CMC: Training is Magic

by Cold Spike

Chapter Three: Sweetie's Magical Day

Sweetie Belle was having a wonderful day. She was seated in Twilight’s library, munching on cookies, and soon enough her friends would be joining her to have some fun. Greedily, she scarfed down as many cookies as her small tummy would allow. I don’t care if I get fat, I’m getting my cookies whether Rarity likes it or not!

Spike soon rejoined her, his stubby, reptilian legs marching as quickly as possible. “You got enough cookies?” he asked cheerfully. Sister of my lover…

“Mhm!” Sweetie said, her mouth too full of the treats to say a proper response.

“Great!” He then tossed a few books into the air, causing them to land on a stack in his other claw. “I’ll just be over there reshelving the magic section if you need me.”

She nodded and watched him leave. In truth, the library was quite big for a tree. While the guest area was small and quaint, the actual library section was nice and tall. It was divided into several sections, but what gave it its charm was the height of the shelves. They reached around three stories tall, certainly enough to contain enough knowledge to satisfy even Twilight Sparkle. Usually.

As she was still chewing she watched the front door open, revealing her friends. They cantered in and immediately spotted her. Yay! she thought, feeling giddy. Then she looked down to the plate of cookies and back to her friends. My cookies! She stuffed a few more in her mouth and waved.

That was how her morning started, but it ended in boredom. Twilight wanted to only talk with Scootaloo, it seemed, and Apple Bloom now had chores to do. This left her sitting alone outside, sulking. She didn’t want to go back and risk getting some kind of work from Twilight, as much as she wanted to save her friend. “Every mare for herself, sorry, Scoots. Hmm, maybe Rarity will play with me!” A part of her doubted it, but every since the Sisterhooves Social, her sister had been trying to be nicer to her. She jumped off her seat. “Worth a shot!”

She walked through town, occasionally waving to other ponies. Everything always felt so nice in town. The dirt paths, grass, and even the signs always seemed to be just as clean as her coat and tail. Ponies often smiled at her as did birds and other animals. There was always something going on in town, from sales at the marketplace to explosions from Twilight’s lab. Unique buildings of every shape, size, and color were all over, often matching the pony that lived inside.

She spotted her second home, Carousel Boutique and grinned. While it was her ‘second’ house, it always felt like home to her. She walked in and immediately announced her arrival. “Rarity, I’m home!”

Rarity, who had been sitting at her kitchen table, scrambled backward in surprise. “S-Sweetie Belle, goodness you scared me. What’s wrong? Shouldn’t you be out with your little friends?”

Sweetie quirked a brow, staring at what her sister appeared to be eating. “Is that chocolate ice cream?” Sweetie asked in a sour tone.

Thinking quickly, Rarity shoved the bowl aside and stood up. “Of course not!” She laughed nervously and looked around for a distracted. “Uh, why don’t we go and teach you some magic. I know you were asking me the other day…”

Sweetie instantly forgot about any hidden sweets and grinned. “Really?!” she asked, her voice squeaking.

Rarity nodded. Thank Celestia for short attention spans. Besides, what’s the worst thing teaching her magic could bring?

The two unicorns eventually ended up in Rarity’s study room. Sweetie had watched her canter back and forth, setting up odd gizmos and a few books that seemed odd. She had never seen the stones that she placed before her. They look so dusty…

“Uh, right. It’s been a while since I’ve had to use these, but these should do,” Rarity commented, glancing over a list she had been carrying. “Right. So, what do you know of magic, dear?”

Sweetie pondered the question for far too long, then shrugged. “It’s really, really hard to do?”

Rarity chuckled and nodded. “Without the proper tools or education, yes. What, uh, can you do with your horn? Surely you must know something by now?” Rarity said it a bit coldly, but she didn’t feel like spending all afternoon just teaching her magic. Still, she should be taught something. I shall not neglect my sister! I shall also not let her see my ice cream! Rarity thought with both determination and shame.

“I can levitate stuff, sort of.” To demonstrate she closed her eyes and focused on one of the stones. After around thirty seconds, a spark lit up, enveloping the smooth stone in light green magic. It floated for a few seconds, but then Sweetie let it down. “See!”

“That’s wonderful, but levitation is pretty simple to do. What we need to teach you, for now, are runes. Well, symbols that form the basic principle for forming spells.”

Sweetie poked the stones a few times, examining them. “Are these runes?” She asked.

“Yes. As far as magical symbols go, they’re pretty basic. I used these to learn when I was around your age. I don’t mind you keeping this set, it should help you memorize them.”

Sweetie smiled. She liked the look of the stones, they were smooth and had funny symbols etched on the top. “Wow, thanks Rarity!” She hopped up and without warning hugged her sister around the neck. “These look pretty.”

Rarity chuckled and felt her cheeks warm at the touch. “Perhaps so. I’m glad you think so because you will be spending all, well, a week shall we say?” She pondered it and nodded. “Yes, all week memorizing these runes and symbols.”

“And then I can do magic?”

“Not quite. You still must do much of the work for any spell, but the runes are somewhat like a key. Think of a spell as a doorway and each rune as a key for opening them. If you use up enough mana-- uh, yes Sweetie?”

Rarity had been speaking when Sweetie had raised her hoof, like in school. “What’s mana?”

“It’s another word for magical energy. Each unicorn has its own mana font or pool for use. When you used levitation just now, you were tapping into your inner font. Your inner magic.”

Sweetie’s eyes widened, for the first time comprehending just what magic was. At least, she thought she comprehended it. Her head slowly bobbed up and down.

“But, of course, one must know one’s own limitations when dealing with magic. Everypony has them.”

Sweetie giggled. “Not Twilight.”

Rarity smiled smugly, not seeming to agree. “And what If I told you that even Twilight can reach her limits? Even the princesses?”

Sweetie scrunched her muzzle up in concentration. What is she talking about?

Rarity, catching onto her confusion, nodded. “As I said, it’s important to know your limitations,” she emphasized by poking at Sweetie’s belly, making her giggle again. “A few wrong mistakes and you’ll end up like Twilight on a bad day,” she paused while watching her little sister shudder, “or worse. You could pass out if you overexert your own pool.”

“Huh?” Sweetie squeaked.

“I mean if you work too hard, darling. For now, I wouldn’t worry too much. You just worry about these runes.”

Looking down Sweetie noted each and every symbol on the runes. There were a few moons, stars, and suns. There was also odd squiggles and random symbols that she had never seen before. “I don’t get it.”

Rarity tittered. “Neither did I when Mother showed me these. However, it’s not too complicated. And I have the utmost confidence that you can get this,” Rarity stated honestly. Then, out of the blue, she remembered just how many tasks her sister had not gotten. She shuddered to think just what could go wrong with that horn of hers. She’s going to learn with or without me. May as well do it right. It wasn’t as if she didn’t trust Sweetie Belle, but the filly had a knack for causing problems.

“Okay, uh…” Sweetie quickly swiped the full moon rune and held it up. “What’s this one?”

“That one means channeling of magic,” she slowly explained. When Sweetie looked down at it skeptically, she elaborated. “Essentially, these runes don’t actually do anything.” Upon hearing the declaration, Sweetie promptly dropped it and her face seemed to deflate. Rarity sighed. “Sweetie, let me finish explaining. Lift it up again,” she commanded.

“Okay, okay.”

“Each of these symbols is a tool to help you memorize different steps for casting a spell. The moon is usually used, in fact, I’m almost certain it’s always used first. No channeling, no spell.”

“So… runes don’t do anything? I always thought ancient wizards used them in whatever Twilight is always touting about.”

Rarity suppressed a laugh and looked over the runes. “You mean Star Swirl? Well, he certainly used much more than just runes. This is what they can look like; they just don’t function as any. They’re a training tool that’s been used for generations. Oh, when I think of how much I had to memorize these just to stitch my first dress… well, a lady never tells.” I wish I didn’t remember.

“So, there are runes that do things then?” Sweetie asked, wanting to clarify.

Rarity nodded. “Yes, there are. I’m afraid I don’t have any, but I’m sure if you ask Twilight then she’ll happy to share a few. For now, though, let’s go through these runes so I can get my work done.”

Sweetie blushed, mumbling something while looking down. Having picked up on her now sour mood, Rarity used her front hoof to tilt Sweetie’s head up. “It’s not that I don’t want to spend time with you, I do. You come first… except when work piles on. Then, I guess you technically come second. I just--”

Sweetie quickly cracked a smile. “It’s okay, big sis. I know. I’m really glad you’re my sister.”

The mare smiled sadly, wishing she had more free time in the day. “I am too. Now then, you understand channeling, I assume? Let’s move onto the half moon.”

Sweetie quickly shuffled runes to the next one, examining it. “And it is?”

“The half moon signifies casting your spell. It usually comes last, I think it’s supposed to actually be a setting moon. Yes.” Rarity nodded, thinking that the explanation made more sense. “So full moon comes first, channeling, then other runes, then the setting moon.”

“Okay, channel, then something, and then cast. Easy!”

Rarity placed her hoof on Sweetie’s chest before she got any ideas. “It sounds easy, but spells can be tricky. To be perfectly honest, a lot of the basic spells are instinct more than anything. That means getting them under control is a learning process. It takes time and practice.”

Sweetie’s smile faltered for a moment. “Oh…”

“Right, we’ve got the two most important runes out of the way. Now comes the rest. To start off with, the squiggles.”

“Squiggles?”

“Yes.” Rarity levitated a single rune that had two squiggle lines each on top of one another. “This rune means raw magic. You know those sparks of yours?”

The filly ran up to Rarity, pressing a hoof to her lips. “Shh!” she squeaked. “You promised you wouldn’t say anything!”

Rarity gave her a flat look and gently moved the hoof away. “Relax, this is a safe place. Sparks are a common phase. They just mean your font is growing.”

Sweetie stopped blushing and looked up at her horn. She rubbed it a few times and shrugged. “Is there like a pool in there? Like water?”

“No. I’m not fully sure on the specifics, but I know that the more our bodies grow, the more magic we can take in; at least, for our horns. The sparks are undirected magic; for example, if you tried to cast a spell without any direction, without any ‘runes’. After all, these runes merely help you direct your magic in the proper way. And magic is quite difficult to explain, dear.”

Sweetie Belle rubbed her head. “I’m already confused…” she admitted.

Rarity coughed. “Right. Well, you know how to channel magic. Clearly evident from your levitation. Which is different, by the way. That magic, above all else, is far more instinct. It doesn’t require any stray thoughts or complexity, just will. You wish to control something in midair, and you do it.”

“I guess that makes sense.”

“However, runes require some thoughts. Hmm, we’ll start with one of the simpler spells. Light. It can come in quite useful in almost any situation. And it will help teach you another basic principle: will.”

Sweetie shook her head, giving her a bewildered look. “I don’t get it, I thought I knew ‘will’? I can levitate stuff, you said that was like.. uh, using my will?”

“You can, but that’s just a start. Most of what makes magic magic is our ability to bend it to our will. You channel magic, then imagine what you want, will it into existence, and then cast. Really, the last two steps are the same, though.”

“Isn’t that like a wish? That sounds too easy…”

“It would be if magic wasn’t so resistant or even chaotic. Raw magic is what we need to give us some light or to help me find more gems. You must force the magic from your horn to take a new shape. Whether it’s turning the magic into light or making some buried gems glow, all depends on what you want. And more importantly, how skilled you are with your horn. If you and your horn can’t control the raw magic, then you end up with, well, something like your sparks.”

Sweetie nodded, following every word. “Uh, but how do you control it? How do I get light?”

“Well, your horn is like a muscle. Use it enough and it gets stronger, just like your font. Ahem, there are limits, but we shouldn’t worry about that now. For now, I want you to make some light. Go on, then.”

“Just will it?”

Rarity nodded.

Sweetie Belle scrunched up her face in concentration. Okay, Sweetie, just think of light. Or something. She wasn’t exactly sure what Rarity meant for her to do, but she felt determined to try. It sounded far more experimental than anything. Her mind wandered while wondering just how Twilight learned so much magic. The basics steps seemed more complicated than any school work she had ever had. Sweetie closed her eyes, then pictured the moon. She felt a familiar feeling of magic channeling into her horn. She was tapping into her inner font. Then she pictured the squiggles, visualizing what it would be like to grasp hold of all the magic in the air. Then, a few sparks flew out and she felt the magic leave her like a breath from her lungs. “Oh, horseapples.”

“Well, don’t give up. I’m afraid I have orders to take care of. But now you know the basics. Channel the raw magic, then will it to be light. If done correctly, your horn should be sparkling just like my next order.” She giggled at her joke but found Sweetie frowning. “Don’t give up.”

“But I don’t get how to will magic!”

“You will. You’ll get it, I promise. Just like you’ll get a cutie mark some day. Just imagine light, picture your horn lighting up like your beautiful emerald green eyes. You’ll get it, I believe in you.”

Sweetie looked up hesitantly and gave a small smile. “Okay, thanks Rarity. I’ll t-try.”

“Splendid. Just… well, only try light, please. You can do much more with raw magic, but I’d prefer that you take this one step a time.”

Sweetie nodded, eager to get outside and show her friends. But before she left, she turned back to ask one final question. “So, this is magic? Just use raw magic? What about the other runes?”

Rarity had already summoned some materials down. She glanced down to the rune set and sighed. “They rely on other schools of magic. They’re called imprints. I wouldn’t worry about them for now. I’ll have these things sent to your room, for now, why don’t you go play with your friends?” she suggested, eager to finally get some work done.

“Alright. I just hope Apple Bloom’s done with her chores. Her sister always gives her so many.”

Rarity smiled smugly. “Perhaps I should consider your chore list. You’ve been--”

“Bye, Rarity!” Sweetie ran out, slamming the front door to the boutique and running for her life.

---

Sweetie Belle skipped through town, busy trying to remember each and every word that her sister had said. Every once in a while she would stop and began a spell chain. It would make other ponies stop too and stare, but she didn’t pay them any mind. She was trying to use magic, and she was going to get this right.

I’m always screwing things up. she thought, feeling quite bitter. She stopped to ponder this, then shrugged the thoughts aside. It wasn’t as if she always, always did; but it sure felt that way sometimes to her. Not this time! She tried again, this time a few more sparks flew out. Anger swelled up inside of her, only to be squashed down a second later.

“Relax, I’ll get this.”

She calmed down and skipped off again, heading toward Sweet Apple Acres. “I wonder if Scoots is still busy?” She considered what she knew about Twilight, which caused her to quickly come to one conclusion. “Yep.”

She stopped after entering the orchard and looked around. “I never realized just how big this place is…” Her voice trailed off as she looked around, almost feeling lost. There were countless paths to take, each littered with countless apple trees and countless more paths. Usually, she only took one, either toward Apple Bloom’s home or her clubhouse. She had never actually had to search for her friend or her siblings. “If I were them, where would I go?” Shrugging, she decided it was best to canter towards their house. It wasn’t a stretch that they’d be there. “Or at least Granny Smith might be,” she thought aloud.

As luck would have it, she did find Granny Smith, who pointed her in the right direction. “Let’s, erm, see, you take a few rights, then a left up to the first hill. At the crossroads take the first right, then it’s just straight on through and they’ll be on your left,” the old mare said without skipping a beat.

Sweetie nodded. “I’m not gonna find them, am I?”

The mare cackled, banging her walking stick on the ground. “There’s a first time for everything. If you do find ‘em, I’d be impressed.”

Sweetie banged her front hoof into her forehead and sighed. Then she perked up a second later. “I’ll just wait here…” It suddenly dawned on her how long that could take.

Granny watched Sweetie’s ears fold over her head as she slumped down, and she laughed. “Ah, don’t fret none. They should be on break soon.”

Again, luck appeared to be on her side; three ponies eventually came walking in from the orchard. Apple Bloom appeared to be laying on her brother’s back, looking more tired than ever.

“Apple Bloom!” Sweetie called out. “You okay?” She tilted her head, trying to get a better look.

Applejack looked back at her sister and couldn’t help but chucklesome. “Oh, she’s fine; just tired herself out from bucking. Er, trying to buck, anyway.”

“So many trees…” the farm filly wheezed out, then promptly fell over onto her side.

Sweetie’s face came rushing into Apple Bloom’s wearing a worried expression. “You okay?”

Apple Bloom tried to shake her head, but Big Mac spoke up for her. “Eeyup. You two can go play now, we’re on a break.”

Sweetie smiled, dragging Apple Bloom off with her quite literally. “Okay, thanks, Big Mac! C’mon Apple Bloom, I got something to show ya!”

Apple Bloom looked back to her siblings, reaching out with her hoof. She felt the grass drag under her hooves. She managed to get one last sentence out. “H-help me…”

Applejack gave her a flat look, telling her that she already was. Playtime was better than work time.

---

“Apple Bloom, I think you can walk by now,” Sweetie said, trying to drag her even further. “The clubhouse is right there.”

Apple Bloom looked up looking frantic. “You weren’t there!” she exclaimed as she dropped and curled into a ball. She rocked back and forth. “You weren’t there…”

Sweetie examined her, then eventually found the source of her friend’s pain. “Your back hoof looks a little red, that from bucking trees?”

Apple Bloom nodded, looking away shamefully. “Ah didn’t really get to…” she mumbled.

“It didn’t work? That’s okay, my sister tried to teach me some magic today.” Apple Bloom perked up upon hearing this. “Didn’t work either, but I’m still trying!”

Apple Bloom smiled. “Ah, Sweetie, how do you get me to smile so much? It’s not fair.”

Sweetie frowned, not understanding. “Do you want me to get you to frown? That’s gonna be kinda tough…”

The farm filly smiled some more and got onto her hooves. She walked past Sweetie Belle, who was busy pondering how to get her friend to frown, for whatever reason. Apple Bloomed grabbed her by her front hoof and walked on. “C’mon, Silly Belle. Show me what you got.”

Back in the clubhouse, Sweetie tried to conjure up more magic, trying to focus on making light. All she succeeded in making were sparks, sparks, and more sparks. She almost felt like she had it once, but the green glow died quicker than the blink of her eyes. “Drat, why’s this so hard?!”

Bloom shook her head. “Ah wish ah knew. Buckin’ was pretty difficult to get. Ah always thought it was just using your inner strength, but Applejack had all of these rules she wanted me to follow. It was crazy!”

Sweetie nodded in understanding. “Runes seem pretty nuts now that I think about it. But what do we do? What if we never get this?”

Apple Bloom considered that scenario then shook her head. “Nah, Applejack said Ah’d get it. Just need to practice. Ah’m sure it’s the same for unicorn magic. Or even flying with Scoots…” Apple Bloom’s ears drooped. “Uh-oh. We forgot about Scoots!”

Sweetie, feeling sympathy for her friend, nodded solemnly. “She will be missed, let us always remember her sacrifice… so that I could eat some cookies for once without Rarity finding out.”

“Don’t ya think we should go ‘n’ get ‘er? Ah’m sure Twilight’s torturing her enough by now.”

Looking at each other, they decided it wasn’t the best idea. Sure, they could risk it; but they didn’t feel it was worth it. They would see Scootaloo tomorrow. They spent the rest of the evening practicing their crafts. Apple Bloom found some smaller trees to try and buck, and though it took a few tries, her rear hooves hit right on and knocked an apple to the ground. “Ah did it!” Apple Bloom cheered. “Ah got an apple!”

Sweetie watched her friend jump up and down, announcing to the world what she had done. “Ah did it! Ah did it! Ah bucked a tree! Finally!”

“Nice! Now if I can just get this… ugh!” A few more sparks flew off her horn and she sighed. “Magic’s hard.”

The other filly nodded. She then noticed the sun had begun to set and she sighed herself. “Ah think it’s time Ah get home. Sorry, Sweetie.”

“Eh, it’s fine. Oh, I better go grab my saddlebag from the clubhouse.” She waved to Apple Bloom and walked back up the steps. Once inside, she found it lying near the door, but when she went to reach for it, something in the corner of her eye caught her attention. She looked back and noticed a sleeping bag rolled up, sitting in the middle of their clubhouse. It ordinarily wouldn’t bother her, but she didn’t know who it belonged to. “When was the last time we had a sleepover here?” she wondered aloud, trying to remember. “Or has it just been there and we just didn’t notice?” She hummed, walking around it, poking and prodding it, trying to see if she could unravel its mysteries. She then nearly jumped out of her skin upon hearing the hooting of a nearby owl. She looked over and saw the moon had fully been set in the sky. “Oh drat, I need to get back to Rarity. Now!”

Forgetting about the mysterious sleeping bag, she cantered out and back into the orchard. On the way, she slowed down and decided to practice more magic. Each time she gathered in magic, it would quickly fade away. Feeling frustrated, she began recounting the runes out loud. “What was it? Full moon, squiggles… then half moon? Yeah, I guess. Something like that, anyway.”

When she reached the halfway point past Apple Bloom’s house, she stopped again. Okay, channel in some magic. She stopped and did just that, feeling the warm tingling sensation of her horn lighting up a tad. Imagine what you want, I want light. Give me light! In a swift motion, she concentrated as hard as she possibly could. But this time, she let loose. Not her magic sparking all over the place, but a fully formed spell. It slowly illuminated the forest around her. Hesitantly she smiled, looking around, watching the green glow envelop everything. “I did it! I did it, I did it, I-- Hey, is that Scootaloo’s scooter?” She walked over, watching her spell illuminate the toy and a nearby bush. Yep, that’s it. Looking over, she spotted her friend hiding in some bushes. “Oh, hi, Scootaloo!” Then, her mind caught up with her. That’s weird… “What you doing in the bushes?” she asked worriedly.

Scootaloo jumped out of the bush, sending leaves fluttering to the ground. Sweetie thought back to the sleeping bag. She had a funny thought go through her mind. Was that hers? She didn’t have much time to ponder this, as Scootaloo spoke up, breaking her thoughts.

“Oh, phew! You found my scooter! I had, uh, lost it, yeah! Heh, don’t you sometimes get lost in the orchard?” she asked, nervousness obvious in her voice.

Sweetie blushed and looked away. Too often! “Nope! But I’m glad you found it!”

“Yeah, heh… by the way, that spell is awesome! I didn’t know you could do magic now!”

“Heh, yeah. It’s a long story. Um, but I need to get back to Rarities. It’s pretty late. Do you want me to walk ya home?” she asked sweetly.

“Uh, sure. My house is past Rarity’s, though,” she replied rather quickly.

Is it? Funny, I’ve never asked before… Sweetie thought.

Eventually, the two decided to walk back to their respective homes alone. Sweetie didn’t bother explaining the magic, as she was too tired and she felt a bit distracted. I know that seems silly, but what if it really was her bag? Maybe she was trying to get us to have a sleepover? Figuring she would have asked, she cast that idea aside. I’m just being silly.

Right before they split off, she noticed just how dark Ponyville seemed. She watched Scootaloo walk off but quickly stopped her with her right hoof. “Uh, are you sure you don’t want me to walk you home? My spell could help and it is pretty dark,” she noted, looking around. Please say yes. I wouldn’t feel right just leaving you to walk by yourself. However, she also knew just how stubborn Scootaloo could get.

And stubborn she was. Scootaloo shook her head frantically. “Pfft, I’m fine! Really!” she said, waving her hoof lazily in her best impression of being fine.

One of these days, Scootaloo… oh boy. Sweetie quirked a brow at her, but nodded, agreeing. “Okay.”

After splitting up, Sweetie watched her friend leave. Walking past the boutique and even Twilight’s library. Sweetie waved, but couldn’t help thinking something as she knocked on Rarity’s front door. I don’t remember many houses being out that way…

Comments

[Emperor]

It's really a toss-up as to how old the Cutie Mark Crusaders are translated into a human perspective, and I think the fandom loses sight of that sometimes. Despite that, Sweetie Belle is very much to form in Sweetie Dumb here, no matter how young or old she might be . Sweetie Belle is so dumb that if she tried to find directions, Hibiki Ryoga practically has an internal GPS and compass compared to her!

I guess you're going for trilogy of perspectives type fiction like the movie Go and other media.

[ferret]

My cookies!