Hey Everypony! Once more, I gotta thank all of ya for reading my story up to this point. I always thought that my writing sucked, and that nopony would ever think of looking at it, and to see people are still reading, it only makes me happier every time I post another chapter! For those of you that have commented, thank you! Here's your next chapter, and remember...

Keep On Rockin'!~

Chapter 9: The Trial of Truth and Honesty...

Graham started down some stairs, but felt nothing as he got to the last stair. He screamed as he fell, the other ponies could hear him.

"Graham!" Twilight Sparkle said in worry. "What's going on down there!"

"Be still, My student, Graham is fine and well. I can show you everything he is doing. We can not interfere, but we can watch."

"Please, Celestia, I need to know if he's alright!"

Without an answer, Celestia lowered her head and began to chant, a shining orb appearing in front of their eyes. Soon, a magical hole opened up, a view of Graham falling down some hole greeting them. Suddenly, he hit the ground and groaned in pain as he got to his feet. "Ow..." . Something on the way down hit him in the head, the other ponies only said in a collective "ooooo..."

He looked around to see himself in a giant room. 6 Portals surrounded a giant platform with a red center. He rubbed his head before standing.

Graham got up and noticed what hit him. He picked it up and took a look at it from the dim light. It was a book! He got up towards the lighting a bit and noticed it had Twilight's Signature on it, inside was a note.

"Dear Graham, I had a feeling Celestia wanted to test you in some way, I want you to have my first book I ever owned. It's a Spell Book, so you can use it to teach yourself a little magic. I love you, and always will. Please be careful and safe. Love...Twilight..." Graham smiled and blushed a little. "If She can hear me, thank you! I wont let you down! I love you too!"

The other were still watching and only said "Awww..." Twilight smiled. "I'm glad I gave him that book. I hope it helps. We're all here for you..."

Graham then looked at the first spell. "Candlelight, huh?" He said as he mimicked the spell text. Somehow, he could read it fine, as he then saw a light pop from his hand. "Hey, it worked!" He said laughing. He felt proud preforming his first real spell. He could see so much better.

He then noticed another spell. "Hm...the Shrinking Spell. Good for keeping things in your pocket. I could do this for the book, but..how would I reverse it..? Oh! Here it is...Ok, Let's try this on a rock..."

He then chanted the spell and saw the rock became a pebble. With the other spell, he put it back to it's size. "Oh good! I can do it...Man, these spells are easy, thank god..." He preformed the shrinking spell on the book, and put it into his pocket, looked forward.

He took the first portal nearest to him and followed the path towards an empty room. He only saw around him three mirrors. He looked at each one, seeing his reflection. "Um...Mirrors? I don't get it..."

Suddenly, a loud shrieking voice erupted from nowhere, a noise that sounded like it came from a creature not of this world. It chilled him to the bone and made his heart leap into his throat! His skin became pale as the shriek echoed. The flames on his shirt also became white to show his fear.

"Say your name..."

"Um...Graham..."

Graham looked all over the place, but found no source of the voice. He looked at the mirror to see himself. He was a bit different. He was actually quite scary to look at. His eyes were not there, and his clothes were torn. Scars were all over its arms, and his hair was long and greasy as hell. All three mirrors had this appearance on it. It spoke once more.

"Tell me...Have you ever committed a crime...?"

Graham soon frowned. The ponies outside only looked to see his answer with anticipation.

"I...I have..."

"Go on..."

"It was 5 years back...I once stole something from a store...It was small, and I didn't think it would really be missed..."

"Pray, tell me what you did..."

"It was a candy bar. I had no money, and I was hungry...When the cops heard that someone stole something, they asked around. I told them I didn't take it, and they ran off."

"Oh, this is quite niiice...go on..."

"I took a peek into the window, and the old man running this store was sad...I didn't wanna make someone unhappy, so I walked in and handed it back. I told him I was sorry, and that I thought of myself first. He looked at me and smiled a bit. He knew I was being truthful, so he gave it back. I didn't understand. He told me I told the truth, but I needed to tell the police too. I told them, and the old man dropped the charges. Later, he died...I was glad to find one person who could forgive me. I promised him that I would never lie again, and would never steal. I was glad I made amends..."

"So you have learned from your mistake?"

"I did. Stealing is terrible, and Lying all the same. To steal, is to hurt some one's trust. Lying does the same. When I told him I was sorry, and that I would never steal or lie again, he rewarded me. I know that not every time, you will be rewarded with materialized things...But to know that you did the right thing by telling them what you did, I became happy after confessing."

"Graham, you have passed your First Trial..."

The Mirror's copy then turned back into himself, the only difference was now the flames were white, and so was his hair. It still spoke.

"Truth can be a hard thing to find, and to admit one's mistakes only bring you ever so closer to become a better person overall. Never lie to your friends, family, and loved ones. Lying will only ruin your bonds with them...To become a true Hero, one must never lie. Lies will only hinder, never help. Honesty is a powerful thing. You keep your friends that way...Your soul is pure, and the next trial shall be harder."

The mirrors soon broke, and a door was opened. He felt better about what he did, as the ponies cheered for him.

"Twi, about that truth 'n whatnot, what do y'all think about what he said?" Applejack asked.

"I don't think anything wrong about him. In fact, I'm proud. He's told the truth. With the lesson he learned, I think he'll be more open with us in the future...in fact...he showed a little bit of honesty, don't you think...?"

"You're right! He sure did!"

The ponies kept watching as he traveled down the hall, awaiting his second test...

What could the second test be? Will he pass it? We can only wait to find out...

TO BE CONTINUED...