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

[wavesinherheart]

Aqua nods at the comment and although she doesn't intend it to, the feather bobs with her. Clearly more practice is going to be needed in keeping things steady when she moves her head.

"It's the same with us, a little. I couldn't use nearly as many spells when I was younger, and even then I had to learn how to use the basic ones."

[letteropener]

Celestia nodded, then continued with her instruction. "Most unicorns find their ability to use spells corresponds strongly with their particular talent, while spells outside of it are much harder to achieve. Identifying your talent will be a good first step in furthering your education."

[wavesinherheart]

While Aqua has never particularly considered herself to be better versed in any one sort of magic over another it makes a certain amount of sense, and this time when she nods, the feather stays put.

"Is there any way to know what someone's talent might be?"

Of course, if it turns out there isn't well, she doesn't mind much. It's simply further exploration and she's never had much of a problem with that. Not when it can be so useful.

[letteropener]

"Ponies, when they discover their talent, gain their cutie marks." She gestured with a wing to the sun on her flank, even as she considered Aqua with curiosity and some surprise. "Have you never had a moment in your life when you realized what your talent is? What you excel at, and love to do?"

[wavesinherheart]

"It's not usually so sudden," Aqua answered with something that roughly approximated a shrug. "But eventually we do manage to realize what we're good at and what we like doing. They aren't always the same though."

They do tend to be, yes. But sometimes people decide that they really like something else. It's simply part of life, as Aqua sees it, and things never always make a whole lot of sense, in the long run.

[letteropener]

Celestia had to wonder what inspired that comment. "You're never as good at something you don't like doing. The enjoyment, the satisfaction, the delight that come with doing something you love have a particular magic of their own."

[wavesinherheart]

It had seemed like the thing to say at the time, plain and simple. Whether or not it actually had been was a different matter entirely. Still, she nodded at Celestia's comment all the same.

"That's always the case, yes. It's just sometimes people like a challenge too."

[letteropener]

Celestia smiled radiantly. "And so long as that is true, the world will always advance forward, pushed by people who make challenges routine and the impossible possible."

[wavesinherheart]

"So it will," Aqua answered with a nod. As much as there would always be darkness, there would also be people striving to change things for the better, and that helped balance things out a little bit.