Horns to the left of me, wings to the right.

[letteropener]

Who: The pony princesses and those who would accept their training.
What: The training offered by the pony princesses to those who would accept it.
Where: Ponyville, the Town Square.
When: A couple of days after their welcoming message.
Warnings: Possible comedic violence and mild language. Possibly some pegasus just won't know what went wrong.



Ponyville Town Square, the right side as you face town hall:

Above this half of the town square, a couple dozen clouds floated peacefully in the sky. They ranged the gamut from a friendly, puffy white to an angry, solemn grey that threatened but didn't deliver thunder and rain in awesome amounts. Somepony had clearly cordoned off the ground below with acquired fences, benches, and other makeshift barricades to keep innocent Rarities ponies from wandering into the training field and getting soaked, hailed on, lightning-bolted, blown away, or generally harassed by wind.

Princess Luna awaited those pegasi who have come for lessons in weather control.

Ponyville Town Square, the left side as you face town hall:

Dozens of random objects festooned the area around here, lined up in order of weight -- from feathers, pebbles, and quill pens to a heavy statue and a bathtub. Princess Celestia waited at the front of this 'line', such as it was, for those unicorns who signed on for her basic training program. Though she hoped that at least some will prove adept pupils at telekinesis and might be able to move on to other lessons, she has provided nothing else yet; after all, to best challenge a unicorn, you must find spells that lie within their talents.

Comments

[colorbymemory]

Namine was at least used to the concept of using magic. Ienzo had been teaching her for some time now, so she knew most of the basic spells, and advanced versions of those that were essential (Cure, Fire, Blizzard, and Aero). That was human magic, though. No spell she'd ever tried actually allowed her to lift something.

So she shouldn't have been surprised when her attempts to lift the feather made it look as if it was being blown around by puffs of wind. Namine sighed, while Batty chittered encouragement. C'mon Person, you can do it!

[letteropener]

Celestia watched this display for a minute, before stepping over to Namine's side. "You have experience with magic as a human, then."

No need to ask; she had quickly learned that the humans who had become unicorns seemed to share that trait, for the most part.

[colorbymemory]

Namine smiled a greeting at Celestia, then nodded. "Yes, Ienzo has been teaching me."

If the way her Spirits were painted hadn't given Celestia a hint as to who the new unicorn was, her voice should.

[letteropener]

"You may find that it hurts more than it helps, for the moment. Unicorn magic is not like human magic, or at least, not like the human magics I have seen. It is will, and energy. Nothing more."

Celestia's horn shone as she gripped the feather in golden light. "Telekinesis is the most basic. You must simply think about a thing, and it is done."

Sorry so late.

[colorbymemory]

Namine tilted her head in thought as she took in what Celestia meant. It made sense that learning something one way might make learning another method more difficult. That said, human magic was made up of a lot of will and energy. More important in Namine's case, it also seemed to involve visualizing the desired goal of the spell.

(There was a reason her Fire spells weren't as strong as her others.)

That in mind, she tried simply picturing one of the other feathers lifting in her mind's eye. When it rose off the ground about a foot or so in response, she smiled. "Something like this."

[letteropener]

"Yes. Quite like that." Celestia smiled brightly, pleased to see her take the lesson and apply it so readily. "Practice a moment with moving it around, and then we can move on to a more complicated exercise."

[colorbymemory]

Namine returned the smile. Fortunately, Celestia had caught onto a way of phrasing things that helped her understand easily. Ienzo generally had that knack, too.

Moving the feather was a little easier said than done. While Namine managed to, the movements were jerky--probably a result of her simply visualizing it at the desired destination. After taking a deep breath, she managed to slow down and actually visualize the movements until the feather was moving smoothly through the air. "It takes a lot of concentration, doesn't it?"

[letteropener]

"Less so with time and familiarity. When it becomes practiced, it will also become reflexive, and you will only need to concentrate on items or movements that are beyond the normal."

Celestia lifted a second feather with her own magic, then offered it to Namine. "Two at once is much more difficult, but I think you can start practicing a little that way."

[colorbymemory]

That made sense. It was easier to do something once you'd practiced. Namine nodded and tried to "catch" the second feather in her mind's eye. It dipped a little as she got hold of it, then both feathers' heights shifted back and forth as she slowly tried to bring them in a line with each other. Both almost fell once or twice along the way, but eventually she had them side by side.

That was good for the moment, but she'd need a rest before trying the next task.

[letteropener]

Celestia recognized the signs of growing fatigue readily enough, and reached out to take the feathers back. "Gather your thoughts for a moment," she said. "Unicorn magic can be very strenuous, especially when you are really exerting yourself, but it doesn't sap your physical strength. Give your mind a chance to recover and you'll feel fine in just a minute."

[colorbymemory]

Namine nodded and lowered the feathers to the ground. That done, she released their image from her mind to let herself relax for a moment. It felt like when she'd spent a particularly long time working with Sora's memories. Physically she was fine, but she still felt a little tired. "How long does it usually take before it doesn't make a unicorn tired to do this?"

[letteropener]

"For you, I think it should be quickly. Physically, you have the necessary ability to do it, you're simply just catching your mental ability up." Celestia smiled. "But that's just an educated guess, of course, though my educated guesses are usually more correct than not."

[colorbymemory]

That was a relief to hear. The sooner she mastered this, the sooner she'd have an easier time in this world. Namine smiled. "Thank you. That's good to know. Have you had many students?"

It might be a personal question, but Celestia did seem to be used to teaching.

[letteropener]

"I've had a few special ones over the years," Celestia said with a bright smile for the memories. Particularly the most recent ones.

[colorbymemory]

"So you don't teach very often?" That's too bad, since Celestia seems to enjoy teaching. Her students seem to hold a special place in her memories, at least.

[letteropener]

Celestia agreed with her assessment entirely, and sadly. "I'd very much like to take more students, but it's difficult for a few reasons. For one, as a ruler of Equestria, I rarely have the chance to select one who has the right qualities. Ponies would love nothing more than to have their children study under me, no matter their aptitude or suitability for it."

[colorbymemory]

Namine nodded in understanding. It made sense that many people would want their children to have a teacher so well-known and high-ranking. Risking arguments and bad feelings wouldn't do for a ruler. Not to mention that rulers were busy. "I guess time is a problem, too. As a ruler, you probably have a lot to do."

[letteropener]

She nodded. "I do, although when it comes to teaching, I personally think there are few better uses of time. I at least tried to make a priority of it whenever I could... though the most important lessons don't come in a classroom."

[colorbymemory]

"Do you only teach unicorns?" There was no hint of any disapproval in Namine's tone, just curiosity. Having not had any experience in a formal classroom, and little life experience herself, she couldn't disagree or agree about where the most important lessons were learned.

[letteropener]

"Magic is where my strength lies, just as my sister has a knack with weather that I'll never equal." She smiled fondly across the square at the pegasi training, where Luna appeared to be delighted as she began luring lightning bolts out of clouds.

She was not certain if she ought to talk too much about her other reason for teaching unicorns in Equestria, though.

[colorbymemory]

Namine nodded, and let her gaze follow Celestia's to observe the pegasi training. It did look like they were having fun. She smiled, then looked back at Celestia. "I guess nobody can be the best at everything, right?"

By now she was feeling rested, and up for trying to move the feathers around again. Namine turned to them. Focusing once again, she watched as they were wrapped in a light blue aura and began to rise into the air. "Thank you for the help. I think I'll practice with these for a little longer."

[letteropener]

Celestia nodded, glad to see her diligence persisting. "Then I shall check on the others. If you need me, I'll return."

Still, the princess watched her work for a little while longer before she finally stepped away. Namine had a good deal of potential... but Celestia still remembered their earlier conversation, some time ago, about magic and memory. She intended to keep an eye on Namine, to see how her power developed.

[colorbymemory]

Diligence is something Namine can manage. Chains of memories aren't fixed in a day.

She was aware of Celestia's presence, but did her best to not let that affect her work as she tried to move the leaves as a pair and then separately. Potential she might have, but it would come to nothing without practice. Namine remembered that conversation as well, but Celestia didn't need to worry. It would take quite a bit for her to lose control of her powers in the same way again.