//------------------------------// // Loop 29 // Story: The Time Thief // by Reading4HalfMyLife //------------------------------// "Hey mom?" "Yes Astral?" "What's Pegasi and Earth Pony magic?" Astral had heard of both of these before, but only with vague words and abstract hoof waves. But since her mom was not only an Alicorn, meaning she had all three types of magic, she was the biggest nerd this side of anywhere. Twilight let out a small squeal of delight at the question, spinning around to fully face her daughter, and bringing out a chalkboard, getting into lecturer mode. Oh crap! Well, I haven't been to school in months, I can't really complain about this, she reminded herself, settling herself in for the lesson. "First off, lets start with Pegasi magic. To do that, we're going to have to start off with wing sizes-" "Wing sizes?" Astral interrupted, baffled. "What do they have to do with all this?" Twilight smiled, seeing her daughter was interested, if a bit naive. "Well, that's just it. They do almost nothing for Pegasi." "But I thought the bigger the wings the faster you go" Astral protested, brow furrowed. "Okay, let's put it this way. Who's faster, me or Rainbow Dash?" Astral hesitated a moment, sensing a trick of some sort, before saying "Rainbow Dash, obviously." "Even though her wings are smaller than mine?" Seeing her daughter's baffled expression, she laughed loudly. "Yeah, that was my reaction as well, but . . well, have you ever seen a picture of a Griffon?" "Yeah, I've seen the picture of the opening day of your school" Astral pointed to the framed photo in the throne room, in a place where everypony would be able to see it. "Good, now do you see how big their wings are?" "Yeah! What's up with that?" Astral wondered. "That's because Griffons don't have magic, and as such have evolved over time to grow bigger wings to fly. Hippogrifs have a much lighter frame than ponies to be able to fly, and I know for a fact that Changelings have magic, which is why they could fly with holes in their wings- I always wondered how they did that." "Wait, wait, wait" Astral waved her hooves about in a 'timeout' gesture. "Are you saying the only reason Pegasi can fly is because of Pegasi magic?" Twilight giggled. "Yeah, surprised me too" she admitted. "I thought more ponies would be aware of it, especially after Tirek, when he took Pegasi magic and they could no longer fly, but I suppose nopony bothered to think about it." "So Pegasi magic is what makes Pegasi fly" Astral thought aloud, but something occurred to her. "Wait, doesn't that mean that the Sonic Rainboom is magic? Is Rainbow Dash the Pegasus version of you?" "I - uh- huh" Twilight stammered. "I suppose she is. Weird" she said as an afterthought, before bringing out a couple of notepads. "This may need some further study" she admitted, already starting to scribble into the notepads. Great, I'm sure Rainbow will love being stalked. "So, what else can Pegasi magic do?" She asked, before Twilight got lost in her new experiment. "Hmm" Twilight looked up, and smiled sheepishly. "Oh, right! Sorry about that. To answer your question, Pegasi can walk on clouds, manipulate air particles and summon storms. Oh! They are also very durable when it comes to weather- lightening, hail, wind, none of it really bothers them." "Huh" Astral sat back on her haunches and processed all this, before asking "what about Earth Ponies?" "Earth Pony magic is more subtle. I didn't even notice it at first to be honest" Twilight shrugged. "It's mainly agriculture based, though it can vary. Applejack, for example can channel her magic to be stronger than usual, and kick all the apples out of trees, while, say, Daisy, can grow flowers overnight. They can heal way better than unicorns can, and are stronger and more durable than the other two species." "What about Pinkie Pie?" Twilight's face gained a shifty look, as she leaned in surreptitiously, pulling Astral in and lowering her voice to a whisper. "Okay, what I am about to say cannot leave this room, do you hear me?" She asked, voice serious. Astral nodded, eyes wide. "Pinkie doesn't have Earth Pony magic." Astral blinked, uncomprehending what her mother just said. "You mean she's a half breed?" She asked. Half breeds were ponies that had lineage in two or more different pony races, and had clear crossover between them. Pumpkin and Pound Cake, for example, were a Unicorn and a Pegasus respectively, but they had Earth Pony strength from their parents. Rarity was a half breed, and could use her mixture of Earth Pony and Unicorn magic to sense gems from far away. "Is she half Pegasus or something?" "No!" Twilight said, agitated. "She doesn't have any magic that I've ever seen!" " . . . .what." "That's what I said! I've done research and it's not anything I can find!" Astral furrowed her brows, thinking. "But she has magic. And Misty at least had Earth Pony magic." Twilight sighed, and stepped away from her daughter. "Yes, she has magic. And so does Misty. I've tried figuring it out, but I just keep coming up blank. 'It's Pinkie Pie' seems to be the only logical explanation nowadays" she let out a quick chuckle, and Astral raised an eyebrow. "It's killing you isn't it?" She deadpanned, and Twilight's chuckle broke off into sobs. "You have no idea." Astral sighed and dragged a hoof down her face. She had originally asked to see if she could change the weather for a loop, but it seemed even if she learned a weather spell, Pegasi magic would just overpower it. Oh well, worth a shot.