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Once I had woken up, I only remembered darkness from the sleep before. I sighed and wished that I was able to dream more often. It seemed like such fun, and when I was able to dream it was one of the best experiences I could ask for. I guess what my father had told me before was true. Things are always better when they aren’t regular. He had used the stars to explain this to me, since I didn’t understand half the things that came out of his mouth.
He told me that the stars were beautiful because we only saw them for short moments in the night before we fell asleep. If we saw the stars all day and night, they wouldn’t be magnificent at all, because they would be regular. I didn’t understand it still, but it made a little more sense. He was a wise stallion.
Another morning meant more chores. Before getting up I automatically checked the chair Pip was sleeping in. He wasn’t there. I assumed he had woken up early and just left. At least, I hoped he did. My parents wouldn’t kick him out, but I certainly hoped his parents didn’t come dragging him back to their horrid apartment. I’ve never seen it, but Pip’s description of it sounded awful.
Morning time. A quick goodbye to my parents as they rushed out the door and I was alone to do my chores. Every day, same routine. The only spontaneity I found in my life was the few hours I had to myself after I finished my chores. Life wasn’t as fun as I wanted it to be, but I’d have to deal with what I was given.
My chores consisted of mostly the same things every day. I’d clean the floor, dust off the little furniture we had, take out the little trash we had, clean the few dishes we had, prepared a small lunch for myself, and later prepared supper for the family. A few other chores tagged along every so often such as cleaning the window, organizing the rooms, and went into the nearby store to buy some food. Money was sparse for us, but there was a small amount that was set aside for food, and I was entrusted with access to it.
Although it may seem like these things wouldn’t take long in the small apartment I lived in, being a small filly made some of the chores difficult. Magic would make this so much easier, I thought as I inefficiently maneuvered the mop with my mouth. Any chore I did- dishwashing, preparing lunch, even washing the window- could be so much easier with the assistance of magic. With my chores done faster, I would have more time with my friends.
Dream as I may, chores were chores and doing them took a large portion of time out of my morning. It was nearly afternoon by the time I was done every single day. I’d eat a small lunch, sometimes even skipping the meal, and finish up my last chores. Next on the agenda, go outside.
The Park had been the place my friends and I had been playing in for a while, and ever since we started calling it the Park we rarely deviate from the area. Considering it’s only a small square of flat concrete ground, with a small dirt patch to the side, it wasn’t much to be desired for. Let alone offer anything fun to play with. It didn’t matter though, because we were always coming up with games to play. This particular day we decided to play tag.
Pegasi always had an unfair advantage when it came to tag, so they played their own game in the sky while the grounded ponies had no choice but to play on the ground. There were seven of us stranded on the floor, three unicorn and four earth ponies. I was one of the unicorns, along with two other fillies who were a couple years older than me. Both of them could use their horns to a basic degree, boasting their ability to levitate small objects and make things move through the air. I could only sit and watch in jealousy and despair, wondering when it would be my turn.
Pip was one of the four earth ponies, and the youngest, too. Two of them were my age, and were twin brothers. The other was an older filly who was a turquoise color. She took the role of leader within our small group. After agreeing that she would be “it” first, we ran around, yelling and laughing in the afternoon sun. It wasn’t long before we were all panting and resting in the shade.
Books. They were the one thing that could cool me off after an hour or two of running around. Not because I wasn’t moving when I read, but because it was relaxing. With everything that I have to deal with reading was the only thing that allowed me to take a break from the world. And the library was the door.
I smiled at the librarian as I trotted in, still sweating from the heat of the sun. Surveying the familiar titles once again, I looked for another guide to doing the levitation spell. There just had to be some sort of trick or some hints that would help. Each book seemed less helpful than the last one, and there weren’t many left to check. And there was certainly no chance of me going to the forbidden corner. At least, self-proclaimed as forbidden. My eyes scanned the shelves, absorbing all the titles.
Equestrian History, no, Advanced Magic for Unicorns, no, How to Fly for Pegasi, no, The Tale of Daring Do, no, The Fairy Potter series, no. Aha! I had found a book dealing with simple spells for beginning unicorns. It was perfect! Standing on two hooves, I reached it on its high perch on the shelf and pulled it out with my mouth. Sitting on the ground, I began to flip through the pages. My only thought was, Magic would make this so much easier.
Levitation. I stopped, there it was. Luckily I had seen the word and stopped flipping, or else I would’ve had to go back. The spells were under the “Telekinetic” section, which was dedicated to, as the book put it, “spells that moved objects through the spell and spell only. Requiring no use of physical instigation, relying on only the magic.” My eyes widened as I viewed the page. There was a lot more to levitation than I thought. I skimmed through the pages, trying to get the gist of the section. I learned more than I wanted to.
After finishing the section, I had found that the levitation spells I had been practicing were only a small part of the whole thing. Those spells only affected objects that weren’t already in motion. The spells concerning objects that already had momentum were different, and as the weight of an object increased, the ability to levitate it didn’t change at all. Instead, the difficulty surrounding the levitation was totally up to the size of the object. I had skipped all the details that explained why this was the case.
I had also learned that trying to telekinetically control another living thing was harder than I thought. Unlike inanimate objects, only the more advanced of the levitation spells could lift living things. Otherwise, the one being lifted and moved could easily break out of the magic that was controlling them. It was all fascinating, but way too much to take in, and at my level of magic I wasn’t concerned with any details. I looked for the most basic levitation spell. It was the first spell listed in the book, and the one with the least description underneath it.
Reading carefully through the block of text under the spell, I tried to absorb every last bit of information I could. Closing the book, I looked out in front of me, determination welling up inside. Placing the book back into the shelf where I had found it, I trotted outside the library to give the pebbles another try. Just like yesterday, they were lying motionless on the concrete, soaking up the sun.
Recalling what I had read moments before, I focused on my horn, directing my energy to it. Within a few seconds I could feel the spark that meant my horn was glowing and ready to cast the spell. I focused on the spell as much as I could. My mind kept jumping from the spell to the way my legs were trembling. I was sweating more than I had playing tag, but my eyes remained fixated on the rocks. One of the tricks to help learning the spell was to concentrate on what you were casting it on, according to the book. Thoughts of all the words on the pages I had read jumped into my mind and right out. I could feel the spell becoming more and more powerful as my horn glowed a little more.
The pebbles quivered, the spell finally taking effect. Now was the time to push. This was what all my previous practices were leading up to. I tried harder than I had ever before. Now the pebbles were shaking.
My hooves dug into the ground and my eyes squeezed shut. It was now or never. Opening my eyes, I refused to give in to my body. I had to do it. The pebbles looked as though they were about to lift up off the ground. My first time at the spell was almost complete. It only required a bit more effort. Calling upon the deepest sources of energy within me, I tried for the final push, the push that would complete the spell. I could feel myself being initiated into the world of magic at this very moment. My goal was only a second away.
“Trixie!”
Broken concentration. The pebbles stopped where they were as the sound hit my ears like a brick, causing my horn to abruptly cease the light it was emitting. I turned my head, ready to tear apart whoever had prevented me from completing my first spell ever. Luckily for that pony, it was Pip. Any other pony would have felt the wrath I had inside me at that moment. Only Pip could stifle it.
He trotted over to where I stood, not understanding what he had just done, and looked up into my eyes. “Trixie, where are the trees.”
I sighed. I had probably had this conversation a million times, and each time the wording just changed, “I told you Pip, the closest trees are beyond the gate behind our apartments.”
“Can we go?” he pleaded, looking deeply into my eyes.
Another sigh. I had nothing better to do at the moment, and I didn’t feel like using any more energy on the spell, so I said yes. Little did Pip know that there wasn’t any way to get over the tall fence.
We passed by my apartment, going to the gate behind it that separated open fields from the city. When the open fields ended, the trees began, but the trees were too far in the distance to see them from behind the gate. With an adorable effort, Pip attempted to jump over the fence. I giggled as I told him we weren’t going to be able to go over the fence today.
“Why not?” he asked.
“Because,” I tried to find the right words, “By the time we get to the trees it will be dark out and we won’t be able to get back to our apartments through the darkness.”
He frowned, his ears drooping as he kicked a hoof wishfully on the ground. I had never actually gone beyond the fence before, but the last thing I wanted to do was get lost in the night. I decided that we’d venture off beyond the fence to find the trees next week. This week I didn’t have time to, I was going to be hard at work practicing my magic, and Pip was going to help me. Not like he would have a choice, anyway.
I turned from the fence, having observed that the sun was just about settled beneath the horizon, small orange wisps of light were the only signs of the fiery star. Only a couple clouds occupied the sky, changing color to match the light of the sun. The sunset was always peaceful, but not as much as the night sky. I had always enjoyed the night sky more than the morning sunrise or sunset. Maybe it was because of the mystery, or the dim lights that were so intangible. Unlike the sun, this light didn't have much of a visible effect at ground level. That was probably why I liked the night sky. It was elusive and mysterious, like my magic.