After asking, I found out that Aurora was just auditing an elective lecture, which Foals of any grade could attend. Since Lyra Heartstrings was interested in this course, she had called her friends from class to attend it together.
I thought Hasbro's laziness had influenced even the native world of my little pony.
But then again, since they are here, does that mean Twilight Sparkle will be enrolling soon?
"Wow, I can't believe we're actually friends with the Princess's student."
"There's no need to make such a big fuss..."
"I also heard that when you were just born, Princess Celestia came to see you. Could it be that she decided to take you as a student back then?"
"That's fake, right? Who would have requirements for a newborn Foal?"
"My dad said you had your cutie mark the moment you were born; that's destiny! Maybe you could become a Princess in the future!"
Who are you jinxing, little sister?
"Hey! You shouldn't say things like that. My dream is to become a Unicorn scholar just like Star Swirl the Bearded."
"Do you live in Canterlot Castle now, just like Sunset Shimmer?"
"Yes, because it's quite convenient for reading books there."
And I can also harass the Senior Sister at any time under the guise of holding a study session, though I'm always shut out.
Because Sunset Shimmer viewed Aurora as her rival, she was unwilling to share any knowledge with Aurora and refused to communicate. As a result, she often ran outside to read just to avoid running into Aurora.
This made Aurora feel dissatisfied. The great Professor Ratio once said: Knowledge should be shared, and so should the truth.
"Look, it's Sunset Shimmer!"
Looking in the direction the Foal pointed, I indeed saw Sunset Shimmer reading on the lawn.
I didn't expect Sunset Shimmer to run to the park to read, but thinking about it, it's not entirely incomprehensible since it's very close to the school.
"She's an arrogant pony! Sometimes I even suspect that she doesn't even hold the Princess in high regard."
A Foal nearby complained.
"Last time we wanted to invite her to lunch, but she actually said she didn't want to waste time on meaningless things. Who does she think she is? Can the Princess's student just look down on other ponies like that?"
"Oh, we're not talking about you, Aurora; you are very different from her."
"You two should be closer, yet she won't even lend you her notes."
Lyra Heartstrings walked to Aurora's side, feeling sad for her situation.
"Poor Aurora, having such an unsympathetic senior must be very difficult for you, right?"
"Thank you for your concern, but I feel fine. Actually, the Senior Sister has many virtues."
"Virtues? She has some, but other than being smart and studious, I don't see any other qualities in her that could be called virtues."
Although these Foals' words were filled with negative emotions, I have to admit that this is indeed the current state of the Senior Sister. Only Aurora, having read the script, knows how wonderful the Senior Sister is once she tastes the sweetness of friendship.
Sunset Shimmer heard the noise in the distance, pulled herself out of her thoughts, and looked over. Seeing Aurora surrounded by Foals, her expression darkened.
But she suddenly thought of a good idea to make Aurora make a fool of herself in public, so she put down her book and walked over.
"I wondered who it was; isn't this my little junior? I can't believe I'd see you here. I thought you would at least be as diligent as I am, instead of gathering some mediocre and gossiping sycophants."
Sunset Shimmer held her head high and puffed out her chest as she walked through the crowd of Foals to stand in front of Aurora.
"If this is what you want, then I'll just consider myself to have spoken incorrectly. I can only say that even Princess Celestia has times when she misjudges."
"Hey! How can you say that?!"
Lemon Heart couldn't help but retort.
"Isn't my description correct?"
"Of course not."
Aurora stepped forward, confronting Sunset Shimmer head-on.
"Sycophants and friends are two different words; they are my new friends."
"Oh, is that so."
Sunset Shimmer raised her eyebrows indifferently.
"In my opinion, there's no difference; it's just a bunch of idle ponies gathering to waste time."
"Forget it, Aurora, you can't explain something a megalomaniac has never possessed to them."
Octavia Melody glared at Sunset Shimmer. They couldn't communicate with a pony who didn't respect them, so they wanted to call Aurora to leave together.
"Is that so..."
Aurora touched her chin and thought for a while, feeling that she should indeed switch to an expression that Sunset Shimmer could understand.
"Growth Spell and Super Growth Spell can both make plants mature quickly. Do you think they are the same spell?"
"Uh..."
Sunset Shimmer was instantly choked into silence.
This question left the surrounding Foals looking at each other, and Amethyst couldn't help but mutter:
"Is there any difference between these two spells?"
"Of course there is!" x2
Immediately, she was retorted by the two Princess's disciples.
"The length of the incantation; the incantation for the Super Growth Spell has one more measure, and it requires calculating more variables."
Sunset Shimmer corrected her seriously.
"There's also the difference in mana consumption and scope of application. Although casting the Super Growth Spell requires more mana, from an efficiency perspective, under the same conditions, the Super Growth Spell is actually more mana-efficient, so this spell is usually used in more professional fields."
Aurora thoughtfully added another difference.
"So... that's how it is. Sorry, I was imprecise."
Amethyst smiled awkwardly and then quickly hid behind the other ponies. She had made a fatal mistake, which was commenting on magic casually in front of magic geniuses.
Sunset Shimmer realized that she had unknowingly stood next to Aurora and quickly stepped away.
"It seems you do have some knowledge, but I can't say the same for other aspects. Do you dare to have a duel with me?"
Yo, is the dagger finally revealed?
Aurora knew that Sunset Shimmer was not the type of pony to provoke others for meaningless things.
With her personality of not wanting to be outdone by others in anything, she probably had long wanted to compete with her in magic.
How should Aurora choose?
Well, of course, choose to fall for it~
"Sure, what are we competing in? How are we competing?"
Aurora rubbed her hooves with some excitement. Having studied magic for so long, she hadn't used it in actual combat yet. The first opponent being the Senior Sister really maxed out her expectations.
"You should have learned the magic from that book, 'Humorous Clown', right?"
"I have. I really didn't expect you to have read that book too."
This remark left the surrounding Foals with question marks all over their faces again; they clearly understood less and less of what these two ponies were saying.
"Has anyone here heard of this magic book?"
"I haven't. The title is too ridiculous; I would absolutely never read it."
This magic book is considered a puzzle education reader for young Unicorns. The magic inside is written for children at the literacy stage. For older Unicorns, the content in this book is both useless and obscure.
"I thought I was the only one bored enough to read it."
Aurora couldn't help but lean in closer to Sunset Shimmer. The feeling of accidentally discovering that she and the Senior Sister had a common little hobby was such a secret joy.
"Don't take the opportunity to get close, listen to me first!"
Sunset Shimmer suppressed the embarrassment in her heart, pushed away the increasingly close Aurora with a hoof, and began to explain the rules of the competition.
"Still remember Spell No. 4? Don't tell me you don't remember; I don't want to help you review what that is."
"I won't forget every spell I've learned! The one you're talking about is a prank spell with random effects. The number of times the spell is used is determined by the Clown Dice, and no one knows which shot of magic will take effect."
"Correct."
As she spoke, Sunset Shimmer took out a die with clown patterns on its faces, her eyes full of provocation.
"So, do you dare to accept the challenge?"
"Wow, playing for high stakes, huh? Come on, I like Russian Roulette!"
"Uh... what is 'Russian' Roulette?"
"Oh, it's nothing... let's begin. Who's going to roll the die?"
Now they had arrived at a low-lying area where they didn't have to worry about accidentally hurting other ponies while dueling.
Sunset Shimmer threw the die out. After spinning on the ground a few times, the side with the number 1 stopped facing up.
Seeing this result, Aurora gasped. This result meant that the next spell would definitely trigger an effect, just like a revolver with a magazine capacity of only one round.
"So... it begins!"
Sunset Shimmer immediately launched a sneak attack right after speaking. Fortunately, Aurora was prepared, dodged to the side, and simultaneously launched a counterattack.
"Little junior, where are you aiming?"
Aurora's counterattack reflexes were quick, but her accuracy was really far off. Sunset Shimmer just tilted her head, and not even a hair was grazed.
But before she finished speaking, she suddenly had a bad premonition and instinctively lunged forward. It turned out that Aurora's magic beam had actually refracted halfway, attempting to ambush her from behind.
But that wasn't all. As if expecting her to dodge, Aurora's next spell was already coming head-on. Sunset Shimmer could only urgently use the Levitation Spell to force herself to shift and dodge the attack, while simultaneously launching a counterattack to prevent Aurora from pursuing again.
'Really, I can't underestimate her...'
Sunset Shimmer braced herself, ready for battle.
'As expected of the Senior Sister; this sneaky tactic of rushing her face didn't even take her down.'
Aurora couldn't hide the excited smile on her face.
'But the one who will win in the end will definitely be me!' x2