//------------------------------// // 6: A Lesson On Magic // Story: When A Door Closes, Another Opens // by Intet22 //------------------------------// “And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don't believe in magic will never find it.” ~ Roald Dahl I can’t believe it has already been a week Rainbow and Applejack talked… Twilight thought to herself as she read a fairly dull passage from an old tome that covered the concepts of advanced teleporting magic. She had pulled the dusty book from the shelf to try get her mind off of Rainbow’s fragile friendship with Applejack, but every time she would try push the persistent thoughts back deeper into her mind, they seemed to worm their way back to the surface, just itching to make their presence known once more. Rainbow was pretty adamant about keeping their friendship in this terrible fractured state. Twilight thought to herself, letting out a sigh as she recalled the argument that she had with Rainbow the day after the fight between the two friends. That day had mostly consisted of Twilight suggesting that Rainbow at least think about what to do with Applejack, and Rainbow constantly getting angrier, as Twilight continued to lightly press on the already fragile situation. Celestia knows I tried for hours to convince her to at least try to forgive Applejack for what she had done… But no matter what I said, she wouldn’t change her mind. During our fight Rainbow didn’t even take the time consider the option… But I guess it is understandable… After the fight with Applejack, Rainbow had decided to stay at the library, while she tried to sort out her problems with now-former friend. The first couple days that Rainbow was there were a little bit trying for both them, as the new addition around the house meant there was less space for everypony. Twilight did have to admit that having Rainbow around the library all day was interesting to say the least, as now she had somepony else to talk to besides Spike. At least it did seem that Rainbow was getting better as time went on, becoming more and more like her old self each and everyday. Twilight’s gaze shifted over to Rainbow as she lay in the corner of the library’s large central room, an open book in her hooves, and a large grin stretched across her face. Oddly enough Rainbow had spent most of her time in the library, reading as much as she possibly could, only taking some breaks for a couple moments to stretch her tired legs. Within the small amount of time that Rainbow had spent at the library, she had completely finished the Daring Do series, and was moving onto other material. Nothing too interesting for Twilight’s taste, but it was nice to see that she was having other literary interests. Something just doesn’t seem right here, but I can’t quite put a hoof on it. She seems to be a little less… Rainbowish for lack of a better word... I guess that can expected to a degree, but something about it feels strange. No constant talk about how awesome she is, no mentions of the Wonderbolts, and not even a single cocky remark at all.  “Hey, Twi,” Rainbow said while laying on a soft cushion on the other side in the room, her head poking over the open book, a confused expression plastered over her face. “What’s up? You seem a little…” Rainbow waved a hoof through the empty air, while she rested the corner of the heavy book on her belly. “I don’t know… Stuck?” “I guess you could say that,” Twilight said with an exhausted sigh, closing the dusty book with a hoof. “I was just thinking some things over. Nothing too important...” As Twilight looked over at Rainbow, she noticed that the book Rainbow had open on her chest was a fair amount thicker than any of the other novels that she had normally read. “What are you reading anyway?” Twilight asked. “Oh this?” Rainbow pulled the thick book to her chest, revealing the title. In bright golden letters the words Advanced Aerodynamics: Mach Cones, and the Visible Light Spectrum were emblazoned across the book’s pristine brown leather cover. “Well I figured that maybe I should be doing a little bit more studying into how I can actually do the Sonic Rainboom. It’s nice to know that I can do it, but now I want to know why it happens. Ever since the day that I did it back as a filly I always wondered about how I’m the only pony to do it, so I figured, why not figure it out for myself? Why do you ask?” “No reason, just wondering,” Twilight said while levitating the old book back to its rightful location on the shelf, cataloged perfectly in alphabetical order with the others. “I never thought that you’d be getting into that sort of material.” “I guess…” Rainbow said as she closed the book with a satisfying thud, tossing it on the table beside her with a simple movement. “I don’t know really, it was just something that I wondering about for a while now.” Rainbow stood up from the comfortable reading spot that she had made for herself, and made a beeline for the kitchen. “I’m going to get something to eat. You want anything?” “No I’m fine, thanks for asking,” Twilight replied. After a couple of moments passed, Rainbow walked back into the room, a small plate of hayfries in her mouth. Both of the mares sat patiently in the room, neither one say anything until Rainbow spoke up. “So what’s up for today?” Rainbow asked as she ate her snack. “Not much really. I guess all that I have planned for today is to get ready for the Archmage Exhibition that is going to be happening in a couple of days. Other than that I have nothing planned at all.”  "Archmage exhibition?” Rainbow said with a confused look on her face. “What’s that?” “The Archmage’s Exhibition is an event that is hosted in Manehatten every two years,” Twilight said with her best lecturing voice. “Unicorns from all over Equestria come and participate in the event. All of the participants are judged by a panel of three esteemed judges, the panel typically composing Princess Celestia, Luna, and one celebrity judge that is kept secret until the opening ceremony. After a couple of grueling days for the participants, one unicorn is selected and wins both the title of Archmage Champion, as well as personal lessons from the Archmage… Although even if somepony doesn’t win, it’s a really good idea to go if an individual has a lot of potential. It provides the perfect setting for master magicians to search for their next potential student. Quite often, these powerful teachers will pick those who just barely didn’t earn the title, and take them as their own pupil.” “Sounds important,” Rainbow said with a nod. “For most unicorns it is… If I had to make a comparison to pegasi culture, I guess it would be extremely similar to a Wonderbolt audition.” “So… Are you competing this year?" Rainbow asked after a couple moments of silence. "I remember seeing that sweet trophy that you won!" Twilight's face began to curl up into a smile. There is some of the Rainbow that I know, finally starting to poke of it's shell. "I bet you could beat everypony without even trying! Just flash some of that awesome alicorn magic, and boom instant win!” "Rainbow, I can't compete for a couple of reasons. First of all, I'm the surprise judge for the exhibition this year, so obviously I can't compete. The second reason is because of these," Twilight said as she flared her wings out, extending them to their full extent. "Alicorns aren’t allowed to enter due to their innate magical abilities. Every alicorn has access to a divine pool where a large amount very potent energy is stored. Celestia has the sun as the nucleus of her power, and Luna has the moon that she can draw from, if need be. With such deep pool of energy to pull from, alicorns have a distinct advantage over everypony else, and thus are not able to compete in the event." "Okay then," Rainbow said, nodding her head in acknowledgement. "I have another question. How does magic work anyway? All I know is that it happens..." Twilight's ears shot up, and large smile made its way across her face. "Well..." Twilight started to lecture, while a little confused on why Rainbow was suddenly interested in magic, but that would not deter her from passing her knowledge along to another curious pony. "Magic is broken down into six major 'schools'. First you have the school of conjuration magic.” A dull lavender glow surrounded Twilight’s horn as a purple table manifested itself in the air. “As you can see conjuration magic focuses on the manifestation of physical objects through non-physical means. The caster’s thoughts are transformed into something tangible, and can be actively manipulated in anyway the caster of the spell sees fit." The magical structure of the table began to shudder, twisting at geometrically impossible angles, until the magical energy settled on one final shape. Where the table used to be, now lay a simple chalkboard, with messy notes scribbled across the chalkboard’s face from top to bottom. "Then there is force magic, which is my personal favourite." Twilight continued to lecture, as the chalkboard vanished with a small flash. "It requires a very quick mind to be able to apply the massive force needed to manipulate objects, while keeping the distribution of external force equal across the object’s surface. Telekinesis falls into this school for obvious reasons, and teleporting is just the concept of adapting the right applicable forces and applying them to the target at extremely fast speeds. Defense magic borrows a large amount of concepts from the force school of magic, as most defensive spells are derived from basic repulsion spells." Looking over at Rainbow, Twilight could tell that she was getting bored with the lecture, and decided to take a more hooves-on approach to answering Rainbow's question. Twilight's horn began to glow a dull shade of violet, and a small flame started to form in front of her. "While I'm quite adapt in force magic, I've never been able to quite grasp how combat magic works..." Rainbow’s face contorted with confusion, as the thought of Twilight having problems with anything magic related, didn’t quite register at first. Really? I find that hard to believe... How can Twi have any problems with magic? "You see..." Twilight said, her concentration focused on the miniscule ball of energy in front of her. Small tendrils of energy periodically shot out from the orb in random directions, some hitting Rainbow in the muzzle, sending a dull, tingling pulse throughout her face. "Each school of magic requires a different mindset when casting the spell. Combat magic such as this small fireball requires for the unicorn to be able to keep their flow of energy constant but ever changing to match the nature of how spell reacts in the world. Too much energy in a particular location will cause an overload of the spell’s structure, and will potentially cause the spell to violently explode. While too little energy will cause the spell to harmlessly dissipate.” The ball of energy shuttered and then quietly evaporated into thin air, only leaving the ambient heat the flame had once created. "Ever since I became the Princess of Magic, I have been trying to figure out how combat magic works." Twilight let out a defeated sigh. "But I guess I still got a long way to go. No matter what I try, I can’t seem to get the constantly shifting energy stream to behave the right way." “Don’t worry about it too much Twi,” Rainbow said, putting a hoof over Twilight’s shoulder. “You will get it eventually.” Both of the friends sat in the library’s central room, a comfortable silence hung in the air between the two. "So... You’re going to be the guest judge?" “I was thinking about it…” Twilight replied, the uncertainty of her thoughts obvious in her voice. “But?” Rainbow asked, her head tilted at an odd angle. From the tone of Twilight’s voice, Rainbow knew that Twilight was hiding something from her, and was afraid to say what was on her mind. “But what? It sounds like it’s something really important to you, so why are you hesitating on going?” “Well…” Twilight nervously rubbed her forehooves together. Deep down she didn't want to ask the question that was causing her indecision. Rainbow had managed to recover fairly well from the break up, but Twilight couldn't help but worry if Rainbow would be fine with her leaving for a couple days. There were only a couple times where Rainbow had asked for Twilight’s help, but no matter what Twilight couldn’t help but feel a little guilty if she weren’t there for Rainbow when she needed it. “Are you going to be okay if I leave for a couple of days?” Rainbow stared back, not quite sure on how to respond to the question. “I guess I’ll be fine…” Rainbow said after some thought, shrugging her shoulders as the words left her mouth. “I could read through these last few books on aerodynamics, and wind drag… At least that will keep me busy, for a little bit.” Rainbow’s eyes nervously darted around the room, never staying in one place for too long. “Although... I was thinking about asking you if I could tag along... If that was all right.” Twilight sat there, staring in shock at Rainbow as her mind tried to make sense of what Rainbow had said. There weren’t too many things that shocked Twilight anymore. She had faced hydras, changelings, and had even finished a spell that even the legendary Star Swirl the Bearded himself hadn't been able to complete. However that simple sentence had completely stumped her… The simple inquiries on how magic worked were one thing, but actually wanting to come with her to the Archmage’s Exhibition… That didn’t make any sense! Why would Rainbow be taking an interest in magic of all things? Ever since we first met, she has constantly made remarks about how magic isn’t that interesting… So why does she want to come with me to the magic exhibition?  Twilight’s ear gave a small twitch, something that was unavoidable when something didn’t make perfect logical sense. Unfortunately ever since she had tried for weeks on end to uncover the truth behind Pinkie’s Pinkie sense, the nervous twitch would always make its way back. “Why do you want to go with me to see the exhibition?” Twilight asked, still confused about Rainbow’s request. “Don’t get me wrong, I’d enjoy the extra company… It’s just that…" Twilight paused for a second, as she tried to find the right words. "You’ve never once, not a single time since we met, took an interest in anything magical… But now you’re asking me to come along to an extremely important exhibition. Why?” “I don’t know,” Rainbow said. “I thought that it sounded quite cool actually. All of those unicorns competing for some awesome prize, each one putting their best hoof towards something that they want…” Rainbow paused to collect her thoughts. After a couple of quiet moments, she continued to speak. “It’ll be nice to take some time away from Ponyville for a couple of days. So much has happened in the past week… With all the stuff that happened between me and Applejack, I figured that it would be nice to take a break from it all.” “I guess that makes sense…” Twilight said, slightly dumbfounded by the simple reason that she had been provided. “If you really want to come, we would be catching the eight o’clock train to Manehatten. It’s going to be an all day trip to get there, so you better pack well.” “Will do! I’ll get started right now.” With that Rainbow shot up the stairs in a cyan blur, the backdraft behind her scattering loose papers throughout the library. Twilight just sat there, staring at the bookshelf in front of her, not saying a single work, her mind still trying to process what had just happened. Giving her head a violent shake, she snapped herself back into reality. Okay… Okay… So Rainbow is taking an interest in magic… That is normal… Right?... It’s perfectly normal for somepony to have a little curiosity… And it makes logical sense that Rainbow would want to know. However the more Twilight repeated the last sentence in her head, the less and less it added up. Wait! No it doesn’t make any sense! This doesn’t make any sense at all!!! Twilight felt a small tug on her coat, but quickly dismissed it as her mind continued to try to piece the information together. Another tug came, this time more persistent than the last. Looking over at the area of fur being pulled, Twilight saw a purple scaly claw pulling once more, trying to get her attention. “About time,” Spike said, clearly annoyed that he had been ignored. “All of the bags are packed for the train ride in a couple of days. Don’t worry… I double checked everything on the list you gave me, and double checked the other list as well. Everything is all set to go.” “Thanks Spike,” Twilight said with a smile, while patting the little dragon on the head with a hoof. “Rainbow is going to be coming with us on the trip to the exhibition. Are you okay with that?” “Of course! Why wouldn’t I?” Spike asked with a confused look on his face. “That’s good. Although… You better get to bed, we have to get up early tomorrow and it’s getting late.” “Aww… Do I have to?” Spike said, giving his best puppy pleading eyes that he could muster. “Yes you do.” “Fine. I am going.” Spike said as he began to walk up the library’s oak stairs. “See you in the morning?” “You definitely will,” Twilight said with a smile. The next day came rather quickly, as the rest of the night had been packing and getting ready for the trip that lay ahead of them. Rainbow first to wake up, making breakfast for everypony on the trip while Twilight and Spike continued to sleep. After the small breakfast and Twilight double-checking everypony’s saddlebags to make sure that everything had been correctly packed, the group set off for the train station. Unfortunately the train ride had been fairly boring for Rainbow and Twilight. Spike decided that he was going to nap for most of the trip, and was fast asleep in his own personal room, only a couple minutes after they got on the train. After Rainbow and Twilight had spent hours discussing the finer points of the Daring Do novels, neither mare could find anything to talk about to help entertain them. Time continued to slowly pass as the train rolled down the tracks, the only interesting thing being the immaculate scenery that was whipping by the window. In their room lay two beds, a set of navy blue sheets draped over top of them. After sitting in the room reading a couple stories to pass the time, it was late and Twilight let out a yawn as she continued to read from the book in front of her. Rainbow poked her head from underneath the navy blue bed sheet, her face contorted with an expression that screamed that she was deep in thought about something. Twilight stared back into the magenta eyes that lay fixated on her, as she tried to deduce the pegasus’s thoughts, but to no avail. “You okay there, Rainbow?” Twilight asked with an eyebrow raised, as she glanced up from the book that she had been reading. “You look like your head is going to explode if you think any harder about whatever it is that has you stumped.” “Well... Back at the library you mentioned that there are six main ‘schools’ of magic.” Rainbow said, making air quotes in the air with her fore-hooves to emphasize her point. “Though you only went over conjuration, combat, and force magic. So that’s three down, and I have been spending a while trying to figure out the last three, to see if I could do it without your help.” Really? Why are you trying to deduce the last three schools of magic? For that matter why do you care that much to actually try to figure it out for yourself? “So far I have a couple of ideas,” Rainbow continued while tapping her forehooves together as talked. “Luna has control over the night, and Celesta has control over the day… However no matter how much I try to put those together, I keep coming with absolutely nothing. Although... I think I have a good guess for one of the other schools at least.” “Oh?” Twilight asked. Deep down she wanted to see where Rainbow was going with this. Twilight knew that Rainbow was a lot more intelligent than what most ponies thought,  just in different aspects of knowledge that others didn’t fully see at first. “Well I know the Elements of Harmony work on the magic of friendship or something, so I’m guessing that the magic of friendship is one of main schools of magic.” “Well sort of…” Twilight replied. You’re close their Rainbow… Very close... “You see Rainbow, the magic of friendship is part of one of the greater schools… And that school focuses on the magic that comes from the soul.” “Magic of the soul?” Rainbow shot a confused look over in Twilight’s direction. “I’ve never heard about that.” “Most non-unicorns don’t know how the magic of the soul works, Rainbow. So it makes sense that you’d never heard of the school before… You see this particular school refers to the magic that comes from a unicorn’s very essence of being, the magic of friendship and the magic of love are both rooted deep within this school. Magic from the soul is very powerful, in fact it is some of the most powerful magic that a unicorn can tap into, however it is also the most draining of schools, and is hardest to learn out of all the six main schools.” “Unlike the other three that we have talked about, this magic requires the caster to delve deep into their own being, and access the power that lies deep within themselves. This deep inner power resides in all unicorns, however it is very hard to access it, unlike the much easier sections of magic that the other schools gather from. Most often a catalyst like the Elements of Harmony are used to assist in the use of this deep power. There are some ponies out there, very few mind you, that can syphon a little bit of this energy. Those that have been able to accomplish this incredible feat, have typically gone down in history for a variety of different reasons.” “Really? That sounds awesome!” Rainbow said with a quick hoof bump underneath the sheet. “So that leaves only the last two schools then.” “Ah yes, the school of warding, and the school of enchantment.” Twilight continued. “Both similar at first glance to the untrained eye, but they are in fact very different. Warding magic focuses on spells that are some what ‘sentient’,” Twilight said while accenting her point with air quotes. “In general, warding spells somewhat have a mind of their own, only acting when the warded object is in danger from external forces.” Rainbow shot a confused look over at Twilight, the point of the makeshift lesson clearly not sinking the pegasus’s mind. “Think of a mother protecting her child Rainbow. They will go to any means to protect the one that they hold dear, just like how an advanced warding spell would act.” “Okay, I think I got it,” Rainbow said, a quick nod acknowledging her understanding. “Warding spells are used for protective purposes. So what about enchantment magic?” “Enchantment is the act of passing one’s magic ability to another object, thus giving the power to whoever wears or wield enchantment. Typically these spells are one that increase an item’s particular capabilities, like making an axe stay sharper for longer periods of time. Sadly enchantment magic is the one school that ponies are starting to deviate from, as most people don’t have the patience to get the spells correct. Enchanting magic takes a long time to perfect, and even longer time to master, so there are very few ponies left that are experienced in the magic style.” “Yeah I could see how that would be a pain in the flank. All of that time and effort put into something that you love, without too much to show for it would suck.” Both mares sat there for a couple of moments, not saying anything to each other as they watched the night cloaked scenery rocket by. However there was a question that had been pressing on Twilight’s mind ever since yesterday and she was determined to find the answer to it here and now. “So Rainbow…” Rainbow turned her case from the window over to Twilight. “Why have you took such a heavy interest in magic all of a sudden?” “Huh?” Rainbow replied with a confused tone. “What do you mean? I already told you, I thought that it sounded cool, so why not learn about it?” As Twilight thought about the reason, it didn’t seem to add up. To be interested in magic was one thing, that was perfectly reasonable, but from going from such an extreme disinterest to suddenly becoming fixated on it… Just didn’t add up. There is something that she isn’t telling me… I don’t know what… But something just seems a little weird about this whole entire trip… Rainbow has been a little off ever since I told her about the Archmage Exhibition. Twilight sat there, staring at Rainbow with serious intent, making sure to notice every feature that came across Rainbow’s face. “You’re hiding something from me… Aren’t you?” “Pffft…” Rainbow said while brushing the comment off with a hoof. “N-N-No... What would make you say that?” “Really, Rainbow…” Twilight said with a deadpanned expression. “You wanting to come with me on this trip is understandable. I mean even though you said that you would be okay, I can still see you wanting to come along, but that isn’t what is confusing me at the moment. You taking such a heavy interest in magic like this is just… Odd…” “I told you. You made magic sound awesome so why wouldn’t I be interested?” Come on Rainbow, work with me here a little bit. I am just trying to figure this out… “Please Rainbow, tell me why.” Rainbow glanced around the room, searching for a reasonable answer to the question that had been laid in front of her. “You’re not going to stop until I tell you… Are you?” Rainbow asked, her eyes still fixed on the bed. “Probably not.” “Okay okay…” Rainbow let out a sigh. “Over these past couple of days with everything happening between me and Applejack, I noticed something about how I treat my friends.” Twilight rose an eyebrow at the comment, not quite sure where Rainbow was going with the topic. “I’ve never really paid much attention to what all the others have been doing. All I have really been interested in myself, just focusing on the Wonderbolts auditions, and my now failed relationship with Applejack. All of this time I have never stopped to consider what you guys are interested in, so I decided that I would take the time to slow down and see what my friends enjoy.” With that a smile stretched across Twilight’s face. “Come here,” Twilight said while patting the empty spot on the bed with a hoof. “I’ve got something to show you and I think that you’re going to enjoy it.” “Uh sure…” Rainbow said, a little confused on what Twilight wanted to show her. With a simple flap of her wings, the light sheet flew off the bed, landing in a ball of fabric on the train floor. As Rainbow sat next to Twilight, she began to notice that a pearl white glow was emanating from Twilight’s horn, the air heavy with a thick magical force that slightly weighed on her fur. “What are you doing there Twi?” No response came from the alicorn, her mind clearly focused on the spell that continued to surge through her body. Twilight lowered her head down, resting her horn on Rainbow’s head, and with that simple action, Rainbow’s world was replaced with darkness.