One Path

by TheOnly

Chapter 4

“Alright Pip, read the steps to me.”

He stood a couple feet away from me, the Beginner’s Guide to Levitation Spells open in front of him. We were standing in front of the library with the sun shining in our faces. The same pebbles were there, taunting me.

Today was the day; I could feel it. After a good night’s sleep, a small amount of chores, and a large breakfast I was fully ready to do it. There wasn't a single force against me. The wind wasn't blowing, the sun was shining, and the birds were singing. I was nervous though. I had to do it today, I was convinced, and if I failed I'd never be able to face the challenge again.

"Step one," started Pip. I listened as he rattled off the steps, following them exactly as dictated. Like all the previous attempts, I could feel the energy rushing to my horn. I had to keep focus if I wanted to execute the spell. Pip continued to name the steps one after the other, and I followed them. There was a faint glow around my horn, the spell was beginning.

Just like before, my legs began to tremble and I could feel the sweat rolling down my face. Focus Trixie. I could feel all my energy being transmitted to the horn, where it was harnessed. The light became brighter just before I shut my eyes. Now my brain was pulsing. I couldn't even hear Pip's voice anymore. I was oblivious to the world, the only thing that mattered was the spell. Everything I had read about levitation spells was flashing through my mind, and my body felt like the energy was being sucked out of it. I felt as though I was going to pass out. I heard a snap.

My legs stopped shaking. It had only been a couple seconds. I was afraid to open my eyes, that had happened much too quickly. Something must have happened to me. My ears were still ringing, but it only felt as though a couple seconds had passed. Curiosity got the better of me, and my eyes opened. At first all I saw was Pip jumping up and down, yelling something. Then, in front of me, I saw it. Three pebbles floating in the air encased in blue magic. It took me a moment to realize that I was the cause of it, and when I finally processed it I jumped backwards and screamed with joy. Sadly, the quick motion and wave of joy that overcame me broke my concentration, dropping the pebbles back to the ground, but I didn't care. I had completed the spell.

It surprised me how quick and simple it was. It felt odd. After the spell had been casted and the pebbles were in the air, it wasn't hard to keep them there at all. It was as though after there was finally enough magic harnessed the spell would take effect, and then the amount of effort required was lowered drastically. Pip and I celebrated for a while, jumping up and down and squealing untranslatable words.

The next week went by faster than any other had. Every day I stood outside the library with Pip cheering me on as I became more and more comfortable with the levitation spell. After a couple days of practice, my legs stopped shaking altogether. Soon enough I could cast the spell with my eyes open. The difficulty of the spell was slowly diminishing.

Weeks turned into a month, and by the end of the month I could naturally cast the spell. I felt like I was mimicking my mother, being able to just snap the spell off and on at will. Granted it still took me a little bit of energy, but all the practice and support from Pip had pushed me further. I could cast the spell without thinking about it too much. Albeit that it was only on pebbles, but it was the spell nonetheless. With enough practice, I could levitate the pebbles with ease. It still took concentration and focus on my part, but it wasn't nearly as hard as my first few attempts.

Soon enough, I moved on to other things. Pip suggested I try levitating something heavier, like a book. Although the spell was just as easy to use, the difficulty of lifting the books into the air was much harder than I was used to. The jump from pebbles to books surprised me. Once in the air, it became simple to move objects around in the air. However, with the books, lifting them and then moving them was more difficult than the pebbles. I decided to read some more on the subject.

After browsing the library for a few minutes, I came across a book about how levitation actually worked. Most of it I already knew, but I came across an interesting bit of information. The difficulty holding a levitation spell doesn't vary with the weight of an object, but rather the size. The larger the object, the harder it was to levitate it and keep it in the air. As opposed to levitation being the same on all objects, it was also more difficult to levitate animate life forms. This was because life forms had a natural tendency to resist magical forces being used upon them.

For the next few days I practiced levitating books and other small objects. I never did any magic at home, so Pip was the only witness of my accomplishments. It surprised me that he never got bored, watching me do the same spell over and over again until I was good at it. He just sat and cheered me on for hours as I lifted a pebble or a book and whisked it through the air.

A month had passed since I became comfortable with the spell, and I decided to move on to bigger and better things. Pip even volunteered to be levitated, but I failed miserably. That was when I learned just how much harder levitating living things was. I had always been a show-off, and I wasn't going to stop now. When all the fillies would gather at The Park, I'd use my magic to help me play catch. Sometimes I'd levitate the ball slightly to the left while it was moving so I could have a better catch.

That's another thing I learned. After practicing magic with Pip for a long while, I read more about the subject of levitating. I learned that moving objects are harder to cast the levitation spell on, because the spell has to account for stopping the object that already has momentum. With this new information, I dedicated the next week to strengthening my skills.

I had Pip toss small rocks at me which I would try to levitate. The book didn't lie, trying to stop and levitate the moving rocks was harder than I expected. Pip even hit me with a rock a couple times, and I'd have to wait while he died laughing to continue the practice. Like most things I practice, stopping the moving rocks became simple. I learned how to focus my magic through my horn more effectively.

After many days of practice, I considered myself skillful enough with the levitation spell that I could use it in my house without problems. Chores became much more simple, with the levitation doing half the work. While my parents weren't home I could use the spell without any problems. I eagerly awaited the day where my mother would see it fit to start teaching me magic, and I could impress her. Then I wouldn't need to worry about keeping my practice a secret.

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Life moved on, the sun set and rose and the moon did the same. Every day was filled with new opportunities. Pip started to spend more time in The Park, so I joined him. Practice became the second thing on my list, and I preferred the joys of playing in the park with all the other fillies. We would toss a ball around, or hold contests. Whenever there was a contest, I always chose to be with Pip. Even though he wasn't the biggest or strongest, he had the most determination. No matter what we were doing he would strive to be great at it. Even though he didn't reach his goal every time, he still tried.

As the weeks passed by us, I seemed to lose track of time. One day Pip and I would be tossing a ball back and forth, laughing about some joke he told, and the next we would be outside the library. Pip helped me pick out books, learn the spells, and even cheered me on. Whenever I needed something, like a stick or another rock, he'd run off to get it for me. It was a mutual relationship though, as I tilted the odds in his favor when we played in The Park. My magic was quite useful when it came to the games we played, and he enjoyed having my help.

The other unicorns were all capable of performing magic, but with all my practice I was at there level. They used to poke fun at the fact that I couldn't use magic, but Pip stuck up for me. He told them that I was more magically talented then all of them, which incited a little competition. I was nervous, and although I don't remember the details I remember Pip cheering and encouraging me as I performed spells I had been practicing for weeks. The other unicorns were stunned.

I always considered Pip a good friend, but this brought him closer to me. He helped me stick up for myself, and seemed to know my abilities better than I did. He'd visit my apartment often, as he didn't want to stay in his where his parents bickered all the time. I'd read books to him, and although he preferred fiction, he had to deal with the nonfiction that I read. I'd sit on the couch and he'd be on the ground, listening as I ran my mouth, giving the words on the page life. He'd absorb it all, more than I did, and talk about it. He'd ask questions, and I'd answer them.

As we played and learned, years seemed to sneak past us, making time seem so quick. We had both grown older, and my parents allowed me to use magic in the apartment. They openly accepted my practices, but they didn't start to teach me yet. Pip had grown older, too. The small colt that couldn't catch a ball before could hold his own in a wrestling game with the other colts. Most of them still treated Pip as the runt of the group, but he was growing. We both were. Life was moving on and all we could do was look back and remember all the games we played on The Park.

The games became more sophisticated, with more rules and objectives. Each game required more skill and time, and soon most of our afternoons were spent playing "capture the flag" or "Ponyball". No longer were the days when tag and catch took up most of the time.

As the times moved on, so did the practices. I learned new spells, and improved on the spells I knew. Particularly the levitation spell, which I tried to perfect. I tried to become stronger with my magic, and each day I felt as though I was. Nine years had passed since I had first met Pip, and it seemed that every day I saw him.

I felt a real connection with him

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"Hey Trixie."

I was outside the library toying around with some rocks when I heard the voice. It was Pip, trotting up to meet me just like every other day. For the past few years or so we had been meeting outside the library to practice my magic. He looked a little anxious, as if he wanted to ask me something but was afraid of the answer. We had been meeting here for years, and this was the first time he looked like that.

"Hello Pip." I didn't move from my spot. He looked at me and didn't speak for a while. I assumed that he was trying to find the write way to phrase whatever he wanted to say.

Finally he spoke, "Can you show me a tree?"

I hadn't seen a tree myself in a couple years. Usually I never went beyond the library, so I didn't see trees very often. I had only seen a tree once when my father brought me into the city. I could only vaguely remember the tree, and could only see faded images of it in my mind.

"Why do you want to see a tree?" Trees were located either in the inner parts of the city, or the forest beyond the gates. Both were dangerous and far away.

"Flurry was talking about one in The Park today and everypony had seen one but me. She said she had just visited the forest and she saw some trees." He frowned. I could sympathize with him, being left out wasn't easy. All the other unicorns could do the levitation spell easily when I was just learning. Luckily, now it was different, but before I had felt his pain.

"Flurry is a pegasus, Pip. She can fly over the gate and to the forest whenever she wants. We'd have to walk all the way to the forest."

"I know, but I really want to see one. Can we go? Please?" There was no way I could decline, he had been helping me practice my magic for weeks upon weeks. And sometimes all he could do was stand on the side and watch. This small request was the least I could do for him, but the forest was far away from home and if we got lost we wouldn't be able to make it back.

"Fine. I'll take you to the forest, but not today. But we aren't going in it, we're just going to stand outside it and look at the trees. Then we're coming straight back home, understood?"

"Understood!" He hopped back to The Park, humming a happy song. Probably going to go brag about seeing a tree now. I looked towards the rocks and then The Park. I guess I won't practice today.

The Park was bustling with activity, all the ponies from the other apartments were out and lively. Somepony had brought a new ball, so two games of Ponyball could go on at once. Some fillies were playing jump rope in the corner, and the pegasi were having a flying competition. It was always fun to watch them perform tricks. Sometimes I wished I had wings instead of a horn, they were so much easier to use. Pip was taking part in a game of Ponyball in the middle of the square, using some of the techniques I had taught him a few days back.

The Park was a joyful place, filled with laughter and games. It may have been surrounded by gloomy buildings, and it may have just been a square of concrete, but we made the most out of it. When the sun began to set, we all knew that it was time to go, and just as fast as The Park was filled up it was emptied out. Everypony had to get home to finish their chores. Within the hours that we had to play, most of the ponies spent it just talking. The older they got, the more the other ponies wanted to talk. I found that silly. You could talk inside a house, but you couldn't experience nature in one. I liked being outside because it was different. Different from the apartment I knew all too well.

The time came where the sun started to fall out of its pool of blue and into the horizon. The diminishing sunlight signaled that it was time to go, and The Park cleared out. All except for Pip and myself. If we wanted to go to the forest, we'd need to plan it out the day before.

After everypony had left and were back in their apartments, I trotted over to Pip. Without a word we trotted past the apartments to the fence behind them. Behind the gate was only grassy land, the trees weren't visible from here. Unlike the pegasi, we couldn't just fly over the fence, and I only knew one spell, and that wouldn't help in the situation. It wasn't easy to go around the fence, either, it spanned around for miles. The only option we had was digging, and since Pip was a colt I let him do that. Not so much that I didn't want to, but that he wanted. Colts and dirt was something I'd never understand.

He went to word on the ground near the fence, pushing all the dirt to the sides. Small, a small indent in the ground had been dug up, and it was working its way under the fence. Plenty of divots lay around the small indent as Pip threw the pieces of turf behind him.

The hole was just deep enough to crawl under the fence on my stomach, and it wasn't deep enough to look too suspicious. Pip could fit under with ease, but I had to lean my head forward so that my horn wasn't sticking up. I congratulated Pip on a job well done, and we trotted back to our apartments. The sun had almost fully set.

Inside my apartment, I found that most of my chores had yet to be done. My parents weren't home yet, and with the help of the levitation spell, my chores were done quickly. While I washed some of the dishes, the mop magically floated through the air and cleaned the floor. Multi-tasking was harder than I thought it would be, as sometimes the mop would follow the circular motions my hooves were making. Sometimes I'd be paying too much attention to the mop, and I'd be cleaning the same plate for much longer than I needed to.

Through the difficulties, I managed to finish my chores. I rested on the couch. Tomorrow was going to be a big day, and I'd need a rest. As much as I wanted to stay awake and await my parents arrival, I rested my hear on the couch cushion and closed my eyes. My mind wandered while I drifted off into sleep. Thoughts of the day's events played through my mind.

Tomorrow I was going to the forest.