Zipp shot through the skies, enjoying the freedom of the wind in her mane. She'd come a long way since the day she left Zephyr Heights behind. "What a life." She flapped her wings and dived through the streets of Maretime Bay, turning the heads of many. She landed into a trot that slowed into a proper walk as she reached the library. "Let's check in."

She pushed open the door with a hoof and headed into the quieter interior. Looking around, she spotted Amber at the front desk, helping somepony check out a book. Zipp joined the line with a smile. It was nice to see the town growing in knowledge and interests beyond fearing all the world had to offer them. It wasn't long before she was standing before Amber, letting her see Zipp properly at last.

"Hey! Mom's calling me home." She hiked a hoof vaguely towards Zephyr Heights. "You know how it is; I can't say no to that. She shrugged softly. "Sorry for the short notice, but you can get a substitute flyer in here, right?"

Amber raised her eyebrows at that question. "That's unfortunate. You're the best flyer I know!" But she reached across the counter anyway. "If you're mom's calling you, you do have to go though. I get that." An idea came to her. "Oh, what about your students?"

"That's what I'm talking about?"

"No." Amber clapped her hooves. "I mean, do any of them show potential, and know enough to maybe take your spot for a while?"

Zipp glanced about before leaning in close. "They're all up and coming, but none of them are ready for a job like this yet. It takes skill, ability, and discipline to be a librarian like you, Amber."

Amber burst into laughter. "Not my job! Yours. Some pegasus ready to teach other pegasi how to fly well."

Zipp leaned back and put a hoof to her chin in thought about her own students. She hummed softly about the ones she taught and their various degrees of prowess in the air and on the ground when it came to their flying abilities and their performance during their daily flight classes. "Well... Sally could be alright for a few weeks."

"Then bring her over." Amber shook Zipp by the hoof with a confident grin. "She's already coming here twice a week anyway for our classes. It wouldn't be much of a change in her schedule to teach those classes instead, if she's up for it."

Zipp's smile widened as she gave Amber's hoof a firm shake back, confirming their plans together in full force. "You got it! Thanks! I'll just have to warn her in advance and have a few quick talks with her before she starts filling my hooves for me." Looking pleased with how things were worked out, she trotted from the library and took off the moment she was outside.

Amber watched Zipp leave the library in a rush and turned her attention back to the two ponies that were waiting in line for assistance with checking out their books and borrowing them from the library, and she happily returned to her usual duties and routine as head librarian.

She was about to take a break when a young mare, no, more of a filly, came rushing up to her. Coriander slid to a stop. "Teach! I did it!"

Amber inclined her head. "Good to see you, Coriander. What did you do?"

"A spell! Just like we were learning." Coriander slipped an amber colored crystal out of her saddlebags and onto the desk. "I held onto it after you left and studied my notes on it, but I thought that wasn't working so I talked it over with WinterSweet and we kept working on it."

Her horn twinkled with magic, and Coriander vanished, replaced with a cat that was colored just as she had been as a unicorn. "Meow," she said, giggling. "Look at me!"

Amber gasped and put her hooves on either side of the pony-turned-cat as she tilted her head this way and that. She inspected the feline standing before her where Coriander had stood mere moments before and felt a burst of pride for her student. "That's amazing! You did a full body transformation. I hadn't even tried that myself." She put Coriander cat down on the counter, so they were on the same level. "How does it feel?"

Coriander stretched out and flicked her tail. "It's super weird. I can smell everything!" She ducked under the counter and rubbed against Amber's legs, then hopped back up onto the counter and purred happily. "I feel so flexible right now." She pawed at the air towards Amber. "It's neat!"

Amber caressed Coriander's side gently, finding her fur to be very soft and comfortable to pet. "It must be." She withdrew her hoof. "But it's not permanent?"

"Thank harmony no!" Coriander hissed at the thought. "It's not that ne—" She was suddenly a unicorn again, and flopped right off the counter gracelessly. "Oops." But she was giggling about it as she stood up. "See?"

"That's incredible!" Amber helped her get up on her hooves again. "Congratulations on such a big success! That's a lot of power! How are you feeling now that it's over?"

"Very good! I feel like I did something amazing!" Coriander leaned in closer to Amber with a sly grin on her lips as she whispered conspiratorially, "Do you think I could convince somepony I was a cat now? Like a real cat? Would that be neat? Imagine the pranks!"

Amber tapped her hoof against Coriander's flank. "Don't even think about it. Remember, magic is meant to help others."

Coriander tapped her hoof right back at Amber. "Yeah, yeah." She backed away with a proud smirk on her face at what she had done with her magical abilities under Amber's teaching. "Still! I'm a wizard now, yes?"

Amber paused, considering that a moment. "Actually, you have a point." She sat back. "You are a wizard now. You have only one thing to do that would make you a great wizard, but it's not easy. I wouldn't rush for it. Plenty of wizards never get around to it."

Coriander gasped with excitement at the idea of that which would be the pinnacle of her magic education with Amber's assistance and guidance. "What is it?"

Amber waved a hoof at Coriander to assure her, "Don't worry about it yet. You're young. You have time to learn magic from lots of sources and not just me."

Coriander lifted up onto her hindlegs just so she could get her forehooves at her hips. "You did not just tease me like that. Teacher, what is it?! You have to tell me, even if I'm not ready for it yet."

Amber pulled out a chair and let Coriander climb onto it so she could look her in the eyes as she explained more fully. "There is something that will set you apart from other unicorns that have learned their spells from others, or read a book or dozen. No, the ultimate next step? Making your own spell. Writing in a book for other unicorns to follow after you."

"Wait." Coriander cocked her head and blinked at Amber with disbelief written all over her face at what she was hearing from her teacher. "You can make up a spell? Just like that?"

Amber smirked at the idea. "There's nothing 'just like that' about it, I promise. The combination of which runes, wait." She poked at Coriander from the front. "Don't you remember that spell that went wrong? That was you trying to make a new spell. It's dangerous, and uncomfortable, and hard."

"Oh." Coriander flattened her ears. "Yikes." She turned around on the chair, nearly falling off it in the process, but Amber caught her with a hoof to her withers before she could fall far. "Maybe I should wait on that one." She stepped down to the floor. "But I'm a wizard!" She cantered in place with obvious joy.

"Speaking of that." Amber leaned in, touching horns with her student. "Wizards pass on their knowledge. Coriander, are you up to showing other unicorns how to become wizards too?"

Coriander shuddered at that inquiry from Amber. "But I can't! You're better at magic than I am! You can do everything I can do, and more! You can teach other ponies about magic."

Amber shook a hoof. "It's not about being 'the best'. You're still learning, but that doesn't mean you can't teach. You understand the runes, how they work, and how to cast difficult spells. We just said you qualify as a wizard. That means, if you want, you qualify as a teacher of magic."

Coriander blushed at that request from Amber, but stood tall nonetheless with pride and confidence. "If you're sure?" She swallowed roughly as she felt an unexpected rush of emotion flood through her as she considered taking on that responsibility from Amber. "I can try," she got out quietly. "You'll still be there, right?"

"Always." Amber tapped her hoof against Coriander's yellow rose-colored cheek. "You'll be teaching unicorns alongside me. You'll do great. you already do great!" She patted Coriander on the back encouragingly and walked with her. "At least at first, we'll teach together. Only when you have a good grip on things can you try it on your own. As unicorns, we need more teachers spreading this around."

Coriander followed along after Amber with an eager smile on her lips at the thought of new discoveries ahead of her. "I'll keep working on my spells! What's next?"

Amber pursed her lips. "Time to at least consider how you would teach a unicorn fresh to the idea of magic how to start. While you do that, you may realize a thing about yourself. I did! Teaching isn't without learning too."

"Huh?" Coriander stuck her tongue out briefly at the odd bit of advice Amber had just given her and wondered how it would apply to her life. She could sort of see how it made sense from Amber's perspective and that if she wanted to be the best teacher she could be then she had to study magic like she had before she met Amber. It was still confusing though! "I don't have a magic book."

Amber stopped sharply. "You have a point." She coiled on herself and grabbed a notepad free. "So this will be your magic book. Fill it with the spells you learn, thoughts you have, and everything else."

Coriander accepted it from Amber with a slight gulp at the importance of it all and struggled to get out just what she felt about it all and Amber's actions with the journal being passed over to her. "I'll take care of it." She hugged the notepad close. "And I'll fill it with magic!"

Amber tapped Coriander's nose. "Why don't you start with that cat spell? That's one I don't know. Maybe I'd like to be a cat for a little while."

Coriander stepped back from Amber with eyes wide in awe and shock. "I would teach you a spell?!"

"See?" Amber rubbed against Coriander's side on the way past. "I told you wizards become teachers."

Coriander squeezed her notepad tight and tucked it away in her saddlebags. "Awesome." She tailed after Amber at a gallop. "I'm gonna be a great wizard!"

Amber chuckled at the mare who seemed even more enthusiastic about becoming a wizard than before, if that was possible, but it was an infectious enthusiasm. Amber was reminded of why she'd decided to dedicate herself to teaching magic in the first place. "We'll do great, together."

Author's Note

A new generation! Students becoming teachers is a magic thing, hm?

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