Cradle of Dreams

by AterHut

Rating: everyone
Tags: Adventure, Alternate Universe, Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Comedy
Length: 34866

Story about a pony without dreams of her own. Who she will meet in her journey, and how will they affect each other?

A young unicorn is dragged into work many years earlier than she expected.
Even being prepared, due to a lack of experience she quickly gets into trouble.
How will she handle new problems and where will it lead her?

Published 2023-06-23 18:50:00 UTC
Last updated 2024-01-19 16:18:26 UTC

Chapter Two — Failure After Failure

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter Three — A Message From The Past?

Chapter Three — A Message From The Past?

In the morning I, as usual, came back to the library.

"I'm really starting to live here, don't I?"

As soon as the doors turned open I noticed that something was off in the pile of books and documents I’ve left yesterday.

“I definitely don’t remember that falling on me.”

There was an old-looking book that somehow felt way less affected by the time. Its soft, pale-burgundy cover was doing a great job of hiding amounts of dust covering it.

“Did I get hit too hard yesterday?”

No matter how much I stared at the book - I wasn’t able to recall seeing it before.

There also was no title to identify the book. Only a big hoofwritten “M” letter that looks like someone’s signature and resembles a mountain with a pony in front of it that…

“Yep, I definitely got hit too hard yesterday.”

But now I’m sure that I haven’t seen that book before.

“Is anything wrong?”

I twitched, but didn’t get as scared as before. Probably I’m just too tired. Or getting used to this. For some reason I want to believe in the first option.

“Do you know anything about this book?”

He was here for much longer than I was, so maybe he knew something.

“Let’s see…”

I watched the black pegasus taking the book with his hoofs.

Seeing this made me angry for some reason.

He examined the book for a second.

“Sorry, I don’t know anything about this.”

Are you capable of anything except scaring me?!

“All I can say is that it seems to be protected with some spell.”

He tried to open the book and had no success in that.

“What does that mean?”

It was the first time I’ve even heard about book-protecting spells. I mean, it would make sense for magic scrolls or secret documents... But for a book? That’s getting even more suspicious.

“It means that one who wrote this book was powerful enough to seal it and didn’t want others to see what’s inside.”

Thanks capitan!

I took a book from his hoofs to give it a closer look.

I took it with my magic, of course. I hate this rule more and more with each second.

“Thus I must bring that book to Mrs Waver. It may contain important information or be secret documentation of the Wavers'. Or even-”

Book easily popped open when I tried to open it.

Black pegasus stared at the open book with slight disbelief in his eyes.

“...Or it can belong to a family of yours, indeed.”

After that he turned back and silently quit the library. Forgeting even to give his signature bow.

I felt like I finally paid him back for all the stuff he did to me in the last days.

But even so it’s weird that he didn’t even check what’s inside. Or delivered that book to my parents in the first place.

However, that book interested me too much to think about it.

“I just hope it's not one of his jokes.”

I sat at a nearby table. Thanks to my hard work it was so clean that I could eat from it.

Even if it was only one table out of, like, twenty here?

Still feeling bit proud of myself, I prepared to open the book.

“Please be helpful, please be helpful, please be helpful!”

I peeked inside of that weird book and…

Nothing.

“It’s freaking empty?!”

I knew it’s another of his jokes! I looked around, expecting to see his calm face full of laughter at me, but there was no pony to be seen.

“Huh?”

I turned back to the book and flipped through. All pages were empty. No hidden letters or any notes between pages.

Just nothing.

“Oh come on! It can't just be an empty book! It was locked with some kind of magic, right? Who in the world would cast a sealing spell on an empty book?!”

But it seems that somepony would.

I tried to illuminate the pages to see if there’s some hidden text, just like in old adventure books.

“Aha!”

Still freaking nothing. Maybe it’s really empty?

“But that’s just way too suspicious!” I stamped my hooves in displeasure.

I looked around again, checking the surroundings for the presence of a black laughing pegasus.

None to be seen.

I tried to close and open, rotate, flip upside down, look at the pages in the dark, cover pages in my magic - no results!

“WHY WAS IT LOCKED THEN?!”

I need to know that, or I won’t be able to focus on work! I should ask mom or dad about that book.

“Yes, that’s very important. Very important. Indeed.”

I closed the library and went to the main hall. As expected, mom was cleaning here.

“What are you doing here, Rettie? Is something wrong?”

“Uhh… Kind of? Do you know something about this book?”

She took the book with her magic and opened it.

Or at least that’s what I’ve expected to see. Because she failed to.

“Sorry Sweetie, but I can’t get it. Is that some kind of joke?”

“I wonder… Do you know where dad is?”

At that very moment dad came into the hall with Mr Waver.

“Here he is.”

I waved to them to attract their attention and ran up to them.

“Dad, can you open this?”

He took the book and tried to open it with his wings. No results.

“Doesn’t seem so, what is that?”

“That’s what I’m trying to figure out. Mr Waver, can you try to open this?”
His magic didn’t work either.

“Bother to explain yourself, Rettie?”

He definitely wasn’t happy about me wandering around with some weird magic-protected books instead of cleaning.

“I found it during the cleaning, and it seems that I'm the only one who can open this book.”

To prove my words I opened it with ease, surprising everyone, especially Mr Wavers, with that.

“How did you do that? Is there some trick or puzzle?”

Of course he suspects me of cheating.

“There’s no tricks! The senior servant told me that there’s some kind of spell protecting that book and that it’s most likely our family documents or something like that, but it’s completely empty!”

I flipped through the blank pages as a proof.

“Hmm… So nopony else is able to open that book?

“Yes.”

“Doesn’t that mean that that book belongs to you, sweetie?”

Dad’s idea could be right, but there’s a problem…

“But how and why was it lying in the library for so long then?”

And was it in first place? I still can’t recall seeing it ever before. Even though I've just looked through the entire library!

No pony seemed to be able to answer those questions.

After that, Mr Waver took this book to Mrs Wavers, so I had nothing to do but go back to work.

In two hours black pegasus visited me again. Right before my break.

“Mrs Waver says that that book belongs to you so she asked me to bring it back.”

“But I have no clue what to do with that!”

“I just delivered the book. There’s no doubt that it's yours. So there’s nothing I can help with. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have other things to do..”

As always he bowed and flew away.

“And what am I supposed to do with you?”

For some reason the book didn’t answer.

“Rude.”

. . .

During the dinner break, I kept staring at empty book pages, trying to solve that mystery.

“So what do we have…”

Tasty rice with some salad, and coffee with a slice of garlic bread…

I shook my head.

“Not this.”

Well, that’s a book. An empty one.

Thanks Sherlock! Anything else?

Garlic bread doesn't go well with sweet coffee.

“Oh come on!”

I had to quickly finish my dinner to stop distracting myself.

Book seems to belong to me. So I’m somehow supposed to know what to do with it.

“But I have no clue what!”

I made a heavy sigh and took the book to put it in my saddlebag along with the lunchboxes.

“I don’t have time for this right now. I just wanted to know if there's a way to improve my magic in a short amount of time to be able to finish work…”

After those words, the book broke free from my magic field and, after flipping multiple pages, landed at the table, while my lunchboxes met the ground.

“The heck?! I thought only that pegasus would try to scare me!”

This time the pages weren't empty!

*Chapter Two. How to improve your magic in a short amount of time.*

“Are you some kind of freaking magic book or something?!”

I mean, it was locked with some magic spell. And react only to my magic for some reason but…

I quickly put my stuff in my bags and sat in front of the book.

“Chapter Two, huh? So there must be chapter one, right?”

Pages started to flip again.

*Chapter One. How to use that book.*

“AND HOW IN THE WORLD I WAS SUPPOSED TO READ IT?!”

Well, I’ve managed to randomly open this, but still!

But there were still empty pages before the first chapter.

“Page one! First page! Page number one?!”

It didn’t work. But at the same time I don’t want to read instructions that are literally under my muzzle.

“Uhh, then it must be… Title?”

Pages flipped again, and voila, the first page is right in front of me!

“Here we go!”

*Collection of notes for my little dream. Author Mountainhoof.*

*Dedicated to my little dream that once visited and saved me.*

“Huh? What’s wrong with that title?”

But aside the title…

“Author is Mountainhoof? That’s my great-grandpa!”

Now it makes sense why others weren't able to open this diary. But why then my dad wasn't able to?

“Well, I guess I’ll have to read that book to figure it out? So… Contents?”

Pages flipped and book contents appeared in front of me. Literally. I was able to see letters apprearing at page!

“Okay that's impressive!”

Contents.
1. Title. ................................................................................1
2. Contents. ........................................................................2
3. Chapter One. How to use that book. .........................3
4. Chapter Two. How to improve your magic
in a short amount of time. ..............................................15
5. Chapter Three. A warning. (VERY IMPORTANT!!!) ....68
6. Chapter Four. The journey. ........................................69
7.

That looks… weird.

Not like a magic book controlled by voice and titled “Collection of notes for my little dream” wasn’t weird enough, but what’s wrong with those contents?!

First chapter contains information about how to even see that chapter in the first place.

Second chapter is suspiciously in time for me.

Putting some “VERY IMPORTANT!!!” warning AFTER the main contents of the book? Why?!

Chapter four sounds normal enough but…

“Why is the seventh paragraph empty and not even numbered?”

Having no title means that I can’t even open it!

And it’s quite worrying after the “VERY IMPORTANT!!!” warning chapter!?!

“I think I’ll read the warning first… Chapter Three!.. A warning? ”

It doesn’t work.

“Chapter Three. A warning. VERY IMPORTANT!!!?!?”

No reaction.

“WHY?! Why doesn't it work even if it’s that important that you wrote it in capitals!?!”

That’s just stupid!

“Chapter One!”

It works.

“Chapter Three!”

Now it doesn’t.

“Dang it!”

Well, I have no choice but to read it from the beginning then?

Chapter Four — Shooting Stars

As I calmed down a little, I began to read the book from the very beginning, including the title page.

Collection of notes for my little dream. Author Mountainhoof.

My great-grandpa was a very romantic pony or a huge weirdo.

I recalled his size from an old photo in archives.

“Literally huge, huh?”

Сhuckling a little from my own joke, I continued reading.

Dedicated to my little dream that once visited and saved me.

Now when I have time to think about this…

“That once visited me?”

I couldn’t possibly meet my great-grandpa ever. Ponies don’t live that long!

“Which means…”

That book definitely doesn’t belong to me.

“I mean, the pony who it belongs to is most likely gone for a long time already. They wouldn’t mind me reading it, right?”

I still felt slightly bad for reading notes that were meant for another pony but I just couldn’t help myself.

If that book can improve my magic abilities in short amounts of time - I’ll read it. It doesn't seem like it has any personal information anyways.

“Contents.”

It's still the same.

“That seventh paragraph still worries me as much as that “warning” that I can’t open.”

But I can’t do anything about this, at least for now.

“Chapter one.”

Chapter One. How to use that book.

“Surprise me.”

Come to think about that, if you read this then you’ve already got how to do it...

You must be kidding me.

So, instead, I’ll leave here a short description of how it works.

“Like I even care!”

. . .

“So it opened only from my magic because the magic crystal inside reacts to the exact magic type?”

I’ve heard something similar from my old magic teacher, but he was rambling so fast that I barely remember anything. Except the fact that different ponies are kindred to different elements or something like that.

“I thought it was about difference between earthpony, pegasi and unicorns magic, but Mom and Mr Waver weren’t able to open this book…”

Was Mrs Waver able to open this thing tho?

“Meh, whatever.”

But I didn’t see any crystals when I checked the book.

“Uhm… Crystal page?”

No effect. I was curious so checked the book once again and found a little orange crystal between the pages and the book spine.

“Here you are. To think that such a small gem can lock the book and do all that invisible text stuff. Magic is way more amazing than I was taught!”

I really hope that I’ll be able to do amazing things like that too!

Well, that’s why I read that book, right?

I need to improve my magic in order to clear that place in time.

“Alright Rettie. Time to focus on the book's contents.”

Pages flipped and opened the “Contents” page.

“...Seriously?”

. . .

Few pages later my eyes felt heavy.

“For some reason reading that book feels tiring.”

Does that damn crystal thing absorb my magic in order to show the text?

“I really hope it doesn’t because I have a LOT of work to do.”

Come to think about that. Half of the day has already passed and I haven't made any progress at all.

“Dang it! You’d better worth the time I’ve spent on you, stupid book!”

…Actually there’s only a few pages left until that magic-improving chapter.

“I feel like I’m at that old stallion's history lessons again. For real, that man didn’t knew anything so all I was doing was reading!”

I’ve spent ten more minutes complaining into nowhere till I’ve caught myself on that.

“Oh. Right. Back to reading.”

Well, at least my eyes got a little break. Or that’s what I’ll keep telling myself to don’t feel bad about my own rambling.

... this way the same crystal catches vibrations of your voice and uses it to navigate you through pages.

...making the material softer, allowing you to freely use the book…

...using the earth element to pigmentate it and reveal the text at the pages.

“Oh wow. That thing is even more complicated than I expected!”

Long story short - that damn book isn’t even a book, but some solid lightweight rock! My great-grandpa made crystal soften the layered structure of the stone to make pages off it!

“That explains why others weren't able to open it, even if there’s no lock on this book.”

He even liquefied transparent crystals dust to make invisible ink off that!

“Really, really impressive!”

But I still have one question left.

“But what for?!”

That damn crystal actually absorbs your magic to function! And a LOT of it!

“So I wasn't imagining that I was getting tired way faster than from a regular book.”

Speaking of tiredness.

“Fuaaaa”

I took a long yawn.

“I think a quick midday nap won’t hurt, right?”

Even if I still didn’t do a thing in the library today.

“That book.. better be worth it…”

With those words I passed off.

. . .

I woke up with another long yawn. I'm definitely yawning a lot lately.

It took me a second to get where I am.

“Ah, right…”

I checked the clock. It’s 7pm.

“...”

IT’S 7 PM!

“For Celestia’s sake…”

I actually lost a whole day making no progress at all.

“Not good.”

I stood up and noticed something falling off me.

“Huh?”

It was a light but warm blanket.

Very nice of you, mister black pegasus.

Come to think about this, I still don’t even know his name.

“I should ask him about it the next time I see him.”

“Who?”

“YOU-”

Screaming after waking up while your throat is dry is never a good idea.

I started coughing. It gave me time to remind myself that he covered me while I slept.

“What’s *cough* your name?”

“My name is Black, Miss Rettie. Why?”

Wait. His name is ACTUALLY Black?!

Now my cough is mixed with a chuckle.

He was looking really confused about that.

“Is something wrong?”

Black pegasus titled his head while asking that. That made his black hair fall off his black neck only to mix with the black suit he was wearing.

The Amount of black in front of me made me laugh even harder.

I rolled on the floor laughing like an idiot from that situation.

Even his damn hoofs were black!

The floor was still dusty so not only my laugh but my coughing was getting stronger and stronger, forcing me to stand up and calm down while I still had at least some air in my lungs.

When I looked back at Black I barely held myself from laughing once again.

“It’s… Pfft… It’s nothing!”

Unlike my mouth my eyes were wet after all that laughter.

“Just wanted to thank you for watching after me while I slept.”

Okay that sounded like he’s some kind of weirdo watching fillies sleeping, but I hope he got the point.”

“Taking care of the residents of the mansion is part of my job, Miss.”

He relaxed a little when it came to work.

“Still thanks, it was very nice of you.”

I looked into his eyes saying that. At his BLACK eyes.

“Pffft…”

I had to turn around to prevent myself from laughing again. It’s just too much for me! I don’t remember anypony else who has only one colour! Now I wonder if his mark is also black!

“You sure you’re alright, Miss?”

I can’t tell him the reason why I can’t stop laughing!

“That’s.. Pft, that’s fine! I just had a really-pfft funny dream!”

I’m awful at lying, aren't I?

“That explains your... behaviour. Then, if that’s all, I’ll go back to work. Don’t stay up late here. Your parents will be worried.”

Saying this, he bowed as usual and flew away.

“Is it just me or his speech became a little bit less official?”

Nah, I just haven't woken up fully yet.

I turned my gaze to the library. Some of its corners were pitch-black.

...I couldn't help myself and started laughing again.

. . .

When I finally calm down (for the last time for today, I hope) I’ve checked my condition.

Still tired, but not as much as before.

Which means that I’m ready for another round of that book reading. And this time, finally…

“Chapter two!”

Pages flipped once again. This time I could feel how it absorbs part of my magic before starting to move.

Chapter Two. How to improve your magic in a short amount of time.

“Here we go. You better justify your title.”

To be honest, there’s not much to say without digging deep in theory, which I don’t know…

“You won’t bucking dare…”

Just think about your magic as about, you know, actual magic! Imagine the spell you wanna cast…

“He must be kidding me! Imagine magic? Is it some fillie's storybook?!”

I felt a strong urge to burn that book in the garden and bury the remains, but then remembered that that book is a damn solid stone affected by magic. So he should know at least something, right? Right?!

“There must be an explanation. I just need to read it further.”

You’ve probably used to think about your magic as a physical object, but it isn’t! You don’t have to interact with it as much! Just keep it on a leash from your horn so you can control it and you will be fine!

Oh it’d help a lot! For a filly who only starts to use magic! It's the basics you know?!

“Don’t sound like I can just “throw” my telekinesis into an object and pull it to myself!”

Saying this, I imagined exactly what I said, trying to pick up the book lying three metres away from me.

That's way further than I possibly can reach at my level.

Surprisingly, the book got pulled towards me and fell on the ground.

“Wha-”

Okay, maybe I’m dumb one here and that book is actually helpful.

It took five attempts, but a book that was three metres away now floats in front of me.

It’s more than three times better than my personal record!

I put the book I sweared at in front of me and, bowing deeply, asked for forgiveness from the bottom of my heart.

Even for myself it felt weird but that book deserves it only because of that little piece of advice.

And there’s fifty-two more pages of that stuff!

Now the real question.

“Do I keep practising that trick or read further?”

That’s a tough one… That trick alone will help me to finish cleaning in two weeks with no problems at all.

But, of course, only if I'll master it. But at the next page I could get advice that would help me even more!

“It’d be way easier if you would stop sucking magic off me when I read you, you know?”

Book ignored my complaints.

Time to make a deal with myself then. I will practise that trick for a few days, and will read more when I feel comfortable using it. This way I’ll be on a safe side and would be able to stop reading and focus on work at any moment.

“Alright, sounds like a plan!”

I’ve closed the book and put it in my saddlebags. It’s almost 8 PM so I don’t have much time left for practice.

“Well, not much energy either.”

That book is definitely for someone with way bigger magic capacity than I am.

“I wonder if I can improve that too. Or increase its recovery rate…”

No. Stop Rettie. You need to focus on what you’ve learnt today.

I’ve looked at my saddlebags.

“Nah, I really should get some practice first.”

But those thoughts don’t let me focus!

“Ughhhh, I wanna read one more page!”

But it was too late, I already made a deal with myself.

“Dang you, me!”

Regretting my own decisions I began my little practice session. At least It will guarantee some progress... Hopefully.

. . .

“Closer… Further… Closer… Further…Phew!”

Feeling myself like one of those big strong earthponies who push weights, I pushed one tiny little book back and forth, trying to keep my telekinesis field stable. Turns out that it isn’t enough to keep it on a “leash”, but requires to “feed” the magic in it.

“So it’s more like a magic vein, isn’t it?”

Yes, it’ll be way easier to think that way for now.

Moving an object further than one metre away from me causes noticeable pain in my horn and makes me sweat like I’m under sun in the middle of the summer. I mean, it is summer, but only the beginning of it! And it’s evening! And I’m inside of the building!

“Is it really supposed to heat that much?”

I tried to touch my horn.

“Ouch.”

Maybe I couldn’t boil water on it yet, but it’s definitely hot enough to get a slight burn if I'll hold it for long enough.

“Alright, I think that’s my limit. I got a little bit too carried away today.”

I was about to start packing my stuff when realisation striked me.

I can’t keep using magic or I will burn my horn.

But neither can I use my hoofs while I’m at the library area.

“Okay, maybe I got too carried away today.”

I didn’t want to leave my stuff here. Even if it’s a safe place. I began to feel some kind of connection to this book and was worried about leaving it unattended. Cheating and using my hoofs is out of the question, for some reason I was sure that Black would know if I’d even try to do that.

“Well, I have nothing to do then, but wait till it cools up at least a little.”

I went outside and sat on the grass to let the wind do its thing.

I took a deep breath of the clear air.

“Amazing.”

It's a very pleasant and refreshing feeling when you don't have to breathe in small portions so you don't inhale too much dust.

The sun had already disappeared below the horizon, so I watched the stars slowly appear in the sky.

For some reason I always enjoyed looking at the stars after hard days.

“They just feel so…”

“Kindred?”

“Mhm.”

I have no clue when did Black appeared here. Neither if he reads my thoughts or just caught the same vibe. To be honest I didn't care about things like this.

“Just seeing their shine makes me feel like I can do anything.”

I closed my eyes to just enjoy the moment.

“Don’t.”

Wha-

“Why?!”

Can't I get some rest? I mean, I slept for half a day, but...

“Look.”

He pointed somewhere towards the night sky.

"There are a couple of shooting stars."

I had to strain my eyes to see that, but he was right. There actually were a couple of falling stars that were shining brighter and brighter as they were getting closer to each other.

“Woah!”

That’s not something you will see everyday!.. Every night?

“Don’t you want to make a wish?”

“A wish?”

He nodded.

"There's a legend that shooting stars deliver our wishes to Princess Luna and she will make ones from good ponies come true"

“I mean, I heard this one but…”

“Those are for little fillies?”

Did he just try to tease me?

“No, I just… don’t think that I have one.”

Well, maybe except wishing to deal with that dumb library as soon as possible. But I'll take care of that by myself.

“That’s rare for ponies of your age not having any wishes.”

Why does this old man make such an accent on my age all of sudden?

“Does that mean that you had one at my age?”

I tried to tease him back.

“Yes, I did.”

“And what was that?”

He smiled. That probably was the first time I saw him smiling.

“As any other young pegasi. I wanted to soar in endless blue skies and travel all over the world on pair of my faithful wings.”

His smile got a bit bitter.

“But I've become too attached to this place before I knew it. I just don’t want to leave. I bet you will understand what I mean when you grow up a little.”

He rubbed the bridge of his nose.

“But enough about me. You don’t have much time left. Are you sure that you don’t want to wish for anything? Seeing two shooting stars at the same time isn’t an often event.”

I watched the couple of stars getting closer and closer to each other. Few more seconds and they will cross each other.

“A wish?..”

“Just don’t say it outloud, remember?”

“I know alright?”

Geez, don’t ruin the mood!

But maybe…

Maybe it would be nice to grant wishes too? Seeing other pony smiling faces, as you help their dreams come true. If even such a moody pony as Black smiled, reminding his own dreams, then maybe it’s a worthy one to wish for?

Two stars crossed the sky and illuminated the surroundings with their bright shine.

Or, to be more accurate, they collided with each other and exploded.

“Oh, come on!”

I shouted. Seriously?! I’ve got all sentimental here just to get THIS?!

“Well, maybe not having a dream is a good thing. I’d feel pretty awful if I’d wished for something and that would happen. Anyways, I still have stuff to do, so won’t disturb you any longer.”

He stood up, bowed and flew away.

For some reason I was sure that he did it on purpose. Even if I’m even more sure that he couldn’t anyhow predict or make two stars fall and explode right now. I just want to blame him for that.

I just sat here shocked once again. All I wanted at that moment was to bury my head underground for some reason.

“Well, at least I cooled my horn?”

Chapter Five — Some Good Progress

After the “stars incident” and good night of sleep I’ve spent the next few days practising that "imagination" trick I've learned.

Since I lost way too much of my magic during the first days of cleaning (especially on that damn book), I’d have to take a little break from cleaning to recover anyways.

“Can I even call it a break if I was learning during it?..”

Seems like all that stress rewarded me with a habit of rambling and complaining about everything.

“Is that what older ponies call “growing up” ?”

I really hope not.

I let out a heavy sigh.

Thankfully, after practising in the library, I didn't have to use this trick over and over again.

Rather, I had to think about ways of using it and try out only ideas that were looking promising.

Which allowed me to both - practise and recover at the same time.

I felt like an incredibly smart pony at that moment. Now cleaning shouldn’t be a problem.

But…

I don’t want to work at all! I deserve an actual rest!

But it's the 7th day out of 14 that I have to clear the library! If I take even one more day off then I simply won’t be able to finish it in time!

That trick will save me a couple of days but it also took them to learn it!

And besides the time, it took a lot of effort too! Which left me without any motivation to keep working!

Usually I’d just distract myself with something else so that the current task wouldn’t discourage me so much.

But I don’t have any motivation or time for that either!

So I came up with the best solution I could find.

I just lay on the grass in front of the library, staring at the sunny sky.

“...”

Depressive lying on your back doesn’t work well when the sun shines directly into your eyes.

“Noted.”

Reconsidering my own decisions, I’ve moved into the shadows.

No more sun trying to burn out my eyes.

“Much better.”

Now… What should I do?

I don’t want to think, but my brain just can't seem to let me suffer in silence even for a little.

After fighting my own thoughts for a little I’ve finally given up and let them flow.

But it seems like they gave up too, leaving me with a ringing silence in my head.

Now I’ve lost motivation even to losing motivation. Amazing.

“Dang it.”

I stood up and, after taking a lap around the library, finally entered it to at least give it a look. And to be honest…

“It… doesn’t look that bad now?”

I mean, it still looks awful. There was a ton (most likely literally) of dust and cobweb left, but it didn’t look as bad as the first day.

Especially since I no longer have to wear a mask to be able to breathe here!

I have a clean table and books don’t look that dusty anymore.

“Thankfully, I don’t have to restore them or something like that.”

At least I hope so.

And last but not least, my telekinesis improved a lot compared to the time I’ve spent!

“So… I just have to clean a couple more tables, chairs, windowsills…”

It'll take me a day, but it shouldn't be a hassle.

“Windows…”

Uhh… Those are quite huge, but I can manage to do it in one day with my increased range?

“Few bookshelves…”

Harder task, but it will take only a day or two, considering that I’ll have to take books off them first.

Well, and maybe wipe them once again, just to be sure.

“Chandeliers…”

Come to think of it, those would be nearly impossible for me to clean with my short-ranged telekinesis before!

I’ve once again thanked my great-grandpa’s notes.

“And, lastly, wipe the floor.”

Piece of cake, compared to the rest.

In total…

“Six days?!”

That leaves me a whole two spare days!

I thought I’m short on time!

“Hold up.”

Something is definitely wrong here.

Why would my parents have to spend two whole weeks here then?!

“Did they just scare me off too, so I wouldn’t slack?!”

Black’s supervision would be more than enough for that!

“Maybe they didn’t know about Mr Waver's order?”

That… may be true.

And may not!

“Ugh…”

Guessing won’t help me here.

“I think I’ll just ask them about that when I finish…”

Feeling a little frustrated, I started cleaning out the bookshelves.

For some reason now I was sure that that’s how growing up feels like.

“Welcome to adult life, me?”

. . .

In less than ten minutes I got extremely bored and wasn’t able to keep cleaning.

Welcome out of adult life, me.

"I definitely need something to distract myself or I'll go crazy."

But all I’ve got around is books!

Of course, I could read my great-grandpa notes, but then I’d won’t have any magic left for cleaning itself.

"Well, then I have no choice but to read other books?"

I tried to recall all the books I saw last time I checked the library, in order to find something interesting.

I tried to remember all the books I saw the last time I went through the library to find something interesting.

“Food section, garden section, myths section… Why there’s no magic section?!”

I got angry again at the fact that that library had no magic books in here for some reason.

“Hold up a second, magic… tricks!”

I believe I saw a little section with tricks-related books!

It was somewhere around here!

It’s literally only five books, but it’s better than nothing.

“100 Best Tips And Tricks For Housewives.”

Thank you, but I already found out how to clean this place. But I definitely should read it later.

“One Trick That Will Help You Memorise Anything!”

Sounds useful, but boring. Maybe later.

“Top 10 Tricks On How To Survive An Encounter With Timberwolves.”

Nope, won’t ever need that.

“Best Tricks For Beginner Illusionists!”

Illusions sound fun! But I’d prefer something that won’t make me spend my magic right now.

"A Thousand Tips for Making Friends!"

Princess Twilight’s book. One of many books by her authorship, to be precise.

“Quite recent one, probably got here right before that library got closed.”

It was definitely hardly ever used. No wonder. Who in the world would read such thick books just to make some friends?!

. . .

Finding nothing I could read right now, I went back to cleaning.

But this time I started with a more difficult task to keep my interest - the chandeliers.

“About four metres away if I try to reach them from here. Nope.”

I moved two tables, put one on top of the other, and after checking the stability of this construction, I climbed onto them.

Thankfully Black went away on Mrs Wavers task to the nearby city, so there won’t be anyone to scare me, so risk of falling down is way lower than it could be.

Fortunately, Black is away on an assignment for Mrs Wavers in the next town, so there’s no pony to scare me. So the risk of falling is much lower than it might have been.

“About Two metres away, maybe two and a half.”

It's still much farther than I'd prefer, but I don't want to move the tables to win myself a few more centimetres.

“Alright Rettie. Focus and Imagine, just as before.”

The rag easily reached the chandeliers. Success! Now I just need to wipe all the dust and web off it.

“Just don’t press too hard, take it easy...”

Surprisingly, it actually was a lot easier to control than last time.

I wiped all the dust and fixed all the loose parts in under one hour.

“Huh?”

Looking at the time I’ve spent using telekinesis on such a long (for me) range simply stunned me.

Even with all those breaks I’ve taken, using it for such a long time and finishing cleaning one of the chandeliers made me very happy!

Probably that’s what those smart books called a “flow state”.

“Let’s go!”

I wanted to jump for joy, but I remembered that I was still standing on two tables.

“Well, maybe next time, now onto the next chandelier!”

. . .

I finished cleaning the last chandelier just as the clock was ringing, announcing dinner time.

This time I was standing on solid ground, so there was nothing to restrict me from jumping around for joy.

“Bad mood - Zero, Rettie - One!”

Also one task off the list!

Come to think about this..

“That’s a lot of progress compared to the first days.”

It’s not like I was able to work that freely because with all that dust hanging in the air, but still!

“Alright! Now I’m sure that I will finish it all in no time!”

I was shining with motivation!

“But dinner first.”

But the motivation to eat something was even greater.

Since I’ve got some spare time - I took with me this “Top Best Tricks For Beginner Illusionists!” book.

I closed the library for today and finally ate at home. Then successfully wasted my resting time reading, before falling asleep.

. . .

The next day I started in high spirits! Every task felt so easy, that I even was able to read while wiping dust off books and bookshelves!

Thankfully, it wasn’t any hard and, after ten or so attempts, I was able to wipe dust without even looking there!

I still was dropping books on the floor from time to time, but I saw no problem with that.

To be honest, multitasking wasn’t helping much to understand and remember what I was reading.

So it didn't feel like I learned anything new at all. But it helped a lot to not die out of boredom and was a nice practice too!

“I’m practising a lot lately, huh?”

I wish there were mirrors in the library so I could flex in front of them like some ponies do in books and movies.

“How do you even flex with magic? Sparkling brighther?”

Anyways. Good news is that I’ve cleaned one-third of the bookshelves today!

“That’s almost half worse than I expected but hey, I was reading and I still have spare time!”

I do, right?

“Let’s see… I have six days left. Two days for books and bookshelves, one for tables and other small stuff, one for windows and one for the floor. Five days total. One spare day left.”

That’s one less than what I counted yesterday.

“Uhh… Spare day is a spare day, right?”

I’m not lazy, I’m just… Uh, economy my magic? Right?

Doesn’t sound too convincing. Especially when I’m spending magic to hold the book.

*sigh*

“I should focus more, don’t I?”

Goodbye high spirits, hope to see you again!

I wrinkled my snout from dissatisfaction.

“I’ll focus more starting from tomorrow, for sure.”

. . .

The next day I continued reading an illusions book while cleaning.

And the day after too.

I still don’t understand a thing, but it's just written in such an interesting way that I simply can’t stop reading it.

Even if I promised myself to stop. Twice.

Good news is that I still somehow managed to finish cleaning bookshelves at midday.

Which leaves me four and a half days to clean the rest, and if my previous calculations were correct it will take three days, leaving me a spare day and a half!

But…

“It feels like I’ve almost spent all of my magic already.”

I knew it wasn’t a good idea to use my telekinesis to hold a book in front of me while I was cleaning.

But even so, I ran out of magic way faster than I expected.

“Not good.”

If you think about it, long-range magic requires more magic. It makes sense, but I didn't even think about it until now.

Conclusion: I need to think sometimes.

Ugh…

"Okay. I can still go and get some rest today. That will allow me to recover enough magic to clear the tables tomorrow. It won't take much magic since the items are close. It will give me even more time to recover before I start cleaning the windows, which will take a lot of magic."

Have no clue what I just said, but it sounds like a plan.

“Just need to restrict myself from reading until I finish cleaning and I’ll be fine.”

With a plan ready, I went home and spent the rest of the day reading.

“No magic used, so it won’t hurt, right?..”

Well, maybe only to my self-discipline.

. . .

I had to leave an illusions book at home to be sure that I’ll focus on work today.

“Focus Rettie. Tables, chairs, windowsills and other small furniture. It isn’t hard. Let’s just finish with that quickly.”

Also I shouldn’t forget to use telekinesis as close as possible to save as much magic as I can.

I took a deep breath and got to work.

Surprisingly, I actually focused quite fast. Focused a little too much, I’d say.

It was only midday when I finished all of today's tasks.

As well as spent almost all of my magic. Again.

“Dang it.”

There are three and a half days left, and it will only take me about two of those days to finish cleaning up.

But both of them will require me to use quite a lot of magic, which I’m short on.

Not like wiping the floor will take a lot of it, but that day I’ll also have to make sure that everything is clean as well as take out the trash and put away the tools and leave some magic to not faint.

“I’ve heard that blueberries help you to restore your magic faster…”

But I think it works in the long term and won’t help me much here. I would have had to eat them from the moment I got here for them to have any effect.

“Well, good rest it is then.”

I don’t have much of a choice at the moment anyways.

Chapter Six — Victory?

After I got back home I somehow managed to overcome the temptation to start reading and went straight into bed and spent time resting.

And resting…

And resting…

Insane amount of time later I checked the clock to find out that only twenty minutes had passed.

“Even resting is hard now, huh?”

But if I start reading then I won’t feel rested the next day.

And sleeping isn’t a good idea either, since I’ll just wake up in the middle of the night.

“How do I even rest then?”

That’s a good question.

Which I haven't found an answer to after an hour of thinking about it.

Or after ten minutes, according to the clock.

“I’m starting to suspect that you’re not doing your job properly, mister.”

The clock gave off a "tick" in disagreement.

“Fair. Sorry.”

The clock gave off a "tac", it seems like it forgave me.

Talking with a clock is a great thing, but it feels like the lack of company these days makes itself felt.

And Black won’t come back that week either.

“To think that I somehow miss that dude…”

I yawned.

“Hold on just a couple more days Rettie and we’ll move to work in a less deserted place.”

Thinking that I’ll have to work after finishing with the library made me sad. Thankfully, the next second I fell asleep.

. . .

After waking up at 3AM and forcing myself to sleep at least till 5AM, I woke up at 7AM.

“Great.”

But I definitely didn’t feel any “great”.

“That’s… eighteen hours of sleep! That's my two-day norm!”

“Hold up. Two days?.. Wait-wait-wait-wait-wait! I didn’t sleep for a few days, right!?”

Barely awake, I ran out of my room, thankfully Dad was here, filling some papers again, so I didn’t have to run around the mansion in order to find somepony.

He noticed me and I ran to him.

“Good morning, prince-”

“What day is it?!”

I must have looked too worried because he twitched and got a complicated expression on his face.

But the very next second he got something and giggled.

“It’s July 15th. Don’t worry, you didn’t miss a day dear.”

He ruffled my mane to calm me down.

“Clean yourself up, I'll get you something to eat.”

At the last word my stomach growled loudly.

“Uh oh, thanks. Ha-ha.”

He laughed back and went off.

Come to think of it, I slept during lunch, dinner, and breakfast.

No wonder I’m so hungry and… sleepy.

“How in the world does it even work?”

I had no clue.

I’ve cleaned myself up and had a healthy late breakfast with a little chit-chat with Dad. After successfully dodging the question about cleaning progress with the phrase "You will see it yourself." I went off to the library.

. . .

Still feeling sleepy (or just not woken up?) I’ve entered the library, just to find out that I forgot to grab any tools to clean the windows.

I believe I saw some in that shed Black shoved me, so I went there.

“Closed.”

I checked under the entrance mat and actually found a key there.

“Ha-ha, classic.”

Thankfully, my memory wasn’t wrong and I’ve found those rubber windows-cleaning things.

“How was it called… Squeebee?.. Squirrel?.. Squeegee!”

First time in my life I’ve actually had to remember that word.

I closed the shed, got myself some rags and a bucket of water.

“Today is your last day, Mr Dirt!”

Sadly, even those silly jokes don’t seem to help me to wake up.

“I wish I had some hot coffee in the library…”

Tea during breakfast had no effect on me.

Yawning for Celesita knows what time for today, I got to work.

. . .

I don’t remember what I was doing all that time. All I saw for the last four hours were endless lines of glass that I had to clean. From two sides.

Midday. Again. I must have gotten cursed or something.

Everything is done now. All I have left to do is floor.

“I’m already tired a lot, so whatever.”

I took the broom and the rag and continued cleaning.

. . .

July. 15th. 16:43. The exact time when that damn library was considered clean.

“Shouldn’t I feel happy or something?”

I wasn’t even sure because, to be honest, I barely was able to think at the moment.

“Ouchie.”

Headache, my beloved. Haven’t felt you for a while.

“Food and sleep.”

I put everything back in its place and went home. Got myself a fair amount of lunch leftovers and closed in my room. I ate everything that I could fit in my stomach and fell asleep again.

. . .

I woke up at seven again, but this time in the evening.

“I don’t even care if it’s the same day this time.”

I ate everything I’ve left since last time and went to the kitchen to wash and give back the dishes.

On my way back I met Mr Wavers, probably welcoming Black back.

“Oh, Hello Miss Rettie. How’s your progress in the library?”

Of course that will be the first thing he will ask me.

“Hi. Come and see yourself.”

I feel like it sounded a little rude but I was way too tired to think.

“That’s a good idea. I haven’t been there since you’ve started cleaning, so might as well give it a look while I have some time.”

Judging by his intonation, Mr Wavers expects to see a barely cleaned library. Half-done at best.

“Sure, follow me.”

Being tired helped me to hide my emotions, but deep inside, I was excited to see his dumbfounded face.

On the way there we met Mom and Dad coming back to their room and they followed us as well.

Well, better for me, I won't have to show it multiple times now.

I got my keys and shook my head to focus.

“Don’t worry so much, Sweetie. It’s okay if you didn’t manage to do much in that time! Experience you’ve gained during those days is more important than-”

Thankfully, Dad silenced her with a wing over her and “shh” sound.

“We’re with you, Dear.”

Way more cheering words, Thanks Dad.

I took a deep breath in again in order to regain focus and open the door.

The very same moment I entered the library, stopped in the middle, turned back to see their faces and slowly started to ignite sparkling-clean chandeliers. One by one.

While doing so, I enjoyed myself watching their faces (well, except Black’s one) getting more and more shocked.

Couple seconds after I lit the last chandelier and managed to give off my tired yet extremely proud smile.

My smile grew even wider when I saw Mr Waver's face actually turning dumbfounded.

I believe for a second I saw his jaw slowly sliding down.

Flawless victory.

I tilted my head a little and gave off the cutest and most innocent smile I could.

“I think I’m done here. But please, feel free to double-check everything. As Mom mentioned earlier, I still have a couple days to fix if something is wrong.”

Even if I said so, I knew that everything was perfectly clean. I double and triple-checked everything before going home.

I just can’t help myself but want to watch Mr Wavers desperately trying to find some dust in here to scold me.

“You’ve done an amazing job here, young lady!”

But, to my surprise, it didn’t happen.

Hey! That’s against the rules, you were supposed to look in every corner to find some dust I missed! Let me enjoy my victory for a little longer!

But that never happened. Instead of looking under each object in here, they just came in, sat down, and started discussing how well I’ve done.

Huh? Hello? Trust but verify? Being an annoying old stallion? Anything?

All I got were compliments and happy smiles. Mom even cried from happiness and Dad again had to calm her down.

Everything goes exactly as it is supposed to go, but I didn't feel happy about it because it’s just way too boring and expected.

“You definitely deserve a reward and a couple days of good rest, Rettie!”

Mr Wavers all went from a strict and boring stallion to happy and generous old stallion.

Only took me twelve days of hard work to get here.

“Thank you, Mr Wavers! Then, if you don't mind me, I’ll get back to my room!”

“Sure thing! Make sure to rest well, I may need your help tomorrow!”

Ugh, more work?! Could you give me at least ONE free day?! I was supposed to keep cleaning tomorrow!

“At your service!”

I agreed. Can’t say “No” to an elder. It shouldn’t be anything hard anyways.

I left him keys from the library and, after checking if I forgot anything, went back home.

“Well, not bad, not great.”

“You're wrong here Miss Rettie. You’ve actually done quite great this time.”

Black stopped me a few seconds after I left the library.

“I was talking more about their reaction, not the job I’ve done… Anyways, do you want something? I was about to get back to my room.”

After taking a long hot bath, of course.

“Just since you’ve done so well here, I wanted to share with you a little secret about a new maid coming to our mansion in a week. Also I’d like to suggest you take this into account before making any important decisions on a very special day that comes pretty soon.”

I believe he just tried to wink at me, but it looked so fake, like he'd just acted out some weird memorised skit in here.

“Trust old good Black, Mrs Wavers will support your decisions there!”

He swung his hoof! That boring stallion just swung his damn hoof! Now I’m sure that he just plays some weird scene in front of me! Did Mrs Wavers make him do that or something?!

“That’s all I had to say, have a good rest, Miss Rettie.”

“Uh, thanks? I guess?”

“You’re welcome. Now, if you excuse me.”

He bowed down and flew away. And I believe he did it faster than usual.

“I… will just forget that, I guess.”

Better to not ruin my ruined mood even further and just get that hot bath to relax my tired body and get ready for tomorrow “help” for Mr Wavers.

. . .

As I expected, Mr Wavers yet again had some kind of important meeting at noon and wanted me to show off my growth there.

It was no longer a challenge for me, I just needed to stay focused. Fortunately, a good night's sleep was enough for me to mostly recover.

I placed three trays of snacks in front of the guests. At the same time.

From the look on their faces, they were surprised. Mr Wavers looked proud and pleased while bragging about the benefits of investing in their trades.

I didn’t feel like listening to them, so I just stood there and kept pouring wine into rapidly emptying glasses.

An hour later, the deal was made and Black came to see the guests off.

Mr Wavers was delighted to get a good deal and praised my work here.

Well, compared to the first days it truly was an insane progress.

As I was clearing the table, I caught a glimpse of a bird flying through the window.

“Heh, that bird has the same colour as my coat does.”

I wanted to come to the window to give it a closer look, but forgot that I had a lot of stuff in my magic field.

More distance means more stress on the horn, which combined with weariness leads to...

*pop*

“Ouch!”

Not good.

The very next second I heard the sound of shattering glass.

Not good.

I turned my head there.

Of course, Mr Wavers just absolutely had to stand there.

Stand there, all doused in wine.

I’ve got a strong deja vu.

“Ha-ha, oopsie?”

“Rettieeeeeee!”

Here we go again.

. . .

I sat in Mr. Waver's office again, waiting for another lecture and punishment.

He returned a few minutes later without his drenched jacket and with Black holding some sort of odd-looking first aid kit.

Ah. Right. I probably was supposed to be worried about my horn at this moment.

“Why in the world didn't you tell me that your horn was so worn-off?! You looked so fine and happy yesterday that I couldn’t even think that something was wrong with it!”

“Uh, I kind of didn’t know about it either?”

That was true. I mean, how can I know if something is wrong if it happens for the first time?

"You should learn to take care of your horn, young lady! It is your most important tool! At this rate, you're in danger of losing or heavily damaging it! Just look at how it looks now! It even hit your hair!

I took a look at my horn while Mr Wavers were preparing something from the med kit.

. . .

. . .

“Oh.”

My horn got burnt a little and the hair at its base has lost its colour now.

“Oh? And that’s all you have to say?!”

Seriously, Mr Wavers was even more worried about it than I was.

“Uh, I’m sorry?”

Both Mr Wavers and Black shook their heads in unison and gave off heavy sighs.

“Those kids nowadays…”

Chapter Eight — Hard Choice

“Ahem.” Black cleared his throat.

“Since Mrs Wavers sees potential in you, she tried her best and used most of her connections to find a decent place for your future growth.”

That already sounds quite awkward and overwhelming.

“First of all. Of course you can refuse her offer and stay here. Mrs Wavers isn't forcing you to leave and you should keep that in mind before deciding on other options.”

“Understood..”

As if anypony could just refuse an offer from somepony as influential as Mrs Wavers.

“Second. One of her partners offers you a place in a Magic School in the Crystal Empire. After that you will be able to apply to their university and get a job in the Crystal Empire’s government. Only if you study hard and manage to pass every exam with the highest grades, of course.”

Oh. Oh? Wow. That sounds crazy! Potential and all, but what strings did Mrs Wavers have to pull for this?! I’m not even that smart!

I heard Mom expectedly gasping in anticipation from behind me.

“Did you hear that?! Our Rettie can become a big shot!”

Yep, as expected. But…

“Uh, next?”

Black nodded.

“Third. A few of her dearest long-term partners…”

Oh dear Luna. If one of her regular partners almost literally offered me a place in Crystal Empire's government, what several of her “dearest long-term” partners could offer?! Become a new Princess?!

I froze in nervous anticipation.

“... offer you a special programme at Celestia's school, which-”

Well, close enough.

“Next.”

Celestia just looks way too scary. I have no idea how other ponies can love a princess, whose first thought of saving her own sister was to send her to the moon for a thousand years with no way of bringing her back!

Everypony except Black gasped and gave me a shocked look.

“Well, Mrs Wavers saw this coming, but I had to try.”

Wait, did she?

“And she instructed me to tell you “Yes, I did.” after that.”

Okay, that’s creepy. Another scary pony on my list.

“And “There’s nothing to be scared of, it’s just simple logic.”.”

I felt my eye twitch.

“Please stop, it scares the hay out of me.”

It really does! Like, how?! She’s not even here and gave him those instructions Celestia knows when!

Black let out a heavy sigh.

“Don’t look at me like that. I don’t know either.”

He looked a little scared too. Seems like it’s quite hard to work with Mrs Wavers. No wonder she has such connections!

“Ahem. Back to topic. Fourth. You can become Mrs Wavers personal student and her right hand in the future.”

Not gonna lie, after all the stuff that happened here seconds ago, this option sounds even scarier than all the previous ones at once. Maybe becoming a princess isn’t such a big deal and I should change my mind on it?

I felt like Black was fighting the urge to shake his head on this one as he was looking at me.

Mr Wavers must be a truly terrifying pony.

“Uh. Are there any other options left?”

I simply can’t give up on such possibilities! But the Crystal Empire is just way too far away from here. And other two options just look way too insane for a little filly like me!

How did Twilight even manage such stress?!

On the other hoof, it would be cool to have a personal dragon...

Black exhaled in relief. Seems like that option was scary for him too. Or he was just afraid of losing his place, who knows.

“Yes. There is the last one. You can…”

Everypony seemed to be straining their ears.

I could say that not only my ears got strained, as each next choice was getting scarier and scarier.

“...just grab your stuff and go off travelling to find your very own unique path in life!”

Black swung his front leg, drawing a line on the horizon.

“Uh. Huh? Could you repeat, please? I’m not so sure I heard you right?”

“You can grab your stuff and go off travelling to find your very own unique path in life!”

He swung his leg in the same getsure again.

What if..

“Uh? What again?”

“I’m pretty sure you heard me right this time, Miss Rettie.”

He grinned at me scarily. Won’t work. Okay. Got it.

“Uhh, that's a tough choice…”

Everypony around seemed to agree.

“How much time do I have to choose?”

It would take me at least a week to decide for sure…

“About a half hour.”

I choked.

“You want me to make such a difficult decision in half an hour?!”

“Not me, Miss. Mrs Wavers does.”

Oh Luna…

. . .

I spent the next twenty minutes discussing my future with my parents.

At the same time Mr Wavers was questioning Black quite loudly about what it all means and when Mrs Wavers had planned all this and why he didn’t know a thing, to which Black could only shrug his wings.

Or very well pretended so, because I remember him "sharing a secret” with me earlier about a new maid coming and Mrs Wavers support. Who could have known that her “support” would be that big?

Long story short, other ponies' opinions didn't help me but only confused me even more.

Mom wanted me to stay, but voted for Crystal Empire because it's the safest and prestigious option.

Even If I’ll feel quite lonely there, as they won't be able to leave the mansion to visit me.

Dad tried to cheer me up and told me that I can handle Celestia’s school with no problem.

But he can’t understand my worries about Celestia. Also, not everypony is as lucky and talented as Twilight to make it all the way through.

Mr Wavers obviously voted for becoming Mrs Wavers personal student. I mean, that’s a great choice. It will allow me to both: keep seeing my parents and live here, keep serving the Wavers’ family and become rich and influential.

Even though she seems to be a truly terrifying pony.

Black didn’t vote for anything, but after our little talk under the stars I knew what he’d vote for.

So at the end of the day my future lies in my own hooves.

That's supposed to sound motivating, but when it comes to moments when your actions really matter - it sucks.

I went to the bathroom and washed my face with magically cooled water to calm down a little.

The magic crystals installed in the bathrooms are a real blessing, wish our last house had them.

After calming down a bit, I went back to thinking.

Celestia's School. I crossed it immediately, but maybe I'm too judgmental towards her? Mrs Wavers should've worked hard to get this offer after all.

On the other hoof, Black said that she saw me refusing it, so maybe I really shouldn’t think too much about it.

“Equestria has enough princesses already. And it seems to be quite a dangerous job, so nah.”

I don’t know why I’m so sure that I'll become a princess if I ever get close to Celestia, but I have to move on so I’ll just cross that option and forget about it.

Staying at home is fine, but it’s a coward's choice and I will take it only if the rest will be way too scary. And since I already have a safe Crystal Empire choice - I have to cross it too.

Crystal Empire sounds like a great choice. But at the same time it’s just so far away that it scares me. Even though I would love to see a crystal pony. But I don’t think that’s a good reason to move to another culture, where I don’t know anypony, for pretty much the rest of my life. I have to cross it too.

Mrs Wavers… As I said, even if she scares me, she is a perfect choice for balancing all my needs. As if other choices were supposed to make me choose her. But my gut and Black’s reaction tells me that I really shouldn’t choose this way. Cross.

So, there’s only two choices left. Stay here and lose my potential that everyone is talking about lately, or to…

“Travel on my own?”

But where would I go then? What might await me there? Will I be able to go back home if I change my mind? Not being able to answer these questions was scaring me to my very core.

Even the cold of the water I washed my face with couldn't compete with the cold that fear of the unknown brings with it.

Not only does it feel colder than anything I've ever felt before, but it also slowly creeps into such depths of my soul that even I wasn't aware of.

But next to this cold fear I felt… hope? Warm, yet so shy and fragile.

Its size was nothing compared to fear, yet I could feel it more clearly. As if it were an essential part of me. As if it had always been here waiting.

As if this fear was just a bright and aggressive stain that can't do any harm, but will keep growing until it paints every corner of my soul with its cold colours, leaving no way for anypony to reach me.

When hope was more like a firefly. Small enough to go unnoticed, but capable of lighting my way if I cared enough to make it stronger.

But for now it was too small and weak to pull me out of the claws of this fear.

So I just stood there, staring at my own wet face in the mirror, panting, ready to burst into tears at any moment.

Seeing myself in such a state sparked something new in me.

Something wild and untamed. Something scorching me from within. Overwhelming and ready to burn to ashes both hope and fear. Is it anger? A desire to break free? A mixture of the two or something else entirely? I wanted to know. I needed to know.

If there was anypony who could help me find the answer, it was him.

Thanking my old habit of taking my saddlebags with me wherever I go, I pulled out my great-grandpa notes.

“Chapter four.”

The journey.

. . .

A few minutes later, with a broad smile on my face, I walked back into the room where everyone was waiting for my decision.

“I see you've made up your mind,Miss Rettie.”

Black smiled at me.

“Yes, I have.”

My voice cracked a little. No wonder, after the storm of emotions I went through a few minutes ago.

"And that being..."

He hurried me a little, helping me let the words out of my head.

“I’m going to travel on my own.”

Everypony looked shocked and ready to make a fuss, only Black nodded at me with a sigh of relief.

“I will go and tell Mrs Wavers your decision. Well done, Miss Rettie.”

He barely had time to finish his sentence and turn to leave the room before it got filled with worried, dissenting voices.

I couldn't help myself but giggle at them.

. . .

The night went surprisingly quiet. The next morning Black notified me that I was no longer a Wawers’ family maid and I had to leave within the next few days.

To his surprise, I already packed my stuff in and was ready to go. Even if most of that “stuff” was books. I had to leave most of them here, otherwise I’d turn into a moving library. Mr Wavers surely won’t like that but there’s not much I can do about it.

It was sad to have to leave my favourite blue bowtie here though, but it was the Wavers' maids bowtie so I can't do much about this either.

“Where do you even get this energy from…”

He shook his head.

"Are you planning to set off today, Miss Rettie?"

“Yeah! Gonna check if I got everything I need and hit the road!”

“I see.”

Maybe I'm just hearing things, but there was a note of sadness in his voice.

“I won’t be able to see you off, so I will say it now. Good luck on your journey and keep yourself safe, Rettie.”

With that, he bowed and hurried off.

Not even “Miss” this time, huh?

. . .

An hour later I was standing at the exit of Waver’s mansion.

I still wasn’t sure if I made the right decision. But I already made it, so I tried my best to not think about it.

I checked my brand new saddlebags once again before leaving.

I got some money from my parents this morning and finally got my first and last salary for working here. With money I’ve saved up I now have a whopping one thousand eight hundred bits on me! I surely will be able to live a carefree life for a month or two now! As long as I won't get tricked - I’ll be more than fine!

Black’s cape for cold nights. I also took the cap and sunglasses so he won’t be mad at me for leaving them here.

The “Best Tricks For Beginner Illusionists!” book I've been reading lately has been replaced with a new “Illusionists’ Hoofbook” which was in bundle of books Mr Wavers gave me. I've also taken “Basics of Magic” and “Twilight’s Magic Guide”, as I've been struggling with my very little knowledge of magic lately.

A set of pens and pencils and a notepad for notes. Learning is easier when you take notes.

Of course I couldn’t leave Mountainhoofs’ notes. This book has become my best friend now.

I'll buy the rest of the stuff I need in the next town I come to. As for now…

I turned back to my yet again tearful Mum, Dad and Mr Wavers.

Uh, this is gonna be even harder than I thought.

What am I even supposed to say? “I’m off, see you later!”? Oh Luna, I hadn't planned this far!

I'm getting even more nervous now, trying to find the right words that won't hurt my family.

It seems that my panic was too obvious, so Dad decided to help me out.

“Don’t worry about us Sweetie, it's your life and your decision after all! If Mrs Wavers believes it's a good idea, why should we doubt it? You will be fine and always welcome here!”

Not the best words in the world but quite impressive for improvisation and they had their effect.

“I have to admit that Mr Maregolds is right. My Darling would never offer you anything you couldn’t handle. Maybe that's the best choice you could make, so believe in yourself a little more, young lady.”

Mom tried to also say something encouraging too, I believe, but just burst into tears again.

“You… Thank you all!”

I bowed deeply.

“I’m off then!”

I put my saddlebags on and turned to leave before I had to think of any more fancy words to say goodbye.

As I was leaving, I heard words of encouragement from behind me. At that moment, I decided that I won't let myself or them down and that I will become… whatever I’m going to become. A decent mare at the very least, I guess?

. . .

I sat at the exit of the mansion as I was seeing my only daughter off and trying to comfort my beloved.

I still had complicated feelings, but I couldn’t let them out yet. Not now. At the very least I’m sure that Mrs Wavers will keep pulling her strings to look after Rettie, even when she will be far away.

As I was thinking these thoughts, I noticed Rettie’s flank glowing. It seems like my girl finally got her cutiemark. It made me smile and gave me even more confidence that everything's going to be alright.

But I still had one question bothering me.

I turned my head towards Mr Wavers.

“So, was that your plan all along?”

He gave me a surprised look.

“What do you mean?”

Oh, don't play dumb, you old sly.

“Wasn’t it your plan to send her to clean the library, slip her this book and send her off? It all went suspiciously smoothly, didn't it?”

He looked genuinely surprised now. What an actor.

“My plan was for her to give up a few days later and I'd send her back to school, because she clearly wasn’t ready for this job! I thought you were the one who slipped her that book!”

Now we both were shocked. Was it really a coincidence then?..

. . .

I stood next to Mrs Wavers, watching Rettie leave from behind the window.

“Don’t tell me that you are still worried about her, Black. Or maybe you're jealous of her, mm?”

As usual, she sees through me.

Her sonorous laugh filled the room.

“A-ha-ha! You never change!”

I hate to admit but she was right.

“But still, are you sure it was a good idea to let her go so soon?”

“I was actually planning to let her go a month later! But she definitely exceeded my expectations!”

She giggled, and I couldn't help but turn my head at the sound of her flowery, joyful voice. Big mistake. My heart immediately tightened with admiration as I saw her green curls bobbing and glistening in the sunlight. I felt my cheeks burning and turned my head back to the window the same second. It will definitely take some time to calm down now.

“But that’s okay! She fits the good old Mountainhoof’s description, and the book responds to her magic! We can be sure she will be fine! What could possibly happen? A timberwolf attack? That would be so silly!

Another wave of her laughter. This time I managed to resist its charm.

So that’s one more thing off our family list! Now all we have to do is wait for my Cinnamon Bun to grow up and we will be done!”

Which basically means the dawn of the Wavers’ family. It was getting smaller and smaller with each generation, so it should have happened sooner or later, but it didn't make me feel better.

"Oh, look!"

I looked where Mrs Wavers was pointing: there was a glow coming from Rettie's flanks.

"Looks like she's finally got her cutiemark and doesn't even realise it! What a silly filly!"

Sweet. Well, that calms me down a little. I let out a sigh of relief. She should be fine now.

. . .

When I finally couldn’t see the Wavers' mansion I exhaled in relief.

“It really was harder than I expected, even though I rushed through it.”

I pulled a pen and Mountainhoof’s notes out of my saddlebag.

That is a perfect moment.

“Chapter four”

Your journey begins ____.

I put pen to paper and finished the sentence.

Your journey begins here.

I smiled. It really felt as if Mountainhoof was standing next to me right now, saying those words to me.

“Thanks, Grandpa!”

I giggled at how silly it felt to be talking to myself and put the pen and notes back in my saddlebags.

“Alright, let’s go!”

. . .

. . .

Chapter Nine — New Acquaintances

I decided that the best way to start my journey would be an atmospheric walk through the forest.

Not only would it put me in the right mood, but it would also save me some time on my way to Ponyville.

Well, an atmospheric gallop through the forest, to be precise.

An atmospheric gallop through the forest while running away from the wild timberwolf to be absolutely precise!

Why did I ever think that taking a shortcut through the woods was a good idea?!

“Bad day, bad day, bad day!”

I bet my PE teacher would be proud of me if she could see how fast I'm running right now!

Luckily, this timberwolf seemed to be quite small, so he wasn’t chasing me as fast as he could.

I tried to stop him with my telekinesis field, but despite his size he's simply ripped through it!

“For Celestia’s sake! I thought I got better at magic!”

I got way too distracted trying to stop a timberwolf and stumbled.

Well, to be honest it’s a miracle that I tripped now and not a few minutes ago, but it doesn’t help at all!

Timberwolf caught up on me and I tried to hit him with everything that was lying around, but it only made him even angrier.

He even snapped a thick branch I was trying to hit him with in half with his jaws!

Well, I guess it's time for my secret weapon.

“HEEEEEEEEELP!”

I screamed at the top of my lungs.

It seemed that my scream stunned the timberwolf for a moment so I could try to get up and keep running away.

But he didn't think so. Timberwolf stood up on his hind legs, and prepared to strike me with his front claws and burst into green flames!

“Eeeek!”

…

But to my surprise, instead of tearing me to pieces, he fell apart himself .

I couldn’t get what just happened and just sat there shocked.

“Hey, you down there. Weren't you in a hurry? Timberwolves tend to regenerate quite quickly, just so you know.”

The voice was coming from somewhere above. I looked up and saw a pony, standing on branches of the trees. I was deep in the woods, so the foliage was too dense to let any light through to see her. But I believe she has bat wings! And two horns! What in the world even goes on in this forest?!

She looked even scarier than a timberwolf! Speaking of which, that batpony(?) was actually right and timberwolf was slowly putting himself back together.

“Right! In a hurry! In a town!”

I stood up and prepared to run away as fast as I could.

“It’s about seven minutes north at your speed.”

“Ha-ha, right, north!”

I started to run away from there in, I think, the same direction I was before I stumbled. But immediately heard a heavy sigh from the batpony.

“North is to the left of where you are running.”

“Oh, right! I meant left!”

I panicked more and more.

I turned around for a second.

“Oh, I almost forgot, thanks!

Timberwolf seemed to recover quite soon, so I ran away at full speed without waiting for an answer.

The last thing I heard from that batpony was something like “What a stupid filly.”, but I was too busy galloping away for my life to care.

. . .

“What a stupid filly…”

I let out a heavy sigh.

Well, now I got why she hired me to clear the woods of those guys instead of something… more fun.

A growl from behind interrupted my thoughts.

“You guys are up already, huh? Aren't you tired of running after me?”

There were thirty-seven timberwolves. Thirty-eight, if I count one regenerating beneath me. Seems like I’ve finally gathered them all here.

I leapt down on the barely regenerated timberwolf, shattering his skull into splinters with my hooves and burning them to ashes, so he couldn't regenerate ever again.

“Sorry guys, but I owe the Old Hag a favour, so I have to cut your population in half.”

The pack of timberwolves tucked their tails and whimpered. Looks like they’re finally realising who's been the prey here all along.

“Don’t mind me if I get too carried away out of boredom and overdo it a little, alright?”

. . .

Scary forest! Scary timberwolves! Scary batpony! Why is this place so scary?!

As I was running away I heard wolves whimpering. It seemed like that batpony is hunting them down or something. But all I could think about right now was how to not trip again.

No idea how much time later, I finally left the depths of the forest and could see something I could call a town.

I ran in as fast as I could and yet stumbled once again. It seems safe here so this time I didn’t try to get up, so I could catch my breath.

A few ponies began to gather around me, but they quickly retreated when a dark purple earthpony appeared and glared at them.

To my surprise, those ponies didn't retreat out of fear, but rather out of… respect?

Maybe it was just a contrast to what I just went through, but I couldn’t call her scary in any way. In fact, she seemed to be an extremely attractive pony. Extraordinarily attractive, I’d say.

Even my panic began to fade as she slowly approached me with a caring smile.

“Hello there, little one! Are you hurt? Do you need help?”

Her sweet voice calmed my pounding heart with every word she spoke.

She smiled even wider.

“You don’t seem to be hurt, do you? Oh, where’s my manners? My name is Velvet, I’m… let’s just say that I’m sort of the unofficial mayor of this town.”

She giggled in her hoof.

“What’s your name, little one?”

“I- I’m… My name is Rettie.”

Although her voice was charming, I was still panicked.

“Good! Nice to meet you, Rettie! Now, when you seem to calm down enough to be able to talk, would you mind telling me how you got here and what just happened?”

I took a very deep breath in.

“I just went travelling this morning and decided to take a shortcut through the woods, where I got attacked by a timberwolf that I couldn't do anything to, so I tried to run away, but stumbled and fell and screamed for help and almost got torn to pieces by that timberwolf! But then some scary batpony burnt him to a crisp! That saved me, but she looked even scarier than a timberwolf, so I tried to run away in the same direction I was running to, but she told me that a nearby town was to the left of me so I ran there instead and stumbled here and!..”

“And I saw the rest, so you can slow down a little.”

She interrupted me so gently and smoothly that I didn't even mind that.

“Looks like you were lucky enough to meet Ami. Don’t worry, she may seem all cool and scary, but she’s still just a kid deep inside, just like you.”

She booped my nose with those words.

“Even though she's probably twice your age. And has terrible manners… Ah, please forget what I just said. I’ve asked her to chase away the timberwolves since they’ve been getting closer and closer to the town lately and began causing a lot of trouble. But she seems to have her own ways of doing so, as always."

She let out a heavy sigh.

"I will have to have a little talk with her when she returns.”

I didn’t get anything so I just nodded in response.

“Would you like to come to my place to continue our little conversation?"

I wasn’t sure if it was a good idea to visit somepony I had just met…

“I have drinks and sweets so you can tell me your story in more detail, you know?”

I stood up.

“Sure, ma’am.”

“Just Vel, or at least Velvet, please.”

“Sure, Miss Velvet.”

“Well, that will do too.”

. . .

Turns out that Miss Velvet lived in her own bakery, so she wasn’t lying about drinks and sweets, so I spent over an hour telling Miss Velvet what just had happened to me over the last month, including this morning.

Munching lots of different sweets along, of course.

“So you’ve decided to go on a journey instead of staying under Mrs Waver’s wing? Ha-ha! You really are Little Mountainhoof's great-granddaughter!"

I couldn’t imagine a “Little Mountainhoof” no matter how hard I tried.

“You’ve heard of my great-grandpa?”

“Well, you could say so, I guess. He passed through this town on his journey after losing his beloved mistress and caused quite a lot of fuss back then. But he always put his and the Waver family's needs first, even over his own life, so I can’t say he was a bad pony.”

Her eyes looked somewhere far away, as if she was remembering being there herself.

Mountainhoof been there? And on a journey too? Mistress? Is she talking about one of Waver's previous heads? Her words left me with many new questions. I must ask her about all of those-

“But aside from that, you said you were dragged into work even before you got your cutiemark, but you didn’t tell me how you’ve got it!”

Huh?

“But I haven’t yet-”

I turned my head to my flanks.

“WHA-?!”

Three blue feathers now adorned them.

“A cutiemark! I’ve finally got my own cutiemark! Yes-yes-yes! Wait! Hold on! When did I even get it?! How am I supposed to know what my talent is now?!”

I had mixed feelings of excitement, joy and confusion.

“I’m sure I didn’t have it this morning! What could feathers mean?! Feathers are a pegasus thing that means speed, aren't they?! Don’t tell me that my special talent is running away from timberwolves now!”

I lay down and covered my face with hooves, whimpering.

Miss Velvet only giggled at me and my assumptions.

“Feathers can mean a lot of other things too, you know? They can mean protection, love, trust, loyalty, honour, wisdom, creation and even freedom! Who knows which meaning they can hold in them in your case, especially when you’ve got three of them!”

Her words made sense, but they did little to help me understand my talent and destiny. Knowing that could have made my life so much easier!

“You still seem confused and that’s okay. Lots of ponies are when they’re only getting their cutiemarks. I'm sure you'll find your way, that’s what you’re travelling for after all, don’t you?”

Her gentle smile calmed me down once again.

“You… are right. But it still feels bad!”

I couldn’t help but keep complaining and whimpering.

“Why worry, Rettie? Don’t you want to celebrate such an important occasion instead?”

“I… Things are just happening so fast that I can’t keep up…”

“That’s more than fine, you just need some time to think, don’t you? Here.”

She wrapped up a bunch of sweets and gave them to me.

“Don’ worry, they're still on me. Think of it as a present for you finally getting your cutiemark! There’s a little quiet clearing by the stream, you can go there and think on your own, if you feel like doing so of course. Don’t worry, Ami is most likely already took care of timberwolves, so they won’t bother you.”

I really, really felt like I needed to take my time and let my thoughts catch up with everything that had happened the last few days, so I accepted her gift and did as she said.

“Feel free to come back and spend the night here when you are done!”

“Sure! Thanks again, Miss Velvet!”

“Ha-ha, you’re welcome!”

. . .

A few minutes later I found the stream she was talking about.

“It really does sound very calming.”

It’s funny how calming Miss Velvet and this place are, and yet how uneasy I still felt.

I sat down near a bush and took off my saddlebags.

Luckily, there were only a few bugs so I didn't have to worry about them much.

Dad taught me to ask myself what bothers me before I get dragged away by my own thoughts. So I did exactly so.

Thanks to Miss Velvet, thoughts of that scary batpony and local timberwolves didn't bother me as much anymore, although I doubt I’ll sleep calmly for the next week after this.

So all that remains are the questions of when did I get my cutiemark and what does it mean, where I am and where am I going.

Such simple questions!

“Ughhh, I don’t want to think of those at all!”

I feel like I'm getting into the same mood as t when I had to make a decision a few days ago… A few days ago that was yesterday. It really seems like my days have been extremely eventful lately.

I lay down and covered my nose with my hooves.

“All I wanted was to calmly… calmly… What was I even hoping for when I was choosing that option?..”

I don’t know.

My eyes grew heavier with each passing second, and I closed them, letting the sound of the stream wash away these heavy thoughts and carry me off to sleep.

. . .

I’ve got woken up by the sound of somepony quietly murmuring nearby.

Extremely charming voice again. It must be Miss Velvet, looking for me there. It’s getting dark already after all, so she must be worried about me. What a caring pony.

I was still half asleep so I came closer to the stream and washed my face with water before letting Miss Velvet know that I’m here. It was so much colder than I expected, that I had to wrinkle my nose to keep my brain from freezing.

“Ah, so refreshing.”

“Eeek? I think I heard something? I-is there's anypony there?!”

It seems like even adult ponies can get afraid by the strange noises in the dark forest.

“Yeah, yeah, don’t worry, it's me, Retite.”

I picked up my saddlebags. Time to go back to Miss Velvet.

Chapter Ten — The Day We Met [Rettie's Side]

I walked around the bush and found the path that led back to the town. Turns out there had been a path here all along.

“Oh.”

But my surprise had nothing to do with that.

Rather I was surprised to see somepony except Miss Velvet.

In fact, there was no Miss Velvet at all.

Only a shocked creamy-yellow pegasi, resting by the stream right behind the bush I was sleeping under.

. . .

. . .

Apparently she hadn't expected to meet anypony in such a place either.

“Uh, um… Rettie, right? My name is Teadrop, nice to meet you!”

She introduced herself with a nervous smile. Way too nervous for a simple introduction. On the other hoof, we’re in the forest and I came out of nowhere, so that makes sense.

Is it me or is she trying to hide something behind her wings? Ah, whatever, it's none of my business.

“Err, yeah, nice to meet you, too, Teadrop?”

Why am I getting nervous too? Is it because she seems to be about my age and I haven’t met anypony of my age for a while? Or is it just her mood spreading to me as well?

“Uh, the weather is nice today, isn’t it?”

Honestly, I have no clue! I’ve spent half of the day sleeping and the other half running from timberwolves and telling Miss Velvet about it!

“Yeah, the weather is quite nice.”

My mouth works before my brain. Well, I don't have anything decent to answer anyway, so no big deal.

The pegasi… Teadrop turned her head and peeked at something under her wing. So it wasn't just me and she's really trying to hide something.

That made me curious, so I couldn't help but take a few steps to the side to see what she was hiding.

“Is that… a book?”

Isn't the book-addiction phase unique to unicorns? Even so, why would somepony try to hide a book they were reading?

She flinched, but I paid no attention to it.

“What are you reading? Is it some fantasy book?”

I took a step closer. It didn't feel right to push further, but I got just way too curious.

“Uhm…”

“Or is it some study book?”

“Uh, yeah, I think you could call it this way-”

She closed the book. Poor filly, having to study in the evenings instead of having fun with her friends must really suck.

“Can I see?”

She flinched once again. Maybe I got too carried away and violated her personal space?

I was about to apologise, when she let out a heavy sigh, it felt like she was giving up on something.

“Ah, sure…”

She moved her wings so I could see the title of the book.

A Thousand Tips for Making Friends!

Wait a minute! I know that book! Is it one of Twilight’s friendship books?

“Wow, somepony actually read that?”

“I'm desperate, okay!?”

Ah shoot. Seems like I said it out loud.

Teadrop’s face got all sad and blushy, as if she was about to cry from shame. My words definitely had hurt her. Uh oh. I really don't want to ruin relationships in the city on the first day! I have to fix the situation!

Come on, brain, we've got to do something about this quickly!

“Uhhhh… I mean it’s a fine book! Here!”

I picked up the book and opened it to a random page and lay down next to Teadrop.

“How about we read it together?”

What in the world am I even doing?! I’ll fall asleep again if we start reading it!

Well, it’s too late to back out now. I did my best to smile and looked at the Teadrop. I hope it doesn’t look too fake or creepy.

Luckily, she doesn't seem to be bothered by my impertinence.

I hadn't noticed before, but in light of my magic her surprised face looks even prettier than Miss Velvet’s. Maybe they’re relatives? Or is this some kind of supermodel town?

“Uh, are you sure? I mean, you don’t look like somepony who would have problems making friends…”

For a mere second I saw a spark of joy in her eyes, but she seemed to turn sad again! Dang it! Why is it so hard to talk to other ponies of my age?!

“Umm… Yeah! Actually, I haven’t really made any friends yet!”

Come to think of it, I really don’t think I can call anypony my friend. I've been so focused on studying lately that I haven't made any friends in the last few months. Not like I had any chances to, but still. There wasn't anypony of my age at the Wavers' mansion, and I don't think I can call Black or Miss Velvet my friends because of our age difference.

“Huh?!”

“Yeah, yeah, I know, but hey, I’ve only begun my journey! I have plenty of time! Ha-ha!”

Well, or at least I hope so? I'm honestly starting to get nervous.

For some reason Teadrop’s face went all red.

“Well, uhm.. …”

“Yeah?”

Is it just me, or is she starting to shake a little? Is she getting cold? It’s a quite cold evening for a summer if you think about it.

“..if you don’t mind…”

Her voice is so soft and quiet that it is lost behind the sound of the creek.

“Uh could you repeat, please? I didn’t hear anything.”

Maybe she’s really cold? Hold up a second! I've got that coat-plaid thing with me!

I opened my saddlebags and took out a plaid, to cover Teadrop. It’s supposed to be a nice gesture, right?

“If you don’t mind, could we be friends then?!” She blurted out.

At the same time I covered her with a plaid.

“Huh?” We both sighed in surprise.

Was that the reason why she got so nervous?

“Yeah, sure! I'd love to be your friend!”

Wait, did that stupid book about making friends just actually help both of us make our first friend? Maybe Twilight’s books aren’t as useless as I thought?

“Um… don’t get me wrong, Rettie, I’m really, really glad that we’re friends now, but… what is that plaid for?”

“Uh, you looked like you were cold, so…”

Did I just screw something up?

“Uhm… pegasi are very resistant to the cold, you see…”

Ah shoot.

“Ah, right, sorry…”

Now it gets even more awkward…

“..But it's going to get colder soon, so I won’t mind if you join me.”

With these words she covered me with plaid with her wing.

Well, she looks happy now and I don’t mind it much, so I can call it a success, I guess?

Just when I thought I had managed to rectify the awkwardness of the situation, Teadrop’s stomach rumbled loudly.

Oh Luna. Once again I watched her face turning red. A little bit more and she could compete with apples from Sweet Apple Acres.

I must think quickly before the situation becomes even more embarrassing than it was a few seconds ago! Food would work fine, but where do I… wait a second!

“Uh, I’m a bit hungry too, so we could take a break for a snack!”

I took Miss Velvet’s baked goods out of my saddlebags. Although it was a bit tricky, since they were under the plaid now as well, but I definitely didn’t want to put it away now.

“I have some sweets with me, not the best food, but good enough for a quick snack! Or at least hope so.”

Her eyes sparkled, which almost scared me. No wonder, compared to how quietly she was acting all that time!

“Yes! I mean, sure! I have some tea with me, so sweets would be nice!”

Ah, that’s why. I see. Seems like she lives up to her name.

Teadrop pulled a couple of thermos flasks out of her saddlebags and I could see at least four more in there. What are you, a walking tea stall?!

She poked my muzzle with one of the thermoses. She seemed so excited that I could hear her breathing heavily.

I took it, unwrapped some sweets and placed them in front of us.

Honestly I’m surprised at how much stuff fits into my new saddlebags. The amount of muffins, buns and biscuits in front of us would be enough to feed a company of five or more ponies! And somehow it all fit into my saddlebags with an ease! Why had even Miss Velvet given me so much of those?!

Teadrop munched into the biscuits at an intimidating pace.

As I watched her happily munching them away, I thought that maybe I should learn to bake too?

Leaving all the biscuits to Teadrop, I chose sultana muffins as my target and joined her munching session.

The muffins were quite dry, so the tea came in handy. It’s sort of green tea with a stronger smell, but it’s very tasty for a tea, and it does the job well.

So we just munched in silence, enjoying the view and the atmosphere until it started to get dark.

“Uh, I'd love to spend more time with you, but I don’t want to make Miss Velvet worry about me even more.”

“Oh, it’s getting late already, sure! I have to come back to my apartment before dark too, so that’s okay! See you tomorrow!”

For some reason I didn't doubt that I would see her again tomorrow.

“Yeah! See you!”

We packed our things, said our goodbyes and went home. On the same road.

We walked in awkward silence for a few minutes before our paths finally split.

Today has been an extremely embarrassing day.

. . .

I returned to Miss Velvet as she was closing the bakery and she greeted me with a wide smile.

"Making close friends already, mm?"

How did she-

“Uh, yeah, I met a little… clumsy pony by the stream and befriended her. Your sweets played a part in that by the way, thank you!”

“A clumsy pony by the stream, hm? You must have met Teadrop then, didn’t you?”

How in the world do adults seem to know literally everything?!

It seems like my surprise was enough to answer her question.

“Ha-ha, you just have a strong smell of tea which you didn't have when you left. So I just assumed that that “clumsy pony” you were talking about was Teadrop.”

Uh, okay, fair enough.

“But how did you know I had befriended her then?”

Her smile grew wider and more smug as she leaned down to whisper in my ear.

“Because you have quite a strong scent of another pony as well, and I know very well that you can’t get it without being close to somepony for long enough.”

Creepy! I can get the scent of that smelly tea, but of another pony?!

“Hu-hu-hu-hu, don’t be so nervous. It's more than fine for younger blood to want to be closer to each other! Just don’t do anything silly, alright?”

I have no clue what she means, but her tone makes me feel embarrassed and guilty!

“Anyway, you’re just in time, mind giving an old lady a helping hoof?”

I mean, she's already done a lot for me and I’m going to stay here overnight, so I want to pay her back.

“Sure! What do I have to do?”

Maybe she needs help baking stuff for tomorrow and I’ll be able to learn something about it?

“Great! Nothing hard, really, just a bit of tidying up in the bakery!”

Ah. Cleaning. Of course. Here we go again.

Chapter Ten — The Day We Met [Teadrop's Side]

Another shift at the local cafe has finally ended. Locals seem to like the drinks I make there, especially my tea, so I’m quite happy to stop in this town to get some money before I move on.

But even so, I still haven’t managed to make any friends, even after being here for over a week.

“Why is it always so hard?..”

I didn't make any friends in previous towns either, maybe I’m doing something wrong?

Well, mom always taught me that if I don’t know something, I have to find somepony who can teach me that.

Or, if there wasn't such a pony around, to find a book I could learn from.

So I decided to visit a local bookshop to find something good.

Luckily, there was a Twilight’s Friendship book on sale! Only forty bits for a book by such a famous pony! And who could know more about friendship than the Princess of Friendship herself?

When I bought it, I asked the salespony why the book was so cheap.

“Oh, it's just been here for ages and nopony bought it, so I had to lower the price a few times. I’m glad you bought it and hope it helps you at least a little bit, ha-ha! But honestly, as a little tip for finally freeing me from that book, I’ll share a little secret about making friends with you. Come closer.”

Well, free advice is always a good thing! So I approached him as he asked.

“The secret is… just be yourself!”

Nevermind. If it worked like that I’d have a lot of friends by now, right?

“Uh, thanks!” I smiled and quickly retreated from the shop.

“Oh Cadance…”

Now it feels intimidating to read this book in public. Fortunately, I know quite a quiet place where I can relax and read it, without worrying of somepony distracting me there.

. . .

I approached the small stream I found on Velvet’s advice and, having made myself comfortable, opened the book and began to read.

“Introduce yourself… Start a conversation… Ask about weather to break the ice…”

This is so basic and lame! No wonder nopony was buying this book!

*splat*

“Huh?”

Am I hearing things? I pushed the book away and strained my ears.

“...so refreshing.”

!

“Eeek? I think I heard something? I-is there's anypony there?!”

I didn’t see or hear anypony coming here! Why is somepony here at such a time?!

“Yeah, yeah, don’t worry, it's me, Retite.”

Rettie? I've never heard of anypony with a name like that! This town isn’t that big, so I thought that I'd heard of everypony here by now!

Somepony walked around the bushes and came out to me

“Oh.”

It was an orange unicorn, I definitely hadn't seen her before!

She looks like she expected to see somepony else instead of me.

But more importantly…

She is about my age, and her sleepy surprised face looks so cute!

Wait! We’re alone here! Isn’t this a good opportunity to start a conversation?!

What did the book say… First, I should introduce myself, right? She already told me her name, so…

“Uh, um… Rettie, right? My name is Teadrop, nice to meet you!”

Smile, Tea, smile, just act casually!

“Err, yeah, nice to meet you, too, Teadrop?”

Why does she sound so unsure?!

Uh, next… Weather!

“Uh, the weather is nice today, isn’t it?”

Why am I even asking about the weather?! I spent a whole day in a cafe making drinks!

“Yeah, the weather is quite nice.”

Alright! She doesn’t seem to be bothered and now it looks like a perfectly normal conversation! Next… What was next?! I haven’t time to read!

I tried to quickly peek into the book.

Weather… Here! Hobbies! I was about to turn back to Rettie but-

“Is that… a book?”

I flinched. No, no, no! You weren't supposed to see it!

Now I feel like a filly trying to cheat in an exam and being caught by a teacher!

I've never cheated in an exam, but I'm sure it feels that way!

“What are you reading? Is it some fantasy book?”

I could hear my chances of befriending her crush under her hoof as she took a step closer.

“Uhm…”

“Or is it some study book?”

Well, she wasn’t wrong…

“Uh, yeah, I think you could call it this way-”

I closed the book and wanted to hide it in my saddlebags, but…

“Can I see?”

No! No! No! It’s way too embarrassing!

But it would be rude to refuse and she will just leave!

Ugh!

I let out a heavy sigh.

“Ah, sure…”

I moved my wings so she could see and take the book.

“Wow, somepony actually read that?”

Rude!

“I'm desperate, okay!?”

I'll never try to make friends again. Ever!

“Uhhhh… I mean, it’s a good book! Here!”

Rettie picked up the book and landed right next to me.

Oh Cadance! She’s so close! If she wouldn’t have her saddlebags on her. I bet she’d hit my flanks with hers! But she acts quite friendly, maybe if we’d find something common to talk about…

“How about we read it together?”

NO! As if reading it alone wasn't embarrassing enough! What’s wrong with this filly?!

“Uh, are you sure? I mean, you don’t look like somepony who would have problems making friends…”

Please, leave that idea and let’s talk about something other than that book!

“Umm… Yeah! Actually, I haven’t really made any friends yet!”

“Huh?!”

What?! How can such an energetic and friendly pony have no friends?!

“Yeah, yeah, I know, but hey, I’ve only begun my journey! I have plenty of time! Ha-ha!”

Her laugh is soooo cute! I want to hear more of it! How can somepony possibly be so cute?!

I felt my cheeks burning!

I definitely shouldn’t miss such a chance!

“Well, uhm.. …”

“Yeah?”

I'm so nervous right now that my body is starting to shake!

“..if you don’t mind…”

Just maybe…

“Uh could you repeat, please? I didn’t hear anything.”

Right. I should be more confident, to let her know my intentions!

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath in.

“If you don’t mind, could we be friends then?!”

I did it! I actually said it!

At the same moment something warm covered me.

“Huh?” We both sighed in surprise.

Did she just… cover me with a plaid?

Is this some friendship ritual that I’m not aware of? Or is this some kind of rejection?!

“Yeah, sure! I'd love to be your friend!”

She’d love to! Yes, yes, yes! A friend! My very first friend! I’m so happy right now! I should write mom a letter when I get to my apartment! But this plaid is still confusing, so…

“Um… don’t get me wrong, Rettie, I’m really, really glad that we’re friends now, but… what is that plaid for?”

She made a very confused face. My question didn’t spoil the mood, did it?

“Uh, you looked like you were cold, so…”

Oh, so it’s cold here, so she decided to cover me because we’re friends now? I appreciate the gesture but, how shall I put this…

“Uhm… pegasi are very resistant to the cold, you see…”

“Ah, right, sorry…”

She blushed. Maybe she’s sensitive to the cold? That would explain why she's carrying that thing with her.

“..But it's going to get colder soon, so I won’t mind if you join me.”

Wait-wait-wait, what am I even talking about?! Just give it back to her!

My body decided not to wait for her answer and just moved my wing to cover her with her plaid, so now we're both resting underneath it.

It's, like, ultra-embarrassing now!

But, for some reason, it made me even happier.

Rettie seemed to relax a little too, so she doesn’t mind that either, I guess?

Of course just as things were getting better, my stomach absolutely had to start rumbling traitorously!

I didn't have time for lunch at work and completely forgot to eat before coming here!

I could feel my face burning with shame!

“Uh, I’m a bit hungry too, so we could take a break for a snack! I have some sweets with me, not the best food, but good enough for a quick snack! Or at least hope so.”

Rettie you’re an angel! I want to hug her so badly! This is my chance to make it up to her!

“Yes! I mean, sure! I have some tea with me, so sweets would be nice!”

But what kind of tea does she like? Black? Green? Oolong? Pu-erh?!

Oolong and green should go best with sweets, but green would look too basic! Oolong it is!

I quickly pulled thermos flasks with green and oolong tea from my saddlebags and gave oolong one to Rettie.

As she took it, she unwrapped the sweets and placed them in front of us.

There’s just enough snacks for two ponies! It's so sweet of her to carry sweets for somepony else too!

Without further ado, I started eating the biscuits.

Maybe it's because I’m so hungry, but they are so tasty!

Rettie took the muffins and started eating too. She seems to enjoy my tea a lot so I’m saved!

I knew that she’s a pony who can appreciate my tea to its fullest!

So we just snacked in silence, enjoying the view and the atmosphere until it started to get darker.

“Uh, I'd love to spend more time with you, but I don’t want to make Miss Velvet worry about me even more.”

Oh? So she stops at Velvet’s? Makes sense, with all those sweets she brought.

“Oh, it’s getting late already, sure! I have to come back to my apartment before dark too, so that’s okay! See you tomorrow!”

I don't know why, but I was sure we’ll meet again tomorrow.

“Yeah! See you!”

With these words we packed our things and went home. On the same road.

I won't lie if I say that today was probably one the most embarrassing days of my life.

But I finally made a friend! And she said something about travelling, so maybe we’ll be able to travel together later!

I was so happy right now that my mind went wandering about us two travelling and getting even more friends along the way.

I probably acted like a weirdo on my way home, but I didn't care at all.
I went back to my apartment and jumped into bed. Even after that hard day I couldn't fall asleep.

So I just kept hugging the pillow and imagining how awesome it would be to travel with Rettie! I even forgot to write a letter to mom!

I was almost embarrassed at how extraordinarily happy I was to meet her, but that didn't stop me from enjoying it until I finally fell asleep.

Chapter Eleven — More Practice

After cleaning and a good night's sleep I woke up early as usual.

To my surprise, Miss Velvet was already up and cooking something.

“Oh, morning! You’re an early bird, mm? Have a seat, your breakfast is almost ready.”

It felt strange to see a pony other than my parents or Waver’s cook making breakfast for me, but I couldn't complain here.

“Good morning, Miss Velvet. I didn't expect you to be up so early too.”

She giggled and stained her nose with flour, trying to cover her mouth with her hoof. Which made her laugh even more.

“Ha-ha, I own a bakery, remember? A good bakery always has everything fresh, so you have to get up early every day to prepare everything for baking!”

“I see.”

I washed my face while waiting for breakfast, but it still wasn’t ready, so I decided to start reading Twilight’s “Basics of Magic” while I waited. I don’t want to distract Miss Velvet and I don’t know what to talk about anyway.

“A magic book, hm?”

It’s not like I was trying to hide the fact I’m reading, but are you having eyes on your back or something?!

“Uh, yeah. I feel like I’m missing something important from the basics, so I thought I might find some tips in one of Twilight's books.”

“Ah, you mentioned something like that yesterday! Also seeing a unicorn using her magic but still getting close to objects she interacts with was pretty funny too, ha-ha!”

I’m still learning, okay?!

But the next second something unexpected happened.

“We still have some time before I open the bakery, wanna me teach you the basics a little?”

She gave me a soft smile.

“Huh?”

I got confused.

“Uh, sorry if I’m wrong, but aren’t you an… earthpony?”

An earthpony teaching unicorn magic sounds rather silly and embarrassing.

“I am, but the basics work the same way for everypony, you know? Don’t worry, I am quite experienced you could say!”

She proudly pressed her hoof to her chest, staining it with even more flour. Luckily, she was wearing an apron. I don't want to even think about how much time it would take to clean this mess off the coat.

Well, it won’t hurt, I guess. I can read those books later anyway.

“I'd love to then!”

. . .

As soon as I finished my breakfast and Miss Velvet had finished her things, we moved to the backyard of the bakery and walked about twenty metres away from it.

I hadn't paid attention to that before, but it's quite a large empty area. There must have been a big house before, but now it has been demolished. I noticed a few piles of building materials in the far corner, so maybe they're preparing that place for a new one.

Miss Velvet looked around and, after some wandering around with a bit of digging with her front hoof, finally chose the spot for… whatever she was up to.

“This place will do. Do you have a good reaction, Rettie?”

“Uh, what do you mean-”

“Jump on three.”

“Wait what?”

“One… Two…”

I don’t like it!

“Three!”

She stomped with her front hooves on the spot she marked earlier, I jumped at the same time and… nothing happened.

“Uh?”

“Alright, once again! One, two, three!”

Feeling like I’m getting pranked, I jumped as she stomped once again. Nothing happened again.

“Your reaction seems to be good enough, this time for real, so don’t mess up!”

For some reason this time I felt danger and tensed up.

“One, two, three!”

We repeated the same thing, but this time the ground around her hoof rose up and went in a wave for several metres, creating a circle of rocks around us!

“Hm, only about seven metres. Not the best result, but it will do.”

Excuse me? An earthquake with a radius of seven metres from the centre is "'will do"?! What the actual heck?! Besides, it was practically silent!

How come that earthponies can be so good at magic?!

“Now, come here Rettie! Yep, now sit right here and hold your horn over the centre! Mhm, like that! Now what will we use…”

Hold your horses! You don’t want me to repeat that spell, do you?! It doesn’t look like anything “basic” at all!

She chipped one of the rocks she made with that stomp and brought it to me.

“Now, take it, place it on the ground at the maximum range of your magic and make a circle!”

I drew an almost circular shape around myself.

“Yep, just like that! Now just repeat it and push it further and further until you get tired!”

“Uh, is that it?”

“Mhm, first of all you have to learn to feel your territory and how to use it properly!”

“Territory?”

“Um, zone? Area? What do they call it in modern schools?”

“Uh, sorry, I have no idea what you’re talking about…”

It sounds like something elementary but I don't understand.

Miss Velvet gave off a heavy sigh.

“What do they even teach you these days…”

I wish I knew.

“Territory is basically the maximum possible area your magic can reach. You can learn to sense everything within that area when you deploy it. That’s why we call it “territory” and not just "magic range", “area”, or something like that. And before you ask, “deploying territory” is basically using your magic in any way. It happens on its own and you don’t have to do anything for that.”

So I have to learn my magic range? That's easy enough, but...

“Feel?”

Another heavy sigh. I’m getting a lot of those lately, aren't I?

“You don’t have to look at your saddlebags to open them and take stuff out, do you? That’s because you can sense these objects within your territory. Just like the earthponies don’t have to see seeds to speed up their growth.”

“I see.”

I hadn't thought about it ever, but it makes sense.

“Well,I have to look after the bakery, so take your time and practise! I expect at least a fifteen metre radius circle from you by the end of the day!”

Fifteen metres?! At the end of the day?! Am I going to do this all day?!

“Have fun!”

With that she disappeared behind the bakery door.

“Oh well…”

Like she said, time to practise.

After what felt like forever, but actually was about three minutes, I had made several circles around myself. If Miss Velvet’s radius was about seven metres, my best was about five.

That was still good progress compared to what I was capable of a month ago, but it's still nowhere near fifteen metres Miss Velvet expects of me.

Thankfully, the local pegasi weather team decided that it should be cloudy today, so the sun wasn’t burning me and my horn to crisp.

“Learn to feel my territory, eh? I don't really "feel" anything when I use my magic.”

But she was right about me knowing what's in my saddlebags when I take stuff out of them.

Feel... You don’t “feel” with your eyes, right? So maybe I have to close them?

I closed my eyes and tried to feel my surroundings. No effect, but I still felt like I knew where the ground was, since my magic was pushing the rock against it. Besides I still had a sense of direction, so closing my eyes wouldn't hurt.

I pushed the rock as far as I could and made several circles around myself, then opened my eyes to see the result.

“Hey, that’s a tiny little bit further than the previous one!”

I got excited about instant progress, so I closed my eyes and started making circles again. And again. And again…

. . .

I had nothing to do after my shift at the cafe, so I decided it would be a good idea to visit Velvet’s bakery, because I could meet Rettie there.

“I won’t look annoying, will I?”

*Din~nng*

“Mmm? Oh, hello Teadrop! It’s rare to see you here. Looking for Rettie, aren't you?”

Velvet sees right through me as usual. That's one of the reasons why I don't like to visit this place, even if the sweets are fantastic.

“Um, yeah, I thought maybe she’s free and we could go for a walk or something…”

Is it supposed to feel so awkward to say it out loud?

“Ha-ha, she’s probably asleep in the backyard for a few hours by now! It's a good time to check on her anyway, so come with me.”

Looks like Velvet has Rettie working here as payment for food and roof over her head. No wonder she sleeps in random places now.

We walked through the bakery and out the back door, to our surprise, Rettie wasn’t sleeping.

Instead, she was doing… something? Is drawing circles with a boulder some kind of torture? The area around her looks more like a moat at this point!

“Um, what is she-”

“Hey you there! You weren’t supposed to practise for so long! At this rate, you won't have any magic left for tomorrow!

Velvet interrupted my question with a shout at Rettie, that she didn’t seem to react to.

“Seriously, this filly… Teadrop, could you fly up a bit and approach her slowly? About three metres above ground would be fine.”

It’s a strange thing to ask, but it doesn’t seem safe to try to approach her by the ground, with that seemingly sharp rock making circles around her.

I flew up about five metres and began to slowly fly closer to Rettie. What am I supposed to do when I fly closer tho? Boop her to wake her up? Or maybe like in old fairy tales…

I didn't get to finish my thought, because Rettie suddenly opened her eyes and looked straight into mine as I flew a little closer to her.

“Eeek!?”

“Uhh, Teadrop? Miss Velvet? Is something wrong?”

She had been sitting still until that moment, but now she sits swaying from side to side.

“Ohh, the world is spinning. I don’t feel well…”

“Because you have been spinning that rock in the same direction for what, ten hours or so by now? Why in the world did you decide that it would be a good idea?”

For HOW many hours?!

Rettie looked around in shock.

“Wha- It felt like half an hour! Also, didn't you tell me earlier that you expect at least a fifteen metre radius circle by the *end* of the day?”

I don’t think that somepony would mean that literally!

“Oh, for Luna’s sake… Do you use that thing at least sometimes?”

Velvet came closer to Rettie and gave her forehead a few rough taps with her hoof.

“Ouchouchouch!”

“That's exactly what happens when you use your magic for too long!”

She gave Rettie her last, seemingly harder, tap on the horn. This time it hurt just to look at it.

“OUCH!”

“That will be a good lesson for you not to overstress your horn again. Now, your friend has come to see you, so go and have a little rest with her before I change my mind and punish you even more.”

With that, Velvet threw Rettie a packet of sweets she had brought from the bakery.

Surprisingly Rettie caught it with her magic in time, before it hit her face.

“Ouchouchouchouchouch!”

It seemed to hurt to use her magic now, but she managed to put it in her saddlebags and put her saddlebags on.

“Impressive!” I couldn’t help but say it out loud.

“Impressive stupidity, I agree.”

“Hey, I’m trying my best here, okay?!”

“Try your best to leave this place and not fall, before I change my mind!”

“I’m going, I’m going! Geez!”

Rettie stood up and started to wind her way down the road to the stream, but stopped for a second and turned her head to me.

“Are you coming, Tea?”

She seemed to have a hard time focusing her eyes on me. Now it was obvious that Velvet had told her off for a reason.

Yet she still acted as if nothing was wrong and seemed to want to spend her time with me.

“Yeah!”

That makes me stupidly happy. It seems I was really lucky to get a friend like her.

. . .

When those two finally left, I could take my time to see how far Rettie managed to get today.

“Seriously… who else in the whole Equestria would literally spend a whole day practising her magic? Did she catch this stupidity from a single encounter with Ami or something?..”

I paced around, looking for the biggest circle she managed to make.

“About seven metres, huh? Well, it could be worse. It's honestly a miracle that she didn’t simply burnt her horn and made it this far without taking breaks.

But I still couldn’t see any sign of the “talent” that Mrs Wavers saw in Rettie, according to Rettie’s words. Just unbearable stupidity and stubbornness.

At the same time, I see no reason why either of them would lie about it. Nor can I imagine somepony like Mrs Wavers being wrong.

“Maybe I’m missing something?”

Speaking of missing, where’s that rock she was practising with?

I concentrated and deployed my own territory to find it. There was another trace of her magic a few metres from me. I went to it and, to my surprise, that rock was there.

“That's… twelve? No, almost thirteen metres?”

Well, now that’s the result that “talented” pony would show! But what triggered such a sudden spike in her magical abilities?

I kept thinking, as I erased every trace further than six metres, so she wouldn’t slack tomorrow.

Then it clicked.

“Was it because somepony entered her territory?..”

It would be strange, but I have seen enough in my life to believe this theory. It’s definitely something that I want to test tomorrow.

Chapter Twelve — Sick of Practice

My head is still dizzy, but I can't say no to Teadrop just because of that. She was so worried yesterday that Luna knows what she'll think if I refuse.

We'll just have a snack by the stream like last time, so that should be fine, right?

Suddenly Teadrop broke the silence.

“So… what was that?”

That? Oh, she must be talking about the rock thing.

“Ah, that… Well, I felt bad about being so lame at magic and wanted to learn it from the books I got recently, but Miss Velvet offered to learn the basics from her and I agreed. Today we taught me about this “territory” thing I've never heard of before.”

“Huh? You've never heard of territory?”

She looks so surprised that it must be very common knowledge.

“Uhh… Yeah, my old teachers probably didn't think it was necessary for me to know that.”

To be honest, it doesn't really seem important for a housemaid to know about such stuff, so I can't blame them, but it would still be nice to know that it exists!

“So you don't even know much about the basics of magic, do you?”

It feels bad to admit it but...

“Yup.”

“Do you have those magic books you mentioned with you?”

“Er, yeah, they're always in my saddlebags!”

To be honest I'm still surprised that all this stuff fits in there. And I have no idea why wouldn't I just leave some of this stuff in my temporary room at Velvet's, but it just doesn't feel right.

“Why?”

“Do you want to read them together so I can explain them to you? Oh! It's not that I think you wouldn't understand them… I mean, of course you would! But learning together is more fun, right?! I mean, even if I'm a pegasus, it's still nice to know more about magic we all use, ha-ha...”

There she goes, panicking again.

“Sure! It would be nice if you could explain all that stuff to me!”

What a day. I've spent the whole morning learning magic from an earthpony and now my new pegasus friend offers to help me understand it. Whose race is known for its magical abilities after that?!

. . .

For the next few hours Teadrop read Twilight's magic guide aloud, stopping only to drink the tea she had brought. And as a grateful student I tried my best not to fall asleep and at least catch a few words.

“...which will help you to understand your magic better! Phew! And that concludes the first chapter!”

I did it! I didn't fall asleep, and now Teadrop looks all happy and proud! Absolute victory!

“So, what have we learnt from this chapter?”

She looked at me with a whole sea of expectations shimmering in her eyes.

Speaking of her eyes...

"Oh! I just noticed you have different coloured eyes!"

And no, I'm definitely not trying to avoid questions about things I'm supposed to know! I really just noticed that her left eye is purple and right is green!

“Uh? Oh, yeah, that! Pretty cool, right? Ha-ha...”

She looked a little too embarrassed for someone who thinks that's cool.

"But back on topic: what have we learnt from this chapter, Rettie?"

Damn it! Distraction failed! And her smile is kind of creepy now!

“Uh, that unicorns should learn magic?”

I tried to give her my smartest smile, but she looks very disappointed now. I'm screwed, aren't I?

“Ahh, it can't be helped, I suppose. You've been practising all day, no wonder you can't take information very well.”

Yep. That's it. I'm just tired, I swear!

“But tomorrow we will read it all again and you will read it with me, alright?”

“Yep, yep! Sure!”

Lemme go home now, pretty please?

She gave me a gentle smile for some reason.

“Ahh, you really are incorrigible. I think that's enough for today. But don't overdo it tomorrow so we can study together! Good night, Rettie!”

“Night, Tea!”

Packing up my stuff wasn't as painful as it had been a few hours ago. Fresh air really is the best medicine for my burnt horn it seems! Anyway, back to Miss Velvet's to finally get some rest!

. . .

“Oh? You're back already? You look like you've had a good rest, so you won't mind helping me with dishes today, will you?”

Wasn't I supposed to be resting for the rest of the day?!

. . .

The next morning I had nothing to do, so I went back to practice… again. But compared to yesterday there was no improvement at all.

“I've been here for a couple of hours now, but still about the same old six metres!? Am I missing something?”

And if I'm missing something important there's only one thing that can help me.

I pulled out my great-grandpa's notes, but only to see Miss Velvet's hoof on top of it.

“Huh?”

When did she even get here?!

"Going to read during your break instead of letting yourself rest?"

“Uhh, I just felt like I was stuck so wanted to see if there were any good tips in there, he-he.”

"Are you going to always rely on this book? After all, it's going to end someday, you know?"

Huh? I mean, she's right but…

“I… I haven't thought that far yet…”

“Then rest a bit and start thinking. It feels much better when you find a solution yourself, doesn't it?”

“Yes ma'am!”

. . .

"So... what else can I do besides close my eyes and concentrate?"

Suddenly all of my motivation to learn is gone after the first second of trying to think.

Come on, it's just a little bit of thinking, it can't be that bad?!

“So, uh, I have to reach further than seven metres, right? So I just have to, er, reach further?”

Thinking is definitely not my strong point today.

“Ahh, I wanna take a break.”

Wait, I'm already on a break, aren't I? Maybe I should do something unrelated to magic during it?

I think Teadrop mentioned that she works in some kind of cafe nearby.

I haven't walked around the town much since I've got here, maybe it's a good idea to visit it then, I can relax a bit, right?

“Well, "the brightest ideas come to the free mind” they say?”

I remember reading something like that in one of comics before, comics are basically books and books can't lie, right?

"Miss Velvet! I'm going to take a little walk round town!"

“The cafe where Teadrop works is down the street!”

“Thanks!”

I'm too tired to be surprised by other ponies reading my thoughts at this point, so whatever, down the street I go!

Which direction “down the street” is tho?

. . .

After wandering around the local shops for a while, I finally noticed the big “Cafe” sign.

Looking around I noticed Miss Velvet's bakery in the distance.

“So “down the street” meant literally down the street. Fair.”

I made sure I had my bits bag in my saddlebags and entered the cafe.

“Welcome! Oh-”

Yep, I know that voice,I got lucky and caught Teadrop on her shift.

“Sup. Cosy place to work in, hm?”

It was the middle of a weekday, so there were only a few ponies wandering around.

“Uh, Hi Rettie- Uh, I mean, I'm at work so welcome! Oh dear I've already greeted you, haven't I?!”

There she goes, panicking again.

“Alright Tea, just do it again…”

She took a deep breath in.

"Welcome! What would you like? Feel free to choose a table and grab a menu if you'd like!"

She said it with a wide smile on her face, which made me notice that her hair hides her right eye even more than usual. But I don't think I should ask her about that here.

Besides, come to think of it, I've never been in a cafe before and I have no idea what ponies usually order here.

“Uh, I will take the menu please.”

It's getting awkward to just stand here in silence, so getting a table sounds like a good decision.

“Sure! You can take one here!”

Teadrop pointed to the pile of menus.

I took one and went to a free table in the corner.

It has very few pages, but it's full of names I've never heard of before.

Seriously, who came up with the name "fat pink donut"?!

Oh, it looks like the last page is drinks! I remember Teadrop naming that weird pu-erh tea!

But more importantly, one drink from the list caught my eye…

I think I need to let her know I'm ready to order, so I gave Teadrop a little wave.

She looked around, as if someone else should be taking orders, but, with another sigh, she came out from behind the counter and walked over to my table.

“Ready to make the order?”

“Uh, yes, I'd like to take one muffin with coffee plea-”

“Coffee is not on the menu.”

Huh?

“But it's right here-”

“Coffee. Is. Not. On. The. Menu.”

“... One muffin with pu-erh tea please…”

“Would you like anything else?”

I don't think that coffee workers are allowed to drink tea with their customers so…

“No, thanks.”

“All right! Your order will be ready in a few minutes!”

What. Was. That?! I double-checked the menu and the coffee is right here! But her smile got so creepy when I just mentioned it!

I looked in her direction. She looked all happy and relaxed as she made my order. She really seems to really enjoy her job.

I couldn't help but smile at her. Maybe I should relax a little more during my practices as well?

She seemed to notice that I was staring at her and, slightly blushing, turned away from me.

Or maybe it was just my imagination. Who knows.

. . .

“H-here's your order! Let me know if you need anything else!”

I jumped a little in surprise. It seems that I thought for a second and lost touch with reality a little.

“Oh! Thanks!”

Ah, she already ran back behind the counter.

The next second, the strong aroma of tea hit my nostrils.

Welp, my coffee break is a tea break now I guess.

. . .

When I had finished my muffin, I went to the counter to pay for it.

The little colt took the order from Teadrop and hurriedly ran out of the cafe to join his friends, somehow managing to hold four cups of tea in his magic field at once.

I guess some unicorns are just more gifted than others, huh?

"Hey, don't run like that with hot stuff, you'll fall and hurt someone!"

When she said that, probably because of getting distracted by Teadrop's shout, the little colt actually felt and naturally lost concentration on his magic and dropped all the hot cups.

Luckily, I somehow managed to catch them with my magic before the hot tea spilled over his friends.

“Hey, didn't she tell you not to run, punk?! Ahh, whatever, are you guys all right?”

As if nothing had happened, the colt jumped off the ground, grabbed his cups out of my field, stuck his tongue out at me and ran off with his friends.

“You little…”

“Ah, let them go, Rettie…”

…Whatever.

“How much for me?”

“Uh, pu-erh with one muffin is… seven bits!”

A little expensive for a simple muffin and tea?! Although the tea was very well made. Well, I guess that's how cafes work.

“Your training is paying off it seems.”

She giggled softly and went into the back room.

“Huh?”

I looked at the trail the colt's muzzle had left on the ground.

About… fifteen, no, seventeen metres?!

“Yeah, definitely …”

. . .

“And then he fell and I caught them! Seventeen metres away!”

“Yeah, yeah, but even if it's so, I won't teach you anything new until you repeat it here.”

Miss Velvet stuck a rock in the ground near the place where I usually sit.

“Now show me how far you can reach with it.”

Okay, just relax, I've already done it once today, right?

Miss Velvet started to roughly count the metres out loud.

“Six… seven… eight… You've definitely made some progress."

Ughhh why is it getting so hard, relax, relax! It was so easy when I caught those teacups!
“Nine… Nine and a half… Ten… It doesn't seem you can push it much further, so I'd suggest you stop before you burn your horn again.”

But. I. Know. I. Can!

“Eleven… twelve…”

Miss Velvet's voice grew more surprised.

"Thirteen... fourteen... fifteen!"

I dropped that god damn stone there. It burns so hard that I can't stand it!

“Ouchouchouchouch!

Where's the rain when I need it?!

“Impressive result I'd say! Well done, Rettie!”

“Yes! Yes! Finally! Ouch!”

I was so happy that I jumped a little, but my head didn't seem to like it at all.

“Ugh, ahem, so… will we finally start learning new stuff when I'll recover a little?”

“Nope.”

“Huh?! You said you expected fifteen metres from me and I made it! Why not?!”

“I said I expected that from you by the end of the day. Of yesterday. Today you said that you're capable of reaching seventeen metres away, so that's your new goal. Give your horn some rest and come back to practice tomorrow.”

With that, Miss Velvet headed back to the bakery.

“NO! WHY?! THAT'S UNFAIR!”

I couldn't help but roll on the ground and whine.

I was so happy to reach the fifteen metre mark and now it's not enough and it makes me so angry! But I'm still happy but… It's so mixed and messed up now!

“Urghhh, I don't wanna keep doing it again and again! It's soooo boring! Tomorrow… No. Today I will reach twenty metres so Miss Velvet won't make me do that dumb exercise ever again! Yes…”

But my head feels so heavy right now, so I should get at least some rest at first...

. . .

In the evening, as usual, Teadrop visited my bakery. Or should I say came to visit Rettie? Ah, whatever, it's the same thing right now.

“Good evening, Miss Velvet, you won't believe what Rettie did today!”

“Caught cups of hot tea off a falling colt's magic field seventeen metres away?”

"She caught the cups... О. Of course, she's already told you about it. That took the fun out of the news. Where is she though?”

Well, at least she didn't lie to me about her achievements it seems.

“She was in the backyard as usual when I told her to get some rest after almost burning out her horn, but I haven't seen her come back in here, she'd better not keep practising right now or I'll… Ah, whatever, we'd better just go and check on her.”

I swear, if she keeps training right now, I'll make her arse burn harder than her horn.

We came out of the bakery and, to the safety of her arse, she was asleep.

“Hey, Retite, I know it's still summer and all, but the evenings are getting colder, so wake up before you catch a cold or something.”

“nineteen...twenty…”

Huh? Does she talk in her sleep?

“Waaaake uuuup, sleepy head! Teadrop won't wait here for you to wake up forever!”

She finally opened her eyes and slowly stood up. She definitely seems to be in a way worse mood than usual. Had I overestimated her nerves and been too hard on her earlier? Now I feel bad about that.

She easily picked up the rock, which was still on the same fifteen metre mark where she had left it, and pulled it towards her, as she approached the place where she practises.

“Hey sleepy head, that's impressive and all, your friend is waiting for you, not the best time to keep practising! Go have fun and come back tomorrow! You'll easily get it tomorrow, no need to push yourself so hard today!”

But she didn't seem to listen to me at all. Teadrop started to look worried as well, but we silently decided to see what Rettie is after.

She sat up in her usual place and began to draw another line with the same old rock.

“Five… Ten… Twelve…”

She reached the mark she had left at fifteen metres.

“Seventeen! Well done!”

Rock already hid behind the trees, but she didn't stop.

“Uh, Rettie?”

Teadrop sounded very worried as she looked at Rettie.

I shifted my gaze to Rettie as well. She looked sleepy, as expected, but what I didn't expect to see was anger in her eyes.
. . .

. . .

Was she angry at me for setting her goals slightly out of her reach? Or at herself for not being able to achieve them? Or was it something else? I will never know that. All I could do is stand here and watch her prove to herself that she's capable of more than anypony expects of her.

And even if it was only for the blink of an eye, a mere moment before her horn burned out, she managed to pull off a second layer of magic field. Not something you would ever expect from somepony so young. Not even from a teenage student, to be honest.

I have to hand it to Mrs Wavers, she totally wasn't wrong about Rettie having an insane potential.

“Is… that good enough now?”

Rettie's words knocked me out of my thoughts.

Teadrop already sat next to her, all worried about her friend, but all we could see was a smug, full of proud smile on Rettie's face.

“Ah? Yes, absolutely! In fact it was when you hit the seventeen metre mark! You shouldn't have pushed it any further though, didn't we talk already about how bad it is to burn out your horn?”

I don't know why I am even telling her off. I'm just at a loss for words for this, I suppose.

“It's fine.” - To prove it she easily picked up her saddlebags and put them back. - “How far?”

“Still not listening… Well, fair enough, I guess, I should have believed in you a little more after all.”

And I really mean it.

“It's behind the trees so you'll have to wait a minute for me to find out.”

She just nodded at my words and I left her on Teadrop.

…

“Okay, so that was about fifteen metres mark, and this is seventeen… twenty.”

Fifteen metres reach is the mark where most of the unicorns stop practising their magic. It's truly a rare occurrence to see a unicorn reach that far.

But the line doesn't stop there.

What the…

“Twenty-five…”

I simply can't believe in that.

“Thirty?..”

If somepony would ever tell me that an eleven-year-old filly could magically reach for thirty metres, I'd have called them a fool. But here I am, seeing it with my very own eyes.

Twice the distance I thought she would reach in a week....

At first I wondered if Mrs Wavers was right about this girl, and if Rettie was really worth teaching... But now, less than a week later, I'm wondering if I'm really capable of teaching her.

“That's just straight up insanity.”

First Amethyst, now Rettie.... Kids are scary these days, aren't they? Or is it just me being too old?

Ah, who knows, all I have to worry about right now is pulling myself together and stop whining.

I still have a lot to teach these girls.

. . .

When I came back and told them about Rettie's magic reaching for thirty metres, these two got so happy and proud, that even I couldn't dare to remind them that that was just the basics and that Rettie still had a long way to go.

Yes, she's still just a kid and I shouldn't forget about that even after seeing such stunning results from her.

As for now, I should just let her be happy for a while and get an actual plan for this girl.

Chapter Fourteen — Big News

After Miss Velvet left, I closed the bakery and spent the next few days trying to find ways to use my new magic.

At first, it seemed completely useless to me, but after two days of practising I was convinced…

“This magic is complete garbage!”

The only thing I've learnt so far is that it "shows" things I imagine. Who would've thought?

For example, if I step into a dark room and imagine it lit up, then me and the other ponies will see the room the way I imagine it, but if my imagination and reality differ, then we'll easily bump into the wall or something like that, so it's of no use in those situations.

It might be useful for design or architecture ponies, maybe for theatre shows, but other than that - it's completely useless!

“Ugh, even some cleaning magic would feel better to have, at least it'd be useful…”

Maybe I should've stayed under Mrs Waver's wing…

I slapped my cheeks.

What's done can't be undone. I'm the one who chose this path and I won't regret it.

I looked at one of the imaginary orbs of light floating around my horn.

*sigh*

Well, maybe I will regret it, just a little…

It makes me want to peek into Mountainhoof's notes, but as Miss Velvet said - I can't rely on them forever.

But… I can rely on my own experience, right?

I opened the 70th page of the notebook.

“Ah, sweet blank pages.”

I definitely should've been more diligent with my plan to make this part of the notebook my diary.

“Welp, better better late than never, right?”

. . .

A few hours later, I finished filling the pages with things that had happened to me recently. At least one that I could remember.

“Only a page and a half, huh?”

I probably shouldn't have written it all down so briefly, but meh, who cares.

I took a good stretch and quickly read through notes I had made.

“Mhm, mhm, I see.”

I closed the notebook and nodded.

“Still no clue what I'd use this new magic for.”

Maybe I could hide from the timberwolf if I covered myself in imaginary bushes, but they probably have a good sense of smell, so I doubt that would work either.

Just for fun, I “turned” myself into a bush.

“Ouch, bigger objects are much harder to"show "."

At least now I know how a green bush with an orange horn would look like.

“Yep, that thing totally wasn't supposed to stick out, still a long way to go.”

I'll also have to learn to somehow hide the light from my horn if I'm going to use that trick to hide from anything.

I could just imagine the surroundings and my horn without any light, but I feel like there should be an easier way.

That's another thing to add to my practice list. Seriously, why is there no magic way to just get better?

Maybe one of the Princesses will create such a spell one day.

On the other hoof then everypony will be good and there will be no fun in it anymore because everypony will be good so “good” will be “normal” which means that everypony will be normal which means…

I shook my head.

“Ugh, better stop here on that…”

Now I'm bored, tired, almost burned my horn again and it's only noon.

“Great.”

. . .

I spent the rest of the day cleaning the not-so-oftenly used corners of the bakery. Without magic.

“I almost missed that feeling of physical activity.”

Almost.

A few minutes after I had finished and washed my hooves of all that dust and dirt, I heard a knock at the door.

“Oh, that must be Tea.”

I lost track of time because cleaning by hoof takes so much longer than with magic.

“Hi Rettie! Are you feeling well? Do you recognise me?”

Another weird way to start a conversation, seems like somepony is worried about something again.

“Uh, hi, I'm fine, why?”

My horn doesn't burn anymore so it doesn't count, right?

I let her in as we continued that weird conversation.

“A couple ponies in the cafe today mentioned a strange disease in the neighbouring town! They said that several stallions there have ended up in hospital in the last few days with a severe fatigue, dehydration and memory loss! Can you believe it?!”

Wow, sounds serious, but…

“I mean, thanks for your concern, but it happened in a neighbouring town, and if I got it right that disease affects only stallions, and I'm, you know, sorta still a mare?”

“Oh.”

What does that “oh” is supposed to mean?!

“Right, ha-ha I'm, uh, just making sure! No pony knows what it is yet, right, ha-ha.”

“Yeaa…”

The bakery door opened again and Miss Velvet walked in.

She looked very happy, relaxed and… enlightened? Even her coat seemed to have lightened.

Or maybe I'm just seeing things again.

Teadrop immediately tried to save her face by asking Miss Velvet the same questions she'd just asked me a few seconds ago, although you could tell that Miss Velvet was more than fine.

“Hm, are you talking about Appleside? I've just come from my, let's say, relaxation trip there. Don't worry, these stallions will be more than fine in a week or two~.”

Why does she sound like she had something to do with it?!

“Oh, good then!”

And how did that answer satisfy you? Ah, never mind, I'm too tired to care…

“The bakery seems to be in better condition than when I left, well done Rettie. Now go and enjoy your walk with Tea. As for me, I have a lot of things to prepare~.”

“Uh, no problem!”

I can't say that I only cleaned this place out of boredom, can I?

Anyway, Miss Velvet seems to be up to something, so I better go out with Tea to get out of her way.

. . .

Although Miss Velvet assured Tea that the stallions would be fine, she was still acting weird.

Weirder than usual, I mean.

“Relax Tea, if even Miss Velvet says that stallions will be fine, then you have nothing to worry about!”

She tried to give me her usual warm smile, but it quickly faded.

Uh-oh, looks like it's really something serious this time.

“Hey, if there's something bothering you - you've got a talented unicorn by your side, who'll chase away all your problems with her awesome magic! Zap! Poof! Splash! And they are all gone!”

“Pft.”

“Hey! I know my magic sucks and all, but at least try not to laugh at it, I'm kinda trying my best here?!”

“Ahahaha!”

“Didn't I just ask you to at least try not to laugh?!”

It kinda hurts, but at least she doesn't look so sad anymore.

“I'm sorry, I'm sorry, okay? Pftt…”

Don't turn away when you say this!

“I'm not worried about the stallions, I mean, I am, but that's not what's bothering me right now…”

“Then what is it?”

“I-”

Her ears sunken again and she took a deep breath.

“I have to move in a couple of days.”

“Oh, cool! Where are we going?”

“I know it's awfully selfish of me, bu- Huh?”

“What's wrong?”

“Nonono, I mean, you're not going to stay here and continue learning from Miss Velvet?”

“Nay, I'm an adventurer, remember?”

I pressed my hoof to my chest.

Of course, only if you could call running a few kilometres away from timberwolf until finding a safe place to stay an “adventure”.

“Besides, Miss Velvet says she has nothing to teach me now anyway, so it shouldn't be a problem. Honestly, I'm getting bored of this place already, so I'd love to go with you! If you don't mind, of course.”

“No! I mean, of course I don't mind! I'm happy to hear that actually! Geez! It's so unfair, you know?! I was so stressed out all day, thinking about how to tell you about it, how to ask you to go with me, and all mentally prepared for all the possible answers you could give me and you just… just decided to go with me in less than a second!”

“Hey! How come it's my fault now?! Wasn't it you who-”

We jokingly argued a bit longer.

“Ugh, whatever, you haven't answered by the way, where are we going?”

“I still can't believe you just decided to go with me that easily!”

“Isn't it natural for friends to go to different places and support each other and all that sweet stuff?”

She giggled.

“Yeah, I guess so! Well, I'm- I mean, we're going to the Gemini's Talent Festival in Hoofingstone!”

“...Seriously?”

“What?”

“You were so worried and called it a “move” when you're just going to some stupid festival in a town a few hours away?”

“Hey, it's not just “some stupid festival”! It's Gemini's Talent Festival! It's one of the most famous festivals in all of Equestria! And I was worried because this year they're planning on running the festival longer than usual!”

Mhm. So famous that I've never even heard of it.

On the other hoof I haven't heard of so many things that everypony seems to know about that I wouldn't be surprised if it actually was famous.

"So, how long will it last this year?"

“A whole week!”

“Isn't that just a normal festival then?!”

“No, I mean yes, but hey! They usually only run it for three days, one day per pony kind! One for earthponies, one for pegasi and one for unicorns! But this year, in honour of the tercentenary of their festival, it's more than doubled! Although that's not very good news for me…”

“Huh? Why? Doesn't that mean you get to see twice as much cool stuff in there?”

“Well, it's because I'm kinda going there to participate, and I have to take first place this year… So it's twice as much rivalry, not fun…”

“Oh… Yeah, then it's bad news for you. Well, if something goes wrong, you can try again next time, can't you?”

Apparently my words weren't very supportive, because her ears sank again, even lower than before.

“There may not be a "next time", Rettie…”

She put her hoof to her left, purple eye and sighed heavily.

“Oh, come on! Don't tell me that this purple eye is caused by some kind of deadly curse or disease that can only be cured with something you can only win at this stupid festival! We're not in some dumb fantasy book for that!”

“How do you know?!”

“For Celestia's sake, Tea! You've got to be kidding me! And how long do you have to live before the curse kills you?”

It would really, really suck if I'll lose my first and only real friend in a week or so!

“Oh, no-no-no, I'm safe!”

Phew.

“...Or at least we think so.”

Gosh dang it!

“Can you stop scaring me like that?! Who is it for if not you?”

“Well, if I got part of this curse too, then it's not hard to guess that it's for somepony in my family, my Mom, to be exact...”

Well, now the situation sounds a bit better, but still absolutely horrible.

“I see. Aaaand, why can you only get it at this festival?”

“Because the flask of essence I'm after is a product of Gemini's family relic. And since it's related to that relic, they have to strictly follow their family's rules or the essence will simply fade away.”

“Let me guess, those rules don't allow them to just sell or give that essence away?”

“Mhm.”

“Neither you can buy it from the winner of the festival?”

“Well, it's technically allowed, but I don't think anypony who would gets the essence as a reward would ever sell it. My Mom has been trying to buy it for years, but no results.”

Well, that makes the situation sound a tiny little bit better, but not much.

“Then what about stealing it?”

“Rettie!”

“I'm sorry, I'm sorry, okay? I just don't really know what to say at moments like this and I just keep trying to come up with different ideas.”

“You don't have to! Just the fact that you're coming with me is more than enough support for me!”

Despite the situation, she actually looks pretty happy.

“I'm sure you will win this Tea! I'll go and warn Miss Velvet that I'll be leaving soon, if you don't mind!”

“Thanks, Rettie! I actually have to pack up, buy some things, collect some herbs and tell my boss that I'm leaving too!”

“Sounds like quite a hassle, how about we do some of that stuff together tomorrow?”

“Bet!”

. . .

“Mmm, leaving soon? Pretty sad, I expected you to help me with the next big order, but it can't be helped. Hope you enjoy your time there~.”

“So, you're just letting me go?”

“I can't hold you here, can't I?”

Wow, now I get what kind of disappointment Tea felt when I just said that I'll go with her without second thoughts.

“Well, fair enough, I guess. Then, any tips on further improving my magical abilities? I'm a bit worried since I won't have you around to point out my mistakes.”

“Nah, just relax and be yourself. Oh, and maybe sell your books, you won't need them anymore. Your element is special and your magic is what you believe it is, so you're pretty much the only one who knows how to use it the right way.”

“Sounds like cheap advice from some poorly written book.”

“Because it is.”

She pulled “Twilight's Fundamentals of Teaching. Volume One.” from her saddlebags.

“And why am I not surprised?”

Miss Velvet shrugged.

“Take this and sell it while you're at it, I don't need it anymore either.”

“Oh, okay, thanks, I suppose? Maybe there's something I can help you with while I'm here?”

I still feel kinda bad that I'm leaving when she's about to get a big order.

“Well, you could go to the warehouse and ask if they've prepared the stuff I ordered and bring it here if they have. Just tell Little Bo you're my assistant and he'll get it.”

“Oh, sounds doable, will be back in no time!”

. . .

I probably should’ve told Rettie to get a cart from the shed, but the warehouse should have some, so it's all right.

“Going to the Gemini's Talents Festival, hm?”

Haven't been for a while, but it might get interesting to see now ~.

“Might try to catch Ami somewhere, she can learn a trick or two there too.”

As well as helping me deliver all those baked goods, of course~.

. . .

“One hundred and twenty-four aaand one hundred and twenty-five, yep, all the flour sacks Velvet ordered are here, along with the rest of the ingredients!”

I stood in front of the whole mountain of sacks of flour, fruit, berries, spices, oils and Celestia's flanks know what else.

Yet even compared to that mountain of stuff I couldn't call Bo “Little”!

“Gotta say that it's very sweet of you to help Velvet with all that stuff, it would take ages for a single earthpony to get it all to her bakery, but you unicorns can grab bunch of stuff at once, so it shouldn't be too much of a problem even for a young unicorn like you, ha-ha!”

“Uh, yeaah, sure, but, isn't there some kind of cart or something?”

“Well, there were two, but they were both torn down by the timberwolves, thankfully Velvet got somepony to take care of them!”

“Ha-ha, riiiight. I see...”

“Welp, I'd love to talk for a bit longer, but I've still got a bunch of stuff to unload and sort from tonight's delivery, so good luck!”

“Thanks, you too!”

With that “Little” Bo closed the door.

“Welp, let's see. It's eight pm. It takes about seven minutes to get here and back. I think I can grab about four bags, and there's about two hundred and eighty of them. So it's seventy rounds, which will take four hundred and ninety minutes, or about eight hours. For Celestia's sake, I don't want to be doing this until four in the morning!”

Okay, so if I want to finish before midnight, I just have to grab about eight to ten bags at a time. Only twice as many as I think I can carry. Ha-ha what could go wrong?

I took a deep breath and started taking the bags one by one.

“...four…”

Hey they're not as heavy as they look!

“...eight…”

I think I can manage a couple more.

“...sixteen?! Okay, what in Equestria is going on? Shouldn't it weigh like, I don't know, a bookshelf or something?”

I grabbed ten more bags.

“Oh, okay, now it feels heavy.”

It makes me kinda dizzy so I stopped at twenty bags at a time and went to the bakery.

“Five times more than I expected, not bad at all!”

It should weigh about ninety kilos, shouldn't it? That's quite a weight!

Why couldn't I levitate that big piece of rock in the backyard then?

I put the four sacks together in one magic field and immediately got an answer.

“Ouch. Stuff feels a lot heavier when you hold it in one field, noted.”

Well, it should only take fourteen rounds now, so it shouldn't take more than a couple of hours.

…Unless I burn my horn again somewhere along the way. Again.

. . .

An hour and a half later I brought the last batch of sacks to the bakery.

“Miss Velvet, I'm done! All the bags are in the kitchen!”

It's gonna be a bit cramped in there now, but I couldn't think of anywhere else to put it all.

Finally I can cool my horn in water and get some sleep.

“Oh, Rettie, darling, I didn't order these berries, would you mind taking them back to Little Po while he's not closed? We don't want any misunderstandings!”

…You've gotta be kidding me…

Chapter One — Sweet, Sweet Childhood

Author's Note

This fanfic is my OC's story and created mostly for people who already know them and want to know more.

It’s ok to read it without knowing them, but be aware that some things will make less sense.

The storyline is barely related to the original MLP:FiM so any mentioned canonical ponies will be presented in my vision and/or heavily distorted.

I am not a native speaker, so I apologise in advance for any inaccuracies and mistakes.

Hope you will enjoy the story of my little ponies!

Chapter One — Sweet, Sweet Childhood

Cradle of Dreams

Chapter One — Sweet, sweet childhood.

Work is hard. Working when you're new is even harder. Work when you're new, young and have very little experience in magic? No problem!

Or at least that's the logic Mr Waver had to follow in order to get an idea to hire a ten years old filly as a maid!

I mean, my family has been serving Wavers for a long time. But I wasn't supposed to start working until two years later!

It's not like I'm not happy to be one of the youngest ponies ever to start working for the Wavers (second only to my great-grandpa Mountainhoof that got to work as soon as he turned eight), but that still was way too unexpected for me!

Almost as unexpected as for Mr Waver to get doused in wine by me right before an important meeting.

“Ha-ha, oopsie?”

“Rettieeeeeee!”

. . .

“This is the third time this has happened, young lady! Three times. In a row!”

Maybe then you should ask somepony more experienced than me to carry these stupid glasses of wine?..

“I’m sorry Mr Waver, It won’t happen again-”

Of course I wouldn't dare say it out loud.

“I've heard that before!”

His shout almost made me cover my ears, but I’m used to loud voices. Thanks to some of my nearly-deaf old teachers.

Mr Waver took a deep breath and exhaled only a few seconds later.

“Listen. I do understand that it's not your fault that you were dragged into work so soon. If it weren't for your predecessor's bad health you’d still keep attending school…”

Actually it was more like “private lessons” than “school” really…

“But you must acclimatise to your new place as soon as possible for your own good.”

As if it's possible to get used to all that stuff so quickly!

“As an acting maid of the Wavers' house, you have to take responsibility for your actions.”

Oh no, don’t tell me that you’re gonna-

“That's why, as a punishment, you'll have to...”

C'mon, I’m new here!

“...clear the old library-”

Oh? That doesn't sound that bad actually.

“...Alone-”

That’s expected.

“...In two weeks!”

Phew! That’s a lot of time and I’m used to cleaning!

“Using only your magic. Any hoof-working is prohibited!”

No prob- WAIT WHAT?!

. . .

“What?!”

Mom was just as surprised as I was.

“He told me that it will be a good practice for me to improve my telekinetic abilities and stop dropping things on him.”

“I can understand this, but what's with that time limit?!”

“This is to make sure that I won’t slack off.”

“No-no, dear, you moved here not so long ago and haven’t seen an old library yet. It’s big enough to take two weeks of hard work even from me and your dad to clean up! And we've been working here for years!”

That doesn’t sound good.

“And it hasn't been cleaned in ages!”

“Uh oh…”

Thanks mom, that sounds even worse now!

“I will go to Mrs Waver and-”

“Oh, Honey, stop scaring our little bun with those silly worries.”

Dad was too calm for somepony whose daughter might die soon from arcane overflow.

“Mister Waver may be a little harsh, but he knows what he does. Let Rettie explore her limits. She’s much stronger than you may think of her.”

“You… may be right. I think I’m worrying a bit too much.”

Dad ruffled my hair with his hoof and put a cup of tea with some sweets in front of me. All of today's stress and anxiety disappeared in the blink of an eye. To calm both me and Mom in such a period of time? Very impressive!

He gently smiled at me (or to my thoughts?).

“Do your best in those two weeks Sweetie, alright?”

At that moment dad seemed like an unreachable example to follow for me. Yet he had no doubt in me and my abilities.

“Alright!”

Tomorrow I'll show this old stupid library who's the best cleaner over here and will get my best-maid-ever cutiemark! It will be a piece of cake!

. . .

THE HELL?!

I almost shouted it out loud when the library doors swung open.

The library was not just an old, big building as I expected. It was ENORMOUS!

Mom definitely wasn’t joking when said that she and Dad would have to work hard to clean that place in two weeks!
“I will leave the keys here, Miss Rettie.”

As if I wasn't anxious enough, Mr Waver asked a Wavers' senior servant to watch over me!

“On this I bow out. Do your best. Good luck.”

“T-thanks?”

Huh, “Bow out”? Like he won't always be around to watch over me…

“Worry not. I do have other things to handle, so I won’t bother you with my persistence all the time.”

The heck?! S-scary!

“I still do not recommend even thinking about cheating. I will know."

“Y-yes sir!”

On that he actually bowed and flew away.

I tried to take a deep breath to calm down, but the amount of dust in the air made me sneeze for several minutes, exhausting me even before I started cleaning.

“Amazing. I think I’ll have to get some kind of mask at least to be able to enter here...”

. . .

“Nghhhhhhhhh-!”

*creeeeeak*

Two hours later, I finally managed to at least open all the windows in the library.

Two damn hours! Just to open all the windows!

Immediately after that, I ran out of the building and took off my mask so that I could finally breathe again.

“Never… Air tasted… So good… Before… Pheew!”

Even my eyes felt dusty and began to water.

Now, looking at the library from the outside, I can definitely say that inside it seemed much bigger than outside.

“Someone really loved books a lot to put all that stuff in, huh?”

“The founder of the Wavers’ family was indeed an unicorn with a great love for books and scrolls. By the way - It is the smallest of his three libraries of his own.”

I screamed.

“WHEN DID YOU GOT HERE?!”

"I just came here to check on you and to give you this."

Black pegasus handed me a bottle of iced tea. Maybe he ain’t that bad after all?

“Thank-”

The second I tried to take it off his wing he dragged the bottle away.

“No hoofs allowed.”

It took me a second to realise.

“Hey! You must be kidding me! It isn’t part of the cleaning!”

“Mr Waver’s order.”

“It ain’t fair at all! My horn hurts enough already after moving those enormous old windows! And now it turns out that I have to use magic for literally everything during those two weeks?!”

“That’s correct. You can use only your magic as long as you’re in the territory of the library.”

Wait a second!

“Sooo, if I take a step outside I’ll be able to use hoofs?”

“That’s correct.”

A-ha! With a sense of victory I took a step outside the gates that separated the library area. Take that, Mr Waver!

But the pegasus didn't move an inch.

“Uhh, can you come closer, pretty please?”

“Sure.”

He put the bottle on the earth and walked to me.

“Is that right?”

“I meant with a bottle!”

“Oh. You should have clarified this.”

He went back, took the bottle and back at the very same spot, as he stood a few seconds ago.

“Is that right?”

“Yes, thanks!”

But when I tried to take the bottle, he pulled it back again.

“WHY?!”

“Mr Waver’s task was to “Bring Miss Rettie drink to the library area”. That place doesn’t count as an “library area”.”

He must be kidding me.

“Then can you take a step back?”

“Sure.”

He took a step back. One damn step back.

“I meant, that you would be in “library area”?”

“Oh. You should have clarified this.”

He stood right behind library gates.

“Is that right?”

“Yes, thanks!”

Yet again he pulled the bottle back.

“WHY?!?!”

“You’re outside of “Library area”, so I can’t give it to you.”

He’s kidding. He is one hundred percent kidding me! I bet that frick just enjoys bullying little fillies!

I had no choice but to enter the “Library area”, take the bottle with magic, get out and only then take it with my hoofs.

“Thanks?!”

I was still worried that he would snatch the bottle out of my hoofs.

“You are welcome. Enjoy your tea. I will bow out.”

And so he flew away again.

“Well, at least I managed to get some tea.”

I gulped down the fresh tea greedily.

Only to spit it out a second later.

“IT’S BITTER AS HELLLLLL!!!”

Chapter Seven — My What?

I’m not gonna lie, those “few days” without magic felt like a whole month.

I’ve read through the illusionists' books twice in that time out of boredom.

I still don’t understand a thing, but at least it helped to kill a fair amount of time.

At first I wanted to finish reading my great-grandpa notes, but since the book uses my magic to function - it was forbidden.

But today I’m finally allowed to use magic again! Which means it’s finally time -

“Rettie? Dear, Mr Wavers has a taks for you!”

Dang it.

. . .

“... So you have to go there and deliver the package here.”

Surprisingly, this time I had a task outside the mansion. I don’t mind but…

“Don’t you usually call a courier for that?”

“We do but… she got sick. Yes. Also, it might be good for you to get on a walk. You've been spending quite a lot of time indoors with all that dust, you know.”

I had a feeling like Mr Wavers was up to something. He's probably just trying to save some money on delivery.

“Why won’t you send Black? It’s faster for a pegasi to go there and back, isn’t it? He knows those places better than I do.”

“He has other tasks to manage. Topic closed. Also…”

He put one hundred bits on the table.

“In case you get hungry on the way. Now go.”

I could just take some food with me but sure. Why not? Now I just have to find out how to get there.

. . .

After finally getting a decent explanation from Dad I set off.

It definitely will take me a couple of hours to get there, so…

“We finally can take our time again, huh?”

I took my great-grandpa's notes with me.
“Seems like I’m getting addicted to books. Especially to magic-related ones”

I remember from history class that Princess Twilight had the same… hobby? Is it a phase for unicorns or something?

“Ah, whatever.”

I made sure I was heading in the right direction.

“Chapter two!”

Once again I felt crystal absorb a fair amount of my magic and watched pages flipping.

I smiled.

“Surprise me again, old stallion!”

. . .

Ten pages later I felt like half of my magic was gone already. I still have to deliver the package, so I had to close the book and put it back in my saddlebag.

My great-grandpa definitely managed to surprise me again.

Surprise me with absolutely no new information in the whole ten pages! When the trick that saved me during the cleaning literally was on the first page of the second chapter!

“Well, there are still forty-two pages to go, but what a waste!”

Basically those ten pages contained explanations on how to use your imagination the right way to visualise and cast your spell . So it was literally the same thing I came up with during my little break after learning this trick.

“It was quite... Intuitive? I guess?”

Maybe that’s why it worked so well for me?

“Ah, whatever…”

I had at least an hour and a half to go. With absolutely nothing to do.

“Awesome.”

And why do other ponies like adventures at all?..

. . .

Few minutes later, not finding anything to distract myself with, I decided to try something out from the Illusions book I had recently read.

The main problem is that I still don’t understand a thing from that book, so I left it home since I wasn’t going to use it here.

“Well, if I remember correctly there was a simple light ball spell?”

A simple spell written in like twenty pages with formulas and diagrams that I definitely tried to understand. One hundred percent. Yeah.

Actually there mostly were examples of how to cast it using the different types of magic.

Like, it’s really easy to perform for ponies that are kindred to light or fire magic, but quite hard for ones that are kindred with shadow or earth types.

Of course, that information was useless to me because I knew very little about those types and didn’t even know what magic I’m kindred with.

“I mean, all I used so far is telekinesis and it's just basic arcana-type magic. And there were no notes on it.”

But I have no clue about how to use other types either.

“Well, time to experiment then!”

At least it will keep me busy for a while.

I summoned a small telekinesis field to at least have something to work with.

“Well, it already emits light, so all I have to do is make a sphere out of it, right?”

It’s harder than it sounds though. I never paid attention to it, but magic always flows which doesn’t help much when it comes to keeping it the exact shape. Especially when you don’t have anything to wrap it around.

Yep, it definitely will keep me busy for a while.

. . .

Fortunately, it doesn't take much magic to hold literally nothing in your telekinetic field, so my horn almost never heats up.

So I successfully spent over an hour trying to make my magic field look like a ball.

I almost(!) made it look like one, but finally started to hear noises from the city.

I put my little new hobby away (I already decided that one day I’ll surely do it) and switched back to my main task.

I checked the sign near the entrance.

Ponyville.

“At least I didn’t get lost. Now, how do I find mail here?”

Fortunately, ponies here seem to be really nice. A grey pony with a cello kindly accompanied me to the post office and even offered me a free ticket to her next gig as a welcome gift.

Which I had to politely decline as I probably wouldn't be able to go anyway.

As soon as I entered the post office I almost got hit by several boxes. I barely managed to catch all of them before they hit the floor or my face.

I learned my lesson in the library so I won't let stuff like that happen again. Nope.

The next second bottom of the box above my head opened and dropped a bunch of books on my head.

“You gotta be kidding me!”

Luckily none of them hit my horn so I was able to put the rest of the boxes on the floor.

“Ah! I- I’m so sorry!”

I turned my head to where the voice came from. A light-grey pegasi was hovering on the place where boxes fell from.

It's not really safe to carry so many boxes at the same time.

I wanted to say that but that mare’s face looked so worried that I couldn’t.

“That’s… fine. Don’t worry, I wasn’t talking to you.”

“Who were you talking to then?”

To the cardboard box? Yep, that sounds weird.

“Uhh, nevermind. I caught it all so nothing is broken, you just need to put the books back in the box. And make sure it is packed well this time.”

“Thanks! Wait, no! Welcome! Wait, no! Are you hurt? Wait…”

Okay, she starts to panic now.

“You’re welcome, thank you and I’m fine… mostly. I came here after the Wavers' family package, can you tell me where I can get it?”

“Oh! It’s right here!”

She dropped the box she was packing books into and flew over the post to another room. A few minutes later she reappeared with another, well-packed box with Mrs Waver's name on it.

“Here it is! Oh! But first you'll have to show me papers to prove it's yours!”

I already took them out of my saddlebag while I was waiting for her, so I just laid them out in front of her.

Now, when she finally stands still, I could see that I wasn't imagining. Her eyes were really skewed.

I found myself staring at her eyes for multiple seconds, but she didn’t seem to mind it.

She was probably used to it by now.

“Twentieth of July, Mrs Wavers… everything is correct!”

When she finally finished checking the papers I got my… I got Mrs Wavers package and helped pegasi to pack the dropped books back into a box. She gratefully smiled at me as I left the post office.

Come to think of it, I’m currently in one of the most famous cities in all of Equestria. I even have some spare cash. And I have a chance to meet famous equestrian heroes if I stay for a little longer! Aaand of course the local pegasi weather team decided that it’s a good time to make it rain.

“Dang it.”

. . .

My way back home took a little less time, probably because I wasn’t slowing down to concentrate on reading or practising.

The package was a tiny little bit bigger than my old good saddlebags could hold so I couldn't put it in and had to just put it on my back and keep it from falling off with my telekinesis.

It was quite annoying to be honest, but I still enjoyed the walk quite a lot, even though I had nothing to do during it.

“Travelling isn't so bad, is it?”

I could get addicted to it at this point.

As I approached the Wavers' mansion I felt like something was off.

It was unusually quiet and I felt like someone is watching me.

Creepy. Like those cliched stories where the protagonist leaves home moments before the attack and returns to find that his entire family has been killed and now he has to avenge his family.

“Pft, such stupid things can happen.”

I mean, you can call Wavers's family quite a rich one, and their mansion is located in a distance from any settlements, which makes it a perfect target…

Thanks to my logical brain, my attempt to calm down failed and I became even more nervous!

“At moments like this I wish I carried a knife or something like that in my saddlebags.”

I looked around but, unfortunately, couldn't find anything to protect myself with… just in case.

“At least that package is heavy enough…”

As I approached the main entrance I still had the feeling that someone was watching me.

I strained my ears. Not a sound.

I swallowed and slowly opened the door.

For some reason it was dark inside, even though it was still day outside.

Someone must have drawn all the curtains.

This light spell would come in handy here, if I knew how to cast it.

I didn't want to make a sound and slowly began to sneak in.

Seconds later, several dark figures jumped out of their hiding places and a loud sound hit my strained ears!

Surpriiseee!

I felt my coat stand up and my heart drop to my hooves. Even compared to Black’s sudden appearance it was way too scary!

“Wha-wha-wha-what is going on?!”

Thankfully, my heart was in its place, and its heavy pounding proved it.

I tried to take a step back but Black was there.

“Your birthday, Miss Rettie.”

He smiled at me.

My what?!

. . .

It took me a few minutes to calm down and realise what just happened.

When Black was away on business - he visited Ponyville and bought something on the way, registered the package in Mrs Wavers' name and told them to deliver it to the Ponyville’s post office instead of the Wavers’ mansion.

Then Mr Wavers sent me after that package to buy some time and put the decorations and other stuff that Black delivered in the mansion while I was busy cleaning the library.

Then Black notified everyone when I was coming back and they pulled all the curtains and hid behind furniture to surprise me!

They just tricked me like a kid!

I mean, technically, I’m still a kid but hey!

“I think we went a little overboard on the element of surprise, don’t we?”

No, Mom, not at all, I just almost had a heart attack!

Nothing new, to be honest.

“Nah, look at her happy face, I told you Black knew what he was doing!”

I knew it was HIS plan!

“Ha-ha! You’re right! Happy eleventh birthday sweetie!”

Everyone was smiling, celebrating and wishing me a happy birthday. Even Wavers customers stopped by a couple of times to wish me well before going back to their business.

I even got a fair amount of bits as a present!

After a delicious celebratory dinner, everyone wished me well again and the favourite part for every birthday colt and filly began.

The presents!

I've already got more than I expected (especially since I’ve just forgotten about my own birthday with all that stuff going on lately) but the more the merrier, right?

Of course Mom and Dad started first.

“We noticed your passion for magic and books lately so…”

Oh, for Celesita’s sake, please don’t.

They put a decorated gift box in front of me.

“Open it!”

They both smiled suspiciously wide, but I tried to ignore it.

I slowly opened the box, expecting to find magic books inside.

But, instead, I found brand new saddlebags. Mine were getting a bit worn and small for me and they’ve somehow noticed it!

“Ha-ha-ha! If you’d only seen your face right now!”

I tried to ignore the fact that I had been tricked for a second time today and gave them a big hug.

“It's got lots of handy features, but you’ll read about them in the manual later.”

“Sure! Thank you very much!”

The next gift was from Black.

It was a white cap, even without a hole for the horn, a pair of black sunglasses and a big thick, uh, cape? Plaid? I’m not sure what that thing is but I think I can use it both ways.

But more importantly.

“What are you after?”

“What do you mean, Miss? Have my gifts disappointed you?”

“No, not at all, I’m glad to get gifts from you and I like them, but this looks suspicious!”

“It's a secret.”

He just winked at me and went off! I swear there’s something suspicious going on here!

Now it’s Mr Waver’s turn.

He put the box I’ve carried here from Ponyville in front of me and smiled.

That old stallion just double-tricked me by making me deliver my own present?!

I had to admit, that's a pretty damn smart move.

I opened the box, and THIS time there was a pile of magic books in it. Somehow I knew I'd get them today, I just didn't expect it to be like this.

“I have to admit your achievements and potential in magic, so I thought it would be a good idea to invest in your future growth.”

A business mindset even when choosing a gift, huh?

“Oh, I almost forgot.”

He put the Illusions book I had been reading lately in that pile.

“You seem to be enjoying it lately, so it’s yours now.”

As if I wouldn't be able to keep using it anyways, but I appreciate the gesture.

I thanked Everypony again, thinking that was the end, but Black interrupted me.

“Don’t hurry, Miss Rettie, you forgot the most important present.”

“Huh?”

I looked around. Everypony here has already given me their presents.

“Mrs Wavers can't congratulate you in person for… reasons. But she asked me to pass on her congratulations and to give you a very special present.”

Everypony looked as surprised as I was.

“A special gift?..”

He nodded.

“Mrs Wavers is very appreciative of your dedication and the work you've done, so she decided you deserved something bigger than a regular gift. So she decided to grant you a… let’s call it a choice.”

“Huh?”

“You see, Mrs Wavers is well aware of how well you do on your errands and thinks you have a talent that will only fade if she keeps you here. But she also thinks she can’t decide for you. That’s why that’s a choice and not an order.”

I felt flattered from being recognised by another talented unicorn, but it sounds like a…

“You should understand that this choice is a big responsibility.”

Yep. That. Like a big responsibility.

I was getting nervous.

“So… what’s the choice?”

Black grinned at me.

Uh oh…

Chapter Thirteen — My Element Is What Now

It took me over an hour before I began to realise what had just happened.

“Thirty metres…”

Just a week ago I was struggling to reach the top of the bookshelf, and now I'm able to reach further than I could have ever hoped.

Not without great effort, but still.

I met this spike in my abilities so calmly because I didn't realise how big it was. But now that I do, I want to share my excitement with someone.

But there's only the shine of the stars and quiet murmur of a stream to share with.

And a not-so-quiet snore from a mare who was so worried about me that she fell asleep as soon as we got here.

“I definitely shouldn't tell her about this part when she wakes up.”

She cares about me so much that she falls asleep as soon as everything calms down. I keep it a secret that she snores like a yak, that's how friendship works, right?

If so, I'm glad friendship is a thing.

I should get some rest too, but I can't wake her up or just leave her here, so I have to sit here and slowly catch up with everything that's happened lately.

It feels like it's been a month or two.

I wonder if mom and dad are worried about me. I wonder what kind of person this mare that has taken my place and if she is doing the job well.

I'd be quite angry if that damn library got all dirty again.

Does Mr Wavers scold her as much as he scolded me? Does Black jumpscares her like he used to with me?

Many other questions kept popping up in my mind, whether they were about the past or my future.

But only one of them I was able to answer.

Had I made the right decision when I decided to go on this journey?

Another loud snore hit my ears.

I couldn't help but smile.

Yes, I definitely did.
Making friends with a one pony might be a silly reason to give up all these incredible prospects I've been given, but it feels so much more important now, and I'm more than happy with that.

“Huh… morning, Rettie, what's with that weird smile you're giving me? And why is it so dark in here?..”

Looks like she finally woke up. It's a rather awkward experience to be caught looking at somepony sleeping, especially by that very pony.

“Nah, it's nothing, anyway, I gotta get some sleep too, so see ya, Tea!”

I hurriedly left the scene, accompanied only by a quiet "huh?" from behind.

A little rest and a whole new world of magic awaits!

. . .

A whole week later, Miss Velvet finally returned to the bakery, prancing happily.

“Hey Rettie, I'm bac- oh dear…”

She was greeted by empty bakery shelves and a pale orange pony reading a book by the till.

“Welcome, sorry, but Miss Velvet is out, so we're out of stock. Please come back later.”

“I am the “Miss Velvet”! For Cadance's sake, what happened here?! Are you all right?!”

I finally came to my senses.

“Oh. Welcome back. Er, you've been out for a while, but ponies kept coming in, so I had to learn how to use this thing and sell out all the stock before the baked goods became baked bads.”

I pointed to the till beside me.

“Spoilt pun, I know. But jokes aside, I honestly don't think it was a good idea to hand over the entire bakery to some random filly you picked up some time ago without any warning, but I did my best to do things right.”

“Oh. Uh… To be honest, I just forgot about the bakery, ha-ha.”

Huh?..

“Wh-what?! How could you possibly forget about it?!”

“Well, uh… let's just say I've been a little busy.”

It doesn't answer anything!

“Anyway, why do you look so pale, Retite? And more importantly, what's wrong with those puns you're making now?!”

“Ugh… about that… Teadrop made me read the Basics of Magic while I'm forbidden to practise and waiting for you, as well as the Twilight's Magic Guide, which is full to the brim with stupid jokes! Oh, Tea was also the one who taught me how to use this thing.”

I pressed the button on the register and it opened with a ringing "tinn", then closed it back.

“Oh, I see, that must have been a painful experience for you.”

I nodded.

“But I still don't see how reading two such simple books could make you so badly. Have you been eating well?"

“Basic?! I've been reading them for a whole week and I still don't understand anything!”

I got on the verge of crying again.

“How come that the "redirect flow of your magic to three different nodes making them resonate counter-clockwise with each other to create a simple temporary light source" part is something basic?! What those nodes even are?!”

I mean, there was a part that explained what those are, but I didn't understand a word of it either.

“Well, these are.. Ah, whatever, according to your new study plans it doesn't matter for now .”

Huh?

“My study plans?”

“Yep!”

She took several piles of papers out of her saddlebags and put them on the nearby table.

“I wrote these in breaks from my… well, stuff I was doing, and got a bit carried away.”

“Yeah, just a bit…”

Seriously, how does all this stuff even fit in the saddlebags?

“Can I have a look?”

“Nuh-uh.”

As expected.

“So when do we start then?”

I'm so tired of reading at this point that I'll agree to anything, just get me off Twilight's puns.

“Somepony well versed in the ways of unicorn magic will be back in town tonight, so we will begin as soon as she arrives. But I should warn you that she can sometimes be a little… rough in the way she acts, so you'd better get some rest before she gets here.”

“Roger!”

So I ran upstairs to my room to rest.

. . .

A few hours later, Teadrop came to see me, but I couldn't go anywhere today, so we just had a little chit-chat, mostly wondering what this somepony will look like. We agreed that she totally should be wearing a cape and a stupidly big hat, although we couldn't figure out why.

We had to wait a couple of hours until Miss Velvet called me downstairs.

“Rettie, this is Ami! Oh wait, I think you two have met before, haven't you?”

Yes and this is definitely not somepony I'd ever expected to see again!

“G-glad to meet you?”

After seeing me, Ami gave Miss Velvet the “Are you serious?” look.

Miss Velvet replied with a “Yes.” one it seems.

And so my collection of heavy sighs in my address has grown by one.

“Glad to see you made it safely into town after failing to deal with a single tiny timberwolf.”

It doesn't sound like that!

“Oh! Good to see you again, Ami! I hope you enjoyed the tea last time!”

She nodded.

“I did, thank you.”

How come you two know each other?!?!

“Anyway, we don't have much time here, at least I don't, so what are you even capable of?”

She leaned over to take a closer look at me, and I tried my best to ignore the two scary horns that curved towards the back of her head and loomed over me.

“I can, uh, move things far away from me?”

Another staring dialogue between Miss Velvet and Ami ending with Ami's heavy sigh.

“Well, I shouldn't have expected much, after all Vel called me here to find out what element you kindred with.”

“Oh the element thing! I've seen it so many times in books, but no instructions on how to figure it out!”

“Because it's so natural that everypony knows it.”

Ouch.

“You're not the right pony to say that, Ami.”

Miss Velvet gave her a smug smile that Ami chose to ignore.

Or didn't dare answer?

“Let's start with your buttmark then, it has feathers, so it could be something to do with air. Try to create a little wind current.”

“Uh, how do I do that?”

“Don't think, just do it. If your magic is aligned with an element, it will easily resonate with it and at least something will happen.”

For a moment she seemed to remember something from her past.

But I didn't want to anger her by asking unimportant questions, so I closed my eyes and tried to… do something, I don't know, make air go shooo?

“No results it seems, next.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Miss Velvet throwing away one of her piles of papers.

“Huh, already?”

“Yes. As I said, I don't have much time. Now try to make the ground heave.”

Nope.

Another pile of papers got thrown away.

“Water.”

Nope.

Miss Velvet's smile began to fade.

“Fire.”

Ami picked up a dry stick from the ground and lit it with ease. So her element is fire, it seems.

Yep, I failed at that too.

As well as in attempts to create a dark or light orb.

“Ugh, maybe I'm useless after all, maybe arcane is the only element I can use?”

“Then lift that big rock over there with your telekinesis.”

Ami pointed to the huge mossy rock behind the trees.

No way I can lift that!

I had to try anyway.

“See, not that either.”

“Does that mean I'm completely useless?!”

“Most likely, yes.”

Miss Velvet was right about Ami being “a bit” harsh.

“...but that depends on what you mean by “useless”. Even somepony with magic as stupid as mine can be terrifying to those whose element is supposed to be superior.”

“Huh? Don't you have a fire element? And what do you mean by terrifying?”

She grinned at me, that alone is terrifying enough if you ask me.

A moment later, a tiny green flame flew off her horns towards one of the big trees a bit away from us, leaving a little scorch mark on the tree.

“Uh, what's that?”

“Oh, just you wait.” Said Miss Velvet.

A few seconds later that big tree suddenly fell. Into the woods and not on us or any nearby houses, thankfully.

“Wha-”

Wasn't that just a tiny little flame?! Why would you even call THAT stupid?!

I returned my astonished gaze to Ami.

“No, I won't explain how it works, it will take several hours at the very least.”

“Think of it as her marking the spot and telling the magic around to gather and cut down this tree.”

“That's definitely a very rough and oversimplified way to describe it, Vel. Anyway, back to you…”

“Rettie.”

“Yeah, Rets, have you ever noticed something weird about the way you use your magic? Or maybe some areas you were interested in?”

Something weird or interesting?..

“Well, actually…”

Suddenly I was interrupted by Teadrop's voice.

“Oh, maybe the illusions? You have a whole book about them! And you told me you read it several times by yourself! It'd be cool if you could do all those cool magic tricks with stuff disappearing and such!”

“I couldn't even make a simple light orb though.”

“Oh…”

“It's a light element spell, but she's right, it would work with illusions too, just wrose. Anything else?”

Anything else? Well, actually….

I quickly told her about my great-grandpa's advice about imagining things, that I had used that trick a few times before.

“A magic diary? Was that popular back in the day or something?.. Ah, whatever, your element could be imagination or something like that then.”

“What? How can THAT be an element?!”

“Well, text is an element for some reason too, and you've just seen what it's capable of. I mean, even friendship is an element. These are just some of the "special ones", no more and no less. Some specials are extremely powerful, and some you will have to… improvise to make them at least somewhat useful. Either way you will have to get used to dealing with that kind of stuff.”

I looked at the fallen tree.

“Don't tell me it was-”

“Yep, just a text basically.”

“That's definitely a very rough and oversimplified way to describe it, Ami, mmm?”

Once again Ami did her best to ignore Miss Velvet's banter.

“You mentioned the orb of light earlier, try to imagine it here.”

“Isn’t that stupid?”

“You've seen what "stupid" can do, so shut and just do it already.”

Well, it's supposed to look like a shiny white orb, floating above my horn right?

“You have to use your magic, you know.”

I'm not that stupid, okay?!

Apart from the fact that I didn't think about it.

I tried to direct my magic to where I imagined that orb at. This time without trying to create anything.

“Huh?”

“It works! It works! Amazing, Rettie!” Teadrop's shout nearly ripped my ears off.

“Yup, apart from the fact that it doesn't give off any light and basically has no practical use. Here you go Vel, can I go now?”

The orb was hard to hold, so I broke the spell... if you could call it that, of course.

I looked at Miss Velvet.

All her papers were tossed around and she definitely had mixed feelings about me finally finding an element.

I have mixed feelings about it too, so I can relate.

Only Tea seemed happy about it.

“Do you have any experience with this imaginary kind of magic by any chance?”

“Nope.”

“So no tips for her?”

“Combine two and more illusions, but that's kinda obviou- ah, right… Well, you've got the idea.”

Why do I feel insulted again?!

“Then yes, it was the last one so you can go now.”

“Finally!”

With that she just flew away, without any goodbyes. Rude.

But I have to give it to her, without her help I'd never have thought that such an element existed.

. . .

Me and Teadrop watched Miss Velvet throwing all her notes into the bakery oven.

“Wait wait wait, aren't those my study plans?!”

“They were based on the elements you might have been kindred to, but they all useless now”

“Oh…”

Yeah, she definitely wasn't in a great mood.

“Uh, well, isn't it still great that Rettie found something special?” Teadrop tried to calm Miss Velvet.

“It is, but I spent a whole week writing it! Day and night! And they all turned out to be useless!”

Ouch…

“Well, at least it must have been a good experience for you!” Tea kept trying to comfort Miss Velvet a little.

“Yes, it was, but I can't use any of that experience in Rettie's case!”

“Yeah, it blows when all your efforts go to waste.”

Was it just me, or did her coat get a little darker for a moment? Did I say something weird?

“Yeah, blows, right. I just need to blow off some steam. The bakery is on you again for a few days, Retite.”

“Wha-”

And with that she's already disappeared behind the doors.

“But I don't even have any baked goods left to sell!”

“Well, at least you can imagine them now, you know! Pff-t”

Great, now even Tea is making fun of me.

“That means you won't get any for a few days either!”

“Nooo! Not the sweets! Miss Velvet, come back, please!”

“Anyway, now that everypony is left and there's only two of us…”

Teadrop suddenly tensed up.

“W-wait Rettie, t-this is too sudden, aren't you rushing things a bit?!”

“...do you have any idea what's the difference between illusion and imaginary types of magic?”

“Huh?” We both sighed in surprise.

“A-ah, you're talking about magic, right, right.”

Wasn't that what we were talking about?

“Yeah, Miss Velvet and Ami have both run away and I've got no one else to ask.”

Teadrop sighed in relief and… disappointment?

“Well, I don't know much about imaginary types, in fact I've never even heard of this one before, but I could try to explain how the illusion one relates to others.”

“I'm all ears!”

“Well, imagine an orb of fire… not with your magic!”

“Oh, yeah, sorry, my bad.”

“You're definitely getting used to things too quickly… Anyway, a fire orb would light up the area a bit, but its main purpose is to burn things.”

“Makes sense for a fire element spell.”

Teadrop nodded.

“Then there's a light orb, it lights up the area as brightly as you can cast it, but even if it doesn't set anything on fire, it would still be quite warm… well, at least from what I've heard.”

“I see.”

“And then there's an illusory orb, it doesn't matter if it's a light or a fire one. It would still illuminate a small area, but not as brightly or as far as the real orb, nor would it give off any heat, because it's just an illusion, not the real object. For example, if someone would send you into exile to an illusory sun, you would be fine!”

“Being in exile definitely doesn't sound like something that would be “fine”!”

“Ha-ha, right, but you get the point, right?”

“I think I do. So the main thing I should focus on from now on is…”

“Finding out how it works and what it can do! Which means...”

“More practice?”

She gave me a warm smile.

“More practice.”

It really never ends, does it?