The Peryton

by Midnight Lore

Chapter 3: Teleportation

Chapter 3: Teleportation

“I haven’t seen or heard from your father since that day,” Mother paused, a sad look on her face, “I stayed with my parents until you were born, hoping he might find his way back. Once you could walk well enough on your own, I left and made a life for myself here,” she finished.

I sat there, thinking over everything that was said. Finally I settled on a couple of questions, “Do you know where he went?”

“He was supposed to be thinking of somewhere on his home world, but only he knows where he ended up,” she replied.

“How do you know he’s still alive?” I asked.

“Even though we are so far apart, I have this feeling, he’s still out there somewhere.”

“But, you don’t know for sure,” I commented.

“No, he’s out there,” she states, giving me a hard, full-of-belief, stare.

That stare gave me an idea. “Do you think I could do what he did?” I asked cautiously. I want to know my father, want him to know me. If he could teleport or move between worlds or whatever he did, and I have an ability nopony else does, maybe I can do this as well. I could bring him back for Mother.

“No! I do not want to lose you as well. It was hard enough without your father!” Mother exclaimed, shocked and hurt. Then her face softened. “I guess I should have expected this. I’m still against it though,” she finished, sighing. She thought hard, and looked me in the eyes, “There are unicorns in our lineage, so it might be possible,” she relented, knowing I would look into it anyway, “but I do not want you trying anything without my approval,” she added hastily.

I beamed. I could do this. I would do this. “I’m starting right away!” I said, standing and turning towards the door, ready to begin. Then, I remembered it was dark. I stopped short and turned to Mother, giving a sheepish grin, “Maybe I’ll start tomorrow.”

She gave a chuckle, “Don’t forget about the Festival. Spend at least some time there, please.”

I slumped. “Yeah, okay.”

~~~~~~~~~

I opened my eyes with a start, sitting up. Today I am going to find out all I can about what magic he might have used. I shook my head, clearing any of the leftover fogginess from sleep away. Growing all those plants always made me feel exhausted by the end of the day, so Mother always let me sleep in the second day. I looked out the window; the sun had already risen, halfway between dawn and noon.

Cotton Fluff will want to know what I learned. I headed to her stand at the Festival, knowing that’s where she’d be. Hopefully she’d have some time free again, and want to help me. I’d also need to know more about magic. I knew just who to ask.

At Cotton Fluff’s stand, I saw she had a small group of customers. I waited patiently nearby until she finished with the last one. “Hey, do you think you have some time to talk?”

She looked around the Festival. “Well I don’t see anypony rushing towards us, so I’d say we have a little bit. Let’s go somewhere else,” she left her sand, motioning for me to follow. We didn’t go far, just enough to be out of earshot of the crowd, but close enough to watch the stand in case anypony arrived. “So, what’d you learn?” Cotton tried to appear calm, but I could tell she was just as interested as I was before I knew.

“Well, his name is Volius and he’s a peryton. She’s told me I look just like him, so he probably looks similar,” I started. Cotton Fluff just gave a nod, not interrupting. I recounted the story, only telling the important parts to make it shorter, up until him disappearing.

“Wow.” Cotton Fluff just sat there taking it in much like I did. “So she doesn’t know anything else?”

“Well,” I paused dramatically. As I drew out the silence, her expression changed rapidly, coming up with all kinds of thoughts on what I might say next; ranging from worried, to sad, to joy, and settling on a stare.

“Come on, tell me!” Cotton pouted.

I smiled at her, chuckling softly. “He’s alive,” I said it like it was just another fact, waiting to see her reaction.

“Really? How do you know? Where is he?” She asked in rapid succession. The same questions I asked Mother.

“Mother says she can feel it, that he’s alive, but she doesn’t know where. That’s why I decided I am going to find out if I can do the same kind of magic he tried. If I’m successful, maybe I can bring him here, and we can be a family. Will you help me?” I asked, hopeful.

“Of course I will,” she replied without hesitation. “I don’t know how much help I’m going to be though,” she frowned.

“That’s why I was going to ask Flasher for help as well, maybe he can teach me something. I came to tell you about what happened first, I’m going to go find him next.”

Cotton glanced over to her stand. Somepony was looking around, trying to find the owner. She looked to me. “Well, duty calls. Let me know if you need anything,” she waved and left to attend her stand.

“Sure thing,” I called behind her.

~~~~~~~~~

“Why me?” Flasher asked after I told him about my father who seemed to have disappeared and Mother thinking he was alive.

“Well, your special talent is teleportation, so I thought you might be able to help me figure out what happened and whether or not I could do it as well. And you’re my friend,” I replied, giving an encouraging smile.

“Your magic is different than mine. I don’t know if you can learn teleportation,” he frowned. I waited while he thought. He looked to me and sighed. “I guess it can’t hurt to try. And, it would be really interesting to see if you could accomplish such a spell. Alright, I’ll do it,” he decided, nodding.

“Awesome!” I shouted excitedly. I looked down, finding myself hovering in front of Flasher. I touched back down, smiling wide. “Where do we start?”

“Well, I have some free time right now, but I won’t be able to stay long,” he said, bringing up a schedule that he held in his slightly-dark-blue magic, matching his mane. “Let’s go to the library. I can find you the books I used when I was learning. They are written more toward children, though they will be helpful nonetheless,” replied the mostly tan unicorn, almost lost in thought.

I followed behind Flasher, towards the back of the library, turning left to a section full of magical texts. He led me down an aisle on the right side, stopping in one of the sections. Barely looking at the shelves, Flasher’s magic brought down books to sit in a pile on the floor in front of me. I looked at some of the titles: Beginners Guide to Teleportation, Book ofSpells, Mysterious Places and Where to Find Them. Looking up from the pile, I saw Flasher holding another book, heading back towards me. “Now, this one isn’t ideal, but if you are really having trouble you can look through it,” he said warily, setting Teleportation! It’s So Easy Foals Can Do It on top of the mound of books.

“I recommend you start with Beginners Guide to Teleportation, it gives a decent explanation on what to think about when trying to cast the spell. I remember helping you with a light spell, but what you were able to accomplish wasn’t quite the same as the unicorn spell.” I gave a nod in reply. Flasher checked the time. “That’s all the time I have for now. If you would like, I am free after noon tomorrow. We could meet in the center of the Festival, near the fountain, and see what we can do about your progress,” he suggested.

“Sounds like a plan. Do you mind if I bring Cotton Fluff?” I asked.

“If she wants to come, I don’t have a problem with it. I’ll see you tomorrow then,” he replied, turning and heading for the exit.

I collected the books Flasher found for me, checked them out and headed home for some heavy reading. Along the way, I stopped and asked Cotton Fluff if she wanted to come along the next day.

~~~~~~~~~

“Have you made any progress?” Flasher asked as Cotton Fluff and I approached.

He was on time, as usual, maybe even early. We were probably a little late, given that I slept in, again, and I waited for Cotton Fluff to be ready, so we could head there together.

“We haven’t kept you waiting long, have we?” came Cotton Fluff’s voice, beside me.

“Not too long. It hasn’t been a problem. I’ve been trying to figure out how I could possibly teach this to you,” Flasher replied, turning to me.

“I haven’t gotten very far. I read, and finished, Beginners Guide to Teleportation, but haven’t tried the spell since it was late, and I didn’t want to wake anypony,” I explained.

“Alright, that’s probably for the best anyway. Let’s go somewhere you won’t get as distracted,” Flasher said, leading us south, towards the forest.

Flasher brought out three items from his saddlebags, a ball, toothbrush, and a flashlight. “We’ll be using these to start,” the unicorn said as he set the items down around the clearing we found, slightly inside the forest’s edge. “Do you remember what you did with the light spell?”

I nodded. “You told me unicorns typically focus most of their power in the tip of their horn. For me to make something brighter than just using my magic, I focused on my antlers as a whole. Unlike when I grow plants, where I focus on three prongs, one on one side, two on the other,” I explained, reminding Flasher and Cotton Fluff what it was like. I even demonstrated, growing a small flower in front of me. Even though I couldn’t see it, I knew there was slightly heavier aura around the farthest-back prong on the right side, and all but the closest in the front, on the left.

“So, what are you guys going to do?” asked Cotton, looking between the two of us and the items on the ground.

“Well, we’ll start with the ball,” Flasher took the ball in his blue magic, and with ease it appeared about four inches to the right. “Remember the feeling of the light spell, but instead focus on the ball, and then where you would like it to appear.”

I grabbed the ball with my magic, shrouding it in the gray aura. I closed my eyes, trying to imagine the ball appearing in the spot it had originally been. After a while, I didn’t feel anything happen. I peered open one eye, and sure enough the ball was floating in the same spot as when I took it in my magic. I opened my eyes fully, looking to Flasher, hoping he’d give a suggestion.

He thought for a moment. “Hm, maybe try imagining the ball moving through something, like a door or portal or something.”

I closed my eyes again, concentrating. This time I imagined a door, with the ball being pushed through, ending four inches to the left. I felt the ball move, but when I opened my I eyes, I saw it had done just that, moved. Not teleport. I sighed in defeat, dropping the ball.

“Maybe, try imagining the object compressing or blinking into the spot you want it,” suggested the pegasus, who, until now, had been patiently sitting off to the side, being supportive just by watching. “Whenever I see Flasher moving things, there’s always flashes of light.”

“Thanks, Cotton,” I smiled at her. “I’ll try it.” I took the ball in my magic again. I liked the idea of something flashing into existence, so that’s what I imagined the ball would do. It felt just like the first time, nothing, just like holding a ball. I let the ball go again, this time feeling exhaustion.

“Why don’t we take a short break,” Flasher suggested, seeing me take deep breaths.

Both Cotton and I nodded. I looked at her, somehow she looked tired as well.

~~~~~~~~~

“This isn’t working,” I deflated, dropping the ball once again. We had even moved between the objects, seeing if the different shapes would somehow change something. The sun was nearing the horizon; soon I would have to call it a night try again tomorrow.

“Try one more time with the ball,” Cotton Fluff encouraged. I gave her a tired look, but she looked like she might have thought of something, so I whisked the ball into my magic once again.

Out of all the ways I had tried to teleport the objects, imagining it flashing into existence felt the most different, almost like it was just missing something, before the spell being a success.

All of a sudden, I felt a presence next to me. Not a second later, a scream pierced my ear. Frightened, I shoved with my magic. I opened my eyes seeing Cotton Fluff beside me, my ear ringing.

She smiled wide, clearly enjoying herself. She turned to Flasher. “Did he do it?” she asked glancing at the ball. It was where it was supposed to be.

I looked at Flasher. “Wow!” he whispered excitedly, staring at the ball. He turned to me. “You did it.” He went over to the ball poking it making sure it was intact. It bounced back, relieved of his touch.

I picked up the ball, levitating it in front of my face. I stared at it, like maybe it wasn’t just a ball, a smile on my face. “Huh.”