//------------------------------// // Magic And Titles // Story: Learning To Live Again // by Speedy Quill //------------------------------// I sat on the floor, gasping for air. “Give me a break! I need to catch my breath!” “You can catch your breath when we’re finished.” “We’ve been at it for an hour. I don’t think it’s going to happen at this point.” “We’re not done.” “Come on Luna! You’re riding me way too hard here!” Luna stomped her hoof against the ground. “If you can’t do a simple levitation spell, then you’re going to be dealing with a lot worse in the future. This is first year magic! It’s not that difficult.” “This coming from one of the most powerful ponies in Equestria. I’m not a pony Luna! We’ve been trying levitation for three nights straight. Can’t we try something else?” “Again!” I stared the alicorn down. Unfortunately she stared right back, her gaze overpowering my own. “Fine!” I focused on the scroll in front of me, willing it to float off the ground. A green aura formed around the paper. I could almost feel the magic grip the scroll. It lifted a fraction of an inch and... The scroll dropped to the floor and rolled away. Luna’s eyes followed the paper as it came to rest a few feet away. She turned her gaze back to me. “Well if your plan is to have things skim across the floor, then you’ve nearly done it.” “Oh shut up!” It took me a moment to register that I’d just said that to a Princess. When it hit me, I froze. My eyes slowly connected with Luna’s. She was glaring at me. “I will excuse that as we’re both frustrated.” I sighed. “You can say that again.” “I can understand being frustrated with your magic, but you have to realize-“ “I’m not frustrated with myself Luna.” That caught her off guard. She was silent for a few seconds as she made the connection. “What have I done to warrant such behavior?” “You’re kidding right?” She sat down, her brow furrowing. “If you have something to say, by all means.” “You’re being too aggressive! You’re pushing me to master a spell that very few of my species could learn. You say it’s basic magic, but to me it’s not! Not to mention you driving me to the brink the last few nights is only making my headaches worse.” “That more than likely has to do with the buildup.” “I’m going to die of a migraine far sooner than the buildup if you keep torturing me like this!” I took a deep breath. Luna blinked a couple times. “So you’re saying that I’m a bad teacher?” “If this is teaching, than I pity those in school.” Luna slowly stood up and walked out to the balcony. She stared out over Canterlot as I sat alone in her tower. I picked myself up and joined her after a moment. “Look...I’m sorry. I appreciate that you’re trying to help me, but you can’t just order me to perform magic that I’ve never practiced before.” She didn’t say anything. I stood there, out of words. All we did was look down on Canterlot. The night was peaceful. I could make out some crickets chirping in the garden. My gaze moved towards the sky and I nearly gasped. The sky was perfectly clear. I felt like I could see every star in existence! “Wow.” I could see Luna from the corner of my eye. She was staring at me. I would have looked at her, but I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the heavens. “To think that ponies miss out on this. No wonder you were so sad back then.” “Why would you say that I was sad? It’s my anger that took me over.” “Because I see it in your eyes.” I finally turned to her. “You watch over everypony without ever getting anything in return. No gratitude, no recognition, nothing. Maybe you’ve made up with Celestia and are striving to be a Princess worthy of Equestria’s love, but your eyes tell a different story.” “Oh really? And what is that story?” “That there are many days where you’re still just as sad as the first time you realized nopony saw your beautiful night sky. Maybe you’re not sad for that specific reason anymore, but the feelings are still there.” A single tear ran down her cheek. She wiped it away quickly, her face becoming stern. “Don’t act like you know me so well. You’ve no idea what I’ve been through in my life.” “Maybe I don’t know everything, but I do know a lot.” “From your books? Please. Those barely scratch the surface.” I nodded. “You’re right. What do I know?” I waked back inside. “I’ve read nearly half the books in the library now. I’ve read every historical account of that era. Everypony painted you in the worst light. To them you were a jealous, narcissistic monster. Nopony seemed to remember what you’d been before. Then again, your job leaves little time for public appearances.” I turned to find that Luna had followed me inside. “You’ve been alone for so long. And now you decide to take on me as a student. I can easily see that you’re not the monster history painted you to be. But I can also tell that you’re not used to socializing with others for extended periods. Have you spent more time with me than anypony else recently?” She slowly nodded. “I’ve never needed to converse with ponies for long in the real world. Celestia is the only one, but even then...” “I can tell. You’re social cues are a bit...outdated?” “You’re one to talk.” I chuckled. “Give me a break. I’m learning. Just like you.” “And what am I learning?” “How to teach. First lesson, don’t push the student to the point of insanity.” She smiled. “I suppose I can try. But the student also needs to learn how to try harder.” “Do you want to give me an aneurism?” “Can you at least admit that you’re giving up too soon?” “Giving up? I wasn’t....” I trailed off. Wow... She was right. Every time that scroll fell I wanted to stop. I was losing faith in myself and didn’t want to try anymore. As this realization hit me, Luna smiled. “There you go.” She placed the scroll in front of me. “I want you to imagine that this is...a flower!” “A flower?” “Yes. And now picture that I am Rarity.” “Come again?” “I’m Rarity. And that’s the flower you picked out for me.” I looked down at the scroll. A flower for Rarity... “Aren’t you going to give me that lovely flower?” My eyes sparked as I imagined Rarity saying it. Without realizing what I was doing, the scroll lit up with my green aura. It began to levitate slowly, but steadily, off of the ground. I willed it forward towards Luna. The scroll began to glide through the air between us until it was floating in front of her face. Luna smiled. “Well look at that. This old changeling can learn new tricks after all.” ————————— I woke up the next morning as the sun rose. I grumbled at the early hour and tried to turn over. Maybe if I covered my head with the sheets, I could get a few more hours. ‘KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK’ Oh come on! I sat up, rubbing my eyes. “Come in.” The door opened and a pony walked in. “Princess Celestia has requested you in the dining room.” “May I ask for what reason?” “Breakfast.” My stomach growled at the word. “Tell her I’ll be right there.” The pony nodded and exited the room. I moved to the edge of the bed and sighed. “When did life become so busy?” I stood up and walked to my mirror. My mane was disheveled. I would need my comb to look presentable. As if on cue, my comb hovered in front of my face. I could only stare at it for several seconds. My magic aura was surrounding the comb. Had I really summoned it so easily? “Okay...” I thought of running the comb through my mane. The comb began to move into position. Slowly, but surely, it dipped into my hair and began straightening it out. “How did I do this before magic?” The comb continued as long as I focused. When I was satisfied with the results, I set the comb down on the table and examined my mane in the mirror. “Not bad.”’ My stomach growled, reminding me that I was supposed to be meeting Celestia. I left my room and made my way to the dining room. Celestia was sitting at one end of the table. I took my seat opposite her and dug into the breakfast on my plate. “Good morning to you too.” I paused and looked up. “Sorry. Good morning Celestia.” She smiled. “How was your night?” “Pretty good actually. Is there salt?” Celestia nodded. Before she could levitate the salt to me, my aura covered the salt shaker. I willed it over to my plate, giving it a few shakes over my eggs. Celestia watched in surprise. “That’s wonderful! You had your breakthrough!” I smiled. “Luna and I finally found the sweet spot for our student/teacher relationship. I was surprised how quickly it happened after that.” “And your headaches?” I thought for a moment. And then it hit me. “I...I don’t think I have one this morning!” “That’s good to hear. I’m sure that figuring out that spell helped to relieve some of the buildup.” “So now that I’ve got levitation down, when do I learn to raise the Sun?” That got a laugh out of her. “Baby steps Shade. Don’t let your newfound power go to your head.” I chuckled and returned to my breakfast. We ate in silence for several minutes. As our plates became bare, I sat back and sighed. My eyes closed as I rubbed my belly. “Nothing like a good breakfast.” “How true. I feel like my stomach might burst.” “Well the Sun is up for the day. I’m sure you’d be fine to slip into a food coma.” “I would if we didn’t have meetings.” “Damn. How many?” “Four.” “Another long day, huh?” “I’ve been meaning to ask you something about the meetings.” I opened an eye and locked it on the Princess. “What’s up?” “You’ve been sitting back as an observer for a while now. Your studies have progressed and you’ve covered most of the subjects I’ve suggested. So how would you like to start sitting at the table and contributing to these meetings?” I opened my other eye and sat up. “Contribute? Like one of your counsel members?” “More than that really. Your knowledge goes beyond that of a normal pony. You remember every law, amendment, and fact that you’ve ever read. I can’t help but think that you’d be useful at my side as a sort of...encyclopedia?” “Wow. Is that what I’ve been reduced to?” “You know that’s not how I mean it. I’m just not sure how to word it precisely.” “So I’d tell you anything you need to know? Or just say if somepony is wrong?” “That’s part of it I suppose.” “Am I going to have to start introducing myself? I’ve gotten this far without my name getting mixed in.” “I’d thought about that. Perhaps you should have an official title.” “What exactly is my role?” “You’d still be my advisor. Honestly I’d trust your word over some ponies. You’ve been a great help so far with my official duties. And you’ve also become my good friend. Luna’s too as she tells it. I can’t remember the last time we had somepony outside of the family to call friend. Most everyone is an acquaintance or ally.” “I’m honored that you consider me so highly. I’m proud to call you my friend as well. And I would be honored to serve you and Luna in whatever way I can. Consider me an extension of yourself. I’ll be your eyes and hooves if you wish.” Her eyes lit up. “Thank you Shade. That means so much. And I think you gave me an idea for your title!” “Oh?” “I would be proud to have you as my Right Hoof; friend and advisor to the Royal Family.” “Your Right Hoof... I like it. It sounds official. And still a bit mysterious.” “So you still don’t want your name attached in any way?” “Probably for the best. I don’t need ponies trying to figure out more about me.” Celestia nodded. “True. I’ve been trying to work out how best to introduce the fact that your a changeling. But perhaps that’s better saved for another time.” I nodded in agreement and stood up. The Right Hoof to the Royal Family! What an honor! I followed Celestia out of the dining room as we made our way to the first meeting. She began to giggle as we walked. I looked up at her. “What?” “Nothing.” “What?!” “Well...your mane is a bit messy in the back. Did you roll out of bed like that?” I reached back and felt my hair. A groan escaped me as Celestia continued to giggle.