie leapt into the room, hooves squeaking on the colorful rubber surface below them. Rocky followed, dual-short swords as he hopped forward, with his troops holding spears at the ready behind him.

At the other end of the room, a wide window overlooked the other levitating islands drifting through the sky. In front of it was a lone chair, which looked quite out of place in its normalcy compared to the rest of the castle. A relatively small mare sat facing away from the party, mostly obscured by the back of the chair, save for the tiny yellow and green beanie spinning slowly atop her head.

"Alright, Screwball, the jig is up," Pinkie accused. "What are you doing to Inanima?"

Watt braced himself for whatever was about to happen. Screwball's powers of chaos were second only to Discord's own, and her low capacity for normal communication made her even harder to reason with than the draconequus was. He expected nothing less than for the zany mare to float into the air, grinning wildly, and promptly begin breaking the laws of physics even further, or begin bringing objects into existence from nothing.

Instead, the mare slowly rose to her hooves, and turned around. Pinkie and Watt both gasped.

"What? What is it?" Rocky demanded.

The pony before them was certainly Screwball. Watt recognized the pale purple coat, and the vibrant darker purple curls of her mane, highlighted with brilliant white accents. The cutie mark on her flank was unmistakable as well.

But instead of wild purple swirls for eyes and a zany grin of childish delight, Screwball stared back at them with beautiful, yet somehow sorrowful purple irises, and just a hint of a longing smile playing across her muzzle.

"Hello, Pinkie Pie. Hello, Watt. It's been such a long time," she greeted, her voice unchanged but her inflection worlds apart from what Watt remembered from years before. "I was beginning to wonder if I'd ever get to see the two of you again."

Screwball's use of complete sentences surprised Watt almost as much as her tone. She spoke with purpose, a far cry from the disjointed babble she'd used at their last encounter.

"...Screwball?" he finally managed. "But... you..."

"Aren't quite how you remember?" Screwball asked with a hint of a chuckle. "Well, of course not. Neither is anything else in this land right now. I figured that's why you're here."

"You're dang right that's why we're here," Rocky snapped, waving his swords threateningly. "Now are you gonna cut it out with whatever magic you're using to slowly crumble Inanima, or am I gonna have to open a whole can of hurt on you?"

Screwball frowned. "Oh. I'm sorry, sir, but I think you misunderstand," she admitted, stepping softly across the inflatable floor rather than floating weightlessly through the air as she had in the past. "I've got nothing to do with what's happening to Inanima. I assumed you knew that, and Pinkie and Watt were just coming to say farewell."

"So you've not causing the quakes? The disintegrating land? Any of that?" Watt asked.

Pinkie swallowed hard. "Um... and what do you mean 'say farewell'?" she asked in a tiny voice.

Screwball's sad smile returned. "Isn't in obvious?" she asked. "Whatever sort of magic makes this place exist at all is fading. Fading fast, really."

"What!?" Pinkie, Watt, and Rocky all cried in unison.

"I really thought you'd be able to tell," Screwball continued, with a shrug. "You're the ones who made this place after all. It's also why I'm not quite the pony I was last time we met, of course."

"Wait, even assuming you're right, why does the state of Inanima affect you?" Watt asked skeptically. "You're from Equestria, not one of the things created by the minds of Pinkie or me."

Screwball sighed. "Well, when you first sent me to Inanima years ago, I was cut off from Discord's magic, naturally," she explained. "I'm not a source of chaos magic; I'm only a conduit. I can't produce more magic without a source. Fortunately, it didn't matter, because a realm made entirely of the imaginations of creative, free-spirited ponies like you, is a place where almost anything can happen! I mean, a land where inanimate objects can talk and move on their own, and entire places and entities come and go as a result of thoughts and dreams? The inherent magic here is a perfect match for mine."

"I figured you'd like it here!" Pinkie chirped. "Some of Equestria's ponies don't appreciate your brand of magic, but I still wouldn't have agreed to send you here if I didn't think it was the perfect place for you."

"I appreciate that you were thinking of me," Screwball said with a nod. "And I've enjoyed my time here, but... now that magic that keeps my powers flowing is disappearing. I still have some magic; enough to keep my domain afloat, for now, but soon, that will disappear too."

"Well, once you run out of magic, won't you just become an average earth pony like me and Pinkie?" Watt asked. "I know you probably don't want to lose your powers, but why's that mean you have to say farewell?"

Screwball turned, staring out the window at the sea once again. "I'm not an earth pony, Watt. I never was," she said wistfully. "I'm a creation of Discord: a being of pure chaos magic that resembles a pony. But now that I'm cut off from both Discord and the chaotic magic of this realm, the magic sustaining me is running low. When there's no more chaos magic for me to channel, I'll just... fade away, like any other bit of magic would. Like Inanima is doing right now."

Watt could see the pain in the pony's eyes, but she continued to wear that same sorrowful smile. His heart ached for her as he realized she had simply been here awaiting what she saw as the inevitable end.

"Ok, hold the phone," Rocky piped up, finally lowering his weapons. "Let's say, for the sake of argument, you're right about all this. There's gotta be somethin' causing Inanima to decay, right? We just gotta figure out what it is and fix it, and everything'll be hunky-dory."

"I've got no way to fix it myself," Screwball said. "While I've been able to thrive off the magic of this realm, I didn't have any part in creating it. The only one who stands a chance of halting Inanima's decline is the pony who created it."

Watt turned desperately to his partner. "Think, Pinkie," he urged. "Sure, I've brought things into Inanima over the years with my imagination, but this is still your world! If Inanima itself is losing whatever sort of magic allowed it to come into existence in the first place, you're the only one who could possibly know how to stop it!"

"I'm trying!" Pinkie wailed. "But it's not like I want Inanima to disappear! I didn't imagine the world crumbling away, but trying to imagine it back to normal isn't working either."

Rocky did the best approximation to a scowl that something without a face could achieve. "So, what's the plan?" he asked bitterly. "We gonna go tell Lintsalot and Le'Flour to get their affairs in order 'cause the world's ending? Or does one of you ponies have a contingency plan?"

Pinkie gasped and clonked a hoof to her forehead. "Duh! Why didn't I think of it before!" she shrieked. "We just have to visit the Ancient Sage!"

"Ancient Sage?" Watt asked. "We've been here a lot of times, and this is the first I'm hearing of him."

"I dreamed him up a long looooong time ago, when I first imagined this place!" Pinkie said excitedly. "He knows everything about Inanima; that's literally his whole purpose. We can't save Inanima till we figure out why it's broken, and he can tell us!"

"What're we waitin' for, then?" Rocky asked, hopping in place impatiently. "If Screwball's already lost so much of her power she almost seems like a normal pony, I'm guessin' we're runnin' out of time. We need to get a move on."

Watt turned to Screwball. "Would you like to come too?" he asked. "You've got just as much riding on this as the rest of Inanima's residents."

"I don't know if I'd be any help," Screwball admitted. "Even I don't know how much power I have left. But if the invitation's open... I'd love to have one more adventure, even if it turns out to be the last one."

"Speaking of your powers, do you happen to have a quick way to get us back down to Gummy?" Pinkie asked. "It took a little longer to get through all the crazy rooms in your castle than I expected, and the parking meter's about to expire."

Screwball giggled softly. "Don't worry, Pinkie. That much I can still do."

The mare gave a casual wave of a hoof, and one entire balloon-wall suddenly burst, and the scraps of colorful rubber that began to spiral through the air quickly turned into a swarm of dragonflies that flitted away into the sky. With another wave of Screwball's hoof, the long, checkered pathway leading to the castle's main gate, which had been fully rigid a moment before, suddenly turned to elastic, bending and stretching into new loops and curves as it snaked its way to meet the edge of the room where the ponies were standing before suddenly freezing again. Watching her magic at work, a grin spread across her face, reminiscent for the first time all day of the zany creature Watt remembered, if only for a brief moment. She gestured to the newly rearranged walkway.

"After you."

"Don't mind if I do," Rocky said, leading his troops back toward the ground. "Let's move. We got a lot of ground to cover and not much time."

As quickly as they dared, the ponies negotiated the narrow path and returned to their waiting ride. Screwball looked back at her castle as the group clambered onto Gummy.

"One last thing," she said. "I guess if there's even a chance you can save Inanima, I should probably try to conserve what's left of my power to buy us a little more time, so uh..."

She sat back and clapped her forehooves together once.

Out beyond the cliff's edge, gravity suddenly existed again.

Watt and Pinkie watched in shock as the floating isles, the inflatable castle, and everything else in Screwball's little domain suddenly fell out of position, plummeting into the sea with such an enormous splash that ocean spray made it all the way to the edge of the cliff hundreds of feet above.

"Wha... you didn't have to do that!" Pinkie whined, looking at Screwball empathetically. "Now even if we can save you, you have nowhere to go back to!"

"If you can bring my powers back in full, I can recreate that place in less than a minute," Screwball assured her. "Or come up with something totally new."

She smiled sheepishly. "Actually, before my magic started fading, I was completely remaking my surroundings every few days anyway. Chaos kind of goes hoof-in-hoof with a short attention span."

"Don't worry, we'll get your powers back," Watt reassured her. Over her shoulder, he noticed Pinkie again cringe and look away as he said it, but it was beginning to feel fruitless to try to pry the reason for her suspiciously pessimistic behavior from her, so he kept his mouth shut.

I just hope whatever Pinkie knows is something we can overcome... he thought as Gummy started to cross the plains again. If not... maybe the future of Inanima's in real trouble...

The wind whipped wildly as Gummy arrived on the high mountain ledge, oblivious as always to the small stones being wrenched from the ground by the gale dissolving into dust within seconds after being pulled free.

A rough-hewn cave was cut into the side of the summit. The team of ponies and inanimate objects stepped down from their ride, using his bulk to shield themselves from the wind.

"This is the place," Pinkie said.

"I should hope so," Rocky quipped. "I woulda been kinda ticked off if we came all the way up here and this wasn't the place."

Wearing an uncharacteristically serious expression, Pinkie stepped cautiously into the darkness, motioning for the others to follow her inside.

Watt looked around uncertainly as the sound of the weather outside faded away, replaced by silent, still underground air. His ears stood on end, listening for the dripping of water or perhaps the clattering of rocks, but instead, only one faint sound echoed through the dim halls of the cavern.

Tick. Tick. Tick.

"Pinkie, what's that noise?" Screwball whispered, straining to see in the darkness.

"That, my dear Screwball, is the Ancient Sage," Pinkie declared. "A little light, if you please."

The ticking grew louder as Screwball waved a hoof and brought a tiny swarm of bioluminescent sea monkeys into existence. The little glowing shrimp floated through the air just as they would in the water, growing brighter as they rose toward the ceiling and throwing eerie light across the chamber.

Tick. Tick. Tick.

The largest and most ornate grandfather clock Watt had ever seen came into view, standing alone at the very center of the room. A gold pendulum swung slowly inside its enclosed glass interior, and a polished metal clock face displayed a time Watt couldn't read, mainly because there were five different hands instead of the usual two.

"Ancient Sage!" Pinkie called. "We're in the super-duper most pickled of pickles we've ever been in, and we really need your help."

Almost imperceptibly slowly, the grandfather clock leaned forward, its polished mahogany sides creaking as it loomed over the ponies. Like most residents of Inanima, it lacked a face, yet Watt could almost feel it staring right into the depths of his being.

"Those who shape this realm," the grandfather clock said, in a voice so low Watt seemed to feel it more than hear it. "What knowledge do you seek?"

"Ancient Sage, I'm sure you probably already know this, but Inanima is falling apart," Watt hurriedly explained. "Screwball told us the magic that holds the world together is fading away?"

"It is as you say," the sage confirmed. "I feel it in the ground, and in the air. The threads of wonder, of creativity, of imagination that knit this daydreamed land together are breaking. Inanima is coming apart at the seams."

"But why?" Pinkie cried. "I created Inanima. By accident I guess, but still! I love this place, even if it is just make-believe! If I don't want it to disappear, why haven't I been able to stop it?"

The old grandfather clock did not immediately speak. Seemingly taking time to choose its words, it shifted its weight ever so slightly, casting changing shadows by the light of Screwball's glowing sea monkeys. Watt waited for the answer to Pinkie's question, the silence punctuated only by the relentless Tick. Tick. Tick.

"You did not merely create Inanima," the sage eventually continued. "Inanima is a part of you. These hills and valleys, mountains and grand castles, exist in your mind. Through your precious gift of purest imagination, the lines between fantasy and reality became blurry, indistinct. This land came into being, not quite real, but not quite just a dream, either, as evidenced by the presence of your friends here. It became a fantasy so vivid that it can continue to thrive in minds outside yours, growing and changing even without your constant attention."

Watt twitched impatiently, flicking his spiky tail. "While that's fascinating, what does it have to do with the reason the land is crumbling now?" he asked.

"Everything," the sage said bluntly. "For Inanima is a part of Pinkie Pie. A land that needs her brilliant imagination to continue to exist. The fabric of this world failing represents a failure in Pinkie Pie's power to imagine it."

Watt and Pinkie exchanged a shocked glance. Neither pony knew what to say.

Tick. Tick. Tick.

Finally, Rocky cleared his throat and spoke up.

"So, you're sayin' something's wrong with Inanima 'cause something's wrong with Pinkie Pie?"

Even in the dim light, Watt saw a guilty sort of panic spread across Pinkie's face, like a foal being caught with their hoof in the cookie jar just before dinner. "Hahaha, Ancient Sage, you kidder," she retorted with a thoroughly unconvincing laugh. "I don't remember imagining you to be a prankster. But obviously my imaginator is working as okey-dokey-lokey as ever, so that's definitely not the problem. Now can you tell us what's really going on?"

"Alas, it is no joke," the old sage confirmed. "Unless you face that which troubles you so, Pinkie Pie, your worry and sadness will eat away at you, replacing your natural innocent wonder with despair. And..."

He paused again. Slowly, he straightened up, as if taking a deep breath even without lungs.

"And?" Pinkie's voice cracked.

"And Inanima will die. We will die. We are already dying."

Screwball hung her head. "Not just me then, I guess," she mumbled.

Rocky coughed awkwardly. "Y'know, I didn't wanna say anything on the way over, but I haven't been feelin' myself since around the time we were leavin' Screwball's castle," he confessed. "Not a very good look for a royal guard captain to complain about bein' a little under the weather, though. Can't really say I feel like I'm about to kick over, but the way things are goin'..."

"Nopony has to die," Watt insisted, stamping a forehoof. "We just need to figure out what's wrong with Pinkie. If we can help her, we can help Inanima!"

"But Watt, I told you, I'm just fine!" Pinkie persisted.

Watt sighed. "Pinkie, we need to address the elephant in the room here," he said levelly.

"What's Pinkie got to do with pachyderms?" Rocky quietly questioned.

"I don't think he means literal elephants," Screwball whispered back.

Pinkie looked around shiftily. "W-what do you mean?" she stammered.

"Pinkie Pie, I need you to be honest with me," Watt begged. "All day long, you've been distracted. Evasive. Unusually serious. And all day long, I gave you the benefit of the doubt, because I thought it was all because of what was happening to Inanima. But what's happening here isn't the cause; it's the symptom. Something's eating at you. I need you to tell me, so we can fix it before it's too late."

"Pff, That's a little dramatic," Pinkie said, once again obviously faking a more hopeful mood. "I'm sure we've got loads of time."

Tick. Tick. Tick.

Tick. Tick.

Tick.

...

The cave fell silent.

"...Ancient Sage?" Pinkie asked nervously.

"Who?" Rocky grunted.

Pinkie blinked. "The sage. You know, that we were just talking to? Right there?"

She gestured to the grandfather clock. Rocky turned.

"That's just a dusty old clock, Pink. Hate to say it, but some antique probably isn't gonna help our situation much."

"Pinkie, don't you see?" Watt asked desperately. "Your imagination's failing, just like the sage said. We can remember the sage, but Rocky can't remember him because he's not part of Inanima anymore. He's just the old grandfather clock in the lobby at Ponyville town hall. And the rest of your friends will be next if we don't do something!"

Tears formed in the corners of Pinkie's eyes as she looked at the grandfather clock, that was now very decidedly just a clock. She looked at Rocky, who hopped in place in agitation, and then at Screwball, who could only shrug helplessly.

"Pinkie," Watt said gently, trotting up next to her. "If you're hurting, we can help. We all want to save Inanima, and we all want to help you, too. I don't know what's happening in your life that's upset you, but you should never feel like you have to hide it. I'm your coltfriend, you know you can tell me anyth—"

Pinkie whipped around, snarling at Watt. "I. AM. FINE," she growled through clenched teeth.

Watt recoiled. Pinkie quickly realized what she'd done and backed off, heaving a shuddering sigh.

"The... the sage was no help," she muttered. "You know what they say: even a broken clock is right twice a day, so it stands to reason that a living clock can be wrong sometimes too. Me and Screwball are gonna take Gummy and go get Sir Lintsalot, and you need to carry Rocky and run as fast as you can to get Madame Le'Flour. Meet me right at the center of the great plain of Inanima. It's the heart of the land; the escaping magic has to be flowing through there. We can still find a way to stop it from disappearing if we all put our heads together!"

"But Pinkie—"

Pinkie was already racing out of the cave, dragging Screwball along with her. Watt followed them outside, only to discover Gummy, who had been a colossal beast a few minutes earlier, was now the size of a large dog.

"We need our transportation!" Pinkie exclaimed. "Screwball, can you help me out here?"

Screwball waved a hoof, but Gummy only grew a few inches bigger. Frowning, the chaos mare closed her eyes, and her propeller beanie began to spin as she strained to produce the magic she needed. After a few tense seconds, Gummy ballooned back to his titanic size. Panting, she looked at Pinkie for approval.

"Perfect!" Pinkie chirped, hopping onto her pet and pulling the winded mare up with her. "Let's go, Gummy!"

"But Pinkie!" Watt insisted. "This isn't gonna help! We need to—"

"Madame Le'Flour's castle, Watt!" Pinkie shrieked as Gummy began to clamber down the steep slope. "Now! Hurry!"

"Pinkie!"

It was no use. Within seconds, Gummy's powerful strides carried the two mares out of earshot. Rocky hopped onto Watt's back, causing the stallion to stagger as the stones landed on his spine.

"Not much to do but humor her, I guess," he grumbled. "Get a move on, yella' boy. I'm not much feelin' up to walkin' myself, anyway."

With a frustrated sigh, Watt watched Gummy disappear out of sight, before turning in the opposite direction and heading for Madame Le'Flour's kingdom.

Things went from bad to worse faster than anypony could've predicted.

Watt gasped for breath as he sprinted toward the center of Inanima's great plain. Moving at high speed was usually his forte, but with both a stack of rocks and a full sack of flour on his back, it was considerably harder to do so. Never mind the fact that the ground was now shaking almost constantly, and crevices were opening up in the earth, forcing him to take a roundabout route to his destination.

Wheezing, the earth pony arrived at the top of a grassy knoll and collapsed, panting. Soon, he spotted Gummy approaching in the distance. The gator had clearly shrunken somewhat again, though was still just big enough that all his passengers were able to cram onto his back.

Pinkie hopped off Gummy and hurried over. Her mane was frazzled, with loose, curly hairs sticking off in random directions, and her expression positively haggard. Sir Lintsalot rode on her back; he looked terribly worn as well, which was quite an accomplishment for a ball of lint.

"Watt! Rocky! Madame Le'Flour!" she shrieked. "We have to fix this right here, right now! I don't think we have time to think of another plan!"

"Surely there is still hope!" Madame Le'Flour retorted, hopping off Watt's back and sending a series of thin cracks through the dry, crumbling earth as she landed in the dirt. "What about ze chaos pony you mentioned. Can her magic not buy us more time?"

Pinkie looked supremely guilty. "Um..."

Watt turned his attention back to Gummy, and realized he had completely missed Screwball's presence at first. The purple mare's once vibrant colors had become washed-out and dull, and upon closer inspection, Watt realized he could actually see through her, if only barely. Screwball was becoming translucent, literally fading before his eyes. She delicately stepped down from Gummy, her hooves failing to kick up any dust, as if she weighed nothing at all.

"Sorry," she mumbled, shaking her head and smiling sadly. "I did what I could, but... there's nothing left I can do anymore."

"But isn't Inanima's magic spreading from somewhere right around here?" Pinkie asked. "This is the middle of the kingdom, and magic spreads outward evenly from here. Can't you feel any?"

"Oh, I can feel it," Screwball sighed, attempting to scrap a semi-transparent hoof along the ground, which barely even rustled the dry, dying grass. "I can feel it floating away. Dissipating."

"How long do we have?" Rocky asked. "Couple of hours?"

"Even here, at the heart of the land, there's only faint wisps of energy left," Screwball reported, sinking to her haunches. "Not hours. Minutes."

"Then... this is it?" Sir Lintsalot asked. "The final day of our fair land is upon us?"

"We can still find a way to fix it!" Pinkie squealed, rapidly trotting in place in an increasing panic.

"Pinkie, we know how to fix it!" Watt insisted, marching up to her. "You heard what the sage said; Inanima can't coexist with whatever turmoil is in your mind! Now please, we're begging you, tell us what's wrong so we can help!"

The bubbly mare began to hyperventilate. "I can't— I mean, there's not— I mean... c-c'mon, I'm Pinkie Pie!" she babbled. "I'm the perkiest, most happy-go-lucky party pony in Ponyville! Nothing's wrong in my life! There's still pep in my step and a pearly smile on my face!"

Pinkie produced a grin. Sweat trickled down her face, and her nervous eyes darted about.

"Girl, I could produce a more convincin' smile than that one, and I don't even have a mouth," Rocky quipped. Despite his usual snark, his voice sounded winded and weak.

"Well you don't have a whole musical number about smiling like I do, so I think my experience on the subject outweighs yours!" Pinkie snapped back. "Now let's stop focusing on me and think of a real solution before it's too late!"

The rumbling of the land suddenly grew into a deafening roar. Watt watched in horror as mountains on the horizon quivered, and then fell like a tower of wooden blocks stacked by a careless foal. The countryside broke into pieces, the unbroken plain suddenly turned into irregular islands floating in a faintly swirling, colorless abyss. One by one, chunks of land failed to stay aloft at what had been considered ground-level a few moments before, falling into nothingness as they turned to dust.

"...Lady Pinkie, I think it's too late," Sir Lintsalot murmured.

Madame Le'Flour hopped forward. "If zis is how it ends, Lintsalot my love, I wish to live my final moments in your embrace!"

Sir Lintsalot leapt from Pinkie Pie's back, landing beside Madame Le'Flour. The two huddled together, whimpering, as the world continued to implode.

"No, stop! Don't give up!" Pinkie pleaded. "There must be some way to reverse this! Something we can try! Anything!"

"Kid," Rocky wheezed, his stacked rocks wobbling dangerously. "I get you're not thinkin' clearly, with it being the end of the world and all, but ya need to get a hold of yourself. You're goin' crazy, talkin' to an old sack and some bit of fluff."

Pinkie's eyes widened, and she looked back to the two lovers at her hooves. The sack of flour sagged, flopping to the shaking ground with a thump, while the ball of lint floated a pony length or so away on the wind."

"S-Sir Lintsalot..." Pinkie whimpered. "Madame Le'Flour..."

"They're gone," Screwball said gently, her voice distant and echoing, like she was speaking from the other end of a tunnel. Both ponies glanced her way and realized in shock that she was now almost completely transparent, a few bare wisps of faded purple struggling to give some substance to her outline. "I appreciate that you tried but... without the magic your imagination provided, this was always going to be the outcome."

Watt looked at his partner desperately. "Pinkie! Confess! Please!"

Pinkie reared up and threw her forehooves skyward. "NEVER!" she screamed defiantly at the sky.

In response, the sky itself cracked. A jagged, shimmering piece of sky fell to the earth and shattered like glass, revealing more colorless, empty space in the gap in the heavens it had left behind. The cracks spread like a spiderweb, causing more and more pieces to rain down.

"Well b-bite my... bacon and c-call me... s-something or other..." Rocky slurred. "Y'don't see that... every day..."

He swayed for a moment, and then toppled. His constituent rocks rolled aimlessly across the desolated landscape.

"Rocky..." Pinkie mumbled, sniffling loudly.

In all directions, the rest of Inanima collapsed from the outer edges inward. Soon, there was only a circle of land about ten pony lengths in diameter, with the ponies standing in the center.

"So, hey," Screwball piped up, her voice so distant and distorted it was hard to make it out. "Pinkie, Watt, I just wanted to... thank you both..."

The ground split again, and the little bit of rock where Screwball sat separated from the rest of the remaining ground, beginning to float out into the abyss.

"Thank us for what!?" Pinkie demanded, her voice wavering between frustration and despair.

Screwball was barely visible now. Tears trailed down her cheeks, but once they fell free, vanished from existence before they could even reach the ground. Nevertheless, she smiled that same longing smile.

"For caring about me enough to bring me here, rather than try to trap or destroy me like other ponies did," she answered. "I know that Discord made me in such a way that it was... difficult... for ponies to deal with having me around. But you two found a place where I fit in, where it was ok for me to be me. And even when I was still full of chaos magic, and couldn't communicate it in quite the same way as I can now, I always appreciated your kindness. It didn't last forever, but I cherished every moment."

The remnant of Screwball lifted a hoof in a gentle wave goodbye, and then hung her head as her little platform drifted further from the two earth ponies. The edges of the main circle of remaining land began to crumble giving Watt, Pinkie, and the objects that were once her inanimate friends even less space.

"Pinkie, listen," Watt said urgently, causing Pinkie's tear-filled eyes to face him. "This is the last shred of Inanima. I don't know if we can undo this. I don't know if we can save your friends, or Screwball. I'm not pretending I know how a land made of imagination works. But one thing is pretty clear; if we're gonna try, we either do it now, or Inanima is gone forever!"

Pinkie whimpered. "But I can't! You... you don't understand!" she argued. "The truth hurts! It hurts me! It'll hurt you too!"

A crack ran through the ground between the hooves of the two ponies. "That's ok! Sometimes the truth does hurt, but we still have to face it. Running from it just makes things worse and worse until you wind up in a situation like this one! We need to face the truth, Pinkie!"

Pinkie bit her lip, clearly mentally fighting herself. The ground creaked and groaned, as the crack widened, threatening to split apart the last shred of her imagined world.

"Pinkie! Now!!"

Pinkie sucked in her breath, threw back her head, and screamed out the truth with all of her might.

I don't think I love you anymore!

The rumbling stopped. The razor sharp shards of sky paused mid-plummet. The swirling, colorless void stilled. Screwball, just an outline that was threatening to simply melt into the background at any moment, slowly raised her spectral head.

"W... what?"

Pinkie stared firmly at the dirt below her hooves. "I... uhm... s-so, listen..." she managed, barely above a whisper. "You've, uhh, heard the rumors, right? About Twilight? Princess Celestia asked her to take over as ruler of Equestria sometime in the not-super-duper-distant future."

"Y... yeah," Watt replied, unsure how this pertained to the topic at hoof.

"Finding out that Twilight's gonna have such a big responsibility soon really got me thinking," Pinkie admitted. "The past five years or so since we all became the Elements of Harmony, all my friends lives have really changed. Everypony is achieving their dreams, and discovering what they can do for Equestria, and for themselves, when they aren't, y'know, saving the world with the magic of friendship. And don't get me wrong, I love throwing parties and baking at Sugarcube Corner, but sometimes it feels like I'm... um... stuck in a rut while my friends do bigger and better things with their lives. I haven't... found a good moment to talk to them about it yet."

Watt nodded slowly. "Ok..." was all he could think to say without more information.

Pinkie heaved a sigh. "Watt, you're one of my bestest friends in Equestria," she continued, "but... well, I started to notice that every time I hang out with you, its to do zany fun stuff like throw parties or go on adventures or save Inanima. And I adore doing those things with you! I really do! But even for silly ponies like us, there's more to life than that. You've got your electrician job and your shipping job, of course, but those things aren't really something I can, or want to, be involved with. And I need to start exploring what I want to do, to find my life's purpose like the rest of the girls. When I think about you, I think about fun times. Fun times are great! But when I think about the future, about doing something more than just wacky adventures, I just... I guess I started pretending I didn't have time to hang out so I didn't have to face the fact that I can't imagine any path through life where it feels like you're the right pony to travel it with me."

I can't imagine...

Watt carefully drew a breath. Despite the pit in his stomach, he knew what he had to do. He stepped over the now-silent crevice in the ground, and placed a hoof on the shoulder of the miserable-looking mare beside him.

"Pinkie, at Equestria Speedy Shipping Services, one of the hardest things we run into is shipping requests that just won't work," he told her. "Sometimes, ponies that think they're right for each other just aren't, once they get to know each other a little. It's even harder when one pony still feels compatible and the other doesn't. But I've done enough shipping to know that the most catastrophic thing you can do is not to listen to the heart. Even if that means pain in the short term, ignoring it will lead to misery that can last much, much longer."

Pinkie dared to make eye contact with Watt for a moment. He gently wiped some of the tears from her face.

"You remember Cosmic Glow, right?" he continued. "You met her when we were first dealing with Screwball a couple years back. Ol' Cosmo tried to talk her daughter, Sparkler, into going against her heart's wishes for years and years, and it nearly ruined that poor filly. I've never seen misery like that before, and I don't want that to happen to you, or to me for that matter."

"So... what are you saying?" Pinkie mumbled.

Watt smiled, just a little. "I'm saying, if you think we're not meant for each other in the long run, then... I think the healthiest thing for either of us to do is break it off on good terms. That way, you can figure out a future that's right for you. Maybe with another pony, and maybe not. But it'll be the future your heart needs, and your friend Watt will be there to support your search for it. Can you picture that?"

Pinkie sniffled, but she returned Watt's gentle smile with one of her own. "Y-yeah," she whispered, pulling Watt softly into a hug and closing her eyes. "I think I can imagine that."

As the ponies embraced, light radiated from their bodies. As it swept across their little floating platform, verdant grass sprung from the dead earth instantly, and once it spread out further, the platform grew with it. It took only moments for land to spread from horizon to horizon. The sky, whole again and baby blue as the most beautiful summer day, spread out over fields and forests and mountains and the kingdoms of the land's residents, grand medieval castles and all.

"Well barricade my barracks and call me Eloise! You went and fixed it all somehow after all!"

Pinkie's eyes flew open. "Rocky?"

"In the flesh!" Rocky replied, hopping in place triumphantly. "Or, well, in the... granite or somethin'. Whatever."

"Lady Pinkie, Master Watt, there truly aren't enough thanks in the world for saving our land," Sir Lintsalot remarked as the two earth ponies separated. "Even when all seemed lost, it seems your powers of imagination were able to restore everything in the end."

There was a cartoonish "bwomp", as Gummy expanded outwards and upwards, returning to gargantuan size all at once. "Look at zat!" Madame Le Flour commented. "Not only is ze land returning, ze magic is returning too!"

"It sure is!" came an elated female voice.

Watt spun around to see Screwball absolutely grinning ear to ear, her body fully restored to its vibrant hues, and her propeller beanie spinning wildly. "You did it! You did it!" she cheered. "All the chaos of a world where the only rules are the ones dreamed up by the imagination. I can feel it everywhere!"

Screwball leapt into the air, and did not return to the earth. Her legs dangled beneath her as her beanie defied all conventional logic and kept her aloft. A frantic giggle formed in her throat, and grew and grew until she was giggling uncontrollably like she was being tickled from all sides.

"I'm glad we could help," Watt said, stepping toward the chaos pony as she wiggled and spun in the air, soaking in all the latent magic. "Though... I guess this means we won't be able to... y'know, have a conversation like this with you anymore!"

"It's ok!" Screwball managed through bouts of laughter. "I know it's— hee hee— ha-hard for a regular pony to understand, but this is the way I was made to be! The way I want to be! Maybe I can't talk to you or adventure with you in the same way as we did today, b-but— ahaha!— but this is the way a being like me can be happy!"

Pinkie strode up, nodding. "Thanks for all your help today," she said.

"N-no problem," Screwball stammered, as the curls in her hair grew bouncier and her body seemed to get more rubbery. "And haha-hey, don't be a stranger! Come visit as often as you like! I'm sure we'll have tons and tons of fun!"

That was all she could manage before laughter overtook her. She squeezed her eyes shut, as her whole body glowed with renewed chaos magic. When she opened her lids again, zany purple swirls had once again replaced the pupils.

"Friends! Friends! Fun day!" she babbled, floating in circles around the pair of earth ponies and producing hooffuls of polka-dotted katydids while fashioning a sombrero for herself with a bell pepper crown and dangling cherry tomato decorations around the brim. "Play more soon!"

Watt chuckled. "Sure Screwball. We'll come see you again soon, alright?"

Despite the influence of her chaos magic overriding her capacity for higher intelligence, Screwball truly did look nothing short of absolutely delighted. Beaming, she floated into the distance, leaving a trail of snail slime that hung in the air as if it was on a solid surface, singing "Friends, friends" to herself over and over.

"We should probably get going too," Pinkie acknowledged. "Till next time, you guys."

"Thank you again, Lady Pinkie," Sir Lintsalot said, bowing. "Farewell."

"Adieu," Madame Le'Flour added.

"Next time, maybe don't cut it so close," Rocky added dryly.

Watt and Pinkie boarded Gummy and set off in one direction, while their inanimate friends hopped away in the other. Once they were out of earshot, Pinkie turned to Watt uncertainly.

"So... still friends?" she asked, knitting her brow.

Watt patted her on the back. "Still friends. Don't worry."

Pinkie looked pensive. "What happens now?"

"Don't know," Watt admitted, leaning back and watching the clouds roll by. "You'll start looking for that new path through life you mentioned. And I guess, by extension, I'll be looking for one too."

There were a few moments where neither pony spoke.

"We'll both find one," Pinkie said certainly.

"Yeah," Watt breathed. "Maybe we can't see it just yet... but we will."

Breeze patted Watt on the back with a wing. "Chin up, buddy," he encouraged. "Break ups suck. Believe me, I know. But it'll get better."

"And you know what Dr. Candyfloss would've said," Ditzy reminded him. "It's better to suffer a little now than—"

"—to force together incompatible hearts," Watt finished, sitting up. "That's what I told Pinkie, too. It seemed to help her make peace with the situation a little."

He paused. "And... helped me make peace with it too, to be honest."

"Good old Candyfloss," Cloudcover reminisced. "Gone, yes, but his teachings are as potent as ever."

"Still..." Clarity chimed in. "It's only natural to be upset. Do you need the day off? I can give you the day off. The others will cover you, I'm sure."

Watt shook his head. "No thanks, Dr. Clarity," he said, sitting up and stretching his forelegs. "Moping's not gonna help. It's the same as when a shipping assignment doesn't work out. You just gotta look toward the future and your next adventure, even if you don't know what that is yet."

Clarity, tactfully, didn't correct Watt on his use of the "doctor" title. "That's a great outlook," she said with a nod. "And like you said, Pinkie Pie's still your friend; I'm sure the two of you have loads of adventures still to come, even if they aren't romantic ones."

Watt nodded back as he got to his hooves. "So, got an assignment for me?"

"If you're sticking around for the day after all, then yeah," Clarity admitted. "Stallion in Hoofington who's fallen for a mare that's part of a traveling circus. Sounds right up your alley."

"Sounds fun," Watt chuckled as he grabbed the address. "See you ponies later."

"Go get 'em, old boy," Cloudcover cheered. "After all, the Watt we know has had his share of stumbles and collisions..."

"...But I keep on speedin' ahead!" Watt laughed.

The door to Equestria Speedy Shipping Services was thrown wide, and a yellow blur once again raced through town, always moving forward, even when bound for a new, uncharted chapter of his life.

An Icy Alliance

Date: Almost a year after Dinky's Graduation

Cold Vanhoover wind blustered across the platform of the train station, causing ponies to clutch their cloaks tighter to their bodies. A grey unicorn mare who looked to be around nineteen or twenty seemed quite unfazed. Though her pale green ponytail whipped in the wind, the short note she was reading stayed perfectly still in the firm grip of her aura as she read it over once again.

Please wait for me at the station in your hometown. I shall make sure to be aboard the third passenger car when I arrive, so it will be easy to find me as soon as you board the train. I look forward to seeing one of my cleverest former classmates again very soon.

"Third car. Got it," Seeker mumbled to herself, reviewing the last few lines of the invitation before tucking it carefully into her bag.

A shrill whistle from the steam engine heralded the arrival of the train. The mare quickly trotted three cars back, presented her ticket, and stepped aboard. It only took a second to spot the pony she was meeting up with; if his royal blue coat wasn't enough to catch the eye, his unnaturally pearly smile always was.

"Heya Tango," Seeker chuckled as she quickly stowed her belongings beneath the bench and sat down beside the stallion.

Tango Trot's grin grew wider. "Why hello, Seeker my friend," he replied, with all the usual dramatic flair. "It's been some months now since we've seen each other, but I must say, you're looking just as vibrant as ever."

Seeker smirked at her friend's typical over-the-top compliments. "You look like you're doing pretty good yourself, considering how long a train ride it was for you to get all the way out here," she chuckled. "Thanks for accepting my invite, by the way."

"Oh, you say that as if it's an inconvenience," Tango quickly responded. "In truth, I haven't looked forward to a competition this much in ages. I mean, a doubles dueling tournament, in Las Pegasus? The thrill of magical combat, paired with the glamorous opportunity to put on a display of skill in the entertainment capital of Equestria, and my partner for the experience is one of my most talented former classmates? Why would you even imagine I would decline?"

Seeker laughed. "Well good, I'm glad I'm not the only one who's hyped," she admitted. "I've never been in a 2-on-2 duel before, but come on, both of us are Academy-trained duelists who made the final four in last year's tournament at school. We've got the upper hoof for sure, except maybe against other Academy alumni."

"Speaking of which, are any friends from our year competing as well?" Tango questioned.

"Not that I know of," Seeker admitted. "I actually wrote a letter to Scuffle to see if he was going, but he's at some seminar Honeydew's speaking at this weekend. And he mentioned Dinky and Clarity already had vacation plans, so they're out too. Though, this is a nationwide tournament; students who graduated in the years before us might be there."

Tango prepared to reply, but was briefly drowned out as the train gave a loud whistle and slowly departed Vanhoover station. "Regardless," he continued once the noise had quieted, "we have the advantage of being acutely familiar with each other's dueling styles. You and I both have a sizeable arsenal of unique tricks, and though we've always been opponents on the field of battle, we've worked well together whenever we did collaborate on something. I'm sure it will take no more than a few hours of planning for us to weave together our two styles into one nearly-unbeatable strategy."

Seeker nodded. "I've already been giving it some thought," she confessed, casting a simple illusion that projected a blank rectangle of light in front of her like a miniature dueling ring and pointing out positions with a hoof. "So, I know you're great with sound magic, so picture this; you stand over here while I—"

Thunk!

There was a clatter as something heavy slammed against the other side of the door separating the train cars. This was followed by some muffled yelling, and then the divider door slid open. Seeker peered over the seat, curious.

"Alright, you two, I think these fine folks have had quite enough of you!" the train conductor barked. "Go sit in the next car, and if I hear you causing a ruckus again, you'll be disembarking at the very next stop."

"Yeah, yeah, we're going," a male voice replied.

"Yeah, chill out," another voice, very similar to the first, added.

Two large male unicorns skulked into the train car, slamming the connecting door behind them. Identical in every way but fur color and cutie mark, it was clear the pair were twins. They immediately seemed familiar, but Seeker found she couldn't quite pinpoint why.

"Ah," said Tango, pursing his lips. "I should have guessed."

"Guessed what?" Seeker asked, glancing between her friend and the two newcomers now leering at passengers as they moved slowly down the aisle.

"Oh, don't you recognize them?" Tango asked, his features lighting up in realization. "I suppose I have seen them quite a bit more recently than you, but those two are—"

"Well lookie here!" one of the twins called out as his scan of the train car finally picked out Tango Trot. "If it isn't our good buddy what's-his-name!"

"And who's this?" the other twin asked, ignoring Tango's attempt to correct them entirely as he glanced toward Seeker. "Out on a date with your fillyfriend or somethin'?"

Seeker snorted. Tango just sighed. "Seeker, perhaps you remember our former classmates here; they were fifth-term students when we were foals just starting at the Academy," he said dully, gesturing to the two grinning unicorns. "Scorch and Frosty, the so-called Frostfire Twins."

Long-dormant memories of a pair of blowhard bullies surfaced in Seeker's mind. "Oh. Right. Scuffle's brothers," she huffed.

Scorch scowled. "We've been getting that a lot lately," he grumbled. "How'd that kid manage to become the recognizable one in the family anyway? Is it too much to ask to get a 'Scorch and Frosty, the ponies who saved Canterlot' once in a while?"

"You saved it, huh?" Seeker snarked, raising an eyebrow at the self-important twins. "Funny, I heard quite a few ponies worked together to save it. But if I was forced to credit just one or two of them, you two would be far from the top of the list."

"Those ponies never even woulda made it into the city if it wasn't for us!" Frosty snapped. "And if you don't start showing us a little respect, we might have to remind you why we deserve it!"

Seeker rolled her eyes. "Please. We're not foals anymore," she groaned. "Ever considered maybe you were only a hotshot 'cause the ponies you were pushing around barely knew how to levitate an object?"

Frosty's lip curled in anger. "Is that so? You wanna prove it?"

"Let's just step back for a moment," interjected Tango, using both forehooves to gently push Seeker and Frosty further apart. "As I understand it, my fellows, you're already on thin ice with the conductor, so in the interest of you... and us for that matter... actually reaching our destinations, perhaps cooler heads should prevail for now."

Realizing how quickly a magical altercation in the middle of a packed train car would go bad, Seeker backed off and slid down in her seat, still glowering. Scorch and Frosty, stubborn though they were, appeared to come to the same realization, though perhaps more reluctantly. Muttering, the two stallions took their seats across the aisle.

"So, what brings you gentlecolts all the way out here?" Tango asked, apparently determined to force the tension still floating in the air to dissipate. "You're quite a long way from Fillydelphia."

"Just on a little quest to kick some ass, as usual," Scorch chuckled. "We're on our way to Las Pegasus; heard there's a pretty high profile dueling tournament we need to win."

Seeker's ears perked up. She sat up again, leaning forward to peer around Tango. "Wait, you two are entering the doubles tournament too?"

"Hah, is that where you're going?" Frosty asked, smirking. "Shame. You came all this way just to lose to us."

"Me an' Frosty have enough firepower between the two of us to bury anypony," Scorch bragged, leaning back in his seat and placing his forehooves behind his head with an air of self-importance. "Do yourselves a favor and lose before you gotta face us, or they might have to ship ya home in a couple pieces."

"Just about any duelist with more strategic ability than a newborn foal can't be beaten by pure firepower alone," Seeker argued, leaning halfway over Tango toward her rivals across the aisle.

"Oh yeah?" Frosty hissed. "Let's see how far your 'winning strategy' gets you once your body's punched a hole in the roof of the arena and barely even slowed down."

"Yeah, I can think of about a million options to prevent a spell that big from ever getting anywhere near me," Seeker shot back, placing her forehooves on Tango's lap to get some height above the seated stallions. "Good luck getting that attack to connect."

"Want a demonstration?" Frosty was on his hooves now too, horn aglow.

"Anytime!"

"Preferably," Tango half shouted, raising a hoof and once again gently easing Seeker off him and back into her seat, "tomorrow at an arena designed for such encounters, rather than the middle of a crowded train carriage."

Seeker harrumphed, but took the hint and slouched in her seat, tossing her ponytail over her shoulder. Scorch and Frosty exchanged a glance.

"Well, we—"

"We do so look forward to dueling you tomorrow at the appropriate venue," Tango interrupted, producing the fakest version of his trademark winning smile Seeker had ever seen. "Now if you would be so kind, my dear gentlecolts, Seeker and I need to plan out our strategies, and I'm sure you two have much to discuss as well."

Grumbling, Scorch and Frosty turned away and muttered to each other in private. Sighing, Tango turned back to Seeker. She winced at his unamused expression.

"Uh, sorry," she apologized softly. "Seeing them brought back some bad foalhood memories. They uh... they get under my skin pretty good. "

"Unfortunately, they are quite experienced at just that," Tango admitted. "But we have no need to stoop to their level."

"True, we can prove our point in the tournament tomorrow," Seeker agreed.

"Well, yes, that," Tango continued delicately. "And also the more immediate concern of being removed from the train long before Las Pegasus if you allow yourself to be dragged into the chaos they thrive on."

Seeker blushed. "Um. Right. That too."

The royal blue stallion patted her on the back comfortingly. "No need to fret," he assured her. "Let's see if we can get back on task, shall we? You were mentioning something about my positioning in a particular duel maneuver?"

"Ah, right." The illusory arena diagram sprung from Seeker's aura again. "Ok, hear me out. What if we try something like this?"

In hushed voices, the pair of unicorns put their heads and resumed laying their plans.

Overstimulating. That's the word Seeker was looking for. Las Pegasus, if described in a single word, was overstimulating.

Morning sunlight glittered off thousands of windows of high-rise hotels for block after block. The smell of exotic food and the mingling melodies of performances on every corner seemed to seep from the city's very pores and threatened to overwhelm her. Ponies peddling everything and anything lined the streets, their voices all competing with one another to somehow gain the attention of passers by. But how could they, when every square inch of the city seemed to be vying for exactly the same thing?

Tango, she noticed, seemed unfazed. But to be fair, a crowd of swooning, goo-goo-eyed fangirls tended to follow him around during their time at the Academy. He had probably built up a tolerance for overstimulation.

"Ah, there it is, at the end of the road."

Tango's familiar voice cut cleanly through the shroud of distractions and recaptured Seeker's attention. She followed his gaze to the end of the busy street, and suddenly had a sense of the sheer scope of the event they'd signed up for.

The stadium was easily big enough to be the headquarters of a major league buckball team. Colorful banners of unicorn silhouettes hung around its perimeter, and jumbo-sized electric screens, still a rarity in Equestria outside highly urban places like downtown Manehattan, looped through highlight reels of doubles duel tournaments of years past. Hundreds of unicorns were gathered on the expansive brick courtyard in front of the property, chatting, strategizing, and even practicing spells.

"There's... there's gotta be like three or four hundred ponies here!" Seeker sputtered, glancing around the crowd in shock. "How the heck are they going to hold a tournament with so many competitors? It's gonna take weeks!"

"Tournaments of this size always have preliminaries," Tango explained. "You've got to remember, Seeker, events like these are open to everypony, and that means ninety-percent of them are newbies or hobbyist duelers at best. The qualifying rounds will cut the number down dramatically. After all, a city that's all about putting on a show isn't going to subject their audience to dozens and dozens of amateur duels. But never fear; Academy-trained unicorns tend to be among Equestria's best and brightest. I imagine we will have more than enough skill between us to reach the proper tournament bracket."

He punctuated his explanation with a flash of his award-winning smile, before leading the way to the registration counter.

As the minutes passed, Seeker observed thousands of spectators making their way into the stadium while she stood in line to register to compete. An hour or so later, the lines for each of the clerks at check-in had dwindled to nothing.

"The show's supposed to start any minute now, isn't it?" she asked, glancing at a brightly-lit digital clock on one of the jumbo screens. "When are they going to let us—"

Deafeningly loud, bass-heavy music drowned out the rest of her question as even more lights turned on around the entryway, and the doors quickly swung wide to reveal a tunnel-like hall leading between the stands and into the stadium itself.

"Right now," Tango mouthed playfully.

The crowd of competitors filed inside, and the music was soon drowned out by the growing sound of the cheering crowd. Seeker stepped into the arena, waiting for her eyes to adjust as the bright sun was replaced with an almost entirely dark interior, lit only by rows of tiny lights in the floor that demarcated the aisles and stairways of the stands. Try as she might, she couldn't even see the other end of the cavernous space in the blackness.

Without warning, a massive spotlight clicked on, and Seeker threw a foreleg up to shield her eyes from the sudden light. The arena was immediately illuminated, revealing a stallion at its center, dressed in a very expensive looking suit, sporting an equally-expensive looking manecut. He had a microphone in hoof.

"Are you ready, Las Pegasus?" he called, his voice blaring from dozens of speakers and echoing off the domelike roof.

His question was met with a swell of cheers from the audience. His face appeared on another giant viewing screen, and he greeted the audience with a smile so bright it gave even Tango a run for his money.

"Welcome to the 31st annual Las Pegasus doubles dueling tournament!" the announcer continued. "I hope you're ready, duel fans! We've got ponies from all over Equestria gathered here, including more than a few familiar faces from years past, and plenty of fresh ones, too! Will one of our fan favorites come out on top, or is it time for a newcomer to make a name for themselves?"

The crowd called out a cacophony of names, though it was almost impossible to make any of them out. Seeker knew her name wasn't among them, at any rate; she and Tango were both first timers here.

Guess it's time to win over a few fans of our own, she thought, grinning a little.

"Now, of course, our lovely audience is here to see only the most exciting magic duels!" the announcer called. "So as always, we'll be starting with a series of rapid-fire preliminaries to help us weed out the competitors who aren't quite ready to play at the Las Pegasus level. These qualifying matches are very short, and very simple; each team will be randomly paired up with various other teams over the next half-hour or so. These miniature duels are only one minute long, and contestants will have no time to prepare a strategy after meeting their opponents, forcing them to show off their skills in combat improvisation. The preliminary duels have no winner or loser; instead, referees will observe the duels and award a numerical score, out of 100, to each pair after each minute-long duel. The teams will then reshuffle, and repeat the process. After several rounds of this, the sixteen teams— that's thirty-two ponies in total— with the highest average scores will move on to the main tournament!"

Dozens of ponies dressed in black and white referee uniforms marched into the arena at the opposite side where the competitors had entered. Then, much to Seeker's surprise, the floor itself lit up. Stunned, she realized the entire surface of the arena was, in itself, a giant screen, which now displayed digital outlines of dozens of standard-sized dueling rings. Pictures of the faces of competitors appeared at each end of every court.

"Find your own face, and prepare for high-speed battles with whoever is across from you!" the announcer instructed as he left the stadium floor and made his way to a balcony high above. "We'll soon know who our competitors in the main event are! Good luck, everypony!"

"Time!" called the referee. "Tango Trot and Seeker, 94 points. Wind Chime and Bumper Crop, 62 points."

The pair of unicorns on the other side of the arena frowned at their mediocre score, but there wasn't much room to argue, Seeker and Tango had kept them on the ropes quite comfortably for the entire sixty seconds of the micro-duel.

"Well, this has been pretty easy," Seeker chuckled as she and Tango stepped away from their dueling ring and back toward the center of the massive arena. "Eight rounds, and we only scored below 90 once."

"Yes, I'd imagine that will be more than enough to qualify," Tango responded. "As usual, you've quite the penchant for quick reactions and clever counters, my friend."

"Me?" Seeker laughed. "You're the MVP here as usual, dude. I mean, c'mon, that one match where you turned every single attack back on them, with either reflection or a counterspell? We scored 99 and I barely even did anything. I heard those guys say a few colorful words under their breath before they went to their next round."

"I appreciate the praise, but we shouldn't get too overconfident," Tango cautioned. "The ponies against whom our score was less than stellar were clearly very skilled. We must remember we're not the only seasoned duelists here."

Seeker tried to reply, but two loud male voices drowned her out.

"Boy, that last pair better not qualify for their own safety. If they were in a full duel, they'd be leaving here in a body cast."

"Oh don't worry, they won't. Those little tricks of theirs aren't gonna do them much good if their attack don't pack any punch. We were throwing stronger spells in elementary school!"

Seeker scowled as Scorch and Frosty appeared, pushing their way rudely through the crowd as they continued to joke about the competition, at least until Frosty caught her eye. "Oh hey, it's the nerds from the train," he laughed as he and his twin trotted over. "You two gonna qualify?"

"Do they look like they're gonna qualify?" Scorch laughed. "Bet they found out real quick what dueling in the real world is like."

"I suppose we shall see," Tango replied, flashing them another decidedly fake grin. "They're calculating the final scores now, so we'll know momentarily."

"Yeah, no tension there. We obviously qualified," Frosty boasted. "The part I'm waiting for is when they announce this year's gimmick."

Seeker's curiosity outweighed her contempt for the stallions in front of her. "Gimmick?" she asked.

"Yeah, every year once the main tournament begins, they throw in some crazy rule to keep things fresh, and stop the same ponies from winning over and over," Frosty elaborated. "Last year teleportation was forbidden. We almost won the whole thing; strength like ours against ponies who can't just blink out of the way? Not a good combo for most of our opponents."

"The year before that, only one pony on each team was allowed to attack, and the other one could only defend," Scorch added. "You could switch off for each new match, though. Defending both ponies on your team at once coulda been tricky if we weren't such pros at this."

"Sounds like smart strategists will really shine in situations like those," Seeker said smugly. "Pity all you two know how to do with magic is smash things."

"Watch your mouth, shrimp!" Frosty barked.

Fortunately for everypony, the announcer's voice filled the stadium before the petty fight could continue. "Fillies and gentlecolts, we've now determined the sixteen teams that will be competing this year! Turn your attention to the screen overhead; if you don't see your face, you didn't make the cut. Better luck next year!"

Thirty-two ponies, each labeled with their name and hometown, appeared on screen. Seeker did a little celebratory hoof-pump as she spotted herself and Tango among them. Her excitement was dampened only slightly when Scorch and Frosty appeared among the selected ponies as well. Several hundred disappointed ponies trudged to the exit, or made their way into a reserved section of the stands to watch the ponies who had outplayed them compete.

"Now, as you all know, Las Pegasus is all about entertainment, and nothing makes a tournament more entertaining than adding a little drama!" the announcer declared, as the spotlight highlighted him upon his balcony. "Each year, we throw in a little something to make things more exciting, and this year's twist is a real doozy!"

Seeker held her breath, waiting to hear what adjustment she'd have to quickly make to her battle plans.

She did not expect the answer.

"This year we're really shaking things up," the announcer said, with a gleam in his eye. "Take any blueprints you and your partner have made and throw them out the window... because this year we're scrambling the dueling teams!"

Tense music played as the sixteen pairs of faces on the screen above were suddenly broken apart. The individual faces swirled around in a tornado of color, before slamming together in new combinations, making a thunderclap sound effect each time a new pair came together. Seeker desperately watched the grey and green blur of her own countenance fly around the display, before slamming into the smirking face of a grey and white stallion... who happened to be standing just a pony-length away.

Frosty. She was paired with Frosty. Random chance had torn away her world-class strategist of a partner and replaced him with a meathead whose entire battle plan amounted to 'just brute force it'. Outraged, she glared at the offending pony as if this turn of events was somehow his fault. He stared back at her with an equal amount of disgust.

Tango fared no better. Although the shuffle was indeed random, it seemed the fates were determined to play their cruel tricks today. He sighed as his own picture linked up with Scorch's, and the display labeled their pair as team eleven, while Seeker and Frosty became team five.

"Our competitors will need to get a read on their new partner's battle style, as well as their strengths and weaknesses, very quickly!" the announcer said, his voice filled with glee. "This year's winners will surely be ponies who can adapt on the fly to synergize with an unexpected partner. If everypony can proceed down the hall at the side of the main arena, you'll find dressing rooms have been set aside for each team to rest and strategize as they prepare for each match. Head there now, and be ready to think on your hooves; the first round duels start in just a few minutes!"

The roar of the crowd drowned out any chance to discuss the turn of events. Seeker simply cast Tango a miserable look before she and Frosty made a left toward their room while Tango and Scorch turned right toward theirs. Only once they'd reached the private back room did the sound become muffled enough to carry a conversation.

"Who do they think they are!?" Frosty roared the second the door was closed. "This isn't even fair!"

"I take it the competition hasn't had a twist like this before?" Seeker asked bitterly.

"Heck no," Frosty snapped. "How are Scorch and I supposed to win anything when we're getting dragged down by some random noponies?"

"Oh, you're the one being dragged down?" Seeker retaliated, taking a step toward the stallion. "Funny, I was just wondering how I'm supposed to stand a chance when my dueling partner has all the finesse of a yak and is denser than a diamond dog."

"You think so, huh?" Frosty growled, not backing down in the slightest. "You'd be singing a different tune if you were the one across from me on the battlefield. There's not much time for insults when you're using every breath to beg for mercy."

"Please, like I'd lose to a cavepony like you."

"As if your pansy flanks would stand half a chance against me!"

Both ponies turned around, their snouts turned up in a huff. Tense silence hung in the air.

"...The longer we spend doing this, the less time we have to prepare to face our actual opponents," Seeker said acidly. "Even somepony as thick as you has gotta be good at something. What's the plan here?"

"The plan?" Frosty asked incredulously, glancing over his shoulder at her. "The plan is for you and your little filly playtime spells to stay the heck out of my way while I put the competition in its place. The only pony it's gonna take some work to get the upper hoof on is Scorch."

Seeker laughed sharply. "Yeah, I hate to break it to you, but Scorch is just the side show," she remarked. "He's partnered with the best duelist I've ever known. If we go up against Tango, we're toast, with or without Scorch."

Frosty scoffed. "Sounds like you're scared," he mocked. "Better stand back and just leave the fighting to me."

Seeker grit her teeth. "Fine, do your own thing, then!" she cried, tossing her ponytail angrily as she turned away. "Don't blame me when we're out of the tournament long before the finals!"

A loud, musical tone played over the loudspeaker throughout the stadium, followed by the announcer's voice. "Our first duel is about to begin!" he declared. "We're randomly matched up our sixteen teams, and out first match will be between... team two and team five!"

"Oh look, we're on first," Frosty grumbled. "C'mon kid, come watch how us real duelists fight."

He galloped out without another word. Muttering angrily, Seeker shook her head and quickly followed.

The many dueling courts displayed on the digital floor had disappeared, replaced by a single one in the center of the huge arena that, Seeker noted, was dramatically bigger than regulation standards. Which made sense, she supposed, since twice and many ponies would need to maneuver and spellcast at once in a doubles duel.

Across from Seeker and her insufferable partner were two mares, one green and one sky blue, who looked to be somewhere around Frosty's age. The pair had presumably just met, given the nature of the competition, but they gave each other a glance and a resolute nod. Quite unlike Frosty, who seemed loath to even waste time glancing in Seeker's direction.

"Fillies and Gentlecolts, it's time for the first proper duel of this year's Las Pegasus doubles tournament!" the announcer called, inciting another round of cheers from the audience. "The duel ends when both members of one team are knocked out, or when either member of a team signals their team's surrender by activating the forfeit light on the scoreboard with a spell. Now competitors, ready your horns; the duel begin when the countdown reaches zero!"

A ten-second countdown appeared on the scoreboard. Knowing she could neither control nor count on Frosty, she lit her own horn and focused on countering whatever attacks were about to be thrown her way.

"Three... two... one... duel!"

Before Seeker could even move, a wave of ice so frigid it seemed to suck the air out of the room blasted forth from Frosty's horn, causing jagged icicles to burst from below as it arrived the blue mare's position. The poor pony gasped as she was quickly boxed in by spires of ice. Her partner looked on, momentarily motionless with shock; it seemed neither of the mares had expected such a powerful attack so immediately. Quickly taking advantage of this, Seeker hurriedly deployed a binding spell that held the other mare's legs in place. The green mare, now torn between two options, took the opportunity to cancel the spell holding her, rather than attempt to shatter the icy walls corralling her partner. She deployed a magic-jamming counterspell that quickly freed her from Seeker's grip, but in doing so, gave Frosty more than enough time to unleash a bright blue laser at the mare he'd trapped.

Crash!

The spell hit like a charging yak, shattering the ice the bluish mare had been attempting to free herself from and flinging her into the air as well. She hit the floor several pony lengths away, and didn't get up.

"One down," Frosty snickered, his horn already alight as he took aim. "One to go!"

With no time to use a more calculated strategy, the remaining mare desperately hurled a hoofful of lightning spells in Frosty's direction, but he deflected them effortlessly with a quick counterspell before retaliating with another icy blast. His opponent was prepared enough to at least leap out of the way, but catching sight of Seeker's horn lit as she prepared to intercept her, she faltered. Seeing Frosty rearing up to blast her once again, and with her own partner decidedly out cold, she gave a little shriek and did the only thing a cornered pony could do: cast a desperate spell at the scoreboard, signaling a forfeit.

"Wow!" the announcer cried as the sound of the crowd swelled. "In just a matter of moments, team five has pulled off a devastating one-sided win and fought their way into the second round! Better luck next year, team two."

As the tournament medic hurried out onto the field to assist the thoroughly defeated mares, Frosty turned to Seeker with a smug grin.

"And that is how you win a duel," he bragged, poking her on the snout as he trotted past. "No convoluted strategy necessary when you're this far above the competition."

Seeker glared. "When we face a tougher opponent, you'll wish we had something other than brute force," she snapped back. "I can only do so much when I have to improvise. I only got to cast one spell!"

"One more than you needed to," Frosty snarked. "You're welcome, by the way."

Clenching her teeth, Seeker stomped after her haughty teammate to make way for the next set of competitors.

For the next two hours, Seeker sulked as she watched the other seven first-round matches, nearly all of which were much more interesting than the one she'd been a part of. Tango and Scorch's duel, to be fair, played out fairly similarly to her own first bout; Scorch, naturally, had ignored Tango Trot and immediately started blasting fire every which way, and though their opponents seemed better at countering it than the pair of mares that had faced down Frosty's ice spells, their luck ran out as soon as Tango unleashed a high level illusion, which left both opponent ponies so disoriented that they were practically sitting ducks for the incoming flame spells.

By mid afternoon, sixteen teams of duelists had been reduced to the remaining eight that would be moving on to the second round.

"Fillies and Gentlecolts!" the announcer bellowed. "I know it's been a morning packed with action and excitement, but don't forget, we're only half done! We'll be taking a one-hour intermission while our remaining teams have a rest and some well-deserved lunch, and then round two will begin! The unicorns that remain are clearly not newbies on the battlefield, so it's a safe assumption that the duels still to come are going to have you on the edge of your seats!"

The door at one end of the arena opened, letting in a ray of sunlight, and the remaining duelists began to make their way outside. Squinting as she stepped into the sunlight, Seeker watched Frosty immediately gallop over to Scorch, without so much as a glance back at her. Sighing, the mare trudged to the nearest street vendor for lunch. With a woefully overpriced hayburger and a heap of fried carrot sticks in tow, she made a beeline for the picnic table where Tango had seated himself.

"This is not what I signed up for," she growled, placing down her tray with more force than necessary.

"Ah, I take it Frosty's ideas for doubles duels are about as carefully thought-out as his brother's?" Tango asked.

"A parasprite could come up with a better strategy," Seeker groused. "But I don't need to tell you that. You saw our first duel."

"To be fair..." Tango replied, after a moment of thoughtful chewing, "...it was a decisive victory."

"That's only going to last until we get paired with a team that knows what they're doing," Seeker countered. "Think about it; right now, I'd assume every single pony left in the competition besides Scorch, Frosty, and the two of us are talking shop with their impromptu partners over lunch. Nopony was really given much time to strategize for the first round, having just been introduced to the pony they'd be fighting with, but it's gonna be a whole different story when round two begins. Against a coordinated team, Scorch and Frosty are gonna be dead weight, and I don't know about you, but I don't think I can handle two collaborating duelists by myself."

"I'm not sure we have any other option," Tango said, shaking his head defeatedly. "It's quickly become clear that Scorch won't listen to reason. I tried my best to build some rapport, but he was having none of it, and given their similar personalities, I imagine your partner is much the same."

"He literally doesn't care that I'm there!" Seeker snapped, pounding the table hard enough to send several carrot sticks tumbling to the ground. "He's gonna fight exactly the way he wants to, regardless of what move I make. If our moves aren't complimentary, we're up the creek."

"Then perhaps all we can do is attempt to strategize on our own," Tango suggested. "If we get a sense of our respective partner's moves, perhaps we can choose a complimentary spell to create a combination that's at least somewhat effective."

"What, let Frosty lead the way, while I just provide support?" Seeker asked, sticking out her tongue. "All that's gonna do is make his head even bigger, you know. Not to mention, your spell arsenal is a lot more impressive than mine. Maybe you and Scorch have a chance, considering how well you think on your hooves, but me and Frosty? We're screwed."

"Don't give yourself so little credit, Seeker," Tango chuckled. "It's true, this situation very much may be hopeless, but both of us are very accomplished fighters. If nothing else, let's take this opportunity to give it our best shot... even if we are both bound to some incorrigible partners."

Seeker placed her chin on the table and moped. "I guess," she relented, levitating a notepad from her bags. "Hope you don't mind, but this is gonna be a pretty antisocial lunch break. I've got a lot of last-minute brainstorming to do."

Tango nodded silently, and returned to his food while his friend began to scribble anything and everything that crossed her mind onto the paper in front of her, hoping something, anything, might be clever enough to carry her to the next round.

"Team five, it's your turn!" the loudspeakers blared. "Please step onto the battlefield for round two!"

"That's us," Frosty grunted, barely glancing at Seeker as he stood. "Just stay out of the way. Maybe toss up a shield or something if you're feeling ambitious. This'll be over in a minute or two."

Seeker said nothing, mulling her hasty plans over in her head once more as she followed her partner out onto the battlefield. Across from them, two stallions stood at the ready. The first was a broadly-built, sky blue unicorn, while his partner was a smaller and thinner orange stallion who nevertheless looked more than ready to tussle. Neither of them were as physically imposing as Frosty, but that meant nothing. Magical aptitude had nothing to do with size; even the scrawniest unicorn could turn out to be a fierce battlemage.

The two stallions whispered something to one another as Seeker and Frosty took their positions. From his platform high above, the announcer held the microphone to his lips.

"Three... two... one... duel!"

As Seeker expected, Frosty instantly cast exactly the same ice wave he'd used to lead off the previous duel. And just as predictably, the stallions on the other side of the field had paid attention to the previous duel, and the orange unicorn deflected the icy blast with ease, sending it hurtling to an unused corner of the arena and freezing the floor there.

"Not very creative, are you?" he asked mockingly. "Seems like chilling out the competition is your favorite move, so I'll just turn up the heat!"

Their foe produced a number of tiny fire spells, that he was able to launch at great speed due to their size. Frosty, quick on his hooves despite his bulk, easily sidestepped the first of them... until it burst with a sound like a firecracker right beside him, singeing his fur and causing him to stagger.

Seeker moved to produce a defensive counter, but out of the corner of her eye, she caught the sky blue stallion, who had stayed a few paces away from the center of the action, quietly melt into the background, disappearing entirely.

"Ah, an illusionist, huh?" she mumbled. "They're trying to distract us with literal fireworks while he moves in for the real damage. Let's stop that plan in its tracks."

Hazel magic flared around Seeker's horn as she summoned her signature spell. Half a dozen orbs of light burst from the tip, and immediately banked hard in midair, rocketing toward a seemingly empty part of the battlefield. She followed up with another wave as the first one connected with their invisible target, and then another round after that. Within seconds, the hidden stallion had no choice but to drop his invisibility spell to shield himself.

"Don't waste your time hiding," Seeker called playfully. "Doesn't matter if I can see you; my Seeker Missiles never miss!"

Her taunting, unfortunately, was short lived. She only noticed the fireball the other stallion had thrown at her when there was no time left to properly defend herself. She attempted to cast a shield, but with so little time, wasn't able to block the brunt of the damage. She gasped as she was thrown backwards by the force of the impact, tumbling across the digital floor and only managing to evade the follow-up strike by means of a teleport. She reappeared a moment later, the side of her body stinging from the burn and a patch of her coat charred.

Annoyed, Seeker glanced at Frosty, who had spent the moment of the attack trying to regain his own stance, rather than make any attempt to defend, or even warn, her. He glared back at her, as if it was her fault.

"Just defend, damn it! I got this!" he insisted.

With increasing fury, the stubborn stallion hurled blast after blast of ice at his opponents, but both, it seemed, were skilled in deflecting elemental spells. The supercooled spells continued to be flung to the back of the field, quickly coating numerous parts of the far wall and floor with irregular patches of shining ice.

They were making no headway, and Seeker knew it. She used her own shields and counterspells as best as she could while Frosty continued his ineffective assault, but she just wasn't skilled enough to defend against two sets of incoming spells indefinitely. Both she and Frosty took more than a few hits from the orange unicorn's firecracker spells and his partner's lightning-fast waves of energy.

Think, Seeker! she thought desperately. They're able to deflect all our frontal attacks, so I've got to catch them by surprise...

Another of Frosty's icy blasts blew by her and struck the back wall of the arena, glittering as it created another veneer of ice. The frozen patch was so smooth and thick, she could see her reflection in it from all the way on the other side of the arena.

...Reflection?

A memory of her duel against Tango in the battle magic tournament at the academy flashed into her mind. Ever the showpony, Tango had used her own ice walls against her in a move that was nothing short of a geometric miracle, reflecting a ball of energy off at least half a dozen of the frozen obstructions in a row so that it was perfectly aimed to ultimately bounce directly into her.

But in this case, there was no need for half a dozen reflections. Just one would be plenty.

Seeker evaded the next incoming attack and immediately charged up a laser in her horn. She poured plenty of power into it, which took several seconds, giving her opponents more than enough time to see it coming. She took a few steps, lining herself up as best she could, before launching it at the blue stallion.

He sidestepped with ease, of course, and neither he nor his partner glanced backward as the spell blazed past them. So neither had any inkling that something was amiss when it bounced perfectly off the ice-coated far wall. The unsuspecting orange pony certainly noticed when the rebounding spell struck him in the hindquarters with such force that he was flung, spiraling, through the air, and crashed down on his back on the battlefield.

Frosty instantly unleashed another ice spell that would likely have finished off his stunned opponent, but his partner was quick enough to manage to mostly deflect it before it could strike its momentarily defenseless target.

"We gotta focus," the pale blue unicorn urged as his partner struggled to his hooves. "They're not much for teamwork, but it seems like they're both threats on their own."

True, unfortunately, Seeker thought.

"Alright, time for that technique we discussed at lunch," the orange pony replied. "You know the one. Let's do it!"

Continuing to evade Frosty's increasingly frustrated icy assault, he cast a conjuring spell. It was far from the most impressive as far as detail; rather than specific objects, he simply conjured spheres of what appeared to me a smooth, solid material. The part that concerned Seeker was that he conjured a lot of them.

"Open fire!" he called to his companion.

The blue unicorn whipped up a wind spell that swept across the whole battlefield, picking up the conjured orbs and slinging them on the wind toward their opponents. Seeker erected a shield, but jumped back in surprise as the very first impact almost completely shattered it. If a couple of these blows landed, she realized, it'd be a knockout for sure.

"Oof!"

She turned just in time to witness a well-aimed shot ricochet off Frosty's side. A smaller pony would've been knocked off their hooves, but he managed to stay standing. It staggered him though, leaving him wide open for the next strike.

Crash!

Seeker just barely tossed up a shield in front of her partner in time. The projectile managed to punch through it, but it slowed it enough that it bounced harmlessly off Frosty's shoulder, instead of knocking him out. Having recovered from the initial blow, he quickly cast a great, curved wall of ice to try to block the remaining projectiles, clenching his teeth angrily as the incoming strikes fractured the icy barrier as fast as he could replenish it.

"It's not strong enough!" he growled. "Any second, they're gonna—"

Seeker stepped up next to the struggling unicorn and added her own ice spell to the barrier. Frosty glanced at her, surprised, as their combined strength made their frozen shield hardy enough to endure the assault, at least for a few moments.

"They're pretty relentless," he muttered, once he was able to take a second to breathe. "What in Tartarus are we supposed to do now if it takes both of us to even hold them off?"

"Oh, it takes both of us now?" Seeker asked smugly as she continued pouring ice into their barricade. "Funny, I thought you said all I had to do was stand back while you won the duel."

Frosty fumed. "Not exactly the time to be a smartass, is it?"

"Eh, good point. First sensible thing you've said all day actually," Seeker replied. "Anyway, get ready to jump out and blast 'em."

"How am I supposed to do that when they're still flinging all those—"

Seeker ceased her ice spell and tilted her head back, trying to aim as carefully as possible; after all, she likely only had time for one shot before Frosty's ice wall began to fail and she lost cover. She closed one eye, took aim, and fired a small lightning spell toward the ceiling of the arena. It struck the spotlight overhead, causing a loud, electrical crackle as it briefly shorted out and removed most visibility, save for the gentle glow of the digital arena floor beneath her hooves.

Sprinting out from behind the wall, she fired off another round of target-seeking magic. The Seeker Missiles jetted off into the darkness, and she heard two sets of voices cry out as they were pelted with the persistent spells, followed by the sound of all the remaining projectile spheres hitting the floor, indicating the wind spell had been interrupted.

The overhead light flickered back on a second later, revealing the two opponents again. While both were still standing, their coordinated attack had fallen apart completely, and both were still occupied countering the last of the Seeker Missiles. Neither of them even had a chance to look in Frosty's direction before a blast of frigid, all-encompassing ice engulfed them. Even from a distance, Seeker raised a hoof to shield her face from the extreme cold. When she lowered it again, both her opponents were half buried in a snowdrift, their coats covered in icicles. It wasn't clear from her angle if they were unconscious or just fully immobilized, but either way, neither of them would be fighting back anymore.

"Are you seeing this, fillies and gentlecolts!?" the announcer cried as excited applause rose from the stands. "In a come-from-behind victory, team five has managed to take the win and advance to the semifinal!"

Frosty grinned and waved to the crowd before hobbling over to the medical station to have his minor injuries treated. Seeker checked herself over, and once she was satisfied that no attacks had connected with her cleanly enough to cause any meaningful damage, she returned to her team's dressing room backstage. Two minutes later, Frosty wandered in, his bruises gone with the help of a little medical magic. He kicked the door shut with a hind hoof and glared at Seeker.

"We almost lost that one," he grumbled. "I knew it was useless once I got paired with you instead of Scorch. We don't stand a chance of winning this whole thing if that's the best you can do."

"Excuse me?" Seeker shot back. "Ten minutes ago you didn't even want my help, and now it's my fault that we barely moved on to the semifinal?"

"It's your fault that you're not a world-class heavy hitter like me and Scorch," Frosty sneered. "We got lucky this time, but we're not gonna win it all with this level of firepower."

"For Celestia's sake, there's more to dueling than firepower!" Seeker cried, stamping a forehoof. "We're not struggling because of firepower, we're struggling because only one of us is putting any thought into how we fight, and how we respond to our opponents. And clearly that's not gonna change!"

"Don't lecture me, you stuck-up brat!"

"Ignore me then, you conceited moron!"

"Maybe I will!" the stallion declared turning around and sitting forcefully down as he stared at the wall. "We'll just sit here until it's time for us to go out there and lose!"

"Fine by me!"

"Perfect!"

"Sounds great!"

The two ponies sat in opposite corners of their team room, stewing in silence. Seeker tossed her ponytail in agitation, fixing her gaze on the blank wall, determined not to look at the insufferable pony that fate had forced her to fight beside.

What a joke, she thought bitterly. I could be mowing down the competition alongside Tango Trot, but instead, I'm stuck with a pony who won't listen to an ounce of reason.

She flicked her tail, frowning. Why do ponies like Scorch and Frosty even like doubles dueling tournaments, anyway? she wondered. Regardless of if you're dueling with your intended partner or a new one, doubles dueling is supposed to be about teamwork and cooperation, not just smarts and skill. As soon as we encounter a team that has mastered playing off each other's strengths, we're gonna get slaughtered, because neither of us has made any attempt to cooperate!

She paused, mulling that over.

Because neither of us are willing to cooperate...

Seeker slumped her shoulders and flattened her ears, feeling suddenly guilty. Sure, Frosty's been his usual blowhard self since the moment I first encountered him... but I've basically been as his throat the entire time too, she realized, pursing her lips as she gazed at the blank wall. Tango told me yesterday not to stoop to the twins level... and I didn't do a very good job of that, did I?

She sighed softly. If Frosty wants to be a barbarian, that's his business, but I don't have to be one too. I know I need to be assertive to get him to take me seriously, but that's no excuse to be outright nasty. I'm a better pony than that...

Suddenly more upset with herself than her abrasive partner, Seeker chanced a glance over her shoulder. Frosty continued to stare at the far wall, unmoving.

The announcer's voice suddenly blared over the speakers, making her jump.

"We have a winner, folks! Looks like team eleven has managed to eke out a victory! Tango Trot and Scorch will advance to the semifinals!"

Frosty's shoulders tensed up as Scorch's name was called, but he otherwise remained still as silence returned to the room.

"...Hey, Frosty?"

Nothing. Seeker paused, unsure how else to reopen conversation.

"...What?" the stallion finally grumbled.

"...You want to win this tournament, don't you?" Seeker asked, slowly standing up.

"Thought we determined that's not gonna happen," Frosty replied, not looking at her.

"That's not what I asked."

More silence. "Obviously I wanna win," Frosty replied after a time. "But I'm pretty sure we figured out a minute ago that you're a brat and I'm a moron. Doesn't sound like a winning team."

"...True," Seeker admitted. "So tell me then. What do you need to make a winning team?"

"Scorch," Frosty said flatly.

"Why?"

The question, or maybe the genuinely curious way she asked it, got Frosty to partially turn around. He glanced at her uncertainly.

"I've got powerful battle magic," he pointed out. "Scorch has got powerful battle magic. Together, we can blow away just about anypony. We're both way stronger than you."

"Yeah. You are."

"...What?"

"You're right, on that specific aspect," Seeker confirmed. "I can't generate the sheer power that your spells have. In pure, unrefined strength, you've got stronger magic."

Frosty looked seriously confused now. "Glad you finally... figured it out?" he said, the jab coming out more like a question as he finally turned to face her.

"But here's the thing," Seeker continued, unfazed. "In this tournament, you don't have Scorch. You have me. And I get that that's not ideal; believe me, if I could duel alongside Tango Trot instead of you, I'd make that trade in a heartbeat, even if you are technically the 'stronger' pony."

"Seems pretty stupid."

Seeker ignored the quip, rather than starting another volley of insults. "It's irrelevant anyway," she pointed out sternly. "Until this tournament's over, you're partnered with me, and Scorch is partnered with Tango Trot. Now, on one hoof, that means you don't have Scorch's firepower backing you up. But on the other hoof, that means Scorch doesn't have your abilities backing him up."

"Ok, so?"

"So that means your huge magical strength is on one team, and his is on the other," Seeker explained. "Both you and Scorch are paired with ponies who tend to duel with more careful strategy and less with brute force."

"So... we're evenly matched?" Frosty asked.

"No, and that's the problem," Seeker pointed out. "You and Scorch are roughly equal in your abilities. But Tango Trot is... well, let's be honest. He's a stronger spellcaster and a smarter tactician than we are. He's incredibly skilled."

Frosty scowled. "So we're gonna lose cause you suck," he determined. "Cool. Thanks for the pep talk."

"If we treat this like a math problem, it doesn't work out in our favor," Seeker admitted, determined to continue to ignore the derogatory comments. "Scorch plus Tango is greater than Seeker plus Frosty. So if we want to deal with that, we need to add something else to the equation."

Frosty raised an eyebrow. "All the strategy stuff again, I bet."

"I don't expect you to just blindly listen to all the stuff I wanna do," Seeker insisted. "But doubles dueling is about teams of ponies battling each other. Scorch and Tango are doing the same thing we've been doing; sticking to their own methods, refusing to cooperate. If we fight as a team, with attacks that work together and play off one another's strengths and abilities, maybe it'll be enough to overcome Scorch and Tango's individual strength."

"That's a pretty big 'maybe'," Frosty commented.

"The alternative is a guaranteed loss. Tango Trot is more than a match for either of us, even excluding the fact that he's on a team with a pony just as strong as you," Seeker reminded him. "Now, if you wanna just call this whole thing a wash and go out there and lose, that's fine. But if you wanna make an attempt to win, we need to stop going for each other's throats and form at least a temporary alliance."

"Pfft. With you? Forget it," Frosty snarled, curling up his lip in disgust.

"So you wanna lose then," Seeker said flatly, giving him an unamused stare. "Tell me, have you and Scorch ever actually won one of these things?"

The question made Frosty flinch. "We've... gotten close," he muttered, clenching his jaw as he looked away.

"How about the battle magic tournament when you guys were still at the Academy?" Seeker pressed. "Who won that in your year?"

Frosty tensed even harder. "...Sparkler."

"So surely the thought has crossed your mind that you should try switching something up one of these days to see if you get a better result."

"You really think the two of us can form an alliance!?" Frosty yelled, snorting angrily as he wheeled around and got right up in her face. "Pretty sure we got some mutual hatred going on."

"I didn't say I was gonna be your best friend," Seeker retorted, not backing down an inch. "I get it, things between the two of us are so cold they're practically frozen... but an icy alliance is still an alliance. Now are you gonna put up with it to try to win this with me, or not?"

Frosty paused. With a low growl, he backed off. "Fine. An alliance," he grumbled, throwing his forehooves in the air in frustration. "We'll give it a shot in the third round and see if it goes any better than the last one. Happy?"

"Better than nothing," Seeker said. "Now, we just need to discuss what spells we both excel at, and see if we can find a way to put them together."

As she had on the train the day before, she cast a small rectangle of light to use as a diorama of the battlefield. Frosty groaned in protest but nonetheless slumped down across from her. The two ponies got to work, one more begrudgingly than the other, planning their next duel.

"And... duel!"

To Frosty's credit, he didn't immediately shoot off a volley of full-power ice spells indiscriminately. So that was already an improvement.

Across from Seeker, a mare and a stallion stood, sizing up their competition with an air of calm and focus. Next to her, Frosty slowly widened his stance, looking antsy as he glanced repeatedly in her direction. Even so, their hesitation did what Seeker expected; the other pair of ponies looked surprised that Frosty hadn't immediately attacked as he had in earlier rounds.

"I guess we'll make the first move," the mare on the opposing team declared, sounding as sure-of-herself as possible to save face. "This should be over quickly."

Pale purple light sprung up around her horn, and a huge ring of her magic quickly encircled the outer edges of the entire arena. Seeker, who had been paying attention to the spells used in earlier rounds, recognized it immediately.

The opposing mare leapt into the circular zone the mare's magic had highlighted. It was a unique spell, Seeker had to admit: a wide area enchantment of a portion of the battlefield that allowed ponies standing within it to move at what seemed to be nearly ten times their normal speed. Once inside, the mare jetted around the perimeter of the huge arena in just a matter of seconds. Her partner, who had shield spell talents to rival those of Scuffle, quickly placed a ring of magical walls that prevented Seeker and Frosty from reaching the speed ring themselves. Cleverer still, the shields were permeable to other spells in just one direction, allowing the mare moving at speed to attack right through them, while shielding her from any attempts to return fire.

"Alright, this is that speed differential loop we saw this team use in round one," she mumbled to Frosty, not taking her eyes off her opponents. "We had a plan ready for this one, remember?"

"Yeah, yeah, I got it..." Frosty grumbled.

With a zing, their opponent was off, almost too quick to follow as she hurtled around behind Seeker and Frosty and cast a number of powerful lightning bolts. She clearly expected both ponies to turn to her in order to defend themselves from the assault, but only Seeker actually did so. Lightning spells usually traded power for speed, so she was able to reflect them from hitting not just her, but Frosty as well. In the meantime, Frosty charged up an icy blast, letting Seeker handle the high speed assault while he prepared to strike the stallion that was entirely occupied with maintaining the shields.

"Oh no you don't!" cried the mare on the edge of the arena, shooting from point to point to try to get an angle where she could strike Frosty without Seeker's interference. Despite her speed, Seeker was able to reflect nearly every spell, and the one or two that did make it through didn't do enough damage to Frosty to break his concentration.

With a bellowing cry, Frosty launched a massive blizzard of a spell at the shield-maintaining pony. With no other choice, he redirected his efforts into creating a high temperature dome around himself to endure the blast of frigid wind and snow. In the process, the circular shield protecting the mare inside the speed ring blinked out, and Seeker, who had been planning on exactly that circumstance, launched as many Seeker missiles as she could in the short window of time she had. By the time the other stallion was able to deflect the brunt of Frosty's attack and re-create the ring-shaped shield defending his partner, dozens of Seeker's projectiles had already slipped into the speed differentiation ring.

Affected by its magic just as much as the mare casting it was, Seeker's attacks gained momentum, ultimately catching their target no matter how fast she ran, and doing more damage than normal because of their high velocity. Pelted with pony-seeking missiles, the mare deactivated her speed enchantment to try to defend herself with shields of her own, but not before being seriously battered from every direction.

"Plan B! Plan B!" she screamed to the other stallion.

Both ponies teleported, and ended up standing side-by-side at the far end of the arena, with the defensive expert stallion easily blocking the hoofful of Seeker's remaining attacks that hadn't already bludgeoned his partner.

"Well, aren't you two lucky," the mare said acidly, stretching her aching limbs as she tried to shake off the damage she'd taken. "You're about to see some of the strongest magic of the whole tournament. Hope you're ready."

Her partner looked at her knowingly. "Operation fish in a barrel?" he asked.

She grinned. "You got it."

"What're they about to throw at us here?" Frosty whispered, his horn already aglow in case he needed to defend at a moment's notice.

"I'm not sure," Seeker admitted. "But we've got so many counters ready, I'm sure one of them will— whoa!"

Out of nowhere, the sound of the audience was drowned out by the woosh of raging, hurricane-force winds, as nothing short of the most powerful air spell Seeker had ever encountered swept through the arena. She was barely able to remain on the ground for a second or two before the winds almost effortlessly carried both her and Frosty high into the air.

"Wh-what in Tartarus!?" Frosty shouted.

Tumbling head over hooves, Seeker could just barely make out the delighted, and slightly sadistic, laughter of the mare casting the spell down below. It briefly occurred to her that the pony's cutie mark had been a wind sock, but she'd chalked it up to a weather forecasting talent when she'd first seen it, not a master-level command of air spells.

A small fireball cut through the tornado and made contact, causing Seeker to wince as it burned her. She supposed the other stallion had begun pelting them with fire spells while his partner held them both, disoriented and nearly defenseless, in her wild storm. Being jerked and tumbled every which way, she couldn't even see her opponents, much less try to fight back against the fire attacks. The 'shooting fish in a barrel' metaphor seemed quite apt all of a sudden.

"What do we— aagh!— what the heck do we do?" Frosty screamed as he too was blasted with a fireball from somewhere below. "None of your little tactics can do anything against this!"

"Nopony's gonna have a pre-made response ready for literally everything!" Seeker called back as the howling winds carried her in a loop-de-loop that made her stomach turn. "We need to work out a new counterstrategy!"

"Forget that!" Frosty snapped back, charging up his horn. "We're being juggled like it's a circus performance here. Nothing left to do but start blasting right back!"

"No, wait!"

Frosty unleased multiple blasts of ice, but the storm kept them from getting anywhere near the ponies standing below. Swept up on the circling gale, they looped back around toward their caster. Several whizzed harmlessly by, but Seeker was powerless to dodge as one of Frosty's attacks struck her squarely in the barrel, sending her tumbling even faster and crashing into her partner in midair.

Groaning in pain, Seeker did her best to untangle herself from Frosty as the two of them were carried in another revolution through the air. "Look, I know we didn't have a plan for this, but if we don't cooperate, we're just gonna lose even faster!" she stressed, twisting her body in midair to narrowly dodge another fireball from below. "In conditions like this, we need to be on the same page or we're gonna take each other out!"

"What can we possibly do besides just shoot back at 'em?" Frosty argued. "A standard shield spell could protect us, but it would be stationary in space, so we'd just loop around and smack into it like flies on the front window of the Canterlot express! And a full shield dome would move with us, but we can't do much to retaliate from inside it. They'd just chuck us against a wall or shake it up with us inside. I don't know what kind of defense we can mount from up here without shields that somehow move with the wind!"

Move... with the wind?

"Ice spells!" Seeker realized. "Don't use them to attack! Use them to defend! We can use it as footing, to kinda surf on the air instead of just getting flung around."

"Ice shields are a thing, but they're throwing fireballs at us," Frosty pointed out, as he carefully created a flat disc of ice and angled it so he and Seeker could just barely stand on it if they leaned their bodies correctly. "It's not gonna hold up against fire attacks for long."

As if to demonstrate, another fireball whizzed through the hurricane, striking the ice platform and sending enormous cracks through it. Frosty flinched, as his ongoing ice spell clearly wouldn't repair all the damage quick enough.

At least, not until a second stream of ice magic joined his own.

Just as she had in the last duel, Seeker unleashed her own ice spell, working together with Frosty to create a layer of ice thick enough to endure each new fireball. The stallion appeared visibly surprised that the two of them were managing to build up the icy disc faster than the fire from below could melt it away.

"Good, we're out of danger for the moment," Seeker called over the screaming wind.

"Sure, but now what?" Frosty grunted as he continued pouring ice into the surface below his hooves. "If either of us let's up, this thing will melt. How do we fight back if our horns are occupied?"

Seeker carefully watched the rotation of the huge column of wind for several seconds. An idea began to form.

"I think I know!" she gasped. "Frosty, listen, I know you don't like to take orders, but we can end this right now if you just trust me for a second!"

Frosty looked skeptical. "I'm supposed to believe we've got a duel-winning move from this position?" he asked, groaning as he leaned hard to try to stay on the platform as it shot through the air.

"There's no time to explain!" Seeker urged, panting as her horn began to flicker. "I can't keep up an ice spell of this strength forever! Are you in or not?"

Frosty glowered, but he nodded. "Fine. What're we doing?"

"Freeze our hooves to the platform. We're gonna need stability for this."

The stallion raised an eyebrow. "That's gonna be really uncomfortable, just so you know."

"Do it!"

As quickly as he could, Frosty ceased maintaining the platform and quickly redirected his magic at both ponies' hooves. Seeker winced as frigid ice clenched around her fetlocks.

"Now what?"

"Just brace yourself."

"...For?"

Seeker watched the swirling of the wind as their platform made one or two more revolutions, making sure to get her timing just right.

And... now!

At what was her best approximation of the right moment, she cast as wide of a magic-disrupting wave as she could. The shockwave expanded across the arena, momentarily disrupting the spells of everypony else present, including the mare that was maintaining the wild windstorm. With the gusts keeping it aloft suddenly and completely gone, the disc of ice, with its passengers only able to hold on because of their frozen hooves, hurtled downward.

Fortunately, Seeker's estimation of her momentum had been spot on. The pair of combatants below had only a second to realize what was happening before the icy disc, plus two full grown ponies, landed right on top of them.

Most of the disc broke apart from the impact. Staggering with ice-covered hooves, Seeker barely maintained her balance as she wheeled around, her horn lit and held point blank right in front of one of her stunned opponents' noses. Frosty did the same, cornering the other dazed pony.

"Forfeit," Seeker commanded.

The other two ponies, gasping after having the wind knocked out of them by the impact, immediately realized they had no options. With no advantage of distance, any attempt to cast a spell, including a teleport, would simply allow Seeker and Frosty to deal knockout blows. Grumbling something about dumb luck, one of the pair begrudgingly sent a sparkling beam of energy at the scoreboard, signaling a forfeit.

"I can't believe what I'm seeing here folks!" the announcer cried as the roar of the crowd grew once again. "Not ten seconds ago, it seemed like team five was out of options, and now they're moving on to the grand finale!"

The din of the crowd made Seeker flatten her ears as she limped over to the medical team to receive her healing spells and have her frostbitten hooves restored to normal. Even so, she couldn't help but smile as the scoreboard showed her team move into the finals.

"Fillies and Gentlecolts, there's only one match left in this year's tournament, and it's certain to be the most spectacular one of all!" continued the announcer. "The countless ponies that arrived here have been reduced to just two pairs, and in just a short time, those teams will face off to determine this year's champions! So give it up for team five, Seeker and Frosty!"

Frosty grinned and waved at the audience as their applause grew. Seeker tried to look confident too, but she knew exactly what the announcer would say next.

"And of course, another round of applause for the other remaining team. You know it folks, it's team eleven, Tango Trot and Scorch!"

If anything, the cheers grew louder as Tango and Scorch stepped out from backstage. Tango's displays of magical prowess, Seeker presumed, had been just as much of a crowd-pleaser as usual.

"Competitors, return to your rooms for your final strategic session," the announcer called. "In the last match, we hope you'll bring the complexity and pizazz of the final bout to new heights! Now, better get cracking! We'll see you back here shortly for the winner-take-all showdown!"

Seeker felt the last of her minor injuries fade away as the healing spell was completed. As she turned to go, she caught Tango's eye from the opposite end of the arena. The two ponies exchanged a single silent nod, before she followed Frosty one last time to their team's dressing room.

Click.

The door softly closed behind Seeker as she stepped into the room. Frosty flopped down in a chair and let out a breath.

"Gotta be honest, I didn't think we were actually gonna pull that one off," he admitted. "Me an' Scorch don't get this far too often. Guess we got lucky."

Seeker smirked. "Lucky, huh? That's all it was?"

The stallion leered at her. "Don't try to spin this like your plans saved the day," he berated. "All that strategizing you were pushing for only got us so far. Once they pulled that crazy air spell on us, we had to improvise, same as before."

Seeker shook her head. "I wouldn't call it the same as before at all, actually," she replied calmly.

"Why not?"

"A winning team needs a lot of different things," Seeker replied. "At first, all you wanted to do was overwhelm the opponent with raw power, and I was convinced that all we needed to do was outsmart them with a carefully planned strategy. We were both wrong."

"I still don't get what this has to do with comparing the last two matches," Frosty deadpanned.

"Well, in round two, you just did whatever you wanted, and so I had to just make the best moves I could to try to complement yours," Seeker pointed out. "In the semifinal though, even when we had to improvise, we worked together to create the attack combination that turned the tide."

"Dunno about that," Frosty countered. "You came up with that last move."

"But you had the abilities to make it work!" Seeker exclaimed. "All I did was cast a well-timed magic-cancelling wave. The rest was you."

Frosty scratched his head for a moment. "Well... yeah, fair. But even if we do win it all, it's not gonna feel like much of a win for me if I win by just taking orders from some random mare who thinks she knows better."

"I never said you had to do that," Seeker said.

"Then what are you saying?"

"I'm saying that power is important, and strategy is important too, but neither of them are going to get us to the winner's circle without teamwork," the mare explained as she trotted a bit closer to her partner. "Frosty, I'm not asking you to put me in charge of how we duel. I'm asking you to work with me. We don't have to be 'the strong pony' or 'the smart pony'. We just need to be two ponies dueling together."

"...Something that Tango and Scorch are probably not doing, huh?" Frosty asked.

"Right," Seeker confirmed. "Every round they've fought like we did at the beginning: separately. They're only winning 'cause Tango's enough of a genius to dismantle most teams by himself. And if we don't want to be next, we need to collaborate. Both during this planning phase, and when we're forced to improvise."

Frosty paused, pursing his lips, as he considered it. "Ice spells have always been my thing, but most ponies who focus on elemental assaults go for something simpler," he said finally. "But you've used them to back me up two rounds in a row now. I kinda shrugged it off the first time, but are you like... actually good with 'em?"

"As a matter of fact, Frosty, you're not the only pony in this room whose favorite elemental spells are ice," Seeker chuckled. "I just haven't been using them to attack during the tournament since you seemed to have that category covered."

"Get out, turns out we're both ice enthusiasts," he said, shaking his head. "If you're half decent at 'em, maybe we can actually make something work here."

Seeker rolled her eyes. "Only if we're actually going all-in on the cooperation," she reminded him. "Now are you in, or what?"

To her surprise, Frosty smirked. "Hey, you said it before," he snickered. "An icy alliance is still an alliance. Guess you can be my ally one more time if it means we've got a shot at coming out on top."

Seeker grinned. "That's what I like to hear," she replied. "Now let's not waste any time; we've got to discuss Tango and Scorch's moves and figure out what we can put together from our own arsenals to stop them."

"Gotcha," Frosty said. "And hey, I've got a couple ways we might be able to make use of two sources of ice spells that might help us get the jump on Scorch, at least."

Seeker conjured up her illusory arena diagram again. "I'm all ears."

The spotlight flicked on once again, highlighting the faintly glowing digital battle arena and causing a hush among the audience. Doors opened at opposite ends of the court, and four ponies stepped out onto the battlefield. Despite Scorch strutting onto the field and egging on the crowd, Seeker's attention was fixed instead on Tango, who kept switching between flashing gleaming grins at the crowd and unamused frowns at his overbearing partner.

"Tango's incredible in almost every field," Seeker whispered to Frosty. "He's going to catch us off guard with something. It's inevitable. Scorch is strong, but hopefully we can at least predict his moves?"

"I've been fighting alongside Scorch my whole life," Frosty muttered back. "I know every trick in his playbook. But he also knows every trick in mine."

"In yours," Seeker added, "but not in ours. The combinations we came up with backstage should be able to stop his attacks dead if everything you told me about him is true. But Tango... well, we're going to have to think on our hooves and rely on each other if we even want to land a hit."

"Yeah, yeah, you've said it a bunch of times," Frosty grumbled. "He's a pro. I got the message."

The four ponies reached the center of the huge arena, facing each other. Tango gave a sportsmanlike nod.

"Seeker, as always, I wish you the very best of luck," he said. "I had hoped to be in the finals alongside you, but facing you as an opponent is perhaps the best outcome for the circumstances we found ourselves in."

"What kinda lame trash talk is that?" Scorch questioned, lightly jabbing Tango with a foreleg. "It's the finals! Be intimidating!"

Without waiting for a reply, the red stallion turned to Frosty. "Sorry bro, but looks like you're going down today. I'm taking this win!"

"I'd like to see you try," Frosty snapped back, just as fiercely.

"Good luck to you too, Tango," Seeker piped up, ignoring the bickering twins.

"Fillies and gentlecolts," came the announcer's voice, heavy with tension and suspense. "It all comes down to this. Matched up with unexpected partners mere hours ago, these two teams have overcome the odds and won their way to the finals, even fighting alongside ponies they haven't before. And now it's time to see which team has mastered the art of dueling this way. Scorch and Tango Trot, are you ready?"

"Heck yeah!" Scorch bellowed at the announcer, as Tango just rolled his eyes.

"Seeker and Frosty, are you ready?"

Seeker exchanged a look with her ally. To his credit, Frosty had an excellent game face; although he had voiced his fair share of concerns about the duel behind the scenes, none of that uncertainty showed through in his expression. He nodded once.

Seeker turned back to the announcer on his platform high above. "Ready, sir."

"Then for the final time today, ponies, take your positions, and... duel!"

Tango turned slightly toward his partner. "Now Scorch, if yo—"

That was as much as he managed to say before Scorch charged forward, ignoring Tango entirely as a small maelstrom of fire flared to life around his horn. Jets of flame snaked through the air, following twisting, hard-to-follow patterns as they glided toward Seeker.

Exactly as expected, she thought smugly.

The opening of the duel immediately proved two things: first, that Scorch clearly had no intent of actually collaborating with Tango, and second, that he saw Seeker as the easier target. Both of which were circumstances she and Frosty had fully expected and planned for.

She could easily have countered the flame spells herself, but still backed off to let Frosty step in and take care of it. With impressive precision, her partner produced jets of ice that sniped each of the trails of flame out of the air, creating a loud hiss and a puff of steam each time the spells cancelled one another out.

Tango Trot, unamused, couldn't even get close to his opponents with the center of the field filled with colliding fire and ice spells. He fired off a few energy bolts with typical almost unbelievable accuracy, but they were fired from such a distance that Seeker had enough time to react and deflect them. This only carried on for a matter of moments though; as more and more streams of flame were cancelled out by blasts of ice, the volume of steam produced quickly became a thick haze that hindered vision. Soon, Seeker could barely see Tango and Scorch at all, except when the latter attacked due to the brightness of his flames.

"Alright, we can hardly see 'em," Frosty pointed out. "That's what you wanted, right?"

"Yep!" Seeker confirmed as she charged up her horn. "In a low-visibility setting, I have the advantage."

She produced the largest volley of seeker missile spells that she could, sending the swarm of target-tracking orbs off into the veil of steam toward both Scorch and Tango. Her signature spell needed no clear line of sight to reach its target, and even though she suspected Tango might predict and defend the assault, she felt certain at least Scorch would be hit.

But then a narrow column of icy blue light cut through the swirling mists. With a graceful, sweeping swing, it cleaved one of the missiles apart, and then the next only a second later. Tango, with his token magic rapier projecting from the end of his horn, leapt and dashed around his end of the battlefield. Seeker watched helplessly as he destroyed each and every one of her attacks, including those that had been bound for Scorch.

"Wha— How— What in Equestria?" Frosty sputtered when he realized their strategy had fallen flat. "But how did you... you can't just..."

"Ah yes, I have a fair bit of experience with the rather dexterous art of swordplay," Tango explained as the steam began to clear and revealed his usual award-winning smile. "Seeker banked on the decreased reaction time I'd have due to the low visibility being enough to let an attack or two slip by. An entirely reasonable, yet unfortunately false, assumption."

Before Frosty had any time to reflect on that, Tango lunged forward, sprinting across the battlefield with his light blade poised to attack. Looking stunned, Frosty was immediately forced on the defensive, too busy placing shields to keep Tango at bay to be able to respond with any attack of his own. But before Seeker could attempt to aid him, a huge fireball from Scorch was lobbed in the direction of the fighters, forcing not only Seeker and Frosty, but also Tango, to scatter.

"Damn! Missed!" the red stallion gruffed.

Tango rolled his eyes and reluctantly let the glowing rapier fade. "Fine, fine, we'll do it your way..." he grumbled.

Scorch changed tactics to launching spreading waves of flame along the floor of the arena. Seeker watched the oncoming attacks spread out, watching the flames grow weaker as they expanded to cover more area.

"These are less intense than before," she informed Frosty. "I'll handle countering this time. See if you can get a hit in!"

"Got it."

Seeker summoned all her strength into her horn and released several bursts of frigid air that quickly cut wide swaths in the wave of creeping flames. Frosty, for once, skipped the ice spells and swapped in simple lasers, aiming to trip his opponents up with speed. Tango deftly dodged the first two or three without any sort of magical aid, before catching the next one in a narrow but effective gravitational field and sling-shotting it back at Frosty at twice the speed. The stallion grunted in pain as his own attack struck home.

"How am I supposed to hit this guy!?" he blurted.

"We'll attack together when we have an opening," Seeker replied. "For now, focus on Scorch!"

As she said it, she blasted open a clear path through the flames with a jet of supercooled air, giving Frosty an unobstructed view. His next laser collided with Scorch before even Tango could do anything about it.

"Rrgh! Lucky shot!" he barked as his brother snickered at him.

"I can see we're going to need to make things less straightforward," Tango said calmly. "Seeker, Frosty, I do sincerely apologize, but I'm afraid you won't have the upper hoof for very long."

The crackle of electricity filled the air as blue lightning arced from Tango's horn. Seeker conjured a shield, expecting a blistering-fast lightning attack, but instead, Tango aimed directly downward, blasting the electrical energy into the floor at his hooves.

The digital diagram outlining the edges of the battlefield vanished as the entire screen that made up the arena's floor turned to whitish static for a few moments. The stallion adjusted the power of his spell slightly, and images returned to the floor, now displaying a pattern that very closely resembled flames.

Scorch laughed delightedly as he continued to send waves of fire across the arena. Now they blended in so well with the writhing images Tango had reprogrammed the screens to display that it was nearly impossible to tell what was actual flame and what was merely a moving picture.

"You have got to be kidding me," Frosty shouted. "This is the kind of totally unpredictable junk Sparkler used to pull when dueling!"

"Don't panic," Seeker warned, doing her best to pick out the real flames from the fakes and continuing to extinguish them. "It may not be cast with illusion magic, but it's a visual trick, so it's still more or less an illusion. We just need another way to— yowch!"

She yelped as a layer of flames that had blended well with the fake ones on the screens below licked at her hooves. Instinctively, she jumped back. Tango, who had been waiting for exactly that, sniped her with an energy bolt, blasting her out of the air and sending her sprawling. She got her bearings just in time to spot a followup attack, much stronger now that she was a stationary target to aim at, hurtling toward her. She flinched, preparing for a potential knockout blow.

Ping!

A blue-grey shield appeared in front of her at the last possible second, and the attack gave a high-pitched ring as it skipped harmlessly off. She glanced at Frosty, his horn still aglow.

"Wh-wha?" she stammered, surprised.

"Get up!" her partner yelled back as he turned away from her, letting the shield vanish and creating a swirling snowstorm to try to create a safe zone among the creeping flames, and enduring several hits in the process. "We're not gonna be in this for long if you're layin' around!"

Seeker scrambled to her hooves and bolted into the cover of Frosty's gale. She shivered in the tiny dome of wintry weather, but it was safer there than among the flames outside its borders.

"Thanks for the save," she said as she caught her breath.

"Not gonna make much of a difference if we don't do something fast," Frosty growled as he desperately deflected one of Tango's incoming attacks. "Got any bright ideas to do something about that visual trick with the floor? If we leave the dome, Scorch cooks us alive, but if we stay inside, we're sitting ducks for Tango!"

"It's technically an illusion, but it's being caused by the visuals on the screen instead of magic, so we can't just dispel it," Seeker pointed out, "and the arena floor's designed specifically not to break from even huge blows, since ponies are always dueling on it."

Despite the situation, Frosty snickered. "Pity you can't just conjure a remote control and shut it off," he said. "That'd be the easiest way."

Seeker blinked. Though Frosty's comment was a joke, it gave her an idea. Frantically, she looked around, and finally spotted a bundle of heavily insulated cables running up one wall of the stadium and disappearing into a horizontal shaft high above.

"Frosty! How good are you with levitation?"

Frosty scoffed. "How dumb do you think I am?" he groused. "I went to Celestia's school too, kid. I know how to levitate junk."

"Are you good at throwing and catching moving objects?" Seeker pressed.

"Of course. Flinging crap around is one of my specialties," Frosty said proudly.

"Good. I need you to hurl me at the roof."

"...What?" the stallion asked.

"No time to explain," Seeker hissed as she darted forward for a moment to redirect one of Tango's incoming spells, and then leapt back into the snowstorm before the fire outside it could reach her. "Chuck me as high as you can without, y'know, splatting me against the ceiling. And then be ready to catch me when I fall back down. Okay? You've got to get this right or I'm toast."

"I got it, I got it," Frosty dismissed, though his casual tone didn't inspire much confidence in Seeker. "Ready?"

"Do it!"

Seeker's stomach felt like it dropped down into her hooves as she was suddenly launched into the air with immense force. She heard the crowd gasp as she soared fifty pony-lengths straight up, but despite the terrifying circumstances, she quickly charged her horn with a powerful lightning spell.

I've only got one shot here...

As Seeker neared the ceiling, she finally got a peek into the shaft that the bundle of cables fed into. At the back of the small space, well out of reach of anypony below, was exactly what she'd hoped to see: a large breaker box. Closing one eye to try to aim while in motion, she fired a single electrical shot into the small shaft.

There was a bang and an enormous shower of sparks as Seeker plummeted back to the ground. She opened her mouth to cry out victoriously, but the moment she did, one of Tango's energy bolts sniped her out of the air, knocking the wind out of her. With her trajectory suddenly thrown totally off course, her body flipped head-over-hooves as she tumbled down far from her intended location. The arena floor rushed up at her, and she closed her eyes, letting out a frightened whimper.

"Gotcha!"

The impact never came. Seeker felt herself cradled by a robust aura and gently returned to her hooves. She opened her eyes just in time to see the swirling images of flames on the floor beneath her flicker out. With its power source overloaded, the digital arena floor was now nothing but a blank, black screen.

The second thing she noticed was that Frosty had leapt out of his protective snowstorm, and straight through a layer of flames that had charred his coat, to get in range to catch her. The very instant she was back on her hooves again and he was already turning back to face his opponents.

With something akin to a war cry, Frosty used one of the moves he and Seeker had discussed during the planning phase, and unleashed a huge rush of freezing wind. Scorch's inferno was swept to one side, creating a momentary wall of flame between him and Tango, and Seeker wasted no time bombarding the red stallion with a barrage of Seeker missiles while his partner was unable to reach him. Scorch did his best to defend himself, but the target-tracking spells simply weaved their way around his shields, striking him from all sides. By the time Tango extinguished the flames to cut the rest of the missiles apart with his light blade, Scorch had taken a very visible beating.

"I must admit, that was exceptionally well-executed," Tango complimented, as he tapped the now useless screen below with a hoof. "But no matter, we've got plenty of—"

"You guys think we're gonna let you get away with that!?" Scorch bellowed, once again cutting Tango off as he stepped in front of him. "I'm not getting beat by some kinda circus act!"

"Scorch—" Tango began.

"Shut up, kid! I'm giving them a piece of my mind."

Seeker couldn't help but chuckle at Scorch's complete disregard for the best duelist she knew. A moment later, Frosty leaned over and muttered to her.

"Listen... Scorch's personality is as fiery as his spells, but he's hurt," the stallion whispered. "I think I can make this a two-versus-one, but I need you to really rile him up for me."

"Me? You're the one who's usually the trash-talker," Seeker pointed out.

"Yeah, but Scorch and I are always throwing insults at each other," Frosty countered. "He doesn't take them seriously. But if you, a pony he sees as weak, taunts him, he'll be furious."

Seeker raised an eyebrow. "And that helps us how?"

"Hey, you said we gotta rely on each other to win this thing, yeah?" Frosty asked. "I've got a plan that's gonna take Scorch out of the equation. I trusted you on the last move, now are you gonna trust me?"

The corners of Seeker's mouth rose a bit as it became clear that Frosty was taking the alliance just as seriously as he was taking the duel. "I trust you," she affirmed. "Do what you gotta do."

She leapt out to the center of the battlefield. "What's wrong, Scorch? Already run out of tricks in your playbook?" she mocked. "I guess that's not hard when it's shorter than a foal's picture book."

"I see that mouth you had on the train yesterday is still running," Scorch snapped, quickly producing a wide crescent of light and sending it sailing towards her.

The attack was strong, but very basic in construction. Seeker avoided it with little effort. "Oh come on, you must have something more interesting to throw at me," she teased.

Gritting his teeth, Scorch pelted Seeker with lasers and fireballs, which she was mostly able to dodge or redirect. She did get a bit singed once or twice, but made sure not to react; the plan hinged on Scorch believing his assault was ineffective.

Tango leaned his head one way, then another, taking a few steps to the side, but Seeker simply moved the opposite way, keeping Scorch between herself and her more competent opponent. The fire-loving stallion's single-minded assault grew so fierce that there was no way for his partner to get a spell in edgewise.

"Hmmm," Seeker hummed as she avoided the next wave of increasingly desperate, inaccurate attacks. "I guess the rumors are wrong! I heard you're a master of fire, but looks like you're full of nothing but hot air!"

"You wanna see fire!?" Scorch shouted. "I'll show you fire!"

A churning sphere of heat and flame formed on Scorch's horn. Even from across the battlefield, Seeker had to shield herself from the heat with a foreleg.

"W... what is that?"

The mare had never seen a fire spell of this caliber. She couldn't even look directly at it; it was like looking into a miniature sun. For the very first time, Scorch's power seemed intimidating enough that she wondered if she was in over her head.

"Let's see if you're still mouthing off when you're roasted like Hearth's Warming dinner!" he laughed. "Condensed Inferno! Go!"

He flung the unbelievably violent spell in her direction. Seeker tried to counter, but it was like trying to stop a volcano. Her ice spells melted before they even left her horn.

"Condensed Blizzard!"

Before she could even turn around, Seeker felt a wave of cold rushing at her from behind that made the mountain peaks of the Crystal Empire feel positively balmy in comprison. She ducked as an ice spell every bit as ferocious as Scorch's fiery one sailed over her head and collided head on with its opposite. The two spells hung in space for a fraction of a second, crackling dangerously as they failed to destroy one another. Before Seeker could even think about what to do, Frosty leapt into step beside her and hid the unstable orb with a blast of wind, throwing it towards his opponents.

"Teleport! Now!"

He vanished in a blink. With no time to think, Seeker did the same, transporting herself to the opposite end of the arena, as far from the combination of spells as physically possible. She'd barely arrived at her new position when the spell hit the floor between Tango and Scorch, and immediately erupted into the largest, loudest explosion she'd ever witnessed. Even from clear aceoss the arena, she put up a shield spell to protect herself from the sheer force of the blast.

The audience was in an uproar as the smoke and mist slowly cleared around the point of impact. A large section of the arena floor, despite powerful damage-resisting enchantments, had still not stood up to the force of the blast, and nearly half the glossy floor of the battlefield was now marred with a web of cracks. Scorch lay many pony lengths away from where he'd been standing before the explosion obscured everything. His coat was toasted in many places, yet caked with patchy ice in others. Sprawled in an awkward position up against the far wall, there was no question he was out cold. As for Tango, Seeker looked left and right, but couldn't figure out where her friend had ended up.

"What the heck was that?" she asked, looking at Frosty incredulously.

"Blame Scuff for that one," Frosty snickered. "Condensed Inferno and Condensed Blizzard are scary enough on their own, but Scuff and his fillyfriend are the ones who showed us what happens when you force 'em together."

"Well... I guess you got them, at any rate," Seeker admitted, still a little shell-shocked. "What happened to Tango? Did the blast throw him clear out of the arena?"

"Good guess, my dear friend, but I'm afraid not!" came a voice from high above.

Seeker craned her neck. To her astonishment, Tango stood calmly on one of the beams holding the spotlights dozens of pony-lengths overhead, his hooves glimmering with self-enchantment magic. With a soft "hup", he hopped off the narrow construction and turned a graceful flip in midair before landing as lightly as if he'd simply stepped off his front stoop. The audience burst into deafening cheers as he greeted them with a casual wave and a pearly smile.

"Now, my friends, first of all I must congratulate you both on making our doubles match into a two versus one," he calmly continued, ignoring Seeker and Frosty's dumbfounded stares. "On one hoof, it may appear you two have quite a steep advantage now that our lovely companion Scorch is down for the count. But, if I may, I'd like to point out that both of you two have taken your fair share of hits in this bout, while I... oh and I do hate to brag... am thus far untouched. I'd say Scorch did his job quite well."

"And what makes you think you'll be able to handle us ganging up on you now that it's two-on-one?" Frosty demanded.

Tango shook his head, chuckling softly. "Our dear Scorch, I hate to admit, was never particularly concerned with doubles dueling being about... well, doubles," he admitted. "With him not blocking half the battlefield with his ill-thought-out attacks, I should be able to utilize a few of my more... let's say effective strategies."

"Oh, shut up," Frosty groaned, lighting his horn angrily.

Seeker quickly placed a hoof on his side. "Don't let him goad you," she hissed. "Its's literally the same thing we just did to Scorch. Slip up even a little and he'll punish you. Hard."

"He can't possibly take both of us by himself," Frosty argued.

"I suppose we shall see," Tango chuckled. "My next move is one Scorch, sadly, would not have been able to help me with. I was inspired by Seeker's truly masterful use of darkness or steam to obscure the battlefield today. Sadly for her, this time it won't help her at all."

Before anypony could move, Tango launched a lightning spell at the lights above, just as Seeker had done in an earlier round, causing the battlefield to fall into instant, total darkness.

"So what?" Frosty muttered. "He can't see in the dark any better than we can."

The words were barely out of his mouth when a light blue bolt of energy shot out of the darkness and collided with the surprised stallion so hard it knocked him off his hooves. Seeker instantly went on alert, turning slowly as she strained to see in the blackness.

"See, it occured to me darkness is actually an excellent condition for me to fight in," came Tango's voice from somewhere in the gloom. "As a true expert on sound magic, it only takes a simple echolocation spell for me to see the two of you clear as day. And I never would've thought of this delightfully straightforward strategy without Seeker's help!"

Frosty staggered to his hooves and managed to block the next bolt, barely. "C'mon, use your missiles!" he urged. "He's not the only one who can hit a target he can't see. You can do that too!"

"They aren't fast enough!" Seeker lamented. "He has enough time to see them coming and cut them apart with his light blade. And my faster spells don't home onto targets like that."

A bolt shot out of the darkness from a new angle, once again bound for Frosty. He didn't react fast enough, but Seeker did, tossing up a shield that defended her partner from another blow.

"Well, he's right about one thing," Frosty muttered. "We've both taken a beating already. So we better hurry up and hit his smug ass. Any bright ideas?"

"I think a 'bright' idea is just what we need," Seeker claimed, lighting her horn. "If the stadium lights are disabled, all we need's an illumination spell."

She poured power into her spell and her horn quickly flared with intense light. The smile dropped off her face immediately when her surroundings somehow remained pitch black.

"See, the average pony would, indeed, remedy darkness with light," echoed Tango's voice from somewhere out of sight. "Any unicorn with basic magical skills could do so. What's considerably harder to do— but not outside my range of ability, I'm afraid— is to cast an illusion that blocks light, preventing it from radiating more than mere inches from its source."

Another bolt of blue was on its way before Seeker could even process that development. She and Frosty leapt in opposite directions and it skipped off the floor where they had been standing a moment before. The impenetrable darkness closed over Seeker, and after evading a few more attacks, she couldn't even hazard a guess where her partner was anymore. She opened her mouth to call out to him, but another voice cried out first.

Her own voice, from the opposite direction.

"Frosty! Over here! We have to stay together!"

"Wait! Don't!" Seeker shouted back. "He's tricking you!"

"Huh?" Frosty called. "Wh... where are you? Sounds like you're in two places at once!"

"It's Tango!" called the impostor voice. "He can mimic voices with sound magic! He's trying to confuse you, so you'll attack me. Don't let him fool you!"

"No, the other voice is Tango!" Seeker insisted, desperately fumbling through the gloom. "If you fall for the imitation, he's just gonna use you to knock me out. You have to focus!"

"That's exactly what you have to do," Tango agreed in Seeker's voice. "Attack Tango before he attacks again!"

"Don't do it," Seeker warned, straining to see any sign of the other ponies in the darkness. "I'm the real one! Shoot your spell at him!"

"This isn't helping!" a very irate Frosty snapped. "You both sound absolutely identical! What in Tartarus am I supposed to do here?"

Seeker racked her brain. I've got to let Frosty know it's me, but how? Tango sounds exactly like me!

Her thoughts flashed back to her many conversations with Frosty throughout the last day. Among those memories, she found an idea.

Tango can mimic my voice, but that doesn't mean he knows what to say!

"Frosty!" she shouted again. "I'm the real Seeker, you moron! Now aim the spell the other way!"

There was a beat of silence. In the distance, she just barely heard the stallion chuckle under his breath.

"Don't tell me what to do, you little brat!" he laughed as he launched a powerful ice blast toward one of the voices.

There was a woosh, an "Oof!", and suddenly, Seeker's illumination spell was no longer restricted. She lit the battlefield to reveal Tango Trot picking himself off the floor and furiously shaking his body to dislodge all the icicles clinging to his fur. She galloped to Frosty's side, skidding into place beside her partner.

"Nice shot," she complimented.

Frosty smirked. "Thanks."

"Lucky guess," Tango huffed as he swept most of the remaining ice crystals from his coat. "But you're simply delaying the inevitable, my friends. Pardon my bluntness here, but the occasional fortunate hit just won't be enough. I'm sure it's as obvious to you as it is to me that I have both the speed and skill to confound Frosty, and the strength to overpower Seeker. Neither of you can outlast me."

Seeker grinned. "Yeah. We know. Neither of us can."

"Both of us though," Frosty added casually, "well, that might be a different story, bud."

Tango merely chuckled, shaking his head as he lit his horn once more. "We'll see," he responded cordially.

Seeker glanced at Frosty out of the corner of her eye as their opponent calmly trotted toward them. He glanced at her, giving a silent nod.

As soon as Tango took his next step, Seeker launched a small, sputtering fire spell that quickly billowed into a smokescreen as it hit the ground at the center of the arena. "Ok, go!" she instructed.

"You sure about this?" Frosty asked. "I know this is probably the best combo we came up with before the match, but it's pretty risky."

"It's two on one, and he's still recovering from your ice spell," Seeker pointed out. "It's now or never. Do it!"

She jumped a short distance into the air and felt herself get caught and supported by Frosty's aura. She cloaked herself in as strong of an insulating spell as she could muster as Frosty began to surround her with super-frigid air, slowly rotating her body with levitation to evenly surround her with ice. Within seconds, she found herself encased in a six-sided prism of ice with pointed ends at the front and back. The space was so tight she could barely move, and brutally cold despite her spell.

There was a dramatic rush of air as Tango blew away the smokescreen. "Haven't we established by now that spells that obscure the battlefield won't provide more than a few seconds' relief from my—"

He stopped dead as the ponies across from him came into view. For just a moment, he faltered, trying to understand what he was looking at.

"Now!" Seeker screamed.

Frosty gave a shout as he spun the ice prism with all the force he could muster, spinning Seeker's entire body like a drill. In less than a second, she lost all sense of direction, her guts flip-flopping as her body rotated at sickening speed. In this state, there'd be no way she could possibly aim a spell.

Fortunately, she didn't need to aim.

Closing her eyes to try to lessen the dizzying effects of her spinning, she fired as many target tracking spells as she could possibly produce into the space in front of her. As always, they attempted to rocket towards Tango, but trapped inside the ice with their caster, they immediately began to pull the ice prism— and Seeker— along with them. All at once, her frozen capsule was turned into a whirling, pony-sized ice missile that barreled toward the stunned pony across the arena.

She was now, quite literally, a Seeker missile.

Tango instantly cast a shield, and Seeker was battered against the inside of the ice as she collided with it, but the drill like motion tore through the solid sheet of magic, ripping the shield apart in just a few seconds. Desperately, the blade of light burst from Tango's horn, and not a moment too soon. He widened his stance as he met the oncoming projectile in midair. Sparks flew as the twirling capsule of ice continued to try to hit its target, grinding against the pillar of light as Tango put every ounce of his strength into holding it off. Long cracks appeared along the sides of the prism as his magic attempted to destroy it, but even so, he was sliding backwards, his strength waning.

Seeker clung to consciousness. Her body was quickly growing numb from cold, she was absolutely battered from bashing against the walls of her tight enclosure, and she struggled not to be sick as she whirled like a drill. The sound of splintering ice and Tango's strained cries filled her ears.

Crash!

The force between the spinning crystal and Tango's sword finally grew to be too much. The ice missile shattered at the very same moment that Tango's strength finally gave out, but Seeker's momentum continued to carry her forward. She crashed headlong into Tango and the two unicorns tumbled again and again and again, a pile of limbs and tails as they rolled a good ten pony lengths, nearly to the far wall of the arena.

Thump!

Tango landed flat on his back, and Seeker, tossed momentarily into the air by the sudden stop, stretched out her legs and landed on her hooves, straddling the pony lying below her. Dizzy, exhausted, and half-frozen, she nevertheless jerked her head downward, pointing her lit horn right between Tango's eyes.

For a good ten seconds, both ponies stayed like that, panting too heavily to speak. The crowd stared in silence. Tango eventually focused his vision enough to gaze up at her, mystified.

"For... huff... forfeit," Seeker wheezed. "Try to move and... hah... and I'm knocking you out. Teleport, and Frosty's already got an attack at the ready, so it's lights-out the moment you reappear."

Tango blinked slowly. Breathing just as heavily, it took him a moment to find his voice.

"It s-seems... I miscalculated," he admitted. "Never in my w-wildest dreams did I except you and Frosty would manage to... cooperate."

Seeker managed a breathy laugh. "Me neither," she replied. "Took me a while to realize that I was part of the problem just as much as he was. But we managed to put our heads together, eventually."

Tango slowly turned his head to one side, glancing at Frosty, who stood waiting to strike if necessary. After a moment, he looked back at Seeker, breaking into a playful, gleaming smile.

"Indeed you did," he agreed. "And it seems, in the end, I wasn't quite prepared to deal with such an alliance. Bravo."

Seeker had fully expected Tango to somehow defy all expectations and manage some sort of daring escape, despite his dead-end situation. So she could hardly believe her eyes when the unicorn lying below her turned his head and fired a forfeit signal at the scoreboard.

All the sound in the room seemed to come back at once as the crowd erupted into cheers. Tango's face disappeared from the board, leaving only Seeker and Frosty's smiling pictures, beneath a great big golden header spelling out "Winners!"

Seeker turned her head, and watched the huge grin grow on Frosty's face, as she felt her cheeks tighten with a smile of her own.

"I can't believe what we just witnessed, folks!" the announcer practically screamed. "May I present to you, this year's Las Pegasus Doubles Dueling Tournament champions, Seeker and Frosty!"

The setting sun bathed Las Pegasus in oranges and golds as thousands of spectators made their way out of the arena. A clamor of voices, all talking about the stunning final duel, filled the air.

Seeker sat some distance from the exit, away from all the bustle, enjoying the feeling of the sun on her fur, and watching it glint off the impressive medal she'd been awarded as she held it in her hoof. The experts in charge of the tournament's healing spells had quickly remedied all her injuries and frostbite, but even so, she was absolutely exhausted. It was the good kind of tired, though; all the effort had paid off, and she had the award to prove it.

Hoofsteps clicked on the stones behind her. She assumed Tango had arrived to travel home with her. Her eyebrows raised in surprise when Frosty sat down beside her instead.

"Guess you were right, kid," he said, staring off into the city. "The second we got paired up, I thought for sure our run was over."

"So did I," Seeker agreed. "We've got some... uh... pretty stark differences. We won because we managed to get past that."

"Yeah, yeah, we've already said it a bunch," Frosty grumbled. "An icy alliance, yada yada yada."

The two unicorns watched the throngs of ponies traveling out into the streets for a few moments. Seeker chanced a glance to her left and caught Frosty looking at her out of the corner of his eye. The big stallion smirked.

"Y'know, for a brat, you could be a lot worse, Seeker," he snickered, raising a forehoof expectantly. "Nice work out there. Pound it."

A matching teasing expression played across Seeker's face. "Thanks," she replied, returning the hoof bump. "You've got more talent than the average moron yourself."

Frosty snorted playfully. "Maybe I oughta talk to Scorch a little about this whole strategy business," he mused, as he spotted his twin emerging from the distant crowd and aggressively motioning for him to come over. "Better watch your back if you show up here next year. Next time you face us, me and Scorch are gonna knock you and your little buddy Tango into next week."

"Looking forward to it," Seeker chuckled, casting the stallion a defiant smile.

Frosty returned a grin that wasn't quite as malicious as usual as he got to his hooves.

"Yeah. Me too."

Anecdotes of Heart

"...Enchanted?"

Photon Flash mumbled it under his breath, but he still glanced around to see if anypony had overheard. The sky tram, speeding down a rail of light toward Canterlot, moved almost silently after all. Fortunately, the voices of other unicorns chatting excitedly in the seats all around him had done what the tram itself could not, and drowned his muttering out.

Photon, an electric blue colt of twelve or so years, normally would've been thrilled to share an enchanted object with the ponies around him, especially today, considering he was on his way to Celestia's Academy for Gifted Unicorns for the very first time. Even though it was just a book, the simple fact that it contained a spell sealed within its bindings was sure to be an exciting discovery for any new student. Had it been any other item, he wouldn't have hesitated to share it with the foals seated nearby, friends and strangers alike.

But a gift entrusted to him by Princess Twilight herself was an exception.

It had been a very unexpected encounter. Mere days after Photon had received his coveted acceptance letter to the nation's most famous and lauded school of magic, he'd been busy practicing basic spells when his mother arrived in the doorway to his room, looking unusually distracted and pale.

Photon, Honey, um... somepony is here to see you.

Yeah? Who?

You're going to want to see for yourself.

He recalled being a bit annoyed at the interruption as he made his way down the stairs. That is, until he discovered Princess Twilight, ruler of Equestria for several millennia now, standing patiently in the foyer in all her regal glory. Waiting to talk to him.

It should've been incredibly exciting. In fact, at first, it was. But unfortunately, Twilight Sparkle herself hadn't appeared on his doorstep just to chat. She'd come to deliver two things: a bit of somber news, and the old book he now clutched close to his chest.

Photon paused, glancing out the window of the sky tram at the gleaming towers below. After a few moments of searching, he spotted what he was looking for. Nestled between two glossy skyscrapers far below was a squat, unimpressive wooden house, that stuck out like a sore hoof against the modern architecture. It was an oddity at best, and perhaps an eyesore at worst, yet the colt thought of the little cottage very fondly. After all, almost all of the magic he'd learned thus far was taught to him within those walls.

He also knew he'd never step through its cozy little doorway again.

With a small sigh, Photon closed his eyes, letting the unusual visit play out in his head yet again.

"P-p-princess Twilight!"

Twilight smiled. "Hello, Photon Flash."

Photon gaped at the monarch for several seconds, before his brain finally kicked into gear and he scrambled to bow.

"Your highness! H-hello! I'm sorry, I've been busy practicing and I just wasn't expecting—"

The princess chuckled softly. "Now, now, none of that," she soothed. "There's no need to be formal. I do need to speak with you about something though; would it be alright if I come in?"

Photon blinked. Princess Twilight, ruler of Equestria for millennia now, was here to speak to him?

"I... y-yes, sure, come on in!"

As the alicorn stepped inside, Photon was made more acutely aware just how big she was. In a home designed for ponies of a more typical build, her long, slender horn nearly touched the ceiling, and the colt knew she wouldn't even be able to fully extend her wings in the hallway. Trying his absolute hardest not to simply gawk, he slowly led the way to the living room.

What in Tartarus is happening? he mentally screamed, relieved he was facing away from the princess so she couldn't see the torrent of rapid fire emotions crossing his face. How could the princess herself possibly have business with a nopony of a colt like me?

Arriving in the living room, Photon gestured to the couch, and waited patiently for his unexpected visitor to seat herself, before hopping up onto the remaining space.

"Uh, welcome," he managed, finally daring to make eye contact again. "What brings you here, Princess? We've never even met, I don't think."

"A few things, actually," Twilight admitted, surprising Photon even further. "Firstly, I wanted to give you my congratulations! Dean Gamma recently submitted the list of this year's first-term students at Celestia's Academy, and I couldn't help but notice your name was among them. You should be very proud; only the brightest unicorns get a chance to study there."

The colt swelled with pride. "Thank you, Princess!" he replied, beaming. "I've been working on my magic for a couple of years now. My tutor is a former academy student herself, and she kept telling me I'd easily make the cut. I was still nervous right up until I got my acceptance letter, though."

Twilight's smile faltered slightly. "Yes, there haven't been too many unicorn mages like Dinky Doo," she admitted. "And I'm glad you brought her up. As excited as I am for your upcoming years of study at the academy, I'm sure you've guessed that I can't exactly drop in and personally congratulate each and every new student. There's another reason I'm here today, concerning your tutoring with Ms. Doo."

"Oh?" Photon asked, tilting his head curiously. "I suppose you have known her for a really long time. You weren't even the ruler of Equestria yet when you met her, right?"

"Ah, I see she shared a bit of her history," Twilight chuckled.

Photon nodded. "Is that why you're here? Is Ms. Doo being a wraith like... a state secret or something?"

Twilight shook her head. "No, it's not that," she assured him. "It does concern your lessons with her, though. I'm sure you're aware that, even for a being like her, Ms. Doo is rather old to still be teaching, even if it is just private tutoring."

"That's true," Photon admitted. "We're only scheduled for a few more lessons anyway. Is she retiring after she's through working with me, or something?"

The rest of Twilight's smile faded away. The colt stared into her compassionate eyes for a moment, and it started to slowly dawn on him why she hadn't spoken yet.

"...Oh. That's not it, is it."

It was a statement, not a question. Twilight gently placed a forehoof on the young student's shoulder.

"Photon," she said gently, "Ms. Doo has passed on."

He knew it before she said it, but it still made him shiver to hear her say it. He stared at the upholstery beneath him, not sure what to say in response.

"Ms. Doo has been around for several millennia," Twilight continued. "She's lived a fuller life than any normal pony ever could, and all evidence indicates she was able to pass away painlessly in the comfort of her home. She wouldn't want you to be sad for her."

Photon mulled that over. After a few moments, he glanced up at the princess again.

"I think... I would've been a lot sadder if she hadn't told me that story last week," he said finally. "But looking at it now... well, Ms. Doo's been waiting a long, long time to see some old friends again. Friends whose hearts are joined with hers across time, and even across the boundary of this world and the next. I think... she's probably very happy that she finally got her chance to make her way back to them."

Twilight beamed. "Exactly, Photon," she affirmed. "Dinky Doo had century upon century of adventures, learned magic most ponies could never even fathom, and made more friends than you could hope to count. She's seen it all, but in the closing decades of her time here, I think her greatest desire was to return to the company of the friends that were awaiting her. She was probably thrilled when the moment finally came."

A wistful look crossed Photon's face as he pictured the ponies in Ms. Doo's tales of the past, and imagined his old tutor catching up with them after so long. He looked as his regal guest, more resolutely this time.

"I'll miss old Ms. Doo, but I'll be alright, really," he promised. "I'm gonna remember what she told me, and cultivate my magic— both my unicorn magic and the magic of my heart— and make the best of my future. And when I see her again someday, I bet she'll be proud."

"I'm sure she's already proud," Twilight reminded him. "It seems you've really taken her teachings to heart, which is what she wanted most for all her students. But there's actually one more thing you'll have to remember her by until the day you finally meet her again, which brings me to the final reason I stopped by today."

"There's more?" Photon asked, stunned.

Reaching into a small bag she'd brought along, Twilight produced an old book, with a smooth cover and sturdy bindings. The cover bore no images of ponies or Equestrian landscapes, or even a title. Instead, it bore the simple but unmistakable image of old Ms. Doo's cutie mark: a halo of black and purple stars surrounding a much larger yellow one. A ring of small, multicolored gems, embedded into the cover, encircled the image.

Photon recognized the book immediately. He'd seen it many times, resting on the end table in Ms. Doo's parlor, but she'd never mentioned it, and he'd never asked. Seeing it now, he couldn't help feeling curious.

"This belonged to Dinky Doo," Twilight explained, placing the mysterious tome in front of the colt. "Well over a hundred years ago now, she told me it was something very personal to her, and gave me just one simple instruction; that when she finally passed away, to give this book to her final student, whoever that may be. So, Photon Flash, out of respect for her wishes, it seems this now belongs to you."

"Wha... really?" Photon blurted, staring at the book as a thousand possibilities of its contents rushed through his mind. "So what is it? Is this like, her personal spellbook or something?"

"Your guess is as good as mine," Twilight chuckled. "It's not mine. I'm just delivering it to its new owner. It wasn't my place to look inside. Your tutor had incredible respect for the lives of the ponies around her, though; whatever's in there, I'm certain it's something she thought you'd be happy to receive."

Photon lifted the book in his aura, gazing at it with something like reverence. Though he couldn't begin to guess what was inside, the pony who had written it had seen an era that no living pony, save for the Princess herself, had any recollection of. It was as if he'd just been handed an artifact, unearthed from a time even the history books had little detail on.

"Th-thank you, Princess," he stammered. "I never expected Ms. Doo might leave me anything. I'll take it to the Academy with me. Who knows, maybe she still has a thing or two to teach me after all, even if it's not in the way I expected."

Princess Twilight smiled again as she rose to her hooves. "Perhaps she does," she agreed, causing her flowing mane to ripple as she nodded. "We can only guess what she's left for you within those pages. But, knowing her, you won't be left disappointed, I'm sure."

Photon placed his hoof on the image of the cutie mark. In spite of the sobering news, fond memories of the old mare who taught him so much brought a smile to his face.

"I'm sure too, Princess Twilight."

"Attention, students. We will be arriving at Hayenne station in approximately fifteen minutes. After that, there are four more stops before the Academy."

The latest announcement shook Photon out of his thoughts, and the sights and sounds of the sky tram returned. It seemed there was still a few more hours of travel before he reached his destination. He looked down once again at the book on his lap.

It hadn't seemed appropriate to investigate Ms. Doo's mysterious gift while Princess Twilight was still visiting, since she'd purposely avoided opening it herself. And in the whirlwind of activity of preparing for his departure for the Academy in the days that followed, he hadn't had any long stretches of personal time; at least, not any that he felt were long enough to give the book the attention it deserved.

Once I get to the Academy, I'm gonna be even busier than I was at home, he realized. I've got a few more hours on the sky tram anyway. If I'm gonna find out the secrets of this book— and what kind of enchantment is on it— I guess now's the time.

The colt placed his hoof on the cover. He hesitated just a moment, wondering if whatever magic was sealed inside would surge forth the moment he opened it, but he quickly dismissed the thought. Ms. Doo wouldn't have willingly passed it on to him if it was something she wanted to keep away from prying eyes.

Bracing himself, he lifted the cover, letting the book fall open to a random page.

Nothing unusual happened. The page was full of hornwriting he recognized as belonging to his former mentor, but that was about it. The enchantment he could feel pulsing gently in his horn was clearly something subtle enough that it wasn't visible at first glance. He turned the page, and the next one looked much the same. He flipped ten pages ahead. Then at least a hundred more.

Wait...

Something didn't seem right. The old tome was relatively large, sure, but it was no Encyclopedia Equestria. Yet after rapidly flipping through several hundred more pages, he discovered he'd barely made any progress toward reaching the back of the book.

"Some kind of... spatial compression enchantment?" he whispered, shocked.

The pages seemed to be made of normal paper, and the book, when closed, was perhaps just over an inch thick. But apparently, once a page was lying flat against the ones before or after it, it seemed to become almost infinitely thin. In reality, a book no larger than an average novel was, he estimated, well over ten-thousand pages long. And every last one was filled margin to margin with the same hornwriting.

Photon knew of a decent hoofful of enchantments. He'd even cast a few simple ones of his own over the last year. But he'd never even heard of something like this. Whatever it was that old Ms. Doo had written in this book, she'd written a lot of it.

More curious than ever now, Photon closed the book, and then opened it again, this time to the very first page, hoping for some sort of explanation. He leaned against the wall of the tram car and took a look at the short introduction that prefaced the nearly-endless volume.

To whoever might be reading this, if anyone even is,

It's after midnight. By all accounts I should've passed out by now; I just graduated from Celestia's Academy earlier today, spent all evening partying in Canterlot with my best friends, and now I'm sitting in a nice soft bed in a pretty nice hotel before we head home to Ponyville tomorrow. I'm dog-tired, but I'm still too wound up from all the excitement today.

Also Clarity's snoring louder than usual, so that's not helping.

Anyway, I don't know if this little project of mine will actually amount to anything, but I've been thinking about it for a while now, so now's as good a time as any to start it.

It's been a busy couple of weeks. I just finished five years of study at Equestria's greatest academy of Magic. I helped save the world from the literal manifestation of hatred in the hearts of ponies. And I learned that I'm gonna live for like, a couple thousand years or something.

That last one has really been lurking in my thoughts a lot lately. It's weird... well, more like scary... to think that a hundred years from now, everypony I know will have passed on, and I'll still look and feel like a young adult. That's a prime topic for a full blown existential crisis, right there.

But today I realized I don't have to worry. Because if there's one thing these last few weeks have taught me, it's that little things like the passage of time, or the all-consuming destructiveness of dark magic, or barriers between planes of existence, or... death, I guess, are pretty insignificant compared to the power of the bonds of the heart. I've seen it firsthoof; when ponies' hearts are joined as one, any obstacle is just puny in comparison. It's because of the Magic of the Heart that I'm not afraid of this really, really long life I'm about to live anymore. As the years pass, the bodies of the friends I grew up with will get old and frail a whole lot faster than mine will, but their hearts won't change a bit. Our hearts will always remain connected, even if I'm still here in Equestria and they're in whatever realm comes next.

Now, you might be thinking, "Oh yeah, Dinky? Prove it."

That's kind of why I'm writing this.

Every time a pony makes a friend, a new bond is formed. Every time a pony meets their soul mate, or has a foal, or moves to a new city, or takes an opportunity to teach or help or serve or love anypony else, that web of connections grows and strengthens. Spreading infinitely, linking together each and every creature in our land who is willing to open their heart and let that magic in.

If I'm gonna live for thousands of years, I wanna fill this book with accounts of the bonds of the heart at work. Not just stories about me, of course, but about all the ponies whose hearts have joined with mine, or will join with it in the centuries to come. I'm gonna have to enchant it so it won't totally fall apart in a hundred years, so I'll do that as soon as I can get a couple gemstones to embed in the cover. I might need to call this "volume one" or something too, since there's no way I'm gonna fit thousands of years of stories in here.

...Actually, scratch that. I'm an expert enchantress now, I'm sure I can find a workaround for that too, eventually.

I don't want to fill this book with dramatic, life-changing tales. That wouldn't be very relatable to whoever ends up reading this someday. No, I'd rather demonstrate how the little things can create and deepen the bonds of the heart every bit as well as momentous events can.

The stories I'm cataloguing here aren't profound journeys of self-discovery or chronicles of defining moments in history. Quite the opposite, really. They're more like... anecdotes.

Anecdotes of Heart.

Yeah. I like that.

Clarity rolled over and stopped snoring, and I can barely keep my eyes open anymore, so I'm gonna try and get some sleep. To whoever's reading this, if I'm finally gone, and this book is full, then I guess my project was a success. Turn to any page you like; on each one, you'll find another example of the Magic of the Heart in action in the everyday lives of the ponies I was lucky enough to call my friends.

~Dinky Doo

Photon Flash sat, staring at the page. Slowly, he came to grips with exactly what it was that was resting on his lap. His original guess that it was some kind of secret spellbook suddenly seemed mundane in comparison. This tome was the final product of one pony's millennia-long quest to prove that the Magic of the Heart was present everywhere, in everypony.

The colt knew he'd never be able to read them all, and that was okay. He felt now that he was more the book's keeper than its sole owner. In a way, it belonged to everypony, since all of Equestria was connected through the bonds it worked to highlight. One day, he'd share it with more ponies, and eventually, perhaps he'd give it away. And its next owner, hopefully, would do the same, spreading Ms. Doo's message across the land a few ponies at a time.

But for now, there was little to do but wait for the sky tram to reach Canterlot, and that meant there was plenty of time to do a bit of reading, even if he was only scratching the surface. Beaming, young Photon Flash flipped a few pages ahead, and dove into the treasure trove of anecdotes waiting for him.

The Celestia's Academy Course Catalogue

Author's Note

This is not really a narrative, it's a worldbuilding project with a very, very short story tacked onto the beginning and end of it.

Treat this one to whatever extent it interests you. Read the whole thing, or just the parts that interest you, or skip it altogether, or come up with a theoretical class schedule for your OC... whatever you want, really. And if you're more interested in character interaction than worldbuilding, stick around for more regular anecdotes coming soon.

Big shout out to fimfic user Coffee Toffee for significantly revamping the Physics of Magic program during the editing of this thing. I wasn't a math major, so it was greatly appreciated.

The Celestia's Academy Course Catalogue

Date: About one month after Dinky's graduation

Three sets of foals' hoofprints wound through the freshly fallen snow, leading to the door of a cozy home in Seaddle.

Anypony who had been present a few minutes earlier would've been surrounded by the whirlwind of activity that can only be generated when three foals engage in the most heated of snowball fights. But now, peace reigned over the frosty carnage, as the trio of combatants had finally retired indoors to warm up.

It was the day after Hearth's Warming. A well-decorated tree glowed with colored lights. A hearty fire crackled in the hearth. Three little unicorns who had spent their holiday together quickly tugged off their boots and coats and hurried to warm up in front of it.

"I think we can all agree that I am the ultimate queen of the snowball," Portabella bragged, shaking loose snowflakes out of her bouncy, curly mane.

"Even that is an insufficient moniker," Top Percentile muttered, trying to get his thick glasses clear of the frost. "You're a veritable armageddon of winter's wrath, personified in equine flesh."

"I didn't realize how good you'd gotten with levitation magic," Inkwell commented, trying to dislodge a bit of ice that was still wedged behind her ear. "Snowball fights are certainly more... intense when everypony involved had had a year of formal magic training."

"Wait till we have another year or two!" Portabella laughed. "We'll be teleporting around and setting enchanted traps and causing snow explosions! It's gonna be awesome!"

Top Percentile winced. "It is practicable to develop behavioral indicators of post-traumatic stress before the correlated trauma's occurrence?" he asked weakly.

Portabella tackled the scrawny colt, squeezing him like a plush toy. "You're cute when you talk like that, Top," she cooed, as her weight pinned her coltfriend to the floor.

"Thanks again for inviting us over for Hearth's Warming, Portabella," Inkwell said graciously. "These last few days have been a blast."

"No problem!" the other filly chirped. "I didn't wanna wait until next term to see you two again anyway."

"Kids!" called a female voice from the next room. "Something arrived in the mail for you today. Looks like it's from the Academy."

That got the three foals' attention. Portabella's mother appeared in the doorway with a box resting on her outstretched wing.

"Thanks, ma!" Portabella called, clambering off of poor Top and retrieving the package in her aura as her mom turned to go. "Let's see what we've got here..."

The filly tore open the box, and the three students discovered a book waiting within.

Celestia's Academy for Gifted Unicorns: Course Catalogue

"Ah. It's the annual compendium of curricular opportunities," Top commented.

"Darn. I was hoping for something more exciting," Portabella grumbled.

"Actually... think about it, you two," Inkwell piped up. "In our first term, half our classes were required, and what few electives we could take were pretty limited. But now we're going into our second term, and Clarity once told me that might be the most important one. This is the term where we start to decide what fields of magic we want to learn in greater depth, so we can start taking the electives that lead up to the advanced classes we'll take in our fourth and fifth terms. If we brush off course selection and don't choose carefully, we might not be able to take some of the coolest classes, about the stuff we really wanna learn, further down the line."

Top glanced at Portabella. "Inkwell has constructed a most efficacious reasoning," he said.

"Yeah. That," the filly replied uncomprehendingly. "And also she makes a good point. I guess we should probably take some time to choose carefully, huh Inkwell?"

"We're not doing anything until dinnertime anyway," Inkwell reminded her companions, as she retrieved the three course selection sheets that had come with the book. "We've got all afternoon. Let's go through each option in the course catalogue and figure out what's best for each of us. The decisions we make today will affect the rest of our time at Celestia's Academy for Gifted Unicorns."

Bella and Top nodded solemnly. Inkwell pulled back the cover, and togeter, the three foals began the long, careful process.

Celestia's Academy For Gifted Unicorns
Course Catalogue

Foreward:

Welcome, students old and new, to Celestia's Academy for Gifted Unicorns. This may be my first term as dean, but I know I speak for all the faculty when I say we want to make the process of preparing you for each new term as stress-free and straightforward as possible. The course catalogue has been carefully organized with all the necessary information to help you select a combination of magic classes that perfectly fits your personal needs and interests.

As is the case every year, courses have been added, adjusted, or merged in order to keep up with our ever changing understanding of magic. A few of the most substantial modifications are listed below. Returning students, please heed these changes and select classes accordingly:

In light of former Dean Spiral Script's heroic use of runes in saving Canterlot from destruction last term, we have decided the Runic Syllabary program offered by the Academy was insufficient, and have expanded the program, extending the selection of classes and offering the first course to students in their third term, instead of just their fourth and fifth.
Due to the efforts of Princess Twilight, Equestria is currently broadening its positive relations with other creatures' civilizations. Those societies each have magic of their own that was previously not studied at the Academy. Assistant Professor of Transformation and Conjuring, Nester, has been promoted to full Professor, and will be spearheading the newly minted "Magic of Non-pony Cultures" program.
Student safety is our priority, so now that information on the topic is readily available, a few classes on the recognition, avoidance, and countering of dark magic have been added to the curriculum. One of these classes will be a requirement for all students.

With that, I leave you to your course selection. I look forward to meeting all of you at the start of your new term.

Regards,
~Sparkler, Dean of Magical Education, Celestia's Academy for Gifted Unicorns

How to select courses

All courses are categorized into one of the following specializations, and each specialization is abbreviated with a four letter code, as follows:

ASTR- Astronomy
BATT- Battle Magic
DARK- Dark Magic Avoidance and Safety
ELEM - Elemental Magic
ENCH- Enchantments
HIST- Magic in History
MBIO- Magical Biology
MNPC- Magic of Non-pony Cultures
PHYS- Physics of Magic
PRAC - Practical Magic
RUNE- Runes and Spell Boosters
TRCO- Transformation and Conjuring
WEAV- Spellweaving and Spell Combinations

In order to graduate, each student must achieve a minimum of 45 credits, complete every course marked as "Required", regardless of specialization, and fully complete all courses available in at least one specialization, if said specialization contains seven or more courses, or at least two specializations, if those selected contain six or less. Each class is worth one credit, and the standard schedule is nine credits per term, though students can opt to take more or less as long as they have at least 45 by the end of their fifth year. It is also possible to fully complete more than one specialization if you like, but students can also focus on only one and earn the rest of their credits by dabbling more broadly in everything else.

A course entry in this catalogue will be formatted as follows:

Course Code and Number
Course Name
Instructor
Terms in which the course can be taken
Prerequisites

Description

The catalogue will now proceed through the courses available in each specialization, alphabetically.

ASTR - Astronomy

ASTR 100
Introduction to Astronomy
Instructor: Princess Luna
Terms available: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Prerequisites: N/A
Description: Astronomy is often considered a supplementary subject to the broader study of magic. The positions of heavenly bodies have an influence on the power of various magical disciplines, so many unicorns choose to study the stars to aid their performance in other fields. This basic astronomy course requires very little use of magic and no prior knowledge of the stars, and is thus available to students at any stage of their education. Students will learn proper use and maintenance of telescopes, and be expected to locate and focus on specific heavenly objects with them, based on written indicators such as coordinates or the date. The most major trends in astronomically-based spell power fluctuations, those caused by the twelve Zodiac constellations, will be explored as well. Students will learn basic star-charting skills, and be expected to chart specific regions of the night sky for some assignments, and one long-term project throughout the term will allow students to choose a spell they are familiar with and track its changes in strength from week to week as the celestial landscape changes.

ASTR 300
Influence of the Zodiac on Equestria
Instructor: Princess Luna
Terms available: 3, 4, 5
Prerequisites: ASTR 100, ENCH 201, DARK 101, HIST 101
Description: This mid-level course doubles as both an astronomy and an ancient history lesson. Before they left the mortal plane and ascended to the stars, the ancient Zodiac were the creators of all modern fields of magic. Students will learn about each member of the Zodiac individually, and the discoveries that led them to develop the first fundamental spells in each discipline. This will include a newly-added lesson on the thirteenth Zodiac, Ophiuchus, knowledge of whom was lost until very recently. The constellations that now represent the Zodiac will be the subject of all astronomical work in this class, and the names and positions of the stars that make them up will need to be learned in order to study the celestial energy mechanism that allows these constellations to dictate the increase and decrease of the strength of their respective field of spells.

ASTR 400
Star Charts
Instructor: Princess Luna
Terms available: 4, 5
Prerequisites: ASTR 300, RUNE 301
Description: While the position of the twelve Zodiac constellations have the greatest bearing on the ebb and flow of magic, all constellations, and indeed every individual star, affect it in some way. This technical star mapping course is recommended for those who work with or plan to work with spells in which even very minute changes in input of magical power must be accounted for in order for the spell to function correctly. Students will learn to identify each constellation visible to the naked eye, all across the heavens, and which fields of magic each has an impact on. Each pony will be provided with a more powerful telescope than those used in lower level ASTR courses, in order to locate and identify distant stars. Dozens of detailed star charts will be created over the course of the term, fully mapping sections of the night sky, and will need to calculate which types of magic have the greatest net benefit at a given time, accounting for all the additional constellations, which will add to or subtract from the benefit provided by whichever zodiac is overhead. By doing this repeatedly on different dates, students will be able to graph the changes in celestial energy. Over the course of the second half of the term, students will complete a long-term project in which one specific magical discipline is chosen. They will then spend several weeks creating a full spherical map of any and all stars that have a positive or negative impact on their chosen discipline, and calculate the exact date that type of magic is at its peak.

ASTR 410
Celestial Energy Channels
Instructor: Princess Luna
Terms available: 4, 5
Prerequisites: ASTR 300
Description: The stars may be the most easily predictable feature of the heavens; the specific set of stars is overhead on a given day will be the same each year. However, they are not the only celestial bodies capable of affecting the magic of ponies far below. The movement of other objects in space can occasionally put them into positions to funnel magic into Equestria from the far reaches of the galaxy for short periods. These temporary phenomena are known as celestial energy channels, and learning the complex art of predicting them is rewarded with unique opportunities to receive powerful, if brief, magical boons. Students will study the movement of the planets in this and neighboring solar systems; an understanding of their speed and orbit allows astronomers to predict when they will align. When three or more planets align, an energy channel forms between them, and the more planets that align at once, the more substantial the energy flow, though alignments of many planets at once are very infrequent. Comets, similarly, create energy channels that briefly reach Equestria at specific points in their flight paths. Assignments will give astronomers the opportunity to work with large, complex orreries to map out potential energy channel formations in a three-dimensional medium. Students will also learn about the "outer realms" of existence beyond our mortal world— the Dream Realm, Limbo, and the Realm of Stars itself— and how energy channels play a role in causing these external realities to drift gradually closer and further from the borders of our waking realm on a forty year cycle.

BATT - Battle Magic

BATT 401
Elementary Battle Magic
Instructor: Professor Storm Surge
Terms available: 4 (Required)
Prerequisites: ELEM 201, ENCH 301 (can be taken concurrently)
Description: Battle magic is the use of magic for offense and defense, either in duels or simply for keeping oneself safe. This course, and the entirety of the BATT specialization, is not available until an academy student's fourth term. These spells are capable of causing harm, and so unicorns need to have both excellent magical control and mental and emotional maturity before wielding them. In this class, students of all specializations will learn simple magical techniques to defend themselves, should the need arise. Students will first learn to shoot undifferentiated energy bolts— pure magic used as a weapon without changing its form first— to learn the skill of firing an attack spell at a target. Once this is mastered, elemental magic will be added to the mix, and ponies will practice basic types of attacks utilizing air, water, earth, and fire spells. Defensive options will include casting shield spells— walls of solid magic that block both physical and magical blows— and diverting or deflecting incoming projectiles. These skills will all be useful for basic defense in any dangerous situation, making it useful for any pony regardless of specialization. Dueling will not be covered here; those seeking to learn more complex battle spells, and techniques for engaging another unicorn in magical combat, should pursue additional battle magic courses in their fifth term.

BATT 410
Incorporating Support Spells into Duels
Instructor: Professor Storm Surge
Terms available: 4, 5
Prerequisites: BATT 401 (Can be taken concurrently)
Description: Unicorn duels rarely involve only battle magic spells. The broader a pony's knowledge of applications of other magical fields, the more effective they are likely to be in a duel. This course, which can be taken alongside Elementary Battle Magic in the fourth term if desired, teaches aspiring duelists to incorporate spells from other disciplines into their combat strategies. Students will explore options for disorienting opponents with illumination and illusion spells, improving evasion with teleportation, and even manipulating the battlefield to their advantage with transformation spells. Additionally, no self-respecting duelist engages in a duel without at least one trick up their sleeve their opponent can't predict. This usually involves bringing enchanted jewelry, potentially enhanced with runes, to battle. Students will learn to plan, based written skillsets of theoretical opponents, what type of outside effect will benefit them most, and how to guess what kind of enchantment an opponent will be most likely to wield to cover weak points in their magical skillset. Enchantments are not the only option for support; students of Magical Biology are also welcome to use potions as their supporting magic item brought from outside, and ideal potions for various combat situations will be discussed as well. A pony who relies purely on strong elemental attacks and sturdy shields rarely wins a duel. Applying battle applications to all aspects of a unicorn's magical expertise makes for a more versatile fighter than can overpower a much greater variety of opponents.

BATT 500
Advanced Combat Spells
Instructor: Professor Storm Surge
Terms available: 5
Prerequisites: BATT 401, at least two ELEM 300-level courses
Description: While BATT 401 covers the basics of attack and defense for use in protecting oneself if the need were to arise, this course focuses on more intense spells that would be selected for use in actual duels with other unicorns, instead of just for self-defense. On the offensive side, students will learn to create much stronger non-elemental magic attacks, upgrading from simple energy bolts to sustained lasers, and will learn how to correctly balance their power and focus to maximize piercing potential of an opponent's shields. The attack applications of elemental spells will be discussed at length, as ponies will practice lobbing fireballs, hurling spears of ice, and raising pillars of earth from below their opponent's hooves. Defensive spells will receive much more attention here than just the shield spells discussed in the prerequisite course; aspiring duelists will practice a wide variety of battle spells that can stop their opponent's attacks, or their opponent themselves. Some examples include using traps and stunning spells to immobilize opponents, leaving them open to attack, using elemental spells such as cushioning impacts with air spells or providing cover with earth spells, and even gravity manipulation spells, a complex bit of magic that can make targets immovably heavy, or lighter than air. This course focuses on learning to use these spells, not employing them in duels; students will not cast these spells at one another, though certain exercises may allow them to spar with the professor in a no-risk scenario.

BATT 510
Counterspells
Instructor: Professor Storm Surge
Terms available: 5
Prerequisites: BATT 401
Description: Counterspells, as the name suggests, are spells used to negate other spells, or even turn them back at their source. These spells themselves are classified as battle magic, and are most commonly used in scenarios where other battle magic is in use, although they can be capable of negating spells from any field of magic if used correctly. This course's entire focus is on the many methods of countering other spells. Students will learn to generate magic-jamming waves that disrupt magic before it even leaves an aggressor's horn, usually considered the best way to counter magic that has not yet been cast. Once an spell has been fired, countering it can be trickier, but there are also considerably more options to do so. Students will create discs and blades of magic that can cut through incoming attacks, or beams of energy that can instantly dissipate them, and spend several weeks perfecting their speed and accuracy at launching these counters. If a pony finds themselves in a situation where there is no time to cancel or dispel opposing fire, reflection spells are an excellent option, as they can be deployed very quickly by ponies with practiced reflexes. Duelists who are confident they can withstand some damage can even utilize counters that allow them to endure a hit, and then fire it back afterward with increased power. Once students have developed a reasonable arsenal of counterspells, some assignments and exams will pit them against harmless illusions taking the visual form of common battle spells, to test their quick-thinking and skill with countering in different circumstances.

BATT 520
Magical Combat
Instructor: Professor Storm Surge
Terms available: 5
Prerequisites: BATT 401, ELEM 400, Magical Combat waiver signed and approved by administration.
Description: Unlike the other courses in the BATT specialization, this course's main focus is on the use of a pony's cumulative magical arsenal— battle magic and otherwise— in actual combat situations. By the time this course becomes accessible in the fifth term, each student will have taken at least the Elementary Battle Magic course, and some will be taking other courses within the specialization concurrently with this one. However, a good duelist uses much more than just battle spells, and with four years of magic classes specific to each pony, each and every combatant will enter this class with a set of specialties unique to them. While this course covers some of the same topics in the Advanced Combat Spells and Counterspells courses, this is the one and only course at the academy where students will have the opportunity to practice them against one another. In class, students will engage in sparring, a live spell practice match where communication is key; both unicorns know exactly what spells each is going to use, and will practice attacking, blocking, and countering each other's moves. Written coursework will involve creating diagrams of potential battlefield scenarios, and studies on how to react to magic from many different fields used in tandem by an opponent. However, the highlight of this course is the annual battle magic tournament, a single elimination style tournament where students will engage in one-on-one, all-out duels, employing the sum total of their five years of magical expertise to try to overpower the other.

DARK - Dark Magic Avoidance and Safety

DARK 101
Recognizing and Avoiding Dark Magic
Instructor: Dean Sparkler
Terms available: 1, 2 (Required)
Prerequisites: N/A
Description: Dark magic is a highly dangerous and explicitly forbidden adulteration of unicorn magic. In light of recent events in Equestrian history, the importance of teaching unicorns who are just beginning to delve into higher-level magic how to recognize and avoid dark magic cannot be overstated. Students will learn what dark magic would look and sound like if they were to encounter a pony wielding it, as well as how to detect it from a greater distance with simple surveillance spells. Safety practices will be explored in depth, including how to report a dark magic user or incident to the appropriate authorities, how to recognize signs of dark magical corruption, and the details of the process of clearing said corruption from a unicorn's internal magic reserves. Drills of techniques, both physical and magical, for getting oneself out of harm's way if directly faced down with a dark magical threat, will be practiced at length, as escape is almost always the best option in such scenarios.

DARK 300
Modern Influence of Dark Magic
Instructor: Dean Sparkler
Terms available: 3, 4, 5
Prerequisites: DARK 101, PRAC 101, MBIO 200
Description: While the identification and avoidance of dark magic is the only thing unicorns will definitely need to know regarding this forbidden field, it's only natural that some ponies will be curious about why it is such a taboo. This course will offer the full explanation of how dark magic came to be, and a history of the often tragic impacts its influence has had on unicorns, and Equestria as a whole, across the ages. Students will have learned about the grievous physical effects of dark magic on the unicorn anatomy in MBIO 200, but will now learn about accounts of the increasingly harmful mental and emotional effects it has, up to and including the moment where a unicorn's body and mind are permanently lost to the darkness, resulting in the birth of a wraith. Accounts recovered from throughout history, both of ponies who eventually fell to the darkness and are believed to have become wraiths, and those who managed to wrench themselves free of its influence before it was too late, will be studied. Many of these writings depict the details of the days leading to tragedies over the millennia that occurred purely as a result of selfish and cruel ponies wielding a magic that ultimately consumed them. In addition, academy graduate and the only known wraith to side with our nation, Dinky Doo, has agreed to take time out of her schedule once per term to give a first-hoof account of her battle with dark magical corruption, and what it's like to become a wraith. It should be understood that this course is not for the faint of heart, and will touch on topics of death and physical harm, but knowledge of the horrors of dark magic is perhaps the best way to encourage ponies to keep their distance.

DARK 500
Counterspells for Dark Magic
Instructor: Professor Storm Surge
Terms available: 5
Prerequisites: DARK 300, BATT 510 (must be taken concurrently), RUNE 500 (must be taken concurrently)
Description: With any luck, a pony will go their whole life without even encountering dark magic, but for ponies considering law enforcement, or planning to join the military or royal guard, the chance of someday coming face to face with it is not zero. If detecting and avoiding dark magic prove insufficient, and a pony is left with no choice but to fight back, both attack and defense spells will be useless; counterspells are the only viable option. Anti-dark-magic counterspells is a study still in its infancy, but the knowledge scholars have uncovered so far will be passed on in this course. Students will learn the few techniques known to be able to deflect incoming dark missiles and will practice using these counters with extreme speed and timing; dark magic used as a direct attack is very fast and very dangerous, leaving no room for failure when choosing when and how to react. Dark magic can also be used indirectly, in corruptions of other magical fields instead of direct attacks. Ponies will practice disenchanting objects infused with dark enchantments, casting the complex counters to beat back out-of-control dark elemental magic, and even neutralizing dark magic by containing it in runic sigils designed to deaden its power. During academy graduate Dinky Doo's visit to give a guest lecture to the DARK 300 students, she has also agreed to take the time to give students in this course one class period to practice neutralizing real dark magic. Note that students will not spar with Dinky directly; the risks of sparring with a wraith, even in a controlled situation, are too high. They will however get to act on pockets of dark magic from a distance that Dinky will keep contained at all times during practice.

ELEM - Elemental Magic

ELEM 201
Basic Elemental Spells
Instructor: Professor Morningstar
Terms available: 2 (Required)
Prerequisites: PRAC 101, TRCO 101
Description: Elemental magic takes unicorn magic in its base form and changes it into physical elements, either through basic conjuring or simple conversion of one type of energy into another. Since controlling these more volatile forms of energy can be slightly more hazardous to both the caster and those around them than most other unicorn magic, this course is always taken during the second term, once students have had time to hone their horn-control skills. In this basic skills class, students will learn to conjure the four basic elements, and will use magic to manipulate the elements in the small scale, to perform household tasks such as washing and drying fabric with water and air spells, preparing a garden for planting using only earth spells, or lighting hearths and kilns with fire spells. Conjuring and controlling the elements opens the door to trivializing a great variety of typical tasks that cannot be accomplished with practical magic spells alone, and learning to do so is at the very heart of the Academy's second-term curriculum.

ELEM 301
Wind Spells
Instructor: Professor Flux
Terms available: 3, 4, 5 (At least one of the four ELEM courses at the 300-level is required)
Prerequisites: ELEM 201
Description: After learning the basics in their second term, all students will choose at least one element to learn at a high level. Air spells are a popular choice, as they require lower magic input since there is no need to conjure anything; unicorns simply manipulate the air around them. Students will learn to generate winds strong enough to move large objects (including themselves), how to increase or decrease the air pressure of an enclosed space, and how to cast the ever-popular cloudwalking spell, allowing unicorns to visit airborne pegasus cities. Enclosing and moving specific quantities of air, a useful skill used by unicorns wishing to provide themselves with a pocket of breathable air when traveling underwater or through hazardous or low-oxygen environments, will also be taught here. On a more tangential topic, the sub-field of sound magic is, in fact, an air spell, and ponies will learn how to vibrate air particles to produce specific sounds. Carefully focused directional air spells can be used as a means of environmentally-friendly propulsion for airships, balloons, or watercraft are one major use of these spells beyond the academy, so many ponies with related career aspirations jump at the chance to learn those skills here.

ELEM 302
Water Spells
Instructor: Professor Luster
Terms available: 3, 4, 5 (At least one of the four ELEM courses at the 300-level is required)
Prerequisites: ELEM 201
Description: After learning the basics in their second term, all students will choose at least one element to learn at a high level. Water spells have a very wide range of uses that make them appealing to ponies in almost any specialization. Many of these uses are very practical; ponies will learn to conjure fresh water by condensing moisture in the air, as well as how to freeze water or melt ice. These skills can make anything from the hottest, driest summer day to the coldest winter storm more bearable through means of manipulation of water. Ponies will also learn to purify water with magic; these decontamination skills are important at factories to avoid pollution created during manufacturing. This course also covers ice spells, which have the obvious use of refrigeration, as well as decorative and artistic uses. Due to water and ice's refractive properties, illusionists are often drawn to this course to add to their arsenal of stunning visual spells. Usually requiring the most delicate and precise work of the elemental spells, water spells are often the favorite of ponies who prioritize finesse in their spellcasting.

ELEM 303
Earth Spells
Instructor: Professor Chestnut
Terms available: 3, 4, 5 (At least one of the four ELEM courses at the 300-level is required)
Prerequisites: ELEM 201
Description: After learning the basics in their second term, all students will choose at least one element to learn at a high level. Earth spells are far from the flashy nature of water or fire spells, but ponies who know to look past the spectacle will find a very useful group of spells. Quite the opposite of water spells, earth spells focus much more on high energy spellcasting and less on painstaking precision. Earth magic students will learn to create seismic vibrations with magic, used in small-scale to change the shape of the ground in front of them. Raising, lowering, or changing the slope of nearby surfaces can be learned quite quickly, and with practice, students will even learn to form simple structures out of earth, such as sturdy bars or stair-like projections of rock. Destructive spells can be just as important as constructive; ponies will learn to break apart solid rock in moments that would take those not versed in earth magic hours, even with the aid of tools. Earth magic can also be used to detect rare metals and gems hidden in the rock. Any unicorn considering a future in farming or construction would be remiss not to add knowledge of earth spells to their magical repertoire.

ELEM 304
Fire Spells
Instructor: Professor Storm Surge
Terms available: 3, 4, 5 (At least one of the four ELEM courses at the 300-level is required)
Prerequisites: ELEM 201
Description: After learning the basics in their second term, all students will choose at least one element to learn at a high level. With power like earth spells, dazzle like water spells, and a mysterious, ethereal nature like wind spells all rolled into one, it's easy to see why fire spells catch the attention of so many unicorns. This course deals with the element with the greatest potential to be destructive in small-scale, so maturity and careful, controlled casting is always expected in this class. Students will have already learned to convert their base magical energy into fire in ELEM 201, but this course will help them learn to safely manipulate an otherwise unpredictable force. Different ways to direct fire will be practiced; a fireball can be very different from a straight line of flame, which is different again from fire spreading outward along the ground. The necessary spells to contain, redirect, and extinguish uncontained flames will also be practiced until they are second-nature. This course also covers lightning spells, which are created in a similar way by converting magic to a form of plasma. These spells are faster and take less energy to cast, unless the caster is creating a sustained electrical arc instead of a single bolt, and are useful in charging and powering machinery in a variety of professions.

ELEM 400
Advanced Elemental Techniques
Instructor: Professor Storm Surge
Terms available: 4, 5
Prerequisites: At least two ELEM courses at the 300-level, TRCO 301
Description: Ponies with great interest and talent in elemental magic may wish to master one or more elements, commanding them in ways that few in Equestria can. Students of this course will perfect the process of casting elemental spells, doing as much work with as little energy as possible, so spells can be increased in scale without overtaxing the caster. Conjuring large amounts of elemental material may be necessary depending on the spell; practice with this will have already been covered in TRCO 301. Using a unique lesson plan with multiple possible progressions, each pony will have the chance to focus on one (or more) elements of their choosing, and will receive specific training based on their personal needs. Air magic wielders will learn to whip up tornadoes, and to use directional wind spells to navigate in hot air balloons, as well as perform highly convincing magical sound mimicry. Those interested in water magic will conjure hyper focused streams that can cut through solid surfaces, and flash freeze large volumes of water in an instant. Earth mages will learn the both strength to carve tunnels through rock with ease, and the care to expertly till fields for farming without tools. And of course, those practicing fire spells will surely be able to incinerate anything, and manipulate fire into fantastic displays of light and beauty.

ELEM 500
Elements in Combination
Instructor: Professor Morningstar
Terms available: 5
Prerequisites: WEAV 301, ELEM 400
Description: A highly advanced course for unicorns who have honed their skills in working with all four elements. The final layer of complexity in the field of elemental magic comes when combining elements in a single spell. The result is an incredibly eclectic group of spells that are used for many completely unrelated purposes, covering a lot of options that spells using only one element do not. Many of these spells can be used to change weather on a small scale; for example, manipulating evaporation and water and air temperatures to create deep fog or even localized rainstorms. Other spells are more violent; adding water, earth, or fire spells to a cyclonic wind spell can create water spouts, dust devils, or even fiery twisters, all of which have a place in battle magic. Elemental combinations can be used for spur-of-the-moment concealment, too, when combining air and fire spells to rapidly throw up a quick smokescreen to hide oneself or make a quick getaway. Water spells combined with earth can make the ground easier to modify, for construction and landscaping, and fire and water combinations generate steam to warm up a chilly space or provide humidity in a dry area. Even earth and fire combinations can work, but often with violent, explosive results, and should be used with caution and care, even when demolition is the goal. Students will learn all of these topics and more, as well as have opportunities to experiment with their own ratios of elements in combination.

ENCH - Enchantments

ENCH 101
Basic Enchantments
Instructor: Professor Luster
Terms available: 1 (Required)
Prerequisites: N/A
Description: Enchantments are extremely versatile utility spells involving storing magic inside objects. These spells can both function on their own, and aid almost every other field of magic. In this introductory course, students will mostly enchant gemstones due to the crystalline structure's ability to hold onto magic more easily than other substances. A few brief geology lessons will be worked into the curriculum, as students will be expected to learn which gems are the best for this purpose, and be able to organize them from most to least ideal. This course focuses primarily on teaching a great variety of simple enchantments cast on these ideal objects. Students will learn many of Equestria's most common and practical enchantments, such as those that cause an enchanted object to generate heat or cast light, or those used in detection or concealment. Many classes will be open-ended, allowing students to sample enchantments from their textbook and try them out for themselves, and in the later months of the course, unicorns from the Advanced Enchantments course will visit the class to demonstrate examples of what can be done with enchantment magic with sufficient training. Students are expected to be proficient with at least one-hundred unique enchantments by the end of the term.

ENCH 201
Enchantments II
Instructor: Professor Luster
Terms available: 2 (Required)
Prerequisites: ENCH 101
Description: In their first term, students will have concentrated mainly on enchantments that are useful all on their own, performing one specific purpose. Using that foundation, Enchantments II shifts the focus to enchantments meant specifically for supporting or augmenting other types of spells. Students will create enchanted jewelry capable of boosting spell power, and apply it to fields such as elemental magic or illumination spells. In addition, another subset of enchantments will focus on increasing magical precision, which is essential in object manipulation, illusion, and transformation spells, and even spellweaving if ponies choose to pursue that field in their later terms. For one major project, students will work in groups, competing with the other teams to invent the best combination of jewels and spells for maximum magnification, without loss of quality, of a single pre-determined spell from another discipline.

ENCH 301
Enchantments III
Instructor: Professor Luster
Terms available: 3, 4 (Required)
Prerequisites: ENCH 201, RUNE 301 (can be taken concurrently)
Description: With two years of solid foundational classes supporting it, Enchantments III is a deep dive into the finer capabilities of the discipline. Here, students will learn to cast permanently expressed enchantments, or enchanting objects to continue to perform their magical function either constantly or at regular intervals, without the need to be held, worn, or magically activated. A few lessons will also focus on the enchantment of non-crystalline objects, though this skill can be challenging and is often not of great priority to students who aren't specializing in enchantments. Those students who wish to study these techniques in depth should consider the elective course ENCH 320. The academy's third term also includes a required introductory course on the use of runes, so toward the end of the term, students will begin learning to combine these two closely-related fields, using runes to dramatically power up the effects of enchanted jewelry. This is the final course in the enchantments specialization required for all students,

ENCH 310
Disenchantment
Instructor: Dean Sparkler
Terms available: 3, 4, 5
Prerequisites: ENCH 201
Description: Disenchantment is exactly what it sounds like: the removal of an enchantment stored in an object. On the surface, this may seem like a mundane skill, and it is often assumed that a single spell will likely be capable of disenchanting any target, but this is not the case. To use an analogy, magic is like water, and an enchanted object absorbs magic like a cloth absorbs water. Dunking a cloth into water will fill it with that water very quickly, but it's much harder to fully remove every drop of water from it afterward. The same is true with enchantments; magic seeps into an object's very structure, and while most of it can be removed with a few moments of effort, successfully removing all of it is much harder, especially if the caster hopes to leave the object undamaged after the magic is removed. Sloppy or incomplete disenchantments can result in fragments of spells being left behind, which can be inconvenient or even dangerous, depending on the original enchantment. In this course, students will learn to remove enchantments from various objects, both crystalline and not, as well as how to detect and clean up the remains of a fragmented enchantment. This skill is highly prized in law enforcement; unicorn criminals are known for setting traps with unassuming objects containing harmful enchantments, so in the interest of public safety, almost all police departments employ a disenchantment specialist.

ENCH 320
Enchanting Non-crystalline Objects
Instructor: Professor Luster
Terms available: 3, 4, 5
Prerequisites: ENCH 201, PHYS 101
Description: While gemstones hold enchantments the longest, and generally allow for the greatest enchantment strength, almost any object can be made to contain an enchantment, at least temporarily, with the right method of casting. While this skill is covered to a reasonable degree in the more general course ENCH 301, students who plan to make regular use of non-crystalline enchantments can study the skill here in much greater depth in any term from the third onward. The molecular makeup of various solids will be examined, and students will create magic-flow diagrams of different substances' molecular bond structures to illustrate how well each one will hold magic. Magical dispersal in liquids will be studied in depth, using equations that calculate the ratio of amount of magical energy to volume of liquid, to determine the maximum volume that will still be able to express the enchantment's effects. Perhaps most difficult will be the enchantment of compound objects, such as enchanting a vehicle to move on its own, or home conveniences such as a self-setting table or self-making bed. These spells are challenging, requiring an understanding of each of the compound object's many constituent parts, and how well each one absorbs magic. Multiple useful non-crystalline items will be created in this class, such as saddlebags that reduce the weight of their contents, containers that can be magically sealed without the aid of a lock and key, and many more helpful tools.

ENCH 400
Enchantment Strength and Longevity
Instructor: Dean Sparkler
Terms available: 4, 5
Prerequisites: ENCH 301, 320 RUNE 301, TRCO 301
Description: Those who are serious about enchantments will naturally be searching for ways to improve their techniques. This course does not focus on how to cast new types of enchantments, but how to lift the ones that enchanters are already familiar with to new heights. Students will learn how to "lock" enchantments; this method uses transformation magic to change an object's structure in such a way that the enchantment never dissipates, but at a cost: once locked, the enchantment cannot be strengthened, modified, or removed, and so locking should only be used when the caster is completely certain that their enchantment in its current state is ready for permanent use. In a similar vein, trained unicorns can use alchemy principles to adjust an object's molecular makeup to make it more favorable for retaining magic, without modifying it so much that the item can no longer function in its originally intended way. This can greatly increase the longevity of enchantments cast on non-crystalline objects. Rune options for improving ease of enchantibility or enchantment strength will also be covered. By the end of the term, students will have a wide selection of options to create more robust enchanted objects.

ENCH 500
Advanced Enchantments
Instructor: Professor Luster
Terms available: 5
Prerequisites: MBIO 201, ENCH 301, ENCH 320, RUNE 400 (can be taken concurrently)
Description: The highest level enchantments course will give senior enchanters insight into the most difficult and potentially powerful charms in the entire field, and new ways to cast them that are infrequently used due to their complexity. Students will place enchantments on large, compound, non-crystalline objects such as appliances, building elements like doors or stairways, and even carriages and other vehicles. Ponies will be expected to enhance these charms with runes whenever necessary to elevate the enchantment to the desired level for the assignment. Students will also learn to create enchantment arrays, sets of enchantments made by placing different spells on different parts of the same compound object which work in tandem to accomplish dramatic things that a single enchantment working alone cannot. This course will even touch upon the most difficult topic in the field: self-enchantment. Threading enchantment magic into the very cells of a living being is highly complicated and produces very short-term effects, so students will only be expected to perform minor self enchantments for momentary periods; this skill takes years of enchantments training to even perform, and then years more to master. Ponies who are passionate about enchantments may volunteer to visit the ENCH 101 class and demonstrate high-level enchantments to inspire first-term enchanters.

HIST - Magic in History

HIST 101
Overview of Magic in Equestrian History
Instructor: Professor Curled Quill
Terms available: 1, 2, 3 (Required)
Prerequisites: N/A
Description: Although each pony race contributed to the shaping of the nation in their own way, there's no doubt that unicorn magic played a substantial role in the development of modern Equestria. This overview course is structured more similarly to classes taught at standard schools and universities around the nation, relying largely on reading and lecture, as opposed to the hooves-on learning typical for the Academy. Nevertheless, learning about the development of magic over the centuries is essential to understanding the future course of scholarly pursuits in magic. The curriculum will cover history's most significant magic-related events and most influential mages. Supplementary reading and essays will be assigned for completion outside of class, and regular exams will test students' knowledge on each era of Equestrian history.

HIST 110
Magical Artifacts
Instructor: Professor Bronze Bell
Terms available: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Prerequisites: N/A
Description: This elective course focuses on the discovery and historical significance of the various magical artifacts that have been uncovered over the course of Equestrian history. Artifacts are enchanted objects containing spells that have been lost to time and cannot currently be replicated in any other object, so a key part of this course involves a technical examination of the unknown spells themselves. In addition to history lectures, students will study all the potential functions of specific artifacts in depth, such as the Elements of Harmony, the Crystal Heart, the Bloodstone Scepter, the Pearl of Aris, and many more. Projects and classwork will be centered around crafting theories on what sorts of unknown enchantments their creators might have employed to give them their unique powers. Guest lectures given by citizens who are lucky enough to be the current keepers of known artifacts will also be included when the schedule permits. Some basic enchanting skills will be needed for certain assignments, but only those taught in ENCH 101, which all students will have either completed or will be taking concurrently with this course.

HIST 201
Magical Pioneers
Instructor: Professor Curled Quill
Terms available: 2, 3, 4, 5 (Required)
Prerequisites: HIST 101
Description: Since the discovery of the disciplines of magic thousands of years ago, the brightest unicorn scholars have blazed the trail leading to our modern understanding of magic. This course builds on the timeline taught in HIST 101, focusing specifically on history's most influential unicorns, what each of them contributed to the development of one or more fields of magic, and how their work lead them to make these discoveries. From scholars to explorers, and from the household names to the unsung heroes, Equestrians owe their way of life to these ponies. Students will be expected to research selected magical pioneers, and prepare reports on why they consider those ponies' contributions especially important.

HIST 210
Magic in Ancient Equestria
Instructor: Professor Bronze Bell
Terms available: 2, 3, 4, 5
Prerequisites: HIST 101
Description: When ponykind first discovered how to channel the magic flowing through the world around them, the result was a tumultuous period of discovery and advancement in pony life. This course examines what we know of that period in history, through ancient literature and archaeological finds that tell fragments of the tale of unicorn magic's infancy. Students will examine transcriptions of ancient scrolls and photos of notable carvings and glyphs created by ancient pony civilization and what can be revealed about the spells that were discovered or improved at the time of their creation. Research projects will piece together the timelines of the early development of specific magical disciplines.

HIST 300
Formation of Modern Pony Society
Instructor: Professor Curled Quill
Terms available: 3, 4, 5
Prerequisites: HIST 110, HIST 201
Description: This course covers the most recent few millennia in Equestrian history, beginning with Princess Celestia and Princess Luna's ascension to the throne, but focuses more on how society itself has evolved in that time, rather than simply recounting significant historic events. As with all classes in this specialization, magic's role in the development of our current civilization will receive special attention during this study. Students will learn about the founding and growth of key Equestrian cities, the spread of advanced magical knowledge toward the outermost edges of the nation, and pivotal moments in industrial or technological development of pony society, which often occurred in bursts as a result of a monumental discovery by one of history's magical pioneers. Theory pieces will be written in this course about how outcomes for certain cities or regions would potentially have differed if specific important spells had not been discovered when they were, or if entire fields of magic were unrepresented. Students will need to back up their points in these essays with examples in the literature of how their selected spells or fields led to the outcomes we see in Equestria today.

HIST 310
Magic in the Modern Age
Instructor: Professor Bronze Bell
Terms available: 3, 4, 5
Prerequisites: HIST 201
Description: Equestria is closer to a utopia now than it has ever been. This is due to a widely approved system of government and ample access to resources for all its residents. Our land as we know it now, of course, wouldn't be possible without the aid of magic. In this societal studies course, students will study the large-scale spells that help keep Equestria running smoothly, and how they are maintained. This usually includes wide networks of enchantments used in cities for matters of the population's well-being, cleaning air or regulating temperature. The way ponies' individual magic skills work together in harmony to benefit everypony will also be examined from the perspective of the greater benefit to society, from healers working in healthcare to those versed in practical magic practicing skilled crafts, and even pegasi and earth ponies managing Equestria's food and weather for all our collective benefit. Magic binds modern Equestria together, and understanding the ways it works right under our noses helps everypony to appreciate it.

HIST 400
Starswirl the Bearded
Instructor: Professor Curled Quill
Terms available: 4, 5
Prerequisites: HIST 300
Description: Each of the pony races sport a few historical figures that have ascended to legends for accomplishments so momentous, they changed the course of history. Among unicorns, one name stands above all: Starswirl the Bearded. This course covers the major events in the life of history's most famous unicorn, beginning with his childhood growing up in the pre-unification era in the proto-nation of Unicornia. Starswirl originally specialized in Transformation and Conjuring, and made many discoveries together with Unicornia's royal advisor, Clover the Clever, who eventually became his apprentice but after the founding of Equestria, his travels and natural brilliance led him to master nearly every known field of magic. Students will learn about his exploits after meeting the ponies that came to be known as the Pillars of Old Equestria, and how their group went on to banish many dangers across Equestria's frontiers. When Celestia assumed the throne of the now-unified nation, she was quick to name him the first Grand High Mage of her royal court, a position that still exists today and can only be occupied by a unicorn who has full command of every magical discipline. Later in life, Starswirl and the Pillars sealed themselves away in Limbo in order to contain a great evil. This course is currently undergoing curriculum updates, as due to the exploits of Princess Twilight Sparkle in very recent years, Starswirl and the Pillars been able to return to the waking world, and are currently living out the remainder of their lives that was taken from them millennia ago. Course contents will be edited as Starswirl corrects or adds to the details contained within.

HIST 410
A History of Alicorns
Instructor: Professor Bronze Bell
Terms available: 4, 5
Prerequisites: HIST 300
Description: As everypony knows, alicorns are an extremely rare and powerful fourth breed of pony that display traits of earth ponies, pegasi, and unicorns all at once, and have full control of the magic of each. As would be expected of such creatures, the limited group of known alicorn individuals have had a profound effect on the history of Equestria. This course will cover what scraps of information remain about the alicorns that lived before the unification of the tribes and founding of Equestria, and then move on to the five— yes, only five— alicorns that have carried the fate of our nation ever since then. Students will study the differences between natural alicorn birth and alicorn "ascension", the process of a pony of the other three tribes becoming connected with the magic of our world so intimately that it transforms them physically into a higher state of being, and they become an alicorn themselves. The details of Celestia and Luna's reign, and Luna's banishment and eventual return, will cover the bulk of the course, simply because they've been around much longer than other living alicorns. The ascension of Princess Cadance and reappearance of the Crystal Empire, the ascension of Princess Twilight and the magic of friendship, and the recent birth of natural-born alicorn Flurry Heart, will also be examined at length.

MBIO - Magical Biology

MBIO 100
Magical Biology I
Instructor: Professor Chestnut
Terms available: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Prerequisites: N/A
Description: Magical Biology is the study of the magic of life itself, and how it interacts and flows through not just ponies, but all living things. Unicorns are fortunate enough to have the ability to tap into this latent magic with spells, but doing so requires both unique mental abilities and a type of spellcasting entirely different from any other field of magic. In this first level course, students will learn how to block out outside stimuli and link their heart with that of another living thing through magic. This skill takes time to learn, and even longer to perform well, but once students can consistently establish this connection, lessons will expand to include sending and receiving information from the other organism in the mental link. This will include physical sensations and trends, as well as mental and emotional states where applicable. Students will also learn to send simple suggestions through the link to gently coax out certain actions, primarily in plants. Additionally, an overview of the magical properties of plants and animals will be covered in lecture, again with a focus on plants while students are first learning the skills. Said plants will be used to create common types of potions during some class periods. All of the skills listed above will be essential in almost all course work in higher level courses in this specialization, and students will be expected to perform the discipline's core spells with ease by the end of the term.

MBIO 201
Unicorn Anatomy and Physiology
Instructor: Professor Lumen
Terms available: 2, 3, 4, 5 (Required)
Prerequisites: DARK 101, ELEM 201 (can be taken concurrently)
Description: The study of the magic of living things would not be complete without a thorough investigation of one of Equestria's most magical creatures: the unicorns themselves. This course will teach the specifics of unicorn anatomy, and while the whole body will be covered briefly, the bulk of the class will pay particular attention to the parts of it that differ from that of pegasi and earth ponies. Students will be expected to name and identify the organs in the unicorn nervous system, and illustrate where in the body magic is generated, where it is stored, the nervous pathways it takes to reach the horn, as well as the structures within the horn that convert it into the desired type of external energy. The physiological workings of these organs will also be examined in depth, such as how the unicorn body absorbs and generates magic from its surroundings, how the body avoids overheating or damaging other organs while carrying such large amounts of energy, and physical responses to magical fatigue. A newly added lesson will explain the malignant effects of dark magic use, and how body structures gradually corrupt and degrade when darkness is repeatedly channeled through the unicorn nervous system. This is the only required course for all students in the Magical Biology discipline, and does NOT require completion of the elective MBIO 100 or any of the skills acquired therein.

MBIO 210
Magic of Plants and Animals
Instructor: Professor Chestnut
Terms available: 2, 3, 4, 5
Prerequisites: MBIO 100
Description: Every living thing in Equestria has a unique magic inside of it. Once students have learned the skill of reaching out to meet that magic with their own, the next step is to learn to strengthen that bond and to broaden the spectrum of benefits that linking magic can have. In order to accomplish these goals, students must first learn more about the innate magic of other living things, and the similarities and differences it has from their own. This zoology and botany course will introduce students to a wide range of Equestrian flora and fauna. Plant species with magical traits will be examined; students will learn how to predict the unusual effects of contact with plants such as poison joke or heart's desire. Numerous magical animals will be examined and even worked with as well, such as lightning-producing flashbees and petrifying cockatrices, to name a few. Internal, unexpressed magic is just as important, and students will become familiar with the hidden magic within "everyday" plants and animals as well. While knowledge of a species' abilities is useful, It is this deep, inner magic that forms the basis of this field of study, and will be the focus of the higher level courses in this specialization.

MBIO 220
Potions
Instructor: Professor Chestnut
Terms available: 2, 3, 4, 5
Prerequisites: MBIO 100
Description: Potions are liquid mixtures of magically-active plants and other ingredients that can be ingested to grant the consumer powerful, but temporary, abilities. While covered at a basic level in MBIO 100, there is such a staggering variety of uses for potions and ways to prepare them that the academy offers this course focused purely on concocting them. Students will learn proper techniques for preparing ingredients, cutting, crushing, and measuring to an extremely precise degree. Lectures will be given regularly on the potential effects of each ingredient, and how it interacts with to enhance or deaden other ingredients. Finished potions will be prepared and tested weekly; the strength and accuracy of the effects to the assignment will determine the scores given on these exercises. Potions fill a similar role to enchantments, in that both provide the user with an ability they wouldn't have otherwise, like heightening senses or granting unique abilities, and while enchantments are by far the more widely-used, some students prefer to study potions for their far stronger (but much shorter-lived) effects compared to their enchantment counterparts.

MBIO 300
Magical Biology II
Instructor: Professor Chestnut
Terms available: 3, 4, 5
Prerequisites: MBIO 201, MBIO 210
Description: This mid-level course is a primer on what to expect when delving deep into the hearts of various Equestrian organisms. Students will learn how certain means of mental interaction will be more beneficial than others, depending on what their magic is linked with. A flower responds well to slow and gentle magical prompts, while a mighty tree needs a more assertive link, reaching high and holding strong like the tree's own branches. The same is true for animals, though the complexity is greater; from timid to bold, from trusting to crafty, different species think and experience the world in different ways, and being able to judge how best to approach them when entering their hearts will always lead to a stronger and more fruitful magical connection. By the end of the term, students should be able to feel what's in the heart of any plant or animal reflected in their own whenever they reach out with a life spell, and sending signals to their target organism to get a physical reaction or encourage a specific emotional state should be second nature.

MBIO 310
Healing Spells
Instructor: Professor Chestnut
Terms available: 3, 4, 5
Prerequisites: MBIO 300 (Can be taken concurrently)
Description: Healing spells are the most sought-after skill in the entire discipline of Magical Biology. As the name implies, healing spells are used to alleviate or even completely reverse illness and injury. There is, however, a catch: the effectiveness of the spell is dependent entirely on the strength of the connection the caster has established with the target's heart. The more robust the channel between them, the more deeply the healing magic can reach into the target's own inherent magic, allowing it to heal damage and quash sickness more completely. This applies in both pony-to-pony spells, and spells where the target is another living thing, but the spells have no effect at all if cast on a target externally, rather than channeled directly into the heart. Students will use their skills establishing a connection with life from other MBIO courses to send healing energy from their horns, practicing refreshment spells to alleviate fatigue and soreness, mending spells to bring together cuts and fuse fractures shut, and curative spells to boost the target's immune system to cure bacterial and viral infection.

MBIO 400
The Flow of Magic in Living Things
Instructor: Professor Lumen
Terms available: 4, 5
Prerequisites: PHYS 201, MBIO 300
Description: Magic flows, unseen, through every inch of Equestria and all of its denizens. In prerequisite classes, students will have learned about the physical properties of magic, and how the unicorn body generates, stores, and channels it. But what about the other races of pony, and all other life in Equestria, who don't express magic in the same way? This course studies the universal mechanisms of life that allow living things to take in, and to express, in their unique ways, the latent magic of Equestria that is all around us. Magic also flows from individual to individual, in many cases unconsciously; students will study magic's role in the maintenance of entire ecosystems comprised of individuals that aren't even aware of it. They will also learn both spell-based and technological methods of sensing and measuring magic in an individual or an area, and examine the pattern of changes in its flow through living things as a result of fluctuations in latent magic in the environment.

MBIO 410
Advanced Potions
Instructor: Professor Chestnut
Terms available: 4, 5
Prerequisites: MBIO 220, MBIO 300
Description: With the right recipe and preparation, potions can have extremely dramatic effects. A great deal of skill is needed, though, to ensure the most advanced potions are both effective and safe. Students will learn to magically activate ingredients, causing them to change to a more potent, and sometimes volatile, state when exposed to certain types of unicorn magic. Some ingredients used in the most fantastic and powerful potions can even be poisonous or otherwise harmful on their own, so before preparing any potions with these ingredients, students will learn to brew antidotes, curative draughts that instantly negate the effects of a potion, in case of ingestion of an improperly prepared mixture. Students will always be required to have an antidote on hand in this course, and are strongly encouraged to do so if brewing a potion outside of class; this is a widely accepted safety practice in the field. As a failsafe backup, unicorns will also learn a spell to test any potion, resulting in a color change that indicates whether or not it is safe to consume. Once properly educated and prepared, ponies will use these ingredients to produce potions capable of vastly boosting magical power, or ones that grant unique (though very temporary) physical capabilities, such as immense speed, or the ability to see through or even pass through objects. Potions are even capable of transforming the drinker into another pony race, or a different species entirely, if only for a matter of minutes. While some of these potential effects may seem to put enchantments to shame, potions come at a cost of time and difficulty; even a tiny mismeasurement of an ingredient can change or deactivate a potion's entire effect, and some potions need to be stirred or simmered for hours or even days. Ponies with the patience, skill, and careful attention to detail to brew them, though, will have access to one of magic's most powerful and versatile resources.

MBIO 500
Magical Biology III
Instructor: Professor Chestnut
Terms available: 5
Prerequisites: MBIO 300, PRAC 300, WEAV 301
Description: The primary focus of this course is to perfect the sending, receiving, and interpreting of information through the standard life connection spell that has been in use since MBIO 100. Students will deeply interact with plants and animals' hearts, tapping into every aspect of their target's innermost being. By this phase of their magical education, students should be able to perform this spell with ease, and so will now focus on using the information and feelings found there to diagnose problems such as illness and injury, infestation, dehydration, nutrient deficiencies, and more. Unique specimens from the far-reaches of Equestria will be presented in this class as well, and detailed reports on the differences observed when interacting with these species' hearts compared to those of local flora and fauna will be a regular part of classwork. Students of this course will hopefully have a great respect for life and know how to develop a lasting relationship with beings of other species, and can then learn to use magical biology to bind a familiar to themselves. A familiar is an animal who has mutually allowed their heart to be linked to a unicorn's in the long term. Familiars can then be summoned at will, using far less magic and effort than a teleportation spell, to assist their unicorn partner in various ways, and then sent back to their habitat just as easily. Of course, the spell to bind a familiar will not work unless unicorn and animal both harbor deep trust for one another in their hearts. Students will not be required to bind a familiar in this course, but the magical mechanism will be studied in case magical biologists decide to make use of it later in their lives.

MBIO 510
Emerging Frontiers in Magical Biology
Instructor: Professor Chestnut
Terms available: 5
Prerequisites: MBIO 500 (Must be taken concurrently)
Description: "Emerging Frontiers" courses are very temporary additions to the academy's curriculum, added whenever a specific magical specialization has recently had a major breakthrough that is causing the field to undergo a major restructuring as a result. After a few years, once the new knowledge is widely and fully understood by scholars of that field, the contents of the course will be assimilated with the other permanent courses of the curriculum, but students who are interested in exploring the cutting edge are free to take these temporary courses. Magical Biology is currently undergoing one such renaissance with the very recent discovery of a new and exceptionally complicated spell dubbed 'Lifesight'. Lifesight allows the user to link their heart on a basic level with all living things within a certain radius of the caster. This is accomplished without the unicorn needing to dedicate their full concentration to the mind of their targets, so unicorns can continue to walk, talk, and analyze their surroundings while communing with the ecosystem. So far, Lifesight has been used to detect unseen organisms, make quick work of population studies, send mental suggestions to large groups of organisms at once, and detect ecological trends in an environment by comparing the physical status of dozens or even hundreds of organisms inside the spell's radius. Naturally, a spell with these properties is set to redefine the field once top magical biologists learn to properly cast and further refine the spell. Lifesight's spellweaver, Honeydew, a recent academy graduate and incredibly skilled magical biologist, has agreed to work with the academy's staff for the few years this course is available, and will visit approximately once per month throughout the term to aid in teaching both the theory and practice of Lifesight. At this time, Honeydew remains the only pony who has learned to cast the spell to its full potential, but academy professors and other scholars of magic across Equestria are hard at work practicing and optimizing the means of casting it for wider use.

MNPC - Magic of Non-pony Cultures

MNPC 101
Inherent Magic of Earth Ponies and Pegasi
Instructor: Professor Nester
Terms available: 1, 2 (Required)
Prerequisites: N/A
Description: While Earth Ponies and Pegasi are certainly not "non-pony cultures", studying the ways non-unicorn ponies use magic is the first stepping stone to understanding the magic wielded by other sapient species. This course will teach unicorn students about our pony brethren of the other two races, and compare and contrast the magic of all three ponykinds. Particular attention will be paid to tasks that are simple for the other races but are difficult or impossible for unicorns without the aid of powerful spells and years of practice, as well as exploration of each race's contributions to Equestrian society as a whole as a result of their inherent talents. A brief field trip to the base of Canterlot mountain to spend the day with local earth pony farmers is included in the curriculum, as is a visit to the Canterlot weather team to observe how pegasus magic creates our weather.

MNPC 300
Changelings
Instructor: Professor Nester
Terms available: 3, 4, 5
Prerequisites: TRCO 101, MNPC 101, MBIO 201
Description: Few Equestrian races have magic as robust as the changeling, but until recent years, study of this magic was all but impossible, as pony and changeling societies were at odds, with no positive interactions. Now that this has changed, magical scholars are quickly learning much about our insectoid neighbors. Students in this class will learn about the changeling version of self-transformation magic, and the combination of physical, magical, and behavioral factors that allow these creatures to change their form (one of the most difficult spells from a unicorn's perspective) with ease. The magical mechanism that allows changelings to convert love into a form that is capable of powering their metabolism will also be studied. Students of this course will get an opportunity to visit the changeling kingdom, a place that is now considered fully safe and welcoming to ponies, to learn more about changeling culture and customs that are a result of their ability to near-effortlessly restructure their entire anatomy.

MNPC 310
Hippogriffs and Seaponies
Instructor: Professor Nester
Terms available: 3, 4, 5
Prerequisites: TRCO 101, MNPC 101, HIST 110, MBIO 201
Description: The known, but rarely interacted with, hippogriff species, and the oft assumed to be mythical seapony species have recently been confirmed to actually be one in the same. The hippogriff and seapony race has developed two entirely unique ways of life as a result of a magical artifact, the Pearl of Aris, that allows for drastic and seemingly-permanent transformation of the body. While both forms keep the equine elements of their anatomy, they can switch from eagle to fish features and back again, without any need for direct magical input, simply by coming in contact with its energy. Students of this course will study the hippogriff/seapony dichotomy and the simple magics that each of their respective forms is capable of. Inherent hippogriff magic resembles pegasus magic, while seapony magic is quite unlike anything ponies can do without the aid of spells, though those familiar with water spells will recognize some similarities. Pairs of students will team up on one project where each student studies one of the two potential forms, compiling a list of advantages and challenges that come with their assigned form, and then compare and contrast their research with their partner's parallel set.

MNPC 320
Kirins
Instructor: Professor Nester
Terms available: 3, 4, 5
Prerequisites: MNPC 101, ELEM 201, MBIO 201
Description: Kirins are a rare and fascinating equine species with a society not so different from that of ponies. Like unicorns, Kirins sport a horn used to channel magical energy, and while they don't have quite the range of abilities with it that unicorns do, they can cast practical spells as well as their pony counterparts. Of much greater interest, however, is the magic unique to their species; elemental and transformation magic triggered not by conscious spellcasting, but by emotional fluctuation. When angry, the Kirin transforms into a Nirik. The bushy mane, tail, and fetlock hair spontaneously ignite, and the entire body abruptly undergoes a near-instant major biochemical shift, becoming flame-resistant to protect the creature from its own energy. An enraged Nirik can generate fire magic at a level that unicorns simply can't physically match, and is indeed one of the strongest known expressions of elemental magic by any Equestrian creature. Students will learn all about how this species has tied emotional and elemental magic together in a previously unknown way, the physiological triggers that allow them to endure the sudden, devastating release of energy without harming themselves, and how Kirin society as adapted to deal with occurrences of their Nirik alter-egos.

MNPC 330
Magic of Other Equestrian Races
Instructor: Professor Nester
Terms available: 3, 4, 5
Prerequisites: MNPC 101, ELEM 201, MBIO 201
Description: All of Equestria's sapient races have some form of inherent magic, but not every species is equal in that respect, though the races with less get along just fine with what they have. However, creatures without such a wide range of magical abilities don't have enough magic to study to fill a whole academy course. In this class, students will examine not one, but three races with narrower magical options. First will be the study of the proud and powerful yaks, a species with strength that outclasses even earth ponies, and a natural resistance to both natural elements and elemental magic. Second, students will learn about the griffons, who share with pegasi the ability to fly and to stand or walk on clouds. Lastly, the dragons will receive special attention. These reptilian creatures are completely immune to heat and fire, and have a unique breath-based magic capable of a range of magical functions. While fire breath is the most well known, dragons can also use their breath to send objects across long distances with teleportation, and can even use it for a certain degree of transformational magic. By the end of this course, it will be clear to students that although unicorns are often assumed to be the most accomplished in terms of magical expertise, many races that are often overlooked in this aspect have many unique magical abilities all their own.

MNPC 400
Zebra Shamans
Instructor: Professor Nester
Terms available: 4, 5
Prerequisites: MBIO 201, MBIO 220, MBIO 310
Description: The Zebras are an equine race that share a common ancestor with ponies. Though zebras are most similar to earth ponies physically, their shamans have found ways to access several types of magic, most commonly in the field of magical biology. While much of the zebras' collective knowledge remains a secret kept within their culture, this course breaks down what we do know about their unique magic. Many zebra shamans are experts with potions, and with access to unique ingredients in their native land, have developed many mysterious brews previously unknown to unicorns. Students, who will have background knowledge of potions from prerequisite courses, will study known zebra recipes, and how to identify and use their unique ingredients. In addition, ponies will study zebras' unique style of healing that sits somewhere between more traditionally medical and truly magical. Zebra magic may at first seem like something anypony with the right knowledge can replicate, but students will find this is untrue; zebras have a type of spoken magic, in the form of chants and rhymes, that have no effect when spoken by unicorns or other races. These spoken spells affect their potions and healing methods in ways unicorns cannot copy, making their methods altogether different than the unicorn magical biology techniques it parallels. Zebras have even managed what unicorns so far have not, and discovered a way to access temporary clairvoyant abilities through use of potions enhanced with their linguistic spells, to view the past and future as as clearly as if they're actually there.

MNPC 410
Unique Magical Entities
Instructor: Professor Nester
Terms available: 4, 5
Prerequisites: HIST110, HIST 210, MBIO 201, one MNPC 300-level course
Description: It only takes a few classes in the MNPC specialization to demonstrate how each race, pony or otherwise, has magic unique to their species. Throughout Equestria's history, however, there have been a hoofful of unique magical entities, of which there are only a few or even just one, rather than an entire race. These creatures are intelligent and often very powerful, wielding magic not seen in any other beings. In this course, students will study the magic of a few of history's most notable unique entities and what we have been able to uncover about the powers they wield. Recognizable figures from Magic in History classes will be studied, such as Tirek, the centaur capable of stealing and absorbing magic of other creatures, Ahuizotl, the guardian of the Tenochtitlan basin, who can speak with and command animals, and even Discord, the draconequus who effortlessly employs chaos magic, a powerful but often-nonsensical field of magic completely inaccessible to any other creature, that seems to have worryingly few limits and fails to obey the laws of magical physics by which all other magic is constrained. All of these entities and more will be examined in this class, but not with a focus on their impact on history. Instead, lessons will be conducted from the perspective of investigating their magical abilities.

PHYS - Physics of Magic

PHYS 101
Mathematics
Instructor: Professor Lumen
Terms available: 1, 2 (Required)
Prerequisites: N/A
Description: Spellcasting at the level required for day-to-day activities in the life of the average unicorn is often almost unconscious, repeating a simple routine to perform a single task with a low level of magical power. However, at Celestia's Academy, students will eventually be required to use far more powerful spells requiring a great deal of planning, concentration, and energy to perform well. Because such transfers of energy are so massive, it can quickly become very difficult for spells to achieve their desired effect without first performing equations to calculate the amount of magic needed for a spell and in what ways it needs to be channeled. In order to avoid this hurdle in high-level classes, first or second term students are required to take this mathematics course, which will teach the arithmetical skills needed for such equations, including algebra and important concepts of calculus such as derivatives and integrals. This course involves no magic, yet it is a very important foundational class; the math skills involved in physics calculations must be second nature before they can be effectively applied to spellcasting.

PHYS 201
Properties of Unicorn Magic
Instructor: Professor Lumen
Terms available: 2, 3 (Required)
Prerequisites: PHYS 101
It's common knowledge that unicorns are capable of casting magic. But what is magical energy itself? This course takes this formless phenomenon that allows us to be capable of nearly limitless advances, and breaks it down into a logical, predictable, and quantifiable components. Students will be tasked with memorizing and employing formulas, first worked out by prominent unicorn physicists, to demonstrate mathematically why magic can do what it does. Vector measurements will be used to explain how specific spells can change in duration and intensity when channeled along the entire horn vs. only near the tip, and geometric diagrams will be drawn to scale to demonstrate the range a given spell can fly from its origin on the caster's horn. Students will also examine how magic, which starts out in the same form inside the horn regardless of what type of spell is about to be cast, can have completely different effects, from moving objects, to transformation, to enchantment. This too, has to do with how the energy is channeled, and can be quantified. Evaluation of student progress will often be accomplished by presenting an energy matrix, and requiring one to work backwards to determine what sort of spell produced the numbers provided.

PHYS 300
Energy Transfer Equations
Instructor: Professor Lumen
Terms available: 3, 4, 5
Prerequisites: PHYS 201
Description: Highly complex spells are very difficult to cast because of the extreme precision needed to channel unicorn magic in exactly the right way to produce the desired effect. This course is offered for those who plan to work with high-complexity spells, and/or compound spells with many components, during their latter three terms at the academy, by teaching the specialized math skills necessary to calculate the exact energy inputs needed for any given spell. Students will memorize and perform calculations with formulae for typical, common spells, such as a levitation spell, a hoofful of common enchantments, standard elemental spells, and the teleport spell. Using these existing values as a baseline, and accounting for energy lost during conversion in the horn, they will then derive solutions for unknown spells presented in differential equations. Energy transfer equations like these are extremely helpful when devising the easiest way to cast a spell that needs a lot of power or precision, such as a teleport, an enchantment on a medium that doesn't accept magic well, high-complexity transformation and conjuring, or any sort of combination spell. They're also absolutely required for even the simplest of spellweaving.

PHYS 310
Formal Mathematics
Instructor: Professor Lumen
Terms available: 3, 4, 5
Prerequisites: PHYS 201
Description: For upper level magic classes, it is oftentimes highly useful to prove the feasibility of spells, in a formal method. This course teaches the fundamentals of advanced mathematics, which are useful for application in a number of high level fields. Topics covered include propositional logic, naive set theory, mathematical induction, relations, orders, functions, and countability. Additionally, domain specific knowledge and problems are introduced towards the end of the term, depending on the pony's specialization, if already decided. If the pony is not decided, or has special interest, then modern algebra is covered instead. Modern algebra is the study of algebraic structures, including morphisms, groups, rings, and fields. While often far removed from reality, nonetheless applications do still remain, especially with use of the most advanced practical magic spells, customizing spell combinations, and spellweaving.

PHYS 400
Magic Thermodynamics
Instructor: Professor Lumen
Terms available: 4, 5
Prerequisites: PHYS 300
Description: The casting of any spell involves a transfer of energy between two points in a system. Physics tells us, however, that all energy transfers are imperfect; some energy in lost in transit and given off as light and/or heat. Just like burning fuel or using electricity, magic in its base form is just energy, and is subject to the same rules. This mathematics-centric course explains how to account for thermodynamics in magic-based systems. Students will learn to calculate and account for the entropy in spellcasting, and how this value varies based on the situation, such as how the caster chooses to channel the spell in their horn, and what mediums the magic travels through after leaving the caster. Some spells, such as teleportation, involve such a massive energy transfer in such a short time, that the heat they give off can affect the caster and nearby ponies. Most students will likely have experienced this, singeing their fur when first learning to teleport. Thermodynamic calculations are recommended before working with very high-energy spells, especially unknown spell prototypes tested during spellweaving, to prevent unwittingly damaging surroundings with excess amounts of residual energy. Thermodynamics are also important in the operation of magic-powered machinery, especially large factory devices that run on massive batteries of stored unicorn magic, to prevent overloads, melting, or shorting-out of their components.

PHYS 410
Magic's Role in Technology
Instructor: Professor Lumen
Terms available: 4, 5
Prerequisites: PHYS 300
Description: In both the large scale as seen in our grand cities, to the small creature comforts and gadgets we use each day, modern Equestria is a far cry from the land that was here at the time of its founding. Magic has always played a pivotal role in the development of technology and industrialization. This course teaches students about the design and function of magic-based tech. Students will learn about circuitry designed to carry magic, which differ from electrical circuits since magic flows more slowly and its ideal conductors are different. There is also a greater spectrum of "acceptable" designs, since accidental contact with actively flowing magic will not harm a pony like electricity would. Energy flow calculations that account for the type of materials used and the distance and rate at which the magic must travel will be commonplace in lessons and homework. Magical batteries and other storage devices will be explained, and students will routinely need to use available resources to build and operate magic-powered devices, beginning with simple devices like illumination orbs, and as the course goes on, advancing to more complex mechanics. The operation and reading of thaumatographs, devices that measure the flow of magical frequencies, will be involved in ensuring the proper operation of some machines. By the end of the term, students will need to custom-design magic-based propulsion systems for carts and carriages. Practical exams will present ponies with disabled or poorly-functioning equipment, and require them to use what they've learned of physics and technology to restore it to working order or optimize its functionality. Anypony with engineering career plans in their future should be certain not to miss the chance to add this course to one of their later terms.

PRAC - Practical Magic

PRAC 101
Practical Magic
Instructor: Professor Morningstar
Terms available: 1 (Required)
Prerequisites: N/A
Description: This basic skills course is perhaps the most important to any student's overall success at the Academy. Students will become familiar with the five major fields of practical magic, and greatly improve their proficiency with levitation and illumination spells for use in many other courses. Magical manipulation of objects, simple illusions, and teleportation spells will also be covered at a basic level. Magical strength drills will be conducted regularly to hone magical endurance for later use in more complicated spells. Students will also be introduced to the concept of splitting mental energy between multiple targets, usually practiced by levitating increasingly large numbers of objects at once, since levitation spells require some of the lowest energy input and simplest technique of all spells. All examinations will rely heavily on practical portions to ensure basic magical aptitude meets expected standards for first-level students. This course is a rigorous start to the curriculum of study at the Academy, and ponies who complete the required coursework will be at least on par with the skills of most typical adult unicorns by the end of their first term.

PRAC 201
Object Manipulation in Professional Trades
Instructor: Professor Morningstar
Terms available: 2, 3 (Required)
Prerequisites: PRAC 101
Description: Object manipulation is one of the most important skills in the unicorn workplace. Students will fine-tune horn control skills until they can use magic to move objects with precision of within one millimeter. Magic will be used to complete complex actions such as writing, knot tying, and use of tools. Students will also learn to move items in their aura as involuntarily as they move their body, and will be expected to demonstrate performance of simple object manipulation tasks when deprived of one or more senses. They will also practice manipulating multiple objects that are operated in different ways, while all of said objects are under their magical control at the same time. This mental multitasking is extremely useful in almost every field of magic. Near the end of term, brief three-day internships at participating businesses around Canterlot will give students an opportunity to use object manipulation in a professional setting.

PRAC 202
Illusions
Instructor: Professor Morningstar
Terms available: 2, 3 (Required)
Prerequisites: PRAC 101
Description: Illusions are spells that involve the manipulation of light to fool the sense of sight, by creating or manipulating the way objects are visually perceived. This course will build on the basic illusion concepts utilized in PRAC 101. Illumination spells will be practiced at a greater intensity to ensure an appropriate amount of light can be produced for subsequent manipulation. In addition to changing the appearance of existing objects, students will be tasked with creating illusions entirely from scratch, bringing illusory visions into being in empty air. The opposite scenario, invisibility spells, will also be explored in depth and applied to nonliving, stationary objects. This course will involve several group projects in which students will work together to create complex illusions with multiple moving or changing elements within them. Students are encouraged to experiment with what they learn; illusion spells can be very convincing even on a very grand scale if cast correctly, and students with background knowledge in physics of magic may succeed at doing things with them far more impressive than what is required for this course.

PRAC 203
Teleportation and Summoning
Instructor: Professor Morningstar
Terms available: 2, 3, 4, 5 (Required)
Prerequisites: PRAC 101, ENCH 101
Description: Teleportation and summoning spells make up two sides of the same coin; they both use magic to transfer a passenger from one location to another at an almost infinite speed. The only difference is that teleportation spells transport the caster themselves, while summoning spells are used to bring others to the caster's position. While simple in a technical sense, these spells require a high energy input and intense concentration. Students will be tasked with summoning small creatures from increasing distances, starting with the length of the classroom and escalating to across nearly the whole academy campus. Students will also need to learn to summon targets they don't have a direct line of sight to. Teleportation usually takes longer to gain proficiency at, but regular self-levitation workouts in class will build both magical endurance and concentration skills until students are able to teleport successfully. The remainder of the term will be spent improving technique; by the end of this course, students will be expected to be able to teleport to within four pony lengths of the intended destination, and should be adept enough at correctly focusing the large amount of magical energy carrying them to "cleanly" teleport, meaning that they no longer singe any fur during travel.

PRAC 300
Advanced Summoning
Instructor: Professor Morningstar
Terms available: 3, 4, 5
Prerequisites: PRAC 203, PHYS 201
Description: There is much more to summoning than just teleporting something or somepony to you. In this course, students will learn to create summoning circles, ring-shaped designs that can be empowered with magic to act as a portal to summon creatures from further away than the reach of a conventional teleport. Despite being a two-dimensional design, summoning circles are not runes, and do not serve any other magical purpose outside the field of summoning, so students will not need to have begun the RUNE specialization to succeed in this course. Students will learn the specifics of summoning circle design, and how to correctly design each one to account for what type of creature they're trying to summon, how large it is, and what distance and region of the world it's being summoned from. In addition, this course will detail the creation and maintenance of teleport anchors. This name is actually a misnomer; a teleport anchor is not a teleport, but essentially a reverse summoning spell, in which the caster magically links two parts of the same object in different locations, and activates one in order to create a portal to the other, effectively letting the caster summon themselves to the opposite anchor's location. During exams, students will need to summon volunteers from unknown locations around campus via correct construction and empowerment of summoning circles.

PRAC 400
Advanced Illusions
Instructor: Professor Morningstar
Terms available: 4, 5
Prerequisites: PRAC 202, PHYS 300
Description: Many unicorns will no doubt have realized that the field of illusions is bursting with possibility. Budding illusionists seeking ways to take full advantage of this group of spells are encouraged to make Advanced Illusions a part of their upperclassman curriculum. Students will practice detailed refinement tactics to increase how convincing their illusions are. They will practice spells under different levels of lighting, as well as in sunlight vs. artificial light, and with available light coming from different angles; all of these conditions can be adjusted for by refocusing the spell in specific ways. Moving illusions are also much trickier than stationary ones, as ponies will have discovered in past courses. Tiny adjustments to correct for illusion distortions caused by movement will be explained and practiced at length. Perfecting illusions under all these different circumstances is often tedious or even impossible with just trial and error; ponies will be expected to use energy transfer equations to find discrepancies in their light manipulation mathematically, after which it's easy to determine how to refocus said light. In addition, students will learn complex types of illusions not practiced in earlier courses; the invisibility spells first used in PRAC 202 will now be applied to the caster instead of just solid objects, and each pony will engage in light refraction training regularly until they can consistently bend light around themselves, completely hiding from view even when in motion. Each student will also learn to create a replica of themselves entirely from illusion, and move it independently from themselves, not just mirroring their actions. Ambitious illusionists may even attempt to create more than one such replica at a time.

PRAC 500
Practical Spell Mastery
Instructor: Professor Morningstar
Terms available: 5
Prerequisites: PRAC 300, PHYS 310, PRAC 400, RUNE 301, WEAV 301
Description: Much like the introductory class, this course touches on all five subfields of practical magic, but this time gives instruction on the use of practical spells at the very highest level. Ponies will be expected to use levitation and manipulation to such a degree that they essentially become a one-pony assembly line, carrying dozens and dozens of objects in their aura at once and performing many different operative movements with said object simultaneously. This requires intense practice at splitting one's attention many ways without neglecting any one element. Students will also expand their knowledge again on illumination and illusion topics, casting many different illusions at once, learning to wield pony-specific illusions that affect what one pony sees while showing no such illusion to other bystanders, and even the creation of illusion domes, full environmental illusions that completely surround an area, making it appear to anypony inside that they've been transported to a completely different place. Finally, teleportation spells will receive this same mastery-level treatment; ponies will be required to teleport relatively long distances with pinpoint accuracy on x, y, and z axes, and will even learn to cast teleportation matrices, which is essentially a set of portals that allows ponies to teleport to any of the locations of these portals by entering any other portal in that matrix. Students who complete this course will be equipped with the magical knowledge to make day-to-day tasks many times easier than they would be for the untrained unicorn.

RUNE - Runes and Spell Boosters

RUNE 301
Introduction to Rune Use
Instructor: Professor Luster
Terms available: 3 (Required)
Prerequisites: PRAC 101, ENCH 201
Description: Celestia's Academy teaches exceptional spellcasting, and one of the most reliable ways to make a spell exceptional is to enhance that spell with additional magic sources or modifiers. The most common way to do this by far is with the use of runes. Once students have learned a broad range of spells in their first two terms, this staple third-term course provides an introduction to the use of runes. Students will learn many of the most common runes, with this particular course focusing mainly on more general runes with a broad range of uses, so even a relatively small subset of rune options can improve a tremendous variety of spells from other fields. This will include raw-power-increasing runes that can be paired with spells with a consistent, ongoing effect, such as enchantments and illusions, and runes that focus magic in specific ways, to make spells that are very difficult or require very high precision easier to perform. Lessons will demonstrate the importance of runes being depicted exactly right in order to gain their full effect, and students will extensively practice penmanship, drawing and painting runes with magic, to ensure they can create simple runes with ease before dealing with more complex ones in later courses.

RUNE 400
Runic Syllabary
Instructor: Dean Sparkler
Terms available: 4, 5
Prerequisites: RUNE 301
Description: This is the core course of the RUNE specialization, and while not required for all students, is highly recommended for students of nearly every specialization, barring the select few that won't benefit from runic enhancement. In this course, students will learn to determine the way any rune they come across might enhance its associated spell based on elements of its design. Each individual shape comprising a finished rune— straight lines, sharp corners, smooth curves, tight spirals, etc.— affects the way magic is expressed. Runes to increase an object's capacity to hold magic will be studied, a technique useful for both enchantments and magic-powered devices. Another focus will be runes placed on the caster's surroundings to broaden the area of effect of a spell cast within their proximity, allowing for spells that are very large in physical scale without much increase in required power. Runes can even be used to broaden the "definition" of a specific enchantment— that is, allow it to accomplish more than the spell would have on its own. To use a simple example, an enchanted necklace meant to keep the wearer warm even in bitter cold could be enhanced with runes to emit heat outwardly as well, allowing ponies close to its owner to benefit from its effects. Options for rune creation will also be extended from those taught in RUNE 301 to include rune engraving; more permanent runes have stronger effects than temporary ones, so runes carved or burned into a surface are superior to those just drawn or painted on. Students will practice creating precise engravings with runecrafter's chisels until they can copy runes perfectly in this medium.

RUNE 410
Rune Design
Instructor: Dean Sparkler
Terms available: 4, 5
Prerequisites: RUNE 400 (can be taken concurrently)
Description: Rune Design is best described as an expansion to Runic Syllabary, that can be taken either alongside or after that course. The same concepts for rune creation and use will be used parallel to their first use in RUNE 400, with the key difference being that this course focuses on designing and utilizing custom runes, created from scratch to augment specific spells of the caster's choosing. Students will study the individual effects on magic that closed shapes, angles, and curves of a rune can have, as well as how all of the constituents of the rune interact with one another, and how the positions of the individual elements of the rune relative to one another modify the overall effect of the finished rune. While any compendium of runes will contain thousands of tried-and-true choices for runic enhancement, the possibilities made available in rune customization are in the billions or greater. During assignments, students will receive a specific common spell, and a specific desired type of upgrade to that spell, and create three to five custom runes that can accomplish said upgrade, along with a written breakdown presenting logic behind the custom design, and the pros and cons of each of the options they create.

RUNE 420
Other Spell Boosters
Instructor: Professor Luster
Terms available: 4, 5
Prerequisites: ENCH 301, RUNE 301, MBIO 300
Description: As students will have learned, runes are the most common external way to enhance a spell, but they are not the only way. RUNE 420 is an upper level course for students interested in the broader field of spell boosters. Ponies will learn how to convert objects into magic pylons; these structures contain magic, similar to an enchantment, but pylons do not express a specific spell; they simply hold onto magical energy so it can be exuded over a specific area. When a pylon is activated, unicorns in proximity can take advantage of its stored magic to cast spells of above-average strength until its energy reservoir runs dry. A completely different but equally valid spell boosting method is pony-to-pony magic transfer. In most cases, if a task requires the work of multiple unicorns, the simplest way to complete it is for all unicorns in the group to cast the needed spell on their target at once. In certain circumstances where the magic must be received in the form of just one incoming spell, however, unicorns can link their minds and hearts with life spells practiced in Magical Biology, and then donate some magic through the link to temporarily heighten the magic of the recipient. This process has no ill effects and the donor will rebuild their magic reserves naturally over the following hours as they would after casting any normal spell. Students will be presented with scenarios in class where their goal is out of reach with typical spellcasting, and need to employ the correct type of spell booster at the correct strength to complete the assigned task.

RUNE 500
Runic Sigils
Instructor: Dean Sparkler
Terms available: 5
Prerequisites: RUNE 400, RUNE 410
Description: Runic Sigils, sometimes simply called rune circles, are complex, symmetrical, circular runes drawn on the ground. Once empowered with magic, they can have tremendous power over anything inside their border. The symbols used in the internal design of a sigil have some of the same properties as individual runes, but work together with one another in a much more integrated way that combines their power multiplicatively. Students of this course will learn the necessary geometric skills to create the circle and perfectly symmetrical internal designs needed to make an effective sigil. They will also learn how to use the sigil's components for different effects, including restricting the magic or even physically trapping beings inside of it, summoning or banishing creatures from dramatically further away than even the most powerful standard summoning spell, modifying, upgrading, or duplicating spells cast inside its borders, or even containing and neutralizing out of control magic. A sigil's ability to modify magic is far beyond that of any regular rune, and when used correctly, can completely reshape ideal spellcasting strategies, or turn the tide in any duel. Even dark magic can be restricted or cancelled with, something few branches of unicorn magic can claim, though these uses for them are covered in DARK 500.

TRCO - Transformation and Conjuring

TRCO 101
Transformation and Conjuring I
Instructor: Professor Flux
Terms available: 1 (Required)
Prerequisites: N/A
Description: Transformation and Conjuring are two closely-related fields of magic that involve physically modifying matter. In this first level class, students will practice transformation spells to change the shape or size of small objects of uniform composition. Alchemy, or using transformation magic to change an object's makeup at the atomic or molecular level, will also be explored at a basic level, though elective courses are available that focus solely on this topic. Conjuring, or creating entire objects from loose particles, is a more difficult type of spell, and will only be touched upon for the final few weeks of the term. By the end of the year, students should be able to freely modify small objects, from changes as small as fixing cracks in wood or stone, up to and including fully changing one object into another. Alchemization of pure elements into other elements, especially those adjacent to the starting element on the periodic table, should also be second nature.

TRCO 201
Transformation and Conjuring II
Instructor: Professor Flux
Terms available: 2 (Required)
Prerequisites: TRCO 101
Description: This course is simply the logical continuation of TRCO 101. Students will perform highly delicate work with transformation spells, using a magnifying glass to view microscopic magical changes to objects the way unicorns in cutting-edge tech careers do. And on the other end of the spectrum, students will practice with transforming much larger objects than those uses in the prerequisite course. In one multi-week project, boulders in one corner of the academy grounds will be assigned to each unicorn, and will need to be slowly shaped into the assigned form. Conjuring spells will be expected practiced much more earnestly in this course, and students will be expected to conjure objects of uniform composition, up to half their size, by the end of the term.

TRCO 210
Alchemy
Instructor: Professor Flux
Terms available: 2, 3, 4, 5
Prerequisites: TRCO 101
Description: Alchemy is an alluring topic even to the average pony, since the name brings forth mental images of turning things to gold. In reality, alchemy is about converting any substance into a completely different one, of which gold is just one of thousands of options. As this is transformation magic on a sub-atomic level, this course will begin with several weeks of an accelerated basic chemistry curriculum. Students will need to memorize the periodic table by atomic number, and be aware of the stability of each element. Alchemization in this course will mostly be performed on pure elements, but students will be expected to eventually change these elements into others with dramatically different atomic numbers, adding or removing subatomic particles in large numbers with great accuracy. Creation of ions and isotopes will be practiced in the latter half of the term, a skill that is very useful for unicorns in certain manufacturing industries.

TRCO 301
Transformation and Conjuring III
Instructor: Professor Flux
Terms available: 3 (Required)
Prerequisites: TRCO 201
Description: Transformation and Conjuring III, always taken as part of the third-term curriculum, is often considered one of the most involved of the courses required for students of all specializations. These types of magic can be very useful when applied to other fields, though; any unicorn mage will find significant experience with transformation and conjuring to be invaluable. In this course, students will deviate from casting spells on uniform objects, and practice delicate techniques for transforming compound objects made of many materials. Spells will be taught to allow the caster to scan an object's composition, inside and out, to ensure that all parts of it are fully transformed, even those hidden from view. In compound transformations, this is especially important, as transformation imperfections can impact the structural integrity of the target object. Conjuring spells will also require a finer touch than in previous courses, as students will practice conjuring objects of specific shapes, a skill that will be necessary for ponies interested in pursuing conjuring spells in their fourth and fifth terms when they begin to conjure full objects instead of just uniform substances.

TRCO 310
Advanced Alchemy
Instructor: Professor Flux
Terms available: 3, 4, 5
Prerequisites: TRCO 201, TRCO 210
Description: To unlock alchemy's true potential, a unicorn must learn to work not with just pure elements, uncommon in nature, but with compounds as well. This single topic is the core principle of the Advanced Alchemy course. Students will learn to use magic to form and break bonds between atoms, and combine these molecular-level changes with the manipulation of subatomic particles practiced in TRCO 201, allowing them to construct compounds from entirely different starting materials. Stabilizing spells will also be learned early on; some stable compounds are made of dangerous or unstable elements, such as explosive sodium and poisonous chlorine combining to make table salt, as a very common example. Stabilizing spells use magic to forcibly deaden reactivity, allowing ponies to tinker with molecular structures without risk of exposing themselves to violent chemical reactions, poisonous emissions, or radiation. In addition, students will learn to identify a substance's chemical makeup purely by magic, and assignments on this topic will involve determining the identity of unknown substances, and using that information, performing the correct alchemical changes to end up at the correct target substance. Both organic and inorganic chemistry lessons will be dispersed throughout the course to provide students with background knowledge of common molecules and types of bonds to help paint a clearer picture of which actions each alchemy spell will need to arrive at the intended result.

TRCO 400
Introduction to Self-Transformative Spells
Instructor: Professor Nester
Terms available: 4, 5
Prerequisites: MBIO 201, TRCO 301
Description: By their fourth or fifth term, anypony studying at Celestia's Academy will have a good grasp on the complex field of transformation magic. In the first few terms, however, one topic has been passed over due to the skill and power needed to even begin to work with it: self-transformation. While all prior courses will have focused exclusively on inanimate objects, this course gives students the rare opportunity to learn to temporarily physically modify themselves, their classmates, or other living things, with transformation magic. A word of caution: these spells are never permanent, so they cannot be used as a stand-in for healing spells by simply transforming an injured body part. Their duration depends on the power and skill of the caster. Most magic practiced in this class will include changing one's proportions; students will learn to increase or decrease the size of their body, change the length of legs, and modify bone structure and muscle mass. Spells can even modify things like length and texture of hair and fur or hardness of hooves. Ponies accomplished at this skill can briefly make themselves nearly two stories tall, or smaller than a centimeter, but these effects last only minutes. These spells mostly consist of modification of pre-existing body structures, rather than creation of new ones.

TRCO 410
Compound Conjuring
Instructor: Professor Flux
Terms available: 4, 5
Prerequisites: TRCO 301
Description: Conjuring is an incredible skill when used to its full potential, but due to its difficulty, students will have spent their first three terms conjuring only uniform substances. TRCO 410 gives now seasoned young mages the chance to learn the type of conjuring that captures most ponies' interest: compound conjuring, bringing entire objects, with multiple components and irregular or intricate shapes, into existence from surrounding particles. Students will begin by conjuring small objects made from a relatively low amount of different materials they already have experience with, such as wood and common metals. Simple household items will be created, such as quills and ink, cutlery, and construction tools. As the term continues, items composed of more materials will be added, as well as larger and more complicated objects, including food items and clothing articles. By the course's conclusion, students will regularly be expected to demonstrate their conjuring skills to complete "chores" while starting with nothing and conjuring all necessary components themselves, such as being presented with an empty table and conjuring the entire place setting for a meal, or washing dirty garments by conjuring their own soap, water, and even wash basin. They will also be responsible for conjuring larger objects, up to a maximum of their own size and weight.

TRCO 500
Advanced Transformation and Conjuring
Instructor: Professor Flux
Terms available: 5
Prerequisites: TRCO 301, TRCO 410
Description: Here, fifth-term students will practice the highest degree of standard transformation and conjuring spells. Transformation magic in this class will transcend transforming items into specific, pre-planned objects. Instead, students will be given a task that needs to be completed using an object completely unsuited for the task, and will need to customize the object to fulfill the requirements. This will often require transforming the object into shapes that don't resemble any specific tool or item, or sometimes will be an amalgamation of multiple items at once, fashioned in a way that allows its different parts to work in tandem. Conjuring of large compound objects such as furniture, or smaller but highly detailed objects with mechanical and/or moving components, like a clock or a ceiling fan, while comprise most of the conjuring element of the class. By the end of the term, there should be very little limitation to a spellcaster's ability to create or change the form of almost any inanimate object.

TRCO 510
Self-Transformation
Instructor: Professor Nester
Terms available: 5
Prerequisites: TRCO 400
Description: Ponies who excel with the self-modifying spells practiced in TRCO 400 may choose to venture into the realm of total self-transformation. Not a topic to be taken lightly, this highly advanced course will explore the topic of completely changing one's body. Students will put their transformation skills to the test, attempting age spells that can temporarily make the target physically older or younger, as well as spells to switch one's physical sex. The most difficult self-transformative spells can even add completely new body structures, or remove them. A simple form of this spell that is popular among self-transformation users is to briefly give themselves wings. (Note that making oneself physically resemble an alicorn does not suddenly bestow alicorn-level powers). A much more extreme example is full-body restructuring, allowing the spellcaster to transform themselves into a completely different species for a short time. This is vastly harder for unicorns to accomplish than it is for changelings, whose entire magical physiology is designed around excelling specifically at this one type of magic. Even if a unicorn can turn themselves into something else, they can't maintain that form for very long, and, unlike changelings, are completely incapable of turning themselves into inanimate objects. The magic studied in this course is without question one of the most difficult topics a unicorn can practice, so even students preparing to graduate are not expected to fully master the skill.

WEAV - Spellweaving and Spell Combinations

WEAV 100
Overview of Magical Disciplines
Instructor: Dean Sparkler
Terms available: 1, 2
Prerequisites: N/A
Description: This optional miscellaneous course is recommended for students who don't yet have a clear idea of what field of magic interests them the most or what sort of career they hope to use that magic for. WEAV 100 students will practice the most simple spells from every discipline taught at Celestia's Academy, at a level at or below that which is used in other 100-level courses. In addition, each of the Academy's professors will visit this class throughout the term, to discuss and demonstrate some of the most powerful and exciting spells in each of their respective specializations. Toward the end of the term, students will individually select three of the thirteen disciplines that interest them the most, and classwork and assignments for the remainder of the year will differ for each pony in order to give them a chance to pursue the topics that interest them most. By the end of this course, each student will have at least a starting point to confidently continue to pursue any of the Academy's disciplines, and can build their course schedule in their later terms accordingly to get the most out of their magical education.

WEAV 301
Intro to Spell Combination
Instructor: Princess Celestia
Terms available: 3 (Required)
Prerequisites: ELEM 201, ENCH 201, PRAC 201, PRAC 202
Description: The most advanced spells used by unicorn-kind, the tricks used by the most cunning duelists, clever enchanters, and astute illusionists, or by ponies doing spellweaving for any field of magic, are usually not spells belonging to a single discipline. Combination spells take two or more spells, often from entirely different fields of magic, and merge elements of each together to create a multidiscipline spell that's greater than the sum of its parts. In many courses available to upperclassmen, students will need to do exactly that, so this course for third term students teaches the key principles of spell combination. It's not as simple as casting two spells at once; not all spells produce a meaningful result when combined, and those that do will first need to be modified in some way in order to link together, so this intro course will give students a chance to practice existing simple spell combinations, rather than asking them to work out the correct combining process themselves. Typical combinations will include examples such as combining basic elemental spells with illusions to produce visual effects the illusions cannot produce on their own, or combining alchemy with enchantments to create enchanted containers that convert their contents into a specific substance.

WEAV 400
Introduction to Spellweaving
Instructor: Princess Celestia
Terms available: 4, 5
Prerequisites: WEAV 301, PHYS 300, RUNE 301
Description: Spellweaving is the long and complex process of research and testing used to create an entirely new spell. To even consider spellweaving, a unicorn must first have a deep understanding of the field of magic they wish to weave a spell for, as well as a familiarity with the scientific process and skill with physics of magic equations in order to document and quantify the series of failed or partially successful spell experiments performed in pursuit of one new fully functioning spell, so only students in their fourth term or above have the option to explore this process at even an introductory level. This course will give students the opportunity to design simple, single-purpose spells; enchantments and illusions are the most common options, as these fields are very, very broad and new simple spells are discovered by scholars regularly. Detailed reports of all aspects of the spell construction will be kept at all steps of the process, including the prototype spell's current effect (if any), level of magic input and degree of energy focus in the horn that was used (this data must be supported mathematically, not just described), a detailed list of spell shortcomings and weak points, and hypothesized amendments to the process to attempt to bring the spell closer to having its desired effect. Peer review of work-in-progress is often one of the biggest tools to clearing hurdles in the design process; students will participate in weekly group discussions with classmates where each of their respective prototypes are analyzed, so fellow spellweavers can put forth ideas each individual may have overlooked on their own. Some spells are far more feasible than others, so grading in this course is based on proper execution of the scientific process, not on the number of successfully designed spells.

WEAV 410
Complex Spell Combinations
Instructor: Princess Celestia
Terms available: 4, 5
Prerequisites: WEAV 301, PHYS 310, at least five additional courses at the 300 level or greater in any discipline
Description: This is a much more in-depth look at spell combinations, providing the opportunity to attempt difficult combinations, and even cast elaborate fusions of three or more spells. Students will practice useful combinations that accomplish goals that no other discipline can accomplish by alternate means. One such example is memory spells, a combination of an illusion and a magical biology connection spell, to project images of a memory, complete with the emotions held by the memory's owner, into the mind and heart of another. Another highly practical combination is the creation of wards, or barriers made by enchanting a shield spell so that it persists after casting, not as a physical barrier, but as a magical deterrent that can be used to subconsciously distract or misdirect specific targets to prevent them from crossing its boundary. Wards can even be enhanced with runes projected onto them with illumination spells so that attempts to cross them by the target the ward intends to block causes said target visual distortion or even physical discomfort. While not as effective as a solid shield, wards don't require continued input from the caster, and due to their invisibility after placement and subtle effects, are ideal for concealment, instead of just defense. These are just a few of many examples explored here. On top of that, students will even have the chance to experiment with custom combinations, where it should quickly become clear that, for ponies who are creative and clever enough, spell combinations are the key to unlocking some of magic's most unexpected and fascinating possibilities.

WEAV 500
Spellweaving Workshop
Instructor: Varies, see description.
Terms available: 5
Prerequisites: MBIO 201, WEAV 400, WEAV 410, full completion of one of the following specializations: BATT, ELEM, ENCH, MBIO, PRAC, or TRCO (500-level courses in that specialization must be taken concurrently.)
Description: This is an independent research course in which students will attempt to design a completely new spell in a field of their choice. Students will prepare a research proposal over the winter, and at the start of their fifth term, will be paired with whichever professor is most appropriate and has the greatest expertise with the field the student will be spellweaving for. During the first week of the term, student and professor will refine the proposal and the student will present their initial ideas for experiments to begin to shape their spell design. After this, the spellweaving research will be left largely in the hooves of the student, save for a one-hour meeting per week with their professor to discuss any successes, failures, and new information regarding the spell design process. Throughout the term, students will be expected to research their topic heavily, using the scientific spellweaving process they will have learned in previous WEAV courses to create prototype after prototype based on data from each attempt. Magical limitations of the unicorn body and the restrictions of magical physics will have to be taken into account, and students will need to justify each prototype with mathematical proofs, to ensure that failed versions of the spell being designed are the result of not perfecting the design, rather than because the spell is physically impossible for a unicorn to produce. A successful spellweaving operation is always exciting, but a big part of science is finding out what doesn't work, rather than what does. Professors will judge the student's work and award a score based on the methods, detail, and effort put into the research and spellweaving process, regardless of whether or not the final product was successful.

The sun set early on winter evenings. The cold and dark outside was no concern to the three unicorn foals, sharing a large blanket in front of the crackling hearth while they finished their task.

"Top! Top! Take the object manipulation course with me, pleeeeeease?" Portabella begged, kicking her hind hooves a bit as she lie on her stomach. "You gotta take it at some point anyway, so let's take it at the same time!"

Top glanced at his tentative schedule. "Given your propensity for levitation and its auxiliary subcategories, I envisage your virtuosity there will be quite stimulating to descry."

Portabella stared blankly.

"...That's a yes," Top clarified, putting a checkmark on "Manipulation of Objects in Professional Trades" on his selection sheet.

"Are either of you planning to branch out into any new fields this term?" Inkwell asked, leaning over and peering at her friends' schedule plans. "I'm thinking of giving Magical Biology a try."

"Mm, maybe Astronomy, to fill some electives," Portabella considered. "I really want to try out elemental spells, though. If the intro class goes good this year, I'm totally taking air and fire spell courses in our next term!"

"I profess, the Alchemy subsection of Transformation and Conjuring has seized my consciousness for the time being," Top chimed in, smiling a bit as the light of the fire danced across his thick spectacles. "I possess a mentality pertinent for chemistry, and I'm desirous of an opportune circumstance to proliferate my alchemical wherewithal."

"Shame you can't start taking Runes classes till the third term, Inkwell," Portabella continued, turning back to face the other filly. "I know you're really looking forward to those."

Inkwell shrugged. "Well, remember what Clarity said," she replied, sounding chipper despite the disappointment. "It's never too early to research and practice a topic you love, even if its on your own! There's an entire section in the library about runes and how to use them; I barely even scratched the surface last year."

"And don't fail to give credence to the mammoth selection of other tutorial possibilities available to you as a sophomore spellcaster," Top chimed in. "Runes are scarcely your exclusive engrossment among sorcerous arts."

"Whatever Top said, I agree!" Portabella declared. "Next term is gonna be awesome. Soon, we'll be doing magic we couldn't even dream of a year ago like it's nothing!"

Inkwell nodded with a smile as she filled in the last spot on her course selection sheet. "So, has everypony settled on next term's classes, then?"

"You bet!" Portabella cried, slapping the sheet with a forehoof in an affirmative gesture and seeming unconcerned at the creases this put in the page.

"I've nominated each of my selections from the course directory as well," Top confirmed, neatly folding his sheet and sliding it into the waiting envelope.

"Kids!" came the voice of Portabella's mom from the next room. "Dinnertime! Come get your hay-and-carrot pot pies while they're still hot!"

Portabella leapt to her hooves, sending the blanket flying across the living room. "C'mon, we can talk magic all evening, but for now, let's eat!" she squealed, prancing in place by the door to the kitchen.

Grinning at her friend's enthusiasm, Inkwell stood, and Top rose to his hooves beside her. Bursting with excitement for another term at the land's greatest school of magic, the three friends continued their chatter as they made their way to dinner.