Author's Notes:

The next Chapter will have a short time skip between this one and the events taking place in the next. It will be getting very close to the start of the Canon Events, now, specifically the Autumn and Winter before Nightmare Moon's Return.

Hot Spring Tub hid beneath Canterlot Castle, Canterlot City Equestria #2651915

Celestia snickered as she rolled about in the pool rather ungracefully as Alexis snorted before diving beneath the water, coming up fortunately free of the suds, though they did spread across the surface of the pool making it look more like a bubble bath.

“Want me to join you two?” Cadence teased.

Alexis’ jaw dropped in both confusion and surprise. “Huh?” he said dumbly.

“If you like, Niece,” Celestia said with amusement.

It was only then that Alexis noticed that Cadence, as she shifted, also had wings. “I seem to be missing obvious details in my distraction,” he thought wryly before he yelped in surprise as Cadence leaped in, bumping him with her shoulder and laughing as he tumbled into the water. He sighed softly beneath the surface, getting a distinct sense of something but it was distant and momentary before he pushed off the bottom of the four-foot deep pool, surfacing in seconds.

Celestia laughed as Cadence reared back, feigning surprise as Alexis burst from the water. She smirked as she tilted her head, seeing him sigh softly, though she did notice the amber contacts that apparently kept the suds out of his eyes as she settled in the pool with a soft hum.

“Do you know how to reach for your magic? I could feel it tingling over my fur as we did the course, though it felt… unrefined, I suppose the word is,” she commented.

“Nope. I do notice how… I suppose it’s like a tingling burn… seems to crawl over my body sometimes. It feels different from the nanites, which is more like a cool rush of air, if I had to put it into words,” he commented.

“That is your magic. Try to find where it originates, where your core is,” she coached gently.

“Okay, I guess. Though I have to admit that I have no idea what I would use magic for,” he sighed, shrugging as he half closed his eyes, though she noticed the water seemed to stir around him, as if trying to get his attention.
“If you would like my assistance, I do know how to help guide you, though it may feel…. Invasive, mentally speaking,” Celestia offered.

Cadence blinked as Alexis opened his eyes, the water still swirling like a living mass around him.

“How can it be invasive if there’s next to nothing there?” was his deadpan response, which made her laugh despite his tone being almost serious.

Celestia smirked a bit, appearing amused. “Well, by the time we’re done, there’ll be plenty there, right?” she teased, chuckling.

She saw him glance down at the water, which calmed almost immediately. That caught her attention, as it intrigued her as Elemental Magic was rare, especially in more than one element, and Alexis had already revealed affinities in Light Magic, Shadow Magic, and now, potential evidence of Water Magic.

Contrary to assumptions, especially untrained assumptions, Shadow Magic was not associated with the more dangerous Dark Magic or its counterpart, Corruptive Dark Magick. Shadow Magic primarily manipulated the ambient shadows around oneself and could, to some extent, be formed as weapons or, to most users, mid to close ranged weapons.

Alexis tilted his head, his eyes drifting half-lidded as he rolled his shoulders. He saw the golden aura fire swirl around Celestia’s horn as she approached, moving slowly and carefully before her horn lightly touched his head.

To Cadence’s perspective, they were engulfed in a golden prismatic aura, which intrigued her as she knew her adoptive aunt’s magic was the deep golden aura through the prismatic aura wasn’t hers.

In Alexis’ mind —

Celestial blinked in mild surprise, finding her new student’s Mindscape was that of a beach with a forest behind and to her left flank and a small ocean to her right shoulder. Ahead, she could see what looked like a Neighponese Dojo. She noticed what appeared to be a crystal and golden pyramid surrounded by blue and silver spires beyond the ocean.

“Interesting,” she murmured thoughtfully. She could hear the clashing of metal in the Dojo and chose to investigate mainly from curiosity.

Her eyes widened slightly upon seeing the same duo she’d seen join her student in the music studio. The auburn-blond male of the duo clashed with the darker bloody auburn haired male’s weapons, the latter being her student, shimmering reddish gold katana against the other’s folded tessen, a faint bluish aura flickering over the weapons.

“You have to focus. With weapons like the Bashou Fan, my Zeta Saber, and the Kaiser Knuckle, fluidity makes their use easier and stronger. Plus whatever ambient magic we seem to be absorbing can potentially unlock techniques none of us know,” the auburn-blond said dryly.

“Obviously, Zero. Unlike you and the others, though, I don’t have those moves instinctive yet, but,” her student retorted as a small orb grew between the contact points of their weapons before detonating with a dull thump that Celestia felt in her chest.

Clearly, Zero didn’t expect it as it tossed him back and away as her student slid back a few feet. She smirked as that was a very particular Deflection Spell intended towards physical attacks. She noticed the aura was growing into a deeper, richer blue until it was a light ultramarine blue streaked with flickers of teal and pale cyan.

“Celestia-himè,” her student said in a formal tone, the unfamiliar suffix catching her attention as it sounded almost Neighponese, yet wasn’t. “Or should I say Celestia-sensei? Due to you being my teacher in Magic?” he quipped as he stepped closer.

“Or maybe you’d prefer something more… intimate and personal? Kaa-chan?” he murmured in her ear. She felt the heat in her muzzle and cheeks immediately as she did know that word.

Alexis’ POV

I noticed Princess Celestia stepping back, blushing deeply and not meeting my gaze at first. A small smirk crossed my face. “Something wrong, Kaa-chan?” I half tease.

She cleared her throat as Harpuia approached, her deep green vest contrasting with her coppery gold shirt and deep bronze pants tucked into dark green boots. Her dark sea green eyes and dark teal hair was a much more noticeable contrast, especially with her slightly tanned skin.

“Celestia-taichō clearly has lessons of her own to teach you,” Harpuia deadpanned. I rolled my eyes, snorting softly as I turned to face Celestia.

“What precisely was that term? Taichō?” Celestia said softly in her gentle, motherly tone.

I cocked my head, thinking. I could vaguely recall it. “I think it means ‘captain’ or ‘superior’, but I’m not certain. ‘Sensei’, I know, means ‘teacher’,” I said slowly, a bit careful with my words as I saw Celestia turning before exiting the mental Dojo.

Yeah, I’m well aware this is my Mindscape, deal with it, idjits.

I cocked an eyebrow as I notice Celestia near a pile of sand, several fist sized spheres of sand slowly rotating around her with a faint pale goldenrod aura flickering around them almost like a flame over the silica particles.

“Do you think you can do this? Just with one sphere of sand? You have to focus, feel the flow of your magic from your core throughout your body,” she said, confusing me a bit.

I inhaled softly, closing my eyes, unaware as I felt that familiar tingling sensation, warmth tingling over my skin before I opened them, a bit surprised to see a faint ultramarine blue aura with swirls and streaks of pale cyan blue flickering over my skin. I could feel the tingling warmth, like hot chocolate on a cold night, if I had to put the sensation into words.

I saw Celestia smile more broadly as I tentatively extended a hand, pushing the flow of energy through my fingertips before a ring of ultramarine light flickered before condensing as the sand gathered itself into a ball and shakily levitated.

“You could say this can work as a control exercise. When you can levitate one with ease, add another and so on. I do have an idea for one that could get you used to manipulating the magick in finer ways, though this will work as a way to get used to using your Magick and practice. I do not mind helping you out in the evenings and early mornings…. If you wish,” she said.

“You seem… tentative in your words. You’re thinking about my comment earlier, aren’t you? If I’m honest, it was only mildly teasing, though… I won’t say I haven’t thought about it. I mean… you’re as caring as any parent, which unfortunately due to whatever happened to land me here… I have no memories of that sort of thing,” I sighed.

I stiffened slightly, surprised as I felt the heat of Celestia’s Magick touch me before I felt her body press against my own before her wing enfolded around me in a obvious hug.

“You will after this. If I have my way, I will adopt you, although I will admit that I’ve never had a foal of my own,” she said softly.

“Well, I can say that I wouldn’t be a bratty ‘foal’... which I assume is a child, hai?” I said softly, getting a nod against my shoulder and back in reply. “And I wouldn’t use being a Royal as any sort of excuse. If I make a mistake, I’ll own up to it and take the consequences of the error. Besides… I… like… being around you. The course, admittedly, was challenging and fun… and… well… Cadence strikes me much like an older sister type,” I said softly, gaining a laugh from Celestia.

I could feel our presence fading from my Mindscape, though I felt the tingle of sleepy awareness along with a chill down my back as I blinked several times, becoming aware of the heat of the pool as I saw Celestia backing away. I glanced down at my soaked clothes before shedding the vest and undershirt, leaving my upper body bare before I exhaled softly.

End 1st Person POV

Cadence giggled as the mingled aura faded away from the human before he shed his soaked clothes, at least on his upper body. Admittedly, he did look as attractive, in his own way, as any stallion. She did, however, notice that both he and Celestia seemed to be content, at the moment, to soak in the hot water. She glanced at her aunt. They had found that they were, in fact, distantly related, much like an annoying brat of a prince. She felt her lips curl as she didn’t like Blueblood as most other ponies seemed to feel the same as her, save for those whom the so-called Prince used as ‘cohorts’ whom she suspected used the Prince in their own ways.

She trotted to a nearby shelf, which held bottles of cleansers for coat, mane, skin, and whatever else they well felt like using when bathing. She noticed their human friend seemed to be simply relaxing.

She did notice the faint ultramarine aura swirling around him well as the slight pale cyan streaks, guessing whatever exercise her aunt had imparted to him in his mind, he was employing in that moment.

She hummed thoughtfully as she hooked a fetlock around one of the bottles of mingled mane wash and conditioner before trotting towards the resident human. She was mildly surprised to see him open one eye and watch her, the aura fading away as she noticed the tiniest glint of silver before it turned to a pale amber as lenses formed in his eyes as the other opened. She noticed that they covered his eyes, yet didn’t seem to impede his sight at all.

”Do you mind if... ?” she said in a gentle tone, gaining a shrug in reply.

”Go ahead, Cadence-onēsan,” Alexis said softly as he sat up so his toned chest was visible above the water amongst the bubbles. She giggled slightly.

”Maybe all three of us can do that course together sometime. I’ve only done it once or twice, and it’s challenging,” she admitted.

”I’m fine with that. I have to admit the rotating brushes made for an interesting ending... though this is just as good,” he said with a slight smirk though she could tell he was a bit playful.

She hummed softly as she poured a generous dollop of the cleanser over his head before using her hooves to scrub it into a rich lather before she noticed Celestia watching with amusement before she scooped up the fur wash before she smirked as the Solar Princess poured some over his shoulders and chest, making him inhale in surprise as he looked up at her with a surprised, and unless she was mistaken, embarrassed look. She laughed a bit as they washed his body, though she did notice that Celestia was very gentle around his throat and face, though she did notice he didn’t react when the lather did drip into his eyes, confirming her suspicion that whatever the lenses were kept soap out of his eyes.

”Interesting talent,” she mused thoughtfully.