The Ties that Bind

by the7Saviors

An Inconclusive Test

Thankfully Fia had calmed down after finding and reading through two books on mana fission and mana conversion theory.

When Corona had asked if Fia really understood everything in the books, Fia had responded that she didn't, but that the challenge eased her mind -- and that she would get it eventually with time, patience, and a lot of notes.

Ancient Scroll and the rest of the group had all eventually reached their destination and the trip to Hayton Fields had been as quick as Ancient Scroll had said it would be.

The group had only been there for all of about two hours or so, gathering supplies from the locals before they were off again. They could already see the seemingly endless treeline of Farhoof Forest as the Vardo left the small farming village.

By the time they had finished their business in Hayton Fields and entered the forest, the Sun was hanging high overhead -- the afternoon sky bright and clear. The warm rays of the sun shined through the foliage of the numerous tall birch trees that made up the massive forest.

Meanwhile, within the large caravan itself, the group had finally managed to get each room furnished and stocked with almost all the comforts of home. Cots were placed less haphazardly, bookshelves, drawers, and dressers were set up and stocked with books, clothing, and other various things.

Desks and chairs were placed in both rooms, the kitchenware stored in the kitchen, and to top it all off, they didn't have to worry about any of the furnishings being disturbed by rough terrain, slopes, or the Vardo tipping over for whatever reason due to the same Runic enchantment that expanded the interior.

The Farhoof Forest didn't have a clear cut path like the last forest they traveled through, but the space between trees was just wide enough that they didn't have to worry about it. According to the map, there were various clearings scattered about the forest that they could use to stop and rest during the day or night if they needed to.

All in all, the trip had been going smoothly so far and now that the unpacking was finally finished, Ancient Scroll took the opportunity to start teaching the fillies again -- something he hadn't been able to do with all the drama in the past few days.

He was pleasantly surprised and impressed to see that the girls had not only found and started reading the next books he had been planning to give them, but in Corona's case, she had also branched out into the more obscure variants of her respective school of Magic.

Unbeknownst to both the old stallion and Corona, Blue Moon had taken up her own independent studies late at night and was learning quite a lot.

Ancient Scroll had decided to find out what each filly had learned individually, but first, there was a test he wanted to perform. He searched through the desk he had placed in the sitting room until he found what he was looking for and made his way to the fillies' bedroom.

He opened the door to see Blue Moon and Corona on one of the cots discussing something about a recipe and Fia sitting at the long desk with her muzzle buried in a book and a deep frown of concentration on her face -- quill flying across a piece of parchment held in her magenta aura.

He didn't want to pull the filly away from whatever she was reading, but he needed her for the test regardless.

"Did you need something, Uncle Scroll?"

The stallion turned to see that Blue Moon and Corona had stopped their conversation and were looking at him expectantly. Making no move to step further inside, he smiled and nodded towards the black filly.

"Sorry to interrupt, girls," he said, replying to Corona's question, "just need to borrow Fia for a bit."

At the sound of her false name, Fia's ear twitched and she looked over to the doorway in bemusement. Her confusion turned to curiosity when she saw it was Ancient Scroll standing in the entrance.

"Oh, hey, Uncle Scroll," Fia greeted as she floated her book and notes back down to the table, "what's going on?"

"Nothing much, little filly," he answered, opening the door a bit further, "but I'd like you to join me out on the platform if it's not too much trouble."

Fia raised an eyebrow and turned to the other girls who just shrugged. She turned back to Ancient Scroll with a small shrug of her own before hopping off of her chair.

"Alright," Fia finally replied, "what for?"

"I finally found some time to do a bit more digging into what's going on with your magic," the old stallion replied as they both stepped out of the room and trotted down the short hall, "I still haven't found anything conclusive, but there's something I want to check."

"Oh!" Fia's eyes widened and she gave Ancient Scroll a hopeful look, "do you think it'll help?"

"I'm not sure," Ancient Scroll answered with a shake of his head, "to be honest, this test might raise more questions than it answers."

It was as they stepped out onto the platform that Fia finally noticed the small black box in Ancient Scroll's magic.

"Isn't that the Orb of Insight?" Fia asked in confusion, "what are you planning to do with that?"

"I'm using it for the test," Ancient Scroll explained, opening the box and pulling the glass orb out with a hoof, "I wanted to test whether or not your magical affinity fluctuates. It's actually something I had been meaning to do for awhile, but never got around to."

"Huh," Fia frowned contemplatively as she eyed the orb, "is... is something like that even possible?"

"I don't know, little filly," Ancient Scroll said with a shrug, "but if it is, I'm certain it'll be a huge breakthrough in thaumatological studies," he gave the black filly a playful smirk, "who knows, filly, you might even become famous in the world of thaumatology."

"I don't really.... well...." Fia trailed off with a thoughtful hum, "that... might be pretty neat actually," she sighed and shook her head, "but I don't think that'd be a good idea right now."

Ancient Scroll chuckled and hoofed the orb to Fia.

"Well you got me there, little filly," he took a step back, "now if you would..."

Fia nodded and focused her attention on the orb. Her horn glowed softly and she bathed the orb in a magenta colored aura. Just like before, the magenta color vanished and the orb began to blacken until it was just a small circle of infinite darkness.

"Hmmm...." Ancient Scroll observed the black orb for a moment longer before addressing the filly, "alright that's enough for now."

Fia cut off her magic, letting the orb fall back into her hoof before turning back to Ancient Scroll with an unsure look. Ancient Scroll trotted over and took the translucent orb back from Fia before replacing it in the box.

"Well," Fia asked tentatively, "what do you think it means?"

Ancient Scroll didn't answer at first, choosing instead to stare at the box with an unreadable expression.

"...Uncle Scroll?"

"Hm? Oh!" Ancient Scroll blinked and turned to a nervous looking Fia with an apologetic smile, "sorry about that, little filly. Didn't mean to ignore you there, just got caught up in my thoughts is all."

"It's alright," Fia replied with a small smile, "so, what do you think?"

Ancient Scroll looked back to the box as he answered.

"I think we'll need to wait and see what we can find out once we get to Canterlot," he explained, "it's clear to me that something changed about your mana wellspring that night, and I'm starting to wonder if that miraculous surge of Soul Magic was actually a miraculous surge at all."

"What?" Fia asked in confusion, "what else could it have been?"

"Well... let me ask you this, little filly," Ancient Scroll replied, "how did you feel when your magic started going out of control? I don't mean your emotions -- I can already imagine that -- what I mean is physically, how did you feel?"

Fia frowned and lowered her head in thought.

"...My head started hurting really bad," Fia began quietly, "then the pain got worse and my whole body started to hurt. It was so bad I thought I was gonna die, but then I felt something... weird happen inside me and the pain just stopped. I think I blacked out right after that."

"Can you describe the weird feeling at all?" Ancient Scroll asked, "I don't want to make you any more uncomfortable, but any kind of information might help."

"I know," Fia replied with a nod, "and to answer your question... it's hard to describe," she paused, scrunching up her face in thought, "it was like... I don't know, like something inside my chest was being squeezed really tight all this time and I didn't even realize it until the squeezing sensation stopped."

She looked back at Ancient Scroll with an uncertain frown as she finished her explanation.

"Does that make sense?"

"...Yes and no," Ancient Scroll answered slowly, "I had a theory regarding your wellspring's actual mana capacity, and your explanation seems to coincide with that," he shook his head, "the effects of a magic surge are always felt in the mind, and what little thaumatologists have managed to document about magic miracles suggest their effects are felt directly through the wellspring."

"But my whole body started hurting," Fia pointed out, "what does that mean?"

Ancient Scroll hummed quietly and trotted over to the wooden railing. He looked out at the numerous birch trees passing them by as he gathered his thoughts.

"I'm starting to think we're focusing on the wrong thing, little filly," Ancient Scroll answered after a long moment. He gestured to the tall birch trees around the caravan, "well... not so much the wrong thing per se... it's more like we're not seeing the forest for the trees."

"Huh?" Fia asked with a bewildered tilt of her head, "what are you talking about, Uncle Scroll?"

"Out of every type of Magic available to us, Soul Magic is unique in that it's more or less what makes a pony a pony," Ancient Scroll explained, "it's the root of every other type of magic a pony possesses."

The black filly binked in confusion at the sudden explanation. It wasn't that she minded the impromptu lecture, she just wasn't expecting it. Nevertheless, Ancient Scroll went on.

"Soul Magic is physiological in how it can shape and change who we are as we grow older. It's as vital as any organ and without it, not only would unicorns not have access to any other type of magic, we wouldn't live very long either -- and that goes for all tribes, not just unicorns."

Fia nodded slightly in response. She was already aware of everything Ancient Scroll was explaining, but it seemed the old stallion was on a roll and the filly didn't want to interrupt.

"At it's core, Soul Magic is pure mana made malleable, so when we use it, we're more or less directly manipulating our own life force to cast spells without the natural impurities that build up over time from the use of other types of Magic.

"While it's true that other types of Magic can change and shape us as well, none of these other types of Magic can change and shape as deeply and naturally as Soul Magic can."

The black coated filly frowned in bemusement as she caught on to where Ancient Scroll was going. She still made no comment however, and Ancient Scroll continued on unabated.

"This is only another guess mind you," Ancient Scroll finally turned to fully face Fia, "but while I do think there's still something odd about your magic, I think the change in your wellspring was only a part of something bigger."

Fia sat on her haunches, her bemused frown deepening.

"So... are you saying my body is changing?" she raised an eyebrow, "was this all some kind of big lead up to a talk about puberty and how I shouldn't be scared of it?"

A loud bark of laughter rang out from somewhere inside the caravan, but the two paid it no mind.

"No, little filly," Ancient Scroll replied with a chuckle and a shake of his head, "I'm not talking about puberty and you know it."

Fia couldn't keep a straight face anymore and fell into a small fit of giggles. Once it was over she looked back at Ancient Scroll with an apologetic smile.

"Sorry, Uncle Scroll, I know it's serious, but I couldn't help it."

"Nah, don't you worry none, little filly," Ancient Scroll replied with another small chuckle, "in fact, I'm glad you can find a bit of humor in all of this," his features became serious once more, "but as I was about to say, I think your surge of magic and that squeezing sensation back then was a direct result of some kind of drastic change within you."

"And you think that's why it was Soul Magic instead of Dark Magic?" Fia guessed. "because it was some kind of... deeper, more natural change?"

Ancient Scroll nodded.

"Like I said, it's only a guess at this point, and I wouldn't know what kind of change would even be occurring," Ancient Scroll cautioned, "I might be completely wrong. Honestly, I'm still not sure why I'm speculating, it does us no good without the proper resources to test out the theory."

"But that's another reason we're going to Canterlot, right?" Fia asked, trotting next to Ancient Scroll and looking out at the forest, "so we can get those resources."

Ancient Scroll nodded and turned to stare out at the trees along with the black filly.

"Here's hoping we get the chance once we're there."

Author's Note:

Sorry for the late update again guys. My roommate made me stop writing to watch Thor: Ragnarok. I was kind of annoyed at first, but the movie was actually pretty damn metal, especially near the end.

No joke, I wrote the rest of this chapter listening to a power metal playlist.

Yeah, I think Thor: Ragnarok might be my favorite Marvel movie to date, guys.

Comments

[Zeprto678]

So her magic's changing?

[the7Saviors]

8923124
Ancient Scroll doesn't know if the change is physical or magical, just that something is changing -- or has changed -- drastically and that Soul Magic had something to do with it.

[Cross Lament]

She's gonna sprout wings. Hundreds of them! Okay probably just two, but I can dream.

[Birribi]

the desk he had placed in the sitting until he found what he was looking for

Missing 'room'

what little thaumatologists have manage to documen

managed

[Venerable Ro]

8894012

8894711

8894731

Well, that took far longer than it needed to, you set off to do one little thing... anyway! I completely forgot that I'd never gotten around to explaining this, so I thought I'd tidy this up before returning to my regularly scheduled critique of Celestia's nonexistent academic credentials. Though I must say, I am slightly disappointed that no one seems to have taken a shot at their own interpretation? Saying "how could this happen?" whilst trying to figure out a strange situation is one of the best things about this genre... I shall assume that all and sundry have merely been waiting upon my triumphal return.

Right then, where was I... ah, summoning is the art of knowledge and understanding. It is paired with runic magic, which is the art of making use of that knowledge. This combination of understanding and technical capacity allow for feats like what I pictured earlier.

Now as to what he is actually doing, he is making inspired use of a branch of dark/summoning magic called sympathetic magic. It is the art of imposing a change or effect upon a greater whole by manipulation a small fraction of it. I'm sure everyone is familiar with the concept of voodoo dolls? That is sympathetic magic. By a careful mixture of magic, confidence, and a bit of outright lying a mage can convince reality to consider a simulacrum synonymous with that which he wishes to affect.

Once this has been achieved, any effect visited upon the simulacrum will be mirrored upon the original, for reality considers the two objects to be one unique entity, thus anything that affects one affects both. Now one cannot simply declare two things to be the same, reality is not quite so gullible as all that. the model must be as close to the original as possible, and made with something taken from whatever the magus wishes to affect. In this case, iron taken from the same crucible that the larger sphere was later molded from.

So, to conclude, the simulacrum properly fashioned, the magus enacts his spells whilst holding the simulacrum in a neutral position. Then, as he moves it about, the larger sphere also moves, at a proportionate speed and distance. It must be noted that the main danger of this particular spell is the delicacy involved in keeping the attributes of the larger sphere from feeding back to the simulacrum. If the simulacrum suddenly, say, acquires the mass and momentum of it's brother... very bad things happen to the magus very quickly.

As for a use that is actually practical, I once saw an ingenious method of protecting a valley fief from marauders. A scale model of the valley was constructed, and a gemstone-rune spell array was inlaid upon it. This model allowed the casting of a permanent shield spell over the entire valley, using a rune circle no larger than an average dinner table.

Well that was a long post, don't think I'll be doing this again, took up too much space to my mind, but now I can get back to my reading. I'm thoroughly enjoying Ancient Scroll's teaching methods.

[the7Saviors]

8924690
That's actually fascinating to think about, and now that you've explained it, I actually have seen that type of magic done before... somewhere. Anyway I hope you don't mind me using this concept for my AU story. I have a few ideas on how I could make use of it later...

[Purple Pony]

Ragnarok was good. Infinity War was horrible.

[badninja]

Now I wonder if Twilight is preparing to become an alicorn in this universe. Hopefully she can fix Celestia's mistakes in this universe.

[Chillean]

One thing about Scroll that's been bugging me a bit us his tendancy to constantly say "little filly".
I know it's probably just part of the character, but if I was Twilight or the others it's start to seem condescending after awhile. Maybe I'm weird, I dunno. Great story though.

[JMP]

"And you think that's why it was Soul Magic instead of Dark Magic?" Fia guessed. "because it was some kind of... deeper, more natural change?"

I mean, isn't Teleportation Soul Magic anyway?