• Published 27th Aug 2017
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The Blue Mage - Nebula Star



Gifted with extraordinary power, Apple Bloom must learn to control it and try not to lose herself in the process.

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Chapter 10: Summer's End

The Blue Mage
By Nebula Star

Chapter 10: Summer’s End
***

Apple Bloom yawned. It was still early in the day, and though she hadn’t finished her chores at the farm, Applejack had agreed to let her go because today was the day. The day she was joining Scootaloo in learning how to fly.

She grinned in anticipation as she headed toward where Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash had always trained. Scootaloo had been pushing herself to the limit, practicing wielding her magic how Twilight had taught her. Finally, Twilight had told her that she was ready. She just needed to practice applying what she had learned.

Apple Bloom wasn’t surprised to find Twilight there with Rainbow, as well as a few of Twilight’s guards nearby. Twilight was talking to Rainbow softly as she arrived so Apple Bloom went to greet her excited friend. Scootaloo looked about ready to explode.

“Hey, Bloom!”

“Hi, Scoots! You ready to get started?”

Scootaloo grinned. “I’ve been ready! But you’re not.”

Apple Bloom raised a brow.

“You’re not going to fly without wings.”

“Oh, right!” Apple Bloom laughed and, with her shoulder glowing, a pair of folded wings appeared against her sides. “There we go… now Ah’m ready.”

“It will be interesting to see how well your spell imitates pegasus magic.” Twilight said as she and Rainbow joined the two fillies.

“So, you two ready to be awesome?”

“Yeah!” They shouted together.

Rainbow grinned at their enthusiasm. “Alright, well Twilight tells me we’ll have to take it a little slow so that you can get used to using your magic, Scoots; but don’t think that means I’ll be taking it easy on you! I’m going to make sure you leave here exhausted! You think you’re up to that!”

“Yes Ma’am!” Scootaloo said, giving a salute.

“Ah ain’t never been afraid of hard work!” Apple Bloom agreed.

Rainbow nodded, satisfied. “Then let’s get started.”

~~~

A week later Apple Bloom yawned as she trotted along the path from the farm, the early morning sun barely peaking over the horizon. Rainbow Dash hadn’t been kidding when she’d said she’d be working them hard. She wasn’t even using actual muscles when she was trying to fly and still she was sore. But it was worth it.

Already she’d managed to hover, and Rainbow had set her doing drills to improve her control. She’d fly forward a short distance and stop to hover, then fly backwards to where she started. She’d the drift side to side, before repeating the whole routine, all the while, no more than thee paces off the ground.

Meanwhile Scootaloo was still struggling to hover. She knew what to do physically, and knew what she needed to do with her magic; but she was still having trouble doing both at the same time. Apple Bloom tried to be supportive of her friend, but it was clear Scootaloo was getting frustrated with her poor performance.

There would be no flight practice today, however. Though she had her wing spell on, Apple Bloom’s wings were currently tucked under her saddlebags, and it wasn’t the practice field where she was headed so early in the morning. Neither was she headed out to the hill where she learned magic with Rekaj. No, today, the school house was her destination.

The summer break had come to an end and today was the first day of school. Apple Bloom yawned again and wondered if Scootaloo would be as tired as she was.

Then again, on the days they hadn’t trained with Rainbow, Scootaloo had been able to relax. Apple Bloom on the other hoof had spent those days learning more magic with Rekaj. Which wouldn’t have been too bad, if it weren’t for the fact that she’d asked him to train her in using the magic in combat.

Her sessions with Rekaj the past week had been nearly as exhausting as the flight lessons.

The bell rang even as she reached the school house and all the fillies and colts were headed inside, Miss Cheerilee welcoming them back at the door. Apple Bloom joined the rest of her classmates, catching a glimpse of Sweetie Belle as she entered the schoolhouse.

After greeting Miss Cheerilee, Apple Bloom entered the familiar classroom.

“You do know that cutie marks are supposed to be on your flanks, right?” a very unwelcome voice said snidely. “If you’re going to fake a cutie mark, you could at least do it right.”

Apple Bloom’s eyes narrowed; that was one downside to going back to school. She definitely wasn’t looking forward to dealing with those two again… but maybe… An idea came to her and her sa’dracori began to glow brighter.

“Who you talking to, Diamond Tiara?” Apple Bloom’s voice came from behind the bully.

Confused, Diamond Tiara looked to find Apple Bloom already seated at her desk.

“Well obviously, she’s talking to me.” The first Apple Bloom said and Diamond Tiara looked back, her eyes going wide.

“Are you sure, Ah mean it’s not like you’re trying to fake a cutie mark.” Apple Bloom’s voice came from another corner of the room. Diamond spun and her eyes went to pin pricks when she found a third yellow and red filly leaning against Sweetie Belle’s desk. Sweetie Belle had a hoof to her snout, trying desperately not to laugh.

“Yeah, Ah mean, faking a cutie mark would be child’s play for you now.” A fourth Apple Bloom said, sitting on Silver Spoon’s desk; this one sporting a simple apple cutie mark. She glanced at her flank. “Would you look at that…”

“Apple Bloom!” An authoritative voice called out and three of the Apple Bloom’s faded away, leaving only the one sitting at her own desk.

“Yes, Miss Cheerilee?” She said innocently.

Cheerilee gave her a stern look as the last of the students, including Scootaloo, entered to take their seats. “Princess Twilight informed me about this new magic of yours. You are not to use it in class; is that understood.”

Apple Bloom started to nod, then glanced back at her wings. “Can Ah keep my wings on? Ah’m trying to get used to havin’ them all the time.”

Cheerilee frowned. “Very well, but nothing else; and if I hear you’ve been abusing your magic and tormenting your classmates like I just saw, you’ll lose that privilege.”

“Yes, miss Cheerilee.” Apple Bloom said contritely.

The teacher’s expression softened as she approached Apple Bloom’s desk. “Twilight also told me what you went through this summer.” She said, gently. “So, I’ll let it slide this once.”

“Okay…”

Cheerilee put a hoof on her shoulder comfortingly. “I’m glad you’re alright.”

“Thanks, Miss Cheerilee.” Apple Bloom said giving a small smile.

She nodded, smiling as well then returned to the front of the class. “Now, welcome back everypony!...”



Miss Cheerilee wasted no time getting the children into the first lessons of the year, refreshing them on some of the subjects they’d learned the year before. Apple Bloom did her best to pay attention, but still her mind wandered a bit from time to time. Fortunately Miss Cheerilee had seen it best to keep the three crusaders separate from each other in the seating assignment, or Apple Bloom may not have learned anything.

Finally, lunch hour arrived, and the Crusaders quickly claimed spots at one of the picnic tables out in the yard.

“You sure shut Diamond Tiara up this morning.” Scootaloo said with a grin, glancing over at the snobby filly that was keeping her distance from them.

Apple Bloom blushed a bit. “Yeah, Ah probably shouldn’t have done that… but the look on her face...”

Sweetie Belle giggled. “I wish I could do illusions like that… when did you learn to make them so real?”

“RJ and Ah have been working on them the last few days.” Apple Bloom explained. “He said it would be a great way to confuse opponents; and if Ah use another spell to project my senses into one of them, it’s almost like having multiple bodies that Ah can switch between.”

“Wow, that’s awesome!” Scootaloo said grinning.

“What I want to know is how you got to your desk.” Sweetie Belle wondered. “I thought you were the one facing Diamond…”

“RJ taught me how to go invisible while leaving an illusion in my place.” Apple Bloom said proudly. “Ah was the one at my desk the whole time.”

Scootaloo snorted in laughter. “Dang, I wish I’d been there for the whole thing; the look on Diamond’s face when I came in was priceless. It’s too bad Miss Cheerilee got on your case about it.”

Apple Bloom winced. “Well, it was kind of mean… I probably shouldn’t have done that.”

“Pfft, Diamond butt deserves it.” She said dismissively.

“I admit it was funny… but yeah, it was kind of mean.” Sweetie Belle agreed.

“Whatever,” Scootaloo rolled her eyes. “At least Diamond’s not bothering us now.”

“So how’s your flying lessons going?” Sweetie asked to change the subject. “I haven’t seen either of you since our last Twilight Time.”

“It’s great!” Apple Bloom said grinning. While Scootaloo grumbled a bit.

“I’m still having trouble concentrating on my magic while I’m trying to fly.” She admitted.

Sweetie Belle nodded. “Yeah, trying to cast while doing something else can be difficult. Twilight said I still need to practice levitating while doing other things…”

Apple Bloom nodded. “RJ has been trying to train me to cast spells under pressure too. It’s definitely not easy. Maybe we can practice together.”

“Yeah, Twilight said that one of the best ways to practice concentrating while distracted, is to make a game out of it.” Sweetie Belle enthused. “Maybe we could make up some game that would force us all to use our magic while running around and stuff.”

“That sounds like fun… when though? We’re all busy most nights.” Scootaloo pointed out.

“We’re not tonight. Why don’t we meet at the clubhouse after school and come up with some ideas?” Apple Bloom suggested.

“I’m in.” Scootaloo agreed.

Sweetie Belle nodded. “Me too.”

~~~

“Hey, Twi!”

Twilight looked up, smiling happily as Rainbow glided down to land next to her. “Hey, Dashie.”

Rainbow blushed. “Twi, don’t call me that in public…”

Feather snorted at her embarrassment but Twilight just gave Rainbow a quick kiss. “Okay… I’ll try to remember,” she said in a tone that screamed ‘no promises.’

“Come on, Twi.”

She rolled her eyes. “Fine, I’ll keep the pet names for when we’re alone…”

“Alone-ish…” Feather corrected.

“Heh yeah, isn’t four guards plus yourself a little much for just around Ponyville.” Rainbow asked the guard captain.

“You spotted them all?” Feather asked, a little surprised.

“I always see everything when I’m flying. Plus I know all the guard.”

“You brought four other guards with us?” Twilight asked raising a brow.

“I did tell them to be unobtrusive. You didn’t even notice them, did you?”

“No, I suppose not.”

“So, where you headed?” Rainbow asked.

“I was actually going to meet with Rekaj.” Twilight told her.

“Rekaj? Really?”

“Yeah, I offered to show him around town and introduce him to more of our friends. Not that he really needs a guide with how long he’s been watching us.” She said with a smirk.

“You’re getting pretty friendly with him…”

Twilight smiled. “Well, what can I say; he’s been pretty friendly; and we’ve had several long conversations about his world and Equestria, as well as how his magic works.”

“So, do you trust him now?” Rainbow asked, curiously.

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “You know what… yeah, I think I do trust him. I’m still mad about him giving Apple Bloom his magic without asking; but, yeah, I trust him.”

“Guess I’ll give him a chance then.” She stretched her wings, using the gesture as an excuse to wrap one around Twilight. “So, where you meeting him?”

In answer Twilight just nodded ahead of them where a blue pegasus stallion was waiting near the path that led to Fluttershy’s cottage.

“Afternoon, Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Captain Feather.” Rekaj called waving a hoof.

“Afternoon, Rekaj.” Twilight said in greeting.

“Hello, Blue Boy.” Rainbow greeted with a smirk.

He snorted. “You might want to think of something else to call me; that’s the nickname my mate, Nyxia, uses for me.”

Rainbow blushed a bit. “Yeah… I’ll think of something else.”

“She’s the Wyvern queen, right?” Twilight asked, Rekaj had told her a bit about his mates; at least those that were his mates for the long term. He’d admitted to having quite a few mates for one-time things where the female was only his mate until they produced a single clutch.

He nodded. “That’s right. So, shall we?” he asked gesturing down the path to Fluttershy’s.

“Yeah, I told Fluttershy we’d be coming, but I’m sure you know how she is about meeting new people.” Twilight told him.

“I’m willing to bet having Rainbow there as well will help.”

“Probably.” Rainbow agreed.

~~~

“I’ve got it!” Apple Bloom yelled, catching a ball in mid air as she held herself aloft on illusionary wings. Scootaloo was right there; doing her best to stay in the air, while trying to block Apple Bloom from passing it to one of the other two Apple Blooms in the field.

Scootaloo wobbled, losing her concentration momentarily. Apple Bloom took the chance to pass the ball to her nearest double, which happened to be her real body. She jumped up to catch it, but before she could a green glow wrapped around the ball and it changed direction.

Apple Bloom switched to her third body, this one an illusion, and tried to intercept Sweetie Belle as she galloped past, levitating the ball behind her. She Jumped at the ball.

“Scoot!” Sweetie threw the ball toward the pegasus with her magic. Scootaloo jumped up again to hover as she caught the ball, but one of Apple Bloom’s illusions sped over. Scootaloo juked to the side, nearly losing control, but managing to get around Apple Bloom as she overshot her. Bloom switched again to find Sweetie Belle had evaded her illusion.

“Over here!” Sweetie called. Scootaloo tossed the ball in the air in front of her and snapped her wings forward, sending the ball flying toward Sweetie with a blast of wind. Her aim was a little off, but Sweetie was able to reach out with her magic and catch it.

Apple Bloom took to the air after Sweetie. Sweetie laughed and tossed the ball back to where Scootaloo was. Apple Bloom tried to intercept with one of her illusions but wasn’t quite able to get there, barely nicking the ball, deflecting it a bit higher. Scootaloo’s eyes went wide, and she had to flap her wings hard to shoot up high enough to catch it. Letting the momentum of the ball flip her over backwards, she dove back down under Apple Bloom’s illusion.

But there she found another Apple Bloom flying to intercept. Distracted, she lost control of her magic and began to fall. She made a desperate throw to Sweetie Belle but wasn’t able to watch as she had to catch herself, focusing on her magic. She was already doing better; but she didn’t dare go too high yet.

Apple Bloom took advantage of the wild throw, and her third managed to jump up and catch it before Sweetie’s magic could grab it. Sweetie galloped around her, trying to get in between her and her doubles. Apple Bloom dashed forward, jumping up over Sweetie with a flap of her wings and tossed the ball toward one of her doubles.

She didn’t see Scootaloo right there, and she jumped up from the ground, flying up to intercept the ball and her momentum carried her past the third Apple Bloom… to find another in her way.

“Hey, Bloom! You said you wouldn’t do more than two illusions!” Sweetie objected.

“Ah’m not!” Apple Bloom said a little confused as there were now almost half a dozen more of herself than there should have been in the field. She looked toward the road to find a grinning blue stallion standing there along with Twilight, Rainbow and Captain Feather. “Hey RJ!”

The other two put their game on hold looking as well.

“Princess Twilight!” Sweetie called out happily and galloped over to greet her teacher, while Scootaloo did her best to fly over. Apple Bloom let her illusions fade, galloping over as well. The extra Apple Bloom illusions faded with hers.

“Hey girls!” Twilight called in greeting. “You all practicing your magic?”

“Yep!” Sweetie said grinning. “We’re playing a game of keep away; Me and Scoot versus Apple Bloom and her illusions. But we made extra rules so we’d have to practice our magic. I can only hold and throw the ball with my magic, Scootaloo has to be in the air whenever she has the ball, and Apple Bloom can only use her two illusions and wing spell!”

Twilight smiled. “Sounds like fun, and by the looks of it, you’re all doing pretty good.”

“Yeah, I saw you pull a few tricky moves there, Scoot.” Rainbow agreed. “You had a few close calls, but you were able to recover. And you stayed in the air a lot longer than you were able to just last week. Keep it up!”

Scootaloo beamed at the praise.

“You were looking pretty good too, Apple Bloom.” Twilight said as Apple Bloom caught up. “I couldn’t even tell which was the real you and you may not have been born a pegasus, but you’ve sure taken to those wings like you were. At least your adapting a heck of a lot faster than I did.”

Apple Bloom grinned and, thinking of when Twilight gained her wings, cast another illusion spell, giving herself a horn just a little longer than Sweetie’s.

Seeing it, Twilight burst out laughing.

Rainbow snorted. “You going to try for the princess gig?”

In response, there was a flash, and when it cleared, Apple Bloom was wearing apple themed princess regalia, complete with a small crown that had an ivory apple flower in the center.

Both Twilight and Rainbow were taken back by the ready response.

Rekaj just snickered.

“Apple Bloom, how did you come up with that outfit so fast?” Twilight asked after a moment, sounding amused but curious.

She blushed. “Well Ah kind of came up with it the other day…”

“I was teaching her how to conjure cloths and she decided she wanted to play princess dress up.” Rekaj told them with a smirk.

Rainbow burst out laughing while Scootaloo tried to hide her snickering behind a hoof.

“What!? There’s nothing wrong with wanting to dress up like a princess!” Sweetie Belle came to Apple Bloom’s defense.

“To be fair, Apple Bloom only thought of it because she didn’t want to conjure a full dress.” Rekaj added.

“So you can just conjure any cloths you can imagine?” Rainbow asked, finally recovering from her laughing fit.

Apple Bloom nodded.

Rainbow gave a wicked smirk. “Don’t tell Rarity. She’d have you conjuring dresses for her until you’re old and grey!”

“They only last until I end the spell.” Apple Bloom said quickly, and her regalia faded away along with her horn.

“She’d probably still want you to conjure her designs so that she can see how they’ll turn out.” Sweetie Belle told her. “Yeah, it’s probably for the best that we don’t tell her.”

“Well we should get going,” Twilight said, finally. “We were just passing by and saw you all out here practicing and wanted to say hi.”

“Okay, we’ll see you later!” Sweetie said waving.

“Wait, where you going?” Apple Bloom asked.

Rainbow grinned. “Rarity’s. So you’d better be good or we may have to let slip your little conjuring trick.”

Apple Bloom swallowed nervously.

“We’re introducing Rekaj to the rest of our friends,” Twilight explained. “We just came from Fluttershy’s and we’re going to Sugarcube corner after Rarity’s.”

Does Pinkie know you’re coming?” Scootaloo asked curiously.

“Yes, I mentioned it to her.” Twilight nodded.

“You know she’s going to throw a party, right?”

“Most likely.”

“See you there, then!” All three Crusaders called out with a wave.

Author's Note:

Sorry for the long wait. The good news is I've regained enough movement in my left hand that I can type normally again, and as a result, I've been doing a lot of typing. I almost have the next chapter ready already, and at the rate I've been going the last week, it shouldn't take long at all.

This chapter was mostly about showing some of what Apple Bloom has learned so far and of course her and Scootaloo getting started on flying. And since this story started before even the season 4 finale, Diamond Tiara is still pretty roten, but that's going to change...

Oh yeah, and before anyone says anything, Rekaj's mate Nyxia is a character that I first came up with about 10 years ago and the name came from Nyx of greek mythology and Onyxia, the black dragon from World of Warcraft. As Twilight said: She is the Wyvern Queen of Yuvari; a magically altered dragon.

When it comes to the dragons of Yuvari, only the aspects like Rekaj can produce offspring. But only one of a pair has to be an aspect. As a result, any normal female that wants to have a clutch, has to mate with an aspect; hence Rekaj having quite a few mates.