Awry

I remember how my courage evaporated with the alcohol each time I came to a decision about Ambrosia. I didn't even understand how I could be such a wuss, since we met and talked every single day. There would have been plenty of opportunities to ask that particular question, but no matter how many times I looked deeply into her eyes, I was simply unable to speak. In such cases, she always also fell silent, and just watched me with a smile for several minutes, as if she was just waiting for me to finally say what we were both thinking.

It was especially hard when we went for a walk together in the city, and in the starry night we sat down by a fountain or the castle wall to watch the sky. It was so clear, anypony could see why we were doing all this, why we sought each other's company so much, and why we couldn't speak when our eyes met. I knew I should have taken the initiative, but it was still Ambrosia who was less afraid to make contact. Sometimes, at the most unexpected moments, she would entwine our tails when we were close enough, usually completely paralyzing me. Although she managed to find the most sensitive, ticklish spot on my body, I always let her touch me. Over time, I got used to it, and not only did I not want to jump out of my skin from her gentle touch, but I slowly learned to enjoy it.

And still... and still I was able to remain a huge oaf for an incredibly long time... Even Wish told me that I was terribly dumb. And when I dragged her and Jasper to a pub on the outskirts of the city for the umpteenth time to "gather courage", she pretty much threatened me that if I didn't finally have an honest conversation with our classmate from Saddle Arabia, she would do it for me, and then I could be ashamed of myself. I couldn't help but whenever I finally felt capable of carrying out the task, I could barely stand on all fours. It made me realise two things, though. First: the state of drunkenness is relative, and the second is that I really needed to clarify my feelings with Ambrosia, otherwise Wish will actually fulfil her promise, making a fool of me for sure...

So, I needed a plan, which certainly wasn't as simple to put together as it sounded at first. Somehow, I had to get myself in such a state that I would dare to bring up the subject in front of the mare, while at the same time maintaining my sanity at least enough so that she wouldn't be sick from the mere sight of me. From this point of view, it was a rather unfortunate circumstance that Ambrosia could be invited anywhere - she was happy to come with the whole class -, excluding pubs and other places inherently related to alcohol. I wouldn't claim that she would have condemned us for going to such places, or that she would have considered the company to be deranged, she just told us diplomatically: she shouldn't drink. In order to prevent temptation, she looked for another program for herself, no matter how many times we tried to persuade her to at least be there with us.

However, I was sure that if I offered her a candlelit dinner, which we would enjoy together in an intimate setting in a famous restaurant, she would not refuse. It's true, it won't be easy to present such a thinly veiled invitation to a date, I knew that right away. And if I don't tell her that I want to take her to a prestigious place, and she can't prepare enough, I can easily upset her with that too... I was lucky though, that she never made it difficult for me when I wanted to talk to her face to face, so at least I could count on her to make it easy to avoid asking her out in front of our other classmates.

In the end, I managed to find a restaurant whose entire design and menu reminded me of the girl's home country, at least based on her stories. On the outside it was nothing special, but on the inside, it was like the pony was in a huge tent, full of ornate, carefully worked tapestries, fussy flower motifs, elegant, contained but warm lanterns, and of course waiters wearing strange, sheet-like clothes and dancing mares with half-veiled faces. They inevitably reminded me of Ambrosia and since I knew that even though she felt good in Equestria, she still sometimes felt homesick. I hoped that I would match her taste with the choice of place.

To my surprise, I encountered no obstacles in bringing it up to her. After one of my private lessons with Princess Celestia on Tuesday, I went for a little evening walk with her. On this occasion, however, I didn't let us sit down anywhere, but tried to lead ourselves towards the place that I found. She didn't show any signs of noticing my little trick all the way, but when she saw the restaurant, I saw how excited she suddenly became. Then I told her that I led her here on purpose, because I really like the place, and I wanted to show it to her. Fortunately, she didn't dare to ask why, but as we entered, her nostrils widened and she looked around mesmerized.

"Say, how about we come here properly sometime?" I asked her in an unassuming voice.

She couldn't even answer, just nodded and gently pushed her head under my chin, rubbing against me like that. I think that was when I actually got the confirmation that I had been waiting for. I hugged her and finally for the first time felt the strength to ask her if she wanted to be my fillyfriend. But I haven't done it yet. I wanted to wait for the right moment. On the way back, we agreed on the time, and the next day I visited the cozy restaurant again, to reserve a table for two for Friday evening. I didn't even tell my friends what was going on in my head, but I already knew that I finally had enough self-confidence to step into the field of action and "catch" the most beautiful mare from the Academy. I really had to see it... I was the private student of the ruler of Equestria, I had friends who I could count on at any time for anything, my relationship with my parents remained good even after all these years... if I can get this together, I will be the happiest pony in the world!

* * *

I have no idea if Princess Celestia knew I had plans for that evening, but she let me go much sooner than usual, without even being asked. She didn't make any comments, but she set me remarkably few tasks for that class in the first place, and they weren't too burdensome either, which I was particularly grateful for. I was able to go to Ambrosia fresh and rested. I donned a suit and tie for the special occasion, and with a red rose in my mouth, I stepped in front of the mare's tower, which she had personally borrowed from Princess Celestia during her stay in Canterlot. I always wondered, as the only resident, if she was lonely in such a large building; I would definitely be bored in her place. Although I have to admit, she was entitled to such luxuries, if for no other reason, then because of her noble blood. She was a highly esteemed guest, and the role suited her incredibly well... and she was probably used to it from the beginning so it would obviously have been extremely impolite to force her into circumstances that would be considered beneath her dignity.

It just crossed my mind that I might be considered beneath her dignity, but I quickly dismissed the thought. I may have come from an ordinary bourgeois family, but in my current position next to the ruler of Equestria, I could be considered a pretty good party. And since I received a scholarship for the same reason, I didn't have to worry that I wouldn't be able to provide the financial background necessary for a more serious relationship. Of course, money doesn't matter, it's the least important - I would have said in other situations, but thinking about it, if I wanted to hypothetically take her to any nice place, I would even invite her to something, I would already be able to spend horrible sums. And if it turns out that we really get together with Ambrosia, then I want to give her everything she wants. One shouldn't skimp on fillyfriends...

I felt a little awkward with a flower in my mouth - maybe I found it too sloppy or clichéd, I don't know - but I wasn't nervous when I knocked on her door. I was surprised at myself and quite elated, but as soon as I heard the soft clopping of the mare's hooves, I felt a very fine, semi-pleasant tremor in my chest around my heart, and I had to rein in my hooves so that they wouldn't paw the ground. I even shuddered when Ambrosia pushed the doorknob from the inside, although that was obviously exactly what I was expecting.

She appeared at the door. Wearing a softly flowing, low-cut, golden dress. A large, wide-petaled, blood-red flower pinned to her mane. Her eyes were shadowed with black ink, highlighting the more characteristic features of her face even more. I couldn't even tear my eyes away from her gorgeous form, and I almost dropped the rose from my mouth. When I remembered, I hoofed the small gift to the girl with an elegant gesture. She accepted it with a small nod and a broad smile, smelled it politely, and then - obeying some strange custom, presumably originating from her country - magically plucked a single petal, caught it in her mouth while it was floating the air, then touched the rose to her forehead with closed eyes.

"You are the most beautiful flower of all," I tried to compliment her, and it seemed that I was successful, because she couldn't answer, she just blushed with her ears slightly flopped down, which was quite unusual with her. "Shall we go, ma'am?"

"Thank you, Thread!" she said finally. She hesitantly took a few steps back, but seeing my confused face, she quickly explained. "I'm just going to put this away quick because it's very beautiful and doesn't wither!"

She floated a vase over to her, carefully slipped the rose into it, and then hurried back to me. She didn't come too close, so I didn't even dare to hug her on the way, but I could still smell the pleasantly sweet, yet slightly spicy scent she exuded. It was totally invigorating even to walk next to her, and I confirmed again that this is the mare I want...

Exceptionally, we did not talk at all until we reached the chosen restaurant. Of course, only because we both felt how special this occasion was, the charm of which could be broken by ordinary words. The waiter who welcomed us recognized me, so we didn't have to bother with finding the reservation. I politely pulled out the chair with my legs for Ambrosia, then sat across from her. We were also given a menu, but I couldn't deal with it for several minutes: I kept scanning the girl's face. Ambrosia tolerated it quite well for a while, blushing and turning the pages slowly, but then she too looked up.

"You chose already?" she asked, uncharacteristically shyly.

"Yes, I did, yesterday," I replied.

"Still, don't look at me like that, please! I'm so embarrassed of you..."

"You are too cute when you're embarrassed," I shrugged.

She didn't have a reply to that, just raised the menu a little higher, even though she didn't cover her eyes with it, and I saw her cautiously peeking out from behind it from time to time. It was better that way, at least I could feel like holding the reins. I needed this little extra self-confidence to convince myself to implement my plan. But, of course, everything in its own time.

By the time the waiter came back to ask what kind of drink we wanted, Ambrosia had already chosen food. I - to play it safe - asked for a glass of red wine and a bowl of spring flowers; the latter was my safe pick as a meal, plus I was guaranteed not to overburden my stomach, and the former helped me loosen up in a cultured way in the company of the mare. Ambrosia, on the other hoof, apparently knew exactly what she was doing, as she was able to communicate with the guy in the suit using completely foreign words, and I had no idea how much this evening would cost me... Of course, I wouldn't make a deal out of it, but with that I didn't want to be put in a hole if I didn't have enough money with me or that I couldn't tip enough.

"How was your class with the Princess?" Ambrosia asked while we waited.

"Oh, she let me go pretty early today. We just repeated, really, she promised to teach something new next week."

"And are you doing well anyway? You don't talk much of these."

"Yeah, I guess things are going pretty well," I said thoughtfully. "Maybe it sounds funny, but I practically learned to fly. Let's say I could have tried this in my other form, but I certainly wouldn't have thought of it on my own. And I can go underwater without air. It's a bit slow, but it feels really good otherwise. I was scared to death when she first gave me this task, you hear?

Ambrosia gave a wholehearted laugh. "I imagined you," she explained. "You must have been cute!"

"Perhaps," I smiled. "So far we've only been testing my limits, although I can't complain, it was still quite exciting."

"And are you getting along good? She loves you?

"Maybe I can say she likes me," I giggled at her phrasing. "Personal life doesn't come up very often, but I'm not surprised if she doesn't find me that interesting, and we wouldn't have time for it anyway, I suppose."

"It must be bad for her that she has no time for nopony," she noted. "She must be very alone for so many years without partners. She is so unapproachable, nopony dares to have an honest conversation with her. A ruler can't have real friends? They don't deserve love?

"I don't know, I never thought about this," I answered thoughtfully.

"Just because she is a great ruler, no mortal dares to direct contact with her. Maybe she wants it."

"I honestly don't know. Maybe she has somepony in secret..."

What a fool I am - I realized as soon as I said it. I was looking at the mare's face the whole time, but I still didn't see those small signs. She wasn't talking about Princess Celestia, but about herself! It might be natural for her to sympathize with Celestia, since in a way she had to live in the same isolation, yet surrounded by ponies. I admit, it really couldn't have been easy - this also revealed that she still doesn't know, or at least wasn't sure, why I brought her here. Was she, like me, brooding a lot about where the two of us were heading? Did I unwittingly cause her sleepless nights with my hesitation?

It may sound quite strange, but it was only then for the first time that it occurred to me that she might really be in love with me. I didn't really give her a reason. Or does love need no special reason? I never understood such things, it's no wonder that I was still single... I wouldn't even dare to say that I was in love with Ambrosia. I thought of her many times even when she was not around. Sometimes I felt a peculiar shudder when we looked into each other's eyes. I wanted to try out what it would be like to be together, not just in a strictly friendly sense. But like... yes, like a mare and a stallion. But I didn't feel like I'd sacrifice everything for her, or things like that, like I read in some novels. I wouldn't have been able to say that I couldn't live without her. Maybe I wouldn't even be able to say that simple little word that lovers always say to each other. Was my emotional life completely distorted, or were the books lying? Or does it simply vary from pony to pony? Or is it really just a matter of time?

Either way, I felt guilty for leaving her in limbo. My only comforting thought was that now we were really here so that I can confess everything to her and clear up this whole matter. The only question that remained was "how"...

"Maybe that's why she doesn't want me to tell her about my life," I tried to introduce the topic from a safe distance. Considering my intentions, however, I was unable to maintain eye contact any longer, I just caressed the tablecloth in front of me nervously. "As well informed as she is, she must know how great friends I have."

"Like Wish and Jasper?" she asked, mixing up my thoughts for a few seconds.

"Yes, like them," I answered after I gave it some thought. I looked into her eyes again, but behind her smile I now discovered a good amount of insecurity, which caused an unpleasant, tight feeling to settle on my chest. "Or like you."

"I'm not such a good friend to you like they are," she remarked, maintaining her smile almost perfectly. If she really was as afraid of this conversation as I was, her composure was truly admirable.

"I can't just think of you as a friend," I said, although I felt my voice grow thin towards the end. I cleared my throat a little, cursing myself for not being able to wait until at least I got my wine. "Since a while... you're more than that to me."

I saw the girl catch her breath and raise one of her front hoofs to cover her mouth. I tried to read her eyes, but she didn't seem to believe I actually said that. However, I didn't have a chance to reassure her immediately, as the waiter came and put the long-awaited drinks in front of us. Ambrosia didn't seem to notice, so I said thanks on behalf of her instead. I didn't want to be impolite, but as soon as the stallion left, saying that our dinner would have to wait a little longer, I poured half of my wine into myself with one big gulp.

"So, the question would be whether you would be my fillyfriend..." I blurted out, once again adjusting the tablecloth in front of me.

"Oh Thread!" she said in a low, trembling voice, although I didn't dare look up at her. "You really... you really want this?"

"Well... if you don't mind, I'd like to try..." I said cautiously.

"Yes, I would very much like it!" she answered firmly. "Thank you, Thread!"

"Come on, there's nothing to thank for!" I finally looked into those beautiful, grateful eyes again. "I am honored that you find me worthy."

It was a huge relief. Both the fact that I said it and the fact that my chosen one said yes. I extended my foot and Ambrosia placed hers in my hoof. It was a wonderful feeling... like when everything in life just comes together.

"You know, I always thought you wanted to be with Wish..." she said, blushing a little, but clearly happy.

"Why?" I asked in surprise. "Because we spend so much time together? She's been one of my best friends for a long time and that's it. She's completely different from you," I added.

"Yes, but she is so much like you," explained the mare, slowly stroking my hoof. "You understand each other very well, you are always there for each other, and... when I saw you kissing..."

"Ouch... I knew this would come up sometime!" I laughed to myself. "We'll never wash it off, will we? That was years ago and none of us wanted it. That was the game, that's how it is played. Don't take it too seriously."

"And she feels the same? It didn't mean nothing to her?"

"Come on!" I waved with my free leg. "Wish is Wish. She was the one pushing me to take the initiative with you. She is important to me, and will remain important, but not in the same way as you."

"Okay, I believe you," Ambrosia said.

"If she wanted anything from me, she had all the time in the world to tell me," I added, although this actually made me a little uneasy. It was enough to think about how difficult it was for me to reveal my feelings, I can't imagine how hard it could be for Wish...

"I'm just happy to be with you!" the mare grabbed my legs with both hooves and didn't let go until they brought our food.

We were able to spend the evening quietly and romantically, just as I had planned. In fact, the reality exceeded my expectations. The flower bowl was especially delicious, but it was nothing compared to seeing Ambrosia so cheerful. I couldn't stop looking up at her occasionally while eating, she was just so beautiful, so noble. This wonderful mare... my mare...

A single thought was constantly nagging me from the inside, however, even when I paid for our dinner. I thought of Wish again and again. The least I wanted to do was to hurt her feelings, even unintentionally. But I couldn't see what was going on in her head; she rarely revealed why she was doing what she was doing. I knew exactly how sensitive she was, and since she usually hid her emotions quite well even from us, we didn't always notice when she was offended by something. And for example, I couldn't figure out whether she even wanted a relationship like the one I just got into with Ambrosia. Until now, it never occurred to me that she might think differently of me among her few stallion acquaintances...

However, if I think about it a bit, unlike with Ambrosia, everything would have been a given with her. But the question was, even if it was so, did it matter at all? I had already made my choice, and I had no intention of changing my decision. This is not a situation in which I can be influenced by the fact that I can offend anypony... But I have not been exempted from responsibility either. We were best friends; practically, I considered it my duty to help her in everything that my abilities allowed me to do, and of course if she didn't refuse - after all, the latter had already happened a few times as well. Her happiness was important in my eyes, and although I wouldn't have traded my love life for that, I would have gladly given her a fraction of my luck, which permeated my every day. Too bad these things don't work that way. So, I promised myself, thus calming my conscience, that if necessary, I would go all over Equestria to find her a stallion that would respect her and give her everything she could wish for.

The time I spent with Ambrosia could not be overshadowed by my worries, but after we hugged each other at the gate of her tower and said goodbye with a very restrained kiss, I thought of Wish again. Even on the way home, the feeling grew stronger in me that I would not be able to behave in a truly liberated manner towards my new fillyfriend until I had settled this issue. However, I guessed that this would not be very easy to achieve, if only because I rarely got to spend even a few quiet minutes with Wish face to face. Not to mention that I had absolutely no idea how I could handle all of this...

* * *

True to my promise, the first thing I did on Monday morning was to tell Jasper and Wish about my date. I purposely told them everything in detail, watching the mare's smallest reactions, but there was nothing that indicated that she was hurt by what she was hearing. We didn't have a chance to talk about my experience further, as Mr. Poltergeist, as always, arrived on time and ushered us into the room right away. It happened quite rarely nowadays that our lesson was held here, but the dean kept this good habit, even if we were confined in a relatively small place this way. We simply outgrew the room, although somehow it did retain a kind of nostalgic charm.

Walking past Ambrosia, I stroked the mare's silken mane, and in turn she rubbed a little against my hoof, giving me a funny kitten-ish impression, which only made me feel better, and then I took my old place, diagonally behind her. However, it suddenly occurred to me that I might as well switch chairs with Jasper, and then I could be that much closer to my fillyfriend. I didn't even delay, after a quick consultation we carried out my plan - accompanied by the boy's sly grin - and pushing our bench a little further I could even enjoy the scent of Ambrosia's mane.

"If you have finished settling in, I would prefer to begin with your permission," said Mr. Polter in front of us. "Today's class will be special, so I would like you all to pay close attention. Today we are going to start with a test, but before you get upset, this time you are going to test me."

It was fortunate that he said it quickly enough, because already several ponies hissed in horror - nothing like this came up during the last class.

"You shall fill in an evaluation about me, my presentation style, and the curriculum I delivered," he continued, not even pausing, as he used to do. "As you can guess, there shall be questions specifically designed to assess how well you have memorized what I said in general, and I would like to ask you to pay attention to every detail. Based on the new educational directives of the EEA, we should place more emphasis on the feedback of our students." He paused for a moment, then looked at us with a hint of a smile. "As Lotus put it very insightfully a few presentations earlier, now is the time for the ice cream to lick back..."

The whole class shared a good laugh. We've heard this from Lotus a few times, but it sounded much funnier coming from the dean's mouth.

"Then let us not delay; we should get down to business right away!" Mr. Polter held up his hoof to make us quiet. He sat down behind his desk, propped his hooves together, and began his monologue. "Today's topic shall be interesting: I shall talk about the high school of illusion magic. And before that, just so that we can proceed on the basis of our system so far and be able to classify it among the others, I shall briefly summarize our previously acquired knowledge about this branch of magic."

"As we know, the purpose of illusions is always to convey false information to somepony. This can often go so far that our task is to deceive somepony and try to get them to accept the information we provide as truth. The technique we can use for this can be physically or mentally based, and in terms of its invasiveness, it has a very wide palette. First, we learned physical image creation, which is the simplest, most basic, and also the easiest method to reveal. The potential for error lies in the fact that an uncombined image merely shows something to the target person, which on the one hoof loses its credibility immediately if anypony comes into contact with it, and, more importantly, it must be believable. Even if we can perfectly portray a certain person, for example, if for whatever reason our target does not consider it rational to see who we want them to see in the given situation, we have already failed."

"We practiced this kind of magic for a long time, because even those of you who didn't want to be professional illusionistscan benefit from being able to project your thoughts in a visual form. We call this simple graphic image creation, and this part of our curriculum that any unicorn can learn with the right amount of practice. Of course, there can be huge differences in the finished image, but this does not change the essence."

"This was followed by complex physical images, when visual information was associated with other stimuli: sounds, smells, tastes, touch. It is easier for anypony to believe in the authenticity of a lookalike created with the illusion technique if it speaks, and when we touch it our hoof does not drift through the bare air. And if we are able to copy even somepony's unique scent, it is possible to get hold of our target on a relatively unconscious level, because feeling it will instinctively make ponies trust an image more, even if they are inherently a doubting type. And of course, it is extremely important here to know the thing we want to copy as thoroughly as possible, and to be able to reconstruct it precisely. Obviously, this cannot be avoided in any other case... completely."

"It is even more difficult to create an independent, or as it is called, interactive physical image. This is the pinnacle of image-type illusion magic, so it's no wonder that you may only encounter it as a theoretical question in the exams. In such cases, we combine summoning techniques with illusion techniques and create an autonomous, multi-level, complex image capable of responding and learning. If you were to ask somepony from the Department of Complex Arcane Sciences, they would say that the interactive physical image is actually a specialised elementar. It is obviously not necessary for us to deal with this, but it is good to know that it is true from the point of view that it is indeed the same as the elementars in terms of its function and operating principle, but compared to the real elementars and the elementals that are not to be confused with them, the image has at most a nominal consciousness and independence."

"To repeat how an interactive physical image works, I will explain it through the classic box example. Let's say we have an unconscious pony in a sealed, perfectly empty room, whom we want to make believe is at home, in their own room. It could be for example a simple police case if we know they have hidden something in the room and we want them to show it to us without even knowing we are watching. If our subject is proficient in illusion spells, then without a mental component, they can easily outsmart us. If they are not, we can make them believe that they see reality. They shall be able to leave a mark on the world we create, and everything shall seem real. When they sit down on their bed, they shall feel it sink under them; if they tear a piece of paper, it stays that way. We can even trick them into thinking they are eating. We can make them feel the taste of food and can even imitate satiety with the image. However, if they walk up to a painting on the wall and take it down, because only they know that the secret safe is behind it, then we shall get caught. Although I must note, we still achieved our goal..."

"The next things, which we have only barely learned about, are the aforementioned mental components. And indeed, this, together with the multitude of physical images, leads us to the highest level of illusion techniques." Mr. Poltergeist looked deeply into my eyes for a moment, and a smile crossed his face again, which gave me a strange feeling, although I couldn't really place it. "Here, we are no longer merely deceiving the target's senses, but their entire mind. It shall not necessarily cause a disruption if they don't see what seems rational to them, it's our job to force them to believe it. We break into their consciousness, mix their reality with our own creations. Of course, it is not possible to modify somepony's thoughts directly with this method either, but what they perceive as reality from the world can potentially be influenced at will. This method is obviously illegal even in the subtlest of forms, but a trained wizard must be able to prepare against it."

"The most effective and surest way to prepare you would be, of course, if we could teach everypony at least a basic level of this technique, or to specifically train you against it by using it on you, but this is obviously neither feasible nor expected. That is why we are forced to search for other options. For example, like everything else, an illusion technique cannot be perfect, and that is why, if you pay close attention to the details, you can figure out the trick. Any created image necessarily contains errors, gaps, which are small deficiencies in the creator's knowledge, or substitutes aimed at filling them. We learned about the latter under the title of paradoxes, since we can stumble upon them if they are incompatible with the reality we know. And this is the aspect of illusion magic that can become apparent even to an amateur after a longer or shorter time. Many experienced illusionists use various methods to cover them up, such as simple distraction."

"We, however, have a much more effective way to recognize when somepony is using illusion magic on us. The previous method has two problems, namely that it plays on the mistakes of our opponent and, on the other hoof, it looks for paradoxes that appear by chance. Depending on the influence of our mind, we can also counter the spell directed against us, or even the one who invokes it on us. This can work even without prior preparation, but if we have fixed points in our environment - I hope everypony remembers them -, it can make our job a lot easier."

"If somepony is paranoid enough about illusions, like me, they can also use routine reality-checking algorithms during their daily lives at predetermined times," A couple of ponies in the room giggled softly, but Mr. Poltergeist continued with a neutral face. "I note that the same technique is also excellent for recognizing dreams, if somepony prefers to be aware of whether they are currently sleeping or not. The first step is the most important, although taking it requires great discipline in following the routine. We need to ask ourselves when the last time we did a reality check was. If we cannot give a precise answer to this, or if we find that there is something missing from the routine, it already assumes a strong influence. From here on, we have to proceed carefully and in the correct manner, and for the sake of safety, it is worth using one or two interruptingtechniques, regardless of their final result."

"And let us stop here for a moment, as we have reached the point that is the most important to highlight! Interrupting techniques can be used regardless of being aware of whether we are under illusionist influence at all. It is true that if our mind is not under an attack, it is obvious that we shall not experience any independent effects."

"The simplest type of these methods is rejection. In such cases, we refuse any incoming information, we wrap ourselves in ourselves, trying to break the connection with the mind of the magician who created the illusion. This is also a generally accepted, though not specific, strategy against other mind-oriented attacks. I could best explain its mechanism of action through dreams: if we use it the right way during sleep, we simply wake up. A serious disadvantage of this technique, however, is the uncertainty of its ability to break a sufficiently strong and invasive image, but it can make us believe that we have succeeded and that we remain in the pseudo-reality in good faith."

"Manipulation is a much trickier, but more refined method. With this, we can force the person who is trying to deceive us to match their willpower with ours, by attempting to take control of the image. In any case, an illusion is malleable, so in theory it can be influenced easily with non-physical spells, in which only its creator can stand in our way. It is worth using this technique when we find a point or a paradox that we are quite sure is the result of reality distortion. If we are skilled enough, we can not only break down the illusion spell, but we can even trace it back to its creator, and we can even turn it against them, which is obviously not possible with the aforementioned method. What is quite a serious disadvantage is that our adversary shall immediately find out if we have suspicions about the image, but if we miss the point and actually try to manipulate reality, we can mislead ourselves. If I want to connect this to my previous example, I would say that this is how we can control our own dreams."

"The third method, equivalent to this in many respects, is clairvoyance. Yes, as the name suggests, it requires serious perceptive skills, either static or dynamic, depending on the type of the image. It is important to note, however, that although clairvoyance is also considered an interruptingtechnique, its purpose is not primarily to break the process of illusion magic, but merely to free the caster from its influence. The benefit also comes from this: in this way, without our opponent's knowledge, we can see through the trick, and we can get out of it whenever we want, or alternatively we can follow the events determined by them, thereby shedding light on their intentions. There is no real danger in this technique, but its implementation requires quite a bit of magical power and inherent talent. And if I have already brought up dreams, in this case we do nothing else with them than recognize that we are dreaming, but let ourselves drift with the events, and if somepony believes in such things, then they can memorize the whole dream so that they can decipher its "message" later."

"Now let us get back to the reality-checking algorithm! So the first step was to recall the last examination, in other words we control the consistency. If this is violated, then there is either an external influence in motion, or the fault lies with us, and of course it does no harm if we are aware of both as soon as possible. Our next task, regardless of the outcome of this, is to check the details, that is to say the complexity. Reality is infinitely complex, which is why nopony can copy it perfectly. They can make us believe that what we see is real, but we make it a lot easier if we are superficial in the first place. If we suspect a fake external image, let us look as carefully as we can! If an interior image is more likely, let us look for small things that the pony would think of last as essential details. Let us reach into a dusty cupboard, stir up the dust and see how it behaves! If the illusionist was not thorough enough, we can experience very strange phenomena with a lucky examination."

"Finally, we should check the stability. We look for a relatively fixed point on the perceived image and pay close attention to it. This is also somewhat similar to the manipulationinterruptingtechnique in the sense that it can be just as invasive against an illusion spell, but I would like to point out that it is not against its caster! It is suspicious that we are dealing with an image if we discover elusive errors on it, and it indicates internal influence, if we cannot focus our attention properly on them. Overall, the most important thing is to pay attention to the details, as even the most precisely put together illusion techniques can fail."

"Well, that was all for now," Mr. Poltergeist got up from his desk, then floated some evaluation sheets in front of us with his horn. "Feedback is important to me as well, so please be honest! You have to fill in the papers anonymously, so you don't have to worry about anypony being discriminated against if they rate my presentation badly. And you don't have to worry about me either: it won't hurt me in any way. So just take it easy!"

In a few minutes we were all done with the "test". There were really no complicated questions; thus, it didn't stand up to my expectations. And since a significant part of the presentation was repetition, I quickly found the correct answers to the related questions in my memories. Regarding the evaluation of our dean, I followed the instructions and was really honest: I gave him maximum marks for his professional preparation, but only average marks for his presentation style and his ability to capture our interest. As for the last question, which asked for other comments about the presentation, I left it blank as usual. Taking advantage of the fact that I did it relatively quickly, I had some time left to ruffle Ambrosia's mane from behind... which she probably enjoyed, because she pushed her chair back a little and let me continue while she filled the short questionnaire.

"Great!" Mr. Polter clapped with his hooves. "Scorch, would you please collect the papers?"

"Of course, sir!" the red stallion hopped up eagerly.

I wasn't even surprised; Scorch was practically only on good terms with the dean among the teachers, but when dealing with him, he always awaited his instructions like an obedient puppy, and he prepared for all his classes as thoroughly as possible. However, after the boy collected the papers with a quick spell, he stopped by the teacher's desk and quickly flipped through them one by one. I strongly doubted that it would fit the procedure's standards, but Mr. Polter didn't comment on it, just calmly watched the red stallion.

"Looks like there were only two ponies paying attention besides me, sir," Scorch spoke again.

"Oh really?" the dean raised his eyebrows. "Could you elaborate, please?"

"That's how many ponies answered question thirteen. One of the answers was "rejection", and the other... "I just noticed". Heh, that's good!"

I had literally no idea what the thirteenth question was, and the answers didn't provide any clues either.

"Let me see!" Mr. Polter reached for the sheets with noticeable nervousness in his voice. Only when he looked through the stack did he calm down a little. "There were two ponies observant still," he remarked, turning towards us again. "Although they only noticed that question thirteen was missing... Even though it is far from perfect, that is still something."

"That is correct," Scorch stated. "However, this also means that they didn't notice, so you passed. I think I am also satisfied with the oral part of the exam."

"Thank you, sir!" the dean nodded and stood up from his chair.

Something isn't right! - I suddenly realised. Even after hearing the previous exchange, I had a strange, prickling feeling behind my ear, but I didn't attach any particular importance to it. However, as the two stallions switched places, it all came together for me. By the time they got there, I was no longer surprised that the person I thought was Mr. Poltergeist was now walking towards us with bright red fur and a raven-black mane, with a big grin on his face, as if Princess Celestia had accepted him as her private student as well...

"So, how was I?" Scorch nudged my shoulder before he passed me.

"Um... creepy?" I answered with a question full of uncertainty.

I could see that this was not exactly the reaction he was hoping for. He probably would have liked it better if I praised his - otherwise really admirable - illusion magic, but to be honest, it just gave me the chills... He continued to smile, though far less cheerfully, patted me on the back, then sat back down.

"That was scary, dude!" Jasper claimed loudly next to me.

"That won't cut it!" Dulci snapped, surprisingly irritated. "Not the first time that you're completely freaking me out! Seriously, what the heck are you guys? Ponies at all? I swear, I can't wait for that damn basic exam, so I can finally play music in peace among normal ponies! One of them sleeps with a knife under his pillow, the other goes everywhere like a giant dust bunny, and this one even gets in my head?! Such a messed-up bunch! I'll be happy if I get out of here alive, and I don't go bananas!

"Please, calm down, Dulcimer!" Mr. Polter tried to de-escalate. "Remember what you learned! Illusion techniques can sometimes mess with the pony's head on this level."

"No, sir!" continued the stallion. "No and no! That was the last straw! Who isn't a drug addict here is an inveterate psychopath... I won't stay here a minute longer! I don't care if you expel me, but I've had enough!"

I was stunned speechless. And Dulci had already put his words into practice as he angrily got up from his chair and headed for the door.

"What the buck is wrong with you?" Cavern grabbed the stallion's clothes with his magic. "The heck you think you're doing?

"Leave me alone!" the stallion pulled away. "I've had enough! I'm really sorry, sir, but I'm done here..."

Dulci tore open the door, then swung it behind himself. Everypony was silently watching the place where the stallion disappeared, only Mr. Polter was looking at us, carefully putting his hooves together in front of him.

"Kiddos..." he spoke after a while. "Are there drug addicts, alcoholics or psychopaths among you?"

"No way, sir!" Cavern replied immediately. "What were you thinking?"

"That is what I thought," the crimson stallion continued with a perfectly even voice, then he slowly raised from his table. "I shall go and talk to him. Due to the special situation, the class is dismissed for now. Anyway, it doesn't hurt if you clear your head a little as well. And congratulations again to you, Scorch, and I hope you shall enjoy yourself at our Department."

* * *

We welcomed the unexpected break more or less, but when I left the room, I immediately felt how confused my thoughts were, and on the other hoof, even though I wanted to discuss the strange exam with my friends, Scorch followed me almost immediately, making my situation a bit awkward. In the end, we just sat on one of the benches in a small space next to our room - although since Ambrosia also joined us, we were basically building a pony-pile - so we couldn't squeeze the red stallion in... not that I particularly minded. Scorch just stood in front of us while he proudly explained - what we all realized since then -, how skillfully he was able to imitate our dean, and how he was the first among us to choose a major, which was always his favourite subject, "mind and illusion magic". Only when he saw that we weren't so enthusiastic about his success did he stop, although to my surprise - perhaps because of me - he didn't have a single insult for us this time.

At last there were four of us left, but somehow, we couldn't talk as freely as we usually did when I was with Jasper and Wish. After a couple of failed attempts to get my fillyfriend and my friends into a conversation, I gave up. In fact, it even took away my motivation to talk to them. For some reason, I got the stupid feeling that if I did that, Ambrosia might feel like I was neglecting her. Even if she didn't do anything else while sitting, she was just rubbing my neck with one of her hooves, which, I must admit, was exhilarating in and of itself.

Only when the day was over - which, being a Monday, was quite late - was I able to talk to my friends normally. Since Ambrosia's tower was the closest to the training laboratory of the Department of Medicinal Magic, where our last class was held, we escorted her home first together, and only then turned towards Wish's house. I was quite sorry that this time our route turned out to be just like this, since I could hardly have clarified my thoughts and questions about the girl in a calm environment this way.

"Not even a kiss or somethin'?" Jasper asked when we were out of earshot of my fillyfriend's place.

"It was a kiss," I answered, sighing softly. I could have guessed that I wouldn't be able to get away without getting picked on. "Okay, so, maybe more of a peck... Isn't that enough?"

"Lame..." Jasper said, trying to disguise it in an incredibly half-assed way as a cough.

"Come on!" Wish waved him off. "At least they don't rush things. It's better if they take their time, right? And he's not lame, just a little shy, aren't you, Thread?

"I hope this doesn't mean that my love life will be a daily topic from now on..." I tried to indicate that it's not what I want to talk about right then.

"You don't have to be ashamed, it's rather cute," the mare remarked. "You are more of a romantic type, which is absolutely fine. Many mares like this instead of machos..."

I don't know if she meant to continue, but at this point Jasper couldn't hold it in any longer and burst out laughing.

"Just a piece of advice, Wish," I flinched. "Never call a stallion cute!"

"Sorry," the mare flopped down her ears repentantly.

"'kay, stopped teasin' ya!" Jasper slapped me in the back with such vigor that I had to wince. "This really is yer business. As for me, I just wanna know when we can get together and beat up each other next time! Now we have to coordinate yer dates with two of yer admirers..."

"Admirers..." I shook my head. "Princess Celestia would think twice about taking you into her army if she heard how you're talking about her."

"I heard she likes a good joke. Or ya have a different experience from yer private lessons?"

"Emphasis on "good", Jasper," I smiled. "Otherwise... I don't know."

"Give it a try!" he grinned as well. "Try prankin' her with somethin' dumb, maybe she'll like it!"

"Yeah, figures..." I snorted. "But there is something I wanted to ask you, but you keep interrupting!"

"You need help with Ambrosia?" Wish asked with sparkling eyes.

"No, no way!" I shook my head. "It's about Scorch's performance. Did you know that the guy has improved so much?"

"I knew he was good, but I wouldn't have guessed that he's that good," Wish shook her head. "When he said the word "test", I already guessed that there was something fishy. I thought the trick would be there, and I was right, but I didn't expect anything else. Especially when I saw the hidden question; that really put my suspicions to rest."

"What was that anyway? They somehow forgot to tell us."

"It was just about the interrupting technique we used during the test. Obviously, only those who used one could answer it."

"Now, that makes a buncha' sense!" Japser laughed.

"Well, actually, I was surprised that Stella didn't notice the ruse either," the girl mused. "She discovered the question; I'm sure that she was the other pony who answered. But she's always been the best in the class in perception, so Scorch must have had a lot of preparation for all of this. I mean, beyond the fact that he copied Mr. Poltergeist's gestures and habits."

"It must be because they are on the opposite side of the spectrum," I said. "If I'm right, Scorch's strength is dynamic projection, like mine, and Stella is as static as a three-door wardrobe. However, even if she feels like somepony from another world, such a down-to-earth pony like her is a rarity."

"That's true!" Wish chuckled. "But look at her, even she has found a partner, and look how long they have been together!"

I... couldn't say anything to that. I couldn't think of anything encouraging, but I was afraid to say anything about Wish anyway. From then on, I mostly remained silent, although my friends could easily have missed it since they had a nice conversation about something - in comparison – a more neutral topic. Arriving at the intersection, where the roads split towards the dormitory and Wish's house, we stopped for a short while. I agreed with Jasper that on Wednesday after school we would go out to train, then the three of us went three ways.

* * *

The next day wasn't boring either. When Dulci freaked out, we didn't take his words seriously enough. He had been somewhat of an outlier for some time anyway; he was looking for the company of other novice musicians rather than ours, but so far this has not bothered anypony. We were like, Mr. Polter will talk to him anyway, and everything will be solved, as usual. Silly thought... of course everything was resolved, just not with the results we were expecting.

Although we did not spend more than half of our lessons with the entire class, the absence of the red stallion soon became noticeable. At first Jasper even joked that Dulci was really gone, but unfortunately, he was too close to the truth. I'm not saying that our musician classmate was ever one of my best friends, but it hurt quite a bit to part with him this way. He didn't even give us a chance to discuss it, even though so far, he hasn't shown any clear signs that he was bothered by the way we were. Yes, I admit, we teased him more than once because of his size - he was big as a colt in terms of height, but since then he's only grown... broadwise - or because of his, well, modest skills in magic. What the heck would a pony expect from a musician, but everypony was constantly teasing each other anyway.

Or, on second thought, maybe not... At first, Stella was a popular target for jokes, although it's true, mostly only behind her back. The filly, on the other hoof, somehow had such a strange attitude towards the whole world, which we were unable to get used to at the time, but we have also missed her from the class quite a bit, if the mare was not with us for any reason. Everything became flat, boring and predictable. It sounds a bit stupid, but it wasn't worth offending her because of her eccentricity, if only because she could react to such a joke quite differently. Dulci, on the other hoof, was a perfect target - if only because of his size, he was easier to hit - for the little bantering, and moreover, unlike Scorch, he didn't seethe or get upset when we got on him a bit, but he didn't just take it silently either, like, say, Wish.

Maybe he really could have gotten fed up with us... Later, he and Cavern didn't hang out much together anymore: he went to places with other acquaintances, and Cavern spent more time with Lotus. Perhaps the concerts that Dulci liked so much could also be among the reasons. From the beginning, he got the band to visit such things sometimes, but our tastes were very diverse, so it was impossible to please everypony at the same time. At the classical concerts, some of us just suffered - I myself could sit through a two-hour performance without any problems - and it also happened that if the concert did not meet the expectations, the group blamed the red stallion. And recently, I also scolded him pretty thoroughly when he called us to a concert he wasn't even attending... Who the buck would've thought we'd end up here?

I couldn't just let it go. I met half-privately with the dean accompanied by Jasper, Wish, and Ambrosia to see if we could find out what they were up to. We didn't manage to get anything out of Mr. Polter about what they talked about, but he did tell us the details of the agreement. He moved Dulcimer to another class and asked us not to look for him if possible and leave him alone. On the other hoof, he reassured that, despite the reduced headcount, he will now see our class through this way.

That was what was on my mind even when I took Ambrosia to my favourite café before the private lesson with the Princess for a quick bite. It was a bit rushed date, but the silence and the proximity of my mare calmed me down a bit. Originally, I even wanted to go home before sunset, but we snuggled so cozily at the table, on the cushioned chairs, that I decided against it. It was just too comfortable.

Ambrosia even accompanied me to the palace. It felt nice that she was so attached to me, and even though I guessed that I wouldn't be able to take her home after - obviously I didn't expect her to sit here alone and wait for the end of my lesson - it was undoubtedly more pleasant to walk together in the corridors, which to me still seemed somehow so cold and distant. As we walked she leaned her head against my neck, so she had to lag a little behind me, but this way we were able to maintain constant contact.

Her gentle touch successfully distracted me from who was waiting in front of the throne room. Of course, I saw the two guards, whom I've mostly looked through lately, since as the Princess's private apprentice they had no authority to stop me - not that I had anything to do with them anyway. I also noticed the presence of the other two ponies, but I was used to the fact that sometimes even at such a late hour some idiots were waiting for an audience. I learned to ignore them too. If Princess Celestia deemed their visit urgent, I could still stand by her side as her escort if I really wanted to.

Even when they turned towards us, I didn't waste a single glance at them. We probably would have walked right between them if the mare - whose thick, black-rimmed glasses and purple-pink mane suddenly looked ominously familiar - hadn't called out to me.

"Long live the young couple!" she said with a mocking tone.

"Oh wow! They really allow anypony to barge in here?" I tried to retort. Really, the one thing I missed for my happiness was the Violet girl...

"Come on, Thread, if you are allowed here, then who wouldn't?" she grinned impudently. "Anyway, I don't understand what your problem is. You really look good together. The color of your eyes goes with the young lady's dress. You are so decorative, it should be taught!"

The smile was long gone from my face, but I didn't let any other emotion take its place. The Violet girl had the good sense to kick me right where it hurts... but of course she couldn't openly say that I was dating a dumb bitch. It insulted my honor, so I couldn't leave it without a remark. After I appraised both Violet Sign and her companion - what a surprise, it was Nimbus Strike - I turned to the stallion with sudden determination.

"Hi!" I greeted him in a forcedly kind voice. "It's good that you're here too, I wanted to ask you something! You're a little more into things like this, don't you know how one can get a scholarship like that one - I gently nodded towards Sign - when she's drowning in money, and the real talents in need are going without?"

The white stallion raised one of his eyebrows just the slightest bit, as if he thought I was completely stupid, but that didn't stop me.

"Oh, silly me!" I slapped my forehead. "I'm sure her daddy takes care of that too, otherwise she couldn't afford to buy a nice enough prom dress, right? I'm sorry, that money is in the right place..."

"Or perhaps they just remunerate me for not driving my own classmates crazy, and I don't "raise" the reputation of the Academy by drinking myself to near-stupor in pubs, but in participating high-level magic competitions," replied Sign calmly.

As my gaze strayed to her face, I saw that I had somewhat achieved my goal, but she being this well-informed was still annoying as buck...

"For some reason, it's still me who is on the same level as everypony's idol..." I bowed slightly towards Nimbus. "I'd like to think Princess Celestia chooses carefully the ponies she surrounds herself with."

"Only in your dream are we on the same level," Nimbus finally spoke, in exactly the same condescending tone as I expected from him.

"I admit, your only skill that got you here is really something," Sign took the floor again. "If you have polished it to perfection, the Princess can put you on her shelf as another interesting piece of her collection. You can bask in her glory, nopony will hold a grudge against you. I'm just content with doing something actually useful for Equestria."

I didn't even try to hold it back, I snorted and laughed. Of course, Sign, as she generously deploys her vast theoretical knowledge to help her country.

"Can't wait to see how you handle things when you get out of school!" I finally remarked. "Oh, sorry! I always forget that you don't even have to move a hoof, a hundred ponies are already jumping to do your bidding, M'lady!" I bowed to her mockingly. "If only once I could see you achieve something by yourself... except for the paperwork, of course..."

"You have no idea, Thread!" the Violet girl's eyes flashed menacingly. "You have no idea what I'm capable of!"

The answer was already on the tip of my tongue, but something suddenly touched my tail, which made me wince involuntarily. Of course, I immediately realized that it was just Ambrosia, but I wasn't so thrilled by the unexpected maneuver. The mare, on the other hoof, just ran her nose along my neck, which sent a pleasant, tingling sensation down my spine, and then leaned close to my ear.

"I think I go," she whispered. "I feel useless here."

I turned back to her and answered in a whisper as well. "Come on! It means a lot to me that you are here with me."

"Okay, but you must go and I don't like them."

She had a point. I sighed, then planted a kiss on her nose, although it only annoyed me more that I wasn't paying enough attention and hit the halter. It was nothing like the mare's soft, silky fur and the hot skin that was underneath, more like I was licking a hemp rope...

"Goodbye!" Ambrosia nodded towards the two ponies.

"Oh, goodbye indeed, darling!" Sign waved to her with an unreasonably cordial smile.

Until my fillyfriend disappeared at the end of the corridor, I followed her with my eyes, but then I turned to Sign, and she could probably read from my look that I would prefer to wipe the grin off her face with a seamless spinning kick. But no, it wasn’t worth it.

"Well, it was nice to see you, but the Princess is already waiting for me," I said, and with that I started towards the door of the throne room.

"Alright I'll take my leave then," said Sign. "As much as I would enjoy seeing how you present how "on the same level" you are with Nimbus, unfortunately it is not possible. Just make sure that the cleaning staff don't sweep you up along with the ordinary dust when you're done!"

I didn't pay much attention to her words, but I couldn't ignore the fact that before I could even reach the gate, it opened in front of me from Nimbus' magic. I looked at the white stallion with mild interest. "And you...?"

"After you!" he nodded.

I didn't understand what that was about, but I entered anyway. I turned my ears back to be safe, so I heard exactly that the stallion came in after me and even closed the door behind himself.

The throne was empty in the middle, making the guards standing in front of the hall a little redundant. It had happened once or twice that the Princess had some other things to take care of before she could deal with me, so I wasn't particularly surprised. I walked casually to the front of the stairs leading to the throne and sat down comfortably. To occupy myself with something, I looked at the colored mosaic glass windows - although they were all already familiar - and I tapped softly on the marble with one of my front hoofs to the characteristic beat of a song, which, by the way, reminded me of Dulcimer again.

While waiting, I sneaked a sideways glance at Nimbus. I didn't like the fact that he had something to discuss with the Princess just now, but I smiled when I saw that the stallion was waiting in a terribly formal way, kneeling down on one knee, even though there were only two of us. It also dawned on me that Celestia maybe isn't as amiable with everypony as she is with me. Although I was sure of that, she doesn't expect this from anypony, perhaps only we, ordinary mortals, could instinctively have this kind of subservient attitude towards the alicorn.

After a few minutes, Princess Celestia arrived somewhere from the side. Actually... I didn't hear the opening of a door, or the first soft, then increasingly loud clatter of hooves on the marble, so she might as well have teleported. Nimbus visibly tensed his entire body, but I turned happily to my teacher and mentor, and saw with some relief that the Princess smiled back.

"I'm glad you both could come this time," the alicorn stated cheerfully. "Let's not waste time; we should get to work right away!"

"Wha...?" it slipped out of my mouth. "You mean all three of us?"

"Yes, we will spend this little lesson together." Celestia giggled heartily. "Did I forget to mention it?"

I was sure that she did it on purpose - that would be so much like her - but I didn't voice my opinion. Obviously, there was a good reason to organize it behind my back, and there would have been no point in arguing anyway.

"Come now, Nimbus!" the Princess motioned to the stallion to rise. "Are you prepared?"

"Yes, Your Highness, as you requested," replied Nimbus as he also stepped closer.

"Very well," Celestia smiled. "We will teleport now."

She gave us a few seconds to tune in to the spell, then pulled us out of the fabric of reality, and a moment later we found ourselves in a large, disc-shaped space. It was a bit like the tracks in the training ground that Jasper and I used to fight each other on, only here it wasn't slag, but we were standing on some unidentifiable, slightly flexible, pale yellow glowing material. Nothing could be seen around, only blackness, and the yellowish material was also lost in the gloom in the parts further away from us.

"Your task will be simple," said the Princess, after patiently waiting for us to observe our surroundings. "You have to fight each other. Put all your abilities into it; don't spare each other! I'm just watching you, but I won't interfere."

"Not even if one of us gets hurt?" I asked in surprise, trying and failing to disguise the tremor in my voice.

I felt my throat dry up. With somewhat faltering movements, I turned my head towards Nimbus Strike. The stallion dutifully straightened up and met the Princess' gaze. Princess Celestia gave me a mischievous wink - or so I assume, since her mane covered the other eye - and then turned her back on us and slowly walked out of the square's circle of light. Somewhere in the great blackness, she took her place, but she didn't go too far from us. It didn't calm me down one bit, nor did it when Nimbus stopped in front of me and looked me determinedly in the eye. He didn't seem condescending now, more like... cruel. I felt that if it were up to him, I probably wouldn't be able to leave the arena alive...

"You may begin," Celestia stated cheerfully.

The white stallion bent his head forward, narrowed his eyes, and his horn shone brightly. He didn't attack right away, but lucky for him, I was pretty bad at sensing magic, so I couldn't prepare for what he wanted to use against me. Gray and red stripes appeared on the stallion's body, wherever it could be seen from the clothes, as if he was a zebra, and the air around him vibrated wildly.

Nimbus' eyes suddenly snapped open, radiating a brilliant brightness, and he himself slowly rose from the ground. He aimed his horn right at me. I must admit, I have never been so afraid of a pony as I was then. I was unable to move, unable to cast a spell. I was guided only by my instincts, when I dodged the glowing-flaring-rumbling beam of light suddenly rushing towards me, crumbling to dust. Nimbus, however, didn't even let me do anything, he kept trying to hit me with more and more unidentifiable spells. So, I didn't even try to take shape, I just floated here and there like fine ash, mostly not even in control of my body's movements. I just let the stallion's spells push me back and forth.

Sometimes I felt hot or cold for a moment. I was blinded by the light, I lost control of myself. But my magic didn't wear me down much more than usual. My consciousness remained clear, and I would have been able to recreate my own body at any time - provided that my opponent did not tear me to pieces in the meantime. All I could think was that sooner or later he would get tired. Even if he is the other student of Princess Celestia, he has to have his limits. I'll just survive until then somehow...

I wanted to look up. To see Nimbus's face so I can guess how much longer he can last. Or to see what Celestia has to say about it all. Is that what she wanted to achieve? Because it's pretty... boring. However, in this form, since I did not have physical eyes, it was quite difficult to see. I couldn't perceive colors in the first place, and everything was blurry even three or four meters away. Of course, it was more than nothing, and I was more than satisfied with it most of the time, and at longer distances, such as high in the air, I could find my way around with simple directional spells. The visual stimuli were needed more to calm myself down. Somehow it was never enough just to know who I was facing, I also had to see them and hear their voice.

"It's okay... that'll be enough..." Princess Celestia's words filtered towards me softly, vaguely.

I still felt the tiny particles that make up my body hot, so I wanted to wait until I cooled down a bit, but the Princess's teleport magic grabbed me. I was thoroughly dizzy, and for a moment even the fear of death came over me, that I might not have been able to pay enough attention and left a few pieces behind. To my surprise, however, I arrived in the throne room as a flesh-and-blood pony.

We got over it pretty quickly - it occurred to me. In fact, compared to the announcement, it wasn't that bad. Next to me, Nimbus panted restrainedly but undeniably, I was shaking more from stress than from fatigue, but neither of us got a single scratch. It felt like a huge achievement just to tie against one of the strongest unicorns in Equestria.

"Now let's repeat what we learned today!" Celestia gracefully lifted one of her front legs while sitting on the throne.

The white stallion didn't look like he wanted to answer, so I took the initiative. I didn't care, if I looked stupid in his eyes, it wouldn't even change anything.

"Well... actually, I don't really understand what you wanted to achieve with this," I scratched my mane with a confused smile.

"I want to raise your education to a higher level, and for that you have to see your mistakes," explained the Princess kindly. "You, Nimbus Strike, have learned, practiced and used your spells very well. You are able to mobilize great powers, and you do so when you see the need. But you don't adapt. If one of your techniques doesn't work, you stick with it. You alternate the types of your spells in the order you determine, rather than focusing on your partner. The tasks I have given you so far have been more or less difficult, but you have coped, as you have never faced significant resistance. However, as soon as you come across something that is unknown to you, you simply do not know what to do with it, even if you know the necessary basics. Once fate brings you together with somepony who can read your spells and is not far behind you in strength, you can easily fail. And I've already warned you about this a few times. Let this fight be a warning example not to be overconfident in your abilities!"

"Thank you, Your Highness!"

The white stallion dropped theatrically to his knees and touched his horns to the floor. I just rolled my eyes, but Celestia turned to me right after, and from the fact that she even flashed her teeth in her smile, I deduced that she saw my reaction.

"And you, Life Thread, use your ability very unifacial. You don't need to worry if you are not outstanding in any other magic, but in this case, you should develop this one to such a level that it can be used for other tasks as well. You have already learned to move and find your way in this form; it's time to use your magic in less passive ways." Celestia got up from her throne and majestically spread her wings. She looked at me with so much warmth in her eyes that only Ambrosia could. "Of course, you are still new here, as my protégé, so it will obviously be my job to teach you. And there would have been no point in rushing, so at least we clarified the basics, and what I just said, consider it a sample. And you should also remember the fight: if you don't prepare properly, even if you survive, you can only be the victim of other ponies' spells. Everypony can be broken with time."

"I see, Princess Celestia!" I nodded.

"That's all for today. Next time, we will discuss possible solutions and routes."

The Princess turned away from us and stepped closer to one of the colorful windows. Nimbus took a few steps back next to me, then left the room. I, on the other hoof, would have liked to stay. It was still too early to go home, but I didn't want to disturb my friends or Ambrosia at this time. And then, as I watched Celestia pondering the mosaic, I remembered my fillyfriend's words. A lonely goddess stood before me. Nopony dares to approach her. Everypony limits themselves to formalities and to the most important information when talking to her, so as not to bother her. Even Nimbus, whom she accepted as her student... It's true, I could never determine how she relates to me. Now was the first time I really saw how casually I speak to the great Celestia compared to everypony else. It would have been impossible to decide whether this merely amused her, or she actually liked it. My poker face was nothing compared to hers... If she's always smiling and always pretending to be cheerful, nopony will ever question whether something is weighing on her soul... There probably isn't a pony in Equestria who knows what was going on in the Princess's mind.

A little hesitantly, I started towards her. In the silence, my hooves thumped loudly on the pavement, and although I grimaced in pain from them, at least I could avoid the appearance of trying to sneak up on her. I stepped up next to her and followed her gaze.

The mosaic depicted her, surrounded by a few colorful crystals, as she raises one of her legs and looks at the Moon from the top of a bastion. Her posture was stiff and unbroken, yet somehow her face seemed sad. I turned sideways, but Celestia showed no sign of emotion this time.

"You know what each one represents, right?" I asked softly.

She closed her eyes for a moment and nodded.

"None of them tell me anything," I remarked.

She remained silent.

"Is it okay that I stayed?" I asked cautiously. "One word and I disappear..."

"You may follow me if you want," she answered quietly, waving her mane and walking away slowly.

I followed her, lagging behind just a little bit. We left the throne room, and she signaled to the guards with just a small gesture that she did not require an entourage. We marched along the corridors and up the stairs in silence. The few Nightguards we met on our way greeted the Princess with a salute. They didn't seem surprised by her unusual company, although they might have seen us together in the palace during our lessons.

Celestia took me to one of the highest rooms in the palace, where there was even a small observatory. However, she didn't bother with anything like that, she went straight to the balcony. She stood right up to the railing and held on to it with one of her front legs. I followed her in this as well, although I had to rear up to reach it properly. I could feel the magic emanating from her, and as I looked towards her, I could see her shining horn. I didn't want to disturb the moonrise, so I didn't say a word. It only lasted a few seconds, and we could already see the cold light slowly creeping up from the horizon.

"You take it from here, right?" the Princess asked quietly, mostly from herself.

"Isn't it hard to do this every single day for thousands of years?" I asked, driven by a sudden idea. "You can never skip it, there is no rest, no holidays. You can't say you're going on vacation to the beach for a week."

I meant it as a serious point, but Celestia just giggled.

"You wake up in the morning and open your eyes," she said cheerfully and ruffled my mane like a foal's. "And at night you go to bed and close them. Is it exhausting to spend your whole life doing this?"

"In the evening, I'd rather go to a party with my friends, then I'll sleep 'til noon," I shrugged, although Celestia made me smile too. "Maybe I'll be like a washed rag afterwards, but sometimes it's worth it."

"Each to their own," the Princess squinted. "It is not that difficult to organize a schedule in such a way that you can both get and give."

"So, do you have a chance to relax? This is somewhat reassuring."

"Indeed, but we have different ideas of rest, Thread. Sometimes just a little flight under the open sky can do wonders. Makes me feel a few hundred years younger!" she laughed.

"I'm sure many have asked you, but I'm just curious... How does it feel to be immortal?"

"Dear Thread!" she turned to me, flicking her mane aside so that she could see with both eyes. "You tell me first! How does it feel to be alive?"

"Nice try, but you can't distract me!" I grinned. "The difference is obviously that we can die at any time. It has a beginning and an end, and it constantly haunts us. You don't have to fear such things."

"If I told you that I know from experience that there are worse things than death, would you think otherwise?" she asked again, squinting mischievously.

"I don't know, but death can't be a fun thing either..." I pondered. "To permanently lose everything that is me... Even if the "other" is bad, you always have a way back, don't you? After all, that's what being immortal is all about, isn't it?"

"You know... you kind of remind me of somepony from a long time ago," Celestia sighed nostalgically. "I don't regret accepting you as my student."

"The honor is all mine, my Princess," I nodded. "I love being by your side and I thank you for every second you spent on me."

We stayed there for a long time and had a pleasant time talking about anything but studying for the first time. I couldn't get her to tell me about her past, even a little bit, but now she discreetly asked about my private life, which, even if she only did it out of politeness, meant a lot to me. I felt like she showed me that I meant something to her and that I was more than just one of her subjects of the masses.

In the end, we just stood next to each other and watched the Moon. Just for fun, I complimented her on how deftly she brought it up to the sky, which made her laugh again. The only thing that was a bit strange was when I remarked to her that the big dark spot on the big, white surface looked just like a pony's head. Then she fell silent for a few moments, then with a mysterious smile she simply said: the truth is relative...