School of (Restoring) Harmony

Bright lights nearly blinded Azure Star as she struggled against her own mind. Her head was pounding. She heard coils charging, a gentle hum slowly buzzing to a higher and higher pitch. She tried to channel her magic but felt it drain from her horn and into something else.

“Stop Fighting. Don’t quail. It will do you no favors. To be honest with you Azure, I should have done what I am now doing at the very beginning. This project was always going to fail under his machinations. They were too different from mine. I’m sorry I didn’t see that until now.”

Azure couldn’t recognize the face in front of her, the lights keeping her from focusing. She struggled to move her limbs, but metal restraints kept her from squirming. She tried to surge her magic desperately, but no matter how much she mustered it was all drained in an instant, intensifying the hum.

“No. No magic. You’re not ruining this.”

Tears clouded the filly’s eyes as she struggled to figure out what to do. She couldn’t speak, couldn’t move, couldn’t cast a spell. She felt utterly powerless, and betrayed for a reason she couldn’t quite recall. Her mind raced to remember but the whir of machines nearby kept her from focusing for more than a moment.

“Just listen to me Azure. You are my proudest creation, my magnum opus. You were always supposed to be a… unifier, guiding star, a better way forward. Not a machine to remove equinity.”

Azure continued to struggle. Some more words were uttered but she couldn’t make them out. She could smell a gas pouring in from a mask on her snout, probably the source of her mental haze. But for just a moment it stopped, and she could hear clearly.

“Do better. Live. Forget us.”

The light burned like the sun exploding, and the hum screeched to a piercing, shattering whine. In a moment, everything stopped.

Azure struggled to get her head back together. It was still throbbing, spinning, as she struggled to stand. Stand? That couldn’t be right. She was just strapped down in metal and-

“Azure?”

Azure tried to adjust to the voice. This one was different. Sweeter. Higher pitched. Less frightening. She tried to focus on it, to pull herself into the present.

“Azure? She’s here!”

She snapped to her senses and looked at her surroundings. She wasn’t in a laboratory, or anywhere underground. There was blue sky above her, with gentle clouds only obscured by an occasional pegasus flying overhead. High above her a large white one seemed to be slowly circling in a gentle descent. It was graceful, familiar, and perhaps just a slight bit sinister, like a vulture looking them over, sizing up who was most alive. Azure pondered for a moment that if only she had wings would fit right in up there, her deep blue mane blending in with the sky and her cloudy coat almost matching the giant circling above her.

Azure tried to focus closer. Touch. She felt a hoof on her back, gently shaking her. It was from an even smaller pony, a dark purple mare with big green eyes that seemed to glow from under her heavy black hood. Dusk’s Dim. She had met her earlier. Right. Azure had met a lot of the ponies around her. She was starting to settle back into the present.

“I’m here Dusky. Sorry, just got lost in thought. Some sort of memory I guess?”

“Then let's go! Off to meet the Princess! EEEE!” Dusky skree-ed happily, before quickly silencing herself in anxiety.

Before she could even respond Azure was being dragged along by Dusky quickly past marble pillars and carefully trimmed topiary, until they reached a hastily built stage. The extra large Pegasus finally landed on the stage and Azure could see that she was not a pegasus after all, on account of the massive horn on her brow. Alicorn. The word carried the weight of the world in her thoughts, but she couldn’t quite piece together the reason. Behind her came another Alicorn, and soon a mixture of other ponies gathered on the back of the stage, all of them but the second Alicorn older than the ponies watching them.

Everyone around her seemed just as transfixed on the princess as Azure was, when she revealed a magenta young mare riding on her back, that hopped off with a confident stride. The surprise passenger posed so everypony could see her features. Lavender and periwinkle mane braided down the back, a golden circlet and arm band, and every single fleck of fur perfectly in place, the only thing uneven or “imperfect” being her two different eyes, one matching each mane color.

“Who are you exactly?” Azure inquired.

”Gold Crown! Top student at Celestia’s school for gifted unicorns, master of the wizarding sciences, heir to the Gold family fortune, and perhaps the best young tennis prodigy Canterlot has seen for generations!” Crown harrumphed, in indignation. “I am what a perfect student of magic should look like personified! And you? Who are you exactly?”

“Azure Star.”

“Huh. Never heard of you so maybe you should-” A regal hoof fell on her back gently and cut her off.

“Crown. Stop.”

The princess towered over the girl, who could only grumble and turn away from Azure as she walked off the stage to join the crowd. Azure snickered a little watching her go down. She didn’t know why but she didn’t care for her tone. But as soon as Crown was standing with the rest of the crowd, she was forced to turn back to the giant pony in front of her with unease. Just looking at her up close filled Azure with a gnawing mix of emotions. She knew her. Celestia, ruler of Canterlot, hero to much of ponykind, daily mover of the heavenly bodies, and imprisoner of Nightmare moon. Azure had first seen her earlier that day, as a crackling static image in a glowing magical star, sent to recruit young ponies for a grand project of hers. In that moment, the first one Azure could even really remember in any clarity, she seemed heavenly, a transcendent being calling out to her with great purpose.

But seeing her so close, Azure found herself twisting up inside. A swirling morass of rage, fear, and melancholy filled her. Bitterness that made her feel uncomfortable. She snorted on instinct but as she breathed back in she found that even at this mild distance, she could smell her. It didn’t line up with anything she could claim to know but the scent seemed to only incite the fury inside again, yet at the same moment brought her back to that moment in the fields, watching and listening to her offer, feeling hope and warmth. This was the mare with the answers she sought. But something more than that burned under the surface. A painful longing, mixed and confused in all sorts of ways. She had to understand her, had to figure out what this all meant. But she knew it would be rude to speak up, so Azure sat silently stewing in herself and listened closely to every word she had to say.

“Thank you. I am so proud to see so many faces and I know you’re all- wait we are missing someone. I cannot start unless everyone has been accepted, but I know the stars all found their targets…” Azure could read the worry on the Princess's face, but couldn’t quite figure out why one missing student could be so important.

She did not have to wait long however, as it was only a few moments before, the final student arrived. A blue and brass Pegasus, the left half of their body covered in metal and machines, with visible gears turning in their abdomen through glassy plates. They landed in the crowd without any ceremony, seemingly unflappable. Azure stared in curiosity at this strange half-pegasus. Something in her couldn’t bring her to ascribe anything more specific to them. They seemed to notice her intensive staring, and choked up for a moment before speaking.

“Sorry, I wanted to accept but I needed to speak to my father about it. I hope I wasn’t interrupting anything important.”

The pony spoke in a monotone and dry voice with a slight buzz, and seemed to shuffle away from what must have seemed a strange mare giving them looks to the back of the crowd.

“Good, everyone is here now.” Celestia cleared her throat and started projecting her voice loudly. “I am proud to see so many faces, so many willing at least in some way to take their place in helping Equestria!”

Dusky was the second to interrupt her today. “You said we'd get one wish right?”

“Yes. Yes I did. I will do all in my power to grant you each one wish of your choosing, but first you will need to be here for a while… at the School of Harmony!” Celestia gave a big gesture to the buildings around them, trying to have showmanship but surprisingly nervous on stage for a princess. “I promise I’ll keep my word ,but I need to make sure you will all do your best first!” Celestia’s confidence faltered. Azure didn’t know how but she could tell the little tells, slight twitches and stutters that revealed she was nervous. “What I am asking you to do will not be easy, but I am sure you can do it!”

Some of the crowd grumbled annoyed, others sounding disappointed and even enraged to find out they would have to wait for their promised wishes, but a few seemed understanding. Azure couldn’t hide her own disappointment, but she hadn’t come here just for a wish. She was excited just to help the Princess with whatever she needed. As the crowd finally died down Celestia re-centered herself and continued her presentation.

“I know you were excited, I really do! But wishes are not an easy thing to grant, even for me, and I need to know you’re serious. This school is a commitment, an investment in a better future for all ponykind. But you accepted my offer, and while you are here I expect you to give it a chance. The rules here are simple: show respect, be kind, learn what you can, work together and help those who need you. From time to time I will ask of you all to go on missions for the good of all Ponies. To help others and do for them what is asked of you. I know you all come from different nations, different races, but I need you to work together and prove that coexistence is possible!”

Some of the students grumbled again, but Azure didn’t understand it. Were things really that bad that they needed to be told to tolerate each other? The thought unsettled her.

“But with that said I am afraid I am very busy, so I will leave you in the capable hooves of your new teachers and faculty. Know that I have nothing but faith in all of you!”

Without warning she took flight, taking one look at all of her students for a moment before flying off to the west. Azure tried to reach out, call out her name but something in her throat held her back. Her hoof fell and she had to watch as several more ponies stepped forward to introduce themselves. Teachers, apparently. Each came and went but Azure seemed transfixed on the smaller Alicorn. She didn’t recognize this one, but if she was the same, maybe she would be the key to getting the Princess back? As if on demand, she walked up, last on the stage.

“Hello. I am Princess Twilight Sparkle. I will be your magic teacher for the semester.” Twilight spoke in a monotone voice that made it sound like she was dead inside.

Most of the students seemed to gasp in surprise, taken aback by this revelation. Azure didn’t get it but she could sense the tension in her words, as if she had a knife to her back forcing her to speak them. Many of the Unicorns and a couple of the others bowed to her as Twilight looked over the crowds, seeking to learn about them but in the way one looks at an oncoming storm they'll need to trudge through. Azure was more surprised that she was teaching them at all, she couldn’t be more than a year older than the oldest students herself.

“There are other Princesses?” Azure inquired.

“Yes, there are several. My brother is even… was even betrothed to one at one point.”

Azure noted that and the nerve it hit for later. She continued to interrupt by speaking up.

“This place must be pretty important if you're having even a princess as a teacher! But what exactly are we expected to do? There were a lot of promises but I think we could use more... precisely laid out expectations? What kinds of missions will we be going on? How often? Can we talk to the other Princess? What are we trying to achieve exactly”

“It was laid out fairly well by Celestia, but I'll tell you what she told me. 'You are all being sent to better yourselves, find 'harmony', make allies and friends and to build a better future. Students will be tasked to also go through missions with a team leader chosen from each house, and always with at least one member of each house participating. They are not soldiers but combat may be inevitable, so they will be trained to protect themselves and others. Please treat them more like young diplomats than mercenaries, being trained to help settle conflicts without violence before they escalate. If all goes well the whole of the equestrian continent could even be re-unified properly within a few years! You will all learn, train, hone your skills and... make 'friends' together before the year is done.'”

She said friends with such contempt that everypony present could feel it. Azure had a sneaking suspicion from the looks on most of the other teachers' faces that that these orders extended beyond students, and they weren’t all happy about it. She tried to ask a question about what the houses would be, but was quickly buried by questions from the other students in a mad crab bucket. The noise continued to build until the Princess could take no more.

“ENOUGH!” Twilight snapped at them all. “You all have plenty of questions and I’m sure your OTHER educators will answer them. In the meantime, I have class prep to get back to.”

With that, she flew back into the large building clearly marked as the school’s library, where a small dragon was waiting. Azure waited for the chaos to calm down before finally asking her own question.

“So what are the houses exactly?”

A grizzled Red Pegasus with a sharp black mane and heavy set of armor was the first to answer. Azure had remembered her being introduced as Commander Stormfront, who would be teaching them self defense.

“You’ll be sorted into Unicorn, Pegasus, and Earth Pony houses.”

“Wait, this is a school dedicated to spreading the idea of coexistence and you’re sorting the students by their races? Isn’t that the opposite of helpful?” Azure seemed almost indignant.

“You really don’t know anything do you.” Crown just rolled her eyes at her ignorance.

“Ponies are… not very tolerant of what they aren’t familiar with. Just having the buildings next to each other is progress compared to how most nations treat other pony-kinds.” Dusky chimed in, still close.

“Oh…” Azure simply added. “I hadn’t realized it was that bad out here”.

Out here? Azure didn’t even understand why she added that herself. She really wasn’t from around here was she? Everything was so familiar yet new to her. She ruminated for a moment but quickly noticed most of the students dispersing, only a few hanging around the stage. Dusky, Crown, a few ponies she had met earlier in the day that were talking among themselves, and a strange mare in a witch hat were still hanging around. The moment she locked eyes with the witch and got a good look, she felt as if she had sprung a trap. The Violet mare charged towards her and stopped just shy of her face. There Azure could see in full her eyes, pink with white pupils and gold Sclera. Her Crimson mane was a shaggy mess, and what at a distance looked to be boots on her forelegs were clearly clawed paws attached where hooves should go. She gave Azure a big grin baring fangs that definitely didn’t belong on any Earth Pony.

“Well who are you cutie?~” The witch winked at Azure, trying desperately to get her attention despite being a few inches from her face.

“Azure Star, and this is Dusk’s Dim. You?”

“Cackling Crane, witch of the east! MWAHAHAHA!!” Cackle made sure to pose dramatically with her wicked laughter. “But you can call me Cackle!”

Azure wondered what she meant by east. Her accent was not like most of the students, something that Azure recognized as “Mareman”. Maremany was to the east of Canterlot, on a different continent even so it all checked out. There was only one thing Azure couldn't figure out looking at her.

“So I've been having trouble figuring things out today, are you named after the bird or the construction equipment?”

Azure’s question caused Cackle to totally pause for a second, throwing off her entire aggressive vibe.

“The bird I think?”

“That makes sense! Where did you get that outfit? It seems like almost everyone around her has clothes!”

Azure almost felt insecure. Over half the student body had come accessorized with clothes. All she had was a ratty saddlebag. Even the witch hat was at least distinct.

“Well I’m a witch!! I need some nice clothes to look the part! Best witch is a sexy witch and the best sexy witches are also evil~” She loomed over Azure menacingly. Azure only tilted her head slightly in confusion

“So what is a witch anyways? Is that why you look so… different from other earth ponies?”

“A witch is someone who can do… THIS!!” Cackle screamed as she tore her face off, revealing a terrifying skull face. “MWAHAHAHA!”

The sight of this sent azure running, screaming, terrified at what kind of a pony could survive without a face on. After a few minutes of running in circles, she nearly collapsed and stopped, trying to catch her breath.

“That’s… crazy…”

As she looked back she saw Cackle had her face back. Illusion magic, Azure thought, sure that was the most likely answer. She noticed that Dusky hadn’t run, and was only laughing at the trick Cackle had played. Clearly it couldn’t be that dangerous if she was willing to laugh about it.

“You both seem happy! Is school supposed to be fun?”

“I enjoyed mine for the most part, I love studying!” Dusky perked up.

Cackle burst out laughing at that.

“Ah yes, being forced into a secondary school is definitely something everypony loves like that, especially those who clearly skipped it for a few years already. Personally I can’t wait to have so many ponies to play with, and to have so many captive victims~.”

She wriggled in place, seemingly a bit too excited by this, causing everypony else in the area to step back, which only made her more excited. Dusky was the first to break the tension, too excited to contain herself.

“Well I’m just excited to study under one of the greatest mages who’s ever lived! I still can’t believe TWILIGHT SPARKLE is gonna teach us magic!” Dusky could barely contain another high pitched squee.

Azure considered that statement. She didn't know a ton about the greatest mage who ever lived but she found a small memory of Twilight being a student of Celestia, a researcher of the works of Starswirl The Bearded, and that she had been an exceptional mage since magic kindergarten. She didn't know why she remembered this now and not earlier. Memory was a funny thing.

“Thinking back, she does seem pretty cool, and probably knows a ton about magic! I can't wait to get to know her better.”

“Well, I'd love to meet her properly. She didn't talk much. Pretty mares like that really should stick around more~.” Cackle couldn’t help herself but interfere.

“You seem excited too! With any luck the school part will be fun, right?”

“Hahaha! Yes, very fun! In all sorts of ways~!”

Most of the other students were quiet, giving a variety of strange looks and prompting Cackle to lower her stance and retreat inward with nervous laughter.

“Hey! Does anypony else want to meet up and make friends” Azure Shouted.

Most students mostly kept their distance. Something about Cackle and Dusky seemed to be putting them off, and Azure’s enthusiasm was bordering on insincere, to them at least. Only one pony stepped forward at her offer, an earthy brown earth pony with an olive mane that seemed content to blend into the crowd as she got close.

“I’m uh… Elixir Mix. Uh you can call me Eli though --- if you’d like I mean!” The wallflower practically whispered.

Azure constructed a spectral hand of pure magic to shake her hoof. She wasn’t really sure why but that seemed like the polite thing to do, even if Eli seemed confused by it.

“Well I’m Azure Star! I’m new!”

Eli cocked an eyebrow at that, as if trying to figure out what she meant as she shook the floating hand.

“We’re… we’re all new. This is the first day.”

“I meant it's my first day in general! Ever, I think? At least that I can remember…” Azure's mind dwelled on her memory from earlier. She strained for something past it but nothing came up.

“Wait, like in a 'born yesterday' sort of way?” Eli’s curiosity had clearly been piqued by the strange Unicorn in front of her. Somehow she shot up and became bolder, as if the mystery had pulled her out of her fears.

“Well yeah, I woke up, saw a sky city, got almost hit by a shooting star, and now I'm here! I don’t have any memories before that.”

“So you really have no memories from before today? Hmm. Are you sure you didn't just lose them? You look to be at least a teenager, can’t have grown up that quick…” Eli started walking around her, looking her up and down for any signs of damage.

“Well... no? I remember some things. Like I can talk, so clearly I know at least one language. Actually, thinking about it I think I know a few. But I don't know how I know them. So maybe I did have memories before? But I don’t know where they went.” Her mind hung on the flashing before. Was that relevant? Were they taken from her? That was a frightening thought. Perhaps she should keep it to herself for now, until she knew she could trust these ponies.

Cackle slunk over to force her way back into the conversation.

“Maybe she's maybe of magic! I could explore that with her~.”

“Well if she is then i would love to study her too, if she’d let me!” Eli managed to say, trying to not be pushed out of her own puzzle.

Azure shrank away partially at this, nervous as they all eyed her up. “I don't know. I would love to know more but I don't know if I'm some 'thing' to study. Maybe I just... forgot? Yeah, maybe!”

“Oh. Sorry, I didn’t mean to imply anything. Please know I’d never wanna de-equinize you. You can trust me, that I won’t hurt you if you let me learn, but I won't push it too much either.” Eli seemed to recognize her anxieties and stepped back not to crowd Azure.

“Same. I’m happy to look into you however I can as long as you're okay with it~.” Cackle tried her best to put on a serious face, but couldn’t.

Azure could almost sense a twinge of hesitation to the sultry tone there, as if she was really trying not to do it.

“ I guess? what exactly would you want to do??”

“Gather samples, test for anything unusual, and talk with you about what you can find I guess? I’m more of an alchemist than a doctor but I can try!” Eli was laden with potions, pulling a few out and looking them over to see if any might help in this situation.

“-and all I want is to learn the more intimate details~!” Cackle was trying. She really was.

Eli glared with contempt at the unhelpful Pony beside her.

“Sure? Do you think maybe the teachers could help too? They're probably pretty smart, right?” Azure wasn’t sure how wise it was to let a student who wasn’t actually a doctor to take samples from her.

“Maybe. But I got bad vibes from Princess Twilight. It isn’t even day one and she already yelled at us…” The moment anything not related to science came up, Eli seemed to deflate into nervousness again.

“I guess I was too focused on how stressed she seemed. I'm sure she didn't mean anything personal by it." Azure tried to comfort Eli with a gentle pat.

Cackle pressed up against Azure trying to get her to talk. “Stressed? How could you tell?”

“I don't know. She just seemed... overwhelmed? I don't think she wanted to be around all of us at once. She didn't seem excited when explaining her part in this place, it almost felt like she’s being forced to be here. I’m not sure she’s as excited about making friends as we are.”

“Oh gods! Please let the big princess be a shy girl that’d be so fun~.” Cackle giggled to herself.

Azure carefully studied this reaction, and the strangely emphasized tone of voice. She noticed Eli’s constant side-eyes towards the mare, and was finally starting to piece together something to say on the matter.

“You talk funny. It makes other ponies uncomfortable for some reason.”

“Yeah, 'funny'. You know what else is funny, you innocent little Fraulein? This!”

Cackle laughed maniacally as her body started to fall to pieces, until there was a pile of her laughing on the ground. Azure could only stare in confusion at the mess before her, but tried to put on a brave face and didn’t run away this time.

“Aw boo. I’ll try harder next time, cutie~.”

“Those Parlor tricks really are impressive - for an Earth Pony,” a familiar voice chided from nearby.

Azure turned and saw Golden not far from where she had been, sitting with a book and taking notes but eyes darting between all of the ponies present, focused like a predator. Azure walked over to her. She had rode in on the Princess’s back --- if anypony could get her to come back maybe it was Crown?

“Hi Crown! Do you want to get to know each other? I mean, you said yourself you were pretty important right?”

“Get to know each other? Fine. I can do that, for all of your sake. You know my name, but don’t seem to be respecting the weight that it carries, so let me make things clearer. In Canterlot, there is only one thing that matters, and that’s power. Prestige and status give a power of their own. I come from a wealthy family, and have a number of titles that I can leverage over the average unicorn, and especially any Earth Ponies.” Crown glared at Eli and Cackle not far from them, Cackle clearly trying to scare Eli and finding it all too easy. “But above all else Canterlot values Magical power, and in that I’m easily the best in my age bracket. So what can you tell me that would actually be worth my time, little thing?”

“About what? Myself? The world? The Stars?”

“Context clues, sweet Celestia you're slow. Yourself obviously!”

“I woke up just over an hour ago? It's a bit fuzzy. The others think I'm either something that was made or just forgot my memory. I'm sorry, I can't tell you a lot more about myself other than that because, well you know, I don't know. But I think I'm magical too!”

“Oh you're magical too?” Crown couldn’t contain her condescending laugh. “Well I’d hope so, you ARE a unicorn after all.”

Crown could hardly believe it. Was this girl for real? Coming up to her as dumb as she was and thinking she had any right to talk to her? It was absurd.

“I guess I am! Does that help? I saw the other ponies doing stuff that was magical earlier. Cackle was changing her body, and Dusky told me she has her own ghost!” It occurred to Azure that at that moment she still didn’t actually know what house Dusky was a part of. She had no horn so couldn’t be a Unicorn, and hadn’t shown wings, but the cloak made it hard to tell and a quick tally of the students suggested she had to have them for there to be a perfect balance.

“Yes I guess some of the non-unicorns do seem to have magic - somehow. But they will need to work hard to capture a tenth of our full potential, just to get a taste of what unicorns can do. And I am at the top percentile of that, so they’ve got no chance to catch up!” Crown just grinned, full of a smothering pride.

“Oooh, what can you do?”

Azure seemed genuinely excited. If this was one of the best mages of her generation, she could probably help figure out what happened to her in no time.

“Well I can put anyone in their place for one”

Crown booped Azure on the nose, and all at once Azure could feel her mind going numb and falling apart. What little she could remember felt far away and difficult to grasp as she felt her mind slipping away. It was as if the haze from earlier had returned in full force, and Azure felt the same confusion and fear bubbling to the surface. Crown just cackled at her stumbling around.

“Now dance like a monkey! Dance!”

Azure froze up. She felt a wave of magic flow over her, clearly some spell Crown had intended to cast, but it didn’t take. But the threat of it was real enough to trigger something within her, a spike of cold violent indignation that quickly built within her gut. A light started to flood into her horn building up slowly as she collected magical energy into a single point. She stood dead silent, trying to bring some words to the surface but unable to sputter out more than an incoherent 'Guh' sound.

“What are you doing? You’re not dancing. I told you to listen to me. Do it!” Crown snarled at her.

Azure couldn’t respond. She remained frozen in place, her hooves too heavy to move as she continued to gather energy. Her mind had no room left to answer, the very spell Crown had flung at her keeping her from reigning herself in. Crown tried to fire another spell at her, to bend her mind into submission, but it passed over Azure’s mind without taking root.

“Stop that! If you dare to cast a spell on me I swear I will-”

Azure’s silence continued as her eyes began to glow with power, 4 pointed stars manifesting in them as she fully charged a painfully bright orb at the tip of her horn. In an instant it blasted forth as a beam of light, slamming Golden into the side of a nearby building. Azure tried to speak again, but the voice seemed alien even to her.

"Cease Hostilities!" Azure tried to force more through but the haze kept dragging her thoughts away from her.

“Excuse me! Well, you want a duel miss Azure Star? You think that will scare me? Perhaps you should take a nap right where you belong! Sleep!”

Another spell shot off Crown’s horn and in an instant Azure could feel this was different. A wave of lethargy passed over her, and once again everything went dark.

When Azure came to her senses, her mind felt much better, but her body felt battered and exhausted. She tried to look around, but saw only darkness. A wretched smell surrounded her, and as she squirmed through some resistant material she could feel a hard metal surface beneath her. In the darkness her feelings were swelling, still filled with bitter violence and anger from before. She hated these feelings, but hating them only fueled them.

As Azure considered her own surge of violent instincts, a light broke through and a hoof came down as a lid above her opened. She took it, and was quickly pulled out by Dusky.

“Oh. Thank you.”

“You ok?” Dusky asked her, gagging from the smell but still trying her best.

“No.”

“Most ponies don't get fished out of the dumpster okay so that checks out”

“How did I get in a dumpster?”

“Oh, uh… Crown threw you in after you passed out. Said it was where 'trash tier unicorns' belonged. But you should have seen how angry a lot of the other students got! Well most of them. I had to practically hold Cackle back from clawing her face off! Why don’t you come along and we’ll… uh… Azzy, you okay?”

That was too much for Azure. Tension continued to build in her gut. Azure didn’t understand what was going on, but felt an instinct urging her to hunt, to pursue, to identify the threat and take it down or take it out. She looked around and saw the others, some looking annoyed, others, ready to help, and a few just keeping their heads down. She thought inward. Where could she find her enemy?

In a sudden flash she got her answer. Memories of the wealthy and powerful, in so many meetings, showing off all they had. Audacious displays of wealth to make the worse off envious of them. Crown would either have retreated to somewhere private, or be in the most aggressively public space possible.

Azure scanned the public area again, looking into the crowds. To the east, a crowd was forming around a building. She did not care to take in its details. She ran, an unconscious spell cast to warp space with every step and bring her closer to her destination, until she barged in. Behind her a small posse followed, excited to see how this was resolved.

“Wait, don’t just run in and get yourself hurt!” Dusky shouted. Azure ignored it.

Crown and Eli were sitting together at a table, along with someone Azure didn’t recognize. Seeing Eli there only made her more angry. How could she be talking with that, that jerk! No. She didn’t care about her. She wanted to hurt Crown. She could feel the gnawing inside welling up. Was it childish? Perhaps. She didn’t care about that either. She would have retribution, and make amends for her humiliation. Her horn sparked to life as three bolts of shimmering blue magic with a crackling black glow darted off and struck Crown. Crown stumbled as she climbed up from the ground, adjusting her hair back to its prim perfection.

“Well if it isn't the dumpster diving upstart! Can't take a joke I see. You lost, the duel’s over! But fine, if you can’t take defeat gracefully then let's end this! I’ll beat you down as many times as it takes for you to get the message!”

Sudden bolts of lighting flew out of an array of magic that manifested almost as fast as the flashes, electrifying Azure. As soon as the spell hit, Crown dove for cover behind one of the tables in the room. Azure struggled to stand but something pushed her on. She could not allow herself to lose like this. Crown shouted from behind her cover.

“Elixir! As soon as you can, toss me a potion!”

“But I-okay.” Eli conceded instantly, cowering to Crown's orders.

Azure shot Eli a glare of fury. Eli seemed to recognize that if she interfered she might get hurt too, and just ducked under another table.

Azure began to cry openly, tears streaming down her face as the glow from before returned, this time more punctuated by that black aura. She didn’t know why but being thrown out like trash set her off in pure fury.

“I'm... I'm not just some GARBAGE to be THROWN AWAY!” Defeat dragged her voice down to an unusually low register.

She refused to take chances and dove past the table, firing more darts into Crown. They saturated her sides and as the magic dissipated Azure could see open wounds left behind as Crown collapsed unconscious.

“Ah! Oh no she’s gonna be so mad!” Eli nearly fell over stumbling over and administering some alchemical solution into Crown’s wounds.

As soon as Azure knew she was down, the crackling aura vanished, and anxiety grew in her. Seeing Crown lie there weakly she realized Crown was hardly any older than her, probably just as young and stupid. Azure panicked, and ran, space still warping as she rushed past the crowd around the school looking for somewhere to hide.

Azure kept running, ignoring the sounds of a blast of magic behind her. She was frustrated, alone, angry, terrified, and above all ashamed, and she needed to hide. As she ran in a big circle around the grounds she spotted a tower, and ducked in. The stairways went up almost 8 stories, until at the top she found herself in an observatory, covered in star charts, with a giant dome open to the sky above. She sat in a dark corner, hiding from everything, overwhelmed by it all.

“Stupid... everyone! Shouldn't have come here. Shouldn’t have fought! Shouldn’t have… “

She sniffled miserably, until she was startled by a hug from behind.

“Hey, it's okay. You're not stupid." A voice came from the pony hugging her.

“What?! Who’s there!?”

Azure pulled away from being touched, shifting her back towards the corner, as much as a round building can have a corner. Before her sat a unicorn mare with jet black fur, a hood covering her white and dark gray mane, and a look of absolute compassion on her face. Azure noted how sharp but gentle her purple eyes were, and felt oddly at ease.

“It's me, Night Gaze. I see you're hurt, I just want to help.”

“I guess? I just. I don't know anything. But these ponies don't seem to care! I mean Dusky was nice I guess... but nopony else did anything to help.”

Azure sniffled, feeling pathetic for hoping anyone else would have finished her battle for her.

“When you went down literally everyone was upset --- well pretty much --- some just didn't know what to do. I would have helped but I didn't know if I could without... I should have helped. Dusky said she had it and Eli, well Eli was terrified and immediately started to grovel not to hurt her the moment Crown shot her a look. I swear that witch would have skinned the would-be princess alive if it wasn't her running off though."

Azure just grumbled when Eli was mentioned.

“I can't imagine she's going to stop any wars if she starts cowering and submitting the first time someone acts mean to her. But I guess I can't say I'll do much better, hurting ponies like that. I just don't know where I am. I don't know WHO I am. And I got so mad to but treated like I didn’t belong just because of that. But I didn't want to hurt her either! Something just took over and then I wanted to in that moment. But I also still didn't? That doesn't make any sense does it?” Azure couldn't figure out her own feelings right now. How could Night?

“It makes sense, you said some weird stuff. I saw 3 of them pull out notebooks when it happened. I do get it, the rage at being attacked for no reason, when you feel belittled and when you get treated badly by people who don't even know you. We all just met and we don't know each other, and there's always time to try and fix things. Where I come from, our faith tells us no sin is without redemption and no person is without grace. Anyone can be good. The issue is 'can', but most people have reasons to act how they do even when they fail to be their best self. Fear, rage, anxiety, defensiveness, and sadness. Don't take today personally, aim for a better tomorrow and try to think about where people’s actions are coming from, and you might learn who they really are.”

“That sounds nice. I guess I could give the others a chance. They probably didn't mean anything, and it sounds like more helped than I was there to see.”

Azure pondered this mention of "faith", trying to delve into her memories again. Suddenly more flooded in, as magic surged around her. Two perspectives, filled with loss, a deep longing for something so far away. But through the melancholy she could understand what she was seeing. The mare before her was a cultist of Luna, the princess sent to the moon for her “Betrayal" of Equestria and its people. She spoke up again with this context.

“Yeah, I guess others might know how I feel. But why did you keep asking them about your faith? Like if it would be allowed? It sounds so nice.”

“Many ponies don't like our faith. They see us as wanting 'doom' for Equestria, wanting a traitor and tyrant back in power. There is a sect who do believe that, but we have denounced them as heretics to our true cause. We believe in who Luna was, not what she became. A dream maker, therapist, emotional healer and matriarch of her people. She fell to feeling unloved, to envy and rage, to thinking she was unwanted and unneeded. Like any of us could, if we were in her position. We just want her to find peace and we want to give that same empathy she deserved and never had.”

“That doesn't sound so bad. I'm happy they let you stay.”

“Everyone belongs, everyone deserves empathy, everyone deserves a chance to be better. Even, if not especially, ourselves. Hopefully we can start to share that message through the school, some day.”

Azure grumbled something about Golden, but couldn’t even fully articulate it. She was so tired. Or maybe in pain? She flopped on the ground, realizing the burns on her from Crown’s Lightning were stinging. Somehow she knew this should have hurt her more than it was.

“Yeah. What is this place anyways?” Azure started to look around the place and take it all in.

Night walked over and put her horn on Azure’s side, letting it glow as magic soothed her wounds.

“It’s an observatory. Our faith regards them as sacred sites because they let us see her, and hopefully let her see us in return.”

“Oh I'm good with that stuff I think. The stars I mean, and charting them. It's in my name. And this thing. Cutie Mark right?” Azure poked the 4 pointed blue star on her flank that seemed to almost twinkle under its own magic.

“Heh, cutie marks yeah. They can mean a lot, but they show us who we are, a gift from destiny and the stars themselves.” That line seemed deeply ironic to Azure, who noticed the robes that Night was wearing covered her own mark.

“Maybe at some point I'll meet this destiny then!” Azure proudly declared.

She went over to the observatory’s main telescope, and began checking it over. It was pointed precisely to where the moon would rise shortly. She tried to center herself again, looking over the rest of the room. Star charts, books on space, and even the roof was a giant map of constellations. She looked over the charts, trying to figure out what they were depicting, as the phenomenon from earlier repeated, sending her out of her own body, and into something else. She could feel herself, but not herself, and knew in some way that while this was true, it was also just a vision. She could see white legs beneath her, feel the tears trailing down her face, the ennui and despair within herself. She looked up and could see the stars, spinning in the heavens. Nearly a thousand years of movement in but a moment, and all the charts tracking every night for most of them. She stumbled out of it in a confused haze, snapping back to reality.

“This place has been used before us... for so long.” Her tone was sadder now, still carrying the melancholy of those memories.

“How can you tell?”

“I can feel it. The pull to the Moon. I can see the past, a Millennia of stars being tracked all at once, and I know all their names. They've changed so much and yet... barely moved at all. Are we supposed to be here?”

“What do you mean, we’re allowed anywhere in the school that isn't listed as restricted. But are you saying you can see the past?”

“Not all of it. Not all the time. I don't really know what triggers it yet, just a weird quirk of my magic I guess. Not that it's helped me remember my own life very much. Always gets stuck at the same spot.”

“Maybe it will with some help. Let the moon guide you.”

“Worth a shot I guess!”

Azure sat at the telescope and waited for the moon to rise, to see if its presence would help at all. When it did she marveled at its beauty, and felt a spark of magic within her come alive, but found no more memories flooding into her.

“No, nothing right now. It doesn't say anything. It's pretty though.”

She watched it for a moment longer, enjoying the company of her friend, before a realization hit her.

“We probably were supposed to do something with the others! I hope we didn't miss anything important.”

“Well we are both heading to 'unicorn' house so let's go together then.” Night performed a brief ritual, dedicating herself to the rising moon, then packed her things to head down alongside Azure.

They headed down together, and were immediately scooped up by Stormfront as they stepped out of the building.

“There you are soldiers. I mean, students. Sorry, gonna take a bit to get used to that. Lets get you to your dorms!"

She carried them to a trio of buildings, each with a long central hallway open to the outside air, and 3 doors on each side of. 6 rooms each, for 18 students. Azure looked over her shoulder, glancing back to the Moon over the observatory, and then back to her new friend. Night gave a simple prayer before picking one of the doors. Azure picked another one. It was simply furnished inside, a bed against the wall, a set of drawers, and a window. In short order the rest were picked, but Azure didn’t have time to fuss over her neighbors. The night was upon them, and she curled up on her lonely bed, drifting off to sleep in blissful ignorance of the true suffering it meant to be an Oracle.