Little Hooves in a Dark World

by David Silver

20 - It's Magic!

Sandra smiled into the camera. She waved to the audience and tilted her head. "Hey, My Herdmates! It's been a bit since we had an adventure together. I missed you all! But, I'm here now, so let's have fun together!"

Her channel name scrolled across the screen. Ponies in Pjs, followed by Sandra, her own name. "I haven't talked about it much, but boy the last few months have been wild. Ups and downs." She started a video playing, old enough to not have copyright issues. It was just background noise for them. "So, I'm moving, and you'll never guess where. Come on, try."

She grinned as she leaned forward. "Yes, I'm getting out of my old place and in with my boyfriend." The chat exploded with comments and startled emojis, along with others of far more suggestive variety with waggling brows and eggplants aplenty. "I see some of you are excited too."

She smirked into the camera. "I'm sure some of you are thinking about what that means for my channel, right? Don't worry, I won't stop being a pony, or a girl. Or a ponygirl." She wagged a finger with each step of that, her avatar following along for them. "Besides, lucky me, I found a guy that's just as into ponies as I am, so he's supportive and sweet. He even made dinner tonight." She glanced towards the kitchen, where Louis was pointedly ignoring her, but Sandra could see his ears burning.

The chat filled with comments of congratulations, along with questions. Her fingers danced with replies even as she spoke. "It was a pretty wild time getting here." She launched into the tale, leaving out some details such as names and certain places, but still telling a harrowing tale of escape. "But hey, now I'm living with my beau, and I've got a new friend or two." She also left out anything supernatural. No reason to upset the normies with such things.

The chat exploded with awe and disbelief. Some wanted to know more of the tale. Others requested pictures. "I'll show you around tomorrow." She smiled brightly. "It's pretty late tonight, but I'll make time for a good tour of the place. But, at the least, I wanted to check in with you all." She laughed as she moved the video on their screens to be just over her avatar's head. "Make sure you know the streams are moving right along!" She blew a kiss towards the screen. "Thank you for coming to see me today. We're going to have so much fun together, My Herdmates. But until then, take care, and have fun!"

Louis came over, dishes complete. "That sounded generally cheerful. Stream go well?"

Sandra smiled as she shut down the camera and pushed herself away from the computer. "Yeah. They were supportive, which is nice. It's good to know people care about you." She rose and stretched out. "I want to go back to the forest. It was a nice place to stretch, and I don't feel done with the wolves."

He grasped her shoulder with more strength than she had expected, jumping with surprise. "No."

She looked up at his unusually tense face. "W-what's wrong?"

"No." He took his hand back. "Sorry, not trying to hurt you, but you have to stop. You've been lucky, so far. That's all. What will you do if they decide to attack? No matter how much you try and care for them, wolves are not pets."

Sandra sighed and looked at the window, where the world was covered by a thin blanket of snow. She could see flecks coming down, adding to it slowly in the dark light of late evening. "Being lucky is your job," she jested, but it sounded a little flat. "Are you that worried?"

Louis huffed gently. "Of course I am! You're my girlfriend, and they're wolves. They can tear you apart, even if they're usually gentle. They only need to do it once." He spread his hands. "And they're not the first. She was nice in the end, but she could have done all kinds of bad things to us at any time, and her friend left you a little reminder." He flicked that hat still stuck to her head.

Sandra rubbed her neck. "That's true. What are you getting at? That I should never go into the forest again? That I shouldn't go anywhere near a creature that isn't perfectly harmless?"

Louis let out a soft sigh. "Forests are fine, but I am saying maybe you should ease up on the other supernaturals. I know some ponies have a supernatural buddy. We tried that. It didn't work out. They have their own issues, and we can get swept up in them."

She frowned up at him. "But I don't mind."

Louis flicked her hat again. "You do when it gets you bitten."

Sandra sighed, reaching up to rub over her hat. "Yeah..." She drew it out as if it were the end of an argument.

Louis wasn't so easily deterred. "And look at your friend Jay. What's up with that guy? She has to flee her place because of some shadowy agency?"

Sandra didn't have a direct counter for that, with no clue what really happened. "I hope she's okay."

Louis merely hugged Sandra tightly. "I know. We can visit the forest. We can do all kinds of things. I'm just thinking it's best to take it easy around other... other supernaturals like us, okay?"

Sandra tapped at that hat. "I can't avoid this. It's literally attached. You won't get mad if I try to learn more about it at least, right?"

Louis hummed gently, patting her shoulder. "I think that's fair."

Sandra hugged Louis again. "Thank you for caring."

Louis gave her another hug, squeezing gently before letting her go. "I'm not trying to be a controlling boyfriend. I'm not one of those 'well you're living under my roof, you follow my rules, rawr' kinda guys. You know that, right? I'm just scared. I don't want to lose you, after all."

She nodded quietly. "Yeah. I understand. I'll be more careful."

Louis smiled, though he could feel the thick tension. "Let's do something. Wanna watch a movie? We haven't done that together in a while."

She nodded quickly. "Yeah, that sounds good. Do we have popcorn?"

Louis chuckled as he headed towards the TV room. "I can make some, hold on." He paused at the entrance. "Just so you know, I love the heck out of you. If I do something you don't like, tell me."

Sandra nodded. "Thanks. Same." She pecked his cheek and walked into the TV room, while Louis darted for the microwave.

Sandra dropped onto the couch with a soft sigh. With a hand on that hat, her eyes went upwards towards it. "Alright, you. When are you going to tell me something besides enjoying the free ride?" She dug out the book that hat had assigned for her. "Or do I have to keep reading this?"

She flipped through a few pages, frowning at the dense text and complex diagrams. The words defied casual order, teasing at the mind. It was the stuff of mages, rewriters of reality itself.

Louis plodded back in with a pair of drinks and a bowl of popcorn. "Here, let's watch something dumb and silly."

Sandra laughed gently, nodding. "That's exactly what we need right now." She set the book aside for the moment. "Dumb and silly sounds great."

She leaned against Louis, resting her head on his shoulder. The TV started up, showing a comedy. This one wasn't so much romantic as it was a series of funny events. Some were physical, others were witty. In the end, it was a fine way to while away an evening together.

The next morning, with Louis fled to work, Sandra sat down with the book open on the table in front of her. Her hat remained firmly stuck to her head. The words still looked strange, yet somehow they made sense. It was as if the knowledge was there, she simply had to open up to it. It was hard to describe, but it was like the words were keys, and her mind, the lock. Slowly, she was working those keys into the locks and turning them.

Sandra leaned over the tome and began to read. There was a lot of theory about magic, the various types of magic users, and how it flowed. She felt like the book expected her to know all this stuff already. Alas, she was no wizard. Still, there was a spell. It even looked, relatively, simple. She perked on seeing it and read it forward and backwards. "Huh." It looked like something she could do. "So... you want me to do this?" She reached up for her hat.

The sensation of joy was overwhelming. Sandra had no idea the hat felt things, let alone so strongly. She sighed at that. "Well." The spell didn't look dangerous. If it worked, the most it'd do is color something. The ultimate hair dye kit! She laughed at the very idea of an arcane spraycan she could use on whatever she wished.

She looked around the apartment. There weren't any reagents in reach, but Louis did have a few herbs in his kitchen along with a bag of chalk. She also found a knife and some candles. "Perfect." She took all her gathered ingredients into the living room and set them up the way the diagram had shown her.

Her hands shook lightly as she waved them over the setup. She wasn't sure if she should say the words aloud, or in her head. The book didn't give instructions either way. Maybe this was something they assumed you knew? She frowned and began reciting the words out loud, at first unsteady, but increasing in flow as she went.

Her hands moved over the various components, adding pinches here and there as the ritual demanded. With her eyes shut tight, she chanted the words in an even voice, feeling something tugging at her from inside. Another key, another lock. Something inside her fell open, and magic flowed in a strange, new, way that sent prickles of sensation running up her sides.

She focused on a mirror and her hair specifically. "Purple," she said, no, demanded, as the ritual completed. Her eyes widened as the magic flowed through her and out across her hair, which became purple swiftly right to the roots, as if she had always had purple hair. "Whoa... that's... that was awesome." She beamed and grabbed the book again, flipping through pages. "Okay. So what did I do right?"

Her fingers danced along the page, trying to keep track of what was there. Flipping too quickly made her dizzy with the amount of information trying to force itself into her brain at once.

The door banged shut behind Louis. "I'm home!" He called, wandering inside. His voice fell at seeing her so intently focused on the book. He also noticed her shockingly bright purple hair. "W-what?" His voice sounded weak as he stepped closer. "What have you been doing?"

She looked up, beaming at him. "I figured it out!"

"You figured out how to dye your hair?" He reached to run his fingers through the altered hair. "And you're reading that strange book. How are these related?"

Sandra's smile didn't fade. "Because I'm doing magic!" She grabbed his hands. "It's not a strange book. It's making sense. I think I'm supposed to be able to understand this stuff." She waved at her collection of candles and herbs. "I can do it again."

"Woah." He drew her in close. "Calm down. You've given me all the proof I need. I swear, it's like you were born with purple hair."

She smiled. "Thanks. I like it." She rubbed the back of her head, feeling where the hat met it. "This thing is helping me with magic. I don't think it's cursed anymore."

Louis nodded slowly. "If you're stuck with it, at least it's not hurting you." He gently tried to lift the hat, but it remained completely attached to her. "Are you just going to be wearing this forever?"

She looked up, tilting her head slightly. "Maybe? I mean, if it's a magic teacher, why wouldn't I?"

He sighed gently, shaking his head. "Alright, I'm going to go get changed, then maybe we can play around with your magic." He wandered off with some light mumbling about how things had turned.

Author's Note:

Sandra picks up a bit of sorcery, and enjoys purple hair!

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Comments

[dlambchic]

It's D&D magic, requires verbal, material and somatic components. Unicorn magic is simpler.

[Amethyst Dragonfly]

Will it take another use of the spell to return her hair to its original color, or will it grow out?

Does the color change carry over when she drops tail?