Ghost of the Everfree

by David Silver

29 - Funny Hats

Dry fiddled with the new adornment on his head. "Will this help?"

"It can't hurt." Silver pushed the hat down from the side more firmly onto Dry's head. "And it looks nice on you, all religious!" The priest's hat was just what Silver Spoon insisted would help things along. "Now..." She flipped through the book past so many chapters. "This is where you want to be, but we're not reading this." She casually closed the book with a thump. "You said you're done with book learning, for now."

"W-wait!" He reached for the chapter she had opened to for such a short time, but it was gone. "So... what do I do?"

"It's time to pray! And I mean in here." She tapped at her chest. "Every morning, without fail. Well, if you fail, no spells that day. It's a small price, but you have to mean it. So... The big question." She leaned in, almost touching. "What does she mean to you? Her relationship with you and to the world is kind of the big driving point here."

"Me? But... We never met." As if one usually met their gods. "I'm still learning about her. Um..." He drew the book closer, closed as it was, and hugged it to his front. "She seems nice. And she likes learning, and teaching. I like learning... I'm not... the best at teaching, but it's good..." He wasn't as sure on that point it seemed.

Silver batted her lashes at Dry. "I'm not the best teacher, and I rarely do, except now. I'm doing Luminace's work." She pranced in place with a big smile. "But I wasn't not loyal before then. Wanting to learn is the bigger part of that. Denying somepony that wanted to know something would be closer to making her irritated. You should at least suggest a fitting book, duh." She rolled her eyes at the theoretical situation. "But back on point."

"Her relationship?" Silver Spoon nodded. "To me?" Dry curled a hoof on himself. "Well... what's her relationship to you?"

"Cheater!" She stuck out her tongue and flopped to her belly. "But alright, only fair... She is, first, my savior. She picked me up when I was at my lowest and ready to cry. I might, like, actually have been crying... Keep that to yourself... Either way, she's the one that offered a hoof when I needed it most, and she'll always be that kind smile and whisper of sense when I most need to hear it." She batted at her left ear with a hoof. "That's super personal to me. More... broadly, she's the spark of insight, and knowing. She's that bright smile when a nerd finds what they're after. She's that stroke of brilliance when a scientist finally puts it together. She's that itching drive that pulls them forward before they get there, always looking, seeking..."

She let out a happy sigh, an equal smile on her face. "She's kind of great... Your turn."

"My turn, right, yes..." He sat up straight. "She... I don't want to phrase it in how she's helped me. She is a bravery I understand, and that is very special to me." Dry worried his new Equestrian hooves slowly. "The bravery of wanting to know, even when you're really scared of looking, or even of knowing... It's scary, but it's a scary I understand. Not knowing can be even more terrifying. I--" He squeaked, hugged fiercely by Silver Spoon. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No!" She smooched his cheek and hopped back. "That was, like.. I love it! It's so Luminace, but it's your Luminace, which isn't mine, but so valid. So so valid!" She was dancing as she spoke. "I love it! I also like... I... Hm." She stilled herself with new thought. "You're a scared pony, no offense."

"None taken." He watched her, waiting for her to continue.

Which she did without prompting. "But you find bravery here... She brought me bravery too. It was different, but the same in some ways. She's not a goddess of bravery, but to be curious, which is her, you have to be brave, so... She drove us both to be brave without really worrying about that, specifically. It's perfect! Now... Capture that, your Luminace. Hold that version of her, the special you-version nice and close." She hugged the air in front of her firmly. "Think about her, and you, and how you and her get along. That is the Luminace you'll be talking to, and asking politely for spells."

The brave seeker of knowledge... Dry thought of that, rocking slowly in place. "And then I ask nicely for the spell I want?"

"Mmm, not like 'May I have that healing spell?' Not directly." Silver turned to point at a shelf of books. "Think of it more like you're relaxing with Luminace, feeling her vibe, and, being the kind of pony she is, she lets you come in and look at all her books. She has so many! You'll wander around. Some of them are so complicated you won't even understand, but looking is important. Curious seekers, like, right? So you look, and you find the ones that you like, and you read those. Those are your spells for the day. As you get better, you can read more books that day, and more complicated ones."

"Okay... But once I know the healing spell, to keep using that example." He made a patting motion with his hooves. "Why can't I use it over and over, all day, and the next day, and the day after that?"

"It's not your spell," chastised Silver Spoon with a wagging hoof. "It's Luminace's. She let you borrow the book, not have it. When you cast a spell, you are borrowing her power and might. That isn't forever. Except cantrips, we'll get to those. Most spells, you're not the direct source, so you can't do it again because you were never the one doing it. You have to, the next day, chill out with your Luminace and browse her library. She likes company, don't be a jerk, go visit!"

"Visit, right... In the morning?" He looked out the window to see it was afternoon. "Already too late?"

"Be consistent." Silver wriggled her nose. "If you pray in the afternoon, then you always want to pray in the afternoon. Luminace, is, like, real big on routines. She loves things that come in patterns. If you want to annoy her, study with her a different time each day." She frowned at the idea. "Don't actually do that, she'll get mad. Now... if you're in the middle of a crisis, say, you woke up in the morning to being chased out of town by something scary!" She shook her hooves in the air, pantomiming some huge beast.

"Well, if you only get a chance in the afternoon, she'll forgive that. You had a good excuse. Don't make it a habit." She nodded in confidence with her description. "So wait until tomorrow. Besides, we're not done. I wouldn't trust you with a spell right now anyway!"

Dry's face fell at the blunt denial. "I'd be careful... Careful is something I am good at."

"I'm sure you would be, but you don't know how yet. Let's go over it!" Silver began to clap. "I wasn't saying you can't, just not yet. Let's learn how."

"Ooo!" His woes turned to delight. "Teach me, please."

"The specifics are... specific. You'll learn those with Luminace, but the basics you need, that I can teach you." She stood up straight. "Now, unicorns can cheat, but neither of us are that, so we have to use our hooves--" She stepped from one to the next. "--and our voices and sometimes extra stuff to tell the universe what we want and direct our god's will." She reached back into her pocket and drew out a collection of things. "We'll get some for you, later." Not that she wasn't already splitting some of the bits of string and coins into piles equally. "Let's begin."

And it was that Dry learned how to approach spell components to become the bridge between the world they lived in and the divine powers they would pray to.

---

Dry emerged from Silver's house, pleased with life in general. "You're looking happy." Dry went stiff, looking around. Oh, there was Snips, looking at him not entirely kindly. "C'mere." Still... He was obviously already spotted, so he did come closer. "What was that?" Snips pointed at the house Dry had just come from. "You trying to butter her up?"

Dry blinked softly. "What? She's a friend, and... she's suiting me." He colored brightly at that admission, even if it was true! "She's my first suitor!"

Snips peered at him with one eye, head turned to bring the eye even with him. "Suitor? You mean like you're engaged?! When did I miss that?!"

"N-no! Not engaged... Engaged comes after, maybe... Suiting means you're trying to get engaged." Dry bobbed his head with the clarification. "It means she is trying to win my heart."

Snips shoved him suddenly. "Get out! Why is she chasing you out of anypony? You looked super weird until just recently. She's one of the richest prettiest fillies around!"

"Yeah..." Dry was happy to be pleased with that fact. "And I like her back... I hope it works out."

Snips squinted at him with new confusion. "Hope it works out? She's the one suiting you! You just said that! You get to decide if it 'works out' or not. What's to hope about?!"

"It might not work out?" he ventured, as if it were obvious. "We may not get along. What she wants or what I want may be different. We're learning about each other and how we get along. If that... goes well, then we can get engaged." Dry sank to his haunches. "Are you suiting or being suited?"

"Of course not!" Snips stomped in place in a little fit. "You're a foal! I'm a foal! I'm way more mature than you." He waggled his brows and struck an imperious pose. "I'm already a self-made pony! I bet you haven't even run a business before."

Dry considered a quiet moment. "No. I do not think she desires me for that. Oh, I should check... If she thinks I can help with business, it would be a bad surprise." He turned right back for the house.

"Hold up there!" Snips rushed in front of him, cutting off that path. "You can't just ask her!"

"Why not?"

"Because..." Snips threw a hoof across his front. "You are so immature. You'll hurt her feelings!"

Surely an Equestrian pony would know how another Equestrian pony worked. He nodded at Snips slowly. "Alright... How do I check then? I don't want to dissapoint her."

"Isn't she chasing you?" He prodded Dry lightly on the front. "So it's her fault, isn't it?"

"In a way... but I do like her. Even if she stopped suiting me, I would want to be her friend. As a friend, I feel bad hurting her, even if it is her fault."

Snips slapped a foreleg over his eyes. "Wow... No wonder you two get along."

"Hm?"

"She says that 'god' or whatever is all about friendship and stuff."He rolled his eyes. "You sound like Twilight giving a friendship sermon, I swear."

If that was meant to be an insult, it failed. Dry was smiling more than ever before. "I want to be a good friend, and a good friend wouldn't let another friend get hurt, even if they were doing it themselves."

"Hold your horses!" Snips was too small to physically block Dry, as much as he was trying. "At least drop the question later, not at her house."

"Will that help?" Dry wasn't sure how it would. Still... "If you're sure." Finally, he turned way from the building. "I'm going to the lake. I hear it's safe to swim in."

"It's fun!" Snips led the way towards the water, the topic shifted entirely.

Author's Note:

The lake is much more fun than considering relationship affairs, let's be real.

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Comments

[Booster Spice]

So far, so good. Dry hasnt accidentally torn open the veil between the realms yet.

[howard035]

Silver is so cute in this chapter! And I love Snip's terrible dating advice.

[redmar]

I found a typo that went undetected.

You'll learn those with Lumiance

[David Silver]

11328115
That cropped up a few times, fixed!