The Disney Chronicles III: Fantasia

L'Apprenti Sorcier (The Sorcerer's Apprentice)

Equestria
Canterlot Theater
Many hours later

Applause is heard as Twilight announces the next number. The concert went well, but there were still more numbers to come.

"And now we're going to hear a piece of music that tells a very definite story. As a matter of fact, in this case, the story came first and the composer wrote the music to go with it. It's a very old story, one that goes back almost 2,000 years. A legend about a sorcerer who had an apprentice. The apprentice became a very amazing friend of ours. He was a bright young lad, very anxious to learn the business." Twilight said.

Princess Celestia and her sister Luna, among the guests in the audience, faced each other.

"Sounds familiar," Celestia said to Luna, secretly teasing her student.

"I know," Luna giggled.

*Laughs* It's funny because it's true!

Other giggles could be heard in the crowd, Twilight makes a nervous laugh. After a few seconds, she clears her throat and continues.

"As a matter of fact, he was a little bit too bright because he started practicing some of the boss's best magic tricks before learning how to control them. One day, for instance, when he'd been told by his master to carry water to fill a cauldron, he had the brilliant idea of bringing a broomstick to life to carry the water for him. Well, this worked very well, at first. Unfortunately, however, having forgotten the magic formula that would make the broomstick stop carrying the water, he found he'd started something he couldn't finish."

Symphony of Sorcery
The Orchestra Stand
Present Time

Deems and the Equestrians gaze upon the songbook with an orange glow. The ponies couldn't help but wonder what they're going to encounter.

"Mr. Taylor?" Twilight asked. "Who lives in that realm?"

"Like I said before, there are two very special individuals in there," Deems explained. "A powerful sorcerer and his young apprentice."

Now this was something that caught the Equestrians' interest.

"A sorcerer?" Octavia asked, surprised.

"Yes, Octavia," Deems explained further. "A very wise and serious sorcerer."

"He's not as serious as he looks, well not 'quite' serious," Leopold cuts in, then whispers. "Just don't stare at his beard."

Some of them couldn't help but giggle at the description.

"You said he has an apprentice?" Twilight asked.

"Oh yes, a brilliant one too," Leopold replied. "He can be a little mischievous, but he has a heart of pure gold. He's a bright young lad, very anxious to learn the arts of magic. I think you two can learn from each other, Princess Twilight."

"A sorcerer with an apprentice who wants to learn everything about magic," Spike teased. "Sound familiar?"

The other ponies giggle, while Twilight blushed a little.

"Did you know the realm is based on a poem written by a man named Johann Wolfgang von Goethe?" Deems asked, before explaining. "He called it 'Der Zauberlehrling'. A little later, a composer named Paul Dukas wrote music for this poem, calling it 'L'Apprenti Sorcier'. These two titles meant the same thing: The Sorcerer's Apprentice."

"Ooh..." The Equestrians said, in awe.

"But Von Goethe wasn't the first to write such a story," Leopold adds. "As a matter of fact, the story had been written approximately 2,000 years ago during the time of the Greeks. In that time, they told a story similar to the one we know today."