[Celestia's School] The Magic Counselor Is In (Open to Magic Students & Faculty, All Others PM to Join)

[Bellosh]

Ingrid Marie sat with an amazed expression on her face as Misty Magic recollected her story, both with her words and by her… “vision spell”. In all honesty, the counselor did not remember the day the rogue dragon terrorized Canterlot. She and the senior school professors were all away at an academic conference in Manehatten, leaving the lower-ranked instructors back then to successfully manage the situation… at least, that was the official account of events. Misty’s testimony on the other hoof suggested quite another version of the story entirely.

Indeed, it was hard for the counselor to believe that a faction of the School’s teachers conspired to take credit for sending the dragon away. Judging by Misty Magic’s forlorn mood however, Counselor Marie couldn’t bring herself to outright dismiss her claims. In fact, having witnessed some of Misty’s recent “exploits” led Ingrid to believe that the young mare’s account was in fact very plausible. However, that didn’t change the incredible nature of Misty’s allegations.

[colour=#008080]“You do realize Miss Magic,”[/colour] Ingrid sternly reminded the other unicorn;[colour=#008080] “That you are making serious accusations concerning the conduct of several members of faculty of Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns?”[/colour] Miss Magic didn’t sound like she wanted to press the issue at all, but the counselor suspected that the petite unicorn would not be able to ever fully master her abilities without getting rid of this particular chip on her shoulder… provided it was fact, of course.

[Lux]

Fire Heart listened intently to the Professor. Despite his absentminded first impression, he was very intelligent and was the kind of teacher that the filly would have in her school. What really interested her was in the part that being a professor was more of a calling.

[colour=#FF0000]"Wow. Looks like you were really interested in science and teaching from the beginning. As for a calling... I mean I really haven't had much time to think about what i want to do with my life until now. I was talking to Miss Marie about how I want to do something with my talent of creating fire. I thought maybe helping to teach others about magc would be an option." [/colour]

[Mojo]

[colour=#800080]"Yes, I know Professor," [/colour]Misty said before glancing upward to see the 'vision portal' her magic had inadvertantly created. After letting out a surprised squeal, her horn stopped glowing and the portal quickly discipated.

[colour=#800080]"Oh, sorry about that," [/colour]the petite unicorn mare uttered. [colour=#800080]"Didn't mean to do that. Sometimes that's what happens with me. My magic will just activate without me knowing it let alone controling it."[/colour]

Letting out a heavy sigh, her horn once more began to glow as she spoke.

[colour=#800080]"It's like having a dark cloud hanging over my head, and..." [/colour]instantly, a small black cloud appeared above Misty's head. [colour=#800080]"Oh dear..."[/colour]

Meanwhile, back at the diner, as the food was being served, Professor Krashkop responed to Fire Heart.

[colour=#008000]"Dat's a very noble goal, fraulein," [/colour]the elderly green Pegasus said as he took a bite of his sandwich. [colour=#008000]"Magic is a skill much like physics und engineering. Young fillies und colts must be taught how to use it properly und YOU can be dee vone to teach dem! Dat is vone subject I could never teach, for obvious reasons."[/colour]

As he spoke, he pointed to the top of his head, showing that he lacked a magical horn.

[Bellosh]

A grunt of disappointment escaped Ingrid Marie’s lips as Misty Magic revealed that her ‘vision portal’ was entirely accidental. Instead, it seemed like Misty’s horn had a mind of its own… and unlike with Fire Heart, it seemed as if any sort of thought had the capability to trigger Misty’s magic. Miss Magic’s condition saw fit to manifest itself again as a dark cloud literally formed above the young mare.

Remembering the last time when Misty inadvertently summoned a rain cloud, Counselor Marie sighed and quickly warmed up her own horn to prepare a cloud dissipation spell. [colour=#008080]“Do me a favour,”[/colour] Ingrid cynically requested Misty; [colour=#008080]“And please not say or think anything involving the words rain, snow, hail, or lightning… mmkay?”[/colour] With those words, the counselor sent her spell in the cloud’s direction and made it vanish.

That taken care of, Ingrid wanted to address Misty’s cutie mark incident one last time. [colour=#008080]“Just to let you know Miss Magic, if your story is indeed factual, then you shouldn’t be afraid to tell other ponies the truth of what happened that day. Just keep in mind that you WILL deal with naysayers who will not believe your version of events, and this may be emotionally painful for anypony to trudge through. Whatever happens though, the real truth surely stands a good chance of finally revealing itself, will it not? For your sake, I hope you’re either right and that you’ll be able to prove yourself right, or else that you’ll take responsibility for your actions. Do I make myself clear?”[/colour]

[Lux]

Professor Krashkop did approve of Fire becomming a teacher. She assumed he would do so, but there was that little part of her that wondered if somehow she would be discouraged from doing so. Of course the Professor couldn't speak of magic much not being a unicorn, but he could offer advice as a teacher.

[colour=#FF0000]"Well, I guess magic is like science. I mean, in my school I have teachers who instruct me in the history and theory of magic. There are also those who actually work with my magic to help me to control it and manipulate it. I'm not that great with science, but I do know that in that class I did have to do the same things with studying and practicing. I think the biggest thing is right now I'm having a little trouble controlling my magic and I felt that after I do know how to control it and how to teach, then I can relate to those that are struggling as a teacher." [/colour]

[Mojo]

[colour=#4B0082]"Yes ma'am," [/colour]Misty said timidly, thinking carefully before she said her next words. [colour=#4B0082]"I understand what you're saying, but aside from my classmates, no one else were eyewitnesses of what I did, and the grownups discounted all of their testimony. I really don't want fame or glory. All it would do is have more ponies watching me, drawing their attention. I fear how anypony would react if they knew what I did that day was all a fluke. But that's the way my magic has worked from the very beginning. I can't explain it, it just acts that way. Words can be hurtful, ma'am, and once hurtful words are spoken, they can't be taken back.."[/colour]

Her horn began to instantly glow as she uttered, [colour=#4B0082]"They're like feathers in the wind... OH NO!"[/colour]

Misty Magic threw her hooves over her mouth, but it was too late. Instantly white feathers rained down upon them swirling around a light breeze.

[colour=#4B0082]"I am SO sorry about this."[/colour]

Meanwhile, at the cafe, Professor Krashkop took another bite of his sandwich before replying to Fire Heart.

[colour=#008000]"You are correct in your feeling, fraulien. Dere are students who struggle vith subjects in school, I have seen it over all mein years at dee University. Learning control of magic, I vould imagine, requires concentration und calm tinking. I can certainly teach you some of dee relaxation techniques I have used over time, if dose vill help."[/colour]

[Lux]

Fire thought about the similarities of what she was learning and inevitably wanted to teach compared to that of what the professor had taught while having her sandwich. Once again the topic returned to that of being calm and concentrating. Concentration was fine for her, but control was not.

[colour=#FF0000]"Hmm... I think that sounds like a good idea to learn more calming techniques. That's kind of my isse with my magic, as you probably saw in the office."[/colour]

[Bellosh]

[colour=#008080]"GAAAH!!!"[/colour] The elder unicorn ducked under her desk as Misty Magic somehow summoned a swirling storm of feathers right in her office. Sheltered from the flying menaces, Ingrid Marie opted to put a temporary end to Misty’s shenanigans for the time being. Casting a fail-safe spell at the young mare, the counselor hoped it would not only put an end to the feathers, but would also prevent Misty from casting any more magic for at least fifteen more minutes. Ingrid hoped that would buy enough time for an uninterrupted interview. Of course, fail-safes sometimes don’t quite work with 100% efficiency…

[Mojo]

Professor Krashkop nodded and smiled as Fire Heart spoke.

[colour=#008000]"Indeed fraulein! I have known many of mein students over dee years of teaching who had problems in class or vith classvork. Day say day vere having problems learning, but day vere really having problems relieving their stress. Relaxation exercises can help vith dis. Here is a simple vone vee can do right now! Sit up straight, close your eyes und slow your breathing. Den take slow, deep breath in, und den breath it out slowly. Repeat several times, vorks every time! I vill show you!"[/colour]

As the elderly stallion began to demonstrate his technique, Misty Magic had a very worried look on her face. She came to Ingrid Marie's office for help, and it seems as if she's getting into more and more trouble by the minute!

[colour=#800080]"I'm really sorry about the feathers and all the things that I created in your lobby, Sometimes I can do good with my magic, I really really can! But I'm not looking for a medal or anything like that... OH NO!"[/colour]

Misty watched in stunned amazement as a gold medal with striped ribbon began to appear around the petite yellow furred unicorns neck. But just as it was almost solid, the medal faded away without a trace.

[colour=#800080]"HUH? Did I do that?"[/colour]

[Lux]

Fire was interested in what the Professor would teach her in terms of a way to calm herself. He wasn't a unicorn, so this wasn't some magical spell he'd be casting. This intrigued her even more as she seemed to always seek a magical route for her problem. The fact that she was in a city filled with unicorns and a school that strictly had unicorns as students and professors bent her view of how to help her problem.

The elderly pegasus then closed his eye and began taking slow deliberate deep breaths. It seemed easy, too easy. But maybe easy was what she needed.

[colour=#FF0000]"Ok, let me try it," [/colour]she said as she closed her eyes and slowed her breath. Like what she had seen, she began to take slow deep breaths. Although not instantaneous, she soon felt lighter, like the weight of the stresses of the day, however great or small, were being lifted off of her. She felt good, but the true test would come when she encounters an experience that would cause her a flare up.

[Bellosh]

For a moment, it appeared that Ingrid Marie’s fail-safe spell… failed. Despite the counselor’s best magic abilities, Misty Magic came close to summoning a gold medal. To Ingrid’s relief, the medal faded before it could fully materialize. Guessing that it just took a few moments for the fail-safe to fully work, the elder unicorn felt it was safe enough to get up from under her desk and sit back in her chair.

[colour=#008080]“Hopefully, the fail-safe will give us some peace for a few minutes,”[/colour] Counselor Marie nervously stated. Quickly reflecting on Miss Magic’s recent foul-ups, Ingrid noted one common denominator for each incident. Namely, that Misty’s specific choice of words not only immediately preceded her horn misfires, but dictated the nature of them.

To ascertain the full extent of Misty Magic’s issues, Ingrid asked; [colour=#008080]“Anyhow, can your horn automatically create a spell against your will just with a simple thought, or does it only respond to errr… unintentional ‘verbal commands’?”[/colour]

[Mojo]

[colour=#008000]"Vonderba, Fraulein Fireheart!" [/colour]Professor Krashkop shouted. [colour=#008000]"You are a fast learner! Dis is only vone relaxation exercise you can use. Dere are many others, but dees take time to learn und experience to make dem vork correctly. Dee important ting is to remain calm vhen facing adversity. Und you need to have confidence in yourself also. Believe in yourself, have faith in your abilities."[/colour]

Meanwhile, back in Ingrid Marie's office, Misty Magic was relieved to hear that she was now apparently 'covered' by a fail safe spell so there wouldn't be any further 'magical interruptions'. The petite unicorn mare looked somewhat stunned at the older mare's next question.

[colour=#800080]"If you are asking if my horn ever produced anything evil against my will, then the answer is no, never ever. But come to think of it, nearly all of my magical mishaps do occur when I use verbal figures of speech. I can remember the time when a new friend and I were dining and I casually mentioned beach balls falling from the sky, and they did. All of the fillies and colts outside loved the beach balls, even some of the adults did, but then there were those who got angry with me. I try to be a good pony, Counsellor, I really really do, but no matter how hard I try, sometimes I end up in the doghouse. OH NO!"[/colour]

To Misty's astonishment, no large wooden doghouse formed around her. Her horn did glow briefly, but THIS time, nothing unexpected happened.

[colour=#800080][colour=#800080]"Ma'am, is there any way you could teach me this fail safe spell? It's really working!"[/colour] [/colour]

[Bellosh]

Ingrid Marie stroked her chin with her hoof as Misty Magic explained her spell-casting issues in detail. Indeed, the young mare confirmed that nearly all her incidents occurred after using verbal figures of speech. To be frank, Counselor Marie had no clear idea as to why Miss Magic’s magic worked as it did; as this was a spur-of-the-moment meeting, Ingrid wasn’t able to do preliminary research first as she usually did for student evaluation sessions. The counselor had a very vague guess as to the basic nature of going on with Misty, but she would have to ask Misty more questions first before she could refine her theories.

The session was interrupted when Misty Magic mentioned being in a doghouse; this time around, her glowing horn failed to materialize anything. Amazed at the effect of the fail-safe spell, Misty asked if she could learn to cast the spell on herself. Ingrid Marie sighed; she’d have to break it to the young mare that her situation won’t have a quick fix. [colour=#008080]“I hate to tell you this Miss Magic;”[/colour] Ingrid began explaining; [colour=#008080]“But I’m afraid that would only be a temporary solution to your woes. If a fail-safe spell is cast on a unicorn, it will only last about fifteen minutes before you’d need to cast it again. You’d have to use that spell throughout the entire day, and all that energy spent replenishing the fail-safe would negatively affect your quality of life far more than what you’re going through now.[/colour]

[colour=#008080]“Before we go on Miss Magic, do you mind mentioning if you’ve consulted any sort of licensed professional about the causes of your magic mishaps? Magic tutors, medical doctors, therapists; anypony of that nature?”[/colour]

[Lux]

[colour=#FF0000]"Hey, thanks for that calming technique," [/colour]Fire said as she felt much better. Her life in school had always been one of the complexities of magic, and yet it was this simple non magical technique that helped her.

[colour=#FF0000]"So what's it like being a professor? Are there any challenges that a pony faces teaching others?"[/colour]

[Mojo]

[colour=#800080]"Well Miss Marie," [/colour]Misty Magic confessed, [colour=#800080]"several older unicorns have tried to give me advice on how to control my magic. The last professional I had to counsel me, well, I accidentally turned him into a tree. When I changed him back, he... told me to get out of his office and never come back. To this day, some of his fur still turns brown in the fall and falls out. Then it grows back green in the spring."[/colour]

Misty lowered her head in sadness.

[colour=#800080]"That was many years ago, and it's why I hestitated to seek help before now..."[/colour]

Back in the diner, Professor Krashkop was delighted at Fire Heart's latest question.

[colour=#008000]"I alvays found teaching to be very thrilling! At dee University level, most of mein students vere eager to learn und rarely gave me any problems vith paying attention in class und stuff like dat. Passing on knowledge to dee next generation vas alvays dee most exciting part of mein career as a Professor! Pursuing knowledge is also part of dee Professor's job! Research can be fun! Vell, except vhen you blow up dee lab like I did on occassion, but it vas all in dee cause of higher learning!"[/colour]

[Bellosh]

[colour=#008080]“You................. you turned a pony........ into a tree?”[/colour] quailed Ingrid Marie. The middle-aged unicorn liked to believe that she could handle any sort of magical mishap accidentally caused by the School’s students. Yet one type of calamity in particular gave Ingrid goose bumps when nothing else did. Above all else, she feared the horror of a pony being transformed into an inanimate plant. Even thought the rational part of the counselor’s mind assured her that she could handle anypony’s magical misfirings, Ingrid grimly remembered the one day when she was powerless to resolve a near-crisis; when those poor parents were briefly turned into potted plants during that one infamous entrance examination.

Even though those parents ended up a-ok, Ingrid Marie to this day dwelled on that incident on rare occasions… such as right now. Counselor’s Marie’s levelheadedness did not improve upon hearing that the pony professional, whom Misty Magic turned into a tree, had been afflicted by a coat that changed with the seasons. So rather than say anything to Misty, Ingrid merely sat there with a near-catatonic expression on her face as she meekly attempted to mentally process what Miss Magic did.....

[Lux]

[colour=#008000]"I alvays found teaching to be very thrilling! At dee University level, most of mein students vere eager to learn und rarely gave me any problems vith paying attention in class und stuff like dat. Passing on knowledge to dee next generation vas alvays dee most exciting part of mein career as a Professor! Pursuing knowledge is also part of dee Professor's job! Research can be fun! Vell, except vhen you blow up dee lab like I did on occassion, but it vas all in dee cause of higher learning!"[/colour]

Fire Heart listened to why Professor Krashkop said about why he liked teaching, and to her it made perfect sense. Except for the part about blowing up the lab. That was kind of unexpected.

[colour=#FF0000]"You know, I'm happy that you didn't have any problems teaching students, and I agree that I want to share what I learned and am learning now with others. DDo you know if there's some kind of teaching assistant program?" [/colour]

[Mojo]

Misty Magic could sense the distress in her new counsellor's eyes. Now she feared that this confession would end THIS new relationship before it even started.

[colour=#800080]"Please don't turn me away, I beg you Professor," [/colour]the petite yellow unicorn mare pleaded. [colour=#800080]"I need your help."[/colour]

Back at the restaurant, Professor Krashkop was delighted to hear Fire Heart's interest in teaching.

[colour=#008000]"Javol, fraulien Fire Heart! Dere are many different apprenticeships available at Canterlot University! I know dis for a fact because I help establish dee program vhile I was dere! If you like, I vill secure you an application! I cannot guarantee acceptance, but I can put in a good vord for you!"[/colour]

[Bellosh]

Broken out of her trance by Misty Magic’s appeals, Ingrid Marie rapidly shook her head around to snap herself back to the present day. [colour=#008080]“Ah, sorry to distress you Miss Magic,”[/colour] the counselor apologized with a nervous smile; [colour=#008080]“I uhhh… just had an old memory resurface for a moment. It had nothing to do with you, mmkay.”[/colour]

After taking a couple of deep breaths, Ms. Marie addressed the young mare once more with conviction; [colour=#008080]“Please don’t worry about me turning you away. Rest assured, I deal with ponies like you quite frequently. Should you decide it prudent, I could even lend my services to you as a tutor for a token fee.”[/colour]

[colour=#008080]“But to get back to my question Miss Magic, did any of the professionals you met with provide you with any sort of diagnosis concerning your magic control difficulties?”[/colour]

[Lux]

[colour=#FF0000]"That would be a great idea! Thanks for getting me an application. Maybe apprenticing can help me to see if teaching is right for me. Do you what kinds of apprentice positions are out there?" [/colour]

[Mojo]

Misty Magic sat down as she sadly confessed, [colour=#800080]"the only advice I was given by magic professionals was to stop performing magic. At least, that's what the last one told me. All of the others usually told me to leave after one session. One in particular told me that I was an impossible case before booting me out into the street. That triggered a magical response from my horn...."[/colour]

Suddenly, Misty stopped her story as tears began to run down from her eyes.

[colour=#800080]"I didn't mean to do it, it just happened.... the mare that kicked me out turned into a .... horseshoe. But but I did manage to change her back before the authorities came and escorted me out of town. I'm still not welcome in that village to this day."[/colour]

Meanwhile, at the restaurant, Professor Krashkop quickly produced a small brochure from his saddlebag.

[colour=#008000]"I am so happy you asked dat question, fraulien! Dis is a list of apprenticeships available from dee Canterlot University. Are you vanting vone in dee field of magic, ja?"[/colour]

[Bellosh]

Several things came to mind as Ingrid Marie listened to Misty Magic’s heartbreaking confession. First; that a lot more magic professionals could benefit from learning the fail-safe spell. According to the counselor, nopony should be involved in their line of work unless they could actually control their patient’s magic misfires. Secondly; that said ‘professionals’ were so useless that they couldn’t even provide Miss Magic with a diagnosis. Thanks to that, the task of providing advice to Misty would be that much harder.

Finally, Counselor Marie felt for the young mare crying in her office. Ingrid clearly understood how it seemed like Miss Magic had no one to turn to, with her misfortune of being ejected from attending Celestia’s School and kicked out of the offices of incompetent magic counselors. Getting up from her chair, the counselor trotted towards the yellow unicorn on the burnt sofa and gently laid a forehoof on her shoulder.

[colour=#008080]“I... I’m sorry that you had to suffer through... well, all that,”[/colour] Ms. Marie spluttered, trying on the spot to think of the best way to comfort the younger unicorn; [colour=#008080]“If you uhhhhh... give me a chance Miss Magic, I think I’ll be able to help you find the root causes of your condition. That is though, if you’ll let me help you.”[/colour] Ingrid hoped her words would get Misty to brighten up at least a little.

[Lux]

[colour=#FF0000]"I think I want to do something in the field of magic," [/colour]Fire Heart said as she thought about Professor Krashkop's question, [colour=#FF0000]"I mean I may not be the best pony to cast magic, but I really love learning about it. I also like history too, so if there's nothing open about helping to teach magic than teaching history will be fine." [/colour]

[Mojo]

Misty Magic's face brightened.

[colour=#800080]"Oh yes! Of course I want your help, Miss Marie! The short time I've spent with you now is already helping me out! Thank you!"[/colour]

A rush of emotions compelled the petite unicorn mare to gallop up to the counsellor and give her a big hug. Finally, some pony who was trained to help with her magic problems and who actually welcomed her! Now Misty began to shed tears of joy.

Back at the restaurant, Professor Krashkop nodded as he began reading the brochure.

[colour=#008000]"Let me see vhat I can find here... hmmmmm... AH! Dis could be dee chance you are looking for! Professor Merlin Magic has an opening for an apprentice! Merlin Magic? Dat guy's still teaching at dee University? He's older den I am!"[/colour]

The elderly green Pegasus stallion let out a loud horselaugh.

[colour=#008000]"Merlin Magic vas on dee faculty vhen I started teaching at Canterlot U! He und I go vay back und.... VONDERBA! Merlin is Misty's grandfather! Now I remember dee family connection! It vas Merlin who inspired his son Mighty Magic to go into dee entertainment business! Oh, he is a fine teacher und if you could get dis apprenticeship, it vould help your teaching career immersely!"[/colour]

[Bellosh]

Initially taken by surprise by Misty Magic’s hug, Ingrid Marie swiftly caught her bearings and wrapped a forearm the young mare’s back. The counselor paid no heed to how the petite unicorn’s joyful tears stained her suit; all that mattered was that Miss Magic finally received a bit of hope. Of course it’d be a long road for the young mare yet; she’d have to make up for years of not having the opportunity to attend magic school. Nonetheless Counselor Marie was absolutely confident that progress would be made, no matter what it took.

After a long half-minute or so, Ingrid Marie released herself from Misty’s hug to gently speak to her; [colour=#008080]“Alrighty then; before we go any further, I should tell you beforehand that working out will issues will take time. At best, it’ll take several months to a year’s worth of sessions. Thanks to the uncooperativeness all those ugggh... ‘consultants’ you met with, your road is going to be that much harder, since I have to do all their work for them. However, if you stick through this no matter what setbacks you face Miss Magic, I can safely say that you’ll eventually take management over your incredible magic abilities. Do you understand, mmkay?”[/colour]