> Magic is a friend > by Blackdust > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Prologue 1 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jackson Another boring day learning things that will never matter to me. Not like I plan on staying here in the U.S. my whole life... Jackson thought as he sat in the back of class, ignoring the teacher like he usually did. He was a straight A student. He was invited to several advanced classes and even offered a spot in college despite his age. He may have only been 8, but he thought and acted like he was in his mid-twenties. He was close to a cure for cancer, but nobody would believe him. Not until he showed them his experiments. Now it seemed like everyone wanted to have him in their class or as a coworker. Although, he did have some trouble with some basic things, like memory, every now and then, but he was still better at keeping up with everything in his disorganized room than his parents were in their organized house. Everything had a place in his room. The corner behind the door was for his bag and shoes. The other one on the wall with the door was for his dirty clothes. The other two were his workstations. One for his form of alchemy and the other for his technological advances. Currently he was brewing what he hoped would slow the heartbeat so as to keep soldiers from bleeping out from a vital shot long enough to get the proper medical aid they needed without causing a problem to the brain, while also trying to invent a teleportation device. He already had the basic schematic, nothing to flashy or sci-fy like, but just enough of the cliche to make people recognize it at a glance. "JACKSON!" The teacher yelled at him, snapping him out of his revere. "Yes Mr.Anderson?" Jackson said, realizing he hadn't heard him at first. "Can you answer the question on the board or not?" The teacher asked, tapping the board with a ruler. "Of course I can. But do you want the complex answer or the simple one?" Jackson shot at the person that was supposed to be a teacher. "The simple one so your classmates can understand you, you little brat," the teacher shot back. "Fine. The simple answer to the question on the board is that the Nazi's were stupid in thinking they could remove everyone that didn't fit into their definition of perfect," Jackson said, still mad at the teacher for making him give an answer that anybody else could've answered. Luckily a kid at the front of the class raised their hand and took the attention off of him and the obvious hate he was directing at the teacher. Apparently the kid had to use the restroom. Stupid kids drinking and eating all those 'soft' drinks and junk food. Makes them unhealthy and out of shape. Well. It puts them in A shape, but it's not a healthy one. > Prologue 2 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Flora Meanwhile... "But Mom, you know I can't!" Flora Everglow shouted at her mother, Trinity Everglow. "I don't care. Try again. I'm sure you almost had it that time. You just have to try harder Flora," Trinity said, trying to encourage her daughter to attempt to lift the pot sitting in front of her again. Trinity had been trying to get her daughter to do some kind of magic ever since she was little as she didn't do most of the things that other unicorn foals did. Instead of using magic, she did everything by hoof. She never teleported anywhere, never lifted herself out of her crib, never used her magic. The doctors all said that she was probably a 'late bloomer'. But Trinity knew better. She knew that there was something wrong. She just had to find out what. "Mom, this pot won't lift, and I just can't do magic... Maybe I'm broken..." Flora said, sitting down beaten by the lack of 'magical flow' that she should be feeling when she tried to cast even the most basic of spells. "NO!" Trinity yelled at her on accident, picking her up and hugging her tightly. "You're not broken. You just need to figure out how to use your magic... Every unicorn treats their magic differently, but they all know some of the basics from birth. It's instinctive." Obviously not that instinctive if I've never cast a single spell... Flora thought. "You did cast one spell a long time ago... But it was so minor that we didn't think anything of it... But it caused you to crack you horn. Not permanently but long enough that it may have released all that Foal Energy you should have had," Trinity said, causing Flora to look at her mother in shock. "Oh sweet Celestia I said that out loud didn't I...?" Flora asked realizing that she had, in fact, spoken her thoughts. "Yes you did Flora. But there may be a way out of this... It's highly dangerous though, as you'll be alone in a cave with a giant boulder balanced very dangerously on a pillar of smaller stones. If you disturb the pillar... The boulder is often called the 'Choosing Stone' by the earth ponies around here. It may seem stupid, but it has worked miracles before. One that I was witness to," Trinity said, hoping her daughter would be as desperate, if not more so, as her. Flora simply nodded and said, "Let's go then." Trinity simply smiled set her daughter back down and lead her out of their small house and to a cave set into a hill. "I can't go any further. This is your wish. I can't be there as it will influence your decision," Trinity said, and then took note of the fear on her daughters face. "Those are the rules of the Stone, Flora. I wish I could go in there, if only to keep you safe..." > Chapter 1 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jackson's pov When Jackson got home he finished his chores and set about working on the potion. To him, only two things came before his discoveries. His devices came second. The thing that mattered the most to him was one show that if anybody knew he even vaguely liked, he would be bullied viciously. Not to mention the fact that his parents may not want anything to do with him unless he renounced his love of the girls show. The name of this magical show, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. "Oh yeah!" Jackson said, "Today's the day the new episode comes out! If only I could go there myself and speak to one of them..." He sighed as he realized the reason he was really building the teleportation pad was as a predecessor to the reality hopper that he would use to try and go to MLP. But to do that, I'd have to finish it and prove it works without a hitch. And to do that I'd need something bigger than a grapefruit to go through without turning into pudding. All his previous tests of things bigger than that, boots, boxes, doesn't matter, it would always turn into some kind of weird pudding. Obviously inedible, but he accidentally tried it once when he was up late and was too tired to notice. Put simply, he was sick for a week afterwards. However, he was never that tired at night again. Well worth it when he looked back on the silly mistake. "Jackson! We're home!" His mother called, opening the front door of their two story A-frame, "We got groceries! Would you mind givng us a hand!" "Sure thing mom! Just let me set everything back where it was and I'll be right down!" He called back, already setting everything in places where they wouldn't break or fall. "Hurry! We got eggs and milk!" His dad called up. "Got it!" Jackson said, finishing putting things back and hurrying down the steps. But when he got down the steps his parents weren't home. The door was closed and locked. "What...? Maybe it was a phantom sense..." Jackson said, preparing to head back to his experiments, but then the door really did unlock and open. His mom standing there about to call out to him. "Oh! Jackson, good, we have groceries," she said. "Let me guess, milk and eggs?" Jackson said, thinking that it was more of a phantom premonition than a phantom sense. "Wha... Yeah... How'd you know? You never keep track of the groceries we need." His dad said, walking into the house just in time to catch him saying that. "Would you believe me if I said I heard you say that before you got out of the car?" Jackson asked, hoping that would define it simply enough for them to catch what he was saying. "Phantom scenarios? I used to have those when I dreamed at your age," his dad said, walking into the small kitchen they had. "Seems to run in the family. But for me, it stopped after I turned nine if memory serves." "Really?" Jackson asked heading for the door at the same time that his dad had finished unloading his arms. "Yep. Still have one, once in a blue moon. And they have never been wrong. For the past 17 years not a single one has been off in the slightest. Some might say it's a zion complex," he said, giving him a wink as they got to the grey SUV that they used for transporting some of the experiments he made that would fit in a car. "Yeah, only you call it that. While the rest of the world would say it's kids being kids," Jackson said grabbing as many bags as his arms could hold and heading back for the door. His dad grabbed the last of the groceries, closed the doors, and locked the car. "Hey, once we get all this put away, wanna watch the new episode of MLP on my computer?" his dad asked, shocking Jackson. "You're a brony?" Jackson stupidly asked. "Why else do you think my computer was on, unlocked, and open to that one episode? It's the same one that got me hooked on the show," he replied calmly putting things away. His mother walked in at that point and gently slapped his dad on the arm saying, "I knew you did that on purpose! But I can't rightly blame you. It's a good thing he got your insatiable curiosity and decided to see what it was." "You two... planned that?" Jackson said in complete shock as his picture of how his parents acted took a complete 180. "He did. I told him that it was evil and he wouldn't listen," his mom assured him. His dad looked down and noticed the shocked look on his face. "Hey, go back up and work. You need something to distract you right now. I'll finish things up down here," he said, setting the rest of the groceries on the counter and gently guiding him to the stairs. Once Jackson was upstairs and working he forgot all about the little secret his parents admitted to downstairs. After a few hours of working, he stood up and stretched, looking toward the stairs as it all came rushing back to him. "Holy crab apples my dad's a brony and my mom's a pegasister as well..." he said, still in slight disbelief. Then he felt a slight urge to do something he always heard the other kids doing and dismissed it as foolish. Wish. "I wish I could just go to Equestria for a day at least..." And suddenly, he felt his whole being pulse and disperse. He could feel the room, and then nothing... To be continued... > Chapter 2 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Flora's pov "I can't go any further. This is your wish. I can't be there as it will influence your decision," Flora's mom said, and then took note of the fear on her daughters face. "Those are the rules of the Stone, Flora. I wish I could go in there, if only to keep you safe..." Flora looked at the ground in slight disappointment. Then looked up at her mother and nodded saying, "I understand. I won't waste this wish." Then she turned her back to her mother and walked down the small path that lead into the hill. Not looking back in case she lost what determination she had in her right now. The tunnel was a lot longer than it appeared. It seemed to lead down and down, going farther than anypony had ever gone before. In her mind at least. But really, it was a natural tunnel that lead to a cave with a giant rock with a special rune carved in the front of it. She already had her wish planned out. She would wish for something to show her how to use her magic. So determined on getting the wording right was she, that she stumbled up the stairs leading to the Choosing Stone. Upon realizing this, she blushed slightly in embarrassment, glad nopony was down here with her to see that moment. Best not to tell anypony about.... She thought to herself, then looked up at the stone and saw the rune glowing a faint red color. Like the eyes of a sentinel spell. Well, I guess I have to say my wish now... "I wish that something, anything, could teach me how to use the magic I'm capable of using," she said, and closed her eyes. Hoping, praying, that her wish would be answered... Jackson's pov ...And then, he was falling. not very far, he knew that much, but falling nonetheless. And then he landed on something soft that let out a surprised squeak. He got up, groaning slightly and rubbing his temples as his head hurt from the sudden start and stop of motion. "Where in the nine pits am I now...?" He asked as he looked around seeing that he was in a kind of cave with a stone on a pedestal. "Get... off... of... me..." A voice wheezed out from underneath him. Flora's pov The sudden weight got off of her after she told it to, so it understood her just as much as she it. So she got up and rubbed her chest, as it was suddenly almost flattened into the floor from the thing standing over her. It looked weird. It didn't have any fur except on top of it's head. And aside from having cloth like things covering all of it's body, all it would need were some horns to be called a Minotaur. Jackson's pov As he looked at the pony- no. Unicorn. He realized just where he was. "Equestria... I'm in Equestria... What's your name? And why do I feel like this is a badly written fanfic now..." Jackson rambled, still trying to come to terms with just how I got here. I mean, he got there! "What? Oh... Um..." the filly started shifting uncomfortably before saying cutely, "My name's Flora Everglow and I need help using my magic!" "What? But I thought all unicorns knew by instinct alone how to use magic?" Jackson asked still confused. Flora's pov "Great... just like my mother... I keep trying to make my magic listen, but it just won't. I know that it's there, it just won't do anything," Flora told the creature before realizing she didn't know it's name or what it was or where it was from. So she decided to ask these three questions in a quick barely understandable flurry that caused the creature to pause and look at her in slight confusion as it tried to comprehend what it just heard. "OH!" The creature said after a few moments of trying to decipher what it heard, "My name is Jackson Greycastle. I'm a human from a different dimension called Earth. And I think I know why you can't use magic." "Really?! What am I not doing? Am I not focusing hard enough? Am I focusing too hard? Is it that I'm not visualizing what I want to hap-" "It's none of those," Jackson said, interrupting her frenzy, "It's that you're trying to FORCE it to listen. What you haven't tried, I'm assuming, is asking it to do what you want. Try treating it as a friend rather than as a tool. That might help you." "Wha- A FRIEND!?! HOW IS TREATING THE THING THAT MAKES ME THE PONY THAT I AM A FRIEND GOING TO HELP ME!?! I THOUGHT YOU WERE GOING TO HELP ME!!" Flora yelled at the human in pure disappointed fury. Jackson's pov Wow she is mad. Jackson thought, backing up as she slowly started approaching him with tears threatening to spill out and murder in her eyes. Better act fast to avoid getting stabbed by a filly unicorn that I made mad... "Look, I only told you what I would help. If you have tried it before, then I got nothing, but this IS the land of friendship, right? So why wouldn't it work?" Jackson said, hoping his logic would help her see why he said what he did. Luckily for him, it did. She stopped mid-step and looked at him in amazement. "But... How do you know that it'll work... I might just mess up again..." Flora said, flopping onto her flank as she started letting the stress visibly get to her. "Hey, if it does work, then you'll be even more unique than the other unicorns. Keep that in mind when you use your magic, ok?" Jackson said, moving to her side and sitting down next to her. Which caused her to flinch unintentionally from him. Flora's pov Curses... I hadn't meant to flinch... But if he's right... I wouldn't be such a disappointment to mom and dad... Flora thought, trying to get herself up to trying it. Hoping it would work... To be continued... > Interlude > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 3 is upcoming y'all! I'll get back to AGoDL in a bit, but right now, Magic is a Friend is important. And in case nopony noticed, I always stop around 1k words. And I didn't want to last chapter. Trust me. It SUCKED! I had not wanted to stop there, but I had to stick to my rule of roughly 1k or less words per chapter. And that is hard to do. Seriously, you try and write a story with roughly 1k words per chapter when you want to keep on writing. See how well that works for you, and you'll see why I hated cutting Chapter 2 where I did. > Specialty chapter! > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Still not there yet. Flora and Jackson stared at the words floating in front of both of them. THE END. "What?" Flora asked extremely confused. "I... I don't know... But I feel like it's something to do with those fanfics I told you about a few years ago..." Jackson said, referring to when he had to come back to Equestria to bring balance between the two worlds. "O-oh. So... Do we just... walk into the words?" Flora asked, still a little afraid of what might happen. "I'd assume so..." Jackson replied in a slightly intrigued and scared at the same time. And with that they stepped into the words in front of them... ...And onto the cement floor of a warehouse. There was a gray unicorn stallion off to the side with another human staring up at the ceiling. The human raised one hand and- HEY! THAT IS NOT COOL ROSESHIELD! "Bite me!" I can arrange that... "Don't you even dare put a timberwolf behind me." Damn... "Um... Who are you, and why are you talking to the ceiling?" Flora asked the human, scared for her meager life. "Well... Seeing as how we can't see the thing he's talking to, my guess would probably be a god or an author since this seems a little too chancy for my tastes," Jackson told her, hoping to calm her down before she made another rain forest by accident. "Not that far off Jackson. It's the author all right. And everytime we try to same his real name, he changes it to author with a capital 'A'," the unicorn called back to him without even turning around. "AHA! I knew this was all just a dream!" Jackson exclaimed triumphantly. "Not a dream kid. Author, give him the sight for a second." And why should I Roseshield? "Because it would be easier for him to understand his situation." True and fair. Ok, I'll give him a few seconds of light. "Wait, author? Like- OH MY FUCKING GOD!" Good evening to you too Jackson. You won't remember any of this later and neither will any of the others. "WHAT THE HELL IS WITH YOU WRITING ME LIKE I'M AWARE OF THE WALL WHEN I'M NOT!" The humor factor. "...Fuck you." Get in line then. "Hey, chill. He might just end your story," Roseshield said, trying to calm the pissed-off Jackson. "And now he's gonna-" Next story! > Specialty chapter, take two! > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- What to do... The words 'What to do...' were floating in front of Flora and Jackson, who were staring at them in pure curiosity. They looked at each other and then back at the words, and then they looked around to try and see if Discord was around. When neither saw the reformed spirit of chaos, they went back to staring at the obviously magical words. "I think we should try backing away again," Jackson said, despite the fact they had already backed up so far that they were in Ponyville when they started at the Pie rock farm. "How much farther? We keep backing up and everypony around seems to ignore it, stare at us like we just sprouted chaos wings, or walk right through the words like they aren't even there," Flora said, shooting him an uneasy glance. "Well... We could try walking forward..." Jackson said before reaching out to touch the words unconsciously. "WHAT?!? ARE YOU CRAZY!? What do you think's going to-" Flora was cut off as Jackson touched the words and the flames raced up his arm and engulfed them both... ...Before dropping them off back in the warehouse. How ya doin' Jackey boy? Jackson looked at the roof and then looked around and sighed. "Fuck you Author... What did you do to have another chain?" Long story kid. Long, long, story... "Whatever, let's just get this over with, shall we?" Fair enough, Rip? Rip smiled and pointed at the next circle and smiled In the center of it was the word Alphanumeta. He then looked to the ceiling and said, "You're really gonna enjoy yourself this time around, aren't you?" You know it. Next piece!