Stereoheart

by FimFan14

Five: Impromptu Experimentation

Stereo sat at school, taking notes with his magic as the teacher spoke. He found that, even though he never really took notes before, it was a lot more interesting now that he could do it with magic.

"That concludes, class, and now I have an assignment for you!" Miss Sky said enthusiastically. "All of you will create a presentation and a demonstration of some of the things that Pegasi can do." A groan rose from the class. Stereo rose his happy to point out that he would have to miss... "And you, Stereo, will do the same, but you will demonstrate what a Unicorn can do!"

Stereo lowered his hoof and gulped as the dismissal bell signaled home time.

"Remember class," Miss Sky called out, "your assignments are due on Friday!"

Stereo groaned as he headed out. He had tomorrow, Thursday and Friday morning.

"Frisky!" He called out, seeing his brother out in front of the main entry. "We need to go to the library. I have an assignment to do on magic. There's bound to be loads of reading material there."

***

"Not a single book!" Stereo shouted out, probably a little too loudly. "How am I going to do this if I know nothing?"

"Maybe you should just go home and experiment," Frisky suggested. "Maybe you'll find something cool to show!"

"Maybe, but I don't want Mom and Dad on me again. Stereo said. "It hurt."

"Yeah," Frisky said slowly. "They told me all about it."

"Maybe you're right," Stereo said. "I have three days. I'll come up with something." He put away the book he was looking at, beginning to walk out the door. He didn't know what to expect at a Cloudsdale library. They were the only Unicorns in the city.

As they arrived home, they did what they usually did. They (More Frisky than Stereo) cooked their parents dinner, ate leftover pie. Stereo wanted to try and experiment with his magic a little bit before his parents got home. He had an interesting idea, targeting Friskys head, but not grabbing it. He just listened.

"I wish Mom and Dad would let me experiment with food more. This pie could be much nicer." He heard.

"I think it’s really nice," Stereo said.

"Hmm?" Frisky replied.

"The pie," Stereo clarified. "It tastes really good. You don't need to experiment all the time. Your food's always great."

"But I never said that," Frisky said.

Stereo targeted Friskys head again, before thinking "I know. I still heard it."

"Wow!" Frisky thought. "This is so cool! How do you do it?"

"Just do what you do with levitation, on somepony's head, but don't grab it. Just think what you want to say."

Stereo and Frisky spoke like this for the rest of the day, finding it much easier than even levitation. They did eventually sleep, but only just before their parents got home.

***

Stereo found it easy to recognize the signs of a vision now. He was in one now, and found himself surrounded on all sides by a rough, irregular surface. He had no clue what it could be, and eventually it dissolved into nothingness, leaving Stereo sitting on a plain surface. He found the dreamscapes that contained his visions making more sense, becoming more orderly as he regained his magic. What he now experienced was a far cry from his first experience. He still wasn't quite sure what the first one even was. Then again, he didn't really know what this one meant either. At least now he could see, with only an irritating fog on the edges of his vision.

"It seems that you are now stronger than before," The voice of Gumala said, before she appeared in front of him. "You are getting very close now. I can almost detect you, your location, but I still can't quite find you, not until you discover the truth, and I can't tell you that, either."

"What is the 'will of Equestria' that you keep talking about?" Stereo asked.

"Ahhh, good! You can speak now!" Gumala said. "To answer your question, I would have to reveal a crucial step in finishing the quest that you are now on."

"Quest?" Stereo asked, sounding confused.

"Technically, you are in fact on a quest." Gumala replied, answering his unformed question. "There is something that I have to tell you, though. Keep in mind that a single word or thought can change one’s life. You may have been told of the old mare’s tale, that Equestria will shape subtle or catastrophic events for a pony to discover his destiny. It is true, and you never know what may happen. I need to warn you, also, of danger less severe than the last time I warned you. It is still imminent though. You are in danger."

The dream faded, replaced by reality.

***

"Now class, who here has started their assignment?"

Stereo was sitting in class, feeling horrible about how he hadn't been able to find anything. He had nothing, while almost every hoof in the class was raised in response to the teacher’s question.

"I'm very glad to see that, children, because circumstances have forced me to move the assignment forward to tomorrow."

The class groaned. Stereo took some comfort knowing that he wasn't the only pony that would have difficulty. But all of them could just go to a random library and start reading. Cloudsdale was a Pegasus city. Not a single book for Unicorn colts. As the break bell went, Stereo decided to take a different route, deciding to head to the school library as a last-ditch effort to find something. He walked down the long hallways, passing study rooms, a Janitor's closet, a music room... And that gave him an idea.

He walked into the empty room, wanting to test his idea quickly before he was caught. If it worked, then he would ask for permission. He picked out two random instruments- a lyre, and a violin. He picked them both up with his magic, plucking the lyre strings and manipulating the violin strings and bow. The resulting sound was surprisingly good, the two separate sounds sounding different; both in pitch and general voice, but also harmonious. He was brave enough to try a few more combinations, before he found himself playing a song, one made up on the spot. And he enjoyed it. He had forgotten about his original task, jus playing, and discovering that he loved no other action as much as making these sounds.

"Well, well." Said a male voice from the direction of the doorway. Stereo nearly dropped the instruments, catching them in his magic at the last second, and placing them down gently.

"I'm so sorry, sir!" Stereo began, rambling out his apology. "I have an assignment to do, and I have to show the class what I can do with my magic, and there isn't a single book in Cloudsdale that can teach me some spells. So I walked past and had an idea. I was going to ask, please don't be mad!"

"I'm not mad!" the teacher replied, laughing as he did so. "But you, you are amazing. Have you done music before?"

"Never, Sir," Stereo answered, looking more relieved every second.

"Well, you should!" The teacher said. "I could teach you for free."

"Why would you do that for me?" Stereo asked, sounding very confused.

"I couldn't let a prodigy such as yourself go to waste, not even if I tried. What do you say? Half hour after school every day?"

"I would love it!" Stereo said, before remembering something. "My parents..."

"Don't worry about them Stereo, I know them and their right grumps."

"How do you know my name?"

"You're the only Unicorn at this school, save for your brother," the teacher replied. "Most teachers know who you are. The point is, I won't tell if you won't. Deal?"

"Sounds good to me!" Stereo said. "Deal."