Chapter 1

The Unicorn Who Lived

In the dark night of Ponyville everypony was asleep in their homes. None of them were aware that an alicorn was walking down the street. The white alicorn had a flowing multicolored tail and mane. She also had a cutie mark that was shaped like the sun.

The alicorn was carrying an object that looked like a lighter. The mysterious object soon attracted the lights of the lampposts to itself like a magnet. Once all of the lights were out, a black cat approached the alicorn. "It's good to see you this evening, Professor Cadance." said the alicorn.

The cat soon transformed into her true form, a pink alicorn with a purple, gold, and rose mane and matching tail. Her cutie mark was a crystal shaped like a heart.

"Professor Celestia, are the rumors I heard true?" asked Cadance. "I'm afraid so." said Celestia sadly. "Everything about the dark king, the murders, and the unicorn are all true." Professor Cadance looked heartbroken. "I can't believe that Night Light and Twilight Velvet are gone." Cadance cried.

"I just don't understand how a foal can survive a killing curse and earn a cutie mark at her age." Cadance wondered. "What matters is that the foal is safe." Celestia assured. "Big Macintosh should be back with her soon." The two alicorns soon noticed a pony riding a chariot in the sky. The pony was a big red earth pony with an orange mane and a cutie mark of a green apple.

As soon as the chariot reached the ground, Professor Celestia greeted the earth pony. "Good evening Big Macintosh, were you able to bring the foal with you?" "Eeyup." the big pony answered as he pulled out a purple unicorn from the chariot.

The two alicorns and earth pony walked down the street and approached one of the houses in the town. Once Big Macintosh put the unicorn on the door step, Cadance felt worried about the residence of the house. "Professor Celestia, are you sure this is a good idea?" Cadance asked. "The Riches are the worst family in Ponyville."

"They are the only family she has left." Celestia explained. "In time she will learn about her family and realize how special she is." Celestia stared at the unicorn and gave her one last smile. "Good luck Twilight Sparkle."

Chapter 2

The Incident At The Zoo

For the past ten years, Twilight Sparkle has been living with her aunt, uncle, and cousin. Ever since they found Twilight on there front porch, Filthy Rich and his wife, Spoiled Rich had to watch over her. However, they favored their daughter, Diamond Tiara over their niece.

While Diamond Tiara slept in a soft, comfortable bed upstairs, Twilight slept in a dark, uncomfortable room under the stairs. Twilight didn't sleep much longer when she heard a knock on her door.

"Get up!", called a voice from the other side of the door. Twilight recognized the voice as her aunt's voice. "Are you up yet?" Spoiled Rich shouted. "Nearly, Aunt Spoiled." Twilight groaned. "Then hurry up! You have to make Diamond Tiara's breakfast for her birthday!", Spoiled Rich said before leaving. Just before Twilight could leave her room, she heard stomping from the stairs, followed by an exited voice shouting, "Wake up, cousin, we are going to the zoo!".

Twilight groaned in annoyance as Diamond Tiara ran towards the kitchen. While Spoiled Rich was getting ready to surprise her daughter, Twilight was making breakfast for her family and making sure that the bacon won't burn. "Hurry up and get me my coffee!" Filthy Rich ordered. "Yes, Uncle Filthy." Twilight replied.

Filthy Rich looked like a business pony with a suit, tie, and a cutie mark of three money bags. His wife wore a light green dress and a golden chain necklace. She had a blue diamond ring for a cutie mark. Diamond Tiara was a small pink earth pony with a purple and white mane. She also had a tiara shaped cutie mark.

"I'm sure you will be very surprised this year, sweetie." said Spoiled Rich as she took off Diamond Tiara's blindfold. Diamond Tiara saw so many presents, they filled the whole room, but she didn't seem so impressed. "How many are there?" she asked. "There are 36." her father answered, "I counted them myself." "36! But last year I had 37!" Diamond Tiara screamed.

Twilight rolled her eyes in annoyance. Her cousin always has been a spoiled brat. "Listen, sweetie, once we get to the zoo we are going to buy you 2 more presents so you would have more gifts than last year.", Spoiled Rich assured her daughter. "Alright, I suppose 39 presents will be good enough this year." said Diamond Tiara even though she didn't seem satisfied.

Twilight and her family were in the driveway getting ready to leave for the zoo. Before Twilight could enter the car, she was stopped by her uncle. "I'm warning you! If you do anything to ruin Diamond Tiara's special day, you won't have any dessert for a week!" Filthy Rich warned. "I promise, I won't try anything funny." Twilight promised before getting in the car. Filthy Rich started the car and drove his family to the zoo.

After driving many miles, Filthy Rich parked in front of the zoo. Diamond Tiara's parents bought her two gifts from the gift shop. Her parents then took her to see the animals. The zoo had animals such as flamingos, monkeys, and hippos. The Riches had been visiting attractions until they went to the reptile house.

The attraction was cold and dark. It contained all types of snakes. There were snakes that were long, green, and scaly. Diamond Tiara's attention has been on a Boa Constrictor. She was tapping on the glass trying to get the snake to do something exiting. "Move already!" Diamond Tiara yelled through the glass. "Stop it!" Twilight shouted. "It's trying to sleep!" "That snake is boring." Diamond Tiara said before walking away from the tank.

"Sorry about her." Twilight said to the snake. "She doesn't know what it's like to live in a closed uncomfortable, space all day." The snake suddenly got up and stared directly at Twilight. "Yes, at least she doesn't have to live her life in captivity." the Boa Constrictor spoke. Twilight stared at the snake in shock. "Did you just talk?" she asked. "I did because you were the only pony here who didn't ask me to move." the snake explained.

"I never talked to any reptiles before." Twilight said. "Where are you from?" she asked. "I'm from Foggy Bottom Bogg, a swamp outside Ponyville." the snake answered. "But since I got taken from the swamp when I was a newborn, I don't remember anything about my home, not even my parents." the snake sighed. The purple unicorn gave the snake a look of pity.

"I know how you feel, I never knew my parents either." Twilight sympathized. "I don't even know what my purpose in life is." she said as she stared at her cutie mark. Twilight had a cutie mark of a big red star with smaller white stars surrounding it.

"Mommy! Daddy! The snake is finally awake!" Diamond Tiara yelled as she shoved Twilight out of the way. Twilight glared an angry look at her bratty cousin, who was leaning against the glass. While Diamond Tiara was staring at the snake the glass suddenly disappeared and she fell through the tank. Taking this opportunity the snake slithered out of it's prison towards Twilight. "Thanks, amiga" the snake hissed. Even though she was not sure what she did Twilight said, "No problem." to her snake friend.

The snake's escape caught the attention of many ponies and caused a panic throughout the zoo. Diamond Tiara recovered from her fall and tried to get out of the tank only to realized the glass trapped her inside. "Mommy! Daddy! Help!" Diamond Tiara screamed receiving panic looks from her parents. While the Riches were frantically trying to get their daughter out, Twilight was giggling at her cousin's expense. She looked like a captive animal in that glass prison. However, Twilight's amusement was cut short when she received an angry look from her uncle.

The Riches returned home after freeing Diamond Tiara from the tank. Diamond Tiara had a towel wrapped around her and her mother led her upstairs to keep her dry. Filthy Rich turned to his niece in rage. "What did you do?" he demanded. "I swear, I don't know. Twilight defended. "The glass was there one moment and disappeared the next just like magic." Having enough of his niece's excuses Filthy Rich pushed Twilight back in her room. "There's no such thing as magic!" Filthy Rich growled before slamming the door shut.

Chapter 3

Owls and Letters

Ever since Diamond Tiara's not-so-happy birthday, Twilight was locked in her room for weeks. She was only allowed to leave her room to make breakfast and walk her cousin to the park. After 4 weeks, Filthy Rich allowed Twilight to leave her room. Filthy Rich was still angry with Twilight for ruining his daughter's birthday.

"If you ruin another one of my daughter's birthdays, I will lock you in that room for the rest of your life!" Filthy Rich threatened. Twilight could tell her uncle was serious. She shuttered at the thought of being locked in her dark and cramped room her whole life. "Now make yourself useful and get the mail!" her uncle ordered. "Yes, Uncle Filthy." Twilight replied hoping not to get on her uncle's bad side.

The purple unicorn stepped towards the welcome mat and picked up the mail. The envelopes contained bills, taxes, and letters. Even though most of the letters seemed the same, one of them caught Twilight's attention. This particular letter had a big red C marking on the back and was addressed to her. Twilight stared at the envelope in shock. She never got a letter before and was eager to read it. She made her way to the kitchen with her eyes transfixed on her letter.

The mare placed the mail on the table still staring at her letter. Before she could read it, a pink hoof snatched the letter from her. "Mommy! Daddy! Twilight still has a letter!" Diamond Tiara explained showing the envelope to her parents. "Hey, give it back! It's mine!" Twilight shouted. "Who would ever write to you?" Filthy Rich snickered as he took the letter. His smug expression changed to a fearful one the moment he saw the C marking on the back.

"Spoiled, they found us!" Filthy Rich whispered to his wife. He showed the letter to his wife and she looked fearful as well. Twilight was puzzled at her aunt and uncle's reactions. She wondered if it was somepony they knew. "This must be a wrong address!" Spoiled Rich said as she threw the letter in the trash can.

"Why did you just throw it away?" Twilight shouted. "That letter could have been my chance to finally making friends!" Filthy Rich glared at his niece and said, "Whoever sent that letter made a mistake and you will never make any friends!" Twilight gave a sad look and sighed. The one time she got mail and she couldn't even read it.

The next morning Filthy Rich got dressed in his suit and tie and was getting ready to leave for work. After giving his wife a kiss, he turned towards his car only to find owls sitting on it. "Shoo! Get off my car!" the business pony yelled at the birds. "Filthy, look!" Spoiled Rich whispered while pointing at the ground. Filthy Rich looked down and he was shocked at what he saw; multiple letters spread throughout the lawn, each one addressed to Twilight Sparkle.

For the past few weeks the Riches were receiving letters addressed to Twilight. Not wanting his niece to read any, Filthy Rich tried to burn, tear, and shred the letters. He continued destroying the letters until Sunday morning.

The Riches were eating breakfast at the table while Filthy Rich was reading the newspaper. He was satisfied knowing that no mail would be delivered today. "This is going to be a great morning! Does anypony know why?" Filthy Rich rhetorically asked his family.

"Because there's no post on Sundays." Twilight answered sadly while pouring her uncle a cup of coffee. "That's right, Twilight! Not one single letter!" he exclaimed happily. "I'm sure they will give up on sending those letters by the end of today!" Filthy Rich sounded sure today will be normal.

He was proven wrong when a letter flew straight through the window. The Riches looked through the window and saw hundreds of owls with letters in their talons. The owls surrounded the house and dropped letters down the chimney, through the window, and in the mail slot. Before anypony knew it the whole house was filled with Twilight's letters. Twilight snatched one with her hoof and dashed to her room.

Before she can even touch the knob, her uncle grabbed her trying to take the letter. "Give me that letter!" he demanded. "No! It's mine!" Twilight refused. Filthy Rich noticed more letters covering the house every second. "That's it! We are moving far away to where they can never find us!" he screamed. Both, Diamond Tiara and Spoiled Rich stared at the business pony in shock. "Daddy's gone mad hasn't he?" Diamond Tiara asked earning a nod from her mother.

Chapter 4

An Unwelcome Visitor

Filthy Rich was so desperate to get away from the owls, he moved his family to a cottage on a far off island. The cottage had broken windows, dirty floors, and limited food. It was a nightmare for the Riches to live like poor ponies. Spoiled Rich begged her husband to consider moving them back to their old home, but he refused to listen.

That night, everypony fell asleep except Twilight, who had to sleep on the hard, cold floor. Twilight still thought it was better than sleeping in her old room. Knowing that she wouldn't go to sleep anytime soon, Twilight took a glance at the clock. Only 15 minutes before her birthday. She was sure that nopony would care because her family always forgot her birthday.

Twilight always wondered what it would be like to have a family that cared for her. The mare's thoughts were interrupted by the chimes of the clock. She was officially eleven years old. The chimes came to an end and silence filled the room. The silence was suddenly broken when a loud pounding sound erupted from the front door startling everypony awake.

Filthy Rich and Spoiled Rich crept down the stairs in fear. Filthy Rich aimed a rifle at the door hoping the pounding would stop. "Who's there?" he asked fearfully. The loud knocking was so strong, it knocked the door off of it's hinges. The stranger was revealed to be a red stallion with a bright orange mane with the cutie mark of a big green apple. He stepped into the cottage causing it to shake every footstep he took.

"Sorry about that." the stranger apologized in a deep voice. He picked up the broken door and put it back in it's spot. "Sir, I demand that you leave at once! You are breaking and entering!" Filthy Rich demanded with the rifle shaking in his hooves. The big red pony took a few steps towards the business pony and glared at him. "Calm down, Filthy, you rich snob!" the stranger shouted. The stallion took the rifle in his hooves and bent the end upward, causing it to fire towards the ceiling.

Filthy Rich took a few steps back from the stallion now that he was unarmed. The red pony turned towards Twilight and smiled. "I haven't seen you since you were a foal, Twilight. It's been so long!" he said. He reached into his saddle bag and took out a cake that had 'Happy Birthday Twilight Sparkle' written in frosting. "By the way, Happy Birthday, Twilight." he said handing her the cake.

Normally, Twilight wouldn't accept gifts from strangers, but he was the only pony who remembered her birthday. "Thank you!" Twilight said politely, accepting the cake. The stranger took a seat near a fireplace with an umbrella in his hooves. He pointed the umbrella at the fireplace and the wood caught on fire on it's own, surprising the family. "Excuse me, but who are you?" Twilight asked the stallion. "I'm Big Mac, the groundskeeper of Canterlot School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." the stallion introduced. "Sorry, but I never heard of Canterlot." Twilight explained.

Big Mac was shocked that Twilight never heard of Canterlot. "Seriously? Have you ever wondered where your parents learned magic?" he asked. "You are a witch, Twilight." Big Mac revealed. At first, Twilight thought Big Mac was joking. Her uncle always told her that magic doesn't exists. "I'm sorry, but you are wrong." Twilight said. "I can't be a witch. I'm just Twilight." the unicorn explained.

Big Mac let out a deep chuckle. "Well, 'just Twilight' were you able to do anything unusual when you were angry or scared?" Twilight took a moment to think about his words. She did think it was unusual when the glass at the zoo disappeared. Big Mac searched through his saddle bag again and he pulled out a letter this time. It was the same letter that Twilight wanted to read for the past few weeks.

"I believe this letter will explain everything." Big Mac said handing Twilight the letter. Twilight tore open the envelope of the letter. It read, 'Dear Miss Twilight Sparkle, it is with great pleasure to inform you that you have been accepted to Canterlot School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. We are looking forward to having you enrolled.

Sincerely, Professor Cadence.'

As Twilight finished reading, Filthy Rich spoke up. "You are not going there! The day we took you in, we swore to put an end to this madness!" Twilight glared at her rich uncle in rage. "You mean you knew about this and you never told me!" Twilight shouted, angry that her family lied to her for the past ten years. "Of course we knew." Spoiled Rich spoke up. "My sister, Twilight Velvet was born with magical abilities." she explained. "She only got herself murdered because of her so-called special abilities." Spoiled Rich said with a smirk.

The purple mare couldn't believe what she was hearing. Her mother was a witch too? "But you told me my parents died in a chariot crash!" Upon hearing this, Big Mac stood up and glared at the Riches. "A chariot crash killed Night Light and Twilight Velvet? It's a lie!" he shouted. "Twilight deserves to know the truth. She will learn magic from the best sorceress in Equestria, Professor Celestia."

Filthy Rich didn't like the idea of Twilight learning magic like her parents. "We are not sending her to a school where some freakish unicorn can teach her magic tricks!" he objected. In one swift motion, Big Mac took out his umbrella and aimed it at the business pony. "Don't you ever insult Professor Celestia in front of me again!" Big Mac threatened.

He looked behind Filthy Rich and saw Diamond Tiara eating Twilight's birthday cake. Losing his temper, Big Mac aimed his umbrella at Diamond Tiara. He fired a beam of light at Twilight's cousin transforming her pink tail into a rat tail.

The Riches screamed frantically at Diamond Tiara's new tail and took her out of the living room hoping to fix it. "Oops! Lost my temper for a sec!" Big Mac said apologetically. "I would appreciate it if you don't tell anypony about this." Big Mac told Twilight. "Nopony should use magic outside of Canterlot." Twilight nodded showing that she understands.

"Well, I guess it's time we leave and get you ready for your first year at Canterlot." Big Mac said as he stared at the clock. He made his way to the door and knocked it down for the second time. "Unless you want to stay here." the stallion offered. Twilight thought anything would be better than living with the Riches for another second. She made her decision and followed Big Mac into the night.

Chapter 5

Diamond Dog Bank

The next morning, Twilight and Big Mac took a boat back to Ponyville. As they walked through town, Twilight looked over her school checklist. She needed spell books, school robes, a cauldron, and a wand. Twilight lived in Ponyville her whole life and knew that nopony sold magic items around here. "Big Mac, where can we possibly buy stuff like this?" Twilight asked the stallion. "We will get to that soon, Twilight." Big Mac answered. "But first, there are some ponies I would like you to meet." he said as they approached a bar. The bar had a big sign at the front that read, "The Equestrian Cauldron."

As Twilight and Big Mac entered the bar, they heard loud, booming noises everywhere. The bar was filled with ponies at each table. Everypony was either drinking or gambling. The first pony to notice Twilight and Big Mac enter was the bartender. He was a unicorn with a light-brown coat with a donut cutie mark on it and he had a dark-brown mane. He wore a white uniform with a matching hat.

"Ah, Big Mac! Here for the usual?" the bartender asked. "No thanks, Joe." Big Mac said politely. "I'm busy showing Twilight Sparkle around." The whole bar went silent at the mention of Twilight's name. "This is incredible! Twilight Sparkle has returned!" Joe shouted exited. Everypony got up from their seats and surrounded Twilight as if she was some kind of hero. They shook hooves with Twilight and introduced themselves. After greeting Twilight, everypony went back to their seats leaving the mare wondering how so many ponies know her.

"T-T-Twilight Sp-Sparkle, it's an honor to m-m-meet you!" a voice stuttered behind her. Twilight turned around and quickly realized that instead of a pony talking to her was a draconequus. The draconequus had a snake-like body that was composed of animal parts. It had a lion paw, an eagle talon for arms, a dragon claw, a goat hoof for the legs, and a goat face with antlers.

"Good morning Professor!" Big Mac greeted. "Twilight, this is Professor Discord. He will be your Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Canterlot." Getting to know one of her teachers would be one of the best ways to make Twilight feel comfortable with enrolling in a new school. "It's nice to meet you." Twilight said extending her hoof. Instead of shaking Twilight's hoof, Discord just stood there shaking.

"Y-Y-Yes, it's a pleasure. If you'll excuse me, I must be on my way." Discord said trembling as if this is his first year teaching. "Let's go, Twilight. It's time to get you prepared for your first year." Big Mac said leading Twilight to the back door.

Twilight entered the back alley wondering how she became popular with the ponies at the bar. Has she done something incredible without realizing it? While Twilight was lost in her thoughts, Big Mac approached a brick wall with his umbrella in his hooves. He tapped the bricks with his umbrella in a specific order as if the wall itself was a puzzle. A few seconds later, the bricks separated from each other revealing a street with several shops on both sides. "Welcome to Diamond Alley, Twilight!" Big Mac said.

Twilight stared in amazement at the dozens of shops. There were shops that sold wizard hats, potions, and broomsticks. "This is amazing! But where can we find the money to buy stuff like this?" Twilight asked Big Mac as they walked through the alley. "We can get the money right there at Diamond Dog Bank." Big Mac explained pointing to a large white building. It's white color and large size made it look distinguishable from the other stores in Diamond Alley. Twilight followed Big Mac to the building and they climbed up the large steps leading to the bank.

The inside of Diamond Dog Bank had a long hallway with desks on both sides. Dog-like creatures sat at each desk. Some of them glanced at Twilight and Big Mac as they walked passed them. "Big Mac, what are those things?" Twilight asked feeling uncomfortable. "They are diamond dogs, Twilight." Big Mac answered. "You don't have to be afraid of them. They might go crazy in front of gems, but they are really misunderstood creatures." he assured.

The two ponies soon reached a podium at the end of the hall. Sitting on the podium was another diamond dog, but this one was much bigger than the others. It also wore a diamond collar around it's neck. "Excuse me, Fido." Big Mac said gaining the dog's attention. "We would like to make a withdrawal from Twilight Sparkle's vault." The big dog got up from his seat and glanced at the purple unicorn. "Does Miss Sparkle have her key?" Fido asked. "Yes, I have it in here somewhere." Big Mac said searching through his saddle bag.

After a few seconds, Big Mac pulled out a golden key from his bag. "And one more thing." the stallion said taking out a letter. "It's from Professor Celestia about the you-know-what" he said mysteriously. "Very well. I will have Rover escort you to the vaults." Fido informed.

The two ponies followed a short and skinny diamond dog through a long, dark passageway. The only source of light in there was the light from a lantern of a vehicle resembling a mine cart. "Right this way, please." Rover said motioning towards the vehicle. After they got in the vehicle, it started almost immediately. It took many twists and turns through the passageways. The motion of the mine cart made Twilight feel sick and dizzy.

She was soon overcome with relief when the mine cart came to a stop. "Here we are! Vault 713!" Rover announced. He opened the vault revealing a mysterious object wrapped in parchment. Big Mac took the object and placed it in his saddle bag. "What did you just take out of the vault?" Twilight asked. "Sorry, but I can't answer that. It's Canterlot business." Big Mac explained. "Now, follow me to Miss Sparkle's vault." Rover said. He led the ponies through the corridor to a giant vault. He unlocked the vault with the key revealing piles of bits and gems. They shined so bright they lit up the whole safe.

"All of this is for me!" Twilight squealed in excitement. Rover also stared at the money in delight fighting the urge to take a gem for himself. "Control yourself, Rover." he told himself. Twilight entered her vault amazed at the amount of bits and gems she had. This will be more than enough money to get her ready for Canterlot.

Chapter 6

Twilight's wand

Twilight used her money to buy the school supplies she needed for her first year. As a bonus, she bought a couple of snacks too. She felt even richer than her uncle. She looked over her checklist one more time. "So, the last thing I need for school is a wand." Twilight informed. "Well, you can get your wand right here." Big Mac said pointing to a store with a sign that read, "Goldie's Wand Shop." "You go on without me, Twilight. I have an errand I need to finish." Big Mac said leaving the mare standing in front of the store.

The inside of the wand shop was small and quiet. There were wand cases on display in the back. Twilight stepped towards the counter, but nopony was there. She looked around the store wondering if the owner was taking a break. "Hello. Is anypony here?" Twilight called out. An elderly pony came out from the back room and made her way to the counter. She had a light-brown coat with a curly gray mane and a cutie mark of a tree.

"I knew I would be seeing you soon, Twilight Sparkle." greeted the elderly pony. "I am Goldie Delicious, the owner of this shop." she introduced. "It felt like only yesterday I provided your parents with their first wands." "You knew my parents?" Twilight asked exited. Goldie stared at Twilight in delight. "Yes, Night Light and Twilight Velvet were amazing at magic. They would have been proud of what you are going to accomplish with your own wand." Goldie said taking a wand case from the back.

Goldie opened the case revealing a 12 inch wand. "You can try it out to see if it suits you." Goldie offered. Twilight picked up the wand not quite sure what to do next. "Well, go on! Give it a wave!" the store owner insisted. Twilight wave the wand in the air, but accidentally casted a spell that knocked over some of the wand cases in the back. "Well, that's not the right wand." Goldie said taking the wand back.

"Not to worry! The right wand for you has to be here somewhere." the elderly pony assured searching through the back. She paused for a moment and stared at a specific case. "I wonder." Goldie thought to herself. She returned to the counter and handed Twilight a slightly longer wand. "Try this one." she offered. As soon as Twilight grabbed the wand, she was engulfed a bright light. She also felt a breeze of wind, despite the fact that she was indoors.

The light slowly dimmed and the wind stopped blowing, leaving both ponies surprised. "How curious!" Goldie exclaimed surprised. "Sorry, but what's curious?" Twilight asked confused. "It would appear that your wand has been made with a phoenix feather inside of it." Goldie explained staring at the wand. "The same phoenix shed another feather into the wand of the pony who gave you your cutie mark."

Twilight glanced at her cutie mark she had it her whole life and never knew how she got it. "Who was the pony who owned that wand?" Twilight asked curiously. "We never speak his name!" Goldie warned. "He did great things! Terrible, but great!" The unicorn had many questions about the pony responsible for her cutie mark and wondered why Goldie was afraid of just the pony's name.

After buying her wand, Twilight stood outside the shop waiting for Big Mac. "There you are, Twilight!" greeted the stallion. He was carrying a cage with a cover on it. "I bought you something for your birthday!" He took off the cover revealing a brown owl with big round eyes. "Meet your new pet, Twilight!" Big Mac introduced. Twilight smiled in delight.

She always wanted a pet, but her uncle never bought her one. "Thank you so much, Big Mac!" Twilight thanked gratefully. "I think I will name him Owlowiscious." Twilight thought. "That's a great name! I'm glad you have a companion to keep you company." Big Mac said satisfied.

Back at the Equestrian Cauldron, Twilight sat at a table with Big Mac, who was having a drink. Twilight sat there silently thinking about the mysterious pony Goldie mentioned. Since she would leave for Canterlot any moment, she figured now would be a good time to ask about that pony. "Big Mac, you know about the pony who gave me my cutie mark don't you?" Twilight asked. Big Mac remained silent at that question as if he wanted to avoid answering. "Big Mac, please tell me!" Twilight begged.

Knowing he was not going to get out of answering the question, the stallion took a deep breath. "All right! Listen, Twilight!" Big Mac said sounding serious. "You must understand that not everypony around here are good ponies. There was this one pony who was pure evil and his name was-" Big Mac hesitated for a moment, but gathered the courage to speak up. "His name was King Sombra." Big Mac whispered. "Sombra?" Twilight repeated. Big Mac hushed the unicorn as if the name itself was bad enough.

"Anyway," he continued. "10 years ago King Sombra attempted to take over the Crystal Empire, a kingdom in the northern region of Equestria. He needed followers and anypony who stood up to him ended up dead!" Twilight shivered. How could she have earned a cutie mark from such an evil pony? "One night, Sombra tried to kill you when you were just a foal. Your parents stood up against him in an attempt to protect you, but nopony survived that night except you, Twilight." Big Mac concluded.

"Sombra tried to kill me? But why?" Twilight asked concerned. "I don't know for sure, Twilight, but what I do know is that something about you stopped you-know-who that night. That is why you are famous. You are the unicorn who lived." the stallion explained. This was too much to take in. Twilight met a dark king as a foal and her parents tried to defend her from him. As if he desperately wanted to change the subject, Big Mac to a glance at the clock. "It looks like we should go to the station soon. The Canterlot Express could be leaving any moment now." He finished his drink and led Twilight through the front door so she wouldn't miss the train.

Chapter 7

All aboard the Canterlot Express

The train station has been really busy. Many ponies hurried towards the trains so they could make it on time for work. Meanwhile, Twilight entered the station, following Big Mac. "Well, here's your ticket, Twilight." Big Mac said handing the mare her ticket. "It's important that you don't lose it!" he warned. Twilight took the ticket and stared at it with a confused look. The ticket read, 'Platform 9 3/4.'

"Big Mac, there seems to be some kind of mistake." Twilight explained. "It says, 'Platform 9 3/4'. Does it even exist?" She looked up only to find out that Big Mac isn't there anymore. The mare searched for Big Mac and quickly realized that she had to find the train on her own. She pushed her luggage through the station hoping that somepony would give her directions.

She searched the station and found a pony in a uniform giving directions. If he works at the station, he might know how to get to Platform 9 3/4. "Excuse me, sir! Can you help me?" Twilight asked the station pony. "Do you know where I can find Platform 9 3/4?" she asked feeling like an idiot. "Platform 9 3/4? Is this some kind of joke?" the station pony asked annoyed. "Come back to me when you are serious about boarding a train!" he said before turning away to help other ponies.

So much for asking for directions. How was the mare supposed to find a platform that nopony has even heard of? "Let's get a move on, everypony!" came a voice from behind Twilight. "The Canterlot Express will be leaving any moment now!" Twilight searched the station and found the pony who spoke. She was a green elderly pony with a white mane and the cutie mark of an apple pie.

She was followed by an orange pony wearing a cow girl hat that covered her blond mane, a yellow pony wearing a brown hat and matching vest, a light-blue pegasus with a rainbow colored mane, and a pair of unicorn twins, both wearing blue and white striped uniforms. The group of ponies came to a stone wall with the number 9 on one side and the number 10 on the other.

When they were right in front of the wall, the elderly pony turned and faced the unicorn twins. "You can go first, Flim." "He's not Flim! I am!" explained one of the twins. "Honestly Granny Smith! How can you not tell your grandchildren apart?" asked the other twin. "Sorry, you two." Granny Smith apologized. "My vision isn't as good as it used to be."

One of the unicorns stepped up to the wall pushing his luggage. "We were only joking!" said the unicorn. "I really am Flim! Let's go Flam!" he motioned towards his brother and they both ran towards the wall. Instead of crashing they phased through the wall as if they were ghosts. Twilight shook her head in disbelief at what she saw. Did she really imagine it? "Your turn, Braeburn!" Granny Smith said to the pony with the brown vest. He grabbed his luggage and galloped to the wall. He disappeared into the wall in the same way Flim and Flam did.

"Excuse me, ma'am!" Twilight greeted the elderly pony. "Can you tell me how I can get through that wall?" she asked. "Why, of course, dear. All you have to do is run straight forward right between the 9 and 10 signs." Granny Smith explained. It sounded like a crazy idea to run straight into a brick wall, but Twilight felt this was the only way to make it to Canterlot. "You can shut your eyes really tight if you are feeling nervous." Granny Smith insisted. "Good luck!" encouraged the rainbow-maned pegasus.

Without a second thought, Twilight shut her eyes and dashed to the wall expecting to feel the pain of crashing into the cold hard bricks. When the mare opened her eyes, she discovered that she was in a new section of the station. In the middle of the station, there was a giant train with each part of it having a blue, yellow, and pink color.

The engine released a low rumble to indicate that the Canterlot Express would be leaving shortly. In a hurry, Twilight placed her school supplies and Owlowiscious's cage in the luggage compartment of the train. The unicorn finally made it to the front of the train and turned in her ticket so she could get on board.

The inside of the train had a straight linear path with a scarlet-red carpet on the floor. There were matching red seats on both sides of the train. After a few minutes of finding a seat, Twilight decided to sit in an empty compartment near the window. She stared out the window and watched as the Canterlot Express left the station. Twilight was on her way to Canterlot. She felt exited for her first year.

"Pardon me!" came a voice right next to Twilight. She turned and saw the cow girl pony from the station. "Do you mind if I sit here?" she asked. "All of the other seats are taken." "Not at all!" Twilight answered. The cow pony smiled in gratitude and sat right next to Twilight. "I'm Applejack, by the way!" the orange pony introduced herself. "It's nice to meet you! I'm Twilight Sparkle!" the unicorn greeted. Applejack gasped in surprise. "Are you saying, you are the unicorn who lived?" Twilight nodded in response. "Well, can I take a look at your cutie mark?" Applejack asked. "Sure!" Twilight agreed. She showed the farm pony her cutie mark of purple and white stars.

"That's a mighty fine cutie mark you got there!" Applejack complemented. "My sister, Rainbow Dash has been a fan of you since she was a filly! She's going to be so jealous when I tell her that I met you!" As the two ponies talked, a pony pushing a snack cart came to their seat. "Would either of you like to buy any snacks?" she asked. "Sorry, but I didn't bring any money." said Applejack "It's alright, Applejack! I got us covered!" Twilight explained. She reached in her saddle bag and pulled out dozens of bits and gems. The farm pony stared in amazement at the amount of money Twilight had.

Twilight used her money to buy snacks such as cupcakes, donuts, and brownies. While the ponies enjoyed eating their snacks, a small dog with brown and white fur ate the non-chocolate snacks on the floor. "This is my dog, Winona." Applejack introduced her pet. "My brothers, Flim and Flam once used a spell to transform her into a cat. Would you like to see it, Twilight?" "Alright! Let's see it!" said Twilight.

Applejack pulled out her wand and aimed it at Winona. Before she could cast the spell, a white unicorn approached them. She had a dark-purple mane with a curl at the end. She also had a cutie mark of 3 bright-blue diamonds. "Excuse me." she spoke "Have either of you seen a pet bunny around here. A pegasus named, Fluttershy lost her's." Both ponies shook their heads in unison. The white unicorn gave a sigh. "Well, thanks anyway." She was about to leave, but took notice of Twilight.

"You look familiar." said the white unicorn. "Have we met before?" "No. I'm new here." Twilight explained. "My name is Twilight Sparkle." "Twilight Sparkle? As in, the unicorn who lived?" the unicorn asked out of disbelief. "This is incredible! The tales I've heard of you defeating the dark king have all been inspiring!" the unicorn paused for a moment. "Oh, where are my manners? I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Rarity."

"Howdy! I'm Applejack!" the farm pony held out her hoof with her muzzle covered in chocolate. "It's a pleasure." Rarity said awkwardly shaking Applejack's hoof. "Were you about to do magic with your wand?" Rarity asked. "Of course! I was about to turn my dog into a cat!" Applejack explained. "Ooh! I want to see it!" Rarity squealed. Applejack aimed her wand at her pet again and cleared her throat. "This spell will not fall flat so turn this dog into a cat!" Applejack chanted.

Applejack felt confident that the spell would work, but the most it did was create a few sparks. "Are you sure that's a real spell?" Rarity asked. "To be honest, I didn't get too much practice on that spell." Applejack confessed. "Well, I would be more than happy to teach you some spells of my own." Rarity offered. "But first, I must get back to searching for Fluttershy's bunny." Rarity made her way passed the seats. "By the way, you two might want to put on your school robes. We are getting close to Canterlot." Rarity suggested before continuing her search.

Chapter 8

The Sorting

As the train came to a stop, Twilight opened one of the windows to find a familiar stallion standing on the platform. "Hey there, Twilight!" Big Mac waved to the unicorn. "Hi, Big Mac!" Twilight waved back happy to see a familiar face. Everypony walked out of the train when it came to a complete stop. "Alright, first year students follow me!" Big Mac called out. He gathered the students and led them to a dock with several boats.

"Right this way everypony!" Big Mac said leading them into the boats. Once everypony got seated, the boats started to sail across the dark-black lake. The only light shining in the lake was the reflection of the moon. After a few moments of silence, everypony took notice of a giant white castle in the distance. The castle was decorated with pink flags along with purple and gold striped roofs on the towers.

Everypony watched in awe as the boats got closer to the castle. When the boats came to a stop, Big Mac picked up his lantern and got out of his boat. "Alright everypony, stay close to me! We don't want anypony getting lost!" Big Mac told the first years. The stallion led the ponies through a series of pitch-black caves. The first years gathered around Big Mac's lantern as closely as possible, afraid that the stallion might leave them behind. They eventually reached the stairs at the end of the cave, which led them inside the castle.

Unlike the caves, the castle was fully lit by candelabras. Everypony found themselves walking on a scarlet-red carpet on the floor, which led them to another set of stairs. At the top of the stairs stood a pink alicorn with a multicolored mane. "Thank you, Big Macintosh! I'll handle the rest from here!" the alicorn said dismissing the stallion. "Welcome to Canterlot, everypony! I am Professor Cadance, your transfiguration teacher." the alicorn introduced herself. "Before we begin the school year, all of you will be sorted into your houses. The houses here at Canterlot are known as Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff." she stated

"Here in Canterlot, your houses will be like your family. Your triumphs here will earn you house points, but if there's any rule-breaking, you will lose points." she warned. "The house with the most points at the end of the year will win the house cup!" While Cadance was talking, a small white bunny hopped in the center of the room. The only pony to notice was a yellow pegasus with a long, pink mane. "Angel!" the pegasus squealed. She ran towards the bunny and pick it up in her hooves. Everypony can tell that the pegasus is Fluttershy by her love for her pet bunny and her cutie mark of three butterflies. "Angel, please don't run of like that! I was worried sick!" Fluttershy told her pet.

The pegasus looked up and saw Cadance giving her a disapproving glare. "I'm really sorry!" Fluttershy apologized and walked back to the group of first years. "Anyway." Cadance continued. "I would like everypony to wait here until we are finished preparing for the sorting." The alicorn turned around and stepped through the double doors leaving everypony to wait in silence. As everypony waited, Twilight started to feel nervous about the sorting. What if she failed the sorting and got sent back home? She didn't even know what to expect.

Twilight snapped out of her thoughts as one first year said, "So it's true! Twilight Sparkle has come to Canterlot!" The pony who spoke up was a dark-blue unicorn. She wore a purple cape along with a matching hat, both of which were decorated with stars. The blue unicorn was accompanied by a short-chubby pony with a pair of scissors for a cutie mark and a tall-skinny pony with a snail cutie mark.

"I knew I would meet you here, Twilight." said the unicorn. "These two ponies right next to me are Snips and Snails. My name is Trixie Lulamoon." Applejack couldn't help but giggle as the unicorn introduced herself. Trixie turned and glared at Applejack. "You think my name is funny?" Trixie shouted. "Well, let's see what kind of family you come from!" She stepped closer to the farm pony. "Judging by your apple cutie mark, you belong to one of those peasant families."

Trixie scoffed and faced Twilight. "I can't believe that peasant was even enrolled here." the blue unicorn smirked. "Hey! Applejack is my friend!" Twilight snapped angry at Trixie for insulting her friend. "Oh, Twilight! You wouldn't want to make friends with the wrong ponies. I can help you choose the house you belong in so you can make real friends. What do you say?" Trixie offered holding out her hoof. Twilight knew that she didn't want to be in the same group as somepony stuck-up like Trixie. "I think I can handle the sorting on my own! Thank you very much!" Twilight said sarcastically. The double doors soon opened and Cadance stepped through. "It's time for the sorting, everypony. Please follow me." the alicorn directed the ponies.

Cadance led the ponies into a grand hallway. There were long tables set up through out the room. Each table was so long that dozens of ponies could sit there. The top of the hallway had a ceiling that was enchanted to make it look like the night sky. At the end of the hall was a light-brown podium with a white alicorn. standing behind it. She had a flowing mane and a sun for a cutie mark.

"Welcome to Canterlot everypony! I am the headmistress of Canterlot, Professor Celestia!" the white alicorn greeted. "Before we begin the sorting, our caretaker, Cranky Doodle Donkey asked me to remind everypony that the Everfree Forest at the edge of the school grounds is off limits to fillies without adult supervision. I also like to inform everypony that the dark corridor on the third floor is forbidden to those who don't wish to suffer a painful death!" she warned sounding serious. The entire hall became quiet as everypony fearfully wondered what was on the third floor that was so dangerous.

Once the headmistress finished her announcements, Professor Cadance placed an old black wizard hat on a stool. "Now it's time to sort all of you into your houses. When I call your name, please step forward." the pink alicorn instructed. She took out a scroll and called Rarity's name first. Rarity's eyes widened from shock. She never thought she would be the first pony to be sorted. "Ok, just relax!" Rarity muttered to herself as she made her way towards the stool and sat down. Once Cadance placed the hat on Rarity's head, the hat started to speak. "Ah, such generosity and intelligence. This is a tough choice, but I say you belong in Gryffindor!" the sorting hat announced.

Rarity breathed a sigh of relief and sat down at the Gryffindor table. Professor Cadance looked at her scroll again. "Trixie Lulamoon." she called out. Unlike Rarity, Trixie approached the stool with confidence. The moment the alicorn put the hat on Trixie's head, the hat already called out, "Slytherin!" The unicorn smirked and headed to the Slytherin table. "Twilight." Applejack whispered to the unicorn. "I think I should warn you that everypony in Slytherin ended up being dark witches and wizards." Twilight gulped. Now she really doesn't want to be in the same house as Trixie. Professor Cadance called out Applejack's name next. Applejack took a seat feeling nervous about the house she will be sorted in.

The farm pony could feel Cadance placing the hat on her and it spoke once again. "Ah! Another apple! I know exactly what to do with you!" Applejack then shut her eyes tightly, bracing herself for the worst. "Gryffindor!" the hat called out. Applejack smiled satisfied with her house and took a seat at the Gryffindor table. Professor Cadance read from the scroll once again to see who was next. "Twilight Sparkle!" The second her name was called Twilight felt her heart racing. Mutters and whispers filled the Great Hall as Twilight made her way to the stool and gathered the courage to sit down.

The next thing Twilight knew, the hat was already on her. "My my!" the hat spoke in astonishment. "You have lots of potential and bravery, but where should I put you?" the hat wondered. "Not Slytherin." the unicorn muttered. "Not Slytherin? Are you sure about that? You can be great and Slytherin can be your path to greatness! No? If you don't want Slytherin then I guess it will have to be Gryffindor!" announced the sorting hat. Cheers erupted from the Gryffindor table as Twilight happily got up from the stool and sat down next to Applejack and her cousin, Braeburn.

Once the rest of the first years were sorted, Professor Celestia, tapped on her glass cup to gain the students' attention. "Now that the sorting has concluded, let the feast begin!" The next thing everypony knew, every table in the hall got magically filled with food like turkey, grapes, corn, and bread. Everypony stared in amazement at the meals fit for kings and started to eat.

Twilight never ate anything so delicious when she was with the Riches. The mare was enjoying her food, but quickly stopped eating as she felt a burning sensation from her cutie mark. She felt as though it was on fire. Twilight looked around the Great Hall to see if there was some kind of magic causing it. She quickly noticed that she was being watched by a gray unicorn at the professors' table. He had a black mane with long bangs and wore a dark-black coat.

Just being stared by him made Twilight feel nervous so she decided to find out who he is. "Hey, Braeburn! Who is that unicorn sitting next to Professor Discord?" she asked. "That's our potion master, Professor Flintheart." Applejack's cousin answered. "He's the type of unicorn who dabbles in the dark arts. He's been after Discord's job for years." There was something about this unicorn that didn't seem right to Twilight.

Out of nowhere a blood-curdling scream came from the Gryffindor table startling Twilight. Ghost ponies appeared all over the Great Hall and started floating around the tables. The ghost that came to the Gryffindor table wore a fancy suit and had a monocle. "Hello everypony! Welcome to Gryffindor!" he spoke in a fancy accent. "Hey, I know you! Your Nearly Headless Fancy Pants." Applejack exclaimed. "I would prefer Sir Fancy Pants if you don't mind." the ghost replied. "How can you be Nearly Headless?" Rarity asked confused. "Like this!" Fancy Pants answered as he grabbed his head and partially removed it from his neck, frightening most of the first years.

After everypony finished eating, the school prefects started to lead the first years to their dormitories. The Gryffindors followed Braeburn to the grand staircase of the castle. "Watch the stairs everypony! They tend to have a mind of their own!" Braeburn warned motioning towards the moving stairways above. The stairs weren't the only objects that were moving. As everypony carefully climbed, the stairs they passed by moving portraits of ponies on the wall. At the very top of the stairway they came to a portrait of a fat pony.

"Password?" the fat pony spoke. "Klutzy draconequus." Braeburn answered without a second thought. The first years giggled and wondered if this was some kind of prank somepony pulled on Discord. "Password accepted." said the portrait as it swung open revealing a common room with lavender chairs, a fireplace, and two sets of stairs, each on both sides of the room. "This is the Gryffindor common room, everypony. The mares' bedroom is on the left stairway and the colt's bedroom is on the right." Braeburn explained. "You will find that all of your personal belongings are upstairs. All of you must go to bed soon since we have a busy day tomorrow." Braeburn wished everypony goodnight and left the common room.

Later that night, everypony went to sleep to get ready for their first school day. The only pony that was awake was Twilight. She started to pet Owlowiscious as she stared out the window. This whole time, Twilight had a magical part to her life that she never knew about. Now that she was in Canterlot, she was with ponies who are not so different from her. Canterlot was her new home.

Chapter 9

Professor Flintheart, The Potion Master

The first few days at Canterlot had been tough for Twilight and Applejack. They were constantly late for their classes as they couldn't find their way around the castle. Professor Cadance even considered transforming the two ponies into a pocket watch and map so they would make it to class on time. Despite the rough start to the school year, Twilight and Applejack enjoyed their classes and liked all of their teachers. All except for Professor Flintheart.

On the first day of potions class, Professor Flintheart stepped to the front of the classroom while giving cold stares to the first years. "While all of you are in my class, I will not tolerate disobedience!" the potion master spoke. "Those who break my rules will be punished severely!" he warned in a cold voice. This was only the first day of potions and everypony already felt terrified of their potions master. Flintheart finished calling out role call and glanced at Twilight. He was giving her the same cold stare he did back at the night of the feast. "Ah, Miss Sparkle! Our new celebrity!" he spoke in a sarcastic tone.

"Don't think that you would get special treatment just because you are famous! Now Sparkle, what is the name of the potion that cures feather flu?" Flintheart asked. Twilight had no idea what the feather flu was. She didn't even know how to make potions. "I don't know, sir." Twilight told her teacher. Flintheart continued glaring at Twilight, making her feel intimidated. "Which potion would work best for curing petrification?" "I don't know, sir." Twilight repeated. "Clearly fame isn't everything, Sparkle." Flintheart scoffed.

"You clearly know nothing about potion making and showed that you have come to this class unprepared!" Twilight stared at her potion teacher in shock as Trixie and a few other Slytherins snickered at Twilight's expense. "Unprepared? But this is only the first-" "Silence!" Flintheart interrupted Twilight.

"I won't have you disrupt my class with your excuses! Five points from Gryffindor!" Twilight groaned as Flintheart marched back to his desk. This was just the beginning of the year and Twilight already lost points for her house. "For today's lesson, we will be making a cure for poison joke." Flintheart announced pushing a black cauldron to the center of the room. "I would need somepony to demonstrate the proper way to making this potion." He scanned the room and decided which pony should brew the potion. "Fluttershy! Step forward!" Flintheart commanded, frightening the shy pegasus.

"Yes sir." Fluttershy whispered. Fluttershy fearfully make her way to the cauldron avoiding eye contact with her teacher. Flintheart then gave Fluttershy a scroll that lists all the ingredients for the remedy. "I want you to follow this list exactly as it's written and don't skip any important details!" Fluttershy quickly added the ingredients to the cauldron and made sure she read the list carefully. However, Flintheart stopped Fluttershy about half way through the process. "No! No! No! It's all wrong! You were supposed to add the herbal flower before stirring!" he shouted frightening the pegasus even more.

"I'm really sorry, sir." Fluttershy apologized. "Don't be sorry! Be aware! Can't you do anything right?" Fluttershy started to cower and was more terrified than ever. "Hey! Leave Fluttershy alone! She's doing the best she can!" Twilight shouted from across the room. "Another disruption Miss Sparkle? That's another five points from Gryffindor. Keep this up and I will have you in detention for the whole month!" the potion master threatened. At this point, the cauldron started to bubble and the classroom was filled with smoke. Flintheart grabbed his wand and casted a spell to clear the room, allowing everypony to breath in fresh air.

"Well, thanks to Miss Sparkle and Miss Fluttershy, we won't be able to continue the lesson." Flintheart growled. "For homework today, I want everypony to gather the ingredients needed to brew the potion for poison joke! Class dismissed!" The Slytherins groaned feeling disappointed that they didn't get to learn anything from their potion master. The Gryffindors on the other hand, left the class in relief for surviving their first potions class.

The next morning, Twilight sat with her friends at breakfast telling them how awful potions class was. "I know some teachers are strict, but Professor Flintheart was just mean!" Twilight complained. "Listen, Twilight." Applejack spoke up. "It was nice of you to defend Fluttershy, but you wouldn't want to get on Professor Flintheart's bad side." "I must agree with Applejack." said Rarity. "Professor Flintheart can be quite nasty." "Well, teacher or not, he had no right to treat Fluttershy that way!" Twilight explained.

Everypony continued eating until they heard hooting sounds from above. They looked up to see dozens of owls flying with letters, envelopes, and news articles in their talons. They slowly descended dropping the mail to each student and teacher. "Is this how Canterlot gets it's mail?" Twilight wondered. Twilight continued eating knowing that she won't receive any mail. She saw Rarity reading letters from her parents, Applejack reading through news articles, and Fluttershy receiving a light-blue crystal orb.

"Hey look everypony! Fluttershy's got a memory crystal!" one of the Gryffindors gasped. "They say when it turns red it means you forgot something important." Fluttershy watched as the orb slowly turned red. "That's strange. I don't think I forgot anything." said Fluttershy. Twilight started to feel annoyed that she was the only pony in Canterlot who didn't receive a single letter and wanted to keep her mind off it. "Hey Applejack! Can I borrow that newspaper you are reading?" she asked. "Sure Twilight!" Applejack answered giving Twilight the newspaper. The unicorn kept skimming over the articles until one story caught her eye. An article on Diamond Dog Bank.

It read, 'Investigations continue on the break in at Diamond Dog Bank. The Diamond Dogs working there said that nothing was taken and never stated what they were trying to protect. All that can be said is that they will add extra security measures to vault 713.' "How strange." Twilight wondered to herself. "Wasn't that the same vault Big Mac and I visited?"

Chapter 10

Flying Lessons with Coach Spitfire

Unlike most of the classes Twilight took so far, her next class involved flying on broomsticks. The first years stood outside the castle's courtyard with wooden brooms at their sides. Marching towards the students was a yellow orange-maned pegasus wearing a pair of shades and a whistle around her neck. "Alright, listen up newbies!" the pegasus commanded in a strict voice.

"I am your instructor, Coach Spitfire. It's my job to train you to be the best flyers you can be!" she explained. "In a few years tops all of you will be experienced enough to compete in buckball, the greatest flying game in Canterlot. However, buckball is only for the top flyers so we will start with the basics." she announced.

"On my whistle, I want all of you to raise your hooves over your broomsticks and say, 'up.'" Spitfire grabbed her whistle and blew it causing a high-pitched noise to sound across the courtyard. "Up!" everypony chanted at once. Twilight's broom levitated upwards allowing her to grab it. Unlike Twilight, the other students could barely move their brooms at all.

After a few minutes, everypony managed to lift the brooms off the ground. "Not bad for the first time." Spitfire complemented. "But most of you newbies need to work on calling forth your brooms. Now, mount your brooms so we can begin the lesson." The students grabbed on to their brooms with their fore legs while keeping their hind legs firmly on the ground. "For this first lesson, we will keep it simple and fly our brooms around the courtyard 3 times." Spitfire instructed.

"Now, kick your hoofs off the ground in 3,2-" Before Spitfire could blow her whistle, Fluttershy started to feel as light as a feather and her broom ascended the ground on it's own. "Fluttershy, we haven't started yet." Spitfire told the frightened pegasus. "I can't control my broom, ma'am." Fluttershy explained feeling nervous. Before anypony can react, the broom took off like a rocket flying further from the ground. "Somepony, please help me!" Fluttershy screamed.

Spitfire swiftly took out her wand in an attempt to stop Fluttershy's broomstick, but it was to fast for her to get a proper aim. Fluttershy soon lost her grip on her broomstick causing her to fall in the grass below her. Everypony rushed towards her to make sure she was alright. "Out of the way! Make some room!" Spitfire said passing through the crowd surrounding Fluttershy. She then knelt beside Fluttershy and began examining her. "It's only a broken wing." she sighed. "I'm going to take Miss Fluttershy to the hospital. Nopony will fly any brooms until I get back. Otherwise, the one who is caught flying will be expelled faster than they can say buckball!"

Right after Spitfire left, Twilight noticed Trixie picking up a shiny object from the ground. She quickly realized that the object was, Fluttershy's memory crystal. "I can't wait to see the look on Fluttershy's face when she realizes that her memory crystal is gone." Trixie snickered to Snips and Snails. "I'll bet somepony will pay a good amount of bits for this fancy object." Twilight approached the stuck-up unicorn who was thinking about who to sell the memory crystal to. "Give it back, Trixie!" Twilight demanded. Trixie merely smirked at Twilight. "Actually, I think I will keep it." Trixie stated.

She quickly grabbed her broom, flying out of Twilight's reach. "What's the matter, Twilight? Can't keep up with the great and powerful Trixie?" the unicorn taunted. Twilight grabbed her broom as well, only to be stopped by Rarity. "Twilight you mustn't!" she begged. "You heard what Coach Spitfire said." This made Twilight stop for a second. She was either going to risk being expelled or let Trixie get away with the crystal. She made up her mind and flew after Trixie. "Hand it over Trixie! It belongs to Fluttershy!" Twilight demanded.

"If you want it so badly then go catch it." Trixie threw the crystal across the castle grounds. Twilight immediately forgot about Trixie and focused on flying after the crystal. She eventually managed to catch the crystal before it could shatter on the ground. Twilight gave a sigh of relief and flew back to the courtyard, but not before being spotted by Professor Cadance. Everypony cheered for Twilight as she slowly reached the ground.

However, her victory was short-lived when Cadance approached her. "Twilight Sparkle! Come with me!" she ordered strictly. There was no way out of it. Twilight decided to accept her fate and follow Cadance. "But, professor!" Rarity stepped in. "Trixie just tried to-" "I don't want to hear it!" Cadance interrupted. "Follow me, Miss Sparkle!"

Things couldn't get any worse for Twilight. She went through the trouble of getting back Fluttershy's memory crystal and now she is going to be expelled for sure. She knew that Cadance will send her back to the Riches and she will never use magic again. The unicorn trembled the whole way as Cadance came to a door at the end of the hall and opened it. "Professor Discord, may I borrow Soarin for a moment" Cadance asked the draconequus. "Why of course!" Discord answered before continuing his lesson.

Soon a light-blue, spike maned pegasus stepped out of the class. "I'm sorry to bother you, Soarin, but I want you to know that I think we have found our new seeker!" Cadance announced. "No way!" the pegasus gasped from excitement. "Who is it?" "I would like you to meet Twilight Sparkle." the alicorn introduced. "I just saw her catch a memory crystal in the air like it was nothing. So I was hoping you wouldn't mind showing her the basics of buckball." "No problem! Come with me, Twilight! I will teach you everything there is to know about buckball!"

Outside the castle, Soarin lead Twilight to an open field carrying a trunk to the center. "You are so lucky, Twilight!" Soarin commented. "You are going to be the only first year to ever play buckball." "Thanks, Soarin, but I don't know what I should expect from this game." Twilight explained. "Which is why I'm going to help you." said the pegasus He opened the trunk revealing balls of different colors and sizes along with a couple of clubs.

The first ball Soarin grabbed was a red one. "As you can already guess, this is a buckball. We start out the game by bucking this ball to the other players for them to catch and then we focus on bucking it into the other team's goal." Soarin explained. "So, what is this ball for?" the unicorn asked pointing to a black ball that was fiercely struggling against it's chains. "I think it would be easier to explain if I showed you, but you might want to take a club just in case." Soarin warned.

After both ponies grabbed their clubs, Soarin carefully unlocked the chain. The ball rushed out of the trunk and started flying in every single direction. It looked like a cannonball with a mind of it's own. Angry at being locked up for so long, the black ball charged at the two ponies. Twilight started to brace herself for the worst. Soarin, however remained calm. He took his club and smacked the black ball high in the sky. "What was that thing?" Twilight asked getting over her shock. "That nasty little thing is called an anti-buck ball." Soarin answered.

"It's the beater's job to knock anti-buck balls away from our teammates. The only thing the seeker should focus on is this." Soarin took out a small golden orb with wings. "This is the golden crystal orb. It is worth 250 points, so if you catch this we win the game."

The crystal orb extended it's wings, flying through the field like the anti-buck ball only a lot quicker. The two ponies watched the crystal orb fly into the distance only to notice that the anti-buck ball was coming back madder than ever. This time, Twilight swung her club at the anti-buck ball, knocking it through the cross sticks of a statue. "Not bad, Twilight." Soarin complemented. "You would make a good beater."

Chapter 11

The Trophy Room

The news about Twilight becoming the new seeker for buckball was all everypony talked about for the past couple of weeks. All of the Gryffindors felt confident that Twilight will win buckball for their team. That only made Twilight feel more nervous everyday. Everypony was counting on her to win, but she was scared that she would let them down. She decided to talk to Applejack about her fears as they walked down the hallway.

"You shouldn't fret about it too much, Twilight." said Applejack. "I'm sure you will do great." "But, what if I make a fool of myself and cost us the game?" Twilight asked. "Everypony is going to hate me!" "That's not true." the farm pony explained. "Everypony knows you will try your best and we will remain your friends no matter what." Twilight smiled in appreciation for the encouragement Applejack gave her.

"Hey, Twilight!" a pair of voices called out behind the unicorn. She turned around to see Flim and Flam approaching her. "We came to wish you luck on your first buckball match." said Flim. "Yeah, we need Gryffindor to win, otherwise we will lose a good amount of bits that we bet for this match." Flam explained. "Wait, you two are betting? Flim and Flam, I thought Granny Smith warned you to never gamble!" Applejack scolded. "Oh relax, dear sister. What Granny Smith doesn't know won't hurt her." Flim protested.

"Now if you'll excuse us, we have some more betting to do." Flam exclaimed. Applejack rolled her eyes and turned back to Twilight. "Everything is going to be fine. You are probably the best seeker Canterlot has." Applejack encouraged. "Oh sure, we are so lucky to have Twilight Sparkle as our new seeker." a voice spoke up sarcastically. A certain blue unicorn, along with her cohorts marched up the hall, approaching Twilight and Applejack. "What do you want, Trixie?" Twilight asked irritated by her rival's presence.

"You are not any better than me just because you became the new seeker! I challenge you and your friend to a magical duel!." Trixie announced. "Hey, Trixie." Snips whispered. "I don't think any of us have been in a duel before." "Oh, quiet you!" Trixie hissed. "Do we even know any offensive magical attacks?" Snails wondered. "Shut up, Snails!" the blue unicorn snapped getting frustrated with her cohorts making her look bad.

"So anyway," Applejack stepped in. "Where are we having this duel?" "We are going to duel in the trophy room at midnight." Trixie replied. "But, if we sneak out tonight, we would get both of our houses in trouble." Twilight protested. It was bad enough that Twilight cost her house 10 points in potions class, but Gryffindor would lose a lot more points if Twilight was caught out of bed.

"Excuse me, but what did you say about sneaking out?" Rarity, who was listening in on the conversation, stared at everypony in concern. "Trixie just challenged me and Twilight to a midnight duel." Applejack admitted. Rarity, in turn gave the farm pony a disapproving glare. "Applejack, this is a bad idea. You would get in serious trouble if you get caught by any of the school prefects." "We will be fine." the earth pony assured. "Besides, this will probably be our only chance to wipe that smug look off of Trixie's face."

Rarity knew she wasn't going to get through to Applejack. "Fine, have your duel, but leave me out of it!" the unicorn huffed. "I am not going to participate in a fight where ponies behave like ruffians!" Rarity turned her back on everypony since she couldn't reason with them. Before Rarity could leave, Trixie taunted her from behind. "Oh, what's the matter? Are you afraid to get a few hairs out of place in that rat's nest you call a mane?" This caused the white unicorn to stop in her tracks. She turned to Trixie with rage in her eyes. "Oh it's on!"

Trixie continued to smirk while Snips and Snails were cowering behind her. "Oh, so you changed your mind? Looks like we are having a 3 against 3 duel after all!" Trixie commented. "Tonight, we are going to settle this. Don't be late!" She then signaled Snips and Snails to follow her back to the Slytherin common room.

Later that night, Twilight, Applejack, and Rarity sneaked their way through the Gryffindor common room once they were sure that everpony was asleep. All three of them summoned lights to their wands so they could navigate through the pitch-black castle. They continued to descend down the grand staircase until they reached the third floor where they opened the door to the trophy room.

As soon as Twilight and her friends entered the room, they caught glimpses of trophies and medals neatly arranged in glass cases. Even in the darkness, the awards shined brightly. It was quarter to 12:00, but there was no sign of Trixie, Snips, or Snails. "I don't see anypony here, so I guess we have more time to prepare." Applejack stated. "Let's just get this duel over with so we get back to bed. I've got Gryffindor in enough trouble already." Twilight fretted.

While they were waiting, the three ponies examined the plaques on the trophies. There were awards for potion making, dueling, and wizard's chess. The awards have been really intriguing to Rarity, but the last one on the shelf make her gasp in surprise. "Twilight, I think you should take a look at this!" she exclaimed. Twilight and Applejack surrounded the case where they found the trophy Rarity was pointing at. It was a trophy for the best seeker of buckball, which was engraved to Night Light.

Twilight felt as if she was dreaming. Her father used to compete in buckball? "Gosh, Twilight! You never told us your father was a seeker!" Applejack marveled at the trophy. "I didn't know it myself." Twilight explained still processing the new information she found out. She started to wonder what others secrets she didn't know about her parents. Loud chimes of the clock snapped everypony back to reality. It was 12:00, but Trixie was nowhere to be found.

It took a few moments of silence for everypony to realize that they have been tricked. "Why that no-good lying trickster!" Applejack yelled. "Trixie set up this duel just to get us in trouble!" "Who's there?" a grouchy voice called from the staircase. "Oh no, it's Cranky!" Rarity gasped. "Everypony, quick! Through the back door!" Twilight led her friends through the door where they found themselves in a large hallway with dimly lit candles. They raced to the end of the hall to reach a large locked door. Applejack tried to pull the lock in desperation as she heard Cranky's hoofsteps getting closer. "I can't get the door open!"

"Let me try!" Rarity whispered. She aimed her wand at the lock and chanted, "Alohomora!" As soon as she casted the spell, the lock broke allowing the three ponies to hide in the room. Once they entered the room, Twilight and her friends leaned against the large door to catch their breaths. The room they were in had no candles at all and a heavy breathing sound filled the silence. Everypony turned to the creature making the noise, and immediately regretted their decision to unlocking the door.

Standing right in front of them was a giant, black, three-headed dog. All three heads stared at the ponies with glowing, yellow eyes. It started to growl showing off it's razor sharp teeth. They looked as sharp as the spikes on the collars of the three heads. Everypony screamed at the horrific sight. They ran back out the room and slammed the door shut before the beast had a chance to eat them.

Despite being frightened half to death, Twilight and her friends managed to sneak back to the Gryffindor common room without getting caught. "What do they think they are doing?" Applejack complained. "I can't believe they would keep a monster like that locked in a school!" "Applejack, I think you have failed to notice what that creature was standing on." Rarity explained. "I wasn't looking at it's feet! I was too distracted by it's three heads!"

"That dog was standing on a trap door." Rarity pointed out. "It must be protecting something that we are not supposed to know about." "But, what could possibly be so important that Canterlot needs a guard dog to protect it?" Twilight wondered. "I have no idea, but it is clear that we are not going back to that room! Now if you two would excuse me, I'm going to get some beauty sleep and forget that this night has ever happened!" Rarity said as she walked back to the mares' bedroom.

Chapter 12

Nightmare Night

Tonight was the night that everypony celebrated their favorite spooky holiday, Nightmare Night. This was going to be a fun night for everypony except Twilight, Applejack, and Rarity. After the events from last night's "duel" Twilight and her friends couldn't get the horrific image of the three-headed dog out of their minds. That was more terrifying than anything else that could happen tonight.

The three friends hoped that today's charms class would help keep there minds off their frightening experience. The teacher for charms was Professor Spot. He was a diamond dog just like the ones at the bank, except he was much smaller and had brown fur. As soon as class began, Professor Spot stood on a tall podium. "Today we are going to learn how to levitate objects! It's a technique I like to call the swish and flick!" he exclaimed. "I want all of you to point your wands at the feathers on your desks and say, 'Wingardium Leviosa.'"

Everypony struggled with this lesson as their feathers didn't even move an inch. Applejack had the most trouble with the lesson because she was repeatedly mispronouncing the spell. She eventually got frustrated to the point where she violently shook her wand. "Honestly, Applejack. You are never going to get the spell right if you are that forceful with your wand. Besides it's pronounced Leviosa." Rarity explained. "Then, you do it if you think you're so clever!" Applejack complained. "Very well." the unicorn complied.

She casted the spell on her feather and slowly raised her wand. Everypony watched the feather in awe as it floated in the air as if it was blown by wind. "Look everypony! Rarity did it! Well done, Rarity!" Professor Spot praised. Applejack, however wasn't so thrilled at being lectured on how to perform spells. Everypony continued to work on the spell until a loud explosion erupted startling them. One of the students tried too hard on the spell causing her feather to blow up. "I think we need another feather, professor." Twilight stated still in shock by the filly's setback.

Once class ended, everypony started to head back to their common rooms to get ready for the Nightmare Night feast. As Twilight and Applejack made their way through the courtyard, the farm pony started to complain about what happened in charms class. "I can't believe Rarity just showed me off like that. Who does she think she is to lecture me on spells? It's no wonder she doesn't have any friends!" It was at that moment when the certain white unicorn rushed passed Twilight and Applejack with tears in her eyes. "I think she heard you, Applejack." Twilight pointed out. This caused the farm pony to hang her head in shame, regretting what she said.

In celebration of Nightmare Night, the Great Hall has been decorated with all kinds of spooky decorations. There were lanterns in the shape of jack-o-lanterns and spiderwebs decorated on every table. Even the ceiling's night sky illusion was changed to a stormy night with black clouds and lightning. The feast was going great, but Twilight noticed that somepony was still missing from the table.

"Hey Fluttershy, have you seen Rarity anywhere?" Twilight asked. "I heard that she was crying in the mares' bathroom." Fluttershy explained. "Poor Rarity must be really upset about something." Twilight then glared at Applejack who was avoiding her gaze. After a few moments of eating, the doors to the Great Hall swung open revealing Professor Discord. He rushed through the hall gasping for breath as if he just ran a marathon.

"Manticore in the dungeon!" he screamed. "There is a manticore in the dungeon!" The entire hall became silent with everypony staring wide-eyed at Discord. "I just thought you should know." Discord said before fainting from exhaustion. The Great Hall was soon filled with ear-piercing shrieks and screams from the students. They attempted to flee for there lives, but stopped when Professor Celestia got their attention by summoning a bright light that lit up the hall.

"Calm down, everypony. The professors and I are going to the dungeon to sort out the matter." Celestia announced. "Meanwhile, I want the prefects to take the students back to the dormitories." "Gryffindors follow me!" Braeburn instructed. The Gryffindors were the first to leave the hall, followed by the rest of the houses and the school staff. All of the professors made their way to the dungeon except for Flintheart, who sneaked to the third floor.

"How can a manticore escape from a dungeon?" Applejack asked Twilight as they followed Braeburn. "Manticores are too stupid to escape on their own, so somepony must have let it out." Twilight's hoofsteps came to a halt as she realized something. "Applejack, wait! Rarity doesn't know about the manticore! We need to warn her!" Both ponies managed to sneak away from Braeburn and raced back up the stairs.

As Twilight and Applejack reached the first floor corridor, they spotted the creature they were hoping to avoid. The manticore roamed through the halls, unaware of the two ponies watching it. "Oh no! The manticore is heading straight for the mares bathroom!" Twilight gasped. "We have to save Rarity!"

Meanwhile in the bathroom, Rarity came out of one of the stalls when she finished crying. She only took a few steps before she looked up to see the beast right in front of her. It was a lion with bat wings and a scorpion tail. Rarity was paralyzed with fear as the monster gave a low growl and raised it's scorpion-like tail. The tail missed Rarity by an inch, but destroyed the stalls in the process.

At that moment, Twilight and Applejack rushed in and called for Rarity. "Help me!" Rarity screamed as the manticore crept closer to her. "I have a plan!" Twilight stated. "Follow my lead!" She grabbed a piece of rubble and threw it at the manticore. Applejack did the same thing and the duo eventually got the beast's attention.

It charged and tried to swipe at the ponies with it's claws. Twilight desperately tried to think of a spell that would calm down the manticore, but it swiped Twilight's wand away from her leaving her defenseless. She was backing into a corner feeling more afraid. "Applejack! Do something!" Twilight shouted as she ducked to avoid the monster's tail. "Like what?" Applejack asked. "Anything!" Twilight said dodging the tail again.

"Use the swish and flick!" Rarity advised. Taking a deep breath, Applejack cast the spell on a huge piece of rubble. Despite how heavy it was, the farm pony managed to levitate it with ease. The manticore raised it's tail once again only to feel the heavy object land on it's skull, knocking it unconscious.

The trio of ponies cautiously approached the knocked out monster. "Is it dead?" Rarity asked. "I don't think so. It's only knocked out." Twilight explained. Everypony finally relaxed now that the nightmare was over. "Hey Rarity." Applejack spoke up. "I'm sorry for what I said about you after charms class. I know you were only trying to help me with that spell." The farm pony then took off her hat in shame. "Can you ever forgive me?" "Of course, Applejack!" Rarity said with a smile. "I'm lucky to have you and Twilight as my friends. Thank you for rescuing me."

At that moment, the professors entered the bathroom to investigate. They were shocked to find the knocked out manticore and the damage it caused. "Somepony explain what happened here!" Cadance demanded. Rarity couldn't let her friends take the blame for what happened, so she decided to speak up. "It was my fault, professor!" she said gaining confused glances from her friends. "I learned a lot about animals from my friend, Fluttershy. I thought I could tame the manticore myself, but I was wrong. If Twilight and Applejack haven't come to rescue me, I would have been dead."

Cadance glared at the unicorn for a few moments. "Rarity, I'm disappointed in you. You should know better than to search for a manticore on your own! For that, I have to take 5 points from Gryffindor!" The pink alicorn then faced Twilight and Applejack. "As for you two, I have to say that I'm surprised. Not many first years are able to take down a manticore and live to tell the tale so I decided to award you five house points each." The trio gave sighs of relief. At least tonight didn't end so badly for them.

"Now that this incident is over, please go back to your dormitory." said Cadance. As the ponies were leaving, Twilight took a look at her potion master and found something unusual. There was a huge scratch mark on Flintheart's front hoof. His wound was so bad, he had blood dripping down his leg. He looked as though he was attacked by a wild animal. Flintheart then covered his wound with his cloak, preventing Twilight from observing it any further. This made Twilight suspicious, but she didn't say anything and followed her friends back to the Gryffindor common room.

Chapter 13

Gryffindor vs Slytherin

Everypony in Canterlot is waiting anxiously for today's buckball match between Gryffindor and Slytherin. All of the excitement for the first game of the season got Twilight nervous. She sat at the Gryffindor table, barely eating her breakfast at all. "Twilight, you have to eat more than that. You need your energy for the game." Applejack advised. "I'm not feeling that hungry, Applejack." Twilight confessed. In just a few moments, Twilight was going to compete in a stadium filled with hundreds of ponies watching her. Just thinking about it made her feel sick.

"Miss Sparkle." a dark, cold voice spoke to the purple unicorn. As if her day couldn't get any worse. She just had to be face-to-face with her least favorite teacher. "I just came to tell you that Slytherin is a very formidable buckball team." said Flintheart. "Don't let being a seeker get you overconfident." Twilight glared at Flintheart. She didn't know whether he was giving her advise or just trying to discourage her.

Without another word, Flintheart walked away. As he walked down the hall, Twilight realized that he was limping the whole way. "That explains the blood." Twilight muttered. "What blood?" Rarity asked. Twilight scooted in closer to Applejack and Rarity, making sure nopony else heard her. "Listen! Last night in the bathroom, I noticed that Professor Flintheart had a big scratch mark on his leg." Twilight whispered.

"I have a feeling that he was the one who let out the manticore so he could sneak passed that three-headed dog." "But why would a Canterlot teacher want to go near that monster?" Applejack asked. "I don't know, but lets agree to keep a close eye on Flintheart." Twilight advised. "I don't really trust him!" Her two friends nodded in agreement.

"Hey, Twilight!" Soarin called out to the unicorn. "Let's get going! We need to be at the Cloudsdale Stadium in a few minutes!" "I'm coming." Twilight said. She followed Soarin out of the hall as her friends wished her luck.

Seats in the Cloudsdale Stadium were filling up as the game was about to begin. Both teams were getting ready to fly off on their brooms. Despite the excitement, Twilight was the only pony to remain silent. "Are you feeling nervous, Twilight?" Soarin asked. "Maybe a little." Twilight admitted. "That's alright! I felt the same way back at my first buckball match!" "How did your first match go?" Twilight asked the buckball captain. "I'm not so sure, to be honest. In the middle of the match, an anti-buckball knocked me off my broom. The next thing I knew, I woke up in the hospital."

Before Twilight could respond, Coach Spitfire blew her whistle signaling both teams to fly towards the center of the stadium. Twilight's flying position gave her a good view of the stadium. There were yellow and orange flags surrounding the perimeter and everypony sat in seats made of clouds. It didn't take long for Twilight to spot Applejack, Rarity, and Big Mac cheering for her.

Coach Spitfire carried a case of buckballs between both teams. "As a reminder, the first team to score 250 points wins the match!" Spitfire reminded. She then grabbed her wand and pointed it to the case. "Now, let the games begin!" Spitfire announced as she unlocked the case, releasing the multicolored buckballs in the air.

As soon as the game started, Soarin caught the red buckball and proceeded to fly to the goal. He raced through the stadium avoiding Slytherins and passing the ball to the Gryffindors. The Gryffindors eventually bucked the ball through the goal, earning their team 10 points. Cheers erupted from the stands as the game was starting to heat up.

The next buckball was quickly snatched by the Slytherin captain, Wind Rider. He tried to pass it to another Slytherin, but a small pegasus named, Fleetfoot swiftly caught it instead. Fleetfoot dashed passed everypony and scored another 10 points for her team.

It was at this point when Slytherin started to play dirty. They started to knock the Gryffindors off their brooms by hitting anti-buckballs at them. With most of the Gryffindors injured, Slytherin quickly earned 20 points, making the score even.

Meanwhile, Twilight desperately searched for the golden crystal orb. An object that small could be anywhere in the stadium. Fortunately, the orb started to flutter right in front of the unicorn. Even up close, it looked like a tiny insect. The orb dashed passed Twilight before she had a chance to grab it. Twilight chased after it, but the Slytherin seeker, Lightning Dust noticed the orb and started to give chase as well.

The two seekers raced around the stadium, knowing that both teams were close to victory. Twilight got closer to the orb and she was just about to grab it before her broom was pulled back by an unseen force. Twilight started to lose her grip as if the broom itself was trying to shake her off.

"What's wrong with Twilight's broomstick?" Big Mac asked staring through his binoculars. Rarity got her answer as she stared at the professors' seats. "Applejack, look! I think Flintheart is trying to jinx Twilight's broom!" Rarity exclaimed pointing to Flintheart. He had his eyes focused on Twilight and muttered an inaudible spell. "Oh no!" Applejack gasped. "We have to stop him!" "Just leave it to me!" Rarity assured. "I'll be right back!"

The white unicorn then sneaked her way under the professors' benches. She pointed her wand towards Flintheart's cape and ignited sparks from the wand, setting the cape on fire. It wasn't long before Rarity heard somepony scream, "Fire! You're on fire!" Flintheart took his eyes off of Twilight and was shocked to find his cape slowly burning to ashes.

As Flintheart was trying to stomp out the flames on his cape, Twilight managed to regain her balance on her broom. She took off on her broom again and started closing in on the orb. Twilight reached out her hoof ready to swipe the orb, only to lose her balance and hit the ground.

Twilight tried to get up, but a sick feeling in her stomach prevented her from doing so. She felt something in her mouth that made her feel queasy. She spit out the object from her mouth and realized that it was the orb. The orb retracted it's wings as it rested on the unicorn's hooves. "Twilight Sparkle has caught the golden crystal orb!" the announcer exclaimed. "Gryffindor wins the buckball match!"

The crowd cheered and applauded Twilight for her victory. Twilight has never felt more proud of herself. Not only has she won the match, but she also got over her anxieties of playing buckball. Everpony then started to leave the stadium as the match came to a close.

After the game ended, Applejack, Rarity, and Big Mac met Twilight out of the stadium to congratulate her. "Well done, Twilight!" Big Mac praised. "You were amazing!" "Thanks, Big Mac!" Twilight smiled. "I feel that I have grown to enjoy buckball."

Even though Gryffindor won the game, Rarity still felt concerned. "Twilight, I hate to ruin the moment, but you need to know that Professor Flintheart tried to jinx your broom." Rarity explained. "Now that's crazy talk!" Big Mac laughed. "Why would Professor Flintheart want to jinx Twilight's broomstick?" "But it's true, Big Mac!" Applejack explained.

"He even tried to sneak passed that three-headed dog after the Nightmare Night feast!" Big Mac eyed the farm pony curiously. "How do you know about Cerberus?" he asked. "That thing has a name?" Rarity gasped. "Why of course!" Big Mac replied. "I bought Cerberus from a pony back at the Equestrian Cauldron. We need Cerberus to guard the-" The stallion paused. "Sorry, but I can't tell you anything else. It's private Canterlot business."

Twilight and her friends were puzzled by the stallion's words. He was obviously hiding something from them. "Big Mac, please listen!" Twilight pleaded. "Professor Flintheart is up to something and he is probably after whatever is being guarded by Cerberus!"

Big Mac gave a sigh. "Alright, you three listen!" he told them sternly. "You three are meddling in things you shouldn't know about! The only ponies who should know about this sort of stuff are Professor Celestia and Star Swirl the Bearded!" "Who's Star Swirl?" the lavender unicorn asked. Big Mac's eyes widened when he realized what he said. "I shouldn't have said that." he mumbled to himself. "Just forget that I said anything!" Big Mac then walked away, leaving the trio pondering on who the mysterious pony was.

Chapter 14

Happy Hearth's Warming

Twilight and her friends have spent the past couple of weeks searching for information on the mysterious pony, Star Swirl. They had no luck so far. There was not a single book that even mentioned Star Swirl. They were just about ready to give up when Hearth's Warming Eve came.

Most of the students were already packing up their personal belongings to go back home for the holidays. As soon as Rarity finished packing her own things, she made her way to the Great Hall. In celebration of Hearth's Warming, the hall was decorated with banners and ribbons. The night sky illusion was also changed to a winter-themed illusion with snowflakes. At the end of the hall stood a giant tree complete with shiny ornaments, bells, and a star on top.

Rarity walked down the hall and found Twilight and Applejack sitting at a table, playing chess. "Knight to E5." Applejack said. One of the chess pieces suddenly walked forward on it's own and used it's sword to slice another piece in half. "That's completely barbaric!" Rarity complained.

"It's called wizard's chess, Rarity!" Applejack explained. "Would you like to join us?" Twilight asked. "No thank you!" Rarity replied. "I have to board the train soon anyway. By the way, shouldn't you be getting ready too, Applejack? You haven't packed a single bag."

"My family and I decided to cancel our trip to Saddle Arabia because we couldn't afford the trip." Applejack notified. "Good!" Rarity exclaimed. "Then you wouldn't mind helping Twilight search for books on Star Swirl!" The farm pony groaned in response. "Come on, Rarity! This school doesn't have any information on this pony we're searching for! We looked everywhere!"

"We haven't looked in the restricted section." Rarity pointed out. Twilight and Applejack were shocked that their friend would even suggest such a risky plan. "Well anyway, Happy Hearth's Warming!" Rarity said leaving the two ponies back to their game.

After a couple of hours, everypony went back to their common rooms to get some sleep. The Gryffindor Tower was more quiet than usual because Twilight and Applejack were the only Gryffindors who decided to stay at Canterlot. Twilight slept peacefully until the middle of the night when she heard Applejack's exited voice from downstairs. "Twilight, wake up! It's officially Hearth's Warming!" Upon hearing those words, Twilight jumped out of bed and raced down the stairs.

The unicorn gasped when she saw dozens of presents scattered on the floor. Each one was covered in shiny wrapping paper and tied with bright ribbons. "Happy Heath's Warming, Twilight!" Applejack greeted. "Happy Hearth's Warming, Applejack!" Twilight responded. "What are you wearing?" Instead of her usual brown cowgirl's hat, Applejack wore a green Hearth's Warming themed hat with her name stitched in red writing on the front. "It's a gift from Granny Smith." Applejack grinned sheepishly.

The two friends decided to open their presents. Applejack got a pie tin from Granny Smith, a set of barbells from Rainbow Dash, and an I.O.U from Flim and Flam. Meanwhile, Twilight mostly received new winter robes and books on potion making. After a couple of minutes, the common room's floors were covered in torn wrapping paper and ribbons. Both ponies were almost certain that they opened all of their presents until Applejack noticed one more present lying in the corner. "Look, Twilight! There's one more present and it's addressed to you!"

The unicorn picked up the gift and examined the tag. Instead of having the name of who sent it, the tag read, 'This item was in your father's possession before he died. Use it wisely.' This made Twilight even more curious. She unwrapped her gift and was surprised at what she found. "It's a book of spells!" Twilight exclaimed. "So, who is it from, Twilight?" Applejack asked. "I'm not sure. The tag only said, 'use it wisely'."

The unicorn then opened her book and was surprised by it's contents. There were dozens of spells on every page. "Gosh! You can use all sorts of fancy spells with that book!" Applejack commented. "I think I will try this spell." Twilight said pointing to an invisibility spell. She spoke magical incantations while waving her wand to match the symbols in the book. Once she was done, she looked up to see a bewildered expression from Applejack. "What is it?" Twilight asked confused. "Twilight! The spell worked! Come see for yourself!"

Twilight immediately trotted in front of the closest mirror, but didn't see her reflection. After getting over her shock, Twilight withdrew the spell making her visible again. "That was incredible!" she exclaimed. "I never tried a spell like that before!" "Whoever sent you that book was really generous." Applejack said. Suddenly the farm pony gave a yawn. "I don't know about you, but I'm ready to get some shut eye."

She started to climb the stairs to the bedroom before turning to the unicorn. "Are you coming, Twilight?" "I'll be up in a minute." Twilight answered. Twilight was about to close her book, but one look at her invisibility spell gave her an idea. She thought back to Rarity's suggestion of looking for Star Swirl's book in the restricted section. As much as she didn't like sneaking out, Twilight knew that with her new spell she had one chance to find out about Star Swirl. Twilight casted the spell on herself and left the common room.

Carrying a lantern, Twilight navigated her way through the dark corridors of the castle. After what felt like hours of stumbling in the dark, Twilight managed to reach the library. The invisible unicorn then sneaked to the back of the room where she came across a black gate with a lock. "This must be the restricted section." Twilight muttered to herself. She aimed her wand at the lock and whispered, "Alohomora." This caused the lock to break, allowing Twilight to continue.

The restricted section had rows of books containing dark magic, which Twilight chose to ignore. She proceeded through the section until she found a book with Star Swirl's name on it. The unicorn immediately retracted her invisibility spell so she could grab the book. As soon as she opened the book to read it, the face of a shrieking pony popped out of the pages. Twilight gave a scream and shut the book closed.

"Who was that?" called Cranky's voice from outside the library. As soon as she heard the donkey's voice, Twilight started to panic. She quickly turned herself invisible and left the library, not even bothering to pick up the lantern. About halfway through the hall, Twilight looked back to see if anypony was following her. There was nothing but pitch-black darkness behind her. The lavender unicorn finally calmed down and proceeded to head back to the common room. However, her hoofsteps came to a stop when she saw Discord in the corridor.

He only took a few steps before he got pinned to the wall by Flintheart. "Oh, P-Professor Flintheart! W-what brings you up this evening?" Discord asked. The scowl on Flintheart's face showed that he wasn't in the mood for small talk. "You don't want me to be your enemy, Discord!" he threatened. "I-I don't know what you m-mean." the draconequus stuttered in response. "I think you know exactly what I-" Flintheart paused. He turned away from Discord facing Twilight. He must have heard her hoofsteps.

The potion master slowly reached out his hoof in an attempt to grab the invisible unicorn, but Twilight backed away at the last second. After a few moments of silence, Flintheart faced Discord again. Before Flintheart could say a word, a certain donkey approached the professors. "Good evening, Professors!" Cranky greeted. "I just found this lantern in the restricted section of the library. The lantern is still hot, so somepony is out of bed."

"Cranky, I assure you that whoever is sneaking around will receive the worst punishment this school has to offer!" Flintheart swore. Without another word, Flintheart left the corridor. Twilight saw this as her chance to sneak away. It only took a few minutes before Twilight got herself lost. She came across a wooden door that was slightly opened. Curiosity overtook the unicorn as she entered the mysterious room.

Upon entering the room, Twilight was met with the sight of tall pillars on both sides. The room appeared empty, apart from a giant horseshoe-shaped mirror in the back. The mirror had a purple outline with tiny pink gems surrounding it. Twilight stepped closer to the mysterious object. The moment she stood in front of it, Twilight let out a gasp.

Standing right next to Twilight in the mirror's reflection were her parents. The stallion was a blue unicorn with a dark-blue mane and tail. He had a cutie mark of two crescent moons. The mare was a light-gray unicorn who had a purple and white striped mane. She had three purple stars for a cutie mark.

Twilight couldn't believe what she was seeing. She didn't know if this was an illusion on if she was dreaming. "Mom?" Twilight asked unsure of herself. The gray mare nodded in response. "Dad?" Twilight called turning to the stallion who nodded as well. Twilight turned to see if her parents really were beside her, but she was the only pony in the room. It was as if the ponies in the reflection were actually ghosts. Twilight knew that she had to figure out the purpose of the mirror, but she couldn't do it alone.

Twilight managed to find her way back to the Gryffindor tower. She ran up the steps and approached Applejack's bed. "Applejack! Wake up!" Twilight said. "I just saw my parents in a magic mirror! You have to see it!" The farm pony slowly got up with a groggy expression. "Can it wait until tomorrow, Twilight? I'm tuckered out from opening presents." "Please, Applejack! This is really important!" Twilight begged. With a groan, Applejack reluctantly got out of bed and followed Twilight to the room with the mirror.

"I saw my parents in the reflection of this mirror. You have to look very closely." Twilight explained. Applejack stepped up to the mirror, watching it carefully. After a few moments of silence, Applejack's eyes widened and gasped at what she saw. "Do you see them?" Twilight asked feeling hopeful. "No. I see myself with my family." Applejack answered. "We are at Sweet Apple Acres, selling apple cider and zap apple jam!"

"Do you think this mirror shows the future, Twilight?" "I doubt it. Both of my parents are dead." Twilight replied gloomily. Applejack gave Twilight a look of pity and wrapped a comforting hoof around her. "It's getting late. Do you want me to take you back to the common room?" Twilight shook her head. "I actually want to be alone for awhile." Twilight told her friend, who gave an understanding nod. "Just don't stay up too late, Twilight. You need your rest." Applejack then walked back to the common room in hopes of going back to sleep.

For what felt like hours, Twilight silently stared at the mirror's illusion. "Are you having a sleepless night, Twilight?" spoke a calm soothing voice. The pony who spoke was the school's headmistress. "Professor Celestia!" Twilight gasped. Instead of scolding the unicorn for sneaking out, Celestia gave a kind smile. "I see that you have found the crystal mirror that was kept secret from most students. Do you know the purpose of this mirror, Twilight?"

The unicorn shook her head in response."No, Professor. When I stare in it's reflection, I can see my parents. What does it mean?" "Allow me to explain." Celestia replied. "The happiest pony in Equestria would take a look in the reflection and would only see herself." Twilight took a moment to ponder what it meant. "Are you saying that this mirror shows what we desire?" "Yes, but the crystal mirror is not as wonderful as it seems." Celestia explained.

"Some ponies have gone mad from what they saw because they couldn't tell whether their desires were real or mere illusions." Upon hearing this, Twilight took a couple of steps away from the mirror. "The mirror will be moved to a different location after tonight, so I want you to promise me that you won't look for it again." Celestia urged.

"I promise, Professor!" Twilight assured. "Thank you, Twilight." the headmistress smiled. She felt proud to have a student like Twilight enrolled in her school. "I suppose now would be a good time for both of us to get some sleep." Celestia said as she noticed how late it was. The alicorn then turned to leave the room. Before she did, Twilight decided to ask her something that has been on her mind for a while.

"Professor Celestia. What do you see when you look in the crystal mirror?" "Well, I see myself wearing two pairs of horseshoes." Celestia answered. Twilight felt confused as to why the alicorn would desire something so simple. "You could never have enough horseshoes." Celestia chuckled before leaving. It was at that moment when Twilight decided to go to bed as well. She returned to the Gryffindor Tower ready to get some well-earned rest.

Chapter 15

Peewee the Phoenix

Once Hearth's Warming ended, everypony returned to Canterlot. The classes were back in session and everpony talked to each other about their Hearth's Warming experiences. Twilight was the only pony who didn't talk about what she did for Hearth's Warming. She wanted to get her mind off of the crystal mirror, so she decided to study with Applejack in the library. After everything that happened last night, Twilight couldn't help but feel disappointed that she couldn't find any books on Star Swirl.

"Girls! I found him!" called an exited voice. Twilight and Applejack looked up to see Rarity approaching them, carrying a heavy book. The book was so old it looked like it was written hundreds of years ago. "I found the book on Star Swirl!" Rarity exclaimed as she set the book on the table. "Incredible! Where did you find it, Rarity?" Applejack asked. "It was in the section for famous ponies." the white unicorn replied. "Great job, Rarity!" Twilight praised. "Now we can finally solve this mystery!"

Twilight and her friends then opened the book and started to read it. "It says that Star Swirl was a powerful unicorn who created a powerful object called the Sorcerer's Stone." Rarity read. "The stone has the power to make ponies immortal." "Immortal?" Applejack repeated. "Yes. Being immortal means that you will never die." Twilight explained. "That must be why Flintheart tried to sneak passed Cerberus. Cerberus is guarding the stone!"

Applejack and Rarity gasped upon learning the purpose of the three-headed dog. "We need to tell somepony what Flintheart is planning, but there is nopony to trust." Rarity said. Twilight and her friends started to ponder in silence. "Actually." Twilight spoke up. "There is somepony we can trust and we are going to visit him tonight."

It was nighttime in Canterlot, so the prefects were staying on guard making sure that everypony was in bed. What the prefects didn't know was that three invisible ponies were silently sneaking passed them. Twilight recently learned to use her invisibility spell on multiple ponies at once, making it easy for the unicorn and her friends to sneak outside the castle. They kept moving until they came across a cottage sitting at the edge of the castle grounds. As soon as Twilight knocked on the door, she heard loud hoof steps from inside.

The door opened to reveal a stern-looking Big Mac. "Who's there?" he asked. Twilight then retracted the spell making her, Applejack, and Rarity visible to the stallion. "Big Mac, we need to tell you something!" Twilight spoke up. "Oh it's only you three!" Big Mac sighed. "I'm sorry, but I can't have any visitors at the moment, so please go back to your dormitories." Just as Big Mac was about to close his door, the three ponies shouted, "We know about the Sorcerer's Stone!" Upon hearing this, Big Mac eyed the ponies curiously. "You three could get into a lot of trouble for what you know. Come inside and tell me what you know about the stone." Big Mac stepped to the side allowing the trio into his cottage.

The inside was surprisingly small for a stallion like Big Mac to live in. It was dimly lit with candles and a fireplace. Twilight and her friends took their seats at a wooden table where Big Mac poured them cups of tea. "So, what is it that you know about the stone?" Big Mac asked as he sat down. "We are aware that the stone has the power to give eternal life." Twilight explained. "We are almost certain that Flintheart is planning to steal it." "Nonsense! Professor Flintheart is a Canterlot teacher! Even if somepony wanted to steal the stone, they would have to make it through the various trials guarding it!" Big Mac placed his hoof over his mouth once he realized what he said.

"Do you mean that Cerberus isn't the only thing that's guarding the stone?" Rarity asked. Big Mac remained silent, not wanting any more secrets to slip out. "There are other obstacles passed the trap door aren't there." Applejack guessed. "Eeyup." "And you are not going to tell us anything else, are you?" Twilight asked. "Nope." the stallion replied. Twilight and her friends knew that they won't get any more information. They were about to excuse themselves and leave when they heard a cracking noise from the counter.

"It's hatching already?" Big Mac ran to the counter and grabbed a bright red egg with multiple cracks on it. Twilight and her friends watched in awe as Big Mac set the egg on the table. "Big Mac, is that a phoenix egg?" Applejack asked. "Eeyup! I won it in a bet with somepony. He seemed very happy to get rid of it." The egg started to form more cracks until it broke apart.

The creature inside the egg was a tiny bird with orange feathers. It gave one look at Big Mac and gave a high pitched chirp. "Aw! He thinks I'm his mommy!" Big Mac cooed as he picked up the phoenix in his hooves. "I think I will name him Peewee." "Why name it Peewee?" Twilight asked. "Why not? He is the smallest bird I ever saw."

Even though it was nice for Big Mac to have a pet of his own, Twilight and her friends didn't feel comfortable with keeping Peewee a secret from everypony. What would the school staff think when they find out that their groundskeeper was keeping a rare creature in his cottage? "Big Mac." Applejack spoke up. "Pardon me for saying this, but it doesn't seem like a good idea to keep a phoenix hidden here. The school would find out sooner or later." "I must agree with Applejack." Rarity chimed in. "Peewee needs to be with his own kind. Besides this cottage is no place to take care of a rare creature.

Deep down Big Mac knew that his friends were right, but he couldn't bear to part with his new pet. "Look, I know that it seems hard to take care of Peewee, but I can make it work for the little guy." Before the stallion could argue anymore, he gave a suspicious glance behind the three ponies. "Wait, who is that pony outside my window?" The trio turned to see a blue unicorn spying on them from the window. She realized that she was caught and immediately galloped out of sight.

"That was Trixie!" Twilight answered. "This isn't good." Big Mac fretted. "She must have overheard our conversation. I want you three to return to your common rooms and not say a word about this to anypony." "We won't tell anypony, but we will continue this conversation later." Twilight said. Twilight and her friends soon left the cottage and made their way back to the castle.

The three ponies returned to the castle and sneaked through the dark halls once again. "I wonder who gave that egg to Big Mac in the first place." Twilight whispered. "Not many ponies are able to acquire such a rare item." "Excuse me! I hope I'm not interrupting anything!" called a voice in the hallway. Standing in front of the three friends was Professor Cadance who looked displeased with them. "Miss Lulamoon, here just told me that you three were sneaking out after bedtime. Twilight and her friends glared at Trixie who was very pleased with getting them in trouble. "Professor Cadance, we can explain!" Twilight pleaded. "You will have plenty of time to explain in my office." Cadance said.

The pink alicorn led the ponies to her office and started to scold them for what they did. "Nopony is supposed to be out after dark under any circumstances! Not only that, but keeping a baby phoenix hidden in a cottage is against the law! I will make sure that the baby phoenix is returned to it's own kind." Twilight and her friends knew that this was coming, but they couldn't help but feel sad that Big Mac is going to lose his only pet.

"Now, for sneaking out I'm going to take away 50 house points each!" Cadance explained. "50 points!" the trio exclaimed. With that many points taken away, they lost the house cup for Gryffindor. "Yes, and all four of you will have detention with Cranky tomorrow night." Trixie then raise an eyebrow at Cadance's last statement. "Excuse me Professor, but I must have misheard you. I thought you said 'all four of us.'"

"I'm sorry Miss Lulamoon, but you heard me correctly." the pink alicorn said. "You were out of bed as well, so you are going to be joining your friends in detention." Trixie glared at Twilight and her friends who were covering their smiles. Although the night went bad for everypony, Twilight, Applejack, and Rarity felt satisfaction knowing that Trixie finally got what she deserved.