Magic Jammer
An Eye for an Eye
Chapter 1
Lyra Heartstrings was running late. Her promise of returning home before dark lay in tatters, as did the brown paper bag that had once held her dinner. Once again, she and Bon Bon had ordered far too much take-out, and the flimsy bag had simply given way. The only consolation was that most of the containers hadn't come open, so they would at least have some food to eat that night.
"I wanted to cook," Lyra muttered to herself as she levitated yet another box of rice. It was a bit dented, but it would taste the same. "I offered, but no, Bon Bon's gotta have her weekly lo mein binge." The box flew over to a nearby bench, where Lyra had stacked the other containers she'd managed to recover. The unicorn gave it a thoughtful look, trying to remember what else had been in the bag.
"Speaking of which, where did that lo mein get to?" she wondered aloud. Powering up her horn, Lyra cast her magical light all around where she'd dropped the food, looking for the elusive noodles. "Ah, there you are!" Somehow, they'd wound up all the way across the street, underneath a table at a coffee shop. The lid had come off, and there were noodles everywhere. Lyra groaned; now she had to clean up this mess. As she steeled herself for the task ahead, she was distracted by movement to her left.
"Hello?" she called out, "Is somepony there?" Lyra peered into the night, trying to discern what had caught her attention. As far as she could tell, the streets were completely deserted. Ponyville wasn't exactly known for its nightlife, after all, and most ponies were at home, getting ready for bed. She was about to blow it off as just her imagination, when she saw it again. There, maybe a dozen paces away, stood what appeared to be a pony in a traveling cloak.
"Hello!" Lyra called again, much more warmly this time. The stranger didn't respond. In fact, upon closer inspection, the other pony looked to be off-balance, as though he (or she; at this distance, it was impossible to tell) might simply fall over at any time. "Are you alright?" Lyra asked, taking a few hesitant steps closer. As she did, the light from her horn began to illuminate the other pony, and Lyra suddenly recognized whom she was looking at.
"Trixie?" she exclaimed. Lyra's mind went into overdrive. What was Trixie doing back in Ponyville? Hadn't Twilight run her off? No, hang on, Twilight had claimed she was a better pony now. Something about an amulet?
Trixie, naturally, was unaware of the profound confusion she'd inspired in the mint-green unicorn. She didn't even seem to know where she was; her eyes were unfocused, staring blankly at the ground. The sound of her own name, however, made her ear twitch, and she raised her head to look at the mare standing dumbstruck before her.
"Help," she pleaded, her voice barely a whisper. Then she blacked out.
The next morning, in a library on the other side of town, two unicorns and a dragon were engaged in a bit of spellcasting practice. Twilight Sparkle, Ponyville's resident librarian, had found yet another collection of obscure magical texts, and had invited Rarity over to help her practice them. To be slightly more accurate, Twilight had called Rarity over to be her test subject, and after multiple assurances and much pleading, the fashionista had reluctantly agreed.
"Okay," Spike announced, moving down to the next item on Twilight's checklist. "Next up is magic cancelling. This is from Deffensyve Magicke, Vol. II, by Brick Wall."
The title and author, according to Twilight, helped her to organize the spells in her mind. This particular work, evidently issued for the Royal Guard some centuries ago, had mostly been various shield spells. Magic cancelling, or directly interfering with another unicorn's spellcasting, was right at the end of the book, buried in a chapter on maintaining the proper resolve in the face of danger. Anypony less devoted (less gracious ponies would say "obsessed") than Twilight would have missed it entirely.
"Ready, Rarity?" Twilight asked.
"What do I need to do?" responded Rarity, who was feeling anything but.
"Just use your magic," Twilight explained. "I'm going to try to block the energy from your horn so that it doesn't work."
"Right." Questions and concerns were still racing through her head, but Rarity pushed them aside. Twilight hadn't messed up a spell all morning. She was the most powerful and talented mage Rarity had ever known, after all. Sure, there had been a few mishaps over the years, what with accidentally making the parasprites into a building-devouring plague, brainwashing half of the town into fighting over a doll, that business with the narwhal... No. Twilight was her friend, and she had to trust in her friends.
"I'm ready," Rarity announced. Reasoning that the simpler the spell she used, the less chance there was of anything going wrong, she merely levitated one of the textbooks from the nearby table. It was a simple task to hold it in place just a few feet above the floor.
"Okay, here I go," Twilight said. The spell she was about to perform was, in theory, simple enough. It worked on the principle that a unicorn's magic was merely an extension of her will, given shape by her thoughts, projected by her horn, and empowered by the field of magic that filled every corner of Equestria. A failure of any one of these parts would make a spell fail, and that was where magic cancelling came in. A sufficiently skilled unicorn could temporarily seal another's horn so that it could not tap into the energy field, rendering him or her helpless. Twilight took a deep breath, gathered up her power, and, focusing on the blue aura of Rarity's telekinesis, blocked off her magic.
The book, in blatant defiance of Twilight's efforts, utterly failed to fall. Rarity's magic hadn't been disrupted in the slightest. The librarian blew out her breath in a huff. "Well, that didn't work," she said, annoyed. "Maybe if I..."
Twilight's second attempt met with similar lack of result, as did her third. A momentary falter on the fourth try bolstered Twilight's hopes, but it turned out to have only been because Rarity was distracted by Peewee, Spike's pet phoenix, landing on her head.
"Sorry about that," Spike apologized. "It's time for his morning snack. I guess I forgot to refill his dish, what with all the practice we've been doing." As he hurried into the kitchen, baby bird in tow, Twilight had an idea.
"Rarity," she asked, "could you put that book down for a moment? I need to check something."
"Of course," Rarity answered, setting it neatly back on the table.
"Thanks." She cast the cancellation spell again. This time, rather than trying to stop a spell already in progress, she would instead prevent it from being cast in the first place. "Okay, pick it back up again."
Rarity, slightly bemused, complied. With the ease of a lifetime of practice, she flared up her horn and lifted the book back into the air. Or at least she would have, had it not completely failed to respond to her magic. "That's odd," she muttered, before redoubling her efforts. As before, the book remained firmly attached to the table.
This turn of events was not lost on the young librarian. "It worked!" she declared happily. "Magic blocking. That's one more to check off."
"That's wonderful," Rarity said with remarkable calm, "but can you please un-block it? This is, as I'm sure you can imagine, rather inconvenient."
"Oh, right." Fortunately, ending the spell was much easier than casting it in the first place. After Rarity had made very sure that all her magic was back where it belonged, Twilight was ready to move on to the next spell on her list. Unfortunately, a knock at the door meant that "super-pollination" (from Genetically-Magicked Crops and You: Gardening for the Botanically Impaired) would have to wait.
"It's open!" Twilight called, turning around to see who her visitor was. She still didn't understand why everypony who came to the library insisted on knocking. It was a public building, or at least the first floor was. Sure, Twilight did live there, and even she sometimes treated the shelves of books as though they were her own private collection, but it had been a library since long before she'd moved in, and would continue to be one long after she'd gone.
"Twilight Sparkle?" a familiar stallion said as he stepped into the room. "I'm Doctor Stable, from Ponyville Hospital. I believe we've met before."
"Yes, I remember," Twilight replied. "When Rainbow Dash hurt her wing, wasn't it?"
"Ah, yes. You brought her in, I recall."
"It's good to see you again, Doctor. Are you here for a book?" she asked hopefully.
"No, I'm afraid," Stable answered. "Do you know a mare by the name of 'Trixie Lulamoon'?" At the mention of that name, Rarity, who had been occupying herself riffling through a book on the history of Canterlot, let out a sort of strangled cry, which devolved into a coughing fit. Twilight and Doctor Stable both looked at her questioningly, but she made a dismissive gesture and went back to her book.
Recovering from this unusual turn of events, Twilight said, "Well, I know a Trixie." She hadn't known her second name was Lulamoon, but "Trixie" was hardly a common name. "Why?"
"She was brought into the hospital last night, exhausted and severely dehydrated," Stable explained. "She's been asking for you since she woke up." He peered at the librarian curiously. "Are you a friend of hers?" That got another coughing fit from Rarity, but they both ignored it.
Twilight considered the question briefly. They'd last parted on good terms, sure, but they'd hardly had a conversation as anything other than antagonists. "You might say that," she answered.
"Well, when you have a moment, you might want to consider paying her a visit." Stable said. "She was very insistent that she get to talk to you."
"Yes, I'll do that," Twilight promised. "Thank you for letting me know."
"Not at all. Have a nice day."
"You too." When he was gone, Twilight turned back to Rarity, who was drinking from a glass of water Spike had brought her. "Sorry, but it looks like we'll have to cut things short," she said.
"No, no, it's fine my dear. You had better see what Trixie wants," Rarity replied. "If she's back in Ponyville, I seriously doubt it's anything good."
"Look, Trixie has told you, she's perfectly fine!"
"And I've told you that we can't let you go until your paperwork clears." Nurse Redheart, as with any hospital pony, loved to see her patients leave. When they walked out those doors, it meant that they were well again. They could go back to their families, their jobs, and their lives. It warmed her heart, and made her proud that she'd been able to lend her aid to making somepony well. This patient, though, she'd be glad to be rid of for another reason entirely.
"The Great and Powerful Trixie has no time for such things!" Trixie declared, her voice filling the room as only a professional showmare's could. "She must speak with Twilight Sparkle immediately!"
"Doctor Stable said she was on her way," Redheart said, fighting to keep her face cheerful. "I'm sure she'll be here any minute."
"Hmph." Trixie crossed her forelegs over her chest. Apparently, from what the staff had told her, she collapsed in the middle of the street last night. Somepony—what was her name? Harpflings? No, Heartstrings—had brought her to the hospital. She'd been heading for Ponyville on a mission; she had urgent news, and it was imperative that Twilight Sparkle be told immediately. Unfortunately, these incompetent hospital ponies refused to listen to her, and instead she was stuck in this stupid cot, surrounded by sick ponies and the smell of disinfectant.
An announcement over the intercom snapped her out of her sulk. "Trixie Lulamoon, you have a visitor," came Stable's voice. Shortly afterwards, the door to Trixie's room opened, revealing exactly the unicorn she'd come to see.
"Thank Celestia," Redheart breathed. Turning back to Trixie, she said, "Well, I'll just leave the two of you alone then, shall I?" Without wasting another moment, she all but bolted for the door, giving a thankful nod as she passed Twilight in the doorway.
"Hello, Trixie," Twilight said, keeping her voice neutral. "Stable said you wanted to see me?"
"Yes, Twilight," Trixie replied. Upon seeing Twilight, she'd dropped her usual swagger. Now, her expression was not one of cocky confidence, but one of pleading, and maybe even a little fear. Twilight had never seen her like that before; it made her seem smaller, somehow. When she spoke next, she said only four words. Four little words that threw Twilight completely off balance, and made her think that maybe, just maybe, she should be afraid too.
Looking into Twilight's eyes, as sincere as she'd ever been, Trixie said, "I need your help."
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The premis has promise.
I did not notice any errors in spelling and grammar.
I want to see where you take this.
Not sure where this is going yet, but I'll give it a watch. I'm always on the look out for a promising adventure story staring my number one blue unicorn!
Some minor spelling and grammatical errors here and there, but nothing to distract me from the story. Looking forward to where this goes!
1948869
Wait, where? I can't abide spelling and grammar mistakes! TELL ME WHAT I DID WRONG!
This is a pretty good setup. I am certainly looking forward to seeing where you're going with this.
Although I have to ask. If the title is irrelevant to the story, why is it the title? Maybe I'm missing something, or it's something that'll become clear later on in the story, but seriously, I don't get it.
1948893
It's the quote that's (mostly) irrevelant to the story. The title will be important in the chapters to come.
1948927 Okay, now I'm really curious to see where you're going with this. Guess I'll have to wait to find out.
1948885
Should be "known"
I could have sworn I saw another typo, I think a word used twice in a row, but I may be confusing that with another story I read.
That's it!
1949314
Fixed. Thanks for pointing it out.
Dammit, you've hooked me in already. Looking forward to more! :)
I'm liking this story, you get an A + the cross!
Oh, and I believe this is the other error previously mentioned. It happens during a line break so its much harder to catch for you!
This is quite well-written so far, and I'm glad to finally see a good, canon (post Magic Duel), Trixie-comes-back-to-Ponyville-for-a-reason-other-than-bullying fic.
The only grammatical mistake I noticed was this:
–"Hello Trixie," Twilight said, keeping her voice neutral. "Stable said you wanted to see me?"
One must always place a comma in a sentence when one character addresses another; "Hello, Trixie."
Other than that, I look forward to reading more!
1948715 You sure didn't!