The hum of magical energy resonated through the air as Kyle leaned back against the tree. He was in the middle of the park in Ponyville, in an isolated grove of trees that he had discovered a few days ago. It was the perfect place to go to just relax all by himself, and one might assume that that was what he was doing right now, were it not for the Pony across from him.
Scootaloo’s face was scrunched up in concentration, her eyes sealed shut. Kyle seemed relaxed, but in reality he was very focused on the young filly. Her hooves were glowing with a jade green energy, and as he watched, the energy seemed to grow brighter and brighter. Kyle felt himself hold his breath, and he leaned forward as the energy began to pulsate. It flashed brightly, and…
Nothing.
Kyle released his breath and leaned back once more. Scootaloo’s body relaxed, and she lowered her head, breathing heavily. “I’ll… never… get it.” she panted, trying to regain her breath. “It’s… too hard.”
“You’re thinking negatively again.” Kyle reprimanded her gently. “Remember, if you think that you can do it, you’ll succeed. If you think that you cannot, then you will fail. Collect yourself, and try again.”
“Easy for you to say! You already know that you can do it!” Scootaloo snapped. Kyle raised an eyebrow as Scootaloo recoiled slightly. She had let her emotions get out of hand once more, and she knew it. She took a deep breath and held it for a second before exhaling slowly, closing her eyes and laying down to collect herself. Kyle took advantage of the lull in her training to go over the memories of the past few days.
Ever since he had returned from Canterlot two weeks ago, many Ponies seemed to be a bit on edge. It wasn’t hard to figure out why - Princess Celestia’s announcement about the Sha and the Changelings had everyone worried, especially when word got out that four foals had already been foalnapped and rescued.
Still, others seemed less on edge and more in awe of him. Every day, Kyle heard his named whispered as he walked down the street, usually followed by some Pony turning to look at him. In general, there was no doubt in anyone’s mind now that Kyle was there to help, and the few Ponies who were still concerned with him had at least acknowledged that he had helped the town multiple times.
Most interesting of all was the return of the mint-green Unicorn. She had stalked Kyle on the way to Twilight’s library on the day that he had been revealed to the world, but he hadn’t noticed the mare any more than usual after that. Ever since his return to Ponyville, however, Kyle had noticed her hanging around more and more often, usually with a big, goofy grin on her face. It had been cute at first, but now it was starting to get a bit creepy.
Kyle turned his attention back to the filly in front of him, who still had her eyes closed. He couldn’t help but smile as he looked at her. She and her friends had gone up to the Crystal Empire just the other day, and had qualified to be Ponyville’s flag-waving team for the Equestria Games. He didn’t exactly understand what these games were or why they were so important, but Scootaloo had been very excited to tell him of their victory.
He had also noticed a difference between the Scootaloo who left and the Scootaloo who returned. The day before she had left, she had been moping around and not really interested in anything, only buzzing her wings occasionally and looking even sadder afterwards. When she returned, however, something had changed. She was energetic again, happy, playful - the old Scootaloo, essentially.
But there was something… more. She also seemed to have a renewed sense of confidence. Kyle had watched her two days ago as she told off the local bullies, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, for picking on Dinky because of her mother. Kyle’s smile grew wider as he remembered the shocked expressions on the two fillies’ faces as they had backed away. It appeared that his student had taken his lesson about defending others to heart.
Scootaloo stirred and opened her eyes again, dragging Kyle’s thoughts back to the present. “You ready to try again?” he asked. Scootaloo nodded and sat back up, her face expressionless. She closed her eyes once more, and Kyle could feel the Chi around him beginning to bend to her will. A small crackle broke the silence for an instant as Scootaloo’s hooves glowed with green energy once more.
The air began to hum as the glow surrounding her hooves grew brighter and brighter. The light began to pulsate again, slowly at first, but more quickly as time went on. Kyle felt himself hold his breath once more as the hum reached a fevered pitch, and the rapidly pulsing energy became painful to watch. Suddenly, the energy flashed more brightly than ever before. Kyle shielded his eyes for a split second.
As the light faded, Kyle looked back to see Scootaloo on the ground, breathing heavily once more. Kyle sighed and closed his eyes again. “So close…” he murmured quietly.
A shiver ran down Kyle’s spine, filling him with a renewed sense of energy. His eyes sprang open, and his head snapped upwards. Floating above him, twirling lazily through the air, was a small orb of green energy with a long, dusty trail following it. As he watched, it wiggled through the air towards Scootaloo and bounced into her. Her head snapped upwards as well, and her eyes went wide with shock.
Kyle grinned as the Chi Wave faded, and he scooted his way over to Scootaloo, patting her on the back. “See? I told you that you could do it. All you need is a little faith.”
Scootaloo didn’t respond, her eyes still staring at the spot where the Chi Wave had vanished. “Hey, what are you thinking?” Kyle asked, moving his head so that she was staring at him.
“I… did it.” Scootaloo murmured. “I actually did it…” She closed her eyes and rested her head on the ground again. “I can’t believe it…”
“What do you mean?”
“I was starting to wonder if…” she began, but cut herself short, glancing over at Kyle. He smiled encouragingly and motioned with his hands for her to continue. “I just… I was starting to wonder why you were training me when I couldn’t even do this simple spell. I was… I was scared that I’d never be able to do it.”
Kyle patted Scootaloo’s back. “Remember that you have an incredible gift, Scootaloo.” he said gently.” You have such an innate connection with Chi that you learn in weeks what others require months or years to learn. But that doesn’t mean that your talent will carry you everywhere. You still must work hard and devote yourself to learning, or else all of the talent in the world cannot help you. You may have been afraid that you would never get it right, but you didn’t let that stop you from continuing. You were quite courageous to keep trying in the face of failure.”
Scootaloo scoffed. “Courageous? Yeah right. So I managed to cast a spell. That’s nothing compared to what you do. You fight the Sha! I’ll never be as brave as you.”
Kyle felt his heart skip a beat as his mind flashed back to his own training. How he had said nearly the exact same words to his old mentor. But… I’ll never be as brave as you. You don’t seem to be afraid of anything. he had said.
Kyle felt a lump in his throat as he smiled back at his student. “Ah, my young apprentice. You, like so many others, confuse courage with bravery. A brave Pony, will run into a burning building to save a young foal with no thought for her own safety. A courageous Pony will realize that she is putting herself in terrible danger, and run into the burning building anyway.”
Scootaloo’s eyes went wide as Kyle leaned in closely, his voice barely a whisper. “I have my fears, young one,” he admitted, “But I do not let them stop me. True courage is not moving on without your fear, but moving on despite your fear.”
Scootaloo didn’t move a muscle as Kyle pushed himself to his feet. “Well, I think that that’s all for today.” he announced, patting her on the back once more. “Remember - practice at least an hour every day, and don’t use your magic to hurt others. Although intimidating a certain pair of bullies might be acceptable.” he added jokingly. Scootaloo giggled as she pushed herself to her hooves. She gave Kyle an affectionate nuzzle before exiting the grove.
Kyle didn’t follow immediately. Instead, he leaned against one of the trees, thinking. Scootaloo had come a long way - there was no denying that fact. The difference between the filly who had attacked him nearly a month ago and the filly that had just left was astonishing. Kyle couldn't help but smile once more as he pushed his way through the trees and exited the grove.
On the other side of the cluster of trees was the rest of the park. It was a lovely, late summer’s day. Ponies were scattered all around the park - flying kites, having picnics, and just walking around and enjoying the day. In the distance, Kyle could make out Scootaloo riding away on her scooter, her little wings buzzing furiously. I wonder why she doesn’t just fly like the other Pegasi…
“Kyle! There you are!”
Kyle was jerked from his thoughts once again as his name echoed across the park. He turned his head and saw a small purple shape rushing towards him. Though it was still far away, Kyle recognized the voice instantly, and smiled as Spike ran up to him. “I’ve been looking for you for like, an hour! C’mon, we’ve gotta go, quickly!” Spike grabbed hold of Kyle’s arm and tried to drag Kyle back in the direction he had just come.
“Woah, woah there.” Kyle exclaimed, pulling his arm away. “What’s going on? Sha?”
“Wha? No, not Sha, thank Celestia.” Spike replied. “It’s Twilight. She need you back at the library, immediately. I think she made a breakthrough with the portal!”
Kyle’s eyes sprang open, and a grin split across his face. “Well let’s get a move on!” he exclaimed, picking Spike up and tucking him under one arm, much to the young Dragon’s indignation. “Hold on tight.” he warned before sprinting in the direction of the library.
A few moments later, the pair arrived outside of the library. Spike huffed irritably as Kyle set him down. “Dude. Not cool.” he growled. “At least give a Dragon a warning before you haul him off like a sack of flour.”
“Sorry, Spike.” Kyle grinned. “But you’re just a bit too slow to keep up with me, and I’m too excited to slow down for you. If Twilight’s got a portal working, then I can go home! You have no idea how much I -”
“I said she’s made a breakthrough.” Spike interrupted. “It’s not a full-blown portal yet. Not by my understanding, anyway.” Kyle’s grin vanished as Spike continued. “She spouted a whole load of technical mumbo-jumbo - you know how she gets. From what I put together, she needs your help with some kind of test or something.” he shrugged. “I’m just the messenger.”
Kyle closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. Of course it was too good to be true. “Ah well.” he sighed. “Not what I was hoping for, but I guess a breakthrough is still pretty good. Where is she?”
“Down in the basement. It’s her research lab.” Spike walked over to the staircase and opened a door. Kyle had always assumed that it was just a broom closet, but instead he saw a set of stairs descending into the darkness. Spike walked over to the door and descended down the stairs, with Kyle close behind him.
“So Kyle,” Spike began as they walked down the long, spiral staircase, “I hear you’ve been teaching Scootaloo about some of what you do. Magic and whatnot.” Kyle nodded in reply. “So, if you go home before you’ve finished teaching her… what’s going to happen with her?”
Kyle didn’t reply at first. He couldn’t, really. “I… don’t know.” he admitted slowly. “I guess I… hadn’t really thought about it.”
“Well give it a bit of thought.”
The pair finally exited the curving stairwell as the left-hand wall stopped, giving them a good look at the basement. It was round and surprisingly large, easily two or three times the size of the library upstairs. Kyle could see that Twilight had sectioned it off into multiple different areas. One section looked like an alchemist’s lab, with different liquids bubbling in vials . Another area looked like a smaller version of the library upstairs, with books laying everywhere and bits of paper scattered amongst them.
Kyle looked to the far end of the basement and saw Twilight in a large open area. As he watched, her horn flashed purple, and the air around her wavered for a moment before settling once more. He nudged Spike and pointed towards her. “Yeah, That’s her practice area.” Spike explained. “Where she tests out spells that require a bit more than just casting. You know, runes and stuff.” The pair reached the bottom of the stairs and weaved through the basement, being careful not to trip over anything. “Twilight, I found him!” Spike called out as he entered the area where Twilight was working.
Kyle stepped into the area just in time to see Twilight’s head snap in their direction. “Finally! What took you so long Spike?” She exclaimed, trotting over to the pair.
“I was hiding.” Kyle said simply.
“What? But why were you… never mind, it’s not important.” Twilight walked to the other side of the room, where a large chest was resting against the wall. “You’re just in time, anyway. I just finished securing the area with some protective wards, in case this spell goes badly. Not that I think it will.” Twilight opened the chest, and a leather-bound tome flew out, followed by a multitude of clear crystals. The book flipped open, and the crystals began to lower themselves into place.
“I went up to Canterlot the last week and decided to visit the Starswirl the Bearded wing while I was there.” Twilight explained as she inspected each crystal, occasionally turning or adjusting one. “I found this book in there, buried in the master-level section. I don’t think anypony besides the other Princesses and us have ever seen this book. Maybe not even them. It’s certainly something that nopony has seen in several lifetimes. It contains a long-forgotten technique that is supposedly able to amplify a Unicorn or Alicorn’s magic many times over, to the point where one Unicorn can perform a spell that would otherwise require hundreds, or potentially thousands of Unicorns without this technique. It requires a lot of setup time, but for a spell like this one, it’s absolutely worth it.”
“How does a civilization forget something like that?” Kyle asked incredulously. “Especially in the middle of the capital city? I mean, we lost a lot of knowledge when Lordaeron was sacked, but nothing like that! You’d think someone would have thought to remember a way to make Unicorn magic stronger.”
“Discord threw the entire world into disarray during his First Reign.” Twilight explained sadly. “Many books filled with ancient knowledge were completely destroyed in his quest for total chaos. Millennia’s worth of knowledge, destroyed in the span of two decades. To be honest, I’m surprised he let this book survive. As to why no one found it in the middle of Canterlot, the Starswirl the Bearded Wing is restricted - only Princesses, or those with royal permission, may enter.”
“Alright, I guess if Discord was involved, all the rules of logic go out the window.” Kyle sighed. “So, what is this secret technique? I guess it involves those crystals?”
“Correct. I’ve been making these crystals over the past three days. I had to borrow a couple from Rarity, but it’s going to be worth it. These crystals have been modified and attuned to my magic, so that when a spell cast by me strikes them, they’ll resonate at a perfect frequency to set off an internal chain reaction. This reaction will then re-cast the spell, but at a much greater power level.”
“So you cast a spell at it, and it casts it again, but stronger?” Spike asked, looking confused.
“In laypony’s terms, yes.” Twilight nodded. “You can arrange the crystals in certain patterns. Using the correct pattern with the correct spell with amplify the spell far more than without the correct pattern. This pattern… hold on.” Twilight picked up the crystal in front of her and examined it closely before flipping it over and putting it back down.
“This pattern is a derivative of the Krotian Formation. Before the First Reign of Discord, this formation was used to transport large items over long distances, usually to the First Griffonian Empire. I’ve modified it to consume far less energy, since I’m not sure how much power it will take. This modification means that instead of creating a portal, it will instead produce a one-way looking glass. We’ll be able to see through the portal, but those on the other side will not know we are watching.”
“Better than nothing, I guess.” Kyle said. “So, where do I come in? Spike said you needed my help.”
“Indeed.” Twilight replied. “As you can imagine, it would be very, very bad if we were to open portal into some hostile planet, or even outer space itself. I know this is only a looking glass, but all the same, I’d rather avoid that. In the past, to focus the location of the other end of the portal, a small charged crystal attuned to the portal spell would generally be transported or teleported by traditional methods to the desired location, and then the spell would be cast. The charged crystal would provide a focal point for the other end of the portal.”
“I would try to do that here, but there are two problems. Firstly, I doubt I have enough strength to transport even a small crystal to another planet. Secondly, even if I theoretically did have the strength to do so and then cast the portal spell, we’d have no way of knowing if the crystal arrived properly, or at all. And again, opening a portal to the wrong location would be very, very bad. So I did a bit of light reading -”
“Interpretation: You stayed up all night for two nights in a row. Again.” Spike interrupted. “We need more coffee, by the way. You drank it all.”
“Thank you, Spike.” Twilight said curtly, throwing a glare his way. “As I said, I did a bit of light reading, and I found an alternative method. It’s slightly less accurate, but it’s much simpler. All I have to do is channel the spell first through an item made in the desired exit location, and the other end of the portal will open in roughly the general area.”
“So what… you need something made in Azeroth?” Kyle asked.
“Yes, preferably from the town or city where you desire to end up.”
“Well, you could use my belt.” Kyle said slowly, pulling the strip of leather off of his waist. “It won’t be damaged, right?”
“Not a chance.” Twilight smiled. “That’s what one of my protective wards should prevent.” The belt was enveloped in a purple glow and floated in the air next to Twilight. “Are you ready to try it? If it works, we may be able to send you home within the week.”
“Fire away.” Kyle grinned, unable to contain his excitement.
Twilight’s horn glowed with its usual purple aura, and began to pulsate rapidly. Tiny bolts of purple lightning shot out of her horn, producing a steady sizzling sound. She closed her eyes as sweat started to form on her brow. The pulsing stopped for a brief second before a sound akin to a cannon going off blasted through the room.
A jolt of energy flew from her horn into the belt. A second later, the bolt of energy flew out of the other end of the belt and into the first crystal. A soft hum resonated through the room as the crystal began to glow with a soft purple light. As Kyle watched, the light grew brighter and brighter, and the crystal slowly lifted into the air.
Suddenly, three more bolts of energy flew out of the crystal. Each bolt of energy struck another crystal, and the process repeated once more. For a few moments, this process repeated itself over and over again, with more and more crystals hovering in the air. As more crystals flew into the air, Kyle noticed that several energy bolts were flying back and forth between crystals that were already hovering.
Soon, every crystal was hovering in the air, with bolts of magic flying between them. As the bolts of energy became more and more frequent, the bolts became more akin to beams, linking crystals to each other.
Suddenly, one bolt of energy went flying in a new direction, towards an uncharged crystal that was already hovering in the air. This crystal instantly glowed a vibrant lavender, and sent forth multiple curved beams of energy towards another crystal directly below it. The two crystals were connected by the beams of energy, and lavender energy crackled to life between the beams.
The other crystals, meanwhile, were beginning to descend to the floor. As they touched down, new beams of energy sprang to life between the innermost crystals and the central bottom crystal. The energy crackling between the solid beams in the middle of the formation surged with new power, and meshed together to form a solid oval of energy.
All at once, every crystal and energy beam flashed brightly, changing to a pure white color. The oval of energy at the center, however, formed an image. The image was very fuzzy, and Kyle dared not step closer due to the energy beams still connecting the crystals on the floor. This problem was soon solved, however, as a small section of the formation suddenly died out, leaving a small corridor leading to the portal in the center.
Kyle looked over at Twilight. The Alicorn was lying on the ground with her eyes closed, breathing heavily. She opened her eyes and looked over at him before smiling wearily. “I… I think it worked.” she grunted, pushing herself shakily onto her hooves once more. “Go on… See if this is the right place. If so, then we’ve made a massive leap forward today.” Kyle grinned and stepped into the corridor between the energy beams. As he reached the portal, the image became far less fuzzy and more distinct, and he could make out what was on the other side.
On the other side of the portal was a large, dark room, lit by torches held by wall-mounted sconces and a few dangling lanterns. In the center of the room was a large leather hide, drawn taught by ropes and pegs, with a map of Azeroth crudely stitched into it. Multiple chairs and tables were scattered around the edges of the circular room.
On the far wall was a raised platform, with steps leading up to a throne. Standing next to the throne were two figures - A blue-skinned Troll, and an Orc. Kyle’s eyes narrowed in anger. Even having never seen them in person, there was no mistaking the two figures in front of him. Thrall and Vol’jin, the new Warchief of the Horde. While Kyle couldn’t hear through the portal, he could tell that the conversation the two were having was quite serious. Oh how he wished he could eavesdrop in…
“Well? Is it the right place?”
Kyle snapped his head around to see Twilight and Spike staring at him expectantly. Kyle forced the scowl off of his face as he walked away from the looking glass. “Kind of.” he replied. “That’s Azeroth, no doubt about it. But the portal was opened in Orgrimmar, the capital city of the Horde. That’s halfway across the world from Stormwind. If I were to go there, I’d be killed on the spot.”
Twilight sighed and shook her head. “Well, considering we’re opening a portal to a planet potentially billions upon billions of miles away, I’d say getting the portal onto the planet itself is pretty good.” she said. “But that spell was very tiring, even to me. And the spell to create a proper portal will take far more energy. I’ll keep looking for a way to lower the energy requirements, but it might be a while.”
“Still, this is huge!” Spike exclaimed with a grin, running up to the portal. “We can finally get a look at your… homeworld… hang on.” Spike’s expression fell as he squinted through the portal. “Those aren’t Humans… Are they?”
“No, they’re not.” Kyle growled. “The green one is an Orc named Thrall, ex-Warchief of the Horde. The blue one is a Troll, and the current Warchief. Vol’jin, he’s called. The Horde they are a part of stands completely opposite to the Alliance I am a part of.”
“I remember Princess Celestia mentioned a Horde that has been a large influence on your recent history.” Twilight interjected. “Is this them, then?”
“Two of their leaders, yes.” Kyle replied curtly.
“Well… We’ll not send you there, then.” Twilight mused. “Maybe if I adjusted…”
“Hold on a second.” Kyle interrupted, walking over to a nearby table. He picked up a pencil and a piece of paper and began scribbling on it. A couple of minutes later, Kyle held up the paper and showed it to Twilight. On the paper, he had drawn what appeared to be an ornate lion’s head. “If you see this figure in blue and gold colors, you’ll have found the right spot.” he explained.
“Right. I’ll keep experimenting on the portal and look for this symbol. I still need to figure out how to reduce the energy requirement and up the accuracy.”
“Thanks Twilight.” Kyle patted Twilight on the back before exiting the sectioned-off area. He turned his head back towards her just in time to see her shoot the portal with another blast of purple energy. The portal sputtered and crackled for a moment before fading entirely. Kyle sighed and worked his way back through the basement and towards the staircase.
A few moments later, Kyle flopped down onto his bed. For a long while he just laid there, his mind filled with turbulent, ever-changing emotions that would leave him elated one moment, depressed the next, and confused the entire time.
They were close, closer than Kyle had dreamed they’d be. He had seen Azeroth again. True, it had only been seeing, and it had been Orgrimmar, but it was something. Now he knew it could be done. He could go home.
And yet…
Kyle couldn't help but remember how exhausted Twilight had been after casting the spell. She had nearly fallen over when she tried to stand again. And that spell had used only a fraction of the energy required to open a true portal. It could take months, or even years before they found a way to reduce the energy cost to a manageable level, and months more to get the portal to open where they wanted it to.
But even if the portal was able to be opened today, could he really go home at this point? Spike’s question about Scootaloo echoed through his head time and time again. So, if you go home before you’ve finished teaching her… what’s going to happen with her? He had said that he hadn’t really thought about it.
Indeed he hadn’t. He had been so focused on his excitement, on his own well-being, that he hadn’t even thought about the filly who he had been teaching earlier that afternoon. Even if he was given the opportunity to go home today, could he do so immediately? There was no doubt that he truly wanted to return to Azeroth, but could he leave Scootaloo, who had so much potential, on her own? Especially after starting to teach her about Chi and how to harness it. There was still so much that she had to learn.
So much that he had to learn.
Was he even the right person to teach her? His doubts started creeping back into his mind. He had only been a fully-fledged Monk for a year before coming to Equestria, and though there was no rule forbidding it, most Monks were not given apprentices until they had at least two decades worth of experience. Yes, Kyle was the only one around who could teach her, but did he have enough experience to even try?
“I almost miss the war.” he muttered, his eyes growing heavy. “Even if I was fighting for my life every day, at least I knew what the hell to do. Everything was so much simpler then.” He looked out the window and realized the sun had gone down. “Better get some shut eye.” he murmured, closing his eyes.
"I just hope tomorrow is easier."