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My Little Apprentice

by Starscribe

Chapter 4: Chapter 3: Winter Dreams

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Chapter 3: Winter Dreams

Second Chance was doing something she did every night now: having nightmares. All her memories from before Ponyville were nightmares, and she knew none better than this one.

She was on the moon.

It was a beautiful place, and one that mattered to her more than any place in her memory. She sat on the edge of a massive crater, whose extreme depths were so far away that they were shrouded in shadow. With one kick of a hoof, she stirred up a little cloud of dust that spun through the air around her in slow-motion, dancing in the weak local gravity. There wouldn’t ordinarily be atmosphere either, but considering her strong feelings on that matter there was always air for her to breathe and heat to stop her from freezing. She did not think of that as a mercy. If she had frozen out here, at least she wouldn’t have to see what happened to her planet.

The Earth was rising, as beautiful as she remembered it. Fractal clouds swirled over blue seas, and continents shimmered with green. If she squinted just so, she could almost make out the glint of metal where stations small and great circled in their orbits. They too were beautiful to her, for all the life they represented. Even in the depths of inhospitable space life could grow. Her people had done that, and she was very proud.

Normally in these dreams she would skip rocks down the side of her crater as she sat, hearing nothing once they left the protection of her bubble and skittered down the side of the mountain. It always started beautiful, just like the future of her people had started. Something was different about this dream, something that made it different than all the dreams that had come before.

She didn’t have hands this time, but sat as a pony on the large rock that she had worn smooth by her frequent visits. That didn’t stop her from skipping rocks, though. Since this was a dream, there was nothing preventing her from using her unicorn magic. She might not know the first thing about levitation in real life, but that didn’t matter. She had seen Twilight use the magic almost constantly; so much so that it felt natural to just levitate the stone off the ground and throw it into the crater with far greater force than ordinary muscle could produce.

She felt the shimmer of power as it passed through her bubble, then she could hear nothing but her own breathing as it fell bouncing. For the first time, the rock made it across the crater to the land beyond, where metal and white fabric stood silently against the night. In millions of years the radiation would be gone from Earth’s surface. Every structure and edifice her mighty race had built would weather and be covered by tectonic shift. Whatever race rose to sapience next would have no idea what had come and gone before them, not until they too broke free of the cradle and visited their nearest celestial object. These objects would be silent sentinels for billions of years, free from decay. Here they would remain until the sun had expended all of its hydrogen and began to fuze helium and carbon and on. As it expanded, the earth and moon would be swallowed, and with it humanity’s last fingerprint. Their last proof they had ever lived.

She watched as fire grew like flowers from the earth. Sometimes she tried not to watch, but it didn’t matter. The fire waited. It always waited for her, since it was only here for her to see it. The fire went on for a long while, a million little flashes. Then the smoke would rise, and turn her green planet gray. She had seen this scene a billion billion times. She had all the time in the world. All the time in the universe.

She could not hide from her beloved earth, no matter how long she waited. Her memory compelled her to see, refused to allow her to abandon her mission.

The second unexpected thing happened when she finally got together the courage to look up. There were no flashes tonight, no fire. The fire never came. Her beautiful planet kept on shining, reflecting the light of the distant sun. This shocked her greatly, because she knew this memory would play out exactly as it always did unless it was altered. She could do that, but she never did. She deserved to see what had happened as many times as it took. If she did not feel their pain, who would?

“Thy suffering is for naught, filly. Thy pain cannot restore them to life if thou endure it forever.”

It was the Nightmare. Chance remembered her from dreams before, the ones that had come before Twilight that she could not touch while she was awake because the Nightmare had made her promise. Her voice had come before into her dreams, but never like this. She was too alien for the Nightmare to visit closely. Her form was shadow and smoke, the distortion of a radio signal not coming in clearly. She could usually only stay for moments, which even for beings like them limited the ability to communicate a great deal. Always she looked as though she were in great pain, as though being in her dreams cost her tremendously.

“Nightmare!” She sprung to her hooves, looking away from her beloved earth and down to the majestic princess. She was distorted no more and feeble no more, nor did she look as though she were in pain. She stood a few paces away, her coat dark blue and her mane flickering with the twisting infinities of space. Starlight and endless shadow mixed together into the potential that swam in the dark, potential none of her world could see, but Chance could.

There seemed a level of recognition on her muzzle, a sadness as she met Chance in a display of equine affection that was both dignified and loving. “No longer. Thou canst call me Luna.” She looked down at the silvery soil upon which she stood, stirring it a little with one hoof. “The mighty magic has indeed worked its task. Thy mind, though strange, resists no more. We may visit freely now, as is our duty to all the residents of Equestria. I am no nightmare mortal, but its adversary. Celestia protects all her little ponies in waking, I watch over them in slumber.”

“Luna.” Chance looked up with gratitude. Her suffering was self-imposed, but that didn’t mean that she wasn’t grateful for an excuse to suffer less. Though now she looked like a filly, the mind behind her eyes was very old indeed. “You stopped it.” She remained beside the towering mare, looking up at her planet again. “The fire, the death. It’s not happening.”

Luna shook her head. “Tis wrong to dwell on suffering thou canst not prevent. The fruits alas are bitterness and hatred, which grow upon themselves until thou are little more than thy suffering.” She walked past the filly to her rock, looking out on the crater and the metal vehicle further on. “How long hast thou been imprisoned here within’ thy mind?” There was great compassion in Luna’s voice, an empathy only one who has experienced such suffering can express.

Chance looked up again, surprised. “You’ve been here too?”

The princess smiled sadly, and did not answer for a long while. “Save that it was just fate, and to you cruel and undeserved. I was thrust into my prison for crimes truly committed. Yours is of your own mad devising.”

“It was all I had.” Chance said quietly, afraid to upset the one who had done so much for her already. So much that she remembered only in sleep. “Memory is all I am now. Memory, personality, probability. Chance.” Then she smiled. “Second Chance.”

“Indeed.” Luna looked up, and seemed to lead Chance’s eyes up with her. The earth shone closer than she had ever seen it before. Had Luna done that? It was so close she could almost see the cities, the structures, the life. “But if thy dwellingplace must be in memory, let us travel to fonder shores.”

“To earth?” Chance’s voice got cold. For a second, they stood on blasted rock. There were shouts, cries, sobs in the distance. The earth shook. Blood, bone, and death. The ditches were not deep enough to make a difference.

“NO!” She screamed, ripping away from the place, and from Luna. “No! Not earth! It’s not my home!” The princess reached out for her, but she was not quick enough.

Second Chance woke up screaming.

**********

Ponyville was beautiful, even in winter. Second Chance expected the snowy air to chill her, but found that her coat provided more than adequate protection from the elements. Even walking though the snow did not bother her, though Twilight reassured her that this was only the beginning and there was far more to come.

Chance hadn't really understood how Twilight could be so sure, until she produced a weather schedule clearly printed in the newspaper. It had taken nearly ten minutes of explanation for her to understand that it was a schedule and not simply a prediction. When it said there was a week of solid snows ahead, it did mean that literally. The temperature scale was far from familiar to her, but Twilight said that it would be too cold for a unicorn to be outside without proper protection. Maybe if she had been an earth pony she could've got away with it, but those ponies were made of sterner stuff.

Twilight herself needed no protection from the cold. Even so, she donned a scarf and matching boots for their short jaunt into town. Maybe it was out of habit that she dressed herself for winter, or maybe it was to fit in better with the citizens of Ponyville. Chance didn't know.

Chance had been in Ponyville for one full day, and hadn't actually left the library before now. She hadn't met anyone besides Twilight and her dragon. The thought of being introduced still frightened her a little, and she wasn't sure why. Twilight had been perfectly cooperative with this desire yesterday, wanting to make absolutely sure she was no danger to herself or to the population. Every examination had been attempted the day before, both magical and mundane. A dozen different spells had all confirmed what Twilight had learned from simple questioning. Second Chance was an ordinary filly in every physical way. There was no trace of the magical riptide, or of any other effects that might be hostile to life in Equestria.

This determined, Twilight had told her after her second breakfast in the library that it was time to get out and make some friends, and that a trip to put together her own wardrobe was an excellent way to start. Chance didn't argue. As much as the idea frightened her, her fear was nowhere as strong as the trust she had in the lavender Alicorn. How could she not trust the one who had saved her? The one who was giving her a place to live. The one who was going to teach her magic. When she thought about it that way, it was almost possible to forget about the fear she had felt when she had first met Twilight.

The weather pegasai had been busy. Rainclouds from the day before had thickened and darkened. Hoof-crafted snowflakes fell in twisting spirals. For some reason the ever-present white made her feel much more comfortable and welcome. She had no memories of her home, but it was easy to imagine that she might think of this place as home one day.

Twilight already had a place in mind to get her clothes made. There were no mass-produced fabrics to choose from, no way to buy some generic outfit and call it good. Anything worth wearing was tailor-made, and she knew the best in all of Ponyville. The best in all of Equestria too, though Chance wasn't to tell her that Twilight had told her so. Her ego could stand only so much inflation.

It wasn't a very long walk to the Carousel Boutique, though Chance could tell her guide had slowed her steps dramatically to allow her to keep pace. Spike had come as well, on the pretext of carrying Twilight's money-pouch for her. That had made Twilight roll her eyes, but Chance didn’t know why and hadn’t asked. She kept very close to Twilight, trying to make herself look as small as possible. Much to her relief it seemed that most businesses were closed and most ponies safe indoors. That meant introductions and explanations could wait, which was a great relief.

Chance walked with wide eyes through the mostly empty town. Even covered in snow, the rustic settlement was beautiful. The structures seemed to be made mostly of wood, with thatched roofs and white plastered walls. Glass wasn’t nearly as scarce as she expected, and windows were very large and artfully made. It was like a city right out of history, only better. Nobody dumped chamber-pots out their windows as they passed, and she never stepped in anything other than fresh white snow all the way there.

Despite what Twilight had said Chance found the crisp air refreshing and pleasant on her coat. The cold was a rare thing where she was from, and being able to go out in it so freely even rarer. Still, she found that the parts of her fur that stayed wet started to get cold as they walked, and by the time they reached their destination she was greatly relieved to get into the heat. Somehow she didn’t have to be told when they were getting close to the “Carousel Boutique.” If everything was named this plainly, she had a feeling it would be easy to learn her way around.

“Of course the Boutique is closed just like almost everything else, but when I told her about your problem, she insisted I bring you in right away.” Twilight said as she reached forward and carefully rang the doorbell. “She takes fashion very seriously. There’s nopony better, and she’s worth every bit.”

The door abruptly opened of its own accord, swinging inward. It was easy to feel less shy than she would normally with the promise of relief so immediate. Spike beat her through the door, and Twilight brought up the rear.

The boutique was even prettier on the inside than it was on the outside. Before she even realized what she was doing, Second Chance was moving between models and displays, each depicting an absolutely perfect outfit. It was strange just how good it all looked, though there was no universal rule among them. Somehow she knew that back home clothing had always matched some universal standard of what it had to do (she couldn’t remember what that was). Here, nothing was certain. One bright blue outfit has a dress with little bits of hoof-jewelry. Another had a scarf paired with a hat and not much else. Some dresses covered one part of the body, others covered different parts. The only thing these outfits had in common was how pretty they looked. Chance felt like a little girl again as she moved through it all, which felt all the more real from her height.

She stopped abruptly, staring at the little pink saddlebag that had given her that thought. Girl. What was a girl?

She didn’t have the chance to ponder the answer, because another voice called from nearby, and those thoughts died. “See anything you like, dear?” She looked up, and met the eyes of the first pony she had properly met since Twilight. Rarity was a white unicorn, with a flowing purple mane that seemed to shine even in the limited light coming in through the windows. Like Chance herself, there was a horn prominently on her forehead, and she lacked the wings Twilight had. She was doing her very best to conceal it, but there was a little apprehension in those eyes. Fear. Fear of her? Still, she wasn’t being overt about it, so she would try to pretend that didn’t make her even more nervous than she had been.

Chance nodded, though she couldn’t maintain eye contact with the older unicorn for very long. The pressure was getting worse. After all, she had just remembered that Rarity had opened her shop just for her, and that she could’ve been… doing whatever it was ponies did... instead. “I like everything! Did you really… make all these yourself?”

Rarity relaxed visibly, seeming to glow a little at the complement. “Why yes, darling. I simply refuse to sell anything I didn’t design personally. Every outfit is unique and personalized to the needs of the customer, because there’s no substitute for quality!”

Twilight stood beside her, suddenly. She wasn’t sure when she had walked up behind her, but she didn’t mind. It wasn’t as though Twilight was going to do anything to hurt her! If she wanted to, how close she was in the room would hardly matter anyway. “Rarity takes fashion very seriously, Second Chance. I couldn’t leave you in better hooves.” She turned to go, but Chance stopped her.

Why did she feel so afraid? “You’re not staying?” She tried to block the path with her body, but of course Twilight could easily just step over her if she wanted.

Twilight nodded. “It takes quite some time to get all the proper measurements for just one dress, Second Chance. Rarity’s making you an entire wardrobe. But I won’t be very far.” She gestured out the window. Chance strained as high as she could to look at where she was pointing. She was too short to be sure, but it looked like a shop, one of the few that didn’t have a “closed” sign outside. “Just going to do a little shopping of my own while anything is open. I used my last scroll writing to the princess yesterday. Besides…” She narrowed her eyes, though her smile just got wider. “I’d forgotten how much fillies ate. With tomorrow’s blizzard, we probably won’t be able to leave the library all day! Unless you’d rather go hungry, in which case-“

“No!” Chance did not take long to weigh her fear of being away from Twilight against her desire not to go without food. Nothing in her limited memory could compare to the things she had eaten. Not even fear could compete with that. Besides, it wasn’t as though Rarity was mean or anything. If anypony was friends with Twilight Sparkle, they had to be nice!

“You will be just fine with me, Darling.” Rarity assured. “Now, why don’t you tell me a little about yourself. Do any of these colors stand out? We want something that really screams ‘you’!” She was still nervous, but what little reservations Chance was holding onto faded when she saw Spike was staying behind too. If anything, she felt even safer with the dragon than with Twilight, and seeing that he was sticking around made her relax immediately. She turned away from the purple Alicorn and walked back toward a display on the left wall, watching the outfits spin slowly around on the round platform.

“I… uh… It’s all pretty…” She stammered after a long delay, desperate to say anything that might satisfy the dignified unicorn.

Rarity seemed far from satisfied. Her fear, if it had ever been there, was replaced with a very professional expression. “Yes dear, but does any of it feel like you?” She took a step forward, putting her hoof down on something out of sight. The spinning display stopped spinning, then started rotating much more quickly the other way, stopping in front of a short skirt in several different layers, with straps that wrapped around the forelegs but not the back. “Like this, perhaps. The diamonds are simply marvelous, are they not?”

Chance’s jaw dropped as she stared. Yes, the skirt was wonderful! Much too large for her of course, just as all the outfits here were clearly designed for adults. That wasn’t what had made her stare, though. That had been the little sparkling gems, combined with the word “diamonds”. The word connected immediately, and rather than answer Rarity’s question, she started babbling incoherently, reciting everything her memory had suddenly connected. “Diamond! Metastable allotrope! Cubic crystal lattice, billion years! Drill, resin, scalpel!” She blinked, beaming. Then she realized Rarity was staring, and she lowered her head, suddenly embarrassed. Her ears drooped and her tail fell limp behind her as she muttered. “Maybe something less flashy? Where I come from, diamonds are... only used in tools, really. They’re too special for anything else.” At least, that was all she could remember. She couldn’t imagine why anyone would want to wear something so expensive! She didn’t like the idea of clothes valuable enough for someone to try and steal.

Rarity shook her head once to clear it, then nodded without argument. “Of course, dear.” She said, though a little of her apprehension seemed to have returned. “Any of these colors suit you? What did you wear before?”

The answer came before she even knew what she was saying. “Olive drab, mostly. Jumpsuits. I dunno how many different ones I had, but they all looked the same.”

“Olive… drab?” The apprehension was replaced with actual horror, her eyes getting wider. “With your coat, and that mane? Absolutely not! I won’t allow it.” She took a step closer to her, letting the display carousel resume its normal spin. “Whatever this ‘jump-suit’ was, I’m sure it was equally dreadful, so no need to explain it.” She gritted her teeth, flipping her mane over her shoulder as she apparently steeled her resolve. “Leave this to me, young filly. Rarity will not allow such a travesty to continue!” She took Chance by the hoof and hurried her away. They passed through what was clearly Rarity’s home as well, attracting the attention of another white unicorn she only glanced at before being dragged to what was clearly Rarity’s workshop. Spike followed close behind, offering encouragement and complement to Rarity as she went, though he was clearly as ignorant in these matters as Chance herself.

She found a slightly raised platform waiting for her, and a suddenly insistent Rarity bidding her take various poses against the light of a large picture window. A long measuring tape lifted itself from a shelf in pale blue and began to take measurements entirely apart from Rarity’s own hooves.

That was about when she began to daydream. So long as she obeyed Rarity’s commands to take a particular position or make a given pose with some scrap of fabric she held to get a good comparison of color, she was more or less left to her own devices. Yes, Rarity was still talking to her, but she was mostly talking at her now, oblivious of her responses and not seeming to mind whether the answers came from her or from Spike by the door.

“What’re you in for?”

The new voice startled Second, because it was so much higher than Rarity’s and because it was so much nearer. Besides, it was clear the speaker was actually expecting a response. She looked up, and found the little Unicorn standing just behind a nearby mirror. She was about her own size, with a pink and purple mane that was naturally curly instead of carefully straightened like Rarity’s. Green eyes, and slippers on her hooves. She looked a little like she had just gotten up, which hardly surprised her. She wished Twilight had let her sleep in a little longer too.

She spoke quietly, afraid that by speaking too loudly she might alert Rarity to the fact she wasn’t really listening. “A full wardrobe, whatever that means.” She muttered, exasperated. “Twilight says I need to be ready for colder weather, but I don’t see the point.” She gestured at the other pony. “I’m not wearing anything, and neither are you. I don’t get what’s the big deal.”

“Really?” The filly looked sympathetic, though not as though she particularly understood. “It’ll be worth it. Even if it’s super boring now, I know my sister will make you something amazing!” She nodded emphatically. “A whole wardrobe is an awful lot… that’s at least three outfits, maybe four!” She narrowed her eyes. “Are you a rich pony?”

Chance shook her head with the biggest motions she could. “N-no! It’s just… Princess Twilight is taking care of me…” The filly just stared. “Twilight Sparkle? The purple a-“

“I know who she is! I just… didn’t think she did that?” She nudged her way closer. Rarity seemed to have finally finished with her measurements, and she didn’t react as the other filly came right up beside her so they could talk more easily. “You mean you live with the princess? Like… like one big sleepover? Every single day?”

She nodded. Though she opened her mouth to continue, the filly didn’t stop to let her keep going. “Wow. That’s amazing, er…” She glanced once behind her, as though she might find her name written on her rump for some reason. Maybe she was looking for that symbol the adults seemed to have. Tattoo? That was the word. When she didn’t find it, this seemed to make her smile even wider. “Sorry, I forgot to ask your name! I didn’t mean to or anything, it’s just… living with a princess… that must be pretty amazing.”

Chance shrugged. “Dunno. I’ve only been there since yesterday. She’s been very kind to me.” Without really thinking about it, she extended one of her hooves toward the other filly to shake. “I’m Second Chance. At least I think I am… that’s what Twilight Sparkle calls me…”

She felt a little silly with her hoof sticking out like that, but even sillier when the filly apparently recognized what she was doing and gave her an enthusiastic shake. “I’m Sweetie Belle! It’s nice to meet you!” Only when she had let go did she go on. “How long are you gonna be in Ponyville, anyway? I hope you plan on staying long enough for my big sister to finish with whatever she decides to make for you. Put it in the mail, and it will never be the same.”

Chance smiled at what seemed to be Sweetie Belle trying to persuade her to stay. “Don’t worry.” She reassured, looking serious. “I’ll be here for awhile. I don’t actually have anywhere else to go…”

*********

Twilight hadn’t been exaggerating about the number of errands she had to run. After staying up a few extra hours reading about childcare, she had every intention of doing this by the book. Of course it would be nice to get some personal advice on the subject from Rarity or Applejack, but Rarity was already with Chance and Sweet Apple Acres was further than she wanted to be from the filly on her second day in Equestria. Just a quick trip to the general store, another to the open-air market, and back home to drop everything off before she picked up Spike and Chance. If she knew the first thing about Rarity, it was that she was likely to take all day on a project like this given the opportunity. Besides, if her sister was there, that would mean an opportunity for Chance to make a friend her own age. That would have to happen sooner or later, and sooner would be better for them all.

At least, she assumed it would be. Did alien ponies have the same need for friendship that native ponies did? Maybe she should ask Celestia in her next letter.

It wasn’t thinking about her next letter to the Princess that had attracted her attention so pointedly as she reached the library. Rather, it was the team of Pegasai drawn up in the street in front of the Library. She recognized FetEx’s purple and grey logo on their vests even from afar, and sped her walk into a brisk trot as she approached. Even more interesting than the fact an entire team of delivery pegasai had been hired on the eve of a major winter storm was the object they had brought with them.

The lead mare turned from the act of knocking loudly on her door as she approached, taking the clipboard back into her mouth as she walked. She transferred it deftly back into one hoof as she reached Twilight, offering it to her. “Delivery for Twilight Sparkle.” The red-orange pegasus had somewhat of an eastern accent and sounded almost bored, despite her cargo. Together, the eight-pony team had hauled a crate too big to fit through her door, rough wood carefully nailed shut. She could see straw packing the inside. The mare coughed, offering the clipboard closer to her face to try and startle her from her staring. It worked. “Delivery for Twilight Sparkle.”

“Yes, of course. Sorry.” She glanced down at the form on the clipboard, reading over the information carefully. No mistake, though she doubted anyone else would have such an expensive package delivered at such an expensive time. Why hadn’t it just been sent on the train? Surely that would have made more sense than occupying eight pegasai with the delivery?

She had expected to see an important name on the “Sender” line. She did not expect that name to be Princess Luna’s. Twilight signed, and the mare handed her back a receipt. “Would you like my crew to help you get it inside?” She asked, sounding slightly more helpful now that it was clear Twilight wasn’t about to stand there and waste her time.

Twilight shook her head. “No thanks. It’s too big to get through the door, so I’ll have to telelport it in anyway. Thank you all for your hard work! Get home before the weather gets really nasty!” She made sure to tip the crew very well before they flew off. Each one gave a careful nod of respect as they did so, vanishing one after another into the sky.

“Have a good day, Princess Twilight!” The lead mare was last to go, securing her clipboard before lifting off into the sky, vanishing into the clouds almost before Twilight could blink.

She had been right about needing to teleport the crate inside. Under the circumstances, she had decided to move it into her basement, where it would be out of the way if anyone wanted to come in and use the library. She discovered an envelope had been nailed to one side of the crate, and it took great restraint to pull it calmly from the wood before she opened the enormous package to see what might be inside it.

Despite the way she spoke, the Princess of the Moon had been extremely quick about her note.

Twilight – This object has been in storage in the royal museum since before my exile. My sister and I agree it is relevant to our guest. Discover how. Anything else you learn would be of great interest to the ponies of the Royal Archeological Society.

-L

Twilight placed the note carefully on a nearby table before turning her attention back on the strange crate. It was well over pony height, and judging by the strain on the lowest section of the wood, contained an object of remarkable density. No doubt the smallest container possible would’ve been used to send it to her. The contents of the note had done much to grow her curiosity. Something to do with Second Chance? What could it be? Records of prior contact with her universe? An object that had actually come from there? She was excited to find out.

But she couldn’t, not now! In her excitement, she had completely forgotten that the filly had been with Rarity for at least a couple of hours now. As much as she knew Rarity wouldn’t mind, Twilight had no intention of taking advantage of her generous friend. She reluctantly turned her back on the crate, hurried up the stairs, and shut the door to the basement behind her. Whatever secrets the strange box concealed would have to wait.

Next Chapter: Chapter 4: Past and Future Estimated time remaining: 5 Hours, 30 Minutes
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