What Follows Hugs

by David Silver

16 - Practice Makes Perfect

Sombra stared at Toby across the table they shared with Celestia. "I normally would not object to peace, but you have been distracted this entire meal."

Celestia gave a more kind smile. "Have you found something, Toby?"

Toby bobbled his head quickly. "Toby, uh, I is learning many things."

Sombra snorted softly. "I have noted your absence. Have you been entertaining foals again?"

Toby considered that. "Yes, no. I is going to Magic Kindergarten, learn many things." He raised a paw to his chest. "Promise to work hard, bring back to other Tsuki."

Celestia inclined her head slightly. "Is that where you've learned to start saying 'I'. friend Toby?"

Toby flashed a bright smile at Celestia. "Yes! Teacher name Early Start, is good, teach I many things."

Sombra snorted and rolled his eyes. "Your grammar is still far from perfect."

"And yet, improvement has been had," countered Celestia. "Every journey starts with the very first step. I am glad to hear of your bold decision for self-improvement." An ear quirked up with an unspoken question.

A question Sombra was happy to speak, "And you are happy being taught with foals perhaps less than half your age? You are surely the largest student in the class."

Toby bobbled his head. "Uh huh. I sit in back so not get in way of seeing lesson. Is okay, I can see chalkboard and teacher hears when I have question."

"And the foals?" Sombra let out a puff of green magic from his flared nostrils. "They don't bother you?"

"Met nice filly name Junifer. She teach I how to use magic." He clapped his paws with joy at the memory of the first lesson. "I still practicing!"

Celestia's brow raised a moment before tea floated over for her to sip. "You've used magic?" She kept the statement soft and even.

Toby was blissfully unaware of any big deal, besides happy news. "Toby make horns glow o... Oh, sorry." His face fell. "I make horns glow, once. Talk new way is hard, but I practice, like horn glow."

Sombra slammed a hoof on the table as he rose on the other three. "You will continue this," he commanded.

Toby jumped at the stern command. "Oh, uh, alright. I thank you for support." He had the best boss in the world, except maybe Best Princess. "I no have school today, plan to practice after food." Oh right, eating. Reminded, his nose guided him to a quiche on the table that was putting off enchanting scents. He picked up the tray and looked to Celestia.

She smiled as she tended to and made a little dismissive wave. "Please, go ahead. It is there to be eaten."

With joy, Toby showed that table manners were not one of the things he had learned well, and tore into the dish with wild abandon, breaking his fast and preparing for the day.

While he was doing that, Celestia's gaze turned to Sombra. "I do hope you do not plan to stifle this before it can take natural shape."

Sombra moved around the table towards Toby. "I plan to see my assistant master his gift. Far be it from me to scoff at the uses of magic... Toby, tell me you can share this gift."

Toby paused in his feast, looking up with cheese and other bits dripping from his snout. "I think so. I is not good at it yet, more practice, then will share." He gave a nod of satisfaction with his answer, and returned to enjoying Equestrian cuisine.

Sombra's smile was lined with sharp teeth and manic joy.

"I know that look." The vizier had just arrived. "And I approve. What opportunity have you found?"

Celestia huffed softly. "Toby has some ability with magic, though it remains to be seen if it advances beyond glowing."

Sombra put a hoof on Toby's shoulder. "You will continue this work and I look forward to hearing updates on its progress."

Quick Stroke sat down at the table. "An entire nation of spellcasters? My estimation of your kingdom has increased considerably, my liege. I eagerly await further news."

Toby was slow to pick up on things, but the pressure in the room was hard to miss. "I try hard, but no know what I can do."

Celestia fixed her gaze on Toby. "You should move exactly as fast as you feel comfortable with. Learning magic is not something to be hurried along, unless you want to make mistakes as tragic as the court case you only just witnessed."

Toby remembered the crying mare and he set his tray of food down, hunger abating. "I... Extra careful." He nodded. "No do magic without sure."

Sombra's snout wrinkled a moment. "Do not be overly concerned. You are not working with anything that could harm anyone else. I've yet to hear about someone being glowed to death."

Celestia rose from her seat. "In this, I agree. Enjoy your time at school. I feel you are learning much, beyond magic."

Quick Stroke sneered. "Can you read?"

Toby tilted his head at the question. "I read little, learning. I can write Toby, want to see?"

Quick tapped the table. "Be my guest, my large peer."

Celestia paused in her retreat, glancing back at the three a moment before she resumed her course. She shook her head at the vision she had seen of Toby eagerly scrawling his name for Quick to see.

---

Toby was by himself. He had no bosses, Best Queens, or whatever Quick Stroke was around. He had only himself, and his stubborn horns. He looked in a mirror at the bright red projections on his head. He hadn't seen them glow, just taken the excited words of Junifer. At first it was easy to accept her youthful excitement, but he had been trying so hard all day... "What if I can't do it?" he said only to the reflected Tsuki he could see who looked almost as sad as he did.

He tried to dismiss the negative thoughts. He just had to glow like the moon. He closed his eyes and an image of Luna appeared before him, regal and perfect. She glowed without even trying. He tried to take just a little bit of that to glow as she did. He didn't glow entirely by himself, how could he, but he could reflect the shine of the moon out off his pelt. Yes... he could glow.

Vision of the glow in his head, he tried to pull it up, to make his horns pull at that glow into themselves.

His left horn shimmered faintly. Toby gasped, and it went away. "Stupid Toby," he muttered to himself as he realized he scared his own glow away. He had to focus. He clapped his forepaws together and stood up on his hinds, towering over much of the room.

A knock came from the door, and it opened without pause to reveal Luna. "To--" She trailed off, blinking at his standing form. "Am I interrupting?"

Toby fell down to all fours, half over the started princess. "Best Princess!" He eagerly hugged her in greeting. "T--I practicing glowing."

Luna's retreat was paused in confusion. "Glowing?"

Toby quickly bobbed his head. "I can glow." He backed off on his own and pointed up at his horns. "Do it twice now."

"Your speech has changed subtly." Luna looked Toby over. "Sister mentioned you are now attending school?"

"Yes, I go to school with little ponies and learn big things." He spread his paws wide. "Luna watch I glow?"

Luna sat down on her haunches. "I would like to see this, Toby."

Toby had an idea. If he could glow in reflection of an imagined moon or Luna, surely he could glow with the actual Luna far more easily. He tried that, imagining Luna's gentle glow around her bouncing off of him, then being pulled up to his horns. She was a powerful pony, she already glowed so brightly, at least magically... not that he could see most magic, but he imagined, and that would have to be enough.

He felt warm and safe in Luna's presence, and he brought that warms upwards, drawing it into his big red horns. With such a powerful pony so close, he couldn't imagine failure.

Luna watched with careful silence as one horn began to dimly glow, then the other. They pulsed with what she imagined to be Toby's heartbeat, becoming stronger bit by bit with every pulse.

Toby let out an explosive breath and flopped down, panting. "I... not... even notice... how hard it is."

Luna reached forward and gently brushed Toby's shoulder. "You have done a marvelous thing. Unicorn foals can struggle for years to get a reliable glow, so do not lose hope. This is a step that requires patience."

That word again. Toby slowly sat up on his haunches. "I try..." He wanted to glow right away, not later... but he had seen what happens to ponies who do things they're not ready for. "Good glow?"

"Very good," agreed Luna with a smile. "I am very proud of you and your efforts. You are a magical creature. You proved that before you began glowing. You exerted mastery over the flowing maelstrom of the shadow world, in most recent example. You were consumed by angry darkness without harm. You have visited the moon people and pony's dreams, a task I thought I was largely alone with." She raised a brow. "Come to think of it, many of your abilities mirror that of my own."

That made perfect sense to Toby. "To--I is Tsuki. Tsuki are moon rabbit. You glow, I shine. I glow is... you light. Your light is I glow." He kept waving his paws back and forth between Luna and himself. "Understand?"

Luna gave a slight nod. "They say the moon glows with the sun's light, and only it is the true start of that glow. I could not say with certainty, but the idea of something glowing with the power of another is not a new one to me. Moon rabbit." She smiled softly in remembrance. "It was truly Destiny's hoof that led you to me."

Toby tilted his head. "I."

"I?"

"Luna said 'me'. Name for self is 'I'."

Luna gave Toby's shoulder a soft patting. "It is good to see you are taking your lessons to heart, but there is more than one name for oneself. I, me, and myself to start, all used in different places. I will not trouble you with all the rules. Language is a rich dance that takes time to learn, much like those horns of yours. Neither will remain so difficult with practice."

Toby needed patience. When did life become so full of the need to hurry up and wait? He put that aside for the moment. "I not looking while glowing. What color is Toby glow?"

Luna let Toby's slip slide. "A pale silver. You are still developing your technique, the color may shift as you gain confidence and ability."

"I glow like moon!" Toby seemed quite happy with the color, clapping his paws with mounting joy.

Author's Note:

Toby shines on. You keep being you, Toby. We're behind you.

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Comments

[badninja]

Toby is best non-pony friend!

[Booster Spice]

Shine on Toby Diamond.

[RadicalDishonesty]

Wait, Toby had a moment of self doubt?

... is he growing up? He learns to use personal pronouns and now he even had a moment of self doubt.

[whiteone9]

8181534 I know right I'm just wondering why twilight hasn't shown up yet I mean Luna did say she had dealings with Toby's leader

[howard035]

Man I love Toby.

[David Silver]

8186617 He loves you too, and he hasn't even met you yet. Time for hugs!

[tsaukpaetra]

Best moon rabbit boosters his patience! Next lesson: planning?
Speaking of planning, Sombra should really stop counting his chicks before they hatch, the disappointment might be astounding!
Keep going! ;)

[Belated1truth]

Nice to see Toby getting along in his Magic practice. Though let's hope he does not suffer any negative magical spikes or backlashes, like some young unicorns tend to do. Easygoings, there fair Toby.