Rubbing her temple, Maeve was ready to be an irresponsible, carefree little girl again. Fuschia was a wonderful little filly, but was best taken in small doses. Standing there, her fingers on her temple, Maeve wondered if she had done the right thing, bringing Fuschia back. It was that time of the day when everypony she knew was busy, she was going to be alone and without company.
Alone with her headache, she reached the conclusion that she was ready for some alone time. She started off from the school dormitories, ready to be away from the piercing, squeaky voices of little foals, and headed for more quiet realms, such as her room.
As she walked, her flowing knee length skirts swished around her. It was nice having good skirts, even if she hated them sometimes. Back home, sometimes, her clothes were little more than old rags sewn together to make something new. After her mother had died, her father did his best, but had trouble understanding that little girls sometimes needed new clothes and shoes… like after having a growth spurt. Her father’s solution had been a practical one—buy some large, heavy shoes and stuff the toes with newspaper.
She was going to need to new clothes after this last growth spurt. She had grown several inches in mere moments, all due to her powerful magical outburst. The skirt she was wearing had once hung down past her knees, and now, it hung down to knee length.
Today, her head had been clearer than it had been in a long time. She was free of pain killers of all sorts. She could think, but she was having a few tummy troubles as her body adjusted to life without the pain relieving drugs.
As she walked, she thought of Luna and their time together last night. Luna seemed happier than she had been in a while. They had talked about many things, Bjarke among them, and Luna was insistent on Maeve stepping up her magic lessons. Today, her head clear, Maeve realised that she wanted to focus more upon her magic. As she understood it, she had somehow brought Bjarke into this world, even though she did not understand how.
Perhaps it was time to grow up and take things a bit more serious.
“Princess Twilight Sparkle, what are you doing here?” Maeve looked at her visitor, feeling surprised. She had not been expecting Twilight, when the guard had announced that there was a visitor, Maeve had expected any number of ponies, or even her uncle, Bjarke, but seeing Twilight Sparkle surprised her.
“Hello Sorceress Maeve.” Twilight’s greeting was warm and affectionate. She stepped forwards, looking up, her eyes widening for a moment as she registered how much taller Maeve had become. Saying nothing else, Twilight wrapped her wings around Maeve’s middle for a brief hug. She felt Maeve freeze, going still, and Twilight worried for a moment if the girl was going to panic. Then she felt Maeve start breathing again. Twilight relaxed as well, gave one final squeeze, and then stepped away.
“I cannot help but notice that you have a wrapped present,” Maeve said in a sheepish voice, her eyes darting off to the paper wrapped box held aloft in Twilight’s magenta coloured magic.
“I do.” Twilight’s smile grew ever wider. “It is for you… but… you can only have it if you can unwrap it without your hands… Princess Luna insists.”
“Oh drats.” Maeve’s face fell and she rolled her green eyes when she thought of the daunting prospect of having to unwrap a gift. This was going to be a challenge. At least Maeve wouldn’t be bored, not for a while. Looking down, she saw Twilight studying her wooden arm, Twilight’s eyes were locked upon the place where the wood and flesh merged together around the elbow.
“Fascinating,” Twilight muttered as she set the package down upon a table in Maeve’s room. She stepped away, moving aside, allowing Maeve to come forwards. “I have spoken with Bjarke… I like him. He confirmed the theory that Luna and I had… well, I don’t want to spoil anything, but you’ll find out in a while. He has powerful magic… you would do well listening and learning from him.” Twilight paused while clearing her throat. “Maeve, I know it will be difficult, but I am begging you to give him a chance. He seems like a good—” Twilight’s words trailed off and her muzzle crinkled as she concentrated. “Well, a good whatever he is. I suppose calling him a man is wrong, because he’s not human.”
After pulling out a chair, Maeve sat down and made ready to pull open the package using nothing but her telekinesis. Twilight was standing right beside her, and she could hear Twilight’s excited breathing. Maeve felt a tug on her frizzy orange hair, a gentle tug, not a painful one, and then she realised that Twilight was looking at her right pointed ear.
“Oh, sorry, I hope you don’t mind, but you’re fascinating!” Twilight gave Maeve a sheepish grin. “Your ears got all long and pointy along with all of your other changes.”
“I don’t mind,” Maeve said, not being completely honest. She did mind, but Twilight was a friend, a friend that meant no harm. Maeve needed to trust Twilight—Maeve needed to learn to let go. She took a deep breath. It was nice hugging Twilight, and others. It was nice holding Red close. Maeve came to a somewhat painful realisation that she wanted gentle affection, she was starving for it, but was far too afraid of it. Not knowing what to say or do about the new thoughts in her head, she gave them a mental shove to move them aside and focused instead on bringing up her magic. She lifted her left hand and felt a peculiar sensation.
Magic flowed through the wood. She could feel it tingling in her fingertips. A silver blue glow illuminated the length of her arm. She heard a gasp from beside her, but Maeve did not allow her concentration to be broken. She lifted the pretty package from the table with nothing but the force of her will, shocked at how easy this was.
“Maeve, put the table down,” Twilight said in a low whisper.
Startled, Maeve struggled not to drop everything. She had in fact, lifted the table without realising that she had done so. She had been too focused on the package. The legs of the table were several inches above the floor.
“Slow and easy Maeve… just ease it down.” Twilight blinked and concealed her vague sense of worry. Twilight Sparkle understood the consequences of too much power, she had grown up dealing with them. She glanced at the table and then at Maeve. The girl had just reached the age where she had her monthly issue and now there was a massive spike in her magical abilities. She made a mental note to ask Bjarke some questions.
The table hit the floor with a clunk while the package remained held aloft. Maeve’s wooden fingers flexed, all four of them. It felt good having her fingers back, even if her arm was now a tree branch with sticks for fingers growing out of it.
Hearing a crackle, Twilight glanced around, looking for the source. Sitting in its display case, Choróin ar an Bitseach was now illuminated with an eldritch glow. Twilight, after having spoke with Celestia and Bjarke, knew what the crown was and what it did… the horrible crown that caused extreme irritability in the wearer. It was Maeve’s crown, and while Twilight supposed that a Sorceress needed a crown, this crown was unpleasant—crass even. Twilight didn’t like Choróin ar an Bitseach at all.
“Twilight, I feel funny…”
Turning her head, Twilight looked at Maeve; the girl’s frizzy coppery hair was now standing on end. Biting her lip, Twilight gulped down a laugh, not wanting to betray Maeve’s hard earned affection. It looked as though Maeve had stood out in an electrical storm.
The red ribbon tied around the package came undone, slipping away, and drifting down to the table like a falling leaf. The gift was surrounded in the same silver blue glow as Maeve’s arm, but there was no aura connecting the two. It seemed that Maeve had somehow learned to extend her will beyond herself and could now reach across some distance.
The shiny yellow paper around the package began to twitch and crinkle. Twilight could hear Maeve’s heavy, but focused breathing. Twilight felt her hooves lift from the ground. Whoops! She said nothing, not wanting to break Maeve’s concentration. All around her, Twilight could see other things lifting away, but the table remained rooted to the floor. Twilight’s eyes glittered and glinted, reflecting the silver blue glow of magic in the air.
The paper peeled away, tearing at one end, and then sliding off from the long, rectangular box with ease. As the shiny yellow wrapping paper fell away, a box of warm, almost glowing rosewood was revealed. There was a brass latch holding it shut. With a soft clunk, Maeve set it down upon the table.
“It’s beautiful,” Maeve gasped. “Is it a music box?”
“No,” Twilight replied in a soft, loving whisper. “Open it.” She felt her hooves touch the ground once more and Twilight was glad to be set down in such a gentle manner. She wondered if Maeve was aware of what she was doing.
Almost holding her breath, Maeve made a motion with her left hand. The latch popped open, the lid rattled, and then, with slow movement, it opened. Maeve tilted her head, trying to see inside the box.
Laying on a bed of velvet, there was… a stick. But it wasn’t like a wooden stick. It was made of metal, many different metals, all twisted, braided, and woven together. At the end was a crystal, a pink crystal that glowed with a faint light.
“Luna and I made you a wand,” Twilight said. “We had a hunch that you’d need it, and we were right. Bjarke said this is perfect… he uses his swords as a terminus point for dangerous spell energies.”
“It’s so pretty.” Maeve reached out with her left hand, wrapped her fingers around the wand, and lifted it out of the box. Touching it caused her arm to tingle.
“Luna and I took the major magic conducting metals, gold, silver, copper, steel, nickel, platinum, and palladium… we made thin metal rods out of each of them, and then wove them together to form the wand. Luna did most of the braiding, she can move solid metal like it was string.” Twilight paused. “The ends were all twisted around a piece of magically charged rose quartz from the Crystal Empire. Princess Cadance bestowed a blessing upon it, giving it a connection to the Crystal Heart. It will act like a focusing crystal… the more of your friends and those who love you are present, the stronger the effect of the focusing crystal will be.”
“Thank you!”
Without warning, Twilight felt two arms lock around her neck and she was pulled into a tight hug. It took Twilight a moment to recover, but once she did, she wrapped her wings around Maeve, hugging her back.
“Inside the box, there is a sheath for your wand and a belt. Keep this with you at all times, Luna’s orders, not mine,” Twilight said, whispering into Maeve’s ear. “Don’t get burned again… please, I could not bear it.”
“Thank you so much… thank you.” Tears of gratitude began to spill down Maeve’s cheeks and she let out a snotty sniffle as she pulled away from Twilight Sparkle.
“Princess Luna loves you… she crossed between worlds to help you… she has trouble expressing herself sometimes, but she thinks the world of you. While she and I were together, she spoke of you often, and how much she wants you to get better… how much she wants you to be happy.” Twilight took a step backwards and then looked Maeve in the eye. “Luna loves you in very much the same way that a mother loves her daughter… but truth be told, Luna is so hurt that she has trouble showing it. Help her if you can, Maeve, please?”
“I will.” Maeve nodded. “What do I do?”
“I don’t know,” Twilight replied, shaking her head.
After pushing her chair back, Maeve stood up. She leaned over the table, peered into the long wooden box, then reached in with her right hand and pulled out the folded belt that was inside. It was made of some kind of material that Maeve did not recognise, smooth, supple, almost rubbery, thick, and strong. The sheath was made of the same material. She strapped it around her middle and then slid the wand into the sheath. After staring at it for a moment, she pulled the wand out in a smooth, fluid motion, raised it, waved it around, and then slid it back into the sheath once more.
“I suppose I can start by taking my magic lessons a little more seriously.”