//------------------------------// // Chapter 46 - I dun goofed // Story: Shackles and Friendship // by Zaibatsu //------------------------------// Shackles and Friendship Chapter 46 - I dun goofed Edited by Aussie Hard-D*** Pre-read by Aussie Hard-D*** AN: You know you’re screwed when you have to censor your editor’s name. “Humanity won a small victory today. We convinced the Ponies that Santa Claus is real.” ~ High Command of the Resistance “I must say, I’m rather surprised.” “Hmm?” Shine looked at me as we continue making our way to the edge of town. “Well at first I was somewhat worried when you suddenly wanted to visit the school.” “And what’s so worrying about that?” I asked, a hint of accusation in my tone. “Nothing,” Shine answered, a bit too quickly. “It’s just...well,” she began nervously, “you and young children together in an enclosed room. That just sounds like-” “A recipe for total, wanton destruction and chaos?” I interrupted with a serious look before smiling humorously. “It’s alright Shine, you’re not the first to think so. But don’t be surprised if things actually work out, I’m actually somewhat good with children.” Shine and I continued on in silence, sometimes greeting or replying to ponies we passed by. The closer to the edge of town we got, the less ponies we saw. Eventually the only sound we heard were the chirping of birds and the light jingling tone of my chains dancing with my every step. It only took maybe fifteen minutes or so to finally reach the schoolhouse. I was confused when I heard that the schoolhouse was located outside of the town perimeter, it’s not that far but it’s still beyond the town’s limits. Thinking about it I came to the conclusion that the school itself was an unexpected variable during Ponyville’s original construction. Perhaps they never expected the town to grow as it did, and realized too late that they needed a dedicated place to educate their kids. Whatever their reasons, there’s no doubt that the schoolhouse was beautiful. Rather than a school, it looked more like a small red-ish church with enough space all around for kids to play. They even got a decent sized playground with swings at the back, another strange similarity to my world that I won’t bother questioning. “I just realized,” Shine began as we approached the building, “don’t you think we should’ve come by on a non-school day?” Like myself, she must’ve heard the many cheerful voices talking animatedly from inside. “Actually, I originally planned on going along with Sweetie Belle, she goes to school and I just wanted to watch for a bit.” I explained. “Mostly to introduce myself to the rest of the kids that I haven’t met. Basically let my presence be as normal to them as possible so they feel comfortable.” Shine briefly stared at me with a blank expression. “That’s...a really good idea. Why didn’t you do that then?” I shrugged. “I was busy earlier today with an experiment.” The moment I mentioned ‘experiment’ Shine immediately tensed up. “Rodney you promised!” she yelled. “No new spells without Twilight!” “It’s completely harmless! I promise!” I argued. “It’s a medical spell and before you argue, no I didn’t use it on any living being. I’m not crazy enough to use magic on my own body or anyone else, even on an animal.” Shine’s look of disapproval stayed. “Twilight’s going to get angry if she finds out.” “The promise was mainly for the sake of dangerous spells, this was not. Now as I was saying, I was experimenting earlier today but I hit a snag. Can’t for the life of me figure out how to fix it. I thought about helping Rarity, but she locked herself in her study room in search of “inspiration”. So I figured I’d at least drop by the schoolhouse and introduce myself to Cheerilee, the teacher.” “So you're not actually teaching today?” she asked, still with a frown. “Of course not. Cheerilee probably has something planned out and I can’t just drop by and start teaching willy nilly. C’mon Shine give me some credit here, I’ve thought this through.” “Alright I’m sorry. I guess I’m still worried about the Princess’s unannounced visit a few days ago. I’ve lived in the castle long enough to know they neither would go away alone like that unless it was a special case.” I let out a sigh. “Okay I’ll be honest, Luna showing up like that did have something to do with this. She knew I had interests in teaching and came to remind me.” Shine glanced thoughtfully at me. “Is that all she came for?” “That’s all I’m willing to say.” I looked at her with a neutral expression. “Everything else is a private matter between me and her.” This time it was Shine’s turn to sigh. “Fine I won’t ask anymore. You know I’m just worried about you right?” I rolled my eyes. “It’s amazing how similar you are to Twilight in that regard.” Rather than walking up to the schoolhouse door and knocking, I went and sat on the ground and leaned against the building. “Aren’t we going in?” Shine asked confused. “Later. I can hear that she’s still teaching?” I gestured towards the muffled voices from inside. “From what Sweetie Belle told me, the class will be dismissed for a break in a bit. I’ll introduce myself to Cheerilee then.” “I see.” Shine joined and sat next to me on her rump, the both of us staring back at Ponyville in silence. “So what problem were you having?” “Hmm?” “You said that you hit a problem early today with your experiment. What was it?” “Ah, well...” =========[At the same time, in Carousel Boutique]========= Knock. Knock. Knock. “Rodney dear? Are you in here?” Rarity opened the door and entered the room. Seeing no sign of the human she looked confused. “Funny, I could’ve sworn I heard somepony in here.” Looking around the room a second time, Rarity took in the state of the room and let out a sigh. It wasn’t what most would call messy, in fact most of Sweetie Belle’s possessions and furniture were exactly as they were when Rodney moved in. Unfortunately said items were buried under a large amount of stuff Rodney brought in. Most prevalent were the large number of books strewn about. Some lie open on the floor, table and bed while others were stacked atop each other in various places. All no doubt belonging to the library or perhaps Twilight herself. On one side, away from the bed, was a box filled with discarded gemstones Rarity had given permission for Rodney to use in his work, whatever that may be. What attracted Rarity’s attention the most however, were the many random assortment of items huddled together at one corner of the room. There were blocks of wood and bits of shavings in the floor along with a few sharp tools like knives. Looking at one particular wood block, Rarity immediately recognized the runes inscribed on them. This was likely where Rodney spent most of his time putting what he learned about runes into practice. Rarity knew that wood was an excellent material to use for practice and training, just one of those random bits of knowledge she picked up when spending time with Twilight. It's really quite impossible for anypony not to learn something from that mare. “I’ll have to tell him to clean this up once he returns home,” Rarity told herself. Despite the mess, Rarity felt pleased to see this. It showed her that Rodney was spending his time diligently on something fruitful. “Well then, back to work.” Rarity had just about closed the door behind her when her ear twitched when she heard a sound from inside the, supposedly, empty room. She stayed perfectly still, her ears standing up at attention as she strained her senses. Hearing nothing after some time, Rarity blamed the wind and trotted back towards her study. Thud. Thud. “Now I know I heard that!” Rarity declared, rushing back into the room. Once inside she stood still once again, ears swivelling suspiciously. One minute, two minute, three minute, she continued to wait patiently. Thud. Her head turned fast towards the simple table with drawer sitting quietly to the far side of the room. There were books laying atop heavy objects blocking the drawer from opening. She approached it tentatively and was about to reach with her hoof when the drawer tried to open itself only to be blocked by pile in front of it. This was the source of the sound that’s been teasing her. She contemplated her next move carefully, on one hoof this is her home, on the other she should respect Rodney’s privacy. Thud. Thud. To make it worse, whatever was inside the drawer kept on teasing her curiosity. Almost as if it was daring her to open the drawer. “Well I can’t work with this annoying me all day.” With that, Rarity reached, pushed the pile of objects out of the way. Using the edge of her hoof, she pulled the drawer open. =========[Outside Ponyville Schoolhouse]========= “You’re lying,” Shine declared with a flat expression. “I’m not!” I defended. Shine stared at me trying to find any hints of a lie while I confidently locked eyes with her. “It’s real, you’ve seen it before remember?” “Yes I’ve seen that flying gem of yours, but what you described seems...I don’t know, impossible.” I smiled smugly. “Not impossible, just never been done before. And truth be told, it’s not even original either.” That seemed to confuse Shine. “How is something that’s never been done before not original?” “Because all I did was take existing spells, break them apart, take what I needed, and stitched them together. You see? Nothing original. Just different.” Shine looked at me thoughtfully for a second. “I don’t know, that sounds pretty original to me. Or are you just being modest?” I let out a fake dramatic gasp of surprise. “Me? Modest? Oh goodness, maybe I should check myself at the hospital, this could be serious!” With an irritated look Shine struck my shoulder with her hoof which made me laugh. “But seriously, back to topic, yes I really did make a gem that can see. Originally the spell I created only latches on to me as both a target and anchor, add a [Levitation] spell and the gem would follow me around. It might look and act as if it can see, but that’s only an illusion.” AN: For clarity sake, spell names with be referenced with brackets, ie. [‘spell name’] “And now? It can actually see? As in with eyes?” “Of course not! It’s a rock, how can it have eyes?” “Then how-” “How does a blind pony see?” I asked, hoping to explain it easier. “Er, they don’t.” “Then how do you give them the ability to see? And I don’t mean with instruments.” Shine thought for a moment but eventually she shook her head, unable to answer. “There was a spell mentioned in a history book that I read. It’s intended to be used for blind ponies. By using their own magic, the spell allows the blind to ‘see’ with magic. Much like how bats use their ears and sound to ‘see’, and the proper term for that ability is echolocation. The creator decided to name the spell [Arcane Vibe].” ‘I’ll say it again, it sounds like a sex toy.’ Shine’s eyebrow rose in surprise. “Are you serious? That’s amazing! I may not be a unicorn but it’s still surprising I haven’t heard about that spell before.” I frowned. “Wouldn’t be surprised if you didn’t. I tracked down a book that includes detailed accounts and information about the spell. Like I said before, this was a harmless medical spell so don’t worry. The reason it never got popular is due to the low success it has despite it working perfectly.” This really seemed to confuse Shine further. “See, the spell depends on two things, the magic of the recipient and their ability to ‘attune’ themselves to the spell. Their magic determines how effective the spell can work, like how far the spell can reach around the recipient. But the hardest part comes after. Even if you had plenty of magic you need to, and I’m quoting here, ‘be able to attune and listen to the spell talk back.’ This apparently takes months of training, and the only ones who managed to successfully use the spell were unicorns. This is probably because unicorns were more accustomed to magic than pegasi and earth ponies. Based on the book, it’s like teaching yourself to see a color or hear a sound that you’ve never seen or heard before.” Shine’s expression went from thoughtful to confusion. She probably tried doing it and simply couldn’t understand how that was possible, imagining a sight or sound that you’ve never experience. “Yeah, I don’t know what that last part meant either. Let’s just be grateful both of us ain’t blind.” Shine agreed with a nod. “But in any case, I took that spell and, with some creative fine tuning from yours truly,” I saw Shine roll her eyes, “I made it workable for my gem. Unlike ponies, the gem works off the spell itself, which means it has no problem ‘listening’ to the feedback. So now, using the magic stored inside, it would ‘see’ by expanding a small amount of magic around itself.” I let out a long frustrated sigh. “And that’s where my problem lies.” “What do you mean?” “Well...” =========[Carousel Boutique]========= Rarity dove to the floor in fright as the flaming rock continue to wreak destruction above. She quickly crawled her way under the table seeking shelter while she witnessed the gemstone crash into walls creating dents like a fly to a window. Worse it was also knocking things off creating a mess. Papers and diagrams were flying, furniture breaking and toppling over. It’s as if the flaming gemstone was the embodiment of Sweetie Belle’s passive destructive nature in its perfect form. She heard the sound of glass shattering before all seemed to quiet down. Rarity poked her head from under the table and saw the room clear of the infernal stone. Unfortunately the peaceful silence was disrupted when she heard several voices yelling in fright from outside. “What is that thing!?” “My lunch!” “That’s Rodney’s fire thingy!” “Someone call Twilight!” “That thing hit me! Am I on fire!?” Turning towards the window, her suspicions were confirmed at seeing the large hole in the wall where a window use to be. Quickly looking out, she saw the many ponies outside running for cover much like she did as the flaming gemstone started to cause chaos upon Ponyville. “Oh dear,” Rarity softly mumbled quietly. It was all she could say. =========[Ponyville Schoolhouse]========= “I don’t get it. If the [Arcane Vibe] spell allows the gem to see, why is it flying blind and hitting things?” “Because being able to see and having the intelligence to not hit things are two completely different and separate points,” I explained with a sigh, frustrated at my inability to fix the problem. “I actually already have an idea on how to go about fixing it. Unfortunately it won’t work because of the layering.” “The ‘layering’?” Shine asked. I nodded. “It’s the term when you apply a spell over a pre-existing one, whether it be an active, passive, or hybrid type. Basically, you can easily stack simple spells on top of each other and they’ll work just fine, so long as each spell doesn’t contradict or disrupt one another. Though there is still a limit. Unfortunately the [Arcane Vibe] spell is a very complicated and large spell. So much so that even a spell as simple as [Levitation] layered on top is going crazy. Had everything worked as it should, the gem would’ve just stayed still in the air since it has no other commands to carry out.” “And that’s why the gemstone’s gone crazy?” Shine deduced. I breathed in and let out a long sigh. “Yup. the layering problem is causing the [Levitation] spell to go batshit crazy. I spent all night reading and trying to fix the problem but no luck so far.” “Why didn’t you just go back to the original way then? Sound like this shouldn’t be a problem when you had it working before.” I thought for a moment, thinking how to best explain it so Shine would understand. “If I wanted the gem to follow me or someone and do only that, then you’re right. But it’s all about establishing a flexible groundwork.” I paused to let that sink in. “See, if I could actually make the gem ‘see’, then the next step would be to give it a form of ‘recognition’. With those two features alone, it would be possible for the gem to actually know who is who. I could make it find someone, deliver messages, and so forth. If a kid goes missing and I had someway to store an ‘image’ of said child, I could send out hundreds of gems to go look for whoever based on that image.” Shine stared at the ground, pondering my words. “You see? With just two basic features, ‘sight’ and ‘recognition’, the potential of my work multiplies several times. Dare I say, limitless?” The last part I spoke with a bit of flair. “Now do you understand why I’m putting so much work on something so simple? It’s for potential.” “Well don’t worry. If you’re stuck I’m sure Twilight can figure it out, she’s Princess Celestia’s student after all.” I rolled my eyes. “Well gee, thanks. You sure know how to motivate someone,” I replied sarcastically. “Happy to help,” Shine replied back with a teasing smile. “So how long until you can get another one working?” “What do you mean another one?” I asked with a raised brow. “Well you have to make another one. You have to keep making new ones to experiment right?” I tried my best to keep my face frozen, but something must’ve twitched cause Shine’s expression drastically changed. “Rodney, you did cancel the spell on the gemstone, right?” I hesitated to answer, and that was all Shine needed to confirm her suspicion. “You didn’t!?” she both asked and declared. “Why? From what you told me that gem sounds dangerous!” “Look,” I began to explain, “as I mentioned before the [Arcane Vibe] spell is huge and complicated, plus it’s a modified version. It took me hours after many failures to get it to work the way I wanted it to. I didn’t want to go through all that again. Besides it’s not that dangerous, at the most it’ll just cause a slight bruise if it hits you. It’s more of an annoyance with the mess it makes.” Shine took a deep breath to calm herself before asking, with a hint of threat in her tone. “Rodney, where is the gem right now?” “Safe,” I answered confidently. Before Shine could ask further questions, the large bell above the schoolhouse rang low and long followed by the clamour of excited voices and small hoofsteps, indicating the break I’ve been waiting for. “Welp, time to go introduce myself,” glad to of the timing. I could feel Shine’s gaze drilling at the back of my head as I turned and knocked loudly on the front door, no doubt she’ll bring this up later after I’m done. Rather than seeing an adult pony, the door opened revealing a young gray colored pegasus that I didn’t recognize. Likely just one of the many children in town that I haven’t met, or perhaps I did and simply forgot. “Hey kid,” I greeted casually, “mind telling Cheerilee she’s got company?” “I’m not a kid,” the young colt corrected, looking slightly peeved at being called such. I immediately discerned his character to be the type that, either thinks his old enough for everything, or wished to grow up quicker. “My name’s Rumble,” he continued with childlike confidence, “and it’s MissCheerilee. And no, I don’t mind telling her.” He stayed there, unmoving with a grin on his face. I rolled my eyes. “Will you please inform Miss Cheerilee she has company?” I clarified. “Sure.” With that grin still plastered on his face he turned and trotted inside leaving Shine and I waiting by the open door. It took several minutes for Cheerilee to show up. If I had to guess she was probably busy with a kid or two who needed her attention. “Mr.Rodney,” Cheerilee greeted...well, cheerfully. It’s not surprising that she knew my name, not because of Sweetie Belle, but because after everything that has happened, I’ve become something of common knowledge. “And…” “Ah, this is Shine Bright”, I informed, stepping to the side so Cheerilee could see better. “She’s here to make sure I don’t blow up the kids.” I received an irritated poke for that, even though it was partially true. Cheerilee giggled. “I’m certain we’ll all make it through the day. Now what can I help you with?” “Actually, I was hoping it’ll be the otherway around.” Cheerilee raised a brow. “If it’s at all possible, I would like to take on a teaching position.” Both her eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Nothing big,” I clarified, “something more like a assistance position.” “I’m sorry to say but I don’t think that’ll work.” Cheerilee continued to explain before I could argue. “Not that I don’t appreciate it, it’s just that their only foals. Meaning the teaching material isn’t that complicated at all. Rather, having somepony the children aren’t familiar with suddenly showing up to teach would-” “Do more harm than good,” I finished with a calm smile. “Don’t worry, this request isn’t something I haven’t considered in great detail. For now it’s enough that you know of my intent. I’m hoping in the future I’ll drop by time to time and let the kids familiarize with me.” Cheerilee paused for a moment, giving my offer a bit more thought than before. “I can see how that would help, but to be frank, I just don’t need the help. As I’ve said the teaching material is very basic.” I nodded to her. “Yes I know. I realized that after helping Sweetie Belle with some of her homework.” “Ah, I have noticed her results improving,” Cheerilee commented. “Glad to hear my efforts aren’t wasted then. But back to my point, even though I offer to help teach, I’m hoping to be a student myself.” Cheerilee tilted her head to the side with a confused expression. “Think of me as a far away traveler new to Equestria, by helping you I aim to learn many of the nuances of Equestrian lifestyle I may be ignorant of.” “Well in that case you’re more than welcome to just join the class.” I heard Shine snort as she tried to stifle her laughter. She probably imagined me sitting in one of her class surrounded by foals. “That might be true,” I said ignoring Shine, “but I’d like to offer something in return as well. But please, you don’t have to make that decision now. Like I said I’ll drop by till the kids feel comfortable with my presence, till then you can mull this over and we can discuss further after.” “I can agree to that,” Cheerilee agreed, looking relieved that she had time to properly evaluate my offer. “Would you like to see the children now? At the very least you could help me keep an eye on them as they play.” “Gladly, I’m sure Shine wouldn’t mind helping as well,” I said pointing my thumb over my shoulder at the mare behind me. “I don’t know,” she said teasingly. “It’s hard enough keeping one foal from causing trouble.” “Ha. Ha. Ha. Very funny,” I replied with heavy sarcasm. “Come this way.” Cheerilee lead the way with a smile, humoured by our banter. I was quite surprised at how simple the inside of the school was. There was only a single large class that made up most of the building, the rest divided between hallways and basic facilities like bathrooms. Thanks to its size, the classroom had plenty of room for many drawers and bookshelves that line themselves up against the wall. I saw a simple telescope, a globe, plenty for arts and crafts, and the usual stuff you’d expect to see in a preschool classroom. We came across a few kids along the way, they looked confused at first but seeing Cheerilee nearby seemed to eradicate any suspicion. It didn’t take long before a few were following us out of curiosity. The same grey pegasus from before, Rumble, having already interacted with me at the door, had no problem trotting up next to me while trying to strike a casual conversation. If I had to guess, he’s probably trying to show off his bravery by approaching me so casually. “Rodney?” was the first thing I heard as we exited to the playground. I saw Applebloom nudged Sweets and Scoots turning their attention to me. “What are you doing here?” Scoots asked as the Crusader trio approached me. “Aw c’mon Scoots,” I cooed teasingly. “Do I need a reason to see my favorite little Crusader?” “What about me?” Sweets asked with a small frown. “Come now Sweets, you know you’re already special.” I felt Applebloom tug my left chain. “You too Bloom.” “Oh it’s Rodney!” “Ah cool!” ‘Ergh, those two.’ Leading the rush of foals, were two colts who I’ve tried to avoid when I could. Not saying that I dislike them or anything like that, after all they’re just children. It’s just...they can really test your patience. “Snips, Snail,” I greeted, trying not to sigh at the same time. “I’m still not going to blow things up for you.” “Ah cmon!” Snips begged. “You did it once.” “By accident because you two ambushed me,” I argued. Long story short they forced me to throw a fireball, I made sure the two of them got the blame for the mess. “I hope you two aren’t planning anything else for all our sake.” “Of course not,” Snips ensured. “....We aren’t?” Snails questioned. Snips face hoofed as he grumbled and glared at Snails. I merely rolled my eyes. Then I heard a voice talk in a very haughty tone. “You don’t look like much.” As I turned towards the voice I heard the Crusader groan in annoyance. Sweetie Belle had spent plenty of time venting and complaining about this particular filly at home. I’ve heard enough to recognize her, not from visual description, rather from the way she carried herself. Diamond Tiara, a spoiled brat who thinks the world should worships her. I crossed my arms as she trotted around me, inspecting me up and down. I felt her poke and prod at me with the tip of her hoof. Eventually she stood in front of me, looking up unflinching despite our difference in height. She then declared, as if it were a fact of the world, “You couldn’t have fought a dragon. I think you lied to everypony.” I will admit, though I’m not proud, I felt a small temptation to squeeze her head in between my knuckles and twist. “Now Tiara,” Cheerilee warned in a teacher’s tone, “what did we learn about being polite.” “But Miss Cheerilee, you also taught us not to accept the word of other ponies by face value,” Tiara argued back. “Just because everypony says this hairless monkey-” That temptation grew several times bigger. “-fought a dragon. I mean look at him Miss Cheerilee,” Tiara gestured up and down at me, “how is he supposed to have survived a dragon let alone fight one.” “Well he did!” Sweetie Belle yelled in anger. “I saw him charge right at the dragon! Even the newspaper said he did. Just because you’re not a wikness-” “Witness,” I corrected. “Witness, doesn’t mean it’s not true.” To be honest, I wouldn’t have likely believed it myself if I were in Tiara’s position. Just imagine it, even if I were some hardened Rambo-like soldier, facing a dragon and living is a hard pill to swallow. ‘Let’s just light her on fire like we did Blue Blood.’ Ignoring that horrible idea, I kneeled and raised an open hand to Tiara. She looked at it, expected something in my hand. Seeing it empty she frowned and looked at me disapprovingly, as if I was about to gift her something. before she could say anything, I gathered a somewhat larger than normal amount of magic in my arm, and pushed them all at once to the palm of my hand. The effect was...explosive, all the puns intended. I smiled seeing Tiara fall back startled as a giant pyro of blue flames burst and rose roughly half a meter high. It looked like I was hold onto a small bonfire. You probably thought this was a bad idea, exposing my flames to children in front of their teacher, but I was betting on the fact that my unique magic had become common knowledge in town. Sure enough neither Shine nor Cheerile acted to stop me, though Cheerilee did frown ever so slightly at having her student being scared like that. “First of all,” I said casually, crouching down to Tiara, “I’m not a monkey. Second, even though you’re not a unicorn, you should know never to underestimate what magic can do.” I probably should mention, as I did in the interview with Quill Stride, that I didn’t actually fight Falnor. Luna finished that battle for me. With my attention at Tiara, I barely noticed all the kids had their eyes glued at my magic still in my open palm. Except for Sweetie Belle who has seen it plenty of times, the others were wrapped with curiosity. One filly who I wasn’t familiar with, actually held out her small hoof expecting to feel heat like a normal fire would make. “No it doesn’t burn,” I informed her, causing her to pull back her hoof and look away. “You can touch it if you want.” I syphoned a large portion back making the fire shrink into a less intimidating size before slowly moving my hand towards her. An step I knew to help kids get comfortable around strangers, have them completely attracted and wondering about something you have. Be it a new toy, technology, whatever. Most of them had either heard about or seen my magic, seeing how I would sometime use them in public. But only Sweetie Belle has ever actually gotten close and interacted with it. And I know what you’re all thinking, what the hell am I doing exposing them to what could easily be considered an explosive substance? Had I been here a week ago, I would probably have agreed with you. Although I’m still clueless as to the reasons behind it, I left Twilight in charge of figuring that out, we managed to discern ‘rules’ that my magic follows. To put it simply, only in a raw state would my magic explode. Should I weave it into a spell and cast it, the magic would create the effect of the spell as normal magic would. However, in the event that after my spell is finished and there remains unused magic, it would explode. Similarly, should my spell break apart or fail before it’s done, the remaining magic would also explode. Even in a raw state, as the magic in my hand is currently at, so long as I am in control the explosive nature stays inert. And it actually doesn’t take much, in most cases I simply have to be aware that it’s there to keep it from exploding. Although there are limits, like distance. Twilight and I have accepted this as a hard fact, an unbreakable law that my magic obeys completely. Like amature chefs, they might be fearful of fire at first, but the more you work with it and understand it, you learn to conquer it. Which is why I was much more confident in handling my magic than before, where I were obsessed with not blowing myself up by accident before. The filly looked hesitantly to the flames, then to me who gave her an affirming nod, and back to the flames. She reached out slowly, the others watch holding their breaths as her small hoof reached closer and closer. She let out a cute “Eep!” as her hoof got licked by a small string of fire. Seeing herself unhurt, she reached out again, a bit more confidently until the tip went in. Then, with surprisingly, she went gung-ho and immersed her entire hoof to the palm of my hand, my magic burning around her hoof as if she was fire-proof. She pulled her hoof back, held it and twisted for her to inspect before looking at me and loudly declared. “That’s so cool!” And just like that, the dam broke. All the foals around started sticking their hoofs at the fire, completely forgetting I was mostly just a stranger to them only a moment ago. As far as first visits go, I’d consider this a massive success. They’ll be far less intimidated and hesitant to be around me next time I visit. If this continues, I expect it’ll only take a few more visits, probably three or four, before they’re completely comfortable with me. I felt someone tug my shirt from the back, turning I saw Diamond Tiara and another filly. “Can I touch too?” she asked, swallowing her pride for the sake of curiosity. Children will be children I guess. Still, a lesson needed to be taught. “I think I deserve an apology first,” I said, trying hard not to smile smugly. Tiara’s expressions flared angrily and was likely about to throw some insult or something until I moved my hand and teased the mystical looking fire in front of her. Her mouth opened and closed more than a few times. Shows how much she’s not used to apologizing. “I...I’m...sorry. There, I said it,” she said irritably. Not hiding my smile, I moved my hand closer and let her sink her hoof into the fire. “Well this is certainly surprising,” Cheerilee commented as she and Shine watched the human interact with the foals. “I didn’t expect the children to approach him so easily.” “I know,” Shine agreed, just as surprised. “He’s literally got them eating out of his hoof-er, hands.” Both of them continued to watch slightly awed at the sight before Cheerilee spoke again. “What’s your opinion on this? Should I let him teach?” Shine thought for a moment. “Well I doubt he’ll have a problem with the material. I’m more worried about his behaviour.” Cheerilee’s ear twitched at this as she looked at Shine to elaborate. “Nothing dangerous. In fact Rodney has a likable personality, easy going. Perhaps a bit too care free, but I suppose that’s part of his charm.” “Then what are you worried about?” Shine let out a sigh. “It’s hard to say. He would never purposefully cause harm to anypony, however he doesn’t always think his actions through. He might intend to teach proper lessons, but the children might imitate his behaviour and-” Shine stopped speaking as Cheerilee started to giggle. “Oh Shine, if that was the case I don’t think anypony is qualified to teach. Nopony is perfect, though I try, sometimes I say one thing but do something different. Rarely, but it happens. The real lesson I try to teach is for everypony to try.” She turned her attention back to the human, now busy lifting Applebloom up as she sat behind his neck. The other children were yelling excitedly for their turn. “They certainly are enjoying his company.” “I think that’s because they instinctively know he’s one of them,” Shine explained with a smile. Cheerilee looked at her quizzically. “He’s not showing it right now, but most of the time he acts like the foals around him.” Making the connection Cheerilee giggled humorously. “I supposed that’s one way of seeing it.” The bell rang once again, signalling lessons to begin again. “Alright children that’s enough. Time to go back inside.” She was assaulted with moans, a few argued they hadn’t had a turn riding on Rodney. “I’m sure we’ll be seeing more of Mr. Rodney.” She looked at the human. “Won’t we?” Getting the message that he was welcome to visit, he smiled happily. “Of course. Why wouldn’t I?” He picked the colt riding on him off and settled him gently on the ground. “Don’t worry guys, I promise you’ll all get a ride.” He turned to Diamond Tiara. “Unless you don’t behave.” Tiara huffed and turned around before trotting towards the schoolhouse, head held high followed by Silver Spoon. “Alright everypony,” Cheerilee called out. “Make sure to say goodbye to Mr.Rodney before heading back inside.” Once the last foal went inside, Cheerilee approached Rodney. “I haven’t decided, but you’re welcome to drop by next week. It’s best we give the children sometime before your next visit.” “Not sure why but, seeing as you know best I’ll listen. I suppose this is goodbye then, see you next week.” “Mr.Rodney, Miss Shine, till next week.” With that Cheerilee went inside the schoolhouse leaving the human and mare alone. “Well let’s head back then.” =========[Sometime later, Ponyville]========= “...” “......Rodney.” I reached up and face palmed. “Shine, don’t. I can see it clearly.” “What was it you said before? Safe?” I sucked in a deep breath and sighed heavily as signs of a headache started to form. There in the distance, at a four way street, ponies were gathered in a large circle. The area around were littered with varying items, from broken glass to fruits of vegetables knocked over from their stalls. In the center was a small clearing, hovering right above the center of that clearing was a very familiar gemstone. It was an uncut, deformed onyx roughly the size of a grapefruit. Blazing with blue fire, it hovered above the ground, caught in what looked like a fishing net. How anyone has a fishing net when the town was smack in the middle of the continent was beyond me. Ropes attached to the net were held down by ponies, biting as they pulled in all direction forcing the net and gem trapped in the middle. A few were working on nailing down these ropes to the ground. Despite all this the onyx could still be seen tugging slightly in random directions, trying to escape. Just outside the crowd facing towards us was Twilight, and boy she looked absolutely pissed. Being the inquisitive and genius pony she was, Twilight no doubt analyzed enough of the spell on the gem to know I had broken my promise. Which explained why she not only looked extremely angry, but disappointed as well. I felt guilty. “So….what are you going to tell her?” Shine asked. “The truth,” I sighed. “Which is?” “I dun goofed.”