Capture
"C'mon everypony, lets high-tail it outta here!"
Applejack in the lead, the group of friends trampled through the bushes ahead, in full flight of the crimson inferno inching ever so closer behind them.
"The animals! What about the animals?!"
"There's no time Fluttershy! We gotta hurry!"
The canary pegasus felt a powerful tug in her tail as her cyan colored homologue tried to drag her with her teeth.
"Stick together! Keep up with the pace and don't wander off on your own!" Commanded Twilight, turning around to do a quick headcount.
"Where do we go?! Which way is out?!" Called out Rarity in despair, prancing on the spot as her head darted in all directions.
The ivory unicorn's fears were not unfounded. The trees seemed to rise all around them, blocking their path and obstructing their view. Fire spread around the forest, devouring the canopies overhead like a hungry beast, and sending fragments and branches crashing down below. Creatures of all size and manner ran around frantically in confusion, with no set direction, scurrying about in search for shelter. The woods cracked and creaked angrily as the whole forest seemed to give out a loud and prolonged death throe.
Her heart beating with trepidation, Twilight scouted her surroundings looking for a clear path, but the wildfire had already completely encircled them. With a twinge of panic she realized there was no way out.
"Twilight, through here!"
The filly wheeled around to find her young assistant, pointing towards a meadow through the thicket up ahead. With a sudden outburst of relief, the unicorn charged ahead while beckoning the rest to follow her. "This way everypony!"
"Twilight no!!"
It was as if the temperature had suddenly dropped fifty degrees. The young scholar felt her muscles seize up, as if she had just been showered with icy water. Goosebumps traveled down her back when she heard the loud "crack", a personal invitation from the grim reaper himself, and turned around to see the trunk of an old tree give way and fall apart. The old gargantuan sycamore, ablaze in flames, precipitated angrily towards her with impeding doom. Twilight stood there, rooted to the spot in horror, unable to move but a single muscle, awaiting the silent call of death. The entire world seemed to come to a stop around her as the trunk came crashing down with full force, bringing every single branch with it in its trajectory towards the filly, and then it happened....
In a blur of pink the plum unicorn was lifted off her hooves and dragged out of the way as the piece of timber hammered the ground with such force that it shook the trees around them.
"Twilight! Pinkie Pie! Are you okay?!"
Applejack felt time compress as seconds seemed to turn into hours while she waited for an answer. After what seemed like the longest minute of her life, her call was greeted by hacking and coughing, followed by a rasp voice from behind the tree.
"We're fine, don't worry!" Said Pinkie Pie.
Twilight seemed fine but was shaken nonetheless: she had just narrowly avoided death. Her body still quivering, she turned toward her friend in disbelief, "Pinkie Pie... that was awfully brave of you. I-I really don't know what to say... thank you," she whispered.
"It's all good Twi! You'd do the same for me, and besides if you wanna thank someone, you better thank my tail: twichy-twitch!" She added, gesturing towards the the cotton candy-like appendage hanging from her haunches, which was indeed shaking with spasms.
"Make way! Imma comin'!" Said a familiar voice behind them.
The fillies turned around just in time to witness Applejack emerge from the flames as she jumped over the fallen tree, sparks flying underneath her, and landed heavily next to them. The cow-filly then threw a lasso at the trunk, where it settled around a sturdy branch protruding out of its burnt body, and called out the others to help her.
"Alright y'all, we gotta get this thing outta the way pronto! Put your back into it!"
With an almighty tug, Applejack, Twilight, Pinkie, and Spike pulled the remains of the old sycamore towards them. Their hooves sunk into the ground while the ancient, gnarled wood protested their every effort, creaking and cracking with every jerk of the rope. Finally, with a resounding crack, the charred remains of the tree broke into halves, allowing the rest of the ponies safe passage.
"Help... can't... breathe," stammered Rarity, covering her snout with her foreleg, trying to shield herself from the black fumes issuing forth from the bushes around them.
Assistance came in the form of Rainbow Dash, who wrapped one of the unicorn's forelegs around her neck for support, and heaved her forward. "You gotta keep your head low! Move as fast as you can, but make sure you don't breathe any of the smoke!" She pointed out wisely.
With Twilight and Applejack leading the front, the group moved with haste, allowing the two fillies to clear a path ahead of them: the latter would lasso burning branches and bring them down, while the former scoured the remains with her magic. Following closely behind, Pinkie Pie and Nemo Ius called out for any potential threats hanging overhead, helped along by Pinkie's sense. Lastly, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Spike brought up the rear, dragging Rarity along as she was still hacking due to the fumes she'd inhaled earlier.
The ponies and the young dragon trudged their way through the woods, flames licking their sides, trusting branches and bushes aside. Sticks, jagged remains of burnt branches protruding all around them, would occasionally dig into their coats scratching them as they pushed through. Thorns, laying on the ground, sliced their legs making their every step a living hell.
"I think I see the exit!" Called Twilight from up ahead.
"Yeah, Ah sees it too!" Confirmed Applejack.
With one last push the group burst through the woods, heaving and panting as they went along, until the last of them was out. Turning around, Twilight surveyed her friends to check their condition. Spike lay sprawled in the ground, tongue hanging out in fatigue; Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy seemed to be assisting Rarity as she retched, trying to evacuate her lungs of the smoke she'd taken in; Applejack and Nemo seemed a bit shaken but in good shape nonetheless; only Pinkie Pie looked completely fine, though obviously a bit exhausted from the ordeal. The whole of them were covered in soot and burns they'd gotten while trying to escape.
Twilight couldn't help but cast a final glance at the forest, and watched as it sunk underneath a sea of flames. A chill traveled down her spine, thinking what would've happened had they been but a minute too late. 'No' she thought to herself, shaking the dreadful images from her head, 'that isn't important now, all that matters is that we're safe now. Or were they?'
There it was again, that knot in her stomach. Somehow she could still feel it in her very bones, there was something very wrong with this picture, and it wasn't the fire either.... 'True, they were in the middle of summer: the heat and the humidity could've contrived to cause this horrendous scenario, and yet... there hadn't been any flammable material laying about in the forest floor, such as hay or others, that could've allowed for spontaneous combustion to develop. The conditions had been wrong as well, there was no feasible way the sun's rays could've penetrated the thick foliage and ignited the grass beneath them. Where was the sun for that matter? It was still daybreak and the celestial body was barely poking its face out of the horizon, there was not enough heat to cause an ignition. Still, if a fire had broken out, however unlikely that event might have been, she could understand if it had started eastward... but westward? How in Equestria could sunlight have managed to circumvent the whole forest and start a fire in the opposite end?'
"Hey everypony, lookit that!"
Twilight was snapped from her musings by Applejack' voice. Slowly, she turned around to take a look at where her hoof was pointing and immediately she felt her stomach fall. A small contingent of about two dozen pegasi had just punched their way through the gushes of smoke issuing forth from the forest, and were now descending upon them.
Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes with pure dislike. "Why those lousy... I'll show'em who's boss!" She said, arching her back and spreading her wings. Before she was able to take off though, she felt a powerful force pinning her to the ground, as if her hooves suddenly weighed several tons each.
"Rainbow you're barely standing up as it is, and there's too many of them for you to fight them on your own," Twilight said with alarm in her voice, her magical aura gently wrapping her friend, "and besides, you're severely injured," she finished, casting a disapproving look at the pegasus who was indeed covered in cuts and burns.
"Twilight's right," added Rarity, who seemed to have finally overcome her coughing fit, "none of us is in a fit state to fight, our only chance is to run!"
"Run and then what?!" Protested Rainbow Dash, still struggling against Twilight's spell.
"Run and then... hide?" Suggested Fluttershy amiably.
The unruly athlete smacked her lips in exasperation, "oh and where do you suppose we hide? Under a rock maybe?" She asked, rolling her eyes.
Fluttershy ignored the sarcasm and merely pointed towards the horizon, where several structures seemed to be rising out from the ground in the distance.
"It's Fillydelphia! C'mon there's no time to waste!" Releasing Rainbow Dash from her spell, Twilight charged ahead, calling for the others to follow her as her trot turned into a full gallop. Her legs and joints ached from exhaustion, but she pushed herself knowing a worse fate awaited them if they were caught. The filly could feel her sides hurting and her head spinning from the lack of oxygen, and concentrated instead on the rush of adrenaline pumping through system. She could see the city, etched against the sky, becoming bigger and clearer with each bound. She put in an extra burst of speed, furiously striking the ground with her hooves, faster and faster, not daring to take a look back in fear that a moment's distraction would cost them their freedom. Alas, if only she had....
Having taken off as fast as their hooves would allow them, the group had not noticed the considerable drop in speed the pegasi chasing them had undergone, nor the way they'd taken their sweet time spreading around to form a concave behind them. It had completely escaped Twilight's logic that the pegasi could've easily overtaken the tired and injured ponies if they so wanted, air travel being faster, yet they were deliberately hanging behind, looming just out of reach. Teasing them. Poking at them. Herding them.
"We're there! We're safe! We did it!" Yelled out Pinkie Pie triumphantly, stepping onto the stone pavement that lead straight to the city's entrance.
Immediately, Twilight scanned the view up ahead in search for potential hiding spots. She'd never been there but the city had the same feel as Manehattan, with businesses taking up most of the space in the streets and huge buildings sprinkled here and there, though much smaller in comparison to the former's skyscrapers. She knew at first glance that the place would be bountiful in dark corners and back alleys to hide and elude their pursuers.
The young mare did some quick mental arithmetic and decided on a plan: "Everypony split up and spread out! We'll meet at the other end of town. Take your time and don't be reckless! Make sure you shake them off!"
There would be no such chance. There weren't even thirty feet away from the city when several forms rose out of the ground in front of them, shaking off grass and leaves off their backs to reveal a Romanesque style of armor, forged in gold. The friends stood there in shock as five dozen soldiers climbed their way out of a trench, which had been cleverly disguised with vegetation, barring their entrance to the city.
"It's a trap! Go back!" Yelled Spike, too little too late, for the pegasi were already descending upon them to block the rear.
Twilight searched frantically for an opening, but it was to no avail. The soldiers in front of her were already closing ranks, surrounding them in a concave, and she could feel the pegasi landing uniformly behind her to complete the circle. They'd been had: this time they were truly trapped and there wouldn't be a way out.
She could feel her erratic heartbeat, working itself up into a frenzy, as she tried to take in the severity of the situation. Her friends' cries and yells seemed suddenly foreign and distant, the whole world around her seemed to be spinning, spiraling out of control. She felt a strange knot in her chest, all the while a growing sense of apprehension seemed to overtake her like an avalanche. She did not notice the pristine golden carriage land behind them, dragged along by a couple of pegasi, nor did she watch as a strapping old unicorn, with a silver coat and a jet black mane, stepped down from it to address them. No, it was his voice, harsh like a whip and cold with menace, that brought her back to reality.
"Give it up Sparkle. There is no escape." This wasn't a threat, nor was it an opinion. It was merely a statement, but one he spoke with such force and confidence that there was little doubt to be had.
The group turned around to face their captor, it was then they realized just how screwed they really were. The stallion's age ranged around mid fifties to early sixties, but he was a testament to all that was tough and disciplined: over five feet tall, his entire body seemed to be covered in muscles. It wasn't the kind of useless bulk some ponies would get in order to be more intimidating either. Upon close inspection one would find that he had honed his body to perfection, developing his vast mass into something that would protect him from most physical attacks, without impeding his movements or limiting his speed. This wasn't someone they could fight head on, or outrun for that matter.
"General Hawk Eye, sir! Permission to give my report sir!" Piped up a palomino pegasus right next to him.
"Permission granted private, speak up," replied the stallion in his low, deep voice.
"The fugitives have been cornered, no contingencies have been reported, operation 'Wildfire' has been successful, I repeat: operation 'Wildfire' has been successful," stated the soldier springing into a salute.
"Good. At ease."
Her fear momentarily forgotten, Twilight felt a pang of anger in her stomach as she rounded on the unicorn in front of her. "Operation 'Wildfire'? You mean to tell us you set the forest on fire?!" She demanded craning her neck to meet the stallion eye to eye.
"That is correct, Sparkle. We started a controlled fire in order to lure you towards the city," explained the general unabashed.
"Nonsense! How could you have possibly known where we were, or where we would go?" Asked Rainbow Dash.
"I'm a military strategist: it is my job to find out where my enemies are, where they would go, and how to catch them. It only takes an incompetent like Storm Chaser to allow a filly to fool the Imperial Guard for two entire weeks," he spat out with pure disdain.
Twilight however, hadn't had her say yet. "You burnt down a whole forest just to capture us?! What about the animals?!" She pressed on.
"Collateral damage."
"WHAT?!"
"Enough!" Shouted the stallion, "you are wanted criminals, you have no vote or say on how I do things. You are to remain silent and do as you're told," he said with a tone of finality.
"But of course!" Said Nemo sardonically, "I imagine you wouldn't want to execute us somewhere where everypony could see you. No, I imagine you're going to take us for a nice little stroll, somewhere secluded where you can be spared of any formalities such as a fair trial, right?" She added with a bitter laugh.
"I will not repeat myself woman," retorted the unicorn waving a threatening hoof, "hold your tongue if you want to keep it. You are to be escorted towards the Imperial Prison, where you will await trial under a military jury and be senten—"
"Oh wow! I must've gotten my constitutional classes mixed up! I didn't know the Imperial Guard could subject civilians to military trials! Thanks for the clarification there sergeant desp—"
Before Nemo Ius could finish her quip she felt something hard collide with the side of her face. The impact traveled throughout her skull and she felt her consciousness slip away as she was flung sideways onto the grass, where skidded to a halt.
"DO NOT TRY MY PATIENCE! THIS IS YOUR LAST WARNING!" Thundered the General, his left hoof held aloft.
"Nemo!" Twilight yelled in alarm, throwing herself at her to protect her from further harm.
The attorney wasn't moving. Her eyes were shut and her spectacles, dangling pathetically from one of her ears, had broken with the force of the blow. Some of the shattered glass had scratched her snout, where a couple of scarlet droplets were issuing from a particularly wide cut. Her left cheek, where she'd been struck, was purple and swelling. A single string of blood, mixed in with saliva, was dripping from her open mouth.
Twilight propped her up with one of her forelegs, removing strands of disheveled hair from her face, and gave her a little shake. The filly remained unresponsive to stimulus. Fire consuming her every thought she turned to face the attacker.
"You monster!" She yelled, angry streams pouring down her eyes.
"Say what you will, but move while you say so Sparkle! My patience with you is beginning to thin... now get to it!" He ordered.
A rebellious smile suddenly lit up the unicorn's face. "No, I won't!"
Fuchsia aura emanated from her as her horn was set aglow. The soldiers backed away as a purple light irradiated from her, enveloping her and her friends. The light grew brighter and more intense until the group had completely vanished from view. A small poofing sound was all that the soldiers heard.
"Quick! Let's get away before they— huh?"
Twilight stopped in her tracks looking aghast, surprised to see that she was still surrounded. Somehow the soldiers had managed to teleport alongside her.
"B-but how?" She stuttered, her mind racing through her actions in search of the mistake.
At this the general gave her a devious smile. "You didn't think we would be prepared for such a thing?"
She was panicking now. 'He can teleport right beside me wherever I go! That's not possible! It shouldn't be possible!' She thought to herself in desperation. Twilight turned around to look at her friends and she felt her heart wrench to see that they all had the same fearful look in their eyes ('the same look I had back then...'). Her eyes burning with determination she concentrated all her power once more as she cast the spell one more time.
"A one trick pony aren't you?" Lamented the general as his own horn glowed white.
The magical energy dispersed and Twilight opened her eyes to find that they were still surrounded.
"But that's impossible! How can you teleport alongside us?! There is no spell that would allow for such, even theoretically!" She yelled, terror gripping her.
The stallion smiled mischievously once more. "You're right, there isn't," he agreed.
"Huh?"
"There is however a spell that allows one to disrupt another unicorn's magic, causing their spells to go awry. We haven't been teleporting with you: you haven't teleported at all," he explained.
Her mind was abuzz with questions now. She'd never seen or come across such a spell in any of her readings, how was it that this unicorn had when she had poured through each book in the Canterlot library at least seven times.
"Oh, it's not a spell you'll find in any book, it was my own creation," he added after seeing the confused look on her face.
"But that's im—"
"possible?" He finished for her. "You greatly overestimate yourself Sparkle. Just because your talent is magic, does not mean that you have a monopoly on the thing. Sometimes a unicorn will unlock powers others may lack through discipline and practice. History shows us that hard work eventually trumps talent, a lesson you will not soon be forgetting, even if it is your last one...."
Twilight eyes twitched at these words. "I already gather that you're in on the whole coup d'état and that you want to kill us, so why put us through this mock trial? Why not execute us here and now? From what I saw from the previous Commander, formalities aren't something you ponies enjoy following," she said, trying to provoke him. If they were to be executed, then she would at least ensure that evidence of the irregularities remained behind.
Surprisingly the General cast her an annoyed look and grunted uncomfortably, before giving her his back. "I will not discuss my orders with you Sparkle, and I am done talking. Guards!" He bellowed and at once the soldiers surrounded the friends and shackled them.
Twilight, who hadn't taken her eyes off the General, noticed his eyes flickering for the briefest of moments towards Nemo and muttering something that sounded strangely like "situation's changed..."
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for the love of NMM kill that bloody unicorn bastard.
o and twi i ask that you release discord and give him free rain to kill the rebellion.
Oh boy! An update! I am pleased.
Welp, things appear to have taken a turn for the worse for Twilight and company. I eagerly await the next chapter
933951 Oh boy are you gonna be spewing bile the next chapter.... If you still don't loathe Hawk Eye now you most certainly will then
934027 I look forward to writing it as well
On an unrelated note, I made the feature box again
! Oh and this chapter would've been posted three days ago if my mother weren't both such an irregular guest, and a pain in the ass
934257 quite understandable. and i quote "real life happens"... yia thats pretty much it. cheers
Once again, master of magic, bearer of the element of magic, Princess Celestia's personal student and natural prodigy is rendered powerless? Honestly, I hate it when Twilight is portrayed as such. I can understand her failing to perform if she's being distracted or under stress, and no doubt she is, but she's focused at the moment. She should be able to break through 'interference' or some such. Far to easy to capture, and never seems to actually use her greatest strength.
BLOOD BLOOD BLOOOOOD KILL KILLL!!!!!! Is my feelings toward that asshat of a general and this whole rebellion in general. Have you ever played staggy the Black Knight? Thats how I feel on this Rebellion.
935237 Twilight and her friends are between the age range of 10 to 18 (as stated by Lauren Faust in one of the interviews), meaning she is still a teenager at best. Yes, she is the bearer of the element of magic, and Pinkie Pie is the bearer of the element of laughter: does that make the pink part pony a level 100 clown? The answer is simply no. As much of a prodigy as Twilight may be she is still studying magic, as various episodes have confirmed, and she does get better with practice but that's beside the point. Being a prodigy does not instantly make you better than everyone else, it does however give you an edge, you need to put in a lot of hard work and experience to reach your full potential: experience that comes with the passing of time as well.
In regards to Hawk Eye, she may be far more adept than most unicorns but let me put it this way: her foe may have inferior qualities and less magical ability than her, but he is one that has trained a particular set of skills for far longer than she has (he is 60 years old). As I've also put it, the point of the spell he performs is to disrupt magic before it is cast and it is her first time running across such a spell, therefore she still doesn't have a workaround for that. Not to mention she is both physically exhausted and injured at that point in time. Do you seriously expect her to overcome her opponent when they have specifically designed a trap for her?
Next, as far as progression and character development is concerned, it is far less interesting to see a fully grown mare take on hordes of enemies and beat them all with ease. That would be like playing pokemon and starting with a level 100 team: what's the point? Where is the challenge in that?
Don't worry though, I certainly agree with your views and what Twilight is and represents, and her chance to shine and show her innate talent and abilities will come eventually. For now we need to keep a realistic view on the matter (even though we're discussing ponies and magic here) and take into account that even prodigies may falter for a while when faced with the unknown.
@ Black:
Nnope. But I feel you're another one that's going to be spewing bile next chapter and wishing the general a very slow and painful death.
935637
I think you've dramatically underestimated Twilight's abilities. Granted, it's only hinted at somewhat in the show, but the scale of power is skewed. Twi isn't just the strongest unicorn alive, she's the strongest by an order of magnitude.
Granted, you can play it how you want, and using a hax like a magical disruptor works I guess, but we'll see. I just have not been impressed with her throughout the fic. She rarely uses her powers if at all, for whatever reason. I still like the fic, but it only because of the plot and premise.
935821 I do understand however that power does have its limits:
1- When she confronted NMM and teleported behind her the spell left her dizzy. Indication that she was still not comfortable using this type of magic.
2- When she is chased around by Ponyville to get the Grand Galloping Gala tickets she accidentally teleports herself and Spike, leaving both of them scorched and dizzy.
3- She struggles against the ursa minor when levitating the water tank.
4- She is unable to take on a Hydra (a monster a bit bigger than the ursa).
5- She states that only Rarity can cast a gem finding spell only to be reminded by Spike that Rarity taught her how to perform it later on.
6- She struggles casting the flight spell on Rarity, that gives her butterfly wings, and even admits it was difficult for her to perform it twice in a row.
7- She struggles yet again with teleportation when she is being chased by teenage dragons, having to cast the spell twice before it would work. Then again this was sidealong teleportation (meaning she traveled with company instead of by herself).
8- She is panting after casting a spell on a changeling grunt to undo his disguise, furthermore she is caught by said changelings grunts later on, after she's exhausted her magical powers.
9- Shining Armor (although not in the story) is the only unicorn capable of performing a shield spell around Canterlot: something Twilight says so herself.
From these events one can get some insight on Twilight's magical powers. She quickly adapted to teleportation spells, but she had to practice them beforehand to get good at them. When she is forced to used the spell not only on herself but her friends as well she is seen struggling to cast it. Her magic reservoir is also limited, hinted by the way she is caught by the changelings and also how she struggled to lift the water tank and the ursa minor. Her knowledge and use of spells is not complete as evidenced by the fact that her brother, who is not a magically talented unicorn like her, can perform a spell of a scope and power she can't. From this we can conclude that she is still developing her powers and can't overcome just any situation with magic. We can also conclude that, while her talents lie in picking up spells and easily mastering them, she does not know every spell in existence and there are even some she doesn't know about and cannot perform.
Will she, in this story, come to fully utilize her powers? Yes, but so far she hasn't been given the chance to use them, mostly due to outside circumstances: she has been put under considerable physical and emotional distress, pitted against unknown weapons, faced with foreign spells, and she has even been denied the chance to battle (she was teleported when she was about to fight High Tide). I devised so on purpose in order to create expectation. Stand her ground and fight she will, but I have reserved that for a moment when it is most satisfactory.
936061
Actualy I find it weird, Twilight love reading and in the show she is ment to know unbelivable ammount of spells, and yet she is repetively using the basic ones, in episode with Pinki Sense, Spike said that Twilight just finished her today practice by learning 25 new spells, and yet in almost all episode she must relly on book to use any new spell at all.
When in episode with Ursa Minor Twilight show unbelivale telecinetical strenght provoced by adrenaline rush, in many next episodes she strugle to perform teleportation, it is kind of confusing to show her so powerfull one time and far weaker other time ( I quess it is balance way to not make her OP in front of her friends ).
It was also mentioned that Twilight is not athlete because she is Book worm, but in episode with Discord she help Rarity lift a giant boulder, why she even carry it if telecinetic is her speciality ?
In one episode where Applejack refuse to take help, in the end Twilight get apples from like 100 threes in one shot, and in episode with Cinder she is just very tired in the end by just carrying around barrels.
In show Twilight magic abilitys are confusing, she know tons of spells and yet use the same over and over, and whats more she often not use spells where it is best time to use tham.
I quess in your story you decided to put Twilight as very talented Unicorn who learned tons of spells from books, but did not had much time to practice tham to gain experience, the only problem is that if over years Twilight failed to get very good in using her spells, how she can
( level up if I can say that ) in so short time when Celestia and Luna may be killed in weeks or even days ?
I agree with idea that Twilight will get stronger by gaining experience in harsh situations, however I do not see time for her to do that, how can she in weeks gain skills and experience what elite soldiers take years of trainig to master ?
937260
Oh boy am I going to look like a bigtime nerd after this.... ehem:
Actually Spike mentions Twilight can do seventeen types of magic, not twenty-five. Sometimes she relies on a book because, spells it seems, have more in them that just picturing things in your head and hoping they happen: the energy required to cast them has a certain order or frequency which it must follow (I'm guessing). To make things simple some spells are like following a recipe, or so they portray. I think the real reason why she struggled against the ursa though was the fact that she was casting three to four different spells at once, hence the concentration she had to achieve in order to pull that off was insane. Therein lies her talent, she's a unicorn that is not limited to just a couple of spells, and can seemingly learn and cast several at once.
As far as the story is concerned: I'm not going to pull out a hyperbolic time chamber or something of that sort when I speak about progression and character development. This isn't an anime. Twilight, as Obsidian does state, is an incredibly talented magical unicorn and potentially the most powerful unicorn in Equestria. Keyword here being potentially. However I'm not planing on her going supersaiyan 4 and defeating the Imperial Guard with a super kamehame ha. There are plenty of things, plot-wise, one can do with this and I have already devised a way for her to use her powers without resorting to something so blatantly illogical and arbitrary as training in just under seven days, to become the most powerful warrior in all of Equestria.
937866
Good to know you have a plan.
However it is not that Twilight relly on talent, she actualy is desperate to learn, she study tons of spells on the level of obsesion, and she have huge trist for knowlege, so practicaly she should have a huge arsenal of spells.
Twilight weakpoint is that even if she learned tons of spells from Celestia and books, she never made any herself, nor she had time to train and use so many spells to master tham, she is best in theory, but she lack experience and practice because of her low age, and she never had any battle training.
However by not trying to make Twilight to powerfull you actualy go other way around, in her escape and defense again Commander and his soldiers she teleport alot, but she did not even one time raised her shield, nor she even tryed to fire beam from her horn, her weakpoint is lack of experience and practice, but not in raw power and number of spells.
I know that in the show Twilight rarely use any new spells, but for someone who study so much, she should use far more spells than just teleportation and telecinesiss.
Just an advice to not make Twilight underpowered, and it would be nice to see that she can actualy use more than just 2-3 spells since she should know like 100 of tham, hehe.
939074 Well spotted. This is indeed my first fic so it is still a work in progress, and looking back on the first chapter I also feel the mad urge to kick myself for submitting such a sub-par piece of writing. As of now my writing has evolved and progressed from the state you're seeing (all thanks to the constant feedback of readers such as yourself), and I do intend on rewriting the first chapters eventually. However, I will finish the story first as I am nearing the climax and I don't want to leave my readers hanging until I fix everything.
Don't worry though, if you're interested I will do a massive overhaul on the whole thing after I'm done, in order to resubmit this story to EqD (whose recommendations were very well along the lines you mentioned).
"I'm a military strategist: it is my job to find out where my enemies are, where they would go, and
how to catch them."
When he said that I thought of Creed.
it must’ve taken some sort of tactical genius to…CREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEED!