//------------------------------// // The Spell...and...a spell caster // Story: Just Who Should I Be? // by ElementOfHope //------------------------------// "Alan! Alan, wake up!" Once again my rest is interrupted by a pair of hooves pushing at my side. Don't these ponies know the value of sleep? My eyes lazily open, seeing the roof of the library. A nearby window reveals that it's still the middle of the night. The pair of hooves jabbing at my side continue till my head raises to see who they belonged to. "Good, you're finally awake!" Twilight said before levitating a book in front of my muzzle. "Look! I found the right spell! I told you it would be in one of these books somewhere!" Energy seems to return to me in an instant as I spring to my hooves. "Seriously? Twilight, you did it!" I said almost loosing all sense of restraint and trying to hug her only to be brought back to reality by a book tripping me. "Quick! We have to cast it right away!" She said as she began to light up her horn and not noticing the fact I tripped. "W-wait Twilight!" I said stumbling to my hooves. "What is it?" She said, horn now without it's glow. "Don't you want to go home?" "Of course I do, but don't you think we could wait till morning? That way I can say a proper goodbye to everypony?" I say glancing out a window at the bright moon. "Oh...how could I have forgotten that?" She said shaking her head, making her mane move like waves. "It's ok, you just got really excited." I say placing a hoof to her back. "This is wonderful news after all, but I do admit that it also comes with sadness." "I see..." She said, seeming to understand what I meant, it being that I would have to say goodbye to my newfound friends. "It's ok. Even if it was for such a short time, I would never have wished it never happened." I say smiling bringing a smile to her face as well. "Someone wise from my world said, 'Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened.' After all this, I doubt I will ever look back at this moment and not have a smile." "You're right..." Twilight said teleporting back to her bed. "I feel the same way." She looked at me. "It's already late," She said tossing a blanket and a couple pillows. "You should get some rest." She said giving a short chuckle. "Well I would have if a certain purple pony didn't wake me." I said giving a wink. We both quietly laughed trying not to cause more disturbance to the two other ponies in the room. "Good night" Twilight said escaping my view. "Yeah, good night" ************************************ "So this is really it..." Rainbow dash said as she flew above Applejack and Rairty. Morning had come a lot faster than I would have liked it and when the others were called, they wasted no time. It also helped that two were already in attendance as well. Since we did not know each other that long there were no tears, save the few that Pinkie shed for a few seconds only to be replaced by a smile and almost quoting the same quote I had said to Twilight word for word. Fluttershy did look like she had misty eyes but she held them back. Rarity, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash gave smiles of encouragement. Spike rested in his bed still, he didn't know me besides a few words so I didn't feel the need to wake him. "Yeah, I guess it is, but this is what we worked for right?" I said looking at them all one by one. "Right." They all confirmed. "Thank you....everypony. While my stay here was short and the longest any of you had known me was a day, I still feel like all of you will always be my friends and I will never forget all that you have done for me. In one day you have shown me more kindness, generosity, loyalty, laughter, and honesty than I have ever known. I would never have thought that my life could be changed, even just a bit, by a group of such wonderful ponies....and who knows...maybe I might get to come back and visit someday...somehow." I said laughing to mask the small amount of tears I felt. "I'm sure we would all like that." Twilight said smiling. "You'd better come back so we can hang more." "Maybe next time I can introduce you to all my animals." "I will already have such a nice design for you when you when you return." "Maybe you'll be lucky an show up around cider season" "It will be a "Welcome back to Ponyville we've missed you so much when you were gone and now you're finally back again!" Party!" We all laughed before falling silent, everypony with a smile and no frowns at all. "I'm glad I met all of you..." I said tuning to Twilight. "Ok...I'm ready..." "Yes." she nodded as she prepared the spell. "Bye!" Pinkie and Rainbow waved. "Good bye Alan" Fluttershy tried to yell but still had sound just the same. "Do come back soon." Rarity nodded "Later Alan" Applejack tipped her hat. The magic around Twilight's horn surged and looked like it was ready to burst as it flowed with energy. "Goodbye." Twilight said as she looked up for one second. "Goodbye...everypony." I said standing ready. The glow on Twilight's horn grew brighter and brighter until...it finally burst into a large amount of purple light, sending a bolt of magic at me. I braced myself, closing my eyes for what I thought to be pain as I felt the spell hit me head on. The only time I had felt a spell before was the one that sent me here and most of the pain came more from it throwing me instead of the spell itself but this time it wasn't like that at all. Instead of pain it felt more like a tickle. The intense crackling of the spell subsided and I opened my eyes one by one. I expected to see the abandoned mansion where it all began, still in ruins from what had transpired there but what I did see...was a little more shocking. There was everypony still standing there, in the library, with looks of confusion on their faces except for Twilight who had just now looked up and jumping to see I was still there. "What? But you're supposed to be...hold on I'll try it again!" She lit up her horn again and cast it. Once again I braced myself only to just feel the same sensation. The spell once again didn't work and I was still standing here in the library. "Why isn't it...ah!" She said quickly bringing a hoof to her head. "Twilight, please do be more careful." Rarity says rushing up to her. "Casting a spell like this can't be easy." "Yeah, maybe my magic isn't enough to cast this spell." She said shaking her head and gesturing that she was fine now to Rarity. "...but It worked before....I even tested it out on an apple and it just went back to the tree I picked it from. This spell is supposed to send things back to their homes, hence the name 'go home' spell." "Well, maybe it doesn't work because Alan is from another world," Fluttershy said as she made her way next to Alan. "Maybe it's too far away for your magic to send him." "But if that's the case then how are we supposed to send Alan back home? We have the right spell." Twilight said raising her hooves to her temples. "Argh! We're so close yet so far!" "Don't worry Twilight, if there is a way I'm sure we can figure it out." I said trying to calm her. "Even though the spell doesn't exactly work, it still exists, we just need to find somepony who has more magic right?" "Yeah I guess so, but where in Equestria....wait! I know just the right pony for the job!" She says cheering up. "Really? who?" I ask. Twilight trots to her front door and kicks it open. "Come on girls!...and Alan," She says almost forgetting that the room also contained a stallion. "We're going to see the princess!" "Hey yeah! The princess has more than enough magic to raise the sun. Sending Alan home should be a snap!" Rainbow Dash says as she makes her way to the door. Everypony else in the room agrees to this as well but I, being the outsider have my doubts. "The princess? You mean your ruler, right? Why would she help us?" "Well I am her student after all," Twilight says proudly. "All I have to do is explain the situation to her and I'm sure she will be more than happy to help." "I guess your right..." My mind trails off to try and picture what might happen but is soon interupted by Applejack. "Ah course she'd right!" She says pushing me out the door. "Now hurry up! If we're gonna make it to Canterlot, we better get to the train station right away!" Before I have a chance to protest, I soon find myself trotting with the six colorful ponies to the train. Where this will lead to is anypony's guess though. ******************************** Outside the train station a young mare is reading a book and taking a large amount of notes on a nearby note book. She doesn't see the six mares drag Alan onto the train though and before she can look up to check the train has already gone. She brushes her crimson red and silver mane from her face and continiues reading. "Darn...missed the train again..." She levitated her quill and returned to her notes.