The Gift That Keeps on Giving
This story follows a divergent timeline from the S6 premiere. However, I will use information revealed in Seasons 6 through 9 that doesn't conflict with this story line.
Castle of Friendship – Three days after Applejack's ascension
Mornings in my castle home weren't as quiet as they once were. Neither were afternoons and evenings, since my friends were spending more time with me to help with the life infusion project. There were also ponies who stopped by to ask me about participating in the studies. I created forms for them to fill out, so that I would know their contact information, ages, and tribes. Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy volunteered to assist with organizing the forms, but Pinkie soon became wrapped up in planning Applejack's party. And so Fluttershy took on the role of the castle receptionist.
“Fluttershy,” I tactfully told her, “you know I really appreciate your help.”
“Oh, it's no trouble at all.” She smiled. “The baby wrens are self-feeding now, so I have more free time to help out. And the squirrels love organizing things inside a giant tree.”
My ear twitched as I watched one of the rodents climb into a filing cabinet. “Yeah, about that, are you sure this is the best place for them? Wouldn't they feel more comfortable in your cottage?”
“Not necessarily. Squirrels adapt to all kinds of habitats and situations.” She stared at another squirrel scaling the cabinet, bearing a sheet of paper in its paw.
Poking his head into the room, Spike said, “Did you tell her you don't want a bunch of animals running around the castle?”
“Spike!” I exclaimed.
“So, that's a no,” he deadpanned.
Fluttershy's ears flattened. “Um, I'm afraid I don't understand, Twilight. I thought you liked animals. What about Owloysius?”
I sighed. “I liked Owloysius, but he flew away after Golden Oak Library was destroyed. He didn't like the castle.” With a sheepish smile, I added, “I'm glad some animals like giant crystal trees. I just have concerns about the squirrels putting the forms in the correct order. As far as I know, squirrels can't read.”
Fluttershy waved her foreleg. “Don't worry, I've already thought of that. Squirrels can't read, but they can tell different shapes apart. That's why each form has a different shaped tab attached to it.” Pointing her hoof at the nearest page, she said, “See, this triangle is for today.” A squirrel snatched it off the desk and scurried over to the cabinet.
“Oh, well, in that case . . .” I rubbed my right foreleg against my left. “As long as that works for everypony.”
“Everycreature,” corrected Spike.
“Come on, Spike, you say everypony most of the time,” said Rainbow Dash, brushing past him into the room before turning around to face him. Rarity trotted inside afterward.
“Why not just say everyone?” asked Rarity. “It's shorter and it's more inclusive.”
“Fine, then I'm glad we found a filing system that works for everyone,” I said, raising an eyebrow at the two of them.
“Were we interrupting anything, darling?” asked Rarity.
“Twilight and Fluttershy just resolved their differences and came to an understanding,” explained Spike, “so I think you came at just the right time,” he added, giving Rarity a lingering look.
“Aw, did we miss a friendship lesson?” asked Rainbow.
I rubbed my neck. “Only if learning that squirrels are good at organizing even though they can't read counts as a friendship lesson. So, what's on your mind?”
Rarity grinned. “Dashie and I were wondering if we could use your new library for the day.”
“Of course!” A smile stretched across my face. “You don't even have to ask!” I pranced in place as my enthusiasm grew. “But I do love hearing you say that you want to use the library. Is there any particular book you're looking for?”
My friends all shared an amused look before Rainbow spoke up.
“We need all the books on magic,” she said.
Rarity lifted her foreleg. “Specifically, books that might have unfinished spells.”
“So you can use new magic and become alicorns?” asked Fluttershy.
“You got it,” said Dash with a nod. “And what better place to find an unfinished spell than a library?”
“Well, I don't know of any more unfinished spells off the top of my head, but that doesn't mean there aren't any.” I turned toward the door and peeked over my shoulder at them. “Star Swirl the Bearded is always a good author to start with, and you should also check out books on Clover the Clever and Somnambula. The older books are written in Old Ponish, so you'll need an Old Ponish to Modern Ponish dictionary. I'll show you where it is!” I trotted out the door and almost ran into a pegasus mare. It took me a second to put a name to the face.
“How are you . . . Blossomforth?” I asked carefully. “Are you interested in our life infusion project?”
“Yes, that's why I'm here! Where do I sign up?” she asked.
A squirrel ran up to her and held up a blank form. “Oh, thank you!” she said, taking the paper in her wing.
“We'll take care of it,” said Fluttershy with a smile. “Go do your research.”
“Thanks, Fluttershy,” I said, before glancing down at the rodent. “And squirrels.”
Then I led Rainbow, Rarity, and Spike to the library. “I'll help you two research until my new equipment arrives.”
“New equipment?” Rarity tilted her head.
“It'll help Twilight measure earth pony stuff. You know, life force and things like that,” explained Spike.
“Thank you, Spike,” I said. “That way we'll have actual numbers to work with instead of just guessing and feeling.” As I reached the door to the library, I opened it with my unicorn magic. Even after living in the castle for several months, the sight of books stretching from floor to ceiling never got old. I'd salvaged some of the books from the old library and ordered brand new books to fill the space. My nostrils filled with the aroma of new and old paper bound in cardboard and cloth.
“Okay, the spell book section is from there to there.” I pointed from one shelf partition to another. “And the history of magic section is right next to it.”
“Those both sound like good places to start searching,” commented Rainbow as she flew over to the spellbook section.
I flapped up to a high bookshelf and selected the Old/Modern Ponish dictionary. “This is essential for some of the volumes that were written before Celestia's coronation. And Luna's, I suppose.”
Rarity enveloped the book in her blue aura. “Thank you, Twilight, you're a dear.”
“You're more than welcome!” I beamed. “Honestly, I'm glad you two are excited about becoming alicorns!”
“Of course we're excited!” said Dash. “Being an alicorn is gonna be so awesome!” Spreading her forelegs, she added, “I'll be even faster, I'll have super strength and radical unicorn spells, and, oh yeah, immortality!”
“That's my favorite part,” agreed Spike.
“At least you get it, Spike! I don't get why AJ and the others are so mopey about it.”
“You know Applejack,” said Rarity with a shrug. “She doesn't deal very well with change, even when it's good change.”
“I think she's starting to come around,” I said. “I was teaching her telekinesis yesterday, and she has the coordination of a ten year-old foal.”
Rarity smiled. “That's not too bad considering she's only been able to telekinese for three days.”
“That's what I told her,” I said with a nod. “She says her magic is too loud, but it doesn't sound particularly loud to me. I think she's just not used to hearing her own magic. But it makes it easier to pick up pretty much everything, so she said she's going to try to use her aura more often.”
“Yes, appealing to Applejack's practicality is the only way to get through to her sometimes,” said Rarity, opening the dictionary.
“You're talking about Applejack, right?” Dash said skeptically. “When has she ever wanted to do things the easy way?”
“Hm, I see what you mean,” said Rarity. “She only wants to do things the easy way if she's desperate or in a hurry. How did you convince her, Twilight?” She glanced at me over the top of the book.
“Well, I think you two are underestimating her practicality just a little. All I told her was that she wouldn't have to use mitts or holders to handle anything hot or sharp or germ-infested, and she was sold,” I answered with a smile.
“Oh! That's a good point. There's only so much feather fingers can do.” Dash flexed her primary feathers to demonstrate. “At least you found something that works,” she added before letting out a sigh. “I just wish I knew what it would take to convince Pinkie that she should become an alicorn. I mean, she's had years to come to terms with this. What's her hang-up?”
“I thought she explained her reasons well,” I said. “She didn't even understand what had happened to her for a long time.”
“But after she found out she almost became an alicorn, why didn't she finish going through with it? I mean, she already uses magic to make ponies happy. Imagine how much easier it would be for her if she had wings and a horn to channel all her magic!” She let out another raspy sigh. “I just don't understand why some ponies hold themselves back when they have so much potential to be awesome!”
“You're right, but I think it would help more if you told her what you just told us,” said Spike.
“Yeah? I'll do that after I finish researching for the day.” Dash withdrew a book from the shelf and opened it. “This chapter serves as an introduction to devices that emit light through a process based on the stimulated emission of thaumic radiation aaaand I'm done.” She dropped the book and flew toward the door. Gently, I grabbed her with my telekinesis just long enough to stop her. “Very funny, Rainbow. It's just a book about magic lasers – you're not going to find anything useful there.”
“Wait, magic lasers?” Dash zoomed back and picked the book off the floor. “That sounds awesome!”
“I agree, but would they be considered new magic?” asked Rarity with an arched eyebrow. “They have already been invented.”
“I'll bet there are all kinds of things you can do with lasers that haven't been done before! You could use them to make pictures, maybe mount one on a canon . . .”
“Wow, really?” Spike folded his arms. “How does that show that you understand the true meaning of friendship?”
“Well, fine!” Rainbow put the book back on the shelf – to my relief, it was in the correct spot. “I guess lasers won't help me ascend.”
“What book would you pick, Spike?” asked Rarity.
Spike blinked in surprise. “You're asking me? But Twilight–”
“I know she's the resident magical expert, but out of all of us in this room, you're the second most knowledgeable about magic books, wouldn't you agree?”
I nodded. “Go ahead, Spike. I'm sure you'll pick a good one.”
His cheeks turned pink. “Well, I do have one idea.”
“It's not another magic comic book, is it?” Rainbow crossed her forelegs.
He sighed. “You're not gonna let that go, are you.”
“I for one wasn't planning on speaking of it again,” commented Rarity.
“Well, no, it's not what you just said, Rainbow,” answered Spike with a quick peek at Rarity. “It's called The Incomplete History of Magic.”
Sweet Apple Acres – That same morning
“Y'know, Applejack, this isn't what I was expectin' you to do with your new magic,” said Apple Bloom as she observed her sister using her twinkling green aura to move a log inside the fireplace. As she did so, Applejack gestured with her hoof as if she were directing the firewood.
“I know, but y'see, Twilight was tellin' me how I could pick up hot things so much easier with unicorn magic.” Applejack lowered the wood and released her telekinetic hold. “So I got to thinkin', what's hotter than fire?”
“Magma,” Bloom answered at once.
“Okay, smarty pants, but magma’s mighty hard to find on a farm.” AJ tugged another chunk of dead tree from underneath the pile and hovered it a foot into the air. “It's the darnedest thing – I don't feel the heat, but I can feel the weight and shape of the log with my magic.” She made a circle with her foreleg. “Anyway, at least the cracklin' of the fire covers up the noise from this horn.”
“It's really not loud.”
“It is when it's attached to your skull.” Applejack held her hoof to the base of her horn.
“I'll take your word for it.” Apple Bloom regarded her sister in silence for a few seconds before commenting, “I don’t think all those hoof motions are necessary.”
Her sister’s aura winked out and the log crashed onto the hearth, sending up ashes and smoke. Both ponies coughed and Applejack spread her wings and fanned the smoke back into the fireplace. Apple Bloom ran toward the windows to open them, and in less than a minute the air was clear.
“You did good controllin' the air current,” remarked Apple Bloom. “You might be better at pegasus magic than unicorn magic. Has Rainbow Dash tried teachin' you any more?”
“A bit. I glided the other day, but I haven't properly flown yet, and Dash started gettin' a tad testy 'cause it's supposed to be harder for pegasi to learn how to glide when they're just startin' out.”
“That's interestin'. But that means it should be easier for you to fly, then!” Apple Bloom beamed.
Sighing, Applejack let her horn grow dim, and in a lowered voice, she said, “Sugar cube, can you keep this between us?”
Her sister quirked an eyebrow. “Um, sure. What is it?”
“It doesn't seem right that I should fly while Scootaloo is still strugglin'. It can't be easy to watch another pony get handed somethin' that she's wanted her whole life, somethin' that everypony else in her tribe has. And I probably won't be the last pony without wings to suddenly get ‘em, if you know what I'm sayin'.”
Bloom's smile faded as she considered this dilemma. “Well now, that's awfully considerate of you sis, but I reckon you're underestimatin' Scootaloo just a mite. I don't think she'd hold it against you. She ain't really the jealous type.”
AJ gave her a little smile. “I s'pose you're right, sugar cube. I was just thinkin' how I would feel if I was the only earth pony in town who didn't have earth pony strength. I didn't know how to talk to Rainbow about it because I know she's already taken Scootaloo to the doctor and they couldn't do nothin' for her. It upsets her to talk about it sometimes. I think grownups have a harder time dealin' with problems we can't solve.”
Apple Bloom chewed on this nugget for a moment. “Seems to me like grownups have a hard time dealin’ with a lot of things. Like bein’ a princess.”
Applejack let out another sigh. “Sugar cube, we’ve already gone over this.”
“It just seems to me that if you got wings and a horn and earth pony strength and a throne in a castle,” she paused so she could take a breath, “then you’re a princess.”
Her sister stomped her hoof, making the floorboards shudder. “There’s no rule that says you have to be a princess if you got all those things!”
“Maybe not, but it’s – it’s tradition!”
AJ pointed her hoof. “Don’t you dare use tradition against me!”
“I ain’t usin’ it against anypony! All I’m tryin' to say is that it’s not a bad thing for you to become a princess. I mean there are plenty of other creatures that became leaders for sillier reasons, as far as I can tell. Princess Cadence was just a filly who used love magic or somethin', and King Thorax just happened to be the first changeling to give love instead of takin' it. And you just happened to be the first pony to infuse your life force into another pony. That makes you at least as qualified as Thorax!” Bloom finished triumphantly, stretching out her foreleg.
“You should be a lawyer,” said Applejack with a wry smile.
“I'll do that if my career as a cutie mark coach slash farmer slash potion maker doesn't work out,” her sister rattled off.
Laughing, AJ ruffled Bloom's mane. “How did my little sister get so smart?”
“Are you admittin' I'm right?”
Her older sister held up her hoof. “I'm admittin' that you might have a point about me bein' more ready for government work than I thought.”
Apple Bloom screwed up her eyebrows. “Seriously? That's the worst description of princess I've ever heard.”
Castle of Friendship – Two Hours Later
“This is taking forever!” groaned Rainbow.
“What are you talking about?” I asked rhetorically. “It’s only eleven o’clock! You’ve got most of the day left to find a potential spell to complete!” I held out my foreleg.
“And we're making progress!” added Rarity, levitating a thick tome onto a stack next to Dash. “We've got it narrowed down to a few titles, and I think I'll learn something useful from An Incomplete History of Magic even if doesn't have an unfinished spell.”
“All I care about is finding new magic I could do, but this book is so dry that I have to read each paragraph three times just to understand it!” Rainbow held up Thaumaturgy before the Founders in her hoof. “And it's so heavy that I have to hold it with my hoof instead of my wings! I should’ve stuck with magic lasers.”
I arched an eyebrow. “Your wings are strong enough to lift your body weight. Why would you struggle to lift that book?”
Dash hunched said wings in a variation of a shrug. “Different weight distribution. It's easier to lift something strapped to your back than it is when you hold it away from your core.”
I nodded. “Oh, yeah. That makes sense.”
“The point is, this book is too dense. It'll take a miracle for me to find a spell I can understand, much less perform.” Rainbow let the book fall to the table with a slam that made the rest of us jump. “Ugh, sorry,” she said.
“You just need a break,” said Spike. “Get something to drink, fly around the castle for a few minutes and come back with a fresh mind.”
I beamed and placed my wingtip on top of his scaly head. “I taught you well.”
Shaking his head, Spike said, “More like I had to learn to make you take breaks from all your studying.”
Rainbow sighed. “You're right, Spike. I just need to clear my head for a bit.” She put one cyan hoof on top of the open book and wedged the other under the spine. Then she flipped it over so that the open pages landed with a soft thud against the crystal table.
My right eyelid twitched and I wondered if the muscle spasm was visible to my friends and little brother. “Um, Rainbow?” I fought to keep my voice calm. “Do you think you could use a bookmark? Please?”
Dash looked down at the book. “Sure, no problem.” She flipped it back over and slid a smaller book onto the pages; then she closed the cover over it.
The muscle spasm persisted. “Rainbow Dash, a book is not a bookmark.”
“It is at my house.”
“Darling,” said Rarity with a sympathetic glance in my direction, “we're not at your house.” Using her blue aura, she took the two books and carefully extracted the smaller one. I floated a bookmark in my own shimmering magic and it into the pages, breathing a sigh of relief.
Dash threw her forelegs and her wings in the air. “This book and I have tortured each other long enough.” With that, she flapped upward and soared out of the room.
However, Rarity continued undeterred, working her way through The Incomplete History of Magic.
Her brow furrowed, and then her eyes opened wide. “Ooooh, this spell has potential. Has anypony ever combined Star Swirl's portal spell with his Temporus Momentum spell?”
“No time travel!” I said curtly. While I didn't want to be rude, I was determined to nip this spell in the bud.
“I wouldn't exactly call it a time travel spell.” Rarity sounded a bit defensive.
“Rarity,” I said firmly, “You're talking about creating a portal to a different point in the timeline. That's a time travel spell.”
Suddenly there was a knock on the door, and then Fluttershy poked her head into the room. “Excuse me, I hope I'm not interrupting anything important.”
“Fluttershy, you're the last pony who should worry about interrupting anypony,” I told her. “In fact, maybe you can talk some sense into Rarity.”
“Um . . .” Fluttershy's ears flattened. “I would have to know what you two are talking about first.”
“What did you want to tell us, Fluttershy?” prompted Spike.
“Maud is here with the vitameter and the longevity reader,” she answered, straightening her ears.
“Finally!” I fluttered my wings in excitement. “I'll go meet her.”
“No need.” Maud slid behind Fluttershy, who let out an adorable squeak. “I followed Fluttershy. Nice digs, Twilight,” she added, taking in the view of the glossy ceiling and floor. “The crystal is very friendly.”
I shifted my wings and shuffled my hooves. “Well, it is the Castle of Friendship.”
“Did you say 'digs'?” asked Spike.
“It's a mining term.” Maud gently pushed past Fluttershy and continued, “It refers to digging out the best mines for mineral growth and claiming it for oneself.”
Spike tilted his head. “Huh.”
“I'm glad you came, Maud,” I said sincerely. “The professors at the Manehattan College of Earth Studies haven't been exactly helpful,” I added with a slight shake of my head.
“That's because the ponies in higher education are jerks,” she answered bluntly. “They think that the knowledge of friendship and magic should be shared only with other ponies. And the chancellor and administrators at the College of Earth Studies are some of the worst. According to them, anypony who can't use earth magic shouldn't know about it.”
“Wow, Maud.” Spike folded his arms. “Tell us how you really feel.”
“Okay. I really feel like I should transfer to the Equestrian Institute of Rocktology, where they understand that the magic of the earth does not belong to only the earth ponies.”
“I was being . . .” Spike sagged in defeat. “Never mind.”
“Excuse me, Maud, but that wasn't my experience at all when I stayed in Manehattan. No one treated me any differently because I was a unicorn,” said Rarity, holding her hoof to her chest. “True, they have a reputation for being a bit rude, but that's only because there are so many ponies there that if they said 'how are you' to everyone they saw and 'excuse me' to everyone they bumped into, they'd be doing it all day.”
“Don't get me wrong,” said Maud. “Most of the ponies in Manehattan are fine. I'm only talking about the college leadership.” Turning to stare at me, she said, “Surely it was the same in Canterlot.”
I glanced away. “It's not quite as bad as it used to be. They're trying to be more inclusive, but they're taking baby steps.” I gazed at the spot where Fluttershy had stood, but she'd slipped away while I wasn't looking.
“The College of Earth Studies isn't even pretending to be inclusive. They don't know that I brought their vitameter and longevity reader here, and I'd prefer to keep that between you and your friends,” Maud told me.
“I'm sorry, but please tell me you didn't steal them,” said Rarity, narrowing her eyes.
“I didn't steal them,” deadpanned Maud. “I borrowed them without asking. Granny Pie always said that it's better to beg for forgiveness than ask for permission.”
I raised my foreleg to object before realizing that I didn't have a leg to stand on, with all of the experimental magic I had tested in my career, not to mention my attempt to steal a book from the forbidden section of the Royal Canterlot Library.
Instead, I said, “So, why don't you show me how to use the readers.”
“Sure.” Maud reached into her bulging saddlebag and pulled out a horseshoe that was made of silvery gray stone with light blue gemstones embedded in the outer edge, and with a ruby on one end. Engraved in the stone was a number below each blue jewel.
“This is a vitameter. It has a hematite structure with thaumically attuned aquamarines for visual display and a red corundum for the on/off switch. Hematite is an iron oxide that is widespread due to its alignment with earth magic. It crystallizes in a rhombohedral lattice angle, which is the same structure as the corundum, but I'm sure you figured that out if you didn't already know it.”
As Maud droned on, Rarity picked up another book and flipped through the pages.
Spike caught my eye before turning to Maud. “Uh, Maud, I love crystals as much as the next . . . creature, but aren't you gonna show Twilight how to use the meter?”
Maud blinked. “Okay. It's simple. All you do is turn it on,” she said, clicking the ruby to one side and causing it to emit a red glow. “Then you place it on your front hoof,” she continued, positioning the device like a normal horseshoe. “And then you use life infusion. You already know how to use life infusion, correct?”
When I nodded, she continued. “The life force has to pass through the vitameter or it won't give a measurement.” She reached into her pocket and held up Boulder in her shod hoof. “It has been a few years since I fed Boulder.” Maud stared intently at her pet rock, and the aquamarines lit up one after the other. At first, nothing seemed to happen to Boulder, but then the surface on top began to glisten with tiny crystals.
After several more seconds, a quartet of four-sided crystals grew out of the top, each one the size of a carrot stick. The entire process took about two minutes.
“It takes eighty vitas to grow crystals like this,” explained Maud, pointing at the glowing aquamarine with the number 80 below it.
“Fascinating.” I rubbed my chin and stared at Boulder. “Would you say it's more difficult to grow crystals than plants, or does it just take longer?”
“Plants are faster and more responsive, and most ponies find them easier to grow. But Pies have always had more difficulty controlling plants and getting them to produce the way we want. You've seen what our farm is like.” She set Boulder on the table and actually smiled at it – only a small curving of her mouth, and just briefly, but it didn't escape my notice. “Rocks are more stubborn and resistant, but that makes them more enduring and rewarding to cultivate. The only forces that can destroy them are erosion, my hooves, or our teeth,” she added with a significant look at Spike.
I grabbed my notebook and quill from the nearest table, but before I could take any notes, Maud held out the vitameter to me.
“Would you like to try?” she asked.
I took the meter in my hoof and glanced at Boulder.
Maud saw me eyeing her pet rock and snatched it up, holding it protectively to her chest. “I meant on something other than Boulder.”
“Of course, Maud.” I managed a reassuring smile. “Usually I test my magic on fruit, but there doesn't seem to be any around.”
“Well, yeah. It's a library,” said Spike, waving his arm. “You already had that talk with Pinkie Pie about bringing food in here.”
“Oh. Right. Well, we could go to the kitchen.” I peered at the doorway.
“You could,” said Maud. “Or you could use life infusion on the castle, if the castle is okay with it.”
“If the castle is . . .” I stared at her for a second. This was a little strange even for a Pie. “I mean, I know the castle is an outgrowth of the Tree of Harmony, but I never thought of the castle being its own living entity.”
“Of course it is.” She tilted her head for a moment as if listening to something only she could hear before nodding. “This castle is the tree's offspring.”
Hunching his shoulders, Spike peered at the walls. “You mean our house is alive? Is it watching and listening to us?”
“To quote my sister Marble, 'Mm-hm,'” said Maud, oblivious to Spike's discomfort. “It's like a member of your family.”
Spike made a muted noise of disgust.
“And it wants you to have a small amount of its life force, Twilight,” added Maud.
Holding my foreleg to my chest, I stared down at the smooth floor, half expecting to see a secret message there. “You can actually talk to . . . rocks and minerals?”
“You've seen me do it.”
Even without looking at her, I could feel Maud's penetrating gaze.
“But I mean . . . I just thought . . .” I had thought that she was at best playing a game, and at worst mentally ill. But I couldn't come out and say that.
“You thought that they didn't talk back.”
I nodded, relieved that she had said it instead of me.
“It's okay. Most earth ponies can't hear minerals. You have to have a special talent for it.” She gently rubbed her hooves over Boulder.
Making an effort to keep an open mind, I asked, “What do minerals sound like when they talk to you?”
“It's not a sound, or even words. It's a feeling in my hooves and images in my head,” replied Maud. “When the castle spoke to me just now, it projected an image of you using inbound life infusion on it.”
Taking a deep breath, I said, “Alright, I'll give it a try.” I adjusted the vitameter, making sure there was even space between the edge of the horseshoe and the edge of my hoof. Then I lowered it to the floor and called up my earth thauma. Remembering the lesson from five days earlier, I sent it out through my hoof and twisted it the way I had with the bean plant. The thauma made a hairpin turn and shot back into me. The jewels lit up – one, two, three, four, five . . .
“How much is a little?” I asked Maud.
“Keep going. It's a crystal tree, so it has a big reserve,” she said.
I kept drawing in more life force, but I couldn't feel the flow rate increase, despite more of the gems glowing. If Applejack thought unicorn magic was too loud, I thought earth magic was too quiet. I could feel my unicorn magic in addition to seeing and hearing it, but I could merely feel my earth magic, and 60 vitas felt the same as 10 vitas to me. I could understand why it was challenging for many earth ponies to control magic. A vitameter would be essential for me to observe what I was doing. And the galling thing to me was that most earth ponies didn't have access to it. They had to pass an exam to enter a prestigious college. When I ruled Equestria, that would be the first thing to change.
Wait, where had that come from?
At this point I felt the power increasing, spreading to every cell of my body.
“Maybe stop now,” said Maud.
All twenty gems were illuminated.
I jerked my hoof up, but it took exertion, as though gravity had increased on only my hoof. The aquamarines dimmed all at once.
“I should have considered that you are a full-fledged alicorn. A little life force to you might not be a little to a regular pony,” said Maid.
Spike and Rarity both stared at me with their mouths agape.
“Twilight, your mane!” exclaimed Rarity.
I furrowed my brow and glanced down at my hair draped over my shoulder, the way it always did. “What about it?”
“You were doing that capilla-thingy,” said Spike. “Your mane and tail were flowing like Celestia and Luna's!”
My eyes widened. “They were? And I didn't even notice?”
“You probably did feel it, but you didn't recognize what it was,” said Maud. “Did Pinkie explain about thinking of your hair as an extension of your body?”
I grit my teeth, endeavoring to keep my frustration from showing. “Yes. She did.”
“Then you must have felt the life force flow to your mane and tail.”
Thinking about what she said, I relaxed my jaw. “I guess I did feel the life force in my mane and tail, but I couldn't feel them moving.”
“You will in time,” said Maud. “The more energy and life force you have, the more heightened your senses are.”
“How do you feel now, Twilight?” Rarity leaned toward me.
I flexed my legs and wings. “It's like every fiber of my being is vibrating. I can feel the energy in every part of my body.”
Maud nodded. “That checks out. Would you like to take your longevity reading now?” She reached into her pannier once more and pulled out a wand crafted from polished wood with a needled dial on one end. On closer examination, I saw that the dial had blue crystals on its face.
“Do I want to see exactly how long I'm going to live?” I asked. “Absolutely.”
Stats
Page generated in 0.017 seconds
Total duration
646 users online
955,256 hits today, 2,280,440 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Why do I get the feeling that lasers will definitely help Dash ascend?
"At least as qualified as Thorax" isn't exactly a glowing recommendation...
We don't do nearly enough with Granny Pie and Nana Pinkie.
Junior is best castle.
In any case, I'm thrilled to see this story begin. Eagerly looking forward to more, and to Maud's arguments against Twilight's proposals.
Glad to see this is continuing. I have a feeling Maud is also immortal, or close to it, just like Pinkie. With her strong connection to earth, stronger even than Pinkie's, she could probably reach down deeper. Maybe she didn't go to the alicorn place, but I don't doubt Maud was able to get that far...and probably just ignore it, like everything else.
At first I was a little iffy, seeing as I don't get into complete diversions from the series, but this is amazing: I love stories that roll around in the underlying physics of a world.
This should be fun. I’m very curious to hear Maud’s argument.
I love it when we're given hard evidence that Maud is related to Pinkie
Wow, rude ;p
9864053 To ascend, Dash must mount an astral motorcycle with Borg Spheres for wheels and leap over the Dark Galaxy while a giant space shark with a frickin' laser beam on its head reaches out from the central black hole with enormous cyborg arms to seize her. To fend it off, she shall have to slash at it with a Blood Sword filled with the power of a thousand crying saints and Jesus.
This will probably happen in G5.
And then Twilight takes a wee bit too much life force...
2.bp.blogspot.com/-p3WrULqVzEY/Uhb-elGwDNI/AAAAAAAAEB0/iTwHMoyvVJo/s1600/Neon_Genesis_Evangelion_My_Little_Pony_Friendship_Is_Magic_Twilight_Sparkel_Rei_Ayanami_Third_Impact.png
Everypony turns into orange goo, which is like... anti-Smooze… I guess.
9864053
It's kind of a combination of all three.
9864073
Maud doesn't understand friendship well enough to ascend to the Astral Plane, although she certainly has enough magic and creativity.
9864185
Thank you! You've come to the right place for that.
9864236
Thanks!
9864308
Well, they do seem to be the closest emotionally out of all the Pie sisters. I imagine they both spent a lot of time with Granny Pie when they were young.
9864372
That'll be in the third story of the "Overpowered Earth Ponies" trilogy . . . Maybe.
This did not really capture Maud as a character.
9866950
In what way? What should I change about the way I write Maud in future chapters?
Vitameter is probably best here, despite being a Latin-Greek bastardization, because AFAIK the Greek words that would fit best are pneuma and psyche, both of which have distracting connotations. Other etymology nerds should feel free to chime in.
9864053
FoME, thank you for that video. It's so nice to know that other people understand the importance of treating books well.
discord should give her a lesson (better than the first one)
Nice work. live > legally
are the stones intelligent ? This is terrible
Are you crazy? You don 't remember what happened to the plants ! can't let a beginner near such important things
Muhahahahahaahahhaah best moment. Realy good move
No, silly, she is pony