New Mentors, New Lessons

Chapter 5

Frustration is what filled the forest green unicorn's mind as he trotted angrily down the halls. This would be one of the first few times he could be seen angry, although his reason seemed almost...childish in this case. His anger though wasn't without good cause as he began to recalculate his plans for the next couple of days in his mind. Why had his brother asked him for such a task? One that would send him a fair distance away no less? As he turned back toward Celestia's room, he could see the deep blue alicorn returning the gaze with that obnoxious grin on his face. This sent his blood boiling as if he wanted to smack it right off his face. With a huff, he continued on, turning the corner into his and Luna's room.

The curtains were drawn as it was nearing the middle of the day, as he entered, he took note of the dark sapphire mare sleeping comfortably on the bed. This sight seemed to empty his mind of all of his frustration right away, the very presence of the princess somehow easing his frustration. The scowl on his face was quickly replaced with a smile as he entered, being sure to close the door very quietly behind him before moving over to the dresser to collect his saddlebag as well as a few other things he needed. A faint green aura enveloped the handle of the drawer, after which he carefully pulled out a small bag of bits. As he continued to rummage through the other drawers, collecting what he believed he needed, the sound itself would cause the sleeping princess to stir.

The sound of drawers being pushed closed and pulled open seemed to even reach Luna in her dreams. Upon hearing them, her ears perked up, followed by a very quiet yawn as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. What they opened up to was a whole other story though, the simple sight of her lover sifting through drawers with a saddlebag on worried her a tad, especially given the mild aura of frustration he was putting off. While the drowsiness wore off, the level of perception she had began to improve, taking note of the look in his eyes. They were determined, serious, and frustrated at the same time. But with what? Was the question on her mind as she gazed at him.

“Is something wrong, honey?” asked Luna, her head tilting slightly to the side, still remaining on the bed.

Emerald didn't even turn to her in response, his anger having calmed a bit more from just hearing Luna's voice. “Silver.” was the only word she heard from his mouth and this one answered quite a bit right from the get-go. Her eyes dropped a tiny bit as she climbed off of the bed, trotting over to his side to gently nuzzle him.

“What happened now?” she pressed, pecking him on the cheek.

The unicorn only sighed as he closed the last drawer, having found what he was looking for. “He requested that I find an item...” he replied, this seemed to puzzle the princess a bit more. What was so bad about that? After all, didn't his previous profession have him search for items?

“You are a former treasure hunter, Emerald...” the princess reminded, smiling very softly. The smile was short-lived though as the expression on his face hadn't changed in the least.

“Its not so much the fact he actually made a request of me...” the unicorn began, turning to the princess. “But, of what he requested...THAT is where the problem lies.” This is where it became a bit clearer for her, giving a very soft nod in understanding.

“So, what was it he requested?” she inquired, her curiosity growing just a tiny bit.

“Specifically speaking...he requested I find a small crystal with unique properties, or a specific necklace to aid in Twilight's training.” said Emerald, Luna almost snapped here, the word 'crystal' is what tipped her off in particular. Everything became as clear as well, crystal, only to have her ears drop just a tiny bit when she realized what it meant.

“A crystal...did he specifically say, an energy siphoning one?” he nodded, Luna could only sigh. “Does this mean...you'll miss our date?” While Twilight's training was truly important, it wasn't exactly vital for Luna. She did care for her sister's student, but, this date in particular was extremely important to them as it was their sixth month anniversary. It was also the most important date they had ever had too, as it was the first one they'd actually be having in public since their relationship began.

Briefly, he closed his eyes to think. Unlike some, where it would take at least five minutes to come up with something, when he opened his eyes again, a smile had returned to his face. This was a good sign for Luna right away. Without a vocal response, he pulled her into a passion-filled kiss, using it as a way to convey his thoughts to her, instead of expressing them with words. This kiss was very brief, lasting no more than thirty seconds, but upon it ending, the lunar princess had a very sly grin on her face.

“I'll hold you to that promise.” she remarked, winking. It was as if the two had an unspoken communication, working more with action rather than words. After receiving the go-ahead, the unicorn proceeded out of the room, possibly with the biggest grin on his face anypony had ever seen.

“Three days...” muttered the princess.

Elsewhere, the alicorn stallion found himself trotting quietly through the halls, lost deep in his own thoughts. These thoughts first consisted of what he should teach Twilight in the beginning, at least in terms of magic, but it was then when the realization dawned on him—he needed to assess her abilities first before he made any decisions. Both her physical and mental abilities were a key factor in this and he needed to know just how capable she was in terms of her endurance, otherwise he might end up causing more harm than good. How would he go about it though? Just as he reached the door to her room, an idea struck him, a grin now appearing on his face. It was here he began to formulate and organize what he needed to teach her completely. It was something he had to be sure to write down a little later, but for now, he was getting ahead of himself. Without hesitation and a fair amount of courtesy, he knocked on her door very quietly.

The silence from that moment was a bit troubling, but he paid little mind to it as he attributed it to the fact that she may actually be reading. Considering the vast number of books she now had at her disposal. “Come in.” Twilight called out, her voice very clear. Silver did as such, pushing the door open with his hoof before entering. Once inside, he gave a very soft chuckle at the sight he saw. The studious alicorn was sprawled comfortably on her bed, now reading over one of the many books that lined the shelves with a pile of at least five others right by her side. It was actually rather cute for him to see, especially given the rather odd position she was resting in, while still continuing to read.

'Precious...' he thought, a smile growing on his face. This seemed to break his concentration for a moment. For just that one moment, a side of the alicorn that hadn't been seen in many years surfaced, a very peaceful feeling along with the smile seemed to overcome him. However it vanished almost as quickly as it had appeared, as he pushed the feeling down, reminding himself as to why he was there. Thankfully, Twilight hadn't noticed that single instant, at least...he hoped she hadn't. “So, how was breakfast?”

“As Dash would say, it really hit the spot.” said Twilight, not even looking up from her book. This response heralded another soft chuckle from the stallion.

“I see you didn't waste any time getting right into reading.” the alicorn said, “Anything in particular grasping your interest yet?” With this, he tilted his head slightly to the side, as if he was wondering whether she had grabbed a magic book or not. Most of these books were ancient, even the fictional ones, thus it kind of made it difficult to tell what was what. The covers had worn considerably, and so had a fair amount of the letterings, thus leaving numerous books unmarked until they were opened. If she had indeed picked up a magic book though, it would be a clue as to what he could teach her first.

“Nope, I just took six books from the shelves at random, and started to read.” At which, she held up the book she had been reading over, while the cover was mostly worn, in desperate need of restoration, he could faintly make out the author's name and the title. His ears only dropped when he did, realizing that the book she had picked up was a simple adventure novel, an ancient, but legendary tale. The author of which he greatly adored, especially considering how valuable the books had become in the past few years. “It's not Daring Do, but, I don't know this series yet so I gave it a try.” It took him a moment to shift his gaze from the title as he recalled the entire story by heart, having read each of the books over a hundred times so far. It wasn't until his brain registered the words 'Daring Do' did he snap back to his senses. Both were great series, but this one, the one Twilight was reading, was essentially the Daring Do of its time.

“That book you're reading...I loved its series growing up. Along with Daring Do.” This seemed to break the ice between them, his nerves beginning to die down as his facial expression morphed to one of a more serious nature. It was here where he actually began to realize what he needed to begin with, what aspect of training he should focus on first, more so than any of the other aspects. This was a new experience for him, as he had to teach an alicorn rather than a unicorn. Or better yet, as his mind had just put it, teach a unicorn how to be an alicorn. He could only frown as he gazed at Twilight, simply shaking his head as he continued to watch her read. Finally, he sighed, having thought of where to begin, it actually frustrated him to no end, given he hadn't planned ahead for the lecture this early, but it looked as though he had no other option. “Now, I believe you should know this...Celestia has given me a new job and its possibly....the most important one I've ever been given.” This sparked Twilight's interest, the book becoming seemingly unimportant as the words reached her ears, it was enough to cause her to slowly put down the book, placing a bookmark in it before closing it. “And you're involved in it too.” This is what really caught her off guard, drawing her interest even further. How could she be involved in one of his jobs? He was an informant and she was a princess. However, he was also an alicorn, a very wise one at that, having seen examples of his wisdom back in Ponyville. Showing he didn't even NEED his magic to settle a dispute, using words to solve it instead.

“Me?” Twilight gulped, gesturing her hoof toward herself.

“Yes.” he assured, “The task Celestia has requested, was to teach you new magics and help you become more acquainted with your new body.” If he hadn't had Twilight's attention already, he defiantly had it now.

“N-New magics?” asked Twilight, her voice shaking with a combination of excitement and curiosity. “What new magics? I thought becoming an alicorn simply increased my magic itself. Like enabling me to cast more complicated spells without exhausting myself as fast as before.” While she was accurate with this, Silver snickered a bit, this was the part he particularly enjoyed and it showed too, as a very devious smirk began to spread across his face, one that seemed almost evil to Twilight, yet, it wasn't evil. It seemed more twisted than anything, it was almost as if he had taught before and enjoyed it. It took only a second for her to actually pin down the type of smirk he had now, but when she realized it, a bit of fear shot through her mind. 'He's a...former teacher...and a good one at that...' she thought, as she had only seen this particular smirk on a few others, most of which were teachers, and they were some of the toughest, but often the best teachers in Equestria. The look alone terrified her though, what was running through the mind of the stallion at this particular moment?

“What you say is true, Twilight, but there's more to being an alicorn than just greater magical strength...even being an alicorn has its limits...at first.” This puzzled Twilight, as she found herself scratching her head. “What Celestia wants me to do is, teach you new spells, and to teach you about the many different classes of magic...as well as how to perform them.” It took less than a second for these words to reach her and a very wide grin began to spread across her face, this time it was Silver's turn to be frightened as he had never seen a student of his ever have that wide of a grin plastered on their faces. It did speak to him however, it did say this would be quite an interesting experience for him.

“I see....when do we begin the training?” Eagerness, he could sense it very easily in her. The degree of the eagerness seemed to shoot through him, it reminded him of a former student, only making a small, but genuine smile appear on his face once again. It only seemed to make him more and more enthusiastic about teaching her, which was a good thing, considering his lack of enthusiasm when the job was given to him.

“Well...first, before I teach you any magic...” Silver began, this seemed to crush Twilight's spirits a bit, her ears dropping. Right away he felt a sudden bit of panic, hoping that he hadn't lost her attention already. Before he lost her further, he cleared his throat. “The first step would be to explain to you the advantages and disadvantages of being an alicorn....AND to teach you how to fly.” he continued, smiling the entire time. “As some of the lessons I have in mind, may require flight.” The spark of interest returned quickly to the new princess as her wings unfolded, this caused her to gaze back at them very quietly. She knew they were hers, but they still didn't feel quite like they belonged there.

“Flight, huh? I must say that I haven't even thought about that yet...” as she spoke, she gave her wings one or two good flaps before folding them back up again. It felt a bit unnatural to her, the muscles even felt rather weak in them as well, as if they had been in a cast for two months after being broken. “It seems so....foreign to me. Guess I still have the mindset of a unicorn.” This made it a bit more difficult for Silver, but, then again, it had taken him quite a bit longer than most to learn to fly as well, given how similar he and Twilight were in the regards of knowledge.

“I can figure its a major adjustment...but, aside from the wings there are other aspects you must be aware of before venturing further.” Silver explained, Twilight leaning in a bit closer, by now sitting on the corner of her bed right next to him. “Such as...your senses.”

“My...senses?” Twilight scratched her head with his words, confused by what he meant. This caused her to fall into a bit of thought, it was then it clicked. “Now that you mention it...the music DID seem to be a bit louder than usual yesterday.” He was glad for this, he wouldn't have a need to point out tiny details with this, instead he could continue on with his explanation.

“Exactly. Which brings me to the first point in being an alicorn...all five of your basic senses should be, at most, ten times stronger then they had been before.” he began, “At the least, twice as strong...it might take a few years before they reach their full force.” It wasn't until after he said this that he caught himself in his own error. This was quite a poor explanation of the senses for Twilight. Before he could speak though, she spoke up in response.

Eyes wide, she took over with a clever retort to his words. “T-ten times? You must be kidding. If that were the case, then my ears would've exploded from the volume yesterday!” She was smart indeed, able to pick up on his mistake without realizing it. Once she had said this though, he cleared his throat and thought more carefully.

“Without focus an alicorn's senses are just considered heightened.” he corrected immediately. “But, if we focus one particular sense...we can reach that level, it takes quite a bit of practice to attain that though...and its not something that can be done while we're on the move either...we have to be stationary and we have to be able to concentrate.” With the correction, Twilight couldn't help but sigh in response to it, a bit disappointed that an apparently experienced teacher would phrase something so terribly.

“I see....then sorry but, you phrased that horribly. If that's how it is then our...” she began, not even noticing the fact that she had used the word 'our' when talking about alicorns. “...senses have just gained a higher capacity. If they were stronger like you said it, then they would always be at that level and not just when we want them to be.” This is where the stallion felt a tiny bit humiliated, his pride having taken a hit for the first time, considering she was the first student to ever correct him on a lecture. His ears lowered in response before he spoke again.

“I'm sorry, its just been a while since I've given a lecture.” he stated, before a smile returned to his face. This might actually be easier than he had thought and perhaps even more fun too. He had taught many before, whether it was pegasi, earth pony or unicorn. Yet, this was the first time a student had ever corrected him on something. Even if it was just his choice of words rather than a particular fact. As his smile grew a bit more, he couldn't help but feel joy in the fact that Celestia had given him this task, no matter what lied ahead from here. “And the reason for an alicorn's heightened senses, is due to our increased overall magical potential...both in stamina and overall strength of spells. Without proper control, given your strength when you were a unicorn...and a filly on top of that...it might get really ugly if a repeat of your entrance exam occurred.”

He was right and Twilight knew this. These words were nothing to sneeze at in her case, she could already figure that alicorns have a high capacity for magic, and have a high level of power overall, but, imagining that on top of her already previously strong unicorn magic was truly a terrifying thought. She shuddered at the thought of loosing control, her mind going over the possibilities of it. Before they could reach the worst of the worst however, she took a deep breath, pushing aside the thoughts with some carefully placed words of wisdom. “'Power without control is worthless', I read that in a book once.” Slowly, she closed her eyes it was only for a brief moment, but when she opened them she spoke out again. “I guess I should start to fear my own magic for now.”

Silver nodded, as if agreeing with her choice. “I would too...and to clarify an alicorn's magical limitations...as long as we limit our magic usage to nothing but basic spells, or spells we've grown accustomed to using, such as the spell that Luna and Celestia use to raise the sun and moon respectively in their case, an alicorn can go a full week without sleep and it won't effect us at all either.”

“I kinda figured that would be the case. I've seen prince—Celestia going for several days without sleep when I was studying under her. It got me worried sometimes, but she always assured me that she would be fine.” This was a clever observation by Twilight, spending a fair amount of her time around Celestia actually proved beneficial for her teachings rather than a hinderance to his teaching method, so far anyhow. His smile seemed to grow wider after a few seconds.

“But now...as for some of the more negative aspects of being an alicorn.” he began, at first, he wanted to mention the fact that they were physically ageless, holding the life of something that'd be considered immortal, he wanted to say this at first, but something stopped him. It was the worst-case scenario, he thought that if he told her now, she'd do something irrational. It only took him a moment to snap back to his senses, realizing that she wasn't ready for that information yet. After a few moments of silence, he decided on another fact instead of the most important one, at least for the time being. “One negative aspect, if we're not careful is...the amount of energy we alicorns tend to have...Alicorns need to keep busy, mentally at least, otherwise we tend to have a few...shall we say, problems.” He hoped she'd figure it out right away, as so he wouldn't have to explain it. Not that he was uncomfortable with it, it was just a subject he tended to stray away from.

A helpless laugh slipped from Twilight when she heard this. “Oh great...and I thought my anxiety attacks were bad before this....” While this was a pretty good insight on herself, gifted from having become an alicorn, it wasn't what Silver had hoped for. An inward sigh of defeat left him struggling with his next response.

“That....is more of a personal thing, what I refer to on the other hoof is a bit more complicated....and its particularly difficult for all alicorns.” he explained, “Namely, in question, lust.” Twilight's cheeks began to glow a bright red when she heard the word 'lust' come from his mouth. “You see, boredom isn't a good thing for an alicorn....when we're inactive, whether it be physical, mental or both...the excessive energy gets redirected...mostly to something more primal...” Her face couldn't of possibly grown a brighter shade of red with each and every word he spoke. What he said next however, is what pushed everything over the line. “I've seen...some alicorns go mad from the desire.”

Words couldn't describe this any further as she couldn't even think of a way to respond. It wasn't an overload of information, it was just something Twilight didn't know how to discuss in polite company and while she understood every single word of his explanation, it didn't change the impact of it. What did this mean for the new alicorn? Could she really handle such an odd aspect? Shaking off the embarrassment, she forced herself to speak up. “There...are ways alicorns handle it, right?”

Once again, this earned a nod from the stallion. “Several, as a matter of fact.” Silver replied, “The first and foremost include...actually having a lover help with it.” That one was immediately ruled out, however she remained silent, listening in for more. “The next, is actually taking care of it yourself through other prescribed methods...such as...well, you're probably aware of one, so I need not go into detail...while the other is...preening. How the pegasi handle their desires over actually...” Even the alicorn stallion seemed a bit awkward in explaining this, his cheeks glowing a very light shade of red.

“And what does preening do, aside from keeping our wings tidy.” This is where he almost broke into laughter, the mood quickly shifting in the blink of an eye.

“Well, there are many ways to actually explain this...you see, for pegasi AND alicorns...preening serves multiple purposes, the prime one of which, to express trust towards those we have feelings for.” Silver chuckled, trying to keep the laughter suppressed for the time being. “But...for both, the wings are also very sensitive...much like a unicorn's horn.” Right here is where the entire realization dawned on her, she read on countless occasions that a unicorn could achieve an orgasm like no other if the horn is stimulated in the right way. While it was different from a conventional orgasm for either mare or stallion, it was a very unique experience. However, it wasn't one that a unicorn could experience on their own, as they couldn't simply stimulate their own horn, which made her figure that it was a similar case with a pegasus' wings. “However, unlike a unicorn's horn, a pegasus can actually preen themselves...and they can achieve a true orgasm in some cases.”

“And...with the heightened senses...Alicorns...” Silver would cut Twilight off here by giving just a simple gesture, words didn't even need to be spoken here as she had come to realize the first of many truths of being an alicorn....She really had her work cut out for her now...