Chapter 8 – Minds alike
A slight giggle comes from the crystal mare as she sets her cup back to the table in front of her.
But her movement doesn't stop the grey stallion beside her as he continues his attempts at painting his mind's picture for her to see as his excited voice continues through the room, "...But of course our troubles were not over just because the spell had been changed." He waves his hoof to her as he smiles, "Oh no, when a levitation spell does something like that you have a bounce to your hoof for the next moon it seems." A chuckle comes from him as he stops his story.
The greenish blue pegasus holds her smile not to the stallion's story but to his face as Swirl starts to come down from his high emotion.
It takes a few moments for the grey stallion to take back hold of himself as he nods his head, "I must say Aura...I seemed to have taken that story a little too far."
"Not at all Star Swirl..." She holds her crystal sparkling eyes to him as she shakes her head, "How could you not tell a story like that without emotion..." A faint laugh comes from her as she stops for a moment, "Truly a spell like that is something amazing."
Swirl smiles as he nods, "I see no amazement to it...That spell has been useless ever since then." A chuckle comes over him as he floats the still full tea cup to the table, "...A spell to allow unicorns to walk on clouds would never be a real thing."
To the sigh Aura jabs her hoof to Swirl's side as she brings herself to rise a little from her seat, "BAH! When has a failure ever stopped the almighty Star Swirl from trying something foolish again?"
Her hoof comes to tap on her mouth as she continues, "I was once told by a certain pony, that failures are only the first step to completing a task."
Swirl lets out a chuckle as he rolls his hoof, "What sort of pony would say such a thing?"
Aura's gaze goes half eyed to him as she cocks her head, "Well the strangest pony I have ever met told me this."
It takes Swirl a moment to pick up on her gaze before he speaks, "oh...OH, yes yes, I believe I do recall that saying."
The pegasus mare flairs her wings out as she gasp excitedly, "Then you shall try this spell again yes?"
"I beg your pardon?"
Swirl's voice is cut from the room as the excited mare springs from her seat and begins to pull to the grey stallion, "Do not pretend you have not heard me Star Swirl."
The stallion comes to his hooves as the mare trots happily away from him mindlessly talking to herself, "Just think Star Swirl, a spell like this would become something wondrous for Equestria...why it could help so many ponies!" Her face comes back to Swirl as she stares to him with a bright smile.
Swirl's eyes move over the mare's coat as he watches her greenish-blue coloring turning a slight pink, "I think you are just making yourself too excited Aura...you know as well as I do only pegasus can manipulate clouds to hold them."
"Oh? Really?" She lowers her head as she cocks her eyebrows to the stallion, but Swirl's stance shifts a little uncomfortably as she moves closer towards him, "...Did I just hear Sir.Swirl say it can not be done?"
Swirl's eyes can't go to the mare's as he stammers a little nervous to her close person, "W-well I am just saying that..."
"Tis tis tis..." Aura clicks her tongue as she sways her hoof in front of Swirl, "Let me see your hoof."
The stallion blinks to the words as he keeps his legs pinned to the floor, to his lack of motion Aura rolls her eyes as she moves her hoof to his front leg.
Swirl quickly springs his hoof up to her as she takes it under her own, her balance becomes a little shifty as she takes her other hoof from the ground and begins to turn Swirls in her grasp. "Now Swirl, tell me what you see."
A moment of silence comes to the stallion as he looks to his hoof clasped in between the mare's crystally hold, a smile comes over him as he speaks up, "I see two beautiful hooves separated by something lacking in luster."
Aura's hoof slightly smacks against Swirl's face as the words end, the tap to his face was caught off guard but he listens to the mare's happy voice as she speaks, "You are mistaken Sir.Swirl, what you should have seen is nothing...nothing at all."
The stallion blinks to her happy smile as she darts her eyes down telling his to follow, as he does Aura's voice comes back to the room, "...Do you see it yet Star Swirl? You see three normal looking hooves..."
Swirl nods his head as he listens to her long winded breath coming through, "Good, now tell me if you see no difference why is it that you can not walk on clouds."
A chuckle comes from the stallion as he slips his hoof from her smooth warm feeling hooves, "Because I have no wings."
Aura moves her hooves back to the ground but one is quick to jab to his chest as she speaks, "Bha! A little filly does not use their wings to stand on a cloud."
Swirl nods his head to her words.
To the nod the crystal mare smiles wide, "Good, now follow me Sir. Swirl." Aura trots away from the stallion as she moves to the staircase at the back of the room, but her trot doesn't last long as she turns to the lizard that has only barely moved from where Star Swirl placed him, "Now Wispy do not eat any of my plants."
Swirl gets another slight chuckle as he starts to follow after the mare.
- - -
Aura's lead has brought them to her room as she takes an unfazed step into the room and towards her closed balcony doors.
But Star Swirl is unable to follow as he looks around the room.
Her gaze comes back to the stallion as she stops in front of the doors, a smile comes from her as her tone almost pokes fun to the stallion's stance, "Sir.Swirl, dose a mare have to give you permission to pass through her bed chambers?"
The stallion pushes himself into the room as he ignores her comment with a chuckle, "I have never entered anywhere unpromoted...No room is any different."
Aura giggles to the comment as she opens the doors to the outside world, her greenish-blue color that has taken on a pink glow now becomes a simple green as the sun strikes against it only highlighting her mane's color.
Her head tilts to one side as she stares outside, "Tell me Sir.Swirl, why is it that our daytime has been cut short as of lately?"
Swirl moves himself next to the mare as he looks over the late day's sun, but his face becomes unamused as he sighs, "Because, the balance of what Equestria should be is unstable..." He smiles as he turns his eyes to her, "...Much like the unicorns that pretend they control it."
"Hm, you will never voice your own opinion of the land, but yet you have no problem voicing opinion of your own kind." Aura squints her eyes to the stallion as she looks him over.
Swirl shakes his head as he holds his smile, "I see no kinds of ponies, I only see hooves of majority walking away from the direction they should be facing."
Aura lets out a swaying sigh as she leans to the words, "I have always enjoyed your mind Star Swirl..." A smile comes from her face as she holds her hoof to the open world before them, "Now I need you to jump from my rooftop."
Swirl blinks to the comment as his eyes go a little wide, "A-Aura...I do believe you have enjoyed your tea too much...tell me are you feeling a heat to your head?"
The mare loses her smile as she pushes the stallion to the balcony flooring, her voice becomes high and even though its faked Swirl's ears do not pick up on it as he listens, "MR.SWIRL? A stallion should know not to ask such questions of heat?!"
"N-no I meant..." His rushed voice is cut off as Aura takes to her wings and floats beside him, a giggle escaped her as she talks, "Now trust me Star Swirl."
He nods his head as her hoof comes from his face and she starts to flap her wings from the balcony.
Swirl watches the pegasus from his squinting eyes as she bites to a small cloud high above the house, the cloud's length is large but the cloud takes on a flat shape as her hooves moves through it.
The motions only last a few moments before she comes back to the balcony, the cloud moves from her grasp as she leaves it in front of the rails, "Now Star Swirl, would you do your spell?"
A chuckle comes from the stallion as he steps forward and looks down to the crystal streets beneath him, "Aura...I am not as young as I use to-..."
"Bha!" The mare points her hoof to him as she talks over his voice in mocking high pitch feminine banter, "OH Aura, I am not as young as I use to be..." She rubs to her chin as if pulling to a beard as she cocks her eyes to him.
"You're mocking me Aura."
The mare nods her head as she pokes her hoof back towards him, "Yes, I am...Now to do your spell you have to believe it works."
A chuckle comes from him as he talks, "Believing is not-..."
The mare crosses her front hooves as she turns her head away from the stallion she floats in front of, "Really? Then Sir.Swirl please lie to me and tell me that unicorn magic is not generated from feelings and thoughts."
Swirl cocks his head to her words as he brings his hoof to pull on his small beard, "I believe I should stop telling you so much."
"Star Swirl!"
The stallion chuckles as his horn glows a faint gold, "Aura, you say all I need to do is believe...than I will try." A small crystal stool comes in front of the rails.
Aura's smile goes wide as she watches Swirl's horn taking on a bright gold glow, the magic moves over his body as he holds his gaze towards the mare.
Neither of them speak though as Swirl takes his first hoof to the stool, Aura moves a little above the shaky stallion as she moves her hooves to his sides.
Swirl's heart pounds hard and his mind screams to jump from the stool back to the room, but he holds his eyes sternly as he moves his first hoof to the thin layer of white fluff lofting in front of the rail.
"Do not worry Swirl, a fall from here would only break a leg."
A chuckle comes from Swirl as he holds his hoof from the cloud, "My dear Aura I have never known that to be a thing to hope for." To the words his hoof places to the cloud, but it doesn't fall through.
The stallion's eyes go wide as he moves his other hoof to the cloud, a new found smile comes from him as he begins to pull himself over the rail with the help of Aura's tug.
But the moment of truth comes as the stallion comes to stand on the thin layer of cloud, "HA ha ha! It worked?! It worked!!?"
Aura smiles to the stallion's joy as she takes her hooves from the stallion, but as she does the stallion's stance becomes shaky as he wobbles to the cloud's unfamiliar surface.
A fear stricken face comes over Aura as she quickly pulls the stallion towards her, but from the jerk Swirl topples over the rail and onto the mare that pulled him.
Aura's breath is knocked from her and the quick movement has turned the cloud into small wisp of white as it floats away.
Swirl quickly speaks as he looks to the mare beneath him, "Are you ok?!"
The mare is silent for a moment as she lets out a slight laugh, "No, I must say I did not expect you to be so clumsy with a pegasus." Her eyes dart up a little as Swirl follows them. His eyes pin to his hoof that has pinned her right wing to the ground, Swirl’s weight is quickly lost from it as he stands from the mare.
Aura stretches her wing out for a moment as it folds back to her, but Swirl's voice comes to him a little rushed as he holds his hoof to her, "Are you ok my dear?"
The mare smiles as she nods her head, "Of course, do you really think a simple fall can hurt a wing?"
Swirl is silent as she continues, "Now Star Swirl, how do you feel?"
The stallion smiles wide as he slightly moves past her, "Invigorated!" He moves through the room for a moment as he turns back to the mare, "I-I must write this spell down!"
Aura nods her head as she smiles to him, "Of course Star Swirl."
Not a moment after her words the stallion almost bolts from the room with his newfound smile.
End of chapter 8