"The first "rule" of magic. Physical strength is based on how you have developed your muscles. Mental strength is based on how much you have developed you mind. So tell me, Pinkie, what would allow you to build magical might?" Star-Swirl asked. Before Pinkie had time to answer, he clapped his hooves together and created meteors that rained down on the pink pony.
"Um, happy thoughts! How many spells I can memorize! Um, pulling rabbits out of hats?!" Pinkie answered. She yelped before taking to the air, weaving around the meteors as they exploded in blasts of light. For the last one she created a shield around herself, but the meteor slammed into the shield and cracked it open. The meteor exploded on top of Pinkie, hurling her across space before she slammed into the side of a planet.
"None of those are correct. Magic, the magic you access, is based on faith. On belief. How much you believe in what you can do," Star-Swirl answer. He grabbed hold of a galaxy and pulled out a staff from within, one that had an orb at the end of the wooden stick. "Do you believe that you have the strength to defend yourself? Do you have the faith that your attacks will bring down your foe? These are the questions that you need to ask yourself. Not do I have the raw magical might. So long as you wear that helm, you do. Not do I have enough knowledge of spells and incantations. Trust me, Nabu has billions of years worth of those. How much do you believe in yourself, Pinkie?"
As Star-Swirl said this, he twirled his staff over his head before slamming it into a galaxy in front of him. He pulled his staff back and brought forth a stream of starlight, which he then hurled towards Pinkie. Pinkie slammed her hooves down and willed a wall of magic in front of her, gritting her teeth as the stream of light slammed into her shield and started to push her back.
Pinkie warped to behind Star-Swirl and conjured a giant glass of milk over his head, which she dumped right on top of him. Star-Swirl raised an eyebrow at her move before he spun his staff over his head. The milk was sprayed in all directions, hitting everything except for Star-Swirl. He ceased swinging his staff and tucked it behind his back, before motioning for Pinkie to bring it.
She narrowed her eyes before an idea came to her. And the moment the thought entered her mind, the magic already made it reality. Dozens of Pinkie cannons surrounded Star-Swirl, those these ones were all regular size.
"Time to send you out with a bang!" Pinkie laughed. Her cannons fired in rapid succession, sending magical pies, confetti and sweets all raining down on Star-Swirl. For a brief moment the wizard smirked, before he started to conjure barriers, shields and walls to deflect each and every one of Pinkie's attacks. "Oh come on! Nabu, what's going on?"
'You're losing. What does it look like?'
"Thanks, pal. Just what I wanted to hear," Pinkie grumbled. More ideas popped into her head and with a wave of her forehooves she made those thoughts reality. Giant cookies, blazing cakes, exploding balloons: Pinkie created a party around Star-Swirl with enough force to bring down the stars. "And here is your farewell party!"
Pinkie slammed her hooves together, causing all of her magical might to crash into Star-Swirl all at once. Star-Swirl watched Pinkie's full onslaught come barreling towards him...only to let out a small sigh. He then took his staff, raised it slightly...before slamming it down in front of him, tearing apart all of Pinkie's spells as if they were tissue paper. He then turned towards the wide eyed Pinkie, who shock was clear to the wizard despite the helm covering her face.
"How...?" Pinkie asked. "How are you doing this? How can you possibly match Nabu's power?"
"Because I am not. I am matching and surpassing you," Star-Swirl replied. When Pinkie tilted her head, the wizard chuckled slightly. "Nabu may be supplying the power, but it is up to you to use that power. And you are using it like a unicorn foal would. Conjuring weapons. Creating things you like. You are still operating withing the rules of your reality."
"Am I...not supposed to be doing that?" Pinkie asked.
"Most magicians are forced to stay within the rules of reality. That is because most magicians do not have an all mighty god backing them," Star-Swirl chuckled. "Again, magic is based on faith. How much you believe in it and yourself. Believing in what you are capable of. What you can do, combined with how much magical power you can draw on. Most unicorns and alicorns are powered by what magic they can draw upon, which ranges from little to some. You draw upon Nabu. The magical energy you access is infinite. You have the power. Now you need the faith."
"Faith...in myself?" Pinkie asked, looking down at her golden hoof. All her life she had been different. She had never fit in. Never been part of the crowd. While her family was alive, they had considered her weird. She had never been one of them. And under Tirek's rule, she had been seen as an annoyance at best and a waste of space at worst. She was weird, bizarre and was a freak, never mind the other strange things she could do.
So she had buried that side of herself. She tried to make herself normal. To hide her bubbly personality. To keep those strange abilities down. Her Pinkie sense was really the only one she allowed herself to use, and that was mostly to keep her family safe. It was only after meeting Cheese that she allowed a bit more of her crazy side to come out. Allowed herself to smile, sing and be happy. And...maybe...try to help others to smile. Just as she had always dreamed of doing.
'And that is why I chose you,' Nabu said. 'Because you are different. Because you are strange. And because you still have your kind and loving heart. Let me tell you this now, Pinkie. There is no such thing as a normal magician. All of them have their strange quirks and flaws. One I know cast spells by speaking backwards and was terrible with relationships. Another had the power of incredible luck and took on Satan himself. And another is a demon who rhymes. Do not be what the world wants to limit you to. Be you. Be the mare that has no limits. Be...different.'
Pinkie opened her eyes and looked at Star-Swirl, who was smiling at her with faith in his eyes. Then she looked past him and towards her family, who had always loved her and her strange mannerisms. Her son had even adopted most of them into his own personality. And then she looked past them, past the confines of her reality, towards the world that was supposed to be. A world where she bounced around like a lunatic, throwing surprise parties for any pony who she passed by, and did everything she could to bring smiles to the world. Regardless of what they thought of her.
'For you hold within you the greatest magic of all.'
Pinkie threw her forehooves back, her eyes blazing with pink light. Music began to play in the depths of space that was upbeat and happy, with a full chorus and instruments. And then a smile fully formed on the helmet of Nabu. A smile that was wide, kind and devoid of doubt. And when Star-Swirl saw this, he chuckled and grabbed hold of his staff once more.
"Congratulations. You have gotten past the first major hurdle. Yourself," Star-Swirl said. "Now comes the second hurdle. What you can do. When you tried to use magic, you create basic spells and weapons. That is what you think of magic to be. That is no fault of your own, as you've only seen what unicorns and Tirek's minions can do. Do not look to them for inspiration. Look to Nabu. Look to the being who rewound time, revived the dead, and erased another being from existence. And made it look easy."
"For so shall you will it, so it shall be."
†
"You're lying. You have to be."
"How can I be lying, Twilight? I allowed you to look into my mind. To see my memories. You know all this to be true."
Twilight gasped and leaned back against the wall, trying to comprehend what Tirek had just told and shown her. She had thought something was up when he had come to see her. She knew something was wrong when he freed her from her chains. And she knew it had to be something serious when she found he never boasted or got angry. Tirek...was scared. And after hearing what he had to say, she was scared too.
"So...if this new magic succeeds...then everything..."
"Will be gone. We just went over this," Tirek snarled. "That is why I need you. Or rather, I need you to convince Celestia and Luna to give the Element's power to me. It is the only way to match this unknown power. You were still Celestia's student, even if it was for a shorter time here. She will still trust you. You will be the only one she will trust. And then you can help Luna."
"But giving you the Elements...giving you the greatest source of magic in Equestria..." Twilight muttered.
"Not anymore. That new source of power is now the greatest magic in Equestria and it makes the Elements look like toy trinkets," Tirek said with a smirk. Twilight shook her head for a second before she narrowed her eyes at Tirek.
"So what's stopping you from eating the magic from this new source? You've eaten nearly all the magic in the entire world. What's one more?"
"Twilight, do not mistake me for a fool. Should I go up against this source of magic without the Element's power, I will be killed instantly."
"Couldn't happen to a nicer pony."
"And that will cause the end of everything as you know it," Tirek finished. That shut Twilight up. "I know that after everything I have done to you and your friends...to your reality...that you have no right to trust me. But trust my words. I am trying to save this world. And in order to do that..."
"You have to get rid of this new source of magic," Twilight finished. She then smirked and shook her head. "I miss the old world. Where you were evil and I was good. It was simpler. Easier."
"I wish I could go back to that world as well. But that is not what Fate had in store for us," Tirek said with a shake of his head. He then rose to his full height and extended a hand towards Twilight. "I will not blame you if you do not aid me. After what I've done, I would understand. But if I know you like I think I do, then I know you will never allow these ponies to come to harm...no matter what you must do."
Twilight narrowed her eyes at Tirek's outstretched hand for a moment...before she begrudgingly took hold.