Archmage chapter 3 - “The First Lesson"

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“Focus, Twilight.” Her flanks heaved with each breath. Her muscles were on fire. Her horn was sore from exertion, and she was lathered with sweat. It dripped into her eyes, making her blink against the stinging burn. Another dark ball of magic shot towards her. Her burning muscles twitched for a second before sending her on a low, scrambling trajectory across the ground. The ball erupted in a dark blast of energy, tearing up the ground and sending chunks of earth flying. Twilight was pelted with rocks and dirt, but she only winced and continued running.

“You cannot dodge forever.” Two more dark orbs of energy erupted. This time, Twilight teleported away, gasping as the explosion made her ears ring. “Not bad. But you’re pushing yourself, Twilight.”

“Heh… I’ve still got something left…” Twilight took a few more breaths before finding her calm center. As she darted from cover, her horn lit up once more. “Hah!” A lavender bolt of energy shot across the ground, burning the grass as it arced towards her assailant. It fizzled before it ever reached it’s destination, but it was only the distraction anyways. Twilight planted her hooves and cast another spell, this one forming on the ground underneath the hooves of her attacker.

“Hmm? A rune? Not bad. But you’re forgetting…” Another dark blaze of energy, and the princess was gone. Twilight’s spell erupted upwards into the air, a split second after the target teleported away. She heard the crackle of energy behind her, the hoof falls of somepony larger than herself. “I’m very good at teleporting.” Twilight grinned. Right where she wanted her to be.

“HAAH!” Her hooves shot out in a second. Twilight leaned forward, her hind legs catching Luna squarely in the chest. With a very audible ‘oof,’ Luna stumbled backwards. Twilight wheeled about, her horn glowing once more. “Gotchya!” Another lavender bolt of energy shot forward, catching Luna perfectly in her face.

Or it would have, if she didn’t disappear again. When she materialized once more, Luna’s full weight bore down on top of Twilight, driving the wind out of her lungs as she collapsed. Humming with dark magic, Luna’s horn pressed against the side of her neck. Twilight was subdued. Hardly a flinch, and she would be incapacitated.

“Test complete. Score: Satisfactory.” The hum died along with the dark glow, and Luna stepped off of Twilight’s prone body. “But only just barely.”

“Haah… Haah… My evaluation?” Twilight panted, not quite lifting herself up yet. She hadn’t caught her breath.

“You certainly caught me off-guard, Twilight. You’ll recall at the beginning of this test that I told you not to hold back, not to fear harming me. Indeed, that was your ultimate goal. You accomplished it,” Luna rose a hoof, pointing at her. “But not by the means I set forth.”

“I understand,” Twilight lowered her head. “I was supposed to harm you with magic.”

“That was your primary objective, yes. You still managed to harm me,” Luna rubbed her chest with a grimace. “Through a means not very conventional… I doubt in a real fight, you’d find the time to buck your opponent. I should have remembered that the element of honesty was your friend. Nevertheless. You distracted me with magic, and harmed me physically. You passed the test, just not very well. Stand up.” Twilight willed her hooves to bear her weight, grimacing as she felt her sore muscles scream in protest.

“Day after tomorrow, we will redo the test. Take tomorrow to rest, though I suppose you’ll be too busy speaking with Cadance to focus on relaxing. Bear in mind that come Friday, Twilight, we will do this again. Good-night.” Luna turned with a flick of her tail, leaving Twilight alone in the scorched and battered gardens. Panting still, Twilight limped away, feeling very embarrassed that she had passed with the bare minimum score. She had always been an excellent student. To her, this was akin to receiving a ‘D’ on a written test. Not very good.

She took a short shower and slipped into bed, letting sleep take over completely. In the back of her mind, she was excited for tomorrow. Thankfully, her dreams were non-existent. She awoke in the pre-dawn light, having snoozed a healthy six hours. Stretching with a yawn, she slipped out of her bed and set about preparing for the day.

It had been six days since she had accepted the position of Archmage. Since her study of the magic of friendship was complete, she began studying different magic. Particularly, the magic that Luna commanded. The magic of darkness and shadow. Thus far, her studies consisted of dueling the princess one-on-one, being subject to several injuries, jinxed, hexed, blasted, and thrown about. There was a lesson behind it all, Luna assured her. But so far, Twilight couldn’t grasp what it was. She never questioned the princess’ motives. Not even once. But she was beginning to grow doubtful of the benefits in constant impacts with the ground were having on her body. Aside from maybe toughening her up a little.

As she brushed through her mane, she winced at the lancing pain in her side. Likely another bruised rib. She prodded the area with a tender hoof, wincing as she poked at it… Yup, definitely bruised. Perhaps even cracked. Every breath she took was painful. But she persevered, ignoring the dull, throbbing ache and leaving her quarters. She had moved into Nocturnal Glow’s room in the Eastern tower, though all of his effects had been removed. She was spared a bed from a guest room and a few other things, but her home in Ponyville was still being packed. All her personal things were due to arrive in another week. For now, she made do with spare sheets and a single vanity. It all felt very… Bare. She didn’t like spending time in this room.

“Good morning, Archmage.” Twilight nearly ignored the guard as she walked through the halls, but then she remembered.

“Good morning,” She returned after a few more steps. The guard smiled at her knowingly, almost like he understood her predicament. She offered a sheepish grin before continuing on her way, feeling bad nevertheless… Being Archmage was still very, very new to her… As far as she could tell, she held the position in title only, and perhaps in spirit. Six days in, and she hadn’t done anything major or important. There was a group of other unicorns who were handling the Archmage’s duties while she trained. Celestia had taken to reassuring her almost daily that they could handle her constituency perfectly well, and that her sole focus should be improving herself through rigorous studies.

It was frustrating, then, when Luna continually beat her into the ground, criticized her performance, and left her with the promise of another beating. Today, Thursday, would be her first day off since she began. Already, Twilight was worn to the bone. She wasn’t sure how much longer she could keep this up… Still, Cadance was due to arrive. As soon as she heard of Twilight being named Archmage, Cadance had done everything she could to come south so she could talk with her sister-in-law. Shining Armor would remain in the Crystal Empire, just to keep a lid on things, while Cadance handled her personal business. After a quick breakfast, Twilight made her way to the castle’s main balcony to await the arrival of Cadance.

She wasn’t kept waiting for very long. Her lips spread in a smile as the dark dot appeared on the horizon, steadily growing nearer. Cadance swooped in smoothly, grinning from ear to ear. Without a second glance, they launched into their greeting.

”Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake! Clap your hooves and do a little shake!” Twilight fought through the lancing pain, her smile working hard to mask the hurt that wracked her torso. She was convinced at the end her rib was most definitely cracked. Nevertheless, she embraced Cadance, the two of them giggling happily.

“I’m so glad to see you again, Twilight!” Cadance bubbled, nuzzling her neck. Twilight’s smile was genuine as the pain faded away to the dull ache once more, allowing her to at least breathe normally.

“It’s good to see you too, Cadance. I’ve missed you terribly. How is Shining?”

“He’s fine. Great, actually. Poor guy works himself ragged, but he’s strong enough to handle it.” Cadance smiled and gestured for the door, inviting them inside. Twilight tried not to limp or let her injury show. A quick flash of concern across Cadence’s face showed that she had failed. They entered the castle, making for a nearby lounge normally intended for dignitaries and important political figures to relax in before meeting the princesses on official business. For today, though, it would serve as a place for the two of them to relax and chat. As Cadance lowered herself onto one cushion, Twilight went to make them tea.

“So…” Cadance leaned into the next question. “How do you like being the new Archmage?” Twilight chuckled, pouring water into two cups laden with leaves. She inhaled the scent of steeping tea before padding over to where Cadance lay with a tray of tea in her magical grip.

“Do you want the truth?” She asked quietly.

“The whole truth.”

“I’m not happy…” Twilight hovered her cup over to Cadance, handing it off smoothly. Cadance’s expression drew down with worry as she took the first sip.

“That’s not good… What’s wrong?” Twilight sighed, and she couldn’t help but wince at the fresh white-hot lance of pain through her side. Exhaling with a ragged breath, she set in on explaining all that had happened in the past week.

“I’m not prepared to take the position of Archmage just yet. I’ve accepted it, but I just plain don’t know enough about magic to function as the Archmage. There’s a group of twenty unicorns doing things that I should be doing right now. Eventually, I’m going to have to pick up all the things they do, and do them by myself… To get to that level, I have to start studying different kinds of magic. Granted, I’m Equestria’s number one expert on friendship, but I only know a little bit about the others… Magic like hatred and shadow, nature and all the others… Luna is supposed to be teaching me about shadow and darkness right now, but instead, all she’s done is beat up on me. We’ve been dueling day in and day out. This is the first day I’ve had a break. I think she broke my rib last night…”

Cadance’s smile was unnerving. Twilight glowered at her, feeling rather flustered.

“What?”

“Nothing. It just seems like she’s doing what she always does…”

“Wh… What’s that?” Cadance gave a small chuckle before setting her tea down, smiling at Twilight in a knowing, sisterly sort of manner.

“Think about it. What has fighting with Luna taught you so far?”

“That… That as far as combat goes, I’m very weak and inexperienced, that she’s more powerful than I ever could have imagined… That she’s a tricky and misleading fighter, with all the teleportation and trapping she does… That I’ll likely never be able to lay a hoof on her with any spell…”

“And…?”

“And… That I’ll never beat her.” Cadance smiled at her answer.

“Think on that for a while, Twilight. But not right now. Right now, you need to relax. And let me take a look at your rib.” Twilight reluctantly approached Cadence, wincing as the alicorn pressed a hoof against her side, feeling for the break. The pain radiated through her, making her breath catch in her throat.

“Ooh…” She whimpered, unable to hold back any more.

“Yup, that’s a fracture. Hold still.” Twilight shuddered as Cadance’s magic flowed through her, knitting the bone back together fiber by fiber. The pain throbbed a little, not quite as intense as it had been, before fading away completely. “Better?” Twilight inhaled deeply, hesitant to expand her lungs any further than necessary. No pain. She couldn’t help but smile.

“Yeah… Thank you, Cadance.”

“Anything for my little sis.” She nuzzled Twilight’s ear affectionately before returning to her tea. “But enough about this Archmage business. You’re supposed to be relaxing today. Tell me, how are your friends?” They chatted amicably throughout most of the day, but once the sun began to sink in the sky, Cadance mentioned returning to the north and the Crystal Kingdom. Twilight was loathe to say goodbye.

“Promise you’ll visit again?” She asked, hugging Cadance gently.

“I can’t promise that, Twilight. But you’ll see me soon enough, I’m sure.” She smiled as the hug was finished, her wings opening wide. Twilight looked at her questioningly.

“Wh… What do you mean?”

“Think about it, Twilight. You need to study all the magic the world has to offer. Who better to study the magic of love under than the princess of love?” She smiled again before taking off into the evening sky, looking over her shoulder at Twilight as she turned North, back to her home. Twilight really didn’t want to see her go, but the words they had shared earlier that morning still hung heavy in her mind.

Luna was trying to teach her something by beating her in duels over and again. All the pain and trickery, exasperation and desperation… It all MEANT something. But what? Twilight had some time before she had to turn in for the night. She decided to clear her mind with a walk through the gardens… And during that time, she thought long and hard over all that had happened in the last week.

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“Good evening, Twilight. Are you prepared?” Right past the pleasantries. Luna didn’t seem to want to fool around with conversation. Twilight straightened her back, looking up at the princess.

“No I am not.” She said firmly. The calm breeze wafting through the gardens lifted her mane off of her neck, and the scent of freshly-cut grass crossed her nose. Apparently, the groundskeepers had been busy repairing the damage from their last fight...

“Hmm? Do you want more time to prepare? Perhaps go research a new fire spell before we duel?”

“I don’t think all the time in the world is going to prepare me for fighting with you, Princess.” Luna paused, her expression blank as she looked at Twilight.

“Hmm.” She hummed and turned around, walking a short distance before turning back to Twilight. “We begin on my mark.”

“B-but, princess!” Twilight’s eyes went wide. This wasn’t what she had planned! “I’m not ready! I can’t defeat you!”

“You will try, Twilight. Or you will die. Your goal, as always, is simply to damage me.” Luna’s tone was dangerous and low. In it, Twilight sensed lethal intent. Luna wasn’t joking. The air of power around the princess was dangerous and crackled with energy. Twilight legitimately feared for her life. “Begin.”

“Aah!” The first eruption of magic singed her hide as it shot past, tearing up the ground behind her. She rolled out of the way of the second, but had to teleport away from the third. She appeared behind Luna… Which was a mistake. Luna flicked her tail, casting a bolt directly upwards from her horn. Twilight gasped as it arched through the air towards her, screaming with lethal intent. She side-stepped at the last second, scrambling for the nearest cover she could find. The hedge evaporated into nothingness just as she was about to dive behind it, causing her to curse and wheel about for a nearby boulder. As she dove behind it, though, dark tendrils of energy wrapped around her legs, rooting her in place. A trap! Grunting, Twilight fought to dispel the trap before Luna delivered another blow that would do much more than break a rib.

She broke free in time to teleport away as the boulder she was hiding behind shattered. She managed to cast a quick bolt of energy in the princess’ direction before having to flee once more. Luna was silent and stoic, following Twilight with her own brand of dark magic. Midnight-black balls of energy shot past, crackling as Twilight weaved through the gardens, leaving in her wake destruction wrought by the frightening princess. What’s worse, Luna wasn’t even flying. If she were to rain down destruction from the sky, Twilight would have nowhere to go. She panicked, running hard and fast, until she was again lathered with sweat, covered with dirt, and sporting more than one cut.

Time for desperation moves. There was nothing left for Twilight to do but stand against the onslaught. Wheeling around, her magic coalesced into a dense purple shield. The next two balls of dark energy fizzled out as they impacted the shield, but the third shattered it. Twilight was prepared. Her horn erupted as she blasted a wall of energy at the Princess. Luna teleported through to the other side without even missing a step, her inexorable approach carrying her closer and closer. The ground around Twilight’s hooves began to darken, and she leapt out of the circle as it erupted upwards with razor-sharp protrusions of shadow. Luna didn’t even bat an eyelash as Twilight stumbled and fell to the ground. She just walked forward, her horn glowing with crackling, dark energy.

“I give.” Twilight whimpered. “I’m done. I can’t do it.” She hung her head in defeat, staring down at the ground. “You are too powerful, too experienced. I can’t defeat you.” She flexed her muscles, preparing for the death blow, the final strike that would signal her defeat. It never came. She waited, and waited, but all that did was make her cramp up. Gasping, she looked up at Luna.

Who was smiling.

“You pass, Twilight. Full marks.”

“Wh… WHAT?!”

“Calm down.” Luna chuckled. Her magic wrapped around Twilight, lifting her up. It was gentle and tender, not firm or powerful as it had been hardly a minute prior. “And let me explain.”

“B-but, you said I was supposed to attack you, and do damage, and when I finally did you said I had to do it with a spell, and I thought that I could qualify it by having distracted you with magic, but you said-“

“Twilight. For heaven’s sake, calm down.” Luna silenced the purple unicorn. She stared incredulously at Luna, her jaw hanging open. “I just taught you the first two lessons about shadow magic. Number one. Humility. If you charge alone into the shadow with your head held high, it will devour you and kill you. If you approach the darkness with reverence in your heart and respect in your actions, you and the night can partner together to accomplish great things. Remember this, Twilight. Be humble in defeat, graceful in victory. Respectful, calm, and level-headed.” Luna smiled again, standing up. “Come, let us sit somewhere more comfortable.” She ushered Twilight along, the two of them leaving the wrecked field for the castle. Twilight didn’t even care that she was bruised and dirty. She had passed! As they sat down inside with a fresh pitcher of water between them, Luna continued her lesson.

“By surrendering, Twilight, you’ve shown the shadow proper respect. Think to our previous fights. You fought me to the end. You never once conceded defeat until I had ripped you down and reduced you to nothing.”

“But… What about at the beginning of our duel just now? I told you I wasn’t prepared-“

“But you were, Twilight. If you weren’t prepared, would I have passed you? Let alone attacked you as I did?”

“H… How? I don’t understand.”

“You had at your disposal the skills required to pass the test. Therefore, you were prepared. You have been prepared since before you were named Archmage. But you didn’t know which skills they were, or when to use them. I had to force you to surrender, Twilight.”

“But… But surrendering wasn’t the goal! You told me I had to damage you with a spell-“

“Twilight. Let me finish the first lesson before I get on to the second.”

“Second?”

“The first is humility, Twilight. Focus. If you try to reign the darkness in, it will destroy you. I would know this better than anypony. You SHOULD know that just as well, since you and your friends were the ones to remind me of that lesson…” Luna’s expression turned darker.

“Are you saying Nightmare Moon-“

“Was my attempt to command the night. Rather than ally with it, I tried to harness it’s power for my own. It nearly destroyed me, Twilight. Please don’t repeat my mistake.” Luna looked away, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. Twilight felt horrible for making Luna blush. Let alone seeing the powerful princess do something so unsightly in the first place. The silence stretched on for a while before Twilight spoke again.

“The second lesson?” Luna shook her head and forced a smile.

“Right. The second lesson is this: Nothing in the shadow is concrete. Things are different than they seem. Your objectives and goals may not be as clear-cut as they are in the daylight. Because your goal in our duels was to injure me using magic, you did not know that the actual goal was to learn humility. Keep your mind and your heart open to the darkness, Twilight. Hide nothing from the shadow, and it’s secrets will be yours to use.”

“I see…” Twilight mulled these things over. “I think I understand, princess… Unlike other forms of magic, which require inner strength to harness their energies, I need to be humble, and… Well, for lack of a better word, ask for permission to use the darkness?”

“I couldn’t have put it better myself, Twilight. Shadow magic holds no respect for strength or weakness… It’s power belongs to those who seek it willingly and openly. That’s why unicorns whose magic cannot tame the day turn instead to the night. They open their hearts to the darkness, and together, the two become stronger. Unicorns who rush headlong into the night are lost to us forever.” Again, Twilight mulled the princess’ words over, thinking long and hard about what it all meant… A thought struck her, then.

“Forgive me, princess… But… You strike me as somepony who is anything but humble…”

“Hmm?” Luna’s expression drew down in a frown. “Explain.” Her tone was serious.

“I… I was just thinking. When I was first named Archmage, you seemed to be anything but humble or accepting… In fact, you seemed as if you were-“

“One need not be humble if her assumptions are correct, Twilight Sparkle.” Luna said quietly. “In fact, I was the very definition of humble. Humility is having respect for someone else, based on their power, or character, or personality. When you were named Archmage, Twilight, I had so much doubt of your abilities in my heart. To top it off, you were unprepared and younger than any other Archmage save Nocturnal Glow himself.” She was beginning to get scary… Twilight stared at the table, afraid to look at Luna. A firm tendril of magic lifted her chin up, and she looked back into Luna’s face reluctantly.

Luna’s expression had changed almost completely. She was, once again, smiling. She looked truly happy.

“That all changed during the ceremony.” She sat back down, smiling at Twilight before continuing. “Don’t get me wrong, I thought as soon as you passed out that would be it; that we would have to postpone the ceremony until later. But you know what? You stood up, you walked in that room, and you carried Glow to his resting place. You accepted your duty, and you did so willingly. What’s more, as soon as Celestia and I cast the spell, our combined magic sending Glow off, I was in awe. You command such great strength and power, Twilight. More than I have ever seen in… Well, ever… Celestia has told me stories about the day she found you… Do you remember?”

“Y-yes… How I nearly destroyed the school after Rainbow Dash’s sonic rainboom triggered my reaction…”

“I had never believed her. How could I? A young unicorn foal wrecking the most prestigious college of powerful magicians in all of Equestria? I thought her a fanciful liar… But one week ago, during the ceremony, you showed me different.” Luna’s eyes locked onto Twilight’s the two of them sharing a moment.

“After that, Twilight… I was humbled. And that was why I reversed my decision. I decided to support you, to teach you and build you up, rather than find your replacement. It may not have seemed like it, but I still had to wait on your decision to even accept the position. After that moment, though, I wished more than anything that you would. And you did.” Luna’s smile was so heartwarming, Twilight forgot she was bruised and battered, bleeding and tired. In light of all she had just learned, it was just her and Luna… That was the sort of smile that Twilight strived for every day… That she needed to see from Celestia. In fact, the contrast was scary… Twilight almost cried.

“I have never been more proud to call anypony my student than I am right now, Twilight.” Luna stood, turning her back on Twilight as she walked away. “Meet me at the top of the observatory tomorrow night.” She said softly. “Your studies begin in earnest. You have a long way to go and much to learn, but you’re on your way.”

And then she was gone. In her absence, Twilight cried. Not out of sadness or frustration, but tears of joy, of relief.

She had done it.

She was doing it.

She could do this. She could be the Archmage.