Beyond Blind Eyes

by Lunaric

Get Set

She's been having trouble with that spell... Good idea to practice here. Cotton glanced at the clock. Four twelve... Almost another hour. Cotton lazily looked over at Raven. Raven was talking to Aqua and helping her along with that warming spell. The filly had, after two or so weeks, eventually been able to cast it. She could cast it, but it would always go wrong. Thinking back, Cotton giggled. She still faintly smells like apples. Wasn't a very smart move for her to try it on a rock, though... She looked at the filly's left foreleg. Yep, still has a bandage.

With time and boredom, Cotton's thoughts began to drift. She thought about Aqua. She thought about her job. She thought about her life. She thought about her family. I need to visit mom and dad again soon... Been way too long. Though it'll be hard without somepony by my side... I'll send a letter this weekend.

A shout broke her out of her reverie, "Yes!" Cotton looked over to see a panting Aqua with her forelegs straight up.

Did she finally get it? Cotton looked to Raven. Raven was simply smiling while looking at the filly.

Aqua had a grin on her face. "I think I finally got it down. It took more than a little while, but hey, we're here now." Aqua held up one of the few apples with magic that they had brought along to test on. The apple was steaming.

Cotton turned back to "Congratulations, Aqua." Once step closer to becoming an archmage...

Raven piped up, "Now it's time to learn that mana sense spell."

"Finally!" The filly shouted. Aqua put down the apple onto a plate they had also brought, giggling uncontrollably all the while.

Once the laughter quieted, Raven began with a smile, "Rest for a bit and regain your breath... While you do, I'll start out by describing what the spell does. This Mana Sense spell only allows you to sort of see, or sense, one's own flow of magic and of those you touch. When using this spell to sense your own flow, the spell is very efficient but, when using it on others, it becomes much, much more complex."

"Why's that?"

"Other ponies don't have your mana. In multiple ways. Everypony's mana flow is different so, you will need to adjust the spell to... translate... your mana to theirs to see their own flow. You will also need to prepare if they have a larger mana pool or smaller mana pool than yours. If they have too much, it can be uncomfortable, to the point of pain for you. If you have too much, it will be painful for them instead."

"Uh oh... Is this another one I'll have to promise not to use on some-pony?" Aqua apprehensively asked.

Raven looked at Aqua with a smile and tilted her head slightly. "You didn't hurt anyone but yourself with the warming spell, so I think it'll be okay. The spell is fairly complex, but if you exercise caution, I think it will be good for you to learn. Both to improve your own capabilities, and because you obviously want to learn it." Raven looked to the side and mumbled something before continuing, "Think of it as an extension of that previous promise."

"Alright, sounds good! Now..." Aqua grinned deeply. "Let's begin."

"Very enthusiastic. Good."

Aqua's smile faltered. "Well, yeah. Any chance to see, even artificially, I'm gonna take."

Raven's gaze softened and she nodded twice. "Then, let's begin. We'll start by doing exercises to feel your own mana flow. They aren't nearly as precise nor as effective as the spell itself. Then, I'll cast the spell and then cast it again on you. This way should hopefully stimulate your own mana flow to make it easier for you to learn."

"Ugh. That first part is gonna be boring, yeah?"

Raven smiled. "Very likely, yes."

Aqua gave off a large, exaggerated sigh. "Dammit."

Cotton laughed.

Author's Note:

We're getting a lot closer to major developments. I'm excited.

Alright, y'all, that's the chapter for this week and... wait... Is that another chapter on the horizon? Well now... Y'all are lucky. A double feature today... See y'all there.

Comments

[Cyana Flame]

[Vaguely Demented]

Weird to imagine perceiving someone so hard that they get injured.

[mustangdrew4]

Going back through for a re-read, realizing again how much I love this story.

I think the pain from the scanning Magic comes from overpowering the other's mana by injecting your own to follow mana pathways or vice versa, having your own mana overridden with their mana flowing back into your pathways. Sort of like a bad blood transfusion, I guess? I had an idea but now I'm not so sure after typing this.