//------------------------------// // Two: The Best Young Fliers Competition, Part II- Magic and Hero Worship // Story: Stereoheart // by FimFan14 //------------------------------// “Well,” Stereo said, “that was interesting.” “Are you KIDDING?” Frisky said excitedly. “That was awesome! Did you see her? She did a sonic rainboom! A SONIC RAINBOOM! “Okay, okay, calm down,” Stereo said. “Ponies are looking.” They made their way to the café, only for a drink. Stereo was glad that he had gone all out, getting the ticket with a personal cloud and unlimited drinks. The line was massive. He noticed the drinking cups all stacked neatly on top of a water cooler. He had his hoof extended, with the cups just out of reach. “Do you need some help?” The voice came from behind, and as Stereo turned to address it, he noticed that it was the purple Unicorn from before. “Yes, thanks.” Stereo said. He was shocked as a pink-purple aura surrounded two cups, and her horn, and then lifted them up, and then levitated them right in front of them. “Wow!” Frisky said, fascinated by what he saw. “How are you doing that?” “You’ve never seen levitation before?” She replied. “Never!” Stereo said, free of his initial shock and now just as amazed, “It’s a natural Unicorn ability!” She said “Do you want me to show you how?” Both nodded their heads enthusiastically. “Yes, please Miss…” Stereo began, remembering that he didn’t know her name. “Twilight,” she said, “Twilight Sparkle.” “Yes please, Miss Sparkle.” “Well,” she began, “Unicorns have an inherent reserve of magic. They can use it to manipulate the world around them, like I showed you by lifting these cups.” She paused to let the information sink in, before continuing. “Channeling this magic can be hard at first, but after you do it once, it will be easy to do.” “How do we do that?” Frisky interrupted, and was nudged by Stereo, as a ‘be quiet and listen’ message. “First,” she said, placing the cups on a nearby table, “focus on the cup. Concentrate on it. Feel it.” The two concentrated for a good minute, until, like a stack of bricks, it hit them both at about the same time. “I feel something…” Stereo said, feeling as if he was stretching a muscle that he never knew existed, for the first time. “It’s like there’s a space in my head, and I can feel the cup.” “Good,” Twilight said. “Now grab it.” Stereo and Frisky both scrunched up their faces in concentration. Then, a faint *ping* sound was heard, followed by a steady humming. Stereo opened his eyes, a huge weight taken off of his shoulders now that he had ‘broken the barrier’, as it were. It was still a continuous effort, but now much easier. He guessed that he could still do several tasks while holding the levitation spell. He lifted up the cup, noting that the magical aura was a violet purple, similar to his eyes and mane, unlike Twilight’s pink-purple color. Seconds later, Frisky managed to lift his cup, his aura being a purple-blue color. He seemed very excited. “I thought that the rainboom was awesome,” he began, “but this is awesome!” “Thank you, Miss Sparkle,” Stereo said, still marveling at his own natural ability. “Please,” she said, “call me Twilight.” Just then, the blue Pegasus mare and orange Earth Pony rounded a corner, and into the café. “I’m telling you AJ, I did it on purpose! I totally meant to do that Sonic Rainboom, and saving Rarity was just a bonus opportunity! I swear!” Said the Pegasus. “Yeah,” replied the Earth Pony, in a southern drawl. “Jus’ like you practiced hundreds ‘n’ hundreds a times, but never once got it right, ‘on purpose.’” Twilight heard the two bickering, and obviously recognized them. “Hey girls!” She called out, getting their attention. Frisky seemed to go rigid. The two mares walked towards them. “Heya Twilight!” the Earth Pony said. “Who’re the two youngins over ‘ere.” “I’m Frisky!” Frisky said. “I saw your Sonic Rainboom. It was amazing!” “Thanks, kid. I’m Rainbow Dash, but you can just call me Rainbow.” The addressed mare said. “And I’m Applejack,” the Earth pony said. “What’re two Unicorns doin’ up ‘ere anyway? Come ta watch the show?” “We live here,” Stereo said. “Our parents are Pegasi. “How do your parents manage that?” Twilight asked. “Do your parents take you down to the surface for a cloud-walking spell?” “No,” Stereo replied. “We’ve never left Cloudsdale.” “Very strange,” Twilight said, pondering over possibilities. “That’s how my non Pegasi friends and I came from Ponyville.” “Anyway,” Stereo said, “It was nice meeting you everypony, and thanks a lot, Twilight, for teaching us. We really need to leave soon, or our parents will be really angry.” “Do you want a ride?” Rainbow Dash asked. “It’s pretty difficult to get anywhere on foot here.” “No, you don’t have…” “Yes!” Frisky said, before amending his exclamation. “Yes, please.” Applejack laughed as Stereo and Frisky jumped onto Rainbow’s back, and they took off. *** “Were do you live?” Rainbow Dash shouted over her shoulder. Shouting was necessary, mostly because of the extreme speeds that they were travelling at. Despite Frisky’s insistence, though, they didn’t break the sound barrier. Rainbow insisted that it would be too dangerous, but Stereo didn’t doubt that she would if she could. The thought was re-enforced when Stereo recalled the Pegasus’ argument with Applejack when they entered the café. “That house, just down there,” Stereo said, extending his hoof to indicate a cloud-house close by. “Okay, here you go,” Rainbow Dash said. “Maybe I’ll see you ‘round someday. Just yell if you see me.” “Thanks for the ride,” Stereo said. “We would still be at the stadium right now if you didn’t get us here. You saved us a lot of time.” “It was nothing,” She reassured him. “Gotta go. See you around.” “Bye Rainbow!” Frisky said, before Rainbow Dash waved and flew off. Stereo gave a sigh. More ponies should be so kind. “C’mon Frisky,” Stereo said. “We better have dinner ready before Mom and Dad get home. Celestia knows what would happen if we screwed up again. *** Frisky was still floating on cloud nine three hours later. He had witnessed a moment in history, discovered magic, and gotten friendly with not just his now personal idol and winner of the Best Young Fliers Competition, but also three national heroes- three of the elements of harmony. That last part was unknown to him, though. As might be imagined, Stereo and Frisky knew little of the outside world. They knew nothing about magic, the Princesses, or even that it was strange that they could walk on clouds. It would be hardly surprising if they had never in their lives heard of the elements of harmony. The two brothers were busying themselves with making a pie for their parents. Stereo was attempting to line the pastry on the surface of a dish, while Frisky had almost finished creating the innards. “It isn’t that hard!” Frisky said, while watching Stereo fumble with the pastry, trying to complete the same task that had been given him a half hour ago. “It is!” Stereo replied defensively. “It sticks to itself, then to the dish, and when I finally get it, it sticks to me!” Frisky sighed, before, with minor difficulty, levitating the pastry and lining it perfectly along the base and sides of the dish. “I knew I could do that.” Stereo muttered. “Here’s something easy,” Frisky said. “Take some pastry, and cut it into strips.” Finally, something had managed to crash his mood slightly. Though, it was probably better that than their parents yelling at him for being happy. Or something else ridiculous. Frisky poured the inside of the pie into the lined dish, before levitating the prepared strips of pastry over the top in a lattice. Stereo then levitated the dish, putting it into the oven. “Things seem a lot lighter when I do that,” Stereo said. “Me too,” Frisky confirmed. “I wonder why?” As he was saying this, he took a leftover soup from the night before, putting it into bowls, and handing one to Stereo. “Thanks,” Stereo said, levitating a shaking spoon, trying to collect the soup with it to eat. “I still find it a bit hard, though." They ate in moderate silence; something unusual, given the circumstances. “Something wrong?” Stereo asked. “I don’t want to have that dream again,” Frisky replied. “You won’t,” Stereo reassured him, “if you do what I told you to do last night. Now let’s go.” Stereo placed his bowl on a pile to be washed the next morning, along with Frisky. Stereo found it annoying that they had to share a room, even if they did have generously large bed. Of course, he never complained about it. He still would prefer a bed. But, while he loved his brother, he could do with some peaceful sleep. But saving money and re-using their parent’s old bed was more important to them. Stereo climbed into bed, knowing it wise to be asleep before their parents returned from work. They tended to get… antsy after a long day of working, and as long as there was food for them, they usually didn’t disturb their children. Stereo was, unsurprisingly given the days hectic events, asleep in seconds. *** A fuzzy, restricting feeling placed itself around his entire body, his movements becoming sluggish and his vision narrow. He recognized this- and he should, after only experiencing it a single day ago. He was dreaming. This was slightly different, though. He was definitely aware that he was dreaming, and he could think better, if only by a bit. The stone alleyway he found himself in was still confusing. It seemed to have no meaning. That was until, however, he noticed a tall, cloaked figure in front of him. “Shhh,” The figure says. “You are getting stronger. You are probably unable to communicate with me yet, but I will still alleviate some of the confusion.” Stereo finds himself trying to respond, with only incomprehensible gibberish coming out. “These dreams you have, they are much more. They are visions. Your magic is weak, and as it gets stronger, you will find out more about who you really are. Some important questions will be answered. Have you ever wondered why you and your brother are unicorns?” Stereo gave what felt like a nod. “I cannot reveal the visions prematurely, or take action on them, not even if I tried. And as for who I am; I cannot tell you my name. There is a far greater force, greater than princess Celestia herself. This stops me from doing these things. But for now, you may call me ‘Gumala’.” The world faded slowly. What would usually be only a small amount of information, no matter how startling, was already becoming too much. “I know the truth about you,” Gumala said. “As your magic increases, so will your understanding. You are in danger, Stereoheart, and I can’t defend you unless you do what I have said. I will find you, and I will help you!” The vision and the voice faded with her last words: “It is the will of Equestria.”