"The most magnificent sparks can come from the most unexpected places. Given enough persistence, dedication, and (above all) friendship, I believe that anypony can move mountains. Metaphorically speaking, of course,"
- Princess Twilight Sparkle
It was a tranquil Sunday afternoon in Ponyville. The town was alive with ponies. Some were sitting for a bite to eat. Others were walking and talking throughout the marketplace. It seemed everypony in town was out and about. Everypony, it seemed, except a young unicorn by the name of Aquarius Splash, who had holed himself up in his home to study.
"I think I've got it," he mumbled to himself, poring over his notes. Various diagrams were plastered on the wall of his room, surrounded by numerous complicated magic spells, written in an illegible language with sharp, jagged lines.
"That… might be how to cast the initiator?" He flipped back between two pages, cross-referencing his work with his notes. "I mean, it seems to line up with all the research I can find."
Pausing, he took a step back to think. This was the last piece of the puzzle. Nopony believed it was possible when he was little. They'd all assumed he just had a lively imagination. Even at this new school, the other students wouldn’t give his idea any respect. The very thought of proving them all wrong manifested into a smug smile on his face. "Just wait until I show everyone! Then they'll see that it's not Luster Dawn who's the school's best spellcaster - it's me!"
Suddenly there was a knock at his front door, interrupting his maniacal ramblings. "Who is it?" Aquarius called from his study, not even bothering to turn his head.
"It's Forest," the voice came through the closed door. "I made plans with Gully today - we're gonna meet up and play some buckball! You wanna come be our unicorn, Aqua?"
"It's Aquarius," called the shut-in, with a hint of tired annoyance. This had been the norm between the two friends for years; Forest pretended to forget about Aquarius's disdain for that nickname, and in return Aquarius would pretend that Forest listened to his correction. "I think I'm gonna pass, I'm in the middle of something," Aquarius continued. "Besides, buckball's not really my thing."
"Whatever, if you say so," Forest replied. "See you at school tomorrow."
"Yeah, see ya," Aquarius shouted back. "Now where was I.…"
Taking a second to regain his focus, the unicorn remembered, "Right, the moment of truth! It's finally time to cast my masterpiece!" His horn began illuminating a grayish blue. This would be the first time he'd ever cast the monster of a spell he'd been trying to mimic for nearly 2 years. His heart pounded in his chest as he recited incantations in his head, eyes gliding across his notes as the words seemed to fly off of the page. His horn gleamed brighter and brighter, filling the room with a heavenly glow. The papers on the walls began to stir, and the papers on his desk and lectern began to rise and swirl in a vortex around him. Before long, the bright light overpowered everything; all was white within his study. Maintaining concentration, he pressed onward, until suddenly…
Crack-bang!
An unusually vibrant green light exploded from his horn, booming like a lightning bolt and sending Aquarius hurtling backwards. Papers were fired like projectiles in every direction, many of them singed and charred. The colt's horn extinguished as the unimaginable force of the explosion slammed him helplessly into the wall of his study, leaving him unconscious among a sea of disorganized and torched papers.