Turn of Luck

by David Silver

4 - Green Hoof

"Slower is faster."

Or so Maya had discovered in her experiments. When she encouraged plants to grow instead of forcing the issue, they could swell and sway and dance gently with an easy pouring of her magic. It didn't feel like she was running a marathon with each feat.

It was a normal earth pony thing to do, and she was an earth pony. "This is so..."

A thought crashed into her thoughts. "Ugh, I'm awful." She returned from her short distance from the castle to seek out Twilight.

"There you are." At the very top, at an observatory she wasn't using yet, sat Twilight reading a book. "Do you have a moment?"

Twilight perked with a smile. "A pleasure to see you, Maya. Are you getting along? You look less frazzled today."

"I feel less frazzled." Maya shook herself out from front to back, tail lashing as she smiled. "I've decided being a pony has its perks, but... I need to check in on home. Just because I'm here doesn't mean I stopped being responsible for friends and family."

"Ah, yes. One moment." Twilight's horn glowed and she closed her eyes with concentration. A mirror floated up from the depths of the castle, coming to a rest between them, facing Maya. "You remember how to use this, I hope?"

Maya peered into the mirror, relief washing over her as she saw her human echo walking down a familiar neighborhood street back home. Her echo smiled, seeming to converse casually with a friend. Everything appeared perfectly normal.

"Good, it seems your world is still in order," Twilight said.

Maya just nodded, still sorting her conflicted feelings about her echo. Twilight tilted her head, regarding her new friend with curiosity. "I must ask - what is your world like? As similar and different to Equestria as mine was to that...Canterlot High place?"

The question snapped Maya's attention back. "Oh! Well, it's rather different than here," she started carefully. How much to reveal? And did she even know enough of that Equestria to answer competently?

"There's no magic for one. But we've advanced a lot technologically - science and inventions humans use to make up for what we lack naturally." That felt comfortably safe.

Twilight leaned forward eagerly, always fascinated to learn of other realms. But further inquiries were cut short as Spike came barreling onto the balcony. "Twilight! I had the best idea for..." He skidded to a halt, registering Maya's presence. "...for organizing your bookshelves! Heh, I'll...tell you later!"

He shot Maya a covert wink. Maya inclined her head at him. "You are so adorable."

Twilight tucked the mirror away. "I feel like I missed something."

"Nothing!" squeaked out Spike nervously.

"We can tell her." Maya tossed her head at Twilight. "I have magic."

Twilight looked Maya over. "You have magic? Earth ponies have very subtle magic. They have an affinity for plants and some with animals. They tend to be stronger and tougher than other ponies. Subtle magic. Did you hear an animal talking?"

Maya raised her brows together. "I did not. I'm actually kinda glad I didn't.... I already have grown and young ponies to consider treating. Trying to diagnose why a rabbit has parent issues feels a bit overwhelming."

A soft breeze made some flowers on the sill sway. Maya perked. "Yeah, perfect." She trotted over to them with green glowing hooves. "Let me show you."

Spike elbowed Twilight with a silly grin. "This is so cool, watch!"

Maya closed her eyes, channeling power into her glowing hooves. The flowers on the sill began to slowly bloom brighter, their movements gaining vigor. Gossamer green tendrils emerged from the soil, intertwining gracefully. Buds dotted the vines, popping open to reveal an array of dazzling colors.

Spike and Twilight watched slack-jawed as the planter became a resplendent bouquet. Maya finally ceased, smiling at the result of her work. The floral display remained, magical in its vitality. "Ta da!"

"How did...you're an earth pony!" Twilight exclaimed, telekinetically swishing the flowers about to inspect them. "I've never seen your kind wield such abilities! Especially so quickly, and powerfully."

Maya rubbed the back of her neck. "Well...where I'm from, in a show, it's something earth ponies can do. I can make plants grow, manipulate them to a degree." She shuffled her hooves, flushed from revealing her secret.

"Fascinating!" Twilight circled Maya, scrutinizing her. "You seem to generate botanical energy from within. I wonder..." Her horn flashed as she attempted scanning spells. "Your magic seems...integrated somehow. This requires further study!"

Maya backed up a step from the eager unicorn. "I'm still getting the hang of it. But I wanted to be honest."

Twilight just grinned wider. "And I'll be happy to help you master these gifts! For science and friendship!" Spike facepalmed, knowing that scholarly enthusiasm meant more magical experiments were coming.

Maya stepped forward instead of backing away, nose to nose with Twilight. "I want to learn more, but I want to learn on my terms. I'm not an experiment, but if you'll help me figure this out?"

Twilight nodded slowly. "Oh, alright." She raised a hoof to her own chin. "That's reasonable... But you do want to know more?"

"Yes!" Maya bounced once in place. "I want to get better at this, to add it to my collection of tools. Glad we agree." She twirled to Spike. "You." She snagged him with a small vine that hadn't been there a moment before, preventing his escape. "I wanted to talk to you about Spike."

Twilight blinked at the sharp turn in topic. "What about Spike? Are you alright, Spike?"

"I'm fine." He reached down to work the vine free. "Ugh, is this about the school?"

"This is about the school." Maya nodded lightly. "Why isn't Spike attending school as a developing young boy?"

Twilight rolled a hoof at Spike. "Well, to start, he's already been homeschooled past anything Cheerilee is offering. He joined me as Princess Celestia's school for gifted unicorns, and was home schooled by me in addition. I dare say his education is quite thorough."

"I'm kinda smart." Spike looked quite smugly sure of this fact. "With a little help from Twilight. Some of her genius rubbed off, without the Twilynanas part."

"Twily--" Twilight shook her head. "In either event, his education is complete. What brings this up?"

Maya considered how to delicately press her point about Spike's socialization. "I don't doubt Spike has received an excellent magical education from you," she began gently. "But there are certain lessons that come from interacting with peers your own age..."

Twilight tilted her head, not following.

"Well, you went to Princess Celestia's school. So you must have made friends, gotten into shenanigans." Maya gestured out at Ponyville. "Don't you want Spike to have those kinds of fun school memories too?"

Spike rubbed his neck self-consciously. "Aw, well when you put it that way..."

But Twilight waved a dismissive hoof. "Spike has plenty of young friends here he plays with. Why without provocation insert him with rambunctious foals for forced socialization?"

Spike raised a finger. "Technically, I hang out with adults most of the time."

Maya felt her persuasive councilor side awakening. "True organic friendships are different from occasional bumps on the road." She met Spike's eyes warmly. "What do you feel is missing from only hanging around adult ponies?"

Spike shuffled his claws together, a yearning in his eyes he couldn't articulate. Maya had struck a nerve.

Twilight read Spike's expression with surprise and dismay, not realizing this need in her number one assistant. Perhaps she had been denying him healthy development.

Unsure who to please, Spike mumbled excuses and slipped off. But Twilight watched him go thoughtfully. "You may... have a point." She grunted and shuffled in place. "But if he does that, he isn't here."

Maya gently patted Twilight's shoulder. "If that scares you that much... that could be part of the problem?"

Twilight took a step back, ears folded flat. "Oh... Oh." Her ears sagged as she looked to the ground. "I'll miss him," she admitted. "Even if it's for a few hours every day... He's a constant.... And that's not fair... to him."

Maya dared a little smile, feeling she was pressing in the right way. "We want what's best for him, right? It's our job, as the caring adults next to him, to help him grow into the best version of him possible."

Twilight let out a long, reluctant sigh. "You clearly understand young minds." She managed a rueful smile. "Very well. For Spike's social-emotional development...I can consult Cheerilee about placing him in her class part-time."

Maya smiled but asked gently, "Only part-time?"

Twilight scuffed a hoof awkwardly. "Well, his assistance organizing my research is rather invaluable..."

Maya tilted her head knowingly. Twilight huffed a laugh. "Yes yes, cold turkey it shall be! I suppose can manage this... What's adapting my schedule a little more for his future happiness?"

A loud crash followed by scrambling echoed faintly below.

Twilight winced. "That came from my potions lab. I likely have a panicked baby dragon to console right now. But thank you, Maya." Her tone turned earnest. "For opening my eyes wider to Spike's needs."

"Anytime." Maya meant it. She may know the minds of fillies, but understanding these ponies she'd bonded with mattered too.

As Twilight descended to check on the noise, Maya noticed a wispy shadow flit past the balcony. She ran to peer over the ledge curiously. There was nothing to see, at least that she could find. Shaking her head, she went down to see what was happening.

Spike was there, cleaning the mess he had made. "I was jut sorting things and I tripped. Sorry."

Twilight went over, her magic snatching the dustpan Spike had been using. "I can take care of this. You go and play."

Spike crossed his arms with a scowl. "Oh, no you don't! I like helping out, Twi. Don't treat me like a little foal."

Twilight skewed an ear to the side. "I didn't mean..." She took a step back. "This is hard. As your big sister, I care. I've been... selfish." She shook herself out suddenly. "I've been selfish," she repeated more firmly. "I want to fix that. Spike, sorry."

Spike rubbed behind his head. "Uh... Okay." That he didn't see it as a problem was clear. "Look, you want me to go to school, fine, whatever. I'm not going to learn anything there."

Twilight sat beside Spike. "Your academics are exemplary for a creature your age."

"You bet." Spike's expression lightened into pride. "I'll just make the foals look bad."

Twilight leaned gently on Spike. "So help them."

"Hm? What do you mean?" He hiked a brow at Twilight.

"I mean, be the older brother they wished they had." Twilight gethered Spike into a soft embrace, hooves pressing into his back. "Help guide them so they can catch up. Don't be too insistent. Just like right now, you don't want somecreature assuming they know what's best for you."

"Like a certain unicorn I know." He didn't resist being hugged, even returning it. "I get it... Look, I'll try..."

"All I can ask."

Maya smiled at the exchange between siblings. She could think of not a thing she could say and slipped from the room. "That went well," she spoke to nothing. "Therapist pony, powers activate!" Sure, therapy lacked glowy magical effects, but it was surely a powerful magic that could bring good to the world.

"Can't wait." Maya stepped outside with a bright smile. "Magic is growing all around me lately."

The sunny warmth outside filled Maya with contentment. She tilted her face skyward, breathing deeply. So lovely to have this quiet moment reflecting—

A rustling interrupted her thoughts. Maya spun, peering into the bushes. Had that been the wispy shadow from the balcony?

"Hello?" she called gently. "Don't be afraid, you can come out."

The branches trembled as a slender figure slowly emerged. Maya blinked in surprise at the tall creature before her with the torso of a pony but the lower body of a deer. His dusty brown pelt blended well with the woods.

"Greetings," he spoke in a gravelly baritone. "Forgive my intrusion. I've wandered these woods for decades alone. Yet now, such magic stirs..." His eyes seemed to pierce through Maya.

"Are...are you a deer?" Maya ventured. "I mean—of course you are part deer." She shook her head self-consciously. "I've never met someone like you." Curiosity mixed with wariness. "I am Maya. And you?"

"A deer indeed, though my kind have our own name." His expression softened, intuiting Maya's good nature. "Some call me Aurelio. And I must know - what pony wields the powers I sensed from afar that made the very trees tremble?"

He took a step closer, eyes alight with keen interest. "Could it truly be...you?"

Maya flicked an ear back, examining the strange tauric creature. Tauric, but the upper body had no hands, just more hooves. Sure, they were pony hooves, while the lower ones were deer hooves. Single up top, cloven hoofed at the bottom. Their body was.... Was there a better word than chiseled?

Maya blushed, even laughing at herself. She was looking at some strange new creature and part of her was attracted to the wierd thing. Was it her pony body? "Nice to meet you, Aurelio. I'm a pony, an earth pony. You are...?"

"There is only one of me." He directed a hoof at himself. "So what you call more of me is a bit... moot. I have watched earth ponies, quietly. Their hooves tremble, soft whispers amid the trees." Aurelio nodded at Maya's hooves. "Yours shout, sometimes louder, sometimes quieter, but every step is a cry, and the forest calls in turn, not entirely displeased."

"I'm still learning it, to be honest." Maya shrugged with a nervous little laugh. "Is it really that special?"

"Beyond your imagination, from the sound of it." He circled her to point ahead at the Everfree. "The forest yearns for healing. Chaos has wounded it for over a thousand moons. You could help."

Maya's laugher elevated to almost hysterics. "Seems like there's a lot I could help with." As nice as it had been to lend a hand, er, hoof with the Spike situation... "You're asking a lot. Seriously, still learning it."

Aurelio sprang forward with the dexterity befitting a deer. "Then I will return. Continue your studies. The forest has waited this long. It can wait a moment longer." He said this as he fled, bouncing off in a spirited pronk towards that sinister forest.

Author's Note:

How will Spike do in school? Is this a good idea? Oh deer...

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Comments

[Poparakelis]

Well, aint that an interesting plot

[Chrome Masquerade]

"There's no magic for one. But we've advanced a lot technologically - science and inventions humans use to make up for what we lack naturally." That felt comfortably safe.

That... Is a matter of perspective.

1. Wicca
2. Chakra magic
3. Telepathy or Psychokinesis etc.
4. Mind over matter
5. Self-Hypnosis

Stuff like that? A few can do it, but certainlynot everyone.

[David Silver]

11759836
We have a lot of magic ideas. But has any of it been verifiably measured?

[Chrome Masquerade]

Oh. It just hit me: She's basically a Dryad.

[David Silver]

11759847
I hadn't thought of that word, but yeah, good one to use.

[Chrome Masquerade]

11759923
Though, to wit, that reminds me of

TDaughter of the Woods

• MLP: FiM
• Adventure

Applejack discovers a heritage nopony knew she had.

• Twilight
• Applejack
• OC
• CMCs

Robolestia · 22k words  ·  81  0 · 1.7k views

[FridayPie]

11759923
Or she got Forest Guardian class from e5...