The Last Sight

by NoMane

Rating: teen
Tags: Princess Luna, Mrs. Cake, Soarin, Other, Adventure, Mr. Cake, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 7077

Pumpkin Cake doesn't like school. She'd do anything to get away from it, but is it worth it reall

Pumpkin Cake is growing up, and life isn't going the way she wants it to. Of course, every little pony can't like everything about her life, but this little filly dreads going to school every day. What's so horrid about Miss Cheerilee's class? And why would somepony with such a bright future ahead of her never want to go back to such a nice place? Is she ready to get her wish?

Published 2012-11-10 03:40:01 UTC
Last updated 2012-12-08 18:01:22 UTC

Lies and No Pies

Disclaimer: I do not own Friendship is Magic, copyrighted material is not my own and I seek and receive nothing through my production of this work. Support the Official Release.

The Last Sight

Chapter 1: Lies and No Pies

A little yellow unicorn stared up at the night sky above, with blue eyes full of wonder. Her long orange mane hung down, barely brushed out of her face. She could hear her brother snoring from across the room, but the white pegasus's horrid breathing couldn't break her from her evening with the stars. His unruly brown mane wasn't any more in order after his bath!

There were so many, she knew, and she knew that the few she could see were marvelous even without all of their brothers and sisters.

She glanced back at her brother. If only she could have a brother as good as one of the stars...

Mommy had always said that there was a star in the sky for every cupcake eaten by every pony. Then again, Mommy lied sometimes. Mommy thought she couldn't be caught lying, but she wasn't as smart as she thought she was.

Pumpkin Cake frowned up at the stars, wondering if any pony really knew.

They didn't answer that silent query or any of the other thousand questions that kept her from simply laying down and going back to sleep, but she almost felt at ease.

The stars never said anything or made her do anything she didn't like. The stars understood that her life harder than everypony else knew. A little yawn slipped past her lips as she stared on. At last, she gave the stars a little promise that she'd look again tomorrow night. Slipping under her sheets and curling up, Pumpkin let the world vanish into darkness...

The sun brought her back to the waking world, even as she tried to cover herself. If she laid there long enough, she could forget the dawn.

“Rise and shine, Pumpkin!” Came a sing-songy voice.

She tried to roll over to face the wall. “G'way, Mommy.”

“What's wrong, sugar cookie?” Mommy rubbed her withers. “You love morning baking.”

“Nuhhh.” She tried to bury her snout in the pillow for a moment, but she knew that she couldn't turn away from morning baking.

At least, down in the kitchen, she'd be away from the sun's hateful glare...

Mommy smiled from under her pink, wet mane. Mommy's smile was small, but she was a big blue hug machine!

Pumpkin threw her forelegs around the big mare, unable to stay mad at her for yesterday's lies. “Morning, Mommy.”

“Good morning, Pumpkin.” Mommy held her tight for a moment, setting her down on the floor.

“It's cookies today. Do you remember what to get out?”

“Butter, sugar, flour,” she slowed her pace down the steps. “Nilla...”

“Vanilla, darling.”

“Vanilla...” she sounded it out, stopping at the bottom of the steps and pursing her lips. “Salt, uh...”

“That's a good bit of the recipe, but you're forgetting a few more things,” she answered with a smile.

She rolled her eyes, but followed. If she had had just a little more time to think, she'd have worked it out.

Mommy got out all the ingredients, one by one.

Pumpkin just washed her hooves as Mommy got ready. It was fun to bake with Mommy. Today, though, she couldn't keep her mind off of those horrid things that stood on the horizon.

Six terrible words fell all too soon. “Time to get ready for school.”

“Mommy, do I have to?”

Mommy's smile fell away all too quickly. Her gentle voice took on a harder edge. “Yes, darling.”

“But I hate school!”

“We all have to do things we don't want to, dearie.”

“You don't! You get to stay here and bake all day!”

“Honey, there's more to this whole wide world than just baking, and I want you to be able to experience all of it.” Even now, Mommy started heading toward the stairs. “And you'll only be able to do that with an education.”

Pumpkin fumed at the lies told to her. Maybe those worked when she was a little pony, but she was big now!

Glaring at Mommy's flank, she followed her up the steps, but she dragged out every step. Daddy fixed her mane into two pigtails, with pretty blue bows, and made sure everything was ready with a smile. Pound was waiting for her when she was done, but only because nopony bothered to fix his ugly mane.

With that, they were sent off to school. Sugarcube Corner was practically right around the corner from the schoolhouse. Pound always walked fast with his head held high, and he always complained if she fell behind.

So, she didn't. She let herself be led all the way to the schoolyard.

“Heya Pound!” Came a loud scratchy cry.

Pumpkin rolled her eyes as a white pelted pegasus with a gold and pink mane fluttered down from the tree above.

Pound hoof-bumped with the filly. “Inferna!”

“H-hey, Pumpkin,” a little brown pelted filly with a long, hanging orange mane greeted her as the two pegasi grinned and talked.

“Hey.” Talking to this little pony beat hearing about the Wonderbolts for the umpteenth time by a mile, even if she was barely worth looking at.

“S-so, uh...I mean...”

“What?”

“I'm sorry, I...should go.”

Pumpkin had never seen somepony move so fast. Even Pinkie Pie didn't move that fast when she vanished somewhere and reappeared somewhere else!

“What was that about?” Inferna was staring over at her.

“Dunno.” Pumpkin offered with a frown.

“She looked scared of her own shadow.”

“Yep.” Pound agreed.

“Wonder what she wanted...” Pumpkin's thoughts were interrupted by the school bell. “Oh great.”

She trailed behind the two pegasi. Nothing could be as boring as yesterday's lesson on hoof and horn writing...

Though she realized that she was wrong when she ran into Inferna's tail as she tried to slip into the classroom and to her seat in the back.

Pound and Inferna gasped loudly, and it didn't take Pumpkin more than a moment to see a whitish-blue pony in a blue uniform.

“Oh my gosh that's Soarin!” Cried Inferna in her stupid scratchy voice.

“A real live Wonderbolt in our class!” Pound added.

“He's the Captain!” Screeched another filly.

Miss Cheerilee waved for quiet, but ultimately started calling out over the noise. “Good morning, my little ponies, today's lesson is about the Wonderbolts!”

Pumpkin shook her head and made her way to her seat, setting her head down as Miss Cheerilee called for calm. Everypony began to murmur, even as Miss Cheerilee started giving the history of the Wonderbolts. Thankfully, it was easy enough to start sleeping through the talk of that. All became peace, far from the land of noise and bluster about stupid flying ponies...

A low giggling pierced her serenity, followed by a low voice. “Pumpkin.”

“Pumpkin Cake!” Her eyes opened in time to see Miss Cheerilee standing in front of her, green eyes glaring.

The magenta mare had never seemed so mad before. “Everypony, please go out to the yard. We will continue the presentation out there.”

That was when the giggling stopped, and everypony dispersed. Pumpkin stayed frozen under the teacher's gaze. “Stay here.”

The teacher turned away, fussing with her pink mane, gesturing for the blue uniformed stallion at the front of the room to step outside.

“I am so sorry, Mister Soarin,” she said as they stepped out the door.

“Oh, it's no trouble at all. I was like that when I was a kid. Not many kids look disappointed when a Wonderbolt comes to visit, but she isn't the first pony in a class to fall asleep before I start doing the flashy stuff.” He chuckled.

She glared at the wall. Those stupid adults thought she couldn't hear them!

“Could you do me a favor and go to Sugarcube Corner and tell Mr. and Mrs. Cake about this?”

“Sure, I wanted to order a couple things anyway.”

That was the last thing she heard before Miss Cheerilee's hooves were playing upon the wooden floor of the schoolhouse again.

She was waved up to the front of the room. Miss Cheerilee spoke softly now, “Pumpkin, what's causing this?”

Even if Miss Cheerilee was going to pretend to be nice, Pumpkin would not surrender to her. “What's causing what?”

“This misbehavior.”

“I was just sleeping.”

“You were sleeping during a presentation and disrespecting a stallion who was very nice to take time out of his day for us.” She maintained an even tone. “Are you having trouble sleeping?”

She knew Miss Cheerilee didn't care, no matter how many smiles or concerned looks she faked. “No, I just don't like boring pegasus stuff.”

“Pumpkin, you always seem to take issue with my lessons. Is there something I can do for you? Is there some way I can help you to enjoy school a little more?”

“No!”

“Pumpkin!” Came Mommy's voice.

Pumpkin shrank down in the chair and tried to vanish. Mommy's angry face was way scarier than Miss Cheerilee's, especially when she huffed and puffed with every step.

“Mrs. Cake, thank you for coming.”

She took a few steps into the room, fighting for every breath. “What happened?”

“Pumpkin was sleeping during a presentation, and I'm trying to understand why she's acting like this. I know she's not a bad filly, but could you shed some light on this?”

Mommy frowned. “Pumpkin, please tell Miss Cheerilee why you don't like school.”

Pumpkin winced away. “No.”

Those purple eyes fixed on the little filly. “If you don't tell her, I will.”

She buckled under that gaze, but her larger resolve remained. “I don't need school. I'm going to bake like Mommy and Daddy!”

Miss Cheerilee frowned. “Pumpkin, your mother went to school. So did your father.”

Mommy was quick to add. “Your father went to the Canterlot Culinary College.”

“You're both lying!”

Pumpkin learned a bit too late that it was far better to keep facts like that to herself.

Mommy and Miss Cheerilee didn't yell, but she could tell that they were biting back their true feelings. They lied so much that they couldn't even be honest when they were mad! They couldn't stand admitting that they hated when she told them the truth!

Instead of facing the obvious truth, they just stopped talking to her. “Mrs. Cake, I think it'd be best that we meet about this later in the week to better discuss this matter, and that you take Pumpkin home so that she can unwind in a less stressful environment. Normally, I wouldn't do this, but I just can't disrupt this whole event for her sake.”

“I understand.” Mommy nodded. “Come along, Pumpkin.”

“I'll be in touch,” Miss Cheerilee said with a forced smile.

Pumpkin felt a strange kind of relief mixing with the dread building in her gut. Sure, Mommy was going to be even more mad, but she was taking her away from school. She smiled and turned her nose high as she saw her brother looking at her with sad eyes.

If he was smart, like her, he would be getting out of this stupid class right now, and he'd be walking back into the best place in the world!

As they strode in the front door of the bakery, Mommy spoke without even looking her way, “Go to your room and think about what you've done.”

Pumpkin had a feeling that she wouldn't be going to the kitchen, but she couldn't help giving a smug look at Soarin as she walked up the stairs. He was a stupid pony in a stupid uniform, and she didn't have to waste her time with his stupid self!

The fact he frowned turned that look into a grin.

She knew she had won this battle. Now, she'd just have to figure out how to stay out of school forever!

Unfortunately, she had a lot of time to think about it. Even though she felt bad that she was stuck here, though, she still felt right.

It felt like an age and a half had passed before Daddy finally came in. “Pumpkin, can I talk to you?”

Pumpkin smiled. “Sure, Daddy.”

He smiled in that strange way he did when he was working way too hard, and sat down on the bed beside her.

“Honey, is something wrong?” He put a hoof on her withers.

“I'm stuck up here when I could be baking with you.”

He rubbed her withers softly. “You have some apologizing to do, honey. You can't just call ponies liars when they say things you don't like.”

Huffing, she pulled away from his hoof. “I can call anypony whatever I want.”

Daddy sighed. “Pumpkin, I love you, but you have to think about what you say to other ponies. Words like that hurt.”

“When ponies lie to me, it hurts me!” she cried.

“Think about what I said, okay, honey?”

Pumpkin didn't nod for him. She knew Daddy had been put up to this by Mommy. He wouldn't lie to her!

As he stepped out of the room, though, those words sounded like lies too no matter how many times she assured herself they were true...

The day passed in relative silence. She refused to talk to Mommy, and Daddy had nothing worth saying. Even when Pound came home, he cared more about talking about the Wonderbolts or how school was so cool than anything else. If he hadn't left to go play with Inferna, she probably would have kicked him out of their room.

The only time Pumpkin came down was to eat dinner, and Mommy told her to go right back up after she refused to apologize. She pretended to be asleep when she got called for her bedtime bath. Why should she bathe when that would just be another thing making it easier for her to go back to school?

She pulled the covers tight and held her eyes shut and hoped that no pony would check...

Pound's snoring woke her up.

Pound's stupid snoring!

She almost yelled at him before she saw the night sky through the other window. Turning toward her window, she looked up at the stars. They were still the same as the last night.

Pumpkin stared up at the stars for a while, before seeing a beautiful white streak across the sky.

“A shooting star!” She exclaimed, not thinking of her volume. This was a once in a life time opportunity!

Lowering her voice, she whispered to the stars. “I wish I never have to go back to that school.”

The shooting star faded from sight, and the stars twinkled a little bit. She waved up at them, yawning. “Thank you.”

Suddenly weary of sitting up, she slid under the covers, laid her head down, and let sleep take her into its warm embrace...

Notes: My first fic in a while. I hope I've improved a little, or have not fallen backwards. For you guys on FiM, it's the first you've seen of me. I hope to not disappoint.

Enter the Princess

Disclaimer: I do not own Friendship is Magic, copyrighted material is not my own and I seek and receive nothing through my production of this work. Support the Official Release.

The Last Sight

Chapter 2: Enter the Princess

Pumpkin awoke in a very warm place, opening her eyes slowly. She tried to rise from the darkness that surrounded her, only to find herself tangled. Wriggling fiercely, she finally managed to get her horn loose and her head out of the snarl of fabric.

Blinking, she found her eyes resting on the strangest of rooms. A mixture of white, lavender, and silver trimmed this extravagant place. The room was lit to a comfortable level by candles that burned with white flames. It looked a little like the palace Pinkie talked about in her stories...but a thousand times prettier and not quite as bright.

Also, she noted with disappointment, there were no cakes the size of Sugarcube Corner here.

She looked down at the floor, frowning. This bed was gigantic!

Still, oversized bed or not, she knew there were better things to do here than to lay around.

Going over the edge flank first, she eased herself down. Her hooves clipped and clopped softly as she crossed the room, her eyes drawn to the ornate mirror mounted on the wall on her left as she passed it.

Fixing her mane just a little as she looked into it, she actually stopped for a moment. She noticed the reflection of the room was just a little dimmer. It'd be nice if the entire world was always like that: just bright enough to see everything but not so bright that the sun would burn her eyes...

She dismissed that idle fancy and moved along. There were more important things to do, and no wooden door was going to keep her from getting to them!

...the handle was pretty high, though. She had to rear up to her full height to get a hoof on top off of it, and even then, it almost slipped out of her grasp completely.

Pumpkin frowned and tried harder. This time, the door handle turned and it was easy enough to push the door open.

Inside, she saw the fanciest bathroom ever. The toilet and tub were silver, and they shined ever so softly in the low light of the candles.

The lighting was a little lower in there, but she could see everything pretty well from the door. It didn't look like any pony or monster was inside, so she stepped inside and surveyed the facilities. Easing the door a little further shut so no pony could see within, she surveyed the contents at length...

As she exited the bathroom, she was still marveling at just how comfortable the toilet had been. However, something struck her as she stepped back into the main room.

Indeed, she realized that her hunch was true as she strolled around the room quickly, looking up and down.

“Where am I?” she asked. She looked around again and again, her pace increasing with every step, but even three sweeps of the room revealed nothing new.

Her breath came faster and faster even as she slowed to a stop near the bed. Nothing reached Pumpkin's ears but her own gasps for air.

She was alone...

“I am glad to see that you are well, little one.” A soft voice broke through the silence.

Pumpkin jumped back, turning toward a previously empty wall. Now there was a tremendous dark pony standing in a dark doorway. The candles dimmed just a little bit as she drew near.

“H-hi, Princess...” she said, stepping back and lowering herself to the floor.

The huge winged unicorn did not move, but her gaze remained firmly upon the filly. “Let me be the first to welcome you to your new home.”

That was the strangest of all things to hear. There had been a few Nightmare Nights where she had laid eyes on the Moon Princess, but that didn't make her any easier to deal with. Mommy and Daddy had always been close by to make sure that no gobbling would occur.

Pound had always said that she was silly to think the Princess would gobble up any pony, but he was the kind of pegasus who would be eaten first!

Still, the Princess didn't look like she wanted to gobble up anypony...at least for the moment.

“My new home?” she spoke after an age of silence.

“Yes, this room is one of my favored chambers within the palace,” the Princess explained with a smile.

“S-s-so why am I here?” Pumpkin queried.

“Why? Do not worry about the why, little one. I am here to help you have fun,” the Princess explained quickly.

Before she could really ask, the larger unicorn turned around and started trotting away. “Come, come. As long as I will it, this door will remain open. Unless you want to stay in here for a while longer, I suggest you come along.”

The darkened doorway was a little scary in its own way, but even the chance of being gobbled was worth escaping from this boring, empty room. Besides, if the Princess really did want to gobble her up, she could just outrun her!

As she stood there considering the situation, the Princess added, “It will be quite fun, I promise.”

Outside that room was a much brighter hallway, one that stretched farther than she could imagine. She didn't have time to take in the scenery, though, as the Princess never slowed her pace.

The white stallions in golden suits matched up with the stories, though. If that part of the story was true, there were no limits to what could also be true!

“Princess...” Her voice was barely above a whisper.

“Yes? What is it?” The Princess stopped in her tracks.

She steeled herself and raised her voice. “Where do they keep the cakes?”

“So you hunger for sweets?” The Princess laughed softly. “It is not meal time, but I was already a little hungry.”

Pumpkin could only smile and increase her pace as the Princess changed her course.

It felt like such a short time later when they arrived in a kitchen with golden trim upon the white walls, and the shiniest cooking implements ever. The real prize, however, was a tremendous chocolate cake sitting on the center counter. It wasn't as big as Sugarcube Corner, but it looked almost half that big from the floor.

A knife flew from one of the counters, wrapped in a dark blue aura.

“If my sister asks, just remain silent.” The Princess looked down at her, her face serious for a moment as her horn glowed with that same dark color.

“Yes, Princess.” Pumpkin bowed again.

She said nothing as the knife danced through the cake, swiftly leaving the cake in sixteen equal slices.

The little filly's eyes widened as she stared on, and it took a while for her voice to show itself. “Wow, Princess! How'd you do that?!?”

“When a pony has more than a thousand years to practice magic, little one, the things one can do are limited only by the imagination.” She turned her head a little, as two plates floated over to meet levitating slices of cake.

“I apologize, little one, but I forgot to ask your name.” The two plates floated on either side of her head.

“My name is Pumpkin,” she said.

“Well met. You may call me Luna,” the Princess stated with a smile. “Now, let us eat.”

They both had more than one piece of the cake, though Luna easily had the griffon's share. Only half of the cake remained after they cut it down to size...

“Now, my little Pumpkin, we should make ourselves scarce before the Royal Chef discovers us.” Princess Luna waved her horn, a shadowy doorway starting to form on the nearby wall. “After you.”

Pumpkin giggled and hurried through, but she stopped short when she felt grass brushing up against her legs, and the lighting grew even dimmer...

They were outside, standing in an empty field. A soft breeze blew through the darkness, carrying a chill that just barely cut through her fur.

The darkness and the wet grass didn't bother her, though. Her eyes quickly turned to the stars. There were so many more stars before her eyes now, in dozens of patterns that she couldn't see before.

It felt like an age passed in simple silence, occasionally broken by the Princess quietly pointing her toward a constellation. The warrior pony Porion, the Unicorn's Horn Wrapped in Pegasus Wings, and the Bouquet between the Lover's Hooves were just a few of the marvelous sights she was shown that night. As she marveled at the sky, there was nothing to frown about. There were no lies among the stars, only an eternity of beauty and truth. Even the cool night air didn't bother her even as it prompted her to shiver a little bit.

However, even that was abridged when Luna lightly rubbed her withers. “I am sorry, Pumpkin, but it is time for a bath before moon-set.”

“Moon-set?” Pumpkin parroted, tearing her eyes away from the sky just to see another one of those shadowy portals opening.

“Sunrise,” Luna explained quickly enough, gesturing toward the opening.

Though the idea soured her spirits, it was better to be inside in a nice warm bath than outside to watch the stars vanishing into the bright sky. She smiled at the stars one last time, waving good by, before heading through Luna's strange, gloomy doorway...

A bath at Luna's Castle was better than most baths. The water smelled like fresh flowers, and the water was just the right kind of warm. There was no need for any pony to shield her from unkind heat like Mommy and Daddy did when they tested the water...

That thought was banished by a big splash.

“Sorry! Butterhooves!” Luna was there in a moment, reaching into the water. As she retrieved the bottle of shampoo, she smiled. “Close your eyes.”

Pumpkin grinned and did so. Luna was no Mommy, but she took care of everything anyway. Better yet, she didn't lie. Every last word she had spoken had been the truth!

Pound always got mad when Mommy tried to wash his mane or to do anything for him, but that was just him being stupid. The same way he was stupid when he went on and on about the Wonderbolts with Inferna. He'd probably get mad at Luna for washing his mane and treating him well!

Then Luna would gobble him up...

“What is wrong?” A soft voice cut through her thoughts.

Pumpkin looked up into Luna's eyes, trying to banish her frown. She knew, now, that the pony behind those kind eyes couldn't gobble anypony, even somepony as annoying as Pound could be.

“Just...thinking,” she said.

“Oh.” Luna nodded. “It looks like you're all clean. Come along!”

Dark magic stripped away the cooling wet, leaving only a dry, warm feeling. She could only blink and follow along as Luna started walking away.

That warm feeling never went away, though, even as her hooves clipped and clopped across the tiles. She opened her mouth wide and yawned. Her legs tried to get out from underneath her.

Just before she crashed into the hard floor, she felt herself moving up and over.

“Careful. You have had an exciting night; it is no wonder you are so tired,” Luna said as Pumpkin softly landed on her back. Nuzzling into that warm back fur, she was a little surprised as that weird flowing mane caressed her.

“I'm not...” She yawned again, her words slipping out under that heavy noise. She forced her voice up and spoke, “I wanna have more fun!”

“There will be plenty of time the next evening for us to spend together, but you did not get much sleep last night. Let yourself journey back to dreamland for a little while longer.” That voice was soothing, all too soothing.

Pumpkin tried to keep her eyelids up, murmuring all the while, “I don't wanna...go to sleep...”

She couldn't struggle anymore. Even her voice did not want to cooperate. That shadowy doorway on the wall opened again, and she found herself being carried into that nearly empty room. She tried to squirm out of Luna's magical grip, but she was tucked in before she could do much more than murmur again.

Luna gave her a kiss on the cheek before pulling the covers up to her chin. The warmth doubled, but she remained ever so comfortable within it.

Pumpkin's struggles ceased entirely as her eyes began to win the fight.

“Good night, little Moonbeam.” One last whisper entered her world as the candles around the room burned out entirely.

All was silence as she left the waking world behind...

Enter the Captain

Disclaimer: I do not own Friendship is Magic, copyrighted material is not my own and I seek and receive nothing through my production of this work.

The Last Sight

Chapter 3: Enter the Captain

Pumpkin woke up warm with a smile on her face. This time, though, she wasn't so caught up in the covers. Instead, she stood up and yawned, shaking the sleep away. The candles were lit again, their flames white as before.

Carefully lowering herself to the floor, she looked around the room. Part of her expected to see that strange doorway open again, but another part of her wasn't surprised either...

Her eyes fell upon the mirror, and she caught sight of her freely hanging mane. It was strange to see it hanging down to her withers. Usually when she stood before a mirror, Daddy was behind her fixing her mane. Mommy would fuss with Pound's hair, and then she'd head off to school with her brother...

She glared into the dim reflection of the room. Of course, Daddy wouldn't be here to fix her mane. If he was here, Mommy would be here. If Mommy was here, then she would have to go to school.

Pumpkin's gaze fell. Even if Mommy was really mean to make her go to school and stay in her room, she always smiled in the morning when it was time for morning baking. She never made her sleep in like Pound did so she'd have to miss out on it.

Soft hoof-falls on the floor behind her broke her out of those thoughts. Whirling around, she came face to face with a familiar whitish-blue pegasus stallion with a dark blue mane. The saddlebags and some silver necklace were the only things on him. Behind him stood the same kind of doorway that Luna had came through...

“Good evening,” he said with a light bow.

Pumpkin frowned as soon as his voice reached her ears. He wasn't wearing that stupid uniform, but he was the same old Soarin. She glared at him.

“Lu-” He took a step back, looking away just for a moment. “The Princess.”

She looked at him curiously.

“She sent me here, to give you this, Pumpkin Cake,” he said with a soft bow, smiling.

Pausing just a moment, he flicked one of the bags open with one of his wings, and turned back to grab something from within. He came up with a silver chain hanging from his mouth.

He stepped forward, raising his head a little and slipping it over her head.

Pumpkin reached up with a hoof to feel her new necklace. “What's this?”

“A necklace that is as good as the Princess's Royal Seal, or so I'm told.” He chuckled. “It identifies you as a guest of the Princess, but that's not all...”

He turned and gestured toward the shadowy doorway with a wing. “As long as the Princess doesn't mind, any pony wearing one of these necklaces can enter or exit this room..”

Pumpkin looked at him, then at the door. She was glaring when she turned her gaze back toward Soarin. “So why do you have one?”

“Well, I...” He paused, looking to the left, and spoke quietly, “I do work for the Princess. Part of the job when you're a Wonderbolt. Heh.”

“You work for Luna?” she asked, stepping toward the opening.

“Yeah.” Soarin smiled. “She wanted me to show you something.”

“What?” Pumpkin didn't have a chance to say much as he zipped past her. Dashing into the hallway, she turned right at the sound of his hoofsteps and ran after him.

He was fast, but she knew she was faster when he wasn't cheating! She ran as hard as she could, only to have to slow down when he made a sudden turn. There were a lot of turns. Even when she got the hang of it, it seemed like he got a big lead on her every time they hit a turn!

Each hallway was so long, and she was fighting for her breath by the fifth or six turn. Even when it started to hurt a little bit, though, she didn't give up. This stupid jerk of a pony couldn't get away without showing her what Luna wanted her to see.

Just as her pace started to slow, he slowed down to catch his breath too!

“Gotcha!” She reached up and prodded his side.

“So you did,” he said, panting far more softly than she did.

As Pumpkin fought to catch her breath, she felt a hoof tussle her mane. She pulled away from Soarin, looking up to just in time to see him smile. “I've not seen a unicorn your age run so fast for so long. The Cakes would be proud of your determination.”

She didn't frown. Would Mommy and Daddy be proud? She stared at him for a little, focusing on catching her breath again.

He cleared his throat. “The Princess wants you to see this room.”

She stared at the plain wooden door before her. It was plainer than most of the doors, but it still gave her pause that the portals hadn't. She had to face this one without Luna.

A hoof softly rested on her withers.

“She didn't say I couldn't come in, too.” Soarin gave her a soft pat on the back, before opening the door for her.

Pumpkin didn't know what to think. He was the kind of pony who would tell on her and then have the nerve to shop at the bakery while she was coming home. Right now, though, he wasn't being quite as mean as he was before. She looked inside, finding a plain pine table surrounded by pine chairs. There were a few books set upon the table in an even stack. She breathed a sigh of relief she didn't know she was holding.

“Books?” both stallion and filly stated at the same time. For a little while, both of them didn't advance.
The room wasn't quite marvelous enough to limit Pumpkin to just staring for long, though. She stepped over to one of the chairs and climbed up onto it. Reaching over, she pulled the top book off of the stack.

“Basic Magical Spells for Growing Unicorns,” she read softly, eyes widening.

Soarin was silent as she came to her conclusion.

“Luna wants me to learn magic?!?” she cried, turning toward him.

“Surprise,” he said, looking away.

“Thank you!” Pumpkin didn't hear anything else he said as she delved into the tome. Mommy and Daddy never talked about magic or told her that she could learn. No other filly in her class had learned magic. If she could learn even one spell, she'd be able to prove that she didn't need that stupid, useless earth pony teacher. She'd be able to prove that her potential was above just learning hoof-writing and horn-writing, and far above learning about the stupid Wonderbolts. Miss Cheerilee and Mommy would have to acknowledge that they were wrong to punish her!

“Basic posture...for spells and incantations?” She stopped on the third page turn. “What's an incantation?”

Soarin tapped a hoof to his chin as he looked up from the book he had cracked open. “I think an incantation is a spell you cast that you study off of the page, not one that you just, you know, know. I think, uh...”

“You don't know?” she turned incredulous eyes his way.

“They don't teach this stuff at the Wonderbolt Academy. Try turning back to the first page and reading the whole way through.” He turned back to his book. “You wouldn't believe how much you miss if you don't read those first couple pages.”

She flipped back to the first page really quickly and read down it, “Basic Lifting and Moving: A Beginner's Preface...”

“See what I mean?” Soarin answered with a grin.

Pumpkin huffed. He was good for opening doors, but he probably only knew that stuff about turning back because he was so stupid and actually needed to read everything through. Rolling her eyes, she read on a little further in silence.

After assuming a steady posture with all four hooves planted, one should be able to manipulate light objects by focusing their energy and concentrating.

Pumpkin barely read that far. She put both hooves firmly upon the table and stood up, pointing her horn at the book. She was sure nothing was happening...until the edges of the book started to glow pink.

She raised her head, but the book simply laid there before her. Glaring down at it, she leaned down and touched it with her horn. “Move!”

The glow around the book grew even brighter as she did that.

“Why won't you move?!?” She screamed, glaring at the book as hard as she could. It had to move. It had to move! Magic was the way she could prove herself!

She had to make it move!

In an instant, the world filled with pink light. The next instant, her head hit something hard with a thunk that filled her head with pain.

“Pumpkin!” Soarin shouted. Along with the sound came a ripple of pain, and she winced as it did.

Her head tried to wobble as she turned it toward him. He was above her? Sure, he had been taller than her, but he looked like he was standing next to where the moon should be!

Where was the moon anyway?

It was so dark in here...without the moon...

Pumpkin opened her eyes, blinking at the sight of Luna standing over her with a brightly lit horn.

That dark light filled her perception. Her vision darkened until she stared into the abyss. She felt herself screaming, but silent was her world.

She gasped when the light came back to reveal Luna staring down at her. “My little Moonbeam...”

“Pumpkin!” Soarin cried as he took to the Princess's side, panting. He blinked and looked at her for a little while, before smiling sheepishly. “You're all right...”

“What happened?” The burning question on the filly's mind could not stay unspoken.

“Well, you strained yourself a little too much and...” the stallion said.

“Captain Soarin, perhaps you should allow somepony who knows a little bit about magic to speak on this?” Luna interjected with a light glare. “I'd hate for you to put the wrong sort of ideas in Pumpkin's head about what happened, especially when this can be quite a confusing part of a young unicorn's life.”

“Of course, Princess.” He lowered his head.

Pumpkin glanced at him curiously. She usually would have discounted his words outright, but she took a moment to think about it. She had brought a lot of her power to bear at once. That stupid book shouldn't have been so heavy...and, if it wasn't, he'd be telling Luna about how good she was.

Soarin was stupid, but what he said made sense. Nopony had ever really taught her to practice or let her practice magic before, so it made sense that she didn't know how it worked yet, even though she had far more potential than her classmates. It was the book's fault for not warning her about what could happen!

That was the only reason something could have gone wrong!

“You see, Pumpkin, when unicorns use magic, one of the most difficult parts is learning to control the magic,” Luna said slowly.

Pumpkin nodded slowly.

Luna returned the gesture with a bit of confidence and continued speaking,“it is as when an earth pony starts to learn their special talent or when a pegasus takes to the skies for the very first time beyond infancy: the potential for success is already there and usually just requires a little coaxing out. However, for unicorns, the issue is more complicated because they aren't used to their full potential and the motions or actions required to really muster their power.”

“So, I can already do magic, I just don't know how?!?” Pumpkin perked up, grinning.

“That's right, and once I have some more free time, I promise I will instruct you personally.” The winged unicorn finished with a smile.

“Princess?” Soarin interjected.

“Yes, Captain?”

He kicked at the floor lightly, before finally meeting her gaze. “Are you sure that's a good idea?”

“What do you mean?!?” Pumpkin cried before Luna could answer, throwing herself up into a standing position.

“You got a bit banged up last time. You should take it easy for a bit before you try again...”

“Captain!” the Princess shouted with a voice that made the bed rattle.

Pumpkin backed away, hiding herself under the covers.

“Your words have been taken under advisement, Captain. You have your duties to attend to. Don't forget what we have already talked about.” Luna never sounded so fierce before that moment. Mommy at her most furious would be just barely a match for that fury!

“Yes, Princess.” After those words, she heard the sound of hoof-falls slowly growing further and further away.

“I'm sorry about that, little Moonbeam.” Luna's voice was gentle again.

Pumpkin dared to peek out from under the covers. The dark furred unicorn was smiling again.

“I didn't mean to raise my voice and scare you, but sometimes the Captain just needs a reminder of his position, and that his words are valued, but not law.” Luna patted her on the head lightly. “Just remember: he means well, even if he doesn't always think about what he's saying.”

Pumpkin smiled. “Yes, Luna.”

“Now, it's time for good little fillies to get their rest so they can learn magic tomorrow,” she said, tucking the little filly in.

Pumpkin yawned lightly, her eyes starting to fall shut. “Luna?”

“Yes, Pumpkin?” Came the answer as the room began to fall dark.

“Tomorrow, can you style my mane like Daddy does?” she asked as the flowing mane of the Princess began to vanish.

“Of course, little one. Now, good night, and don't let the bed bugs bite.” Luna slipped in in the darkness and gave her a little kiss on the cheek.

“Good night, Luna,” Pumpkin whispered as her eyes fell shut.

“Good night, little Moonbeam...” Came and went the last goodbye of that night...

Notes: I just got a job and finished with most of my pre-finals week work, so I'm hoping that this story gets back on track now...