by Hasbro
“Everypony, I’d like you to pair up into partners with your essays. You’re going to practice a friendship fire spell.”
“We are?” The ponies erupted into a flurry of whispers. “That’s a hard one! Nopony’s ever done it!”
“I’ll give it a shot.” Ambrosia Breeze trotted over and sat down next to Flora, using her magic to pass her essay over. Sandy Shore and Rainy Air paired up as well. Soon the whole class had found partners. They looked up to Celestia, eagerly awaiting their next instructions.
“Oooh! Are we going to read each other’s work and critique it first?!” Ambrosia Breeze shouted. “Because we’ve done this many times before and we’re very good at it, just so you know.” Ambrosia grinned and added, “By the way, this whole thing where we can talk without raising our hooves is awesome. So freeing.” Ambrosia put her hoof to her mouth. “Don’t tell the headmistress I said that.”
“No, Ambrosia. We’re not going to read the essays. We’re going to do something a little different this time.” Celestia walked over to Ambrosia and Flora and bent down to meet their faces. “I want you two to tear up each other’s work.” Somepony in the back of the room dropped a textbook. Princess Celestia giggled at their shocked faces.
“What?!” the two ponies shrieked in disbelief. “But we’ll get in so much trouble!” Across the room, Sandy and Rainy were paralyzed with shock as well. Rainy held his essay close to his chest protectively. “And we worked so hard!”
“Sounds risky…” Celestia nodded with a sly look. “But kind of interesting, right?” A moment passed where nopony knew what the correct answer was at all. Was this a trick? Or a test that had been set up by Duchess Diamond Waves to see if they would succumb to such a temptation?
“It does!” Flora finally said, much louder than anything else she’d ever uttered in her life. Her voice didn’t even squeak. It caused everypony to jump a little, and Ambrosia Breeze shot her partner an offended look. “I mean, it sounds kinda different and scientific… uh… for learning purposes and… oh, never mind,” Flora whispered, retreating back into herself.
“Well, I’ll give it a try. I’m not afraid of anything.” Ambrosia Breeze snatched Flora’s essay and used her magic to shred it to tiny pieces. Rip, rip, rip. They floated down to the ground pitifully, landing in a sad pile on the ground. Flora’s jaw dropped. She lunged over and tore Ambrosia’s scroll out of the air with her hoof. Flora showed no mercy, doing the exact same thing until both essays lay in one heap in between them. The whole class went silent.
“All that work, gone…” said Ambrosia Breeze, breaking the silence. She looked down in horror at the pile of paper. “So much research lost…” Flora whispered, her lavender face the picture of true horror. Everypony leaned in, not wanting to make the even the slightest move. A few moments later, Flora started to giggle. Ambrosia couldn’t help but join in. Then the giggling quickly evolved into full-blown laughter. Soon the whole class was laughing and tearing up one another’s scrolls. It was a confetti explosion of essays.
And one by one, as the papers were destroyed, small blue-hued flames began to rise from the ruins. Celestia smiled to the class. “See, students? You did it! The Fire of Friendship defense burns!”
“But how did we finally complete the spell?” Rainy Air asked, gaping at the little blue heart-shaped flames rising from the remains of his homework. “We’ve been trying to do this one for ages.”
“That’s because it can only come from the bravery of two ponies offering friendship to each other despite a personal sacrifice,” Celestia explained. “You all banded together even though you had something to lose.” Slowly, smiles began to show up on the students’ faces, and the classroom began to warm up as if it were a new dawn. And it wasn’t from all the flames.
Out of the Bubble
Stay with me, students.” Princess Celestia turned back to the single-file line of Unicorns following her down the wooden steps. They whispered to one another excitedly, pointing toward the ocean shore. As they made their way to the beach, Celestia could feel their curiosity mounting with each hoofstep. Ambrosia Breeze skipped up to the front. “Princess, where are we going? What are we doing?” Her green eyes were wide with anticipation. She craned her neck, scanning the area, and whispered. “Is it school-related?”
“Oh yes. It’s a surprise lesson, Ambrosia,” Princess Celestia said with a wink. By now, she was used to the constant nervous questioning from the students. They always wanted to know what value they were going to get out of each class. It was like teaching a big group of Twilight Sparkles all at once. “It’s going to be quite amusing and informative, I assure you.” Celestia’s long mane whipped in the ocean breeze. Her cheeks were a rosy pink in the golden sunlight.
“Okay!” Ambrosia bounced back to Flora, and the two little ponies exchanged a look, then squealed. The rest of the class followed the pair, clopping their hooves against the wooden staircase that led down to the sand. Up on the street level of the Monacolt promenade, ponies started to spill out of the hotels and cafés to gather and watch. They whispered and pointed to the foreign royal, wondering what sort of show they might catch a glimpse of. They hadn’t seen the students of the Monacolt Magic Academy out on a field trip in a very long time.
“All right, class,” Princess Celestia announced, pacing around the group. Her hoofcuffs sunk down into the warm, dry sand. “Your assignment for today is to run, play, and jump. Look at the tide pools. Study the clouds above. Take in everything, and then we’ll all share with one another at the end of the day. Got it?” Celestia looked at their blank faces. “Basically, just have fun in the sun.”
“Uhh.” Lemon Square raised his hoof. “Princess?”
“Yes, Lemon Square?” Celestia trotted over to the yellow colt. “You have a question?”
“Is it true?” Lemon Square pointed to the sun, burning bright and high in the sky, squinting as if he hadn’t seen it in a very long while.
“Is what true?”
“The sun! That you have the power to raise the sun? I did some research and—”
“Yeah, of course she can! She’s an Alicorn, Lemon,” Ambrosia cut in, and rolled her eyes. “Everypony knows Alicorns are the most powerful ponies, like ever. Ever. They’re super-duper rare, and you can only become one if you perform some amazing magical feat. There haven’t been many except Mi Amore Cadenza, Twilight Sparkle, and—”
“So can we become Alicorns if we study harder?” shouted Sandy Shore from the back of the group. “Will you please make us Alicorns?!”
“I don’t think I’d want to be an Alicorn,” Flora said in her tiny voice. “Seems like too much, you know?” Sandy Shore nodded.
“I have an even better question.” Rainy Air looked at Celestia with a dreamy expression. “How exactly do your mane and tail move like that all the time? It’s really… uh, pretty.”
“Yeah, it is.” Ambrosia tilted her head to the side so she could admire Celestia’s mane from another angle. “I think Headmistress Diamond Waves’s mane used to do that.”
“All right, students,” Celestia said, hushing them. “There will be time for questions about me later. For now, just do as I say. You’re out of a classroom, and you’re standing on a beautiful beach! Make the most of it. I think you’ll find it’s worth your time to get out of your little schoolroom bubble.” She gave a little smile and dispersed. A few looked back over their shoulders at the princess, just to make sure it was really okay. They were slowly but surely getting used to trusting her and letting go of their uptight demeanors. Celestia knew that Diamond Waves was going to be pleased with the result.
“Bubble?” repeated Ambrosia Breeze to herself as she looked out at the vast body of water. She galloped off to join a game of hide-and-seek.
Up above by the cliff railing, the crowd of ponies watching grew thinner as the students ran off into little groups across the beach. It wasn’t the magic show they were all hoping for. The colts and fillies really did just appear to be
playing around, throwing sand at one another and diving into the water. A few older mares and stallions hung around, amused by the sight.
“Isn’t it lovely, sweetie?” said an old gray stallion to his wife. They stood under a shady white umbrella. “The students have been let out of school.”
“Oh yes,” agreed the blue mare. She peered down through her circular glasses. “It’s nice to finally see them enjoy the summer. It really livens the place up. We need it, especially since there aren’t even waves on the water these days.”
“Too quiet around here.” The gray stallion nodded in agreement.
“What did you say?” asked Duchess Diamond Waves. She had just returned from Northern Prance and happened to pass by the shoreline on her way back to the academy. The newfound information on the Time Glass from her sage had given her much to think about and discuss with Celestia after class was finished for the day.
“Your Highness!” The old couple bowed to her. “We were just saying how nice it is to see the student colts and fillies having a good time down there. Such a great idea to let them blow off some steam, Duchess.”
“Students? From my magic academy?” She raised a brow and trotted to the edge of the cliff. As she stepped forward in between them and looked down at the beach, her breath was taken away. It was Princess Celestia! The royal was not teaching a class at all, but instead was building a sand castle with several students, including Rainy Air and Flora. They were all smiling. Smiling in the face of a crisis, thought Diamond Waves as she watched Celestia use her magic to place a tiny Monacolt flag in the top of the castle.
Diamond Waves felt so betrayed, she could hardly watch the scene. Celestia was doing the exact opposite of what she had asked her to do! How were the students ever going to be ready unless they spent every chance they had preparing for the worst? The duchess closed her eyes, turned on her hoof, and took off in a canter toward the school. She had to go check the Time Glass and think about a new plan of action.
Down on the beach, little Ambrosia Breeze hid behind the jagged rocks, waiting and staring out at the cerulean-blue horizon line. Gulls flew above, squawking. Her magenta tail was wet and sandy from the tide pool she was crouching over. As soon as she saw the familiar yellow hooves approaching on the sand beside her, Ambrosia popped out from her spot. She shot a zap of orange magic from her horn at the colt. Suddenly, water from the shore began to rise up, spinning itself into a tornado shape. It shot toward Lemon Square at full speed. The colt screamed as the water enveloped him.
Everypony galloped over in a panic. Celestia spread her wings and flew over. When she landed, Lemon Square was looking straight out at Ambrosia from a protective water bubble in awe. “You did it! You did a Water Bubble enchantment!”
“I did!” Ambrosia shouted in elation.
Sandy Shore’s jaw was agape. “That’s an advanced protection spell!”
“Yes, it is. Well done, Ambrosia.” Princess Celestia looked out at their faces, filled with wonder and excitement. She felt the same way. “It sure looks as if you Monacolt ponies are a force to be reckoned with. Now, who else wants to try a Water Bubble enchantment?”
The Good News
Now that Diamond Waves was back from Northern Prance, Celestia couldn’t wait to share her teaching breakthroughs and delight her friend with the news that her simple lesson plan had worked. Celestia knew that the duchess was going to be so relieved. This whole experience had been so wonderful for Celestia, as well as the students. The daily activities of the last two weeks had filled Princess Celestia with a certain sense of happiness and purpose. If the rising of the sun brought her joy, then the light of young ponies learning under her guidance brought her pure elation. It was the whole reason she made her own Unicorn school back home in Canterlot a constant priority.
As Celestia walked toward her friend’s headmistress office, her hooves even felt lighter, as if they weren’t even adorned with heavily embellished gold hoofcuffs. The students here in Monacolt were bright and eager, not undisciplined and petulant like she’d expected. They just needed to be shown a different way. Everypony in Monacolt was going to be all right, no matter what mysterious foes came to attack them.
If there were any foes at all, that was. Celestia was growing increasingly suspicious of the magic behind the Time Glass. Ever since Diamond Waves had left, the sand in the glass had appeared to be falling down the funnel, yet the amount of sand in the top basin seemed unchanged. Princess Celestia was hoping to point out this oddity to the duchess today. Something was off.
The Alicorn trotted past a succession of tall, open windows. The frames were arched at the top just like the ones back in Canterlot Castle. Celestia thought of home and wondered what might be occurring at this very moment. Since it was almost time to lower the sun, Celestia imagined that Luna was probably resting up. In her absence, Princess Luna was tasked with ushering the sun down as well as welcoming the moon once it was time to do so. It took a lot of energy. Princess Twilight was probably going over the graduation-day speech again, practicing the way to say each part in front of a mirror. Princess Celestia chuckled at the idea. She couldn’t wait to see them all at the graduation ceremony and Summer Sun Celebration when she got home.
“Something funny, Celestia?” Duchess Diamond Waves appeared in the south doorway. She frowned in concern and looked down at the stone floor. “Perhaps the hopelessness of my situation?”
“Not at all. Actually, it’s just the opposite, Diamond!” Celestia exclaimed with a smile. She trotted over and embraced her friend. “I have been waiting to tell you the wonderful news—your students are incredibly bright. So talented! A few of them even managed to perform Fire of Friendship spells and Water Bubble enchantments. Those two spells alone can guarantee your safety from attack, I assure you—”
“But that’s impossible!” Duchess Diamond Waves exclaimed, her mouth agape. “We’ve tried and… What I mean to say is—these students have proven… that they have no talent next to taking up space.” Diamond’s eyes flashed something dark. And playing around during school hours, she thought.
“Surely, you’re teasing.” Celestia was taken aback. “Right, Di?”
“Of course!” Diamond Waves shook the thought away and forced a smile. “I’m so pleased you’ve made a breakthrough.” She didn’t seem pleased. Her body was stiff and her movements robotic. The stress of the situation was clearly getting to Diamond Waves. Why else would she say such a mean thing when her students had shown such progress?
“Why don’t we go for a walk to the sea and I can tell you all about it?” Celestia motioned her hoof toward the window. In the distance peeking through the buildings, she could see the ocean, blue and serene. “I find it can be rather restorative. Even without the gentle sound of the waves.”
“Oh, so you noticed that.” Duchess Diamond Waves shifted uncomfortably, her eyes darting to the window. “Fine,” she finally answered, leading the way. “Just don’t try to make me build a sand castle.”
Making Waves
It didn’t take long for the two ponies to find Unicorn Cove, the gorgeous little beach outside of the city limits. Princess Celestia could feel herself relaxing a bit as she got farther from the city. She walked out toward the shore. With each step, her hooves sank into the damp sand. It was so quiet here. Almost silent. She looked out to the ocean and imagined the crashing sound of waves. The water was completely still.
Diamond Waves was looking out to the water with a wistful expression. She turned to Celestia. “So, tell me about the students.”
“Yes,” Celestia brightened. “There is something that you can do, and I guarantee they will pass the exam. It’s been working thus far.”
“What is it?” Diamond asked, her voice flat. “Cast some sort of concentration spell over them?”
“Heavens, no!” Celestia smirked. “Better concentration is the last thing they need. What they should have is…” She took a few steps forward toward the water’s edge and, without war
ning, dove straight into the sea. The Alicorn jumped and splashed around, kicking up water onto the duchess, whose expression was less than amused. Celestia laughed at her friend’s sour face and splashed her again. Drops of water sparkled in the sunlight as they landed on Diamond.
“Celestia!” Diamond Waves shouted through pieces of wet blue mane that were stuck to her forehead. “What do you think you’re doing?!”
“Just having a bit of fun!” Celestia singsonged. “You should try it.”
Diamond Waves looked shocked for a moment, insulted by the implication that her old friend thought she didn’t know how to have a good time. Diamond had practically invented the concept when she was a young pony. So the blue Unicorn dove into the sea herself, creating a huge splash that drenched Princess Celestia in return. Soon, the two ponies each started to laugh at how silly the other looked. They pulled themselves from the water and sat down the dry sand, trying to catch their breath between giggles. It was just like old times.
Diamond Waves exhaled deeply and looked up to the orange-colored sky. The sun was setting. Celestia smiled as she watched its descent, thinking of the rising moon and her sister. After a few silent, pensive moments, the gentle sound of waves crashing onto the shore began. It was hushed. Whoosh, swish. Whoosh, swish.
The duchess bolted upright, her horn glowing with a soft blue magic light. The color grew brighter as she stood up on her hooves and faced the ocean. Soon, the waves were larger—big enough for a pony to surf on! Diamond Waves smiled genuinely and turned to Celestia. “Finally! What a gorgeous sight to behold!”
