//------------------------------//
// Difficulties 
// Story: Advent Redemption 
// by alamais 
//------------------------------//

Gideon huffed into his scarf, and noticed that breathing no longer hurt quite so much.  He trudged along beside Tev, both of them walking in the wake of Trixie, who was using her more stable four-legged stance to break up the dense snow that came up to her chin.

While the air was calm now, it was still bitingly cold--somehow even colder than a long-dead asteroid habitat.  Each breath brought with it the feel of ice crystals forming in his lungs.  Given this, he was quite impressed with the clothing Trixie had made for him, which had thus far kept his body quite comfortable.  He slightly shifted the bundle of kindling that was slung over his back as they emerged from a wooded area into a small bowl that the blizzard's winds had somehow conspired to keep mostly clear.  A few crumbling bits of stonework wall were the only testament to a structure that had once occupied the clearing.

Trixie paused at the edge, her ears twitching a bit.  "Wait.  Something's thrown me off, we shouldn't be this far west…"  She looked back at Tev.

"Mmm…"  The canid raised an eyebrow, and moved up beside her.  "Well, we have nearly enough already.  If we cut back along the old river bed…"  He gestured vaguely to their left, and the two started talking about how recently that region had been swept for wood.

As the two debated the merits of possible return routes, Gideon wandered his way towards one of the ruined walls.  Upon his approach, he felt the ground change, and a sweep of his foot revealed what had once been a smooth, intricately-fitted stone floor.  He reached the wall, and brushed a bit of snow off of it, noting that a few flakes of mortar came away at even this light touch.  So old.  This wall has seen more of History than Edumea saw of humanity.  He rubbed his fingers together, and noticed that his contact with the wall had left the faintest of tingles running along his fingertips--a minute brush of magical power.

Stretching out his senses, trying to understand what he was feeling, he found that his attention was drawn towards the floor, to the center of the ancient structure.  Dropping his bundle of kindling, he walked over, feeling further flickers of power run across him.  As he reached the center, the magical teases reaching a definite--yet still very subtle--peak, he bent over and started sweeping snow away from the floor.  After a few moments, his efforts began to reveal a strange, layered design carved into a huge single slab of stone that occupied the center of the ancient structure.  In places it was curvacious, in others, geometric; as if multiple languages had been mixed, overlapped, and squeezed together.  He stared downwards, and squinted, wondering if he was imagining the incredibly slight red glow coming from the depths of the carved lines of the sigil.

"It's an Anchor Seal."  Gideon glanced up to find his companions were watching him from the edge of the structure.  Trixie continued, "Such seals serve as the focal point for many spells--a place where they are defined, and may be tweaked and manipulated.  This was probably one of the main points for the Halls' preservative spells…they say the details of a seal's carvings can tell you all about its purpose, but I've never studied that.  Even though the main spells have failed, there are still strong natural ley lines that meet here, and are keeping the Seal alive in a dormant state.  The last thing to go will be the Seal's stone itself."

Looking back to the Seal, Gideon asked, "Is it just me, or is it glowing?"

Trixie nodded, staring down at the seal.  "It is…reacting to you, somehow."  She moved a bit closer.  "I've…never seen one act this way.  Some of them glow when they are active, but this isn't actually using any real power, it's like it's simply acknowledging your presence.  I think it knows what you are."

"Huh."  He crossed his arms over his chest.  "Well, interesting, but it feels kinda creepy."

"Gideon…"  She hesitated, still staring at the Seal.  "…if you wanted--I mean, if you feel recovered enough--perhaps you could try feeding it a bit of power?”  Tev furrowed his brow at the pony, but didn’t speak up as she continued, “The greatest mage-scholars have never been able to get the ancient seals to accept power, but…they don't recognize us like this."

Gideon raised an eyebrow, but then recognized something in her expression.  He'd seen it before, on Olivia's face, when he'd tried to drag her away from her research--the look of an academic being held back, politely refraining from raising hell to satisfy her curiosity.  Smirking, he said, "Well…couldn't hurt to try I guess."

He stepped back slightly, and raised his hand, pulling power to him as he had many times before.  He felt the feathery touches of the Seal's magic become slightly less tentative, and in response he gently pushed the power he held towards the Seal.

***

Trixie watched intently as Gideon raised power.  She noticed that his technique was somewhat raw and his aura was ragged--probably just signs of his slow recovery.  Nevertheless, the ease with which he drew power to himself was impressive.  She refocused on the Seal, noting its reaction, that it almost seemed to reach out for what the human had on-hand.  Hungry.

As Gideon began to feed power to the Seal, she could feel a slight rush of power over her body, as a magical field began to take shape in the area.  The Seal glowed a bit brighter, and the golden wash of power connecting Gideon to it seemed to focus, as if the Seal itself was funneling the power in.  Then, the glow of power flared a brilliant red, with edges of ominous black.

"Gideon, I think something's wrong, stop."

"I…have."  His tone was strained.  "It's like it's pushing back at me."

She stared into the line of power connecting human to Seal, and could indeed see that power was flowing the opposite way, with a flaring contention point in between them.  As she saw this, the Seal's harsh, red power seemed to bloom outwards, snaking around Gideon's resistance and whipping around to engulf him.  "Gideon!"

He let out a strangled grunt, appearing to be held in a vice, as the red power engulfed him, held back only by his aura, which had turned from golden into the same ominous black as the power previously edging the Seal's.

"Hold on!  I'll disrupt it."  She stared at the line of power, forming a general neutralization pattern in her mind, but before she could fire it off, the Seal's power flared once more, magically and optically, momentarily blinding the two observers.

"Ahhhhh!"  Gideon's cry came from somewhere several meters away…and in the air.

Trixie looked back just in time to see the human disappear over the far wall.  Seconds later, she heard a muffled thump, and saw a spray of snow fly into the air.

"Gideon!"  She started to run towards where he had been flung, but was unexpectedly held back by Tev.

Before she could object, a loud THUD to her right drew her attention to where one of the larger remaining chunks of wall was in the process of collapsing.  The pony and canid both looked around warily, as further sections of wall were seen and heard to fall around them, creating an earthquake in miniature.  Finally, the ground was still again.

Trixie glanced at the Seal, and could see the barest ghost of flickering power still clinging to it--whatever Gideon's attempt had triggered, things were now worse off than before.

She quickly made her way past the still-standing wall the human had passed over, and to a body-shaped hole in the deep snow, several meters away.  She carefully waded through the snow, until she felt a forehoof gently prod something soft, eliciting a groan.

"Gideon?"  She used a quick flash of magic to cast snow away from the area in front of her, revealing a curled up form.

Letting out another groan, Gideon slowly relaxed, ending up lying on his back.  "Ow."

Casting a medical scan spell, Trixie looked him over.  "Ah…okay, nothing broken, just some bruises.  Do you feel okay?"

"Yeah…yeah, I guess so."  He slowly sat up.  "What…?"

"I'm so sorry!"  Her face and tone were full of guilt.  "I'd heard of that kind of physical reaction when people have gotten too pushy in trying to probe a Seal, but it seemed so positive towards you, I didn't think…"

He shook his head, "It…it was positive.  I don't know what happened."  He took Tev's offered paw, and stood up, looking a bit wobbly.  He leaned against a tree, staring in the direction of the Seal, and said, "From the very start, I felt it looking at me.  When I really started to feed it power, it felt…hungry, at first, but then it was like…  It was like it didn't like the taste of the power I was giving it.  Then it took a real look at me, and rejected me.  It was…well, it felt downright angry."  He shivered a bit.

Eyes and ears downcast, Trixie couldn't even look at him, "I'm sorry, I--agh--I should never have suggested it without more safety precautions, I, what if you'd gotten hurt, I don't even-"

"Hey."  He stopped her with a hand on her shoulder.  "No real harm done, okay?"  He gave her a questioning smile.

Her ears stayed down, but she nodded, and the group retrieved the loads they'd dropped, and returned to the tower.

***

Gideon stomped his feet, trying to get more blood to circulate.  The cold had lessened a little further, but now the occasional biting breeze blew across the valley, and he'd been standing around for far too long.

It had been two days since the incident with the Anchor Seal, and he was again burning through the hours trying to get his magic to work properly.  He'd done other things, helped where he could, even wandered through the main part of the ruined Halls, including the place he'd arrived.  The sight of the chunks of the Galactic Council Hall that had followed him here had left him feeling more numb than the cold.  A couple meters difference and I'd be a greasy smear.

But there was only so much to do, and only so much of the Watch members' time he felt comfortable taking up with questions.  And I'll be much more useful around here if I can just get a handle on my power.  He focused once more on his target: an apple-sized stone lying on the ground a few meters ahead.

He forced himself to ignore the cold, and concentrated on what Kelehm had taught him.  The feel of summoning power to his hand, envisioning casting that power out, enveloping the stone, lifting it with an invisible hand.  As before, he could feel the power take shape, could almost feel the texture of the stone's surface.  And then, as before, as he tried to push his mind through the last step, to enact his will upon the world, images formed in his mind.

Of a monster with the face of his brother, contorted by arrogance.

Of that face, shifting to show fear, as a spell of unthinkable power gripped it.

Of an already tortured body being broken further, and finally destroyed.

It was enough to make him falter, to distract him, but it shouldn't have been enough to stop him, yet--he grit his teeth, as he felt the failure, as if a hole appeared in that imaginary hand.  He released the power before it could backlash into him.

Damn it.

"Gideon?  Are you alright?"

He looked towards the mare's voice, which seemed oddly close, but finally saw Trixie standing a hundred meters away, just over the lip of the small bowl in which he'd been practicing.  Some sort of voice-throwing spell?  Interesting.  He waved to her, and she took that as leave to approach.

As she trotted closer, she called out, "Sorry if I'm interrupting, but I was passing by and I felt quite a bit of power surge over here…"

"Yeah, I-I'm fine."

She drew near, and examined him closely.  "You look half frozen!  How long have you been out here?"  Before he could answer, she shook her head, "Nevermind.  Here."

Her horn began to softly glow, and Gideon felt a slight tingling pass over his body.  The air around him began to grow noticeably warmer--the brown, frozen grass on the wind-blasted ground thawing slightly.

He exhaled quickly, and sucked in a warm breath, already feeling better.  "Wow, thanks.  I guess I was getting a bit crunchy."

She chuckled softly, "So...may I ask what you were throwing around so much power for?"

So much?  I was just...  He gestured at the rock.  "Just trying to get things working again, to toss that stone around.  I...I don't understand what's up with me.”  He crossed his arms.  “I feel fine, physically and mentally.  It doesn't hurt to draw power anymore.  I'm a little...distracted, but I've used complicated, multi-target techniques before, while firing weapons, being shot, beaten up, and hell, practically blown up."  He shook he head in frustration, then sat on a nearby log, head in his hand.  "It's...it's like there's something missing.  Some core of my control that's failing."

Trixie looked at him with some sympathy.  "I think I know how you're feeling, or something similar at least."

He looked over to her.

She sighed, and then sat down beside him.  "That...incident I mentioned before, when I escalated a bad situation...  I was focused on trying to regain my reputation, but also...well, I guess on revenge."  She turned her head away, looking to the woods.  "I found what I thought was my solution in an ancient artifact, the Alicorn Amulet.  Found it in a dusty old antique shop in Trottingham."

Closing her eyes, she sounded almost wistful, "It gave me...incredible powers.  Maybe even brought me within kicking distance of the Princesses themselves.  I had my revenge, showed that whole town what real power was...it was such a rush."  She slowly opened her eyes, and looked at him, then downward.  "But...I didn't know the downside to that particular artifact.  Hadn't done enough research.  It brought out terrible parts of me, exaggerated flaws and quirks I barely knew I had."  Chuckling bitterly, she added, "Near the end, I had an almost pathological mistrust of wheels.  I can't even speculate where that came from."

Gideon just raised an eyebrow, making her blush slightly.

"They managed to trick me into taking it off, and the madness faded pretty quickly, thank goodness.  I was in a bit of shock, I guess.  At what I'd done, at the thoughts that had run through my head...at the fact that the town was willing to forgive.  I missed the power, of course, but," she shook her head, "it wasn't worth losing control of my self.  I just wanted to get out of there, and leave it all behind, start over...I was in such a hurry to get away, I didn't notice it until later…"

She looked back at Gideon, "While I was able to use magic in a very rough way, and even set off a little fireworks display for the town to try to make amends, I quickly learned that all my fine control was just--well, gone.  I'm not sure of the technical explanation, but it was like I'd become dependent on that amulet as a part of my, oh...magical process.  I couldn't even pick up a spoon properly."  She leaned back slightly, gazing into her memories, and wrapped her forelegs around herself.

He hesitated a moment, before gently placing a hand on her shoulder.  "I'm sorry…for someone who uses her magic so much, that must have been...terrifying."

"Mmm…"  She nodded absently, then returned to the present, "Yes.  Part of me wanted to gallop back to Ponyville, to beg for the amulet back.  Thankfully, my prideful streak did me some good that time.  I couldn't bear to beg, so I just went back to the basics.  Practiced like I was back in magic kindergarten.  It took me a couple weeks to get basic control back, but once I did, it was like everything just…fell back into place."  She looked at him and smiled, "I know it isn't exactly the same, since there isn't an artifact involved, but-"

"Well, actually…"

She paused, ears perking towards him.

"There was an artifact involved.  It didn't have as great an effect as what you describe, but it made everything seem a little easier, and had some other effects…"

"Hmm," she looked surprised, "we didn't find anything with you--what happened to it?"

He closed his eyes, "It…left me.  After I got sucked into the void, on my way here.  I felt its presence leave me, before I emerged into the cold."  He opened his eyes and looked at her, "It sounds strange to say it, but it definitely felt like it chose to leave.  It even burned its way through the belt pouch I'd had made for it."

"How interesting."  Trixie stared at him for a moment, deep in thought, then nodded, "How about you try again?  Just do what you were doing before, and I'll watch.  Maybe I can see if your problems are more than circumstantially similar to what I experienced."

He nodded, and stood up, focusing again on the stubborn rock.  Going through the steps Kelehm had taught him.  The memories were weaker this time, the distraction even less, and yet, again, he felt his control slip away.

He gave up yet again, tossing away the power he'd gathered, and looked over to Trixie, to find a shocked and disturbed unicorn staring at his hands.  "Uh…what is it?"

"Y...you didn't focus your aura down at all!  It was like…like you were trying to redirect the flow of a river using a hammer!"  She looked him in the eye, "this is how you've been using magic?"

He rubbed the back of his head, bemused.  "Well...yeah.  I mean, my teacher, Kelehm, his powers were...limited.  And most of that was recent."  He frowned, and and looked askance at Trixie.  "He said that his power and stamina had vastly increased when he was around humans."

She tilted her head, "Well…that's true.  We all felt it as soon as you arrived.  Everything is a little easier for me.  Tev doesn't have much magic, but he says the same thing.  Even Alouette, whose magic is innate and half instinctual, has mentioned that she finds takeoff and landing just a bit easier, as if her flight magic is being bolstered when she's near you."  She looked away, "It is mentioned in a few of the books.  Supposedly it is a result of the bond between creator and creation, though I wonder what that could mean in the case of your...Aurelian teacher."

He looked away, uncomfortable.

Trixie cleared her throat, "Well, no matter.  If you were taught by someone with limited talent, and I'm guessing he was taught by another such...well it would explain your lack of focus.  But I don't understand how you've managed not to burn yourself up, casting spells like the restricted one that brought you here."

"Burn myself up?"  His looked back to her, eyebrows raised.

"Yes!"  She looked disturbed, "There's no way you could focus a major spell with that kind of...well, rudimentary control.  Channeling that much power so roughly should just burn your mind out."

He pondered that for a moment, "Well, all I was trying to do was lift, there...telekinesis, you called it.  It felt different when I would use another technique.  I could try something else, though everything is failing right now."

She gave him a measuring look, then nodded, and watched him closely.

"I'll try to form a stationary shield."  Focusing again, he recalled how it felt to form a shield, and tried to make it happen.  He could almost get it, almost feel the power begin to coalesce, but then it faltered as had everything before, and he tossed the power away.  He glanced at Trixie to see her looking even more shocked.  "Well?"

She glanced up at him, utterly bewildered.  "I...I don't understand.  It was still very ragged, and rough around the edges, but at its core it was orders of magnitude more coherent than before.  I don't understand how you can be utterly unfocused at one time, and so much more at another."  She paused for a moment, thinking, then looked at him sharply, frowning, "The same person could not have taught you both techniques!"

"Well, no," he shook his head, "Kelehm only taught me basic telekinesis.  Everything else-"

Eyes widening, she interrupted, "Wait, just how many techniques could you use?"

He thought for a moment, "Well, I could augment my jumps, but that felt almost the same as telekinesis...  I could place stationary shields that would block physical attacks, or hold a spherical shell around myself that somehow blocked outside attacks while letting my own through.  And I could fire off...well, it seemed like pure energy.  Bolts and beams of it.  The effect on targets was...like a burn, but it cut through their entire body."  He paused, "That was before I found the artifact."

Trixie looked a bit shocked, as she asked, "Yes, the artifact.  Tell me about that."

"Well, it was on the Aurelian homeworld, in a hidden chamber that…" he looked a tad embarrassed "…well, seemed like it was built as a shrine to my people.  There was a statue there, of a human form.  When I entered, something took me, and seemed to look me over…actually, it felt a lot like when the Anchor Seal was examining me.  Then the chamber opened, and inside was a small stone pyramid.  As soon as I picked it up, it was easier to draw power, and I felt something similar to how I usually learned new techniques, and was able to...to warp time I guess."

"Warp time?"  She looked skeptical, "As in time travel?"

He shook his head, "No, nothing that drastic, but I could throw myself across a room in a moment, to attack an enemy.  Eventually I got good enough at it that I could put myself in a little bubble of slowed-down time.  It took a lot out of me, but it's the only reason I'm alive, and not the hundreds of Seekers I've fought."

The pony hesitated at the number, then shook her head and tried to get back on track, "Okay, so all of these abilities, you said after basic telekinesis you learned them all the same way?"

Gideon looked at her for a moment, then nodded, "Well, my ego wants to say I made it up, and," he coughed, "and also doesn't want you to think I'm crazy..."

She smirked at him, "If your world truly had no magic, I'm sure I've seen and heard of many more strange things than you can throw at me.  In fact, I remember you saying something about this that first day...something about abilities 'flowing into you'?"

He smiled at her, then glanced around, and sat back down.  "Well...  It always happened after a stressful event."  His face took on a pained look.  "Most often after I watched someone close to me die.  Something about...I don't know, the despair, the desperation, the desire to protect myself and others, it was like it triggered something that helped me."

Frowning, Trixie prompted, "something?"

"It..." he closed his eyes "...it was power.  Flowing around and through me.  I don't know where it came from, but it was visible in the real world, too.  Enorym saw it happen, once--was able to confirm what I saw.  A white and golden light that wouldn't harm me, but would toss away anybody nearby.  There was so much of it, the overflow would lift me off the ground, slightly.  It was comforting, and exhilarating at the same time.  Then...it would teach me."  He opened his eyes, and looked at her, "It was like having someone show you how to do something by reaching around and taking your hands."  He continued, flexing his hands unconsciously, "It would show me...how it felt to shape my power into a new configuration."  He looked away.  "Then it would fade, but all I had to do was remember that feeling, and focus my own power into the right shape, and I would have a new ability.  It always took a bit of practice to get it perfect, but even the first use was always...quite effective."  He looked pained again, and swallowed.

Trixie was silent for a moment, pondering what he'd said.  "The way you handle magic, and the way you talk about it: about how it feels...it reminds me of what I've heard of the few unicorns that have been raised without any magic lessons.  They still usually learn to use their powers, but it is much rougher and more intuitive than schooled magic use.  So it makes sense to me that, with no formal training, your teacher and you would have a more intuitive grasp of magic."

He glanced up at her.  "So...how do you experience magic?"

"Well," she gathered her thoughts, "the first thing a young unicorn learns is to see auras, and control her own…her own innate power field.  That's really what I was talking about when I said you looked unfocused, or ragged--your aura is what you use to weave power into the form you desire, and when you spoke of feeling like your hands were being guided to show you new magic, that must have been…something…effectively teaching you intuitive aural control."  She walked over, and retook her seat next to Gideon.  "Once some degree of aural focus is achieved, a pony is able to use telekinesis, which is basically just using your aura to move physical things; though, once you learn to summon power from the world around you, you can add that in order to lift heavier objects.  Finally, with focus and power-summoning down, you learn to use your aura to weave the power into the pattern for the spell you want.  Of course most ponies will have some difficulty with most spells, until they find the ones that fit their special talent.  After enough practice, it becomes second nature...I guess sort of intuitive, because you don't really notice what you're doing to your aura, but it's all there."

"Huh..."  He looked chagrined, "I guess I really did have a rudimentary education in this."

She smiled at him, "Not really surprising.  From what you said, it seems like Terra might be the only world left where real, skilled magic is used."  Her face sobered, "As for the other thing, your…'phantom teacher'.  It's entirely conjecture, but your description of the physical effects--the shining light, the floating--it does remind me of one thing.  I've heard descriptions of a set of ancient artifacts, the Elements of Harmony, being used.  While the visuals are somewhat different, the overall effect is similar, and might give a hint of the source of your power and instruction."

She hesitated.  "But to talk about it, you'll have to understand a little of how magic works."  She stood up.  "I'm getting a little tired of holding this warmth spell.  Perhaps we could continue this in the library?"

"Oh!"  He quickly got up.  "I didn't realize, sorry."

"No, it's fine."  She waved a hoof, smiling.  "I only just started to feel it.  I could hold it for hours more, I just wouldn't be very energetic by the end."

He returned her smile, and they departed.

***

Tev was alone in the tower when the pony and human entered.  He was sitting near the fire, working a piece of wood.  He hadn't yet determined what it would be, but this particular piece seemed to be leaning towards an avian shape.  The door opened, and the pair walked in, both looking thoughtful.

The pony glanced around and saw Tev, then nodded to the human, "Go ahead, I'll just make us some tea."

The human nodded, waved at Tev, and ascended the stairs.

Taking a teapot, the pony threw in a portion of various herbs.  She moved the pot of water that was kept warm near fire to be closer, then sat, and glanced at Tev.

He just raised his eyebrows.

She rubbed her forehead with a hoof, then sighed.  "He...he doesn't know anything, Tev.  The basics of magic, rudimentary aura control, nothing.  His training is almost nonexistent.  And yet..." she trailed off.

Tev waited a while, until he noticed the water was getting close to a boil.  "...yet?"

She started, and looked up at him, then relaxed a bit.  "Yet he can draw so much power...and I think he may have some sort of access to the Flux."

He blinked, and processed that.  "No real training, and access to that kind of power...he is truly a dangerous individual."

The pony just nodded, and then saw that the water was boiling.  She filled the teapot, then refilled the pot from a water barrel, and put it back in its original spot.  Two mugs and the teapot began to levitate, as she moved towards the stairs.

"Trixie."

She looked towards him, seeming surprised.

He hesitated, before saying, "Perhaps he can be helped to be less dangerous."

She stared at him for a moment, then nodded thoughtfully, and began to ascend.

Tev sighed, and looked back to his carving.  He turned it over in his hand, and decided it wanted to be a bluebird, in flight.