//------------------------------// // Issue 02 // Story: Lightning Rod // by SlimShadow //------------------------------// LIGHTNING ROD ISSUE #02 “That was a good meal for someone who can’t smell bacon.” I complimented to Twilight. “Thanks, Rod.” Twilight returned the favor. “I mainly do it all by eye.” “So when does training start?” “It’ll begin around an hour or so. I have to prepare a curriculum.” “Okay, so what’s involved in this curriculum of yours?” “First, I will teach you the basics of magic. I’ll start you off with basic spells, and we’ll move you up and see what specialty your magic is.” “Specialty?” “It’s usually a basic element, such as fire, water, wind, nature, and so on. Mine’s star magic, which is really powerful.” “I can tell you hone your craft very well.” “Yes, she does.” Spike interjected, “She was the one that hatched me with a spell.” “Really?” “Yes, I did. And that was a day that I’ll never forget.” The next sound that was heard was a “Ding dong” from two large sounding bells. Twilight got up from her sitting pillow, “I’ll go get that. Go hide somewhere, Rod. I don’t want to scare whoever’s behind that door.” I followed her advice and hid behind the couch. She went towards the door and opened it with a spell. A gray pony with a blonde mane and yellow lazy eyes was at the door with a package that had a red fabric wrapping, a golden thread wrapped around it, and a piece of paper stitched into the top of the package. “I have a package for you, Twilight Sparkle.” The pony yelled out. “Ditzy! What a pleasant surprise.” Twilight smiled. “Thanks, Twilight. My boss told me I must give you a paper to sign.” She grabbed a clipboard out from his mail bag and placed it in front of Twilight, who levitated the pen and signed the paper. “Thanks for delivering the package, Ditzy.” Twilight commended. “Hold on a sec, I’m gonna give you a muffin.” “Gee thanks, Twilight. You always give me muffins.” Twilight galloped into the kitchen and instantly came out floating a muffin. “Here you go, Ditzy.” Twilight gave it to Ditzy, who, in turn, grabbed it and ate it in two bites. “Thanks, Twilight. You always give me muffins. Wait… Did I say that already? Oh well, On to the next package. Bye!” Ditzy flew away, and then Twilight levitated the package into the library and closed the door. “It’s okay to come out now, Rod.” Twilight called. I popped out from behind the couch, and sat back down. She observed the pieces of paper that were on the top of the package, “It’s from Princess Celestia.” Spike suggested, “Let’s open it.” “Yeah, Let’s see what’s inside.” I agreed. Twilight proceeded to untie the golden thread and unravel the red fabric in one sweep of magic. What appeared were a letter and two books. Twilight proceeded to read the letter, “My faithful student, Twilight Sparkle, I read about your troubles with your new student. So I decided to give you some aid in teaching your friend about magic and to prepare him to accept a huge responsibility to bring magic into his realm. But I know that he will carry out this new calling with flying colours. I delivered you two books to give to him, and they are ‘A Unicorn Starter’s Guide to Magic’ and ‘Mastering your Element: A Guide for Mastering Magic Specialties’ I’ll visit you and your new friend in a week to see how well he has progressed. That will be plenty of time. If you need more time, I’ll just slow down the sun for you. I believe in you, Twilight. Princess Celestia PS: I also have a letter for your new friend as well. He should read it by himself. It’s located in the cover page of the Starter’s Guide.” Twilight levitated one of the books to me and said, “Well, It’s the Princess’s orders.” I’ll go up to my bedroom and prepare my curriculum. Come on, Spike. I need to get a few books once I get up.” “Right behind you, Twilight.” Spike followed Twilight into the stairwell. I opened up the book and found the letter immediately. It read: Dear stranger: I know that your brain is such a mess right now, and you are certainly overwhelmed with so many emotions, such as fear, curiosity, loneliness, but I want you to know that I wish you the best with this new gift that you have. I don’t know much about your people, but all I know is that your world is a very dark place to live in. It’s full of war, poverty, starvation and thirst. Do I know anything about you? No, I don’t, but I know this; that you are fully capable of fulfilling your newly found calling. I know it because you will have friends that will help you. Yes, Twilight Sparkle is one of them, but you will meet plenty of other friends soon; some of them being ponies, some of them being your race. There are others of your kind that are living in Ponyville right now, being trained by friends of Twilight’s. They’ll be friends of yours soon enough. I’m writing this letter to tell you that you are and will be never alone, no matter what trouble you face. I hope that’s what you want to hear. Good luck and feel free to respond. Princess Celestia I didn’t help but to have a smile on my face after reading that letter. There were humans going through the same thing I am going through. Maybe I’ll meet them soon. But right now, I have training to get through. I folded up the letter and slid it into my back jeans pocket. After that, I flipped through the pages of the book: Title page, foreword, table of contents, appendices, et cetera, There we go, Chapter one: Kinetic spells. The page had a diagram of a unicorn lifting up a weight using magic from his horn, and bold text that read, “To start off your magical journey, you should be familiar with the simplest of spells: Levitation, and other kinetic spells. To start off, you will need to know what a spell is.” I turned the page to see another diagram that looked like an x-ray of a unicorn’s head with its horn connected to its brain. It read, “A unicorn’s horn is connected to his/her brain. The horn can process a signal from the brain to the elements in the unicorn’s environment which can be manipulated to his/her choosing. These manipulations are called spells.” I kept on reading to get a grasp on magic, even though it wasn’t getting to the point. Then I found the page on how to do kinetic spells. “A kinetic spell is summoning a field of protons and electrons at a certain item and using molecular forces to move it wherever. It’s easier done than said. Just concentrate on the item that you wish to move, use your horn to send a signal to the item, and imagine it floating. It will soon float. Start with small items, then move up to bigger ones.” I saw a fork still lying on the table. “My old enemy, the fork.” I humored myself. “I will conquer you.” I concentrated on the fork, using my eyes, as well as my horn. I immediately formed an aura around the fork, surprisingly with less of a headache, and then I lifted it, using only my mind. I smiled and laughed in celebration. I moved it around, rotated it, up, down, left, right, sideways, square-ways, any way that I could think of at the time. Then I saw a candle and a holder on a bookshelf. I decided to concentrate on that. I lifted it up with no problem, and I guided it over to my hand. I grabbed it and placed it on the table. Then there was the other textbook. I lifted it up, again, with no problem. I decided to do something interesting. I moved the book as fast as I could towards my hand. I felt like I caught a fastball. I let out a soft, yet painful scream. I set it on the table, and proceeded to randomly skim through the pages using my mind. I also read up on the various stuff I can do, such as moving multiple items, bending objects, and so on. I felt like I can move the couch I was sitting under. So I got up and tried to move the heavy couch. I started with sliding. I was starting to feel a headache, but I kept concentrating. I managed to slide it, then I tried lifting it up. My headache was intensifying. I managed to lift it up by one half of an inch, and then I heard a “Rod?” that broke my concentration. The couch clopped back to the floor. “Getting warmed up, I see.” Twilight remarked. “Yeah, you can say that.” I responded. “Well, I got the curriculum all prepared. Days 1 and 2 will be learning basic spells, Day 3 will be finding your specialty, Day 4 and 5 will be specialty training, Day 6 will be application, and Day 7 will be graduation from Twilight Sparkle’s School of Magical Hard Knocks. Are you ready?” “Ready as I’ll ever be.” So I started learning the basic spells of the trade. Everything from light spells, to more advanced kinetic spells, to even self-levitation. It was awesome. She fed me the three basic meals. I didn’t have a chance to eat two meals a day with my work schedule. I got to sleep more comfortably in my makeshift bed at night. Second day, I was mastering what I have learned. I was also learning some new tricks, such as teleportation, phasing, and heavier and more intricate kinetic spells. Heck, I could move the couch more easily. Third day, we were inside the library’s basement, looking in the book, “Auras: A Reference Guide to Unlocking a Unicorn’s Potential” “Well, thankfully, this book has a ROYGBIV index, so let’s start at yellow.” “Right.” Twilight flipped the pages over to the yellow index. There was a table of contents listing a small list of elements associated with that color, including fire, flower, gold, light, lightning, and sun. All of them were listed in alphabetical order. “This book comes with a flow chart test, so we can find your specialty faster. Wanna try it out?” Twilight suggested. “Yeah sure.” I had no objection. She turned the page over to reveal the flow chart, and began to read the top part of it, “To find out what your specialty is, try lighting a candle. This will be nearly effortless for a fire or a sun specialty unicorn to achieve. If it takes some effort to light a candle, then you are either light or lightning. If you feel over-exerted when you have performed the task, then you are either flower or gold.” Twilight added her commentary, “Don’t worry. I’ve done this test before. It ended up being between darkness and star magic. I didn’t want to be darkness. The final filter spell was a bright light spell, and I was able to know that I was a star specialty. So don’t be embarrassed when you find out that you can’t light a candle with your mind. You might be named Golden-Rod” “Heh, thanks for the encouragement.” I said with a hint of sarcasm. Twilight pushed me on track, “On with the test.” “Right.” I nodded. She instructed, “To do this spell, you must focus your energy towards the wick. The aura that you generate will either light it up instantly, gradually, or very slowly. That’s how the filter works.” “Okay…” I turned my focus onto the candle, trying to light it. It took me around fifteen seconds to light it using magic. “You feel exasperated?” Twilight asked. “Nope, not at all.” I honestly answered. “Good. At least you’re not a flower unicorn.” “Heh, thank God.” I laughed, and then Twilight brought my attention back to the filter test. “So the next test is a bright light test. This is to determine if you are a light specialty. To perform this spell, you must exert more energy than a regular light spell. If you find that you are giving great amounts of energy without getting significantly brighter results than a basic light spell, then the next test will prove if you are a lightning or another type. Ready, Rod?” “Ready as I’ll ever be.” “Let there be light!” I started out with a small light, then it grew once I concentrated harder on making light. I breathed in and out hard and tried to work myself on creating the biggest light I can get. I started dripping sweat, and I felt my head throbbing. After over two minutes of concentration, I gave up. I fell to my knees, totally exhausted. I looked up to Twilight, “So how was it” “Not bright enough.” Twilight answered, “Let me show you how bright it should be.” Once she said it, her horn grew very bright instantly. She made the light grow brighter and brighter until it was blinding like the sun. And the thing was that she did it effortlessly. “Wow. That was amazing.” “Thank you, Rod. Now for the last test: Lightning. This requires an ammeter.” “Alright. Now we’re getting a bit electric.” I made a crack at a cheesy one-liner. Twilight placed the heavy-duty ammeter on the table and extended its electrodes out towards me on a rubber square. “The test requires you to form a lightning bolt that can generate approximately ten thousand amps.” “Alright. How does that spell work?” “First, you must pay attention to the ammeter’s electrodes, then you must generate a whole bunch of energy from your horn, then strike at the target. Easy enough?” “Okay.” I nervously confirmed. “So start building up energy.” I did just that. A bit exasperated from the test, I concentrated on generating as much energy that I can to shock that ammeter. I didn’t feel any headache, but I was still concentrating on generating an electrical charge. Later on while charging, I felt the headache come back, but I was still generating. After another thirty seconds, I let it all out on the ammeter. I let out a lightning bolt that lit the whole room and charred the electrodes. Twilight read the results. “The ammeter reads seven point three thousand amps. Pretty good for someone who took the light test just before. Funny thing is I forgot to read the instruction on the one hour break after performing the light test. Sorry if you feel overworked.” I was down on my knees again, trying to catch my breath. “It’s alright.” I breathed out, “It’s a good morning’s workout.” “Good.” She trotted upstairs, “Come upstairs and rest on the couch. I’ll prepare some lemonade for you.” “Thanks.” I slowly walked up the stairs to the living room and laid on the couch. I thought to myself of how much progress I was making with the new superpower stuff. I got to unlock new powers I thought I’d never have, and find a new friend that can teach me how to make these powers my… “Lemonade’s ready.” Twilight trotted out of a kitchen, a pitcher of lemonade and a glass at-aura. She gently sat everything down on the coffee table. “The whole pitcher’s yours.” “Thanks, Twilight.” I poured myself a glass, “I might not drink it all, but it’ll definitely refresh me.” “Good. You may need the energy, because we are going to do the test again. I’m going to study up on lightning powers so I can teach you how to do lightning-based magic.” “Alright.” Twilight grabbed a few books from the shelf and trotted up the stairs. As I was taking a drink of the lemonade, the doorbell rang, and then I heard a high-pitched chatty voice from behind the door. “Twilight! Twilight Twilight Twilight! It’s me, Pinkie Pie. I have so much to tell you about the last few days. I got a letter from Princess Celestia that I was going to train someone because I have the Element of Laughter, and then the next day, Boom! A strange being appeared in the bakery. He said that he was a human. I didn’t know how to train him, so I had to think of how to train him so he could bring the Element of Laughter to his world, because his world is so gloomy-doomy, so we made cupcakes, pies, muffins, and all sorts of baked goods. Oh, and we also…” I was continuing her ramblings on about her new friendship with the human temporarily trapped in this world in hopes I could extract some information. “… and I talked to Fluttershy about my human friend, and it also seems that she was training another human so she could bring the Element of Kindness to his world. So I was thinking that maybe all six of us have someone to train. So we went to Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash, and they all had one. But it was getting late so we all got our human friends together and had a party, and we had a good time. Later on, our five humans were at your place trying to see if you were training a human just like us. So they went to your place and found out that your human’s name was Rod and that he just recently came to your world. So are you training him about Magic, Twilight? Hm, hm, hm?” Then I heard Twilight from upstairs, “If it’s Pinkie Pie, tell her that that I’ll talk to her this evening. I’m busy researching with Spike, so could you please tell Pinkie pie that I’ll visit her later on, that would be great.” I had no choice but to talk to her. “I’m sorry, Pinkie, but Twilight is busy researching.” “Oooohhh, Is this Rod I am talking to?” “Yes, it is.” “May I come in? May I? Please please please please please?” “Sure. Just be quiet. I think she’s deep into her studies.” “Don’t worry. I know Twilight. I keep quiet when she’s studying.” I opened the door, and I saw a pink pony with a cotton candy mane and tail and three balloons on her flank. “Hi, Rod. Nice to meet you. You have a nice horn, like that other guy that Rarity’s teaching, but it isn’t as pointy and long as yours.” “Gee, thanks.” I began to blush, trying to not let my mind go under. She silenced herself to a whisper, “Oh yeah, I forgot. Twilight’s studying.” I sat back on the couch and drank my lemonade. Pinkie sat next to me. “Looks like you can’t drink it all by yourself.” She noticed the pitcher. “No I can’t, but Twilight gave me this pitcher so I can recover for my next test.” “So you are testing? Testing for what?” “I’m actually learning magic. I’m discovering lots of stuff.” “Wow. Tell me all about it. I’m all ears.” “Well…” And so our hero has discovered his power and he knows he is not alone in this new world. He makes a new friend, and is bound to make new ones. But the burning question is who are they, and what is their mission when they get back to Earth? Keep your eyes on the comic book shelves or subscribe for the next issue of LIGHTNING ROD!