> Hocus Pocus
>  by Pegasus Rescue Brigade
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Where is it?  Where is it?”

Dinky Doo’s bedroom looked as though a tornado had blown through it in the last few minutes.  Considering the filly had been using her magic to essentially tear the room apart as she searched for one of her most treasured possessions, this was no surprise.

“Dinky, are you almost ready?” called a mare from the next room over.  “You don’t want to be late!”

“I’ll be there in a minute, mom!” the young unicorn called.  “I just need to pack a few more things!”

Dinky stuffed a hoof under her dresser, and sighed with relief as she finally found what she was looking for: a rather worn copy of Simple Spells and Charms: A Handbook of Magic for the Beginning Unicorn.

Grinning, Dinky clutched the book to her chest for a moment.  The secrets hidden in its pages had become like her best friends.  This book was partially responsible for the drastic changes she’d recently experienced in her life.

Today however, Dinky was preparing for another change, one that would be far more significant than all the others.  She was packing her bags and heading to the Ponyville train station, where she would depart for the most prestigious school of magic in all of Equestria: Celestia’s Academy for Gifted Unicorns.

Dinky tossed her magic manual into her suitcase, tucking it neatly next to mountains of other books, a few sketchpads, and an assortment of other odds and ends.  She checked her room one final time to ensure she hadn’t forgotten anything.  Once she was satisfied, she fastened the clasp on the suitcase, and proceeded to lift it (and all of her other luggage) with just a simple touch of magic.

Magic!  Even though levitation had been one of the first skills Dinky had learned since beginning her magical studies, it still filled her with a sense of wonder to think that the objects floating in the air around her were only there because she was willing them to be.  She supposed most unicorns weren’t affected by the same feeling, but then again, some unicorns were levitating objects before they were able to walk, while she had only learned her first spells barely a season earlier.  She pulled open her bedroom door and trotted out to the living room, where her mother was waiting.

Dinky’s mother Ditzy Doo looked as cheery as ever, but Dinky suspected the mare was almost as nervous as she was.  The filly admired her mother’s ability to put on a smile in the face of hardship or uncertainty.  After all, Ditzy’s life always seemed to be a roller coaster of ups and downs; it was a wonder she managed to routinely keep her composure.

“There you are, Dinky,” Ditzy said once her daughter came into view.  “Come on, the cart is waiting outside.  You need to get to the train station on time or you’re going to be late getting to the Academy!”

“I know,” Dinky replied.  “But I’m ready now.  Is anypony coming along?”

The pegasus nodded.  “Of course.  Breeze is coming with us to the train station.”

Dinky smiled at the thought.  Autumn Breeze was Ditzy’s coltfriend, a pegasus the mare had met after becoming employed at Ponyville’s own matchmaking company, Equestria Speedy Shipping Services.  The stallion had been by Ditzy’s side throughout her turbulent first year of employment at the matchmaking service, and the two of them eventually started a relationship of their own.  Breeze visited several times a week, and even in such a short time, Dinky had begun to see him as sort of a father figure, perhaps because her own father passed away before she was old enough to remember him.

“Oh, and I think Twilight Sparkle is coming along too, if she can spare the time,” Ditzy added.  “Now let’s go!”

Dinky beamed.  She’d been hoping to have one last talk with Twilight before she boarded the train to the academy.  The librarian was, after all, her magic tutor, and it was only because of her generosity that Dinky was able to attend the academy at all.

The filly quickly followed her mother out into the fresh spring air, the suspended luggage following close behind.  Ditzy had already started speaking with Twilight Sparkle, so Dinky turned instead to the cart they would be using to travel to the train station.  Autumn Breeze stood next to it, staring up at the clear morning sky.  He spotted Dinky and trotted over to her.

“Hey, need any help loading your stuff into the cart?” he asked.

Normally Dinky would have very much appreciated the help.  But once again, her recently acquired magical skills were more than enough to get the job done.  Dinky focused her magic, just as Twilight had taught her, and smiled as the bags sailed over Breeze’s head and landed neatly in the back of the cart.

“Nope!  But thanks for asking, Mr. Breeze!”

Breeze chuckled.  “No problem, kiddo.”

He looked over at Ditzy and Twilight.  “Oh, looks like it’s time to go.  Get in the cart. It shouldn’t take us too long to get to the station.”

Dinky nodded and hopped into the seat as Breeze and Ditzy walked to the front and attached the cart’s harnesses to their backs.  There was a flash of purple light, and the seat next to Dinky was suddenly occupied by Twilight Sparkle.  Dinky knew teleportation was effortless for the more experienced unicorn, but she still loved to witness it, since she hadn’t yet been able to perform it herself.

The cart began its journey into town.  Twilight Sparkle turned to Dinky and smiled.

“So Dinky, are you excited?  You’re about to go to the greatest academy of magic in all of Equestria!”

Dinky squeaked with delight.  “Of course!  It’s gonna be so much fun!”  The filly’s smile shrank slightly.  “But… you think I can do it, right Miss Twilight?”

Twilight smiled warmly.  “Of course.  I haven’t seen a pony with your talent in a long, long time.  Just study hard and practice, and you’ll do just fine.”

Dinky felt herself blushing; it was humbling to know a unicorn as powerful as Twilight Sparkle had such faith in her.

“Thanks, Miss Twilight.”

Dinky sat in silence after that.  She had a lot to reflect on, after all; the last few months had been a flurry of excitement and activity for her.  The time seemed to go by in the blink of an eye, even though so much had happened.  Dinky thought back to the autumn day when her life had gone in a new direction…

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Several Months earlier…

Dinky hummed quietly to herself as she did her homework.  Miss Cheerilee had assigned an essay, which had unfortunately managed to eat up most of the filly’s free time on that particular Saturday.

She supposed it was just as well, though; yesterday had been arguably the most exciting day of her life, so an excuse to sit around and relax was, for once, welcome.

Dinky thought back to the unusual night before, when a twist of fate put her on a train to Canterlot to aid her mother’s company in an important assignment.  She still wasn’t sure of all the details, but it had most certainly involved Princess Luna, a fancy party, and (apparently) lots of sabotage.

But to Dinky, all the hubbub of the previous evening was little more than a sideshow compared to one particular event. 

Dinky had used magic for the first time that evening.  Admittedly, it was entirely by accident, a subconscious act of defense to protect her mother from a particularly nasty unicorn named Cosmic Glow, but despite the circumstances, magic was magic; a spell cast by accident was still an achievement when one had never cast a spell before.

The filly closed her eyes and felt the gentle throb of magical energy pulsing at the base of her horn.  Briefly, she considered trying to direct it at something, but she quickly thought better of it.  She still knew absolutely nothing about focusing the natural energy to perform any task.  Sure, she might manage to make something levitate; then again, she could just as easily set something on fire.  Better to wait until a more experienced unicorn could guide her.

A characteristic thump echoed through the house, shaking the filly from her thoughts.  Dinky recognized the sound; her mother had probably run into the door again.  Poor Ditzy Doo ran into doors a lot because of her poor vision, but she knew her own house well enough that she usually didn’t run into her own door unless she was in quite a hurry.

Dinky’s suspicions was confirmed when her mom burst into the house a moment later, looking a bit winded but very excited.

“Hi, mom,” Dinky greeted.  “Uh… how did things go with Princess Luna?”

Ditzy opened her mouth to reply, but after a moment seemed to think better of it, and closed it again.  She tapped her hoof to her chin a few times.

“Gosh, where do I even start…?” the pegasus mumbled.  “I hope you’re not too busy, Dinky.  I’ve got a whole lot to tell you.”

Dinky listened as her mother recounted a complicated story of debts and letters, deals and contracts, and (perhaps it shouldn’t have been all that surprising!) a newly-formed romantic bond between the mare and her coworker, Autumn Breeze.  Dinky sat patiently through the whole explanation, trying to process the wealth of information and understand what all these circumstances meant for her.

“So… we’re going to be seeing Mr. Breeze a lot more often, aren’t we?” she asked happily.

Ditzy giggled.  “Well yeah, probably.  But I have some even more important news, and it involves you.”

Dinky blinked.  “Huh?  What do I have to do with any of this?”

“While I was talking to Princess Luna, we got on the topic of magical education,” Ditzy replied with a grin, “and it looks like you’re going to be able to attend Celestia’s Academy for Gifted Unicorns!”

Dinky’s jaw dropped.  “I… I got accepted?”

Ditzy’s smile faltered a bit.  “Well, kinda.  But it’s not quite as simple as we were hoping it would be.  You can attend, starting next term, but there’s sort of a catch…”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dinky squinted in the morning sunlight as she stared up at the wide boughs of the tree housing the Ponyville Library.

“I dunno, mom,” she said hesitantly.  “I don’t even know Miss Twilight very well.  Are you sure she’s okay with helping a filly she doesn’t even know?”

“Dinky, I told you,” Ditzy insisted, “Princess Celestia herself said you could attend the Academy only if you learn all the required basic magic skills by the time the next term starts.  She said Twilight Sparkle was more than happy to be your tutor.

Dinky nodded and lifted her hoof to knock, but the door swung open at the same moment, causing the filly to accidentally rap not on the wood, but on the forehead of a certain unsuspecting baby dragon.

“Oops,” Dinky squeaked as Spike reeled from the unexpected assault.  “Sorry, Spike!  It was an accident.”

“N-no problem,” Spike replied, rubbing his forehead.  “Come on in, Twilight’s expecting you two.”

Spike led the two ponies into the familiar interior of the Ponyville Library.  Dinky had been here many times before, of course; the library was her best resource for many school projects.  Nothing looked much different than usual, except that a large pile of books had been removed from a one shelf and stacked on a corner table.

“So where’s Twilight?” Ditzy asked.

“Ah, she’s just getting ready,” Spike said.  “You know how she can be; give her an opportunity to do a favor for the princess and she goes a little… overboard…”

At that moment, there was a bright purple flash, and Twilight herself materialized in the center of the room, carrying at least thirty books in her magic’s grip.  With nothing more than a slight turn of her head, each of the suspended tomes obediently moved to the corner table, where they added themselves to the already alarmingly large pile.

“There,” Twilight said with an air of self-satisfaction.  “That’s all the books from Canterlot Library about beginner magic that I didn’t already have.”

She scrutinized the precarious pile of books and bit her lip.  

“Do you think that’s enough, Spike?”

Spike groaned.  “Even if it’s not, maybe you should look for the rest later, considering your guests are here.”

For the first time, Twilight became aware of the other ponies standing in the library.  She flattened her ears against her head and smiled sheepishly.

“Oh dear, I’m so sorry!” the unicorn apologized.  “I’ve never had a tutoring job before, and I just wanted to make sure I was adequately prepared to provide a full rundown of basic magic skills, but that’s no excuse for lateness, is it?”

“Oh, it’s fine,” Ditzy said.  “We’ve only been here for a few moments. Is it alright if I leave Dinky with you?  I need to be at work soon.”

“Of course,” Twilight answered.  “I’ve made sure everything is perfectly prepared to provide a safe and low-stress environment for practicing magic.  Even if a spell goes wrong, my preemptive enchantments should make sure there’s no harm done.”

Ditzy smiled.  “Well, I don’t know anything about enchantments, but everypony says you’re the most magical unicorn in town, so I know I can trust you to take good care of Dinky.”

The mare bent down and gave her filly a hug.  “Now you try your best and do whatever Twilight asks you, ok?”

“I will.”  

With a final smile, Ditzy rose and fluttered out of the library, shutting the door behind her.

“Okay!” said Twilight cheerily after the mare had left.  “I guess we should get started.  According to Princess Celestia’s instructions, you need to be proficient in a certain group of fundamental magical fields by the time the spring term starts.  That only gives us a few months, so you’ll need to practice a lot.”

“I understand that,” Dinky said, “but this opportunity is way too amazing to pass up!  I’ll practice as hard as I can; I just need you to teach me.”

Twilight nodded.  “Well, it’s a lot to learn in a short time, but it’s certainly not impossible.  And speaking as a graduate, I can assure you Celestia’s Academy for Gifted Unicorns is well worth the effort!”

Twilight’s horn lit up, and a book floated off the top of the mountainous pile, and opened itself in front of her.

“Right, now, uh… where to start?”

Twilight glanced at the book for a moment, and then levitated half a dozen more into the air around her, flipping through them all simultaneously.

"Now let’s see, maybe it’s most appropriate to start with a history lesson?  I could go all the way back to the pre-classical era, but the fundamentals have morphed so significantly since then that it might be better to start with a more recent period.  Oh, but maybe we shouldn’t get into anything historical until we’ve looked at the practical, but if that’s the case, where do we begin?  Levitation is simple enough, but there are so many subsets to it if you go into multiple object manipulation or self-levitation, that maybe we should save that until we’re prepared to explore the whole field!  In that case, maybe a different starting topic would be better, but that’s an unorthodox organizational choice and I don’t want to present the material in the wrong order or I might hinder the learning progress with my confusing lesson plan!  But I can’t determine where to start without some sort of aptitude benchmark, can I?!  That means I’ll have to—”

“Miss Twilight!” Dinky said loudly, interrupting Twilight’s growing panic.  “Can I make a suggestion?”

Twilight froze and turned toward the filly.  “Um… sure,” she answered.

Dinky glanced at the surrounding mountain of books.  “I respect the fact that you want to give me the best magical education possible, but… maybe it’ll be easier if we just start wherever you started when you were a filly.”

Twilight grinned sheepishly.  “Oh yeah,” she mumbled.  “Why didn’t I think of that?”

The unicorn set down the rest of the books, retaining only one in her magic’s aura.  “Alright, for the first lesson we’ll look at the most basic practical magical action,” she continued.  “We need to make sure you understand how to tap into your own magical energy.  We can’t work on using your magic to accomplish any specific task until you can do that.  Trust me, it’ll become completely second-nature after just a little practice.”

There was a short pause.

“Well… go ahead!” Twilight urged.

“Wha… now?” Dinky asked.  “But… aren’t you going to instruct me?”

Twilight cocked her head.  “Do you even need instruction?  Princess Celestia told me you already used magic once or twice.”

“But that was an emergency!” Dinky insisted.  “I wasn’t even trying to use magic that day.  It just happened.”

“This isn’t as different from that as you think,” Twilight replied.  “Magic kind of does just… happen.  It’s not something you do, it’s more of an addition to the way you think.  Once you become good at spellcasting, simple magic just happens automatically.”

Dinky shifted her weight, but said nothing.

“Just give it a try,” Twilight said gently.  “I know you can feel the magical energy.  It’s always there, and it only takes a tiny amount of willpower to bring it to the surface.  All you need to do is ask it to do what you want it to.  Don’t worry about what happens after that.”

Dinky shrugged.  “Well, you know best, Miss Twilight…”

The filly closed her eyes and felt the usual pulse of energy just inside her skull.  It wasn’t an unfamiliar sensation by any means, but she’d always taken care not to let it grow and travel away from the place where it was generated, for fear of what might happen if it got out of control.

But now Twilight was standing by to help if anything went wrong.  It was now or never.

Expand, Dinky thought.  Just come forth, out of my head and into the room.

The tingling sensation that followed was, in a word, curious.  Dinky half expected her magic to explode forth the instant she allowed it to flow from her mind, much like it had during her encounter with Cosmic Glow a few days before.  Instead, it crept slowly and obediently forward, extending the sensation of energy out of her skull and up her horn.  Cautiously, Dinky opened her eyes, and the first thing she saw was Twilight beaming at her.

“There, that’s not so hard, it is?” Twilight asked, giggling a little.

“Is it working?” Dinky asked, trying to angle her eyes high enough to stare up at her own horn.

“It’s working,” the older unicorn assured her.  “Maybe you want to see for yourself, though.”

She turned to Spike, who was casually dusting a bookshelf.  “Spike, could you fetch the mirror from upstairs, please?”

Spike nodded and darted up the steps, returning a few seconds later with a mirror about as tall as he was.  Dinky gazed at her reflection, thrilled to see that her horn was surrounded by an aura of yellow light.

“I’ll just leave this here,” Spike said, propping the mirror carefully against one of the shelves.  “And now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to head upstairs.  I’d rather not be here when Dinky blows something up.”

“Spike!” Twilight scolded.  “I told you, Dinky’s not going to blow anything up!”

“She will if she’s anything like you were when you were a filly…” Spike mumbled as he disappeared up the stairs.

Dinky frowned and quickly willed her magic to stop.  The light around her horn flickered and died almost instantly.

Twilight smiled comfortingly.  “Don’t listen to Spike.  Magic’s not as dangerous as he makes it sound.”

“I just don’t want to put anypony in danger,” Dinky admitted.  “I probably would feel more comfortable with magic if I’d learned the basics years ago like most other fillies, before I understood the consequences.  I really, really want to learn, but how can I be sure I won’t hurt anypony while I’m practicing?”

Twilight blushed a bit.  “Well, you have a point.  After all, I suppose I did cause my share of explosions in my fillyhood years, but that was when I was actually trying to perform powerful spells that require a lot of energy.  You’re not going to make anything explode if you’re only trying to levitate something or use any other simple technique you might be using during these next few months.”

Dinky did not look convinced.

“Just practice with me a little more, you’ll see,” Twilight insisted.

She smiled encouragingly, and Dinky couldn’t help but smile back.  She’d need to learn basic magic eventually, even if she wasn’t planning on attending the Academy, and there was no better unicorn to teach those basics than Twilight Sparkle.

“Alright, Miss Twilight,” Dinky said, relighting her horn, “what should I try first?”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next few hours passed in the blink of an eye.  Under Twilight’s instruction, Dinky began to learn to focus her mind on accomplishing simple tasks simply by willing them to occur.  By the end of the lesson she was able to use her magic to lift single objects into the air with relative ease.

“I think I’ve got the hang of it now, Miss Twilight.”

“Yes, I think you do.  Now, next we’ll start working on—”

There was a knock at the door, interrupting the unicorn’s lesson.  Twilight glanced at her clock.

“Oh, look, the lesson’s over!  That must be your mom.”

“Already?” Dinky asked, shocked that so much time had passed so quickly.  “But… but we barely even got started!”

Twilight opened the door and allowed Ditzy into the library.  The pegasus grinned at Dinky.

“Well?” she asked.  “How did it go?  Did you learn anything?”

“Dinky’s doing wonderfully,” Twilight said.  “Dinky, go ahead and show your mom what you learned.”

“Um… ok,” Dinky said absentmindedly as she hurriedly searched for something to levitate.  She spied her saddlebags lying in the corner; they were the perfect target.  Energy sprung into the filly’s horn as she focused all her concentration on the bags.  

Lift.  Lift off the floor, and come over to me.

Dinky watched with satisfaction as the saddlebags shuddered in place, and then slowly rose into the air.  They floated along until they were directly over her before dropping suddenly, with the strap connecting them landing neatly across her back.

Ditzy clapped her front hooves together.  “Dinky, that was wonderful!  You’ll have this magic stuff mastered in no time!”

“She probably will,” Twilight agreed.  “As long as she practices, that is.”

Ditzy turned and trotted out, and Dinky moved to follow.  

“Hold on a moment, Dinky,” Twilight called.  “Between now and our next lesson, I’d like you to try to manage to levitate two different objects at once,” she instructed.  “It’s possible for unicorns to levitate dozens of objects simultaneously once the right level of focus is achieved.”

“Oh,” Dinky replied.  “Well I, uh…”

Twilight raised an eyebrow.  “You’re not still nervous about practicing when I’m not around, are you?” she asked.

“A little,” Dinky confessed.

Twilight sighed.  “Dinky, you won’t be able to learn everything from my lessons alone.  Half of magic is experimentation, you know.”

Dinky nodded.  “And I want to experiment with it,” she affirmed.  “I just… I wish I had a guide or something, just in case I do mess something up, so I know how to fix it.”

Twilight gasped.  “That’s it!  I’ll be right back!”

Twilight vanished in a flash of light.  There was a frantic sound of hooves on the upper floor of the library for a few moments, and then Twilight reappeared in another flash, carrying a plain and rather worn book in her magic’s aura.

“This,” she began, levitating the book in front of the filly, “is my own personal copy of Simple Spells and Charms: A Handbook of Magic for the Beginning Unicorn.  I checked this out of the Canterlot Library so many times as a filly that eventually they just decided to let me keep it.”

Twilight smiled wistfully at the memories.  “When I wasn’t being directly instructed, this book was my window into the world of magic,” she continued.  “It’s simple and straightforward, but very thorough.  I’m pretty sure you won’t be using any spells that aren’t covered in here until you go to the Academy, so if you need help while you’re by yourself, just look it up in here!”

Dinky took the book, gazing at it reverently.  “You trust me enough to let me borrow your first book of magic?” she asked, not quite believing her teacher’s generosity.

“Borrow it?” Twilight laughed.  “You get to keep it!”

Dinky was stunned.  For a moment she stood, mouth agape, staring at the beaten cover of the old tome her teacher had presented to her.  Then she reared up on her hind legs and embraced Twilight.

“Thank you so much, Miss Twilight!  I promise I’ll practice every day!”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Back in the Present Day…

Dinky picked up her book again.  It was even more beaten now than it was when she received it months before.  The cover was blotched with stains, the corners of the pages were bent, and hoofwritten notes were scrawled in the margins in many chapters.

She didn’t mind at all, though.  The book just had a little character, and she’d certainly gotten almost as much use out of it as Twilight had years ago.

Twilight watched silently as Dinky flipped aimlessly through the pages.  “Nervous?” she asked the filly finally.

Dinky nodded.

“That’s normal,” Twilight said.  “I was nervous on my first day too.  But once you jump in and make some friends, and attend some of your new classes, I think you’re gonna have a lot of fun.”

“Oh, that reminds me,” Dinky said, “I wanted to ask you about what to expect.  I’ve never seen the Academy.  What’s it like?”

Twilight grinned.  “Oh, I don’t want to spoil the surprise!” she mused.  “I can tell you that the Academy is an amazing place, and the opening ceremonies, which will be held tonight, are something you’ll probably never forget.  The ceremony is hosted by Princess Celestia herself, along with Princess Luna and the current dean of the Academy.”

Twilight sat back and stared at the sky, reminiscing.  “My goodness, I wonder if Bright Spark is still the dean?  She was when I was a filly, but that was years ago…”

The sound of a distant train whistle caught the attention of both unicorns.  “Looks like we’re almost at the station,” Twilight said.  “Do you need any final advice before you go?”

“I guess not,” Dinky admitted.  “There’s nothing left to do now but see how it goes.”

Twilight nodded.  “And remember,” she added, “be confident!  You’re already as good at magic as many adult unicorns ever get, and you’re going to get much better very soon!  You’re going to be surrounded by hundreds of other unicorns, and every day you’ll be exposed to magic you’ve never seen before, so don’t be afraid to explore both your environment and your own abilities.”

Dinky nodded.  “Anything else?”

“Just the same thing Princess Celestia told me when I traveled to a new place,” Twilight said with a wink.  “Don’t forget to make some friends!”

Dinky had already planned to do just that, since she’d no longer be able to spend time with her Ponyville friends during the school week.  For a moment, Dinky thought back to a day in the not-so-distant past: her last day at her old school…

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A few days earlier…

Twist discreetly passed a note beneath her desk.  Dinky waited until Miss Cheerilee was looking the other way, and then quickly grabbed the little piece of pink paper from her friend.  She unfolded it and read the single sentence within.

Today’s the day, isn’t it?

Dinky glanced at her classmate and nodded.  Twist chewed her lip nervously, but after a moment, turned back to face the front of the room.

“And that ends our arithmetic lesson,” Cheerilee announced.  “Now, before we dismiss for recess, there’s something we all need to talk about.”

The foals in class, most of whom had already gotten halfway out of their chairs to head for the schoolyard, grudgingly sat back down.

“I have some news for everypony,” Cheerilee said, sounding a tad more subdued than usual.  “I don’t want to call it bad news, but I think some of you might see it that way.  But it has to be said.”

She smiled sadly.  “I like to think our class is very close.  When anything happens to somepony, it affects the rest of us as well.  When somepony is added to the class, we all notice the difference, and the same happens when somepony leaves.”

“And one of those things is happenin’, isn’t it?” Applebloom asked.

Cheerilee nodded.  “Yes, our little classroom community is about to change.  A few of you might already know about it, but it’s time the rest of you find out.  This is Dinky Doo’s last day at the Ponyville schoolhouse.”

Several students turned in their seats, craning their necks to look at Dinky.  She just smiled awkwardly at all the stares.

“She’s leaving?” Sweetie Belle asked.  “But where’s she going?”

“Dinky has been accepted to Celestia’s Academy for Gifted Unicorns in Canterlot,” said Cheerilee proudly.  “Unfortunately, this means she will no longer be able to attend her regular classes here in Ponyville.”

The teacher brightened.  “But we should be happy for Dinky!  She’s proven her magical and academic abilities, and she’ll learn much more at her new school than we’ll be able to teach her here.  So farewell, Dinky, and we all wish you the best of luck!”

Several members of the class echoed the teacher’s last statement before the foals all departed for the schoolyard.  Dinky and Twist were the last to leave the building.

“So this is it,” said Twist sullenly.  “By Monday, you’ll already be in Canterlot.”

“Well, yes,” Dinky admitted.  “But I’ll be home most weekends!  It’s not like I’m going away forever or anything.  And as soon as I get back, I’ll be sure to catch up with my best friend right away!”

Twist couldn’t help but smile.  “Aw, I know,” she said.  “You don’t need to worry about me, Dinky.  I’ll get by without you during the week.”

The earth pony frowned.  “What about you, though?  You won’t know anybody once you get to Canterlot.  Make sure you worry about yourself while you’re there, not about us here in Ponyville.”

“I will, but that doesn’t mean I won’t miss you and Pip,” Dinky replied.

The unicorn looked around the schoolyard.  “Hey, where is Pipsqueak anyway? ”

“I saw his mom this morning on the way to school,” Twist admitted.  “He’s got the Pony Pox, so he's out sick today.”

“What?!” Dinky moaned.  “But I didn’t even get to properly tell him goodbye!”

When Pipsqueak first moved to Ponyville, Dinky had developed a crush on the colt, and for a while she'd been more than a little shy around him.  Things had worked out eventually though, and now the two foals were almost inseparable, so naturally Pip's absence left Dinky upset.

Twist nodded empathetically.  “Yeah, he knows you’re leaving, but I bet he’s upset that he wasn’t able to be here for your last day of school.”

“…Well, maybe I’ll see him tomorrow,” Dinky said hopefully.  “Tomorrow’s Saturday, and I don’t leave until Sunday morning.”

Twist shrugged.  “Maybe, but it usually takes a few days to get over the Pony Pox.”

Dinky sighed.  “I know.  But I can hope, right?”

Twist laughed.  “No harm in being optimistic!”

Dinky tried her best to hide her disappointment as she and Twist ran off to enjoy their last recess together.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Back in the present day…

The cart bounced a bit as the wheels moved from the dirt road of Ponyville to the smooth stones of the train station platform, shaking Dinky from her thoughts.  Ditzy and Breeze brought the vehicle to a halt not far from one of the train cars.

“Well, we made it in time,” Ditzy said.  “The train’s leaving in a few minutes.”

Dinky hopped out of the cart, carrying her beloved magic book in her aura.  She’d been on the train to Canterlot a few times before, but today the train platform was much busier than usual.  Colts and fillies from around the country had gathered to board from the surrounding towns; after all, Ponyville was the last stop on the train route to Canterlot.

This is it, Dinky.  It’s finally time.

Dinky felt the presence of her mother and the others just behind her, and emotion overcame her.  She whirled around and wrapped her forelegs around Ditzy in a big, tight hug.  The filly felt her mother pat her gently on the back.

“Don’t worry, Dinky.  I’ll see you this weekend, remember?”

“I know that,” Dinky replied, hugging her mother all the tighter.  “I just… I can’t thank you enough, mommy, for giving me this chance.  I promise I’ll do my best.”

“I know you will,” the pegasus responded, as her daughter broke their hug.  “You’re a smart filly; you’re going to blow them all away up there.”

Dinky smiled at her mother’s confidence in her.  She kissed Ditzy gently on the cheek, before turning to bid farewell to the others.

“I’ll see you soon too, Mr. Breeze,” she said, looking up at the big red pegasus.  “Take good care of mommy while I’m gone, okay?”

Breeze chuckled and nodded in assent.  Dinky turned at last to Twilight.

“Miss Twilight, thank you again,” she said sincerely, “and I’ll be sure to show you everything I’ve learned next time I see you.”

“I’ll be looking forward to it,” Twilight replied.  “And remember, you can always come and visit me if you want some extra practice.”

Dinky lifted her bags with magic and took a few tentative steps toward the train.  She turned back to the three older ponies one final time.

“Thank you so much, all of you,” she managed, trying again not to let all the emotions overcome her.

“It’s nothing, Dinky,” Ditzy said.  “Just remember to be safe and have a good time.”

Dinky nodded.  There was no excuse to wait around any longer.  She had said goodbye to everypony she had wanted to.

Well, everypony except for one.  Sighing, Dinky turned toward the train car; it seemed the other pony she had hoped would be here for her sendoff wasn’t able to make it.  

“Hey!  Dinky! Wait!”

Then again, she could be wrong.

Dinky turned around again just in time to see a brown and white colt shove his way through the last of the crowd blocking his path.

“Pipsqueak!” she squealed.  “I didn’t think you were going to make it!”

“I ran all the way here,” Pipsqueak admitted, gasping for breath.  “Since you’re not gonna be at school anymore, I just had to come and say goodbye.”

Pip’s Pony Pox were gone, but it was obvious the colt hadn’t regained his full strength in the wake of his illness.  He looked just about ready to pass out, yet here he was, beaming and wishing his friend well.  Dinky found herself wondering if it was even possible that she’d find friends at the Academy as loyal as the ones she had here.

“You’re the sweetest, Pip,” Dinky said, pulling the colt into a hug.  “I’ll see you next weekend, okay?”

Pipsqueak nodded enthusiastically.  “Yeah.  Now, have a good time!  And if you see Princess Luna, say hi to her for me!”

Dinky grinned.  “I’ll do that.  So long, Pip.”

Pipsqueak stepped back.  Dinky passed her bags to the attendant to take to the storage car, and then, clutching her magic book tightly, she climbed aboard the train car.

Dinky had been on the train to Canterlot before, but she’d never seen it this full; colts and fillies from all over Equestria were milling about the cabin.  After walking down the aisle past a few occupied rows, she found an empty seat near the back of the train car and sat down.

“Looks like it’s just you and me now,” she mumbled to her magic book.  Not surprisingly, it did not reply.

You know you’re nervous when you start talking to books.

Dinky flipped absentmindedly through the pages of the beaten book, more to keep herself occupied than anything else.  But when she came to the inside of the back cover, she noticed something odd; while the outside of the cover was smooth, the inside was rippled slightly.

Dinky tried to smooth the bumps with her hoof, and to her surprise, they turned out not to be part of the cover at all, but part of a slightly rumpled final page that had been stuck to the back cover by some bit of residue or another from its days in the library.  Intrigued, Dinky flipped the new page over and read the short message printed on the back.

Afterword:

And this, my young unicorn, brings us to the end of these simple lessons.  For some, this is enough; if you’ve mastered every spell in this book, you’ll be completely capable of putting your magic to good use for the rest of your life.

But don’t feel limited by these words.  Do not allow the material in the confines of these pages to become the limits of your magical experience if you desire to achieve more.

This is the end of the book, but it’s only the beginning of a bigger journey.  All that these few pages have done is shown you the path to follow, and allow you to take those first few halting steps.  But how far you follow that path beyond here is up to you.

There is no final destination on this journey.  It is an ongoing study conducted by the whole unicorn race, and each individual can delve as deeply into its mysteries as they so desire.  Your magic is limited only by the strength of your mind and the passion in your heart.  And the adventure that lies ahead could be beyond your wildest expectations...

That is, if, and only if, you’re willing to take that next step along the path.

Dinky reached the bottom of the page.  She sat for a moment, thinking about what she had just read.  She poked her head out the train window, where Ditzy, Breeze, Twilight, and Pipsqueak still stood, smiling up at her from the platform.  

“Good luck, Dinky!” Ditzy called one final time.  “We’re all rooting for you!”

As Dinky waved goodbye to her friends and family, she realized just how appropriate her spell book’s final passage really was.  In some ways, this was an ending; today, her life was going to change.  She would meet new ponies, learn new magic, and gain new experiences, but that would not make her life here any less important.  Ponyville, much like her little book of magic, was a foundation: simple, comfortable, and predictable, as well as perhaps the most important part of her life.  But everyone she loved and everything she learned here was only a beginning.  There were many new adventures ahead, and now, simply by being on this train, she was taking the book’s advice and daring to move forward.

The wheels hissed and squeaked as the train sprang to life, chugging out of the station and carrying the filly away from both the train platform and the simple life she knew.

Dinky had taken that next step, just as the book had said, and it was the first step on what would become the greatest adventure of her life.
> Chapter 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The train rounded a bend, and Ponyville disappeared from view.  Dinky set her book on the seat next to her and climbed up on her hind legs to stare out the window.  She gazed up at the looming mountains ahead, and the silhouette of Canterlot near the top.  It was a familiar sight, but today it held so much more meaning.  Somewhere in that gleaming city was the finest magical academy in Equestria, and Dinky couldn’t help but feel humbled by the fact that she had been permitted to attend.

But it was a several hour ride to Canterlot.  She knew there wouldn’t be much to look at outside the train, except for the acres of farmland surrounding Ponyville, for a while.

The fillies and colts aboard the train didn’t seem concerned about the long ride, though.  Dinky looked around the other ponies on the benches that lined each side of the car.  Most of them were older than her, and many appeared to be catching up with friends, organizing their new schoolbooks, or cantering down the aisle of the carriage in search of somepony or another.  She was the only pony sitting alone.

There’s gotta be somepony who’s not already occupied, Dinky thought.  Where are the other first-term students?  Surely there must be somepony else who’s new. 

The train jostled a bit as the tracks passed over a rough patch of ground, and the vibration caused Dinky’s beloved book to slide off the seat and land in the aisle with a thump.  Dinky turned away from the window and automatically called forth her magic to retrieve it, but before she could, a cool, pale green aura surrounded it and lifted it off the floor.

Dinky looked up to see who had cast the spell and found herself facing a small, pale pink unicorn filly with a light green and white mane tied up into two small buns on either side of her head, and an intricately braided tail.  The filly nudged the book forward a bit, as if coaxing Dinky to take it.

Dinky gratefully gripped the book with her own magic and returned it to its spot on the seat.  “Thanks!” she said cheerfully, smiling at the filly in the aisle.

“You’re welcome,” the other filly said softly.

She looked as if she was about to say more, but seemed to think better of it and turned to go.

“Wait,” said Dinky.  “Is this your first term at Celestia’s Academy?”

The pink filly nodded.

Dinky grinned.  “Mine too!  Would you like to sit with me?  I haven’t gotten to know anypony yet, and I’d love to see what kinds of magic the other fillies around here know!”

The filly in the aisle smiled and opened her mouth to reply, but once again, she seemed to second-guess herself.  After a moment, she closed it again and bit her lip nervously.

“I, um… I can’t.  I’ve… gotta go.”

Rather abruptly, the other filly turned tail and trotted briskly down the aisle.  She disappeared through the door to the next train car before Dinky could say anything else.

Dinky pouted.  Well, that didn’t work, she thought glumly.  What did I do wrong?  She seemed nice enough, but then she just—

A loud sound interrupted Dinky’s thoughts.  The conductor’s voice began to blare from the train’s speakers, delivering a message to all the cars.

“Welcome aboard, fillies and gentlecolts!” he called jovially.  “For those of you who have been on the train for the last few stops, you’ve heard this message several times already, but for the rest of you who got on at Ponyville, we’d like to welcome you to the express line to Celestia’s Academy for Gifted Unicorns!  You can feel free to move about the train throughout the duration of our journey.  Our next stop will be Canterlot station, but it will take several hours to get there, so get comfortable.  And please, enjoy the trip.  Feel free to come to the front of the train and speak with me if you have any problems!”

The speakers crackled and then shut off, and the chatter of young ponies once again filled the air.

Dinky sighed.  She looked around the train car once more for anypony that wasn’t already engrossed in some activity, but found none.  

Well, I guess I’ll have a few hours to kill.  Good thing I have my magic book.

The filly flipped the battered, old guide open to a random page and began to review the simple spells.  But after less than thirty seconds, she was interrupted again.

“Hey, whatcha reading?”

Dinky looked up to find another filly peering at her curiously with big, cinnamon-colored eyes.  The newcomer was about Dinky’s size, with a grey coat and a wavy sky blue mane and tail.

“Oh, it’s just a basic magic guide,” Dinky replied.  “I figured I might as well review before classes start tomorrow.”

The other filly smiled.  “Wow, studying already?  You sound like my sister.”

She laughed before continuing.  “Anyway, I’ve been hanging out in another car since I boarded a few towns back.  I couldn’t take it anymore, though; there are a bunch of colts in there that have been laughing and yelling and carrying on for hours.”  

The grey filly rolled her eyes, remembering the commotion.  “I’m fine with a little excitement, but you’ve got to draw the line somewhere, right?” she asked.

Dinky giggled.  “Believe me, I know how colts can be,” she said.  “We had some pretty excitable ones at my old school.”

There was a brief pause.

“So…” the grey filly continued cautiously, shuffling a hoof awkwardly on the carpet, “…is it alright if I sit here with you instead?  The rest of the train’s pretty full.”

Dinky’s eyes lit up.  “Of course!  I was looking for somepony to talk to anyway.  It’s my first year, and I haven’t really met anypony yet.”

“It’s my first year too!” the other filly replied.  “I don’t really know anypony either.  I mean, my sister attended the Academy, but she graduated last year, as did all her friends, so I’m on my own.”

She extended a hoof.  “My name’s Clarity, by the way.  My family lives up in Whinnychester, which is kind of a long way from here.”

“I’m Dinky, from Ponyville,” Dinky said, shaking Clarity’s hoof as she sat down next to her.  “You have no idea how worried I was that no one was going to want to talk to me!  A filly came by earlier, but she ran off when I tried to start a conversation.”

Clarity shrugged.  “I wouldn’t be too surprised about that,” she said.  “Going to the Academy is a big change for everypony.  It’s only natural that some ponies would be nervous.  My sister told me all about the Academy and I’m still nervous to visit for the first time.”

“You think you’re nervous?” Dinky asked.  “We’re both new this year, but at least you have some idea what to expect when we get there.  I’m the only uni… well, only living unicorn in my family.  I’d never even heard of Celestia’s Academy until a few months ago.”

Clarity frowned.  “Ooh, that must be tough,” she admitted.  “How’d you learn to do magic without any unicorns in your family?”

“I had a tutor who was able to give me accelerated training,” Dinky explained.  “I probably don’t know as much as you, but I think I’ve got the basics down at least.”

“That’s good,” Clarity replied.  “Do you have a talent for any specific type of magic?”

Clarity answered her own question by glancing at Dinky’s flank.

“Oh, never mind.  You’re a blank-flank,” she said.

Dinky blushed a bit.  “Well, yeah…” she mumbled before trailing off.  

Clarity picked up on the change in her mood immediately.  “Oh, I didn’t mean that as a bad thing!” she said hastily.  “It’s just, in my town, all the foals my age have their marks already, so I was worried I was going to be the only one at the academy…”

Clarity shifted in her seat so Dinky could see her flank, which was also bare.  

Dinky sighed, relieved.  “For a moment there, I was worried you were going to start making fun of me,” she admitted.   

Clarity nodded solemnly.  “Your town has foals that like to bully everypony about that too, huh?”

“I think most towns do,” Dinky said.  “But since we’re both blank flanks, we can back each other up at the academy until we get them!  That is… if you wanna hang out together once we get there.”

She extended a hoof.  “What do you say?  Friends?”

Clarity smiled and returned the hoof-bump.  “Definitely!”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The train rumbled on toward the base of the mountain while the two fillies happily passed the time inside.  Dinky and Clarity hit it off almost immediately, sharing stories about their lives and how they had come to be enrolled in the academy.  Dinky recounted the convoluted tale of how the princesses had intervened with her rejection from the Academy and allowed her to attend after intensive private tutoring.  Clarity listened with rapt attention. 

“So… you wouldn’t be here at all if Princess Luna hadn’t owed your mom a favor?” Clarity asked, dumbfounded.

“I guess not,” Dinky admitted.  “My tutor insists that I’m prepared for the academy, but I really don’t know any magic beyond what most average unicorns can do.  That’s probably why I don’t have my Cutie Mark yet.”

“That makes sense,” Clarity replied.  “You don’t know what you’re good at yet, so there’s no reason for you to be worried about not having your Cutie Mark.”

The filly pouted a bit.  “I wish I could say the same about me,” she continued, “but I already have a notable talent.  Yet for some reason, I still don’t have my Cutie Mark.”

“Really?  What is it you’re good at?” Dinky asked her.

“It’s a pretty specific skill,” Clarity answered.  “I have a real knack for detecting illusory magic.”

“Illusory magic?” Dinky parroted.  “I don’t think I’ve learned any of that yet.”

“It’s a really diverse field of spellcasting,” Clarity explained.  “Everypony in my family is a unicorn, so I’ve been exposed to at least a basic version of most types of magic at one time or another.  My parents know how to create illusions, and my sister is really good at it, but none of them can ever fool me.  It’s really unusual; I can almost always tell if something or somepony’s appearance is being altered by magic.  Once, I even caught my sister trying to sneak up on me, even though she was using her magic to turn herself totally invisible!”

Dinky laughed.  “That’s quite a skill.  Maybe you have another talent that’s even more awesome, though.”

Clarity grinned slyly.  “Or maybe I have my Cutie Mark… and it’s just invisible!  That would make sense, right?”

“But shouldn’t you be able to see it if that’s your talent?” Dinky asked.

“Good point.”		

Both fillies couldn’t help but giggle at that notion.

“Don’t worry about it,” Dinky said reassuringly.  “Maybe there’s more to it, and you just haven’t yet reached your full potential.  A couple days of magic education at the academy will fix that!”

“It probably will,” Clarity agreed.  “Even living with a family of unicorns, I can only learn a fraction of the magic we’re going to learn at school.”

“What’s life like in a unicorn family?” Dinky asked.  “Do you guys use magic for everything?”

“Kinda,” Clarity said, shrugging.  “It’s just easier and more efficient to carry stuff around with magic than to try to lift it with a hoof or your mouth.  You haven’t been using magic as long as I have, but I’m sure you’ve at least figured that much out.”

“Yeah,” Dinky said with a chuckle.  “I never realized how useful it could be until I tried it out.”

“And it gets even better the more you learn!” Clarity said excitedly.  “I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait until I know how to teleport!  And enchantments and transformation spells seem really cool, too!  Sometimes I’m really jealous of all the magic my sister can do.”

“You said your sister already graduated, right?” Dinky asked.  “What’s she like?”

“She’s ok,” said Clarity unenthusiastically.  “She and I are… pretty different.”

Dinky raised an eyebrow.  “How so?”

“Don’t get me wrong, she’s a sweet pony, and she’s amazing at magic,” Clarity said, “but her personality can be a little… boring, I guess.”

The grey filly sighed.  “All she ever really does is study.  I know she’s gonna be great in whatever career she winds up in now that she’s through school, but…”

Clarity trailed off, searching for the right way to explain.

“I guess I’m looking for more than just knowledge while I’m at the Academy,” she finished finally.  “I mean, this place is a school, sure, but it’s also home to the greatest collection of magical experts in all of Equestria!  In a place like that, I can’t just spend my time making sure I ace all my classes; I want to learn the stuff they have to teach, but I also want a chance to explore the world of magic on my own terms.  We’ll be surrounded by the best resources available anywhere to guide us, after all.  And I intend to use them to figure out what kinds of magic work best for me, and how I can use it to, you know, broaden my view of the world, I guess.”

Dinky nodded.  “So you’re saying that while your sister is content to do everything by the book, you’re looking for more… adventure?”

“Yeah!” Clarity replied.  “I don’t want to just learn the skills; I want to use them as a stepping stone to discover more!  And if I never do anything but sit around and study, I’ll be missing out on all those magical adventures that I know are waiting for me.  I mean, it’s not like excitement just bursts through the door or anyth—”

At precisely that moment, the door to the next train car burst open loudly, and raucous laughter echoed from within, catching the attention of everypony in the car.

Two ponies stepped into the doorway and into the aisle.  They were both colts, and Dinky supposed they had to be some of the upperclassmen, since they looked to be at least three or four years older than she was.  The colts appeared to be twins; they both had about the same build, the same messy mane style, and the same slate-blue eyes.  The only difference was that one colt had a dull red coat and orange mane, while the other had a grey coat and white mane.

“Who’re they?” Dinky asked quietly.  Clarity just shrugged.

The whole car remained quiet as the two newcomers surveyed the ponies in the seats.

“Looks like mostly runts in this car, Scorch,” said the grey colt, chuckling.  “They’re a lot of first and second-term students.  Guess that means we should give them our little ‘introduction’.”

The reddish unicorn grinned.  “They’re just a bunch of foals, Frosty,” he replied.  “We don’t wanna scare ‘em too bad.  We just gotta make sure they’re very clear on who they’re dealing with.”

The two older colts took a few steps forward until they stood near the center of the car, only a few rows away from where Clarity and Dinky sat.  Everypony else watched them, with expressions ranging from curious to angry to fearful.

“Alright, little foals, listen up!” the red unicorn said loudly.  “I’m Scorch, and this is my brother Frosty.  But those of you who aren’t first-term students probably know us as the FrostFire Twins.”

Dinky peered over the top of her seat back and examined Scorch and Frosty’s Cutie Marks, which, rather appropriately, were a campfire and a snowflake, respectively.

“Now, we’ll lay this out in black and white for all you newbies,” Frosty continued condescendingly.  “Scorch and I are both experts in combat magic.  We’re easily the most powerful unicorns at this school now that we’re in the highest class,  and we’re not gonna take any backtalk from anypony.”

Scorch laughed in agreement.  “Unless somepony’s stupid enough to think they can beat us in a duel, that is.”

To demonstrate, Scorch’s horn lit up, and a sizeable ball of fire formed on the end of it, radiating its warmth around the train compartment.  Most of the foals shrank back into their seats to get away from the searing heat.  Scorch just snickered and let the ball of flame fizzle out.

The two unicorns surveyed the carful of sufficiently frightened students.  “Good, looks like everypony knows their place,” Frosty remarked.  “I guess we won’t have any trouble.  Now let’s go have a little chat with the next car about—”

“Hey, Frosty!  Don’t forget about me!”

For a moment, Dinky wasn’t sure where the new voice had come from.  She peered into the shadows of the two intimidating unicorns and realized another colt was standing there, although he was much smaller than the others.

Frosty turned around and peered down at the little pony behind him. “Oh, yeah.  Sorry, bro, I keep forgetting there’re three of us now.”

Scorch and Frosty stepped aside and let their younger brother pass so he could stand in full view of the ponies in the train car.  His wild mane and short, messy tail looked a lot like those of his brothers, and his blue-grey eyes matched theirs as well, but his coat was brown and his mane was a lighter tan.  His Cutie Mark was a small iron cage.

“Take note, everypony,” Scorch called.  “Frosty and I are gonna be graduatin’ after this year, but our little bro Scuffle is gonna be carrying on in our place.  The kid may be in his first term, but he knows more than enough battle magic for his age, so I wouldn’t recommend messin’ with him, either.”

Scuffle grinned arrogantly.  “You guys don’t need to be bothered with keeping the first-term foals in line this year,” he said.  “I’ll be able to handle these sorry little squirts myself.”

Clarity rolled her eyes.  “Ugh, this is bad,” she whispered to Dinky.  “We’re not even at the school yet and we already have bullies to worry about.”

Scuffle heard the filly’s mumbling in the near-silence of the car.  He turned around and trotted over to the pair of seats where Dinky and Clarity were sitting.

“What was that?” he asked confrontationally, putting his front hooves up on the seat.  “Do you have something to say to me?”

“I… uh…” Clarity trailed off as she and Dinky shrank back against the wall of the car.

Frosty laughed.  “Look at ‘em, panicking like that,” he chortled.  “’Atta boy, Scuffle, you show ‘em who’s boss.”

“Well?” Scuffle asked loudly.  “What is it you want to say?  Come on, spit it out!”

Scuffle’s smirk only grew larger as his prey failed to respond.

“Nothing, huh?  That’s what I thought,” he said finally.  “I’m a little smaller than Scorch and Frosty, but you’d still have to be pretty stupid to talk back to—”

Scuffle’s words caught in his throat as he was suddenly engulfed by an aura of brilliant purple magic, which yanked him off the fillies’ seat and back into the aisle.  He landed with a thump, but quickly scrambled to his hooves and scurried over to stand by his brothers before turning to face his assailant.

Yet another pony emerged from the doorway leading to the next car.  This time it was an older filly, likely the same age as the FrostFire Twins.  She had a pinkish-purple coat, and a mane and tail in two darker shades of purple.  Three gems composed her Cutie Mark.  The older filly simply stood in the doorway, giving the three bullies an unamused glare.

Scorch rolled his eyes.  “Oh look, Sparkler’s here to ruin the fun,” he said flatly.

“That’s right,” the young mare said, clearly not intimidated in the slightest by the bullies.  “You three have caused enough trouble already today, and we haven’t even arrived at the Academy yet.  Now, get back in the other car and leave the new students alone.”

“You can’t make us,” said Frosty defiantly.

“You know darn well I can,” Sparkler replied acidly.  “Or did you forget about my new position this year?”

That seemed to shut the bullies up.  Dinky wasn’t sure what Sparkler meant by ‘position’, but she was certainly relieved that they did.

“Fine, fine…” Frosty mumbled.  “Come on, Scorch, I think these foals get the gist of what we were trying to say.  We don’t need Sparki here ratting us out to the dean again.”

Without breaking their swagger, the twins made for the exit, with Scuffle following along in their shadow as usual.

“And you,” Sparkler snapped, grabbing the younger colt with magic and lifting him into the air before he could exit.  “You’re shaping up to be just like your blockhead older brothers.  I was hoping at least one colt in your family would have an ounce of decency, but I guess I was wrong about that.”

Scuffle replied by sticking out his tongue, eliciting a laugh from the twins waiting in the doorway.  Sparkler snorted in disgust and dropped the colt, and then followed the three brothers out, slamming the train car door behind her.

A few seconds of silence ensued, and then conversation among the passengers gradually resumed.  Dinky sighed and sank back into her seat.

“Well, now we know who to avoid at school,” Clarity observed, taking back her original position next to Dinky.  “Now that I think about it, I think my sister has mentioned those twins once or twice, but she never really had a problem with them.”

“I think those two are more likely to bother with the older ponies,” Dinky said.  “I’d be more worried about Scuffle, honestly.”

She shook her head.  “But look at us, getting all worked up over a couple of bullies!  We’re both better than that.  The Academy’s a lot bigger than this train is; we can figure out where to hang out and who to hang out with if we want to avoid ponies like that.”

She pointed to the silhouette of Canterlot, only a little further up the mountainside.  “Besides, we have more important things to think about.  It looks like we’re almost there!”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Late afternoon sun reflected off the shimmering spires of the majestic buildings of the capitol city.  Canterlot pedestrians paid no heed to the familiar sight of the train passing through one of the city’s wider thoroughfares.

Inside the train however, the mood was anything but humdrum.  Many of the younger colts and fillies had never had the privilege to visit the royal city, and the grandeur was having an effect.

Dinky had been to Canterlot several times, since Ponyville was only a few hours away, so the novelty of the visit had worn off for her.  The same could not be said for Clarity; the grey filly was standing on her hind legs, pressing her face against the window pane as she peered out at the towering white buildings and ornate decorations.

“Wow!” she cried for what had to be at least the eleventh time in as many minutes.  “This place is even more amazing than I was expecting!  I can’t imagine what it’s like to live here!”

“It is pretty cool compared to Ponyville,” Dinky admitted, looking up at the towers with their colorful, conical tops, often sporting flags or gold sculptures.  “My magic tutor used to live here.  She told me lots of neat stuff about this place.  Did you know some of these buildings have been here since before Ponyville was even founded, but they still look brand new? There’s some kind of enchantment on the whole city to keep it looking beautiful all year round."

The fillies peered out the window at dozens of extravagant shops and fine restaurants; there was no doubt that center-city Canterlot was the pinnacle of Equestrian high-society.

“There’s the castle!” Clarity squealed.  “Look at that place!  It’s huge!  I bet the Princesses are inside right now, getting ready for the opening ceremonies at the Academy tonight!”

“The Princesses are going to be at the ceremony?” Dinky asked, slightly surprised.

Clarity rolled her eyes.  “It’s called Celestia’s Academy,” she pointed out, fighting back a chuckle.  “Who did you think was going to be there for the start of term?”

“I guess I just hadn’t thought about it,” Dinky admitted.

Suddenly, the wheels began to screech and the train started to slow down.

“Canterlot Station!” the conductor announced through the loudspeaker.

“We’re here!” Dinky said gleefully.  “Come on, Clarity.  Let’s go!”

“Go where?” Clarity asked, still standing and staring out the window.

The question threw Dinky for a loop.  “We’re at the station.  We have to get off now to go to the Academy…” she said, looking at her new friend with concern.

Clarity raised an eyebrow.  “Um… you do know that the Academy has its own private station, right?” she asked slowly.  “We’re only stopping at this station to pick up the students that live here.”

“But isn’t the Academy in Canterlot?” Dinky asked.

“Well… kind of,” Clarity said.  “My sister says it’s sort of removed from the main city, but it’s closer to Canterlot than anywhere else.  I guess your tutor didn’t tell you that, huh?”

“I think she was more focused on teaching me all the magic I needed to know,” Dinky said.  “She wanted some of the stuff about the Academy to be a surprise.”

“I guess this is one of those surprises then,” Clarity laughed, “because the Academy is still a ways away from here, I think.”

The fillies waited, staring out the window at the colts and fillies gathering their belongings and boarding the train.  After a brief waiting period, the whistle blew and the train shuddered back into motion.  Within a few minutes, Canterlot’s dramatic buildings were replaced by somewhat more humble dwellings around the outskirts of the capitol.

“Welcome aboard, everypony!” blared the conductor’s cheery voice over the speakers.  “We now have all our students aboard, and our final stop today will be at Celestia’s Academy for Gifted Unicorns!  We’ll be arriving around sunset tonight, a little less than an hour from now.”

He chuckled before continuing.  “And for those of you who have never been to the Academy before, keep in mind that there’s no reason to panic if the train happens to do anything… unusual during the remainder of our trip.”

“Unusual?” Dinky repeated, looking questioningly at Clarity.

“Don’t ask me,” the grey filly replied.  “I’ve never even been on this train before, let alone been to the Academy.”

Clarity stood back up on her seat to peer out the window, evidently not yet content to stop taking in the sights of Canterlot.  Dinky, who was less interested, simply sat daydreaming about the upcoming events.

I wonder if I’ll get to meet the princesses in person?  I’d have to thank them both for bending the rules a little to allow me to study there.  Oh, and I have to tell Princess Luna that Pipaqueak says hi…

“Um… Dinky?” Clarity said suddenly, snapping Dinky out of her thoughts.  “You might wanna look at this…”

“Look at what?”

Clarity pointed out the window, swishing her tail nervously.  “Is this what the conductor meant by ‘unusual’?”

Dinky stood up on her hind legs and looked outside.  For a moment, she didn’t see the problem; everything outside the train seemed pretty normal.  When she glanced toward the horizon, however, the source of Clarity’s concern became clear.

At the end of the promontory upon which Canterlot was perched was a sheer cliff, over the edge of which was the near-vertical mountainside stretching a thousand pony-lengths or more to the peak’s base.  The train tracks ran right up to the edge of the deadly drop before stopping abruptly, and the train was barreling right toward the precipice, only seconds from careening off.

“W-what?” Dinky gasped.  “We’re going to go right over the edge!  We’ll be smashed to bits!”

Other students in the car seemed to be noticing the impending disaster as well, and began to panic.  A few older students, however, watched the startled foals with casual amusement.

“The conductor said everything will be fine,” Clarity said, but her tone of voice contradicted her words.  “I sure hope he knew what he was talking about!”

There was no time left to act; the two fillies hopped back down to their seats and braced themselves as the train chugged right off the cliff.  Dinky noted with immediate relief that there was no sensation of falling to one’s grim demise, and cautiously stood back up to see what had happened.

For a few moments, she was quite confused; the train continued to chug merrily along despite the fact that there was no longer any track (or ground, for that matter) beneath its wheels.  She looked more closely and realized what was happening; smooth bars of yellow light supported the wheels instead.

Clarity’s head poked curiously up so she could investigate as well.  She stared down into the deep gorge below, which threatened to swallow up the train if the light beneath its wheels were to falter.

“Magic tracks?” she asked, awestruck.  “That… that is so cool!”

Dinky, who was quite aware of the potential for a long drop into a deadly, rocky canyon below, decided ‘cool’ was not the first word she would have chosen.  Then again, Clarity had said that she wanted to seek out adventure, so it was natural she'd be excited by this sort of thing.

Clarity noticed Dinky’s less-than thrilled look.  “What’s wrong?” she asked.  “We’re not gonna fall.  The tracks are probably made of the same kind of spell used for forming barriers and stuff.  Perfectly solid.”

While that was true, it didn’t make the sensation of being suspended thousands of feet above the ground any less uncomfortable.  Dinky slid back into her seat and tried very hard to pretend the train was still moving along solid ground, leaving her new friend to continue marveling as the train made its way around the mountainside.

I think living in a place where magic is used for just about everything is gonna take some getting used to…

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Right around the time that the sun dropped low enough in the sky to touch the horizon, the train suddenly bounced, and then began to rumble rhythmically once again, indicating the wheels had finally returned to tracks made of steel and wood.  The magical causeway had carried its passengers to a small, rocky outcrop on a mountain neighboring the one that held Canterlot.  The ledge was wide, but unremarkable.

“Attention, passengers!” called the conductor.  “Please prepare to disembark!  We will be arriving at the Academy within a few minutes.”

Dinky stared out the window, but there was no sign of any building that could be the Academy, or for that matter, any civilization at all.  After a moment, the train turned sharply to the left and carried the students into a tunnel in the mountainside.

Darkness engulfed the whole train.  A few students lit their horns, casting long shadows down the aisles as the car was filled with soft light of various colors.

Somewhere in the heart of the mountain, the train began to slow.  A few minutes later, it pulled up to a subterranean train platform, dimly lit by a few torches.  The rough cave walls were bare, save for a single banner bearing the royal seal of Canterlot hanging above the platform.  Steam hissed from beneath the cars, and the whistle blew one final time, its sound magnified immensely by the echo off the cave walls.

“We’re… here?” Dinky asked hesitantly.

“I think so,” Clarity replied.  “I wasn’t expecting us to wind up underground, though.  Let’s just follow the other students and see what happens.”

Clarity hopped off the seat and started down the aisle.  Dinky grabbed her book of magic and followed her friend.

Ponies exiting the cars further toward the front of the train were already trotting up a walkway that slanted steadily upwards from the platform.  A small spot of light glimmered at the top; probably the exit to the dark cavern, Dinky supposed.

“Just follow the ramp, girls,” said the conductor, noticing Dinky and Clarity staring around the station uncertainly.  “Your luggage has already been teleported to the dormitory lounge, so there’s no need to worry about it until after the opening ceremony.”

Clarity grinned.  “That’s convenient!  Come on, Dinky, let’s go!”

The grey filly turned and trotted briskly toward the ramp, and Dinky followed along behind.

The cave was quite plain; other than regularly-placed torches, there was nothing of interest to look at, so Dinky focused on the light radiating down from the cave mouth.  Clarity appeared to be practically bursting with anticipation, and Dinky soon found herself panting as she jogged past some of the slower-moving students to keep up with her eager companion.

A few minutes later, both fillies burst onto the balcony at the top of the ramp.  Dinky’s mouth dropped open as she took in her first view of Celestia’s Academy for Gifted Unicorns.

The rays of the setting sun illuminated a wide, roughly rectangular valley carved out of the side of the mountain.  The balcony on which the fillies stood was high up on one of the shorter sides of the rectangle.  From there, a long, winding ramp zigzagged down the steep walls to the valley floor, and after that, proceeded toward the center of the valley, where an enormous, gleaming white castle stood.

While not as tall as the castle in Canterlot, this one was certainly wider; the sprawling complex covered a huge portion of the valley.  Towers and turrets of various heights and widths, all bedecked in the purple and gold banners common in the capitol, rose above the rest of the main structure.  At least a dozen more structures, mostly either long, low buildings or free-standing towers were built into the left and right sides of the valley, with winding paths from the main castle leading to each.

The grounds were beautiful; hedges cut delicately into the shapes of unicorns and alicorns lined many of the pathways, and sprawling, flowery fields dotted with occasional large, shady trees surrounded the castle on all sides.  In one corner of the valley, there was even a small forest.

On the right wall of the valley, a tall waterfall spilled over the edge from some concealed mountain spring near the mountaintop.  If formed a small pool of clear water at the base from which a river ran, snaking around the side of the castle.

At the far side of the valley, exactly opposite where Dinky and Clarity stood, there was a cliff instead of a steep rock wall.  Since the valley was cut out of the mountainside, this side remained open, allowing for an astonishing view of the largely-uninhabited forests and low mountains of northeastern Equestria.  The river that ran by the Academy eventually tumbled off the cliff, forming a pool hundreds of feet below, before winding away and disappearing into a forest on the horizon.  It was quite clear from its secluded location that the train was the only way onto (or off of) the Academy’s premises.

Even by Equestrian standards, this valley was a beautiful place, yet most of the older students paid the view little heed as they reached the balcony.  Instead, they simply turned and began the long hike down the ramp.  It looked as though there was over a mile of pathway, crossing repeatedly back and forth as it made its way down the mountainside to the valley floor.

“I… I…” Dinky stuttered, “I don’t know exactly what I was expecting the Academy to look like, but I certainly didn’t think it’d be like this.”

“No wonder sis always speaks so highly of this place,” Clarity added, sounding quite awed.  “It’s downright gorgeous.”

“I guess we should get going,” Dinky said.  “Looks like it’s a long walk down to the castle.”

Dinky turned away from the edge of the balcony, and began to trot toward the ramp leading down the slope.  She’d only gone a few steps when she tripped on a stone, causing her to stagger sideways and crash into an unfortunate filly who happened to be emerging from the subterranean tunnel at that moment.  Both fillies collapsed in a heap on the stones.

Clarity ran over to them.  “Smooth, Dinky,” she snickered.  “Are you two okay?”

“I’m fine, I think,” Dinky said, getting to her hooves.  She turned to the other filly still sprawled on the ground.  “I’m so sorry!” she apologized.  “Did I hurt you?”

“I’m… alright,” the other filly said slowly, standing up as well.  Dinky looked her over as she got to her hooves; her accidental victim had a light pink coat, with a green and white mane and pale green eyes.

“Hey, wait!” Dinky said, recognizing the other filly instantly.  “You’re the filly I met right after I got on the train.  Why’d you run off earlier?”

The pink filly froze up.  Her eyes darted around, as if searching for some way to escape.

“I just… had somewhere to be,” she said weakly.

Dinky blinked.  “Well, would you like to walk down to the Academy with Clarity and me?  We’d love some more company.”

The pink filly seemed to deflate a little bit.  “Gee, I’d sure like to,” she mumbled.  “But I walk awfully slow.  I don’t want to hold you two up.”

“We’re not in a hurry,” Clarity chimed in.  “The opening ceremony won’t start until later this evening.  If we get to the castle right away, we’ll just have to wait around inside anyway.”

The pink filly blinked, and flattened her ears against her head nervously.  “Oh, well… um…”

It was becoming apparent that the nervous pony was trying to think of excuses.  “Please, I… I think I just need some quiet and fresh air for a few moments,” she said finally.  “The train ride was a little, um… stressful.”

Dinky took the hint.  She shrugged, and turned back to Clarity as the pink filly walked ahead by herself.

“I guess she just doesn’t like us,” Dinky concluded.  “If she wants to be left alone, let’s leave her alone.”

Clarity rubbed her chin thoughtfully.  “I don’t know,” she said slowly.  “That’s not the sort of feeling I’m getting from her.  I don’t think she dislikes us; I think she’s kind of scared of us.”

“Why would she be?” Dinky asked.  “We’re not bullies like those colts on the train!  I’ve been trying to be as friendly as I can.”

“I don’t know, but ponies can be shy for lots of reasons,” said Clarity.  “But let me talk to her one more time before we give up.”

Clarity turned and trotted quickly along the path to catch up to the pink filly that had gone on ahead.  Dinky galloped along behind.

Clarity caught up as the nervous pony she’d been tailing rounded the first bend in the path.  The shy filly stopped when she saw Clarity approaching her.

“Hey, before you go, can’t you at least tell us your name?” she asked.  “Maybe we can hang out another time.”

The pink filly lowered her head a bit, avoiding eye contact.

“I’m… Honeydew.”

“Hi, Honeydew!  I’m Clarity!” Clarity replied, holding out a hoof in greeting.  Honeydew shook it curtly before turning to go.

“Anyway,” Clarity continued, not willing to give up so quickly, “My friend Dinky and I couldn’t help but notice you seemed a little nervous.  Is something wrong?  Maybe we can help.”

Honeydew bit her lip.  “Well… I was hoping I was subtle enough that you wouldn’t notice that.  Guess it didn’t work, huh?”

The other filly grinned.  “Not quite,” she admitted.

Honeydew frowned, and turned away again silently.

“Now wait a second!” Clarity called.  “It’s ok to be nervous!  All three of us are first-term students this year; Dinky and I are kind of nervous too!  But staying by yourself all the time is only going to make things worse.”

Honeydew stopped and turned around, giving Clarity a puzzled look.

“Thanks for your concern,” she said, “but I don’t think you two can really help.”

“Oh?” Clarity asked.  “Sorry for being pushy, but… why not?”

Honeydew stood still for a moment, then squeezed her eyes shut and lowered her head close to the ground.

“I’m… I’m really nervous around unicorns, okay?!” she yelled suddenly.

That was certainly not the answer the fillies were expecting.  Honeydew shivered, her eyes still clenched tightly shut, as if expecting to be laughed at.

“You’re nervous around unicorns?” Dinky asked, stepping forward.  “But… you are a unicorn.”

“I know,” Honeydew moaned, sounding thoroughly resigned.  “If I tell you why, will you please leave me alone?”

“Okay,” Clarity agreed.  “Come on, just walk with us for a little while and we can talk about it.”

The three fillies began to trot slowly down the path.  Honeydew acted as if she had just been sentenced, and was being led away by her captors.  Morosely, she recounted her story to the other two fillies.

“I’m just not used to being around unicorns much,” she explained.  “See, I’m the only unicorn in my family.  Not just my immediate family; there isn’t a single unicorn anywhere in our recorded ancestry.  My parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins are all earth ponies, and so are all the ponies that live nearby.  Unicorns are a rare sight in the farming town where I live, and the use of magic… well, it’s almost a taboo subject.”

“Then how in Equestria did you wind up here?” Dinky asked.

“It’s complicated,” Honeydew mumbled.  “The first time I used magic was years ago, and it was totally by accident.  It was harvest time, and my father was out collecting fruit to take to the market.  We grow lots of fruit at our farm, but the soil’s not deep and rich enough for trees, so it’s mostly just berries and melons.  I was just a little filly at the time, carrying the basket for my father as he plucked the strawberries off of one of our bigger bushes.”

She frowned.  “It was warm that day, and I was tired and hungry, and one of the strawberries near the top of the bush looked so big and tasty that I just wanted to eat it right then and there.  And suddenly… it was floating over to me!  I was young at the time, and I didn’t know any better, so I started plucking more strawberries off the bush right away.  But the bush shook so much that I disturbed a nest of bees living there.  My father and I just barely made it inside, and all the strawberries we had collected were left behind, and by the time it was safe for father to go back for them, they had all spoiled in the sun.  My parents were embarrassed to have a unicorn daughter in the first place, and my using magic became the last straw…”

Honeydew leaned forward and pointed to a noticeable nick on the hard outer surface near the base of her horn.  “Father decided to address the problem directly… with his hacksaw.  If my aunt hadn’t been visiting that day and leapt in to stop him… well, that definitely would have been the last time I ever used magic…”

Dinky and Clarity stared at the gash in Honeydew’s horn, aghast.  Dinky opened her mouth to say something, but Honeydew was on a roll now and continued with her story.

“My aunt thought removing my horn was much too cruel of a way to deal with the problem, and my parents rarely argue with her.  She insisted that there was a reason I was born with magical ability and that they had no right to take it from me.  She offered to help me find a tutor to control my magical abilities.  My parents weren’t happy about it, but they agreed, simply so I would learn how to keep it under control and never use it in their presence again.  And I was just fine with that, until…”

Honeydew sniffled for a moment, and the other fillies noticed there were a few tears forming in her eyes.  Her distraught expression was soon replaced with a resolute one, though, and she continued.

“I started learning about magic,” she said.  “And I… I absolutely loved it!  My tutor, the only other unicorn I’d ever met, noticed my potential immediately.  She taught me how to prevent myself from using it around my parents, but she also began teaching me to put my abilities to use!  I soon found that, perhaps because of my earth pony bloodline, I always felt really in tune with the natural world around me, and using magic, I found ways to deepen that connection.  That’s how I got my Cutie Mark, too.”

Simultaneously, Dinky and Clarity looked at Honeydew’s flanks, and noticed for the first time the image of a green leaf with a gold star overlaying it.

“Then, without my permission, my tutor decided to send my application to Celestia’s Academy for Gifted Unicorns,” Honeydew said.  “I was accepted before I was even told.  So I was left with a bit of an ultimatum: ignore the opportunity, or go and betray my parents’ wishes.”

She sighed.  “You should have seen the look they gave me as I was leaving this morning.  My father hates unicorns, and I… I’m ashamed that I enjoy being one…”

All at once, Honeydew lost her shaky composure, and she sobbed.  “I just don’t know who I am anymore!” she cried.  “I love magic!  I admit it!  But I feel dirty even being here with other magic users!  I’ve been afraid to talk to anypony at all since I left!”

The pink filly looked as if she was about to collapse.  Dinky leaned on her for support, and Clarity draped a hoof over her shoulder.

“Honeydew I… I don’t know what to say,” Clarity said.  “Nopony should have to make a decision like that.  No matter which path you choose, a part of you feels like it just isn’t the right one…”

Honeydew sniffled but did not reply.

“But Honeydew, you are a unicorn,” Dinky said softly.  “Magic is a part of who you are; there’s nothing shameful about that.  I know your parents don’t like it, but everypony has to choose their own path eventually.  Tell me, if you had stayed and behaved like an earth pony at the farm for the rest of your life, would you have been happy?”

Honeydew shook her head.

“Well, there you go,” Clarity chimed in.  “Being here is important to you, I can tell!  And when you go home, you don’t have to use the magic you’ve learned.  If your parents don’t accept their daughter for who she is… well, they’re not giving you a chance to be happy now, are they?”

“I guess not,” Honeydew said.  “I’m… I’m not an earth pony, after all.  For whatever reason, I was born a unicorn, and I guess it wouldn’t be right to let that go to waste.  Besides, I’m already here, so there’s not really a point in worrying about my parents until the next time I go home…”

The three fillies reached the bottom of the path.  Before them stood the majestic gateway into Celestia’s Academy for Gifted Unicorns.

“Well, you’ve more than explained your concern,” Clarity admitted.  “Like you asked, we’ll leave you alone now.  See you around.”

Honeydew nodded, and Clarity and Dinky slowly turned to enter the building.

“Wait.”

Clarity grinned, and winked at Dinky before turning back around.  “Yes?”

“Do you think I could stay with you two until after the opening ceremony is over?” Honeydew asked timidly.  “I don’t really know anything about what’s going to happen tonight, so maybe I should stick with you girls for now…”

Both fillies nodded enthusiastically.  “Of course!” Dinky said.  “The more the merrier!  Right, Clarity?”

“Absolutely,” Clarity responded.  “Come on, the ceremony is starting soon!”

For the first time since getting off the train, Honeydew actually smiled, albeit faintly, and together the three fillies stepped across the threshold into the grand foyer of their new school.
> Chapter 3
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A few of the day’s last rays of sunlight glimmered on the smooth stone floor of the antechamber as the three fillies stepped inside the castle.  Before them, two great, intricately carved doors guarded the entrance to the main hall.

Dinky pushed on the door with her front hooves, which proved to be a rather fruitless endeavor; each door, she realized, probably weighed hundreds if not thousands of pounds.

Clarity laughed.  “Still getting used to this, huh?” she asked a slightly abashed Dinky.  “Don’t worry, one of these days you’ll get the hang of automatically using magic rather than your hooves for most things.”

The grey filly lit her horn and pushed the huge doors open, and then all three fillies were stunned into silence, taken aback by the room beyond.

The main hall was larger than Dinky had even thought possible, and hundreds of colts and fillies were seated within, filling the room with a cacophony of chatter.  Huge stained glass windows, not unlike the ones lining the vault of the Elements of Harmony in Canterlot Castle, split the evening light into a prismatic display that decorated the hall.  Unlike Canterlot’s windows, which depicted crowing moments of Equestrian history, these windows displayed images of a few dozen of the unicorns that were most influential in developing the field of magic.  Numerals, carved with beautiful calligraphy into the glass, depicted the dates which each had lived.  Together, the unicorns dated from the earliest recorded days of Equestrian history right up to the modern era.

Dinky didn’t recognize the vast majority of the figures in the windows, but she supposed that was to be expected.  After all, Twilight hadn’t had time to teach her anything about history.  They’d barely gotten through the practical material in their limited training period.

However, there was one figure near the beginning of the chronology that Twilight, even with her intensely limited time, had not been able to overlook.  The figure with the long white beard, and starry cape and hat was unmistakably Twilight’s favorite magical figure of all time: Starswirl the Bearded.

The sides of the massive hall were lined with pillars standing between the windows.  Each one held a strange, glowing orb.  The light they gave off was oddly similar to the light cast by Ponyville’s (admittedly somewhat rare) electric light fixtures, but they weren’t connected to any power source, so it seemed safe to assume that they too were simply powered by magic.

The vaulted ceiling was far, far above, supported by dozens of stone buttresses that climbed up the walls.  The surface was painted with somewhat abstract images of unicorns in various parts of Equestria.

At the far end of the room was a polished wooden stage, with a huge banner bearing the royal seal hanging on the wall behind it.  Before it were rows and rows of seats, many of which were already occupied by students.

Clarity gave a low whistle.  “Everything about this place is impressive, huh?” she asked.  “Come on, let’s go find a seat.”  She and Dinky quickly trotted down the aisle to search for a few open chairs, and Honeydew tagged silently along behind.

However, the fillies quickly realized that their dawdling since leaving the train hadn’t left much room to sit.  Colts and fillies sat in groups, leaving only occasional single chairs left open between them.  The prospect of finding three open seats situated together seemed nearly impossible.

Finally, they happened across a pair of unoccupied chairs near the front of the room.  It seemed there wasn’t any remaining seating that offered more than that.  The trio all exchanged glances, and Honeydew was the first to speak.

“It’s fine, you two can sit together,” she said.  “I know I said you two could help me figure out what to do until we all get situated, but I’m sure there are lots of first-term students who don’t know what they’re doing yet.  I’ll, um… just ask an adult if I’m not sure where to go.”

Honeydew’s voice cracked a bit, betraying her anxiety despite her attempt to sound casual.

“Are you sure?” Dinky asked, sharing a concerned glance with Clarity.  “We don’t wanna just ignore you if you’d like to stay with us for a while.”

“It’s fine!” said Honeydew a little too loudly, looking around the hall as if searching for any additional excuse to disappear.  “I mean… I’ll be fine.  Really!  You two can sit here.  Maybe I’ll… see you later, or something…”

Clarity thought for a moment, and then she brightened.

“Hey, maybe after the ceremony we can—”

“She’s already gone,” Dinky pointed out.  “She kinda left pretty quickly after she said goodbye.”

Clarity frowned.  “I guess she’s still not quite ready to make some friends,” she admitted.  “I’m surprised she was willing to stay with us that long.  For a moment there, it seemed like she wanted our company, but I think her nerves got the better of her.”

“We can’t really blame her,” Dinky mentioned.  “I’d be a bit of a wreck too if I’d been through what she has.  I mean, her parents tried to cut off her horn!  Is that even legal?”

“No, it’s not,” Clarity deadpanned.  “But her whole community consisted of magic-phobic earth ponies.  I don’t think there was anypony there who would have seen it as enough of a crime to report it anyway, even if they’d gone through with it.”

Dinky carefully tucked her treasured magic guide beneath her seat as she and Clarity sat down and continued to gaze around the impressive main hall.  The remaining light coming from outside was fading rapidly, and (interestingly, thought Dinky) the magical orbs seemed to be compensating for it, glowing brighter to replace the lost sunlight.

“Do you know a lot of the ponies in the stained glass windows?” she asked suddenly.  “I’m not sure how famous most of them are. The only one I recognize is Starswirl the Bearded.”

“Well sure!” Clarity said, glancing quickly around at the dozens of colorful figures.  “Everypony up there has made some major contribution to our understanding of magic.  For example, Starswirl’s contemporary, Clover the Clever, is up there on the next window over.  Clover aided in the founding of modern Equestria, and she also made huge strides in discovering how intricately emotion ties in to latent magical power.”

“That’s cool,” said Dinky.  “If they have a magical history class here, I guess we’ll learn all about these ponies."

“Oh, I’m sure we will,” Clarity agreed, “and many more besides.”

A trumpet suddenly blared nearby, causing the fillies to jump.  While they were talking, a greenish unicorn had appeared on the stage.  Once he saw his instrument had captured everypony’s attention, he smiled and waved at the colts and fillies.

“Good evening, students, and let me be the first to welcome you to Celestia’s Academy for Gifted Unicorns!  As always, we shall begin our opening ceremony with an appearance from our dean, the honorable Ms. Bright Spark!”

A door opened in the front corner of the room, and a yellow unicorn with a long, well-groomed silver mane walked slowly into the hall.  Her slightly lined face and pair of thick spectacles betrayed her advanced age, which came as no surprise considering she had been dean when Twilight attended the Academy over a decade ago.  The mare’s Cutie Mark was an oil lantern.

The hall fell silent as Bright Spark slowly climbed the stage steps and strolled over to stand next to the green unicorn.  She scanned the hall for a few moments before speaking.

“Thank you, Professor,” she said politely.  “And welcome, all of you, to Celestia’s Academy for Gifted Unicorns.  As you are all already aware, my name is Bright Spark, and I am the acting dean here.  I have been running the school as a service for our beloved Princess Celestia for quite some time; in fact, this is my fortieth year.”

The impressive number evoked a murmur of admiration from the crowd.  Bright Spark smiled calmly as she waited for the room to quiet again.

“Now, I suppose I will begin with the usual welcoming speech for our many new students,” she continued.  “To those of you who are joining us in this hall for the first time this evening, I hope your experience thus far has been an enjoyable one.  We do pride ourselves in making the Academy and its grounds a pleasant and beautiful place.  After all, feelings of contentment usually lead to a clearer, more focused mind, and that in turn leads to greater magical ability.”

The old mare sounded as if she knew this speech like the back of her hoof; Dinky assumed she had been giving a variation of the same presentation every year.  Bright Spark adjusted her glasses and looked down at the first-term students, most of whom were seated together near the front of the room.  

“Now, while we do hope to make your time here comfortable and enjoyable, we mustn’t forget that we are all gathered here to study and improve our abilities,” she continued, ignoring the older students in the back of the room who had begun to chatter quietly after growing bored with the speech they’d all heard several times in the past.  “Throughout history, all the greatest unicorns known to ponykind have had their humble beginnings here at this very academy.  Almost every one of the famous figures you see pictured in our lovely windows is a graduate of this school.  Right now, most of you are probably exemplary in casting basic, practical spells, and plenty of you know some unique additional tricks that you picked up by accident or learned from a sibling or parent.  Our greatest goal here at Celestia’s Academy is to augment those bright, young minds of yours with the resources necessary to go out there and use your great magic skills to bring something new and wonderful for everypony in Equestria!”

The dean again waited as the new students exchanged excited whispers and glances.  A few moments later, she spoke once more.

“Those of you who truly want to be able to accomplish these things, however, will first need to be fully versed in the ways of modern magic.  For five years, each of you will have to study hard and practice often in order to hone the magical abilities already buried within you.  It can be very trying, but you will graduate here as masters of the magical arts, and there will be few limits to where you can go and what you can do after that.”

Bright Spark smiled knowingly as she observed the nervous looks on some students’ faces.  “Of course, even we can’t expect you to work all the time,” she admitted with a chuckle.  “We’ve only just arrived, after all, and tonight is a night for you all to enjoy yourselves.  So to say a few final words and kick off our opening ceremonies, please welcome our very own benevolent ruler and owner of the Academy, Princess Celestia!”

As soon as the words had left the dean’s mouth, a flicker of yellow light, only a few inches across, appeared above the center of the stage.  For a moment it floated there, glimmering silently as it attracted the attention of all the students in the huge hall.  It began to grow, gradually at first, and then accelerating until it was a bright sphere more than twice the size of the average pony.

Bright Spark sidestepped out of the way as the large, pulsing sphere of light began to descend to the stage.  It touched down lightly on the polished wood before beginning to fade, exposing the outline of a tall, slim pony with a long, flowing mane.

The audience broke into applause as the light vanished completely, revealing the beautiful form of Princess Celestia.

“Thank you for the introduction, Professor Spark,” Celestia said as the dean leaned into a respectful bow.  “And welcome, fillies and gentlecolts, to another term here at the Academy.  Firstly, I would like to apologize for Princess Luna’s absence.  As you can see, day is fading into night as we speak, and so my sister is attending to her most important royal duties and, to her great disappointment, was unable to attend the ceremony this evening.”

Celestia motioned to the windows, where sure enough, stars were beginning to twinkle into view in the darkened sky, and the moon was poking its pallid face over the horizon.

“Now,” Celestia continued, “I won’t speak at length, because I know you’ve all had a long day riding the train and I’m sure most of you are famished.  I’d just like to say a few words before we serve our welcoming dinner.”

She smiled warmly at her audience, which seemed to put everypony at ease, making the room quieter than it had ever been during Bright Spark’s speech.  “I just want to say that you have no idea how happy it makes me to see so many young minds here, willing to go the extra mile to fulfill their potential.  Ponies like you are my greatest hope for Equestria’s future, and believe me, if I could spend all day here with the students, I would.  Unfortunately, that is impossible, so I deeply thank Professor Spark for her many years of dedicated service to this school.”

Bright Spark simply nodded in appreciation.

“I am here on occasion, though,” Princess Celestia continued.  “Luna and I both teach a few classes now and then, so if anypony should need to leave a message for either of us, it can be left at the dean’s office for us to pick up.  And in case of an emergency, it can be sent directly to us via the Academy’s mail service.  Although in most cases, one of the professors or the dean should be able to handle the problem.”

Celestia paused and tapped her chin thoughtfully.  “I believe that’s all, really,” she said finally.  “I sincerely wish each and every one of you a truly fulfilling year of magical study...” 

The Princess grinned and winked at the students.  “…and, in the more immediate future, a truly satisfying dinner.  Our dining hall is located in the next room over, and you’ll find the tables have already been set with a welcoming feast.”

There were a few articulations of delight among the crowd at that news.

“And now, my little ponies, I must leave you for tonight.  Professor Spark will handle the rest of our opening proceedings.  Good night and good luck to all of you!”

And with that, Celestia spread her wings wide and rose into the air before vanishing in another grand flash of golden light.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After a brief walk to the dining hall, the students spent an hour or so indulging in a seemingly endless supply of delicacies.  Dinky tried several dishes she’d never heard of (and often with names she couldn’t hope to pronounce), and was pleased to find that almost everything was delicious.  Clarity, whose home town was even more remote than Ponyville, seemed even more thrilled with the selection.

Both fillies were stuffed by the time the meal was over, but that didn’t stop either of them from sampling the desserts that followed.

“Wow, I couldn’t eat another bite,” Clarity declared, leaning back in her chair and patting her stomach.  “I hope they don’t serve meals like this every day, or I’m gonna get too fat to move!”

Dinky laughed.  “Maybe you can learn a spell to shrink the food in your stomach after you eat it, so you can eat more,” she joked.

Clarity’s eyes widened.  “I am so going to learn how to do that sometime this year!” she replied, giggling.

Dinky was about to respond, but the fillies’ laughter was cut short by a flash and a loud bang.  They turned to the center of the room, where Bright Spark had set off a small magical firework to capture the students’ attention.

“Alright, everypony, I hope you enjoyed the feast,” she called.  “Now, it’s beginning to get late, and it’s time for you all to return to your dorm rooms, or in the case of our new students, get acquainted with them.  So before I send you off to the residence towers, I suppose it’s time to introduce this year’s Student Overseers.”

Bright Spark watched as some of the younger students exchanged confused looks.  “For those of you who do not know,” she continued, “Student Overseers are fifth-term students who have shown remarkable social and leadership skills throughout their previous terms here at the Academy.  Overseers are there to help you with any problem when a professor is not available; they address behavioral issues that may occur in the residence towers, as well as help younger students find their way around the Academy or deal with other minor concerns not related to actual classes.  Student Overseers also have the ability to deal minor punishments for misconduct, or report students to me for larger infractions.”

She stared toward one table where many of the older students were seated.  “As always, we have one colt and one filly who have been chosen as Student Overseers, and will be responsible for managing their respective residence towers,” she announced proudly.  “Our male Overseer this term is Presto, and our female Overseer is Sparkler.  Please come stand over here, you two.”

“Sparkler?” Dinky asked Clarity curiously.  “Is that the same filly who scared off those bullies on the train?”

“Looks like it,” Clarity said, pointing to the pink and purple filly who was now making her way toward the dean, along with a white unicorn with a nearly black mane and tail, bearing a Cutie Mark of a top hat and magic wand, who was apparently Presto.

“So that’s why the FrostFire Twins and their little brother weren’t willing to mess with her,” Dinky realized.  “She has the authority to punish them!”

Sparkler and Presto joined the dean on stage.  Presto smiled broadly and gave a small wave to some of his friends in the crowd.  Sparkler, in contrast, simply maintained a level stare. 

“Remember these ponies well!” Bright Spark said.  “Chances are they’ll be the first ponies available to help you in most situations, as well as the ones most likely to catch you if you’re acting out of line!  I’m going to turn the presentation over to Sparkler now, who will direct you to the residence towers for the evening.

Bright Spark stepped aside, and Sparkler moved forward to address the student body.

“First things first, everypony!” Sparkler called in an authoritative tone.  “It’s getting late, and I think most of you would probably like to get out of this noisy hall and off to the quiet, warm residence towers for the night.  Fillies, gather at the front of the room and I’ll lead you to the fillies’ residence tower where I’ll then lay down the rest of the rules.  Colts, please gather at the back of the room and follow Presto to your tower, where you’ll receive the same information.”

Sparkler marched to the front corner door, and Presto teleported to the back of the room to gather the colts.  There was a great commotion as hundreds of students rose from their chairs.  Dinky made sure to grab her beginner’s magic guide, and followed Clarity to the door at which Sparkler waited.  The Overseer pushed open the door and let the herd of fillies into the hallway.

The corridor ahead was lit by more of the magic orbs, casting their bright, if somewhat artificial light down the hall.  Sparkler trotted quietly and briskly forward, and Dinky and Clarity did their best to stay near the front of the group of unicorns.  At the end of the hall, Sparkler opened another door and led the students to a wide courtyard outside the castle, enclosed by a low hedge, where she stopped and turned to face them.

“For those of you who are new, you may be interested to know that the residence towers are outside the main castle,” Sparkler announced in a loud but even tone.  With a wave of her hoof, she indicated a large building built into the mountainside, with two separate steep stone ramps leading to each side.  “It’s the largest building on the Academy campus save for the castle itself; you can’t miss it.”

Dinky only had to glance at the various buildings surrounding the castle to confirm what Sparkler had said.  Unlike most of the structures built around the castle’s perimeter, which were small, single story buildings, this one was easily as big as some of the grander feats of architecture found in Canterlot.  A long, low rectangular section, perhaps two stories high, sat between two impressive white towers.

“The residence tower structure is simple,” Sparkler explained.  “The left tower is for the colts, and the right one is for the fillies.  There’s a spell over each to prevent ponies of the opposite sex from entering, so don’t bother trying.”

“What about the middle?” a filly standing next to Sparkler asked.

“The middle section of the building connects the two towers,” Sparkler answered, sounding uninterested.  “It’s the student lounge, and there’s no enchantment on it, so if you’d like to hang out with the colts, do it there.”

Sparkler looked over the hedge, where Presto and the colts were emerging from another door.  She nodded to her fellow Overseer, and the two of them simultaneously began to lead the students up the two separate narrow paths that approached the residence complex.

“As you can see, the residence complex is up on a plateau on the mountainside,” Sparkler called as she continued to walk.  “The only way to safely travel to and from the building is by way of these paths, and because the courtyards at the base are enclosed, you actually have to re-enter the castle and exit via a different door to reach the rest of the grounds.”

“That seems kind of unnecessarily complex,” Clarity called.  “Is there some reason it’s like that?”

“Of course,” Sparkler answered without turning around.  “The school rules forbid wandering the grounds after dark.  It is very common, however, for students to have evening classes, or perhaps a need to stay up into the wee hours of the morning in the castle library.  Both the castle and the residence buildings are open all day and night, so isolating the residence towers was necessary to prevent students wandering off onto the rest of the campus as they traveled between the castle and their tower.”

“That’s clever,” Clarity admitted, as Dinky nodded in approval.

After a few minutes, Sparkler reached the top of the stone path, and pushed open the wooden door to the fillies’ residence tower.  The fillies followed her inside and were faced with a fairly simple, round room.  The whole chamber was lit only by moonlight and the glow of a large fireplace, which cast their light upon the thick, plush carpeting.  The only other furniture in the room was a few overstuffed chairs and a long, low table.  Sparkler’s horn flared brightly, and several more of the light orbs that seemed to be a common feature of the Academy flickered on, flooding the room with light.

There were two doors leading out of the room besides the one from which the fillies had entered, as well as a staircase leading to the higher levels of the tower.  Next to the stairs was a mountain of irregularly-shaped objects, which Dinky quickly identified as all the luggage that had been stored on the train that morning.

Sparkler marched to the center of the room and stood still for a few moments as she waited for the mass of fillies behind her to squeeze inside the chamber.

“Dinky,” Clarity whispered as dozens of other ponies shuffled around them, “you wanna stay in the same dorm room once we go upstairs, right?”

“Well, yeah, of course!” Dinky answered.

“Good, then here’s what I want to do,” Clarity continued in a hushed tone, swishing her tail excitedly.  “My sister told me her old room was really great, and she told me how to find it, so I want to try to claim that one for us, since nopony’s living in it anymore.”

“Okay,” Dinky said, nodding at the suggestion.  “But how do we make sure we get that room before somepony else does?”

“We have to work our way over, toward the steps, while Sparkler is talking,” Clarity replied, grinning.  “As soon as she’s done, you and I are going to bolt up there as fast as we can!”

Dinky laughed and stepped out of the way to allow her friend to lead the charge.  The last of the group of fillies trickled into the room, and Sparkler began to speak.

“Alright, this is the fillies’ tower.  The room we’re in now is just the entrance, and it can also serve as a quiet study area if things get too noisy in the student lounge.  None of the rambunctious colts can get in here, so this area is typically pretty peaceful."

Sparkler pointed to the door at the back of the circular room.  “Through there is the Overseer suite,” she explained.  “I’ll usually be in there when I’m not in the castle, so if you need my help with something, that should be the first place you look.  Additionally, there are a few other fifth-term students who are acting as student aids.  They can’t give out privileges or discipline like Overseers can, but they might be able to help if you have a small question or concern.  They’ll just be housed on the levels above us, mixed in with the rest of the student dormitories.”

The older filly turned and indicated the other door with a gentle nod.  “Through there is the lounge.  Like I said before, it’s open all day and night, but typically it’s the busiest in the evening, just after classes have ended.  Any questions about any of that?”

Nopony raised a hoof.

“Good,” Sparkler said curtly.  “Now, I know this should go without saying, but I’ll say it anyway: we are all going to be living in this tower for the better part of the next year.  I hope I can count on all of you to be respectful and courteous to one another.  I’ve had a no-nonsense lifestyle since I was a foal, and I’m not going to tolerate misbehavior from you fillies, either.”

A few of the younger fillies shied away a bit at Sparkler’s stern gaze.  Most of the older ones, however, simply waited with bored expressions for the Overseer to dismiss them.

“Have you found your luggage in that pile?” Clarity asked under her breath.  Dinky nodded.	

“Good, then get ready to run,” Clarity whispered, bending her knees to get into a good position to spring forward at maximum speed.  “Three… two… one…”

“Now that that’s out of the way,” Sparkler continued, her dry, businesslike tone finally dissolving into a slightly more cordial one, “you’re free to take your luggage and proceed upstairs in an orderly fash—”

“GO!”

With a flash of magic, Clarity yanked her luggage from the pile and galloped for the stairs, and Dinky followed closely behind.  The commotion spurred the other fillies into action, and within a few seconds, dozens of other ponies were joining in the stampede.

“Wait!  Stop!” Sparkler yelled fruitlessly, already realizing she was far too late to stop the frantic charge of excited fillies.  “Somepony’s going to get hurt!  Calm down and—”

A large suitcase, caught in somepony’s magical grip, flew through the air, and Sparkler only just barely managed to duck under it as it hurtled by.  Without wasting another second, she formed a shielding spell around herself, wincing as bags and boxes thudded against the magical wall as the veritable blizzard of luggage raged around her.  She could only watch as the rest of the fillies charged heedlessly up the staircase.  Grumbling to herself, she lowered her shield and followed the chaotic mass up into the tower.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dinky puffed and panted as she followed Clarity up yet another flight of stairs.  “How high up is your sister’s old room?” she gasped.

“It’s on the sixth floor!” Clarity called back.  “Hurry, some of the other fillies are catching up!”

With seemingly limitless energy, Clarity turned sharply around another corner and charged up the stairwell to the sixth story.  She paused for just a moment as Dinky (and several floating suitcases surrounded by the fillies’ auras) caught up, and then tore off down a long hallway as quickly as she could without slipping on the silky purple carpet.  The two fillies reached a room at the end of the corridor, and Clarity trotted inside.

“This is it, Dinky,” she called.  “Come on in!”

Dinky stepped into the room Clarity had led them to.  The room was almost perfectly circular and fairly large.  There were three beds; a pair of bunk beds stacked on one side of the room, and a single, wider bed on the other.  A pillar near the door held one of the light orbs Dinky had already become accustomed to seeing around the castle.  Opposite the door was a wide window with a long, padded bench beneath it, curving with the wall for about a third of the room’s total circumference.  A few tall, narrow doors on one part of the circle concealed a bathroom and a small storage closet.

Dinky trotted to the window and realized that the view was probably one of the perks of this particular room’s position; it faced roughly northward, which caused it to overlook the forest set in the corner of the campus.  One part of the castle was also visible off to the right, as was the drop-off that separated the school from the portion of Equestria beyond the mountain.  The moon, now high in the sky, cast its beams through the window and onto their floor.  Dinky sat down on the bench beneath the window, realizing it would probably make for a great place to study during the coming term.

“I call top bunk!” Clarity yelled as she scrambled up the ladder.  “You want the bottom, Dinky, or would you rather have the spare bed?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Dinky said, shrugging.  “I guess I’ll take the bottom bunk.  That way we don’t have to call across the room to talk to each other.”

Clarity grinned and jumped down from her bed, landing with a thump.  “That works!” she chirped.  “We still have that big spare bed, so I guess we could use that to sit on if we want to study together or something!”

Dinky laughed.  “You’re really excited that we got this room, aren’t you?”

“Well, just look at it,” Clarity said defensively.  “My sister said it’s a little bigger than most of the other rooms in the tower, and the view is awesome!  I’ve been wondering all day whether I’d be able to stay in this room or not, so of course I’m excited!”

“A little too excited if you ask me,” came a voice from the doorway.

Dinky and Clarity turned to the entrance to find Sparkler standing just inside the room, tapping a hoof impatiently and staring sternly at the fillies.  For the first time, it occurred to Dinky and Clarity that they’d probably broken some rules by bolting upstairs and causing a bit of chaos in the process.

“Oh, hi Miss Overseer, ma’am,” said Clarity awkwardly.  “How was your evening?”

“It was going pretty well, until two fillies decided to make a run for it and ended up causing the whole building to turn into a war zone of dashing ponies and flying luggage,” Sparkler said levelly.  “Everything’s been calmed down now of course, and as far as I can tell, nopony was hurt.  Still, it would have been nice to have avoided that incident entirely.”

Sparkler waited for a response, but the two younger fillies just fidgeted nervously and failed to meet her gaze.

“Well?” she asked more forcefully.  “I’d like an explanation for your actions, girls.  Unless you’d like me to report you to the dean for misconduct before the term even starts.”

“It’s my fault,” Clarity admitted.  “My sister graduated last year, so I knew this room was open, and she’d told me all about how nice it was.  I wanted to make sure we were the ones to claim it…”

“Your sister…” Sparkler said thoughtfully.  She gazed at Clarity for a few moments and blinked in surprise as she made a mental connection.

“Are you Lucid’s younger sister?” she asked finally.

Clarity nodded.  “Yeah, Lucid taught me most of the magic I know.”

“That doesn’t surprise me,” Sparkler said pensively.  “Lucid was a brilliant student.  She also always followed the rules, if I’m not mistaken.”

Clarity smiled sheepishly.

Sparkler turned to Dinky.  “And I’m guessing you were just following your friend’s lead?” she asked.

“Uh, yeah…” Dinky admitted.  “Sorry.  I guess neither of us were really thinking about the trouble we might cause.”

Sparkler nodded.  “Well… no harm done, I suppose,” she said slowly.  “We’ve only known each other for a few minutes, so since you apologized, I’ll let you girls off with a warning.”

Both of the younger fillies breathed a sigh of relief.  “Thanks, Miss Overseer,” Dinky said.

“You two can just call me Sparkler, by the way,” Sparkler responded.  “I may be the Overseer, but I’m a student here too.”

For the first time, the Overseer gave them just the tiniest hint of a smile.  “Stay out of trouble, you two,” she said as she trotted from the room.

Clarity waited until the sound of hoofsteps had vanished, and then sighed and flopped down on the carpet.  “I guess that wasn’t my best idea,” she said with an ironic chuckle.

“Well, it wasn’t all bad,” Dinky pointed out.  “We got to keep the room you wanted, and we didn’t really get in trouble.  We should probably try our best to follow the rules from now on, though.”

Clarity nodded as she stared up at the ceiling.  “I wish I hadn’t had to tell Sparkler about my sister, though,” she sighed.

Dinky stepped closer and stared down at the pony on the floor.

“So your sister’s name is Lucid?” she asked.

“Yep," Clarity replied.  “Lucid kind of had a reputation while she was here.  She was a straight-A student, and kind of a teacher’s pet.  She was always winning academic awards and tutoring her classmates.  She graduated at the top of her class.”

“Whoa,” said Dinky, slightly taken aback.  “You said she was smart, but I didn’t realize she was that smart!”

“Well, I was a little reluctant to talk about the details while we were on the train,” Clarity explained, sounding a bit petulant.  “If ponies find out I’m related to Lucid, one of the most successful ponies in the Academy’s recent history, their expectations for me are going to be pretty high.  I want to attend the Academy as ‘Clarity’, not ‘Lucid’s little sister’, but she was such a success that it can be hard for me to get out of her shadow.”

Clarity picked herself up off the floor.  “But no sense worrying about it!” she declared, returning to her usual upbeat demeanor.  “Lucid is gone, and now it’s Clarity’s turn to have a go at the Academy!  So far you and Sparkler are the only ones who know, so maybe it’ll stay sort of a secret.”

Dinky admired Clarity’s optimism.  It seemed the grey filly was always ready to face a challenge.

Somepony knocked on the doorframe, interrupting the fillies’ conversation.  Dinky looked to the door and was surprised to see Sparkler had returned.

“Hey again, girls,” Sparkler said.  “You two have a spare bed in here, right?”

“Yeah, why?” Clarity asked.

“Most of the rooms got filled up pretty quickly in the commotion you two caused,” Sparkler explained.  “One filly wound up without a room to stay in, and I’m pretty sure this is the last spare bed in the building, so I’m assigning her here.”

The Overseer beckoned to somepony in the hallway.  A pair of pale green eyes peered cautiously around the corner for a moment, before the pink filly they belonged to stepped into the room.

“Honeydew!” Dinky and Clarity cried simultaneously.

“Oh, it’s you two,” said Honeydew, sounding somehow simultaneously relieved and concerned.

“You’ve already met, huh?” Sparkler asked.  “I’ll leave you girls to get settled, then.  Goodnight.”

Sparkler left without another word, leaving the three fillies standing together in silence.

“So… which bed is still open?” Honeydew asked finally.

“The big one over there,” Dinky replied.

The meek filly nodded and began to unpack her things and carry them to the closet.  The room fell into an awkward silence.  Not sure what to say to their antisocial companion, Dinky began to do the same.  But as usual, Clarity was not so easily put off by Honeydew’s attitude.  She sidled discreetly across the room until she was standing at the pink filly’s side.

“So, how was your dinner, Honeydew?” she asked brightly.

“It was fine,” Honeydew said quietly, not looking away from her suitcase.  “I’d never seen Princess Celestia in person before.  She’s very beautiful.”

“She is,” Clarity agreed.  “I wonder what class she teaches?  It’s probably one of the most advanced ones.”

“I’d imagine so,” Honeydew replied dully, avoiding eye contact with Clarity as she continued to unpack.

The quiet swept over the room again as Clarity tried in vain to think of a topic that the shy pony would actually discuss.  To her surprise, it was Honeydew who broke the silence.

“So, during dinner, I was thinking about what you two said earlier,” she mumbled, finally turning to face Dinky and Clarity.  “About how I need to choose the way of life that I want to live…”

She trailed off.  For a moment, she seemed to wrestle with herself internally, but eventually, she forced herself to meet her roommates’ gazes, and continued.

“…and you two are right.  I am a unicorn, I do like magic, and I really, truly want to study at this Academy.  But this city, this castle, and everything about unicorn life… it’s just so different than what I’m used to.  I want to fit in, but I don’t even know where to start…”

Honeydew sank down onto her haunches and stared at the floor.  Dinky trotted over to the dejected filly and placed a foreleg over her shoulder.

“Honeydew, come on,” she said softly.  “All three of us are new this year, and we all have challenges to overcome.  You may not know much about unicorns, but you know more about magic and how it applies to daily life than I do.”

Honeydew blinked.  “Why is that?”

“My dad was the only unicorn in my family, and he passed away years ago,” Dinky explained.  “I was raised by a pegasus, and never even learned to use magic until just a few months ago.”

“Oh,” Honeydew replied.  “Well, I guess I did have a lot more training than you, then…”

“And I don’t exactly have it easy either!” Clarity piped up.  “I need to try to break free of the standard set by my sister.  It’s gonna be tough, but I’m not going to give up!  And when I need someone to turn to for help, I’ll have Dinky here!”

“Exactly!” Dinky added.  “The point is, we’re all going to have to face some obstacles, but they seem a little more manageable when a friend is there to help.”

Honeydew finally seemed to get what the others were implying.  She looked up, a small, hopeful smile creeping over her muzzle.

“So, since we’ll be seeing a lot of each other anyway,” she said slowly, “maybe… we could be friends?”

“Finally!” Clarity laughed, scooping the surprised Honeydew into a welcoming hug.  “I’ve been trying to get you to ask that all day!”

“So… that’s a yes?” Honeydew asked tentatively.

That left Clarity at a bit of a loss for words.  Dinky piped up instead.

“Yes, Honeydew.  That’s a yes.”

Clarity and Dinky laughed, and Honeydew finally chuckled a bit as well.

“Well, now that that’s settled, we should probably go to bed,” Dinky pointed out.  “We don’t want to be late for our first class tomorrow morning.”

“Way ahead of you,” Clarity retorted, already climbing the ladder to her raised bed.  “Turn out the light, would you, Dinky?”

Dinky glanced at the pillar holding the light orb.  There was no visible switch.

“How?”

“Illumination spell in reverse,” Clarity called as she fluffed her pillow.  “Establish a connection with the orb and draw the energy out of it.”

Illumination spells were one thing that Dinky did know how to do, and very well for that matter.  She drew the light from the orb, and jumped a bit at the sudden rush of energy that flowed into her body.  It only took a few seconds for her to adjust, though, as the energy was stored away in the magic reserves somewhere in her head.  Now nothing but moonlight lit the room.  Dinky yawned and trotted to the bottom bunk.

“Goodnight, girls,” she yawned.

“Night, Dinky!” Clarity’s voice said from the bed above her.  "And Night, Honeydew!"

“Night,” Honeydew echoed.

Dinky pulled the sheets over herself, and within moments, the weight of the day’s events washed over her, and she fell into a deep sleep.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hidden among the trees in the shadow of the castle, a shape stirred.  Two beady blue eyes peered up at the residence towers, unblinking.  As the minutes passed, the last few lights dimmed and went out, leaving all the windows dark.

With a sudden, jarring movement, the strange silhouette darted to the cover of another bush, then into the shadow of a drooping tree.  It continued to leap and dash erratically until it reached the darkness of the Academy’s thick forest, where the moonlight did not reach.

The creature writhed, and wrapped itself around the trunk of a tree, moving up the bark in a strange motion that was half scurry, half slither.  It gathered itself into a bunch on a branch, its beady eyes flicking back and forth.

“The new students have arrived today, yes they have,” it said, speaking in a strange voice that was as much gurgle as it was hiss.  “Every year the new colts and fillies come, but none of them are ever the right one, no they are not.”

The creature paused to sniff the air before continuing to mutter to itself.  “Something seems different this year, though, oh yes it does.  I’ll have to keep a particularly close watch this year, yes I will, in case the right one comes along.”

The amorphous shape shuddered and emitted a strangled sound that had to be an attempt at laughter.  Then, with another abrupt series of movements, it made its way down the tree and disappeared into the dark of the forest.
> Chapter 4
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A hoof poked Dinky ever so gently in the side.  The filly did her best to ignore it.

The hoof poked again, and then a third time.  Dinky groaned and shifted beneath the covers.

“Five more minutes, mom,” she grumbled, rolling over.

“Um, okay,” responded an apologetic voice that was definitely not Dinky’s mom.  “I just didn’t want you to be late.”

Dinky rolled over and opened her eyes.  Even with her vision still bleary from sleep, it was easy to tell that she wasn’t in her usual bedroom.  She blinked a few times and remembered suddenly that she was at Celestia’s Academy, and it was Honeydew, not her mom, standing by her bedside.

“Oh, morning Honeydew,” she greeted softly.

“Good morning,” Honeydew replied.  “I didn’t want to wake you, but we’re going to be late for class if you don’t get up.  Most of the colts and fillies have probably already gone to the main hall for breakfast.”

Dinky glanced out the window and realized her roommate was right; the sun was higher in the sky than she would have liked.

“Is Clarity awake?” she asked.  Honeydew shook her head.

Dinky climbed out of bed and shimmied up the ladder to Clarity’s bunk.  She took a look at her roommate and couldn’t help but snicker.

Clarity was lying on her back with all four legs in the air, like a dog waiting to have its belly rubbed.  Her ample mane was a mess; the wavy hair spread itself haphazardly all over her pillow.  Her mouth hung open a tad, and a little drool was running down her cheek.

Dinky poked Clarity in the ribs.  One of the sleeping filly’s hind legs twitched, but she didn’t stir.  Dinky shook her gently, but she simply rolled onto her stomach, burying her face in the pillow in the process.

“Hey!  Wake up, Sleeping Beauty!” Dinky said loudly.

Clarity’s ear twitched and she lifted her head.  “What do you want?” she asked, not bothering to push her mane out of her eyes.

“We’re late,” Dinky said curtly.  “Get up, or we’re gonna miss our first class.”

“Wha—?” Clarity glanced out the window, just as Dinky had.  “Oh ponyfeathers, you’re right.  Move over.”

Dinky climbed back down the ladder and Clarity quickly followed.  The grey filly immediately made for her suitcase, but Dinky stopped when she noticed Honeydew was not only awake, but fully groomed and ready for class.  

“How long have you been up for, Honeydew?” Dinky asked skeptically.

“About three hours,” Honeydew said matter-of-factly.

“Three hours?!” Clarity gasped.  “Why?”

“I’m used to getting up at sunrise,” said Honeydew simply.  “Though maybe now that I’m not living at home, I could try sleeping in now and then.”

“What did you do for three hours?” Dinky asked, shocked.

Honeydew shrugged.  “Watched the sunrise, styled my mane a bit, packed my saddlebags, reviewed my schedule… you know.  Little things.”

Clarity pulled her hairbrush out of her suitcase with a brief magical flash and began to yank it through her disastrous-looking mane.  “Well good for you, seizing the day and all that!” she laughed.

Honeydew smiled and rubbed one of her front hooves against the back of the other shyly.  “Speaking of schedules, my first class is called ‘Practical Magic.’  Do either of you have that class?”

“I’m pretty sure we all do,” Clarity said.  “Practical Magic is required for first-term students.”

“Well, we’d better get going,” Dinky pointed out as she finished grooming her mane and tail as well.  “We'll have to skip breakfast today; we’re going to have to move quickly to get there as it is.”

The trio of fillies grabbed their saddlebags and made for the stairwell of the residence tower.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was unusually warm for such an early spring day.  It probably would have been an excellent morning to sit outside and enjoy oneself.  Dinky and her friends were completely oblivious to the beautiful weather, unfortunately, as they barreled down the stone pathway and burst through the big castle doors.

“So Clarity,” Dinky asked between sharp breaths as the three of them quickly made their way up a long marble stairway, “what’s this ‘Practical Magic’ class about, anyway?”

“Well, as my sister would say, 'it’s an accelerated compound course that teaches the use of a group of simpler types of magic that are usually applicable to everyday life, rather than focusing on a specific discipline,'” Clarity explained.  “Or as any normal pony would put it, the kind of magic you’d see the average unicorn use to perform daily tasks.”

“Like the sort of things in my beginner’s magic guide?” Dinky theorized, checking her saddlebag to make sure the aforementioned book was tucked safely inside.

“Sort of like that, but more complicated,” Clarity answered.  “We all already know the simple stuff.  The teacher’s going to expect that we’re already able to easily do things like cast light or carry objects.”

The trio arrived on the second floor and took a moment to catch their breath.  The vaulted hallway was regularly punctuated with wooden doors, each bearing a golden number.

“These must be some of the classrooms,” Dinky guessed.  “Honeydew, what room does the schedule say our class is in?”

Honeydew scrutinized the sheet of paper. “Room 201, at the end of the hall,” she answered.

The three fillies made for the classroom, but stopped short when another trio of ponies appeared from around the corner at the other end of the hall: The FrostFire Twins and their little brother, Scuffle.

“This is your classroom, bro,” Scorch said, motioning to the door.  “We’ll see you later.  Frosty and I have to head to… uh…” He paused and scratched his head.  “What was it again?”

“Advanced enchantments,” Frosty said, crinkling his nose.  “Dear Celestia, that class was so dull last year.”

The twins trotted off back the way they came, continuing to complain about their enchantments class.  Scuffle waited until they had disappeared, then turned and entered room 201.

“Scuffle’s in this class,” Dinky groaned, her ears drooping in disappointment.  “You think he’ll try to pick on us again?”

Honeydew shrunk back.  “He’s a bully?” she asked meekly.

“Don’t sweat it, you two!” Clarity said encouragingly.  “He won’t try anything when there’s a professor in the room.  Besides, since all the first-term students have to take Practical Magic, it’ll probably be a huge class, unless they have a half-dozen different classes of it meeting throughout the week.”

Clarity led the way, taking the three fillies into the classroom.

The first thing Dinky noticed was the noise. Clarity had been right in her assumption that the class would be large; there were probably sixty or seventy colts and fillies, most of whom were chatting as they sat in rows of wooden desks.  The walls of the classroom were adorned with posters and scrolls pertaining to specific spells.  Interestingly, only half the classroom was filled with rows of desks.  The other half was completely empty.

“Hi girls!  Take your seats please, we’re about to start!” called a friendly male voice from the front of the room.  Dinky looked in the direction of the call and recognized the green unicorn who had introduced the dean at the opening ceremony the night before.  He grinned at the fillies and tilted his head subtly to a few open desks on the right side of the room, his greyish mane swaying as he did so.

Scuffle had taken a seat across the room, far away from the open desks, and was busy fumbling with his saddlebags, so the fillies had no trouble avoiding him as they trotted to the unoccupied chairs.  The professor waited until the girls had taken their seats, and then gently closed the classroom door with magic.  “Good morning, new students!” he called.  “Welcome to your first class at Celestia’s Academy for Gifted Unicorns!  My name is Professor Morningstar, and I’ll be your Practical Magic instructor during this term.”

The professor trotted to a large cabinet near his desk and opened it up, ignoring the cloud of dust that issued forth.  His front half disappeared inside as he rummaged around, and Dinky took note of the eight-pointed white star marking his still visible flank.  

“As you might know,” he continued, somewhat muffled as he dug through the contents of the cabinet, “Practical Magic is, by the standards of this Academy, an easy class.  Unlike some of the other classes, which have gradually more advanced iterations for students in each year, Practical Magic is a class that you only need to take once.  Once you move on to your second term, there will be plenty of electives available to fill the gap it will leave in your schedule.”

The professor finally pulled his head out of the cabinet, carrying a large pile of textbooks in his hazel-colored aura.  He placed the mountain of tomes on his desk with a loud thump.

“So, let’s get right down to business!” he said in a peppy tone.  “This is your textbook, Practical Magic: Advanced Application of Simple Spells.  It’s also your first assignment; retrieve the textbook without leaving your seats.”

Professor Morningstar watched as one by one, the books were enveloped in multicolored light.  They levitated across the room and touched down on the desks.  A few books faltered in midair for a moment or two, but none dropped to the floor.  Dinky watched the book she had selected float obediently over in its cloud of yellow light and drop down onto her desk.

“Not bad!” said Professor Morningstar appreciatively once all the books had reached their destinations.  “I suppose this means each of you knows how to perform a basic levitation spell.  I daresay you'd probably struggle a bit at this Academy if you didn’t.”

Dinky silently thanked Twilight Sparkle again for her lessons.  She’d managed to retrieve her own book with more ease than some of the other ponies in the room, and that left her feeling hopeful.

“Now, go ahead and set the book aside for now,” the green stallion called, “and get out a quill and some paper.  It’s time for our first, and probably most important, lecture in Practical Magic.”

The professor lit his horn, and a chalkboard on wheels came hurtling out of a closet, stopping just an inch or two before it would have barreled into the stallion.  Unfazed, Morningstar picked up a piece of chalk and scrawled five big letters on the board: L.I.M.I.T.

“Limit!” the professor said aloud, as if the students didn’t realize the acronym was a common word.  “This is the most important word in studying Practical Magic.  Does anypony know why that is?”

Dinky had no idea, but perhaps unsurprisingly, Clarity raised her hoof.

“Yes, you!  The little grey and blue filly.”

“L.I.M.I.T. is an acronym, isn’t it?” Clarity said haltingly.  “It, uh… helps you remember the different types of Practical Magic, right?”

“Exactly right!” the professor replied enthusiastically.  “There are five types of magic that make everyday tasks drastically easier for unicorns than they are for pegasi and earth ponies.  For many unicorns, these five types of magic are the only ones they will ever learn to use, but here at the Academy, we condense them into a single class, since our students usually find them easy to master.”

Professor Morningstar drew a circle around the ‘L’ of L.I.M.I.T.  “So, who can tell me what the first type of Practical Magic is?”

At least a dozen hooves were raised.  The professor called on a studious-looking orange colt in the front of the room.

“Levitation,” he answered.

“Correct,” the professor said, swishing his tail in satisfaction as he scrawled ‘levitation’ on the board.  “Levitation is one of the easiest and most straightforward types of magic we know of.  Many foals learn to levitate objects before they can even walk properly.  Levitation’s practical uses should go without saying; it allows the user to move any object from one place to another while expending virtually no physical effort.  I’m sure none of you stood there dragging your suitcases up the stairs of the residence towers last night; you simply lifted them with magic and carried them along as if they were no heavier than those sheets of paper on your desks right now.”

He grinned.  “Now, it’s one thing to be able to hold a bunch of objects.  It’s another entirely to be able to differentiate between them while you’re holding many at once.  Tell me, if I were to give you a stack of dishes and dining utensils, do you think you could set a table using nothing but magic, while holding all the objects in your aura simultaneously?”

No hooves went up this time.

“I thought not,” the professor laughed.  “One thing we will be covering in this class is delicate and intricate use of levitation for handling many objects at once.”

He turned back to the board, circling the second letter.  “Now, the first ‘I’ in L.I.M.I.T. stands for another very common type of magic: illumination!  Illumination, in its most basic sense, is the conversion of your raw magical energy into the form of visible light.  Interestingly, magical energy seems to already be similar in wavelength to light, so this spell is much easier than producing some other type of energy like, say, fire.”

A few students experimentally cast a bit of light from their horns, spreading haphazard beams of various colors around the room.  Dinky watched beams of her own yellow light mix with Clarity’s cinnamon and Honeydew’s pale green.

“For reasons that unicorn researchers are still trying to determine, a pony’s magical aura and the light they produce are both precisely the same color as their eyes,” Professor Morningstar pointed out.  “We assumed for a while that since latent magic is stored somewhere in the skull, the color was simply reflected in the owner’s eyes, but if that’s the case, then what gives pegasi and earth ponies their eye colors?  It’s still a mystery; some of our professors at this Academy have written papers on their theories, though.”

Now the professor circled the ‘M’ on the board.  “‘M’ stands for ‘manipulation of objects’.  At first, that might sound strikingly similar to levitation, no?”

A few heads nodded.

“Well, it should!” the professor cried.  “Levitation is typically involved in manipulating objects, but this field goes further than simply picking objects up, moving them, and placing them down again.  Manipulation allows you to use an object held in your magic to accomplish something.  With practice, the amount of dexterity a unicorn can gain from this far exceeds that of most pegasi or earth ponies.”

The professor picked up a small box on his desk with magic, and to Dinky’s surprise, he placed it in front of her.  “Alright, miss, you’ve been selected,” he announced.  “This is a music box.  Try to turn the little wind-up key on the back using only your hooves.”

Dinky looked at the box.  Although her hooves were much smaller than Professor Morningstar’s, they still seemed large and ungainly compared to the delicate brass key.  She turned the box on its side and placed both hooves around the crank, and after a few moments and some awkward shifts of her shoulders, she managed to turn it once or twice.  A few sad, tinkling notes played before the box fell silent again.

“Lots of effort for very little payoff, wouldn’t you agree?” the professor asked, taking back the box as Dinky nodded.  “Small, intricate work is often almost completely off limits to earth ponies.  Some find using their mouth to accomplish tasks is often a bit easier than using hooves.”

The stallion kicked the chalkboard suddenly, and it flipped over in its wheeled stand to reveal a chalk sketch of a pegasus on the back.

“Pegasi have it somewhat easier,” he continued.  “Many of them have learned to use their wings as manipulative appendages, a bit like overgrown versions of the hands or paws found on some creatures.  But unicorns can manage with magic what the other two pony races typically struggle with.”

The professor lit his horn, and with a little flourish, spun the brass key several times, and a playful melody flowed from the music box.

“We will be practicing manipulation at length in this class,” he said, setting the decorative box down again, and giving the chalkboard another quick kick to flip it back over to his acronym.

Dinky sat at her desk, pondering how magical manipulation of objects would make certain tasks easier.  The first example that sprang to her mind was the dress shop owner, Rarity, who used magic to handle scissors, thread needles, and intertwine pieces of fabric while she worked.  Suddenly, the filly was able to understand the tailor’s ability to make several beautiful pieces of clothing in the span of a day; she was clearly a master at manipulating small objects magically.

“Now we get to the fun stuff!” Professor Morningstar chuckled.  “The second ‘I’ in L.I.M.I.T. stands for ‘illusion’!”

Dinky smirked and cast a sidelong glance at Clarity.  The grey filly sat up straighter at the mention of that particular type of magic.

“Now, illusions are one field that extends beyond just basic practical uses,” the professor admitted.  “We’re going to cover them in this class because, while their effect may be very different, they actually stem from the same type of magic as simple illumination spells.”

That comparison led to a few moments of confusion for many of the students.

“Some of you are no doubt wondering how a spell that creates an illusion is related to simple light generation,” the stallion said, “and the answer is simple: An illusion spell has no effect on the object it’s cast upon.  It merely creates the appearance that the object has been modified.  It fools the sense of sight, nothing more.”

“And everything we see is based on how the light reflects off it!” said one excited filly.

“Exactly, dear,” Professor Morningstar said with a smile.  “An illusion spell modifies light wavelengths pertaining to a certain object, causing ponies to perceive it differently from its natural appearance.”

The professor’s horn flared, and his coat cycled through all the colors of the rainbow for a few seconds before coming to rest on its original green.  The shenanigan garnered a few laughs from the class.

“Illusions range from simple things like color change to much more complex spells, like creating an image of an object that’s not actually there, or turning a real object totally invisible.  And, while they have a wide range of uses, ponies with particularly strong eyes or sharp minds can often tell that there’s an illusion at work."

Dinky noticed Clarity grinning.  The grey filly underlined ‘strong eyes or sharp minds’ in her notes.

“Now, let’s move on to the one you’re all waiting for,” the professor said dramatically, drawing a big circle around the ‘T’ in his acronym.  “The last type of Practical Magic, and by far the most complicated to cast, is teleportation!”

There were a few delighted cries from the students, Dinky and Clarity among them.  Even Honeydew seemed engrossed enough to forget her usual nervousness for a bit.

“It’s an exciting prospect, isn’t it?” the professor asked, sounding almost as giddy as the students seemed to be.  “One moment, you’re standing in one location, and just a fraction of a second and a flicker of magic later—”

He disappeared suddenly in a bright burst of magic, and reappeared an instant later at the back of the class.

“—you’re somewhere else entirely!” he finished.

The students cheered as their professor strutted back toward the front of the room.

“That is so cool,” Clarity said to Dinky.  “Imagine it!  You could be anywhere you want in an instant!”

Professor Morningstar laughed as he overheard Clarity’s comment.  “Don’t get ahead of yourself!” he chided.  “Teleportation is very useful, but it’s not quite as unlimited as it may first appear.”

He kicked the chalkboard, and it flipped over again.  Somehow, the drawing of a pegasus had been replaced with notes and diagrams on the mechanics of teleportation, much to the bewilderment of the students.

“Teleportation, believe it or not, also uses similar magic to levitation.  At first, that may not seem to make any sense at all.”

He scanned the room for a moment.  “You there!” he called, pointing to Honeydew.  “Remind the class, what exactly does levitation do?”

Honeydew clearly did not want to be put on the spot, but she managed to mumble a response.  Unfortunately, it wasn’t loud enough for even the ponies sitting right around her to hear, let alone the professor.  Strangely, he smiled and nodded at her muted reply.

“That’s right!  Levitation is used to move an object from one place to another with magic!  Teleportation, believe it or not, does pretty much the same thing, except you’re moving yourself rather than an object, and doing so infinitely fast.”

He pointed to the board.  “Now, using magic to move oneself is, for some reason, much more difficult than using the same spell to move another object.  The longer the spell needs to be maintained, the more energy it consumes.  That’s why you don’t see unicorns using magic to fly along with the pegasi; the toll that would take on a unicorn’s stamina is so astronomically high that it would be simply impossible to maintain for more than a minute or so, and it would leave the caster dangerously exhausted for a long time after.”

The professor cleared his throat when he noticed a few students exchanging concerned looks.  “But we’re getting off topic here!  Teleportation is sort of a form of self-levitation, but it only needs to be maintained for an instant, so it doesn’t put substantial pressure on the user’s body since the magic output needed is comparatively low.  The trade-off is that you need to transport yourself beyond any measurable speed, which, as you might expect, requires its own fairly significant energy input, but it’s still well worth it.  Moving at a speed that cannot be obtained by non-magical means has the added benefit of allowing you to ignore the laws of physics that govern everything else, which allows you to teleport through solid objects and appear unharmed on the other side.”

“So… you can’t just teleport anywhere because of the amount of magic used?” Clarity asked.

“Correct,” the stallion replied.  “The further you want to teleport, the more magic you expend.  As you’ve no doubt noticed, using magic in excess without allowing it to build up again within you will begin to sap your physical strength, so teleporting repeatedly or trying to teleport a very long distance will leave you completely drained.”

Once again, the professor flipped the chalkboard back to his acronym.

“Five types of magic: levitation, illumination, manipulation of objects, illusion, and teleportation,” he summarized.  “Together, these five spells form the basis of the world of magic.  It’s because of these skills that unicorns have been able to make such great strides in Equestrian development and culture over the last thousand years.  Simple as their purposes may be, these are the spells that were used to build the great city of Canterlot, and mastery of all five will leave little that one can’t accomplish.”

He clapped his front hooves together.  “And so… I don’t see any reason not to start practicing right now!  The other half of the classroom has been cleared out to make a practice arena, and I’ll be available if you need any help or have questions, so for the remainder of the class period, I’d like you all to start practicing levitation and illumination spells at whatever level is challenging for you.  Get to it!”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A few minutes later, the professor had unloaded hundreds of assorted objects of various sizes from a closet, and set the foals loose to begin an open practice period.  Dinky, Clarity, and Honeydew immediately regrouped in one corner of the arena.

“Professor Morningstar seems really awesome,” Clarity observed.  “He’s really passionate about this stuff, even though it’s just ‘run-of-the-mill’ magic compared to what we’ll probably be learning in the other classes.”

“So this is supposed to be the more boring magic?” Dinky asked incredulously.  “But that lecture was really interesting!  Some of those more advanced spells weren’t even mentioned in the book my tutor gave me.”

“I wish we could try some of the illusion or teleportation spells today,” Clarity sighed, her ears drooping slightly.  “I guess we wouldn’t even be able to until we’re proficient in the easier spells, though.”

“I like the professor too,” Honeydew chimed in.  “I don’t think he actually heard my answer to his question; he just pretended to because he could tell I was nervous.”

“Well, we probably shouldn’t get too comfortable,” Clarity pointed out.  “Professor Morningstar works with first-term students all the time.  Some of the other teachers are probably not going to be quite so friendly and lenient.”

Honeydew frowned and nodded.

“Oh girls,” came Professor Morningstar’s chipper voice as he trotted toward the three fillies.  He glanced at his clipboard, searching for their names.  “Let’s see: Dinky, Clarity, and Honeydew, right?  Shouldn’t you three be practicing?”

“Oh, hi professor!” Dinky said.  “Sorry, we were just discussing the lesson.  We’ll get started now.”

The professor smiled.  “Oh, don’t worry, you’ve got plenty of time.  Besides, your first day of class can be a lot to take in, so I don’t blame you for wanting to discuss it a little.  Have the three of you had a lot of practice with this type of magic before?”

All three fillies nodded.

“Well, let’s see it then!” the professor coaxed.  “One of you, go ahead pick up as many objects as you can.”

Clarity gave Dinky a nudge, and the purplish filly stepped forward.  Her eyes fell upon a big pile of simple wooden blocks stacked next to the professor, and one by one, she began to lift them into the air.

For a while, it was easy; Dinky had carried more than a dozen books around Twilight’s library before, and only near the beginning of her training had that ever been a strenuous spell for her.  Within a minute or two, she was holding double that number in the air around her.

But as Dinky began to try to add more blocks to the cloud of them already suspended around her, she was beset by a curious sensation.  It was almost as if her mind was receiving a kind of feedback from the other blocks, a wordless plea for her attention.  She was able to continue lifting new blocks into the air, but the strange, nonvocal cry became harder and harder to ignore.

Soon, Dinky found it difficult to keep her attention focused on each and every one of the objects held captive in her aura, and she had to strain to concentrate hard enough to hoist the next block.  Some of the others faltered as she did so.  The feeling it produced was odd; it certainly wasn’t painful, but it was quickly becoming overwhelming as the filly found herself unable to give the proper attention to any one block in order to keep the others afloat.

Dinky grunted in frustration and tried to lift the next one off the pile when she reached some sort of breaking point. Her magic sputtered and went out, and all the blocks dropped from the air for a moment before they were all caught simultaneously by the professor, who set them gently down.

“Just one shy of three-dozen,” the stallion said, nodding in approval as Dinky tried to catch her breath.  “Slightly above average.  Keep practicing that same procedure, and you’ll find that number will go up.  By the end of the term, students are expected to manage at least a hundred.”

“A hundred?” Dinky gasped.  She knew it was already very likely that unicorns had greater powers of concentration than other ponies, but splitting one’s attention a hundred ways at once seemed all but impossible.

“It’s not as hard as it sounds,” the professor said soothingly.  “You’ll find that as you continue to practice, your mind will gradually get used to the demand for multiple-target concentration.  We use levitation as the typical spell to practice that skill because it requires less energy than most other spells.”

“Oh,” Clarity cut in, “so just because Dinky can lift three-dozen blocks doesn’t necessarily mean she could… I don’t know, cast three dozen illusions at once, even if she knew how to do an illusion spell?”

The professor nodded approvingly.  “Now you’re getting it.  This class is not only for mastering these simple spells; it’s also sort of a training regimen, to increase your magical endurance so spells you learn about in other classes that require vast amounts of energy become more manageable.”

Clarity smiled, and the teacher returned the grin.  “You seem to know your facts pretty well,” he chuckled.  “I guess you’ve been practicing with your sister.”

The grin dropped off Clarity’s face immediately.

“How… How do you know about my sister?”

“The professors all have lists of students, of course,” he said.  “I’m sure a lot of the staff here will be delighted to meet Lucid’s sibling.”

Clarity flattened her ears against her head.  “Yeah, they’ll… they’ll be thrilled.”

There was a loud crash as another colt’s magic fizzled out and scattered the objects he had been levitating all over the floor.  The professor darted away to help clean up, leaving the fillies alone again.

Dinky and Honeydew walked up next to Clarity, whose perkiness had once again slipped away at the mention of her sister.

“Clarity?  Are you okay?” Honeydew asked finally.

“Well… I’m not exactly ecstatic about that news,” Clarity said with a pout.  “Looks like all the teachers already know I’m Lucid’s little sister.  So much for starting fresh; their expectations for me have nowhere to go but down now.”

“Aw, don’t be like that,” Dinky countered.  “Professor Morningstar recognizes that we’re all new students.  He’s not going to expect you to be a master of magic on the first day just because your sister was one when she graduated.”

Clarity looked across the room, where the professor was offering some friendly advice to a colt about the strength of his illumination spell.  He didn’t seem at all concerned that the student wasn’t able to cast more than a faint glow.

“Maybe you’re right,” Clarity admitted.  “It’s the first day of class.  I shouldn’t let myself get all worked up about my sister’s reputation before I even get started.”

“Good!” Dinky said, relieved to have restored her friend’s optimism.  “Now come on, let’s see how many blocks you can lift at once!”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The remainder of the class seemed to fly by.  Another hour passed before the bell rang, and the trio trotted out of the classroom, already discussing their next practice session.

“That was more fun than I thought it’d be,” Clarity laughed.  “Especially near the end when we were trying to stack the blocks higher than each other.”

“Honeydew beat us both at that,” Dinky reminded her.  She turned and smirked at Honeydew, who blushed a bit.

“You two can hold a lot more objects at once than I can, though,” the pink filly muttered shyly.

“Well, a couple more classes will fix that right up,” Clarity said.  “And I’m totally winning if we play the stacking challenge again next week.”

As her friends bantered, Dinky opened her saddlebag and carefully removed the magic guide she’d been using during her tutoring.  No wonder she’d mastered all of its spells so easily; her very first class at the Academy had already demanded more from her than the book’s guided lessons ever had.  Dinky supposed the guide was written with the average unicorn foal in mind, rather than students at a prestigious school, but it had been helpful nonetheless.

Dinky began to make her way down the hall, her nose tucked into the levitation section of her old guide.  She’d only gone a few steps when she paid the price for being distracted by crashing right into the rump of another pony.

“Oh, sorry!” she squeaked, embarrassed.

The other pony said nothing.  Instead, he turned slowly around, and his angry, slate blue eyes locked on Dinky’s.

The filly felt herself shrink under the stare she already knew all too well.  “Oh!  Scuffle!  Uh, sorry about that.  I’ll be more careful next time, I promise…”

Scuffle snorted.  “Hey, you’re one of the scaredy-fillies from the train,” he said.  “Oh, and I see your little friend is back there, too.”

Clarity, despite her apprehension, trotted over to back Dinky up.  Honeydew, understandably, didn’t want to get involved, and remained behind.

“Just leave us alone, Scuffle,” Clarity said.  “We aren’t bothering you.”

Scuffle smirked at the grey filly.  “Your friend ran right into my behind,” he said.  “If she’s trying to pick a fight, I’d be happy to oblige.”

He lurched forward, and laughed as both fillies squeaked with fright and backed up a step.  His eyes fell upon the book Dinky had been carrying.  Curiously, he picked it up in his aura and examined the cover.

“Beginner’s magic, huh?” he asked finally.  “Well, that’s convenient.  The professor wasn’t impressed with my levitating skills in class just now.  He says I need to practice the basics more.  Guess I’ll just hang onto this for a while.”

Scuffle unceremoniously stuffed the guide into his own saddlebag, eliciting a cry of outrage from Dinky.

“Hey!  You can’t just take that!  It’s mine!”

Scuffle raised an eyebrow.  “So?”

“So, it’s not for you!  Give it back!”

“You want it back?” Scuffle asked mockingly.  “Come on, then.  Take it back.  I dare you.”

For a moment, Dinky almost considered stepping forward and using what little magic she knew to give the colt a piece of her mind, but right at that moment, Scuffle’s older brothers trotted around the corner at the end of the hall, having just returned from their enchantments class.  Even on the off-chance that she could have overcome Scuffle, she certainly didn’t stand a chance when his magically-adept older siblings were around.  She frowned and backed off.

“That’s what I thought,” Scuffle said smugly.  “Now stay out of my way, you losers.”

Scuffle turned and galloped toward his brothers, and the three of them disappeared down another corridor, taking Dinky’s beloved book with them.

Dinky slumped defeatedly back onto her haunches in the middle of the hallway, and Clarity sat down next to her.  Honeydew, deciding it was safe to approach, carefully trotted over to them.

“Well, you were right,” the pink filly mumbled.  “He’s quite a bully.  Who did you say he was again?”

“That was Scuffle,” Dinky mumbled.  “Clarity and I met him on the train.  He’s nothing but a big bully who likes to pick on the other first term foals.”

She sighed.  “And now he’s got my book.  Who knows if I’ll ever get it back now?”

“It’s not that big of a deal, is it?” Clarity asked.  “You already knew how to do everything in that little guide.  You don’t even need it anymore.”

“That’s not the point!” Dinky replied loudly.  “My tutor gave me that book.  It was the only way I could practice while not at my lessons.  I wouldn’t even be here today if that guide hadn’t helped me master the basics in such a short time.  It… it means a lot to me…”

Dinky felt her anger dissolving into sadness.  She didn’t want to start crying right there in the hallway, so she changed the subject.

“Come on, let’s just go get some lunch.  We can figure out if it’s possible to get the book back later.”

Without looking back, she made for the dining room.  Clarity and Honeydew glanced at one another and then followed quietly along.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The afternoon sun hung over the Academy.  A number of students sat outside, reading through the first chapters of their new textbooks or simply enjoying the pleasant weather.  Indoors, the girls examined their schedules over a plate of daisy sandwiches.

“My schedule says I don’t have another class today,” Dinky said, peering at the large free period written in the Monday column.

“Really?  I do,” Clarity replied.  “A class called ‘Magic in History’ to be precise.”

“I have that today too,” Honeydew said.  “Do you have that class, Dinky?”

Dinky scanned color-coded paper.  “Oh, here it is,” she said.  “Looks like I have it on Wednesday afternoons instead of Monday.”

“We’ll catch up with you after class then,” Clarity said.  “Try not to worry about that jerk Scuffle too much.  We’ll figure out how to get your book back another time.”

Clarity hopped down from her chair and made for the door.  Honeydew gave Dinky a brief nod in farewell before following the grey filly out of the hall.  Dinky continued to munch on her sandwich, chewing slowly as she tried to figure out how to spend the afternoon.

I know! she thought.  Mom is probably wondering if I made it here ok.  I should write her a letter!

Filled with a new sense of purpose, the filly swallowed the last of the daisy sandwich and then headed for the residence tower.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear mommy,

I'm writing to you all the way from Celestia’s Academy!  I wanted to let you know that I’m doing fine so far.  The school is beautiful and the professor I had for class today was very friendly.  I’ve already made two friends, too!
Tell Mr. Breeze and Miss Twilight that I said hi, and I can’t wait to see you all again on Saturday.

Lots of love,
~Dinky

Dinky set down the quill and looked over her note.  Her hoofwriting had never been particularly good, but it was certainly more legible than her penmanship when she tried to hold the quill with magic.  There was a whole chapter in her Practical Magic textbook on writing with magic, though, so she expected that would soon change.

The filly wrapped the simple note in a small piece of ribbon, but before she could even leave her dorm room, a thought occurred to her.

Where do I need to go to mail stuff, anyway?

Dinky thought hard, but she couldn’t recall seeing any mailboxes on the Academy campus, or for that matter, any pegasi to pick it up or drop it off.

Dinky wandered down the stairs and into the lobby of the fillies’ tower, but there didn’t appear to be any sort of receptacle set aside for the mail.

Dinky noticed Sparkler’s door was open just a crack.  She trotted over to the door concealing the Overseer’s suite and knocked lightly.

“Come in,” a bored female voice droned.

Dinky pushed open the door and looked around the Overseer suite. The room was about as large as the one she was staying in, but instead of three ponies it only held one.  Sparkler was lying on her stomach on the large bed, her nose buried in a copy of a very thick textbook titled Enchantment Enhancement: A Complete Guide to the Use of Runes to Contain and Amplify Spells.

“Hello, Sparkler,” Dinky said tentatively, not entirely sure if the older student was paying any attention.

Sparkler looked up from her book.  “Oh, it’s you,” she said, flashing a brief, sterile smile that didn’t reach her eyes.  “Sorry, I don’t think I caught your name last night.”

“I’m Dinky Doo,” Dinky replied.  “Sorry to bother you, but I have a question.”

“That’s what I’m here for,” Sparkler said, flipping through her textbook rather than looking at her visitor.

Dinky tried her best not to be put off by the Overseer’s indifference.  “I want to mail a letter,” she explained, “but I’m not sure where I need to go to send it.  There aren’t any mailboxes in the tower.”

“Oh,” said Sparkler.  “Yeah, I guess I forgot to mention that last night.  I knew there was something I was forgetting.”

A purple glow surrounded her horn, and a small map of the Academy’s campus levitated over to her.  She beckoned to Dinky and pointed to one of the building surrounding the castle.

“You need to go here.  Just give your letter to the postmaster, Twinkletoes, he’ll send it for you right away.”

Twinkletoes? Dinky thought.  That’s a funny name for a pony…

“Alright.  Thank you,” the filly said, memorizing the location indicated on the map.

“No problem,” Sparkler said, returning to her book without so much as a ‘have a nice day’.  Dinky waited, but Sparkler said nothing else.  After a few moments, she turned and trotted from the room.

Sparkler’s perfunctory attitude was quickly forgotten as Dinky exited onto the castle grounds and turned her focus toward finding the building the Overseer had suggested.  It was a grey stone structure at the end of a cobbled pathway, and it seemed suspiciously large for a building that apparently only functioned as a post office for a few hundred students.

Dinky’s magic commanded the doors to open, and they obeyed, allowing the filly inside.  In contrast to the other buildings, this one’s interior was strangely dim.  Perhaps even more curiously, there didn’t seem to be anypony around.

“Hello?” Dinky called as she walked further inside the single, large room.  Surely there had to be a reception desk or an office somewhere, but the chamber appeared to be completely empty.  There was nothing to see save for three plain stone walls and one wall that appeared to be decorated with some sort of pinkish, overlapping tile.

Convinced that Sparkler must have directed her to the wrong building, Dinky turned to go.  She had taken only a step or two toward the door when a tremendous boom echoed through the room behind her, followed by a loud, deep voice uttering something in a foreign language that was more than likely an expletive.

Dinky wheeled around just in time to see the tiled wall begin to shift and twist about.  It took her a few seconds to grasp the concept that she was not looking at part of the structure at all, but at the scaly, shifting bulk of a truly massive creature.

“Blast it,” the booming voice said.  “I’ve really got to learn not to sleep like that.  I bang my head against that Celestia-be-darned wall every day.”

From somewhere behind the mass of scales in front of Dinky, a long neck topped with a huge, horned head lifted into the air.  The creature snorted, and a telltale puff of smoke blew from its nostrils, confirming that it was exactly what Dinky suspected.

A dragon!  It’s a full-grown dragon!

For an instant, Dinky considered bolting, until a little voice of reason in the back of her head reminded her that there would not be a dragon on the Academy campus if it was dangerous in any way.  Nevertheless, she made sure she was just a few feet from the door before speaking up again.

“…Hello?  Mr. Dragon?”

The dragon blinked and lowered its head toward Dinky.  The filly flinched as its massive snout came within a few yards of hers.

“Well, hello there!” the dragon said, his gnarled lips curling up to reveal a toothy grin.  “I don’t recognize you; you must be one of the new fillies who moved in yesterday.”

“Y-yeah,” said Dinky, doing her best not to appear intimidated.  “Um… you wouldn’t be Twinkletoes, would you?”

The dragon laughed coarsely.  “Actually, I am,” he said.  “I was quite the nimble little fellow in my younger years, so the pony who raised me thought it was appropriate.  He knew, of course, that once I grew up the name would become ironic rather than accurate, but perhaps that adds its own level of humor.”

The dragon laughed, but stopped when he noticed the smoke he produced was making things uncomfortably warm for Dinky.

“You were raised by a pony?” she asked, blowing away the smoke with a hoof.

“Oh yes,” Twinkletoes replied, his eyes sparkling with fond memories.  “He was the dean of this Academy some three-hundred years ago.”

“Well, if he’s gone, why are you still here?” Dinky asked.

“I like this place,” the dragon said simply.  “The unicorns are friendly, I’ve got enough to eat and a place to sleep, and all I have to do in return is send mail.  Not a bad deal if you ask me.”

“So you are the mail pon— er, dragon,” Dinky stuttered.  “Can you send a letter for me, please?”

“Sure.  All I need is the recipient’s name.”

“It’s a letter for my mom,” Dinky said.  “Her name’s Ditzy Doo.”

Twinkletoes reached for some dark corner of the room and picked up a book.  It was a massive publication; Dinky was pretty sure it was bigger than she was.  Even so, it was tiny when clutched between the claws of a dragon one hundred times her size.  He set it down and began to delicately flip through the pages with one claw, leading Dinky to believe that perhaps his name wasn’t as ill-deserved as she had first thought.

“This is the latest Equestrian census, complete with pictures,” Twinkletoes explained.  “Equestria doesn’t have a whole lot of mail dragons, but those of us who do work for the postal service each have a copy of this book so we know who to send to.”

He pointed to a picture on one of the pages.  “This her?”

Dinky looked at the photograph of the grey and blonde mare and nodded in assent.

Twinkletoes smiled.  “It says she’s a former mailpony!  I wonder if she’s already familiar with dragon mail.”

With what could only be described as extreme dexterity, the dragon plucked the tiny, ribbon-bound letter from Dinky’s hoof with the tips of his claws, held it to his lips, and blew a tiny wisp of flame over the parchment, transforming it into a cloud of green light that floated out the door and into the sky.

“That should get to Ponyville within a few minutes,” Twinkletoes rumbled contently.  “Dragon mail’s the most efficient method of message transport in Equestria!  If you ever want to send anything else, just drop by!  I’m in here all day anyway.”

“I will, and thank you!” Dinky called as she made for the door.

Twinkletoes watched the filly disappear, and then with a loud moan, he curled up and went back to sleep.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Clarity rolled on the grass, kicking her hooves in the air gleefully and threatening to laugh her tail off.

“Sparkler didn’t tell you Twinkletoes is a dragon?!”

Dinky pretended to pout, but she couldn’t hide her own smile when her friend was so mirthful.

Dinky, Clarity, and Honeydew were lounging by a pond at the edge of the forest, relaxing in the orange rays of the evening sun.  Honeydew, as usual, seemed content to listen to her friends discuss the day, and busied herself instead with tossing breadcrumbs she’d saved from dinner into the water and watching the fish scramble to gobble them up.  Even the shy filly seemed to be chuckling to herself, though, as she watched her thoroughly entertained friend roll around on the grass.

Clarity got a hold of herself and shakily got to her hooves.  She gave herself a good shake, flinging a few stray blades of grass and flecks of dirt into the air.  “I can’t tell if Sparkler did that on purpose or not,” she said finally.  “I mean, I probably would have been a little shocked too if I hadn’t been expecting to run into a dragon all of a sudden.”

“Maybe it was payback for the trouble we caused last night,” Dinky theorized.  “Sparkler doesn’t strike me as the kind of pony who’d do something like that, but then again she’s always so dull that I don’t really know what she’s thinking.”

“Doesn’t change the fact that it was pretty funny,” Clarity said, ignoring Dinky’s indignant snort.  “I guess you can chalk another one up to the fact that you don’t have much prior knowledge of magic or this academy.”

Honeydew raised a hoof.  “Well, I wouldn’t have been expecting a dragon either, Clarity,” she admitted.  “Not all of us have family members who have been here before, you know.”

“Yeah, that’s true,” Clarity replied.  “You know more magic than Dinky does, but I guess you aren’t any more familiar with the place than she is.”

“We’ll figure it out eventually,” Dinky insisted.  “And until then, any heads-ups you can give us would be nice.”

“Well, here’s a heads-up for you right now,” Clarity said.  “The sun’s almost set.  Let’s get to the residence towers before we get in trouble.”

Dinky glanced at the sun, which was still poking over the horizon.  “I guess you’re right.  We should probably read over the first chapter of the Practical Magic textbook anyway.”

“You think you have work to do?” Clarity asked.  “Honeydew and I have to get started on an essay about the earliest uses of magic for Magic in History.  

The grey filly trotted in place.  “Come on!  I’ll race you girls!”

Without waiting for an answer, she took off toward the castle.  Dinky cried out indignantly, and she and Honeydew scurried after her.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Two tiny blue eyes stared out from between the leaves of a thick shrub, watching intently as the three fillies disappeared from view.  Their owner began to mutter to himself once again, as if confirming his own statements.

“The grey one will not suit my purpose at all, no she will not,” it hissed.  “She knows far too much already, she’d not be fooled at all, she wouldn’t. And the pink one seems too cautious, yes she does.  Much too cautious, and not powerful enough!”

The bush rustled as the creature concealed within it quivered.  “The purple one though…” it continued, its voice no more than a raspy whisper, “the purple one shows promise, oh yes.  With practice, her magic may become strong enough to fulfill my desire before she even learns something is amiss!”

The bush shuddered violently as the creature reveled in delight.  “I shall have to watch the purple one, yes I shall.  Maybe, just maybe, she is the one I’ve been waiting for…”
> Chapter 5
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tuesday morning found Dinky and Clarity awake considerably earlier than they had been on Monday.  Since they had some time before morning classes began, they went to the dining hall with Honeydew for some breakfast.

“So,” said Clarity through a mouthful of grass pancakes, “do we all have different classes today, or will we be in some together again?”

Dinky pushed her bowl of oatmeal aside and placed her schedule on the table in its place.  “Well, my morning class is something called ‘Magical Biology.’  How do you suppose magic applies to biology?” she asked.

“Oh, I have that class too!  It’s really an interesting subject!” Honeydew chimed in, surprising her friends with her unusually enthusiastic tone.  The pink filly noticed how loudly she had spoken a moment later, and proceeded to blush and slump a bit lower in her chair.

“Um…” she continued, much more quietly, “…Magic Biology is both a study of plants and animals with magical properties and abilities, and a set of spells that can have beneficial effects on them.  During the time I spent working with my tutor, I had some time to begin studying it.  Of the magical subjects I’ve studied, I think it’s probably my favorite.”

“Well, you two have fun with that,” Clarity said slowly, only half paying attention as she looked over her own schedule.  “I have a different class this morning.  Let me know how it was later today, alright?”

“Of course!” said Dinky cheerfully.

“Good!  Now I gotta go,” Clarity replied as she swung her saddlebag over her back.  “My class is up on the fifth floor or something like that, and who knows how long it’ll take to get all the way up there.”

The grey filly waved and scampered off toward the corridor.

“Clarity certainly is energetic,” Honeydew said absently as she watched her friend’s bright blue tail disappear around a corner.

“You were kind of energetic yourself a minute ago,” Dinky pointed out.  “This magic biology must really be something special.”

“Well, come and see for yourself,” Honeydew said.  “Class is starting soon.  I hope you’ll have as much fun with it as I will.”

Dinky was happy to see Honeydew filled with new initiative; the usually shy pony eagerly led the way as the two fillies trotted down the hall toward their next class.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The classroom was at the end of the hall on the ground floor of the castle.  Dinky and Honeydew found the door already wide open when they arrived.  The room they found beyond it was quite unlike the one they’d had class in the day before.

There were a few rows of desks, but the class size was obviously much smaller than the Practical Magic one had been.  Three of the walls were wood paneled, but the fourth one was entirely glass, allowing sunlight to wash over a collection of exotic looking plants growing in pots of various sizes on that side of the room.  The ceiling was curved, and rafters crisscrossed just beneath it.  Dinky spied a few nests tucked into the corners of some of the wooden beams, but their occupants appeared to be absent at the moment.

At the front of the room, a short, stocky, middle-aged mare with a dark brown coat and dull reddish-brown mane stood by the teacher’s desk.  Her Cutie Mark was a trio of colorful birds, and she wore a wide straw sun hat with a cheerful blue ribbon tied around it.  A small bird, no bigger than a sparrow and bright green in color, sat contently on one side of the hat’s wide brim.

Honeydew trotted to an open seat as close to the front of the room as possible.  Dinky followed along and took the one just behind her friend’s.  The pair waited a few more minutes as the remaining few students arrived and took their seats.

“Good morning students!” the mare at the front of the room called.  “My name is Profess—”

She was cut off by some laughter in the back of the room.  The professor’s voice was not particularly loud or commanding, and a few students were still ignoring her and continuing their conversation, and some of the others were digging through their saddlebags for new notebooks or quills.

The professor cleared her throat.  “Excuse me, students!  We’re going to start now.”

Still, she was ignored.  

“Hey!” shouted another voice entirely.  “Turn those dopey snouts of yours forward, you little good-for-nothin’s!”

Dinky blinked in surprise.  The voice sounded as if it had come from the professor’s direction, but it was clearly not hers.  The filly looked around the room to try to determine the source, before casting a baffled glance at Honeydew, who responded with an equally bewildered shrug.  

Wherever the shout had come from, it had certainly caught the misbehaving students’ attention; they now faced the professor, looking a bit confused.

“Thank you, Cornelius,” the professor said quietly.  “Try to watch your demeanor, though.  There’s no need to be so rude.”

The bird on the professor’s hat strutted forward and leaned over until he was nearly upside-down, peering right into her bright green eyes.  “Yeah, yeah…” it said in the same, somewhat grating voice.  “You’d never get anything done without me, though.”

The professor chuckled as the students looked on in awe at the talking bird.  “Quite right,” she agreed, nodding to the bird, “but I think I can handle it from here.”

Cornelius ruffled his feathers and returned to his perch on the brim of the hat, looking proud of himself.

“Now, once again, good morning students!” the mare called cheerfully, raising a hoof in greeting.  “My name is Professor Chestnut, expedition enthusiast and one of Equestria’s leading experts in the field of Magical Biology.”

She pointed to the strange, talking bird.  “And this fellow taking up space on my hat is my assistant, Cornelius,” she added.  “I came across him in a jungle beyond Equestrian borders, and he’s been helping me with odds and ends with my research and teaching ever since.”

“Odds and ends?” Cornelius squawked.  “Silly Chestnut, everpony knows I should be the professor here for all the work I do!”

Professor Chestnut reached up and clamped Cornelius’s beak shut with a hoof.  “Anyway,” she continued, ignoring the bird’s muffled protests, “welcome to first-level Magical Biology.  As this is an elective course, I know there are a few of you in here who are second- or third-term students, so be forewarned that the type of magic used here is quite different from that which is used in many other classes.”

Cornelius placed his talons against Chestnut’s hoof and wrenched himself free of the mare’s grip.  “Yeah, don’t think you can slack off,” he snickered, “or Chestnut will fail your sorry flanks!”

Professor Chestnut rolled her eyes.  “Now, rather than handing out the textbooks and giving some introductory lecture,” she said to the class, “I think the best way to introduce you all to the basics of the subject is to proceed right to the practical aspect.  Grab your things, we’re going outside for our first lesson!”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A few minutes later, Professor Chestnut, Cornelius, and the twenty or so colts and fillies were standing in a wide fenced area on a hillside near the castle.  The slope was covered in spring buds, but no flowers had bloomed yet.

“Alright, colts and fillies, let’s get right down to business!” the professor called invitingly, waving a hoof to draw the children closer to her.  “You’re probably wondering what it is we’re doing out here, but before I can explain that, we need to have a brief discussion.  The basic, fundamental goal of the spells we’ll be using in this class is to establish a deep and vigorous connection with other living things.”

She gestured broadly to the hillside.  “Take these flowers for example,” she said, gently lifting one of the sagging buds with a hoof.  “The buds are just about ready to open.  It’s pretty warm for such an early spring day, and I’m sure most of them are ready to spread their petals and take in some sunlight.  How about we help them along?”

“It’s a simple job, really,” Cornelius added haughtily as he hovered above the professor.  “Just light up those ugly rods stickin’ out of your foreheads and will the flower to open up.  If I was a unicorn, I bet I could pull it off in a second.”

“Enough, Cornelius,” said Chestnut crossly, giving the students an apologetic glance.  “But yes, that is the goal.  Don’t force the flower to open; try to coax it instead.  Try it by yourselves for a bit, and if you can’t get it, I’ll help you.”

Chestnut trotted out of the way and pulled a research notebook out from beneath her large sunhat, and resigned herself to scribbling in it. Cornelius contently nestled himself into the brim of her hat and he and the professor began to discuss the notebook’s contents, leaving the students free to attempt the new spell.

Dinky walked a few paces down the hillside and stood in front of a dense patch of unopened buds.  Honeydew stood next to her, watching curiously.

“You can try first,” Honeydew said.  “I’ve done this before anyway.”

Dinky nodded and focused on the tiny plant in front of her, surrounding and cradling it with her magic.  She could feel the flower with her mind, but she found herself unsure of how to proceed.  Her first instinct was to try to move the petals as she would move any other object with levitation, but the professor had claimed that this process required a different type of magic.

Let’s see… she thought to herself as she handled the delicate plant, maybe if I straighten it a bit… but no, I don’t want to uproot it… perhaps there’s some kind of pressure point in the stem that will trigger the petals to unfurl?  Hmm… no, that’s not it either…

Dinky struggled in vain with the flower for about a minute before giving in.  The light around her horn flickered and died and she frowned and opened her eyes.

“Well this is stupid,” she said, stamping a hoof in frustration.  “I don’t get it; if we’re not supposed to just pull open the petals, what are we supposed to do?”

Honeydew cleared her throat.  “Can I make a suggestion?” she asked hesitantly.

“Sure.”

“I think you might be going about it the wrong way,” Honeydew admitted, cringing a bit as if expecting Dinky to be upset with her criticism.  “It’s like you’re trying to use a spell similar to the ones we learned in Practical Magic.”

“Should I be doing something else?” Dinky asked perplexedly.  “I’m afraid I don’t understand what Professor Chestnut meant by ‘coax it to open’.”

“Well, it’s just like it sounds, really,” Honeydew replied with increasing confidence.  “The flower is a living thing too.  You’ve got to use your magic to connect with it.  It’s like… like learning to speak its language, or something.  And once you’ve figured that part out, you just ask it to open for you…”

Honeydew lit her horn, and her pale green aura surrounded a daisy growing just in front of her hooves.  The plant stood straight, as if at attention, and then promptly flicked open all of its bright white petals at once.

“…and it handles the rest,” the pink filly finished, obviously pleased with the result.

Dinky’s jaw dropped.  “You made that look so easy!” she exclaimed enviously.

Honeydew just shrugged.  “Well, like I said, I’ve done it before,” she said nonchalantly.  She pointed to a flower that appeared to be ready to open.  “Go ahead, try it again.”

Dinky once again put her full focus on the flower, and once again, felt the extension of her thoughts wrap around it.

This is not just an object, she told herself, this is a living being.  I’m not controlling it, I’m just connecting with it.

Dinky squeezed her eyes shut and tried to take every aspect of the flower into her mind.  She thought about the roots, drawing in life from the ground.  She focused on the stem, working tirelessly to support the top of the plant against wind and gravity.  And then there was the bud, still trying to conceal the petals from the outside air.

And then, faintly, something began to flicker in the corners of her mind.  It couldn’t quite be considered a consciousness, but it was certainly a presence.  Dinky focused on it, bringing it to the forefront of her thoughts.

The resulting sensation startled her so much that she nearly lost concentration.  She could suddenly feel the cool water creeping through the roots, and the warm sun on the rest of the plant.  The tension that held the bud shut seemed to weigh on her own body as well.  Amazed, Dinky realized that her mind and the flower’s… well, whatever it was that flowers had instead of minds had tapped in to one another.

Spring is here, little flower, she thought gently.  There’s no reason to stay all curled up.  Open up that bud and get some sun!

Dinky tried to relax herself, hoping it would convince the flower to do the same.  For a moment, it refused to yield, but very slowly, it responded to her suggestion, and the tension began to melt away.

Honeydew watched with interest as Dinky’s whole body gradually relaxed.  The flower surrounded by Dinky’s magic quivered, and then, one by one, the petals began to unfurl.  The process took much longer than it had when the pink filly had performed it, but ultimately, the result was the same: the flower bore all of its stark white petals to the spring air.

Dinky’s magic finally ceased, and her eyes fluttered open.  She stared down at the flower, completely amazed at the extent of the connection she’d shared with it through her magic.

“See?  Not too hard, right?” Honeydew asked tentatively, placing her hoof on Dinky’s shoulder.

“No, it’s just… very different,” Dinky said, the memories of the flower’s essence still fresh in her mind.  “I didn’t realize magic could even be used for things like that…”

She trailed off and looked down at the flower again, and couldn’t help but feel a touch of affection for it now that she’d helped it turn its petals skyward.

“Well, well, well!  I see you two have made some fine progress already!”

The fillies looked up as Professor Chestnut came trotting over and examined the flowers approvingly.  “Impressive!” she continued.  “You’re the first ones in the class to open a flower.  It usually takes new students much longer to figure out how to magically interact with another living thing.”

“Yeah, you two are definitely not completely clueless!” Cornelius added in such a sincere voice that Dinky was convinced it was his warped attempt at a compliment.

“Thanks, professor,” Dinky answered, “but I only managed because Honeydew here showed me how.”

“Oh?” Professor Chestnut asked, turning to Honeydew.  “And how did you figure it out so fast, dear?”

“I’ve had some prior experience, professor,” Honeydew replied nervously.  “In fact, I think I can safely say I know a little more about magical biology than just opening flowers, since, uh…”

Rather than finish her sentence, Honeydew simply turned sheepishly and showed off her Cutie Mark.

Chestnut’s eyes sparkled.  “Oh, goodness, that would explain it!  We have a junior magical biologist here!” she said gleefully, sitting back and clapping her front hooves together and causing Cornelius to frantically flap his wings to keep his balance.  “I hope the first few weeks of class don’t bore you, Miss Honeydew!  I wouldn’t be surprised if you’re a few steps ahead of the rest of the students.”

Honeydew blushed at the praise.  “Oh, don’t worry, professor,” she answered a little more earnestly.  “I’m always willing to practice the simpler concepts.  Besides, I’m not that good at it yet…”

“Not that good!?” Dinky balked.  “Honeydew, why don’t you open another flower so the professor can see?”

Honeydew hesitated, but encouraged by Dinky’s eager expression, she picked out another unopened flower, lit her horn, and once again, the plant seemed almost eager to obey, and it promptly popped open.

“Jeez,” said Cornelius, giving a low whistle.  “Talk about an over-achiever.  I’ve seen fifth-term ponies who can’t do that that fast.”

“Yes, but their special talents were unrelated to the subject,” Chestnut argued.  “I dare say she’s better at it than you would be if you were a pony, since your special talent is clearly mouthing off.”

Cornelius scowled and occupied himself with preening his feathers.

“Well, I think I’d better return to helping the rest of the class, girls,” Chestnut admitted, scanning the rest of the class, who all seemed to be failing in various ways.  “The two of you should continue practicing.  There are plenty of unopened flowers to go around.”

She glanced at Honeydew.  “And feel free to come and talk to me sometime if you’re curious about anything relating to Magical Biology,” she said warmly.  “Don’t feel limited by what we learn in this class if you’d like to study additional topics yourself!”

Honeydew’s eyes lit up.  “Really?” she asked, stepping forward and looking up at Chestnut in something like awe.  “Um, thank you, professor!  I’ll definitely take you up on that.”

Chestnut smiled, and gave a casual wave of her hoof as she trotted away.

Honeydew watched her go, and then began to amble down the hillside, humming contently and opening the flowers as she walked.  Dinky had never seen her friend acting like this; Honeydew’s usual uncertainty seemed to have melted away completely.

“Wow, Honeydew, I didn’t realize you were some kind of prodigy at this stuff,” Dinky admitted.  “I guess you’re really in your element out here, huh?”

Honeydew’s ear twitched, and she stopped walking.  “I’m not a prodigy, Dinky.  I just really enjoy the subject.”

“But you heard the professor!” Dinky argued.  “You’re better at this than some of the fifth-term students!  Even if it is your special talent, you'd still need to practice to get that good, don’t you?”

“In a way, I have been practicing all my life,” Honeydew said as she opened another flower.

Dinky raised an eyebrow.  “But you had a magic tutor, didn’t you?” she asked.  “It can’t have been more than a few years since you learned how to do this.”

Honeydew smiled faintly.  “Dinky, I mean no offence, but I think maybe your idea of ‘magic’ is a little more closed-minded than it should be,” she proposed.

Dinky wasn’t quite sure how to respond to that, so she sat down on the grass and waited for her friend to continue.

“You see, I don’t think it’s really accurate to say that unicorns are the only ponies with magic,” Honeydew explained, turning away from the flowers and looking at Dinky.  “Sure, we’re the only ones who can use it consciously, but that doesn’t mean it’s ours and ours alone.  After all, the whole field of Magic Biology is about finding and interacting with that innate magic in every living thing.”

The shy filly pointed at the flower Dinky had opened a few minutes earlier.  “Now, when you connected with that flower, you felt that magic, right?  You had to, or it wouldn’t have listened to you.”

Dinky nodded.

“If a flower has magic, even if it’s just a little, it’s fair to assume that earth and pegasus ponies have magic somewhere too, right?” Honeydew asked earnestly.  “I’ve lived with earth ponies all my life.  I’ve walked through the fields where all of our crops were growing.  And when you spend enough time with the plants, you can start to feel that magic yourself, whether you know a spell for it or not.  I could feel it, and I could tell my parents and aunts and uncles could feel it even more than I could.”

“Because they’re earth ponies?” Dinky asked.

“Exactly,” Honeydew replied.  “That’s the magic that earth ponies have, I think: a connection to the land, to the things that grow in the soil and live on the ground.  They can’t consciously tap into the essence of the plants like we can with spells, but they’ve learned other ways of communication that are just as effective.  They really aren’t limited by their lack of a unicorn horn at all.”

Dinky recalled a specific powerful quote from her beginner’s magic guide: Magic is limited only by the strength of the mind and the passion of the heart.  Dinky knew earth ponies and pegasi had their own special abilities, but she’d never considered them as magic before.

Honeydew sighed contently.  “I think that’s why I’ve taken such an interest in Magical Biology,” she pointed out.  “Sometimes I feel more like an earth pony than a unicorn, but despite that, I was never quite able to feel that same connection to the land that my family could feel without the aid of spells.”

Upon reaching that topic, she frowned.  “…Of course, it’s because of those very spells that my parents and I have reached the state we’re in,” she mumbled, ears and tail drooping as she did so.  

Honeydew unconsciously rubbed the small gash in her horn, as she often did when thinking of her parents’ attitude toward magic.

“Sometimes I just wish there was a way to make them understand that magic isn’t all curses and unnatural manipulation,” she continued, “but if I told them that my magic is the same as theirs, they’d think I was crazy…”

Honeydew was beginning to get upset again.  Dinky trotted over and gave her friend a sympathetic nuzzle.

“Don’t worry, I understand you,” Dinky said, silently scolding herself for being unable to come up with something more comforting to say.  “Now come on, there’s another whole patch of flowers over there waiting to be opened.”

Honeydew smiled appreciatively at Dinky’s attempt to lift her spirits.  The two fillies trotted down the slope and continued to practice their spell.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The first week of the new term wore on, and Dinky never ceased to be amazed at the new surprises the Academy presented to her.  She attended a variety of new classes, ranging from the study-based “Magic in History” to the much more applied “Basic Enchantments”.  In what seemed like no time at all, it was already Friday morning; the first week of classes was almost over.  And once again, the girls were discussing their plans over a hot breakfast.

“Dinky and I have ‘Transformation and Conjuring’ class together!” Clarity announced, pumping a forehoof in the air excitedly.  “I hear that can be a really tough subject, but it also sounds like a lot of fun!”

“I don’t have a class this morning,” Honeydew chimed in, “but I’ve already volunteered to spend the morning helping Professor Chestnut catalogue all the flower species that are actively growing on the grounds this year.”

Clarity snickered.  “I guess it’s no secret who Honeydew’s favorite professor is,” she remarked teasingly.

“Hey, you’ve seen what she can do,” Dinky said through a mouthful of cereal.  “At least she’s doing something productive with her free period.”

Clarity nodded.  “Yeah, I know.  I’m really happy for you, Honeydew.”

She slid her chair away from the table.  “Now, I guess we should all—”

Clarity was interrupted by a loud clattering of dishes and a chorus of rowdy laughter.  The three fillies looked across the room and spotted the FrostFire Twins and Scuffle at the corner table, being rude and making a mess as usual as they devoured their breakfast.

“And then… and then Frosty used that spell that makes the whole room shake!” Scorch laughed, flinging bits of chewed food around.  “And the chandelier came loose!  The darn thing almost fell right on the professor!  I was in stitches.” 

Scuffle laughed.  “You guys got detention for that stunt, right?” he asked.

“Well, duh,” said Frosty, rolling his eyes.  “You’re not kickin’ off the new term right if you don’t get at least one detention in the first week.”

Frosty jabbed Scuffle in the back with a hoof.  “What about you, kiddo?  Did ya manage to stir up any trouble?”

Scuffle shrugged.  “Not yet,” he admitted.  “Managed to give a couple of fillies a good scare, though.  Cowards.”

He patted his saddlebag.  “I swiped a book from one of them, too.  She was pretty upset about it.”

“A book?” Scorch asked, raising an eyebrow.  “Jeez, Scuffle, next time steal something useful, would ya?”

He playfully clonked Scuffle on the back of the head with a hoof and he and Frost laughed.

Dinky scowled as she watched Scuffle and his brothers carrying on.  Honeydew placed a hoof on her friend’s shoulder.

“They’re not worth getting worked up over,” she said softly.

“Yes they are,” Dinky growled, tossing her mane and snorting angrily.  “Scuffle still has my book.  I need to stop stalling and figure out a way to make him give it back.”

“Could you just take it back while he isn’t looking?” Clarity asked.

“And how would I manage that?” Dinky asked.

“Well, he can’t have his saddlebag on all the time,” Honeydew pointed out.  “You could just keep an eye on him and wait for him to set it down, then sneak over and take it back when he’s not looking.”

The pink filly scrunched up her nose.  “He probably wouldn’t even notice it’s gone.  He doesn’t look like the studious type.”

Dinky watched, but to her dismay, Scuffle soon finished his meal and left the hall with his brothers, taking the saddlebag containing her prized book with him.

“Eh, we’ll get him later,” Clarity said dismissively.  “Come on, you and I have to get to class.”

Dinky and Clarity waved goodbye to Honeydew and set off down one of the castle corridors.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The classroom this time was located in one of the castle towers.  The girls arrived on the landing at the top of a spiral staircase, and trotted into a large, square room.  Much like the Practical Magic classroom, a portion of the floor space was left purposely empty to provide a practice arena for the students.

Dinky was relieved to see that all the colts and fillies were first-term students; many of them were also in her Practical Magic class, actually.  That indicated that this was probably going to be a basic class, focusing on the fundamentals of what Clarity had proclaimed was a difficult subject.

Standing at the desk was the professor, a strong, stern-looking stallion with a white coat and a short, navy blue mane.  His Cutie Mark was strange; it consisted of three simple shapes: a red circle, a blue square, and a yellow triangle.

Behind the professor’s desk was a lone door.  It was unmarked, and Dinky suspected the room behind it couldn’t possibly be very big, considering the tower’s dimensions.

“Attention, class,” the stallion at the front of the room boomed.  “This is first-level Transformation and Conjuring.  I’m Professor Flux, and I will be your instructor for this course.”

His voice dropped lower.  “Or, well, one of them, anyway,” he muttered.  “The Princess has seen fit to hire an additional instructor this term.  He’ll be joining us shortly.”

He cleared his throat.  “Anyway, as you might imagine, I’m not the type who fools around.  We’re going to get right down to business.  Can anyone here define ‘transformation’ for me?”

A colt in the front corner raised his hoof.  “Transformation involves using magic to alter an object’s physical structure,” he said.

“Absolutely correct,” Professor Flux replied loudly.  “Make sure you don’t confuse that with an illusion spell!  Illusions simply trick the eye to make something appear altered, while transformations actually modify the target.  For this reason, a true transformation requires a great deal more magic than an illusion does, so don’t expect to go changing yourselves into anything in this class.  The amount of magic required to turn a pony into something else is so astronomically high that only a few ponies in all of Equestria are even capable of pulling it off.”

“That’s very true, Professor!” came another voice.  “However, there are a few exceptions to the rule…”

The ponies in the class looked around the room, confused.  Professor Flux rolled his eyes.  “Ah, time already, is it?” he asked.  “Students, I’d like you to meet my assistant.”

The door behind the teacher’s desk opened, and another pony strode confidently out.  The class was caught off-guard when they realized that the newcomer looked exactly like Professor Flux.

Dinky leaned toward Clarity.  “Is that really a pony who has transformed himself into the professor?” she whispered.

“I… I think so,” Clarity replied, awed.  “I’m pretty sure I’d be able to tell if it was just an illusion.”

“Hi, students!” said the newcomer cheerfully.  “My name’s Professor Flux!  Nice to meet you!”

The pony was identical to the original professor physically, but in contrast to the one who had been present at the start of class, he seemed a bit more welcoming.

“Oh, come off it,” the grumpier professor said, glaring at his double.  “I still don’t understand why you had to hide in the supply closet for your ‘dramatic’ entrance.  At least introduce yourself properly before you go around flaunting your skills.”

The professor that had emerged from the closet swished his tail playfully.  “You sure about that?” he asked.  “These are the first years; maybe we should warn ‘em first?”

The more serious professor narrowed his eyes at the doppelganger.  “If I told you to do that, you’d just go ahead and ignore me anyway to get a cheap laugh, wouldn’t you?”

His counterpart giggled gleefully.  “Aw, you know me too well!  Guess I’ll just drop the disguise, then!”

The students expected the faux professor’s horn to light up, but instead, he grinned gleefully as a ring of green fire erupted from the floor around him.  The flash of flames lasted only a second, but the pony within it was replaced with something very different: a roughly pony-sized creature with a black carapace, curved horn, and thin, lacy wings.

The actual professor had braced himself for the inevitable noise, but he still cringed as several of the fillies (and at least one or two of the colts) gave high-pitched screams of terror.  Some jumped from their chairs and eyed the door, considering bolting.  Dinky found herself unable to do much of anything except stare fearfully, having encountered a few creatures similar to this one firsthand during the Royal Wedding earlier that year.

“What’s the matter?  You kids don’t like changelings?” the monster asked, flashing a fanged grin, which only caused more panic among the students.

“That’s quite enough!” Professor Flux said loudly, quieting the panicking students.  “Our, erm… guest, shall we say, is supposed to be here.  Now quietly sit back down and let me explain.”

He glared at the changeling.  “And you too,” he commanded.

The changeling nodded and sank onto his haunches.  He seemed largely uninterested in the whole situation, and busied himself just examining the ponies in class.

“Now, I’m quite aware that after the incident in Canterlot earlier this year, most of you are probably less than thrilled to see a changeling in your classroom,” the professor said, trying to sound reassuring.  “In that respect, I’d be inclined to agree with you.  However, Princess Celestia herself has called for this arrangement, and far be it from me to go against her judgment.”

He cast a glance at the changeling.  “Now that you’ve shown yourself, why don’t you introduce yourself properly?” he huffed.

The changeling flashed his giddy grin again and paced to the front of the room, his dark hooves clicking disconcertingly on the floorboards.

“Hey there, kids!” he rasped, in a high, scratchy voice that was now very different from the professor’s.  “The name’s Architecture Drone Eight Thirty-Three.  But that’s a mouthful, so you guys can just call me Nester!”

He chuckled, but the class responded with blank stares.  Dinky in particular was still too apprehensive to acknowledge what the changeling had to say.

“You know.  Nester,” he said a bit less jovially.  “Because I’m an architecture drone.  I helped build and repair our nest.  Get it?”

One or two brave students finally shook off the shock enough to give a weak chuckle.  Nester shrugged.

“Anyway, during the whole invasion thingamajig, I was given one very specific assignment:” he continued, “hiding the real Princess Cadance away somewhere where nopony would ever find her, while our queen impersonated her.  Problem was, she kinda got found, the queen got exposed a bit earlier than she would have liked, et cetera.”

His insectoid wings buzzed nervously for a moment.  “Uh, it’s no secret that if I were to go back to the nest after a failure like that, I’d be basically ripped apart by the other drones.  And the other option, trying to assume the life of a pony, isn’t as easy as it sounds, especially when the whole country’s on changeling high alert.  So I decided to do the only thing I could think of: throw myself at Celestia’s hooves and beg for forgiveness.”

“And so Celestia saw fit to place him here, of all places,” Professor Flux grumbled, shaking his head.  “Changelings are famous for their ability to effortlessly tap into transformation magic at a level far exceeding any normal pony.  Their magic in all other fields is basic at best.”

Nester gave the professor an apologetic glance.  “Well, she couldn’t very well put me anywhere else,” he said, buzzing his wings a few more times.  “The Academy’s a secluded location where I’m surrounded by powerful unicorns to keep an eye on me at all times.  And you know as well as I do that one changeling isn’t gonna be able to do much against a whole school full of magically adept ponies.”

He turned back to the class.  “It’s a sweet deal, though!  I get a place to live that’s safe from the other changelings, and a way to make myself useful.  Just because we need to deceive other creatures to feast on their love doesn’t mean we can’t be friendly if given the opportunity.”

Dinky raised a questioning hoof.  “But… don’t you still need to feed on love to survive?” she asked shakily.  “Doesn’t that kind of make you a threat, even here?”

“Not if I feed on the whole school at once!” Nester announced.  “Feeding on love tends to cause headaches, weakness, lowered immune response, and other effects in the victim, but if I take just a tiny bit from a whole school of ponies, the effect on individuals is negligible.”

His expression softened.  “And of course, it’s a conscious choice to feed.  If somepony is sick or otherwise compromised, of course I’m not going to feed off them.  Considering my welcome here is fragile at best, it wouldn’t do me much good to be cruel, would it?”

He sat back down, put on the most harmless expression a changeling could manage, and motioned for Professor Flux to continue instead.

“Although I’m still skeptical,” the professor said slowly, “I have to admit that Nester has behaved quite well so far, and I can’t deny that he has useful insight into transformative spells.  So we ask that you try to accept him as an assistant professor, and if he does do anything out-of-line, inform a professor or student overseer.  Princess Celestia gives him a thorough audit every few days, and if any infractions are brought to light, they will be immediately investigated.  If we do find anything is actually amiss, his position will be terminated.”

Flux sent Nester a warning glare, and the changeling’s spiky ears flattened against his head.  Dinky was surprised to find that she actually felt sorry for the changeling.  Considering how brutish the ones she’d encountered in Canterlot had been, she hadn’t expected to find one that seemed to understand the concept of kindness.  

“I’ll be good, I swear!” Nester insisted, flinching a bit under Flux’s gaze.

“I hope so,” the professor replied.  “Now, I think it’s about time we actually start teaching these foals a bit about transformation spells, don’t you think?”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“A changeling, Honeydew!  I tell you, this school will never cease to surprise me.”

The three friends trotted along next to the castle.  It was a warm evening, and a lot of other ponies were milling about on the grounds, but Clarity paid them no heed as she continued spouting details about Transformation and Conjuring class, and Honeydew, as always, listened patiently.

“The best part is, he’s actually kind of interesting,” Dinky added.  “After he introduced himself, the professor just lectured for the rest of the period, but Nester threw in a lot of insightful details.”

“And more than a few wisecracks,” Clarity interjected, giggling.  

“I was in Canterlot during the Royal Wedding, so I’ve seen changelings up close,” Dinky admitted, “and before today, I never would have thought a changeling could be charming.  I guess Princess Celestia was right to give Nester a chance, though.”

Honeydew shivered.  “Well, I’m glad you girls were able to give him a chance,” she said.  “I probably would have fainted straight away if a changeling had appeared in my classroom.”

She was about to say something else, but Dinky stopped walking suddenly, causing Clarity and Honeydew to crash into her.

“What’d you do that for?” Clarity asked, rubbing her nose and frowning.

“Look who it is,” Dinky said, pointing with a hoof.

At the bottom of the hill was Scuffle, and for once, his brothers were nowhere in sight.  The brown colt was kicking a ball around with a few other colts, most of whom seemed content to allow Scuffle to dominate the game, for their own safety.  The object that had caught Dinky’s interest, however, was Scuffle’s saddlebag, which was lying unattended at the base of a tree a few dozen pony-lengths away.

“This is your chance!” Clarity said.  “Go grab your book, and you can be gone before he even has a chance to notice you!”

Dinky nodded.  “You two wait here,” she instructed.  “He’s more likely to see us if all three of us go down there.”

Clarity nodded and gave Honeydew a nudge, prompting the pink filly to follow her to a hiding spot behind a nearby shrub.

“Good luck,” Clarity mouthed.  Honeydew shivered and nodded in agreement.

Dinky nodded and began to walk down the side of the hill, keeping in the shadow of the castle to be as inconspicuous as possible.  All the while, she kept her eyes on Scuffle, but the colt seemed occupied with the kickball game.

It seemed to take forever, but soon Dinky was near the tree.  She darted toward it and pressed herself against the bark, allowing the trunk to conceal her from Scuffle.  She knew the saddlebag was just around the side of the tree.  With a flash of magic, she dragged it a few inches along the grass, then a few inches more, until it worked its way around the trunk and came into view.  Cautiously, the young unicorn bent down to poke around inside.

“Lookin’ for something?”

A brown hoof slammed down on the bag, preventing Dinky from opening the flap.  The filly squealed in surprise and fell backwards onto her rump.  She looked up into the face of Scuffle, who was glowering down at her.

“Nice try, I guess,” Scuffle said, nonchalantly scraping a bit of mud off one of his hooves.  “I didn’t even know you were back here until I saw the bag crawling away.  Pretty gutsy move.  And here I thought you were just a little coward.”

“Just give me back my book,” said Dinky flatly, refusing to humor the colt.

Scuffle smirked.  “Still whining over that, huh?” he asked.  “Then why don’t you prove you’re tougher than you look and win it back from me?”

Dinky raised an eyebrow.  “How?”

“Well, I haven’t had a chance to test out my magic against another foal yet,” Scuffle said.  “If you really want that book, put your magic where your mouth is and duel me!”

Dinky opened her mouth to object, but she couldn’t quite bring herself to say it.  She did know a few spells that might be useful in a battle, and Scuffle certainly didn’t seem to know the kind of dangerous combat magic his brothers did.

Dinky steeled herself.  It was time to take action.

“Alright, Scuffle.  You’re on.”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“You agreed to what!?”

Clarity pressed her nose against Dinky’s, her expression dire.  “Are you crazy?” the grey filly asked.  “You don’t know any battle magic!  Scuffle’s might not be that tough, but he probably knows more than enough to wallop you!”

“Relax!” Dinky insisted.  “Sure, I don’t know any offensive spells… but I do know a few defensive ones.”

Clarity blinked and stepped back.  “Oh, right, you told me about that on the day we met.  You used some spells to keep that evil unicorn from attacking your mom and her friends, right?”

“Exactly,” Dinky responded confidently.  “If I could hold her off, Scuffle should be a piece of cake.”

Clarity looked uncertain.  “Well… maybe…”

“I still think this is a bad idea!” said Honeydew anxiously, stepping up next to Clarity.  “Using combative spells without professor supervision is against the rules, isn’t it?  What happens if you get hurt?”

“I’ll be ok,” Dinky assured her.  It only served to make the meek unicorn more upset.

“But… but it’s not worth the risk, Dinky!  It’s just a book; I know it was special to you, but fighting a mean unicorn like Scuffle just to get it back…”

“It’s not only about the book,” Dinky said.  “It’s about standing up for ourselves.  We can’t go to the teachers or overseers, because Scuffle’s brothers don’t care when they get in trouble; they go right on bullying everypony else, and Scuffle seems to be the same way.  He’s going to keep harassing us unless I show him that I’m not a weakling so he’ll stay away!”

Honeydew bit her lip.  “Well, fine, but I don’t want to be anywhere near this fight,” she insisted.  “Scuffle… really scares me…”

“Just go back to the residence tower, Honeydew,” Clarity suggested.  “I’ll stick around in case somepony gets hurt and I need to go for help.”

Honeydew flattened her ears.  “Well… ok, but be careful, both of you!”

“We will,” Dinky insisted.  “I’ll see you in a little while.”

“Yo!” came Scuffle’s voice from down the hill.  “That’s long enough!  Get down here if you’re gonna face me!”

Dinky exchanged a final glance with Clarity, and then turned and trotted down the hill toward her opponent.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Scuffle had drawn a wide ring in the dirt, and he and Dinky stood at opposite ends, facing one another.

“Play by your own rules, Scuffle,” Dinky warned.  “No physical fighting.  We’re only using magic.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Scuffle waved a dismissive hoof.  “You ready?”

Dinky swallowed hard, but she did her best not to appear intimidated.  She nodded.

“Ok, go!”

Scuffle lit his horn, and for a few moments nothing happened.  The colt squinted in concentration, and a few sparks began to fly from the tip.

“Now, how did Scorch say to do this?” he mumbled in frustration.

Finally, he seemed to focus the spell in the way he had intended, but only produced a piddly little fireball.  It was tiny, and the flames didn’t look particularly hot or fierce, but Scuffle seemed satisfied.

Dinky had come prepared, though.  She tried to call the same sense of urgency back to her mind that she had been feeling months ago when Cosmic Glow had threatened her mother.  It had been a while, but the spell she was trying to cast came rushing back to her easily despite that.

Dinky threw her head back as a golden shockwave radiated from her horn, catching Scuffle completely off guard.  He flinched as it passed over him, but was relieved when he realized the attack was painless.  The fireball on his horn fizzled out, however.

“What was that?” he asked, annoyed. “A little light show to break my concentration?  All that’s gonna do is buy you some time, you know.”

The colt prepared another fireball, and Dinky responded with the same spell.  Scuffle faced it bravely this time, but as it washed over him, his magical attack once again disappeared.

“What gives?” he asked.  “I didn’t fall for the fake out that time!  Why’d the fire go out?”

Dinky grinned.  “What’s wrong, Scuffle?” she taunted.  “Haven’t you ever seen a magic cancelling spell before?”

Scuffle frowned, and instead tried to produce an energy beam.  The laser-like attack was pointed towards Dinky, but the filly moved quickly out of the way and cancelled the spell with the same means.

Scuffle swore under his breath.  “Alright, I guess I wasn’t expecting a defense like that,” he admitted.  “So if I can’t get you with a direct attack, let’s see how you handle a little trap of my own!”

Scuffle’s horn flared, but no visible attack became apparent this time.  The colt’s face twisted into a smirk.

“Let’s see if you can still stand if I increase your force of gravity a little bit!” he announced.

“Ha ha, gravity manipulation?” Dinky laughed.  “Please, if you can barely conjure a fireball, why would you be able to—”

All four of Dinky’s legs gave out at once, and she winced as her ribs crashed down against the dirt.  She had to struggle just to keep her head raised a few inches.  Memories of Twilight mentioning how complex gravity spells could be flashed through her mind, but she dismissed them.  Now wasn’t the time to worry about how Scuffle was managing it; it was time to focus on countering it.

Dinky recalled the other spell she had used against Cosmic Glow, a convenient defense that had kept her opponent from being able to advance.  Struggling against the pressure of Scuffle’s spell, she lit her horn and cast it at him.

Scuffle looked surprised for a moment when he realized he was unable to take a step.  “The cement hooves spell?  Really?” he asked.  “Kinda basic, but not a bad move in your situation.”

The duel was beginning to feel a lot like a repeat of Dinky’s duel with Glow; both unicorns were essentially held in place by the other, struggling to break through one-another’s spells.  Now and then, Dinky would drop her enchantment long enough to try to cancel Scuffle’s gravity manipulation, but only succeeded in weakening him for long enough to struggle to her hooves before the pressure returned in full and forced her back to the ground.

There’s got to be something else I can try, Dinky thought frantically.  Otherwise, this will just go on forever!

“That’s quite enough, both of you!”

A brilliant violet shockwave washed across the dueling ring.  It passed over Scuffle first, and Dinky felt the effects of his spell shatter completely, leaving her feeling exceptionally light for a few moments as her body adjusted to the normalized gravity.  Then the wave reached her as well.

Dinky had never been on the receiving end of a magic cancelling spell before.  As soon as the wave touched her, it felt rather like somepony had let the entire Canterlot Philharmonic Orchestra into her skull, and given each of its members a different sheet of music.  The discordant clamor caused her to stagger and completely obliterated her concentration, but as soon as her spell broke, the noise in her head silenced.

Within a few seconds, Dinky and Scuffle recovered and were able to face the pony who had ended their duel.  Dinky groaned softly when she found herself looking into the angry eyes of Overseer Sparkler.

“You two are in big trouble,” Sparkler said.  “It’s the first week of classes!  You first-term foals hardly even know each other yet!  What reason could you possibly have for breaking school rules to have an unauthorized duel?”

Neither of the foals replied.  Sparkler shook her head.

“Whatever.  This is no minor infraction,” she continued.  “I’m taking both of you to the dean’s office; she can deal with this how she pleases.”

Sparkler instructed them to follow and began to make her way back into the castle.  Dinky caught sight of Clarity watching from the shadows; the grey filly looked concerned, but she motioned for Dinky to listen to the overseer.

Scuffle grabbed his bag, and silently, the two foals followed Sparkler into the building.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dinky and Scuffle sat alone on two plain chairs in the antechamber before the dean’s office.  Sparkler had gone ahead, leaving them to wait while she gave the dean an incident report.

Scuffle didn’t seem too concerned.  He swung his hind hooves idly as he waited for the dean to appear and punish him.  Dinky just faced the wall, ignoring Scuffle and stewing in her own anger and fear of what was to come.

“Hey.”

Dinky ignored the colt and focused on the garish paisley on the wallpaper.

“Hey, you.  Look at me.”

Dinky sighed and turned around.  “What?” she asked crossly.

“Um… what is your name?” Scuffle asked abruptly.  “I don’t think you ever told me.”

“Dinky Doo,” said Dinky levelly.

“Ah,” Scuffle replied simply.  “Well Dinky… you surprised me.  I wasn’t expecting you to actually fight.”

Dinky didn’t dignify his comment with a response.  Scuffle frowned.  Then he did something unexpected; slate-blue light surrounded his horn, and a familiar book emerged from his saddlebag.  He tossed it unceremoniously at Dinky, who barely managed to catch it with her own magic before it hit the floor.

The filly raised an eyebrow, and carefully inspected the book.  It was, in fact, her magic guide, and it appeared no worse-for-wear than when Scuffle had swiped it a few days before.

Dinky found herself completely unable to decide what the appropriate response was.  She simply mumbled, “Thanks.”

Scuffle fidgeted.  “The spells in there are baby stuff anyway,” he insisted.  “You can keep the stupid thing; I’m way too good to get any use out of that garbage.”

The awkward silence resumed, but thankfully, it was broken a moment later when Sparkler and the dean entered the room.

“You may go, Sparkler,” Bright Spark said.  “I’ll distribute the punishments to our troublemakers here.”

Sparkler nodded.  “Thank you, ma’am,” she said as she excused herself from the room.

Bright Spark asked Scuffle to enter her office first, and then sat down behind her desk, meticulously adjusting her spectacles.  Her horn lit up and the door closed, leaving Dinky alone in the antechamber.

It was impossible to hear precisely what was going on in the dean's office, but Dinky heard a few muffled words about Scuffle's brothers, and "just another troublemaker."

Scuffle emerged from the office a few moments later.  He didn't pay Dinky so much as a glance as he trotted from the room.

"Your turn, miss," the dean called, motioning for Dinky to enter.  The filly trotted nervously inside and took her seat.

The dean opened Dinky's file.  “So...” she started, glancing at the filly, “you're miss Dinky Doo.  You're a first-term student, and with no family members who have attended in the past.  It’s rare to see a filly like you getting into trouble so early, but that’s your decision, I suppose.”

Bright Spark’s expression was cold.  “Now, Dinky, you were an interesting case, if I remember correctly.  Your application was rejected, but Princess Celestia overturned it, against my recommendation.”

“She found me a tutor,” Dinky said.  “I know all the magic I need to, really!”

The dean’s face remained dour.  "All the magic you need to get yourself in trouble, apparently," she said.  “I'm aware of your situation, but unlike Celestia, I’m not so easy to convince that a filly can learn all the magic she needs to succeed in the span of a season or so.  The Princess claims you’re proficient, but I suspect you’re only here on a special favor.”

She reclined in her chair.  “I suppose I'm getting off topic, though," she admitted.  "The reason I brought this up is because I want you to understand that both you and Scuffle started this term with a bit of a stigma against you, albeit for very different reasons, and because of this little dueling incident, neither of you have left a very good first impression.  I would have been more careful about that if I were you two.  I’ll be keeping an eye on both of you in the future.”

Bright Spark’s horn lit up.  She lifted a quill and scribbled something in Dinky's file.

“Alright then," she said curtly.  "You will serve detention tomorrow morning at six.  Lateness or failure to attend will result in further punishment.  Am I clear?”

Dinky nodded.

“Good,” the dean said curtly.  “Now, it’s getting late.  Get back to the residence towers, and don’t let me hear about  you causing more trouble, or I won’t be so lenient next time.”

The dean swiveled in her chair, and waved a dismissive hoof at Dinky.

“Go on, get out of here.”

Dinky stared at the back of the dean’s chair, but the mare said nothing more. The filly waited a moment more, then quietly slid from her seat and quickly made her way out of the room.
> Chapter 6
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dinky made her way up the numerous staircases in the residence tower, oblivious to the fillies talking and laughing in the dorms she passed as she reflected on everything that had happened that day.  She trotted into her room and was startled as Clarity immediately leapt forward, grabbing her by the shoulders.

“You’re back!” she announced, clearly delighted.  She glanced back at Honeydew smugly.  “See, Honeydew?  I told you she was fine.  You can stop worrying that Scuffle mortally wounded her now.”

Honeydew breathed a sigh of relief and collapsed on her bed.  “I’m glad you’re safe, Dinky,” she said breathlessly.

Clarity turned back to Dinky and removed her hooves from her friend’s shoulders.  “Well?” the grey filly asked eagerly.  “What happened?  Did you get in trouble?”

“Detention,” said Dinky bluntly, her tail drooping slightly.  “It could have been worse, I guess.  Honestly, it’s not the detention that I’m worried about right now…”

“Oh, right, the duel!” Clarity exclaimed.  “How do you think Scuffle learned to use that gravity manipulation spell?”

Dinky blinked.  “That’s not what I was going to say, but that’s a good question,” she admitted.  “My tutor told me something about gravity spells a few months ago.  They’re not horribly complicated, at least as I understand it, but they’re probably above our level.”  

“What’s even stranger is that Scuffle could hardly even conjure a proper fireball,” Clarity added, “so I wasn’t expecting him to succeed.  That spell really came out of nowhere.”

Dinky rubbed her bruised underside and winced.  “I noticed.”

“Oh, you did get hurt?” asked Honeydew from her position on the bed, her eyes full of concern.  

“It’s nothing, Honeydew,” Dinky assured her.  “I’m gonna be a little sore for a couple days, but at least nothing’s broken.”

Honeydew stuck out her tongue.  “You still got hurt though,” she grumbled.  “Scuffle seems to prefer to settle all matters with aggression.  He’s nothing but bad news.”

“Actually,” said Dinky, smiling, “at least one good thing came out of all this.”

Her horn lit up and her magic unfastened her saddlebag, and an all-too-familiar book floated out.

Clarity gasped.  She and Honeydew ogled the book as if Dinky had just pulled a long-lost treasure out of her bag.  

“You got it back!?” the grey filly asked.  “But how?  I don’t think anypony can really say you ‘won’ your duel with Scuffle.”

Dinky shrugged.  “Actually, he gave it back to me while Sparkler was telling the dean what we’d been up to.  He said something about how the magic in it was for little foals, and it wasn’t even worth holding on to.”

She flipped aimlessly through the guidebook.  “He has a point, I guess.  The stuff in here is pretty basic, but I still find it useful now and then.”

Clarity rubbed her chin.  “Why would he give it back, though?” she asked thoughtfully.  “I thought he took it from you just for the sake of taking it, not because he actually intended to use it.”

Again, Dinky shrugged.  “I guess I hadn’t really thought about it,” she admitted.  “That does seem unlike Scuffle.”

“You don’t think he suddenly felt bad about taking it, do you?” Clarity asked.

Dinky snorted.  “Him?  Nah.  If anything, maybe has was just impressed that I actually stood up to him, and decided to give me a little prize for entertaining him.”

“The more important question is,” Honeydew cut in, “do you think he’ll leave us alone now?”

“It’s hard to tell,” Clarity answered.  “Dinky didn’t beat him in the duel, so he might still think we’re just weaklings.  Heck, some of the other colts avoid him whenever they can; I think it might take more than what Dinky did tonight to make him take us seriously.”

Honeydew rolled onto her back and said nothing, but her expression betrayed her exasperation.

“Anyway, Scuffle’s not who I wanted to talk about,” said Dinky urgently.  “The real shock was what the dean said.”

Clarity’s ears perked up.  “Oh?  What happened with the dean?”

“She… doesn’t like me, I think,” Dinky admitted, shrugging absently.  “She told Scuffle and I that we had both made poor first impressions, and that she already had reasons to keep an eye on both of us.  She kind of expected Scuffle to misbehave, because of his brothers and all, but I couldn’t figure out why she was biased against me until right before I left.”

Dinky’s gaze fell.  “She thinks I’m under-qualified to study here.  The Princess gave me permission, but I guess the dean thinks I might not have learned enough in those few months.”

Clarity chuckled.  “Well, coming from the filly who sometimes forgets to use magic to open doors…”

Dinky stamped a hoof.  “It’s not funny!” she insisted, sounding angry but looking more along the lines of worried.  “What if… what if she’s right?”

Clarity’s teasing smirk melted away instantly.  “Don’t say that!” she commanded, wrapping a comforting foreleg around Dinky’s neck.  “We both know you have plenty of talent.  You’re just not used to using magic for all your everyday activities yet.”

“You haven’t had any trouble with classes so far,” Honeydew added, hopping down from her bed.  “Once I showed you how, you had no trouble opening those flowers in Magical Biology.”

“Yeah, and most first-term students don’t know those awesome defensive spells you used in the duel!” Clarity pointed out, her excitement building.  “There’s no way you’re under-qualified!”

Dinky managed a smile.  “Well, I can’t feel too bad about myself with you two supporting me, can I?”

“That’s the spirit!” Clarity laughed, pulling both her friends into a group hug.  “We’re not gonna let Scuffle or the dean get us down!  The three of us are a team, and we’re going to have a great year!  Right?”

“Right!” Dinky said, empowered by her friend’s boundless optimism.

“Right,” Honeydew echoed, somewhat more softly, but still forcefully when compared to her usual tone.

“Good,” said Clarity, breaking the friends’ huddle.  “Now, let’s hit the hay.  I’m beat.”

Dinky laughed and trotted to her bunk.  Her friend shut off the light, and the three fillies, exhausted from their eventful day, quickly fell fast asleep.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Dinky!”

The whisper was almost completely inaudible, yet somehow still full of urgency.  Honeydew seemed to have a talent for that.

Dinky strained to open her tired eyes.  She rolled over and tried to focus on the pony standing at her bedside, despite the dim light.  Her sleep-addled mind almost failed to recognize Honeydew, since the pink filly hadn’t yet had time to put her mane back into its usual style.  Dinky realized Honeydew’s hair was usually very tightly tied; without the buns in her mane or braid in her tail, it was clear that she had enough hair to give even Clarity’s shaggy mane a run for its money.

“What’s wrong, Honeydew?” Dinky moaned.  “It’s so early…”

“Your detention is at six in the morning, isn’t it?” Honeydew asked.  “That’s in half an hour.  You’d better get up.”

Dinky rubbed her eyes and staggered out of bed, knocking over a suitcase with a loud thump.  Clarity stirred at the sound, but she simply shifted position and continued her muffled snoring.

“Clarity sleeps like a rock,” Honeydew observed.  Dinky had to hold a hoof to her snout to prevent herself from giggling too loudly.

Both fillies walked to the panoramic window and looked out over the grounds.  The sky was mottled with oranges and pinks, as the sun was just about to appear over the horizon.

“So you always get up at sunrise?” Dinky asked.

Honeydew nodded.  “Early morning is a good time to work the fields, before it gets too hot.  We always woke up around this time at home.”

“Well, it’s really pretty, I’ll give it that,” Dinky observed.

Honeydew cleared her throat.  “It is, but… you don’t really have time to dawdle, Dinky.  You don’t want to miss detention and wind up in more trouble, do you?”

“Oh.  Right.”

Dinky washed up, brushed her mane, and tossed her saddlebag over her back.  It really didn’t do as much as she’d hoped to hide the fact that she was still terribly tired.

“Alright.  Bye Honeydew,” she said softly.

“Good luck,” the shy filly replied as she began to tie up her mane.  “Watch out for Scuffle.”

Dinky nodded.  “Bye Clarity,” she called, a little more loudly.

Clarity mumbled something unintelligible and continued sleeping.  Dinky grinned and trotted out of the dorm.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The castle was very quiet in the early morning.  Dinky’s hoofsteps were muffled by the carpet as she headed toward the assigned room where she would serve her detention.  Apparently, it was to be held in a small classroom on the second floor usually used to teach a high-level elective subject called “Energy Transfer Thermodynamics of Unicorn Magic”.  Dinky had heard the class mentioned in passing earlier in the week.  She asked Sparkler what it was, to which the older unicorn had bluntly replied, “Math.”

Dinky rounded a corner and approached the room, but stopped and frowned as Scuffle appeared from the other direction.  He caught sight of her and grinned evilly.

“Aw, hey, Dinky Doofus,” he chided.  “Ready for detention?”

Dinky rolled her eyes.  “Cute insult,” she replied.  “I bet you were up all night thinking of that one.”

Scuffle raised an eyebrow at Dinky’s comment.  “I’d watch it if I were you,” he said.  “Professor Lumen, the Magic Thermodynamics teacher, is in charge of detention today.  The guy looks like he’s a couple centuries old; there’s no way he’ll notice if anypony happens to… misbehave a little.”

Dinky peered into the room.  Just as Scuffle had said, an elderly stallion sat at the desk.  His coat was white, and his scraggly bluish mane had mostly given way to grey.  Bushy eyebrows almost obscured his eyes.

“He looks a lot like Professor Flux…” Dinky observed.

“Well, duh,” Scuffle mumbled.  “He’s Flux’s father, dimwit.”

The colt snickered.  “Dimwit Doo.  Man, your name is so easy to turn into an insult!”

For an instant, Dinky considered giving Scuffle a swift buck in the ribs.  Rather than sink to his level, she simply walked past him and seated herself at one of the desks.  The colt followed, planting himself nearer to her than she would have liked, considering there were only about six students in the room.

Professor Lumen cleared his throat, brushed his mane out of his eyes, and slowly stood up.  “This is detention,” he said curtly.  “According to the note the dean sent me, all of you are here for fighting-related incidents.  So everypony can go ahead and take out a sheet of paper and write ‘I will not pick fights’ over and over for the next two hours.”

The elderly pony yawned and staggered back to his chair.  “Oh, and no talking,” he added as he slouched into the seat.

Dinky sighed, levitated a quill and a piece of paper out of her saddlebag, and began scribbling the sentence over and over again.  The room was almost silent, except for the sound of a few other quills doing the same.

Dinky glanced at the professor, but his bushy eyebrows and slumped position made it impossible to tell if he was paying attention.  After a few moments, she chanced staring at him for a longer time, but he didn’t respond.

A crumpled piece of paper, thrown from somewhere, landed on the corner of Dinky’s desk.  She immediately glanced at Scuffle.  The colt seemed to be minding his own business, but Dinky could tell he was watching her out of the corner of his eye.

Cautiously, Dinky unfolded the wadded paper and smoothed it with a hoof.  Two words were written on it in large, messy hoofwriting.

Brace yourself.

Dinky had barely processed the meaning of the note when her head suddenly dropped to the desk.  She managed to resist the unseen force just enough to prevent a painful collision with the wooden surface, but she couldn’t lift her head back to its normal position.  She turned and glared at Scuffle, whose wily grin was just as much evidence as the slate blue magic surrounding his horn that she was once again under the effects of his gravity spell.  A few of the other students looked on with casual interest, but kept quiet.

Dinky instinctively readied a counterspell, but stopped an instant before casting it.  After all, the magic cancelling wave was a huge, bright, and obvious display.  Scuffle might be able to get away with a bit of silent gravity manipulation, but she’d surely be caught if she tried to use a spell to deactivate it.

Grumbling, Dinky placed her front hooves against her desk and forced herself upright.  She struggled against the pressure of the colt’s spell for a few seconds and realized it was basically impossible to lift her quill with a hoof, as she needed both of them just to keep herself from falling back to the desk.

Well, I suppose this is as good a time as any to start learning to use a quill with magic.

A familiar golden glow surrounded Dinky’s horn, and she lifted her quill and cautiously lowered the tip toward the paper.

I… will… not… pick… fights.

Dinky stared at the “sentence” on the page.  Or, perhaps more accurately, the illegible scrawl that was supposed to be a sentence.  She gritted her teeth; the magical force Scuffle was applying to her wasn’t making it any easier to concentrate.

This can’t possibly go on for too long, she thought to herself.  Professor Lumen will look up eventually to make sure everypony is behaving, won’t he?

Professor Lumen gave a loud snore, answering Dinky’s question.  She sighed and tried once again to manipulate the quill with magic.

This is going to be a loooong detention…

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was a little after eight in the morning when Dinky trudged back into her dorm room.  Clarity and Honeydew were awake. Both of them were lying on the bench in front of the window, discussing their plans for the weekend, but both of them quieted when they noticed Dinky had arrived.

“Hey, Dinky,” Clarity greeted.  “You’re looking a little worn out.  Was detention rough?”

“It would have been just fine,” Dinky answered, “but the professor wasn’t exactly the most attentive pony, so I had to put up with Scuffle’s stupid gravity spell for two hours.”

She rubbed her neck.  “I have a feeling I’m gonna be sore later.  So much for thinking he might leave us alone, huh?” she asked.

“I guess so,” Clarity answered.  “It’s just disappointing.  After what you said about him last night, I was really hoping we were going to find some good in him.  But whatever it was that possessed him to return your book last night, it’s not there anymore.”

Honeydew trotted over and gently nuzzled her exhausted friend.  “I vote we just keep our distance from him,” she said.  “Scuffle’s not in very many of our classes.  We can avoid him, can’t we?”

“I guess,” Dinky said.  “I don’t want to spend all my time keeping an eye out for Scuffle, though.  There’s got to be a way to make him stop bothering us.” 

“Uh, sorry to change the topic, Dinky, but maybe you should worry about that later,” Clarity said slowly.  “Weren’t you going to go home to Ponyville today?”

Dinky nodded.  “Yeah, it’s Saturday.  Why?”

“Because the train leaves in fifteen minutes,” Clarity responded.

Dinky blinked.  “But… but I thought I had until nine-thirty!” she sputtered.  “That was what the schedule I had at home said!”

Clarity shook her head.  “You also thought the Academy was in Canterlot, remember?” the grey filly asked.  “The train departs from Canterlot station at nine-thirty, but first it has to get there and give the passengers some time to board or exit, so it has to leave from here at eight-thirty instead.”

Dinky gasped and began prancing in place, panicked.  “Can I still make it to the station on time?” she asked frantically.

“Maybe,” Clarity said, “but you’d better move your tail if you want to have a chance!”

Dinky yanked her suitcase from under her bunk, and within a few seconds, the room had become a flurry of floating objects magically making their way to its interior.  The filly grabbed only the essentials for an overnight stay at home, and shut the suitcase with a loud snap.

“Sorry girls, it looks like we’ll have to continue this discussion later!” she called as she made for the door.  “See you tomorrow night!”

“Bye!” Honeydew called.

“And run, Dinky!  It’s a long way up the path to the train station!” Clarity added.

Dinky raced down the steps of the tower and burst out into the sunlight.  She made her way down the ramp and into the castle, and a few minutes later, emerged onto the front lawn.  She rushed past the ornate hedges, gazing up at the zigzagging pathway leading to the cavern concealing the train station with dread.

It’s gotta be more than a mile to walk all the way up there! she thought.  I’ll never make it in—

Dinky’s thoughts were cut off as she tripped over a loose stone, her already bruised underside falling against the hard path.  Her suitcase, jarred from her magic’s grip, vaulted through the air before hitting the dirt and spilling its contents everywhere.

Dinky gritted her teeth and waited for her chest to stop throbbing, then stood up and began to toss her things back into her suitcase as quickly as she could, knowing full well that her chances of making the train were now virtually nil.

“Hey, d’you need some help?” asked a concerned voice.

Dinky looked up and spotted a white pony with a nearly black mane and soft brown eyes coming toward her.  She recognized the older unicorn immediately; it was Presto, the colts’ overseer.

“That looked like quite a fall,” Presto said as he arrived next to the filly.  “What’s the big hurry?”

“I was trying to get to the train,” Dinky explained, snapping her suitcase shut again.  “It’s leaving in just a few minutes, and I don’t think I’m going to be able to make it now.”

Presto glanced at a clock on one of the castle’s towers.  “Oh jeez, you’re right,” he admitted.  “You’ve got about five minutes.”

He looked at Dinky.  “Want some help?  I can still get you there in time.”

“You can?” Dinky asked.  “How?”

“We’ll teleport,” Presto answered simply.  “You’re a first-term student, so I’m guessing you’ve never teleported before, right?”

Dinky shook her head.

“Well it’s a bit disorienting the first few times, but it’s a lot faster than walking up this whole path,” Presto said.  “Would you like me to take you?”

“That would be nice,” Dinky admitted.  “I did promise my mom I’d be home today, so I need to get to the train somehow.”

Presto nodded.  “Right, I’ll get us up there in a jiffy, then!” he said.  “Just stand still and I’ll do the rest.”

Dinky hardly knew Presto, but he was her last hope of catching the train, so she grabbed her bag and stood next to him.  A faintly brown aura formed on Presto’s horn, spread across his whole body, and then seeped over Dinky as well.  For a few moments, nothing happened, but just as Dinky was about to ask if something was wrong, a bright flash filled her vision.

For a moment, Dinky felt as if the ground was ripped away from beneath her, and her stomach turned as she was filled with the sensation of falling.  Before she could even open her mouth to cry out however, the ground gently met her hooves and the blinding light around her cleared.

A dark passageway was carved into the rock before her, and after a moment, Dinky realized it was the tunnel that housed the train.  She turned around and found herself looking over the railing at the castle far below.

“There.  That saves a little time, doesn’t it?” Presto asked, smiling.

“Y-yeah,” Dinky managed, shaking her head to clear away the lingering sensation.  “Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it!” Presto said.  “Just get down there and get on the train before it leaves.”

Presto lit his horn and disappeared in another flash.  Dinky looked at the path below and watched him reappear an instant later and trot off toward the castle.  Then she took off down the tunnel toward the train.

A minute later, Dinky climbed into the train car, noting that it was much, much emptier than it had been on the way to the academy.  The conductor closed the door behind her a moment later, and the train slowly began its journey away from the school.

Dinky slumped in her seat and uttered an exhausted sigh.  She acknowledged that if Presto hadn’t come to her rescue, she would likely still be scampering up the winding path to the cave at the mountaintop right now.

Presto seems a whole lot friendlier than Sparkler, Dinky realized.  I wonder what it is that makes that filly so uptight?

Dinky settled herself in for the long ride through Canterlot station and back to Ponyville.  The combined weight of her early rising that morning, two hours of enduring Scuffle’s gravity spells, and the desperate dash to the train station all seemed to weigh on her at once, and in just a few minutes she’d fallen asleep.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Ponyville Station!”

Dinky was lucky the conductor’s voice was loud, or she would have missed her stop.  She was startled awake by the announcement that the train had arrived back at her home town.  She quickly grabbed her suitcase and hopped off the train, smiling at the familiar station.

“There she is!”

Dinky heard two sets of hooves knocking rapidly against the floor behind her.  She barely had time to turn around before Twist and Pipsqueak scooped her up in a hug.

“Hi guys,” Dinky laughed.  “It’s only been a couple days, you know.  Did you miss me that much?”

“We’re just excited to see you, that’s all!” Twist said.  “We wanna hear about your first week at your new school!”

“Can she at least say hi to her mother first?” Ditzy Doo asked with amusement as she trotted over to stand next to the three foals.

“Hi, mom!” Dinky greeted, prying herself free from her friends and craning her neck to nuzzle her mother.  “Did you get my letter?”

“I did,” Ditzy said with a laugh.  “The darn thing materialized out of thin air while I was at work.  It startled me a little to be honest.”

“Materialized?” Pipsqueak asked, as his and Twist’s expressions were filled with interest.  “Does that mean you sent it by dragon mail?”

Dinky nodded.  “Yeah, the Academy has its own dragon, and a lot of other neat stuff.  Let’s go to my house and I’ll tell you guys all about it.”

“Before we do that,” Ditzy interjected, “we should probably go see Miss Twilight.  She’s going to be busy with an assignment from the Princess later, and she wants to hear about what you learned during your first week, so I think it would be best if we go talk to her now.”

“Oh, alright,” Dinky agreed.  “Twist, Pip, I’ll talk to you guys tonight at dinner, ok?”

“Aye aye, captain,” said Pipsqueak playfully, holding up a hoof in salute.  “See you a little later.”

Dinky waved to her friends and then hopped on her mother’s back for the quick flight to the Ponyville library.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dinky opened the door and peeked cautiously into the library.  Twilight Sparkle was seated with her back to the door, immersed in a book as usual.  Spike poked her flank with a claw.

“Twilight, we have a guest.”

Twilight turned around, and smiled when she saw her student.  “Hello, Dinky,” she called.  “I see you made it through your first week.  How was it?”

Dinky searched for the right word.  “It was kind of… overwhelming, I suppose,” she admitted.  “I made two new friends and learned plenty of new magic, of course.  It’s just going to take a while to get used to studying there.  It’s a lot more unpredictable than going to school here in Ponyville.”

“I’d imagine so!” Twilight laughed.  “I lived in Canterlot as a filly, and even that seemed a bit dull compared to the Academy.”

She smiled. “So tell me, what did you learn in your first week?”

“Actually, Miss Twilight,” Dinky said, looking at the floor, “can I ask a question before we discuss all that?”

“Sure,” Twilight replied.

Dinky hesitated.  She broke eye contact with Twilight and opted instead to watch Spike fight fruitlessly with the strap of his little pink apron.  “Um… I know you said Bright Spark was the dean when you attended the Academy, and she still is,” she said slowly, “but I was just wondering… what did you think of her?”

Twilight shrugged.  “I never had a problem with her.  She would usually just appear at events and spend the rest of her time holed up in her office.  I wasn’t exactly a filly prone to troublemaking, so I didn’t see her much.”

Twilight furrowed her brow.  “Why do you ask?”

Dinky chewed her lip.  “Um… no reason,” she mumbled.  “She just seems a little, I dunno… strict?”

“Well, she is in charge of discipline,” Twilight pointed out.  “Just stay out of trouble if you don’t want to deal with her.”

Dinky wasn’t sure if she should tell Twilight about what Bright Spark had really said, for fear that Twilight would tell Celestia, who would speak with Bright Spark, who in turn would be even angrier with Dinky.  The filly decided to steer away from the topic.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right, Miss Twilight.  Now, let’s talk about magic.”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dinky and Twilight spent the rest of the afternoon together, discussing all the topics Dinky had covered during her first week and doing a bit of additional practice.  Twilight had been particularly surprised to hear about Nester, but as usual, she was totally trusting of Princess Celestia’s judgement.

The sun was already setting by the time Dinky arrived home.  She pushed open the door and was immediately greeted by a tantalizing smell.

“Hi, honey,” Ditzy greeted.  “Dinner’s almost ready, and your friends are coming by to eat with us.”

Dinky’s mouth watered as she noticed all of her favorite dishes on the stove; if there was one thing even the splendor of the Academy couldn’t outdo, it was Ditzy Doo’s home cooking.  Twist and Pipsqueak arrived a few minutes later, and soon the four ponies were talking about the week as they shared a pot of Ditzy’s vegetable stew.

“So Dinky,” Twist said between mouthfuls, “everypony in Miss Cheerilee’s class misses you.  Class didn’t feel quite the same this week without you.”

“And so Twist and I thought of something,” Pipsqueak continued.  “Maybe you could write letters for the class, and we’ll share them for you!  Then everypony will get to hear about what’s happening at your new school!”

Dinky laughed.  “I’d have to summarize, then.  So much happened to me this week that I could write a whole book about it!”

“I’m sure you’ve got your hooves full adjusting to living at the Academy, too,” Twist guessed.  “Have you made any new friends yet?”

“Two!” Dinky said, beaming.  “One of them is energetic and knows a lot about magic already, and the other is a little shy, but once she warms up, she’s very sweet.”

“Think they’ll ever come to Ponyville to visit?” Pipsqueak asked.

“Yeah, I’d love to meet any friends my little muffin has made,” Ditzy giggled.

Dinky swallowed her food.  “I’m sure they’ll come and visit eventually,” she said.  “Give them some time; they’re getting used to life at the Academy too, you know.”

“That’s true,” Twist said as she finished the last of the meal on her plate.  “Well, come on, Dinky!  Let’s go play for a while!  This is your only day to spend at home, and we can’t waste it!”

“I’ll be right there,” Dinky called as her friends galloped out into the yard.  She used her magic to poke a fork into the last of her meal, and noticed her mother looking at her with a distant expression.  She knew what was on her mom’s mind.

“So, how was your week, mom?” she asked delicately.  “I hope you didn’t worry about me too much…”

Ditzy smiled.  “Oh, I did alright,” she said weakly.  “Breeze helped me calm down when I got a little anxious.”

The pegasus sighed and gave her wings a few thoughtful flaps.  “I’ve been assured that the Academy is a safe place.  It’s just a little unnerving to know that my little filly is so far away for most of the week, but I know it’s what’s best.  I just need to keep reminding myself that you’re… growing up…”

Ditzy sniffled a bit, but her smile remained.  “Just remember, even when you’re halfway across the country, if you need any help, send me a letter and I’ll drop everything to come to you.  The princesses themselves couldn’t keep me away from my Dinky if she needs me.”

Dinky stepped around the table and hugged her mom.  “I know they couldn’t, mom.  That’s why you’re the best mom in Equestria.” 

Ditzy said nothing, opting instead to enjoy the moment.

“Go out and play with your friends,” the mare said finally.  “Don’t worry, I’ll clean up what’s left of dinner.”

Dinky beamed.  “Thanks, mom!  See you in a bit!”

The filly trotted out the front door and scurried over to join Twist and Pipsqueak under the big tree in her yard.

“Your mom is such a good cook,” Pipsqueak remarked, licking his lips.  “My mom’s vegetable stew tastes like gruel.”

Dinky laughed.  “Don’t let her hear you say that, Pip.”

“So whatcha’ wanna play?” Twist asked.  “Did you learn any new games from your friends at the Academy?”

Dinky shook her head.  “We’ve been a little too busy to play games,” she said, “and even if we weren’t, you guys would probably need to be unicorns to play them!”

“Well, that’s out,” Pipsqueak said.  “Wanna just play tag or something?”

“I will if you promise not to tag anypony with a flying tackle,” Dinky giggled.  “I’m still getting over a little injury from school this week.”

Twist and Pip’s expressions became concerned.  “You got hurt?” Twist asked with worry.

“Just a little bruise,” Dinky said.  “I didn’t wanna say this at dinner because I knew it would only make my mom worry, but my new friends and I have had a little trouble with a bully.  He and I got into a little magic duel yesterday—”

“A duel?” Twist asked incredulously.  “Wow, Dinky, it sounds like you’re getting your fair share of excitement at that school.”

Dinky nodded.  “Right now I’m just hoping that bully will leave us alone if we just avoid him.”

Pipsqueak grinned.  “Want me to come up there and teach him a thing or two?” he asked slyly, pretending to feel the muscles in his foreleg.

Dinky snorted.  “Pip, I’m pretty sure he could wreck you even without magic,” she snickered, poking at her friend’s petite frame.  “They don’t call you Pipsqueak for nothing, you know.”

Pipsqueak blushed, but he laughed along with Dinky and Twist.

“Don’t worry, the professors and older students won’t let him do anything really dangerous,” Dinky said.  “He’s just an annoyance right now.”

“Well, you’re the smartest pony I know,” Twist said.  “If you can’t beat him, just outwit him!  I know you can; we outwitted your mom last summer with that whole spy mission with the Cutie Mark Crusaders.  Outsmarting a big dumb colt should be easy.”

Dinky smirked.  “We’ll see about that.  But enough talk about bullies; let’s play before it gets too late.”

“Oh, we’ll play,” Pipsqueak said.  “On one condition.”

He leaned forward and lightly tapped Dinky on the forehead with a hoof.

“You’re it!”

Pipsqueak and Twist took off running, and Dinky gave chase, laughing.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Before Dinky knew it, it was Sunday, and early in the afternoon, she found herself on the way back to the Academy, expecting to arrive just before sunset.

The train hissed and shuddered before stopping in its usual spot in the dark, subterranean station.  Dinky hopped out of the car and followed the rest of the students out of the tunnel.

The sun was on its way down as Dinky made her way down the long, winding path leading back to the castle.  For a moment, she wished she could just teleport past it, like she had done with Presto’s aid just a few days before.  But it was a pleasant evening, and this time, she was in no hurry.

After some time, Dinky and the other students reached the bottom of the ramp and began to trot along the straight path leading to the castle.  Dinky eyed the hedges shaped like alicorns lining the path and realized she hadn’t seen Princess Celestia since the opening ceremony.  For a moment, she wished the princess wasn’t always so busy; if she was around, Bright Spark wouldn’t have to be in charge in her stead.

Suddenly, Dinky’s thoughts were interrupted by a strange sensation.  She stopped walking, looking around curiously.  The other students paid her no more than a glance as they passed by and made their way to the castle.

Dinky trotted off the path a few steps and stared toward the forest at the edge of campus.  For some reason, she found herself gripped with the overwhelming feeling that something was lurking just out of sight, watching her.  It seemed a silly notion; most of the ponies had already retreated into the castle for the night, and the few animals that did live in the forest usually didn’t pay ponies any heed.  Even so, she decided to take a look.  After all, there were still a few minutes before ponies were required to be inside for the night.

The filly crossed the grass and approached the tree line.  The strange sense didn’t go away.

“Hello?” she called.

The spring breeze rustled some leaves, but the forest gave no reply.

Dinky pushed past a few bushes and made her way into the forest.  She shivered as the remaining sunlight was blocked by the cool shade of the trees.

“Hello?” she called again, louder.

Silence was the only answer she received.  Suddenly, Dinky realized why that was so uncanny.  She and her friends had sat at the forest’s edge several times during the past week, and each time, the sounds of birds chirping and insects buzzing had filled the air.  But this evening, there was no sound at all, save for the faint rustle of leaves.

Dinky stood still for a few more seconds before turning to go.  As she wheeled around to face the castle again, she stopped short.

Two pupil-less blue eyes peered from a bush a few pony lengths away.  They met Dinky’s gaze and continued to stare, unblinking.

Professor Chestnut had assured Dinky’s Magical Biology class that there was nothing dangerous living in the Academy forest, so Dinky was more intrigued than worried by the presence watching her.  It made no further move, however.  It simply continued to stare.

“…Hello?” Dinky asked finally.

The eyes flickered and disappeared.  The bush rustled faintly, and Dinky caught a glimpse of something making its way into the forest away from her, but the shroud of branches blocked too much of the remaining light for her to make out what it was.  The shape moved startlingly fast, snaking around the natural obstacles, until it had disappeared from view.

I wonder what that was, Dinky thought to herself.  Maybe I’ll ask Professor Chestnut about it in class this week.

Noticing that the last minutes of daylight were rapidly fading, Dinky decided this was a mystery for another time.  She pushed her way through the bushes and rushed back to the castle.

From far away, a pair of blue, unblinking eyes watched her go.
> Chapter 7
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gradually, the term began to pass.  Over the next several weeks, Dinky and her friends managed to stay mostly out of trouble, and the looming threat of the dean began to fade from Dinky’s mind.

The students’ classes intensified rapidly.  Dinky and Clarity often spent hours practicing their transformation spells, and Dinky found herself turning to Honeydew for aid in Magical Biology more often than she would have liked.  Their hard work paid off though, and all three fillies maintained high grades as mid-term approached.

However, in spite of Dinky’s academic success, life at the Academy continued to have its small problems.  Ever since the duel, Sparkler had kept a particularly close eye on Dinky.  The filly did her best to avoid even the most minor infraction of the rules, ever wary of the overseer’s watchful gaze.

Then there was the matter of Scuffle.  Dinky had become wholly confused on the matter of the colt.  Often when their paths crossed, he seemed eager to confront the trio of fillies, and was usually even more eager to do so when his brothers were around to back him up.  Other times however, he’d pass by Dinky and her friends without a word.  Whether he chose to ignore them or confront them seemed to be based on a set of circumstances that Dinky simply could not comprehend.

One other matter puzzled Dinky as well: what exactly was lurking in the shadows of the forest next to the castle, and why did it seem so interested in her?  Dinky was gripped by the familiar sensation of being watched about once a week.  Sometimes, she’d catch a glimpse of those blue eyes again, but their owner never showed itself.  Students were permitted to wander the forest freely during daylight hours, and Dinky’s friends had been more than happy to join her on brief expeditions into the trees.  Their searches always failed, though.

One afternoon after classes had ended, Dinky and her friends were playing in the pool at the base of the waterfall running down the valley wall when Dinky suddenly felt the all-too-familiar stare coming from the nearby trees.

“That thing is watching us again,” she said dully, not even bothering to glance in the direction of the forest.  “You girls can feel it, right?”

Clarity climbed onto the bank and shook herself violently, flinging water everywhere.  “Yeah, it’s lurking over there again,” she affirmed.  “Just ignore it; it hasn’t caused you any trouble all term. Why would it start now?”

“It’s so strange,” Honeydew added as she wrung out her sopping tail.  “Professor Chestnut has been kind enough to help me with some research, but we haven’t come up with much and she’s never encountered this particular creature herself, so she can’t really help.”

“Come to think of it,” Clarity added, “I’ve been down by the forest loads of times by myself, and I’ve never encountered it.  I’ve even asked a couple other foals about it, including some older students my sister used to know, but none of them have ever seen it either.”

She smirked.  “I think it only shows up when Dinky’s around.”

Dinky rolled her eyes.  “How flattering,” she said sarcastically.  “The creepy forest thing is just stalking me.”

“Well, you are the only one who’s actually seen it,” Honeydew pointed out as she carefully wound the braid back into her tail.  “Every time you bring us with you to look for it, it just goes away before we even make it to the tree line.  I might have a hard time believing it’s there at all, if not for that unsettling feeling when it watches us.”

“It’s not like I’ve ever gotten a good look at the thing,” Dinky said.  “Sometimes it seems to slither away when I get near it, other times it looks more like it’s running, and once it climbed up into the trees.  I don’t know of too many animals that can do all those things, and if I never get close enough to see it in the light, I’ll never be able to figure it out.”

“You have seen its eyes clearly, right?” Clarity asked.

Dinky cast a glance toward the forest, seeing if she could spot the familiar glimmer, but as usual, the creature was well hidden.  “Yeah, its eyes practically glow in the dark,” she responded.  “They’re blue, and they don’t have pupils.  I can’t think of any animal with eyes like that.”

Clarity stiffened.  “Um, are you sure about that?” she asked slowly.  “Now that I think about it, I’m pretty sure we do know a creature like that.  And he happens to be our assistant professor in Transformation class.”

Dinky’s jaw dropped.  “You’re right!” she sputtered.  “Nester’s got eyes like that!  Why didn’t I think of it before?”

“But you told us once that the creature’s eyes were pretty small,” Honeydew added softly.  “I’ve only seen Nester around once or twice, but his eyes seem kind of… not small.”

“He’s a changeling, Honeydew,” Dinky said bluntly.  “He can modify his appearance however he wants.  I don’t think it’d be too difficult for him to shrink himself or something.”

She gasped as another thought occurred to her.  “In fact,” she continued, more loudly as her theory gathered steam, “that would also explain why the thing in the forest seems to move so strangely.  If it was a changeling, it could just change shape to escape in the most efficient way depending on its environment!”

"Don't you think he'd probably change shape to spy on you, then?" Honeydew interjected.

Dinky shrugged.  "He probably doesn't realize I can still see his eyes when he's hidden.  If he did, he'd probably take more care to hide them."

“But… if it is Nester, what interest does he have in you?” Clarity asked.

“I—”

Dinky stopped short and scratched her head.

“That is a very good question.”

Clarity nodded.  “I know it seems like it must be Nester, but he’s been nothing but friendly to us since we met him.  He needs a motive.”

Dinky plopped down on the damp grass and pondered.  “Maybe… maybe he’s just keeping an eye on ponies that worry him,” she theorized.  “He probably knows that I was in Canterlot during the changeling invasion, so he figures that I’m somepony who wouldn’t like him, and he’s watching me to make sure I don’t try to get him fired.”

“That would kind of make sense,” Clarity agreed.  “Nester doesn’t have any other options.  If he gets banished from the Academy, he’ll have nowhere to go.”

“Well, couldn’t he have just talked to me?” Dinky asked crossly.  “This whole stalking thing is getting annoying.”

“You’re getting ahead of yourself,” Clarity warned.  “This is only if it turns out that it’s actually him that’s stalking you."

Dinky blinked.  “What other evidence do you need, Clarity?” she asked, dumbfounded.  “All signs point to Nester!”

Clarity shrugged.  “Beats me.  I’ve just got a gut feeling that Nester’s a good guy.  He wouldn’t do something like this.”

“I’d like to believe that,” Dinky admitted.  “But he is a changeling.  Being bad might be in his nature.”

“Um, girls?” Honeydew interrupted.  “Have you noticed that we’re not being watched anymore?”

Dinky and Clarity looked toward the forest.  The eerie sense of presence had vanished.

“Well, he’s gone for now,” Dinky said finally.  “I guess we should go inside and investigate a little further.  Maybe there’s something in the library about changelings that could help us prove—”

Splash!

A large object hurtled into the pool, creating a wave that washed over the three recently-dried fillies.  Honeydew squeaked in surprise and ducked behind her friends, but the action failed to shield her from the splash.  The girls coughed and sputtered as they shook off the unexpected water.

A colt’s brown face popped up from beneath the water’s surface.  He grinned at the fillies.

“Aww, did you three get wet?” he asked with mock concern.  

“Scuffle!” Dinky shouted.  “What do you think you’re doing?”

“I think I’m deciding to go for a swim,” Scuffle replied, chuckling.  “It’s not my fault you three happened to be sitting in the splash zone.”

Dinky rolled her eyes, causing Scuffle to laugh.

“Cheer up!” he chided.  “You probably needed a bath anyway.  Maybe they should call you Stinky Doo!”

Some loud, obnoxious laughter came from the other side of the pool.  Scuffle’s brothers had arrived.

“Good one, bro!” Scorch called.  “I knew you wouldn’t let her sass you without sassing her right back.”

The brothers took a running leap into the water as well.  Dinky and her friends had the sense to back up before they could cause a splash.

“Beat it, twerps,” Frosty said.  “We’re using the swimming hole now.”

Dinky, in the interest of her own health, had never had the nerve to stand up to Scuffle’s older brothers, but for a moment, she seriously considered doing so.  She glared at the ponies in the pool, but before she could say something, she felt a hoof tap her softly on the shoulder.  Dinky turned around and felt her anger replaced with concern when she saw Honeydew; the filly was shivering and on the verge of tears.

“Please, let’s just go,” Honeydew whispered.  “We can’t really do anything, and I just don’t want any more conflict…”

“Hey!” Scorch called.  “You heard Frosty!  Get going!”

“Come on,” Dinky said to Clarity, unable to ignore Honeydew’s plea for escape.  “Let’s back off.”

“We were done anyway…” Clarity grumbled as the fillies headed for the castle.

After they had gone a few steps, Dinky glanced back and locked eyes with Scuffle for a moment.  The colt wore a strange, complex expression.  After a few seconds, he turned away and swam over to join his brothers.  Dinky watched for a moment more, and then went with her friends to dry herself off for the second time in the last few minutes.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Problems like Scuffle or the strange creature watching Dinky often seemed to blend into the background very quickly as academics once again took the fillies’ full attention, and this week was no exception.  On one cloudy Wednesday morning, Dinky found herself studying rigorously for an upcoming exam in Basic Enchantments class.

Enchantments had quickly become Dinky’s favorite subject.  She wasn’t any more skilled at casting enchantments as she was with any other spell, but the very nature of the subject and the potential of what could be accomplished with the associated magic filled her with a sense of excitement that most of the other subjects couldn’t quite match.

Although she’d read it many times, Dinky opened her textbook to the first section for one final review.

Lesson One: What is an Enchantment?

Enchantment is a field of magic that is all too often ignored or forgotten in favor of bigger, flashier, and more powerful spells.  In truth, enchantments are one of the most essential parts of modern unicorn life, even if we don’t always realize it.

In simplest terms, an enchantment is a spell that can be stored in a physical object, giving that object long-term magical properties.  It’s possible to place an enchantment on any object, from the smallest stone to the largest building, although certain structures are capable of holding more powerful or reliable enchantments than others.  It’s even possible to enchant oneself, or another pony, for a short time, but this requires a great deal of power and skill.

It may not be immediately clear what benefit can be gained from placing a long-term spell on an object.  Enchantments are a sort of miscellaneous field; spells that have various effects that don’t fit into any other category of magic are common.  For example, let’s say it’s a brisk winter day and all you have is an old scarf to protect you from the cold.  With a very simple enchantment, the scarf can be made to give off magical warmth, so you can tackle the chilly day comfortably.

Enchantments can generate energy, provide strength to objects, send messages or signals, and even temporarily heighten natural senses or abilities. New uses for these spells are discovered on a regular basis, making it one of the broadest fields of magic.  

For the next few chapters, we will focus on—

“Hey, Dinky,” Clarity interrupted, calling down from up on her bunk, where she too was studying.  “Which gem is better for holding a strong enchantment: a ruby, or an emerald?”

“A ruby, I think,” Dinky answered, “because the structure of harder gemstones is more favorable for holding the magic, right?”

Clarity nodded and buried her nose in her book again.

One of the very first things the Enchantments professor had taught their class was that gemstones were by far the most useful objects for containing an enchantment, due to their highly uniform crystal structure.  What followed was a long-winded lecture about the magic accommodation capacities of various molecular structures, most of which Dinky hadn’t committed to memory.

Dinky enjoyed working with gems during their class’s practice sessions.  Their capacity for becoming imbued with magic was immediately apparent; the first time Dinky had directed an enchantment at one, it had felt a bit like the stone had actually tugged the magic away from her horn and into itself.

As interesting as Enchantments was, it still required a lot of practice and careful memorization.  Dinky couldn’t say that she wasn’t at least a little worried about the upcoming exam.

“Looks like it’s almost time for class,” Clarity announced.  “Come on, girls, we have an exam to ace.”

As usual, Clarity showed no sign of being anything but optimistic, even though Dinky suspected that in truth the grey filly was feeling more nervous than she was.  Dinky and Honeydew hopped up and followed their friend to the castle.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

There was total silence save for the scratching of quills, and even that was muffled by the thickly carpeted floor and curtain-padded walls of the Enchantments classroom.

Dinky examined her test carefully.  Something seemed to be amiss; the test contained only a hoofful of questions, most of which were very simple.  In its current form, it couldn’t possibly take more than a small fraction of the class period.

Dinky looked up curiously, and her confused gaze met the eyes of Professor Luster, the mare who taught all the Enchantments classes at the Academy, from the most basic to the most advanced.

Professor Luster was one of the youngest professors at the Academy.  So much so in fact, that more than a few of the fourth and fifth term students evidently had a bit of a crush on her.  She was, by any standard, an extremely beautiful pony, with a whitish coat tinted with faint pink, and a perfectly groomed, silky, hot pink mane with a bold streak of yellow running through it.

Despite her age and appearance, Professor Luster was no pushover.  Apparently, she was responsible for the discovery of over fifty new enchantments in the few short years since she herself had graduated from the Academy.

Professor Luster noticed Dinky’s concerned look and trotted quietly over.  “Everything alright, Dinky?” she asked in a hushed tone.

“I… don’t know,” Dinky replied.  “Is the test supposed to be this… short?”

Professor Luster winked.  “We’re doing a little something special today,” she replied.  “I had to shorten the test so we’d have time for it.  I don’t think anypony is going to mind.”

Dinky glanced around, and sure enough, the rest of the class seemed to be breathing a collective sigh of relief as they realized how short and simple the dreaded examination really was.  Dinky hurriedly filled in the last few answers and then lifted the paper in her aura and placed it in the box on the professor’s desk.  The remaining students finished within a few minutes.

Professor Luster scanned the room and flicked her tail in satisfaction.  “Good, that didn’t take long at all,” she said.  “As you’ve all probably guessed, the test was originally going to be much longer, but I was presented with a unique opportunity yesterday and decided that is was just too good not to share with you all.  So consider it a little favor for being such a great class so far.”

Royal blue magic surrounded the professor’s horn, and she lifted a huge sack up from behind her desk and placed it on the floor in front of the students.  The contents clattered together loudly.

“As it turns out, the Academy’s mail dragon is a bit ill right now,” the professor explained.  “He’s lost his appetite, and so he was kind enough to donate his daily allowance of gemstones to the Enchantments department, since he isn’t planning to eat them anyway.”

A filly in the front row raised her hoof.  “But you’ve been providing gems for us to use in class almost every day,” she pointed out.  “How is this any different?”

“I’m glad you asked,” said Professor Luster.  “Gemstones are common in Equestria, but ones of high quality and useful shape are fairly hard to come by.  The ones we practice on in class aren’t exactly the best.  They’re softer stones, like quartz, or if we’re lucky, garnet.  On the rare occasion that we have harder stones available, they’re usually just irregular shards, with shapes that don’t favor particularly strong enchantments.  And when we do get very high quality stones, they’re usually kept aside for use by the Advanced Enchantment classes rather than you all.”

She gestured to the sack.  “Dragons on the other hoof need harder gems to promote good health, so Twinkletoes often has some very nice gems in his collection.  And today, we have a bag full of them.  In fact, there are so many that even the Basic Enchantments classes can use them, and there will still be enough left over for the advanced classes to use them later.”

Professor Luster loosened the string on the bag and displayed the gems within.  A few hundred vibrant stones in many colors all cut into beautiful shapes glimmered inside.  Excited whispers spread throughout the class.

“So, here’s what I’m thinking,” the professor said slowly, grinning at the students’ reactions.  “Each of you can come up and choose a stone.  Some are better than others, so I’m not going to let you look at what you’re choosing. Whatever you pull out of the bag, you get to keep.  But even the softest stones in here are harder than the ones we usually use in class, so any choice is a good one.”

“Which enchantment are we going to practice on them?” one colt asked.

“I was getting to that,” Professor Luster continued.  “It seemed like a waste to use a special opportunity like this on just a simple practice session.  In the back of your textbook, there is a large section detailing a number of easy-to-intermediate enchantments.  All of them have effects that are convenient in some way, so the typical way to use them is to seal them in jewelry, like we often do.  Each of you can pick any enchantment you want, and we’ll spend the rest of the class today enchanting the stones and then making them into pendants or other accessories.  And you can keep what you make, of course!”

The excited whispers in the class erupted into full conversation as the foals immediately began discussing what they were going to make.

“Alright, settle down!” Professor Luster called over the noise.  Before we do anything, you each need to pick out a gem.  Line up, and don’t worry, there are plenty to go around!”

Many of the students stampeded to the front of the room.  Dinky trotted over to Clarity and Honeydew, who both looked as excited as she felt.

“I can’t believe this!” Clarity gushed.  “Professor Luster doesn’t even let us keep the practice stones, and now we get to make our very own high-quality enchanted jewelry?  It’s a terrible thing to say, but I sorta wish ol’ Twinkletoes would get sick more often!”

Honeydew giggled.  “On another topic, do either of you girls know what kind of enchantment you’re going to use yet?”

Dinky shrugged.  “I think I’m going to look through the textbook before I decide,” she admitted.

“Girls!” called Professor Luster sweetly.  “You’re up next!”

Dinky and her friends approached the bag.  The fillies looked at one another, silently asking which would go first.

“Go ahead, Clarity,” Dinky said.  “You pick first.”

Professor Luster held the bag open and Clarity stuck a hoof inside and fished around for the right gem.  She pulled out a pinkish-purple stone cut into a circle.

“What’s this?” she asked.  “It’s a little too pink to be amethyst, I think…”

“That, Clarity, is a topaz,” Professor Luster declared.  “The most common ones are light blue, but they come in a variety of colors.  Well, to compare it to something more easily recognizable, it’s a little harder than an emerald,” the professor answered.  “You should be able to give it a pretty strong magical effect.”

Clarity grinned as she cradled the stone in her hoof, before stepping aside to allow Honeydew to choose.  The pink filly reached into the bag and withdrew it almost immediately, holding a peculiar object.  The stone she had chosen wasn’t cut into an ornate, faceted pattern at all, nor was it semi-transparent or vibrantly colored.  It looked a bit like an egg shaped rock, a few centimeters long and dull blue in color, with six whitish lines radiating out from a central point on the oval.

Honeydew looked disappointed.  “Is this even a gem?” she asked forlornly.  “It looks like a smooth rock.”

Professor Luster, however, had the opposite reaction.  Her eyes lit up when she saw what Honeydew was holding.

“Don’t judge a book by its cover, Honeydew,” the professor said.  “What you’ve got there is a star sapphire.  Not much to look at maybe, but the internal structure is every bit as good as that of the kind of sapphire you’re more familiar with.  It’s one of the hardest gems there is, and despite its appearance, you could put just about any kind of enchantment on that and get marvelous results.”

“Oh.” Honeydew blushed a bit and backed away, examining her humble-looking gem with newfound admiration.

“And now it’s your turn, Dinky,” Professor Luster said, beckoning to the filly.  “Let’s see what you get.”

Dinky cautiously reached into the sack.  She felt dozens of stones, but it was impossible to tell their variety without seeing them.  She felt around for a few moments before making her selection.

Dinky lifted the gem out of the darkness of the sack.  The stone in her hoof was totally clear, and reflected the light, refracting it into many colors.  The filly stared at it, hardly daring to believe her eyes, before attempting to speak.

“Is… is this a…?”

Professor Luster nodded.  “You’re very lucky,” she admitted.  “That’s a diamond.  There’s only two or three of those in this whole bag.  And in its pure form, it’s the most readily enchantable substance in Equestria.”

Dinky still had trouble finding her voice.

“I… do I… really get to keep this?”

“That was the deal,” Professor Luster answered, smiling.  “Why don’t you girls head over to one of the work tables and pick out some enchantments for those impressive gems of yours.” 

Dinky nodded vaguely and wandered over to a table, still looking at the diamond in shock.  Clarity and Honeydew sat down on either side of her.

Clarity waved a hoof in front of Dinky’s face.  “Equestria to Dinky,” she called.  “Let’s get started.  I know that diamond is cool but it’s just a shiny rock if you don’t figure out how to enchant it.”

Dinky smiled.  “You have a point.  Where’re the textbooks?”

Clarity slid the three large books across the table, and each filly began to page through, searching for the perfect spell.  Around the room, other students began choosing a spell and enchanting their stones, but Dinky and her friends were finding it difficult to decide on the right spells.

“It can’t be just anything,” Clarity said, throwing her front hooves up for emphasis.  “This is probably the only enchanted object we’ll get to keep all term!  We have to choose the one spell that we want to take with us wherever we go.”

The grey filly turned another page, and slammed her hoof down on the book excitedly.  

“Like this one!  This one’s perfect!”

Dinky leaned over to look at the page in Clarity’s book.

Pony Compass Charm:

Enchantment that allows the wearer of the enchanted object to find their way to the location of a specific pony or ponies, the identities of whom are specified when the enchantment is first set.

“Isn’t that cool?” Clarity asked.  “I could enchant it so that it leads me to you girls if I need to find you.”

“How do you specify that we’re the ponies you want to find, though?” Dinky asked.

“You each just need to put a hoof on the gem while I enchant it,” Clarity explained.  “It’s small enough that only two ponies would be able to touch it at once anyway.”

Clarity set the gem on the tabletop between her two friends, then placed her forehooves behind it and leaned forward, swishing her tail expectantly.  “Well come on, let’s try it!” she urged.

Dinky grinned and placed her hoof on the topaz, and Honeydew followed suit.  Clarity’s deep red magic enveloped her horn as she concentrated.

There was a loud crackle of energy, and Dinky jumped and pulled her hoof back as a sensation akin to an electrical shock ran up her foreleg.  Honeydew did the same, looking at the gem with apprehension as it briefly pulsed with reddish light.

Clarity grinned sheepishly.  “Whoops,” she mumbled.  “The last paragraph says that the ponies touching the gem will feel a shock when their body signatures are locked in.  I guess I should have read that before.”

Dinky sighed and shook her head, chuckling.  “No harm done, I guess,” she replied.  “That was just a little unexpected.”

“Now I guess it’s my turn,” Honeydew chimed in.  “I think I found the spell I want.”

She pointed to a page in her textbook.

Inconspicuous spell:

Makes the wearer of the enchanted object particularly unnoticeable.  The wearer can still be seen, but others are likely to pay little to no attention to the wearer unless they catch another’s attention by speaking directly to them.  The charm is not terribly powerful and the pony affected by it can often be sensed either through certain spells or just by pure perception of particularly alert individuals, unicorn or otherwise. 

Dinky scrunched up her nose.  “Honeydew, why would you want that?” she asked, concerned.

“Well, I thought, uh…” Honeydew shuffled a hoof on the floor shyly.  “I thought maybe I wouldn’t have to worry about Scuffle anymore.  If he doesn’t notice me, he can’t bother me.”

“But it’s not worth it!” Dinky argued.  “Would you really hide yourself from everypony, just to make sure that one in particular leaves you alone?  Even we probably wouldn’t be able to acknowledge you unless you came and talked to us!”

“Well, I’d make sure to come and find you every time we were together and let you know I was there,” Honeydew countered, somewhat meekly.  “Or, you know, take off the enchanted jewelry when I’m around you girls…”

“It’s still a bad idea, Honeydew,” Clarity added.  “I know you have trouble getting used to new ponies sometimes, but you’ll never be able to boost your confidence if you avoid your worries by just slipping into the background and letting the world pass by.”

Honeydew sighed.  “I suppose you’re right,” she conceded.  “I guess I really don’t want to slip away from everypony else entirely.  I just wish I could disappear when Scuffle was around.”

Clarity patted Honeydew on the back.  “We’ll figure out how to deal with him eventually,” she reassured her shy friend.  “I promise.  Now, let’s pick an enchantment that will suit you better.”

Honeydew bit her lip.  “You girls don’t think there are any spells in here that I could use for Magical Biology related things, do you?”

“I saw one!” Dinky realized.  “It’s just a couple pages ahead of where you are now, I think.”

Honeydew flipped through the next few pages until she found the spell Dinky had mentioned.

Life Empathy Charm:

Provides the wearer with an increased ability to sense and share in the feelings of plants and animals.  Requires prior knowledge of the skill in order to be properly amplified.  Works for unicorns.  Remains empirically untested in other pony races, but claims have been made that it has an effect.

“I’m already really good at sensing the feelings of the plants, though,” Honeydew pointed out.

“But this applies to plants and animals!” Clarity said.  “Have you ever tried tapping into their consciousness, like you do with the plants?”

“Once or twice,” Honeydew said.  “It’s very difficult, though.  Animals have much more concrete and complicated patterns of thought.  Sharing in everything they feel at once is much harder than sharing the sensations of a plant.”

“Well, maybe this charm can help,” Dinky suggested.  “It says you already need to have the ability before it can amplify it, but if anypony in this class might be able to benefit from a spell like that, it’s you!”

“I… guess it could be useful,” Honeydew said.  “Should I give it a try?”

Her friends nodded.  Honeydew set her sapphire on the table and surrounded it with her aura.  She glanced at the book one more time and squeezed her eyes shut as she applied the spell.  The gem flashed a brilliant shade of blue for a moment, before rapidly fading back to its original dull color.

“I hope that worked,” Honeydew said, examining the stone as if she expected it to look different.

“Why wouldn’t it have?” Dinky asked.  “These are easy spells.  Once you attach that to a piece of jewelry, you can test it out.”

Honeydew nodded.  “Well, then that just leaves you, Dinky.  What enchantment are you going to use?”

“Well… I found one,” Dinky said.  “It’s not as exciting as the ones you girls used, but it’s important to me.”

Dinky opened her textbook to a specific page, and Clarity and Honeydew leaned over to read.

Long Distance Bond:

Allows two ponies who are socially close to one another but separated by a long physical distance to maintain a simple bond.  (Requires two enchanted objects.) Enchanted gem will glow faintly and emit warmth when the wearer of one gem thinks about the owner of the other.  Requires both ponies to be wearing the enchanted objects simultaneously.

“My friend Pipsqueak back in Ponyville has only just moved there from Trottingham in the last year or so, and I’m one of his closest friends,” Dinky explained.  “He’s happy that I get to attend the Academy, but I miss him a little while I’m away, and he misses me even more, since he doesn’t have very many friends in Ponyville to pass the time with.  I figure if we each have something enchanted with this spell, it won’t quite feel like we’re really so far apart.”

“Aww,” Honeydew cooed.  “Exciting or not, that’s really sweet,” she commented.

“There’s just one problem,” Clarity interjected.  “You need to make two enchanted items, but you only have one gem.”

Dinky nodded.  “I wonder if the charm works with two different gems.  Maybe Professor Luster can give me another one.”

“Did I hear my name?” asked Professor Luster as she trotted over to Dinky’s table.

“I have a… small question,” said Dinky hesitantly.  “I was thinking of casting this Long Distance Bond spell, but it needs two stones.  Could I maybe get a less powerful stone to use for the second piece?”

Professor Luster frowned.  “Ooh, Dinky, I’m not sure this spell would work very well if the enchanted items aren’t identical…”

She brightened.  “But… if we could split the gem you have into two halves very cleanly, it’d still maintain its high-quality spell containment ability!”

It was Dinky’s turn to frown.  “But isn’t a diamond the hardest stone there is?” she asked quizzically.  “Even if we could break it, I doubt we could do it without it just breaking into two jagged chunks.”

“Well, I can’t break it,” Professor Luster admitted.  “But if I take it upstairs to the Combat Magic professor, he might be able to.  I’ve seen him use a spell that cleaved an entire boulder cleanly in half.  I don’t think even a diamond would be a match for him.”

The professor lifted Dinky’s diamond and placed it in her saddlebag.  “I’ll bring the halves of this back to you this evening in the fillies’ residence tower.  You can spend the rest of the class period helping your friends attach their gems to some accessories, and you can grab the one that you’ll embed your gems in later.  You can enchant them once I give them back later tonight.”

“That sounds fine,” Dinky said.  “Thanks for going out of your way to help, Professor.”

Professor Luster flipped her mane and chuckled.  “It’s no trouble.  Not for a student as dedicated as you are, anyway.”

Professor Luster ambled off to check on the other foals, leaving Dinky and her friends to choose their accessories.

Clarity pursed her lips as she examined her gemstone.  “What do you think I should make with this?” she asked.  “I’m not really a fan of bracelets, and a necklace or something seems unnecessary, since I don’t really need to see it to use its magic…”

Honeydew reached over and gingerly lifted a lock of Clarity’s messy, sky blue mane.  “Well, if I were you, I’d put it on a hair clip,” the pink filly giggled.

A ridiculous grin spread across Clarity’s face.  “Honeydew, that’s an awesome idea!” she yelled, startling her friend a bit.  “Are you going to make a hair clip too?  You always have your mane done up all fancy anyway.”

Honeydew shook her head.  “Nah, if I put it in my mane, you probably wouldn’t be able to see it.  But I know somewhere where it’ll look nice.”

Honeydew sat down and pulled the tip of her braided tail around to the front of her body.  A small metal band was fastened near the bottom, holding the tail’s intricate woven pattern in place, save for the tufted tip that stuck out from the other side of the fastener.

Honeydew removed the band, causing her tail to partially unwind.  She fixed the small, rounded stone to it, and then, after carefully winding her tail back into position, slipped it back on.  She gave her tail a few curious flicks, and nodded happily when the stone stayed in place.

“Feel any different?” Dinky asked.

Honeydew shook her head.

“Don’t worry, it’ll work when you need it,” Clarity assured her as she returned with a gold barrette she’d retrieved from the pile of accessories Professor Luster had placed on a table at the back of the room for the students to use.  “Now, let’s see… how does this work?”

Clarity managed to fasten a hook to the back of her topaz that allowed it to connect to her hair clip.  She pushed back the dangling hair on her right side and clipped it back with her new accessory, giving her an adorably lopsided appearance.

While Clarity and Honeydew chattered excitedly about their newly enchanted accessories, Dinky made her way over to the box of unclaimed ones.

“Let’s see,” she mumbled, pushing aside more hair clips and other girly objects.  “I need something that Pip would be willing to wear…”

At the bottom of the container, Dinky found two very simple brass pendants, each with a space in it to place a gem.  Smiling, she placed both of them in her saddlebag for later.

I hope Pip will be as excited about these as I am! Dinky thought.  I’d hate to have to split that diamond for no reason.

She shook her head.  What am I thinking?  Pipsqueak’s gonna love these.

Reassured, the filly rejoined her friends.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The light orb in the room at the base of the residence tower cast wavering light over Dinky as the filly slowly toiled away on an essay, glancing at the door every few moments in hopes that Professor Luster would appear.  The chamber at the base of the tower was abandoned; at this late hour, all the students had either retired to their dorms to spend the remainder of the evening studying, or were next door in the residence tower lounge.  Sparkler wasn’t even in her room, although Dinky wasn’t particularly upset that the grouchy overseer wasn’t around.

Dinky listened to the muffled chatter of the foals next door in the lounge.  Clarity’s voice, as usual, was loud enough to make out, even over the rest of the noise.  She longed to go join her friends, but she was determined to keep waiting for—

“Hello, Dinky.”

Dinky turned to the door.  “Professor Luster!  I didn’t hear you come in.”

“I was trying to be quiet in case ponies were studying in here,” the professor explained.  “Although from the sound of things next door, it seems like you’re the only one studying right now.”

“I was just working on something while I waited for you,” Dinky admitted.  “Was the Combat Magic professor able to cut the diamond?”

Professor Luster responded by lighting her horn, and two half-moon shaped diamonds rose out of her saddlebag.  She placed them in Dinky’s hoof.

“Now you take good care of those,” she warned.  “It’s hard for some professionals to get a hold of diamonds for enchantment purposes.  For a first-term student to get them is basically unheard of.”

“I’ll keep them safe!” Dinky assured her.  “And my friends and I will let you know if our enchantments worked when we see you in class next week.”

“I’ll be looking forward to it,” the professor said as she opened the door.  “Have a pleasant evening, Dinky.”

Professor Luster trotted out, and Dinky turned to go find her friends, but stopped and listened curiously when she heard another set of voices approaching just outside the building.

“Presto, I’ve told you a thousand times, if you give them too much free reign, there’s going to be chaos.”

“Come on, Sparkler, lighten up.  This is a magic academy, not a military school.  I’m all for rules, but sometimes there are things we don’t need to regulate.”

The overseers are talking? Dinky thought curiously.  It seems like those two are usually too busy with their responsibilities to collaborate very much.

Dinky opened the tower door just a crack and peered curiously out.  The two older students were standing on the landing just a few pony-lengths from the door.

Presto looked worn from the day’s work, but the colt still managed to crack a smile.  “I just think maybe you’re putting a little too much pressure on yourself and the fillies you’re looking after this year, that’s all,” he said, maintaining a tone that sounded helpful rather than critical.

Sparkler remained stoic.  “I’m trying to make sure the students receive the experience they’re here for.  Drama between students is never a good thing for promoting study.”

Presto shuffled his hooves.  “Well, whatever.  I know you have your reasons for being a little… steadfast in your ways.  And I respect that.  Just try not to go too overboard, okay?”

He extended a hoof.  “I’m just trying to make sure you don’t stress yourself out too much.  I mean, you and I are friends, aren’t we?”

Sparkler stood still for a few moments.  Then, to Dinky’s great surprise, she seemed to soften a little.  She shook Presto’s outstretched hoof and gave a small smile of her own.

“Yeah, I suppose you always have been looking out for me,” she admitted.

“And you for me, I’m sure,” Presto replied.

For a moment, the two ponies stood in silence.  Then Sparkler turned to go.

“Wait, Sparkler, hold on a second.”

The filly turned around.  She said nothing, so Presto continued.

“I was thinkin’ about going down to Canterlot this weekend to… pick up some stuff.  D’you, uh… wanna come along?”

Sparkler’s face remained rigid, but something in her eyes seemed to reflect more than what her expression showed.  After a few moments, she sighed and shook her head.

“I’ve got too much to do.  You go.”

Presto visibly deflated.  “Right,” he mumbled.  “Can’t blame a colt for trying, I guess.”

He turned toward the colts’ tower.  “Have a good night, Sparkler.”

Sparkler wheeled around and made for her own door.  Dinky gasped and scampered backwards, throwing herself back onto the couch where she had been studying so it wouldn’t look like she’d been spying.  She only just managed to spread her essay in front of her when the overseer entered.  Her purple eyes met Dinky’s bright yellow ones.

“What are you looking at?” the older filly asked coldly.

“Nothing!” Dinky chirped, as innocently as possible.  “Just doing a little homework!”

Sparkler wordlessly made her way to her private dorm, slamming the door and leaving Dinky alone to ponder what she’d just overheard.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Found you!”

Clarity poked her head into the small opening beneath an outcropping of rocks into which Dinky had wedged herself.

“And in record time, too,” Dinky grunted as she struggled to squeeze herself out of the tiny space.  “It took you less than a minute, and considering how far away you started from, you must have come straight here.”

Clarity beamed.  “This is so much fun!  Let’s test it again!”

Dinky rolled her eyes.  “It doesn’t need any more testing, Clarity,” she pointed out.  “You’ve already proven half a dozen times that you can find me immediately no matter where I hide as long as you have that enchanted barrette on.”

Clarity positively glowed with glee as she tapped the little gem-adorned hair clip.  “Come on, just one more?” she pleaded, giving Dinky the best puppy dog eyes and quivering lip she could muster.

Dinky sighed.  “Oh, fine,” she grumbled, her tail drooping in defeat.  “But then we’re done, alright?” 

“’Atta girl!” Clarity cheered.  “Go on, go hide again!”

Clarity covered her eyes, and Dinky took off toward another part of the grounds, trying (in vain, she knew) to find a hiding spot good enough to outsmart Clarity’s enchanted barrette.  She decided this time to make her way into the forest, where she hunkered down beneath a patch of wide ferns and waited.

After a moment of hiding, something caught the filly’s attention; the forest had once again fallen eerily silent, and when that happened, there was usually only one explanation.  Before she could investigate though, the stillness was broken by the sound of hooves crashing through the brush, and a moment later, a layer of reddish magic surrounded the ferns and lifted them away.

“Gotcha!” Clarity giggled.  “Man, this enchantment is really—”

Dinky pressed a hoof to Clarity’s muzzle, silencing her.  “Listen,” she whispered.  “What do you hear?”

The fillies listened, but the forest gave no sound.

“…Nothing?”  Clarity mumbled, confused.

“Exactly.  It’s too quiet.  And that means—”

A bush a short distance away shifted just the tiniest bit.  A fleeting glint of blue flashed by in the shadows beneath the leaves.

“There you are!” Dinky roared, hurling herself headlong toward the bush. “You’re not getting away this time!”

There was a frenzied rustle.  The creature darted from the bush and scurried deeper into the forest in its usual strangely ambiguous way.  Dinky crashed through the bushes, ignoring the cuts and scrapes she received in an effort to keep up with it.

Something gave a high-pitched yelp, and the creature stumbled.  It paused for just a moment, realized Dinky was catching up, and leapt into the trees, disappearing almost instantly into the boughs.

Dinky skidded to a halt at the bare patch of ground where her target had stumbled.  While the creature itself was gone, something else remained.

A bright orange fox was lying in the dirt.  It was struggling, unable to get up.  Dinky assumed the creature she was pursuing had managed to trip over and injure the poor thing before it fled into the trees.

Clarity pushed her way through the bushes, panting, and came to stand by Dinky’s side.  “I take it you didn’t catch him?” she asked.

Dinky shook her head.  “Nah, but look at this.  I think he accidentally hurt this fox as he was running.”

“D’you think Honeydew can help?” Clarity asked.  “I don’t know the first thing about animals, but Honeydew might be able to figure out what’s wrong with it, at least.”

“I haven’t seen Honeydew all day,” Dinky replied.  “Do you know where she is?”

Clarity looked pensive for the tiniest moment.  “In the castle library, second story, by that table in the corner,” she said matter-of-factly.

“Did your barrette tell you that?”

“Yep.”

“You’re having entirely too much fun with that thing.”

“Can’t argue with that!”

Clarity began to make her way out of the trees.  “Stay here,” she commanded.  “I’ll bring Honeydew to see if she can help.”

Dinky slumped down onto her haunches and looked at the fox, which continued to eye her warily.

“I guess we both have a bone to pick with that changeling.  Or… whatever it is,” she said to the fox.  “But boy, it’s fast, isn’t it?”

The fox responded with a low snarl.

A few minutes later Clarity reappeared, and Honeydew trotted along close behind her.

“Hi, Honeydew,” Dinky greeted.  “Think you can help us out?”

Honeydew bit her lip.  “Professor Chestnut and I have talked about animals a little bit,” she said nervously, “but I haven’t even learned anything about normal animal care yet, let alone spells for it.”

“You don’t have to use a healing spell or anything,” Dinky said.  “Just use that sensory spell you’re so good at to see if you can figure out the problem.”

Honeydew shrugged.  “Well, alright…”

Honeydew lit her horn and closed her eyes, exactly as she did when trying to connect with a plant.  After only a second or two, she gave a surprised squeak and lurched backward, quickly shutting off the spell.

“It’s, uh, his leg,” she said absently.  “I felt it myself.  A lot more clearly than I was expecting to, actually.”

Clarity grabbed the tip of Honeydew’s tail with her magic and waved it in the air, displaying the enchanted tail ring Honeydew had made the day before.  “I’m guessing this had something to do with that,” she snickered.  “If your enchantment works anywhere near as well as mine does, then I’m not really surprised.”

Honeydew blushed.  “I kinda forgot I was wearing that…”

“So what’s wrong with the fox’s leg?” Dinky asked.

“Well, I don’t think it’s broken, just sprained or something,” Honeydew admitted.  “I’m no expert, but maybe if you just, uh… braced it with something to keep it straight he’d be able to walk on it.”

Dinky set down her saddlebag and searched for something she could use to help the fox.  She removed a thin scarf, and then retrieved a short, straight stick from the forest floor.  

"I can probably make a splint or something with this," she suggested.  "Make sure the fox cooperates."

Clarity nodded, and after giving the fox an apologetic glance, lifted it into the air in a cloud of magic.  The animal yelped in surprise and looked at the fillies nervously.  Gingerly, Dinky reached out and extended the fox’s leg.  It gave a low growl, but continued to stay still.  Dinky placed the stick against its leg and wrapped it with the scarf, creating a makeshift splint.

The filly backed off a few paces as Clarity set the fox down, and it shifted on the ground before delicately testing its leg.  It managed to stand and limp a few paces.

“There you go!” Dinky said.  “That should serve until your leg feels better.”

The fillies all peered at the fox curiously as it ambled in a few small circles, adjusting to the new way it had to walk.  It looked at the splint, and then at Dinky, with a less hostile expression than it had worn before.

And then, in one quick movement, it snatched a bright object that had been dangling partially out of Dinky's saddlebag, and disappeared into an opening between the roots of an enormous tree.  Dinky only just managed to catch sight of the object in its jaws: one of her pendants, with the diamond still awaiting enchantment embedded inside.

“Hey!” Dinky cried indignantly as the fox’s bushy tail disappeared into the darkness.  “You ungrateful little pest!  That’s important!  Give it back!”

Dinky cantered up to the tree and pawed at the roots, but they were far too massive to budge with any force the filly could apply.  She tried to pull them up magically, but that failed just as spectacularly.

Angry, Dinky shoved her muzzle into the tiny space, but she couldn’t even push her head through the opening, let alone her entire body.  She sank to the ground, peering into the hole, but there was no sign of the fox.  However, there was something else intriguing.

“It looks like there’s a pretty large space down here,” she mumbled to her friends as she struggled to see deeper into the darkness.

“What do you mean?” Clarity asked.  “Is it some kind of hollow beneath the tree?”

“I think so,” Dinky said.  “It looks big enough for a filly to stand in, if only we could get past the roots…”

Honeydew cleared her throat.  “Dinky, I can probably help with that,” she said meekly.

Dinky stepped aside.  “Go right ahead,” she invited.  “One of my diamonds was in that pendant.  I have to get it back somehow.”

Honeydew stepped up to the base of the tree and once again lit her horn.  For several moments, nothing happened.

Honeydew began to strain.  “Come on…” she groaned, “Just move a little bit.  Your roots can still hold…”

Clarity raised an eyebrow.  “What is she doing?” she asked.

“Talking to the tree,” Dinky said simply.

All at once, a root lurched, causing an upheaval of dirt as it moved to a new position.  The other root did the same a moment later, creating a tiny passageway between them just wide enough for a filly to squeeze through.

Honeydew paused, panting hard.  “That should do it, I think,” she gasped.  “That tree is very old, and I don’t think it was too keen on moving from the position it’s been in for the last few generations, but eventually it was willing to listen to me.”

Clarity placed a hoof on Honeydew’s back.  “That was really impressive, you know,” she commented.

Honeydew waved away the compliment.  “Come on, let’s go get Dinky’s pendant,” she said.

Clarity and Honeydew moved out of the way so Dinky could pass.  The purple filly cast an illumination spell and carefully descended the steep dirt pathway into the space beneath the tree.

The chamber she found was even wider than she anticipated.  It was roughly circular and almost as spacious as the dormitory the three fillies shared.  The tightly packed soil ceiling was only a few inches above their heads, and dozens of roots of various sizes crisscrossed through it.

Near the back of the room was the troublesome fox, who once again eyed the fillies with suspicion.  Without even approaching the animal, Dinky cast a levitation spell, and her pendant flew across the room and back into her saddlebag.  The fox didn’t do anything to object.

“Look at him, he doesn’t even care.  He just wanted to be trouble.” Dinky said indignantly.

“Maybe he’s hungry,” Honeydew suggested.  “Once he figured out your pendant wasn’t food, he probably stopped caring about it.”

Honeydew took a few crackers from her saddlebag and tossed them across the room.  The fox took a cautious sniff, then snatched them up and carried them off past the girls and up the tunnel into the forest.

“See?  He just wanted something to eat,” she remarked.

“What is this place anyway?” Dinky asked.  “It’s way too big to be the fox’s den.”

“I don’t know,” Clarity said pensively, “but this place is kinda cool if you have some imagination.  Picture this chamber with a light orb or two from the castle, a couple of cushions or something, maybe some posters…”

Dinky laughed.  “Here?” she asked incredulously.  “Seems like kind of a weird place to hang out, unless you’re going for the whole ‘super secret clubhouse’ effect.”

Clarity’s jaw dropped.  “That is an excellent idea!” she cried.  “No one knows about this place!  It could be our own secret hideout!”

“There’s one problem with that,” Dinky pointed out.  “Anypony can get in here now that we moved the roots out of the way, so it won’t stay secret for long.”

“Actually, now that the roots have moved once, there isn’t much soil in the way to prevent them from moving back,” Honeydew chimed in.  “I think, as long as we used the space regularly, it would probably be pretty easy for me to open and close the roots as needed.”

A wacky grin spread across Clarity’s face.  “See?  It’s perfect!” she insisted.  “We can have secret meetings here without anypony else discovering us.”

“Secret meetings about what?” Honeydew asked, sounding increasingly confused.

“Who cares?” Clarity said.  “Secret hideouts are cool no matter what you do in them.”

Honeydew sighed.  “Well, I’m not sure I see the appeal, but I’ll take your word for it.”

“I can think of one thing appealing about it,” Dinky said.  “It’s somewhere other than our dorm where we can hide from Scuffle and his brothers.”

Honeydew’s eyes widened.  “I hadn’t thought of that,” she admitted.  “Maybe this would be a good place to hang out when we aren’t in class…”

“As weird of an idea as this is, I can’t help but agree,” Dinky admitted.

“Alright!” Clarity yelled, stamping a hoof triumphantly.  “Come on, let’s go back to the castle right away and start drawing up the designs for our new secret hideout.”

Clarity practically sprinted out of the dark chamber.  Honeydew carefully closed the roots over the hole once she and Dinky exited and both of them had to run to catch up with Clarity, who was already bound for the castle.  The trio immediately began to discuss the details.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The three fillies were so engrossed in the discussion of their new hideout that they didn’t even notice the uncomfortable prickling sensation of being observed by an all-too-familiar pair of blue eyes.  Their owner mumbled to itself as it watched them leave.

“When she spoke to the fox, she said I was a changeling, yes she did,” the creature hissed ponderously to itself.  “This will be even easier now than I anticipated, yes it will!  She will have no reason to suspect or mistrust me when we finally meet if she is convinced that it is the castle changeling who watches her.”

The leaves rustled ominously as the creature shuddered with anticipation.  “Time runs short, yes it does.  I must not continue to stall.  The purple filly and I shall meet face-to-face at last, yes we will.  And we will do so tomorrow.”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dinky found herself struggling to focus in Magic in History class.  Normally, giving a class held on a Friday afternoon completely undivided attention was a task in and of itself, especially considering how dry Professor Curled Quill could be, but today, there were additional distractions clouding the filly’s mind.

First and foremost, her typical Friday morning Transformation and Conjuring class had been cancelled due to Professor Flux’s absence; the stallion had gone to an important conference in Fillydelphia.  Unfortunately, this meant Dinky did not have the chance to confront Nester about her suspicions, and she resented the fact that the mystery of the creature in the forest had to continue for another week.

On top of that, her mind was teeming with ideas for the subterranean hideout she and her friends had discovered the previous afternoon.  Clarity was going home for the upcoming weekend (it was the first time all term she had done so), and she and Dinky were both planning to bring decorations and simple furniture to set up there.

Something on the floor tapped lightly against Dinky’s hind leg, bringing her out of another daydream.  She leaned over and inspected the offending object that had bumped her hoof.  It was a quill, presumably dropped by the student behind her.

Dinky levitated the quill and turned around briefly to deposit the quill on the desk of a yellow colt with an orange mane and blue eyes, who nodded briefly in thanks.  Dinky hesitated a moment before turning back to her own work.

That’s really strange, she thought.  I’ve been in this class all term, but I don’t remember ever seeing that colt before.

Class ended a few minutes later.  Dinky shoved her woefully incomplete notes into her saddlebag and resolved to check in with Clarity and Honeydew later to fill in the parts she’d missed.  They had Magic in History earlier in the week than she did, so they were a useful source of information.

Just before Dinky left the room, there was a thump and a loud clatter behind her.  Glancing over her shoulder, she saw that the colt that had been sitting behind her had managed to drop his saddlebag, spilling school supplies everywhere.  He grumbled something inaudible as he began to pick the scattered objects up.

Dinky trotted back into the room.  “Hey, do you need help with that?” she asked curiously.

The colt shrugged.  “Sure,” he mumbled.

Dinky lit her horn, and between the two foals, the saddlebag was quickly re-packed.

“So, did you transfer into this class at some point after the term began?” Dinky asked.  “I don’t remember seeing you before, but maybe I was just being a little unobservant.”

“I’ve been here the whole time,” the colt said.  He looked for a moment as if he had something else to add, but nothing came.

“Oh, really?” Dinky asked.  “I don’t remember you answering any questions in class or anything…”

The colt frowned and looked at the floor.  “I don’t talk much,” he mumbled.  “I have a few… embarrassing speech habits…”

Again, the colt displayed a visible effort to stop himself from saying something else, which made Dinky all the more curious.  His voice itself was smooth, almost soothing, so she wondered what it was about it he felt he had to hide.

“Well, I won’t make fun of you or anything,” she offered.  “You can talk to me without worrying about it, if you want.”

The colt shrugged.  “It’s not too terrible, I suppose,” he admitted.  “It’s just that if I’m not careful, I have a nasty habit of reaffirming what I just said right after I say it, yes I do.”

He paused and blushed.  “…Like that.”

“Oh, that’s not a big deal,” Dinky assured him.  “I mean, I can see how some of the mean foals would make fun of you for that, but your friends shouldn’t mind.”

The colt smiled sheepishly.  “I don’t exactly have many friends,” he admitted.  “I tend to stay away from other ponies most of the time, yes I do.”

“Well, then I’ll be your friend,” Dinky offered.  “It would be a shame for a friendly colt like you to be alone all the time just because of a weird habit.”

She paused, looking quizzical.  “What’s your name, anyway?”

“Sunbeam,” the colt replied, a little more confidently.  “It matches my Cutie Mark pretty well, yes it does.”

He turned a bit so Dinky could see the image on his flank of a dark cloud with a ray of light piercing through it.

“Well, I’m Dinky Doo.  Nice to meet you, Sunbeam.”

“Likewise,” Sunbeam replied.  “So, if you’d like to be friends, maybe we could hang out sometime, yes we could?  Say… next week, after this class?”

“Sure!” Dinky said sweetly.  “I gotta go for now.  My friends are probably waiting for me.”

“Take care,” Sunbeam called.  “You wouldn’t want to keep them waiting, no you wouldn’t.”

Dinky waved and trotted from the room, leaving Sunbeam alone among the unoccupied desks.  He smiled.

“I think you and I are going to have lots of fun together, Dinky Doo…” he mumbled, in a voice not quite as endearing as the one with which he’d spoken to the filly.  “Oh yes we are…”
> Chapter 8
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Doo family cottage was a stout, irregular little building.  It wasn’t much to look at, but at least it was cozy on cool evenings.  Dinky was grateful for that on this particular Saturday night; for a midsummer evening it was awfully chilly outside, but her bedroom, where she and Pipsqueak now sat, was quite comfortable.

Pip shifted his weight on the carpeting.  “So, what’s the big surprise, Dinky?” he asked impatiently.  “You’ve been keeping it a secret all day!”

Dinky laughed teasingly.  “Be patient, Pip!  I’ll show you in a second.”

Dinky levitated her saddlebag off her bed and brought it to rest in front of her.  Pipsqueak watched it float as a cat might watch a bird hovering just out of reach.

Dinky cocked her head.  “What’s wrong?  You’re not still fascinated by levitation, are you?”

Pip smiled sheepishly.  “Well, you see it every day,” he countered.  “For an earth pony like me, magic is still something… whimsical, I guess.”

Dinky chuckled.  “I guess I shouldn’t be talking,” she admitted.  “I’m a unicorn, and I was still amazed by even the simplest magic a year or so ago.”

She grinned.  “But today I’m excited because I found some magic that you and I can share.”

Pip’s eyes widened.  “But… but earth ponies can’t use magic the way you can,” he stuttered.  “How could we?  We don’t have horns.”

“Earth ponies can’t cast spells like unicorns can, but that doesn’t mean they can’t wield magic of any kind,” Dinky explained.  “I brought something home this week that can let even earth ponies use something similar to unicorn magic.”

Dinky opened the flap on her saddlebag, and the two pendants she’d prepared in Enchantments class, as well as her Enchantments book, floated out.  She placed one pendant on the floor in front of her hooves, and the other just in front of Pipsqueak.

Pipsqueak examined the pendant, gazing at his reflection in the diamond.  “What is it?” he asked finally.  “I mean, I know you can wear it like a necklace, but… what’s it for?”

“It’s a pendant,” Dinky said.  “I’m going to enchant the jewel in the center.”

“Oh,” Pipsqueak said.  He looked first at his pendant, then at Dinky’s, and finally at Dinky herself.

“You don’t know what that means, do you?” the filly asked.

“No idea.”

“Well, basically it means I can store a spell in the gem in the center,” Dinky elaborated, gesturing to the diamonds.  “Once I do that, the magic stays in the stone, even once I stop actively using the spell.”

Pipsqueak seemed to get it all at once.  “And once the spell is in the pendant, whoever’s wearing it can use the effect?” he asked.

“Now you get why I’m excited!” Dinky said.  “This is magic that you can use, even without a horn!”

Pipsqueak sprang to his hooves.  “Well, what’re you waiting for!” he said eagerly.  “Put a spell on it!”

Dinky smirked.  “Slow down, Pip.  Don’t you wanna know what the spell is first?”

Pip returned his rump to the floor, his tiny tail flicking back and forth eagerly.  “Yes please.”

Dinky placed her Enchantments book on the floor and began to page through it.  “You know how you and I both wished we didn’t have to be separated when I got accepted to the Academy?” she asked.  “We can’t change that fact, but I found an enchantment that can make it a little easier on us.”

Dinky found the page she was looking for.  “I’ll show you how it works once I cast it,” she promised.  “Place your hoof on my pendant, please.”

Pip laid his hoof delicately on the diamond.  Dinky decided this was not the best time to point out that the gem was so nearly indestructible that caution wasn’t necessary.  Quietly, she reached over and placed her own hoof on the pendant in front of Pipsqueak.

“Are you ready?” she asked.  “It’s time to cast the spell.”

Pipsqueak nodded.  “I’m ready when you are,” he affirmed.  “I trust you.”

Pipsqueak watched in wonder as Dinky closed her eyes and allowed the magic she wished to summon to build up around her horn.  An orb of yellow energy inflated on the tip like a big magical bubble, and after it had come loose and floated into the air, a second one followed suit.  Slowly, both spheres descended until they hovered just above the hooves of the two foals.  They surrounded each pendant, glowed with brilliant brightness for a few seconds, and then gradually faded away.

Pipsqueak lifted the pendant and inspected it curiously.  “It doesn’t look any different,” he concluded.

“It’s not supposed to,” Dinky assured him.  “The magic’s sealed inside.  Put it on and I’ll show you what it does!”

Pipsqueak hesitated, eyeing the pendant cautiously.

“It’s not gonna send a big blast of magic flowing through you when you put it on, if that’s what you’re worried about,” Dinky said, grinning.  “In fact, you probably won’t feel anything at all.”

She slipped the string of her own pendant over her head.  “See?  Nothing.”

Pipsqueak shrugged and pulled his own pendant on.  He stared down at it as it dangled around his neck.  “So you said this will somehow make it not seem like we’re so far apart when you’re away,” he mentioned.  “What’s it do, exactly?”

“Well, let’s say I’m at school, and I happen to think of you, and how I can’t wait to come back to Ponyville and visit,” Dinky started.  “As soon as my thoughts turn to you—”

Pipsqueak gasped as he felt the magic take effect.  The pendant around his neck shimmered with a yellow glow, exactly like Dinky’s magical aura.  Pipsqueak placed his hoof against it as it rested on his chest, awed.

“So that’s… that’s what your magic feels like?” he managed.  “It’s uh… oh jeez, how do I even describe it…”

Pip tapped a hoof to his chin, thinking.  “It feels like it’s alive,” he concluded. “It’s like I can feel you, or at least some connection to you, right there in the pendant.”

Dinky smiled triumphantly.  “It works just how I was hoping then!” she announced.  “Now, if you think about me, the same thing should happen.”

An instant later, the same faint yellow light and warmth surrounded the filly’s pendant.  Just as Pipsqueak had described, it was as if she could feel his presence within the gem.

Pipsqueak removed the pendant a moment later, looking astounded.  “Dinky, this is… it’s so fantastic, I’m not even sure what to say.”

Dinky shrugged.  “It wasn’t a big deal,” she said modestly.  “I mean, I really like the spell too, but it wasn’t terribly hard to cast.  They probably only work as well as they do because of the diamonds in the pendants.”

“I don’t care why they work,” Pipsqueak said.  “You’re the one who went through the trouble of making them.  Just for us.”

Pipsqueak leaned forward and nuzzled Dinky.  She blushed a little more than she wished she had at the colt’s touch.  Pipsqueak, noticing her flushed cheeks, reddened a bit as well.

“Sorry,” he mumbled.  “Maybe that was a little much.  I just liked your enchantment so much that I got a little, uh, overwhelmed.”

Dinky smiled.  “Don’t worry, Pip.  You’re one of my best friends.  If you weren’t, I wouldn’t have made the pendants in the first place.  I think a quick nuzzle once in a while is justified.”

“Oh,” Pipsqueak said awkwardly.  “But then… why’d you seem sorta… embarrassed?”

Dinky lightly slapped the colt on the back.  “Because I like you, you dolt!  You know that!”

That broke the tension; both foals burst into laughter that could be heard throughout the cottage.

Downstairs, Ditzy Doo’s ears perked up.  She smiled knowingly and continued cleaning the kitchen.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The following week, Dinky and her friends met on the school grounds, with three bundles of varying sizes wrapped up in blankets.

“Alright,” Clarity said quietly, beckoning her friends in closer.  “Make sure nopony’s watching.  We’ve gotta smuggle this stuff into the forest to set up our hideout.  Dinky, Honeydew: you two carry the stuff, and I’ll stay here and make sure we aren’t noticed by suspicious passersby.”

Clarity hopped onto a low, flat rock and took a lookout pose that, in all honesty, probably made her stand out more than she would have otherwise.  Unwilling to dash Clarity’s enthusiasm, Dinky simply shrugged and marched into the forest, with Honeydew keeping close behind.

“Strange as it seems for me, Clarity’s even got me excited about this,” Honeydew admitted.  “I really like the forest, and the idea of a place outside of our tower to hide from Scuffle… and somehow having a secret hideout just seems… kinda fun.”

Dinky chuckled.  “Of course it seems fun,” she said.  “There are three fillies in Ponyville who have a secret clubhouse.  I’ve visited it once or twice, and let me tell you, it’s awesome having a space all your own.  Other than the one you live in, I mean; one you can do whatever you want with.”

The pair of fillies reached the big tree, and Honeydew cast the spell that caused the roots to part.  “Clarity’s barrette should be telling her we’re here,” the pink filly said.  “Let’s just wait for her to catch up before we go inside.”

She glanced at the pendant hanging from Dinky’s neck.  “Did you and Pipsqueak enchant those, now?” she asked.

Dinky nodded happily.  “Yeah, we activated them on Saturday.  He really liked them.”

On cue, Dinky’s pendant glowed softly, and she giggled.  “See, you got me thinking about him, and now he’s thinking of me!”

Clarity emerged from the brush into the clearing around the tree.  “Ok, quick, into the hollow before someone spots us,” she commanded.

The underground room was flooded with yellow, deep red, and pale green light as the three fillies lit their horns.

“Oh, I almost forgot,” Clarity said, opening one of the bundles.  “Look what I got a hold of this weekend.”

Clarity pulled a large, spherical object from among the stuff she’d brought and cast a spell at it.  Light burst forth instantly, flooding the chamber with brighter light than the combined efforts of the trio of ponies.

“An illumination orb!?” Dinky asked, incredulous.  “How exactly did you get one of those?”

“It’s best if you don’t know,” Clarity said, smirking.  “The dean already dislikes you as it is.  You don’t need to get involved with anything else.”

“Clarity!” Dinky scolded.

“It wasn’t that bad,” Honeydew clarified.  “She just hid the orb from our room and told Sparkler that it broke.  Sparkler retrieved a new one from some supply room for us.  Not that I condone lying, but…”

Honeydew trailed off and decided she’d be better off occupying herself with one of the bundles.

Dinky opened the bundle she had brought along.  Inside were a few posters of some of her favorite celebrities, and the big beanbag chair Twist and Pipsqueak had pooled their money to buy her for her birthday a few weeks before.

“So,” said Clarity, as she unpacked a small folding table.  “Anything interesting happen to you girls lately?”

“I met a friendly foal last Friday,” Dinky recalled.  “He was a little colt named Sunbeam.  I never noticed he was there for some reason, but he seems used to blending into the background.  He and I are going to hang out after class on Friday.  Maybe you girls can come too.”

Clarity raised an eyebrow.  “Wait, so a colt you’ve never seen before just appeared?  That seems a little suspicious if you ask me.”

“Nah, he was harmless,” Dinky assured her.  “He didn’t seem too assertive; I think he just sits there out of the way and wishes he had someone to talk to.  That’s probably why I never really noticed him around.  I bet if we look around in the dining room during lunch sometime, we’d probably see him sitting alone in a corner somewhere.”

A sound near the hidden entrance of the hideout cut the girls’ conversation short.

“What’s that?” asked Honeydew.  “Don’t tell me someone’s found this place already.”

The sound continued for a moment, and a small orange creature slunk into the room.

“It’s only the fox,” Clarity announced.  “I sure hope the little guy doesn’t think we’re gonna bring him food regularly.”

The fox marched to the back of the room near where Dinky was applying another poster and sat down, glancing between the three fillies curiously.  Dinky bent down to examine the fox’s injured leg.

“I see you’ve been chewing at that splint I made,” she said crossly.  “The scarf’s too full of teeth marks for me to use anymore.”

As if taunting Dinky, the fox sat down and began gnawing at the wrappings.

Dinky shook her head.  “Nothing but trouble, that’s what you are,” she grumbled, slightly annoyed.

“You should just call him that,” Honeydew chuckled.  “We can’t really stop him from getting in here, so we might as well give him a name.”

Dinky raised an eyebrow.  “We should call him Trouble?” she asked.  “That’s kind of a funny name.”

The fox, now bored with chewing on the splint, decided instead to pull one of the posters away from the bundle of Dinky’s supplies, and proceeded to rip it to shreds.

Dinky exchanged a glance with her friends and sighed as she began to pick up the pieces of the shredded poster.  “I take it back, Honeydew,” she said.  “That’s a perfect name.  Trouble it is.”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dinky and her friends made numerous trips to their secret hideout throughout the rest of the week.  It seemed to be working as planned; for once, Scuffle wasn’t a constant threat whenever they were outside of their residence tower or out of sight of a professor.  Trouble was the only other creature that seemed to know about the chamber, although the fox usually tended to give the fillies their space as he wandered around the room or napped in a shady corner.

Eventually, Dinky learned the spell to prompt the tree to spread its roots wide enough for the fillies to enter.  Clarity remained unable to cast it because, having opted not to take Magical Biology as an elective, she lacked any sort of formal training in such spells. Still, she seemed eager to practice.

In no time at all it was Friday, and Dinky found herself preparing for what she hoped wouldn’t be a terribly hostile confrontation with Nester.  She and Clarity took their usual seats in Transformation and Conjuring class, but curiously, the changeling was nowhere to be found.

“Nester will be joining us shortly,” Professor Flux announced to the class.  “He had some private business to take care of, but he’ll be back in time for the practical portion of our class.”

Dinky and Clarity exchanged suspicious glances.

“Today’s topic is Alchemy,” the professor said in his usual no-nonsense tone.  “Tell me, what first comes to mind when you hear that word?”

Dinky was too wrapped up in thoughts of Nester to offer an answer, but Clarity raised a hoof.  

“Alchemy, traditionally, is defined as the process of turning something into gold,” she answered, “although if memory serves, I think there’s a little more to it than that.”

“Correct on both points, Clarity,” the professor replied, pleased.  “Alchemy, as most ponies would define it, is the use of magical means to convert a substance into gold.  In actuality, however, alchemy is the conversion of any base chemical element into any element, and over the years the field has expanded to include more complex substances, and even a search for compounds with inherently magical properties in an unenchanted state.  The alchemists of old took advantage of this transformative possibility to try to turn everyday substances into more precious ones, of which gold was probably the most notable.  This led the field of alchemy to receive the reputation it has today.”

The professor stopped speaking and raised an eyebrow, as if waiting for a response to an unspoken question.  When none came, he cleared his throat loudly.

“Nester,” he grumbled.  “What, pray tell, are you doing?”

“Nothing!” came a voice from above.  “I’m just trying to make my way into the classroom without disrupting your lecture, sir!”

The students looked up, and most laughed upon seeing the playful changeling plodding along the ceiling with whatever it was that allowed changeling hooves to cling to surfaces.  Upon reaching the front of the room, Nester turned and walked vertically down the wall before coming to stand next to the professor.

“Go on,” he urged, ignoring Professor Flux’s glare.

The stallion snorted.  “…As I was saying, from a chemical standpoint, one element is distinguished from another by the number of subatomic particles that make up each atom of it.  So an alchemical spell involves uniformly adding or removing particles to each.”

He gestured to the desks.  “I’ve given each of you a lump of metal.  The identity of each one is different, but each is labeled for easy identification.  You also each have a table of elements so you know which substance you’re likely to wind up with if you properly perform a spell to add or remove subatomic particles.  Turn to the alchemy section in your textbook for instructions, and speak with me or Nester if you have questions.”

As usual, Dinky and Clarity partnered up immediately, discussing matters quietly as they prepared to practice the magical exercise.

“What do you suppose Nester’s ‘private business’ was?” Dinky asked.

Clarity shrugged.  “Don’t jump to conclusions, Dinky,” she warned.  “Even if Nester has been stalking you, there’s no reason to believe that that’s related to wherever he was at the beginning of class.”

“Unless he was thinking up an alibi before I had a chance to confront him,” Dinky guessed.

Clarity shook her head.  “There’s no convincing you, is there?” she asked, nervously swaying her tail.

“Everything alright over here, girls?”

The fillies broke their huddle as Nester approached their desks.  “Ol’ Nester’s got a little experience with alchemy,” he announced, flashing a goofy, fanged grin.  “Need some tips?”

“We’re fine,” Dinky assured the changeling.  “But Nester, can I talk to you after class?  In private?”

Nester’s wings vibrated as he processed the question.  “Uh… sure,” he said finally.  “There’s not something wrong, is there?  Just let me know if I’m bugging you.”

He gave a chattering laugh.  “Get it?  Bugging you?  Because I’m a—”

He trailed off, noticing Dinky’s serious expression.  “After class it is,” he said quietly.

Nester slunk off.  Clarity gave Dinky a grave look.

“I guess you can’t back out now,” the grey filly said.  “Just please try not to be too harsh on him.  After all, you still don’t have any proof.”

Dinky’s expression remained serious.  “I’ll just have to see where our little discussion goes, I guess,” she said decisively.  “I want answers today, so he’d better be willing to give them."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After class, Nester escorted Dinky to an empty classroom down the hall.  He closed the door and turned to the filly, looking nervous.

“Look, in all seriousness, if there’s a problem, I’ll be more than happy to address it immediately,” he said.  “Obviously, because of the circumstances surrounding my employment, student satisfaction is my number one goal.”

“I understand that,” Dinky said.  “However, there’s one thing that’s concerning me, and we need to address it.”

She took a step closer to Nester, causing the changeling to back off another pace.  To a bystander it would have been a comical scene: a frightful changeling, intimidated by a grade-school filly.

“Nester, I have reason to believe you’ve been spying on me,” Dinky said bluntly.  “Care to shed any light on that, or do I need to elaborate?”

Nester lifted a forehoof defensively.  “Spying?  Me?  I haven’t come across you even once outside of our Transformation class, Dinky.”

“Really?” Dinky asked skeptically.  “Well, something’s been watching me from the cover of the forest.  Something with blue eyes that seems to shift forms as it moves to prevent me from getting a good look at it.  That seems a little too suspicious to ignore.”

Nester’s eyes widened.  “It’s not me, I swear!” he promised.  “But it does sound like… I mean… are you sure that’s what you saw?”

Dinky nodded.

Nester inhaled sharply.  “The Princess assured me there would be no way for my former hive-mates to find me here,” he moaned.  “If another changeling is onto me, I’m in real trouble.”

“I doubt it’s another changeling,” Dinky said.  “The guards are positioned all around the valley on the lookout for a number of threats, changelings included.  That means there’s only one changeling who could be lurking in the forest.”

Nester was beginning to look particularly upset.  “But… I… Dinky…” he sputtered.  “It’s not me!  Really!”

Dinky sighed.  “I’d like to believe that, Nester,” she admitted.  “After all, you seem like a fine assistant in class.  But there’s some evidence against you.  I’d hate to falsely accuse you, but if the spying keeps up, I’m gonna have to take the matter to Princess Celestia for further investigation.”

Nester’s jagged ears flattened against his head.  “But, if they have any reason to suspect me, they’ll—”

He cut himself off.  “Forget it,” he mumbled, slumping in a defeated manner.  “I need some time to figure out what’s going on.”

He made the most pitiable face that a creature as grotesque as a changeling could manage.  “Please, Dinky, don’t report the issue unless you have to.  There’s more than just my job on the line here.”

He stared at her a moment longer, and then turned and scuttled out the door as quickly as he could manage, leaving a frustrated and bewildered Dinky standing alone in the deserted room.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dinky and her friends each had afternoon classes to attend, but the trio took advantage of the interim between classes to discuss Nester from the privacy of their hideout.  The three of them galloped into the forest, unaware of the three colts, two large and one small, watching them from a third-story window of the castle.

“Boy, those three sure have been disappearing into the forest a lot lately,” Frosty remarked.

“And they stay in there for an awful long time,” Scorch added.

“What’s even more interesting is that they’re being all secretive about it,” Frosty continued.  “That little blue-maned one seems like she’s keeping watch, see?”

The colts watched Clarity stand guard, making sure no ponies on the grounds were watching her.  Soon, she turned and ran into the shade of the trees.

“There she goes,” Scorch said.  “She made sure no one out there on the grounds followed her.  Too bad she doesn’t realize ponies can see her from inside the castle.”

“You don’t suppose they’ve actually found something interesting in there?” Scuffle asked, looking curiously at his older brothers.

“Well, Scuff, keeping tabs on the first-term foals is your job,” Scorch pointed out.  “Why don’t you go down there and find out?”

“Uh… well, I dunno,” Scuffle said, giving his tail an indecisive swish.  “I mean, we’ve been in there before.  It’s just a lot of trees and not much else.”

“You’re probably right,” Scorch admitted.  “Fillies like them wouldn’t know cool if it bit them in the a—”

“Scorch, you gotta look at the big picture!” Frosty interrupted.  “Sure, there’s a good chance that it’s nothing, but it’s worth investigating all the same.  If it’s something awesome, we could score big.”

He turned to Scuffle.  “Besides, you love pushing those fillies around!  Whatever’s down there, they clearly think it’s worth keeping secret, so go find it and take it from ‘em!  In the worst case scenario, whatever they’re hiding is stupid, but you still get a laugh out of watching those crybabies whine.”

“Uhh…” Scuffle started.

“Come on, get going!” Scorch commanded.  “We have class now, but we wanna hear all about this later, alright?”

Scuffle’s smile showed in his mouth, but a bit less so in his eyes.  “Sure,” he said.  “See you guys later.”

The brown colt turned and sprinted down the hall.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“So, Nester denied everything, huh?”

Dinky nodded solemnly.  “I just don’t know what to think now,” she admitted.  “On one hoof, all the evidence we have still seems to point to Nester.  But on the other hoof, he seemed really frightened at the prospect of being reported.  Would he really risk his job to accomplish… whatever goal he hopes to achieve by spying on me?”

Clarity and Honeydew both shrugged.  “Give it a little more time,” Honeydew suggested.  “If the spying continues, maybe you can get more details about the stalker and prove whether or not it’s actually Nester.”

Dinky leaned against the earthen wall of the hideout, lost in thought.  “That’s what Nester was hoping I’d do,” she said finally.  “I guess I can give him the benefit of the doubt one more time.”

There was a loud rustle in the bushes outside the tunnel entrance, catching the attention of all three fillies.

“Uh-oh,” Honeydew squeaked.  “Do you think somepony found us?”

Clarity waved a hoof dismissively.  “It’s probably just Trouble.  He comes in here almost every day.”

Dinky’s ears swiveled toward the sound.  “It sounds too big to be Trouble,” she said skeptically.  “Maybe I’d better go see what it is.”

Dinky trotted up the tunnel and parted the roots.  She stepped up onto the forest floor and looked around.

“Well, this is interesting,” said a malicious male voice.  “You’ve been hiding under the tree.  No wonder I couldn’t find you.”

Dinky whirled around just as an all-too-familiar brown colt stepped out from behind the huge tree concealing the secret room.

“Sc-Scuffle,” Dinky stuttered.  “How did you find us?”

Scuffle laughed.  “That’s not important.  Let’s take a look at this little cave of yours, shall we?”

Dinky reacted immediately. She dove back down the tunnel and immediately lit her horn to yank the roots shut.  Scuffle charged forward, but the tree responded to Dinky’s spell at the last moment, and Scuffle collided with the roots head first before staggering backwards, dazed.

Dinky’s momentum caused her to stumble and slide back into the chamber on her stomach, surprising her friends.  “Scuffle found us!” she cried.

Honeydew let out a squeal that was almost too high for Dinky to hear and backed against the wall, staring at the tunnel and shaking violently.

“Hey!” came Scuffle’s voice from beyond the roots.  “I’m not in the mood for nonsense today.  Open these roots right now!”

“Why should we?” Clarity called.  “They’re there to keep unwanted trash like you out!”

Scuffle chuckled.  “You talk big when you think I can’t reach you,” he commented.  “I don’t think you three get it, though.  I’ve gotten a whole lot better at combat spells since I dueled Dinky Doofus at the beginning of the year.  Open these roots or I’ll blast them open instead!”

Dinky walked to the base of the tunnel and stared up at the colt visible through the tiny openings.  “You’re bluffing,” she shot back.

Scuffle responded by lighting his horn.  Blue sparks flew from it and rained down into the narrow tunnel, forcing Dinky to back up.

“Believe what you want,” Scuffle said.  “You’ve got ten seconds to open these roots or I’ll do it myself.”

Scuffle’s horn glowed brighter, casting unsettling shadows around the underground room.  Dinky turned to her friends, silently asking their opinions.

Clarity bit her lip and sighed.  “Let him in, I guess,” she mumbled.  “If he damages the entrance, it won’t really be secret to anypony anymore.”

Dinky turned to Honeydew, but the pink filly just shivered and remained too petrified to give an opinion.  Dinky and Clarity placed themselves between Honeydew and the tunnel entrance, and then Dinky slowly drew the roots apart.

Scuffle made his way down the tunnel.  His eyes widened when he got a look at the room below and he nodded, clearly impressed.

“Well, this is a whole lot cooler than I was expecting,” he admitted.  “With a little redecorating, this’ll make an awesome hangout for me, Scorch, and Frosty.”

“Excuse me?” Dinky asked, irritated.  “This is our hideout.  You and your brothers aren’t welcome.”

“This was your hideout,” Scuffle corrected.  “But I think my brothers will be happy to take it off your hooves.  That is, unless you wanna fight us for it…”

“Are you crazy?” Clarity snapped.  “We’re not interested in getting in more trouble for fighting.  Besides, pitting us against your brothers?  It’s not even a fair fight!”

“Well then, I guess we win by default,” Scuffle said dully, glancing at the various decorations. “Go on, get your stuff.  I won’t give you any trouble.”

Dinky and Clarity exchanged a look.

“Is there anything we can do?” Dinky asked.

“Not unless you want to fight him again,” Clarity sighed.  “And even if you can take Scuffle down, you wouldn’t stand a chance against his brothers.”

“That’s right,” Scuffle said, nodding and smiling much like a professor would when a student answered a question correctly.  “Lucky for you two, you saw reason before things got ugly.  Now let me just make sure that filly shaking like a leaf in the wind back there is in agreement.”

Scuffle moved to trot around Dinky and Clarity, but the girls blocked his path.

“Leave Honeydew alone,” Dinky commanded.  “She’s not willing to argue with you.”

Scuffle responded by causally casting his favorite gravity spell, pinning Dinky and Clarity to the floor.  Dinky immediately cast her magic cancelling counterspell, but Scuffle had already stepped over them and was now facing Honeydew.

“And what’s your problem?” he asked.  “Stop standing around and help your friends get this stuff off the walls.”

Honeydew remained frozen, her expression terrified.

“Stop it, Scuffle!” Clarity urged.  “She’s scared of you.  Leave her alone.”

Scuffle snorted.  “If she wants me to leave her alone, then she’d better get moving!  Now!”

Scuffle lurched forward threateningly as he finished speaking.  Honeydew went pale and promptly collapsed, covering her face with her forehooves and whimpering.

The colt stepped back, apparently not expecting such an extreme reaction.  “…Is she okay?” he asked, turning back to Dinky and Clarity and raising an eyebrow.

“What do you think?” asked Dinky angrily.  “Honeydew’s spent the whole term going way out of her way to stay away from you.  You’ve been annoying all three of us for months, but Clarity and I are made of tougher stuff than Honeydew.  Do you know what it's been like for her?”

Scuffle looked genuinely surprised.  He turned back to Honeydew, eyeing her curiously.  “What’s got your tail in such a twist?” he asked the pink filly.  “I haven’t even tried to fight you or anything.”

Honeydew began to sob.  “Just go away!” she wailed.  “I can’t take it anymore!  This place was the only spot where we could hide from you, and now—”

The rest of Honeydew’s sentence was lost in another huge sob.  Scuffle took another step back, watching the filly nervously.

“I didn’t think she—” he stammered.  “I mean, I wanted to make you three angry, but I didn’t know it was so—”

Scuffle couldn’t figure out how to finish the thought.  He stamped a hoof on the dirt floor.  “Horseapples, now what am I supposed to do?”

“What’s wrong?” asked Clarity bitterly.  “Finding this information kinda hard to swallow, Scuffle?”

Scuffle blinked.  “Well… yeah,” he said quietly.

Dinky started.  “Wait, you are?” she asked.  “For this entire term, you’ve been a jerk every chance you had, and now suddenly it bothers you to see somepony upset?”

“Of course it’s bothering him,” Clarity cut in, as if it was obvious.  “Can’t you see it?  When he walked in, he was strutting around with his usual swagger.  Now he looks like he has no idea how he even wound up down here in the first place.”

Dinky scrunched up her nose, looking at Scuffle skeptically.  “But that would imply that he actually cares how we feel.  Usually he delights in seeing us suffer.”

Scuffle’s face contorted into a snarl.  “It’s not like I have a choice!” he yelled.  “Do you three have any idea what my life is like?”

Dinky shrugged apathetically.  “You and your brothers trot around the school like you own the place and drive everypony else crazy.”

Scuffle nodded.  “Exactly!  Scorch and Frosty have been at the top of the food chain for years,” he explained.  “There isn’t a student in this school other than the overseers who is willing to stand up to them.”

“I know,” Dinky said.  “And you’ve been taking advantage of their influence to do whatever you want, right?”

“No!” Scuffle cried.  “You seem to think that Scorch and Frosty are willing to back me up no matter what I do.  You couldn’t be more wrong about that.”

Dinky remained confused, but an understanding expression began to creep across Clarity’s face.  “Wait, are you saying what I think you’re saying?” the grey filly asked.

“I’m saying Scorch and Frosty would turn on me just as easily as they’d turn on anypony in this school if they had a reason to!” Scuffle shouted.  “They already think I’m a wimp because of my pathetic special talent, after all.”

The fillies looked at the iron cage on Scuffle’s flank.  “What is your special talent, exactly?” Dinky asked.

Scuffle rolled his eyes.  “I’m good at defensive spells, you idiot,” he huffed.  “Especially ones that trap my opponent. Things like immobilization, stunning, or one of my favorites, gravity.  But that stuff hardly counts as battle magic.  I can’t cause huge explosions or biting cold like my brothers, so it’s taken all my effort to convince them I’m not a wimp.”

“So… you’re really only a bully because your brothers won’t respect you otherwise?” Dinky asked skeptically.  “I find that kind of hard to believe, Scuffle.  You’ve bothered us plenty of times when your brothers weren’t even around.  Like now, for instance.”

Scuffle smacked his forehead with a hoof.  “I was trying to keep up the illusion,” he said, frustrated.  “If I was nice to you three sometimes, then you’d realize it was all fake when my brothers were around.  If you girls act like I’m a nice guy, that’s still enough evidence for them to turn on me.  I guess I’m stuck in that situation now, and it’s going to make things a whole lot harder.”

“So, what about when I dueled you near the beginning of the term?” Dinky asked.  “How did that affect this?”

“That made everything worse,” Scuffle barked.  “When my brothers found out a filly stood up to me, and for that matter almost beat me, I had to make it my mission to give you girls a hard time every chance I got, in order to prove to them that you were no match for me.  I took a heck of a risk giving you back your little beginner’s magic book after that.  Honestly I only needed it to practice a little, but I couldn’t let you know that without blowing my cover.”

Scuffle paused and looked at Honeydew.  The pink filly had stopped crying, but her green eyes met his slate blue ones with a look of distrust and revulsion.

“Bullying fillies is one thing,” Scuffle mumbled, “but reducing them to… to that is… too much.”

He slumped down onto his haunches.  “I don’t know what to do now,” he said angrily.  “I don’t think I can keep this up anymore, but as soon as I show any mercy to you three, I’ll become Scorch and Frosty’s number one target.”

The three fillies looked at the colt as he continued to stare at the floor.

“Well, Scuffle…” Dinky started awkwardly, “understand that, given the circumstances, we’re hesitant to just extend the olive branch, but—”

Scuffle’s rage came rushing back.  “I don’t need sympathy from you three anyway,” he growled.  “I’m left with a choice; I either keep bullying you, at least in public, or risk nonstop torment from Scorch and Frosty.  I don’t have the foggiest idea where to go from here.”

He rose to his hooves and made for the tunnel.  “I’ll cut you three a deal,” he grumbled, refusing to look back.  “I’ll tell Scorch and Frosty that there was nothing out here worth finding.  But you’d better take more care to keep this place secret.  If they find out I cut you a break, that’s it.”

Scuffle harrumphed and stormed up the passageway, leaving the fillies in silence.  Once the sound of his hoofsteps had faded, Dinky and Clarity rushed to check on Honeydew, who was still sprawled on the hollow’s floor.

“Is he gone?” Honeydew whispered, still covering her eyes with her hooves.

“He is,” Clarity assured her, as she and Dinky sat down on either side of the frightened filly.  “He’s not going to tell his brothers about our hideout either.”

“That is, assuming we can believe what he said,” Dinky added.

Clarity shrugged.  “He doesn’t have anything to gain from being lenient,” she pointed out.  “I can’t imagine that whole thing was just some prank.”

The trio remained there in silence for a few moments more.  Honeydew took a deep, shuddering breath and slowly stood.

“What do we do now?” she asked in a quavering voice.

“I don’t know,” Dinky admitted.  “All this time Scuffle wasn’t quite what we thought he was.  Maybe… he deserves some sympathy?”

Honeydew shook her head violently.  “Sympathy for Scuffle?” she asked.  “Even if he’s telling the truth, he’s still a terrible pony!”

Noticing Dinky and Clarity’s surprised looks, she blushed slightly.  “What?” the pink filly asked.  “I’m sorry but… I’m not a pony who can just forgive somepony like that right away.  I was barely willing to talk to you two when the term started, remember?  I… I can’t bring myself to reach out to a pony who has forced me to live in fear for the whole term.”

Clarity leaned forward and gave Honeydew a comforting nuzzle.  “We understand,” she said.  “Let’s just… wait and see what happens the next time we run into him.  I’m pretty sure we’re not the only ones who need to think this through.”

Clarity drew the light from the illumination orb, and the three fillies climbed out of the hideout without another word.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Needless to say, Dinky once again had trouble focusing in Magic in History class later that afternoon.  Caught up in her own thoughts, she absentmindedly collected her belongings at the end of class and began to trot toward the door.  A hoof placed itself on her shoulder and jolted her back to reality.  Dinky turned around and found her new friend Sunbeam standing behind her.

“Hiya,” Sunbeam greeted.  “Are we still going to hang out today?  Or do you have something more important to do?  You do look kinda busy, yes you do.”

“Oh, we can still hang out!” Dinky assured him.  “Sorry, I almost forgot about it.  It’s been kind of a stressful day so far.”

Sunbeam nodded understandingly.  “Well, hopefully we can go have some fun and take your mind off all that for a while, yes we can,” he suggested, smiling.

“That’s what I’m counting on,” Dinky said with a laugh.  “Want me to go find my friends, so they can come with us?”

Sunbeam cringed.  “I, uh, don’t spend a whole lot of time with other ponies because of my speech tic, no I do not,” he admitted.  “I was thinking it could be just us today, and after we know each other a little better, then we can bring your friends, yes we can.”

Dinky shrugged.  “I’m sure they’d be fine with it, but if it makes you more comfortable, we’ll just go alone.”

Sunbeam nodded in thanks.

“So, we have the rest of the day off,” Dinky observed.  “What would you like to do?  Go for a swim?  Get an afternoon snack?”

“Well, if you’re interested, I have something really cool I could show you, yes I do,” Sunbeam mentioned.  “That is, if you’re alright with practicing a little magic.”

“Oh, of course!” Dinky responded.  “Lead the way.”

Sunbeam smiled and trotted off, leading the filly down the corridor.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A heavy wooden door swung open, casting the first light the room had seen in years across the dusty floor.

“What’s in here?” Dinky asked, struggling to see in the dim room beyond the doorway.  “Are we even supposed to be in this place?”

“This is a classroom, yes it is,” Sunbeam assured her.  “It’s been left unused for some time now, but nopony will object to our using it as a practice room.”

In the fashion of a gentlecolt, Sunbeam stepped aside and gestured for Dinky to enter.  The filly trotted inside, and Sunbeam entered behind her, closing the door with a quick flicker of magic.

Dinky lit the sole illumination orb in the room, lighting the abandoned classroom.  “Are you sure about this?” she asked, running a hoof along a tabletop and drawing a line in the thick layer of dust.  “I can understand using an empty room, but this one hasn’t been touched in years, it seems.”

Sunbeam shrugged.  “The professors and overseers never mentioned any part of the castle or grounds that was off limits, no they did not,” he pointed out.  “This room is abandoned, sure, but we can still use it.”

Dinky sneezed, and swept the rest of the offending dust off the low table with her tail.  “Well, I guess it is a good place for practicing in private.  Apparently nopony in their right mind comes in here anymore.”

Sunbeam just smiled sheepishly.

“Anyway, what kind of spell did you have in mind?” Dinky asked the colt.

“It’s a whole group of spells, actually,” Sunbeam said.  “They’re unusual and pretty rarely used, yes they are.  You won’t find any classes here that teach spells like these.”

“Why’s that?” Dinky asked.  “What kind of spells are these, anyway?”

Sunbeam thought it over.  “They’re a little of everything, yes they are,” he decided.  “Some are enchantments, some transformations, and some are even combat spells!  What sets them apart from those fields is that they tap into an entirely different type of magical energy, yes they do.”

Dinky raised an eyebrow.  “There’s more than one kind of magical energy?” she asked skeptically.  “If that’s the case, why have I never heard of them?”

“This alternative magic requires much more effort to summon at first,” Sunbeam explained.  “Ponies seem to think it’s not worth the effort to bother with them, but some can produce different effects than the more widely used counterparts, yes they can.  I think they’re fascinating, yes I do.”

Dinky gave Sunbeam a blank stare.  “Now hang on,” she said, looking at the colt disbelievingly.  “If there’s one thing I’m sure of about the unicorns who work at this school, it’s that they’d never neglect an entire field of magic just because it’s more difficult than normal spells.  In fact, I think most of our professor’s would be more than happy to rise to the challenge.”

Sunbeam looked at the floor.  “Alright, I suppose that’s not the whole truth, no it’s not,” he admitted.  “What I said is still true, but… well, this magic is a very new discovery.  Many spells are untested, and so only some select ponies are being told about it right now.  The professors know, but most of the students don’t, no they do not.”

“Then why do you know?”  Dinky asked.

“I’ve been helping to study it in private with one professor, yes I have,” Sunbeam said.  “It’s a very hush-hush operation; I probably wasn’t supposed to tell you about it at all, but… well, I don’t really have any close friends, and I really, really wanted a practice partner, yes I did…”

Dinky’s suspicious expression softened.  “That’s more believable,” she admitted.  “I guess this means I have to keep the spells secret, huh?”

“That would probably be best, yes it would,” Sunbeam answered.  “The more ponies that know, the more likely the knowledge could get out to the student body before the professors are ready to officially present it.  But I think I can trust you, yes I do.”

Dinky nodded solemnly, placing a hoof over her heart in a silent promise.  “Can you use any of these spells?” she asked, tilting her head with curiosity.  “I want to see one.”

“I can do better than that, yes I can,” Sunbeam said excitedly.  “I can help you cast one yourself.”

“I’m not sure I’m ready for that,” Dinky said nervously.  “I don’t have any instructions, and I haven’t seen any demonstration.  I don’t even know how to tap into this alternate energy.”

A tiny, glowing spark appeared on the tip of Sunbeam’s horn.  Slowly, he leaned forward until the tip of his horn just barely made contact with Dinky’s.  The filly jumped a bit at the contact, but soon calmed, as she realized Sunbeam was simply sending her a weak magical signal.

“Learn to recognize this energy,” Sunbeam said quietly.  “Try to find the same energy within yourself.  It’s there, but it’s buried deeper than your regular magic.  Try to bring it to the surface.”

Dinky’s usual aura surrounded her horn almost automatically.  She squeezed her eyes shut, concentrating to find a trace of the strange energy Sunbeam had given her a tiny sample of.  For several minutes, she stood still, making no progress, but then a faint feeling seemed to awaken in the recesses of her mind: an energy like the one Sunbeam used.

Dinky attempted to bring it forth into her horn and was immediately met with a bizarre sensation.  The magic seemed to fight back, as if it didn’t want to be channeled, but instead preferred to remain tucked away deep inside the filly’s head.  Dinky fought the force, but it seemed to be an almost physical effort to drag the energy toward her horn.

“Yes, yes, yes,” Sunbeam said eagerly.  “It’s difficult, I know.  But it’s your own magic!  Bring it forth!”

With a final tug, Dinky pulled the strange energy into her horn.  The effect was immediate; the yellow aura flickered and wavered, and sparks flew as its shade darkened.  In a matter of seconds, the sunny color had been replaced with an aura of pulsing black and deep purple.

Dinky swayed where she stood; she wasn’t sure if it was from the magic itself or the effort of summoning it, but she felt quite disoriented and dizzy.  The filly let herself relax to try to regain her usual composure, and rolled her eyes up to stare curiously at her horn.  Sunbeam looked positively thrilled.

“Bravo, Dinky!  You’ve brought forth the alternative magic, yes you have!”

Dinky looked back at Sunbeam, and noticed that her vision was gradually becoming tinted with purple.  She glanced at her reflection in a grimy mirror on the wall and jumped back when she saw the image it showed; wispy violet energy surrounded her eyes, similar to the purple writhing together with black surrounding her horn.

“W-what is this?” she asked, her voice wavering as she shook her head in vain to try to dissipate the fog in her eyes.  “What’s it doing to me?  It feels strange!”

“There’s nothing to fear, no there is not,” Sunbeam said quickly.  “The magic’s color simply indicates you’ve tapped into the alternate energy, and the color you see around your eyes is sort of like an exhaust outlet for the excess energy built up, yes it is.”

Sunbeam lit his own horn, and quickly changed his blue aura to an identical black one with a clearly well-practiced mental process.

“It doesn’t bother you?” Dinky asked weakly, slumping down into a sitting position.  “As soon as it reached my horn, it felt like it started battling to get out of my head.  I can hardly think straight.”

“It requires practice, yes it does,” Sunbeam said, nodding sagely.  “Your body will adjust with time.  I understand that it’s difficult at first; now you understand why it is better that the whole student body doesn’t know about these spells just yet, yes you do.”

Dinky gave her whole body another shake, and seemed to get a little more control over herself.  The magic was manageable, but it felt nothing like her usual magic; while that was an almost comforting feeling of internal power, this felt more like a force with a mind of its own, eager to leap from her horn and do whatever it pleased.

“Now, try using it to interact with an object,” Sunbeam suggested.  “You can use the book on the desk over there as a target, yes you can”

Dinky glanced at the book.  Her head was pounding with an urge to direct the magic, so she quickly surrounded the tome with the inky energy.

“Oh, and be careful,” Sunbeam started.  “This type of magic can sometimes be—”

Dinky jumped when, instead of the usual soft hum, her magic made a loud crackle like lightning as it shot forward.  The book was hit with a tremendous force; the pages were torn loose and swirled around the room, while the binding collided with the far wall and collapsed in a bent heap.

“…extremely volatile.  Yes it can,” Sunbeam deadpanned.

Dinky quickly forced the magic to shut off.  The strange light around her horn and eyes flickered out, and relief washed over all of her senses.  She glanced at Sunbeam nervously.  “Uh… I don’t think these spells are entirely safe,” she squeaked.

“They are perfectly fine when properly controlled, yes they are,” Sunbeam said confidently.  “You didn’t know what to expect there, but I’m sure you’ll be fine next time.  Nothing will happen, no it won’t.”

Dinky bit her lip.  “And… what do we do if something does happen?”

Sunbeam placed a comforting hoof across Dinky’s shoulders.  “We’re in a building full of the most powerful professional mages in Equestria, yes we are” he reminded her.  “If there’s one place where it’s okay to practice even unusual magic like this, it’s here.”

“Well…” Dinky tapped a hoof to her chin.  “I don’t know about this, Sunbeam.  These spells are sort of unpleasant to use.  I’m not sure if I want to keep it up.”

Sunbeam pouted.  “The discomfort will fade with time, yes it will!” he insisted.  “Please, Dinky.  You’re the only pony I can practice this with, yes you are.  We might even discover something new, and I can report it to my professor!  You’ll be helping to advance what could become important magical knowledge for all unicorns someday, yes you will!”

Sunbeam gave Dinky a hopeful smile.  She sighed and returned the gesture.  “I can’t say no to that.  Just please help me to control it while we experiment.”

“You are in capable hooves, yes you are,” Sunbeam said, grinning.  “Now, call forth that magic again.  Practice makes perfect, yes it does.”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As promised, Dinky held her tongue when Clarity inevitably asked about Sunbeam.  The grey filly persisted, but finally gave up when Dinky left campus for the weekend.  By the time she returned on Monday, both of them had mostly forgotten about it.

“What do you think we’re doing in Practical Magic today?” Honeydew asked as the three fillies made their way to the first class of the week.

“Professor Morningstar said we’re starting something new this week,” Dinky said.

“About time,” Clarity grumbled, rolling her eyes.  “We’ve been doing different levitation and manipulation drills for weeks now.  It’s starting to get a little tedious.”

Just before the fillies reached the classroom, Scuffle appeared from around the corner at the other end of the hall.  He gave them a level stare, but remained silent as he trotted into the classroom.  Dinky and her friends waited a few moments before they entered the room.

“Good morning, everypony!” Professor Morningstar said cheerily.  “We are only a few weeks from the halfway point of the term, so I think it’s time we introduce another topic.  After all, the goal is for you to be proficient at at least four of our five major topics by the end of the term.  So today, we’re going to learn to cast illusion spells!”

Dinky smirked as Clarity jumped a bit in her seat.  Illusions were Clarity’s favorite type of spell, after all.

“Now,” Professor Morningstar continued, turning to his chalkboard, “as I said on the first day of class, illusions are simply modified illumination spells.  You must manipulate light to change the appearance of an object, without changing the composition of the object itself.  It requires very little input of magic to cast an illusion properly, but what is used must be directed properly.  The more precise the spellcasting process, the more convincing the illusion.”

The professor’s horn glowed with rich, hazel colored magic.  The air next to him wavered, and suddenly a second Professor Morningstar flickered into view.

“This, for example, is an illusion,” the real professor said, running his hoof through the fake to prove it wasn’t solid.  “Unicorns have made illusory doppelgangers for ages, with a wide range of uses.  Of course, creating a holographic replica of yourself is a fairly complicated spell compared to many other illusions, but all of them are cast in essentially the same way: by changing the strength and position of the magic within the horn to facilitate the proper changes in the wavelength of the magically produced light.”

He looked around the room, and nodded when he was convinced everypony understood.  “Well, there isn’t much else to say until you’ve had a little practice,” he announced.  “There are additional instructions on bending light available in your textbook.  I recommend starting with color change spells; all you have to do is change the wavelength to cast those.  No refraction or other more complicated illusion techniques are needed.”

Dinky, Clarity, and Honeydew were among the first students to rise from their desks and proceed to the practice area.

“This is it, girls,” Clarity said, excited.  “I’ve always been good at detecting illusions, so hopefully I’m just as good at casting them!”

She glanced hopefully at her bare flank.  “I probably shouldn’t get my hopes up, but this might be the day I finally get my Cutie Mark!”

“Then you can go first,” Dinky suggested.  “Go ahead; try to change my coat color.”

“What color do you want?” Clarity asked.

“Make her look like me,” Honeydew suggested, giggling.

Clarity laughed.  “That’s a good idea!  I can’t wait to see how Dinky looks in pink and green.”

Clarity’s horn glowed with the light of a typical illumination spell.  She lowered her head, pointing the light at Dinky.

“Okay, now I just need to bend the light a little,” she mumbled allowed.  “Decrease the wavelength to a lighter red…”

Dinky grinned as she watched her own coat move backwards through the color spectrum, turning from its usual purple to blue, then green, yellow, orange, red, and finally, Honeydew’s signature pale pink.

Clarity frowned.  “Well, that sorta worked,” she said, “but I changed your mane, too.  I guess there’s a way to put different light intensity on different parts of the target?”

“Very intuitive, Clarity,” said Professor Morningstar, stepping up next to the filly.  “It may be a little difficult at first, but it’s possible to cast many different colors and intensities of light at once.”

Clarity tried to modify the spell, but each time she shifted the color in Dinky’s mane, the coat changed as well.  After several tries, she managed to offset the shades of each by a small amount, but Dinky’s mane remained closer to pink than the desired pale green.

“May I offer a suggestion?” Professor Morningstar asked.  “Treat this a bit like you treat levitation drills, and focus portions of your magic on multiple objects.  Instead of treating Dinky as a single object, think of her coat as one object and her mane and tail as another.”

Clarity smiled sheepishly.  “Oh yeah.  I should have thought of that.”

Her horn flashed brighter for an instant, and Dinky smiled as her mane rapidly changed colors until it was green.

“We’re like twins!” Honeydew laughed, leaning up against Dinky.

“Impressive,” the professor remarked.  “As usual, Clarity, your aptitude for this is almost as impressive as your sister’s.”

Dinky noticed Clarity flinch a bit at being compared to Lucid again, and the magic ceased, returning Dinky’s fur to normal.  Clarity seemed to quickly shake off her discomfort, though.

“Well, I need to offer some advice to the other students,” Professor Morningstar continued.  “But before I go, can I ask you girls a favor?”

“Sure,” the fillies said in unison.

“You three always seem to catch on in this class very quickly,” the stallion said.  “Would you mind working with a student who has been having some difficulty?  Perhaps having a few partners to practice with would do more good than me just explaining things.”

Dinky shrugged.  “Well, Clarity certainly has this spell down,” she said, grinning at her friend, “and I think Honeydew and I can figure it out.  I guess we could help another student.”

“Excellent,” the professor said cheerfully.  “I’ll send Scuffle over to work with you three in just a moment.”

He trotted away, oblivious to the sudden change in the fillies’ expressions.

“Nice going, Dinky,” Clarity said, rolling her eyes.  “You just agreed to have us help Scuffle.”

“How was I supposed to know it was him?” Dinky said defensively.  “All the professor said was ‘a student’.”

Honeydew began backing slowly away from her friends.  “Maybe I should, uh, go to another group,” she whimpered.

“Scuffle won’t try anything with the professor standing right there,” Dinky assured her.  “Let’s see what happens.  If it gets to be too much of a problem, you can go.”

Honeydew swallowed hard, but she nodded.

Scuffle’s tan mane was just visible above the other foals as he pushed his way through the crowd.  He trotted up to Dinky and her friends, frowning.

“You three again,” he said testily.  “I can’t say I’m excited.”

“Neither are we,” Dinky responded.  “But think about this for a second.  We’re in class right now; there’s no way your brothers can catch you here.  If what you said yesterday was true, then don’t you think it’d be easier for everypony if you just cooperate and practice with us today?”

Scuffle’s tail twitched.  “You can’t mention it to anypony, got it?”

“We won’t,” Clarity insisted.

The colt sighed.  “Alright, fine, I guess.  Let me just sit here and watch you three work before I do anything, though.”

Scuffle sat down and remained silent.

“Um… okay,” Dinky said.  “Here Honeydew, let me try changing your colors next.”

For a short while, Dinky continued to practice the spell on Honeydew.  Scuffle appeared to be paying attention, but still didn’t participate.

“Alright, Honeydew,”	Dinky said.  “Your turn to try casting the spell.”

Honeydew nodded.  “Who should I cast it on?  Clarity?”

“Cast it on me.”

It was the first time Scuffle had spoken since sitting down.  Honeydew slowly turned to face him, looking confused and a little worried.

“What?” he asked.  “I’m stuck here anyway.  I might as well be involved, right?”

Honeydew chewed her lip, avoiding Scuffle’s gaze.

Scuffle shrugged.  “Fine.  Have it your way, Honeydew.  I’ll just sit here and do nothing.”

Honeydew’s ears twitched as Scuffle spoke her name.  “…alright, stand up,” she said quietly, still not looking directly at the colt.  “What color do you want?”

Scuffle shook his head indecisively.  “I dunno.  Blue or something.”

Magic surrounded Honeydew’s horn, and she focused the light on the colt.  The faint element of red that accented Scuffle’s brown coat became more prominent, but instead of changing to orange, it lightened to pink.

Scuffle gasped, clearly appalled by the color.  “Wrong way!” he yelled.  “I can’t be pink!  Change it now or I’m gonna—”

Honeydew squeaked and scrambled backwards, frightened by the outburst.  Scuffle cut himself off when he realized what he’d done.

“Forget it,” he mumbled.  “Maybe I shouldn’t be involved.”

From her hiding place behind Dinky and Clarity, Honeydew nodded in agreement.

“I think maybe we should give you a turn,” Clarity said, stepping forward.  “You can use me as your test pony.”

Scuffle laughed.  “Yeah right.  I’m awful in this class.  I can’t cast an illusion spell.”

“Wow, real positive attitude you have there,” Dinky said.  “At least give it a try.”

“You can cast an illumination spell at least, right?” Clarity asked.

Scuffle nodded.  “Enough, I guess,” he said.  “It’s not the brightest, but it works.”

“Good.  Do that now.”

Scuffle rolled his eyes and surrounded his horn with slate blue magic that gave off a glow of unimpressive intensity.

“Good, now just compress the wavelength,” Clarity said.

Scuffle looked bewildered.

“Just focus the majority of the spell closer to the tip of the horn, instead of at the core,” Clarity explained.  “It’s not hard.”

Scuffle grunted and tried to refocus the magic.  Nothing happened.

“You need a little more power,” Dinky chimed in.  “You have to give it enough energy to change the light wavelength.”

Scuffle gritted his teeth and unleashed a much larger burst of energy.  Clarity’s mane turned brilliant purple instantaneously.

Scuffle’s mouth dropped open a bit.  “Did I do that?” he sputtered.

“I told you it wasn’t hard,” Clarity said.  “Now do the same thing, but focus the magic equally along your whole horn, instead of just at the tip.”

It took Scuffle a moment to figure out how to comply with the request, but once he did, Clarity’s mane quickly shifted through a rainbow of colors, coming to rest at bright red.  

“Oh,” he said bluntly.  “I guess this isn’t a big deal after all.”

The colt sat back down.  “You three work on it a little more, and then maybe I’ll try again,” he said.

Scuffle sat alone, changing the color of his own coat and looked particularly pleased, while the fillies went back to their own practice.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

All four foals had made progress by the end of class.  Dinky, Clarity, and Honeydew had gone beyond just two colors and managed to start creating illusional patterns of stripes and polka dots.  Scuffle, after some more coaching from Dinky and Clarity, had managed to change the color of Dinky’s mane and coat separately for a short time, which for him was a considerable accomplishment.

Dinky and her friends walked out of the classroom, and Scuffle tagged along just behind them.  “Hey, you three,” he called.  “We need to have a quick talk before we go our separate ways.”

The fillies stopped and waited for Scuffle to catch up.

“So, uh…” Scuffle started, “It’s kind of unusual for me to actually learn the spells we study in class on the first day.”

He looked left and right to ensure nopony was nearby before continuing.

“Thanks for the help,” he mumbled.

“You’re welcome,” Dinky said.  “It wasn’t terrible working with you either.”

“You’re still a grump, but I guess that’s better than a bully,” Clarity said wryly.

“Oh, that reminds me,” Scuffle said, “I was thinking about what happened on Friday.  I guess we need to figure out what we’re gonna do now.”

“We’re not gonna do anything,” Dinky pointed out.  “Are you going to leave us alone from now on?”

“Yeah, I guess,” Scuffle said.  “But my brothers still need to think I’m tough, so you three should try not to interact with me at all.  If you do, I have to retaliate.  It’s the only way.”

“You don’t need to worry about that,” Honeydew squeaked from behind the protective wall formed by her friends’ bodies.  “We’ll stay far away!”

“Speaking of which, Honeydew,” Scuffle continued, “could you come here for a second?”

Dinky and Clarity stepped aside to let Honeydew through, but the pink filly didn’t move, so Scuffle strode up to her instead.

“So, like I was sayin’ on Friday,” he said quietly, his ears drooping shamefully. “I guess I didn’t realize just how much of an influence I was having on you.”

Honeydew said nothing.  Scuffle again looked up and down the hall, ensuring that the four of them were the only ponies present.

“For what it’s worth… I’m sorry.”

Honeydew’s ear twitched, and for a fraction of a second she locked eyes with Scuffle before once again averting her gaze.

“Yeah, that’s about the reaction I was expecting,” Scuffle said, smirking.  “That’s all I have to say.  You three get going before somepony gets suspicious.”

Satisfied with his momentary attempt at kindness, Scuffle trotted away, attempted to round the nearest corner, and promptly crashed into two ponies much bigger than he was coming in the other direction.  Scuffle scrambled backwards as soon as he recognized his brothers.

“Uh, hey bros,” he said, his voice rising about an octave above normal.  “I thought you two were still in Advanced Enchantments class…”

“Professor Luster let us out early,” Frosty said, grinning devilishly.  “We came to meet you when you got out of class, but it looks like you were a little busy having a chat with these fillies.”

Scorch stepped in front of Scuffle and looked at Dinky and her friends, who looked just as shocked as Scuffle.  “Who woulda’ thought,” the red colt said. “Here I was convinced maybe you were actually toughening up, but you’ve just been cuttin’ deals with these fillies the whole time, haven’t you?”

“No!” Scuffle cried, looking frantically around as if searching for an escape route.  “I mean, I’ve been driving them crazy, stealing their stuff—”

“—and then apologizing when nopony’s around to hear,” Frosty said.  “You almost had us fooled, Scuff.  I guess we should have known better though; in hindsight, there was no way a softie like you could have ever lived up to ponies like us.”

The twins laughed as Scuffle seemed to shrink before them.  “Come on, little bro,” Scorch chuckled.  “Let’s go ‘talk’ about what you’re doing to your reputation.  Maybe we can ‘motivate’ you to behave like a colt who deserves to be in charge.”

Scuffle’s pupils shrank to pinprics.  Frosty grabbed the young colt by the tail with magic, and the twins dragged their brother away.  Scuffle cast Dinky and her friends one last terrified look.

“Help!” he mouthed desperately.

Scuffle continued to grasp fruitlessly at the carpet before the twins dragged him around the corner and out of sight.
> Chapter 9
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“So let me get this straight,” Honeydew panted as she struggled to keep up with her friends.  “We’re going to rescue Scuffle?”

“Yep,” Dinky said bluntly as she pushed open a large door with her magic and dashed into the stairwell behind it.

“You do realize we can’t do a thing to stop his brothers,” Honeydew pointed out.

“We can’t,” Dinky agreed, “but if we can get back to the residence towers before they do, maybe the overseers can!”

“But that’s hardly any better!” Honeydew argued.  “If the FrostFire Twins find out we’re interfering with their intentions, then we’ll be targeted.  If Scorch and Frosty were after me, I’d waste no time dropping out of this school!”

“We’re not gonna let them find out!” Clarity said.  “If we get there quick enough, we can let somepony know and then get away before the twins and Scuffle even arrive.  Why else would we be galloping through the school like our lives depended on it?”

“If we’re too slow, we’re gonna get caught, so our lives kinda do depend on it,” Honeydew deadpanned.

“Exactly!  Run faster!”

The fillies burst out the side door of the castle and looked wildly around.

“There’s no sign of them,” Dinky said breathlessly.  “Hopefully that means they’re still in the castle.  Hurry!”

Dinky led the way as the trio climbed the stone incline leading to the promontory on which the residence towers sat.

“Ok, so you told me how we’re helping Scuffle,” Honeydew continued, unwilling to let the topic drop, “but you haven’t told me why!  What reason has he given us to stick our necks out for him?”

“He hasn’t,” Dinky answered simply.  “But right now, he needs our help.  I know you don’t like him; I don’t like him much either, but I’m not going to let him get beaten up just because of that.”

Honeydew tried to formulate another argument, but ran out of time as the fillies reached the tower.

“Sparkler!” Dinky called as she scurried into the building.  “Are you here?  We need your help!”

The room was deserted.  Dinky ran to Sparkler’s private chamber and pushed open the door.  The bedroom was littered with books and the bedcovers were a mess, but there was no sign of the young mare.

“She’s not here,” Dinky said.  “Now what?”

“Let’s go see if Presto’s around,” Clarity suggested.

“Are you serious?” Honeydew asked.  “Scorch and Frosty will be coming up the path any moment.  We’ll be caught!”

“Not if we hurry!”

Dinky and Clarity bolted from the tower.  Honeydew shuddered, but after a moment’s hesitation she followed her friends.

The fillies hammered on the door of the colts’ tower until it was opened by a confused-looking blue unicorn.  “Uh, hi,” he said awkwardly.  “What is it?”

“Is Presto here?” Dinky asked frantically.  She tried to lean past the colt to look around the chamber, but her head collided with a hard, invisible surface.  She quickly remembered the barrier spell meant to keep fillies out and backed up, blushing.

“Yeah, I think Presto’s in his room,” the colt said.

“Could you get him?” Clarity asked.  “Like, right now?”

The colt nodded and shut the door, leaving the fillies out on the landing.  Honeydew turned around and watched the path warily.

For several minutes, the fillies stood in silence, but nopony from within the tower came to the door.  After a few minutes, Honeydew gave a fearful squeak and backed against her friends.

“They’re coming!” she said urgently.  “I can see them down there; they just left the castle.  That means they’ll be here in about a minute!”

Dinky turned back to the door and lifted her hoof to knock again, but it swung open before she got the chance, revealing the black and white colt she was looking for.

“Hello, girls,” Presto said pleasantly.  “Sorry for the delay; I was in the middle of helping a friend who lives at the top of the tower, so it took me a bit to get down here.  I take it Sparkler’s not around, since you’ve come looking for my help, right?”

“Right,” said Dinky.  “There’s not much time to explain.  The FrostFire Twins are coming, and they’re not too happy with their younger brother right now.  You’ve got to stop them from hurting him!”

“Or us…” Honeydew added timidly.

Presto didn’t wait for further explanation.  His horn lit up, and the girls were concealed with what Dinky quickly realized was a considerably powerful invisibility spell.

“Stay still,” Presto mumbled under his breath.  The colt left the fillies standing out of the way and slowly backed into the residence tower, leaving the door open just a crack.  Soon, the voices of the colts traveling up the path became audible.

“Come on, guys,” Scuffle whined.  “This has gotta be some kind of misunderstanding!  I’m plenty tough!  Us tough guys gotta stick together, right?”

“Aww, sorry bro,” said Frosty with mock sympathy.  “You’re not quite as tough as you think.  But don’t worry; because we’re such awesome brothers, we’re gonna fix that for you.”

“I know how you two fix problems,” Scuffle mumbled.  “It’s somewhat more painful than how most ponies fix problems.”

“Well, you could decline our ‘help’,” Scorch said in the same patronizing tone, as he continued to drag Scuffle along by his tail, “but that’d just be worse.  See, if you’re not tough enough, you’ll ruin our image.  That means we’d have to treat you like everypony else.  And you don’t want that, do ya, Scuff?”

Scuffle rolled his eyes.  “So, my options here are get roughed up, or get roughed up as punishment for not letting you rough me up.  Gee, which should I choose?”

“You’re in no position to mouth off!” Frosty snapped as he yanked open the tower door with magic.  “Be quiet, or when we get in there we’re really gonna—”

“Going to what, Frosty?”

Frosty jumped when he realized he’d come nose to nose with Presto.  The big grey colt backed off rather quickly.

“Oh, hey Presto,” said Scorch in a voice positively dripping with false goodwill.  “How’s the, uh… overseeing coming along?”

“Fine,” said Presto sternly.  “Mind telling me what exactly it is you’re doing there, Scorch?”

Scorch realized Scuffle’s tail was still suspended firmly in his magic’s grip.  He dropped it and backed up until he was next to Frosty.  “Nothin’,” he insisted.  “Just having a chat with little Scuffle here.”

“I’m sure you are,” said Presto sarcastically.  “I think you two had better head inside for now, just to make sure you’re keeping out of trouble.  I need a moment to speak with Scuffle alone.”

Scorch and Frosty exchanged a glance.  “You’re the boss,” Scorch said.  “Come on, Frosty.”

“Don’t worry, Scuffle,” Frosty said, grinning maliciously.  “We’ll finish our little ‘conversation’ later.”

The twins pushed past Presto and slammed the tower door, leaving the overseer outside with their younger brother.  Scuffle stood and brushed the gravel from his coat.

“So… what’s up, Presto?” he asked awkwardly.  “What did you need to talk to me about?”

“Oh, nothing really,” Presto admitted.  “I was just helping you out of that sticky situation.  I don’t know what you did, but you of all ponies should know not to get on Scorch and Frosty’s bad sides.”

“Wait, you just did that to help me?” Scuffle asked, surprised.  “Uh… thanks.”

“It’s not me you want to thank,” Presto chuckled.  “I wouldn’t have been here to help if I somepony hadn’t warned me you were in trouble.”

Scuffle cocked his head.  “Somepony warned you?  Get real, Presto.  There isn’t a single pony at this school who would go out of their way to help me.”

“Apparently, there are three,” Presto countered, “and they’re the ones you ought to be thanking.”

Presto finally dropped the invisibility spell, and Dinky, Clarity, and Honeydew looked at one another as their bodies came back into view.

Scuffle’s jaw dropped.  Presto smiled at the colt’s reaction.

“I’ll leave you four to chat,” he said, turning toward the tower door.  “Do try to stay out of trouble, Scuffle.  I doubt you’re going to have backup like this all the time.”

Presto nodded in farewell and disappeared into the tower.

“What was that all about?” Scuffle asked.  “I didn’t expect you three to actually help me.  If Scorch and Frosty had seen you with Presto, you woulda’ been in trouble.”

“That’s what I said,” Honeydew pointed out.

Scuffle pointed at Honeydew and grinned.  “This filly gets it,” he chuckled.  “Yet here you three are.  I appreciate the help but… why’d you bother?”

Dinky rolled her eyes.  “Are Clarity and I the only ponies who don’t think doing something simply because it’s the right thing to do is strange?” she asked.

“Well, maybe I would have understood that if I was a stranger,” Scuffle said.  “But we’re not exactly on the best of terms.  I know I wouldn’t help someone who’d put me through the kind of trouble I’ve put you through.”

“We’re not on bad terms,” Clarity pointed out.  “I’d call it something more like neutral terms now.  We can’t just erase the past, but we know you’re trying to be kinder.  Heck, that’s how you wound up in that situation in the first place.”

“True,” Scuffle mumbled.  “Well, thanks a lot for the help.  It’s not gonna change anything, though.  My brothers are great at singling me out and cornering me. I don’t have any friends to keep an eye out for me and get a professor or an overseer like you girls just did, so it’s only a matter of time until they give me their ‘lesson’ in being the kind of pony they’re willing to respect.”

Dinky furrowed her brow.  “You don’t have any friends?” she asked.

“Why would I?” Scuffle asked bitterly.  “Up until now, I’ve been either ignoring everypony, or treating them like I treated you three, just so I could keep my brothers from turning on me.  Now that that’s happened, I’m kinda on my own.”

Scuffle’s expression seemed indifferent as usual, but Dinky couldn’t help but feel that the colt was simply hiding his feelings.

“Let me ask you something, Scuffle,” Dinky said levelly.  “Does that… does that bother you at all?”

Scuffle shrugged.  “I guess,” he admitted.  “I’m used to it, though.  It’s already too late for me to make any friends at this school.”

Dinky looked at her friends.  “You’re thinking what I’m thinking, right?”

Clarity nodded.  Honeydew looked alarmed but said nothing.  After a moment, Dinky turned back to Scuffle.  The colt just stared at her, looking bewildered.

“Listen, Scuffle,” she said quietly, “now that you’re on your brothers’ bad sides anyway, there’s no more reason for you to act like a big bully, right?”

“I guess,” Scuffle said once again.

Dinky extended a hoof.  “Well, then I’ll be your friend, Scuffle.  If you want, that is.”

Scuffle eyed the filly’s outstretched hoof disbelievingly.  “You're just gonna overlook what I've done?” he asked.  "You're not serious, are you?"

“I am serious,” said Dinky.  “I’ll treat you like a friend if you’re willing to treat me like one.”

Scuffle blinked.  “I… wow, I didn’t think you’d, you know… give me another chance,” he stammered.

“Anypony who is willing to change deserves another chance,” Dinky assured him.  “Now, are you interested or not?  I’m getting tired of holding out my foreleg.”

Scuffle smiled.  The expression caught Dinky by surprise; it wasn’t a smirk or a devious grin, just a plain old pleased smile.  He reached out and shook her hoof.

“Alright, yeah.  Friends.”

“I’m up for this too,” Clarity announced.  “Dinky and I hang out together all the time anyway, so there’s hardly a reason not to be friends too.”

Scuffle shook Clarity’s hoof as well.  “Thanks, Clarity,” he said sincerely.  “I’ll, uh, try my best to do the same.”

Scuffle turned to Honeydew.  The pink filly stared back at him, her expression vacant.  Scuffle raised his forehoof halfway, and Honeydew backed away another pace and looked at the ground.

Scuffle cleared his throat awkwardly.  “Right.  I kind of figured that might happen.  Totally understandable.”

Honeydew chanced a glance in Scuffle’s direction before reaffixing her gaze firmly to the earth.

“Alright,” Scuffle said, trying to move the conversation past the uncomfortable lull, “Dinky, Clarity, I’ll see you two soon, I hope.  And thanks again for what you did with Presto and all.”

“Don’t mention it,” Dinky replied.  “See you later.”

Scuffle waved, and after a final glance at Honeydew, he turned and trotted off toward the castle.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next two weeks were particularly busy.  The term, which ran from spring until late autumn, was just about to reach its halfway point.  The students prepared for the inevitable change in their schedules; some elective classes only ran for half the term, and would be replaced with new ones once the second half began.

Dinky spent some time finishing papers and projects for the classes that were coming to a close, but luckily, only a few were leaving her weekly schedule, so she and her friends still found a little time to get together.

Scuffle remained rather introverted.  He sat with the girls during meals and occasionally joined them to study, but usually kept quiet while doing so.  Dinky often tried to include him, but whenever she got him to open up and participate more actively in a conversation or activity, Honeydew would become more reserved or even come up with an excuse to leave for a while.    Dinky found herself unable to do much, other than hope Honeydew would warm up to the colt with time.

So far, Scuffle seemed to be avoiding the full force of his brothers’ grudge toward him.  He told Dinky that Presto had begun to keep a closer eye on the three of them while they were in the residence tower, which quickly proved a very useful change

Dinky spent more time with Sunbeam as well.  His schedule gave him plenty of free time that coincided nicely with Dinky’s, and the two of them headed to the deserted classroom several times a week to practice the strange, alternative magic while Clarity, Honeydew, and Scuffle were in class.

Soon, the last day of the first portion of the term had arrived.  Dinky sighed in relief as the bell rang, bringing her half-year Magic in History class to a close for the last time.  She swiveled in her seat to face Sunbeam.  The colt smiled in greeting.

“Hi, Sunbeam,” the filly said.  “Looks like we made it through the first half of the term.”

“Looks like it, yes it does,” Sunbeam agreed.  “So… are you up for a little practice today?”

Dinky frowned.  “I dunno, Sunbeam.  I’m still tired from last time.  These spells are hard work.”

“Oh.  Well, um… could we just do a short session?  There’s one new spell I really wanted us to try, yes there is.”

Dinky chuckled.  “You are really dedicated to this stuff, aren’t you?” she asked.  “Fine, I guess just a little practice wouldn’t hurt.”

“That’s the spirit, yes it is!” Sunbeam cheered.  “Come on, we’ll go right now, yes we will.”

Sunbeam trotted down the hallway, clearly thrilled.  Dinky fell into step next to him.

“So, do you feel like your body is adjusting to the magic yet?” Sunbeam asked.  “I bet by now it feels less strange than it did the first time you tried it, yes I do.”

Dinky nodded.  “Yeah, it doesn’t take much effort to bring the magic into my horn anymore,” she admitted.  “It’s still really weird, though; my body has stopped fighting back when I try to summon the spells, but there’s still something in the back of my mind that just doesn’t feel right.  I can’t put my hoof on what, but something about those spells still bothers me a bit.”

“Maybe your mind is just playing tricks on you, yes it is,” Sunbeam suggested.  “Perhaps deep down you still don’t feel right because your body is trained to expect spells to behave in a certain way.  The mind’s hesitation to use the spells outlasts the body’s unwillingness to cast them, yes it does.”

“So… that nagging feeling will go away on its own?”

“Definitely,” Sunbeam replied.  “Just practice with me for a little while longer, and you’ll soon find the difference between casting regular spells and alternative spells just… disappears!”

Sunbeam gave an unsettling chuckle that turned into more of a gurgle.  Dinky stopped and stared at him, slowly raising an eyebrow.

“Sorry,” the colt mumbled.  “I have a bit of a cold, yes I do.”

A welcome distraction appeared in the form of the door to the abandoned classroom.  Sunbeam quickly pushed it open and the foals entered the room.

“So what’s this ‘special spell’ you mentioned?” Dinky asked impatiently.  “Let’s give it a few tries so I can get going.  It’s been a busy week and I need a break.”

“It’s a spell that you will probably find very useful, yes it is,” Sunbeam proclaimed.  “It is a fire conjuring spell.  A similar spell exists within the realm of normal magic, of course, but they don’t teach it here until the third year of our study, no they do not.”

Dinky looked around the room.  “But there’s no fireplace in here,” she pointed out.  “It’s just wood panels.  We shouldn’t practice fire spells on a flammable floor.”

“Quite right, yes you are,” Sunbeam said.  “Wait right there.”

Sunbeam trotted to the blackboard and felt around on the ledge for chalk.  Finding a half-used stub from a long forgotten class, he returned to Dinky’s side and scribbled a series of interconnected triangles that formed a ring on the floor.

Dinky looked at Sunbeam suspiciously.  “Is that a magical symbol?” she asked.

“Yes,” Sunbeam declared.  “It will prevent any conjured fire from spreading beyond the edges of the design, yes it will.”

“But… how did you even learn about those?” Dinky questioned.  “You can’t even take a class on use of simple runes here until your second year.  Compound symbols like that one are probably fourth term material.”

Sunbeam swallowed.  “Well, uh—”

“You’re a nice colt, Sunbeam, but something about your background in magic seems off,” Dinky said.  “Why do you know so many things that first term students aren’t taught?”

“I-I just do a lot of research!” Sunbeam said defensively.  “It’s not like advanced spells are off limits to younger students, no they are not!  The library has an entire section on magical symbols; I just looked into it for safety reasons when practicing spells like this one, yes I did!”

Dinky sighed.  “I guess that makes sense,” she admitted.  “Sorry for accusing you.  There’s just something so… so different about you.  I just can’t figure out what.”

Sunbeam pouted and looked at the floor.  “I bet that, combined with my speech, is why all the other ponies avoid me, yes it is,” he muttered.  “I thought you were a pony who looked beyond that, yes I did.”

“I am!” Dinky insisted.  “I’m sorry, really.  Come on; let’s try your new spell.”

Sunbeam’s mood lifted instantly.  “Okay, just copy me,” he said.

The colt’s horn erupted with black light.  He lowered his head and shot a bolt of energy into the center of the ring.  A powerful black and purple flame sprung up immediately, casting much more intense heat than Dinky had expected.  She backed away from the flames until the heat was no longer uncomfortable.

The chalk lines on the floor blazed with purple light, and as Sunbeam had promised, the fire did not extend past the circle.  Sunbeam let it burn for a few more seconds and then cast another spell.  The purple ring flashed white, and the fire was snuffed out as quickly as it had been conjured.

“Now you try,” he instructed.  “Call forth the magic and imagine that spot consumed with black fire.”

Dinky concentrated.  Her body offered little resistance this time, allowing the alternative magic to flow forth into her horn.  Dinky paid no heed to the blackness on her horn or the violet energy around her eyes as she focused on the chalk circle.

The magic gave a loud crackle as the filly let it loose, and once again, black flames sprung up inside the ring.

Awesome! Dinky thought.  With this, I can destroy anything with flame!

An instant later, she paused and shook her head forcefully.  Wait, what?  Why am I even thinking that?  I don’t want to use magic destructively.

Sunbeam noticed Dinky’s apparent discomfort.  “Are you alright?  You look shaken.”

“How do I cast the spell to put it out?” Dinky asked quickly.

“Just pour base magical energy into the circle,” Sunbeam explained.  “The design is already meant to extinguish the fire when activated by magical energy.”

Dinky lit her horn.  A few more black sparks flew, but after a second the usual yellow returned.  The filly energized the circle and the fire vanished.

“Easy, yes?” Sunbeam asked.

“Yeah,” said Dinky breathlessly, “but I think I’d really better get going.  I must be really tired; I’m not even thinking straight anymore.”

Sunbeam nodded understandingly.  “Get some rest, then.  Practice can wait until next week, yes it can.”

Sunbeam flashed a genial grin, and Dinky returned it.  She trotted from the room as Sunbeam began to erase the chalk circle.

Her reaction was intriguing, yes it was, he thought to himself.  She is making progress just as quickly as I had hoped.  We only have to keep this secret for a short while longer, and then if she finds out the truth, it will be too late, yes it will…

The colt gave another gurgling chuckle as he drew the light from the orb and exited the room.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Alright, maybe I just need to adjust one of the light output layers.  Which one do you think is messed up?”

Dinky looked up from the novel she was reading long enough to roll her eyes.  “Give it up, Clarity.  This spell is beyond you.”

Clarity stamped a hoof.  “It is not beyond me!” she insisted.  “I am going to figure out this invisibility thing if it kills me!”

It was Saturday afternoon.  Dinky had chosen not to make the journey home to Ponyville this weekend, and she and Clarity were spending the afternoon relaxing in the student lounge between the two residence towers.

Or at least, Dinky was relaxing.  Clarity had decided to jump ahead a few chapters in the Practical Magic textbook and test out invisibility spells, and Dinky couldn’t help but giggle each time the grey filly’s attempts led to some bizarre color change or unnerving translucency.

“Quit laughing!” Clarity whined, as her latest attempt at invisibility managed to invert the color of her mane, leaving it a fierce orange.

“Sorry,” Dinky hiccupped, trying to force herself to stop giggling.  “Why are you doing this, anyway?  Professor Morningstar doesn’t expect any of us to manage total invisibility yet; it’s way more complicated than the spells we’ve been practicing in class.”

“I know, but it was just so cool when Presto turned us invisible a couple weeks ago,” Clarity admitted.  “And I still say that my special talent must have something to do with illusions!  If I can just manage a total invisibility spell, I’ll get a Cutie Mark for sure!”

“You remind me of some friends back in Ponyville,” Dinky said.  “They’re always going way out of their way to get their Cutie Marks.  You’ll get it when it’s time to get it.  There’s no sense worrying about it.”

“Cutie Mark or no Cutie Mark, this is still an awesome spell,” Clarity said stubbornly.

Clarity tried the spell again, and this time, she managed to match her color to the backdrop entirely.  For a split second, it looked like she’d managed the spell, but as soon as she moved, her position was revealed; the spell on her coat failed to change to match whatever was behind her.

Dinky had to cover her muzzle with a hoof to stop herself from bursting into laughter.  “Did you really just change your coat to match the colors of everything around you?” she asked.

Clarity snorted indignantly as the usual grey and blue hues returned.  “Hey, come on.  It was the best attempt so far.”

She glowered at Dinky, but she couldn’t hold the mock serious face for long.  Soon she too dissolved into laughter.

“You have a point, though,” the grey filly admitted.  “A very detailed color change isn’t even in the same ballpark as actual invisibility.  That doesn’t mean I’m giving up, though.”

“At least take a break,” Dinky urged.  “I’m gonna go outside for a little while.  You should come too.”

“Go ahead, I’ll catch up,” Clarity said, lighting her horn again.  “I just wanna give this a couple more tries.”

Dinky nodded and trotted through the doorway connecting the communal lounge to the fillies’ tower.   Just as she stepped through, the front door of the tower swung open as well, and a purple rump that clearly belonged to Sparkler backed into the room.

“I told you I’m not interested, Presto!” Sparkler said forcefully as she stood in the doorway.  “Just leave me alone, I’m busy!”

“Don’t get so defensive!” Presto replied from somewhere outside, beyond Dinky’s range of vision.  “All I asked was if you felt like joining me for a game out on the grounds, since it’s such a nice day.”

“I don’t have time,” Sparkler said quickly.  “I don’t know how you manage to be so laid back; you’re an overseer for Celestia’s sake!”

“You always say you don’t have time,” Presto said, more quietly.  “You’ve been saying that for four and a half years now.  There’s not much time left, Sparkler.  Don’t you wanna have a little fun before we graduate and leave this place for good?”

“I am here to study and to perform my duties as overseer, not to enjoy myself,” Sparkler answered as she backed fully through the doorway.  “I don’t want to go out and have fun.”

“Don’t want to?” Presto asked.  “Or… won’t allow yourself to?”

Sparkler’s horn flared, and she slammed the door so hard the vibrations could be felt halfway up the tower.  She turned and noticed Dinky standing by the lounge door.

“And what are you looking at?” the older filly snarled.  

Dinky noticed Sparkler’s expression was a little more severe than usual.  The overseer was blinking back a few tears.

“Nothing, Sparkler,” she replied quickly.  “I was just on my way outside.”

“Well, get going,” Sparkler hissed, turning away.  “I have lots to do, and I don’t need you first-term foals underhoof.”

Dinky hesitated.  

“Sparkler?  Is there something going on with you and Pres—”

“None of your business!” Sparkler yelled, cutting Dinky off.  “Get out of here.  Now.”

Dinky sighed and hurried out the front door before Sparkler got any angrier.

What exactly is going on between Presto and Sparkler? the filly wondered.  A colt as friendly as Presto can’t actually have something to do with the reason Sparkler’s always in such a sour mood, can he?

Dinky looked back at the tower, where Sparkler had most likely locked herself away in her room as usual.

I can’t let myself be bothered by this, Dinky decided.  I have enough things to deal with without getting wrapped up in the overseers’ business too.

Trying her best to focus on something else, Dinky trotted away, leaving the tower and the grumpy overseer behind.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

On Monday at breakfast, Dinky and the other fillies took a moment to compare schedules and see if any of the mid-term changes would affect them.

“Well, we still have Practical Magic,” Clarity said absentmindedly as she pored over the chart.  “Enchantments and Transformation and Conjuring are full-year classes too.”

“And Dinky and I still have Magical Biology,” Honeydew added.

Dinky looked down her own list.  “Do either of you have Astronomy?” she asked.  “My tutor suggested I sign up for that.  Looks like I have it on Tuesday night.”

Clarity shook her head, and after glancing quickly at Honeydew’s schedule, shook it again.

“Sorry, Dinky.  Looks like you’re on your own for that one.”

Dinky shrugged.  “Eh, it can’t be any worse than having Magic in History without you two,” she said.  “Are there any other new classes in there?”

Clarity looked.  “I have Magical Artifacts on Friday,” she said.  “It’s in the afternoon, after Transformation.”

Dinky had almost forgotten to check Friday, since she was so used to Magic in History filling the afternoon slot.  She grinned when she saw that she too had been assigned to Magical Artifacts.

“Looks like we’ll have that one together,” she said, giving her tail a cheerful flick.  “What about you, Honeydew?”

“I have Friday afternoon open now,” Honeydew said, “which is good, because I have a class now on the day I used to go help Professor Chestnut with research.  I’ll have to talk to her about moving our weekly meeting.”

Clarity glanced at the clock.  “Do that later, Honeydew,” she said quickly.  “It’s time for class.”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The new week played out much the same as usual, until the time came for Dinky’s first Astronomy class.  The course was held late in the evening, as expected, and the usually busy castle seemed almost deserted for once as Dinky made her way to her classroom.

Or at least, Dinky tried to make her way to her classroom.  The Astronomy hall was inside a turret in a part of the castle the filly typically had no reason to pass through.  After a few minutes of baffled wandering, she gave in and retrieved the map of the Academy from her saddlebag.

Dinky continued to trot aimlessly forward as she tried to determine her position on the map.  She rounded a corner and collided with another pony.

“Whoops!  I’m sorry,” she said quickly.  “I don’t really know where I’m going and—”

Dinky looked up from her map and realized the pony she’d run into was none other than Scuffle.

“Dinky?” the colt asked.  “Wasn’t expectin’ to see you here.  Where are you headed at this time of night?”

“Class, actually,” Dinky replied.

Scuffle raised an eyebrow.  “At this hour?  It’s not Astronomy, is it?”

“It is.”

Scuffle raised his eyebrows.  “Well, how about that.  I’m on my way there too.”

“Oh, that’s a relief,” Dinky said.  “I thought I was gonna be stuck in a class with nopony I knew again.”

“Clarity and Honeydew aren’t in this class?” Scuffle asked, as he and Dinky continued toward the classroom.

“Nah.”

Scuffle chewed his lip thoughtfully.  “That might be for the best, actually.  It’s pretty obvious that Honeydew doesn’t like me too much,” he said.  “I’ve been trying my best not to upset her these last couple weeks, but it’s just a lot easier to be myself when she’s not around.”

“Is that why you’ve been so quiet lately?” Dinky asked.

Scuffle nodded.  “It… it just doesn’t sit right with me, what I did to her,” he admitted.  “I don’t blame her; she has the right to be uncomfortable, I guess.  Heck, I’m lucky that you and Clarity were able to give me another chance; it would have been a little too good to be true to expect all three of you to forgive me right away.”

"What about your brothers?  Have they given you any more trouble?"

"Not lately," Scuffle said.  "Presto put up a magical ward around my room after a while, because it was obvious they were out to get me.  It's kinda like the one around the colts' residence tower that keeps the fillies out, except it doesn't let anypony pass except for Presto and me.  I still have to watch my tail when I'm outside the tower, though."

At last, Dinky and Scuffle arrived at the door they were looking for, located at the very end of a long hallway at the back of the castle.  Dinky pushed the door open and was somewhat confused with what she found on the other side.

The room was clearly a classroom, but it wasn’t quite what she was expecting.  It was a circular chamber with a very, very high ceiling, built entirely of darkly colored bricks.  The room was lit by one half-charged illumination orb and dozens of candles glowing faintly with bluish-purple flames.  The desks were more like tables; each had room for two foals to work instead of one.  At the front of the room was a wheeled blackboard, on which somepony had written “please choose a seat” in overly intricate cursive hoofwriting.  There were no decorations, nor were there any windows.

“Yecch,” Scuffle grumbled.  “This classroom looks like it’s probably looked the same for the last couple centuries.”

“There aren’t even any windows,” Dinky observed.  “How are we supposed to do Astronomy if we can’t see the sky?”

Scuffle rolled his eyes.  “This is probably another one of those stupid classes that’s all study and no practice,” he said.

“Then why hold the class at night in the first place?” Dinky asked, bewildered.

That stumped the colt.  “You know… I don’t know,” he answered.  “Anyway, these desks are for two ponies.  I don’t know anypony else here, so… wanna be partners or something?”

Dinky shrugged.  “I don’t see why not.”

The foals proceeded to one of the remaining open desks and sat down.  The class remained relatively silent as a few final students entered the room and took their seats.

Minutes passed.  No professor arrived.

“Do you think the professor’s running late?” Dinky asked quietly.

Scuffle rolled his eyes.  “Maybe he or she had the sense not to bother to come to this rat hole of a classroom.”

Suddenly, the room was filled with the grating sound of metal on stone.  Several students jumped in surprise and looked around for the source.  An iron portcullis descended from the classroom doorway, reaching all the way to the ground in a matter of seconds and thus sealing everypony in the room.

“Whoa, what!?” Scuffle yelled, standing up and giving the metal barricade a good shake.  “It’s stuck!  We’re trapped in here!”

There was a loud, low rumble, and the whole chamber began to shake.  Dinky clutched her desk for support, and Scuffle staggered sideways from the vibrations.  After a moment, the entire floor began to move upward.

“This whole thing is some kind of gigantic elevator!” Dinky gasped as the platform that held the entire classroom made its way up the interior of the turret.  She watched the sealed door, which remained at ground level, disappear entirely.

“So now what?” Scuffle asked as he finally managed to return to his chair despite the shaking.  “If this keeps moving, eventually we’re going to be squashed against the ceiling!”

“This whole thing has to be purposeful, right?” Dinky asked, wishing she felt as sure as she sounded.  “This place is old, but it’s still part of Celestia’s Academy.  It’s not like we’re in some booby-trapped dungeon or something.”

Several more moments passed, and soon the platform was only a half-dozen pony lengths from the ceiling.  Still it did not stop rising.  Many of the students began to panic.

“Uh, Dinky,” Scuffle murmured, “If you’re right about us not being in danger, then something kind of needs to happen right now!”

As if on cue, the seemingly seamless ceiling suddenly parted.  The two halves of the circular roof slid apart, leaving a wide, round opening.  The platform continued to ascend into the open air before finally coming to a shuddering halt when the floor became flush with the uppermost surface of the turret’s walls.

The view was fantastic; the classroom floor now sat atop one of the highest towers in the castle.  Dinky could see the rooftops of all the other wings of the huge, irregular building, as well as every structure built into the valley nearby.  Most of the buildings were dark, but the windows of the distant residence towers glowed with the energy of dozens of illumination orbs.

A balcony was built around the entire circumference of the raised classroom.  At its edge was an ornate railing, functioning as the only barrier between the students and a dizzying plummet to the roof of a lower part of the castle or possibly the valley floor.  Telescopes and other astronomical instruments were set up around the balcony.

Dinky looked at Scuffle, who appeared just as amazed as she felt.

“Alright, I take it back.  Not really a rat hole of a classroom after all.”

“There’s one thing that still doesn’t make sense, though,” Dinky pointed out.  “Shouldn’t the professor have entered the classroom before it rose to the roof?”

“What’s that?”

Everypony turned toward the student who had cried out, and followed his gaze skyward.  A large silhouette appeared in front of the moon.  The shape spread its wings wide and began to descend toward the tower.

Dinky squinted at the shape, struggling to tell what it was as it approached.  Soon, she could make out the familiar outline of a pony.

“Wait a second, is that—”

Dinky was cut off as the descending figure gave off a burst of dazzling, deep blue magical light, revealing its identity to the students.   The silhouette became a familiar midnight blue alicorn with a mane like the starry sky.  Gracefully, she touched down on the stone floor next to the chalkboard.

“Good evening, my young unicorns,” she greeted loudly.  “I am Princess Luna, and I will be your instructor for this Astronomy course.”

There was a collective gasp.  A few students quickly climbed out of their chairs and bowed before the princess.  The rest followed suit.

“That will not be necessary,” Luna said.  “While this class is in session I am your professor first and your princess second.  Sister says this arrangement will put you more at ease during lessons.”

Luna cleared her throat as the students returned to their chairs.  “Now, I expect some of you may be feeling a bit surprised right now,” she continued.  “After all, to my knowledge, no notification was given that I would be conducting this class.  I have only been back from my extended stay on the moon for about two years now, but Sister believes I am prepared to take on a teaching role once again.”

“You’ve been a teacher before, Princess?” one filly asked.  “I know this Academy is old, but I thought it was established within the last thousand years.”

“It was,” Luna said matter-of-factly.  “Do not think that there was no such thing as magical study before the establishment of this academy.  I aided many a scholar in astronomical study in Equestria’s days of old.  Due to my connection with the night sky, in these recent years I have been oft regarded as the greatest modern authority on the subject in all the land.”

Luna lifted a piece of chalk with magic and trotted to the chalkboard.  “And on that note, I suppose we should get started,” she announced.  “I take it none of you have had any formal instruction in Astronomy before, so we shall begin at the beginning.”

Luna looked toward the pedestal holding the illumination orb and instantly put out the light within it.  She then gave a mighty flap of her wings, the gust extinguishing all the candles and leaving only moonlight and starlight to light the classroom.

“There are two heavenly bodies with which almost all ponies are acutely familiar,” Luna said.  “What are they?”

Nopony moved.

“This is not a trick question,” Luna added.  “Just call out the answer, if you wish.”

Dinky decided to chime in.  “The sun and the moon,” she answered.

“Correct,” Luna said, nodding.  “Each day, the sun and the moon pass over Equestria, due to the continued efforts of Celestia and myself.  Most ponies know that it is Celestia’s job to control the sun, and mine to control the moon.  Naturally, this means Celestia reigns over the day, while I rule over the night.”

Luna paused, staring at the night sky pensively.

“While I cannot deny that I find night preferable, I have come to realize the benefits of both night and day,” she said finally.  “Astronomy, however, does not focus solely on the sun and moon; it is a study of all the heavenly bodies in the skies beyond our fair Equestria, and how their energy affects the magic unicorns wield.”

“Wait, the stars have an influence on magic?” a green colt asked.

Luna nodded.  “It is for that very reason that unicorn scholars have taken such an interest in the subject.  Positions of constellations and alignments of planets channel certain energies through the cosmos.  Some spells are so powerful that they can only be properly utilized when the astronomical conditions are correct.”

Scuffle raised a hoof, and the princess nodded in his direction.  “But… can’t you just change the positions of the stars?” he asked.  “As Princess of the Night, I thought that would be another of your duties.”

For the first time since arriving, Luna smiled.  “I’m afraid you are mistaken, my child,” she said.  “I do not control the stars.  They remain in place; they just become impossible to see during the day, as Celestia’s sun obscures their faint glow.  Is it because of the softer light of my moon that the stars become visible, but they are always there.”

“That’s why it’s easier to study Astronomy at night,” another filly said aloud, “and why you’re Equestria’s greatest expert on it.  Right, Princess?”

Luna smirked.  “Actually, my expertise comes primarily from the fact that I was stranded on the moon for a millennium with little to do but study the heavens,” she said, chuckling.  “But yes, my knowledge was vast even before my imprisonment.”

The princess gestured to the telescopes on the balcony surrounding the classroom.  “Before we can formally begin our investigation of the heavens, we must make sure you are familiar with the primary instrument we will need.  There are more than enough telescopes for everypony; choose one and I shall help you learn to focus it properly and train it on distant targets with great precision.”

The foals jumped to their hooves and trotted eagerly to the telescopes around the tower’s perimeter.  Dinky and Scuffle found two arranged next to one another, and waited for the princess to continue.

“Y’know,” Scuffle said quietly, “this might actually be a really cool class.”

“I hope so,” Dinky replied as she peered through the lens of her telescope.

Scuffle watched the filly fiddle with the device for a few moments.  “Hey, d’you think you can help me out when I get behind?”

“When you get behind?” Dinky asked.  “Not if?  That’s a pretty negative outlook.”

Scuffle kicked at a loose brick in the floor.  “I’m not the best student, ok?  I’m not exactly passing all my classes right now.  My grade in Practical Magic has come up since I started working with you and your friends, but that’s about it.”

Dinky frowned.  “Maybe I can help,” she offered.  “I’m not in most of your classes, but I can at least show you some study skills.  It’d be a shame to see you flunk.”

Scuffle looked as if he was about to reply, but after a moment, decided to just smile.  “I’ll keep that in mind.  For now let’s focus on Astronomy.”

“Fair enough,” Dinky said, as Luna began calling out instructions.  “Now hush.  If we don’t listen to the princess, we’ll both be behind.”

Silently, the two foals began to follow Luna’s recommendations and focus their telescopes on the glimmering night sky.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dinky yawned as the classroom floor shuddered and descended back into the tower.  “Man, it feels late,” she mumbled.

Scuffle nodded.  “My brothers are probably asleep already.  I should be able to go back to my dorm and crash without any trouble from them.”

“You go ahead,” Dinky said as the classroom reached ground level and the portcullis slid open.  “I want to talk to Princess Luna for a moment before I go back.”

Scuffle nodded.  “Fine by me.  See you tomorrow, Dinks.  Don’t stay up too late.”

Scuffle followed the rest of the foals out the door, leaving Dinky alone with the Princess.  The mare continued to erase a diagram of a telescope on the chalkboard, seemingly unaware of Dinky’s presence.

“Excuse me, Princess?” Dinky squeaked.  “Can… can I talk to you for a moment, if you aren’t too busy?”

Princess Luna turned slowly around.  At such close range, Dinky realized quite acutely just how big the Princess was compared to her.

“Of course, child,” Luna said.  “Was there something in my lesson that was not clear?”

“No, your lesson was fine,” Dinky said.  “I actually just wanted to thank you; it occurs to me that you’re part of the reason I’m even at this academy in the first place, and I’ve been waiting all term to meet you and show how grateful I am.”

Princess Luna raised an eyebrow.  “Of what event do you speak?” she asked, confused.

Dinky opened her mouth to reply, but Luna cut her off.  “Wait!  I think I may understand!  I see a familiar pony in you; a pony who surprised me greatly with her selflessness.  Tell me, child, are you about to tell me that you are Dinky, the daughter of the pegasus Ditzy Doo?”

Dinky grinned.  “So you do remember!”

Luna smiled broadly.  “You really do resemble your mother,” she said.  “After Mrs. Doo and her coworkers helped me stop that saboteur from ruining the social event I had planned, she asked me to speak with Celestia about reconsidering your enrollment application.  I take it your study with Twilight Sparkle went well?”

“Very well,” Dinky said, hopping in place happily.  “But it wouldn’t have happened in the first place if it wasn’t for you.  So… well, thank you.  Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

Luna chuckled.  “All I did was fulfill the debt I owed your mother,” she pointed out.  “Ditzy Doo was free to ask for whatever she wanted, and she chose to help you.  If anyone, it is your mother who deserves the thanks.”

“Don’t worry, I’ve thanked mom dozens of times already!” Dinky assured her.

“You have with your words,” Luna said, slightly more seriously, “but the greatest expression of thanks you can give, young Miss Doo, is in your actions.  It is through your mother’s sacrifice that you stand here today, and I am certain nothing will please her more than to see you make the most of this educational opportunity.”

Dinky nodded.  “I understand, Princess.  My mom has always given her all for me.  I’d never do anything to let her down.”

“Your spirit resembles your mother’s even more than your body,” Luna commented.  “I expect to see you continue to excel, Dinky Doo.  Now go; it is late, and a filly must get enough sleep.”

Dinky replied with another yawn.  “I can’t argue with that.  Goodbye, Princess Luna.”

Dinky trotted across the dark classroom.  She had one hoof out the door when she remembered something important.

“Oh!  Princess Luna, I almost forgot!  Pipsqueak from Ponyville says hi!”

Luna beamed.  “Tell Pipsqueak that his favorite princess hasn’t forgotten about him.  I look forward to seeing him again someday.”

“I will,” Dinky promised.  “Good night, Princess Luna!”

“Good night, Dinky Doo.”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next morning began like any other Wednesday.

Dinky, Clarity, and Honeydew woke up at the typical time, ate breakfast with Scuffle, and attended their weekly Enchantments class.  It seemed at the time, at least by the standards of Celestia’s Academy for Gifted Unicorns, to be a very normal day.

Soon, it was mid-afternoon.  Dinky and her friends were in the base of the fillies’ residence tower, where Clarity was once again practicing invisibility, and a hoofful of other spells not connected to any classes.

“So, how was Astronomy?” Honeydew asked Dinky.  “You got back so late last night you didn’t have time to tell us much of anything besides the fact that Princess Luna is the professor.”

“That alone must have been cool,” Clarity said as she struggled to amplify the partial translucency she’d managed to cast.  “I wish I had a princess as a professor.”

“Princess Luna was a really good teacher,” Dinky agreed.  “Scuffle and I both got our telescopes working pretty quickly and got to look at some of the formations on the moon.”

“Scuffle’s in that class?” Honeydew asked.  “Suddenly I’m not so jealous.”

Dinky shrugged.  “I dunno, I actually kind of had fun working with him last night.”

“And I’m happy for you.  But I think I prefer to keep my distance,” Honeydew said, her expression wooden.

Clarity’s spell broke suddenly, and the filly groaned as her grey coat became opaque once again.  “I still can’t get this,” she grumbled.  “I think it’s too dark in here, even with the illumination orb.  We need some more light.”

“The only way to make it brighter is if somepony lights the fireplace,” Honeydew pointed out, “but none of us know any fire spells.”

Fire spells?

Dinky recalled her last training session with Sunbeam.  The fire spell he’d taught her did not produce conventional fire, but it was easy to cast and to extinguish.  The filly had no idea how Sunbeam had drawn the containment circle, but assumed that as long as the fire was started inside the hearth, it wouldn’t be a concern anyway.

Sunbeam doesn’t want me to use these spells outside of our practice sessions, though, she thought.

Clarity glanced at Dinky.  “Dinky’s cookin’ up a plan,” she announced.  “I can see it in her expression.”

“I… actually do know a fire spell,” Dinky admitted.  “It’s an unusual one, though.  I learned it from Sunbeam, but I’ve told you before, he wants to keep the spells he’s been teaching me secret.”

Clarity tapped a hoof to her chin.  “Well… what if Honeydew and I look away while you cast it?” she suggested.  “You could keep your method secret, and we’d still have some fire.”

Dinky thought about it.  “I guess that’s alright,” she said finally.  “But don’t peek.  Sunbeam will be upset if more ponies learn about these spells before the school wants them to.”

Clarity and Honeydew obediently turned to face the opposite wall.  Dinky walked up to the hearth and took a deep breath.

“Alright, here goes nothing.  I’ll let you know when it’s done.”

Magic flowed into Dinky’s horn.  The filly called forth her reserve of the alternate magic, and waited as her aura darkened to black.  She began to prepare the spell.

Fire.  I need to conjure that same hot, black fire.

The glow around Dinky’s horn grew larger, and the magic, as it so often did, began to crackle and spark.

Clarity’s ears stood straight up.  The filly fidgeted nervously.  She chanced a glance at Honeydew, and noticed she looked equally concerned.

“That isn’t what I think it is, is it?” Honeydew whispered.

Clarity bit her lip and waited, but the crackling sound increased until Clarity was certain there could be no doubt what it was.  Against orders, she turned around just in time to see Dinky fire a black bolt of light into the hearth, creating a black flame.  The grey filly’s mouth dropped open.

Dinky turned around and stamped an indignant hoof.  “What the heck, Clarity, I told you not to look!  Sunbeam doesn’t want anypony to know about the alternative magic yet!”

“Alternative magic!?” Clarity cried, flabbergasted.  “No, Dinky, that was—”

Clarity was cut off as the fire gave off a loud noise and began to consume not only the log Dinky had cast it upon, but the surrounding bricks.  Within seconds, it had spread across the hearth floor and began to work its way up the walls.  Honeydew backed against the far wall, and gave Clarity’s tail a yank, pulling the transfixed pony back with her.

Dinky was stunned.  Sunbeam didn’t say anything about this fire being able to light things that normal fire can’t! she thought frantically.  Time for an extinguishing spell!

“Don’t worry, I can put it out!” Dinky announced, casting the spell she had used to smother the fire during her practice session.  This time however, it had absolutely no effect.

All at once, Dinky understood.  She turned to her friends, her expression fearful.

“This isn’t normal fire at all!” she gasped.  “It seemed safe enough when we practiced it, but I think it consumes everything unless it’s contained in that symbol Sunbeam drew.  And without the circle, I can’t put it out!”

By now, the fire had snaked its way halfway up the exterior of the brick chimney above the hearth.  It groaned under the heat and shifted, and a huge chunk of flaming brick broke free, toppling forward into the room and spreading the dark flames even faster.  All three fillies screamed.

Sparkler burst out of her room, looking annoyed.  “Hey!” she yelled.  “What’s going on out—”

Sparkler stopped and took a fraction of a second to look first at the room, which was rapidly being taken over by dark flames, and then at Dinky, who still had telltale wisps of purple around her eyes.  Without wasting an instant, the overseer teleported away.

“Sh-she’s gone!” Honeydew squealed.  “Now what do we do?”

“We’ve gotta get upstairs!” Dinky urged, pushing her friends toward the stairs in an effort to put more distance between them and the roaring flames.

“What good will that do?” Clarity asked desperately.  “In a few minutes, the fire will engulf the whole tower!  We’re all going to burn to death in here!”

That was as much as Honeydew could take.  The pink filly swooned, and collapsed on the rug in a dead faint.  Dinky lifted Honeydew with magic, and just as the trio was about to make for the stairs in the interest of prolonging their life by a few precious moments, Sparkler reappeared in a purple flash, carrying a huge, beaten book in her aura.  She placed herself between the fillies and the oncoming flames.

“Counterspell!  Where’s the counterspell!?” the overseer cried, flipping through the book as quickly as possible.  “It’s got to be one of these!”

Just as the leading edge of the fire began to lick at Sparkler’s hooves, the young mare found what she was looking for.  Purple magic flared around her horn, and then a second, larger cone of magic appeared around the first.  Sparkler mumbled an incantation in an unknown language, and dozens of white spheres of energy blossomed from her huge aura.  Immediately, each of the shining orbs began to fire forth hundreds of tiny white beams, striking the black fire like tiny lightning bolts.  Each time one struck, the fire was beaten back a tiny distance.

It took several minutes and the combined efforts of over three hundred of Sparkler’s magic spheres, but eventually, all the fire crawling across the floor and snaking up the walls had been beaten back to a space smaller than a single pony-length.  It continued to try to spread, but each time it did, the spheres bombarded it with white light, preventing it from moving.  Sparkler’s horn now cast a purple beam that burned a symbol into the already wrecked floor around the fire: a circle made of interlocking triangles.

Cautiously, the young mare allowed the white orbs to flicker out, and sighed with relief when the fire failed to extend beyond the boundaries of the ring.  Her horn gave one final flash, and the circle glowed white, snuffing out the last of the flames.  An instant later, there was a loud grinding sound, and Sparkler leapt back as the rest of the chimney and hearth collapsed into a pile of rubble.

Then there was silence.  Nopony moved for a good thirty seconds.  Sparkler stood in the center of the wrecked lobby, quivering as if struggling to stand and breathing heavily.

Dinky became aware that a number of ponies had heard or felt the commotion from upstairs, and were now standing on the steps behind Clarity, Honeydew, and her, all watching in a sort of stupor

Sparkler gradually seemed to catch her breath.  She finally turned and walked slowly over to the ponies gathered on the stairs.

“Is she okay?” the overseer asked, gesturing to Honeydew.  “Was she hurt by all this?”

“She just fainted,” Clarity said, her voice barely audible.  “She’ll be fine.”

Sparkler nodded, and then turned to some of the older fillies on the stairs.

“Fifth-term students, please escort everypony else outside,” she instructed, “and then get some professors up here to inspect the damage and determine a course of action.  I’ll let the dean know myself.  We need to make sure at least the upper part of the tower is livable by nightfall.”

The older ponies agreed, and teleported to the base of the stairs.

At last, Sparkler turned to Dinky, her face devoid of all expression.  “And you,” she said.  “Come with me.  Now.”

Dinky tucked her tail between her legs and stared at the floor.  “Yes, ma’am.”

Clarity and all the other students watched in total silence as Sparkler led Dinky out of the tower.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After a long walk devoid of conversation, Dinky and Sparkler arrived at the dean’s office.  They proceeded into the waiting room and Sparkler pointed to a chair.

“Sit.”

Dinky sat.  Sparkler disappeared into the dean’s chamber.

It was quiet for a long time.  In the unbroken silence, Dinky’s thoughts began to race.

What happened?!  Why in Equestria would Sunbeam teach me such a dangerous spell? If any of the other magic he’s been teaching me is anywhere near as destructive as that was… well, who knows what trouble I might cause if I keep using it!

She frowned.  Is this all somehow my fault, or has Sunbeam been deceiving me about the purpose of these spells all along?

Finally, the door opened.  Sparkler strode out and motioned for Dinky to enter.  The filly hopped off the chair, but paused before entering the dean’s office.

“Hey, Sparkler?”

“What?”

Dinky pawed at the carpet ashamedly.  “Even in the midst of all this trouble, it’d be wrong of me not to say thank you.  You saved my life.  You saved all our lives.”

Sparkler gave Dinky a long look.  Then she turned to go.

“The dean is waiting.”

And she was gone.  Dinky swallowed hard and cautiously stepped into Bright Spark’s office.

“I-I’m here,” she murmured.

Bright Spark looked up from the mess of papers on her desk and nodded.  “Well, don’t just stand there,” she commanded.  “Sit down.  We need to talk about what just happened.”

Dinky climbed into the chair across from the old mare.  Bright Spark didn’t appear to be seething with uncontrolled anger; there was a hint of something else in her expression, but the filly couldn’t quite make out what.

“Well, Dinky Doo,” Bright Spark began, “it seems you’re here because of more serious offences against school code than last time.  Namely, the use of strictly forbidden dark magic, and severe damages to the residence tower and endangerment to lives of dozens of ponies that resulted from its use.  Before I even say anything more, I’ve just got to ask: what do you have to say for yourself?”

Dinky blinked.  “I’m afraid I don’t follow, Professor Spark,” she said slowly.  “I mean, the fire was my fault, but… dark magic?  Is that the spell I used?”

Bright Spark rolled her eyes.  “If you honestly think playing dumb will get you out of trouble, Miss Doo, then clearly I have overestimated your common sense,” she said icily.  “At the moment, I am baffled.  I am racking my brain trying to think where in Equestria a first-term filly could have possibly learned how to cast any dark magic at all, let alone a spell of that caliber.”

“I’m not kidding!” Dinky insisted.  “So, what you’re saying is, those spells that turn my magic black are dark magic?”

Bright Spark raised an eyebrow.  “Spells?  As in, more than one?”

Dinky blanched.  “No, no, I… uh, I mean, hypothetically.  That spell changes the color of my aura, so I assume others like it would do the same.”

Bright Spark squinted through her spectacles.  “Then yes, those spells are classified as dark magic.”

“And dark magic is… widely known for its destructiveness?” Dinky asked tentatively.

“Among other negative effects,” Bright Spark said, nodding.  “Its use is illegal, and it is considered extremely dangerous by every major unicorn colony in Equestria.  I’m sure you’ve demonstrated for yourself why that is.”

So Sunbeam was using me! Dinky realized.  He’s been teaching me dangerous, forbidden magic the whole time, and I fell for his excuses!

Bright Spark leaned forward.  “Now, there is no easy way out of trouble, as I’m sure you’ve gathered, Miss Doo.  But the best way to do it is to tell me where you learned that spell, immediately.”

“I learned them from another student!” Dinky yelled, making the dean jump.  “I come from a family with no unicorns, remember?  I never even knew there was such a thing as dark magic before today.”  

Bright Spark looked more interested.  “Do tell,” she prompted.  

“A colt named Sunbeam convinced me that dark magic was an experimental alternative type of magical energy that the professors were studying in secret,” Dinky explained.  “He told me he was one of a few students helping with the study, and asked me to help him.”

“As I’m sure you have guessed, there is no such program,” the dean replied.

“But that means Sunbeam is the one who is responsible!” Dinky said frantically.  “I’ll never use dark magic again now that I know what it is!  It’s him you want!”

Bright Spark stared at Dinky for several seconds.  “Describe this ‘Sunbeam’ to me,” she demanded.

“He’s a first-term colt, with a yellow coat and orange mane,” Dinky said quickly.  “His Cutie Mark is a ray of sunlight breaking through a dark cloud.”

Bright Spark stood and strode to her file cabinet.  She retrieved a file from one of the drawers and placed it on her desk, removing a photograph from it and placing it in front of Dinky.

“Is this him?”

Dinky only needed to glance at the picture to recognize the conniving colt that had played her.

“Yes, that’s him.”

Bright Spark snapped the folder shut with magic.  “Dinky, you have just ruined your alibi,” she announced.

“Wait, what?” Dinky asked.  “I told you who was responsible, and you recognized him!  What’s the problem?”

“The problem, Miss Doo,” the dean said acidly, “is that Sunbeam has been dead for forty years.  He perished in an unfortunate accident in my very first year as dean.  I don’t know how you found out about him, but choosing to incriminate him has only succeeded in solidifying your guilt.”

“But I’ve seen him!” Dinky cried.  “I’ve talked to him!  I’ve practiced what was apparently dark magic with him!  He can’t be dead!”

Bright Spark ignored Dinky completely as she returned Sunbeam’s records to the cabinet and withdrew a different file.  The manila folder flipped open as it landed on the desk, and Dinky found herself staring at her own image in a photograph.

“I must say, Dinky,” Bright Spark continued, “you and I have been in disagreement since your arrival at this school, and I admit I have been waiting for a reason to incriminate you, but I never thought you’d blow it quite so spectacularly.”

It was at that moment that Dinky finally recognized that mysterious look in Bright Spark’s eye.  The dean was smug; she realized she’d finally cornered the filly she had such a grudge against.

Slowly, the dean withdrew a paper from the depths of Dinky’s file.  It bore the royal seal, so Dinky supposed it was the official record of her enrollment at the academy.

“You realize, of course, that you’ve left me no choice,” the dean said, not even bothering to conceal her complacent grin.  “You’ve broken not only the most important rule of this Academy, but the biggest rule of modern unicorn society as well.”

The dean reached over and opened a small metal box on the corner of her desk.  She withdrew a rubber stamp coated in red ink.  For emphasis, she used her hooves, rather than her magic, to slam it down upon Dinky’s document of enrollment.  When she lifted it away, a huge red X covered the page.

“I was wondering if I’d actually get my chance to say this…” the dean said, tapping her front hooves together and looking quite pleased with herself.  “As of this afternoon, Dinky Doo, you are hereby expelled from Celestia’s Academy for Gifted Unicorns!”
> Chapter 10
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“Ex… Expelled?”

Dinky’s voice cracked on the latter syllable, and she placed her face in her forehooves, shaking.  “What happens now?” she managed to croak from behind her hooves.  “Can I… can I appeal or something?”

Bright Spark laughed coldly.  “With the proper paperwork, perhaps, but it would take months to process, and considering what you’ve done today, the odds of it getting you anywhere are very, very slim.  As for the present day, your privilege to remain at this academy or on its grounds has been revoked.”

“So what do I do for the rest of today?” Dinky asked hesitantly.  “The train doesn’t come until Saturday…”

“I will be contacting Canterlot station immediately,” the dean replied.  “A special train will be coming later this afternoon specifically to take you away from the Academy.  In the meantime, you will remain in the antechamber outside my office.  I’ll have Sparkler escort you to the train when it arrives.”

“I can’t even go say goodbye to my friends?” Dinky asked, her eyes full of desperation.

The dean shook her head.  “After what just happened, I’m afraid you must remain here, under the supervision of Sparkler or the other fifth-term students.”

“Don’t I at least have to go back to the tower to get my stuff?  Can I go if somepony escorts me?”

“The tower is currently off limits,” the dean said matter-of-factly.  “It’s being investigated for potentially dangerous damage to the infrastructure and remaining traces of dark magic.  Your belongings will be sent to you at your home address as soon as it’s safe to retrieve them.  Tomorrow, probably.”

“Tomorrow?  Where are the fillies going to sleep tonight?”

“We have the supplies to set up temporary beds in the castle,” Bright Spark answered curtly.  “Now, go sit in the antechamber.  There will be a few fifth-term students guarding the outer door, so don’t try to leave.  Get going, I’ve got a lot to do, filing incident reports and contacting magical security agencies and whatnot.  Which reminds me, there’s going to be a footnote added to any documents officially identifying you stating that you have been involved in destructive and life-endangering use of dark magic.  I hope you weren’t planning to pursue a career in the magical arts; it’s going to be all but impossible to do so with that on your record.”

“What?!” Dinky gasped.  “But… but I didn’t—” 

“Hush,” the dean commanded.  “You’re actually lucky this happened at school.  Had you done something similar in a typical public environment, you’d be sent to a detention center for magically delinquent foals for a few months, if not longer.”

Dinky was left speechless.  Cowering beneath the dean’s glare, she climbed from the chair and trudged out to the antechamber.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For hours, Dinky sat in the empty antechamber in crushing, total silence.  Outside in the main hallway, a few older students were undoubtedly guarding the entryway, but if they were speaking to one another at all, the wooden door was doing a fine job of preventing their hushed voices from reaching Dinky’s ears. The quiet was only occasionally broken when the filly’s emotions got the better of her and a few sobs escaped.  A thousand different scenarios of what was to come swirled in her head, intermixed with her attempts to make sense of the situation.

So if Sunbeam is dead, how have I been hanging out with him?  He’s a little strange, but he certainly doesn’t seem like a spirit or zombie or something.

She shivered.  I wonder if he’s somehow using his own dark magic to keep himself alive beyond death.  Is that even possible?  I’m not sure I wanna find out…

Dinky mentally chided herself for not realizing something was wrong earlier.  Sunbeam’s desire not only to keep his magic secret, but to keep himself hidden from Dinky’s friends suddenly made much more sense; the colt wasn’t supposed to exist, so the fewer ponies that knew about him, the better.

Maybe that’s why I never even noticed him until just a month or so ago, she realized.  He slipped into the back of the classroom, posing as a student, to get close to me.  The Magic in History professor spent all his time lecturing and hardly ever called on the students.  He probably didn’t even notice.  I doubt I can prove he still exists.  I ended up doing just what Sunbeam wanted all along, and now…

Dinky struggled once again to choke back a sob.  So much had happened in such a short time, and now here she was, facing expulsion and likely a ruined future.  Everything was ruined, and it was all the harder to bear because it was at least partially her own fault.

What’s Miss Twilight gonna think?  And mom?  Mom will… oh no…

Dinky remembered the words Princess Luna had spoken to her less than a day before.  “The greatest expression of thanks you can give, young Miss Doo, is in your actions.  It is through your mother’s sacrifice that you stand here today, and I am certain nothing will please her more than to see you make the most of this educational opportunity.”

“And I blew it,” Dinky whispered in the silence.  “You gave me this chance, and this is what happened…”

Overcome with sorrow and guilt, Dinky let herself collapse on the floor, and began bawling.  One after another, she thought of ponies she had let down.

Miss Twilight spent so much time and effort preparing me for this term, and now I won’t have anything to show for it.  And Clarity, Honeydew, and Scuffle trusted me, confided in me and offered to help me when I needed it, and I went and kept this from them until it was too late.  They might even get in trouble too, because of me…

After a time (Dinky wasn’t sure how long), there were hoofsteps in the adjacent office.  Dinky sat up and wiped her eyes as the dean walked up to her.

“The train has arrived,” she said simply.  “Sparkler is going to accompany you until you reach Ponyville.”

Dinky sniffled and nodded.  Bright Spark opened the outer door and asked one of the older students standing guard to go get the overseer.  Sparkler herself appeared a few minutes later.

“Goodbye, Miss Doo,” the dean said, nodding curtly in Dinky’s direction.  “I doubt our paths will cross again.”

Dinky did not reply.  She hung her head and followed Sparkler down the empty corridor.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dinky sat on the cushioned bench, trying to preoccupy herself with the rhythmic rumble of the train’s wheels.  Hours had passed since the initial incident in the tower, and the filly’s fear and sadness had finally shifted into a sort on numbness.

Dinky wished she could just push everything out of her mind and enjoy a few moments of peace, but she could feel Sparkler’s gaze burning into her from across the aisle.

Save for the two fillies, the train car was completely deserted.  No doubt ponies outside were watching the train pass and wondering why it was operating off its normal schedule.  Dinky stared out the window, wondering what would come to pass when she arrived back in Ponyville.

Sparkler had said nothing for two solid hours.  The overseer remained in her seat, watching Dinky with disdain.  Dinky met her gaze occasionally, but found herself quickly overcome with the desire to look away.  Finally, she couldn’t stand the icy silence any longer.

“…Sparkler?  Can… can I ask you about some… stuff?”

“Why?” Sparkler asked, frowning.  “In another hour or so, you’ll be back in Ponyville, and none of this will be part of your life anymore.  There’s no point.”

Dinky sighed.  “Sparkler, please.  Can’t you just let me ask a few things before we part ways?  Just for my own curiosity?”

Sparkler gave a dissatisfied grunt.  “Fine,” she conceded.  “I’ll humor you.  What’s up?”

Dinky hesitated, searching for the right words.  “About that spell I cast…” she said finally.  “What… what exactly is it?  Where did dark magic come from, and why can unicorns even do it?”

“Dark magic in any form is evil,” Sparkler answered curtly.  “It’s inherently negative.  It only causes destruction and pain.  Everypony knows that.”

She scowled.  “Well, everypony but you, apparently.  If you really didn’t know what you were wielding until you set fire to the tower, why didn’t you tell the dean where you actually learned it?  Maybe your punishment would have been less harsh.”

“I did tell the dean where I learned it,” Dinky said quietly.  “I know my alibi doesn’t make sense.  I can’t explain why I met a colt who’s been dead for forty years.  I just did.  He’s still at the Academy, pretending to be a student.”

Sparkler shook her head.  “I seriously doubt that.  There will be an investigation, of course, as to where you really learned it.  The fact of the matter, though, is that you used dark magic, and given the evidence, the dean has no reason to believe that you didn’t know what you were doing when you did so.”

Dinky was quiet for a moment.  “You’re right,” she said finally.  “I might not be able to prove what I’ve said even if I was still allowed at the Academy.  I know I’ve been played for a fool, but I’m not sure anypony will believe me.”

Sparkler, again, did not reply.

“What was the spell you used?” Dinky ventured.  “You know, the one that beat back the fire like that?”

Sparkler groaned.  “If you must know, that was a counterspell,” she replied.  “Most counterspells were invented by powerful unicorns who spent their lives studying combat magic.  Their whole purpose is to undo the effect of another spell.”

“Like the magic cancelling spell,” Dinky realized. “The one that lets you interrupt another unicorn’s spell while it’s in effect.”

Sparkler nodded.  “Of course, that spell would only have worked to counter your spell if I’d been able to use it before you set everything on fire.  Once the magic is out of the caster’s control and acting on its own, it’s much harder to stop.”

“So how did you know how to stop it?” Dinky asked.  “I know you had to grab a book to get the spell exactly right, but how’d you even know where to look?”

“I learned about it in class, obviously,” Sparkler said, rolling her eyes.  “The Academy offers a course in combat magic to older students, so it’s only fair that they also offer one about counterspells.  Without them, whichever unicorn knew the better combat spell would immediately gain the upper hoof in a duel.  And, obviously, a unicorn using dark magic would be able to cause massive destruction if counterspells couldn’t subdue them.”

Dinky nodded.  She opened her mouth to speak again, but Sparkler stopped her.

“I think that’s enough questions,” she said coldly.  “You’re not coming back to the Academy, so this information isn’t going to be any use to you anyway.  The more you allow yourself to be curious about magic, the harder this is going to become.  Just accept it; your training is over.”

Dinky pouted, looking at the floor.  “I was just trying to pass the time,” she mumbled.  “I don’t want to keep sitting here mulling over what happened…”

“We’ve passed enough time,” Sparkler said, unmoved by Dinky’s misery.  “It’s only another hour to Ponyville.  Sit there and stay quiet.”

Sparkler turned away and stared out the window intently, as if to further prove she was done talking.  Dinky sighed and tried to focus on the sound of the train again.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The final hour, to Dinky, seemed to take days.  The sun was already beginning to dip beneath the horizon when the empty train finally pulled into the equally deserted Ponyville Station.  The cabin door swung open, and Sparkler stood, escorting Dinky out to the platform.

“Well, we’re here,” the overseer said.  “You’ve been a troublemaker since day one, but at least now it won’t be my problem anymore.  Get going.”

Dinky gave Sparkler a disappointed look.  “That’s… harsh,” she commented apologetically.  “I just got kicked out of school.  I know you and I have never gotten along but… don’t you have just a little sympathy?”

“It’s my job to be harsh,” Sparkler snapped.  “The dean says you don’t belong at Celestia’s Academy for Gifted Unicorns, and I stand by her decision.  Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to return to the Academy to help with the restoration efforts on the fillies’ tower.”

Sparkler climbed back aboard the train and grasped the handle of the cabin door with a bit of magic.

“Goodbye, Dinky, and good riddance.”

The cabin door snapped shut.  The train gave a sharp whistle, and a rogue puff of steam shot from between the wheels, forcing Dinky to back up.  By the time she’d waved away the cloud, it had left the station and was making its way around the bend ahead.  Soon, it was out of sight.  Dinky was alone, with nowhere to go but back to her cottage.

I guess I’d better get going.  It’ll be dark by the time I get home.

Dinky turned away from the tracks and began to make her way home.  Her hooves clicked on the stone floor as she walked.

The filly went only a few steps before stopping and listening intently.

I could have sworn I just heard another set of hooves.

There was no sound now but the wind.  Cautiously, Dinky began to walk again, and her ears twitched as she again heard hoofsteps that weren’t her own.

“Who’s there?” she asked, turning around.  “I hear somepony.  Where are you?”

“You heard me?” came a disembodied, female voice.  “Well, crud.  I guess it’s harder to keep quiet on stone than on the carpeting in that train.”

Reddish light suddenly flickered into view half a pony length above the ground, radiating from no discernible source.  The outline of a filly faded gradually into view, and her transparent fur and mane were quickly replaced with their usual grey and sky blue.

“Oh yeah, I perfected my invisibility spell,” the newly visible Clarity said, smirking at Dinky’s flabbergasted expression.  “Told you I could do it.  It was just a matter of— oof!”

Clarity staggered backwards as Dinky tackled her and pulled her into a crushing hug.  She took a moment to recover before returning the embrace.

“But… but…” Dinky stuttered, at a loss for words.  “I… Clarity, how… and why…?”

“You didn’t think I was going to just abandon my best friend after something like that, did you?” Clarity asked.  “When the enchantment on my hair clip told me you were heading toward the train station, I realized what had happened.  I knew they wouldn’t let me talk to you, so I followed you from a distance.  Pretty soon, though, it became obvious I wouldn’t be able to talk to you; Sparkler was with you the whole time.”

“So you stowed away on the train?” Dinky asked, amazed.  “How are you gonna go to class tomorrow?”

“Pssh, missing a couple days of class isn’t gonna hurt,” Clarity said, waving a dismissive hoof.  “I’ll just catch the next train back on Sunday.  So anyway, I knew the only way I could follow you was if I could get on the train without being seen.  I couldn’t think of any other way, so I tried my invisibility spell again, and it worked!  I snuck on right before the train left, and I was sitting on the bench just in front of yours the whole time!”

For the first time in what felt like ages, Dinky giggled.  “I gotta hand it to you, Clarity,” she admitted.  “You’ve got guts.  I just can’t believe you did all that because you were worried about me.”

Clarity shrugged.  “I figured you could use some support after what happened,” she said.  “You looked miserable on the train.  I wanted to try to make you feel better, but I couldn’t risk Sparkler seeing me.”

She gave Dinky a quizzical stare.  “So what happened, anyway?  That was dark magic you used.  You know, the stuff usually reserved for megalomaniac unicorns who have gone off the deep end and want to bathe the world in darkness and misery?”

“I’d never heard of it,” Dinky said simply.  “That’s got to be why Sunbeam targeted me; he wanted a pony that wouldn’t be too skeptical.  I was a little suspicious about that magic, but I never thought it would turn out to be that destructive.”

“Yeah, that’d do it,” Clarity said, nodding.  “The average unicorn foal has heard stories of dark magic from their parents.  Most unicorns are taught to stay away from it early on, but you missed out on that phase.”

“Never mind me, how’s Honeydew?” Dinky asked nervously.  “She was unconscious the last time I saw her.”

“Oh, that,” Clarity said.  “She’s, uh… alright.  The school nurse is looking after her right now.  She’s conscious, but she’s sorta in shock.  They said a few hours to calm down and a good night’s sleep should fix her up, though.”

Dinky sighed.  “She is gonna be okay, right?”

“Yeah, she’s not hurt,” Clarity affirmed.  “Her nerves just aren’t exactly the best, so it takes her a while to recover from something like this.”

Silence fell for a few moments.  Eventually, Clarity spoke up again.

“I’m a little more worried about you than Honeydew right now,” she admitted.  “I’m guessing you got expelled?”

“Yep,” Dinky answered bitterly.  “The dean was just thrilled to give me the boot, too.  Apparently, Sunbeam’s been dead for forty years, so they didn’t believe my explanation.”

Clarity cocked her head.  “Sunbeam’s dead?” she asked.  “How’ve you been hanging out with him, then?”

“You tell me,” Dinky said.  “I was surprised when Bright Spark told me.  And Sunbeam’s been taking care to keep a low profile, so nopony can really help me prove he’s still at the Academy.”

Dinky sat down on the stone floor.  “I don’t know if there’s anything I can do about all this,” she admitted, starting to sniffle again.  “Right now, there’s nothing to do except go home and tell my mom what happened.  She’s gonna be so disappointed…”

“I’ll back you up,” Clarity declared, placing a hoof on Dinky’s shoulder.  “I know you better than anypony at the Academy, and I know you wouldn’t use dark magic on purpose.  I’ll defend your story for your mom, your tutor, and anyone else who listens!”

Clarity held up a hoof triumphantly for a few moments, but then she deflated slightly.  “…And also I’m kinda stranded here in Ponyville now and need a place to stay.”

In spite of her mood, Dinky grinned.  “Well, I don’t know how well the rest of it’s gonna go, but I can offer you that, at least.  Come on, let’s get moving.  It’s kind of a long walk to my cottage, and it’s getting late.”

Dinky stepped down from the stone floor of the train station and followed the road south through town.  A few ponies were milling about, taking advantage of the last bit of sunlight the day had to offer.

“So, this is Ponyville,” Clarity said slowly, craning her neck in all directions to stare at the houses and shops.  “It’s a little smaller than Whinnychester, but I guess that makes sense since you guys have so many forests and mountains right around here.”

“Whinnychester doesn’t have that stuff?” Dinky asked.

“Nah,” Clarity replied, “the land out there is just hills and fields for miles around.  We’re lucky to find even a grove of trees, let alone a forest.”

“So there’s lots of farming, I take it?” Dinky asked.

Clarity laughed.  “You’d think so, wouldn’t you?  Actually, Whinnychester’s on the coast.  You should visit sometime, especially if you’ve never been to the sea.”

“I’d love to,” Dinky said, “but I don’t know when we’re going to get the chance.  I’m probably gonna be grounded for the rest of forever when mom finds out about this.  Never mind the fact that I won’t be seeing you at school anymore…”

“We’ll make it work somehow!” Clarity insisted, giving her tail a decisive flick as she tried desperately to keep Dinky’s spirits up.  “Even if they don’t let you back into that school, we’ll keep in touch, I promise.”

Dinky smiled weakly.  “You’re really upbeat, you know that?”

“Hey, my best friend’s kinda down in the dumps,” Clarity pointed out.  “I’m doing my best to lighten the mood!”

“You know, I do feel a little better,” Dinky admitted.  “There’s no denying that this has been a terrible day, but even one friendly face really makes a difference.”

Dinky gently nuzzled her friend, and the two of them headed side by side back to the Doo cottage.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Darkness had fallen by the time Dinky’s humble home finally came into view.  The cottage looked just as it did all year round: old-fashioned and small, but well maintained by the dedicated mare who owned it.  A rosy glow shone out of the ground floor windows and illuminated the yard.

“Well, this is it,” Dinky announced.  “It’s a little shabby, but mom’s been looking into getting a little renovation done, now that she can afford it.”

“It doesn’t look bad,” Clarity said.  “I love how you live a little ways outside town.  The remoteness really adds to the charm.”

Dinky trotted up to the door and raised a hoof to knock, but stopped when she heard voices on the other side.  “Someone’s here,” she mumbled.  “Let’s go look.”

The fillies trotted around to the side of the house.  Dinky hopped up on a crate and cautiously peered into the hall window, from which she could get a partial view of the dining room.

Several ponies were gathered around the dinner table, with the remains of a meal scattered on the dishes in front of them.  Dinky immediately recognized her mother and Autumn Breeze, and then turned her attention to two other ponies.  One was an older pegasus, white in color with a grey mane and wearing a green beret.  The other was a bright yellow earth pony with a spiky brown mane who seemed to be having trouble sitting still.

“Cloudcover and Watt are here,” she said, surprised.  “I guess mom’s invited her coworkers over for dinner.”

“Can you hear what they’re saying?” Clarity asked.

Dinky pushed the window open just a tiny bit, and swiveled her ears toward the voices inside.

“…and the poor stallion was so head-over-hooves for her, he could hardly speak when she was around!” Cloudcover said.  “I had to rehearse a whole conversation with the poor boy until it was practically automatic.”

“Did things work out when he worked up the nerve to talk to her?” Ditzy asked.

“Of course,” Cloudcover laughed.  “It was obvious from the beginning that she thought the whole situation was just adorable.  She gladly accepted his offer as soon as he had enough courage to ask her to lunch.”

“They’re just talking about work,” Dinky whispered.

“Oh, that’s right, your mom works at that matchmaking place,” Clarity realized.

Before Clarity could continue, Watt’s shrill voice caught Dinky’s attention.  She turned back to the window.

“Is it just me,” the jittery stallion asked, “or is the Doc gradually getting weirder?  I went to give him a status report on my latest assignment yesterday and found him messing around with that little sippy-dippy bird thing of his again.”

“Oh, don’t be so quick to judge, Watt,” Cloudcover chided.  “Everypony needs a hobby.  There’s nothing wrong with Doctor Candyfloss playing with that delightful desk toy of his every now and again.”

Watt squinted.  “Playing with it, I’d understand.  Gluing a little top hat and monocle to it and then talking to it in a false accent might be taking it a bit far, though.”

Breeze almost choked on his food trying to stifle a laugh.  “Okay, you have a point,” he managed.  “The boss is a little strange.”

The ponies around the table continued to talk and laugh, while Dinky remained at the window.  “I almost don’t want to bother them,” she whispered to Clarity.  “They look like they’re having a good time.  As soon as I go in there, I think the fun will be over for the night.”

Clarity frowned.  “You’re just looking for excuses now,” she accused.  “I know it’s going to be hard, but you have to go in there and tell her what happened.  She’s gonna find out one way or another.”

“I know, I know,” Dinky mumbled, stepping down from the crate.  “I’ve wasted enough time.  Let’s go.”

The fillies returned to the front of the house.  Dinky took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

“Visitors?  At this hour?” came Ditzy Doo’s muffled voice.

“Maybe Candyfloss found some time to come by after all,” Breeze suggested.

“Come in!” Ditzy called.  “It’s not locked!”

Dinky’s aura surrounded the doorknob and then pushed the door open.  Clarity waited in the foyer while Dinky trotted around the corner and into the dining room, where Ditzy and the others had already resumed conversation.

“Um… hi, everypony…”

Ditzy stopped mid-sentence when her daughter appeared.   The rest of the table fell silent as well.

“Dinky?” the mare asked, her eyes achieving a rare moment of focus to confirm the filly’s identity.  “But it’s Wednesday.  Why aren’t you in Canterlot?”

“S-something happened,” Dinky stuttered.  “I needed to come home…”

Ditzy spread her wings, floated from her chair, and landed next to the filly.  “What happened?” she asked, obviously concerned.  “Are you hurt?  Sick, maybe?”

“She looks alright,” Breeze said, also getting up.  “What’s the problem, kiddo?”

“Well, there was… an incident,” Dinky answered.  “It’s kind of a long story.  Clarity’s here too; she can help me tell it.”

“I heard my name,” Clarity said, appearing in the doorway.

“Mom, Mr. Breeze, this is Clarity.  She’s that friend I’ve been telling you both about.”

“Pleased to meetcha’, Mrs. Doo,” Clarity chirped, stepping forward and shaking the slightly bewildered mare’s hoof.

“Y-yes, likewise,” Ditzy replied.  “But Dinky, I still don’t understand.  Why are you here, and why is Clarity with you?  What’s going on?”

Dinky stared at the floor.  “Well…”

The filly retold her story.  Ditzy and her coworkers remained silent, without interruption, as she recounted the meeting of Sunbeam, the study of the “alternative magic”, and finally the accident that had led to the fire in the tower.

“…after that, they took me to the dean’s office, and she… well, she… expelled me.  It’s true that I put a lot of ponies in danger, but I really didn’t mean to!  I had no idea what kind of magic I was using.  But… nopony will believe me…”

Ditzy and Breeze exchanged worried glances.  Ditzy reached out and put a hoof on her daughter’s shoulder.

“Dinky…”

“I’m so sorry, mom,” Dinky choked out, hanging her head to hide the tears that started flowing yet again.  “I didn’t mean to cause trouble.  I should have known better, should have seen what was happening…” 

“Dinky.”

“But it’s too late!  Now I’ve gone and wasted the greatest gift you’ve ever given me!  I’m a terrible daughter…”

“Dinky!” Ditzy yelled.

Dinky looked up.  Ditzy took the opportunity to wipe away a few of the filly’s tears.

“Dinky, you listen to me,” Ditzy said.  “You are not a terrible daughter.  You are one of the sweetest and most considerate fillies in Equestria, and I am incredibly lucky to have you.  I’m no unicorn, so I know I can’t fully understand the details of what happened, but if you say you didn’t know about this dark magic stuff, then I believe you, no matter what the others say.”

Dinky sniffled.  “You’re not… mad?”

Ditzy gave the filly a hug.  “I’m not mad.  I know you would never intentionally hurt anypony.  Circumstances were just stacked against you this time.”

Dinky said nothing.  She leaned her head against her mother’s coat, relieved but still depressed.

“So… there’s no way you can get back into the Academy?” Breeze asked.  “There’s got to be a way to show them this isn’t your fault, right?”

“I don’t think so,” Dinky mumbled, turning to face the stallion.  “The dean hates me, so even if I appeal the expulsion, she’ll find a way to make the committee that reviews it deny me a chance.  I don’t think I can get back into the school unless Princess Celestia herself commands it.”

Ditzy tapped her chin thoughtfully.  “Well, why don’t you go into town tomorrow and talk to your tutor?  Twilight Sparkle has connections with Princess Celestia.  Maybe she can help.”

Clarity’s ears stood straight up.  “Wait, Twilight Sparkle?”  she asked curiously.

“Yeah, she’s my magic tutor,” Dinky said.  “Do you know her?”

Clarity’s jaw dropped.  “Twilight Sparkle is your magic tutor!?” she cried.  “As in, the leader of the Elements of Harmony and student of Princess Celestia?  That Twilight Sparkle?”

Dinky grinned sheepishly.  “Oh yeah,” the purple filly mumbled, “I guess I should have realized that ponies from other parts of Equestria would have heard of her.  Nopony treats her differently than anypony else around here, so I never really thought about it.”

“I guess you didn’t!” Clarity replied, still utterly shocked.  “I know I wouldn’t have been able to go half a term without mentioning it to my friends if I had Twilight Sparkle as a magic tutor!”

“Well, why don’t you go with Dinky to talk to her tomorrow?” Ditzy asked.  “I’m sure she’d be flattered to meet a filly who holds her in such high regard.”

“Can I?” Clarity asked, her eyes lighting up.  “I can’t wait!  I’m gonna get to meet one of the most powerful unicorns in Equestria!”

Clarity hopped in place, looking thrilled.  Dinky shook her head, grinning at her friend’s antics.

“Jeez, put the brakes on, kiddo,” Watt said from his place at the table.  “You’re looking as hyper as… well, me, I guess.”

“Yeah, as much as we know you want to meet Twilight, your visit isn’t exactly on happy terms,” Ditzy said.

Clarity stopped bouncing.  “That’s true,” she said in a more grounded tone.  “I came here to support Dinky when she needed me most, not to meet celebrity unicorns.”

“It’s fine,” Dinky chimed in.  “If you were as somber as I am tonight, this evening would be even more depressing than it needs to be.”

She yawned.  “It’s been a long, difficult day, though.  I think it might be best if we get some sleep.”

Ditzy nodded.  “Clarity, you’re free to stay in Dinky’s room for the night.  We’ll help you get back to school tomorrow.”

“It’s the room down the hall on the left,” Dinky said.  “Go take a look.  I’ll be right there.”

Clarity nodded and disappeared down the hallway.

“I guess we’re gonna go too,” Breeze said, as he, Watt, and Cloudcover trotted to the foyer.  “Come find me if you need me to help with this whole business with Dinky.”

Ditzy nuzzled her coltfriend.  “I will.  Have a good night.”

The stallions left, leaving Dinky alone with her mom.  They stood in silence for a short while.

“So… what if Miss Twilight can’t help?” Dinky asked.  “What if I really am expelled for good?”

“Then Celestia’s Academy will be losing a wonderful student,” Ditzy replied.  “But no matter what happens, I want you to know that you are a very bright filly, and I’m very proud of you.  Somewhere up there, your dad is looking down on you, and he’s proud of you too.”

Dinky didn’t reply, so the mare continued.  “We will get this sorted out.  You’re not a bad filly, and once we talk to Twilight, we’ll make sure the Academy knows that too.  Now try to get some sleep; there’s no sense worrying about it anymore tonight.”

“You’re right, as usual,” Dinky admitted, smiling softly.  “Goodnight, mommy.”

“Goodnight, Dinky.”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dinky entered her bedroom and found Clarity spreading a blanket on the floor.

“What are you doing?”

“Makin’ a place to sleep,” Clarity replied.  “We don’t have our bunks in here, remember?”

“My bed’s big enough for two,” Dinky pointed out.  “You didn’t have to come to Ponyville to support me, so the least I can do is offer you a comfortable visit.”

“Really?  Thanks,” Clarity said, hopping onto the bed.  Dinky simply nodded and climbed onto the other side.

Both fillies lied there in the darkness.  A feeling of tension still hung around Dinky, and she tossed and turned as she tried to push the day out of her mind and get some sleep.

“Still nervous, huh?” Clarity asked.

“Yeah,” Dinky said.  “Even with you and mom sticking up for me, it just feels like so much is working against me.  I wish somepony could promise me everything will turn out alright.”

Clarity snuggled up against Dinky.  “I can’t do that, but I can give you the next best thing; a friend who won’t abandon you either way.”

“Aww,” Dinky cooed.  “Thanks.  That’s… oddly sentimental, coming from you.”

“Eh, there’s a time and place for mushy stuff,” Clarity replied.  “I like to keep things a little lighter, but now and then I gotta be serious.  You know, to remind you that I’m not taking the situation lightly, even if I might seem like it sometimes.”

Dinky nuzzled her playfully.  “You don’t need to remind me.  There are only a hoofful of ponies in Equestria who care about me as much as you do.”

The purple filly pulled up the covers.  “Let’s try to get some sleep.  I’m exhausted.”

Despite her worries, Dinky’s tired body took precedence over her tumultuous mind.  Snuggled up next to Clarity, the filly finally drifted off into slumber.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thursday morning came.  Class began as usual at Celestia’s Academy for Gifted Unicorns.  Many miles away, two young unicorns and a pegasus mare made their way into the heart of Ponyville.

“There it is,” Dinky said, motioning to the huge old oak in the middle of town.  “That’s the library where Twilight lives.”

Clarity stared at the tree.  “I figured the Elements of Harmony would have grander homes than that,” she commented.

Dinky chuckled.  “To Twilight, there’s nothing more grand than a room full of books.  She’ll probably be either reading or re-shelving them when we get inside.”

Dinky knocked.  The door opened, revealing Spike.

“Hi, Spike,” Dinky greeted.  “Is Twilight in?”

“Ooh, a dragon!” Clarity squealed, trotting up and examining Spike from every angle, much to the baby dragon’s discomfort.  “Do you deliver mail like the dragon at school?”

“Uh… yeah,” Spike said, edging away from the eager filly.  “I’ll, uh… go get Twilight for you girls.  Yeah.”

Spike dashed off, leaving the girls in the doorway.  They stepped inside the tree, and Clarity pushed the door shut with a hind hoof.

“You need to chill a little,” Dinky commented.  “I think you made Spike a little uncomfortable.”

“Sorry,” Clarity replied.  “I’m just kinda antsy.  I can’t believe I’m finally about to meet—”

Quick hoofsteps echoed from the stairwell, and the librarian stepped into the room.

“—Twilight Sparkle!” Clarity finished, her voice rising to a nervous squeak.

Twilight smiled.  “Yep, that’s me.  Welcome to the Ponyville Library.  How can I help y—”

Twilight paused mid-sentence when she realized one of the fillies in front of her was her student.  “Oh, hi Dinky.  What are you doing here?” she asked.  “It’s the middle of the week.  There’s no reason for you to be home on a Thursday, unless…”

Twilight trailed off.  She placed a hoof to her forehead, slightly exasperated.

“Come to think of it, news from Canterlot said there was some kind of ‘incident’ at the Academy yesterday, but they haven’t released the details to the public.  Please tell me this has nothing to do with that.”

Dinky shuffled a hoof.  “Well, I could tell you that, but I’d be lying…”

Twilight’s expression filled with concern. “Is that why you’re here right now?” she asked.  “Are you okay?  Did you get suspended or something?”

“Um, expelled, actually,” Dinky admitted quietly.

“What?” Twilight sputtered.  “B-b-but how?  What did you do?”

“That’s one of the things I came to talk to you about,” Dinky said.  “I, uh… I sorta accidentally used dark magic.”

Twilight’s jaw dropped.  “Where did you even learn about dark magic!?” she asked frantically.  “I didn’t teach you any of that!  Most unicorns have only heard stories, and even I only knew a few details until just a few months ago when the Crystal Empire reappeared!”

For what felt like the millionth time, Dinky retold her story, and Clarity made sure to interject periodically with additional details and confirmation of events.  Twilight looked surprised at the mention of a mysterious colt wielding dark magic, and horrified at the news that the tower had nearly burned down.  When the filly finished, Twilight took a deep breath and let it out slowly as she processed all that Dinky had said.

“Okay, it sounds to me like this whole thing is a result of your lack of knowledge about dark magic,” the mare said, “and I’m afraid that’s my fault.  We were pressed for time during your tutoring, and I didn’t think you’d even be exposed to dark magic, so I didn’t think there was any reason to bring it up.”

“I still don’t really understand what it is,” Dinky complained.  “I know it’s evil, but that’s about it.  Everypony’s been avoiding my questions about it.”

Twilight nodded.  “That’s because it’s an uncomfortable topic for most unicorns,” she pointed out.  “Obviously, it’s a little late now, but I can tell you what you need to know about it.  At the very least you’ll have the knowledge you need, should you ever encounter it again.”

Dinky and Clarity plopped down on one of the footstools Spike used to reach the higher shelves.  “Well, it’s not like we don’t have time to listen,” Dinky admitted.

“I think both of us could use the knowledge anyway,” Clarity said.  “Now that all this has happened, we should probably know a little more about it.”

“Excellent,” Twilight said.  “Then it’s time for an apparently long overdue lesson.  I don’t have any books on the subject; the only ones left that mention the topic in significant detail are in the Canterlot library.  I’ll have to go from memory.”

She cleared her throat.  “Dark magic, in simplest terms, is the antithesis of regular unicorn magic.  Standard magic is inherently good; even things like battle magic are not meant to kill or severely wound, just to temporarily impair.  That’s not to say regular magic can’t be used negatively, though; many unicorns throughout history who went bad used regular magic to commit their crimes.”

“So, whether magic is good or evil is dependent on the wielder,” Dinky summarized.  

“How is dark magic different?” Clarity asked.  “Besides the obvious, I mean.”

“That’s the strange thing about it!” Twilight said, leaning forward sharply.  “Dark magic is so inherently evil, it’s impossible to use for good.  History tells us that dark magic was created as a corruption of standard magic.  It is powered by the same base energy within the unicorn’s body, but summoning it first requires transforming it into a twisted, poisonous shadow of the energy it was born from.  The unicorn’s anatomy is built to make it easy to summon more typical magic, so anypony trying to cast dark magic is met with great physical and mental resistance, both because their subconscious realizes they are using perverse willpower to corrupt the energy, and because their body isn’t used to the process that must occur to make it happen.”

Dinky bit her lip nervously.  “And so… if a pony continued to practice dark magic despite that… would it get easier over time?”

Twilight nodded somberly.  “It would.  The body will adapt, as it does when exposed to any new stressor.  Extended time without using dark magic would make it become more difficult again.  The more alarming effect, however, is dark magic’s effect on the mind if used repeatedly.”

Dinky swallowed.  “And… that effect is?”

“In order to summon the spells, the mind must create negative energy,” Twilight explained.  “I suppose it’s possible, in cases like yours, to not even realize you’re doing so, but the special sensation this Sunbeam showed you how to tap into is your own dark side: the vices and temptations that good ponies suppress.  If a pony uses a lot of dark magic, those bits of darkness tucked away have an easier time creeping forward and influencing the spellcaster’s decisions and attitude.  In many cases, dark magic users are already acting on the intentions of the more vile part of their mind before even choosing to cast dark spells, so once they do, the additional influence makes it difficult to stop.”

Twilight furrowed her brow.  “How much dark magic did you use, anyway?  From what you’ve told me, you only practiced for a short while, so I hope it wasn’t too much.”

Dinky recalled the one instance, only two days before, where she’d felt a sudden rush of destructive intent after casting the fire spell with Sunbeam.  “Not… too much…” she said weakly.  “Is, uh… is the effect on the mind reversible, like it is on the body?”

“It is, unless it becomes a severe influence.  Then it’s harder to say,” Twilight said, stepping closer to Dinky and examining her worriedly.  “You do want to stop using dark magic now that you know what it is, right?”

“Yes!” Dinky insisted, looking shocked that Twilight would even ask such a question.

“Then I think you’re probably going to be okay,” Twilight said, relieved.  “Even I’m not sure exactly what happens when a pony uses lots of dark magic for a long period of time.  Theoretically, if a pony was to do so, their conscience would eventually shrivel entirely as the influence of the corrupt magic they are creating takes over.”

Dinky blanched.  “But that’s not going to happen to me… right?” she asked, her voice strained.

Twilight shook her head.  “Not unless you keep casting dark spells,” the mare said.  “Dark magic may have had a minimal effect on you, since you did practice several times, but it shouldn’t have caused a dangerous change.  Just remember what we talked about if you’re tempted to use it again.  If dark magic seems like a good idea, for almost any reason, that’s just the influence of the spells you have cast clouding your judgment.  Ignore it, and find another way to solve the problem, and hopefully after a few months the slight corruption will fade.”

“For almost any reason?” Dinky asked, raising an eyebrow.  “Not that I’m planning to find myself in such a situation, but when would dark magic be considered a good idea?”

Twilight sighed.  “Well, in most ponies’ lives, it’s never a good idea,” she said, her ears flattening ashamedly against her head.  “The only reason I said that is because I had no choice but to use a few dark spells to overcome some of the puzzles set by King Sombra, former dictator of the Crystal Empire.  He was a user of dark magic, as well.”

“You’ve used dark magic?” Dinky asked, aghast.  She and Clarity exchanged shocked glances.

“Twice,” Twilight said curtly.  “Both times were to unlock secrets Sombra had hidden. Believe me, I never want to cast it again.”

Dinky sighed.  “I’ve cast a lot more than two dark spells, though…”

Twilight trotted closer and lifted Dinky’s chin with a hoof.  “Dinky, you’re going to be okay,” she insisted.  “The fact that you’re so scared and remorseful about all this means you will easily be able to overcome any damage done.  Think of it like having a cold.  When you get a little sick, you just rest and treat yourself with care, and eventually it goes away.  Dark magic’s done the same thing inside of you, and just like with any other small malady, you’ll heal in time.  But if you ever, ever have any more concerns about magic you’re not sure about, please talk to an adult.”

Dinky gave a sheepish grin.  “I… think I’ve figured that much out, Miss Twilight…”

“Good,” the mare replied more cheerfully.  “Now, I know for a fact that you didn’t know any magic at all before I tutored you, and I know you didn’t learn dark magic from me, so, strange as it all sounds, I think your story deserves a little credit.”

Dinky rolled her eyes.  “Tell that to the dean,” she mumbled.  “She has proof that Sunbeam’s dead, remember?  She doesn’t want me at that school, so she’s going to take advantage of that for all she’s worth.”

“I know, and I can’t explain that either,” Twilight said thoughtfully.  “But unlike the dean, I believe that you really did use dark magic unintentionally.  I’m not sure what’s really going on here, but I’m writing a letter to Princess Celestia right now to see if she can help.”

Dinky jumped up.  “That would be great!” she said.  “I don’t know if she’ll overrule my expulsion, but maybe she’ll believe me more than the dean did, at least.”

“Spike!” Twilight called.  “Come down here please!  I need you to take a letter!”

The ponies listened to the distinctive sound of footsteps on the upper floor, followed by the even more distinctive sound of a baby dragon falling down a flight of stairs.  Spike staggered into the room, dusted himself off, and quickly opened a scroll, looking at Twilight expectantly.

“Dear Princess Celestia,” Twilight dictated.  “After speaking with my student Dinky Doo, it has come to my attention that the actions by the Academy staff regarding the recent dark magic incident may have been taken without proper attention to all details and sides of the argument surrounding the event.  If possible, I would like to request a brief meeting to see if you interpret Dinky’s side of the story differently than the acting dean.  Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle.”

Spike finished writing the note and sent the letter away in a puff of green flame.  “And now we wait,” he said.  “Don’t worry, girls, Princess Celestia usually replies to Twilight within minutes.”

“In the meantime…” Dinky said, grinning, “I think my friend here has been dying to meet you, Miss Twilight.”

Twilight turned to Clarity and raised an eyebrow.  “Oh?  Are you one of Dinky’s classmates?”

“Yes, ma’am!” Clarity said excitedly.  “My name’s Clarity!  It’s so great to finally get to meet you, Miss Twilight!”

Twilight stepped back.  “Well, you’re certainly enthusiastic!” she said, a bit taken aback.  “You aren’t even from around here, though; why were you so eager to meet me?”

“Why?” Clarity asked, stunned.  “Haven’t you saved Equestria like four times now?  Aren’t you the leader of the bearers of the Elements of Harmony?  And most importantly, aren’t you basically the most powerful unicorn since Starswirl himself to study at Celestia’s Academy?  Why wouldn’t I want to meet you?”

Twilight blushed.  “Oh, I guess stuff like that does get around,” she admitted.

“You bet it’s gotten around,” Clarity confirmed, “especially in towns like Whinnychester where there are a lot of unicorns.  You’re practically a legend there!”

Clarity opened her bag, and a quill and roll of paper floated out in clouds of red magic.  The objects presented themselves to Twilight.

“Can I have your autograph?  Please?”

“Sure,” Twilight giggled, taking the quill and scribbling her name.  “There you go.  I’ve never been approached by a ‘fan’ before.”

Clarity opened her bag and placed the scroll inside, handling it with a sort of reverence, as if it was her most precious possession.

Spike chuckled.  “Look out, Twi,” he warned.  “Pretty soon, you won’t be able to travel anymore without getting trampled by an army of excited little—”

Spike’s sentence was cut short by a sudden burp, and the resulting tongue of flame deposited a scroll marked with the royal seal at Twilight’s hooves.  “Oh, look at that,” he commented.  “Told ya’ she’d answer right away.”

Twilight opened the letter, and the three ponies quickly read through the short note inside.

My Dearest Twilight,

Bright Spark sent me a report of the incident, but the details seemed vague and the overall resolution suspiciously simple.  I would like to ask you, Mrs. Doo, and Dinky herself to meet me in Canterlot this evening, so I can be sure I have heard all the facts.

I look forward to seeing you in the castle tonight,
-Princess Celestia

“Well, that settles it then,” said Twilight decisively.  “Go home, get your mom, and meet me at the train station in an hour.  We’re going back to Canterlot.”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dinky couldn’t help but feel a bit uncomfortable under the gaze of the dozens of staunch, motionless palace guards.  Twilight didn’t seem concerned though, so she did her best to ignore them and follow her tutor and her mom down the long magenta carpet that led to the throne.  Clarity trotted along silently beside her, taking in the majestic surroundings with unconcealed awe.

At the end of the hall sat Princess Celestia in all her glory.  She smiled as her subjects approached and bowed.

“Hello, my dear Twilight,” the princess greeted.  “And hello to the rest of you.  I wish we were meeting to discuss a happier topic, but what occurred at the Academy yesterday is not something that can be taken lightly.”

She leaned forward, looking over Twilight’s and Ditzy’s heads and directly at Dinky.  “Dinky, could you come forward, please?”

The two mares in front of Dinky stepped aside, allowing the filly to move forward.  Dinky, intimidated, wasn’t able to get herself to move until Clarity gave her a nudge.

“Are… are you mad at me, Princess?” she asked nervously.

“I’m not going to judge what has happened until I hear your side of the story,” Celestia replied gently.  “If Twilight is correct, and she usually is, your version of the story may differ from the one I heard from Bright Spark.  Please tell me exactly what you told the dean.”

Dinky repeated her story yet again.  Celestia’s eyebrows rose at the mention of Sunbeam, but she said nothing until the filly had completed the whole tale.

“Interesting,” the Princess said.  “There are indeed a few points that Bright Spark left out, including the fact that she seems to be biased against you.  You must try to understand her; she has been in the service of the Academy for many years, and usually she performs her duties very well.  I realize she is becoming somewhat less compassionate as she ages, but I still believe she wouldn’t expel somepony without at least a fairly good reason.  I need to reconcile your story with hers before I decide if she acted too quickly. Thankfully, she should be here to clarify right about n—”

Celestia’s last word was drowned out as the door to the throne room was flung open, revealing an aging yellow unicorn in glasses.

“My princess!” Bright Spark called as she trotted down the aisle.  “I came as soon as I received your summons.  For what reason was I called here for an audience with—”

Bright Spark stopped when she noticed the ponies standing off to the side.  Her gaze came to rest on Dinky, and although her expression did not waver, Dinky could feel anger burning in the dean’s eyes.

“Ah.  I see Miss Doo is here.  I take it this meeting pertains to the incident on Academy grounds yesterday.”

“Yes,” Celestia answered.  “The report you sent me yesterday stated that Dinky started a fire with dark magic in the girls’ residence tower, and that after it was extinguished, she was unable to provide any reasonable alibi for where she learned the spell, so in light of the danger she caused, you expelled her.”

“That is correct,” Bright Spark replied.  “Use of dark magic is, after all, a clearly punishable act.  Even if lives hadn’t been in danger, the use of that forbidden magic alone warrants severe punishment.”

“I don’t deny that,” Celestia replied.  “What I don’t understand is why you failed to mention the pony Dinky claimed she learned the magic from.”

“Oh, her alibi was so clearly false that I didn’t even bother you with it,” Bright Spark said simply.  “I gave you the facts, not a desperate student’s lies.”

Ditzy bristled.  “Now wait just a second, lady,” the pegasus barked.  “My Dinky is not a liar.  The story she told the princess just now was exactly the same as the one she told me.  If it was made up, there’d probably be some parts that were a little less constant.”

Bright Spark rolled her eyes.  “Princess, I assure you, her argument is meaningless,” the dean continued.  “It’s completely impossible for the pony she incriminated to have been present to teach her dark magic.”

“She described a pony in detail,” Celestia replied, undeterred.  “She was able to name him and describe his appearance and Cutie Mark for each of us, and I assume she did the same for you.  Do you deny this?”

“Well, no,” Bright Spark said, just a bit less confidently.  “But, my Princess, it was Sunbeam that she blamed.  Her argument falls flat then and there.”

“Is it as simple as that?” Celestia asked.  “You didn’t even look into her claims?”

“Why waste the time?” Bright Spark asked.  “Sunbeam is not a student, nor is he on the Academy grounds.  Last time we checked, he was buried in a forgotten cemetery in Hollow Shades!  I hardly think a colt who died forty years ago requires our attention.”

“If you’re so certain he’s gone, how was Dinky able to find out about him?” the princess asked.

“I don’t know,” Bright Spark replied indignantly.  “I’m sure there’s a history of the Academy somewhere that mentions him.  His death was a rather tragic accident, after all.  It was well publicized at the time, as I’m sure you remember.”

“Be that as it may, Dinky had to learn the magic from somewhere,” Celestia argued.

Bright spark reared up and slammed her front hooves down.  “Princess, why can’t you accept that Dinky clearly searched out the resources to teach herself these spells?  If she had a pony to incriminate, surely she would have mentioned them to save her own hide!  And for the last time, Sunbeam is not an option, because he is dead!”

“Do not raise your voice at me, Bright Spark!” Celestia commanded in the Royal Canterlot Voice.  “I may give you the privilege to run my Academy, but that does not mean you may disrespect me!”

Bright Spark’s demeanor changed instantly.  She collapsed, quivering, at the monarch’s hooves.

“My deepest apologies, my princess!  I spoke out of line,” she whimpered.  “I beg your forgiveness.”

“You may rise,” Celestia said sternly.  “But please, no further outbursts.  This is a civil conversation.”

“Of course, my princess,” Bright Spark breathed, getting up.  “I am merely suggesting that I do not see a reason to pay much attention to claims of a pony we know is dead wielding dark magic.”

“Even if that is true,” Celestia countered, “you’ve still failed to consider an important fact.  The only magic Dinky has ever practiced outside of the school has been in Ponyville, mostly under the instruction of Twilight Sparkle.  Obviously, she didn’t learn dark magic there, so if she did pursue the topic by herself, that means she found the resources to teach herself about it within the Academy walls.”

The dean’s eyes widened.  “We would never allow such a thing!” she insisted.  “There isn’t a single page in any book, or the barest mention allowed by any of our professors, about those terrible spells.  Any student caught so much as mentioning them would be questioned, as well.”

“Well, then I believe we still have an ongoing mystery on our hooves,” Celestia stated.  “We cannot assume Dinky acted with intent to harm until we can prove where she learned the spells.  I suggest you launch an investigation at the Academy, to search for any further evidence of dark magic use.  In the meantime, Dinky will be permitted to return and continue her studies.”

“I will?” Dinky asked, breaking into a huge smile.

“She will!?” Bright Spark yelled, outraged.

“Yes, she will,” said Celestia forcefully.  “And I thought I said no more outbursts.  I’m overruling Dinky’s expulsion, and if you continue to argue I may begin to question your loyalty to the Academy and dedication to your position.”

Bright Spark slammed her mouth shut and backed up a few paces and removed her glasses, wiping them nervously with a lens cloth.  “Of course, Princess.  You know best.”

Celestia’s horn began to glow, and a familiar roll of paper, stamped with a big red X, appeared.  The princess’s magic flared brighter, and the red ink began to melt off the paper, dripping down and evaporating into steam when it hit the marble steps.  Soon, Dinky’s enrollment record looked brand new.

“Dinky, while dark magic use is a serious offence,” Celestia began, “I have no reason not to believe that it was entirely accidental.  You may return to the Academy, but if you’re caught using any more of those spells, I will stand by the dean’s decision to have you removed from our program.  Is that clear?”

“Completely,” Dinky said, nodding enthusiastically.  “Am I still going to have that note on my citizenship record that says I’m a magical criminal, though?”

“Not quite,” Celestia replied.  “In light of this decision, you are not being held accountable for the accident at the tower, so that particular accusation will be removed.  However, even I can’t change the fact that a note must remain saying you are capable of using dark magic.  Any unicorn who has done so must have that on their record, and no one can deny that you were the one who cast that fire spell.”

“It’s not as big a deal as it sounds,” Twilight said gently.  “My record includes the same note.”

“Mine does as well,” Celestia admitted.

Celestia turned back to Bright Spark, who now stood some distance away.  “Return to the Academy,” the princess commanded.  “I’ll be sending Dinky back on the next train.”

Bright Spark forced a respectful bow.  “Yes, princess.”

The old mare cast one more not-so-subtle glare in Dinky’s direction, and then turned up her nose and trotted from the room.

> Chapter 11
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Cool wind blew through the trees outside the Academy, rustling through the dense leaves.  The whistle of a train echoed from within the depths of the cave housing the station, catching the attention of something dark and formless lurking in the bushes.  The shape snaked its way through the underbrush, stopping just short of the edge of the concealing shade.  It shifted and writhed ominously for a few moments, until finally its indistinct outline took on a more defined shape.  Cautiously, a yellow colt with bright blue eyes stepped out of the darkness and into the moonlight.

The colt watched silently as four ponies emerged from the tunnel: Princess Celestia and Bright Spark, followed closely by Dinky and Clarity.

Dinky Doo has returned, yes she has! Sunbeam rejoiced.  I thought for sure when she disobeyed my instructions and used her dark magic, she had ruined everything.  But if she’s being permitted to remain at the Academy, there may be hope for my plans yet, yes there may.

The colt frowned.  I will have to resort to plan B, yes I will, he thought, stomping a forehoof in frustration.  Dinky has learned the truth about dark magic far too soon, yes she has.  Now, if given the choice, she won’t continue to use it.

The colt looked at the sky.  But there is still time, yes there is.  If I cannot persuade Dinky to continue casting dark spells… I’ll just have to try a less subtle option.

As the ponies drew closer to the path, Sunbeam withdrew into the darkness.  Only the shimmering blue of his eyes was visible as he watched Dinky enter the castle.

“Enjoy your success tonight, Dinky,” the colt hissed as his shape once again became strange and amorphous.  “But don’t get too comfortable.  By the end of this term, you’ll help me fulfill my goal, yes you will, whether you want to or not…”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The four ponies arrived at the dean’s office.

“Now, I need you to write a note to the girls’ overseer,” Celestia instructed the dean.  “Make sure she’s aware that Dinky is permitted to return to the tower.”

“Yes, Princess,” Bright Spark said dully, trotting into her office and hastily scribbling down a note to Sparkler.  “And what of Clarity?  Are you excusing her from any penalties for truancy?  She did, after all, skip Thursday’s classes.”

“That’s always been a decision left to the professors of the classes she missed,” Celestia replied.  “I don’t see why this situation should be any different.”

Bright Spark’s expression remained drab.  “Fair enough,” she said, passing the paper to Dinky in a small cloud of magic.  “Dinky, give this to Sparkler, and then you’ll be able to return to your room.”

Dinky grabbed the paper with her own magic and quickly read the note.  Clarity peeked over her shoulder and scanned it as well.

Sparkler,

By decree of Princess Celestia, the expulsion of Dinky Doo has been overturned.  Please permit her to return to her dormitory, and remember that she once again falls under the students you are responsible for.

Regards,
~Dean Bright Spark

“Good.  I believe that takes care of everything,” Princess Celestia said, nodding.  “Go back to the tower and get some sleep, girls.  You can both resume class tomorrow morning.”

Dinky bowed, and Clarity followed suit.  Ignoring the dean peering at them from behind her desk, the fillies left the office and made for the residence tower.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dinky pushed open the door and peeked cautiously into the lounge at the base of the tower.  The filly gasped in surprise.

“Clarity, come check this out!”

Barely a day before, the room had been a mess of rubble and charred debris, reduced to a smoldering wasteland by Dinky’s rogue spell.  Yet now it was as if the incident had never happened.  The fireplace was reconstructed; each brick was back in its proper place, and any hint of dust and ash had been wiped away.  The carpet was clean and whole, and the walls were no longer charred and cracked.  There wasn’t a speck of wreckage left anywhere; the whole room looked as if the fire had never happened.

“But… but how did they…” Dinky sputtered, aghast.

“That’s the power of magic for you,” Clarity chirped.  “This Academy is home to some of Equestria’s most brilliant unicorns.  Even a mess like that couldn’t have taken more than a day to clean up.”

Impressed, Dinky took another moment to examine the pristine room, before trotting forward and lifting a hoof to knock on Sparkler's door.

“Wait!” Clarity said sharply.  “Um… can I maybe just go upstairs?  Sparkler’s not gonna be happy when she sees you…”

Dinky nodded.  “Yeah, go ahead.  Don’t worry, Sparkler doesn’t have the authority to do anything to me.”

“Doesn’t mean she’s gonna just let it slide,” Clarity said dryly.  “She may not be able to punish you, but she’ll have a few choice words for you, I’m sure.”

Dinky rolled her eyes.  “Well, that’s a given.  Just wait for me upstairs.  I’ll be up in a minute.”

“I wish I didn’t have to leave you alone with Sparkler, though,” Clarity mumbled.  “I’d stay here with you if I didn’t think I’d get chewed out for this too.”

A thought occurred to Dinky.  “Maybe you can,” the purple filly said slowly.  “Do you think you can cast your invisibility spell again?  It fooled Sparkler last time.”

Clarity slapped a hoof to her forehead.  “Why didn’t I think of that?”

Clarity’s horn glowed, and the filly melted into her surroundings.  Within a few moments, Dinky couldn’t see her at all.  Satisfied, Dinky turned and trotted up to Sparkler’s door.  She hesitated for a moment, and then rapped on it gently.

“Whaddya want?” the young mare’s voice called from inside.  “It’s late.  Is this important?”

“It’s a message from the dean,” Dinky called.

The sound of hooves approached the door very quickly, and after a moment, it was wrenched open by a flicker of violet magic.  Sparkler glanced out the door, and gave a small gasp when she saw the pale purple filly in front of her.

“Dinky!  But… you’re expelled!  I took you back to Ponyville myself!”

“Yeah, about that…” Dinky said, unable to help but feel a little smug at Sparkler’s reaction.  “This note’s from the dean.  It should explain everything.”

Sparkler snatched the note from Dinky and read through it in a few seconds.  Her eyes narrowed, and she crumpled the note with magic and tossed it into a wastebasket in the room behind her.

“Well, well,” she said slowly.  “The brash little filly manages once again to escape her fate.  I gotta say, this time I wasn’t expecting you to get away with it.  But time and time again, you somehow manage to worm your way out of trouble.  Unbelievable.”

Dinky snorted indignantly.  “Hey, it wasn’t my fault.  I told the dean and you exactly what happened.  If you two had believed me in the first place, I wouldn’t have had to take it to Twilight Sparkle, or ultimately to the Princess.”

Sparkler stamped a hoof.  “But that’s just it!  Why did they believe you?  Why does everypony always take your side?  It seems like you can just trot around here, causing whatever kind of mayhem you want, and nopony can lay a hoof on you!  How am I supposed to do my job if you can just get around all the rules!?”

With that last question, Sparkler slammed both her forehooves down in front of Dinky, causing the latter to take several steps back.  “It’s… it’s not my fault!” Dinky countered.  “I know I’ve caused more than my share of trouble.  I’m not trying to deny that!  But all the things that have gone wrong have been accidents, or cases of me just defending myself.  I’m not trying to make your job any harder; I’ve just been involved in some… unfortunate circumstances.”

“No you have not!” Sparkler screamed.  “If you had been affected by any ‘unfortunate circumstances’, you wouldn’t be at this school at all anymore!  But your so-called ‘circumstances’ seem to be in your favor tonight, considering you’re here with a note signed by the dean overruling your expulsion.”

The older unicorn paused, and shook her head furiously.  “It’s just not fair!” she cried.  “I put all my energy into being a model student, and you’re nothing but a troublemaker!  How come everything works out for you and never for me!?”

Dinky’s ears perked up.  “Wait, what?” she asked, her face scrunching in confusion.  “Are you… are you saying you’re upset because you think my life’s better than yours?  And you resent me just because of that?”

Sparkler’s expression became even more livid.  “It’s none of your business why I’m upset!  Just… just get up to your room, and stay there!”

“But—”

“I said get out of my sight.  Now!”

Sparkler retreated into her room and slammed the door so hard that Dinky felt the vibrations in her hooves.  There was the sound of squeaky bedsprings, followed by muffled shouting.  Clarity reappeared and shook her head sadly.

“Listen to her,” Dinky mumbled.  “I think she’s screaming into her pillow.”

Clarity sighed.  “She really hates your guts, but at least now we might know why,” she replied softly.  “She’s… jealous, I guess.”

“It’s too bad she never wants to say anything about her own life,” Dinky said.  “I could try to help if I just knew what makes her think her life’s so much harder than mine.”

Clarity shook her head.  “I’m not sure she’s going to open up anytime soon.  There’s nothing we can do but ignore her little tantrums and stay out of her way for now.”

After a moment, she forced herself to look a little more positive. “Anyway, let’s forget about Sparkler for now, and head upstairs.  There’s a certain filly who’s going to be beyond relieved to see that you’ve come back.”

Dinky grinned.  “I almost forgot!  Come on, let’s not make Honeydew wait any longer!”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The upper halls were dark; most of the fillies had already gone to bed.  Dinky and Clarity silently made their way all the way to the sixth floor, and were surprised to see the faint glow of a half-charged illumination orb coming from their room.

Clarity led the way.  Trying not to disturb the residents of the nearby rooms, they slunk forward and peered inside.

The room seemed to be empty.  The orb was set to cast just enough light to see around the room, which had the somewhat eerie effect of causing every object to cast a long, slender shadow.  Dinky and Clarity’s bunks remained undisturbed.  The curtains were drawn over the wide window.  Only Honeydew’s bed appeared lived-in; the covers were all balled up in one big mass near the pillow.

“That’s strange,” Dinky whispered.  “Honeydew is usually pretty tidy.  Why did she—”

Dinky was cut off as the mass of covers gave a soft groan and fidgeted slightly.  There were a few sniffles, and the movement stopped.

“That explains that,” Clarity whispered back.  “Honeydew’s all wrapped up in there.  She doesn’t sound too good, either.”

Both fillies walked into the room as quietly as they could, and Clarity approached Honeydew’s bed.  “Honeydew, I’m back,” she said gently.

The lump beneath the blankets stirred again.  “Clarity?” Honeydew asked, her voice no more than a muffled squeak.

“Yeah, and somepony else too,” Clarity replied, a little more strongly.  “Come out and see.”

The blankets writhed for a moment, and then Honeydew poked the upper half of her body out from underneath.  Dinky took a look at her friend and gave a small gasp.

Honeydew’s appearance had deteriorated alarmingly in a day and a half’s time.  She hadn’t bothered to put her mane up into its usual ties, and so it hung loose in un-groomed clumps, concealing part of her face.  Her eyes, watery and strangely vacant, looked both irritated from tears and desperate for sleep.  Even her fur seemed to have lost its sheen.

It took the haggard filly a moment to even focus on Clarity.  She rubbed her eyes for a moment and gave another sniffle.

“Well, I’m glad to see you made it back okay,” the pink filly said.  “So who did you bring… with…”

Honeydew trailed off as she realized the identity of the other pony standing in front of her.  The pink filly rubbed her eyes again, more forcefully this time, and continued to stare as she struggled to parse the new development.

In spite of Honeydew’s ghastly appearance, Dinky couldn’t help but smile at her friend’s bewildered expression.  “Yeah, I’m back,” she said.  “For a while there, I didn’t think I would be, but I guess I got lucky.”

Honeydew kicked off the rest of the blankets and got to her hooves, staggering sideways as she stood.  She made her way to Dinky as fast as she could in her half-conscious state, and threw her forelegs around her, pulling her into a hug and bursting into sobs.

Dinky, unsure what to say, simply gave Honeydew a gentle pat as the pink filly cried into her shoulder.  She waited for a few minutes in silence until Honeydew got a hold of herself.

“So… so what happened to you?” Honeydew managed.  “How did you… why were you…”

Honeydew’s embrace finally relented, and having previously been putting most of her weight on Dinky’s shoulders, she flopped down onto the rug.  Dinky cautiously lifted her with magic instead, and levitated her back onto the bed.

“S-sorry,” Honeydew stuttered.  “I don’t even know why I’m c-crying.  The last two days have just been so… so hard to come to terms with.  Everything just kind of happened all at once, and suddenly I was alone, and nopony could say for sure what was happening, and…”

Honeydew trailed off, and Dinky sat down on the bed next to her.  “I’m sorry, really,” she said, comforting her friend.  “But we’re back now.  For good this time.”

Honeydew made an attempt to dry her tears “But didn’t you get expelled?” she asked, snuggling back into the comfort of her mattress.  “That’s what I kept hearing; all the ponies are whispering about it when Sparkler isn’t around to hear.”

“I did get expelled, at first,” Dinky admitted.  “But I managed to get the matter taken to Princess Celestia, and she got me un-expelled.”

Honeydew smiled, and somehow the simple expression made her whole appearance seem less disheveled. “That’s good,” she said, immensely relieved. “I thought I would never see you again.”

As quickly as it had come, the smile faded.  “Um… and about what happened, down in the lounge… you didn’t know what you were doing, did you?”

“Of course not!” Dinky replied vehemently.  “I’d never purposely use a spell that destructive!”

Honeydew nodded solemnly.  “I didn’t think so.  You seemed just as scared as I was after the fire started…”

“That reminds me,” Clarity cut in, “what happened to you after we left, Honeydew?  Last I saw you, you were barely conscious.”

Honeydew sighed.  “Not much, actually,” she admitted.  “I woke up in the care of the school nurse.  She told me I’d suffered a massive panic attack, and she’d been monitoring me to make sure my body functions were returning to normal.  As soon as I woke up, I asked what had happened, and she told me the fire was eventually controlled and nopony was hurt.  She didn’t know anything about what was to become of Dinky though.”

Honeydew paused long enough to push her unruly mane out of her face.  She tied it back in a single, messy ponytail, just to keep it out of her eyes.

“Anyway,” she continued.  “As soon as they declared it safe to come back to the tower, they sent me back here.  That’s when I saw the note Clarity left saying she’d gone after Dinky.  I wasn’t able to go to class today, though.  It feels like I have the flu or something, but the nurse says I’m just still trying to recover from that little… episode…”

“So you’ve just been here sleeping for most of the day?” Dinky asked.

Honeydew looked bitter.  “Well, trying to sleep,” she mumbled.  “I don’t really do well with anxiety, and having no idea what had happened to Dinky, as well as worrying where Clarity would wind up by following her, was kinda making it hard to get any rest.  I probably look like a wreck.”

“You don’t look that bad,” Clarity lied.  “And now we’re all back together, and everything’s gonna be fine, right?”

“Well, there’s still the matter of Sunbeam,” Dinky said crossly.  “I need to find out who he is and why he decided to try to teach me dark magic.”

Honeydew squeaked in surprise, and her already sickly complexion became even paler.  “W-why would you purposely go looking for him again?” she asked, trembling.  “He almost ruined your whole life!  Worse still, what if you’d kept practicing dark magic without knowing what it was?  Who knows what would have happened!  I think we should just go back to our normal studies and pretend he was never here.”

“But Honeydew, that’s just it,” Dinky argued.  “Sunbeam did almost ruin my life, and I could very well have wound up in an even worse situation if this incident hadn’t happened.  Even if things worked out for me in the end, there’s still a colt with dark magic abilities, who the staff refuses to believe is alive, running around at this school!  If I can’t prove his existence and get him properly punished, he could cause even more trouble!”

“Actually, Honeydew might have a point,” Clarity chimed in.  “We don’t know what Sunbeam is capable of.  He could be really dangerous.  He won’t be able to be a real threat to the school without getting himself noticed, and if he does, I’m sure the professors will have more than enough magic to stop him.”

“But… what about other foals?” Dinky asked.  “What if Sunbeam tricks another pony like he tricked me?”

Clarity shook her head.  “Dinky, I’m pretty sure you’re one of the only ponies here who honestly didn’t know a thing about dark magic,” she admitted, “and if there was anypony else who didn’t, they sure as heck are going to now.  If Honeydew was able to hear rumors without even leaving her room, I’m sure the whole school is talking about what happened in the tower yesterday.”

Dinky opened her mouth to attempt to argue again, but realized she had no further point to make.

“I admire your courage, trying to protect the school from Sunbeam,” Clarity continued, sitting down next to Dinky and Honeydew on the bed, “but under the current circumstances, it’s probably best if we stay away and let it play out by itself.  If you see Sunbeam again, just don’t do what he says.  It’s that simple.”

Honeydew nodded.  “Please, Dinky.  I don’t want to deal with something like that again.  Living at this school is stressful enough as it is.”

Dinky sighed.  “Alright, fine,” she said, defeated.  “I guess you’re right.  Sunbeam is somepony else’s problem now.”

“Good,” Clarity said.  “Now, I think all of us are exhausted.  Let’s get some sleep.”

“Now that’s an idea I don’t have any arguments with,” Dinky said, climbing off Honeydew’s bed and crawling into her own bunk.  “Let’s all get some rest, and start fresh tomorrow with this whole dark magic business behind us.”

Clarity drew the dim light out of the orb, and it took only moments for all three fillies to fall asleep.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next morning was Friday.  Dinky could scarcely believe it was still the same week; it seemed like ages had passed since the fire.

Honeydew woke up around the same time Dinky and Clarity did instead of at dawn, and Dinky noted that some of the filly’s vitality had returned.  After her usual lengthy grooming process, it was hard to tell that she was still under the weather.

Friday morning classes were cancelled to make way for a meeting in the main hall, which happened to be a “mandatory demonstration concerning magical safety.”  The professors, of course, did not mention a reason for the meeting, but it was fairly obvious to most of the students, and as soon as the presenters began to talk about identifying and avoiding dark magic, those who hadn’t caught on quickly made the connection.

Although no names were mentioned, and the incident in the residence tower wasn't even brought up, Dinky could still feel several pairs of eyes staring in her direction.  She did her best to stare straight ahead, refusing to acknowledge their curious glances.

For the most part, the safety meeting was a bore.  By the time it finally ended, Dinky and her friends were ready for lunch.

“Did you see them staring at me?” Dinky asked angrily as she bit into a daffodil sandwich.  “I may have been re-enrolled, but I’m gonna be paying for that accident for a long time yet.”

“Only a few ponies know for certain who started the fire,” Clarity pointed out.  “Sure, a lot of ponies have heard it was you, but technically, it’s just a rumor.  Obviously, the professors are going to keep pretending it wasn’t a big deal, so they won’t tell anypony.  Just act like nothing’s different, and they’ll all stop caring within a week.”

“We can always stay in the dorm or go to our hideout if you need some peace until then,” Honeydew added between sips of tomato soup.

Dinky shrugged.  “I hope things work out that way.  I’m getting really tired of dealing with all the problems associated with this mess.”

“Well, now you get a chance to think about something else,” Clarity announced, waggling her spoon in the direction of the clock.  “It’s almost time for our first Magical Artifacts class.”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

An aging, pale blue stallion with a forest green mane and simple metal bell for a cutie mark hobbled into the classroom and took a seat behind the desk.  He surveyed the class with a passive curiosity, smiling contently.  His eyes came to rest on Dinky, who had seated herself at the front of the room, between Clarity and Honeydew as usual.  Dinky smiled back.

“Alright, class,” the stallion called finally, in a voice much stronger than Dinky had expected for a pony of his age.  “This is first-level Magical Artifacts class.  My name is Bronze Bell, and—”

Several students gasped, and a number of the more bored-looking ponies sat up.  Dinky wasn’t sure precisely why, but even she had heard the name Bronze Bell before.  She just couldn’t remember where.

Clarity had no such problem.  “Are you the Bronze Bell?  The greatest archeologist of modern Equestria?”

“Formerly,” Bronze Bell replied, chuckling.  “Most of you have probably heard stories about me, but those are from a decade or so ago.  I’ve retired from a life of work in the field, and, at Princess Celestia’s request, have spent the last few years sharing my knowledge with students.  You can all just call me Professor Bronze.”

“Will you at least tell us a story or two about your days traveling Equestria?” one colt asked.

Professor Bronze grinned.  “If we can get through the material we need to cover, I don’t see why not.”

Dinky had never seen a group of students find their quills and notebooks so quickly.  Within seconds, the whole class sat at rapt attention.

“Well, since everypony is ready, let’s begin,” Professor Bronze said, his conversational tone suddenly becoming more serious.  “The magic that we will discuss when dealing with magical artifacts almost always falls under the category of enchantments.  Every artifact we have discovered with magical power only has that power because of an enchantment placed on it at some point in the past.”

Dinky’s ears perked up at the mention of her favorite magical topic.  The filly looked at the diamond pendant still dangling around her neck.  Questioningly, she raised a hoof, and the professor glanced in her direction.

“We put enchantments on objects all the time in Enchantments class,” she pointed out.  “What is it about magical artifacts that makes them different than, say, my enchanted pendant?”

“I was wondering if somepony would realize the similarity,” Professor Bronze laughed.  “The reason magical artifacts are considered so important, both to the field of archeology and to magic, is because they contain an irreplicable enchantment.  The magic is either so ancient or so powerful that nopony alive today, not even the princesses, is able to duplicate the spell and apply it to another object.  Some of these artifacts were created by great unicorn experimenters from hundreds or even thousands of years ago, who spent a great deal of time studying arcane magic now lost to ponykind.  Only the enchanted relics remain to demonstrate those ponies’ knowledge and ability.”

Another filly raised a hoof.  “How many magical artifacts are there?” she asked.  “It doesn’t sound like they’re very common.  Are there only a few?”

“Actually, we’ve uncovered several dozen over the years,” Professor Bronze corrected, smiling as the news sent a wave of surprised whispers through the class.  “When you think about it, it really shows how little we actually know about our own magic.  Unicorns have discovered amazing spells that have been lost, and can only be used through these artifacts.  Who here can name a magical artifact, or should I say set of artifacts, that has become well-known during the last few years?”

Dinky again raised her hoof, but the professor called on a different filly, who confidently replied, “The Elements of Harmony.”

“Correct,” the stallion answered.  “The Elements of Harmony are perhaps among the most powerful and influential objects ever discovered.  Nopony knows where they came from; they date back to long before the arrival of our princesses.  It’s also believed they take different forms.  Currently, the six ponies that bear them live in Ponyville, and the Elements have taken the shape of five necklaces and a crown after first being borne by them.”

Clarity raised a hoof, wagging it through the air earnestly.  The professor nodded, allowing her to speak.

“Dinky and I know one of the bearers!” she announced.  “If we’re going to be covering the Elements of Harmony in detail during this course, maybe we could have her come in as a guest speaker!”

The Professor raised his eyebrows.  “Oh?  And which of the bearers have you met?”

“Twilight Sparkle,” Clarity said proudly, earning a few sounds of admiration from the rest of the class.

“I admit, even I’d like a chance to speak with Twilight Sparkle about her insights on the Elements,” Professor Bronze said.  “We will be covering the history and power of the Elements of Harmony in more detail later in the semester.  If you’d like to ask Twilight Sparkle to visit us then, I think everypony would appreciate it.”

Clarity looked at Dinky.  “She’s your tutor.  Will you?”

“Of course,” Dinky said.  “Miss Twilight will probably be happy to come and give a talk.”

“Excellent, excellent,” the professor said.  “Now, curiously enough, Twilight Sparkle is a useful way of leading into today’s topic: a recently rediscovered artifact that had been lost for over a millennium, called the Crystal Heart.  You all heard all about the Crystal Empire when it reappeared a few months ago, right?”

The students nodded, so Professor Bronze continued.  “As I’m sure most of you are aware, Twilight Sparkle and the rest of the bearers of the Elements, alongside Princess Cadance and Captain Shining Armor, saved the long-lost Crystal Empire from the rule of a unicorn named King Sombra.  Perhaps it’s appropriate that his name comes up today as well; it wasn’t a highly publicized fact, but King Sombra’s power came primarily from dark magic.”

Dinky swallowed.  One dark unicorn enslaved a whole kingdom…?

“But we’re not here to talk about King Sombra,” the professor continued in a lighter tone.  “Far more interesting, at least to me, is the object that ultimately brought about his defeat: The Crystal Heart.  As you all have already been taught in Enchantments class, crystalline structures are wonderful at holding powerful enchantments when compared to other objects.  The Crystal Heart contains a very complicated spell that is apparently activated by hope and unity among the crystal ponies.  Many scholars believe the crystal ponies themselves are actually enchanted with the magic required to activate the heart, although this is difficult to believe because enchantments on living things, in all conventional knowledge, are short-lived, and certainly can’t be passed on genetically.  Yet, the Crystal Heart is useless when crystal ponies aren’t around, and the ponies themselves can lose their physical sheen and often become depressed and apathetic without input from the Crystal Heart, so the theory of two separate enchantments complimenting one another, one in the artifacts and one in the ponies themselves, is strongly supported.”

As the professor continued to discuss the intricacies of the magic surrounding the Crystal Heart, Dinky’s mind wandered back to King Sombra.  She’d heard the story shortly after the incident itself, but she’d allowed herself to assume that Sombra, like other oppressive conquerors such as Queen Chrysalis, had probably used an army and taken the kingdom by force.  The realization that one unicorn had dominated an entire kingdom using the same kind of magic that she’d been using for a few weeks was startling.

Briefly, Dinky imagined herself as a colossal, armored mare, towering over Canterlot, and throwing bolts of darkness at any pony that dared to step out of line.  She shivered.

That will never be me, though, she reassured herself.  I stopped using dark magic before it could corrupt me, and I’ve sworn it off for good.  Now nopony’s in any danger, because the only students at this school who can use dark magic are me and—

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Sunbeam!” Dinky announced, causing both Clarity and Honeydew to look up rather suddenly.

“What about him?” Clarity asked absently as she lay sprawled on the earthen floor of the fillies’ forest hideout.  “I thought we agreed to stop worrying about him.”

“But didn’t you hear what Professor Bronze said in class today?” Dinky asked.  “That King Sombra guy took over the whole Cyrstal Empire with dark magic.  We can’t just let a colt who knows as much dark magic as Sunbeam does do as he pleases!  It took the power of the Crystal Heart to stop Sombra; what if Sunbeam tries something, and the school, or even Equestria, is put into mortal danger because of it?”

“I’m not sure that’s really that big of a possibility…” Honeydew mumbled.

“Yeah, you’re jumping to conclusions, Dinky,” Clarity accused.  “Sure, King Sombra was a pony who could use dark magic, but his chance to take over a whole empire probably came from a level of cunning, strategy, and experience far beyond anything Sunbeam’s capable of.  Not to mention, Sombra’s dark magic was probably a lot more powerful than Sunbeam’s.”

“We’re not saying Sunbeam isn’t dangerous!” Honeydew added quickly.  “Just that we’re surrounded by powerful unicorns, and even the princesses come and go regularly.  Nopony could really get away with a dark magic assault on that kind of scale around here.”

A soft pattering interrupted the conversation: the sound of Trouble meandering into the hollow.  Usually when the fox arrived, he paid little attention to the fillies, but today he marched right up to Dinky, staring at her expectantly.

“What’s wrong, Trouble?” she asked.

Being a fox, Trouble did not reply.  Instead, he turned and gnawed at the splint on his leg.

“Oh, that’s right.  It’s probably time for that to come off,” Dinky said.  “Your sprained leg should be feeling better by now for sure.”

Dinky spent a few moments considering how best to remove the splint without letting Trouble squirm or lash out.  Finally, she decided to simply lift the entire fox into the air with magic.  Trouble glared at her but remained limp in her aura as she carefully undid the splint.  The fox’s leg appeared normal, aside from a little matted fur, so she gently returned the animal to the ground.

Trouble shook his back leg gingerly and took a few steps.  He gave a satisfied yip and gave Dinky’s foreleg an appreciative nuzzle.

“Aww, Trouble’s starting to like you, Dinky,” Honeydew cooed.

Dinky rolled her eyes.  “Oh boy, a fox who likes me almost as much as he likes to steal and destroy my stuff.  Just what I needed.”

As if trying to prove Dinky’s point, Trouble bounded across the underground room and picked up a scroll containing one of Dinky’s half-finished essays in his mouth.  Wagging his tail mischievously, he stared at Dinky, as if daring the filly to chase him.

Indignant as she was, Dinky couldn’t help but smirk.  “You really live up to your name, don’t you, you ungrateful little thing?” she asked.  “I took care of your injured leg, and you’re still nothing but trouble."

To Dinky’s great surprise, Trouble ceased his playful pose.  Head and tail drooping, he shuffled forward and held up the scroll in his teeth.

Dinky was taken aback.  “Th-that’s better,” she stuttered, reaching down to take the scroll back.

Just as the filly’s hoof brushed the edge of the paper, Trouble sprang up and bounded away again, waving his tail mockingly.  Clarity burst into laughter.  “He faked you out, Dinky!  You should know not to trust him by now!”

Dinky growled and finally gave in to temptation.  She charged at Trouble, who merrily sprang out of the way.  Dinky skidded to a halt, stopping herself against a wide, flat rock embedded in the wall.  Without warning, the huge rock gave way, rolling into a tunnel it had previously been concealing.  Dinky, whose weight had been momentarily supported by the boulder, cried out as she toppled into the darkness along with it.

Concerned, Clarity and Honeydew ran to the newly created opening.  Trouble, sensing the game was over, dropped the scroll, soggy but otherwise unharmed, next to Dinky’s bag, before hastily retreating from the hollow.

“Oh my,” Honeydew squeaked.  "Dinky, are you okay?”

Dinky lay sprawled on her back atop the boulder.  “I think so,” she replied, sitting up.  “What happened?  I always thought this rock was firmly buried in the wall.  I never thought it’d topple over like that.”

Clarity carefully stepped down from the hollow onto the big rock, and then down to the floor.  There was a series of small splashes as she found her hooves submerged in an inch of water.  Not much of the light from the hideout’s illumination orb was available, so she lit her own horn instead to look around.  As light flooded the small space, it revealed the walls and floor were made not of stone, but of neatly stacked, uniform bricking.

“Bricks?” Clarity asked, giving Dinky and Honeydew a bewildered look.  “That means ponies have been here before.  Maybe we’re not the first ones to discover this hollow after all…”

“Why do you think it was hidden like that?” Honeydew asked.  “That rock was probably put there on purpose, right?”

“It could mean whoever was here before us didn’t want anypony to find this place,” Dinky theorized.

“Which means we totally have to see where this tunnel goes,” Clarity added eagerly.

Honeydew, surprisingly, cracked a smile.  “With you two, I know arguing won’t do me any good,” she said.  “Let’s go.”

Clarity gave a huge grin, as if to say ‘that’s the spirit’, and promptly turned and led the way down the tunnel.  Honeydew gave a nervous chuckle as she and Dinky followed along.

“There’s nothing to worry about, Honeydew,” Dinky reassured her.  “Whatever this was, it’s obviously not in use anymore.”

For several minutes, the fillies walked quietly along the passage, guided only by the combined light of their horns.  The corridor began to gradually slant upwards.  Other than the occasional patch of moss, the tunnel was unremarkable; the same dark, uniform bricks composed the entire length.

After several minutes, the passageway ended abruptly at another plain brick wall.  Now, the shaft continued straight up, finally ending at a drain a dozen or so pony-lengths above.

Clarity groaned.  “A drain?” she asked, clearly disappointed.  “We find a secret tunnel in our secret hideout, and it turns out to be nothing more than a drainage shaft?  Talk about anticlimactic!”

“Well, now we know where the water at the bottom came from,” Honeydew said.  “But why was it sealed off if it was just a drainage tunnel?”

Dinky watched a single drop of water fall from the top of the shaft, and then begin to snake its way between the bricking down the slope.  “It doesn’t look like it’s really in use anymore,” she said.  “There was no reason to keep it open for potential maintenance, because there’s no regular flow of water coming down.”

Clarity squinted, trying to make out the area on the other side of the drain, far above.  “Where are we anyway?  Under the castle somewhere?”

“The tunnel didn’t go nearly far enough to leave Academy grounds,” Dinky pointed out.  “If we’re not under the castle, we’re at least under one of the adjacent buildings.”

“Well, wherever we are, it’s dark and creepy and doesn’t lead anywhere,” Honeydew said, turning back in the direction of the hollow, “so let’s just go back to the hideout and—” 

“Boo!”

Honeydew screamed in terror, turned tail from the intruder, and promptly ran straight into the wall.  Dazed, she shook her head as Dinky and Clarity helped her to her hooves, and then and looked for the source of the unexpected scare.  Bluish light suddenly lit the passage further, revealing a laughing brown colt.

“Scuffle!” Honeydew whined.  “Don’t do that!  You know how easily I scare.”

“Sorry,” Scuffle chuckled.  “But come on, a nervous filly exploring a dark, scary passageway?  That’s too good to pass up.”

Honeydew frowned.  Dinky stepped between the two foals.  

“Scuffle, what are you doing here, anyway?” she asked, a little miffed at Scuffle’s behavior.

“I stopped by just in time to see you three disappearing down this tunnel, so I figured I’d follow you,” Scuffle explained.  “So, you said this is just an old drainage shaft?”

Dinky nodded.  “Looks like it.  We have no way of getting up there to check it out any further, though.”

“Pfft.  Amateurs,” Scuffle mumbled, pushing Dinky gently out of the way and striding up to the wall.  His horn glowed brighter, and he carefully placed a forehoof on the wall.

“Check out this new trick,” he said, lifting his other forehoof up against the wall.  The colt gave a quick hop, and then, somehow, attached his hind hooves to the wall as well.  He stood there on the vertical wall without falling, like some kind of great, furry spider.

Not even Honeydew could pretend not to be impressed.  Arrogantly, Scuffle relished the fillies’ shocked stares.

“How… how are you doing that?” Clarity asked finally.

“I’m casting an antigravity spell that’s exactly equal to the force of gravity,” Scuffle said proudly.  “In other words, there’s a force pulling me up equal to the one pulling me down, so I don’t move anywhere in space.  Then I can just use the friction between my hooves and the wall to climb on vertical surfaces!”

He beckoned to Dinky.  “C’mon, Dinks.  I think I can maintain the spell on two ponies at once.  At least long enough for us to take a quick look at the top.”

“You think?” Dinky parroted.  “That doesn’t sound too promising.”

Scuffle smirked.  “Well, Clarity and Dewey know their levitation spells well enough to catch us, should something go wrong,” he chuckled.

“Please don’t call me Dewey…” Honeydew murmured.

“He’s got a point,” Clarity said.  “Go ahead, Dinky.  You’ll be fine.”

Dinky stepped into the shaft, and stood still as Scuffle extended his spell to her.  She hopped into the air, and giggled when she failed to fall back down again, instead remaining suspended just a short distance off the ground.

“If you wanna move up or down, you gotta put your hooves against something,” Scuffle reminded her.  “Otherwise, you’ll just sorta hover.”

Dinky swung herself through the air until she could reach the wall opposite Scuffle.  From her new perspective, he appeared to be upside-down.

Walking was a little strange, since very little force kept Dinky’s hooves planted on the surface she was currently treating as “ground”, but after a moment, she got the hang of it, and she and Scuffle strode to the top of the shaft.

“What’s in there?” Scuffle asked, squinting as he tried to see through the small openings in the vent.

Dinky looked as well.  The room, as she had expected, seemed to be nothing more than a typical cellar.  Big boxes filled at least half of the room.  A mountain of woefully out of date textbooks sat in a corner, too damp and moldy to use, even if they had been recent editions.

“Just a basement under the castle,” she said.  “There was no reason to assume it would be anything else.”

“Lame,” Scuffle grunted.  “I was hoping for a secret chamber where they store dangerous objects of incredible magical power.  Or at least a peephole into a fillies’ washroom.”

Dinky felt her cheeks redden.  She glared at Scuffle, who grinned sheepishly.

“Relax, I’m kidding.  Mostly.”

Dinky just rolled her eyes and made her way back down the wall.  Once she and Scuffle reached the bottom, the latter removed the effects of the spell.  Dinky bent her knees momentarily until she could readjust to the pull of gravity.

“There’s nothing special up there,” she announced.  “It’s just a cellar.  Come on, we’ve wasted enough time in this dingy place.”

“You got to witness my amazing magic,” Scuffle bragged, pretending to polish a hoof on his coat.  “So obviously it wasn’t a total waste of time.”

Dinky and Clarity rolled their eyes in unison.  Scuffle laughed softly.

“Hey, I’m just kiddin’ around.  You know that, right?”

Clarity snorted.  “Trust me, Scuffle, I’d be more concerned if you weren’t trying to get on our nerves every five seconds.”

A few minutes later, Scuffle and the fillies returned to the hollow.  Scuffle stopped in his tracks halfway to the exit, and turned back to face Dinky.

“Oh shoot, I almost forgot why I came down here in the first place,” he realized.  “I got a question for ya, Dinks.”

Dinky raised an eyebrow.  “Oh?”

“There’s been a lot of crazy rumors flyin’ around the school ever since that fire in the girls’ dorms on Wednesday,” Scuffle said.  “One popular one – and I don’t know where this one came from – is that you were responsible for the dark spell that set it off.  Obviously that one’s just a hoax, but do you know where it came from?”

“Erm…”  

Dinky trailed off, casting a nervous glance at Clarity, who shrugged.

“That one’s not fake, Scuffle.  I, uh… I did start the fire.”

Scuffle snorted.  “Yeah, I’m not buying it.  You’re like the tamest filly I know except Dewey over there—”

“Don’t call me Dewey.”

“—and there’s just no way somepony like you would be the one using dark magic.”

Dinky huffed.  “Well, I’m not going to cast dark magic just to prove I can.  I barely avoided getting expelled last time.  Besides, every time I use it I risk it modifying my mind and corrupting my morals.” 

“You can check Dinky’s records if you don’t believe her,” Clarity said.  “She was the one responsible.  It was an accident, but still.”

Scuffle looked back and forth between Dinky and Clarity.  “You… you two really aren’t kidding, are you?  Dinks really knows how to conjure dark magic?”

Dinky nodded solemnly.  “Yep.  I’m never doing it again, though.  It’s too dangerous.”

A curious expression crept across Scuffle’s face.  “Wait, Dinky knows dark magic.  And that means…”

He broke into a grin.  “Holy crud, do you three realize the implications?  This might be the luckiest thing that’s ever happened to me!”

Dinky scrunched up her snout.  “What are you talking about?  There’s nothing good about this at all!”

“No, you don’t get it,” Scuffle said excitedly.  “You can use dark magic.  That means you’re dangerous.  Heck, it means most of the students could potentially wind up being afraid of you!”

“You’re not helping,” Dinky said irritably.  “And I still don’t see where the upside here is.”

“Dinks, once this news gets out, it’ll be my ticket back onto my brothers’ good side!” Scuffle exclaimed.  “I’ll be able to get ‘em to believe the whole reason I’ve been hanging out with you three because I’m more scared of you than of them, and with good reason.  Then they’ll accept me again, and my problems will be over!”

“Aha!  I knew it!”

Everypony jumped in surprise, primarily because in the entire term, Honeydew’s voice had never achieved a volume even close to the level to which it had just risen.  Dinky, Clarity, and Scuffle all turned to the pink filly, who after having hardly spoken since Scuffle’s arrival, now stood staring angrily at him.

“I can’t believe you!” Honeydew continued, outraged, before Scuffle could speak.  “All this time, Dinky and Clarity have been telling me to give you a chance, and yet here you are, still just looking for a way to get back in with those awful brothers of yours!”

“Well, just because I’m hanging out with you three doesn’t mean I like the idea of being on Scorch’s and Frosty’s bad sides,” Scuffle said defensively, backing away from the angry filly.

“I know,” Honeydew said, taking a step forward each time Scuffle began to back away.  “All you care about is your brothers’ respect.  We both know you only hang out with us because you didn’t have anywhere else to turn when they shunned you.  I had hoped, just maybe, it would turn out that Dinky and Clarity were right, and you would change your ways, but it sounds to me like you’re more than eager to get back into your brothers’ inner circle and turn right back into a bully!”

Honeydew’s horn lit up as she yelled the last few words.  The enchanted stone on the ring on her tail glimmered, and something in the ceiling shifted, raining flecks of soil down on the foals.  Neither Honeydew nor Scuffle seemed to notice, but Dinky and Clarity, who were stunned into silence by Honeydew’s sudden outburst, glanced at the ceiling nervously.

“Let’s not jump to conclusions!” Scuffle barked back.  “What makes you think I’d start making your lives miserable again if my brothers re-accepted me?”

Honeydew snorted.  “You basically already did.  Are you seriously willing to abuse the trust Dinky put in you by spreading around the truth about her?  You’ll get your old life back, but you’ll ruin hers!”

“Um, Honeydew—” Dinky started.

“Well what do you expect me to do!?” Scuffle continued.  “I don’t want to do anything that makes anypony miserable, but I’m also not willing to suffer to keep other ponies happy.  I’m sorry, but I’m not that generous; frankly, I’d be insane if I was!”

The colt turned to leave.  “I’ll try to see if I can get Scorch and Frosty to keep quiet, but no promises.”

The ring on Honeydew’s tail glowed brightly.  Soil exploded out of the ceiling as a root of the great tree above the hollow burst forth and snaked downwards, knocking Scuffle onto his back and pinning him to the ground.

“What the—” Scuffle gasped, fruitlessly kicking his hind legs in an effort to break free from the root’s pressure.  “Hey!  Let me go!”

"Sh-should we do something?" Dinky asked Clarity.  The two fillies looked anxiously between their fighting friends, trying to decide the best course of action.

Honeydew seemed not to hear Scuffle.  “I’m sick and tired of ponies like you!” she cried, fresh tears starting to run down her cheeks.  “Everypony wonders why I have so much trouble trusting anypony.  Obviously it’s because, a lot of the time, they turn out to be a jerk who doesn’t care about me at all!”

The root tightened over Scuffle’s chest.  The colt winced.

“But I didn’t fall for it this time,” Honeydew continued proudly.  “I knew you never really changed.  I knew eventually you’d try to ruin at least one of our lives again.”

“Dewey, you’re blowing this outta propor—”

“Stop calling me Dewey!” Honeydew roared, causing another gnarled root to burst from the ceiling.  It came down with tremendous force and crashed into the dirt just inches from Scuffle’s head.  The colt’s eyes went wide and he gave a frightened squeak.

“Dinky!  Clarity!  Help!  She’s gone nuts!”

Clarity leapt into action.  The filly lit her horn and quickly yanked the shimmering ring off Honeydew’s tail.  The roots writhing in the ceiling immediately stopped, and gradually, the ones that had attacked Scuffle began to retreat.

Honeydew stood, panting and staring at Scuffle and the receding roots.  Her furious expression slowly evaporated, and was replaced with one of confusion.

“Did… did I do that?” she asked, starting at the tips of the roots as they finally vanished back into the soil overhead.

“Do what?  Try to get the tree to beat me up?” Scuffle asked crossly.  “Yeah, that was you.”

Honeydew was silent.  Several times, she attempted to say something, but when she finally did speak, all that came out was, “I… I need to go.”

Without looking back, Honeydew made for the exit.

“Honeydew, you forgot your ring…” Clarity said cautiously.

Honeydew turned back around.  “Oh… uh, you can… you can hold onto that for now.  I… I just really need to go.”

Honeydew’s trot escalated into a gallop, and soon she had disappeared from the hollow.

Scuffle stared after her, and then turned and looked at the two remaining fillies inquisitively.  “Jeez, I didn’t think she had that in her.”

Dinky stomped a hoof angrily.  "What was that all about, Scuffle?  I think Honeydew's opinion of you was low enough already!  You didn't exactly do yourself any favors making her that upset!  Were you really going to put me in that kind of position by telling your brothers what happened?  Because if so, frankly, I think Honeydew had every right to throw a fit!"

Scuffle cringed at Dinky's scolding.  “Well, I… I guess that’s what I was gonna do, yeah… but I didn’t think it’d really affect things that much...”

"Scuffle, even though it wasn't my fault, I cast a spell that put ponies lives in danger!" Dinky reminded him.  "I feel horrible about what happened, and I've already had to relive the event over and over as I re-explained it to the dean, to my mom, to my tutor, to Princess Celestia...  and you don't think it's a big deal to let that information get out to the student body so they can remind me what a horrible thing I did every day for the rest of the term!?"

Scuffle hung his head.  "That... this is a big deal.  I didn't realize..."

He trailed off.  Dinky sighed and lowered her voice to normal.  “Scuffle, I need you to be honest with me.  Are you actually hanging out with us because you want to, or just because you know Clarity and I were hesitant to shun you?”

“Ok, I’ve been making some mistakes, but I haven’t been lying about wanting to be friends with you three!” Scuffle insisted.  “I never said I was going to stop hanging out with you if I earned back my brothers’ respect.  Honeydew worked that out herself.  Incorrectly, I might add.”

A few moments of silence followed.  Scuffle sighed and gave Dinky a doleful look.

“I'm really sorry, Dinks.  I’ll keep quiet about you around my brothers,” he promised.  “I guess I owe it to you three, or something like that.”

Dinky nodded.  "Well, you didn't actually do what you threatened to, so I'll give you another chance.  It's going to be a lot harder to get Honeydew to give you one, though."

Scuffle sighed.  “Believe me, I know.  Is there any chance you two could talk to her?  Just to see where I stand before I approach her myself, of course.”

“I think I can do that,” Dinky said, as Clarity nodded to promise the same.  “Besides, it's not like Honeydew to react to something so... forcefully.  I think she’s just as confused about what just happened as you are.”

Scuffle nodded.  “Let her know I didn’t mean to make her so upset,” he mumbled.  “I should get going.  See you two later.”

The three foals exited the hideout and soon went their separate ways.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dinky and Clarity saw very little of Honeydew over the next few days.  According to the tracking enchantment in Clarity’s barrette, Honeydew was spending nearly all of her free time in Professor Chestnut’s lab in the Magic Biology department.  She returned to the dorm to sleep only very late in the evening, and then got up at dawn and disappeared once again.

Dinky didn’t manage to find enough time alone with Honeydew to talk about what had happened until the following Tuesday in Magic Biology class.  The purple filly trotted into the classroom and took her usual seat next to Honeydew, who gave her an unreadable look.

Before anything could be said, however, Professor Chestnut and Cornelius arrived.

“Good morning, everypony,” the mare called out.  “We’re going to be starting on a new topic today, so I’ll need everypony to get out their textbooks and turn to page three-hundred fifty.”

“And hurry up,” Cornelius squawked, strutting along the brim of the professor’s hat.  “Lots to do today, and not much time to do it in.”

Dinky opened her textbook and read the heading on the page: The Beginner’s Guide to Potions and other Magical Mixtures.

“Each pair of students will find a large brass pot under their desks,” Professor Chestnut added.  “Please move it to the tabletop, and we can begin.”

Professor Chestnut turned and began scribbling notes on the chalkboard.  Honeydew wordlessly lit her horn and lifted the pot onto the desk she and Dinky shared.

“Now, I bet some of you are a little surprised,” Professor Chestnut chuckled.  “Potion making is a bit of a far cry from the topics we’ve covered in this class so far.  But it is, in fact, one of the main pillars of this subject.  Potions are a combination of two things we hold in high regard in this class: magic and elements of the natural world.  Much like enchanted objects, potions are a way to gain access to a magical effect that one may not be able to produce with a single spell, as well as a way to share those effects with earth ponies and pegasi.”

“Takin’ a swig of a potion isn’t gonna last more than a couple hours,” Cornelius added.  “But you can bet your tails the effect can potentially be more pronounced than those puny spells from enchanted items.”

“Indeed,” the professor affirmed.  “Potions can be used to temporarily increase ability, such as allowing the drinker to become stronger, faster, or even more magically powerful for a short time.”

“Or, you know, render the poor sap confused, irrationally terrified, or just plan nuts,” Cornelius said dryly.

“Yes, but psychoactive potions are not a topic we teach to first-term students,” Professor Chestnut said quickly.  “They are both difficult to make and have limited uses, especially among students.  More important, perhaps, are healing potions, which we will explore later in the term.”

She indicated the chalkboard.  “Today, we will be using the ingredients prepared in the baskets on your desks, combined with a few simple spells, to make an energy burst potion.  This simple concoction works a bit like a regular caffeinated drink, except the effects are instantaneous and you can determine exactly how long it will last.  It probably comes as no surprise that many students keep flasks of this stuff with them during the week of final exams.  Your instructions are written here, so you’re free to begin.  I’m always available if you have a question.”

“Just so long as it’s not a stupid question,” Cornelius said, readying himself to jump out of the way in case the professor swatted at him.

“Let’s get started,” Honeydew mumbled, already retrieving a jug of water to add to the pot.  “Crush up some daffodil root, please.”

Dinky obeyed, but she wasn’t planning on letting Honeydew act like nothing was wrong.  The pink filly avoided her gaze, carefully stirring ingredients into the pot and modifying it with spells.

“Honeydew,” Dinky said quietly, her voice barely audible over the chatter of the class, “I think maybe we should talk.”

To Dinky’s surprise, Honeydew nodded.  “I guess we should.  It’s just… a little hard to think about what happened a few days ago.”

“Well… Scuffle told me to tell you he didn’t mean to make you upset,” Dinky said.  “He decided he’s not going to tell his brothers about you know what.”

“Scuffle’s not even what I’m upset about,” Honeydew admitted.

Dinky scrunched up her snout.  “Wait, what?”

“No, I wasn’t actually disappointed in Scuffle, because I already expected him to do what he did,” Honeydew mumbled.  “I was angry at him for fooling you two.”

“But he wasn’t fooling us!” Dinky insisted.  “Scuffle’s under a lot of pressure.  He’s making a big sacrifice to keep this secret for us.  All he wants is a way to keep himself out of harm’s way while still being our friend, and… well, trying to capitalize on my, um, unwanted abilities wasn’t his best idea, that’s all.”

Honeydew nodded.  “But that’s still not the issue.  What worries me is how I responded.”

Dinky smiled comfortingly.  “You were very emotional.  Things like that happen.  Nopony got hurt, after all.”

Honeydew shook her head forcefully.  “No, it shouldn’t have happened like that.  I’m a better pony than that.  But I was so angry at Scuffle that I… I became a bully myself for a little…”

The filly squeezed her eyes shut to try to hold back a few tears.  “It’s just, after all the things that had happened to me growing up, I couldn’t bear the thought that, even here, there was somepony who was willing to let bad stuff happen to me and my friends for his own benefit.  I don’t want to spend time with somepony I’m not one-hundred percent certain I can trust.”

She sniffled and wiped her eyes.  “Um, can you pass the leeks, please?”

Dinky grabbed the vegetable out of the basket.  “Do we even need any more of these?” she asked.  “I already put some in the potion.”

“We don’t,” Honeydew admitted, forcing a smile.  “But if you crush them up, they make your eyes water.  That way nopony will realize I’m tearing up a bit.”

Dinky chuckled and passed the leeks.  “Well, I don’t think Scuffle’s quite as shaken-up as you think he is,” she said.  “To be fair, his brothers have probably given him a lot worse than you could have.”

Honeydew nodded slowly.  “I guess, but… well, if it’s true that he’s really still trying to look out for somepony other than himself, then I guess I need to talk to him.  I behaved inexcusably and I…”

She swallowed, struggling to admit it.  “I guess I need to apologize…”

Dinky placed a hoof on Honeydew’s shoulder.  “Take your time,” she advised her forlorn friend.  “You and Scuffle have had a tough time with each other all term.  If you need some more time before you can bring yourself to talk to him, I think he’ll understand.”

Honeydew tossed a few luminescent petals into the potion and gave it a quick stir, nodding in satisfaction as the color changed to a dull mauve.  “I’ll do that.  Maybe not right away, but I will apologize.  I owe it to him.”

“Yo ladies!  Get to work!” Cornelius squawked from across the classroom.

Honeydew smiled at the bratty bird, and she and Dinky quickly continued on their concoction.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Knock knock.

“Come in.”

The door to the dean’s office creaked open, and Sparkler quietly made her way inside.  “You wanted to see me, Professor Spark?” she asked.

Bright Spark nodded solemnly.  “Yes.  Come sit, Sparkler.  We have to discuss something.”

Sparkler trotted forward and sat down across from the dean.  “Did I do something wrong?” the overseer asked.  “There haven’t been any incidents in the last few days as far as I know.”

The dean shook her head.  “No, Sparkler, this isn’t about you,” she said softly.  “It’s about the incident last week, and more specifically, the filly responsible.”

Sparkler rolled her eyes.  “Dinky Doo.  What’s she done this time?”

“Gotten herself re-admitted, as I’m sure you’ve noticed,” Bright Spark said angrily.  “I respect our Princess, but she’s not infallible.  She’s blinded by Dinky’s sob story and her vague excuses, and she can’t see that the filly simply doesn’t belong here.”

Sparkler bit her lip.  “Well, even you can’t overrule her.  There’s nothing we can do about it, right?”

“Not exactly,” Bright Spark said mysteriously.  “There may still be something we can do…”

The dean smiled darkly.  “Only if you’d be willing to help me, that is.”

Sparkler raised her eyebrows.  “Are you suggesting what I think you’re suggesting?”

The dean retained the unsettling smile.  “I’m suggesting you start paying special attention to that filly,” she said softly.  “Go out of your way to keep an eye on her.  She’s already been in trouble a number of times this term.  All we need to do is catch her acting out of line one more time, and I can get her out of both our manes for good.”

“But what if Dinky doesn’t do anything else against the rules?” Sparkler asked cautiously.

“You’re a smart filly,” Bright Spark said, her grin growing.  “Perhaps you can find a way to… help her along.”

Sparkler blinked, and then she too smiled.  “An interesting proposition.  I suppose I’m not beyond stepping a little outside the lines, if it’s in the interest of making sure justice is given where it’s due.”

“Excellent,” the dean hissed.  “You’re excused, Sparkler dear.  And remember… I’m counting on you.”
> Chapter 12
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	In the following weeks, Dinky’s life finally began to return to some vague semblance of normalcy.  Just as Clarity had predicted, discussion of the fire in the tower declined when no new information came to light, and within a few weeks, most students had basically forgotten about the incident.

There were still a few things that refused to settle down, though.  The terrible rift in communication between Honeydew and Scuffle remained.  As usual, Dinky and Clarity stuck together whenever possible, but they quickly found that it had only become possible to hang out with Honeydew or Scuffle.  Both of them seemed to be avoiding one another, Dinky presumed, until one or the other could muster up the courage to try to sort things out.  On the positive side, Scuffle seemed to be taking an active effort to remain on Dinky and Clarity’s good sides, to prove that he deserved the trust they had placed in him.

Honeydew’s enchanted ring had somehow become misplaced after her clash with Scuffle.  Honeydew was unconcerned, however; she had no plans to continue wearing the ring after having accidentally used its power to threaten somepony bodily. Nevertheless, Dinky and Clarity had returned to the hideout the next day to search for it, but the little bauble seemed to have vanished.  

Honeydew and Scuffle’s attitudes weren’t the only things that were different.  Dinky couldn’t help but notice that Sparkler seemed to be around more often.  Whether the overseer was finally attempting to break her antisocial streak, or had some other purpose in mind, Dinky could only guess.  Either way, given her past experiences with Sparkler, Dinky did her best to avoid any direct contact with the older filly, and was especially careful to make sure Sparkler didn’t catch her sneaking off to the forest hideout.

There were also a hoofful of small changes in the way the Academy operated.  Against Bright Spark’s recommendations, Princess Celestia launched a program to keep an eye on the school in an attempt to catch it if any further evidence of dark magic use should arise.  A small band of trained unicorn guards patrolled the castle, leaving the students alone but keeping a watchful eye on everything.

As another cautionary measure, Nester the changeling was suspended from his assistant role and put on probation while Celestia’s administration continued to investigate the possibility of Dinky having learned her dark spells from an outside source.  Dinky, knowing Nester had, of course, nothing to do with the incident she’d caused, felt a little bad for him.  However, she still hadn’t proven whether or not he’d been the one spying on her from the cover of the forest, so ultimately, her feelings were mixed.

And so, with the addition of these few changes, it became business as usual for the students at Celestia’s Academy.  A hot, sunny July gave way to a warm and humid August.  One evening, at the beginning of the month, Dinky met up with Scuffle as the two of them headed for Astronomy class.

“Hey, Dinks,” the colt greeted.  “How’s it going?”

Dinky shrugged.  “Alright, I guess.  Things have been getting awfully busy lately, though.  I’m worn out.”

Scuffle nodded.  “You’re tellin’ me.  Good thing Midsummer Holiday is coming up, huh?”

Dinky blinked and cocked her head.  “What’s Midsummer Holiday?”

Scuffle raised his eyebrows.  “You don’t know? It’s a week-long break from school in the middle of August,” he explained.  “We've already been studying for months.  I'm glad they give the students a chance to relax and recharge, before classes pick up the pace in preparation for final exams in November.”

Dinky grinned.  “So it’s just some time off?”

“Well, that depends,” Scuffle said, smirking.  “Most ponies go on vacation or something.  My brothers are already planning a trip to some resort down to party the week away.”

Dinky laughed.  “That sounds like them.  As for me, I’ll probably just wind up going home for a few days.”

Scuffle shrugged.  “I don’t actually have any plans either, as much as I might want to.  Looks like it might be a boring holiday for both of us.”

“We still have a few weeks,” Dinky said.  “Maybe some opportunity will turn up.”

Scuffle nodded absently.  “So, uh… how’s Honeydew?” he asked, changing the subject abruptly.  “We haven’t really, uh, talked much since that afternoon in the hideout.”

“She’s fine, I suppose," Dinky said slowly.  "She seems to be back to her old self, except when you’re around.”

Scuffle grunted.  “I guess it’s about time we try to patch things up,” he mumbled.  “I don’t want her to have to avoid me forever.”

“Then maybe you should approach her about it,” Dinky suggested.  “That might get things resolved much faster than if you wait for her to come to you.”

“I’ll talk to her soon,” Scuffle said, avoiding Dinky’s gaze.  “I’m just still not sure what I can say to change her opinion of me.”

The foals turned the corner and arrived at the Astronomy classroom.  “I guess I’ll worry about it later,” Scuffle decided.  “Princess Luna said she had something interesting to discuss with us today, right?”

Dinky nodded, and she followed Scuffle into the classroom.

As usual, as soon as everypony was present, the entire room began to ascend up the inside of the tower.  The roof opened up and the class was lifted up into the night air.  Princess Luna appeared in the darkness and gracefully floated down to the platform.

“I bid you welcome once again, my students,” Luna said, folding her wings gently against her sides.  “On this fair evening, we will begin study on one of the most important topics of astronomy: the influence of the stars on unicorn magic.  You would all do well to take notes; it’s best to know if the stars are in your favor before casting powerful spells.”

Dinky wasted no time in preparing her notebook.  Scuffle appeared to be zoning out; it took a nudge from Dinky to get him to retrieve his own notebook.

“But before we begin,” Luna continued, “please allow me to recount a bit of relevant history.”

Scuffle rolled his eyes.  “Didn’t we get enough of this in Magic in History class?” he mumbled to Dinky.

“I heard that, my young colt,” Luna said with a chuckle, causing Scuffle to jump.  “I can assure you, this is not something that would have been covered in the Academy’s history class.  It’s not so much a list of historical facts as it is a simple story, and one I think you may all be very interested to hear, at that.”

Luna’s horn began to glow with bright blue light, and something curious started to happen.  The stars seemed to flicker and begin to disappear, and the moon’s sheen dulled until it was hardly visible.  Soon, the detail and color of the world surrounding the tower began to fade.  It was as if everything beyond the boundaries of the classroom was melting into darkness, while everything within the circle, including the desks and the ponies sitting at them, remained brightly lit and sharply defined.  The students looked around in untroubled curiosity; after all, spells like this were quite common for Princess Luna.

“Is this some kind of illusion?” Scuffle asked Dinky as the last traces of the world beyond the classroom were replaced with inky blackness.

“It’s gotta be,” Dinky concluded.  “If it was a darkness spell or something, we wouldn’t be able to see ourselves, but I can see you clear as day.”

The circular classroom now floated in an endless void.  Luna’s spell did not stop, however.  Her horn brightened further, and suddenly the darkness was full of wisps of magic in a rainbow of colors.  Satisfied, the princess began to speak.

“Long, long ago, in Equestria’s earliest days, magic did not manifest itself in the form we know today,” she began.  “It has existed, of course, for longer than even the most ancient stretches of Equestria’s recorded time, but not in the way one might expect.  You see, magic is a force that pervades everything, living or not, in the whole of our world.  It is in the earth, in the air, in the seas, and of course, in everypony, unicorn or not.”

Dinky raised a hoof.  “That’s why earth ponies have a special connection with the earth, and pegasi with the sky, right?”

“Precisely,” Luna said.  “As you’ve all heard many times, all races of ponies have magic, even if it doesn’t manifest itself in the same way.”

The princess’s expression seemed to darken.  “Which, coincidentally, leads me to the next part of my story,” she continued.  “You see, in Equestria’s earliest days, that differentiation did not exist.”

That caught the attention of everypony in the class.  Dinky leaned forward, curious to hear more.

“While magic still exists in everything even today, in the far distant past, accessing it was much easier,” Luna stated.  “Energy practically flowed from every living thing, as abundant and free as the very air around us, waiting for living creatures to direct it however they pleased.”

Luna paused, and smiled at the wonder-filled faces of many of her students.  “It sounds like a very different world than the one we live in today, doesn’t it?” she asked.  “At that time, magic was so abundant and so malleable that earth ponies and pegasi could direct it to perform simple tasks just as easily as unicorns.”

“Why isn’t it still like that?” somepony asked.  “Did the magic run out?”

Luna shook her head.  “My child, as long as there is life in Equestria, there will continue to be magic.  But, unfortunately, our fair world is far from a paradise.  Change occurs, and it is not always good.  As you know, unicorns are capable of wielding most types of magic, and pegasi and earth ponies can channel a few types that unicorns can’t.  There used to be possibilities far more boundless than that, but alas, unfavorable events came to pass, and now the full palette of magic is inaccessible to any one race.  But that’s a story for another time.”

Luna paused, puzzled, and tapped a hoof to her chin.  “Where was I?  Ah yes, while magic was freely accessible at the time, it was used only for the simplest of tasks: mere extensions of the abilities of the physical body.  I was a mere child of only a few centuries when ponies began to try to release the potential of this magic, and use it to do great things.  A particular group of especially powerful ponies went on to invent our modern day spells.”

“Why haven’t we ever heard of these ponies?” another colt asked.  “Wouldn’t they be household names?”

“Oh, but they are,” Luna said, chuckling.  “Although perhaps not in the way you think.”

Luna’s horn lit up again, and suddenly a crowd of ethereal ponies materialized in the darkness beyond the classroom.  The holograms, unaware of the foals watching their actions, began to direct the colorful energy around the void.

Dinky recognized many of the holograms at once, but they were some of the last figures she had expected to see: characters from a storybook her mother used to read when she was little.  Many of the ponies had strange and often comical features; one had horns like a bull, and another claws like a crab.  Other ponies carried unusual items; Dinky spotted a bow and arrow, a jug of water, and a fishbowl with two goldfish.  Still another pony was dressed in flowing classical garb that was common thousands of years prior.

Glancing quickly around the classroom, Dinky saw the other students having the same realization.  They had all seen these ponies before.

“Surprised?” Princess Luna asked.  “These thirteen ponies have been immortalized in legend that still exists today.  We know them collectively as the Zodiac, and their representative constellations play an integral role in our night sky.”

“Wait,” Dinky cut in, “the Zodiac ponies were real?”

Luna nodded.  “Yes, but they lived in Equestria so very long ago that all that remains of their legacy is the legends about their fantastic powers, and what little my sister and I learned in our interactions with them.”

The Princess turned back to the holographic ponies.  “And now, an assignment,” she announced.  “Observe the actions of the Zodiac ponies.  See if you can determine which pony developed which field of magic.  After all, every basic type of spell was first created by one of the thirteen you see here.  The answers are available in your textbook, should you not be able to figure somepony’s specialty out.  I shall finish the story surrounding them when we reconvene as a group.”

Luna motioned with a hoof for the students to rise, and everypony left his or her desk and trotted to the edges of the room to view the holograms.  The holographic ponies had spread out around the dome of darkness, and were beginning to practice various spells.

“D’you already know all these ponies by name?” Scuffle asked Dinky, gesturing to the ethereal figures trotting around the room’s perimeter.

“Yeah, don’t you?”

Scuffle gave Dinky an empty stare.  “I don’t read much.  Shouldn’t come as a surprise, really.”

Dinky raised an eyebrow.  “Uh… well, I guess I can teach you.  But in exchange, you have to help me figure out which pony uses which magic.  The stories never said anything about that.”

Scuffle nodded and pointed to a pair of stallions flinging spells at one another.  “Those two are dueling.  I say we start there.”

Dinky chuckled.  “You always go straight for the battle magic, eh Scuffle?”

“You know it,” Scuffle replied, returning Dinky’s grin.

The two foals approached the edge of the darkness and watched the stallions.  A bulky red earth pony with horns like a bull swung his head forcefully and conjured up a fireball, which he tossed at his opponent, a smaller and nimbler blue earth pony with curled horns like a ram.  The blue pony responded with a shield spell, and after he’d diverted the fireball, he proceeded to cast a spell of his own, creating a cloud of swirling color that disoriented the red stallion.

“The bull-pony is Taurus,” Dinky said, “and the ram-pony is Aries.  It looks like both of them know their battle magic pretty well.”

“Not just battle magic,” Scuffle pointed out.  “Taurus is using offensive spells, and Aries is using defensive ones.  Kind of like my brothers and me!”

At that moment, Taurus shook free of Aries’ trap and fired forth a great beam of energy, knocking Aries to the ground.  The ram-horned pony attempted to rise for a moment, and then waved a hoof, conceding to his opponent.  Scuffle frowned and heaved a sigh.

“They’re really like my brothers and me,” he grumbled.  “My lousy defensive spells are just the coward’s way out.  Offense always wins in the end.”

“Don’t talk like that!” Dinky scolded.  “The pony who wins has either stronger magic skills, greater wit, or both.  One type of magic isn’t inferior!”

Scuffle rolled his eyes.  “Remember our duel at the beginning of the year, Dinks?” he asked.  “Both of us used primarily defensive magic.  And do you know what happened?”

“Sparkler caught us,” Dinky replied flatly.

“Before that,” Scuffle said.  “We were stuck in a stalemate.  Defensive magic can’t win a duel.  It can only make it drag on longer.”

Scuffle kicked at the stone floor.  “If I can’t learn some powerful offensive magic, my brothers are never going to think I’m tough.”

Dinky opened her mouth to reply, but Scuffle held up a hoof.  “Don’t, please,” he said.  “I already let myself get too sappy there.  Let’s just—”

An arrow whizzed through the air.  Although it was nothing more than an illusion, it passed right in front of Scuffle’s nose, causing the colt to jump back.  The arrow sailed a few pony-lengths further and hit the center of an equally illusory wooden target.

“Alright, who’s the wise guy?” Scuffle grumbled, as he and Dinky turned to the pony who had fired the arrow.

An orange pegasus with a dark grey mane grinned as he prepared another arrow, let it fly, and smirked as it landed dead center, a hair’s breadth from the last one.

“Get a load of this guy,” Scuffle chuckled.

“That’s Sagittarius,” Dinky explained.  “Even in the stories, he’s a famous archer.  I don’t know what he knows about magic, though.”

“Magic or not, he’s pretty handy with that bow,” Scuffle commented.

Grinning to himself, Sagittarius turned around, facing away from his target, and drew his bow.  He let the arrow fly, and the projectile changed course in midair, sailing over his head and sticking in the center of the target once again.

Scuffle blinked.  “Maybe a little too handy.”

“Oh, I get it!” Dinky said, her eyes lighting up.  “It’s not the pony, it’s the bow!  It’s enchanted!”

“So, Sagittarius invented enchantments,” Scuffle said.  “Should I be writing this down?”

“Come on,” Dinky said, ignoring Scuffle’s question.  “Let’s take a look at the rest of them!”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dinky quickly became totally engrossed in studying the illusory ponies Luna had conjured up.  As promised, each one seemed to have a magical specialty.

Capricorn was a quirky little earth mare with horns like a goat, but a tail styled to look like a fish’s.  Dinky was never quite sure what Capricorn’s appearance was supposed to represent, but her magic was easy enough to determine; the mare transformed herself into a fish that swam through the darkness, and then into a goat that seemed to bound up a shadowy crag, before returning to her curious pony form with characteristic of both.  Briefly, Dinky wondered if Capricorn was responsible for the strange animal features so many of the Zodiac ponies bore.

Gemini turned out to be not one pony but two.  Dinky, who had been trying desperately to understand why there were thirteen ponies but only twelve signs, sighed in relief when she realized the unicorn twins both represented a single type of magic.  The Gemini twins seemed to do little more than take turns writing in a book, and it was only when one of them drew a familiar rune in the blackness that Dinky realized they must have invented the use of magical symbols and support spells.

The earth pony in silky, toga-like attire that Dinky had noticed earlier turned out to be Virgo, but there was no hint to the mare’s ability.  Only when she and Scuffle looked it up did Dinky discover Virgo’s talents had lain in psychic and precognitive ability.

Cancer was the strange crab-clawed earth pony.  She flickered in and out of view, and for a moment, Dinky was concerned that Luna’s illusion was fading.  But when the other holograms remained intact, she quickly realized Cancer herself was using the spell.  Light, and the illusions it could create, appeared to be her specialty.

There were also three ponies who seemed to be working together, and Dinky was able to identify them as well.  The first was Leo, a powerful earth mare with lion-like features.  The second was Pisces, the unicorn Dinky had observed carrying the fishbowl.  The last was Libra, a slim, speedy pegasus who toted a golden scale.  These three, according to the textbook, didn’t really invent specific spells.  What they did do was unlock the potential of their surroundings.  Leo learned to control magic of the earth, Pisces the sea, and Libra the sky above.  Dinky supposed these three were the ones to thank for the special kind of magic that earth ponies and pegasi had.

Dinky and Scuffle were busy studying Aquarius, a sky blue earth pony with a jug of water, when Luna came striding up to them.

“Ahh, Aquarius,” the princess said as she too watched the hologram.  “Truly, she was a wonderful pony in her day.  Inspired by the ability of water to carry objects effortlessly along in its smooth flow, she began experimenting with magic to see if it could do the same.  We owe our levitation and teleportation spells, some of the most fundamental magic there is, to Aquarius.”

“Princess Luna, did you personally know the Zodiac ponies?” Dinky asked, craning her neck to gaze up at the much larger pony.

“Only a few,” Luna admitted.  “Alas, in that era, I spent far more time than I should have in solitary study.  Sometimes I regret that I did not take the time to meet all the pioneers of modern magic, as sister did.”

Princess Luna seemed to become lost in thought for a moment, so Dinky took the time to observe Aquarius.  As expected, the earth pony drew the water from her jug with a levitation spell and formed it into numerous intricate patterns in midair.

“Hey, who’s that pony?” Scuffle asked Dinky.

Dinky looked, and was surprised to see a pony she almost hadn’t noticed.  Unlike all the others, this mare was standing far away from the border of the classroom, way out in the depths of Luna’s dome of darkness.  There was little about her that was unusual, save for her tail, which was bent up so that the tip dangled a foreleg’s length above her back.  The mare stood there, doing nothing in particular.

“I can’t tell, let me check,” Dinky admitted, opening her textbook.  She glanced down the list, and at the very bottom, noticed one very short entry.

Name: Scorpio
Characteristics: Red mane, purple tail, earth pony.
Background: Scorpio’s contributions to modern magic are considered negligible.

“Scorpio didn’t invent… anything?” Dinky asked quizzically.  “That can’t be right.  Hey Princess, what did Scorpio…”

She trailed off.  Princess Luna had wandered off and was now back at the front of the class.

“Class is almost over!” she called.  “I know many of you have not had time to observe all of the Zodiac ponies, but I require you to return to your seats so that we may finish the lesson.”

Dinky glanced one last time at the hazy form of Scorpio, and then trotted back to her seat.

“Now that you are all familiar with some of the figures of the Zodiac, you are probably wondering what modern significance they hold.  And for that answer, you need only to look to the stars.”

Luna’s enormous illusion dissolved instantly, bathing the tower in moonlight once again.

“Many constellations appear in the night sky, and twelve of them are representations of the twelve signs of the Zodiac,” Luna explained.  "At any given time of year, we are under the power of one of these constellations.  The cycle of twelve rotates just once per year.”

“What do you mean ‘under their power’?” a filly asked.

Princess Luna smiled.  “Ah, and here we reach the key point of the lesson.  It’s important to know which Zodiac pony is associated with which type of magic, because spells of that type are stronger when their representative constellation is directly overhead!  For example, on this particular date, we are very near the middle of Leo’s portion of the cycle.  Her constellation is about to reach its apex in the sky, and you can be certain that all around Equestria, earth ponies are finding their crops to be even more cooperative and bountiful than usual, thanks to Leo’s earth magic, which they channel.  Unicorns can also use earth magic to bring themselves in tune with the soil and the things growing in it and living upon it.”

Dinky made a mental note to tell Honeydew, certain that the timid filly would be delighted to hear that her favorite type of spell was currently at the peak of its power.

“As you might imagine, spells that have a constellation on the opposite end of the cycle will be weakest,” Luna continued.  “Right now, Aquarius has been away from her apex for six months, and it will be six more until she returns.  As a result, her spells are weaker.  For instance, ponies who can only just barely manage a teleport spell at other times of the year may find they simply cannot complete one right now.  The overall effect is not terribly powerful; that is to say, when performing simpler spells, it’s not uncommon to not even notice a difference throughout the year.  But when using a spell that requires all your strength, the Zodiac constellations are one force you most certainly want on your side.”

The Princess looked at the moon.  “I believe our time is up for tonight.  Study these ponies, young ones, and your future magical endeavors are sure to go more smoothly.”

With that, Princess Luna’s lesson concluded.  The students packed their notes and textbooks into their saddlebags as the classroom began its descent back to the base of the tower.

Scuffle yawned.  “Well, Scorch and Frosty should be asleep by now, so it should be easy gettin’ back to my room,” he said.  “Wanna walk back to the towers with me, Dinks?”

“You go ahead,” Dinky replied.  “I’m going to stay behind and ask Princess Luna a few things about that last Zodiac pony we saw.”

Scuffle nodded.  “Let me know what you find out,” he called as he turned to go.

Dinky waited until the rest of the students left the room.  She remained alone with Princess Luna, who was erasing a few notes about the Zodiac left on the chalkboard.

“Is there something you need, Dinky Doo?” Luna asked, without turning away from her task.

“I just had a question about the lesson, if you’re not busy,” Dinky admitted.

“I can spare a few minutes,” Luna said.  “What is it that was not clear?”

“Well, I noticed the textbook talks about each pony’s contribution to the study of magic,” Dinky began, “except for this last one, for some reason.  If Scorpio didn’t do anything important, why is she included in the Zodiac?”

Luna still didn’t turn to Dinky, but she did stop the eraser mid-stroke.  Awkward silence followed.  Dinky shifted her weight uncomfortably.

“An ironic coincidence indeed that you should be the one to inquire further about Scorpio,” Luna said, finally turning away from the board.  “You are right to assume Scorpio is a notable magical figure, but the details of her ability are left out of the text for a specific reason.”

“Oh,” Dinky mumbled.  “So… basically, I shouldn’t ask?”

Luna paused.  “In all honesty, I probably should not continue to speak on the subject, but I am of the mind that, in an Academy such as this one, curiosity is a quality to be valued.  I shall answer your question, but I suspect you will quickly understand why it is a topic not covered by the text, if you haven’t already.”

Dinky looked away.  “I… already have some idea, I think.”

Luna nodded.  “Scorpio was an intelligent pony, and perhaps one of the most gifted figures of the Zodiac.  She had the potential to develop amazing spells, but her ideas about the uses and purposes of magic… differed somewhat from the others.  While many of the Zodiac ponies found that magic could perform almost any task when properly channeled, Scorpio was convinced that the only way to unlock its true potential was to take control over it.  She began to find ways to warp and twist the energy into the forms she desired.”

Dinky sighed.  “What Scorpio invented was dark magic, wasn’t it?” she asked finally.

“Indeed,” Luna said, sitting down so that her head was closer to the filly’s.  “It was immediately apparent to the other members of the Zodiac that Scorpio’s experiments were somewhat worrisome, but Scorpio had no interest in listening to their advice.”

“What happened?” Dinky asked anxiously.  “Did the magic ultimately corrupt her?”

“There was little, I fear, to corrupt,” Luna admitted.  “Unlike you, Scorpio knew her spells were poisoning the purity of the natural magical forces.  But she aimed to use magic to gain power, and fulfill her desires.”

“Did the rest of the Zodiac stop her?”

“For quite some time, they did not,” Luna answered.  “While her heart may have been wicked, Scorpio had a silver tongue.  Despite the obvious atrocity of her experiments, she managed to convince many of her peers, both within the Zodiac and without, that what she was doing would ultimately benefit Equestria.”

Luna paused and took a long, slow breath.  “Scorpio’s spells became more extreme, more horrific… and more powerful.  Some ponies began to study under her, and her progress increased more quickly.  These ponies, many of which were goodhearted and simply curious, gradually began to change under the influence of Scorpio’s spells.  It was at this time that the rest of the Zodiac decided she had gone too far.  And so, in order to quell the spread of darkness before it became too severe, they made a desperate decision.  Combining their many magical talents, they cast a massive spell that spread to the whole of Equestria, making magic in general far harder to access.  Unicorns can still summon it because of the properties of the horn, and pegasi, earth ponies, and perhaps seaponies if there are any left, can still use forms of magic their bodies are in tune with, but have lost access to the spectrum of spells as a whole as a result of this decision.”

“So that’s why only unicorns can study multiple forms of magic!” Dinky realized.  “What happened then?  Was it enough to stop Scorpio from corrupting more ponies?”

“It had a great deal of effect,” Luna said.  “Many ponies were saved from the spreading darkness.  But nopony realized just how Scorpio would react to the change.”

“Could she do anything about it?  She’s an earth pony, so her magic was gone, right?”

“Incorrect,” Luna said.  “The spell the Zodiac ponies cast made magic far more difficult to summon, but it was not entirely out of reach of extremely powerful ponies, and Scorpio, like her peers in the Zodiac, was one such pony.  Outraged, Scorpio began imbuing the only remaining ponies capable of wielding her spells, the unicorns, with enormous amounts of dark magic, leading to the rapid disintegration of their morality and fueling a lust for power and dominance not unlike her own.”

“She built an army?” Dinky gasped, rocking forward on her hooves.  “How did they stop her?”

“The rest of the Zodiac confronted her directly as soon as they realized what she was up to,” Luna said.  “They were able to subdue the unicorns, but Scorpio herself was more than a match for any one of them alone; her spells, evil though they were, were greatly enhanced.  And so they resorted to desperate measures.  Pooling their magic, they created a great rift in space, throwing Socrpio as well as themselves, into a plane beyond physical being.  And so Equestria lost all of the pioneers of magic in one fell swoop.”

“Beyond physical being?” Dinky repeated.  “So… they ceased to exist?”

“Not quite,” Luna said.  “They can no longer exist as we knew them, but they still exist now in another form.  And interestingly, this form is visible in our night sky.”

Dinky’s eyes grew wide.  “Do you mean that the constellations appeared when the ponies left Equestria?” she asked.

“Correct,” Luna replied.  “It is impossible to fully understand all the implications, but we are left with little choice but to believe the twelve signs of the Zodiac are the ponies who lived here thousands of years ago, continuing their battle throughout eternity in the heavens above, and granting their power to the ponies below.”

Dinky slid into a sitting position, stunned by the gravity of Scorpio’s influence on Equestria.  “So… Scorpio’s corrupted unicorns went on to pass knowledge of dark magic down in secret through the ages, right?”

“Indeed,” Luna said sadly.  “Celestia and I did our best to help those who were not beyond help, and imprison all the rest where they could do no harm, but as you yourself have seen and, in fact, demonstrated, it has never been possible to eradicate it completely.”

Dinky nodded.  “Thank you for telling me all this, Princess.  And don’t worry, after what happened a few weeks ago, I promise you I’ll never use another of Scorpio’s evil spells.”

“That is wise,” Luna said simply.  “Now return to your tower, young one.  I am sure you are eager for your rest.”

Dinky said goodbye to Princess Luna and trotted off into the castle’s silent halls.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dinky’s friends were all interested in the details of the Zodiac, and equally shocked to hear the story of Scorpio.  After class the next day, Dinky and Clarity trotted out to sit by the waterfall on the grounds and discussed it a little further.

“So dark magic becomes even more powerful around the beginning of November when Scorpio reaches the top of the sky?” Clarity asked.

“I guess so,” Dinky replied.  “It certainly creates some worrying possibilities.  Maybe it’s even the reason I haven’t seen Sunbeam since the incident.  He could be waiting for Scorpio’s apex to get closer so his magic gets stronger.”

“Well, as far as figuring out what Sunbeam’s up to, we don’t actually have much to go on,” Clarity pointed out.  “You’re still the only one who’s ever seen him.  There’s always the possibility that you messed up his plan when you used dark magic in public before he wanted you to.  I guess he could be waiting for Scorpio’s apex, but I think it’s just as likely that you’ll never see him again.”

Dinky nodded.  “I really hope that’s the case.  I still don’t know why he targeted me, but I think I might prefer it if I never find out.”

She tilted her head discreetly, indicating an all-too-familiar purple pony, who was lurking nearby.  “For now, we have somepony else to worry about, I think.”

Sparkler was standing by one of the entrances to the castle, glancing repeatedly in Dinky’s direction.  When she saw Dinky return the gaze, she frowned and looked away.

“Typical Sparkler, huh?” Clarity asked.  “She still hates us.”

Dinky stamped a hoof.  “I just wanna know why she hates us!” the filly grumbled.  “Other fillies break the rules and get scolded or punished all the time, but once they’ve served their detention or whatever, Sparkler doesn’t treat them any differently.  I don’t get what I’m doing that she’s so jealous of, but it’s kept us on her bad side for the whole term!”

Clarity furrowed her brow and did not immediately reply.  Dinky could practically see the gears of thought turning in her friend’s head.

“So,” she said finally, “the issue here is that we’re stuck on Sparkler’s bad side, and we can’t get off it until we know why we’re on it in the first place.”

“Exactly,” Dinky answered.  “And we can’t do that if she won’t open up and tell us a little about why she’s mad.”

A sly grin crept across Clarity’s face.  “Well, that’s simple.  If we don’t know anything about Sparkler, all we need to do is talk to a certain somepony who does.”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Presto raised an eyebrow.  “You want to talk about… Sparkler?”

Dinky and Clarity nodded in unison.

“Well, uh…” Presto stuttered, shifting his weight repeatedly between his left and right hooves and glancing nervously around the castle corridor, “why can’t you just ask Sparkler your questions?  She’d be able to give a more direct answer, don’t you think?”

“Sparkler’s not exactly an open book,” Clarity said, sounding a tad exasperated.  “But you already know that, don’t you, Presto?”

“And more importantly, you know why she’s like that,” Dinky added.

Presto sighed and hung his head.  “Alright, alright, you got me,” he said.  “I’ve known Sparkler since we both came here four years ago, and you’re right, she’s… reserved, at the best of times.  What is it you want to know about her?”

“We’ve been trying to figure out why she’s been picking on Dinky, Honeydew, and me more than the other students,” Clarity explained.  “She tries to keep that same coldness she shows everybody, but one time she said something about being jealous of Dinky’s knack for getting out of trouble, or something.”

“Do you know if there’s something going on in Sparkler’s life that’s making her act how she does?” Dinky asked.

Presto bit his lip.  “Well, Sparkler and I have always been, err… ‘friends’ during our time here, but she’s never really poured out the details about her life away from school to me,” he admitted.  “Rather, I’m one of the only ponies Sparkler has ever shown a hint of warmness to, but she tries her best to keep even that in check, it seems.”

“She hasn’t told you anything about herself?” Dinky asked.  “Not even a little about her personal life?”

Presto shrugged.  “Well, we used to talk a bit more when we were younger.  Poor Sparkler seems to be growing more aloof as she ages, though.  She never agreed to tell me anything about what she did while away from the Academy, but she did say it was ‘better for her not to get too involved with friends’.  She seemed almost… paranoid, I suppose, as a younger filly.  I can’t imagine what it was that made her so completely distrusting, even when she was your age.  Nowadays, she focuses almost exclusively on her studies and her job as an overseer.  I’ve been trying my best to get her to relax a little bit, to remind her that I haven’t given up on her, at least.  But it almost seems like… like she wants everypony to give up on her…”

Presto stopped talking and glanced down at Dinky and Clarity nervously.  “Er, perhaps I said a bit more than I needed to,” he said quickly.  “What I’m trying to say is, Sparkler’s under a lot of stress, clearly.  You’ve got two choices; you can leave her alone, and she’ll do the same to you, or you can do what I do and try to show her a little goodwill, even in the face of her attitude.  Maybe if we keep at it, she’ll start to see…”

He sighed.  “But then again, Dinky needs to stay out of trouble for a while, and poor Clarity has Lucid’s impeccable reputation hanging over her.  The administration’s got its eyes on both of you for two different reasons.  Sorry to say, that kinda puts you girls in a tough spot when it comes to that problem.”

“I get where you’re coming from,” Dinky said, pursing her lips thoughtfully.  “As awful as Sparkler can be, she also seems… pitiable, in a way.  We’d like to try to help if we could, but we don’t know what the problem is.”

Presto shook his head sadly.  “Sorry, girls, if I knew more, I’d tell you.  Sometimes there are ponies who keep their inner selves so guarded that nopony can reach them.  I’ll keep trying, and you two… well, weigh your options, and do what feels right.  That’s all the advice I can give.”

The overseer glanced at the clock.  “And with that, I’ve got somewhere to be.  Have a good day, girls!”

Presto gave a quick farewell nod and trotted off down the hall.  Clarity turned to face Dinky.

“What do you think?” Clarity asked, perking up her ears inquisitvely.  “Is there any hope of getting Sparkler to, um… not hate us?”

Dinky took a deep breath.  “I think Presto had some good advice,” she admitted.  “Let’s not do anything drastic.  If we can’t get Sparkler to open up, at least we can say we tried.”

“That’s a good stance, I guess,” Clarity agreed.  “I’m not getting my hopes up, but who knows.  Maybe there’ll be some sort of miracle.”

I doubt it, Dinky thought as she followed Clarity to class.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Another week passed, but Dinky and her friends didn’t find any easy way to approach Sparkler.  Once or twice Dinky attempted a friendly conversation, but this only served to confuse and further agitate the older filly.  Dinky and Clarity agreed that for the time being, it would be best to return to their default plan and give Sparkler her space.

One Thursday evening, Dinky and Scuffle were sitting together on a big red couch in the student lounge area, working out the finer details of an Astronomy project, when Clarity came galloping up to them, looking quite excited.

“Hey you two, I have great news!” Clarity said breathlessly as she skidded to a halt on the carpet.  “I just got a letter from my mom back in Whinnychester.  It turns out our break for Midsummer Holiday falls on the same date as the annual summer festival we have back home, and she said I could invite you all to visit and join in the festivities!  Anypony up for a trip to Whinnychester next week?”

Dinky clapped her front hooves together excitedly.  “I’ve never been to Whinnychester,” she replied.  “Let me just send a letter to my mom to make sure it’s ok.  If she says yes, I’m definitely in!”

“Have fun,” Scuffle said.  “I still don’t know what I’m doing for Midsummer Holiday myself.  My brothers are going to Manehattan, but I sure as heck ain’t going with them.”

Clarity chuckled.  “Did I sound like I was talking only to Dinky?” she asked playfully.  “You’ve invited too, you know!”

“Oh!” Scuffle’s eyes lit up.  “Well in that case, I’ll—”

He stopped, and his expression became concerned.  “Wait… is Honeydew going?”

“Yep,” Clarity said.  “Honeydew jumped at the chance to avoid going home to the farm.  She agreed before the question was even out of my mouth.”

Scuffle frowned.  “Uh, well… Honeydew might not be, um, totally thrilled if I decide to come along too.  Maybe it’d be better if I sit this one out.”

Now it was Clarity’s turn to frown.  “Scuffle, you and Honeydew need to sort this out eventually, you know…”

“I know!” Scuffle snapped.  “I’ve been trying.  I just haven’t quite figured out how to go about it yet…”

Clarity rolled her eyes.  “Fine,” she said, flicking her tail dismissively.  “If you change your mind though, let me know.  This silly business is putting a big dent in your life and Honeydew’s.  Consider the offer open up until Midsummer Holiday starts.”

Scuffle nodded.  “Yeah.  I’ll let ya know if things change before then.”

He turned to Dinky.  “I think I can probably finish this star chart alone.  You go and get a letter to your mom off to the mail dragon before he goes out hunting for the night.”

“Oh, right,” Dinky said, hopping off the couch.  “Thanks again, Clarity!  See you two later.”

Clarity and Scuffle waved goodbye as Dinky hastily trotted off.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After a quick visit to Twinkletoes the dragon, and a brief exchange of letters with Ditzy Doo (who presumably enlisted Spike’s help, considering how quickly a response arrived), Dinky was able to confirm her trip to Whinnychester within a few hours.  As the final week of classes before Midsummer Holiday arrived, students of all ages began to become restless.  Luckily, several professors had developed a few tricks to keep their students engaged in class, even in the shadow of impending vacation.

Dinky could immediately tell Professor Luster had something out of the ordinary planned for Enchantments class that day.  The mare had an almost teasing grin on her face, as if she could hardly contain her own excitement about the surprise that was awaiting her students.

“What do you think she’s so excited about?” Honeydew asked, her head cocked a bit.

“No idea, but I bet it’s something awesome,” Clarity said, wagging her tail impatiently.  “Professor Luster’s one of those teachers who really connects with the students.  If she’s excited, it’s probably worth being excited about.”

Professor Luster glanced around the room one final time to make sure all the students had arrived.  “Good morning, everypony!” she called cheerfully.  “Who’s ready for Midsummer Holiday?”

The mare was met with a dozen different expressions of approval from the students.  “Good, so am I,” she chuckled.  “And I know the last thing you want just a few days before vacation is a lecture on non-sustained permanent levitation enchantments, so I’ll save that for when we get back.  Instead, I’ve prepared a little treat for you all today.”

The professor opened the door to an adjacent classroom, and a half a dozen fourth and fifth-term students entered the room.  The elder unicorns lined up in the front of the room, smiling at the younger students.

“These are some of my Advanced Enchantments students,” Professor Luster explained.  “Each of them has had Enchantments class every year since they were your age.  I’ve brought them here today because, for quite some time now, I’ve been planning a day where I’d allow each of you to try out some new and possibly complex enchantments that we don’t cover in class.  The problem is, there’s no way I’d be able to help each one of you learn a different enchantment.  There are lots of you, and only one of me.  So, since I can’t do it myself, I brought in some ponies that can!”

She gestured to the older students.  “Now, if each of you can help out one table of foals, we can get a lot of different spells going at a time,” she told them.  “Go on, spread out.”

The group of older unicorns trotted among the desks, each one taking a seat in front of some of the younger students.  Dinky watched in anticipation as each one came toward her table, only to ultimately turn and stop in front of a different group.  When all the ponies had distributed themselves, each table had an older helper, except for the one where Dinky, Clarity, and Honeydew were seated.  Professor Luster noticed immediately and trotted up to them.

“Uh-oh, there’s nopony for you three!” she said.  “I know I scheduled enough volunteers for the whole class.  Maybe somepony’s missing.”

The mare bobbed her head as she took a quick inventory of the helpers that were present.  After a moment, she nodded.

“Ah, I see, we’re only missing—”

“Sorry I’m late, Professor.”

The three fillies and Professor Luster looked toward the doorway, where a pink and purple filly was standing.

“Sparkler!  There you are,” Professor Luster said, relieved.  “It’s not a problem, we were only just getting started.  These three fillies still need a helper.  They can be your group, ok?”

Sparkler looked at the trio.  Her gaze came to rest on Dinky, and a brief expression that Dinky couldn’t quite read flickered across the overseer’s face.

“Of course, Professor.”

“Good!  I’ll be around if you need me,” Professor Luster called as she trotted back to her desk.

Sparkler stood still for several seconds.  Eventually, she slunk forward and planted her rump on the carpet in front of the desk.

“Dinky, Clarity, Honeydew,” she said mechanically, nodding to each in turn.  “How are you?”

“Fine,” Dinky answered, not sure how to respond to Sparkler’s complete lack of inflection.  “And you?”

Sparkler replied with a noncommittal grunt.  “I’ll go get some stuff for practice,” she said, returning to her hooves and trotting away.

Dinky looked at her friends and gave a bewildered shrug.

“Let’s try to talk to her when she comes back,” Clarity said.  “I know she’s… Sparkler, but she’s stuck with us for the next hour or so.  Maybe we can get her to open up a little, since she can’t shoo us away.”

“And how would we do that?” Dinky asked.

“It sounds like Sparkler’s got a lot of experience with enchantments,” Honeydew pointed out.  “You’re the best at enchantments out of the three of us, Dinky.  Ask her some questions and… maybe you can form some common ground?”

“It’s worth a shot,” Dinky admitted as Sparkler returned with an aura full of gems.  The overseer dumped the stuff she was carrying on the desk, and then sat back down.  

“There we go.  Pick a spell.  I’ll wait.”

“Uh… ok,” Dinky replied awkwardly.  “Any ideas, girls?”	

The fillies opened their books and began to page through, but Sparkler staring at them made it hard to concentrate.  Dinky bore the silence for a few moments longer before deciding to speak up.

“Sparkler, you have lots of experience.  Do you know any cool enchantments we could try?”

Sparkler raised an eyebrow.  “That’s not the point of the exercise,” she mumbled.  “You’re supposed to pick out something you’ve wanted to try, and I’ll help you cast it.”

“But that’s the thing,” Dinky said.  “I don’t know what to pick.  I wanna try almost everything in this book, honestly.”

“Don’t play the overachiever card with me,” Sparkler growled.  “I’m not a professor.  You don’t need to impress me.  Pick a spell and let’s get on with it.”

Dinky snorted.  “Sparkler, come on, you’re in the highest level enchantments class the Academy offers!  I don’t think you’d be there if you didn’t like the subject an awful lot.  Why is it so hard to believe that I like it just as much as you do?”

Sparkler opened her mouth to respond.  She hesitated a moment, and turned to Clarity and Honeydew instead.

“What about you two?  Do you have any specific requests?”

“I’m… content,” Honeydew said shyly.  “Enchantments aren’t really my specialty.  I, um… I’ll trust Dinky’s judgment on this one.”

“And I like learning just about any magic!” Clarity announced.  “Besides, you’re older, and you have more experience.  You know plenty of spells that are cooler than anything we could request, right?”

Sparkler looked at the floor and sighed.  “Well, there are a couple, yeah…”

“Ok, so pick one!” Dinky encouraged.

“Oh, fine,” Sparkler grumbled, grabbing a pile of gems with a forehoof.  “Here’s a neat little trick that’s not too hard.”

The older filly lifted a stone in one hoof, lit her horn, and turned the gem about 90 degrees.  She then gave it a sharp tap with her other hoof, and a clear, high note hung in the air for a second.  When she set it down on the table, it played the same note again, albeit softer.

“They call these Gemtones,” Sparkler said, picking up a second gem and enchanting it as well.  “I suppose a clever play on words is befitting of a clever enchantment.”

Sparkler set the second gem down, and Dinky’s ears twitched when it played a noticeably lower note than the first.  “How do you control the tone?” she asked.

“It has to do with the angle the gem is turned relative to your horn,” Sparkler explained.  “After you start the spell, any rotation will decrease the pitch.  So a small turn will play a high note, and a greater turn will produce a lower note.”

“Can we try?” Clarity asked.

Sparkler sighed.  “Yeah, go ahead.  This one’s simple enough that you three should be able to manage.”

Clarity grabbed a stone and proceeded to attempt to enchant it.  As soon as she gave it a tap though, a displeasing note like a piano out of tune played, causing her to cringe.

Sparkler flattened her ears against her head to try to block out the sound as she hastily removed the spell.  “You gave it a little too much magic, there,” she said, shaking her head to clear the ringing in her ears.  “You need to use delicate magic to make a pure sounding tone.”

Dinky grabbed one of the stones and turned it in half a circle, while allowing the spell to just barely penetrate the gem.  She gave it a careful tap, and while the note that played was a little softer than the Gemtones Sparkler had made, it was crystal clear and sounded lovely.

Sparkler blinked, surprised.  “Not bad, actually,” she commented.  “You three can make more of those on your own time, if you want.”

“They’re really cool,” Dinky said, tapping the three properly enchanted gems in a row and drinking in the three different tones.  “What other spells do you know?”

“Uhh…” Sparkler scanned the items on the table.  “Honeydew, roll that pearl down to me.  Pearls are soft gems, so they aren’t very good for enchantments, but there is one interesting thing you can do with them.”

Honeydew pushed the large orb toward Sparkler.  The older filly stopped its movement magically, allowing it to remain still on the table in front of her.

“Pearls, because of their smooth, opaque outer coating, can be subject to some visual enchantments that are basically useless in clearer gems,” she explained.  “The problem is, pearls don’t hold enchantments terribly well, so what I do is enhance them with runes.”

Sparkler grabbed a small metal tool that she’d brought along with the gems and carefully chiseled a small symbol into the pearl. “You three don’t have any experience with runic syllabary yet, do you?” she asked idly as she carved.

“No, not really.”

“Didn’t think so.”

When Sparkler had finished, she set the pearl back down and cast a spell on it.  The chiseled lines glowed brightly for a moment.  Sparkler set the pearl rolling again with a brief burst of magic, sending it in Dinky’s direction.  As soon as the filly’s hoof touched it, the pearl turned bright purple.

“I thought it might do that,” Sparkler commented.  “It’s got a mood detection charm on it.  It turned purple, which is the color code for curiosity.  And it really works, unlike the cheesy knockoff ones they sell in those seaside gift shops in Manehattan.”

“That’s really cool,” Dinky admitted.  The pearl turned a sunny yellow before the words were even out of her mouth, and she grinned as she passed the pearl down the table to her friends.  When Honeydew touched it, the yellow faltered and became tinged in some parts with pink.

Sparkler furrowed her brow.  “You’re… nervous?”

Honeydew smiled sheepishly.  “I’m always a little nervous…”

Clarity laughed.  “Come on Honeydew, loosen up a bit!  Maybe you can think of the next spell we can try.”

The tension seemed to be starting to break.  Dinky, Clarity, and Honeydew started to discuss some possible enchantment ideas more actively, knowing that Sparkler would probably be willing to demonstrate them.  Dinky glanced at Sparkler in the midst of the conversation, and for a moment, went silent with surprise.

Is that… a hint of a smile?

Sparkler still maintained her serious expression, but there seemed to be the tiniest bit of appreciation for the fillies’ vigorous interest showing on her face.  One corner of her mouth seemed to turn up just a fraction of an inch.

Well, would you look at that, Dinky thought.  Maybe we’ll get through to Sparkler after all…

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Class passed quickly.  Although Sparkler’s attitude never became more animated, she did seem to recognize the girls’ curiosity enough to put some effort into a few more interesting enchantments.  By the end of class, a whole collection of gems containing various spells was piled on the side of the table.  Dinky and her friends, entranced like foals given a pile of new toys, experimented with each while Sparkler watched.

“It looks like we’re about out of time,” Sparkler pointed out.  “Most of these gems belong to the professor’s practice collection, so I’m gonna have to start removing the spells now.”

Dinky nodded.  “I sure wish we had some more time,” she admitted.  “If we come by your room with questions when you aren’t too busy, do you think you could show us a few more examples?”

Sparkler hesitated.  She looked back and forth between Dinky and her friends, biting her lip.

“Well… maybe.  We’ll see.  You three do seem to be really into this stuff, I guess…”

Sparkler lifted up the pearl to remove its enchantment.  The pearl turned a very faint, yet still obvious, shade of yellow.  For a moment, the older filly stared at it, clearly surprised.  All at once, her expression hardened.  “Wait, what am I saying?  I’m a busy pony!  An overseer!  I don’t have time to babysit you three and teach you a bunch of novice spells!”

“But—”

“Don’t argue with me,” Sparkler warned, ignoring the pearl as it turned red.  “I don’t know why I humored you three in the first place.  All I was supposed to do was demonstrate your requested spells, and somehow I wound up doing a whole presentation.”

“And you kinda enjoyed yourself, I think!” Clarity argued.  “We don’t have to stick to pure business all the time, you know.  A little friendly teamwork never hurt anypony.”

“You three foals are not my friends!” Sparkler snarled.

The older filly pounded the table, and the pearl toppled off the edge.  There was a sharp crack when it hit the ground, and the color vanished instantly, leaving the original soft pinkish-white.  Honeydew squeaked at the outburst and slumped in her seat.

“Careful over there, Sparkler!” Professor Luster called from across the room.

Sparkler swept up all the gems that remained undamaged in her aura, and the other fifth-term students did the same.  “We’re done here,” she said crossly.  “You’ve tried more than enough new spells for today.  Get going.”

Sparkler tossed the gems into the box and made for the door without another backward glance, leaving the three fillies a bit stunned.

“Wh-what just happened?” Honeydew asked.  “It seemed like she was starting to enjoy herself, and then…”

“Then she realized it,” Clarity said bitterly.  “I get it now.  It’s not that it’s impossible to make her happy.  She just forces it under a new layer of reservation and anger whenever something manages to bring it out.”

Dinky reached down and picked up the discarded pearl.  She gave it a shake, and it feebly flickered a remorseful blue before losing its color again.

A potential for so many things, but it always returns to its original, dull form.  Just like Sparkler herself…

Sighing, Dinky tossed the useless pearl into her own saddlebags, and followed her friends and the rest of the students out of the room.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Eh, she ain’t worth the trouble,” Scuffle declared.

“I’m beginning to think you’re right,” Dinky said morosely.  “If Sparkler keeps acting like that, we might as well give up on trying to change her.  She doesn’t want to be changed.”

It was the evening before Midsummer Holiday, and for the first time in weeks, Dinky, Clarity, Honeydew, and Scuffle were all gathered in the forest hideout.  Honeydew and Scuffle remained on opposite sides of the room, refusing to directly address one another, but both of them would occasionally chime in to Dinky and Clarity’s concerns.

“Hey, come on guys,” Clarity cut in.  “Let’s not worry about Sparkler for now.  If we have to give this more thought, let’s at least wait until after the break.  Midsummer Holiday starts tomorrow!”

“My brothers are heading home over the break,” Scuffle said, frustrated.  “That means, if I wanna avoid ‘em, I gotta stay here with the other ponies who don’t have anywhere to go.”

“Scuffle, my offer’s still open,” Clarity reminded him.  “If you want to come to Whinnychester, you’re totally welcome.”

Scuffle made a somewhat pained face.  “Clarity, I still think it’d be better if I just—”

The conversation was cut off suddenly when the illumination orb in the hideout was unexpectedly and completely extinguished.  With very little daylight remaining outside, the hollow was plunged into near-total darkness.

“What the heck?” Scuffle asked aloud.

“Something’s wrong,” came Clarity’s voice.  “I’m trying to relight the orb, but it’s not responding.”

“Everypony light your horns then,” Dinky instructed, allowing her own magic to flare.  The other three foals followed suit.

In the quiet, there was the sound of somepony lurking at the hollow’s entrance.  It sounded too big to be the fox who visited so often.

“Who’s up there?” Dinky called.  “Did you put out or light?”

“Why, yes, Dinky.  Yes I did,” a familiar voice replied.

Dinky bristled.  “That better not be who I think it is!” she called threateningly to the unseen pony above.

“Oh, I’m so sorry to disappoint, yes I am,” came the reply.  “It’s just been so long since we talked, yes it has.”

In the dim light of the foals’ horns, a yellow and orange colt stepped lightly down the entry tunnel and stood before them, smirking.

“Sunbeam,” Dinky said acidly.

“Sunbeam!?” Honeydew squealed, skittering behind Clarity to get out of view as best she could.

“That’s Sunbeam?” Clarity asked.  “As in mister notorious, supposedly-long-dead, dark magic wielding Sunbeam?”

“Quite right!” Sunbeam declared.  “And you three must be Dinky’s friends: outgoing Clarity, meek little Honeydew, and tough Scuffle.  I’ve heard so much about you during the time when Dinky and I practiced together.”

“Leave them out of this,” Dinky commanded, stepping forward even as her friends retreated further.  “And while you’re here, you’d better start giving me some answers.  Why did you try to teach me dark magic?  And more importantly, why are you here now?  Your little plot has failed.”

Sunbeam chuckled.  “I expected you to be feisty, yes I did.  But you’re in no position to force answers out of me, Dinky Doo.  I’ll answer what I want to, yes I will.”

Dinky scowled.  “Well, go on then.  What do you have to say for yourself?”

“I’ve simply come to deliver a message, yes I have,” Sunbeam declared.  “You see, Dinky, in a way, you are correct.  You did create quite a barrier to my plans when you went and set your tower ablaze with dark fire, yes you did.  But you haven’t ended them completely, I assure you.  Perhaps it won’t be in the way I anticipated, but you, Dinky, will help me reach the goal for which I am striving.  That’s a promise, yes it is.”

Dinky gave a sharp laugh.  “And how do you plan to do that?  I learned what you were doing to me before it became irreversible.  I haven’t been corrupted.”

“Oh, haven’t you?” Sunbeam snickered, grinning almost maniacally.  “Perhaps you aren’t as in touch with yourself as you think, no you aren’t.”

Dinky recoiled slightly.  “You’re just trying to get me flustered,” she said, her quavering voice unfortunately confirming that Sunbeam had indeed done just that.

“That’s it,” Scuffle grumbled, stepping forward.  “Get out of here, freak.  Dinky’s got nothing to do with you and your sick plans anymore.”

“Uh-uh-uh, Scuffle,” Sunbeam said, lighting a black aura around his horn.  “You shouldn’t interrupt when I’m talking with dear miss Dinky, no you should not.”

At the sight of the dark magic, Scuffle backpedaled erratically and hunkered down near Clarity and Honeydew.  Only Dinky remained in an opposing posture.

“Sunbeam, I don’t know who you are or what you want” the purple filly said defiantly.  “I don’t know if you’re dead and reanimated or if you’re just not who you say you are.  I don’t know what you’re trying to accomplish with those awful spells, and I don’t know why you’re so determined that I be a part of it.  But no matter what tactic you try, you are not going to get me to use more dark magic!”

Sunbeam gave a high-pitched giggle.  “Oh, yes, keep defying me, Dinky.  It makes this business so much more fun, yes it does.”

Dinky, feeling there was no need for a further response, simply growled.

“Anyway, that’s all I really had to say, yes it was,” Sunbeam admitted.  “Do think about continuing to practice with me willingly, though.  It will make things so much easier on you, yes it will.”

“Get out!” Dinky bellowed.

Sunbeam shrugged, and keeping his horn aglow to make sure he wasn’t followed, he slowly walked backwards up the tunnel and into the twilit forest, leaving Dinky and her friends standing alone in the darkness beneath the tree.
> Chapter 13
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Clarity gently petted Honeydew’s head.  “Honeydew, you can get up now.  He’s gone.”

Honeydew gradually stopped shivering and cautiously removed her forehooves from her eyes.  “D-Dinky scared him off?” she asked.

“Uh… sorta,” Dinky said, swishing her tail uncertainly.  “I got him to leave, anyway.”

Clarity tried once again to reignite the illumination orb, and this time it flickered back on.  For a few moments, the four foals sat quietly in the hollow, wondering what to do.

“…We’ve got to tell somepony about this,” Honeydew said finally.

Scuffle nodded, but Dinky looked skeptical.

“Tell who?”  the purple filly asked.  “The dean won’t believe us.  Bringing this up to her or Sparkler won’t do a thing to stop Sunbeam; it’ll just get us in more trouble.”

“Well, what’re we supposed to do, then?” Scuffle asked loudly, glancing around the room in the hopes that somepony could provide a sensible answer.

“Notify one of the princesses, I think,” Clarity cut in.  “Even if they can’t prove Sunbeam’s around, they’re actually willing to listen to us.  If we tell them what we saw, hopefully they can give the guards a lead on actually catching him.”

“That hasn’t done a whole lot of good so far,” Dinky pointed out.  “Nopony’s seen any evidence of Sunbeam at all until just now.”

“It’s better than nothing,” Clarity countered.  “Let’s just leave a note for Princess Luna or something, and then disappear to Whinnychester for a week and hope the princesses take care of it while we’re safely relaxing far, far away.”

“Yeah, um, about that,” Scuffle said, his head and tail sagging a bit.  “In light of what just happened, I was thinking maybe, you know…”

Clarity smirked.  “What, you’d rather come with us than stay here in a nearly empty school all week with a dark magic user sneaking around?”

Scuffle straightened up.  “Ha, no way!  I, um… I think I’d better just come along for… protection!  These are dangerous times, right?  You’re gonna need a big, strong colt like me hanging around, just in case Sunbeam’s got, uh, agents in Whinnychester or something!”

Dinky and Clarity exchanged a mirthful glance.  “Ok, mister big, brave Scuffle, you can come along,” Clarity laughed.

Scuffle tried not to appear too excited, but his relief was obvious.  “Alright, count me in then,” he announced.  “That’s ok with you, right Honeydew?”

“I’m not the boss of you,” Honeydew mumbled, looking at the floor.  “You can go where you want.”

“Um… ok,” Scuffle replied awkwardly.  “Let’s get inside.  It’s almost curfew, and I don’t wanna be out here after dark with that freak hanging out nearby.”

“Agreed,” Dinky said, leading the group out of the hollow.  She looked around nervously, assured herself that Sunbeam was no longer nearby, and quickly made her way through the brush back towards the castle, with the others following closely behind.

“I just realized,” Dinky said, coming to a sudden stop.  “That eerie feeling right before Sunbeam arrived… I’ve felt it before.  It’s not Nester who’s been watching me from the forest.  Sunbeam’s been spying on me all year!”

“I never could quite bring myself to believe Nester was the culprit,” Clarity admitted.  “When he gets off probation, you should talk to him about that.”	

Dinky nodded.  “But y‘know, something else isn’t adding up here,” she said quietly.  “Even if Sunbeam really does have a backup plan, and he really thinks he can still use me to enact it somehow… why’d he go and reveal himself to you three?”

“I don’t know, but I wish he hadn’t…” Honeydew whined, flattening her ears against her head.  “Now he knows who we are, and we know who he is.  Maybe we’re also part of his grand plan, somehow.”

“Maybe he’s just being overconfident,” Clarity suggested.  “He knows that the dean and Sparkler won’t believe a word we say, and he has been doing an awfully good job avoiding the guards searching for him, even though they’ve been using surveillance spells that should have detected him by now.”

“Either way, the fact that he seems so sure of himself is only putting me even more on-edge,” Dinky admitted.  “What do you think he’s up to, Scuffle?”

There was no reply.

“Scuffle?” Dinky turned around, but the colt that had been following along at the rear of the group had vanished.

“W-where’d he go?” Honeydew stuttered, looking wildly in all directions.  “You don’t think Sunbeam got him, do you?”

“Calm down, Honeydew,” Clarity said soothingly.  “I bet he just went to a different entrance to the castle.  Probably the one that’s closer to the ramp leading to his residence tower.  I’m sure we just didn’t notice because we were having a discussion.”

“Besides, Sunbeam doesn’t have any reason to be interested in Scuffle, does he?” Dinky added.  “Scuffle’s never used any dark magic either, after all.”

“Come on, we don’t have any more time to waste,” Clarity said.  “Let’s get inside before curfew, or we’re all gonna be in hot water.”

Under the last light of the setting sun, the three fillies hurried inside.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Scuffle tasted dirt.  Disoriented, he tried to lift his head, but found it forced back to the ground by a large hoof.

“Man, did you see that?” a voice asked.  “He just dropped right when you hit ‘im!  Probably knocked a couple screws loose.”

“None of them ever saw it coming, either,” another voice laughed.  “Those fillies just kept right on walking.  They never heard a thing!”

Scuffle’s brain, though still reeling from the heavy blow, was able to recognize the voices.  He growled.

“Scorch, get off me,” he tried to say, but his words were muffled by the ground.

“Aw, what’s wrong, Scuff?  Uncomfortable?” Scorch sneered, continuing to hold Scuffle’s head to the ground.

“I gotta admit, bro, you’ve been doin’ pretty good,” Frosty said, pacing slowly around to the front of Scuffle’s body so the colt could hear him better.  “You’ve been sticking to groups and crowded areas, and with those wards ol’ Presto put up around your room, I was beginning to think we’d never get a second alone to ‘chat.’”

“So, did I knock some sense into ya yet?” Scorch chuckled, before dropping to a low growl.  “Or are you still planning to run off and play dolls with those fillies you’ve been hanging out with?”

“None of your business,” Scuffle managed, forcing his head up for a few seconds.  “Now get your Celestia-damned hoof off my head!”

“Ooh, what language!” Frosty mocked.  “Sounds like somepony needs a time out.  Keep holding him there, Scorch.  I’ll take care of the rest.”

Scuffle struggled, but his brother’s strength was more than enough to hold him down.  Frosty trotted off and returned a moment later with a long vine from the forest.  With a few moments of magical dexterity, he made sure Scuffle was tightly bound with it.

“There we go.  That’ll hold him until he learns to watch his mouth,” Frosty laughed.

Scorch’s horn lit up, and Scuffle gasped as he found himself rolling.  He tumbled into the shade of the trees before coming to a stop rather roughly against a gnarled trunk.

“There, that looks like a good spot,” Scorch said, admiring his handiwork.  “Shall we leave him there?”

“That’s the plan!” Frosty announced.  “Enjoy your night in the forest, Scuff.  We’ll come back tomorrow morning and let you out before we hop on the train and get away from this stupid place.  If we can find the time, that is!”

The twins laughed, and ignoring Scuffle’s yells, they trotted off toward the castle.  Within moments, they were out of earshot.

Well, horseapples!  Now what?  Scuffle thought to himself, thrashing fruitlessly against the tightly wrapped vine.  The ends are tucked in so tightly I can’t get them loose, even with magic.  I’m gonna be stuck here all night!

He swallowed.  With nopony but Sunbeam to keep me company…

The last light disappeared, plunging the forest into near-total darkness.  A cricket chirped loudly near Scuffle’s ear, causing him to twitch in surprise.

A half hour passed.  Scuffle tried rolling around between the roots and nudging himself against the tree, but nothing helped.  Defeated, the colt sighed and took a rest.

Nothin’ left to do but wait until somepony finds me, he thought bitterly.  I guess I’ll try to get some sleep.

Scuffle had only closed his eyes for a second when the sound of movement in the brush caused them to pop open again.  Tensing, the restrained colt struggled to crane his neck toward the sound.

“Th-that better not be you, Sunbeam,” he warned.  “Dinky’s gone.  Go away!”

The rustling continued for a moment, and then a small orange creature that was definitely not Sunbeam emerged from the bushes.

Scuffle breathed a long sigh.  “Oh, Trouble, it’s just you,” he said as the fox came over to sniff him curiously.  “At least there’s one friendly face lurking in this forest.”

Trouble blinked, and began to wander around the tree.  Scuffle watched him for a moment.  The colt’s ears remained alert for the sound of any other unexpected visitors.

“Trouble, I don’t suppose you can help me out?” he asked hopefully.  “I don’t wanna be trapped here all night.”

As expected, Trouble showed no sign of understanding.  He ambled over and sat down next to the bound pony.

Scuffle made a chewing motion with his teeth.  “Come on, like this!  If you can just chew through one vine, I can do the rest with magic.”

Trouble cocked his head as Scuffle continued to open and close his jaw.  And then, to the colt’s great surprise, the fox took a portion of the vine between his teeth and nipped cleanly through it.

“Awesome!” Scuffle cried, grabbing the frayed end with magic and rapidly unwinding the vine.  “Good boy, Trouble!  You’re a smarter critter than I thought.”

The colt stood up and stretched his cramped legs.  “I don’t suppose you have any other bright ideas?” he asked Trouble.  “It’s past curfew.  If I try to go inside now, the guards will catch me and I’ll be in hot water for sure.”

Trouble gazed at Scuffle a few moments more and then turned and wandered away into the trees.

Scuffle sighed.  Well that was a bust.  If only there was some unguarded entrance to the castle, I might be able to sneak in instead of camping out here in the woods.

Scuffle blinked, and knocked himself on the noggin with a hoof.

Oh, duh.  There is a way.

Keeping a sharp eye out for any movement, Scuffle cautiously made his way deeper into the blanketing darkness of the forest.  Even with the light of his horn, it took a few moments to find the entrance to the hideout.  The colt parted the roots and slid down the tunnel, and then, with a combination of a levitation spell and a powerful pull with his forehooves, yanked back the huge boulder covering the concealed drainage shaft.

Time to find out where this old tunnel really goes…

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ten minutes later, Scuffle found himself at the vertical portion of the drain shaft.  He quickly initiated his gravity cancellation spell and trotted briskly up the wall, until he was just inches from the metal drain cover.

Alright, all I have to do is get the cover off, and I’m home free.

Scuffle was unable to apply any force in his current gravity state, so he quickly modified the spell to reverse his gravity completely, allowing him to stand on the underside of the drain cover.  He pushed with all his might, but the cover, slightly rusted though it was, was far too strong.

I’m gonna have to try to use one of those spells Scorch and Frosty can do, he realized.  I can’t do anything with elemental magic, but… maybe I can pull off a focused force spell or something…”

Scuffle modified his gravity again and returned to the wall.  He crouched against the stones and squeezed his eyes shut as he mustered up the strongest burst of energy he could.  There was a flash, and a ball of energy launched from his horn and hit the drain cover.  It rattled loudly but did not budge.

Scuffle swore under his breath.  “I am not letting a stupid drain cover be the only thing that keeps me from getting away unpunished tonight!” he announced, as if expecting the metal plate to be intimidated.

The colt focused his magic again, the blue light casting shadows all throughout the shaft.  With a grunt, he swung his head for extra oomph and let loose a still stronger spell.

There was an earsplitting clang as the energy collided with the cover, wrenching the bolts free and sending it hurtling into the air.  It clattered to the stone floor a moment later, creating quite a racket.

“Ha!” Scuffle laughed as he clambered up into the basement and restored his gravity to normal.  “Take that!  I may not be an expert on attack spells, but I’m more than good enough to take on a silly—”

“Who’s down there?” a harsh, familiar voice called from the top of a nearby staircase.  “You know the cellar is off limits!”

Scuffle froze.  Horseapples, is that Sparkler?  Of all the rotten luck…

Hoofsteps sounded on the staircase, so Scuffle did the only thing he could think of on such short notice: reversed his gravity again.  He gasped as the ceiling came flying toward him, but there was no time to prepare for impact; the colt crashed against the stone ceiling and bit down on his tongue to stifle a pained cry.

Sparkler appeared in the doorway a moment later.  She glanced around the room, and immediately noticed the dislodged drain cover.  Scuffle watched from the ceiling as the overseer moved to investigate the opening.  Although it was too small for her to climb down, she did stick her head into the darkness.

Seeing his chance, Scuffle made his way silently across the ceiling.  The top of the doorframe was far below his position, however, meaning he had to return to the floor before he could escape up the stairs.  Restoring his gravity much more carefully this time, he slowly sank back to the floor.  He glanced at Sparkler for a second, assuring she was still occupied, and then bolted up the steps.

Sparkler lifted her head out of the drain immediately.  “I hear that!  Get back here or you’re in big trouble!”

Scuffle panted hard as he ran up the long stone staircase.  He needed someplace to hide, or all the trouble he’d gone through breaking back into the castle would be for nothing.  A moment later, he burst through the trapdoor at the top of the stairs and into a familiar room.

The Residence Tower!  Yes!

Wasting no time, the colt turned and dashed up the carpeted stairs, still aware of the sound of Sparkler’s hooves pounding along behind him.  Several stories up, he spied a bedroom with the door slightly ajar, and dove inside.  He wasn’t sure which ponies lived here, but it was obvious by the darkness that they were asleep.  The space beneath one of their beds would make an excellent obstruction to hide under until Sparkler disappeared.

Scuffle slipped beneath the bed and watched smugly as Sparkler’s hooves continued past the room and down the hall.  Piece of cake, he thought smugly.

After a few seconds, the triumphant smirk on his face was replaced with confusion.  Hang on, what’s Sparkler doing in the residence tower in the first place?  She’s a filly; she shouldn’t be able to get past the barrier.

Realization started to dawn on the colt.  He grimaced.

Unless there was no magic barrier over the drain, in which case… maybe it’s not Sparkler who’s in the wrong residence tower…

Almost fearfully, Scuffle crept out from beneath the bed and struggled to see in the darkness.  There were ponies in both of the bunks and in the single bed, but the lack of light made them impossible to identify.  Scuffle crept closer to the biggest bed and allowed just a tiny glimmer of light to shine from his horn.  A pink and green filly he knew all too well mumbled in her sleep and shifted beneath the covers, turning away from the light.

Oh, Celestia, no…

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dinky felt a pair of forehooves shaking her.  She struggled to open her sleep-filled eyes, and cringed when she realized it was just after dawn.  Blinking, she turned her head to peer up at Honeydew.

“Honeydew, it’s so early…”

“I know,” Honeydew replied in a strained whisper.  “You have to get up, though.  Right now.”

Dinky used a bit of magic to yank the blanket over her head.  “No I don’t.  I know we have to catch the train to Whinnychester today, but that doesn’t leave for hours yet.”

“It’s not that,” Honeydew insisted, the whisper sounding more urgent as she shook Dinky even harder.  “Please get up right now, it’s an emergency!”

Dinky grudgingly pushed off the blanket and got to her hooves.  “Alright, what is it?” she mumbled, rubbing her eyes.

“We have an intruder!” Honeydew squeaked, her ears flattened and tail tucked as if she was trying to shrink until she was out of sight.

Dinky stared blankly at her friend.  “A what?”

“Just look!” Honeydew insisted, pointing toward the window.

Dinky’s mind had not quite kicked into gear yet, but the last of the sleep was shaken from it pretty quickly when she looked where Honeydew was pointing.  A brown colt was curled up on the rug in front of the window bench, snoring softly.

“S-Scuffle!?” Dinky shrieked, backpedaling so fast she nearly tripped over her own tail.

“Quiet!” Honeydew urged, covering Dinky’s muzzle with a hoof.  “Don’t wake anypony else up, or we’ll be in big trouble!”

“What about Scuffle?” Clarity asked sleepily from her bunk.

“He’s… he’s here,” Dinky stammered, pulling Honeydew’s hoof off her snout.

Scuffle snorted and sat up.  “Wha?  Who’s callin’ me?”

Clarity gasped softly and leapt down from the bunk to join her friends.  “But… how?” she asked.  “The tower’s got a protective enchantment around it.”

Scuffle squinted in the early morning sunlight.  “Oh, right,” he mumbled.  “I forgot that I wound up in here last night.  I guess I owe you three an explanation.”

“You think?” Dinky asked, giving one of her ears an irate twitch.  “How did you even get in to the fillies’ tower in the first place?  And why were you sleeping in our bedroom?”

“Whoa, whoa, calm down, I can explain!” Scuffle said quickly, jumping to his hooves and looking nervously between the three angry fillies.  “My brothers caught me last night and tied me up in the forest.  By the time I got free, it was way past curfew, so I decided to sneak back into the castle through that old tunnel we found in the hideout.”

“That was clever, actually,” Clarity admitted, nodding and causing her tangled mane to bounce.  “I never stopped to think about it, but that might be the one entrance to the castle that’s not watched by the guards.”

“It was a good idea,” Scuffle grumbled, “until I found out that the drain led to the basement of the fillies’ residence tower.  Sparkler heard me break in, so I ran to an open bedroom.  I couldn’t escape with her on patrol, so I stuck it out here and… I guess I dozed off…”

“Well now what’re we supposed to do?” Dinky asked, giving her tail a few nervous flicks.  “If anypony finds Scuffle in here, we’ll all be in a load of trouble!”

“Maybe we can just sneak him out if we hurry,” Clarity said quickly.  “After all, it’s the crack of dawn.  Nopony except Honeydew gets up at this ungodly hour.”

“Um… Sparkler does…” Honeydew mumbled, hiding behind her still-ungroomed mane as if she was ashamed to bear the bad news.  “I’ve been downstairs in the early mornings, and she’s usually already up and about.”

Dinky stamped a hoof.  “Well, how do we smuggle Scuffle out of here then?  It’s not like we can just march down the stairs and out the front door.  Even if Sparkler didn’t know Scuffle personally, it’s easy enough to spot a colt among a bunch of fillies.”

“Totally true,” Scuffle said, smirking.  “You’d have to be blind to mistake this colt for a filly!”

Dinky rolled her eyes, but Clarity’s expression became intrigued. 

“Mistake him for a filly?” the grey filly repeated, smiling.  “Girls, I think I just might know how to get Scuffle out of here after all…”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“I for one think this is a stupid idea,” Scuffle said, shifting uncomfortably as Dinky and Clarity circled him like sharks.

“And I for one don’t care,” Clarity replied, giving Scuffle’s flank a playful poke as she trotted by.  “We can’t possibly sneak a colt out of the tower without getting caught, but we can sneak a filly out.”  

“Or at least, somepony disguised as a filly,” Dinky added, smirking devilishly.

“I told you, a disguise wouldn’t do you any good!” Scuffle argued, sounding more nervous than frustrated.  “I don’t exactly have the figure of a filly, if you haven’t noticed.  I’m bigger than all of you!”

“Oh, just relax, you big crybaby,” Clarity said, giving Scuffle a few humiliating pats on the head.  “You’re forgetting that we have magic on our side!  I can’t modify your shape, but I can probably forge an illusion that should fake it well enough, provided we move quickly and don’t give anypony a good look.”

Scuffle rocked nervously in place.  “But uh… but even you can’t do an illusion complicated enough to get the little details right, can you?” he asked.  “Body shape is one thing, but if you try to change, say, my mane style with an illusion, it’s gonna look like a refracted mess of broken spell.  No offense.”

“You’re right,” Dinky admitted.  “Neither of us could pull that off.”

“Exactly!” Scuffle cheered.  “I guess we’d better start thinking of another pla—”

“But,” Dinky cut in, grinning, “we don’t need to use an illusion for that.  Honeydew is perfectly capable of giving you a proper filly’s grooming.”

“I am?” squeaked Honeydew, who had been sitting by herself on the side of the room furthest from Scuffle.

“W-what?!” Scuffle stuttered.  “Look, girls, this is a bad idea.  You’re not seriously gonna disguise me as a filly!”

“If you have a better idea for getting out of here, we’d love to hear it,” Dinky said.  “Otherwise, sit still so we can get started before the rest of the tower wakes up.”

Scuffle groaned.  Ears and tail drooping, he sunk to the carpet and waited.

“But um… you two don’t really need my help, right?” Honeydew asked, taking a few steps closer to her friends.

“Yes we do!” Dinky insisted.  “I mean, have you seen Clarity and me?  We both just kind of let our manes and tails lie in their natural style.  You’re the only one with the grooming expertise to make a colt’s mane look like a filly’s one.”

“B-but,” Honeydew tried to reply.  “It’s… I mean, he’s…”

“He’s in the same boat as we are,” Clarity said.  “Honeydew, I know how you feel, but please.  We can’t do this without your help!”

Honeydew hesitated.  She chanced a glance at Scuffle, who met her gaze for the first time in weeks.

“Fine,” she said in defeat.  “I’ll go get my supplies.”

Honeydew disappeared into the washroom and returned a moment later with a little box of grooming supplies.  “I’ll work on his mane while Clarity does her illusions,” she announced, sounding slightly more confident.  “Dinky, I know he doesn’t have much tail to work with, but just take one of the brushes and smooth it out, then see if you can make it arc a bit and come to a point.  That’s about the best we can do with it I think.”

The three fillies got right to work.  Dinky had the easiest job, so she watched her friends work as she used magic to run the brush through Scuffle’s stubby tail.

Scuffle remained quiet as he allowed himself to be subjected to the fillies’ efforts.  Dinky had expected him to be sulking, but instead the colt seemed to be watching Honeydew with marked curiosity as she shuffled through her supplies and made adjustments to his mane.

“So, you’re an expert at this, huh?” he asked finally.

“Not really,” Honeydew answered curtly, not taking her eyes off the brush she was tugging through Scuffle’s messy mane.

“Well, you’ve gotta have some skill,” Scuffle commented.  “I’ve never seen you with your mane down like this.  It must take a lot of work to bundle it all up the way you usually have it.”

“Never seen me with my—” Honeydew started, before her look of confusion turned to one of panic.  “Oh!  My mane is down.  I’m so sorry, I should go, um, take care of that…”

“Why?” Scuffle asked.  “Looks fine how it is.  Nice change of pace, actually.”

Honeydew turned away.  “Sorry, I know it’s not a big deal here,” she mumbled.  “At home, fillies are always taught to keep their hair tied except when they’re asleep.  It’s… considered kind of indecent not to, I think.  Most of Equestria’s not like that, but it’s still a little, um…”

She trailed off.  “I-it doesn’t matter,” she said finally.  “We’ve got work to do.”

Dinky and Clarity both smiled as Honeydew picked up the brush again and returned to her task.  

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

By the time the trio had nearly finished with Scuffle’s makeover, the sun had climbed fully over the horizon.  There were sounds in the adjacent rooms of students talking and packing for the impending week off.

“Are you three done yet?” Scuffle whined.

“Just one more quick adjustment,” Honeydew mumbled, stretching a hair band with magic and setting to work on one final unruly bit of Scuffle’s mane.

Dinky, who had long since finished on Scuffle’s tail, sat back and grinned at the now quite unrecognizable pony before her.  Clarity’s illusions had worked wonders; in reality, Scuffle’s size hadn’t changed at all, but the illusion made his figure appear almost as delicate as Honeydew’s.  His snout was equally modified, with the original one replaced with the small, rounded snout of a filly.  Even his colors had changed thanks to Clarity’s spells; his brown coat had turned white with just a faint hint of blue, like newly frozen ice, and his mane was now the same shade of pale pink as Honeydew’s coat.  His cutie mark had been replaced with the most girly thing Clarity could think of: a lacy doily.

Honeydew’s work had an impact as well.  She’d somehow managed to tame Scuffle’s wild mane, and though it wasn’t long enough to be put into ponytails or braids, she had succeeded in giving it a smooth, slick appearance, with straight bangs in the front and a small bun in the back.  She’d even taken a moment to apply some makeup to make his eyelashes look longer and thicker.  Combined with the simple changes Dinky had made to the colt’s tail, there was basically no evidence that the pony standing before them was in fact a colt and not a very well-groomed filly.

“And one last change,” Clarity said, casting a spell that switched Scuffle’s eye color from slate blue to dazzling yellow-orange.  “There.  Nopony could possibly tell that’s Scuffle.”

“Let me see!” Scuffle insisted, turning in a circle and scanning the room for a mirror

Dinky bit her lip, trying not to laugh as she levitated a mirror from her grooming kit.  Scuffle took one look and his mouth dropped open.

“I…” he started.

“I know, it’s a little over-the-top girly,” Clarity admitted, stifling a giggle.  “I just wanted to make sure nopony could possibly suspect you were really a colt.”

Scuffle responded by turning around and looking over his shoulder smugly as he waggled his deceptively dainty rump.  

“Who cares about that?  I am smokin’ hot!”

He grinned as Dinky and Clarity finally lost their composure and burst out laughing so hard that they had to clutch the bedposts for support.  Honeydew blushed profusely and tried to hide her own smile.

“Al… alright,” Dinky managed as soon as she could speak again.  “No more wasting time.  Let’s just get outside as nonchalantly as possible.  With any luck, nopony will even notice anything out of the ordinary.”

“Just stay quiet,” Clarity warned.  “Your voice is the only thing we can’t change.  Don’t let it give you away.”

“Got it,” Scuffle said.  “Let’s go.”

He stepped aside, allowing the three fillies to lead the way out of the room.  All four of them made their way down flight after flight of steps.  Scuffle caught the eye of a few fillies, each of whom paused for an instant, looking confused.  Scuffle, wisely, didn’t make eye-contact, and the onlookers decided not to question the appearance of an unexpected filly.

It only took about a minute to get to the base of the tower, but to Dinky it felt like ages, and she expected it felt even longer to Scuffle.  The colt was trying his best to take the swagger out of his step for once as he slunk along behind the fillies.

The lounge area was busy; a number of fillies had stacked their luggage near the stairs, creating a mountain of bags not unlike the one that had stood there the night the new term began.  Sparkler stood near the exit, holding a clipboard in her aura.

“She’s guarding the door,” Clarity whispered.  “Just act natural.”

The four ponies made their way across the room.  Sparkler, busy checking off names on the clipboard, didn’t notice them until they were almost right in front of her.

“You have to sign out before you leave for break,” she said, not looking up from her checklist.

“We know,” Dinky replied.  “We’re just going to breakfast.  We’ll be back to get our bags a little later.”

Sparkler nodded.  “Alright, just—”

She stopped, and looked up from her clipboard, confused.  “Hang on, who is this?”

Dinky swallowed hard as Sparkler turned her gaze to Scuffle.  The colt looked to his friends desperately.

“Oh, her?”  Dinky asked, realizing in a panic that they’d completely forgotten to create a false identity for Scuffle.  “She’s, uh—”

“My sister,” Honeydew announced, much to the surprise of the rest of the foals.  “Her name’s Rosy Lace.  She came in on last night’s train to help me with my stuff today.”

Sparkler scowled.  “Why wasn’t I informed?  Non-students that want to stay overnight need to be signed in with an overseer.”

“Or a professor,” said Honeydew calmly.  “Professor Chestnut knows Rosy is here.”

The overseer snorted.  “Is this true, Rosy?”

Scuffle nodded very gently, trying his best not to let the illusion falter while Sparkler was watching.

“Fine then,” Sparkler huffed.  “I would have preferred you had told me when she arrived, but whatever.   I’m too busy today to worry about it.”

Sparkler waved a hoof dismissively and turned back to her clipboard.  The four ponies scurried outside, and quickly made their way to the relative privacy behind the tower.

“Where did that come from?” Scuffle asked, his wide-eyed expression only exaggerated by the makeup.  “You were so sure of yourself, I would have believed you if I wasn’t the subject of the lie!”

Honeydew blushed.  “I-I dunno… we needed an excuse, so I just…  it wasn’t a perfect lie, either!  Speaking of which, can someone lend me a quill and a sheet of paper?  I need to send a note to Professor Chestnut.”

Clarity gave Honeydew the requested items, and then lit her horn and removed the illusions surrounding Scuffle.  Dinky giggled; the poor colt now looked just like he always did, but with a feminine mane style and a bit of makeup.

“Good luck getting back into the colts’ tower looking like that,” Clarity said, smirking.  

As Scuffle frantically ruffled his mane and rubbed the makeup off his face, Honeydew finished writing her note.  She then walked to the edge of the plateau and gave a series of sharp whistles.

“What was that for?” Dinky asked.

“Just making sure this note gets to Professor Chestnut before Sparkler does,” Honeydew said.

Dinky’s ears drooped.  “That doesn’t answer my question at all.”

Honeydew was about to say more, but Dinky’s question quickly answered itself.  A bright green bird shot out of the sky and perched at a strange angle on Honeydew’s horn.

“You called?” Cornelius asked.

“Yes,” Honeydew said, lifting the rolled paper up to the bird’s beak.  “Can you deliver this to Professor Chestnut, please?”

“What’s in it for me?” the bird asked.

“How about a nice hoofful of birdseed the next time I drop by to do research with the professor.”

“Deal.”

Cornelius snatched up the paper and took off.

“There, now everything’s taken care of,” Honeydew said, before turning and giving Scuffle a serious state.  “Now, please don’t ever break into our tower again, Scuffle.”

“You don’t have to tell me twice!” Scuffle announced as he cantered off.  “Thanks for the help!  I gotta go pack my stuff.  See you girls on the train.”

“We should probably get packing too,” Dinky pointed out.

“Not till after breakfast!” Clarity argued.

Dinky laughed.  “Oh, fine.  Let’s go.”

Relieved to have escaped the sticky situation, the three friends cantered off to the castle.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After the mishap with Scuffle, the rest of the morning went surprisingly smooth.  Dinky took a short detour to Princess Luna’s office after breakfast.  As expected, the princess herself wasn’t around, but Dinky left her a note regarding Sunbeam’s latest appearance.  By late morning, the trio had packed their bags for vacation.

“The train leaves at noon,” Sparkler said as the girls trotted by with their bags in tow.  “Make sure you don’t miss it, or you’ll be staying here during break.”

With no further agenda, Dinky and her friends made their way to the station a little early.

“So, how far is Whinnychester, anyway?” the purple filly asked her friend.

Clarity chuckled.  “It’s certainly not just a few hours away like Ponyville,” she said.  “The train leaves here at noon, so we’ll probably be arriving in Whinnychester at about nine.”

“Nine hours?” Honeydew asked.  “That’s not so bad.”

Clarity shook her head.  “Nuh-uh, I mean nine tomorrow morning.”

“Oh,” Honeydew said, ears drooping a bit.  “That’s… quite a bit longer.”

“We’ll just sleep on the train,” Dinky said, shrugging.  “I’m sure more than half of the ponies will have already gotten off by the time night falls.”

“Alright, as long as I don’t have to sit with Scuffle,” Honeydew mumbled.

Dinky laughed.  “Don’t worry, you two can sit together.  I’ll sit with Scuffle across the aisle.”

“Did I hear my name?”

Scuffle came galloping up behind the fillies, oblivious to the other colts ducking out of the way as his levitating luggage haphazardly flew through the air behind him.  Dinky noticed he’d managed to do a suspiciously good job restoring his appearance exactly as it was before his little makeover.  She silently wondered if Scuffle secretly spent a lot of time on his appearance, specifically to make it look like he spent no time on it at all.

“Oh look, it’s Rosy,” Clarity teased.  “Did you remember to pack all your makeup and hairbrushes?”

Scuffle flicked his tail indignantly.  “Yeah, yeah, go ahead and laugh,” he grunted, rolling his eyes.  “At least we made it out of there without getting caught.  Now let’s get on the train so we can focus on spending some time away from this place.”

Dinky gestured toward the cabin door with a forehoof.  “Ladies first, Rosy,” she snickered.

Scuffle narrowed his eyes for a moment, but then he smirked and hopped into the train, with the fillies following close behind.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As promised, Dinky sat with Scuffle for the first part of the ride home.  Honeydew and Clarity sat just across the aisle, so even in the noisy train, they were able to hold a conversation with their friends.  Between discussions of recent events at school, and planning out the upcoming days of break, it seemed to take no time at all for the train to make it to Ponyville.  Dinky gazed out the windows as the train came to a stop in the familiar station.

“So, this is where you live, huh?” Scuffle asked, standing on his hind legs get a better view out the window.  “We don’t have any little towns like this out where I live.  It’s more urban.”

“Where are you from, anyway?” Dinky asked.

“Fillydelphia,” Scuffle replied, slumping back down to his seat.  “It’s way out in eastern Equestria.  To get there, you have to get off the Academy train line another town south of here and board a separate one.  It makes travel kind of a hassle, so I just stay at school most of the time.”

He looked outside again.  “It doesn’t look like a bad place to live, though.  It’s probably peaceful, at least.”

Dinky chuckled.  “Trust me, despite how it looks, Ponyville sees its share of excitement.”

Scuffle grinned.  “You could probably say that about anyplace in Equestria, though.”

A few more minutes passed before the train finally sprang back into motion and continued its journey south.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

At each stop, the train became emptier.  By the time dusk arrived, nopony remained in Dinky’s carriage except for the four friends.  With each of them able to take a pair of seats to themselves, it was easy to spread out and get some sleep once night fell.

At least, it should have been.  Dinky tried to get some sleep, but a combination of excitement about the upcoming trip and concern about recent goings-on at the academy left her so distracted that she seemed to barely slip into a light doze before the jarring of the train woke her again.

After an indeterminate amount of time, the restless filly sat up and quietly stepped into the aisle of the dim train car.  She smiled at Clarity, passed out in a ridiculous position on the seat across from her, snoring as usual.  Scuffle didn’t look much better; slumped against the wall of the carriage, he was drooling slightly.

When Dinky turned to look at Honeydew’s seat, however, she was surprised to find her friend awake. The pink filly lay there facing away from the aisle, staring out at the moon and rubbing the notch in her horn, as she often did when she was lost in thought.

“Can’t sleep?” Dinky whispered, walking up next to her friend.

“Not really,” Honeydew admitted.  “I’ve never been a heavy sleeper like Clarity, though.”

Dinky gave an amused snort.  “This train could drive right off a cliff and Clarity probably wouldn’t wake up,” she joked.

Honeydew smiled faintly, but then turned back to the window and became pensive once again.

“Dinky, I’m worried about this vacation,” she admitted, flattening her ears back nervously.  “We’re all going to be together for most of the time.  It’s been weeks since, um… since Scuffle and I stopped really talking.  I tried to make up for it a little by helping him escape the tower this morning, but I think we’re finally gonna have to address that, one way or the other.”

Dinky nuzzled her friend gently.  “Is that such a bad thing?” she asked quietly.  “I can tell you and Scuffle are both sick of trying to ignore one another.”

“That… that’s true…” Honeydew admitted.  “But why is he so…”

She trailed off.  Dinky didn’t press her for more.

“Forget it.  It’s not something to bother you with.  But I will talk to Scuffle this week, whether I want to or not.”

Dinky nodded slowly.  “Well, if you need some more support, I’m here for you,” she said, meeting the other filly’s gaze.  “But for now, we should probably both try to get some sleep.  We’ll be in Whinnychester in a few hours.”

Honeydew rolled over so she was facing away from the windows.  “I guess so.  Night, Dinky.”

“Night,” Dinky replied as she returned to her own seat.  Taking her own advice, she tried to push her buzzing thoughts aside for a bit, and finally slipped into deeper sleep.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next time Dinky’s eyes fluttered open, she found herself staring into a pair of cinnamon ones, hovering an inch from her own.

“Waugh!”

The filly flailed and almost toppled off the seat.  Clarity backed up, laughing.

“Wake up, sleepyhead.  We’re almost there!”

Dinky blinked in the bright light and sat up.  The train was making its way down a winding track between dozens of grassy hills dotting a wide, rolling plain.  A small town was just starting to come into view on the left.

“Finally,” Scuffle said, as he splayed out on the seat and stretched his legs.  “I thought we’d never get here.”

The train’s long journey finally came to an end as it pulled into a station not unlike Ponyville’s.  Clarity was the first to hop out into the bright morning sunlight, and her other friends followed close after.  Dinky finally got her first look at her best friend’s home town.

The station was at the end of a long main roadway, which bisected the little village.  Quaint wooden houses, much like the one Dinky was used to seeing in Ponyville, lined either side of the street all the way down to the end.  The most remarkable thing, however, was not the town itself, but what lay beyond it.  Situated entirely on a hillside, Whinnychester was the last settlement before the border of Equestria.  Beyond it was nothing but the sea, a blue expanse that stretched on far beyond the horizon.

“Wow,” Honeydew breathed.  “I’ve never seen the sea before.”

Clarity nodded proudly.  “Yep, Whinnychester is one of the only coastal towns in all of Equestria!  Which reminds me, we all have to go down to the beach later.  The water should be pretty warm this time of year.”

She glanced at the mountain of bags behind them.  “But first things first.  We need to head home and drop off our stuff.  Mom will be expecting us.”

“Lead the way,” Dinky said.

Cheerfully, Clarity directed the band of foals to a house about halfway between the station and the ocean. She pushed open the door, and motioned for her friends to follow.

The house immediately appeared inviting, with comfortable-looking furniture and wide windows that let in lots of light.  A skinny green unicorn mare with an orange mane trotted from the kitchen when the girls entered.  She smiled broadly when she saw them.

“Mom!” Clarity cried, as she dashed forward and hugged the mare.  “Boy, it feels like I haven’t seen you in forever!  I’ve missed you and Lucid so much!”

“I’ve missed you too,” Clarity’s mother replied, patting her daughter on the head.  “Are these the friends you’ve been writing to me about?”

“Yeah!” Clarity responded, running back to her friends.  “These are my roommates, Dinky and Honeydew.  And we also brought Scuffle, like I said in my letter yesterday.”

“Well, I’m just tickled pink to finally meet you three!” Clarity’s mother cooed.  “There are some snacks in the kitchen for the four of you.  Help yourselves!”

The mare stepped aside as the foals ran to the kitchen.  A bowl of fresh fruit and a plate of still-warm cookies were sitting on the table, and the ponies immediately sat down and began to eat.

“Your mom seems very hospitable,” Honeydew remarked, biting into a cookie.  “More than my parents would be, anyway.”

“She was just happy to hear I made some good friends,” Clarity said.  “She was a little worried about me when I left, of course, since Lucid wasn’t around to show me the ropes.”

“That reminds me, are we gonna get to meet your sister?” Dinky asked.

“Oh, sorry dear,” Clarity’s mom said, trotting into the kitchen.  “Lucid is out of town on business.  I’m afraid she might not be back in time to meet you.”

Clarity chuckled.  “It doesn’t make much difference.  She spends so much time in her room studying magic she might as well not be here, some days.”

“You know how your sister can be,” Clarity’s mother said.  “She’s brilliant, but she’s not as outgoing as you.”

Clarity nodded, and turned back to her friends.  “We don’t need Lucid here anyway,” she declared.  “Let’s go put our stuff in my room, and then I’ll show you guys around town.”

The foals grabbed a few more cookies for the road, and once again let Clarity lead the way.

“Oh, by the way,” Clarity’s mom called after them, “the annual summer festival is on Saturday.  Looks like you’re not going to miss it after all, Clarity.”

“Oh, that’s awesome!” Clarity cheered.

“What happens at the summer festival?” Scuffle asked.

“I’m not gonna ruin the surprise,” Clarity said, giving Scuffle a catlike grin.  “Now drop your stuff in my room, and let’s go!  We’ve got lots to do!”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Within minutes, Dinky and her friends were back on the sunny thoroughfare through Whinnychester.  Clarity began to lead them down the slope toward the ocean.

“Anypony want to go to the beach?” she asked.  “It’s a warm day; we could go swimming.”

“I’ve never been to the beach,” Dinky admitted.  “Ponyville is near the center of the continent.”

“Same for where I live,” Honeydew said, nodding.

“You two don’t know what you’ve been missing then,” Clarity told them, wagging her tail excitedly.  “Come on, let’s go there right now!”

It took only a few minutes to reach the shore.  The foals walked past a line of seaside shops and stepped onto the sand.

Dinky had never stopped to think about the concept of a nearly endless expanse of water surrounding the continent, and only now did she realize just how vast it was.  Other foals from town laughed and yelled to one another as they played in the sand or in the waves just offshore.

A wave broke on the shoreline, and the froth burbled up the sandy slope, licking the tips of Dinky’s hooves.  She smiled as the water slowed, and then retreated back from whence it came.

“So, who’s up for a dip?” Clarity asked, trotting in place and leaving deep hoofprints in the sand.

“I am!” Scuffle declared.  “It’s been a long time since I’ve been to the ocean.”

“I’ll just stay here and get some sun,” Honeydew said, lying down and stretching out on the sand.  “I’ll join in later.”

“Suit yourself,” Scuffle said, shrugging.  “Come on, Dinks, let’s see who’s better at jumping over the waves.”

“I want to make a sand castle, so I’ll stay here with Honeydew,” Clarity said.  “You two go ahead.”

Scuffle nodded and rushed out into the water.  Tentatively, Dinky dipped a hoof in.  Realizing it was quite comfortable, she charged in after Scuffle.  After several pony-lengths, the water deepened until it was up to her neck.  She kicked off, and began to swim.  She bobbed up and down on the waves as she made her way out to Scuffle.  The colt was treading water, staring back at the beach.

“I wonder if Honeydew only decided to stay on the beach to keep away from me,” he said a bit sadly as the filly approached.

“Not necessarily,” Dinky said, following Scuffle’s gaze.  “You know Honeydew; she likes to take things slow.  Maybe she just wants to relax for a while.”

Scuffle nodded as he kicked a bit harder to keep himself afloat despite the efforts of another large wave.  “Maybe.  I still think she’d be more comfortable if I wasn’t here at all, though,” he admitted, ears drooping.  “After all, I was gonna stay behind before the whole Sunbeam thing happened.  I must have really messed up, if she gets so upset just from being near me.”

“Honeydew’s just very sensitive,” Dinky explained, swimming over to pat Scuffle’s shoulder.  “But she’s also intelligent and rational.  If you would just talk to her, I don’t think it would be as hard to work this out as you think it is.  Both of you clearly want to apologize.”

“But neither of us have the guts,” Scuffle replied with a sheepish smile.

Dinky smirked.  She dove beneath the waves and surfaced again right in front of the colt.  “That’s because you’re as big a softy as she is,” she teased, giving Scuffle a playful bop on the nose.  “Maybe delicate little Rosy Lace wasn’t as far from the truth as we thought.”

Scuffle snorted indignantly, and used his magic to splash a wave of seawater over Dinky.  The filly shook the water from her head and pulled her sopping mane out of her eyes.  She laughed, and Scuffle followed suit.

“Don’t worry, you’ll figure something out,” she assured him.  “Your heart's in the right place.  When you finally do talk to her, or when she talks to you, it will all work out.  You’ll see.”

Scuffle watched the fillies on the beach.  “Yeah.  Yeah, it will.  I hope…”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Honeydew watched as Clarity ran a hoof gingerly across the damp walls of the sand castle.  Neither filly spoke for a few minutes.

“Clarity,” Honeydew said finally, switching the sand about with a few nervous flicks of her tail, “you’re very, um… confident, right?”

Clarity looked up, surprised by the question.  “I guess I usually am,” she admitted, bewildered.  “Why?”

Honeydew rolled onto her stomach and ran a hoof tip through the sand.  “Because I have to end this silly little grudge between me and Scuffle, and I still have no idea how.”

“Are you still mad at him?” Clarity asked, ceasing her construction efforts for a moment.

“Not really,” Honeydew sighed, idly picking up a hunk of sand with her magic and letting it fall a few grains at a time as if in an hourglass.  “And I’m no better than he is right now.  I’m the one who attacked him, remember?”

Clarity snickered.  “To be fair, he did kind of deserve that.”

Honeydew frowned.  “You’re not helping,” she mumbled, disappointed.  “I want to apologize, not to be justified.”

Clarity’s grin melted away.  “You’re right.  I was trying to lighten the mood, but I guess this isn’t really the time.”

Honeydew shifted on the warm sand.  “So can you help me, or not?”

Clarity wrapped a bit of seaweed around a twig to make a makeshift flag, and stuck it in the turret of her castle.  “I’m not sure what kind of help to give,” she admitted.  “It’s obvious Scuffle doesn’t like this any more than you do.  The only reason you still have to worry about it is because neither of you have spoken up!”

“But I can’t speak up,” Honeydew whined.

“Why?”

“Because this is about more than just that one afternoon!” Honeydew wailed.  “It’s everything about Scuffle!  His actions, his attitude, all of it.  Even if he really is on our side now, I’m still… I’m still scared of him…”

Honeydew shoved her face in the sand and lay there, both ears twitching, waiting for Clarity’s response.  The grey filly was silent for a while.

“Why don’t you just tell him that?”

Honeydew looked up.  “Because, well, um…”

“If you don’t tell Scuffle what’s bothering you, he can’t do his part to try to stop it,” Clarity pointed out.  “He can’t do much to make amends if you never give him the chance.”

“But if I try to make things better, I could just as easily make them worse!” Honeydew countered.  “What if I say something that alienates him further, or lose my temper again, or—”

A large wave suddenly crashed onto the beach, destroying Clarity’s sand castle, and briefly submerging Honeydew entirely. When the water receded, the filly was still lying on the sand, soaked and blinking in shock.

“I think the ocean wants you to chill out,” Clarity laughed, glancing the mound that was a sand castle a few moments before.  “You can do this.  Scuffle will understand.”

Honeydew shook the stray seaweed out of her mane, and used a forehoof to flick a tiny sand crab off her nose.  “I guess I have to,” she mumbled.  “I told Dinky I would.  And I suppose if I keep ignoring it, it’s only going to get harder.”

She glanced at Scuffle and Dinky, still playing in the waves.  “I need to wait for the right moment,” she muttered.  “I just hope it comes soon.”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Despite their resolve, both Honeydew and Scuffle failed to speak up that day.  Or for the next few days, for that matter.  Again and again, it looked like one or the other was about to try, but each time, they’d make eye contact for only a moment and then hastily look away.

Clarity, luckily for all of them, refused to let the stubborn foals’ unspoken conflict drive a wedge into their vacation fun.  She managed to find a host of entertaining activities for them around Whinnychester, and it was only in the lulls in excitement that Dinky found her thoughts returning to her friends’ predicament.

One fine afternoon in the middle of the week, the four friends went to the marketplace in the center of town for some shopping.  As usual, Honeydew and Scuffle stayed far apart, keeping Dinky and Clarity between them.

“This is getting a little ridiculous,” Dinky whispered to her best friend as they trotted.  “Maybe we need to help them along somehow.”

“Do you have some kind of plan?” Clarity whispered back.

“I think so.  Just follow my lead,” Dinky muttered as they approached the marketplace.

For a few minutes, the group stayed together, wandering in the out of stores and around the market stalls.  After a while, the four of them wound up in a bookstore.  Dinky waited until Honeydew and Scuffle were not in the same aisle as Clarity and herself, and then hastily explained the plan.

A few moments later, the group gathered near the entrance to move on to the next store, but Clarity stayed behind.

“There’re a few books over here about illusions I haven’t had a chance to look at,” she said.  “You three can keep going; I’ll catch up.”

“Okay, try not to take too long,” Dinky said, attempting to make her rehearsed response sound as natural as possible.

“I’ll be quick,” Clarity promised, waving to her friends as they trotted out.

Dinky led her other friends to a few more stores.  Clarity failed to reappear, and soon Honeydew spoke up.  “Where is she?  Do you think she can’t find us?”

“I’ll go back to the bookstore and check,” Dinky volunteered.  “Stay right here, you two. I’ll be right back.”

“Gotcha,” Scuffle said, as he and Honeydew nodded in unison.

Dinky took off, but not back to the bookstore.  Once she was out of sight, she ducked behind a building, where Clarity was waiting for her.

“Did you get them alone?” the grey filly asked.

Dinky nodded eagerly.  “It’s just the two of them, standing right next to each other.  Maybe they’ll finally try to make up.”

The fillies snuck around the other side of the building, and peered cautiously around the corner into the plaza where Honeydew and Scuffle were standing.  Both ponies were resolutely staring in opposite directions.

“Nothing,” Dinky mumbled.

“Give them time,” Clarity suggested.  “Eventually, one of them might open up just to break the awkward silence.”

The two spies waited for several minutes.  Eventually, Scuffle turned slightly, and chanced a glance in Honeydew’s direction.  The filly was staring at the ground, but soon she looked at him too.  This time, neither pony looked away.

“Hey, um, Scuffle…” Honeydew began.  “We need to… I should, um…”

Dinky grinned.  “This is it, any second now!”

“We should probably—”

“Oh, hello you two!”

Dinky and Clarity both let out a groan as Clarity’s mom, on a chance shopping trip of her own, trotted up to the foals.  Honeydew, relief obvious in her face, turned to the mare, and Scuffle did as well.

“Good morning Honeydew, Scuffle,” she greeted.  “Where are Clarity and Dinky?  Lagging behind somewhere, I suppose?”

Clarity sighed.  “It’s over,” she grumbled.  “Come on, let’s go back over there.”

“Here they come now,” Scuffle said, noticing the approaching fillies.

“Oh, good,” Clarity’s mom said.  “I hope you all aren’t spending too many bits.  You’ll probably want to save a few for games at the festival on Saturday.”

“Don’t worry, we are,” Clarity said, her voice tinged with a faint hint of disappointment.  “But thanks for the reminder, mom.”

“No problem!” Clarity’s mom replied, either not noticing or not acknowledging her daughter’s tone.  “I just saw your friends here on my way to get some fresh tomatoes for pasta sauce, and thought I’d say hello.  Enjoy the rest of the day, you four!”

The mare trotted off, leaving the foals standing together.  Scuffle turned back to Honeydew.

“You were saying?”

“Nothing,” Honeydew said quickly.  “Let’s go, shall we?  Plenty more shops to visit!”

The pink filly trotted away.  Dinky and Clarity exchanged an exasperated glance and chased after their friend.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Soon enough, it was Saturday morning: the last day of Midsummer Holiday and the day of Whinnychester’s annual festival.  The foals, all tired from days of activity, slept in for a while.  Late morning sunlight had flooded Clarity’s bedroom by the time Dinky awoke.  Finding the room deserted, she trotted downstairs to find Clarity, Honeydew, and Scuffle were already seated, watching hungrily as Clarity’s mom levitated a plate of grass pancakes to the table.

“Hi, Dinky!” Clarity called, waving.  “The festival starts in about an hour.  You ready?”

“Of course,” Dinky said, sitting down.  “What’s the festival like, anyway?”

“It’s just a fair, to celebrate the middle of summer,” Clarity somehow managed to explain through a huge mouthful of pancake.  “There are shops and games and live shows, and even fireworks once it gets dark!”

“Just don’t stay out too late,” Clarity’s mom recommended.  “You all need to catch the train tomorrow to be back at the Academy by the next day, so come home after the fireworks show."

“We will,” Clarity promised.

“I’m not looking forward to that train ride back, though,” Scuffle mumbled.  “It’s gonna take forever to get back to Canterlot.”

“Oh, worry about that later,” Dinky scolded.  “At least we’ve got one more day of fun before we have to sit through that again.”

“Right,” Clarity agreed.  “Now come on!  I want to be there as soon as the festival starts!”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Clarity’s excitement had not been unfounded.  The usually quiet streets of Whinnychester had been transformed into a bustling amalgamation of stands and events, even more spectacular than Ponyville’s county fair.

Later in the afternoon, Dinky and Scuffle emerged from the carnival game tent to find Honeydew and Clarity outside, returning with snacks.

“Hi, Dinky,” Clarity greeted, levitating a few extra treats in the filly’s direction.  “Want some cotton candy?”

Dinky stared at the sugary treat for a moment, unresponsive.  Clarity raised an eyebrow.

“Dinky?”

…

“Hi, Pip.”

“Oh, hi Dinky.  Um… want some cotton candy?”

“I… uh… sure.  Thanks, Pip.”

“It’s nothing.”

“So, Pip, the rest of my friends aren’t here yet.  Want to walk around the fair with me for a while?”

…

Scuffle waved a hoof in front of Dinky’s face.  “Yo, Dinks, you okay?”

Dinky blinked.  “Yeah,” she replied, slowly moving a hoof to the pendant resting on her chest.  “Clarity just reminded me of last summer.  I talked to Pip one on one for the first time at a fair just like this one.”

Dinky’s pendant glowed faintly and warmed up.  She smiled, knowing her favorite colt, halfway across Equestria, was thinking of her.

“Aww, this fair must bring back some great memories,” Honeydew cooed, her ears perking up as she stared at the glowing gem in Dinky’s accessory.  “That’s so sweet.”

“So is this stuff,” Scuffle said through a huge mouthful of cotton candy.

Clarity blinked, realized half her cotton candy was gone, and glared at Scuffle.  “You know, if you wanted some, you could have asked,” she said indignantly.

Scuffle shrugged as he swallowed the sweets.  “I figured I’d better not interrupt you,” he chuckled.  “Gotta give fillies their space when they’re going all goo-goo eyed about mushy stuff.”

Dinky giggled, shaking her head.  “You are hopeless sometimes, you know that?”

“Yeah, I know,” Scuffle said calmly, turning and leading the group toward the next attraction.

Clarity slowed her pace, falling back past Honeydew until she was next to Dinky.  “You think he’s gonna be able to be a little more serious when he finally talks to Honeydew?” she whispered, flattening her ears nervously.

“He’s just putting on a show,” Dinky replied comfortingly.  “When I talk to Scuffle in private, he can actually be really serious and meaningful.  Hopefully that side of him is the one we see when the time comes.”

“I sure hope so,” Clarity mumbled.  “There’s not much left for us to say to them.  Now it’s in their hooves.”

“And those are capable hooves,” Dinky assured her.  “You’ll see.”

“Hey, what are you two mumbling about back there?” Scuffle called, glancing over his shoulder.

“Nothing,” Dinky replied.  “And hey, how about we head to the circus tent and watch the acrobat ponies.”

“Sounds like a plan!” Scuffle answered.  “Which way?”

Clarity moved to the front of the group, and the four foals set off again.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The festival remained a bustling center of activity all day long.  At sunset, most ponies began to make their way to the grandstands set up for the fireworks show, so Dinky was understandably concerned when Clarity lead them in a different direction.

“Clarity, where are we going?  The bleachers are the other way.”

“The bleachers?” Clarity laughed.  “Who wants to sit on cold, cramped metal benches with a thousand other ponies, anyway?  I know of a much better spot for us.”

The four ponies trotted up the hill, almost all the way back to the train station.  Clarity made a left turn, and led them off the road and up the side of a steep, grassy hill.

“See, this spot is much better,” the grey filly said when she and her friends reached the peak of the knoll.  “It has a great view, soft grass, and all the room we want!”

Dinky looked back the way they had come and was able to see the grandstands where the other ponies had congregated.  Clarity was right; from this elevated perspective, there was a great view of the open sky.

Scuffle flopped down on the grass and sighed contently.  “Good on ya, Clarity!” he congratulated.  “This is a great spot.”

“Agreed,” Honeydew added, sitting down.  “This is much better than sitting in the stands.”

“Told you,” Clarity bragged.  “I’ve been coming to this spot every year for as long as I can remember.  No place in town is better.”

The foals waited as the last light of the sun vanished from the sky.  There were a few moments of shivering silence, and then the first rocket zipped into the air and burst in a ring of color and light.

The vantage point was perfect.  Dinky and her friends had an excellent view of the whole show.  For the next quarter-hour, the ponies sat in silence, watching the fireworks.

“This was a lovely week,” Dinky said finally.  “I forgot how nice it was to get away from classes and overseers and crazy, dark magic wielding foals for a while.”

Clarity laughed nervously.  “To be fair, Dinky, that third one isn’t part of the usual Celestia’s Academy experience.”

“I know, right?” Dinky laughed ironically.  “Lucky us, huh?”

She turned toward her other friends.  “And what about you two?  Did you have fun?”

Scuffle nodded.  “Sure beats sitting around in an empty school.  Thanks for letting us tag along, Clarity.”

“Yes, thank you,” Honeydew agreed.  “Whinnychester is a beautiful place.  I was able to relax a little, and you know how hard that is for me.”

“Yeah, it was relaxing, for the most part,” Scuffle said.  “There were a couple, you know, small things…”

“Some little, insignificant worries…” Honeydew added.

Both foals lapsed into silence.  Dinky watched, breath held, as Scuffle’s pupils drifted to the corners of his eyes and discreetly stared at Honeydew.  The pink filly shut her eyes for a moment and chewed her lip.  They sat frozen for a good twenty seconds.

Dinky let one ear lower and tilted her head, staring at her two stone still friends.  “So, um—”

All at once, Honeydew and Scuffle both made a move.

“That’s it, we need to—”

“Alright already, can we just—”

And suddenly, they were almost nose to nose.  There was another second of tense silence, and then both foals backed off several paces, each looking equally shocked.  Dinky sat down next to Clarity and waited for the rest to play out.

“Y-you first,” Honeydew mumbled.

Scuffle swallowed.  “Look, we haven’t said two words to each other directly in like a month.  I know I made you really upset the last time we, er, really interacted.  You probably still think I’m out to get you, and Dinky and Clarity too, but I’m not!”

Honeydew shook her head.  “You aren’t the only one at fault.  I could have killed you with those roots if Clarity hadn’t stopped me.  And I owe you an apology for that, no matter what I think of you.”

Scuffle flinched.  “Oh, that,” he mumbled.  “Truth be told, I got over the thing with the roots pretty fast, so apology accepted.  I just… I don’t want to spend time with a pony who thinks I’m a monster.  It’s hard on me, and it’s hard on you.  All four of us can’t spend time together without a lot of tension, and that’s not how it should be when we’re hanging out together.  It’s uncomfortable and forced.”

Honeydew narrowed her eyes.  “You tried to sell Dinky out for the sake of your own reputation.  Even if you changed your mind, why should I trust you?”

“I did do that,” Scuffle admitted.  “Do you know why I was thinking that way, Honeydew?”

Honeydew looked away.  “I assumed it was because you were selfish and… you know, didn’t really care what happened to us.  I know you keep denying it, but then I keep seeing it proven true.  That was just the most recent instance.”

She turned away.  “That’s why I feel so… conflicted, I guess,” she continued.  “Some ponies say everypony deserves a chance, and only a friend can give them that chance.  But when it seems like a pony is only going to take advantage of the chance you give them and use it to cause more harm… does the rule still apply?  Dinky and Clarity seem to think you won’t abuse that chance, and they’re the first ponies I’ve trusted in a long, long time…”

Dinky smiled a bit at the compliment, but Honeydew still looked miserable.  Scuffle slowly approached her, and she looked over her shoulder at him warily.

“Can I at least try to explain myself?” he asked hesitantly.

Honeydew nodded, still facing away, and remained silent.  Scuffle walked up next to the filly, and for once, she didn’t retreat.  Standing her ground, she turned and stared blankly at Scuffle, as if daring him to justify himself.

“I did do everything you said, and I’ll take the responsibility for it,” Scuffle began.  “But there is one thing you’re wrong about.  I wasn’t a bully out of selfishness, or spite, or because I didn’t care about other ponies.”

Honeydew wrinkled her nose.  “Then why?”

Scuffle squeezed his eyes shut.  “Because… because I’m a coward.”

“Huh?”

“You heard me,” Scuffle grumbled, failing to meet her gaze again.  “I’m a coward.  A spineless colt who’s too afraid to do what’s right.  So afraid, in fact, that I put the feelings of other ponies aside to save my own skin.  And I got so used to doing that that the guilt started to dull.  At least until I met you three, that is.”

Honeydew took a slow breath.  “Your brothers again, I guess?” she said haltingly.

“Not just them,” Scuffle replied.  “I grew up in Fillydelphia.  It’s a rough town.  Kinda the opposite of Whinnychester.  My brothers adapted to it, and the fights and danger that come with it.  Scorch and Frosty, as you probably noticed, get in a lot of fights.  Sometimes they win.  Other times, they get beaten up pretty bad.  They tough it out, though, and go back with revenge in mind the next time.  When they leave the tough streets of Fillydelphia and come to school, they’re the toughest colts around, and neither of them have a problem taking advantage of that at the expense of everypony else.”

The colt glanced at the iron cage on his flank.  “I’m not the same, though,” he continued, ears drooping.  “My blood’s not boiling with fighting spirit.  I’m just as afraid of getting picked on by the older colts as you are.  Even my special talent reflects that; I don’t have a knack for spells I can use to fight.  All I can do is shield my sorry rump as I scramble out of the range of attack, tail tucked between my legs.”

Honeydew’s expression was difficult to read.  “I see,” she said, sounding a bit skeptical.  “I know you blamed your brothers for your actions before, but you’re still crass and intimidating, even when they aren’t around.”

Scuffle smiled sheepishly.  “Hey, I’m just playin’ around, most of the time,” he admitted.  “Acting tough is how I hide how cowardly I really am.  It’s just become a habit.”

Honeydew pouted.  “If you haven’t noticed, Scuffle, I’m a coward too.  I didn’t have any more comfortable of a foalhood than you did, and a lot of times I feel like everypony’s out to get me.  Dinky and Clarity are friendly and understanding all the time, but you’re… different…”

Scuffle worked his jaw thoughtfully.  “I guess I didn’t realize how much it bothered you,” he admitted.  “Sometimes I try to lighten the mood a little, but I guess I have a special kind of humor.  Dinky and Clarity think it’s funny, at least.”

“Most of the time,” Clarity cut in, grinning.  “Sometimes you’re just a dork.”

“Yeah, see?” Scuffle chuckled.  “I’m just kidding around with you three a lot of the time.  I’ve never meant any harm with those jokes, I swear.  You three are the only real friends I’ve made at the Academy, so I want to hang onto that!”

Honeydew stared off in another direction for a few moments.  Eventually, she turned to meet Scuffle’s gaze again.  “Alright,” she said slowly.  “I’m scared to trust anypony fully, but… well, I do trust Dinky and Clarity’s judgment, and I think I can believe what you say.”

She pawed at the grass nervously.  “Besides, we’ve both seen what our nerves do to us.  I can’t begrudge you for making some bad choices when I was equally bad that day in the hideout.  The last thing I'd ever want is to be seen as a bully myself, even if it was to put another bully in his place.  I guess... sometimes its easier to accidentally be a bad pony than I thought...”

"I know how you feel," Scuffle said, nodding.  

There was a short pause.  “Whaddya say, then?” he continued, raising his ears hopefully.  “Can we sweep all this under the rug and start fresh?”

Honeydew thought it over.  “Start fresh isn’t the right word,” she said finally.  “Both of us have done things we’d rather not have, and both of us need to remember that if we want to be better.”

Scuffle cocked his head.  Honeydew gave a shuddering sigh and continued.

“I’ll give you one more chance.  I’ll trust you enough to try to treat you how Dinky and Clarity do.  But if you betray that trust again, we’re done.  Okay?”

“A trial run?” Scuffle asked.  “I’ll agree to that, but only if you agree to something for me.”

It was Honeydew’s turn to tilt her head.  “And what’s that?”

“I need you to be honest,” Scuffle answered.  “If I’m doing something that makes you uncomfortable, tell me.  And if I’m making a decision that could affect you, Dinky, and Clarity, I’ll ask you all about it first, and if it’s not okay, just tell me why and I’ll reconsider.  Does that sound fair?”

Honeydew nodded.  Scuffle gave a relieved sigh and held out a hoof.

“So, friends?”

“…Something like that…” Honeydew said, returning the hoofshake.

Scuffle smirked.  “Good enough for now, at least.”

“See,” Dinky said, standing up again.  “I knew you two could find a way to work this out.”

“I guess we should have gotten around to that earlier,” Honeydew admitted, pursing her lips.

Scuffle smirked.  “Well, we are both cowards.  What did you expect?”

To Dinky’s surprise, Honeydew cracked a smile.  She turned away so Scuffle wouldn’t comment on it.

Clarity lit her horn.  “Alright, follow me!” she announced.  “Mom will get worried if we don’t get home soon.  Cast some light and let’s go!”

Yellow, blue, and green beams joined Clarity’s reddish one, and the four foals, walking all together like a group of close friends for the first time all week, made their way back home.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Looks like you four had fun!” Clarity’s mom observed as the four fairly exhausted foals wandered into Clarity’s kitchen.  “I take it the festival was as lively as usual?”

“Of course,” Clarity laughed.  “Especially since the four of us got to check it out together this year.”

“I guess we should get ready for bed now, though,” Dinky pointed out.  “We still have to pack our stuff tomorrow morning before the train comes.”

“Well, before you all turn in, there’s one more surprise waiting upstairs,” Clarity’s mom said, giggling.

Clarity raised an eyebrow.  “What are you up to, mom?”

“Me?  Nothing,” the mare sang, turning back to the sink.  “Have a good night, you four.”

Clarity led the troupe up the stairs, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary when they reached her bedroom.

“I don’t get it,” Scuffle announced, glancing around.  “What’s the surprise?”

Clarity looked around the room, equally confused, but then she stopped, her gaze fixed on an empty corner of the room.

“Nice try,” she said aloud, wagging a forehoof.  “I don’t care how good your invisibility spells get; you’re not hiding from me!”

“Dang, I thought I had you this time,” a disembodied female voice replied.  “Still sharp as ever, Clarity.”

A brilliant red light like a neon sign filled the room.  At first, Dinky thought it was Clarity’s magic, but quickly realized the color was too bright, unlike the cinnamon red she expected.

The red ball energy hung in the air for a moment, and then split into a dozen or so pinpoints of  light, each of which began to trace a line through the air.  It only took a few seconds for Dinky to realize they were drawing a three-dimensional outline of a pony.

A moment later, they completed their task, and returned to the tip of the outlined mare’s horn.  They glowed brighter for a second, and solid color washed through the empty space between the lines.

Dinky was a bit shocked when the pony came fully into view.  She looked quite like Clarity, with the same grey coat and same voluminous mane and reddish eyes.  The only major differences were the purple color of her mane, the red-rimmed glasses balanced on her snout, and her stature; she was a full grown mare.

Clarity was unfazed.  “That was a flashy entrance.”

“Is this who I think it is?” Dinky asked, looking back and forth repeatedly between Clarity and the older pony.

“Yup,” Clarity answered matter-of-factly.  “Dinky, Honeydew, Scuffle, this is the unicorn you’ve all heard so much about: my sister, Lucid.”
> Chapter 14
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“Lucid, what are you doing here?” Clarity asked, raising an eyebrow.  “I thought mom said you were away on business until after we went back to school.”

“I was,” Lucid replied, grinning.  “Dad and I were both working on the same show, actually, but we had enough ponies available to handle the last performance.  Since they can get by without me on this one, I figured I’d come home early and see if I could catch you before you returned to Canterlot.”

Clarity blinked.  “Then what was with the flashy entrance?”

Lucid giggled.  “That was just me seeing if I could impress your friends.”

The mare turned to Dinky and the other foals.  “Speaking of which, I don’t believe we’ve met,” she continued, waving a hoof at them.  “I’m Lucid, new vice president of Mirage Effects Corporation, a company that uses magic to create illusions and other special effects used to enhance live performances or celebrations and ceremonies.  I’m also Clarity’s older sister, of course.  And you are?”

“I’m Dinky Doo,” Dinky answered with a nod, “and the ponies behind me are Honeydew and Scuffle.”

“These three have been hanging out with me pretty much since the year began,” Clarity admitted.  “Dinky and Honeydew are also my roommates, so we’ve gotten pretty close.”

“And we’ve heard about you, of course,” Honeydew added, venturing out from behind Dinky.  “A lot of ponies at the academy know you pretty well.”

Lucid blushed faintly and chuckled, rubbing the back of her head with a forehoof.  “Well, I was last year’s valedictorian, so I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that the teachers bring me up now and then…”

“There are plenty of students who remember you too,” Scuffle said.  “I’m sure you remember my brothers, Scorch and Frosty, in the year below you.”

Lucid rolled her eyes.  “Oh, you’re their brother?” she asked, pausing to examine Scuffle again as if she didn’t believe it.  “They were always a bit, um…”

“Yeah, they’re jerks,” Scuffle finished for her, laughing.

“You’re better than them, though,” Dinky cut in, giving Scuffle a friendly nudge.

“Marginally,” Honeydew added under her breath, earning an indignant yet playful glare from Scuffle.

Clarity, however, didn’t look as amused as her friends.  “Yeah, everyone remembers you alright,” she said to Lucid, working a hoof against the carpet in agitation.  “Hardly a week goes by where a professor doesn’t mention you at least once…”

Lucid raised an eyebrow.  “You sound a little less than enthused all of a sudden, Clarity,” the mare said, concerned.  “Is something wrong at school?”

“What?  No, everything’s fine,” Clarity said quickly.  “There’s nothing wrong with ponies remembering a successful student.”

Lucid gave Clarity a level stare.  “There’s more to it than that.  I can hear it in your voice.”

“No, really,” Clarity argued, “there’s nothing—”

Dinky nudged Clarity.  “Now come on,” the purple filly interjected, “you can at least tell Lucid about what keeps happening with the professors.”

“You are the one who always supports talking things out,” Honeydew added, and Scuffle nodded in assent.

“It’s not a big deal though,” Clarity argued, turning back to her friends.  “It’s just a little, you know, disheartening sometimes.”

“Oh, so there is a problem,” Lucid said.  “Well, I know just what to do about that.”

Lucid’s horn glowed brightly, and suddenly, a big orange futon was conjured out of thin air.  Dinky, who had never seen anypony but Twilight conjure large objects, raised her eyebrows, surprised.

Lucid sat down on the newly formed furniture, and patted the spot next to her with a forehoof.  “Come on, sit down and tell me what’s bothering you,” she coaxed.

Clarity glanced between her friends, then gave an exasperated sigh and hopped up next to Lucid, flicking an ear and fidgeting uncomfortably.  “I guess… your legacy at school is, well, making things a little tough for me sometimes.”

“My legacy?” Lucid asked, placing a forehoof on her own chest.  “What do I have to do with this?”

“Oh, you know,” Clarity said a little bitterly, “just the fact that all the professors adored you and I’m stuck trying to fill your horseshoes all the time.”

There was a second of silence.  Clarity bit her lip and looked up into Lucid’s surprised eyes.  “Sorry,” she mumbled, looking away.  “That was uncalled for.  It’s not your fault; you’re just… so darn perfect that I can’t live up to you…”

“Now hold on a second here,” Lucid said sternly, gently gripping Clarity’s head and turning it back toward hers.  “Are you seriously calling me ‘perfect’ just because I can do a hoofful of advanced spells?”

“W-well,” Clarity stuttered, “your grades were some of the highest the academy’s seen in the last decade, weren’t they?  You even discovered a spell or two last year!  Now all the professors think I’m gonna be able to do that…”

“And who says you can’t?” Lucid asked heatedly.  “Of course I know more magic than you.  I’ve had five years of schooling, and you’ve had less than one.  By the time you’re my age, you could be just as accomplished as I am.”

“But what if I’m not?”  Clarity asked.  “This isn’t even about jealousy or anything.  You’re super smart, and I’m really happy for you, but if everypony thinks I’m just as amazing, and it turns out I’m not, won’t I just look like a disappointment?”

Lucid frowned.  “Only if you put all your self-worth in grades,” she answered.  “So what if you get a B on an exam every now and then?  It’s not the end of the world.  You’ve got plenty of great qualities besides your smarts.”

Clarity thought about it for a moment.  “But, if I’m not as smart as you, I’ll never be quite as good at magic, right?” she asked.  “Dinky, what’s that line from your beginner’s magic guide that you like so much?”

“Magic is limited only by the strength of the mind and the passion of the heart,” Dinky recited.

“Exactly!” Clarity cried.  “If my mind isn’t as strong as it could be, my magic is going to suffer.”

Lucid snorted.  “If that phrase is true, Clarity, then you’re destined to be a much greater magician than I am, someday.”

Clarity blinked.  “Wait, why?”

“Because I know you,” said Lucid plainly.  “Even if you’re not a straight-A student, you’re plenty intelligent, but I think the more important part here is the other half of the phrase.  The greatest unicorns of all time were not the smartest ones.  They were the ones who set out with great enthusiasm to discover, and invent, and use magic however they could to make Equestria a better place.  The passionate ones.”

Lucid paused and gestured to Dinky and the other foals. “Look here.  You’ve already made three friends who seem to really care about you.  Do you know how many friends I made in my first year at the academy?  None.  Because I was too busy being a boring little filly that did nothing but study all day.  You, on the other hoof, are adventurous, outgoing… just a pleasure to be around, really.  You’ve got this sort of fire in you when it comes to magic, and it burns brighter in you than in almost anypony I know.  So don’t envy my smarts.  I’m the one who should envy your spirit.  You’re one of the most passionate fillies I’ve ever met.”

Clarity’s eyes were wide.  Her ears were flat against her head, and her mouth hung open a bit, in an expression that could only be described as wonder.  “Do… do you mean all of that?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

Lucid nodded and smiled at her sister.

“She’s right,” Scuffle said suddenly, stepping forward.  “You’re practically like the leader of our little group.  We’ve all had our share of hard times, and somehow you’re always the one who knows how best to help each of us get through them.”

“If you hadn’t kept trying, I might still be how I was the day we met, trying to avoid everypony I meet,” Honeydew added.

“That’s kind of what I was hoping you’d realize if you talked to Lucid,” Dinky admitted.  “You shouldn’t undervalue yourself, Clarity.  You’re every bit as amazing as your sister, in your own ways.”

Clarity was not an easy pony to shake up, but for once, tears formed in her bright eyes.  She squeezed them shut and snuggled into Lucid’s coat.  The mare wrapped a foreleg around her little sister tenderly and nuzzled her mane.

“T-Thanks, sis,” Clarity managed.  “Thank you all, actually.  I won’t… I won’t let the professors get under my skin with that anymore.”

“Good,” Lucid said softly.  “I’m glad I could help.  And now I think it’s time for you four to hit the hay.  You’ve all got a train to catch tomorrow, if I recall correctly.”

Clarity sniffled and hopped off Lucid’s futon.  “Yeah, you’re right,” she said, wiping her eyes with a foreleg.  “It’s a shame we didn’t get to see more of you over the break, though.”

“Oh, don’t worry,” Lucid said, swishing her tail playfully as she stood up and made the conjured futon vanish.  “The term will be over before you know it.  Study hard, but don’t forget to keep that passion alive while you’re at it!”

Grinning, Clarity rose to her hind hooves and hugged her sister.  Lucid waved goodbye, lit her horn, and was gone in another flash of red.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dinky hadn’t thought it possible, but Clarity managed to be even more peppy than usual the following morning.  Caught up in her good mood, the others found themselves extra excited as well, transforming their morning into a whirlwind of activity that left them all packed and waiting on the train platform with time to spare.

For whatever reason, the return trip to Celestia’s Academy seemed to take much less time.  Dinky and her friends were even able to get a good night’s sleep during the overnight portion of the trip.  The next morning, the foals watched as the mountain containing the Academy’s subterranean station came into view.

“Hey, it was great spending the week with you three,” Scuffle said as the time came for the ponies to head to their respective residence towers.  “I’ll see you girls in class this week, okay?”

Dinky nodded.  “Yep.  See you tomorrow.”

The girls entered the tower and were immediately greeted by Sparkler’s usual glower.  The overseer said nothing, but watched them pass by with a suspicious expression.

It was Sunday, so there were no classes.  The fillies spent the afternoon playing on the grounds instead.

Upon arriving back at the dorm after dinner, Dinky noticed a sheet of smooth, professional looking paper tied up with a blue ribbon resting on her pillow.  

“What’s this?” she asked aloud, turning to glance at her roommates as if expecting them to know.  “Somepony must have dropped it off while we were at dinner.”

With a quick flourish of magic, she undid the little bow and quickly read the note.

“Honeydew, Clarity,” she called, “you might want to see this…”

To the esteemed Miss Doo,

I would like to commend you for bringing this new information about the pony you call Sunbeam to me.  I have shared it with my sister, and we have expanded the duties and patrol routes of the guards on the Academy grounds.  As of the date of this message’s writing, shortly before your return to the academy, no further evidence has been found, but the searches will continue regularly.  I recommend you stay safe and report any further suspicious incidents.

~Princess Luna

“Well, that’s a relief,” Honeydew said.  “The princesses are still on your side, Dinky.  Hopefully somepony catches Sunbeam soon, so we can end this dark magic business for good.”

Dinky looked out the window at the stars.  “Yeah, Scorpio’s constellation is drawing closer.  Everypony needs to be on high alert, just in case.”

Clarity shrugged.  “Even if he’s out there now, he can’t get in here.  Let’s not worry about it and get some sleep.  Classes start again tomorrow.”

Dinky nodded.  “Good plan.  Night, girls.”

“Night!” Clarity and Honeydew called.

Dinky took one more glance at the stars, not aware that far below, a familiar, sinister pony was watching them from his hiding place in the trees.

“Midsummer has passed, yes it has…” Sunbeam hissed in satisfaction.  “The night sky is shifting.  The first star of her constellation has moved into view just above the horizon, yes it has, and with it, things will begin to become more difficult for little Dinky Doo…”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Something is wrong.

Dinky opened her eyes just a crack.  Met with darkness, she cautiously opened them wider, but was unable to make out anything around her.

It must still be the middle of the night, she realized.  But something feels… off.

Dinky shifted her weight, and suddenly realized the surface beneath her was not her bed, but a cold floor that felt like stone.

Wait, that’s not right.  Where am I?

Dinky stood up, but hesitated to take a step; everything around her was still pitch black.  “Clarity?  Honeydew?” she called.  Her voice echoed into the distance, much farther than it should have if she had still been in the residence tower.

The filly waited for a moment, but received no response.  After a moment of silence, she lit her horn, and gasped at the scene that lit up around her.

It might have been possible to describe the room as a cave.  It was, at the very least, a rough stone chamber carved out of the rock.  However, the walls and floor seemed to be moving and shifting constantly, as if the stone were made of nothing more than mist.  Dinky took a careful step, and a wave of fog radiated through the bizarre floor like a ripple in a shallow pool.  However, ethereal as it looked, the floor beneath Dinky’s hoof felt quite solid.

Every surface in the room seemed to be reflecting the light from Dinky’s horn, which was equally bizarre.  Tinted blue, the irregular surfaces filled the room with a cyan glow.  The filly looked left and right, trying to make sense of the strange place.

“Hello!  Anypony?” she yelled, starting to become frantic.  “What is this place?  Somepony must be here!”

The sound of hooves echoed behind Dinky, and she whirled around.  A faint silhouette stood just beyond the reach of her light.

“Oh, thank goodness!” she cried, galloping toward the other figure.  “I thought I was the only pony—”

Her light illuminated the other figure, and she stopped abruptly, her hooves sliding on the strange floor and kicking up a cloud of mist.

“You!”

Sunbeam stood a dozen pony lengths from the filly, staring, unmoving, at Dinky.  Strangely, the colt’s body seemed to be shifting and changing constantly while still retaining its form, just like the walls of the chamber.  The frightening colt hesitated a moment more, as if sizing Dinky up, and then broke into a wide grin.

“It’s so kind of you to join me, Dinky Doo, yes it is,” Sunbeam said, his voice just above a whisper.  “I knew I would meet you here sooner or later, yes I did.  You’ve come to help me, just as I said, haven’t you?”

Dinky shook her head forcefully.  “No!  I’ll never help you with… whatever you’re doing!  You don’t have any power over me.  I stopped using dark magic before it could begin to control me.”

Sunbeam raised an eyebrow.  “Oh did you?  I’m not so sure you know yourself as well as you think, no I am not.  The darkness that grew within you is not so easily smothered.”

“You brought me here, didn’t you!?” Dinky accused.  “Send me back to the Academy right now or… or…”

Sunbeam yawned.  “So sorry, yes I am, but there’s nothing you can do, really.  You can’t even keep control over your own will, much less over me.”

Dinky stomped a forehoof so hard that the resulting ripple of mist almost reached the edges of the chamber.  “I am in control, you idiot!”

Sunbeam chuckled.  “I’m afraid not, yes I am.  Look at your horn.”

Dinky rolled her eyes up to glance at her horn, and gave a sharp gasp to see it surrounded by an angry black aura.  She backed up, as if hoping to escape her own magic.

“You can’t stop it,” Sunbeam said.  “My plans are not going to fail, no they are not.  Stop fighting its power and submit, and you will help me finally open—”

There was a brilliant flash of light and a bang like a cannon blast.  Dazed and briefly blinded, Dinky collapsed, blinking to try to clear her vision.

Sunbeam cried out.  Another set of hooves, sounding like they belonged to a bigger pony, echoed around the chamber.

“Get away!  She must not slip away, no she must not!” Sunbeam growled.

“Wake up, girl!” an unfamiliar male voice said.

“I am awake!” Dinky said, trying to get to her hooves despite her vision having gone almost totally white.  “I didn’t get knocked out, I just can’t see.”

“No, I mean, this whole place is a dream!” the stallion’s voice said.  “But that dark magic is not!  Now wake up, so it can’t get into your head any worse!  

“Wait, what?” Dinky asked, bewildered and still struggling to shut off her own horn.  “But… wait, who are you?”

“There’s no time,” the newcomer grunted as another loud bang went off.  “Just wake up!  Wake up!”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Wake up!”

Clarity’s forehooves slammed down on Dinky’s stomach with all the force she could muster.  Dinky was quite painfully jarred from her sleep, and she doubled over in her bed, coughing and clutching her gut.

“Dear Celestia, what was that for!?” she gasped between desperate breaths.

“Your horn!” Clarity cried.  “Dinky, turn off your magic, now!”

Dinky forced one of her watering eyes open.  To her horror, her horn was engulfed in black energy, just as it had been in the dream.  This time, however, she was able to extinguish the dark aura as soon as she willed it.  Still taking shallow breaths to try to recover the wind Clarity had knocked out of her, she slowly sat up.  Clarity stood over her, concerned, and Honeydew stood back a few paces, trembling.

“I’m so sorry,” Clarity apologized.  “You wouldn’t wake up, and you were mumbling and tossing, and your magic activated, and it turned all dark, and—”

“It’s fine,” Dinky said, still panting.  “I would have done the same thing.”

“W-what happened?” Honeydew squeaked.  “You didn’t do that purposely, did you?”

Dinky shook her head.  “Of course not!  I haven’t used any of those spells since I almost burned the tower down.”

“So… why did it happen now?” Clarity asked hesitantly, flattening her ears.

“I don’t know,” Dinky said, her voice quavering.  “I had a really vivid dream.  Sunbeam was there, trying to… to bring out the darkness that he says is still inside me.  I couldn’t control my magic in the dream, and I guess when I generated the magic there… I must have generated it in real life too.”

“You couldn’t control it?” Honeydew repeated, frightened.  “B-but what does that mean is going to happen to you?  If you really are still slightly corrupted by dark magic, using more will only make it worse!”

“I know,” Dinky said, doing her best to remain calm.  “I… I think I was helped by somepony, though.  Somepony in the dream who kept me safe from Sunbeam’s control.”

“Princess Luna?” Clarity asked.  “She patrols dreams.  Maybe she fought off Sunbeam.”

“No, this was a stallion,” Dinky countered.  “I never got a look at him, but he seemed to be on my side.”

“Then he must have been part of the dream,” Clarity concluded.  “Nopony but Princess Luna can visit ponies’ dreams, right?”

“Unless that was the real Sunbeam, somehow using my dreams to get to me,” Dinky pointed out.  “If he can get in, who knows, maybe other ponies can too.”

Honeydew shivered.  “I don’t like this,” she moaned, slumping into a sit.  “What if he really does find a way to get Dinky to use dark magic against her will?”

“Let’s not panic yet,” Clarity said quickly.  “What we need is more information.  Our textbooks don’t have any, but there must be a book somewhere in Equestria that actually has useful information about dark magic.  We can’t fight it until we know what we’re up against.”

“If there is a book, it’s probably well guarded,” Dinky said.  “It wouldn’t be something fillies like us would be able to just pick out of the library.”

Clarity nodded.  “I guess you have a point.  The only place that would have books like that would be the Canterlot Archives.”

Dinky’s ears perked up.  “The Canterlot Archives?” she parroted.  “Miss Twilight has a license to use the materials there for research.  Maybe she could get us in!”

Clarity grinned.  “Dinky, you’re a genius!  We’ll contact her tomorrow and see if she can take us there this weekend.”

“What should we do in the meantime?” Honeydew asked worriedly.

“Well, now I know to be wary,” Dinky said resolutely.  “Hopefully that won’t happen again, but if it does, I think I’ll be able to force myself to wake up before anything bad happens.”

She rubbed her sore stomach.  “Wake me up again if you have to, but… maybe you can find a less painful way to do it next time.”

Clarity grinned sheepishly.  “Heh, yeah…”

Unsure of what to expect, the fillies cautiously returned to their beds.  Dinky eventually fell asleep again, and dreamed no more that night.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fortunately, there were no more incidents that week.  In order to avoid another investigation (and another push from the dean to get her expelled), Dinky decided to keep her brief lapse into dark magic to herself in the hopes that it had been an isolated event.  She did promise herself, and her friends, that she would report the event to Twilight or to the princesses if it ever happened again.

Dinky did, however, tell Twilight about the latest run-in with Sunbeam, and was easily able to use that as an excuse to ask for Twilight’s aid in getting into the Canterlot Archives so she could learn more about dark magic.  That Saturday, she and Clarity hopped onto the train for the short ride into Canterlot, where Twilight had said she would be waiting for them.

“So, what exactly are the Canterlot Archives for?” Dinky asked as the train chugged along the mountain path toward the capital city.  “I get the feeling this place is not a normal library.”

Clarity shook her head.  “No, the archives are the place where ‘intelligence’ is stored.  A lot of it is just boring records and stuff, but it’s all guarded to some degree, since a lot of it is sensitive information.”

“But ponies’ files can’t be the only thing stored there, right?” Dinky asked.  “I mean, we wouldn’t be going if they were.”

“Oh, of course not,” Clarity said.  “It’s a place with a lot of information that is considered important to the continued safety and smooth operation of Equestria.  A lot of it is totally harmless, but some of it is dangerous.”

“How do you know all that?” Dinky asked, raising an eyebrow.

Clarity smirked.  “How do you think?  Lucid has a special permit to access certain parts of the archives.  Certain ponies can aquire a license to some of it, but it requires lots of paperwork, and even then they have to confirm that the pony plans to use the information for valid research purposes, and that the archives are the only way to get the research information they need.”

Dinky nodded.  “Well, Twilight just uses it for her advanced magic studies,” she admitted.  “But I guess that’s kind of what we’re doing, so she should be able to help.  I know I’ve heard her mention having access to a certain archive named after Starswirl…”

Clarity’s jaw dropped.  “Twilight has access to the Starswirl the Bearded Wing?” she asked incredulously.  “Do you even know how important you have to be to get in there?  Even Lucid can only dream of being allowed into that place.  I don’t think most of the professors at school even have access.”

“Well, Twilight does, so as long as we stay with her, we will too,” Dinky said proudly.

Clarity rubbed her forehooves together gleefully.  “Oh man, Lucid’s gonna be so jealous.”

The train soon arrived in Canterlot, and the fillies stepped off.  Clarity spotted Twilight standing just beyond the platform, and she and Dinky quickly trotted over to her.

“Hello, girls,” Twilight greeted.  “It’s great to see you two again.  I wish it were because of happier circumstances than these unfortunate dark magic concerns, though.”

Dinky nodded.  “Well, if there’s one thing you taught me, Miss Twilight, it’s that knowing about something is the best way to be prepared to handle it.”

“Right,” Twilight said, grinning.  “I’ve never actually researched dark magic myself, but there are a small number of books in the archives that talk about its history and how it works.  Usually I wouldn’t advocate looking into this stuff, but considering what’s been going on with that strange colt, I think a little more background will probably do us all some good.  Maybe we can figure out just what’s going on at that school.”

“Dinky says you can get us into the Starswirl the Bearded wing,” Clarity said excitedly.  “Is that really true?”

“It is, but we’re not going to the archives to browse,” Twilight said levelly.  “We’re looking for information that may be relevant to dark magic, and that’s all.”

Clarity saluted.  “Understood.  Let’s go.”

The Canterlot Archives were not far from the royal castle.  The building looked so similar, with its white, curving walls, and purple and yellow spires, that Dinky mistook it for part of the castle itself for a moment.  Two tough looking guards, armed with spears, guarded the main gate, but intimidating though they were, they smiled when Twilight approached.

“Afternoon, Twilight!” one of the guards said cheerfully.  “Got some research to take care of?”

“Yes, and it’s a matter of great importance,” Twilight replied.  “I’ve brought these two fillies along.  Neither of them has a license of their own, but I’ll be keeping them with me at all times while we’re inside.”

The other guard laughed.  “We know you know the rules, Twilight,” he said, pulling the lever to open the front gate.  “Hope you three find what you’re looking for!”

Twilight thanked the guard and stepped into the building, motioning for Dinky and Clarity to follow.

Even though it was close to midday, the interior of the building was quite dim.  Windows were few and far between, with most of the light in the hallways provided by torches.  The stone ceilings were arched and supported by columns, and shields and tapestries lined the hallway walls.

Dinky looked left and right.  In both directions, sets of heavy wooden doors occurred at regular intervals, each with a nameplate above it, and many with guards positioned in front.

“This is so exciting!” Clarity said, struggling to keep her voice down.  “Which one is the Starswirl Wing?”

“Ours is upstairs,” Twilight answered, turning right and trotting down the hallway.  “You’ll probably know it when you see it.”

Silently, Dinky and Clarity followed Twilight to the end of the hall and up a tight stone stairwell.  Dinky glanced at the second floor hallway as they passed by, which looked nearly identical to the first.  Upon arriving at their destination, the third floor, it quickly became apparent that every part of the archives looked the same.

However, Dinky soon noticed one archive in the middle of the hallway that was different.  Instead of wooden doors, the room was blockaded with heavy iron bars and a large, intimidating lock.  A huge disc, carved out of some aqua colored gem and engraved with stars and a spiral pattern, hung above the entrance, and a guard stood diligently just outside.

“Good afternoon,” Twilight called as the ponies approached the stallion sentry.  “My guests and I would like to enter the Starswirl the Bearded wing, please.”

The stallion nodded.  “License, please,” he said gruffly.  “I know it’s you, Twilight, but we can’t be too careful, especially with guests involved.  You know how it goes.”

Twilight withdrew a small card stamped with the royal seal from her saddlebag.  The guard took a glance, nodded curtly, and used his magic to unlock the door.  As soon as the three ponies had entered, it clanged shut behind them again.

Dinky took a few cautious steps forward and took in her surroundings, amazed.  “This definitely isn’t any old library,” she mumbled, getting only an awed nod from Clarity in reply.

The Starswirl the Bearded wing was a roughly circular room, with bookshelves forming a network of hallways all around the perimeter.  The shelves were not organized in the way a typical library was; Dinky was surprised to see books shoved in at odd angles or stacked horizontally on top of the vertical rows.  Scrolls were piled on tables and scattered in the empty spaces on the shelves.  In the center of the room, a domed skylight illuminated an enormous hourglass, slowly depositing its sand from its upper chamber into the lower one.

“Well, here we are,” Twilight said slowly.  “This place isn’t like the ‘magic’ section at most Equestrian libraries.  There are spells and histories in here that have been otherwise totally forgotten to ponykind.  And it’s in everypony’s best interests if we keep it that way.  We’ll split up to try to find the book, and so I’m going to trust you two with something important: if you see a book or a scroll with a title that has nothing to do with dark magic, leave it be, okay?”

“Okay,” said Dinky and Clarity in unison.

Twilight smiled.  “Good.  Now, let’s see what we can find.”

Twilight set off down one of the aisles, and Dinky and Clarity trotted into the next one over.  The whole chamber was fairly dim, but Dinky was still able to make out some titles on the books.

“Golem Technical Guide, Volume Three: Employing a Hive-mind System in Your Stone Army,” she read aloud, surprised at the dangerous-sounding title.  “That doesn’t sound like a book we need…”

“That one’s not even that bad,” Clarity laughed, glancing through a hoofful of scrolls she’d pulled off the nearest shelf.  “Here’s A Treatise on Manticore Poisons.  Oh, and Abyssal Summoning and Binding Spells; Abridged Edition.  And let’s not forget Elemental Emotions Part Four: Uses and Dangers of Projecting Soulfire.”

Dinky blinked.  “I don’t even want to know what most of these are about,” she said, shuddering and tossing aside a worn copy of A Dissertation on the Potential for Magical Backfire Caused by Solar Radiation.  "Let’s try another aisle."

The fillies rounded the corner and carefully examined another shelf of books.  Dinky was just about to move on when one title caught her eye.  She lifted it up with magic and examined it carefully.

Dark Arcana: Physical and Mental Effects of Dark Magical Corruption.

“That looks perfect!” Clarity exclaimed, giving a triumphant little hop.  “Let’s call Twilight so we can—”

“Hush!  Not just yet,” Dinky said quietly, putting a forehoof to Clarity’s lips.  “Let’s take a look ourselves first.  Twilight doesn’t know about what happened last week yet, remember?”

“Oh yeah,” Clarity said, nodding.  “Although, if this book says something about it that proves dangerous, we probably should bring it up to her.”

“Of course,” Dinky said quickly.  “Come on, let’s just check first.”

She set the book on a small, wobbly desk at the end of the aisle and flipped it open and turned to a random page.

“Chapter six: Regarding Corruption Irreversibility Thresholds,” she quietly read aloud.  “With continued use of dark magic, a pony will eventually pass a tipping point where the mind becomes so prone to acceptance of dark magic that further corruption is self-perpetuating.  At this point, barring an immediate intervention involving the forced ceasing of the unicorn’s ability to use magic via magically disabling, or in some severe cases, severing the horn, the dark magic user will descend into total mental corruption.  The conscience is eradicated and replaced with only desires for personal power and the suffering of others.”

Clarity cleared her throat.  “The pony… has to be displaying noticeable signs of personality change before that happens, right?” she asked nervously.

“I think so,” Dinky answered.  “But Twilight said I used little enough dark magic that I probably wouldn’t need to worry.  I’m sure Sunbeam has passed this threshold, though.”

Clarity nodded.  “Keep reading.”

Dinky turned back to the book.  “Dark magic also has a physical corrupting aspect; the corrupted individual ceases to be a regular pony as the magic infiltrates their body.  Much like the mind, this process has a tipping point; both the mind and the body reach a point of no return at the same time.  A unicorn who has become irreversibly corrupted with dark magic undergoes horrific mental and physical changes.  No longer correctly called a pony, these creatures are known as wraiths.”

“But Sunbeam looks like any other pony, doesn’t he?” Clarity asked.  “Does that mean he’s not beyond the point of no return?”

Dinky shrugged and continued, “A wraith is a strange and dangerous creature, with a body warped by magical corruption.  Wraiths resemble unicorns, but their coat and mane colors are typically grey to black, and the whites of their eyes are often colored.  Dark magic has a profound effect on the horn, usually curving or twisting it in unusual ways.

"The most significant power of a wraith besides their magic is the ability to ‘destabilize’.  Their body structure has been so weakened by dark magic that they are capable of shedding a form entirely and becoming an amorphous cloud of darkness.  They are capable of recreating their solid form again at will.  Many wraiths can take advantage of this undefined form to re-assume the appearance of the pony they once were, making them especially dangerous as deceivers.”

Dinky stopped reading for a moment.  “This sounds awfully familiar,” she murmured.  “Let me check something.”

Dinky briefly checked the contents of the book, and then turned to a different chapter.  After scanning the page for a moment, she found what she was looking for and began to quietly read again.

“King Sombra was one of the more notable wraiths to influence Equestrian history.  His rise to power, sixty years before the banishment of Luna, was dramatic.  Using dark magic, he was able to enslave the Crystal Empire in northern Equestria, of which he held control for a number of years until he was finally sealed within the earth by Princess Celestia and Princess Luna.”

“That name is familiar,” Clarity agreed.  “King Sombra only very recently returned to the surface.  We learned about the Crystal Heart in Magical Artifacts class, remember?  That was how they stopped him.”

Dinky nodded.  “So, a single pony can become that powerful just via dark magic, huh?” she asked.  “If Sunbeam really is a wraith like King Sombra, somepony needs to do something about him, and soon.”

“Girls!” called Twilight from somewhere else in the archive.  “Any luck yet?”

“Not yet, Miss Twilight,” Dinky lied back.

“Well, keep looking,” Twilight called.  “I know there are a few books on the topic here somewhere.”

Dinky and Clarity exchanged a glance.  “Just a quick peek to see if we can find anything about dealing with slight corruption, and then we go straight to Twilight,” Clarity whispered.  “Agreed?”

“Agreed.”

Dinky turned to the relevant page and began to read.

“Chapter four: Effects of reversible degrees of dark magic corruption, and strategies for doing so.  After a pony has had fairly significant exposure to dark magic, the body will cease to resist casting the spells.  It is at this juncture that a pony can first be considered corrupted.  This state is reversible, and corruption will fade if use of spells is ceased.  However, completely swearing off dark magic after corruption often proves difficult depending on the pony, the degree of corruption, and other factors.

"Even if the pony is able to resist continued practice of dark spells under ‘normal’ circumstances, other stimuli may make the seemingly latent magic resurface.  The most notable is direct, localized exposure to another’s dark spells, or objects imbued with dark energy.  Time of year also plays a role, as Scorpio’s constellation not only increases the potency of dark magic, but—”

Dinky stopped, and swallowed hard.  “—but also aggravates it within ponies in whom it may have otherwise been dormant.  This effect is most intense at Scorpio’s apex on the seventh of November, but has some degree of effect as long as some part of Scorpio is in the sky, up to three months before and after that date.”

“August seventh arrived while we were on Midsummer Holiday,” Clarity realized.  “Does this mean that burst of magic that affected your dreams was an effect of Scorpio?”

“Probably,” Dinky said nervously.  “Let’s see what else it says.”

She turned the page and picked up again.  “Presence of Scorpio in the sky is not an impossible factor for corrupted ponies to overcome.  Especially if the degree of corruption is low, most ponies may not experience any effects at all.  If they do, continued vigilance of oneself is usually sufficient to prevent unwanted episodes of dark magic.  Dark magic may attempt to surface in highly stressful situations, as well as occasionally in dreams, and in these cases it is useful to have a non-corrupt pony nearby to help the corrupted get a hold of his or herself before dark magic is used in enough excess to further corruption.  After a year or two of successful avoidance of excessive dark magic use during Scorpio’s presence in the sky, the corruption will fade to a point that the constellation’s presence will no longer be a concern.”

Dinky reached the end of the section, and closed the book with a sigh.  “So that’s what it is.  Sunbeam must be betting on Scorpio to finish the job for him.”

“That seems like a pretty risky move on his part,” Clarity said, raising an eyebrow.  “He seems convinced that he messed you up enough with dark magic that he’s gonna win in the end, but it doesn’t sound like Scorpio is too big a deal if you’re careful.”

Dinky nodded solemnly.  “Either way, we should show the passage about wraiths to Twilight,” she suggested.  “That information could be useful in catching him, at least.”

Determined to overcome the influence of the dark constellation, Dinky grabbed the book and trotted off in search of Twilight.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“So, had any more dark dreams lately?”  Clarity asked under her breath.

Dinky shook her head.  “Not yet,” she said proudly.  “I had one where I found myself in that same weird place, but I woke myself up before anything bad could happen.”

Clarity smiled and offered Dinky a hoof-bump.  “Great!  Sounds like you got things under control, at least for now.”

About a week had passed since the fillies’ trip to the Canterlot Archives, and Dinky had taken the advice of the Dark Arcana book to heart.  Spending a few minutes actively closing her mind to the dark magic lurking within her had helped her through several nights without further intrusions into her dreams.

Of course, Dinky and Clarity had also shown Twilight the passage the book held about wraiths, and though Twilight doubted a creature as powerful as a wraith was hiding on the academy grounds, she did send word of the theory to the princesses, just in case.  Dinky had heard no further word on the topic.

Now it was Friday again, and the two fillies were waiting for Professor Flux to arrive and begin their Transformation and Conjuring class.  The students hushed as the stern stallion marched in, carrying an unfamiliar book in his aura.  He dropped it rather forcefully on his desk to get the attention of a few students who hadn’t noticed his entrance.

“Good news,” Professor Flux said gruffly.  “We’re starting from scratch today.  As I’m sure many of you have noticed, this class is called ‘Transformation and Conjuring’, and though we’re nearly three-fourths of the way through the term, we’ve explored only the first of those two topics.  Time to start on the second.”

He trotted around to the front of his desk.  “Define ‘conjuring’,” he commanded.

Not surprisingly, Clarity raised a hoof.  “Conjuring is using magic to bring an object into existence from nothing,” she recited.

Professor Flux frowned.  “Not quite from nothing.  Be more specific,” he replied.

Clarity bit her lip.  “Umm… I guess technically you can’t just create new matter, so it’s more like… assembling whole objects from… surrounding particles?  So that it seems like it came from nothing?”

“Much better,” the professor said, nodding.  “Merely by its definition, I’m sure it’s obvious that conjuring spells are some of the hardest spells for unicorns to perform.  The amount of magic and degree of focus required to make an object materialize from microscopic component particles.  It works, in a way, like transformation spells, but is vastly more complicated.  Since this is a first-term class, there will be very little conjuring skill expected of you, but we’re at least going to learn the basics.  Before we begin, I have to ask, does anyone know the single class of objects that cannot be conjured?”

Nopony, not even Clarity, had an answer this time, so after a few moments of silence the professor answered himself.

“It is not possible to conjure a living being,” he explained.  “Unlike objects, living beings are dynamic, and can’t just be assembled from respective chemicals.”

Dinky raised a hoof.  “But professor, I’ve seen my tutor use magic to make small creatures like parasprites appear,” she mentioned.  “How is that possible if creatures can’t be conjured?”

Professor Flux gave a rare smile.  “Good observation,” he said with another approving nod.  “Some ponies can appear to be conjuring living things.  In reality they are summoning, which is an entirely different type of magic closely related to teleportation in which a creature or object is brought to the magic user from another location.  Professor Morningstar might teach you about summoning in a year or two.”

He stopped speaking for a moment, and scowled.  “Speaking of summoning, it occurs to me that the princess lifted Nester’s probation yesterday.  I suppose I ought to bring him here so he can get back to his job.”

The professor’s horn glowed, and a bright light flashed in the center of the room, quickly vanishing and leaving in its place a dripping, sudsy changeling.  Nester quickly whirled around, startled and confused, while Professor Flux put a hoof to his forehead and grumbled.

“What’s the big idea, Fluxy?” Nester asked, arching his back and shaking off most of the suds, which drifted onto the desks of several of the nearby students.  “Can’t a changeling even take a shower in peace these days?”

Professor Flux just grimaced.  “Nester, your probation is over,” he growled.  “You need to be available during work hours again, remember?”

“Oh, fine,” Nester sighed, quickly transforming rapidly between a pony and a changeling, taking advantage of the brief blasts of warmth the transformation produced to effectively dry his carapace.  “I was about done anyway.”

He turned to the class and gave a fanged smile.  “Hey, colts and fillies, good news!  No more listening to boring old Professor Flux all day.  Your favorite teaching assistant is back to stay!”

The changeling buzzed his wings happily and the students cheered for him.  Dinky took the opportunity to whisper to Clarity again.

“I’m gonna talk to Nester after class.  I owe him a bit of an apology anyway.”

Clarity nodded.  “Works for me.  There’s something I wanna ask him about, too.”

Dinky raised an eyebrow.  “What’s that?” she asked.

Clarity winked.  “You’ll see…”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Conjuring proved every bit as difficult as Professor Flux had implied.  Clarity had not managed a successful spell by the end of the class, but Dinky, to her own surprise as well as Clarity’s, had been able to follow the professor’s demonstration well enough to conjure up a small scrap of paper.  In and of itself, it was an utterly uninteresting object, but Professor Flux seemed quite impressed all the same.

Dinky and Clarity waited until the other students had left before approaching Nester.  The changeling took one look at Dinky and promptly backed up so far that he wound up standing sideways on the wall.

“Um… hello,” he said apprehensively.

“Hi Nester,” Dinky greeted.  “Can we talk?”

Nester shook his head frantically.  “I didn’t do anything, I swear!” he said in a panic.  “I just got off probation!  Whatever your problem is, it couldn’t have been me.”

Dinky was shocked by the changeling’s response.  Here was a creature she’d been terrified of when they first met, now cowering in the corner where the wall met the ceiling like an oversized bug fearing being squashed.

“No no, it’s nothing like that,” she said soothingly.  “We just want to talk to you.  I’m not trying to get you in trouble, I promise.”

Nester vibrated his wings, producing a long chirp.  “Er, well… there’s another class using this room in a minute.  Meet me at my pod if you really have something to say,” he said finally.  “It’s in the cellar beneath this tower.  Bit dark, too.  Might wanna light those horns.”

The changeling nodded curtly and scrambled away before the girls could reply.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Are we even allowed down here?” Dinky whispered.

“The door wasn’t locked or guarded or anything,” Clarity said, kicking aside a cobweb draped over the step.  “Then again, it’s not exactly a place that seems too hospitable.”

Dinky frowned.  “You don’t think Nester has some malicious reason to ask us to come down here, do you?”

Clarity shook her head.  “Nah, Nester seemed a little upset upstairs, but I’ve never gotten a mean vibe off of him, even though he’s a changeling,” she stated.  “Besides, Nester wouldn’t try anything funny right after getting off probation.”

Dinky didn’t reply.  Clarity waved a hoof in front of her face.

“Clarity… look,” Dinky mumbled, pointing.

Clarity turned, and both fillies stared at the unearthly object taking up most of the cellar.  Easily four pony-lengths tall, the egg-shaped blob was primarily black and crusty on the outside, but slightly luminescent green fluid oozed from hundreds of tiny cracks in the exterior.  Stretchy cables of the same green gunk tethered the pod to the ceiling, so that the bottom of it dangled a short distance above the floor.

“Well, we found Nester’s pod,” Clarity said finally.

At the mention of his name, Nester himself crawled around the exterior of the hanging structure from behind.  He paused a moment to cover one of the larger cracks with a sticky secretion, and then turned and gave the fillies a somewhat nervous grin.

“So, you came to visit after all, huh?” he asked in his usual insectoid rasp.  “Come around the other side of the pod and we can chat.”

He disappeared again.  Dinky and Clarity exchanged a glance and trotted around to the back of Nester’s strange home.

The back of the pod looked much the same as the front, except for a large gash near the base.  Nester beckoned the girls from within its depths.

“Well… come on in,” he said slowly.  “It’s not as gross in here as the pod looks on the outside, I promise.”

Dinky hesitated a moment, then cautiously lifted a hoof and stepped into the crevice.  The inside of the pod was very dim and glowed with the same green light that the changeling goo gave off, but the floor itself was made of a spongy yet solid material that was easy to walk on and not messy at all.  Clarity followed Dinky into the pod, and the whole think sank a few inches under their combined weight.  Nester seemed unconcerned.

Nester appeared not to be much for interior design.  The pod held a small wooden table, and a shelf upon which several books about transformation magic rested.  The rest of the odd oval space was bare, making the small chamber seem a bit bigger.

“So, what’s up?” Nester asked, letting his crest droop as low as possible.  “You haven’t come back to yell at me again?”

“No, the opposite.  I’ve come to apologize,” Dinky said.

Nester chirped, but said nothing.

“I was wrong,” Dinky continued.  “I’m not afraid to admit it.  You weren’t the one who was spying on me.  You’ve never been out to get me, and I should have believed you.  I made a mistake, and I’m really sorry.”

Nester’s big blue eyes remained fixed on the filly.  “I’m… glad you figured that out,” he said finally.  “I suppose no harm was done.  After all, I was put on probation because of the dark magic incident, not because of you reporting me.  Technically, that was also your fault, but it wasn’t directed at me, so…”

The changeling trailed off and flitted his wings thoughtfully a few times.  “I understand, of course, that you were scared of me when we met,” he continued.  “Heck, everypony was.  After what happened with Her Majesty Queen Chrysalis in Canterlot last year, I don’t blame anypony for that in the slightest.”

He hung his head.  “But what you have to understand is that it’s… well, just as scary for me!  How would you feel if everypony you ever met wanted to kill you, and the only place you could find safe haven was in a changeling hive?”

Dinky shuddered.  “That’s not a good comparison though.  I don’t think a pony would last very long in a changeling hive.”

Nester chirped again.  “They would if Her Majesty granted them amnesty in exchange for service,” he corrected.  “But there would be suspicion and uncertainty among the changelings, for sure.”

He sighed.  “That’s what it’s like for me.  The changelings want me dead, and a school full of ponies with more magic power than I have is the only place I can be safe.  So you have to understand, when a pony threatens to report me to Celestia, it’s just like a changeling reporting a pony in the hive to Her Majesty Queen Chrysalis.  It’s absolutely terrifying…”

Nester sat down and stared at the floor, looking miserable.  Dinky had never seen such an intimidating creature reduced to such a state.  She gave Clarity a pleading glance, but the grey filly just pointed to the changeling and nodded.  Almost silently, Dinky stepped forward and put a forehoof on the gloomy changeling’s shoulder.

“I never thought about it that way,” she admitted.  “I should have been more sensitive.  I guess I was looking for somepony to blame and you just happened to be… well, convenient.”

Nester nodded.  “Well, no harm done, really,” he said, meeting Dinky’s gaze and giving a sheepish, fanged grin.  “I wasn’t allowed to teach for a while, but Celestia certainly made sure I wasn’t treated cruelly.  And no evidence against me was found, so as long as the students continue to like me as a teaching assistant, I should be fine.”

“You’re doing a great job, by the way,” Clarity added.  “Professor Flux is smart, but his personality’s a little dry.  Transformation class was so boring while you were on probation.  Everypony’s thrilled to have you back.”

“Definitely,” Dinky said, swishing her tail delightedly.  “So how about it, Nester?  Do you accept my apology?”

Nester made a series of clicks that Dinky assumed was a chuckle as he stood back up.  “Yeah, alright,” he answered.  “Thanks for being so understanding.  I’m just glad you ponies are compassionate enough to learn to see past what I am and look at who I am instead.”

The changeling used a cratered foreleg to ruffle Dinky’s mane affectionately, and then turned to Clarity.  “So,” he said in a more conversational tone, “what was it that you wanted to ask me?”

“Oh, that,” said Clarity nonchalantly.  “I just had a question about transformation magic that we hadn’t covered in class.”

Nester pranced in place.  “And you wanted to ask me rather than Professor Flux?  I’m flattered,” he said, making a face that Dinky felt sure would have been accompanied by a blush if not for the hard black cuticle covering his body.  “What’s the question?”

“Well, I like to dabble in illusions,” Clarity explained, “and if there’s one thing that’s true about all illusions, it’s that there’s always a way to see through them if you’re perceptive enough to pick up on light distortions.  I was wondering… do transformations also leave some kind of hallmark to make it possible for other ponies to realize they’re looking at a fake?”

“Ooh, interesting,” Nester said, tapping his chin thoughtfully.  “Transformations, as I’m sure you remember, involve a physical change, not an illusion, so the method of spotting a fake is different.  As far as I know, there’s always one trait, even if it’s only a tiny one, that doesn’t accurately reflect what the transformer has tried to become.  For instance, when I turn into a unicorn, my magic is still acid green, and there’s nothing I can do about it.”

Clarity leaned forward, perking up her ears expectantly.  “So, all transformations have an imperfection?  Something that doesn’t look like the original?”

“Right!” Nester said, nodding.  “That one detail can and will vary, though.  Only a really perceptive pony will be able to pick it out.”

He skittered over to Clarity and gave her mane a ruffle like he had with Dinky’s.  “If anypony ‘round here would have a knack for that sort of thing, though, it’s you, kiddo.”

Clarity smiled and playfully nuzzled Nester.  This time, Dinky was convinced the changeling did blush, which she hadn’t thought was possible.

“So, while we’re on the topic,” Clarity said slowly, “I had one other question.  I don’t know if you’ll know anything about it though.”

Nester flicked his tattered tail indignantly.  “Oh, won’t I?  Try me.”

Clarity paused a moment before continuing.  “I’ve heard of a type of creature that wields transformation magic,” she said cautiously.  “Do you know anything about… wraiths?”

All at once, Nester’s jovial, teasing attitude vanished like smoke.  Stunned, he backed up several paces.

“Oh no.  No no no no no,” he mumbled, looking between Dinky and Clarity nervously.  “I don’t know where you heard about wraiths, but I can’t… I just can’t talk about that.  There wouldn’t even be an investigation.  If word got out that I talked to fillies about wraiths, I’d never be allowed in the vicinity of Canterlot again!”

“Okay, okay!” Clarity said, holding her forehooves out placatingly as she tried to calm the panicking changeling.  “It’s not important!  I’ll never bring it up again, I promise.”

Nester sighed, relieved.  “Good.  It’s not just for my sake, either.  If you two want to keep yourselves out of trouble, you’ll get as far away from anything that has to do with wraiths as you can.”

“Noted,” said Dinky with a sheepish smile.  “I guess we’ll be going now.  See you next week, Nester.”

Nester waved feebly and breathed a long, concerned sigh as the fillies climbed out of the pod.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As the month wore on, Dinky found herself paying closer attention to the stars.  Leo’s reigning period ended in late August, and Virgo took her place, bringing Scorpio’s stars more fully into view.  Worryingly, this had exactly the effect Dinky had feared; the dark magic’s attempts to resurface through her dreams were becoming more frequent.

Dinky knew that soon, it was likely she’d wind up bringing forth dark magic in her sleep, and would have to talk to Twilight or Princess Celestia or Luna for her own safety.  Clarity and Honeydew checked on her regularly, but she continued to manage to banish the dangerous dreams as soon as she recognized them.

Dinky had other things to occupy her during the day, though.  Sparkler, for instance, had not been quite the same ever since the day she’d joined Dinky and her friends in enchantments class.  The overseer seemed, if it was even possible, even more guarded, as if (or so Clarity theorized) she was terrified of opening up a bit again as she had on that day.

However, although Sparkler still kept to herself whenever possible, her mean streak seemed to have slowed.  Rather than greeting Dinky and her friends with grumpy remarks or threats of detention, she now opted simply to give them their space, saying nothing more than a muttered “hello” even on the best of days.  Unsure of what else they could say, the friends usually kept quiet around the older filly.

There was, however, one pony that continued to try to reach Sparkler inside her antisocial shell, and Dinky and the other foals couldn’t help but notice whenever he did.  One afternoon, Dinky and the others were on their way down a second-floor passage, when they heard familiar voices coming from the courtyard below.  They peered out the open window.

“Come on, Sparkler!” Presto said urgently, following Sparkler across the gardens toward the front of the castle.  “I’m not even trying to take you anywhere!  I just figured we could save time and get lunch while we go over the latest orders from the dean.  You have to eat, don’t you?”

“There’s nothing to discuss,” Sparkler said, refusing to meet her colleague’s gaze.  “The dean’s latest updates to the rules were clear.  Just enforce them for the colts while I do for the fillies and everything will be fine.  Good day.”

She began to trot away.  Gritting his teeth in frustration, Presto grabbed the filly’s tail with magic and yanked her back until she stood next to him, ignoring her cry of protest.

“Sparkler, listen to me,” he said sternly, leaning forward until his snout practically met hers.  “I get it.  You’re smart enough to know that we don’t actually have to talk about the dean’s stuff.”

Sparkler snorted.  “Exactly.  So what’s your deal?”

Presto sighed.  “Sparkler, I… I think you need some help.  You don’t attend any activities.  You don’t hang out with friends.  You don’t talk to anypony anymore except to discipline them!  You’re retreating deeper and deeper into your own brooding, and it’s just… well, it’s not healthy!”

Sparkler rolled her eyes.  “Oh please,” she grumbled.  “Why should I bother?  I’m not humoring anypony.  I know nopony wants to talk to me.”

“Well, I do!” Presto yelled, catching the young mare by surprise.  “I’ve known you for ages, and I refuse to let you do this to yourself because you think everypony’s out to get you.  Why can’t you see that you are the one that’s making your life miserable!?”

There were a few seconds of stunned silence, and then, to the great surprise of both Presto and the foals spying from above, Sparkler’s eyes filled with tears.

Presto backpedaled immediately.  “Oh what am I… Sparkler, you know I didn’t mean—”

“Stop,” Sparkler commanded, holding back a sob.  “Just stop.  Go back to your tower, do your overseer duty, and for Celestia’s sake, leave me alone!”

Knowing better than to try to comfort Sparkler, Presto hung his head and quickly complied.  He teleported away, leaving Sparkler standing alone.  Even from her high vantage point, Dinky could see a few tears hit the gravel beneath the overseer’s hooves.

“Even Presto…” the young mare mumbled, taking a long, shuddering sigh.  “Why do I have to do this to him?  If he’d just keep away from me, he wouldn’t get caught up in all this.  I’m telling him that for his own good…”

Sparkler wiped her eyes with a forehoof and briskly trotted away, leaving the four foals in the hallway above alone.

“…What just happened?” Scuffle asked finally.

“I don’t know,” Dinky admitted.  “It certainly didn’t end well, though.  I’ve never seen Presto get so frustrated, and I’ve definitely never seen Sparkler cry.”

“I know she’s not very nice, but I’m a little worried for Sparkler,” Honeydew said, shuffling a hoof on the carpet.  “Presto’s right.  She behaves more like a machine than a pony nowadays.”

“Well, up until the end,” Dinky added.  “What do you think she meant when she said she’s pushing Presto away to help both of them?”

Clarity, surprisingly, gave a tiny grin.  “Well, it’s already kind of obvious that Presto cares about Sparkler.  Maybe even, you know, likes her,” she began.  “But I’m starting to wonder if, in reality… she’s got a thing for him too.”

Honeydew raised an eyebrow.  “I… don’t see how that makes any sense,” she said slowly.  “She wants nothing to do with him, doesn’t she?”

“That’s what it seems like,” Clarity said, her excitement growing.  “But she always seems to get more emotional, for better or for worse, when he’s around.  And you heard what she said, right?  Why do I have to do this to him?  What if the reason Sparkler’s upset is because she actually does like Presto, but whatever else is going on in that strange little head of hers is compelling her to push him away?  I know I’d be upset if I felt I needed to treat a potential special somepony like dirt every time he talked to me.”

“I dunno,” Scuffle said skeptically.  “I’m no expert on love, but that seems a little far-fetched.”

Clarity shrugged.  “It’s just a guess.”

“Well, even if you’re right, we still don’t know exactly why Sparkler needs to distance herself from everypony,” Dinky pointed out.  “If we could answer that one question, we could probably explain everything she does.”

“I still vote we let her deal with it herself,” Scuffle mumbled.  “We’ve all been mixed up with Sparkler before.  It never ends well.”

Dinky sighed.  “I guess you’re right,” she said somberly.  “Sometimes there just isn’t a good way to get through to somepony like that.”

Quietly, Dinky led her friends away from the window, wondering just what it was that had left the overseer in such a state.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mist.

Again Dinky was surrounded by mist.  And again she knew what was going to happen.

A quick illumination spell revealed the same blue, reflective chamber she’d seen several times before.  It stretched on in one direction toward total darkness, where she figured Sunbeam was waiting.

Just another dream, the filly thought, somewhat less concerned than she had been the last few times.  Better wake myself up before Sunbeam shows up.

Hoofsteps echoed in the darkness nearby.  “Sorry, Sunbeam,” she called mockingly.  “I don’t have time to play today.  See ya!”

The filly snickered as she willed herself to awaken.  The hoofsteps vanished, as did the strange cave.  Proud of herself, Dinky opened her eyes.

This time, however, she didn’t awaken in her bed in the residence tower.  Instead, she found herself lying on a patch of thick moss in the middle of a dense grove of trees.

“W-wait, what?” she asked aloud, still groggy.  Rubbing her eyes, she stood and looked around.  Only moonlight lit the area, and with the shade of the trees, there was very little of that.  But instead of the vague lines and muffled sounds of her dream world, everything here was worryingly sharp and clear, even in the dim light.

Dinky took a few steps, trying to orient herself.  She recognized the area; she was in the forest outside the castle, a short walk from her hideout.

But how did I get here? she wondered.  When I went to sleep, I was in the tower…

“Confused, are we?” a voice asked.

Dinky looked wildly around, quickly spotting two glimmering blue eyes connected to something hidden just out of sight in the darkness.  Although she needed no further identification, she lit her horn for a better view, and sure enough, found herself staring at a very not-dreamed Sunbeam.

“You’ve got a surprisingly strong mind, Dinky, yes you do,” Sunbeam said, smiling.  “I thought it’d be easy to take advantage of those dreams of yours, but so far, your resilience is proving surprising, yes it is.”

“So it was you!” Dinky snarled.  “Did you bring me out here somehow?  Send me back right now!”

“Relax, Dinky Doo,” Sunbeam hissed.  “You’re in no danger tonight, no you are not.  Why would I hurt the one pony who can help me with my plans, anyway?”

Dinky refused to show fear.  “You know what?  I’m tired of hearing that,” she said defiantly.  “I’m sick of your riddles and guessing games, Sunbeam.  I’m not leaving until I get some answers!”

Sunbeam chucked darkly.  “I do so love how you act like you can still win this, yes I do.  Ask away, and I’ll answer whatever I see fit.”

The colt sat down on the moss, looking expectantly at Dinky with his big blue eyes and wagging his bright orange tail playfully.  Dinky found it unnerving that such an evil pony could look so harmless.

“Let’s start with the obvious,” Dinky began harshly.  “How did I get outside?  I was asleep in my own bed until just a few moments ago.”

“I brought you here, yes I did,” Sunbeam said matter-of-factly.  “You’ve been doing strangely well trying to resist the dark magic.  All fruitless in the end, yes it is, but an interesting display of will nonetheless.  I decided it was time for us to chat, so I could show you just how small your hopes of resisting me really are.”

“Oh really,” Dinky said icily.  “Well, we’ll get to that in a minute.  For now, answer me something I’ve been wondering for a long time.”

For a second, the she took the harsh edge of her speech and flattened her ears against her head.  “Why me, exactly?  Out of all the ponies, why did you trick me into learning dark magic?”

“A boring answer to an interesting question, really,” Sunbeam said dully.  “You were a filly with great talent, yet little knowledge of the path I was leading you down, yes you were.  A shame, I suppose, for you, but on the upside, you’re doing what I want quite nicely so far.”

Dinky frowned.  “Well, from the point of view of the bad guy, at least I can understand that one,” she grumbled.  “But so far, all I know is that you decided to teach me forbidden, evil magic in secret so that I can ‘help fulfill your grand plan’ or whatever.  When do I get to hear about the crazy, evil thing you somehow think I’m going to do?”

Sunbeam laughed, although the sound was more disconcerting than mirthful.  “Oh, I just need an assistant to help me with one small spell, yes I do,” he chuckled.  “If I were to tell you all about it now though, it’d ruin all the fun!”

Dinky snorted.  “Then what did you want to tell me?  Why drag me out here in the middle of the night if you’re not going to give me any more information?”

“To give you a taste of what to expect,” Sunbeam answered, less cordially.  “As you’ve no doubt noticed, your dark magic is resurfacing on its own, yes it is.  Do you know why?”

Dinky pointed at the sky.  “Scorpio,” she mumbled.

“Very good, yes you are.  Scorpio’s time at the top of the sky is but two months away, and as she draws closer, her power increases in me, as well as in you.”

“Well, I can still fight it,” Dinky said.  “I’m not a wraith yet, and as long as I can resist the dark magic until Scorpio leaves the night sky, I’ll never be one.”

Sunbeam raised his eyebrows.  “You know about wraiths?” he asked incredulously.  “Somepony’s been doing her homework, yes she has.”

“Of course I know about wraiths,” Dinky snapped.  “I still don’t know why, but it doesn’t take a genius to tell you tried to turn me into one.  But I caught on before it was too late.”

“Oh no you did not,” Sunbeam cooed.  “Perhaps you stopped before I could turn you into a wraith on my own, but Scorpio’s influence will make it possible for me to finish the job, yes it will.  I may have been able to corrupt you further I first invaded your dreams, if not for that troublesome stallion who helped to awaken you.”

Dinky blinked.  “So he wasn’t part of the dream either?  Then who was he?”

“It doesn’t matter, no it does not!” Sunbeam said, advancing suddenly and snarling as he pressed his nose against Dinky’s, causing her to rapidly back away.  “The point is, he cannot always be there to help you, and, strong though your will is, you cannot continue to resist Scorpio as long as I am there to fan the flames.  The longer you fight, the harder it will become.”  

Dinky was backed against a tree as the colt continued to push her.  She gasped as black light surrounded his horn. 

“I swear, yes I do, by the time Scorpio reigns over the sky, you will serve the purpose of darkness, yes you will!”

Wham!

Before she even knew what she was doing, Dinky had punched the advancing colt in the face as hard as her small forehoof would allow.  Sunbeam’s horn went out as he reeled, stepping back a few paces and clutching his already swelling nose.

“Fine,” he said, his voice now muffled and nasally.  “Run back to your friends.  Tell your professors and precious princesses all about this.  It won’t do you any good, no it won’t.  But oh will it be fun to watch you try.”

He dove into the brush.  Dinky gave chase, but by the time she’d pulled back the first bush, Sunbeam was already no more than a black shape darting off into the deeper darkness.

> Chapter 15
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Princess Luna towered over Dinky.  The royal mare’s expression was unreadable.

“Calm down, young one,” she commanded.  “Explain what has happened once more.  Slowly.”

After Sunbeam’s disappearance, Dinky had done the only thing she could do upon finding herself stranded in the woods at night: approach the castle guards.  Naturally, given that it was the middle of the night, she was taken to be reprimanded for breaking curfew.  Luckily, the dean was asleep, so she’d been brought directly to Princess Luna instead.  Now the two ponies stood in Luna’s odd little office, a moonlit room with little more to see than an old oak desk and various star charts pinned to the walls.

Dinky took a breath and tried to explain her situation less frantically.  Wary of Luna’s stony, unchanging expression, she carefully recounted everything that had happened, from the dream to waking up in the forest to Sunbeam’s threat.  Luna stood very still, waiting patiently for Dinky’s tale to conclude before replying.

“Young one, I hope you understand that the situation with this rogue colt is becoming quite serious,” she said finally.  “There are a host of protective enchantments on the residence towers, so I find it very unlikely he teleported you into the woods… but it is possible he was able to will you to sleepwalk via your dreams, which is perhaps even more troubling.”

“Well… what can I do?” Dinky asked, flattening her ears against her head nervously.  “Nopony’s managed to catch him yet.  He only allows himself to be seen by me and my friends.  Is there some way I can stop him from doing whatever he wants the next time he appears to me?”

“Dinky Doo, based on what you have told me, I do not think this colt wishes to hurt you,” Luna admitted, placing a forehoof gently on Dinky’s shoulder.  “He does, however, seem determined to make you use dark magic, and it is there that his weakness lies.  You must defy him; deny his commands, refute his claims, and be wary of his tricks.  He cannot physically force you to use such spells without the use of powerful localized atmospheric spells, which are easy even for the inexperienced to detect and avoid.  As long as you don’t allow him to lead you into a trap, I believe he is all talk.”

“Maybe face to face,” Dinky mumbled, looking at the floor and scraping a hoof sheepishly along the boards.  “It’s a different story in my dreams…”

Luna raised a forehoof, surprised.  “Dinky Doo, has the influence of these dreams of yours led you to use more dark magic?”

Dinky gasped quietly and put a forehoof over her mouth.  She looked away, afraid and ashamed to respond.

The princess’s expression softened.  “Young one, I assure you I am only here to help,” she said quietly.  “Please, tell me the truth.”

“It… it did happen once,” Dinky said morosely, hanging her head.  “And Sunbeam has tried again and again, but I’ve been forcing myself to wake up.  I think Scorpio is gradually making the dreams more vivid, though.  I… I’m not sure how much longer I’ll be able to resist him while I’m asleep.”

Again, Luna rested a tender forehoof on the filly’s shoulder.  “You forget, Dinky, that I am also capable of entering ponies’ dreams.  If this is what it has come to, I shall keep vigil over your dreams until Scorpio’s influence departs from you.  A pony, even a dark magic user, would have to be clever indeed to gain the upper hoof on me in the realm of dreams.”

Dinky allowed herself to smile.  “You’d do that for me?” she asked hopefully.  “Thank you, princess.  I’ll be able to sleep more peacefully knowing that you’re keeping an eye on me!”

The filly lowered her voice, rubbing one forehoof against the other awkwardly.  “And, um… do you think maybe we could not tell the dean about this?  She has enough of a grudge against me already.”

“I fear we must inform her about Sunbeam’s latest actions, but we can keep the bit about you using dark magic again between you, me, and my sister,” Luna said with a wink.  “I suggest you tell Twilight Sparkle, as well.”

Dinky pranced gleefully in place.  “That works for me!  Thanks so much, Princess Luna!”

“You are quite welcome,” Luna said, smiling warmly.  “Now, you should return to your tower.  It’s quite late, and I must return to my duties here.”

Dinky trotted off, feeling quite relieved.  Both she and the princess were unaware of the purple pony watching through the keyhole of the door across the room.

“Interesting…” Sparkler mumbled, scribbling something in a notebook and tucking it into her saddlebag.  She hesitated a moment longer, and then trotted off silently into the dark.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“…And so, as long as Princess Luna keeps Sunbeam out of my dreams, everything will be fine!” Dinky said proudly as the four friends made their way to Practical Magic class.  “Turns out he was just blowing hot air.”

“Don’t get cocky, Dinky,” Clarity warned.  “The only reason Luna's plan is a proper countermeasure is because Sunbeam’s trying to use you rather than hurt you.”

“Yeah, that colt’s bad news,” Honeydew chimed in, looking worried.  “Even if he was trying to psych you out, he did teach you dark magic, and he seems like an expert on it himself.  That makes him a threat to everypony, even the princesses.”

“Still, Dinks has a point,” Scuffle added.  “This is really the first time she’s gotten to strike back against Sunbeam since he started trying to manipulate her.  She’s got a right to be happy about that.”

“Right!” Dinky agreed.  “And don’t worry, Clarity.  Underestimating Sunbeam would be the worst mistake I could make at this point.  But at least now I know there’s a way somepony can help me resist him until the guards or the princesses finally catch him.”

“He’s bound to try and fight dirty once he figures it out, though,” Clarity said warily.  “Don’t forget, he knows who we are.  What happens if he comes after us?”

Honeydew moaned and pinned her ears back against her head.  “Ugh, please don’t even bring that up, Clarity…”

“I think if Sunbeam tried to do anything drastic, somepony would probably notice,” Dinky said.  “He’s really intent on keeping a low profile, so I think he wouldn’t attack you three outright.  Besides, he only seems to come out in the evenings or at night, so stay indoors and with other ponies, or just go to the residence towers, and you should be fine.”

“I guess,” Clarity said, sighing.  “Still, the sooner this whole mess blows over, the better.”

The four foals ended their conversation there as they trotted into the Practical Magic classroom and took their seats.  Professor Morningstar was waiting at the front of the classroom with an interesting gleam in his eye.

“Good morning, everypony,” he said cheerfully.  “Can you believe it’s already the first of September?  In barely more than two months, our term will conclude, and we have so much still to cover!  Today we’re starting on a new topic: one that many of you have been waiting for all term long.”

The professor quickly wrote the acronym LIMIT on the board once again.  “This entire course has revolved around this word,” he announced.  “We’ve covered the topics in great detail.  Every one of you has nearly mastered levitation and illumination, and many of you are proficient or better with manipulation of objects and illusion.  But remind me, what does the 'T' in LIMIT stand for?”

“Teleportation!” said at least half the class aloud.

“Precisely!” Professor Morningstar replied.  “Teleportation, as you all likely recall, is the most complex of the practical spells.  There are many adult unicorns in Equestria who are completely incapable of this useful means of magical transportation.  Lucky for us, this room is full of an up-and-coming wave of the most talented young unicorns there are!  So, who’s ready to learn how to teleport?”

There were various cheers and cries of assent from the students.  Dinky had seen Twilight teleport almost effortlessly around the library, and was totally enamored with the prospect of being able to do the same.

“Let me offer a word of caution before you get too excited,” the professor continued.  “Teleportation, no matter how you slice it, is a difficult spell.  So difficult, in fact, that many of you will not succeed today, or even by the end of the term.  When it comes time for the final exam, you will be tested on your ability to produce the proper magic for a teleport.  If you manage to do so successfully, it might be worth a few bonus points, but you certainly shouldn’t feel obligated to master the ability in just two months’ time.”

The professor waited for his message to sink in.  The class quieted, and he continued.

“Nevertheless, you will all try.  I’m confident some of you will succeed, and those who don’t will find it will eventually come to you with practice and time.  You may find teleportation is helpful or even required in some of your upper-level classes in the future, so this course is certainly not your only chance to learn it.”

He gave the chalkboard a quick kick with one back hoof, flipping it over to reveal a set of diagrams of ponies suspended by magic, coupled with a set of equations detailing the magic output requirements.  “On that note, let’s begin,” he said, pointing to the chalk drawings.  “As you may remember from our first class, teleportation is a form of self-levitation, coupled with movement at a speed that transcends typical physics.  At its core, it’s just a very, very advanced levitation spell.”

He swished his tail and glanced curiously around the room as if trying to guess the answer to his next question.  “So, I don’t suppose any of you have ever attempted to self-levitate?”

No hooves went up.

“That’s probably for the best,” Professor Morningstar chuckled.  “As I also mentioned on the first day of class, self-levitation is far more taxing on one’s magic reserves than levitation of another object.  The first part of your training to learn how to teleport is to learn how to self-levitate.  Don’t forget, you only need to maintain the spell for a second or so!  Teleportation happens immeasurably fast, so spending just one second holding yourself off the ground is already a far longer time than a true teleport would take.”

He pointed to a nine-digit number written on the chalkboard.  “Now, the other aspect of teleportation is the required speed.  The number you see here is the speed of light, in standardized pony-lengths per second.  Without the aid of magic, this is the fastest speed obtainable by physics.  If you want to be able to teleport through solid objects, you must produce a speed with magic that exceeds this one.”

“Produce it?  I don’t think I can even say it,” Scuffle whispered, earning a chuckle from Dinky.

“Now, fortunately, these speeds are the norm for teleportation,” the professor continued.  “If the amount of magic produced is not enough to reach the required speed, the teleport simply fails to occur.  Lucky for us, I might add, because the alternative would be hurtling into solid objects at near light speed!”

Dinky raised a hoof.  “So, besides being kinda draining, teleportation is totally safe?” she asked, tilting her head.

“Er, that depends how you define ‘safe’,” Professor Morningstar replied, pointing his ears back and glancing shiftily around the room.  "There is one annoying and sometimes mildly uncomfortable potential problem that can and often does occur.”

Scuffle gave a snort that turned into a chuckle.  “You get roasted in the process,” he said, not bothering to wait for the professor to call on him.  “I’ve seen Scorch and Frosty do it.  It’s hilarious.”

“Roasted?” Dinky asked, slightly alarmed.

“Roasted is a strong word,” Professor Morningstar laughed.  “In a way, though, Scuffle is correct.  When teleporting, you are applying a tremendous amount of magic to your own body, and moving it at incredible speeds.  The magic must be focused very carefully.  If it’s not, it’s still possible to teleport successfully, but you will not be protected from the heat created by both the excess magic and rapid motion.  Fortunately, exposure only lasts an instant, but it’s long enough to cause the mane and coat to be singed fairly significantly.  Contrary to Scuffle’s less-delicate wording, it is not possible to cook yourself alive while teleporting.  The only way to do that would be if you teleported a laughably massive distance, like to another planet, and in such circumstances you would run out of magic before the heat did more than just burn away some fur.”

“Is it likely that this’ll happen the first time we manage to teleport?” Clarity asked.

“Probably,” the professor admitted, shrugging sheepishly.  “Like I said, it’s not really a big deal.  If anypony manages it and gets a bit scorched, I’ll help you clean up.  Now, your goal is to attempt a teleport by combining self levitation with the secondary rapid movement spell.  Technical details are on the chalkboard and in your textbooks if you need them.  Now get up and start practicing!”

The room immediately became a bustle of activity.  Dinky, Clarity, Honeydew, and Scuffle quickly clustered together and headed to their usual corner of the classroom to practice.

“So, which of you is going to try it first?” Honeydew asked, looking back and forth between Dinky and Clarity.

“Why us?” Clarity asked.  “You and Scuffle can try too.”

Scuffle rolled his eyes.  “Yeah, right.  Me pulling off a spell as complex as a teleport.  You might as well ask me to sprout wings while you’re at it.”

“You two are the ones with the strongest magic skills,” Honeydew pointed out.  “We’ll try later, but you’re the ponies who have a chance of actually succeeding.”

Clarity shrugged.  “Well, Dinky, you’ve seen plenty of ponies teleport, and you do have that knack for picking up on the finer details of spellcasting after you’ve watched it happen a few times,” she began.  “Just last week, you were the only pony who could perform a conjuring spell in Transformation class.  You might have the best chance of teleporting too.”

“I guess I can try,” Dinky said, conceding.  She thought back to Twilight teleporting around the library, and Lucid as she teleported out of Clarity’s room.  Of particular importance was the time Presto has teleported and brought her along as a passenger in the spell.

The filly’s horn flared with yellow light, glowing brighter than usual as she pumped every bit of her energy into it.  Focus the energy on moving to another spot, she thought to herself over and over.  Let the magic pick me up and carry me there all at once…

Dinky’s friends stepped back, surprised, as her aura extended from her horn and began to surround her whole body.  For a few seconds she stood, concentrating and quivering in place.  To her own delight, she rose about a half a pony length into the air.

Almost immediately, maintaining the magic became monumentally taxing.  Within a second or two, Dinky found herself too busy struggling to keep afloat to focus on actually moving.  Barely another second later, the magical cost became too severe.  Her concentration broke, and with a panicked squeak, she fell back to the floor in a heap.

Clarity giggled.  “Well, that was certainly… something.”

Dinky rolled over and glared at her friend.  “Help me up, would you?” she asked irritably.  “I feel like somepony filled me with cement.  That spell uses up a lot of magic.”

With Clarity’s aid, Dinky got back to her hooves and leaned against the wall, breathing hard.  “Somepony else give it a try,” she panted.

Throughout the class, things seemed to be the same both for the four friends and all the other students.  Now and then, a lucky colt or filly would manage a brief bout of self-levitation, but nopony managed to couple it with the secondary spell needed to teleport.  Professor Morningstar continued to stress that the two components of the spell needed to be cast at the same time, or else the energy expenditure of the hovering would quickly make the other half impossible.

Soon, class had nearly concluded, and nopony had managed to teleport even a short distance.  Dinky, who had managed to levitate herself more than once, sat slumped in the corner, too tired to give it another attempt.  Honeydew and Scuffle, as they had expected, had both failed to do much, although Honeydew had lifted herself just a tiny distance off the ground for an instant with levitation, which seemed to be enough of an achievement in her eyes.

Clarity, panting hard from her own successful instances of hovering, trudged back out in front of her friends to give the spell one final attempt.

“Last shot for today,” Scuffle pointed out.  “Make it count, Clarity.”

“You can do it!” Honeydew cheered.

Although Dinky could see in Clarity’s eyes that the encouragement was fruitless, the grey filly smiled all the same.  Concentrating one more time, she lit her horn and surrounded her figure with a red glow.

Dinky forced her aching legs to support her, and began to trot toward her saddlebag, keeping an eye on Clarity all the while.  For about ten seconds, Clarity remained completely still.  She did not float into the air or adjust her position.  She simply stood there, engulfed in her own magic.

And then, unexpectedly, she disappeared in a flash.

Dinky blinked.  “Did she just—”

Dinky only barely had time to register Clarity’s departure before the grey filly reappeared overhead and crashed down on top of her, pinning her to the floor and knocking the wind out of her.

Immediately, the room was in an uproar.  Professor Morningstar pushed past the other students and rushed over to the two fillies entangled in a heap.

“Bravo, Clarity, bravo!” he cried, stamping his forehooves in applause.  “Your aim was a bit off, but that was an honest-to-goodness teleport!  And on the very first day, too!”

Clarity coughed and rolled off of Dinky.  Dinky got a look at her friend, and couldn’t help but laugh despite trying to catch her breath.  Poor Clarity was terribly disheveled and covered head-to-hoof in soot.  Black marks lined the edges of her mane and tail where the tips of a lot of the hair had burned away.

“Wait, I did it?” Clarity asked, disoriented.  “I’m not even sure what happened.”

“You decided to teleport up to the ceiling and crush Dinks on the way back down,” Scuffle somehow managed, although he was doubled over with laughter.

Clarity shakily stood up and smiled, embarrassed.  “Er… sorry Dinky.  I wasn’t really sure how to control that.”

“Hey, I’m not the one coated in ashes,” Dinky responded, smirking.  “Seriously though, awesome job, Clarity.”

“Awesome indeed!” Professor Morningstar agreed.  “Class is dismissed.  Dinky, Clarity, stay behind for a few moments.  We’ll get you two cleaned up.”

The professor’s swift and clever magic quickly got the girls looking as they did before class.  Her worries about Sunbeam temporarily forgotten, Dinky happily galloped off to celebrate with her friends.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For late summer, it was unusually cold that night.  Lighting the fireplace in the student lounge may have been overkill, but somepony did anyway, and the flames crackled away in the hearth, casting long shadows around the room.

Dinky was snuggled up contentedly on the couch, lazily paging through a list of star types she was supposed to be memorizing for Astronomy.  Scuffle was nearby, lying quietly on his back on the floor and trying to balance a quill tip-down on the underside of his hoof.  Honeydew was curled up near the fire, and appeared to be asleep.  All in all, it was a peaceful scene.

And then Clarity showed up.

Considering Clarity chose to buck the doors open rather than use magic, it was pretty clear that, even hours later, she still hadn’t quite come off the rush from her unexpected successful spell earlier that day.  The sound of the doors being thrown wide roused Honeydew from her nap, and she looked wildly around for a moment.

“’Sup, Clarity?” Scuffle asked, not looking away from the quill precariously wobbling on his hoof.

“I just got back from sending a letter!” Clarity announced, as if this was exciting news.  “Lucid’s gonna lose it when she finds out I already managed to teleport!”

Honeydew rubbed her eyes.  “I’m sure she will, Clarity,” she said, holding back a yawn, “but don’t you think maybe it’s time to calm down now?  You’ve been celebrating for, um, most of the day.”

“Oh, sorry!” Clarity said, giggling.  “It’s just… you guys know how much I love learning powerful new spells!  I know a few, and usually, they take me weeks of focused practice.”

She carefully rose to her hind legs.  “But look at me today!” she continued.  “Just this once, I got to be really impressive!  For once, I shined even brighter than Lucid!”

Clarity threw her forelegs out to her sides victoriously, which unfortunately caused her to lose her balance.  Flailing, she squeaked as she tumbled sideways onto the couch, sending Dinky’s stuffed saddlebag toppling to the floor and spilling papers and quills everywhere.  “Whoops,” she said weakly.

Dinky hopped off the couch to start picking up her scattered possessions.  “It is exciting,” she agreed.  “You just need to, you know, tone it down a little bit.”

“Yeah…” Clarity agreed as she stood up to help Dinky clean up the mess.  She picked up Dinky’s saddlebag, dumping out the few odds and ends still inside so they could reorganize its contents.  When she shook it, a white, spherical object dropped out and rolled across the carpet.

“What’s that?” Scuffle asked, tossing his quill aside and sitting up to look at the object.

“Oh, nothing,” Dinky said dully, turning back to her bag.  “It’s just the pearl Sparkler enchanted for us last month.  It’s damaged; I’ve been meaning to see if I could fix it, but I haven’t gotten around to it.”

Clarity lifted the large pearl in her aura and stroked the long crack in it with a forehoof.  “I think the enchantment should still be on it,” she said thoughtfully.  “I’d try using a transformation spell to try to modify the shape a little and then fuse the crack shut once you can get the sides to meet."

Dinky pondered the suggestion as she stuffed the last book back into her saddlebag.  “Hmm, I hadn’t thought of that,” she admitted, taking the pearl and sitting back down with it.  “Let me work on that.”

The filly lit her horn and began to move the pearl between her hooves as she delicately tried to ease the gap closed.  Clarity leaned over and joined in on the effort.

Scuffle turned away from the two fillies and sat down instead next to Honeydew, who was still lying by the fire.  “What kind of enchantment is on that thing, anyway?” he asked her.

“It reads your mood and changes color to reflect it,” Honeydew replied.  “It worked pretty well before Sparkler broke it.”

She looked pensive for a second.  “I wish we knew just what it was that makes her so guarded,” she continued.  “You weren’t there, of course, but the day she enchanted that was the closest we’ve ever seen her come to opening up.”

“Yeah, I’d love to know what makes that mare tick,” Scuffle said, flopping down on the rug next to the filly.  “I’m tired of being bossed around by such a grump.”

There was a short pause.  Scuffle glanced in Honeydew’s direction and was surprised to see her staring at him apprehensively.

“…What?” he asked finally.

“You’re a little close,” Honeydew mumbled, making a halfhearted attempt to nudge the colt away with a forehoof.

Scuffle rolled his eyes.  “Honeydew, I thought we sorted this out while we were on vacation,” he said, flicking his tail indignantly.  “Are you still uncomfortable?”

Honeydew shrugged noncommittally.  “Not really, I guess,” she said softly.  “It’s just gonna take some time, I think, for me to adjust.”

“How much time?” Scuffle asked, twitching an ear.  “It’s been a month, and I haven’t done anything particularly bad since we tried to resolve things.”

“You haven’t done anything particularly good, either,” Honeydew said simply.  “You talk to me sometimes, and you attend class with me, and that’s about it.  That’s all fine, but… well, there’s a difference between a polite acquaintance and an actual friend.”

Scuffle’s ears drooped.  “A-alright, you have a point,” he stuttered, shuffling a short distance away to give Honeydew her wanted space.  “I really do want the best for you, and Clarity and Dinky, too.  I guess I’m just not too good at showing it.  Having friends is a little new to me.”

There was silence for a second.  Scuffle noticed it and turned to the couch, frowning at the other two fillies, who had ceased their hushed conversation about the pearl to listen in.

“What are you two looking at?” he asked irritably.

“Nothing,” Dinky said quickly.  “Here, I think I fixed the crack in the pearl.  Test it out for us.”

She tossed the pearl at Scuffle.  The colt caught it, but it remained white.

“No luck, Dinks,” he said, casually tossing and catching the jewel.  “Either the enchantment’s worn off, or you still have some repairs to do.”

“That’s a shame,” Clarity said, pursing her lips.  “Well, we’ll mess with it more tomorrow.  I guess it’s about time to get to bed.”

“Yeah, it’s been a long day,” Honeydew agreed, standing up and stretching for a moment.

Scuffle looked at Honeydew as she rose to her hooves.  For just a moment, Dinky thought she saw a flicker of change in the pearl.  It may have just been the colt changing his angle relative to the light of the fire, but for just a second, it seemed to shimmer pink.

Before she could investigate, Scuffle tossed the pearl back in her direction.  She caught it with her magic and examined it closely, but it was the same dull white as usual.  Wondering if she was imagining things, the filly returned the apparently still defective gem to her bag and trotted along with Clarity and Honeydew back through the hall to the fillies’ tower.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Over the next few weeks, Dinky’s plan to counter Sunbeam’s invasion into her dreams seemed to be working.  With Luna looming over the realms of her sleeping mind, Sunbeam dared not appear, even when Dinky found herself back in the strange, reflective cave.  After two or three attempts, her dreams ceased to lead her there entirely.  Dinky was satisfied with her apparent victory, imagining Sunbeam swearing to himself each time he tried to enter her mind and felt Luna’s influence there instead.

Heading into the forest was still safe during daylight hours, as far as Dinky could tell.  About a week into September, the girls, along with Scuffle, headed for their hideout for the afternoon, as they often did after class.  Dinky and Clarity were busy telling the story of Nester’s latest antics in Transformation class.  Engrossed in her story, Dinky wasn’t paying attention and nearly tripped over the ball of orange fur curled up on the hideout floor.

“Whoops!  Sorry, Trouble,” Dinky said, carefully walking around the fox.

Trouble, strangely, didn’t acknowledge the fillies.  He shifted slightly and curled up tighter.

Dinky raised an eyebrow.  “Lazy today, huh?”

Honeydew, in contrast to Dinky’s amusement, seemed concerned.  She trotted over and stroked Trouble gently.  The fox lifted his head for a moment, gave Honeydew a vague glance through bleary eyes, and lay back down again.

“Laziness has nothing to do with it,” Honeydew mumbled forebodingly.  “He’s not well.  Poor thing.  I hope it’s not too serious…”

“What’s wrong with him?” Scuffle asked.

“How am I supposed to know?” Honeydew asked, delicately petting Trouble’s coat again.  “I’m fairly good with plants, but I don’t know a whole lot about animals yet…”

Clarity lit her horn and carefully lifted the fox.  He dangled limply in her aura, too drained to try to resist.

“Wow, look at him,” Clarity said, now sharing Honeydew’s concern.  “He’s gotten really thin.  Maybe he’s been too sick to hunt.”

Scuffle put a hoof over his muzzle.  “And he smells, too,” the colt commented, agitated.

“What do you think we should do?” Honeydew asked.  “Given the state he’s in, I’m not sure he’ll recover if we don’t try to help.”

Clarity turned to Dinky.  “He’s always liked you best,” she pointed out.  “Any ideas for how we can help him?”

“One,” Dinky admitted, “but you’re not gonna like it.”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Perhaps it was fortunate Trouble was too weak to move very much.  A bulging saddlebag attracted little suspicion, but a bulging, writhing saddlebag would have been harder to ignore.

Equally fortunate was the fact that the colt-proof shield surrounding the fillies’ tower seemed to only work on ponies.  Dinky carried the saddlebag and its concealed passenger inside without issue.

“I’m not too sure about this,” Clarity whispered as the trio of fillies crept up the stairs to their dormitory.  “It’s definitely against the rules to bring a wild animal in here.”

“I know!” Dinky hissed back.  “But what choice do we have?  Trouble’s become like our mascot; he visits all the time when we go to the hideout, and he hardly ever destroys my stuff anymore.  He’s more pet than wild animal nowadays.”

“But what about Sparkler?” Honeydew asked, glancing left and right as if expecting Sparkler to burst through the wall and catch them at any moment.  “If she catches Trouble, she’ll report you to the dean!  I don’t know how many more rules you can get away with breaking in the same year, Dinky…”

“We’ll make sure we keep him secret, then,” Dinky said firmly.  “We can’t sugarcoat what’s happening; Trouble is really sick, and if we leave him out there to fend for himself, he’ll die.  Sure, he was a pain at first, but Trouble’s on our side now.  He keeps us company when we visit the forest, and he helped Scuffle out of that bad situation the day before Midsummer Holiday.  Heck, we wouldn’t have even found the hideout if he hadn’t stolen my pendant that day.”

“He did do all that,” Clarity agreed, “but… but is he worth risking another offense against the rules, and maybe even expulsion, over?”

“You two won’t be expelled,” Dinky assured her.  “The dean only hates me, remember?”

“You’re dodging the question,” Clarity said crossly, stepping forward and blocking Dinky’s way.  “Answer me.  Is Trouble worth the risk or not?”

Dinky shrugged.  “Maybe not,” she said, her tone surprisingly light.  “But who ever said good deeds had to be repaid equally?  My friend is sick and I want to help him.  It’s as simple as that.”

Caught off guard, Clarity stopped walking for a moment.  Then she smiled.

“Bighearted as ever, Dinky,” she chuckled.  “Shame on me for questioning the very thing that makes you such a great friend in the first place.”

Dinky, Clarity, and Honeydew reached their room.  The other two fillies looked at Dinky, awaiting instruction.

“Alright, here’s the plan,” she began, carefully lifting Trouble from the saddlebag.  “Clarity, get a box or basket and some cloth or something and see if you can make a little bed for Trouble.”

“Roger that, captain” Clarity replied, giving a silly salute.

“Honeydew,” Dinky continued, “Trouble will need something to eat.  Do you think Professor Chestnut could stand to part with a little bit of the meat-based feed for her animals?”

“She won’t mind at all.  She has tons,” Honeydew replied, nodding.

“Good.  I’ll take Trouble, since he seems to be the most comfortable around me, and get him cleaned up a little,” she added, picking Trouble up again and draping him across her back.  “Somepony will notice the smell if we don’t.  Not to mention, none of us want to live in a dorm with something that smells like he does.”

“So we’ll clean him, feed him, and give him a warm place to sleep,” Honeydew said, reiterating the checklist.  “Then what?”

“Then I guess we just have to hope it helps,” Dinky admitted.  “At least until we can figure out how serious his illness is.”

Undaunted, the fillies set off to begin their respective tasks.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Trouble was quickly made comfortable, and seemed to be in stable condition.  Much to Dinky’s relief, he stayed quiet and out of the way, making him surprisingly easy to keep concealed.  The fillies simply had to make sure to close the door whenever they left the room.

More worrying, however, was Trouble’s condition.  He didn’t seem to be getting worse as the days went by, but he wasn’t improving either.  The girls kept him safe and well fed, hoping that he’d get his strength back.

As the month went on though, another even more unsettling event took priority in the filly’s mind.  It was an afternoon like any other, and Dinky and her friends had just gotten out of Enchantments class.  After meeting up with Scuffle, they headed to the castle gardens to talk.

“So, Dinks,” Scuffle began, “you know a little about counterspells, right?”

“Just one or two,” Dinky admitted.  “That basic magic disruption spell was the first spell I ever cast, remember?”

“Yeah, that’s why I figured I’d ask you,” Scuffle continued.  “I checked out a book on counterspells, and I—”

“Wait,” Clarity cut in, giving Scuffle an incredulous look, “you are going out of your way to learn magic we don’t need to know for class?  Since when do you do that?”

“Since maybe they might be useful when I have two brothers who want to mess me up,” Scuffle said, rolling his eyes.  “I was doing some thinking earlier this week, and I realized that counterspells probably fall under the umbrella of defensive magic.  Maybe if I practice, I could get good enough at them to counter Scorch and Frosty’s attacks, instead of just shielding myself and running away.”

“That’s actually a really smart idea,” Dinky said, patting Scuffle on the back.  “So, what have you found out so far?”

Scuffle shrugged.  “I’m just trying to figure out which spells would be the most useful,” he said.  “Scorch and Frosty like to use direct assaults, usually in the form of a fireball or a blast of freezing air.  So I’ve been looking into that cancellation spell you use to cancel it before it’s cast, and also a couple late-phase cancellations to try to stop them once they’ve already been thrown at me.  Trouble is, I don’t know if… uh, Dinky?”

Scuffle trailed off and turned around.  Dinky had stopped dead in her tracks and was staring blankly ahead.

Clarity cautiously backed up and waved a hoof in front of Dinky’s face.  “Equestria to Dinky.  You okay?”

Dinky blinked several times.  “Y-yeah,” she said weakly.  “Sorry, just… a headache or something.”

“You were fine a second ago,” Honeydew said, trotting over and placing the side of her forehoof on Dinky’s forehead.  “Are you coming down with something?”

Dinky gently pushed Honeydew away.  “No, it’s… something else.”

Dinky took a few more cautious steps, and suddenly reeled as a powerful aura engulfed her.  It felt like there was some kind of concentrated magical energy nearby, radiating from someplace she couldn’t see.  Why then, she wondered, can’t they feel it?  They’re unicorns too.

The sensation did not dull, and after a moment, Dinky sank down onto her haunches and shut her eyes, overwhelmed.  Instantly, her friends were at her side.

“What’s wrong?” Clarity asked urgently, her voice tinged with worry.  “Do you need us to take you to the infirmary?”

Dinky said nothing.  The aura she felt hung in the air around her like smoke, attempting to muddle her thoughts.  It felt oppressive, sickening, almost haunting, but strangely familiar.

“Dark magic.”

Clarity blinked.  “What?”

“Something around here is giving off a ton of dark magic,” Dinky managed, forcing herself to stand.  “But where is it?  What is it?”

She teetered over to the side of the path, where the aura felt strongest, looking closely for any sign of anything out of the ordinary.  As she stepped into the grass, her hoof brushed lightly against a smooth rock.

Suddenly, the sensation more than doubled in its intensity.  Dinky cried out and was unable to prevent a blast of dark magic from firing out of her horn, which made a sound like a firecracker and produced a shower of black sparks.  Terrified, she backed off and collapsed on the pathway.

Honeydew gave a sharp squeal and cowered behind the nearest large object, which happened to be Scuffle.  Clarity, however, bravely galloped to Dinky’s side.

“Dinky!  What happened?”

“It’s the rock,” Dinky mumbled, clutching at her aching head.  “The rock’s full of dark magic.”

Clarity glanced at the unassuming stone and dragged Dinky a few more pony lengths away from it.  Dinky felt her head start to clear as some distance was put between her and the stone.

Scuffle crept up to the rock like a cat stalking a mouse.  Cringing, he carefully reached out and tapped it with the tip of his hoof.  Absolutely nothing happened, and the colt breathed a sigh of relief.

“You sure that’s what caused it, Dinks?” he asked, poking the stone a few more times.  “Feels like a regular old rock to me.”

“It shouldn’t feel unusual to you,” Dinky replied, standing and walking a few more paces so the aura faded from her senses entirely.  “It’s not a specific spell.  Just a whole bunch of dark energy poured into one object.”

“So you can only feel it because of all that dark magic in you?” Honeydew asked, still keeping her distance.

“Looks like it,” Dinky said frustratedly.  “Sunbeam’s getting really clever.  I hadn’t even thought about it, but exposing me to dark magic through remote sources is just about the best move he can make.  Even the princesses can’t sense dark energy when it’s just radiating, but I’ll be affected whenever I get near one because of this dumb corruption.  The rest of the school can keep functioning uninterrupted, while Sunbeam can specifically torment me.”

Clarity bit her lip.  “Is there anything you can do about it?” she asked hesitantly.

“Avoid them, obviously,” Dinky said, snorting.  “And start doing research about disenchanting spells.  I don’t know if a spell used to dispel the stored magic in an object will work on dark magic enchantments, but I can certainly try them.”

“What about telling Twilight, or the princesses?” Scuffle asked.

Dinky looked at the floor.  “I, uh… I will if I need to,” she said.  “The more I make them worry about my dark magic issues, the more likely they’re going to intervene and do something drastic, like send me back to Ponyville.  So I want to at least try to handle Sunbeam’s latest move by myself.”

Clarity hesitated, then nodded.  “Just be careful, okay?” she asked as she led the group away from the stone.  “Sunbeam’s not likely to make this an isolated event.  Better start working on studying those disenchanting spells; I have a feeling that colt’s going to make a lot more of these awful things…”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the following weeks, Sunbeam did exactly that.

Much to Dinky’s discontent, the rock was only the first of many dark auras that cropped up around the school.  Even more unsettling was the fact that they were also being removed as often as they appeared.  Dinky noticed within a day or two that the stone she’d encountered first had returned to a regular rock.  Sunbeam, or so she guessed, was probably trying to make it difficult to prove the auras existed by changing their locations under the cover of night.

The one silver lining was that the auras were not powerful enough to force Dinky to use dark magic, unless she touched the tainted objects.  This made it pretty easy to avoid more corruption, but left the filly feeling anywhere from “under the weather” to “downright miserable”, depending on the exposure she received that day.  Thankfully, the few additional bursts of dark magic that she did have were small, and happened in private.

Once or twice, poor Dinky was tempted to give in and let a little dark magic flow, if only because giving into an aura’s influence lessened the discomfort.  But each time, she pushed the thought from her mind and focused on studying every resource in the school’s library on enchantment removal spells.

I can’t afford any more corruption! she told herself.  Not with Scorpio getting so close.  I have to grit my teeth and fight through this.

The residence tower, at least, remained a respite, and Dinky and her friends started spending more of their free time there, which, given the dropping temperatures, wasn’t too much of a tragedy.

Most weekdays though, after finishing her homework, Dinky would collapse onto her bed, exhausted from another stressful day of resisting auras.  Thankfully, her sleep remained peaceful for the time being.

Each night though, Scorpio clawed her way higher up the night sky, and Dinky was left to wonder if the worst was still to come.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Soon it was late September.  Virgo moved from the top of the night sky, and Libra took her place.  The Zodiac pony Dinky dreaded the most patiently waited her turn, next in line to become the constellation with the most influence.

One sunny Friday, Dinky and Clarity made their way down to the castle for Magical Artifacts class.  Dinky kept her senses alert for the first prick of radiating dark magic; it had become a habit for her very quickly.

“You look peppy today,” Clarity observed.  “What’s got you in such good spirits?”

Dinky grinned.  “Remember how, on the first day of class, Professor Bronze suggested we have Miss Twilight as a guest speaker?”

Clarity’s eyes widened.  “Is that today?” she asked excitedly.  “I didn’t realize you’d actually been planning it!”

Dinky smirked.  “That’s because it’s a surprise for the class,” she said slyly.  “Keep it a secret.  I want to see their faces when the leader of the Elements of Harmony walks in.”

Clarity giggled.  “I’ve met Twilight twice and I’m still excited to see her!  I can’t imagine how the rest of the class will react.”

“There’s also something I want to talk to her about while she’s here,” Dinky said in a more serious tone. “Maybe I can get her to help me with the latest dark magic problem without her finding out just how serious it is.”

Dinky and Clarity arrived at the classroom and took their seats.  The rest of the class looked unaware of anything out of the ordinary, even when Professor Bronze entered the room wearing an unusual smile.  

“Good afternoon,” he said energetically.  “I know, it’s been a long week and you’d all very much like this class to be over so you can enjoy your weekend, but if I can hold your attention for just a little while longer, I think you’ll find today’s class to be very interesting.”

“Are you going to tell us more stories of your adventures?” one filly asked.

“Actually, I’m not going to say much of anything at all,” Professor Bronze admitted.  “But our guest speaker will be happy to tell you all you want!”

He beckoned toward the hallway, and much to the disbelief of most of the class, Twilight Sparkle appeared in the doorway and cautiously trotted to the front of the room.

“Um… hello,” the mare said, rubbing a hoof against the back of the other and smiling sheepishly at all the astonished faces. 

There was another second of silence, and then chaos erupted in the room.  Almost all of the students leapt from their desks and crowded around Twilight, bombarding the poor mare with questions and shouts of admiration.

Twilight backed up a pace or two and slowly turned in a circle, responding to the foals’ outcries with halting, fragmented answers and nervous laughter.

“Alright, alright, settle down!” Professor Bronze called loudly.  “I know you’re all excited to meet an Element bearer and extremely accomplished magic user, but there won’t be much of a point to her coming all the way here if you don’t give her a chance to talk, now will there?”

“I appreciate the enthusiasm,” Twilight added, raising her voice a bit and doing her best not to look overwhelmed, “but I’ve got a whole bunch of neat things to talk about and we only have a limited time to discuss them.  The quicker you all get settled, the quicker I can share some amazing stories!”

It took a few moments, but soon all the excited ponies returned to their desks.  Twilight took a moment to glance around the room appreciatively.

“Boy, I remember having class in here.  It feels like yesterday,” she reminisced.  “And look, that crack I made in the bricks is still here from when I tried to magically fuse two volatile enchanted orbs with opposite polarities back in my fourth year.”

She smiled dreamily for a moment, then noticed the surprised looks of many of the students and straightened up, once again looking nervous.  She quickly looked for anything she could use to change the subject, and her eyes fell upon the only two ponies in the room she knew.

“Oh, hello Dinky and Clarity!” she greeted.  “I spent so much time preparing a lecture I’d almost forgotten you two would be here.”

“Hello, Miss Twilight,” Dinky replied, noting the whispers of general awe around the room as her classmates realized that she was in fact a personal student of the Twilight Sparkle.

“Hey Twilight,” Clarity greeted smoothly, giving one forehoof a slow wave.

“You know Twilight Sparkle too?” the colt behind her asked eagerly.

“Sure, I’ve met her several times,” Clarity said.  “I just saw her a few weeks ago when she took Dinky and me to the Canterlot archives.”

The colt’s jaw dropped, and Dinky had to put a hoof over her snout to stifle a laugh.  In reality, Clarity was probably just as excited to see Twilight again as the rest of the students were to meet her, but her casual act certainly seemed to be fooling the pony behind her.

“You’re such a ham sometimes,” Dinky mouthed after Twilight’s attention had turned elsewhere again.  Clarity simply smirked and chose not to reply.

“Now, I suppose we should get started,” Twilight said.  “Dinky told me the class had invited me to give a lecture on the Elements of Harmony.  I figured I’d bring one along to use as an example.”

Twilight opened her saddlebag and withdrew a golden tiara with a large, star-shaped, magenta colored stone adorning the top.  “This is the Element of Magic,” she explained.  “It’s the central element that ties the others together, but technically it’s not any more important than the other five.  After all, none of them can really be used unless they’re united.  This is because their magic draws on the power of the bond between their bearers and converts it into a formerly unobserved type of magical energy!”

Twilight seemed to overcome her nerves very quickly once her speech actually began, and soon she was rattling off facts, ideas, and theories about Equestria’s most powerful artifacts.  Dinky, who had heard most of the lecture during her tutoring, found herself beginning to zone out a bit.  Instead, she focused on deciding how she was going to ask Twilight for help with the dark aura situation without seeming overly suspicious.

Dinky only realized how far her mind had wandered when she realized Twilight’s ongoing explanation of the Elements had drawn to a close.  She joined the class in a round of applause.

“Thank you, Twilight, for that presentation,” Professor Bronze said as most of the students made their way out the door.  “It seems like the students really enjoyed your visit, and it seems like you enjoyed your visit to the Academy as well.  I’m sure the other professors and I would be happy to have you again in the future to offer more of your insights.”

“Oh gosh, really?” Twilight asked, blushing slightly and giving an abashed smile.  “I knew I was one of the Academy’s better students back in the day, but I didn’t realize my guest lectures were so sought after!”

Dinky and Clarity waited patiently as Twilight exchanged a few more words with the professor.  As soon as the mare finished her conversation, she turned and smiled at the fillies.

“Hello, girls.  Did I do okay?” Twilight asked.  “I was a bit worried that I didn’t have enough to say about the effect, or maybe lack thereof, when the Elements are used with one or more bearers swapped out for somepony else.  Then again, in my experience, that’s only happened once.”

Clarity waved a forehoof dismissively.  “You did fine, Miss Twilight,” she insisted.  “Keep giving lectures like that and I bet you’ll be a teacher here by the time we graduate.”

Twilight grinned.  “I don’t know about that, Clarity,” she giggled.  “I know a lot of magic, but I’m not sure my skills are focused enough in any one area to teach a whole subject.”

Dinky waited for Twilight to stop giggling, and then put on her most innocent, curious face.  “Hey Miss Twilight, before you go, I had a magic question that I was hoping you could help me with.”

“Oh?” Twilight asked, looking quite interested.  “Is it something complicated?  I’d think you’d be able to find the answer in the school library.”

“Well…” Dinky began, shuffling a forehoof, “it’s uh…”

She lowered her voice.  “It’s not about dark magic, but it kind of… concerns it.”

Twilight’s brow furrowed.  “Dinky, you’re staying away from those spells, right?”

“Of course, of course,” Dinky quickly assured her.  “But, you know, Sunbeam is still out there, I think.  I was wondering, you know, as a precaution… is there any particularly powerful disenchantment spell I can use to dispel stored dark magic?”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was a weathered statue of a unicorn, standing unassumingly at one corner of a patch of begonias.  It was ancient, clearly, as any details of the face and mane had long since worn away.  Dinky had passed it hundreds of times and never given it more than a passing glance.  Today, it pulsed with energy that made her horn throb and her legs shake.

It would be the perfect test subject.

Clarity and Honeydew stood nearby, watching with quiet interest as Dinky placed four gemstones she had enchanted earlier that day in a square pattern around the base of the sculpture.  She lit her horn, and each of them began to glow with her yellow light.

“Here goes nothing,” she said, earning silent nods from the other fillies.  Calling forth the spell she’d practiced many times in the few days since Twilight’s visit, she linked the gemstones with four small beams of light.

The instant the square was complete, the statue gave an alarming crackle, spitting black sparks in every direction.  The reaction took only a second or so, and then the gemstones, and the statue itself, were silent.

“Did it work?” Clarity asked.  “Can you feel anything?”

Dinky had been so surprised by the result of her spell that she hadn’t realized it right away, but upon stopping to check, she wasn’t met with any more unpleasant sensations.

“I… I think it worked,” she said breathlessly.  “Let me check…”

Biting her lip, Dinky lifted a forehoof and gingerly moved it toward the statue, expecting the sensation to reappear at any moment.

Honeydew whined nervously.  “Dinky, careful…”

Dinky squeezed her eyes shut and placed her hoof on the cold stone.  Much to her relief, not only did she not reflexively shoot off dark energy, she didn’t feel any effect at all.

She sighed, relieved.  “Yeah.  It worked.”

“Haha, yeah!” Clarity cheered, stamping her front hooves several times.  “Let’s see how Sunbeam deals with that one!”

“I’ve got to admit, you’re doing a really good job fighting back,” Honeydew added.  “At this rate, you should make is past Scorpio’s Apex without too much trouble.”

Dinky smiled confidently.  “I sure hope so.  It’s not much more than a month away now, after all.  Sunbeam would have to pull something pretty fantastic to turn me into a wraith by the end of term!”

“I wonder why Scuffle didn’t show up to see you test that spell out,” Clarity wondered aloud.  “He seemed pretty excited about it when you described it this morning.”

Dinky shrugged.  “I dunno,” she admitted.  “Maybe he—”

Dinky was cut off by the sound of desperate yelling and harsh laughter not far away.  The girls recognized one of the voices immediately.  It was Scuffle, and he did not sound happy.

Honeydew put a hoof over her mouth, concerned.  “What’s going on over there?” she whimpered.

Dinky swiveled her ears, listening to the continued laughter growing louder as Scuffle’s cries grew more frantic and outraged.  “Sounds like Scuffle’s in trouble.  And if that laughter is who I think it is, it’s not hard to guess why.”

“Well, come on, let’s go see!” Clarity commanded.

Before Clarity finished speaking, she and Dinky had already broken into a run.  Honeydew squeaked in protest, but it had no effect, so she nervously dashed after the others.

A crowd had gathered around the back of the castle.  Ponies watched either with morbid curiosity or sinister glee as the FrostFire Twins entertained their 'audience'.

Scuffle stood between his brothers.  The colt had somehow been stained bright pink from head to hoof, and stood crying out in agonized protest as Scorch held him in place.  Frosty was lazily conjuring a flurry of orange and yellow flowers, which drifted slowly down and adorned Scuffle’s mane and the ground around him.

“Stop it!  Stop it! Let go!” Scuffle roared, wriggling in Scorch’s grip and firing off ineffectual spells.  “What kind of sick pleasure do you two pinheads get out of this?!”

“Aww, come on, Scuff,” Frosty said in his famous mock-unhappy tone.  “We’re just trying to help you fit in.  A little lighter pink and a few more flowers and you won’t stand out as much from those three sissy fillies you like so much anymore.”

The older colt conjured one final flower and delicately placed it behind Scuffle’s ear.  “There,” he said, grinning and admiring his handiwork.  “Looks perfect, huh Scorch?”

“Really fits him,” Scorch agreed.

Many of the gathered ponies laughed.  Scuffle, finally freed of Scorch’s grip, stared at his coat in horror.  Gritting his teeth, he turned to his brothers, who were giving him smug stares.

“You…. you two… are the absolute worst excuses for older brothers I’ve ever seen!” he snarled, breathing heavily.

Scorch clucked his tongue and flicked one of the flowers out of Scuffle’s hair.  “Is that so?  Whatcha’ gonna do about it, bro?”

Scuffle snarled.  “You wanna know what I’m gonna do?  Do you?!”

Scuffle stood, panting hard and staring defiantly up as his brothers gave him identical bored looks.  Everypony watched, waiting to see the young colt’s retaliation.

Nopony expected what happened next.

A change seemed to wash over Scuffle.  His angry posture became more humble, his tail drooped low and his eye contact with his brothers was broken.  The colt seemed to shrink down until he really did look no more threatening than the most harmless filly.  With tears forming in his eyes, he collapsed on the ground.

“I’m gonna surrender,” he said flatly.  “I’ve had it.  You win.  I just don’t have it in me to fight back anymore…”

Frosty laughed loudly.  “I knew it!  You really are a weakling!”

“You heard it here, everypony!” Scorch called to the onlookers.  “Little Scuffle’s no tougher than the fillies he hangs with!  Nothing but a no-talent shrimp!”

The brothers laughed and gave a triumphant hoof-bump as a thoroughly defeated Scuffle broke into quiet sobs beneath them.  The crowd began to dissipate, save for a few of Scorch and Frosty’s 'friends', who stuck around to congratulate them on their fantastically cruel prank and the reaction it had caused.

“Jeez,” Clarity mumbled.  “Poor Scuffle.”

“Yeah,” Honeydew agreed quickly.  “That’s unfortunate.  Now let’s get out of here before the twins notice us.”

“We can’t just go!” Dinky said, turning around to face Honeydew, who was already backing off.  “Look at him!  He needs us right now.”

Honeydew froze.  “But, uh, we… um…” she stuttered, pawing nervously at the ground.  “Y-you know we can’t stand up to Scuffle’s brothers, right?”

“Do you think they’re low enough to go after us if we stand up for him?” Clarity asked.

Honeydew glanced toward the twins were still chatting gleefully as they stood over Scuffle’s prostrate form.  “Right now, I’m not sure there’s anything beneath those two…”

Dinky stamped a hoof.  “Okay, I’ll go alone then,” she announced.  “Scuffle’s suffering through this because of us, remember?  I don’t know about you two, but I meant it when I said I was his friend, so if I have to endure his brothers’ spite too, at least he won’t be alone in his misery.”

Not waiting for further arguments, Dinky marched forward.  When she got within a few pony-lengths of the three colts, she let a magic-cancelling shockwave burst forth, melting the enchanted color off Scuffle’s coat.  The twins looked at her, surprised.

“And what do think you’re doing, small fry?” Scorch asked.  “We don’t appreciate killjoys.”

“Leave Scuffle alone,” Dinky said levelly.  “Look at him.  He’s done.  Why would you even want to keep bothering him?”

Hearing Dinky’s voice, Scuffle looked up and rubbed the tears from his eyes.  “Go away, Dinks,” he urged.  “This has nothing to do with you.”

“Yeah, buzz off, kid,” Frosty grumbled.

Dinky shook her head.  “Nope.  It’s time somepony stood up for Scuffle.  And I’m gonna be the pony to do it.”

“You mean we’re gonna be the ponies to do it.”

Clarity arrived at Dinky’s side, glaring at the older colts.  Scorch and Frosty exchanged a surprised glance.

“Maybe Scuffle hasn’t mentioned…” Frosty started acidly.  “Nopony at this school talks back to the FrostFire Twins.  So why don’t you two go mind your own damn business.”

“Go,” Scuffle pleaded.  “Don’t make them mad, please.  You’ll regret it.  I’ll be alright without—”

He stopped midsentence, his gaze fixed on something behind the two fillies.  For a moment, Dinky had no idea what had caught his attention, but when a third filly slunk forward to stand by her side, she quickly made the connection.

“I-I-I’d like to s-stand up for S-scuffle t-too,” Honeydew stuttered, shaking uncontrollably as she struggled to hold her ground in front of the older colts.  “W-we’re not going to let you hurt our f-friend anymore…”

Scuffle twitched in surprise.  Scorch and Frosty exchanged another glance, grinned darkly, and turned back to the fillies.

“Well now, that almost sounds like a threat,” Scorch said, taking a step forward.  “What do you think, Frosty?”

“I think it was, Scorch,” Frosty said, in the same intrigued tone.  “You know what that means, don’t you?”

“It means we might have to remind these three about the pecking order around here,” Scorch laughed.

Dinky and Clarity maintained their defiant expressions, but both fillies began to back off as Scorch and Frosty advanced.  Honeydew’s pupils contracted and she stood frozen with fear.  Frosty leaned down so his muzzle was only an inch or two from hers.

“Hey there, sweetheart,” he said, his voice dripping with malice.  “Sorry to break it to you, but you and your friends are about to learn a very hard lesson.”

Honeydew opened her mouth, but no sound came.  Scorch bore down on Dinky and Clarity in the same fashion, and together, the brothers’ horns sparked to life.

“Alright, that’s enough!”

Both colts stopped dead, extinguished their horns, and turned back around.  Scuffle was on his hooves, hopelessness once again replaced with a burning rage.

“If you hurt one hair on any of them,” he threatened, “I swear I will march over there and rip you two apart.”

Scorch blinked and then burst into laughter.  Frosty simply smirked.

“I admit, I’d love to see that,” he chuckled.  “Care to back that claim up, little bro?”

“Sure,” said Scuffle, not missing a beat.  “How about you two blockheads duel me?  Unless you’re as spineless as you seem when you go after my friends like that.”

Frosty blinked.  “A duel?  You mean like, a formal one?  With rules and restrictions?”

Scuffle nodded.  “Yeah, that’s what I’m talking about.  Or are you two too afraid to fight fair?”

Both brothers scowled.  “You better watch that mouth, bro,” Scorch warned, scraping a hoof angrily in the dirt.

“Do we have a deal or not?” Scuffle asked loudly, ignoring the threats.  “Are you gonna fight me, or go back to picking on three fillies with no real knowledge of battle magic?”

Frosty grinned.  “Oh, no way we’re passing this chance up,” he laughed, tossing his mane confidently.  “We’ve got a secret duel spot in the woods where we won’t be interrupted by any overseers.  Follow us, and bring your sissy friends.  It’s no fun if they don’t get to watch us turn you into a stain on the forest floor!”

“We’ll see about that,” Scuffle said.  “Lead the way.”

Scorch and Frosty turned and made their way toward the forest.  Scuffle glanced back at his three shocked friends.

“Well, are you coming or what?”

“Scuffle…” Dinky said quietly, stepping toward Scuffle.  “You didn’t have to—”

Scuffle put a hoof on Dinky’s snout.  “Dinks, shut up.  We can worry about that later,” he commanded.  “Now come on.  I’ve got a bone to pick with those idiots.”

Without another word, he marched off, and the fillies followed.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dinky had never seen this part of the forest.  Deep in its heart, the ponies emerged in a clearing just before the sheer rock face that made up the Academy valley wall.  Large scrapes in the dirt and broken, overturned branches indicated this was not the first duel to be held here.

“Let’s decide the rules,” said Frosty, taking a quill and an empty template for duel parameters from Battle Magic class out of his saddlebag.  “There’s no time limit.  We fight until one side either forfeits or is knocked out.  Anything goes in combat.  Sound alright?”

“Anything magic goes,” Scuffle argued.  “No physical contact.”

“Heh, works for me,” Frosty answered, scribbling the suggested rules down on the scroll.  “If anything that’s gonna make this even easier.”

He held out a quill to Scuffle.  “This form is a contract used in the upper level Battle Magic classes,” he explained.  “By putting your signature on it, you’re magically binding yourself to stick to the rules written on it.  You literally can’t break ‘em if you try.”  

“And believe me, we’ve tried,” Scorch added.

“It also makes it impossible for bystanders to magically intervene,” Frosty added.  “Any more objections?”

“Just one,” Scuffle replied.  “You two are looking forward to beating me fair and square in a fair fight, right?”

Scorch rolled his eyes.  “That’s the point of the contract, doofus.  We don’t need to cheat to defeat our sissy little brother anyway.”

“Right,” said Scuffle.  “So I get a partner too, right?  Two on one isn’t fair.”

Frosty raised an eyebrow.  “And where are you planning to get a dueling partner?  You already agreed to this; if you don’t have one, you’ll be taking us on alone.”

Scuffle nodded.  “Uhh, hold that thought.”

Scuffle backed off a few paces and then turned and trotted over to his friends.  They all gave him uncertain looks, and he sighed.

“Okay look.  I’ve been practicing those counterspells I mentioned, and I have a plan,” he whispered.  “I’m almost sure it will work, but I can’t do it if I have to duel by myself.  The strategy will totally work, though.  You won’t get hurt, I swear.”

Clarity looked unsure.  “How can you promise that?” she asked.  “Your brothers are vicious.”

“Besides, if you’re only dueling them to defend us, why are you asking one of us to help?” Dinky asked.

Scuffle glanced nervously back at his brothers, who appeared to be growing impatient.  “I don’t have time to explain!” he said urgently.  “I know this plan will work, and if we win, it might get Scorch and Frosty off our backs forever.  Although, I somehow doubt you’re gonna wanna go through with the duel, no matter what I say…”

Dinky rubbed her chin thoughtfully.  “Well, I’ve got my magic cancelling spell.  Maybe it’d be alright if I—”

“Er, no, it’s not that simple,” Scuffle said awkwardly.  “See, I know we can win, but only if my dueling partner… is Honeydew.”

“I… what?!” Honeydew squealed.  “No, no, no, no, no, absolutely not!  What use could I possibly be in a duel?  I don’t know any battle magic!  Not only would I be in danger, it’d be a waste to have me there!”

Scuffle gently nudged Dinky and Clarity aside and stepped forward so he was face to face with Honeydew alone.  “Right now, it might be a waste, yeah,” he agreed.  “But maybe not if I do this.”

He lit his horn, and a silver ring with a dark blue stone attached emerged from his bag.  It levitated through the air and snapped itself on near the tip of Honeydew’s tail.

The filly stared at the accessory blankly.  “M-my spell enhancement ring…”

She turned to Scuffle, her eyes wide.  “I thought it disappeared after I almost killed you with it.  You had it all this time?”

“I knew you wanted to get rid of it,” Scuffle admitted, “but I figured it might be useful to hang onto it.  You know, just in case we ever needed it again.”

Honeydew hung her head.  “Scuffle, I’m… flattered, really, that you think I can help… but there’s no way I’m going to duel Scorch and Frosty.  I’m scared of you most of the time.  Against your brothers, I’d just be… paralyzed…”

Scuffle gave Honeydew a long look.  “Honeydew, I can promise you won’t get hurt,” he said quietly.  “I know how Scorch and Frosty are, and I think I finally know how to overpower them.  Yes, it… it will be scary, but you’ll be safe.  I need you to trust me.”

Honeydew flinched.  “Scuffle, um, the trust thing between you and me has never exactly… worked…” she mumbled, avoiding his gaze.

Scuffle nodded.  “Then how about this.  If you help me duel, and you get so much as a single scratch, you never have to trust me again.  I’ll stay out of your life completely if that’s what you really want.”

Honeydew raised an eyebrow.  “You’d be okay with that?”

“I’ve told you before,” Scuffle said levelly.  “Although I can’t seem to convince you, I honestly don’t want anything bad to happen to you, or to Dinky or Clarity.  If you really, truly can’t see me as anything but a threat, and you trust me anyway today and I let you down, well, I’d want me gone too.”

Honeydew chewed her lip, and glanced at the other fillies.  “Um… girls?”

“I don’t think we can help with this one, Honeydew,” Dinky said sympathetically, putting a hoof on her friend’s shoulder.  “I know it seems like a no-win situation, but you’ve got to decide what you want to do.”

Honeydew looked back to Scuffle.  There was silence for a few seconds, and then she sighed and turned away.

“Right,” Scuffle said finally.  “I kinda figured you wouldn’t be up for dueling anyway.  Can’t blame me for trying I guess.”

The colt waited a moment longer, and then returned to his brothers.  Both of them signed their names on the contract, and then passed the quill to Scuffle, who signed his own.

“Alright,” he said.  “Let’s duel.”

“Uhh… your partner has to sign too,” Scorch pointed out.

“But I don’t have a dueling pa—”

Scuffle stopped midsentence as pale green light surrounded the quill.  Honeydew stepped forward, hesitated for a moment, and then slowly signed her name in delicate, looping script right below Scuffle’s scrawling hoofwriting.

Scuffle blinked.  “Honeydew, that… that contract’s magically binding.  You can’t back out now.”

“I know,” said Honeydew nervously.  “I told you not too long ago that you’d never really done anything to prove I should trust you.  I guess this is your chance.”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Scorch and Frosty stood on one side of the clearing, both crouched low in identical battle stances.  On the other end, Scuffle stood with his head held high, wearing a stern glare.  Honeydew stood nearby, looking terrified and unsure what to do.

Dinky sat on the sidelines with Clarity, feeling more than slightly concerned.  “I get the feeling this isn’t gonna end well,” she mumbled, earning a nod from the filly next to her.

“Ready?” Frosty called.

“Ready,” Scuffle repeated.

“R-ready,” Honeydew mumbled.

“Good,” Frosty said, grinning.  “Scorch, go ahead and turn up the heat on our opponents, would you?”

Scorch lowered his head and conjured a rather large fireball on the tip of his horn.  “Let’s see if your little shields are strong enough to stop us when we’re playing to win, bro!” he yelled, rearing up on his hind legs and then hurling the ball of flame forward as he fell back down to all fours.

Scuffle’s horn flared, and a smooth, translucent wall of cobalt blue erected itself in front of him.  Scorch’s attack connected head-on, and the shield wavered, but the fireball fizzled out entirely.

“You’re gonna have to do better than that, Scorch!” Scuffle taunted.  “I thought you weren’t gonna hold back.”

“You’re digging your own grave here, Scuff,” Scorch growled.

“Well come on, then!  Try again!” Scuffle replied.

Scorch’s next fireball was much larger.  With a roar, he tossed it across the battlefield.  Scuffle stood his ground as the blistering orb flew toward him.

“He’s gonna get hit!” Dinky gasped.

At the last moment, Scuffle suddenly lowered his head and performed a spell Dinky had never seen.  A piercing cone of blue light cut through the center of the fireball, blasting it apart into a few dozen tiny tongues of flame.  The force of the counterspell threw the tiny fires back in the direction they came, raining them down on the twins.

Frosty reacted immediately.  With pinpoint accuracy, he fired off dozens of jets of cold air, sniping and extinguishing each of the fires before they could burn the colts.

“…Wow,” Clarity said, stunned.

“I guess Scuffle has really been practicing counterspells,” Dinky said, swishing her tail excitedly.

“Cute,” Frosty said once the fires had been put out.  “I wasn’t expecting that one, but it’s not like I’ve never seen it before, either.  You’re gonna need something more creative to stop this!”

The colt conjured a swarm of tiny icicles in the air around him.  The frozen shards swirled around him for a moment, and then his horn flared and they launched into the air, circling overhead like birds of prey searching for a meal.

Honeydew’s gaze flicked nervously between the brothers and the airborne icicles.  “Um, Scuffle?” she asked, frightened.  “Do you know how to stop that?”

Scuffle snorted.  “Those things can’t get through my best shields.”

Frosty smirked and stamped his front hooves.  The icicles turned and dive-bombed toward Scuffle.

Scuffle readied his shield, but the smug look on Frosty’s face concerned him.  “Perfect!” Frosty laughed.  “Now, Scorch!”

Another fireball blasted from Scorch’s horn and crackled as it blazed not toward Scuffle, but toward Honeydew.  The filly cried out and threw a forehoof up to try to defend herself.

An instant before contact, a bright blue shield appeared, taking the full force of the fireball.  Honeydew opened her eyes just in time to see Scuffle, now defending her instead of himself, be pelted with sharp icicles.  He grunted in pain as they shattered against him, a few of them slicing small cuts in his back and sides.

“Told you you’re not getting hurt,” he panted, managing a pained smile.

“Oh, how noble,” Scorch cooed mockingly.  “That partner of yours isn’t much use, Scuff.  Keep taking hits just to protect that little waste of space, and this duel will be over in no time!”

Scuffle glanced in Honeydew’s direction.  “I’ll keep you covered, don’t worry!” he urged.  “You know what to do, right?”

Honeydew paused, glanced at the bauble on her tail, and then nodded slowly.

“Good.  Then do it!” Scuffle instructed.  “I’m counting on you.”

Suddenly, a patch of ice formed a ring around Scuffle on the ground.  Shackle-like crystalline structures burst up, latching themselves onto his legs and around his midsection.

“Shouldn’t let yourself get distracted like that!” Frosty called.  “Time to finish this.”

The icy chains on the shackles began to retract back into the ice on the ground, forcing Scuffle down with them, while Scorch prepared another attack.  “Honeydew, now.  Please!” Scuffle gasped as he struggled.

Honeydew watched the colt get pulled lower and lower to the ground, blocking attack after attack with his shields.  Her eyes narrowed and the gemstone on her tail ring flashed.

On the sidelines, Dinky’s eyes widened.  “Look at Honeydew,” she whispered to Clarity.  “Something big is about to happen.”

Frosty chuckled.  “Well, we’re about done here,” he said to Scorch.  “Scuff can’t defend much longer.  Just keep throwing those fireballs and he’ll— whoa!”

A small, rootlike tendril wrapped itself around Frosty’s forelegs and pulled.  The colt collapsed, and his horn flickered out on impact.  Scuffle quickly gained some more control, and pounded the icy shackles against the ground, shattering them.

“What?” Scorch asked, unsure what had happened to his brother.  “Why’d you do that?  We were winnin’!”

“It wasn’t me, you dope,” Frosty snapped.  “It’s the pink filly.  She’s got some techniques that are a little sneakier than Scuff’s are.”

Scorch scowled.  “Alright, let’s get her.”

The brothers stood side by side.  From below, Scorch created a pillar of flame, while Frosty added a column of ice conjured from above.  They met at the center, quickly forming a sphere of boiling water.

Honeydew tried her best to animate some larger roots, but could only get small ones to respond, which the brothers continued to shake off.  They tossed the steaming sphere toward their target just as Scuffle finished freeing himself.  He leapt across the battlefield, placing himself directly in front of Honeydew, and lit his horn.

The ball of hot water changed course, was slung around behind Scuffle and Honeydew, and then hurled back at Scorch and Frosty with twice the speed.  The twins didn’t even have time to dodge; only Frosty’s shield protected them, although it was weaker than the ones Scuffle tended to produce, splashing the pair of ponies with a few drops of hot water.

“What did you just do?” Honeydew asked, surprised.

“Who says gravity spells can only be vertical?” Scuffle asked, grinning.  “I made a gravitational field around myself to slingshot the spell back at them.  I can only maintain a gravity pattern that complex for a moment, but it works when I need it!”

“Oh really?” Frosty asked from across the field.  “Let’s see how long you can keep it up then!”

Frosty began to hurl blast after blast of ice at his opponents, and Scorch began to alternate with him, tossing fireballs between each one.  Panicked, Scuffle began to use the same gravity counter, but the complicated spell was hard to use again and again, and resulted in the attacks being tossed in random directions rather than hurled back at Scorch and Frosty.  Honeydew cowered behind Scuffle, whimpering as fire and ice swirled around her and were thrown away.

“Honeydew,” Scuffle pleaded, struggling to keep the barrage away from the two of them.  “I know you’re scared, and I know it’s hard, but you need to focus.  There are trees all around the clearing; there must be some bigger roots you can use against Scorch and Frosty!”

Honeydew’s horn burned brighter and her tail ring glowed as she strained.  “I’m trying!  I just… I… I’m not sure I can!”

“You can!” Scuffle insisted, noticing his gravitational fields growing smaller, causing the edges of the attacks to singe the tips of his chest fur or chill his sensitive snout.  “I believe in you.  Keep trying!”

“Let’s see if this helps speed things up!” Scorch laughed.  “You can’t block this one, Scuff!”

He pounded his forehooves for emphasis as his magic snaked through the ground of the arena, forming a network of cracks.  He shot a beam of fiery energy into the crevice at his hooves, causing little jets of flame to shoot up from many of the cracks as they made their way toward Scuffle and Honeydew.

Scuffle gasped as the flames worked their way toward him.  To his surprise, Honeydew seemed to brighten slightly.

“That was a bad move,” she whispered.

The filly squeezed her eyes shut and strained to make her horn flare brighter.  Without warning, half a dozen huge roots, like fingers of a subterranean colossus, burst up from the ground weakened by Scorch’s spell, raining soil down on the surprised twins.

There was no time to react; three roots took hold of each brother, twirling and twisting to hold them stationary, immobilized in woody bindings.  Scorch’s fire jet spell was interrupted before it reached Scuffle and Honeydew.  The brothers dangled in midair in odd positions, tied firmly around the limbs and torso by the jutting roots.

“What in Tartarus?!” Frosty cried, wrestling fruitlessly against his bonds.  “Is that filly doing this?”

“Don’t worry about it,” Scorch called.  “We can fight our way out of these things in a minute.  Right now, hurry up and finish off Scuff!  He’s exhausted!”

Frosty nodded and fought against the roots to get into a slightly more favorable position, facing his horn toward his opponents.

“Now what?” Honeydew asked, sounding increasingly panicked.

“Stay on the defensive,” Scuffle replied.  “My offensive battle spells are too weak to be much help, but as long as we keep them trapped, I should be able to counter their spells.”

“Oh, you think you’re a hotshot just because you can counter?” Frosty shot back, managing to turn his head to face toward Scuffle and Honeydew.  “Well not every spell is so easy to counter, bro!  I didn’t think we’d have to use these, but let’s see what you think of the spells Scorch and I invented ourselves!”

“Condensed Inferno?” Scorch asked.

“Yeah, and Condensed Blizzard!” Frosty replied.  “Hit ‘em with both at once.  They’ll wish they’d never been born!”

Something new began to form at the end of Frosty’s horn.  It wasn’t the typical icy blast he usually cast.  In fact, it didn’t seem to be made of snow and ice at all, but rather just bluish-white energy.  A hissing sound filled the air, and droplets of liquid began to form all around the spell, freezing to ice before even hitting the ground.

He’s… he’s literally freezing the air around it, Dinky realized from her seat on the sidelines.  That thing is dangerously cold!

Scorch formed a similar spell with his fire.  Red and pulsing, it warped the air around it with an intense heat mirage, while the grass beneath it rapidly browned and withered.

Scuffle swallowed hard.   “Honeydew, back up,” he commanded.  “Don’t stop your spell, but make sure you keep your distance.  Got it?”

Honeydew nodded, quivering visibly, and stepped back.

“Scuffle!” Dinky called.  “If those things even get near you, you’re gonna regret it.  Be careful!”

“No amount of distance is gonna save him, kid,” Frosty spat.

Scuffle responded by widening his stance and lowering his head, his expression determined.

“Now!” Frosty commanded.  He and Scorch both launched their intense spells, causing the grass to either wither or freeze as the spells passed above it.

Scuffle threw back his head and launched a shockwave that, for a moment, Dinky thought might have been the magic cancelling wave she often used.  But this wave was less easily seen; rather, it was felt.

A gravitational field almost as wide as the arena extended out from its center point on Scuffle’s horn.  Both the huge spells were caught in it, and began to move along the outer edge like planets orbiting a star, not harming Scuffle at all.

The twins’ eyes widened.  “I… how… what?” Frosty asked, incredulous that Scuffle’s control over gravity was so strong.

Keeping the two dangerous spells at a safe distance from himself, Scuffle brought them quickly together.  The spells, surprisingly, did not cancel out; the Condensed Inferno worked tirelessly to melt the Condensed Blizzard, which in turn refused to give up on its efforts to freeze the Condensed Inferno solid.  The result was a churning mass of competing energies, which crackled loudly and caused strange ripples in the air around it as it continued to orbit Scuffle.

Scorch gave Frosty a nervous look as he struggled against his wooden prison.  “Uhh, is that supposed to happen?”

“Well, look at this,” Scuffle laughed, turning slowly around as he watched the sparking spell orbit him.  “Looks like I’ve got a pretty powerful spell here.  Let’s see what happens if I condense it further…”

The spell was encased in a blue aura.  Scuffle applied uniform gravity to it, shrinking it down to a sphere no bigger than his own head.  It began to hum, and the crackling became louder.

Scorch and Frosty now looked genuinely afraid.  “Alright, hang on a second, bro,” Frosty said with a nervous chuckle.  “I know we said anything goes, but now this might be going just a little too far…”

“Oh, so you forfeit?” Scuffle asked with poorly concealed glee.

Frosty scowled.  “Not on your life, you little—”

“Okay then!” Scuffle laughed, launching the spell toward the entrapped colts.

The twins’ eyes went wide.  “No, Scuff, wait—”

The spell collided with the ground between the two root prisons, and immediately burst.  There were two shocked cries, one strained grunt, and several high-pitched screams, but all the sounds were drowned out by the thunderous roar of energy expanding explosively forth.  Dinky didn’t have even a fraction of a second to react before everything went white.
> Chapter 16
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“Dinky?  Are you alright?  Are you dead?”

They were the first words Dinky heard after the ringing in her ears ceased.  She sat up, shaking her head to try to clear the veil of white that clouded her vision.  “What happened?” she asked frantically.  “What happened to Scuffle?  And to Honeydew?”

“I don’t know,” Clarity replied in the same worried tone.  “I can’t see a thing.”

Dinky rubbed her eyes with her forehooves, and a few bleary shapes came into view.  She carefully stood, squinting to make them out as the white light that filled the woods faded.

Much of the battlefield was in ruins.  Scorch and Frosty’s entire half of the arena was now a crater, the grass and soil blasted completely away by the force of the explosion.  The branches of the surrounding trees were battered and broken, with leaves either stripped away or shredded by the harsh elements.

Two large, gnarled roots remained standing at the center of the crater, terribly blackened but still defiantly upright despite the carnage around them.  Scorch and Frosty hung limply in the damaged prisons, their coats singed in some places and frostbitten in others.

Scuffle was standing just beyond the lip of the crater.  The colt was covered in dirt and ash and panting hard.  Shaking violently, he looked like he was about to collapse.  His horn still glowed brightly, and Dinky only had to glance behind him to see why.

A shimmering blue dome, made of so many layers of magic that it was totally opaque, stood on the battlefield, undamaged despite the devastation around it.  As the last of the light from the blast faded and the smoke cleared, Scuffle gradually decreased the power of his spell.  The dome shed its layers one by one, and soon, a silhouette became visible inside.  A few seconds later, the shield dropped away completely, revealing a cowering but entirely unharmed Honeydew.

Nopony moved for several seconds.  After a moment of silence, Honeydew cautiously opened one eye and lowered the forehoof she’d been using to shield her face.  Confused, she looked around at the decimated battlefield and her worn-out duel partner.

“W…what?” she managed.

Scuffle sent her a brief smile, and then turned and made his way toward his brothers, motioning for his friends to follow.  Dinky cautiously stepped onto the rubble-strewn battlefield and followed him, with Clarity and Honeydew trailing closely behind.

“Are they okay?” Dinky asked once she caught up.

Scuffle stepped into the crater and put his forelegs on the side of the root.  Cautiously, he poked at Frosty, and then held an ear next to his brother’s mouth.

“Well, he’s breathing,” the colt said, wiping his brow.  “Unconscious, but breathing.”

Clarity sighed, relieved.  “That’s good.  I hate to think how much trouble we’d be in if, well, you know…”

“Why do you think I aimed at the ground instead of either of them?” Scuffle asked, sinking back down to all fours.  “They’re jerks, but they’re my brothers.  I don’t wanna kill them, just teach ‘em a lesson they won’t forget.”

“I should point out that we’re probably still in a lot of trouble, even if they’re okay,” Dinky said nervously.  “There’s no way no one at the Academy saw or heard that blast.  One of the overseers will probably be here any second.”

Scuffle blinked, and suddenly looked quite guilty.  “Yeah, now that I think about it, I probably put us all in hot water,” he admitted, scraping a hoof on the charred soil sheepishly.  “Especially you, Dinks.  The dean’s gonna kick you out of here faster than  the Wonderbolts can fly.”

As if on cue, voices sounded from somewhere in the trees.  Sparkler’s was prominent among them, barking out commands to the ponies with her.

For a moment, the foals stood in silence, waiting for the inevitable.  After a moment, Clarity jumped suddenly, as if startled, and then motioned for her friends to come closer.

“I’m going to try something,” she said quietly.  “Stay very close and move slowly.”

Before anypony could object, the grey filly lit her horn and squeezed her eyes shut.  A shimmering sort of haze surrounded the four young ponies for a moment.  As the light of the spell began to fade, so did the colors of their bodies.  Dinky watched with delight as she and her friends became translucent, and soon, disappeared entirely.

Barely a moment later, Sparkler burst into the clearing, skidded to a halt, and looked around the wreckage in shock.  A number of older students arrived behind her, looking equally bewildered.

“Hold onto each other,” Clarity said in the barest whisper, “and be as quiet as possible.  We’re going to sneak away and go to the hideout until they leave.”

Dinky couldn’t see any of her companions, but it only took a moment for her hoof to touch somepony’s coat.  Creeping along at a snail’s pace, she hardly dared to breathe as she and her friends inched away from the clearing, silently hoping that Clarity’s magic would hold out until they had moved safely away from the investigating ponies.

Soon, the thick late-summer foliage made it so the clearing was no longer visible to the foals.  Clarity dropped her spell and then led the way to the little hollow beneath the tree.  As soon as they were safely inside, Scuffle groaned and slumped to the floor.

“Are you alright?” Dinky asked, her voice laced with concern as she sat down by Scuffle.

“More or less,” Scuffle grunted.  “I was more concerned about getting us caught than I am about a few cuts and bruises.  Your invisibility spells are getting better, Clarity.”

Clarity waved a forehoof.  “Thanks for the compliment, but we’re still probably gonna wind up getting caught,” she pointed out.  “Once your brothers wake up, they’ll probably snitch on us.”

“No they won’t,” said Scuffle simply.

Dinky and Clarity’s expressions were equally surprised.  “Why’s that?” Dinky asked.

“Simple,” Scuffle said, rolling onto his back to examine a scrape on one of his forelegs.  “As much as Scorch and Frosty might want to get us in trouble, they’re far more concerned with protecting their pride.  You realize that if they want to tell us off, they have to admit that two first-term foals beat them in a duel?”

Clarity snorted.  “Those two would sooner tear off their own horns,” she chuckled.

“Exactly,” Scuffle said, rolling back onto his stomach.  “What they’re going to do is come up with some lie about practicing a brand new type of battle magic that was more powerful than they expected.  Then they’ll get to brag to their idiotic friends about how they blew everything up, rather than admitting we had anything to do with it.”

He rolled his eyes.  “They’ll be the talk of the school again, of course,” he grumbled.  “They’ve got cool magic.  Of course they get all the glory.”

“Excuse me?” Dinky asked, surprised at what she was hearing.  “Are you still hung up on the whole ‘offensive magic is better than defensive’ thing?”

“Wel—”

“You do realize you and Honeydew just defeated Scorch and Frosty using nothing but defensive spells, right?” Dinky continued, cutting him off.

Scuffle opened his mouth to reply, but paused and considered Dinky’s words.  He blinked, surprised.

“Alright, alright, you have a point,” he admitted, smirking.  “I guess those spells aren’t all that worthless after all.  Still though, Honeydew’s help was critical.  Thanks Honeydew.”

There was no response.

“Honeydew?”

The three foals looked curiously at Honeydew, who was standing quite still and staring into space.

“Honeydew, are you okay?” Clarity asked.  "You haven't said a word since the duel ended."

Honeydew blinked, stirred from her stupor at being addressed directly.  Stumbling slightly, she moved toward her friends.

“Honeydew?” Dinky asked again, growing concerned.  “Are you alright?  Do you need to lie down or something?”

Honeydew responded by gently nudging Dinky out of the way.  She continued forward until she stood in front of Scuffle, who had risen to his hooves.

“Hey,” Scuffle said awkwardly.  “Uh… told you I wouldn’t let you get hurt there.”

He paused.  “You are fine… right?”

Honeydew still did not speak.  Her brow furrowed and she chewed her lip, avoiding eye contact with the pony in front of her.

“Uh…” Scuffle continued, growing increasingly uncomfortable, “so does that mean you are or you’re not or—”

And then Honeydew reared up, threw her forelegs around the colt, and began sobbing into his shoulder.  Scuffle stiffened, his expression panicked.

“What?  What’s wrong?”

Honeydew inhaled sharply, trying to hold back another sob.  “I just… you just… oh Scuffle, I’m sorry…”

Honeydew resumed sobbing while Scuffle, looking bewildered, gently patted her.  “Sorry for what?” he asked after a minute.

“For… everything!” Honeydew wailed.  “Just look at you!  You’re hurt and it’s my fault and you’re not even mad at me and I’m a terrible friend!”

Scuffle’s eyes widened.  “We’re friends?” he asked disbelievingly.  “But you said we were ‘polite acquaintances’.”

Honeydew fell silent.  She quickly backed off and stared at the ground, shuffling a hoof shyly.

“That is what I said,” she murmured.  “It was because, well… because I didn’t trust you.  I admit it.  Even after what I said to you when we were in Whinnychester, I’ve just been quietly waiting, thinking the day was coming where you’d reveal you’d only been hanging out with us for your own gain, somehow.  But now you went and stood up to your brothers, the only ponies whose opinion I thought you did care about, just to protect Dinky and Clarity and me.  Now I’m just feeling guilty that I didn’t realize you were sincere any earlier…”

The filly squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for the sobs to subside.  Scuffle hesitated a moment longer, and glanced at Dinky and Clarity, who simultaneously responded with helpless shrugs.

“It’s… not that big a deal, Honeydew,” he said slowly.  “You don’t have to be upset.  I’m not mad or anything.  In fact I’m surprised Dinky and Clarity didn’t do the same thing you did.  I was kind of a pain in the flank earlier this term.”

Scuffle’s attempts to comfort Honeydew only seemed to distress her further.  She shuddered and took a step back, still facing the dirt floor.

The colt snorted and trotted brusquely forward, closing the gap between himself and the crying filly.  She did not acknowledge him directly, but she seemed to shrink down as if cowering in fear.

“Honeydew, come on,” he said again.

A whimper was the only reply.

Scuffle’s shoulders slumped.  “Fine.  Maybe this will help.”

The colt stretched out a forehoof, hesitated for a fraction of a second, and then pulled Honeydew into a firm hug.  The filly’s tear-filled eyes flew open and she blinked in shock.

For several seconds, nopony moved.  From Dinky’s perspective, Honeydew appeared to be deciding what to do next.  After what felt like an eternity but was in reality only a few moments, she slowly closed her eyes again and returned the embrace.

“Th-thanks,” she managed, hiccupping away the last few sobs.  “Is… is it too late to accept your offer for friendship for real this time?”

Scuffle shook his head, giving Honeydew a genuine smile.  “Of course not.  Does this mean you trust me for real this time?”

“Mhmm,” Honeydew replied as she wiped her eyes with the side of a hoof.

Scuffle’s smile was replaced by his usual smirk.  “Which means I can call you Dewey again, right?”

Honeydew pouted at the mention of the nickname, but a moment later, the miffed expression was replaced with a giggle.  “Aw, alright, fine,” she conceded, grinning and swishing her tail.  “I guess I don’t mind that as much as I acted like I did.”

The filly turned back to Dinky and Clarity.  “Do you think it’s safe to head back to the Academy now?” she asked, cocking her head slightly.

“I think so,” Dinky decided.  “Come on, let’s go get dinner.  It’s been a long day.”

Dinky and Clarity led the way out of the hollow.  Honeydew sent Scuffle a small, grateful smile before trotting along after her friends.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Scuffle’s predictions had been correct.  The next day, the whole school was abuzz with stories of Scorch and Frosty’s super spell, and how they and they alone had been responsible for turning part of the forest into a smoldering crater.  Both colts had been given daily detention for the remainder of the term, which, of course, they both wore as a badge of honor rather than viewed as a punishment.

October arrived, and chillier weather came with it.  With Scorpio’s Apex little more than a month away, Dinky began to feel more confident than Sunbeam’s plans had failed.  Without the dark enchantments constantly plaguing her, Dinky found it fairly easy to resist the impulse to cast dark spells.  Scuffle and Honeydew’s friendship seemed to be genuine for the first time as well, and Dinky reveled in the dissolution of tension in the group, assuming her friends were doing the same.

As the last month of term drew closer, it seemed everyone and everything was looking up, with the exception of one small, furry, orange creature in the fillies’ dormitory.

“Is he looking any better?” Honeydew asked as Dinky gently petted the fox’s head.

Dinky shook her head, her tail drooping sadly.  “If anything he’s getting slowly worse.  I don’t know what else to do for him.  I sent Clarity out to—”

Dinky was cut off as the dormitory door swung open and Clarity entered, carrying a small box in her aura.  “I brought some food,” she announced.  “I couldn’t gather too much since it was almost curfew, but I got enough.  Mostly just berries stuff, but I did find a bird’s nest on the edge of the forest.  Trouble likes eggs, right?”

“Of course,” Honeydew replied, peering into Clarity’s box.  “I’ve gathered them for him before.  He seems to think they’re quite a treat.”

“Just bring ‘em over here, Clarity,” Dinky said, gesturing toward herself.  “And don’t forget to close the door.  We don’t want Sparkler to see—”

“Want me to see what?”

Dinky jumped and quickly positioned herself between Trouble’s small bed and the door.  Clarity and Honeydew rushed to her sides, forming a living barrier concealing the fox from view as Sparkler appeared in the doorway.

“I heard my name,” Sparkler grumbled, eyeing the fillies suspiciously.  “Are you three up to no good again?”

The fillies shook their heads in unison.  “We were just, uh, planning something,” Dinky said quickly.  “An… an enchantment!”

“Yeah, and we want to keep it a secret until it’s done,” Clarity added.  “We want the effect to be a surprise and, you know, since you’re such a master of enchantments and all, you’d figure out how it works before we could finish if we showed you now.”

Sparkler raised an eyebrow.  “What about you?” she asked, looking at Honeydew.  “Are you in on this little project?”

Honeydew failed to make eye contact, but she nodded.  Sparkler’s eyes narrowed but she did not move.

“Alright, just stay out of trouble,” she said slowly, giving her tail an agitated flick.  “I’m not sure I entirely trust you three…”

She turned to go.  Before she could take a step, Trouble sneezed.

Sparkler froze.  Slowly, she turned back and glared at the three very nervous looking fillies.

“Move.”

Dinky blinked.  “Pardon me?”

“Get up,” Sparkler commanded.  “All three of you.  Now.”

Biting her lip, Dinky slowly rose to her hooves.  Trying not to look too ashamed, she trotted slowly toward Sparkler, with her friends following behind.  Sparkler strode past them and stared into the cardboard box.  She was quiet for a long moment.

“I’d ask you why you’re keeping a fox in your room,” she began acidly, “but I’m not sure I need to.  There’s no loophole in the school rules under any circumstances that would allow you to keep a wild animal in your dormitory.”

Purple magic surrounded the box.  Sparkler lifted it into the air with Trouble still inside and marched angrily toward the door.

“Sparkler, wait,” Clarity urged.

“You three are in for it this time,” Sparkler sneered, ignoring the younger filly.  “I’m taking this filthy creature back outside where he belongs, and then you three are coming with me to pay the dean a little visit.  I imagine she won’t be pleased, especially with Dinky, who’s been in more than her share of trouble this term.”

“But—” 

“Wait here,” Sparkler commanded, her voice rising.  “Disobey and you’ll all be in even bigger trouble.”

The overseer stormed off down the stairs.  Dinky and her friends exchanged a shocked glance.

“Now what?” Honeydew asked, shivering.

“I’m going to stop her,” Dinky said suddenly, snorting and trotting out into the hallway.

“Dinky, no!” Clarity pleaded.  “Sparkler said—”

“I know what she said,” Dinky replied, “but the dean’s ready to expel me for the smallest infraction.  I’ve already got nothing to lose, and Trouble needs my help.  You two should stay here, but I’m gonna follow Sparkler.”

Clarity pondered this for a moment, then slowly nodded.  “I guess you have a point…” she admitted.  “Honeydew and I will wait here.”

“Um… good luck,” Honeydew added.

“Thanks.  I think I’m gonna need it,” Dinky replied.  Wasting no more time, she galloped down the stairs after the overseer.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dinky scrambled into the tower lounge just as Sparkler was about to exit.

“Wait!  Sparkler!”

The older filly halted and glared at Dinky.  “I told you to stay in your room!” she snarled.

Dinky defiantly returned the glare.  “Not this time.  I need to talk to you.”

“And I have nothing to say to you!” Sparkler snapped.  “As far as I’m concerned, you shouldn’t even be here.  You shouldn’t have returned after the dark magic incident.  The dean says Princess Celestia doesn’t blame you, but this time, you are breaking the rules, and you know it.  Do you deny that?”

“No, I don’t.”

Sparkler opened her mouth to snap back, but nothing came out.  She closed it again, surprised.

“Wait, you don’t?”

“No,” Dinky repeated.  “We had a reason for what we did of course, but yes, we were breaking the rules.  I can at least tell you why though, if you just let me explain—”

“I’m not interested in anything you have to say!” Sparkler snapped back.  “I’m going to the dean and getting you shipped out of here on the first train home.”

She glanced at Trouble’s box and scowled.  “Or I will, as soon as I toss this filthy critter out in the woods where he belongs.”

“No!” Dinky insisted.  “He needs us!  He’s really sick.  We’re just trying to take care of him!”

“I don’t care,” Sparkler huffed, turning up her nose as she opened the door with magic.

Dinky felt her face contort into a snarl.  “So you’re going to leave him out there to die just because he can’t stay in the residence tower?  Can’t you find some other safe place for him?”

Sparkler turned away, ignoring Dinky as she prepared to step outside.

“Well fine!” Dinky snapped, growing angrier.  “Go ahead, toss him out and ignore him.  You don’t care about him, just like you don’t care about any of the students you’re supposed to look after.  You just suck up to the dean because you don’t give a flying feather about anypony but yourself!”

Sparkler froze a step away from the door, and suddenly slammed it so hard Dinky swore the whole stone tower shook on its foundation.  Slowly, she turned, and the younger filly was startled by her expression.  There was a fire in Sparkler’s eyes unlike anything she’d ever seen.

“Don’t you ever say that to me again,” the overseer hissed, advancing toward Dinky and setting Trouble’s box aside.  “I saved your miserable little life from your own deadly spell a few months ago.  As an overseer, I will stand firm against rule breakers, troublemakers, and even threats to my sanity like you and your friends, but I will not tolerate that kind of insult to my character!”

Dinky recoiled, caught for a moment as her own fury battled her instinct to cower before Sparkler’s wrath.  She glimpsed Trouble, struggling to roll over in the box behind the overseer, and her anger won out.

“Why not?” she shot back.  “You’ve never given me an ounce of respect!  Why should I give you any?”

Sparkler’s horn flared, casting shadows that danced and writhed like demons on the walls of the lounge.  “You want to know why?” she roared.  “You will keep your mouth shut because… because…”

Dinky was too caught up in her rage to back off.  “Because why?” she taunted, half expecting Sparkler to blast her with magic.

“Because… because you might be right.”

It was not the answer Dinky had expected.  Sparkler’s magic fizzled and died, and with it, something else seemed to wither inside the young mare.  Her tail drooped, her shoulders slumped, and the fiery light faded from her eyes.

“W-what?” Dinky stuttered.

Sparkler said nothing.  Trudging along with her head held so low that it nearly scraped the ground, she disappeared into her bedroom, gently pulling the door shut behind her.  It didn’t latch properly, but no move was made to correct that.

An oppressive silence fell over the room.  All the aggression had drained from Dinky in barely an instant, replaced with confusion and shock.  The filly glanced back and forth between Trouble’s box and Sparkler’s door.  After briefly making sure Trouble was still safe and comfortable, she carefully opened the door to the older filly’s room.

Sparkler was lying in her bed, her head pressed face-down in the pillow.  Periodically, she twitched, convulsing with what Dinky could only assume were muted sobs.

“Sparkler?”

Sparkler lifted her head, making no attempt to hide her tears.  “Now what?  You win.  Go away.  I don’t… I don’t want to deal with you anymore…”

There was no malice in the overseer’s voice.  Her speaking was strained, and her gaze, Dinky thought, was like that of an animal that feared being struck.  Compassion and regret welled up in the younger filly.

I… I actually hurt her…

“Sparkler, I’m sorry,” she mumbled.  “You’re right, maybe I—”

“Please,” Sparkler choked out.  “Go away, just go.  I… I need to think…”

Dinky hesitated.  “Do you wanna talk?” she asked quietly.  “There won’t be any accusations.  No anger, no arguing.  I’ve spent all year trying to understand you, and now it seems like you might be trying to understand yourself.  Maybe you could clear things up for both of us.”

Sparkler hiccupped and wiped her eyes, looking at Dinky skeptically.  “M-maybe…” she conceded.  “Close the door though.”

Dinky shut the door and then climbed onto the bed next to her overseer.

“I don’t know how you do it,” Sparkler said, in barely more than a whisper.  “Everything you do gets under my skin.  I don’t think half of it is even intentional, honestly.  Why, of all ponies, was it a filly like you who figured out how to break me?”

“I don’t understand,” Dinky admitted.  “I have been in a lot of trouble this term, but why do you take it as personal attack when I don’t get expelled?  All I have to go on it something you said months ago about how everything works out for me and not you.  What makes you think that?”

Sparkler gave Dinky a blank expression.  “In case you haven’t noticed, you’ve gotten pretty lucky this term.  Anypony else would have been out of here long ago.”

“True,” said Dinky, “but why does that make you jealous?  I haven’t been having good things happen to me.  I’ve just been avoiding bad ones.  Is that somehow better than your term has been?”

Sparkler’s chin dropped to the pillow.  “That’s better than my whole life has been,” she grumbled, turning away.

“How so?”

Sparkler groaned.  She looked at Dinky again, knitting her brow.  Finally, she heaved a long sigh.

“I don’t know.  It’s hard to explain.”

“Well, some part of you must know why,” Dinky pressed.  “There’s got to be a reason you shut everypony out all the time.”

Sparkler cringed.  “There is.  But you’re the last pony I’d have thought I’d even tell that story to.”

Dinky rubbed one forehoof against the other shyly, staring at the bed sheets.  “Well, I—”

“But I’ll tell you anyway,” Sparkler interrupted, “if only to get you to leave me alone.”

She sat up and scowled.  “Knowing you, you’ll find a way to use it to make things worse for me, though.”

“I won’t!” Dinky insisted.  “If I actually know how I’m upsetting you, I can try not to do it anymore.”

“Whatever,” Sparkler mumbled.  “It’s simple.  Keeping to myself is the only way to protect my vulnerabilities.  Nopony can hurt or upset me if they have no way to target my weaknesses.”

She sighed.  “Well, nopony except you, apparently…”

Dinky blinked.  “You… you cut yourself off from everypony because you’re worried anypony who gets to know you will just take advantage of it?  That’s a terrible way to live!”

Sparkler glared at Dinky.  “I thought you said ‘no accusations’,” she growled back.

Dinky gasped softly, covering her mouth with her forehooves.  “You’re right.  I’m sorry, I’ll just listen.”

Sparkler narrowed her eyes.  “You wouldn’t understand why I do it, anyway,” she continued.  “My mother’s been through what I’m trying to avoid.  She trusted somepony.  She let him into her life.  And then he left before I was born.”

She looked away.  “I never knew my father,” she whispered.  “All I knew was a mother hurt in a way she could never recover from.  She’s always told me the only way to be happy is to protect myself like this, so nopony would be able to step into my life and then shatter it from the inside.”

Sparkler’s melancholy seemed to only be growing as she spoke.  “That’s why I reacted how I did to what you said,” she managed, wiping her watery eyes.  “To call me self-centered is to compare me to my father, and I can’t… I can’t become him.  I do everything I can to keep ponies like him away from me, even if it means keeping everypony else away as well…”

The overseer trailed off and said nothing for some time.  Dinky decided to chance speaking again.

“I know how hard it can be.”

Sparkler grunted, lifting her face out of the pillow for a moment.  “No, you don’t.”

“Yes, I do,” Dinky insisted.  “My dad died when I was an infant.  My mom’s spent years putting all her time and effort into supporting me, and I had to learn all my magic from a tutor because he wasn’t there to teach me.  I know firsthoof how hard it is.”

Sparkler’s mouth hung open a bit.  “Really?”

Dinky nodded.  “Sometimes you act like you’re the only pony who’s dealt with hardship, so… I thought you should know.”

There was something in Sparkler’s expression Dinky had never seen before, but she couldn’t tell what it was.  “I see,” the overseer mumbled.  “You usually seem… pretty happy, all things considered.”

Dinky nodded.  “Maybe closing yourself off from everypony is one solution, but it’s probably not the best one, and it’s certainly not the only one,” she began.  “My friend Honeydew, for example, was scared of everypony when she first arrived here.  She didn't want to open up to Clarity and me at first, but if she hadn't, she might have spent the whole year by herself, keeping away from crowds and hiding in her room whenever she could.  She knows even better than me that it's hard to take that step, but it can be worth it.  After all, I can’t help but notice that your defense against being miserable is, well… making you pretty miserable.”

Sparkler continued to stare dully at Dinky, her chin still against the sheets.  “Nope, I’m fine,” she grumbled.  “Everything’s peachy, except when you’re around.”

Dinky shook her head.  “Maybe you don’t mind blocking most ponies out, but I’ve been getting the feeling there’s one pony you’d really like in your life.  And I think I finally understand it.  You’ve only been pushing him away because you feel like you have to.”

Sparkler paled.  “I… I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Dinky opened her mouth, but Sparkler covered it with a hoof.  “That’s enough,” she said, sounding firm but surprisingly unaggressive.  “I don’t want to talk about Pr… um, about him…”

Dinky nodded as Sparkler took her hoof away.  “Well then, let me just say something of my own” she said softly.  “I know it won’t mean much to you, but I think having ponies you’re close to is worth the risk.”

Sparkler said nothing, so Dinky continued.  “In the short time I’ve been here at the Academy, I’ve made some amazing friends, and I have some back at home that are just as special to me.”

She removed the diamond pendant from around her neck.  “I made this earlier in the term,” she explained.  “It’s enchanted so that it interacts with the one my best friend back in Ponyville has.”

Sparkler looked intrigued.  “May I see?” she asked, extending a forehoof.

Dinky placed the pendant in Sparkler’s hoof.  “Just think about it,” she suggested.  “If life is this hard on you, maybe your mom’s not right after all.  Maybe you should try opening up, even if just to a few ponies.”

“You’re starting to sound like you’re babying me,” Sparkler said bitterly.  “You’ve given your advice.  I’ll be deciding by myself whether you’ve got a point, or if you’re just crazy.”

The overseer tapped the tip of her hoof against Dinky’s pendant, irritated.  “Listen,” she continued.  “I’ll cut you a deal this time.  The dean doesn’t have to know what happened with that fox.”

Dinky’s eyes widened.  “Really?” she gasped, getting to her hooves and wagging her tail excitedly.  “So does this mean you and I can… sorta start fresh?”

“No,” Sparkler deadpanned.  “And you still need to take the fox somewhere other than this tower.  It’s dangerous to keep it here, and I’ll be the one in trouble if anypony were to find out I let it slide.  I don’t care what you do with it, but it can’t stay.”

“But—”

“Go upstairs and get your friends,” Sparkler commanded.  “You don’t have to leave the thing to die if you can find another solution, but it’s not staying here.  That’s final.”

Dinky’s ears drooped.  “Yes, Sparkler.  I’ll be right back.”

Sparkler watched as the filly darted from the room.  She sighed to herself and looked down, realizing Dinky had left the pendant in her hoof.

It’s enchanted so that it interacts with the one my best friend back in Ponyville has…

Sparkler listened closely, but the sound of Dinky’s hoofsteps had already vanished as she made her way up the stairs.

Should I…?

Sparkler looked left and right, as if expecting somepony to be watching, even in the privacy of her bedroom.  Her horn glowed, and the pendant was lifted into the air and surrounded with purple light.  The diamond in the center shone brilliantly violet for a few seconds, and then the light vanished, leaving the accessory looking exactly as it had.

Sparkler smirked to herself.  Just in case…

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

With her pendant back around her neck and her friends trotting closely behind, Dinky made her way slowly towards the forest, carefully holding Trouble’s makeshift bed level in her aura.

“So Sparkler actually didn’t try to get you expelled?” Clarity asked, astonished.

Dinky shook her head.  “No, she uh… well…”

The filly paused.  “It's kinda private.  I'll, uh, tell you a little about it later..."

“But… what do we do with Trouble now?”  Honeydew asked softly.

“That’s what we need to figure out,” Dinky said.  “We can’t keep him in the dorm anymore, and I’m not sure how long he’ll last back out here.”

“Maybe we can ask Scuffle to smuggle him into his dorm!” Clarity suggested.  “Presto seems a lot less suspicious; maybe we’d be able to hide him there.”

“That sounds a little risky,” Honeydew said.  “If Presto did find Trouble, and word got back to Sparkler, we’d be in more trouble.”

“Not to mention Trouble’s probably better off out here than in Scuffle’s hooves,” Dinky joked, earning a chuckle from her friends.

The three fillies trotted into the forest and made their way to the hideout.  Clarity lit the illumination orb and Dinky set Trouble’s box in the spot where the fox usually preferred to rest.  He lifted his head and glanced around briefly, gave a little squeak of recognition, and lay back down again.

“We can’t just leave him here, can we?” Honeydew asked.

“For tonight, we have to,” Dinky admitted.  “It’s after curfew.  Sparkler’s waiting for us at the entrance and if we aren’t back in a few minutes she’ll come looking.”

“But… but…” Honeydew stammered, searching for a counterargument.

Clarity nuzzled Honeydew softly.  “We’ll figure something out tomorrow.  Trouble can manage a night without us.  We gave him a meal and some blankets, now the best thing to do is let him rest here.”

Honeydew sighed, nodding.  “And… maybe the fresh air will do him some good anyway,” she added, although it didn’t sound like she was particularly confident in what she was saying.

“Exactly!” Clarity affirmed.  “Don’t let it worry you too much.”

Dinky trotted over and petted Trouble gently.  The fox feebly rolled over, gazing up at the filly affectionately despite his poor condition.

“Don’t worry,” Dinky said quietly.  “We’ll find a way to help you soon.  I promise.”

The purple filly extinguished the light and followed her friends out of the hollow.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The walls of the strange room were tinted with blue, just as before.  Mist poured down the walls and rippled across the floor.  Dinky stood alone in the silence.

“This again?” she asked aloud, sounding more exasperated than concerned.  “It’s been a while since you tried this one, Sunbeam.  It’s not going to work.”

The filly cast the beam of light from her horn around the cave, searching.  “Princess Luna!” she called.  “Sunbeam’s trying to mess with me again.  Take care of that, please.”

Dinky waited, expecting Luna to appear in the darkness just as she always did.  For a moment, all she heard was the sound of her voice echoing into the distance.

And Dinky waited.  And waited.  But Luna did not appear.

“Princess Luna?” she asked again, uncertain.  “Hello?  Are you here?”

“I’m afraid the princess isn’t available this evening, no she is not,” came a voice.  “But fortunately, Dinky, I’m here to keep you company.”

A blurry but familiar figure appeared at the limit of Dinky’s vision.  Dinky instinctively took a few steps back, but her backside collided with a wall within just a few paces.  Trying to regain her compsure, or at least fake it, she stood still and faced her foe, knowing if she appeared intimidated, it would only serve to delight him.

“Now isn’t this an interesting encounter,” Sunbeam said, approaching Dinky very slowly.  “Clearly, you’re dreaming again, exploring the strange crevasses of your own mind, yet dear Luna is not here to stand guard, no she is not.  It was unwise of her to leave her post; why, any old troublemaking pony could sneak in and wreak havoc with her gone, yes they could.”

“Luna’s kept you from getting to me in my dreams plenty of times before,” Dinky said, hoping she sounded more confident than she felt.  “I’m sure she’s just running late, that’s all.”

Subeam laughed softly.  “I admire your confidence, yes I do, but I can assure you, this time Luna will not be coming to your aid.”

“How do you know?” Dinky asked.  “Luna can watch my dreams.  What reason do I have to believe you could enter this one without her noticing?”

Sunbeam chuckled.  “It’s so entertaining watching you think your plans are foolproof,” he mused.  “Even Princess Luna is not infallible.  Once you enlisted her help in watching over you, all I had to do was find a way to… cloud her vision.”

“How’d you do that?”

“I’m glad you asked, yes I am,” Sunbeam replied, sounding genuinely pleased.  “As you’ve already guessed, the dark energy that taints you is the anchor I use to exert my power over you.”

“So?” Dinky asked, her nervously twitching tail betraying her unconcerned expression.  “Even if I am corrupted enough that you can break into my dreams, it doesn’t explain why Princess Luna can’t just kick you out again.”

“Princess Luna can’t do a thing if she can’t sense your dream,” Sunbeam said, grinning.  “At the time you told her of your concerns, your mind was still pure enough that Luna was able to easily see inside, yes she was, and know when to intervene and remove threats like me.  I was powerless to use the dream intrusion method to get to you with her standing guard, yes I was, so I turned my attention to that problem first.”

Dinky pondered this for a second.  Her eyes widened.  “The dark enchantments…” she mumbled.  “Each time I got close to one of those, it affected me, didn’t it?”

“Quite right!” Sunbeam said gleefully.  “Surely you realized, especially when you were foolish enough to touch one, that that was their purpose.  Such traps are minor and inefficient, yes they are, so I had to set quite a few of them over a considerable length of time.  Of course, you eventually found a way to disarm them, and for that I have to give you credit, yes I do.  But by that time, the damage had been done.  Or at least, most of it had.”

Dinky raised an eyebrow.  “Most of it?”

Sunbeam suddenly lurched forward, and Dinky cried out and shielded herself with a forehoof.  The colt backed off again, laughing, and Dinky blushed upon realizing she’d fallen for the feint.

“You still weren’t quite ready for me to visit you here again,” Sunbeam said once he had ceased his chuckling.  “I had to wait a little while.  Now that Scorpio’s Apex is less than a month away, your corruption is intensifying, yes it is.”

“I’m not so sure about that,” Dinky lied, trying to buy more time in case Luna might still arrive.  “It’s been easy to prevent myself from outbursts of dark magic.  If this is as bad as it gets, you might as well give up on this plan of yours, Sunbeam.”

Rather than frustrated, Sunbeam looked amused.  “If this was as bad as it gets, do you really think I’d be here tonight?” he asked.  “I was simply waiting for the right moment, yes I was, and tonight is that moment.  Although you may not be aware of it during your waking hours, the darkness building inside you has become hearty and strong, yes it has.  So much so that if, say, Princess Luna were to glance into your dreams, all she’d see is a shroud of black.  She’d assume you were peacefully in a dreamless sleep, yes she would, and go about her business.”

He leaned closer, swishing his tail as his nose approached Dinky’s.  “And now that she’s out of the way, nopony will stop me from doing what I came here to do…”

Dinky broke her stance and launched a punch at Sunbeam’s nose, just as she had in her last encounter with him, but her hoof had hardly left the ground before he was halfway across the room.  She hadn’t even seen him move.

“Forget it, Dinky,” Sunbeam laughed.  “That may work in the waking world, but in this place, I am the one in control, yes I am.”

Dinky quickly moved away from the wall she was backed against now that she had some space, eyeing Sunbeam warily and moving away each time he made to approach her.

“You’re wasting your time,” Sunbeam said finally, examining a hoof in mock-boredom.  “You know you’re powerless to escape, yes you do.  And you know that nopony is coming to your rescue.  If you don’t give up on this little game of yours, I’m going to grow bored and end it myself, yes I am.”

“Oh really?” Dinky asked defiantly.  “You’re bluffing.  You can’t do anything to corrupt me if I don’t make myself vulnerable by tapping into my magic!”

Sunbeam blinked, looking genuinely confused.  “You seriously think that’s how this works?” he asked, dumbfounded.  “I’ve merely been biding my time to see if you had some more substantial means of escaping or fighting back, yes I have.  If your whole plan is simply to keep your magic dormant, I’ll tend to the problem myself, yes I will.”

Dinky froze.  “You can do that?”

Sunbeam scoffed.  “It’s almost pitiful that you thought I couldn’t.  But oh well.  On with the show.”

Sunbeam’s horn shimmered and lit up with dark magic.  To Dinky’s dismay, she felt a sensation rather like somepony had tied a rope around her skull and was trying to extract it through her horn.  Her composure slipped away immediately as the feeling quickly became alarmingly painful.  The filly cried out, sinking to the ground and clutching her head.

“Stop… please…” she whimpered, forcing a watery eye open to look imploringly at Sunbeam.

“You know how to make it stop,” the colt replied indifferently.  “Relieve the pressure, or the pain will only get worse.”

Sobbing, Dinky focused through the pain and created a spark within her horn.  It was as if a dam burst inside her head; the magic went black instantly and spilled out, building up repeatedly and firing off in periodic bursts that ricocheted off the uneven walls.

Sunbeam stood, watching silently.  “Just give in,” he said, his voice oddly soothing.  “You can’t turn back, no you cannot.  Slip into the darkness.”

“Why do you want this?” Dinky croaked.  “How does it help you to corrupt me?”

Sunbeam smiled, and again, seemed almost friendly.  “Because I need your help, Dinky Doo.  I need another wraith, and soon, yes I do.  You’re going to be that wraith.  The day is approaching when you’ll see why.”

Sunbeam’s horn glowed brighter, and Dinky found herself unable to resist shooting forth dark magic with even greater intensity.  She closed her eyes, defeated and terrified.

Suddenly, a deafening blast reverberated through the room, followed by a pained grunt from Sunbeam.  Dinky’s eyes shot open as she felt the pressure in her head vanish.

“Princess Luna?” Better late than never I suppose.

The filly tried to see the pony in front of her, but her vision was still clouded with purple mist and flooded with tears.  All she could tell was that the new pony that had attacked Sunbeam wasn’t Princess Luna at all; it was a stallion.

“You again!” Sunbeam roared.  “The darkness keeps the princess out, yes it does!  Why doesn’t it stop you?”

“Dinky, listen to me,” said the stallion, ignoring Sunbeam completely.  “You can get out of this.  You can wake yourself up.”

Dinky recognized the voice.  It was the same stallion who had rescued her the first time Sunbeam had entered her dreams.  “How do I do that?” she asked, still trying and failing to clear her vision.

“Forget I’m here,” the voice replied.  “Forget Sunbeam’s here, too.  I’ll take care of him.  Picture yourself in your bed, wrapped in your covers, safe in your tower at school.”

“But—”

“He’s in your mind, kid!” the stallion said again.  “You can beat him, but you gotta take back control of what’s yours.  Even his magic can’t keep you from doing that if you can just focus!”

Dinky gave up on trying to see the stallion through the chaos and her own blurred vision.  She closed her eyes, and did her best to ignore Sunbeam’s cries of anger and the sounds of battle around her, as well as the now dulled pounding in her head.

I’m in bed.  I’m under the covers.  This is my dream, not his dungeon.  Focus and everything will be just—

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“…fine…” Dinky mumbled, opening her eyes.  Silence surrounded her, broken occasionally by Clarity’s familiar snoring.

Dinky smelled something strange.  She glanced at her pillow, and cringed when she saw the fabric had been blackened, no doubt by another fit of dark magic she’d had while asleep.  Exhausted and disoriented, the filly flipped the pillow over, hiding the damaged part, and placed her head back down, Sunbeam’s screams and the stallion’s voice still echoing in her mind.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“You don’t look well.”

“I’m fine, Honeydew.”

“N-no, I don’t think you are, Dinky…”

Dinky sighed and glanced at her reflection in a window as she and Honeydew made their way to class.  Her mane was disheveled, her posture drooped, and the dark circles under her eyes did nothing to help her image.

“I just… didn’t sleep well,” she mumbled.  “Bad dreams.”

“Mm,” Honeydew responded, not looking convinced.  “You gonna be okay for Magical Biology class?”

“I’ll be fine.”

The fillies walked in silence for a few minutes.  As they neared the classroom, Honeydew unexpectedly turned down a narrow hall, away from their destination.

“Where are you going?” Dinky asked.

Honeydew looked away and swished her tail shyly.  “Um… come here please, Dinky.”

Dinky paused, furrowing her brow as other students trotted around her towards the classroom.  After a moment, she stepped aside into the unoccupied hall with Honeydew.

“Everything okay?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.

“It’s dark magic again, isn’t it?” Honeydew said levelly, staring at her friend with concern.

“I… how’d you know?”

“You look more than just tired,” Honeydew admitted.  “You look… worn.  Like you’ve been struggling.  Why didn’t you tell Clarity and me?”

“There’s no point in me making you two worry more,” Dinky replied.  “I’m going to talk to Princess Luna again tonight to figure out how to handle this.  Just… don’t let yourself get too upset.  The princess will help me keep it under control."

Honeydew sighed and nodded.  “Just don’t let it get out of hand,” she advised, nuzzling Dinky gently.  “Scorpio’s zodiac period is almost here.  You have to be careful.”

“I’m doing my best,” Dinky said, returning the gesture.  “Now come on, we’re going to be late.”

The fillies trotted into the classroom, and immediately Dinky noticed something different.  The garden of exotic plants along the room’s glass wall was obscured by a number of cages and containers, holding a host of chattering creatures from the forest.  Cornelius fluttered from cage to cage, trying to quiet the cacophony.

Professor Chestnut entered from a side door.  The mare was wearing a vest that nicely complimented her wide sun hat.

“There you are!” Cornelius squawked, darting over to take his usual spot on the brim of the mare’s hat.  “I’ve been trying to get these uncultured vermin of yours to quiet down so you can teach.”

The professor smiled softly.  “Don’t worry, Cornelius.  The animals will quiet down once we give them some attention.”

“Oh yeah, the animals,” Cornelius said ponderously.  “Yeah, they’ve been noisy too.”

Professor Chestnut rolled her eyes and trotted to the front of the room.

“Good morning!” she called, speaking loudly over the din of the animals.  “As I’m sure most of you have already deduced, today we’re doing something a little different.  For most of the term, our studies have focused on spells and potions relating to plants.  We’ve still only scratched the surface of that subject, but now that there’s barely a month left in the term, I think it’s only fair we take an introductory look at animals, too.”

“For whatever reason, the professor doesn’t seem to think I’m the pinnacle of all animal specimens,” Cornelius complained, “so we rounded up this flea-bitten pack of critters instead.”

Professor Chestnut ignored him and continued.  “Although animals are wildly different than plants, in order to involve them in our magic effectively, we must begin the same way we did with plants: by forming a connection with them.”  

“Yeah, most of ‘em are too dumb to talk, so you gotta use that wacky mind-link stuff you unicorns do,” Cornelius clarified.

“Now, most animals aren’t as intelligent as Cornelius,” Professor Chestnut continued, earning a pleased nod from the bird, “but they are still capable of learning and innovating and even forming the basis of culture.  They are close enough to ponies that all three pony races can become quite proficient at connecting with them.  As we’re all unicorns here, our first choice for doing so is, of course, a spell.”

Dinky glanced at Honeydew.  The pink filly was paying close attention to the professor’s words, hurriedly scribbling down everything she said.  It occurred to Dinky that Honeydew’s background and special talent had given her a head start in magic with plants, but when it came to animals, she was just as new to the subject as Dinky.

“To your left, we have a collection of animals and birds I’ve gathered from the grounds,” the professor said, wandering over to the group of enclosures.  “Much like on the first day of class, your task will be to form a connection with a specimen.  You probably won’t be able to command an animal to do what you want, nor should you do that, but forming that magical mental connection is essential in establishing cooperation with an animal.  All other animal related magic stems from there.”

“Now get your furry backsides over here so we can assign you an animal partner,” Cornelius commanded.

The students all stood.  Honeydew gave Dinky a nudge.  The purple filly looked at her curiously.

“I can’t believe I didn’t think of this sooner,” Honeydew whispered.  “Stay behind after class; you and I need to talk to Professor Chestnut about something.”

Dinky glanced at the animals again and realized what Honeydew meant.  She nodded briefly, and the fillies trotted forward to begin their practice.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Professor.”

“Yes Cornelius?”

“Your favorite student is here.”

Professor Chestnut turned around, and blinked in surprise when she realized Honeydew and Dinky were behind her.

“Oh, Honeydew, you really must learn to speak up!” the mare laughed.  “I didn’t even realize you’d stayed behind.”

“That’s okay, professor,” Honeydew replied.  “Dinky and I just had a question for you.”

Professor Chestnut chuckled.  “My lessons by themselves are never enough for you, are they, Honeydew?” she laughed.  “What is it you’d like to know?”

“Well, I know we’ve only just begun to study animals,” Honeydew began, “but I was wondering if you know of any healing spells for them.”

Cornelius gave a low whistle.  Professor Chestnut looked surprised.

“Well, it depends.  What do you need such a spell for?”

“There’s a fox in the forest who’s very sick,” Dinky explained.  “I know it’s unusual, but he’s friendly, and we want to help him before he gets worse.”

“Can you help him?” Honeydew pleaded.

The professor tapped a hoof to her chin.  “Well, I would, but there’s one little problem,” she admitted.  “Healing spells are often… complicated.”

“You’re a professor, though,” Dinky pointed out.  “You’d be one of the few ponies that can do complicated spells, right?”

“Brilliant deduction, kid,” Cornelius mumbled.

Professor Chestnut shook her head.  “I’m afraid you don’t understand what I mean by complicated,” she replied.  “In order for powerful healing spells to work properly, the caster and the patient have to have a special connection.”

“Can’t you just magically connect with the animal, like you showed us today?” Honeydew asked, cocking her head.

“That’s only part of it,” the mare answered.  “The connection I’m talking about is more significant; there has to be a deep trust and caring between the caster and the patient.  This fox may have seen me once or twice, but it would probably be skittish around me at best.  I’m afraid any healing spell I cast on it would do nearly nothing.”

Dinky frowned, ears drooping.  “Well, thanks anyway.  Maybe we’ll find another way to—”

“Dinky,” Honeydew interrupted, being more direct than usual, “maybe you can cast the spell.  Trouble seems to trust you a lot.”

“You could try,” Professor Chestnut agreed.  “I’ll show you how to do the spell, but actually replicating it properly will be up to you.”

Dinky lit her horn.  “I’m ready!” she announced.  “Show me what I need to do.”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next afternoon, Dinky, Clarity, Honeydew, and Scuffle climbed down the earthen tunnel into their hideout.  Trouble rolled over in his box when the illumination orb was lit, looking up at the foals with cloudy eyes.

“Hey Trouble,” Clarity said softly, trotting over and stroking the fox behind the ears.  “We’re here to help you.”

Scuffle peeked into the box.  He furrowed his brow when he saw how bony and unkempt Trouble had become.  “Hey, Dinks,” he commented, “no pressure or anything, but you might be this poor guy’s last chance.”

“Don’t make her nervous,” Honeydew scolded, poking Scuffle with her nose to nudge him away from the box.

Dinky stepped forward, and Trouble squirmed on his tiny blanket upon seeing her.

“I guess this one’s up to you, Dinky,” Clarity said, brushing a loose strand of her mane out of her eyes.

“I think she can do it,” Honeydew said optimistically.  “Professor Chestnut clearly explained what needs to be done, and worked with Dinky for quite a while on practicing it.”

Clarity smirked.  “Dinky has always been good at picking up on new spells very quickly…”

“Alright, stay quiet,” Dinky instructed.  “I’m going to give it a try.”

Clarity stepped back to join Honeydew and Scuffle, and Dinky focused on the sick fox staring up at her.  She closed her eyes and flattened her ears against her head, trying to block out any outward sensations, and then lit her horn.

Silence fell.  Dinky could soon sense the energy of the ponies behind her, but she focused instead on the flicker of consciousness that clearly belonged to Trouble, and reached out to it.

The filly felt her mind touch Trouble’s.  The fox seemed to sense her arrival and tensed up, trying to shut her out.

“Trouble, it’s me,” she mumbled, refusing to break the connection.  “I’m here to help.  Please try to relax.”

Dinky doubted her words meant anything to the fox, but she sent the same message in pure feeling through her spell.  Gradually, Trouble allowed the filly’s mind access to his.  As she strengthened the bond, though, waves of weakness and pain radiated from Trouble’s psyche, nearly breaking her concentration.

Boy, you’re not doing well at all, are you? she thought.  Let me see if I can fix that.

Dinky tried to call forth healing magic as Professor Chestnut had shown her, but was unable to bring it into her horn.  Trouble remained too wary.

Trouble, come on! she urged wordlessly.  I can make you better, but you’ve got to trust me.  You’ve got to let me in!

Trouble’s feelings of apprehension didn’t waver.  Soon, the exertion of the failing spell and the manifestation of Trouble’s illness that Dinky felt through the mind link grew to be too much.  Sighing, she was forced to break the connection.

“What’s wrong?” Honeydew asked as the light around Dinky’s horn went out.

“Trouble’s still wary,” Dinky explained.  “I can’t convince him to let my magic bind with him deeply enough to perform the spell.”

“Can’t you just give it another go?” Scuffle asked, tapping a hoof impatiently.

“The spell uses way too much magic for that,” Clarity pointed out.

Dinky demonstrated Clarity’s point by sinking back onto her haunches, breathing hard.  “I’ll just have to come back and try again tomorrow,” she announced between panting breaths.  “I can help Trouble.  I just need him to let me.”

Clarity nodded and trotted over to place a hoof on Dinky’s shoulder.  “Come on,” she said softly.  “Let’s go for now.  You need to get your strength back before class.”

Dinky nodded and stood up.  The other foals trotted up the passage, and Dinky and Trouble locked eyes one more time before the former turned to join her friends.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A lone leaf, one of the first to be affected by autumn’s touch, spiraled to the forest floor, and was promptly crushed under a small yellow hoof.  The pony it belonged to looked skyward, examining the stars.  His lips curled into a grin.

“Scorpio.”

It was the twenty-third of October.  Although numbers like that were meaningless to Sunbeam.  All that mattered was that, starting tonight, Scorpio was the dominant zodiac.

Every living thing, including the grass and trees concealing Sunbeam, seemed to shudder and shy away as the colt’s horn burst to life with churning black and purple light, brighter and more powerful than it had been all year.  Something inky black and wispy, almost like smoke but somehow much darker, billowed around the base of his hooves and rolled off the tip of his horn and tail.  Similar wisps, colored bright purple instead, surrounded his eyes.

“Scorpio once again aids me in my magic, yes she does!” Sunbeam announced triumphantly to no one in particular.  “The time is coming for the final phase to be put into action!”

He looked to the residence towers, where the lights of a few illumination orbs still flickered in the windows.  “Dinky Doo has no doubt spoken with the princess again to keep me from her dreams, yes she has.  Unfortunately for her, she has no idea how strong I have become now that Scorpio’s Apex is drawing near, nor does she know the true strength of the darkness growing inside her.”

He chuckled.  “A fortnight from now, if not sooner, she’ll have already joined me.  And with her help, I will be able to bring about the deepest, purest darkness, yes I will.  I shall unleash power the likes of which Equestria hasn’t seen for millennia!”

He chuckled, not taking his eyes of the residence tower.  “But first, I must make sure young Dinky cannot resist the temptation of the evil within her, yes I must.”

He stepped backward, melting into the darkness of the forest.  “Enjoy what time you have left, Dinky Doo,” he muttered.  “By Scorpio’s Apex, you too will serve Scorpio’s dark purpose…”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

There was a soft knock at the door.

“Come in,” Bright Spark called.

She didn’t look up from her paperwork, but she heard the sound of the office door opening, followed by soft hoofsteps on the plush carpet.

“You… wanted to see me, Professor Spark?”

“Hello Sparkler,” the dean said calmly.  “Why don’t you take a seat.  We’ll talk in a moment.”

Sparkler silently placed herself in one of the seats.  For several minutes, the dean ignored her completely.  When the mare finished her paperwork, she gently set it aside and met Sparkler’s gaze.  She stared for a few moments, eventually causing Sparkler to fidget.

“Ma’am?”

“Sparkler, we need to have a short discussion,” Bright Spark said.  “There are a few things about your performance as overseer I would like to go over with you.”

Sparkler’s breath caught in her throat.  “Have I done something wrong?”

The dean chuckled mirthlessly.  “Oh, don’t worry.  This has nothing to do with what you’ve done.  It’s more related to what you haven’t done.”

She leaned forward.  “Tell me, Sparkler, do you have anything to report regarding Miss Dinky Doo?”

Sparkler’s mind moved immediately to the conversation Dinky had had with Princess Luna that she’d overheard.  Dark magic was still part of the picture, and it was possible the dean didn’t even know.

“Well, actually, Dinky has…”

Sparkler paused, suddenly remembering another, more recent conversation.  A conversation where the same filly had shown her that maybe she wasn’t just a lucky troublemaker.  In fact, maybe she was one of the only ponies who really understood anything about Sparkler at all.

Sparkler cleared her throat.  “…Dinky has done nothing of note since we last talked, Professor.”

“I see,” Bright Spark replied.  “That’s what I thought.”

“You did?”

The dean’s fake smile began to fade.  “Now, Sparkler, I seem to remember a conversation some time ago between you and me.  You were going to keep an eye on Miss Doo, and perhaps… help her along, since she’ll inevitably find herself involved in another expulsion-worthy incident soon.  Yet since that time, I haven’t heard much about Dinky’s exploits.”

She narrowed her eyes.  “I thought we were on the same page about this, Sparkler.”

“We are!” Sparkler said hurriedly.  “I just… haven’t found an opportune moment yet…”

Her tone betrayed her lack of conviction to her words.  Bright Spark frowned.  “You sound hesitant,” she said, tapping the tip of a quill against her desk.  “Do you have a differing opinion?”

Sparkler squirmed.  “Well, I’m more just confused.  I know Dinky has caused trouble, but so have a lot of students.  Is there a reason you ha—, err, are especially concerned with her?”

The dean was quiet for several seconds.  “Initially, I was merely annoyed that Dinky was permitted to attend the Academy without my consent, but that’s no longer the major issue.  What made me certain that she must be removed was not her dark magic incident, but her excuse for it.”

“You mean the story about a colt named Sunbeam?”

Bright Spark scowled.  “I don’t know where she found that name,” the mare hissed.  “The castle and grounds have been patrolled for months now, and there’s still not a single shred of evidence that Sunbeam is here, save Dinky’s continued insisting that he is.  And of course he wouldn’t be.  He’s dead.”

“But you said he was a real pony, right?”

“Forty years ago, Sunbeam was a first-term student,” Bright Spark continued.  “I had just begun my time as dean.  I remember the colt like it was yesterday; he was adventurous and intelligent, much like Dinky is.”

“What happened to him?”  Sparkler asked nervously.

“I’m getting to that,” the dean replied snappily.  “You see, in my first year here, I was not quite the same pony I am today.  I was still enamored with the ideas of experimentation and discovery in all fields of magic, and I encouraged my students to do the same.  Everypony was free to roam the castle and grounds at any hour, and there were plenty of private spaces and access to vast amounts of knowledge, which allowed the most gifted students to study and practice magic way above their level with ease.”

“That sounds like a good idea, really…” Sparkler said carefully.

“Good in theory.  Flawed in practice,” replied Bright Spark.  “I was too happy-go-lucky.  I gave students too much freedom, and too little supervision.  Had I been older and wiser, I might have realized that it was only a matter of time until one of them got into something he shouldn’t have.”

Sparkler groaned.  “Dark magic again?”

“He thought he could control it,” the dean muttered.  “Thank goodness some professors were nearby to save his friends.  Sunbeam himself was destroyed by his own spell.  Quite brutally, as a matter of fact.  I nearly lost my position as dean over allowing it to happen.”

“So, you’re just trying to prevent Dinky meeting the same fate?” Sparkler asked.

The dean cackled.  “Oh, heavens no!  Sunbeam was a problem for me because it was partially my fault.  In Dinky’s case, I don’t know where she learned dark magic, but it certainly wasn’t from anypony or anything at this school!  The princess knows it, too, which is why I wasn’t punished for Dinky’s incident.”

Sparkler blinked.  “I don’t understand.”

“Dinky Doo must go because she had the gall to drag the low point of my career back into the limelight!” Bright Spark yelled.  “Princess Celestia is too kind to say anything, but I know she remembers.  Each time Sunbeam is mentioned, her thoughts go back to that year decades ago.”

Sparkler chewed her lip.  “Ma’am, I’m as unsure as you are on the topic of how Dinky learned about Sunbeam in the first place, but I’m fairly certain she’s unaware that he’s a stain on your career…”

“I don’t care!” the dean roared, throwing her forehooves in the air so violently that the papers on her desk took off, scattering around the office.  “She’s an arrogant nuisance, faking innocence while she continues to make me look bad.  I don’t need a student like that at this school.  I’m getting rid of her!”

Bright Spark paused for a few moments to catch her breath.  She adjusted her glasses and gave Sparkler a level stare.  “And you’re going to help me as planned… right?”

Sparkler looked uncomfortable.  “Well, I—”

“I’m sure you’ll say yes,” the dean said, her tone suddenly sickly-sweet.  “After all, you’ve got yourself to think about here too.”

Sparkler raised an eyebrow.  “Pardon me?”

“Well, it’s the end of your prestigious final year at Celestia’s Academy,” the dean continued.  “You’ve held a high position as an overseer, something that will be notable on your record and be incredibly useful in your future, I’m sure.  It would be such a pity if, right before your graduation, you were accused of failure to properly follow the dean’s instructions and stripped of that title.  Why, you’d leave the school after your graduation in absolute shame, and I think neither of us wants that to happen, right?”

Sparkler blanched.

The dean’s toothy fake grin returned.  “We understand each other, right, Sparkler?” she said sweetly.

Sparkler nodded slowly, staring at the floor.

“Excellent,” the dean said.  “The term ends in three weeks.  I expect to hear from you soon.”

“Y-yes, ma’am.”

“Good.  You’re excused.  Goodnight, Sparkler.”

“...Good night, Professor…”

> Chapter 17
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The latter half of October was an eventful time for the students of Celestia’s Academy.  With final exams approaching in early November, most of the foals’ classes accelerated even further.  For Dinky at least, it was a blessing; she was so busy that she had little time to worry about Scorpio as the constellation neared its apex directly overhead.

Princess Luna was surprised by the news of Sunbeam’s latest intrusion.  Unwilling to risk the safety of Dinky or anypony else, she agreed to check in on Dinky’s dreams at regular intervals, whether one appeared to be in progress or not.

Despite the extra caution, Dinky could tell, especially as the end of the month grew close, that the darkened part of her was growing more active.  The filly suffered from sudden, short-lived headaches and bouts of dizziness.  Often it felt like the inside of her horn was one big itch needing to be scratched.  Casting spells helped marginally, but Dinky knew the only way to achieve real relief was to use dark magic, which she stoically refused.

Fortunately, the symptoms seemed more annoying than dangerous.  Although it took conscious effort, Dinky was still able to avoid actually using dark magic.

As if that wasn’t taking enough of a toll on the filly, Trouble’s illness led her to many more failed attempts at healing him.  Each day she spent some time with the fox before trying to use the healing spell, but despite her best efforts, she was repeatedly thwarted by Trouble’s unwillingness to trust her.  Honeydew offered tips passed along from Professor Chestnut, but nothing seemed to help.

Finally though, a welcome distraction appeared in the midst of all the stress, in the form of the Nightmare Night Dance.

On the evening of the event, Dinky and her friends finished their homework early and retired to their dorm to prepare.

“So, Clarity,” Dinky asked as she ran a brush through her mane, “did your sister ever tell you anything about this dance?”

Clarity chuckled as she affixed her barrette to her mane.  “It’s just a big party to unwind and celebrate Nightmare Night before we have to deal with exams,” she replied.  “There’ll be food, music, and plenty of Nightmare Night surprises.”

“I hope it’s nothing too scary…” Honeydew lamented, nervously rubbing the notch in her horn.  “My home town doesn’t celebrate Nightmare Night.  I don’t know what to expect.”

“Nightmare Night’s not scary, Honeydew,” Dinky laughed, patting her worried friend, “unless you’re scared of obviously fake vampires and werewolves and stuff.”

Honeydew giggled.  “I guess that doesn’t sound so bad.”

Clarity trotted in place impatiently.  “Well, c’mon, are you ready?” she asked the others.  “It’s starting soon, and we still have to go find Scuffle.”

“I’m ready,” Dinky responded.  “C’mon, let’s go!”

The fillies scrambled down the stairs and bolted for the tower door, practically tripping over each other in their hurry.

“Hey!  Be careful you three!”

Dinky stopped abruptly at the commanding voice.  Clarity and Honeydew crashed into her, causing the three fillies to fall in a heap.

“See?” said Sparkler.  “You three are gonna hurt yourselves one of these days, I swear.”

Dinky took one look at Sparkler and was too surprised to bother to pull herself about from beneath her friends.  The overseer was robed in a simple but elegant midnight blue dress, and her mane was intricately done-up.

“What’s with the outfit?” Dinky asked.  “I thought this was an informal dance.”

Sparkler opened her mouth to reply, but Clarity cut her off.  “The one we’re going to is informal,” she explained, “but the fifth-term students have their pre-graduation dance tonight.  While all the other students party, the oldest ponies have a formal dinner and dance as a way to prepare to say goodbye to Celestia’s Academy.”

“Yes,” Sparkler deadpanned.  “Now please get out of the way so I can go.”

The fillies got up and trotted outside.  Clarity and Honeydew made their way toward the colts’ tower, hoping Scuffle would be waiting outside.

“Go ahead and find Scuffle,” Dinky called.  “I’ll meet you at the dance.”

The purple filly fell back as her friends went on ahead.  After a moment, she turned back to Sparkler, who was staring at her curiously.

“What?” the overseer asked finally.

Dinky shrugged.  “Uh… I guess it’s not really my place to say anything,” she began, “but, uh, if I can make a suggestion—”

“If whatever you’re about to say has something to do with Presto, I don’t want to hear it,” Sparkler growled, scraping a hoof on the stone in agitation.

Dinky worked her tongue nervously and said nothing.

Sparkler rolled her eyes.  “I can take care of myself, Dinky.  I don’t need a foal telling me what to do.”

She turned away and began to trot down the path.  “Have fun at your dance,” she said, her voice not conveying any real well-wishes.

Dinky sighed as Sparkler trudged away, and then quickly made her way to the castle.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dinky wouldn’t have recognized the room she was in was the dining hall if she hadn’t made her way there herself.  Whoever had organized the Nightmare Night Dance had gone all out, covering the room with such a degree of decorations, both traditional and magical, that it looked more like a manifestation of an entire book of scary stories than a castle chamber.  Dinky quickly located Clarity, Honeydew, and Scuffle in the crowd.

“Whoa, this is even more awesome than Lucid said it would be!” Clarity exclaimed, lighting her horn to see better in the dim, foggy atmosphere magically generated for the room.

“Good evening!” came a female voice.  “Welcome to the celebration!”

There was a sudden puff of colored smoke, and a pony dressed as a hideous witch appeared as it cleared.  Physically, the mare didn’t seem to be anypony the foals knew, but Dinky recognized the voice immediately.

“Professor Luster?  Is that you?”

“Good guess!” the mare chuckled.  “Hard to tell though, isn’t it?”

“That costume’s a lot more realistic than the ones I’ve seen back home,” Clarity observed.  “How’d you make it so lifelike?”

“Oh, just a few illusions here and there and an enchantment or two,” Professor Luster laughed.  “The other professors and I are providing such costumes for students who want them.  Interested?”

Dinky opened her mouth to answer, but never got the chance.  She and Clarity were both shoved aside as Scuffle wedged himself in between them and forced his way to the front of the group.

“Sounds awesome!  Me first!”

The professor chuckled.  “Relax, Scuffle.  You’ll all get a turn.  Now, hold still!”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Raarrrarrgghh!” the mutilated, decaying zombie unicorn groaned.

Honeydew just giggled, her vampire fangs showing as she did so.  “Sorry Scuffle, I know that’s just you!”

Scuffle pouted.  “I’m still terrifying though, right?”

Honeydew looked her friends over.  “We’re all pretty terrifying right now, to be honest.”	

Dinky laughed at the comment, looking at the costumes herself.  Scuffle’s zombie pony outfit was wonderfully convincing, right down to the chunks of rotting flesh that occasionally fell from his frame before vanishing in a flash of sparkles a few moments later.  Honeydew’s vampire costume had turned her already pale pink fur almost white, and a few clever enchantments had equipped her with fangs and a substance that looked quite like blood that occasionally ran in tiny rivulets from the corners of her mouth.

“Stereotypical monsters, hah,” Clarity laughed.  “My costume’s way cooler.”

Dinky looked at Clarity again and had to admit, she had a point.  The front half of Clarity’s body looked exactly the same as always, but through some combination of illusions and enchantments Dinky couldn’t even comprehend, the back half appeared to have been transformed into an iridescent scaly tail, tipped with a double fin.  If seaponies were real, Dinky was sure Clarity would be indistinguishable from them.

If choosing between the four, though, Dinky’s costume was perhaps the most striking of all.  She wandered over to a mirror again to examine it.  Her eyes glowed bright green from beneath a covering of sticks and leaves that formed together into a living body.  Her shape, however, was still roughly pony, instead of canine.

“So you’re a timberwerewolf, instead of a regular timberwolf?” Honeydew asked, wandering over to the mirror where, delightfully, no reflection at all appeared.  “That’s creative!”

“Come on, you two!” Clarity called.  “Even monsters have to eat.  Let’s get some food!”

Dinky ambled along after Clarity, listening to the clicking of her faux-wooden paws on the floor.  Scuffle had already helped himself to the generous buffet and was eyeing up the treasure trove of Nightmare Night candy on the next table over.

“Hurry and eat up,” Clarity instructed as Dinky arrived at her side.  “The dancing’s starting in just a few minutes.  The professors are already getting everything set up.”

As if on cue, loud, upbeat music began to play nearby.  “Meet me over there!” the grey filly called as she ran off.

Dinky nodded and helped herself to a heaping portion of food.  Then, feeling especially glad to finally have a night away from stress, she trotted off to join her friends by the dance floor.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From Dinky’s perspective, time passed quickly that evening.  Ponies dressed as all manner of Nightmare Night creatures partied on the dance floor until well after dark.  Dinky’s thoughts didn’t turn to her dark magical troubles even once all night long.

It was nearly midnight when Professor Morningstar appeared on stage and called the colts and fillies to attention.

“Happy Nightmare Night, everypony!” the stallion called.  “I hope you’ve all been enjoying the festivities, but it’s starting to get pretty late!  We’ve got one more treat for you all, and it should be starting shortly.  In the meantime, I need you to organize yourselves by gender!  Colts on the right side of the room, fillies on the left, okay?”

Scuffle glanced at Dinky and the other fillies.  “I guess I’ll catch up with you three a little later,” he said, trotting off to join the colts.

Dinky huddled together with the other fillies to wait for the event the professor had mentioned.

“What do you think’s gonna happen?” Honeydew asked, glancing around nervously and wiping another bit of fake blood from her lip.  “And why did they have to split up the colts and fillies?”

Clarity shrugged.  “I don’t know.  Maybe they’re going to—”

Clarity was interrupted by a huge crash as the stained glass window behind the stage shattered violently, and a huge, slavering beast leapt into the room.  The monster, built with the body of a lion, the tail of a scorpion, and a pair of batlike wings, released a deafening roar, causing most of the ponies to fly into a panic.

“A manticore!” Dinky gasped.  “How did it get onto the academy grounds?”

“Who cares, let’s get out of here!” Clarity replied, trying to shake off Honeydew who had instinctively clung to her.

Before anypony could flee the room, however, the manticore began to laugh.  It wasn’t a deep laugh either.  Instead, it was high pitched and raspy.

“Boy, I really scared the lot of you!” it announced.

Slowly, the shards of shattered glass rose into the air, drawing closer to one another as they made their way back toward the empty window frame.  At the same time, a ring of green fire appeared around the manticore on stage.  Within a few moment, the window had fully repaired and replaced itself, and the fire had faded, replacing the vicious monster with a familiar, quirky changeling.

“Happy Nightmare Night everypony!” Nester called, receiving a chorus of relieved laughter and cheers as a response.  “Now that we’ve all had a good scare, it’s time for something of a slightly different tone.  Oh, and we’re not gonna need costumes for this one.”

From somewhere, a familiar magic cancelling wave like the one Dinky had often used before burst forth and radiated over the crowd, quickly dissolving every costume and leaving a room full of normal ponies.

“Now, even though none of you are graduating,” Nester continued, flitting his wings, “after next week, it’s going to be a while before some of you see one another again.  The Nightmare Night Dance is about having fun, of course, but it’s also about spending some quality time with your classmates.  So we’re going to play a few more songs.  Songs that are less about dancing and more about being able to take that time to renew those bonds.”

“So they’re slow dances,” some colt called, sounding a combination of annoyed and nervous.

“Yes,” Nester deadpanned, punctuating his answer with a loud chirp.  “But I know what you’re thinking.  Just because you ask somepony to dance doesn’t mean you’re gaga for them.  Show some backbone and ask somepony to dance with you!”

A song began to play, but Nester didn’t leave the stage.  “Getting this started is always a little awkward, so I’ve heard,” he chuckled, “but lucky for you, one lucky colt and filly will be chosen at random to come up here on stage and get us all started.  Who’s it gonna be?”

A spotlight over the right side of the room suddenly flashed on, pointing at a specific pony below.  Dinky couldn’t see over the heads of the older students, but a bunch of cheers and laughs rose up from the colt’s side of the room.

“We have our colt!” Nester called.  “Now, let’s find our lucky filly!”

Another spotlight flashed on.  Dinky squinted, and for a moment thought it might have pointed directly at her, but soon realized it had landed on the pony directly behind her instead.

“Oh gosh no…” Honeydew squeaked as the bright light poured over her body.  “No, no, no, no, no, I don’t wanna…”

“Come on, Honeydew,” Clarity urged, pushing the filly forward.  “It’s just a dance.  Everypony else will be dancing in a minute too!”

Shaking, Honeydew slowly made her way through the crowd.  She glanced back at her friends for a moment, looking frightened, and began to climb the steps onto the stage.  Dinky glanced to the stairs on the opposite side and her jaw dropped as she spotted a familiar brown and tan pony ascending on the other side.

Scuffle and Honeydew reached the stage at the same moment.  Their gazes met, and for a moment, both ponies froze in place.  Next to Dinky, Clarity covered her muzzle with both forehooves, trying desperately not to burst out laughing.

Nester glanced between the two foals, neither of whom had moved since spotting the other.  “Uh… go on, you two,” he coaxed.  “Center stage, please.”

Dinky and Clarity pushed their way through the crowd toward the base of the stage as Scuffle and Honeydew began to move almost robotically towards each other.  They reached the middle just as the fillies arrived beneath them.

“Uhh,” Scuffle mumbled, “you, um… you alright, Honeydew?”

Honeydew shivered.  “No!” she squeaked.  “I can’t do this with you!  Not in front of all these ponies.”

“Think of it this way,” Dinky called.  “If you had to dance with a pony you’d never met before, wouldn’t that be even scarier?”

“Yeah, you can trust me,” Scuffle affirmed.

“Everypony else will be dancing as soon as you two start,” Clarity reminded her.  “And the longer you wait, the more awkward it’s gonna get to have the room watching you.”

Honeydew squeezed her eyes shut.  Scuffle, who was clearly equally nervous but marginally better at hiding it, nodded.  “So… ready?” he asked.

Honeydew took a step forward.  Shaking, she raised a forehoof and placed it on the colt’s shoulder.  Scuffle responded by placing one of his own hooves on her upper back.  Looking terrified, but determined to do what they’d been asked, the two began to step in unison to the slow music.

Fortunately, it only took a few moments for other ponies to follow suit.  Dinky and Clarity retreated back into the crowd as ponies teamed up to dance.  Each of them found a random colt to join them for a dance or two, and then met up with each other again to watch Scuffle and Honeydew on the stage.

“What are the odds the two of them ended up leading the dance?” Dinky asked, smiling.  “Honeydew didn’t seem too thrilled at first, but she’s starting to look more comfortable now that she’s been up there for a while.”

“Forget Honeydew,” Clarity snorted.  “Take a look at Scuffle!”

Dinky glanced at Scuffle, but didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary, other than that he still appeared mildly uncomfortable.

“What about him?”

“You don’t see it?” Clarity asked.  “Look more closely.  See the way he’s moving?  The way he’s holding her?  Even just the way he’s looking at her?  Does that seem like the Scuffle we know?”

Dinky looked again.  Clarity had a point; Scuffle was not a fantastic dancer, but his movements, usually so exaggerated, were very controlled, almost graceful.  He moved slowly and carefully, obviously trying to conform to Honeydew’s movements.  And he kept his eyes on her, meeting her gaze whenever she overcame her nerves enough to look directly at him.

“Alright, I see what you mean,” she admitted.  “But so what?  It just means Scuffle’s capable of focusing on performing with finesse when he wants to.”

“I know he can, but why would he?” Clarity asked.  “Scuffle doesn’t like to drop his tough-pony image for almost anything, but there he is, in front of all his peers, behaving like a perfect gentlecolt.  I can only think of one reason he’d do something like that.”

Dinky looked at Clarity obliviously.  The grey filly groaned.

“I think he likes her, you dolt!” she laughed.  “I’ve been wondering about it for a while now, and with this evidence, it seems like it now more than ever.”

Dinky blinked.  “She almost killed him earlier this term.”

“Hey, I’m just saying what I’m seeing right now,” Clarity said defensively.

Dinky looked at the ponies on stage again.  Honeydew didn’t seem to notice the change in Scuffle’s demeanor.  It was probably for the best for now; Honeydew didn’t need something else to stress about tonight.

“You may be right,” she admitted.  “Come on, let’s let them do their thing until the dance ends.”

Clarity nodded and followed Dinky to another part of the hall, casting one last glance and a grin at the ponies on stage as they trotted away.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

By the time Dinky and her friends reached the residence towers, it was the middle of the night.  Scuffle joined the others in front of the entrance to the fillies’ tower.

“Well that was awesome,” Clarity giggled.  “I’m exhausted.”

“We should probably get some sleep,” Dinky pointed out, yawning.  “After all, we have to spend the weekend getting ready for final exams.”

Scuffle nodded.  “I’ll come and find you girls tomorrow.  Dinks, d’you think you can help me study?”

Dinky nodded.  Scuffle smiled and turned to Honeydew.

“Hey, uh, hope you had fun, Dewey,” he said, shifting his weight awkwardly.

Honeydew nodded emphatically.  “I did!  Thanks for dancing with me,” she replied, smiling cheerfully.  “Dinky was right; the fact that it was you up there with me did make it a little less scary.”

“Oh?” Scuffle asked, blinking.  “Uh, thanks.”

“Anyway, goodnight,” Honeydew continued.  She stepped up to Scuffle and quickly nuzzled him, then turned and trotted inside, humming to herself and completely oblivious to the massive blush that crept over the colt’s face.

Dinky and Clarity grinned in unison.  Scuffle noticed their expressions and snorted angrily.

“W-what?” he asked defensively.  “You heard what Nester said.  Dancing with somepony doesn’t mean anything!”

“Who said the dancing had anything to do with it?” Clarity asked in a teasing tone.

Scuffle fumed and looked away, which only caused Clarity more delight.  “Goodnight, Scuffle,” she said in a singsong voice as she trotted inside.

Scuffle watched her go, and then glanced at Dinky, clearly exasperated.

“You two don’t really think that I… err, that me and Honeydew, um…”

Dinky shrugged.  “I think the only pony who knows that for sure is you, Scuffle,” she giggled.  “Although, for the record, Clarity tends to be pretty good at guessing these things.”

Scuffle snorted again and turned away, trotting back toward his tower.  “Night, Dinks,” he called.

“Goodnight!”

Dinky chuckled to herself as she entered the tower.  Clarity and Honeydew were nowhere to be found; most likely, they’d already gone upstairs.  The filly made her way across the room, but paused at the foot of the stairs when she noticed Sparkler’s door was open an inch or two.

I wonder if Sparkler’s night went well?

Dinky crept toward the overseer’s door and peeked in through the small opening.  She did her best to stifle a gasp.

It looked as if a tornado had blown through the room.  Schoolbooks were strewn everywhere.  The sheets and pillows were a mess, dangling half off the bed.  The objects on the vanity were scattered, and there was a small crack in the mirror.

Most startling, however, was the dress Dinky had seen Sparkler wearing before the party.  The garment was shredded almost beyond recognition, and what was left of it was dangling pathetically from the bedpost.

Sparkler stood at the far end of the room, staring out the window.  Dinky watched her stand there, shaking slightly, for a few minutes.  Suddenly, the young mare pounded the windowsill with a hoof so hard that Dinky swore she heard the wood crack.

“I can’t do it!” the overseer yelled to no one in particular.  “Why can’t I do it!?”

She collapsed on the carpet.  “Who’s right?” she moaned.  “Is that filly the crazy one?  Or am I?”

Dinky had a pretty good idea that she was the filly in question, but knew better than to interrupt Sparkler in the middle of such a fit.  She carefully backed away and made her way upstairs, with new, concerned thoughts swirling in her head.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dinky spent most weekends either enjoying the weather on the castle grounds or visiting her home in Ponyville.  However, this weekend was cold and rainy, dreary weather befitting the dreary mood of the colts and fillies desperately preparing for their final exams.

Dinky, Clarity, Honeydew, and Scuffle sat together at a small table piled high with books, surrounded by the tall bookshelves and vaulted ceilings of the academy library.  Rain pounded on the arched windows, filling the room with its constant pattering.

Dinky set a transformation spellbook aside, sighed wearily, and took a sip of her hay shake.  Her friends didn’t look much better.  Honeydew had been nervously playing with her hair so often that her carefully tied mane was starting to come loose.  Scuffle, on the other hoof, seemed to be growing more bored rather than more nervous; at the moment, he was attempting to balance his quill on its tip on the table.

“Ugh, it’s no use,” Clarity mumbled, setting down her book.  “I just can’t remember the threshold equations for determining the magical power to size ratio in conjuring spells.”

Scuffle looked at her from across the table.  “Gee, Clarity, that must be rough,” he said, rolling his eyes.  “You might lose a whole percentage point for missing a question like that.”

Clarity scrunched up her muzzle.  “What’s got your tail in a tangle?” she asked, miffed.

Scuffle sighed.  “Sorry,” he muttered.  “It’s just… I’m so far behind.  I might not even pass some of my finals.”

Clarity’s expression softened.  “Oh, right…”

“Well, I’m prepared for my Magical Biology final,” Honeydew pointed out.  “Maybe I can review some points with Scuffle?”

Clarity snickered.  “Honeydew, you’ve been ready for that final since the first day of class,” she commented.  “And unfortunately, Scuffle doesn’t take that class.”

Scuffle frowned.  “What about you, Dinks?” he asked, turning to her.  “You busy?  Maybe you can help me out?”

Dinky sighed and rubbed her temples with her forehooves.  “I want to help, but I’ve got such a headache,” she admitted.  “I can barely focus on my own—”

Dinky stopped mid-sentence.  Groaning softly, she quickly held a book open over her head, hiding her horn from prying eyes as it became surrounded in angry black light.  It only took a few seconds for her to get her magic back under control, and she lowered the book, cringing at the pages she had charred.

The other foals looked on with concern.  “A-are you sure you have that under c-control, Dinky?” Honeydew stammered, holding up a book in case she needed to shield herself from an unexpected burst of magic.  “I didn’t realize it had started happening on its own now…”

“Yeah,” Dinky grumbled, rubbing her horn with a hoof.  “Princess Luna says there’s nothing I can do, and that I should just stop the magic as soon as I can whenever it starts.  I don’t need to report it to her again unless I have to struggle to turn it off.”

“Isn’t that a little unsafe?” Clarity asked, her voice dropping to a whisper as a pair of colts passed near the table.

Dinky shrugged.  “Do you have a better idea?  There are unicorns and alicorns here who can help me.  Sending me home to Ponyville during Scorpio’s Apex would only put me in more danger if it gets to be too hard to resist the magic.”

“Eh, she’s got a point,” Scuffle said, returning to his textbook.  “Just uh, point that thing away from us if it gets out of control, okay Dinks?”

Dinky managed a smile and nodded.  “Don’t worry,” she reassured her friends.  “Scorpio’s Apex is less than a week away, and after that, it will only get easier.”

The purple filly scooted her chair closer to Scuffle’s.  “Now, let’s try and get some reviewing done for Practical Magic.  L.I.M.I.T. stands for…”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And just like that, it was final exam week.

Looking back, the term seemed to have flown by, at least to Dinky.  And it was safe, she assumed, to guess that her first term at Celestia’s Academy had been packed full of more… extracurricular events (so she preferred to put it) than that of the average foal.

Because each student had a unique schedule, with classes in different orders, exams were scheduled in a way different than Dinky’s week was normally structured.  On Monday morning, she and Clarity found themselves making their way toward their first exam, which was Transformation and Conjuring.

“How’s the dark magic?” Clarity asked under her breath.  “Are your surges under control?”

“I haven’t had one today,” Dinky replied.  “They’re under control… for now.”

“That’s good,” Clarity sighed, visibly relaxing.  “Scorpio’s Apex is on Thursday night.  That’s only a little more than three days away.  If you’re still doing alright, there’s no way you’re corrupted enough to be in danger of passing some kind of point of no return, right?”

“I hope so,” Dinky agreed.  “The princesses told me to report to them immediately if the dark magic starts to mess with my thoughts.  As long as that doesn’t start to happen, I don’t have to worry too much.”

Clarity smirked.  “Evil Dinky.  Somehow I just can’t imagine that.”

The fillies arrived in the classroom.  Professor Flux ignored the new arrivals as he sat at his desk, snorting gruffly as he struggled to arrange some papers.

Nester appeared in the corner of Dinky’s eye, strolling down the wall as if it was a normal floor.  “Howdy, girls,” he said cheerfully.  “Try not to stress too much about the exam, okay?”

He leaned in closer, continuing in a whisper.  “I’ve taken a look at it.  It’s very difficult, but ol’ Fluxy is planning to grade it very lightly.  So the most important thing is to complete it to the best of your ability, not to do try to do everything exactly perfect.”

The changeling winked and wandered along the wall to comfort some of the other students.

“Alright, alright, quiet down,” said Professor Flux finally, tapping the desk with a hoof until the room fell silent.  “The final exam is composed of a written portion and a practical one.  Nester will be in here making sure you don’t cheat while I conduct individual practical exams across the hall.  Any questions before we begin?”

There were none.  The professor nodded once in Nester’s direction and left the room.

“Alrighty then!” Nester announced, levitating the stack of papers from the professor’s desk.  “No point in wasting time.  Let’s see if you all learned a little about transformation this year.”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Two hours later, Dinky trudged from the classroom, her mind spinning from dozens of very specific questions.  She hoped Nester’s advice would help; some partial credit on some of Professor Flux’s essays would probably help considerably.

When Clarity exited the room however, Dinky couldn’t help but frown.  Her usually chipper friend looked upset and bewildered.  The grey filly stepped slowly over to Dinky, tail tucked between her legs.

“What’s wrong?” Dinky asked.  “The exam was hard, but it wasn’t that hard.  Do you think you didn’t do well?”

Clarity groaned, hanging her head so her shaggy mane covered her eyes.  “I did well enough on the written portion,” she mumbled, “but when we got to the practical bit…”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A short time earlier…

“Clarity,” Professor Flux called.  “Please put down your test and come next door for your practical examination.”

Clarity, feeling very confident despite the complexity of the questions, hopped out of her seat and strode across the hall to the small room where Professor Flux waited.

The stallion gestured to a table.  On it were a dozen apparently identical clay plant pots, lined up in a row.

“Your assignment is this,” the professor began.  “Eleven of these are normal plant pots, but one of them is actually a chalice, transformed to look like the others.  Figure out which one is under the influence of a transformative spell, change it back to its original form, and then use alchemy to turn it to gold.  Is that clear?”

Clarity nodded and approached the table.  At first, there was no apparent way to tell the pots apart; the filly had a knack for spotting illusions, but transformations were harder to find evidence of.  Keeping calm, she closed her eyes and reached out with her magic, testing the pots for physical irregularities or traces of magic.

Professor Flux stood by, watching silently with his usual austere stare.  He didn’t interrupt, even though Clarity spent several minutes just standing still in front of the pots.

It’s got to be… this one, she thought finally, staring at the seventh pot in the row.  It’s faint, but there’s something off about it.

Clarity lit her horn and began a reshaping spell.  Sure enough, the pot changed form easily, as if it wanted to transform but was waiting for permission.  The middle narrowed and the bottom widened and flattened.  The color began to change from dull brown to brilliant gold.

Wait… gold?

That couldn’t be right.  The assignment was to change the pot into a chalice, and then change the chalice into gold.  If this chalice was already gold, did that mean it was the wrong one?

Clarity stopped mid-spell.  The half-transformed object wobbled dangerously, frozen in a bizarre shape between the two objects it was composed of.

Professor Flux snorted.  “Something wrong?”

“N-no,” Clarity stammered.  “Just… just hang on, I’m thinking.”

Professor Flux shrugged and waited.

How could this be?  Clarity again examined the other flowerpots, but didn’t come to any new conclusions about them.  The only one that seemed to be unusual was the one she’d already started.

Sighing, Clarity did the only thing she could think of.  Using a series of alternating alchemy and transformation spells, she slowly completed the chalice’s metamorphosis, alchemizing away the patches of gold whenever they appeared.  When finished, she was left with an unimpressive clay cup.

Professor Flux raised an eyebrow, but still remained silent.  Clarity performed one more spell, turning the whole cup gold in a second or two.

“There we go,” she said dully.

Professor Flux nodded curtly.  “Back to the written exam then, Clarity.”

The filly nodded, scrunching up her face in frustration as she trotted from the room.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Back in the present…

“I must have picked the wrong one,” Clarity lamented.  “I’m surprised Professor Flux didn’t say anything about Lucid not making a mistake like that…”

Dinky opened her mouth to speak, but a different voice replied to Clarity instead.

“It was a trick question, you know.”

The fillies turned to find Professor Flux standing behind them, looking stern as always.  “Wait, what?” Clarity asked.

“The practical exam.  It was a trick question,” Professor Flux repeated.  “The correct pot was, initially, a golden chalice, but the instructions I gave led the students to believe otherwise.”

Clarity blinked.  “Does that mean I chose right from the start?” she asked finally.

Professor Flux nodded.  “You did, but the purpose of the test was to see if you could recognize that.  Realizing which pot was transformed, successfully transforming it back, and pointing out to me that no further spells were necessary to achieve the desired form was the way to receive full credit.”

Dinky and Clarity exchanged a surprised glance.

“But…”

Clarity looked back to the Professor.  “But?”

Professor Flux cracked a small smile, something Dinky was unsure she’d seen the stallion do even once all term long.  “But your solution, Clarity, was creative.  And I dare say entertaining, if nothing else.  I can’t give you full credit, but you performed most of the right spells and ended up in the right place, so you shall receive the majority of it.”

“Oh!”  Clarity brightened considerably, swishing her tail happily.  “Well um… thanks, professor.”

Professor Flux took a step closer, leaning down so only Dinky and Clarity could hear.  “Between you and me,” he continued, speaking directly to Clarity, “even your sister made mistakes.  I myself tripped her up once or twice with similar quandaries.  I don’t know where you got the idea that she was perfect at every subject, but keep doing what you’re doing.  In a few years, I’m sure the professors will be telling stories of your successes to future classes, as well as your sister’s.”

He straightened up.  “Now, I’ve got to go and prepare the exam for the higher level students, and you two should return to your studies.”

He trotted off down the hall.  Dinky placed a forehoof on Clarity’s shoulder.

“Do you think you can stop worrying about what your sister did and focus on what you can do now?” she asked with a giggle.

Clarity blushed.  “I suppose so,” she admitted, returning the chuckle.  “But that doesn’t mean we can let up on the studying!  Let’s go find Honeydew and Scuffle and get to work.”

The grey filly took off down the hall, and Dinky grinned and quickly followed.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Don’t let that magic get out of control, Dinky…

Any more dreams?  Any bursts of dark magic you had to let loose?

Talk to the princesses if you need help.

The night is getting close.  So close…

That night, just three days before Scorpio’s Apex, things started to go bad.

It started with soft hoofsteps.  Soft, yet echoing.  They stirred Dinky from a dreamless sleep.

Vaguely, her mind shuddered to life from beneath the pall of sleep.  She tried to look around, but there was only blackness.  She couldn’t see anything around her, or herself for that matter.  The darkness was all-consuming, and the silence broken only by the hoofsteps, growing slowly louder.

Dinky cleared her throat.  “H-hello?”

Promptly, the hoofsteps stopped.  Dinky sat up and swiveled her ears, straining to hear anything.

Again, she tried to speak.  “Is… is anypony the—”

Wham!

Dinky squeaked in surprise and pain as she was pinned against a wall with incredible force.  As she collided, the pressing darkness and intense silence were broken, replaced all at once with a familiar cave of glowing blue rock and shifting mists.  And immediately in front of her appeared Sunbeam, standing on his hind legs and holding her against the wall with a single forehoof, with strength far greater than a colt of his size should have been able to muster.

Dinky tried to cry out, but her voice turned into a cough as she opened her mouth from the pressure Sunbeam was applying to her chest.  She flailed her hind legs frantically, trying to wiggle free.

“Impressive, isn’t it?” Sunbeam asked calmly, staring at Dinky with bright blue eyes accentuated by the cavern’s glow.  “My power is reaching its fullest extent, yes it is.  It’s become so strong, in fact, that I have shut that dreamwalking princess out of here altogether.  No doubt she is on her way to your bedside in the waking world to wake you in person, but by then, the damage will be done, yes it will.”

Dinky’s pupils shrank to tiny dots, and she struggled twice as hard to free herself.  Sunbeam, annoyed, only increased the pressure.  Almost immediately, Dinky had to cease her movements, struggling just to take a breath with the weight on her chest.

“Now, I’d help you along,” Sunbeam continued, “but I don’t think I even need to this time, do I?  As soon as you stop resisting its power, Scorpio’s glorious magic will flow from you, yes it will.”

Dinky’s only response was another desperate gasp for air.  Her vision began to fog as her consciousness slipped away.

Can I even fall unconscious here?  I’m dreaming, after all.  I’m already unconscious!

Despite the logic, Dinky found it harder and harder to struggle or to focus on any one thing.  Her sight was blurry, her ears ringing, and the sensation of magic in her horn had risen from a dull itch to a relentless pounding.  Desperate to relieve at least one of the discomforts, she let some magic flow.

It was a bad move.  Black energy poured forward from her horn in thick clouds, rolling down her body, melting into her fur.  Helpless, she hung limp, covered in the veil of smoke-like magic.

Suddenly, relief.  The pressure on Dinky’s chest vanished, and she dropped to the floor like a discarded rag doll.  Groaning, she curled up and squeezed her eyes shut.

“How many more times am I gonna have to save you, kid?” a gruff male voice said, just inches from her ear.

That voice again.  Dinky had never actually seen the strange stallion that kept fending off Sunbeam in her dream world, but she could barely move, so rather than lifting her head to search for her rescuer, she simply asked.

“Who are you?”

“Long story.  Not important.  Tell ya all about it another time.  As usual, priority right now is waking yourself up.”

“You!” roared Sunbeam from somewhere across the room.  “The filly would be another wraith by now if not for your constant intrusions, yes she would!”

“Stuff it, half-pint,” the stallion replied.  “This game you’re playing with her is just getting tiring.”

“Half-pint!?” Sunbeam snarled.  “You know full well that I—”

“I know full well you keep taking that form,” the stallion said, cutting him off.  “If you’re always gonna make yourself look like a half-pint, I might as well call you one.”

Dinky had no idea what the stallion’s response meant, but she had little time to think on it.  Through some force of will that wasn’t her own, she felt herself slipping out of the dream and back into reality.

“No!” Sunbeam yelled, his voice becoming more indistinct.  “Not this time!  Give her back to me!”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dinky blinked several times, trying to focus her eyes.  Her dorm room was crowded with ponies.  Princess Luna was front and center, standing directly overhead, her horn still glowing with deep blue magic and her expression serious.  Clarity and Honewdew stood to one side, looking terrified, and an apprehensive Sparkler stood on the other.

“Are you okay, young one?” Luna asked, running the tip of her hoof along Dinky’s sweat-soaked forehead.

Dinky’s mouth felt dry as a desert, but she managed a mumbled, “I think so.”

Luna nodded.  “Somehow, I was caught off-guard.  I was unable to step in and keep watch in your dream, so I came directly here.  Your young friends had already alerted your overseer that you were experiencing a dark magic fit and were unable to be roused.  She was on her way to find me when I arrived.”

Sparkler nodded curtly and said nothing.

“How do you feel?” Luna asked.  “Have you had fleeting thoughts of violence, destruction, or manipulation?”

Dinky shook her head.  “No, nothing like that.  Just the urge to use the spells, to ease the annoying feeling in my horn.”

Luna breathed a sigh of relief.  “This is fortunate.  Considering the date, I had expected worse.”

She turned to Sparkler.  “Thank you for your prudent response,” she said.  “You may return to your room.”

“Yes Princess.”

“And Dinky,” Luna continued, looking back to the filly in bed.  “Rest.  The worst of your ordeal has nearly passed.  You must be strong.”

Dinky nodded weakly.  “I will.  Thanks for saving me, Princess.”

Luna smiled and nodded once before slowly trotting from the room.

“You okay?” Clarity asked once everypony else had gone.

“Yeah,” Dinky replied.  “I’ll make it.  Somepony’s looking out for me.”

“Who do you mean?  Me and Honeydew?  Princess Luna?”

But Dinky had already rolled over and, exhausted and aching, fallen promptly back asleep.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next morning was surprisingly normal.  Dinky half expected to feel terrible, but she awoke not much worse for wear.  Briefly, she pondered whether it was good or bad that dark magic didn’t seem to be taking much of a negative toll on her physique, but she decided not to dwell on it.

As usual, Honeydew was already awake and sitting on the bench in front of the window, her nose buried in a textbook.  She looked up and smiled faintly as Dinky climbed out of bed.

“Hello, Dinky.  Are you alright?”

Dinky nodded.  “Fine for now.  Are you ready for—”

A chunk of mud, propelled by magic, hit the outside of the window with a loud thump.  Honeydew leapt from her seat like a scared kitten and cowered behind Dinky, shivering.  Raising an eyebrow, Dinky trotted to the window and gently pushed it open.  Peering downward, she spied a familiar brown colt, looking up from below.

“Hey!” Scuffle called.  “Is Dewey up there?”

Honeydew trotted to the window and looked down.  “Hi, Scuffle,” she called.

“What’re you waiting for?” Scuffle yelled back, tapping a forehoof impatiently.  “I thought you were gonna bring Dinks and Clarity to go over our notes one more time.”

“But Dinky only just woke up, and Clarity’s still asleep,” Honeydew called, and Dinky noted that Clarity was, in fact, out like a light, despite the yelling of her friends.  “Hang on, I’ll come down and we can go study, and they can join us when Clarity gets up.”

Dinky was positive, even from the great height, that she saw Scuffle blush at the proposition of alone time with Honeydew.  “Hurry up, then!” he shouted, doing his best to appear indifferent to the idea.

Dinky closed the window as Honeydew rushed to grab her things.  “If you don’t make it to the library in time, I’ll see you at the Practical Magic exam, okay?”

Dinky grinned.  “Yeah, don’t wait for us,” she giggled, wagging her tail mischievously.  “Clarity and I are probably gonna take our time.”

Honeydew blinked.  “Uh… what?” she asked, flattening her ears nervously.

“Nothing,” Dinky laughed.  “Get going.  Scuffle’s an impatient sort.”

Honeydew nodded and cantered from the room, leaving Dinky giggling behind her.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sunlight poured in through the tall windows of the grand second floor hallway.  Dinky and Clarity arrived outside the Practical Magic classroom to find Scuffle and Honeydew already there, both reviewing a lesson on illusions.

Scuffle looked up when he heard the fillies approach, and his tense demeanor relaxed a bit as he spotted Dinky and Clarity.  “There you are,” he breathed.  “It’s almost time.  I’m still not sure I’m ready.”

“Why are you so worried about this exam in particular?” Dinky asked curiously.  “Some of your classes must be tougher than Practical Magic, right?”

“Because this one’s got the highest stakes,” Honeydew suddenly interjected.  “The magic we learn in this class is important, basic material that’s necessary in order to be proficient in almost all other types of magic, so if a pony does poorly on this exam, they might need to take remedial classes, or they might not even be permitted to continue studying at this academy.”

Noticing her friends surprised stares, she blushed and looked back at her book.  “Or, that’s what Professor Morningstar told Scuffle, anyway…”

“So basically, I need to pass this test,” Scuffle said.  “If I don’t… maybe I’m not ‘gifted’ enough to attend a school for gifted unicorns…”

Clarity patted Scuffle on the back.  “Don’t panic, Scuffle,” she advised.  “Maybe you’re not one of the most remarkable students at the academy, but I’ve seen you perform most of the spells we’ll need to know for the exam without much trouble.”

“Well… Dewey has been really great with helping me review…” Scuffle admitted, smiling weakly and glancing at Honeydew.

“Don’t mention it,” Honeydew said cheerfully, tossing her book into her saddlebag.  “Come on, we should get to our seats.”

The pink filly led the way into the classroom.  Clarity went next, and Scuffle moved forward to follow, but Dinky reached out and held him back.

“What’s up, Dinks?” he asked curiously, turning around at her touch.

“I have something for you,” Dinky replied, reaching into her own bag.  “It’s just a little good luck charm, but I thought you might appreciate it.”

Dinky’s bag was so full of textbooks that it took her a while to unearth what she was searching for.  Eventually, she pulled out a small, worn book, and passed it to Scuffle, who looked intrigued as he glanced at the title.

Simple Spells and Charms: A Handbook of Magic for the Beginning Unicorn.

The colt looked up, shocked.  “This is… the beginner’s guide,” he stuttered.  “The one I stole from you.”

Dinky nodded.  “And now I’m letting you borrow it in good faith.  Y’know, just till our exams are over,” she explained, smiling sweetly.  “I know the book itself isn’t much help to either of us now, but you can hang onto it, as a reminder that your friends are here to offer their time and effort to help you, no matter what happens.”

Scuffle remained still for a moment, and then gave Dinky the most genuine, grateful smile she’d ever seen him produce.  “Thanks, Dinky,” he replied, surprising the filly a bit by not using her nickname.  “Let’s go ace this thing.”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dinky quickly learned that the setup of her transformation exam was the norm for finals at the academy.  The Practical Magic exam also consisted of both written and hooves-on portions.  This time however, Professor Morningstar waited until all the students had finished the written test before beginning anything else.

“So,” the stallion began as the last of the papers were levitated to his desk, “the practical portion of my exam is a little different than the ones the other professors will give you.  For this test, you need to work in groups!”

Excited murmurs spread throughout the class.  Professor Morningstar chuckled and shook his head.

“Now don’t get too excited!” he interrupted, waving his front hooves.  “I’ll be the one choosing the groups.”

There was a collective groan, which only seemed to delight the professor further.

“But…” he continued, once the sound had faded, “…to do well, cooperation is important, so I’ve chosen groups based on the ponies I’ve already seen each of you work well with!”

He gave the rolling chalkboard a kick, and it flipped over, revealing names arranged into sets of four on the other side.  True to his word, they were grouped in much the same way the students usually grouped themselves; Dinky, Clarity, Honeydew, and Scuffle were assigned to work together.

“At each station, you will see a number of wooden blocks of various sizes, as well as some crafting tools,” he explained as the students made their way to the aforementioned stations.  “You are not allowed to physically touch any of the materials or tools, and it’s all enchanted to change color if you do, so don’t try it.  Using only magic you learned in this class, use the tools and materials to build a realistic replica of a young unicorn.  I’ll be watching to make sure each group member is pulling their weight.  Begin, and good luck!”

Dinky noticed Scuffle glancing between the wood and the fillies, looking panicked.  “Build a unicorn using only practical spells?  How the hay do we do that?”

Dinky had already started levitating some of the blocks.  “Keep calm, it’s not hard,” she told him.  “Help us pick up the blocks and arrange them into roughly the shape of a pony, okay?”

Scuffle shrugged and followed Dinky’s advice.  Together, the four foals stacked a large, long block on top of four smaller ones, then added additional ones for the head and tail.  Fortunately, even Scuffle had no trouble with something like levitation, and he completed the task as easily as his friends.

“I guess we need to carve it now, right?” Honeydew asked, inspecting the cubes.  “Even stacked like this, it’s not shaped much like a pony.”

Clarity grabbed the tools in her aura and passed them along to the other ponies.  “Right, Honeydew,” she replied, nodding.  “It doesn’t need to be perfect; let’s just chip out a rough pony shape and do the rest with illusions.”

Dinky began to do her part to whittle out a pony from the wood.  She grew concerned, however, when she noticed Scuffle beginning to struggle.

“C’mon you… piece of junk…” he grunted, fumbling with the chisel in his aura.  “Just carve away that bit and… aw, darn it…”

Try as he might, Scuffle wasn’t terribly dexterous when it came to fine movements with magic.  Again and again, his tools either made ineffective strokes, or accidentally lobbed off a portion of wood not meant to be removed.  Dinky glanced across the room and noticed Professor Morningstar watching them.  The extra pressure probably wasn’t improving Scuffle performance.

“Just slow down a bit, Scuffle,” Honeydew said gently.  “We’re not in a big hurry.  Focus on handling the tool carefully first, and carving the pony second.  It’s just a manipulation of objects test; I’ve seen you do it lots of times.”

Scuffle chewed his lip and nodded.  “Got it.  I’ll be careful.”

The colt’s input to the statue’s final form slowed down considerably, but fortunately, his precision improved.  By the time the wood was all carved, it looked reasonably close to the shape of a foal.

Clarity inspected their work.  “It’s not exactly… delicate,” she admitted.  “It’d probably be easier to disguise it as a colt than a filly.  Scuffle, d’you mind if we use you as the model?”

Scuffle shrugged.  “Go for it.  I’m not very good at illusions though…”

“You gotta try,” Dinky urged.

Scuffle shrugged.  “I’ll just mess it up, like I did with the carving.”

“We want you to get a good score too, Scuffle,” Honeydew said, stepping in once again.  “You can do solid color illusions, I know you can.  Clarity can handle the more intricate bits.”

Scuffle looked into Honeydew’s pleading eyes and sighed.  “Yeah, alright.  Let me see if I can get the coat color nice and even.”

Dinky cast a mirthful glance at Clarity and suppressed a chuckle.  Scuffle’s infatuation with Honeydew was growing more apparent by the minute; now she was even managing to get him to contribute in ways she and Clarity could not.

Just as Honeydew had predicted, Scuffle managed a color change illusion that made the surface of the wood look like his own coat.  It only took a few adjustments from the fillies to round out the shape a bit.

“Not bad,” Professor Morningstar commented, trotting over to the nearly finished replica of the colt.  “Scuffle, why don’t you do the last bit yourself?  I just want to make sure you’re up to par, after all.”

Scuffle blinked.  “Err… didn’t I do enough to help?” he asked nervously, looking at the floor.

“Oh, you did enough today,” the professor responded.  “In the past though, I’ve noticed your friends often did the lion’s share of the work on some of our magic projects…”

Scuffle took a step back.  “Well, um—”

“Scuffle knows what he’s doing,” Honeydew said, her voice surprisingly firm.  “He’ll put the last spells on the replica and show you.  Right Scuffle?”

Scuffle seemed to inflate where he stood.  “Right!” he replied.  “Just watch.”

The colt lit his horn, and light began to flicker from within the sculpture.  Eventually, it grew bright enough to illuminate the eyes, giving the statue a lifelike expression.  And with a final flourish, slate blue magic appeared around its horn, mirroring the aura around Scuffle’s own.  It was now almost impossible to tell the replica apart from Scuffle himself.

Professor Morningstar raised his eyebrows.  “Very good!” he said cheerfully.  “I’m glad you’ve been studying as hard as your friends after all.  You all get A’s on the practical portion of the exam.”

Scuffle’s jaw dropped as the stallion walked away.  “I got an A?”

“Of course you did,” Dinky giggled.  “You did just as well as the rest of us.  You deserve it.”

“I knew you could do it,” said Honeydew.  Scuffle turned away to hide another blush, and Honeydew tugged on his tail with magic.  “Now come on, now that the test is over, let’s go celebrate with some lunch.”

Scuffle smiled.  “Right behind ya, Dewey.”

The two foals left the room, while Dinky and Clarity lingered behind.

“This is just adorable,” Clarity remarked, starry eyed.  “How long do you think it’ll take her to figure it out?”

Dinky smirked.  “It’s Honeydew.  She might not figure it out until Scuffle tells her,” she laughed.

The fillies hurried from the room to catch up to their friends.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The celebration for Scuffle, while joyful, was short-lived.  After all, there were three more days of exams still to come.

Dinky’s day after that was largely uneventful until after the sun had set.  Once night fell, she set off for an Astronomy review Princess Luna was offering for her first-term students.  Scuffle, who also had the class, begrudgingly tagged along.

“But I don’t want to go to extra class,” the colt grumbled, trudging along through the corridors behind Dinky.  “This should be our time to goof off for a while…”

Dinky rolled her eyes.  “Hush, Scuffle.  Your Astronomy grade needs a boost.  This’ll be good for you.”

Scuffle scrunched up his nose.  “If it’s about improving grades, why are you going?”  he asked irritably.  “Your Astronomy grade is fine.”

“I’m just going so I can talk to Princess Luna.  I’ve got something to ask her about.”

Scuffle ceased his whining and grew more serious.  “Oh, about the dark magic stuff?”

“Well, Scorpio’s Apex is only two days from now,” Dinky pointed out as they reached the Astronomy room.  “If anything’s gonna… you know, happen to me, it’s gonna happen soon.  I need to be ready.”

Scuffle swallowed and stayed quiet as the floor of the tower began its ascent to the roof.

The evening passed quickly.  Princess Luna appeared moments after the classroom emerged into the night air, swooping down from the dark skies in her usual dramatic fashion.  Soon, everypony attending the session had focused one of the telescopes on whatever constellation they needed to review the configuration of, and Luna herself wandered from pony to pony, providing pointers.

“Good evening Scuffle, Dinky,” the princess said as she arrived in front of them, nodding at each foal in turn.  “Have you two encountered any problems preparing for my exam?”

“Nah,” Scuffle replied, perhaps more casually than he should have when addressing a princess.  “I just have a couple questions about some of the star charts.”

He turned away and peered into his telescope.  “Talk to Dinks first, though,” he continued, waving a forehoof.  “She’s got important stuff to ask you about.”

Princess Luna turned to Dinky.  “I take it this has something to do with last night?” the alicorn asked.

Dinky nodded solemnly.  “With Scorpio’s Apex so close, I thought it would probably be important for me to check in with you one more time, especially after what happened last night.”

Princess Luna smiled.  “To be honest, I would probably have sought you out myself after this review, had you not come to it,” she responded.  “I am, however, pleased to know you have the foresight to secure your own safety in these troubling times.”

Dinky looked up at the heavens, where the all-too-familiar stars of Scorpio loomed dangerously close to directly overhead.  “If I can just make it a few more days, it will start to get easier,” she said, not taking her eyes off the sky.  “I’ll do whatever it takes to make it there.”

“For your sake, I hope all goes well from here on out,” Luna agreed.  “Now, what did you want to ask about?”

“It’s about the dreams I’ve been having,” Dinky said, shivering a bit at the thought of her latest terrifying experience.  “Sunbeam said he’s found a way to… block you out?”

Luna looked grave.  “Alas, I fear the scoundrel is not bluffing,” she admitted with a sigh.  “Though it is not through his power that this has come to be.  The power of dark magic users is increasing at this time of year, but in your dreams, you are still the most powerful.  My inability to help is simply because the darkness inside you has become nearly impenetrable to forces such as dream intervention.”

“That’s what I don’t understand,” Dinky continued, cocking her head slightly.  “You’re a princess, and even you can’t enter my dreams now, but… somepony else can.”

Luna stepped back as if startled.  “And who is this pony?” she asked, puzzled.

“That’s the thing.  I have no idea,” Dinky said.  “All I can tell you is it’s a stallion.  It sounds like he’s an adult, but it’s not a voice I recognize.  I’ve never actually seen him, so I can’t describe him either.”

“And what is this stallion doing in your dreams?” Luna asked.

“Saving me!” Dinky exclaimed, hopping in place.  “Each time you weren’t there to protect me, the stallion stopped Sunbeam instead.  If it wasn’t for him, Sunbeam may have been able to… you know…”

She trailed off, but Luna seemed to know what she meant.

“Listen to me, young one,” the princess instructed.  “I do not know the identity of this dreamwalker, but for now, I would consider it lucky that he is on your side.  In these final days before the evening when the darkness is strongest, all I can ask is that you take great care during your waking hours not to be lured into any more use of dark magic.  As for the night, I shall provide your roommates with a magical means of contacting me, so I can come to your aid in reality should you be attacked again in your dreams.”

Dinky let out a relieved breath.  “Thanks.  That’ll definitely make me feel safer.”

Luna was silent for a few moments.  “…It pains me to see a filly your age having to suffer this ordeal,” she said finally, lowering her head slightly.  “I have to say, I admire your strength, both physically and mentally.  Prove to me you can make it the rest of the way through this trial.”

Dinky placed a hoof on her chest in a promissory gesture.  “I will do my very best, Princess.  I won’t let the darkness win.”

Luna nodded, clearly satisfied, and then stepped aside to tend to Scuffle’s astronomical questions, leaving Dinky gazing up at the stars.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The night that followed was mercifully uneventful.  Dinky was thrilled to awaken the next morning without having any nocturnal interruptions on Sunbeam’s part.  The familiar, rhythmic ache of dark magic inside her head was still as present as ever, but she’d gotten quite good at ignoring it.

Dinky and Honeydew had their Magical Biology exam next, a test both of them felt very prepared for.  Honeydew knew every bit of the material like the back of her hoof, and the studying she’d done with Dinky in the preceding days had helped the purple filly to learn it almost as well.

The test itself wasn’t notable at all compared to the exams before it; Honeydew raced through both the written and practical test, completing it in barely a quarter-hour, and Dinky, although far behind her friend, was still among the first students to finish.  She trotted out into the hall, where Honeydew was waiting for her.

“Wow, Honeydew, you blazed through that!”

Honeydew blushed and rubbed a forehoof against the back of the other shyly.  “I wasn’t that fast…” she tried to argue.  “I had to stop and think about… two or three of the questions, maybe…”

“Don’t be so modest, kid,” squawked Cornelius as he fluttered out of the classroom and perched on one of the buns in Honeydew’s mane.  “Professor Chestnut’s been teaching this class for longer than you’ve been alive, and I don’t think she’s ever seen a pony manage that before.”

“Yes, you’re quite an impressive filly,” Professor Chestnut laughed as she too emerged from the classroom, causing Honeydew to blush and attempt to hide her face.  “I can’t wait for next term; I can’t even imagine what you’ll be able to accomplish!”

Honeydew smiled meekly.  “I look forward to it,” she replied.  “I just wish this term wasn’t over so soon.  I’m not looking forward to going months without Magical Biology.”

The professor chuckled.  “Nonsense!” she proclaimed.  “You can practice all you want over the break, and read up on new topics.  I wouldn’t be surprised if you come to me at the beginning of next term with dozens of new questions.”

Honeydew shook her head.  “No, that’s not what I mean,” she mumbled.  “I can’t use any magic at home…”

The professor’s brow knitted beneath her wide sun hat.  “What do you mean?”

“Can we, uh, go to your office and talk about it?” Honeydew asked softly.  “Dinky can come too.  She already knows about my home life.”

“I have to wait for the remaining students to finish the exam,” Professor Chestnut replied, “but you two can wait in my office.  I’ll meet you there.”

Dinky waited until the professor and Cornelius left the hall before turning to Honeydew and asking an important question.

“Where is Professor Chestnut’s office, anyway?”

Honeydew giggled.  “I’ll show you.”

Honeydew led Dinky up a flight of stairs and down a narrow passage the latter had never explored before.  At the end of a hall was a simple wooden door bearing Professor Chestnut’s name.  The fillies let themselves in.

At first glance, Dinky couldn’t be certain if the professor’s office was exceptionally small, or if it was simply so packed with objects that it appeared that way.  The desk was cluttered with books, diagrams, potted plants, and clumps of seemingly random organic material, much of which was lying beneath mounted magnifying glasses.  The walls were covered in maps of remote parts of Equestria and large, detailed posters displaying the anatomy and morphology of various plants and animals.  The one corner that wasn’t stacked to the ceiling with boxes of dried plant material or empty animal cages held a small sink and stove, both of which were littered with glass vials containing liquids of various colors.

Behind the desk was a large window, outside of which hung several birdhouses.  One of them, which Dinky assumed must have belonged to Cornelius, was notably larger and more ornate than the rest.

Honeydew sighed serenely.  “Other than our dorm, this room is where I’m most comfortable,” she said.  “Professor Chestnut is so brilliant; I just get lost in intellectual discussion and forget my cares for a while.”

Professor Chestnut arrived before Dinky could respond.  “Hello girls,” she said, brushing a large pile of scrolls aside to reveal a pair of empty chairs.  “Excuse the mess.  Why don’t you sit down so we can talk?”

As the girls seated themselves, Cornelius strutted around the brim of the professor’s hat.  “So, what’s all this malarkey about not using magic?” he asked, clicking his beak in agitation.

“Oh, right,” Honeydew replied.  “I haven’t really talked about my life since I told Dinky and Clarity the details on our first day…”

Dinky watched the brief, peaceful mood drain away from her friend, quickly being replaced by concern.  Honeydew recounted the entire tale of her discovery of magic and her unicorn-phobic family to Professor Chestnut, nervously touching the notch in her horn every few minutes.

“I’ve been trying not to think about going home,” she added, once her story was finished, “but the truth of it is, the term is just about over, and when I go home, I can’t be the unicorn I am here, and I can’t be an earth pony either, because I just wasn’t born that way.  I’ll just be… useless again.”

Dinky realized somewhat shamefully that she hadn’t given much thought to what would become of Honeydew once she was forced to return to her magic-hating parents.  She patted her friend on the back comfortingly while Professor Chestnut looked upon the morose filly with compassionate eyes.

“I’m so very sorry to hear that that’s what it’s like for you back home,” the mare began, shaking her head and causing Cornelius to wobble dangerously and utter a few quiet expletives.  “But it seems there’s one part of your story that may offer you a chance to form a sort of compromise with your parents.”

Honeydew blinked.  “How?  My parents won’t allow even the simplest spells in their house.”

Professor Chestnut nodded patiently.  “Honeydew, dear, how old were you when you first discovered how to use magic?”

“I don’t know, exactly,” Honeydew replied.  “Probably five or six?”

“And how old are you now?”

“Fourteen.”

“In the intervening years, did you ever work in the fields with your parents?”

“Well, of course,” Honeydew said.  “I enjoyed it, I suppose, but, well… back then, they were just plants.  I didn’t really become interested in them until my tutor started teaching me magic.”

Professor Chestnut seemed pleased by this answer.  Dinky had no idea exactly why, and judging by Honeydew’s expression, neither did she.

“Now tell me, Honeydew,” the mare continued, “what have you learned about those plants since your magic studies began.”

Honeydew raised an eyebrow.  “More than I can say in the few minutes we have,” she replied slowly.

Professor Chestnut chuckled.  “Summarize.”

Honeydew pondered for a moment.  “Well, I guess plants, and all living things for that matter, are individuals just like ponies are.  A lot of ponies kind of intimidate me, but many other living things aren’t quite so scary or judgmental or dangerous.  Forming connections with peaceful life like plants is one of the only ways I can just relax and be happy.”

The professor was quiet for a few seconds.  “So,” she said finally, “when you go home, I imagine most of what you’ll be doing is working with your family’s plants, right?” she asked.  “Just because you aren’t using magic doesn’t mean each and every one of those plants isn’t an individual, just like you said they are.”

“But without magic, I can’t sense that individuality,” Honeydew argued.  “I can’t connect with them.”

“Why not?” Professor Chestnut asked, looking genuinely curious.  “The earth ponies do it.”

“We’re unicorns,” Honeydew deadpanned.

“True,” said Professor Chestnut, reaching up to idly stroke Cornelius, who had remained quiet for a surprisingly long time.  “Connecting with Equestria’s other living things through simple, non-magical interaction comes more naturally to earth ponies than it does to us unicorns.”

She grinned.  “But that just means you’ve got something new to try to master.  Something I can’t teach you anyway.  Maybe you can use this break from classes to study it yourself.”

“Can a unicorn really learn to connect to the earth without unicorn magic like that?” Honeydew asked, rubbing a hoof on the other uncertainly.

“With enough practice, it’s possible to learn to some extent,” the professor replied.  “Especially when they’re a pony like you, Honeydew, with an earth pony lineage and a special talent in the subject.  In your case in particular, it may be possible to do so, even without spells, very nearly as well as an earth pony could.”

“Think about it!” Cornelius added loudly.  “Imagine if you became super-talented in understanding and connecting with life with and without magic!  You could become the absolute authority in your field by the time you’re as old as this old bat beneath me!”

Honeydew giggled.  “Well, I’ll certainly give it a try,” she promised, looking considerably brighter.  “Maybe I can even learn some things I couldn’t have learned with magic.”

“I don’t doubt it,” Professor Chestnut laughed.  “And when you return next term, you can tell me all about what you discovered.”

“And trust me, she’ll wanna hear all of it,” Cornelius said, rolling his eyes.  “Every last pointless, inane—”

The professor cleared her throat loudly to quiet the bird.  “Does that help?” she asked finally.

Honeydew nodded emphatically.  “Yes, lots!  Thank you, professor.”

“Good,” the mare replied.  “And Dinky, you’ve got a really good friend here.  Make sure you support her in this!”

Dinky laughed.  “Of course, professor.”

Professor Chestnut smiled.  “Excellent.  Now, I’ve got to start grading, and you two should get back to studying.  See you!”

Honeydew waved and practically skipped from the room, and Dinky followed, her own spirits lifted by Honeydew’s mood.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dinky didn’t allow herself any extended period of sleep that night to make sure she didn’t dip deep enough into dreams to allow Sunbeam to come after her.  She managed a few brief naps, and awoke at dawn with Honeydew.

To most ponies, the date was Thursday, November the seventh.  But this year, Dinky knew it as Scorpio’s Apex.  Determined to keep her mind off Sunbeam, dark magic, or anything else associated with the foreboding occasion, she headed to the forest before lunch to try once again to help Trouble.

Trouble did not so much as look up as Dinky skidded down the dirt tunnel into the hideout.  Despite regular feeding and near-daily attempts to magically improve his health, the poor fox seemed weaker and sicker than ever.  The filly approached his cardboard box and stroked his head.

“Ready to try this again, Trouble?”

The fox’s eyes turned to look at her as she spoke, but he didn’t move.

“You know, in two days, the term is over,” Dinky said.  “If I can’t help you by then… well…”

She fell silent.  Trouble sneezed.

“Let’s just give this another shot,” Dinky sighed.

Yellow light radiated from the filly’s horn, and she let go of surrounding sensation, focusing only on Trouble.  As usual, within moments she had slipped her consciousness into his, and only seconds later, was met with some resistance.

“Relax, Trouble, relax,” the filly cooed, hoping the soothing tone of her voice would calm her patient.  “I’m here to help.  I promise.”

They were basically the same words she’d said a dozen times before, but Trouble didn’t seem calmed.  Dinky began to feel the sensation of being forced from his mind.

“Trouble, please!” she said, more loudly.  “I can’t keep taking care of you!  I don’t want to lose you!  Please, please just let me help…”

Trying not to let a sob escape her, the filly concentrated all the harder, desperate to get her feelings across to Trouble.  And then, very slowly, the resistance began to disappear.

Spurred on, Dinky deepened the connection as soon as Trouble allowed it.  His sickness and pain flowed through her, causing her to wobble where she stood.  Gritting her teeth, she ignored the discomfort and attempted to initiate the healing spell, quietly hoping that she’d created a strong enough bond with the fox to make it work.

For a while, nothing seemed to be happening.  Dinky continued to send Trouble both feelings of goodwill, to keep the trust connection open, and the special waves of energy she’d learned from the professor.

Gradually, the weakness and aguish flowing between the filly and the fox began to fade.  Dinky felt herself growing tired from the strenuous spell, but refused to give up now that she’d finally made progress.  For several minutes more, the two sat in silence, and Trouble’s vitality slowly returned.  The fox began to stir more and more with each passing moment, suddenly allowing Dinky more and more of his trust, strengthening the spell until it had completed its job.

Her task finally complete, Dinky collapsed on the floor and shut off her horn, panting hard.

“Does that… feel better?” she asked between breaths.

Trouble sat up, looking stunned.  For a moment, the fox was still, and then he leapt out of the box and onto Dinky, licking her face and sending her into a fit of giggles.

“We did it!” she laughed, rolling around as Trouble nuzzled her.  “You’re better!  I’m so happy!”

“Yes, how touching.”

Dinky froze, suddenly silent.  Her gaze snapped to the entrance of the hideout, where Sunbeam was leaning against the earthen wall, looking quite pleased with himself.

“Happy Scorpio’s Apex,” the colt said in a surprisingly good-natured tone.  “Are you ready for tonight?  I am.”

Dinky stood up.  “You’ve got guts showing yourself today,” she said, working hard to keep her voice steady.  “Everyone knows what today is.  Everypony’s on the lookout for anything suspicious.”

Sunbeam scoffed.  “The officials at this school are not very good at tracking me, no they are not,” he pointed out.  “I’ve been right here, on the campus, all year long, and those guards have yet to notice any trace of me.  You’re kidding yourself if you think today will be any different, yes you are.”

He had a point.  Dinky said nothing.

“As I was saying, I’m so looking forward to tonight,” the evil colt continued.  “By tomorrow, everypony will be acutely aware that they are living in one of the darkest new eras in Equestria’s history.  I just dropped by to thank you in advance for helping me make it possible, yes I did.”

“I didn’t do anything!” Dinky snarled.  “And whatever you’re planning, it’s not going to work.  I can’t imagine how you’d get away with unleashing some kind of great darkness without somepony at the academy noticing.”

“Who said anything about the academy?”  Sunbeam laughed, flicking his short tail back and forth in amusement.  “I’ve already done what I needed to do here; corrupt an unsuspecting filly like you.  The rest I can do slightly further away, out of sight of prying eyes, yes I can.  And nopony will know anything is amiss until it’s much too late.”

Dinky, again, had no reply.

“Well, that’s all, really,” Sunbeam said with a noncommittal shrug.  “Ta-ta, Dinky.  I’m sure I’ll see you again soon, yes I will.  As a valuable ally, of course.”

Chuckling, the colt turned away and trotted casually up the tunnel, leaving the stunned filly behind.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Neither of the princesses were present at the academy, but Dinky wasted no time in proceeding to the mailroom and sending a message via Twinkletoes about what had just happened.  She received a reply within moments telling her that special precautions regarding Scorpio’s Apex had already been taken, and instructing her to stay in the castle or residence tower until the following morning.  This offered her little comfort, though.  After all, Sunbeam had been correct; the precautions in place to prevent him from causing further harm had been entirely ineffective in the preceding months.

Feeling a bit sick to her stomach, Dinky made her way through the castle to her Enchantments exam.

“There you are!” Clarity said, clearly relieved as Dinky arrived.  “The test is starting any minute.  Where were you?”

“I was at the hideout to—” Dinky began, but she was cut off by Professor Luster’s arrival.

“Exam time!” the mare announced.  “I know it's Thursday and you’ve all been through quite a few tests already, but after tomorrow, you can all have a few relaxing months off.  Besides, this one won’t be hard; I’m confident all of you have the skills to cast a few basic enchantments.”

As usual, gemstones were distributed to be the recipient of the enchantment.  Each student received five similar stones and a piece of paper containing instructions.

“For the practical part of your exam, each of you has to perform five spells,” the mare continued.  “Imbue your gems with the proper magic, and then place them in the bin on my desk.  If you have trouble and need to start fresh, you can ask for a new gem at the cost of a few percentage points from your score.”

Clarity raised a hoof.  “If we do create a botched enchantment but can manage to remove it, can we re-enchant our original gem and not lose credit?” she asked.

“Yes, you may!” Professor Luster replied.  “Now, since you may need to test your enchantments, I’ll put up a soundproofing spell between the desks so you don’t disturb one another.  Then, if there are no more questions, you can all get started.”

Nopony had anything to add, so Professor Luster lit her horn, and a blurry, translucent veil rose up between the individual desks.  Dinky soon found herself in complete silence.

The filly tried to forget about Sunbeam for a few minutes and focus on her test.  She picked up the first gem and glanced at the first enchantment on the list.

Blast-proof charm: Enchant one gem so that it will not chip or shatter when exposed to powerful energy blasts or concussive force.

Dinky looked at her choices.  Obviously, there were no diamonds or other especially hard gems that would have a chance of withstanding force on their own.  She picked up a smooth piece of turquoise.

Ok, this spell is easy, she realized.  One strengthening charm, coming up.

Dinky’s yellow aura surrounded the stone for a few seconds.  Once she was satisfied the spell had worked, she slammed her forehoof down against the stone.  It didn’t yield, so she lifted high into the air with magic and brought it down against the wood with even greater force, but it remained perfectly intact.

Dinky smiled and sent the stone through the soundproof veil and onto the professor’s desk.

For a short time after that, Dinky worked efficiently on the assignment, satisfied with how her enchantments were turning out.  In only a quarter-hour or so, she’d finished imbuing four of the five gems with magic.  She glanced at the last enchantment on the list.

Sweet-dreams charm: Enchant one gem so that, when affixed to jewelry or another article of clothing, will give the wearer pleasant dreams.

Dinky smiled.  Boy, I could use a charm like that, she thought to herself.  I doubt something as simple as an enchanted gem would keep Sunbeam out of my head, but it’s a nice thought.

Dinky thought back to what Sunbeam had said to her not long before, and the brief contentment faded quickly away.  I might not have any more nights of sweet dreams if Sunbeam gets away with whatever he’s planning… she thought, slumping in her chair.  I have to put forth continuous effort to hold back my own dark magic, which means he’s probably just brimming with power.

As if sensing it was being thought about, the dark magic in Dinky suddenly decided to push forward.  She groaned and lowered her head to the desk, placing her head between her forelegs to shield it from view as black energy formed around her horn against her will.

No! she thought angrily, trying to stem the outburst.  I don’t care if it’s Scorpio’s Apex.  I’m not letting this get the best of me!

Dinky grunted, tensing every muscle as she forced the magic flow to stop.  The black energy gave a loud crackle, almost as if in protest, as it vanished.  The filly suddenly felt especially grateful for the soundproofing surrounding her.  Between her quick reaction to hide her horn and its muffling of the crackling sound the little attack had gone unnoticed by the rest of the class.

Her last gem, however, had not fared well.  It had been lying in front of her when she’d lowered her head, and the dangerous energy had come in contact with it, warping and partially melting it.  The pristine surface was now wavy and blackened, and Dinky suspected the gem itself probably contained some remnants of dark energy.  Sighing, she tossed it in the trash, then stood and passed through the sound barriers to the front desk.

“Professor, I need another gem.”

Professor Luster looked up from her grade book and raised an eyebrow.  “You?  That’s a surprise; your enchantments are usually so well done.  Are you sure the last one is beyond help?”

Dinky glanced at the trashcan, where a thin wisp of smoke was gently rising into the air.

“I’m sure.”

The mare shrugged and passed Dinky another gem, writing a small red “x” in her book with magic as she did so.

There’ll be time to worry about Sunbeam a little later, she assured herself as she returned to her seat.  I have to focus and finish this up before something else goes wrong.

Forlorn but determined, the filly placed the new gem in front of her and set to work again.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dinky, Clarity, Honeydew, and Scuffle sat together at a corner table in the library.  Late afternoon sun shone in through the windows, but despite the additional warmth, Dinky shivered.

Exams were over for the day.  As usual, the foals had gathered in the library to study.  But first, Dinky had explained what Sunbeam had said to her that morning, and what she intended to do about it.

“So what exactly are you saying, Dinky?” Clarity asked, concerned.  “You don’t trust the princesses and the academy staff to keep the students safe?”

“It’s not quite that,” Dinky replied, running a forehoof along the tabletop absently.  “It’s just… I feel like all that anypony wants to do is defend the school.  Sunbeam has bigger plans than this place tonight.  Plans that could be really bad for all of Equestria!  To stop Sunbeam, they can’t defend.  They need to attack.”

“How’re they supposed to do that?” Scuffle asked quizzically.  “The guards have been searching for months; nopony can ever seem to encounter Sunbeam except for us.”

He looked thoughtful for a second.  “Well, mostly you.  Sunbeam’s only shown himself to us once or twice.”

“That’s my point,” Dinky said.  “They haven’t found Sunbeam yet, and they won’t tonight, especially if they’re not even leaving the academy.  He’s gonna march off somewhere nearby and do whatever horrible dark magical ritual he has planned, and nopony’s gonna lift a hoof to stop him.”

“Um, well…” Honeydew cut in softly, “once he does… whatever he’s going to do, don’t you think the princesses, or maybe the Elements of Harmony, will stop him?”

Dinky scowled.  “Why does it have to come to that?” she asked, frustrated.  “Ponies could get hurt, or worse, before the situation is resolved.  If somepony would go out and confront him tonight, that could all be avoided.”

Clarity gently placed a hoof on Dinky’s shoulder.  “Please calm down, Dinky,” she urged.  “I know it’s stressful, and I know your personal situation makes it even worse, but… well, I’m sure the princesses would do something if they could.  But, well… maybe they can’t.  And since they can’t, they don’t really have a choice but to wait until Sunbeam shows himself.”

Dinky opened her mouth to reply to Clarity, but paused.  A pensive look crossed her features.

“The princesses can’t track down Sunbeam,” she said slowly.  “But I can.”

All three of the other foals fell silent, gazing at Dinky with shocked expressions.

“Dinks…” Scuffle said slowly, shifting nervously in his chair.  “I really hope I misunderstood what you meant there.  Don’t tell us you’re thinking about going out tonight to confront Sunbeam.”

Dinky sighed.  “It’s stupid, I know.  Really stupid.  But it’s also the only way I might be able to stop Sunbeam before something disastrous happens.”

"Now hang on," Honeydew interjected, nervously wringing her forehooves.  "Let's not be too hasty.  Maybe it's true that you're the only one who can track Sunbeam, but can't you just lead a more capable pony to—"

"Nopony's gonna agree to that," Dinky interrupted.  "The princesses won't want us to go out, even with supervision."

"Well, if you're gonna go, could you just sneak out, find Sunbeam, and then come back and tell somepony at the academy his location?" Scuffle asked.

"And how do you expect me to let somepony know without indicating that I snuck out and put myself in danger?" Dinky asked.  "The dean will expel me, the princesses will probably punish me, and more than likely, nopony will go after Sunbeam until it's too late anyway."

She crossed her forelegs and snorted.  "If I want to stop Sunbeam before he does something really dangerous, I'll have to do it myself," she grumbled.

“Dinky, you’re not going out there,” Clarity said firmly.

“Don’t try to stop me, Clarity,” Dinky warned.  “Somepony has to—”

“I mean alone.  You’re not going out there alone,” Clarity said.

Dinky blinked.  “Wait.  You’re coming?”

“Only because I know I can’t talk you out of going,” Clarity said.  “I don’t care if he’s just a little colt.  He’s still a wraith, and noble as your idea is, you’re not gonna be able to take on a wraith yourself.”

Honeydew looked distraught.  “Are you two for real?” she whimpered.  “You’re both gonna get killed!”

“They won’t if they have enough help,” Scuffle said.  “D’you think you girls could use some extra defensive magic on this little adventure?”

Dinky grinned when she realized what the colt meant.  “You can come too, Scuffle.  Your help will be really valuable.”

Honeydew gave a defeated sigh.  “So…” she grumbled, resting her chin on the table, “I can tag along and get myself killed, or sit alone in the tower and spend all night thinking about you three getting yourselves killed.”

There was a moment of awkward silence.  The pink filly gave a defeated sigh.

“Fine.  Count me in too.  I hope death doesn’t hurt too much…”

“Alright then,” Dinky said, ignoring Honeydew’s rather dark comment.  “Scuffle, meet us at the hideout after dark.  We’ve got a job to do.”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From the safety of her bedroom, Dinky watched the light gradually fading from the sky.  The sun had already dipped completely below the horizon, and the darkness was beginning to set in, allowing some of the brighter stars to appear overhead.  She squeezed her eyes shut tight, successfully staving off another brief dark magic attack, and then turned to her friends once it had passed.

“It’s almost time,” she said gravely.  “Curfew is right about now, which means Scuffle is probably already out at the hideout waiting for us.”

Honeydew, who had wrapped herself tightly in blankets, squeaked fearfully.  “Does that mean it’s too late to call this off?”

“That’s right,” Clarity replied as she put a few supplies she hoped would be useful into her saddlebag.  “But it’s not too late for you to back out.  Nopony’s forcing you to come along.”

Honeydew sighed and crawled out from her fortress of bedding.  “No, I’ll come along,” she said softly.  “We need to work as a team for this, don’t we?”

Dinky trotted over to the pink filly and placed a forehoof on her back.  “I really appreciate it, Honeydew,” she said, giving her friend a smile and a soft nuzzle.  “It’s amazing how much braver you’ve become since the beginning of the term, too.”

Honeydew chewed her lip.  “You realize I’m still terrified, right?” she asked.  “I’m just going along anyway.”

“That’s okay,” Dinky replied, managing a nervous laugh.  “We’re terrified too.  But maybe if we have each other’s backs, we can pull this off.”

Dinky placed a map of the region and a few first aid supplies in her saddlebags.  “I think we’re ready to go,” she announced.  “That is, if you two don’t have any objections.”

Clarity shook her head.  Honeydew fixed her gaze on the carpet.  Neither spoke.

“Alright, follow me.  And be careful; we can’t let Sparkler catch us sneaking out.”

The three fillies silently closed the door to their bedroom and began to creep down the dark stairs of the residence tower.  It sounded like a few fillies were still awake, but the halls remained empty.  With nopony around to raise suspicious questions, the trio quickly reached the bottom of the tower.

“How are we gonna get outside, exactly?” Clarity asked.  “There are guards everywhere tonight.  We’d have to pass one just to go from the residence tower to the castle.”

Dinky grinned and led the way not toward the door, but toward the basement.  “There’s another way out of this tower, remember?” she asked deviously, glancing over her shoulder as her plan dawned on her friends.

Soon, Dinky and her companions stepped into the dank basement beneath the tower.  The grate in the stone floor had been fixed back into place, but a few quick, precise manipulation spells quickly removed the screws.  Dinky set the grate aside as quietly as possible, and stared at the square shaft leading straight down.

“We’ll have to lower each other down with levitation,” Clarity pointed out.  “None of us can use Scuffle’s gravity spells.”

“Right,” Dinky agreed.  “Who wants to go first?”

“You’re leading this expedition,” Honeydew whispered.  “Go on, we’ll carry you down.”

Dinky nodded and stood at the edge of the opening.  A colorful mixture of two auras surrounded her, and she was lifted into the air and began to descend into the blackness below.

Ready or not, Sunbeam, she thought, as the moldy brick tunnel at the bottom of the shaft came into view.  We’re coming to stop you.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Miles and miles away in Ponyville, a night such as Scorpio’s Apex wasn’t one of any concern.  Most ponies weren’t even aware of anything out of the ordinary about this particular evening.  The moon had risen, and most ponies had retired to bed for the night.

In a house in town like any other, a little pinto earth colt slept soundly.  A pendant, embedded with a diamond shaped like a half-moon, sat on the nightstand, waiting to be placed around his neck the next morning like it was every day.  The scene was peaceful.  Nothing was amiss.

And then, for some reason, the little colt was jolted awake.

Pipsqueak sat up, groggily rubbing his eyes.  “What time is it?” he asked nopony in particular.  “Is it still the middle of the night?”

Blinking away the sleep, the colt looked around the room, trying to figure out what had caused him to stir so suddenly.  Everything, however, was in its place.

Pipsqueak was just about to shrug it off and go back to sleep, when something caught his eye.  Turning to the bedside table, he stared at his pendant as it began to glow.

Something was not right.  When Dinky, far away at the academy, thought of Pipsqueak, the pendant would warm up and glow with the soft yellow light of Dinky’s horn.  This time, however, the accessory radiated a soft, light purple shade that the colt didn’t recognize.  Pipsqueak had heard the story of Dinky’s run in with dark magic, but this aura clearly wasn’t that either.

“Then… whose is it?” Pipsqueak asked aloud as he reached for the pendant.

The edge of his hoof had barely touched the rim of the metal when suddenly his mind was assaulted with a series of broken images, distant sounds, and feelings of dread and terror.  It was impossible to decipher anything he was seeing or hearing, as it all happened in just an instant, yet somehow, its message was abundantly clear.

“Dinky’s in danger.  I’ve got to help her!”

Pipsqueak leapt out of bed, slipped the pendant around his neck, grabbed his saddlebag, and promptly left the room.  Careful not to wake his parents as he snuck past, the colt scurried down the stairs, flung open the front door, and cantered out into the moonlit streets of Ponyville.

	
> Chapter 18
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	You’ve held a high position as an overseer, something that will be notable on your record and be incredibly useful in your future, I’m sure.  It would be such a pity if, right before your graduation, you were accused of failure to properly follow the dean’s instructions and stripped of that title.  Why, you’d leave the school after your graduation in absolute shame, and I think neither of us wants that to happen.  We understand each other, right, Sparkler?

Sparkler flung her textbook off her bed, not even glancing toward it as it collided with the wall, bending its spine on impact and sliding to the floor.

I’m out of time, she thought, sulking.  Dinky doesn’t deserve what the dean wants to do to her, but if I don’t get her into trouble by the end of tomorrow, I’ll be the one taking the fall.

The young mare lay spread-eagled on her bed, burying her face in her pillow and sighing.

What do I do now?

In another brief tantrum, Sparkler grabbed another book in her aura and hurled it across the room.  She cringed as the loud sound of shattering glass immediately followed.  Cool night air blew in through the now broken window.

Grumbling, she stood and stepped closer to inspect the damage.  Much of the pane of glass had tumbled out, either into the grass outside or onto her carpet.  She looked through the hole, up at the clear sky, and recognized a familiar set of stars.

Oh, that’s right.  It’s Scorpio’s Apex, she thought, frowning.  I should probably go make sure that blasted filly’s not having trouble controlling that rogue magic of hers…


Sparkler tacked a poster over the broken window to block some of the wind, and then made her way up the tower.

If I just tell the dean that Dinky’s been having trouble keeping this under control, that would be enough, she thought for the millionth time.  But can I really pass the dean’s wrath off of myself and onto Dinky if it’s not really her fault?

The overseer swore under her breath.  Just stop thinking about it, Sparkler.  There’s no clear solution anyway.

Sparkler reached the door to Dinky, Clarity, and Honeydew’s dorm, and knocked softly.  “Dinky?” she called.  “Are you doing okay in there?”

Silence.  Sparkler knocked again, and received no reply.  Miffed, she pushed open the door.

The room was abandoned.  The overseer thought perhaps the fillies were down at the castle, studying for their next exam.  She hurried back down the stairs and out the front door of the tower, where a guard was stationed.

“Have three fillies left here anytime in the last hour or two?” she asked.

The guard shook his head.  “Nopony’s come in or out since sunset,” he said

Sparkler raised an eyebrow.  “But then where did they go?”

Leaving the guard without another word, she marched back into the tower, looking around in confusion.  Her eyes fell on the dim passageway where a flight of stairs led lower.

Could they have gone in the basement for some reason?

Curious, she trotted down the steps into the dark room beneath the tower.  As she stepped carefully between the debris, she bumped her hoof against something metal, which clattered loudly.  Glancing down, she noticed the drain cover, which had curiously broken and been repaired earlier that same term, was only loosely set in its slot in the floor.

Slowly, Sparkler lifted the heavy cover aside.  The passage beneath it was much too small for her, but she supposed, now that she looked at it, a young filly might be able to fit through.  Realization flooded her all at once. 

The young mare gritted her teeth.  “For the love of Celestia, am I really that stupid?” she mumbled under her breath.  “They’ve been using this damn drain to sneak out, and I didn’t even realize it until now…”

She straightened up.  “Well, I’ll fix that!” she announced loudly, as if addressing somepony in the empty cellar.  “They may have gotten out, but they won’t get far!”

Flicking her tail repeatedly with barely contained anger, the overseer stormed back up the stairs.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Giving a huge yawn, Ditzy Doo blew out the candle beside her bed, folded her aching wings, and climbed beneath her sheets.  She’d barely pulled the blankets up over herself when an incessant, frantic knocking began in the foyer a floor below.  Startled, the pegasus fluttered back out of bed and hurried down the stairs, the combination of darkness and her bad eyes causing her to only barely manage to avoid obstacles.

Sheesh, she thought as the knocking grew still louder and more frantic.  What could be so urgent at this time of night, anyway? 	

Ditzy reached the front door and pulled it open, revealing a panicked brown and white colt.

“Pipsqueak?” she asked, confused.  “Dinky won’t be home till this weekend, you know that.  Is something wrong?”

Pipsqueak tried to speak, but couldn’t quite catch his breath.  The colt looked as if he had run miles to get there.

“M-Mrs. Doo,” he managed finally.  “Need to talk to you… it’s an emergency!”

Furrowing her brow, Ditzy opened the door a bit wider and gestured for Pip to enter.  “Why don’t you go sit down in the kitchen and calm down?” she suggested.  “I have a bit of tea left from earlier.  You can have it if you like.”

Pipsqueak staggered inside and made his way to the kitchen.  He finally managed to slow his breathing a bit once he sat down, but Ditzy still looked concerned as she passed him a mug of hot tea.

“Mrs. Doo, there’s a problem,” he said urgently.  “I think… I think Dinky’s in real danger.”

Ditzy blinked.  “Dinky’s at the academy, Pip,” she pointed out, briefly focusing both eyes on the colt.  “I know they’re not perfect, but they’re keeping a close eye on Dinky to make sure she stays safe through all that dark magic business.”

“Well… she, um… I don’t know, it’s hard to explain,” Pipsqueak mumbled, folding his ears back.  “The pendant that Dinky gave me, it… it’s telling me she needs help.”

“I thought that pendant only let you know when she’s thinking of you?” Ditzy asked, looking at the jewelry around Pipsqueak’s neck skeptically.

“Mrs. Doo, please,” the colt pleaded, clutching at the pendant nervously.  “I don’t know how, or why, but somehow, that’s what it’s telling me.  You’ve got to listen to me; Dinky needs help!”

Ditzy began to grow afraid when she realized how upset and scared the young pony was.  If there was any chance some magic was really sending that message, her daughter needed her help, and soon.

“Stay here, Pip,” she commanded, getting up and immediately making for the door.  “If we’re going on an emergency rescue, we’re gonna need some help.  I’ll be back in five minutes.”

With grave determination on her face, Ditzy left the frightened colt in the kitchen, and took off into the sky, making her way to Ponyville for the only backup she knew she could trust.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A large drop of stagnant-smelling water fell from the rough stone ceiling onto Dinky’s brow.  She wiped it away without a second thought and continued to lead her friends through the drainage tunnel.

Although sunlight never reached this dank place, Dinky couldn’t help but feel it was darker and more oppressive than it had been in the past.  The three fillies’ hoofsteps echoed loudly, and the light from their horns cast long shadows.

“I hope Scuffle’s okay,” Honeydew said suddenly, her demure voice nearly lost among the echoes.

“I’m sure he’s fine,” Clarity said, falling back a pace or two to walk beside Honeydew.  “He’s waiting for us just up ahead, I’m sure.”

Honeydew swallowed.  “I hope so,” she mumbled.  “I’d feel at least a little safer if he was around…”

Dinky chuckled.  “Funny how that happened, huh?” she asked, glancing over her shoulder.  “Just a few months ago, there was nothing at this school you were more afraid of than Scuffle.”

Honeydew shrugged the comment off.  “He’s the only one of us who knows defensive spells,” she pointed out.  “Since we’re probably going to be in danger, he might buy us all a little more time.”

In spite of the mood, Clarity flashed Dinky a grin.  “You should let Scuffle know you appreciate it, Honeydew.  It might not seem like it, but it’ll probably mean a lot to him.”

Honeydew cocked her head.  “Why?”

“Just a feeling,” the grey filly replied.

Dinky spotted the end of the passageway just ahead.  Stepping down into the few inches of water collected at the bottom, she carefully used her magic to move aside the boulder that separated the tunnel from the hideout.

“Scuffle?” she called, climbing up into the earthen room beneath the tree.

There was no reply.  Her heart sank.

“He’s not here?” Honeydew asked, glancing frantically around the chamber.

“Alright, don’t panic,” Clarity said assertively.  “Maybe he’s nearby.”

“Even if he’s not, maybe he decided it was better to stay in the tower,” Dinky suggested.  “I couldn’t really blame him if he decided not to do this after all.”

“Hey!” called a male voice.  “I hear voices!  Dinks, is that you?”

Dinky’s ears perked up.  “Scuffle?  Where are you?” she called.

“Outside the hideout,” he called.  “I can’t get in.  There’s a… well, just come up the tunnel and see for yourself.”

Curious, Dinky made her way up the tunnel.  Scuffle came into view as she neared the exit, as well as Trouble, who sat at the colt’s side and yipped delightedly when she appeared.

“What’s wrong?” she asked once she was just a few paces away.  “It doesn’t look like there’s anything in the way.”

Rather than respond, Scuffle reared up on his hind hooves.  He leaned forward, and Dinky instinctively backed up, fearing the colt would fall into the tunnel and on top of her.  However, his forehooves met something in midair, sending vague black and dark purple ripples across its surface.

“There’s a barrier,” he said, watching the colored light fade away and rendering the magical wall invisible once again.  “I’ve tried every trick I know to remove or break it, but it’s not like any shield spell I’ve ever seen.”

“So does that mean we’re trapped in here?” Clarity asked.

Dinky stepped up and knocked a hoof against the barrier, sending more ripples radiating out from the spot she touched.  “We are until we can lower the barrier, anyway,” she confirmed.

“What do we do?” Honeydew squeaked, pacing around the dark hideout as she tried to calm herself.  “We can’t get back up the drain into our tower without Scuffle’s help, and he’s trapped out there!”

Clarity backed up into the chamber and went to comfort Honeydew while Dinky examined the barrier more closely.  She tried a magic cancelling wave and an enchantment removal spell, but neither had any effect.  Frustrated, she stamped at the dirt, and was surprised to see the barrier flash purple once again as she did so.

“What the…”

“What did you do?” Scuffle asked curiously, looking at Dinky’s hooves.

“I have no idea,” Dinky replied, curiously brushing away some of the dirt just inside the barrier.  “I think… I think something’s here.”

There was a thin groove in the rock beneath the shallow layer of soil.  Dinky swept more of the loose dirt away, and a symbol began to appear.  Once fully uncovered, the design carved into the stone looked a bit like the letter M, albeit with rounded tops on the two peaks of the letter.  Stranger though, was the right side, where the line curved up once more before ending in a small triangle, like an arrow.

“What’s that?” Scuffle asked, trying to see the symbol despite being unable to step past the invisible wall.

“I’m not sure,” Dinky said, hesitantly tapping a hoof against the design and noting that it dully flashed the same color as the barrier itself.  “I think it might be what’s causing the shield, though.  Strange, it looks really familiar…”

“Let me see,” Clarity said, appearing behind Dinky once again.  Despite the narrow space, she squeezed up beside her friend and looked down at the symbol.  She frowned.

“If that’s what I think it is…” she began, retreating down into the hideout again.

Dinky followed, and waited as Clarity dug through her saddlebag.  The grey removed a small book, flipped it open, and almost immediately groaned and placed a hoof to her forehead.

“I checked out a book from the library about the Zodiac, in case it had any useful information about Scorpio,” she explained to Dinky, showing her one of the pages in the small tome.  “According to this, that thing carved into the rock up there is Scorpio’s mark.  So basically, it’s a rune.  A dark magic rune.”

“Oh, good,” Honeydew said sarcastically, flopping down on the dirt floor.  “So Sunbeam’s trying to stop us from getting to him.  That means he knows we’re coming.”

“Not necessarily,” Clarity reasoned.  “Maybe he’s just putting up defenses like this in case we tried something.  Taking precautions is a reasonable idea.”

“Never mind if he knows or not,” Dinky said, giving one ear an agitated twitch.  “How can we lower the barrier?”

“Would damaging the rune help?” Scuffle called from above.

“Even if it would, none of us know any spells powerful enough to break rock,” Clarity admitted.

Dinky approached Scorpio’s mark again, watching the dark, angry purple and black ripple through both the rune and the barrier as she stepped on it.  They flickered in unison each time she touched them.  She chewed her lip as an unpleasant idea came to her.

“I think I know how to lower it,” she said softly, staring at the floor rather than meeting the gaze of any of her friends.  “If I draw the dark magic out of the rune, the shield will go away.  It’d be… easy…”

She choked on the end of the sentence.  Her friends knew as well as she did what doing something like that could do to her.

“Dinky…” Clarity began.  “You shouldn’t.  We can find another way, I’m sure we can.”

“It’ll be alright,” Dinky said, trying to convince herself as much as her friends.  “My magic’s still under control.  Adding a little more won’t be good, but… it won’t push me over the edge either.”

“Are you sure?” Honeydew asked, her eyes locked on Dinky’s horn as if it would burst into black light at any moment.

“Maybe one of us should do it,” Scuffle called from outside.

“Then you’d be corrupted too!” Dinky argued.  “Please, don’t do it for my sake.  It’s not worth making yourself suffer through this too.”

Scuffle fell silent.  Clarity walked up to Dinky, eyes full of concern, and nuzzled her.

“If you really think it’s the only way, I guess you can give it a try.  If there’s too much energy there though, stop, okay?  You can’t let this stuff take over.”

Dinky nodded and approached the rune on the floor.  Scuffle took several steps back, dragging Trouble along with him, and the fillies moved to the back of the hideout, as far from her as possible.

A black spark flew from Dinky’s horn, and then another and another.  An aura of darkness surrounded her horn and eyes.  Scorpio’s mark seemed to glow brighter, as if anticipating what was about to happen.  Cautiously, Dinky reached out with the dark energy and very gently linked it to the power contained in the symbol.

And then all hell broke loose.

The light in the rune flared, the barrier pulsed and vibrated, and a ropelike strand of darkness connected Dinky’s horn to the rune.  Completely unable to break the surprisingly intense connection, she cried out, staggering and finally tumbling backwards as all the energy contained within it was vented out through the link and into Dinky’s body.

Utter blackness consumed Dinky’s vision, and her ears filled with swooshing and crackling that completely drowned out the shocked cries of her friends.  She knew she had fallen down the tunnel, but didn’t feel like she was even in contact with the ground.  Instead, she was falling through blackness, surrounded by wind and noise and more sensation than she could process.

Horrific sounding voices cried out to her from somewhere.  She couldn’t make out what they said, but they filled her with both fear and, surprisingly, rage.  She screamed out incoherent threats at them, but her voice was lost in the uproar.

Then, suddenly, it stopped.  Dinky could tell she was lying on her side, and that there was dirt beneath her.  The opened her eyes, and noticed the dim hideout was full of a smoky substance, yet not one that hung in the air and impeded breathing, like smoke from a fire.  There was a more ethereal quality to this; it was as if darkness floated in the room, in the form of a gas.

“D…Dinky?”

Clarity’s voice sounded terrified.  Dinky sat up and shook her head to clear away the purple clouds around her eyes.  Once she did, Clarity and Honeydew became visible, even amongst the smoke.

“Oh Celestia… Dinky…” Clarity whispered, trotting forward and bending down to hug her disoriented friend.  “I knew that was a bad idea…”

Honeydew made a sound that seemed to be an agreement, but it was hard to be sure.

“What happened?” Dinky asked, rubbing her eyes again.

“You drained the magic out of that barrier,” Scuffle explained as he trotted down the now-accessible tunnel into the hideout.  “Only it looks like there was a little more to it than we were expecting.  As soon as you started, it poured so much magic into you that you fell back here, and when you landed… well, I didn’t really see…”

“I did,” said Clarity, still holding Dinky in an embrace.  “When Dinky landed, darkness just went everywhere.  It poured out from her horn while she was lying there, flailing and screaming about… er, well, screaming things…”

Clarity finally let go as Dinky carefully stood.  Her head had cleared enough that she began to feel somewhat normal.  “I… think I’m okay…” she said slowly, looking herself over to see if anything was amiss.  “What’s done is done.  It was more dark magic than I was hoping, but there’s nothing to do except go on.”

“M-maybe we shouldn’t,” Honeydew said, finally managing to speak.  “Thank Celestia Dinky didn’t turn into a wraith right then and there.  It might be better to just go, before something else goes wrong…”

Dinky shook her head.  “Honeydew, we can’t!” she replied.  “We have to finish this.  Besides, the barrier’s gone now; it’d be a shame to go through that to get rid of it, and then just give up.  That whole incident would have been for nothing!”

Honeydew sighed and nodded.  “True…”

Clarity sighed.  “Are you sure you’re okay after that?” she asked.  “That was a lot of dark magic…”

“I’m fine,” Dinky said quickly, doing her best to ignore the increased pounding feeling in her horn.  “We can’t waste any more time.  Let’s go.”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ditzy looked at the ponies gathered in her kitchen.  To the average bystander, they probably looked like a mismatched bunch of amateurs.  It was almost funny seeing such different ponies grouped together: a bookish purple unicorn, two pegasi, a strong one with a red coat and an older one with a white coat and green beret, a yellow earth pony, vibrating in place as usual, and an undersized pinto earth colt.

“Twilight, Breeze, Cloudcover, Watt, I’m so glad the four of you could come to help,” she said gratefully.  “I know it’s late, but this is an emergency!”

“No trouble at all, Ditzy,” said Cloudcover politely.  “Always happy to help a friend in a time of need.”

“What exactly is wrong?” Breeze asked, stepping forward to comfort his clearly agitated marefriend.  “You said something about Dinky?”

Ditzy pointed to Pipsqueak.  “Dinky’s friend Pip says she’s in danger.  I can’t prove what he’s saying, but if there’s even a chance my little muffin’s in trouble, I have to do something right away!”

“A rescue mission?” Watt asked excitedly, zipping forward so he was practically nose to nose with the mare.  “Sounds like a ton of fun!  I go on rescue missions with Pinkie Pie like every week!”

Ignoring Watt’s levity, Ditzy turned to Pipsqueak.  “Pip, I don’t suppose your pendant can tell you what’s happening to Dinky up there in Canterlot?”

Pipqueak shook his head.  “I have no idea, but I do know she needs help, and soon.”

He shuddered.  “The dread it’s causing is getting worse.  Bad things are happening up there…”

Ditzy began trotting in place, growing more frantic.  “I don’t understand,” she squeaked.  “What could have happened?  Why would Dinky be in such danger if she’s still at school?”

Twilight cleared her throat.  “Err, Ditzy, I’d love to reassure you that it’s probably nothing,” she began, looking everywhere in the room except at Ditzy, “but, uh… tonight does happen to be Scorpio’s Apex.”

Ditzy and all the others looked at her, bewildered.  “What now?” the pegasus asked finally.

“Scorpio’s Apex,” Twilight repeated.  “If you look outside, you’ll notice the constellation Scorpio is right overhead.  The stars are linked to magic, and Scorpio in particular is linked to, um, dark magic…”

Ditzy’s expression changed as growing realization washed over her.  “B-but… the princesses are making sure Dinky keeps that under control, right?”

“They should be,” Twilight said, “but tonight is the night of the year where dark magic is most powerful.  Nothing should go wrong, since Dinky wasn’t very corrupted, but if it is going to go wrong… well, tonight’s the night it will.”

Ditzy nodded.  “I’ve heard enough,” she said sternly, marching past her gathered comrades.  “We’re going to Celestia’s Academy for Gifted Unicorns.”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A minute or two later, the six ponies had gathered on the front lawn of Ditzy’s cottage.

“Hurry up, hurry up,” Ditzy urged, beginning to lose her patience.  “The faster we get to Canterlot, the better.”

“Err, Ditzy my girl, I hate to break this to you,” Cloudcover began, “but not all of us are pegasi.  The train would take much too long, but I don’t see how our non-winged friends are going to be able to accompany us on this mission.”

Watt dashed over, wedging himself between the two pegasi.  “Don’t worry about me!” he assured them.  “I’m as fast on land as any pegasus is in the air!”

Ditzy looked at the silhouette of Canterlot in the distance.  “Even up a mountain?” she asked.  “Are you sure you can keep up?  We should already be on our way.  If Dinky’s in danger, I’m not slowing down to wait!”

Watt chuckled.  “Shouldn’t slow me down too much,” he admitted, trying to curb Ditzy’s rising anxiety.  “I’m up for a bit of late-night mountain climbing.”

“And we can just carry Pipsqueak,” Breeze pointed out.  “You’re his uncle, Cloudcover.  I’m sure you’re used to carting him around on your back.”

Watt’s ears perked up.  “Carting him around…” he repeated.  “Cloudy, you just gave me an idea!”

The earth pony blasted off down the path toward Ponyville before anypony could stop him, returning barely a minute later with a produce cart from the market.

“Since Twilight Sparkle doesn’t have wings or super speed, I’ll just carry her along in this!”

Twilight laughed nervously.  “Err, thanks for the offer,” she said uncomfortably, “but I’m sure we can find a better way to—”

“There’s no time!” Ditzy cried out, now growing panic-stricken.  “Twilight, we need your help, especially if Dinky’s in some kind of magic-related danger.  I know it’s not the best option, but please just ride along in Watt’s cart.”

Twilight sighed.  “Alright fine.  But only because I’m as concerned for Dinky as you are.”

“Let’s go already!” Pipsqueak urged, leaping onto his uncle’s back.  “We have to get to Dinky before it’s too late!”

“Righto!” said Cloudcover, taking to the air.  “You guide us, Pip.  Hopefully that little bauble Dinky gave you will lead you right to her.”

The other pegasi took to the air, and Watt took off through the field at breakneck speed, with Twilight holding on for dear life in the wooden cart behind him.  Together, the group made their way toward the distant towers of Canterlot.

Hold on a little while longer, Dinky, Ditzy pleaded.  We’re on our way.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Four foals trotted quietly along the outer edge of the valley, keeping as far from the castle as possible to avoid the guards lurking there.

They walked in silence, save for an occasional quiet crackling, the sound of Dinky’s horn giving off black sparks.  It had been doing so every minute or so for a quarter of an hour now.  Dinky paid it no mind, determined to keep following her senses, certain that if she followed the faint signature of dark magic, it would lead her straight to Sunbeam.  Her friends, she could tell, were holding back from saying something about it.

She felt angry.  She wasn’t quite sure at what, though.  Perhaps she was angry at Sunbeam for setting the trap back at the hideout, which was no doubt going to only make things harder for her.  Maybe she was angry at her friends for repeatedly suggesting they turn back and get her some aid; couldn’t they see she was still in control?  A few sparks were nothing to worry about.

“…Dinky,” Clarity said finally, breaking a long silence, “do you think your horn is going to keep doing that all night, or just until you recover from that, um, incident?”

Dinky glared over her shoulder and gave an irritated snort.  “You three are making too big of a deal out of this,” she grumbled.  “Sure, dark magic’s bad stuff, but just cause I’m giving off a couple of sparks doesn’t mean I’m a monster.”

The other foals watched as another shower of tiny lights erupted from Dinky’s horn, flickering in the air like black embers.  She walked right through the cloud of them as they dimmed, seemingly unperturbed.

Scuffle mumbled something Dinky didn’t catch.  “What was that?” she asked, not turning around.

Scuffle cleared his throat.  “You’re, uh, making a big deal out of insisting this isn’t a big deal,” he said.  “We’re just worried that maybe—”

Dinky whirled around.  “That maybe it’s taking over?” she growled.  “Tell me, Scuffle, if I was sympathizing with the dark side, why are we still on our way to stop Sunbeam, huh?”

Scuffle shrunk back a bit.  “Alright, jeez…” he murmured, looking away.

Dinky snorted again and kept walking.  They all worry too much, she thought, barely even noticing the next flurry of sparks.  I’m not even close to fully corrupted.  They’re just a bunch of sissies.

Soon, the four young ponies were behind the castle at the back of the valley.  There were no entrances to the huge building from here, and therefore no patrolling guards.  Dinky and her friends moved out into the open.

Dinky realized she’d rarely come back here during the term; it was the side of the castle facing the drop-off down the rest of the mountainside the valley was carved into, rather than the sheer rock faces that made up the other three.  A wooden fence, painted white and gold, prevented ponies from proceeding down the steep slope.

But that was still a few hundred pony-lengths away.  Between the castle and the fence was a circular courtyard, its floor layered with purplish brick and surrounded by well-kept shrubbery.

Dinky paused, and determined the dark magic signature she was following was still somewhere ahead.  She led the way through the courtyard toward the outer limit of the academy’s grounds.  They were halfway across the brick circle when a curious tingle danced down the back of Dinky’s neck.

“Do you feel that?” she asked, noticing her friends looking similarly surprised.

“It’s somepony’s magic,” Honeydew whispered.  “But… we’re alone, I think.  Where is—”

There was a dazzlingly bright violet flash just a few pony-lengths in front of the foals, immediately recognizable as a teleport spell.  The light faded an instant later, leaving in its place an absolutely livid Sparkler.

“What in the name of Celestia are you four doing!?”she roared.  “It’s Scorpio’s Apex, and the four of you sneak out of the tower to roam the grounds after curfew?  Is there any sense of self-preservation in those heads of yours!?”

“Apparently not,” Honeydew mumbled darkly.

“Sparkler, listen,” Dinky pleaded.  “I know we’re breaking all kinds of rules, but we’re out here with a reason.  It’s really important that we—”

“I don’t care what your reason is!” the overseer snapped, stamping a forehoof.  “Coming out here at all was stupidity of the highest degree.  Celestia only knows what would have happened to you if I hadn’t found you when I did.  Now, you and your friends get yourselves back inside the castle!”

“So you can take us to the dean and get us expelled?” Dinky asked, rolling her eyes.  “Forget it.  You’re just her pawn, Sparkler.  You don’t want to be anything else, and I’m tired of listening to you.”

Dinky’s friends gave her a shocked glance, but Sparkler, surprisingly, softened slightly.  “For once, your constant sass isn’t as infuriating, because this time I know you’re wrong,” she replied.

Dinky cocked her head.  “Oh?”

Sparkler sighed.  “Dinky, the dean is desperate to get rid of you.  She’s looking for any infraction you make, so she can have an excuse to expel you.  She even asked me to frame you, if that’s what it took.  Why do you think I didn’t tell her about you keeping that fox in your room?”

Dinky and her friends were all struck dumb by the news.  “Wait—” Dinky began.

“And that’s not all!” Sparkler continued loudly.  “If I don’t turn you in, the dean’s gonna strip me of my title just before the graduation ceremony!  I’m the one stuck making a sacrifice just so you don’t get your little purple rear kicked out of this place.”

Dinky blinked, struggling to take all the news in.  “You’ve been—”

“Oh, but this… this changes everything,” Sparkler interrupted once again, very seriously.  “Now I can report you for something actually worth expelling you over, so I don’t have to feel guilty about it, and I won’t lose my overseer status.  It’s a shame; you’d started to become a little more tolerable.  I was going to do the right thing and protect you, but I guess you’ve changed my mind.  You four are busted.”

Dinky glanced at her friends.  “We’re not gonna give up now, are we?” she asked them.

Scuffle and Clarity shook their heads.  Honeydew looked uncertain and simply hid behind the others.

Dinky turned back to Sparkler and shrugged.  “Then go ahead.  Report us,” she said calmly.  “But we’re not going inside.  We’ve got a job to do out here.”

Sparkler twitched, and her triumphant pose vanished.  “You have to,” she replied dully.  “I’m the overseer.”

Clarity tried to make what probably would have been an intelligent counterargument, but Dinky, still irritated, gave a snort and spoke first.

“Make us.”

“Suit yourself,” Sparkler growled.  Her aura surrounded the tips of each of the foals’ tails, and she began to drag them along as she trotted toward the castle.  This lasted all of five seconds or so, before Dinky’s magic cancelling shockwave quickly put an end to it.

Sparkler wheeled around, glaring.  “Oh, so you’re gonna play this game, huh?  What do you expect me to do, use magic to force you into submission before I drag you inside?” the overseer yelled.

Dinky shrugged again.  “Sure, but if you try it, we’ll fight back,” she said matter-of-factly, “even if it has to escalate into a full duel.”

Sparkler’s jaw dropped.  “You four are first-term students,” she pointed out.  “I, on the other hoof, am one of the most magically gifted ponies in the entire graduating class.  There’s nothing you can do that I can’t counter, and there’s no defense you can mount that I can’t break through.”

“Try us.”

Sparkler shook her head and stamped her front hooves.  “You know what?  Fine!” she screamed back at them.  “I’m sick of your mouthing off!  If it’s a duel you want, it’s a duel you’ll get.  You’ve got five minutes to prepare.”

Furious, the young mare stormed off to the other end of the courtyard, leaving Dinky and her friends facing a battle with one of the strongest ponies they knew.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“So wait, why are we doing this again?” Honeydew squeaked, sitting down and curling her tail around the base of her body as if to protect herself.

“What choice do we have?” Dinky asked.  “If we listen to Sparkler, you three will get detention, or worse, and I’ll be expelled for sure.”

“I hate to break it to you, Dinky, but I’m pretty sure that’s all gonna happen anyway,” Clarity pointed out, shuffling a hoof on the brickwork.

“I know, I know,” Dinky muttered.  “But let’s just say we somehow manage to overpower Sparkler.  We can continue trying to find Sunbeam, and maybe if we do foil his plans, everypony will be too caught up in the events that follow to worry about us sneaking out.”

Clarity, Honeydew, and Scuffle all responded with doubtful looks.  Dinky sighed in exasperation.  “I know it’s a shot in the dark, but Equestria might be in grave danger if we give up,” she reminded them.  “Stop being so cowardly.  We’ve got to at least try.”

“I guess Sparkler probably won’t hurt us,” Scuffle pointed out.  “She’s breaking the rules by dueling us in the first place; if she injures us, the princesses will hear about it and strip her of her precious overseer title, even if the dean doesn’t.”

“Are you sure?” Honeydew asked shakily.

Scuffle smirked.  “Believe me, she’d have done a number on my brothers by now if she was allowed to,” he chuckled.

“This is still insane, though,” Honeydew argued.  “Scorch and Frosty aren’t the brightest strategists — no offense, Scuffle — but Sparkler definitely is!  Just because we beat the twins in a duel doesn’t mean we’re any match for her.”

“Dewey’s got a point,” Scuffle admitted.  “There’s a reason my brothers hate Sparkler so much; she consistently overpowers them in battle magic class.”

There was a brief pause in the discussion.  Dinky looked at each of her friends in turn.

“Maybe you’re right.  Maybe we’re way outmatched,” she admitted.  “But I’m still going to try.  After all, we do have a few factors helping us out.  We each have a hoofful of spells that we’re good at, and Sparkler knows nothing about strategies any of us would employ in a duel, so she’ll be going in as blind as we are.  Plus, there’s four of us and only one of her.  That’ll help even the odds, right?”

“Hey!” Sparkler called from the other end of the courtyard.  “Are you ready, or not?”

“It’s now or never,” Dinky said softly.  She turned and made her way out onto the bricks, and was relieved when all three of her friends followed her.

Sparkler approached the foals.  Her earlier rage seemed to have been brought under control, replaced with a look of determination that put Dinky even more on edge.  She presented her younger opponents with a familiar sheet of paper.

“The contract for this duel is as follows,” the overseer began.  “The fight will be conducted only with magic, not with physical contact.  All combatants are confined to this courtyard until the duel has concluded.  If I win, you will come quietly with me to the dean’s office.  If you win, you’re free to continue wandering, since I literally cannot force you to do otherwise, but I’ll still be reporting this to the dean.  Are those terms acceptable?”

Dinky nodded and was the first to step forward and sign the duel contract.  Each of her friends signed beneath her name in the left column, and Sparkler added her own name in the right column and set the paper aside.

“You are now magically bound to follow the rules of the duel contract,” she announced.  “Take your positions on the other end of the arena and make the first move.”

It sounded rehearsed; Dinky assumed it was probably a standard dueling practice to confirm the rules in that manner.  Sparkler trotted across the arena, and the foals backed off, not taking their eyes off her.

“Okay, let’s stay together so we can cover each other,” Clarity suggested softly.  “If Sparkler tries to corral us, we’ll split up and try to surround her and attack from different angles.”

“Got it,” Scuffle said.  “Who’s making the first move?”

“You and Dinky are more experienced with combat spells,” Honeydew said.  “Clarity and I will use supporting moves once things get started.”

“Go on, Dinks,” Scuffle encouraged.  “Start things off.  Let’s see what happens.”

Dinky hesitated a moment longer and then lit her horn.  It felt surprisingly refreshing to conjure her own magic instead of black sparks.  Her confidence boosted by the familiar pleasant sensation, she created a bright bolt of energy and shot it across the field.

Sparkler didn’t move.  She didn’t even blink.  She didn’t seem to exert any effort at all, save for a brief flash from her horn.  The bolt of energy changed course slightly and skipped harmlessly off the bricks near her hooves.

“Undifferentiated energy bolt, class one,” she said, sounding rather bored.  “Quite literally magic in its base form, thrown as a weapon.  It’s the most standard attack there is.”

The overseer’s horn glowed once more.  “Sometimes simplicity is effective, though,” she admitted.  “Increase the power a few classes and add a stunning spell, and you get something like this.”

A purple bolt, larger and faster than Dinky’s, flew from Sparkler’s horn.  Dinky had no idea how to deflect spells in the manner Sparkler had, so she simply scampered backwards, narrowly avoiding the strike.  However, Sparkler wasted no time in continuing the assault, and sent a second bolt along before the first had even landed.

The second spell met its target, colliding with Dinky’s foreleg.  It did no visible damage, but immediately caused a nasty stinging sensation.  Dinky sucked in her breath and waited out the superficial pain until it faded away.

“Harmless in the long run, but they hurt, don’t they?” Sparkler asked.  “Better find a counterstrategy; there’s a lot more where that came from.”

Rapidly, Sparkler fired off three more bolts.  Before any of the foals could make an attempt to get out of the way, a slate blue shield appeared in front of them, blocking each of the spells with ease.  Looking more perplexed than anything, Sparkler allowed her horn to flare up and launched a much stronger version of her spell, but even the large bolt was absorbed by the shield.

“Nice!” Scuffle said proudly, lowering the defense.  “So they can be blocked.”

“That’s an impressive shield charm for someone who hasn’t taken battle magic yet,” Sparkler commented, cocking her head and looking rather intrigued.  “Of course, shields are rather easy to knock down…”

Sparkler leapt forward, closing some of the distance between her and her opponents as a bright, circular shockwave burst outwards from her horn.  Dinky didn’t flinch, knowing exactly what the spell was as it passed over her, but Scuffle’s shield dropped the instant it reached him.  He tried to re-cast his defense, but Sparkler instantly bombarded the group with more bolts, forcing them to scatter to stay out of the way.

The duel quickly became a game of cat and mouse after that.  Sparkler was able to target the foals individually, and Scuffle wasn’t always able to provide a shield.  Almost every attack Dinky and Scuffle threw, be it a bolt, a fireball, or some other basic attack, was diverted to the side or blocked by Sparkler’s own powerful shield spells.

“Clarity!” Dinky called when she passed close enough to her friend.  “Now would be an excellent time for some of those support spells!”

Clarity nodded.  She waited until Sparkler had turned away to fire in the direction of Honeydew and Scuffle, and then quickly concealed Dinky with a powerful invisibility spell.  Totally hidden from view, Dinky crept to the perimeter of the courtyard.  Sparkler didn’t seem aware of the disappearance of one of her foes.

While Dinky and Clarity enacted their strategy, Scuffle remained relatively close to Honeydew, constantly protecting her with shield spells, and occasionally taking a hit himself to continue doing so.  “Honeydew,” he asked frantically, shaking himself to try to stop the stinging sensation of another successful attack from Sparkler, “do you have any spells you can use here?”

Honeydew shook her head.  “I’ve never looked into any battle magic,” she admitted.  “The only thing I can do is, well… you know…”

“Then start doing that!” Scuffle urged, throwing up another shield around himself.  “I’ll cover you until then.”

Sparkler suddenly teleported right in front of Scuffle, cancelled out his shield with a quick shockwave, and then prepared to fire an attack bolt from nearly point-blank range.  Scuffle, unable to protect himself, simply cringed and waited.

A yellow bolt of light appeared from seemingly nowhere.  Weak though it was, Sparkler wasn’t ready for it, and it struck her unprotected side.  She yelped and staggered sideways, looking around.

“Hidden from view?  I didn’t expect that,” she called, loudly enough that Dinky would be able to hear, regardless of her position on the battlefield.

There was no reply.  The overseer turned slowly in place, warily eyeing the other foals, but not attacking as she tried to pinpoint Dinky’s hiding spot.

Dinky watched her friends react as Sparkler prowled.  Once he was out of the line of fire, Scuffle quietly sidestepped away.  Upon reaching Honeydew, he whispered something in her ear.  She looked at him, clearly a bit surprised, but nodded shakily.

Once Sparkler turned away again, Dinky launched another bolt, once again hitting her target.  Sparkler whirled around and fired a spell in her general direction, but it was easy to evade.

“Try that again,” Sparkler hissed, searching for the hidden filly.  “Go ahead.  I dare you.”

Dinky silently trotted out of Sparkler’s immediate line of vision and attacked again.  Unfortunately, this time the young mare was ready, and the bolt of energy was caught in a field of magic, circling her like a satellite.

“Now it doesn’t matter where you are!” Sparkler laughed.  “All I have to do is return this to where it came from!”

Dinky’s spell rocketed out of its orbit and made its way back toward its invisible caster.  Dinky ran, but the bolt simply changed direction, pursuing her for a few seconds before finally colliding with her backside.  She cried out, gritting her teeth at the stinging effect.  Sparkler immediately teleported to the apparent point of the spell’s collision and released a shockwave, washing the invisibility off Dinky as it swept by.  She followed it up with another bolt, which struck the temporarily defenseless filly in the chest.

Pain spread through Dinky’s body, stinging in every extremity for a few moments and making it hard to move.  She supposed this was the stunning effect Sparkler had added to her attack.  Struggling to shake it off, she was positive she’d be subdued if Sparkler struck again.

“Clarity, Scuffle, Honeydew!  Help!”

The filly cowered as Sparkler charged up another spell, fired… and missed completely, even from just a few pony lengths away.

Dinky could only stare, confused, as the last of the stunning spell faded from her system.  Sparkler growled and tried again, but her next attempt went even more off course.

“How are you doing that?” she yelled.

Still bewildered, Dinky put some distance between herself and Sparkler, the latter firing more and more bolts that didn’t seem to be aimed at anypony in particular.  As she arrived at Clarity’s side, she noticed her friend’s horn was aglow.

“Disorienting illusion,” Clarity whispered.  “It’s a little something I came across by accident while studying.  Sparkler’s view of the battlefield is all mixed up; she sees us at different locations than where we actually are.”

Sparkler stopped flailing about.  Crying out in rage, she teleported rapidly to several locations on the battlefield, releasing a shockwave at each one.  The magic-cancelling energy covered every corner of the arena in seconds, ending the illusion plaguing her.

“So, you like illusions, huh?” she asked her opponents, shaking her head as her perception returned to normal.  “I’ve got just the thing for you, then!”

Sparkler fired a bright blast of purple light into the air.  It rose up some distance, then plummeted back down, engulfing her in a flash when it landed.  As the glare faded, not one, but four Sparklers stared back at Dinky and her friends.

Dinky’s pupils contracted.  “Uh oh…”

Chaos broke out.  It was impossible, even for Clarity’s keen senses, to tell which Sparkler was real, and which ones were simply harmless, Sparkler-shaped light.  The foals ran around the arena, each pursued by one of the Sparkler doubles.

“What do we do?” Honeydew cried, diving between the legs of one Sparkler to avoid being caught by another.  The Sparkler chasing Honeydew passed right through the one that had crossed their path to continue following her.

“That’s it!” Dinky called.  “Just jump right into them!  We’ll pass right through the fakes, and the rules of the duel will magically prevent us from physically colliding with the real one!”

All the Sparklers simultaneously skidded to a halt, but it was too late for them to change direction.  Dinky threw herself at the pony behind her and passed right through it.  Scuffle and Clarity each did the same a moment later.

Honeydew squeaked.  “But that means…”

The doubles faded away as the real Sparkler closed in on Honeydew, preparing to strike.  Scuffle, too far away to shield her, could only watch.

“Gotcha,” Sparkler said, aiming her horn at the pink filly.

There was a flash of purple, followed by a shimmer of green.  Sparkler stepped back, surprised, as a shield spell, not nearly as solid-looking as Scuffle’s but still strong enough to absorb the attack, appeared between Honeydew and her.

Honeydew cautiously opened an eye, glancing up at the shield she’d managed to create and looking massively relieved.  Scuffle cheered from across the arena.

“Told you you’d be able to do it, Dewey!” he called.

Dinky quickly realized the information Scuffle had whispered to Honeydew a few minutes before was probably instructions to create a shield.  Internally, she applauded the meek filly’s success at casting a new spell when it really mattered.

Angrily, Sparkler used yet another shockwave to lower the shield, but Honeydew had already scampered away.  She snorted.

“There’s no reason for me to go after you yet, anyway,” she grumbled.  “You don’t seem to have any attack magic.”

Honeydew reached the safety of her group of friends.  The four of them stood together once again, facing Sparkler.

“Alright, this is getting dull,” the overseer said.  "If you four think you can wear me out with shields and illusions, you’re in for a rude awakening.”

A wide round disc of purple light appeared in the air, and Sparkler leapt up onto it.  The moment her hooves touched down on it, another one appeared a bit higher up.  The overseer repeated the process several times, and soon she was several pony lengths in the air, looking down on her opponents.

“Well I can use shields too,” she continued, creating more circular platforms at the height of the one she was standing on.  “Good luck fighting back from down there.”

Gracefully, Sparkler leapt across to another of the platforms, putting her in the perfect position to send a spell down at Scuffle.  The colt used a laser-like spell to try to strike first, but Sparkler simply backed up a few steps, and the laser harmlessly struck the underside of the disc.  The moment Scuffle’s attack ceased, she darted forward and sent a stunning bolt at him, which met its target and left the poor colt staggering as he tried to shake off the pain.

Sparkler hopped across several of the platforms, firing spells from each one and striking her opponents again and again, all the while remaining fully protected from their counterattacks.

Dinky’s frustration quickly began to build up again.  She growled as she sidestepped another attack and watched her own spell glance harmlessly off one of the suspended shields.

“There’s gotta be some way to get her down from there,” she complained as she and Clarity ducked behind one of Scuffle’s shields.

“None of us can penetrate the shields with magic,” Clarity admitted, watching Sparkler laugh as one of Scuffle’s spells failed to make the disc even waver.

“There’s one way we can break through them,” Scuffle said quietly.  “Honeydew’s secret weapon.”

“Already working on it,” Honeydew said quietly, flinching a bit as one of Sparkler’s attacks hit Scuffle’s shield.  “But I can’t shield myself while I’m doing this…”

“Got it,” Clarity replied.  “Dinky and I will keep her busy, and Scuffle will cover you.  Just do your thing.”

Honeydew nodded.  “Good luck,” she whispered as her friends ran out from behind the shield.

“Give up!” Sparkler called, raining purple bolts down on the fillies.  “You can’t do anything to hit me, and you know it!”

Dinky responded by pointing her horn directly at Sparkler and casting the most powerful illumination spell she could muster.  Sparkler squinted, trying to attack but unable to see past the glare.

“Make her move to the middle platform,” Honeydew said, just loudly enough for her friends to hear.

Clarity lit her horn as well, doubling the intensity of the light Sparkler faced.  Unable to aim through such a strong glow, Sparkler turned away and hopped to a further platform.  Dinky and Clarity followed, forcing her to retreat until she was positioned right over the center of the battlefield.

“Honeydew, now!” Dinky yelled.

Both Honeydew’s horn and enchanted tail ring glowed, and a gargantuan root burst through the ground, scattering the bricks of the courtyard floor as if they were nothing more than loose debris.  Still mostly blinded, Sparkler was caught completely off guard as the root smashed through the shield she was standing on like a pane of glass.  Confused, she writhed as it quickly curled itself around her trunk, with smaller tendrils ensnaring her legs.  Despite her struggles, she was rapidly immobilized.

Scuffle leapt forward, applying a strong gravity spell as Honeydew lowered the root trap back to the ground.  Sparkler screamed with rage as she was finally pinned against the bricks by both tightly wrapped roots and greatly increased personal gravity.

“You got her!” Clarity cried gleefully, watching the overseer wiggle feebly in the trap.

Honeydew blushed.  “We wouldn’t have if you and Dinky hadn’t played your part.  We all did it together.”

Dinky said nothing.  Instead, she watched warily as Sparkler stopped squirming.  Purple light surrounded Sparkler’s horn, growing to a brightness Dinky hadn’t seen so far that night.

“Um, guys… I don’t think it’s over…”

Sparkler screamed with rage as the roots were suddenly ripped apart, as if hacked to shreds with an ax.  She rose to her hooves, the glow from her horn spreading to her whole body, causing what was left of the roots to wither around her.

“This joke isn’t going to go on a second longer!” she bellowed as the foals backed off in terror.  “I’ll use the full extent of my power if that’s what it takes!  The four of you will not stop me!”

Sparkler rose to her hind hooves and slammed her forehooves back down as she finished her sentence, and the entire arena began to shake.  The cone of magic around her horn grew much larger, a towering column of light upon her forehead.

“W-w-what’s happening?” Scuffle asked, struggling to stay standing despite the shaking.

Before any of the foals could harbor a guess, a tiny, bright object burst up from the earth destroying a brick as it appeared from below.  It was followed by dozens more, appearing from every part of the arena and rendering the vast majority of the brickwork underhoof a mess of rubble.

“They’re gemstones!” Clarity realized, staring at the shimmering objects as they floated toward Sparkler.  “Dozens and dozens of gemstones!”

The floating stones suddenly began to clump together as Sparkler fused them into several constructs.  The shapes she was forming quickly became apparent; four boots, a chestplate, and a helmet, each made entirely of shimmering, multicolored crystal.

“She’s making… armor?” Dinky asked, mesmerized.

“Enchanted armor!” Sparkler declared, imbuing the crystal garments with a few quick spells.  “I may not be able to defeat all four of you at once on my own, but with the help from this, you don’t stand any chance!”

The armor floated into place, affixing itself to Sparkler’s body.  Power radiated from the young mare once it was all in place.  She grinned devilishly.

“This should be over in about five seconds,” she chuckled.  “En garde!”

Sparkler practically flew across the battlefield; in barely an instant, she was right in front of the foals, her horn glowing menacingly.

“There’s a speed boost enchantment on the boots,” she explained, relishing the ponies cowering in front of her.  “You can’t outrun my attacks anymore.”

“Scatter!” Clarity urged, fleeing across the battlefield.  Dinky took the hint and ran in a different direction, and her friends did the same.

She didn’t get very far, however.  It had become particularly hard to run now that the even surface of the field had been damaged by all the gems bursting through it.  She stumbled, struggling to keep her balance.  Turning, she saw Sparkler closing in on Scuffle, whose repeated attacks were bouncing harmlessly off her armor.

I can hit her where she’s not covered, though… Dinky thought, carefully aiming a spell.  A yellow bolt flew from her horn, striking Sparkler right in the backside.  However, the older filly didn’t so much as flinch.  She did turn to face her attacker, though.

“Sorry, Dinky,” she called tauntingly.  “The armor may not be covering all of me, but the defense enchantment on the chestplate is strong enough to completely block weak spells like that!”

Dinky’s jaw dropped.  If Sparkler’s immune to our normal attacks, how can we even fight back?

Her friends seemed to be coming to similar realizations.  Honeydew groaned, Clarity looked bleak, and even Scuffle’s aggressive stance seemed to mellow out.  Judging by Sparkler’s expression, it was clear she knew she’d gained the upper hoof.

“The fun part of this armor, though, is the enchantment on the helmet,” she said, ceasing her assault and trotting slowly to the center of the battlefield.  “The enchantment on it is a very powerful amplifier for earth magic.”

She looked directly at Dinky.  “Observe.”

The ground began to rumble again, and for a moment, Dinky expected more gems to appear.  Instead, the patch of earth heaved beneath her, causing her to pitch sideways.  An uneven pillar of brick and soil rose up from the ground, with the filly perched atop it.

Panicking, Dinky leapt off the growing spire of rock before it got too high, but before her hooves even reached the ground, another column began to rise up to meet her.  Several more appeared around that, all rising at different speeds and with surfaces at different angles.  She jumped from rock to rock in a desperate attempt to escape.

Moments later, the same phenomenon began to occur beneath the hooves of the other foals, who had no choice but to start leaping from pillar to pillar like Dinky was.

Honeydew was the first to make an error.  With a sharp cry, she topped off one of the low mounds, landing on her side on the debris below.  Sparkler acted instantly, creating a cage out of the loose rock that quickly encased her.

“Honeydew!” Scuffle cried out, trying to make his way across the pillars in her direction.  Sparkler spotted her opening and quickly lowered the next pillar in Scuffle’s path, causing him to topple into the indent.  It only took a second for him to be encased in another earthen cage.

“Two down, two to go!” Sparkler said gleefully, haughtily flicking her tail.  “Good effort, but I told you from the start, the four of you never really stood a chance.”

She’s… enjoying this! Dinky realized, outraged.  Agreeing to the duel is one thing, but… but taking pleasure in capturing my friends?

She gritted her teeth, rapidly becoming enraged once again.  So much so, in fact, that she didn’t even notice her yellow aura fading away in favor of a few more flashes of black sparks.  Desperately, while still navigating the undulating earth below her, she tried to think of a spell that could fight back against a pony protected by enchanted armor.

Clarity was adept at keeping her balance despite Sparkler’s spell, so the latter simply increased the intensity.  The pillars began to rise and fall so quickly that there was no safe way to jump between them.  It only took a few moments for Clarity to topple.  Sighing, the grey filly seemed to simply give in as another of Sparkler’s enclosures began to form.

Seeing her friend close her eyes and admit defeat made Dinky’s blood boil.  Positively seething, she widened her stance and lowered her head, her horn crackling threateningly.

“How dare you!” she screamed, hardly able to control herself.  A powerful spell forced its way to the tip of her horn, fighting to be set loose.

Sparkler’s ears pricked up, noticing both the angry yell and the ominous crackling.  She whirled around and gasped at the sphere of dark magic on the tip of Dinky’s horn.

From their prisons, Dinky’s friends were similarly terrified.  Clarity reached out from between the newly formed bars of her cage, trying to get through to her friend.

“No, Dinky, wait!”

It didn’t help.  With a livid scream, Dinky hurled the spell at Sparkler.  The overseer erected a shield, but it had all the effect of a piece of wet tissue paper trying to stop a bullet.  The spell punched right through and collided squarely with Sparkler’s chest.

There was a sound akin to an entire china shop worth of glass shattering simultaneously.  Sparkler’s armor fragmented into thousands of razor-sharp shards, which were flung all around the arena.  Dinky’s friends, fortunately, were protected from the shrapnel by the earthen cages.

Sparkler, however, was knocked across the field by the massive bolt of darkness.  Limp as a ragdoll, she careened through the air, and landed in a heap against the far rim of the courtyard.  She did not move.

Panting, Dinky stood staring at her victim, trying to process what had just happened.  The raised pillars gradually sank back into the ground, and the cages around the other foals crumbled, allowing them to squirm free.  Silently, the three of them made their way toward Dinky, whose rage had now been replaced with simple non-comprehension.

“Did… did I do that?”

Nopony responded right away.  Clarity and Honeydew looked away.  Scuffle cleared his throat and hesitantly spoke up.

“Well, uh… if you weren’t gonna get expelled before, I’m pretty sure you are now.”

Clarity smacked Scuffle, but Dinky didn’t seem to notice the comment.  Almost in a trance, she walked carefully across the ruined courtyard, until she stood over Sparkler.

The overseer was absolutely covered in cuts.  Most of them didn’t look serious, but there were dozens of them: the resulting damage from the armor shattering, clearly.  Then there was the effect of the dark magic itself; Dinky couldn’t be sure how badly Sparkler was hurt.

Clarity placed a hoof on Sparkler’s side, and sighed with relief.  “She’s got a pulse, and she’s breathing,” she reported, “but I don’t think she’s waking up anytime soon.”

Dinky stared down at Sparkler’s broken body, the same words repeating in her head over and over.

I did this.  I did this.

“You guys were right all along,” she mumbled, her eyes finally opened to the truth.  “I’m not myself.  The dark magic, it… it makes it so easy to get angry now.  I tried to tell myself it was just the stress of our mission, but I…”

She paused, choking back a sob.  “I didn’t even think about doing this.  It just happened…”

Clarity placed a hoof on Dinky’s shoulder.  “Try to relax,” she said soothingly.  “Sparkler will… be okay…”

She didn’t sound very sure.  Dinky turned and hugged her friend, crying softly.

“I’m sorry.  I’m sorry for being such a grouch for a while there.  I’m sorry for what I did to Sparkler.  I can’t let the dark magic do this to me…”

The four ponies were quiet for a little while.  Dinky remained standing with her face buried in Clarity’s shoulder until the sobs subsided.

“…Now what?” Honeydew asked finally.  “We still have to do something about Sparkler, but, theoretically, where would we go next?”

Sniffling, Dinky left Clarity’s embrace and trotted out the north side of the courtyard and over to the fence at the edge of the academy grounds.  Standing up on her hind hooves and resting her front ones against the railing, she peered off the edge of the cliff beyond.  Dense woods, broken only by a thin river, lay below, uninterrupted as far as the eye could see, save for a tiny town a few miles away, with a couple lights still glowing in the windows.

“There,” she said, pointing to the settlement.  “Sunbeam’s gone there.  I can feel it.”

“We can’t possibly get down the cliff, though,” Scuffle pointed out.  “It’s almost a vertical drop.  If Sunbeam’s left the grounds altogether, I don’t see how we can follow.”

There was a pause.  A dawning realization crept across Clarity’s face.  “Teleport,” she said softly.

Dinky sighed.  “It’d work, but… you’re the only one who’s ever successfully teleported.”

Clarity nodded.  “I know,” she admitted.  “And it’d be impossible for me to teleport all of us.  But maybe if I focus… I can get you and me down there safely.  Maybe.”

“What about us, then?” Scuffle asked, tilting his head.

“We’ll stay here,” Honeydew announced.  “Even if we get in trouble, we have to get Sparkler inside so she can be treated.”

Dinky nodded.  “That would be best at this point.  I don’t know what I’d do if Sparkler doesn’t, uhh…”

She trailed off, but trusted her friends knew what she meant.

“But I wanna help you guys!” Scuffle argued.  “How are you gonna kick Sunbeam’s butt without me?”

Honeydew leaned over suddenly and nuzzled Scuffle, which had the somewhat comedic effect of freezing the colt’s entire body in place the moment she touched him.  “Scuffle, they can’t take you anyway, and I need your help to get Sparkler to safety,” she said gently.  “Please, stay and help me.”

The wheels in Scuffle’s brain eventually were jarred back into motion.  “A-alright,” he said finally.  “You two go.  Honeydew and I will stay here.  But don’t you dare get killed out there!”

Dinky forced a smile.  “We’ll try our best.”

“Good,” Scuffle replied, decisively stamping a forehoof.  “Alright, Clarity, go on and teleport.  We’ll stay here for a moment to see you off.”

Honeydew stepped forward and briefly hugged her friends, and then backed off and stood next to Scuffle.  Clarity lit her horn.

“This is our last chance to go back,” she warned.  “Even if I can get us down there safely, I don’t think I’ll be able to get us back up.  Once we leave the academy, we’ve pretty much got to see this through.”

Dinky’s horn sparked again.  “I’m going,” she stated.  “Maybe I’m dangerously corrupted, but at least there’s a good chance the next pony I attack like that will be Sunbeam.  Dark magic or not, I need to stop him.”

Clarity looked at Dinky for a long moment.  “Okay,” she said finally, surrounding Dinky and herself with cinnamon-colored magic.  “Prepare for teleport.”

As the magic around her began to strengthen, Dinky cast one last look at the ponies staying behind.  Something in the grass beyond them caught her eye.

“Hey, is that—”

A bright orange shape suddenly darted through the grass, dashing toward Dinky.  It leapt into the air toward her just as Clarity’s spell kicked in, and both ponies – and the orange shape as well – vanished in a red flash.

“Was that… Trouble?” Scuffle asked.

“Maybe,” Honeydew said uncertainly.  “Either way, he’s gone now.  They’re all gone.”

There was a moment of silence.  Honeydew turned to Scuffle, her eyes brimming with tears.

“What if we never see them again?” she squeaked.

“Dinky and Clarity are crazy smart and really powerful for their age,” Scuffle replied, cautiously placing a foreleg over Honeydew’s back.  “If anypony can get through this, it’s them.”

Honeydew sniffled.  “Are you sure?”

Scuffle bit his lip.  “C’mon,” he said finally.  “We have to get Sparkler some medical attention.  Help me levitate her.”

Somberly, the pair of foals turned away from the cliff, wondering what was in store for their brave friends.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When Dinky felt the ground drop out from beneath her hooves, she knew she had been successfully teleported.  Unlike when she’s traveled with Presto, however, it didn’t replace itself firmly underhoof an instant later.

Crying out, Dinky topped a short distance through the air and into the thick canopy of a big tree.  She bounced off a few stiff branches before finally toppling out, landing softly in a large bush.  A thunk next to her signaled the arrival of Clarity as well.

“Ugh, Clarity,” Dinky mumbled, lying limply in the bush, “you really need to work on teleporting to ground level.”

“Hey, at least we didn’t appear halfway down the cliff,” Clarity replied.  “I’ve never teleported with a passenger.  We could have gone way off course.”

Something furry climbed onto Dinky’s stomach.  She opened her eyes and found Trouble the fox staring back at her.

“Trouble?” she asked.

“What about him?” Clarity asked, still trying to free herself from the bush.

“He’s… here,” Dinky deadpanned.  “He hitched a ride in your teleport.”

Clarity turned her head, giving the fox a surprised expression.  “So he did,” she said.  “I guess he’s coming along, then.”

Dinky got to her hooves, and Trouble rubbed himself affectionately against her hind leg.  “Looks like it,” she agreed.  “Now that we’re nowhere near his home, he’ll probably stick by me.”

“So… where are we?” Clarity asked.

Dinky looked around.  A rather dark and imposing forest surrounded them on all sides, save for behind them, where the cliff rose up a few hundred pony lengths to the edge of the academy grounds.

“We’re at the bottom of the mountain,” she answered.  “We just need to find our way to that town we saw before.”

Clarity smiled sheepishly.  “I hope you know the way, then, cause I sure don’t.”

“I can still feel Sunbeam’s energy,” Dinky replied, moving her head slowly around to try to determine which way the trail led.  “If we just keep following it, we’ll find him eventually.”

“Well, ‘eventually’ had better be soon,” Clarity worried.  “It’s after midnight.  Sunbeam could be completing his big plan at any moment, if he hasn’t already.”

“Well, no great cataclysm has spread over Equestria yet,” Dinky pointed out.  “I’m pretty sure that means we’ve still got some time.”

With that, she trotted off into the darkness ahead, with Clarity and Trouble following faithfully behind.  

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hollow Shades.

The beaten, lopsided wooden sign creaked as it swung in the wind, hanging over the entrance to the village.  Two fillies and a fox stood just outside the town.

“Hollow Shades, huh?” Dinky asked aloud.  “I’ve heard that name before.”

“I think I have too,” Clarity realized.  “I don’t have the faintest idea where, though.  Maybe it got mentioned in one of our classes?”

“I can’t remember,” Dinky admitted.  “It’s not important.  Come on, let’s take a look around.”

As quietly as possible, the two fillies made their way down one of the uneven dirt roads into town.  It struck Dinky how very unlike Ponyville or Whinnychester this place really was.  She was no stranger to small town life, but in towns like Ponyville, well-kept cottages lined straight, clean streets, and moonlight kept the town somewhat lit, even at night.  Hollow Shades, however, was oddly arranged; the houses were scattered about, and weren’t similar at all.  Some of them looked like fairly nice cottages, while others were run down structures with broken windows that looked as if they could hardly stand on their own.  The surrounding forest had also crept its way into the village.  Huge, drooping trees were strewn throughout town, their branches often embracing the sides of some of the dwellings, and creating a dark and eerie nighttime atmosphere that felt quite forboding.

“I don’t like this place,” Clarity commented, peering down each poorly-lit alleyway as if something was lurking just out of sight.  “I guess that makes sense though.  Sunbeam would come to a creepy place like this to do… whatever it is he’s doing.”

The fillies turned a corner and found themselves on an even narrower and darker side street.  On a nearby termite-damaged porch, an aging brown stallion sat in an old rocking chair, lit only by the light of a few half-melted candles.  He turned his head slowly and noticed the fillies staring at him.

“Evenin’” he grunted.  “Awful late for fillies t’ be out and about, innit?”

“Er, yes, I suppose,” Dinky replied apprehensively.  “We’ve got something, uh, important to take care of, though.”

The stallion rocked back and forth in his chair a few times.  “Not from ’round here, are ya?” he asked finally.  “Both of ya look like yer a little lost.  Don’t suppose yer from the Princess’s unicorn school up yonder?”

“Maybe,” Clarity replied warily.  “Does it matter?”

The stallion gave a wheezing chuckle.  “Ya both act like I’m some sort o’ threat,” he laughed.  “Hollow Shades is not the most invitin’ place, ‘specially at night, but its bark’s worse than its bite, so t’ speak.  It’s just unusual to see a pair of youngsters out at this hour, but if ya don’t want me meddlin’, I’ll leave ya be.”

The old pony leaned back and stared at the sky.  Dinky and Clarity exchanged a momentary glance before Dinky piped up again.

“Excuse me, sir?”

“Yeah?” he asked, not taking his eyes off the heavens.

“Can you tell us where this road goes?”

“Keep followin’ it and it leads to the edge of town,” he said simply.  “Not much past there ‘cept the graveyard, and more forest.”

“Except the… graveyard…” Dinky repeated.

Sunbeam is not a student, nor is he on the Academy grounds.  Last time we checked, he was buried in a forgotten cemetery in Hollow Shades!

Dinky’s eyes widened as the dean’s voice echoed in her head.  “Thank you,” she said quickly.  “Come on, Clarity.  I think I know where we’re headed.”

“Huh?” Clarity asked, but received no reply as Dinky had already started quickly down the path, with Trouble bounding along at her heels.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“So the dean was the one who mentioned Hollow Shades?”

“Yes!  Don’t you remember?”

“Not really, no.”

Dinky and Clarity walked briskly past the darkened cottages.  Other than the stallion they’d passed a few minutes earlier, there didn’t seem to be a soul around.  Considering it was the middle of the night, that wasn’t all that surprising.

Dinky was glad she had a destination in mind, however, because the “trail” of dark magic she had been following seemed to be becoming less of a trail and more of a cloud.  Unnerving energy seemed to be all around her, making it hard to pinpoint the source.  She did her best not to let it worry her any more than she already was.

“Sunbeam’s got to be close,” she said.  “Traces of dark magic are everywhere.  This is the cemetery where he’s supposedly buried, so it makes perfect sense that somewhere important like that would be where he was headed.”

“Is it, though?”  Clarity asked.  “We’ve both seen Sunbeam.  I’m pretty sure he’s, you know, not dead.  And if that’s the case, what use is the graveyard where he’s ‘supposedly’ buried?”

“It’s the right place!” Dinky snapped.  “Just shut up and trust me!”

Clarity recoiled, looking hurt.  Dinky’s frustration vanished instantly and she hung her head.

“Sorry… it’s the dark magic.  You know that, right?”

Clarity nodded solemnly.  “It’s okay,” she assured Dinky.  “Look.  We’re here.”

Sure enough, before the fillies lay a small, overgrown cemetery, surrounded by a rusted iron railing.  It didn’t look like there were even a hundred graves contained inside.  Dinky stepped forward and looked around warily, but there was no sign of anypony around.  She turned to Clarity uncertainly.

“Let’s look around.”

Half-expecting Sunbeam to leap from the shadows at any moment, the two fillies crept between the graves.  The atmosphere had grown still more eerie, if that was even possible; the wind had quieted for a few minutes, creating a dramatic, complete silence broken only by the crunching of leaves beneath the ponies’ hooves and Trouble’s panting.

After a few minutes, Dinky spotted a small, worn headstone nestled between two larger ones.  It’s positioning and appearance were nothing out of the ordinary, but the name carved into it was unmistakable.

Here lies Sunbeam.

“Here’s the grave,” she said as Clarity trotted to her side.  “But there’s no sign of the living Sunbeam, and no clear direction leading toward him.  What do we do now?”

Clarity groaned.  “Don’t tell me this was all a wild goose chase…” she grumbled.  “I guess we should have guessed Sunbeam would find a way to cover his tracks.  He could be nearby, but if you can’t follow the dark magic signature, we’ll never know it.”

“But we came this far!” Dinky yelled, stamping a hoof and causing a shower of black sparks to fly from her horn.  “There’s got to be something else we can try.  Maybe we—”

Dinky was still speaking as the sparks touched the earth in front of the grave.  She was interrupted as the ground suddenly shook, causing the headstone to lean at an odd angle.

“Something’s happening!” Clarity gasped.  “Get back!  It’s some kind of reaction to your dark magic!”

Both ponies moved several graves away, watching as the earth itself gave way, collapsing into a deep pit just in front of Sunbeam’s headstone.  Eventually, the shaking stopped, and silence took over again.

“…what happened?” Clarity whispered, after a long pause.

“I don’t know,” Dinky answered.  “Let’s take a look.”

Leading the way, Dinky carefully moved to the edge of the pit.  Peering down, she spotted exactly what one would expect to see within a grave; a simple, wooden coffin, about a pony-length below the surface.  Both fillies stared at it for a long time.

“I’m gonna open it,” Dinky said finally.

“What?  Why?” Clarity asked, looking alarmed.

“Because,” Dinky replied, “we can finally prove whether or not the pony that’s been trying to corrupt me is the real Sunbeam.  Even if it doesn’t change anything, I still want to know.”

Clarity shrugged.  “Well, alright.  But be careful; we don’t want to cause another collapse or something.”

Dinky lit her horn, making sure to use her own magic this time, and gently lifted the lid of the coffin.  Clarity shined some light down into the pit for a better view.

A tiny skeleton, no bigger than Dinky, rested in the interior.  After forty years, no shred of skin or muscle remained.  It was lying on its side, in a position that, before the body decomposed, had probably looked as if the colt was just peacefully sleeping.

“Poor little colt,” Dinky whispered.  “So Sunbeam really did die all those years ago.  At least I didn’t end up like him…”

“There’s one thing I don’t get, though,” Clarity said, furrowing her brow.  “Why did the grave react to your dark magic in the first place?”

Dinky blinked.  “I’m not sure.  Could it have something to do with the original Sunbeam down there?”

Before Clarity could answer, Dinky gave off yet another involuntary burst of black sparks.  Not wanting to get caught in another collapse, Clarity quickly backed off, but Dinky stood, transfixed, as the horn on the skeleton below feebly began to glow with a black aura of its own.

“Clarity, come look.”

Clarity fearfully approached, and peered at the skeleton apprehensively, and both fillies silently realized what it was that did Sunbeam in.  “After all these years,” Clarity breathed, “it’s still got a hold on him.  That’s… kinda scary.”

“You’re telling me,” Dinky sighed.  “I’d give anything to have not been wrapped up in all this in the first place.”

“Hold that thought,” Clarity said suddenly.  “Dinky, look!”

On the wall of the grave, a few inches above the skeletal Sunbeam’s head, a familiar symbol appeared; a looping M with a point on the end.

“Scorpio’s mark!” Dinky gasped.

Another identical mark appeared, and another, and another.  Soon, they’d reached the top of the pit, and began to appear on the path, showing up on random surfaces such as trees or other headstones.  Each mark glowed with a dull purple light.  One by one, they continued to appear, forging a clear trail of glowing symbols leading out of the cemetery and back into the forest.

“What in Equestria?” Clarity asked, watching the symbols continue to appear, further and further from the grave.

Dinky watched, awe-stricken.  “I think the original Sunbeam’s magic did it,” she said.  “He’s… he’s guiding us.”

“Well what are we waiting for?” Clarity asked.  “Let’s follow the symbols before they fade away!  Maybe they’ll lead us straight to whoever or whatever is pretending to be Sunbeam!”

Clarity ran ahead, and Dinky peered back into the open grave one more time.

“Thank you,” she whispered to the skeleton below.  “Rest in peace, Sunbeam.  We’ll take it from here.”

With a flicker of magic, she gently shut the coffin, and, with Trouble faithfully trailing behind, she leapt the low fence and sprinted into the gloomy forest after Clarity.

> Chapter 19
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

One by one, the runes appeared.  One would flicker into view on a tree, the next on a rock, and the one after that on a fallen log.  The trail led deeper and deeper into the forest.

Soon Dinky’s hooves were muddy and her coat was covered in burs.  Any semblance of a clear path through the foliage had long since vanished, but she paid the obstacles no heed, intent on following the purple runes appearing one by one.

“Do you think Scuffle and Honeydew are alright?” she asked finally.

“They’re fine,” Clarity assured her.  “They’re back in the castle now, in the infirmary.  Hopefully that means Sparkler’s been taken there.”

It took Dinky a moment to remember how Clarity could have known this.  “Oh, right, you can still track Honeydew’s location with that enchanted hair clip,” she said finally.

“Right!” Clarity responded.  “And if I know Scuffle, he won’t leave her side until they’re both back at the towers, so he’s probably fine too.”

Dinky smiled.  “At least they’re safe,” she said.  “I just hope Sparkler’s alright as well…”

Clarity didn’t have a response that time, so the two fillies continued quietly for a few minutes more.  However, Dinky’s thoughts continued to plague her, until she spoke up again.

“Clarity, do you think I’m… you know, too far gone?  I never meant to let the corruption become this bad.”

“I know you didn’t,” Clarity said comfortingly.  “You’re having some… difficulties, but when you work past them, it’s the same old Dinky underneath.  And as long as that doesn’t start to fade away, I know you can pull through this.”

Trouble yipped excitedly.  Dinky took it as an agreement with Clarity’s words.

The fillies came upon a low ridge, and suddenly, after a long expanse of thick forest, a clearing appeared.  Before them was a large hill, covered in more trees.  Cut into the side of it was a large cave entrance.  The interior was pitch black, but a large rendition of Scorpio’s mark burned with purple light just above the threshold of the cavern.

Dinky stared at the opening.  “This has to be it,” she said finally.  “Whatever our impostor Sunbeam is up to, it’s happening in there.”

“It’s more than a little foreboding,” Clarity said softly.  “I can’t feel the dark magic, but I’ve still got this… this sense that something really bad is in there.  If I was here and had no idea what was inside, I’d still probably want to get away as quickly as possible.”

Trouble hid himself beneath Dinky, apparently equally apprehensive.

“Well, there’s no sense delaying it,” Dinky sighed.  “Come on, let’s go take a look.”

She hopped down from the ridge and approached the cave.  Lighting her horn, she cast a bright yellow beam into the darkness to see what was ahead.  As soon as the cave interior was revealed to her, she was filled with an even greater sense of dread.

Bluish, uneven crystals made up the walls and ceiling of the cavern.  They seemed to take in Dinky’s light, holding and shining it back at her eerily.

“It… it’s the same cave…” she stuttered, feeling weak in the knees.

“Pardon?” Clarity asked.

“Every time Sunbeam came after me in my dreams, we were in a crystal cave,” Dinky explained.  “It was… it was this crystal cave.”

Clarity scraped a hoof on the dirt nervously.  “Well, I guess that’s all the more proof we’re at the right place,” she said.  “Let’s go take a look around.  Maybe if we’re lucky, Sunbeam won’t know we’re here until we find him.”

Shaking slightly, Dinky nodded.  Her hooves felt like lead, but she lifted them, one followed by another, and stepped beneath the symbol of Scorpio into the cave.  Past that, she only took one step, then stopped in her tracks.

Clarity cocked her head.  “What’s up?  See something?”

Dinky hardly heard Clarity.  An overwhelming energy weighed down on her the moment she set hoof in the cave.  Her forelegs wobbled momentarily before she collapsed on the stone floor.

“Dinky!” Clarity gasped, though her voice sounded muffled and far away.  “What’s wrong?  What’s happening?”

“It’s… so much…” Dinky choked.  “I can’t stop it…”

The filly cried out as a cone of black light flared up around her horn for a moment.  Trouble yipped nervously and backed off, before turning and scampering deeper into the cave.  Dinky hardly noticed him go.

“The aura of dark magic in here is too strong!” she yelled.

“Hang on!” Clarity said, grabbing Dinky’s tail in her aura.  “I’ll get you out.”

Clarity dragged Dinky across the floor, but as she reached the mouth of the cave, something prevented her from going further.

“Another barrier?” Dinky managed to ask, clutching at her head as she tried to hold back the dark magic and pressing feebly against the invisible wall.

“It’s not like the one at the hideout,” Clarity realized, stepping out of the cave without resistance.  “It only blocks you, not me.”

“So it’s… a trap?” Dinky questioned through gritted teeth.

Clarity hung her head.  “Guess so.  Maybe Sunbeam knew we were coming.  The barrier must be responding to your darkness and keeping you inside.”

Dinky groaned.  “I can’t fight it…” she said weakly.  “If I just let the dark magic flow, the pain will stop…”

Clarity stepped cautiously back into the cave as Dinky ceased trying to hold back the energy.  Her horn became encased in the same dark aura, and this time, it didn’t vanish again.  Purple mist began to leak from the corners of her eyes as she shakily stood up.

“You’re… you’re just going to go on like that?” Clarity asked, her voice trembling.

Dinky scrunched up her face.  “I’ll try to hold it back somewhat, but I can’t stop it completely.  It’s unbearable.”

Clarity stared fearfully at Dinky’s horn.  “B-but—”

“There’s nothing else I can do,” Dinky pointed out.  “I fell into his trap.  It’s a great move on Sunbeam’s part; he’s protecting himself by trying to turn me from an enemy into an ally before I can reach him.  My only chance now is if I can stop him soon.  Maybe if I do, I can still get out of here before I become a wraith myself…”

Clarity still looked worried, but she steeled herself.  “Let’s not waste any time then,” she declared.

“My thoughts exactly,” Dinky replied.  "Besides, Trouble ran off in there somewhere.  We should find him too.  Come on, it can’t be much further now.”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“I should have been ready,” Dinky grumbled, hanging her head low to the ground.  “I was so focused on stopping Sunbeam that I didn’t even stop to think about how cunning he is.  Of course he was going to set a trap like this.”

Clarity shrugged.  “We just misinterpreted the obstacles,” she said.  “That barrier back at the hideout was probably never meant to stop us, just to fill you with more dark magic.  That’s why there was another trap here; we were supposed to get past the first one all along.”

Dinky sulked and let off a small blast of energy that scorched one of the crystals in the wall.  “Sunbeam’s just playing with me,” she grumbled, “which is even more infuriating ‘cause he’s always so smug about being one step ahead of me. When we find him, I’m gonna… I’m gonna…”

Several particularly violent thoughts crossed Dinky’s mind.  Knowing they were a product of the dark magic and not wanting to alarm Clarity, she left her sentence unfinished.

A few moments later, the tunnel widened into a roughly circular chamber, still made entirely of crystal.  Multiple tunnels branched off in different directions, each extending further than the light the young unicorns were producing.

Dinky sucked in her breath.  “This is it,” she said curtly.  “This is the room where I’ve been in my dreams: it's the same room where Sunbeam might have corrupted me from inside my own head, if not for the intervention of that mysterious stallion.”

“Hey!” Clarity chirped, brightening suddenly.  “What if that stallion is here somewhere too?  He saved you in your dreams; maybe he’ll save you from the real Sunbeam, too!”

“That would be nice, but I wouldn’t count on it,” Dinky answered.  “Come on, we have to choose a tunnel.  Sunbeam must be around here somewhere.”

Choosing a tunnel Dinky remembered Sunbeam emerging from in one of her dreams, she led the way into the darkness.  Almost as soon as the large room faded into darkness behind them, a new one came into view up ahead.  “Get ready,” she whispered to Clarity, “he could be waiting for us…”

The fillies cautiously entered the room, casting their light around for any sign of the wraith.  What they found instead was a large, roughly circular room, again with tunnels leading off in various directions.

“It’s… it’s the same room?” Clarity asked.

“It can’t be,” Dinky replied.  “We walked straight ahead.  We can’t have wound up back where we started.  You don’t suppose this place is some kind of maze, do you?”

“I’m not sure…” Clarity mumbled, staring down each tunnel for a few moments.  “Let’s try another one.”

Dinky chose another tunnel at random.  Once again, just a short distance down it, a new room came into view, just like the ones before it.

“It is the same room!” Clarity exclaimed.  “I paid close attention to how many tunnels were in the last one, and where they were all positioned.  This room’s exactly the same.”

“How’s that possible?” Dinky asked, the black aura around her horn growing in proportion to her frustration.

“It must be an illusion,” Clarity confirmed.  “A very clever illusion, too.  It’s in line with the rest of Sunbeam’s traps; the longer we wander lost in here before finding him, the longer the dark magic will be able to eat at you.”

“No, really?” Dinky snapped.  “Can’t you dispel it or something?  You’re supposed to be the illusion expert here.”

“I can try…” Clarity said softly, already focusing her magic on the dimensions of the room.  “Just give me a second to—”

“I don’t have an extra second,” Dinky interrupted, advancing a step closer to the other filly.  “Every moment I’m getting closer and closer to that point of no return!  I can’t exactly just stand around.”

“I know,” Clarity replied, her voice growing continuously meeker.  “But it will take even longer if we just keep wandering around in here.  Please, just be patient until I can figure this out.”

Dinky sulked and quieted as Clarity studied the area.  Dully, she thought perhaps she was being a bit harsh on her friend, but quickly dismissed the idea.  This was a life or death situation, after all; she had no time for Clarity’s slacking.

The seconds of silence grew into minutes.  Dinky grew more and more agitated as Clarity continued to observe in silence.

“What’s taking so long?” she finally growled.

“I’ve almost got it, jeez” Clarity replied, exasperation causing her temper to flare slightly as well.  “I’m going as fast as I can.  Chill out.”

Although Clarity’s comment was little more than mild annoyance, it made Dinky’s blood boil.  Furious, she lunged forward, catching Clarity off guard and pinning her against the wall with her forehooves.

“W-what are you doing?” Clarity squeaked.

“Don’t tell me to chill out!” Dinky snarled, the darkness around her horn growing and causing Clarity to wince.  “If you’re gonna be this slow, maybe you should have just told me you were useless and couldn’t do it, instead of wasting all this time with your worthless attempt!”

The dangerous aura crackled loudly; a few wayward black sparks rained down, creating tiny singe marks on Clarity’s coat.  Rather than look terrified, however, Clarity simply looked sorrowful.

“That’s not the Dinky I know at all…” she whispered, staring into the glaring eyes of the enraged pony.  “Dinky, before we can focus on finding Sunbeam and saving you… maybe you should make sure there’s something left of you to save.”

Dinky stared for a long moment, processing Clarity’s words.  Slowly, she removed her hooves, and Clarity slumped to the floor, looking relieved.  With great effort, Dinky stemmed the flow of dark magic for a few seconds.

“What’s happening to me?” she asked finally, tears forming in her eyes.  “You’re my best friend, and as soon as the tiniest thing goes wrong, I just… I can’t control myself…”

The dark energy soon burst back through Dinky’s horn, and she collapsed on the floor, sobbing.  “I can’t stop it,” she gasped through the tears.  “It’s only going to get worse.  I’m going to get worse.  In a few minutes, I’ll have pushed this whole moment of remorse to the back of my mind in favor of more anger!  It’s not fair!”

Clarity said nothing.  Silently, she rose to her hooves and trotted to Dinky’s side.  Being careful to avoid contact with her horn, she leaned down and nuzzled the despairing filly’s cheek.

“Just… just go,” Dinky mumbled, flattening her ears against her head.  “You’re in danger here.  If you stay, the next time my temper flares, I might hurt you, or worse.  There’s no sense in accompanying me any further when I’m more monster than anything else.”

Clarity didn’t reply, but she didn’t leave Dinky’s side.  Eventually, the purple filly quieted her sobs enough to look up.

“What are you waiting for?” she asked, cocking her head slightly.  “Go.  See if you can find a way back to the academy, where it’s safe.”

Clarity shook her head.  “Nope.”

Dinky blinked.  “Why not?  You have no reason to stay.”

“Says who?” Clarity asked, gently nudging Dinky to get her to stand.  “Yes, there are some bad things going on in your head right now.  But as long as the Dinky I’m talking to right now keeps managing to fight her way back to the surface, there’s still a chance of getting out of this.”

“But how can you be sure I’ll be able to keep coming to my senses?” Dinky asked, carefully getting to her hooves.  “How do you know this isn’t the last time?”

“I don’t, really,” Clarity admitted.  “But I know this, Dinky.  Dark magic is really strong, but so is something everyone in Equestria values above all else.”

She smiled.  “Dinky, that something is friendship.  And you and I have the strongest friendship I’ve ever experienced.  So strong, in fact, that I don’t think it will give out unless the darkness consumes you altogether.  And we still have some time before that happens.”

For the first time since entering the crystal cave, a hint of a smile crossed Dinky’s muzzle.  “You still consider me that close of a friend?  Even after all this?”

“Of course,” Clarity affirmed.  “You’re corrupted, but that’s not your fault.  And whenever you can overcome it, you’re just as kind as you were the day I met you, I’m sure of it.”

“I hope you’re right,” Dinky said quietly.  “We still need to solve this illusion, though.”

Clarity laughed.  “Well, despite your little outburst, I wasn’t lying when I said I almost had it,” she replied.  “Here, look.”

Clarity’s cinnamon glow grew brighter, and one by one the tunnels surrounding them faded away, while a new passage became visible in what appeared to be solid stone.

“After you,” Clarity said politely, gesturing to the tunnel and giving her companion a small grin.

Nodding and trying to keep her spirits high, Dinky obliged, and once again led the way into deeper darkness.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Clarity is my friend.  Friendship is stronger than the darkness.

It had been about ten minutes since the incident in the illusion chamber, and already, Dinky was beginning to feel unreasonable frustration at her situation creeping back into the corners of her mind.  She repeated her new mantra to herself again and again, determined not to let herself turn on her dedicated friend again.  For now, it seemed to be working.

“I’m surprised we haven’t seen Trouble yet,” Clarity said, finally breaking the silence.  “Do you think he went deeper into the cave, or did he get past us and make his way back out when we were combating the illusion?”

“Let’s hope it’s the latter,” Dinky replied.  “Trouble doesn’t need to get mixed up in what’s going to happen down there.”

Clarity nodded, glancing around the crystal tunnel nervously.  Dinky paused for a few seconds before speaking again.

“Speaking of which, do you think Sunbeam knows we’re here?”

“Probably,” Clarity sighed.  “I’m sorry to say it, but chances to outsmart him have been scarce.  I doubt this will be one of them; tonight’s too important to Sunbeam.  I don’t think we’ve got a chance of beating him on a small strategic error or a loophole.  We have to turn his whole plan on its head.”

The fillies rounded a corner and were faced with an unexpected sight.  The tunnel continued in much the same manner, but several dozen of the crystals lining the walls glowed a sinister purple instead of the usual soft blue.  The light they gave off danced and writhed inside them, as if the glassy walls were holding it in.

Full of trepidation, Dinky took a slow step forward.  The purple lights responded to her movement, glowing more brightly against whichever surfaces of the crystals were facing her, and crackling faintly.

“Oh, wonderful,” she sighed, hanging her head.  “Another trap.  This one doesn’t even make an attempt to hide itself.  Obviously as soon as I try to walk through, the crystals will burst and all that energy will come at me.”

“Let me take a look then,” Clarity suggested, trotting forward.  “They shouldn’t pose any danger to me, right?”

The grey filly moved cautiously forward.  As expected, the crystals did not respond.  Delicately, she raised a hoof and touched one.

“Seems pretty solid,” she commented, tugging on the purple stone gently.  “I don’t think I’m gonna be able to get any of them out of the wall.”

Dinky hung her head.  “What am I supposed to do now?” she asked.  “It’s not like I can find a way around.”

Clarity didn’t immediately respond.  She rubbed her chin with a forehoof thoughtfully.

If she wasn’t so incompetent and weak, she’d have been able to help you get through.

Dinky gritted her teeth and pushed the angry sentiments from her mind.

No.  It’s not Clarity’s fault.  Clarity is my friend.  Friendship can overcome the darkness.

“…Dinky,” Clarity said, interrupting her friend’s inner battle, “I… I wonder if maybe this isn’t really a trap after all.”

“Huh?”   Dinky scratched her head and stared quizzically at Clarity.

“Think about it,” the grey filly continued.  “If Sunbeam was going to set another trap that would force you to absorb excess magic, he would have just set another barrier for you to drain like the one we encountered at the hideout.”

“How do you explain the crystals then?” Dinky replied, gesturing rather forcefully at the dark crystals as if Clarity had somehow overlooked them.

Clarity seemed to take a moment to collect her thoughts before answering.  “From what I know of Sunbeam, it seems like he’s always trying to get you to believe something other than the truth.  He keeps you confused so he can manipulate you, right?”

“Don’t remind me,” Dinky growled.  “What does that have to do with this?”

“I think he’s using the same strategy here,” Clarity explained.  “I guess I could be wrong, but I think perhaps these crystals were placed to make you think you needed to try to avoid them, so you’d stall for a while and try to figure out a safe way past.  That way, the dark aura of the cave can continue to corrupt you while you waste time solving the puzzle.”

Dinky was quiet for a long moment.  “What if you’re wrong?” she asked finally.

Clarity sighed.  “I hope to Celestia I’m not,” she said softly.  “But I don’t see how you can possibly pass safely if they are dangerous.  So maybe our best bet is to hope they aren’t.”

You shouldn’t trust her.  She’s foolish.  She’s going to put you in greater danger.

Clarity is my friend.  Friendship is stronger than the darkness.

“Dinky, we shouldn’t dawdle here longer than we have to,” Clarity pointed out, flipping her mane nervously.  “I need you to trust me, please.”

She’s rushing you.  Don’t let her pressure you like that!

Clarity is my friend.  Friendship is stronger than the darkness.

Shaking, Dinky took a single step forward, followed by another, and another.  With each step, the magic inside the crystals convulsed, thrashing against their facets to try to get at her, but they did not break.  For a few dozen pony lengths, she watched apprehensively, but nothing changed.  Soon, the corrupt crystals stopped appearing, leaving only the familiar blue coating the tunnel ahead.

Clarity grinned.  “Told ya.”

Breathing a long sigh of relief, Dinky trotted toward the cave wall and sat down on a sickly-looking patch of black moss, trying to catch her breath.  “How’d you know?” she asked incredulously.

Clarity shrugged.  “I guess it just seemed like what Sunbeam would do.  He’s smart, but maybe he’s not impossible to figure out.”

Dinky chewed her lip thoughtfully.  “You know, it’s not just Sunbeam you’ve got figured out,” she pointed out.  “Seems like you’ve got a pretty good handle on how everypony works.”

Clarity cocked her head, flattening one ear and looking confused.  “What do you mean?”

“Well, think about it!” Dinky said, trying to recall some notable examples.  “We might not have become friends with Honeydew and Scuffle if it wasn’t for you.  Back on our first day at the academy, you were the one who figured out that Honeydew was just scared, rather than antisocial.  And Scuffle seemed like nothing but a bully to Honeydew and me at first.  You were the first of us to think maybe he wasn’t all bad.”

Clarity looked uncertain.  “That’s just them, though.  When you spend a lot of time around somepony, of course you’re going to start to figure out how they work.”

“What about Nester then?” Dinky asked.  “I might have wound up getting him kicked out of the academy if you hadn’t kept me from being so impulsive and not giving him a chance.  And on a related note, I think you were the first one who suspected there might not be something totally wholesome about Sunbeam, back when I first met him.  Obviously I really regret not trusting you on that one.”

Clarity opened her mouth to interject, but Dinky, clearly on a roll now, simply continued.

“We can’t forget about Sparkler!” she added.  “Even when we had very little evidence, you were the one claiming there was something under Sparkler’s superficial attitude that we had to flush out.”

“Well, that—”

“Oh, and you caught on to Scuffle’s little crush on Honeydew long before I would have.  Don’t forget about that.”

“Alright already!” Clarity said loudly, giggling and blushing at the shower of praise for her wit.  “You have a point.  I have figured a lot of ponies out.”

Dinky nodded as she returned to a standing position.  “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that you knew what Sunbeam was thinking with this latest trap,” she admitted.  “You were just as valuable back there as you were with taking care of that illusion a little while ago.”

Clarity smiled.  “You know, now that I think about it, it makes sense, in a way,” she said with a soft chuckle.  “I’m none too shabby at seeing through magical illusions, but maybe what I’m really great at is seeing past the illusions created by a pony’s actions and into the truth in their hearts.”

Suddenly, the tunnel filled with a white light, interrupting the conversation and causing both fillies to look up and down the passage in search of a source.  Just a moment later, the glow faded as quickly as it had come.

“Whoa, what in Equestria was that?” Clarity asked nervously, staring into the darkness ahead.  “It was so bright…”

Dinky turned to face her friend, and immediately broke into a grin.  “I think I know what it was,” she said gleefully.  “Check your flank, Clarity.”

Clarity blinked as comprehension set in, and then whipped her head around to examine herself.  On her formerly-bare flank was an image of a bright red heart with a small black keyhole in the center.  Along the lower right margin of the heart was a tiny golden key.”

“M-my cutie mark…” she stuttered.  “My special talent is unlocking the truth in other ponies’ hearts?”

“It certainly looks like it,” Dinky answered.  “It’s funny.  In retrospect, it seems kind of obvious, but I guess that’s how cutie marks are supposed to be, isn’t it?”

Clarity giggled, still ogling the cutie mark with awe.  “Speaking of obvious,” she began, “look at what this happy occasion and cheerful reminiscing has done.  You’re looking better than you have since we first entered this horrible place.”

In truth, Dinky had momentarily forgotten that her horn was encased in an aura of blackness.  “You’re right, as usual,” she told her friend.  “A little positivity goes a long way, even now.  I just might get out of this after all.”

“Only if we stop wasting time,” Clarity pointed out.  “Let’s keep moving.”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yip!

Dinky’s ears perked up.  “Did you hear that?”

Clarity nodded and stood still, swiveling her own ears forward to listen for more sound.

The tunnel had been steadily descending for a while now.  Dinky didn’t want to think about just how big this accursed cave was, and how deep underground they must have been by now.  But after a quarter hour of silence, a high pitched sound echoed through the passage.

Yip!  Yip!

“Is that… Trouble?” Clarity whispered.  “Did he actually wander all the way down here?”

“Let’s get closer,” Dinky quietly replied.

Stepping as softly as possible, the pair of ponies made their way down the slope.  Moments later, the sound returned.

Yip yip yip!  Yip!

“Hush, you infuriating creature!” came a sinister voice.  “I do not need you interrupting me, no I do not.”

Dinky exchanged a nervous glance with Clarity.  “Sunbeam,” she mouthed.

Just a few more pony-lengths down, the tunnel finally bottomed out, giving way to a large, roughly circular room.  Hiding out of sight in the shadows, Dinky gaped at what lay before her.

The chamber was surprisingly bright compared to the rest of the cave, although this was due primarily to the black and purple flames that burned on a series of pedestals around the outer edge of the room.  Directly ahead was a structure Dinky could only describe as a crude altar; a flat slab of smooth, shiny black stone was placed atop a rough outcropping of crystal jutting from the floor.  Scorpio’s mark, radiating more purple light, had been carved into the crystal base.  The altar was littered with a few dusty scrolls and tattered tomes.

On either side of the altar was a pair of statues.  The creatures they depicted were nothing short of horrifying; the twisted abominations were roughly pony shaped, but their features were warped and exaggerated, and their expressions anguished.  In each statue’s mouth was a smooth, glassy orb, not unlike the illumination orbs at the academy, although these emitted no light.

The floor of this room was made of black bedrock rather than crystal.  A large circle, with a diameter nearly twice the length of an adult pony, was drawn on the ground near the altar in some shimmering substance.  Drawn within the circle was a very intricate rendition of Scorpio’s symbol, which rhythmically pulsed with light.

All this, however, was a secondary observation to a much more disconcerting sight.  Sunbeam himself stood facing the altar, resting his forehooves on its surface as he pored over the assembled materials.  Dinky strained to hear what he was mumbling to himself, but was unable to catch anything intelligible.  Black sparks shot from his horn occasionally, causing the symbols of Scorpio to glow brighter for a moment whenever they did.

Yip yip!

Dinky’s gaze snapped to the source of the sound.  An orange blur darted out from behind the altar, coming to a halt beside Sunbeam and yipping loudly.

Growling, Sunbeam turned to face the fox and lifted him in a dark aura, causing no small amount of surprise on Trouble’s part.  “Fine, you nuisance,” he hissed.  “If you’re not going to leave me in peace, I’ll silence you myself, yes I will!”

“Don’t you dare hurt Trouble.”

Sunbeam tensed.  Still facing the altar, he slowly lowered Trouble to the floor.  The fox growled and then darted away to some dark corner of the room.

“Why Dinky, how good to see you,” the wraith said, finally turning to face the fillies.  “I suspected it was merely a matter of time before you found your way here, yes I did.  It was inevitable.”

“Save it, Sunbeam, or… whoever you are,” Dinky replied, annoyed.  

He paused for a moment, eyeing Clarity with a clear hint of curiosity.  “You brought backup?” he asked.  “Not a problem, but quite unexpected, yes it is.  I would have expected Clarity to have separated herself from you long before you reached this place.  After all, wraiths don’t make for very good company.”

“I’m not a wraith,” Dinky said defiantly.  “Your magic hasn’t consumed me just yet.”

Sunbeam threw back his head and laughed.  “A wonderful act!” he chuckled, stomping his forehooves delightedly.  “Your lies are wasted on me, though, yes they are.  You’re simply hiding your true form, exactly as I am.  Nopony could absorb so much dark magic without it taking control of them.”

Clarity glanced at Dinky nervously.  “He’s, uh… he’s wrong, I hope?” she asked.

“Of course he’s wrong!” Dinky replied heatedly.  “C’mon, Clarity, it’s still me! For now, at least.”

“Or perhaps, Clarity, that’s merely what Dinky wants you to think, yes it is,” Sunbeam said smoothly.  “If she is indeed a wraith, obviously you would not be able to trust her.”

Clarity looked back and forth between Dinky and Sunbeam.  The doubt in her eyes hurt Dinky far worse than the pain that came from trying to stifle her dark magic.

“Clarity…”

Clarity wheeled suddenly and took a step toward Sunbeam.  “I don’t care what you say!” she snarled.  “My special talent is seeing what’s really going on inside a pony, and right now, I believe with all my heart that Dinky is still my friend!  Nothing you can say or do will change that.”

“Suit yourself,” Sunbeam said with a casual shrug.  “Your opinion, and for that matter, your presence here, is irrelevant.  This is between me and Dinky, yes it is.”

“Which leads me to the question I’ve been looking for an answer to all year long,” Dinky cut in.  “What in the name of Equestria and all the worlds beyond it are you actually up to.”

Sunbeam smiled.  “Surely you harbor a guess or two, without me saying anything at all.”

Dinky looked around the strange room.  “It seems like some kind of ritual,” she admitted.  “Scorpio’s symbol is everywhere; I’ve been seeing it all night in various places.  I suppose you’re trying to tap into Scorpio’s power to make yourself into a substantial threat to Equestria or something like that.”

Sunbeam’s grin grew wider.  “You need to think bigger, yes you do!” he announced, apparently hardly able to contain his glee.  “Most wraiths lust for power, but I am not like the many before me.  I have seen the bigger picture.  I have realized the only way for dark magic to reach its fullest potential and consume all of Equestria, yes I have.  But to complete my objective, I need your help, and it is for that reason that I pulled you into all this in the first place.”

“But what is that objective?!” Dinky cried, her horn sparking as she grew furious with frustration.

Sunbeam cackled.  “Together, Dinky Doo, we will recreate an era of darkness that was cut short in its prime many eons ago, yes we will.  Together, we will bear witness to the reinstatement of the true master of all the wraiths.  Together… we will bring Scorpio back to this world.”

Dinky’s jaw dropped as she realized the magnitude of Sunbeam’s intentions.  “Now you’re just spouting nonsense!” she snapped, whipping her tail threateningly.  “Scorpio’s sealed away in the stars, but even if you could bring her back, I’d never help you with something like that.”

“I thought you might say that,” Sunbeam cooed.  “Even in your new form, your hatred of me is still overpowering your desire for her return, yes it is.”

His horn crackled ominously.  “So since I can’t convince you, I’ll just have to make you submit!”

Before Dinky could react, Sunbeam hurled a bolt of black energy at her.  The instant it made contact, the filly realized this was nothing like the stinging stunning spells Sparkler had used on her just a few hours before.  As the attack struck, fiery pain shot through every nerve in her body.  She cried out, but even her agonized gasp came out sounding strangled.

Sunbeam watched with amusement as Clarity rushed to Dinky’s side, but Dinky shook off the attack almost immediately, dark-magic-fueled rage quickly numbing the pain.  “Get back, Clarity,” shooing her friend away with a forehoof.

“But I can help!” Clarity replied urgently.  “Since you can’t hold back your dark magic right now, you can’t use your regular magic against him.”

Dinky jumped as another bolt of darkness struck near her hooves, and fired one of her own back at Sunbeam, who leapt out of its path with a gleefully mocking expression.  “Well… alright, but be careful!” she conceded.  “He’s really dangerous.”

“I noticed,” Clarity replied.  “You fight.  I’ll cover you with support spells.”

“It’s hardly the time to be having a friendly conversation, no it is not!” Sunbeam laughed, charging up a much larger blast of dark magic.  “Fight me, or submit and lend me your power!”

Dinky charged forward suddenly, taking Sunbeam by surprise.  The colt fired his spell, but in his haste his aim was imperfect.  The energy struck the floor where Dinky had been standing an instant before, cracking the rock.

Seeing an opening, Dinky leapt into the air, letting multiple black bolts fly from her horn.  Sunbeam countered instantly, creating a field of energy that deflected all the attacks.  His response was so fast that he had time to create a bolt of his own.  Dinky, still falling back to earth from her leap, had no opportunity to dodge.  The magic struck her squarely in the chest, sending her tumbling and crashing to the stone floor on her back.

“You may be a wraith, but you’re merely a fledgling, yes you are,” Sunbeam laughed, watching with sadistic amusement as Dinky struggled to get up.  “Never fear.  After a few years basking in Scorpio’s majesty, you’ll have mastered dark magic.  Too bad that won’t help you now, no it won’t.”

A ring of darkness encircled Sunbeam’s horn, growing until it was a disc more than a pony length wide.  “Wait till you see what this does…” he cackled.  Craning his neck back and then throwing it forward, he sent the disc in Dinky’s direction.  The instant it connected, however, the filly vanished.

“What?” Sunbeam questioned.  “But…”

Suddenly, Dinky flickered back into view elsewhere in the chamber.  “What’s the matter?” she asked, feigning innocence.  “Is your aim not as good as you thought?”

“Illusions are mere parlor tricks, yes they are,” Sunbeam growled, creating another disc and refusing to acknowledge Dinky’s mocking.  “You can’t flee forever.”

Again, Sunbeam threw the disc, and again, Dinky vanished, appearing elsewhere a moment later.  Rather than remain idle, however, she immediately counterattacked, and this time, Sunbeam wasn’t ready.  He cried out as the painful spell collided with his small frame.

“Tricky,” he replied icily, forming his disc spell yet again.  “Yet by dark magic standards, such an attack is feeble, yes it is.  You won’t be striking anypony down with that, no you will not.”

He reared up to throw the next disc.  Dinky, under the cover of invisibility, had already moved to a new location, while her illusive doppelganger stood defiantly before her attacker.  However, Sunbeam did not throw the disc at the illusion.  Instead, he hurled it toward the tunnel entrance, where Clarity was standing.

Dinky gasped, but had no time to even call out to her friend.  Concentrating on the illusion, Clarity was completely unable to escape the incoming spell.  Upon reaching her, the ring slowed to a stop, hovering around her as she stood in the hollow center.

Sunbeam grinned.  “You didn’t think I would let your interference with our battle go unchecked, did you, Clarity?” he asked.  “You’ll pay for meddling in the affairs of wraiths.”

The dark circle encompassing Clarity began to rise, and the terrified filly rose with it.  More rings burst forth from the first one, surrounding her at different angles like orbital paths around a giant atom.  Panicked, she looked at Dinky.

“D-Dinky… help…”

And then suddenly, the sphere that the rings had formed was filled with black lightning.  Clarity gave an anguished shriek and flailed about as the searing darkness attacked her from every angle.  The agony in her cry hurt Dinky more than even Sunbeam’s attacks.

The room was filled with a terrible din, a mixture of Clarity’s cries, the lightning’s crackle, and Sunbeam’s delighted laughter.  But in spite of the distracting noise, Dinky’s next thought was crystal clear.

Free Clarity, by any means necessary.

Dinky didn’t feel herself move.  She hardly noticed the pain of one of Sunbeam’s bolts striking her as she turned away from him.  All she could see was Clarity trapped in that horrible spell.

Without even the slightest hesitation, she stuck her horn into the floating orb, and focused on absorbing the magic, just as she had at the barrier at the hideout.

Hardly a second later, the sphere disappeared, and Clarity dropped to the floor, moaning.  Sunbeam, caught off guard by the desperate solution, watched with interest.

Dinky was not able to see either of them, though.  She stood stone still, her horn crackling loudly.  Voices called out in her head, as they had the last time she’d absorbed a large amount of dark energy.  This time however, among all the nonsensical calls of the lost voices, one spoke clearly, in a soft, soothing female voice.

“You have so much darkness within you,” the whisper said calmly.  “The burden must be enormous.”

“Y-yes,” Dinky stuttered, finding it hard to remember what she was doing immediately before.  “It’s so hard to fight it…”

“Then don’t,” the whisper replied, though it sounded like merely a polite suggestion, not a command.  “End the suffering.  Let the part of yourself that hurts go…”

“Can… can I do that?” Dinky asked.  

“Oh, yes,” the voice cooed.  “It would be so easy…”

A muffled voice made Dinky’s ears perk up.  It was hard to make out what it was saying, but whatever it was, it was drawing her attention away from the soothing whisper.  It repeated the same word again and again, until Dinky finally realized it was simply her name.

“Dinky!  Dinky!”

Dinky shook her head violently.  The blackness clouding her vision faded away, and a blurry Clarity came into view.

“Dinky, why did you do that?  You can’t afford to take in any more dark magic!”

Dinky shook her head.  “Never mind me.  Are you okay?”

Clarity nodded.  “Sore, but I’ll be alright.  I still think you shouldn’t have done that, but thanks.”

Dinky nuzzled her friend, being careful not to touch her with her crackling horn.

“How touching,” Sunbeam said coldly.  “Of course, Clarity, taking in such energy will not harm a wraith like Dinky, no it will not.  She must have some need of your aid, still.  Otherwise, she’d have left you to die.”

Dinky turned around, glaring at Sunbeam and gritting her teeth as the black aura around her horn grew.  “You can try to psych Clarity out all you want,” she said slowly.  “It’s not going to work.  All it’s going to do is make it even more fun for me to make you pay for what you just did to her.”

Sunbeam smirked.  “Prove you’re not as helpless as I say, then!”

A furious battle cry bubbled up in Dinky’s throat.  Roaring out threats, she charged toward Sunbeam, firing bolts of dark magic as fast as she could.  Sunbeam took off, staying a few steps ahead and firing back attacks of his own.  Clarity retreated to the mouth of the tunnel again as the wild game of cat and mouse continued.

Sunbeam jumped into the air and turned himself so his hooves connected with one of the glasslike orbs held by one of the statues.  He vaulted off it just as Dinky fired a spell, and responded by firing one of his own bolts not at her, but at the statue at the opposite side of the altar.  Dinky’s spell struck one orb at exactly the same moment Sunbeam’s struck the other, and both of them immediately radiated startlingly bright purple light.

“Yes!” the colt cried triumphantly.  “That’s it!  That’s it!  You’ve done it now, Dinky, yes you have!”

Boiling over with animalistic anger, Dinky paid absolutely no attention to Sunbeam’s raving as she chased him around the room.  She did notice when the ground beneath her began to rumble and shake.  She skidded to a halt, trying not to lose her balance as the earth rocked beneath her.

“What’s happening?” she asked, fear setting in and causing the relentless rage to abate for a moment.  “What did you do?”

“What did I do?”  Sunbeam asked innocently, putting a hoof to his chest.  “This is what we did, Dinky, yes it is.  My magic and yours, combined.”

Dinky glanced at the brightly glowing orbs.  The churning light inside them gradually began to form a familiar, fiery shape: Scorpio’s symbol, once again.  Slowly, it dawned on her what must have happened.

“Wait… the orbs, what… what are they?”

Sunbeam grinned.  “Why, they are the two locks keeping the portal to the Realm of Stars sealed.  Unlocking them was the very last step in opening the way for Scorpio, yes it was.”

Dinky and Clarity exchanged a panicked glance.  “I don’t buy it,” Dinky said, trying to sound less threatened than she felt.  “If all it takes to unlock them is a little bolt of dark magic, why didn’t you open them yourself?”

Sunbeam prepared to respond, but stopped himself.  “We have a few moments before the magic reaches its peak,” he said finally, taking on a surprisingly polite tone.  “Now that it’s too late to change fate, I’ll answer not only that, but all your questions.  And it is too late, by the way; neither offensive magic nor physical force will damage the orbs, and the magic put in cannot be drained away, so there’s no reason to try, no there is not.”

“Alright, begin at the beginning,” Clarity said, stumbling a few times as she endured the shaking to cautiously move to Dinky’s side.  “How does this ritual work, and why did you decide Dinky had to become involved?”

Sunbeam again prepared to respond, but the Scorpio symbols around the room began to flash more rapidly, and he paused once more.  “First, I must be recognizable for her return,” he said, staring at the flashing rune.  “This disguise no longer serves a purpose anyway.”

And just like that, “Sunbeam” melted away into a cloud of thick black smoke.  The only part of the original pony that remained visible were the bright blue eyes, which stared unblinkingly at the startled fillies.  The whites of the eyes had vanished, leaving just two circles of blue.  These were the eyes Dinky had seen watching her in the forest so many times before.

Then, slowly, the amorphous mass began to take a new shape.  As it rose into the air, four legs, much longer than a young colt’s extended to meet the floor.  Their fur was so black, Dinky was unsure if it was fur at all; it looked like darkness itself, made solid.  Smoke pooled around the hooves, although its source was unclear.

The new body continued to form, conforming for the most part to the shape of a tall, sleek stallion.  The flank, once it appeared, was devoid of any sort of cutie mark, and the tail, made of much wispier stuff than the body itself, gradually changed from hair at the base to churning smoke at the tip.

Eventually, a head formed, again looking much like a fit stallion, with a defined chin and strong jaw.  If not for the curved horn that formed along with it, and the fangs that appeared in its mouth, it would have been quite handsome.  A black mane of the same type of strange substance as the tail billowed above it.  The eyes, still bright blue, took on another form, with the whites returning, but the pupil slightly more slit-like than it had been before.

'Sunbeam' chuckled darkly at the fillies’ shocked expressions.  “Did you expect my true form to be equally young?” he asked in a voice far deeper than his disguise’s had been.  "Sunbeam was a convenient cover, but the true Sunbeam and I are different entities entirely."

“Then who are you?” Dinky asked.  “I’ve never heard of any modern wraiths besides King Sombra, and he’s been destroyed.”

The stallion snorted.  “Why, I am Antares!” he announced.  “Surely Equestria fears my name nearly as much as Scorpio’s, yes it does?”

The fillies shook their heads in unison.  “Dark magic isn’t exactly widely, talked about, but I’ve never heard of you,” Clarity replied.

Antares looked indignant.  “I am the original wraith!” he cried. “I stood by Scorpio’s side as she created the first dark spells, yes I did.  I am the first pony to have fully accepted and embraced her all-powerful darkness.  The brightest star in her constellation bears my name!”

Dinky vaguely recalled seeing 'Antares' written on one of her star charts for Astronomy class.  She had never paid the name a second thought.  “If you were Scorpio’s assistant, does that mean you’ve been around for thousands of years?”

“It means exactly that,” Antares replied, tossing his airy mane proudly.  “I am not immortal, but I have found many ways to use dark magic to extend my lifespan, yes I have.  However, most wraiths throughout history have tended to try to dominate Equestria on their own power.  Ultimately, dangerous as they are, they always seem to lose, yes they do.  So I decided to lie low instead, waiting centuries, and even millennia, for an opportunity to bring back the one entity who can absolutely ensure Equestria is overcome by darkness: Scorpio herself.

He stared fondly at the large circle drawn on the floor, with the symbol in the center flashing faster with each passing moment.  The room gave a particularly violent rumble, causing Dinky and Clarity to pitch sideways.  Antares gracefully maintained his balance.

“It took me hundreds of years to find this place, yes it did” he continued, running a hoof along the stone floor fondly as if the chamber was a precious treasure.  “It was sealed completely; only through faint traces of dark energy was I able to find its location and reopen what was hidden underground.  This place was created before even Scorpio’s time, and is the only link I’ve ever found between Equestria and the Realm of Stars, yes it is.  It took hundreds of years more to figure out how I could reopen the gateway, and even with that knowledge, the energy of the stars is only strong enough to do so on one night every forty years.

“Forty years…” Dinky repeated, chewing her lip thoughtfully.  “But wait, does that mean—”

Antares grinned.  “Correct.  The true Sunbeam was the last pony I made an attempt to corrupt.  But the foolish colt destroyed himself with careless use of dark magic before he could be any use to me, yes he did.  You, Dinky, nearly did the same, yes you did.  If your princess had not made the error of allowing you to continue your study here, my plan would likely have fallen apart.”

Dinky scowled.  He had her there.

“And so, after the last failure, I waited patiently for forty years longer,” Antares mused, “waiting for the perfect colt or filly to help me.  One with a strong mind and great skill, but unfortunately no knowledge of the dangers of dark magic.  This was the kind of pony in which I needed to plant a seed of corruption, and that pony was you, yes it was.  In case my plan went sour, I assumed the form of Sunbeam to cover my tracks; obviously nopony would believe you if you said a dead colt from forty years prior was wandering school grounds, no they would not.”

The floor suddenly vibrated violently, and the rock within the circle drawn on the floor began to buckle.  More smoke seeped out through the newly formed cracks.

“Finally, it came time for the ritual itself,” Antares added.  “I’d completed all the steps once again.  I drew the symbols and imbued them with dark energy.  I recited all the proper incantations from some of Scorpio’s most accursed tomes, yes I did.  All that was left was to undo the locks, and for that I needed you.”

He took a step closer, causing Dinky to assume a more apprehensive pose.  “You see, whoever designed the locks in ages past was no fool, no they were not.  Two different ponies, or in this case, wraiths, were needed to open them.  Even if one pony could fire two spells in different directions, it would have no effect.  A clever move on the part of the creator, yes it was, as wraiths do not tend to cooperate, but instead simply try to outdo one another, as they have ever since Scorpio was banished.”

He grinned.  “Of course, this means my psychological tricks had the desired effect, yes they did.  If you’d simply stayed at the Academy and didn’t make any attempt to hinder my plans, it would have been impossible to complete the ritual!  Ironic, yes it is.”

The weight of the mistake was like a physical burden.  Dinky felt weak in the knees.

Antares seemed to relish her despair.  “Now that the portal is about to open, there’s just one final thing that must happen to bring Scorpio back to us.”

Dinky swallowed.  “And what would that be?”

The sound of rapid, rushing air filled the room, and the Scorpio circle on the floor collapsed entirely, all the rock within being pulled through and falling into a void beneath.  Antares began to laugh.  “You’re about to find out!” he cried.

Bright light radiated from the portal.  Even from a few paces away, Dinky could see what appeared to be the night sky on the other side of the hole, only the stars were far brighter and more pronounced than usual.  The strange stars danced through the air as if they were alive.

The shaking ground finally stilled.  Dinky, Clarity, and Antares all stood transfixed, waiting for something to happen.  After a few moments of silence, something did.

A single tendril, long and snakelike, and made of a similar smoke-like substance to the kind that rolled off Antares’ body, rose out of the portal.  The tip of it swiveled irregularly, as if scanning the room for something specific.  Feeling more than a little uncomfortable, Dinky began to back away.

“You cannot leave,” Antares said levelly.  “This is the other reason I need you here.”

Dinky ignored him and attempted to make her way up into the tunnel, but found her way blocked by another barrier, just like the one at the entrance to the cave.  She was stuck at the ritual shrine with Antares and that… thing in the portal.  Once again, the barrier did not impede Clarity, who backed a few paces into the tunnel and continued to watch the situation concernedly.

The smoky tendril ceased its examining, and then slowly began to extend further from the opening and move towards Dinky.  Backed against a wall, she could only watch it approach.

“Now we arrive at the reason it was unlikely for two wraiths to ever intentionally open this gateway,” Antares said smugly, giving his tail an excited swish.  “You see, Scorpio is not in any corporeal form right now.  Such things cannot exist in the Realm of Stars.  But she can’t exactly take over Equestria without her body, no she cannot.  She can regain it, of course.  But to do so… she must steal that right to a physical body from somepony else.  A wraith must be sacrificed."

Dinky had only a moment to take in what this meant before the tendril was upon her.  It stretched in circles around her, carefully examining her quivering form with its tip.  However, it didn’t make any attempt to capture her.  Several tense seconds passed, and then she reached out to try to nudge it away from her.  Her hoof passed right through; the tendril was still nothing but a long projection of wispy blackness.

Antares’ eyes widened.  “What?”  Why… why hasn’t it taken you?”

Dinky’s yellow eyes met the wraith’s blue ones.  “You said it has to be a wraith that gets sacrificed, right?” she asked tentatively.  “Not a pony?”

“Of course,” Antares snapped, as if the question was offensive.  “A weak little pony would not be suitable to recreate a dark mage as powerful as Scorpio.”

In spite of everything, Dinky smiled.  “I told you when I got here, Antares, I may be corrupt, but I’m not a wraith.  I guess that means Scorpio will have to find somepony else…”

Confirming Dinky’s statement, the tendril turned away from Dinky.  It hesitated for a few seconds, and then began to float across the room toward Antares.  His pupils contracted.

“I-Impossible!” he shouted, scampering backwards.  “I’ve exposed you to more dark magic than even the strongest pony should be able to endure!  You can’t… you can’t seriously tell me a mere filly has resisted transformation in spite of all that!”

Dinky shrugged.  “I don’t understand it either.  But I can’t be sacrificed if I’m not a wraith.  Unfortunately, you are…”

Antares bolted for the tunnel, but the tendril reacted immediately.  It snapped toward his hind leg, suddenly solidifying as soon as it got a grip.  The wraith cried out and lost his balance, landing hard on the stone floor.

Immediately, several more tendrils rose out of the portal.  They whipped toward their victim, fastening themselves onto his other back leg or around his torso, ignoring his struggles to free himself.

“No!” Antares cried as he was dragged along.  “Scorpio, it’s me, your faithful servant Antares, yes it is!  You’ve got the wrong wraith!  Just give me a few minutes and I can provide you with a freshly corrupted one, yes I can!”

The tendrils didn’t seem convinced.  Another one wrapped itself around Antares’ neck.  Collectively, they had enough leverage to cease dragging him, instead lifting him into the air.

“P-please!” Antares choked.  “This was not the plan!  Release me and I can bring you another, I swear it, yes I do!”

In another moment, he was held directly over the portal.  He peered down into the hole, looking terrified.

“No…” he whispered.  “No, no, no—”

And then, all at once, he was yanked downwards.  Partially freeing a forehoof, he caught the lip of the portal, keeping his head above the rim for a few seconds.  In that moment, he locked eyes with Dinky one last time.  If he planned to say something, he thought better of it.

Then the tendrils increased their strength, and the wraith lost his grip.

“Noooooooooooooooo—”

There was a bang like a cannon blast, and bolts of light, both piercing white ones and jet black ones, began to shoot from the portal.  Dinky took cover low to the ground as the lights collided with the walls, chipping or even shattering crystals whenever they touched.

Clarity was yelling something, but the cacophony drowned out her exact words.  Dinky put her forehooves over her head and shivered.

This is it… she thought miserably.  Equestria’s about to have a very unwelcome visitor…

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Very few ponies in Equestria were awake between three and four in the morning.  Most were sound asleep, tucked under the covers in their warm, quiet homes.  Few, if any, were out looking at the night sky at such an hour.

Therefore, almost nopony noticed when a certain set of stars directly overhead began to flicker.  One by one, the stars glowed brightly for a moment, and then went out completely.  Within a minute or two, there was a patch of sky devoid of starlight.

The constellation Scorpio had vanished.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dinky cautiously lifted a hoof away from her face, peering out with one eye.  The lightning had mostly stopped, save for an occasional bolt now and then.  She shuddered, trying not to think too hard about the details of the fate that had just befallen Antares.

“Dinky!  Are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” Dinky said, slowly standing and trotting over to Clarity.  She noticed with great relief that the barrier keeping her confined in the ritual chamber was no longer active.

Clarity sighed, relieved.  “Anyway, listen!” she said urgently.  “I hear voices, and hoofsteps.  Somepony… or rather, a lot of someponies, are on their way down here.”

Dinky glanced at the portal.  A feeling of malevolence was intensifying the longer it remained open.  “Should we head up the tunnel and meet them?” she asked.  “We should try to get out of here before—”

Dinky was interrupted as a few figures appeared in the darkness of the upper tunnel.  Their voices were familiar.

“Hello?” she called.

The voices stopped.  “Was that—” someone began.

“It was!” came a voice that Dinky recognized immediately.  “Dinky!  Thank Celestia you’re okay!”

The figure at the head of the group drew close enough to be visible even in the low light.  Ditzy Doo’s unusual eyes were full of happy tears as she rushed forward to her daughter.

“Careful!” came another voice, which Dinky knew had to belong to none other than Twilight Sparkle.  “Don’t touch her horn, Ditzy.  She’s under the influence of some dark magic.”

To Dinky’s astonishment, still more ponies from Ponyville stepped into the ritual chamber behind Ditzy and Twilight.  Breeze, Cloudcover, and Watt were there, all looking equally exhausted but thoroughly thrilled to have found who they were looking for.

“Mom… Miss Twilight…” Dinky breathed.  “But… how did you all find me?”

“With this,” came another voice.

Cloudcover lowered his wings and a tiny colt hopped off his back.  Dinky’s expression became even more amazed as Pipsqueak trotted over to her.

“P-Pip…”

“Your pendant, Dinky!” Pipsqueak announced, holding up the matching one around his neck.  “I don’t know how, but it told me you were in danger.  It led us right to you, too!  We were all terrified you’d be hurt, or worse.”

“It’s not supposed to do anything like that,” Dinky said, confused.  “I mean, I’m glad it did, but… how strange…”

“Oh, so this is the Pipsqueak I’ve heard so much about?” Clarity asked, trotting over to the other foals.  “You’ll have to introduce me once we get out of here.”

Dinky nodded, but remembering the gravity of the situation, quickly pushed any pleasantries out of her mind.  “Listen everypony, I know you all want to celebrate now that you found me in one piece, but there’s something really bad happening right now and we need to—”

“Something bad is happening,” said Twilight sternly. “Dinky, why are you using dark magic again?”

“I-I can’t help it, Miss Twilight,” Dinky stuttered, still stunned by everything that was happening.  “This place, its dark aura is so strong, I can’t hold it back.”

“That reminds me, how did you and Clarity wind up in this dodgy place?” Cloudcover asked.  “You’re miles from school, after all.”

“I’ll explain it all soon!” Dinky said loudly, trying to stem the flurry of questions.  “Right now though, we need to get out of here!”

“Dinky’s right,” said Ditzy decisively.  “Something doesn’t feel right.  Let’s get back to the academy.”

“Aww, leaving so soon?” came a new, yet somehow familiar voice.  “Surely you can stay for a few minutes.  I haven’t spoken to anypony in millennia, and I would just love the company.”

Dinky winced.   “Too late.”

Everypony turned to face the portal in the ground as the starry light pouring from it grew almost blinding.  Slowly, a silhouette began to rise up from within, a dark splotch against the light.  The figure was that of a mare, perhaps very slightly bigger than average, but otherwise physically unremarkable.  The gathered ponies looked on in varying degrees of surprise and confusion.  Dinky and Clarity stood at the front of the group, their expressions grim.

After fully rising from the portal, the figure floated forward, and gently lowered herself until all four hooves touched the stone.  As she landed, the bright light behind her gradually faded, allowing the ponies their first good look at the newcomer, although Dinky couldn’t say she didn’t expect what she saw.  The mare was an earth pony, with a maroon coat and a short, spiky purple mane.  Her tail was tied with a series of tight bands, giving it a bizarre segmented appearance.  She held it up so that its tip, which came to a fine point, dangled over her back.

Although Dinky couldn’t take her eyes off the pony that had emerged from the portal, she heard Twilight make a reasonably horrified sound behind her.  She didn’t speak, however, so Dinky enunciated what was undoubtedly on Twilight’s mind.

“Scorpio.”

Scorpio took a long slow breath and let it out in a satisfied-sounding sigh.  “Ah, it’s been so long since I’ve felt air in my lungs and stone under my hooves,” she said, smiling to herself.  “I was beginning to think my wraiths would never become competent enough to get me out of there.”

Nopony replied.  Scorpio eyed the assembled ponies with casual interest.  “A nice turnout, I suppose,” she commented.  “I didn’t expect an audience for my resurrection, apart from those who performed the ritual.”

There was still no answer, so the mare continued to talk to herself.  “Speaking of the ritual, I suppose I should have expected Antares would be the one to find a way to open the portal.  Such a pity he was so incompetent that he couldn’t even turn a harmless, trusting filly into a wraith.  His life served my greater purpose, though.  I’m sure that’s what he would have wanted.”

A silence followed.  Scorpio polished a hoof on her coat and examined it.

“…I’m confused,” Watt said finally, breaking the long, awkward moment.  “Who is this pony, exactly?”

Scorpio snorted.  “I didn’t realize my guests were not aware of whose presence they were standing in,” she said.  “Perhaps the pony who aided in my release from that realm can explain.”

Dinky swallowed hard as Scorpio looked directly at her.  “Go on, dear filly.  Tell them.”

Shaking, Dinky turned away and faced her friends and family.  “Um… this is Scorpio, of the Zodiac,” she said hesitantly.  “She’s, um… the creator of dark magic.”

“So she’s a villain,” Breeze stated, earning a chuckle from Scorpio.

“Did… did you release her on purpose?” Pipsqueak asked, looking at Dinky with horror and disbelief.

“No!” Dinky squealed.  “Sunbeam… I mean, Antares tricked me, it was an accident—”

“Accident or not, what’s done it done!” Scorpio announced.  “I suggest all of you count yourselves as blessed for witnessing this moment: the glorious rebirth of the pony who will usher in a new age in Equestrian history, as I should have all those millennia ago!”

Ditzy stepped forward so she was next to Dinky.  “You’re going to take over Equestria?” she asked defiantly.  “How do you expect to do that?  You’re outnumbered eight to one, and you’re not even a unicorn!  What makes you think we’ll even let you out of this cave before we get the princesses and—”

Scorpio gave the tip of her tail a casual flick, sending a few black sparks from it into the air.  Ditzy stopped mid-sentence, totally frozen in place by a paper thin layer of black energy that suddenly surrounded her.

“How annoying,” Scorpio said, lifting Ditzy in a dark aura and placing her haphazardly next to her other comrades.  “This isn’t the time or place for attitude.  Next time, her punishment will be more severe.”

Ditzy was freed from the spell.  She tottered sideways, flapping her wings and just barely managing to maintain her balance as the others rushed to aid her.

“Now, let’s see…” Scorpio continued, swaying her strange tail back and forth while she thought.  “Ah yes, the young one.”

She looked down at Dinky.  “So, you are the child who coupled your magic with that of Antares to open the gateway?”  she asked, cocking her head slightly.  “Clearly, you were meant to be the sacrifice, but Antares was unable to make that happen.  I suppose that’s not so bad, though; clever as he was, Antares was a bit too fond of the proverbial long game.  His plans were often complex and detailed to the point that they were ineffective.”

The mare extended her tail forward.  To Dinky’s surprise, it moved of its own accord, much like the tail on a real scorpion.  Having it in a position as if it was poised to strike made Scorpio even more imposing.  “Tell me, what is your name?” she asked finally.

Dinky knew better than to argue.  “It’s Dinky Doo.”

“Well, Dinky, you’re quite young, but you have the action-oriented qualities that Antares lacked,” Scorpio continued.  “I suspect you’ll be a suitable replacement for him.  I can feel your energy; the dark magic has called you to action.  Through rage and raw power, you have overcome great obstacles.  Think how great you will be as the right hoof wraith to Scorpio herself!”

Dinky frowned.  The moment where she had no choice but to stand up to Scorpio had already come.  Bracing herself for the inevitable, Dinky put on her bravest face and gave her answer.  

“I will never let myself be taken by the darkness, and I’ll definitely never help a terrible pony like you!”

Shockingly, Scorpio appeared delighted.  “Such fire, even in the face of mortal peril!” she laughed.  “You will make a fine assistant indeed, as soon as the darkness consumes that remaining righteousness.  Perhaps it’s time I finish what Antares started.”

Scorpio lifted her tail higher into the air.  A humming sound, like a machine beginning to charge with energy, emitted from it, and the purple hair suddenly began coursing with waves of dark magic.  Moving her tail with as much dexterity as she would a limb, Scorpio drew a curved line through the air.  As she did so, a thin, concentrated line of darkness shot from the tip, drawing an equivalent curve on the floor between Dinky and the rest of the ponies.  A shimmering purple wall, much like the barriers Antares created, but adorned with ornate runes, rose up where it was drawn.

“Wait, no!” Ditzy gasped, leaping forward and pressing her forehooves against the wall.  “Lower this wall!  Don’t you dare lay a hoof on my Dinky!”

Dinky backed as far away from Scorpio as she could, until her rump pressed against her side of the glasslike obstruction.  “D-don’t try anything!” she stuttered.  “I held my own against Antares, and I’ll do the same here.”

Scorpio rolled her eyes.  “Okay, the whole false confidence bit is getting old,” she grumbled.  “You do understand what has happened here, right?  This isn’t just a little mistake you can take back.  This isn’t even a problem you can run to the adults and have them fix for you.  In a matter of days, Equestria will be mine, and not even an army of ponies, much less a single filly, is going to prevent it.”

She slunk closer, until she was just a few paces from Dinky’s tiny frame.  “Now,” she said in a menacing whisper, “let this magic flood your body and soul, devouring the pony and leaving only a shell, a wraith, to house the darkness.”

Scorpio’s tail lashed forward, its pointed tip striking the tip of Dinky’s horn.  It drew away again an instant later, leaving what appeared to be a long black thread connecting the two points of contact.  Panicking, Dinky swatted at it with a hoof, but was unable to detach it.

Scorpio’s tail began to glow once again until it was pulsing and crackling with dark energy.  At her silent command, it began flowing down the thread and into Dinky.

The moment the channeled magic arrived at Dinky’s horn, it became clear that any magic she’d absorbed before was nearly negligible in comparison to this.  She screamed as the energy assaulted her like a physical force, madly flailing her head to try to break the connection.

“No!  Stop!  Stop!” Ditzy cried, flinging her whole weight against the magical wall between her and her daughter.  “You can’t do this!  I will not let you do this!”  

She threw herself against the barrier again, and a loud crack was heard.  It was not the sound of the wall being damaged.

Ditzy grunted in pain and readied herself for another charge, but Breeze grabbed her by the tail and dragged her back.

“What are you doing?!” she wailed, turning to her coltfriend with tear-filled eyes.  “I have to help Dinky!”

“Killing yourself trying to break through that wall isn’t going to save her!” Breeze replied, struggling to hold the mare back.  “Twilight’s trying to find a way to safely lower the wall.  There’s nothing we can do until then!”

Ditzy forced herself free of Breeze’s grip.  He only just managed to grab her again before she could fling her body against the wall.

“Watt, Cloudcover, help!” he pleaded.  “She’s already cracked a rib or something.  Don’t let her hurt herself any further.”

The other two stallions rushed over, and together they pinned Ditzy to the floor.  She continued to struggle fruitlessly against them, sobbing and watching the spectacle on the other side of the wall.

“Dinky!”

Dinky was unaware of the drama going on behind her.  The voices that appeared in her head when she was exposed to large amounts of dark magic had returned in full, and this time, they were much more aggressive.  The one she’d heard before, she realized, was the voice of Scorpio herself.

“Give in!” the voice commanded, though whether Scorpio had spoken the words or simply sent them directly to her mind, she couldn’t be sure.  “This power will destroy you!  The quicker you let it do so, the more painless it will be.  Let the darkness swallow you!”

Scorpio’s thundering commands, together with the other wailing voices, became overwhelming.  Combined with the pain of so much darkness flowing into her body, Dinky’s senses began to overload.  Black-stained tears streamed down her cheeks.

I can’t fight it anymore! her mind screamed, though her mouth was quite unable to form the content of the thought.  Resisting is too painful, too strenuous… it’s… impossible…

With that last hopeless thought, Dinky gave up the fight.

Pipsqueak was the first of the ponies on the other side of the wall to notice what was starting to happen.  “Oh no, look!” he gasped, dashing forward and pointing.

Dinky’s screaming had gone suddenly quiet.  Black flames had begun to lick the floor around her hooves.  With each passing moment, they grew brighter and more intense.  After a few seconds, they began to travel up the filly’s legs.

“Celestia help us,” Twilight breathed.  “It’s… it’s too late…”

Scorpio continued to maintain the connection as the flames climbed higher up Dinky’s body.  They spread across her coat, quickly engulfing her trunk and tail.  Her eyes remained closed as her head was also consumed, with her horn being the last part to light.  The moment the fire reached the thread connecting the two ponies, it snapped, burning out of existence before it even reached the floor.

Everypony behind the barrier, even Ditzy, was shocked into silence.  The figure that had been Dinky a moment before continued to burn with violent dark flames for another few seconds.  Then, through some undetectable force, they were suddenly extinguished.  Ditzy took one look at what remained when they vanished, and was completely unable to utter even the slightest sound.

Dinky still stood before Scorpio, but she was not the same Dinky that had been there a moment before.  Her lilac coat was now a deep purple, like the last light of dusk, and her cheery yellow mane now inky shades of grey and black.  Smoke billowed from her extremities, and purple mist flowed stronger than ever from her eyes, even though they remained closed.  Her horn, which had a moment ago been straight and adorned with a spiral groove, was now smooth and curved backwards in a crescent shape.  It continued to sizzle and crackle, sending black sparks all about.

Scorpio smirked, satisfied.  “You had a lot of fight in you, but at last, the bothersome pony has been burned away.  Rest now, my wraith.  Much awaits you when you awaken.”

Dinky’s fleeting, confused moment of consciousness left her, and she slumped to the floor at Scorpio’s hooves and blacked out.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Where am I?

Dinky could see nothing, hear nothing, and feel nothing.  A brief moment of further inspection of her state of self revealed she wasn’t truly Dinky at all, but just a disembodied thought.

Vaguely, she recalled what had been happening last time she was conscious, although it felt like years ago; Scorpio had been resurrected, and was overloading her body with dark magic.  Faintly, she found herself wondering what the outcome of that had been.  She supposed, physically, she was still in that very room, so she supposed she had to return there when her body awoke.

What will happen when I return? she wondered to herself.

Your friends and family are in danger, replied another loose thought.  You must do everything in your power to protect them.

What? No, a third thought argued.  They are a burden.  You’re always sticking your neck out for them.  You shouldn’t allow them to hinder your quest for personal gain any longer.

The first thought casually listened to the others bicker.  One side always voted for righteous choices, while the other valued only selfish ones, often at the cost of other ponies.  She couldn’t muster up any feeling of support or dissent for either side.  Eventually, it occurred to her what was happening.

My mind is fragmented, she realized, more curious about the condition than concerned.  I can’t awaken until it is whole again.

For the sake of simplicity, she decided to call the bickering thoughts “Light Dinky” and “Dark Dinky.”  This, by default, she supposed, must have meant she was Neutral Dinky.

This is quite a dilemma, she realized.  Inherently, neither Light Dinky nor Dark Dinky can be swayed to the other’s views, and I, by nature, do not prefer one over the other.

She pondered that for a moment.  Logically, it meant that she had to base her decision off memories of the positives and negatives of each point of view.  She silently took in the words of the other thoughts as they recalled memories and made their cases.

Scorpio has given you power few ponies in Equestria dare wield! Dark Dinky announced.  You’ll never have to suffer from unattainable desire again.  When you want something, you can take it.  Nopony can overcome your dangerous magic.

There is something you can never have if you take that path: Light Dinky argued, the love and care of your friends and family.  Do you really want to be a loner, with only selfish wraiths and cruel Scorpio to accompany you through life?

Bah!  It’s too late to redeem yourself with those ponies anyway, Dark Dinky spat.  You’ve already taxed your relationships with your loved ones to their limit during the months you were corrupted.  And now you’re nothing but a monster!  Those ponies can only love other ponies, and you’re not one of them anymore.  You’re a wraith, now it’s time to act like one!

The ponies you know would never give up on you, Light Dinky said confidently.  Your friends have done nothing but try to help through this whole ordeal.  If you are still as kind to them as you were as a pony, what reason would they have to fear you?

They both have good points, Neutral Dinky thought.  Which ones apply better to my life?

For what seemed like hours, she examined her memories from her neutral standpoint.  Her small family had never been particularly wealthy, living just above poverty until recently, but thinking about it, she couldn’t recall longing for a more lavish life.  Why then would she need darkness to take things for herself if she wasn’t filled with desire and greed?

Light Dinky’s point about her loved ones also stood out.  She thought about Clarity, sticking by her side even in the face of mortal peril.  She thought of her mother, risking her life repeatedly to keep her safe, and Pipsqueak, who cared about her enough to lead this expedition to rescue her.  She suspected those ponies would not make a heel face turn with their attitudes, even if she had indeed become a wraith.

It’s settled then, she decided.  As these aspects of personality blend back into a coherent whole, the darkness will be suppressed by the will of the light.  It’s a pity I won’t remember this upon waking up, but it probably won’t take me very long to determine where my allegiance lies.

At once, the shattered thought pattern began to draw back together into one.  Neutral Dinky was flooded with the emotional power of the separate pieces.

Dinky Doo, the whole Dinky Doo, was waking up.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Ugh.”

The uncomfortable grunt came out rather muffled.  It took Dinky a moment to realize this was because her face was half-pressed against the floor.  She shifted her weight slightly, and a nasty ache shot through basically all of her muscles.  She groaned softly and remained still, choosing simply to listen to what was going on around her.

“There is nothing you can do to reverse this,” came Scorpio’s voice.  “When she awakens, she will be a soldier of darkness.  Heartless.  Conniving.  Your concern will mean nothing to her.”

“That’s not true!” a desperate Ditzy replied.  “You may have done… whatever you did to her, but nothing and nopony could make her act like that!”

“Ditzy…” said Twilight gently, “…I’m afraid Scorpio may be right.  Dinky is…” she paused, having difficulty forming the words, “she… she’s gone.  That wraith won’t be like the original Dinky was.”

“B-but…” Ditzy stammered, trying to argue.  “There must be… some way to… uh…”

As Ditzy continued to try to rationalize her situation, Dinky turned her attention to another sound: quiet, feminine sobbing.  Cautiously, she opened one eye just a crack to search for the source.

Clarity was curled up in a tight ball just on the other side of Scorpio’s barrier, shivering and crying sporadically.  Pipsqueak stood beside her, trying to remain in control, but a few tears ran down his cheeks as well.  He didn’t seem to want to look at Dinky, so he focused on comforting Clarity instead.

My mom, and my friends… Dinky thought.  They’re distraught.  Over me.

“Now, let’s get down to business,” Scorpio said.  “You all have an important choice to make.  Serve the army of darkness for the rest of your days… or die, right here in this room.  I don’t care who chooses which option, just make it quick; I have a nation to dominate.”

Dinky decided it was time to intervene.  It was painful, but she forced herself into a position where she could stand.  Slowly, shakily, she rose to her hooves, causing whispers among the assembled ponies across the room.

“Ah, she awakens,” Scorpio said fondly.  “And how are you feeling, my little wraith?”

“I’ve been better,” Dinky replied.  The words hadn’t even fully left her mouth when she realized they didn’t sound right.  Her voice was soft and raspy, almost like a hiss.  Surprised, she glanced down at her coat, and then at her reflection in the crystalline wall.  Even with the jagged facets distorting her reflection, the smoky black creature staring back at her was impossible to mistake.

“Now that you’re up, I have a task for you,” Scorpio cooed.  “The pony that was once your mother has been awfully argumentative.  I dare say she doesn’t deserve the opportunity to join us.”

Dinky looked at Scorpio, mouth slightly agape.  “What do you want me to do about it?” she asked obliviously.

Scorpio shrugged casually.  “Kill her of course.”

Ditzy gasped.  Dinky simply blinked, processing the request.  Realizing the opportunity, she played along and nodded.

Scorpio flicked her tail and the barrier separating her and Dinky from the others quickly melted away.  Dinky strutted forward menacingly, further adding to the act by bearing her newly formed fangs.

Most of the group backed away, looking terrified, but Ditzy remained in place, hanging her head so her mane obscured her eyes.  “So be it,” she mumbled.  “I won’t fight back.  I can’t fight back against my Dinky.”

Dinky’s curved horn buzzed and crackled as a spell formed within it.  Hesitantly, Breeze took a step forward as if planning to attempt to protect his marefriend, but Dinky shot him such a glare that he backed off again.

“Yes…” Scorpio hissed.  “Strike a lethal blow, and prove to her what you really are!”

Dinky smirked.  “If you insist.”

The wraith whirled around and threw the dark spell at Scorpio, who was caught entirely off guard.  She screamed in pain as the darkness clawed at her, but she dissipated it within a second with her magical tail.  Ditzy’s head shot up in surprise.

“Wraith or not, I will never harm the ponies I love!” Dinky bellowed.

Scorpio’s face twisted with confusion.  “I… but… but you can’t resist me!” she stammered.  “Wraiths cannot feel love.  They lust only for power.  Power only I can give them!”

“If that’s the case, I guess this wraith doesn’t have her priorities very straight,” Dinky snapped.  “You turned me into this, but you haven’t changed my mind about you.”

Scorpio growled.  “You’re some kind of anomaly,” she said disgustedly.  “Neither pony nor wraith, but simply a mistake.  And mistakes must be erased.”

Her tail snapped to attention above her head and began charging with dark magic again.  Dinky glanced over her shoulder at her bewildered friends and family.

“I don’t know if any of you trust me,” she said, “but if you do think I’ve still got good in me, then listen to what I’m saying and get out of here!  I can buy you a little time.  Hurry!”

Not waiting for their reaction, she turned back to face her foe.  Scorpio’s tail began to vibrate as the magic within it distorted the air around it.  A cruel grin crept across the mare’s face.

“So long, little reject.  You will regret not siding with me.”

A powerful, consistent beam of darkness burst from the tip of Scorpio’s tail, making a high pitched wail as it ripped through the air towards Dinky.  It was clear just by looking at it that this spell wasn’t meant to just cause pain; it was meant to destroy tissue, dissolve bone, and boil blood.  A direct hit would be fatal.

In that instant, Dinky used the only counter that she thought would have a chance of protecting her; she called upon the dark magic that her body was now designed to wield.  From every bit of her being, she brought forth the raging darkness, but now, it didn’t threaten to overpower and control her.  Brandishing the powerful darkness with confidence, she created an enormous, glimmering shield that stretched nearly to the ceiling.  Scorpio’s spell met it just inches from Dinky’s face, causing a thunderous sound.

Beginning to sweat with effort almost immediately, Dinky found she had to pour all her concentration into maintaining the strength of the shield.  Scorpio’s attack was an ongoing assault, rather than individual bolts like Antares had used.  

“Pathetic,” Scorpio said, swaying her tail side to side but keeping the beam focused on a single target point.  “Do you really think you, a tiny wraith reject, can overcome one of the most powerful magic wielders to ever exist?”

Dinky chanced a glance away from Scorpio, briefly looking at the still-open portal in the floor behind her.  No, she thought to herself, but if I can just force you to back up a few paces, maybe I won’t have to.

Dinky tried to take a step forward, but Scorpio was not willing to have her opponent advance.  The mare increased the strength of her beam, and suddenly, Dinky found herself stumbling backwards.  She locked her legs to try to at least remain stationary, but all that did was cause her hooves to skid along the stone as Scorpio pushed both her and the shield backwards.

So much for that plan, Dinky thought sadly.  I just hope I can waste enough time that the others can get away…

There was a movement to Dinky’s left.  A pair of light grey forehooves pressed themselves against the shield next to Dinky.  Startled, she looked to the left.  Clarity grinned back.

“Clarity, what are you doing?” she asked.

“Helping you!” Clarity answered.  “I’m not just gonna let Scorpio kill you!”

Dinky blinked.  “You’re not scared of me?” she asked hesitantly.  “I’m kind of a monster now.  I figured you’d think I was going to attack you or something…”

Clarity shook her head vehemently.  “You may look pretty different, but you’re not a monster.  At least, I don’t think you are.”  She winked.  “You could be tricking me, but really, how many times have I been wrong about this before?”

Dinky smiled for an instant, but the expression vanished and both she and Clarity slid back another six inches.  Dinky returned her attention to the shield, and Clarity, to pushing.  Only a moment later, another set of hooves pressed against the shield on Dinky’s other side, this time belonging to Pipsqueak.

Dinky gawked.  “What is it with you two?” she asked.  “Why are you risking yourselves for me?”

Pipsqueak looked at the pendant around his neck, and the one still hanging around Dinky’s.  “Always together, right?” he asked.  “I can’t just abandon my best friend.”

Both pendants began to glow with faint golden light.  “They still work,” Pipsqueak commented.  “That’s all the proof I need that the Dinky I know is still in there.”

“I don’t care how many foals push against that shield,” said Scorpio with a curt laugh.  “You can’t overpower me.”

She had a point.  The backward movement of the shield had slowed only slightly, even with Clarity and Pip’s help.  That wasn’t the only help for very long, though.

“I don’t care what Twilight says about wraiths, we have to help Dinky!”

Ditzy and Breeze flew back into the room at high speeds, hooves outstretched, as they assumed aerial positions above the foals.  Straining, the pegasi tried to force the shield forward.

“Mom!” Dinky gasped.  “But… but you thought for a bit there that I was going to…”

She trailed off.  Ditzy looked down at her.

“Your father gave his life to save you,” she said softly.  “I’ll always defend you, no matter what.  Even when it’s something like this.”

Dinky took a moment to process that.  With renewed vigor, she poured her energy into her shield, and for a moment, brought the backward movement to a halt.

Only for a moment, though.

“Oh no you don’t!” Scorpio roared, blasting an even stronger beam at Dinky.  “The darkness I command is limitless!  If you add force, I’ll do the same!”

“Looks like we’d better lend a hoof too, Watt old chap.”

“Waaaaay ahead of you, Cloudy!”

A yellow blur bounced off Dinky’s side of the shield.  After a moment, it rushed forward again, and again, like a dizzy fly against a pane of glass.

“Watt, doesn’t that hurt?” Breeze asked.

“Eh, when you run into stuff as often as I do, you build up a resistance to it,” Watt said casually, hurling himself headlong at the shield again.  “Ditzy breaks when she hits magical walls hard enough.  I just bounce off!”

Ditzy rolled her eyes.  “Watt, can you be serious for like five minutes, maybe?”

“Now hush,” said Cloudcover to his coworkers as he took up an aerial position beside Ditzy.  “Push harder or there will be no more jokes for any of us after this.”

It was seven ponies against one, but even now, Scorpio was slowly gaining ground.  Dinky struggled to stay focused, but her strength was draining.  If the shield fell, she and all her loved ones would be gone in an instant.

“It’s no use,” she said finally.  “She’s just so strong…”

There was the sound of cautious hoofsteps behind her.  Dinky didn’t turn around, but she knew there was only one pony left it could be.

“Miss Twilight?”

Twilight was quiet for a moment.  “This can’t be real,” she said finally.  “It must be some kind of elaborate ruse, I know it is!  Dark magic is inherently evil; that’s a hard and fast law of magical science!  Nopony taken over by it can possibly still harbor any good in their heart.”

Dinky groaned from the strain of the spell.  “I don’t understand it either, Miss Twilight,” she managed.  “But if you don’t believe me, why did you come back?”

Twilight was silent again.  “Because… because although it really pains me to say it… maybe science is wrong this time.  I want to believe it…”

“Then help me!” Dinky cried.  “I can’t hold her off!”

Dinky’s hooves gave way for a second and she and all her companions lost nearly a foot of ground.  Scorpio grinned darkly.

Twilight sighed.  “I sure hope my understanding of acts of true friendship is as good as I hope it is…” she mumbled.  Standing perfectly still, she closed her eyes and lowered her head.

Suddenly, a small gale surrounded the unicorn, whipping her hair and tail around her dramatically.  As she opened her eyes again, they glowed with white light.  With a yell, she pointed her horn forward, and a shockwave of light radiated from it as a multicolored beam, almost as powerful as Scorpio’s, struck the shield.

Clearly not expecting the huge increase in force, Scorpio scrambled to get her footing as she was pushed backwards almost a whole pony length.  She spread her forelegs in a wider stance, but even so, she began to slowly slide backwards.

“H-how?” the villain asked.  “That mare is so powerful.”

Dinky grinned.  “Maybe you shouldn’t underestimate us after all, Scorpio!” she taunted.

“You dare speak to me that way, you reject?” Scorpio snarled.  “I can still overpower all of you with ease.  Behold!”

Scorpio lifted her head high and spoke a few words in some arcane tongue.  The Scorpio runes carved into various surfaces around the room suddenly erupted with vibrant purple light, and the power of the dark beam abruptly doubled.  The heroes’ progress came to a sudden halt; it took all of their most incredible effort just to hold the shield in place.  For a few seconds, the fight was a stalemate.

Dinky gritted her teeth, but she was unable to increase her spell any further.  The ponies around here were rapidly tiring, especially Twilight, who was clearly unleashing as much power as she could muster all at once.

“You’ve got no more power to expend,” Scorpio stated.  “Give up.  It will be over quickly.”

Dinky didn’t have a response, but a quick examination at her companions was all it took to know that they all knew their fate was sealed.  Just as she felt the last of her strength fading, a small orange shape on the far side of the room caught her eye.  She glanced at Clarity, and both friends mouthed the same word in unison.

“Trouble?”

He hid back there in the shadows as soon as I arrived to confront Antares, Dinky remembered.  I completely forgot.

Keeping low to the ground, Trouble slunk cautiously toward Scorpio.  The evil mare either didn’t notice him or simply didn’t care.  He paused just a few paces from her, and his gaze met Dinky’s.  She stared back desperately.

“Trouble, help us…”

Her voice was hardly above a whisper, but Trouble cocked his head, ears perked.

Then something unexpected happened.

Without any provocation, Trouble’s attention snapped to Scorpio.  With an angry yip, he leapt into the air, clamping his jaws around the middle of the mare’s tail.

“Wha—”

Scorpio had no time whatsoever to react; Trouble’s extra weight caused the angle of her tail to change, pointing the tip at the ceiling rather than Dinky’s shield.  Unimpeded, the wall of dark magic raced forward, barreling into her.  Scorpio made a desperate attempt to stop it with her bare hooves, but the effect was basically none.  At the same moment, her redirected spell carved into the crystal ceiling, dislodging huge chunks of rock and jagged, glimmering stone.

It all happened in barely a second.  Unable to re-aim the spell or even change position, Scorpio was thrown backwards, crying out as she toppled right back into the portal to the Realm of Stars, with Trouble still clinging to her tail.  The debris from the ceiling fell in after her, wooshing as it disappeared through the large hole.

Dinky collapsed, panting, but Twilight sprang forward, already preparing another spell as Scorpio’s outraged cries echoed from beyond the boundary.  “That won’t stop her for long.  She’ll be back any second,” the unicorn said gravely.  “Dinky, you’re the only one here who had a hoof in opening the portal; do you have any idea how to close it?”

“Close the portal?” Dinky squeaked, forcing herself to stand.  “B-but, Trouble…”

“Dinky, please!  Try something!” Twilight interrupted.  “This is our only chance!”

The mare cast a shield of her own over the portal, and evidently not a moment too soon; a powerful blast of dark magic struck it from somewhere inside the portal, creating several long cracks in the shimmering surface.

Trying not to panic, Dinky glanced at the two huge orbs that were creating the portal.  Antares’ words came back to her.

Neither offensive magic nor physical force will damage the orbs, and the magic put in cannot be drained away, so there’s no reason to try, no there is not.

A single, desperate idea came to her: a loophole in Antares’ claim.  I can’t drain the orbs, but maybe I can overload them!

“I have an idea, but I don’t know if it will work,” she announced.  “All of you, get back into the tunnel; if this works, I’ll join you in a moment.”

Twilight nodded and she and the others all backed into the low passageway behind them.  Another spell hit the underside of Twilight’s shield, sending a spider web of cracks through its surface.  Even such a powerful protective wall couldn’t keep Scorpio out for more than a few extra moments.

Dinky threw a tiny bolt of dark magic at the nearest wall, chipping off one of the crystals.  She held it in front of her, trying to get the angle just right.

“Here goes…”

Her whole body was already screaming from the effort of all the magic, but Dinky still summoned up another intense dark spell.  Shooting it directly into one face of the crystal in front of her horn, the beam refracted into two, which, after a small adjustment, rested on the two orbs on either side of the now-damaged altar.  The room began to rumble again as the two conduits of magic grew intensely bright.

“What are you doing?!” came Scorpio’s voice.  The mare pressed her face against the underside of the damaged shield, trying to see out into the cave.  “Don’t you dare!”

Scorpio lit the end of her tail and hammered it against the shield from below like an enchanted club, sending chips of solid, glasslike magic into the air.  Dinky ignored her attempt to break through and focused on the spell.

Something was happening, that much was clear.  The shaking of the room grew so intense that crystals began to be jarred free, tumbling down the walls or falling from the ceiling.  The orbs had grown so bright Dinky couldn’t look at them directly anymore.

There was a loud crash, and the end of Scorpio’s tail burst through the shield.  It swiveled like a periscope, until the tip came to point at Dinky.  “I’ve got you now!” Scorpio yelled.  “Time to get rid of you permanently, you lousy, defective, good for nothing—”

And then the orbs exploded with the force of a bomb.

The portal snapped shut instantaneously, severing the portion of Scorpio’s tail on the Equestrian side of it, but Dinky didn’t even have time to see it happen.  The dual pressure waves from the massive blasts collided with her like a charging minotaur, hurling her into the air.

In the passage, Twilight only just barely had time to create another wall, protecting herself and the other assembled ponies from the brunt of the blast.  Dinky was not so lucky.  Even in the instant after she was thrown skyward, she could hear the voice of her mother from the tunnel.

“Dinky!  Dinkyyyyy!” 

She smashed against the glimmering wall at a speed that put even Watt to shame.  All the crystals around the point of impact shattered from the force of her body.  The darkness released from the orbs flooded the room, obscuring the sight of her limp form from her loved ones as it fell to the floor and was quickly buried in a pile of crystal debris.

After that, there was nothing but silence.
> Chapter 20 (Ending)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The doors to Princess Celestia’s private chambers slammed open with such great force that the marble walls cracked.  Celestia sat bolt upright in her bed, looking around wildly.  Her gaze quickly came to rest on Princess Luna.

“Sister!” Luna cried, her Royal Canterlot Voice at full volume.  “Rise, and come quickly!  Scorpio has vanished from the heavens!”

Before Celestia could even reply, Luna lifted her out of bed in a cloud of magic and placed her on her hooves.  Still groggy, she followed her sister as quickly as she could to the balcony.  Luna cast a foreleg skyward, as if Celestia wouldn’t know where to look.

“Behold!  A crisis is upon us!”

Princess Celestia stared at the stars.  She blinked once, twice, three times, and paused to rub her eyes.

“Um… Luna, all the stars are present, including those that make up Scorpio.”

“Of course they—” Luna started, before stopping short and doing a frantic double take.  Sure enough, every star was in its place.  Scorpio stood at the peak of the night sky, her individual stars glimmering brightly.

“B-but, but I… but just a moment ago, they… she…”

“Goodnight, Luna,” Celestia grumbled, returning to her bedchambers.

Luna remained on the balcony, scratching her head.  “Sister, you know I would not joke about this on a night like tonight…” she said slowly, re-entering the chamber.  “I swear to you, that constellation was not present just minutes ago.”

Celestia sat on the bed, rubbing her temples in frustration.  “Luna, I understand that Scorpio’s Apex is a very stressful time, especially with dark magic having surfaced at the academy this year.  But if anything was amiss at the school, we would have been informed.”

A royal guard poked his head through the doorway, ignoring the mostly destroyed doors.  “My princesses, I bring grave news,” he said, stepping carefully over the splintered wood.  “There’s been an incident, at the academy.  The female student overseer is badly hurt, and two students are unaccounted for, one of them being the filly who caused the fire earlier this term.”

Celestia’s eyes widened.  Luna gave her a simple glance that said “I told you so” better than any words could have.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Waaaah!”

Dinky sat bolt upright, her chest heaving.  Slowly, the blind panic left her; she closed her eyes, trying to remember what had happened just before.

She remembered Scorpio’s resurrection, and what the evil pony had turned her into.  She remembered the fight, and then trying to close the portal… but then what?  Had she succeeded?

Dinky opened her eyes again and realized she was no longer in the crystal cave.  In fact, she wasn’t anywhere familiar at all.  Looking around, she found herself in a small, dimly lit, wood-paneled room.  The walls held a few old, tattered paintings that appeared to be cheap reprints of famous works of art.  The only furnishing in the room was a low, padded bench, upon which she had been lying.  Two plain wooden doors were on opposite walls.

Dinky looked down at herself, and was shocked to see her normal, pale purple coat, instead of the smoky black and violet she’d expected.  Somehow, she looked like her old self again.

Something swung down right in front of her face, startling her.  It took her a moment to realize it was a piece of paper that had been unceremoniously tacked to her forehead by use of her horn, which had shifted when she lowered her head.  She tugged the bit of paper free and read the small message written on it in rather messy letters.

To my most welcomed guest,

When you find this note, I hope you are comfortable and feeling well.  I found you lying outside when I went out to water the begonias, and figured you could use a warm, dry place to rest.

I’m sure you are eager to get on with whatever adventures you were in the middle of, and if you’d like to do so immediately, simply use the door behind you.  It will take you outside, and I’m sure you’ll find your way to your destination after just a short trot.

However, I admit I don’t get very many visitors in a place like this.  Travelers here are usually quite bent on completing their journey, and nopony ever has time to stop by. It would be nice to talk to somepony over a cup of tea.  If you’re interested, come into my study before you make your way out.  I daresay I may be able to answer a few of your questions about how you came to be here if you do.  If you’ve no time to waste, though, I won’t begrudge you for simply going on your way.

Best regards,

The note had originally been signed, but Dinky’s horn had punctured that particular bit of it, leaving the signature unreadable.  

I need to get out of here right away, she thought.  Mom and Pip and the others might still be in danger!

She hopped up and made her way to the exit, but stopped just before turning the handle.

But maybe I shouldn’t just leave, she realized.  I don’t know where I am, or what’s happened since I fought Scorpio.  Maybe it would actually be better if I talk to the pony here, in case they can help me get home…

The author of the note seemed harmless enough.  Deciding to take a chance, Dinky turned around and made her way to the opposite door.  Unsure what to expect, she tugged it open and stepped into the room beyond.

The area beyond the doorway was much bigger than the tiny foyer.  Made of the same wood paneling, the slanted roof made it seem like the inside of a small cabin.  A few dusty but otherwise well kept tapestries and further paintings adorned the walls, although curiously, they all seemed to be from different eras.  Dinky recognized the style of ancient pony societies only seen in history books, as well as pieces that were created in the last few years.

A simple stone hearth was built into the wall on the right, in which a fire crackled merrily.  A pot of something (Dinky wasn’t sure what, but it smelled delicious) bubbled just above the flames.

On the far side of the room were several bookcases, stuffed full of various thick books.  They showed the same pattern as the décor, oddly; books from a range of dates that put even the Canterlot library to shame were filed within.

Also against the far wall was an old, slightly uneven desk, littered with more books and scrolls.  A high backed, red-padded chair, facing away from Dinky, was placed in front of it.  Although the chair’s back obscured them, Dinky could hear quiet mumblings coming from somepony sitting in it.  A stallion, it sounded like.

“E-excuse me,” she said quietly.  “Sir?  Can you help me?”

“Ah, you dropped by after all,” the voice replied.  “Lovely, lovely.  You were asleep for so long I was beginning to assume you’d decided to set off on your own.”

An aura of pale purple magic surrounded a kettle dangling near the fire.  Obediently, it floated over a teacup placed on a small table, filling it with hot water.  The kettle returned to its hook, and the tea made its way to Dinky, who accepted it in her own aura.

“Thank you,” she said, still more than a little confused as she sat on the carpet.  “So… um… I’m afraid I’m not too sure what’s going on.  Who are you, and where did you find me?  Are my friends okay?  Did we defeat Scorpio?  How do I get back to them?”

The stallion laughed.  “Slow down, kid!” he chuckled.  “The danger’s passed.  Just relax and drink your tea; I’ll answer everything I can.”

Admittedly, the tea was soothing.  Dinky took a few sips as she sat facing the back of the stallion’s chair.  “You know where to start better than I do,” she admitted, lowering her teacup.

“Well, let’s start with introductions,” her host suggested.  “After all, we’ve met a few times already, but never once had the chance to be properly introduced.  I know you who you are, Dinky, but you probably don’t have the same luxury.”

Dinky cocked her head.  “We’ve met?  Where?”

This elicited another chuckle from the stallion.  “You don’t recognize my voice?” he asked, sounding slightly amused.  “How many more times would I have had to chase that bothersome little wraith out of your dreams before you remembered me?”

Dinky made the connection instantly, and her jaw dropped.  “Y-you’re the stallion that’s been saving me!” she gasped.  “I’m sorry, I was so caught up in all the recent events that I didn’t even realize your voice was familiar.  Thank you so much for what you’ve done for me, by the way.”

“It was nothing!” her host answered.  “Lovely change of pace, actually.”

“So, who are you?”  Dinky asked, now more curious than ever.  “I didn’t know anypony other than Princess Luna and, apparently, wraiths could enter my dreams.”

“The art of dreamwalking isn’t inaccessible to unicorns that have the time to learn the complex spells required,” the stallion replied.  “And trust me, I’ve had nothing but time.  But enough about that; it’s high time I introduce myself.”

The large chair was suddenly surrounded with the soft purple aura.  Slowly, it turned away from the desk so it faced Dinky, revealing the pony sitting in it.

Dinky took in his features, hardly daring to believe what she was seeing.  The stallion had a muted, blue-grey coat, and purple eyes that looked old but still quite alert.  A messy, somewhat curly white mane and tail matched the voluminous white beard that dangled from his wrinkled chin.  He wore a long, midnight blue cloak, and comically large wizard’s hat.  Both garments were decorated with stars and moons, and adorned with more than a few bells, which jingled as he gave Dinky a welcoming nod.

“To answer your question from a moment ago,” the pony continued, ignoring Dinky’s disbelieving expression, “my name is Starswirl, although perhaps you’re more familiar with the name ‘Starswirl the Bearded’. We never got a chance to really chat, nor did you even get a look at me for that matter, when we were in your dreams, so it’s a pleasure to finally properly make your acquaintance.”

Starswirl ignored Dinky’s stunned silence entirely as he quietly sipped his tea.  “A ‘nice to meet you, Mr. Starswirl’ is the usual customary reply,” he said finally with a hint of a smirk.

Dinky gathered herself.  “S-sorry,” she stuttered.  “But you… you’re… aren’t you supposed to be…”

She paused, trying to put the pieces together, and a look of horror washed over her face.  “Oh Celestia, am I dead?  Did I die back there in that cave?”

Starswirl chuckled.  “That’s a reasonable first conclusion to come to,” he admitted, causing the bells on his hat to jingle as he nodded.  “Quite fortunately for you, it’s incorrect.  You are not dead.  Neither am I, as a matter of fact.  Not quite, anyway.”

His calm demeanor put Dinky at ease, at least somewhat.  “I don’t understand,” she admitted, cocking her head.  “If you’re the Starswirl the Bearded, shouldn’t you have, you know, passed on more than a millennium ago?”

“Quite right, quite right,” Starswirl admitted, nodding sagely.  “I very much should have bitten the proverbial dust long ago.  But I didn’t.”

He shook his head.  “Oh, but I’m boring you with the details.  You want the relevant information only, so you can get back to where you came from, I assume.”

Dinky was curious now.  “I’ve got a few minutes.  At least, I think.”

“Very well,” Starswirl replied immediately, as if he was fully aware Dinky would ask him to elaborate.  “You see, I was a powerful user of magic in my heyday.  One of the best, some might say.  But like everypony else, I grew old and frail.  It upset me, not because I feared death, but because there was so much yet to learn, so many magical secrets to unlock.  In my lifetime, I’d only barely scratched the surface of what magic is really capable of, and I wanted more time to dig deeper.  So, unbeknownst to anypony, including the princesses, I made a decision.  A big decision.”

He paused to flick a wad of dust off the brim of his hat.  Dinky could tell by the sparkle in his eye that he was enjoying keeping her in suspense.

“In my later years, I did a lot of experimentation travel to different realms of existence.  I discovered a plane that separates the mortal world from the state of being most commonly referred to as the afterlife.  The spirits of ponies who have passed must traverse it on their way to their final destination.  It is an empty place, devoid of anything except ethereal forms not quite like Equestria nor quite like those in the life beyond.  The changing landscape is impossible to map or properly navigate, yet ponies passing through always seem to get where they’re going.”

“Um… okay…” Dinky said slowly.  “What does this plane have to do with you?”

“I planned to go there,” Starswirl said simply.  “Empty as it is, it is the only place where a pony could continue to maintain a connection with Equestria, without being bound by Equestria’s mortal rules.  In order to continue my studies over the eons, I tied my spirit to that plane.  As a result, I will not be forced along into the afterlife… but I cannot return to Equestria either.”

Dinky seemed to understand the implication.  “We’re on this plane now,” she realized.  “Both of us.”

Starswirl nodded as his horn glowed.  A section of the wooden wall suddenly vanished, leaving a wide window.  Dinky stared through the glass and into a void of soft, swirling color.  Or at least, that’s what was beyond the simple picket fence surrounding Starswirl’s yard.

“A funny thing, magic,” Starswirl commented.  “I never would have expected it would be possible to bring inanimate objects to this place, but with a few decades of experimentation, I found a way.  Turns out even this place is composed of some sort of particles, and some modified conjuring spells allowed me to whip up a few creature comforts.  Now I have not only this little study of mine, but a small patch of land where I do some gardening when studying has tired me out.”

Dinky removed her gaze from the strange sight of the property floating in infinity.  “Mr. Starswirl, this is all fascinating, but how did I get here?” she asked.  “It sounds like, with the sole exception of you, only dead ponies come here.”

“’Dead ponies’ covers about ninety-nine percent of it,” Starswirl agreed.  “In actuality, it’s more like ‘ponies whose spirit currently isn’t housed in their body.’  Ponies in comas and other such experiences wind up here, and eventually they wander either back to Equestria to resume their lives, or onwards to infinity.  I guess time will tell which way you’ll be wandering, eh kid?”

The old stallion fell silent, and he and Dinky stared out the window into the void.

“Well, at least I know how I got here,” the filly said finally.  “But there’s so much that still doesn’t make sense!  How did you find out about me?  How were you able to save me in my dreams?  Did you know Scorpio or Antares?  Did I succeed in sealing Scorpio away for good?”

“Easy, easy!” Starswirl replied, holding up a forehoof and gesturing for her to be quiet.  “I can only answer one question at a time.  What do you think I am, a wizard?”

Dinky blinked, and Starswirl quickly glanced at himself.  “Don’t answer that,” he grumbled, pulling the brim of his hat a bit lower to hide his eyes for a moment.  “I’ll try to help you make sense of all this.  Where do you want to begin?”

Dinky returned to her seat on the carpet across from the stallion.  “Well, for starters, I’m just one of the thousands of students to attend Celestia’s Academy in the time it has been around.  You’re a millennia-old, ultra-powerful unicorn magical pioneer.  How in Equestria did you end up keeping an eye on me in particular from this place?”

“Well, I should think that would be obvious,” he replied.  “Like I said, I am able to view Equestria remotely from this place.  Obviously, the thing that interests me most is the advancement of magic, and the best place to watch new discoveries unfold is the academy!  By no means are you the first student of that academy I’ve watched from afar.  Anypony that catches my interest, for good reason or for bad, I will occasionally observe.”

Dinky hung her head.  “So… you started watching me because you found out I was using dark magic,” she said, slightly ashamed.  

“Yes,” Starswirl replied.  “Although, alas, not as early as I would have liked to.  I witnessed the fire in the tower during one of my sessions watching the academy.  It’s very unfortunate; if I’d caught you earlier, I may have been able to warn you in your dreams before Antares was able to corrupt you enough to create a way into them.”

“Still, I’m very grateful that you came to rescue me in my dreams, even if it wasn’t till later,” Dinky assured the old wizard.  “I just can’t believe you really know magic that allows you to do that, especially since you were able to make your way into dreams that even Princess Luna couldn’t enter.”

Starswirl ran a hoof through the tangles in his beard.  “Indeed, I was shocked myself when I was able to make that spell function,” he admitted.  “What I’ve gathered, in centuries of research, is that dreams occur in an entire realm of their own: a plane of existence just like Equestria, or the realm we’re in now.  Indeed, this place may as well be considered a dream, relative to Equestria itself.”

He waited a moment for Dinky to take this in before continuing.  “What’s interesting, though, is that what we consider a realm of dreams is closer to this realm than Equestria is.  In fact, it’s sort of situated between the two.  That’s why dreams can cause physical changes to ponies in Equestria, such as increased heart rate, or feeling of relaxation and ease.  And yes, that’s why exposure to dark magic in your dreams can cause you to use it in Equestria, as well.”

“So… since Equestria is ‘further’ from this place than the dream realm, is that why you can interact with dreams, but can only watch Equestria without interacting with it?”

Starswirl nodded excitedly.  “Very perceptive, Dinky!  They teach you well at that school, don’t they?”

Dinky blushed.  “There’s something I still don’t understand, though,” she admitted.  “Sunbe—… I mean, Antares was able to keep Princess Luna out of my dreams.  Has your dreamwalking magic actually become more powerful than Princess Luna’s?”

Starswirl laughed.  “Goodness, no!” he chortled, the bells on his hat jingling merrily.  “The explanation is much simpler, actually.”

Dinky cocked her head.  “How so?”

“Think of the dream world like a simple house,” Starswirl explained.  “To enter it from Equestria is like walking in through the front door.  But to enter from here is more along the lines of slipping in through a window or something.  It was a route Antares did not know even existed, let alone knew how to close off.”

“That reminds me,” Dinky chimed in.  “You apparently knew Sunbeam was really Antares.  Did you know Scorpio and Antares when you were alive?”

“Scorpio was around long before my time,” Starswirl replied.  “Antares, though, has been hiding in the dark corners of Equestria for millennia.  I met him on my travels ages upon ages ago; the cunning little snake knew who I was, and tried to tempt me into the ways of dark magic.  He failed, of course, but it’s a pity our duel took place in a remote wasteland; no history book will ever tell the tale of Starswirl besting the leader of the wraiths.”

Dinky beamed, which made Starswirl chuckle again.  “That’s neither here nor there, though,” he said.  “What matters tonight is the ultimate fate of Scorpio and Antares.”

“Antares is gone, isn’t he?” Dinky asked.  “Scorpio’s magic consumed his body to rebuild her own.”

“A gruesome way to go,” Starswirl said with a nod.  “And, I’m pleased to confirm, entirely in vain.  Your quick thinking, great endurance, and surprisingly strong control of dark magic paid off; Scorpio is sealed back in the Realm of Stars.”

Dinky breathed a long sigh.  “Everyone’s safe, then,” she said.  “My family, my friends…”

She trailed off.  Starswirl finished his tea and set the teacup aside, gazing at her curiously.

“Everyone except for you?” he asked.

Dinky nodded somberly.  “Am I… am I really a wraith now?” she asked, her voice quavering.  “Is my pony form gone for good, or can I restore it somehow?”

Starswirl’s expression was tough to read.  “The answer to that is not as black and white as you may hope it is,” he explained.  “Physically, there’s no denying it; your pony body is gone.  Destroyed.  You’ll be able to disguise yourself, as Antares did, but it will only hide what’s beneath.”

“So… why don’t I look like a wraith right now?  Am I in disguise?”

Starswirl shook his head.  “You are not.  This is where that grey area comes in.”

For the first time since Dinky’s arrival, the stallion rose from his chair.  He ambled slowly over to Dinky, his cloak trailing along the floor behind him.

“Scorpio was quite shocked when you stood up to her after your transformation, I assume,” he said as he arrived at Dinky’s side.

Dinky nodded.  Well… yeah.  She said I shouldn’t have been able to resist her command.  That’s why I wondered if maybe I wasn’t a wraith after all.”

Starswirl lowered his head, till his muzzle was only inches from Dinky’s.  “That’s because, at least in the sense that all modern magic has come to understand them, maybe you’re not,” he admitted.

Dinky raised an eyebrow.  “You just said I was.”

“I said you were physically a wraith,” Starswirl corrected.  “But it is essentially only your mind that is visiting this realm right now, and, as I’m sure you’ve noticed, it has manifested as your usual self, in appearance and personality.”

“But what does that mean?” Dinky asked, slightly frustrated.

“It means something very unexpected has happened,” Starswirl said, breaking into a mysterious smile.  “Until this day, in one hundred percent of recorded cases, ponies that become wraiths have exhibited purely evil, selfish, and violent tendencies.  But then again, in nearly as many cases, those ponies began their experimentation with dark magic willingly.  They chose to set off down the path of darkness by themselves.  The psychological effects of the magic just helped them along.”

Dinky made an attempt to reply, but Starswirl continued.  “Ponies are not designed to wield dark magic.  It affects them in negative ways; this is a simple physiological fact.  As such, for thousands of years, dark magic has been considered inherently evil.  I myself believed the very same, until just a few hours ago.  But I suppose the concept of a wraith who managed to maintain her pony integrity was never considered by any magical scholar.  Unlike a pony, your body is designed to wield dark magic.  Wraiths have full control over it, and simply choose to use it for misdeeds.”

Dinky’s eyes widened.  “So, while before, it was a burden to bear, a force threatening to control me…”

“…Now it’s a tool, with no more power over you than your normal magic,” Starswirl finished with a nod.  “You’ve managed to break what was considered a fundamental law of magic today, Dinky; apparently, although you have to be a wraith to do so, it is possible to use dark magic for good.  You just saved a lot of ponies’ lives with it.”

Dinky staggered as if the knowledge was a physical burden.  “So, you’re saying, I’m still a wraith, but I’m a good wraith?”

“Precisely that,” the old mage replied.  “You’ve got a mind sharp enough to understand the tricks the darkness tried to pull on you, and you’re of such strong moral fiber that nothing was able to make you stray from your values for long.  Those qualities of you remain, even if your original body is gone.”

Dinky chuckled.  “It’s funny when you put it that way,” she admitted, a nostalgic expression crossing her features.  “There was this one line in my beginner’s magic guide that always stood out to me: Magic is limited only by the strength of the mind and the passion of the heart.  I guess that advice holds true even more strongly than I thought.”

“And more than I thought, too, and I practically invented that phrase,” Starswirl laughed.  “It’s been paraphrased a few times, sure, but the idea was mine.”

The filly grinned.  “It seems like you’ve had an effect on my fate for even longer than I thought!” she said.

Dinky sat back and downed the rest of her tea.  When she finished, she noticed Starswirl had returned to his chair and was sitting quite still and watching her intently.  Even the bells on his hat and cloak were silent.

“What?” she asked finally, starting to grow slightly uncomfortable.

“Oh, pardon me,” Starswirl replied.  “It’s just, if you wouldn’t mind, Dinky, this whole encounter has left me with a question of my own.  Do you have another moment?”

“I can spare a few more minutes,” Dinky said. “I mean, it’s not every day a schoolfilly gets to talk to one of the biggest names in the history of modern magic.”

Starswirl nodded.  “Truth be told, I’m very interested to know what you intend to do next.  As positive as our discussion may have sounded, you must understand, you’ll likely be facing some new hardships as a result of what has happened to you this year.  Have you begun to consider how you will move forward from here?”

Dinky thought about that for a second.  “Well, in some ways, I already have,” she responded slowly.  “My friends, my mom, my tutor… they all stood by me, even knowing I was a wraith, to help me fight off Scorpio.  They’ve all been behind me throughout my entire fight with dark magic, and I don’t think any of them are planning to shy away now.  No matter what the future holds, I won’t have to face it alone.”

Starswirl nodded slowly.  “Alas, in my lifetime, I was often too consumed with my own studies to recognize the value of bonds with others,” he admitted sadly.  “I have realized how much value they have through watching ponies like you, or like your tutor, who also holds the bonds of friendship in high regard.”

There was a pause. “Speaking of which…” he continued slowly, “your tutor, Twilight Sparkle, is quite a fan of mine, isn’t she?”

Dinky laughed.  “That’s putting it mildly.  I don’t think there’s a single pony in the history of Equestria, save for Princess Celestia, that she is more awed by.”

“Thought so,” Starswirl replied, a mischievous gleam in his eye.  “She’d be pretty excited if I were to, say, have you convey a message to her for me?”

“Of course!” Dinky replied.  “She’d be absolutely thrilled!  Do you have a great magical secret to tell her?”

Starswirl grinned.  “Tell Miss Twilight Sparkle that Starswirl the Bearded, father of the amniomorphic spell, first Grand High Mage of the royal court of Celestia, and age-old traveler of three planes, says… ‘hi’.”

Dinky blinked twice.  “…That’s it?  Hi?”

Starswirl laughed gleefully.  “Oh, that ought to frustrate her something awful!” he chuckled.  “You can rest assured, I’ll be watching from here, just to see her reaction.”

Dinky smirked.  “You have a point.  That will be pretty funny.”

Starswirl nodded.  “After she’s done freaking out, then you can let her know that she’s on the right track to making some groundbreaking magical discoveries, and that I’m proud of her.  Don’t tell her that until she’s done being annoyed at me, though.”

The filly laughed.  “Got it.”

Both ponies continued to grin at the thought of Twilight’s reaction.  After a few moments, Starswirl used his magic to turn his chair back to face his desk.

“Anywho, I’m sure you’re eager to get home,” he said.  Head out the front door and keep walking.  You’ll find your way in due time.”

Dinky nodded.  “Thank you, Mr. Starswirl.  It was a privilege to have this conversation with you.”

“Likewise,” Starswirl replied.  “I’m sure you’ll be telling your friends that you met me when you get home, but if I had anypony to talk to up here, you can bet I’d be telling them all about my conversation with the filly who broke the law of dark magic’s exclusively negative uses.”

Dinky blushed.  “I guess that’s true.  Goodbye, and good luck with your studies.”

A hoof appeared from behind the chair as Starswirl waved goodbye.  Dinky smiled and turned, trotting quietly out of the study.  She opened the front door and, after a moment’s hesitation, stepped out and wandered into the endless expanse.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Time passed.  Dinky eventually realized she had no idea exactly how much time.  Starswirl’s little home had long since disappeared from view, which struck her as strange, since the void she found herself trotting through was flat, without any features to obscure such a structure.  Trusting in his advice, she continued to march straight ahead, assuming that sooner or later she would find her way back to Equestria.

An indeterminate amount of time later, something caught her eye.  Even in the distance, she was sure it was the silhouette of another pony.  Grateful to encounter anything other than the abstract expanse surrounding her, she began to make her way towards it.

The other pony seemed to notice her as well.  It stopped, standing perfectly still for a few moments, and then, with what seemed to be an air of caution, began to make its way toward her.

It’s a colt, Dinky realized.  He’s small; he can’t be much older than me.

But as she got close enough to make out the other pony’s features, she saw something she wasn’t expecting.  The approaching pony had a very familiar appearance: a sunny yellow coat and an orange mane and tail.  She stopped walking, assuming an apprehensive pose.

“Hello?” the colt called when he was within earshot.

Dinky stepped back uncertainly.  “That better not be you in disguise, Antares!” she replied.

As soon as the wraith’s name left her mouth, the colt jumped, looking wildly around.  “Antares!?  Where!?  Are you with him?  Did you come to try to destroy me?”

The colt’s voice and demeanor were nothing like the Antares’ façade’s had been.  Dinky’s eyes widened as she realized what that meant.

“I’m not with Antares,” she said decisively, making her way over until she finally arrived at the colt’s location.  “In fact, Antares is dead.  He won’t be bothering either of us.”

The colt continued to stare nervously at Dinky, but he didn’t flee as she came to stand in front of him.

Dinky cleared her throat.  “Are you… Sunbeam?”

The colt nodded.  “I… I am, but how do you know that?  Did I know you?  It’s been so long since the incident with the dark magic… at least, I think it has.  It’s so hard to keep track of how long I’ve been wandering around here…”

“It’s a very long story,” Dinky admitted, grinning sheepishly.  “But if what I’ve learned is correct, Antares was the one who taught you dark magic, right?”

“Yeah, and got me killed,” Sunbeam replied bitterly.  “And now I’m stuck here, which is much worse than the dying was.”

Dinky raised an eyebrow.  “You’re stuck?  What do you mean?”

The colt sighed and hung his head.  “The dark magic is like a prison,” he mumbled.  “Every now and then as I search for a way out of this place, a bright light appears in the distance.  I know it’s the way to move on, but every time I get near it, my dark magic kicks in, and it makes the light fade away.  It’s happened hundreds… no, thousands of times…”

Sunbeam shivered, and Dinky realized he was holding back tears.  She placed a forehoof on his back comfortingly, but he made no reply.  After a moment, he collected himself and lifted his gaze, looking at her miserably.

“Walk with me?” she suggested gently.  “I’d like to tell you a story about what has happened since your death.  Maybe I can give you some insights into controlling dark magic that could help you.”

Sunbeam shrugged.  “Couldn’t hurt…”

The colt fell into stride beside Dinky.  As they walked, Dinky relayed the story of Antares’ meddling in her life.  Sunbeam was irked to know that the wraith had been using his appearance, but what really shocked him was learning his death was an event from over forty years ago.  As the tale went on, he became gradually more engaged, asking questions and even adding some input of his own to Dinky’s experiences.

“So now I’m a wraith, I guess, but it’s okay; I’ve learned to control the darkness, instead of letting it control me,” she said, reaching the end of the lengthy narrative.  “Now I’ve just got to see if I can make the rest of Equestria understand that.”

“You’re so lucky,” Sunbeam said, sighing.  “At least you’ll be able to leave this place.”

Dinky opened her mouth to respond, but stopped herself when a flicker appeared in the corner of her eye.  She turned her head to see a bright light shimmering a short distance away.

There was a crackle, and Sunbeam groaned as a black aura crept its way into his horn.  “There it goes again,” he mumbled.

Dinky watched the light begin to fade as a result of Sunbeam’s rogue spell.  She stamped a hoof determinedly.

“Not this time!” she announced.  “You can beat this!”

Sunbeam laughed bitterly.  “I’m no hero like you, Dinky.  Maybe you can overcome it, but I can’t.  I’ve tried, more than a few times.”

“Then let me help!” she urged.  “Work together with me, and you might have a chance!”

Sunbeam said nothing.  Dinky glanced at the steadily fading light, and then frantically back at him.  “Sunbeam!  Please!”

The colt looked uncertain.  “What do I have to do?”

Dinky lit her horn with her regular magic and leaned in, touching the tip to Sunbeam’s own.  “This is the energy you need,” she said.  “It’s still inside you, no matter how much dark magic you’ve used, and it’s powerful enough to push the darkness away!”

Sunbeam squirmed, but kept his horn against Dinky’s.  “I can’t!  I’m not… I’m not able to anymore…”

“Magic is limited only by the strength of the mind and the passion of the heart!” Dinky cried.  “You know what to do.  You know how to do it.  You just need the conviction to make it happen!”

Sunbeam’s gaze met hers, and looking into his eyes, Dinky felt she could see a spark somewhere deep inside suddenly light.  The colt cried out with effort as his dark aura shrank and finally flickered out, replacing itself with a soft blue one.

Immediately, the distant light grew brighter, becoming larger and larger until Dinky and Sunbeam were almost surrounded with near-blinding light.  The filly laughed gleefully.

“You did it!  I knew you could do it!”

Sunbeam looked awestruck, staring unafraid into the dazzling light before him.  After a moment, he turned and extended a hoof to Dinky.

“Come with me,” he said.  “Equestria doesn’t like wraiths.  Not even nice ones like you.  Just move on with me, and you won’t have to worry about it.”

Dinky shook her head.  “Sorry, but no.  My friends and family would be devastated if I died, and I’m not ready to leave them yet either.”

Sunbeam nodded.  “I understand,” he said softly.  “But thank you, Dinky.  Thank you from the bottom of my heart.  I hope the path you choose from here will make you happy.”

Dinky nodded and waved as the light grew brighter and brighter, eventually engulfing Sunbeam completely.  Knowing she had her own destination on the other end of the glow waiting for her, she trotted off in the direction she instinctively knew would lead her home, and vanished into the light.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“…condition is still unclear.  Her vital signs have been holding stable, but are very low.  It’s difficult to make any real estimates of where her condition will go.”

Dinky didn’t recognize the voice that was speaking, but she definitely recognized the one that replied.

“Just keep me up to date the moment anything changes.  I can’t bear the suspense anymore.  I can’t lose my Dinky…”

Mom?

Although her whole body felt like it was made of cement, Dinky shifted ever so slightly and opened one eye a bit.  Through her bleary vision, she could make out a long room with a high, vaulted ceiling and tall windows through which morning sunlight was streaming. Nearby were the shapes of her mother and the pony that she now realized was the academy nurse. Neither was looking her way.  Her mouth felt as if she hadn’t had water in weeks, but she managed to quietly call out.

“M-mom?”

Ditzy’s head snapped toward Dinky, and she rushed to the bedside.  Dinky opened her other eye and blinked until her vision cleared a bit.  Ditzy beamed, happy tears already forming in her misaligned eyes.

“Dinky!  Thank goodness!” she cried, reaching forward to attempt to hug the filly.  The nurse, however, quickly intervened, dragging Ditzy away.

“I know you’re eager, Mrs. Doo,” she began, “but please, control yourself.  It’s not clear yet how badly your daughter is hurt.”

Dinky gingerly worked a few of her muscles and realized, oddly enough, that she didn’t hurt all that much at all.  Which was strange, she noted, considering she’d been struck by an explosive shockwave and hurled against a solid wall of jagged crystal.  Equally notable, she looked like herself again, not like a wraith.

“I-I’m not that messed up,” she said, turning her head toward the nurse.  “Tired and stiff, but not in a whole lot of pain.  I could use some water though.”

The nurse retreated to a small room nearby for some water.  As she did, Ditzy flew to the main door of the infirmary and threw it open.

“Twilight!  Dinky’s awake!”

Twilight Sparkle teleported into the room in a brilliant flash of purple.  Frantically, she hurried over to Dinky’s bed, examining her as she would a laboratory specimen.

“Hi, Miss Twilight,” Dinky said softly.

Twilight looked incredibly worry-worn, but she smiled.  “I’m glad you pulled through that,” she reported.  “Unfortunately, there’s a lot you’re going to have to clear up with Princess Celestia and me, but for now, just rest.

The nurse returned with a glass of water, levitating it forward to help her patient drink.

“You don’t have to try to do that,” the filly mumbled, nudging the glass away with her nose.  “Let me sit up so I can drink it properly.”

“Nonsense,” the nurse replied with a snort.  “It’s a miracle that you’re even awake at all.  In the condition you’re in, there’s no way you’ll be able to—”

Dinky pushed the bedcovers partway down her body and, although it took some effort, hauled herself into a sitting position, leaning against the headboard.

The nurse very nearly dropped the glass out of her aura.  “O-okay then,” she said weakly, handing over the water.  “Princess Celestia said to notify her if your condition became stable, so let me just make sure that is the case.  I didn’t expect it to be so soon…”

Dinky took a long drink, sighing with relief as it wetted her parched throat.  As soon as she was finished, the nurse began performing a series of simple physical tests and magical scans on the filly, testing movement, checking vital signs, and ensuring her magic was functioning properly and painlessly.

“Bizarre.  Your condition is massively better than it was when you arrived a few hours ago,” the nurse mumbled.  “I’m not sure what’s happening, but if you’re feeling passably well, I suppose I should summon the princess.  Stay in bed please.”

Looking bewildered, the nurse trotted from the room.

She set the glass aside and spoke more clearly than before.

“Is everypony else okay?”

“Everypony that was in the cave is fine,” Ditzy assured her.  Scorpio didn’t seriously hurt anypony, and Twilight shielded all of us from the blast, save for you.”

Dinky nodded.  “What about Honeydew and Scuffle?  Did they get back to the castle okay?  And what about Sparkler?”

Ditzy leaned forward and nuzzled the concerned filly.  “Your friends are in the next room.  We didn’t want them crowded around you while you were trying to recover.”

“I’m feeling up to talking now, at least,” Dinky admitted.  “May I see them?”

Ditzy looked to Twilight questioningly, and the purple unicorn shrugged.  “I think that would be alright,” she said.  “We need to keep an eye on you until Princess Celestia arrives though.”

“But don’t worry, we’ll step back so you can talk to your friends,” Ditzy added.

Dinky nodded, and the two mares turned and trotted to the infirmary doors.  Twilight opened them a bit and poked her head outside.

“You kids can see Dinky now, but she’s resting, so keep it quiet and calm, okay?”

Twilight stepped back, and four foals entered the room.  Leading the way was Clarity, who appeared to be applying a great deal of self-restraint to prevent herself from charging headlong to Dinky’s bedside.  Pipsqueak trotted along behind her, with Honeydew and Scuffle, walking side by side, bringing up the rear.

The moment Clarity reached Dinky’s bed, she reared up and placed her forehooves on the sheets beside her friend.  “Celestia’s mane, Dinky, you can’t scare us like that,” she said.  “Right after the explosion, we thought for sure you wouldn’t pull through.”

“Clarity told us the whole story,” Honeydew confessed.  “I was worried you wouldn’t be coming back, and then when your mom arrived with you draped over her back, I thought… I thought…”

Overcome by her usual anxieties, Honeydew trailed off.  Scuffle shifted his weight, and looking uncertain, gave her an awkward pat on the back.

“So… how badly are you hurt?”  Pipsqueak asked quietly.  “Can you move?”

“It… really doesn’t hurt as bad as I thought it would,” Dinky admitted.  “I guess I just got really lucky.  I could have been hurt pretty badly.”

Pipsqueak looked relieved.  Dinky glanced at the pendant around his neck, and then at her own.

“So now that we have more time, Pip, tell me, what exactly happened with the pendant?”

Pipsqueak lifted the accessory off of himself and stared at it, as if expecting to find more information.  “I still have no idea why it did what it did, really,” he admitted.  “It started glowing, but it wasn’t your magic coming from it.  The light was purple: a warm, friendly sort of purple, not an evil one.  As soon as I put the pendant on, it was like it…”

He paused for several seconds, tapping a hoof to his chin ponderously.  “It was almost like I tapped into your emotions at that moment.  I felt your fear, your frustration, your desperation… it was impossible to tell what was wrong or why, but I knew you were in grave danger.”

“That sounds like some sort of enchantment,” Clarity stated.  “A powerful, complicated enchantment.  I don’t know how to cast anything like that.”

“Neither do I,” Dinky admitted.  “Maybe Miss Twilight or Professor Luster can help us figure out what happened.”

She paused as a thought occurred to her.  “Speaking of ponies that are good with enchantments… is Sparkler okay?”

“The nurse said she’s gonna be alright,” Scuffle assured her.  “It’s going to take her a while to recover from her injuries, but you didn’t do any kind of permanent damage with your dark magic, thankfully.”

“Once we got her back to the castle, they rushed her straight here.  She’s in another wing of the infirmary now,” Honeydew explained.  “The night only got more stressful from there, with the guards and the dean questioning us, and then the uproar when you were brought back…”

Dinky nodded soberly.  “But you know, Honeydew, you look pretty good considering all that’s happened,” she pointed out.  “I’ve definitely seen you more rattled over smaller things than this.”

Honeydew smiled shyly.  “I suppose that’s because Scuffle tried his best to keep me calm,” she admitted, glancing at the colt beside her.  “I feel the worst when I’m allowed to stew in my own worries, and he helped to distract me while we waited for you to wake up.”

Scuffle blushed.  “Well, what was I supposed to do, let you sit there and worry yourself to death?” he huffed, looking away.

Dinky giggled.  “You act tough, but you’re a good friend, Scuffle,” she said.

Scuffle glared and opened his mouth to reply, but stopped short as Honeydew leaned over and gave him an appreciative nuzzle.  “Dinky’s right, thanks Scuffle,” she said sweetly, once again totally unaware of the blush rapidly crossing the colt’s face as she turned back to Dinky.

“It seems like things turned out okay,” Clarity began, “but… there was one casualty.  I… I’m afraid we lost Trouble.”

Dinky winced as she recalled Trouble’s final moments.  Honeydew and Scuffle appeared just as distraught at the news.

“What happened?” Honeydew whispered.  “Did he… did he suffer, or did he just…?”

“He saved us,” Dinky declared.  “I don’t know how he knew what to do, but he caught Scorpio off guard for just a second, and that was all we needed.  We sealed her away again, but he fell into the portal with her.  I don’t think he escaped, but even if he did… well, I don’t think he would have fared as well in the explosion as I did…”

The atmosphere grew somber around the grieving foals.  Finally Clarity piped up.

“We need to appreciate what he did for us,” she said.  “Maybe he was just paying us back for all the care and comfort we’ve given him this year.  We shouldn’t dwell on losing him; we should thank him for giving himself up for our sake.”

The others nodded.  “Everypony else made it through last night okay, right?” Scuffle asked.

“Well, not quite,” Clarity said, biting her lip.  “Dinky, I don’t suppose you know why you don’t still look like a— err, like you did in the cave?”

“I… I’m not sure,” Dinky admitted.  “I think maybe we should wait until Princess Celestia gets here before we talk about anything regarding that.”

“Did I hear my name?”

Princess Celestia trotted into the room, with the nurse at her side.  At Celestia’s nod, the mare bowed and excused herself from the room.

“Good morning, Princess!” said Twilight, cantering forward and bowing before the monarch.

“Good morning, Twilight,” Celestia replied, albeit less enthusiastically.  “Pardon me for skipping the small talk, but from what I’ve gathered so far, something very substantial occurred last night, and I’d like a full account now that the immediate danger has passed.”

She looked toward Dinky.  The filly saw no anger in her eyes, so hesitantly, she spoke.

“It’s mostly my fault, Princess.  The wraith Antares tricked me, and I almost put all of Equestria in danger.”

Celestia walked slowly to Dinky’s bedside.  The four foals gathered around looked up at her, unsure what to do.

“Good morning, students,” the princess greeted, smiling at each of them in turn.  “I know you all want to catch up with Dinky, but could you excuse us for a few moments?  Twilight Sparkle, Ditzy Doo, and I need to talk with her alone for a bit.”

Clarity nodded.  “Sure, Princess.  We’ll wait outside.”

The group of visitors hurried out of the room.  Clarity sent Dinky a glance that seemed to say ‘good luck’ before pulling the door shut.”

Celestia nodded, satisfied, and then turned to the recovering filly.  “Now Dinky, please, begin at the beginning. What led you and your friends to sneak out last night?”

Dinky cleared her throat and began to tell the story, making sure not to leave out anything.  After all, she thought, I’m already going to be in serious trouble.  Trying to deceive a princess would only make things worse.

The princess listened silently until she reached the point where the explosion had closed the portal to the Realm of Stars.  Before she could move on to the experiences she’d had in the other realm during her unconsciousness, Celestia spoke up.

“It’s certainly unfortunate that Antares was clever enough to instigate this whole sequence of events,” she began, “but what’s done is done.  Now is not the time or place to debate guilt or decide punishments.  What we do need to investigate immediately is what happened to you in that cave.”

Dinky flattened her ears against her head and looked away.

“Your story matches Twilight’s,” Celestia continued.  “Scorpio overloaded your body with dark magic and turned you into a wraith.  Yet, against all expectations, you stood your ground alongside your allies, instead of falling to the call of darkness.”

“I know, it makes no sense,” Twilight chimed in, sounding intrigued.  “Dark magic can’t be used for good, can it?  I mean, it’s a basic principle of the magical medium.”

Dinky frowned.  “Miss Twilight, you saw it happen.  Maybe there’s an exception to the rule?”

“Dinky makes a good point,” Celestia said.  “Technically, dark magic can occasionally be used neutrally, as you and I used it in the crystal empire to unlock some of King Sombra’s secrets.  It’s possible, since the spell in question had combat applications, that it’s a loophole.  What confuses me, however, is why a wraith would ever use a dark spell for a non-malicious purpose.”

She paused, and then turned, giving Twilight a serious stare that made the bookish mare shrink back a bit.  “Twilight, are you certain that what you witnessed was Dinky’s transformation into a wraith, and not some other dark spell?” she asked.

“Absolutely,” Twilight affirmed.  “It matched all the textbook descriptions.  I’m not entirely sure how Dinky reverted to her disguised form while unconscious, but there’s a wraith underneath.”

Dinky had no idea how she had returned to her original appearance either, but expected it had something to do with her state of mind while visiting the plane between realms.  “I’m pretty sure Miss Twilight is right,” she admitted.  “But I swear, I’m not evil!  If I show you, do you promise not to, you know, attack me?”

“Unless you make an attempt to harm somepony in this room, you will be safe, even if you are a wraith,” Celestia assured her.  “But please, show us if you can, so we can erase any doubt.”

Ditzy groaned.  “Does she have to?  Memories of last night are still fresh in my mind.”

Celestia smiled gently.  “Mrs. Doo, if what you told me earlier is true, and Dinky has retained her original personality, then her change will be a physical one only.”

Ditzy pondered the princess’s words before nodding.  “You’re right.  She’s still my Dinky, whether she looks like a pony or not.”

The pegasus stepped forward and gave Dinky a delicate hug.  “Show the princess what happened to you, okay?” she asked.

Dinky nodded slowly.  “Okay…”

Cautiously, Dinky lit her horn, and allowed dark magic to replace her usual glow.  It felt almost no different than her usual magic did.  She barely had to urge the energy forward before it spread through her whole body.

Dinky’s frame rippled like smoke, and dark color spread across the hazy image.  She felt her features melt painlessly away, revealing the form beneath.  Just a moment later, she returned to a stable form, fully transformed into a dark-coated wraith.  She cringed at the several apprehensive stares she received.

“So… I guess this is me now,” Dinky replied, cringing again at the sound of her own altered voice.  “But I haven’t changed on the inside, honest!”

Princess Celestia seemed to be thinking hard about what to say or do next.  She watched Dinky closely for a few moments, choosing her words.

“Princess?” Dinky asked nervously.

“Can you stand?” Celestia asked suddenly.  “You seem as though you aren’t in much pain.  Are you strong enough to get to your hooves?”

Carefully, Dinky slid off the side of the bed and managed to stand steady after a few moments of adjustment.  “I can stand, but I’m not totally sure why,” she admitted.  “I should have broken every bone in my body last night, even if I did manage to survive.  Why is it that I just feel sore, but otherwise I’m uninjured?”

“I bet being a wraith actually had something to do with that,” Twilight gasped, a look of comprehension crossing her features.  “As we just saw, wraiths can change into an amorphous state.  It’s possible you instinctively ‘softened’ some of your features a moment before impact, leaving you a lot less wounded than you would have been otherwise.”

Dinky blinked.  “So if I was still a pony, I’d be dead now?” she asked, shocked.

“I’d think that would be very likely, considering the circumstances,” Twilight admitted nodding.  “I never thought I’d say it, but maybe you were lucky this happened to you.”

“See?  Everything has an upside,” Ditzy announced.  “If this is the way Dinky is now, I’m prepared to accept it and move forward.  That’s all you can do.”

“It may not be that simple,” Twilight argued.  “I mean, we still have to figure out if Dinky really has broken the laws of magic, or if this is some complicated ruse to try to—”

Ditzy swung herself around, her eyes shifting to a rare moment of focus as she glared at the mare.  “Twilight, I know you’re a modern authority on magic, and one of the few ponies I’d trust with my daughter’s safety, but for once in your life you need to take something at face value, even if it doesn’t make sense,” she scolded.

“B-but—”

“Calm down, please,” the Princess urged, stepping between the mares.  “You both have a point.  As Twilight said, there has never been a good wraith before.  But that doesn’t mean we can be sure of what’s happening here.  We need further information before we can fully understand what Dinky has become.”

“What we really need is to find the difference between Dinky and all other wraiths,” Twilight deduced, tapping a hoof to her chin thoughtfully.  “If a law of magic has really been disproved here, there must be a reason why.”

“Um…” Dinky began, flicking her smoky tail nervously and causing flecks of darkness to float off it, “I know you might not believe me since I’m the suspect here, but I think I’ve got an explanation.”

“We’d be happy to hear it,” Celestia said.  “Anything that could shed light on this strange event would be appreciated, no matter who it comes from.”

Dinky nodded.  “Well, while I was unconscious, I met this pony…”

Princess Celestia, Twilight, and Ditzy listened silently as Dinky recounted her conversation with Starswirl the Bearded, and his theory that, since she had not given in to the temptations of dark magic during her corruption, her body had transformed while her mind had remained her own.  She made sure to relay every detail she could remember; after all, if Starswirl’s logic couldn’t convince the ponies in front of her she was telling the truth, it wasn’t likely that anything could.

The trio of ponies stared wide-eyed as the little wraith finished her story.  Celestia was the first to find her voice.

“There are a lot of sensible points there,” she admitted.  “There haven’t been a great number of established wraiths in Equestria’s history, and those that were went seeking dark powers as ponies before they transformed.  You, Dinky, were observed just yesterday as behaving like your normal self, save for your troubles with dark magic surges, but even then, you were trying to contain them, not increase them.”

Ditzy smirked.  “There’s your key difference, Twilight.  I told you Dinky wasn’t really evil.”

“Now hang on,” Twilight snorted.  “I don’t want to antagonize Dinky any further than I have to, but how do we know Dinky didn’t turn to darkness somewhere along the line and had the sense to keep up her usual behavior to avert suspicion?”

Ditzy bristled and prepared another outburst, but Dinky calmly interjected first.

“Miss Twilight, Antares said that any wraith would gladly accept Scorpio’s return, since she’s their best bet for getting the positions of power they want.”

“Well, yeah, but—”

“I sealed Scorpio back in the Realm of Stars,” Dinky continued, ignoring the interruption.  “Doesn’t that speak for itself?”

Twilight paused, considered Dinky’s point, and then looked rather sheepish.  “Well, yes, I suppose it does.”

“It does indeed,” Princess Celestia confirmed.  “Given the information, we must make the assumption that Dinky is telling the truth.”

Twilight nodded, and opened her mouth to say something else, but stopped short.  Gradually, her eyes widened, not stopping until they had reached near ridiculous proportions.

“I… I just realized…” she whispered.  “If the explanation was true, that means… Dinky really did meet Starswirl the Bearded!”

Dinky grinned.  “Yes I did!” she said, nodding excitedly.  “And actually, he gave me a message to deliver directly to you, Miss Twilight.”

The news hit Twilight like a physical force.  Shaking, she stepped closer to the tiny wraith, leaning down so as not to miss a single syllable of the clearly all-important message.

Trying desperately to stifle a giggle, Dinky moved her head beside her tutor’s ear.  “Starswirl the Bearded,” she began, just above a whisper, “one of the most famous and powerful unicorns in history, says… ‘hi’.”

Twilight stood stone still for a very long moment, her gaze locked on an unremarkable point in the distance.  Her voice cracked as she repeated the message.

“…Hi?”

Dinky giggled.  “I’m pretty sure that was the reaction he was hoping for,” she admitted.  “He’s probably laughing his flank off right now.”

Twilight only grew more frantic.  “B-but, if he sent me a message at all, at least that means he knows I exist, right?  W-which means he must think I’m at least sort of a notable unicorn, doesn’t he?”

Twilight began pacing the room, mumbling to herself.  “It must be a secret code, yes, that’s it,” she said under her breath.  “Obviously, there’s a deeper meaning hidden in this casual greeting: a message that he has sent for me to decipher.  But what could it be?  Is this a test?  Is he trying to determine if I’m worthy of even attempting to follow in his glorious legacy?”

Celestia made her way over to Twilight and put a wing around her panicked student.  “Twilight, I think it’s more likely it was simply a prank,” she laughed.  “Starswirl did occasionally enjoy a laugh at other ponies’ expense.”

“He just wanted to see how worked up you’d get,” Dinky chuckled.  “Now that he’s had his fun, I’m allowed to give you the rest of the message.”

Twilight darted out from beneath Celestia’s wing so quickly that the latter lost a few feathers.  Within a second, she was inches from Dinky’s face again, waiting in reverent silence.

“Starswirl’s been keeping an eye on your studies,” Dinky told her.  “He says you shouldn’t get discouraged, because you’re on your way to making some amazing magical breakthroughs.  He’s proud of what you’ve accomplished, and what you will still accomplish.”

“He… he what?”

Twilight swayed and threatened to topple over entirely, avoiding doing so only because Dinky leaned against her side, supporting her.  After a few seconds, she regained her balance and looked at Dinky, her eyes full of something besides her awe of Starswirl.

“I’m sorry,” she said abruptly, hanging her head.  “My studies in friendship, like my studies in magic, are far from complete.  I’ve been your tutor since you cast your very first spell; I should have been able to see that same eager student in you despite what’s happened.  I’m sorry I was so suspicious.”

Dinky glanced at her own dark fur and the smoke trailing faintly from her tail.  “It’s okay, Miss Twilight.  If I encountered a pony— err, a wraith like me, I’d be initially suspicious too.”

“It’s also worth noting that, although Dinky is not evil, she is probably not entirely unchanged,” Princess Celestia warned.  “During these past few months, Dinky, have you felt the influence of dark magic on your personality?”

Dinky nodded solemnly.  “I, uh… I admit I’ve been making some more risky decisions, and my temper was shorter than I would have liked.  The only pony I ended up hurting was Sparkler, but trust me, I’ll never let that happen again.”

Celestia nodded.  “Although dark magic will not continue to conflict with your established personality, the damage done before you transformed may have some lasting effects.  Please be wary of your temper and impulsiveness, as you may still find those qualities coming out now and then.”

“If anyone can keep them under control, it’s my Dinky,” Ditzy said, determined.  “The wraith in her may have won the body, but the pony’s heart will always be stronger.”

Dinky shifted her weight shyly.  “You’re not upset?” she asked tentatively.  “I’ll try my best, but… I might not always be your sweet, innocent little muffin anymore.”

Ditzy chuckled.  “If dark magic hadn’t done that to you, growing up probably would have, and you would’ve been a lot less apologetic about it,” she mare laughed, winking at her daughter.  “Trust me, I’m just relieved that a little extra rebelliousness is all that’s going to be different about you.”

Dinky grinned, feeling her new fangs touch her lip as she did so.  “On that note, can I put my pony appearance back on now?” she asked uncomfortably.  “Even if this is what’s underneath, I’d rather not look like this if I don’t have to.”

“Of course,” Princess Celestia agreed.  “You’ve already shown us all you need to show.”

Relieved, Dinky lit her horn and gave in to the strange sensation of melting away into smoke.  By simply wiling it, she felt her more familiar filly frame reform.  As soon as it did, though, Ditzy let out a gasp.

“Dinky!  Your… your cutie mark!”

Shocked, Dinky craned her neck to peer at her flank.  Upon it was a ring of tiny black and purple stars, surrounding a much bigger bright yellow star in the center.

“A pony fit to wield both types of magic,” Princess Celestia said, examining the mark with wonder.  “Wielding darkness as a tool, while light remains in your heart.  Truly, Equestria has never seen a pony like you, Dinky Doo.”

“And that means I probably haven’t faced the last of the unique challenges coming my way, huh?” Dinky asked.

Celestia nodded.  “I’m afraid they’re only beginning, but after what has happened here, I think you’ll be able to overcome them.”

“Thanks,” Dinky replied, humbled by the princess’s confidence in her.  “I’ll certainly do my best.”  

The filly wobbled in place, sidestepping slightly to maintain her balance.  “But can I start facing those challenges later?  I’m still really tired…”

“Of course,” Celestia responded.  “We have much more to discuss, but it can wait.”

“We’ll leave you to rest,” Ditzy said as she helped Dinky back into bed.  “The nurse will be here if you need anything, okay?”

Dinky nodded.  As Twilight and Celestia made their way out of the room, Ditzy stayed behind.  Once Dinky was tucked snugly back into the covers, the mare leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead.

“You’re still my little muffin,” she whispered.  “Smart, brave, and with a heart of gold.  And even the most evil being in Equestrian history couldn’t change that.”

Dinky smiled, and then closed her eyes as her mother trotted from the room.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

That day was the last day of the term.  Most of the ponies, finished with their exams, prepared for the year’s closing ceremonies, completely unaware of the near-catastrophe that had occurred the night before.

It was mid-afternoon.  After a long nap, Dinky felt well enough to get up and wander around.  After an extensive discussion on her condition with Celestia, the nurse gave her permission to return to her dormitory.

The halls of the castle were nearly deserted.  It was to be expected, Dinky supposed, as most of the students were probably packing their bags, and the professors were preparing for the closing ceremony.

Dinky paused in the second floor hallway overlooking the castle’s entrance, where one whole wall was a wide window, gazing out over the grounds and observing the ponies going about their day as if nothing significant had happened.  Late afternoon sun bathed the campus and painted the surrounding mountains with wondrous colors.  With the weight of the previous day still hanging over her, Dinky found herself much more able to appreciate the sight than she had in the past.  Lost in thought, she hardly noticed the sound of hoofsteps approaching.  She did snap right to attention, however, when the approaching pony spoke.

“Well well, if it isn’t the academy’s own dark mage.”

It was Sparkler’s voice.  Dinky spun to face the approaching overseer.

Sparkler walked with a mild limp.  A few small bandages decorated her coat, likely covering the more severe cuts.  Despite her battered appearance, her eyes were bright; she studied Dinky closely as she approached.

“S-Sparkler,” Dinky said nervously.  “Um, I—”

“You disobeyed my commands and assaulted me with dark magic,” Sparkler said flatly.  “If you’re going to try to explain it away as something else, good luck.”

Dinky shook her head.  “No, I’m just very relieved that you’re okay,” she admitted.  “And also, I’m sorry.  You were right all along.  While we had the right motivations, what we tried to do was outrageous, and almost put all of Equestria in danger.  Worse still, I managed to hurt ponies I cared about, or put them in peril.”

The filly hung her head.  “Last night, thanks to the influence of dark magic, I really was the troublemaker you kept making me out to be all year.  I’m sorry…”

Sparkler said nothing.  Dinky could feel the young mare’s gaze burning into her, but she didn’t dare meet it with her own.  After a few seconds, Sparkler lit her horn, and for a moment Dinky feared the overseer was going to attack her.  Instead, there was a feeling of movement against her chest, and she realized her pendant was being lifted from around her neck.  Confused, she allowed it to be taken off.

Sparkler held the pendant in front of her face, staring at it as it dangled in her aura.  “I’ve seen a few unfamiliar ponies around today,” she said, still examining the jewelry.  “Some of them aren’t even unicorns.  Did they come here last night, to help you?”

Dinky nodded.  “Um… yes.  How did you know?”

“I’ve been filled in on last night’s events,” Sparkler said simply.  Her gaze never left the pendant.  After a few seconds, when Dinky offered no further comment, she continued to speak.

“In a pony’s darkest hour, the one bound to them by the spell will be alerted,” she said finally.  “It’s a difficult enchantment to cast, that’s for sure.  But it looks like you ended up needing it after all, so I suppose it was worth the effort.”

Dinky’s jaw dropped when she realized what Sparkler meant.  “You added the enchantment to my pendant that let Pipsqueak know I needed help?”

The overseer didn’t reply, but then again, she didn’t really need to.  She lowered the pendant back to Dinky’s height, and the filly quickly slipped it back around her neck.  The two ponies’ gazes finally met.

“Sparkler… what… what made you think—”

“Regardless of what all may have transpired this year between us, I am still your overseer, and I am responsible for your safety,” said Sparkler levelly.  “I thought, considering your circumstances in the last few months, that an emergency backup plan might come in handy in case things turned very sour.”

“You saved my life,” Dinky breathed.  “Actually, you probably saved all of Equestria.  If Pip hadn’t brought the others along when he did…”

“Your friend wouldn’t have needed to do that if you’d just returned to the castle when I commanded you to, instead of trying to kill me with dark magic,” Sparkler grumbled.

Dinky winced.  “I know.  I insulted you.  I hurt you.  I thought I might have killed you.  You can’t even imagine how much the guilt weighed on me.  I’m so sorry…”

The filly lowered her head, expecting Sparkler to berate her further, or, at best, simply walk away.  Instead, she felt the mare’s hoof come to rest gently on the back of her head.

“I know you’re sorry.  And I forgive you.”

That was the very last thing Dinky had expected to hear.  She froze, certain she’d misheard.

“Pardon me?”

“I forgive you,” Sparkler sighed.  “Because I need to.  Because it would be unfair of me not to.  Because it’s time for a change.”

Dinky raised an eyebrow.

“Do you remember that night, when we had that little talk in my bedroom?” Sparkler asked.

Dinky nodded.  Although it felt like much longer, only a few weeks had passed since then.

“That was when I enchanted your pendant,” Sparkler admitted.  “Part of the reason was for your protection, yes, but it was also an experiment.”

“I’m still not sure what that has to do with you forgiving me,” Dinky said hesitantly, cocking her head.

“I’ve been thinking about what you said about allowing other ponies into my life,” Sparkler began, choosing her phrasing carefully.  “I thought that if I used that enchantment, and you wound up in danger, I might get to learn the extent your loved ones would go to for you, and decide if it was worth it.”

“And what conclusion did you come to?” Dinky asked, wondering how a mind as analytical as Sparkler’s would interpret the events.

Sparkler seemed to be thinking hard as she spoke.  “Not only did your friend come to your aid, he brought together an entire band of ponies close to you to attempt a rescue.  Every one of them risked their lives, so I’ve been told, in order to bring you back here in one piece.”

Dinky nodded.  “That’s right.  Don’t you think letting ponies like that into your life is worth the perceived ‘risk’?”

Sparkler chewed her lip.  “As I’ve said, my father wasn’t there for me like your family was,” she sighed.  “I’ve never even met him.  And my mother?  She’s not the type who would stick her neck out for me if I found myself in the situation you were in.”

“Not all families are as close-knit as others, I guess,” Dinky admitted.  “But I never said you would definitely be born into an ideal family, Sparkler.  What you need to do is surround yourself with ponies that really do care deeply about you, even if you can’t start with your own parents.”

Sparkler cringed.  “Where can I find ponies like that?” she asked hesitantly.

Dinky rolled her eyes.  “One young stallion’s been trying to get your attention all year and you know it, Sparkler.”

There were a few long seconds of silence.

“I just need some time to think,” Sparkler admitted, shuffling a hoof on the carpet.  “Maybe I could talk to Presto and…”

She trailed off, her brow furrowed as she stood lost in thought.  Eventually, she looked back to Dinky and managed a weak smile.

“Anyway, like I said, you’re forgiven.  I haven’t been being fair, and I’m sorry.  Maybe… we can forgive each other?”

Dinky returned Sparkler’s hesitant smile with a much brighter one of her own.  “That sounds like a good idea to me.”

Unfortunately, Dinky’s cheerfulness didn’t seem to lift Sparkler’s mood much.  Something in the young mare’s eyes looked uneasy.

“Dinky…” she muttered, “you know that, as much as we’d both like to put everything that happened behind us, it can’t happen like that.  I may not know the whole story, but I’ve at least heard the basics of what happened last night.  And I’m sure you can put two and two together well enough to know that if I know about what happened… so does the dean.”

Dinky winced.  Somewhere, in the back of her mind, she’d known the dean would come up eventually, but she’d been managing not to think about it.

“Dinky, I wasn’t trying to trick you, last night in the courtyard,” Sparkler said, tossing her mane nervously.  “What I said about the dean is true.  She’s going to—”

“I’m going to what, Sparkler?”

With her head high and a haughty, victorious smile on her face, dean Bright Spark marched around the corner from a nearby corridor and trotted up to the pair of students.  Sparkler shrank back like a mouse just cornered by a cat.

“I— I was just saying you were going to punish Dinky appropriately for the trouble she caused last night,” the overseer mewled.

“Quite right,” Bright Spark laughed, clearly delighted at the thought.  “I hope you weren’t planning on getting out of an expulsion this time, Dinky.  Leaving the school after dark is a punishable offence, deliberate use of dark magic despite prior warnings warrants expulsion in itself, and we won’t even go into the fact that you nearly doomed Equestria in the process.  I’d go so far as to say you are the most delinquent student in the history of this academy!”

Dinky hunkered down so low she nearly touched the floor and said nothing.

“You don’t even try to argue,” Bright Spark chuckled, adjusting her glasses as her cackling threatened to toss them from her muzzle.  “It’s for the best, trust me.  Now come, we’re going directly to my office to fill out your expulsion papers again.  And this time, my little pony, they aren’t going to be overruled.”

Bright Spark turned and began to trot merrily toward her office.  Sparkler silently urged Dinky to follow, but the filly stood her ground.  After a few moments, Bright Spark came to a halt and slowly turned around.

“Perhaps you didn’t hear me,” she cooed, her voice dripping with fake politeness.  “We’re going to my office.  Please come along.”

“I’ve got a question,” Dinky said calmly, ignoring the dean’s order completely.  “Did you really sink so low that you tried to blackmail Sparkler into helping get me expelled?”

The dean released a peal of laughter that echoed through the empty halls.  “Now Dinky, whatever gave you such a ridiculous idea?” she asked.  “Sparkler’s merely been keeping an eye on your, erm, exploits, we’ll call them.  Any accusations of conspiracies or blackmail are utterly unfounded.”

To Dinky’s surprise, Sparkler, who had been silent since the dean initially addressed her, opened her mouth to reply, but Bright Spark cut her off before she could begin.

“Ah, ah, ah, Sparkler,” she scolded, waving a forehoof.  “Everypony’s very tense lately, what with that incident last night.  The last thing you’d want to do is say something that might be taken the wrong way now that the crisis has already passed.  After all, you’re getting out of this scot-free; Dinky is the pony who will be punished.  There’s no need for you to say anything, trust me.”

Sparkler blinked, and suddenly anger flashed across her face.  “You still think I’m in on this awful little scheme!?” she snapped, her horn flaring angrily.  “Dinky and I have fought with some major differences all term, but despite that, I couldn’t bring myself to do your dirty work for you, despite all your threats.  If you’re going to expel Dinky for what she did, that’s understandable, but don’t you dare insinuate I actually participated in your attempt to frame her!”

Bright Spark crinkled her nose.  “Finally grown a backbone, have you?” she grumbled.  “Although, I suppose, it’s really not dangerous for you to speak out of line at this point.”

Sparkler raised an eyebrow.  “How so?”

“Well, you’re right.  You have done nothing wrong.  You’ve been doing your overseer job perfectly, and your contributions to trying to avert last night’s crisis have been noted by Princess Celestia.  If I were to strip you of your overseer title on vague means now, it would arouse too much suspicion.”

She smirked at Sparkler and Dinky’s outraged expressions.  “Besides,” she continued, “It doesn’t matter anyway.  Dinky turned out to be fully capable of getting into trouble without your help.  She’ll be expelled, and you’ll graduate with your highly reputable title intact.  I’d say you got very lucky, Sparkler.”

“So you really were blackmailing her!” Dinky snarled.

“Of course I was!” Bright Spark hissed.  “But so what?  The only pony who would be able to do anything about it is Princess Celestia, and without any solid evidence, she has no reason to believe the testimony of two fillies.  Especially when one of them is a delinquent about to be kicked out of this fine school.”

“Of course, admitting your crimes aloud is more than enough solid evidence,” came a disembodied voice.

Bright Spark nodded.  “Well, of course, but Princess Celestia isn’t… here… to…”

She trailed off as it occurred to her that the voice of a pony not present had spoken, and her confusion turned to horror as she realized whose voice it was.  Panicking, she backed against the wall as a rather large invisibility spell rippled through the air, dropping away to reveal a perfectly concealed Princess Celestia.

“Princess!” Dinky gasped, staring up at the monarch.  “Were you following me?”

“Actually, I was following professor Spark,” Celestia admitted.  “I just wanted to reassure myself that she was behaving as the dean should at the end of a term.  I seem to have discovered otherwise.”

“P-p-princess Celestia, I’m sure this is all simply a huge m-misunderstanding…” Bright Spark stuttered.  “A-anything you may have overheard was likely taken o-out of context.  Perhaps you and I should adjourn so that I may properly explain—”

“No explanations are necessary, Bright Spark,” Celestia said, shaking her head sadly.  “Throughout this term, your actions have been beginning to worry me, particularly when they included Dinky Doo.  I tried to convince myself that everything was fine, considering you’ve given four decades of your life to this school, but I can see now that I was in error.  I shudder to think how many students over these many years you’ve gotten away with mistreating the way you have Dinky.”

“But Princess, you must understand,” Bright Spark parried desperately, “while perhaps my methods were questionable, even outright unwholesome, I still only acted in the best interests of this school and everypony in it!  I know Dinky’s still been using dark magic, and—”

“And was doing as well as she was physically able to keep it under control,” Celestia finished.  “After the incident in the residence tower earlier this year, there have been no further situations in which other students were put in danger by her.”

“Yes, and we were very lucky!” Bright Spark insisted.  “A pony continuing to wield dark magic here is unacceptable.  I had to do something!”

“Then I would have appreciated you’d contacted me for a civil discussion of your opinions on the matter, rather than taking matters into your own hooves in such a way,” Celestia retorted.

Bright Spark’s lip curled angrily.  “Pah!  Like you would have listened,” she growled.  “I know it’s customary to trust the princess’s decisions, but not when they needlessly overlook the most fundamental rules of my school.”

“This is not your school,” Princess Celestia answered loudly.  “You’ve been given the privilege of leading my students in my absence, as has been the case with every dean for hundreds of years.”

“Well, yes, but—”

“And I can see it’s time for that privilege to be taken away,” Celestia continued, cutting the dean off.  “Bright Spark, I am stripping you of your position as acting dean of Celestia’s Academy for Gifted Unicorns.”

Bright Spark scowled, tossing her silvery mane with an air of self importance.  “Fine.  Boot me out for cracking down on troublesome students.  When the academy goes to seed, don’t come crying to me.”

“I think we’ll manage,” Celestia said crossly.  “Now collect your things from your office; I don’t intend to allow you to host tonight’s closing ceremony.”

Muttering under her breath, the old mare turned and began to trot away.  “At least there’s one silver lining,” she said as she receded down the hall.  “I may be going down, but Dinky’s going with me.  Regardless of what I did, her actions last night were definitely expulsion-worthy.”

“Maybe,” Princess Celestia said thoughtfully.  “But… maybe not.”

Bright Spark stopped in her tracks.  Slowly, she turned her head, looking over her shoulder at the princess and the two fillies who had been silent for some time.

“Excuse me?”

“Since Dinky’s original dark magic incident, she has been doing everything possible to keep it under control, including reaching out to her friends and receiving help from Princess Luna,” Celestia said as the dean returned to the group of conversing ponies.  “To the best of her ability, she has acted exactly as I would have recommended.  Unfortunately, her recent decisions were skewed by the strong presence of dark magic in her.  I can’t really consider them entirely her fault.”

“Just because the crisis has passed doesn’t mean her future decisions will be better!” Bright Spark exclaimed.  “You’re acting as if the dark magic has simply left her system or something!”

“No, the dark magic is here to stay,” Dinky admitted.  “But I’ve learned to control it now.  It won’t be putting any more ponies in danger.”

“I sincerely doubt that,” Bright Spark snapped, before turning back to Celestia.  “Princess, even if you believe that blatant lie, what if you’re wrong?  What if Dinky continues to be a threat to everypony around her?”

“Then perhaps it is better to have her here for much of the year, surrounded by unicorns who can help her until she can fully control it, than to turn her loose in Equestria where she’d pose a greater threat to innocent, unsuspecting ponies.”

“You’re… you’re really not going to expel her!?” the dean roared, slamming her forehooves against the floor.  “You’re allowing a criminal to inhabit our hallowed halls of magical education!  Are you completely out of your mind!?”

Dinky immediately flattened her ears against her head, managing to do so just before Celestia broke into the Royal Canterlot voice.

“You’ve already been in a lot of trouble today, and now you have the gall to insult your princess?  I will not tolerate this lack of respect!”

Celestia’s voice reached such a volume at the end of her sentence that the huge window overlooking the courtyard shattered, raining glass onto the fortunately empty grounds below.  Bright Spark, who seemed to have shrunken considerably in the last few seconds, opened her mouth to reply, but she was cut short.

“It’s been years since I have encountered a pony with such a self-important, ill-mannered attitude as yours!” Celestia continued, her thunderous voice causing Bright Spark to step back defensively.  “Leave this campus immediately.  I will not have a pony like you around my students for one second longer!”

Assaulted by the force of Celestia’s voice, the former dean backpedaled further.  Too far, everypony realized, when her hind hoof, without the window barrier to stop it, slipped off the edge of the stone floor and into midair.

For one second, a look of terror crossed the old unicorn’s face as she attempted to maintain her balance.  An instant later, she cried out as she toppled backwards, plummeting toward the courtyard below.

Dinky and Sparkler were too stunned to react, but Celestia moved immediately, launching out into the air and lighting her horn.  Bright Spark was cradled in the princess’s golden aura several pony lengths before she hit the ground, and was gently lowered to the courtyard below.  As soon as she regained her footing, she threw herself on the ground before Celestia.

“Even a pony like you doesn’t deserve a fate like that,” Celestia said.  “Now get up, and get out of here.”

Nodding shakily, Bright Spark got to her hooves and bolted down the path toward the train station, her tail rippling behind her as she disappeared as fast as her old hooves could carry her.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“So you’re not getting expelled?” Clarity gasped.

“None of us are!” Dinky announced, grinning at her friends’ relieved faces.  “After the dean fled, Celestia told me I should go get ready for tonight’s closing ceremonies, and that I should let you three know that you’re all very good friends for trying to keep me safe when I most needed somepony to guide me.”

“That’s a relief,” Scuffle sighed, wiping his brow.  “Even my brothers didn’t screw up bad enough to get kicked outta this place, but I really thought we had.”

Dinky, Clarity, Honeydew, and Scuffle were standing outside the residence towers, having their first real chance to catch up since the events of the night before.  Their belongings were already packed; the train would be arriving to take everypony home about an hour after the closing ceremonies concluded.  Ditzy, Pipsqueak, and the others had come by a short time earlier to ensure one final time that Dinky was no longer in any physical distress before heading home on an earlier train.

It feels so strange being back here, Dinky thought to herself, taking a deep breath of the autumn air as she trotted along beside her friends.  It feels like years ago that I was able to take a normal stroll through campus like this, but really, it was just yesterday…

“Oh, Dinky and Clarity,” Honeydew chirped, snapping Dinky out of her thoughts, “congratulations on getting your cutie marks, by the way.  Who would’ve thought you’d get them less than a day apart?”

Dinky grinned and stared at the ring of colored stars on her flank.  “Thanks!” she giggled.  “I don’t think either of us have had time to really think about them yet, now that you mention it.  Things have been kind of hectic.”

Clarity nodded in agreement, showing off the design on her own flank.  “I can’t wait to get home and show Lucid!  She’s gonna flip!”

“I’m just excited about not getting called a blank flank anymore,” Dinky added.  “All the fillies and colts back home are gonna see us in a different light now.”

“Eh, only the bullies will, really,” Scuffle chimed in.  “I’ve had my cutie mark for a while, and trust me, only the ponies who know your flank better than they know you are gonna really change.  Your friends… and enemies, for that matter, will treat you pretty much the same.”

“That’s… really insightful, Scuffle,” Clarity admitted.

Scuffle shrugged.  “Ponies at home know me as ‘Scorch and Frosty’s little brother.’  Thanks to you guys, I managed to shake off that reputation here before it stuck.  Now I just have to figure out how to do the same back in Fillydelphia.”

“You’re a better pony now than you were when the term started,” Dinky reminded him.  “I’m sure everypony will be able to see that.  Just make an effort to stay out of your brothers’ shadows and I’m sure ponies will reach out to you.”

Scuffle smiled.  “Yeah.  Thanks, Dinks.”

“Speaking of ponies changing for the better,” Clarity began, “what about Sparkler?  You said you talked to her earlier.  Did you finally get through to her?”

“I hope so,” Dinky admitted.  “She needs somepony in her peer group to reach out to if she wants to get back on track.”

“I hope she talks to Presto before they go their separate ways,” Honeydew confided.  “He seems to be the only pony around here who wants to do that for her.”

A thought occurred to Dinky, and she stopped walking.  “Clarity, Honeydew, how about you two head to the castle; I wanna talk to Scuffle a second before the ceremony, so we’ll catch up.”

“No problem,” Clarity said, nodding.  “Later, Dinky.”

“See you soon,” Honeydew added as the two fillies trotted away.

Dinky turned to face Scuffle, who had raised a curious eyebrow.  “Something up?”

“Sparkler has some un-confessed feelings,” Dinky began.  “Kind of like another pony I know.  There’s only a few hours left in the term; are you going to, you know, talk to Honeydew about anything?”

Scuffle blushed and fixed his gaze firmly on the ground.  “I can’t even try to pretend nothing’s going on anymore,” he admitted.  “You and Clarity figured it out pretty quick; I do kinda, sorta maybe have a crush on Honeydew.  But if she knew that, she might not react, uh, how I might hope she would.”

Dinky prepared a response, but Scuffle suddenly looked back up, meeting her gaze with a direct, sure-looking one of his own.

“Here’s the thing, Dinks.  Honeydew is shy and timid.  You know that just as well as I do.  It takes a long time to earn her trust, and even longer to gain her affection.”

He paused to look toward the castle, and the now distant specks that were Clarity and Honeydew before continuing.  “Look, Honeydew is still learning how to reach out to ponies around her, and I’m still learning a lot about how to treat friends myself.  We’re both improving, but half a term isn’t enough for either of us to really develop those skills.  We all still have four more years that we’re going to be together at this academy, so I just thought… maybe I should focus on developing strong friendships instead of rushing into something more than that.”

Dinky broke into a huge smile.  “You know, you’re absolutely right,” she affirmed, giving Scuffle an ‘attaboy sort of pat on the back.  “As soon as next term starts, you’ll be seeing all of us, including Honeydew, every day again anyway.  Move at the pace you’re comfortable with.  You’ve got loads of time.”

Scuffle nodded and smirked.  “Well, I suppose there’s always the chance that Honeydew might figure it out for herself after a while.”

“I wouldn’t count on that!” Dinky laughed.  “Now come on, it’s almost sunset.  Let’s get down there before the ceremony starts.”

Full of admiration for Scuffle’s surprising maturity, Dinky broke into a brisk trot as she and her friend made their way into the castle.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The main hall was packed.  Every one of the academy’s students was in attendance, as well as every member of the staff.  Dinky saw several of her professors, as well as Nester, talking quietly in their seats in the front row, with the rest of the academy’s professors close by.

Clarity had saved two open seats, allowing Dinky and Scuffle to settle in next to their friends.  “Just in time,” Clarity said as they arrived.  “The ceremony will be starting any minute.”

Dinky took her seat, pausing to gaze around the huge room.  After just a year of study, the important magical figures depicted in the stained glass windows, formerly strangers to her, had almost all become household names.  She paused, once again gazing at the glassy image of Starswirl the Bearded as she had when she first visited this place, and couldn’t help but smile.

The illumination orbs on the pedestals began to glow more brightly as the last rays of sunlight disappeared.  Sensing something was about to happen, the murmuring crowd of students quieted.

Two twinkling balls of light, one yellow and one blue, suddenly flickered to life above the main stage.  They grew larger and brighter, growing to several times a typical pony’s size before fading away, leaving Princess Celestia and Princess Luna standing in their place.

“Good evening, fillies and gentlecolts!” Celestia welcomed.  “It’s been an exciting and eventful term, but we once again find ourselves just a few hours from its end.  So as always, it’s time for a ceremony to look back upon another wonderful year!”

“We have speeches prepared by a few select students and professors that we feel will best put this term into perspective,” Luna added.  “Please listen and reminisce as your classmates reflect on a year gone by.”

One by one, various unicorns from different levels in their education and with different specialties took the stage, each one pausing to give a short talk about what they’d learned about magic, about themselves, and about the ponies around them during that year at the academy.  It all felt so normal; Dinky found herself really appreciating the break from thinking about dark magic, wraiths, the fate of Equestria, and other serious topics.

For a few hours, the speeches continued.  After nine or ten ponies had spoken, Princess Celestia returned to center stage.

“Before we conclude our ceremony for this evening,” she began, “we traditionally hear one final speech from the valedictorian of the graduating class.  This year, interestingly, our valedictorian may have some additional insights of offer us, as she is also one of our overseers.  We’d like to invite Miss Sparkler up to say a few words.”

There was a small wave of applause as Sparkler rose from elsewhere in the hall and made her way to the stage.

“Sparkler has the highest marks in her class?” Clarity asked aloud as the stomping began to die down.  “I knew she was smart, but valedictorian?”

“Sparkler is really focused on her responsibilities as overseer,” Dinky pointed out.  “It makes sense that she might be equally concerned about her grades.  She’s one of the most dedicated ponies I’ve ever met when it comes to the things she considers important.”

Clarity nodded.  “Which, up until now, has included everything except…”

“…making friends,” Dinky finished.  “But maybe she’s ready to change that.”

“We’ll find out in a moment,” Honeydew whispered.  “She’s about to speak.”

Sparkler arrived at the podium, ignoring the whispers that spread through the room about her physically battered appearance.  She stared out over the assembled ponies with her usual serious demeanor.  Then she began to speak.

“You’re probably expecting the usual valedictorian monologue,” she began, her voice level.  “You’re bracing yourselves now for a lecture on the importance of applying yourselves, the impact of your school years on your future, and how careful study is time well spent.  So here’s that bit; all of those things are true.  Now that that’s out of the way, let’s talk about something else.”

Dinky exchanged a surprised glance with her friends.  Those topics were, in fact, exactly what she’d expected Sparkler’s speech to be about.  Curiously, she listened to what the young mare had to say.

“This term has been an interesting one, I can’t deny that,” she continued.  “For some ponies, it was probably much like any other, but for a few, it was a year that will have a profound impact on the rest of their lives.  I am one of those ponies.”

Sparkler paused, evidently collecting her thoughts.  “You’ve all noticed that I have kept a no-nonsense attitude while performing my duties as an overseer.  When not focusing on my own studies, I’ve been offering help or providing discipline, as were my primary duties.  I’ve held all the rules to be absolute; I did everything by the book and didn’t inject any of my personal opinions into any of my work.  And as a result, I was viewed by the student body as exactly that which I presented myself as: just an overseer, not an individual.  I won’t pretend that that wasn’t completely my fault.”

Several ponies in the audience nodded slowly as the overseer continued to speak.  “But you know what?” she asked rhetorically.  “I am an individual.  I am not just a title, I’m a pony like every one of you.  And I spent five years at this academy refusing to let anypony get to know that individual.  And only very recently did one filly break through that layer of indifference I’ve surrounded myself in and find that pony underneath.”

Now it was Dinky’s friends’ turn to glance at her.  She hardly noticed, focusing instead on hearing about what impact her actions had had on Sparkler.

“After that, the defenses I had built around myself and maintained for so long were lowered, and I was left to figure out if I could, or even wanted to, put them back up,” Sparkler admitted, her usual stern voice beginning to melt away and be replaced by a more thoughtful one.  “For just a little while, I was able to see the world the way that filly saw it.  The way, I’m sure, many of you see it: a world where the actions of the ponies around you can directly influence your own life, no matter how hard you may work to prevent it.  And I started to realize that maybe, rejecting other ponies’ kindness to protect myself wasn’t protecting me from misery at all; I had just sunk too deeply into denial to recognize that, by pushing other ponies away, I was making myself more miserable than being hurt by another pony could’ve made me.”

More than a few ponies in the audience were wearing confused looks, tilting their heads curiously.  After all, Dinky thought to herself, they didn’t know anything about this side of Sparkler until just now.

Sparkler seemed to be picking up on her listeners’ bewilderment as well.  “What I want you to take away from this, though, isn’t anything about me,” she continued.  “Rather, I’d like you all to take to heart a lesson that I just learned: one that I should’ve learned within days of arriving at the academy years ago.  Instead, it became one I didn’t learn until my final weeks before graduation, and I pity anypony who has to wait as long to learn it as I did.”

The overseer took a long breath, steeling herself and speaking in a confident tone.

“Here at Celestia’s Academy for Gifted Unicorns, our primary goal is to study magic of all kinds.  And study and practice can only teach us so much about it.  Please, try not to forget, as I did, that the magic of friendship and family is a force that is just as significant.  Without it, one cannot utilize magic to its true potential.  I may be graduating with top marks, but I have so much more to learn than many of you.  Give yourselves that head start, and I’m confident every one of you will reach new heights by the time you’re graduating.”

“Magic is limited only by the strength of the mind and the passion of the heart,” Dinky whispered, smiling at her friends.  “It looks like Sparkler’s finally learning that lesson for herself.”

“Before I step down and let the ceremony conclude,” Sparkler said, “I’d like to thank two ponies who have helped me far more than I deserved.  The first is the pony who put up with my unfair attitude to her all year.  She persisted and managed to unearth a part of me I had long forgotten.  But as she’s not a fifth-term student and I don’t want to have an effect on her reputation in the future here, I won’t mention her name.  She knows who she is, though, and I want her to know how much I appreciate what she did, even if I seemed to hate her until very recently.  Thank you.”

Dinky blushed.

“The other pony is perhaps even more important, for not giving up on me when everypony else long since had.  For putting up with my cold attitude every day since we arrived at this place as foals.  He deserves to be recognized for not giving up on friendship with ponies he could tell really needed it, even if those ponies refused to accept it like I did.  So Presto, thank you for being a dedicated fellow overseer, and dedicated even more to helping ponies who needed you.”

There were a few moments of silence.  Sparkler looked awkwardly around, scanning the crowd.

“Presto?”

“Err, I’m sorry, Sparkler,” said Celestia from the side of the room.  “Presto was called away a few hours ago for a family emergency.  I’m afraid he wasn’t able to attend the ceremony tonight.”

Sparkler blinked, her ears drooping slowly.  “I…I see,” she said, surprisingly calmly.  “My speech is concluded then.  Have a wonderful break and a bright future, everypony.”

Looking a little shaken, Sparkler stepped off the stage and returned to her seat.

“Thank you for your closing speech, Sparkler,” Celestia said, returning to center stage.  “I believe with that, we can consider this ceremony, and this term, over.  To all our returning students, I look forward eagerly to seeing you next term for another year of magical study!  Dean Bright Spark has, erm, respectfully accepted my suggestion that she retire, but I promise, we’ll have a new dean by the start of next term, who I hope will have only the best interests of each and every student of magic in mind.  With that, good night, and safe travels to you all.”

Hundreds of hooves stamped the floor in applause and Princess Celestia and Princess Luna bowed and trotted from the stage.  Dinky and her friends rose from their seats.

“Poor Sparkler,” Honeydew mumbled.  “I hope she gets a chance to give Presto her message.”

Dinky considered trying to reach Sparkler to talk, but hundreds of assembled young ponies stood between her and the overseer, and the latter was already quickly making her way from the room.

“Come on, let’s go outside,” Clarity suggested.  It’s a beautiful night for this late in the season; we might as well enjoy it for a few minutes before we head to the train.”

Dinky glanced over her shoulder once more and watched Sparkler disappear from the room, before nodding and following her friends.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A leaf twirled through the night air, coming to rest on Dinky’s nose.  She brushed it aside, staring at the forest it came from, the bright yellow and red leaves visible even in the late evening dark.

“Think we can still use the hideout next year?” she asked, staring into the trees.

“I don’t see why not,” Scuffle answered, swishing his tail thoughtfully.  “The only other pony who had any reason to believe it was there was Sparkler, and she won’t be around next year.”

“It won’t be quite the same without Trouble, though…” Honeydew mumbled, turning away from the forest and frowning at the memory.  “Having him around always made it feel so homey.  He was like our mascot.”

Dinky stared up at the stars, staring at the outline of Scorpio looking back down on her, and said nothing.  After a few moments, she heard the sound of hoofsteps approaching behind her and her friends.  She didn’t immediately turn to greet the guest, but jumped upon hearing the calm female voice.

“Thinking of the stars, are we, young ones?”

The four foals turned quickly to greet Princess Luna as the alicorn made her way into their midst.  She acknowledged their brief bows with a nod, and then she too stared up at the stars.

“I admit I overheard your lamentations about your lost friend a few moments ago,” she said after a short silence.  “Losing one who was close to you is difficult, be it a pony or another of Equestria’s creatures.  Still, I urge you to remember that the fox’s sacrifice was not in vain.”

“I know that,” Dinky replied, nodding slowly.  “I just wish I knew what happened to him.  I hope he didn’t suffer.  I’m not sure which side of the barrier he ended up on when the portal closed.”

To the foals’ surprise, Luna smiled.  “Children, have you looked closely at the stars this night?” she asked.  “Dinky, Scuffle, you should remember from Astronomy which constellation is directly overhead, right?”

“I don’t think any of us need to be reminded it’s Scorpio,” Dinky mumbled.

Luna nodded.  “You would not have had any way of knowing, but when Scorpio was briefly released from her extra-dimensional prison, her constellation disappeared from the sky.  Those stars have now returned, but as anypony as intimately familiar with the night sky as I would immediately notice, the features of the heavens are not quite the same.”

Dinky blinked, and she and her friends took a look at the sky.  Something did look different, but the filly couldn’t determine what.

“Um, princess?” Scuffle asked hesitantly.  “Our first-term astronomy class didn’t require we learn about every star or anything like that, so mind pointing the difference out to us?”

“Of course,” the princess answered.  “It was immediately apparent to me that, when the constellation returned, there were more stars than there had been when it vanished.  All of Scorpio’s stars have returned, but there are now some extras.”

“Why’s that?” Clarity asked.

“A small cluster of additional stars have appeared between Scorpio and Sagittarius,” Luna explained, pointing to a group of stars slightly to the east.  “Can you see what shape they form?”

Dinky stared at the stars uncomprehendingly.  “N…no?”

“Allow me to help,” Luna said with a small chuckle.  “Observe.”

Luna’s horn glowed, and a series of glowing lines began to appear a few pony lengths overhead, illustrating a pattern created by the new stars.  The glowing blue lines created an outline of a four-legged creature with pointed ears and a bushy tail.

The design hadn’t even fully formed yet when Dinky realized what was being drawn, judging by the gasps behind her, her friends were coming to a similar realization.

“Princess Luna… is that…?”

“It appears to be a fox:” Luna said, with a gleam in her eye, “a determined fox, pursuing Scorpio relentlessly through the heavens.  Now, if you recall your lessons, anything that exists in the Realm of Stars appears as a constellation here.  So if we’re seeing a fox chasing Scorpio in the night sky…”

“…it means Trouble is still out there somewhere,” Dinky finished, her eyes filling with tears.  “He’s still alive, in the Realm of Stars.”

Luna nodded.  “You may never see Trouble in person again, but at least you have the knowledge that he exists beyond our realm.  And every autumn, you can simply look up at the stars, watching your friend shimmer over Equestrian nights as he pursues the evil pony that tried to hurt those who cared for him.”

“Is he safe there?” Honeydew asked.  “Scorpio sounds really dangerous.  Won’t she hurt him?”

“Beings in the Realm of Stars do not have a corporeal form,” Luna explained.  “If you recall, Scorpio needed to consume the body of a wraith to return to this world.  In the form that Trouble now exists, he should be invulnerable to any sort of attack.”

Clarity giggled.  “I bet he can still annoy Scorpio, though, and if I know him, I’m sure he will!”

“Yes, I imagine Scorpio is less than pleased,” Luna laughed.  “Not only was her plan that spanned several millennia foiled in a night, but now she has to gallop through the skies with Trouble close behind.”

Dinky felt a warm feeling as she stared at the stars, hoping that Trouble was looking right back at her and her friends from beyond space and time.

“Dinky Doo,” said Luna after a pause, “if you find yourself in need of advice about your new dark powers, I would like you to contact me.  I don’t know much, but I may be able to help.”

“You would?” Dinky asked.  “Was dark magic connected with your transformation into Nightmare Moon?”

“It was not,” Luna answered.  “But… perhaps some of its moral ideas played a part.”

The princess hung her head.  “I do not like to admit this, young ones, but… Scorpio and I were colleagues, nay, perhaps even something like friends, many, many ages ago.  I found her discoveries intriguing at least, perhaps even revolutionary, at the time.  Thank goodness my sister was wise enough to see through Scorpio’s temptations and urge me away from the mare before her darkness began to influence me; if she had not, I may have become something far worse than Nightmare Moon.  Unfortunately, sometimes I fear I was little better than her; it was not dark magic but my own jealousy and self-importance that led me to let myself become that.”

“Yikes,” Scuffle said, flattening his ears.  “Even so, at least you weren’t beyond redemption.  Seems like Scorpio was just bad news wherever she went, huh?”

Luna shrugged.  “She was extremely strong-willed.  I think she could be considered a good pony, just opinionated and very passionate, before she began to develop dark magic.  Dinky here is the first positive result of anything she has done since then.”

Dinky nodded.  “I’ll be sure to send you a letter if I find anything about my new powers that concerns me,” she assured the monarch.  “If you knew Scorpio, you probably know how she thinks, and that could be really useful.”

“Indeed,” Luna agreed.  “Keep your true friends close, and refrain from using your dark powers recklessly; I’m sure you’ve already heard it many times today, but Equestria may not take kindly to a wraith, regardless of what’s in her heart.”

Dinky glanced at herself, as if expecting her wraith form to suddenly be showing.  “I’m planning to keep my true form hidden most of the time.  The average pony gets by without dark magic, so why can’t I?”

“At the same time, you shouldn’t completely ignore your gift,” Luna advised.  “Dark magic is intricately linked with your special talent.  It certainly may play a role in your destiny in the future.  Just… use caution.”

Dinky nodded gravely.  “True, but don’t worry; I’ve got my friends to keep me on the right track.”

Luna smiled.  “That, my little pony, is the best thing you can do.  Events around Equestria have been reinforcing the fact again and again in recent years that friendship is a force that can overcome almost any trial.  I’m glad you have built such strong friendships in your time here.”

Dinky smiled and motioned for her friends.  They trotted closer, and she pulled the three of them into a group hug, earning nearly identical “awws” from Clarity and Honeydew and an affectionate eye roll from Scuffle.  Luna seemed pleased.

“For now, I will leave it at that,” the princess declared.  “You four should make your way to the train soon; I will see all of you next term.”

Spreading her wings, Luna silently took flight, quickly disappearing into the night sky.  The four foals watched her go.

“You three really will have my back in the years to come, right?” Dinky asked, stepping away from her friends’ embrace.

“Absolutely!” Clarity said eagerly.  “We’ve gladly risked our lives for each other; nothing could break up this friendship!”

“I couldn’t imagine coming back here and not spending time with all of you,” Honeydew admitted softly.

“And you can bet with my brothers gone, I can be an even better pal next year!” Scuffle assured them.

Dinky blushed.  “You three are the best,” she said, sniffling a bit.  “Thanks.  Really.”

“Don’t sweat it, Dinks,” Scuffle said, nudging the filly’s side.  “Now get going.  We should get to the train.”

“Um, hey, you four!  Can you wait a second?”

From somewhere near the castle, a familiar purple pony came galloping in the direction of the four fillies.

“Hey Sparkler,” Dinky said as the overseer came to a halt in front of them.  “Sorry about what happened at the ceremony.  I hope you get a chance to talk to Presto.”

Sparkler waved a hoof.  “I’ve got one more chance at graduation,” she said dismissively.  “I won’t waste that one, I promise.”

The foals began to walk up the winding path to the train station.  Sparkler tagged along, talking softly.

“By the way, I’m really sorry about any undue stress I put you four through,” she said sheepishly.  “You were right, Dinky.  It hurts to admit it, but since I wasn’t really thinking for myself, the dean was using me for her own aims.  I was so convinced that I was right and you were wrong that I just… went with it for a while.”

“It’s all water under the bridge now,” Dinky said happily.  “There was a lot of unusual stuff going on this year for both of us.  It’s behind us now, so let’s move on as friends, okay?”

Dinky extended a hoof.  Sparkler eyed it, vaguely surprised, and then gratefully shook it.

“Friends.  If our paths cross again, hopefully we can be on the same side of any issue we face.”

“I’m sure we will,” Dinky assured her.  “And I’m glad our involvement in your life helped you find some things about yourself you’d forgotten.”

Sparkler nodded solemnly.  “I owe all of you a big thank you, really,” she admitted.  “Dinky may have been the most direct influence, but all of you played your part.”

She turned to the other foals.  “Clarity,” she began, “you’re a brilliant, passionate filly.  I knew your sister, and in some ways you’re the same, but in many you’re very different.  The academy is honored to have a chance to teach you both.”

Clarity blushed.

“Honeydew,” Sparkler continued, “I admire your willingness to do what you need to, even if you’re scared.  Your friends are all, um, a bit brash at times, and that’s not a bad thing, but the point is, I wasn’t surprised when they stood up to me last night in the courtyard, but I was surprised when you did.”

Honeydew blinked.  “You’re… praising me for helping duel you?”

“I’m praising you for going way out of your comfort zone for your friends,” Sparkler explained.  “You’re yet another example of why I was wrong not to let other ponies affect my life.  I can only hope one day I have a friend as dedicated as you are to your friends.”

Honeydew squeaked nervously, swishing her tail and smiling shyly.

“And Scuffle, I’ve been keeping an eye on you,” Sparkler added, turning to the colt.  “It seemed like you were going to be a carbon copy of your brothers when this year began, but that hasn’t been the case for months now, has it?  I want to thank you, very sincerely, for being a better pony than that.  I know you won’t keep following bad examples; you’ve got the spirit of a good leader in you.”

Scuffle tried to act tough, puffing out his chest as if to say “of course I do.”  His expression told a different story, though.

“So, to all of you, I want you to know that I won’t forget what I learned from ponies like you,” Sparkler said.  “I hope you keep following your own example, cause the four of you have made it clear that with a fair amount of wit, a lot of heart, and a little bit of hocus pocus, there’s nothing you can’t accomplish.”

The five ponies arrived at the mouth of the cave containing the train station.  Sparkler nodded to each of the foals in turn.

“I’ll see you around,” she said softly.  “Set an example for your classmates, you four.  I expect to hear about great things from you.”

Dinky nodded.  “Bye Sparkler.  Good luck with everything.”

Sparkler nodded one final time, and then turned and trotted into the cave.

Dinky and her friends turned around, gazing at the castle in the valley below, its windows gleaming with magical light that wasn’t so different from the stars glittering above.

“We sure have a lot to live up to, huh?” Dinky asked quietly.

“We do,” Clarity admitted.  “But we’ve got it handled.  We’re only a year into our education, and we’ve already overpowered the creator of dark magic!  Setting a good example and living up to a few ponies’ expectations should be easy-peasy after that.”

“And we’ve all got each other to support us whenever it gets tough,” Honeydew said contentedly, leaning softly against Scuffle.

Dinky smiled, letting her horn sparkle with its calm yellow glow.  “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Slate blue, pale green, and cinnamon red glows joined Dinky’s yellow.  Horns lighting the way, the four foals descended into the cave and toward their next adventure.


THE END