CMC: Training is Magic

by Cold Spike

Chapter Seven: A Broken Promise

Sweetie Belle didn’t have to wait long for her sister’s response to the change in her coat color. Rarity had walked in on her, and then promptly let out a bloodcurdling scream. Sweetie had quickly clapped her hooves over her ears before it had started out of habit. Can’t she go one day without screaming? Sweetie thought with an inward sigh.

“What have you done to your coat‽” Rarity wailed at her.

“Magical backlash from a light spell, big sis. It usually goes away in ten minutes or so,” Sweetie replied casually.

Rarity scrunched up her face in confusion. “I don’t ever recall something this hideous occurring with my backlash sessions. And what light spell?”

Sweetie smiled and tried to cast it again, but was quickly stopped when Rarity swiftly moved her right hoof and clamped it over her horn. Any magical feeling that had been tingling before was immediately snuffed out.

“Never mind. I don’t want you messing things up even further,” Rarity said irritably.

Sweetie scowled and shooed her hoof away. “I won’t mess it up! Just watch!”

Rarity hesitated but nodded. Support her, Rarity. It’s not permanent. It’s not permanent, she repeated in her head. She gave a shy smile to Sweetie and nodded. “Very well. Show me, just… please be careful.”

Sweetie nodded, then went into a trance as she began to remember the steps for the spell. It thankfully went off without a hitch, and soon the room was illuminated in a soft, green slow. Sweetie smiled slightly at the glow, then snuffed it out and sighed in relief. “See?”

“Very nice, darling. Just please be more careful in the future,” Rarity said cautiously.

Sweetie sighed again. “That’s what Twilight said; though she also said I should experiment and stuff,” she said with a sly smile.

Rarity shuddered in response. She had seen what kind of mischief she and her Crusader friends get into without using magic; she could only imagine what her sister could do with it. However, she knew there was no fighting progress. She had opened the can of worms when she had introduced her sister to runes. Her fate was sealed.

“Hey, Rarity? What other spells do you know?”

Upon hearing the question, Rarity snapped out of her thoughts. Perhaps I could guide her a bit more. Idle hooves, after all… Rarity cleared her mind of her thoughts and tried to remember everything she knew. Her special talent, her imprint, had largely been based around finding uniqueness. This was why she was able to design so many dresses or unique getups. She could not only use her skill and talent to craft them; she used her talent and her magic to envision the most unique styles she could muster. Finding gems was how she got started; she nurtured her talent and, over time, learned to focus it into much more than simply finding rare rocks, but finding and creating rare things. When she truly thought about it, she had come a long, long way since digging around in the dirt for sparkly gems. She knew plenty of spells in regards to her special talent, perhaps not as many spells as Twilight, but still a good set. “Well, I can’t quite answer that fully or else we’d be here all night. You see, when I was your age I didn’t want to just settle for a talent that could get me income or a job; I wanted to be somepony. I wanted my dresses to be known throughout Equestria!” she announced almost triumphantly. Sweetie blinked in astonishment and Rarity coughed while blushing at her own outburst. “Ahem, so I studied everything I could on dressmaking. Deep down I knew my talent had something to do with it-”

Sweetie interrupted her quite abruptly, “But what does finding gems and stuff have to do with dressmaking? I always thought it was just something you did on the side, but your talent was… uh, finding rocks?”

“That’s what I thought at first, but Mother helped me realize that maybe it had a bit more to do with than just gems. It had to do with following my heart, of finding uniqueness in my creations. But I’m afraid most of the spells that I know are all for tailors; dress-making and what not. So, unless you plan on trying to be one, and your special talent happens to be like mine, then I can’t teach you much without causing more harm than good.”

Sweetie’s ears folded down on her head in disappointment.

Guide her or chaos will ensue! Rarity warned herself. “But I had thought up a few spells back when I was a filly. One was quite useful, though I don’t need it anymore. Of course, I haven’t actually been able to perfect it…” Rarity said, but then her voice trailed off.

“What is it‽” Sweetie asked excitedly.

“Oh, do calm down, it’s nothing overly special; it simply allowed me to find my way home. Instead of trying to find a gem in the ground, it was supposed to locate the user's home,” she said swiftly. “Well, that was its intended use; I never could get it to work quite right…”

Though Sweetie Belle heard her quite clearly. “Rarity, could you use this spell to find something else? Like, locate somepony or something?”

Rarity frowned and then shrugged. “I’ve tried before, but it would seem focusing on something else other than gems gave me quite mixed results. I was never certain why,” she said bitterly.

Sweetie Belle giggled. “Maybe… maybe you just want gems that badly, big sis.”

Rarity frowned indignantly. “Oh, hush. It’s not that at all. To tell you the truth, the spell doesn’t work that well. In the end, I could only get it to point me in the general direction of Ponyville, which is my home, but not this particular building.”

Sweetie nodded. “So, how does it work?”

“You already know how to channel magic and to focus on what you want. For this spell, however, you need to add in another step before you cast it. You must channel magic and then use it to sync with the Equestria’s Planetary Ebb,” Rarity said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

“Whaaaat?” Sweetie said, gawking a bit. What was she talking about? Twilight had never mentioned anything about that before.

“Judging by your confusion, I’m guessing Twilight hasn’t mentioned this before?” Rarity asked. When Sweetie shook her head, she continued. “Right. I’m sure she would have gotten to it soon, anyway. The Planetary Ebb is more another name for how we get our magic than anything else. The planet provides it and most living creatures tap into it. So, technically, when you channel magic you’re taking from it, but usually, there’s never a need to push back, or to tap back.”

“Uh, so, wait, what about my mana font thingy?”

Rarity hummed then clicked her teeth in thought. “That’s a bit separate. You still have one, and you use it whenever you cast magic, but the magic has to come from somewhere. Your horn is constantly refilling your mana, and it gets it from the planet’s ‘Ebb’.” Rarity used her hooves to make air quotes. “I’ve actually heard other planets can have different effects,” Rarity said, deep in thought.

“Like when Princess Luna was stuck on the moon?”

Rarity shook her head. “I’d imagine there was no Ebb there at all, which would explain why she couldn’t use any magic to come back until a thousand years had passed. But we’re getting off topic, darling. You see, certain spells can work by interacting with the Ebb. Almost like you’re asking it a question, and the answer would be the result of your spell.”

Sweetie scratched her head and moaned in displeasure. “Okay, so my horn uses the Ebb to refill my mana font?”

“Correct.”

“And when I channel mana I take it from my font.”

“Also correct.”

“But for some spells, I can use my magic to use this Ebb thing to… do something?” she guessed with a shrug.

“Yes. I don’t actually know if you’ll be able to get it on your first try or not, but this is actually a lot safer to practice than... other things,” she said mysteriously. “It’s actually how I use my gem-finding ability. The home finding spell works similarly too.”

“Okay, so how do I do it?”

Rarity smiled. “You focus.”

Sweetie Belle frowned and then gave her a flat look. “Seriously?”

“Seriously. Most magic requires it, though I would imagine Discord’s form is more like wish fulfillment or some such nonsense. If you can focus on channeling magic and connecting to the Ebb, then you can focus on something much grander than just creating light; like finding your way home, for instance. Understand?”

“Uh, I think so. So it’s just like creating the light, only I’m trying to focus on doing two things at once?”

“Precisely; but not at the exact same time. Once you feel the Ebb, only then can you cast the second spell.”

“Uh, so am I doing two spells at once? Like going through the steps twice?”

Rarity blushed and nodded rather quickly. “Silly me, I forgot to explain that. I did say magic was more instinct sometimes, and it can be quite complicated to remember the actual steps. Yes, you would be casting the first spell, which is tapping into the Ebb, and then once that is done, you would follow the steps again; only instead of using your mana font, you would be using the Ebb’s mana font.”

Sweetie’s eyes widened in surprise. In that instant, it was like something new had clicked, and suddenly she understood just a bit more about her own world. Why had she not known this stuff before? Maybe I didn’t need to before, she thought with an internal shrug. It didn’t matter, though, because suddenly a whole wealth of potential was open to her. Sweetie had always felt just a little bit jealous of her friends. While they couldn’t do magic with a horn, they could fly and be much stronger than her. They could eventually fly, Sweetie reminded herself. But now that she knew just how much potential her horn had, it filled her with pure glee.

“Do you think this is how Twilight teleports? She uses the Ebb… thingy?”

“I believe so, but you’d have to ask her on the specifics,” Rarity replied instantly, but upon noticing Sweetie’s second sly smile, she scowled. “Don’t you go trying that! I will be teaching you spells I feel are safe to learn,” she said sternly.

Sweetie nodded quickly. She had tested Rarity’s patience before, and it usually didn’t end well. “Okay, but how will I know if the Ebb spell worked?”

“You’ll feel it. That little tingling sensation you feel when you cast magic will be much more pronounced.”

Sweetie nodded, but still felt unsure. “But then what about the finding home spell? How come you can’t get it to work if you can get your gem thing to?”

Rarity shrugged. “Perhaps because my home isn’t all that unique; I’ve seen places like this all over Manehattan,” she said with a giggle. “Or maybe because it doesn’t work the way I think it does. I never had much time to study how the Ebb works, so I always just assumed the spell merely showed me where I belonged, which is right here in Ponyville,” she finished with a smile.

Feeling overwhelmed, Sweetie decided it was best to stop asking and start doing. “Okay. I think I’m gonna go try it, bye Rarity!” Sweetie yelled back as she dashed off out of her room.

“Bye!” Rarity waved and then sighed to herself. Please don’t come home with a black coat, please…

---

Apple Bloom spent the next few days practicing her bucking and planting. When it came down to things, there wasn’t much to either skill, she decided. Just lots and lots of hard work, in the heat, and a ton of mental focus. She certainly did feel something whenever she whacked at the tree, and she could most certainly feel a tingling in her hooves when she planted a seed. However, while one of her skills was improving, it felt like the other was simply stagnant. The worst part was she didn’t know what she was doing wrong!

All morning she had been up, bucking the same tree that Granny had shown her. With each thrust, she could feel not only the full resistance of the bark but also a swift tingling sensation that only stopped when she pulled away. With each thrust, she could feel herself getting faster and stronger. No longer had it just been a single apple dropping, or worse, nothing. No, now the tree quaked with fear, relinquishing more than just a few apples with each try.

Squish! An apple splashed down in the dirt, smashing open against the ground like the rest. Littered about the tree were dozens of destroyed fruits, all laid out like little pulpy landmines. Apple Bloom even had a few on herself, but she didn't care. If she couldn’t get the hang of growing trees, the least she could do was learn how to buck them!

“Stupid seeds,” she grumbled as she struck the tree one more time. “Stupid soil,” she said again to nopony in particular and then bucked one final time. She panted and then collapsed into the dirt. “Stupid me..”

“I think you may have gotten the hang of buckin’ for now,” Granny said all of a sudden.

Apple Bloom jumped a bit and looked around. She hadn’t seen her arrive.

“Over here,” Granny called from the shade of another tree.

Apple Bloom’s head panned up while she panted over and over. “Uh, yeah. Well, I can’t grow anything, so I figured I may as well get good at buckin’,” she replied back.

Granny Smith scowled. “Hogwash!” she proclaimed. “Come with me, youngin’. We’ll get you to grow somethin’.” And without waiting for a reply, she stormed off toward the middle of the orchard.

Apple Bloom considered laying low in the shade since she figured any progress she could make in growing could wait for a less hot day. She felt exhausted and wiping away the sweat from her mane only exemplified this fact.

“Are you comin’ or what?” Granny’s angry voice echoed through the trees.

She sighed and got up then limped over the path. “Well, at least growin’ trees is a lot less work than buckin’ them,” she muttered to herself.

It didn’t take the filly long to reach Granny, who was impatiently waiting near some newly planted trees. Next to these were a few freshly dug holes with some seeds waiting nearby.

“What took ya?” the mare said testily.

“I was working all morning long, Granny. I’m really tired, sorry.”

“Well, good! All of that fangled… filly energy of yours would just get in the way of yer growin’ practice. You need to be calm and, most importantly, focused,” she said sagely.

But Apple Bloom shook her head in disagreement. What energy? “But I’m not that-”

“So, did ya practice any with Big Mac?” the mare interrupted.

“I did a little, but I can’t get the hang of it at all! I am focusing, but it’s just not working right. Nothing sprouts,” she whined.

The mare walked over to one of the holes and gestured for Apple Bloom to join her. The filly grudgingly nodded and walked over. “Place yer hoof right here, filly,” Granny commanded as she placed hers on the soil.

When she placed it down, the filly felt nothing different. She felt around for a while, wondering just what touching the soil was supposed to do. It was just dirt! There wasn’t anything unique or engaging about the stuff. It smelled rotten at times and left your coat feeling, well, dirty! She thought back to Big Mac’s instructions on growing new plants and was left feeling very unconfident in her abilities to follow them. What was she supposed to be listening for? It’s not like she had her ear to anything, and it’s not like trees, plants, or dirt ever said anything, or even made much noise in general. When she really focused, sometimes she could almost feel a faint tingling from her magic, like it was crawling around in the dirt, hoping to spring through and be useful. But that didn’t matter, because, in the end, it never worked! For a second, she considered pulling her hoof back, but then it bumped into Granny’s. It felt warm, warmer than any hoof should be. In that second, the weak, tingling sensation intensified tenfold. She could actually feel a warmth rising through her hoof, but also pushing through the soil. Was that a plant? Was she feeling a seed? Guiding it? Connecting with it?

Eyes widening, she looked up to Granny, who gave her a curt nod. Apple Bloom gently and reluctantly raised her hoof from the dirt, but it didn’t come away alone. A tiny, pitiful sapling had risen from the earth. She stared at it, admiring something that she had created; something she had guided with her very magic! “I did it…” Apple Bloom muttered in bewilderment.

“Sure looks like it to me,” Granny replied in agreement.

Without warning the filly began jumping up and down with glee. “I did it! I raised a sapling! I did it, I-” Apple Bloom lurched forward as her back hooves colliding with the trunk of a nearby tree. She had been jumping up and down, kicking her front and back hooves without thinking. Upon colliding, nearly three dozen apples broke off from the tree’s branches, burying the filly in them. “Ow…”

Granny chuckled. “See, that’s why you start with the practice tree first, youngin’. Gives yer muscles a right workout.”

---

“The Ebb,” Sweetie muttered to herself as she walked along into Ponyville. She wanted to ponder on it, to find it and bend it to her will. But something stopped her, like a nagging feeling that she should be doing other things first and foremost. That this Ebb wasn’t nearly as important as that one thing.

My friends, she thought in sorrow. It was something that would pop up from time to time, but she would quickly shove down in favor of learning something new. She hadn’t spoken to them much in nearly a month’s time, and it was finally starting to get to her. An entire month of not playing, hanging out, crusading, or doing anything else with them as friends. When she was learning some from the practical queen of friendship herself, well, it made Sweetie Belle feel pretty stupid and even guilty at times. Was learning about the Ebb worth forsaking their friendship?

What about breaking your Pinkie Promise? a voice reminded her bitterly.

It was true they had all promised to not crusade until all of them could use their own magic. But I know how to use magic, and I’m sure Apple Bloom has at least figured buckin’ out by now… So, why were they not hanging out? Why did they continue to see each other in passing, but never acknowledge each other like they used to? Was the promise that important to all of them? Sweetie groaned, nursing a soon-coming headache. Thinking about it all made her head spin, but she couldn’t help it! Another thought struck her, and this one made her skin crawl.

What if Scootaloo was having more trouble than either of them? She didn’t want to explore this thought, but for her friend’s sake, she kept thinking. Flying wasn’t exactly the easiest thing in the world to accomplish. It hadn’t been brought up too often, but sometimes Fluttershy or even Rainbow Dash would mention, in passing, that going from a flightless pegasus to full flight didn’t exactly happen for them in ten seconds flat. It took tons of practice, meaning Scootaloo would likely take longer than both of them combined. What if both Apple Bloom and herself learned their magic before Scootaloo even had a chance to get the hang of her abilities? What if she got too frustrated and gave up?

No! a thought rang out in her head defiantly. That just didn’t sound like Scootaloo. While Sweetie didn’t know a lot about her family - thinking that Diamond’s brief presentation didn’t count - she knew a lot about Scootaloo. She wasn’t a quitter; she was a go-getter!

Sweetie smirked in triumph, forgetting about her bitter thoughts and fearful mood. “I bet Scootaloo’s already flown! Yeah, I bet she wants to perfect it a little, so she can show off. Heh, I better get practicin’ then!” Sweetie exclaimed, feeling a lot like Scootaloo. “Yeah! We need to be the best at our magic as we can be! Okay, Ebb, let’s do this!”

She looked around, finally taking in her surroundings. Several ponies had gathered from her little outburst and were now staring at her.

She blushed many shades of red. “Uh, bye!” she announced to the curious ponies and dashed off toward the park. It was time for practice.

---

“Okay, Ebb, time to see what you can do,” Sweetie said confidently. Her smile didn’t waver, even when she realized she knew next to nothing on how to channel it. She was also quite worried that she hadn’t asked her sister enough questions on the thing. She nervously glanced back towards Twilight’s place, wondering if she should ask her. It would be so simple, and she would bet her own horn that Twilight knew almost anything and everything about the Ebb. “But what if she thinks I’m not ready?” she said to herself. She couldn’t help but notice how reserved Twilight was with instructing her on anything. She had barely learned any new spells thus far. Really, the bulk of her practice had to do with honing her magic, strengthening it and keeping control of it. It also didn’t help that they didn’t meet up that often. “Or that I’m always practicing on my own…” Her voice trailed off as it occurred to her that ‘practicing’ was a bit of a generous term for what she had actually been up to. Twilight had been quite strict in what she allowed her to practice when she wasn’t with her. it didn’t come up much in their first real lesson, but she made sure she remembered from then on. “She also said to listen to Rarity, and Rarity says to try this,” she said confidently.

Before she could even channel a bit of magic into her horn, however, she paused and sighed. “But how do I even do it? What if I have to see Twilight and she makes me promise not to practice it on my own and I won’t learn this quick enough and then I won’t see my friends and we’ll stop being friends and-”

No, Sweetie thought defiantly, again. I have to try to connect with this Ebb thing. Stop worrying so much!

She took a deep breath, took a seat in the grass and began to cast. Focusing was very difficult, for one she kept worrying about her friends, and on top of that, she had a new way of casting magic. Channel, then cast to connect? No, no. Channel, then tap into the Ebb. Then cast a new spell while using the Ebb, yeah.

Channeling was simple, almost like breathing, but the next step felt odd. It was almost like thinking about the Ebb made it real, like something physical that she was levitating. The tingling in her horn intensified and suddenly her horn felt something like it was touching some barrier. She was doing it! She concentrated harder, attempting to channel the magic from The Ebb she now believed she was connected to, but something stopped her. As if being blown off her hooves from a passing Scootaloo on her scooter, her head jerked back in alarm while her horn shot an intense pressure back into her skull; in an instant, all of the magic she had just built up was snuffed out. Her head shot back in surprise as she was left panting for air.

“Ow…”

“Oh, my. Are you alright, Sweetie Belle?”

Sweetie was busy rubbing her head in agony, so she hardly noticed when a mare had walked up to see if she was okay. Looking up, she spotted a pegasus mare, looking on with an intense frown. “Oh, hey, Fluttershy,” Sweetie said quietly.

The mare continued to look her over. “Hello. Um, what were you doing?”

Sweetie’s face turned hot when she realized just how silly she must have looked to other ponies. “Oh, uh, I didn’t think anypony had been watching. S- sorry to scare you like that,” she stammered.

Fluttershy smiled back. “I was just making sure you were okay. Were you… practicing magic?” she said slowly.

She nodded. “I was trying to connect to the Ebb… thingy. But I guess I need more practice.”

“I suppose so. Hmm, but where are your friends at? Too busy to Crusade?”

It was a testament to how iconic their club had become when other ponies used words such as ‘Crusade’ so casually. Did they really crusade that often? Sweetie shook her head at the mare and shrugged. “They’re off practicing too. Their own magic, I mean. We sorta Pinkie Promised each other we wouldn’t crusade until we got the hang of our own magic,” she admitted with just a bit of guilt.

Fluttershy tilted her head in confusion. After a few moments of silence, she spoke quite calmly. “Uh, don’t you think that’s a bit extreme? Why I don’t think I would be the mare I was today if not for my friends’ help. You three could learn a lot from each other, and secluding yourselves from that experience probably won’t help you much,” she said.

Sweetie felt even guiltier but nodded in agreement. “I was just trying to think of a way for us to practice easier. It’s not like we haven’t talked to each other in class! It’s… just we haven't hung out or played or crusaded… or done much of anything, really. Just practice,” she finished with a low sigh.

“I’m sure you’re practicing very hard, but I don’t think it would hurt anypony if you went to see your friends. Visiting doesn’t have to lead to crusading you know.”

“I know. I just wanted to have something amazing to show them. I’m sure they did too,” she protested.

Fluttershy shook her head. “Maybe they want to, but I’m sure they miss you just as much as you miss them. Why don’t you go visit them and just talk for a while? You can always practice your magic there, too,” she said with a wink.

“Uh, but isn’t that like crusading? That would break the promise!”

“I think it sounds more like a loophole if you ask me. Besides, you all agreed on the promise. I don’t see anything wrong with breaking it if you all agree as well. You would still stay friends, after all. I don’t see it as doing something wrong if none of you are disappointing each other,” Fluttershy finished sagely. “But whatever you decide to do, I’m sure you’ll get the hang of your magic soon enough. So long for now, though; I have an angry bunny to find.”

Sweetie watched her go, mumbling out a half-hearted goodbye. Would Pinkie get angry if they all called the promise off? It wasn’t as if someone was relying on them keeping their promise, just each other. Their friendship was more important than learning a new skill. Right?

Sweetie looked up at her horn as she tried to connect to the Ebb once more. It pushed back, forcing the magic to die out yet again.

She glanced back at Sweet Apple Acres, wondering just what Apple Bloom was up to. “Right. Time to see my friends!”

Comments

[Cold Spike]

6952344 It's a comin', just waiting on my editor to edit the next few chapters. They've been written for weeks...

[Kenshinryuu]

Without warning the filly began jumping up and down with glee. “I did it! I raised a sapling! I did it, I-” Apple Bloom lurched forward as her back hooves colliding with the trunk of a nearby tree. She had been jumping up and down, kicking her front and back hooves without thinking. Upon colliding, nearly three dozen apples broke off from the tree’s branches, burying the filly in them. “Ow…”

I can just picture Apple Bloom's head popping out of the pile of apples with a grin bright enough to light up the night.

Hmmm, given that Apple Bloom finally got it when she touched Granny's hoof, Scootaloo might need to take a ride on a few other pegasi backs to get a feel for flying and Sweetie might try being horn to horn with a more experienced unicorn to get a better feel for their magic.

[Cold Spike]

6953538 Horn to... horn? Something about that doesn't sound very right...

Anyway, good suggestions, and I've seen other stories use methods like that. Where a filly or foal unicorn learns by being connected to an adult unicorn. But I wanted this to be my way of telling their universe.

[Kenshinryuu]

6954034 Well, at the end of Canterlot Wedding we see Shining and Cadence cross horns to do the super 'Toss the Changelings through the sky like rag dolls' spell, so it's got a basis in canon of two unicorns being able to synchronize through their horns.

[Cold Spike]

6954918 Eh, I accounted that something skin to, like, crossing the beams in Ghostbusters. Doesn't nececcarily mean you can teach little fillies magic that way,

[Inferno demon Dash]

Finally, been so long since I read this. Time to move on!

[Emperor]

Some general thoughts on my own perspective, not really a lecture. When attempting world-building that has extremely important relevance, an attempt should be made for it to not feel shoed-in, and that it be important again in the future, whether in a legitimate use or in the form of a red herring for the readers. This Planetary Ebb concept comes right out of nowhere, and at least from my bias, it feels like it'll basically be abandoned after a couple of chapters and either never talked about again or an occasional aside or two made about it. Instead, it could be made important and relevant again in future chapters for something like, say, Pegasi making unconscious innate use of the Ebb and Scootaloo's connection with the Ebb being screwed up when she changed from a Breezie to a Pony.

That said, definitely continue with the whole angst the Crusaders have about drifting apart and their promises potentially inadvertently driving them away from one another. That's the real guts of the story there.

7065888 Gonna head out for supper for a bit, so maybe I'll get the last two chapters commented on an an overall review/critique afterwards. If not, then tomorrow for certain. Lack of comments is tough, I know. There are a few cool story ideas I want to do such as a ponified version of The Last Question that I hold off until I have more followers because the Feature Box seems to get tons of cheap bait stuff even though I think my thoughtful bait is so much cooler