//------------------------------// // Vanhoover // Story: Lost in the Mirror of Worlds // by Meadow_Dawn //------------------------------// I stretched out on the bed and sighed. It felt nice to know I could relax away from others, just like my room in Canterlot. I laid in the bed for a few minutes, enjoying the quiet peace around me before taking a breath and starting to climb back down. I was a guest in someone’s home, and I knew the polite thing to do was to socialize as much as my hosts wanted until it was time to separate. With a final stretch of my back legs, I headed over to the door and started to reach my magic to the handle. “Hey Dawn, mind getting those books for me and leaving them in the room? I’d like to try studying whenever you’re not busy if I can.” Starlight’s voice sounded from behind me. I froze by the door, now worried why Starlight’s voice wasn’t internal. I slowly turned back to see Starlight and my heart nearly leapt out of my chest in concern. Fears of someone coming along and opening the door rushing to my mind as I went to the door and put my rump to it to keep it from opening easily. “Star!” I called out in a frantic hiss, “Celestia said not to appear when we’re not in Canterlot!” “I know, I’ll be careful.” He waved dismissively. “I’ll only be in this room, and I’ll disappear as soon as someone opens the door… come on Dawn, you know how good we were at hiding our gaming habits from mom and dad.” “We flirted with danger a bit too often back then.” I paused and remembered those days where I was forbidden to play except on three day weekends and the like, even then only an hour a day. We were never satisfied with this, and could have never finished an RPG like that. There were close calls though, shutting off the tv after turning it to the right input, finding the right hiding spot from in bed or the bathroom to avoid suspicion. In the end we were caught, but after how many hours we put in together? I wasn’t sure if I could count. “Dawn, I’m bored out of my mind. All I’m asking for is a chance to do something else, even this would be a chance to do something productive.” He pleaded. “Heh, is that so?” I bit back a chuckle. It was almost strange to hear that request, knowing half the time our desire to be productive was hit or miss. Even so, as long as he was attentive like we were back then, it should be fine. “All right, but play it as safe as you can.” “I will, promise.” He said with a confident smile before disappearing from sight as I opened the door. I walked through and closed the door behind me, knowing that Starlight would reappear in the room and hopefully study when I return. In hindsight, while I doubted how productive he’d be, I had to admit, for anyone that wanted to know me they would eventually learn of Starlight’s existence. I paused at the top of the stairwell, hearing tidbits of the conversation. Without knowing why, my heart started to pound and get heavy as I worried about what I could hear. Stone Wall’s voice echoed predominantly with Stalwart’s replies starting to come as well. I knew it was impolite to eavesdrop, but I wanted to know what they were talking about before rejoining more. “Why did she say hand to hand back at dinner son? She doesn’t have any that I see.” Stone Wall’s voice asked as I approached the flight of stairs, still out of sight. Guilt crept over my body as I realized I slipped up on the right word once again. It was hard enough back in Canterlot, trying to say the right things, but I sequestered myself a lot outside of Stalwart. It didn’t help that now Stalwart was in the awkward position of trying to defend my mannerisms without potentially know why. I took a deep breath and started to stride down the stairs, ready to help explain, though with a vague thought of promising to myself to be better at using their terms. “I don’t really know. She hasn’t explained it before, but she keeps gesturing with her hooves, so it’s clear she means them. She never says anypony either, always everybody or everyone. I’ve been meaning to ask.” Stalwart said from his couch, hesitating as I watched him look in my direction during my descent. “Hm. I don’t recall anypony doing it that way, not even the minotaur representatives back in the day.” Stone Wall said thoughtfully from his seat. His voice trailed as he turned to see me at the base of the stairs now, heading toward Stalwart. “Well, where I’m from,” I said as I scrambled to think of any explanation that could work. “You called your front hooves hands, and your rear hooves feet. So you can tell whether someone means front or back.” “Ain’t heard a place that does that, but if you say so.” Stone Wall shrugged as Trickshot entered the room. “Stalwart, why don’t you go ahead and take Dawn out for a stroll. I’m going to put dinner together and I’m sure the two of you want a chance to stretch your legs a bit.” Trickshot offered gently as she took a place by her husband, her presence already helping him noticeably calm. “That sounds like a good idea mom. You feel up to it Dawn?” Stalwart asked, turning toward me expectantly as he stepped down off the couch. “Sure, why not?” I replied with a smile. It’d be nice to avoid needing to talk about my differences in speech after all. I really need to figure out a good excuse for these things or finally adapt to their sayings again. I let myself get comfortable and lax with Stalwart, and that needs to change. ‘I’ll come along Dawn.’ Starlight said, ‘Can’t stay too far away from you or I get pulled along anyway. Mind grabbing the saddlebag? Harder to forget to bring it to your room later that way.’ ‘Sure, might as well put it there right away. Carrying it with me is going to hurt after a while I bet.’ I replied before adding out loud, “I’ll be right there, just wanting to put my bag away before we go.” I picked up the saddlebag with my magic and floated it behind me as I approached my room, eventually setting it down beside the foot of the bed. After taking the stairs and walking out, I let out a quiet sigh before realizing Stalwart turned his head toward me in response. “Sorry about that, he was trying to find a way to figure that out without needing to bother you.” Stalwart said as we turned onto the sidewalk, setting a gentle pace. “For a stern military man, he occasionally has a sense of tact.” “I see” I chuckled, “Well, to answer the question better, it’s just what everyone, I mean everypony would say back home. I’m just too used to it to forget it entirely.” I paused before looking around at the buildings, noticing a change from the houses and lawns we had passed, “Where are we headed?” “Just down the street toward a particular… well,” he smirked, “Let’s just say I suspect you’ll enjoy the sight of it.” “Oh? Come on Stalwart, tell me more.” I replied slowly, hoping to sound coy instead of begging. “Patience.” He chuckled, “You’ll enjoy it plenty when we get there.” I groaned quietly, trying to keep it inside as I tried to look around at the streets. Countless ponies passed by on both sides of the sidewalk. It was almost surprising to me to see this much bustle. Canterlot has its own business to it, but I never went out among the heavier traffic times for exactly this reason. I tried to suppress any feelings of panic at being lost in the crowd as I started to stick to Stalwart’s side like glue. We walked through the throngs of ponies before catching sight of a giant globe building up ahead. “What’s that?” I asked as we stopped near the crowd surrounding the place. “The Magic Globe. It’s a popular attraction here, showing all kinds of different magic that unicorns can do, from teleportation to levitation to illusion. Though they employ several magicians for entertainment too. It helped my little sister a lot when she was a foal.” “That sounds great!” I laughed, feeling excited at the prospects of seeing more advanced magics that I might yet be able to master. The idea of magicians was a bit surprising, but I suppose in a world full of magic, sometimes it’s nice to have a ‘different’ kind of magic to be amazed at. “Will I be seeing your sister during our visit? You’ve mentioned her to me before…” “Not that I could tell. She’s been busy out in Manehattan, might not have gotten a lot of time off. Still, we always get to see her around Nightmare Night and Hearth’s Warming Eve.” He said looking over and gesturing to the giant globe, “Hey, what do you think of popping in for a bit to get you going?” “No, not yet.” I smirked back at him, “I’d rather have a day or two to study in there. I learn best by example, and if they’re demonstrating these magics, I’ll need time to see them all. Besides, with any luck, I’ll understand things so well I’ll stand a good chance of doing them myself.” If you say so.” Stalwart chuckled, “When my sister visited, a lot of the magics inspired her, but she never could use the advanced magic, like teleportation, and struggled with some of their ‘intermediate’ stuff. Most ponies can’t quite get the hang of it, though I suppose you’ll be fine if you did it already.” He teased. “And like I said before,” I said as we turned away from the crowd, walking down another street, “Star’s teacher said that it was a one off thing, that we didn’t do it the ‘right’ way and it was exceedingly dangerous.” “Well, I don’t know this teacher of his, but I’m sure you can do whatever you put your mind to.” He replied as he turned us down another road. I nodded, remembering how my parents always said the same thing. I never did apply myself too much. I just didn’t seem to have a particular goal in mind before, so I couldn’t put my effort behind it and rested on my intelligence to coast through school. Thinking back to my old life while walking beside him, I still had mixed feelings. On the one hand, I missed my old way of living to an extent. I missed being on two legs and being self-sustaining despite the hardships I encountered, and I half-missed my family. Even so, my family was a good reason not to go back. I had to move away from them in the first place because it was causing me so much pain to have the reminders that they didn’t care about their own child or brother. “You ok Dawn? You went quiet on me.” Stalwart asked as we crossed yet another street. “Oh, yeah, just… thinking about home, and if I had the chance, whether I’d go back.” I said, realizing just how much I really enjoyed being here. Stalwart was attentive, and becoming a really good friend at the very least. Combine that with all the magic that could be done, and the suggestions from Celestia and Luna that our combined magic was a force to be reckoned with and I had more in this world than any other. “Well, you’d be missed, though if it’s not any trouble, I wouldn’t mind visiting you when I get some downtime.” He smiled. “Oh really?” I chuckled, “And how good are you at balancing on two legs?” “What?” He looked back in surprise. ‘Damn, I really need to think about what I’m saying!’ I internally cursed as I realized I really surprised him. ‘Gee, no shit Sherlock!’ Starlight teased. ‘oh shush you.’ I replied back in the same cheerful manner. “Never mind, it’s an inside joke.” I spoke, trying to make him pass it off as a not so serious answer. “Ah.” Stalwart said, trying to smile, though it definitely seemed forced to me. “What I mean to say,” I added, worried he might have felt hurt or like I was pushing him away. I thought hard on to fix what I said so it made more sense, “is you’d be welcome to come visit when I’m home… the problem is, it’s probably going to be a one-way trip.” “Why’s that?” Stalwart asked. “It’s… complicated.” I hesitated, barely remembering the promise made when I first arrived, “I have to double check with Princess Celestia to see how much I’m able to say on the matter, I’m sorry.” “It’s ok. If they don’t want you to say, that’s fine. I still trust you.” He smiled as he gave a brief hug before we approached the entrance to a tall tower-like building with a saucer near the top. “So,” I sighed, feeling sad that I couldn’t be completely honest with him. He was doing his best to work with me despite these limits and my own faults, and was doing a wonderful job of it. “What’s this place?” “One of the best views in Vanhoover.” He smirked as we stepped into the doors of a small, mostly glass room. “I know you don’t like heights, but I hope you’ll still like this anyway.” I gasped as the room started to rise and I quickly cursed my inattentiveness. Of course if I had paid attention, I would have known I was in an elevator! I stood next to him, as close as allowed as I watched the ground go away from us and the tops of buildings come into view. Elevators weren’t incredibly scary on their own, but this was one of those times where a hand-rail would have been really nice to hold onto, so Stalwart would be the next best thing. I watched as the buildings stopped blocking the view, and the sight was rather breathtaking. I still felt shaky on my hooves, but even as someone who undervalued aesthetics, I could appreciate the ability to see the entire layout of the city. The elevator stopped, and Stalwart guided me along the semi-crowded top floor, where other ponies of many ages appreciated the view in their own ways. “So, what do you think of my home?” He asked quietly, my ears barely hearing the question over some of the foals playing in the background. “It’s big, but it’s a wonderful sight to be sure.” I said, slowly pacing the circle with him as I continued to look outward, stopping as we started to see more of the ocean. “I’m glad you like it.” He said calmly, stopping with me as I soaked in the view. We stood together on that lookout for some time, occasionally changing what part of the city we looked at. Stalwart talked a fair bit, telling me stories about a couple of the restaurants his family ate at, or field trips he went on while at his school. It was genuinely nice to listen to him talk. Soon enough though, we took one of the inside elevators back down so the heights didn’t scare me so much. Standing next to him like I had on the way up somehow made me feel better this time around. I gave him a warm smile as we stepped out of the elevator and he returned the smile, the two of us heading onward through the winding streets once again. I had no idea where he was taking me yet again. This city was huge, and it didn’t help I inherited my mother’s sense of direction, or lack thereof. When the nicer residences came into view I realized he was taking us back home. “We’re home!” Stalwart called out as we wiped our hooves on the doormat. “Good timing, the lasagna is almost ready.” Trickshot answered, smiling at us from the dining room while she set the plates for everyone. “How’d you enjoy the tour Dawn?” “It was really nice. I’m looking forward to the giant globe place if I can get the chance. I always learned things better after a demonstration of the theory, though knowing the theory can really help after the fact.” “Good, I’m sure you’ll get a lot out of it.” She said approvingly before she left toward the kitchen. Stalwart and I took up our seats at the table in the dining room to wait. Stone Wall was already sitting at the table, reading his newspaper “Fair warning Dawn,” Stalwart smirked, keeping his face pointed at me but looking over at his father across from him, “a certain pony at this table enjoys telling stories after eating their fill.” “Wut!” Stone Wall barked suddenly, his newspaper folding deftly and being set aside as he eyed us both, “What’s this about stories?” “Nothing dad.” Stalwart chuckled. “I’m sure regardless of if somepony tells a story or not,” I said slowly, taking the extra time to not slip up on the wrong phrase again after being caught before the trip, “there’s much that a pony can learn from an experienced veteran.” “Heh,” He started to smirk, “She reminds me of a certain stallion when he was just a colt, always complimenting his father.” He started to chuckle as he turned toward Stalwart, who rolled his eyes with a smile, as if playfully disregarding his father’s comment. Any further conversation was quieted as Trickshot carefully carried the glass pan for the lasagna to the table. She started to gesture to me, indicating I should take the first slice. I smiled appreciatively, and used my magic to place a corner piece onto my plate. “Who’s next?” I asked, still levitating the scoop. “Dear, you don’t have to.” Trickshot said, standing nearby. “Thank you, but I’d like to if that’s ok with you.” I said with an appreciative smile. Trickshot nodded and walked over to her seat with her husband as I gave each one the serving they wanted to get. Setting the scoop down, we all began to eat. The food was delicious. It reminded me a great deal of home, and while it didn’t have any meat in it, I was more than satisfied after that one slice. I tried not to chuckle during the last stages of dinner though, Stalwart and Stone Wall looked like they were playfully glaring at each other before serving themselves seconds. Once everyone had their fill, we walked over to the living room and settled down on the furniture. I took a moment to go up to my room and checked in on Starlight, who was sitting at the desk reading one of the books already. “You sure you won’t be caught?” I asked quietly. “Positive. I won’t be out if any of them go up the stairs, and you’ll have a good view of that, so I’ll be able to hear you tell me like always.” “Okay…” I replied hesitantly as he returned to his reading. I left the room and headed downstairs. As I finished, I looked over to see Stalwart and Stone Wall sitting on the floor, holding cards in their hooves. I approached quietly, rather curious about what they were playing, with a bit more curiosity about how they were holding the cards in the first place. Cards were laying on the floor, some face up, in a way that reminded me of several trading card games I used to play when I was in middle school. “I play Cadence’s Radiance on your Changeling hive. One more spell and you’re going to be on the run.” Stalwart said confidently as I settled myself at his side. “What’cha playing?” I asked, looking over his shoulder to look at the cards. “Hoof and Horn.” Stalwart chuckled. “We always take the time to play it. I’m almost good enough to keep beating my old stallion here.” “In your dreams colt.” Stone Wall said with a knowing smirk. “I’ll use Sombra’s Darkness, and I’ll take your Shining Armor and Starswirl cards out of play.” “Don’t count me out just yet.” Stalwart said as he held his cards close to his chest. “I didn’t, that’s why I’m playing Chrysalis. Now my hive’s back to full strength and I’ve got four drones added to the field.” He chuckled, “Your end is near.” “Dang…” He said looking over to his hand and furrowed his brows, presumably trying to find a way to salvage a victory. I looked over to the box that laid nearby. Using magic to hold it, I read the description, "Hoof and Horn. A game where you can be anypony. Take control of your Heroes and embark on an epic quest to reign in a wild and unbroken Equestria. Do you have what it takes to master the Might of Hoof and the Magic of the Horn? Only you can succeed, Hero. For Equestria!" “Seems interesting.” I said as I smirked, wondering how in the world that slogan came to be. “So are all of the characters based on real things or on some fantasy elements for you guys?” I asked, inspecting the various cards in play, moving to the side so I didn’t give away what Stalwart could do by my reactions. “They’re all real Ponies and Events, though some of the items or abilities might be a bit made up.” Stalwart smirked before looking over his options once again. “But… then what’s a changeling?” I asked. “Deceitful little pony wanna’bes that feed off of ponies’ love for each other until they’re dry.” Stone wall said coldly. “Ah…” I said quietly, wondering why there was the degree of hostility before Stalwart made his move. “Bad choice son.” Stone Wall said, playing a series of cards that made Stalwart groan and put his hand of cards down on the ground. “I was so close too…” Stalwart mumbled. “In your dreams, buckler.” Stone Wall chuckled, “Experience triumphs once again.” “I’ll get you next time.” Stalwart said as he helped to put the game away. “You say that every time I beat you.” Stone Wall laughed. “Now settle down colt, time for me to tell you another old war story of mine. Of course, our guest is welcome to join him...” “I appreciate the offer.” I replied, stretching out like a cat before bowing my head, “But at this point, I think I’d better get my studying done for the day. Perhaps another night?” “You’re welcome to listen anytime Miss Dawn.” Stone Wall chuckled as I only just now noticed Trickshot on the sofa knitting, “In fact, Stalwart, you get off easy today.” “Yes sir.” Stalwart stood up, going to a salute before going to my side as I made my way up the stairs. I headed to my room and stepped inside, quietly hearing Stalwart come in, but the door stayed open. “Well, that was close.” Stalwart chuckled, “You would have been listening to him for a good hour before his story would finish. Especially if it were the time he joined the royal guard. He loves that one.” “I see.” I chuckled, noticing Starlight wasn’t visible in the room like he said, though the book was still open on the desk, bookmark left where he must have had to stop reading. “Well, is there anything you wanted to talk about, or were you wanting to help me study again?” “No no,” he chuckled, “I guess I’m just so used to seeing you to your room it just became habit.” “Well,” I chuckled, feeling particularly mischievous, “If that’s the case, you might want to step out before somepony’s parents suspect him of trying something with his guest.” I dragged out ‘somepony’ a little as I teased, hoping for a laugh. “I wouldn’t even dream of doing such a thing.” He said with a bow and a chuckle. As he headed out the door he replied, “It’d just be weird when you’re in your parent’s home...” I couldn’t tell if I wanted to laugh or flush crimson at the retort. To have him say that so casually in reply was unexpected and it didn’t help he laughed more as he closed the door behind him. “Whelp, you walked right into that one.” Starlight’s voice sounded quietly from behind. “Oh shush you.” I shook my head, still trying to clear the imagery trying to crawl its way to my mind. Starlight shrugged and headed back to the desk, clearly intent on studying. “Anything exciting so far?” I asked, going over to his side. “Not really. Reading about basic magical theory and listening to my cryptic teacher as I try to figure stuff out on my own.” He said, sounding bored out of his mind, though there was a hint of accusation. “Just what are you trying to get at Star?” I asked, not sure where he was headed. “Just how much studying can you say you’ve ‘really’ done? Like, actually sat down, watched someone demonstrate while someone else explained the method behind it like when we were at school? Or even just sat down and really studied the book? Name me one time since we fixed the bracelet together.” “I…” I hesitated, feeling the accusation much more directly. I couldn’t really say I had, even with it only having been a month. Sure I read, but I couldn’t honestly say I remember any of it at all. All the concepts were so foreign, I just zoned out during my readings. Then again, that’s what happened when I tried to study math ahead of my class. “It’s fine to take a break ‘n all.” Starlight said, before adding, “But we can’t expect to rest on just absorbing what we’re told like back when we were in school. Just because you could average C’s and B’s without trying doesn’t mean that’s going to be enough for fixing Silver’s…” I nodded, thinking hard about what he said. I know he didn’t say ‘mirror’ just in case we were being overheard, but it was clear. Still, I don’t remember fixing the bracelet taking that much study. Truthfully, I could barely remember anything about what I read in preparation for it. I saw Starlight nod as he watched. “That bracelet was a near miss, or at least, that’s what Teacher says. He had to point out what runes to put in where, and supplied a majority of the focus to our magic to make it work, and only barely so. If we’re going to fix ‘that,’ then he says we need to have enough understanding and power to at least do over half the work ourselves.” Starlight said, still sounding serious. “Oh….” I replied quietly as my heart started to sink. “Look…” He sighed, “I’m sorry to rain on your parade. This really was supposed to be a vacation for you because everyone thinks that you’re really studying hard, but we know better.” He paused before giving me a mischevious look, “Besides, a certain stallion still wants to have a certain mare as his bedwarmer.” “Starlight!” I called out, almost starting to yell before cutting my volume down to a whisper, blushing deeply. He laughed before fading out of sight. “Hey, I’d stop teasing if you actually stopped fighting it.” I rolled my eyes and headed over to the bed, thinking seriously about what he said. I really wasn’t studying. I try to do what I can at first, but then my mind always seemed to wander to everything else. And then there was the matter of Stalwart. On the train and even in front of his parents, he kept staying near to me and even wrapped an arm around me. ‘Don’t act so innocent there.’ Starlight chuckled, ‘I distinctly remember you getting up onto the seat next to him and settling down close both on the train and here as well.’ ‘Starlight… god I wish I had a spell to keep you quiet sometimes.’ ‘Don’t worry, I’ll leave you alone now. Good night Dawn.’ I sighed and curled up under the sheets, moving the pillow to the side so I could sleep more comfortably as I tried to put it out of my mind. I was tired, and I just wasn’t in the mood to really think about it. Sleep came over me slowly, as I laid there thinking about Stalwart and our time spent so far, imagining what else might be ahead. My dream wasn’t much better at helping me rest. Vivid action scenes of shifting back and forth between human and pony as Stalwart and I fought through various faceless unthreatening things, plowing through them before trotting along happily onto our next destination, all the while music practically blaring in my ear and spurring us on. I was abruptly shaken out of the dream just as we were about to approach an inn and spend some more… intimate time together. “Dawn!” Stalwart hissed as he continued to shake. I tried to raise my head, but it was stuck. “Ow.” I said as a dull throbbing started to come down to my head before I realized he was pushing a pillow on my horn, dulling the sounds it had made. I struggled against him as I tried to pull or wiggle free, “Ow ow ow!” “Oh, sorry.” He replied as he stepped off, barely stifling a yawn. “What in the world was going on?” “That’s what I was about to ask.” I said groggily as a headache started to form. I felt exhausted as the small amount of light came into the room, just enough to look at his bedridden hair. “You tell me. I was woken up to some music that was getting louder and louder. I opened my door and heard it coming from your room while you were asleep. I had to do something, so I covered your horn before pops could hear and tried to wake you up… just what were you dreaming?” He asked, looking tired but sounding far more awake than I felt. “Oh, sorry…” I grumbled, wiping my eyes as I twisted my shoulders to sit upright only as much as needed. “Just fighting through a bunch of things next to you, lots of running…. Oh, and just before I woke we were headed to-” I paused and blushed deeply, realizing what that dream was about to become. “To?” He asked, sounding interested in spite of his apparent fatigue. “N-nevermind.” I said, starting to curl up the way I had been before. “Sorry to have disturbed you…” “Well, ok then…” Stalwart shrugged before patting me on the head and heading back to his room, pausing at the door before adding, “This time with less music, ok?” I wanted to call out to him, say I understood, but he closed the door before I could muster the energy. I sighed and tried to remember the last bit of the dream, slightly disappointed it ended where it had and half hoping it would continue. The next morning felt hazy, my head heavy as I tried to figure out if I was still tired or just not able to sleep any longer. The room looked unfamiliar as I tried to recognize where I was, until the events of yesterday started to press in. My legs moved sluggishly as I moved to slide out of bed, reaching with my magic to my brush and start getting my hair straightened. I don’t know what sort of expectations they would have had, but I wasn’t about to find out if they disapproved of a guest who slept in. I stepped out of the room, hoping that Starlight was able to get some more sleep or rest, and started to step down the stairs, wondering why it was so dark. “Good morning dear,” Trickshot’s voice came quietly, “Sleep well?” “Kinda.” I said, hearing my voice shake throatily, starting to remember the wakeup call from the prior night. “Where is everyone?” “Still sleeping. You woke up really early. Do you enjoy seeing the sunrise?” “I… don’t know really.” I said attempting to roll my shoulders to mimic a shrug. “I just figured with a name like Dawn, it… well it doesn’t matter. The colts upstairs are still out cold. Stalwart always sleeps in when he’s at home, and Stone’s no better, no matter what he tells everypony.” “Well, it probably didn’t help I woke Stalwart up… Had a dream that decided it wanted to blare music during the fights.” I sighed, following her into the kitchen. “I see, I was wondering what that tune was. Very unique compared with Equestrian music.” She said casually, gathering some flour and other materials for what looked like pancakes or waffles. “You could say that.” I said quietly, not wanting to give her any details. “Well,” she said after a bit of quiet and pouring everything into a bowl, “either way it was lovely. Plan on going to the Magic Globe today then?” She asked before starting to mix everything together with her front hooves. “It’d be nice, especially if they have a few unicorns demonstrating some of the magic. Without seeing the example or intended effect, learning theories just goes in one ear and out the other. It’s frustrating, considering the task I have ahead of me, but we’ll get it sorted out.” “I’m sure you will.” She said as she turned on the waffle iron and started making breakfast. I headed to the couch and sat there, looking out at the window as the light started to come through it. The sunlight started to bask the living room in its warmth and I felt it start to heat up my fur. It was a nice feeling of comfort as my mind started to more noticeably wake. Stalwart walked down the stairs sluggishly, approaching the couch I was on and climbed up next to me. I smiled gently, still feeling the warmth of the sun as he leaned against me, settling in. Stone Wall came down the stairs soon after, right as the first set of waffles were finishing. Soon another set of beeping crossed our ears and we were called to eat breakfast in quiet. It was a wonderful meal, but after it ended Stalwart hopped down and headed toward the door. “You ready to get some studying done Dawn?” He called back. “Sure!” I called out, hopping down and walking briskly to his side ‘Well, someone seems eager.’ Starlight replied in my ear. ‘Star, come on… You said I should start studying more seriousl-’ ‘Actually, I meant Stalwart.’ He teased, ‘I mean, he’s going a bit out of his way to help you study even still. Of course, that just further suggests-’ ‘Don’t want to hear it Star.’ I said, trying to shake my head once again. ‘I mean, I don’t mind the idea, I just-’ “Everything ok?” Stalwart asked, looking at me concerned. “Yeah, sorry, just trying to fend off Starlight’s teasing.” “Oh? What about?” “Basically… us.” I said, hearing my voice come out quietly. The idea of telling him made my legs feel weak as my heart started to pound, but I didn’t want to leave him wondering. “He thinks you taking me out this early when the place might not be open is so you can have time to take me aside or something. I told him I didn’t want to hear it.” “Why not?” he asked quietly in turn, our combined pace slowing as we started to reach the bustle of everyone else rushing to their workplaces. “Well,” I hesitated, feeling my chest tighten and my pace slow alongside his, gradually coming back up to a normal volume. “it’s not that I don’t like the idea, really! You’re really nice and supportive, and have been a huge help. I just,” I paused again as my heart continued to pound. I wanted rather badly to say this just right. I don’t want to feel like I’m turning him down somehow. “I’m afraid that with the promise I’ve made to Silver, I don’t want to spend too much time away from that promise or I’ll feel like I’m letting him down. Combine that with the possibility of me returning home too, and…” “I see.” he nodded pausing for a few seconds before adding, “So, then you wouldn’t mind if I do start calling you my marefriend then eh?” “Hey!” I burst out, feeling all that tension go away in an instant as I lifted a hoof to push him on the shoulder playfully. “I’m trying to be serious here!” “And so am I. After all, you’re the one that brought it up.” He smirked before bumping his shoulder against mine. “Fine.” I said as my face warmed. I looked away while my heart started to race. I blurted out my response, before I could let my embarrassment stop me, “I’d love to be your marefriend. I still have to help Silver get home like I promised though. We’ll worry about my home later, and you’ll keep me on track. Deal?” “Deal.” He smiled broadly before looking forward again, helping us weave through the crowds. ‘Dawn’s got a boyyyyfriend.’ Starlight teased. ‘In a way then, so do you. How do you like boys?’ I replied quickly, feeling a lot more on top of things once more. His lack of response made me feel vindicated as the weight of what I just told Stalwart hit my chest like a freight train. I was tense, but my heart was beating excitedly and I couldn’t help but feel elated at finally having said that. The idea of being asked like this was still such a huge surprise I could hardly believe it happened, though in a way, it was also long overdue. “You know,” Stalwart said, broad smile on his face, “It’s been months since we first met, and I’d been trying to figure out how to ask you for a while. With all the studying and the night shifts, I was half afraid you would say no or had somepony back home.” “Really?” I asked slowly as my face heated, heart still racing. Despite all my prior hesitation, I could say I felt flattered to hear it directly from him. “Yup.” He chuckled, “I’m glad you said yes.” “You know what?” I started, leaning against him and feeling the tension that had built up start to leave once more. I looked up at him with a smile and said, “I’m glad too… Sorry if maybe I strung you along. Starlight could tell you exactly how oblivious I can be, especially on things like this. Though… if we’re going to be dating and all… I’m going to have to tell you a few things.” “Like what?” He asked, sounding intrigued. “Like where I’m from, why I can’t go back… I’d say you might not like me if you knew, but I don’t think that’s the case.” I replied, feeling my heart finally calm and slow as I realized once again I still couldn’t tell him what I wanted. “I did make a promise though. It concerns Princess Celestia and Luna enough that they don’t want us talking about it.” “You mean you and Silver?” He paused before putting his head against mine, “You know, it doesn’t matter to me much at all. You’re a good mare with a heart that shines like your cutie mark.” “Oh stop it. That’s so corny!” I laughed, unable to stop smiling and pushed my head into the crook of his shoulder to hide my face from the others that might have over heard. The sounds around me shifted and I raised my head to see the Globe’s entrance. Not so many ponies were inside quite yet, but Stalwart assured me in a couple hours the place would be swamped. The globe on the inside was huge. Several sizable displays of pictures and plaques were on display for learning more about the magic their display was demonstrating, and was designed like an interactive museum. We walked over to the first section, where the beginner spells were. First up in view was the light spell, as evidenced by the various lights strung up over all of the display. I chuckled and turned toward Stalwart. “I think I’ve got this one under wraps.” “Oh? Well go ahead and get in there and show me.” He smirked, nudging my foreleg toward one of the adult stations. “Fine, if I have to.” I goofily replied, shaking my head. I walked into the adult sized station, which wasn’t much more than an upside down bowl that had holes over it in layers. The more light I put out, the more holes would be lit, to help gauge how well you were doing. I closed my eyes, calmed myself, and started to focus my effort on putting out a light from my horn. Despite my closed eyes, I could tell that some light was coming out, though in no way was blinding. I gave it to the count of fifteen and stepped out. “So, how’d I do?” “Well,” Stalwart paused turning his head toward the chart that showed the different degrees of strength. “You got about a third of the way up. About average it says.” “Only average? Hah, we’ll see how long that lasts.” I playfully mocked. “Planning on rivaling Celestia?” He replied in kind. “Perhaps, though not without practice. I mean, a Dawn that is only average light? Unthinkable!” “Yeah.” He laughed quietly as we turned our attention to the next stand. “Zippermouth?” I looked at it confused. In front of me was a display with a statue of a pony head, whose mouth had been turned into a zipper with that caption just below it. It was a really odd think to see. I stared at it for a moment wondering who in the world would waste time thinking of that spell when so far none of them needed vocalization. “Yeah, it’s a practical joke that a lot of foals do when they’re young… Let’s say I experienced my little sister’s version of it a couple times when she was frustrated with her studies.” He chuckled quietly. “I see…” I said, looking at him with a cross between pity and doubt. The concept sounded like something out of a cartoon. The side of the display was more helpful, showing the description, the theory, and the application. I was oddly surprised at its simplicity. For something that would alter a pony’s mouth rather unnaturally, it was very basic in its application of horn magic. My imagination started to wander as I thought about the possibility it was a spell invented by a unicorn who was an engineer by heart, wanting to show a ‘keep it simple stupid’ approach to magic… Refocusing, I started studying the concept for several minutes. It really was straightforward and having gotten what I could from it, I shrugged and started to move toward the next display. “Not going to give it a try?” He asked. “Not really. For one thing, while it doesn’t seem hard, it doesn’t appear to have any practical use. On the other han- hoof I mean, if most fillies grow out of it after childhood, it’s not exactly something I’d need to use anyway, right?” “Fair enough.” He smiled, “I won’t complain at not being used as a guinea pig or experiencing that again.” Our next stand was the Telekinesis area, which was much more sizable. Its description was also straightforward, ‘Move things with your magic’, as was its theory for application. ‘Focus on the object you want to move and imagine that you are moving it, and channel your magic while you do.’ The display itself held a variety of blocks and puzzles inside a durable dome shell. I tapped on it gently and looked at the glass itself, wondering why it doesn’t break, but shrugged and moved some of the blocks around, picking up several at once and stacking them up on top of each other into a fort. A loud rumble of young voices started to reach my ears and I looked up and over to the entrance, to spot a large group of foals start to frolic in. “I guess it’s a field trip day for a school around here.” Stalwart chuckled as I approached his side and we moved away from that display toward a set of stairs. “It’s a field trip I really enjoyed as a colt, since we would try to come once every season to see the different displays.” “Gotcha. What’s up here?” I asked as we finished climbing. “The next level of magic. Figured you might be a bit more challenged by this. My sister struggled with this level of magic and stopped. It was enough for what she wanted to do.” “Right. Sounds like it could be fun.” I said nodding, “You know, now that I think about it, what was your sister’s name again?” “Hearth’s Eve.” He chuckled. “She was born on the holiday, poor foal. Couldn’t get any of her friends to come on her birthday so we had to celebrate it a few days early or a few days late.” “I know that feeling. I was born near the winter solstice, and we have a holiday like that too. A lot of the time, I just celebrated my birthday alongside of that holiday too.” “No kidding?” He chuckled briefly. “Something tells me you and Eve would have a lot to talk about if you got to meet.” “Quite possibly.” I chuckled, half listening as I looked at the telepathy spell. “Communicate with somepony else privately, and when strong enough, at long distance. Huh… so kinda like a telephone?” “A what now?” “Telephone… uses copper wires to induce a current of electricity to…. Nevermind.” I said, shaking my head. “Seems interesting enough, and really useful.” “Well, give it a study and see how it goes!” He encouraged. I looked over the theory behind the spell, still struggling to understand the terminology it used until Starlight chimed in once more. ‘You’re overthinking it Dawn.’ ‘Howso?’ ‘You’re doing it right now with me. At least, that’s what Teacher says. You’ve been using magic to communicate with me all this time. It’s easier to talk with me than other ponies, but you’ve got this down.’ Starlight said confidently. “Interesting.” I said, turning to Stalwart. “Starlight says I’ve used a variant of this spell to talk to him all this time. Not sure I believe it based on our connection but still.” I paused, bracing myself as I turned to face him, and tried to continue. ‘he says I could have done it all along, but I’m not sure I believe him.’ “Why n- Oh!” He pulled back in surprise, before starting to laugh heartily, “Maybe you should then!” “I wonder how far I can reach then.” I said as I walked away from Stalwart. ‘Give me a wave when you can’t hear me anymore, ok?’ “Sounds good.” He said out loud. He said something else quietly that tickled my ear, but I couldn’t quite make it out. As I carefully walked backward, chatting with him along the way. Turns out my range with that is somewhere between fifteen and twenty feet. “Not bad.” I said as I walked back to him toward our next exhibit. “Though I never heard anything you said sadly.” “Pity. Now I can’t say exactly what I want with you in private.” He smirked. “Yes, heaven forbid we talk like normal peo-ponies.” I smirked, correcting myself and chuckling as I realized what he might have been alluding to, “So, next on the list here is... cloud walking? No thanks. Been there, done that.” “Then let’s find something that you haven’t done.” He said as we steered away from the display, a platform of stairs leading up to a cloud with rails on it, and a mattress underneath it in case someone felt through. We started to approach the next station when I heard Stalwart’s stomach rumble. I laughed and was about to comment on it when mine rumbled in reply. “Sounds like we’re both hungry.” He chuckled. “Come on, the food courts are around the corner over there.” Together, we went to those food stalls and ate a small meal each. The prices of the food for larger portions was about what I expected, more expensive than if they were elsewhere. Stalwart started to ask if I was sure when I cut him off and discreetly told him that it’s fine and I could eat more when we were home. The food was really well made and enough to smile and head toward the rest of the exhibits available without needing to worry about food, or at least, I didn’t. I wasn’t sure about Stalwart. As I looked at his size, I couldn’t help but wonder if he needed a fair bit more to eat than some. Still, even if he did, he bore it well. I headed us toward the next flight of stairs, eager to see what was even further ahead in magical skill. “Uh, Dawn, That’s the advanced magic section.” Stalwart said hesitantly as he started to follow. “I know.” I said confidently, trying to ignore the height of our position and the stairs being on the inner ring of the platforms which split the levels of the place. “I find a good way to motivate myself to study is to see what the big things are, the end goals might be so I can get excited about it.” “If you say so.” He replied as I reached the top of the stairs and headed to the first display. A small statue of a unicorn with a colorful cone on the tip of its horn brought a slight smirk to my mind as we approached and noticed the display tell us about the unicorn laser. Memories of that incident near the hedges started coming to mind. I shook my head and tried to refocus. Celestia said something to me afterward, but for the life of me I couldn’t remember what it was. ‘Hey Star? What was it that we talked about after the fight with Silver? About what we were capable of I mean." ‘Something about either powerful magic, or foal magic being responsible.’ Starlight chimed. ‘Judging from what’s up here, with the way we had built up our power together when fighting Silver, maybe we really did make this happen by combining our strength.’ ‘I’m not sure… either way, if Celestia’s impressions are right, maybe we can only accomplish these bigger magics together. I highly doubt I have the strength by myself to make this happen, but if we can pull this off, maybe we can do other things like it.’ ‘Well, that *is* the point of our studying, so we can do something more than anyone else has, like fixing ancient relics. That’s a three pony job right there.’ He chuckled. ‘Besides, you never know just how strong your magic is unless you push your limits. If we keep using it regularly, maybe it’ll be like a muscle and grow enough to where we can do it separately’. ‘And yet your teacher is content with us just taking the credit with just me or the two of us?’ ‘He says that attention would only detract from the products he creates or something. I don’t get it but the guy’s allowed to be eccentric after all that time alone.’ “Interesting stuff huh?” Stalwart said, my body jumping as my heart started to race in surprise. “Y-yeah… sorry you startled me there. I was talking with Star about how we might have pulled this off, among other related things.” I replied slowly, trying to force my heart to calm so I could enjoy his company again. “Oh? So you mean to say the garden incident was an accident?” He chuckled as he stood close. “Of course it was unintentional, but Celestia was suggesting it was our own power, and I remain unconvinced.” I replied as I tried to ignore my heartbeat building up again for a very different reason, turning toward the next station. This time, a larger picture of a pony was visible on the front, but as we approached, it vanished and appeared on another picture behind it. A smile came to my face over the simple optical illusion, knowing it had to attract the attention of some of the kids. I walked around to the side of the display, where it showed more examples of the feat. “Why isn’t this one filled o-” I asked before pausing as I started reading the description, “Unsuccessful teleporting can result in leaving body parts behind until another unicorn capable of teleportation can merge the body into a whole… ouch. That’s gotta hurt.” “Well, you did it once before.” Stalwart said encouragingly. ‘Hey Star?’ I asked, thinking about that time. ‘You know how you said your teacher thinks we did it wrong?’ ‘Yeah?’ ‘Think he might be able to teach us how to do it properly?’ I asked, feeling a quiver of excitement. ‘I’ll have to ask since I forgot the intricacies of it. He’s more talkative than he’s been in a while though. I’d almost say he’s lonely.’ He chuckled. A faint glow to the side caught my attention. When I turned my head, I saw a foal shining his light playfully at his sister over at the next stall over. I paused, intent to let them have their time alone, but they were already coming over to look at our current magic station. “Hey Stalwart, let’s look at the next one.” I suggested. “Why? Already got this one figured out?” He smirked. “No, that’s what Starlight’s Teacher is for. Or at least, he taught Starlight so Starlight can teach me later or something.” “Of course…” He said, not quite sounding like he understood it, but led the way to the next station, “So, healing magic is up? Interesting, didn’t think it was terribly popular.” “Oh? Why not? If you could heal wounds by magic, why wouldn’t it be popular?” I asked. I knew I took some things for granted, but healing someone’s wounds instantly? “Wait, then why didn’t they do that for you or Silver?” “They don’t do that because it’s difficult, really difficult. Read for yourself.” He gestured toward one of the plaquards. “Healing magic, through a great deal of effort, can heal a small scrape or scratch, is unfeasible. It requires multiple ponies working in tandem to heal a broken wing.” I paused as a picture of four unicorns, a couple of them significantly aged and the other two not exactly looking young, horns glowing around a patient. “Eve wanted to be a nurse when she grew up, seeing this.” He said quietly, “But once she went to medical school, she decided it wasn’t for her. Now she’s a bookstore worker in the outskirts Manehattan.” “Gotcha… Well, not sure I’d be interested in this one then, if it takes that much effort for that small of an effect.” I said, turning toward the next stall. Ahead was a statue that gave me pause, my pace slowing as my heart beat just a little faster. It had the pony head I came to expect, but it had fangs and pointed ears. “Hey Stalwart, you guys don’t really have a spell for vampirism, right?” I asked, not sure if I wanted to approach further. “Huh? What are you talking about?” He asked as he continued waking to the side of the display. “Vampires, you know, undead crea-” I started to explain while following him before seeing another statue with a female pony with a beard and squiggling lines painted on her side. “Huh?” “Illusion Dawn.” He laughed before gesturing. “You’re even in luck, tomorrow it says they’ll have somepony who can demonstrate for ponies just after lunchtime.” “Oh…. OH!” I exclaimed, starting to realize what he meant. Already ideas of what could be done for a disguise and costumes for Halloween could be teased. Eagerly I approached the stand and studied intentely. ‘Of course, NOW you get excited.’ Starlight chuckled. ‘Duh, this is awesome!’ I replied, ‘Think I could get help on this spell too? I’ll want to practice this when I can too!’ ‘I’ll be sure to ask. Teacher said he was going to be busy for a bit so I’ll try to remember.’ Starlight chuckled. I stood there reading every bit of it I could for as long as I could. I re-read the magical terms listed and tried to remember how they fit in, trying to piece everything together. I paced around the stand at times, looking for more information or tried to judge the effects of the spell based on the statues while consulting Starlight on what he knew and how his studies fit in. I finally finished my studies feeling I had gleaned everything I could from the display and looked around. Stalwart wasn’t standing nearby, but looking at the clock, I couldn’t say I could blame him. I had studied so much I was ignoring everything else. Maybe he went off to get a snack or stretch his legs. I started to move toward the next stand, seeing Stalwart walk toward me from that direction. “Oh there you were. Sorry if I bored you.” I apologized. “No big deal. I told you I was just going to walk around the place on my own for a few.” “Oh, I must have missed it…” “Ready to go home? Dinner’s going to be ready soon, and this place is about to close anyway.” He replied as he turned toward the stairs. “Already?” I asked surprised, walking alongside him. “You were at that spot for a while Dawn.” He said simply. “Wow… Sorry if I wasted the opportunity there, I just hope that it was time well spent.” “I’m sure it was. Just don’t try any of it around my folks, deal?” He smirked. “Oh, can’t have two Stalwarts come into their home?” I laughed. “No, pop’d probably be fine with it. Not sure about mom though.” He smirked before leaning in to whisper, “She’s been asking me to find a good mare and settle down so she can have grandfoals.” “I… Oh.” I said, feeling heat rush to my face as I found the stairwell rather fascinating at that moment. “Don’t worry Dawn, it’s a joke, calm down.” He said, nudging me toward the inside of the flight. “Oh…” I hesitated, letting out a breath and felt my face slowly return to normal, but the thought remained. I had to wonder, was it a joke? “Besides,” He continued, “I don’t plan on any foals anytime soon. But hey, if they happened with the right mare…” I started to laugh as we headed toward the exit, deciding to take it in stride rather than think on it too hard. I had to admit, if only because Starlight would tease me otherwise, any guy would love to have time like that with a girl they like. Regardless of whether it was something his mother wanted or not, he had his own reasons to be with me, and it’s been a good time so far. We left the Globe in relative quiet, allowing me time to think about both Stalwart and the magic I had studied. I barely noticed when we finally arrived until Stalwart called out loudly. “Hello, I’m hooome!” “Good timing son, just in time for dinner!” Trickshot said loudly from the kitchen, “Tonight we’ve got hayburgers. Do you both know how many you want?” “You know me mom, three please!” he replied before toning down his voice and turning toward me, “Know how hungry you are?” “I almost want to say three, but I don’t know how big they are… we’ll say two.” “Dawn’ll have three too!” He called out and then chuckled, elbowing my side. “Heyyy.” I laughed, trying to push him back. Before I could continue and let him know he could have my extra if I don’t eat it, he chimed. “Is for dinner.” “I was going to say ‘is for horsies’ but that works.” Stalwart gave me a look of slight confusion but shrugged and headed over to the kitchen table, where his father already was. “So how was the trip?” Trickshot asked. “I learned a fair bit. Naturally we spent most of our time on the actually interesting magics like illusion…. And illusion, oh, and illusion.” I said, starting to laugh at the end. “I think I might have gotten stuck. Didn’t see all of them in the end.” “There’s always tomorrow.” She replied cheerfully before bringing the first batch to the table. “That’d be nice, I enjoyed my time there so far, but I don’t want to keep you from visiting with your son…” I hesitated, levitating a burger onto my plate along with a bun while the others used their hooves to serve themselves. “Nonsense.” Stone Wall huffed, having set his paper down. “Stalwart’s been saying how hard you’ve been studying. You can go again tomorrow and in return, you’ll stay with us the day after and listen to some of my stories that Stalwart couldn’t get enough of when he was a colt.” “Dad…” Stalwart sighed as he rolled his eyes and focused on his meal. If I didn’t know better, I’d say he was blushing now with the slight bit of red I was noticing on his nose. I briefly wondered why he was so embarrassed now unlike before. I chuckled and nodded, “Sounds like a plan. Besides,” I paused to look at him mischievously as I sought to test what he said earlier, “That’ll give him one day with his marefriend to relax and brace himself.” “So you finally asked.” Stone Wall smirked before shaking his head, “About bucking time.” “Just because you asked me within a month doesn’t mean everypony else should.” Trickshot reprimanded him as she brought back the remaining food, sitting down at the table before quietly adding over Stone Wall’s chuckle, “I’m happy for both of you.” The rest of the dinner went on in relative silence as Stalwart was too embarrassed to talk and Stone Wall was absorbed in his own thoughts, glancing over at Stalwart and myself on occasion. After the dinner was done, I headed up to the guest room and closed the door behind me. ‘Well, that was a day…’ I thought to Starlight absentmindedly. “You got that right.” Starlight said as he formed himself by the desk where the book had been. “I’ll leave you to your ‘studies’ then, unless you want to go back down for family game night or something. You did good today.” “You know, I just might. Let me just see what I want to study first…” I mumbled, digging through the books in the saddlebag. ‘Magic for Beginners’ jumped out at me, having the familiar yellow and black theme as back home and I couldn’t help but pull that one out, levitating it onto the bed before trotting to the door, “I’ll be back soon.”