Sunset galloped along the shoreline, feeling her hooves sink into the sand in every stride. She pushed forward, fighting as best she could to keep momentum. She panted and felt her form grow sluggish. Her legs dragged against the sand more and more. Her eyes settled on a pair of coconut trees about twenty feet ahead and she designated them as her makeshift finish line. With that settled, Sunset took off into a sprint until she passed the coconut trees. The feel of the morning ocean mist helped cool her off somewhat as she managed into a trot to her starting point nearby. She let out a long exhale before guzzling down the coconut filled with fresh water and pulp she had set aside before her exercise, and let out a more satisfied sigh after quenching her thirst.
There was a direct link to one’s well being and the effectiveness of their magic circuits. Breathing control was of the utmost importance in spell casting, after all. Running also helped Sunset manage her stress. At least, somewhat. Being active rather than idly contemplating nature for hours at a time did plenty to calm her anxiety, though it would be much better in the longer run to deal with the source of her nervousness instead of treating the symptoms.
In her tired state, Sunset proceeded to muster as much focus she could to produce a partition around herself. The battle at Neighagra Falls made it quite clear to her that one of her biggest weaknesses was her endurance. Since then she put as much effort as she could to push past her boundaries, while also going out of her comfort zone when it came to the study of magic. The water element, for example. Of course, dealing with Wakea’s demands for some sort of “communing with nature” was also putting her off balance.
There were missteps to be sure, but even when she stumbled, Sunset knew ahead of time what the end goal of her efforts was.
---
Instead of having breakfast at the patio Sunset made her way to the market. What she purchased wasn’t all too different from what she could have gotten for free, but having a bit more time away from Wakea was worth it. Nowhere near as large or bustling as what can be found in Canterlot, the islanders made do at the decidedly rustic collection of stalls with the products of various trades and crafts meant to be sold to each other as well as those from neighboring islands. Goods from farther away sometimes made their appearance but more often than not it was a reliable number of tourists every season that took something that reminded them of the islands back with them.
"Ah, Ms. Shimmer! Come check out my wares!" Sunset walked over to a boisterous merchant who waved her over to his stand near the food vendors and looked over the new wood carvings and other knick knacks he had on display. She first came across the stand a couple of days ago, drawn partly out of curiosity and partly by the enticing smell of the food stalls nearby.
Lono flashed a wide smile at her interest in his newest knick knack. “This is a tiki.” He began his sales pitch in earnest, pushing the item forward on the table towards her. “Carved by yours truly, and blessed by none other than Madame Pele!” Sunset nodded as the energetic islander continued. “Depending on the blessing it receives, a tiki can provide any number of effects. Good luck, increased stamina, you name it.”
Sunset figured it was like enchanting an object for greater durability. Glancing back at the little figurine, she could somewhat pick up magic emanating from the object. It was much fainter than what could be perceived from a spell cast on it, And yet, it also seemed a bit more resilient to erosion than a spell.
An idea came to mind as she had been wracking her brain the last few days as to what to get the girls. “Would it be possible to make one for, say, focus while studying? Or...a successful performance?”
“Hmmm...I don’t see why not,” he said after a bit of thought. “Is that what you're looking to get? It'll take a bit to do another carving and have it blessed, but it shouldn't take more than a week.”
“The two examples are exactly what I'm looking for, Lono,” she said happily.
“Hmmm, I can't say I'm familiar with any pule for those in particular, cuz, but I'll ask for you.”
Sunset smiled in relief. “Mahalo, Lono.”
“A‘ole, cuz,” he replied with happy laughter. “I guarantee you’ll have it with you before you step off the island.”
---
While lazing about on the flat surface of a rock jutting out into the lagoon, Sunset tugged at a stick, wondering why the crab was so earnest in holding on the other end. It appeared not too long ago while she was trying to find something interesting to contemplate, though it wasn’t the first time she had seen this crustacean. She didn’t know how, but Sunset was sure it was the same crab she had seen before.
As she continued the mock tug-of-war, a voice called out to her from afar. "So this is where you've been, Sunset." She took minimum notice of Wakea's presence before her attention returned to the feisty crustacean before her. “I see I’m intruding,” he said, unable to hold back from grinning after watching such a strange situation unfold before him.
“No, it’s not a problem,” Sunset said. She let out a sigh and looked away from the tug-of-war contest still going on. It wasn’t like it took much concentration on her part of keep hold of the stick with her magic. “Is something the matter?”
He shook his head while looking on in interest at the events play out before him. “I just wished to see your progress,” Wakea explained. “I felt some...frustration...in our last exchange. If there’s anything I can do to make amends…?”
Seemingly surprised by this admission Sunset recognized she was staring wide-eyed and felt exonerated with her feelings. There was a mix of guilt over how petty she must have been and she shook her head. “No, there’s no need, Wakea. I should be the one seeking amends. I’m used to being...well, praised for every little thing. I guess I was just being self-entitled.”
Wakea wordlessly nodded. “Your recognition of your faults is praiseworthy, Ms. Shimmer. Your mother has raised a fine daughter.”
Sunset felt a blush heat up her cheeks from the unexpected compliment and she lost control of her magic levitating the stick. “Wow, uh...that was...thanks, I guess? You don’t have to go that far.” In a rush she looked around in hopes to change the subject.
"Progress...progress...uh…well, this little annoyance showed up about a week ago. I named him Bubbles." Sunset didn’t bother with telling him the story of how she came across it during one of her morning runs. It had claimed the coconut she set aside and was pretty persistent no matter how far she floated it away with her magic.
"I see," he said with a nod. He remained silent for a moment, watching her amuse herself before speaking out once more. "You are much more engaged with your surroundings than before.”
"Am I?" She lifted the stick up with her magic, bringing the crab up as well. Rather than lose its grip, it was the stick that failed under the pressure of Bubble’s claws and it snapped into pieces, causing the crab to drop harmlessly onto her head.
She yelped in surprise while it scrambled into her mane as though it was a coral reef. “H-hey, get out, you bug!”
Though technically giving into her demand, the crab scuttled away from Sunset's mane and along the slope of her back, out of her field of vision for a moment, then promptly clamped its claw on her tail. She felt the tug and yelped in surprise. She lifted her tail, now only half-paying attention to Wakea's presence as she dealt with the annoying crustacean interloper. “You realize that was a mistake, right?”
Bubbles clacked its free claw, staring silently back at her.
Wakea couldn’t help but laugh at this point in time, his expectations completely dashed by how the young mare before him was acting now. “What a fine relationship you’ve developed, Ms. Shimmer!” he said mid-chuckle.
Made more self aware by how she must have looked, Sunset lowered her tail in order for Bubbles to return to the ground, blushing all the while. Turning to face her, the crab snapped its claws before skittering into the water like it had the last time she saw it. Without realizing it, Sunset lifted her hoof to wave goodbye.
Still smiling, Wakea began to say, “The people of this island, we all learn from the time we are born to have a relationship with nature. Not just the animals, but the rocks and trees; the water and sky. Everything is connected. Both living and not. Animate and inanimate. This force is called-..."
"Mana, of course," Sunset interrupted.
He blinked and nodded. "Ah. It's good you know that term. Mana. Please, explain."
It was her turn to blink. Sunset paused for a moment to prepare herself to do her best Twilight impersonation in hopes of recalling what she learned. To start things off, she brought her hoof to her temple, miming the act of adjusting a pair of glasses on her snout, before saying, “Mana, a sacred force in the direct universe that can be harnessed by all, but is most prominent in living things. While unicorns and alicorns can use it in the most obvious way, pegasi use it in order to walk on clouds and control the weather, and Earth ponies are only as strong as they are because of it.
“Some may call it power, others may refer to it as the bond that ties the spiritual and physical borders of our world together. It is a spiritual quality considered a sacred impersonal force existing in the universe by others.” She puffed out her chest in pride and awaited to hear how impressed he was.
"That explanation, Ms. Sunset," he began to say in a tone quite reminiscent of when she first took him to the lagoon, "is mediocre."
Sunset was baffled and freely scowled. Was it a mistake not to dumb it down, or something?
“You may be very good at reciting Twilight’s Sparkle’s ‘Sociological Approach to Mana and Magic’, but you have yet to explain it to me in your own words.”
She was definitely surprised by Wakea’s familiarity with Twilight’s work, but didn't want to change the subject. “Why don’t you take a crack at it,” she muttered under her breath, choosing to look away as her mood darkened.
Her complaint didn’t go unheard, as much as she meant it to be. In response, Wakea explained simply, “Thousands of years ago, the ancestors took notice of the great force that nature could bring to the islands in thunder, storms, or wind. Over time, it was realized that there was an energy that connected us all. To have mana is to have influence and authority, because it can be obtained in one of two ways: through ‘love’ or ‘hate’. That is mana.”
He said one more thing before he left, as though he sensed just how much Sunset was chomping at the bit to have the last word. “I suggest you get as much sleep as possible. Tomorrow’s lesson begins quite early.”
---
As promised, Sunset woke up just before dawn and met Wakea for breakfast. Even this early in the morning there was quite a sizable platter to choose from. After finishing, Wakea led the two of them toward the base of the volcano at the center of the island. Sunset recalled walking by this area a number of times during her “self study”, always feeling somewhat drawn to it without knowing why.
“There is no surprise in my mind. It is the most sacred place on the island, after all,” he said, commenting on her experience. “A great concentration of mana is contained within. You will be one of the privileged few to be invited to the cavern up above.”
“I’m...honored…?” was all she could say, not really sure whether it was because of Princess Celestia’s influence, or for some other reason. She still felt somewhat frustrated with him for yesterday, but held her tongue. They proceeded onward, traveling up a well worn path that became steeper and steeper until they reached the cavern entrance about halfway up the volcano’s side. The distinct sour smell of sulfur—like rotten eggs—affronted her nostrils the moment they entered the cavern and walked deeper toward the center.
Next she felt waves of heat bearing down onto her; Sunset likened it to an oven getting ready to bake. But besides the heat, she realized how peaceful it was inside the cavern. She closed her eyes and stopped in place for a moment, feeling absolutely no magical interference from the outside world. She couldn’t remember the last time she felt such a serene calm. “It’s just like a partition,” Sunset remarked and opened her eyes.
Wakea nodded. “Very good insight,” he said, then had her follow him just a little ways more to the central chamber of the volcano. “Without even trying, you can feel it. We are nestled within the very energies of the world, which acts like a natural partition.”
She was taken aback by the ease he had in using those terms but stopped short of voicing it aloud.
"Give it a try," he said. "Meditating here."
"What am I supposed to meditate on?" She asked.
"Try to converse with the world," he suggested after a moment of thought.
Sunset sat on her haunches and did what came naturally to her. The moment she closed her eyes, however, the differences were immediately obvious. Compared with the less-than-perfect partitions she’d make in Canterlot, Sunset felt absolutely no magic from the outside. It was actually a disturbing feeling, as though sitting in a complete vacuum. Her eyes opened so she could recenter herself as she was already feeling some fatigue.
As she’d make the comparison before, artificial partitions were akin to being in a high altitude environment. She had done plenty of training under such circumstances, becoming more and more comfortable and able to cast spells and even spar with the princess. But only just after a few minutes of contemplation—actually, she wasn’t sure exactly how much time had passed since she saw Wakea sitting in a different place than she’d remembered—Sunset already knew how difficult it would be to cast the simplest of spells in the volcano cavern.
To test this, Sunset closed her eyes and concentrated on the image of a candle and lighting the wick with a gathering of mana. However, her deep seated doubts were realized when nothing happened and her fire spell failed to produce anything at all. The wick remained unlit. Rather than get frustrated, however, Sunset accepted the challenge with a smirk on her face as she took another calming breath.
Wakea nodded in approval, feeling the erratic swirls of Sunset’s aura slowly begin to rearrange themselves. What he saw were the jumbled energies of a confused youth still trying to find herself, yes, but he could also sense something else entirely. Despite his vast experience it was something he was unfamiliar with. If even Celestia herself needed his help to identify it, Wakea knew to be wary.