//------------------------------// // Chapter 6 | Books and Chocolate... a pillow? // Story: Nine Leaf Clover // by Flash point //------------------------------// "It's time, I've studied in depth the variety of the concept of Light and now it's time to test my mastery in this subject" I said to myself in my totally dark room for blocking the light with bedspreads. I focused on my horn like every time I perform magic and imagine an orb of light, which would then split into smaller parts that would encompass the entire room, just as I imagined it, the magic made it real by seeing a sea of small stars fill my room and illuminate it. Even with control over my magic, I made all the specks of light rotate with me in the center, faster and faster until I compressed them back into a single light, until now it was all control. The sphere of light now compressed is in my hand, it became tangible with a thought, but it was still just light, the ball of light had no weight, it was soft to the touch, but it had no real body, if I squeezed the sphere enough, I could touch my own fingers. Then, as the next step, I wrapped my hand with the sphere of light like a small film surrounding my coat. The sight of my whole arm shining amazed me. I slowly spread the light all over my body, something that really wasn't that difficult, as it was a method, I knew well from using Telekinesis. At some point I ended up totally covered in light, but even though my whole body including my eyes were covered in light, my sight was not interrupted or blinded by so much light. A feeling of warmth always surrounded me. I closed my eyes and focused on the next action I would take. My magical reserves began to decrease drastically when the change started, I didn't open my eyes, but I could feel a tingling that started at the tips of my fingers, the sensation slowly spread to my entire hand, but when it reached my elbow, my curiosity got the better of me. "So cool!" My forearm had become transparent, it was in front of me, but there was an incongruity with my forearm, it was lighter and I could no longer feel the tingling in it, now the tingling could only be felt as far as the spell had managed to affect. To my astonishment, the spell was cancelled by my lack of concentration and when my astonishment wore off, a small migraine struck me at the same instant, my reserves were already only a third of the total. I touched my own fingers making sure that the sense of touch had been regained in my hand. My room regained its illumination when I removed all the quilts with a thought, now with light I started to write what I had discovered and what I experienced, I was not the first to try this and there was still a hint of fear in my heart, but my adventurous side and magic fanatic were bigger. Look at that note that is the one that had most spurred me on to try the previous madness. The days began to take on their own rhythm as I carried out my research and spent time with my friends and family. Flash was somepony easy to get along with, because of his serene personality, until he becomes competitive, while Lyra is a bubble of happiness and curiosity about weird or uncommon things, always looking for more or creating her own theories of absurd topics. This rhythm was interrupted when my mother planned an adult outing where she would go out with my father and some friends, so they ended up hiring a nanny to take care of me while they are gone, so good, but the nanny came with a filly who is also taking care of these two days. The filly is the daughter of my parents' friends, the same ones who recommended the nanny, Cadance a pink unicorn with a Cutie Mark shaped like a crystal heart, the filly is purple with a mane of a darker shade and a lock of almost pink or light purple. It's intriguing to see the number of books the filly brought in the little cart she carries with her, but my interest was more attracted to the older unicorn, not because of its appearance, but the magic that surrounds her, was greater than any adult I have ever met. I allowed them to enter my house by leaving the door open. Cadance watched me curiously as she walked in helping the filly with her books, I led them to the living room. "They don't have much that they left" I went back to the couch to continue reading a book I had left halfway through. "Oh, I see you're just like your parents said—" "You're reading the Luxia Volt Spell Book Volume 2! It's very hard to get! Where did you buy it?! I've been trying to get a copy for 2 weeks, TWO WEEKS!" The little filly interrupted Cadance when she saw the book in my hands, she almost snatched it from me, but dodged her hands. "TWI!!" The little filly froze in place and hid her ears behind her head when she realized her state almost on top of me and her own attitude. "Sorry, I was thrilled to see a book I haven't been able to get." Twi, or the filly in question, bowed a bit apologetically, but his stance was more directed at Cadance. "I get it, but that's no way to react Twilight, for now introduce yourself while I see some things that Wizbell's parents left me as pending" Cadance retreated to the dining room leaving me with Twilight who tried to hide in a book she was holding. "..." We watched each other in silence, seeing that this was not going anywhere, I re-read my book, and later I could meet her, I have 2 days to come for that. But before I could read the book again, she got enough courage "My name is Twilight Sparkle and I like books, I'd like to know if I could read the book... with you?" Twilight played with her book. Twilight's eyes stared at me with stars in them, her curiosity for the book in my hands was at the same level as when I managed to find it by chance in a random stall. "Go ahead, but how do we do this? We each read it and wait until the other finishes, or I read it out loud to both of us." Twilight was silent for a few seconds as she settled down next to me on the same couch. She stared at the book deep in thought until it spoke in a small tone timider than her previous moment. "Read it, please" There was no other way when she saw me determined and impatient for me to start reading, I had only a couple of pages so going back to read it from the beginning is not bothering me either. Twilight almost jumped out of excitement as I started flipping the book back to the first page. "Well, let's see..." Cadance's Pov I had gone to the dining room to check that all the snacks that Mrs. Alegría had left ready for her foal and company were ready as I indicate in her note, I could only observe in amazement the refrigerator with a high expansion enchantment on it and a complex one, I had only gained access to the actual interior of the refrigerator thanks to the residual magic in the note that worked as a key. The rest of the to-dos were simple things, mostly related to taking care of Wizbell, who tends to forget about the rest of the world outside of his room and books, something very similar to Twi. Forget that I left a filly with a lot of energy and an unquenchable thirst for books next to a small foal with a book that Twi hadn’t been able to get. Although Twi is a love of a filly, her tendencies don't usually bring out the best of her, especially when it comes to relationships with colts. But I didn't find a view where Twi was angry or fighting with Wizbell over the book, the little colt was sharing a couch and reading the book to the two of them, he focused on having a proper pace of reading, but not monotonous, so it's not boring to listen to him read, while Twilight watches with interest the book and the colt, interrupting him with questions that he easily answers when a word or concept comes up that Twi doesn't know. The view is captivating, I remember the biggest task was taking memories with the camera that Mr. Will Stone gave me, I think it's a good time to take a picture now. The camera soon printed the photograph where both foals could be seen curled up reading a book, it was a sight that warmed the heart of any viewer. Knowing all is well, head back to the kitchen to make some chocolate. Wizbell's Pov Reading the book with Twilight was a bit interesting, I had done this before with Lyra, but while she concentrates more on aspects of the past or myths, Twilight has a more scientific or scholarly interest, pure curiosity for concepts or theories that she hadn't read yet, sometimes I had to explain to Twilight what books she could read them in and what they are about, other times she expressed her understanding, which was interesting to hear, especially her perception of gravity. I remember a book that talked about the attributes or magical aspects that the Unicorn can be attuned to, I have that with the Light while Twilight is with gravity with how easy it is to her to understand what it is when I started to ask her questions that she answered with pride and happiness when she saw me surprised. Cadance came back at some point with 2 glasses of chocolate, one had chocolate bars still unmelted while another had 4 chocolates floating around, it was easy to see that the one with the most chocolate is for Twilight because of how she almost drooled. "Thank you so much Cadance!!" Twilight received her glass with joy. I gave Cadance a smile, who had now sat on the other couch quietly with her own cup of hot chocolate. "Don't use the book as a cup holder! You're going to damage it!" Distracted from enjoying the taste, I didn't notice that I placed my glass on the pages of the book. Cadance took the book from me with Telekinesis and placed a divider where I had left the reading, which was already a quarter of the book. "So, what should we do now, you can't read all day and not now that it's getting dark, you'll just hurt your little eyes if you keep reading." "A quiz!!" Twilight jumped a bit when she said excitedly. "What do you think, Wizbell?" They both watched me waiting for my answer, it was easy to see how much Twilight wants to play a Quiz, even if it's not a game... Not normally. "I'm fine with that, but we can only choose topics or books that we both know" I agreed as I took a sip of my chocolate and pulled out a marshmallow to take a bite and let it continue to float in my chocolate. Twilight ran to her books, searching among them for her favorite subject. "This one, not this one, is also good, but this one is more varied, but... It's hard to choose!" Twilight's arms were filled with books as she gazed hesitantly among her favorite books, sometimes leaving one beside her to pick up another the next moment. "I'm fine with this one" I brought out the first book I read in this world [Magic for Foals 101] very simple and not very varied, but just as adequate. Cadance watched me intrigued when I placed the book in her hands using telekinesis, I don't know if it's because of my magical control or because of the book I chose when I was reading a book with deeper concepts and aimed at older ponies. Twilight brought four books I already knew, she was slow to remember that they had to be books we both had read. "For obvious reasons I will ask fewer questions of the book you chose, Wizbell," Cadance held the thin book. "Okay but ask good questions" Even with my chocolate I waited patiently taking small sips with the sound of the fireplace in the background. Twilight ended up sitting on a pillow in front of Cadance, her impatience almost palpable. *Coughum* "First question, At what age does a foal reach its magical stability?" Cadance started the game when she finished reading the thin book. We both raised our hands with the answer ready. "Colts first, so what's your answer Wizbell?" Cadance gestured at me while at the same time handing Twilight a scroll, feather pen and ink to write down her answer. "At 6 years old that would be the same as saying at 7 years old if we consider the time of pregnancy" Cadance nodded to my answer, while Twilight was left with one ear up as she looked between the two. "Pregnancy lasts 11 months, almost a year, and 7 is a magic number" Cadance explained, noticing Twilight's curiosity that had been lost in her own thoughts. The questions continued to flow with Twilight and I always knew the answer, but our answers were different, mine were my own interpretation, while Twilight dictated exactly what the book said, her answers were just direct quotes from the books. We kept playing until the wee hours when sleep started to catch up with us after we had lunch. Cadance brought some blankets, pillows, and quilts into the living room. "Let's have a little sleepover" she said as she arranged all the sofas to make some makeshift beds, the lamps were starting to be turned off starting the night, the only light in the room was the fireplace, but its light was not much. I invoked my magic to fill the ceiling of the room with small luminous dots and a few others surrounding us, giving the appearance that we are surrounded by fireflies or small stars. With another little spell I deflected the light from the fireplace so that it would allow my previous magic to show a greater visual effect. "Amazing…" Twilight who had jumped into the same bed as Cadance was stunned as she tried to catch a star in her hands, but the star continued to float at its own pace. "Beautiful Magic" "In what book did you learn to do this!" Twilight's eyes flashed with excitement, she almost jumped out of place onto my bed, but she was held down by Cadance preventing her impulsive side from getting the better of her.