In Canterlot, every foal goes to Magic Kindergarten. Every unicorn, every pegasus... and even a certain earth pony.
I have to be the only earth pony here. Why in Equestria does this have to happen to me?
It wasn't as if Aurora was uninterested. It was that she was bored. Extremely bored. They taught her nothing about theory, nothing interesting. Class time was all about levitation for the unicorns, flying for the pegasi. But nopony really knew what to teach an earth pony. Not really. All of their magic was passive, right?
Right?
Featured: 2/24/17 - What?
That might have been a glitch with my login or something. Because it disappeared when I refreshed the page.
Featured: 3/17/17 - Okay, this one is definitely real. It didn't disappear when I refreshed the page.
Nice start i really like it w8 for moe
Dang, he's really persistent bully if he's following her into these caves.
You've got my attention, now you just need to keep it.
~Crystalline Electrostatic~
15:48_11/3/2016
Okay, you most CERTAINLY have my attention! I thought this would skip straight towards school, but I like this way instead. This is certainly a rather unique look at Earth Pony magic, and one that seems to be well thought out and developed. Not just a cheap "Here's special Magic with no explaination", but rather an entirely different set of magic with a lot of thinking behind how everything works.
I am VERY interested to read more of this, consider this favorited! <3 <3 <3
Also: MOAR
7693324 He just got the wind knocked out of him, right in front of all the foals. He definitely was a bit mad about the humiliation.
7693374 Thanks! I actually worked pretty hard beforehand on the technical and theoretical side beforehand, especially with the magic. I even drew a map of Canterlot, just to make sure the places were more realistic in my head.
I hope I can continue to interest you.
7694054 Well it really shows that you put a LOT of careful quality work into the writing of your Earth Pony Magic.
If you put the same kind of care and quality into the rest of your chapters that you have here....then I will be more than happy to continue reading, while leaving nice comments for you to read ^_^
I really appreciate quality World Lore in my fanfics <3
7695827 Yes, I will definitely try to edit my beginning chapters a lot more, preferably being released at the time of my next chapter, but that might not happen yet, especially as I keep procrastinating.
And the upcoming chapters will be a lot more edited than this, which is literally the first edit of my notebook-scrawlings.
Since I am not used to others liking my work (I have gotten significantly better at writing), these first few chapters were something of a test to see if other people liked my story idea, and as an indicator to how seriously I should take this endeavor.
TL;DR - I am taking the next chapters far more seriously than before, and I will edit the existing ones soon.
7695827 Also, if you find any specific segments that could be improved (you don't even have to explain why they need to be improved), that would be really helpful. As I am my own editor, I may miss important segments that may need editing, as the chapter will automatically make more sense to me than it will to readers.
Update: New cover art! Yay!
Now it isn't something from Pony Creator.
Now she looks a lot more like I think she should.
And yet it really is nothing more than a different kind of pony creator. Basically a stop-gap until I stop being so lazy and actually get around to making a vector of my own.
Oh damn! She just played god and created new life, that said, I would have expected the task to require more lightning and manic shouting. Before you had my curiosity, now you have my attention.
~Crystalline Electrostatic~
21:14_11/17/2016
7730148 And I want to reassure you that there were several extenuating circumstances for the success of that particular event. But explaining exactly what those circumstances were would be incredibly spoiler-heavy.
7730241 I figured it was a special one time thing, but at the same time, she still did it.
~Crystalline Electrostatic~
21:59_11/17/2016
huh............is she now a momma?
7730269 Yep.
7730366 I guess so!
Is creating life the way ponies are admitted into the academy, these days?
Holy FUCK what the HELL was all that?! O.O
Okay, seriously, why is the next chapter not done yet?! You can't just lay out crazy like this and expect me to wait God only knows how long until the next chapter!! T______________T
7730648
Well, one could argue that Twilight did the same thing. (many head-canons insist that Spike's egg was dead or fossilized)
But seriously, if the examiners weren't so caught up in the politics of the situation, her first act of magic would have been way more than was actually needed.
7730851 The next chapter will be here in less than a week, and I'm hoping that I can get it out one or two days from now.
After that, though, chapters might take a little bit longer. I'm catching up fast to the material in my writing notebook, and while I'm not procrastinating as much, it will not be this frequent. (But still, I aim to keep the publish rate within a two-week period)
7731334 Okay so I was exagerating a little, mostly due to the insanity of that ending.
Still, it wouldn't have been so bad, if it wasn't for that cliffhanger.
Also, you could always pad it a little with a little more detail of her daily life or interactions with her parents or her studies. I mean there WAS a huge gap between "I learned some magic magicks" to "I can harness the power of Alicorns and basically create new life". ^^;
Last, but not least, I hope your story continues to grow more popular, as I am really enjoying this and I believe it deserves a lot more love.
My attention has been grabbed this is much more interesting than I originally had thought.
7731818 Thank you!
I do intend to have a more slice-of-life approach for the future chapters (more day-to-day type descriptions). A lot was cut out, in a way, so the "setup" of the story won't take a third of the actual story. While I don't have a set length in mind, I wanted to get the plot going a bit.
Don't worry, you'll get plenty of details for future lessons.
Aurora actually hasn't learned all that much, she just used it effectively.
I'll explain it in the most non-spoilery way I can. (I'll still put the spoiler tags for the newcomers that haven't read this chapter, though.)
The first stage was just a simple modification of a spell to combine DNA, modified from the plant version used commonly by Earth Ponies to breed better crops. In this particular alt. universe, this is actually a relatively common skill in modern use, and not one of the things she learned from her special sources.
Actively growing it was pretty simple, but it required a lot of power and focus. ("lot of power" being relative, here)
The last part had a little to do with alicorn magic, but a lot more to do with how wellsprings and souls work, and the reason it was so painful when she brought out the second sphere, and why that overpowered the gathered alicorn magic. Hint - it wasn't just normal magical energy. How she was able to do said act is actually fairly simple, but... the only thing I can safely say right now is that every magic has its inverse, and she was using that inverse here.
All of this will be explained fully later on, but this is the gist of it. What she did actually didn't really require phenomenal energy. Aurora isn't that powerful. While she will, obviously, become powerful, no amount of raw power will produce the same result as what she did here. But it did cost her something.
Real spoiler (but it still won't tell you much): It did cost her something. Nothing too dramatic, and subtle enough where I don't think I'll mention it prominently in the story until much later, or maybe a second story in the series. But severe enough where she is incredibly unlikely to try anything similar again.
7732503 Very interesting! Answers that lead to more questions! I must stop asking more questions, before I delve too deep into this madness of a downward spiral of answers that only lead to more questions!!
Well as I said, I appreciate when people do something unique in a quality way. Your writing has Quality, and your story elements are Unique. There's not a whole lot in terms of "Look! Earth Ponies have real magic, besides just growing Plants or at least just making them grow BETTER".
It's nice to see Earth Ponies not get the short end the stick, as they often times do. In fact when you really think about it, Earth Ponies have always kind of gotten the shaft in a lot of respects. After all there's famous Alicorns (Celestia & Luna, then Cadence & Twilight), famous Pegasi (Wonderbolts), famous Unicorns (Starswirl The Bearded) but no real famous Earth Ponies (By which I mean being famous for doing things ONLY an Earth Pony can do). It's like "Oh you're an Earth Pony, so that means your jobs are almost always limited to things with food". Even then that doesn't mean Unicorns can't do it better, as seen when Starlight Glimmer showed she could create a better cake faster than The Cakes.
7733244 Thank you for your kind words!
Yeah, more questions probably would give answers with more questions attached, as there is a lot to be revealed in future chapters.
The earth pony thing had really worried me, and so that is the main reason I created this complicated head-canon around it. And an artificial power boost would be even worse. I had noticed a lot about earth ponies in the show. These observations were made more clear by Pinkie Pie.
And I am proud to say that the system I came up with explains Pinkie Pie. (Almost, at least. More of a "why" than a "how" for some of it.)
I admit, this story surprised me. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I came away impressed by how much the story makes of its premise. It also doesn't beat around the bush, which is something I really appreciate. It's all very solid, and well put-together.
If there's one thing that bothers me, it's that Aurora seems perhaps a bit too mature. She's supposed to be something like two years out of (magic) kindergarten, but at times she's a bit more "adult" than that seems to imply.
7733984 Being bullied mercilessly like she had been has a way of forcing one to grow up young and cynical.
~Crystalline Electrostatic~
15:3_11/19/2016
7733984 This is what happens when you are a giant nerd. When all your friends are books. Not to mention she may be identifying more with adults, since she sees her peers as more dangerous and such from bullying. Plus some kids are just naturally more mature.
7733999 True. It's just jarring to think of a seven(?) year old saying something like:
It just strikes me as subtly off, if that makes sense.
7734007 Keep in mind she is also well educated. when I was ten, I was reading and comprehending encyclopedias. I read them for fun.
~Crystalline Electrostatic~
15:17_11/19/2016
7734026 It's not really a matter of knowledge, but more of experience. The conversation she has with her parents is on a "level" I'd expect from a teen or adult, rather than a child.
7734004 I'm not saying it's unreasonable, it just feels subtly off to me.
Also: That ending was hilariously terrible, I LOVE IT! <3
Did she collapse during the test or was it a dream? I'm a bit confused at the end of this chapter
Man I love this story, it's funny and fun. I can't wait for more!
7734039 Well, part of it is her education and reluctance to interact with ponies her age.
Part of it also is the material she is reading.
Those books are not textbooks. Magic back then was just as much about philosophy and intellectual discussion as it was learning, jsut like science was in our world.
Also, do you really think that the pony (ies) that hid the books did so without leaving something that described why they left them there?
I can't say anything else right now due to spoiler-infested material, but I hope this explains it a bit.
Actually, I was expecting this sort of comment since I started on the story.
I'm actually quite glad it came now, when I am able to give a bit more information about it.
Don't worry, though. While she may have more mature moments, there's plenty of foalish things left in there. I'm not going to treat her like a teen or adult pony completely.
And if any of you want to know, her age is approximately the age of the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Yes, she is old for her grade, but that's what happens when you change schools that often. I'm not sure if I put this in, but this was actually the last legal year she could stay out of school before being truant. (Homeschooling in the secondary level is possible, but one of the parents has to have a license as a teacher.)
Hope this helps!
7734065 As it's meant to be!
7734280 She collapsed. After all, it was quite an effort.
7734294 This definitely helps. I was a bit nervous, since a lot of authors have difficulties writing children. They either write them as small adults or total idiots. This chapter is the only one that raised any kind of flag for me, and it could just be the quick pacing messing with me.
I think I'm going to have to wait to learn a little bit more about this hidden study before things really come into focus. Unless I miss my guess, it's still early yet in this story.
In any case, I'm very interested to see where this goes. This story presents a few questions I'm waiting to see answered. Like whose hair she...reproduced with.
7734516 Yes, I definitely understand those concerns. And I share them in most cases. (Hint: don't read any of my other stories. I didn't know how to write kids then. Or write well at all.)
"Like whose hair she...reproduced with."
You'll see.
But does the DNA mixing mean reproduction, or does the mixing of magic?
Both?
Well, in that case, wouldn't she have just reproduced with Celestia?
That would be extremely awkward, especially since Celestia... Argh! Why does everything have to be spoilers!
Well, time to get back to writing.
Is it bad that my main motivation for writing is so that I can explain lore more easily?
Well, at least it seems to be working.
7734566 Um I was reading a few of your comments and something about Celestia reproducing?
I don't remember anything in the story so far about that at all...
Umm is she married or did she once use the same spell like Aurora did?
7734766 I feel like a fool...
I miss understood what you we're saying... 
The question was about who's DNA does Smarty Pants has... How did I think it was Celestia?
7734774 Celestia was mentioned because Smarty Pants mixed her magic with hers in the creation.
7734921 ok
Well...................Isn't that interesting? She's a momma at such a young age and named her filly (without knowing) after Twilight's doll.
Yes!
I finally stopped being lazy, and made my own vector art.
It just feels so much better to use your own work.
The image has 84 layers, though. The mane was hard. Especially for the parts that both went in front of and behind something.
It took about 3-4 hours.
On the plus side, though, it is now really easy to pose/animate.
.......................was that an accident or was that their magic subconsciously defending them by forcing more magic back through her link?
Curious and curiouser. I'm assuming that little Smart Pants has absorbed the memories of her Mother. I'm also assuming shes closer to a toddler.
Still an interesting chapter that makes me curious to see what comes next!
7737425 That will be explained next chapter, or at least enough to let you know what happened. But I'll give you an in-depth version anyway. Just for this one. The next few, you'll just have to wait and see.
But seriously, a lot of my story will revolve around the reader learning things at the same rate as Aurora. As much as I love explaining things, doing it every time would ruin the story.
Anyway.
She was using a passive spell at the time that sensed magic through surfaces that could naturally conduct earth pony magic. (like the ground, or wood) Usually,this would be used by ponies to see the life force in plants/crops. Or other ponies. Of course, for modern ponies this skill is mostly an unconscious one, and relates to their special talent. (Like Applejack would be able to tell the state of her trees, and Pinkie Pie would have an uncanny ability to find ponies.) Aurora, conscious of this ability, would be able to use it more effectively, and more focused. (but that is a slight downside as well, as it requires a direct application of magic instead of an instinctual sense, which only requires background levels of magic to function)
The Princesses have a similar ability (special to alicorns) that is more instinctual in nature, but with an element of active use (telling more would be spoilers), so basically, they instinctively noticed that they were being seen in this way, and automatically responded with the same sort of spell. (not their usual method, which Twilight actually uses this chapter)
This, obviously, had interesting side effects, since the spell involved a magical current, and a much more powerful one, rather than their usual sense.
Sorry about the confusion (and I might have just made more confusion, anyway) - just keep in mind that this kind of event, where Aurora will not know exactly what happened, will happen frequently.
The Princesses have plenty of secrets, and Celestia is quite good at hiding them.
Note that often an "inconsistency" is actually a hint of something for the future, and not an oversight. For example, Aurora's varied reactions to the Princesses' presence at different occasions, which seems like an inconsistency, actually says a lot about her that is not otherwise stated. After this last chapter, it is possible to figure out why, it's just hard.
7737493 Not completely. Elements, though.
After all, part of her soul was transferred.
And Smarty Pants' age is all sorts of strange, due to her... unconventional birth. Toddler is the best description of her maturity, though.
And I have got to stop giving out information so freely!
7737527 Then don't, As much fun as it is to be vague, it is to some extent. I'm guessing this takes place many years after the events of the show?