Clastic Glow

by Rocinante

Reckless

‘He never looks up.’ Twilight thought as she watched the enchanter walking in front of her. His spirits were higher than normal in the gray spring evening as they made their way from the foundry to the library, having finally shooed the foals home. She had gotten him into some casual conversation; he was relating how he had spent his journeyman years studying under several enchanters. She knew the names, all powerful mages in Celestia's retainer.

She was only half listening to him talk, though. Instead she was studying him as a whole. Piecing together all she had learned in his study, trying to get a bead on his intentions. The writing on the wall, the books he had ordered, his melancholy spotted with manic episodes, they were all clicking into place now.

‘He’s reckless and willing to die trying to fly again. But, would he willingly harm somepony to get what he wanted?’ The spell was just a specialised golem, but it would be a mindless slave to his own will. The easy way reeked of forbidden magic, the hard danced the line of madness.

“Swage?” she asked. “That spell you’re working on. What do you intend on binding into the wing for the life source?” ‘There, a blunt question, now watch his reaction.’

“Myself.” It was an automatic response. Either a very well rehearsed lie, or the truth.

It was the answer she was expecting, but it didn’t make her feel any better. “By all rights that should kill you.”

“That’s the hitch isn’t it?” he said flatly looking back at her. He looked to the severed limb. “I know you were watching my wing while I worked, I could feel it.”

Twilight quietly nodded, curious where he was going with this.

“The Pegasus magic is still there. It remembers the wing. If I can just ensnare the phantom form in a new shell...”

Twilight picked up where he had started to trail off. “But something’s off. Everything you’ve tried falls apart. The magic isn’t responding like a normal soft body. You feel like you’re working with two entities at once and you can’t get them both to latch into your enchantment.”

Swage stopped dead in his tracks. “It took me a year to figure that out.”

“Lets get to the library. We’ll talk more in private.” She motioned for him to continue and follow her.

- - -

The “rare books” section was Twilight’s personal addition to the library. An unused office was now a magically climate controlled and heavily warded fortress for old and rare manuscripts, yet even in this vault there was one case that stood redoubled in its security. It was a small heavy case that could hold no more than two dozen books.

Swage sat at the table in the middle of the room, looking over the titles that had been brought in just for him. He looked up from his studies to see the librarian opening the strong box by key and magic. A heavy brown tome floated out towards him.

Twilight paused a moment before resting to book before him. “Long ago Celestia and Luna decided to erase the oral history of the early days of creation. When they took their physical forms ponykind was in great turmoil and they felt a fresh start was needed. This book is one of the few recordings of the old legends. Judged by both Sisters, it is an accurate history. You will treat this knowledge with the respect it deserves.”

Swage looked from the book to the librarian, he shrink in his seat from her suddenly serious and placid expression. She had been a little, purple unicorn mare a moment ago. But now, he felt the weight of being in the presence of the heir apparent to the Arch Mage. “Yes ma’am,” he croaked,

The book flew open, sending a cascade of dusk into the still room; Swage gawked with intrigue as he absorbed the information presented before him.

And the first pair looked to the sun and moon and said.

“We feel the wind and envy it. We wish for freedom above all other things. Grant us the power to fly and let our hearts live in the clouds.”

The Sisters smiled from the heavens and rejoiced in the wish. “You shall have all these things and so shall your children.”

The light and the dark met, and between them came forth the first of the elements of wind. “You called for me goddesses of day and night?”

“Yes,” the sisters spoke. “Take a feather from your crown and split in two. Give one half to each of these two. Embrace them and call them your cousins, as each of their kind will be born as both your child and ours.”

Twilight watched his face as he read. He stopped and shifted his weight. She could tell he was thinking hard.

“An Elemental?” he mused out loud. “Pegasus magic isn’t really pegasus at all. It’s the effect of having a Wind Elemental in our blood line.”

- - -

Scootaloo looked at the town clock, another hour and she would have to go home. Her friends had already gone their own ways for the evening. The door to the library opened, she watched intently to see who was leaving; it was Swage, the very pony she had been waiting for. He stopped to secure his saddle bag. Swallowing hard, she steeled her nerves and approached him.

“Excuse me, Master Swage?” she squeaked.

Swage was startled by the little voice. Looking up from his saddlebag he found one of the fillies from earlier looking up at him. “Uh.. just Swage or Swage Hammer. The title is really only important between fellow smiths. Can I help you?”

His grim expression made it hard for her to look him in the eyes, but something in his voice was comforting. “Will you really be able to fly again with that wing you’re making?” she asked.

Swage rolled several answers through his mind. He started to tell her to blow off, but something desperate in her stopped him. “Yea, I’m getting back up there.”

“So you could fly once?”

It struck him that the filly looked sad to learn he had flown before the accident. “Yea, then I got my wing cut off by a good for nothing unicorn. Why you asking, anyway?” Old wounds, flesh and mental alike, flared; anger looked for a place to lash out.

Scootaloo winced, his voice rang of hate. For a moment she thought he would hit her.

“I’m sorry,” he said, now sitting on his haunches,eyes closed, breathing deep intentional breaths. “I didn’t mean to do that. What’s your name?” Opening his eyes he put on his best smile.

“Scootaloo, and It’s ok, It’s just that... I thought maybe you could make me wings too, but I’ve never flown.”

A nervous laugh escaped the smithy. “O’ you just hit a bad growth spurt. You’ll be flying again a soon as your wings catch up. You don’t remember flying around as a yearling?”

She shook her head. “No, I never flew as a yearling. I have never flown, ever”

Swage stared at the filly in disbelief; one can barely keep yearlings on the ground. To hear of one that never flew was shocking. “Tomorrow, come by my place and let me look you over, see what all is going on. Now get home before your parents worry about you.”

Her face brightened before turning to leave, but it didn’t make him feel better. He had no idea where he was going with this, but he couldn’t leave a pegasus on the ground if there was even a chance he could help.

Comments

[V-Pony]

Wow, pegasi are Elementals, eh?
Interesting...