Solstice

by Scorpius

Interference, Part 4

And when he came upon the bay, Starswirl saw a siren lying and laughing upon the rocks, and around her was the wreckage of a ship. Even her laugh was musical[a], such that the Guards, whom Starswirl had brought, would have walked into the sea, had Starswirl not formed a barrier of magic before them.
—Inlectatio 16:10-13

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“Thank you for walking me here, Deputy Headmaster.”

Whitetail smiled softly at her, one last time, before turning his back and descending the spiral staircase from the Headmistress’ office door. For a moment, Maria was alone at the top of the stairs, trapped between the dark descent and the large, imposing door and feeling as if she were about to fall; then, with a flash of red hornglow, the door was opened, and her hooves felt as if they were on solid ground once more.

“Maria.” The Headmistress was sitting at her desk, a small storm of parchmentwork flying around her. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

Maria took a few cautious steps forward, afraid to get too near the whirling mass of parchment lest she get sucked into it herself. To her surprise, the storm expanded rapidly, and before she knew it parchment was flying past her and settling on shelves all around the room, calm descending with one final, deafening rustle.

I suppose that’s one way to tidy up.

“I was talking with Timothy Sparkle over dinner,” Maria began, taking a seat on the now-familiar cushion, “and he had a rather impressive suggestion for how we might find the interference on the telescope. He and I were working on it until my detention began, and I wanted to show you the results of our work.”

As she was talking, Maria flipped open the top of her saddlebag, and floated a few rolls of parchment onto the desk, spreading them out flat and keeping them held down at the corners with the weights she had brought with her. The Headmistress didn’t look at the parchment, and instead eyes Maria warily.

“How exactly do you expect to narrow down this search, Maria?” she asked sharply. “Finding the effects of interference has always been a long and arduous task. While I am always excited to see students exploring new approaches to problems, it seems almost impossible that the two of you have made a breakthrough like that.”

The Headmistress’ horn lit, then, and Maria could see the hornglow forming around her parchment. She lit her own horn as quickly as she could, pushing down on the weights in the corner with all her might.

“Headmistress, please,” Maria said, and for a moment she saw in Fenglade’s eyes a blazing fire of anger, so fierce that it nearly caused her to fall back and relinquish her grip. “This technique wouldn’t work to identify interference in a general case, but Tim and I are confident that this particular instance has a much simpler solution.”

The Headmistress’ eyes were narrowed in suspicion, but she seemed less likely to lash out in anger, now. After taking a long, deep breath, she asked, “What is your idea?”

“It’s Tim’s idea, really,” Maria began, but she smiled with pride anyway as the Headmistress’ horn flickered out. “We’re not just looking for any interference—we’re specifically looking for the interference that caused the strange effect I saw. We’ve figured out a formula for an Illusion-like charm that would have a similar effect, which is what’s on the parchment. We propose that any interference that could cause that effect must at least resemble the form of this enchantment.”

The Headmistress’s eyes seemed to glaze over and her expression slacked into gentle contemplation. For a long while, there was silence, save for the sound of Maria clearing her throat.

“That sounds—”

“We might be wrong—”

Maria nodded to the Headmistress, gesturing that she should speak first.

“That sounds like it might work,” Fenglade said slowly. “I’m… I’m honestly surprised I hadn’t thought of something like that.”

“It was a rather unique solution,” Maria said, smiling despite herself. “It only works—”

“Yes,” the Headmistress interrupted. “It really does only work for this one special case, doesn’t it?”

Maria hummed in agreement, not really willing to speak in case the Headmistress interrupted her again. As nice as it could be to have her—or, in this case, Tim’s—ideas confirmed by the Headmistress’ quick agreement, it could be somewhat frustrating to be unable to finish her own point.

At last, the Headmistress looked down at the parchment Maria had strewn across her desk, her eyes flicking back and forth as she scanned the calculations. After a moment, she muttered, “I should like to have a little while to look over these myself. Not, of course, that I don’t trust this work, but it is always better to have another pair of eyes to look things over. Shall we meet tomorrow evening to try and put your friend’s idea into practice?”

“M-meet?” Maria asked, her eyes wide. The Headmistress chuckled at her confusion, a light, melodic laugh that didn’t quite fit her serious, almost dangerous appearance.

“I don’t suppose you and Tim thought I would deprive you of the chance to help apply this new technique of yours?” The Headmistress laughed again, and smiled widely at Maria, whose mouth had fallen open in shock—it took her a few moments before she regained her composure, and closed it. “I think, perhaps, immediately after dinner will suffice. I’ll inform Deputy Headmaster Whitetail that your detention may have to be a little shorter tomorrow night; I’m sure he wouldn’t object.”

“Th-thank you, Headmistress,” Maria replied, barely concealing a grin.

“You’re welcome, Maria.” Fenglade nodded towards the door, and offered Maria a mock-stern look. “Now, you’d best head off to bed. It is, after all, quite a while past curfew.”

Maria rose and dipped her head towards the Headmistress in a slight bow, before turning to leave the room. As she pulled open the door and stepped onto the spiral staircase, she could hear the rustle of parchment flying from shelves, and returning to its storm.

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[a] The magical properties of a siren’s music have been well documented in antiquity, but due to the lack of surviving specimen scholars have no explanations for their allure. The phenomenon has been classed by most scholars as wild magic, which requires little explanation beyond being a manifestation of the Source’s will.