Desert Discipline 2: Whirlwind Riding by Nomine

 

(17/03/2022)

 

 

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If anything was even better than the heat of the desert, it had to be the sheer beauty of all the plants and sand and rocks that littered the landscape! And all the various exhibits were SO COOL!

 

There was one where it showed how the various animals of the desert learned to throw the heat out of their bodies and keep themselves off the sand, and Principal Aquaria was fascinated by how they managed to gather water in this dry landscape. Both of us stared way too long at a strange formation, talking in our respective elemental tongues about just WHAT could have formed THAT.

 

The plants, the animals, the reptile house, and all through it we walked, me sipping from a small colt's cup of spiced tea, her guzzling from that huge thermos of water.

 

The only odd part was that...well, we both jumped periodically, each one of us swearing they had seen something darting away out of the corner of our eyes. Master looked more worried than I did...I had Thyrion out here, after all, and the heat of the day only made him more powerful.

 

At one point, Aquaria called a stop and sat down, taking a drink and looking at me. "I don't like this, Heart. I really don't. I feel like we're being watched and followed by whatever this is. All I know is that it's not an Undine...No child of Water would ever come out here unless called." she said, taking another drink.

 

"It's not a Salamander either…" I said, just as confused as she was, and she nodded. Gods, I loved how this mare took me seriously, as long as I behaved. "Could it be an Earth Elemental?"

 

"No...they're not that quick. I suppose it could be a Sylph or a Zephyr, but why would one of the children of Air be here?" she mused, then sighed. "Well, we need to get back inside soon, it's almost time for lunch and free time, and then maybe we can go see that exhibit on Artesian Wells, and then maybe stop by the Souvenir shop. I want to see if they have anything...useful." she said, and I grinned.

 

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Lunch was a rather muted affair...it turned out that some of the foals had (of course) gotten bored and started roughhousing, and managed to almost damage an exhibit.

 

After a rather long and loud scolding, one that ended in a promise of detention and further punishment, Principal Aquaria sat down and stated that, due to these foal's antics, the school would be lucky if they were invited back next year, causing a few gasps of disappointment from many of us, myself included. Silently I fumed...group punishment was NOT fair, why blame the school for the actions of a bunch of stupidheads?

 

Thankfully, the curator of the museum came over and started talking about how, if we behaved the rest of the day, he wouldn't make good on that. He understood that most of us were well-behaved, and that one bad pair of colts did not spoil the school.

 

After that, Aquaria smiled and stated that the two foals who fought would be kept inside with Miss Linea, who would also supervise them and Only them on the train-ride home.

 

YIPPEE!

 

As for the rest of us, if we were finished with our meals, then it was now free time, and as long as we didn't make trouble, we were free to wander the building.

 

I took advantage of that to go and use the restroom, since now I wouldn't have to hold out in case of Dumb Teacher Forcing Bathroom Breaks. I had washed my hooves and came back out when I finally caught a glimpse of whatever that...thing...was, and saw it darting off down a hallway.

 

Curiosity got the better of me, so I immediately gave chase, trying to track the thing down. It was quick, but I'm no slowpoke...I walk to and from school every day, and sometimes I'm running from bullies. I twisted and turned to keep track of it, and finally…

 

Finally, I ran smack into a little filly.

 

No, not a filly. Ponies don't have stripes.

 

A zebra? A zebra filly?

 

"Oof!" she cried, disentangling herself from me and looking a little indignant. "Hey! Can't you see me? What happened?" she asked, and I blinked. Fiery little filly…

 

"S...sorry. I was following something I thought I saw and I wasn't looking and...wait. have you been following me?" I asked, suddenly curious. Surely this wasn't what I had been seeing.

 

That was when I saw it. Her eyes suddenly flicked up to Thyrion, seeing the lizard before she looked back down to me. And then it dawned on me.

 

"Wait...are you…" I started to say, but then...

 

"Are you a Mage?" she asked before I could finish, and suddenly a strange being materialized near her. It looked...like a bird mixed with a butterfly, but formed of iridescent wisps of dust.

 

"I...I am. Are you?" I asked in kind, and she nodded.

 

Well...this was a development.

 

"Ralen told me he'd seen another pony with fire magic and water magic here. He wanted to see you…" she said, and I blinked.

 

"So /he's/ been the one following us all day?! He nearly gave my Master and I both heart attacks…" I started, only to be hit in the face by a gust of wind, and be answered by a giggling filly.

 

"Yes! And he was gonna try and bring you to me to say hi but then you tracked him down and ran into me and now you're here and you're the one I was looking for and Hi, my Name's Tish!" she said, with a shift in her demeanor and an offer of her hoof to shake.

 

Slowly I took it, only to have my hoof pumped up and down by this strange little girl. "What's your name? Huh? Huh?"

 

"Heart…." I said, now rather nonplussed. This filly was...well, there was no other way about it. This filly was weird. And so...so changing in her mood!

 

"So you're a fire user? Can you make heat? Can you breathe fire? Can you fly on a column of hot air because my teacher says sometimes ponies with fire can do that and it sounds really cool and I wanna try it!!!!" She said to me, all in one breath before finally inhaling.

 

"Er...I...Uh….Yes? I said to the first question, then just….nodded and shook my head. Yes, I could make heat. No, I can't breathe fire. No, I can't….wait.

 

"Er, fly on a thermal? Isn't that an Air thing?" I asked, only for her to gasp again and grab my hoof, pulling me along.

 

"Yeah! I bet if we both put our powers together we can do it! Come on, I wanna show you something cool!" she said, dragging me out the door...or trying to before I pulled away.

 

"Thyrion?" I asked, nuzzling my friend. "Before Tish drags me off, could you go ask Master if I can go someplace with an Air Mage I just met? I promise to be safe.

 

My lizard nodded, vanishing in a small flash before reappearing a minute later, nodding and crackling in the tongue of flames. Telling me Master would give me half an hour before I had to be back.

 

"Great! Now come on!!!" Tish said, dragging me out the door as I groaned.

 

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I had to admit, this was pretty freaking cool. Much like the one in the museum, Tish had led me to a rock that could not have been sculpted by nature. All beautiful stripes and weathered stone, in so many different colors!

 

And on top there was a Mesa, it seemed. About thirty feet up or so…

 

Wait.

 

Wait just a darned second…

 

"Whoa whoa whoa…." I said, looking at her. "You can't be serious. You want to try and...and fly up this thing?!"

 

"Uh-huh! It's really cool to be up that high! You can see everything and anything! Come on...just make a big burst of heat and I won't let you fall!"

 

I knew this wasn't a good idea, but….something about her enthusiasm was so infectious. I had to comply, just to see.

 

Focusing my magic, I gathered heat from all around, concentrating it inside myself until I held a little ball of pure warmth in my magical grip. This was a trick I had learned over the last month, and it was great for….

 

WHOA!

 

I opened my eyes to find myself soaring up into the air, held by a little Zebra filly and a big Butterfly-Bird. The ground was….was so far away….and….there was the rock's top…..

 

And then we touched down on top of the rock, and my hooves found solid earth again. Honestly, I almost kissed it. I never EVER wanted to fly like that again.

 

And then I looked out at the desert, and my jaw dropped.

 

Right then and there, I knew I wanted to live in a tower like mages of old. And I wanted my tower to be in the desert. And so tall that I could see for miles. This...This was true beauty. I sat down next to Tish, who seemed as enraptured as I was.

 

The desert was stunning. Absolutely stunning. I had seen up close and personal details. I had seen the little things. Now...Now I was seeing the whole picture that all those little details combined to paint.

 

I don't know which one of us started talking first. But we did. About our magic, about the desert. About our hobbies and what we liked to do. About anything and everything in between. About music and games and what toys we liked….I was amazed she had never heard of the Power Ponies or the Wonderbolts, and I resolved to show some to her if I ever met her again.

 

And then, in the midst of all the talking, I heard a voice call up the rock. One that spelled doom for both Tish and I.

 

Principal Aquaria's voice. Not yelling, not shouting. Just...stern.

 

"Heart! And you too, young lady! Get down here right now!"

 

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I stood there, facing my master, Tish and I both standing and shuffling our hooves. I was guilty, for sure...Principal Aquaria was really upset, and she had taken a minute or two to calm down before she started scolding us.

 

I mean, I already knew I blew my chance...bye bye field trip privileges, bye bye Master as my chaperone, bye bye…

 

"Ahem. Heart. Would you mind actually paying attention?"

 

Eep!

 

"S...sorry, Master." I said, looking up and looking into her eyes. Maybe she saw how guilty and upset I was, because her gaze softened for just an instant before it hardened again. Gone was my loving teacher….this was an upset Principal.

 

"I cannot say just how disappointed I am with you, Heart. When you sent that message to me, I had assumed you meant an adult Mage, not a foal. And to find that not only did you go over my time limit for you, but that you had engaged in such a dangerous stunt as Whirlwind Riding…I have more than half a mind to just give you back to Miss Linea for the day." she said, looking me dead in the eyes again.

 

Suddenly, Tish stepped in front of me! "Hey!" she snapped. "You're not being fair! You're being double-plus UNfair! And a big meanie besides!"

 

Both Aquaria and I jumped at that...after talking with Tish, I knew she was a little hyper, but this…

 

"And just how am I being unfair?" Aquaria asked, her voice as cold as ice now.

 

"Well, one, YOU assumed I was a grownup. He didn't say one way or the other! And you know what you do when you assume! And Two, I'm the one who did the flying! He just created the thermal, AND he tried to stop me first. And three, he HATES Miss Linea, he told me when we were talking! And he loves you!" She said.

 

I won't deny I blushed at that last one.

 

"And we took so long because we were talking! We were making friends! And you shouldn't yell until you see how cool and pretty it is up on top of that rock!" she finished, then inhaled. Had….had she managed to say all of that in one breath?

 

Master just blinked for a moment, looking from Tish, then over to me for confirmation. I hesitated, but I gave a slow nod to confirm her story, at which point she just sighed.

 

"Young lady. You have a lot to learn about how to talk to an adult, it seems." she started. "If any of my students, Heart here included, had spoken to me like you just did, they would be getting a week's detention for their tone and their lack of respect." she said.

 

"Respect is…" Tish started to say, only for Aquaria to hold up a hoof and forestall her.

 

"That said, I cannot fault you for the contents of your words. You are correct, I should have asked Heart how old you were, and I shouldn't be threatening to throw Heart back to a teacher he hates. And for those things, I am sorry...I let my emotions get the better of me." she said.

 

"However, not only can I fault you for how you spoke and your tone, I can and will fault you for engaging in such a dangerous activity as Whirlwind Riding. You and Heart could have been injured or even killed. Even if it was your idea, he still knows better than to just follow along like that. The both of you are in big trouble." she continued, and I quailed. I knew what THAT meant, and my tail moved to cover my flank.

 

"Young lady, where is your guardian? I will be delivering you to…"

 

"NO! NO, PLEASE!" Tish cried out over her, and I blinked...then steeled myself.

 

"Yes, young lady. I will be…"

 

"Master?" I said, pitching my voice up clear and high.

 

Aquaria blinked. "Yes, Heart?"

 

I took a deep breath. This would be my only chance, and I had to make it count.

 

"I do not think that contacting Tish's guardian nor my parents is actually necessary. Despite the dangerous activity we engaged in, I was unaware of the full danger, and Tish didn't mean to keep me as long as we were kept. We really were befriending one another. And as Tish pointed out, you did assume she was older. Given that all of us...You, Tish, and I...are partially at fault, I don't think you should contact her guardian or my own, but instead simply handle this yourself, for all of our sakes, as if you do report this, you will also likely get in trouble." I said, then inhaled. Wait, had I managed to say all that in one breath too?!

 

Aquaria thought for a few painful minutes, Tish and I breathing hard, before she finally sighed and nodded. "Much as I hate to admit it, Heart, you are right. It is in all of our best interests for me not to report this misbehavior to your respective guardians."

 

Tish and I both breathed a sigh of relief at that, only for her next words to get a small eep out of me.

 

"Which means I just have to discipline both of you myself. Now, both of you...March!"

 

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Well, this was new.

 

I laid across a park bench next to Tish, in a small secluded area of the museum. Aquaria had asked the curator if there was a private section of the park, and he had pointed her to a quiet spot, off the beaten path, where mothers with small foals often took them for naps.

 

The small little glade was shaded by some hardy trees, which sheltered a trio of benches arranged in a rough semicircle. The whole thing was tucked into a natural indent in one of the cliffs, and I had "tripped" as we walked in, just to test and see if the sound would echo.

 

Thankfully for my reputation, it didn't. The trees and other plants must have insulated the sounds.

 

Still, Aquaria had been firm...Tish and I found ourselves laying across one of the benches, our bottoms upturned and our tails tucked across our backs as Aquaria set down her saddlebags. We had been forbidden to look over our shoulders, but I heard Tish give a small gasp as she snuck a peek…

 

I knew what to expect by this point, but she didn't, and I gently reached over and took her hoof, giving it a squeeze.

 

She looked up at me with a whimper. "Is...it gonna…" she started to ask, and I made a small shushing sound, but nodded, giving her hoof another squeeze before letting go.

 

"Now, Heart, you already know the rules. Tish, I will tell you. You are each going to get a certain number. I will not tell you what it is. No kicking or blocking, no swearing, and no magical effects. Control your powers, young lady." she scolded, and I heard the sound of her hooves coming closer.

 

A tap on my flanks made me flinch. No matter how many times I had endured this mare's punishments, it was never enough to inure me to what was coming. Tish flinched next to me, giving out a little squeak, and I knew Aquaria was about to…

 

CRACK!

 

"Owwww!!!" I cried out as the willow wood impacted my upturned flanks. Of course she would start with me, and I would rather…

 

CRACK!

 

Another sound, but this time it was Tish who yelled out, and I heard the sound of her starting to sniffle. Oh no…

 

Another spank fell on my own upturned behind, followed by another to hers. I wanted to reach out to her...she was already starting to cry, I could see it.

 

Aquaria paused for a second after those first two, rubbing over my flank with her paddle. Inspecting to see if she had it right...I knew she did, I could feel it.

 

Then the spanking really started.

 

With a nod, Aquaria began paddling both of us at the same time. Always businesslike, always giving both of us the same number of spanks. It wasn't long before I heard Tish really start crying, sobbing about how Sorry she was.

 

I wanted to say something, but the fire in my flanks was too much for me to do anything but gasp and sob. I was no stranger to one of Aquaria's paddlings at this point, but this...those cries made it a lot harder.

 

Then, I felt something...I felt the wind starting to pick up. A breeze whipping into my mane, teasing at my ears and tail. And I realized what it was. She was losing control!

 

"STOP!" I yelled, as loud as I could, and when Aquaria paused for a bare instant. "I'll take the rest of it! All of it!"

 

I felt the paddle tap on my flanks...tap...tap…

 

"A noble move, Tom Sawyer, but I'm not going to just let Miss Tish here escape from the consequences of her actions." Master said, still tapping. "Now, catch your breath after that outburst, and we will continue."

 

I made sure to take my time, deep inhales and breath catches. Not for myself, but to give Tish time to calm down and regain control. I would have taken it all, but…

 

CRACK!

 

"OWWWWW!!!!!" I yelled, as the paddle smacked down into my sit spots, leaving a pulsing red area as I finally was left gasping for breath.

 

Master wasted no time getting back into the literal swing of things, spanking both Tish and I until...finally...I broke down crying and sobbing. My bottom was on fire, and not the kind I loved!

 

I couldn't hear Tish anymore, not over my own sobs and the crack of the paddle as it danced up and down my flanks, punctuated only by the short breaks when Aquaria punished Tish instead.

 

Finally, though….finally, it was all over, and I heard Master setting the paddle down.

 

"Both of you take a few minutes and stay right there. I need to go do some principal things, and you two need to cry it out. But I am a mare of my word...after this, your punishment is over. I won't breathe a word of it once we leave this little glade. Now, don't move until I come back.

 

I heard Aquaria trotting off, and I gently took Tish's hoof and squeezed it, nuzzling her as best I could. "S...see? It's over now." I said.

 

She gave a little huff and a whine. "That really hurt...a lot...she's your master? How much...has she?" she said, her voice catching on her sobs.

 

"A lot...and I deserved it most of the time." I said. "She's really fair, just...really really strict. She wants me to grow up to be a powerful mage. And that means I have to learn to behave and control myself." I explained, reaching over and wiping a tear away.

 

"I guess, but it REALLY hurts!" Tish said, and I nodded. "Like, REALLY REALLY hurts."

 

"I know...best thing for it is just take deep breaths and try and focus on something else." I said, nodding again. Though even I had to admit that spanking was bad…

 

Soon after, Aquaria came back and gently helped us both down to the ground. "Alright then. Young lady, Heart and I are going to resume our visit to this museum. I talked with the curator, who agreed to let you accompany us, so long as you stay with me and listen to me." She said, and Tish flinched.

 

Before she could say anything, I took her hoof. "Come on...I promise, it'll be fun." I asked her. "Come with us for a couple of hours."

 

I could see it warring inside her, and then she nodded.

 

I nearly jumped for joy! Now I could explore this awesome museum with both my favorite teacher AND a new friend!

 

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It was dusk as the fillies and colts filed back onto the train, the two dummies being shepherded by Miss Linea as I looked around for a group to join.

 

I had already said goodbye to Tish after spending quite some time with her! We learned so much about each other, and we promised to write! But now I had to find somepony to sit with for the ride home, and…

 

YAAAAAWN

 

And I had to admit, I was rather sleepy.

 

"Heart?" I hear Principal Aquaria call me. "Would you join me in my car, please?" she said, and I obediently trotted over and into the small room. I guess I had a chaperone….

 

Shortly after she came in and closed the door behind her, the train started to move again. At first she and I just watched the desert speed away, then…

 

"I was very impressed and proud of what you did earlier, Heart." she said, catching me off guard.

 

"W...what for?" I asked with a blink.

 

"When you noticed that your new friend was losing control of her powers, and not only offered to take it all to spare her, but took your time so she could get her control back. That speaks very highly of you, my apprentice." she said, smiling a little at me.

 

I smiled back, then blinked as she levitated a small bag out from her saddlebags. She separated the bag into two packets, then gently passed one over to me.

 

"Open it, my apprentice, and we will have a short lesson here."

 

I slowly opened it up, to find a single crystal strung on a necklace. A deep rich red color shone out at me...to be joined by one of a rich blue as Aquaria unwrapped hers.

 

"I found these in the souvenir shop. At first, after you misbehaved, I wasn't going to give it to you yet, nor teach you this, but you showed me today you are ready, my dear." she told me. "These crystals are a ruby and a sapphire."

 

I gasped, but her next words stilled me. "Calm down, they're not that expensive. Now, tonight's lesson is on attuneme...Ack!"

 

I had stilled her words by jumping over and hugging her, smiling. "Thank you! I love it!"

 

As she hugged me back, the train began to rock a little and I yawned again, looking at the crystal. A Ruby…

 

Softly, I heard her voice. "To attune a crystal, my apprentice...is something I will teach you tomorrow. Now gaze into yours...watch the flashing lights...think of each light as a spark of flame…"

 

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It was past Sundown when a train finally pulled into Canterlot station, barely pulling to a halt before sleepy-eyed foals began disembarking to meet and greet their waiting parents. The air filled with a sleepy buzz of conversation as the foals told their moms and dads all about the fun day they had, only for the conversations to fade away as the crowd dispersed.

 

All except for one pair. A large blue and white unicorn stood with his mate, both searching for their son in the crowd.

 

After everyone had gone, a mare with a mane and tail styled after a waves of water trotted over to them, motioning for them to be quiet.

 

Turning, she showed the little colt asleep on her back, carefully giving him over to his father.

 

"Was he good today?" His mother asked, and Aquaria nodded.

 

"Yes. He was no trouble at all. And he even made a new pen pal."