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.