Quick Learner's Adventure: The Beginning of the End

by BronyBrozly

Chapter 1: The Awakening

I let out a relieved sigh as I finished the last chapter of ‘Xuri’s Adventure in Zebrabwe’. It’s a good book but Daring Do’s series are much better, I thought. I levitated the book slowly and set it on the nightstand next to my bed. I lazily slumped on my bed and closed my eyes. Come on, Quick. You need to stop reading books, I thought. If you want to be on an adventure, go outside and walk around. There’s a lot of things you can do outside like playing sports, visit the park or meet somepony else. You just can’t stay in your room every day.

I opened my eyes again and stared at the ceiling. The night breeze blew gently through my opened window and the candle that lit my room flickered every time the wind caressed it.

“Quickie, it is dinner time.” My mom’s voice called me from downstairs.

“I’ll be down there in the moment.” I called back. I hopped on all four hooves and slowly trotted downstairs. Before I could reach the doorframe, I saw a figure standing sideways in the mirror. I stifled a scream as I noticed it was my reflection. I gave myself a snort. I looked at the pony in the mirror. I saw he had a brown coat, dark silver mane and an open book with brown cover adorned his flank as a cutie mark.

I stared at my cutie mark long enough for me to remember the day I got my cutie mark. When I was a foal, I often got tease by my classmates as I was the only colt who was a blank flank. I also often hide in the library whenever the school bullies wanted to pick on somepony.

One day, while I was hiding in my usual spot in the library, I saw book that was different from the others. I slowly levitated it and read the title, ‘Advance Spells for Junior Unicorns’. I got curious and opened the book. Strangely enough, even for a beginner in magic like myself could understand the whole book. So, I tried to perform one spell once I finished reading.

I took one of the theories from the ‘Conjuring Spells 101’ and practiced it. In my surprise, it worked! I focused every bit of my magic into my horn and imagined the object that I could think at that moment. With a bright light, a lantern popped in front of me. I smiled victoriously and slumped heavily on the wooden library floor. I took deep breaths and looked at my flank, there it was: my cutie mark. It seems that my cutie mark meant that I am quick at learning new spells. Regardless how fast I could learn them, using the spells themselves took me weeks to perform except the day I got my cutie mark.

“Hey brother, come downstairs already. Dinner is about to start!” My brother called, snapping me out from my reverie. I slowly turned and trotted downstairs. Once I reached downstairs, I saw my dad was grading papers since he’s one of the teachers in Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns and my brother was staring aimlessly at the living room’s wall.

“Honey, could you help me get the plates from the shelf?” My mother called to my dad from the kitchen. Before my dad could stand, I raised a hoof at him and said “No worries, dad. I can handle this.” My dad could only smile and nodded.

I turned to the kitchen and trotted over. Once I entered the kitchen, I saw my mother tried to reach a stack of plates on top of the shelf. “Hey, mom.” I greeted politely.

She turned to look and gave a soft smile. “Hello, Quickie.” She replied. “Could you help me and levitate those plates down please?” she asked, pointing a hoof to the stack of plates on top. I returned the smile and levitate them to her. She grabbed them with her teeth and trotted to the sink. Then, I heard a loud thump. I looked around the kitchen and saw an old album on the floor.

I levitated it to my eye level and blew the dust off from it. “Mom?” I gave a questioning tone.

“Yes, dearie?” she replied as she was cleaning the plates.

“What’s this?” I asked, levitating the album to her view. My mom turned around and gave a quick gasp.

“Oh my, this is an old family album.” She answered. “Where did you find this?” She asked, as she inspecting the album’s condition.

“I think it fell down from the shelf after I levitated the plates.” I answered.

“I see.” She said, opening the album. When she looked through the album, a small smile tugged on her face.

“Come here.” She called, waving her hoof for me to get closer. “Look.” She said as she pointed a hoof to a photo.

It was a picture of a family. A black coated unicorn stallion with a silver mane and a scroll as a cutie mark smiling as he was cradling a small brown coated and silver mane foal. It was a picture of me and my dad years before.

“Hey, look at this one.” She pointed to another picture. This time it was a picture of my dad standing next to a light blue coated earth pony mare with a yellow mane with a cooking pot as a cutie mark. The mare was my mom and in front of them were two foals fighting over a ball. It was me and my big brother. In the picture, my brother was a grey coated earth pony foal with a dark orange mane and had a football cutie mark adorned his flank. As for me, I was still a blank flank at that time.

My mother turned to the other page and we skimmed through the album until a certain picture got my attention.

“Wait, mom.” I said as I held my hoof to a page. “Who’s this?” I asked as I pointed a very old picture that almost lost its image but still have a little bit of detail left over the years.

It was a very old picture of an earth pony mare standing victoriously while holding a flag. “Oh!” my mother exclaimed excitedly. “That was your great great great great great grandmother, dearie.” She explained and gave a smile. “Do you know she saved the zebras when she was a young mare?” My mother asked.

“Really?!” I exclaimed excitedly. “I never knew anything about my great grandparents.” I answered. “Do you know what happened?” I asked back with excitement in my voice and a big grin on my face.

“Sadly no, dearie. Even I don’t know the real story.” She answered back with a little frown.

“Oh.” It was the thing I could only say as I felt disappointed and my ears flopped against my head.

“Now, now dearie. Don’t be sad.” My mother said as she lifted my head to meet her gaze and gave a warm smile. “Why don’t we have dinner now, hmm?” she asked. I only returned the smile and only nodded.

~~ooo~~

I finished dinner early and headed to my room. My mother offered my ice cream before I left but for some reason I had a splitting headache. I declined the offer politely with a smile and slowly trotted upstairs to my room.

I began to sway from side to side as my head felt like it was being crushed by a heavy cart. My vision started to blur around the edges as I slowly approached my bed and a loud ringing sound started to whine in my ears. I slumped on my bed as a sack of potato and then my world swirled into oblivion.

--oo--

I opened my eyes and I saw nothing but darkness. I slowly stood up and cringed in pain as the headache was still fresh. I slowly rocked my head from side to side to ease the pain of my head.

I tried to look around but it was an utter failure as the place was too dark. I can’t even see the hoof in front of my face. I tried to illuminate the place by using my horn’s magic then suddenly; a shock of pain spiked through my horns and went into my spine as I used my magic. I unceremoniously slumped back down.

I gingerly rubbed my head and the base of my horn until I heard hoof steps. The sound of the hoof step seems like it was far away and nearby at the same time. It was coming from everywhere but I can’t see anything. Then, it stopped.
I felt nervous and tried to call out. “Hello?” I called into the darkness. “Who’s there?”

“Hello, Quick Silver.” A mare’s voice echoed in the darkness. The voice didn’t sound intimidating at all. In fact, it was soothing.

“Umm… hello. Who’s there?” I called back.

Then suddenly, a white coated mare with an orange mane walked in front of me. For some reason, the darkness seems to light up a bit more. “Don’t you recognize me, great grandson?” she asked with a soft smile tugged on the mare’s face.

Realization hit me. “Y-y-you’re the mare in th-“ I was cut off as she held up a hoof. She chuckled and set her hoof back down. “Yes, I am your great great g- just forget it. I’m your ancestor.” She said again with a smile.

I was stunned and excited at the same time. “B-b-but why are you here? W-where am I?” I stammered questioningly.

“We are in your mind.” She answered.

“My mind?” I asked, perplexed.

“Yes.” She answered with a small nod.

“Then, why are you here?” I asked again slowly trotting closer.

“I am here to give you a path,” she chuckled.

“A path?” I gave a questioning eyebrow.

“Yes.” She nodded again.

“What path?” I asked as I was face to face with her.

She closed her eyes with a smile plastered on her face and chuckled slowly.

I stood there silently as I waited for her to answer. Suddenly, she opened her eyes and it was glowing bright white. “A path to your destiny.” She said as her voice rang in my ears like crystals and then my world began to light.

--oo--

I quickly sat up from my bed and my eyes were wide opened in shock. I was sweating heavily and my bed was wet with sweat. A ray of sunlight shone through my window and I could hear the birds chirping happily outside. I took a deep breath and looked out to the open world. I began to relax a little bit and I muttered slowly under my breath. “My destiny.”