An unfortunate accident launches a young mage into a new world
August Roltan was a prodigy, no one could argue that. An heir to one of the most prestigious schools of magic, and a respected scholar despite his young age. He could have become the greatest mage of his generation. Apparently, it was not ment to be. Now, waking up in an unkown land and with new body, he can rely only on his magic and wits as he tries to find his way home.
On one of the flat hills surrounding the bustling city of Koredun stood a great complex of buildings, made from enchanted stone and sturdiest wood. Referred to by locals as simply the Academy and in the wider world known as the School of Silver, this ancient institution gathered all that wished to study the law and rules of the world.
Amongst many lecture halls, hallways and domes stood a tower of great height, its roof shining with silver tint in the rays of the morning sun. It was from this that the School of Silver took its name and it was here that it was born. The Tower of Sor'Tel, a place of gathering for mages and sorcerers. Few garments granted such prestige as the silver-lined robes worn by its acolytes.
It was the pursuit of both power and truth that gathered here the most brilliant minds that later founded the Academy around it. They believed that greater understanding allows greater feats of magic. So they pursued knowledge and with this knowledge, they became a power that could influence the world. While many wizards focused on flashy displays or deadly war spells, the deeds of mages of Sor'Tel were usually more complex and discreet. While not known for their power or combat abilities, they were respected for their skill and understanding of the arcane arts, often shining bright when unorthodox problems arose.
Yet even in such a place, some stood above the others. Those braver, smarter, or more determined than their peers. In each generation, one of them would be chosen to become the High Scion, a personal student to the current Silver Archmage. Currently, this position was occupied by August Luciam of house Roltan, a minor noble.
He was a young man, with pale skin and perpetually tired eyes. He was smaller than most of his peers and his head was crowned by a mess of simple, brown hair. No one could tell that this normal-looking man held such an important position if not for the grey robes with the Towers crest, a star illuminated by a ray of light, sewn with golden thread on the chest.
He worked hard to get to this position and he had to work hard to keep it. Right now he was on his way to his master's laboratory. For most acolytes, those large doors would be intimidating, but to August this place was more familiar than his own room. This was where he spent most of his time, learning arcane arts with his master. He was swiftly accepted by the defensive wards and the doors opened for him.
Inside he was greeted by a group of senior mages, his master among them.
- "Welcome, young scion" - greeted him the Archmage - "With you here we can begin. Come, take your place"
August bowed in reverence and went to his spot in the large magic circle that was taking up most of the floor. The Silver Archmage was a tall man, with a long beard. An imposing figure that stood above even most knights. Yet he was also a man of science and a gentle guide to all students in the Tower.
He was also the greatest of known masters of spatial magic. And today, with all those mages gathered in the chamber, he was going to perform a spell that could push his research years ahead, confirming or denying many theories. Everyone was ready and everything was prepared as they took their spots. Rhythmic chants sounded all around and the air in the room seemed to vibrate from the amount of magic that gathered there. The ritual circle seemed to come alive as the spell reached its peak and a wave of mana flooded the space. The circle that surrounded them started glowing, mana spreading through the set path. Everything seemed well, until the magic circle suddenly flickered, mana spreading around, unexpectedly freed from the rigor of the ritual. That was the last thing that August saw before a sudden burst of mana flooded his body. He tried to resist but failed, and as he felt his body and mind fall to the assault of magical power, he lost consciousness.
******
August came back to his senses slowly and with little fanfare. A small grunt escaped his mouth as his hand moved toward his temple in an attempt to quell his massive headache... and it was enough for him to know that something was wrong. He knew his body well enough to know that some of his limbs were in the wrong places. Yet the lack of overwhelming pain suggested that the reason for that was different than simple injury.
Ceasing all movements, August sent a quick mana pulse through his entire body and allowed himself a small sigh of relief - his mana was flowing well. In a strange way, but well. Quickly and steadily. That meant he could still use his magic. That was all he needed.
Not feeling any injuries and with his magic working, August finally opened his eyes. Stabbing pain of headache buried itself even deeper into his mind as rays of sun mercilessly assaulted his eyes.
The first thing the young mage noticed was the cobblestone he was lying on. Next, nice, white walls on both of his sides, that went at least a few floors up. Above all this, he could see a clear blue sky and the sun, high on its path, shining down on him with spite.
August's attention was drawn away from the hateful ball of flames as some creature quickly dashed above the alleyway. Realizing from its shape and size of the shadow that it could not be a bird, August rose to his feet - and promptly fell, only now realizing what was wrong with his body.
He had additional limbs - he could see them now, two stubs covered in a greyish fur, ending with a harder tissue, somewhat resembling hooves. It could be a horse leg, but one imagined by a child taking their first lesson in arts rather than one attached to an actual animal.
A quick glance proved that such visage was shared by the whole of his body - an uncanny mixture of some rather fluffy pony species and a child's overeager imagination. His muzzle was also way too short, but at the moment he found it inconsequential. Instead of thinking more, he rose to his hooves, determined to find what had happened.
He might have been new to this body, but thanks to his training in polymorphic spells, as well as a few less-than-amusing jokes between the students, he already had an understanding of how to move on four limbs.
He slowly made his way to the end of the alleyway where he woke up, only to end up on a crossroad with another small, empty alley. Yet the sounds he heard around him got a little bit louder. Deciding that any way would be fine, the young mage turned right and after a quick trot found himself at the edge of a much bigger - and busier - street.
One look was enough for him to realize that wherever he was, it was far away from his home. On the street were no humans, elves, or dwarves - or any other race he could recognize. Instead, this place was inhabited by strange creatures, one that, just like his new form, resembled equines, yet of many different colors and with short muzzles and eyes far too big for any creature of that size. Some of them had a horn sprouting from their heads, despite not possessing any regality that unicorns August had met previously seemed to have naturally. Few had wings instead of horns, appendages that suited their looks much more in young scion eyes.
Realizing that his current form probably resembled those strange creatures, he lifted his hoof to his head - only to hit his horn, pain from this newly discovered body part adding to the preexisting headache and making him grimace in pain.
That made one of those strange equines look at him and August instantly realized his mistake: a strange person, visibly confused and in pain, was either a danger or in need of assistance, both of those drawing attention that August could not afford right now. He was not sure if he could even communicate with those creatures, any question asked might expose him as an outsider. Not knowing anything about this place or its culture, any contact was a risk that the young mage was hesitant to take.
With all this in mind, he did his best to conceal himself - he stepped out of the alleyway and walked down the street. Now that he caught someone's attention his best chance was to pretend that everything was fine. Unless this place had some strange set of rules that governed how to walk on a road he should be able to remain unnoticed. In his mind he thanked all the gods that being naked seemed to be the norm here, otherwise, everyone would think him a madman considering his current lack of apparel.
Slowly walking away, he allowed his mind to wander, trying to understand what happened. Most reasonable theories were the first to be discarded - it was neither a dream nor an illusion, as neither of them could be so detailed and clear. Then came the less plausible explanations. Severe brain damage, divine visions, sudden madness. Yet even they could not fit this ridiculous situation. That could mean-
August almost tripped when two of those strange creatures walked past him. They talked. They actually talked. And in a language he could understand. It was very similar to Varantian, a very old language used eons ago by mages from the North.
- "... so I told him 'Dude, that's not how you make pancakes'"
- "And he wanted to argue with you? Dear Celestia…"
They passed him quickly so he lost the chance to listen more closely, but he recognized most of the words. Some of them were probably a form of local dialect or maybe names, but that meant he could communicate. He was no longer forced to conceal himself, but to be able to talk with others he needed two things. First, to brush up on his Varantian and second, obtain enough information about this place to not draw attention with his ignorance. And as moths are drawn to flames, his mind, shaped by years of study, was also drawn to one conclusion. A library. In such a big city, there surely would be one. Excited by the prospect of foreign knowledge he sped up his steps.
And realized he had no idea where to go now. A glance at the skyline of the city provided him with a view of a castle, probably belonging to a local ruler, and a few tall towers in the city center, but nothing that would allow him to recognize it as a library. His knowledge of the art of city planning suggested that the library would be close to the center or in the castle, but older cities were usually less planned and more evolved, so this knowledge wasn't useful. Instead, he decided to carefully prepare a sentence in Varantian, trying his best to emulate the strange accent locals were using. After a short preparation, he approached one of the equines, a winged one with with forest green coat.
- "I beg thy pardon, good sir. Could thee mayhaps give me guidance towards the nearest library? I hath just arrived in this city and seeketh knowledge. If thee granteth me thine assistance, I will trouble thee no more."
The equine seemed surprised by his words, but not afraid. August was, honestly, proud of his work. The sentence was clear and while he was unsure of some finer grammar, anyone should be able to understand what he said. His teacher would surely be proud of how much he remembered, even after so many years. Now he just awaited the answer.
- "Eeee... ummm... yeah, sure... just... go to the old market." – the creature pointed at one of the tall towers - "Then go left next to the Flowing Golds mansion, it's the building with a large hedge around it. Go straight and you should be there."
August nodded his head to show that he understood the instructions
- "I'm truly grateful for thine assistance. I wish thee a fair day then."
Having said his goodbyes, he went on his way, only to hear a silent voice from behind him
- "I'm a mare, you bastard..."
He kept going, pretending he didn’t hear. There was nothing he could say at this point.
******
The spell worked, Ausgust decided before he reached the library. The spatial spell of his master worked, but due to some mistake, he was transported instead of the intended item. Most likely a problem with the circle integrity. If he could recreate what happened he might be able to return home. He knew much of the Archmage's research, but he was still far too inexperienced to try to recreate the experiment his master performed. The second problem was the cost, most items used were rare and expensive ingredients. Although the unicorn horn powder seemed to be easily obtainable here.
Amidst many fruitless ideas, he reached the intended place. A large building with rows of windows and many equines walking in and out, with the word 'Library' written on it. Hoping that it would be open to the public, August entered, doing his best not to bump into any of the creatures that were there.
The main aisle was truly enormous. It easily dwarfed the library in the Academy, thousands of books gathered here piled high up into the ceiling. The scion instantly knew that there he could find all the knowledge he needed to survive in this new world... and that he would never be able to find most of it in any reasonable amount of time.
He decided to start with the basics. He slowly made his way down the aisle until he found the section about linguistics. He might be capable of using the language, but he was sure sooner or later he would run into problems, especially while reading more advanced books. He quickly grabbed an encyclopedia and a few other books that might help him brush up on the language, found a good spot, and started reading. Then spent a lot of time trying to find a position in which his new body would be comfortable, failed to do so, and kept wriggling.
After a few hours of reading, he stood up with cramps in all of his limbs and deep shame. Apparently, despite this language being similar to Varantian, it also developed for a few hundred years more after the languages split from whatever common ancestry they shared. That meant he was speaking like some thousand-year-old recluse - if any such being ever existed, that is.
No one approached him during his reading, but he still heard many conversations between the strange equines. They seemed to call themself simply 'ponies' and that name seeped into a lot of their vocabulary. Due to this and many new, strange words that seemed to exist only in this world, he decided to 'borrow' the encyclopedia to make sure he had a way to check new phrases. The only problem was the tracking spell, bound into the tome.
Yet such a simple spellwork was nothing to the High Scion of Sor'Tel. After a few minutes of familiarising himself with the way that mana flew through his new body, his horn flashed green as all mana weaved in the book scattered, rendering the spells useless. Satisfied with a job well done, August left the library.
The sun was setting down, casting shadows on the pristine streets of this strange city. August stood at the doorway for a moment, lost in the strange yet familiar view of a sunset and the bustling city. He might have remained frozen like this until the night approached, but his body had other plans. His stomach twinged in pain, letting him know how long he spent reading and at that moment, August realized how big of a problem he had. He was in an unknown city, with no money, no home, and no food.
Usually, he only had one duty, to study the arcane arts. That was his passion and that was what was expected of him. His more mundane desires and duties were taken care of by a swarm of servants and attendants, sometimes even fellow students trying to earn his favor. To suddenly be deprived of this came as quite a shock.
After fruitlessly going through his options, he ended up in some small alleyway in the lesser part of the city. Quick illusion cast made him unrecognizable from a pile of garbage and ignoring all protests of his body, he fell asleep on the cold bricks of the city he learned was called Canterlot.
Lower Canterlot was a relic of old times. Times, when Equestria was untamed, wild land. Times, when only high walls and the watchful eyes of an Alicorn could guarantee safety. Times long gone. For centuries, ponies migrated away from this place, drawn to opportunities given by newly established cities and villages, as Equestria expanded its borders and secured new lands. Nowadays, the only inhabitants of this place were those too poor to move out, criminals, and people who were bound to Canterlot due to personal circumstances.
Shadow Flow was the second of those. A middle-aged pegasus, his forte was infiltrating noble houses, stealing and trading important information. He once managed to get into the Royal Palace itself, which was the best recommendation one could get in this line of work.
Despite all this, he still made a blunder. Now, he was desperately running through the empty streets, a thick file under his wing. His other one was dislocated, preventing him from flying. Not that he even wanted to, it would make him too easy to spot.
He managed to gain some distance, but he was running out of breath. He knew he needed a plan, a way to shake off the pursuit. In a corner of his eye, Shadow Flow spotted a large pile of rubbish, lying on the side of one of the alleys he was passing by. It seemed large enough to fully cover him. Not thinking much of it, he ran towards it, jumping in, desperately trying to hide.
And then all Tartarus broke loose.
******
Waking up to alarm spells going off in his head and the sight of someone charging at him, was not a first for August. It was still unpleasant though.
School of Silver was not focused on combat, but still offered classes about battle magic. August was never a slouch at those and attempts at his life, while rare, still happened, keeping him always on guard.
A sudden vortex of air, meant to primarily deflect any projectiles, rose around the still-concealed August. The unfortunate pegasus, caught in the middle of the jump, got carried by the winds and slammed at a wall, with a grunt of pain.
August didn’t even bother looking at it, his magic searching for any other threat as an opalizing barrier surrounded him, finally dispelling the illusion of a pile of garbage. Meanwhile, vines that covered the wall that the strange pony was slammed into, coiled around its limbs and pinned it to the wall.
Not sensing any more threats and realizing where and why he was, August realized that he might have overreacted. Not wanting to take risks, he kept the shield up but ordered the vines to let go of this strange ‘pony’ creature.
“Who art thee… no, thou… No, it was… yoo. Who art yoo?”
Still a bit disoriented after the sudden wake-up, August stumbled a bit with his speech, while trying to look menacingly at the pegasus now lying on the street. He never actually saw his muzzle in this new form and had no idea how his current expression looked for those creatures. He could only hope his body language was intimidating and not weird.
It seemed to matter little to the pony, as it didn’t even look up, trying to recover from getting slammed into the wall and having its wing dislocated even further. August patiently waited for it to get itself together and answer the question.
The awaited answer never came as from around the corner ran a brown ‘normal’ pony, however they called them here.
“He is here! Get him!” It shouted to someone behind it and rushed towards August, who frowned at the unexpected complication.
After a second of consideration, August decided to stick with a non-lethal approach. He quickly compressed the air around the pony head and instantly decompressed it back. The assailant stumbled and screamed in pain, stumbling on its feet and falling. August almost smirked. He might be fighting an unknown creature, but nothing that qualified as a mammal did well against that spell.
His magic picked something approaching him from above and three more presences running down the street. He quickly identified the airborne threat as one of the ‘pegasi’ and created multiple whirlwinds in the alleyway. His opponent must have sensed them somehow, as it instantly pulled up instead of flying into the turbulent winds and getting flattened on one of the walls.
With two other ‘normal’ ponies and a unicorn showing up, August let go of his non-lethal approach, quickly recollecting a plethora of more dangerous spells. He was starting to draw a matrix for Rynaxian Moonblade when suddenly the unicorn that just arrived shouted
“Enough! Stop, everypony stop! Can’t you idiots see that he is a mage?”
All the ponies around stopped, excluding the one that was still on the ground with ruptured eardrums. August, glad to have a chance to get out of this mess with a bit of diplomacy, also stopped his spellcasting. However, not fully trusting the other side, instead of dispelling everything completely, he attached a small chunk of his mana to each pony, making it much easier to aim his spells if fighting resumed.
The unicorn, with its head held high slowly approached August. Its forest-green fur seemed to glow slightly in the dim moonlight, and its creamy mane was well-groomed. It carried itself completely different then the rest of its group.
“I’m sorry for this disturbance, sir. I’m Stranded Leaf, also a mage. I finished the advanced course at SGU” The way it phrased the sentence suggested that it expected August to be impressed. While the SGU didn’t mean anything to August, the fact that Stranded Leaf dispelled the mana that August attached to it and its goons guaranteed that it was at least a semi-competent mage.
“This little thief” Leaf pointed at the pegasus that started the whole situation “stole something from our boss. If we could get him, we will not bother you anymore”
All the time Stranded Leaf had a small, benign smile on its face, as if debating some trivial matters at a local party. August pretended to think the matter through, but there was very little to think about. Either a life or death fight or giving away a stranger, and apparently a thief anyway. He nodded his head
“I take no offense with what happened. Temperaments get heated during a chase”
Stranded Leaf seemed lost for a moment, hearing the strange accent of the other unicorn, but the confusion didn’t last long
“Great. You helped in catching this rat, so I believe compensation is rightfully deserved. I promised those peasants some money for their help, but seeing that you, good sir, did most of the work, I think half of it should be yours.”
Even August, despite not knowing much about the body language of their species, could sense their displeasure. He took the small sac offered to him by Stranded Leaf anyway.
“I give yoo my thanks, Stranded Leaf. I wish yoo luck in the future.” With a shallow bow, August moved aside and watched as two 'normal' ponies lifted the unfortunate pegasus, who was now shaking in fear. Stranded Leaf meanwhile levitated a file full of papers from the ground.
“Aaand that’s it,” Leaf said after taking a look at the contents “Blaze, get here!”
At this command, the pegasus who earlier tried to attack August and quickly retreated into the air swooped down from the rooftops and landed on the ground
“Yes, sir?”
“Here is your half” The unicorn tossed a small sac at the pegasus “Get Shadow Flow to the mansion before dawn, I have to get the files back to my lord”
Without any other word, Stranded Leaf casted a spell and teleported away, leaving August alone with a group of thugs, right after giving him money.
'He really doesn’t like me. Or maybe them.’ thought August, waiting for the ponies to move. Two of them were busy holding the captive, the one August stunned before was back on his legs, despite looking drowsy. That left the lone pegasus as the only capable combatant. The pegasus that was now approaching him
“Hey ummm… sir” August expected many things, from threats to violence, but an awkward conversation starter wasn't one of them “I know that it’s a bit much, but we really need this money. I will give it back, I promise”
The pegasus seemed to almost prostrate itself in front of August, who was a bit lost in this situation
“For a group of thugs, ye truly are bad at robbery. Is this some local traditional way of exerting money?”
“No. I’m just not suicidal. I saw what you did with Boulder” The pegasus pointed its hoof at the temporarily deaf ‘normal’ pony “But I’m desperate enough to beg. Please, sir. If we don’t have the money by tomorrow, we will be in big trouble. I will give it back in full, I promise”
August took a long, good look at this pony while thinking through his options. It had orange fur and a long, red mane. Its feathers had an interesting pattern, Starting red and turning orange and yellow, making them look like miniature flames. Overall, a bit too bright a color palette for his liking.
“Nothing is for free in the world” August slowly started
“I know sir, but I promise I will give it back full…”
“Stay quiet while I talk” August didn’t let her finish, his voice still calm, but with a hint of threat “Luckily for yoo, I was looking for a place to stay and yoo seem a reasonable enough host. The streets of this city seem a bit too exciting for my liking.”
August tossed the sac he got from Leaf to the pegasus
“Take this as my payment for staying with yoo until I find myself a better residence. Do not bother me and do not try anything stupid”
Blaze seemed surprised for a moment but then bowed deeper
“Yes, sir. Thank you, sir. We will make sure your stay with us is pleasant.”
“Then lead the way. Yoo interrupted my sleep and I long to return to it”
******
A few minutes later a pegasus, a pony, and a unicorn were walking down the street. The other two ‘normal’ ponies split away to escort the prisoner. This left August with only Blaze and Boulder, the pony whom he injured. Rather awkward situation, but August had many in his life, so he used his usual strategy. He just stayed silent and looked cold and aloof. If everyone else felt more awkward than him, in his book it meant he won. Blaze had a different opinion
“So, my name is Blaze Strike. It’s nice meeting you.” The pegasus carefully started a conversation
“Nice meeting yoo too, Blaze Strike”
After waiting for a moment for anything more to come out of August's mouth, Blaze kept going
“Mind telling me your name? Or at least something I could call you?”
“My name is August…” Here August paused. His name didn’t fit the standard of this world. Those ponies already knew he wasn't just a nobody, but he still didn’t want to so brazenly admit that he wasn’t from those lands. He quickly thought about changing his answer but decided it would be too suspicious. It was still salvageable. Their names were mostly made of just two words put together. August was a word, not only a name. He just needed a second part. He quickly went through his options. He quickly realized both his names had meaning as a word. August Luciam of house Roltan.
“August Light. My name is August Light”
Perfect. And no one will catch him not reacting to his own name.
“Very grey coat for someone named after such a beautiful month”
“August as majestic and dignified. No one named me after a month”
“That makes more sense, actually.”
August looked at the pegasus, wondering if it was being sarcastic, but could spot nothing to suggest that it was the case. At some point he and Blaze started walking side by side, Boulder two steps behind. And despite August doing his best to seem distant, the pegasus seemed insistent on talking more
“Mind sharing what brought you to Canterlot? You don’t seem to be a local, judging by the accent”
“What happened with yoo calling me sir? At least yoo showed some respect back then”
August voiced his irritation, but Blaze seemed to take it as a joke and giggled
“Come on, we will be staying with us for a while and you helped us in a pickle. I thought you were one of those stuck-up upper-city unicorns, but you seem quite decent”
“I’m sure I never helped yoo with pickling anything. And while I might not be an upper-city unicorn, I still demand some respect” He stopped for a moment to look at Blaze, as walking and looking sideways in this new form might end unfortunately “You don’t have to call me sir, but I’m not a friend of thee, Blaze Strike. I am, begrudgingly, thy tenant. We can talk, but I would appreciate yoo keep thy distance”
After finishing his speech, August resumed his walk forward. Boulder behind him seemed a little unnerved, sensing some tension between Blaze and this dangerous mage. Blaze seemed slightly dejected for a moment, but a few minutes later started talking again, with slightly less vigor
“Then what brought you to Canterlot?”
August sighed deeply
“Accident, really. I’m just here to do some research and get home. With some luck, it will be quick”
“Oh, if it’s something quick, you can just stay with us. No need to search for a new location”
“I wouldn’t want to intrude for the few years it will most likely take” he didn’t add that he also didn’t want to spend more time than necessary with them
“Few years?! You said it was a quick research!”
“I surely didn’t use the word ‘quick’. Any research in the field of magic takes a long time, sometimes many generations. My only luck is that I’m just duplicating a research I had seen once.”
“You mages are insane”
“Dedicated is more fitting” rebutted August
After that, Blaze finally fell silent and August could enjoy the rest of their walk looking at the unfamiliar constellations that were shining above.
******
Soon they arrived in front of a two-story house. As all the other buildings in the area, this one also seemed to be in slight disrepair. Fortunately, it was still standing strong, so August happily went inside after Blaze opened the door.
Inside was an indistinctive room, a big table with few chairs in the middle and some cupboards. What intrigued August the most was the weird metal box. Judging by pots and cooking utensils clattered around it, it was probably somehow used for cooking. Something to check later. There were more important things now.
“Where is my room?” August asked, turning to Blaze
“First door left, upstairs. Just let me go and move my things out of there” Blaze seemed to hesitate for a moment before asking “Could you help Boulder in the meantime? We can’t afford a doctor, and him being deaf will make our work hard”
“I’m not a healer. The ears should heal in up to two months times, just don’t let any water get into them” Seeing the panicked look that Blaze had, August sighed “I can help him regenerate faster, in a week or so. It’s much easier than healing”
“That would be great, thanks,” Blaze said and went upstairs after making a few gestures towards Boulder, who sat down on a worn-out sofa in the corner.
August approached him with curiosity. Apparently, this was a male of their species. He recalled the mare that he asked for the way to the library and started circling Boulder, trying to spot any differences significant enough for him to be able to tell apart mares and stallions in the future.
His observation came up empty. Deciding that he wasn’t interested enough to try lifting Boulder's tail or do full body scans and try to find strange anatomical differences like the angle of hip bones, August decided to focus more on the particular specimen in front of him. ‘Normal’ pony, they had their own name he couldn’t remember now.
Muscular, without a doubt. He could see the muscles moving under his skin. Probably the reason he arrived first. From this close-up, August could see multiple scars hidden under his brown fur. He was also shorter than August.
That one came as a surprise, as Agust was used to being on the shorter side in any social gathering. That gave two options, either his height didn’t transfer properly to this new body, or unicorns were simply taller than other ponies. Stranded Leaf was also quite tall.
He was taken out of his musings by Blaze Strike coming back downstairs
“So, are you done with this healing thing?”
Oh, right. August quickly attuned his magic to Boulder's mana and pushed a simple spell matrix straight into his bloodstream. The pony winced in the process
“Yes, it is all done” he looked intently at Blaze, trying to decide if it was rather mare or a stallion, with no success. Maybe a larger observation sample was needed.
“What’s with that gaze? You looking for something?”
“Sexual dimorphism” August answered with a straight face
“The what?” asked Blaze, confused
“Nothing important. Show me my bed and do not bother me until I wake up myself”
It was noon when Blaze decided there was no way that the weird mage, August Light, was still asleep. It was afternoon before Blaze found enough courage to knock on his door.
“Come in” sounded a stiff voice from inside the room
Blaze pushed the door and walked in. August was lying on the bed, focused on the book levitating in front of him.
“Blaze Strike. What brought you here?”
Blaze instantly noticed that his speech seemed smoother and his accent was slightly less noticeable
“I was making dinner and wondered if you would like some. Only today,” Blaze quickly added “as thanks for helping Boulder. We really can’t afford to feed another muzzle”
“It is the first time I’m compensated for fixing something I have broken myself. Or some…pony, I guess”
August closed the book and stood up. The book had the symbol of the Library of Canterlot on the cover. Blaze decided that it was better not to inquire about it.
“I will gladly partake in a meal” continued August “Thank you for this offer, Blaze Strike”
Side by side, they made their way downstairs. August's legs were slightly cramped after long reading so he was hesitant while walking down. He came to the conclusion that stairs were a very bad architectural choice for a species of quadruplets. Or were they three different species? Unclear. Something to check later.
The living room was full. Boulder was sitting next to a window, looking outside and lost in thoughts. His muzzle was moving slightly and he seemed to be muttering something to himself.
The other two earth ponies that were a part of this group were sitting on the sofa and… hugging, most likely. This sight made August wonder about the mobility of their joints, as it certainly had very little to do with horses that he knew of.
Blaze didn’t lie to him about dinner, as in the air he could feel a pleasant, herbal smell that made him salivate. August couldn’t tell what could that smell be, but he didn’t care. He didn’t eat for a whole day and was ready to take a risk with whatever Blaze was making.
Blaze quickly went towards the weird white box, that seemed to somehow generate flames, on which a pot was standing. August was left, standing awkwardly at the foot of the stairs. The two ponies that were hugging, after noticing him, straightened their postures and were now looking at him, only adding to the awkwardness. Boulder was still looking out the window. Not being able to hear anything, it seems he didn’t notice that August was there.
“My greetings, everyone” August nodded and sat down at the table, ignoring the intrigued gazes.
Soon, Blaze turned the fire off and started placing plates on the table. August was surprised to see ceramic plates. Judging by the poor state of this house and the rather doubtful occupation of his hosts, he fully expected to be eating out of a wooden bowl using a wooden spoon. Yet the plates, despite being old, were even decorated with a simple, floral pattern along the rim.
Blaze poked Boulder with a wing, finally getting his attention and everyone gathered around the table.
“Before we start eating, how about we all introduce ourselves? Since we have a new pony here?” suggested Blaze “I’m Blaze Strike, the de facto owner of this house”
“River Swirl. Nice to meet you, despite the weird circumstances” said an azure pony with green mane, smiling. From this angle, August could see an image of a whirlpool of muddy water on River Swril's hindquarters. Presumably one of those ‘marks’ he remembered reading about. Now that was something that he needed to investigate.
“Green Gourd. Hope we get along well”
Now, this pony was a stallion, August was sure. His voice was so deep that air seemed to vibrate with each word. His coat was dark green and his mane a yellowish brown. He was shorter than Boulder, but still sturdy and muscular.
“You might have noticed, we are a couple,” said River Swirl, putting her foreleg around Gourd.
That meant that River Swirl was a mare. ‘Great, one less chance of embarrassing myself’, thought August.
“I’m August Light. I hope my stay here will not be inconvenient for any of us here” In his old body, as part of learning noble manners, August knew how to behave in such situations. Here, however, he had no idea how he should behave, so he just kept a rigid posture and a straight face.
All eyes turned towards Boulder, who, noticing the sudden attention, decided to finally talk
“Hi, I’m Rolling Boulder. Hopefully, our future meetings will go better than the first”
He was slightly too loud and he seemed unsure of his own voice, a clear sign that he wasn’t used to speaking while deaf. August almost responded to him, but realising the futility only sighed
“If I knew I was going to end up here I would have disposed of him in some different way”
He quickly thought of a solution. While some illusion spells used soundwaves to simulate sound, few simply tricked the mind into believing that it heard something. One cast of Simevions Mindprobe and Boulder jumped from his seat, surprise on his muzzle
“What… what in Tartarus was that?!” he shouted, all the other ponies also standing up, only August staying on his chair.
“A simple illusion, nothing else” This time he said it both with illusion and out loud “Your ears might not work, but I can still trick your mind into believing that it heard something. Doesn’t work on people who never had hearing, unfortunately. As I said, I’m August Light”
His explanation seemed to calm everyone down. All the ponies returned to their seats
“Let me say, that’s some impressive spellcasting. I know some unicorns, even a few with cutie marks related to magic, but nopony capable of all that. Where did you learn?” Blaze asked while putting a pot full of something on the table
“In the Tower of Sor’Tel. I don’t expect this to mean anything to any of you”
“If it’s anywhere outside of Canterol, then there is no chance of me knowing about it. But it seems like an excellent place if someone like you came from there”
“I’m a rather special case, but I’m sure that any alumni of my tower could replicate all spells I have shown so far” There was pride in August’s voice “Standards are really high there”
He took a look at the food that Blaze put on his table
“Might I ask what we are eating?”
“Noodles and daffodil sauce”
August hesitated after hearing that the sauce was made out of flowers but decided that they probably knew better what worked for them. The first part of this dish picked his interest more
“What are these ‘noodles’ you speak of?” he asked while levitating one of the long, thin ribbons up from his plate.
Everyone else looked at him in surprise
“You don’t know what noodles are?” asked Swirl, and after a nod of confirmation from August “Sweet Celestia, that Tower of yours must be in the middle of nowhere. What do you even eat there?”
“Our meals are cooked by some of the finest cooks of the realm, just so you know. Yet you are right, I come from far away”
“That would at least explain your weird accent. Does everypony sound like that wherever you are from?” inquired Blaze
“Very few even know Varantian in my homeland, much less speak it regularly. During my education, I was taught that my pronunciation is correct”
“I don’t even know what Varantian is, so I’ll just assume you mean Equestrian” Green Gourd said in his deep voice “I didn’t even know there were some pony groups that wandered so far away from the lands of Three Tribes”
Not wanting to delve into the nonexistent sharded history between Equestria and his homeland, August scooped some noodles into his mouth
“Excellent taste, my compliments to you, Blaze Strike”
“Oh, it’s nothing much, really. But I’m glad you like it”
August pretended to be focused on eating and soon comfortable silence fell over the table. He managed to escape talking about his home for now, but the discussion was sure to return sooner or later. His hosts were not bad companions to talk with, but he couldn’t let his guard too much.
Soon the dinner was over and Boulder started gathering the dirty dishes. Looking at the massive earth pony, a question came to August’s head
“How did you explain all this to him? He seems to have a pretty good grasp on the situation”
“Well, after you went to sleep we sat down with a sheet of paper and a pen. You could have told me about this spell of yours, it would surely make it easier.”
“You both can read?” August asked. He was honestly surprised. He realized long ago that they were more than simple thugs he took them for, but he knew lots of nobles who, even if they would never admit it, never learned how to read and write properly. To see some peasants mention it so casually was strange.
“Of course we can. We are poor, not stupid. We went to school like everypony, you know?” Blaze seemed insulted by the suggestion that they didn’t know how to read
“Like everypony?” now August was starting to think they were simply making fun of him
“Of course. Everypony in Equestria goes to school. Princess Celestia personally finances public schooling”
“Your royalty pays for everyone going to school? A princess?” this tale was getting more and more ridiculous
“Yes. Our princess is a great ruler and she makes sure everypony has at least basic knowledge” While August was more and more confused, Blaze seemed to be getting more and more angry at him
“You have a princess as a regnant?”
“She’s been on the throne for the last few hundred years, she is not a regent!”
“Regnant, not regent. Also, a few hundred years? Just give her a crown and call her queen!” August paused for a moment “Wait, a few hundred years? How?”
“Have you seriously never heard of Princess Celestia? Ruler of the Sun?”
“That’s quite a title”
“Well, she moves the sun so I think she deserves it”
Well, if that didn’t have some wonderful implications. Apparently, immortal ruler who claims to move the sun. So either a megalomaniac who tricked everyone into believing their power, not that likely considering how hard it would be to trick a whole nation or an almost godlike being. August liked none of those options.
“I think I will have to read some more on this princess of yours”
“You seriously never heard of her? How do you clever mages think the sun and moon move then?”
August swallowed at least three much better models of movement of celestial spheres than ‘magic’, simply because he couldn’t be sure if any of them worked here. Maybe that princess really moved the sun. Maybe they were currently walking on a giant turtle. How could he know?
“Maybe let us stop there” interjected Swirl “You both seem to be getting a little too agitated”
“Let me be the one to apologize for this,” said August to everyone's surprise “I know some of my questions might cause offense, but I promise they stem from nothing but a curious mind. There is no ill intent behind, merely misunderstandings.”
Blaze seemed to relax a little after hearing this
“I’m also sorry. I know you are new to Equestria, I should have known better than to overreact. You just reminded me too much of some nobles I’ve met”
“That I can easily understand” August couldn’t help but chuckle “I am, in fact, of noble birth”
“Wait, really? Like, real title, land, and all this?” asked Blaze
“Well, considering my father is still alive, I’m only an heir to the title rather than a fully-fledged noble, but yes. Real noble, title, land and everything else” Realising that he was bringing the conversation dangerously close to his homeland again, August decided it was time to go back to his room
“I will go back upstairs. I can’t live on your hospitality, so I need to think about finding a job.”
“It might be for the best, honestly. We will have guests soon”
“Trouble?”
“We have the money, so no. Just don’t show yourself, a new muzzle here might provoke them”
******
With August gone, Blaze took on a more serious expression
“Alright everyone, August aside, Iron Hooves will be here soon, just give him the money and be over with this whole ordeal”
“He really is something, don’t you think? You can tell he is a noble, but somehow much more reasonable than those idiots from the upper city. I wonder what his homeland is like” River Swirl spoke, despite what Blaze said.
“Some backwater place, considering how surprised he was by reading” declared Gourd
“It’s rather unfair to think like that. Even in Equestria, not all villages can guarantee education and outside the border access to education gets worse and worse”
“It doesn’t matter. What matters is he seems like a good pony, even if weird. He said something about staying for a few years, so we just got ourselves a reliable magic expert. That’s somepony not easy to find in Lower Canterlot” Blaze smiled
“You think we can afford whatever he charges for consultations?” asked Swirl
“He healed Boulder and seemed satisfied with getting only a dinner out of it. I would say he doesn’t care about money, unlike those misers you can usually find here”
“He said he was looking for a job. Maybe we could point him to a few ponies” suggested Gourd “Getting some good points with him could go a long way”
“Good idea. I think Stream Line was searching for a unicorn. Now, give me some paper, I need to tell Boulder to stay in the corner and look tough”
******
August in the meantime was sitting on the bed in his new room, circulating mana throughout his body. His horn was covered in a deep, green glow, little green sparks jumping all over his fur. Even his eyes, despite his closed eyelids, glowed slightly green. Usually, mana leaks were a sign of either injury or trying a spell far too hard for the mage's abilities. In this case, August was radiating mana trying to learn how his new body casted spells.
He noticed it before but didn’t find time to investigate. This new body interacted with mana slightly differently than he was used to. It wasn’t anything substantial, many wouldn’t even notice. August, having spent his whole life learning magic, was irritated by it. Like a musician who knows he is slightly out of tune, despite no one in the audience noticing. All his spells, while still successful, were off.
He flooded his whole body with mana and watched how it moved. The horn seemed to be the most important part. No matter how he tried to cast, some of the mana always went to the horn, making it glow. The horn also seemed to work as some of the wands and staffs, enhancing the flow of mana and also allowing the caster to have a focal point to gather power for spells, without accidentally melting their own hand while learning to cast a fireball.
That also meant that any injury to the horn would make it hard to cast anything, its removal could even make it impossible to utilize magic. A surgery on mana pathways could remedy that. Something to test. Maybe horns regrow, like the teeth of some animals? That would be like infinite production of high-quality wands. Too good to be true, so unlikely.
August cursed himself for not asking for something to write on. Instead, he created an illusion of paper on which he made an illusion of ink, writing down his observations on his new body. A small Spell Stability Matrix and some raw mana pushed inside made sure that the fantom scroll would last at least a day.
He was sitting there, lost in his research, undisturbed by his circumstances or the passage of time. That is, before he heard the screaming.
******
“Iron Hoves. Please, come in”
“Do you have the money Blaze?” the newly arrived earth pony went straight to the point.
He was massive. He barely managed to fit through the door after slightly lowering his head. Bulging muscles were visible under his short trimmed copper fur. Behind him were two other ponies that Blaze couldn’t recognize, one earth pony and one pegasus.
“We managed to get all of it. Here” Blaze passed a sac full of money to Iron.
He stood silently in the middle of the room, slowly counting each coin as his minions engaged in a staring contest with Boulder.
“It really is all here” he was talking slowly, lost in thoughts
“Yeah, so go tell Winter that we are even now” The only answer to Blaze's words was even more silence. Finally, Iron spoke
“Listen, Blaze, let me be honest with you. The boss told me to get you out of here. We didn’t expect you to pay it all off, but the order still stands”
Blaze was locked in place for a moment, surprised. Then exploded with anger
“So what, you think you can just go around and kick ponies out of their homes?! You got your money, so fuck off!”
“I will give you the money back. I’ll even add some more. Consider it me buying this house from you” Iron was standing calmly, unimpressed by Blaze's anger.
“It’s my home, you think I will just sell it for some spare change?”
Everypony in the room came a few steps closer to the arguing duo. They were all ready to fight, in case the situation escalated to violence.
“It’s nothing personal Blaze, but your dealings with the upper city are getting too much attention. Sooner or later you will step into something that will bring guards here. And I don’t mean city guards, I mean the Royal Guards. Winter doesn’t want this. Nopony does. That’s why you need to go. Peacefully, I hope”
Blaze was fuming, but knew that Iron was right, nopony wanted attention from the upper city. They could live here however they wanted simply because nopony important cared enough. As soon as it changed, all the ponies here could be in prison in a few hours.
“See? That’s what I’m talking about! You are even hiding nobles under your roof! Do you think Winter will tolerate it?” Iron said, pointing behind her
Blaze turned around, surprised, only to see August, slowly walking down the stairs. Suppressing the urge to groan, Blaze tried to quickly expalin the situation to Iron.
“He is not a noble! I mean, he is, but he is not from Canterlot! He just lives here temporarily. Just a traveler, he helped us get the money we needed. He won’t cause Winter any trouble”
“Blaze, we both know you are spouting nonsense. Anything to do with nobles is playing with fire. Week. One week is all I will give you. Get everything in order, sell the house, and move out. Preferably out of the city. I heard Ponyville is nice this time of year”
“I just moved in here and I do not intend to move anytime soon” everypony froze hearing August's voice. They were all focused on Blaze and Iron and they didn’t expect August to join the discussion.
“I even paid for my stay” August finally made it to the end of the stairs. He now had to raise his head slightly up to look at Iron, but it didn’t seem to bother him “And the food here is acceptable”
“Listen, I don’t know who you are, but I have nothing against y…” started Iron, but August immediately cut him off
“Didn’t you say that dealing with any nobles is dangerous? As was said, I am a noble. I think it means you have something against me” Taking a few steps forward, August pushed Blaze slightly aside and faced Iron directly “Let me also tell you something. You were right. You are playing with fire right now”
“You think some lost noble that has to live in the lower city can scare me?”
“I’m a noble. You think some overgrown thug can scare me?”
Iron Hooves was never a stallion of many words. It didn’t mean he was stupid, but his giant stature taught him, that it was usually easier to deal with other ponies with physical confrontation rather than talking. Having enough of this overconfident unicorn, Iron decided to teach him a lesson, throwing a quick jab, hoping to catch August off guard before he could cast any spells. Unfortunately for him, August came here to provoke a fight rather than hoping to intimidate him. It meant he was ready for the fight to start. Just as Iron thought he did not need to talk with August, August thought the same of Iron.
The powerful jab connected with a translucent barrier surrounding August. As Iron pulled his foreleg back, preparing for another strike, August's horn flashed green. Iron couldn’t see what the spell did, as he stepped forward, delivering his most powerful blow, hoping to shatter the magical shield. Only, he didn’t feel any impact. Surprised, he looked down at his legs. Instead of his right foreleg, he could see his bones and muscles. The cut was so clean, that his body hadn’t yet registered what happened. But as he turned around to look at his foreleg lying on the ground and back again at the wound, blood suddenly gushed out and he started screaming.
******
River Swirl saw it happen, even though she wished she didn’t.
As Iron was retracting his foreleg after his strike, the appendage suddenly… came off, as if it was only held by wet glue. The foreleg flew back, carried by momentum, and landed on the floor with a wet ‘plop’ that River somehow heard despite the noise made by Blaze, Boulder, and Gourd rushing to help August.
The blood-freezing scream of pain that came from Iron Hooves a second later made everypony freeze. None of them noticed what happened, but they were all looking with surprise and disgust at the blood flowing out of Iron.
“Listen now” August cast another spell and blood stopped flowing from the wound “I don’t care what problems you have with Blaze or what your boss wants. I want tranquility and silence. I hope, for the both of us, that you will disturb me nevermore. Go and tell this to your boss. Take him out” he ordered the two goons who looked at him with terror
The duo quickly grabbed their boss, helping him walk out of the door, sending fearful glances at August. Only the foreleg was left after them. August grabbed it in his magic and threw it out the open door.
“What… did you just do?” asked Blaze, calmly
“That? Oh, it was a simple spatial distortion. My master specialized in this type of magic, so I, too…”
“Not what I asked about. Why, in Celestia's name, did you decide it was a good idea?!” all the calm was gone, Blaze was now screaming
“It looked like it was going to end up in a fight anyway”
“No! I mean… maybe” Blaze seemed unsure for a second “But you can’t just rip his foreleg off! You know what Winter will do to us?”
“I don’t even know who this ‘Winter’ is”
“Ah, yes, right… Then if you know nothing, don’t make trouble!” Blaze took a few deep breaths “Alright, so Winter Storm is one of the gang leaders here in Lower Canterlot. This house is on his territory. So unless you can slice up a hundred more of his goons, we are in deep trouble”
“I’m not a warmage, I don’t know many area-effective spells, and casting any offensive spell so many times is too mana-consuming. I could probably curse them all to death given some time”
Blaze looked at him with an empty stare
“I thought you were strange, but you are straight-up insane. Just… give me a moment to think”
A minute passed with everyone in the room staring at Blaze with different amounts of fear and confusion
“I got it. I think. Gourd, go and tell Boulder's daughter that she has to stay with her aunt a bit longer. The rest of us will go and talk with Balanced Brick”
“Balanced Brick?” asked August
“He is another big shot here and he really doesn’t like Winter Storm. If we offer him a good deal, he will take us in just to spite him” Blaze gave August a sullen stare “My applause. You are here just a day, and depending on the outcome of these talks, you might have just set our flanks, or half of the Lower Canterlot, on fire”