//------------------------------// // Everything You Never Knew About Magic Since you Figured that it Never Existed in the First Place // Story: A Stranger to the World // by Perceptive Key //------------------------------// Chapter Twelve Everything You Never Knew About Magic Since you Figured that it Never Existed in the First Place Alex stood at one end of the Rectangle, facing Witt on the opposite end. The human moved his right leg back and raised his fists, mimicking a simple fighting stance. Witt stretched out, lowering his head and raising his lower half raised. "Are you sure that you want to do this, Alex?" Hart called from the side of the field. "You don't have to do this if you don't want to." "I'm fine with this, Hart," Alex replied. "Really." "Suit yourself." Hart returned to his note-taking, using his mouth to maneuver the pen across the paper. Alex watched him scribble something down, listing the 'writes-by-mouth' oddity to his list. He turned to Witt, again. "What now?" he called over. "We fight... parlay... duel... Whichever you find to your liking," he smiled. "En guarde!" Witt sprinted at Alex, but the latter remained stationary, on the defensive. Alex waited for Witt to get closer, deciding to make a quick dodge and catch him in the side. Witt darted up and Alex dodged to the left, but Witt caught on to his plan. As Alex lashed out, he grabbed Alex's arm and pushed it to the side so quickly that Alex had not time to think. Witt followed by forcefully punching him in the abdomen, knocking the wind out of him and making Alex clutch his stomach in pain. "A weak first attempt," Witt said, unimpressed. Alex just lay on the ground, breathing deeply as to regain his oxygen supply. "We shall try again," Witt continued, stepping over Alex's body. It took another few minutes for Alex to stand back up, and he glared at Witt from back across the field. "What the fuck was that for?!" he shouted over. "Stimulation!" Witt called back. "You could've just cursed at me until I wanted to kill you!" "It isn't as effective as physical stimulation!" he said. "Think fast!" Witt suddenly flashed out of existence, surprising Alex. A second later, Witt reappeared ten feet away from him. He disappeared and reappeared again, now only five feet. Alex repeated his defensive stance, alert and ready for Witt to teleport again. The stallion did as Alex expected, and he flashed in right in front of Alex. The human reacted be throwing a punch at Witt's neck, but the pony ducked and swept Alex's legs out from under him. He landed in the grass with a thud and Witt planted his fore-hooves on Alex's chest, effectively pinning him down. "You must try harder, my friend," Witt said, disappointed. His horn flared and he vanished, returning to the opposite end of the field. Discord whistled from the sidelines, waving a small, red, varsity flag with a big "W" stitched on it. He was wearing a red baseball cap with a similarly colored letterman jacket. "Win this Witt! Yes, you can! If Alex can't do it, then he's not a man!" There was more hooting and whistling as identical clones of Discord applauded, waving their flags excitedly. Hart stopped writing, turning to grumble and glare at the congregation beside him, unimpressed with their mockery. Alex rolled over onto his side and shot them a dirty look, and he gave the main Discord the finger for good measure. Witt watched the exchange with impatience. "Would you dumb-assed bastards please refrain from doing anything stupid that could get either of you on my bad side! Please!" Discord's clones, flags and all, disappeared along with his sporty getup. "Keep in mind, Witt, that I'm the Lord of Chaos." "And keep in mind, Discord, that I can tell Celestia to coat you in cement, if need be," he countered. The draconequus gave a frustrated huff in response, and Witt turned back to Alex, now standing up from the grass. "I think it would be better for us to switch to close combat, for now." "Isn't that what we've been doing?" Alex asked. "Actually, I've been charging while you try to defend yourself. You need to take the offensive, now and then," Witt stated. "Well, I'm not entirely sure of what to do!" Alex said, scoffing. Witt sighed. "You need to let it come naturally," he explained. "I'm not entirely sure how combat works," Alex admitted. "I've only been in one fight, and that was when I was a kid. More importantly, we were the same species!" "Just... fight me," Witt said, frowning. "The third time's the charm!" he said, expression instantly brightening. He's crazy, Alex thought, nothing more. He shook his head and faced Witt, the stallion less than ten feet away and standing erect, head tilted upward. "You ready?" Alex asked. "Indeed." Witt breathed deeply, "One..." He adjusted his stance, crouching with his forehooves with his lower half raised. "Two," he muttered, "three..." Alex charged him and swung out with his right fist, aimed at Witt's jaw. The trajectory was perfect and would most assuredly make contact. "Four!" Witt shouted, leaping into the air at the last second, avoiding Alex's blow and somersaulting over him. He landed on his hooves expertly. "Five and six." The human was surprised by Witt's sudden burst of agility. Then, he was slightly confused. "What are you counting?" Alex asked, nearly lowering his defenses. Witt smirked. "Possibilities," he replied, spinning around and bucking Alex in the gut. The human was propelled backwards about a dozen feet, winded and pained. "Ten," Witt said. Alex wheezed and coughed, doubling over onto his side. "What... the fuck... was that for?" he sputtered. "Stop trying to hit me and hit me!" Witt demanded. "I can't help you if you refuse to cooperate!" "Calm down, Witt," Hart said from the sidelines. "Shut up!" Witt snarled back at him. He turned back to Alex and sneered. "You need to stop being a lazy-assed bastard and HIT ME!!! "Where the hell is this coming from?!" Alex shouted back. "You think I have some sort of special combat training?!" he shot out, struggling to his feet. "I am not in the mood to be messed with, right now, and you know that! My entire life has just recently been screwed with by a psycho in a business suit, I'm despised by that Lunar or Luna pony, or whoever the hell she is, and you think that I have some sort of special quality?! Well then, fuck you, because I'm nothing special!" He shouted at the top of his lungs. It was at that moment that Alex felt something happening within his chest, like a warm feeling that was steadily increasing within him. He felt it flow outward and into his arms, then down to where he sensed it inching along his fingertips. He felt his body grow warmer and warmer, but it was soon becoming a burning sensation that began to cause him physical pain. He collapsed onto his knees and grunted. Hart got to his hooves and started to run over to him. "What's happening?!" "Stop, Hart!" Witt said, holding his hoof out. The doctor froze, just outside of the blue line dividing the area. Alex seized a couple of times. "Are you mad?!" Hart shouted at Witt. They both watched as Alex tensed, his hands clenching and relaxing erratically. "I'm performing an experiment," Witt said, less forcefully. Alex was on all fours, now, shaking violently. He felt like he was going to explode, implode, or even melt from the heat. "And just what are you trying to prove?!" Hart exclaimed. "That my theory about him is correct," Witt said, barely loud enough for Hart to distinguish. Alex looked up at Witt, his irises glowing a deep blue and streaming wisps of light smoke. "What is happening to me?!" he rasped, "It burns so much!" Witt slowly approached Alex with an emotionless expression. He knelt down in front of him and placed a hoof on the human's shoulder. Alex didn't react at the touch, too preoccupied with the unbearable pain within. "You have to let go," Witt said, his voice quiet and kind. "You must release all of your stress from within. Then, you will be alright, again." "But what is happening?!" Alex growled. His body was beginning to glow, now, blue light emanating from his skin. "You are overcoming the block that prevents certain beings from experiencing natural magic," Witt explained. "If you don't release your stress, then the raw power will consume you until there is nothing left. You will be dust in the wind." "How do I get it out?!" Alex yelled. "Open the door to your mind. Embrace the magic." "But how?!?!" Alex raged. The light was quickly increasing and it spread to brighten the field in its glow. Many of the soldiers were slowly being drawn to the scene. Shining Armor was in the lead, approaching the area where Witt stood, just within the rectangle. "Witt! What in Tartarus is going-?!" A wave of blue light exploded from Alex's body, engulfing Witt and the portion of field surrounded by the Rectangle. The pure, blue glow filled the invisible container, preventing any visibility within. Alex and Witt stood in a blue room, facing each other. They both looked around, the former in confusion and the latter in wonder. The room was covered in a variety of photographs that nearly obscured the actual wall, each of the pictures contained the image of different ponies. Alex recognized a couple of them: Celestia, Twilight, Luna, Hart, Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, the dragon, Spike, was also there, even Shining Armor, and thousands more. Every single one of them looked to be completely unaware that they were being photographed except for Twilight, who was smiling sweetly for the camera. "What's happening?" Alex asked. "I haven't been here in a long while!" Witt exclaimed. "It's a tad different, though. Pictures everywhere, and such." Alex stopped and looked back at the stallion across from him. "Wait. You know what this is?" "Of course! It's the Dreamscape," Witt explained. "You know, land of peace and nightmares? The gateway to imagination?" He frowned at Alex's exasperated expression, "That's a 'no' then?" "I just want to know why we're both in the same place!" Witt looked around, then to the floor, jumping up and down a couple times. "I'd say that it would be a psycho-symbiotic manifestation," he said, scratching his head. "What does that mean?!" Alex shouted. "I don't know. Made it up. Just didn't want to say it was the same dream," he admitted. A small table appeared in front of Witt and he sat down before it. A cup of tea in a china glass appeared, as well. He lifted it in his grey, magical grasp and sipped it, quickly. He looked back up at Alex who was watching him with an annoyed expression. Witt made another cup appear and let it float a bit toward Alex. "Tea?" Alex stood where he was, glaring at Witt from across the room. He didn't know what to do, now, everything was just getting stranger and stranger. There was more silence as the two of them just watched the other. The cup of tea hovered in the air, Witt's magical grasp unwavering. "Why?" Alex finally asked. "Because tea helps in relaxa-" "I mean this," Alex clarified, opening his arms wide as if to embrace the room and all of it's blueness. "You must be more specific, my dear boy," Witt replied. "Why am I in here? With you?" he reiterated. He let his arms fall back down to his sides, a slight slap heard as they made contact with his jeans. Witt sipped his own tea and took a deep breath. "I'll explain it to you if you'll come and sit." Hesitantly, Alex took a step toward the seated stallion. Then another, and another. A white, fold-out chair appeared in front of the table, and Alex went around and lowered his body into it. "Tea?" Witt asked him again. "No, thanks," Alex said, his mood softening slightly. "Now, tell me why I'm here." Witt sipped his tea a third time and looked at Alex, or what could be assumed as looking with Aviators goggles over someone's eyes. "Tell me, Alex. What happened before we arrived at this exact location?" "I... was burning up." "And..." Witt urged. "I felt like I was... exploding... on the inside." Alex looked down at his body, checking to see if there were any major injuries. It took him a second to remember that he wouldn't have any physical imperfections within a dream, but he looked back up at Witt and folded his hands upon the tabletop. "What happened to me?" "Magic," Witt said, matter-of-fact. "You were experiencing a large amount of magical buildup, growing within the very fiber of your being. And, I must say, you had quite a bit of it in you! I'm starting to wonder how special you are." "What do you mean, special?" Alex asked, leaning in. Witt placed the tea down on the table and cleared his throat, "Every being has a natural, albeit magical, ability within themselves. Earth ponies have enhanced sensitivity with nature and the environment. Pegasus ponies are gifted with flight and the ability to touch clouds, which, I would assume you know, is condensed water. Now, unicorns were bestowed upon with the most powerful of all the natural magics, this being pure energy. If they put enough thought into something, dammit they did it," Witt exclaimed. They were able to reach into themselves and extract the very essence of their being to use as power. I can accomplish such a task, as I am a member of that sub-species. "Now, you are what is so fascinating," Witt continued, leaning toward Alex, now. "You have that very same magical ability which resides within unicorns, or alicorns, I might add, and you weren't even aware of it. What happened in the Rectangle was simply me trying to help you release that power. Usually, an emotional trigger is involved in the release: anger, sadness, excitement, pain, physical or emotional. In your case, that was the outburst you had when you were angry with me, enhanced by the Rathonite powder's properties." Witt sipped the tea, "Any questions?" "That's crazy." "That wasn't a question," Witt said. "Anything else?" Alex nodded, "I think I'll take that tea, now." "Cream? Sugar?" Witt asked, said items appearing on the table. "Both." Witt grinned and poured both the cream and sugar into the small cup, stirring them in with a spoon. He let Alex grab it from the air and take a sip. Alex let the drink enter his system, and, he must admit, it he sat back in the chair, relaxing and unwinding. There was silence as the two of them just sat there, sipping their tea intermittently. "Am I dead?" Alex asked flatly. Witt shook his head, "Indeed not. We're just sub-catatonic." "Sub-catatonic?" "A fancy way of saying unconscious. Any more questions? Some that are less ridiculous and much more sensible?" Alex thought for a long, hard moment. He was stuck inside of a dream until he woke up, and he was with Witt. He mentally shrugged. May as well ask him something personal. "What was your release?" Witt hesitated for a moment, briefly freezing with the tea halfway to his lips. He sat the glass down on the platter. "That's a bit personal, if I do say so." "You haven't answered my question." Witt turned his head to the side. "It was... strong emotional pain, coupled with rage." "What kind?" Alex asked tentatively. If it were possible, he could have sworn that time stopped. Witt turned back to him. "I'm an alcoholic," he said quietly. "Do you know why most people become alcoholics?" The human opposite him shrugged. "Um... they're depressed. Maybe... for fun. I mean, that's what it looked like when I first met you," he gave Witt a grin. "Then... you could have lost something impor-" "Bingo," Witt cut him off. "You lost something important?" Alex pressed on. "Right, again." "What did you-?" "Hang on! I think they're waking up!" a male voice echoed throughout the blue room. The sound reverberated off of the walls and bounced around infinitely. Alex looked at Witt, who was now wearing a bemused expression. He opened his mouth, but watched as the world went white around him.