Flashing Sceptre (Sceptre for short) was a normal pony. She was a sweet
and caring fourteen-year-old mare, pale pink in colour with a short yellow
mane and tail. Her symbol was a long, elegant pink, red and yellow sceptre
with silver and purple decorations running down it. Sceptre cared deeply
for her friends and like other ordinary teen ponies she went to school
every day, hung out at the Ice-Cream Parlour afterwards then had a lazy
walk in the park or curled up at home with a good book. She had never been
particularly special, or brilliant at school or sports but she was
consistently cheerful and optimistic. She always saw the good side in
other ponies and she was always the one to provide a shoulder to lean on or
a hoof to hold. Sceptre was perfectly normal.
Until she discovered Sliver. Sliver was the opposite of Sceptre. He was a tall, tough sixteen-year-old stallion, deep maroon in colour with a long black, silver streaked mane and tail. He had never truly cared for anyone and usually remained silent and still. He was extremely athletic and good at schoolwork, yet his presence in a room always felt eerie and gave his companions an uneasy feeling. Sliver kept to himself and could usually be found kicking a soccer ball in the park after school, or sitting on a bench writing poetry. Sliver managed to find the bad side in everyone and was often pessimistic. He trusted no-one.
Until he met Sceptre.
It was a hot and humid day and Sceptre tucked a strand of loose mane behind her ear. She panted as she hurried down the long path to the park, where she was supposed to be cheering on her teammates. Sceptre was not athletic at all and was as clumsy as you could get but she decided that since everypony at school was playing some kind of sport, she might as well join the cheerleading squad. It turned out that she was one of only two members.
Of course, being a cheerleader had its advantages. Sceptre could chat to the other pony in the squad a lot and they became great friends. She was able to wear a fantastic cheerleading outfit, which consisted of a bright blue and white pleated skirt and matching top with 'Ponyland Hoofbeats' written on it in silver letters, not to mention pom pom hair clips that slid into her mane. And what Sceptre loved best of all were the pom poms and she loved waving them around wildly in the air. But then again, there were a few disadvantages.
One of these was the baton. Sceptre was completely and utterly unco- coordinated and she always managed to drop the baton on her head or on her back or on her hoof or. And another bad thing was that she had to troop along to all the Hoofbeat games in the season. If it was raining, storming, sweltering hot or freezing cold, Sceptre had to be there in the park.
She looked up as she reached the oval and waved to her fellow cheerleader Kaleidoscope. Kaleidoscope waved back merrily and Sceptre took her place beside her.
"Check it out Sceptre! Sliver's playing today. He's so great but he gives me this bad feeling," said Kaleidoscope. She gave a small shudder. As if on cue, Sliver shot a piercing glance at Sceptre. She gave a small yelp and tumbled backwards into a rose bush. "Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!" cried Sceptre, her eyes watering as Kaleidoscope helped her up. "Whoa, what was that about?" asked Kaleidoscope curiously, as she picked thorns out of Sceptre's skirt. Sceptre whimpered as each one was pulled free.
"He gave me this uneasy feeling, you know? I'm sure he's a lovely pony but he just has such a frightening stare," began Sceptre. Kaleidoscope rolled her eyes. "You think everypony's sweet as sugar, Sceptre. But the thing is, not everyone is," she said, as she tucked a rose behind Sceptre's ear. Kaleidoscope stuck her tongue out and grinned.
"Hey, this bright pink rose really suits you!" she exclaimed. Sceptre blushed and pulled out her two pigtails so her mane hung loose. "Definitely!" she agreed as she swung her mane from side to side. She faced Kaleidoscope and smiled. "What do you say we get started on these cheers? We are cheerleaders you know," she said. Kaleidoscope agreed and both ponies began their cheers. Sceptre kept shooting glances at Kaleidoscope. She sighed as she admired Kaleidoscope's perfect baton twirling and gasped in surprise when Kaleidoscope performed a sensational twirling jump in mid air. It was then that the baton fell on Sceptre's head and she went back to concentrating on her cheer. It was also then that a group of around six gorgeous mares arrived on the field.
They all had stunningly beautiful aquamarine manes and were a deep magenta in colour. Sceptre took a quick glance at some of their symbols and noticed that they were all objects like lipsticks, eye-shadows and hairbrushes. The ponies' glittering manes shone in the sun and were styled in fantastic ponytails, tied with beautiful golden ribbons. But what made them so pretty were their cheerleading uniforms. Gleaming gold skirts spangled with silver stars, matching gold tank tops with big silver stars in the centre and their huge sparkling pom poms glinted in the light. Kaleidoscope shielded her eyes from the glimmering sight but Sceptre just stared open-mouthed at them.
"Who are they?" she whispered. Kaleidoscope couldn't even answer. But Sceptre's question was soon answered when the ponies began a cheer in high- pitched musical voices. "Darting, dashing, here and there, Quicksilver team is everywhere! Running fast in gold and silver, Come on and cheer with us, GO QUICKSILVER! Yeah!" they cried, and then broke into a fit of giggles as they waved their pom poms around. "So they're the Quicksilver team cheerleaders," muttered Kaleidoscope softly. Sceptre stole a look at Sliver and noticed the familiar glint in his eye. He and the other Hoofbeats were as surprised at the new girls as their cheerleaders. The Quicksilver team looked smug and took this opportunity to score two goals. The soccer players managed to take their eyes off the cheerleaders and finish the soccer game.
In the end, the Quicksilvers were the victors of the match and a hot and bothered Sceptre said goodbye to Kaleidoscope before zooming off to the Ice- Cream Parlour. "One bubblegum supreme with strawberry sauce and make it snappy," instructed the young cheerleader. The pony behind the counter nodded and copied down the order. She disappeared for a few minutes and returned with Sceptre's sundae. Sceptre paid the older pony two jangles and set off down the street licking her deliciously cool ice-cream.
The freezing cold bubblegummy taste was heaven as Sceptre made her way to the Ponyland Woods. Although it was humid and dense in here Sceptre bounded over to her favourite patch of leaves. The leaves were covered in cool dewdrops and Sceptre finished her ice-cream then rolled contentedly in the dew. She stretched her long legs and let out a whinny of delight. Then Sceptre noticed the butterfly. It was an unusual coloured butterfly with beautiful large blue wings. The rest of the creature was ebony but the strangest thing about her was that she had a face! Sceptre leapt up in surprise and found herself face to face with the butterfly's inquisitive green eyes. Sceptre's own chocolate brown eyes stared back in amazement at the tiny animal. "Well little sorceress, how are we today?" squeaked the butterfly. Sceptre gulped and looked all around her. Could somepony be hiding in the undergrowth? "Are you talking to me?" ventured Sceptre, afraid of the answer. "See anyone else?" answered the butterfly coolly. "Oh. I see. Well, if you are talking to me, you'd better know my real name. I'm Flashing Sceptre, not Little Sorceress," said Sceptre, growing increasingly interested and curious. "Oh, I know your name all right, Sceptre," said the butterfly. "You do?" "Oh yes, of course I do. In fact, I know a lot about you. You love cheerleading, hanging out at the Ice-Cream Parlour, reading and walking in the park. Your favourite colour is hot pink and your favourite flower is the snapdragon," said the butterfly. Sceptre's eyes almost popped out of her head as she mouthed, "but how.?" "Your companion and guardian has to know all about you," reassured the butterfly matter-of-factly. As an afterthought, she added, "By the way, my name is Crystal." "So you're trying to say that I'm a little sorceress?" said poor Sceptre, shaking a little. The butterfly simply nodded then Sceptre wailed, "But what if I don't want to be a sorceress? I don't know the first thing about magic! And besides, I'm perfectly happy with my life just the way it is." The butterfly groaned as Sceptre threw a fit about sorceresses and magic and other witchly things. "Look Crystal, I'm positive you've got the wrong pony," Sceptre told Crystal. This was too much for Crystal. "Look! I know you're the right pony! Now just hurry up and do exactly as I tell you!" she burst out angrily.
Sceptre stepped back nervously and if truth were told, she felt quite nervous around the tiny winged creature. "Okay then," agreed Sceptre. Crystal took a deep breath. "You're a sorceress now Sceptre. That means that you're a regular pony for as long as you have to be but when duty calls, you transform into a sorceress, got it?" she began. Sceptre nodded. "Yep, got it." Crystal went on. "And to transform into a sorceress who fights evil and defends ponies everywhere, you need to recite a short spell. Look inside that tree to your left," instructed Crystal. Sceptre did as she was told and with a small gasp she pulled out of the hollow trunk a long dark pink cloak. The cloak was dotted with sparkling silver stars and Sceptre guessed that it was made of satin material. "Keep looking," urged the butterfly.
Sceptre stuck her long neck down the tree and emerged holding a tall sorceress's hat in the same material as the cloak, a shiny golden topaz amulet on a long golden chain and a long multi-pastel-coloured baton with ribbons flowing out of one end. Her eyes widened as each item was added to a pile. "Don't just stack them there, put them on!" cried Crystal. Sceptre pulled the cloak over her slender body and tied it at the front in a bow. She slipped the topaz amulet around her neck and placed the hat on her mane, fastening it down with some bobby pins. Lastly she picked up the beautiful baton and faced her butterfly guardian. "Done," she said, looking down at her costume and thinking how pretty it was. "Lovely," smiled Crystal. "Now quickly repeat after me. Stars, moon, planets, Sun Please all balance together as one, And as soon as the lightning appears, A sorceress will stand in shining tears." Sceptre took a deep breath and repeated the spell. In a fantastic instant a silver mist swirled round the little pony and tiny jewel-like pink and gold raindrops cascaded down over her. Her brilliant pink cape billowed around her in the wind and she held her hat on her mane as she ducked her head from the wind. The gusty breeze died down and Sceptre realized that all this had just made her sparkle from head to hoof. Although this effect looked lovely, she had no idea what it was supposed to do to her as a sorceress.
"Can you feel the power?" squeaked Crystal, fluttering around Sceptre in excitement. Sceptre felt a tingle run through her body and nodded numbly, not really believing what was happening. "So I'm a sorceress," she said slowly. Crystal nodded. "I suppose you're wondering what you'll do when you're a sorceress?" she asked and Sceptre nodded vigorously. "Well your duty is to protect your town from evil. You have power Sceptre! Your Shining Topaz and Rainbow Baton each have separate strong attacks and you have the power to mix spells, potions or even call upon a thunderstorm," said Crystal. "What if I fail? And who exactly are these evil things?" asked Sceptre nervously. "Well, that's what you'll have to figure out. You're on your own now Sceptre. Remember how to transform and take off your hat if you want to stop being a sorceress." Crystal said, before looking at Sceptre for the last time and fluttering into the woods. "You're on your own, you're on your own, you're on your own," the words echoed through Sceptre's head as she took of the pointed damsel type hat. This was just too strange, thought Sceptre as she headed home, ready to collapse onto her soft bed and snuggle under the covers with her latest fantasy novel. When she arrived home this was precisely what she did and as she read on a strange noise reached her ears. It sounded like Kaleidoscope and. Sceptre pricked her ears and strained to hear the noise better.
Kaleidoscope was in trouble! Sceptre reached for her hat, cape, amulet and baton. Rather shakily she got dressed and cried, "Stars, moon, planets, Sun Please all balance together as one, And as soon as the lightning appears, A sorceress will stand in shining tears." She emerged from the wind and raindrops as a positively shimmering mare and examined herself from all angles just to check that this was really true and not some imaginative fairytale. She raced down the stairs and into the street, not stopping to think about the many dazed ponies that glanced at her in a puzzled way. Not far away Sceptre saw what was happening.
Kaleidoscope was being pinned against a tree by one of the magenta cheerleaders! Worse still, the cheerleader had a long silver sword and it appeared that she wasn't afraid to use it!
"Hang on Kaleidoscope. I'm coming!" yelled Sceptre. Both Kaleidoscope and the other pony looked at her and it was around then that Sceptre realized that she had no idea what to do. She darted quick glances all around her trying to find some kind of weapon when she remembered Crystal's advice. Her hoof came to rest upon the glittering golden topaz jewel on the chain that was hung around her neck. After her quick look at the topaz, she had barely moved when she was pelted with sharp blinding gold stars. Sceptre screamed in pain as each one landed on various parts of her body.
One came zooming towards her hoof and she felt a sharp pain where it had hit her. "Yeeeeeeearghhhhhhh!" she shrieked at the top of her lungs. Sceptre's head was spinning and all she could think of was how much it hurt when each star hit her and she began to whimper helplessly.
"This is the end!" she whispered to herself as her eyelids began to droop and a steady trickle of blood dripped out of her hoof. Sceptre was now dimly aware of her surroundings. She could hear screams and shouts and a loud, ugly buzzing sound filled her brain. She fell to the ground in a dizzy frenzy and prepared for the worst to come when she heard voice trilling, "Get up! Get UP! GET UP!" She opened one eye but couldn't focus properly as the world swam around her. But then a flicker of ebony and royal blue appeared in front of her face.
Sceptre made out the shape of a familiar butterfly as she struggled to her feet. "You're a sorceress, you know. Why don't you use your magic?" yelled Crystal. Her voice sounded surprisingly loud for such a little animal. "Wh-wh-what magic?" stammered our heroine, as everything began to come back into focus. "Look, your friend is in danger! You must save her Sceptre. Use the Rainbow Baton!" cried Crystal urgently. Sceptre looked down at the baton that she had dropped in the confusion. She picked it up and ran her hoof over it's smooth, rainbow striped surface. At once, a warm feeling spread through every bone in her body. All of a sudden Sceptre knew what she had to do! She raised the baton high in the air and screamed, "Rainbow Maypole Baton. Twinkle!"
In a sudden burst of bright light and pastel colours, several coloured ribbons shot out of the baton. Sceptre gasped as they wrapped themselves around the enemy pony. Sceptre danced on the spot waving her hooves around. Crystal just sighed and gave Sceptre the next instruction. "Well come on! Banish her before she escapes!" she cried. A determined look crossed over Sceptre's face as she held up the topaz amulet. She took a deep breath and cried, "Topaz Sunlight Reflection Beam!" At once, a beam of blinding gold sunlight shot out of the glimmering topaz. Sceptre watched as the magenta pony writhed around on the floor, completely helpless and tangled in ribbons. "My mane! Oh, my mane! It'll be sooo messed up!" whimpered the pony, on the verge of tears. Sceptre stifled a giggle and decided that she should test out her last attack.
"Moon, stars, Sun! Forces come together as one! Bring to me the light. Bring to me the colours! Combine them together and send me the unbeatable force of RAINBOW SORCERESS LIGHTNING!" she screamed to the Heavens. Nothing happened for a moment but then a slight breeze came along. All it did was play with Sceptre's short mane and she prayed that the attack would work. It just had to! And then. A dazzling rainbow streak of lightning appeared and riding on the air in front of it was a tall, majestic maroon figure surrounded by silver light. The figure came crashing down to land with the thunderous sound of hoofbeats. "What.?" murmured Sceptre. She recognised that figure all right. The pony held a long, shining silver sword and in one clean sweep of his arms, swung the sword through the cheerleader. Sceptre flinched and turned away but the cheerleader just disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Sceptre slowly turned her head and faced the well-known figure of Sliver. "You, you." she began, not knowing quite what to say. Sliver studied her for a moment then tossed his head back. "It was nothing. When you're as skilled at sorcery and sword fighting as I am, that was an absolute cinch," said Sliver quietly. "Erm Sliver. I do hope you won't mind me asking but, why are you one of my attacks?" she said, looking up at him with her big, brown eyes. While other young mares saw Sliver as a cool-as-ice, tough young stallion, Sceptre just saw a pony like her, fighting for love and justice in Ponyland. "That's my business, not yours," said Sliver coolly, in his normal voice. Sceptre felt the need to give him a quick nuzzle. "Thanks for coming to my rescue like that. I don't know what I would have done without you," she said shyly, smiling good-naturedly. To this, Sliver just snorted and in the blink of an eye, he was gone. Sceptre suddenly remembered her best friend. "Oh Kaleidoscope! Can you hear me?" she cried, kneeling down beside the other pony. Sure enough, Kaleidoscope slowly opened her eyes. "Sceptre. She just came at me with that sword and I felt so weak and. I guess I must have fainted," said Kaleidoscope sheepishly. "Don't worry about all that jazz, Kaleidoscope," began Sceptre. "I have the best news to tell you." she threw off the cape and let her mane hang down over her shoulders. "Here, hold these for a minute," she said, handing the amulet and the hat to Kaleidoscope. Sceptre held onto the baton and cape tightly as they walked to Sceptre's house. From there, Sceptre began her story. "Oh, that's amazing!" cried Kaleidoscope, hugging Sceptre as the story ended. "This isn't going to be easy," protested Sceptre. "Oh yeah, fighting a bunch of pom pom waving powderpuffs isn't exactly simple!" said Sceptre, laughing heartily. Sceptre was about to say that that wasn't all their was to it but she soon found herself laughing right along with Kaleidoscope. "I fully support you in your quest, you know," said Kaleidoscope, suddenly becoming serious. "Oh I know that, you're my best friend," smiled Sceptre. "Well, just so we know it's always true, friends forever!" cried Kaleidoscope, holding up her hoof so Sceptre could give her a high five. "And." she added, "I say we celebrate this tonight by pizza and sodas," grinned Kaleidoscope.
Sceptre's face broke into a smile. "I think that sounds perfect," she agreed. The two girls set off into the sunset together ready for pizzas and pink lemonade but would they ever be really prepared for the tough battles that were to come? Sceptre would have to fight against Sliver soon. Both were sensible ponies and could work together but today's fight against evil was child's play compared to the fights ahead. But that's another story and we'll leave Sceptre and Sliver for a while. 'Till we meet again.
Until she discovered Sliver. Sliver was the opposite of Sceptre. He was a tall, tough sixteen-year-old stallion, deep maroon in colour with a long black, silver streaked mane and tail. He had never truly cared for anyone and usually remained silent and still. He was extremely athletic and good at schoolwork, yet his presence in a room always felt eerie and gave his companions an uneasy feeling. Sliver kept to himself and could usually be found kicking a soccer ball in the park after school, or sitting on a bench writing poetry. Sliver managed to find the bad side in everyone and was often pessimistic. He trusted no-one.
Until he met Sceptre.
It was a hot and humid day and Sceptre tucked a strand of loose mane behind her ear. She panted as she hurried down the long path to the park, where she was supposed to be cheering on her teammates. Sceptre was not athletic at all and was as clumsy as you could get but she decided that since everypony at school was playing some kind of sport, she might as well join the cheerleading squad. It turned out that she was one of only two members.
Of course, being a cheerleader had its advantages. Sceptre could chat to the other pony in the squad a lot and they became great friends. She was able to wear a fantastic cheerleading outfit, which consisted of a bright blue and white pleated skirt and matching top with 'Ponyland Hoofbeats' written on it in silver letters, not to mention pom pom hair clips that slid into her mane. And what Sceptre loved best of all were the pom poms and she loved waving them around wildly in the air. But then again, there were a few disadvantages.
One of these was the baton. Sceptre was completely and utterly unco- coordinated and she always managed to drop the baton on her head or on her back or on her hoof or. And another bad thing was that she had to troop along to all the Hoofbeat games in the season. If it was raining, storming, sweltering hot or freezing cold, Sceptre had to be there in the park.
She looked up as she reached the oval and waved to her fellow cheerleader Kaleidoscope. Kaleidoscope waved back merrily and Sceptre took her place beside her.
"Check it out Sceptre! Sliver's playing today. He's so great but he gives me this bad feeling," said Kaleidoscope. She gave a small shudder. As if on cue, Sliver shot a piercing glance at Sceptre. She gave a small yelp and tumbled backwards into a rose bush. "Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!" cried Sceptre, her eyes watering as Kaleidoscope helped her up. "Whoa, what was that about?" asked Kaleidoscope curiously, as she picked thorns out of Sceptre's skirt. Sceptre whimpered as each one was pulled free.
"He gave me this uneasy feeling, you know? I'm sure he's a lovely pony but he just has such a frightening stare," began Sceptre. Kaleidoscope rolled her eyes. "You think everypony's sweet as sugar, Sceptre. But the thing is, not everyone is," she said, as she tucked a rose behind Sceptre's ear. Kaleidoscope stuck her tongue out and grinned.
"Hey, this bright pink rose really suits you!" she exclaimed. Sceptre blushed and pulled out her two pigtails so her mane hung loose. "Definitely!" she agreed as she swung her mane from side to side. She faced Kaleidoscope and smiled. "What do you say we get started on these cheers? We are cheerleaders you know," she said. Kaleidoscope agreed and both ponies began their cheers. Sceptre kept shooting glances at Kaleidoscope. She sighed as she admired Kaleidoscope's perfect baton twirling and gasped in surprise when Kaleidoscope performed a sensational twirling jump in mid air. It was then that the baton fell on Sceptre's head and she went back to concentrating on her cheer. It was also then that a group of around six gorgeous mares arrived on the field.
They all had stunningly beautiful aquamarine manes and were a deep magenta in colour. Sceptre took a quick glance at some of their symbols and noticed that they were all objects like lipsticks, eye-shadows and hairbrushes. The ponies' glittering manes shone in the sun and were styled in fantastic ponytails, tied with beautiful golden ribbons. But what made them so pretty were their cheerleading uniforms. Gleaming gold skirts spangled with silver stars, matching gold tank tops with big silver stars in the centre and their huge sparkling pom poms glinted in the light. Kaleidoscope shielded her eyes from the glimmering sight but Sceptre just stared open-mouthed at them.
"Who are they?" she whispered. Kaleidoscope couldn't even answer. But Sceptre's question was soon answered when the ponies began a cheer in high- pitched musical voices. "Darting, dashing, here and there, Quicksilver team is everywhere! Running fast in gold and silver, Come on and cheer with us, GO QUICKSILVER! Yeah!" they cried, and then broke into a fit of giggles as they waved their pom poms around. "So they're the Quicksilver team cheerleaders," muttered Kaleidoscope softly. Sceptre stole a look at Sliver and noticed the familiar glint in his eye. He and the other Hoofbeats were as surprised at the new girls as their cheerleaders. The Quicksilver team looked smug and took this opportunity to score two goals. The soccer players managed to take their eyes off the cheerleaders and finish the soccer game.
In the end, the Quicksilvers were the victors of the match and a hot and bothered Sceptre said goodbye to Kaleidoscope before zooming off to the Ice- Cream Parlour. "One bubblegum supreme with strawberry sauce and make it snappy," instructed the young cheerleader. The pony behind the counter nodded and copied down the order. She disappeared for a few minutes and returned with Sceptre's sundae. Sceptre paid the older pony two jangles and set off down the street licking her deliciously cool ice-cream.
The freezing cold bubblegummy taste was heaven as Sceptre made her way to the Ponyland Woods. Although it was humid and dense in here Sceptre bounded over to her favourite patch of leaves. The leaves were covered in cool dewdrops and Sceptre finished her ice-cream then rolled contentedly in the dew. She stretched her long legs and let out a whinny of delight. Then Sceptre noticed the butterfly. It was an unusual coloured butterfly with beautiful large blue wings. The rest of the creature was ebony but the strangest thing about her was that she had a face! Sceptre leapt up in surprise and found herself face to face with the butterfly's inquisitive green eyes. Sceptre's own chocolate brown eyes stared back in amazement at the tiny animal. "Well little sorceress, how are we today?" squeaked the butterfly. Sceptre gulped and looked all around her. Could somepony be hiding in the undergrowth? "Are you talking to me?" ventured Sceptre, afraid of the answer. "See anyone else?" answered the butterfly coolly. "Oh. I see. Well, if you are talking to me, you'd better know my real name. I'm Flashing Sceptre, not Little Sorceress," said Sceptre, growing increasingly interested and curious. "Oh, I know your name all right, Sceptre," said the butterfly. "You do?" "Oh yes, of course I do. In fact, I know a lot about you. You love cheerleading, hanging out at the Ice-Cream Parlour, reading and walking in the park. Your favourite colour is hot pink and your favourite flower is the snapdragon," said the butterfly. Sceptre's eyes almost popped out of her head as she mouthed, "but how.?" "Your companion and guardian has to know all about you," reassured the butterfly matter-of-factly. As an afterthought, she added, "By the way, my name is Crystal." "So you're trying to say that I'm a little sorceress?" said poor Sceptre, shaking a little. The butterfly simply nodded then Sceptre wailed, "But what if I don't want to be a sorceress? I don't know the first thing about magic! And besides, I'm perfectly happy with my life just the way it is." The butterfly groaned as Sceptre threw a fit about sorceresses and magic and other witchly things. "Look Crystal, I'm positive you've got the wrong pony," Sceptre told Crystal. This was too much for Crystal. "Look! I know you're the right pony! Now just hurry up and do exactly as I tell you!" she burst out angrily.
Sceptre stepped back nervously and if truth were told, she felt quite nervous around the tiny winged creature. "Okay then," agreed Sceptre. Crystal took a deep breath. "You're a sorceress now Sceptre. That means that you're a regular pony for as long as you have to be but when duty calls, you transform into a sorceress, got it?" she began. Sceptre nodded. "Yep, got it." Crystal went on. "And to transform into a sorceress who fights evil and defends ponies everywhere, you need to recite a short spell. Look inside that tree to your left," instructed Crystal. Sceptre did as she was told and with a small gasp she pulled out of the hollow trunk a long dark pink cloak. The cloak was dotted with sparkling silver stars and Sceptre guessed that it was made of satin material. "Keep looking," urged the butterfly.
Sceptre stuck her long neck down the tree and emerged holding a tall sorceress's hat in the same material as the cloak, a shiny golden topaz amulet on a long golden chain and a long multi-pastel-coloured baton with ribbons flowing out of one end. Her eyes widened as each item was added to a pile. "Don't just stack them there, put them on!" cried Crystal. Sceptre pulled the cloak over her slender body and tied it at the front in a bow. She slipped the topaz amulet around her neck and placed the hat on her mane, fastening it down with some bobby pins. Lastly she picked up the beautiful baton and faced her butterfly guardian. "Done," she said, looking down at her costume and thinking how pretty it was. "Lovely," smiled Crystal. "Now quickly repeat after me. Stars, moon, planets, Sun Please all balance together as one, And as soon as the lightning appears, A sorceress will stand in shining tears." Sceptre took a deep breath and repeated the spell. In a fantastic instant a silver mist swirled round the little pony and tiny jewel-like pink and gold raindrops cascaded down over her. Her brilliant pink cape billowed around her in the wind and she held her hat on her mane as she ducked her head from the wind. The gusty breeze died down and Sceptre realized that all this had just made her sparkle from head to hoof. Although this effect looked lovely, she had no idea what it was supposed to do to her as a sorceress.
"Can you feel the power?" squeaked Crystal, fluttering around Sceptre in excitement. Sceptre felt a tingle run through her body and nodded numbly, not really believing what was happening. "So I'm a sorceress," she said slowly. Crystal nodded. "I suppose you're wondering what you'll do when you're a sorceress?" she asked and Sceptre nodded vigorously. "Well your duty is to protect your town from evil. You have power Sceptre! Your Shining Topaz and Rainbow Baton each have separate strong attacks and you have the power to mix spells, potions or even call upon a thunderstorm," said Crystal. "What if I fail? And who exactly are these evil things?" asked Sceptre nervously. "Well, that's what you'll have to figure out. You're on your own now Sceptre. Remember how to transform and take off your hat if you want to stop being a sorceress." Crystal said, before looking at Sceptre for the last time and fluttering into the woods. "You're on your own, you're on your own, you're on your own," the words echoed through Sceptre's head as she took of the pointed damsel type hat. This was just too strange, thought Sceptre as she headed home, ready to collapse onto her soft bed and snuggle under the covers with her latest fantasy novel. When she arrived home this was precisely what she did and as she read on a strange noise reached her ears. It sounded like Kaleidoscope and. Sceptre pricked her ears and strained to hear the noise better.
Kaleidoscope was in trouble! Sceptre reached for her hat, cape, amulet and baton. Rather shakily she got dressed and cried, "Stars, moon, planets, Sun Please all balance together as one, And as soon as the lightning appears, A sorceress will stand in shining tears." She emerged from the wind and raindrops as a positively shimmering mare and examined herself from all angles just to check that this was really true and not some imaginative fairytale. She raced down the stairs and into the street, not stopping to think about the many dazed ponies that glanced at her in a puzzled way. Not far away Sceptre saw what was happening.
Kaleidoscope was being pinned against a tree by one of the magenta cheerleaders! Worse still, the cheerleader had a long silver sword and it appeared that she wasn't afraid to use it!
"Hang on Kaleidoscope. I'm coming!" yelled Sceptre. Both Kaleidoscope and the other pony looked at her and it was around then that Sceptre realized that she had no idea what to do. She darted quick glances all around her trying to find some kind of weapon when she remembered Crystal's advice. Her hoof came to rest upon the glittering golden topaz jewel on the chain that was hung around her neck. After her quick look at the topaz, she had barely moved when she was pelted with sharp blinding gold stars. Sceptre screamed in pain as each one landed on various parts of her body.
One came zooming towards her hoof and she felt a sharp pain where it had hit her. "Yeeeeeeearghhhhhhh!" she shrieked at the top of her lungs. Sceptre's head was spinning and all she could think of was how much it hurt when each star hit her and she began to whimper helplessly.
"This is the end!" she whispered to herself as her eyelids began to droop and a steady trickle of blood dripped out of her hoof. Sceptre was now dimly aware of her surroundings. She could hear screams and shouts and a loud, ugly buzzing sound filled her brain. She fell to the ground in a dizzy frenzy and prepared for the worst to come when she heard voice trilling, "Get up! Get UP! GET UP!" She opened one eye but couldn't focus properly as the world swam around her. But then a flicker of ebony and royal blue appeared in front of her face.
Sceptre made out the shape of a familiar butterfly as she struggled to her feet. "You're a sorceress, you know. Why don't you use your magic?" yelled Crystal. Her voice sounded surprisingly loud for such a little animal. "Wh-wh-what magic?" stammered our heroine, as everything began to come back into focus. "Look, your friend is in danger! You must save her Sceptre. Use the Rainbow Baton!" cried Crystal urgently. Sceptre looked down at the baton that she had dropped in the confusion. She picked it up and ran her hoof over it's smooth, rainbow striped surface. At once, a warm feeling spread through every bone in her body. All of a sudden Sceptre knew what she had to do! She raised the baton high in the air and screamed, "Rainbow Maypole Baton. Twinkle!"
In a sudden burst of bright light and pastel colours, several coloured ribbons shot out of the baton. Sceptre gasped as they wrapped themselves around the enemy pony. Sceptre danced on the spot waving her hooves around. Crystal just sighed and gave Sceptre the next instruction. "Well come on! Banish her before she escapes!" she cried. A determined look crossed over Sceptre's face as she held up the topaz amulet. She took a deep breath and cried, "Topaz Sunlight Reflection Beam!" At once, a beam of blinding gold sunlight shot out of the glimmering topaz. Sceptre watched as the magenta pony writhed around on the floor, completely helpless and tangled in ribbons. "My mane! Oh, my mane! It'll be sooo messed up!" whimpered the pony, on the verge of tears. Sceptre stifled a giggle and decided that she should test out her last attack.
"Moon, stars, Sun! Forces come together as one! Bring to me the light. Bring to me the colours! Combine them together and send me the unbeatable force of RAINBOW SORCERESS LIGHTNING!" she screamed to the Heavens. Nothing happened for a moment but then a slight breeze came along. All it did was play with Sceptre's short mane and she prayed that the attack would work. It just had to! And then. A dazzling rainbow streak of lightning appeared and riding on the air in front of it was a tall, majestic maroon figure surrounded by silver light. The figure came crashing down to land with the thunderous sound of hoofbeats. "What.?" murmured Sceptre. She recognised that figure all right. The pony held a long, shining silver sword and in one clean sweep of his arms, swung the sword through the cheerleader. Sceptre flinched and turned away but the cheerleader just disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Sceptre slowly turned her head and faced the well-known figure of Sliver. "You, you." she began, not knowing quite what to say. Sliver studied her for a moment then tossed his head back. "It was nothing. When you're as skilled at sorcery and sword fighting as I am, that was an absolute cinch," said Sliver quietly. "Erm Sliver. I do hope you won't mind me asking but, why are you one of my attacks?" she said, looking up at him with her big, brown eyes. While other young mares saw Sliver as a cool-as-ice, tough young stallion, Sceptre just saw a pony like her, fighting for love and justice in Ponyland. "That's my business, not yours," said Sliver coolly, in his normal voice. Sceptre felt the need to give him a quick nuzzle. "Thanks for coming to my rescue like that. I don't know what I would have done without you," she said shyly, smiling good-naturedly. To this, Sliver just snorted and in the blink of an eye, he was gone. Sceptre suddenly remembered her best friend. "Oh Kaleidoscope! Can you hear me?" she cried, kneeling down beside the other pony. Sure enough, Kaleidoscope slowly opened her eyes. "Sceptre. She just came at me with that sword and I felt so weak and. I guess I must have fainted," said Kaleidoscope sheepishly. "Don't worry about all that jazz, Kaleidoscope," began Sceptre. "I have the best news to tell you." she threw off the cape and let her mane hang down over her shoulders. "Here, hold these for a minute," she said, handing the amulet and the hat to Kaleidoscope. Sceptre held onto the baton and cape tightly as they walked to Sceptre's house. From there, Sceptre began her story. "Oh, that's amazing!" cried Kaleidoscope, hugging Sceptre as the story ended. "This isn't going to be easy," protested Sceptre. "Oh yeah, fighting a bunch of pom pom waving powderpuffs isn't exactly simple!" said Sceptre, laughing heartily. Sceptre was about to say that that wasn't all their was to it but she soon found herself laughing right along with Kaleidoscope. "I fully support you in your quest, you know," said Kaleidoscope, suddenly becoming serious. "Oh I know that, you're my best friend," smiled Sceptre. "Well, just so we know it's always true, friends forever!" cried Kaleidoscope, holding up her hoof so Sceptre could give her a high five. "And." she added, "I say we celebrate this tonight by pizza and sodas," grinned Kaleidoscope.
Sceptre's face broke into a smile. "I think that sounds perfect," she agreed. The two girls set off into the sunset together ready for pizzas and pink lemonade but would they ever be really prepared for the tough battles that were to come? Sceptre would have to fight against Sliver soon. Both were sensible ponies and could work together but today's fight against evil was child's play compared to the fights ahead. But that's another story and we'll leave Sceptre and Sliver for a while. 'Till we meet again.