Story Timeby HyzakuChaptersField TripWherein the Great and Powerful Trixie Performs a Miracle!Magic LessonsField TripApple Bloom stepped off of the ferry-boat onto the grey, rocky shore. A nearby lamp post cast an eerie light upon the area as the blue flame flickered. She looked around, examining the area. The rock-laden ground was sparsely dotted with large boulders and stone spires. There was an uncomfortable niggling feeling in her mind questioning why she could see so far when the only source of light was the single lamp post nearby. Somehow, despite being able to see quite a fair distance, there was nothing but pitch black above. “Miss Cheerilee, why are we underground?” Apple Bloom asked as she turned to her teacher. The plum colored mare was shuffling the rest of her class off of the ferry-boat when Apple Bloom raised her question. She put on her signature smile, “Well, Apple Bloom, this is where we are supposed to be.” As the last of her students exited the small wooden craft, she hopped out onto the shore. “I admit, I had to ask Twilight for directions, but I can assure you that I’ve followed them precisely.” Cheerilee’s mind wandered back to that moment. She was still confused as to why Twilight had given her such a strange look when she asked for directions to this place. After all, this is where the school board authorized her to take a field trip, so it had to be safe. “Alright, everypony, say thank you to the nice ferrypony.” Cheerilee waved at the oddly quiet earth pony stallion in a grey robe. He looked back and flashed a cold smile as the fillies and colts erupted in a chorus of “Thank you,” accompanied by waving forelimbs. The stallion’s eyes lit up with faint bluish-grey glow, not too dissimilar from the nearby lamp, before he took his oar and shoved off from the shore. It didn’t take long for the group to reach their destination, a massive set of metal cages filled with unusual creatures. As they approached, they were greeted by a white pegasus with a grey mane. He wore a bluish-grey barding made of a mix of cloth and metal. From his left hip hung a small sword, and from his right, hung a wrapped chain. “Greetings!” he exclaimed. “Not many visitors these days. What brings you here?” Cheerilee stepped forward. “Class field trip. We’re here to see your animals.” The pegasus smirked. “Oh, of course. It has been too long since I’ve been able to tell ponies of the things we keep here.” The teacher cast him a confused look before he turned and walked over to a very large cage. The stallion motioned for the group to come closer. “This, children, is a chimera! A fearsome beast with the body of a lion, a goat’s head on its back and a snake for a tail!” The pegasus shouted happily. “Caught it myself, I’ll have you know.” “It’s ugly.” Diamond Tiara replied immediately. Silver Spoon took the chance to laugh. “She’s right.” Sweetie Belle chimed in. “I think Rarity would actually find that more disgusting than a pig.” After a moment of staring in awe, Snips and Snails dashed towards the cage to get a closer look. “Hey, this thing looks crazy!” Snips exclaimed. “Yeah, it’s even cooler than that ursa thing that chased us around.” Snails added. Cheerilee was starting to feel concerned. Not only was there a massive beast that looked quite capable of swallowing an adult pony whole cautiously eyeing her students as they milled around its cage, but she noticed that the cage door was only being held shut by a small length of golden rope. She walked over to the pegasus stallion as he beamed an enthusiastic smile; it was as if he was enjoying the class’ excitement. “Excuse me, mister...” He swiftly turned his head. “Just call me ‘Wings’.” “Wings? Your parents must not be very creative.” Scootaloo interjected. Cheerilee immediately switched to her chastising tone.“Scootaloo! That was very rude, young lady. Apologize to him this instant!” Cheerilee was caught off guard when the stallion suddenly burst into laughter. “Don’t worry about it, ladies. Wings is just a nickname I happen to like. We don’t have too many pegasi down here, you know. Since I was the first one here, the others just tried to tease me. Granted, they weren’t exactly creative–” “Hey, mister.” Scootaloo poked the strange pegasus in his shoulder, completely ignoring his story. “What is this chain for? Did you use it to capture that thing?” The stallion seemed to puff up his chest as his ego swelled. “Yes, young one. That’s correct. In fact, I’ve personally subdued every creature here!” The orange filly’s eyes grew wide with amazement. “That’s so cool! I bet you’re almost as awesome as Rainbow Dash!” “Hey! My sister fought off a manticore once. Do you have any of them here?” Apple Bloom asked as she and Sweetie Belle seemed to mysteriously appear next to Scootaloo. “Yeah, well Rarity helped her with that fight!” Sweetie remarked. “Rainbow Dash was there too!” “So what? Fluttershy’s the one who tamed it.” Apple Bloom retorted. The stallion raised a single brow, his curiosity piqued. “Excuse me, did you say somepony tamed a manticore?” The three fillies promptly ceased their arguing. “Oh, yeah, Fluttershy’s amazing!” “She totally tamed it.” “Don’t forget that time when she scolded that dragon until he started crying!” “Or how she stared down the cock-a-thingy and made it turn her chickens back from being stone!” The stallion found himself gaping slightly at Fluttershy’s list of accomplishments. “It sounds as if you three have an amazing guardian.” The fillies nodded happily. “I’d love to meet such a powerful mare someday.” “Yeah, Fluttershy’s great, but she’s still not as cool as Rainbow Dash.” Scootaloo added to nopony’s surprise. “Wings.” Cheerilee spoke up, earning the stallion’s attention. “Are you sure these creatures are safe to be around?” – her face sagged with worry – “I don’t want any my students to get hurt petting them.” “Not to worry, fair lady. So long as they remain in their cages, they are completely docile. The enchanted rope that binds the cage doors ensures that any occupant is incapable of aggression, so long as the rope is tied to the cage.” he answered with astounding confidence. “But, pray tell, why would they want to pet a chimera?” “Hey, Snips, just cut that rope off so we can go in and pet it!” Suddenly, Wings’ confident expression shattered. The rope fell to the ground, sliced in two by a pair of floating scissors. The beast loosed a mighty roar, the sheer force of which flung the two colts dozens of feet away. As Snips and Snails landed with a thud, the cage door burst open as the giant monster escaped from its prison. “Hey, Wings! Use your chain!” Scootaloo cheered. “Yeah! Show us how you kicked thing’s butt!” Apple Bloom added with equal enthusiasm. “Hey, I know! I’ll get your chain for you. I’ve been practicing my telekinesis so I can be a bigger help to Rarity.” Sweetie shouted as her horn lit up. “Wait, practicing?” Wings’ eyes went wide as he realized what was happening. A blue glow surrounded his chain before he could object. Suddenly, the chain went berserk. The length of the chain tripled as it weaved around in the air. Then, as quickly as it had begun moving, the chain promptly contracted around the pegasus stallion, leaving his totally bound. He fell to the ground, utterly helpless. “Sweetie! What the hay did you do?” Scootaloo shouted, the beginnings fear echoed in her voice. Sweetie Belle looked on in shock. In all the times she’d practiced, her spell had never backfired this badly. Except that time when she accidentally tied up Rarity with bolt of cloth she’d been trying to lift. “Oh, right... I forgot I did that.” The white filly slumped in shame. “My chain is enchanted.” Wings spoke up. “It reacts poorly with unfocused magic.“ “Oh...” It was all Sweetie could manage to say. “Quick, let’s let out something else and hope they fight each other!” Snips shouted. “No! You fool, don’t free them!” Wings shouted angrily. Unfortunately, the first part of his sentence had been drowned out by another mighty roar from the chimera. The only thing the bumbling unicorn colt heard was: “...free them!” With newfound resolve Snips levitated his scissors with him as he ran from cage to cage cutting one golden rope after another. The captives, now free, looked around the area with unease. Many powerful creatures were present, and not all of them liked each other. The final moment of peace was broken when one of the strange beasts charged. Chaos ensued. The three fillies crowded around Wings, desperately trying to undo the chains that bound him. The chimera found this an opportunity worth exploiting. It lunged forward, swiping a powerful claw at the group. Before its blow could land, Cheerilee shouted at the fillies to run. Even if she wanted to, there was no way she could stop the massive beast’s attack. To her horror, they didn’t move in time. The three fillies went tumbling across the ground, the sharp rocks digging in with every bounce. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon shrieked in terror as the Cutie Mark Crusaders came to a stop right at their hooves. Cheerilee looked on in horror, tears welling up in her eyes. “Ow, that hurt.” Sweetie Belle moaned as she pulled herself off the ground. “Oh come on, it wasn’t that bad. I’ve crashed into trees that hurt more than this.” Scootaloo replied as she sat up. “Yeah! I bet my brother can buck harder than this thing hits!” Apple Bloom exclaimed as she dusted off her bow. Miraculously, there was not a single injury to be found on them. “Wha-what!?” Diamond Tiara shouted. “But, how are you still alive?” Scootaloo turned and flashed an arrogant grin. “Well, not to brag or anything-” “Enough!” A loud voice boomed. The fighting creatures stopped dead in their tracks. Suddenly, a gout of reddish flame erupted in the middle of the battle site. Out of the flame appeared a unicorn garbed in a black robe that covered most of his body save for his head and forelegs. The robe ended in an obscuring black mist – covering his back hooves – that seemed to flow into wispy black tendrils before dissipating into the air. His coat was an ashen grey, nearly black, while his eyes glowed a sickly yellow. His mane, however, was the most astonishing feature; it was a blue flame, much like that of the lamp they had seen earlier. The stallion looked around at all of the dangerous creatures with an air of superiority. With a bellowing shout, the flames of his mane flashed red as more reddish gouts of flame erupted from his body turning him into a living pyre. As the flames swirled around him, he shouted a command, “Back in your cages!” The assembled creatures retreated to their respective cages faster than a pony could blink; making sure to close the doors behind them. The red subsided into blue and the flames retreated into the stallion’s mane. He walked towards Wings with a sense of purpose and a subtle anger in his eyes. He came to a stop near the bound pegasus. The flame covered stallion let out an odd mix of a groan and a sigh as he shook his head at the sight before him. “Alright, Thanatos, who tricked you this time?” His voice was strangely calm. “Um, the w-white unicorn filly over there tried to grab my chain with her magic...” The pegasus replied with an embarrassed expression. The flames of his mane flashed red once more, though no more flames erupted this time. The stallion leaned down into Wings’ face before shouting, “You got taken out by a filly!?” Red faded to blue once more as the stallion’s anger was washed away in a sudden fit of laughter. Cheerilee was thoroughly confused. Despite that, she knew it was her responsibility as her student’s chaperone to get some answers. There was no way the school board should have approved a field trip to such a dangerous place. The plum colored mare stepped forward. “Excuse me, sir. Are you the owner of this place?” The laughing unicorn swiftly calmed himself. He grinned slyly. “Yes I am, darling.” – he stepped closer – “Hades, Lord of the Dead. Nice to meet ya.” He extended a hoof as though expecting her to shake it. Cheerilee stood stock still as she tried to process what she had just heard. “If you’re Hades, then who is that guy?” Hades lowered his hoof as he cast a displeased glance at the bound pegasus. “Thanatos, living incarnation of death, and massive screw up.” He returned his gaze to the plum mare. “And before you ask, when he’s bound by his own chain it literally means that nothing can die.” “But-” “Not the first time it’s happened either. Seriously, the guy is total moron. Last time it happened the pony he was supposed to be binding tricked Thanny into handing over his chain. I mean, how stupid can you get, am I right.” Hades nudged Cheerilee with his elbow. “Yes, that sounds very foolish...” Cheerilee paused to regather her train of thought. “So I’m guessing this isn’t a petting zoo.” Hades burst into laughter once more. “Oh, god, tell me you’re being serious. I really need something to laugh at today.” The teacher shrunk back as the embarassment set in. “I wouldn’t be asking otherwise.” She mumbled in response. After a long, awkward time of watching the Lord of the Dead literally rolling around in a fit of laughter, the stallion swiftly righted himself; his appearance back to a stoic expression of neutrality. “Yeah, honey, this is T-a-r-t-a-r-u-s. You know, hell, the underworld, land of the dead, etc. What you want is T-a-u-r-u-s, the petting zoo run by some loud-mouth Minotaurs. It’s about an hour south from the entrance.” Princess Celestia looked up as a scroll materialized in her chambers. She instinctively grabbed it with her magic. Dear Princess Celestia, I would like to formally lodge a complaint against the Equestrian School Board for authorizing a class field trip to Tartarus. Somepony needs to teach those old fools how to spell. Respectfully, Hades Dear Cheerilee, I am sorry your field trip did not go as planned. You should know that the School Board has been reprimanded for their failures in spelling as well as for endangering you and your class. They will be writing on chalk boards for quite some time, I suspect. To make it up to you, why don’t you bring your class to Canterlot next week. I am certain that a field trip exploring Canterlot Castle and its gardens would prove a much safer venture for everypony. Regards, H.R.H. Princess Celestia Author's Note This prompt chosen by the RNG gods was post #37. A comedy/adventure story in which Cherilee takes her class (and the CMC by extension) on a field-trip to Tartarus. Thanks for the fun prompt, Razorbeam. Wherein the Great and Powerful Trixie Performs a Miracle!“Curse you, Twilight Sparkle! You owe Trixie for this!” the great and powerful unicorn shouted in frustration. Normally, such an exclamation would have drawn much attention to the show mare. However, her situation was hardly what she would call normal. Instead of attention, she was simply ignored as her cry for retribution was drowned out by the raucous screams of foals as they partook in the myriad of festivities that had filled Ponyville’s park. It was a dismal state of affairs for the show mare, not because her anguish was being ignored, but because her true suffering was still to come. Trixie still had to perform for these insufferable brats and that time was soon approaching. But that was far from the worst part of her day! For this event, the birthday of some rich stallion’s bratty, pink daughter, Trixie was not performing as a great and powerful unicorn. No, the mighty Trixie had been hired to fill the role of a common clown. The nerve of these ponies! Demeaning the most powerful unicorn – a title Trixie happily claimed ever since Twilight’s ascension to princesshood – with such an insulting and crass job. Sure, Trixie needed the money, and this Mr. Rich was certainly paying well, but merely asking Trixie to play a clown was an insult worth remembering for generations! The only thing worse was that Trixie was required to actually dress the part. A large, rainbow-colored wig that looked more like a beachball than a mane sat atop her head; it completely concealed her normal mane. A ruffle collar accompanied the solid white make up that covered her face, with red highlights around her mouth accentuating the bulbous red nose at the end of her snout. A hideous, puffy, white jumpsuit covered in a mix of reds and yellows covered her body. Four massively oversized shoes rounded out the absurd ensemble. “This is the last time Trixie asks Twilight Sparkle for a job.” the agitated mare grumbled. “I though we were friends.” “Hey, look!” Trixie snapped her head up at the sudden exclamation. “Can you believe it? It’s a real clown and we aren’t even at a circus!” the excited voice came from a small orange pegasus filly. The filly, while flanked by what Trixie gathered were her friends, skidded to a halt right in front of the show mare. With a pair of eyes that twinkled with excitement and anticipation, the young pegasus stared up at Trixie. Remembering her old business motto, ‘an audience is an audience’, Trixie immediately slipping into her stage persona. “Greetings, little one. You stand in the presence of the–” The orange filly promptly interrupted her. “Can you make balloon ponies?” Trixie responded without missing a beat. “Of course! Such a thing is child’s play for the Gr–” “Make Rainbow Dash!” “I want one of Rarity!” “No, make Applejack!” The fillies suddenly locked gazes with each other. Trixie looked back and forth as the stare-off swiftly descended into an argument over which balloon pony they should ask for. This, in turn, drew the attention of other children who promptly joined the discussion until the entire park was drowned in the shouts and screams of fillies and colts. Trixie cringed as one of her worst-case scenarios came to pass: loud, annoying foals. “This is why I never worked birthday parties.” It wasn’t long before the adults took notice. To Trixie’s dismay, they ended up joining the discussion. She brought a hoof to her face. “Enough!” Trixie screamed at the top of her lungs. Finally, the arguing stopped. Trixie mentally complemented herself. Then imagined patting herself on the back for a job well done. Suddenly, Princess Celestia descended from on high, a radiant glow of power surrounded her. The Princess approached Trixie as the entire crowd bowed before her. “You may rise, Trixie.” Celestia’s voice was as warm as the sun. Trixie obeyed the command. “You have proven your skill at taking control of a dreadful situation. I would be honored if you would be willing to utilize your skillful oration for the betterment of Equestria. Trixie, will you become–” “Hey, Clown!” Trixie was snapped from her daydream. “Are you going to do something funny or what?!” a pink filly with a diamond encrusted tiara shouted from the front row. Trixie glanced around the park, hoping for some sign of Her Royal Highness; but alas it had all been her imagination. As reality crashed in around her, she noticed that the entirety of the assembled party-goers were looking in her direction. She could practically feel the anticipation oozing from the crowd. It wasn’t her preferred type of performance, but an audience is an audience, and Trixie was a true performer. She would give them the greatest, most amazing clown show in the history of Equestria! She could feel her confidence welling up as she assumed a confident posture. “Of course!” she exclaimed. “Now stand back as the Great and Powerful–” “Hey,” a small, chubby colt with an orange mane interjected, “you can’t steal the Great and Powerful Trixie’s lines like that!” “Yeah!” added a dim-looking yellow colt standing next to the first. Trixie recognized the idiot pair immediately. Before she could even think, her magic instinctively flared to life with an appropriate response to the heckling fools. A nearby cream pie magically flew threw the air connecting with the chubby colt’s face. Trixie blinked twice before her mind caught up with her actions. A grin slid its way onto her face. Snips stuck out his tongue and lick up some of the cream from around his lips. “Hey, this stuff tastes pretty good.” The crowd immediately broke into laughter at the pie covered colt. “Can you still make me a balloon pony?” the orange filly from before asked. Trixie continued to grin. “Of course, little one.” Trixie’s horn lit up once more as she reached out and retrieved a set of long, colored balloons. Suddenly, the balloons all inflated simultaneously. The magical aura intensified as the balloon became a rainbow blur for several seconds, moving, twisting, and tying themselves into a stunning reproduction of Ponyville’s premiere flier. To everypony’s amazement, the balloon sculpture was strikingly accurate. The orange filly squealed in glee as she snatched up her newest prize before darting off stage. Cheers erupted from the audience as they stomped their hooves in appreciation. Trixie’s revelry in the praise was cut short when she heard the tell tale hiss of a lit fuse. She glanced towards the noise to find the orange filly and her two friends had strapped her balloon-crafted pony to a rather large firework rocket. Several other fireworks were scattered on the ground near them. “Where did you get those!?” Trixie shouted. “We found them in a bag in Whitetail Woods.” The orange one replied happily. “It was like somepony just left them lying around.” “Trixie left those in her camp site with a sign saying ‘This place belongs to Trixie’!” The three fillies looked at each other, shrugged and looked back to Trixie. “But the sign didn’t say the stuff there was yours too.” The yellow earth filly replied. “Who cares about that!” the orange one shouted. “Now I finally get to have a flying Rainbow Dash toy!” Trixie’s expression fell as she noticed the the fuse was almost to the rocket. She dove towards the three fillies, grabbing two with her magic and one with her mouth. The hissing grew louder as the fuse reached its destination, igniting the rocket. Sparks and flames poured out of the rocket, some landing on nearby fuses, igniting them. The rocket suddenly took off into the air before flipping wildly around and careening back down towards Trixie. Trixie ran, with foals in-tow. A knock on her front door alerted Twilight that she had a guest. She place a bookmark into the tome she was reading before closing it. She promptly made her way to the door and opened it. What greeted her was the sight of a disheveled, exhausted, and slightly charred Trixie who was, for some reason, wearing a mostly destroyed clown costume. Twilight stood gawking for several moments before saying the only thing that came to mind. “Trixie, your mane is on fire...” Trixie ripped the burning wig from her head and slammed it to the ground. “Um, do... do you want to talk about it?” Twilight offered. Trixie leveled a harsh gaze at the lavender unicorn. “Trixie is never having foals.” Author's Note It's a bit messy, and those who follow my blog posts will understand why. Hopefully it's still entertaining. Also, due to the delays, this is going up with no editing whatsoever. Feel free to point out errors and I'll take care of them. Magic LessonsGolden Oaks Library, a place dedicated to reading, fun, learning, and more reading. Twilight Sparkle, Ponyville’s resident librarian-turned-princess had recently taken a more active role in the community. With her newfound authority, she had taken it upon herself to draw more attention to her library. Her plan involved holding instructional classes on her myriad fields of expertise. One such class was her magical tutoring course; a series of lessons designed for teaching unicorn fillies and colts the basics of magic. There was just one tiny problem. In her excitement, Twilight had completely forgotten to advertise any of her new courses to the town. She stared dejectedly at the abysmal turnout; a whole three fillies... and only one was even a unicorn. Sweetie Belle hopped energetically in place, flanked by her two friends, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo. “Can you believe it? I’m finally getting magic lessons!” the excited unicorn filly exclaimed. Scootaloo’s head drooped. “Yeah, that’s great...” Apple Bloom rolled her eyes at the dejected looking pegasus. “Ya know, if you’re so bored we could just go back to the club house.” The pegasus filly’s head shot up. “What? No way! Crusaders have to stick together!” “I know that,” Apple Bloom snapped. “But I’m not the one lookin’ all sour and bored.” “I’d be more excited if we were spending time at Rainbow Dash’s place instead of Twilight’s” “None of us can even get up to Rainbow Dash’s house,” Apple Bloom retorted. “Besides, Twilight’s a princess now. I bet she’s a lot cooler than when she was just a super powerful unicorn.” “She’s still probably going to make us read something since we aren’t unicorns.” Twilight released an exasperated sigh. If not for the fact that she had mentioned her plans to Rarity, she might not even have a single student. Still, she knew it wouldn’t be long before Sweetie Belle’s friends started causing trouble if she didn’t keep them entertained somehow. Twilight buried her nose in her lesson plan, trying desperately to distract herself from whatever discussion Scootaloo and Apple Bloom were having. She occasionally glanced up at her clock, counting the seconds until the time she had specified, nine ante meridian, finally arrived so her class could begin. Finally, the minute hoof of the clock ticked over to the top of the hour. With a sharp rapping of her ruler against her desk, the lavender alicorn grabbed the attention of the three fillies. “Class is now in session.” A twinge of excitement ran through her body. There was something exhilarating about being on this side of the classroom. A sense a power! For a moment, she likened herself to her mentor. A wise, powerful, and very beautiful– “Twilight, I’m bored!” Scootaloo interjected. Twilight glared at the orange filly. “I haven’t even started my lesson.” Apple Bloom swiftly, and suddenly, smacked her orange friend upside the head. “Quit complainin’. You wanted to come support Sweetie Belle so just hush.” Twilight grinned. She was content that Apple Bloom could at least keep Scootaloo from interrupting too often. “Now then, Sweetie Belle, we are going to start with some basic channeling. You need to be able to draw on your magical power reliably before you try to perform any kind of spell.” Before she could continue, a shout echoed from upstairs. “Hey, Twilight!” Spike came down the stairs with a single book in hand. “I found this book by your bed when I was cleaning up, but I can’t find where it’s supposed to go on the shelves.” Twilight was mildly irritated that her lesson was being interrupted, again. But that feeling was quickly replaced by confusion. Spike, her number one assistant, the dragon who knew where every single book in the library was located, was unable to find where this book belonged. A slight sense of panic set in. “I probably borrowed it from somepony. What is the name of the book?” The young dragon glanced down at the cover. “Kamaresutra” Twilight engaged full panic mode. “Oh, is that my sister’s?” Sweetie Belle spoke up. “I know Rarity has a copy of that in her room. I found it once when I was cleaning up for her.” “Wait a minute,” Apple Bloom interjected, “Are you sure that’s Rarity’s? ‘Cause I remember Applejack lending her a book with that name.” “Is that what you read with Rainbow Dash when she comes over and you two go up to your room?” Spike asked. Twilight could feel her face warming up. “N-no, that’s not–” “If Rainbow Dash reads it it must be awesome!” Scootaloo exclaimed. “Hey, Twilight, can I borrow that book?” The flustered alicorn suddenly found herself shouting, “Absolutely not!” Silence fell over the room as the four children stared at Twilight. “Why not?” Twilight froze. She wasn’t a mother. She wasn’t ready to have this conversation. that and she was fairly certain that her friends wouldn’t appreciate her ruining the minds of their younger sisters. Her brain scrambled to find a suitable excuse. “Because... I borrowed it from Princess Celestia.” Perfect! There was no way this could backfire, she thought. “Oh, are you done with it, or should I put it back in your room?” Spike asked. “I’m done with it,” Twilight replied. “I was going to return it the next time I see her.” “I’ll save you the trouble.” Before Twilight could respond, the book was covered in emerald flames; turning the tome into a wisp of magical smoke that rushed off to Princess Celestia. Twilight’s mouth fell agape. After a few moments of awkward silence, Spike belched out a small gout of emerald flames that manifested a letter bearing the royal seal. He snatched the letter from the air as it fell and opened it up. As was his standard routine, Spike read the letter aloud. To My Loving Student, Thank you for returning this study aid in such a timely fashion. I trust that you have taken sufficient notes and I do so hope you found the opportunity to put some of the techniques to practical use. This is certainly a field of study that rewards hooves on experience more than simple study. If you have the time, please come to Canterlot this weekend. Luna and I have prepared an advanced curriculum on the subject that we we like you to study. Naturally, there will be plenty of field study and hooves on work involved. If this weekend is not suitable, please let me know so that we may reschedule to a time that is more convenient for you. With Love, H.R.H. Princess Celestia P.S. Luna has reminded me to ask you requisition the services of Applejack’s brother, Big Macintosh for our lesson. Twilight was certain that she was nearly red enough to pass for Big Mac. “Oh, I bet that was a book on apple buckin’!” Apple Bloom exclaimed. “Moving on!” Twilight shouted. “Spike, why don’t you take Apple Bloom and Scootaloo and find some a nice, safe book to read while I finish teaching Sweetie Belle.” The dragon nodded. “Hey, let’s go check out the mythology section. I’ve seen some cool looking stuff over there.” He motioned for the two fillies to follow. He pulled a book off the shelf and promptly opened it. He could hear Twilight beginning her lecture as he scanned the page. “What are you looking for?” “Oh, this book has some really weird words in it. I thought maybe with you two helping we could figure them out.” “Why not use a dictionary?” Spike frowned. “I tried. Even Twilight doesn’t recognize them.” “Then what makes you think we can help?” Scootaloo scoffed. Spike shrugged. “I just thought that maybe you could get a cutie mark for figuring it out.” The two fillies eyes lit up. Before they could make their usual exclamation, Spike directed their attention at a specific line. “Here, try this one. It shows up a lot.” The fillies stared at the alien words, their tongues practically twisted into knots just looking at them. However, they were on a mission; a cutie mark related mission! Apple Bloom tried her hoof at it first. She mouthed out several different attempts at pronouncing the words until she finally seemed to settle on something. She took a deep breath, “Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn.” Suddenly, there was a flash of light. The chimeric body that appeared was enough of a distraction to stop Twilight’s lecture. Discord looked around the room until his eyes settled on the two fillies and a dragon with an open book. He leaned in close, his gaze was one of pure anger. “Alright, who’s bright idea was it to try to wake up my dad?” Without warning, Spike belched out another letter. Dear Twilight Sparkle, Quickly, gather your friends and the Elements of Harmony and meet me in Canterlot as soon as you can. A great evil is stirring. Also, if you can find Discord, have him come with you. Be safe, Celestia Sweetie Belle turned to her friends with an icy glare. “Geeze, if you wanted to do something else today you could have just said so!”
Field TripApple Bloom stepped off of the ferry-boat onto the grey, rocky shore. A nearby lamp post cast an eerie light upon the area as the blue flame flickered. She looked around, examining the area. The rock-laden ground was sparsely dotted with large boulders and stone spires. There was an uncomfortable niggling feeling in her mind questioning why she could see so far when the only source of light was the single lamp post nearby. Somehow, despite being able to see quite a fair distance, there was nothing but pitch black above. “Miss Cheerilee, why are we underground?” Apple Bloom asked as she turned to her teacher. The plum colored mare was shuffling the rest of her class off of the ferry-boat when Apple Bloom raised her question. She put on her signature smile, “Well, Apple Bloom, this is where we are supposed to be.” As the last of her students exited the small wooden craft, she hopped out onto the shore. “I admit, I had to ask Twilight for directions, but I can assure you that I’ve followed them precisely.” Cheerilee’s mind wandered back to that moment. She was still confused as to why Twilight had given her such a strange look when she asked for directions to this place. After all, this is where the school board authorized her to take a field trip, so it had to be safe. “Alright, everypony, say thank you to the nice ferrypony.” Cheerilee waved at the oddly quiet earth pony stallion in a grey robe. He looked back and flashed a cold smile as the fillies and colts erupted in a chorus of “Thank you,” accompanied by waving forelimbs. The stallion’s eyes lit up with faint bluish-grey glow, not too dissimilar from the nearby lamp, before he took his oar and shoved off from the shore. It didn’t take long for the group to reach their destination, a massive set of metal cages filled with unusual creatures. As they approached, they were greeted by a white pegasus with a grey mane. He wore a bluish-grey barding made of a mix of cloth and metal. From his left hip hung a small sword, and from his right, hung a wrapped chain. “Greetings!” he exclaimed. “Not many visitors these days. What brings you here?” Cheerilee stepped forward. “Class field trip. We’re here to see your animals.” The pegasus smirked. “Oh, of course. It has been too long since I’ve been able to tell ponies of the things we keep here.” The teacher cast him a confused look before he turned and walked over to a very large cage. The stallion motioned for the group to come closer. “This, children, is a chimera! A fearsome beast with the body of a lion, a goat’s head on its back and a snake for a tail!” The pegasus shouted happily. “Caught it myself, I’ll have you know.” “It’s ugly.” Diamond Tiara replied immediately. Silver Spoon took the chance to laugh. “She’s right.” Sweetie Belle chimed in. “I think Rarity would actually find that more disgusting than a pig.” After a moment of staring in awe, Snips and Snails dashed towards the cage to get a closer look. “Hey, this thing looks crazy!” Snips exclaimed. “Yeah, it’s even cooler than that ursa thing that chased us around.” Snails added. Cheerilee was starting to feel concerned. Not only was there a massive beast that looked quite capable of swallowing an adult pony whole cautiously eyeing her students as they milled around its cage, but she noticed that the cage door was only being held shut by a small length of golden rope. She walked over to the pegasus stallion as he beamed an enthusiastic smile; it was as if he was enjoying the class’ excitement. “Excuse me, mister...” He swiftly turned his head. “Just call me ‘Wings’.” “Wings? Your parents must not be very creative.” Scootaloo interjected. Cheerilee immediately switched to her chastising tone.“Scootaloo! That was very rude, young lady. Apologize to him this instant!” Cheerilee was caught off guard when the stallion suddenly burst into laughter. “Don’t worry about it, ladies. Wings is just a nickname I happen to like. We don’t have too many pegasi down here, you know. Since I was the first one here, the others just tried to tease me. Granted, they weren’t exactly creative–” “Hey, mister.” Scootaloo poked the strange pegasus in his shoulder, completely ignoring his story. “What is this chain for? Did you use it to capture that thing?” The stallion seemed to puff up his chest as his ego swelled. “Yes, young one. That’s correct. In fact, I’ve personally subdued every creature here!” The orange filly’s eyes grew wide with amazement. “That’s so cool! I bet you’re almost as awesome as Rainbow Dash!” “Hey! My sister fought off a manticore once. Do you have any of them here?” Apple Bloom asked as she and Sweetie Belle seemed to mysteriously appear next to Scootaloo. “Yeah, well Rarity helped her with that fight!” Sweetie remarked. “Rainbow Dash was there too!” “So what? Fluttershy’s the one who tamed it.” Apple Bloom retorted. The stallion raised a single brow, his curiosity piqued. “Excuse me, did you say somepony tamed a manticore?” The three fillies promptly ceased their arguing. “Oh, yeah, Fluttershy’s amazing!” “She totally tamed it.” “Don’t forget that time when she scolded that dragon until he started crying!” “Or how she stared down the cock-a-thingy and made it turn her chickens back from being stone!” The stallion found himself gaping slightly at Fluttershy’s list of accomplishments. “It sounds as if you three have an amazing guardian.” The fillies nodded happily. “I’d love to meet such a powerful mare someday.” “Yeah, Fluttershy’s great, but she’s still not as cool as Rainbow Dash.” Scootaloo added to nopony’s surprise. “Wings.” Cheerilee spoke up, earning the stallion’s attention. “Are you sure these creatures are safe to be around?” – her face sagged with worry – “I don’t want any my students to get hurt petting them.” “Not to worry, fair lady. So long as they remain in their cages, they are completely docile. The enchanted rope that binds the cage doors ensures that any occupant is incapable of aggression, so long as the rope is tied to the cage.” he answered with astounding confidence. “But, pray tell, why would they want to pet a chimera?” “Hey, Snips, just cut that rope off so we can go in and pet it!” Suddenly, Wings’ confident expression shattered. The rope fell to the ground, sliced in two by a pair of floating scissors. The beast loosed a mighty roar, the sheer force of which flung the two colts dozens of feet away. As Snips and Snails landed with a thud, the cage door burst open as the giant monster escaped from its prison. “Hey, Wings! Use your chain!” Scootaloo cheered. “Yeah! Show us how you kicked thing’s butt!” Apple Bloom added with equal enthusiasm. “Hey, I know! I’ll get your chain for you. I’ve been practicing my telekinesis so I can be a bigger help to Rarity.” Sweetie shouted as her horn lit up. “Wait, practicing?” Wings’ eyes went wide as he realized what was happening. A blue glow surrounded his chain before he could object. Suddenly, the chain went berserk. The length of the chain tripled as it weaved around in the air. Then, as quickly as it had begun moving, the chain promptly contracted around the pegasus stallion, leaving his totally bound. He fell to the ground, utterly helpless. “Sweetie! What the hay did you do?” Scootaloo shouted, the beginnings fear echoed in her voice. Sweetie Belle looked on in shock. In all the times she’d practiced, her spell had never backfired this badly. Except that time when she accidentally tied up Rarity with bolt of cloth she’d been trying to lift. “Oh, right... I forgot I did that.” The white filly slumped in shame. “My chain is enchanted.” Wings spoke up. “It reacts poorly with unfocused magic.“ “Oh...” It was all Sweetie could manage to say. “Quick, let’s let out something else and hope they fight each other!” Snips shouted. “No! You fool, don’t free them!” Wings shouted angrily. Unfortunately, the first part of his sentence had been drowned out by another mighty roar from the chimera. The only thing the bumbling unicorn colt heard was: “...free them!” With newfound resolve Snips levitated his scissors with him as he ran from cage to cage cutting one golden rope after another. The captives, now free, looked around the area with unease. Many powerful creatures were present, and not all of them liked each other. The final moment of peace was broken when one of the strange beasts charged. Chaos ensued. The three fillies crowded around Wings, desperately trying to undo the chains that bound him. The chimera found this an opportunity worth exploiting. It lunged forward, swiping a powerful claw at the group. Before its blow could land, Cheerilee shouted at the fillies to run. Even if she wanted to, there was no way she could stop the massive beast’s attack. To her horror, they didn’t move in time. The three fillies went tumbling across the ground, the sharp rocks digging in with every bounce. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon shrieked in terror as the Cutie Mark Crusaders came to a stop right at their hooves. Cheerilee looked on in horror, tears welling up in her eyes. “Ow, that hurt.” Sweetie Belle moaned as she pulled herself off the ground. “Oh come on, it wasn’t that bad. I’ve crashed into trees that hurt more than this.” Scootaloo replied as she sat up. “Yeah! I bet my brother can buck harder than this thing hits!” Apple Bloom exclaimed as she dusted off her bow. Miraculously, there was not a single injury to be found on them. “Wha-what!?” Diamond Tiara shouted. “But, how are you still alive?” Scootaloo turned and flashed an arrogant grin. “Well, not to brag or anything-” “Enough!” A loud voice boomed. The fighting creatures stopped dead in their tracks. Suddenly, a gout of reddish flame erupted in the middle of the battle site. Out of the flame appeared a unicorn garbed in a black robe that covered most of his body save for his head and forelegs. The robe ended in an obscuring black mist – covering his back hooves – that seemed to flow into wispy black tendrils before dissipating into the air. His coat was an ashen grey, nearly black, while his eyes glowed a sickly yellow. His mane, however, was the most astonishing feature; it was a blue flame, much like that of the lamp they had seen earlier. The stallion looked around at all of the dangerous creatures with an air of superiority. With a bellowing shout, the flames of his mane flashed red as more reddish gouts of flame erupted from his body turning him into a living pyre. As the flames swirled around him, he shouted a command, “Back in your cages!” The assembled creatures retreated to their respective cages faster than a pony could blink; making sure to close the doors behind them. The red subsided into blue and the flames retreated into the stallion’s mane. He walked towards Wings with a sense of purpose and a subtle anger in his eyes. He came to a stop near the bound pegasus. The flame covered stallion let out an odd mix of a groan and a sigh as he shook his head at the sight before him. “Alright, Thanatos, who tricked you this time?” His voice was strangely calm. “Um, the w-white unicorn filly over there tried to grab my chain with her magic...” The pegasus replied with an embarrassed expression. The flames of his mane flashed red once more, though no more flames erupted this time. The stallion leaned down into Wings’ face before shouting, “You got taken out by a filly!?” Red faded to blue once more as the stallion’s anger was washed away in a sudden fit of laughter. Cheerilee was thoroughly confused. Despite that, she knew it was her responsibility as her student’s chaperone to get some answers. There was no way the school board should have approved a field trip to such a dangerous place. The plum colored mare stepped forward. “Excuse me, sir. Are you the owner of this place?” The laughing unicorn swiftly calmed himself. He grinned slyly. “Yes I am, darling.” – he stepped closer – “Hades, Lord of the Dead. Nice to meet ya.” He extended a hoof as though expecting her to shake it. Cheerilee stood stock still as she tried to process what she had just heard. “If you’re Hades, then who is that guy?” Hades lowered his hoof as he cast a displeased glance at the bound pegasus. “Thanatos, living incarnation of death, and massive screw up.” He returned his gaze to the plum mare. “And before you ask, when he’s bound by his own chain it literally means that nothing can die.” “But-” “Not the first time it’s happened either. Seriously, the guy is total moron. Last time it happened the pony he was supposed to be binding tricked Thanny into handing over his chain. I mean, how stupid can you get, am I right.” Hades nudged Cheerilee with his elbow. “Yes, that sounds very foolish...” Cheerilee paused to regather her train of thought. “So I’m guessing this isn’t a petting zoo.” Hades burst into laughter once more. “Oh, god, tell me you’re being serious. I really need something to laugh at today.” The teacher shrunk back as the embarassment set in. “I wouldn’t be asking otherwise.” She mumbled in response. After a long, awkward time of watching the Lord of the Dead literally rolling around in a fit of laughter, the stallion swiftly righted himself; his appearance back to a stoic expression of neutrality. “Yeah, honey, this is T-a-r-t-a-r-u-s. You know, hell, the underworld, land of the dead, etc. What you want is T-a-u-r-u-s, the petting zoo run by some loud-mouth Minotaurs. It’s about an hour south from the entrance.” Princess Celestia looked up as a scroll materialized in her chambers. She instinctively grabbed it with her magic. Dear Princess Celestia, I would like to formally lodge a complaint against the Equestrian School Board for authorizing a class field trip to Tartarus. Somepony needs to teach those old fools how to spell. Respectfully, Hades Dear Cheerilee, I am sorry your field trip did not go as planned. You should know that the School Board has been reprimanded for their failures in spelling as well as for endangering you and your class. They will be writing on chalk boards for quite some time, I suspect. To make it up to you, why don’t you bring your class to Canterlot next week. I am certain that a field trip exploring Canterlot Castle and its gardens would prove a much safer venture for everypony. Regards, H.R.H. Princess Celestia Author's Note This prompt chosen by the RNG gods was post #37. A comedy/adventure story in which Cherilee takes her class (and the CMC by extension) on a field-trip to Tartarus. Thanks for the fun prompt, Razorbeam.
Wherein the Great and Powerful Trixie Performs a Miracle!“Curse you, Twilight Sparkle! You owe Trixie for this!” the great and powerful unicorn shouted in frustration. Normally, such an exclamation would have drawn much attention to the show mare. However, her situation was hardly what she would call normal. Instead of attention, she was simply ignored as her cry for retribution was drowned out by the raucous screams of foals as they partook in the myriad of festivities that had filled Ponyville’s park. It was a dismal state of affairs for the show mare, not because her anguish was being ignored, but because her true suffering was still to come. Trixie still had to perform for these insufferable brats and that time was soon approaching. But that was far from the worst part of her day! For this event, the birthday of some rich stallion’s bratty, pink daughter, Trixie was not performing as a great and powerful unicorn. No, the mighty Trixie had been hired to fill the role of a common clown. The nerve of these ponies! Demeaning the most powerful unicorn – a title Trixie happily claimed ever since Twilight’s ascension to princesshood – with such an insulting and crass job. Sure, Trixie needed the money, and this Mr. Rich was certainly paying well, but merely asking Trixie to play a clown was an insult worth remembering for generations! The only thing worse was that Trixie was required to actually dress the part. A large, rainbow-colored wig that looked more like a beachball than a mane sat atop her head; it completely concealed her normal mane. A ruffle collar accompanied the solid white make up that covered her face, with red highlights around her mouth accentuating the bulbous red nose at the end of her snout. A hideous, puffy, white jumpsuit covered in a mix of reds and yellows covered her body. Four massively oversized shoes rounded out the absurd ensemble. “This is the last time Trixie asks Twilight Sparkle for a job.” the agitated mare grumbled. “I though we were friends.” “Hey, look!” Trixie snapped her head up at the sudden exclamation. “Can you believe it? It’s a real clown and we aren’t even at a circus!” the excited voice came from a small orange pegasus filly. The filly, while flanked by what Trixie gathered were her friends, skidded to a halt right in front of the show mare. With a pair of eyes that twinkled with excitement and anticipation, the young pegasus stared up at Trixie. Remembering her old business motto, ‘an audience is an audience’, Trixie immediately slipping into her stage persona. “Greetings, little one. You stand in the presence of the–” The orange filly promptly interrupted her. “Can you make balloon ponies?” Trixie responded without missing a beat. “Of course! Such a thing is child’s play for the Gr–” “Make Rainbow Dash!” “I want one of Rarity!” “No, make Applejack!” The fillies suddenly locked gazes with each other. Trixie looked back and forth as the stare-off swiftly descended into an argument over which balloon pony they should ask for. This, in turn, drew the attention of other children who promptly joined the discussion until the entire park was drowned in the shouts and screams of fillies and colts. Trixie cringed as one of her worst-case scenarios came to pass: loud, annoying foals. “This is why I never worked birthday parties.” It wasn’t long before the adults took notice. To Trixie’s dismay, they ended up joining the discussion. She brought a hoof to her face. “Enough!” Trixie screamed at the top of her lungs. Finally, the arguing stopped. Trixie mentally complemented herself. Then imagined patting herself on the back for a job well done. Suddenly, Princess Celestia descended from on high, a radiant glow of power surrounded her. The Princess approached Trixie as the entire crowd bowed before her. “You may rise, Trixie.” Celestia’s voice was as warm as the sun. Trixie obeyed the command. “You have proven your skill at taking control of a dreadful situation. I would be honored if you would be willing to utilize your skillful oration for the betterment of Equestria. Trixie, will you become–” “Hey, Clown!” Trixie was snapped from her daydream. “Are you going to do something funny or what?!” a pink filly with a diamond encrusted tiara shouted from the front row. Trixie glanced around the park, hoping for some sign of Her Royal Highness; but alas it had all been her imagination. As reality crashed in around her, she noticed that the entirety of the assembled party-goers were looking in her direction. She could practically feel the anticipation oozing from the crowd. It wasn’t her preferred type of performance, but an audience is an audience, and Trixie was a true performer. She would give them the greatest, most amazing clown show in the history of Equestria! She could feel her confidence welling up as she assumed a confident posture. “Of course!” she exclaimed. “Now stand back as the Great and Powerful–” “Hey,” a small, chubby colt with an orange mane interjected, “you can’t steal the Great and Powerful Trixie’s lines like that!” “Yeah!” added a dim-looking yellow colt standing next to the first. Trixie recognized the idiot pair immediately. Before she could even think, her magic instinctively flared to life with an appropriate response to the heckling fools. A nearby cream pie magically flew threw the air connecting with the chubby colt’s face. Trixie blinked twice before her mind caught up with her actions. A grin slid its way onto her face. Snips stuck out his tongue and lick up some of the cream from around his lips. “Hey, this stuff tastes pretty good.” The crowd immediately broke into laughter at the pie covered colt. “Can you still make me a balloon pony?” the orange filly from before asked. Trixie continued to grin. “Of course, little one.” Trixie’s horn lit up once more as she reached out and retrieved a set of long, colored balloons. Suddenly, the balloons all inflated simultaneously. The magical aura intensified as the balloon became a rainbow blur for several seconds, moving, twisting, and tying themselves into a stunning reproduction of Ponyville’s premiere flier. To everypony’s amazement, the balloon sculpture was strikingly accurate. The orange filly squealed in glee as she snatched up her newest prize before darting off stage. Cheers erupted from the audience as they stomped their hooves in appreciation. Trixie’s revelry in the praise was cut short when she heard the tell tale hiss of a lit fuse. She glanced towards the noise to find the orange filly and her two friends had strapped her balloon-crafted pony to a rather large firework rocket. Several other fireworks were scattered on the ground near them. “Where did you get those!?” Trixie shouted. “We found them in a bag in Whitetail Woods.” The orange one replied happily. “It was like somepony just left them lying around.” “Trixie left those in her camp site with a sign saying ‘This place belongs to Trixie’!” The three fillies looked at each other, shrugged and looked back to Trixie. “But the sign didn’t say the stuff there was yours too.” The yellow earth filly replied. “Who cares about that!” the orange one shouted. “Now I finally get to have a flying Rainbow Dash toy!” Trixie’s expression fell as she noticed the the fuse was almost to the rocket. She dove towards the three fillies, grabbing two with her magic and one with her mouth. The hissing grew louder as the fuse reached its destination, igniting the rocket. Sparks and flames poured out of the rocket, some landing on nearby fuses, igniting them. The rocket suddenly took off into the air before flipping wildly around and careening back down towards Trixie. Trixie ran, with foals in-tow. A knock on her front door alerted Twilight that she had a guest. She place a bookmark into the tome she was reading before closing it. She promptly made her way to the door and opened it. What greeted her was the sight of a disheveled, exhausted, and slightly charred Trixie who was, for some reason, wearing a mostly destroyed clown costume. Twilight stood gawking for several moments before saying the only thing that came to mind. “Trixie, your mane is on fire...” Trixie ripped the burning wig from her head and slammed it to the ground. “Um, do... do you want to talk about it?” Twilight offered. Trixie leveled a harsh gaze at the lavender unicorn. “Trixie is never having foals.” Author's Note It's a bit messy, and those who follow my blog posts will understand why. Hopefully it's still entertaining. Also, due to the delays, this is going up with no editing whatsoever. Feel free to point out errors and I'll take care of them.
Magic LessonsGolden Oaks Library, a place dedicated to reading, fun, learning, and more reading. Twilight Sparkle, Ponyville’s resident librarian-turned-princess had recently taken a more active role in the community. With her newfound authority, she had taken it upon herself to draw more attention to her library. Her plan involved holding instructional classes on her myriad fields of expertise. One such class was her magical tutoring course; a series of lessons designed for teaching unicorn fillies and colts the basics of magic. There was just one tiny problem. In her excitement, Twilight had completely forgotten to advertise any of her new courses to the town. She stared dejectedly at the abysmal turnout; a whole three fillies... and only one was even a unicorn. Sweetie Belle hopped energetically in place, flanked by her two friends, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo. “Can you believe it? I’m finally getting magic lessons!” the excited unicorn filly exclaimed. Scootaloo’s head drooped. “Yeah, that’s great...” Apple Bloom rolled her eyes at the dejected looking pegasus. “Ya know, if you’re so bored we could just go back to the club house.” The pegasus filly’s head shot up. “What? No way! Crusaders have to stick together!” “I know that,” Apple Bloom snapped. “But I’m not the one lookin’ all sour and bored.” “I’d be more excited if we were spending time at Rainbow Dash’s place instead of Twilight’s” “None of us can even get up to Rainbow Dash’s house,” Apple Bloom retorted. “Besides, Twilight’s a princess now. I bet she’s a lot cooler than when she was just a super powerful unicorn.” “She’s still probably going to make us read something since we aren’t unicorns.” Twilight released an exasperated sigh. If not for the fact that she had mentioned her plans to Rarity, she might not even have a single student. Still, she knew it wouldn’t be long before Sweetie Belle’s friends started causing trouble if she didn’t keep them entertained somehow. Twilight buried her nose in her lesson plan, trying desperately to distract herself from whatever discussion Scootaloo and Apple Bloom were having. She occasionally glanced up at her clock, counting the seconds until the time she had specified, nine ante meridian, finally arrived so her class could begin. Finally, the minute hoof of the clock ticked over to the top of the hour. With a sharp rapping of her ruler against her desk, the lavender alicorn grabbed the attention of the three fillies. “Class is now in session.” A twinge of excitement ran through her body. There was something exhilarating about being on this side of the classroom. A sense a power! For a moment, she likened herself to her mentor. A wise, powerful, and very beautiful– “Twilight, I’m bored!” Scootaloo interjected. Twilight glared at the orange filly. “I haven’t even started my lesson.” Apple Bloom swiftly, and suddenly, smacked her orange friend upside the head. “Quit complainin’. You wanted to come support Sweetie Belle so just hush.” Twilight grinned. She was content that Apple Bloom could at least keep Scootaloo from interrupting too often. “Now then, Sweetie Belle, we are going to start with some basic channeling. You need to be able to draw on your magical power reliably before you try to perform any kind of spell.” Before she could continue, a shout echoed from upstairs. “Hey, Twilight!” Spike came down the stairs with a single book in hand. “I found this book by your bed when I was cleaning up, but I can’t find where it’s supposed to go on the shelves.” Twilight was mildly irritated that her lesson was being interrupted, again. But that feeling was quickly replaced by confusion. Spike, her number one assistant, the dragon who knew where every single book in the library was located, was unable to find where this book belonged. A slight sense of panic set in. “I probably borrowed it from somepony. What is the name of the book?” The young dragon glanced down at the cover. “Kamaresutra” Twilight engaged full panic mode. “Oh, is that my sister’s?” Sweetie Belle spoke up. “I know Rarity has a copy of that in her room. I found it once when I was cleaning up for her.” “Wait a minute,” Apple Bloom interjected, “Are you sure that’s Rarity’s? ‘Cause I remember Applejack lending her a book with that name.” “Is that what you read with Rainbow Dash when she comes over and you two go up to your room?” Spike asked. Twilight could feel her face warming up. “N-no, that’s not–” “If Rainbow Dash reads it it must be awesome!” Scootaloo exclaimed. “Hey, Twilight, can I borrow that book?” The flustered alicorn suddenly found herself shouting, “Absolutely not!” Silence fell over the room as the four children stared at Twilight. “Why not?” Twilight froze. She wasn’t a mother. She wasn’t ready to have this conversation. that and she was fairly certain that her friends wouldn’t appreciate her ruining the minds of their younger sisters. Her brain scrambled to find a suitable excuse. “Because... I borrowed it from Princess Celestia.” Perfect! There was no way this could backfire, she thought. “Oh, are you done with it, or should I put it back in your room?” Spike asked. “I’m done with it,” Twilight replied. “I was going to return it the next time I see her.” “I’ll save you the trouble.” Before Twilight could respond, the book was covered in emerald flames; turning the tome into a wisp of magical smoke that rushed off to Princess Celestia. Twilight’s mouth fell agape. After a few moments of awkward silence, Spike belched out a small gout of emerald flames that manifested a letter bearing the royal seal. He snatched the letter from the air as it fell and opened it up. As was his standard routine, Spike read the letter aloud. To My Loving Student, Thank you for returning this study aid in such a timely fashion. I trust that you have taken sufficient notes and I do so hope you found the opportunity to put some of the techniques to practical use. This is certainly a field of study that rewards hooves on experience more than simple study. If you have the time, please come to Canterlot this weekend. Luna and I have prepared an advanced curriculum on the subject that we we like you to study. Naturally, there will be plenty of field study and hooves on work involved. If this weekend is not suitable, please let me know so that we may reschedule to a time that is more convenient for you. With Love, H.R.H. Princess Celestia P.S. Luna has reminded me to ask you requisition the services of Applejack’s brother, Big Macintosh for our lesson. Twilight was certain that she was nearly red enough to pass for Big Mac. “Oh, I bet that was a book on apple buckin’!” Apple Bloom exclaimed. “Moving on!” Twilight shouted. “Spike, why don’t you take Apple Bloom and Scootaloo and find some a nice, safe book to read while I finish teaching Sweetie Belle.” The dragon nodded. “Hey, let’s go check out the mythology section. I’ve seen some cool looking stuff over there.” He motioned for the two fillies to follow. He pulled a book off the shelf and promptly opened it. He could hear Twilight beginning her lecture as he scanned the page. “What are you looking for?” “Oh, this book has some really weird words in it. I thought maybe with you two helping we could figure them out.” “Why not use a dictionary?” Spike frowned. “I tried. Even Twilight doesn’t recognize them.” “Then what makes you think we can help?” Scootaloo scoffed. Spike shrugged. “I just thought that maybe you could get a cutie mark for figuring it out.” The two fillies eyes lit up. Before they could make their usual exclamation, Spike directed their attention at a specific line. “Here, try this one. It shows up a lot.” The fillies stared at the alien words, their tongues practically twisted into knots just looking at them. However, they were on a mission; a cutie mark related mission! Apple Bloom tried her hoof at it first. She mouthed out several different attempts at pronouncing the words until she finally seemed to settle on something. She took a deep breath, “Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn.” Suddenly, there was a flash of light. The chimeric body that appeared was enough of a distraction to stop Twilight’s lecture. Discord looked around the room until his eyes settled on the two fillies and a dragon with an open book. He leaned in close, his gaze was one of pure anger. “Alright, who’s bright idea was it to try to wake up my dad?” Without warning, Spike belched out another letter. Dear Twilight Sparkle, Quickly, gather your friends and the Elements of Harmony and meet me in Canterlot as soon as you can. A great evil is stirring. Also, if you can find Discord, have him come with you. Be safe, Celestia Sweetie Belle turned to her friends with an icy glare. “Geeze, if you wanted to do something else today you could have just said so!”
