//------------------------------// // 14 - Back to School // Story: Every Cloud has a Silver Lining // by David Silver //------------------------------// Silver trotted up to Trixie after they had finished their celery casserole. He hadn't expected it to be very good, but it proved tasty enough on his herbivorous tongue and his belly was pleasantly full. "Trixie?" Trixie looked down at him, "Yes? Is Rough still playing that game?" Silver glanced over to see Rough playing at the computer, looking quite engrossed. "Yes. But that's not why I'm here." Trixie tilted her head, "What brings you before Trixie?" Silver gave a smile, "Can I learn some more magic from you? Real magic." Trixie poked him in the chest, "You are already learning 'real' magic." Silver shook his head, "I mean spells. Lifting and glowing, those aren't spells. I know it's different." Trixie tapped her chin, "Before you can learn spells, you have to learn how to read spells, and how to think spells. But before we even consider that, show Trixie your channeling." Silver gave a soft huff of impatience, but sat himself on his haunches and began to focus. He made his horn glow first, then pulled the magic out, then back in, and out again. He flip-flopped between the two states until Trixie nudged him on the shoulder. "Good. Not perfect, but you are improving. How is your precision?" Silver reached with a silver hand and gently plucked off Trixie's hat before bringing it over and placing it on his own head. Trixie huffed and snatched it back quickly. "Funny." She raised a hoof to point at the dirty dishes, "Clean those and maybe Trixie will be convinced. Break even one dish and you have to wait a week to try again." No pressure... Silver approached the sink and reared up on his hind legs. With his forehooves resting on the counter, he could easily see the matter at hand, or hoof. He began slowly working each dish one at a time. No hurry. Hurry leads to broken dishes. Broken dishes would lead to no learning magic for a week. He didn't want that, and decided a few extra minutes cleaning the dishes was well worth avoiding it. Using these mental hands was becoming a second nature. So long as he kept himself to two hands at most, he could just use them as he would have his missing hands, and everything seemed to work. His forearms even twitched a little, moving as if the hands were attached. "Finished!" he announced, looking around for Trixie, but not seeing her. He went back to all fours and trotted through the house, to find her laying on her side in the den. Silver approached her slowly, unsure what the expression she wore meant. "All done. Everything OK?" Trixie nodded, "Trixie didn't hear any falling dishes, so she will begin the lesson. Sit." She pointed to a cushion, and Silver hurried to place himself on it. "Magic is complicated from here out. Many unicorns never move past lifting and glowing. If you don't understand, Trixie will forgive you. Not everyone can be as amazing as she is." She pulled over a book bound in light cyan. It read 'A Foal's Introduction to Practical Spell Reading'. Trixie flipped it open and skimmed through the pages quickly, seeming to skip through the first few chapters. She turned the book around and slid it before Silver. "Read." Silver looked down at the book curiously. The book was covered with diagrams showing different amounts of internal and external channeling, durations, and meanings. There appeared to be about twenty-five in total. "What are they?" Trixie pointed at the book, "Think of them like the magic version of the alphabet. Most spells are made of combinations of those. Most also require you channel both ways in a very precise fashion. You can see magic, can you not? Behold!" She held up the book as her horn shone in demonstration. She went through the magical alphabet slowly but precisely. Each specific concentration seemed to create a different pattern around her horn. "If you do it too slowly, it does nothing of consequence. When you do them close together, magic. Will is also important." She performed a faster pattern, and fireworks exploded around herself in a dazzling display. Silver immediately tried to copy the pattern, imagining his own fireworks. A single jet of light popped into the air, then fell to the carpet, not even exploding. It soon vanished. Trixie looked all-too-amused. She shook her head, "An excellent attempt for your first spell." She leaned in, "Trixie will tell you a secret if you promise secrecy." When Silver nodded, she continued, "Trixie's first spell almost set her house on fire. Compared to that, you are doing well." Silver blinked, "Should we be doing this somewhere less flammable?" Trixie scoffed, "You are practicing in the presence of a magnificent and skilled wizard. If your spell goes awry, she will fix it before anything can be harmed. Now study." She tapped the book. There was nothing for it. He started reading and copying, trying to learn the feel of each pattern in the book. Trixie suddenly interrupted him, "Quickly, show me the first pattern." With a rising panic, Silver produced a pattern. Trixie shook her head, "Trixie is not sure which pattern that is, but it is not the first, certainly. You must memorize them." Ugh. Silver frowned at the book and started from the first pattern all over again. He loved learning... mechanics, systems. This wasn't a system, it was a language, and he hated languages. He didn't want to give up yet though. He wanted magic, real magic. He studied until his eyelids grew heavy. Soft clip-clops came from the living room before Rough Draft poked his head in, "Almost done in here?" Trixie nodded, "Studying while half-asleep will not help anything." With a snap of her power, the book was closed. Silver rose to his feet and staggered towards bed, trying to remember the patterns desperately. As he walked past Rough, he was grabbed up and hugged. At first he wriggled in complaint, but the warmth of his guardian soon won him over and he relaxed against Rough. Rough kissed the top of his head, "Good night." Released, Silver trotted to his bed, "Night!" The next day, at school, Silver's mind was filled with the patterns. He kept going over them, but felt frustration building. Was he even remembering any of them right? He wished Trixie had let him bring the book to school. The teacher was trying to teach... something, but Silver's mind was far away in a land of confusing horn diagrams. When school was let out, Silver wandered home, still trying to get it all right. He stopped when he bumped face first into something. He looked up, then scampered backwards in fear. Tumble stood before him. "Hey," he said casually. "Uh, hi." Smile and say hello. It didn't work the first time, but it didn't hurt either. Tumble approached him. Silver's body felt like a tightly-coiled spring, it almost hurt to breath. "She dump you too?" Silver let out an explosive exhale, "What?" "Carrot," explained Tumble, "She dumped you too?" Silver was baffled, "Sort of." Tumble nodded, "Mares... right? We stallions should stick together." Silver's confusion only grew. He thought back. Equestria seemed to follow certain rules. If you paid attention, everything made sense... "Yeah... So... no hard feelings?" He offered a hoof to Tumble. Tumble bumped hooves, "Nah." Silver moved to walk around him, but Tumble started following him. It suddenly dawned on Silver. He stopped and turned to Tumble, who stood right in front of him. "Tumble... I'm going to ask something, but before I do, I want you to know something." "What?" asked Tumble with a raised brow. "This isn't... an insult or anything. We're... cool, but." He leaned in a little, "Are you a colt cuddler? No offense!" Tumble turned red quickly, "What! Why! I oughta..." But he didn't rush to maul Silver, or even deny the statement. He just looked ashamed, and uncertain. Silver let out a slow breath, then smiled at Tumble, "It's cool, I said that. If you are, or if you aren't, it's cool." Tumble looked around for other ponies close by before he moved in over Silver, looming intimidatingly, "So what of it?" Silver scampered back a few steps, "Nothing. You can be one if you want. I don't have anything against colt cuddlers." Tumble blinked at Silver, "You don't? Everyone does." Silver tilted his head, "I admit I... really don't know. Is that... a thing? I'm new... to Canterlot." "So where ya from?" asked Tumble. "Must be a weird place, ponies don't care about colt cuddlers." Silver shook his head a little, "They care, but I don't. Who a person finds love with is none of my business. What's the harm?" Tumble smiled a little, "You're a weird little colt." Silver looked around a moment, then back at Tumble, "So..." "So?" asked Tumble. "No more bullying?" asked Silver. Tumble shrugged softly, "You're off the hook." Silver fidgeted a moment, "I'd rather you didn't pick on anypony." Tumble gave a loud snort, "What are ya, an Element?" He shoved Silver back a step, "What's it to you if I pick on somepony else?" Silver regained his stance and stepped towards Tumble carefully, "It wasn't fun when you were picked on. You don't need to be mean to others." Tumble suddenly looked both angry and sad, "Nopony cares what I think! Why should I care what they think?" Silver summoned his hand and softly scratched Tumble behind the ear, "I care. If you promise to try being nice, I'll introduce you to other nice ponies." Tumble shied back almost violently when the scratching started, but when it didn't stop, he slowly began to relax, and settled on the ground, "You're crazy, colt. I should pound you one." Silver flashed a bright smile, "But you won't." Tumble lashed out a hoof. Silver squeaked in sudden fear, flinching, but he was only dragged closer to Tumble. "Don't get cocky." Silver wasn't sure how to feel at that moment. Tumble was being nice, mostly. He was also gay. He was also large enough to tear Silver in half if they did that kind of thing, and he didn't really want to do that kind of thing anyway. "So, want to play a videogame?" Tumble rose to his hooves, "Nah. I played all the ones at the arcade." Silver smiled, "You haven't played any of mine!" He took a cantering step back towards his house, "Come on! I have a driving game you could try." Tumble ambled after him, "What kinda driving game?" They trotted on, soon approaching Silver's house. Tumble asked, "So, is it true? They said you were playing a game with Carrot, a dirty game." Silver flushed lightly, "It was her idea." Tumble nodded, "I can believe that. She tried to get me to play stupid games. After I said no enough times, she stopped asking. You gotta put mares in their place." Silver turned to look over his shoulder at Tumble, "You had better not say that around Trixie, or she might do something awful." Tumble shuddered, "No thanks. That mare's dangerous." He trotted up beside Silver, "Is she your mom?" Silver tilted his head, "Close enough. Magic tutor, but she lives with me." Tumble snorted, "Your dad must be rich, affording her." "Nah," said Silver as he opened the door and invited Tumble in. An evening playing games together sounded a lot better than the other ways Silver had spent time with Tumble.