//------------------------------// // Chapter 12: Magic Training // Story: Dark as Chitin // by LostBox //------------------------------// Chapter Music Dawn and I entered through a doorway down the hall that led to a large kitchen. Inside was a stallion levitating all manner of kitchenware around will simultaneously cooking. He was a unicorn with a bright orange coat, red-ish orange mane, blue eyes, and peculiar-looking garb speckled with stars. Starlight was already seated at a table, smiling brightly at Dawn and me. "Good morning, dad," Luster Dawn said to her father. Her father looked at her smiling. "Mornin' sweety." The stallion turned his attention to me now, still smiling. "You must be Anon, Starlight told me about you. I'm Sunburst, Luster Dawn's father, it's nice to meet you. Have a seat at the table, breakfast will be ready soon." I nodded in confirmation. "It's nice to meet you too." As nice as this was, however, I couldn't shake the feeling that I didn't belong here, at all. This was such an alien experience for me. Even more alien than being born inside a foreign body, trapped inside a cocoon underground, and in the dark. Dawn took a seat before me, adjacent to her mother. I sat to the right of Dawn, looking down at the table. "You're looking a lot better, Anon, feel any better?" Starlight asked with her chin rested on her hooves. "Yeah. I hope you don't mind, but I took a shower and used some supplies while in the bathroom." "It's no trouble at all. Besides, you're our guest. What kind of host would we be if we didn't take care of you?" Suddenly, multiple pieces of kitchenware began flying onto the table. A plate, cup, and silverware were placed in front of each of us. With grace and precision, food was loaded onto each plate without skipping a beat. In due time, Sunburst seated himself next to his wife. "Would anyone like to say grace?" Grace? Dawn spoke up first. "I'll do it." Dawn grabbed my left hoof in her right forehoof before doing the same with her mother which shared the sentiment with her husband. Everypony unanimously closed their eyes. Reading the mood, I did the same. "Dear Faust, thank you for the meal you have provided us and for the friends we have been blessed with. I humbly ask that you continue to watch over us and protect Equestria for many years to come. Amen." Faust... that must be their god. All at once, everypony opened their eyes. "Alright, let's dig in!" That was possibly the best meal I've ever had. Don't get me wrong, love tastes good, but it's a step below the food I just had. Dawn dismissed herself and me before she grabbed my hoof again and began leading me out of the kitchen. I looked over my shoulder toward her parents. "Thank you," I said before turning to face Dawn. "Where are we going?" "It's a surprise." A surprise? Dawn led me lower and lower throughout the castle before stopping at a door that seemed to lead below the castle itself. "Are you ready?" Dawn asked, gushing with excitement. Unsure of what else to say, I nodded. Slowly, Luster Dawn pushed the door open revealing a white void. She led me through the doorway as the door shut behind us. Being inside this room felt strange. It was as if I had a limitless supply of magic welling up inside of me. "Welcome to the Magic Chamber. Inside all of the walls are runes that siphon magic from the outside world and funnel it inside of this room. If you want to get stronger, this is the place to do it. I made it myself." "Dawn, that's... incredible," I stated in awe, taking a few steps forward toward the center of the room. "Inside this room, you can use higher-level spells all you want without tiring, even my mom uses it from time to time. Oh, and watch this," Dawn said as she fired a magic beam at the wall. The beam seemed to stop right before impact with the wall, instead, being absorbed inside of it, with not a single scratch left behind. "You don't have to worry about damaging the room because any magic will be absorbed into the room itself. It's something I came up with after studying thermodynamics and magic theory under the princess." This mare... she's not just tough and crazy, she's also a genius. She's a mad scientist! "Anyway, let's get to what we came here for." She had my full attention now. "For today, I want you to cast a reinforcement spell on yourself. However, there's a catch. You have to maintain the spell for the entire duration of time that we're inside this chamber. On top of this, you'll be repeating spells after me. Any flaws and I'll help you correct them." Sometime later... I'm not sure how long we've been here, but my body's starting to feel sore. Maintaining constant reinforcement is more difficult than I thought it would be. For the past hour or so, I've been mastering the barrier and repulsion spells. How have I been mastering the barrier spell? Well, it's simple actually. Dawn's been shooting me... "You've improved a lot, but you still need to work on your distribution of magic. For the barrier spell, there can't be any weak points in the barrier otherwise the entire barrier will be compromised. Again, from the top." I concentrated my magic on a barrier, emphasizing the even distribution of the magic. Dawn smiled before firing a shot off at the barrier. On contact, the beam dissipated into nothing but magicules. "Good, now you're getting it!" I wiped my brow, noticing that I had worked up quite the sweat. "Dawn, this is great and all, but what about offensive spells?" Dawn smirked. "Fire a shot at me." "What?" "Come on, just shoot me," Dawn urged. It made me a bit nervous, but I had no reason to refuse. "Alright, if you say so." Conjuring my magic into my horn, I fired a beam off at Luster Dawn. Suddenly, a reflective gleam of light flashed in front of Dawn. The beam that should have been destroyed by the barrier whizzed past my head, dissipating into the wall behind me. The beam moved way faster than when I fired it off. "What was that?!" "Some ponies don't realize that absolute defense is offense," Dawn quipped. One hour later... Dawn levitated a towel to her face, wiping off her sweat. "Alright, let's call it a day. You did great." Oh, thank Faust. My body was now more sore than it was when I took that hit from that lizard creep. Allowing the reinforcement spell I had placed on my body to fade, I fell onto my back, allowing myself to rest. Dawn laid next to me, both of us staring at the ceiling. "So tell me about yourself, Anon. Got any hobbies?" I remained silent for a while. "I don't really know much about myself. As far as hobbies go, I like magic." Dawn looked at me curiously. "What you mean by that? What does your cutie mark mean then?" My cutie mark? Oh right, the mark on my flank. "Not sure, it just sort of... appeared. Although, I have heard that I'm good at asking questions." Luster Dawn giggled. "You don't say. Hey, look at mine," Dawn said, pointing her butt in my direction. "Woah!" I spouted, turning away from it. Luster Dawn looked over her shoulder, looking at me with concern. "What's wrong, is it not close enough? Should I push it closer so you can see?" "Stop! Stop," I yelled. "Anon, what's wrong?" Dawn stammered. "Dawn, it's still your flank," I explained, still looking away from her. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry," Dawn said, sounding both apologetic and embarrassed. I turned back to face her. "It's fine, just stay there, I'll walk around you." Getting up, I circled around Dawn from the left, inspecting her cutie mark. "It's nice, what does it mean?" I extolled. "It means I have an affinity with the sun. Ever since I was a filly, I enjoyed playing in the sunlight, basking in it, and watching it rise and fall. It's just so beautiful." I hummed to myself. "I never would have guessed that. It's beautiful." Dawn blushed. "C-come on, we should go eat. I'm starving." Dawn said as she walked toward the door. I followed behind her groggily, my body still sore. I should learn a healing spell so I don't have to deal with this every time I'm sore. Until then, I wonder what's for lunch. It's not like I needed to eat, but it's the taste, you know?