//------------------------------// // Rumblings of Thunder // Story: Pegasus Horns // by silvadel //------------------------------// Misty was enjoying a nice daisy and dandelion sandwich at the outdoor cafe. She mentally went over the notes she prepared for her third class. A shadow passed over her, which on observation was a pegasus she hadn't seen before. It was headed in the direction of Twilight's library. She thought to herself, "hmm how did it get so late already. It wouldn't due to be late." Misty finished her sandwich in two big gulps and laid a couple of bits on the table as a tip. Then she took to the air in the direction of the new pegasus. It was only a few minutes before class was supposed to start that Misty arrived at the treehouse. She saw dozens of pegasi and even more earth ponies. There were even a couple of pegasi in partial guard uniforms parking a chariot. Opening the door, she saw every desk was taken up with potential students and beyond them, a frantic Twilight Sparkle. Upon seeing Misty enter, Twilight teleported right in front of her muzzle. She raved, "there are almost 200 ponies here. I do not have space for 200 ponies. You can't teach 200 ponies. WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?" Misty lowered her wings, blushed and tried to calm Twilight down. "Um, is there any chance I can have the library a couple more times per week? That is about the most I can handle. I will have to talk to the mayor about adding a building -- sort of convenient that she is sitting right there." Twilight regained a little of her composure. "You are in luck for the next few weeks. Oh Celestia, what have I gotten myself into?" Misty cringed a bit at the last statement and replied, "I guess it is time to find out." Misty then addressed the class "Everypony outside — we have some organizational issues to address." With that she trotted out the door. Even more ponies had arrived in the interim. Misty looked around and saw enough pegasi to make a super tornado and twice as many earth ponies. She turned to address the throng. "First off the most I can possibly teach at one time is forty students. I have talked to Twilight and she has agreed to give me use of the library for a couple more sessions per week. Despite the success with Apple Bloom I am not yet set up for earth ponies. I will set up a lesson plan for Tuesday however, and Tuesday and Thursday's classes will be dedicated to earth ponies only." "Today's class will end up being like the first class for the new pegasi I see here today. I apologize to anypony who was expecting the third lesson. I think helping the new ponies earn their abilities takes priority and I promise to get back to you once that is accomplished. I see Flitter out there. Any others who I led upstairs here from last week?" Several other pegasi rose over the crowd to be seen. Misty continued, "so all but one then. If you do not mind, could you come back after the class is over? I would like to discuss your experiences. In addition, I will have some time for any pony who was partway towards success last week shortly afterwards. Spike, could you set up the projector?" At that point Misty re-entered Twilight's library. After the seats were filled she started. "Okay, how many of you are not from Ponyville?" Having seen many hooves go up, she asked, "how many from Cloudsdale?" The answer was all of the extra pegasi except for the off-duty guards from Canterlot. With that Misty taught lesson one again. After the class ended and the new students left the library, Flitter and four other pegasi entered. Flitter walked up to Misty and whacked her across the muzzle with her left wing. "That was the most agonizing two days I have ever spent." Misty turned and replied "Well it worked didn't it? You said it wasn't the complete duration so you had to have sorted it out. And did the rest of you have equal success?" Flitter said, "I just didn't have it in me to give up so I kept on trying. I couldn't eat. I couldn't sleep. I felt sick. But yes I did succeed." It turned out Flitter had the hardest time of the pegasi present. The rest of them had managed it before the sun had risen that first night. Misty apologized to Flitter and expressed hope that maybe she would earn her horn tonight. At that point several more ponies entered the classroom. An hour later there were another dozen pegasi who could form glowing horns. ---- Misty awoke the next morning to the smell of frying eggs. She got out of bed, shook out her mane, and carefully descended the stairs to the main level of the library. Twilight was already eating, levitating food to her mouth with ease while at the same time composing a checklist for her day. Misty sat down at the table and said, "I never could get the hang of telekinesis and you know hard we tried. It always seems to be the simple things that are the most difficult. Oh, I have been meaning to ask you — How are the lessons with Scootaloo going?" Twilight set the quill back into its inkwell, swallowed, and replied, "as you thought, she is more talented with magic than you are. Of course it will be years before we can see her true potential. She seems to share most of your abilities with the underpinnings of magic, but unlike you she can also work basic spells in a normal way — no offense intended." Misty thought about this for a few minutes, accepted a plate of fried eggs from Spike, and replied, "do you think it would harm her progress with standard magics if she helped out with my classes? It is going to take a lot out of me working with so many students at once and if she could help Apple Bloom on her own, I have the feeling she would have no problems assisting me." Twilight changed an entry on her checklist. "I do not see that as a problem. In fact getting a balanced approach to her magic would do her nothing but good. The final decision is up to her though of course. I had a meeting scheduled with her just a bit after breakfast. I just checked that off my checklist and will instead be doing the errands I planned to do right after sundown. Tell her about the reschedule and you can have the morning appointment." Misty thanked Twilight, and proceeded to eat her eggs. Spike definitely had a flair for cooking. She couldn't remember one meal where Spike had prepared something inedible. She thought, "well, if I have a meeting I may as well make myself presentable." Misty climbed back upstairs to the guest room and attached her comb to the wall. She moved her mane against the fixed comb taking out the tangles. Misty placed the comb on a lower hook and then did the same thing with her tail. Next she flexed her wings and proceeded to clean each feather. Her work done, she descended to the main floor to wait for Scootaloo. Scootaloo knocked on the door soon afterwards. Spike opened it and Scootaloo trotted inside. She saw Misty sitting at the table and said "Hello Misty Midnight, I'm here for a lesson with Twilight Sparkle." Misty closed her notebook, and gestured towards the empty chair at the table. "Morning Scootaloo. Unless you have an objection, I will be handling your class today. Twilight has also made time for you around sunset if you can be here. If not I will relay that information." Scootaloo sat down in the empty chair. "If you hadn't come to town, my life would still be mostly about delivering packages. I am interested in anything you have to say." Misty took a few moments to compose herself and implored "I actually have a favor to ask. Teaching this class takes a lot out of me, and with the increased number of students and frequency of the classes: It is just too much for one mare to handle. What I am looking for is an assistant, somepony who could handle some of the practical portions and if Luna forbid something should ever happen to me, continue the cause of instructing non-unicorns in the ways of magic. Are you that pony?" Scootaloo stared into Misty's eyes, looked at her own flightless wings, then nodded. ----- The first pony to enter was Mayor Mare. She took a seat up front and motioned to Misty. After Misty approached she said, "your plan for an outbuilding has been approved by the council. I took the liberty of notifying Apple Bloom and she said construction would start tomorrow." Misty replied, "thank you for all your help Mayor Mare. I figured these classes would be once per week which Twilight could handle, but it didn't feel right imposing on her three times as often." Applejack was the second pony to enter. She took the seat next to the mayor and gently tipped her hat. Seeing the shock in Misty's expression she said, "ah wasn't plannin' on doing this but Apple Bloom was so happy I had'ta give it a try." The seats were rapidly filled with more earth ponies. Misty scanned the class to see if there were any who might have dangerous or very strong talents. The element of honesty had a lot of magical energy, which was to be expected. The only other abnormality was from a small pony with a pink coat and blue-purple mane. She approached the mare and said "How did you lose your horn?" Sea Swirl almost looked like she might cry. She said, "it was an accident about five years ago. How did you know I was a unicorn?" Misty pointed to Sea Swirl's head with a hoof and her flank with a wing. "I wouldn't be a very good teacher of this if I couldn't tell a unicorn from an earth pony. Your energy pattern is a complete giveaway. You carry nearly no energy in your flank. It is almost all up here by your head and neck. Do not worry: This should be fairly easy for you to learn." Misty glanced at her notes and then began the presentation. "My name is Misty Midnight and this is Magic For Earth Ponies 101. While practically all of my research has been with Pegasi, it is my hope that I will be able to help at least some of you connect with your latent magical talents. What I can tell you is that while Unicorns carry most of their energy near their heads and horn and pegasi carry theirs mostly in their wings, earth ponies have most of their energy all the way back towards their flanks and rear legs. In practice this means that you will have to conduct your energies more than twice the distance a pegasus would to manifest a ghostly horn and create a focus for doing magic." "To be completely honest, I did not initially intend to be working with earth ponies at this time. I figured the delicate process of moving and maintaining a small amount of magic within an earth pony all the way to the forehead while at the same time performing a magical talent would be too difficult for most to achieve. However, the success of Apple Bloom and the enthusiasm of the earth ponies of Ponyville convinced me to give it a try." "As for what talents earth ponies may have, I only have the one example. Apple Bloom has the ability to join surfaces magically which is very useful in her work as a carpenter. It is a good thing though that she doesn't have a penchant for practical jokes. From this, I am guessing that most earth pony magic will be either related to the earth, or your primary talent." "At any rate I want to rapidly get to the practical. The initial exercise is to try to at least be able to sense your own magical energies. I will be assisting by essentially poking around with it a little bit — this may feel odd, but if you feel anything you are one step closer to success. Once you can sense your own energies the next step will be to try to manipulate them." With that Misty closed her notes and dimmed the lights in the classroom. She walked among the rows and moved some energy away from the flanks of each earth pony. Amazingly enough they were quite sensitive to this — significantly more so than her pegasus students. Misty quietly climbed the stairs to the second level and gave a small knock on the door. She heard Twilight say "One moment" and then the door opened revealing the lavender unicorn, who was sipping a cup of tea and doing some "light" reading. She said, "you need something?" Misty approached. "I think I underestimated earth ponies. They are actually much more sensitive to their magical energies than pegasi and I have the feeling even today I may have a few students who will need your help -- this includes Applejack who might need special attention. I do not know what kind of talent an element of harmony would manifest but her base magical energies are very strong. Oh, we also have a unicorn who lost her horn years ago in the class who should be regaining her powers today." Twilight looked directly at Misty and cracked a small smile. "I actually invited Sea Swirl. She has been so sad since the accident and I figured the class would help her. As for Applejack and any others, I already had it on my checklist." Misty thought, "well score one for Twilight" and retreated back to her class. Misty raised the lights and said to the class, "you have exceeded expectations in every way. Nearly all of you have managed to not only sense your own magic but have exhibited some level of control of said magic. The next part will test that control. Forming a ghost horn is mostly a matter of finesse. What you need to do is focus a small amount of your magical energy right at the edge of your forehead. If you hold it there long enough, the ghost horn should form naturally. You will know when it happens." Misty wheeled a mirror in front of the classroom and asked them to begin. She walked among the rows and gave pointers like "that is too much energy" and helped others with the process. When the class was complete, Misty noticed that fully half of the ponies were able to produce the glowing horns. Misty addressed the class. "Twilight has agreed to help those who succeeded tonight find their talents and will be outside momentarily. For those who are still trying — see Twilight if you succeed and come back a week from now if you have not." ---- The noon train for Ponyville pulled into the Canterlot station. A group of twelve unicorns, garbed in the various fashions of the day, entered a private car near the back of the train. They started to talk amongst themselves as Canterlot faded into the distance. A teal mare was the first to speak. "Can you believe they are teaching pegasi magic? If they take up other trades, who will move the clouds?" A violet stallion replied, "even worse, what about the earth ponies? If they leave the farms, we could all starve." A tan stallion thought about what was said and opined, "magic has always been the sole function of unicorns. With everypony doing magic, how will we be special? With all that extra competition, how will we make a living?" A red mare agreed with the tan stallion. "It just shows an utter lack of respect for the traditional roles of ponies. It is an abandonment of unicorns in general." A dark blue stallion stood up and declared, "we are NOT abandoned. Prince Blueblood has our backs — He said all we have to do is protest, and cause some trouble and Celestia will end this madness." A general affirmation was uttered by all of the unicorns present. The afternoon train pulled into the Ponyville station. A dozen unicorns dressed in the styles of Canterlot unloaded several large crates and departed that train. They opened the crates with a flash of magic and each unicorn collected a sign. The unicorn protest had begun. They formed an orderly line and marched towards Ponyville. They chanted, "magic is for Unicorns. Respect the traditions. Close Misty's school." The signs had similar slogans, and a couple of them had pictures of Prince Blueblood. Ponyville citizens parted as the protestors marched. Foals pointed and asked their Mothers, "what is this mommy?" Several graduates of Misty's class looked on in disgust. Flitter, from the rooftop of Sugarcube Corner, took action. Her ghostly horn glowed a strong teal as clouds formed over the protestors. Moments later, it started to rain. The protestors ignored the precipitation and continued on to Twilight's library. Despite their best efforts to block the library entrance, the next class of earth ponies charged through, and the door closed behind them. Misty paced back and forth in front of the ponies. "I apologize for the difficulty in attending today's class. It seems some misguided unicorns have taken it upon themselves to try to put a halt to my lessons. They will not be successful." "I believe most of you know my assistant, Scootaloo. She will be helping me tonight and is the reason why I could accommodate a few more students. I am Misty Midnight and welcome to Magic for Earth Ponies 101." "Earth Ponies are actually kind of amazing. Fully half of the class that I taught two days ago were able to access their magic after only a single lesson. I am hoping for even better results tonight." "I learned that most earth pony talents tend to augment their normal skills. Applebloom, a carpenter pony, can adhere surfaces magically. Mayor Mare can magically produce text on documents. While Aloe can magically dye the manes and tails of ponies." Misty completed the rest of the lecture in a similar manner to the one two days prior. The practical portion turned out better than Misty had dared hope. Scootaloo was subtly different in style than Misty and together they were able to help ponies better than either could alone. By the end of the class fully three-quarters were ready for Twilight. The protesters were still milling around the entrance to the library. They made it difficult for Twilight to exit the building. She shot a burst of light from her horn and exclaimed, "Disperse! This is my library and I have students to enlighten." A tan unicorn stallion advanced slightly and said, "this is public land and we have every right to protest. What you are doing here is wrong, Twilight Sparkle. You are betraying your heritage." Twilight replied by casting a dome over the protestors. She then escorted the successful students to the area behind the library, released the first dome, and cast a new dome around herself and the students. She sound-proofed the dome and helped the earth ponies cast their first spells. ----- Rainbow Dash was enjoying her flight home from Dodge City. While she did a lot of flying as captain of the wonderbolts, it did not allow her to just pick a direction and go. Every move was choreographed. Each detail was planned. Here in the open sky she could do whatever moves she wanted whenever she wanted or just let the air gently caress her wings in a nice glide. She looked forward to a quiet stay in Ponyville. It was the one place where nopony asked for autographs, where the incessant flashing of cameras was absent. She was free to just find a cloud and relax. It was home. As she neared the edge of the Everfree Forest she started to climb. The air chilled as the world below grew smaller. She reversed her climb into a dive — faster and faster she flew. Effortlessly she pierced the cone of sound creating a sonic rainboom. As she flew faster than sound she remembered just how hard it used to be. Now it was usually just the beginning of a series of tricks in her show. Still, it was uniquely hers and it did serve to alert her friends when she arrived in Ponyville. She was so lost in thought that she did not notice the swarm of pegasi until it was too late. A three dimensional wall of pegasi surrounded the captain of the wonderbolts. The song "Nowhere to run to, nowhere to fly" played in her mind as autograph pads were shoved by her muzzle. Feeling claustrophobic and having nopony to help her part this crowd, she made her way on hoof to Twilight's Library. Twilight would know what was going on. The scene at the library was chaotic. Dozens of unicorns were carrying picket signs and chanting. They were also blocking the door. She did the only thing that came to mind. She flew in through the window.