After scaring me half to death, Nightmare Moon summoned me back to base when she found a solution to my flight problem. She left me to play around with her failed experiments, and I had discovered a unique way of using them.
Nightmare Moon willed the gemstones, currently held aloft in her magic, to descend and come to rest in the dirt in front of her hooves.
These gems appear to be intact. The patterns contained within them also appear to be correct, but we shall not know for sure until he activates them.
She finally paid attention to a bright glow on her left, and turned her head to ascertain its cause. What she saw shocked her enough to rear back in alarm. She saw her student sitting in front of the gemstones she discarded earlier that evening. That fact was not an issue. The startling fact was that his fur was no longer a midnight black, but pure white instead. And he was glowing brightly, the light casting long shadows all around the cave.
Her voice rose in both fear and alarm as she demanded answers!
"What did you do, student?!"
His only response was to turn and stare at her. His eyes also glowed, their intensity even brighter than his glowing fur. His arm rose, slowly and deliberately. His hand then reached out, as if to grab the ebony mare. Unsure of her student's actions, but convinced they were not kind in nature, Nightmare Moon tried to stand and escape his glowing touch. Alas, she was still tired and unable to move with her usual grace. She stepped on her lackluster tail with a hind hoof as she tried to stand, and it took her a moment too long to free herself.
A stream of pure magic, glowing white and bright, left her student's outstretched hand and penetrated the Moon Mare's flesh. A long, strangled gasp tore itself from the mare's throat, so certain was she at her impending doom. The shock took what little strength lay in her legs, and she collapsed down into the dirt.
Her receiver node, created a score of minutes earlier, pulled in the magic flood and silently screamed in protest as it was pushed beyond its limits. Had Nightmare Moon been able to look at the pile of discarded gemstones, she would have seen them dissolve at a rapid pace. One after another after another, the gemstones decayed and dissolved into dust. The stream of magic between the dark mare and her student continued to flow without pause. The only movement was from the Night Mare, who lay twitching in the dirt as the torrent of magic flowed into her.
Soon, the last gemstone disappeared into nothingness. The magical stream from her student's hand slowed, the light from both the stream and his body dimming. The unnatural glow in his eyes faded, as did the glow from his fur. Moments later, the student's fur returned to its normal shade of black and the magical transmission stopped.
For several moments, all was silent.
The Mare in the Moon stood up abruptly, dirt scattering over the gemstones in front of her. Glancing downwards at herself, and at her slowly-undulating mane and tail, she sputtered in confusion.
"What...but...I feel recharged!"
She glared angrily at me, and and snarled out her demand.
"What did you do?!"
Her anger didn’t phase me this time, so I took a moment or two to reply.
"I felt all the power left in the discarded gemstones Mistress, and wondered if I could tap it and drain it. I figured out how, drew it all into me, then sent most of it back into you.
"Did it work?"
"Yes! Yes, it did. I am not fully charged but more than halfway there.
“But...why? Why wouldst thou give me such magic willingly? Thou couldst have used such power to defeat me utterly, drained as I was, and the ponies of Equestria would have treated thou as a hero!”
“Why would I do that? You’ve treated me alright so far, though you can be a real bitch sometimes.”
“It is true, my moods have always waxed and waned with the tides of the moon. But I am the evil that stalks the night, the one that ponies whinny in fear from. None have dared to be kind to one such as me.”
“Eh, I’ve had ex-girlfriends who were meaner than you.”
“Mare...friends…?”
“Uh, yeah.
“Are you alright, Mistress?”
I swear I saw a slight blush flash across her cheeks for a moment.
“...yes. Yes, I am fine. Yes. Tis just a side-effect of the mana transfer, that is all.
“Definitely, all that it is. Yes.
“Now. I must know, how did you drain the gemstones and push their magic into me? Such magic does not exist, or I would have drained them myself."
"Really? I created a new spell?"
"It seems so."
A quick mental flash to a particular My Little Pony episode came to mind. It was a ridiculous thought, but I blurted it out without thinking.
"Does that make me a princess, Mistress?"
"Where...what...No! Absolutely not! What would possess thou to conceive of such an idea?!"
Ah well, it was worth asking. Though I suppose I shouldn't complain, this new body of mine seems to have some alicorn magic in it. And I'm about to get wings anyway, even if they're magical constructs rather than true pegasus wings.
"It's not important, Mistress. Did the gemstones scan OK?"
The mare glared at me out of the corner of her eyes, and at the same time reared back slightly.
"Yeeeess, my student. They appear to be ready for testing. Are you...certain...you are well?"
Ooookay. What I said wasn't that weird, was it?
"As certain as I can be, Mistress."
Silence reigned for several seconds as Nightmare Moon looked me over.
"Stand still, my student. That is the second aberration from you this evening. I must scan thee for any mental damage caused by the magical overload thou hast experienced."
Mental damage? HEY!
The Mare in the Moon lit her horn, and my body glowed in her magicks. I felt a slight tingle as she began her scan.
"What do you mean, 'mental damage'? I'm fine!"
"I am not so certain, my student. I can think of no other reason that would lead you to believe that thou art now a Princess of Equestria."
No other reason? Dammit, my mouth has really gotten me in trouble this time.
"Honestly Mistress, I'm fine. I read that in a book somewhere. The main character created new magic, and as a reward her teacher turned her into a princess. And I blurted that out without thinking."
The tingle from Nightmare Moon's magical scans stopped, and the glow of her magic went out a moment later.
"Be that as it may, I can find nothing magically wrong with you. So I am inclined to believe your story."
Whew.
"If thou hast any more flights of fancy, and believes thyself to be a Princess, be sure to notify Us immediately."
"Uh, yes Mistress. I'll be sure to do that."
"Very well. Then let us continue with our evening, and test these gemstones together. Firstly, we will need to mount the gemstones into your armor."
"INTO my armor, Mistress?"
"Yes, my student. How else wouldst thou use them? Didst thou think that thou would merely keep them in a pouch by your side, and pick them out when thou wished to fly?"
"Uh, maybe."
Nightmare Moon's muzzle crinkled up in amusement.
"Your naiveté is amusing. What would happen if thou wert struck hard enough to drop one or both of the gemstones? Thou would earn a quick trip to the ground, that is what. Nay, the gemstones must be securely mounted to thy person. And each summons a single wing, so the gemstones must be placed on thy back where they can easily support thine weight. The easiest place to mount the gemstones is into your armor. Now, enough questions. I am impatient to begin."
The Mare in the Moon quickly lit her horn, and the armor stand for my armor floated over to rest in front of her. A quick flash of magic and I was naked; in the fur, so to speak. The armor stand, now covered in my armor, was lifted up in the cool blue magic of the Night Mare and turned so the back of the armor was facing her. Said magic receded from the armor and the stand until the glow was centered on the neck and shoulders.
Suddenly, the glow brightened considerably and my eyes burned when I looked at it. Too bright! I had to lift an arm to shield my eyes, and I still had to turn away. Much later, I learned I could have simply put up a shield to block the light. But I didn't think of that at the time. The glow gave off real heat! I could feel it toasting me through my fur, kinda like sitting way too close to a fireplace. She was actually magically forging new metal to the armor!
A moment or two more of bright light and heat, and they abruptly ceased. As I brought my arm down to witness my Mistress's handiwork, my ears twitched at the sounds of a sizzling...something. Looking at the armor, I saw steam rising from the rapidly cooling metal. Water dripped to the ground as bits of ice that remained on the metal quickly melted away.
Huh. First, magical welding and forging. Now, quenching the armor in magically summoned ice! I know an SCA armorer who would love to learn that technique.
The Moon Mare lifted the modified armor off of its stand, and turned it left and right a few times. I guessed that she was looking for flaws in her magical welding. As she turned the metal, I noticed two holes in the new back plate. The holes were ringed front and back with some sort of a ridge of some kind. The holes looked like large sockets for the gemstones, but the holes went all the way through the back plate of the armor. Giving a quick nod to herself, the Night Incarnate deemed the work to be satisfactory.
"Here, let us verify that the armor still fits you. Do not worry, it is quite cool."
Yet another teleport returned my armor to my body. I flinched anyway, expecting the armor to still be uncomfortably warm. To my surprise, the metal was actually quite cool to the touch. Turning to face my Mistress, I saw her upturned brow. She had noticed my flinch.
"Dost thou not trust in my handiwork?"
I sheepishly smiled at her.
"Hehe, sorry. Just instinct. Not used to magical enhancements like that."
"Hmph. As you say. How does thy armor feel on thy body?"
I shifted my shoulders around and flexed my back to see how the new addition to the armor fit. It felt like the new additions barely covered my shoulder blades, and no matter how I moved I couldn't get anything to jam up. My shoulders were still mostly uncovered, so I could still lift my arms pretty high without a problem. Nodding to myself, I concluded that the armor was still a good fit.
"Feels good, Mistress. Nice job."
"Thank you, student. Now to add the gemstones."
A moment later, I felt a tiny addition of weight added to my shoulders. So light that I would have missed it if I hadn't been paying close attention. Unexpectedly, I felt myself yanked and twisted from side to side, and even had my armor lifted up off my shoulders an inch or two and twisted again. As suddenly as it started, my armor was dropped back on to my shoulders.
"Acceptable. The gemstones appear to be set correctly. And a spell or two have been added to surprise anypony that might try to pry the gems out of thy armor. We are ready to test them, so let us go outside."
I suppressed my annoyance at being manhandled like that, and quickly followed in the mare's hoofsteps. A quick walk down the passageway brought us outside, and to my surprise it was still night time.
How long has this night lasted? Surely it should be daybreak by now.
As if to answer my unspoken question, the Night Mare closed her eyes and aimed her muzzle up at the night sky. After a moment, she opened them and sighed in pleasure.
"Ah, we still have a half-hour of night left. Enough time for a lesson and a quick flight. My student, listen to me carefully. Grasp the pegasus magic inside of you, and stretch it into the gems on your back. When you are able to do so, your wings will appear."
Okay, here goes nothing.
I activated the pegasus magic as I did earlier that night, and of course it did nothing. But this time, I could feel the magic on my back. Two things actually, now that I really paid attention to it. The magic was centered on two spots, one centered on each shoulder blade. It felt like the magic was being tugged a bit, like it wanted to touch the gems but couldn't quite reach. Getting a mental hold of the magical spots on my back, they now felt like I had a second set of arms or limbs. I reached outwards with these magical appendages and 'grasped' the gemstones with the pegasus magic.
As soon as I 'touched' the gems, I felt a surge of power out my back and my arms flared out to my sides of their own accord. But my arms hadn't moved...my WINGS had flared out to my sides.
Wings! Oh my fucking gawd! I have WINGS!
They really did feel sorta like a second set of arms - I could flex them and twist them around without conscious thought like I had been using them my whole life. Curving one wing around my body, I saw red feathers. Crimson actually, the same color as my magic. The wings looked real, or at least as real as a human-sized wing could be. I reached out to touch the feathers, almost expecting my hand to pass through them like an illusion. But no, I was able to touch them. I could feel each feather separately, both with my hands and how they brushed against each other as I moved the wings around.
I took a closer look at the feathers, not quite believing that they were real. They didn't look like they were made of magic, or partially see-through or anything like that. They looked and felt solid, just like real feathers. A careful examination and comparison of the wings many months later, would reveal they were identical in shape and function to the wings of Nightmare Moon. We both expected my wings to be similar to hers, as she had used her own wings as a template for mine. But an exact duplicate? Not expected at all.
As I was busy inspecting my new wings, I heard my mentor speak from behind me.
"Hold still, I must examine the summons to test their integrity."
I did as bade, and tried not to flex my wings. The last thing I wanted to do is accidentally smack her in the muzzle. A slight tingle in the left wing told me Nightmare Moon's examination had begun. The tingle traveled all over the left wing, one portion at a time, then repeated over the right wing. Finally, my teacher spoke.
"There are a few minor flaws in the right wing that will impede full movement. Do not de-summon your wings, I can more easily and quickly correct the flaws while the summons is active."
The tingling in the right wing deepened into an itch, which fortunately only lasted a few moments.
"There, give them a few flaps and see how they respond."
I extended the wings to their full extension and back a few times, and gave a few experimental flaps. Not enough to give me any real lift, but they did kick up some dust.
"The one you just fixed feels good Mistress, feels natural. But the left one feels kinda stiff and it doesn't want to move quite as easily as the other one."
"Hold still then, let me see."
The tingle returned, but to both wings this time.
"Ah, yes. The right gemstone is now better attuned to your pegasus magic. It must have happened when I corrected the flaws in the wing. One moment, and I shall attune the other."
A quick buzz in the left wing and she was done.
"Flap them and see how they compare now."
Repeating my earlier motions revealed both wings felt identical.
"Balanced, Mistress."
A grin stole over the muzzle of the Moon Mistress.
"Then, let us take to the air! Merely hold on to your pegasus magic and think what you wish to do. It will handle the rest."
A combined jump and flap of her wings sent her soaring into the air, and without a second thought I did the same. Much like how I jumped around the desert floor earlier that night, I crouched down and lowered my gravity then pushed with my legs. But this time, I flapped my new wings as hard as I could.
Almost like a rocket, I shot up in the air a couple of dozen feet or so. A couple more flaps took me several dozen feet higher. Looking up and ahead of myself, I easily saw where the Night Mare was patiently hovering and waiting for me. A mere thought and a few strong flaps brought me to her side.
"See? Did I not say it was easy? Just like trotting. Just think and it happens. Now, the sun is nearly here and our night is almost spent. Let us take a leisurely flight around the desert and then retire for the day."
Without waiting for an answer, she flew off in a random direction and expected me to follow.
Heh, sure - a romantic flight around the desert. I'm up for that.
A couple of strong flaps of my wings and I caught up to my Mistress. No words needed to be spoken; we just glided through the night air together. I don't have any way to really describe it to you, my dear reader. Flying isn't really like swimming or sky diving or sitting in a plane. The cool night wind blew in my face I flew through the air.
I felt like I was in complete control.
Little tilts and flaps of my wings would move me around in the air, sorta like small wiggles of the steering wheel of a car would let you wiggle back and forth in your driving lane. The pegasus magic I held had all sorts of instincts and knowledge in them, and they were all quite active as soon as I took to the air. My wings felt attached to me, not my armor. I was glad for that - imagine if the straps on my armor broke, and I slipped out of it? My wings would fly off and leave me behind.
Speaking of my pegasus magic, it was pretty incredible. The magic gave me so much confidence, it felt like I'd been flying my whole life. Kinda reminded me of driving my car. I'd been driving for so many years, I didn't think about moving the steering wheel or pressing the gas or the brake or the clutch pedal or what gear to shift into. All I needed to do was decide where I wanted to go and how fast to get there, and my instincts would steer and shift and hit the right pedal appropriately. Flying felt a lot like that. I just adjusted for updrafts and changes in the wind without thinking about it. Like the old slogan went, 'Just do it'.
I wonder where this magic came from? I gotta ask.
A few strong flaps brought me to the right side of the Night Incarnate, and got so close our wingtips nearly touched. I noted the wind wasn't so strong that it would get in the way of a normal conversation.
"Mistress, may I ask you a question?"
Turning to look at me, she gave me a nod to ask away.
"Where did you get this pegasus magic you gave me?"
"Glorious, is it not?"
"It feels like I've been flying for years!"
"Nay, centuries."
My face screwed up in confusion at her words, and it wasn't an act.
"Centuries?! Where would you get--"
She DIDN'T.
Wide-eyed, I could only stare at my Mistress.
"Ah, I see you are not as slow as you would seem."
"Hey!"
She of the Night chuckled at my outburst.
"Is this not the type of humor you prefer? Light-hearted insults that mean nothing? To answer your unspoken question, it was a duplicate of my pegasus magic that I infused into you. There is no true common pegasus magic, only what one has learned during their lifetime. Not only did I give you my experience in flight, you also have my experience in flying through battle. How else could thou stay by my side at all times?"
Yet another gift from Nightmare Moon. My mouth wouldn't work right, I was simply awed into silence. I could only stare, my jaw slack and likely collecting flies. Especially since we were still flying through the air.
Blushing slightly, the Night Mare dismissed what she saw as a compliment.
"Fie, tis nothing. Well, not truly; but nonetheless. At least now I have somepony to fly with me and share the night sky with."
Share the night with her? Yeah, I got something I want to share with you, baby.
"Do not read too much into my words, STUDENT. And remove thy grin from thy muzzle. Twas a compliment, nothing more."
As if to belie her words, she then stuck her tongue out at me.
If she meant to discourage me, she failed!
I felt a sudden urge to show off. My wings flapped a few times to bring me above my flying partner, who looked curiously at my actions. A quick bank and twist to the left drew me over Nightmare Moon, flipped me over 180 degrees and aimed me towards the ground. Just as my descent brought me past my teacher's left side, I flipped again to swoop under her and back up to my original position on her right side.
The Moon Mare laughed, her amusement at my antics obvious. Her laughter was like the tinkling of bells, chiming throughout the night sky. The thrill of our shared flight soared in our hearts as our eyes met, and we held that smoldering, passionate look for several long seconds. The Mare in the Moon looked away suddenly, blushing furiously. Perhaps she hoped to regain some semblance of control over herself. And perhaps she had.
"I...um...we should head back now. The sun is coming up."
A quick glance towards the brightening horizon confirmed her statement. However, I had lost track of where we were, and did not know where our home was from here. I admit, I was more concerned with showing off than navigating. Instead, I waited for Nightmare Moon to act. I followed her as she banked to her left, and a few minutes' flight returned us to our cave and home.
As soon as we landed, I reached out with my pegasus magic, 'let go' of the gemstones and allowed them to deactivate. The feeling of wings at my back simply went away as if it never was. And I missed them already.
No words were spoken as we entered the cave for the last time tonight, the morning sun at our backs. Tonight had been a long night. Once inside, the Night Mare wasted no time floating her armor on to its stand and crawling into bed. And left me standing there in my armor with no way to get it off.
"Um, Mistress?"
"Hmmm, yes?"
"You haven't taught me how to remove my armor yet."
A sigh from the ebony mare.
"My apologies."
A quick blink and my armor was on its stand.
"I shall teach thee the spell tomorrow."
I crawled into bed beside Nightmare Moon.
"Thank you, Mistress. Good Night - er, I mean Good Morning."
Sleep did not come easy for the dark mare. Long after her student had fallen asleep, she lay awake under the sheets. No matter how hard she tried, she was unable to let her mind rest. Again and again her thoughts returned to the flight that evening with her student, and the growing emotions she found therein. No pony had ever been so kind to her before. Could there be more meaning behind those kisses he gave? Or was he merely trying to stroke her ego? Regardless of his intent, thoughts of kissing her student again sent tingles throughout her entire being. These feelings were unfamiliar to her, and she wondered what it all meant. If anything.