A New Life, or an Old Strife?

by Chrome Masquerade

Chapter 10: Training Day

Chapter 10: Training Day

The next day, more changes had occurred.. Now they were all sporting pony ears. Further, Solar Darling and Flare Rider had wings, Shutter Bug and Crystal Jewel had horns, Dapple Fields and Summer Darling had neither.

As such, Thunder Roller was to train our soon-to-be Pegasi, Crystal Charmer was to train our soon-to-be Unicorns, and i would train the soon-to-be Earth Ponies.

---Later---

“Okay, Summer? Dapple?” i called out.

“Yes ma'am!” they replied in unison, saluting.

“Okay. Now, to learn Earth Pony magic, you must first unlearn what you have learned.” i said in a meditative/philosophical/mentor-ish tone.

Summer Darling bonked herself on the head (lightly) “Done!” she said, causing Dapple Fields to burst into giggles, and me to roll my eyes.

“Just sit down and close your eyes for a minute.” i said, slightly exasperated.

They did so and i continued. “Now, search for a power within you that wasn't there before.”

They squinted for a moment in concentration.

“Not so hard! Don't force it. Just FIND it.” i cautioned.

They lightened their mental probing when Summer said “I think i've got it! It feels kind of... green-y.”

“Good! Excellent! Now, feel along that connection, find where it ends.”

She did so and immediately her eyes flew open. “WHOA!! The very earth beneath me... it's practically EXUDING power!”

I grinned. “Yes! And THAT is your first lesson. The Earth holds great power. The second, well, in the words of Uncle Ben...”

“With great power, yadda yadda?”

“Precisely.”

At that moment, Dapple Fields gasped and exclaimed excitedly, “i feel it! I feel it!” her eyes snapped open, I noticed that that they were completely green, similar to when, in the show, Twilight uses her god-mode powers.

“Oh no. Not good.”

Using my magical sense, i found that she was standing over a lesser Ley line. That was TWICE as not good!

“What is it?” Summer asked.

“Oh, she's having a magical surge. And right over a Ley line too.” i replied matter-of-factually.

“And... what does that mean?”

“Essentially it means GALLOP- er, RUN LIKE YOU'VE NEVER RUN BEFORE!!!!!”

We started running as all Tartarus broke loose. Being an Earth Pony, primarily, the first thing that happened was that an explosion rocked the earth beneath her, creating a spherical wall of rock and dirt around her, (Again, much like Twilight's magic created a sphere of energy around her.)

We ran like the wind as spikes of various forms of rock began to shoot up from around us. One formed up right before Summer.
“Look out!” i warned, too late. She ran into that spike of magically charged earth, falling to the ground, dazed. A moment later a cloud of white dust was heading toward her. Something registered in my mind about that particular brand of dust, but i couldn't tell what. I was caught up in an overpowering compulsion to save her from it,.

“NO! I won't let it happen again!!!” i shouted, running toward Summer and the ever-encroaching cloud.
At the last moment i put myself over Summer, protecting her from the dust, but taking the brunt of it myself. I began to feel numb all over, could feel the world slipping away, darkening slowly as Dapple Fields' surge ended. It then occurred to me was what kind of dust that was.

Petrification.

---Dapple Fields---

I awoke in serious pain.

"Ugh, did somepony catch the number on that truck?"

Then i saw the landscape around me.

“Oh... What have i done?!”

I put a hoof to my- wait, hoof?
Yes, indeed, my surge had caused me to become fully pony. I decided that that wasn't as important as the first thing i saw. Devastation.

I galloped over to where my friends were, only to see that Summer was crying. A moment later, i saw why.

Winter Fields, my cousin on Earth, my... Sister in Equestria? I knew that wasn't right for some reason, but couldn't place how anymore. Rither way, she was just... standing there. Literally turned to stone.

“NO!!!” i shouted. “Winter, no!!!” i began to cry over her, as Summer made room.

“This is all my fault! She warned me... she TOLD me not to force the magic... BUT I DIDN'T LISTEEEEN!!!”

Summer came over and hugged me. “It wasn't your fault. You had no idea that this would happen. Come on, let's get her back to the house. Carefully.”

With that we began to carry the statue of my sister back to the house. It was much harder doing so on four legs, but we managed. When we got back, the others were curious as to what happened.

“I had a magical surge during training. I don't know what happened, but...” we set down the statue of Winter Fields.

Everypony started to cry, to mourn for her, or to comfort me, but then we heard a crack. Then another. And another! Looking to Winter's petrified position, more and more cracks appeared on her! Then all at once stone shattered and rained all over! In the center of it, dusting herself off, was Winter Fields, back in the flesh!

“Whoo! THAT was interesting. Now i know how the Thinker feels.” she said, brushing herself off. “I'll be the one who decides when it's time for tears, thank you very much.” she continued, puffing out her chest proudly.

As one we all hugged her. “How did you do that?!” i cried. “I thought you were a goner, for sure!”
“Well...” she started.

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-Winter Fields-

As the dust began to coat me, i had little time to spare! I concentrated some energy into making a thin coating of plain ol' dirt around me, thereby mitigating most of the effect of the petrification dust. It would still get me stuck and would dull my senses, but if i made the effort, hopefully i'd be able to break out before i asphyxiated.

The world faded to black, but i still retained some sense of consciousness. I could hold my breath for a fairly long time, but i was still running out of it. So, i began to strain at the thick rocky barrier, trying my possible to break free of it.
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“WOW!” Summer Darling said, eyes wide and sparkling. “How did it feel being a temporary statue?”

“Well, let's just say that i felt like i had gained some weight. I think i'll be a mite stiff for a while, but not NEARLY as stiff as i could've been!”

Everybody/pony laughed, glad for her safety.

"Oh, and Dapple?"
"Yes si- I mean, Winter?"
"Tomorrow your training intensifies!"
"Wha?"
"An Earth Pony who can discover their power, unlock it and have a magical surge of THAT scale? Is somepony i want to have on MY side!"

Comments

[CluelessDetective]

5857118 I'm having so much fun reading about Gary and his best friends the Stus!

[Chrome Masquerade]

7154674 i have a thing going that EVERY pony is OP in some way. Hay, just take a look at this. (you might have to zoom in a couple of times.)
http://didj.deviantart.com/art/MLP-Comic-Party-Pooped-alternate-ending-544841157

now, that in mind, imagine what could happen if the ponies in Canterlot used that to their advantage when the changelings attacked.