//------------------------------// // Learning new skills // Story: Buck My Life // by JasontheDemon //------------------------------// Learning new skills After we had made it back and got out of the rain, Twilight made it very clear that she needed to teach me how to control and use magic. I wasn’t too thrilled learning things that I didn’t believe in, but being unable to control what you light on fire could be a problem when you live in a tree full of books and paper. I accepted her offer to teach me... for the time being. Finding a way back home would just have to wait until I could keep my new found power in check. Sure I hated to admit I was wrong, but saying magic didn’t exist when a tree practically blew up in front of you would mean you’re crazy. Man, I sure hope I’m not crazy... that would explain so much right now. I always heard people say I wasn’t all there, but I believed that was because I thought on an entirely different level than them. My mind would often skip through many possibilities and scenarios in a few moment. Meaning if you said Happy Gilmore, I could link that to the Titanic in about two seconds. Don’t believe me? Happy Gilmore was a movie starring Adam Sandler. Adam Sandler also starred in 50 First Dates. In 50 First Dates his character owned a boat. A boat is a smaller version of a ship. The most famous shipwreck in history was the sinking of the Titanic. See? Totally different thinking level. From what Twilight said, thinking is the key to magic. I don’t know how yet but that will come in the morning. I just have to keep from thinking too hard until then... I am so screwed. * * * * * * Morning finally came and I rose from my ‘bed’, or pile of books if you want to get technical. For the first time in a long while I was nervous. I knew if thinking was the key then I was a ticking time bomb. Why I wasn’t informed of how magic worked earlier is still a mystery. In hindsight it seems kinda important to mention if you can make thing fly around and ignite with a simple thought. Then again I wasn’t very accepting of it... I guess I should apologize. When I got up, Twilight came from the kitchen with an apple. She smiled and sat it down in-front of me. “What’s this for?” I asked, looking over at her. “It’s an apple... it’s for eating!” she said grinning. “Wow... and here I thought I was the funny one. What I meant was why are you giving me an apple when I could have got it myself?” I clarified. “It’s just a nice thing to do... don’t humans act nice to each other?” she asked jokingly. I looked back at the apple grimly, trying to decide if I should tell her more about the human race. I didn’t like humans very much at this point. We seemed to have lost every bit of morality and kindness over the years. It was rare to see someone even help an old woman with groceries now. We had been corrupt before but that was because we were striving for survival hundreds of years ago. Now we were just cruel because we were selfish and too busy to stop and be kind. It sickened me how careless we could be. We would sometimes slaughter one another just for the hell of it! If that’s not evil, I don’t know what is... “HELLO! JASON! ANYPONY HOME?!” Twilight shouted, waving a hoof in front of my face to snap me out of my trance. “I’m sorry... what?” I said, shaking my thought from my head. “I asked if humans acted nice to each other and you just zoned out.” “Oh yeah... I... I’ll tell you about it later.” After that Twilight gave an unsure stare, but walked away, leaving me with my apple. I didn’t want to tell her about humans more than I had too. It would make me sound like a monster. The things I couldn’t let her know were piling up each day. I couldn’t let her know anything about me or the human race. It was already bad enough that she knew about our technology and planet. Wait... am I getting worried? That doesn’t sound like me. I never cared before, why should I now? Is this what it feels like to care about someones safety? I can’t be getting soft now. That’s impossible. I lost touch with my heart over ten years ago. I must be getting sick or something... yeah all that rain made me catch a bug. All I need is something to focus on. “HEY TWILIGHT!” I shouted. “YES?” she shouted back. “WHY DON’T WE... ARGH JUST COME DOWN HERE SO I DON’T HAVE TO SHOUT!” A few minutes later she came downstairs. “You needed something?” “I think now would be a good time to practice magic.” Twilight gasped and clapped her hooves together in a giddy fashion while smiling ear to ear. “YES! FINALLY! This is going to be so much fun!” She said, gasping again. “OH MY GOSH! This means I have my first student!” Seeing her get so hyper made me feel a little awkward. She was almost acting the same way she did when she got her cutie mark. It was hard to believe teaching me about magic meant so much to her. I stopped her celebrating short and laid my hoof on the apple, saying, “Why don’t you teach me some levitation first? I want to levitate this. Show me how...” “Say please!” She said, smiling smugly. “Screw that...” “Close enough!” She shouted enthusiastically. How the hell was what I said close? Maybe ‘screw that’ meant something different here, or maybe she was just too excited to let what I had said get in her way of teaching me. Whatever the reason she started to tell me the basics of magic. Apparently it relies on a state of mind. You have to be calm but completely aware at the same time to access it. That’s why I wasn’t currently lifting up houses or shooting fireballs everywhere. Basically I had to be in a meditative state, easy enough. After she told me how I was supposed to get in tune with my magic she started to guide me in a levitation spell. “Alright, first focus solely on that apple. Clear everything else from your mi-” “Done...” I interrupted. “Well that was fast. Okay, next picture the apple getting lighter. Even lighter than air, until it floats.” “That’s it?!” I asked in hopes that it was more complex than just imagining something. “Well yeah, pretty much. Magic only works if you understand something and can picture it changing. What you can do is based on knowledge and the ability to see things that aren’t possible in other circumstances.” “YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME! So you’re saying if I just happen to imagine this apple flying around the room it... will...” At that very moment the apple was floating in front of us like there was no gravity. It was just sort of drifting through the air. I decided to do a little experiment to see if I was really the one doing it. I lifted my hoof in front of my face and I used a difference of perspective to act like I was giving it a little push. Even though I didn’t really touch it, the apple responded and seemed to be knocked away by an invisible force. Totally flabbergasted I looked at Twilight and asked, “Are you seeing this?!” She smiled at me and responded, “yes, it’s a very good start!” “Holy crap! I rule at this!” I said, moving the apple through the air with just my thoughts, making it zip around like a TIE fighter from Star Wars. “Um, actually this is the most basic spell there is. Even infants have been known to perform it.” She said, trying to put a downer on my awesome skills. “Come on, you gotta admit, this is pretty cool.” I said with my little half smile as I made the apple orbit around my head. “Yeah but just don’t strain yourself. If you put too much into it...” Suddenly everything started to get foggy and the room felt like it was spinning. Twilights voice was warped and dull, like I had just been three inches from a gun going off. The next thing I know I was waking up with Twilight looking down at me. I had a monstrous headache and had a little trouble keeping my vision straight. What happened to me? Was I drugged or something? I felt fine and all of the sudden, bam. Lights out. “I tried to warn you that if you use a spell too much it backlashes. It takes training to use magic for that long. Your mind isn’t ready for that level of magic use.” “Give me a break... you mean to tell me that I need to build brain muscles?” I asked groggily. “In short, yes. But look on the bright side, now you can open doors without my help!” she said, snickering. I looked over at a pillow to my right and pictured it flying at her. It quickly smacked against her face. “I won’t be having any of that. I’m the only one who gets to make jokes at another's expense!” I said before flinching from a wave of pain in my head. I laughed a little bit to show I was alright. Hiding pain was pretty easy for me. Years of being a guinea pig for tests on my mystery disease made pain a daily part of life. I always thought that getting used to pain was a perk of my illness. Being able to say you were fine when a normal man would be screaming was a gift in my eyes. To give Twilight something to do to think she was helping and keep her from asking questions like she normally did when things got quiet, I asked her to read a Daring Doo book while I recovered. I only used this as a ruse. My true intention was to ignore what she was reading and sort things out. The fact that I was able to use magic gave me new options. It might have been a metaphorical key home. Since it took only the visualization and understanding of a subject to create a spell, I had a chance to make a portal. I knew that wormholes were supposed breaks in space and time. It was theorized that if you could make a wormhole you could bypass the concept of space and jump to anywhere in the universe in a fraction of a second. the only problem was this was a theory at best and the odds of surviving the trip were said to be zero. Even if I could use it successfully without shredding to pieces, there was no way to tell if our little ball of mud we call Earth was in this universal plane. It could be in another dimension like I said before. Also, even if it did work and I did get back how would I know if I would be human upon arrival? I could just be stuck as a pony forever and that would mean I wouldn’t be better off. If anything it would be better to be here and stuck in this body than on Earth and stuck in this body. All I’m doing is going in circles. One thing was clear... if I want to return home, I need to know how I got here like this so I can hopefully reverse it. Twilight was almost done reading. My headache had passed before she was even halfway through. After Twilight closed the book she seemed a little disappointed. She must have known that I wasn’t listening to her read. I didn’t really care if she was upset, but I often took it upon myself to make others feel better just for the sake of being a nice guy, even if I felt worse afterwards. It was a moral code of mine. I mean it wouldn’t kill me to be kind just for the hell of it. “Something wrong?” Twilight sighed and answered, “I know you don’t like me... you don’t have to stay with me if you don’t want to. Applejack would be more than happy to take you in. I’m also sure Fluttershy would have no problem...” “What makes you think I don’t like you?” “Look I wasn’t born yesterday. You don’t like to get too close to me...” “I don’t like to get too close to anyone.” I responded instantly. “You won’t tell me anything about yourself...” “I have told you more than Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie and Rarity combined...” “You never listen to me...” “Do those magic lessons ring any bells?” “AND YOU WON’T LET ME HELP YOU!” She shouted, finishing her list of ‘clues’. “NOBODY EVER WANTED TO HELP!” I shouted back, I froze up instantly realizing what I had said. It was like I wasn’t the one who said it, but it sounded like the truth. I could feel something in my chest. It was a weird sensation that trembled at my core. I knew this feeling... it was sadness. I hadn’t felt this way in over ten years. Twilight was showing a face of shock. I put my hoof over my heart, the epicenter of the feeling. Twilights expression shifted to worry. “Are you okay?” she asked taking a step closer. “Uh... yeah... I’m fine.” I said, overwhelmed by the glimpse of my long lost emotion. Twilight took another step closer. She was now mere inches from me. Before I could protest, she embraced me in a hug. I stiffened at her touch. “Twilight, let go... now.” I said in a very serious tone. She held on for about three more seconds before releasing me and backing up. “What am I supposed to do then?” she asked, looking at me sympathetically. I sat back down on the bed behind me. “There’s nothing you can do... there’s nothing anyone can do.” Twilight was obviously feeling worse than before. I couldn’t end things like this. Making things worse was not something I let happen. I either would succeed in my goal of helping or at least put things back to where they were before I screwed up. I sighed knowing only one thing could possibly cheer her up now. “Twilight? Would you like to hear a story?” I asked. She looked at me and nodded. “Alright... once upon a time there was a, um, colt. This little colt saw things as bright and colorful... But as time went on his world dulled and turned gray. The color was lost from his world because he started to see the truth of how things were. as he aged he started to see that everypony around him was hateful and selfish. Time after time he was hurt by those who he once cared for. His world was collapsing on him... but he believed he could change it all. He truly believed he could return the color to the world and fill the hearts of those around him with kindness. There were countless setbacks, but the colt never lost hope. Even when he was a full grown stallion he refused to give up the fight. One day he found himself far from home, lost in another land. To this day he is still fighting. Fighting to save his world... and fighting to return home. Can you guess who the stallion is?” Tears began to form in Twilight's eyes and she gasped before answering, “Y-you?” I gave her a tiny tap on the nose, “Bingo...” She lunged to hug me yet again but I held her away with my hoof. She rubbed her head and smiled sheepishly. “Sorry, I keep forgetting. I had no idea you had it so rough...” “You haven’t even heard half of it...” I mumbled as I headed towards the stairs. After looking out a window I noticed that it had stopped raining and the sky was clear once again. It was about sunset so I thought I might as well head out to see it. I liked sunsets. They were the transition from day to night and they brought an air of tranquility. When I viewed the sunset I could almost feel the turn of the world. Everything that was just... perfect. It was a beautiful work of art that few humans cared for anymore. To pass up such a natural wonder was the norm, but I saw so much more than most people, even if I hardly left the comfort of my house. “I didn’t take you for the sorta guy who enjoyed sunsets.” I turned to see Twilight at my side. I simply shrugged at her remark. We sat there for a long while. Spike showed up soon after the sun went down. He saw us just sitting in silence, looking at the horizon. “What are you guys doing?” he asked cluelessly. “Well we were kissing before you showed up...” I responded. “WHAT!?!” he shouted, his voice piercing my eardrum. “OW! What the crap man?! I was kidding! How could you fall for something so obviously false?!” I cried out, holding a hoof to my ear. “You shouldn’t joke around like that! You scared me half to death!” he yelled. “Well I guess we’re even since you made ME half deaf!” I yelled right back. While we were glaring at one another, Twilight started to laugh. We both watched as she continued to crack up at the whole situation. Her laughter spread to Spike. It wasn’t long before I too found myself chuckling lightly at the scene. I couldn’t deny it... I was actually having fun. Too bad I can't let myself get attached to this place.