Equestria: The Afterlife

by Timzocker201

Ch22: Studies in Magic

POV: Twilight

It was a calm Saturday morning in Ponyville. I got up a little earlier than usual, even though the Library was closed, and took a shower. It was the last weekend, before Markus would be unavailable for two whole months, after all, so I certainly wanted to look presentable.

I stepped into the shower and opened the water valve with my magic, only to almost jump back, as I was hit with an ice-cold stream. Apparently, in my half-asleep state, I had opened the wrong valve. Needless to say, I was now fully awake. I quickly switched to warm water and let out a pleasured hum, as its warmth touched down on my head and slowly made its way down my back. I let the comfortable feeling of it seep into my every pore, indulging in its relaxing similarity to…

Suddenly, a wave of heat hit my face, as my thoughts drifted back to last weekend’s incident. It wasn’t the ambush in the forest that still laid so thickly in my mind, but what happened afterwards… The hospital, the long waiting and hoping and finally, the flash of emotions when Markus finally awoke. It all still was as fresh in my mind, as if it had just happened yesterday. Not that I wanted to forget it, no. I wanted to keep it. The memory of his soft touch on my back and head and the pleasant feeling behind my ears, the smell of his body, as I was pressing all of my worries out and into chest.

I would have liked to stay there forever, in his embrace just as well as in the shower, indulging in this pleasurable memory. That was not to be, however, as I suddenly was ripped out of my thoughts by a knock on the front door.

Markus wasn’t to arrive for another hour, which had me slightly confused. Still, I quickly got out of the shower, flinching slightly as I stepped from its warm embrace into the cold air of the bathroom. A quick wind-spell took care of the leftover water in my coat and an illusion spell made sure that whoever was at the door didn`t see my unkempt mane.

I opened the front door and was immediately greeted by Derpy. “Good morning Twilight. Umm, is Markus around?” she asked.

“Uh, no, not yet. Why do you ask?” I replied.

“Oh… well, uhm, I have a delivery for him and we don’t have enough storage space to keep them for him…”

Having been made curious by this statement, I took a look outside and almost gawked in surprise at what I saw. There, before my Library, stood a cart, pulled by two earth pony stallions and loaded with two large crates and one smaller one. Two further stallions were currently unloading one of the crates, almost crumbling under its weight. They set it down right in front of my door and went to work on the second large Crate, which seemed to be much lighter as only one stallion was needed to lift it.

I had a look at the delivery note that Derpy was holding, to look at the crate’s contents. Apparently, the first one contained steel, the second douglas fir wood and the third, smaller one was filled with grease. Also, looking at the top lines, I saw that it was indeed addressed to Markus.

With my curiosity now beyond holding, I looked at Derpy with, probably, one of the weirdest faces I could have made, as she only smiled sheepishly at me. I looked back and forth between Derpy and the note, not quite grasping, what Markus might need those materials for, when one of the delivery ponies cleared his throat beside me. He looked at me expectantly, probably waiting for me to finally sign the note so they could get on with their jobs. Seeing no point in keeping them halted any further, I levitated a quill out from behind me and signed the paper.

Derpy gladly took the signed note and waved goodbye, before she and the delivery ponies left. I closed the door and went into the kitchen to get some breakfast, leaving the crates sitting outside. Certainly, Markus would have a good explanation for this.

---

An hour later, Rainbow Dash and I were waiting at the station, looking for the first signs of the incoming train. I was slightly nervous. In fact, I couldn’t even bring myself to stand still this whole time, which wasn’t just because I was seeing Markus again, though that was part of the reason.

The truth is: I had realized that this day was probably the last time I would have a proper chance to speak to Markus, seeing as he would soon be gone for two whole months, after which he would probably be sent to Celestia-knows-where, without any chance for me to, at least, say goodbye to him. That’s why I had made the decision, to finally… confess my feelings to him. Though, now that the moment was rapidly closing in, I had begun to doubt my decision. What would he say? Would he even want to take on a relationship? What if he wasn’t interested in me or even in Ponies in general? After all, he is a human, not a Pony.

The train came into sight, while I was still looking down at my hooves, trying to figure out, what exactly I wanted to say. I didn’t notice Rainbow Dash flying off to one of the train carts. I didn’t notice Markus disembarking and I definitely did not notice how they slowly crept up beside me.

“Yo, what’cha thinking about?”

I jumped in place, as I suddenly heard Rainbow call out beside me. I wanted to scold her, but then I noticed that Markus was standing beside her, looking down at me with an amused face.

I was at a loss. Just before, I was lining up every single word I wanted to say, in the exact order I wanted to say them, but right at that moment, suddenly, all my preparations were shattered and dispersed into the winds of my thoughts.

“Ah, I-I, um... euh, H-Hi, Markus.” I stammered, mentally scolding me for my ineptitude.

Markus looked down at me in visible concern. “Is something the matter, Twilight? You seem rather troubled.”

‘Is something the matter?’ Of course there is! I just can’t…

“No, everything is fine, I-I just thought about how to… solve Celestia’s next test… Yeah, yeah, that’s it.” I lied.

Markus easily saw through that, of course, raising an eyebrow at my statement. However, he just shrugged and decided to not press the matter.

Damn it, Twilight, now your chance is gone! You have talked to him so calmly all these times, how can it be that, now that you want to actually say something important, you can`t seem to properly align three simple words?!

The others slowly started to walk away, as I was still scolding myself. However, as I noticed the distinct lack of Markus and Rainbow, I quickly got myself together. After all, the day was still young and I would have many more chances on telling him… hopefully.

---

We arrived at the Library shortly thereafter. Markus quickly examined the crates still lying outside of it and started to delightfully hum, as he found that it was indeed the delivery he had ordered. But just as I wanted to ask, what these materials were for, I heard Applejack call out behind me.

“Howdy, y’all!”

I turned around and saw that she was pulling a wagon behind her.

“Hey Applejack. Why are you pulling that wagon?” Rainbow asked, before I could.

Markus now turned, to greet her as well. “Good Day, applejack. I see, you got my letter?”

Rainbow looked back and forth between them, before finally complaining to Markus: “What?! You sent her a letter as well? Aw, that’s not fair! Why don’t you send me letters?!”

Markus smirked at her. “Because I know, if I don’t write you, you’ll come visit instead.”

Rainbow blushed and looked away, while I was at a complete loss at what he meant. Meanwhile, Applejack positioned herself beside the crates, signaling Markus to load the Cargo.

“Euh, are you sure you can lift those?” I asked. “I mean, I saw two delivery ponies unload these earlier and they were barely able to lift them.”

“Yes, but you are right to assume that my bodily strength isn’t enough. However, there are still other methods.”

He lifted a finger up and then pointed it towards the crates. A black panel formed underneath them, slowly lifting them into the air, before setting them down on Applejack`s cart.

“There, you see? Magic sure is something I would have liked in my old world.” He commented.

I would lie if I said that I wasn’t impressed. Quite the opposite, actually I was very impressed. I mean, sure , I noticed already that he was advancing very quickly in his studies of the arts of magic, but to think that he would already be able to lift something this heavy after barely just coming into contact with the whole concept of magic…

The cart creaked loudly, ripping me from my thoughts as Applejack began to move. Markus led the way, as we started to walk… into the Everfree forest.

“Uhm, Markus, are ya sure, that’s where ya want t’go?” Applejack asked, audibly nervous about this situation.

Markus, however, just nodded and continued walking. We kept close to him, as he led us deeper and deeper into the forest, far beyond where Zecora’s hut was located and even beyond the Castle of the two sisters.

Eventually, he stopped in a large clearing. And large might be an understatement, as it was nearly as big as the town of Ponyville!

“So, what do we do now?” I asked curiously.

Markus signaled Applejack to move a bit further into the clearing. He then lifted the crates off of her wagon, causing it to creak as the weight was lifted from it, and set them down before him.

“Now, I will work some magic. Silence please, I have to concentrate.” He said, as he sat down on the ground, closed his eyes and extended one arm towards the crates.

The crates opened and metal bars and large pieces of wood started floating out of them, neatly piling themselves beside their crates. Then, something amazing happened. Out of nowhere, black clouds of some smoky essence formed around us, some smaller and some larger in size. They then started to take on different forms, some morphing into what looked like large hammers, some formed into what looked like cutting devices, as well as a whole lot of other things I couldn’t identify. Then, the true magic began.

First, the metal bars started to levitate again, forming a line in front of the first of the clouds. The cloud began to glow a bright white and morphed into a tube, through which the metal bars now started to float. As they came out on the other side, they were, literally, glowing hot. They started to split up into multiple smaller groups now, one big and two smaller ones.

The first smaller group was yet again split into five smaller groups, all of which were being pressed into a circular form with varying diameters. The first group of those was being pressed into a wire, less than a quarter of an inch thick, which was then used to be either coiled into springs or cut into smaller pins.
The second group was formed into a slightly thicker wire, which was then cut and formed into screws.
The third, fourth and fifth were all formed into tubes of three different diameters and lengths. The third was the smallest one by diameter, but was the second largest in length, while the fourth was the second biggest by diameter, but the shortest. The fifth group was both the longest and the biggest, having almost seven times the diameter the third had. All three tubes then had a set of spiraling grooves cut into their insides.

The second of the three original groups was split into further groups, as well, which then were formed into a multitude of smaller parts, most of which I was unable to identify.

The third and larges group was, like the other two groups, split up into further, smaller groups. Five, to be exact. The first one of those produced constructs that looked like a very stripped-down version of Markus’s Rifle, while the second’s products looked like Markus’s pistol. The third and fourth one produced two different sizes of box-shapes with a slit on either side of them, as well as a hole on one end. The fifth one produced smaller metal sheets, which were then connected to form what looked like the magazines from Markus’s rifle and pistol.

All these groups then came together, forming themselves into vague copies of Markus’s rifle, of which the trigger was now larger to adapt to a pony’s hooves, as well as copies of his pistol and two further types of weapon, which I had not seen before. Some of the smaller tubes had been connected to the smaller box-shape, while the bigger tubes were connected to the bigger one and had a large piece fitted to their end, which had a large hole in the front and two holes on either side.

However, I noticed that the rifle lacked the large rear piece that Markus used to brace it against himself. Pieces of the grips of both, pistols and rifles, as well as some covers on the barrels of the rifles were also still missing. The answer to that mystery came, when suddenly the wood started floating, being carved and fitted into the aforementioned spots.

At last, all the moving parts were now coated in a generous amount of grease, before everything neatly sorted itself into the crates. However, there was still a lot of wood and metal left. Had Markus bought too many materials? No, he hadn`t. The rest of the materials started to float now, as well and slowly morphed themselves into much more refined looking versions of that contraption, Markus had tested on Applejack last week. The large arm was moved from the front right to the center of the contraption and the clamps were now partially made out of wood, to reduce the weight and, probably, to help with the cold metal touch.

After those had floated back into the crates, as well, the crates sealed themselves and moved away. Markus’s magic grip on the objects disappeared and, as soon as it did, he jerked forward and started to pant heavily. Clearly, this whole thing was very straining for him, but also absolutely impressive. I had never seen anypony manipulate so many objects at once, not even Celestia or me!

I walked over to Markus and helped him up, to which he gave me a thankful nod in response. Applejack trotted up beside me as well.

“Yeah, well, that was mighty impressive ‘n all, but what do we do now?” she asked.

Markus was still slightly panting, but was quickly recovering. When he had caught enough of a breath, he answered her. “Well, first off, we need to set some markings for where the tents are meant to be placed and where the different training areas shall be. After that we just need to do some minor things and we are done.”

“Tents and training areas? Wait, are you planning on training your troops here?” Rainbow asked and Markus nodded in response.

He then got up and gave all three of us an area, which we then set out to mark with large branches, which we stuck into the ground in regular intervals. Markus himself, meanwhile, went into the Everfree to grab some branches and leaves, out of which he built a makeshift roof. As all of us were done we met up with him again. He looked around and seemed very pleased with the result.

“Very well, now there is only one last thing left to do.” He said, as he took a large stack of scrolled papers out of the crate, which held the containers with the grease earlier and wasn’t sealed back up. He then turned to Applejack and Rainbow, handing them both a few scrolls.

“Now, would you please go over there and attach these targets to the row of trees?” he asked them. In response, Applejack and Rainbow Dash both nodded and trotted off.

Next he turned to me, however instead of saying something, he suddenly squinted at the forest behind me.

“Meine Güte, hat der typ ‘n Navi gefressen? Wie zur hölle hat er uns hier gefunden?” (Good lord, did this guy eat a GPS? How in the world did he find us in here?) he mumbled.

I turned around to see Spike running towards us and panting from exhaustion. When he reached us, he sputtered some incoherent words, which I was unable to make any sense of. Noticing this, he took a deep breath and tried again.

“Twilight, some mare at the Library wants to speak with you. Something about a book having been damaged or something.”

I am needed at the Library? Today?! But I hadn’t had a chance to… No, I have to do this before I can do anything else. I thought.

I turned around to Markus, who waved it off, saying that we were almost done anyways, so I could go if I needed to. I heard Spike already walk away, while Markus took a shovel from Applejack’s cart and started digging a hole. I, meanwhile, just stood in place.

My heart began to pound hard, everything seeming to suddenly move slower than usual. I had to think: What did I want to say? How would I say it? The thoughts rushed through my mind, quicker than they ever had before, almost making my head burst. Then, I took a deep breath and:

“M-Markus? Can I… Can I ask you something?”

Ok, good start, now don’t falter, keep going!

Markus turned back to me, smiling gently. “Of course. Ask away.”

I took some final, deep breaths, bracing me for my next few words.

Ok, don’t worry, you’ve got this. It’s just one simple question, so just ask it! Well then, here goes…

Comments

[Nebulous Draco]

Come on man! You can't just leave us on a cliffhanger like that!! That's just plain evil!

[MikiStenbeck]

10151257
iz a bit of a dick move alright,

[Timzocker201]

10151257

10151397
yeah, I know, but it's necessary. You will see in 2 chapters, why I did this.

[MikiStenbeck]

10152159
ah, okei, :D

[Gta Player]

I already know the mare spike is talking about is sugarcoat. I mean come on she's trying SO HARD to kidnap her

[Timzocker201]

10154741
Actually, on that one, I have to disappoint you. I just needed some reason for Twilight to leave the group

[Gta Player]

10155358
Oh. Well carry on then

[Munro]

“Meine Güte, hat der typ ‘n Navi gefressen? Wie zur hölle hat er uns hier gefunden?” phaha lol om god that was funny xD