Liquid Pride

As a young filly in Canterlot, Twilight had always wanted to go to the Summer Sun Celebration, where Princess Celestia raises the sun. So finally, one summer solstice, her parents decided to grant her wish, and bring the family to see the event. And what an event it was.

"Twilight, wake up!" Shining Armor said, nudging his sister. As her older brother, he was in charge of making sure she woke up on time to go see the sun rise. Also, it just made good sense, being that they shared a bedroom.

"Nhgg- hmmf." Twilight mumbled, still half asleep, rolling back over.

"Come on!" He said again, louder this time. He pulled her covers away and shook her a bit more vigorously. "It's time to get going!" Twilight finally woke fully. She sat up in her bed rubbing her eyes, looking out the window.

"It's still dark." She mumbled, before stretching out her hooves.

"Of course silly!" Shining answered. "Princess Celestia hasn't raised the sun yet!"

"Oh my gosh!" Twilight bolted out of bed, fueled by a sudden surge of adrenaline. "The Summer Sun Celebration!" She said in realization of what day it was. She did a quick circuit, running around the room. "Oh- oh no! What do I bring? What do I need? Ahh!"

"Whoa, slow down there kiddo." Shining said, catching her in his arms. "Mom and Dad already have everything together downstairs. We just need to go down and have some breakfast and then we'll get going!" He assured her as he tussled her mane.

Twilight and her brother trotted downstairs to their waiting parents. A bowl of Wheaties was waiting for each of them at the table. Shining levitated his spoon from the table and immediately started to dig in. Twilight grasped her spoon in her hoof and scooped some of the cereal. She eyed it with contempt and dumped it back into the bowl.

"Come on now, Twilight," her mother chided, "eat up. It's good for you!"

"Yeah Twilie!" Her brother garbled enthusiastically with his mouth full. "It's the breakfast of champions!"

"Shining Armor! Do not talk with food in you mouth!" His mother scolded. He chewed and swallowed before apologizing.

"Sorry mom." He said bowing his head a bit.

Twilight did not share her brothers zeal for the processed wheat cereal. She was certain that he only requested the cereal to ogle the attractive Wonderbolts cheerleader on the box. He never did take his eyes off the thing.

"Come on now Twilight, eat your breakfast. I don't want you two filling up on the common carnival fare." Her mom said.

"Aww," they both whined in unison. Their father looked up from his morning paper.

"Oh, come off it dear. It's a special day." He said with just the slightest hint of a smile. His wife gave him just the subtlest of glares. It was there, just barely in the corners of her eyes. Not enough for the children to notice, but it was loud and clear to the stallion who married her all those years ago.

When she first became pregnant with Shining, they both agreed that, as parents, they would never fight in front of the children. But, that also meant not undermining each other's authority. They didn't want the foals being denied something by one, only to run to the other for it. He was treading dangerous ground.

"Fine." She conceded. "But just for today! You understand?" They both nodded. Twilight looked up at her father with begging eyes. He reached over and pulled the bowl of cereal toward himself, exchanging his doughnut with her. She held out the spoon in her hoof. He took it from her with his magic as he began to eat.

"When am I going to be able to do that?" Twilight whined, pointing with a frown at the floating spoon with her hoof. Her mom came up behind her and hugged her.

"Oh, Twilight, I've told you, you'll get your magic soon. Every unicorn does!" She smiled.

"I'm going to be the most magical unicorn ever!" Twilight said excitedly, before devouring her doughnut.

"I bet you will," Her mom said proudly.
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Canterlot's city park was a flurry of activity when the Sparkle family arrived. Every building in the area was adorned with flags and streamers and balloons. The streets were lined with vendors and games. The air was full of the smells of fried food and the sounds of fun. Bells and horn punctuated the quiet roar of the growing crowd.

There were carnival rides assembled in the square. A dizzying tilt-a-whirl was still lit up in the dim light of the coming dawn. It was occupied by ponies who had assuredly been up all night at the carnival. There was also a beautiful Ferris wheel giving ponies a wonderful bird's-eye-candy view of the city.

"Dad, why is it called a Ferris wheel?" Shining asked his father.

"Well son, because it's made of metal. 'Ferrous' is the old kingdom name for iron." He explained.

"Actually Daddy, it was named after the great mule architect who invented it. F-E-R-R-I-S Ferris Muler. Not the metal. And back then it was called an 'observation wheel'." Twilight chimed in.

"Well, you learn something new everyday!" He father said. "When did you get so smart Twilie?" He asked.

"When you started taking me to your library, daddy!" She said with a happy grin, hopping up and down.

The tune 'Hail to the Princess' came blaring from the horns of the Royal Guards just outside the castle, announcing the Princess's arrival. All the guards went to attention, saluting in anticipation of the princess's arrival. Shining Armor turned to Twilight beside him, copying their salute.

"What do you think?" He said.

"My brother the royal guard? Nah. I can't see it."

"I know right!?" He laughed. Twilight dashed away from her family toward the crowd surrounding the solar podium.

"Twilight!" her mother called out, "Don't you go getting lost!" But the caution fell on deaf ears. Twilight wormed her way through the mob. Her small size allowed her to get to nearly the front row.

Princess Celestia slowly walked out onto the stage. It was a feat she had done countless times before. But for just once a year, it was truly something special. She smiled gently at her adoring subjects. Her gaze passing over the crowd, pausing for just the briefest of moments on the lavender filly in the third row. Twilight watched, wide-eyed, seeing the Princess of Equestria for the first time in person.

Twilight watched as the Princess's horn came aglow, her great wings unfurled. She closed her eyes and took to the air, her long, slender hooves outstretched. As she rose higher into the air, her magic brought the sun with her, pulling it up over the horizon. The brilliant white light pierced the dull haze of the pre-dawn light. Celestia's form vanished into a silhouette in the sun's glare.

Twilight's eyes adjusted. She could see the Princess again. Having completed the spell, Celestia opened her eyes and looked back down at her audience. Perhaps it was by luck that her gaze once again came to a focus on little Twilight. But in Celestia's experience there was no such thing as luck. The rest of the crowd cheered and stomped their hooves. Twilight could only stare in utter awe. After a few moments, Celestia exited the stage, back to the castle. Twilight, for her part, knew in that moment what she wanted to do.

"Twilie! There you are!" Shining called out. He had finally managed to muscle his way through the crowd and find her.

"Shiny! I know what I want to do!" Twilight said excitedly, "I want to learn all about magic!"

"Well I know just the place for that." He answered, taking her hoof in his. They walked back to their parents. "But first, how about we go on a couple of these gnarly rides?"

"Okay!" She answered with a giddy smile.
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At the apex of the Ferris wheel, Twilight could see some ponies in a nearby field playing. One of them had a kite.

"I wish I knew how to do that." Twilight complained.

"What's that?" Shining asked.

"That." She pointed with her hoof at the filly flying a kite. "Fly a kite."

"You don't know how to fly a kite?" He asked. She just shook her head.

"No. I mean, I've read about it, but nopony's ever shown me." She said.

"Well, we'll fix that. But first we need to get one." He said.

"I saw one on the boardwalk we could win!" She said, excited.

"Aww, come on Twilie. You know those games are rigged. It would be cheaper to just go buy one."

"But I want you to win one for me." She pouted.

"Oh, all right." He resigned. The ride brought them back to the bottom after a few rotations. They exited and headed towards the boardwalk.
____________

"This is the one!" She called out to him. He caught up to her. On the side of the booth was a colorful, classic diamond-shaped kite to win. It had a two crossed white stripes and four triangles of color around it, red, blue, orange and green. He looked at the game. It was one of those strength games where you had to hit a plank with a big mallet and make the little cylinder slide up and hit the bell. It was clearly meant for the stronger, earth ponies. The was even a sign, 'No magic cheating.'

"I dunno Twilie." He said. "I've never really lifted much more with my hooves than a guitar." Twilight broke out her secret weapon. Cute doe eyes.

"PWEEASE?" She pouted. Shining sighed. He handed the booth worker a bit and picked up the comically over-sized mallet. The carny working the booth definitely looked shady. He had a straw boater hat with a blue band. His shirt had matching blue and white pin stripes. His pale yellow fur contrasted sharply with his bright red and white striped mane and tail. He had an equally red mustache. He just kind of gave off that sort of vibe that Shining just knew he wasn't playing on the level.

He just shook his head and raised the mallet up over his head and swung down as hard as he could. The cylinder flew up a good distance, but it didn't reach the bell. "Try again!" Twilight said. He rolled his eyes, handing over another bit. He swung again. And again, it was close, but not close enough. "Oh. You were so close! One more try!"

"I don't think so Twi. I only have a couple bits left and-" He leaned in close to her. "I told you, these games are rigged." He whispered, taking her aside. She pouted. "Look, we can just buy one later okay." He tried to comfort her.

A red colt with a short, blonde mane stepped up after them. He looked to be about Shining's age. He handed over a bit, taking the mallet in his hooves. He wound up- and swung at the plank.

DING

The bell rang out. It had received a fairly large dent. And then it fell off. The plank had been broken in two.

"Um-" The carny gulped, "it looks like we have a winner." The stallion pointed out the prize that he wanted. He turned to the pair to the side, handing her the kite she had wanted. Twilight looked up at him.

"Is this for me?" She asked.

"Eeyup." He smiled, before going on his way.
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In the field, Shining called out to Twilight, standing a good distance away, with the kite string clenched in her teeth.

"Okay, now the key is to get a good running start!" He yelled. She started sprinting as soon as he threw it into the air. It fell back to the ground and bobbed along the dirt before skidding to a halt. She frowned, walking back over to him. He took the string from her. "Here, like this." He took off in a full gallop. The kite took off into the air. Once it got high enough he turned back around, letting the wind hold it up. He got back to Twilight and let her take the string. She held onto it as the kite stayed up in the sky. She was flying a kite!

She turned to thank him for teaching her, but as soon as she tried to speak, the string got away from her. Shining was quick to react, catching it before the kite got away. He gave it back to her. She just smiled. It was thanks enough.
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After they reunited with their parents, the family enjoyed the rest of the day at the celebration fair. Riding rides and eating junk food and spending way too much on rigged games to win cheap prizes. Moreover, just having a great time. But afterwards, Twilight hadn't forgotten about pursuing her dream.

"Dad, on the way home can we stop by the library?" she asked.

"Whatever for, dear?" He inquired back.

"I want to learn all about magic!" She said proudly.

"Alright, we can make a short stop." He decided.

Which turned into a three hour long literary odyssey, culminating in Twilight pushing a cart of twenty three books to the checkout counter.

"Dear, are you really going to read all of those?" Her father asked.

"Yes." She answered with the surety of the sunrise.

"Really?" He asked her again.

"YES!" She said, a bit frustrated.

"Huh. All right. We'll take these." He told the clerk.

"Of course, Mr. Sparkle." she said, checking the books out.

Having a father who was the head curator of the Canterlot Library had its perks.
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Twilight poured herself into learning everything she could about magic. Starting, of course, with basic levitation. It was a staple skill for any unicorn to possess. She sat down at her father's desk in his basement study. He had given her the space to read in a quiet environment. She opened the book to the first page.

"Chapter one: Levitation Theory. When levitating an object, a unicorn must apply a magical force, N, to counter the force of gravity, G. The object at rest will remain at rest until acted upon by a net..."

Twilight tore through the book. She had read the theoretical application of magic and was ready for practical field study. But first she needed to turn the page. She lifted her hoof to flip the page over, but instead placed it on the desk along with her other. 'Not this time.' She decided. This time she was ready.

She remembered the chapter on magic philosophy. 'Your magic is an extension of yourself. Lifting an object with magic is as simple a reaching out with you hoof... in your mind.' Twilight closed her eyes and focused.

She focused on the page she wanted to lift. She focused on the texture. She felt its weight, its essence in the world. She could feel the tree the paper once was. She felt the forest it once called home. She could hear the birds that nested in the tree. She could smell the air in the leaves. She could taste the water raining on the branches. She could feel the earth that the roots held on to. She could feel the earth upon the stone. She could feel the stone upon all of time, eternal.

She experienced all these things at once as she tapped into the magic realm for her very first time. Her corporeal body struggled and groaned in profane pain, tied to a mind trying to ascend beyond the physical world. And, just like all unicorns, she promptly forgot the experience. Not that the forgetting was intentional. Far from it. The unbridled exposure to the magical vortex is one of the most beautiful and profound experiences possible for a pony. But it was far too much for the conscious mind to bear. And so it is mercifully, if regrettably, repressed into the subconscious. But it is there for life, in the very soul of a unicorn, tying them forever to the magical coil.

Twilight's portal to magic opened.

Her horn glowed.

The page turned.

Twilight gasped in delight. The reward of success to her work filled her with a revitalized wind. She surged forward, reading the rest of the book. And the next. And the next. Several hours later, Twilight had finished the last of the stack of books. It was only then, that she felt the passage of the time. She had read long into the night. It was now so late that it was early. Twilight had bookmarked a few pages that she wanted to get back to and re-read. But her eyelids felt so heavy at the moment. She would just close them for a minute to rest her eyes.

"Just for a minute..." She muttered, laying her head on the desk.
_______________________________________________________________________________

PLING! TWANG! RINNNNG! SCREECH!

Twilight was jolted awake by the most horrible noises she had ever heard. It sounded like some cruel pony torturing a poor kitty cat to death!

"SHINING FRANCIS ARMOR!" Twilight's mother hollered across the house, "It is too early for that noisy racket!"

"But mo-o-om!" She heard him whine.

"But nothing, mister! It's too early for that noise!" She yelled back.

"It's not noise mom! It's music! We're a band!" He yelled proudly. "You just don't get it! You're not 'with it'."

"Yeah, well your mother used to be 'with it'!" She said back in the third person. "But what 'it' was isn't 'it'. And now what 'it' is is strange and annoying."

"If it's too loud, you're too old!" He quipped.

"It'll happen to you too one day son." His father added, getting the last, cryptic, word in.

"No way! We're gonna rock on forever!" He said. "Alright guys," he turned to his friends in the living room, "let's take five until my folks chill a bit." The other four colts all just nodded and tuned their instruments... quietly. So un-cool. It was then that Twilight realized where she was. She was in her bed. Just a moment ago she remembered being downstairs in the study. This could only mean one thing...

"MOM! DAD!" Twilight yelled out, galloping down the stairs, taking them two at a time. "MOM! DAD!"

"What is it dear? And don't run down the stairs like that, you'll break your darn neck!" Her mother scolded.

"And scuff the woodwork." Her father huffed from behind the newspaper.

"Mom, Dad! I time traveled!" Twilight yelled, excitedly. Her parents exchanged a confused look.

"Time traveled?" Her mother asked, incredulous.

"Uh huh! AND I teleported!" She added, her smile wide on her face, as she hopped up and down.

"Teleported?" Her father asked, lowering his paper. "Do tell." He prompted, eagerly awaiting the epic tale this must be. Twilight tried to collect herself, barely able to keep her excited hooves planted on the floor.

"Okay, well, I was reading my books about magic, and when I finished, I closed my eyes for a second to rest them, and when I opened them, I was upstairs in my bed and it's now the future!" Twilight explained happily clapping her hooves together. "I did magic!"

Twilight's parents exchanged a knowing glance, accompanied by tiny smirks of amusement. He raised a 'should I tell her?' eyebrow. She shook her head 'nay'. What good was it to crush a poor filly's dreams with such a mundane explanation of, 'you fell asleep and we carried you to bed'. There would be plenty of time for harsh reality when she became an adult.

"Well Twilight, could you show us now?" He father asked her with mock sincerity. Twilight tried to remember exactly how she had time traveled... or teleported. But could recall neither. She tried instead to clearly remember what she could.

"Um, no. I don't remember how to... But I can do this!" She focused on the spoon on the table. She reached out with her magic. An invisible appendage in her mind extended and touched the spoon. She felt the cold metal in her mind. Her subconscious linked to the magic vortex. Deep in the recesses of her mind, she felt the metal ore, once embedded in the stone of the mine for the eons of the life age of the world.

Twilight simply experienced her magic grasping the spoon, and with an effort of will, lifted it from the table in a soft, magenta glow. Her parents were both very impressed. A self-educated unicorn who taught herself magic nearly over-night! Twilight's focus wavered as the aura vanished and the spoon clattered on the tile floor.

Twilight huffed and gasped. The effort had taken a lot out of her in that moment. She was disappointed with herself. She was so sure she would have been able to hold it longer. Her parents seemed happy with her though, and that made her feel better.

"Twilight that- that was amazing! Her mother cheered, sweeping her up in her hooves, hugging her tightly.

"Well, not really. It was just-" Twilight complained.

"Twilight! I can't think of any other unicorn who had taught themselves magic so quickly! You are quite a talented little filly!" Her father praised.

"Really? Wow!" Twilight hugged her mom back even harder. "I can't wait to see what else I can do!" Twilight let go of her mom, and took off for the study again, "I'm gonna try to do that teleport spell again!" She yelled back as she vanished around the corner.

"I can't wait to see what else you can do too." Her mother whispered, a tear of joy forming at the corner of her eye.

SCREECH

"YEEEAAAAHHH! Twilie's gonna get her magic ON! Like a PRAWN that YAWNS on the LAWN at DAAAAWN!" Shining screamed the trite lyrics into the static-filled microphone, clashing with the ear-bleeding feedback of the speakers, and the blaring guitar riff. "WHOOO!"

"DAMMIT SHINING! OUTSIDE!" His mother hollered, shooing him and his friends out the door. "We're trying to have a moment here!"
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Not long after, her parents decided to enroll her in Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. They smiled brightly as her father presented Twilight the approved acceptance letter. Twilight hopped up and down in joy! It was a dream come true for young Twilight, except for one thing; She had to pass an entrance exam!

Twilight could feel her hooves getting sweaty and clammy as she and her family walked down the hall to the audition exam room. Her parents were close behind her, there for support. Shining trailed a bit, singing to himself in a hushed tone, banging his head. To an outsider, it looked like the poor colt was having a seizure.

"Twilie gonna get her magic ON. Like cinnamON on a cina-bON. Take'n out the competitiON like a chess PAWN. Then we gonna celebratiON. CongratulatiON! And then- uh. Hmmm."

"Shining, knock it off." His mother hushed. "Twilight needs to focus." They arrived at the door to the auditorium. "Listen, why don't you wait outside here and... practice. In your head. Okay?" He nodded and took a seat on the bench in the hallway. Twilight paused, took a deep breath and pushed the door open. Her parents followed her in. Her mother whispered to her, "Remember to smile. Charisma is key."

On shaky legs, Twilight took her place in the center of the room. She looked around nervously, trying her best to keep her nerves calm, or at least, hidden. The four judges sat up in the back of the room, quietly... judging her. She looked to her parents standing by the room's entrance. They motioned for her to 'keep smiling'. Twilight turned back to the judges, all a-grins. An attendant rolled in a cart with a pink and purple spotted egg, nested softly on a bed of hay.

"Well Miss Sparkle?" One of the judges prompted impatiently.

Twilight walked over to the egg, inspecting it closely. She laughed nervously, still forcing out a smile for the judges. They made no effort to hide their condescension. They scrawled a variety of comments on their evaluation clipboard. Every tap of punctuation on the pads was a thunderous hammer in Twilight's ears. She began sweating profusely now. She could feel beads rolling down her cheeks. It would help to hide her tears when she failed.

FAILED

No! She pushed aside her fear. Fear is the mind killer. She began mentally preparing for the task at hoof. She reared up and focused all her will into her horn. Tiny sparks sputtered from the tip. She groaned and huffed from exertion. But the stress had caused her to crack under the pressure, leaving the egg failing to also do so. Another of the reviewers yawned. The leader looked at her watch. "We don't have all day."

She knew it was the most important day of her life. That her entire future would be affected by the outcome of that day. And she was about to blow it! Her whole world fell down around her. All her hopes, her dreams, began to crumble before her eyes. All because of one stubborn egg. She tried a final time, forcing every last once of will she had! A tiny spark from her horn fizzled out again. She felt her stomach fall, her heart sink. Doubt overtook her. At least she could still keep her dignity. She tried not to cry. Maybe she wasn't meant for this after all...

"I'm sorry I wasted your time..." Twilight whimpered in defeat.

Out in the hall, Shining rhythmically tapped his hoof on the floor, nodding his head in time.

"Celebration, congratulation... um... evacuation?

Sanitation?

Evaluation....?"

He struggled to find a fitting lyric for his most gnarly metal song yet. A beautiful ivory mare with a pastel pink mane and tail passed by him. Shining, feeling sly, used his magic to surreptitiously undo the clasp on her saddlebag. It fell to the ground, spilling her books. She bent down to collect them, affording Shining a brief glimpse up her skirt. She re-secured her bag and went on her way. He felt the beginnings of a familiar stirring in his loins.

"... masturbation..." He grinned.

.....

Suddenly, a chromatic blast tore across the sky outside. The myriad of prismatic colors filled the heavens. It was beautiful! Awe inspiring! He fell to his knees. Tears filled his eyes. But the blast- the BOOM! It was louder and more powerful than anything he had ever heard come out of his band's amplifier. A shriek came from inside the auditorium. Somewhere in Shining's mind, it registered as sounding like Twilight's. The shock wave struck the huge window panes of the school's hallway.

Deadly blades of broken stained-glass were propelled at Shining Armor.