//------------------------------// // The Surge // Story: First Time Caster // by Chrome Masquerade //------------------------------// You focused on the 500 pound weight, willing it to rise. Froward, forward... up! But... nothing. It didn't move at all. You tried again, I SAID forward, forward... UP! but all it did was move slightly. You decided that this time you'd go all out. Forward, Forward, Forward, Forward... UP! The weight lifted into the air a little. You could feel energy pushing through your veins like little snakes, slithering through your blood, then to your horn. Something in your body was starting to crack. You could feel the energy flowing into your horn, your determination to please your teacher spurring it on. Something was going to have to give, either you or the weight, and you would be damned if you'd go down! Suddenly, that block hindering your invisible source inside you started to crack. More energy moved through your horn, more quickly, now. Sparks were flying from it. This was more weight than you ever lifted before! “Yes! Yes! You're doing it!” your teacher said, spurring you on to lift it higher. Then suddenly... that plug dissolved and a wave of magic spread through you, a wave of intense pleasure coming with it. The twin energies flowing through you like wildfire. It was like having fire and ice in your veins simultaneously; Both soothing and searing. As they say, your proverbial magical cherry had been popped, though you never understood that reference before. Unbeknownst to you, the other weights lifted as well, including the 100 pound weight next to the one you were attempting! “Wait! STOP! that's enough!” your teacher called. But you couldn't stop. The power in your horn was overflowing, forcing you to use it. Eventually the irresistible force overcame you and you expulsed the energy. The released magic manifested as a thunderstorm, and at it's center was you, rendered entirely helpless by this point. The miniature storm crackled and sparked, breaking Twilight's shield crystals one by one. Crack! You knew that to contain this energy. You had to fight it! Crack! Moments like this define us. Moments where you have to fight with everything you have, possibly more, because any less just wouldn't get the job done. With a conscious effort, you forced the energies pulsing in you to fuse, linking them and slowing the storm. Crack! It wasn't enough! You had to fight harder! You were afraid, afraid of being destroyed, afraid of hurting your mentor. Or worse, letting her down! Nevertheless, you forced yourself to keep concentrating, to keep pouring your very essence into your concentration. You HAD to stop this! Crack! With the last of your physical energy, you pulled the storm within yourself. It burned like fire, but you forced it to anyway. Suddenly, it was over and you fell to the floor. In a way you had never felt more energized, but in another you never felt more exhausted. You looked up to your mentor. “D-did... did i pass?” She smiled back down at you. “Yes, little one. You did. And look!” she pointed to your flank, sure enough, there was your cutie mark! A lightning bolt in a bubble. “If you can cast a spell of that magnitude, surge, bring that surge into you, sync with it and gain your cutie mark in one day... you are somepony i want on my side!” With that you fell asleep. Twilight brought you to the guest bedroom, putting you in the bed and tucking you in. “Rest now, my little pony. Tomorrow, we move to level three.”