New Magic
Sunset headed south towards the edge of the forest to meet Sunny, as she reflected on what Izzy had told her what she thought on what to do with Misty.
"Don't get me wrong, Sunset, I'm flattered that you think I can get her to open up a bit, but I think it might be best if she goes with you to the Crystal Empire. I don't have any teaching experience as it is, and if she does try something nefarious, I think you're the pony to have close by if and when that happens."
Sunset knew her protege had a point; she didn't want to give most of her students some time off to practice, and give Izzy time to work on scooter project, just to have her take on what was essentially a babysitting job as well. Sunset wasn't sure what Misty, or whoever had possibly sent her, was after, but bringing her along to the Crystal Empire could be the better option, if only to keep an eye on her herself.
She came to the edge of the forest, and immediately saw Sunny standing excitedly in the grass.
"Alright, Sunny. Let me see this new magic firsthoof," Sunset told her.
Sunny gave her a quick nod, then closed her eyes in concentration. Just like last time, her front right hoof began to sparkle and glow, and then as if time had sped up exponentially, a sunflower stalk rose out of the grass, and within five seconds, was at full bloom, facing towards the west as the high sun slowly began to cast angled shadows as noon turned into afternoon.
"The one I made in Maretime Bay didn't last. Sunflowers are one of my favorite flowers, but when I wanted to grow them around the lighthouse, dad told me that the soil had too much sand mixed in," Sunny told the unicorn.
"Hmm," Sunset began, stepping closer to study the instantly-grown plant. "Growth can be accelerated to full maturity within seconds, but it still needs the right type of soil to thrive. Well, there goes at least one of my worries."
"What do you mean?" Sunny asked.
"Well, the last thing you probably want is for an earth pony to read a botany book, decide something looks pretty, and before you know it, you've got a problematic invasive species of plant where it doesn't belong," Sunset explained.
"Even if that happens, I think we've got the answer for that too," Sunny said.
Out of the corner of her eye, Sunset saw the mare's hooves glow again, along with the sunflower, then took a step back when the process was reversed. The bloom shrunk to nothing more than a sprout, and the towering stalk sunk into the grass before vanishing entirely.
"Wow..." the unicorn commented. "This agrokinesis is closer to unicorn magic than I thought. It can be entirely reversed. So how do you do it?"
"Concentration is the most important part," Sunny answered. "Just the right amount of focus. Too little or too much, and whatever we grow could quickly get out of control. We have to clearly picture what we want to grow. I'm thinking of starting a community garden, because some earth ponies are coming up with entirely new foods. Like, combinations of produce!"
"Incredible. This could make supply issues and famine ancient history," Sunset commented.
"I just wish that doing it so often wasn't exhausting," the earth mare complained.
"Welcome to a unicorn's world. Magic is awe-inspiring and fun, and just like us, the energy has to come from inside you."
Before Sunny could respond, her stomach also started to grumble.
"You feel like joining Sprout and Zipp at Alphabittle's bistro for some lunch? I'm eager to see what he's done since he's handed off the Crystal Tea Room to you," Sunny asked.
"You read my mind. Let's go before there aren't any seats left," Sunset answered as they walked back into the treeline, and the light level decreased significantly.
"So, have you learned anything more about your new student?" Sunny asked as they walked deeper into Bridlewood proper.
"She has a file in the archives; missing pony from twenty years ago. Vanished from her parents' backyard, and was never seen again until now. With how young an age she was at when she disappeared, she probably doesn't even remember Bridlewood," Sunset told her.
"Surely her parents would have recognized her," Sunny countered.
Sunset nodded.
"That would have certainly been the easy route, if they were still alive. She was their only child, and they couldn't deal with the grief of losing her forever," Sunset explained.
"Oh..." Sunny replied as the somber mood settled over the pair.
"I haven't been able to devote a ton of time to digging deeper, and maybe that's a good thing for now. I don't know where she's staying at night, but the address she gave me on her student information doesn't exist. I've only got one theory so far, and I haven't been able to confirm or bust it yet," Sunset continued.
"And that is?" Sunny asked.
"I've got a feeling her cutie mark is fake... That she doesn't have a cutie mark," the unicorn told the earth mare.
"That... Doesn't make any sense," Sunny replied, puzzled. "Everypony has a cutie mark at our age."
"Naturally, yes. Unnaturally is another story. The mark on her flank is a simple butterfly, and I've got a hunch it could be drawn on. She was watching one of our first morning classes earlier in the week, and when rain came into play, she bolted back into the forest. My point is, a lack of a cutie mark, natural or otherwise, would certainly explain her lack of magical prowess."
Sunny gave this some thought. Sunset was still the only pony she knew with two cutie marks; one on each flank, and with the generations of ponies that had come and gone without magic, the significance of a pony's cutie mark had faded somewhat; Sunny had read that a common practice for a lot of ponies in Ancient Equestria was to hold a celebration called a 'Cute-ceañera' to celebrate getting one's cutie mark, and that practice had all but vanished.
But a cutie mark was still something that every adult pony had. She had never heard of a pony Misty's age without one.
"So what are you going to do?" Sunny asked.
"For now? Take the wait-and-see approach. I know it's risky, but it's the only one I think is acceptable. I've accused ponies and people of being something they're not before, and the results were disastrous almost every time. If she is here at the behest of somepony else, and she figures out that we're on to her, she could vanish back to whoever sent her here, and we'll be back to square one. Or... Maybe something else brought her back to Bridlewood. Maybe, somewhere really deep down, are 20-year old memories waiting to surface. For now, she'll be coming with us to the Crystal Empire. I don't want to leave her here with the others."
"Well, if that's what you think is best, Sunset."
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That's actually a good point since Sunset had more experience about magic
Hmm that's still a debatable situation about cutie mark and how magic can be effective I mean Sweetie Belle before she got her cutie mark she already have her magic already but then again I'm not really sure
Well I got to say this is very interesting and sunny just showed sunset the new ability that earth pony can do which is still a pretty interesting discovery that earth pony has other magic and they are just preparing to go to the Crystal Empire very soon but right now they're just going to have lunch but Sunset also told Sunny about Misty and how she just disappeared when she was a kid then just reappeared again if they only knew what she's up to well I guess we'll find out next time
Woah!
I hope she doesn't regret this.
Sunset looks so adorable covered in hearts-
But I do agree it's definitely safer to keep Misty within Sunset's sight, who knows what Opaline might try to make her do if she realizes the strongest of the unicorns has left Bridlewood...
Can’t wait to see what will happen at the Crystal Empire. Though I feel like we haven’t seen Misty very much lately so can’t wait to see more of her.
11482699
Cruising down on Mare street....
Actually Sunset, Equestria probably has a huge invasive species problem right now. Think about it. Pests can now fly into places they previously couldn't reach, predators starving because their prey keeps teleporting away, the excess amount of plant food throwing the entire food web out of wack... Equestria's most likely on the brink of full-on ecological collapse
"For now? Take the wait-and-see approach. I know it's risky, but it's the only one I think is acceptable. I've accused ponies and people of being something they're not before, and the results were disastrous almost every time. If she is here at the behest of somepony else, and she figures out that we're on to her, she could vanish back to whoever sent her here, and we'll be back to square one. Or... Maybe something else brought her back to Bridlewood. Maybe, somewhere really deep down, are 20-year-old memories waiting to surface. For now, she'll be coming with us to the Crystal Empire. I don't want to leave her here with the others."
"Naturally, yes. Unnaturally is another story. The mark on her flank is a simple butterfly, and I've got a hunch it could be drawn on. She was watching one of our first morning classes earlier in the week, and when the rain came into play, she bolted back into the forest. My point is, a lack of a cutie mark, natural or otherwise, would certainly explain her lack of magical prowess."
"That would have certainly been the easy route if they were still alive. She was their only child, and they couldn't deal with the grief of losing her forever," Sunset explained.
"She has a file in the archives; missing pony from twenty years ago. Vanished from her parent's backyard, and was never seen again until now. With how young an age she was when she disappeared, she probably doesn't even remember Bridlewood," Sunset told her.
"You feel like joining Sprout and Zipp at Alphabittle's bistro for some lunch? I'm eager to see what he's done since he handed off the Crystal Tea Room to you," Sunny asked.
"Concentration is the most important part," Sunny answered. "Just the right amount of focus. Too little or too much, and whatever we grow could quickly get out of control. We have to picture what we want to grow. I'm thinking of starting a community garden because some earth ponies are coming up with entirely new foods. Like, combinations of produce!"
"Well, the last thing you probably want is for an earth pony to read a botany book, decide something looks pretty, and before you know it, you've got a problematic invasive species of the plant where it doesn't belong," Sunset explained.
Sunset knew her protege had a point; she didn't want to give most of her students some time off to practice and give Izzy time to work on the scooter projects just to have her take on what was essentially a babysitting job as well. Sunset wasn't sure what Misty, or whoever had possibly sent her, was after, but bringing her along to the Crystal Empire could be the better option if only to keep an eye on her herself.
Sunset headed south toward the edge of the forest to meet Sunny, as she reflected on what Izzy had told her and what she thought about what to do with Misty.
11518972 You're relaxed and feelin' good! (Yeah!)
11519264
Aaaand now it's stuck in my head. Great, thanks.
Hey there. Thanks very much for getting this next chapter up. Definitely appreciate you going to the effort. Definitely appreciated Izzy's point out about how Sunset herself is the only one presently with enough experience to have the best chance of handling things if their guesses about Misty are true (and they are). Also liked Sunset's reaction to Sunny's demonstration of earth pony magic (as well as considering the positive applications that can come from super-charged plant growth). And, yeah, the fact they, until relatively recently, went through life with ONLY enough magic for "magnetic hooves" and "single Cutie Marks" could have had an effect on how Cutie Marks can affect magic. Of course, the very possible real reason Misty doesn't have any magic is probably some form of psychological trauma that keeps her from accessing it (and Opaline would probably be worried that, if Misty DID figure out how to gain actual magic, she might decide that she doesn't need Opaline anymore, which would greatly reduce Opaline's threat level if it happened at the "wrong" time).
Anyway, really looking forward to more of this.
11519356
Can’t get a tune stuck in your head if you’ve never heard it.
That's a question we wonder if anyone will tackle: why are Cutie Marks only on one side now? Mysterious...