//------------------------------// // Chapter 5 // Story: Swirling Magic // by treegrowth //------------------------------// Ponyville, for all that there was of interest to Taylor, was not particularly interesting. While it housed numerous flying, magical ponies in an array of bizarre and bewildering colours; it was also terribly mundane, possessing features so common across the Planes. So standard, that he felt like he had already memorised the town’s layout. The market was filled with booths, each with a pony or two either calling for attention or discussing prices with customers. The parts that weren’t lined with booths were instead flooded in a sea of ponies, many of whom were with friends and their chatter was only adding to the considerable thrum. Just past the Square was the Main street, where the more successful businesses had established themselves. Nothing was of particular note to the Planeswalker, though a shop named Quills and Sofas caught his eye. He breathed a laugh at the thought that the store sold only the advertised products, what an odd name for a store. Then Twilight came to a stop at the end of the street, and with a smile she pointed at the large space ahead. Which Twilight confirmed was the main square. Ahead was a comparatively large tower, he didn’t know what else to call the design, that most likely served as the town hall. The space also held a fountain in the form of a stone pony spouting clear water from its mouth. Four children were chasing each other recklessly around the fountain, leaving Taylor with a playful grin. One of them was a younger pegasus girl, judging by the bow in her hair, with a light grayish coat, maybe with a touch of blue? She having trouble keeping up with her older and taller companions. Despite the all the laughter, her eyes showed a tired determination as she attempted to reach the others. Taylor gave it a brief thought before he decided to give the girl the best day of her life. He felt the small surge of power being pulled into him, with that power he forced it into the appropriate spell. He made a subtle hand gesture, and saw the red light in the corner of his eye from that same hand. He aimed a finger at where he knew the girl, or maybe filly, was going to be, and released the spell. It flew straight and true, and the filly ran into its path. The spell crashed into her, though Taylor knew she wouldn’t feel a thing, at most a soft breeze. However the spell went to work immediately, and the little pony that was just too short to catch up; disappeared in a blur. Said blur yelped in surprise as she sped past her three friends with such suddenness that they halted, likely trying to process what had happened. The little speed demon, however, went from screaming in shock to howling with joy as she ran passed bewildered adults. Laughing at the freedom she had gained. Taylor almost laughed himself upon seeing the child’s fun and the shocked expressions the local residents. He was content with a goofy smile, a smile that was quickly dissolved when he heard his guide call him in an annoyed manner. Twilight’s firm frown told him she was less than amused, “I don’t know about how it works in your world, Taylor, but here we don’t cast spells on other ponies without consent.” Taylor groaned inwardly, if he had broken some kind of taboo or a law, this could become troublesome. He raised his hands, “Hang on a moment, let me explain.” However before he could say anything further; the blur appeared suddenly by Twilight’s side, and the filly, wearing a smile that attempted to reach from one ear to the other, materialised. “Princess, Princess! Look at me!” She cheered as she ran in place, “It’s so awesome! I was just playing tag with my friends and then my hooves started getting really really hot but I wasn’t tired and then I was running faster and faster. Now look at me!” once more she transformed into a blur that circled both of them. She reappeared just as suddenly, almost tackling Twilight as she gave the winged unicorn a hug. “Thank you thank you thank you!” So busy was she with her praising that she didn’t see Twilight’s confused expression. Taylor saw the opportunity and took it in stride, “Actually, I cast that spell.” He admitted. His words caught the child’s attention. She released her grip on Twilight, and blurred over to his feet. He swore he saw stars shining in her eyes. “I know you!” She exclaimed, “You’re the new guy that was at Pinkie’s party yesterday!” He smiled, she seemed very excitable and fond of new things. “Yep, that’s me.” “You made me faster?” She asked. “That I did.” He said confidently, placing his hands on his hips to help make him look more impressive. He was then rewarded with a hug to his leg. “Thank you!” she cheered, then she looked up to him still with her excited grin. “Does this mean I can run fast forever?” He visibly winced, dealing disappointment wasn’t exactly his forte, especially to children. However getting good points with the Princess was for all the better. “Well, no, sorry but the Speed Spell only lasts for around five hours at most and I only used a small amount for the spell so really,” he paused briefly to calculate, “I think it’ll only last for the next hour.” Her smile faded, and with her ears folded the child sounded a disappointed “Aww.” She let go of his leg, and started to kick at the dirt. Taylor, sad for the upset filly, was about to suggest that he could cast the spell another time. However, the filly suddenly perked back up with a simple smile, “Well, might as well enjoy it while it lasts.” And with that said, she once more blurred past him, laughing away as she vanished around the corner of the block. The Planeswalker blinked, as far as he knew, children were usually very easy to upset. Turning back to Twilight, still somewhat gawking, he stated simply “That kid has very good parents.” Twilight released a brief chuckle, before returning to her frown and faced Taylor “Well, I still don’t approve of you using a spell on a pony so recklessly,” then she smiled “but I do appreciate you taking responsibility, and being honest to that little filly, so I’ll let it slide.” Taylor silently released a breath, crisis averted. Twilight raised a hoof, “On one condition.” With a sudden mixture of feelings such as anger and confusion, Taylor mentally cried in exasperation but cautiously replied “Yes?” He reminded himself that despite the kindness she had shown him, she was still a princess and by extension a politician. Someone who uses pretty words to get people to do dirty work, willing to use blackmail or ‘favors’ or- “Can you show me more of your spells?” Twilight asked with the young filly’s smile, her eyes excited and pleading. Taylor blinked, “Um, but I already said-.” “I know, I know,” Twilight paused, taking a breath, “but I also know that there is so much that we still could learn from one another. Ponies everywhere could benefit from something from you, as you might be able to learn something from us.” Taylor gave it a brief thought before shrugging, “Why not?” What harm could he do by showing her some of his spells? Most of them required more mana than any regular mage could ever produce, not to mention the fact of all the complex spells that only a Planeswalker could cast. Besides, it sounded like fun, what would the little princess think watching him be awesome? “Alright, let’s start with that spell I just casted,” once again he pulled on the mana and had the red glow of the spell in his palm. “The Messenger's Speed spell.” he proclaimed, getting into stride. “The Messenger’s Speed spell is a spell developed on the Theros plane. Due to the fact that they have yet to make long distance communications as some of the more high-tech worlds, they instead use this spell to allow messengers and scouts to run far faster than any one could without it. They do this by simultaneously enhancing the subject’s muscles and lightening their bone structure.” Twilight looked up from the notebook floating in front of her with a curious look, “But how exactly does the spell do this?” “Well that’s-” Then he noticed the notebook, and remembered that Twilight didn’t bring a notebook. “Where did that come from?” he asked pointing to the parchment in question. “Oh, my notebook?” when he nodded, she smiled proudly, “I teleported it from my desk.” Taylor hummed in thought, she had already proved that she had mastered teleportation, a skill that even some Planeswalkers struggled with. And to do so without looking… maybe she had far more potential than he had thought. Taylor smirked, there was only one way to find out how much. “Maybe you should see for yourself.” He couldn’t help but feel a little smug when Twilight blinked at him; her ears perked sharply, silently telling him her sudden interest. “While I can’t just teach you to be a Planeswalker, there are spells in a Planeswalker’s arsenal that can be used by your regular mage, if their soul is strong enough.” he emphasized, “afterall it takes the most powerful mage could even touch a Planeswalker, and the most willful to become one.” Twilight’s brows jumped, “You mean you’ll teach me?” “I think I can,” Taylor nodded, “If you’re able to teleport a notebook from a castle that is over three blocks away without looking, you should be able to cast Messenger’s Speed with ease.” Twilight’s tail was wagging like a dog at this point, the excited energy was only matched by her ever growing smile. Then it wavered, and she turned sheepish, “Well to tell you the truth, I’ve placed a premade teleport rune on my notebook. All I really needed to do was cast a part of the spell on my location and the rune connects the two.” He rolled his eyes, “Don’t be so modest.” He leaned down and tapped the pony’s horn with a finger, making her flinch, “Magic is magic, and you know magic, rune or not.” He turned and started walking, gesturing her to follow. “Now come on, don’t want to burn down half of the town when you miscast the spell now do we?” After a brief pause he heard hoofbeats running towards him. “What about all that stuff you said about the soul?” he heard her ask. He glanced at the silly pony, “What about it? The soul’s magic pull is the most vital part of every magic user, didn’t they teach you that in princess magic class?” “No, she didn’t.” Twilight said quietly, she then had a thoughtful look, “I think our magic might be different from one another.” Taylor felt a pang of pity, they had so many mana using beings, possibly the most in a single world he has ever been. Yet they didn’t know of the soul’s influence in their magic? “Well I’m going to prove you wrong.” He said, feeling more certain about teaching her the spell. Only time could tell, but maybe, just maybe, he would be teaching a Planeswalker. Oh, what fun that would be. Taylor fell on his hunches and groaned, pressing his fingers on his forehead in an attempt to stave off a growing headache born of frustration, “Come on! Where’s your passion?” he called out to Twilight, who had failed to achieve even his lowest expectations. They had decided to practice the relatively simple spell in a set of rolling hills just outside Ponyville. The waving grass and small batches of flowers provided enough isolation that they felt they could test a spell while minimizing the collateral damage should it go wrong. One could never be too prepared. However, the problem of actually teaching her was quickly becoming an even greater challenge than he expected. Partially because the stuck-up princess wasn’t even using the most basic law of magic casting! The stuck-up in question returned the groan, adding with the hint of a growl, “And what exactly does passion have to do anything with spellcasting?” “Like I already told you, you got to gather Red Mana in order to cast the Messenger Spell.” “Maybe if you can explain how to even do that, I’ll have an easier time casting it.” She complained. “Why do I have to explain Magic to the magical winged unicorn that can teleport with no issue and has a tattoo that literally says ‘I’m good at magic’?” “First of all: it’s called a Cutie Mark,” Twilight aggressively corrected. She took a deep breath before continuing, “Second: I have already tried three times to understand what you’re talking about but it is just too different from what I know to be magic.” “Which I will tell you again, that is impossible!” Taylor stressed, “Take the mana from around you, pull it into your-self, spin it into a spell, and release the spell; it’s the most basic concept of spellcasting to all mages in all of the planes of existence!” “But that is not how our magic works.” Taylor rolled his eyes, “Fine, then enlighten me, how does ‘pony magic’ work?” Twilight closed her eyes and took another breath, “We don’t get magic from without, but from within ourselves.” Taylor felt his heart stop, he did his best to give her his best unnerved look, “Whoa whoa! You mean to tell me you’re killing yourselves?” The winged unicorn jumped, staring wide-eyed at him, “What!” she screamed “Another basic rule of magic: if you try to take magic from yourself, you risk death.” he stated, the grim thought sending shivers down his spine. “That’s not how it works!” Twilight exclaimed, she pointed to her chest. “Magic is generated naturally within us, we only need to push it out a conduit in order to use it.” “That alone can’t possibly be enough to cast a teleport spell without some kind of risk!” He still couldn’t believe he was having this conversation. What this unicorn was saying was impossible, through and through. The mad mare simply rolled her eyes. “Of course there are risks,” her horn glowed for a moment before teleporting to his left, “it took me 2 years just to learn how to cast the spell safely,” again she disappeared and the popping sound came from behind him, “and even then it took another year for me to be able to cast the spell without passing out from exhaustion.” Taylor rolled his eyes; she was good he’d give her that, but the fact remained that she was still using magic same as him, and he couldn’t wait to see her dumb face when he gave proof against her dumb theory. He stretched out his senses, feeling the waves of magic that radiated from the world. When she next teleported he’d see the mana being pulled into her, and that would be all the proof he’d need. Another pair of pops and she re-appeared to his right, “Now I can cast it without having to worry too much about my health.” She was then right in front of Taylor, and smiled proudly at his widened eyes, “Because I have trained my Thaumic System to take the stress.” Staring like an idiot was all Taylor could physically do at the moment, for all of his energy was turned toward his brain. Trying to make sence of what he bore witness, a winged unicorn was teleporting, repeatedly, but all the mana was still. No, worse, it was as if the mana was pushed away when she teleported! No matter how much he reviewed his knowledge, of all the magic he knew, all the skills and techniques he had learned. None of them matched. What he was staring at, defied everything he knew of magic. If all ponies were like this, he didn’t know what to feel. Fear? Confusion? After what felt like an eternity of awkward silence; Twilight, who had tossed aside her smirk in favor for a worried look, took a careful step. “Umm, Taylor?” she asked, “Are you alright?” Her words broke his stupor, and he finally found the will to speak. “H-how?” he stuttered, looking at the unicorn’s eyes, pleading quietly for his world to make sence. “How can you cast a spell without using Mana?” How could there be another type of magic? How could everything that was true suddenly might no longer be? Twilight bit her lip, gazing out to the grassy field in thought. Then she returned her gaze to him, and spoke with sympathy in her voice. “I don’t really know what all the differences are between our magics,” She consoled as she lay next to him, placing a hoof on his arm, he hadn’t realized it was shaking, “But I know that we share a wonderful talent, and we can still learn from one another even if we can’t use the same magic.” Taylor breathed deeply as he absorbed her words. “You’re right,” he acknowledged; so what if they had magic that was different from his own? It just meant another adventure to be explore! “You’re right!” he repeated, chuckling with a sudden feeling of glee and excitement. With a fire born of excitement stroking his blood, he jumped to his feet, smiling dumbly at Twilight. “Why should I be upset?” he exclaimed. He pumped his arms tensely to his sides, his fists now shaking with rejuvenated passion and a red glow sparked from them. Releasing a senseless laugh he cried, “I discovered a new kind of magic!” No longer able, nor willing, to contain his excitement; he let loose a loud cheer and raised his magically glowing arms into the air. Hot flame streamed from his knuckles, at its zenith the flames culminated into a ball of fire as it rolled onto itself and back inwards again. He noted Twilight’s dumbstruck face, but he didn’t wish to stop just yet; he was having too much fun reveling in the fact that he was going to become the most famous Planeswalker of all time! An entire race that could use a completely different kind of magic than any other being in the multiverse? The find of the millenia! Finally, he exhausted his supply of exhilaration. He sat back on to the grass again, and cut off the mana feeding the flame above. It dissipated, disappearing in sparkling specks of red dust. His wild grin remained as he took a deep and satisfying breath.