Chapter Four : Part-4 : Meeting the Locals, Exploring a Town, and A Magical Mishap
By : The Eternal Star

Roughly fifteen minutes have passed since my brother dragged me to follow him as we descended the airship and headed toward the town's outskirts. I must say it's been quite a long walk since the town's outskirts are still about two hundred meters away from us.

Of course, we could fly to reach the town faster, but my brother insisted that we walk our way there. During the walk, we passed several dozen airships of various sizes, purposes, and colors. I also noticed that my brother glanced and stared at me frequently whenever he thought I wasn't looking at him.

He also tried a few times to spark up conversations, but they always ended with either the conversations being cut short because he didn't know what to say next, my direct and end-of-conversation response, or he trying to spark up a topic but decided not to due to his lack of courage. All in all, I'm afraid that my third drawback is starting to have a stronger effect on him.

Anyway, as we got closer and closer to the edge of the town, a bright flash of blue light suddenly appeared a few meters in front of us and forced us to shield our eyes with our wings. After the flash ended, both of us folded our wings back to our sides and stared at what was the cause of it.

Surprise-surprise, we see our mother's deep purple form standing in front of us as she moves her gaze across the surroundings, there are two twin side saddlebags encased in blue magic beside her. One of them is light violet while the other is dark purple, both saddlebags looked heavy judging by the slight pudge I noticed on them.

She then spotted us and let out a gleaming smile before making her way toward us, the saddlebags followed close behind her and when she was close, she opened up her lips and said, "Review, Terika, here take these saddlebags and wear it. The violet one is for you my filly and the purple one is for you my colt."

As she floated the saddlebags to be directly in front of us with her magic, my brother and I stared at each other faces in confusion with our eyebrows raised questioningly. Both of us then moved our gaze forward as we lit up our horns and grabbed each of our respective saddlebags with magic.

I focused my eyes on the light violet saddlebag above me as I floated it over my head and onto my back just before it reached my wings, when that was done I let go of my magic and stared down at the two harnesses on each side of the saddlebag, before I lit my horn again and bind the two harness together right below my belly.

After that, I inspected the result for a few seconds until I was satisfied with it and glanced at my brother beside me. He was also done with his saddlebag and was looking at me too, both our gazes then moved upward to meet our mother's smiling face. I was the one starting the conversation as I tilted my head and asked in wonder.

"Mom, while we are thankful and surprised that you caught up to us and gave us these saddlebags. Can I ask what's inside both of these, " I raised my shoulder, and the twin saddlebag followed before I motioned with my hoof at my brother's saddlebag, "And why did you give it to us?"

Hearing my questions, my mother giggled and smiled wider as she closed her eyes which made my brother and I tilted our heads more with our eyebrows raised even higher in confusion. After my mother's giggle ceased, she opened her eyes and stared down at me right at the eyes before stating.

"Always the first one to ask questions aren't you my filly? Well, I gave both of you these saddlebags because It's filled with things that would ease and make your exploration of the town more fun. As for the contents, each of the bags is filled with three small pouches full of bronze coins that both of you can use freely to buy anything that catches your interest.

Alongside that, each bag is also filled with three half-liter bottles of my milk since I would be unable to breastfeed you as there are matters regarding the purchase of the airship that would preoccupy me till probably this afternoon at five or six. Consider that your time for exploration is extended, so Ethern my colt, feel free to buy any food for your lunch."

My mother took a deep breath and closed her eyes in preparation for another long answer, before she opened her eyes and continued, "Each saddlebag contained one blue sphere that could be used for two-line communication, your father added a few extras and that beings two small first aid kits bags, alongside two small short weaponry for each of you."

She then clapped both of her wings while staring down at us before asking, "And that's for the contents inside each saddlebag, any questions any of you want to ask before I teleport back to our current airship until we settle in a new one?"

It took me only several seconds for my mind to proceed with all of the information she just stated and come up with a few questions, my lips parted slightly as I raised my right wing and asked in a questioning tone, "I have two questions mom, how do we use the communication sphere and why does father put small weaponry inside our saddlebags?"

As I folded my wings back to my side, my mother's gaze moved down to meet my face as she had the same wide almost scary smile on her face before she replied happily, "I was half wondering if you would ask how to use the sphere my filly, as for your question. It's quite simple and here, let me show you how to use it."

My mother lit up her horn as she opened the bags on my right side and floated up a blue sphere the size of a volleyball up to her head level before she closed it, my mother then brought the sphere directly beside her face as she looked at me and stated, "First, the sphere magical property must be activated and that is done by applying some of your magic into it like this."

Her gaze moved to the blue sphere as she lowered her head until the tip of her horn was in line with the center of it, she then moved her head forward while closing her eyes. When her horn tip touched the sphere, she built up her magic on her horn starting from the base.

I then watched with my eyes widened and jaw slightly dropped in amazement as when the built-up magic spread up to the edge of her horn and made contact with the sphere, the sphere absorbed her magic and began to get brighter and brighter as it emitted a soft blue glow.

My mother stayed and kept building up her magic as the sphere absorbed it for a few more seconds, until its blue glow faded and was replaced with the blue sphere now translucent. The sphere it seemed to be also reflective like a mirror as I could see the surroundings from it, though it looked a bit bluish and slightly more abstract due to its shape.

After that, my mother opened up her eyes as she moved her head back away from the translucent sphere, before raising her head so that her face would be in line with the sphere. When she saw the result, she let out a smile and glanced down at me as she continued her answer.

"My filly, as what have you just witnessed, activating the sphere's magical property requires you to place your horn directly on it, then you would need to build up your magic on your horn more and the sphere would absorb it. How long you need to pump your magic into the sphere is dependent on your magical prowess.

But the clear sign that the sphere has been activated is when it turns translucent like this, " My mother lowered and brought the blue sphere to be in front of my face for a few seconds to let me inspect it more closely, then she brought it back up next to her head, "And now with the sphere activated, we can begin setting up the line of communication."

Like previously, my mother closed her eyes and took a deep breath before opening them back up as she continued, "Setting up the communication line is very easy, you would just need to bring the sphere directly in front of your face and press it with either your hooves or wings like this."

My mother's gaze turned to the sphere as she used her magic to float the sphere closer to her face, when it was close enough, she raised her right wing and pressed the center of the sphere. It responded to her physical touch by emitting a soft bright blue glow, my mother then looked down at my face and continued.

"After you touch the sphere in the center and it emits a blue light, then you would just need to concentrate your mind on it before spelling the names of the ones you want to communicate with. Please note that this will only work if said ponies you want to speak with is nearby of another sphere communicator or something similar."

She turned her gaze back at the sphere as her eyes narrowed slightly with brows furrowing and lips pressed tightly, she moved her forward slightly closer to the orb and her mind focused its attention on it. The blue sphere responded by glowing brighter and brighter over the seconds, then a blue wavy line of the magic sprouted from the top of the sphere before it connected with my mother's horn.

My mother stayed silent for several seconds before she opened up her lips and chanted, "Ethern, communication with Ethern, " Repeatedly until the blue wavy line disappeared and the orb stopped glowing. She then softened her expression as she smiled and glanced at my brother's saddlebag.

I followed her gaze with my eyes widened and jaw dropped again in astonishment at the magnificent magical wonder I had just witnessed happening in front of me, as my gaze turned to look at my brother. I saw that his expression was one of surprise as he looked down at the bags on his left side, which now radiated the same soft blue glow.

My brother, driven by his surprise and curiosity, lit up his horn in lime magic and opened the left bag before floating out a glowing blue orb. He closed his saddlebag as he brought the sphere closer to his face and inspected it for a few seconds before he experimentally put his hoof in the center of the glowing orb.

The result was immediate, as soon as his hoof made contact with the orb, a blue flash appeared which made my brother flinch backward in surprise as his magic hold on the sphere ceased and it fell to the ground with a thud. Seeing his reaction, my mother chuckled in amusement as she shook her head a few times before picking up the orb with her magic.

She then glanced down at me with a wide smile on her face before she continued, "My filly, with the communication line set up, the ponies in question or those near of them could touch the orb, which would result in the magical sphere communicator ready to be used."

My mother then floated the two magical orbs in front of my face as I heard and saw my brother walk to my side in the corner of my eye, she then moved the second orb slightly higher than the first one before starting with a smile, "Now whenever I or others touched the second orb and said something.

Then the words I or they have spoken will transfer to the first orb via the magical link that has been created previously alongside my or their real-time image, the first orb would then show the image first before the words could be heard emanating from it."

She lowered the second orb and raised the first one before continuing, "The same thing would apply to the first off, why don't you give it a try? Here take this with your wings and say something to it, " My mother brought the sphere closer to me and in response I used both of my wings to grab it.

After that, I brought the sphere closer to my face and stared into its crystalline appearance for a few seconds, before I used one of my right wing primary feathers to touch the orb center. I bit my lip as I was unsure of what to say, several seconds of contemplating later I decided to ask.

"Mom, can you answer my question now of why Father placed short weaponry inside both my brother's and my saddlebags? I mean, we are just exploring an active town on a bright day, not going to some dark and dangerous areas."

I released my feather's touch on the orb, and I glanced up at the blue sphere my mother was holding in her magic. After a few seconds I watched in both awe and astonishment as my eyes widened and my jaw dropped again, the orb shined blue, and now had my image of staring at the orb as I asked my questions.

"Mom, can you answer my question now of why Father placed short weaponry inside both my brother's and my saddlebags? I mean, we are just exploring an active town on a bright day, not going to some dark and dangerous areas."

My voice, I do know that I requested that my voice to be very beautiful, but damn I didn't expect it to be downright soft, feminine, and melodious. I sounded like one of those top female star vocal singers who performed in five-star high-end stage or sometimes fancy restaurants.

Upon seeing my slack-jawed look, my mother giggled as she raised her eyebrow and grinned questioningly at me as she asked, "What? Surprised at just how beautiful your voice is? I bet as you grow up it would be better and would attract some heads in your direction.

Who knows? Maybe you could even catch the attention of one of the three emperors of Alicornkind, " My mother's gaze turned to the orb beside her as she touched it with her right wing, "As for your question my filly, just because your brother and you aren't going to a dangerous place, doesn't mean that some measure of self-defense shouldn't be taken."

My eyes then turned to the orb I was holding in my wings, after a few seconds it glowed the same blue light and my mother's image appeared on it as she answered with a grin still on her face, "As for your question my filly, just because your brother and you aren't going to a dangerous place, doesn't mean that some measure of self-defense shouldn't be taken."

Right after that, my mother clapped her wings loudly to gather my brother and my attention, this was when I just realized that my brother's face had been getting closer and closer to me unknowingly. I knew it because his face was less than two centimeters away from my cheek when he glanced up alongside me.

I instinctively take several hoof steps to my left to further my distance from him, and he unexpectedly takes a few steps closer to me, though not as close as before and it seems his body did it automatically as he's still unaware of his close distance to me. I just shook my head several times at this, just less than a week and my brother was already like this.

My eyes then returned to my mother's as she glanced at me questioningly with her tilted slightly, it seemed she was considering something for a few seconds before she shook it out from her head. My mother then cleared her throat before she asked.

"Now that I have asked both of your questions my filly, do you have anything else to ask? " She then glanced at my brother with the same questioning look, "Or perhaps you have questions of your own my colt? Considering you have been very quiet since the start of the conversation."

My brother snapped out of his trance with a blink upon hearing my mother's questions, he then put up a wing on his chin with his lips parting slightly before tilting his head and asking ina curious tone, "Mom, what sort of short weaponry did father give to each of us?"

Upon hearing his questions, my mother let out a hmm as she put a wing on her chin. After a few seconds, her eyes wandered to the blue sphere in front of her face, she then floated it to my brother and answered with a shrug, "I don't know, your father didn't tell me what he gave both of you, maybe you should put this orb back inside the bag and find out what the weapons you're given yourself?"

When my brother was asking that, I was placing the orb back inside my right back with my wings. That's when I noticed that inside the bag, I had a steel dagger with curved edges and a sturdy tip, the dagger was about thirty centimeters long, painted black, and it was decorated with various magical symbols made of silver on the handle.

Interested in the dagger I saw, after I secured the blue sphere safely inside, I used my magic to float up the dagger and its black, metal sheath decorated with multiple magical letters made of silver. When the dagger is out of the bag, I quickly close it as my eyes inspect the unique weapon in front of me.

I glanced up at my brother to see that he was also putting the orb back into his left bag and was surprised to find a weapon inside it when he pulled up the weapon. It's not a dagger that comes out, but rather a half a meter steel black Kama- small scythe - adorned with various silver intricate and symbols on its handle.

After a few seconds of inspecting the small scythe from side to side, he glanced at me and saw the dagger in my magic. As both of us stared at each other small weaponry, my mother giggled upon seeing our reaction to the weapon as she opened up the bags on both our saddlebags that were still unopened with her magic.

She floated up the same dagger on my left bag alongside the same Kama from my brother right back, then she closed both our bags before she brought the two weapons up to her face and stated with a nostalgic smile, "Huh, isn't it a dagger and a small scythe, very fitting weapons considering its pocket size and both of your experience."

My mother played with each of the weapons as she slashed the Kama left and right through the air as if cutting a real opponent, while the dagger was thrust back and forth as if she was stabbing somepony else. This continued for a minute before she noticed my brother and I staring at her with our heads tilted in confusion.

Her cheeks then went red from embarrassment and her smile turned sheepishly as she put each of the weapons back into their respective bags, she then stayed still and stared at both of us as the situation devolved into awkward silence. After several seconds, my mother cleared her throat before she looked away and stated nervously.

"Sorry, it just... seeing a dagger and a Kama makes me recall my younger days when I was still single and not married to your father. Especially our first meeting which was... less than convenient to say the least, " My mother then took a deep breath as she stared at the sky with a wide smile on her face before continuing, "Unexpectedly, our path led us to meet each other time and time again.

Meetings after meetings led to friendships, and then we spent time together and did interactions after interactions for a prolonged amount of time. It then turned into dates, and after cycles of intimate relationships, it blossomed into marriage and honeymoon. Then comes to living as husband and wife, before becoming a father and mother as we started a family.

Huh, I reminisce those good times, time does fly so fast as I can still remember every detail of those memories as clearly as yesterday, " My mother then shook as her nostalgic smile diminished, she glanced down at us and her lips curved up in her usual smile as she stated, "Anyway, I agreed with your father choice of weapons for each of you here."

My mother turned her gaze at my dagger and pointed at me with her left wing as she stated, "A pair of dagger would fit well for you, my filly. Its simplicity, ease of use, and straightforwardness would do well since you lacked any formal combat training or expertise."

She then glanced at my brother's small scythe as she pointed her right hoof at him, "While you my colt, a pair of Kama as short-weaponries for self-defense would do well. Since it offers more versatility and defensive capability than any other saddlebag fit short weaponry, but would require years of training to be effective which you did have."

She then put her hoof down and clapped her wings together as she nodded with an affirmative tone before stating in a matter-of-fact tone, "I would recommend and order both of you to try to avoid a confrontation or violence as much as possible, but if there is no other choice or it happened suddenly, then be prepared to defend yourselves and call us if the situation is extreme.

You my filly Critic, " She pointed her right hoof at me, "Would need to end the fight quickly, as prolonged combat would deplete your energy and result in you losing. While you my colt Ethern, " Her hoof then turned at my brother, "Would be expected to defend yourself and protect your little sister here, you're the one with the experience after all."

My mother put her hoof down as she waited for our response, when she heard none she stated, "Now unless there's anything else either of you wanted to ask, Mother here has to return to the airship as she needed to handle some matters regarding some purchase with your father, have a nice exploration and be sure to return in time."

She then closed her eyes as her horn lit up in blue magic before a bright blue flash appeared and we were forced to shield our eyes with our wings. When the flash subsided, now there was nothing where our mother had teleported other than a few specks of dust.

Now that we were alone once again, my brother and I stayed silent for a few minutes as we processed what had just my mother had stated. Then with a blink, we both turned our eyes and stared at each other in unison, my brother's lips parted for a few seconds before he asked, "Uhh... what did our mother just state before?"

My brother and I placed our weapons inside their respective bags first, before I glanced at the town skirts in front of us as I sighed at the distance we still need to travel. I just shook my head at my brother's attention direction and stated in a neutral tone, "Well, she told us that the weapon is for self-defense, and briefly told us of her past when she was still single.

Then told us that Father's choice of our weapons fit our level of experience and training while being pocket enough, avoiding violence if possible, if not possible then defending ourselves, and being sure to return before or in the new time. Talking about returning in time, come on, let's continue our walk into the town."

And with that, my brother and I continued our walk into the town which previously had been interrupted, the town is just two hundred meters in front of us so it shouldn't take too long.

Another ten minutes had passed since we continued our way to the town outskirts, now in front of us there was a river presumably four meters wide that stretched far into the horizon to our left and right. Connecting the airship field and the town outskirts, there are multiple violet translucent crystals spread across the river, each one is forty meters away from the other.

As we approached the bridge, we noticed that there were a lot of Alicorns in groups ranging from four to ten crossing it, most of them appeared to wear armor and wield weapons of some kind, but several of the groups wore the familiar purple-crossed red uniform of MRIAA. Why's there are so many Alicorns in this particular area? Simple really.

This is a sector of the town designed fully for transportation, meaning those that wear armor are protectors going about their next quest destination while the ones wearing the Magical Academy uniform, are most likely researchers going about a group study that involved them doing a long distance research or study.

There also appear to be mixed groups of the two mentioned above, probably joint efforts between the Combat Academy and the Magical Academy, the students are researching and studying things in dangerous lands while the protector trainees have escort and protection training to do.

Thus, they decided to help each other out with the students gaining protection from the protector trainees and would be able to complete their test safely, while the protector trainees would gain experience and complete their assigned assignment to do protect and escort missions.

Anyway, as we approached the bridge and were just about to begin crossing it, I saw in the corner of my left eye a mixed group of three protector trainees and three students of Magical Academy closing in on us. They are around my or my brother's height, so definitely somewhere around four to six cycles old.

Feeling curious as to why they were approaching us, I turned my gaze to meet them with my head slightly tilted and eyebrow raised questioningly. I stopped my walk and flared my right wing over my brother's chest to make him stop walking as well, my brother was surprised and a bit startled by the sudden gesture.

He looked at my wing blocking him with a raised eyebrow and glanced at me with a confused look before he saw that I was looking somewhere else. His head turned to where I was gazing at and that's when he saw the group of three protector trainees and three Academician heading toward us.

The mixed group in question is composed of three colts and three fillies, two of the colts and one of the fillies each wearing different armor and wielding different weapons on their side. The three protector trainees have saddlebags that can be seen from outside containing various potions, medical supplies, and consumables.

The rest one colt and two fillies instead of armor and weapons, each wears the same purple-crossed uniform only this time each of it has distinct insignia color and numbers. I learned in one of my books that the color represents the field of study the academician specialized in while the numbers refer to how advanced they are in said specialization, and their grade.

They appear to be walking in formation, or at least the protectors trainees were as it appeared that they are making a triangle formation that covered the academician, most likely an escort formation to ensure that no threat can walk past them. As for the descriptions of each protector's trainees and magical academy student, let's start with the former.

The colt protector leading the group appeared to be the tallest among them all, he was roughly about my brother's height. He wore a purplish glowing iron armor decorated with silver magical symbols on the chest and both sides region, his helmet looked akin to a spartan one only with a hole above the forehead so the horn could fit.

On his left side, there appears to be a regular-sized sword made of silver sheathed on a silver sheath with a holster made of brown leather that went over his right wing and was tucked underneath it. He also wears a saddlebag on his back, though the one he carries is one-sided unlike the one my brother and I wore on our back.

His coat is of grey silvery similar to the kind of clouds you would see in a rainstorm, his short zagged bright mixed strands of bright yellow and white mane and tail are quite a stark contrast against his body color, and his eyes were gleaming mint color. All in all, his overall appearance matched what a Lightning/Blitz Alicorn would look like.

His expression was one of surprise and astonishment upon seeing my face and appearance, his lips curved up slightly in a slightly uncanny smile and lustful- thankfully remained closed -smile with his eyes half-lidded as he made eye contact with me.

His gaze made my eyes widen slightly in alarm, and my lips pressed tightly against one another in an attempt to keep a neutral expression amidst the mixed feeling I felt. My body instinctively leaned back slightly as my previously relaxed hooves tensed and closed together against one another, I don't like the look on his face.

Deciding that it would be better for me to cut off eye contact, my eyes darted left toward the filly protector trainee standing just slightly behind the three academicians. She was shorter than my brother and was around my height head to head, she wore an armor made of what at first glance to be cyan crystal armor.

However, after further inspection, I noticed that the armor looked more transparent and appeared to have a more glass-like appearance. The armor appeared to let out a faint bit of snow every time she moved, especially whenever she took steps as it left behind wet ground and a trail of snow.

With these facts, I can conclude that the armor is made of ice crystals which are known to only be found and formed in large numbers in extremely cold, snowy, tundra part of the Aquarice empire. Such crystal is rare to be used to create things with the main purpose being combat, as it is primarily used to create magical artifacts due to its unique magical property.

Especially if it were to be created into armor, as they are expected to protect the wearer from their opponent's attack. This crystal is quite delicate and easy to shatter when faced with blunt force or piercing strikes, but it does offer a high resilience against magical or elemental attacks for such beginner-level armor.

On the left side of her armor, appeared to be a short bow made from grey iron tucked underneath her leather left wing. On her back are two silver quivers containing arrows made from enchanted steel judging by their translucent looks, on her right side was a saddlebag that was smaller than the leading colt, but still sizeable enough to pack days' worth of supplies.

Her coat is midnight blue, her short mane and tail color are a unique mix of black and dark blue, and her bright cyan eyes are slitted, showing a neutral gaze toward me. From her neutral lips, sprouted two small cute white fangs. With these facts in mind, I can safely state that she's a Darkness/Corruption Alicorn, a bat pony with a horn.

'Gosh they looked so darn cute! Those cyan-slit eyes and bat wings are just begging to be adored and caressed! Especially those small fangs, I wouldn't mind those nibbling and biting on my neck anytime. You can suck my blood freely batty!'

I thought in my mind as I did my best effort to keep my lips neutral and not smile widely, it's also challenging to stop myself from running toward her and hugging her, squealing loudly all the while. I just loved Thestrals so much okay? And it made me feel excited to be able to meet one- especially one with a horn.

My gaze then wandered to the colt protector on the right back side of the group, I must say his overall appearance is quite fiery, even more than my father's. His coat was fiery orange like a flame while his long flowy mane and tail were multiple stripes of flaming pearl and incandescent red.

His lips curved up in a warm smile as his amethyst glow eyes met with mine, he then closed his eyes and bowed down his head in my direction. In response, I lowered my head slightly at him and my lips went up in a smile as we exchanged silent introduction and respect to one another, truly the way of the warrior.

As both he and I raised our heads, we kept the warm smile on our lips as our eyes darted and inspected each other form. I saw that on his left side, there was a steel katana with a handle made of gold and decorated with symbols made of ruby, the sheath itself was made of orange sun crystal with a few lines and a cross made of gold on it.

On his right side, there's a saddlebag from which protruded a gladius made of silver from within, I can also that it also was bulging with supplies, rations, and medical equipment by the looks of it. After we inspected each other exterior, our eyes met with one another again as we nodded collectively.

Now here come the three students of the Magical Academy in the middle of the triangle formation their protector had made around them, the first one I noticed is the one in the middle which is a filly wearing the standard purple-crossed red uniform, on her chest is a purple translucent crystal insignia with an image of a violet spark of magic upon a black eye.

Each part of the insignia has a meaning to it, on this one, the translucent purple crystal meant that the Alicorn who wielded it was exceptionally well-versed when it came to the casting and study of enchantments, the violet spark of magic on a black eye meant that the Alicorn in question understand of how to differentiate what is illusion and what is real.

Beside the insignia, showed two vertical lines with a sharp pointy line above it, meaning that it was studying level two of magical theory, and while it was still at the level of a novice, the sharp pointy line meant that the Alicorn was among the top students and is expected to level up faster than the other.

Her coat color is of deep ocean blue while her long wavy mane and tail are stripes of cyan and sapphire, her bright blue eyes that looked like blue flame complimented nicely with the rest of her body, giving her an appearance befitting of a Water/Ice Alicorn.

Her expression was one of neutral and curiosity as her eyes were slightly crossed at my brother and me, her lips parting slightly every so often as she was considering what questions she should ask and to who she should ask them. When our eyes met with one another, I could see that her eyes gleamed with a slight coldness of neutrality.

After a few seconds, I broke eye contact as I instead inspected her form and noticed that there was a twin saddlebag on her back that was similar to the one my brother and I wore in size, although hers is rather slightly bigger and artificially painted with midnight blue color.

The bag on her left side seemed to be filled with books, magical tomes, and all kinds of writing utensils considering the outline proportion in the lower part to the middle part of it was even, while the upper part appeared to be slightly bulky.

The bag on her right side is different, the contents in this bag seemed to be rations, food, medical supplies, and several water bottles the size of one liter if anything I can assess from the outline it created is correct. She's either a Water or Ice Alicorn, otherwise why else would you need to carry that much water when the weather isn't even hot in the slightest?

When I was done inspecting her, I moved my gaze slightly left and behind her at the white Alicorn colt wearing the same school uniform as she was. He appeared to be a very curious one as his gaze continuously moved and inspected my brother and me at every angle, all the while he had his right wing on his chin with his head slightly tilted in wonder.

His height is by far the shortest, I mean as he was standing around my height. His mane and tail are short but look similar to multiple, neatly rowed clouds forming several orderly lines directly next to each other, the colors were multiple stripes between Persian blue and light blue. His eye color was twilight dawn light, fitting nicely with his overall bright appearance.

His uniform chest had a cyan round crystal insignia with picture of a neatly stacked white clouds, below the clouds was a deep blue ocean with its surface showing a white electric symbol. The cyan base color means that the Alicorns specialized in matter that involved water be it natural, artificial, or magical.

The white stacks of clouds meant that the Alicorn knew how to manipulate weather physically or magically and understand its aspect and origin, though the lack of snow or sun meant that it only specialized in matters that involved rain be it a normal or stormy one.

The white volt symbol amidst the surface of the deep blue ocean meant that Alicorn could do its specialization and study even under dangerous weather and unpredictable waves of the sea. However, the one vertical line beside the insignia explains that the Alicorn in question is still at the starter level and did things under the direct supervision of the teachers.

When our eyes met with one another, his eyes widened at an alarming rate as if he was surprised at something. After a few seconds, his eyes returned back to normal but now they shined with questions and interest directly especially at me for some reason, his lips curving up in a slight smile as he went to inspect my form again.

At the same time, my gaze went to inspect his form and saw that on his back, he too wore a twin saddlebag like my brother and I or the Water/Ice filly before. Although he is cyan and smaller than both of us, the contents seemed to be similar to the previous one.

Now with him done, I turned my gaze to the right more and spotted with a cringe grimace on my lips when I saw a fully purple-oriented appearance of an Alicorn filly. She had a lavender coat and, a bit messy but otherwise blonde mane and tail with a mix of colors between lilac blush, plum, and ultraviolet.

Her expression was one of joyful as her amethyst eyes widened in surprise with her lips curving in the ever so always-present friendly smile, when our eyes met against one another, she waved her right wing me and did a friendly wink in my direction. Why in all of my luck I would encounter them? Oh wait, I'm in their homeland so of course there would be many of them.

I just waved my right wing back at her and immediately went to inspect her form, she wore the same academic uniform as the other two but this time it had a different insignia dictating her specialization. The badge base color is crystal white with in it there's a picture of a black scale.

The scale has two cubes on each side but the one on the left is smaller, yet it was depicted that the smaller one weighed the bigger one on the right. Underneath the scale is a picture of a green cross with lime wings sprouting from each of its sides. Once again, each part of the badge had a different meaning.

The white color meant that the Alicorn in question doesn't have any elemental specialty a.k.a neutral, it doesn't mean they can't cast any elemental spells, it just meant that they are not very good at it. The black scale depicting the smaller cube weighed the bigger one, which meant that this filly could manipulate the space and weight of an item.

The green cross with lime wings underneath it is a sign that the Alicorn is quite exceptional in healing magic even though it wasn't the intended specialization, if it was then the color would have been red. There are two numbers beside the badge, the upper one shows the number two while the lower is one with a pointed-up cross.

The number two is in line with the black scale, which meant this filly is still at beginner level and wouldn't be able to perform any significant feat in the manipulation of weight and space of an item. The number one with a pointed-up cross meant that it was only able to heal light injuries, but is expected to level up faster than others.

She also wore a twin saddlebag, but her inside than what it looked like on the outside, as I could see various bulges of confectionaries, books, tomes, writing utensils, and even a few red crystal boxes of first aid kit when I saw red case in the slight opening... all of those shouldn't even be able to fit inside, another look at magical wonder only in smaller scale I suppose.

All in all, this group is a joint effort between the CANAP and the MRIAA, although what was the purpose of this unison remains unknown as of yet. Anyway, when the group was just about fifteen meters away in front of us, the leading colt sped up as he began to sort out his zagged mane and cleared his voice a few times.

When he got close to me, he smiled wider and said in an aristocratic allure yet rakish voice as he locked eyes with me, "Well, well, well, who are you there beautiful? I haven't seen you around before, where have you been hiding gorgeous?" He moved his face closer to me and I instinctively leaned my head back until it came in contact with my brother's upper chest.

My brother was not happy hearing the way this colt was talking to me, he growled and set me aside to stand behind him as his eyes narrowed and brows furrowed in anger. If looks could kill, then I'm pretty sure the leading colt would have died several times by my brother's piercing gaze as he stated in seething yet righteous fury.

"You must either be crazy or have a lot of fucking nerve talking to her like that, did you know that what you spoke to her is in no way or form is appropriate? Especially if she had never even met you, so apologize to her at once and who the fuck are you daring to speak to her like that?"

In response to my brother's words, the grey-coated coat leaned his back in surprise as his eyes widened and lips parted slightly every few seconds, he then glanced at me and asked with a raised eyebrow, "Who is this brute love? Such hooligan with harsh language is inappropriate to be in the presence of a filly as beautiful as yours truly."

He then pointed at his chest with his hoof as he stood tall with a proudful yet arrogant smile on his face, he then lowered his down slightly to be at my level as he extended his right wing toward me and stated in an inviting tone, "This brute is so very unlike me love, I'm a dashing handsome protector who will be the warm embrace shielding from you the cold in the darkness night.

My name is Zerini and you may call me Zen, for I will be the knight safeguarding you from every darkness and threat in the shadow. Now take my wings beautiful, and let us get you away from this trash of the perfect society, toward a place where our relationship will blossom like a flower field in warm spring."

My brother's eyes couldn't believe it when this grey colt named Zerini- probably a Lightning or Blitz Alicorn by how bold he was -ignored his warning, insulted him and extended his wings closer toward me. His dark blue eyes twitched in fury with lips opening up in disbelief at what he just saw.

Just as the colt's extended wing was about to grab mine, my brother grabbed the protruding wing wing his left wing, then proceeded to bend it downward and sideward at an unnatural angle. Zerini screamed in pain and shock as the fragile bones on his right wing cracked and broke.

My brother was not finished with him though, as he stepped and stood right in front of the colt, then proceeded to shove his hoof right to in the muzzle to silence his scream. Zerini coughed a spurt of blood and a few teeth to the ground as his scream silenced, my brother then proceeded to grab his neck with his right wing and began choking him.

The grey colt hooves went up to his neck as he struggled to breathe and tried to punch my brother's right wing away, it's all in vain as my brother used his right hoof to powerfully punch each of the colt hooves away from his wing, his hoof punch caused lumps on the colt's forehooves alongside some fracture by the sounds of bones creaking.

After a minute of struggling, Zerini's resistance ceased as he closed his eyes and passed out due to a lack of air inside his lungs. My brother then let go of his wing grip and folded it back to his sides, I watched as the unconscious grey colt form fell to the ground and looked almost lifeless were it not for the fact that his chest was rising up and down quickly.

I was speechless about what I had just witnessed, my mouth went agape in shock with my bewildered eyes glanced over to my brother and the unconscious form in front of us several times. Speaking about my brother, he was looking down at Zerini's form, then let out a satisfied chuckle and had a victorious grin on his face as he stated.

"That's what you get for daring to speak to my sister like that, all beaten, bruised up, and unconscious. I'm my sister's protector and I'm the warm embrace shielding her from the cold of the night, I'm also her knight who will protect her from threats lurking in the dark and shadows at all costs.

"And you, " My brother pointed at the colt's unmoving form, "Shall never be that for that responsibility is only for me or those who gained my trust, fuck face, " He then glanced at my face in concern with his grin turned into a worried frown and our eyes met with one another, he walked closer to me and asked in worry.

"My dear loved little sis, he didn't manage to touch or hurt you in any way did he?" He nuzzled my forehead and cheeks as his eyes kept looking at me with worry, especially at my still shocked expression. After a few nuzzling and several seconds later, I closed my mouth as my eyes went back to normal before I slowly turned my head to his face and said in aghast tone.

"Yes brother, I'm okay and you managed to him before he touched... though I have to ask, " I turned my head to Zerini's unconscious form, "Did you have to be so... rough at him? While he did insult you and tried something inappropriate to me, I think you went slightly overboard with it."

My brother followed my gaze and scoffed at Zerini's unmoving form, before he looked around our surroundings left and right for several seconds before he stopped in one direction and stated, "Tch, as if anything is overboard when it comes to ensuring your well-being under my care, also just look at his comrade and Alicorns around us."

He pointed toward our left with his hoof at the joint groups of protectors and academicians approaching us, my gaze followed to where he was pointing and saw that the Alicorns Zerini was in group with, now sporting annoyed frowns with some rolling their eyes or shaking their heads.

Heck, even the usually cheery and bright Force/Telekinetic Alicorn in the group, lost her smile as it changed into an unimpressed frown alongside her facehoofing while muttering, "Zerini and his recklessness will be the death of us one day." Upon staring at the grey colt unconscious form in the ground.

My brother then pointed at the crowds of Alicorns watching us in general, I followed his hoof and saw that most of them didn't even bat an eye toward us. Those that did stared at my brother and then at me for a few seconds, before looking at Zerini's body lying on the ground and face hoofed as they sported an annoyed frown now, then proceeded to continue their way as if this was a normal occurrence.

"Most of them don't even bat an eye toward us or him and just go about their way, from that I can safely assess that he ending up like this is something that happened quite often that it wasn't a concern anymore, " His head then turned at Zerini's form again, "Meh, just look at him, teleportation circle from the armor enchantment has been activated, and soon he will be transported to a nearby hospital for treatment."

I looked at the grey colt's form once again and stared in awe as what my brother stated was correct, a purplish teleportation now appeared below him and began engulfing his body. When his body was fully engulfed, a bright violet flash appeared as now the ground he was on just before is now empty.

When that was done, we heard hoof steps closing to our left as we turned our head to the east and saw that the combined groups were now just less than ten meters away from us. Now that they were close to us, the fiery orange colt on the right behind the academician rushed forward.

He then stopped in front of my brother and bowed slightly before stating an apology, "Honored visitors of Irema, please forgive our comrade trainee Zerini for his inappropriate comments and dishonorable act, we had known him to be quite the embarrassment in our team for quite a while, would both of you forgive us?"

My brother stared down at the fiery colt bowing before him for a few seconds with an intense gaze, before his lips curved up in a warm smile as he heartily chuckled and replied, "Rise, young protector of Irema, worry not for the mistake one of your comrades has made, for I will not blame his mistake on his teammates."

As the fiery colt raised from his bow, my brother glanced toward me before motioning for the fiery colt to look at me with his hoof before stating, "Although, the one you should ask forgiveness is from my little sister over here, for she's the one suffering the mishap from the start before I interfered."

The fiery colt then moved his gaze from my brother toward me and was about to open up his lips before his eyes widened as if he just remembered something, he then face hoofed before quickly bowing down to me with his muzzle almost touching the ground as he stated his apology with his tone filled with... regret?

"Oh, I'm deeply sorry young matriarch! I was so focused on stating my apology for my comrade's unfortunate mistake to your honorable and brave brother, that I forgot that you're here and you're the main victim. Please young matriarch, excuse my friend for his mistake and condone me for my sin, I'm ready to receive whatever punishment you deem fit."

I was, to say the least, deeply confused at the fiery colt bowing down with his muzzle almost touching the ground and his expression was one of regret as tears left his eyes in front of me. My brain short-circuited for a few seconds until my eyes blinked as I glanced down at the colt and replied in a baffled tone.

"Rise, young protector of Irema, there's no need for you to bow down to me nor do you should cry about your sin. I, unfortunately, can't forgive your comrade Zerini's mistake toward me unless he asked me directly, you however."

I pointed my right wing at the slowly raising colt, "Will be given condolence for your sin, although there are a few questions that I would be happy if you were to comply and answer truthfully. Before you answer that though, please stop calling me young matriarch and call me by my name, Review."

Hearing my words, the fiery colt quickly wipes off the tears in his eyes and cheeks with his wings before standing up straight. His eyes made contact with mine as he nodded affirmatively at my request and his lips curved up in a purposeful smile before replying in a resolved tone.

"Thank you, for your kindness and willingness to give me forgiveness for my breach of decorum. I understand fully that my comrade Zerini should ask for pardon for his mistake directly at you, and as you requested, I will refer to you by your name, graceful Review. I'll be more than happy to answer your questions, please tell me about it."

The way he replied to my request and words surprised me, he replied to me as if I was his higher-ups or an Alicorn who had done a great deed. I just shook my head at him as I closed my eyes and took a deep breath to calm my racing mind, I then opened my eyes and cleared my throat before asking in a curious tone.

"I'm glad that you would comply with my request and be willing to answer my questions, now I first must ask. May I know who I was speaking with? Second, why did you previously refer to me as a young matriarch? Third, I want to know what 'sin' you had committed against me. I was confused as to why and at what you are praying forgiveness for, answer by order."

In response to my questions, the fiery colt nodded affirmatively as he stated, "Very well, then I shall your question from the first one, graceful Review, " He drew out his katana with his right wing which caused my eyes to widen in alarm until my brother put his wings on my back when he saw my distressed expression to calm me down.

The fiery colt continued to draw up his katana until it was released and he quickly brought the katana slowly over his chest and flared it to the ground as his right wing curved down. When he was done, his katana was now held horizontally over his right wing as it touched the ground.

He then gazed down at me with a determined look and proudful smile as he began introducing himself by pointing at his chest with his right hoof before stating elegantly, "My name is Aemori, the proudful second foal of the Calix family and little brother of Ignifa, the first foal of the Calix bloodline.

I'm a Fire Alicorn just like many others in my family, as of now, I'm a young protector trainee in second grade, still grasping and learning the finer aspects, responsibility, and honor of a full-fledged protector. Now, " He placid his katana back to its sheath, "As for your second question, honored Review.

I referred to you as a young matriarch because, in the honorable and sacred culture of the Fire and Blaze Alicorns, the status of a mare or filly is higher than a stallion or colt. Hence because mares had higher social standing than stallions, whenever a stallion or colt of a family followed this ancient tradition.

Must refer a mare they didn't know the name and wasn't given the allowance to refer her differently as matriarch, in the case of you honorable Review, " He pointed his right wing at me, "Due to your young age, you are referred as young matriarch as you haven't yet come of age."

He closed his eyes as he took a deep breath a few times as if he was preparing himself to admit something shameful, he opened his eyes and continued answering my question with the same determined smile, "As for your last question... the sin I had unfortunately committed was the fact I did not refer you as young matriarch before you give me allowance to refer you differently.

This is known as one among the many acts of disrespect in our ancient tradition, disrespecting an Alicorn or more without appropriate and excusable reason counts as a top moral grave sin, it's at the top level of severity just near betrayal, breaking a promise or deal without reasonable reason, and dishonesty."

After the colt finished answering all of my questions, he stood there all straight as if waiting for a command. I was, honestly, surprised at the fact that the society of Fire and Blaze Alicorns is quite strict alongside its structure is matriarchal.

'I mean, in a way it kinda makes sense. When the number of fillies being born per year significantly outweighs the number of colts born per year, it surely would have a significant impact on the cultural norm. Now that I think about it, I wonder if this matriarchal structure only affects Fire and Blaze Alicorns society, or are there more adopting it?'

I asked in my mind as I put my right wing over my chin and closed my eyes as I contemplated what question I should ask next and how should I ask it, after several seconds of deep thinking, I opened up my eyes and was about to throw some more questions at him when I noticed now that the rest of his group now were standing just behind him.

"Aemori, I told you that it is needless for you to be that tight about your ancient tradition, you and your family currently are far away from your Alicorn-type homeland Fieram. Also, " The deep ocean blue filly glanced at me, "Don't worry a single bit thought about Zerini, that has happened many times before and he's an idiot, he deserves it."

My gaze then moved from Aemori to the deep blue ocean filly just beside him, yeah, it's confirmed that she's either a Water or Ice Alicorn, for only these particular types would speak so bluntly about their friend being an idiot. I just shook my head and asked, "And who might you be? I'm Review and my big brother here, " I motioned my right hoof at him, "Is Terika."

The deep blue filly nodded in acknowledgment, she then pointed her right hoof at her chest and was just about to introduce herself. Then all of a sudden, a lavender went past her and stood in front of her as I found myself face-to-face with the type of Alicorn I dreaded the most.

She waved her right wing at us with a friendly smile on her face as she said happily, "Hello there Review and Terika! Welcome to our humble Town of Irema and I have never seen any of you around before, which means, " She gasped in delight as she smiled wider, "Both of you are new around here! And that means new friends to make!"

She then motioned to her chest with her right wing with her smile ever so present as she continued joyfully, "My name is Noreva and I'm a Telekinetic Alicorn, I'm glad that my friends and I are the first to welcome you and your brother into our town," She gazed over to her left bags and used her magenta magic to open it.

She then proceeded to float up two cupcakes one was light violet and the other was dark violet- just like my brother and I's coat color -with both wrapped in perfectly fit glass cases made of violet crystal. She closed her bags, then brought the cupcakes forward and offered them with a friendly smile, "Here, take these cupcakes, it's free, and would both of you like to be my friend?"

Before my brother and I could reply or take the cupcakes though, I heard a growl from behind Noreva followed by a cyan blast of magic hitting her in the back, immediately freezing her and her cupcakes in a big cube of ice. A cyan magic then encased the cube as it floated to the side and then backward slowly.

When the huge cube was brought sideway enough, I finally saw that the pony floating on the ice and most likely the pony who just froze her friend was the deep blue ocean filly who was about to introduce herself when Noreva slipped past her and cut her introduction short before it even started.

Her horn was lit up in cyan magic with her expression being one of annoyance judging by the irritated frown on her lips and slightly narrowed eyes as she gazed at the cube moving sideway then behind her while stating in a threatening tone.

"Cut my introduction and speech again Noreva, and I swear I will turn you into an ice sculpture and place you back in my homeland Glaciris so that you would never melt, and passing Alicorns would thought you as a realistic decoration statue in my front yard."

After she brought the frozen Noreva behind her and placed her down, her cyan magic ceased as she glanced at my face, her lips turned neutral and her eyes went back to normal. She then closed her eyes and cleared her throat as she pointed at her chest with her right wings, she opened her eyes back up and began introducing herself.

"Hello to both of you Review and Terika, my name is Navitas and as you probably might have guessed, I'm a six-cycle-old Water Alicorn and I'm a second-grade student of the MRIAA, commonly referred to as Magical Academy. As can be seen from my insignia, I specialized in matters regarding enchantments and illusions."

Her gaze then turned to her frozen friend Noreva, whose eyes were glancing left and right with what I can assume to be a pleading look. She particularly stared with hope at Aemori, but her hope was crushed when he just shook his head and stated, "I'm sorry, honorable friend Noreva, but my hooves are tied when it comes to matters involving elegant Navitas."

Noreva's eyes then flickered toward Navitas in front of her, her amethyst eyes pleading at her as she begged for the deep blue filly to release her. Navitas however, just rolled her eyes before stating, "I'm not gonna be sorry for what I did to you, for I have told you several times to not cut my words short."

She then glanced back at me and stated in a slightly apologetic tone, "Anyway, I'm sorry about my... friend Noreva over here, she's a very social and active filly like most purple-oriented Force/Telekinetic Alicorns are. You seem to be more reserved and closed filly, and I can relate to how it may make you feel when she interacts with you for the first time."

In response, I just nodded my head and draped my hoof in front of my chest before replying, "Meh, you managed to stop her before she went too far and became more than a minor inconvenience, you don't have to apologize over it, " I glanced over to her left and smiled when I saw the midnight blue protector, "And who might you be? I must say, you are the first Darkness or Corruption Alicorn I have ever met."

The Thestralicorn just glanced and met my face with an unreadable expression, neither any part of her facial features nor body language gave me an insight into what she felt right now. Our eyes then met contact for a few seconds as I tried to keep a friendly smile on my face, she then looked away and answered my question.

"My name is Crona and as you can see, I'm a young Thestralicorn protector trainee, although to be more specific I'm a Corruption Alicorn and my combat orientation is archery. This iron bow is enchanted to be self-repairing and summonable upon command, while the arrows are enchanted to follow its intended target."

She then glanced at the sky as she sighed, her lips curved down in a sad frown for a split second before it quickly went back up to neutral. She then glanced down at me and met my eyes before continuing "My types of Alicorn are the smallest in number, combine that with the fact that we tend to reside and stay content in our homeland. I'm not surprised that I'm the first Thestralicorn you've ever met."

Before I could ask her more questions though, the last colt in the group rushed forward toward me. When I had just finished turning my head in his direction, I flinched back in surprise with my wings flaring out in alarm as I saw a pair of huge widened twilight dawn eyes staring at me.

My hooves backpaddled for a split second until my body lost its balance and began to rapidly fall to the ground on my back, my brother reacted swiftly and spread out his left wing as he wrapped it around my back. I fell onto his wing and due to my weight, it forced his body to go down slightly until his face was centimeters away from me.

As my brother and I alongside the group watching fell into awkward silence, his eyes met with mine as he bit his lip and brought his lips closer to mine until it was just less than two centimeters away from mine. My eyes widened in panic as he bit his lips harder and his eyes focused on mine as if he was contemplating something deep in his thoughts.

I finally regained my composure and gently pushed my brother's head away before I hopped to my front so that I would stand on my four hooves again, I then gently brushed my mane with my wings to straighten out any tangled strands.

After that, I cleared my throat as my gaze now moved to the white colt in front of me with a friendly smile and eyes that gleamed with questions before asking, "Alright, your sudden appearance in front of my face surprised me quite a lot you know? For seconds there I fear that I might get a heart attack from that, anyway, can I know the name of who I was speaking with?"

In response to my question, he smiled wider and had a giddy look on his face as he nodded a few times, then he pointed at his chest with his right wing before replying in an excited tone, "My name is Vian and I'm sorry that I give your heart quite a loud beat before, I didn't mean it.

Anyway, in case you are wondering, I'm a Wind Alicorn and I'm a first-class academician of the Magical Academy as my parent just enrolled me five years ago. As can be seen by my insignia, I specialized in matters regarding weather be it natural or magical.

I currently only excel when it comes to water and rain be it normal or storm one though, so don't expect me to know how a typhoon- especially a magical one -might appear in the middle of ocean or land." He folded his wing back to his side as he closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths to replace the oxygen in his lung that remained when he was talking.

Then he opened his eyes back up and stated in a slightly apologetic tone as he scratched his head with his hoof, "Sorry about stating a lot of things at once without any pause, anyway, can I ask you and your brother here a few questions? Both of you don't have to, but it will satisfy this nagging curiosity in my mind."

Hearing his questions, I looked behind my brother and tilted my head slightly, asking if we should Vain to ask us questions and if we should answer them. In response, my brother just shrugged and nodded his head before he looked at the white colt, then draped his right hoof forward over his chest in a 'go ahead' gesture.

My head then turned back to Vialn's face, who now had his lips curved up in an excited smile with eyes gleaming in interest. After a few seconds of contemplating, I nodded my head and forced a smile on my lips as I replied, "Of course Vian, feel free to ask any questions to us, especially considering that I mostly question your group than your group questioning me."

Upon hearing my reply, Navitas' eyes widened in horror as her lips grimaced in panic, she then tried to say something to me but was quickly cut off by Vian clapping his wings together and stating in a gladful tone, "Thank you, like really, most Alicorns I have met with wouldn't allow me to ask questions to them, my friends included."

He then closed his eyes and took a deep breath as if preparing to ask something long, he opened his eyes back and stared at my eyes before asking in a wondering tone, "My first question would be, can you tell us more about your brother or you? Both of you only told us your names.

Second, are you two one of the few occupants of the very huge, luxurious, and armored airship I saw flying over our town and then landing in the airship field less than an hour ago? If so, then please would you please tell me how your family managed to afford it and how it felt to live inside it?

Third, for what purpose did you come into our town? I couldn't see any reason why such a wealthy and very influential family by the fact that your parents managed to rent and get their hooves on one of the few and rare grandeurs wonders of Alicornkind, then have a very experienced and skilled pilot operating such magnificence.

Fourth, would you like to accompany us on our return?" He spread his wings quickly and flapped them strongly just in time to avoid a sizeable cyan beam hitting and freezing the ground he was just before, he then landed down and summoned a windshield with his silver magic beside him, swiftly and durable enough to protect him from the barrage of ice hails directed at him from Navitas.

All the while his eyes gleaming in interest alongside a wide friendly smile on his lips, he then continued his questions with a baffling level of calm, entirely uncaring toward the fact that Navitas was trying her best to blast through his shield and froze him, "From our current research endeavor? We would also be able to be your tour guide at the same time."

My brother and I just stared at him with our muzzles agape in shock, eyes widened and unblinking in disbelief at what we were seeing in front of us and his ever-so-calm demeanor, even though one of his friends was continuously trying to blast and pierce through his shield.

My head was slowly moving side to side as I thought in confusion at the display in front of me, 'Vian, I... I must ask how the heck did you manage to say all of those words and questions without any delay or- you know what? Forget about that, how the hell are you so calm about your friends trying to break through your shield and hit you with ice hails?'

As my brother and I continued to stare at him with incredulous looks, Vian happy expression turned into one of concern as his lips frowned worriedly and eyes darted back and forth between my brother and me. He then glanced over at Navitas still hailing ice on him as he summoned a burst of wind at her, which resulted in her losing her balance and falling onto her back, ceasing her assault.

He looked back at us as he tilted his head and asked in a concerned tone, "Review? Terika? Are both of you alright? You two have been staring at me with shocked expressions and have been silent for well over two minutes now. I didn't accidentally say or ask something shocking or trigger any traumas right?"

After another minute of silence, my jaw finally went back up and my eyes returned to normal. I glanced over at my brother and used my right wing to manually close his mouth, to which he immediately broke out from his trance and looked at my wing right below his muzzle.

I folded my wings back to my side and my head turned back to face Vian, who now had lost his concerned expression and was replaced with interested gleaming eyes and a friendly smile. I stared at him with an incredulous look before I closed my eyes and shook that question in my thought later on.

After that, I opened my eyes back up and forced a smile on my face as I replied in a bewildered tone, "My, my, my, that's quite a load of questions you just dumped on us, and as of now I have quite a few questions about you but I suppose it can be answered later on."

I closed my eyes again as I took a deep breath to prepare myself for the long answer I was gonna give to his questions, I opened up my eyes and forced a smile on my face before continuing my reply in a friendly tone, "For your first question Vian, brother, " I glanced over to him, "Can you please stand by my side for an easier introduction?"

In response to my question, my brother nodded and let out a friendly smile on his lips as he walked closer to me before he stopped right next to me. I then turned my face back to Vian and cleared my throat before continuing, "As I have told you all previously, my name is Review and I'm four cycles old, those who are close to me often refer to me as Rev.

Currently, I still haven't managed to discover my elemental alignment yet, but I have been known to be particularly good in Force/Telekinetic magic and Water/Ice magic so maybe one of those four is gonna be my affinity. I'm my brother Terika's little sister and my personality is reserved and introspective, but it doesn't mean I can't socialize properly with other Alicorns."

I then motioned over to my brother with my head gesturing for the group's attention to be on him, he acknowledged my silent gesture that it was his turn to begin introducing himself. Like me, he cleared his throat before introducing himself with a friendly tone, "Just like what my little sister had previously stated, my name is Terika and I'm five cycles old.

Similar to her, I still didn't know what is my elemental affinity, but I'm quite skilled when it comes to Dark/Corruption and Fire/Blaze magic, so maybe my alignment is gonna be one of those? Anyway, I'm my little sis Review big brother and my personality is active and friendly, but I have lines that if anypony ever crosses without excusable reason, will be met with severe punishments."

After collective nods from the groups, their eyes were now directed back toward me as I glanced my gaze back at them before saying in a friendly tone, "Now that with your first question answered, we can proceed to the next one. The answer to your second question is... yes, we both are one of the occupants of the magnificent airship."

Hearing my answer, all of the groups had their eyes widened in amazement, including the stoic Crona who now had an interested look on her face as her eyebrow was raised slightly. I let out a giggle at their astonished expression as I just shook my head and stated in a humble tone.

"As for how my family managed to buy an airship that large, luxurious, and armored. Well, my father was a respected high-ranked protector who had done highly rewarding but dangerous quests for cycles, but he didn't lavish himself and only bought what was necessary before storing the rest of his wealth in the bank.

Not only that, but my mother was a famous and well-acknowledged researcher who had invented a lot of invaluable things that changed- if not revolutionized -the aspect of Alicornkind for which her invention is designed. Just like my father, she doesn't lavish herself and buys only what is necessary before storing it all in the bank."

I then put my right wing over my chin as I let out a hmm and looked at the sky for a few seconds as I considered how I should answer the next question, I glanced back at Vian's face and folded my wing back before continuing, "As for how does it felt to live in it?'

Honestly, it depends on who you asked, but for me I find it living inside the large airship to be an exhilarating experience and enjoyable one. Every day I would bath up inside a luxurious and well-lit bathroom, using expensive cleaning products to clean over my body as I enjoyed the pleasant sensation of warm water across my skin."

I then glanced back to my wings as I frowned slightly upon remembering something and continued, "Although every bedroom is lavish with fantastic illusions on the interior, I wish that they kept it clean as while preening wing is pleasurable, it can be quite the annoyance having to do it every time you wake up or go to the bathroom."

I move my gaze front back to Vian and his group, who now are fully immersed in what I am saying judging by each of them staring at me with almost unblinking interested eyes and a slightly tilted head. He then motioned with his hoof for me to continue as I nodded and answered his third question.

"Now here comes the question of why would we land our airship in this town, the answer to that would be resupplying. We are on our way from the capital city of Vistentia toward the Town of Alavis near the border with the Storempest Empire, we won't be here for long though as by this night, the airship would continue its flight."

I then stayed silent for a few seconds as I contemplated my answer to his last question, I looked over to my right at my brother and tilted my head, silently asking if he think accompanying them and having them be the tour guide is a good idea. My brother saw my gesture and immediately nodded affirmatively as his lips curved up in a smile of approval.

I glanced back at Vian's face and his group as I took a deep breath while closing my eyes, I then opened them back up and my lips curved up in a smile toward them as I stated my decision, "For your last question, considering that we don't have any plan of how we should explore the town.

My brother and I seem to have an agreement about your proposal of us accompanying you and your group in your research endeavor, and then be our tour guide to help us navigate and explore the town. So my decision is... obviously yes."

Upon hearing my decision, Vian clapped his wings again as he smiled widely before stating, "I must say, you're one of the only few Alicorns I have met who would answer all of my questions, and for that alone, you have my thanks. Anyway, glad to know that both of you agreed to my offer."

He glanced over at his friends behind him as he asked with a hopeful tone, "Noreva, Navitas, Aemori, and Crona, all of you wouldn't mind if both Terika and Review accompanied us in our return to the academy right? Alongside that, would you all like to be their tour guide of the town alongside me?"

Aemori was the first pony to answer his question as he nodded affirmatively before bowing slightly with his right wing went over his chest and replied, "I felt honored to have brave Terika and divine Review to accompany us in our return from our duty, and it will be a greater honor for me to be the one among others to guide them throughout the town."

The second pony to answer was Navitas as she put up her right wing on her chin and contemplated the idea in her mind, after several seconds, she folded her wing back to her side and nodded in approval before answering, "I guess my answer shall be... why not? Both of them have been enjoyable companies and I wouldn't them joining us on our return or being their tour guide."

At first, I'm gonna say that the third pony to respond to the question is Noreva, but considering that she's still frozen and was darting her eyes up and down in straight vertical lines. I think it would be better to say that the third pony to answer the question is Crona, as she stayed still and silent for a few seconds before she shrugged and then responded in a neutral tone.

"Meh, I don't care if they wanted to accompany us on our return from the research endeavor and I don't think I would be a good tour guide considering I haven't seen all parts of the town myself, I would still follow you all though as I have nothing else to do after this."

Hearing each of their response, Vian clapped his wings again and turned his gaze back to me before stating, "Great! While I still don't know what might be Noreva's response since she's still on ice, I can safely guess that she agreed like the rest of us, especially if we consider her friendly and social personality."

My brother and I smiled at this, my gaze then turned to Noreva's frozen form as my eyebrow raised alongside my head tilting to the right slightly, a question appeared in my mind and that is, "Uh, how would we bring your frozen friend Noreva here into the city until her ice melt?"

Before Vian could respond though, Navitas cut him off as her horn lit up in cyan magic and soon the ice cube was encased in the cyan aura before slowly being lifted. She then let out an annoyed sigh but otherwise replied in a neutral tone, "Since I assume nopony is volunteering to carry her into the city until she is freed, then I will be the one to carry her until she melts.

I could undo the spell of course, but being frozen served her right multiple times cutting others' speech or words... and it gave me a certain level of amusement. Anyway, what are we waiting for now? Let's begin crossing the bridge as the town would never get closer if we don't start moving."

And with that, the group of seven consisting of two protector trainees, and three academicians with one of them frozen in ice, alongside my brother and I began making our way to the other side of the bridge. It's... kinda nice to see and meet with more types of Alicorn.

Zerini's interaction with my brother and me, unfortunately, ended up rough, but as Navitas put it, 'Don't give a single thought on him, he's an idiot and he deserves it'. Then I won't give a shit about him. The only types of Alicorns I haven't yet met were Earth/Rock Alicorns and Light/Aether Alicorns, I wonder how if they have some more unique customs like Fire and Blaze Alicorns.

Roughly seven hours have passed since my brother and I joined this group of six- or rather five, considering one of them is in hospital -in their return from their research endeavor. During which, Noreva finally melted from her ice prison and quickly went to Navitas before praying for forgiveness with tears and all.

Fortunately, Navitas was not the kind of pony to hold grudges so she just waved it off and forgave her easily since it was no big deal. Just like a certain Force/Telekinetic Alicorn filly back when my family and I were still in the old house packing our items, after hearing that she was forgiven, Noreva's expression turned instantly happy with the tears disappearing spontaneously.

Currently, she was just jumping and hopping around tirelessly as she walked alongside us, why does this particular way of movement look familiar? Anyway, Navitas told us that their Magical and Combat Academy are unlike most other MRIAA or CANAP because theirs' are united into one huge complex and grounds instead of separated.

Noreva then happily with a smile on her face told us that their combined institution is located on the other side of the town from the bridge we had previously crossed, which meant they decided to give us the tour guide first before returning to report the result of their research endeavor.

I must say, it is quite a nice change to see the mix of magical, natural, and slight technological environment, which is a nice change from the very illustrious and magical machinery of the airship my family and I had been on for three days, or the city capital of Vistentia, which is full of magical bright crystals wonder.

This town still has those geometrically translucent purple-oriented homes, shops, hospitals, and other crystal buildings. But the difference was those buildings seemed to connect directly to the ground, making it look like they were grown instead of constructed, especially with the fact that each house is surrounded by a tapestry of small plants and colorful flowers.

The arrangement of the house is also different, if in Vistentia it was more packed, in this town each of the houses is at least twenty meters away from one another on all sides, making each house have a sizeable yard on each side of it. The empty land is filled with gardens, trees, and decorations.

The streets apparently were unlike what I had thought previously, instead of dirt and grass paths that led to various parts of the town, it was a smooth stone path with small carefully and neatly packed gravel that followed the outline shape of the road it was built around.

The road always connected to either a bridge that led outside the town, toward buildings or locations inside it, or connected with many other roads thus forming various kinds of shapes from the common three to four-direction pathways, to even an octagon pattern in the center of the town where the town hall is.

The lamp streets are similar to the one in the capital, the only difference was that the pole was made of polished grey steel, giving it quite a nice contrast with the white crystal orb-shaped lantern above it. Also, despite being a relatively small town compared to many other towns I had seen on the map of the Forcinetic Empire.

During the tour guide, I had seen quite a lot of variations and instances of the same kind of buildings just in different parts of the town. We visited and entered some shops, each one distinct and different from the other, walked over a few parks, visiting several libraries and gromedias as I used the opportunity to buy some books that caught my eye.

The group and my brother had stopped by a restaurant to order food for lunch at midday, during which I excused myself to visit the local library and read a few books. When Vian asked why I wasn't joining them, I told him that I packed my lunch and left the restaurant front before he could ask any further.

When I was in the library, I quickly set myself nice and comfortable upon a pillow seat as I grabbed some books from nearby bookshelves. At the same time, I opened up my back and began drinking three bottles of my mother's milk, though I must say the taste and the sensation it gave me was different, different as unpleasant.

After my brother and the group were done with their lunch alongside I had reunited with them, we continued on our way to explore the town. So far the most interesting of them all was the fact that here just about half an hour ago, I managed to see how this world full of Alicorns did its agriculture in the town farmlands located just a few kilometers southeast of the town hall.

Apparently, it was not that much different compared to how farmers back on Earth did it in the old days. It involve plowing the land to prepare it for the plantation, the unique thing about this is that the Alicorn farmers used an enchanted tool that looked similar to a rake, but all of its steel rods are facing straight vertically like a trident.

The end tips of the steel rods are curved down like a hook, only it was broader and more blunt. An Alicorn farmer would use multiple of these- often more than a dozen -with his/her magic and place it onto the intended land side by side. Then he/she would take up flight and slowly begin to drag it backward in a straight line.

When this process was done, the Alicorn farmer would then place the modified rake down before grabbing a slightly different one, with the new one appearing to have steel rods with sizeable holes in the center. Above the steel rods would be a few pipes that stretched out a few centimeters.

He/she then would insert each pipe with a transparent crystal tube containing various kinds of seeds depending on what was being planted, they then would place the modified rake down into the ground that has been plowed, before the farmer dragged it along.

After that, they would get themselves multiple huge brushes and begin leveling the ground with it, burying the seeds that had been planted underneath the fertile soil. Upon completion, the farmer would set the brushes aside and bring forward multiple water crystals that if pressed, would drop water upon the ground below.

This is where the fascinating aspect comes in, as the farmer begins watering the field, the seed quickly develops beneath the soil and turns into a small sprout that reaches a few centimeters in height within a time frame of just three minutes.

I was sadly unable to watch the impossibly fast-growing plants to their adult form since my brother and I were whisked away by the groups to continue the tour guide when I asked them how long it takes for a plant to reach adulthood and why it was growing at a mind-breaking speed, Navitas was the on to answer my question.

She answered that how long it takes for the plant to grow to its mature form is dependent on the species, types, and what plants are being planted, but she roughly suggested that it's somewhere between ten to twenty minutes for small plants, thirty minutes to fifty minutes for medium-sized, and one to two hours for the larger ones.

She then explained that the reason the plant was able to grow so rapidly, is because of three factors: genetically modified seeds, very fertile soil blessed from Earth/Rock magic, and rapid-growth inducing chemically change and magically induced water.

Navitas commented that she would love to meet with the famous and brilliant Ice Alicorn mare, who managed to invent the rapid-growth inducing water that cut the times it required to grow plants by seventy-five percent about eight cycles ago, effectively and massively increasing the amount of plant foods harvested daily.

Intrigued by whoever this Ice Alicorn mare was, I asked her the name of this genius researcher. To my brother and I's surprise and amazement, she told us that her name is Head Researcher Lady Aeterna with her title being 'The Alicorn That Saved and Brought Forth Many Life'.

So yeah, that's what apparently my mother meant when she said 'I had given this world and land more life' to both of us during the second day in the airship when we asked what invention she had created. Certainly a noble endeavor and invention, this brought a smile proud smile on our faces.

Navitas then continued by stating that Aeterna currently resides in a private house and land in the capital city of Vistentia with her husband and two foals. From within her owned land and constructed lab, she continued her research toward her next revolutionizing goal and target.

She also stated that she would love to meet with the two direct descendants of Lady Aeterna so that she could interact and change ideas with them, although her colt named Ethern is the only foal capable of cognitive thinking since her second foal a filly whose name is currently still unknown and is still four years old.

At the time when both of us heard this, my brother and I looked at each other as we chuckled in amusement at the fact that what Navitas was wishing for was currently right beside her in her group. When she glanced at us and asked what was funny we just said nothing, just funny thoughts.

Anyway, I know that the exploration of the town wasn't as fun or as eventful as a pony might expect, but then again what do you think would happen and what did you expect from a small town like this? Currently, the groups alongside my brother and I are on our way to the United Combat and Magical Academy.

Noreva as stated previously, is no longer trapped in ice and was hopping around following the group tirelessly despite the fact she rarely stopped moving. Her smile was one of happiness and excitement, she had given us several cupcakes to consume during the journey, which my brother gratefully accepted while I just stocked it inside my saddlebags since I couldn't eat it.

Aemori was the pony walking in front of the group alongside me, he was particularly helpful in explaining to my brother and me what building we were going to and what path we should take to navigate faster to it. His lips kept going up in a warm smile, whenever our eyes met with another, he would lower his head slightly in a slight bow and I followed.

Navitas stood behind me alongside my brother and Vian, she has been the pony happily providing answers to any questions that my brother or I asked, her expression is currently neutral with her lips curved down slightly and eyes looking forward. Whenever our gaze met with one another, she would raise her eyebrow and wait for me to throw any question her way.

Vian was standing next to her, his gaze ever so quickly changing from one thing to another as he observed everything in his line of sight with gleaming interested eyes and a friendly wandering smile still on his lips. Every time his eyes met with mine, he would smile wider and his lips were about to open up to ask questions until his mouth went back to close when he saw the glare Navitas had toward him.

My brother stood right next to him, he had been particularly quiet during the group tour and was mostly eyeing me discreetly whenever he thought I wasn't looking at him. His lips parted ever so slightly and often as if he was wondering about something, and whenever our eyes met his cheeks would go red slightly as he tried to look somewhere else.

And at the very back of the group, stands the ever so quiet, neutral, almost emotionless Crona. She had been really quiet since the tour started and had just followed us wherever we went silently, rarely she ever spoke and when she did, it was usually because one of us addressed or asked questions to her.

When our eyes met with one another, I saw her gaze to be cold, calculated, and very secretive which made me almost want to flinch my face away from staring at it. But as I pressed and continued making eye contact with her, somepony once said that eyes are the window to the soul, and as I stared into her eyes I saw a soul that currently felt alone and in fear.

Just as I focused my attention on her eyes though, Crona quickly broke off the contact and looked away in the other direction. I just shook my head at her as my eyebrow raised ever so slightly, why would she feel lonely and in fear when everypony else around her kept her company and supported her?

I was not able to think for long though, as several seconds later I heard Aemori state beside me, "Honorable Review and Mighty Terika, we are closing in on the divine location of knowledge and prowess that is the academy of protector and magical research, it's just in front of us ten of meters away."

At this, I turned my head to his face and nodded affirmatively before I glanced at the combined Magical Research and Protector Academy in front of us, its appearance looked similar to how it was seen back in Vistentia, but there were a few noticeable differences.

First off, the crystal tall and thick walls and gates are a combination of both the appearance of the Combat Academy and the Magical Academy, its walls were carved with various images of Alicorns wielding a wide range of weaponry. Alongside those were the protector Academy symbols which are double-crossed swords with a shield covering half of it, all of the carvings and symbols are made of gold.

The top and low line of the walls is instead filled with decorum of magical symbols alongside various kinds of specialization insignia, ranging from the common red cross and white horn with magical spark on top, to the rare and legendary ones like a symbol of black eye crossed in an X pattern with red color.

Alongside those symbols and patterns, there seem to also be some carved images of opened magical tomes, empty experiment vials, several pictures of cogs of a machine neatly packed with one another, and even a few wands with sparks of magic on top.

All of these symbols were used as an identification icon to know what field of study the researcher is conducting research.

The walls were not the only things of difference though, the left part of the crystal gate's double doors had all of the previous patterns of the Magical Academy forming a circle made of silver while the right part had the crossed sword symbol made also of silver.

The gate we are heading to is guarded by two Alicorns, the one on the right wears a green uniform that seems to identify him as the Magical Academy security. He doesn't have much weapon or armor since he wasn't expected to deal with any serious threat, so he only wears brown leather armor and a highly gold-decorated steel rapier that seems to be more of ceremonial use and intimidation than any real combat weaponry.

The one on the left though, now she was really trained, equipped, and expected to deal with the hard and serious stuff. She wore purple crystal armor that seemed very translucent even from afar, meaning it was enchanted heavily with various kinds of enchantment, probably ones that were designed to increase the armor's durability and resilience in one way or another.

Her weapon was a steel lightweight katana, with a silver handle that looked bare and simple but it was translucent and more reflective to light, which meant the weapon was definitely enchanted making the otherwise normal-looking blade, a deadly adversary.

As we approached closer and closer to the unified academies, Aemori suddenly stopped walking beside me and I stopped too, making the group walk suddenly halted. I glanced to my left at his face with my eyebrows raised questioningly as I asked, "Aemori, why are we stopping? Isn't your group's final destination just in front of us?"

The whole group now had their attention on him, each of us wanting to know why he put a halt to our walk. He then slowly turned his head to face and lowered his head slightly in a bow before he replied, "I'm sorry honored Review and brave Terika, but the unified academy has a rule that nopony else can enter its domains without proper passes and exceptions."

Upon hearing his answer, I heard a face hoof behind me and I turned my gaze to behind me to see that the one face hoofing was Vian. He put his hoof down and looked at me as he chuckled sheepishly before stating, "Ah right, I forgot that entering the unified academy's domain would require special badges, exceptions, or reasons."

He then looked at his bag on his right and opened it up with his magic, after that, it took him several seconds to sort through its contents before he finally found what he was looking for and levitated two of them outside the bag. He closed his backpack and turned his head to face me as he stated.

"Alright here it is, Terika, Review, these badges would allow each of you an entry into the unified academy's domain if you give it to one of the guards in the front. Be sure to not lose it as it was our group's last and without the badges, the guards would decline and prevent you from entering."

He gave the badge to my brother beside him first before he brought it forward to me with his magic, when it was close enough I grabbed the badge out of the air with my right wing. I then brought the badge to my head level as I inspected its unique and distinct appearance.

The base of the badge is made from the same violet crystals, and the outline of the round badge is trimmed slightly and unevenly similar to one I had seen on coins. The front image of it was the four symbols of Magical Academy, all lined up to make a circle with each symbol created from silver.

Below the symbols, is a small label made of gold that reads 'Visitor Badge'. I turned the badge around with my left wing and saw that the back image was quite different than the one on the front, instead of the four symbols previously mentioned, it had two Alicorns on the left and right holding katana over their chest.

Right between those two, is the protector badge which double-crossed swords with a shield in front of it. These images and symbols were made from silver instead of gold, with the label below it being made of gold and read 'One Time Entry Pass', meaning that after one use, the badge can't be used again.

After I inspected the symbol, I glanced at my brother to see where he would store his badge. I saw that he wasn't storing his badge but rather keeping it in his lime magic grip close to his head, he was waiting patiently for me to finish my inspection of the badge like the rest of the groups.

Deciding to keep the badge in my magical hold and close to my head like my brother, my horn lit up in crimson magic as I levitated the badge to be right beside my forehead. After that, my head glanced at Vian as I cleared my throat and asked, "Alright Vian, thanks for giving us these badges, it would be a necessity. Anyway, can we continue walking now?"

Right after I asked that and just as the group began resuming to walk, I heard a clap of wings behind me followed by Vian's asking, "Wait, quick questions, did your brother and you know of each of your magical levels? You don't have to answer it, of course, it just I have another assignment involving it."

Hearing his questions, my brother and I turned our gaze to meet him with our eyebrows raised questioningly, Vian turned his gaze to him and my brother looked up at the sky for a moment before he replied.

"My magic has been tested several times with the latest one probably somewhere around two or three weeks ago, my magical level is four, but as of now I can only cast one type four spell."

After hearing my brother's answer, his gaze turned to my face as he waited for me to answer, I stayed silent for several seconds as I tried to remember if, in any of my times in this world, I had undergone such a procedure or anything similar to it when my mind comes up blank I just shrugged and answered.

"I don't think I have ever had my magic tested in any procedure or way, at least those can be measured so I don't what my level of magic is. But I have mostly been using type one to type two spells every day and have started learning on type three, so maybe I was a level three magic user?"

Upon receiving my answer, Vian's eyes widened excitedly with his lips curved up in a wide smile as if he had just found something that he was looking for. He then stared at me right in the eye as he asked in a hopeful tone, "So you don't know what your magic level is? Would you like to find it out with me? I'm qualified enough to test others magical capability and it would help me finish my last assignment."

In response to his offer, I put up my right wing over my chin as I considered it for a few seconds before I nodded affirmatively and replied, "Alright, it could point out the current extent of my magical prowess and might as well help you out on your assignment, mutually benefit for each of us after all."

Now with the question out of the way, we finally resume our walk to the unified academy without any further interruption or delay. It just took us about five minutes until we reached the front gate and were halted by the guards crossing their weapons on one another, blocking the pathway into the United Academy and preventing us from entering.

"Halt! Only school staff, students, protector trainees, or others with appropriate allowance may enter. Form up two lines and show us your badges if you have neither stated from the above!" The guard Alicorn stallion on the right stated as he stared at both Aemori and me, with me receiving the end tip of the serious gaze.

Now that I was close to him, I could describe what this lightly armored Alicorn stallion looked like. His coat was a deep forest green his short mane and his tail had multiple stripes of lime and a normal shade of green, his brown eyes were staring at me with neutral but sincere gazes.

I then looked to my right and saw the heavily armored combat-ready Alicorn mare, her coat was of pristine white with her wavy mane and tail colored silver and a light shade of pink akin to Celestia's original mane. Her eyes were looking at me with a kind and serene look, disguising the otherwise watchful and alarmed gaze lying underneath when my eyes met with her.

Since Aemori was a protector trainee and he had most likely stood out more than others by his way of speech that almost sounded archaic, they immediately let him pass without any questioning and bowing slightly in respect, which Aemori responded in kind before going in.

Their gaze then turned to me as both of them raised their eyebrow, I then brought my badge forward to the heavily armored mare who quickly brought it to her face with her own deep pink magic. She inspected the badge's front and back for a few seconds until she glanced down at me and asked.

"A one-time use visitor badge? To what purposes do you come in here, who gave you this badge? Last but not least, what's your name little filly?"

I took a deep breath to calm my racing heart before I glanced up at her with a determined smile and answered, "I'm here because one of your academician behind me named Vian, offered and asked me if I would allow him to test my magical level on his, my name is Review."

The white Alicorn mare then let out a few seconds of hmm as she looked behind me with her eyebrow raised slightly, silently asking him for confirmation. My guess was correct as I heard him state in his calm voice, "Yes Miss Velita, I was the one to give her the badge and offered to test her magical prowess.

Her brother Terika over here wanted to ensure nothing went wrong with the test, so I allowed him to follow our groups and come into the academy too as I also gave him the visitor badge."

In response to his confirmation, the white pristine mare- whose name now I know to be Velita -nodded affirmatively as she brought the badge inside her purse before removing her katana blocking my way and motioning me to enter with her head before stating.

"Alright, little filly Review, you are allowed to come and explore the academy's domain, just make sure not to go to some limited areas and rooms or destroy anything in here without verified and explicit allowance from others, also follow every rule in this academy as deviance against will result in penalty, banishment, or worse."

Now with nothing else blocking my head, I bowed down my head slightly like Aemori and the two guards responded in kind before I quickly made my way inside the unified academy. As I entered the unified academy domain, the kinds of sights I saw in front of me were simply no less than magnificent and brought a smile to my lips.

There are large green fields with smooth stone pathways leading to various parts of the combined academy, every so often there would be fountains and statues of various great Alicorns from history and even the form of Empress Kinersia appeared several times, though here she is mostly portrayed as a figure of guidance, teacher, and wisdom.

One of Empress Kinersia's statues on the right portrayed her to be showing a few foals beside her how to cast spells, the statue showed her with her horn lit up in magic as she levitated a few books in front of her. Her gaze was looking at the foals, they had their eyes widened in amazement with some even dropping their jaw slightly in awe.

Her expression is one of happiness as her eyes are shown to gleam with joy her lips curved up in a wide smile, her muzzle opening up as if she is telling the foals how to do magic. The statues on the left take a different structure however, if this one is taking a more academic approach, then the other is more of practice and combat.

One of the statues on the left pictured her wearing her armor and katana, she was kneeling down at a colt with her right wings embedding the katana into the ground. Her gaze was one of kindness and understanding shown by the appreciative smile on her face as she looked down at the colt with a sorrowful yet determined look with her lips opened.

Her left wing was wrapping itself around the colt's body and back in a way that seemed to give comfort, in front of the colt was a sword broken in half. The colts had tears on his eyes and cheeks, but he seemed to be looking up at her with a determined look and resolved smile upon hearing her words.

This structure of the left area related to combat with the one in the right related to knowledge and research doesn't solely appear on the statue, but rather it seems the unified academy as a whole is like that since the left area has buildings and fields related to protectors.

There are multiple training fields of various and wide amount of variety, some of the things are more common like obstacle runs, archery ranges, close-quarters combat ranges, and many others. There are several classes, but it's mostly seemed to be about how to heal other Alicorns or keep them stable until proper treatment and healing can be done.

Alongside those, the classes also seemed to teach young protector trainees how to navigate using maps and how to decipher secret messages. Meaning the aspect of protector life and quests involved more than merely fighting, such are to be expected in a survival or dangerous situation.

Now the one on the right is different, instead, it's mostly classes and labs with few fields meant to test spells, inventions, and weapons. I think now it would be the appropriate time to mention again that all buildings seemed to be made from the same kind of purple-oriented crystals, meaning these kinds of materials were used for buildings on a national scale.

Alongside classes and labs, there are also several libraries that look similar to the ones I had seen back on Vistentia with the rooftop having the appearance of an opened thick magical tome. Each library had a distinct designation with each one having one of the eight symbols that represented the kinds of magic an Alicorn could learn and use normally.

Now the building in the middle is quite a huge one stretching over fifty meters in both length and width with a height of about fifteen meters if each one of the three floors it had is five meters tall. This seems to be the teacher's and school staff's office, as I can still see adult Alicorns wearing the formal uniforms of the school staff walking in and out.

The field, I have stated before was green and had smooth stone pathways leading to various parts of the unified academy, but after a more throughout inspection, I saw that it was more than that. I can see what appears to be a few lakes with small foliage and plant matter around them, it was more of a decorative look rather than actual purposes.

It had a few fields of flowers and small green plants always in the shape of either straight vertical or horizontal lines like the ones in the outlines of the pathways, walls, and buildings. Or in the shape of a circle that has diameters of about at max four meters and at the lowest one meter.

It seemed these fields were of actual purposes for research, study, or the practice of natural herbs and remedies for healing when conventional medical equipment and drugs were not available. As I can see those were not any ordinary plants if anything by their bright or dark colors, letting out soft glows or bright lights, very unique appearance, and translucent body.

'I wonder what does each one of those plants do if consumed in one way or another? What kind of remedies and potions I can create with them? Hmm, I must surely search for books about plants, especially one that involves plants like the one I'm currently observing, there's a patch of purple plants that looked similar to a poison joke in shape from the original My Little Pony'

I thought in my mind as my head tilted left and right every few seconds as I observed the particular patches of plants, a minute of uninterrupted silence passed before it was broken when I heard Aemori clear his throat beside me and state, "Graceful Review, the rest of the group had passed the checkpoint and was waiting for you to response."

I then recalled my original thought of coming in here as I glanced behind me to see that everypony else was waiting for me to finish my observation, the first one to meet my gaze was Navitas who let out a slight chuckle with an expectant smile on her face before she said in a nostalgic tone.

"Immersed by the impressive layout, structures, and surroundings of the combined academy from the inside aren't you Review? I certainly remember the first time when I was just walking in this domain with my parents as they enrolled me into it, oh my younger me then was so amazed and shy at everything around her."

She then shook her head as she lost her smile and her lips curved down in a neutral line, she turned her head to the right toward a particular laboratory. Just in between the ceiling of the first floor and the tile of the second floor, is a sizeable red cross symbol which had two red wings sprouting from its left and right side before saying.

"Anyway, I recall that Vian previously offered to have your magical level checked by him Review so let's get inside the medical lab where the study of Alicorn's biology and medical advancement was invented and tested. It's already afternoon and the sun was just less than two hours away from setting, so there should be no other students or protector trainees around."

With that in mind, we begin making our way toward the medical lab which is about less than a hundred meters away from us, so it only takes about a hoof full minutes before we arrive at the door and go through it. The interior of the medical lab is quite astonishing.

Right after we entered the room door and closed the door behind us, we saw multiple corridors that led to different parts of the medical labs. One is to our left while the other one is straight ahead or to our right, the hallways lead to another divided hall, meaning the inexperienced or those with trouble remembering their location would have a hard time navigating.

The walls, tiles, rooftops, and even doors leading to different rooms are all painted pristine clean white, it continuously emits a soft white glow that is comfortable to the eyes when seen. Currently, from where we had just, there are two blue diagrams with each one just right at the beginning of the left and right hallway.

The diagrams are just maps meant to help Alicorn reach their destination through the endless maze-like hallways. I also see a few crystal potted plants along the hallways, the plants in question are of medium size and are no ordinary plants, if anything their translucent looks and color changing every few seconds is something to go by.

Anyway, before I could inspect the hallways any further though, I was whisked away by my brother as he held my left wing to the hallway on the left. Apparently, I had been so focused on my observation, that I didn't notice the group had resumed walking and picked the left corridor.

As we walked through the left corridor, I saw a wide variety of doors with different colors, labels, and symbols above them signifying their purposes and designations. It seemed that we were in the research and testing area of the lab because every room I passed had transparent windows that allowed me to get a good look at what was inside it.

Some of the interiors of the rooms I had seen in this area are usually filled with a few long crystal tables or chairs with atop it already available some common small lab equipment such as beakers, test tubes, tripod, and wire gauze, alongside some others that most likely used to test liquid or chemical reaction.

The more advanced equipment is stored safely inside steel lockers with transparent hardened crystal glass double doors, the apparatus that I had to manage to get a glimpse of certainly was both expected and surprising: Balances, centrifuge, microscopes, safety equipment, and even a magical versions of the incubator are available.

After a few minutes of walking, I noticed that the theme of the testing area had changed with it now instead more focused on magical science, some of the rooms now started to sports equipment that I had never seen before. Ranging from one that looked like a capacitator and only absorbs magic to even an x-ray-like scanner, it's able to emit multiple ranges of hue colors.

The group then took a right turn and continued to walk past several more rooms, until the leading colts in the groups Aemori and Vian stopped as both of them turned into one particular room. The latter then looked at the symbol identifying the room above the purple crystal door.

The symbol he was inspecting appeared to be a long single white horn with the base of it appeared to be encased in a gold ring that had multiple symbols, runes, and enchantments from its translucent appearance. Beside the horn, is a small ruler measuring horizontally from number one up to five before the next supposed number is changed with an infinite symbol.

A few seconds later, Vian nodded affirmatively and glanced at me standing in the back of the group with my brother. His lips went up in a smile and his eyes gleamed with unrestrained excitement as he quickly stated, "Alright, we have arrived in the magical level testing room.

Now Review, would you please follow me inside the room to begin the test? The rest of the others would have to watch from outside through the blast-resistant transparent windows, so that in the case of any sudden violent magical explosions or mishaps were to occur, only both of us would be affected by it."

I turned my head to face my brother to see his opinion on this, he just responded with a 'go ahead' gesture with his head as he smiled reassuringly at me. My gaze turned to Vian's face as I took a deep breath to calm my racing heart before I nodded affirmatively and began following him into the room.

When I entered the room, I saw that its interior looked similar to the inside of the testing rooms I had passed, only this time the tables were shorter and instead of lab equipment. It had a few small jars containing horn rings of various sizes, shapes, and made of materials, I also saw that each jar was labeled with numbers from one to five.

The lockers contained more advanced magical testing equipment like those things that looked similar to x-rays only were more portable and magic-based, I suppose those things would be used to measure somepony else or perhaps artifacts and items' magical properties more accurately.

Vian then walked over to one of the tables, before he turned his body and motioned with his right hoof for me to sit on one of the chairs. I did as he asked and I chose to sit on the stairs closest to him so that he would have an easier time preparing for the test, which I didn't know how it should be since I never had one.

I saw the smile on his lips widen but the teeth fortunately were still not shown, he then glanced over at one of the jars that had label number three which was filled with horn rings made of gold with red gems in the center side of it. He brought it up to his face with his magic before opening it up with a pop.

He then proceeded to levitate one of the gold horn rings out before he closed the jar back and put it back down where he got it, next he brought the horn ring closer to my horn until he noticed that I already had another horn ring this time made of silver had been placed to the base of my horn.

Interested by the unique marking and enchantments on the silver horn ring, he raised an eyebrow as he inspected it from all angles and sides for more than three minutes. After which he then glanced down and met my eyes and asked, "Review, what is that ring that silver horn ring there on your horn? I have not yet seen anything like it."

It took me several seconds to process and search for the appropriate answer to his questions as the horn ring has very rarely ever been mentioned by my family since my father gave it to me just a day after my birth, when I found the answer I placed my right hoof on my chin as I replied.

"Hmm, if my memories serve me right I recall my mother stating to me that the silver horn in my ring was a gift from my dad for my first birthday, this thing is not merely decoration but it serves two purposes. One is that it increased my magic overall capability to regenerate itself after use, and the second is that they are used to prevent me from miscasting a spell that I didn't intend to cast."

Vian then seemed to be more interested now that he knew that the ring on my horn was not just a piece of decorative but rather had real functionality, he then grunted in acknowledgment for a few seconds as his eyes went back up to inspect the silver horn ring for several more seconds before he asked again.

"That's interesting, your parents must have been quite well off as custom-designed enchanted horn rings are rare and quite pricey, but I suppose it makes sense considering your parents can rent that magnificent magicatechno wonder. Anyway, I need you to take off the silver horn ring first as I wanted the result of the test to be natural without any external aid."

I did as he asked and proceeded to slowly but surely use my crimson magic to levitate the silver horn ring out of my horn, it took me almost a minute as every time the horn ring made contact with my horn it would send a shiver of pleasure on my head, and because my horn is longer than how it was before.

When I was done, I safely put the horn ring inside my right bag before I glanced at Vian's eyes and asked, "Okay, I'm done with doing what you asked, now what's next? And mind explaining to me how this magical test works in the meantime?"

In response, he nodded his head affirmatively as he brought the gold horn ring up to the tip of my horn, he then began to slowly descend it until it reached the base of my horn while replied, "Sure, now I just need you to keep your head in place because as you can see I'm placing the ring on your horn.

As for your second question, multiple ways are used to check an Alicorn's magical capability using various methods and tools, all have their benefits and drawbacks. The one I'm using is the most common, it involved placing a magical level tester on the base of your horn, then having you continuously build up magic on your horn."

Right after he said that the horn ring reached the base of my horn and I immediately felt something itching on it, not unbearable or painful, just causing slight discomfort. He then opened up his left bag and pulled out a notebook with his magic alongside a quill and a bottle of ink.

He opened up the ink bottle and dipped the quill into it for a few seconds before he placed it on the table right in front of me as he positioned the notebook to be right on his chin level. He glanced up at me and adopted a professional look as he continued.

"As you build up your magic, the horn ring will absorb and display an image in front of you stating several numbers which would be crucial to determine your magical level, please try to intensify your magic built up by the seconds from the start for more accurate measure and never slow down unless instructed. Now, would you like for the test to begin?"

In answer to his question, I nodded my head in confirmation as I directed my horn muscled to press the tip of my horn while not conjuring any spell patterns on my mind, resulting in my magic began flowed to flow out of the base of my horn to the tip of my horn before it was immediately intercepted and absorbed by the ring.

After several seconds the red gems turned bright and let out a beeping sound for three seconds before a red display popped up right in front of me, showing four labels the one in the top right read 'Max Magic Flow Per Seconds' while the one in the left top appear to be 'Approximate Power Per Magic'.

The label in the low left of the holographic-like display is recognized to be 'Approximate Magical Capacity' and the label in the low right is read 'The Test Has Begun For' with all of the labels except the last one had a number that increased so rapidly it is impossible for my eyes to comprehend and process number it was seeing.

As I kept increasing the pressure I put on the tip of my horn, my magical built-up intensified exponentially and the numbers were quickly turning from thousands to tens of thousands. I looked at the display in front of me with slight nervousness as I bit my lips gently a few times, I was broken out of my watch when I heard Vian's notebook and quill fall to the floor.

I glanced at him to see what had caused him to drop his items, and I saw that his mouth in gaping widely with eyes widened fully in shock at what he was seeing. His left eye twitched slightly as he slightly and slowly shook his head in disbelief while stating in a bewildered tone, "No way... all three crucial numbers grow up at an exponential rate, Kinersia what am I seeing?

The numbers on the top right are already by hundreds of thousands while the ones on the left-right are close to being more than a hundred thousand, the low left one is even crazier as it already reached tens of millions... even though the test hasn't even begun for a minute. All of that combined is equal to level twenty magical affinity and level seven magical prowess with the current number."

He then chuckled incredulously before glancing at me with a baffled expression before he asked, "Review, are you perhaps by any chance very top students of the Imperial Academy? Because this current level of exponential magical strength usually can only be seen in the Imperial Academies.

Or in powerful, experienced, and battle-hardened protectors alongside very highly intelligent, well-known, and respected researchers who had invented things that revolutionized aspects of Alicornkind. Although you lacked the magical mastery present by the lack of said label stating it, this kind of magical prowess would mean you have access and could learn how to cast high-type spells."

It was at this moment that both my brother and I know that we had fucked up, now with five more ponies knowing my unique circumstances, I have no hope of returning to this town for at least until I was at least twelve cycles old. Before I could muster up a response though, the red display began to glitch for a few seconds until it disappeared.

Then it was followed by a loud hissing coming from none other than my horn as I watched with panic in my eyes that the horn ring on the base of it began to melt and burn up to nothing, not even dust remained. I then heard Vian's stated in horror at what he was seeing, "Oh shit! The magical strength is too immense for the ring to handle!

Review! Quickly cease your built-up of magic and absorb your magic back into your magical reserve! If it were to be left continued then it would overpower the horn ring and cause huge explosions that would destroy anything in this room, even the walls!"

Hearing his statement, my eyes widened in alarm as I hastily loosened up the horn in my muscle and began to direct it downward toward the base of my horn. I conjured the magical absorption patterns in my mind and I waited for a few seconds in the hope that the magic to begin diminishing and reabsorbed into me.

Only nothing happened, my magic just kept building up on my horn despite my repeated attempts to cancel it out. My lips grimaced in panic as I said frantically, "I-I c-can not stop it! I have tried it again and again but My magic won't heed my command, it continues to keep flowing out on its own!"

I glanced at Vian's face to see if he had any other solution to this, I saw he was looking at the floor with his head left and right continuously as he chanted, "Come on brain! Think! Think! Think!" For several seconds his lips turned into a hopeful smile as he got an idea and stated, "I could place in more rings! That would surely increase the amount of resistance!"

Before he could do what he just stated though, the door to the room burst open and Navitas quickly came in rushing and grabbed Vian's right wing with her own as she began dragging him outside while saying, "No that's stupid! Adding in more horn rings would just delay the detonation and increase the power when it explodes!

Now Vian let's get out of here with others! Review! Don't follow us and trust me you will be safe and completely fine, your magic won't let itself hurt you and will come up with ways to protect its vessel which is you! I have known this from experience of my own! But it won't give a shit about others!"

As both Navitas and Vian rushed out of the room and most likely made their way out of the lab with each other, I was left alone in the magical room just sitting in my chair with a ticking bomb right above my forehead. After several more seconds, my horn brightened up in a crimson aura as the last bits of the ring began turning to dust.

Then a triple-layered of crimson magic began to encase every centimeter of my body from my tail up to my head, with my horn being the only part unprotected since it was the source of the magical build-up, so, of course, would be safe from the magic blast.

Right after my body was finished encased in triple layered shield, the last bit of the gold horn ring on the base of my horn shredded to nothingness and now a concentrated sounds of beams could be heard as they traveled up to my horn. I just sighed when I saw a rapidly increasing crimson magic ball above my horn and managed to say, "Oh shit."

Before it exploded violently with a bright flash of crimson light that blinded my vision and forced me to close my eyes, followed by the thunderous sound of a magical blast, KABOOM!

Author's Note

Critic's brother had gotten more possessive and protective of her, let's see how far it will go...
Critic had just unintentionally destroyed a lab, let's see how catastrophic it was and what attention does she gather...

Anyway, holy fucking shit! I said last week that my chapter had somehow reached almost 18k words, yet here I was sitting on my chair as I stared slack-jawed at the number of words displayed on the screens silently screaming how does it reach that much?

Let's just hope that my spine won't break on this one, for it even had longer chapters than the last one, please hope and pray me luck on editing this one hell of a chapter This is definitely gonna be the longest chapter I have written.

Next chapter, we are gonna see the aftermath of the explosion and see what kind of mess Critic just got herself into. Then we will see what kind of attention she attracts and how would this duo deal with it.

Alongside that, we are gonna get how they returns to the airship and how the new airship for her family's gonna be. It's gonna be twenty percent cooler like a certain mare is

As a closing note, I'm sorry that my upload perhaps gonna be later than usual, but you can guess the reason why. Anyway, thank you for continuing to read my story everypony and see you all next week