Love or revenge

Starlight walked out of the gates of Ponyville Castle, accompanied by Dusk, who was carrying two saddlebags full of books, scrolls, and pencils.

“Is all that necessary?”. The mare asked.

“Of course, I wrote all the advanced spells we are going to practice in alphabetical order”. Dusk replied. “And I have to keep track of your progress. I am your teacher, but I am also a prince, It is my responsibility to help you improve, and maybe help Equestria with what we learn.”

‘Your cause is noble and kind, anypony would be lucky to be your friend or family member… It’s a shame that all I want to do is lock you up in a dungeon with me.’ Starlight thought, slowly realizing what had crossed her mind.

The unicorn's attention turned to the alicorn who had turned back towards the castle. “Goodbye Spike, I leave the castle in your clutches.”

“See you soon, see you at sunset”. The dragon replied happily from within.

“Oh, and since we’re practically brothers and you’ll surely miss me… I left a clone of me to keep you company and help you with your homework!”. Dusk closed the doors behind him as he trotted forward with a malicious smile of satisfaction. ‘I hope this teaches you not to leave me talking to someone with whom I have matters to discuss.’

As Dusk moved forward, Starlight followed him trying to understand what had happened, and if clones of any pony could really be created.

“Before we go to the old castle, we need to go to Applejack’s farm to get some unripe apples, we’ll need them for the first spells we’ll practice”. Dusk explained. “Don’t be impatient for the more powerful spells, I promise we’ll get to that eventually.”

“It’s not that it’s not interesting, but I’m curious about what you told Spike.” She pointed at the unicorn while staying behind Dusk. “Did you really clone yourself?”.

“Right, a perfect clone with my same magical abilities and memories.” The alicorn explained. “But it’s not long-lasting, I had to use all my concentration to maximize its presence, it’s probably only a few hours before we return.”

Starlight didn't speak and just thought about what Dusk told her. All the way to Sweet Apple Acress, the mare analyzed everything she could do with the help of a clone, how many clones could be created and if what Dusk said was true... Could she learn it?

*****

“Dusk, you know you don’t have to pay for apples, you just have to ask for them.” Applejack exclaimed.

“Of course I have to pay, being the prince of friendship is not an excuse not to pay you for your service.” Dusk replied firmly.

“We’ve known each other for 2 years, sugarcube, I think you can skip some payments from time to time.” Applejack put the bag of coins Dusk gave her into a nearby box.

“Still, I feel uncomfortable receiving special treatment for being an alicorn,” the purple stallion reaffirmed as he grabbed a basket full of apples with his magic.

“As you wish, see you tomorrow if Celestia wants it.” The orange mare said as she placed her mane behind her neck with a movement of her head. “Bye Starlight, take care of Dusk, that stallion is having trouble with field work, hahaha.” Applejack left while letting out a giggle.

The unicorn looked at her master with a strange expression. “What is Applejack talking about? Is there something I’m missing?” Starlight asked.

“You don’t want to know, it’s an unimportant memory, I’d rather explain to you what we’ll do…”

The pony couple walked away as they spoke, but someone else was watching them from their hiding place in the top of a tree: Rainbow Dash.

The cyan pegasus was lazing around Applejack's farm as she usually did, sleeping on a branch with the help of a pillow and a blanket, until Applejack, Starlight, and Dusk started talking nearby.

Rainbow was just waiting to go back to sleep, but upon hearing the cowgirl tell the unicorn to take care of Dusk, the pegasus woke up confused and suspicious of Starlight.

‘Why are Starlight and Dusk leaving alone? Where are they going? What is that mare planning?’.

As Rainbow Dash wondered to herself, she spread her wings and quickly soared into the nearest clouds to track and keep an eye on her targets along the way.

*****

Dusk and Starlight finally arrived at the princesses' old castle. The structure that was once majestic and elegant was nothing more than a pile of cracked stone and marble covered by weeds and dust due to the passage of time. A fascinating sight for Starlight.

“Wow, you should give me a tour of this place”. The unicorn exclaimed.

“I would love to, but today we came to study and learn.” Dusk exclaimed as he placed the basket of apples next to him and took one.

“Will I learn new spells by having a picnic in an abandoned castle?”. The mare asked confused. ‘If he wanted to take me out to eat, we could have gone to a restaurant.’

“I knew you might ask that, let me explain.” Dusk placed a large stone in front of him and on top of it a wrinkled and dried apple, vaguely remembering Grandma Smith. “As you can see, this apple was not harvested and is past its prime, but with the right spell you can feed a family or even a village with this.”

Magic crackled from the alicorn's horn, who had his eyes closed and a gesture of concentration.

Dusk inhaled and exhaled, then opened his eyes and launched a burst of magic at the apple, which was hit by a bright purple light. After a moment, the mummified fruit transformed into a fresh, larger-than-normal apple.

Moments later, the stallion approached, his horn shining again as he raised his head back, then quickly moved it downwards, a blade of magical energy gushing out from his horn. The blade sliced through the apple with speed and precision.

“That was amazing, how did you do that?”. Starlight had been amazed by the demonstration.

“With practice and concentration, I made 2 spells at the same time and then a magic knife, I needed a lot of magic.” Dusk took the halves of his study object to put them aside and put another rotten apple in its place.

Starlight looked at the fruit, and so far she saw what made them special. There were normal, ready-to-eat apples, but most of them were unripe, some were small, and some were rotten.

“You will begin with the spell to “heal” this apple, don’t feel bad if you don’t get it right on the first try.” The alicorn said in a kind tone. “It took me several days to get it right.”

The mare concentrated, and released a quick burst of magic that hit the apple, returning it to its healthy state. “Did I do it right?”.

“It was perfect,” Dusk exclaimed proudly. “Now make the apple grow, that spell is harder.”

Magic burst forth from Starlight's horn, projected with another magical blast that hit the apple. The fruit that was supposed to be the size of a coconut was now the size of a pony. Dusk looked at the apple in amazement and Starlight smiled proudly.
“Wow, you’re amazing, maybe you don’t even need to train.” The alicorn stared in disbelief at the huge, juicy, red apple. “The only thing missing is the spell to make a magical energy blade, but you have to be very careful, even if you were the best at making spells-.”

Starlight interrupted Dusk with the sound of her magic forming a blade of magical energy, which was directed towards the giant apple in the same way that Starlight watched it do. The apple was quickly pierced and its halves fell to the ground.
“I think I can bypass the safety rules, I did very well!” The mare exclaims proudly. “I did all 3 spells on the first try and with better results.”

“I’m afraid I have to differ, in fact, the last spell was a bit sloppy.” The alicorn took out a notebook and a pencil and then began to write with a serious look. “The spell to make the apple grow was a bit disproportionate, but it’s not important, instead, when you cut the apple, you also cut the stone under the apple… and the ground under the stone.”

It was then that Starlight looked at the ground and noticed a long, thin crack that ran from a few steps in front of her to behind the apple.

“What does that mean?” the mare asked in a nervous voice. “Celestia, let it not be anything serious.”

“If a pony had been in range of your spell, you would have been accused of involuntary murder and the princesses would have locked you in a Canterlot dungeon.” Dusk removed the remains of the apple and replaced the cut stone with a more complete one. “Even if you need to defend yourself, you need to control the power and range with which you use your spell, I don't think you want to use it when Pinkie Pie jumps in front to give you a surprise gift.”

Starlight analyzed what Dusk told her, although she didn't have a great appreciation for her new friends, she didn't want to use such a deadly spell on them either, not even when she stole her village's cutie marks did she think about doing something similar.

“But you need not be discouraged, according to my calculations, you will have mastered the spell by the end of the day,” the prince exclaimed, smiling.

Starlight hesitated for a moment, but if she wanted to make a breakthrough she had to practice in front of her “victim.” “And how many spells will I learn in the next month?”.

“My advanced sorcery book has at least 299 spells and the recipe for a sleeping potion, but that’s just the first volume, adding up the 5 volumes is 3000 spells.” Dusk answered, before looking at his student’s wide eyes. “BUT… I just want to teach you the most useful things without interrupting your friendship lessons.”

As the couple talked, a pegasus watched them from a hole in the ceiling, Rainbow Dash. The cyan mare had been watching Starlight for some time, looking for any signs of danger from the mare.

‘Come on, give me something, hurt Dusk, do something so he can fly down and kick you.’ The pegasus thought, staring at her “target.”

‘Or maybe it’s my paranoia and I’m wasting my time spying instead of training.’ A voice exactly like Rainbow Dash whispered.

The mare turned her head in all directions looking for the source of that voice, but she saw nothing unusual. “Show yourself coward, I'm not afraid of you.” Rainbow exclaimed furiously, getting no response after a few seconds, resuming her vigilance.

‘It must have been my conscience.’ The voice that seemed to be hers spoke again. ‘Maybe the sun and tiredness are making me grumpy, I should go back to Applejack’s farm and sleep.’

“It definitely sounds like my conscience, but how can I be sure?” the pegasus asked to herself. “Tell me something only I can confirm.”

‘I want to be the leader of the Wonderbolts, win hundreds of medals and trophies and have my name engraved in the books as the best flyer in the history of Equestria…’. Her “conscience” answered.

“Ok, that sounds like something I would think, and it’s definitely what I want, but it’s not enough-“.

‘Is Tank’s food within reach or will he walk until he dies of hunger?’.

Rainbow Dash opened her eyes in surprise upon hearing the intrusive question. “Maybe you won this time, consciousness, but we will face each other again.” The pegasus exclaimed before flying at sonic speed towards her house to check on her beloved pet.

Once the source of the voice that pretended to be a consciousness verified that the pegasus was gone, it materialized in the air with a snap.

“That was close, I hope that unicorn makes the nerd fall in love with him before he forces them to love each other, his cheesiness is boring me, but I admit that his panic attacks from intimate contact are funny.” Lord of Chaos said as he watched the master and his student practice the spell. “Please don’t disappoint me, I don’t want to reset the timeline over and over again because of your failures, that’s cheating and it’s not fun.” Discord snapped his fingers and disappeared.

Meanwhile, Dusk and Sarlight continued practicing the spell, over and over again, analyzing the mistakes, eating the cut apples and giving each other discreet shy glances from time to time.

And so the rest of the day continued until it started to get dark. Dusk and Starlight noticed, so they took the basket without fruit and the saddlebags to be able to leave. But Starlight did not feel that it had been a productive day, she felt that something was missing.

“Dusk, before we go home, I wanted to give you something…” The mare trotted timidly towards the alicorn and gave him the longest kiss on the lips she could give him… For 3 seconds.

Their lips parted and they couldn't help but look at each other's red faces in shyness.

“I wanted to give you the same, but I was terrified,” said an uncomfortable Dusk.