A small pegasus colt wakes to find himself in a huge crater with absolutely no memory of how he got there. Or any memory at all. This is his story
Important: This is one of my earliest stories, when I was very inexperienced as a writer.
A small pegasus colt wakes to find himself in a huge crater with absolutely no memory of how he got there. Or any memory at all. Well, that's not entirely true. He remembered a single word. Sidereus. The strange thing was that he didn't remember anything else. Except maybe how to talk. And how to breathe. And that's about it. Well, that's inconvenient.
Things take a nasty turn as he finds his magic is not acting as it should, permanently costing him his sight. He finds a way to cope, but what does it mean for him? How did this happen? Why? And was this a magical accident? Or is there a force more sinister behind it all? Both? No, that's ridiculous.
I woke up, resting on something uncomfortable and pointy.
Strange.
I opened my eyes. Around me was a gigantic crater, filled with blue crystal. It was like I was in some colossal geode.
Doubly so.
I got up onto my hooves, then fell back down again.
Obviously not ready yet. What happened?
I wracked my brain with no result. Like, absolutely no result. Well, one word seemed to stand out in my mind. Sidereus
Well, this is utterly inconvenient.
I got up, carefully placing my hooves in the correct positions, and examined myself. I was a dark blue, almost black pegasus colt, and my mane was even darker. All that seemed rather familiar, except it felt strange being that small.
I examined my surroundings. I appeared to be in a dense forest, well, in a clearing now due to the crater. Two paths led off in opposite directions.
Well, probably one path that I just interrupted violently.
I looked back into the crater, looking for clues to how I got there. There wasn't even a flat spot where I landed. All of it was uninterrupted crystal. Although there was another thing odd about it. It was almost perfectly spherical.
Well, hemispherical, technically.
I looked at the forest surrounding me. It was rather dark, considering that the sun was out. Fortunately, it looked like it was around 8:00 AM according to the sun. At night, this forest would be a nightmare to navigate. At least the path was pretty clear.
Howls sounded in the distance.
Aren't wolves nocturnal?
Anyway, I didn't want to stay there for long. I started down one of the paths. It couldn't possibly be worse than almost breaking my legs on these jagged crystals. Seriously, walking on that stuff hurt.
I stumbled along the path, cursing my lack of ability to walk straight. The forest around me grew darker, and I couldn't help but feel that something was terribly wrong. Something about this...forest just gave me the creeps. It was just...chaotic and unnatural. Funny talking that way about something that was about as natural as you could get.
I heard howling again, this time closer.
And right in front of me.
I spared no time. I ran in the opposite direction.
I don't know how I managed it; I had trouble walking a minute ago, but I suppose imminent death does that to you.
I skirted around the crater, running as fast as I could.
I looked back, getting a good glimpse of them. Wolves, made of wood, with glowing green eyes, were chasing me.
Timberwolves. Oh, I get it now.
They were gaining on me. They didn't quite have the disability I did; they could easily just run through the jagged crystal with no apparent pain. That bit about the forest being unnatural came back to me. It made a whole lot more sense. But it was a bit too late now.
I sped up. My breathing became labored. I needed another way to escape. There was no way I could outrun beasts that didn't tire. I looked back at my wings.
Of course.
I flapped them.
Nothing happened.
I tried again.
No effect.
Panicking I looked back to see what was wrong with my wings. They were getting closer. I flapped my wings as hard as I could---
And I slammed into a tree, which knocked me out instantly.
I woke up to the smell of antiseptic.
"---fine. He just got a nasty bump on his head. I don't think the wolves got to him by the time you got there. It's really rather lucky. A colt his age in the Everfree..."
"Yeah, it was lucky. If Twilight hadn't insisted that we visit that old castle again, we wouldn't have been there. I mean, what's the point? We already defeated Nightmare Moon! And right during the celebration? Anyway, it was still lucky."
"For your information, Rainbow, I didn't force you to come along. You're the one that wanted to come with."
"If only to keep you from getting into too much danger. Which you did."
I opened my eyes, looking at the speakers. Rainbow was a light blue pegasus with---you guessed it---a rainbow mane. Twilight was a purple unicorn with an even more purple mane. Another pony stood in the corner, obviously a doctor based on his clothes.
"I think he's waking up."
"You had quite the accident back there. What's your name?"
"I--I don't really know. I don't remember much."
"Do you know who your parents are?"
"No."
"That doesn't really give us much to work with. Do you remember anything? Anything we can use to identify you?"
"Well, I do remember one thing. It might be my name."
"Sidereus."
"Hmm... interesting. Unusual name. But that way it's easier to find out who your folks are. In the meantime, Twilight here has offered you a place to stay."
Twilight gave a little wave.
"Well, anyway, you aren't really injured that much. You should be free to go, but I'll go deal with the paperwork."
As he turned to leave, I heard him mutter, "Memory loss, with no concussion..."
That did absolutely nothing to cheer me up. I turned back to Twilight and Rainbow again. Rainbow was hovering near the ceiling, obviously not wanting to be there.
"Well, thanks, I guess, for saving me."
"Of course, you're welcome," said Twilight. "But what were you doing in the forest in the first place? Nopony goes in there."
"Well, you were."
The doctor poked his head through the door.
"You're free to go. Please don't stay too long, we need to clean the room for the next patient."
He went back out.
Rainbow jumped at the chance. "Well, we don't want to keep them waiting. Let's go already."
And with that, she practically ran through the door.
"Well, I guess we can talk later. We should probably get home, first."
Twilight led me through Ponyville, pointing out the different areas. Everything seemed so new, but at the same time, strangely familiar. Every last building, every last pony, and every last market stall all looked way too familiar. It looked like a festival had just taken place.
"What's with all the decorations?"
"It's a welcome-back party for Princess Luna. Pinkie Pie planned it."
"Welcome-back?"
"Oh, right, you don't remember anything. Nightmare Moon returned last night---or would it be this morning?---and we freed her from the darkness. Now she's Princess Luna again."
Now that was familiar, all right. But he still couldn't access the memory.
At last they reached the library, Twilight's home. Even this seemed way too familiar.
"Here we are: the Golden Oaks Library. I just moved in a few days ago, myself, but I couldn't ask for a better place."
"You live in a library? Cool!"
"I think you and I are going to get along pretty well."
"Over there. Why are you so interested in history?"
"Well, I forgot all of mine. I need to have something to go on."
Twilight cringed slightly. "I guess that makes sense."
Both of us studied in silence for most of the day. I noticed that history was pretty threadbare. Sure, there were many stories, but most of them were just that: stories. There were few concrete dates, or even concrete actions. Most of it was legend or vague oral history. How disappointing. But I felt that Twilight's recent victory might remedy that. Apparently, Nightmare Moon was a vague legend before this morning. As I got bored of reading the old legends, quite a few of them proven untrue, I remembered about earlier today. Why didn't my wings work?
"Twilight?"
"Hmm?" She looked up from the book she was reading.
"How am I supposed to fly?"
"Well, plenty of young fillies and colts take a while to learn. I'm sure Rainbow Dash will be happy to teach you."
"No, that's not what I meant. How does anypony fly? I was just looking at my wings, and the wing-to-mass ratio is all wrong. Not to mention the lack of stabilization from having no tail feathers."
Twilight chuckled a bit at that. "It's pegasus magic. Not just unicorns do magic. Earth ponies and pegasi have just as much. It just happens more naturally for them."
"But I felt nothing when I flapped them. Nothing at all. Shouldn't I have felt something?"
Twilight looked thoughtful. "Yes, I suppose. But maybe something about your accident was the problem..."
"Maybe. I don't even remember where I came from. Maybe I don't have any magic at all."
"That's nonsense. The doctors did all sorts of magical tests; nothing is wrong with you. It's just your lack of control. Your normal pegasus instincts just aren't functioning properly."
"Speaking of which, what happened before we found you? Maybe that could help. Just bumping your head won't do something like this. Otherwise, Rainbow Dash would be out of a job."
"Well, the first thing I remember, I was in a crater---"
Twilight practically shot up to her feet. "A crater?!"
"---filled with crystal."
"Filled with crystal! Where exactly is this crater?"
"Along the same path you found me on."
"I've got to investigate!"
"It's already past sunset. Do you really want to go in the forest at night?"
"I just did that yesterday."
"Alone?"
"All right. You win. But I'm doing that first thing tomorrow."
I suddenly got an idea. "You said that pegasi had just as much magic as unicorns. Do you have any books on the subject? Maybe they can teach me to fly."
Twilight sat back down. "I'm sorry. Pegasi aren't really well-known for book-writing. I haven't seen a book on pegasus magic in years. Anyway, what should I call you? I know you said your name might be Sidereus, but that just sounds weird. Do you remember any other name?"
"No, not really..."
"Well, that's okay. Anyway, there is one book that could work for you...but it's much too difficult. Nevermind."
"A book on pegasus magic?"
"Not exactly. It's a book written for unicorns, but I know personally that this technique works for all races. It's very difficult, though. But it might help with focusing your magic."
"How?"
"It allows you to "see" magic. If you can see how the magic is shaped around your wings, you can fix your flight problem. At least, that's how I think it'll work. I've never been a pegasus before."
"I''l try it."
"Don't be discouraged if you don't get it your first try. This is advanced stuff. It takes a lot of work to get it right. And keep in mind that this book was written for unicorns. They focus their magic on their horn. From what I can tell, pegasi focus it on their wings, and maybe their spine. Nopony really researches this kind of stuff."
"Why not?"
"It's just so natural to most ponies. Unicorn magic is the only type that usually requires intense study."
Now with a purpose in mind, I studied magical theory late into the night. The book was quite thick for only being one spell. It was quite confusing, being told to direct magic into a non-existent horn, but Twilight's analogy helped. The more I studied, the more it became apparent that the unicorn parts of the spell were mostly useless. Everything that was practical came from your core, the font that your magic originated. Eventually, I realized that the only reason that it told you to direct magic anywhere was to create visual effects along with the spell. The spell itself was completely unnoticeable. Unicorn showoffs.
It eventually became clear to me that there was almost no reason for this to be called a spell. The book rambled on for pages, trying to explain a very simple concept from the viewpoint of a unicorn. All I had to do was see without my eyes. Visualize the world with what I felt within myself, not with what I could feel or touch.
Still, that was difficult enough. I got one glimpse of something different before losing it again. But still, excellent progress.
Before Twilight left the next day, she showed me around the library, pointing out the subject areas, and introducing me to the library's organization system. After that, though, she didn't stay long. If that crater had any information that would help me, she wanted to know it right away, before any information was lost.
Personally, I was just fine staying here at the library. I still wanted to master that spell, and as soon as possible. I didn't want to be the only pegasus that couldn't fly.
The section on unicorn magic interested me as well. How many other spells were like this "Magical Sight" one? The parts that required a horn were rather useless in that case. Was being a unicorn really the prerequisite for all of them?
Anyway, I was set for the day. I was worried about Twilight, though. She was going into the forest by herself. Would she be able to take on those timberwolves alone? I know that Rainbow Dash helped her the last time, but this time, she was going alone.
My fears were mollified quickly, though. As I was watching her leave, Rainbow Dash flew over to see what she was doing. Then, Pinkie---just---was there. I can't explain it. Anyway, she was safe, and that was all I needed to know. Twilight taught me as soon as I got here that Pinkie was too much to understand.
"Just from one logical mind to another," she said.
I set my mind back to studying. I had already memorized most of the important bits of Magical Sight yesterday. All that was left today was practice.
And, of course, getting a bit distracted with the other forms of magic.
I get distracted far too easily.
Around lunchtime, I looked up from the pile of books that I had been reading on the floor. I didn't know that reading could make you so hungry.
I walked over to the kitchen, opening the fridge.
Apparently, reading made your eyes tired, too. Go figure. Everything was so blurry .
But when I looked at things up close, it was just fine. It shouldn't be a problem. After I got my quick snack, I went back to reading. Unicorn magic was just so interesting, even if I figured out ages ago that I would never be able to do any of it. Maybe I could apply some of the principles to pegasus magic, when I learned more about it.
By about 3 PM, the words were beginning to get blurry, too. I guess it was high time for a break, and to finally stop neglecting my practice. I did want to fly, eventually.
I had slightly more success this time. An hour later, I could hold magical sight for about five minutes. But only if I had my eyes closed. The conflicting images confused my concentration.
The sight itself was amazing. Everything around me had a magical signature. All objects of a natural origin (like wood) had a faint glow to them. The library itself had a brighter glow. Perhaps it was alive, after all. And for some reason, many of the books had glowing words. Maybe it was those preservation enchantments Twilight was talking about. But the most interesting was himself. I could literally see my magical core, in addition to everything coming off of it.
My problem was quite clear. The magic emanating from it was random and erratic, not even reaching my wings. And now that I could see my magic, it was a lot easier to control. I experimented for a while. I managed to get the magic at least on my wings. Next, I would need to shape it to become remotely aerodynamic. This was amazing! I had to tell Twilight about it. But when would she be back?
I looked up at the clock, failed, then remembered to open my eyes again.
What I saw, or rather, didn't see, made me scream with shock.
Blind!
It was just impossible. Why?
I went back into magical sight, then back out again.
Blackness.
Inconceivable.
Back into Sight. So far, the only way I could see.
I looked into a mirror.
Damn enchantments. I only saw a wall of white.
I searched Twilight's desk, looking for a normal mirror.
Of course the Element of Magic would enchant everything she could get her hooves on.
Where would another mirror be...the bathroom! Of course!
Navigating the library was a bit awkward, but I got there with little trouble. Metal was a huge bother, though. Being completely inorganic, it was completely invisible. Fortunately, doors have holes in them for doorknobs, so I was able to manage.
I finally made it to an unenchanted mirror.
I was immensely relieved to find out that mirrors did reflect magical energy, as I had fervently hoped.
What I saw was shocking.
Normally, everything that was living had a faint glow of magic. I could generally tell where my body parts were---even my mane. But when I looked into the mirror...
That made no sense. Everything that was once alive had some sort of magic left. But there was no mistake. There was no trace of life left in my eyes.
Just then, I heard the front door open.
"Twilight!" I called, running over to her as best as I could. "I'm blind!"
"Yeah," she said, absently. "That explains so well how you found me so fast."
Then she looked me in the face.
Evidently she did not like what she saw.
"We have to get back to the hospital, immediately!" she said, frantically, rushing to pack up her things.
"No, Twilight."
"What?"
"They're gone."
"What do you mean? The doctors might be able to fix this! If this just happened today---"
"No, they can't. My eyes have less life than these books do."
"What do you mean?"
"I figured out the spell you gave me. I can see these books from the life they once had. My eyes..."
"...oh, no."
"But what happened? Why did I go blind? Did learning the spell cause this?"
"I don't know, but if you say your eyes are completely drained of magic..."
"Then what?"
"Did you see any of your own magic when you cast that spell?"
"Yes, when I looked into that mirror in the bathroom."
"Describe it to me."
"Well, I could tell immediately why my wings weren't working. My magic started from my core, but was just flowing in random directions. It wasn't focused at all."
"It's just as I feared. You should stay as still as possible. Rest. Just until you have control of your magic. I know what happened to your eyes."
"What?"
"All life, all activity, uses magic as the fuel. That is why you are able to see things that were once living. Your magic is erratic, not focused properly on anything in your body. You overexerted your eyes today. Normally, that would only result in eye strain. All the energy used would come from your core, your font of magic. With no magic to draw from.."
"It drained all the life instead."
A heavy weight descended on my chest. If only I had just stuck to my old plan, this never would have happened. Why did I have to be so...curious about everything?
Twilight looked down at me sadly. I couldn't see her face, exactly, but I felt her emotion all the same. "I'm sorry. If only I had been here..."
"No, it's not your fault. If it was anypony's fault, it was my own. I should have seen the signs."
"No, it's not your fault, either. I don't want you to blame yourself unnecessarily. Nopony is taking the blame. All we can do is pick up the pieces and move on. We need to get a control of your magic before something worse happens. Most ponies' bodies regulate their magic automatically. It appears that you are stuck manually applying it. Which will be difficult to do. Very difficult. Spells like that are some of the highest level...wait. How did you master that Magic Sight spell so fast? That was a pretty advanced spell. Even I don't use it that often!"
"Well, like you said, it was designed for unicorns."
"That doesn't explain a thing!" Twilight said, exasperated. "If anything, that should make it harder!"
"That's what I thought at first, too. But then, after I had read through the whole thing, I realized that the book was making it look a lot harder than it really was. The only parts that a unicorn was required for was all for show, anyway. It appears a lot of unicorns like to show off."
"And a lot of pegasi, too," muttered Twilight, obviously thinking of Rainbow Dash. It couldn't possibly be me, right?
"So when I condensed it all in my mind, it really was quite a simple spell. Still kind of hard, though. It took me about four hours to get it right."
"I see. It takes most skilled unicorns about a month."
"But I know why now. It was written to look like other unicorn spells, when it was actually an innate ability of most ponies. It was such a convoluted explanation. I'm not surprised it took them that long."
"And now you can use it like regular sight?"
"Well, not really. I've managed about thirty minutes straight, though. Last time was five minutes, so..."
"So yes, you can. At that rate, you would be able to keep it up for...about five hours tomorrow."
"...I think so. But it's not like regular seeing at all. I can't see anything if it's inorganic. Like metal. Or stone. And I can see through things. It's really rather annoying when you try to reach through a wall to grab something."
"But you can manage."
"I guess."
"Then I think it'll be just fine for you to go to school tomorrow."
Wait, WHAT!
"But what about the whole 'exerting myself too much' that you were talking about?"
"That's why we are going to spend the rest of tonight practicing control."
"But--"
"No buts. You need to be safe as soon as possible. I don't want any surprises in the morning if I find you've been running in your sleep. Besides, it'll look too odd if you aren't in school tomorrow."
"Fine."
It actually wasn't too bad, and it was pretty interesting. Especially because I would gain flight, but the actual process was far cooler than I expected. It was one thing to see the magic around me. Pretty cool, but even better when I could actually influence it.
By the end of forty-five minutes, I could get my magic to form into the approximation of a pony. The core was still in the same spot, but the magic that emanated from it was now controllable.
Moving with it was another matter. It would, of course, naturally move with me, but retaining concentration while walking was hard. And it was disappointing that while my wings now provided a small lift, I still could not fly. I thought back to when I was in the forest. Did that crater, or whatever caused it, do something to my magic? Wait a minute...
"Twilight? Did you find anything out about the crater I was in?"
Twilight sighed. "No, I didn't. All I found was some residual chaos magic, and that permeates the Everfree. Everything has residual chaos magic in there."
"But this had more than usual."
"Not enough to mean anything."
We resumed practice. Well, it was mostly me. Twilight was there to monitor me, and for moral support. She was also using Magic Sight, but for a lot less of a duration.
Maybe I should show her the easy way, sometime.
I eventually gained passable control, even when running, and Twilight was satisfied enough that she allowed me to sleep. Even if I lost control during sleep, there was no way I could be drained in so little time. My eyes were used extensively, and If I was correct, did not have any magic to run on since I came to in the crater.
I walked up to the spare room Twilight had given me, and laid down in my bed.
Who am I, really?
Short answer, Sidereus. But was that really my name? It was just a word I remembered.
It didn't even sound like a name.
Then what should I be called?
I don't really know anything. About me. About my past. I'm a blank record.
I activated Magical Sight. Everything came clearly into view. My room. The ponies already up and about outside. Twilight in the kitchen. Spike still in his bed.
Huh. Where was he yesterday?
And the sun. Especially the sun. Why did Celestia's magic have to be so powerful?
I got up, feeling pangs of hunger. What time was it?
I looked back up at the sun. At least my eyes couldn't hurt anymore.
It was about 9:30.
Seeing through walls was pretty cool after all. If you could still call it seeing.
Nine thirty...oops.
School started at ten.
And it was a twenty-minute walk.
I really hope breakfast is ready.
Well, Twilight was in the kitchen, so it wasn't an unreasonable assumption. It was a good thing she was so good at planning things.
I walked downstairs, and into the kitchen. It was odd for it to still be made of wood. Most wood would buckle with the moisture. But living in a tree that was still alive had its perks.
Fortunately, Twilight was already at the table, eating, and fortunately, had a bowl of...something in a spot obviously set for me. Spike had a spot designed for his small stature.
I sat down, and started eating rather rapidly.
Oatmeal. Nice.
And here I realized another limitation of my new "vision": I had plenty of difficulty identifying objects, especially generic ones.
The bowl of oatmeal could have been a bowl of almost anything; as long as it was uniform and organic in nature, I wouldn't be able to tell the difference.
Ponies I could identify; their unique magical signatures gave them away. Spike had a completely different kind of magic, and, even though I hadn't seen all the different kinds of pony yet, between Twilight and myself, there was a fundamental difference in magic.
But mundane things were incredibly difficult and frustrating. Like oatmeal. Although, it was still delicious. Plenty of brown sugar.
I looked at my "clock" again. The sun was actually rather useful. I was very close. I might have to run to school if I took any longer. And I didn't really know where it was. Twilight gave me directions, but I needed to plan for the "get lost" time buffer. You couldn't be too careful, at least according to Twilight.
"Why do you keep looking at the ceiling so often?"
That took me a bit off guard. "Oh, just looking at the time."
"But there isn't a clock up there," she said, quite confused.
"Well, I can't see clocks anymore. I was looking at the sun."
"How can you see the sun?"
"Well, the magic Celestia uses to move it is quite powerful. And I think it has its own magic, too. Remember, I can see through less magical things. Quite annoying, too. I can see my oatmeal, but I can't see my bowl."
Twilight looked taken aback.
"It's fine. Don't worry. At least I can see to some extent. I need to go now, though. I'll be late for school."
As I was going towards the door, Twilight stopped me.
"Wait. How did you know how I was feeling right then. If I'm right, you can't see facial expressions."
"Emotions have an effect on magic."
"So you're an empath."
"Kind of. I have to be paying attention. And it only works for strong or obvious emotions. So not exactly a superpower, but pretty useful as I can't see any expressions."
"So you can see all of my emotions?"
"Only the strong ones. And if you're worried, it's not like I see anything more than usual. You show everything on your face, anyway."
Twilight looked quite embarrassed at this.
"Well, anyway, I need to go. I might have to run. Otherwise, I might be late."
This snapped Twilight out of it. "Okay, good luck! And don't worry--Cheerilee is a very good teacher. You'll like her."
And with that, I ran out the door.
I was very glad Twilight gave me procedural directions instead of just giving me a visual description. Everything looked so different. I could still recognize places I had seen, but only if I looked closely. I wasn't interested in doing that. Being late for my first day of school would not give a good first impression of me for Cheerilee.
Thank goodness most of the buildings in Ponyville were made of wood.
When I got to the schoolhouse, nopony was there except who I guessed was Cheerilee. Well, I guess I was a bit early. The sun wasn't an exactly accurate measurement. I could only estimate within 15-30 minutes.
"You're early," she said, very surprised.
"By how much?"
"Twenty minutes. I was still setting up."
Oh.
"I'm sorry."
"No, it's not a problem."
I sat down in one of the desks. She turned towards me from her work.
"Oh, you're new."
"Yes. I'm staying with Twilight right now."
"Oh, the one that's staying in the library. I heard she helped defeat Nightmare Moon."
"Yep, that's her."
"What is your name?"
"Umm...Blank Record."
"By the way, why are your eyes closed?"
"Well, Twilight says they're rather creepy when I have them open, so I like to keep them closed."
"Well, that's not very nice."
"No, it's not like that," I said, as I opened my eyes for her. "I'm blind."
She recoiled a bit at the sight, but quickly recovered. "Oh, I'm sorry."
"It's okay. I can kind of see, anyway." I closed my eyes again.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, before I went blind, Twilight was teaching me how to see magic. I got good enough to kind of use it like regular sight."
"But you aren't a unicorn. How can you do that?"
"All kinds of ponies have magic. What I learned wasn't a spell, exactly. It's a sense that all ponies have and can use, but is very hard to use without the right mentality. Almost nopony knows about it. The book I learned it from was actually designed for unicorns. But most of it was trying to explain something simple in a very complicated way."
"I...see. Kind of. How did you go blind, anyway? If you're okay with telling me, of course."
"Yeah, it's okay. Nopony was at fault, anyway. I sort of have a magical problem."
"Like a disorder?"
"Yes, but according to Twilight, she hasn't seen anything this severe. Anyway, my magic is...undirected."
"But that's normal for a filly or colt who is still developing."
"That's not what I mean. You see, there is always a natural magical flow throughout all ponies' bodies. It is the source of energy that all body parts use. For me, my body did not regulate anything. My magic started at my core, and randomly spread from there. All my body parts had to work with was my life force itself."
Cheerilee gasped, realizing now what the problem was.
"Then, when I went to Twilight's library, I studied. For the whole day. At first, I noticed that my eyes were getting blurry, but I just assumed they were tired from all that reading. Then I started practicing my Magical Sight, what I am using now, and I didn't notice the deterioration. When I opened them again...well, you know what happened."
"That's horrible! You don't have to come to school today if you don't want to. I don't want anything else to happen to you on my account."
"It's just fine. After Twilight came back from her trip, and I explained everything, she taught me how to manually control my magic. I won't be in danger anymore."
"Okay," Cheerilee said, still a bit reluctant.
By now, other students were filing in, and Cheerilee returned to the front of the class.
When everypony was accounted for, she addressed the class.
"Good morning, everypony, today we will be welcoming somepony very special who is joining our class today: Clean Record. Clean Record, will you please stand up?"
I stood up, waved at the class, and sat back down.
A hand almost immediately shot up.
"Why was his eyes closed?"
"That, Snails, was because Clean Record is blind."
There was, of course, an outbreak of whispers.
"But he can listen just fine."
The whispers immediately stopped.
And with that, she continued with the lesson.
I noticed that she didn't mention the fact that I could actually see. I guess that would raise too many confused questions. She wisely left that up to me to deal with.
Actual lessons were rather harder than I expected. Not just the difficulty, but Cheerilee used a chalkboard, and while she explained things well enough for me to understand, chalk was not organic material, and neither did it have any enchantments.
At least Twilight planned well. I could take notes easily. Twilight gave me some ink that she had enchanted with a minor "anti-run" spell, so that I could see what I was writing.
As I looked at my classmates, though, I noticed quite a few of them were confused. Confusion was a distinct flavor of orange. Thinking back on our history lesson, I chuckled. Discord would be proud.
I wonder what chaos magic looks like.
Well, I could always visit the Everfree again. According to Twilight, it's full of chaos magic.
Recess was unexpectedly interesting. I didn't expect to have much fun, as most of the fillies seemed to avoid me. But I did notice one filly that was very interesting. Her magic was messed up, too.
Not as much as mine, but it gave me a lot of hope.
I walked up to her.
Better start out with a simple greeting.
"Hello, what's your name?"
"Scootaloo. Wait...how did you do that!"
"Do what?"
"You walked right up to me. Cheerilee said you were blind. And your eyes were closed, anyway."
"Umm, well...I can kind of see, even though I'm blind."
"You're making no sense at all."
"Twilight taught me how to see magic. So I can't see you, but I can see your magic, so that way I can kind of see you anyway."
Scootaloo struggled with this one. "But you're not a unicorn."
"Why does everypony keep saying that? Everypony does magic, it's just different kinds. Pegasi, for example, use magic to fly. Otherwise, they wouldn't be able to get almost any lift at all."
Scootaloo saddened. "Well, I'm a pegasus and I can't fly."
"I know."
"You know?!"
"I can't either."
"I thought I was the only one. Wait, how did you know I couldn't fly? You're new here, right?"
"Well, the magic around your wings is improperly shaped. It generates some lift, but not enough to fly."
"Oh. And you have the same problem?"
I laughed. "The magic around my entire body is improperly shaped." I decided to leave out the fact that that was the reason I was blind. I didn't want to panic her unnecessarily.
"I thought I was the only one."
"So did I. It's been nice meeting you. By the way, why do some ponies have spots of magic on their flanks, while some don't? All the adults have them, but you and I don't. What are they?"
Scootaloo thought for a moment, trying to figure out what I was talking about. Finally, she realized what it was. "Oh! You're talking about cutie marks! I didn't realize that you didn't have one, either. I thought I was the only one without one in my class. Now there's two of us!"
"Actually," I said. "There's six of us including me, you, her, her, her, and her." I pointed to each pony.
"Wait, did you just point through the playground equipment?"
"Oh, right. I can see through things."
"That. Is. Awesome."
"Only if I'm looking at things more magical. Like ponies. Playground equipment isn't exactly that magical."
"Anyway, we just have to meet with those others. Could you point them out again?"
I did so, and Scootaloo identified them as Twist, Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and Dinky Doo.
"Why do you want to meet them so much?"
"Well, I thought for a long while that I was the only one in my class who didn't have her cutie mark. Or his," she corrected, looking at me. "At least, those two made it seem like that."
She pointed at two fillies that, by their obvious attitudes, I knew I wouldn't like.
"They'll be after you soon. I thought it would be great if we could band together, look for our special talents as a group. It kind of hurts, being the only one, and I can just imagine how those others might feel."
"Not that I think about that sort of stuff a lot," she said quickly.
"It sounds like a great idea."
We talked to the others, and three of them seemed interested. Twist declined, saying she was okay whenever it appeared, and she wasn't that late getting one, anyway. Scootaloo was a bit discouraged by this, but quickly cheered up when Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Dinky all agreed immediately.
Apart from getting my cutie mark, it gave me a great opportunity to get to know ponies who seemed to be very understanding, and didn't seem awkward around me. I gave my explanation again to them, and Dinky in particular seemed very interested.
She was very bright. Mentally, yes, but also magically. I wouldn't tell anyone, but there also was a strange tinge to her magic, too. Chaotic, even. Were magical disorders really as uncommon as Twilight thought? Or was this class just a special case?
Scootaloo insisted on a group name, and we decided on the Cutie Mark Crusaders.
It did have a nice ring to it, and it was a lot better than anything I could come up with.
The bell rang again, and we all went back inside.
I never expected this.
I expected to learn, yes, but I never dreamed that I would make so many friends.
"Well, I didn't expect to make so many friends on the first day."
Twilight laughed. "Neither did I when I first came to Ponyville. Even when trying to avoid doing so, I made friends anyway. I guess I have Pinkie to thank for that."
I started smiling.
"What is it?"
"Well, you can tell Pinkie that it takes a lot more to surprise me now."
"What are you talking about?" Twilight got visibly more nervous.
"I must say, you did pretty well, but I can kind of see the fifty or so ponies that are crammed into the library."
"Oh. Right. That."
"It's still just fine," I said, smiling a bit more. "I'll enjoy the party anyway. They'll always be another party for her to try and surprise me."
I walked in the door.
"SURPRISE!"
I didn't even try to fake a reaction. Pinkie could probably spot fake surprise, anyway. I did smile at the greeting, though.
Pinkie bounced up to me, and I almost laughed out loud. Pinkie was impossibly pink even if I could only see her magic.
"Hi, Record! I'm Pinkie Pie! But you already knew that! Were you surprised? Were ya? Were ya?"
"Actually, not really."
Pinkie deflated just slightly. "What? But we were all quiet and everything!"
She suddenly looked suspicious. "Did Twilight blow it again?"
"No, nothing like that. Twilight was actually very convincing. But since I'm blind, I can see through walls now."
Pinkie accepted this blatantly false logic as if it was the most normal thing in the world.
"That's so cool! Could you teach me to do it, too?"
I knew Pinkie well enough from Twilight's stories to know that that was a terrifying idea.
I thought quickly. "Well, wouldn't that ruin all the surprise parties that ponies wanted to throw for you?"
"Oh, yeah."
Phew. Disaster averted.
"But I'll still get you one of these days. I will surprise you eventually."
I didn't doubt it.
The party was amazingly fun. The games Pinkie planned were, of course, fun, but it was even more fun for me to memorize all the ponies. As Pinkie said, everypony in Ponyville was there. Everypony was unique, and, just like Pinkie, I wanted to know all of them. Maybe not as well as Pinkie did, but I wanted to be able to recognize them, all the same.
After learning about my particular method of sight, Pinkie was overjoyed that I could see her balloons. The rubber did come from a plant, after all.
Pin the Tail on the Pony was interesting. Instead of being blindfolded, Pinkie made me promise (not Pinkie Promise, of course) to shut off my Sight. Being able to see the paper was too much of an advantage.
The best part, though, was meeting my friends again. Scootaloo told me excitedly that, while she couldn't fly just yet, she was definitely getting a lot more lift.
Apparently, that was also how she got them to the party before me. She apparently took all of them on her scooter and used her wings as propulsion. A rather neat idea, actually.
She then asked how I was doing with my wings.
"Not that far at all, really."
"Why? If I were you, I'd never stop until I got my wings working."
"You aren't practicing right now," Sweetie Belle pointed out.
"Well, I'm inside the library. I don't think Twilight would appreciate it that much."
"Well, actually, remember when I said I was a lot worse than you?"
"Yeah, why?"
"I have been practicing, but mostly to keep my magic from dissipating completely."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"Did I tell you how I lost my sight?"
"Umm, no. I kind of assumed you were always blind."
"It actually happened yesterday."
"Seriously?"
They were all listening now.
"Well, you know how I said to Scootaloo how improperly formed magic was causing her inability to fly?"
They nodded.
"Well, my magic wasn't formed at all."
"Really?"
"Yes. Now I didn't want to say this before, mostly because I didn't want to scare anypony, but I can assure Scootaloo that she's safe."
"Safe from what?"
"Well, since my magic wasn't reaching my eyes, and I spent all my time here reading..."
"You exhausted your eyes, and since there wasn't magic to draw from, it took the life force instead." Dinky said simply.
We all looked at her.
"What?"
"That's exactly right. Where did you learn that?"
"Mom was talking about it one time. You talking about your problem kind of reminded me of her."
Okay, magical disorders definitely aren't as uncommon as Twilight believes. Still, it could be just Ponyville.
"Where is your mom?"
"Over there."
She pointed with her hoof, and while it was a bit difficult to figure out where she was pointing, because I could only see her magic, when I looked, there was no mistake.
That is some weird magic
Now I really want to see this Discord that Twilight talked about in her history lessons. She said that he was just a legend, but wasn't Nightmare Moon even more so?
We talked for the rest of the party on a subject we were all interested in: cutie marks.
Apple Bloom talked about fixing up an old treehouse on the farm that might work as a clubhouse for the Crusaders. It seemed like a great idea, and the vote passed unanimously.
Cutie Mark ideas were passed around, and I wrote them down on a list. Twilight always insisted that I keep spare parchment with me, and now I was grateful.
Dinky was very interested on how I could see what I was writing, and I explained to her that Twilight enchanted the ink for me. That way, even if I couldn't see the ink, I could see her magic instead. It made all my ink look purple.
When the party was finally over, and everypony left, I was exhausted. I climbed into bed, and looked up at the moon and stars.
The moon was just as bright as the sun. And the stars sparkled with their own unique magic.
The night truly was just as beautiful as the day. And it was nice to see that Luna was resuming her old duties. Maybe someday the rest of Equestria would see it the same way.
School the following week went well. Classes were interesting as usual, especially history. It was amazing how peaceful things were now compared to back then. Sure, Nightmare Moon was a recent event, but that was one pony. In general, Celestia led a golden age in Equestrian history.
Recess was a time for the Crusaders and me to get to know each other better. Apple Bloom fixed up the schoolhouse, and although Scootaloo wanted to meet every day, Sweetie Belle and I vetoed that plan. Rarity wasn't what I would call restrictive, but she put her hoof down on having every single evening taken away.
I objected for a similar reason. Although hanging out was fun, I wanted to spend time alone too.
I also wanted to practice with my faulty magic, something that Scootaloo immediately understood.
So Crusader meetings, approved by all parents involved, were to be held on Wednesdays.
Of course, weekends were also possible meetings, but most members' parents insisted that those meetings be individually approved.
The meeting on Wednesday, while unproductive in the cutie mark realm, was still rather fun, despite the disaster that it appeared to be.
Scootaloo is now henceforth banned from suggesting cutie marks for at least three meetings.
And I must research the statistical unlikelihood that tree sap can be found more than one hundred meters from the nearest tree.
The weekend arrived, and I relished the opportunity to have the whole day to myself. I really needed to get a handle on my magic.
I had been practicing in my free time, and had gotten my body shape from a vague approximation to a generally smooth surface, but I had yet to have an uninterrupted session of practice.
If I didn't get so distracted by everything, this would be a lot easier.
And Twilight's library was full of distractions.
I think I got about an hour of uninterrupted practice.
I still did pretty well. Instead of just getting the normal, body-related magic into my wings, I finally got something more. The kind of magic that is concentrated enough to allow pegasi flight.
In retrospect, I have to thank Pinkie Pie later. All those pegasi were great role models. Scootaloo doesn't count.
In essence, I got good enough to create some lift. But I still couldn't manage the fine control that is necessary to shape my magic just right. More practice was required.
By Sunday, I was able to hover weakly. I still didn't have the wing model perfect, but right then, I didn't care. I was the happiest pony in the world right then. But then I encountered another obstacle: my wings were tired.
Mundane, yes. But I hadn't exercised my wings since, well, the forest. And that's if you can call that exercise, flapping them a few times.
I needed more practice. But with my short attention span, I wasn't able to for any length of time.
How would Pinkie Pie do it?
She has such a short attention span. How does she concentrate on anything?
Of course! she makes it a game.
But how would I compete with myself?
Well, how does any single-player game do it? Beat your score.
So, every day, as I went to or from school, I would "fly" as far as I could along my regular route, then mark how far I got on a piece of parchment.
At first, I just hovered slowly along, but that's why I got up early each day.
By Friday, I approached walking speed. Not much, but a start. And I could make it almost halfway there.
Scootaloo, of course, already surpassed me in ability. Her wings were strong. Once she had her magic in the right shape, she would be flying better than most adult pegasi. Right now, her flying was okay for a filly. She couldn't get that high, but she was a lot faster.
Oddly enough, she still used her scooter.
Twilight informed me that Saturday that the search for my real family was fruitless.
"There was nothing in the records anywhere. There was no pony by either the name Sidereus or Blank Record. We even checked for your coat and mane colors. None of them looked like you at all. Officially, you don't exist."
"What does that mean for me?"
"Princess Celestia rectified that. You now do exist, and I am your legal guardian. The only drawback is that you're legally two weeks old."
She laughed, but continued on. "That doesn't really mean anything to you, of course. You can still go to school just the same, and Celestia made sure that you'd be considered an adult at the proper time."
'But the important thing that I wanted to tell you was that I am now your legal guardian." She smiled again. "That means that I can act as your parent in every legal capacity."
I smiled mischievously. "Thank you...mom."
I went back outside, noticing how she had frozen in place, perhaps reflecting on exactly what she had done.
That weekend, as Twilight frantically read every book she could on parenting, I practiced my magic again. It would definitely improve my wings' efficiency.
I did tell Twilight that being legal guardian didn't really change anything at all, and that she already had taken care of Spike, but she didn't really listen. Noticing a lost cause when I saw one, I gave up.
I did a little better at focusing on my work this time around. It helped me to have a small distraction while I worked, and Twilight's frantic studying did just that. It also was good practice maintaining focus, even when ponies were talking to you.
With Twilight's unintentional help, I was able to form wings that were at least as good as Scootaloo's attempts. A bit rough compared to a normal pegasus, but they worked, and not uncommon for a developing filly.
Though I doubt most of those fillies put as much work into them.
I could now gain height, instead of relying on the ground for my lift. This was, of course, tiring, but entirely necessary for my wing muscles to develop properly.
Now I could fly all the way to school, if I stayed along the ground.
So, in my revised version of the game, that was now labeled as cheating. I now had to stay at least ten feet off the ground to ensure that the ground was of no assistance.
Needless to say, I wasn't able to make it that far at all.
But I had a new goal, and I was really flying. For once in a very long time, I was content.
Until Twilight came up with that stupid (but still brilliant) idea of hers.
Twilight, in her brilliant mind, had come upon a possible way to find out who I was.
In her logic, if I didn't appear in any records, either I wasn't from Equestria, or I came from the past.
I raised an eyebrow.
Therefore, the biggest chance of finding somepony that would know me is if they were very old, and traveled a lot in their life.
Princess Celestia was therefore that candidate.
But then, she thought, Celestia would have recognized me from the pictures. she brought.
Therefore, I must have changed form since then.
My eyebrow could not possibly get higher than it already was.
If Celestia identified my magic instead, then she would be able to see who I really am.
And coupled with a memory spell, it makes sure that she just didn't forget.
That...actually makes a strange amount of sense.
I agreed, and she sent a letter to Celestia immediately. Have I mentioned how cool it is to see a Spike-sent letter?
Spike, by the way, mostly thought of me as a Pegasus version of Twilight. He thought my "freaky magic-seeing thing" was pretty cool, but there wasn't much we could relate with.
As soon as she got the answer, Twilight got us tickets for the next train going to Canterlot.
Thank goodness it was a Saturday. I don't think Cheerilee would appreciate me missing school, especially as I started late in the year. And I don't think I could have stopped Twilight, anyway. She was quite determined.
The ride to Canterlot was pleasant. There weren't that many ponies on the train, and it wasn't that noisy.
It would be nice to see more of Equestria. And I was sort of curious what Celestia looked like. I mean, I saw pictures of her before I went blind, but I meant what she looked like magically. That would be interesting.
Probably just as bright as the sun. At least I didn't have eyes to burn out, anymore.
Anyway, I could just shut off my vision if it was too much for me to handle.
The only way to describe Canterlot, in my opinion, was confusing.
Not the way to describe it; confusing is the description I had for it.
For one thing, it was just so crowded.
For another, a lot of the houses were made of stone. So they were invisible to me.
Same with the streets.
And the whole mountain.
So for all I could tell, I was walking in midair.
The castle, mercifully, had many enchantments on it.
So for me, it was literally a castle in the clouds. Maybe without the clouds. But it was in midair all the same.
We weren't stopped or even checked by any of the guards. Some even greeted her when they were sure nopony else was around.
Apparently being Celestia's personal student helps a bit.
Twilight directed me through the castle, but honestly, I knew where I was going. It's kind of hard to miss Celestia when you can see through walls.
I also saw Luna, recognizing her by her magic, which I saw in the moon and stars each night. Oddly enough, it was quite similar to my own.
How strange.
She did seem, however, a bit weak for some reason. She was probably still recovering from the Elements.
We finally stopped in the room where Celestia was. I could tell it probably wasn't the throne room, because of its lack of size, and the fact that there wasn't any guards there. In fact, if I looked very closely, I could see the vague outlines of beanbags on the floor. Twilight sat in one, and I struggled to do the same, having to try more than once. Celestia's magic was quite blinding, and I was disoriented.
Twilight looked at me in confusion, and I gave a subtle nudge in Celestia's direction.
She gave a soft "Oh."
I turned back towards Celestia, but I kept my face slightly averted. She was rather hard to look at.
I didn't want to turn off my sight, either. I didn't want to unintentionally speak in the wrong direction.
And I wouldn't be able to see her emotions, either.
Right now, I could almost feel the compassion she was radiating. But I knew it wasn't just for me, either. I had felt that before we had even entered the room.
But now that we were settled, Celestia began to speak. "I received your letter earlier today, and I think the idea does deserve some merit. However, do not place your hopes on this. I may have seen many ponies in my lifetime, but there is also a great many that I haven't. But perhaps I will find something familiar. I might be able to find your family, even if I have not seen you personally."
Twilight nodded. "I understand."
Celestia turned her attention to me. "Now I trust Twilight, but I want to be certain. Are you completely sure that you are okay with this? Twilight is already your guardian. We have made a great effort to find your family, and found nothing. Although the spell is not being cast on you directly, I want you to have a choice. Do you want to proceed?"
I hesitated, but nodded. Although I liked Twilight, I wanted to see where I came from. Maybe that would explain a few things. Or maybe even help me regain my lost memory.
Suddenly, she looked confused.
"And I must ask you---why do you avoid looking at me? This is not a formal setting, and you shouldn't fear me. I assure you, you're quite safe."
"Umm...well...you're really bright."
"What do you mean---oh, I see. Twilight informed me about your unique method of seeing. I'm curious---what do I look like?"
"Actually...exactly like the sun."
She immediately dimmed down, not exactly to a normal pony's standard, but enough to be tolerable.
"I'm terribly sorry. I should have realized that you would see something of the sort. Forgive me."
"It's fine. I didn't know you could do something like that."
Apparently Twilight didn't either. "Princess! You have pink hair?!"
Amusement.
"Yes, Twilight. You didn't think I had a magically saturated mane when I was born, did you?"
Silence.
"Well," she said as she gave a slight chuckle. "I think that answers my question. Now we should get on to business."
And with that, she began her spell.
It was a variant of my own Magical Sight, combined with a memory spell. She cast it on herself.
Something was nagging at the back of my mind. How would seeing my magic help her remember me at all? She doesn't see like I see on a normal basis. Why should she recognize me based on my magic. Twilight should know better. And Celestia should have seen her mistake. Were they trying to find something else instead?
I studied Celestia, watching her emotions.
Surprise.
Confusion.
Revelation.
Concern.
"Twilight, I am very glad you were wrong, but in a way, you're also right."
"What do you mean by that?"
"You were wrong about Nightmare Moon. There is no trace of her in him, although you were right to be cautious so close to her defeat. But I do recognize his magic. I know it quite well."
"What do you mean?" This time it was me that was talking. I wasn't very impressed by Twilight's trick. I sort of understood the necessity, my appearance was way too close to her defeat of Nightmare Moon. But Luna? This was just ridiculous.
"The Elements of Harmony cannot destroy. When they cleansed my sister, Luna, they forcibly removed the Nightmare. But removing something that closely integrated so violently and quickly is a very difficult feat. The Elements were not perfect. They banished the Nightmare from Luna, but they took a little something else, too. My sister has not been at her best recently."
"Yes, I saw that. But what does this have to do with me?"
"Twilight, did you notice the fragments that were left over after you used the Elements."
"Of course. I assumed that those were the remains of Nightmare Moon. Why?"
"Those did not have anything to do with Nightmare Moon. The Elements would not be that careless in her banishment. Those were fragments of Luna's magic."
I saw where this was going. "But if I'm supposed to be one of those fragments, how did I become, you know, a pony?"
"Actually, they would have rejoined with Luna given the chance. And they tried to. But Luna went to the festival in Ponyville immediately after. The fragments would have traveled through the Everfree, trying to get back to Luna, but I'm assuming they failed. Something must have confused them."
I got a strange, sinking feeling. "Something like chaos magic."
"Exactly."
"And the crater?"
"That was probably where the majority of the magic went. The remainder remembered that it had to join back with a body. So it created you."
"And apparently it couldn't do that properly, either," I said. "I have to manually control it at all times."
"Yes," she said sadly. "and I'm very sorry for that."
"So what do I do now? Do I have to give my magic back to Luna?" By now, I was quite depressed. I wasn't even a pony. How would you take that news?
She looked horrified at the thought.
"Maybe that was fine then. But you are your own pony now. While similar to Luna's your magic is slightly, but distinctly different. Experience changes a pony. But even if it were exactly the same, I wouldn't dare---I don't even want to finish that sentence. No, you are unique now. I was only discussing where you came from, not pronouncing a judgement."
"So, do I have to do anything different?"
"Normally, I would keep you under closer supervision, only for your safety. But Twilight has already done so much to help you, I see nopony more qualified than Twilight to do that job. So for you, nothing has changed. Only now you know a little bit more information. If I recall, that is exactly why you came here. Although I do wish that Twilight was more straightforward with you. I thought Applejack might have taught her the value of honesty."
Twilight reddened with embarrassment. No really, that was what it looked like. But it tasted yellow. Don't ask me how.
"But I suppose we are done for now. You are free to leave. And of course if you have any difficulties, don't hesitate to ask me. I am here to help."
Twilight and I left the room and we started back towards the train station. I didn't want to stay in Canterlot any longer than I had to.
As we boarded the train, I heard Twilight mutter. Pink hair...pink hair...
It's the simple things that make life worth living.
But I couldn't help but wonder. The moon had no trace of magic but Luna's. If the Nightmare was just banished and not destroyed, where did it get banished to?
Celestia was right. Nothing really was different for me. I didn't really feel that different. I was the same person. And besides an occasional mutter from Twilight about pink hair, life for me hadn't changed at all.
Well, maybe a bit. But that was my own effort. I nearly mastered the wing shape for flight. And finally, I landed on a cloud. Those things are comfortable.
I still didn't have much actual strength in my wings. But I could fly to school now. And I didn't have to go around buildings anymore.
It was almost as if the trip to Canterlot never happened.
Almost.
It was strange to look up at the stars and see my own magic among them.
I got thinking again. How did pegasus magic work, exactly? Did it press down on the air? Or was there something else, something invisible? I knew that the wing-to-mass ratio of normal wings was too shallow, but the magic was of the same size. It was too small to be pushing on the air. Was there something else there that was...oh.
All around me, in my magical sight, was a haze. Normally, I just thought it was the result of being able to see too far-the objects in the distance giving interference. But really, if he looked up on a clear night, just like this one, there should be no interference.
But there was.
He could see the ambient magic. That was what pegasi used to fly. How far did it extend? How high can pegasi really fly?
Now that was a question for Rainbow Dash, certainly. She always tried to break barriers. She also succeeded, in a rather recent case.
Wait. Now that Sonic Rainboom. A normal sonic boom does not create a rainbow. Did she break the barrier of something else also?
Now that was not a question for her. She wouldn't know or care about "ambient magical fields". That was a question that only he could answer.
Now I had watched Rainbow perform the Sonic Rainboom. And it did seem like it broke a different barrier of sorts. The intense explosion of magic confirmed that. Rainbow Dash was powerful, but that much energy did not come from her.
No, watching her would not do. I had a new goal. An absurd goal. I had to experiment. I had to recreate the Sonic Rainboom myself.
I announced my decision to the rest of the Crusaders with mixed results.
The overall reaction was skepticism.
Dinky thought that my theory was plausible, but was unsure about my capabilities.
Scootaloo thought it was downright impossible.
"But Rainbow Dash took ages to get it right, and she's Rainbow Dash!"
"I know, but I watched her, and I know how she did it."
"That doesn't mean you can."
"I know. It'll take a long time. But I believe I found an easier way."
"And what might that be?"
"Only if you keep it a secret."
"Oh...all right. It probably won't work, anyway."
"Well, Rainbow's doing it wrong."
"WHAT!" All of them this time.
"Well, she's just trying to force her way through; use raw wingpower to break through the barrier. I'm actually surprised she managed it that way."
"Well, isn't that what you're supposed to do to go faster?"
"Normally, yes, but there is another way; a way that's a lot easier, at least for me."
"Reshaping your magic."
"What do you mean by that? You need your wings to be able to fly."
"No, you keep your wings the way they are. But I think I know how to direct the air currents. Make myself more aerodynamic. Maybe even...no, that's too much. But if you eliminate the air resistance..."
"Your speed can be almost doubled," finished Dinky.
"But still, I don't expect to get there anytime soon. I just barely got my wings back to normal."
Sweetie Belle spoke up. "But why do you want to do the Sonic Rainboom in the first place?"
"Because it's awesome," Scootaloo interrupted.
"Not exactly," I said. "Well, it is awesome, but I want to know more about something else. You know how I can see magic, right?"
"Yes."
"Well, I found out that there is this...field of magic that pegasi use to fly. I think Rainbow Dash might have broken a barrier of some sort, and I want to find out what that was. I know she was able to fly after she broke it, but I want to find out for myself what happened, exactly."
"Can't you just watch Rainbow do a Sonic Rainboom again?" asked Apple Bloom.
"Not really. I can't see what she is seeing. I have to see what happens first-person. I need to be beyond that barrier."
"I need to do it myself."
Chapter 11: Exercise, Exercise, and a Little Magic
About a week later, I could fly pretty normally. I could go almost anywhere, but I wasn't very fast. My wings were still quite weak. It was time to resort to extreme measures.
Training from Rainbow Dash.
Even in my head, that sounded stupid.
But I was getting nowhere by myself. I kept getting distracted, and nothing focuses you better than somepony shouting at you.
I was in for some very painful evenings.
Rainbow Dash was actually very surprised when I asked her. Apparently she didn't get requests that often. But then she got enthusiastic about it. Way too enthusiastic.
I reluctantly have to admit, she was a very good teacher. She knew how to balance work and fun. But she was intense. Very intense. Everything was done over-the-top. I didn't tell her I was training for the Sonic Rainboom, but based on the exercises she put me through, it was as if she knew.
But I knew better. She had told me herself. These were her own training exercises. Toned down, of course, but still what she trained with.
When she asked me why I was so interested, I just told her the stock answer that I wanted to be the best I possibly could. And she took that to heart.
It felt bad, not telling her about my intentions for the Sonic Rainboom, but I wasn't sure how she would react. Probably just skepticism. She had so much trouble with that move.
It was better this way. Maybe if I succeeded, I could show her how to do it more easily.
Anyway, I didn't lie. I did want to be the best that I could be. I just had a goal separate from that as well.
Rainbow Dash seemed surprised that I didn't give up on training. She hadn't had voluntary students for more than a day, before.
And I almost did give up. But after a week of training, my wings were sore, and same with the rest of me, but I noticed the improvement. I was almost twice as fast as before.
Although that wasn't exactly saying much.
But I was as fast as a normal pegasus, anyway.
And according to Twilight, that is actually a good achievement for somepony as young as me.
But I hadn't forgotten my goal. The magic in my wings had finally become automatic. It was time to experiment.
Rainbow Dash insisted that practice be every day after school. She allowed me to go to Crusader meetings on Wednesday, but it still meant that I only had free time on weekends.
And she gave me homework.
She didn't call it that, of course. She just insisted that I exercise a certain amount on the weekends to make sure I exercised every day.
She really did know what she was doing. It was the healthiest for the muscles.
But those mandatory exercises were annoying.
But now, they were something to look forward to. I could spend as long as I wanted on them, instead of being rushed by Dash.
I could experiment.
So on Saturday, from morning till noon, I studied all the books on aerodynamics I could. Then, I went outside to put what I learned to practice.
This time, I wasn't copying somepony else. I was doing something completely new.
I kept my wings the way they were. It would take more concentration to try and change them, and I didn't want to mess with success.
But I took another part of my magic to do something else. I extended it outside of my body and then took off.
I shaped it rather clumsily as I flew, making a cone-like shape in front of me.
It worked surprisingly well. I got almost a 25% increase in speed with no effort.
Well, that's not entirely true. It took a lot of mental fortitude to keep it up.
Only one thing improves that. Practice.
I practiced the rest of the day, far exceeding Rainbow's requirements.
This was a lot easier than before.
Yes, the exercise was easier, but also the manipulation.
By evening I had formed a perfectly aerodynamic cone.
I must be getting better at this.
The next day, I worked on a harder shape, starting immediately as soon as I woke up. This would be a complete body covering. It would start in front of me, shape around my body, and come to a point at the end.
Of course, my wings would be outside this bubble. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to fly.
Again, it took the entire day, but it was a lot easier to master.
Maybe it was that it was a lot simpler of a shape.
Or maybe this sort of thing just improves with practice.
But the main point was that I was flying at about twice the speed as usual.
It was odd, not having the wind in my mane and face. But the results spoke for themselves. This was definitely the way to do it.
I came in for a landing back at the library. Twilight was waiting for me at the door, watching.
"Wow, I'm impressed. Dash's training really paid off."
I smiled. "Yes it did. But It wasn't just her training."
"Oh?"
"Well, remember how I had to shape the magic on my wings?"
"Yes, of course."
"Pegasi aren't naturally aerodynamic. I used a magical field to fix that."
"Wait--you extended your magic outside your body? I didn't know that was possible!"
"Well, my magic was naturally doing that when it was all messed up. As long as I keep magic flowing through my body at the same time, it shouldn't be a problem."
"I guess you're right. I just never thought of purposely doing something like that. But if you have control over it, it should be safe enough."
"I'm getting better at control now. This new field was actually rather easy in comparison."
"And so you use it to direct the air around you? That's actually pretty clever. But why do you want to go so fast? You're not exactly Rainbow Dash. You haven't shown much interest in speed before. Now it seems you're sole focus is just that. Why?"
I sighed. "I kept it a secret, because I wasn't sure how Dash would react, but I can't keep it a secret from you. A while ago, I noticed that the air was full of ambient magical power. I noticed that Rainbow's Sonic Rainboom must have broken another barrier other than sound. She broke a magical barrier, and not only survived, but was still flying despite she was moving too fast to use that ambient magic. Not only that, she increased in speed. I want to find out what happened on the other side of that barrier. I have to recreate the Sonic Rainboom."
"I see why you want to do that, but Rainbow had a lot of trouble with that move. And forgive me, but you aren't any Rainbow Dash."
"I know. But I believe Rainbow was doing it wrong. She was using brute force. I intend to use aerodynamics. It'll make a less impressive explosion, but it'll do the job, and for me, that's what matters."
"I see. That...might actually work. There have been objects that have crossed the sound barrier before."
"I know; the aerodynamics books showed me those particular objects. I'm basing my "shield" on the air currents that they described.
"Wait a minute--did you say shield?"
"Yes, it deflects air, just as a regular shield deflects attacks. Why?"
"Is this shield of yours solid?"
"Solid enough to deflect high speed air. Other than that, I don't know."
"Have you crashed with it active?"
"Yes. It hurts. A lot."
"So, does that mean your shield broke?"
"No. But it still hurt. Remember, it's not a unicorn shield. It's a part of me, just as my wings are."
"How exactly did it hurt if it doesn't contain nerves."
"I got a splitting headache."
"Okay, that actually makes sense. Just checking. If pegasi could make shields like a unicorn..."
"Yes, that would be awesome. But unfortunately, no."
When I trained with Dash the next day, she was shocked. I showed no signs of extra wing strength, yet I was flying twice as fast as before.
Everything was going great until she gave up and decided to test my wingpower.
I used my aerodynamic shield. The wingpower reading was 0.5.
Less than Fluttershy.
And I was moving at about a quarter of the speed of sound.
It turns out the instrument used to measure wingpower measures the air you displace.
So for me, a lower score was actually better.
But it left Rainbow Dash confused. Very confused. Confused enough to ask Twilight what was going on. Loudly.
She told her, and Dash was even more confused than before.
Dash's brain eventually gave up, and she trained me the same as before. Except she took it up a notch. Now that I showed proficiency, she decided to stop toning the exercises down. I was on her training plan now.
Rainbow Dash trained me hard. Really hard. Even with my new-found ability, it was extremely difficult.
So I was very grateful when school ended. At least I had time to relax.
But the harder I trained, and the better I got, the happier Rainbow seemed to be.
She started to race me.
And for real this time.
Of course, she always won. But she wasn't holding back anymore, either. And she was almost ecstatic about it.
I also learned another technique. At high speeds, it was hard to turn. Very hard. But all I had to do was shape my field. Flatten it out. Instead of eliminating all air resistance, I was using it to my advantage.
And finally, after more than four months of training, I felt it. The resistance.
I could feel the barrier.
My goal was in sight.
But still out of reach. I still wasn't strong enough. I could get up to the barrier, and feel it's resistance, but I could go no further.
But there was something I could do to get there. Make myself strong enough.
Make my "shield" less efficient.
If I made myself fight against the air resistance, I would become stronger.
Then when I attempted to break the barrier, I would regain that efficiency. Then, I would succeed.
But I would have to reduce the efficiency gradually. I still wanted to be able to keep up.
It took me another four months, and a lot of patience, before I finally gave up on completely removing my air shield.
As I thought about it again, the thought of completely removing it while keeping up with Rainbow Dash was absurd.
But before those four months were over, something else noteworthy happened.
Discord.
I had wanted to see him before. I was obviously crazy.
The whole time, I shut myself up in my bedroom, and shut off my Sight.
If I left it on for much longer, I would have lost my sanity.
Chaos magic is not something I want to see again in any significant amount.
And I thought Pinkie was weird.
As Twilight described what happened afterwards, I had to admit that some of his pranks were funny. But he was not somepony (is that even the word) that I wanted to meet again.
But that encounter got me thinking about the different kinds of magic again.
Which also contributed to my impatience.
But it really shouldn't matter too much. A 50% increase in efficiency is pretty good.
And so the day came; the one I had designated. It was the day I would attempt the Sonic Rainboom for the first time.
And for good measure, I made it a race.
I set up a cloud for us to start on. I placed it at the top of my flying range.
You see, the magical field has a limit to its range.
It also happens to be at the highest breathable range as well. Maybe there's a reason for that.
But I convinced Dash that a race from the top of our flying range to the bottom would be a great idea.
She seemed to think that it was hilarious, but she wouldn't tell me why. But I had an idea. This was the perfect conditions for a Sonic Rainboom, and both of us knew that well. She just didn't know that I knew that.
Needless to say, she was very confident in her victory.
I prepared myself, shaping my field to its most efficient form. The shallower the angle, the better.
Rainbow started the countdown. "Three....two....one....GO!"
We both shot downward. Neither of us paced ourselves as we usually did. Both of us knew that the Rainboom increased your speed.
Rainbow looked at me, surprised that I was keeping up so well.
Cones formed around both of us. I couldn't see the compressed air, but I did see the compressed magic. I couldn't help but notice that my cone was significantly smaller.
Then Dash, slightly ahead of me, broke the barrier.
And then I did, too.
I looked behind me, and there were two circles of rainbow light: one large, one small. The funny thing was, I couldn't hear the explosions. I was traveling faster than sound.
I did it.
I looked back in front of me, and gasped slightly. The air was filled with magical energy, swirling around on its own.
It was a whole different world. Everything was clearer. I could see everything. Ponies were no longer vague blobs of light. I could see their exact magical capacity, even their talents...
And I almost crashed into the ground, pulling up easily. I didn't even need to use my special trick. The air seemed to just carry me.
I landed at the finish line. Rainbow Dash had already won, of course.
She was looking at me with a mixture of shock and extreme pride.
I, however, wasn't paying attention. I was more focused on what I had just seen.
What happened back there?
Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash tried to get my attention.
"Record! Record!"
"What record?"
"No, you! That's your name, remember? But I was trying to say---wait. I don't think you're exactly blank anymore."
"Wait, what?"
Rainbow sighed. "Okay, I'll explain it in simpler terms. You got your cutie mark."
I looked at my flank. Sure enough, there was a mark there. Three four-pointed stars.
"But back to the subject."
"There was a subject?"
"Nevermind that. How?"
"How what?"
"How did you do the Sonic Rainboom?"
"Oh, that."
"Yes, that. How did you do that? You weren't even that close yesterday."
"Didn't Twilight explain it to you?"
"Yes, but it didn't do any good."
"Okay, basically, I removed almost all of the air resistance. That's why wingpower measurements don't work for me."
"Don't remind me."
"But the point is, I used the same magic that allows us to fly, and used it to direct the air around me. I can go about twice as fast as normal this way."
"Really?"
"Do you honestly think that I could keep up with you without it?"
"No, I guess not. It just seems like cheating, doing that."
"Well, if a unicorn found out a way to do magic, would that be considered cheating?"
"No...I guess..."
"Then why should this be any different? If you learned how to do the same thing, you could do the Sonic Rainboom in a fraction of the time. Maybe even do it vertically."
"Really?"
"Of course. I was meaning to show you in the first place. I just wanted to see what it was like, first. Plus, I think Ponyville might thank me. It seems my Rainboom causes a lot less property damage."
Rainbow dash deflated slightly.
But I knew what the problem was.
"Of course, you can just use my modifications to get up to speed. If you drop it just before you break the barrier, it should create a sufficiently impressive explosion."
She brightened up considerably.
Always know your audience.
"Of course, forgive me if I try to develop a silent Rainboom. You know, for when you need to be quiet."
I got home, and both Twilight and the Crusaders were waiting for me.
It seemed like all of Ponyville had witnessed it.
Although he was glad his friends saw him succeed, he was starting to wish that they hadn't.
Now Scootaloo was under the impression that a sonic rainboom practically guaranteed a cutie mark.
Both Twilight and I agreed that my cutie mark probably had something to do with the strange magic that I saw.
And the rest of the Crusaders all agreed that while I had already gotten my cutie mark, and could therefore not be a full member, I could still stay with the group as a sort of honorary member.
Rainbow Dash proved difficult to teach. Being so instinctual, it was hard to get her to change anything about her magic.
I eventually discovered a shape that allowed me to cross the barrier without a Rainboom.
And of course, life went on.
I learned that Twilight had a brother.
He married a princess that I hadn't heard of, either. There was this thing with some changelings. I thought the Princess's magic looked weird.
Spike saved an entire kingdom.
I finally got around to changing my name.
Discord reformed. What.
Twilight became an alicorn princess.
Again, what.
One of Discord's past creations made it eternal night and eternal day at the same time. Pretty normal for him, though. And there were these tentacle plants from the Everfree Forest. Twilight had to give up the Elements of Harmony. And all she got was this box.
And then Tirek attacked, draining everypony of their magic.
It's probably a good thing that I was blind for most of it. I heard quite a lot of explosions. But that box came in pretty useful.
Oh, and the library got destroyed. Good thing I wasn't there at the time.
And then Twilight got a magical castle.
With all the magical things going on, it was only a matter of time.
Anyway, it was shiny. Even for me.
But Twilight got her new role: the Princess of Friendship. And she got a map/table thing that even I could read.
That was actually really cool.
I could see how the world looked for everypony else.
