Magisight: Thaumaturgical Ocularity

by PsychicKid

Chapter 18: For Body's Ascension

“Seek...

...Learn...

...Know...”

…

“When all three—”

Twilight awoke with a gasp, her eyes snapping open as she hurtled back into the waking world. She threw her hoof up to shield her eyes from the sunlight pouring in from above. Sunlight? She winced and looked around, spotting vestiges of the Argent Moon celebration littering the ground. Right.

She yawned, rolling to her side slowly and feeling the grass beneath her. Applejack snored nearby, hat draped over her eyes. An empty mug—or three—lay on the ground next to her. Twilight spotted Hopeseed curled up in a group of snoozing foals. A misty blanket of magic draped over them, the silvery wisps being carried away by the gentle wind. Songbirds tweeted their morning songs across the plaza. Muffled activity could be heard in some of the nearby homes. Looks like some ponies made it to their bed last night, Twilight thought. As she stood, her back cricked loudly, and she snorted with annoyance. Maybe if I’d had the foresight to sleep in the Tree last night, I could’ve slept a little better.

With a sigh, she flicked her horn and her notebook appeared in a flash of light before her. She levitated a quill above the last page of her expedition notes, hesitating. She glanced over her most recent entries.

Day 7: Same dream as prior, but with additions. The message from Amethyst Hollow now plays after the original message: “When all three.”

Day 8: No change from previous.

She sighed and slouched. Resting the journal on the ground, she began to write in the space below.

Day 9: No change from previous.

Twilight idly spun the quill in mid-air as she reflected on last night’s events. She resumed writing.

Observation: I had considered the possibility of the Argent Moon’s magic having an impact on my dreams, but that hypothesis lacks evidence to support it. Perhaps my dreams are not directly related to these adventures? Will need to follow up. During the transition to midnight, a combination of lunar and earth pony magic enhanced a protective barrier around Peacegrove Village. A full report will follow upon return to Ponyville.

Note: Will update after the Aurum Sun, which has yet to take place as of this entry.

Twilight closed the book and sent it back to her bag with a flash. She glanced upward. Where once she saw Luna's starry night sky, now hung overhead Celestia's clear blue sky, shining brilliantly as beams of sunlight streamed down. By her estimate, the Aurum Sun would soon be upon the village.

“Mornin’ Twi,” Applejack yawned. Twilight turned to see her friend already standing and stretching with a loud crack-POP! She sighed and flicked the brim of her hat to rest properly on her head. “Hooo-whee! That was one crazy festival. Ya sleep well?”

Twilight sighed, shaking her head. “Not exactly. I—Well, it's not been as bad lately, but maybe I would have slept better in a bed.”

“Weird dreams again?”

Twilight nodded and pursed her lips.

“Heh, can’t say I’m surprised. But look on the bright side,” Applejack said as she slung a foreleg over Twilight’s shoulder, tugging her toward the stage. The silver-gold blossoms shimmered as the late-morning sun shone directly onto the goblet and casting rainbow reflections into the air. One of the blossoms was markedly much larger than the rest. “Hopeseed sure did all right, wouldn’t y’say?”

Twilight looked toward the pile of sleeping youngsters—a few of them had roused and started making their way home. Hopeseed gently stirred. Twilight couldn’t help but smile, a sense of pride swelling in her heart: not just for Hopeseed but for all of the accomplished foals.

Ponies scurried about the village, the streets slowly stirring back to life. Some were carrying farming tools: hoes, rakes, scythes, and so on. “Huh, ain't that somethin’,” Applejack said, quirking an eyebrow.

“Something wrong, AJ?” Twilight asked.

“Not really, it's jus’…” Applejack hesitated, rubbing the back of her neck. “Nothin’ seemed ripe for harvest in the village. It ain’t apple buckin’ season back home, and it shouldn’t be time for pears yet neither.”

Twilight tapped hoof against chin thoughtfully. “We are pretty far south. Maybe it has something to do with the localized climate.”

A weary chuckle came from behind the duo. “Not exactly, young ones.”

“Ivy!” Twilight squealed happily. She rushed over and gave the Elder a gentle hug, Applejack trailing along behind.

“Good morning to you too, Princess.” She chuckled. “You gave out plenty of hugs last night, what’s one more?” Ivy said as she returned the embrace. “Truly, I can't even begin to express my gratitude for everything you've done for us.”

“It’s no trouble at all,” Twilight said with a smile. “What did you mean just now? You said, ‘not exactly.’ What’s got everypony in such a hurry?”

Ivy began to trot slowly toward the Tree, beckoning to Twilight and Applejack with her head. “The blessings of the Tree, the moon, and the sun… They grant us both protection and a bountiful harvest. The fields and orchards may not be ripe yet—and still wouldn’t be for some time anywhere else in Equestria—but come noon on today, the Aurum Sun…” Her voice trailed off, yet there was an unmistakable vigor in her tone. Twilight and Applejack shared a glance over the older pony’s back as her creaking joints seemed to loosen for a moment, a spring in her step appearing where none had been before.

Twilight pondered her words, looking up at the Tree and the gentle silvery aura that bathed it. Her eyes darted back and forth, as if reading invisible calculations in the air before her. “I see. If the Aurum Sun reacts with the lingering magic of the Argent Moon, then I suppose it’s possible for both magic streams to synergize with the latent earth pony magic… in which case, the same effects that cause the explosive growth of the silver-gold blossoms could then be applied to mundane flora.”

Applejack frowned and raised an eyebrow. “And in Ponish?” she said as Ivy smirked with a chuckle.

“The magic that’s still all around us can’t affect non-magical plants, but when it’s combined with the Aurum Sun it spurs a faster, more bountiful harvest. That’s what Ivy meant by waiting until noon. Right?”

Ivy laughed joyfully, her weathered voice sounding youthful again. “Right on the nose. I'm much too old to help with the harvest, but everypony in the village who can will help provide us another year of plenty.”

“Hi!” Holly’s voice suddenly rang out from above, her tangled mess of a mane peering over the canopy of a nearby tent.

“Good morning, Miss Thicket!” Ivy said, continuing along unfazed by Holly's sudden appearance.

“Everypony’s just about all ready, and they should be here soon!” Holly said, bouncing down to the ground alongside the group. “We're gonna have so much tasty nommy-noms to eat after today! Oooh, maybe I'll get to meet Bill and Phil’s children before I devour them!” She licked her lips, a small amount of drool dripping off the tip of her tongue.

Twilight and Applejack found that words had escaped them, leaving them simply bewildered.

“Anynoodle, I need to find Lily, she overslept again and keeps snoring so everypony keeps asking, ‘Holly, when are you gonna come get Lily?’ So of course I’ve got to go get her! I'll be back soon!” With a quick wave, Holly zipped away out of sight.

A small crowd of ponies had made their way back into the plaza. The calm air carried many pleasant conversations and exchanges. The shrill laughter of a colt or filly occasionally rose above the buzz of the crowd. Nearly all of the adults wielded farming equipment.

Twilight caught sight of Hopeseed. Flanking the filly were two ponies, a mare with a grey coat and orange cream-colored stallion. Twilight noticed something… familiar about the mare, but couldn’t quite put her hoof on it. As she looked closer, the mare hugged Hopeseed and a gentle spark of magic flowed from one to the other. Hopeseed’s bandana. It came from her mother. Twilight broke into a big, goofy smile that could have rivaled even Pinkie Pie as she beamed with pride.

Ivy took the stage and cleared her throat, prompting the full attention of the crowd. “Fillies and gentlecolts! It is with great pride I conclude our one thousand, thirty-third Festival of the Argent Moon, and the ushering in of the one thousand, thirty-third Aurum Sun!”

The villagers cheered and applauded by stomping their hooves—if they had a hoof free.

“Once again, this season’s yearlings have proven themselves ready to walk on the path to adulthood, and in doing so have ensured protection by our guardian Tree for another year. This year, there is one filly in particular I would like to present to you for her extraordinary work preserving the traditions passed down by our ancestors.” Ivy gave Twilight a wink, who smiled with a nod in return. “Hopeseed, would you please come to the stage?”

The villagers applauded as Hopeseed slowly walked up and onto the stage. She blushed and rubbed the back of her foreleg, a small smile forming on her muzzle. “For many moons,” Ivy said, gesturing her hoof in a wide arc, “this young one has been toiling away out of sight. And what could be a more fitting time than our yearly festival for her labor to bear fruit?”

Twilight and Applejack shared a chuckle as Ivy delivered her speech—poor Hopeseed’s cheeks flushed a bright red at all of the attention. As the elder spoke, the sun continued its steady march across the sky, the minutes ticking down closer and closer until noon—and the Aurum Sun. Fuzzy golden motes of magic materialized around the Tree, drifting lazily through the air as they flickered around beams of sunlight. Twilight squinted, Ivy’s speech fading into the background as she focused. She spotted a few of them merging with one another, growing in size and intensity. The aura surrounding the Tree slowly shifted in hue to mirror the golden energy surrounding it.

A glint from atop the Tree caught Twilight’s attention. Was that a mirror? She strained to get a better view. No, it looks like… Something about this mystery felt achingly familiar, but the answers were just out of her reach—and this nibbled at her thoughts. She gazed into the middle distance as she pondered.

“Everythin’ okay?” Applejack said, giving her friend a gentle prod. “Ya look a little nervous. Is the Tree gonna do somethin’ flashy again? The way folks’re talkin’ about this Almond Sun thing… I hope you know what’s goin’ on, cause I sure don’t.”

Twilight mumbled a vague response.

“Uh, Twi? Hey, Twilight!”

“Huh?” Twilight’s eyes snapped back into focus and she glanced toward Applejack. “Sorry, I…” She cleared her throat awkwardly. “I believe a second magic juncture is about to occur,” Twilight said. Applejack rolled her eyes and shook her head.

“There’s something else, something I didn’t notice last night. I think I see a spike in magical activity at the top of the tree,” Twilight said, pointing with her hoof. “At this distance, I’m not really sure what it is.”

“You gonna check it out?” Applejack asked. “I mean, I ain’t gonna stop ya, on account of that friendship problem we licked. Heck, it’s temptin’ to offer a hoof on their harvest,” she said, glancing at the ponies all around. “Though I still ain’t seen nothin’ ready for harvest yet.”

“I think that’s a great idea, AJ!” Twilight said. She excitedly hopped in place at the prospect of finally having some time to herself for her research. A gleeful grin spread over her face. “We’ve got plenty of time, so you can help the villagers set up for harvest while I do some hooves-on research with the Tree!”

“Sounds right dandy! Just, uh… Keep yourself safe, all right? It’s lookin’ to be almost noon, and after last night it’ll be a while before I’m gonna let you outta my sight for too long,” Applejack said with a worried frown.

“I’ll be fine. Trust me.”

The two mares nodded to one another before striking off—Applejack joining the growing crowd of harvesters and Twilight cantering toward the Tree. Twilight managed to slip past the crowd and ducked into the foyer, carefully closing the door behind her. The motes had spread along the inside of the Tree, the drifting wisps larger than ever. Twilight gazed across the pool as thin, misty tendrils arose from deep within, fading to nothing before even reaching the next floor.

I wonder… Twilight thought as she trotted to the water’s edge. She gingerly lowered her hoof toward the water, pausing just before breaking the surface. She stared down at her reflection in the otherwise still water. She looked over her own shoulder and she could more clearly see the swirls of magic trickling from the depths. She took a deep breath and pushed her hesitation aside, thrusting her hoof down into the cold water.

A shiver ran through Twilight’s body, but it wasn’t from the temperature—which was surprisingly warm, actually—as she reached into the pool, a strange tugging sensation goaded her into the water. The energies pooled around her hoof as the sound of rushing water filled her mind. She felt her mental pathways expand, her perception merging with the water falling from above. She channeled her focus and pushed her mind’s eye up against the stream and along the multitude of waterways feeding the pond. Up, up, up she went, swiftly ascending the Tree.

Her awareness suddenly crested the top of the water’s source: a pool of water on what must be near the top of the Tree. She gently probed her consciousness forward through the water, then into the wood on the opposite side. She broke her perception into several small fragments as she surfaced, tracing paths along the outside of the pool. A large, wooden frame stood firm against her as she grazed along its contours. Six evenly-spaced branches sprouted from the wood around her, fading out of sight of her vision. That’s it.

She blinked, and her surroundings suddenly forced their way back into view as she snapped back to her physical body. “That’s it!” she cried triumphantly.

Her horn sparked to life as she assembled an aethereal map of the Tree before her. Remnants of solar magic steadily filtered in around the drifting earth pony magic. Twilight could feel the magical presence inside the Tree begin to rise, placing strain on Twilight’s spell. The motes of earth pony magic mixed with Twilight’s unicorn magic, and cracks started to appear in her matrix as it warped heavily out of shape. With a resonating crack, the spell shattered and Twilight was thrown backward against the door.

Twilight groaned loudly with the impact, barely catching herself as she fell to the floor. “I guess the… harmonic frequencies are too different… to find parity,” she mumbled in a daze. She took one wobbly step forward and failed to take a second. As she collapsed on the floor and rolled to face skyward, her vision wavered in and out of focus. She closed her eyes and breathed.

Deep breath in.

Deep breath out.

Deep breath in...

She slowly opened her eyes and looked around. I guess unicorn magic is out… She struggled to her hooves and flared her wings, glaring upward. With a grunt, she leapt into the air. She reached up with a hoof at the next floor, each wingbeat providing only the slightest lift. As she struggled, the strain on her body sent rivulets of sweat cascading through her mane.

“Great,” she panted. “Not even… my wings…work right in here…” In spite of the resistance, Twilight managed to stay airborne as she passed floor after floor. Upon landing on the highest catwalk—and pausing to catch her breath—she spotted a plain, unassuming door at the opposite end. She slowly walked forward, wobbling with exhaustion and trying not to think about the dizzying height.

She pushed the door open and stepped outside into the Tree’s crown. Pillars of wood jutted upward from the branch, arching together to form a large ring looming overhead. Resting in the center was a massive lens, its crystal-clear curvature fit snugly within. A reservoir of still water rested beneath.

Such hoofwork, Twilight thought as she slowly circled around the perimeter. I’ve only ever seen optics this precise in the telescopes at the Canterlot Observatory. She completed a lap around the pool, noting latent magic wafting lazily through the air both within and without the strange device. She peered into the water, sunlight easily penetrating the halcyon surface. The water ran deep, and she found she could just make out a set of carvings along the bottom. A focused beam of sunlight refracted through the lens and down toward the symbols, illuminating one of the glyphs almost completely. A fiery sun shone from the depths.

Wait, that’s—Twilight gasped, for the first time noticing the symbols on either side formed the shape of a crescent moon. One of the narrow arcs shimmered with faint traces of blue and silver. This isn’t just some random prehistoric artwork—these are Celestia and Luna’s cutie marks! Her eyes darted back and forth between the symbols. Solar and lunar cycles!

Golden light continued to waft gently from the Tree around her, a visible column of light steadily increasing in luminosity with each passing second. Twilight remained at the water’s edge, fixated on symbols below, as the solar marking shimmered under the sunlight. She traced the path of a nearby magic stream flowing from the branch into the glassy confines of the lens, reacting to the sunlight as it poured in from above. Twilight took a deep breath and raised her hooves into the air, thrusting them down into the water.

In that instant, the sunlight refracting through the lens suddenly widened. The sunlight merged fully with the earth pony magic, forming a new spell that immediately wove its way into the water. Twilight was enveloped by this new magic. Much to her surprise, the focused light did not hurt her eyes. If anything, it was even softer than a typical summer’s day. The warmth draped over her like a blanket, and she could see the shape of broad roots forming within the light.

Twilight could only stare, her senses deprived from her—she could not even feel the water splashing around her hooves. Within the aethereal roots were drifting wisps of sunlight criss-crossing between each other to take on new shapes. Twilight tilted her head. Apples? And corn! And pears! The ever-multiplying crops drifted along the twisting spell, descending down into the Tree.

Down? Twilight gasped as she found herself floating in midair within the pillar of sunlight, her physical surroundings faded from view. The crop spell drifted before her, leaving two symbols behind in its wake. The lunar mark shone with a bright silver light, unyielding against the sunlight. The solar symbol glowed as well, its golden light dancing through the magical constructs.

When all three…

Twilight gasped, the thought welling up unbidden. A mix of curiosity, excitement, and a tiny dab of dread filled her heart as the light around her began to form a new spell. The shape was unlike any unicorn spell or earth pony magic she knew—or could even make an educated guess at. It slowly took on the shape of a pony, its hue shifting to a light yellow. A deep green mane and tail sprouted from its mass, billowing despite the lack of wind.

“Star Glider! Is that you? Can you hear me?” Twilight drifted down, aether rippling from her hooves as they connected silently against an invisible ground. The aged mare smiled, but shook her head. The vague, misty outline of her form broke away, shifting colors into a strangely familiar scarlet and white. The image took the shape of another pony, but this latter figure was too incorporeal for Twilight to make out. Its colors subtly shifted in the light as it flowed about.

Twilight gulped, stopping a few feet in front of it. “You’re…” she said, hesitating. “You’re not Star Glider, are you?”

There was no response. Or at least, nothing that seemed like a response. The yellow and green of Star Glider’s form had all but shifted away, only occasionally appearing within a rainbow shimmer as the light from the magic struck it at just the right angle.

Have… been… connected…

The entity did not speak directly, but Twilight could feel the words echo within her heart. “I don’t understand!” Twilight cried. “What does it mean?”

Twilight suddenly felt herself being yanked downward along a trail left behind by the spell. It began to branch outward in a number of directions, and Twilight felt her consciousness split as it was dragged along each path. Her head began to pound as the spell progressed, her fragments following each strand of magic toward a series of concentrated wisps of earth pony magic. Each one swirled a different color, and as she reached the end of each trail, the pain in her mind amplified further.

Twilight noticed the branch of the spell containing apples beginning to coil up into the air. With a rush of magic and light, it splintered yet again, carrying along with it several dozen spheres of energy. The spheres arranged themselves into a strange pattern above the colored wisps. Twilight squinted, pushing back the pain, as the shape of an apple tree formed, capturing the magic in place. With a flash, the individual spheres suddenly ceased all movement, and one of the wisp clusters—this one orange—sounded a muffled cheer. Its shape slowly became distinct within the aether, and a familiar voice echoed through the mist.

“Hoo-whee! It’s just like the Zap Apples back home! Twilight’s sure gonna regret missin’ this!”

Applejack? Twilight drifted along the magic as the rest of the wisps began to undulate, distant cheers echoing all around. A smile crossed her lips as she felt the joy from her friend flow over her. The pain in her mind subsided, allowing her to focus with greater clarity on the rest of the streams. Pears, corn, squash, potatoes—all surging from the spell and out toward the ponies. As the aether took various positions in the trees and fields around the village, each branch took on a solid shape. The ponies tending to these crops erupted in cheer with each surge.

Once the spell had finally dispersed, Twilight felt her split perspectives whisked back into wholeness. Before her floated the magic entity, a flowing form of white and crimson. As magic flowed in and around it, the colors shifted into purples, pinks, blues, magentas—it even settled on Star Glider’s colors for a moment. It nickered, its form flickering as if aflame.

“Please,” Twilight said as calmly as she could. She took a step forward and looked up at the form as it grew to a towering behemoth. She gulped, but did not waver. “Tell me. Who are you, really?”

Silence. The being said nothing, and its form began to peel away, each piece drifting away as embers into smoke. “Don’t go!” Twilight cried, reaching out with a hoof. She found no purchase. A sense of fulfilment abruptly washed over Twilight, despite the entity’s departure. Was it reassuring her? The message echoed in her mind again.

Have been connected…

Twilight closed her eyes, a smile crossing her lips, her physical being slowly returning to her perception. She could feel water flowing over her as she was pulled back into reality.

Comments

[Eclipse_Nova]

She pushed the door open and stepped outside into the Tree’s crown. Pillars of wood jutted upward from the branch, arching together to form a large ring looming overhead. Resting in the center was a massive lens, its crystal-clear curvature fit snugly within. A reservoir of still water rested beath.

Do you mean beneath? I have a hard time understanding the sentence if it is actually beath

[PsychicKid]

9774248
Yes, thanks for pointing out that typo. I'll go fix it right away!

[Venerable Ro]

See that's the problem with those ancient embodiments of powers and places, they will never give you a straight answer. The older they are the more abstract they are, until all you can get out of the thing is some vague musing about how solid rock is made of empty space.

I mean, sure, it is; but that's not what I'm asking you, you dratted oracular knickknack!

[Ixrec]

The shape was unlike any unicorn spell or earth pony magic she knew—or even make an educated guess at.

Nitpick: I think there's a "could" missing in the second half.