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// Chapter 5: Magic 101 
// Story: Ponyville 
// by milawynsrealm 
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One topic that I might have not elaborated on enough is the realism of this world. The wood looked exactly like wood, and the books, which were all hardbound, looking exactly as books would back home.

As I looked at Twilight, who was frantically trying to get a first lesson plan together, I noticed that she looked close to her cartoon counterpart. The shape of her body was close to the cartoon, and her mane cut was spot on. The only noticeable difference is the size of her eyes.

In many cartoons, one thing that artists tend to do was to make the eyes look bigger than in real life, especially with humans. If you've ever seen Anime, then you know what I'm talking about. Her eyes still looked forward rather than to the side as a pony from my world would, and they also were still relatively bigger than human eyes were.

Until she was finished with her work, I just sat there quietly waiting. It even got to the point where I grabbed the book that Ms. Cheerilee turned back in. I managed to get it in front of me using both of my hooves like a clasp and turning the book around so that it was facing right side up. It took a while to get down how to go from one page to the next with hooves, but I managed in the end without ripping anything. My only real surprise was that the entire book was written in English, which I also saw back at the hospital. In the show, some of the text was written in some strange symbols.

Overall, the book was just a collection of mythological stories from a much earlier time in this world's history, however it did not give me an approximate date or time period. But it could also be due to the fact that I don't know much of anything of this world's history to get any idea of the actual time period and even which nation these stories come from.

As I read the stories more and more, I was more convinced that the humans depicted in these stories were vikings, or at least close enough. I don't read enough about ancient Norse culture to know either way. These humans promised peace and freedom, but delivered destruction and oppression. They stole what and when they wanted, and lied on a constant basis. Basically, the worst you would find in humanity.

Even though I know from human history that there were (and are) humans that can more or less act this way, at the same exact time, I know my ancestors and others like them have proven time and time again that humans are also good as well. Sure we have our flaws, but who doesn't. After Hurricane Katrina, I volunteered to help with some of the clean up with my church youth group. And I did this because I wanted to help, not because of some sort of self-serving interest or because someone else expected me to.

“Whew, done.” Twilight said as she wiped off the sweat from her forehead. “What are you reading?” she asked, levitating the book from where it was resting.

“Ms. Cheerilee returned it earlier when you were out.” I said.

A sense of panic hit Twilight as she closed the book to see what the title was. “Did she know you were human?” she said.

“Granted, it only took her a few moments before she realize what species I used to be, I really didn't have to say anything. At least it didn't turn out in disaster as I imagined it would be.” I said, hoping that it would help to quell her fear.

“How so?” she asked, her left eye twitching slightly. Apparently the cartoons may not portray as much of an exaggeration that I had previously assumed. But even then, I still had the gut feeling that some other parts might still be exaggerated.

“We had a nice conversation. Granted, there were a few awkward moments, I think that I might have actually cleared up some initial fears she had about humans. Although I cannot know for certain.” I replied.

For a moment, she quickly and quietly repeated the words, “Oh my gosh,” to herself as if the worse thing has happened. After breaking out of the repetition when I waved my hoof in her direction, she said, “Princess Celestia asked me to make sure that nopony knew what you were so I could tell her if ponies are willing to accept you as you are now.” Seated back, all she could do was quietly tell herself to calm down and even mentioned magic kindergarten a few times. Big surprise.

The front door then opened, and in came a crème colored earth mare with a solid blue mane. I was curious as to what her cutie mark is, but I quickly decided against it, since I wanted to not appear creepy or rude. Twilight, upon realizing this mare was waiting patiently for her, stood up in front of the visitor and did her best to straighten up her slightly ruffled mane with her hoof. “C-can I help you?” Twilight asked, putting on a bigger-than-usual grin on her muzzle.

“Yes, I am looking for a book on early Equestrian History. My son is doing an assignment on it for class and he really needs help.” she asked.

“Right. It's probably over here,” Twilight said as she walked over to the other side of the library, beginning her search for the book. The mare looked at me with a smile. “Hello.” she said simply, then turned her attention back to Twilight.

A quick moment later, she brought over the book with her levitation and placed it on the table. “Is this what you wanted?” she asked the mare in a quick manner.

After a quick examination, she smiled and placed it in her saddlebag. “Thank you very much Twilight. I hope that my son will find this useful for his report.” she said, then turned to me, and continued, “You must be the 'new arrival' that Ms. Cheerilee mentioned.”

I nodded my head in agreement as calmly as I could.

“And your name is Dan-yell, am I right?” she asked.

I would have corrected her on the slight pronunciation error, but came to the conclusion that it might have been received as rude as well. “Yeah.” I replied.

“Well, it's very nice to meet you Dan-yell. My name's Blueberry Swirl and I run the local party shop.” she stated happily. She opened the front door and turned back to me.

“I have to go now, but I hope to see you again.” she said before closing the door gently.

Without warning, I heard an audible thud. I turned to see that Twilight had just passed out, or looked like it. Spike, who was in the middle of sorting out more books, dropped what he was doing and came over to nudge Twilight to see if she was alright. I turned to see that Twilight had immediately gotten up rubbing her head in the process.

“You okay?” I asked.

After she came about and got up, still perplexed at what happened, she simply stated in defeat, “I guess it's like what you said, it could have been worse.”

I could only chuckle a bit at the response. After she finally collected herself, she walked over to the table with all of her notes, and picked out select pieces of paper.

“The first topic that I'm going to teach you is levitation since this is a skill that most unicorns know about. Do you know what levitation is?” she asked, quizzically.

“Lifting stuff with your mind by somehow reaching out to it.” I responded, hoping that was the real answer.

“So you do know about it.” she replied, a bit surprised that I knew.

“Sort of.” I replied

“What do you mean sort of?” she asked confused.

“Well, I've never seen or done any magic before coming here” I said.

“Never?” she said shocked at my response.

“Nope, where I'm from, magic is considered to be the product of the human imagination. Nothing more.” I said.

“Wow, I cannot imagine living a life without magic.” she said, almost as if she felt sorry for me.

“Well, I could say the same thing about hands.” I replied, waving my right hoof for a moment before setting it right back down on the floor with a light, audible clop.

“Don't worry. I'm certain you will like magic. There are many advantages to using it.” she said.

At this point I would have told her that not every new-comer might be willing to accept magic as a part of their lives as Americans would do with electricity, but I was actually more anxious to learn magic. I have always wanted to learn magic since I was very young. And besides, I did not know at all how the others are going to react to it anyways.

“I know.” I stated simply.

Walking over to the table that was nearby, she placed a white feather down on the surface with her teeth. I assumed that it came from a pillow. Taking care not to create any breeze of any kind, she walked softly to the other side of the table with her notes and a notepad alongside a quill. Now this was beginning to feel like I was being treated like a lab rat rather than being taught by a mentor which I was hoping for.

“Now, the goal is to lift the feather into the air. Most unicorn foals have magical outbursts just hours after they are born, so how hard should that be?” she stated, confident in her words.

“The only problem is that I was never a foal, and I have never had any magical outbursts before.” I informed her.

Her smile quickly faded into one of concern. “I never thought of that. I just...don't know how you can access your magic if you've never felt it before.” she said, trying to think of what to do next.

A moment of silence once again passed. She remained stumped at what to do next as she alternated between looking through her paperwork and trying to think of something. Spike was just standing close to Twilight with quill and paper in hand. A little while later, he placed his quill and paper on the table, as if to get ready to quickly grab them once Twilight could think of something.

Deciding that I had nothing else to do, I tried to try to get my magic out one way or another on my own. I know I was never a unicorn foal, but if I were one, then the magic still should be able to come out easily enough if I were to focus on the right spot, right?

Closing my eyes, I first tried to focus on my horn, which was hard because I quickly realized that it was just as fruitful as trying to feel my toenails. I then focused on the feather and tried various methods to 'reach' out to the feather with my mind. At first, nothing happened.

I was about to give up as well when an odd feeling had crossed my body, almost like a cold shiver up my spine would. But this feeling was different. It was a feeling that I was beginning to have after waking up in this world. However, the feeling was so subtle at first that I originally dismissed it as the fact that I was in a new body and expected to feel different than being Human.

This time, with a real focus point in mind, I began focusing on the 'strange feeling' once again. Once that was finished, I tried to focus on channeling it out where I thought my horn was, since it is essentially like a magic wand. I tried to force the energy out, but only managed a tiny spark.

“Twilight!” Spike cried out.

I jumped at the words, followed by a flash of light and loud crash. When the moment had passed, I looked around to see what had happened.

Twilight, who was on the floor with her front hooves over her head and shaking a bit, stopped to look around the room to see where it had come from.

“Uh Daniel?” Twilight asked.

“What.” I said, now feeling light headed. I looked over to her to see that her sights were fixated on the ceiling. Looking up to see what she was looking at, was a small, exposed hole in the ceiling with scorch marks surrounding it.

“D-did I do that?” I asked, looking now to my horn.

“Spike!” she scolded. “I thought that I told you not to disturb him.”

After Spike had apologized for 'distracting' me, along with me for putting a hole in her ceiling, she was determined to continue with the lessons, despite the misfire. I was still surprised that anything came out at all, or that she would be so quick to move on.

“Now the next part should be easy. All you have to do is reach out to the feather with your mind.” she instructed, pointing her hoof at the feather that was now laying on the table.

After some experimenting and a few more marks in the walls and ceiling (thank god it didn't hit any of the books), I finally managed to lift the feather a few centimeters off the ground before dropping it again. All I had to do was feel the magic in my mind, and then at the same time, reach out for the feather with it. I might have made it go higher if I hadn't used up so much energy in my previous attempts, but at least I did something.

While trying to wipe the sweat from my brow, I instinctively used my hoof to wipe my forehead. This ended up with me scraping with the hard part of it. If it wasn't for the fur, I would have most likely scraped off some skin in the process. Using my wrist, I wasn't only wiping the sweat off, but now I was tending to my now aching forehead. Stupid hooves.

After reassuring that I was alright, I asked panting, “Would it be okay if we took a break for a bit? I'm feeling a bit tired.”

“Alright. I guess we can take a break.” she said, turning her attention to the marks that I had made.

With her magic, she was able to make the scorch marks disappear, and made the hole in the ceiling repair itself. I could only look at her work with envy and awe.

Moments later, a voice cried out from outside. It wasn't a cry of help, but rather a happy one. As Twilight opened the door, I also looked outside from the doorway to see what all the commotion was about.

It took a little while for either of us to determine the source, but as soon as we caught sight of the source, we saw what was essentially going on. It was a lime green Pegasus stallion, who seemed roughly a bit younger than me, and if I guessed correctly from the facial features, a male.

I might have been able to tell other details about him, if it wasn't for the fact that he was galloping fast with a guard trailing right behind him in a desperate attempt to catch up.

“Whoooo! I'm streaking! I'm streaking! Whooooooo!” he yelled gleefully at the top of his lungs. It was then that I facehoofed for the first time. I only wished that I didn't hit my face so hard.

“In the name of Celestia, get back here!” the guard barked, although his command seemed to fall on deaf ears.
“What is going on here? Why is that stallion causing so much ruckus?” Twilight asked.

“He's probably another 'new-comer' who somehow got out.” I replied, continuing to focus my eyes to the running individual.
“But that doesn't explain what he's doing. Or why.” she said back.

“He's streaking. And no, I don't know why he's doing it. He probably got bored or somethin' like that.” I stated bluntly.
“What's streaking?” she asked, turning her attention to me.

“It basically means that he's running around naked in public.” I replied, now beginning to find the situation a bit more humorous than anything else.

“I don't get it. I'm naked most of the time when I'm running around. I don't see why that's so special.” she asked, now confused at my explanation.

“In many Human cultures, being naked in public is considered to be very taboo.” I responded.

“Why?” she asked.

“Humans have very little hair compared to...us.” I said.

It was very disorientating to speak about Humanity as though I was speaking about a different species. Every time that I mentioned about Humans, I instinctively thought about myself being a part of that. But my body was a constant reminder to myself that it was simply not true anymore. At least for now. I hope.

“So...Humans have had to wear clothing in order to stay warm and protected from the elements like our fur coats do. And I'm guessing that they've worn clothing for such a long time, that not wearing clothing is considered very unusual.” Twilight concluded.

“Was I right?” she asked, followed with a smile.

“Well, I never thought of it that way. But yeah, something like that.” I replied. At the time, I felt uncomfortable about explaining the other reason why.

As the stallion eventually made his way in front of the library door, he collapsed into a resting position with legs stretched out in all directions, panting heavily and completely covered with sweat. It took him a minute or so for him to focus his attention away from the ground, and towards Twilight and me.

“That...*pant*...was...*cough*...awe-some. *wheeze* This is, the best dream, ever.” He said in an excited, yet tired manner.
It wasn't until a couple of minutes later until we caught sight of the guard that was chasing him. He was on his belly, dragging himself forward slowly, inch-by-inch from behind the Pegasus. He was covered in even more sweat and dirt then the Pegasus was, and almost looked like he was just about to pass out from exhaustion.

Just as soon as the guard had touched the Pegasus' tail, he did just that.

Looking up, I had noticed that a small crowd had started to form around the two tired individuals. Depending on who you were looking at, some of them were either staring at the green Pegasus, the nearby guard, us, or just quietly talking amongst each other. Most of them seemed confused at the once spontaneous moment that had occurred, and some of them seemed to be expecting some sort of answer, either from me or Twilight. Every time that I thought that I had something to say, I immediately recoiled my message in fear of someone receiving my message the wrong way.

Looking to Twilight, I could tell that she didn't know what to do either. For a few moments longer, the awkward silence continued, until a white pony with a brown mane spoke out. “What the hay just happened?” she asked, still confused about the situation.

Twilight Sparkle had always seemed to be the go-to pony for providing answers in the TV Show, and I guess it applied here as well. During the Pinky Pie clone incident, a group of ponyfolk had demanded answers from her. But the white pony's question seemed more or less directed to either of us, as her gaze seemed to be shifting back and forth. She wasn't angry, but more or less confused and concerning about the individual that disrupted everyone's life at that moment. Twilight wanted to say something, but somehow couldn't get the words out.

Then, after Twilight was able to collect herself despite the overlapping questions and concerns, and she was able to finally to say something. She spoke in a loud voice as to make sure that every pony could advert their attention, but not so much that she was shouting at the top of her lungs. That got their attention.

She went on to explain the concept of streaking and the bit about a human's need for clothing and how it was a cultural taboo to not wear it in public. Many of the residents that were present were still uncertain and seemed somewhat suspicious about the whole thing as the issue of clothing seemed trivial to the ponies. A few seemed satisfied, but others were still not so sure.

“He doesn't look human to me. In fact, I get the feeling that this whole bit about Humans invading Equestria seems just too impossible to believe. And so far, I haven't seen anything to convince me.” the white Pony said. Others muttered mostly in agreement.

“You, 'new-comer'. Do you have any proof that you were once another species?” a blue stallion asked.

This was starting to get uncomfortable. I turned to Twilight who was motioning to me to get back inside.

“I don't have any proof with me right this second.” I replied. Twilight just facehoofed.

“What do you mean right this second?” Another pony asked skeptically.

“W-well...If I had access to my house, I would have more than, then enough proof. Books, films, music, art, stuff like that.” I said, hoping to ease the tension. And hopefully draw their attention away from me. Soon, I hope. The constant staring from every pony was starting to get a bit unnerving for one thing.

“Are you here to invade us?” a Pegasus Pony asked with fearful eyes.

“No. Whatever brought me here did so without my permission. I didn't even know what really happened until I woke up as a unicorn in the hospital.” I said.

“Do Humans eat ponies?” another crowd member asked. Some gasped at the notion.

I know that I was doing my best to keep a straight face, but apparently it was not working. In an unusual turn of events, even to me, I started to cry. In a mixture of sadness and anger, I emotionally lashed out by saying, “NO! I do not eat ponies. I have never eaten ponies, and I NEVER WILL. I have seen some of your stories on humans, and not all humans act that way. And they certainly don't look ANYTHING like the illustrations. YES, some humans can be bad, but NOT all of them.”

I just stood there, sobbing uncontrollably. At that moment, I was too focused on my emotions to reflect on the crowd's reaction. Then I started to focus on my memories and the events that led me to here, and it eventually became too much for me to handle.

“Why is this happening? Why am I here? I don't wanna be a unicorn. I wanna go home. I WANT MY MOMMY!” I cried out to myself, now gushing out a torrent of tears.

My emotions, now completely unbearable to deal with, I did the only thing that I could think of, run. Trying to make an honest effort to not knock down any of the crowd members, I managed to successfully push my way through. I didn't care where I went. Somewhere else was better than here.

Running and running, not caring where I went. Weaving through the maze that is Ponyville, I continued on and on without stopping. Every so often, I would pass a bystander, but just adjusted my direction so I would not hit them.

Eventually, I came to a halt. My heart was pumping and I was sweating like you wouldn't believe. Questions continued to assault my mind. Not one of them I had an answer to. I felt so lost and alone. Maybe if I had just left home after my fight with my father, none of this would have happened. I should have never told him.

After I spent what seemed like hours calming down, I looked up around my surroundings, shocked to find that I had not been paying attention to where I was really going. I was alone in the middle of the Everfree Forest. I looked around myself, hoping that a trace of civilization could be found. After sitting down, I began internally beating myself up for not paying attention.