Chapter 1
Magic 101
One week later
Alex slowly opened his eyes and looked around, wincing at the bright light shining on his face.
Lifting his hands to his face, he clumsily bumped his new hooves in to his forehead, and groaned in response.
“Yup... Still in cartoon world.” He muttered to himself.
Getting himself out of the bed with zero blanket trouble, he looked at the clock and sighed, it read 8:00 AM. Normally he'd be dying to sleep in more, but this world just had him on his toes too much to allow it.
Yawning, he shook his head, trying to adjust himself to the waking world, since the events of the previous week had taken such a toll on his body, that hadn’t adjusted to a proper sleeping schedule yet.
One thing that he hadn’t had a chance to deal with, was his little problem with that colorful mare, Rainbow Dash. He hadn’t gotten a chance to apologize to her since he had mistaken her name, and she had stormed out of Pinkies house.
But, he figured the opportunity would present itself eventually, so, he pushed it from his mind for the moment. He had many more important things to think about,
Grabbing a brush, he quickly fixed his bed head, and with a quick look in the mirror, he flared his white wing and shook it, making sure the feathers weren’t all that messy. Then, after doing the same with his grey wing, he decided he was decent. Today was his first day of magic training, and he didn’t want to show up a complete mess, even though he was sure Twilight would understand.
Walking out of his room, he grabbed an apple from a basket next to his door with his mouth. But, had to be careful. He wasn’t used to carrying things this way, and he didn’t want to puncture the skin on the apple by biting too hard. He hoped he could get used to magic quickly, so he didn’t have to hold everything this way... thank goodness he wasn't an earth pony.
Walking into the front section of the library, Alex noticed that Twilight had moved the large wooden horse head to the side, and put a wooden desk in its place. He could also see a chalk board that she had brought in and placed in front of a bookshelf. Getting the idea, Alex quickly sat himself in the desk, and twiddled his with what would have been his fingers.
After a few minutes, Twilight came in through the front door with a few bags of groceries and a couple of books, all held in the air using her magic. Seeing him waiting in the desk, she quickly focused and put all the food she had bought in its proper place, then she trotted over the chalk board and placed the books she had been holding on a small desk next to the chalk board.
“Sorry about that!” Twilight began. “I would have been back sooner, but Applejack stopped me and asked me if I could help her harvest some apples, I would have, but today is your first day of class, and my first day as your teacher!” She said, smiling excitedly to Alex. “So… Welcome to Magic 101!”
Levitating a piece of chalk off the table next to him, she bright it to the blackboard and began writing her name on it.
"My name is Twilight Sparkle! And, for the next few years, you are going to be my- why are you making that face?" Twilight asked, giving him a frustrated frown, "Is my teaching boring you?"
“I know who you are Twilight.” Alex said smirking. “Is all this introducing REALLY necessary?”
“Yes.” Twilight answered simply. “I read that the best way of teaching somepony, is to be professional, and maintain a consistent attitude!” She said matter-of-factly, as she levitated a ruler off the table, and pointed it at his nose, "Understood?"
“Understood!” Alex nodded rapidly, no longer wanting to question her teaching methods. “You’re the boss Miss Twilight! Forget I said anything!”
“Wonderful!” Twilight said, a small smile crossing her lips, “Now!” She began again, “I’m Twilight Sparkle, and I’ll be your teacher! Do you have any questions before we begin today’s class?”
Alex thought for a moment, and then shook his head.
“Alright then,” Twilight said, “today, we’re going to have a little history lesson on the origins of magic, before we officially start your training.” She said pulling out a rather large book and flipping it open to a page she had bookmarked.
“A LONG time ago,” Twilight said putting plenty of emphasis on the word ‘Long.’ “There weren’t any Unicorns. Just Pegasi and Earth Ponies.” She said, flipping a page with her magic. “And as far as those ponies were concerned, magic was something that only a few gifted species could conjure.” Twilight paused, taking a breath, then continued. “However, contrary to popular belief then, and even now, you don’t actually NEED a horn to perform magic.” She said looking up at a confused Alex.
“Really?” Alex asked, genuinely surprised. “Why wouldn’t all ponies use magic then?”
"Well, the horn acts as a focusing point for the magical energy running through our bodies," She explained, recalling everything Celestia had told her on this topic, "Without it, it's hard to get enough energy in the same place, so a spell simply can't be cast."
"So," Alex began, scratching his chin and looking at the ceiling, "It's possible, but it's much much more difficult?"
“Much more.” Twilight nodded. “You see it happen every now and then, especially when it comes to a pony that's lost their horn. But besides that, there haven't really been many recorded cases. There was one story I heard a few years ago..."
“Story? Alex asked, interrupting her thought process.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to fall off track there.” Twilight apologized, finding her place in her book again. “Well, at some point, a large community of ponies, who lived rather far away from the main population, somehow figured out how to use magic.” She said, unhappy she couldn’t explain the original discovery of magic in more detail. “Nopony really knows how they did it, but they did. And, as time passed, their foals eventually started being born with larger and larger bumps on their heads, until, much later, they were full horns.”
“But… if those ponies were so secluded, how have horns become such a normal thing in this world?” Alex asked.
Twilight smiled, happy he was interested. She had been worried he’d be bored. “Well, as the largest colonies of ponies started expanding their territories, they eventually came across the unicorns, and they integrated into the mass population. This is when the true documentation of the unicorns began. Everything before then, we know from stories that had been passed down from generation to generation.” She frowned, “So, we’ll never know one hundred percent how unicorns came about, but, we have a general idea from the stories they told us. Pretty much, one pony somehow came across it, and taught everyone else.”
“Okay,” Alex nodded, smiling, “So… what about that story you mentioned?” He asked.
“Well,” Twilight said, sorting her thoughts, deciding a slight deviation from the lesson couldn’t hurt, “It's more of a legend... most ponies that know about it, don't believe it, because they don't think magic can be used by a non-unicorn."
Alex sat silently and listened.
"Well, this story is about a nameless stallion. He came along long after the discovery of Unicorns. And, after what he did, he was thought of as a hero.” She explained to Alex, as he listened intently. “When the very first King of Manehattan started to get the idea that Unicorns were better than earth ponies and Pegasi because of their ability to use magic, a lot of unicorns started to agree with him..."
Alex swallowed at the mention of the story. Something similar happened on earth.
"Things started getting worse for the non-magic users, as they were segregated from the unicorns, and forced to live according to terrible rules, including the limitation of non-magic children, and different schooling.” Twilight explained, disgusted that anypony could think such a way as she shook her head.
So that kind of evil could exist in this world... Alex was ashamed to admit that it put him at ease somewhat. It was something familiar.
“So,” Twilight continued, “One day, a stallion appeared. No one had ever seen him before.” She explained, “But, when he confronted the King about this mistreatment, the king tricked him, and used a spell that is now forbidden, which removed his horn. Normally that spell had only been used as punishment for unicorns that were guilty of magic related crimes, but, the King used it to make an example out of the stallion, so that other unicorns wouldn’t try to stand up against him.” Twilight said pausing momentarily to take a breath.
Alex simply sat quietly, eagerly waiting the next part of the story.
“So, after that happened,” Twilight began again, “Many of ponies started to question the King, after seeing him treat a fellow Unicorn in such a way. The Stallion knew he could use this, so, he disappeared for a short while, hoping to convince everypony that he had run away.” Twilight smiled as she continued, coming to her favorite part of the story. “Then, during a rather bloody public assembly by the King, where he was humiliating a group of pegasi, the stallion came back, and gave the King one chance to apologize, and put a stop to the laws he had made. But…” Twilight said slowly, purposely driving Alex crazy. “He refused, and turned his back to him, telling him that he was nothing more than a magic-less insect.”
"Aren't all insects magic-less?" Alex spoke up, before 'eeping' at Twilight's sudden glance.
"Ahem."
“It's said that when the king refused to comply, the stallion did something none of them expected. He apologized.” Twilight said. “Then, he cast a spell, and a powerful one at that. Something nopony thought would be possible. But he did it, without a horn. The spell turned the king and his most loyal followers into stone, proving that power didn’t just belong to Unicorns, but the Earth Ponies, and Pegasi as well.” Twilight said smiling at the thought. “However, the spell he had cast was too powerful for him. Because he had been a unicorn once, he knew the focusing technique to get the magic ready to be cast. But, without a horn to separate the energy from his body, it focused on his brain instead, and presumably caused irreparable damage."
“And that’s why Earth Ponies don’t want to use magic?” Alex asked.
“Exactly,” She answered. “Without a horn to focus the energy, magic is nearly impossible. And the fact that using it can seriously injure a pony puts it out of the question.” Twilight explained. “So, basically, only Unicorns are safe performing magic.” She finished.
"Was there any more to that story?" Alex asked, tilting his head.
“Yes! there is a little more.” Twilight nodded, regaining her train of thought, “The magic did some real damage to him, so the ponies in town got him to the hospital as fast as they could, but it was too late."
“So… He died?” Alex asked.
“Yes.” Twilight said, feeling a little bad, despite it being nothing more than history, “He had one final request though, and they were that he be left alone in his last moments of life. So… everypony left the hospital, respecting his final wish. But, the something odd happened.” She said, considering it once again in her head.
“He was magically cured?” Alex asked, trying to fill in the blanks as best he could.
She didn't say a word. Something that was obviously wearing on him.
"Come on!" He called, trying not too sound too much like a whine.
Twilight “Well,” She finally began, laughing at his reaction, “After the ponies left him in the hospital, there was a bright gold light that seemed to explode out of all the windows… And when they ran back inside, he was gone.”
Alex cocked an eyebrow. “What do you mean gone?” He asked confused. “Is that something ponies do? Return to the force?”
“No.” Twilight answered, not understanding the reference. “Something like that had never happened before. So, while the ponies were in there, they tried to figure out what had happened. But, there was only one other pony in the whole building, so they knew a sound answer wouldn't be likely."
"Aaaaaaand?" Alex asked, frowning at her pause once again.
"When they asked him if they had seen what happened, he told them he had no idea. He was just The Doctor, and that they were in a hospital. So, after that, they gave up.” She explained “If he had been alive, somepony would have recognized him” Twilight said. “So the only way he could have survived, is if he had changed his face.” Twilight said laughing. “But let’s be serious, like that could ever happen!”
"You know, for a legend, you know a lot of details about that story," Alex pointed out, as Twilight laughed to herself.
"I've read a lot about the story. There were a few written accounts from the supposed ponies that went looking for him, and they were fairly correlated." She answered, "A lot of ponies know the gist of it, and think it's a legend... But I've read a lot, and I really do believe that it happened."
"Well, I'll believe it too if i get some extra credit in the class." Alex laughed, "But, what does this have to do with my class anyway?"
Twilight paused, and looked up. “I… don’t really know… I think we got sidetracked a bit.” She giggled.
“Okay, well, it was an interesting story though!” Alex said, "Maybe we should stick with the stuff we know happened though, how about that?"
“Hey! You’re the one who asked!” Twilight said, pointing at him with a faux-intense look.
"You're the teacher, and you indulged a student?" Alex said, smirking to her, "Rookie mistake, Sparkle."
“Alright, I think it’s time to move on!” Twilight said, not wanting to get carried away laughing once again. “I wanted to get you practicing magic right away so you can get home as quickly as possible.”
“Alright!” Alex said excitedly. “What are we doing?”
“I’m going to start you off just doing exercises.” Twilight began. “Performing magic is incredibly difficult, it requires a certain state of mind. So, you need to have all of your focus on what it is that you’re trying to do.” Twilight turned her head to the chalk board, and started copying down everything that she was saying.
Alex leaned forward and started trying his best to follow her instructions.
“When performing magic, it’s essential that you know exactly what it is that you want to do,” Twilight began, “You need all of your focus on the spell you want to cast.” She continued, as she wrote down everything on the chalk board. “Some spells require little effort, and are really nothing more than imagining a hand reaching out of you, and lifting something up. Spells like this are simple compared to the teleport spell you want to cast, but they still require months of practice to do.” She continued. “So, you don’t need to worry about ACTUALLY casting any spells today. It’s going to be a LONG time before…”
“Hey! I’m doin’ it!” Alex cheered, amazed that he was actually using magic. It felt surreal to be doing something that he had been told wasn’t real since he was a child.
Twilight turned around, and almost fainted when she saw Alex levitating his apple off of his desk.
This was impossible. He hadn’t ever used magic before, and yet here he was, using the magic that had taken her so much time to learn back when she was a filly. “I… I…” She stuttered, completely at a loss for words.
After a few seconds of this, Alex fumbled the spell, and dropped the apple. “Aw!” He said turning to Twilight and smiling. “How was that?” His smiling face turned into one of confusion as she stood there, with the same twitching eye he had seen at the beginning of class. “Uh… Twilight?” He asked, now slightly concerned.
“How… how… I… But…” Twilight continued to stutter. “How… How did you do that?”
“Lift the apple?” Alex asked, confused. “I just did what you said.”
“But, it takes some ponies YEARS to get their magic to that level!” Twilight managed to say. “You just…” She said searching for the right words, “Do you know what this means?” She asked him, wide eyed.
“Uh… no?” Alex said, scratching his head again.
“Alex, this means that you’re not going to have to train for anywhere NEAR as long as I thought!” Twilight explained, still a little shaken by all of this.
And then, all at once, he understood. “Just… how much time do you think this is going to save me..?” Alex asked slowly.
“Well, you already know the basics… You know how to clear your mind, focus the energy, and manipulate it to do what you want.” Twilight answered, “It took me almost 2 years to learn everything to the point that you’re at. And on top of that, Princess Celestia and I honestly thought it would take you LONGER to learn this much, on account of you only being a pony for such a short period of time!” She finished, allowing herself to breath.
Alex beamed. He had gotten so used to the idea of being stuck in this world for a long time. But now it was sounding like he would be getting home much sooner than he thought. Unable to contain himself, Alex lunged over his desk, and wrapped his arms around Twilight. “This is great!” He said releasing her, then starting to jump up and down, and cheer.
Twilight smiled at his excitement. She may have been shocked by his amazing magical ability, but this was GOOD news. She wasn’t sure how long it would take before he was able to use the spell to go home, but it was now a fraction of what it had been. “Well!” Twilight said, interrupting Alex’s cheering, “You still have some ways to go! But, I think we can end our first class a little early, since you went and pretty much made my current curriculum useless” She laughing.
“You know what Alex deserves for being so great at magic?” A voice came from the window.
Alex and Twilight turned to the open window next to them.
“A Party!” Pinkie said poking her head inside, however, she pulled her head out again, and started trying to lift something in through the opening. “Hey Alex, can you help me get my party cannon in through the window?” She asked poking her head back inside.
“You know Pinkie…” Alex started slowly, “I don’t think I’ve recovered after the party last week… how about a rain check?” He said apologetically, and slightly worried about this ‘party cannon’ of hers.
“Sure thing!” Pinkie smiled. “Here! Have this though!” She said placing a cake on the windowsill. “I was working on it all day for this party, and I wouldn’t want it to go to waste!” She beamed.
“But… if this is a party for Alex because he’s good at magic… How could you have known this morning?” Twilight asked, not understanding how she had known.
“Oh, I had a combo!” Pinkie explained with a smile, “Anyway, you two enjoy the rest of the day!” She said pushing her cannon away.
“That pony is really…” Alex began
“Random.” Twilight finished.
The two nodded, agreeing with each other.
“Well, let’s not let this cake go to waste!” Alex said, carefully using two hooves to lift the base that the cake sat on, placing it on the table in the middle of the room.
The two sat down at the table and Twilight cut them each a piece with her magic.
For the next while, Twilight and Alex simply talked about different things. They talked about the class, Ponyville, their hometowns, their families, (with Alex still skipping his parent’s deaths.) Then before they knew it, hours had passed, and they had eaten most of the cake. The two were interrupted from their friendly conversation when Spike suddenly ran through the front door.
“Twilight!” Spike shouted running across the room toward the table, “I just got a letter from the Princess!”
“What does it say?” Twilight asked, curious at what the Princess would want to write to her about.
Spike opened the scroll and started reading it out loud. “Hear ye, hear ye, Her Grand Royal Highness Princess Celestia of Equestria, is pleased to announce The Grand Galloping Gala to be held in the magnificent capital city of Canterlot, on the 21st day of, uh, blah blah” He said skipping over the little details. “Cordially extends an invitation to Twilight Sparkle plus on guest!” Spike took the two tickets from the page, and put them on the table.
“The Grand Galloping Gala!” Twilight said excitedly.
“What’s that…?” Alex asked looking back and forth between Spike and Twilight.
“The Grand Galloping Gala is the most prestigious ball in Equestria!” Twilight explained. “It’s something that anypony would die for a chance to go to!” She said, giddy with excitement.
“It’s really girly.” Spike said. “Too much dancing and… other girly stuff” He said not able to think of anything else that was really ‘girly’ about it.
“But… I only got two tickets… Who should I invite?” Twilight said, suddenly realizing the choice she had to make.
“Well, don’t worry about me.” Alex said “I was never one for a dance. But, I’m sure one of your other friends would be happy to go”
“…That’s what I’m afraid of…” Twilight said slowly, know this would be a problem.
A BIG problem.