Bond of Magic

by Dusklight Shadow

Chapter 2: Magic of Training. Dusklight Vs. Twilight!

Date: June 17, 2015
Time: 4:30 am
Location: Florida, Pensacola

…Who am I?...

…What am I?...

…I’m not human…

…I’m not pony…

…Am I both?...

…Who am I?...

…Who am I?...

…Who am I?...

My eyes snapped open after having that cyclone of thoughts and emotions swirling around in that dream. I rubbed my eyes to get the sleep out of them, and then reached over to my phone to check the time. ‘Four-thirty, a lot earlier than what I’m used to.’ I thought as I unlocked my phone. I looked at the notification bar to see that I had a message, and looked to see what it was.

It was a text from Chance.

Hey, when you read this, me and the guys went back home to get some things together. We should be back tomorrow afternoon to talk over what’s been going on, and we also need to pack some things for us to stay over there until things get sorted out. Don’t worry, we set your alarm with the code that was sitting on the kitchen counter, and Twilight said she was going to stay in your sister’s room. We’ll be sure to be back by tomorrow around lunch, and we’ll bring food as well. Take it easy, Chan-Chan.

'Well, I guess I have plenty of time for myself before the guys come back.' I turn off my phone, and get out of bed to see if I can make myself something to eat. I turned on my lamp light, since it was still dark outside, and make my way to the kitchen. When I turned on the light, I noticed that I was still wearing the same clothes I wore yesterday, and, not to mention, that they wreaked. I opened the freezer below the fridge, and fished out one of those Jimmy Dean frozen croissants. After opening the plastic wrapping and rewrapping the croissant in a paper towel, I put it in the microwave to defrost it.

Once the microwave finished, I took the croissant out and unwrapped it after sitting at the table. While I was eating, I began to contemplate on my current situation, and the main topic at the forefront of my mind was the fact that I was no longer considered human. I looked down at my newly grown tail, watching it lazily sway back and forth as it dangled from the side of my chair. I kept eating as I stared at it for a minute; still trying to accept the fact that this tail was mine, and it’s probably going to be there for the rest of my days.

The more I think about it, the more I start to feel that parts of my humanity have been stripped away, and replaced with something similar to what Twilight is like. I seem human, yet, at the same time, I’m the same species as that purple pony. I could only conclude that, somehow, Twilight’s magic had some kind of effect on my genetic code, but how is that even possible? I’ve read a lot about how magic worked from books and the internet, and I have seen nothing about it doing this.

I shook my head, thinking I should come back to how magic alters DNA later, and went back to eating my breakfast.

After I finished eating, I figured I should try and use my magic again. I knew Twilight told me she was going to teach me how, but I wanted to see if anything I’ve read before applies anyway.

---

I was now standing outside in the back acre of my house. The wind was blowing through my grown hair slightly, and the stars were shining in the sky before the rise of dawn. Yes, this was the perfect time and place to see what I can do.

I closed my glowing eyes, my breath slowing down to a steady rhythm, and the sound of my heartbeat growing louder with every second. I searched for that power that I felt yesterday during my anger-induced outburst. I knew what I was looking for; all I needed to do was find it in the right place.

After a minute of searching, I saw it, and, in my mind’s eye, I reached out to grab it.

Opening my eyes, I looked down to see that my hands were enveloped in the same aura-like mist like before, yet the small, black particles soon grew into shadowy wisps. I also noticed that my tattoo was glowing again, and lifted my sleeve to get a better look. The elvish script wrapping around my arm was glowing with the same ice-blue color as my hands, but it also seemed to be emitting shadows that creeped over my arm before fading out. Seeing these shadows gave me an idea.

‘Alright, time to see what I can do.’ I thought, pulling my sleeve back down with a determined look.

I focused my mana into my hands making them glow brighter, and large balls of energy with bubbling darkness started forming in my palms. I got into a horse stance to keep my balance, for focusing this much mana at once was starting to put some strain on me. I wanted to see what my limit was before I burned out, and made sure to keep pouring more mana into a single spell. This spell would be improvised with no guidance whatsoever, but, hopefully, it won’t blow up in my face.

Once I felt I had enough mana charged, I locked my sight onto a dead tree. I jumped up high in the air, brought my hands forward, and released!

“DARK RAGNAROK!”

To my surprise, the spell worked as I wanted! Ten projectiles of dark energy spread out from my hands in a circular formation, and then converged on the tree before exploding!

I landed once the dust started to clear, and it seemed that my attack completely obliterated the tree. However, I started to feel the nauseous fatigue again, and sat down to catch my breath.

‘I can’t believe it!’ I shouted in my mind, ‘I actually used magic, and on instinct as well!’

A huge smile formed on my face as I regained my stamina, and it was a good thing I didn’t get a headache this time. It felt like I had done this before. Once I caught my breath, I stood back up, and started focusing my mana again. This time I was going to use light energy instead of dark energy, and use it with a more close range spell. When I had enough mana charged, I executed the spell!

“MANA BLADES!”

Two blades made of pure magic formed on my forearms, but I noticed I had to keep pouring mana into them so they won’t dispel. I charged towards a second tree, and began slicing with my blades at lightning speeds. When I finished, I did a back summersault to distance myself from falling debris, and the tree crumbled into finely cut pieces.

I dispelled the blades, thankful that they didn’t use as much energy as the last attack.

(Stop Music)

“Hmmm…,” I pondered to myself, “from what I can tell, I seem to have a naturally large mana reserve. It also seems that my… mutation has also increased my physical capabilities by an immense amount, thus giving me ten times more stamina and speed than what I normally have. I also seem to be able to jump higher as well. Does that mean my strength has increased as well? Hmmm…”

I was pacing around as I mumbled to myself, and didn’t notice that Twilight was standing there the whole time. I looked to up notice that the sun had just risen over the horizon, and that Twilight was staring at me with wide eyes and her jaw dropped.

I blinked twice with a blank expression before speaking, “Um, hey, Twi. How long have you been standing there?”

She blinked before shaking her head, “Long enough to see that you were able to use a nonexistent spell (that also used dark magic), and used a level five close-combat spell. Are you sure you’ve never used magic before?”

I grinned at her and chuckled, “Nope, never in my life, but I have read about the concept of it in the past.” I shrugged, “In my opinion, I should have had at least one backfire, but I guess, when you know more than one way on how it works, it’s pretty easy to pick up.”

She stared at me for a second before she narrowed her eyes and changed the subject, “What I want to know is why you used a dark magic spell. A spell that not only seemed to require a lot of mana, but also doesn’t exist in any book that I’ve read.”

I put my hands behind my head, and looked up at the morning sky, “Well, to tell you the truth…,” I looked back at Twilight with a wide grin, “all of that was improvised.”

Her face went back to that shocked expression with her dropped jaw and wide eyes. She sputtered out unintelligible garble before she completely froze, and, not to mention, her right eye was twitching.

‘Well shit, I broke her.’ I thought as I walked up to her. Now that I got a good look at her, she seemed to be a bit shorter than me. Last time I checked, I was 5’9”, and the top of Twilight’s head seemed to come up to my waist. She also seemed to be in a better condition than she was the day before.

I leaned down to her eye level, and tried to get her out of “Twilight.exe has stopped working” mode. Unfortunately, everything from light slapping to erratic shaking had no effect. So, I resorted to using my magic. I charged a small amount of mana into my index finger, walked around so that I was standing behind her, and let loose a small jolt of static electricity on her flank.

*ZAP*

“GYAH!!!!”

Which resulted in her jumping ten feet in the air, and she flopped back down on the ground with a soft thud and a grunt of pain. She groaned as she stood back up while I was trying not laugh at the fact of how high she went.

“Who? What? What happened?” Twilight asked in quick succession; all while looking around frantically.

“You sorta locked up for a bit.” I answered her question once I regained my composure, “I tried to shake you out of it, but that didn’t work so I resorted to shocking you with magic.”

She turned around to face me, “Well, despite using such a painful method, thanks for snapping me out of that, Chandler.” Twilight said with a friendly smile as she dusted herself off.

“Dusklight.” I blurted out.

Twilight tilted her head with a confused look, “What?”

“My new name,” I replied, “I figured since, technically, I’m no longer human I should have a different one, and since Chandler is a human name I decided to rename myself. So, from now on, call me Dusklight Shadow.”

“That sounds awfully like a name a Pony would have. What made you come up with that?” she asked, raising her eyebrow.

I put my chin between my thumb and index finger. Why did I come up with that name? When I blurted out the name, it felt like I had known the name for a long time, but forgot about it until now. Not to mention, it just felt right for me to be called by that name.

“I’m not sure, Twi. I can’t say it just came from nowhere, but I can say that it does feel right for me to use that name from now on.” I finally replied with a shrug.

Twilight stared at me for a second, like she was trying to get any other answer from me, but that was the only answer I could give her. I was just as clueless as she was.

“Well then, thanks for snapping me out of my trance, Dusk.” She thanked me with a smile.

“No problem, Twi.” I smiled back. However, I suddenly had an idea that may help me with my magic. My smile turned sly, “Hey, Twi, I just got an idea.”

“Hm? What would that be?”

My smile turned into a grin, “How about we have a magic duel?”

Her head tilted again, “That depends, are we talking a duel of talent, or an actual duel?”

My grin got bigger, “An actual duel. No holding back, and use whatever spells you can without destroying the town.”

Her face then turned into shocked horror, “Dusk, you can’t be serious!? If I fight you, I could seriously injure you! I wouldn’t forgive myself if I hurt one of my friends!”

“Relax, Twi, there’s nothing to worry about. I’ve taken a few beatings before, and, besides, I have a feeling that I’m a lot stronger than I was before.” I reassured her, gesturing with my hands for her calm down.

Twilight looked uncertain, but she eventually lowered her head with a heavy sigh of defeat. “There’s no talking you out of this, is there?” she asked.

“Nope.” I replied as I got into a fixed stance, hands forward with their usual aura, “And don’t go easy on me!”

“Alright, but don’t say I didn’t warn you…” she said in a monotone voice. Then she snapped her head up with a ferocious look in her eyes; her horn as if it was coated in magenta flames.

I was surprised at the sudden mood change. She looked so kind and innocent before, but now she suddenly had the eyes of a confident fighter.

Twilight made the first move as she fired a bolt of magic towards me, but I was able to dodge roll out of the way. I started running around her as she started rapid firing magic at me like a machine gun, yet I was managing to stay ahead of the blasts. I needed to think of something quick, otherwise I’ll lose right from the start. That’s when I got a crazy idea, and it most likely will have me take damage. I began charging mana into my hands like I did earlier, and brought my arms to my sides. When I had enough charged, I cast the spell!

“MANA BLADES!”

The same blades as before appeared on my forearms, and I began charging towards Twilight. She kept firing magic at me, but time slowed down for me as I was able to slice through them! When I got close enough, I attempted using an X slice, but Twilight saw the attack coming and jumped into the air. I slid to a halt as I dispelled my blades, and looked up to see that Twilight was using her wings to keep herself aloft.

“Hey, no fair!” I whined, seeing that I couldn’t fly, “I don’t have any wings!”

“Sorry, Dusk!” Twilight replied, now sounding smug, “But you did say not to go easy on you!”

“Touché.” I mumbled to myself before having to dodge another bolt of magic. I will say one thing; Twilight sure knows how to put up a fight. However, I don’t believe she has fought anything like I am. If I can get creative, I might be able to beat her. I charged my magic again while running from more projectiles, and I was starting to feel slightly fatigued. I needed to conserve my mana so that I’m not beaten by default, but once I get her grounded I can give everything I’ve got.

“MANA WHIP!”

An extremely long whip materialized in my hand, and I swung it at Twilight. She gasped as the whip wrapped around her barrel and wings, and I yanked on it resulting in Twilight crashing down to the ground. She got back up on her hooves, and the fire in her eyes seemed to intensify as her gaze refocused on me.

“Alright, so it’s like that, huh?” she mumbled, her tone becoming more intense, “Well, two can play at that game.”

‘Oh shit, that does not sound good!’ I was beginning to panic.

She then proceeded to grab me with her magic in a telekinetic grip, and, no matter how much I struggled, I couldn’t move. I was then thrown across the field after being swung around her five times, and ended up crashing through the fence into the same field with the crater from yesterday. I was able to right myself and dig my feet into the ground to stop myself, but, when I stopped, Twilight came flying at me as fast as a bullet. I was able to block her approach, but she started throwing punches and kicks. I was able to dodge and block some of them, but others were able to graze me.

“Holy crap!” I yelled while dodging a jab, “Where did you learn to fight like this!?”

“Most of it I learned from my brother!” she yelled back as she jabbed me in the stomach, causing me to hunch over. “And the rest I learned from Rainbow Dash!” she then sent an uppercut to my chin, causing me to fly into the air. Next, she teleported behind me, and bucked me into the same crater that she made yesterday.

“Ow…..,” I groaned as I stood back up, “Damn, who knew she can perform hand to hand. She seriously seemed more of the ranged-casting type.”

I looked up to see her still flying in the air from where she bucked me, and I see that she was charging a spell. Her horn was shining like a miniature sun, and I knew that was a bad sign. I may have pissed her off a bit, and now I was going to get fried. However, I knew exactly what to counter with. I got into a fixed stance, cupped my hands in front of me, and then brought them to my right side as I charged as much mana as I could.

‘I’ve always wanted to do this.’

“Ka… Me…” a ball of energy started building up between my palms.

Twilight’s horn started building up a similar ball of energy, but hers was magenta while mine was blue.

“Ha… Me…” the sphere got large enough to the point that it was pushing on my hands.

Twilight’s spell looked ready to fire as she threw her head back.

“ARCANE WAVE!” she threw her head forward, sending the beam towards me.

“HAAAAAAAA!!!!!” I threw my hands forward, and a beam of my own shot forward.

Our beams collided with a resounding crash, and they began struggling for dominance. I poured as much power as I could into my attack, but Twilight seemed to have the upper hand as I was already starting to feel drained. I sent a burst of mana into my beam to push her back, but she held her ground and poured even more mana into hers. The sudden burst of mana was enough to push my beam back towards me with Twilight’s beam behind it. Twilight’s beam slammed into me full force, and I felt a searing pain all over my body. However, it felt as if the beam went through some sort of shield before it affected me physically, and, fortunately, the invisible shield took the brunt of the damage. Unfortunately, after the attack ended, I was already exhausted, and every muscle in my body was sore along with first degree burns and scorch marks on my skin. My clothes were tattered and burned, but, despite all of that, I felt more alive than I’ve ever been. I was now reduced to catching my breath and getting over the pain as I lied in the premade crater.

(Stop Music)

“Hehehe, damn, Twilight sure knows how to pack a punch.”

I heard Twilight gasp as she saw me in the crater, “Oh dear Celestia, Dusk!” She flew down to me as fast as she could in a worried panic. When she got to me, she hovered over me with a frantic look, “Are you ok!? I didn’t hurt you, did I!? Please, tell me you’re ok!”

I sat up slowly as the pain died down slowly, “Twilight, relax, I’m fine. Besides, you sure know how to handle yourself in a fight.”

“Ooooh. I’m so sorry, Dusk! I got caught up in the moment and I felt so angry after you threw me into the ground and everything faded back to my fight with Tirek and I started getting even angrier and… and…” she began to sniff as tears formed in her eyes, her head lowering.

I grabbed her shoulders to try and calm her down, “Twi, look at me.” She looked up at me with her eyes, her head still lowered, “You don’t need to apologize. I was the one who challenged you, and I should’ve known better than to rile you up like that. I wanted it to be a friendly match, but I got carried away. Besides, at least from this I learned not to underestimate an opponent, and not to mess with someone with more magic experience.”

She chuckled a little at that last part while wiping the tears from her eyes, “Still, when I hit you with that spell, I thought I… k-killed you.”

“Hey, I’m not dead yet,” I smiled, “and you know what they say, ‘what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger’”

Twilight smiled back as I let go of her shoulders, and adjusted myself so I was sitting cross-legged across from her. “Thanks, Dusk. I needed that, and, hey, if you want I can still teach how to use your magic more efficiently.”

I grinned, seeing that I was able to calm her down, “Hey, as long as it helps me not get thrown on my ass, then I’m all for it.” I laughed as Twilight rolled her eyes, and shaking her head while smiling.

“We should probably do that later, though. You’re probably exhausted, you’re clothes are practically destroyed, and, not to mention, you wreak.” She said that last part while holding her snout with her hoof.

I stood up and stretched, “You’re right. We should probably wait for the guys to get here, and I really need a shower and a change of clothes.”

Twilight nodded, and then wrapped her forelegs under my arms. We flew out of the crater, and into the back yard where she dropped me on my feet. She landed next to me, and we walked back into the house to wait for the others to get back.

Author's Note:

Hey, everyone! I finally got this chapter out after some intense brainstorming. I wanted to get it published a lot earlier than today, but my laptop got taken away so I had to wait until my dad cooled off before I got it back.

As you can tell, this chapter will be one of many fight scenes that are to come later on, and I wanted to get a feel of how Dusklight's battle style will work. Which, in this case, will mostly involve him relying on magic during a fight. I also have more music that I'm wanting to use in certain "boss fights", but if there are any suggestions for battle music feel free to give a link.

I would also like to give a thank you to Pink_Flash for, not only, giving me a few ideas, but for also sending his OC in to let me use. So be expecting him to make an appearance later on. Also, Pink_Flash, since you helped me; I will be happy to oblige in helping you with any of your stories. Whether it be ideas, OCs, etc. don't hesitate to ask if you ever need me.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I will see you next time!

Thanks for reading!

Comments

[Pink_Flash]

Ha haaaaaaa! That was great! I was thinking he was getting the hang of magic WAY too fast. Then the fatigue hit him. So that made sense. When Dusk hit the Kamehameha... I was grinning like a mad pony! I'm a little surprised though. During the training, he took a natural pony stance when concentrating, but not when he was in the duel. I'd have loved to see twilight's reaction to that! Great work, keep it up. : D

[Dusklight Shadow]

7554863
I will say that Dusk will only use the horse stance when charging a powerful attack (ex: Dark Ragnarok and the Kamehameha/Arcane Wave), or whenever he's training and experimenting with different spells. If he's in a fight, he will use the other stance if he's unarmed.

Thanks for the feedback! I always appreciate to see what people think when I write these.

On another note: I just want to say that Pink Flash is going to make an appearance in later chapters. I don't know for sure when that is, but I am planning on it. As I said in one if my blog posts; I have the beginning and end, but the middle portions I'm still working on. I kind of just make it up as I go along... heheh *awkwardly shifts eyes to the left*.