//------------------------------// // Third // Story: Drops of Jupiter // by PaulAsaran //------------------------------// The next location seemed unpleasantly desolate. She found herself not on a planet or moon. Instead, She passed through a nondescript solar system. Possessing only a couple minor planets – little more than giant rocks, really – orbiting a pale white sun, it had little to suggest She’d be interested in it. Her first thought was that Magic might be found within the massive star, but Her inspection returned nothing but gases and heat. A look at the two planets yielded similar results. Miffed, She broadened Her senses. Surely there was something in this place to warrant Her presence. Her magical gaze fell upon the most uninteresting of things: an asteroid belt located between the first planet and the sun. The sight – or that which passed as a sight for a being with no eyes – gave Her pause, for there was something there. Curiosity drove Her onward for a closer inspection, and what She found dazzled the mind. A million-billion rocks, all flying about in a mad race, bumping and grinding and twirling about one another. To a casual eye it might seem as little more than chaos. She was anything but casual, and Her enhanced senses found the trillions of interconnections weaved about the asteroids like an impossibly complex spider’s web. Her aura trembled at the absurd intricacy of the discovery. Were there anypony around to hear it, and if sound could travel in a vacuum, they might have heard something akin to giddy laughter from Her ever-shimmering, gaseous form. She dove in, tracing the lines of connectivity in every which way, trying to find the common thread that would clarify a purpose. She was but a hundred rocks or so into Her study when She noticed the assault. Asteroids flew through Her nonphysical body over and over again, like a swarm of angry hornets looking for something to sting. Fascinated by this new development, She began trials. Follow the trails with Her Magic? Rocks would come flying, as if flung by an unknown sentience. But when She pulled back and released the asteroids, the seeming attack would cease. Multiple attempts, varying Her methods of approach, yielded similar results. Giddiness filled Her as a theory formed, one She might never have guessed at when She’d begun this journey. When the next asteroid came, she allowed Her gaseous form to latch onto it physically. The ballistic rock sent Her on a wild flight through the asteroid belt, swerving and juking and twirling. It slammed into other asteroids, seemingly determined to dislodge its hitchhiker. The sheer exhilaration of the flight sent joyous ripples along Her aura, reminding Her of the cool sensation of goosebumps and evoking the pleasurable ghost of adrenaline. She clung all the tighter, wishing She had a mouth and the ability to hear sound just so that She could whoop. It came! Magic, invisible to the naked eye but pure blue in Her mind, began to rise from the hard surface on which She clung. Jolting like lightning, it twisted and poked and prodded and tried a great many tricks in an effort to dislodge Her, but She remained steadfast. She could sense frustration in its wiggling, electric touch. That might have alarmed Her if She didn’t also feel something else within the Magic, a faint curiosity and admiration. Her tenacity was paying off, or so She hoped. Abruptly, everything stilled. Though the asteroid belt continued its ceaseless turn, the rocks spread apart and maintained their newfound distance. The Magic intensified in the asteroids all around Her, as if it were concentrating on this one anomaly. She waited, a vaporous cat with its wispy tail flicking in excitement. She could sense the building energy, the inquisitiveness, the uncertainty. Before Her, a set of six asteroids formed a circle, amidst which the electric Magic danced and coalesced in an almost physical but nondescript form. She pounced! Laughing in her mind, She connected with the thick field of energy, letting its blue lightning arch across and through Her vapors. She registered alarm; clearly the Magic hadn’t expected this behavior. Yet it did not push Her out. It did gain an intense sensation. She got the faint impression She was being glared at. Wordless inquiries were fired into Her along electric highways of intense energy that would have reduced Her to ashes once long ago, but now only served as a refreshing transferal of information. She responded eagerly, explaining Her purpose and intentions. She spread Her aura out as She did so, encasing the six asteroids in Her cloud and introducing the Magic to Her pleasure. If electricity could display joy, then perhaps the Magic’s sudden burst of energy and light would be that display. All frustration and anger died in an instant as, in a blur of motion, the six asteroids burst into action! They danced and swerved and jockeyed for position amongst their brethren, all of whom had erupted into a renewed frenzy of activity. Her six carriers moved with all the precision of an elite squadron, every motion timed for maximum risk and reward. She held on, body rippling with excitement even as a rogue asteroid darted like a bullet through Her. Every rock in sight rippled with blue jolts, like a million balls of static electricity struggling to contain their charges. Even as the Magic sent Her careening across its violent and energetic domain, it sent Her wave after wave of its own excitement and joy. At last, It had met another who understood. At last, a being could join It in the adventure! At last, it could entertain more than just itself! It sent Her hurtling through its domain, unafraid and wild. But it was missing something, and She knew exactly what that something was. She sent Her query along the lines of energy in every direction. The Magic responded with curiosity and wary permission even as it crashed Her guides through a particularly large asteroid. With a flash of whip-like motion, She snatched up a small passing rock and began Her work. It was an easy thing, a simple weave of aural magic, and then She sent the asteroid flying on its own path. Behind it trailed a glorious, sparkling rainbow. The Magic witnessed. It studied. It thought. And then, with a renewed explosion of electrical excitement, it copied Her technique. Within seconds, every asteroid within the belt became a multihued, glorious comet! Arcs of power jolted back and forth across Her vapors in spiderwebs of spirited delight and gratitude, remind Her of something between a hug and bubbly laughter. Her clouds shivered and roiled in response, echoing back Her pleasure of a gift well-received. And so they danced together in the colorful ring of brilliance, overjoyed by their new friendship.