//------------------------------// // A Day of Magic // Story: The Magic of the Earth // by Cameron Nightshade //------------------------------// I stepped into Twilight’s library with my head held high. I knew I would do so well today. I might even earn my cutie mark! Twilight looked up from a book she was reading. “Oh. Hey, Dawn. So I was just reading about what new spells I should teach you. I noticed you were having troubles with Levitation, so I decided to go onto creating light. I know. this seems like it’s easy, but it shows how well you can handle magic,” Twilight explained. “Most unicorns practice making light first, so they can channel their magic easier. So try it out!” I nodded my head, and I closed my eyes. I thought about making light. How the light is produced, and how it moves through the world around us. I focused my magic. I felt the warm light surround my hoof. Opening my eyes, I saw that light was actually being made! As I gasped in surprise, the light fell dim. “Darn it!” I shouted. Twilight walked over to me. “It’s okay. You just need to learn how to do magic, and be able to do other things. The harder spells you get, the harder it is to multitask like that. But for this being your first time, you did very well. Your light was very bright. The more times that you end up doing magic, the more skilled you get, so the brighter your light is. You are very talented at magic!” Twilight said. I blushed lightly. “You know,” I began, “I really want to be able to levitate items without having to point my hoof at them. It gets annoying, and it can get really hard if I have to pick up multiple items.” Twilight looked around at her books. Rushing forward, she grabbed a book on levitation. “Well, I guess we can try. What I would say is keep your eyes open, and focus on an object. Focus your magic onto that object, and try to lift it with your mind. It may be easier than using your hoof, so,” -she set the book on levitation on the floor- “try to levitate this,” she finished. Once again, I looked at the book. Instead of focusing my magic on my hoof and an object, I just focused it on the book. A light blue aura surrounded the book. Even though I was very happy, I didn’t let it stray me from my levitation spell. I went to pick up the book. It wobbled off of the floor, and I moved it over to the desk. I carefully set it down on the wooden desk. Twilight beamed at me. “Good job, Dawn! Spike!” she called. The small dragon came running out of the kitchen as fast as his legs could carry him. “Yes, Twilight?” “Take a letter,” Spike grabbed a piece of parchment and a quill. “Dear Princess Celestia, I am happy to report that Dawn is doing quite well in mer magical studies under my teaching. She can now levitate objects using her mind, and she does not have to point her hoof at it to move it. She has also been able to create a very bright light. As you know, the brighter the light the unicorn, or in this case, Earth Pony, can produce, the better their magic can be. I believe that once her studies are finished under my care, she will be a very special pony. Princess of Equestria, and Princess of Magic and Friendship, Princess Twilight Sparkle.” Spike took a deep breath and blew fire onto the rolled up letter, and sent it on it’s way to Princess Celestia. I took a step forward. “Twilight? Why did you send a letter to the Princess? I thought you weren’t her student anymore. So why do you still send her letters?” I asked. Twilight looked at me. “Well, I guess I still do it so she knows how I’m doing. As far as I know, she hasn’t gotten another personal protegee, but even though I am not her student, I still like to be in touch with her,” Twilight explained to me. “Oh, I forgot to mention, you can go back to school. Just don’t let your magic show and if anyone asks why you haven’t been at school for the past few days, tell them that you were helping me, and if they have any more questions, to come talk to me.” I nodded my head in agreement. “So, lets get back to practicing!” “Okay. This is going to be a hard task, but I am going to ask you to teleport. No, I’m not asking you to teleport far, just over to where I’m standing,” Twilight turned around and walked over to the middle of the room. It was probably about 20 hooves from where I was standing. “This is a hard magical concept, and not many fillies, or unicorns in general can teleport. It takes lots of concentration. You have to put the magic into yourself. Once you do that, concentrate on the place where you want to move. Then, imagine yourself jumping there in a single leap, but you don’t move your legs at all. So, try it out.” I stood there, terrified. I knew it wasn’t far, but something that big scared me. After about a minute of coaxing myself to try it, I began the steps. Step one, channel the magic into yourself. I gathered all the magic I could. I let it flow through my body, from my tail to the tip of my nose. I brought in all the magic I could hold, and let it stay within me. Step two, concentrate on where you wish to move. I looked to a space just in front of Twilight. I looked at it carefully, and I decided where I wanted to end up. Step three, imagine yourself jumping there in a single jump. I closed my eyes, and thought about getting there as fast I could. The warmth of the magic crowded around me as I set off my magic. Step four, actually move to the intended spot. I kept my eyes closed, and thought about getting to that one spot. I let my magic do its work. I felt it building, trying to do the spell that I wanted it to do. Soon, the magic depleted. I opened my eyes slowly, thinking that I didn’t move anywhere. When my eyes were open all the way, I noticed Twilight standing just in front of me. I looked behind me. A small bit of magic was left behind where I used to stand. I looked back at Twilight. “D-did I just- did I just teleport here?” I asked shakily. Twilight slowly nodded her head. “I didn’t think that you would be able to do that. Teleporting is a very hard spell to master. I can’t believe you did that! I’m so proud of you!” Twilight exclaimed. I jumped up and down excitedly. “I just teleported! Me! The Earth Pony, just teleported!” I shouted in happiness. “Spike!” I called out. He came rushing out of the kitchen once more. “Yes?” “Take a letter! Dear Princess Celestia, today I am proud to report, that I teleported! It was hard at first, but I did it! I was standing about 20 hooves away from Twilight, and she told me to try to teleport over to her. I thought she was crazy, but I trusted her. As I built up the magic around me, and it depleted, I was crushed. I thought the spell didn't work at all! But then I opened my eyes, and I was right in front of Twilight!” “Spike, don’t forget to mention that Dawn has now received her cutie mark,” Twilight interjected. I looked at my flank. There it was. A cutie mark. A blue, six-pointed star. I knew that meant magic. “Princess Celestia! I received my cutie mark! A six-pointed star, kinda like Twilight’s! Except mine is a light blue, and it doesn’t have extra stars around it. Your faithful - very happy - subject, Dawn Shadow of Ponyville,” I concluded. Spike rolled up the letter, and sent that letter off to Princess Celestia as well. I look back up at Twilight. “Wait, what if somepony asks me what my cutie mark means?” Twilight looked at me with wide eyes. “Uhm just say that you have learned about stars. The only pony you can actually tell what your cutie mark actually means if your friend, and your family. Don’t speak of it to anyone else. Well, until the time is right,” Twilight said to me. I nodded my head once more. I went back to try to teleport back to my original spot. Since I was now farther than originally, this time would be harder, but I was determined to make it all across the room. I gathered up my magic, and repeated the same steps as before. The only thing different from last time is that I could feel myself being pulled away from the spot that I was at, and being deposited onto my intended spot. I breathed in and out; my body wasn’t used to being pulled so far away that fast. I knew I completed this teleportation faster than the first time. It was a strange feeling, but I was still proud of myself for being able to do that. Spike came out of the kitchen once more and had a piece of parchment in his small claws. It looked like it was from Princess Celestia. He unrolled it and began to speak: “‘Dear Princess Twilight, and Dawn Shadow, I am pleased to hear that Dawn’s practices are going well. I am also pleased to hear that Dawn has received her cutie mark. A cutie mark is very important for a young pony. I am also pleased to hear that Dawn was able to teleport. That is a very hard spell to do. I look forward to hearing from you in the future. Signed, Princess Celestia of Equestria, Princess of the Sun, and High Co-Ruler of Equestria.’” Spike concluded. “Thank you, Spike,” Twilight told Spike. He closed the letter, put it in a drawer full of other letters -probably from Princess Celestia as well- and went back to the kitchen. I looked up at the clock and saw that it was already 4:00. “Oh gosh. I better be heading home. I’ll see you tomorrow after school, Twilight. Thank for the lesson today!” I said as I rushed out the door. I could have teleported home, but I was worn out from all the magic use from today. When I got home, I told my parents all about my day and how I teleported. They were so proud of me. Once I finished dinner, I immediately fell asleep.