Return of the Ancient Mage

by Zoshe

Chapter 17: Lessons from a Fairy

Random didn't come home last night. Twilight had waited up late for him, hoping that he might have some insight on the eye oriented magic she had seen the Shade use. He did seem to know how to use something similar.

The time she spent waiting wasn't wasted though. She had gotten into an interesting chapter of the "spellcasting for dummies" book that had been given to her by Whisper. This chapter actually covered what she was looking for. Which was good, because she was starting to think that the troublesome fairy was just having a laugh at her.

"Whatcha doing Twilight?" Spike asked as he watched her set two half filled glasses of water on the table in front of her.

"I'm trying to freeze water," Twilight cringed a bit as she said it, already anticipating the response. "Yes, I know Spike. Turning water into ice is very low level magic. I'm trying something a little different."

"I didn't say anything," Spike defended as he sat down and watched what she was doing. "So what are you trying to do?"

"I'm not quite sure yet," Twilight pondered as she double-checked the book in front of her. "Freezing water is good practice for this method since it is among the simplest of unicorn incantations with little chance for collateral damage in the case of something going wrong. Foals will have an easier time learning to cast more complex spells such as transmutation if they learn this basic first. Instead of forcing your own magic into the water, direct the magic already inherent the water itself to activate the freezing spell."

Twilight was still confused as to what the book was asking her to do. She tried pushing some magic through it, but all that did was stir the water in the glass. She then levitated the water out of the glass and into the air, but that didn't seem to mean anything either. Out of frustration she just froze the water with a normal freezing spell, however that just left her with a block of ice and it didn't help with the lesson she was supposed to be learning. Ready to try anything, even if it seemed stupid, she dipped her horn in the unfrozen glass. Which only resulted in chilling her horn and making her sneeze.

"Gesundheit," said Spike as he handed her a tissue.

A crunch came from Spike's direction.

"Spike?" Twilight complained. "Didn't you already have dinner?"

"That wasn't me, Twilight." He said, followed by another crunching noise.

Their gazes dropped down to the table to find a little pink and yellow fairy munching on what looked like an oversized cracker, given the size difference. She paused when she realized she was being watched.

"Oh am I being too loud," said Whisper. "Sorry, I'll chew quieter," she said as she took another, very slow, very loud and crunchy bite, clearly not trying to keep the noise down at all.

Twilight sat back on her haunches and glared at the fairy. "Please tell me this isn't another one of your jokes," she gestured to the book and the cup of water on the table.

"Had any luck with that yet?" The fairy asked as she pulled out another cracker.

"No," Twilight narrowed her eyes at the glass. "The book doesn't really explain how I'm supposed to interact with the magic inside the water and nothing I try seems to work."

Whisper floated over and tapped at the glass, "well, it's not the water's fault. There's plenty of magic in there."

Twilight leaned down and peered at the glass, confused. "How can you tell? I don't see anything."

"For me, it's easy," said Whisper. "But you ponies interact with the world a bit differently than I do." She sat back and appeared to be thinking, "I do have an idea on something you can try though."

"Really? What is it?" Twilight pulled back a bit from the table, a curious look on her face.

Whisper pulled out a large gold band from seemingly out of nowhere and placed it on the table. "I assume you know what this is?" She asked.

Twilight picked up the bad and examined it closely. She recognized the various inscriptions that were etched in the inner surface. "It looks like it's a magical limiter, like the ones they use in hospitals."

"Try putting it on," the fairy gestured her to do so.

Twilight looked at her in shock, almost disgusted at the suggestion. "And what is that supposed to accomplish?" She asked. "I wouldn't be able to use my magic with that thing on my horn."

"Some of your magic can still get through," said Whisper. "This would keep you from interacting with the water like you normally would. You'd still have enough control to do what it is you're attempting. But I mean if it's too hard for you..."

"More like impossible," said Twilight as she set the ring back down. "Unicorn magic requires constant dedication and study. If there's something I can't handle, then I just need to find the right spell for it. This," she stubbornly pointed at the ring, "is never going to work. And I'd appreciate it if you'd stop teasing me."

"Alright. Geez," sighed Whisper as she scooped the ring back up. "I didn't realize you were so adamant against trying something new. I guess this kinda challenge is only meant for ponies like Starswirl the Bearded or Clover the Clever." She started to fly away only to be stopped after a couple feet by a magenta aura.

"Starswirl could do this?" Twilight's eyes lit up at the name of her childhood idol. "Did you know him?"

Whisper slowly turned in the air, a sly grin on her face, "yes I did. He was here some time ago and I presented him with the same problem. He tackled it without hesitation, but I guess if it's too hard for you, Twilight..." She let her words hang in the air.

Twilight placed the fairy back down and reexamined the ring. She was a bit nervous about the idea of limiting her magic like that. If Starswirl could do something like this, then there was no reason she shouldn't be able to do the same. She had completed his unfinished spell after all and earned her wings in the process.

She carefully picked the ring up in her magic and slid it onto her horn. Halfway down, her magic failed her and she had to finished securing it the rest of the way by hoof. Twilight had only worn one of these once or twice in her youth when she had worn herself out by pushing her magic too hard. The doctors had made her wear a limiter for weeks while she recovered and those had been some of the most aggravating weeks of her life.

"So what do I do now?" Twilight asked.

Whisper gestured to the glass, "same thing you were doing before. You just can't use magic like you're used to."

"Ok, but I don't see what I'm supposed to do," she stared intently at the glass of water.

"Start making things up, you'll hit on something sooner or later," she flew over and landed on Spike's head. "How bout we go make some late night cookies? I haven't had any of your homemade ones in a while."

"When did I make you cookies? Hey!" Spike realized. "Is that why I always have random treats go missing?"

Whisper kicked off into the air and floated towards the doorway, "I think I prefer them with chocolate chips over when you sneak gems into them. I have to eat around those."

Twilight watched for a moment as her little assistant chased the troublesome fairy into the kitchen. A small giggle escaping her throat with the antics. It really had been more lively since Random came to town. She looked at the door that led down into the archives, wondering where he had run off to.

---

About an hour later found Twilight panting for breath and getting no closer to the riddle that Whisper had presented her with. The ring around her horn had made spellcasting impossible and nothing she tried would let her interact with the water short of just tapping the glass with her hoof. All she had really managed to learn at this point was how much of a headache it caused trying to cast spells when she couldn't properly use her horn.

She slumped forward onto the table, depression had already started to set in some time ago. She still wasn't sure where her new housemate had run off to and at this point he probably wasn't coming home tonight. Maybe something more had happened with him and Cloud Kicker than simple rumors would explain. It really wasn't her business what other ponies did in their private lives, but she was still hoping he had been here to help her figure this out.

Twilight sat there, running her hoof along the edges of the glass and swirling the contents inside. Every so often the water would slosh against the sides and send a few drops into the air for a moment before dropping back down to join the rest of the liquid.

Not for the first time, Twilight found herself wondering how many drops are in a glass of water. It was a silly question that had carried over from when she was a filly. Once, she had actually attempted to count the little droplets by using a dropper to move it from one container to another. She had been at it for hours, meticulously counting and recording every drop she moved. She also remembered how mad she had gotten at her big brother when she had stepped away from her project for a moment only to come back and find him drinking her experiment.

She never made another attempt to count them after that, but she still wondered about it from time to time as she watched the glass of water, imagining all the while how the little droplets might look if they didn't combine into a single mass while being pressed together. That image stayed in her head as she felt herself slowly drifting off to sleep, exhausted from trying to make the impossible happen.

Twilight almost finished closing her eyes when she saw something move within the glass. Her tired state would've made her miss it completely if it wasn't for how closely she was watching the water for something that couldn't possibly be there. Her eyes fluttered back open as she picked up the glass in both hooves and held it close to her face. There were soft lights bouncing around inside the glass. Those hadn't been there before, had they?

She tried moving the glass around the room, thinking it was just the way the light was reflecting off the surface of the water. The light inside the glass did change when she moved it around the room, but the light she originally saw remained in place, swirling as the contents of the glass moved about.

"That's just not possible..." She mumbled under her breath.

"What's not possible, Twilight?" Asked Spike as he came back into the room carrying a large plate of cookies.

"Um... Nothing Spike," Twilight hastily placed the glass back on the table while looking back and forth nervously.

The fairy that had been floating nearby wasn't fooled though, "oh it's been a long time since I've seen a pony figure this out." Whisper drifted over and landed by the glass. She looked up into Twilight's eyes and smiled, "you saw it didn't you?"

"Saw what?" Twilight said nervously. "I didn't see anything."

"Uh huh," Whisper placed a hoof against the glass. As she did so the lights converged and reshaped themselves until they resembled Twilight's cutiemark.

"How did you...? What...? Huh?" Twilight asked half finished questions as the fairy danced around the glass. The lights inside mimicking her movements.

"Water is easy since it exists everywhere and in everything. It makes it the most relatable," Whisper explained.

Twilight continued to look at the water carefully, "how come I've never heard of anypony seeing anything like this before now?"

"There's probably a few ponies out there that've seen something similar but don't think anything about it. Some probably hide it for the same reason you just did." She stopped playing with the light inside the water, causing them to spread back out like they had been before. Whisper leaned in close and whispered to her, "they don't want others to think they're crazy."

"How come I can see it now? Did it have something to do with not being able to use my magic?" Twilight poked at the ring on her horn. "They use these in hospitals all the time. By Celestia, I've used one before. Why didn't I see this before?"

"That ring's a little different than the ones you're thinking of. I just added a small drop of my own magic to it to help you suspend your disbelief. You kinda need it with how seriously you take everything. You should've gotten used to it by now, so go ahead and try taking it off." Whisper flew over to the plate on the table and grabbed a fresh cookie as she watched the alicorn.

Twilight reached her hooves up and carefully slid the ring off her horn. Once the ring had been completely removed, Twilight felt slightly dizzy as her magic reasserted itself. She closed her eyes and gave her head a slight shake before opening them again. As light reentered her eyes, shock painted itself across her face.

Everything was full of light and color. Not just the water on the table, which looked more defined than it was before, but everything in the room. From the tables to the books resting in their shelves, everything was filled with moving, multi-colored lights. She looked down at her own hoof and she could see the lights dancing through her as well.

"It's like a foal finding a new favorite toy," came a teasing voice from across the table.

Twilight looked up to see a blazing star floating in the air while holding a cookie, "Whisper? Is that you?" She asked while squinting hard at the brilliant source of light.

"You'll need to be careful with what you look at," she said between bites. "You'll make yourself sick if you're not careful. Sunbutt would probably make you go blind with her radiance if you tried looking at her right now."

Twilight cringed a bit at the off-color nickname for Princess Celestia. "How do I turn it off?" She asked. She wasn't evoking a spell right now, so she wasn't even sure what she was doing.

Whisper shrugged, "try not to focus so closely on stuff? Cross your eyes? What makes you think I know how this works?" Whisper said as she snatched up another cookie.

"What do you mean, you don't know?!" Twilight proclaimed. "I can't go around like this forever!"

"Sure you can. You just need to get used to wearing sunglasses everywhere you go." She said with a small grin.

"Does that help with looking at the lights?" Twilight started looking around, trying to remember where she might've kept a pair.

"Nah," said Whisper. "It's not the world that's glowing, so I doubt it"

"Then why would I wear sunglasses?!" Twilight huffed.

"Um, Twilight," she heard the voice of Spike. She looked over to see him filled with his own variety of green lights. "Are your eyes always going to glow like that?"

"My eyes are glowing?" She tried to cross her eyes on a reflex, realizing a moment later that she can't really look at her own eyes that way.

"Yeah," said Spike. "They're like two big flashlights right now."

That put a weird image in her head of walking around like a pony shaped spotlight. It did however, give her an idea. Twilight tried visualizing her eyes like two flashlights, complete with a switch and everything. Then she tried picturing the switch being turned off.

Almost instantly the light that was filling her sight dimmed back down to normal levels. She looked back to the table to see a grinning fairy munching on yet another cookie.

"That didn't take long for you to figure out. Even Starswirl took a day before he got a handle on that part," Whisper sighed with a hint of disappointment. "I was so looking forward to watching you stumble around for the next day too."

Twilight still wasn't sure what to make of the fairy. Was she helpful, a big prankster, or somewhere in between. "Thank you for teaching me this," she settled on answering, giving a small bow to the small form. "Is there anything else I should know?"

"Other than it's way past midnight. Time for good little ponies to be in bed," the little fairy picked up one more of the treats. "Good night, Twilight," she said just before vanishing.

Twilight got up from her seat and happily stretched. She was always happy to learn new things and she couldn't wait to further explore what she had just learned. She made her way to the stairs and paused, a thought occurring to her as she looked back at the unfrozen glass of water that was still sitting there. She had learned something, an amazing something, but it wasn't the something she was trying to learn.

Comments

[UnamusedWaffle]

Yo that’s cool, coming up with your own rules of magic. Also I spotted two spelling errors. Don’t remember where but I know one of them was just “the the” so you can probably CTRL F for that

[Zoshe]

11044731
that's what I do when you guys catch them.

[UnamusedWaffle]

11044747
Do you use grammarly? I find it very useful when I’m writing

[Witchery]

Not for the first time, Twilight found herself wondering how many drops are in a glass of water. It was a silly question that had carried over from when she was a filly. Once, she had actually attempted to count the little droplets by using a dropper to move it from one container to another. She had been at it for hours, meticulously counting and recording every drop she moved. She also remembered how mad she had gotten at her big brother when she had stepped away from her project for a moment only to come back and find him drinking her experiment.

Measure volume of one droplet, measure volume of water in glass, divide.

[Luckyfanisaac]

Twilight sat back on her haunches and glared at the fairy. "Please tell me this isn't another one of your jokes," she gestured to the book and the cup of water on the table.

[mysticbynd]

I love how sassy whisper is through all of this and how well she handles twilight XD

And good thing she figured out how to switch if “off” before random gets home