The pair walked in silence for the first few minutes. Nick wasn’t too sure on what to say and Twilight was deciding what to ask him first. The fact that he could use magic definitely peaked her interest.
“So Nick,” she started. “Can all wolves use magic? Or can you only use it because you’re an Element of Harmony?”
“How on Earth would I know that?” Nick responded, quickly shutting his mouth. Maybe meeting with her was a bad idea.
“Earth? Where’s that? Also shouldn’t you know? You are a wolf after all,” Twilight looked at him bemused.
“That may be true…” Nick tried to come up with a lie. “But the thing is… I was raised away from the rest of the pack. My parents didn’t want the other wolves influencing me so they moved us away to Earth. I’d rather not talk about my past if you wouldn’t mind.”
“Why not?” Twilight whined a bit. His past was a major reason in her decision to trust him. Here she could learn more about wolves, how they acted, why they disappeared.
“Because I don’t want to talk about it,” he replied. “I just need you to teach me how to use my magic. Besides why would you care about me? You can’t even trust me.”
“Yes, but if you’re willing to open up about your past, that’ll make it easier to trust you. Right now you’re making yourself look suspicious, not wanting to talk about anything.”
“So if you just met a total stranger, you would gladly tell them all about your past to make them trust you?” he was now curious. Maybe in Equestria they were a lot more open to each other.
“Well that’s one part of making friends,” Twilight replied, getting a little frustrated with Nick. “You tell them a bit about yourself and see what you have in common. So to answer your question, yes, assuming I could trust them. I don’t trust you, and won’t until you start talking.”
She really is determined to learn more about me. Why? No one cared about me before, now this pony wants to know my life story. I guess she does have a point, it does look suspicious that I’m trying to hide something. I’ll tell her the basics and hopefully she won’t pry anymore.
“Fine, I’ll give you some backstory,” he sighed, causing Twilight to prance around. “There isn’t much to tell, so I hope you’re not disappointed.”
“Anything will work!” she shook with excitement. She was going to finally get a glimpse into wolven culture. Using her magic, she summoned a quill and some parchment.
“What’s that for?” Nick asked, kinda in awe that magic could do that.
“To take notes of course!” Twilight squealed.
Nick rolled his eyes. “So what I said before was true. I was raised away from the other wolves, so I don’t know much about their culture. I did have an older sibling, a brother to be exact as well as my two parents. As far as I knew, no wolf in my family could use magic, so I guess because I became an Element, I got my magic. However I think it’s because of this gem that I can use magic. I haven’t tried using it without it, mainly because I don’t know what’ll happen to me if I don’t.”
He paused as Twilight continued to scribble down notes. For what he had just said, she sure was writing a lot. Finishing, she looked back at him, waiting in anticipation for his next word. He had to admit she was pretty adorkable, a nerd kinda like him. She was pretty cute as well, her bubbly personality along with an awesome mane. How did she do those highlights? I’m doing it again. Feeling a bit of attraction to a pony. The good question is why? Is it due to my love of horses, that now that I get to speak with them, I’m taking that love to the next level? I’ll just go along with it. These feelings will pass.
“After I was old enough, I left home, hoping to start a pack of my own,” he continued. He was getting pretty good at making this stuff up as he went. “That’s when I met Princess Celestia. While I learned to hunt, I never attacked prey bigger than myself. Plus she looked lost, so I decided to help her out. Obviously she was a little nervous when I approached her, but when I was able to convince her I meant no harm, we spent some time chatting. Before I met her, I never even knew ponies existed. After she told me how she was an alicorn and was responsible for raising the sun, I was glad she didn’t attack me. As we were about to part ways, that’s when she gave me this gem. The rest, I’ve already told you.”
Twilight finished writing down what he had said, and soon they were standing in front of her castle. It looked even more majestic up close. The sunlight dancing off the crystal walls along with it’s sheer size would have impressed most people. Seeing the look on his face, Twilight giggled.
“It’s impressive isn’t it,” she said, joining him in his admiration. It was sometimes hard for her to realize that all of this was real. First she became a princess after fixing a mess she had made. Now she had a beautiful castle to live in.
“I’ll say. A princess needs a castle, and this one even rivals Princess Celestia’s.”
Twilight blushed at the compliment. “Well, we won’t be learning any magic standing out here. First I’ll need to conduct some tests, to gauge what you already know. After that, I’ll teach you accordingly.”
“Sounds good.”
The interior of the castle was even more spectacular than the outside. The light that shone through reflected off the walls, illuminating every nook and cranny. Stained glass windows lined the outer walls, adding their own splash of color. There were corridors leading in multiple directions.
“Let’s head to my library,” Twilight said. “I’ll be able to conduct my tests there along with starting your lesson.”
“What tests are you planning to perform on me?” Nick said in a wary voice. He had worked in a lab and knew some of the unpleasant things he had to do to animals. He always wished that there was another way to further scientific progress, without hurting innocent animals.
Sensing his distress, Twilight quickly gave him a reassuring smile. “Nothing dangerous. Just to measure your magical aura and the extent of your capabilities. I’ll also be seeing what type of magic you can use. Based on that force field you summoned earlier, it seems you can use healing magic. The other two are elemental and time magic. Elemental is pretty common magic while time can only be used by a select few.”
“How exactly do you measure magic?” Nick was growing curious. “Is there a scale, or is it based on the amount of energy you have? How do you take multiple measurements or do you use a formula to account for any error? Is there-” Nick had to shut himself up as Twilight’s expression continued to change into confusion.
“You sure know a lot about conducting research,” she eyed him. “What exactly did you do before you were brought here?”
“Uh, research?” he replied sheepishly. “Ever since I was a pup, I always was fascinated with my surroundings. Lucky for me, both of my parents had books that taught me how to conduct experiments. After I left, I went searching for any knowledge I could find. Which is pretty hard, considering I’m a wolf.” He looked at her expression, and from what he could gauge, she believed him.
“Do wolves not have universities or schools?” Twilight asked, pulling her notepad out and writing more information.
“Not really,” Nick continued. “They’re more focused on who’s the strongest, and the strongest male becomes alpha and leader of the pack. Parents teach their kids, and once they’re of age, we either assimilate into the pack or leave. I didn’t want to be ruled over, which is why I looked to start my own pack.”
“Why doesn’t every wolf start their own pack?” the lavender alicorn asked, continuing to write.
“It’s not as easy as it sounds. Not only do you have to find other wolves, you need to establish your territory and make the wolves you find respect you. Technically the same as challenging the alpha, which I had no chance. That’s enough about me, we’re supposed to be seeing what magic I can use, remember.”
Twilight blushed a bit. “Of course,” she giggled in embarrassment. “Sorry, I love learning new things as well. Let’s start the tests.”
Her library was huge, bigger than any he had seen on Earth. Rows upon rows of books filled his vision. “Alright, now if you don’t mind, close your eyes and relax. This will allow me to scan your base magic levels.”
Nick complied and closed his eyes. Now that he realized it, he could feel something flowing through his body. It was like he was standing in a river, the water gently flowing by him.
“Hold still please,” Twilight asked and began casting the spell. She started with his tail and continued up his body. His magic levels are normal for the average unicorn. Nothing too out of the ordinary. She passed over his gem. The gem seems to be doing it’s job. His magic is strongest here. “Well your magic levels are on par with a normal unicorn. I guess since you’ve never been exposed to magic, that’s why you can’t control it. Don’t worry, after a week you should be wielding your magic with ease.”
“That’s good to hear,” Nick smiled. “I guess this might be a little late, but thank you Princess Twilight. Thank you for not only trusting me, but for taking time to teach me. It’s been awhile since anypony has treated me this kindly before. Your kindness means is greatly appreciated.”
“You’re very welcome Nick,” she smiled. “Please, there’s no need for formalities. Honestly I don’t like that title. It makes me feel like I were better than anypony. I’m just like any mare.”
“I beg to differ,” he said. “From all that the Tree showed me, all the plights you and you’re friends went through, you are no ordinary mares. You’re the reason you all have been successful in defeating your foes, you were able to rally your friends behind you when all hope seemed lost. You deserve the title of princess as well as being treated like one. But if you insist, I will respect your wishes, Twilight.”
Twilight felt her cheeks flush. She couldn’t tell if he was just being nice or flirting with her. Either way it was appreciated. Besides her friends, Nick was the first to see past her title, and see her for who she actually was. She did feel at a disadvantage as apparently the Tree of Harmony had shown him all about her, yet what she knew about him was only the tip of the iceberg. Maybe with time, he’ll be willing to open up more about his past.
“Thank you Nick,” she smiled. “Before we start, I’ll quickly write a letter to Princess Celestia. Now that I know you better, I feel that I can trust you. I’m just going to ask her about your gem, there may be properties about it I’ll need to know before we do any extensive training.”
At noon, Twilight decided they should eat lunch. While Nick was slowly making progress, she was excited at how much he had learned. What she first had him do was practice breathing. She further explained that it would be useful if a spell was getting out of his control. Simply forcing himself to calm down would therefore bring his control back. After that, they started with simple manipulation, Nick first learning to levitate a piece of paper. That in itself was humbling as it took concentration to move it up a few inches. Twilight assured him that with practice, he’ll be able to do it without much thought.
After he was successful in moving the paper consistently, they moved on to levitating a book. He came upon the same issue he had with the paper. Nick decided that every morning he would set aside some time to practice what he learned the previous day. It was after a few tries of lifting the book that Twilight decided to take the break.
“You really think that it’ll take me a week to get comfortable with my magic?” Nick asked his companion as she led them to the kitchen.
“Well it really depends on your learning curve. You may have trouble with lifting objects but can fire projectiles with ease. I won’t know until you actually try the spell. So far you’re doing exceptionally well for somepony new to magic. After lunch, I was planning on teaching you some basic defensive magic.”
“That would be great. It’ll help me while I live in the Everfree Forest. Especially with those pesky timberwolves.”
“How long have you been in there?” Twilight asked. She would even be impressed if he was only in that forest for a night. That place was unforgiving, the only pony she knew that lived there was Zecora, but somehow she knew more about it than anypony else. Nick also didn’t have full control of his magic, so the only resources he had were his paws and brain.
“About a full day,” Nick replied, thinking about yesterday. “Thankfully, being on my own taught me skills to keep me alive.” He didn’t need to tell her he was living in the castle, she’d probably go looking for him. Not that Twilight couldn’t take care of herself, but because she would get closer to him. It was why he chose to live there in the first place, to be isolated.
“A whole day!? What did you do for food?” she continued. She shuddered as it dawned on her that he probably found some animal to eat. While she couldn’t blame him for such an act since he was a wolf, would he be able to stop himself from eating her.
“I found some wild strawberries and apples,” he replied, but after seeing her wince, he quickly added. “I hope you know by now that I’m not going to eat you. Actually since I arrived here, I haven’t had any cravings for meat.”
Twilight breathed a sigh of relief. It helped hearing he hadn’t craved anything that moved. “Does that mean grilled cheese sandwiches sound appetizing for lunch?”
“Sure,” he said, licking his lips. “But I insist on helping you. I can’t have you cooking for me.”
Despite Nick’s protests, Twilight made both of them lunch. She explained that he was her guest and as such he didn’t need to do anything. She also added that if he tried to levitate anything, there would be a good chance he’d hurt himself. So Nick just sat there, watching her gently sway and humming some tune. He felt a smile appear on his face. She was pretty cute and very friendly once she got to know him. There was also her bubbly personality and her love for knowledge that reflected his own. They could be the best of friends. He shook his head at that notion.
Sadly, I’m afraid we can’t get any closer. I have her trust, and that’s what my plan was. After she finishes teaching me how to use my magic, I’ll disappear and go find the villains myself. They won’t need to know what happened to me, just that I did what I was sent here to do.
He broke from his thoughts as he noticed Twilight grabbing some plates, placing their sandwiches on them along with some chips and brought them to the table. “It sure smells delicious,” Nick said, taking in a deep whiff of the food. “I can’t wait to taste it.”
The lavender alicorn chuckled at his eagerness. “Just be careful, it’s still hot.”
As they ate, Twilight continued to try and get as much information out of the wolf as she could. To her dismay, Nick only shook his head, saying he did not want to talk about his past. Too many bad memories he’d like to keep forgotten. This seemed to stop her as she realized she was prying too hard.
Returning to the library, Twilight saw that she had received a response from Princess Celestia. In it, she confirmed that Nick was brought here thanks to her. While Twilight didn’t know it, Celestia had modified the events that happened when she met Nick. Whenever she read something that didn’t match what Nick had said, he simply responded by saying it was a lot to remember. As for the gem, she wasn’t too sure about it’s properties, only that came from the Tree of Harmony.
“Well, I guess the only way to find out what the gem does is for you to use your magic,” Twilight sighed, wishing she knew a bit more before having to run tests. She could only assume the gem worked like the pieces of jewelry the Elements were contained in. “Let’s work on your force field, at least we know the gem can handle that.”
She first demonstrated for him how she conjured one up. Her explanation was a lot clearer than the book. Instead of thinking of somepony to protect, an easier way to summon the field was to imagine what it would look like. The more he concentrated on its features, the stronger the bubble.
Following her instructions, Nick began picturing the shield in his head. He felt some energy shoot off of him and heard a light humming noise. Slowly opening his eyes, he saw that it had worked, and was able to hold it for a minute before he felt fatigued again.
“That was very good Nick,” the princess complimented him. “Sustaining a force field is one of the harder spells to do. Just like levitation, the more you practice the better you’ll be able to do it. Let’s try that one more time.”
He nodded and when he was ready, cast the spell again. It worked and he was able to keep it up for the same length. As the shield dissipated, Twilight asked him if there were any spells that he was successful in casting.
“The Tree did show me how to sling fireballs, not that they would do any damage,” he replied. “I can use them to light campfires though.”
“Ok, let’s work on that then. For this, it’d probably be best if we moved outside.”
Based on the sun’s position in the sky, Nick was able to determine that it was around 2. Still plenty of time for him to finish his lesson before heading home. Twilight led them to one of the fields surrounding her castle. “While I can’t cast fireballs, I do know how to cast neutral magic missiles. They follow the same technique, it will go where you want it to and the longer you concentrate on casting the spell, the more powerful it will be.”
“I’m guessing with more practice, I won’t have to concentrate as long to get the same result?” Nick quirked an eyebrow.
“Exactly!” Twilight said a little too enthusiastically. She was glad that Nick seemed to understand the importance of practice. Being her second student, she was proud that he was actually paying attention to her lessons. “So how about you demonstrate what you can do. I’ll raise a shield and you just fire at it to your heart’s content.” Seeing the concerned look on his face, Twilight added. “Don’t worry, I’ll be able to contain each fireball. So don’t hold back.”
Nick nodded and began conjuring his first fireball. He thought it was pretty cool Twilight had changed her shield to have a target on it. He would be able to improve his aim as well. The first fireball landed with a thud on her shield, a little below the target. Nick looked over at her and she simply smiled, nodding her head. With her reassurance, Nick launched another one, which landed to the right of the target. He felt a little more strength behind that fireball. Smiling he got himself into a rhythm, each subsequent fireball inching closer and closer to his target.
As if to celebrate him finally hitting the target, his last fireball gave a more resounding thud against the shield. New confidence filling him, Nick continued to lob fireballs at the target, feeling each one get stronger and stronger. Twilight smiled, seeing Nick get confident with each cast. She could see a fire of determination in his eyes, and his smile growing.
That must have been what I looked like when I mastered my first spell. He’s nothing more than a big, adorable dog. Warm brown eyes, sturdy body, and a sweet -. Twilight Sparkle, are you seriously checking this wolf out?! You just met him today, yet there’s something about him. I can’t place my hoof on it, but there’s more to Nick than he’s letting on. Maybe I could convince him to stay the night, then he’d have to answer more questions.
After half an hour, Nick was panting heavily. Twilight noticed a change in his magic, as towards the last few fireballs she had to concentrate on keeping the shield up. Still he would need to practice more if he was to actually break the shield. She clapped her hooves in excitement before heading over to Nick.
“Great job Nick!” she cheered, seeing his smile growing bigger. So far so good. “You are really getting better at using your magic. It may even take you less than a week for you to finally get control over your magic and start to learn more complicated spells.”
“I’m glad to hear that Twilight,” Nick replied, feeling an adrenaline rush. There was something thrilling he felt with each fireball he cast, if he hadn’t fatigued so soon, he could’ve gone for the whole hour. “Thank you so much for today’s lesson. I’ll get out of your mane so you can go on with the rest of your day. See you tomorrow!”
No! You can’t leave yet, how am I supposed to learn more about you.
“Wait Nick!” she called out. Seeing she had his attention she continued. “I mean, you don’t need to go back to the Forest. There’s plenty of room in the castle and you are welcome to-” she trailed off, seeing how awkward this was quickly becoming. Nick quirking his eyebrow didn’t help.
“Are you really inviting me to stay at your castle after just a few hours of knowing each other?” he asked in a confused tone. First she doesn’t know whether to trust me or not, now she wants to give me a place to stay. Maybe it’s an Equestrian thing, once they get to know you, you become instant friends. I mean it worked for Celestia, one look into her eyes and she had my trust. Look where that got me though. It’s tempting to accept her hospitality but I can’t. Any more time spent with her will only lead us to becoming friends. I don’t want to lose anoth- No. You promised yourself you wouldn’t think of him. Just be gracious, thank her and leave.
“Thank you for the offer Princ- I mean Twilight,” Nick spoke, not giving her any chance to answer. “But you’ve already done enough for me. I’ll be fine in the forest. Now if you’ll excuse me, I still need to find food for dinner tonight. Cya.” With that, Nick bolted without her even saying goodbye. Not trying to look too suspicious, when he reached Ponyville, he slowed down to a walk. Thankfully the townsponies believed the other Elements and didn’t run from him this time. Still they did stare as he made his way to the other end of town, some even following him.
As he reached the path leading to the Everfree, practically the whole town was behind him. Ignoring them, he began a light trot towards the forest, and was soon out of sight. Seeing the wolf was gone, the townsponies went back to whatever they were doing.
Twilight stood in the field, trying to see where she went wrong. She offered him food and a place to stay, yet he’d rather live alone in the Everfree Forest. Yep there is definitely something he’s hiding. I don’t know if it's due to his past or something else, but I will find out eventually.
Once Nick was deep within the forest, he brought his trot to a normal walk. While he felt bad for just leaving Twilight alone, there was no other choice. She would have most likely managed to convince him to stay and then he’d have no control. Why did this have to be so difficult? Couldn’t he just get his lessons from her and then head home? He had no issues doing that with his previous teachers. Go to class, behave, ask questions, go home. Why was Twilight so determined to learn about him?
“Well I’ll just have to fight it,” he sighed. “Eventually she’ll have to give up. When she does, it’ll be easier for both of us.” His stomach rumbled. “Ok, let’s see what I can sniff up for dinner.”
Oddly enough, there was nothing to sniff. No food or timberwolves, just fresh clean air, which was odd considering he was in the Everfree Forest. It usually had a damp, earthy smell thanks to the overgrown vegetation. “Guess I’ll have to look for food by eye. Hopefully it won’t take me too long to find something.”
As he searched for food, he practiced levitating small objects, from twigs to stones to leaves. If he couldn’t lift the object he moved on, not wanting to stay in one place for too long. Like Twilight told him, the more he used his magic, the easier it was to lift objects. While on occasion he would still drop a rock, he was proud that he managed to get some control over his magic. After a few minutes of walking, he picked up a scent. Inhaling deeply, he detected the faint smell of onion or was it garlic? Sniffing past the more pungent smells, he also detected some wild tomatoes closer to him.
Ok, first I’ll get the tomatoes, then the onion or garlic. Roasted veggies actually sound really good right now. I wonder why I haven’t had any craving for meat? I’m sure wolves don’t go this long without protein, then again I was human at first.
He was making good time. Based on where he was, the castle was at most 30 minutes away. The tomatoes were 5 and the onion/ garlic was 10. He’d be in the castle way before nightfall. Satisfied with his calculations, Nick proceeded towards his new destination. Upon reaching the tomatoes he was glad to see they were actually tomatoes, not their cousin, the horse nettle fruit, which would kill him. Finding a leaf and stick, he was glad that his paws were able to shape the leaf into a knapsack. Filling it with at least a dozen tomatoes, he slid it onto the stick and picked it up in his mouth. Not wasting any time, he headed towards his next destination.
When he arrived, Nick understood why he couldn’t distinguish the scent. The onions and garlic were growing right next to each other. Now that he thought of it, he was pretty lucky the Everfree Forest had any edible vegetation at all. Still he knew better than to look a gift pony in the mouth, and began harvesting the plants. With a nod of approval, he headed towards the castle.
“Some veggie kabobs would be perfect,” he drooled. “With an apple for dessert. Maybe I’ll do some reading before bed. Tomorrow I’ll go explore the castle a bit and then meet up with Twilight for our lesson.”
Thankfully for Nick, the rest of the trip was uneventful. Crossing the bridge and heading up the path to the castle, he was glad this day was coming to an end. Today would’ve been Monday, meaning he should have been at work. He wondered if his boss and coworkers were concerned about him. Never in his career was he late or missed a day of work. Had they sent search parties looking for him? They would’ve found nothing wrong at his house, since he was sleeping when he was “abducted”.
“Eh who cares,” he said to himself as he pushed the door open. “They’ll probably find a replacement. One of those interns that was working under me. At least my research will be in good hands, they were all a good bunch of kids.” Deciding not to dwindle on the past any longer, Nick opened his bag and began preparing the vegetables. He restocked the campfire with wood and easily had a small fire going.
“That’s one spell I have down,” he smirked, skewering the vegetables on a kabob. Not going to try his luck, he manually floated two skewers over the fire, slowly turning them to roast each side evenly. The smell of roasted garlic and onions filled the air, causing Nick to salivate heavily. Poking the veggies to check that they cooked thoroughly, he laid them down to cool off.
While he waited, he tried practicing his levitation. The way he saw it, using magic was like learning to walk. You can’t go immediately from one step to the next, you will fail, but with each success, you’ll get closer to mastering it. So with each failure, instead of letting it frustrate him, Nick saw it as a learning opportunity. If he could fine tune what he was doing wrong with his magic, he’d learn it faster.
After a few minutes of practicing on rocks, the kabobs were ready. They weren’t too bad, considering they had no spices or meat. His belly was full and he felt exhausted. With the fire slowly dying out, Nick crawled up onto the throne and was instantly asleep.