//------------------------------//
// Mistakes 
// Story: Mordane Stronghoof 
// by Mr Stargazer 
//------------------------------//

The battalion crept over the western hill as the sun beat heavily down onto their heads. Bred for war, the soldiers did not falter. Scores of battles had hardened them. After all their ancestors had fought for time immemorial. How could they do any less? Their leader readied his weapon. Now was the easy part, but he kept going over plans in his mind. Like an obsessive itch looking for weakness.

"The bright red army's front line is progressing at two body units a second. At that rate, they will intercept the black army by the river." 

The enemy force outnumbered his by nearly a third. Convention would tell him that this battle couldn't be won.

He stared unblinking at the marching throng of his enemy.

"They seem to not be deploying scouts. Must mean to crush us with numbers alone. That will be their downfall... All warfare is based on deception." 

He stopped on top of a rocky hill, hidden behind the greenery of this forsaken land. His troops growled angrily as they halted behind him. They would wait, however. There was no other choice for them. The black army line sat waiting on the edge of the river, just before the bridges spanning it. The deep muddy waters would mean death for the cumbersome troops below.

"Good. Just as planned."

Then it happened. The red army tore out of the bush. The first wave came, running straight for the black's line, charging over the bridges in their hundreds.

"Contact."

At the edge of the river heads were severed, legs crushed and countless troops lost, but he did not attack. No, he waited until the enemy was fully committed, until the trailing edge of their forces arrived at the river.

It is time.

They charged.

Their pincers reached the back of the red ant line. With growing joy John watched as his forces executed a perfect flank and caught the black ants on the bridges of grass. The enemy was being attacked from both sides. General John took no time in cutting the grass blades and sending the enemy army tumbling into the water. It was glorious. Glorious! A battle for the ages. One that would've been sung in song.

However, he miscalculated. A few red ants caught his tiny black ant body. With great pain, they pulled him apart. The attack was a success however. Alexander the Great would be proud. Well, except for the whole dying part.





"Note to self: That is why generals should command from the rear. If that was a human army, then his force would have been lost and without command."

John's mind snapped back to his human body, still sitting in a chair. Standing up he walked over to the side of the patio in his backyard and leaned down. It was an odd thing to look down on the battle in which he had just died. Well, not him. Just the small ant he had entered.

He was no general. Only a simple clock tinker with a few...particular talents. He had meditated for most of his life and in doing so, had mastered astral projection and possession.

"What a useless skill"

Sighing he scratched the back of his head and scanned the area before heading out of the gate in the back of the fence.

He was only really capable of possessing small mindless insects, though. Anything with an actual mind would simply shrug him off. It was fun, however, to step out of his normal life and join the epic battles in his backyard. He knew every pebble, every resource, every hill and valley, he had fought in them all.

There were five colonies in the small space. They each had their own advantages. The red army had numbers, because of its residence just below a tree, which gave it ample food. However, the tree was in the middle of the yard so they were at war most of the time. Then there were the fountain ants. They numbered the least, but had the strongest troops due to both genetics and a good water supply. Two more resided in random locations. They were new and so did not yet deserve a name. Finally, there were the black ants. They were aggressive, ranked third in numbers, third in resources, and were holed up in the corner of the lawn. They were his favorite. He had led wars against them and defended them from aggressors, but they never seemed to break. As such they were the oldest colony in the yard. Too bad he could tell no one of their triumphs. They would lock him up as if he were crazy.

John went up a short hill to sit on his favorite bolder. He liked to take the time to gaze at the horizon as the sun set. It quieted the restlessness in him. Soon though the sky would darken and he would go inside to get a drink of water.

Until his time for bed, he read various books on war, strategy and the functions of nations. It mostly came to use when he would get together with some other guys and play tabletop strategy games. He would also go downstairs into his model train room.

Leaning against the wall he would flip the switch and watch and the various trains moved around. Sometimes he would sit and think of the lives of the pretend people in his pretend town. Sometimes he would even remember the face of his grandfather....He would hear those most important words whispered through time.

A shake of his head would dispel those memories like a hundred times before.

"No use in that."

Sleep came easy to him, but dreams where never at peace. Always visions of conflict. Murder, violence, intrigue and war.

The next morning, he woke up at eight, got dressed, and then went to work. Many would of been unhappy in his job. For him, this was not the case; in fact, he loved his job. There was always someone wanting him to repair an old radio or install a new one into some odd contraption. Making them always brought him joy.

It may not have been the most glamorous source of employment, but it paid the bills and he loved to tinker with all the strange little gadgets while listening to music.

After work, he went to the store and bought dinner, drove home, and cooked it. Usually from this point his measure of a good day was whether or not one activity occurred: if one of his parents called, or not.

His parents were what he could only describe as trash. Drinkers and violent abusers the both of them. His mother was bad enough. It seemed she only knew how to criticize him. Then there was his father.

"You know what, son? You know what your problem is? You have no ambition! You're just a waste of space."

The dull memory echoed back to him, leaving its dull ache. Despite the years he felt himself rile up again.

"'You need to learn to be a real man!' Oh yes, father, a real man. A real man who beats his wife and kid, calls women whores, and drinks the food budget away. A real man, bah! I’ve more manhood in my little toe than that old drunk has ever shown. Maybe your wife would stop whoring around if you actually talked to her once in awhile, instead of throwing beer bottles!"

Why she didn’t leave him, the young man would never know.

She talked about it, even threatened it! But in the end, she won’t leave. He let her feed her habits, and paid the rent. What else could she want or hope for?

John would stop when such flashes came. He would take a moment to breathe and relax. Breathing deep he would focus and let the anger flow away.

Luckily, those two had not called today. So after eating, he walked back out onto his back porch and closed the patio door. Sitting down, he began to concentrate.

It has been eight days, six hours since he last tuned himself. If he did not reach Zen regularly, his senses and mind would dull. He had started in his childhood, learning to filter out the sound of shouting to suppress pain and emotions. Such was the way of his life. Some said this attitude made him seem cold, but he preferred to think it made him self controlled.

The first thing he felt was his heartbeat. Smooth, regular. It acted as a good focal point. Before, he would have to focus for hours to find his center. Now he could almost do it while talking. Focusing, he felt the force within him. All people have it. It's been called many things, ki, chi, life energy, and life force, however, it is all the same thing. Just the physical and mental energy in your body. No magic here, just flesh.

However, a year ago he noticed something. If you were looking close enough and at the right angle, a thin line of something ran through you mind. Months had passed before he could grasp it without losing his Zen. When he had it...

The world opened up. He could go out and feel for another mind. A week later, he entered a caterpillar that was coming out of the cocoon. The feeling of flight was magnificent. But in mere moments, the small spirit of the animal would push him out. No matter what, he could not control a filled vessel. Perhaps an unborn one... but then he would have to stay in there for weeks. In the end, he entered an ant. That was nearly six months ago. Was it magic? Probably, but it seemed too weak for anything useful. Still he nibbled at it. Tweaking and playing with the ants, a bird and other animals nearby his domicile.

He breathed in and out, focusing on the internal energy that every being carried. When he reached his center the line appeared. He was about to reach for it, but there was something strange.

The line seemed to exist in another direction it hadn't before. Like a two dimensional object suddenly having depth. With a thin thread of will he poked the string right along its new edge.

It was like a pool, no, an ocean opened before him. Then even an ocean would not be large enough to describe it. It went on forever. His soul shuddered as it touched the eternal void. His arms grew cold and he started shaking. Sitting back, he marveled at that. He could now feel his soul. His mind was running at full speed.

"What was that? It was not part of me. It’s dangerous, I can tell that much. Yet all that I could learn...after only a moment I can already feel this... soul within me. What other knowledge might I obtain?"

There was only one way to get any answers in this world. So he moved toward the mental rift again and passed through. This time his soul completely detached.

At first he panicked and reached back, reconnecting with his body. There he teetered on the edge of oblivion. 

”Nothing ventured, nothing gained...”

Hesitantly he moved toward the rift again. As a soul, his spiritual senses sharpened. Suddenly, the void was filled with lines. Some were thick, others small. Some looked pale and simple, while he could not fully understand how many twisted in strange ways. Ways that he could not even comprehend, when he remembered this later.

Saying that he ‘looked’ at something here would be a misdirection. Nevertheless he saw the line he had come from. It was so thin in comparison to the others. Most were as thick as ropes. Some as rivers.

He was staring in awe at the strings when he noticed one of the larger ones had a strange bump on it. As he Moved to get a closer look, he did not notice the thin line leading back to his rift or the pain his body was feeling as his heart began to beat faster than it should or could.

Reaching out with his will it seemed that the small bulge had a heartbeat. He touched the string.

Agony. He was dying. It had been too much. Even as he registered what was happening, his human body shuddered and rolled over. Its heart stopped. He tried to go back, but with his body dead nothing was holding his rift in place and open. It shot off into the void. He had no time to curse. Already his mind was fading in the infinite black. He had to make a choice: either chase after the shrinking speck, or try to go into one of the other lines.

In that moment he made his decision. The line nearest he had felt a empty life-form. Whatever body awaited him, it had to be better than death.

"Into the breach then."

The young man reached toward the bulge, and felt the heartbeat as if it was his own. He felt a body. Empty with no spirit. He felt it all in his hands. The afterlife beckoned but he was not ready. So that he may live, he poured himself into the bulge.





Warm... He was warm. Hot really, but it was comfortable. It was pitch black as well.

"Oh God, I'm blind!"

He inhaled sharply and panicked even more as liquid filled his lungs. He kicked and tried to scream for a minute, until he realized he was not dying. His body did feel numb, though. It was like going through the feeling of having anesthetic all over his body. He tried to flex his muscles, but they would barely move. His breathing was ok... lack of air notwithstanding. He seemed to be breathing in a liquid that surrounded him. He could not guess how he was not drowning.The oddest thing however, was the thumping sound that seemed to resonate down to his very core. Reaching out he felt a wall that moved at his push.

A warm sack filled with liquid and a huge beat all around him. He was breathing liquid and could barely move... a sneaking suspicion began to overcome him. His arm moved down his chest and to his dismay he felt a snake-like growth coming from his stomach... an umbilical cord.

"Well, I appear to be in a womb.

Only in the history of a few universes did an embryo curse with such fervor and creativity.

"This can't be happening! This can't be happening! There is no way this is real! I'm not a child! I'm a grown man!"

It took him an hour to stop struggling. He kept trying to leave the body but something was anchoring him to it. After that, he started to rage at himself.

"What kind of idiot would think reaching into an infinite void in their head was a good idea?! My God, I'm so stupid."

This self-hatred went on for a few hours, until sadness set in. Then he began to bargain.

"God? Are you there? Look, I know we’ve  not been on the best of terms... but I'm really in a jam. See, I sort of crossed a line that man was never meant to cross, and now I'm stuck in a fetus... so will you help a guy out?"

He did not get a response, considering their relationship, it must have meant no.






It had been two days that the young being sat there... he would have killed himself, but he couldn’t  grip the umbilical cord.

"Why can't I feel my fingers? Why is my arm so thick, oh?"

The thought occurred to him that he might not be born human, or even on Earth. So he set out to determine what species he was. For the first time since arriving here he really concentrated. He had four limbs that were the same... they ended in hooves.

"Oh no."

He took his hoof and moved it to his face. It was jutting out. Then his hoof bumped something on his forehead. It was smooth and long.

"What the-? I have a horn on my head,huh, and four legs-and a large snout.So I am some kind of unicorn. Well, that is interesting."

Instantly his mind was filled with images of a land filled with dancing flowers and chocolate waterfalls, where everything smiled obliviously at everything that happened.

"Oh. Fuck. No."






It was three days until he finally accepted his situation. It had taken a while, but now thoughts of his possible futures filled his mind. He had examined his body. There was a complex voice box in development and incredibly large eyes. What interested him most, however, were his legs. They had flexibility well beyond anything a horse could ever have, without breaking bones. Each of the legs ended in ball joints. Then there was a mouth with a flexible tongue. Judging from this, it was pretty obvious he was going to be born to a sapient species of unicorns. What confused him most, however, was the horn. It was rounded, but the outside only seemed to be some kind of protective coating. Inside that he could feel a pointed horn. Now this horn obviously provided some kind of benefit to this organism but he couldn't figure out what it was. What could be so beneficial to risk punctures in the womb? It could be for show, but usually only males carried them for that... his hoof shot between his back legs.

"Thank God I have a, thing... that would have been terrible."






Six days. Six days of nothing but his thoughts. It was not going well.

"1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, 512, 1024, 2048, 4096, 8192, 16384, 32768, 65536, 131072, 263598... no, ummm... err... sigh... 1 ,2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64..."






Two weeks in. He was fighting madness. His time was taken up by doing mathematics and considering his new biology. That, and mind games.

"City built at coordinates projection model farming. Red city under siege by blue nation. Nuclear fusion discovered by yellow."

He would do that for hours, running simulations of nations developing on other worlds... Wars and empires. After a time, even that would get boring. He began to play God, adding water to the oceans or such. It was all just in his head though. So how long could it keep him sane?






Three weeks in, he did not know how much more he could take. The only stimulation came from his now fully developed ears. The sack was pretty tight now, he wondered when... there was a spasm. Suddenly he was being pushed down.

"What the heck? Oh, ok... you have prepared for this."

He turned to face the way he was being pushed, pointed his horn directly at it, and made his body as linear as he could.

"Well this should be interesting... wait, ow. Hey! This actually hurts! OW! I’ve changed my mind, I want to stay!"





"Ok honey, push!" The mare screamed as her husband held her hoof. 

She had been pregnant for thirteen months; two longer than normal. They lived in a tiny town of only three families. Their neighbors were the Gallant and the Sunshine families. Their family name was Stronghoof. A bit old fashioned to share a name but he didn’t mind taking it. His wife really cared about tradition. 

The town was isolated most of the year because of the frozen path. That's how they liked it... most of the time. For the last two months, the earth pony farmer had been waiting for it to clear so he could go for help. His wife was pregnant and near birth. It was too late however, the foal  was coming. He had seen his wife give birth four times, and this would be the fifth... It still amazed him that pony kind had not gone extinct years ago.

"AH! *Gasp* Oh, I am, dearie. This only gets a little easier each time."

He knew that this would probably be their last pregnancy. They were getting old. His son was one of the two pegasi who lived in the town. His three others were earth ponies, and now he was only a few seconds away from seeing what his youngest would be. He smiled and reached down to pull his child out of the womb. There was a horn on its head. His grin grew wider. It was barely possible that he would’ve had a unicorn son. Now his was the only family with one in the town.

"You're doing great, honey. I can see the head. It's a unicorn!" He exclaimed as the child finally came out.

"OH! DON'T YOU THINK I KNOW THAT! I JUST PUSHED IT OUT!" She laughed roughly, sweet pouring off of her. She kissed him.

Her husband laughed in return but stopped suddenly.

He was staring at their son. His hooves cut the umbilical cord almost as an afterthought. Turning him over to confirm what he saw, the father did not breathe, even as his hoof smacked the colt's bottom and made it cry.

On the young colt’s back, was a pair of wings. The stallion turned him back over, and pulled off the protective coating over his horn.

"An alicorn."

"Dear, you're going to want to see this, our son has wings."

"Wings? I thought you said he was a unicorn." She was calming down now and was cleaning herself in the shower.

"No... he has wings, and a horn."

The mother, named Sunny Fields, quickly finished cleaning and came to look at the colt. Her brow furrowing in fear.

His coat was a dark brown while the mane and tail where bone white. At the same time his hooves were pitch black. Then his eyes opened. They were sky blue.

Tentatively she turned over his little hoof, for them to only see the telltale sign of an earth pony.

"He's beautiful... Stone, what are we going to do? If Celestia finds out..." Both of them had a deep fear of the queen over the mountain. Every year her tax collectors came. Oh, they did not take much, but what did they do for the small town? They did not fix the weather or make it so they could get to civilization when needed. No, they just came for the taxes. None of them really knew if she was a tyrant, of course, but the general consensus was that she must rule with an iron hoof over the mountain.

"I don't know, buttercup, but I do know this. We cannot let anyone know about him. It must stay in the family. The queen would not want competition. She would take him away... or worse."

The mare began to cry.

"There there, dear. We are safe. Far away from her. We can raise him with peace and love."

"You’re-you’re right. I just... I'm afraid."

He frowned for a moment before leaning in close to give her a kiss.

"We've been through worse. If we do it together. Herridon is far away. Celestia nor your father will ever find him. Now, come on, he needs to suckle."

The newborn was not happy. He was freezing, his backside had been savagely beaten and now this lady was pushing him up against a teat. He, however, knew that survival was unlikely without the milk, so he both mentally and physically clamped down and began to suckle.

"What about a name?" asked Sunny Fields.

"I can think of a good one... it's too grand for a normal pony, but... it fits him well." Stone placed his hoof on the young child's head. "I name you, Mordane Stronghoof."

Stone tensed. His brow furrowing into a V shape.

"After your family? After what he did-" She looked at him, eyes moistening up. The anger died on his tongue and he slowly nodded "It's a good name, a strong name."

"Yes," She whispered, looking at the little suckling alicorn "a good name."





"Mordane. That's actually a pretty good name."

The newborn colt had decided a week ago to abandon his human name. It would likely seem strange here. The two ponies had cleaned him off and then placed him in some kind of high chair. He was surprised at how easy it was, to sit like that. Then there was the storm of children who came in an hour later. The first was a large, solid black pony with a pair of wings on its back. One of the younger ones called him Flashwing. The three others were like his parents: without either horns or wings.

"Hey little guy, I'm Flashwing." He touched his face and gave a smile.

Then a pale pink pony stepped forward and poked him in the face. "Hey there, I'm Dandy Sweets and this is Merry, and Berry." She indicated the orange and green fillies standing beside her. Soon they noticed his wings tucked behind him and they took on the same awed expressions of Stone and Sunny when they had called him an alicorn.

It was only when the woman stretched out his wings that he noticed their existence.

"Just how rare is a unicorn with wings? All of them do seem nice. Too nice. They do pick on each other, but their smiling...it must be love. Nothing like this could last though. It's only a matter of time."

Over the next few weeks and the coming months, he suffered through multiple indignities, but he never cried. He would just stare at the rest of his new family. He worked hard on his throat muscles humming and purring. It would take some time before he would be able to speak.

During this time he learned a lot about the Stronghoofs. Flashwing, a strong brother, worked the sky and had a 'cutie' mark of three clouds.

He would take him and care for him during his off hours, telling him about the things they would do together. Mordane did think though, that some of it would be fun. Merry was the happiest being he had ever seen. He would catch himself laughing all the time at her antics. Dandy loved to grow things. Berry was an amazing cook. His new 'mother' was kind, and never seemed to yell. Really yell, at least. Oh, she would raise her voice or such to have someone hear her, but it was never in anger. Over time, Mordane even began to admire Stone. He was strong willed and as solid as his namesake. He was the opposite of Mordane's dad.






It was a good day for him. Finally! He would no longer have to drink milk from the mare, and they had finally set some food in front of him... however, his pride was too great to be fed. The breastfeeding may have been necessary, but he would eat the mashed up peas by himself!

Sunny Fields tried everything, but no matter what young Mordane would not eat. In the end, she put the spoon down in the bowl and went to scold one of the other children.

Mordane moved his hoof over to the spoon. Months of watching the others had given him the confidence that he could hold it. However, seeing and knowing are different from doing. He was still trying to pick up the spoon with one hoof when the mother came back. Quickly, he clamped both hooves on the soon handle, dipped it in the peas, and put them in his mouth.

Sunny could not believe what she was seeing. The baby was feeding himself! Though he seemed unable to hold the spoon with one hoof. Smiling, she walked over and took the spoon. Then showed him how it was done.





"So we meet again."

Mordane glared at his older sister, Merry. She had a series of combs and dresses. It seemed that she thought it would be rather fun to force the young colt into them...

Laughter that sounded as his parents walked in, did not help his mood. Nor when his younger sister Berry trotted in with the boots.





In the backyard, his older brother had set up a seesaw. It was fun to play on it, even if the others were not around. He would walk up and down its length, enjoying the changing motion. One day, however, he slipped. His knee fell straight onto the sharp edge of a rock. He cried out in pain and sat on the ground. Flashwing had been flying nearby when he heard the cry. Flying over as fast as he could, he landed beside his little brother. There was a small red cut on the little child. His eyes had a little water in them from the sensitive joint. With reassuring words, Flashwing picked him up and took him to mother. Mordane gripped a little closer to his brother.





Two years had passed. Mordane was getting larger, but had yet to speak, which was abnormal, but Stone was sure he would probably do so soon. The father was walking around a corner when he saw something that made his heart nearly stop. Mordane was walking by the stove and at that moment Merry and Berry were playing. Berry dodged right as Merry, laughing, kicked where she had been and made contact with the wall. This caused a boiling pot of water to begin to tip over. Right onto Mordane. Stone rushed forward, but knew he would be unable to reach him in time to catch the pot, so instead he stood over his young son and allowed the water to splash over his own back. A loud cry of pain echoed through the farm, causing everyone in the family to come running.

An hour later, Stone was sitting in the bed, with his wife rubbing salve onto the burns. Mordane had climbed onto the bed beside his parent, to look at the wounds.

"If he had hesitated, I would be dead. There is no way my small form could've survived that. He just threw himself over me."

For the first time the human-turned-pony looked into the eyes of the mare who birthed him, and saw the love for him there. A part of him that had doubted that love was swept away. Then he looked at the stallion who took on pain, so he would not. Instead of a pony bound by obligation he saw a stallion full of honor and strength.

His father's eyes fluttered open. "Are you alright Mordane?" Tears came to the colt’s eyes.

After a moment, Mordane finally spoke, "I- I love you, dad." Mordane's eyes opened wide at the tiny voice, reflecting the shocked expressions on his mother’s and father’s faces. "I love you both."

The two parents had only been as happy three other times in their lives. They hugged him as his father winced in pain.

"They are nothing like my par- no, they are my parents.

This is a new world, so why not a new life?"





The magnitude of his changes were immense. Sometimes, he felt all those years as a human. His mind would shift, however, and he would be like a child, a child with adult knowledge, but a child nonetheless. This was one of his clear days. They were becoming more common as time passed. He remembered it all, his parents, the job, the endless monotony. This world offered so much more. Here, he would start anew. Mordane looked out over the green valley and to his mother calling him to dinner.

He smiled.





Years passed, and as the colt grew he learned much. The parents kept him out of the other families' eyes, and made him wear a straw hat when they were around. He learned to fly with time and rather enjoyed winging upon the evening air. It was on his sixth birthday, however, that he found out what his horn was for. A tax collector had come to town.

He was escorted by six soldiers, one of which carried a metal box on his back. The collector smiled and took the taxes, small as they were. He got a few bitter looks, but it was mostly civil. What interested Mordane, however, was the use of telekinesis.

"What the buck!?" He had been picking up local expressions. "So that's what the horn is for!"

Mordane had almost overheard hints about magic, but they were always talking about unicorns. They never said it was their horns that enabled them to cast spells. He watched from far off as the stallion ordered his troops back, and they headed out of town. The colt went to see his dad.

"Hey, Dad." His father was working in the fields. Mordane was not old enough yet, but would start working the weather with his brother next year. "What can you tell me of magic?"

The stallion turned and looked at his son, a worried look on his face.

"Come with me."

His dad took him into the house, and pulled down a book from a cupboard. Unlike the textbooks his mom had used to teach him Equestrian letters and math, this one looked brand new.

"I bought this from a fellow when I went over the mountain last year. It's a self-teaching guide to magic." He handed the boy the book. "I can't help you with this son, but you listen close. Magic is dangerous. It can kill as easily as a sword, more so in fact. Do not try anything that is not in that book. Do you hear me?"

Mordane nodded vigorously.

"Yes, Father. I will be careful."

"Good... also, make sure no pony sees ya doing it. I'll tell your mother. Use the rocky basin to practice."

"Yes, Dad."

Running his little heart out Mordane rushed to the basin and opened the book.


Magic:


All you need to know about basic spells, and a brief summary of its nature.


A Self-help Guide


Written by Star Swirl the Bearded


Copied by Silver Pen

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The first thing I must say concerning magic, is that there is neither a greater tool nor more powerful weapon. Magic can rend souls, bend wills, and kill with the utmost ease. In fact, it is too easy. Most unicorns who try to teach themselves beyond the most basic telekinesis, die. They die in fire and blood, frozen and impaled. So, my suggestion to you is to put this book down and go get a teacher. I do not care how talented you are. Nopony should teach themselves magic, unless there is no one around to teach them. This is my final warning. Magic will kill you, without the utmost control. Think carefully before proceeding...

I see... so you are resolute. Then I will do my best to teach you. At least you did not try to cast spells on your own. It is unlikely you would have survived. Please read these chapters carefully. Memorize them until you can recite them by heart, for any mistakes will kill you.
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The Nature of Magic

Magic is the manipulation of rules. This manipulation can be split into three categories: Force, Binding, and Making.
Force: This is the manipulating of a rule, such as to counteract gravity or heat something up.
Binding: Is taking two existing rules and connecting them, such as making a sword able to burst into flame, by having it absorb heat from sunlight.
Making: This is the creation of new rules. Whatever they may be.

The first question one may ask is what a rule is. You are a rule. I am a rule. Gravity is a rule. All things that exist and affect other things are rules. Your body is one such rule while your spirit is another.

There are physical rules and intangible ones, but they all are just as binding.

There is one rule that cannot be broken. You cannot make something from nothing or cause something to cease.

Energy must always be moved, never unmade. If you try to make energy you will fail and receive a headache. However, if you try to unmake something, then you will be utterly destroyed. The parts that make you will be broken apart. If you want to destroy something, just break it apart. Do not try to make it cease to exist.

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The Pony Races
1. Unicorns: The most gifted in magic of the races. They have the ability to reach out, and draw on the magic around them with their minds. This allows them to have conscious control of its effects.
2. Pegasi: This race’s magic naturally helps them manipulate gravity. They are far lighter than they should be; about 1/4 their weight, without magic. This is caused by a binding that forms naturally at birth. This is also how they walk on clouds.
3. Earth Ponies: The manipulation of relative density accounts for all of the earth ponies’ abilities. Not to say that their mass changes, but that it behaves as if it changes.
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Your First Spell
The first spell to learn is levitation. It is by far the easiest to accomplish and can be done in three easy steps.
1. Feel the energy within you.
2. Direct that energy around the object you wish to move.
3. Believe it can be moved and will it to do so.
This is the most basic form of levitation. Be careful to not let your mind wander and then give it a try.

Mordane set down the book and looked at a stone on the ground a few feet away.

He turned inward and focused. It was like his meditation from before, but... now there was a river in the black. Communing with it was easy, but when he turned his will toward the stone nothing happened. He tried everything he could think of to make it work before turning back to the book

Remember, once you focus your will on the object you must overpower the will of the object to stay the same. I cannot help you with this. Simply stare at the stone until you are able to force your will upon it.

"So... it’s a question of will. I have to imagine what I want to happen then force the universe to obey... how the fuck do I do that"?

Mordane looked at the stone. It was a normal rock... slightly porous. Then he thought about what he really wanted to happen, of the forces involved. He sat there for hours until something snapped.

"YOU WILL OBEY"!

A blue glow appeared around his horn and the stone, as it wobbled into the air.





A year passed and Mordane read his book in between pushing clouds over fields. Human schooling proved very useful to him. The more one understood about the physics of what was happening, the easier it becomes to cast a spell. He had taken both physics and calculus in high school, didn’t too badly in either class, as well. He would have even gone on to college if he... had not chosen a different path. In the years since he had grown pretty rusty, but it seemed that even knowing the basics of how different forces interacted helped immensely. As he learned, he discovered more differences in pony understanding. They did not know Einstein's energy equation, nor did they seem to know calculus. Their science was surprisingly empty. Soon he realized magic was to blame. They could not know what was fundamental, and what a spell was. In fact, they thought of everything as magic, even gravity and force.

Soon he could levitate multiple objects, light candles, and make water cold. However, the book did not go beyond such topics. Soon he had learned all it could teach him. Most of the book was about physics, or as it called them "The Fundamental Rules.”

Mordane was hidden in a ravine on the other side of the valley. He did not want to disappoint his father, but... he wanted to learn more. This world was unknown to him. He may need to defend himself and there were no weapons on the farm.

He focused and brought out the well of power.

"Ok, let's review. In order to light a candle or brushfire one must take heat from somewhere and pour it into something that can burn... will something you want to burn. What if I was attacked? How could I fight with this? Pouring heat is too slow, I need something like a stream of fire... If I just use my innate power I will lose all of it in seconds. That is why you draw heat from something else. Well, I know heat is just motion on a smaller scale, so what if I take the energy from some kind of motion and make it into heat? No, no... then it would just burn in one spot, I need it to shoot out... Ok, I’ll make a cone of air just in front of my horn then pour heat into it. No that would cost too much power... I guess I could just use it for small explosions."

He drew a tiny bit of the motion from the surrounding wind, and put it into an even smaller bit of air.

An explosion rocketed through the valley.

Mordane had luckily gotten behind a large stone. He started laughing. It was good that the ravine was isolated. The townsponies would not hear. He went back, to continue his studies.





Mordane hopped from stone to stone along the stream. He was grinning like a fool.

"Wait up Mordane" Flashwing shouted flying after him a few feet above the water.

Mordane looked back with a sinister smile. Dipping a wing into the river he cupped and tossed a bowls worth of water into his brothers face.

Sputtering, Flashwing fell into the water, and was only just starting to wipe his face dry before being tackled by Mordane.

Giggling they wrestled for a bit until they were left panting and grinning in the mud.

"That was fun." Mordane said pushing himself up.

"Never change Mordane." Laughed Flashwing.

"Kay, I'll never change if you never leave." Mordane said sticking out his tongue.

"Hahaha, I won't."





"If you walk out of that door...you don't ever come back." Mordanes fathers face reflected his namesake. "You will betray this family. Betray-"

"You know as well as I that we can't afford the taxes with me being here anymore father. They get higher every year. Joining Celestia's Royal Guard would make it-"

"The sun Tyrant is the one raising those taxes! It’s her land. Why would you want to go off to die in some Luna forsaken war?" He snapped, knocking over his glass.

Mordane sat quietly listening in, his eyes moist at the thought of his brother leaving. The adult in him nodded along though, admitting that it was the best choice. Tyrant or not, the princess would not throw away her soldiers.

"Celestia hasn't been at war for a thousand years. The land is at peace. Dad, those old stories are-"

Stone held up his hoof silencing the young stallion before taking a deep breath.

"A trick little Mordane taught me." Stone said. "Calms the nerves."

"He's a bright colt." Swiftwing said quietly. "I'll...I'll always put my family first dad."

Stone stared at his son for a long time before moving over and grabbing a red scarf off of the coat rack.

"It's going to be cold out. Take my scarf."

"Dad..."

"Take it. Son." He said wrapping it around his neck. Pausing to give a small hug "Be safe."

"What about mother?"

"Don't worry, I'll tell her and everypony else as well. You fly along now."

"Thank you, dad." Flashwing sniffled walking toward the door.

Mordanes heart wrenched in his chest. For a moment the adult tried to stop him from going, but the child wouldn't be denied. So instead he settled on a compromise.

"Flashwing?"

The two ponies snapped to Mordane as he walked out from behind a door. Frozen stiff in surprise. Mordane didn't give them time to recover.

Walking over he hugged his older brother.

"I love you." Mordane said as Flashwing leaned in.

"I love you too." Croaked Flashwing.

"Be the best guard ever Flashwing."

"I will. I will."

Straightening up and stepping back Flashwing snapped to attention saluting his little brother and father before turning and flying away toward the center of Equestria.





More time passed, he was eight now. Hard work had paid off. He could use basic spells with ease. Experimentation had brought out three new spells as well. Shockwave was a spell that would create a wave of sound. Useful for mid-range attacks. Stone Spike was a spell that would make stone spikes shoot out of the ground a few feet in front of him. It was rather simple, just take either motion or heat and compress the earth, then lead a cone of lesser force toward the target. Good for short range. Long range was difficult, however. Then he hit on the idea of bullets. Using magic, he would make stone spheres that could be hurled at his enemy. He carried a sack of them around.

Mordane took care of the weather with one of the neighbors’ kids. His brother had left half a year ago to see the world. He would be returning in a year or so though to visit. Mordane missed him every day.

"What am I going to do with my life?"

Celestia was a problem he always was thinking of. His parents had always been hiding the truth about race. The queen did not want competition. Why would she? What did he want to do? Then his eye saw the worn down book on his nightstand.

"I will learn magic, as much as I can."

Thus a goal was set that would drive him throughout his life.





Stone Stronghoof was looking at his son flying off to bring rain to the southern fields. Over the past ten years, Mordane had grown to a fine colt, but not a normal one. He was never rebellious. He was hard working. He never talked back. When the other children were rowdy, he would calm them down. When the older children were throwing rocks he was reading books...

This farm is too small for him. An alicorn is meant for greater things than farming the earth, but where could he go?

Mordane was looking over to the mountain and an idea came into Stone's head.

There is no future for him in this valley... who could he marry? He’s been experimenting with magic. If he keeps it up there will eventually be an accident... he may seem like a child, but if those burn marks are any indication he can take care of himself.

"It breaks my heart, but he must be allowed to leave."





Mordane was walking toward the home when he overheard his mother yelling. This shocked him. Mother never yelled. He crept up close and listened just outside the door.

"NO! No, Stone. He’s just a little colt, only ten years old. We can't send him away!"

"Send me away!?" Mordane thought. His father answered in a calm voice.

"Sunny... he’s stifled here. We both knew this day would come. It’s time for him to go, dear."

"How can you say that?! You know what will happen if she finds him. Where can he go?"

"You think I do not know that! He’s not a child, Sunny! Who was it that taught Berry how to count? Berry is three years older than him! When have you ever had problems with him? How about how he works, without somepony asking and without complaint? He’s our son, but he is more than that. He’s an alicorn... I've already sent a message to the Ponyville mayor. It came back today. There will be a place for him, and he will be able to learn from the library there."

"That is right under Celestia's snout!"

Mordane had heard enough. It was time to enter.

"Mom... Dad." His mother walked over and hugged him. "Mother... there is something I must say. I love you both. You’ve been good parents, but... Dad is right. I feel stifled. There is a whole world out there, and though I love it here... I know every rock and tree. Every river bend and cave. This is not the life for me. I know my body is young, but my mind is that of someone four times my age... please let me go. I will be able to hide myself from her, and if not... it is time to face my destiny, one way or another."

There were many tears shed that night, but as with all young ones there is a time to move away from their family.

Mordane was fully packed. He had thirty stone pellets, one week’s food in a satchel on his back, and a hundred bits to see him on his way.

His mother had knitted a cloak to hide his wings with a hood to cover the horn. It had been a memorable farewell, but it was now time to head out. The last he saw of his family, was five specks on the horizon. He took this moment to reflect. It had been a good childhood, full of games and fun, of love and attention. He would see them again one day, but not before he had touched on magic. The university was barred to him, but the library in Ponyville was supposedly very extensive. His father had said that if he went there, he could go to the school. Even if they had nothing to teach him the library would.

The road was long and overgrown. Each night, he would cast a spell to tell him if somepony came near. Each night nothing occurred. The frozen pass was in high thaw when he passed through so there was no difficulty there, either. It was not until a week later when he came upon the first town that something interesting happened.





Looking out over the town, Mordane walked with a smile on his face. He was big for his age, standing a full head over the fillies that were running around him. His blue eyes peered out from under the hood. The guard he spoke to, assumed that he was an adult. After all, how many ten-year-olds travel alone and know a word like ‘salutations’? When asked where the inn was, the guard had pointed to a ragged-looking place just down the street. However, Mordane was wandering slowly toward the building when he heard something.

"Hey there! Got goods for sale, come over." A shady looking earth pony standing on the back of a caravan called him over. He kept his hood drawn forward. In the years of practicing magic he had considered many ideas. Despite his home, he had no delusions. Ponies may be better natured than humans but vices are still vices. The store owner only enforced this view. He never even tried to get a good look at his short customer.

"Hello, my good stallion. My name is Smut Peddler and welcome to the Buckin' Bridle. You lookin' for anything in particular? We got ridin' crops, Scent of Heat, contraceptive charms- oh this here's a personal favorite of mine, the Clandestine Bracelet. It disguises you as a different kind of pony. Great for when you need to go 'undercover'" *wink wink* "without the missus findin' out."

Mordane still did a double take.

”Whose parents would name their kid that!?”

"Is... is this a sex shop? Those are allowed out in the open like this?"

"Marital aids, my boy. I deal with marital aids." He seemed a little peevish.

"How is something that lets you cheat on your wife considered a marital aid?"

"Hehe. Trust me; if it weren't for this baby, then my marriage would have ended a long time ago."

"What would make you go into a business like this?"

"Well…" Smut shifted uncomfortably. "With my name, ponies just kept coming up and trying to order things..."

Mordane was blown away with the implications.

”Wait, Clandestine Bracelet? Hmm not interested in sex but..."

"I’ll take the bracelet. One for hiding wings, please." Mordane put forty bits on the counter and the shopkeeper smiled. He had bits, and that meant no questions.

"Very good, this will do nicely. Here you go. It will also place a fake cutie mark on you to hide yours." He headed out of the shop with the cuff on his hoof. Looking at his previously blank flank he saw the picture of a bow and arrow.

Hmmm... should work fine, and I will be a lot more comfortable knowing that nopony will be able to see my wings.

The now unicorn colt went over to the inn, but just before he made it in he overheard something behind him.

A guard walked up to Smut Peddler. The stallion came out and stood in front of his caravan.

"Hey! What is it you're selling over here?"

"Nothing, nothing officer, unless.... would you be interested in a bridle? I’m sure your marefriend would enjoy it... or your stallionfriend?"

The guard sputtered and turned red before drawing his sword.

"YOU'RE UNDER ARREST! Unless I see a permit RIGHT NOW!"

"Yes, yes just, um…" The peddler backed away quickly but unfortunately his back hoof knocked out the block holding his caravan in place.

"MY MARITAL AIDS!!!"

Shaking his head Mordane watched the stallion chase his cart as he was chased by the guards down the hill. Trotting down the street he eventually saw the sign for theinn.

Oddly enough the inn also turned out to be a bar. Something that seemed odd to Mordane but it made sense for the kind of clients he was seeing. Seedy would be the word. It was an old place, with isolated alcoves and dim candlelight.

Mordane trotted up to the barkeep a stern look on both of their faces.

"What'll ya have?"

They stared directly into each other’s eyes. Both trying to overpower the other’s will, until the colt spoke.

"...Just a soda."