> The Mage's Jump
>  by Marvelous Cheshire
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Prologue Part 1: Introduction
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


THE MAGE’S JUMP
BY GENOSABER
PROLOGUE PART 1/3 


(Location- Ponyville Library, Equestria)

Twilight Sparkle sat at her desk inspecting the strangely colored stone in front of her, it had been found earlier that day in a box at the door by her assistant Spike as he was heading out on some errands. The box had no return address on it, and contained nothing more than the stone wrapped in a piece of cloth, and a note stating it would be ‘unwise’ the come in direct physical contact with the item enclosed. While she wasn’t quite sure what the writer of the note was implying, she decided it would be best to heed the implied warning.

The studious unicorn had quickly finished her breakfast and got to work investigating the stone, pouring over every book on geology, fossils and gemstones she could find in the library. Sadly she had been so far unable to find anything in her books that matched the object before her. She continued searching through lunch, and by the time she had finally stopped to take a break, Spike had already returned and had just finished preparing her a daffodil and daisy sandwich, along with a plate of hay fries for himself. As the two sat down to enjoy their respective meals, Twilight couldn’t help but sigh as she continued to think about the mysterious rock.

“Something wrong Twi?” Spike asked, glancing up from his plate.

“I haven’t been able to find anything on the stone in any of the books in the library, it didn’t match any known rocks or fossils found in Equestria, and so far, whenever I begin to find a gemstone that matches it, I find something new about it that doesn’t match up to the details of gem. The shape, density, and hardness all match several different gems, and the colors and gradients don’t match any gemstones in Equestria. As far as I can tell, it’s not from Equestria, or any other country for that matter,” Twilight said solemnly, a frown quickly forming on her face.

“Well, if it’s not from Equestria, maybe Alex or Matt will recognize it, have you thought about asking them?” Spike said, remembering Ponyville’s resident jumpers.

“I would, but neither of them are in Ponyville, Matt went with Lyra and Bon-Bon to Manehattan, and Alex took Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo to see the Wonderbolts in Canterlot. I don’t want to wait till they get back, what if they don’t know what it is, then I’d be back at square one,” Twilight said with a sigh. In truth, she didn’t think she could wait, the stone had been driving her crazy, and she doubted she could go much longer without finding out what the Celestia-damned stone was and where it came from.

Spike quickly tapped his chin in thought. ”Hmm...what about the Princess, she might know something about it, or at the very least she could look through the books in the castle library, they might have something about it,” He said as he threw the last of his hayfries in his mouth.

At the mention of the her mentor, the unicorn’s face immediately brightened. “That's it, a letter to Princess Celestia, I can send her a copy of the details on the stone, and ask if she has ever heard of anything like it. One moment Spike,” She said, heading up the stairs before reappearing a minute later with two pieces of paper and a quill held in her magical grip right behind her.

She pasted one of the sheets and the quill over to Spike. “Spike, take a letter,” She stated as the dragon took both items in his claws.

Dear Princess Celestia,

This morning I received a package containing a mysterious stone. I have spent the last last few hours researching and have been unable to find anything that resembles it in any of my books. I have included a table containing the details I have been able to record on the stone, along with a rough sketch of the stone in hopes that you will be able to provide some insight as to what this object is and where it comes from. 

Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle.

As she finished, she levitated the other sheet of paper over to Spike, who rolled it up with the letter before sending it off with a fire.

“Hopefully she’ll reply soon, in the meantime, I’m going to see if I can find out anything else about that stone,” Twilight said as she trotted up the stairs back to her living area.

As she returned to her task, she created a mental list of everything she had done to the stone so far. To her dismay, the only thing left she could think of was to touch the object and find out the outcome. While the note warned her to not touch it, Twilight doubted that a simple rock could be capable of anything dangerous. Steeling herself, Twilight carefully stretched out her right foreleg, slowly inching her hoof closer to the stone, until finally the tip of her hoof came in contact with the smooth surface of the stone.

In retrospect, this was by far the stupidest thing Twilight could have done.

The instant her hoof hit the stone, it began to emit a blinding light, startling the mare and causing her to cry out in shock, before quickly releasing a scream of pain as the stone began to send jolts of energy through her body as the light intensified. Downstairs, Spike jumped at the sudden sound coming from beyond the door, reacting quickly, the young dragon bolted up the stairs and threw the door open.

“Twilight, What's wro...” Spike voice caught in his throat as his eyes widened at the sight before him.

Twilight Sparkle was gone, and all the remained was a black spot in front of the desk.




In Canterlot, Princess Celestia was galloping toward the castle library, both the letter and list gripped in her magic behind her. As soon as she saw the details of the stone, her heart leaped in her throat and she became overwhelmed with fear. The last time she saw something matching the description, she ended up sending her sister to the moon for a thousand years, and she prayed that history wouldn’t repeat itself. As she reached the wing she was looking for, she blasted the doors open, and charged to the shelf she knew held the records, following Nightmare Moon’s banishment. She immediately found the book she needed, grasping it in her magic, she threw the book open and read the passage detailing the items recovered from the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters.

Among all the artifacts recovered from the chambers of the former Princess Luna, the most peculiar is a small gemstone found on the remains of the Princess’s dresser. The stone was pear shaped and roughly the size of a coconut. Weighing exactly 3 pounds, the stone had a smooth, glass-like texture to it, and upon testing, was found to be almost as hard as diamond. It had a gradient coloration, being amber colored on the larger end, and transitioning to a jet black at the narrow tip. While the stone showed no unique physical properties, thorough test found it to contain traces of powerful dark magic, and ended up sending five unicorns to the infirmary, and one to their grave. At Princess Celestia’s command, several attempts were made to destroy the object, but none managed to work. The stone suddenly shattered four weeks after the order was given, and all traces were lost.

Celestia couldn’t believe what she was reading. The details, along with a drawing of the object, matched up almost perfectly with the one her student had found. Not wasting a second, the solar diarch made her way out of the library, intent on reaching Twilight before she could suffer the effects of the stone.



(location-unknown) (First-Person)

“Well this day was a bust,” I said as I glanced over the herbs and materials I’d gathered.

“Let’s see, three blood roses, six devilvine leaves, a handful of wolfsbane root, a single mandrake root, and a dozen snapdragon seeds. I was honestly hoping to get more, winter's almost here and I’ll have few chances left to gather supplies before the cold overtakes the area.” I muttered with a sigh, looks like I’m going to need to contact some traders if I wish to have any hopes of brewing a decent stock of potions to sell.

I let out a sigh. “I guess I’ll just take this home and see if I can get in touch with a trader in Elfheim, hopefully they’re having a better harvest than me.” I didn’t doubt this for a second, the forest elves are renowned for their skills and knowledge of the flora and fauna of the world, and would likely be able to supply me with a decent amount of herbs and reagents to get me through winter.

With a final sigh, I loaded up my meager harvest and made my way back to the city. As I walked, I took the time to admire the changes taking place around me, leaves changing, small animals gathering the last few bits of food they can before rushing home to begin hibernation. Thankfully there weren't any wolves, bears, or manticores about, having all ventured off to either hibernate or hunt somewhere else.

I was quickly pulled from thoughts by a sudden explosion to my left, throwing me aside and making my ears ring. After several minutes, I pulled myself off the ground and turned to face the cause of my discomfort.

“What in Gaia?” I said as I stared at the aftermath before me. Several trees had been uprooted and thrown several meters away, and a crater, roughly fifteen feet in diameter, laid less than a foot from where I was originally standing. Glancing into the crater, I was met with an odd sight.

Before me lay a small, purple horse-like creature, judging by the horn jutting from its head, I could only assume it was a unicorn. As I came closer to investigate, I found that it was alive, but unconscious. I quickly dropped beside the creature and began examining it. After several minutes, I could conclude three things:

1) It was indeed a unicorn, and judging by the size I believed the proper term would be ‘pony’.

2) the pony’s right foreleg had been broken, something I’d be able to fix once I got it to my house and my medical supplies.

3)the pony was a mare, so I shall henceforth refer to the her as such.

With these in mind I resolved to carry her back to my house to treat her wounds and possibly continue my examination. Taking care not to cause her any more pain, I slowly lifted the mare onto my back (thanking years of having to carry painfully heavy loads over long periods making this task rather pleasant in comparison) and draped a brown cloak over her to keep her out of sight, I turned and continued my trek back to the city.


*Thunk*


The gods were clearly not smiling upon me today. I turned back to the crater with the intent to glare the offending object into oblivion and- 'Oh sweet Cosmos is that what I think it is!?'

In the center of the crater, right where the unicorn lay a second ago, was a small gemstone, roughly the size large pear, with a black-to-brown gradient. At the very sight the accursed gem, my heart rate skyrocketed, and my blood ran cold. I now knew exactly how this mare had arrived in this world, and what caused it.


A Chaos Seed, a fragment of the dark god himself.


In my new found state of panic, I reached down and grab the seed, its power already spent, and turned back to the path and ran full tilt back home, fully intent on getting this problem solved as soon as I possibly could.


> Prologue Part 2: Meet the Mage
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


THE MAGES JUMP
BY GENOSABER
PROLOGUE PART 2/3 


(Location- Unknown city, Gaia)

Twilight slowly awoke to the sound of metal being struck repeatedly, random objects falling to the ground, and what sounded like somepony swearing extensively. Forcing her eyes open, the confused unicorn was shocked to find that she wasn’t in the library, or anywhere even vaguely familiar for the matter. Lifting her head and look around, she came to the conclusion that she was in somepony’s living room, there were a few large chairs placed around a wooden coffee table in front of her, she was laying on a comfortable couch flanked on both sides by simple end tables. Along the wall directly across from her, multiple shelves stood, each one almost completely filled with books of various sizes and colors. An single doorway lay open on to her right, and a covered window with another chair to her left, the only light in the room was provided by a series of lanterns place on each wall. As she looked around Twilight’s confusion only grew as she wondered just who it was that put her here.

The sound of footsteps broke Twilight out of her trance, and she turned toward the door just as a rather startling figure stepped into the room.

The figure appeared to be a humanoid creature of unknown gender, though Twilight assumed it was male based on similarities to Alex and Matt. It was dressed in a long blue robe that almost covered its feet and partially obscured it face. Atop its head a large pointed amber color hat sat, further hiding the figures features. Its face was cloaked in shadow, and the only visibly change was the two glowing yellow spots around where its eyes should be. The creature was rather tall, standing a bit over six feet, not counting the hat. The creature’s arms were folded, hiding its hands it the long sleeves of its robe. Twilight was instantly unnerved by its appearance, but her fear only grew once she noticed the creature was staring directly at her, and had began to slowly walk over to her.

“Ah, I see you’ve awaken. I was beginning to get worried there for a minute,” The being said calmly, its voice distorted to cover any evidence to reveal its gender.

Twilight just stared at the creature, unable to find the words to respond.

“Something wrong, can you even understand me? Nod if you understand me,” It said politely, glowing eyes flickering in confusion.

Twilight slowly nodded. The creature didn’t seem to bear any ill will toward her, but she was still somewhat frightened by its appearance.

The creature nodded in response, before drifting into an awkward silence. Twilight nervously flicked her eyes left and right, hoping to look at anything other than the figure in front of her. After several minutes, she returned her gaze to the creature, its head cocked to the side in confusion over her actions. Seconds later, realization hit the creature and it finally spoke up.

“Oh dear you scared of me aren’t you?” Twilight slowly nodded before the creature continued. “Sorry about that, the enchantments on my hat tend to do that sometimes, one second.” The creature quickly turned, removing its hat and tossing onto one of the chairs, allowing Twilight to see the creatures face for the first time.

Thee creature was indeed human, and appeared to be a male in his early-to-mid thirties. He had long, dark blue-almost black hair that hung down near his waist. The glowing spots changed to normal gold colored eyes, and the shadows vanished, relieving light colored skin. Glancing at his mouth, Twilight noted two small white fangs just barely poking out between his lips. Finally, Twilight noticed his ears had a slight point to them, similar to her own ears. Turning back to her, the human presented her with a polite smile and spoke in a calm, friendly tone.

“I do apologize for that, I tend to forget to take of my hat around company. Now, I believe introductions are in order, my name is Trace Reinhart, it is a pleasure to meet you.” The man, apparently named Trace, finished, reaching out with his left hand towards her.

“Twilight Sparkle,” Twilight replied, placing her left hoof into his hand.

Trace quickly blinked in surprise, before smiling once again while giving her hoof a gentle shake. 

“So you can talk, that proves that I wasn’t just hearing things earlier. Now, I’m sure you have plenty of questions, as I do my self, but I think it would be best if we eat first, don’t you agree?” Trace said as he rose and began to make his way back to the doorway.

Before Twilight could reply, her stomach decided to make itself now by growling like a manticore. Twilight looked at Trace, a sheepish smile forming, the man just smiled in return before disappearing through doorway. Minutes later, Trace returned, a bowl and spoon in each hand, before placing both down on the table a giving Twilight a skeptical look.

“I don’t mean to sound rude or anything, but how are you going to eat without hands. I would very much prefer if you didn’t make a mess on my couch,” The man said with a frown. Twilight didn’t speak, but instead choose to sit up and use her magic to her food over and taking a spoonful of the soup, bringing another look of surprise to his face.

“You can use magic?” Trace asked absently, before shrugging. “Well I suppose that works. Now let's eat, then we can get our answers,” Trace said, lifting up his own bowl. Then two remained silent as they ate, content with focusing on the task at hand. Twilight had to admit, the soup was delicious, the mix of celery, carrots, garlic and various other vegetables Twilight couldn’t recognize mixed together in a way that filled her mouth with flavor and warmed her entire body. She felt a smile slowly grace her lips as she continued to eat her meal, completely unaware of Trace smirking at her obvious delight. Eventually, both had finished and continued to sit in silence as they allowed the pleasant warmth from the soup to slowly fade.

“I take it you enjoyed it?” Trace finally said, causing Twilight to smile even brighter.

“It was great, I’ve never had anything like it,” The unicorn replied, her smile refusing to leave her face. 

“I’m glad you liked it, I assumed that you would prefer that over meat, which is just as well considering I’m running low on groceries and didn’t have enough to go use in the soup.” Trace spoke with a polite tone.

“I have to ask, where did you learn to cook like that?” Twilight asked.

“I learned a while back that if I was going to live on my own, I would need to either spend money frequently at restaurants, or learn to cook. Later, I was able to cut costs by planting my own garden in the backyard and learning how to hunt in the woods surrounding the city. All the ingredients I used in the soup were picked this morning, so I think that not only shows my cooking skills, but my talent for gardening as well don’t you think?” Trace said as he walked over to the chair by the window and picked up a notebook and quill from the seat before returning to his place in the chair across from Twilight.

“I certainly does.” She replied before glancing at the notebook with a raised eyebrow. “What’s that for?” She asked.

“Well, I believe I mentioned that we could ask each other any questions we might have. So if you’re ready, then we can begin, as you are the guest, you can ask first.” Trace reminded her, causing Twilight to frown as memories of what happened returned.

“I guess the first thing I’d like to know is where am I, and if possible, how did I get here.” The unicorn asked. Trace simply tapped his chin in thought for a second, before replying.

“Well, we are in the City of Cornelia, on the Northern continent of Gaia. Before I answer your other question, I have to ask if you recognize this?” He said while pulling a piece of folded cloth from his robe. Inside the cloth lay the stone Twilight was examining before, causing her eyes widen and her heart race.

“That's the stone I was examining earlier, I touched it with my hoof, and next thing I know I’m here on your couch!” The terrified unicorn shouted as she tried to back away from the accursed rock. Trace said nothing, but simply folded the cloth back up and placing it on to the side before turning his attention back to the frightened mare.

“That stone is what's called a Chaos Seed, a fragment of the god Chaos created after he was destroyed by the warriors of light about two hundred years ago. After his defeat, Chaos split himself into hundreds of these pieces and spread across time and space, whenever one is found, the are found to only react to contact with an organic creature, the outcome differs for each piece. Some simply explode, others corrupt their victim, granting them vast amounts of power and causing them to attack everyone and everything they see, and a few end up using the power stored in them to rip creatures from the world, dragging them across time and space before dropping them off on some random world. Now that I think about it, you’re the fifth being to end up here on Gaia because of these things.” As Trace spoke recognition slowly spread across Twilight’s face.

“And the note said that I shouldn't touch it, how could I have been so stupid!” Twilight shouted in frustration as tears began to from. Hanging her head in sorrow, Twilight didn’t notice Trace move over to the couch until he put his hand on her shoulder. Looking up, Twilight stared at the man as he offered her a comforting smile before pulling her into a gentle hug.

“Don’t beat yourself up over it, studies have found that the Seeds have the ability to cause temptation in people, you couldn’t have known. Now before we continue, I want you to promise me you won’t cry anymore, okay?” Trace asked as he released her from the hug. Twilight didn’t speak, simply nodding before wiping her tears away and looking back at the man beside her.

“Th-thank you,” she stammered as she leaned back into the man's arms. In response, Trace shifted slightly to allow both of them to remain comfortable and began slowly running a hand through her mane, calming Twilight and allowing her heart to resume its natural pattern.

“No problem. Now, are you ready to pick up where we left off?” He asked. In response Twilight simply nodded, laying her head on the mans chest.






(Trace’s POV)


“now, to further answer your question, you arrived in my world yesterday morning, I was in the forest gathering herbs for some potions, when you suddenly appeared with an explosion, after giving you a quick once over I decided to bring you back to treat your injuries, more specifically, your right foreleg was broken pretty badly, and you recieved several minor cuts and bruises. I was able to fix your leg and apply a healing salve to your lesser wounds.” I paused as she looked over body, her leg was wrapped in gauze with a splint, and there are several other spots on her body that have been covered with bandages. She looked up at me, obviously confused by the fact that she didn’t notice it before. “The salve has a numbing effect, you didn’t notice them because the medicine cut off feeling to those spots,” I stated quickly, to which she nodded and gestured for me to continue.

“I was able to get you here and treat you without problem, and you’ve remained asleep till about a hour ago, in total, you’ve been asleep for about thirty hours.” At that, Twilight’s eyes widened and her jaw dropped.

“TH-THIRTY HOURS!?” she exclaimed, hurting my sensitive ears making me cringe and cover them on reflex.

“I’m going to have to request that you keep your voice down, I have strong hearing and loud noises tend to cause me pain,” I said, making the mare next to me flinch before nodding in agreement. “Now I’ve answered two of your questions, will you answer two of mine?”

She paused for a second before replying with a nod. “That sounds fair, ask away.”

“First, where are you from? And second, I’ve noted by your shape and size I’ve come to the assumption that the proper term for you kind is ‘pony’ and that you are a unicorn, correct?” I asked.

“The place I come from is called Equestria, and you’re right, I am a unicorn pony, one of the three main types that inhabit Equestria.” She went on to explain her homeland, how its run by two living goddesses that control the sun and moon. She also explained the three tribes, earth ponies that grow crops, pegasi with the power to manipulate weather, and unicorn like herself that are capable of using magic, as well as alicorns like the princesses, which make up the strengths of all three tribes. Along with ponies, she mentioned several other species that populate the world, including zebras, donkeys, minotaurs, and oddly enough, griffons which have similar abilities as pegasi. she continued with wildlife which contained not only ‘normal’ animals, but several creatures I recognized.

“Wait, you’re telling me your world has manticores, chimeras, and even dragons?” I asked. Twilight stopped and looked at me with a straight face before replying.

“Yes, do you have them here as well?” I instantly nodded at her question, causing her to blink in surprise.

“Huh, well I that just about covers it, may I ask a question now?” I gestured with my free hand for her to proceed. “What can you tell me about yourself?” she asked. I blinked in surprise before smiling.

“Simple question, nice choice. As stated, my name is Trace Reinhart, I am thirty four years old, and am the current Archmage of the Black Circle.” At my title, Twilight looked at me with a confused expression. “Basically put, it’s an order of black mages, people gifted with the ability to cast magic that focuses on causing harm and causing destruction. Now before you go making assumptions, we are not evil, we are a subgroup of the Order of Magi, a group made up primarily of mages and similar jobs. Both sides work to maintain peace and order across Gaia, the White Circle, as well as most of the lesser factions of the Order, do so by offering aid during times of crisis, such as war and poverty, or using magic to battle demons and the undead. The Black Circle works in dealing with regular monsters, evil spellcasters, and if we’re in the area, people who have committed major crimes like murder. My family have been part of the Order for generations, and because I lack skill in White magic, instead having natural talent as a black mage, I ended up working for the Black Circle. I stopped taking contracts myself about two years ago, and have since opened up shop as a potion maker and enchanter,” I finished with a sigh. Twilight seemed to be mulling over my answer, before finally looking at me with a neutral expression.

“Okay, I guess that answers my question. What would you like to ask now?”

“Actually, I don’t have any other questions, so you can continue asking me about anything that comes to mind, within reason of course,” I said.

“Okay, I’ve seen humans before, but your ears and fangs don’t seem normal, why is that?” she asked, taking me by surprise once more. Not only has she seen humans before, despite not mentioning them before, but knowing that I had unique features. Clearly she is more intelligent than I thought.

“You're right, my ears and teeth aren’t normal. The reason behind it is that my mother was an elf, more specifically, she was the bastard daughter of some high elf noble and a dark elf barmaid. As such I have gained attributes of both, my ears have a slight point that, while more noticeable in purebloods, half-elves like myself have only a small point to them. Like High Elves, I am taller than average, last time I checked I was about six foot six, but usually remain pretty thin. From the drow, I have slightly elongated fangs, as well as enhance senses, I can hear, see and smell better than most humans. I hope that answers your question.” My voice remained calm throughout my speech, which seemed to cause discomfort for her.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” She muttered quietly before looking away, to which I simply raised an eyebrow.

“Why? Because you asked a question, M
iss Sparkle, I assure you have done nothing wrong, I take no shame in discussing my heritage. Please, don’t feel bad about being curiousity, if you ask something that I’m not comfortable answering I will let you know,” I said to her while putting my hand on her cheek and moving her head so that her eyes meet mine. I offer her a caring smile, which brings a smile to her own lips.

“All better?” She nodded. “Okay, I still have a pot of soup left, I don’t know about you, but another bowl sounds pretty good right about now. You want some too?” At that, her sadness disappeared and she eagerly nodded at my offer. I get up and grabbed the bowls before heading for the kitchen.

“I’ll be back in a minute, if you’d like to...” I was interrupted by by a sudden knocking on my door. I thought I put the sign up. “We’re closed, sorry.”

“It’s me, open up.” A clearly familiar female voice called, making my eyes widen and my pace increase.

“One moment,” I responded, rushing into the kitchen to place bowls down before turning the fire on the stove up to reheat the soup before heading for the door. Smiling, I threw the door open and am met with a familiar site.

A young female, less than six feet tall, her light brown hair tied back in a braid, her hazel eyes staring into mine and a large smile plastered on her face. She was wearing a hooded white robe with a red triangle pattern around the base and sleeves. My smile grew as I pulled the women into a hug.

“Hey big brother, good to see you,” She said, returning the hug.

“Likewise Arcana, When did you get back from your mission?” I responded as I pull her inside and close the door, waiting several seconds before letting her go.

Arcana Reinhart is my little sister, and the closest family member I have. I pretty much raised her after our mother passed, and have since become rather... protective of her. She finished her training to be a white mage about six months ago and has already been on several missions for the Order, but as always she returns here afterwards. It’s the place she calls home. I love my sister dearly, and would do anything to make sure she stays safe.

“About an hour ago, I just had to fill out some paperwork before..” she stopped and sniffed the air, turning her head down the hall toward the kitchen before returning her gaze to me, her smile somehow growing as she realized where the scent is coming from. 

“Soup?” She asked.

“Yeah, I have a... guest over,” I replied, turning my head to the side and chuckling nervously.

“Really! Is it a girl?” she inquired, her smile turning into a smirk at my discomfort.

“Sort of, it’s kind of hard to explain.” I stopped and thought about how I’m going to explain a talking purple unicorn on my couch. If I even say that, I’ll be labeled a freaking lunatic for the rest of my life. Sighing in defeat I decided to go with the simplest choice. “It’d be easier if I just show you, come on,” I said as I lead Arcana to the den.

Arcana opened her mouth to say something, but the second her eyes fell on Twilight, her jaw dropped and her eyes went wide. Likewise, Twilight stared at Arcana with a look of confusion mixed with nervousness. Silence hung in the air for about two minutes before I placed a hand on my sister’s shoulder and give her light shake to snap her out it.

“You okay?” I asked calmly, receiving a wide eyed stare in return.

“What is that?” she whispered, eyes darting back to Twilight for a second, before looking back at me.

I gave a quick glance over to Twilight before replying. “A pony,” I said with completely straight face.

“A pony?” she repeated, to which nod. “Okay then, care to tell me where it came from and what it’s doing on your couch?” Her tone carried a hint of frustration in it, most likely over my previous answer.

“She can hear you you know?” I said, putting emphasis when referring to Twilight's gender, causing both of them to blink. “As for your questions, I found her in the woods. She was injured. Now, before you continue I should note she is sentient, and it is rude to talk about her when she’s right there,” I finished by pointing my hand in Twilight’s direction before taking my sister by the arm and pulling her over to the couch.

“I believe introductions are in order. Arcana, this is Miss Twilight Sparkle, a unicorn from the land of Equestria. Miss Sparkle, this is my seventeen year old sister Arcana Reinhart, newly appointed member of Order's White Circle.” I gestured to each of them as I made the introductions, leading to yet another round of awkward silence.

“Um, hey.” Arcana finally managed to say.

“Hello,” Twilight responded immediately, causing Arcana to stare at the unicorn in shock.

“YOU CAN TALK!” My sister shouted, causing my pain from before to return.

“YES, SHE CAN!” I yelled less than a foot away from Arcana, making her cover own her ears as she turned to glare at me. However, she remembered my sensitive hearing and instead muttered an apology.

“Now that thats out of the way, Arcana, I know what you’re thinking, I will explain everything in a moment. Before I do that however, I want you to use your magic to heal Miss Sparkle's leg, after that I’ll get us some soup and we can discuss this then, okay?” Arcana nodded in response, before calmly walking over and kneeling down in front Twilight.

“I apologize for how I acted a minute ago, if you could please give me your... hoof, I’ll see what I can do to help,” Arcana said as she held her hands out. Slowly, Twilight lifted her injured limb and placed it in Arcana’s hand. Placing her other hand gently on top of her leg, Arcana closed her eyes and took a deep breath, focusing her magic on the damage before her. “Cura,” Arcana said as she releases her breath. The effect is immediate,  a wave of white energy shot forth from her hands, slowly moving around Twilight's leg before proceeding to move to her other wounds, healing them instantly. When its done, Arcana steps back, meeting the unicorns confused stare with a smile. “I wasn't able to heal your foreleg, but I did cut down the time needed to let it heal, it should be good in about two weeks. Now I believe my brother promised food and answers,” she said turning towards me with a eyebrow raised. I simply shook my head and headed for the kitchen.

I returned a minute later with tray holding three bowls of soup. We each take our meal in silence with little problem (though Arcana was surprised by Twilight's ability to use magic). After several minutes, Arcana decided to speak up.

“So how exactly did Miss Sparkle here wind up in the forest?”

I paused for a moment before grabbing the cloth behind me and replying. “She was pulled from her world by this.” I showed her the Chaos Seed, causing her to nod in understanding. “She appeared while I was on my way back for gathering herbs, when I noticed she was still breathing, I put her on my back and carried her here, treated her wounds, and waited till she woke up, she ended up staying asleep until a couple hours ago. After she woke up, I gave her something to eat and we proceeded to ask each other questions until you showed up. You know what happened next, so I don’t think there’s any need to recount it,” I said as I returned to my meal.

Arcana remained silent for a moment, before turning her attention to Miss Sparkle. “Do you have anything to add, like how you came across this?” she said while pointing at the Seed on the table.

Twilight stopped staring at the Seed and looked over at Arcana. “Not much to tell, I found it in a box that was left at my doorstep. After spending several hours examining it, I sent a letter to my mentor, Princess Celestia, before returning to my work. With nothing left to check, did the one thing the note that came with it said not to do and touched it. I was immediately blinded, and the next thing I knew, I was here," as she finished speaking, her face regained its melancholy look from before. Setting my bowl down, I quickly moved back next to her and pull her into another hug. Arcana stared in confusion as I repeated my previous actions to comfort the depressed mare. After a few minutes, I let go of Twilight, who looked up at me with a smile, which I returned, before finally resuming our meal.

We finished our meal and went about our business. Twilight and Arcana talked with one another about magic, Twilight explaining how magic works in her world, while Arcana replies by doing the same. I opted to wash the dishes before heading further down the hall to my work room. Inside, I began preparing several potions to help refill my stock with what ingredients I had. I lost track of time and didn’t stop until arcana knocked of the door. Puting my potions away, I opened the door and stare at her with a raise eyebrow.

“She seems really sweet, it’s a shame that this has happened to her,” she said with a frown. I simply nodded in agreement before she continued. “The High Priestess should be able to get her home, but unfortunately she's away on business, and won’t be back for a week.” I nodded again before pausing.

“You’re right, we will have to wait till she gets back, but I can send her a message. If I’m right, she’ll be able to have everything prepared by the time she gets back, which will ensure Miss Sparkle can return to her own world as soon as possible. In the meantime I’ll find something for her to do so she isn’t stuck laying around bored out of her mind,” I said as I glanced at clock on the wall.

8:45 pm

‘I spent five hours in there?’ ending that train of thought before it gets out of hand, I made my way to my bedroom. Once inside, I changed out of my robe and throw on a plain short sleeve shirt before walking to the crystal ball in the corner. 

I activated the crystal ball and wait several minutes before it picked up a signal. As the link was formed, the image of a elderly woman with white hair wearing a white and gold cloak appeared. The women looked at me with narrowed eyes, waiting several seconds before speaking.

“Whaaat.”  she said, her voice dripping with irritation.


“Hello to you to grandma, must you act this way every time I call?” I said in mock innocence, earning a snort from the old bat.

“You only call me when you want to make my day worse. I don’t have the patience for jokes today boy, so hurry up and tell me what you what so I can get some sleep.” Ah, so I called right before she was going to go to bed, that would explain the bad mood.

“Fine then, yesterday morning, a being from another world appeared in forest. The creature, a unicorn pony mare named Twilight Sparkle, was brought here by a Chaos Seed. I called you to let you know ahead of time so you would be able to prepare the ingredients needed for the ritual to send her home.” As I finished, the old woman stared at me wide-eyed.

“Did you say ‘unicorn pony mare named Twilight Sparkle’?” she asked slowly, never taking her eyes off me. 

“Um, yes.”

She just stared at me for a few seconds, before promptly doubling over in laughter.

“HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! That is even funny than the time you told me you were engaged to a forest elf,” the old bitch said before continuing her laughter.

“I thought you liked laura, you always seemed to get along,” I said with mild pain remembering my late wife. Granny finally got her laughter under control before replying with an amused smile appearing on her lips.

“I never said I didn’t like sonny, but you told me almost the exact same way your father told me when he proposed to your mother. Laura was a sweet lass, you were always happy together and its a shame what happened to her,” she finished with a frown, similar to the one on my own face. I didn’t like bringing up her death, and decided to stop this now before it can continue.

“I didn’t call to talk about her grandma, it's been five years, I’d rather not open old wounds, so can please focus on the matter at hand?” I said with a bit of anger in my voice. Thankfully she nods and begins to contemplate on my report.

“You’re right, I should be able to prepare the ritual and get it set up by the time I get back, thank you for letting me know. Let me know if there are any new development, and tell Arcana I said hi,” she said, I nodded in agreement before cutting the connection and leaving my room. I passed by Arcana’s room, stopping for a moment to give granny’s message, before heading to the den. 

Looking inside, I noticed Twilight looking over one of my old photo albums. I sigh before sitting down beside and glancing at the page. Two photos stick out, one of them a picture of me and Arcana from about ten years ago, playing together in the park. The other is from about the same time, but shows me with a tan skinned female with silver hair and long, pointed ears. I wearing a formal suit, while she’s in an elegant forest themed dress. We’re both holding hands and smiling at one another, a site that brings a smile to my face at the memory.

“Who is she?” Twilight asked, snapping me out my trance. I looked at her and search for the right words before replying.

“Laura, she is, or was, my wife,” I said with slight frown. Twilight looked at me with a frown of her own.

“W-what happened to her,” She asked nervously. I turned away and sighed as the memories come rushing back, threatening to bring tears to my eye.

“She died five years ago protecting some kids from a rogue dire bear, she managed to get the kids to safety, but the bear struck her while her back was turned, it opened a large gash in her side. I arrived just in time to kill the beast before getting to her side only minutes before she died of blood loss, I sat there holding her, telling her it would be fine, but she just smiled at me before her heart stopped. She died in my arms and I couldn’t do a DAMN thing to save her.” As soon as I finished, I broke down crying. I felt something wrap itself around my side. Looking down, I found Twilight giving me a weak hug. I pulled her into a hug spent the next five or so minutes crying on her shoulder. I finally ceased my crying and pulled back from Twilight, who was looking at me in concern.

“Sorry Miss Sparkle, it’s been awhile since I talked about Laura,” I said as I wiped away the last of my tears.

“No, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have brought it up,” she replied. I shook my head and begin running my hand through her mane.

“It wasn’t your fault, I could have just said ‘she died’ and left it at that, I didn’t need to go into detail. At the same time thank you Miss Sparkle, I’ve been needing to get that off my chest for some time now, but haven’t been able to find the courage to talk to anyone.” We lapsed into silence for a while, simply laying there on the couch together, before I remembered why I Came out here.

“I was able to get in contact with my grandmother, the current High Priestess of the Order, she should be able to prepare a ritual that will get you home by the time she returns from her trip in a week.” At this, twilight expression brightened.

We spent the next hour or so discussing what to do for the week leading up to the elders return. We decided to look around the town so I could show her the sites, I remembered that there was a festival in three days and by then word would have spread about her. For when she stayed indoors, I told her she was welcome to read any of my books, I swear I have never seen anyone get so excited about reading. Afterwards, we return to simply laying on the couch together. Around 11:00, Twilight and I both yawned, indicating that it was about time we got some sleep. Before I left the room however, I turned back to Twilight, trying to find the right words for what I wanted to ask.

“Miss Sparkle, while this request might seem a bit weird, I was wondering if you would like to sleep in my bed tonight. The bed has more than enough room, it’s much more comfortable, and in all honest, I most likely won’t be getting much sleep tonight otherwise, I usually wind up staying up most of the night after I think about Laura, so you're more than welcome to join me,” I said before looking away, praying to any gods that will listen that I don’t come off as creepy.

“O-okay,” Twilight said nervously, blushing slightly at my offer.

“Okay then. I would suggest getting on my back, it’ll be faster than walking on three legs.” I crouched down to let her climb on. Once she was secure I headed for my room and to the king sized bed. After helping Twilight into bed and sliding in next to her, we both muttered a ‘good night’ before drifting off to sleep.

For the first time in almost five years, I managed to sleep without any problems.

> Interlude: The Next Day
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


THE MAGES JUMP
BY GENOSABER
INTERLUDE: THE NEXT DAY


(Location- Trace's house, Cornelia)

The sound of birds chirping forced me from my sleep. With a groan, I opened my eyes to find Miss Sparkle mere inches away, sleeping soundly wrapped in my arms. I carefully got out of the bed, a blush forming and several small sparks popping around my body. Shaking my head to get my emotions under control, I grabbed a fresh change of clothes and headed for the bathroom.

My bathroom was a simple set up, bathtub/shower, toilet, and sink, the only unique additions are the large glowing crystal on the ceiling, the the small incantation circle printed next to the door. I quickly activated the enchantment imbued in the circle, causing the coloration of the room to change slightly once the door locks. I quickly changed out of my pajamas and stepped into the shower, shivering slightly in the cold water.

I had become used to it after my former mentor, an ice magus, decided to wake me every morning by dumping cold water on me and freezing it if I didn’t get up quick enough to stop her.

After about twenty minutes, I got out and dried off, changing into my clean clothes, I exited the bathroom and headed back to my bedroom. Waking up Arcana this early is about as easy as extracting manticore venom without putting it to sleep first, so I opted to wake Twilight first.

“Miss Sparkle, it’s time to get up," I said while giving her a light nudge. She shifted slightly before rising slowly. “Morning.” 

She yawned before replying. “Good morning.”

“The bathroom’s open, come into the kitchen when you’re done, okay?” She nodded in response before slowly making her way to the bathroom, taking care to keep her injured foreleg off the ground. I headed into the kitchen and started boiling water for tea before getting out some eggs and hash browns for breakfast. Once the tea was ready, I went to Arcana’s room with a glass of cold water, opening the door, I muttered “watera” and levitated the water from the glass and over above my sister, fingers posed to snap and drop it on her.

Arcana, time to get up,” I said. She mumbled something along the lines of “five more minutes.” I sighed and wait fived seconds before releasing my hold on the water, her jolt up and glare at me. “Yeah, I don’t think so. You have a meeting scheduled with your mentor to practice some higher level spells, and I’d rather not get on Cecilia's bad side. Now get dressed and come into the kitchen, breakfast is almost ready.” She grumbled in response but got up nonetheless, knowing that her mentor was not someone who took tardiness lightly. She entered the kitchen just as I set a plate of food down on the table, Twilight following shortly after, a smile on her face and her mane and coat looking much cleaner than before.

“You're in a good mood, I take it the bath was to your liking?”

“Definitely. Though I have a question, when I locked the door, everything changed to look like the bathroom back at the library, how is that?” Before I could respond, Arcana spoke up.

“Trace put an enchantment on the room after we had some guests over who were, well, differently shaped than humans or elves, whenever someone locks the door, it takes on the appearance of their ideal design. He nearly fainted after he put it there too.” She snickered at my glare, making me to roll my eyes before placing a plate of food on the table in front of Twilight.

“I believe you said that ponies are able to eat eggs, correct?” She nodded. “Then I hope you enjoy your meal. Arcana, you’d should probably get cleaned up, Cecilia would think you’re not taking your training seriously if you show up like that.” My sister quickly downed the last of her breakfast and tea before rushing to the bathroom.

I shook my head and chuckled before turning back to Twilight. “Is there anything you’d like to do today, go out and see the city a bit?” She thought about it before nodding.

“That sounds good, but could I see a book on the city, I’d like to learn about this world first?” I nodded before heading into the den and grabbing a book on the history of Cornelia from the shelf, just missing Arcana as she ran out the door on my way back. I passed the book to Twilight, who gave me a nod in thanks before turning her attention the the book. I glanced over at the calendar on the wall, noting that I should be getting an order I placed last week in today, a meeting with the council tomorrow, and the Autumn Winds Festival after that. I groaned at the idea of a meeting, having to sit and listen to a bunch of old mages, some of them nearing a hundred. At least Fei, Cecilia and Louis will be there, so I won’t be the only one under fifty. Checking the time, I saw that there's still about an hour before the city actually started getting active.

After finishing my own breakfast, I headed back to my room and throw my robe on and check on Twilight. “You ready to go, if we head out now we won’t have to deal with to many people.”

“Okay, I guess we can head out now, though I can’t decide on where to go first,” she said. I tapped my chin in thought before coming up with a few ideas.

“Well, we could head to the park first, it’s pretty nice at this time, and we’d probably run into Arcana and Cecilia there. We could have lunch at the bakery, I need to talk to Fiona there anyway. Lastly, we can pay a visit to the library, if you’d like to that is.” At the mention of the library, the mare's expression brightened and she smiled.

“That sounds great.” With that, I slipped my hat on and got Twilight onto my back before heading out the door.

The walk to the park was, as predicted, uneventful. The only interesting thing was the strange sensation I got the second I walked out the door, but paid no mind due to my familiarity with the feeling. As we neared the park, I caught sight of two white blurs jumping about the area. I smiled and waited a few minutes before the blurs stop in front of me and Twilight, taking the form Arcana and a blonde female, her white robe different from my sister in that it didn’t have the red markings, and featured cat ears on the hood. The devout smiled and bowed, which I returned lightly.

“Greetings Cecilia, I see that my sisters training is going well.”

“Yes, she is progressing greatly in teleportation and protection spells.” Cecilia smiled before taking notice of the unicorn on my back. “This must be Twilight Sparkle, Arcana told me about you.”

“Ah, yes. Twilight this is lady Cecilia Collins, high ranking devout of the order, and mentor of my sister. Cecilia, this is Twilight Sparkle, of Equestria.” Cecilia nodded her head in greeting.

“A pleasure to meet you Miss Sparkle, my student has said several good things about you.” Twilight blushed at the compliment, but nodded nonetheless.

“H-hi.”

Cecilia smiled before turning to Arcana. “I believe we can call it a day. Trace if you’d be willing to help me give her a demonstration of expertise in teleportation.” I paused a minute in mock thought before nodding.

“Yeah, I don’t see why not.” I walked over to a bench and placed Twilight on it before stepping into place in front of Cecilia. we both took a deep breath before saying “Warp” and blurring from existence, reappearing a second later in the air, and vanishing again. We did this for what feels like hours, keeping in perfect sync with one another. we finally returned to our starting positions, panting a bit, but smiling all the same.

“That. Was. Incredible!” Arcana exclaimed from her seat. Twilight just stared, mouth hanging open as her brain tried to comprehend what she just witnessed.

“You just teleported two hundred and forty times without stopping once,” She finally said, making both me and Cecilia blink.

“You... counted?” She nodded, making Cecilia's jaw drop.

“Well, I think that's enough for one day, Arcana I’d like you to come with me to the library to study.” My sister nodded before waving goodbye to me and Twilight and running off to catch up to her mentor.

“Ready to head to the bakery, I Could use something to eat after that workout?”

“Okay,” Twilight said, climbing onto my back as we headed toward the market district.

We reached the bakery with only a few stares from several shoppers, most of them directed at me because, well, black mages aren’t the most trusted group in the world. The bakery was empty, not even anyone behind the counter. As soon as we took a seat in one of the booths, a female with light pink tinged hair wearing a bakers outfit popped up out of nowhere, making Twilight jump slightly and myself smirk at her appearance.

“Hey Trace, didja hear?” she asked in an overly chipper tone, making me raise an eyebrow. “Grand summoner Isaac stopped in earlier, he said they're going to summon Bahamut for the closing ceremony at the festival.” This made my jaw drop.

“Are you serious Fiona?” She nodded. “Well that will be quite a sight, though it is the two hundredth anniversary of the defeat of Chaos, such an event would be fitting for the occasion.” I glanced over at the various baked goods before making up my mind. “I have an apple pie, a slice of cheesecake, and a coffee. Miss Sparkle, anything you would like?”

“An apple fritter, please.” Fiona disappeared behind the counter, before reappearing a minute with our order. We both say “thank you” before digging in, Fiona pulled out a bagel and sat next to me. I waited till I finished the cake before speaking up.

“Would mind explaining why your shadow spy has been following me all day Fei?” At the mention of her other name, baker tensed up, her face darkening and her tone losing all emotion.

“I was simply curious about your recent house guest, my lord.” She replies standing up and putting her dishes into the sink. Twilight blinked at the sudden change and looks at me for an explanation. I sighed and rubbed my forehead before speaking.

“Miss Sparkle, this is Fiona Wylder, more commonly known in the Order as Fei, my second in command and the current fangblade, an assassin in the Black Circle.” Twilight eyes widened and she stared at the assassin warily, I could already feel Fei reaching for her knives. “Fei, put the fucking knives away, she isn’t a threat, Miss Sparkle I promise you Fei won’t hurt you, I won’t allow it, the knowledge of her true identity is too important.” They both relaxed slightly, though Twilight still seemed a little tense.

“I apologize Miss Sparkle, I’ve been a little on edge concerning the meeting tomorrow, but that is no excuse for my behavior, I promise I mean no harm toward you.” Twilight relaxed a bit more at this, and Fei turned her attention to me. “We both have our secrets my lord, you have just as much to lose if anyone found out that mark on your back.” I tensed visibly at this, my eyes narrowing and my voice becoming cold as ice.

“You tell anyone about that and I swear..” She put up a hand to stop me.

“I know my lord, I was making a point, I know how intent you are on keeping that a secret, not even your family knows.” I sighed and relaxed my body. Rubbing my temples to calm myself down.

“You mentioned something about the meeting, what did you hear.” My assistant sighed before pulling out a stack of papers.

“It seems some of the members of the order feel you’re not cut out for the title of archmage, as you have yet to take the exam to become a magus,” she continued. I snorted at this and took a sip of my drink before speaking.

“So because I don’t know a few spells and lack a title, I don’t have what it takes to be the archmage. Besides, Isaac, Cecilia and Louis are on our side, so we have nothing to worry about.”

“I know my lord..” I stopped her for a moment, she realized why before continuing. “I know Trace, but this is not the first time this has happened. What if, at some point, they manage to get enough backing, what are we going to do then.” I sighed and rubbed my forehead, a headache already forming.

“If it comes to it, I’ll take the damn exam and become a magus.”

“Um, if you don’t mind me asking, why is becoming a magus such a bad thing?” Twilight asked, bringing my attention back to her.

“Simply put, becoming a magus would mean giving up who I am. I have to give myself up to my magic completely, embracing destruction and forgoing healing. Mastering the most powerful black magic spells there are. The only way I would be able to stay who I am is through constant mental training, I would rarely see Arcana, and would always be in fear of losing control.” Twilight just stared, trying to wrap her head around why someone would want to become like that.

I finished my food and stand up, helping Twilight onto my back. “Thank you Fei, I see you at the meeting.” She nodded and bid me and Twilight goodbye, and we made our way to the library.

The library is the second largest building in the city, beaten only by the cathedral that the order operates from. It was originally a castle, but was changed after the last kings daughter helped form the order. Twilight stared in awe at the massive building, only a few people moving around today. I instead focused on the the statue in front of the building, taking note of the four figures standing together.

At the top left, a man in heavy armor holding a large sword, Lord Arthur Williams, the first fangblade. Next to him, another man in fine clothes pointing a rapier in front of him, Damian Collins, known for building peaceful relationships with other lands. Below him and figure in the trappings of a black mage, known  as Zero, founder of the Black Circle. The final figure is the most recognizable to me, a woman in the a hooded robe, hammer in hand and a determined look on her face, Sera Reinhart, high priestess of the Order, my grandmother.

“Who are they?” Twilight asked.

“The Light warriors, the four heroes that defeated Chaos. The only one of them still alive is the woman, my grandmother. She was turned to stone for a hundred years by a Chaos seed and didn’t get out till about seventy years ago.” Twilight's eyes widened at this, looking between me and the statue. She opened her her mouth to speak before-

“Kweh!”

A sudden noise startled us, making me turn to the new arrival. A large yellow bird stared back at me, their rider laughing his ass off at our shock. The rider, a young man wearing clothes similar to the statue of Damian, colored red with a gold trim, an elegant sword on his belt, fell off the chocobo, taking several minutes before ceasing his laughter and picking himself up.

“Sorry about that Trace, couldn’t resist,” the man said as he reached into the bag strapped to the bird.

“Glad you had a laugh Louis, nearly gave me heart attack though.”

“Don’t be so dramatic, if it were that easy, you’d have died years ago,” Louis said pulling a book out of his bag. “I came by to give you that book you had me look for, you weren’t at your house and-” his eyes locked on Twilight and he blinked. “Oh, and who is this?” he asked with a smile.

I took the book and slipped it into my robe. “This is Miss Twilight Sparkle, A being from Equestria, she’s staying at my house until my grandmother can return from her mission and perform the ritual.”

“Hello Miss Sparkle, a pleasure to meet you. My name is Louis Allens, red wizard of the Order,” he said with a bow.

“Uh, hello,” Twilight said hesitantly. Louis smiled before jumping onto the chocobo and turning around to head off.

“I would love to stay and chat, but I have a rather busy schedule. I’ll see you at the meeting Trace, take care.” I waved at him and smiled.

“Likewise.” I turned back to the library and headed inside, hearing a gasp at the sight. Bookshelves are placed everywhere, rising up to the ceiling and stuffed with books of all subjects. I moved to a circular table with a glowing orb in the center of it and set Twilight down. “Any subject you’d like to start with?”

“The history of this world and a few books on magic would be nice.” I nodded and touched the orb, it glowed for a second before a book slid out of it, floating over to Twilight, the process repeated until about fifteen books laid in front of her. She smiled and nodded in thanks before delving into the first one. I smiled and sat down by her, opening the book Louis gave me.

After after five hours I closed my book, having already read it twice. I glanced over at Twilight and found her focussed entirely on her reading. I tapped her on the shoulder and pointed toward the large clock on the wall behind me. “Library’s closing up soon, if you want, I can check these out to you and return them later.” She nodded and climbed onto my back. We checked some of the books out at the desk and headed home to find Arcana laying on the couch, barely awake.

“Tough day?”

“After we left the park, Cecilia made me study nonstop for three hours before we went to the training room, where she made me practice my shield spell while other mages took shots at me. I’m tired, sore, and hungry, can you please make dinner now?” I chuckled and nodded, putting Twilight and the books down before fixing dinner. We ate in relative silence, the only conversation being Twilight asking me a few questions from the books. After dinner, we made our way to our rooms, Twilight choosing to share my bed again. As I grab a shirt from the dresser Twilight spoke up.

“Trace?”

“Yeah?” I said looking over at her.

“Um, what did Fei mean when she mentioned a mark?” I frowned slightly and glanced at the door.

“Promise me you’ll never tell Arcana about this.” She did, and I took off my shirt and moved my hair out of the way, giving Twilight a view of the marking on my back, a black lightning bolt, stretching from between my shoulders to the small of my back.

“This mark is called the blessing of Ramuh, a mark given by the god of lighting. I keep my hair long to help prevent anyone from seeing it if I’m not wearing a shirt. The reason I keep it a secret is because I’m not meant to have it. If anyone on the council found out I had this despite never becoming a magus, who are the only people meant to have this, I could be stripped of my rank and, worst case scenario, put on trial for breaking old law. I never chose to have this, it appeared when my magic first started to developed. 

The only people who know of it besides Fiona were my parents and Laura. All because I’m not a magus, even if I never performed the ritual to get it, I could be thrown jail, and my grandmother would be unable to help me. All because I refuse to give up my humanity.” I slumped down on the bed and felt Twilight wrap her forelegs around me. Turning my head, I saw her giving me a sad smile.

“It must be hard keeping this from your own family.” I sighed and nodded.

“It is. Thank you Miss Sparkle, you’ve been kind to me, and for that I’m grateful.” I looked at the clock, noting the time. “I suppose we should going to sleep, I have a meeting tomorrow and you’ll be spending the day with Arcana.” She nodded and yawned, laying down under the covers. I laid next to her, wrapping my arms around her like this morning. She tensed for a moment, but eventually relaxed and in minutes shes asleep, myself following shortly after.
> Interlude: The festival
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


THE MAGES JUMP
BY GENOSABER
INTERLUDE: THE FESTIVAL


A soft yawn caught my attention, and I turned to find Twilight sitting up on the bed. “Good morning Miss Sparkle,” I said in a pleasant tone.

“Good morn-” her voice trailed off as she got a look at my clothes. Normally, I wear either jeans or black fatigues, today, I wore a pair of midnight blue dress pants, and my boots replaced with a pair of black dress shoes. Instead of my robe or a plain t-shirt, I wore a white dress shirt, with a waistcoat and tie the same color as the pants. My hair, normally simply combed back to look decent in public, had been carefully straightened out and a bit of styling gel had been used, giving it a light sheen. After a few minutes, she realised she was staring and quickly looked away, her cheeks turning a deep shade of red. I chuckled a bit, but I couldn’t help but admit she looked rather cute.

“Arcana got out of the shower a few minutes before you woke up, you can go ahead and wash up, I’ll go start breakfast.” She nodded and made for the bathroom as quickly as she could on three legs, her blush never leaving her face.

I entered the kitchen and found Arcana sitting patiently at the table, her normal robe replaced with a elegant red dress Cecilia made for her last month. I quickly set about making a light breakfast while making idle chat with my sister. Twilight came in just as I finished breakfast, her face back to its original color. Twilight and arcana exchanged greetings before we lapsed into silence, content with focusing on our breakfast. After a few minutes, I decided to speak up.

“Louis sent me a message this morning, he said he got in contact with Dawn, she’ll be able to make something for Miss Sparkle to use her injured leg for the day.” Arcana groaned at the mention of Dawn.

“Do we have to go see her?”

“Yes, she might be able to help Twilight walk around during the festival without problems.”

“Um, who’s Dawn?” Twilight asked.

“A member of the Lunar circle and an old friend of mine,” I said while taking our empty plates and putting them in the sink.

“Lunar Circle?”

“Werewolves,” Arcana said with a frown, still uncomfortable about seeing Dawn again.

Twilight's eyes widened at this, and I decided to speak up. “Yes, but they’re friendly, the Lunar Circle has worked with the Order for over ten years now. And even before that they have been on friendly terms with other species for nearly a century ” Twilight relaxed a bit and I pulled out a map of the city showing where everything was set for the festival.

“Any ideas on where we should go first?” I showed the map to Twilight and Arcana, who immediately pointed to a spot.

“How about the bards, its been awhile since we’ve heard them.” I nodded and looked at Twilight.

“I guess that's a good place to start, but what is the festival all about?” she asked.

“The Autumn Winds festival celebrates the peace treaty the northern continent of Cardia made with the eastern continent of Elfheim, opening trade with the two lands and bringing new wealth to both.” I paused for a moment before continuing. "A this year also marks the anniversary of the defeat of Chaos, hence why they're summoning Bahamut today."

“You mentioned three kinds of elves, right?”

I nodded. “Yes, high elf, forest elf, and dark elf. High elves, are the social nobility of the three, they many progress in art and are masters of ‘spiritual magic,’ which allows them to channel the power of their ancestors, great for defense spells and healing. Forest elves are a more equal race, they live in small villages built in or near forests and are known for their music, their magic is druidic, they can communicate with plants and animals, and some can even control them at times. Dark elves are a bit more violent than the others, they’re mostly a warrior race, live in colonies set in caves, or in the slums of larger cities. Their magic expertise is-”

“Blood magic,” Arcana said darkly.

I shot her a glare. “Yes, blood magic, it’s one of the few darker magics still legal, but frowned upon by many, mostly due to its negative effect of people, only dark elves can use it without suffering from it.”

Twilight looked both intrigued and scared by the idea of blood magic. Arcana didn’t say a word as she stood up and walked out to her room. I cursed under my breath and followed her.

“Arcana wait.” She stopped and looked at me a few tears forming.

“Why did you have to bring it up Trace?” she whispered, I put my arm around her and pulled her into hug.

“I’m sorry if it upset you, I only meant to give her information.”

“I know.” She moved back wiped her tears away. “I be back in a minute, then we can go.” I nodded and she went to her room. I walked back to the kitchen and found Twilight looking at me with concern.

“Is she okay?” she asked.

“Yeah, don’t worry about, blood magic is just a sore subject for her... and pretty much any other white magic user,” I said with a shrug.  

A minute later, Arcana came back out and joined us at the door, she looked at me and nodded, assuring me she was fine. We headed out and made for the festival grounds, Twilight on my back as usual, and we continued talking about our plan. About half way to the grounds, a familiar voice called my name.

“Trace!”

I turned to find a man with brown hair, bards clothes, and a elven guitar on his back. Reeve “Riversong” Jackson, former resident of Earth, pulled here by a Chaos Seed three years ago, he has since become a famous bard, bringing music from his world to us. As soon as I looked at him, he ran full tilt to us, a huge grin plastered on his face.

“Reeve!” I exclaimed. The bard stopped a few feet from us and stuck his hand out in, but froze when he saw who was on my back.

“Who’s this?” he asked is an odd tone.

“Reeve, this is Miss Twilight Sparkle. Twilight this is Reeve, he came here like you did about three years ago, and decided to stay.”

“Hello,” Twilight said hesitantly.

“Greetings Miss Sparkle, as Trace said, my name is Reeve, but please call me Riversong, it’s my bard name.” He replied before looking back at me. “I assume you’ll be at the bard area later?”

I nodded. “Yeah, we were planning on heading there after we met up with Louis.”

“I saw him over by the inn, he was standing with some chick wearing a fur cloak.”

“Thanks. I’ll see you and your band later.” He nodded and ran off.

We reached the inn after a few minutes. Louis was standing out front next to a woman with black hair wearing a grey fur cloak. When they saw us, they waved and met us halfway.

“Trace, Arcana, Miss Sparkle,” Louis said as he looked at each of us. The woman kept a neutral expression until she saw Twilight.

“You were telling the truth wizard,” she said in a rough voice.

“Of course, why would I lie to you?” he questioned in a bemused tone.

“Telling me the being was ‘purple unicorn pony’ I thought you had sampled some locoweed from the forest,” she said in a deadpan tone. I chuckled as Louis rubbed the back of his head

“I suppose it does sound rather odd.” he admitted before turning back to me, “Trace, would you mind putting Miss Sparkle down so Dawn can work?”

I set Twilight down and stepped out of the way of the werewolf, mostly because I had been bit by Dawn before and this time I didn’t have any wolfsbane on me. Dawn crouched in front of Twilight, taking out a length of circular white stones tied together with a string. She wrapped them around Twilight's foreleg, tying the ends together. Once she was finished one of the stones began to slowly turn yellow.

“The moonstones will absorb any pain you get from walking, try it.” Twilight did, and found she could walk normal again. “The stone will last till the end of the festival, once the last stone breaks, you’ll have to keep of that hoof again. We are even now, wizard, have a good day.” She got up and walked off without waiting for a goodbye.

“Well, that solves one problem, let’s head to the festival,” Louis said while walking ahead of us to the grounds, we ran to catch up to him, Twilight appeared overjoyed to have the use of her hoof back. We got to the grounds to find some of the stands and event still setting up, and we sat down at a set of tables as we waited.

“Hey Trace?” Twilight asked, Drawing my attention.

“Yeah?”

“How did the elves become separated?” her question surprised me a bit, I guess she learned about it the books she got from the library, but most basic text didn’t cover the full details.

“The high and Forest elves have been separate for as long as we know, considering most old text was lost during the first uprising of Chaos five hundred years ago, but from what we know, the Dark elves were first created about the same time. They were high elves that became tainted by Chaos, and mutated, they became more savage, their nails hardened into claws, their fangs grew longer, and their skin turned dark grey. They went to war with the high elves for a hundred years, destroying the high elves in combat thanks to their ability to shrug off pain with ease. Only with the help of the White Circle's most skilled healers were they able to break Chaos’ influence on them and restore their sanity. recently, Dark have been trying to improve the living conditions of their race, but progress has been slow, and the violent nature of the Dark doesn’t help much.”

“What do you mean by ‘ability to shrug off pain’?” Twilight asked.

“Exactly what it sounds like, dark elves have the ability to release a chemical in their bodies that allow them to withstand pain by making themselves numb. I can do it too, but its not as effective and it messes with my magic, makes me miss a lot,” I said as I looked around us. Most of the stand had finished setting up and I could see Reeve and a several elves of each race on stage getting ready, Reeve pulling out his guitar, a gold crescent moon shaped design, most likely a high elf model. “Well, looks like everything’s just about set up, shall we take a look at what they have to offer?” My companions all nodded in response, and well made for the nearest stand.

The first row a stands are all food, featuring dishes by all three elves. The first one is a forest elf serving kebabs of various exotic vegetables coated with herbs and a sauce that my nose picked up and made my mouth water. Twilight and I went to that booth first while Louis was dragged to a different stand by Arcana. I bought two kebabs and handed one to Twilight , who held it with her magic. I took a bite of the food and-

-'By Shiva’s tits I have never had anything that tasted so good'. My mind went blank as I ate the rest of the kebob. I turned to Twilight to find her in the same state. I brought my attention to the elf, who was smirking at us.

“Mam, how much would it take to purchase seed to grow these ingredients and a copy of your recipe?”

“Two hundred fifty gil and not a coin less,” She said without missing a beat. I grabbed my pouch and shelled out the needed amount, she took the money and handed me set of seed packets and a stack of papers. I thanked her and helped Twilight, who was still in the process of comprehending what she just ate, to the next stand. 

The next one was manned by a dark elves and featured several kinds of rare meats. I already learned Twilight was fine with me eating meat after watching Arcana Inhale a plate of chicken last night, so I took a piece of what was apparently Zolom meat, cooked it slightly using magic (dark elves prefer their meat between raw and mostly rare, I like mine medium rare at least) and threw it in my mouth, chewing slowly before swallowing and looked at the man, a smile forming on my face.

“I’ve never had Zolom meat before but I can say that tastes pretty good, though I would assume Zolom is rather hard to get considering they’re giant snakes.” The old man chuckled at my comment.

“Aye, they can be a bit troublesome, caught this one when is was still thirty feet, got me good though.” He said as he moved his tunic to show me the scar on his shoulder.

I thanked the man and lead Twilight to the last stand. I recognized the food my the smell, and found a young high elf woman serving various desserts and sweets. I smiled at the woman. “Good day madam.”

“And to you to mage, what can I get for you and your friend today,” she responded with a smile.

“I will have the blueberry tart, and what would you recommend for my companion?”

“Well, the mulberry cheesecake is a new recipe I wanted to try out, and it seems to be popular.” I looked at Twilight, who nodded in response. the woman smiled and gave us out order. we sat down at a nearby table and were quickly joined by Louis, who had a mug of ale in one hand and a kebab in the other, and Arcana, who was lugging a plate of twelve dragon nachos.

“Arcana, have you learned nothing from last year, I don’t want you getting sick from eating those again.” She rolled her eyes before pulling a vial of violet liquid from her sleeve.

“I’ve got it covered brother, I had Louis make a potion to prevent nausea.” Louis nodded in agreement, I just sighed and shook my head before going back to my desert.


“What did you call me you filthy brute?” a snobbish voice behind me exclaimed, making snap my head back to find the source.

“I said, ‘yer a prissy lil’ weakling, just like your ale.” a red haired dwarf shouted, drawing my attention to the scene. The aforementioned dwarf was glaring up at a blonde haired high elf, who was glaring right back at him.

“Twilight.” I said, showing her the scene, “you are about the see one of the oldest arguments in history take place.”

“At least my ale doesn’t make people sick to their stomachs, like your whiskey,” the elf countered.

“Only because they can’t handle it, it’s a real man’s drink, not this wimpy little juice yer selling.” This pissed the elf off, you never insult their wine. The elf screamed a battle cry and swung at the dwarf, landing a blow to the jaw, the dwarf grunted before body slamming the elf. the fight quickly dissolved into a mess of punches and I turned back to Louis.

“Twenty gil says the dwarf wins.”

He shook his head. “That elf’s wiry but fierce, my money’s on him.” we both took out a handful of money and placed it on the table before turning back to the fight.

“OW! I give, I give," the elf cried out after a few minutes. The dwarf let him go and I grabbed the small pile of coin on the table.

“What was that about?” Twilight asked, we all just shrugged.

“For centuries, Eeves and dwarves have been at each others throats about who has the better alcohol, personally, I prefer Elf wine to Whiskey , don’t care for bitter drinks.” Louis grunted in agreement and downed the rest of his ale.

I was about to speak up when the band started playing. I turned to see Reeve with his guitar at the microphone



I found myself tapping along to the music. As he finished I strode over to the stage a smirked.

“Mind if I join it?” It had been a while since I sang anything, but I did enjoy it nonetheless.

He laughed and hand a hand out to help me up. “I would be honored to have the archmage sing on stage with my band,” he said smugly, I rolled my eyes and climbed onto the stage, takinng my place next to him at the front.



Reeve turned to me. "I see your voice hasn't lost it's touch."

"I like to sing from time to time while working, helps me focus," I said, before glanced back at the band. "May I choose the next song." Reeve nodded and I leaned in to whisper it. As soon as I did so, the bard grinned and shouted something to his band in the bardic tongue. Immediately, they began playing the song I had chosen.



Reeve gave a low chuckle. "I know another song you might enjoy." He began strumming his guitar, producing an all to familiar tune.

"Was wondering when you'd play that," I said as the band joined in.



"You know what's next?" He said

I gave him a light glare. "I suppose this is to balance out the two songs I enjoy?" 

"Of course!" He said as he began playing



“One more?” I asked him

He nodded with his usual oversized grin and grabbed the mic. “And now, here's something a bit more peaceful.”



As I jumped off the stage and made my way back to our table, I saw that Arcana had pulled Louis into dancing with her, and that Twilight was staring again. She quickly noticed and looked away.

“What’d you think?” I asked her.

“It was... amazing,” she answered quietly with a smile.

“Thank you, not many people know I sing, and the few that do don’t go spreading it around, so to know that my singing is liked by others is a great thing.”

“Yes, quite good, for an educated savage.” a voice spat behind me. I turned to the offending asshole with intent to kick his teeth in. Behind me stands a high elf man about twenty five years old, a silver rapier on his belt.

"Ba chóir duit a bheith cúramach de na magadh tú. (You should be cautious of those you mock.)"

“Ah, so you can speak a superior tongue.” Why has this guy not had his ass kicked? I could see people glaring at him, including the three elves from the stands. 

“Look I’m in a good mood so I’ll be polite,” I cleared my throat before continuing, “Piss off you piece of fucking shit before I beat your face in.”

“How dare you, do you have any idea who I am?” I grunted. “I am Ral, son of merchant king Gallion.” Well, that would certainly explain his attitude, nothing good come from that stuck up piece of trash.

'Judging by the tone, that's only an abbreviation of his name, probably doesn't think a "half-blood" is worthy of knowing it.' I felt a light tap on my shoulder and turned to find Fei holding a rapier, black leather handle with a silver hilt and blade. I grinned and took the sword, she vanished back to... wherever the hell she was.

“Okay Ral,” I poured as much venom as I could into his name, and caught a peek at the Drow smirking. “I challange to a duel, winner gets... one thousand gil.”

“Like you have..” He trailed off as Fei appeared again with a piece of paper, I took it a glanced over it before passing it on to Ral. “What’s this?”

“My balance, I currently have one million, three hundred fifty thousand Gil in the bank.”

he tried and failed to hide his surprise. “Alright then, let's head to the dueling grounds.”

A few minutes later I’m standing in an enclosed area about twenty feet in diameter, most of the people from the grounds had moved the the seats around the little area after Isaac came and told never to piss off so he and the other summoners could set up the summoning circle. Fei, or rather “Fiona” had appeared and started taking bets, and from want i could see, they were in my favor. 

“Last chance to back out,” I teased.

“Shut up and get ready,” he growled as as he got into position, copied his stance in a more relaxed manner, just to mock him further.

Louis stepped between us and raised a hand. After three seconds, he swung his hand down and jumped back to avoided our blades. The pompous twit was clearly agitated, his attacks were sloppy and his blocks were weak, but I decided to humor him for a bit, keeping my own movements on par with his. 

After about fifteen minutes, his anger had reach its peak and his movement was completely ruined. I change my pattern and begin striking at him with an onslaught of blows. He tried to keep up his defense, an upward slash knocks his sword from his hand, as well as drawn a small cut across his cheek.

“The duel goes to Trace!” Louis exclaimed causing the crowd to shout in joy.

Ral screamed in rage as he felt the blood on his cheek. “How dare you, filthy half-”

“Still your tongue!” 

Ral looked over to my sister, giving him a glare that could cut diamond. “Shut your mouth child, didn’t your-” was all he got before I shouted “Aero” and shredded his clothes.

“My name is Trace Reinhart, grandson of High Priestess Sera Reinhart, and archmage of the Black Circle, you will show sister and I respect!” I turned away from him and walked back toward the grounds, my companions following close behind me.

We spent the next few hours enjoying the various performers, from various elves putting on different shows displayiing each race's abilities, too a groups of black mages using their magic to entertain the crowd. Eventually it was announced the circle was ready, and everone began heading towards the area.

“It okay if Louis and I go find a place to watch the summoning?” Arcana asked. I nodded and waved goodbye to them as I lead Twilight to a small hill with a tree on it, it provided a decent view of the circle without being too close to the ritual and having my eardrums destroyed by the dragon kings roar. I sat with my back against the tree and motioned for Twilight to join me. As soon as she did, the last stone broke and fell apart, sending a small jolt of pain through her leg. She flinched at the shock, and I instinctively wrapped my arm around her to distract her from the pain. She blushed a bit, but leaned into my embrace all the same. After a few minutes I spotted three figures in green robes walk into place on the circle and begin the summon. The sky darkened as the summoners began chanting in a old language. Twilight watched as the circle started glowing, and after a few minutes I could hear Isacc’s voice.

“We call upon thee hallowed father
Hear our call
Raise up and break the heavens
arise dragon king, awaken, BAHAMUT!”

The circle suddenly exploded into a pillar of light, and a deafening roar flowed through the air. when the light faded, the sky was cleared, and a giant black dragon was hovering above the crowd. As he opened his mouth, I clapped my hands over my ears to block the sound.

“MORTALS, IT IS A PLEASURE TO BE HERE ON THIS DAY.” The dragon roared. making everyone flinch. “THIS DAY MARKS THE TWO HUNDREDTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE DAY THE LIGHT WARRIORS WOKE ME FROM MY SLUMBER, AND I GRANTED THEM THE POWER NEEDED TO DEFEAT CHAOS. WITH THAT IN MIND LET THE FINALE, BEGIN!” as he said that, he let loose another roar before soaring into the sky and exploding into a flash of light, soon a meteor shower began and everyone, including Twilight was enthralled by the show.

After about an hour the meteors begin to fade and the people began lighting fireworks, filling the sky with an array of colors. I looked down at Twilight, who was beginning to fall asleep, and a smile began to form on my face.

“The sun has set, the colors faded.
Traces of color and stars are shaded.
The trees stand great against
The darkened sky,
The birds are settled;
Only the owl will fly
The blanket of deep, rich ebony
Is profound-
To see it takes no sight;
To hear it takes no sound.
Only the color against
The darkness is white –
Those are dots of stars,
Simple but bright.
It has no name, it bears no title.
It’s simple but overwhelming,
Active but idle,
Shadows dance
Against the solace of the moon-
Twilight ends and the sun comes so soon.
Beauty soars and shimmers in the night
Soundlessly, wordlessly,
Breathtaking internal sight.
If you ever look up when the moon is tall,
If you listen closely, you will hear its call.”

“That was beautiful,” Twilight said with a yawn.

“It was a poem my mother use to read me when I a child, nights like this always make me remember it.” Twilight yawned again and nodded, laying her head on my chest. I continue watching the fireworks as I ran a hand through her mane, taking comfort in her company. after maybe twenty minutes, the fireworks ended. I looked down to find Twilight asleep, I smiled and carefully moved her onto my back. After getting her safely onto my back, I made my way back to my house. 

Along the way, Louis caught up to me, he was carrying Arcana on his back in the same manner as I had Twilight. We both chuckled at our situation and continued walking in silence.

When we reach my house, I used a bit of magic to remove the locking spells on the door before pushing it open. I went into my room and put Twilight in the bed before helping Louis get the sleeping rock that is my sister i to her own bed. After we finished with our task I gesture for him to join me in the den.

“I take it Arcana had a good time?”

“Yes, she seems to have enjoyed herself,” Louis replied while trying not to meet my eyes.

“Louis relax, I made deal with Arcana, she finds a guy she likes, if I don’t hate him, I stay out of the way. I had a feeling you two would get together sooner or later.” I said as I got a bottle of plum wine and two glasses from one of the end tables. I gave Louis a glass filled it with wine, ding the same to my own.


“I could say the same about you and Miss Sparkle.” I choked a bit on my wine while I tried to shoot him a glare. “Trace, I’ve seen the way you look and act around each other, you are clearly infatuated with her, and she feels the same way about you. You’ve always been sensitive to emotions, you know I’m telling the truth.” I wanted to deny it, but he was right, I had been feeling like that toward Miss Sparkle since I woke up next to her in bed, and I had been sensing some kind of similar feeling from  her.

“You're right, but it doesn’t make a difference, Twilight will be going back to her world in a few days, and I’ll return to being alone.”

“You could go with her.”

I shook my head. “No, I couldn’t I...” I stopped as he raised a hand.

“Trace, I’m presenting the option, think it over, don’t use your sister as an excuse, she can take care of her self.”

I hung my head and sighed. “Fine, I’ll think about it.” I handed him the bottle, “here I’m gonna hit the hay.”

“Night,” He said as he took the wine and headed for the door. “I'll see you tomorrow Trace.” I nodded and closed the door, reactivating the locks before walking to the bedroom, changing into pajamas, and getting into the bed. I wrapped my arms around Twilight and closed my eyes, allowing my mind to drift off into sleep.
> Prologue part 3: Getting Home
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


THE MAGES JUMP
BY GENOSABER
PROLOGUE PART 3/3 


The week leading up to the return of the high priestess went by without problem. The locals didn’t seem to overreact to Twilight, and their questions were pretty much answered with the Chaos Seed. Twilight had taking an interest in the history and magic of the world, something both Trace and Arcana were more than happy to inform her about. Twilight also learned that Trace had more or less raised Arcana, as their father, one of the most powerful paladins the Order had ever seen, had died on a mission a few months before she was born, and their mother, who worked as a preschool teacher, died giving birth to Arcana. Their grandmother, despite helping to care for them when she could, was often busy, and unable to make time to take care of Arcana when she was an infant, leaving Trace and a few older members of the Order to take care of her. Arcana told Twilight just how protective Trace could be, making sure no one hurt her as she was growing up. Seeing how they acted together, Twilight couldn’t help but remember her own brother, a thought which brought a smile to her lips as she remembered all the times they had played together when she was younger.

Along with learning about the world she was in, Twilight continued to tell the siblings about her world. Arcana took interest in the political aspects, primarily the two living deities that ruled together, while trace found the historical and magical parts the most captivating, citing the aspect of ‘cutie-marks’ to be a rather strange prospect. Arcana practically freaked when she learned that Twilight was the personal student of the older Princess, startling Twilight and bringing another spike of pain to Trace's eardrums.

Between the festival, the talks, and everything they did together over the week, Twilight and Trace seemed to grow closer each day, spending time together even when they weren’t talking about their worlds. This development didn’t go unnoticed by Arcana. While she was happy her brother had found something that made him happy again, she couldn’t stop herself from frowning at the thought of what was to come. One one hand, Twilight wasn’t from their world and friends and family in Equestria to return to, while Trace normally only talked to her, their grandma, and people that came by to buy potions or get an enchantment placed of something, he would likely become depressed after she returned to own world. On the other hand, she remembered the vision the High Priestess told her about, ‘A being from another world, brought by the claws of discord, will bring about change to their lives, and the fate of the archmage will never be the same’. She wondered what the vision meant at first, but in the past she was able to piece together a basic idea on its meaning. Twilight was the being, ripped from her home by a Chaos Seed , a fragment of the god of discord, the archmage was obviously Trace, who held the title of title of archmage of the black circle, but the mention of fate and change only served to bring a frowned to her face. Sighing in defeat, Arcana decided to confront her grandma before the ritual, and get her answers then.






(Trace’s POV)


(Location- Cornelia Cathedral, central chamber)

We stood nervously as we waited for the high riestess to arrive. The three of us got to the cathedral about a hour ago, and the old hag had yet to show. Glancing over to my companions, I noticed they weren't doing much better than me. Arcana seemed lost in thought, I remembered her muttering something about needing to talk to grandma about, but she hadn’t said anything to me. Twilight, for her part, seemed to be doing a decent impression of a mouse that's been cornered by a groups of cats, eyes shifting left and right, taking in the several dozen people all staring at us intently. I reached down and put a hand her neck, hoping to calm her down. After a second, she stopped and looked up at me, I offered her a weak smile, which seemed to ease her nerves a bit. With that done, I focused on getting my own thoughts under control. I’m wasn’t nervous because of the ritual, or being surrounded by people I know nothing about, no I was nervous about meeting my grandma face to face. I won’t lie, I love my grandma despite the things I might say about her, but she scares the shit out of me.

Before you break out in laughter, let me explain. My grandmother is not only the head of the Order, but also the matriarch of the Reinhart clan, meaning that for my entire family, both close and distant relatives, her word is law. If she wished she could have me removed from our family, which would mean I’d be unable to ever associate myself with any family members. I know she’d never do it, she’s always had a soft spot towards closer relatives, but she’s not one to abuse power. I’d have to do something horrible to warrant her even considering it, so there’s nothing for me to really worry about.

Of course, I still can’t shake the feeling something’s going to happen today that will change my life forever.


“ANNOUNCING THE ARRIVAL OF THE HIGH PRIESTESS, LADY SERA REINHART!” the page finally shouted. We turned our attention to the huge double doors before us as they swung open. From the other side, an old woman standing about five feet tall, dressed in elegant white robes with gold trimming, her face covered, calmly made her way toward us. Both me and my sister tensed up and took a second to make sure our uniforms are in check. I straightened my hat and look down at my tabard, a simple design, black with a grey outline and a black pentacle pointing upward. Seeing no problem, I turned my attention back to the old woman just in time to see her stop in front of us. She started with Arcana, looking over her with a scrutinizing gaze, taking in every detail and looking for anything out place. Seeing nothing, she gave a nod in approval before turning to me. She repeated the process, going over each spot twice before giving her usual snort and looking me in the eyes.

“You look good, for a twig,” she said with a smirk, starting off our regular method of greeting.

“And you look lovely, for a wrinkly old prune,” I replied, making Twilight’s head snap towards me, a look of shock on her face. Arcana, on the other hand, seemed to be having trouble holding in her laughter.

Granny just rolled her eyes, before adopting a pleasant smile. “It’s good to see you again child, you don’t visit enough.” I adopted a smile of my own, dropping my official posture in favor of my normal relaxed state.

“That because you’re either too damn busy to take visitors, or off on business overseas.” She nodded at my statement, before turning her attention to the mare in the center.

“This her?” she asked, to which I nodded. “Greetings child, my grandson said your name’s Twilight Sparkle, is that right?” Twilight gulped nervously before nodding in conformation, which brings a small frown to granny’s face. “Now child there’s no need to be nervous, I ain’t gonna bite cha.” Twilight nodded again before mustering up the courage to speak.

“Sorry ma'am,” she said, to which granny simply smiled and waved her hand dismissively.

“Don’t worry ‘bout it, and you can call me granny, everyone does,” she said, before turning and walking back toward the door. “Come on, lets find somewhere more private to talk.”

After getting Twilight onto my back, we followed granny through a long hallway before entering a small room, not much larger than my den. I put Twilight down on one of the couches and sat down next to her. Arcana sat in a chair to my left, while granny took the couch across from me. We waited for a few seconds before granny decided to speak up.

“So Twilight, tell me about yourself,” she said, catching Twilight off guard. She remained silent for a moment, before telling granny about her life in Equestria, her training under the Princess, her friends, and lastly how she came upon the Seed. Throughout it all, granny remained silent, keeping a neutral expression. Once Twilight finished, granny waited several seconds before speaking.

“You’ve been through quite an experience, I’m glad to see you’re taking this so well, normally people have a mental breakdown when they get put through this,” she said before turning her attention to me and Arcana. “I before we get step up, I’m sure you have questions, I would like to talk to both of you in private. Arcana, if you could come with me to the room next door, I’ll answer any questions you have.” Arcana nodded and followed granny out the door, leaving me and Twilight alone.






(Arcana’s POV)


As we entered the room, I take a deep breath to calm myself before granny speaks.

“I suppose you’re wondering about that vision I told you about before huh?” she asks to which I nodded.

“I see that the ‘being’ is Twilight, and Trace is the archmage, but I wanted to know about the part mentioning ‘change’ and ‘fate’, what does it mean?” I struggled to keep my voice in check, but I could tell by the look on her face that I didn’t do a very good job.

“Before I tell you, has he been showing signs of affection towards her, have they been growing closer each day?” I nodded. She paused for a moment before continuing. “Then that confirms it, The vision said that the being would carry with her the spark that a past loved one once barred.” My eyebrows shot up and I opened my mouth to speak, but granny stops me. “Yes child, I’m speaking of Laura, both her and that mare carry in them a spark that made Tace fall for them, a love of knowledge, a habit to act without thinking at times, and most importantly, the will to do what is right, even if everyone says otherwise. I didn’t tell you the full prophecy because I knew you’d figure out what that meant, and if you told Trace, he might end up doing something stupid and wind falling into a depression he’ll never come of.” I tried and find the right words, but my mind drew a blank. Finally, I forced the words out of my mouth.

“So what is he supposed to do?” I already knew the answer, but I hoped she would say otherwise. Sadly that's not the case.

“I’m gonna get him to go with her back to her world, he’ll be happier there. He might miss us, but his future will be better off.” At her words, I fell back into a chair, my legs giving out as I tried to wrap my head around what she just said.

“Are you telling me he’s going to another world, that I’ll never see my brother again,” I said as tears form in my eyes. Granny put a hand on my chin, lifting my head till her eye meet mine, a sad smile on her face.

“Tell me Arcana, what do you feel Trace should do, answer not with your head, but with your heart. What do you feel is best?” I choked back a sob before taking a second to mull over her Question. Wiping my tears away I looked back to granny and answered quietly.

“If going with Miss Sparkle will make Trace happy, then that’s what he should do, I’ll be sad that he’s gone, but it’s been so long since he’s been this happy, and that more than enough for me. He’s taken care of me all my life, made sure I was always happy, it’s time I started living for myself, and help Trace find happiness in his own life.” As I spoke, my voice slowly became more stable, Saying the words out loud strengthened my resolve, I knew it to be true, but I’ve been to scared to accept it. Granny looked at me and nodded before turning to the door.

“Could you send your brother in, after that I want you to go help set the ritual up, the book should be in my study.” I nodded and made my way out, a look of resolve on my face, and a clear goal in my heart.






(Trace)


As I entered the room, I found granny sitting at a table, she gestured for me to take a seat across from her and waited for me before starting.

“I going to be straightforward, know you’ve been growing close to the mare, and she feels the same about you. I have discussed it with Arcana and have come up with a plan that I would like you to hear.” I blinked at her sudden tone, normally she either acts grumpy or jokes around for a bit, but she jumped straight to the point. I motioned for her to continue, intent on hearing what she has to say.

“As Miss Sparkle will be unable to stay here in our world, I will be able open a portal that will allow you to go with her.” My eyes widened at her suggestion, and a feeling in the back of my head forces the words out of my mouth before I even realize it.

“This is because of a vision, isn’t it?” I said with a hint of anger in my voice. This wasn’t the first time she’s kept secrets from, and the last time ended with my wife in a grave.

“Yes, if you go will her, you’ll have a happy life, but if you stay, there’s a chance you’ll end up in a depression like never before. I am sorry I kept this from you Trace, I know you hate when I do that, but you know why I did it.” I nodded in agreement, if I had known about Laura's fate, I would have ended up dying instead, and both Laura and Arcana would have suffered a fate far worse. Looking back up, I decided to just accept it and move on.

“So then, what do you need me to do, and what will happen to Arcana?” She sighed in relief that I didn’t argue and paused for a moment before answering.

“As for Arcana, you and I both know she can take care of herself, and I’ll still be here to keep her out of trouble. What I want you to do is go home and pack your books and tools up, you’ll need them.” She pulled up a large messenger bag and passed it to me. “this bag has an enchantment on it, it will hold all your stuff, and won’t gain an ounce in weight. The ritual will be ready by sundown. You and Twilight head home and pack, I need to go help Arcana prepare the ritual.” I nodded and headed for the door. returning to the other room, I found Twilight asleep on the couch. I gave a gentle shake to wake her, and stared up at me with a look of confusion when she saw the bag.

“I’ll explain on the way, lets head back to the house, granny said everything should be ready by sundown.” She nodded and got on my back. Once she’s on, I headed out the door and made my way home.

The walk back was fairly quiet and I waited until we’re about two blocks from my house before I spoke. I told her about what my grandma said and what I planned to do. She was surprised but didn’t say anything. We both knew how we felt about each other, but decided to reject it because of the outcome, she was going to leave, and it would only serve to hurt both of us in the end. With this new development, I decided to bring up the topic and see how she feels.

“Miss Sparkle, while we don’t talk about it, I believe we have both come to have feelings for one another, correct?” My question caught her off guard, and even though I couldn’t see her face, I knew she was blushing by the way her body tensed up.

“Y-yes that's true.” She said meekly as we reach my house. I waited till we were inside before continuing.

“While we would not be able to act on those feelings with the original plan, This new factor changes things.” I entered the den and set Twilight down on the couch before sitting beside her, a smile forming as I continued. “I admit I have not done this a long time, but I would like to know if you would like to pursue a relationship when we get to your world.” When I finished speaking Twilight took a second to think about it, before looking back at me, a smile forming on her lips.

“That sounds like a wonderful idea,” she said, I offered a smile before heading to my room to began packing. In the main pocket, I put my spare robe, along with my shirts, pants and everything else I have in my dresser. I also grabbed my staff, a hunk of ironwood a little over six feet long with a tight spiral curve at the top, and a mithril dirk about fifteen inches in length. I threw them both in the bag along with my tabard and belt. lastly, I pulled out a wood box about two feet long, one foot wide, and four inches tall. Once that's in the bag, I made my way to the work room.

I didn’t waste a second, grabbing pretty much everything and packing it up before cramming it into a second pocket on the bag. I knew there was no point in leaving anything, as Arcana has no skill or interest in making potions, but that's because she has her magic to heal her, I don’t. As I put the last of the potions in a side pouch, I keep one Out and down it to give me a boost before putting the empty vial away and heading for the kitchen.

I didn’t take much out of the kitchen, just a few bags of spices and a copy of my personal recipe guide, leaving a second one for Arcana. I took out a pot of leftover tomato soup from the fridge and turn a low flame on to heat it up, me and Twilight might as well eat before we go. I checked the clock on the wall, 5:30, that leaves us about a hour and a half before we need to go.

I returned to the den and begin loading books into the last pocket, Arcana kept all her tomes in her room, so I didn’t need to worry about taking any of them. The last thing I put in  is my photo album, but not before using magic to create a perfect copy to leave for Arcana. With all that done, I tossed my hat in the first pocket and threw the bag on a chair. I took a seat by Twilight, who leaned into me as I released a breath, I wrapped my arm around her before speaking.

“I never want to do that again, Its a pain.” Twilight giggled in response. I looked down at her and smile, which she returned in instantly.

“What we do now?” she asked.

“Now, we sit wait, I put the leftover soup of the stove and it should be ready in a few minutes. After we eat, we can just lay here and rest before sundown. Then, we go back have granny perform the ritual to open a portal to Equestria.” She nodded and we remained silent until I went and fixed a bowl of food for both of us. We ate quickly, taking a second serving before moving to lay down on the couch, Twilight in my arms with her head on my chest. We layed there for an hour before the alarm spell I placed went off, indicating it was Time to go. I threw the bag on and helped Twilight onto my back and heading out the door.

We arrived at the cathedral fifteen minutes later. Arcana was waiting for us in the main room and after a quick greeting, she lead us down the hall to the ritual chamber. Before we entered the chamber Arcana stopped and turned to me, a sad smile on her face.

“I take it granny told you?” I nodded before allowing her to continue. “I’m going to miss you, but I know this is for the best. Just Promise me you won’t forget about me okay.” I smiled at her and pulled her into a hug with my left arm.

“I couldn’t forget you if I wanted to sister.” She wiped a tear from her eye and smiled again. “I left a copy of my recipes in the kitchen and a copy of the photo album for you in the den. I’ll miss you too Arcana, take care of yourself.” She nodded and opened the door.

The ritual chamber was, to put simply, dark. Only a few candles along the walls provide light. granny stood at the other end of the room in front of a large summoning circle. To her right, a blonde hair woman wearing the clothes of a Devout. To her left is a man in green dress robes, a summoner. Arcana took her place to right of the man and I stood between her and the devout. Once we’re in place, granny spoke up.

“The portal we are about to open is to Miss Twilight Sparkle home world. Using a bit of her energy, we will build a bridge connecting our world to hers.” She turned to me before continuing. “Trace, in order to make the portal strong enough to allow both you and Miss Sparkle through, we’ll need you to help by pouring your magic into spell.” I nodded, and she turned her attention the the summoner. “Before we begin, I believe you had something to give Trace, Isaac?” He nodded and pulled out a pair of boots before walking over and handing them to me.

“Pegasus boots, they should be useful in your arrival.” I accepted them with a nod and carefully took my old boots off and put the new ones on, Twilight managing to stay on my back the whole time. slipping the old boots into my bag, I retook my place at the circle and nodded to granny, who nodded in return before speaking again.

“Okay then, everyone ready?” We all nodded. “Lets begin.” At that, we all began pouring our magic together into the center of the circle. I had to use both my hands, forcing Twilight tighten her hind legs around my waist. the devout muttered an incantation, causing a speck of light to appear on Twilight’s horn, before bolting into the center, expanding till it reached the edge of the circle. slowly images began to appear in the portal. A forest, a village with ponies walking about, buying produce, going into stores or just enjoying the day. I heard Twilight gasp, and glanced back to see her staring at the portal intently, recognition written on her face. We continued channeling for several minutes before granny turned to me and yelled.

“The Portals ready! hurry up and go dammit!”

With a final nod, I lowered my arms and jumped into the circle. The last thing I heard was Twilight yelling something in my ear before to light of the portal overwhelmed us.

> Chapter 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


THE MAGES JUMP
BY GENOSABER
CHAPTER 1


(Location- Equestria)


After what felt like hours, the blinding light began to fade, allowing sight and sound to return full force. This wouldn’t be a problem, except the purple mare clinging to my back was in the process of screaming like a banshee the whole time. Sadly the return of sight also gave me a chance to see where in equestria we ended up.

About a hundred feet above a forest, a small town I can only assume is Ponyville in the distance.

Thinking quickly, I cast a modified form of 'demi' to reduce the force of impact, before smacking the heels of my new boots together to trigger the enchantment on them. Instantly, a pair of glowing blue wings erupt from the heels, acting like a parachute to slow our descent just as we hit fifty feet. Twilight has since stopped screaming and has resolved to just bury her face in my robe. As we reach the last ten feet, I dismiss the wings and drop the rest of the way. Once my feet touch ground, I turn my head slightly and said “You can open your eyes now, we’re here.”

Hesitantly, she opened her eyes, looking around to see that we are no longer in the sky, before sliding off my back and practically kissing the earth beneath her hooves. As she did this, I dropped my bag and removed my robe, switching it out for a simple grey shirt with a black, upward facing pentacle on the front. I finished changing just as Twilight looked back up at me, a smile beginning to form on her face.

“Thank you,” she said. I simply shrugged as I pick the bag back up.

“No need to thank me, Twilight, I said I would get you home, and I did.” I paused for a moment before kneeling down in front of twilight. “Would you mind giving me your hoof for a second, I need to check something?”

She lifted up her bandaged hoof, allowing me to put my hand around it. Using a bit of energy, I checked the limb for any more damage. Instead, I found the injury completely healed, with just a trace of white magic left over. That would explain the devout being part of the circle, she must have healed Twilight by throwing a healing spell in with the portal.

“Looks like it’s healed, let me just remove these bandages.” I quickly unwrapped Twilight’s leg, letting her test walking on all fours again. I muttered a quick “fira” to reduce the bandages to ash. 

I turned my attention back to Twilight just as she threw her forelegs around my neck and pulled me into a kiss. My brain became overwhelmed while trying to hold back the sudden wave of emotion. Twilight released her hold around my neck and stepped back, the blush on her face matching my own. As I forced my emotions back in place, small bits of electricity began jolting around my body, making Twilight giggle once she realized the reason behind them. 

Once my blush faded, I stood up and stared at Twilight with a raised eyebrow. She smiled sweetly and sheepishly. “Sorry. It just... it just felt right?”

In response, I leaned down and gave her a kiss on the cheek. She stared at me in shock as I stood back and smiled at her.

“Nothing to apologize for, and it didn’t feel wrong to me.” I smiled, but felt a tinge of sorrow as Laura’s face flashed in my memory. I quickly forced it back before continuing. “Now, I saw a town off in that direction.” I pointed at a path to my left “So I assume if thats Ponyville, and this must be the Everfree, in which case let's get the hell out of here and back to civilization.” Twilight nodded in agreement, and we set off toward Ponyville. As we walked I decided to check and make sure I remembered what Twilight had told me about her friends.

“Lets see, if I remember correctly, their names are Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie, along with two humans named Alex Roberts and Matthew Brennan, right?” She nodded, and I continued, “You and the other five ponies make up the Elements of Harmony, which are magic, honesty, loyalty, kindness, generosity, and laughter, Alex holds the title, ‘Paladin of Redemption’ and carries a slight disdain towards wizards.” At that, Twilight stopped and chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of her head with her hoof.

“Hehe, yeah I hope you won’t hold it against him, he hasn’t had the best experience with them in the past.” I waved my hand dismissively and continued walking.

“His hatred is completely valid, and I’ve had to deal with worse for less reason.” She stared at me with a look of confusion and concern. I touched the tip of my ear before speaking. “Half-elves are considered ‘freaks’ in some places, hated by both humans and elves alike, ones such as myself are often abused and insulted for no reason, Alex at least has a reason to dislike me, so I really don’t care.” By the time I finished speaking, the look had evolved into full blown concern for my well being and disgust at the idea of hurting someone for their race.

“Thats horrible!” she exclaimed, to which I nod in agreement, leaving it at that.

"What about this Matthew Brennan?" I asked.

Twilight thought about it for a second before answering. "He's seems very cautious of magic, I'm not sure if he's met a wizard. He doesn't talk about the first reality he landed in though, so I suppose he could have had some experience with them. Actually Rainbow Dash and Applejack have started a betting pool on how long it is before he tells somepony." I nodded at her answer and continued walking, Twilight step next to me.

As we reached the edge of the forest, my ears picked up the sound of... arguing?

“Are you saying we should just give up?”

“No, I’m saying we shouldn’t go running off into the everfree without waiting for backup, the Princess said she was gonna send some guards to help search soon.”

“But if we wait, there no telling what could happen to her.” As we exited the forest, we found the source of the noise. Twilight’s friends were standing about thirty feet away, with two of them (Applejack and Rainbow Dash judging by their features) glaring at each other, they continued their argument until Twilight galloped over to them, I simply increased my pace to a jog.

As I cleared the edge of the forest, the two humans turned their attention to me. The younger one, who I assumed was Matt instantly drew his sidearm and a disturbingly steady red dot marked my chest. The older one, I assume it was Alex, dropped into a very practised combat stance, his blade drawn, electrical discharge dancing over it.

Twilight called out. “He’s a friend!”

Just as quickly, and with a cocky smile, Matt holstered his weapon with a slight flourish, and Alex sheathed his blade in a much more practical way. They, along with all the ponies, meet Twilight half way and exchanged hugs. Alex, once he was satisfied Twilight was alright, jogged towards me, quickly followed by Matt, sporting a cautious smile.

With his calloused and scarred hand extended and a bit of a chuckle. “Any friend of Twilight is a friend of mine. My name is Alex Roberts, and it’s a pleasure to meet you.” 

“Trace Reinhart, likewise,” I said as I shook his hand and gave a small smile, careful not to show my fangs.

He heartily shook my hand, and while his grip was firm, it was far gentler than I expected. His head tilted ever so slightly, looking to the right of mine. His eye’s grew slightly, but his expression didn’t change. He spoke in stilted and badly accented elvish, “Of elf people are you?”

I blinked in surprise, but quickly recovered myself. “Yes, my mother.”

In a much more understandable Cardian. “Sorry about the bad siombail gan. I just know enough to order pizza and get directions to the bathroom. You don’t happen to know how to make that crust, do you?” I shook my head slightly in confusion. “That’s fine. Odds were you weren't from the same place as I visited. So, new friends need a new meal. And, Dash, dear, please ask Pinkie to hold off on her  welcome party for a few days.”

The rainbow maned pegasus chuckled. “One human special, got it.”

“Tell me, how long has Twilight been gone?” I asked.

“About two and a half weeks.” He turned to Twilight with an expression of affection, “We were getting worried, but this is Twilight Sparkle we’re talking about. She’s a tough cookie. Glad to see you back, Twi.” He snapped his fingers, which made us all jump. “Oh, and I was talking to Cheerilee, again,” he sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t know what I’ll do with that filly. Anyway, and she wanted you to know the kids are doing great with their lessons and they all miss Miss Sparkle.”

Twilight smiled, and I couldn’t help but smirk. “Daughter?” I asked him.

Alex smiled with pride. “Yes, my adopted daughter, Scootaloo. A pegasus, like her adoptive mother.” He looked lovingly at the rainbow maned mare. “And just as strong willed.”.

‘I thought as much.’ I presented him with a friendly smile. “Congratulations to both you and your family. I had to raise my sister, I know children can be-” I paused while I searched for the right word. “A handful, but I also know it’s worth it in the end.” I turned towards Matt. “You’ve been rather quiet. As I said, my name is Trace Reinhart, a pleasure to meet you,” I said with a polite nod.

“Matt Brennan. Sorry if I’m a tad quiet, I’m just trying to sort things out... Jumpers don’t usually return to their origin point. Especially not with additional passengers,” he replied with a nod of his own. I opened my mouth to reply before being cut off.

“Trace, can you come here for a minute,” Twilight said. I walked over next to her and turned my attention the the five mares before me. “Girls, this is Trace, he helped me get back here from his world. Trace, these are my friends, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy,” She concluded while pointing towards the yellow pegasus, who was currently in the process of of trying to hide behind her mane. I smiled lightly and gave a small bow.

“A pleasure to meet you all,” I said.

“Hi!” Pinkie said with a smile.

“If Alex thinks you’re alright, that’s good enough for me.” Rainbow Dash.

“Greetings.” Rarity, giving a polite nod.

“Hey.” Applejack.

“Hello,” Fluttershy finished quietly.

Alex joined us, with and judging from Matt’s body language, he was ready to protect his older friend. “If introductions are all done, I think we should get going. We can head to my house and wait for the others, then head to the library.” He turned his head to Rainbow Dash. “Dash, would you mind gathering up Spike, Bea, and Emerald?” The mare nodded and crouched for take-off, but Alex spoke warmly. “Be careful, okay?”

Rainbow Dash only smirked at her husband. “Hey, I don’t need to be careful, I’m the best.” She gave him a quick kiss and burst straight up. I was impressed at the force of the air I could feel from such a distance. 

Alex shaded his eyes with his hand, watching his spouse fly off at impressive speed. Once he was satisfied he clapped his hands and sported a hearty smile. “Okay, pitter patter, let’s get at ‘er. We’re burning sunlight.” Once he was satisfied everyone was ready, we quickly set off in what I assumed was the direction of his house. I fell into step at the back of the group, opting to remain silent until we reached our destination.

It didn’t take long. After a few minutes, mostly spent listening to the conversations of other, including Alex explaining to Matt that elves in some universes have long hair or something like that, we found ourselves in front of a quaint cottage. Two stories, shingled roof, simple paint job, the standard aspects one think of welcoming home. Alex opened the door and lead the ponies and Matt inside, I took an instinctive glance at the doorway, no wards. Didn’t know why I would think there would be any, but I suppose I’ve gotten use to them on Gaia.

The inside was pretty nice. A large living room with a fireplace, a couch, a bookshelf (mostly bare), and a messy, well used desk in the corner. I sat down next to Twilight and slid my bag off. I felt a headache forming, a magical backlash from the ritual, and digging into the side pocket, I pulled out a vial of light blue liquid, ether, and pulled the stopper out before downing it. I replaced the stopper and dropped the vial back into the pocket. I turned to Twilight, and smiled.

“Happy to be home?” I asked, causing her to look at me and smile.

“Very, your world was interesting, but  I missed Equestria,” She said.

After a few minutes, I looked over at Alex and noticed his expression change as he looked out the window. That, combined with the feeling I was getting in the back of my head, was enough to make me move a bit to the side so as to put a bit a space between me and Twilight. She barely had time to turn to me before the door swung open.

“Twilight!” A little blur of purple and green shouted as it flung itself onto her. The blur revealed itself to be a purple dragon hatchling with green spines. Twilight wrapped her forelegs around the dragon and pulled him into a hug.

“Its okay Spike, I’m right here,” she said reassuringly. The dragonling choked back a sob and looked up at her. He tried to speak, but settled for just burying his head in her chest. A second later, two unicorns stepped through the doorway, one was a blue mare with a silver mane and tail, the other a dark green stallion with a black mane and tail. They both let out a breath as they saw that Twilight was alright. The stallion was the first to notice me, and turned to me with a small smile and held out a hoof.

“Hello, I am Doctor Emerald, and you are?” he asked. I took his hoof and shook, ignoring the odd sensation I got from his magic. Matthew gave me an assessing look as my hand contacted his hoof, almost wary. 

“Trace Reinhart,” I responded as I let go of his hoof.

“A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Reinhart. I hope yours and Twilight’s trials were not too perilous,” Emerald said concerned, then looked at Twilight. “Are you or Mr. Reinhart in any need of medical attention?”

We both shook our heads. “Thank you, but that will not be necessary,” I said. I turned to the mare. “And you are?” I asked politely.

“Beatrix Lulamoon, but most ponies know me as-” she gathered herself theatrically, her horn glowed a silvery field, and with a miniature fanfare and burst of fireworks she exclaimed. “The Grrrreat And Powerful Trrrrixie!” She smiled like this was more of a joke than an actual belief and everyone else in the room chuckled warmly with their friend. “I am also a Paladin of Redemption, like my good friend Alex, and and Equestria renowned entertainer.”

“A pleasure to meet you Miss Lulamoon,” I said before turning to the gathered ponies. “I’m sure you all  have questions, before you ask them, I would prefer if we headed to the library first. Once we’re there, I will answer any of your questions, okay?” Everyone paused for a minute before nodding in agreement. We all fell into step, and I took a place next to Twilight, who had Spike on her back. The little dragon looked at me warily, but quickly looked away when I turned my head toward him.

As we walked, a brown coated earth pony walked by our group. He frowned at the others, but the second his eyes fell on me, they widened, and I could hear him mutter under his breath “Oh dear Celestia, not another one.” He quickly sped up to get away from us.

‘The hell?’ I slowed my pace down till I was next to Matt near the back of the group and turned to him. “Who was that asshole?” I asked with a raised eyebrow, pointing to the stallion with my thumb.

He looked back. “Oh, Golden Coins. Entrepreneur, a leading member of the city council and the local racist.” His voice was light and cheerful but his face showed a strained tolerance. My eyes narrowed as I glared at the retreating figure. I smirked as he shuddered before turning the corner, apparently the “Evil Eye” trick still works here. I returned to Twilight just in time to the library come into view.

The library was... odd. It wasn’t that I had never seen anything like it before, I’ve seen buildings like it in most forest elf villages. It was odd because I wouldn’t expect to see it in a town like this. The library was a tree, not made to look like a tree, or built like a treehouse, it was an actual tree, the inside had been carved out into a library, but the tree was still alive. Something told me that if I reached out my senses, I would probably find a strong concentration of druidic magic in the building.

The ponies began to gather inside the library. I started to follow them before I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned to find Alex and Matt, both with neutral expressions on their face. “Would you mind if we talked for a minute?” I looked back to Twilight, who was still in the doorway. I gave her a reassuring smile and gestured her to go inside before turning back to Alex and nodding. We walked a few feet to the side away from the door, before Alex turned back to me.

Alex rubbed the back of his neck let out a long, slow breath. I could tell his need to tell me whatever he was going to tell me saddened him. “These ponies are good people. They’re innocent, but not stupid. We feel very protective of them. Very. Protective. Now, you have Twilight’s trust, and frankly that counts for a lot more than anything you could say or do. I would be happy to call you friend. Please don’t force my hand by hurting any of these people.” 

I nodded after he finished speaking. “I can understand that, all my life I was taught to protect others. But I’d like to make one thing clear as well, while I will respect your wishes and not harm anyone without cause, if I ever see an innocent life in any danger, regardless of who it is, I will not hesitate to defend them, from anything and anyone, and by any means necessary. That being said, I hope we can be friends, Twilight's told me a bit about you, and you seem like a pretty good guy.” I held out my hand to him.

He grabbed my hand and gave it a firm shake. “Sounds good,” he said with a friendly smile, which I matched. He released my hand and began walking towards the door.

Matthew remained silent seeming content in letting Alex take the lead, it seemed at odds with the outgoing personality he had shown when I had asked him about Golden Coins. I choose to take it as a sign of him being cautious of me rather than a sign of distrust or hatred.

I followed Alex and Matt into the Library, the ponies had already taken a seat at the table and Twilight had brought a blackboard out. The humans sat down as I took my place next to the board. Setting my bag down, I turned to the group and smiled lightly. “Okay then, I suppose I should introduce myself, my name is Trace Reinhart, I am a thirty four year old half-elf, and I’m a black mage. Now, first question, who’s up?” I asked.

“I think we’d all like to know what happened to Twilight, would y’all be able to tells us that?” Applejack asked, everyone nodded in agreement.

I nodded as I reached into my pack. “That should be simple enough to explain.” I pulled out the folded piece of cloth and opened it, showing them the stone inside, Spike seemed to tense up immediately. “Twilight was pulled from this world into mine by what is known as a Chaos Seed, one of several hundred fragments of the dark god Chaos created after his defeat at the hands of the light warriors two hundred years ago. They remain dormant until they come in contact with a living creature, upon which they’ll release the energy stored within them. The Seeds’ effects are completely random, and include explosion, corruption, or in Twilight’s case, pulling the victim into another world. Thankfully they’re pretty much harmless afterwards, just have to wait till the residual energy left in them fades, destroying them.”

I went on to tell everyone what happened. How I found Twilight, my conversation  with my grandmother about getting her 	home, etc. Once I was done, I placed the Seed back into my bag and sat down in front of the chalkboard, letting everyone take in what I just said.

“So, what does this 'Order of Magi’ do exactly?” Alex asked after a few minutes.

I sighed and stood up, grabbed a piece of chalk and started writing on the board. “The Order is split into several factions, or ‘Circles’ that each work in different matters. The White Circle is the oldest part of the Order, and as the name implies, all its members practice white magic, white mages And paladins, for instance. Their main purpose is to provide aid to places that are suffering from war, famine, or poverty, as well as combat demons and the undead. The White Circle is run by a collection of devouts, masters of White Magic, and the High Priestess, the current one being my grandmother Sera Reinhart.

“The Black Circle is made up of black mages such as myself, dark knights, and assassins. unlike the White Circle, they focus less on helping, and more on punishing criminals. Killers, evil mages, and regular monsters. I worked for them since I was eighteen, I stopped doing active work two years ago, shortly after becoming the archmage, the head of the Black Circle. Along with the archmage, we employ what is know as the Fangblade, a title given to the best assassin or dark knight at the time, they act as both assistants and bodyguards, standing by us during meetings and protecting us from any threats, along with minor things like paperwork for instance.”

The last two major groups are the Red Circle and the Summoners guild. The Reds are a weaker form of mage, they practice both White and Black, as well as sword fighting, they balance each and never excel in any of them. Their purpose is mostly handling foreign relations, negotiating trade and peace treaties around the Gaia, the world I’m from. Summoners, mages gifted with the ability to call upon the  lesser gods known as Espers to fight for them. There are other minor factions but I think that should cover it for now,” I finished writing on the board and turned back to the group. The ponies had mixed expressions, Matt looked a bit confused and Alex gave off a feeling of suspicion mixed with a hint of guilt. 

“How does Magic work in your world?” the green unicorn, Emerald inquired. 

I set the chalk down for a moment and pulled my hat , robe, and a spell book form my bag.

“That depends on the type of magic, as well as the person using it.” I threw my robe on over my head, letting it fall onto my body. “Normally, the caster must focus his energy on the target, and release it through a vocal command. white mages generally cast spells through physical contact, placing both hands on the target, this allows them to direct the spell more accurately. black mages on the other hand, prefer to keep as much distance between ourselves and our target as possible, normally we cast by pointing our hand in the direction we want the spell to go and snapping our fingers as we either say the name of the spell, or a prefered phrase or command that works with the effects of the spell. Just as white magic is mostly about healing, black magic is almost entirely based around destruction, with only a handful of spells that could be considered non-violent. Because of this, black mages were regarded as evil for centuries, and they had to find ways to hide their identity in order to prevent anyone from attacking them in the open.”

I put my hat on, allowing the veil to take effect. within seconds my vision darkened slightly. Everyone but Twilight looked surprised by this, but I continued before anyone could speak up. “The most common method was to use what is called shadow aura, a form of veil that hides the users features in darkness, as well as distorting their voice to protect gender. While black mages proved their innocence during the first Chaos outbreak, when they used their power to defeat Chaos and send him back to the underworld. Many people still remain fearful of us, and we have become accustomed to keeping the veils as a form of tradition, thankfully,” I deactivated the veil, revealing my feature once more. “We can remove it anytime we want to, and I’ve seen a number of mages forgo them in recent years. If you’d like, I can preform a small demonstration of one of the non-violent spells if you’d like.”

“Would you require a volunteer?” Emerald asked. Everyone looked hesitant at the idea.

“Yes, but I promise that you will not be harmed,” I reassured them. They seemed to settle down, but no one stepped forward.

“Trace, what spell are you planning on doing?” Twilight asked, I walked over and pointed to the spells name in the table of contents. She looked over to Spike, who was in the middle of yawning. “Spike, would you mind if Trace used the spell on you?”

The little dragon looked a bit frightened. “W-what it gonna do?” he asked. I turned and showed him the book. He stared at it for a moment, before nodding slowly. “Alight, you’re sure nothing bad will happen?”

I nodded. “Positive, I’ve used this spell plenty of times, and it's never hurt anyone. Though, you may want to go sit on the couch first.” He complied. I walked over and crouched down in front of him, readying my my fingers, I focus my mind on the spell, pulling any magic I could to make this work. I took several deep breaths, before snapping my fingers and half-shouting “Sleep!” The spell took effect instantly, and Spike fell to the side unconscious.

Matt’s armor beeped causing him to frown and pry open the underside of his forearm bracer. A small screen and keyboard interface glow faintly as he frowned and began tapping what appeared to be a simulated keyboard.

Twilight immediately stood up and levitated the now sleeping dragon onto her back, before making her way up the stairs. She returned a few minutes later, and returning to her seat. The introspective silence broken by the tapping and beeping coming from Matt’s forearm.

“You said you’re a half-elf, what is that exactly?” Rarity asked.

I smiled, knowing I would not be judged for my linage here. "A simple answer. It means that one of my parents was human, my father in my case, and one of my parents were elf. That was my dear mother. It also means I take some of the characteristics of both elf and human."

Rarity mused, “I suppose that makes me half-unicorn.”

“What would these traits be, and does you sister also have them?” Emerald asked.

“My sister does not have them, she was born human. As for traits, because my mother was a hybrid between two different types of Elves, high elf and dark elf, I have inherited a bit of both of them. From the high elves, I have a heightened sensitivity to magical energy and emotions. Instinctively, I can pick up emotions from others when they're directed at me, especially certain powerful emotions such as fear, hatred, and love, as well as sense when someone is channeling magic to cast a spell if they’re close. If I focus, I can pick up emotions all around me, as well as who they’re directed towards, and I can sense more subtle magic, such as wards, enchantments, and areas with high concentrations of magic. From the dark elves, I gained heightened senses, my hearing is about one and a half times that of a human, my sense of smell is about the same. My eyesight is about the same as a human’s during the day, and about double that at night. Due to dark elves having a sensitivity to sunlight, my eyes do hurt a bit in direct sunlight, which is why I prefer to wear my hat when I walk around outside. Like all dark elves, I have fangs," I opened my mouth to show them.

Rainbow Dash looked at Alex and playfully bumped his shoulder with her own. “His, what did you call them? Canines? They’re bigger than yours. Are you jealous?” I chuckled a bit before continuing.

“And a more solid bone structure. I can make my body slightly numb, allowing me to partially ignore pain for a few hours. While I haven’t tested it, I should be able use the same magic as dark elves, but I have no Interest in it, so I never bothered to try it.” I sat back down as I finished, taking a minute to catch my breath. “And as for dark elf magic, I would rather not go into that for now,” I quickly added.

“At least your magic isn't as dangerous as the local variety, aside from whatever combat magic you know. Just do me a favor and don’t use magic on or around me, okay? Alex has some resistance to it but I sort of have to take additional measures to stay healthy. Even those aren’t one hundred percent.” Matt didn't sound bothered by the fact, in fact he had the same borderline cheerful tone he used when he had described Golden Coins to me.

“Sorry to hear that, I’ll respect your wish and keep my spell casting to a minimum around you,” I said politely.

“Speaking of, can you sense the magical field here, and if so, how are you interacting with it?” Emerald inquired.

‘Magical field?’ I focused my mind for a minute and, sure enough, I picked up on a pretty good sized concentration of magic all around. The energy didn’t seem to be doing anything to me at the moment, but I should probably look into this later. “It doesn't seem to be having any effect on me at the moment, but I’ll check regularly and get back to you if I notice anything.” He nodded. I looked out the window to find the sun had set a few minutes ago. “Okay, it’s getting late, any questions you’d like answered?”

No surprise, Emerald spoke up, again. “Yes, what does your diet consist of, and would you mind if we do a medical screening on you so we can treat you for wounds or diseases if you get them, better safe than sorry?” He paused for a moment before adding “I would also like to learn about the world you come from, but I believe that can wait.”

I thought about it for a moment, then nodded, “I suppose so, if it can wait a day or two that would be fine, I can give you information on my world after the screening. As for my diet, Like humans and high elves, I’m an omnivore, but due to the dark elf DNA, I can’t forgo meat, I’ve found I restrict myself to eating meat once a week without any health problems. While dark elves are predators and like their food raw, I need mine to be about half cooked.” I paused for a second before adding. “Oh, and for some reason, dark elves can’t stand fish, there are a few types I can tolerate, but for the most part I feel like I’m going to vomit when I eat fish”

“So you and I will be making some hunting trips into Everfree together, since Fluttershy is friends with many of local animals I have to go and hunt in Everfree for my extra protein and even then I have to be careful what I shoot.” The smile Matt was directing at me seemed to become slightly more real. 

I presented him a smile of my own. “That sounds good, I used to hunt from time to time in the woods surrounding the city, though that was more about saving money on groceries than actual necessity.” Matt nodded and everyone began making their way to the door.

I watched everyone as they left, as well as giving a final nod to Alex. As soon as I closed the door I let out my breath, the portal ritual had been draining enough, mixed with a few spells I’ve cast since entering this world and the lecture, I had nothing left. I sat down on the couch as Twilight entered the room carrying two cups of tea, passing one to me as she sat down on the couch. “Thank you,” I said as I took a sip of the tea, smiling as the taste of peppermint hit my tongue. I looked over at Twilight and noticed a scroll. “From the princess?”

She nodded. “She says she’s relieved to hear I’m safe, and that she'd like us to come to Canterlot tomorrow,” She said. She seemed worried about something, glancing back and forth between me and the letter.

“Something wrong?” I asked.

“Its just, humans seem to act strangely around the Princesses, due to their-” She started.

“Magical Aura?” I asked. Twilight seemed a bit surprised by my knowledge. “Twi, I have interacted with the espers before, they’re basically minor deities, they have a strong magical aura that affects everyone differently, I’m used to it enough that I should be able to fight any influence it might have on me, or at least hold it back for a short period of time.” She nodded slowly and set the letter down. She leaned into me, and I threw my arm around her and pulled her close.

We drifted into silence for a few minutes, Twilight picked up my spell book and looked at the list on the first page. “Hey Trace?” 

“Yeah?”

“Why are so many of these spells left unchecked?” I moved in my seat and looked over her shoulder at the list, there were a lot of check marks, signifying that I had learned the spell, but there was also a handful of them that remained unmarked.

“Well, the spells written in red are spells only a magus can learn, due to the fact that they require the power that one gains by becoming a magus, I’ve already expressed my lack of interest in that subject, and the rest I’ve just never had the time to practice them, though I suppose I’ll have the time now,” I said as I leaned back, throwing my arm over Twilight and pulling her close. She smiled and leaned towards me, taking a sip of her tea. we sat in silence, content to just sit there and hold each other. Eventually, Twilight let out a yawn. “I suppose it is rather late, we should go to bed then.” I said as I got up and put the cups in the kitchen. I followed her into the bedroom upstairs, taking note of Spike sleeping soundly, and the twin sized bed set aside on lower portion of the room. Twilight stopped and looked down at Spike a smile forming.

“How long will the spell last?” she asked.

“He was already tired when I cast it, so he should wake up in the morning,” I said as I looked back down at the small bed. “I assume that’s your old bed?”

She nodded and pointed to the larger bed next to us. “I switched it for the guest bed, it’s a bit bigger, so we should have more room.” I nodded and moved next to her as she got into the bed. Once we were both comfortable, I wrapped my arms around Twilight and gave her a kiss. We stayed like that for several minutes before we broke the kiss, looking at each with lazy smiles. 

“Goodnight Twilight,” I said. 

“Goodnight,” she responded before falling asleep. I watched her for a minute before giving her a final kiss and laying my head down, falling asleep a few seconds later.





(The Void)
(unknown first Person)


I smiled as I watched the mage and his new love fall asleep in each others embrace. They should cherish their time together, I will give them some peace, but within one month I have to start on my plan.

“Thank you,” a voice said behind me. I turned to find a the image of a forest elf female hovering above the small pool in the center of the chamber.

“I didn’t do it for you, I did it because Trace needed to focus for this to work,” I growled. The elf just rolled her eyes and smirked.

“lovely residence you have, didn’t know they offered real estate in the void,” She said with a smirk.

I snorted and turned away from her. “They don’t, I had to pull this tower in after I killed the old bastard that lived here before, though he deserved it for what he did to that Alex Roberts fellow. Now why don’t you tell me why you came here Laura?”

The elf spirit flinched at her name, but quickly regained her composure. “I wanted to thank you. The last words I spoke to Trace were ‘Ná bíodh eagla ort a lorg grá nua’ (Don't be afraid to find new love). Unfortunately, he has not been following my last wish, thanks to you, he has found a new lover, and there are more surprises ahead. He will need those around him to help him through it.  But I was asked to pass on a message.”

My interest piqued, messages from the spirit world were rare, even back on Gaia. “and what is this message?”

Laura strode to the edge of the pool, looking me right in the eyes. “The message is-” Her voice took a darker tone, “Be careful of your actions child, You have served your purpose concerning the mage, it is my turn to take hold of his development. I will allow you to continue you plans for now, but tread lightly, or the beasts of the void will be the least of your worries.” with that, the elf faded from existence, leaving me trembling over the threat I had just received. I stayed in place for a minute, before I regained control and moved to the second floor. I went over to a desk and pulled out a wood box. I opened the box a gazed upon the objects before me.


Five Chaos Seeds, each one identical to the one I sent to Miss Sparkle.


“Well, if this plan is to work, I need to find out how to extract the magic in these,” I said as I sat down and got to work.
> Chapter 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


THE MAGE’S JUMP
BY GENOSABER
CHAPTER 2



“For the last time Twilight, I’ll be fine, I’ve dealt with this kind of thing before.” I sighed as I took seat at the back of the train car.

Twilight gave me a concerned look as she took the spot next to me. “I know. I’m just worried, Alex and Matt both acted differently around the Princesses, and with your sensitivity to magic, there’s no telling what might happen.” I placed my hand on her cheek and gave her a reassuring smile.

“Twi, listen to me. I will be fine. No matter what happens, I can handle it, okay?” She nodded, and I pulled her close before tilting my hat to cover my eyes. “I will admit that my sensitivity might be a problem, that's why I’m wearing my robes.” I gestured to my trappings. “ They have a number of enchantments that defend against magic, and as an extra measure.” I pulled my right sleeve back and showed Twilight the bangle I was wearing, a ring of silver covered in complex runes. “I brought this old bracelet, it’s enchanted with a modified form of a magic seal, rather than keep mages from releasing magic, it prevents magic from being drawn into them. While it won’t stop it outright, it should hold back a bit of their auras.” 

Twilight let out a breath and smiled as she leaned towards me, and I gave her a quick kiss. As the train began to move, I leaned back, allowing Twilight to place her head on my chest. We both laid there and waited for the train to reach its destination.






The train slowed to a stop as it reached Canterlot and Ponies began making their way to the doors. I gave Twilight a gentle nudge to get her attention. We made our way off the train and looked around. Well dressed ponies sticking their noses in the air and elegant buildings everywhere, it’s like being in a high elf city, I can already tell I’m not going to like being here.

“Twiley!” A male voice called from the side. I looked to the source as Twilight ran to a large white unicorn stallion with a two tone blue mane and tail in purple and gold armor. Following the stallion, whom I guessed was Twilight’s Brother, were two more unicorns, one a blue stallion with a darker blue mane, and the other a very light grey mare with a grey and purple mane. Taking up the back of the group was a.... pink alicorn?

“Shining!” Twilight exclaimed as she practically leaped into ‘Shining’s’ embrace. The other ponies quickly joined in, bombarding her with the same questions her friends asked yesterday. After a few minutes, Twilight was able to get the ponies to settle down.

“I was forced to another world.” The ponies drew in a sharp breath and began to open their mouths to speak, but Twilight raised a hoof to stop them. “I’m fine, I was found and rescued, as well as brought back to Equestria, by Trace.” She pointed back to me, and the four ponies finally noticed me.

The mare and stallion had the most noticeable reaction, they instantly tensed up looked at me with a hint of fear. The armored stallion scowled, and started moving forwards before being stopped by the alicorn, who simply looked between me and Twilight a few times before giving us both a knowing smile.

“Well then, if you know what happened, I suggest you explain, now,” the armored stallion ordered. Yep, definitely older brother. Twilight opened her mouth to speak, but I beat her to it.

“I would be happy to, but not here.” The stallion opened his mouth, and I raised a hand to stop him. “I was already planning on telling the Princesses, I hate having to constantly repeat myself, you can wait till then, and hear the exact same thing I would tell you now.” He started moving forward, but the alicorn put a hoof out to stop him. I looked back to Twilight, who was still frowning at the stallion. “I believe introductions are in order.”

Twilight looked back at me for a second and nodded “Trace, this is my mom, Twilight Velvet, and my dad, Night Light.” She gestured to the unicorn couple. “And this is my older brother, former captain Shining Armor,” she said as she pointed to the armored stallion, her frown barely returning.

“Tá áthas orm bualadh leat. (A pleasure to meet you)" The ponies looked at me in confusion. “Sorry, it’s a greeting where I come from.” They nodded slowly, and Twilight’s parents seemed to relax a bit.

“And this is Shining’s Wife, Princess Cadance, ruler of the Crystal Kingdom,” she finished, pointing to the alicorn. I began to give a slight bow as she stepped closer, but once she got within about six feet, my chest suddenly erupted with pain. I screamed in agony and instantly teleported about thirty feet back, drawing the attention of the few ponies in the area. The four ponies stared at me in shock as Twilight galloped towards me.

“Are you alright?” Twilight asked, her voice layered with concern.

“NÍL, NÁ mé ceart go leor! (No, I am NOT alright!)" I growled before blinking. Twilight was startled by tone, and I quickly softened my gaze. “Sorry, and no, I’m not alright, my chest hurts, a lot,” I said quietly. I glanced back at the alicorn. “I apologize for my actions, but I have to ask, do you represent love?” She nodded, and I sighed. “Then I must ask that we keep our distance from each other.” She gave a sad but understanding nod, while Shining glared at me.

“And why is that?” He questioned in an aggressive tone. His eyes were locked and me, so he missed the deadpan stare his wife was giving him.

“Because two years ago I received a magical scar that causes me immense pain when I’m around high concentrations of powerful emotions, such as love,” I replied in a flat tone. Shining Armor blinked in surprise at my answer, before looking away. Twilight wrapped her forelegs around me and gave me a concerned look. I gave her a sad smile and hugged her back, letting go a second later and turning my attention back to the group.

Twilight’s mother was the first to recover. “Twilight, can I speak to you for a moment?” Twilight nodded after a second and walked off to the side with her mother, out of hearing range for ponies perhaps, but I could still hear them.

“Twilight, could you please explain to me why you’re in a relationship with him?” Velvet questioned, motioning towards me with a look of fear.

“Mom! Trace is a good person, what it is it you don’t like about him?” Twilight challenged.

“What happened to that nice stallion Emerald you mentioned in your letters? I thought the two of you were together.”

Twilight’s face reddened. “Emerald and I are just friends, what gave you the idea we were together” 

Velvet just shook her head. “I’m just concerned for your wellbeing. Why don't you date a nice pony. Why do you always date bipeds. At least he isn't that filthy diamond dog.”

“Mom!” Twilight exclaimed. I decided now would be a good time to end this.

I cleared my throat, loud enough to catch the attention of the two mares. “While I can understand family members wanting to talk with one another, I believe we have an appointment with the Princesses.” Twilight gave me a look of gratitude, while Velvet just stood there dumbfounded for a second before falling into step next to her husband. Shining Armor took the lead with the Princess, and Twilight walked next to me.

I noticed Cadence kept glancing back at Twilight and I motioned for Twilight to go. Once she was next to Cadance, Shining made his way next to me. He remained silent for several minutes before glancing at me and muttering “sorry about earlier.”

“Don’t worry about it, you asked a question, I answered, that’s all,” I replied in a neutral tone.

“So, you and Twiley?” He trailed off, giving me a stern look.

I didn’t miss a beat. “I promise you I bear no ill will towards your sister, and will treat her with respect. I care about her dearly, and will do everything I can to treat her right,” I said honestly. the stallion looked at me in surprise.

“You rehearsed that, didn’t you?” He said in an almost flat tone.

“I’m an older brother myself, I kinda know what to say in this situation,” I answered with a smirk. Shining mulled over my words for a minute, before nodding stiffly.

“As long as you keep your word, I’ll raise no objection, and you’d better not keep any secrets about what happened.”

“Understood captain,” I said in an authoritative tone. Shining Armor nodded and returned to his place beside his wife. A few seconds later, Twilight returned, a pleasant smile on her face.

“So it went well?” She asked. I nodded with a small smile of my own and turned my attention back to the path.






‘Impressive,’ I thought as we walked through the castle. The palace was probably the same size as Cornelia Cathedral. As we walked, Twilight seemed to grow more nervous as we neared our destination, and I put a hand the back of her neck to get her attention. As she looked up, I gave her a final reassuring smile before we found ourselves in a large waiting room, a few snobbish nobles waiting before us.

“Well, we have to be off, take care,” Velvet said, giving her daughter a final hug before making heading back the way we came.

“Before I go may I speak to you Mr...” Night Light trailed off as he spoke to me.

“Reinhart.”

“Mr. Reinhart?” He amended, I nodded and we walked a few meters away from the others.

“You don’t seem as worried about me as your wife.” He chuckled lightly and smiled.

“I’ll admit, you’re a bit frightning, but if my daughter trusts you, I doubt you can be all that bad,” he said, before his expression changed, becoming stern and dark, losing all traces of kindness. “But let me make one thing clear. If you ever do anything, I mean ANYTHING to upset my little girl, I will send you back to wherever it was you came from, and make sure you never come back. I was a member of Princess Celestia’s elite guard, and I can use every bit of my training to make you regret ever coming here. Understood?” He said in a whisper. I nodded slowly, somewhat frightened by this pony’s word. I thought they hated violence.

His face immediately brightened again. “Glad to hear it,” he said. He went and gave Twilight a parting hug before hurrying after his wife. 

I watched him go for several seconds, before slowly finding a place to sit and moving my hat down to cover my eyes. After a few minutes, I began to feel a minor pain in my chest, and moved my hat to find Princess Cadance standing about fifteen feet away from me. She started to take another step forward, but I raised a hand to stop her. She nodded and sat down in front of me, a slightly somber look on her face.

“Sorry about before” She said. I waved a hand absently.

“Nothing for you to apologize for, Banphrionsa (Princess), you did not know, and you had no part in the event that caused my wound,” I said. She nodded and remained silent as she gave me a curious look.

“What language is that?” She asked.

“Elvish, I am what is called a half-elf. While my father was human, My mother was an elf,” I replied, moving my hair back a bit to show her my pointed ears. She nodded and returned to silence, her face turning into a concerned frown.

“And, if you wouldn’t mind, how did you get the ‘scar’?” I frowned and looked away.

“I did something stupid, I was hired to retrieve something of great importance, and during the retrieval, I messed up, and ended up being put through hell. I don’t remember how I got out of there, but I was able to escape and return the target to its owner.”

“Was it worth it?” The Princess asked. I thought back to the face of the client, how she smiled and teared up as the target was returned.

“I’d do it a hundred times over if I have to. The smile on the client’s face made it worth everything I endured,” I said with a honest smile. Cadance gave a small smile herself before walking back to Shining. When he tried to glare at me, she gave him a light slap with her wing. Twilight made her way over to me, a smile once again gracing her lips.

“I just talked to the guards, the Princesses should be ready to see us in a few minutes,” she said. I copied her smile and threw my arms around her, earning a hug back from Twilight, a glare from Shining and a smile from Cadance, as well as a several disgusted and looks from the snobs, but screw them, their opinions don’t matter.

After a few moments, a golden clad pegasus marched over to us. “The Princesses are prepared to see you, however, I have been ordered to inform you-” He paused looking at me. “-That the Princesses have a magical aura that affects humans.”

“I am aware of the aura, I have experienced something similar before and it should not be a problem.” The guard nodded and lead us to the door, Shining and Cadance following behind at a respectable distance. As he opened the door, I caught sight of the Princesses for the first time.

The first was a large white alicorn with and multi-colored mane and tail that seemed to blow in a non-existent breeze. She held a calm and friendly expression, but her eyes revealed the torrent of emotion lying just beneath the surface.

The other was midnight blue, standing about a head shorter than her sister, with similarly styled mane and tail resembling the night sky. She made little effort to hide her feelings, giving a relieved smile at the sight of Twilight, which quickly turned into a look of curiosity when she saw me. Twilight and I bowed slightly once we were close enough, and I tried my best to ignore the oncoming headache I was getting.

“Greetings, Twilight, I am relieved to see that you are unharmed.” The Larger of the two, Celetia I assumed, said in a gentle tone. Twilight smiled and bowed again.

“Thank you Princess, I’m relieved to be back in Equestria” Twilight responded. Celestia nodded before turning to me.

“I take it you are the one that helped my student return safely?” I nodded. “Then if you could be so kind, please explain what happened.” I nodded once more before looking back at Shining for a second, flashing him a look to say 'That is how you ask politely' before taking off my hat and reaching into it.

“Before I go into this lengthy explanation, I must ask-” I pulled out the now all too familiar piece of folded cloth. “Do either of you know what this is?” I unfolded the cloth, giving the Princesses a clear view of the Chaos Seed.

The change was immediate. Celestia tensed up, her face darkening. Luna’s change was more visible, she shifted her stance and readied her horn, a look of horror on her face. The guards, noticing their rulers reactions, opted to take an aggressive stance and point their weapons at me.

“I’ll take that as a yes?” I said.

“Yes, we do recognize it, but we don’t know what it is,” Celestia replied, her expression becoming a little bit calmer as she realised I meant no harm.

“Its an artifact from my world known as a Chaos Seed, a fragment of the god of discord, destruction, and death.” Everyone in the room tensed up at that. “It was created about two hundred years ago when Chaos was destroyed, breaking into hundreds of them, and spreading across time and space. Twilight here somehow came upon this one, and when she touched it, the Chaos magic within sent her to Gaia, my world. Thankfully, these things are pretty much harmless once they’ve used that magic, which is why I can hold it no problem.”

“Several unicorns were put in the hospital when they tried to examine its magical properties last time one showed up in Equestria,” Celestia said. I blinked several times before replying.

“Well, if you do something stupid like that, it can be harmful” Everyone blinked at my sudden statement, even Luna stopped her channeling and stared at me. “The damn thing is a type of mana crystal, its pure solidified chaos magic. While the active energy is gone, its still got a bit of that magic stored, the only thing we can do is wait for it to dissipate, which will cause the Seed to turn to dust.” The Princesses relaxed slightly, but the guards remained defensive. I threw the Seed back into my hat and returned it to my head.

“Now that that’s out of the way, I believe I should begin telling everyone what happened?”

“If you could,” Celestia said. I nodded and began my lecture once more, doing my best to answer any questions the Princesses asked. I eventually ended the story of what happened to Twilight and went on to explain the Order. The three Princesses seemed intrigued, while Shining armor seemed more troubled by this new information. I ended with a brief explanation of who I am before finally let out a breath and letting my shoulders drop.

“So you are capable of performing magic, would you be willing to show us?” Luna asked, she had been the more inquisitive of the two. 

I shrugged in reply. “Most of the spells I know are offensive, I doubt you would want me using your guards as targets.” A small *thunk* drew my attention to my right. A large wooden pole had appeared about 50 feet from me. “Oh, that’ll work.” I pointed my right hand at it, the first two fingers extended. “THUNDER!” I shouted, making a bolt of lightning shoot out of my fingertips and hit the pole, shattering it.

Luna stared in surprise, looking between me and the remains of the pole. Her mouth opened and closed several times before she finally managed to find the words. “That was....Impressive,” she said. 

“Yes, its was,” Celestia said, her face still a mask, but once again her eyes betraying her surprise. “Now, I believe we’ve been at this long enough, but before you leave, I like to discuss the matter of your reward.” My eyebrows shot up at her words.

“That will not be necessary Princess. I did what I did out of kindness, not for reward,” I said 

“Even so, Twilight here is not only my student, but an Element of Harmony, without her, the others would be unable to protect Equestria. With that, I would like to accept you as a citizen of Equestria.” I nodded in acceptance to that. “And a medal-”

“No,” I growled in disgust. Everyone blinked in surprise at my tone towards the Princess. Shining and the guards got defensive once more, but Celestia raised a hoof to stop them.

“And why not?”

“Because my family have been taught for generations to act out of kindness and generosity, to do things to help other without expecting, or even wanting a reward. To offer me such a reward as a trophy, plaque, or medal is to insult everything my House stands for,” I said in a serious tone. Celestia nodded once in understanding.

“I apologize for doing such. However,” she paused for a second before smiling. “I believe, Mr. Reinhart, that you do not have a job or alternative form of income yet, is that right?” I nodded slowly, knowing full well where this was going. “Then please, accept my offering to provide you with a monetary reward, to support you till you get a job.” I thought about before nodding. Reinharts might shun rewards on principal, but we have enough common sense to know when it would be wiser to just swallow our pride and accept it.

Celestia wrote something down on a piece of paper and gave it to a guard, who looked it over before nodding and running off. “Now, please step forward.” I did, and as I got closer to Celestia, My headache slowly evolved into a migraine. About ten feet from her I nearly lost my footing, my head felt like it was being beaten with a warhammer. I struggled to keep my balance for several minutes before I felt a sudden wave of cool relief wash over me from my side. Glancing over, I saw that Luna had taken several steps toward me. Upon seeing this, I came to an obvious realization.

Light and Darkness, why didn’t I see this coming.

I quickly turned and moved towards Luna, much to her surprise. I looked into her eyes and raised my hands in a defensive gesture, signifying my innocence in this situation. She raised a wing to stop the guard from beating the crap out of me.

“I apologize Princess, but it seems that your aura is actually quite comforting for me, something I should have expected considering you are the keeper of the night here,” I said. 

“What do you mean?” She asked. I called forth a bit of magic, causing a few sparks to appear. “Oh, your magic is tuned to darkness.” I nodded in confirmation. And she smiled lightly. “Then it seems we will need to do what our sister meant to do.” Her horn glowed for a moment before a small stack of papers and a quil appeared in a flash. We went through the usual process, sign here, here here, initial here, signature here. Once I was done, Luna smiled as she spoke. “I welcome you Trace Reinhart, as a citizen of Equestria.” I bowed in return and thanked her before making my way back beside Twilight.

The guard returned shortly after Luna was finished, carrying a large cloth bag with his magic before passing it to Celestia and bowing before returning to his original position. “Thank you,” she said to the guard before turning to me. “Here you go Mr. Reinhart, this should help you until you can find a form of income.” She used her magic to shrink the bag to a more portable size before passing it over to me. I put the bag in my robe for now before bowing once more.

“Thank you for your time Princess, beannacht,” I said before turning around making my way out, Twilight following shortly thereafter.

As we left the palace, I turned to Twilight. “You wouldn’t happen to know of a good place to eat here, would you?” I asked.

She looked away in thought before nodding. “There’s a place not too far from here that serves both ponies and griffons, does that sound good.” I nodded, and we changed our direction towards our new destination.

We found the restaurant and were quickly seated by a polite ice blue pegasus mare. Once we were both seated, she passed Twilight a menu before turning to me. “Pony or griffon menu?” She asked.

“Both please.” I looked through the menus before deciding just as another pony, this one a unicorn stallion, walked up, a pen and pad of paper floating beside him. “I’ll have have the pork, half-cooked, with a small salad, no hay.” The waiter nodded and wrote down my order before turning to Twilight.

“Just a salad,” she said. The waiter nodded once before walking off. We waited a few minutes till our food arrived. We both stayed in silence for a moment, before Twilight finally spoke up. “Trace?” She said, her voice carrying a hint of nervousness. 

“Yes?” I asked.

“Do you think we should tell anypony about... us?” She hesitated a bit on the last word. I thought about it for a second, it probably would be a good idea.

“I think that would be a good idea, but we should take it one step at a time,” I said. Twilight tilted her head in confusion. “Why don’t we both tell one person about us, and then judge on their reactions, if positive, we let the rest know.” As she mulled over the words, a pegasus guard walked over to our table, an unidentifiable package tucked under his wing.

“Trace Reinhart?” He asked. I nodded, and he revealed the package, a metal cylinder about a foot long, made of a blue tinted steel. “This arrived in the throne room shortly after you and miss Sparkle left, I was instructed by Princess Celestia to bring it to you immediately.” I nodded in thanks as I took the package. The guard nodded in return before leaving. I looked at the metal used to make the container. frost steel, I know of only a handful of people who could have sent this.

“What’s that?” Twilight asked.

“Nothing all that important.” I put the container in my hat, allowing the enchantments to hold it in a pocket space for now. “So what are your opinion on my proposal?”

“It sounds like a good idea, when should we tell them?” She said.

“I think we should each tell someone tomorrow, if we can get them to promise to keep it a secret, and if their reactions are positive, we find a day to tell the rest.” She nodded in agreement, and we went back to eating in silence. After we finished eating I went and paid the bill, and we left the restaurant.

As we walked back to the station, I looked at the position of the sun, noting that it would be after nightfall when we got back to Ponyville. Once we reached the station, we payed for our tickets and boarded the train headed for Ponyville.





The mare and guard watched from the shadows as the mage and unicorn boarded the train. The mare smirked as she glanced at the guard, and they both nodded once before disappearing in puffs of smoke.


> Chapter 3
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


THE MAGE’S JUMP
BY GENOSABER
CHAPTER 3


I felt weightless, like I was floating atop a calm lake. I tried to retrace my steps prior to this. Went to Canterlot, met princesses, talked to Twilight at a restaurant, came back to Ponyville, went to bed. That drew me to the obvious conclusion that I was dreaming.

I had always been a lucid dreamer, as had most of the members of my family. From what I’ve learned, it as something to do with our natural talent for divination. While most, like myself, only have a mild skill in the art, usually a random prophetic dream or spending an hour at a crystal ball. Though from time to time someone like my grandmother is born with the ability to see the future vividly. Of course, that could be because I never practice divination, I have no need for it.

Deciding I had remained in darkness long enough, and I opened my eyes to see what environment my Dreamscape has conjured now. I was greeted by an endless grey void, the appearance similar to a silver nebulous cloud. I looked down to find that I was in the same clothes I fell asleep in, no shirt, no shoes, pajama pants with a pattern similar to the traditional black mage pants. I had burned the original pair within a week of getting them, and Arcana thought it would be funny to get me a pair of pajamas designed the same way. I could still vaguely feel the sensation of Twilight's fur on my chest.

‘Might as well take a look around.’ I thought. I slowly began walking forward, not really paying any attention to the direction I was going in this void. As I walked, I began to hear sounds, mostly songs Reeve had pounded into my head, but also what I believed to be someone talking.

Making my way around a rather thick cloud-like mass, I found the source of the voices. A large mirror like screen showing my self speaking with Louis, the sight of myself in a hospital bed, wrapped all over in bandages, my left arm in a sling. I felt my hand begin to ache as I watched our conversion from eight years ago.

“What were you thinking Trace, why would you resort to using that magic?” Louis demanded.

“If I hadn’t done it, she would have died,” my past self stated. He glanced over to the bed next to him, a figure sleeping soundly under the covers.

Louis sighed, his frown never changing. “I know, but think about it, both her parents were killed by Siegfried and the Necromancer, she has no one to care for her, and because of what you did, she’ll be marked for the rest of her life, do you really know if you made the right choice?” I could feel my past self getting enraged by Louis’ words, and watched as my past self nearly jumped out of the bed and slugged Louis with his undamaged arm, knocking him down.

“Never say that!” he growled, crouching in front of Louis. “All life is precious, I swore to the Elder I would save as many as I could, the thought of letting a child die sickens me.” He got up and made his way back to the bed. “I’ve already spoken to the Elder, he said he would watch over her until she was old enough to care for herself.”

Louis remained silent for a moment before opening his mouth. “Name?” My past self stared at him. “What is her name?” 

My past self stayed silent for several minutes before answering. “Fei.” The screen faded immediately afterwards. After a few more minutes, the picture returned, but with a new scene.

This one was from a bout two years. I was once again beat all to hell, my left leg in a cast. I was sitting in the park, Reeve and some of his band members sitting around me. Reeve was holding an old acoustic guitar. I smiled a bit at this memory.

“Come on Trace, Sing it, you know you want to,” Reeve said with his usual idiotic grin. My past self sighed before nodding.


“Fine, play the damn song," he said. Reeve nodded and began to play. after a few seconds, my past self began to sing.



"About time you showed up,” a voice behind me said. I summoned a version of my knife and turned to face my “guest.”

Standing before was a magus. His trappings, an old and faded black longcoat with matching pants, torn at the end. His hat old and worn, a piece of old silver shaped into a waxing crescent sat atop it. “Took ya long enough.” The Figure said, their voice was distinctly male, despite the veil in effect.

“Just who the hell are-” I began before the magus cut me off.

“No time, I need to show you something, it will help you in what is to come,” he said as he grabbed my arm and pulled me in a random direction. I barely had time to ask what he was doing before we reached an all too familiar area of this plane.

The core, the area which which shows my soul.

“Look,” he stated as he forced my head to look at the image of my soul. It was not a pretty sight. The image looked at me, except for the endless lengths of bloodied razor wire covering much of the body. The most gruesome part was the large barbed spike jabbed into the chest. The wire tangled around the spike, keeping it in place. I fought back the urge to hurl at the sight.

“Look at what, my nightmare for the next week?” I asked the figure. He just sighed in response and pointed at the spike. It took me several seconds to realize what he was talking about.

The spike was farther out of the images chest than last time.

Last time I looked at my soul was nearly a year ago, at which point the spike was around a third to halfway in. Now, it appeared to be just over a quarter of the way in, if the stains on it were anything to go by.

I turned to the figure. “How?”

“You should know, its your soul,” he said before pausing. He seemed to be lost in thought for several moments before placing a hand on my shoulder. “Seems our time is up, I will return soon.” With that, he sent a small shock to throw me out of the dream world.

I awoke with a start, jolting upward as the familiar darkness of Twilight’s bedroom appeared before me. The feeling of someone stirring beside me drew my attention the still sleeping mare. I placed a hand on her head and ran it down her neck gently, calming her and ensuring she remained asleep. I glanced over at the window, noting it was still night, then turned to the wall mounted clock.

3:52 AM.

“Too early for this shit,” I muttered before laying back down and drifting back into my usual dreamless slumber.

> Chapter 4
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


THE MAGE’S JUMP
BY GENOSABER
CHAPTER 4



(Twilight)


“Twi come on, you told me to make sure you were up early.” I heard Spike’s voice call. I shifted a bit and covered my head with my pillow.

“Five more minutes.” I muttered. I heard somepony sigh and another chuckle softly.

“You wanna try?” Spikes voice asked. I could faintly hear footsteps as Trace walked up to the bed and spoke.

“Twilight, you asked Spike to ensure that you woke on time, I got him to let you sleep in a bit longer, but it’s time to get up.” I moved farther under the covers, I was too comfortable to get up. “Of course.” Trace sighed. “I didn’t want to do this Twi, but so be it.”

“Demi.” In an instant, I felt my self float into the air, feeling suddenly weightless. As I started to get my bearings, Trace spoke again. “Aero.” I was suddenly spun in the air for several seconds before Trace snapped his fingers and cancelled the spells. As soon as the spinning stopped, I fell back onto the bed. I stared up at the ceiling as my eyes slowly regained focus. After a minute, Trace’s face came into view, a small frown on his face. Annoyed, I opened my mouth to ask why he woke me up like that, but Trace spoke first. “I’m sorry I woke you like that, but as I said, you’ve already slept in. I hope you’re not angry.”

I blinked at his tone, he seemed....off. “N-no, just surprised.” I said, my annoyance being replaced by a mix of curiosity and concern. Trace nodded before making his way downstairs. I trotted to the bathroom and started getting ready for the day. Once I was finished I headed down to the main room. The smell of cinnamon drifted from the kitchen and I smiled at the pleasant scent.

As I passed by the kitchen I saw Trace making breakfast. He glanced at me and smiled, I returned it as I sat down at a table across from Spike. After a few minutes, Trace place a large stack of pancakes and three plates on the table. We each took some and ate. The entire time, I continued glancing at Trace, noting the distant expression on his face. “Trace?” I said, making him turn his head towards me. “Are you alright, you seem distracted by something?” I asked.

He sighed before replying. “Sorry Twi, I just have something on my mind is all.” I relaxed a bit at his words, but suddenly remembered something I was curious about from yesterday.

“Trace, you mentioned yesterday that you said you received a ‘magical scar’, wh-” Trace quickly raised a hand to stop me.

“Twilight, I don’t want to talk about it.” He said with a hint of aggression in his voice. He noticed, and closed his hand into a fist while taking several deep breaths before continuing, his voice much calmer, but it seemed a bit forced. “Sorry, but its a very uncomfortable subject for me. I might talk about it one day, but not anytime soon. Please Twilight, don’t bring this up again, Please.” The desperation in his voice was clear. I frowned, but nodded anyway, Trace would speak of it when he felt he was comfortable telling me. “Thank you. I promise I’m fine Twi, so don’t worry about it, okay?” I nodded again, giving Trace a weak smile.

After we were finished, Trace collected the dishes and put them in the sink. “Would you like to go over our plans for the day?” Trace asked as he re-entered the main room.

I paused and tried to remember. “We’re both going to go to one of our friends and inform them of our relationship, have them promise to keep it a secret, and judge how we should progress depending on their reaction.” Trace nodded, smiling warmly, which I returned with a smile of my own. “Do you know who you’re going to talk to? You barely know anypony yet.” I asked, my smile dropping slightly.

Trace simply shrugged. “I suppose Alex would be the best choice, he has experience in dating a pony, as well as having good standing with everyone else, besides, he and Fluttershy are the only ones that I know where they live.” I nodded in agreement, telling Alex first would be a good idea. That brings to mind through, whom should I talk to?

“I’m sure everything will go okay though, your friends seem understanding enough.” Trace said, kneeling down and pulling me into a kiss. We stayed like that for a minute, earning a mock gag from Spike as we broke it. I stared into his bright, golden eyes, matching his smile, feeling a sudden warmth in my chest. After a few seconds, Trace stood back up and turned to the door. “Shall we go?” I nodded, Trace grabbed a bag hanging by the door and threw it over his shoulder as we made our way out of the library.

It was around noon, Trace wasn’t lying about letting me sleep in. We both traded a glance at one another and nodded. I heard Trace mutter “Warp” and teleport away. Without paying attention, I made my way towards the town square. I couldn’t decide who to tell, AJ might be understanding, but I don’t think she’d be interested in getting involved in another pony’s relationship. Dash would be able to understand, but she’s married to Alex, he might tell her after Trace has talked to him. Fluttershy, maybe, she could definitely keep it a secret, but there’s no telling how she’d react, Pinkie, no, she’d probably want to throw a party for us, and she’s still planning Trace’s welcoming party. I was so caught up in my own thoughts I didn’t notice the pony in front of me until I bumped into them.  

“Oh, sorry.” I quickly said, before looking up and seeing that I bumped into Rarity. “Oh, hello Rarity. I’m sorry, I didn’t see you.” I said.

She waved her hoof dismissively as she stood back up. “It’s fine darling, no harm done.” She said as she used her magic to brush the dirt off her coat. “But I must ask, what has you so distracted?” She asked with light concern. 

I paused for a moment, carefully choosing my words. I could tell her, but I’d have to make sure she promises to keep it a secret. “Would you mind if we went to the boutique to talk?” I asked. Rarity seemed a little surprised, but smiled kindly at me and without question turned towards The Carousel Boutique. I followed right behind her, planning how I was going to tell her.




(Trace)


I watched ponies go about their daily routine from my position in the sky, thankful I remembered that spell to summon a small cloud to stand on. I turned my attention to the direction of Alex’s home and warped down to the path by his house.

I walked slowly, taking the time to admire the scenery. There were a few clouds in the sky, enough to make the light bearable for my eyes but not darken the sky too much. It was cool out, a light breeze blowing. I loved days like these because they just seem to be right, not to hot, cold, bright, or dark; just right. Perfect time go for a walk or spend a day out with friends, just an all around good day.

I reached My destination and paused. Alex was polite the other day, but he hadn’t known about my magic then. He didn’t say anything at the time, but I definitely picked up a sense of caution from him, mixed with a hint of guilt. I walked up to the front door and knocked once.

A minute later Alex opened the door, his face held a confused expression for a second, but quickly changed to a neutral gaze. “Hello.” He said, his tone polite, but with a hint a suspicion.

“Hey.” I replied with a nod. “Mind if I came in. I need to talk to you.” He eyed me for a moment before giving me a curt nod and a tight smile.

“Sure.” He said, opening the door the rest of the way. As I passed by him, I caught a glance of his knife hanging at his side. I paid it no mind, and let Alex lead me into the kitchen. I sat down at the table, Alex standing by the seat right across from me. 

“Would you like something to drink? Most elves I knew drank wine all the time. All I’ve got is coffee, tea, and apple juice. Oh, and water of course.” He asked.

“Tea would be nice. Thank you.” I said. After a few moments, he sat down and passed me a cup. 

“So. What can I help you with?” He kept his tone polite, but I could still sense a bit of tension in it.

“First, I have to ask you keep this a secret from the rest of the group.” He raised an eyebrow, and I could see his body tense a tiny bit. I lifted my hands slightly. “Its nothing bad Alex. If it was I sure as hell wouldn’t come to you about it, I’m not an idiot.” He stared at me for a second, then gave me a half smile.

For a moment he didn't say anything, obviously having some kind of internal struggle until he sighed and nodded slightly, looking at me directly in the eye. “As long as I don't think anyone... or any pony, will get hurt, you can trust me. Not even Dash will know.” It was the best I could hope for, so I simply nodded in agreement.

“Then I’ll just get to the point. I’m dating Twilight.” He blinked, apparently not expecting that. “We both admit we began feeling affection for the other while back on Gaia, and agreed to try and pursue a relationship. I came to you because we felt it would be good idea to tell someone.” He nodded and remained silent for a moment, before looking at me with a serious expression.

“Let me make one thing crystal clear, Twilight is an adult and she can date who she wants, but she's still very young and very inexperienced. I'm sure you're approaching this in good faith, just don't forget she's..." he seemed to be struggling for the right word, "innocent. Please, don't confuse that with stupid." He looked into his cup, seeming to stare at it for several long minutes."I also want to remind you that both Matt and myself are willing to go to great lengths to protect them." His expression softened a bit. “But if Twilight feels this way, and you feel the same, I sincerely hope you’ll be happy together.” I nodded in relief. Same with her family.

“I’ll say what I told her brother yesterday. I have no ill intentions, and I promise to treat her with respect.” He nodded with acceptance, and we both drifted into silence for a minute before Alex spoke again.

“Oh, and don’t try anything she’s uncomfortable with, I know elves are a randy bunch, but keep it under control. And before it gets to that point, we'll talk again. Trust me, you'll thank me.” I spit my drink out in surprise before turning to him, staring at him wided eyed. Did he really just say that?

I managed to get myself under control after a few seconds “I promise you, I won’t try anything, not unless she’s okay with it.” I said. before adding. “If I didn’t consider you a friend, I’d kick you in the head for even suggesting such a thing.” He chuckled a bit at that, his face turning into a small, but friendly smile.

“Noted.” He said. I chuckled a bit in response before something came to mind.

“Honestly, I didn’t expect interacting with you would go like this, Twilight told me about your past with wizards.” He frowned slightly, shrugging in response.

“As I said last time, Twi trusts you, that counts for a lot, I’ve chosen to judge you by your actions, not by my past experience.” He looked into his folded hands with a somewhat bitter expression. "I want to distrust you, to warn her away for the evil wizard. But I can't." He balled his fists. "I just can't. If these people have taught me anything, it's not to judge. I'm truly sorry I can't," he squeezed his eyes shut, "just forget." I nodded. He’s a good person, I wish more people I’d met in the past could think like that.

“Well, this went better than expected, mind if I hang around here for a bit.” He nodded and stood up. I followed him out to the backyard, noting the heavy bag a few meters away. I found a good spot and sat down, pulling my bag in front of me. Alex watched me with a small amount of caution. I reached in and pulled out the metal cylinder I received yesterday.

“What’s that?” Alex asked, keeping a bit of distance from me. I shrugged in response as I began inspecting it.

“A letter carrier, as far as I can tell.” I stated. “I’ve seen a few in the past, its made of frost steel, a durable metal found in the realm of Shiva.” Alex blinked and stared at me in confusion. “An Esper, basically the goddess of ice.” I began placing my fingers at certain points on the case. “It has a special locking mechanism, Shouldn’t be too hard, but it will take a little while.” I went to work on the lock, wondering how Twi was doing at the moment .




(Twilight)


I’m regretting my decision.

“How romantic. A powerful unicorn and a mighty mage able to share the secrets of the universe, together. Oh, I may have a lovely saddle that would be perfect for you." Rarity said, turning towards a dresser.

“That’s okay Rarity, but I don’t think a saddle would appeal to Trace.” I said politely. Rarity looked back at me in confusion. “Humans have a different opinion on what is attractive, Trace probably wouldn’t be attracted to something like a saddle.” She frowned a bit, but nodded in acceptance. Her expression instantly changed to that of intrigue, and she rushed towards me.

“Alright Twilight, but you simply must tell me all about your relationship.” her eyes narrowed, and she spoke with a suggestive tone. “Has he tried anything like,” she trailed off, then suddenly continued, “ you know?” She gestured with her hoof. "A certain pegasus I know chatted to me about the advantages of fingers."  I began to open my mouth to ask her what she meant, before realization hit me. I could feel my cheeks heat up as my mind became focused on the idea. I am definitely regretting this decision.




(Trace)


“So, how’d the meeting with the Princess go?” Alex asked as he started punching the heavy bag. I shrugged lazily as I focused on opening the carrier.

“Not bad, thanked by them, granted citizenship, given a bit of cash, not too happy about that.” Alex gave me a glance. “Principles, my family believes in doing things to help others, and ask for nothing in return, only took the offer because I felt it would be wise, hold me over till I can find a proper form of income.” I felt the carrier vibrate slightly, indicating I was making progress. I continued telling Alex about the events, leaving out the little incident with Cadance. After about ten minutes, the turning points on the carrier, stopping with a single “click.” I pulled one end out, revealing the sealed scroll.

I pulled the scroll out and opened it. “Shit.” I said as I stared at the handwriting, Elegant, but it’s old runic, a lost script made up of various symbols and small images. I only recognized a few words, but the one at the bottom seemed disturbingly familiar. “There’s no fucking way.” I said in shock. Alex stopped what he was doing and walked over, looking at the letter with a raised brow.

“Important?” He asked. I nodded slowly, mentally going over every signature I knew, it was definitely hers. “What’s it say?”

“Not entirely sure, but I know a spell that can translate it.” I said. I looked towards Alex. “I need a sheet of paper, ink, and a quill, do you have that?” He nodded. “Then can I please make use of them?” He paused for a second, then nodded again and walked into the house, returning a minute later with the necessary items. I Thanked him before standing up and walking a few feet from the house.

I pulled my knife from the bag, using the tip to carve out a decent sized circle in the dirt. Sitting down in it, I laid the items Alex gave me down like they would be on a writing desk, then placed the letter down directly in front of me. I muttered a few words in old tongue, forcing the ring closed, and bringing the quill to life.

‘All right, let’s see if I can remember the words’ I began looking back to the lessons I took under the scholars, and the words flowed onto my tongue. “na focail a thabhairt chuig mo theanga féin” I said, slowly dragging my finger across the text. The Quill followed my movements, translating the letter into Cardian. The process took about five minutes, and once it was done, I muttered another command and broke the ring. I stood up and gathered the items, passing the quill and inkwell back to Alex before taking a look at the translated letter.

Dear Lord Reinhart

I write to you to inform you of oncoming danger. There are powers at play that threaten to cause havoc for the world you are in. I wish I could provide more, but I am unable to at this time.

I also wish to once again thank you for your services in the past, had you not been able to save them, my daughters would have certainly perished. I must remind you that I am still in your debt, and should you need anything, I will do everything in my power to provide you assistance.

I hope I can hear from you again, best wishes to you, and your new lover.

SHIVA

“Wait, what?” Alex said, looking between me and the letter after reading it himself. “Am I reading this right, you have the debt of a goddess?” I shrugged and gestured to the letter.

“As it says, I saved her children, Espers have this need to repay favors, I refused to accept her offer of money, so she claimed herself indebted to me. I never thought about calling it in, never had a reason.” I took the letter and looked over it again. “Though, if what she claims is true, I may end up needing it.” I rolled the scroll up and placed it and the old letter into the carrier, tossing it back in my bag. “But there’s no point in worrying about it for now, would you mind if I hung around for a bit? I have nothing else to do today.” Alex nodded and led me back into the house.







I chatted with Alex for a few hours, trading stories. After hearing about why he distrusts wizards, I actually want to knock some sense into them, assholes like that give magic users a bad name.  I looked out the  nearby window, noting it had gotten to be around late afternoon, so I decided it would be a good time to leave.

“Thank you for your time Alex, and for giving your opinion.” I nodded in thanks as I made my way to the door, I stopped and looked back. “I almost forgot.” I walked back and held out my hand. “Should you ever need my assistance, be it knowledge, an enchantment, potions, or anything else I may be able to assist with you need only ask, and I will gladly provide any help I can.” He met my hand with his own and gave it a firm shake.

“Good to know." He paused again. Again that internal struggle. "I'm glad I was wrong. And for the record, you're always welcome in my home. Goodbye.” Alex said, giving a friendly smile. I returned the courtesy, and made my way out of his house.

A few minutes walk found me in what appeared to be a park. noting that I still had a little time to myself, I made my way to a nearby bench and sat down, pulling out a small book I kept on hand and opening it. I stayed there for a little while, before getting the sudden sensation that I was being watched. I quickly looked to my right, spotting a light green unicorn mare staring at me  just a short distance away. Once she realized I had noticed her, she turned and galloped away.

“Well that was just freaking weird.” I muttered. Deciding I might as well head back, I placed the book back into the bag and made my way to the library.

As I reached the library I breathed a small sigh of relief, this entire day had gone better than I could have hoped for. I opened the door and went in, finding the library empty but for Spike and a familiar green stallion. “Hello Doctor Emerald.” I said.

“Greetings Mr. Reinhart, I was waiting for you to return.” He said. I raised an eyebrow. “I was wondering if you would be willing to tell me a bit about your world?”

“Oh.” I said, remembering the conversation from the other day. “Sure, can it wait till tomorrow, around say, mid-afternoon, I’ll drop by the hospital for the screening a in the morning? ”

Emerald nodded. “Of course, I’ll come by then. Good day Mr. Reinhart.” He said with a polite nod.

“You as well, Doctor.” I responded with a nod of my own. He left, and I placed my bag back by my messenger bag upstairs before returning to the main room. “Spike.” The little dragon stopped putting books away and turned towards me. “Which shelf are the history texts on?”

“Over there.” He pointed to the wall opposite of him. I nodded in thanks and began searching. After a minute, I found a decent sized book on Equestrian history. I took a seat on the nearest couch and started reading.

I was about half way through the book when I heard the door open. I looked up to find Twilight, visibly exhausted. “Welcome back,” I said. She mumbled something incoherent, before walking over and making her way onto the couch. She got up and laid on the  couch, placing her forelegs under her head and laying them on my lap. “Something wrong?” I asked as I reached down and slowly ran my hand through her mane. She gave a small sigh before answering.

“No, just tired, Rarity got a little carried away when I told her.” I gave an amused snort. “How about you, everything go okay with Alex?” She asked.

“Yeah, way better than I thought it would. I also managed to get that metal cylinder open.” She readjusted herself so the she was looking up at me, curiosity evident on her face. I gave her a summary of what Shiva had written. Twilight’s eyes widened as I spoke.

“The letter said something dangerous was coming, we should tell the Princesses.” Twilight said, getting up from her position. I place a hand on her back to stop her.

“It’s late, Twi, Spike’s already asleep, and I’m sure its nothing immediate.” I said. Twilight paused for a second, then sat back down on the couch, leaning against me. “I might know a way to get in touch with Lady Shiva. Once I’ve gotten word from her, we can send a letter to the Princesses.” Twilight nodded as she let out a yawn.

“How long will that take?” She asked.

“About two to three days at the most.” I responded. She nodded once more but remained silent. After a minute, she let out another yawn. “Go on up to bed Twi, I’ll be up in a moment.” She nodded lazily, making her way up the stairs. I waited till she had closed the door before getting up. I made my way to the bookshelf and placed the book I had been reading back in its proper place, before walking over to the window.

“No matter how far you go, you can never escape the hands of Fate.” I recited my family’s old saying before closing my eyes and letting out a sigh. “Seems that even as I try and start a new life, I can’t have a break.” I opened my eyes and stared out at the night sky. “What does fate have planned for me now? What does the future hold? If only these questions were simple, life would be so much easier.” I shook my head and turned towards the stairs, no sense in losing sleep over this. I’ll worry about it when I have the time.

> Chapter 5
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


THE MAGE’S JUMP
BY GENOSABER
CHAPTER 5


“Curse the sun.” I muttered as I opened my eyes, only to be greeted by the harsh light of morning.  I shielded my eyes with my left hand, giving my eyes time to adjust. Once I could see again, I glanced down at Spike’s bed, noting his absence. I turned my attention to the clock. “Almost noon.” I said. I looked down at the mare sleeping beside me. “Twi, it’s time to get up, we need to head to the hospital.” I said softly, giving her a slight nudge with my right arm. She stirred a bit before opening her eyes, looking at  me with a lazy smile.

“What time is it?” Twilight asked as she rubbed her eyes and sat up.

“About a quarter till noon.” I said as I got up and made my way to my pack. I pulled a clean change of clothes out. “I was hoping to get to the hospital early, go through this screening, then take the time to prepare for my little lecture later.” I dashed into the bathroom and changed into a pair of jeans and my spare robe. Once I was done, I exited the bathroom and sat back down on the bed as I reached for my boots. I continued getting ready as Twilight went about her own morning routine. After we were both finished, we made our way down to the main room.

“I’ll be back soon Spike, I just need to show Trace to the hospital.” Twilight called to the Dragon as we passed. He gave nod in reply, not looking away from his task. We made our way out of the library and onto the streets. I followed Twilight as she led me towards the hospital, the walk was quiet for the most part, until-

“Look out!” A voice behind us called. My instincts kicked in and I quickly got out of the way. Twilight however, wasn’t so lucky.

“Ah!” Twilight yelped as something crashed into her. Once the dust cleared, I could make out four small ponies, fillies, judging by their appearance. An orange and purple pegasus, a yellow and red earth pony, and two unicorns, one white with a two toned mane and tail, the other very pale violet with a blonde mane and tail laid piled with a scooter and wagon next to a disoriented Twilight. “Ow.” Twilight groaned as she slowly sat up. The fillies recovered as well and all stared at Twilight, apologetic expressions on each of them.

“Sorry Twilight.” Three of the fillies said in unison, the blonde unicorn just stared sadly with her sapphire colored eyes.

Twilight turned towards to the fillies. “It’s fine, girls.” She reassured them before looking around her. “Trace?”

“Up here.” I said. Twilight and the fillies all turned their heads up towards me, their faces expression confusion.

“Um, how did you get on top of that lamp post?” Twilight asked slowly. I shrugged before jumping down.

“Years of danger has allowed my paranoia to heighten my reflexes.” I turned back to the post, it was only a few feet taller than me. “Last time I got startled I teleported up a hundred foot tree, didn’t come down for about an hour.” I said nonchalantly. the fillies seemed interested in my choice of words.

“You can use magic?” The white filly asked, glancing up at my head. “But you don’t have a horn.” While the other unicorn remained silent, Her expression told me she was curious as well.

“Well, no but I can still use magic like this,” I snapped my fingers and summoned a basic light spell, commonly used in place of lanterns. I saw the pegasus walk back over, apparently having asked Twilight something.

“What else can you do?” She asked.

“Elemental spells mostly.” I said. I don’t even know these children, but something about each of them reminded me of Twilight's friends a bit.

“Could you teach us?” I blinked at the little earth pony’s words.

“No, for three reasons,” I held up my right index finger. “One, I don’t even know your names,” I put up my middle finger next. “Two, I’m not sure my magic can be used by ponies. And three, I would require written and signed parent or guardian consent, magic where I come from can be a bit dangerous.” They frowned a little, but nodded.

“My name’s Apple Bloom, I’m Applejack’s sister.” The earth pony said before pointing to her friends, “This is Sweetie Belle, Rarity’s sister. Scootaloo, Alex and Rainbow Dash’s daughter. And Sapphire is Emerald’s daughter.” She finished by pointing to the silent filly. “And together we’re” They each took a deep breath, and my instincts screamed at me to cover my ears. “THE CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS!” I slapped my hands over my ears half way through their introduction, Bahamut’s flame that was loud.

“My name,” I said as my ears stopped ringing. “Is Trace Reinhart, a pleasure to meet you.” I turned to Twilight. “If you’ll excuse us, I have an appointment to get to. Take care.” I waved to them as I started walking beside Twilight. The...crusaders, waved back before departing as well.

“That,” I said, pointing back towards the fillies, “was just plain odd.” Twilight giggled and looked back.

“Most ponies in town might agree with you, but they’re also more used to to seeing them in town.” I nodded slowly and remained silent. As we walked, I began to notice a somewhat unsettling theme for the town.

Almost every building we passed appeared to be made of wood with a thatch roof. Due to the destructive nature of Black Magic, most buildings in Cornelia had been made of stone or heavily enchanted. I found myself disturbed by how much of a fire hazard this place was, one stray shot with fira could do a number on the town.

“We’re here.” Twilight said, pulling me out of my thoughts. The hospital was a pretty standard design to go with the rest of town. Like every other building it was made out of wood, but had a wooden roof instead of thatch. “I should head back to the library.” Twilight said as she turned back down the path, before turning back to me. “Actually, I was wondering if I could look through your books? I only got the chance to read a few of them before, and well...” She stared back at me with a pleading look.

‘I have a pretty good idea why she really wants to, but there is very little written knowledge of it. Plus, no harm in letting her learn more about my world’ I mulled it over for a second, before nodding. “I don’t see why not. Third pocket, green tag on the zipper.” She nodded and trotted off.

‘This is going to end badly for you, I hope you realize that.’ I whipped my head around to the direction the voice was coming from, but no one was there.

‘Great’ I thought ‘Now I might be going crazy.’ With that, I made my way into the building.





After finding the good doctor we started the tests. After going through the usual procedures to check vitals and having me fill out a bit of paperwork they got an X-ray taken. While that was was developing I was instructed me to wait a few minutes while they got everything else prepared. “Your skeletal structure seems fine.” Emerald said as he entered the room, the X-ray pictures floating in front of him and a table of tools behind him, both surrounded in a green aura matching his horn. “I noticed that while it matches Alex and Matthew’s in shape, it seems to be denser.”

“Drow genetics, they have stronger bones to help take more abuse than other Elves or Humans.” I explained. Emerald nodded and placed the photos on the table before grabbing a rather disturbingly large syringe. “Um, if I may be so bold as to ask, do you have a smaller syringe? I prefer subjecting my body to as little pain as possible.” I said, keeping my face calm despite almost panicking at the sight of the syringe.

He gave a slightly embarrassed chuckle “Oh dear, sorry about that old bean. Let  me get the foal-sized one.” He switched the oversized syringe out for a more reasonable one. I relaxed and allowed him to draw my blood, feeling a bit of morbid nostalgia at the sight of the dark red fluid. It had been a comfortably long time since I last got wounded, and it was actually a bit relieving to see it outside my body for a good reason.

After that was done, Emerald requested a tissue sample. I gave him information any information that would help, including on the slight differences between my hybrid blood and normal humans or elves.  “Anything else?” I asked as I took a moment to stand and stretch, releasing a series of pops from my joints.

“Yes, I’d like to run a few quick tests on your magic.” Emerald replied as he brought a device connected to several lenses made of what appeared to be crystal. “Just relax for a moment please. This will help check for any kind of aura” I sat back on the table in a meditative position. I cleared my mind and took several deep breaths, letting myself fall into a pattern.

After a few minutes of him switching between lenses and taking notes, Emerald placed the device back on the table. “Next, We’ll run a quick test to check your resonance with the magical field of this world. To do this, I’m going to run a series of small currents through your body and judge resonance based on your reaction and the dial on the resometer.” I nodded and laid back down in the table. After a second, I felt a very dull spark, then nothing. “Feel anything?” He asked after he checked the dial, which didn’t rise.

“I felt a faint spark at first, but nothing else.” I heard Emerald write something onto his clipboard as I sat up. “What’s next?” I asked, glancing at the clock. Nearly an hour had passed since I got here.

“Last test, I just need you to charge this with raw magic.” He floated a small strip of metal wired to some kind of measuring device to me. “And please be careful with it. Its aluminum.” I eyed it for a second before taking it. I closed my eyes and concentrated, focusing my energy into a the metal.

I started slow, taking care to not overwhelm it, but over time I carefully increased the amount of magic I was sending into it. I could hear Emerald’s quill scratching away at the clipboard. “Stop!” Emerald shouted. I complied, opening my eyes and looking down at the metal.

“Whoa.” I said silently. The metal had been bent slightly, and almost half of it had been blackened. “Heh heh, Sorry about that.” I said sheepishly.

“I-it’s fine.” He stuttered a bit, but quickly recovered. “I’m actually more surprised by these results.” He began looking through the papers. “As far as I can tell, your magic comes from within you.” He stared in surprise, looking between me and the paper.

“Yes, I going to assume ponies are different.” I said as I began  Emerald nodded slowly.

“Ponies use the magic field as their source. You on the other hand are basically a,” He paused for a second. “A living battery of magic.” I chuckled a bit at that.

“Interesting way to put it, but accurate nonetheless.” I reached the doorway and glanced back at him. “I hope this information helps, and would you mind bringing a copy with you when you come by the library? I’m sure Twilight would like to know this as well”

“Of course, and thank you Mr. Reinhart.” He said. I gave a polite nod before leaving, making my way to the exit, but not without overhearing Emerald muttering “but where is he getting it from?”

It was about halfway back to the library that I remembered something ‘I haven’t had anything to eat’ As if to remind me of this my stomach growled. ‘Hmm, I remember seeing a building that looked like a gingerbread house yesterday, I’m guessing that would be Sugarcube Corner.’ I altered my course slightly, remember the direction it was from the library.

The walk was pleasant, most ponies seemed to give me nothing more than a quick glance, but a few offered a polite wave, which I returned in kind. Eventually I made my way to the building “This is either an obviously decorated bakery, or the pony that lives here has the oddest taste in design.” I muttered as I glanced over the structure. I shrugged in indifference and entered the building.

The first thing I noticed was the strong scent of various pastries that I’ve come to associate with Bakeries. The second was a familiar pink coated mare behind the counter. “Good afternoon Ms. Pie.” I said as I walked up to her.

“Hey!” She said cheerfully, “Anything I can help you with?”

“Hmm,” I looked over the assorted baked goods, before making up my mind. “A couple almond muffins would be great, oh, and a cup of coffee please.” She quickly grabbed two of the delicious treats and a cup of wonderful smelling dark coffee and handed (hoofed?) them to me. I paid her along with a  tip and made my way to one of the open tables. Sitting on the stool there felt a bit odd, but it was better than the ground.  After second Pinkie... hopped... from behind the counter over to where I was seated. “Yes?” I asked, taking a bite out of one of muffins.

“I was wondering if you could tell about your tastes in music?” She said. I raised a brow, curious as to why she would seek this information. This seemed to get to her. “For your party I mean.” She added with a small smile. Oh yeah, Alex mentioned something about that when I met him.

“I’m not really picky about music, something light and mostly in the background would be great, as long as it’s easy on the ears” I said while giving a small gesture to the aforementioned additions to my head.

She nodded in understanding. “And food?”

“Obviously nothing involving seafood, but I’m guessing I won’t have to worry about that here.” She gave a short laugh at that. “Again, I’m not picky, so whatever you think would be good is fine.” She nodded once more and hopped back to the counter. “Odd mare. Nice, but a little odd.” I muttered quietly, returning to my breakfast.

The rest of my time in the bakery was uneventful. A few ponies came and went, but otherwise it remained quiet. Once I finished, I threw my trash anyway and left with a polite wave to Pinkie. The walk back was pleasant enough, until-

‘Is that a fish hanging in a tree?’ I stared in bewilderment at the sight. It seemed like  some random pony had taken a couple fish and tied them up in a tree, high enough that anyone without flight or magic would be unable to take them. I felt a small chill and turned just in time to see a Green and white tail disappear around a corner ‘Okay then, I’m, going to just leave, before the stench of the fish makes me hurl.’ I shook my head and hurried away from the tree.

“Welcome back.” Twilight said as I entered the library. I saw my bag laying open on the couch beside her beside her and a several of my larger books stacked on the end table. I gave her a quick smile as I moved the bag and sat down, pulling Twilight so she was laying on her back with her head on my chest. my hands over her chest, I could feel her heartbeat speed up. I gave a small smile as I looked over the book she had been reading, still being held by her magic.

“Larsa Solidor’s guide to Advanced Alchemy? Interesting choice, forgot I still had that. It was a pretty rare book.” Twilight craned her head back towards me. The look in her eyes oddly familiar to one Arcana gave me back when she was just a small child begging for a cookie. “You want to keep it? I don’t really need it anymore.” Her mouth began to split into a grin. “...Fine, it’s yours.” Twilight squee’d in delight before twisting her body, throwing her forelegs around my neck and pulling her face towards mine, our lips connecting in a kiss.

After an unknown amount of time, a knock on the door startled both of us. Twilight and I jumped a bit, ending up on the floor splayed out, the book landing on Twilight’s back. We managed to right ourselves so we were sitting upright, blushes covering our faces and sparks dancing around my body once more.

I really, really hate these sparks.

I got myself under control and made my way to the door as Twi gathered the books and placed them back in my bag (keeping the Alchemy book out) and making her way upstairs.

“Emerald!” I said as I threw the door open, sensing the odd Stallion’s energy. “You’re,” I glanced at the clock. “Fifteen minutes early.” I turned back to him for an answer.

“Sorry, I finished my work early, and I had nothing to do, so...” He trailed off. I nodded in acceptance and turned to let him in. “Is Twilight going to be joining us?” He asked as he pulled out a folder with copies of the results from this morning.

I took the folder and headed for the stairs. “Sadly no, she’s a bit caught up in a book she found in my bag earlier.” Emerald frowned slightly but nodded. “Just give me a minute, I need to get some things.” I hurried up the stairs and into the bedroom, passing Twilight the folder and pulling a plain white shirt and three thick books from my bag. After changing I returned to the main room, Emerald waiting patiently at the table in the center of the room. “Ready?” I asked. In response he pulled a quill, ink, and a stack of papers.

I began drawing a rough sketch of my world. “Gaia is a beautiful world, filled with a variety of different species both sentient and wild.” I tapped the chalk on the topmost continent. “Cardia, the Northern continent, is where I lived. It’s a peaceful land, populated mostly by humans, but other species make this territory their home, such as the nomadic lycan, or werewolves, and the mysterious Kitsune, a species of fox with the ability to create powerful illusions, and even change their forms into that of other creatures.” Above the sketch I drew a magic circle. “Cardia is known for it’s magic, while humans use two basic types, White magic that can heal others, and Black magic that can bring destruction to one’s enemies.” I noticed Emerald giving me a look that was both curious and cautious. “Of course, modern Black Mages work under the Order, and use their power to protect others.” He nodded, looking less worried. “Thee other groups have their own magic, Lycans can use the power of the moon and channel it similar to human magic.” I placed the chalk down for a second. “Foxes however, are different, they are masters of illusion, but incredibly shy. Very few have actually managed to meet them.” I paused as Emerald raise a hoof.

“Have you ever met them?” He asked.

“Well, yes actually, I visited one clan, the Southern River Clan, about eight years ago. They are actually very kind, but they have been in seclusion for so long, it’s hard for them to adjust to normal life.” I picked the chalk back up. “The capital, Cornelia, is home to the Order of Magi, a collection of Magic users of all kinds that work to keep the work from falling into the hands of Chaos.” 

I tapped the right continent next. “Elfheim is the second largest landmass, and home to the most sentient species.” I began drawing out the different emblems for each group. “The common species are the elves, split into three types, High Elf, Forest Elf, and Dark Elf. Along with the cave dwelling Dwarves.” I looked back at Emerald, who motioned for me to continue. “While not the most magically advanced continent, Elfheim is revered for the culture, food, art, music, and in the case of Dwarves, weaponry.” I stopped for a second and turned back. “I’m going to keep the talk of the species brief for now, I’ll get back to them once I’m done with the geography.”

“Understood.” Emerald replied with a nod.

“The western continent of Ivalice is a rather questionable one” I said as I drew a set of symbols. “They advance not in art or magic, but in technology. They use what is called magitek, taking magic they have harnessed and charged into different types of storage and using it as fuel for vehicles and weapons.” I drew two more emblems. “The two species that work on this are the Viera, a race of humanoids with some....rabbit like feature such as ears and feet.” Emerald stared at me in confusion. I pulled one of the books out and turned to a page with a picture of the Viera in it. Emerald nodded and went back to writing notes.

“The other is the Bangaa, a race of reptilian humanoids. Viera focused on technology to help in life, medical, transportation, and similar topics.” Emerald raised a brow. “It's been a few years since I studied it, so my memory is a bit hazy, and Cardia doesn’t really use much Magitek.” I frowned as I thought of my next words. “Bangaa on the other hand, are violent, they focussed on weapons, such as firearms and war mechs.”

“You seem... uncomfortable about the topic,” Emerald noted.

“Somewhat, I’ll explain why later.” I sighed and tapped the bottom continent. “Lastly, we have Lufenia, the wild lands. There are no civilizations on it, any that may have been there died centuries ago. The only sentient being that makes this savage realm is the dragon king Bahamut, the Hallowed Father of the Espers.” I stopped as I finished marking the Dragon god’s sigil. “The only other creatures that live there are powerful beasts, mostly beings of draconic blood.” I placed the chalk down and grabbed an eraser. “You mind if we stop for a moment?” I asked, looking back at Emerald as I began erasing the notes on the board

“Not at all.” He replied. I gave a short nod of thanks before heading for the kitchen and getting a glass of water. Now I remember why I didn’t do lecture that often, my damn throat gets dry and starts to hurt after a while. After a minute I reached into my pocket and pulled out a set of silver wire rings connected in a straight line. I returned to the main room with the rings in one hand and my glass in the other.

“Okay then, rather than take up room on the chalkboard trying to describe the creatures of Gaia, I’m going to be using these.” I held up the rings before slipping them on my right hand. “They’re called weaver rings, infused with a special illusion enchantment.” I waved my hand, conjuring a near perfect copy of myself. “This should help with showing what each species looks like, as well as giving an accurate portrayal of their height.” Emerald nodded in response, muttering something under his breath. I waved my hand again and a new figure joined my copy.

This one was about half a foot taller than me, his skin light and his blonde hair reaching his shoulders. He was dressed in well made robes signifying high ranking nobility. His ears were pointed, but unlike mine they actually extended a few inches outward. “High Elve, the nobles of their land. The males reach about seven feet, females about six. They are notable by their height, light skin, and ears, as well as their elegant clothing. They are masters of the spirit, using it as a source for magic based around the more peaceful aspects of the world. They are known for their art, paintings, tailors, and the like. They are omnivores, and normally try and keep a good balance in their diets.” I canceled the image and began to create another Elf.

The next one was the same height as me, with dark tan skin and white hair. he wore simple clothes, a white tunic and black leggings that went to his knees. He had a green cloth tied around his waist and a matching bandana over his short hair “The Forest Elf, the more reclusive type. As their name suggest, they prefer living in villages and settlements built in or near forests. They are druidic in nature, born with the ability to bond with animals, as well as being able to supposedly communicate with both plants and wild animals.” Emerald shot me a questioning look. “I said supposedly, I’m not entirely sure if it’s true or not.” He went back to writing notes. “They’re mostly vegetarian, only eating meat on certain days, or during celebrations.”

The next image made me chuckle. The figure was female, a few inches taller than me, sporting dark, almost black skin and dark gray hair reaching the center of her back. Her gold cat-like eyes locked in a menacing glare, and a dented flanged mace hanging from her belt. she was dressed in dull clothes, covered with a old white apron. “Something you find amusing?” Emerald asked.

I nodded and calmed down enough to talk. “My Elven grandmother. A Dark Elf. Born from the corruption Chaos infected many High Elf during the first Chaos uprising nearly five hundred years ago. They are more aggressive, being proud warriors and feared in the battlefield. While they are normally as tall as High Elf, they tend to be bulkier, having more muscle mass. They use forms of dark magic, mostly known for their infamous Blood Magic, being the only species that can use it without suffering from Vampirism.” Emerald was looking a bit disturbed by this information. “They can also use a more unique magic called Umbramancy, shadow manipulation. They don’t normally use it in public, only among their own. I only know about because my Grandmother showed it to me once. Dark Elves are primarily carnivorous, the opposite of the Forest Elf, which is why I need to eat meat, or my health will go to shit.” Emerald nodded.

Next, I called an image of a familiar woman, as well as a large bipedal wolf like creature beside her. “Dawn Greyclaw, daughter of the Alpha of the silverpelt pack, and a Lunar Priestess of the Werewolves. In human form, the only distinct features are their more animalistic eyes and sharpened claws. In Lycan form, they become much stronger, faster, and far more ferocious. There isn’t much to tell about them, they share a diet similar to the Dark elves, and their magic is subtle, they mostly use it for divination, seeking guidance from the moon to find their paths.” and Dawn was stubborn in not talking about Lunar Magic. “I’m sorry but I’m going to skip the Foxes. As I said, they are very secretive” Emerald frowned but didn’t protest.

I called an image of a short man sporting a thick brown beard, dressed in dense plate mail and a large battle ax on his back. “Dwarves.” I said with a hint of a smirk. “Loud, drunk, and rowdy, these guys are the mountain and cave dwelling neighbors of the elves. They don’t really have much magic, other than the ability to shape metals any other smith would find near impossible.” I pulled out my knife, letting the fading light from the window shine across the the blue tinted blade. “Mithril is their art, it is something few smiths would even think of working, but a dwarf can shape it without difficulty. This knife is one of two, shaped by a dwarven blacksmith from the remains of my fathers broadsword.” I admired the blade for a second, before tucking it back into it’s sheath. “They aren’t violent, but they won’t back down from a challenge. They have the same diet as Elves, but for one extra ingredient.” I added a mug of ale to the image’s hand. 

“Alcohol?” Emerald asked. I nodded and thought back to the time I spent in the Dwarven capital.

“Yep, nearly everything they cook has whiskey in it, and it’s one of their most common drinks, I got drunk off a roast once, great night but the hangover was torture the next morning.” I chuckled at the memory of Reeve trying to wake me, resulting in me breaking his old guitar over his head. “But I suppose I should get this over with.” I sighed and waved my hand once more

I summoned the last two, one of a Woman roughly the same height as myself, long rabbit ears atop her head, her feet bent like a rabbit trying to stand on it’s hind legs. She had dark skin and silver hair, dressed in a pair of overalls and a short sleeve shirt, a pair of welding goggles around her neck.

The other was a dark blue creature dressed in leather pants, a long rifle in its hand and a harsh look on its face. “Veira and Bangaa, two races with similar culture. but at the same time vastly different. Veira are peaceful and lively, while the Bangaa are more violent and introvertive. Viera are inventors, finding new ways to improve everyday life, while Bangaa seek to perfect the art of war. Veira are herbivores like ponies, and I’ve seen them get ill from ingesting meat. Bangaa are mostly,” I felt my stomach churn. “Fish Eaters. I've spent plenty of time among both races, and I can honeslty say I prefer the company of Viera. They are friendly and rarely hold grudges, while Bangaa tend to fight at the slightest provocation.”

“They can’t be that bad.” Emerald said.

“They went into a ten year civil war after the sons of the last king couldn’t work out a peaceful way to choose who to rule, they ended up splitting the country apart and pitting brothers against one another. They are that bad.” I noticed my voice got more aggressive as I spoke, I quickly pulled myself in and cleared my throat. “I believe now is as good a time as any to end this. I hope you got what you came for.” Emerald nodded and we exchanged goodbyes before he left.

“Everything okay?” Twilight asked as she and Spike made their way down here. I sighed and slumped onto the couch.  “We could hear you, sounds like you haven’t had the best experience with these ‘Bangaa’.”

“Yeah, what was that about?” Spike asked.

“I haven’t, I’m not going into details, but even without the civil war they’ve been violent war mongers for centuries, not to mention they summoned Chaos last time.” Their eyes went wide at this.

“And they just got away with this?” Spike asked. I nearly burst out laughing at this.

“Heck no!, But this was little over a hundred years ago, they used to be a powerful force in the world, they’re but a fraction of what they once were.” I couldn’t help but frown. As much as I disliked them, the Bangaa didn’t deserve what happened.

“Whoa.” Spike muttered. “How’d that happen?”

“The World Summit.” I said, receiving looks of confusion from both of them. “A gathering of the heads of all the major houses on Gaia, leaders, royals, the like. They gathered after the the Chaos outbreak, resulting in nearly the entire summit voting to pretty much demolish the Bangaa empire, they managed to pull themselves together about 30 years back, working into the art of combat and weaponry, but they’ve never managed to recover.”  I looked down at the floor. “Well,” I said, standing up. “It’s in the past, nothing anyone can do about it.” They both nodded, and we let the topic die. 

We spent rest of the day doing little, I told a few legends of Bahamut and the Espers to Twi and Spike, who seemed to enjoying hearing such stories. Afterwards, we ate a quick dinner and headed off to bed, hoping tomorrow was a better day. 

> Chapter 6
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


THE MAGE’S JUMP
BY GENOSABER
CHAPTER 6


I opened my eyes to find myself once again in my dreamscape. The familiar weightlessness I felt whenever I came here bringing me minor comfort. Thankfully, there was no guest this time. This is a good sign, last time I couldn’t get this far, let’s hope the rest of my plan goes as well. I looked behind me, seeing a thick dark cloud hiding the image of my soul. Breathing a sigh of relief, I tuned back to the endless void before me and tried to open a gate.

I clapped my hands together and began reciting the old incantation, drawing forth my power to open the gate. After what felt like an eternity, I felt a slight tug, signifying my success. A swirling blue portal appeared before me, and even though I wasn’t in a physical form, I felt chilled by the energy of it.

“Perfect,” I said with a smirk. I instinctively took an unneeded breath before walking through.

‘Same place as the last time.’ I muttered internally as I looked over my surroundings, I was in a thick forest of evergreen trees. Looking down, I found that I had been dressed in a thick fur lined cloak, along with boots and gloves made of the same material. ‘Odd, normally I appear in my normal robe.’ I didn’t think too hard about it. My guess would be she was expecting me.

With that in mind, I quickly turned down the nearest path and began walking. I learned last time I was here that it’s a not a good idea to stay in these woods too long. I kept my sight forward, trying my best to ignore the sounds around me.

After about twenty minutes, I found the end of the forest. speeding up to a jog, I made my way from the dense woods to an endless plain of snow. ‘Never thought I’d be happy to see that. Now, where is it? I scanned the area around me before spotting my target, a large armored bear sitting patiently and looking right at me.

“I take it you’re my ride?” I asked the beast. It gave a small nod in reply before lowering itself for me to get on. Once more I took a quick breath out of habit and hopped on.

I had about five seconds to get settled before the mount took off. Starting at a slow but steady lumber, it quickly picked up paced until it was charging ahead. As the wind began to sting my face, I pulled up the face cover built into my clothes.. After a while, I caught sight of an outline of a large structure, our destination no doubt.


The bear slowed as we neared the structure ahead of us. The building before me could only be described as a fortress. Huge pillars and towers extended around the building, covered partially by the enormous wall surrounding it. I dismounted the bear and gave it a nod in thanks before making my way down the bridge to the entrance.

I walked through the open large gate of ice, giving a quick glance to the to two large ice golems positioned on either side. I keep a steady pace, occasionally glancing at the open area of the courtyard. I continued my walk until an oddly familiar being landed before me.

“We’ve been expecting you, Lord Reinhart.” The ice blue pegasus from the restaurant said with a bow. I could only stare in confusion as the ‘pony’ turned and trotted over to the door. I shook my head as she placed a hoof on the door’s glyph, causing it to glow faintly before opening. “Follow me please.” She said as she began trotting down the main hall.

“Who are you?” I asked as I caught up to her. She just shrugged, not a common response for a being of the aether. “Are you the same pegasus from the restaurant?” This time I got a nod. “Name?” She stopped and looked back at me.

“Why do you ask me such questions?” She asked me. I just shrugged mentioned to her form. “...My name is Aurora Frost , or simply Frost if you prefer. As for why I was there, I was tasked by my Queen to ensure that the letter got to you safely.” She turned and continued down the path. I remained silent and walked behind, glancing at the tapestries on the walls as we passed. The fact that she actually given a name signified she was no average golem, only those of the highest ranking in Shiva’s kingdom are given them. 

I felt a shift around me, and looked down to find myself dressed set of Elven robes. Reaching behind me, I found that my hair had also been tied back. I tried my best to ignore the chill running down my spine at this. Few beings are capable of altering the appearance of a visiting being in the aether, but this was one of the three children. The first offspring of Bahamut, she could kill me without a second thought if I provoked her. As unlikely as it seemed, I couldn’t take that chance.

“Announcing the arrival of Lord Trace Reinhart of Cornelia!” An unseen voice called out. The doors to the throne room swung open, revealing large golems lined up on either side of the path, stopping three quarters of the way down. A large throne of ice with a single figure lay at the end of the path. Frost stood in the doorway, waiting there until her queen called for her.

As I walked, the golems closest to the throne began fading, and the walls began turning pure white. At two thirds of the way, I could clearly make out the figure on the throne.

Shiva was as beautiful as ever, her light blue skin against her dark blue hair. I couldn’t help but feel humbled by being in her presence. Her outfit only added to her appeal. Several pieces of cloth wrapped around her bust and thighs to cover herself, while still showing off her figure.

Despite this, I could feel her aura as I got closer. A deep chill that gave me a sense of fear and intimidation, something that would make anyone think twice before going up against her.

She smiled as I approached the throne. “Greetings Lord Reinhart. It is a pleasure to see you again.” She said. I gave a bow in greeting.

“Likewise, Lady Shiva.” I said as I rose, giving a smile of my own. We remained silent for several seconds before Shiva began laughing. “Glad to see you haven’t changed.” I commented.

She stopped laughing after a moment,. “The same could be said of you, Trace Reinhart.” She frowned before speaking again. “I suppose you are here to discuss the letter?” I gave a silent nod. “I am sorry to say that I don’t know much, other than that it will occur by the end of winter. It shouldn’t be too difficult for you, but I would advise to take caution.” I frowned but nodded, I knew she’s telling the truth. “Though, perhaps there is something I can do.” Shiva gave a smirk. “Should you wish to invoke part of the debt.” Clever girl, she might not be able to help directly, but that will allow her to provide assistance in her own way.

“Very well. I invoke our deal, and seek help when the time comes that the danger makes itself known.”  She nodded and held out her hands. I copied the action. After a moment an orb created from a fragment of her magic formed in the air between us, before slowly floating over to my outstretched hand. 

"With this shard, you shall be granted the power to call upon my boon when you feel the time has come."

As the orb descended onto my palm, I felt an unknown piece of magic begin fusing with my being. With a flash, the orb bonded to my palm, a faint blue glow radiating off the glyph it created.


“When the time comes, call forth my name, and I will provide you a gift that shall aid you in the trials ahead.” I gave a nod of thanks before heading for the exit. “That will not be necessary.” Shiva said. Conjuring a portal back to my dreamscape. I gave another nod of thanks and walked through.



I felt the chill vanish as I closed the portal and reconnected myself to my mind. “Well, might as well find something to do until either that guy from last time comes around, or I wake up.” I rubbed my chin in thought. Meh, better than nothing. I summoned a large table with a teapot, cup,and deck of playing cards sat down and poured myself a cup of jasmine tea, not my favorite but good nonetheless, before starting up a game of Solitaire.

“And that makes twenty three wins and seven losses.” I muttered as I reshuffled the deck. Something better happen soon or-

*thud*

...Nevermind. I glanced up from my current game to find a familiar blue Alicorn. “To what do I owe the pleasure of having the Princess of the night in my dreamscape?” I asked as I took a slip of tea.

“I was curious as to how somepony would be able to enter a dreamscape without me noticing.” Luna said, furrowing her brow as she looked around the void. “Though I suppose I should amend my question, how are you able to enter this realm without my knowledge?”

I shrugged. “Those of my family have always been capable of such a feat. My dear Princess, we are within my own mind, and here, I am lord.” Luna scowled a bit at that. apparently thinking over my answer.

“So you have done this often?” She asked.

“In the past, yes, but I stopped for awhile. I’ve only started to once again after entering Equestria.” Luna raised a brow in curiosity. “Reason I’d prefer not going into Princess. There are... times I do not enjoy sharing my memories, even with those I trust.” She frowned but nodded.

“Very well, I will leave your memories alone so long as you wish. But we would like to see the events of your Time on your world with Twilight Sparkle.” I looked up at her as I ended my game, eight losses.

“Very well, nothing wrong with that.” I snapped my fingers and summoned a screen to show the events of my meeting with Twilight. “Tea?” I asked as I offered her a cup.

“Thank you.” She said as she took it in her magic. I left her to watching the screen as I continued playing game after game of Solitaire.

After about two hundred and eighteen games, halfway through which I switched to pyramid, Luna tapped her hoof on the table to get my attention. Just as well, I lost count  of my wins about fifty games back.

“Thank you for showing us this, it is a relief that Twilight remained unharmed for the majority of her time there.” I nodded in reply as I reached for my cup once more. Luna waited until I had started drinking to ask, “Do you love her?” I nearly choked on my tea before attempting a glare at the Alicorn. “I will ask again. Do you love Twilight Sparkle? You stated that you had feelings for her before, what of now?”

I paused to think over my answer.“I’m not sure.” I said hesitantly. “I feel affection, but I’m still not quite sure if it’s truly love or not, and I’m not sure how Twilight feels.” Luna mulled over my words before nodding.

“Very well, then we would like to make a request. Think it over, search your emotions and decide whether or not you love her. It is never good to keep emotional problems to yourself, you could end up hurting the... other.”  Luna said with a partially melancholy expression.

“I know. And I will.” I said calmly. Luna began to make her way out before I remembered something. “Wait!” She turned back to me with a curious expression. “I learned of a possible threat in the near future, and spoke to Shiva on this matter shortly before you showed up.” She trotted back to me with serious expression. “Here.” I quickly conjured a quill and parchment and jotted down what little information I had before passing it to Luna. “Not much, but it’s all I know.” Luna gave nod in thanks before disappearing with a flash.




(Twilight)


“Greetings, Twilight Sparkle.” A regal voice said behind me. I spun around to find Princess Luna standing in the doorway.

“P-Princess!” I stuttered before kneeling. Luna chuckled before lifting my head with her hoof, giving me a friendly smile. I smiled back before looking around the room.

“An interesting domicile.” Luna said.

“It’s Trace’s house on Gaia.” I responded while looking around the den. Luna nodded and followed me as I searched around the house. Finding nothing interesting, I returned to the den and sat down on the couch, similar to how I was when I first woke up here.

“He cares about you.” Luna said suddenly. I looked at her in confusion. “I spoke to the mage a few moments ago. He informed me of a possible threat in the near future.” I nodded. “He cares about you, but how do you feel about him?” 

“I-I’m not sure. I’m happy he chose to come with me, and I felt...something when he kissed me, but I don’t know if it’s love.” Luna simply smiled before placing a hoof on my shoulder.

“Think about your feelings, and when you are certain of them, tell him.” She said in a caring voice. I nodded slowly as Luna smiled once more before trotting to the doorway. “Pleasant dreams, Twilight Sparkle.” And with that, she was gone. The world faded into darkness around me.

I slowly cracked my eyes open to find myself back in my bed, the first bits of sunlight beginning to shine through the window. Trace laid next to with a hand resting on my back. I blinked slowly as Luna’s question resonated in my head

‘Do I really love Trace?’

I let the question repeat as I laid my head down on Trace’s chest, his calm heartbeat lulling me back to sleep
> Chapter 7
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


THE MAGE’S JUMP
BY GENOSABER
CHAPTER 7


As I was tying my hair back, I could see Matt’s expression. “What’s up with you?” Alex had dropped by with him in tow and asked if I’d like to go drinking with them. While I wasn’t really in the mood, Alex offered to pay for the first few rounds


I quickly accepted and let Twilight know before following them out. The whole way, I couldn’t help but notice Matt looking a bit uncomfortable.

“Not much of a social drinker.” He finally replied as the Grain Bucket came in sight.

I suppressed a chuckle before responding. “Then we are very different when it come to drinking. Like most Elves, I prefer to be in the company of friends when I get wasted.” I turned to Alex as we reached the front door. “Go raibh maith agat ag an mbealach.” I said slowly.

“No problem.” He said. He paused in the doorway before turning back to me. “Oh, and please go easy on the drinks, I know Elves tend to have a high tolerance.”

“Sure thing.” I replied with a smirk as I followed him inside. 

After we had found an empty table near the bar, Alex ordered me a “Virgin Human.” before I could ask what the hell it was, he handed me a brown liquid. “Just drink it.” Alex said. I eyed the drink for a minute, before shrugging and downing the brew.

“It’s Rye.” I said with a hint of surprise. It was definitely the rye whiskey, but it had a slightly weaker taste, like it hadn’t fermented as long. Admittedly, it tasted a bit better than the Dwarven brew I was used to. “I’ll have another.” I told the bartender. He nodded in response and fixed another mug.

After three and a half mugs I decided to tell them about last night. “I was able to get in touch with Shiva last night.” Alex raised a brow while Matt looked confused. I pulled the letter out and handed it to him. “Sadly, all she could tell me was that it’s not a big threat, and that’s it’s coming sometime in Winter.” He nodded with a frown as we drifted into silence.

“Luna also decided to pay a visit in my dreams.” I said to break the silence. Alex and Matt just looked in mild confusion. “Asked me a couple questions, looked through my memories of my last nine days on Gaia. Oh, and asked me if I love Twilight.” They both choked a bit on their drink and stared in shock. “Oh. Matt, I’m dating Twilight.” 

"Good for you, just remember if you try anything stupid there's a Sun Goddess and if she doesn't get you I will." He said. I sighed and placed a hand on my face.

“Good to know she has friends and family that are willing to protect her.” Alex chuckled lightly.

“And?” He asked. I looked over to him. “What did you tell the Princess?”

“I’m not sure exactly how I feel.” I finished off the last of my drink and ordered a cider, same as Alex was drinking. “I know I have affection for her, and as far as I can tell she at least feels the same way, but I’m not entirely sure if I truly love her or not. I’m still debating it, and hope to tell her my answer within the next few days.” I pulled out the bag Celestia gave me and emptied out a small pile of bits. “I’ll go ahead and start paying for myself.” The bartender nodded and scooped up the coins before passing me my mug and trotting back to the bar.

After about five rounds of cider, I started singing. “Oh, the year was 1778,”

“HOW I WISH I WAS IN SHERBROOKE NOW!” Alex sang suddenly as he slammed his mug on the table, catching me off guard. I looked at him with a smirk before continuing.



I hadn’t noticed at first but it seemed that everyone in the bar had decided to join in the chorus. As we ended the song, the patron around us began stomping their hooves as a form of applause. I couldn’t hold back my laughter as another mug of cider was passed to me.

“I have to ask, how do you know Barrett’s Privateers?” Alex asked. I waited till my laughter died down to answer.

“About Seven years back a guy named Reeve Jackson got pulled to Gaia by a Chaos Seed. Unlike Twilight though, he chose to stay, bringing with him his rather extensive knowledge of music from his world, which I guess is the same one you two come from, or at least one very similar.” They both nodded.

“Know any more songs?” Matt asked. I thought it over for a moment before nodding.

“Now Before I sing this next song, I’d like to make something clear.” I called out to the others in the bar. “As you can see, Alex, Matt and I all wear pants, the reason for this is that unlike ponies, we lack the natural ability to hide that particular part of our bodies.” The ponies nodded slowly, a few of the still sober ones blushing slightly. “Now with that in mind,” I grinned as I started singing.



By the time I was finished over half the bar had burst out in laughter. I received another round of applause as I returned to my seat once more. Eventually the noise died down to general chatter among friends. I talked with Alex and Matt for a while before Alex checked the clock on the wall and stood up.

“Think I’m gonna call it a night. Dash always worries about me when I’m not within arms reach.” He gave us a quick goodbye before heading out the door. I stared at the door for a second before turning back to Matt.

“Have to say, it’s good to get to know a bit about you.” I said while extending my hand towards him.

“Likewise.” He said, taking my hand and giving it a quick shake. In the few seconds his hand met mine, I felt a familiar spike of energy run through my hand.

I stared at him in shock as I spoke without thinking. “Your soul’s been damaged.” I said softly.

Matt shuddered as he withdrew his hand. “Doesn’t matter how drunk I get, I’m not talking about it.”

“I understand.” I said as I looked down at my drink. “Believe me, I understand all too well.” I muttered quietly. Matt gave no inclination that he heard me as we drifted into a grim silence.

Several minutes went by before I reached inside one of the pouches on my belt, feeling the storage pocket I had placed in it. “While you don’t wish to speak of it, I going to take a guess and say you’ve had nightmares, rather dark ones.” I pulled out a glass bottle containing about thirty or so white pills. Matt gave me a questioning look. “Suppressants, powerful ones. Lets just say I’ve been through a similar experience, went about three months before I sought help.” I picked up the bottle and looked it over. “These things made it so I wouldn’t suffer those damn nightmares anymore, I took them every night until about five months ago, when I managed to learn how to suppress my dreams without the aid of medicine.” I set them down in front of him. “Here, they should last about a month. If they work then let me know and I can make more.”

“No thanks.” Matt said. I stared at him for a moment before sighing and putting the pills away.

“Very well then.” I said as I rose from my seat. “I suppose I should be going as well, goodnight Matt.” He gave a nod in reply. I hesitated for a second before leaving, but then continued on my way. I know from experience it’s not a good idea to push matters, no telling what reaction I could get out of him

After a short walk under the light of the newly risen moon, I reached the library. I made my way to the bedroom and moved in beside Twilight, careful not to wake her. I laid there beside her for several minutes before sleep took over.

> Chapter 8
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


THE MAGE’S JUMP
BY GENOSABER
CHAPTER 8


I woke up with a groan, thankful that someone had closed the curtains. I reached for my bag hanging on the bedpost nearest to me and took two ethers and a vial of elixir. I felt the irritating pressure fade as I downed the potions. My renewed comfort let a satisfied smile creep on my face, followed by a happy sigh. I looked around to see both Twilight and Spike missing, the only thing I could find was a small note placed on the nightstand. I unfolded it with one hand and looked it over.

Trace,

Spike and I went to Fluttershy’s to help her out with animals that have gotten sick.

Love, Twilight.

‘Huh. The ink at the top of the L seems to have soaked in. Almost as if she hesitated’. I looked over the paper for a few seconds, contemplating burning it, before placing it back on the nightstand. I slowly got up and made my way to the bathroom.

After a quick shower, I threw on a pair of pants and a button down shirt, grabbing the note and pocketing it before making my way out of the room. As I made my way down the stairs. I noticed someone waiting for me. “Good morning Matt, how can I help you?” I asked as I finished tightening the strip of cloth I had been using to keep my hair tied back.

"I almost sliced BonBon's neck open again this morning, I’ve got to do something about it.” His voice was neutral, dull even. But his eyes, they showed me his pain. I nodded and pulled the bottle back out. “My nanotech is going to fight this. Any suggestions?” he asked as he took the bottle.

“Take one pill tonight before you go to sleep, if they doesn’t work, take two, let me know what works best. If it still doesn’t work, I can alter the recipe to accommodate your needs. Don’t take more than two of these per night. An overdose can be dangerous,” I said before heading for the kitchen.

“Apparently, Twilight went to Fluttershy’s to help her with something. Figured I might as well go see how they’re doing.” I grabbed an apple and made my way to the door.

“Mind if I tag along? Don’t really have anything else to do today... or any day to be honest,” Matt asked. I shrugged and walked out the door.

We remained silent for the majority of the walk, neither of us having anything to say. As we neared Fluttershy’s cottage, I could see Twilight, Spike, and Fluttershy chasing after something. As we came closer, I could see that they were chasing a small fox with pinkish red fur.

Wait, pinkish red fur?

I watched for a moment as they continued to chase after the fox, before shaking my head bolting after the furball. I was able to intercept it and rolled as I caught it. Staying crouched as the others gathered around me.

I looked back down at the fox. It’s was about the size of a fennec, and seemed intent of getting out of my grip. “Fei!” I barked, making the everyone but Matt jump and the fox go still.

She looked up at me and blinked in surprise. “Uh, hi Trace,” she said without moving her mouth, surprising everyone.

“Of course it talks, why wouldn’t it,” Matt muttered sarcastically, rolling his eyes at her. Fluttershy just seemed intrigued while Twilight seemed to be having trouble keeping her jaw from dropping.

“T-that’s Fei?” Twilight asked in shock. I nodded and stood up.

“I’ll explain in a bit, can someone here gather everyone? I’d prefer not having to explain it several times.” Twilight and Matt nodded before running off towards town. “Miss Fluttershy, do you mind if we wait in your house?” I asked.

“Oh, not at all,” she said quietly. I nodded and calmly followed her inside.



“Could somepony please tell me what’s going on?” Rainbow Dash asked as everyone arrived at the cottage. I sighed and brought Fei out to them.

“I suppose I should be the one to do that. This is Fei.” I held her up so everyone could clearly see. “A... friend, of mine from Gaia, and as you can see she’s not human. She’s is what’s known as a kitsune.” Emerald perked up at that, staring at Fei. “Do it,” I told her. She attempted a glare, but failed as I matched it with my own. With a sigh she nodded and I set her down.

She sat still for a moment as a faint aura formed around her. She breathed slowly for several seconds before a sudden cloud of smoke exploded around her. I coughed a bit as I tried getting rid of the smoke. As it cleared, the fox was nowhere to be seen.

What stood in her place was what looked like a little girl, about ten years old, in a simple red kimono. Her hair the same pinkish red as before, and a pair of large fox ears sticking out from her head. “Happy?” Fei asked sarcastically, her mouth now moving with her words.

I stared at her for a second before slapping my hand onto my face. Hard. “You’re a child now,” I stated simply.

“Yeah, I noticed,” She growled. I sighed and sat down next to her.

“And I can probably guess why that is.” Her ears twitched and she stared at me in confusion. “Let me guess, you followed me and Twilight through the portal?” She nodded. “And you had a veil up and were most likely in human form” Another nod. “Do you remember the theory about human and Fox magic?” She stared blankly at me for a moment, before slapping her face and letting out a small yell in frustration.

“How could I be so stupid!?” she shouted. The others just looked on in confusion before Rainbow Dash spoke up once more.

“Uh, what?” she asked. I rubbed my temples for a second before replying.

“Okay. First off, Fei here is technically twenty years old.” I raised a hand to stop anyone from talking. “The theory I’m talking about is an old study that found that human and fox magic don’t react well to one another, the results are often unpredictable and can even be violent.” I turned to Fei. “You should consider yourself lucky, it could have ended up much worse.” She sighed and nodded.

“I know.” She looked up at me with a frown. “I-”  She was interrupted by a growl escaping from her stomach. She stared up at me with a sheepish smile.

“When was the last time you ate?” I asked.

“Um, the day we left,” She said. I place my hand back on my face and sighed.

“Hmm.” I looked at the ponies before me, remembering what Twilight told me. “Miss Applejack, would it be possible to go to your orchard for lunch?” She blinked and stared at me for a second before nodding.

“Sure,” She said before turning around and trotting back towards town. Everyone began to follow but Twilight, Spike, myself, and Fei.

“I’ll explain a bit more on the way. And I think we should send a letter to the princesses.” Twilight nodded and trotted beside me. Fei returned to her true form and jumped into her saddlebags. “Let me guess, your natural shyness is back?” She poked her head out and nodded shakingly. We stayed back a bit as I told Twilight about Fei’s species.



“Wow.” Was all I could say as I watched Fei scarf down her food. AJ had been rather generous when it came to setting up lunch. With the help of her brother and grandmother, they had prepared a huge buffet of food for everyone. Once Fei had tried the food, she became engrossed, stuffing her face with everything we put in front of her. “Forgot that foxes have huge appetites. Apparently they burn calories pretty fast when they transform, and even a bit when they use any of their magic.” I swear I could hear Emerald’s quill scratching away at a notebook.

“I’ve seen full grown accelerated metabolism soldiers eat less than that after a week of deployment, can I keep her?” Matt’s smile left the possibility of his statement being a joke up to interpretation. Thankfully Twilight interrupted any chance at any angry replies.

“Trace, the Princess sent a reply,” Twilight said, floating me a scroll. I opened the scroll and began reading it’s contents.

Dear Trace,

While I can understand your concern, I am unable to return Fei to your world. I am sorry to tell you this, but I’m sure you will be able to handle this.

In regards to her age, I will be sending some papers that should help you with that.

Signed
Princess Celestia.

A burst of green fire drew my attention from the letter to the stack of papers that had just arrived from the Princess. “What are they?” I asked Twilight as a sense of dread started to worm it’s way into my thoughts.

Twilight looked over them before turning to me wide-eyed. “Adoption papers,” She said quietly. Everyone seemed to hear it as they all stopped and stared. Fei started to choke on her food before Pinkie was kind enough to help her out.

The silence lasted for a few seconds until Matt spoke up. “Bastard beat me to it.” He managed to keep a straight face for a whole two seconds before bursting out into laughter. I paid him no mind, resisting the urge to shout in frustration as I calmly stood up and walked away from the table towards the front gate. 

“Trace?”

I turned back to Twilight. “I need to go clear my head in the everfree. I’ll be back in a bit.” With that, I teleported away from them.

I reappeared in the Everfree, a few meters off from where we first arrived. I gathered lightning in my hand as I faced a nearby tree. The events of the past few days finally getting to me. “THUNDARA!” I shouted, sending a large bolt of lightning at the tree. I felt a little better as I watched it explode into pieces.

I continued this for several minutes before a deep rumbling behind me caught my attention. I turned ready to defend myself until I saw it.

Behind me stood a giant bear, at least a foot taller than me even on all fours. Thick bone armor covered it’s back as spikes protruded from it’s shoulder blades. I felt fear and anger overwhelm me as I stared into the beasts beady red eyes.

A dire bear.




(Twilight)

“Twilight! Wait up!” I heard my friends call behind me. I finally slowed as I neared the entrance to the Everfree, my heart racing as stared into the dark forest.

‘Please be okay.’

“Calm down Twi. I’m sure everythings fine,” Rainbow Dash said. “He probably just needed to clear his head. Heck, if it was Alex rushing headlong into the woods, I wouldn't be that worried. Anyway, Trace is like a human unicorn, right? So, he's got magic and human sneakiness, right?" Dash's expression became a little less confident, "Right?"” I looked at her for a moment before sighing. Maybe she’s right. After all, Trace can handle himself if he’s in trouble.

“She’s right,” Fei said. “Trace has been in plenty of bad situations, I’m sure he’ll be fine.” A sudden explosion caught our attention, and we all turned towards the forest to see a bolt of lightning shoot up into the sky. “Okay, maybe not fine,” she said before running towards the forest. I glanced between my friends before galloping after her.

‘How is she going so fast?’ I wondered as I followed Fei. Despite trying to keep close to her, she was moving with impressive speed. As we neared the source of the lightning she suddenly stopped, forcing me to slam my hooves down in an attempt to stop. Nearly crashing into her as a result. “What’s wro-” I started before seeing what she was looking at.

Trace appeared to be fighting an enraged dire bear. As I stared at Trace though, I couldn’t help but notice something different. Lightning danced around his body in a continuous arc, focusing primarily on his hands, which now bore two glowing marks that looked similar to magic seals. His shirt was in ruins, the tattered remains laying on the ground behind him. As I looked into his eyes, I saw the pupils were gone, leaving two glowing gold spheres.

“The Blessing,” Fei gasped. I blinked and turned to her, remembering Trace talking about that.

“You mean the Blessing of Ramuh? The one on his back?” I asked, she nodded and turned to me.

“Yeah, that’s it.” She looked back at Trace, who had just delivered a kick to the bear’s shoulder before jumping back. “Long ago, black mages sought a way to help make up for their weakness. You see, magic requires a lot of concentration to master, as such, black mage’s often forgo training in physical combat to focus on strengthening their brain. To help make up they pleaded with Bahamut, the Hallowed Father, to grant them power. While he refused to help them with their task, he guided them to his children, Ramuh, Ifrit, and Shiva, the first Espers, and asked them to assist the mortals. To do this, they gave the mages a small fragment of their power, and granted them the ability to use it to focus their magic into physical attacks.” She frowned as she continued to watch Trace, seeing him get knocked back by the Bear’s giant paw.

“Trace carries the mark of Ramuh, granting him the strength of the Esper’s Judgement Bolt. It increases his strength and speed, but in doing so he becomes much more vulnerable to damage.” I winced as Trace landed on his left arm after being batted away by the dire bear. A howl of pain escaped him as he struggled to stand. Baring his fangs, Trace rushed forward and delivered a powerful kick to the bear’s head, the lightning condensing around his leg to send the beast back. It rolled several feet before landing on it’s side, unmoving.

Trace stared at the bear for a moment before turning to us. I watched as his eyes reverted to their normal appearance. “Twi-” He muttered before falling down. I rushed over and checked to make sure he was okay. Thankfully, he was only unconscious, but his wounds looked pretty bad.

A collective gasp caught my attention as everypony entered the clearing. “Rainbow Dash, can you fly ahead to the hospital and tell Emerald to prepare a bed for Trace?” She nodded before taking off. I quickly summoned a stretcher with my magic and levitated Trace onto it. Once I was certain he was secure I levitated him in front of me and galloped out of the forest, everypony else following closely behind.





(Trace)

I groaned in pain as I slowly regained consciousness. I blinked as my eye’s regained focus. I looked around me to find Twilight and her friends staring at me in concern. “I feel like I’ve been smacked around by a mountain troll,” I said as I sat up, feeling a spark of pain shoot through my left arm. ‘Lovely, it’s broken.’ I glanced down to the offending limb, finding it encased in a cast made of some strange green substance, covering my entire forearm and hand, leaving only my fingers exposed.

“A dire bear actually,” Emerald said as he entered the room. “It seems you disturbed it while it was hibernating.” He levitated a medical chart over to me. “You should consider yourself lucky. Only a broken arm and several cracked ribs, other than that and a few bruises here and there you’re fine,” He said as I read over the chart.

“Where’s my belt?” I asked. Twilight’s horn lit up as she levitated it in front of me. I pulled a couple red potions from the pouch and pulled the stoppers out with my teeth. I downed the potions and dropped the vials into the trash can by the bed. “Extra strength healing potions, should help speed up the healing process.”

“Um...” Fluttershy started before looking away nervously. I gave her a questioning look before I remembered what Twilight told me about her.

Crap! “Miss Fluttershy, I’m sorry for attacking the dire bear. I had a bad-” Fluttershy quickly cut me off.

“Actually, Twilight already explained it to us,” she said. I stared wide eyed in shock at her before turning slowly to Twilight.

“I-I’m sorry” Twilight stammered. “I couldn’t think of any other way to tell them. I just-” I my hand on her cheek, stopping her.

“It’s fine Twi, I’m not mad.” In reality, I wanted to be. I wanted to be furious, to scream in rage at her for telling them something so painful for me.

But I couldn’t. The look in her eyes as she tried to explain herself killed any anger I might of had. 

“Was it okay?” I asked. “The dire bear I mean.”

“Yeah actually,” Alex said. “I saw it get up after we started carrying you out of the forest. At most it looked like you dazed it.” 

“Good,” I sighed in relief. I looked around the room once more, seeing Fei sitting on a bench placed up against the wall. I slowly laid myself back down, feeling another spike of pain from my injuries. ‘I really should do something about this.’

I sighed again as I felt my body release the numbing agent, relieving the pain in my arm and chest slightly. “Fei,” I said, gaining the attention of the fox-eared child. “I need to know, why did you follow me?”

Her ears drooped as she stared at the floor. It was several moments later before she, in a quiet tone, answered. “I didn’t want to be alone.”

I blinked.

“I have no family,” she continued, “I’m an only child, my parents are dead, I have no reason to go back to the village.” She began to tear up. “I never really interacted with anyone without you around. And with you gone, I would be replaced as Fangblade.” She tried to continue speaking, but her words were lost as she choked back a sob.

For the first time since I’d met him I could see Matt giving someone a truly sympathetic look. It vanished almost instantly but I could see Alex notice it too.

Without even thinking, I threw the covers off and practically jumped out of the hospital bed. Alex rushed forward to stop me, but I pushed past him, the strength of desperation and love fueling my actions. Alex stopped, then helped me to my task. I walked over and sat down next to Fei and, without a word, pulled her into a tight hug. I let her cry into my chest for a minute, soaking the bandages, before I spoke. “You’re wrong you know.”

She looked up at me, confusion clear on her face. I smiled down at her and turned to Twilight. “Do you still have that paperwork?” She nodded, pulling the papers, a quill, and inkwell out of her saddlebags. I took them and began filling out the paperwork. Everyone watched in silence as I did so, even Fei stopped crying.

“You’re wrong,” I said as I reached the last line. “Because you do have a family.” With a flourish, I finished placing my signature and turned the papers to Fei. 

“Y-you mean it?” she asked, to which I nodded. She looked between me and the paperwork several times, before wrapping her arms around me and burying her face in my chest, crying tears of joy. I ignored the minor pain in my back as I held my newly adopted daughter.

After a few minutes Rarity broke the silence. “Darling, what is that mark on your chest?” she asked, Fei looked down to find the red sigil on her sternum exposed slightly. She gave a small yelp and tightened her kimono.

“It’s something that doesn’t have the best history Rarity,” I said, my tone a bit more forceful than I would have liked. “I don’t think Fei is comfortable with-”

“You can tell them. I-it’d be easier than putting it off,” Fei whispered, still keeping her face hidden.

I sighed and made my way back to my bed, Fei proving to be little trouble in moving with her light weight. “Okay then.” I started. “I’m going to tell you now that the story isn’t pretty, it’s actually pretty dark. I’ll try and keep the details to a minimum but anyone that wants to can leave now.” No one moved.

“Eight years ago I was assigned to track down and deal with a necromancer and a dark knight that had been causing trouble for a small Fox village.” The ponies in the room looked a bit squeamish. “I was assigned along with a red mage named Louis. Twilight, you remember him, right?” She nodded. “I’ll fast forward to keep details down, we arrived and learned that the necromancer had been kidnapping the villagers and using them in experiments.” Everyone, humans included, stared in horror. The only exception was Alex. He merely looked at the ground sadly and shook his head, as if he was recalling some past event. He murmured something about necromancers being far worst than any wizard. “I was able to help Louis get everyone still alive out save for one. A small kit, about twelve years old.” I looked down at Fei, she was practically curling up into a ball at the memories.

“After I dealt with the two by taking out the ruins they were in, I was able to keep the kit, Fei, at a safe distance. She had been fatally wounded by the knight, and I had to tap into darker magic to save her.” I looked at all of them with a dark expression. “I used a powerful form of blood magic to heal her, at the cost of my own blood. The sigil you saw is a side effect of the spell, an eternal reminder of what happened.” Everyone remained silent as they thought over my words.

“That was noble of you,” Rarity said suddenly. “To not only risk your life to save innocents, but to directly put your own health in danger to save the life of a child.” The other ponies nodded slowly in agreement.

After a few more minutes of chatting, Rarity spoke up once more. “Look at the time, I really should get home.” The others nodded in agreement with her once more, muttering their various duties tomorrow. I asked for Alex and Twilight to wait a moment so I could talk to them.

“Hey Twi.” She looked at me. “Would you mind getting a change of clothes for me so I have something to wear when I’m released tomorrow?.” I gave her a small smile as she nodded and trotted to the door. “Fei, can you go with her? I’d like to talk with Alex alone.” She nodded and followed Twilight out.

I kept my smile until I was sure Twilight was out of range, before dropping it and turning to Alex, my expression grim.

“What’d you want to talk about?” he asked cautiously. I sighed and sat up.

“It’s about when I met Fei, I'm not entirely comfortable with Twilight, or anyone really, knowing about what happened, but I've learned that if I keep it pent up it will only get worse.” I sighed as my mind began replaying the memories of that event. “Can you recall what I already told you?”

“You said you had to fight a necromancer and a Dark Knight, then used blood magic to heal Fei using a bit of your own life,” He said.

“Yes, but I should probably tell you a bit more about the knight. His name was Siegfried, the Fangblade of the Black Circle at the time.” My expression darkened further. “He was wanted for the death of not only the Archmage he served under, but nearly twenty new recruits in the order, all under seventeen, all either killed or severely wounded.” My grip in the bed tightened. “When I confronted them, after Louis managed to get everyone but Fei out safely, I asked him, 'why would you do it', kill those recruits, and kidnap the children of the village. Do you know want he said.”

I felt my anger beginning to increase, my voice rising slowly. “He told me, the reason he did it, was because he felt there was no greater experience, than when his blade became coated in their blood.” My anger reached it peak, and I was fighting the urge to shout. “The bastard killed them, and he did it because he wanted to. HE KILLED THEM, AND HE SHOWED NO REMORSE!” My magic rushed as I lost control, causing the light next to me to explode, sending shrapnel flying.

I paid it no mind, I was too caught up in the memories, I held myself as I shook with barely suppressed rage. My mind snapped back into reality as I felt a hand on my shoulder. I look over to find Alex, a small cut on his hand from the shrapnel, and concerned look on his face. “Are you okay?” he asked. I stared for a second in shock, both at him and at myself, it had been over a year since I lost control like that.

“Y-yeah, I'm fine, thanks,” I said weakly, letting my arms drop as I fell back into the bed. “Thank you, Alex.” He nodded, his face still showing concern. He looked out the window, noting the approaching darkness, and began to leave. “Wait!” I said. He stopped and turned. “Please, don't tell Twilight.” He nodded somberly before walking back over and placing his hand on my shoulder.

Hey, Trace. I've always felt it's not the tool, it's the man. I'm glad to know you, a good man,” he said before leaving.

After  few minutes, Twi and Fei came back. “Why is the light off?” Twilight asked. She went to turn it on, only to find the light missing.

“Had a bit of a surge from using the blessing, took out the light,” I said. It wasn’t a complete lie, the sudden burst of energy was most likely from earlier, I just ended up letting it loose after a while.

“Are you okay?” Twilight asked as she started looking me over. I placed my hand on her hoof and gave her a reassuring smile. “Good,” she sighed in relief, placed my clothes on the empty table, and gave me a quick hug. “I’ll come by in the evening, okay?.” I gave her a nod. She made her way out the door but paused as she noticed Fei still near the foot of the bed.

“C-can I stay here with you, dad?” she asked. I smiled and nodded. She smiled and crawled up next to me. I laid down as Twilight gave me one last glance before trotting out. The last thought go through my head before sleep took over was ‘I know my answer.
> Chapter 9
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


THE MAGE’S JUMP
BY GENOSABER
CHAPTER 9


“Move dumbass!” I shouted as I pushed the red mage out the way of a blood bullet. I rolled back into a standing position and drew my knife. “Alright you son of a bitch,” I growled as I faced the vampire, bearing my fangs. “I gonna make you pay for hurting those villagers.” He simply laughed as he readied another bullet.

“Foolish mortal. Do you honestly think you have the power to defeat me?” he said as he launched the bullet. I prepared to jump before a flash of silver flew past me, slicing the crimson orb in half.

“Sorry, I was caught off guard,” The red mage said. Judging from his voice, and the youthful look of his face, he couldn’t be more than maybe sixteen. “You ready?” he asked. I smirked and nodded.

“Lets go!” We shouted in unison, sprinting off in opposite directions. The Vampire growled before tossing a barrage of blood spikes at us. The red mage dodged with ease while I simply blocked my face with my sleeve, letting the enchantments protect me. We stopped once we parallel to the vampire.

“Blizzard!” The red mage shouted, trapping most the Vampires body in ice. He started conjuring another shot before my knife met his still exposed chest, causing him to howl in pain.

“Impudent fool,” He growled weakly as I walked up to him. “You think this will stop me? I am immortal. I am UNSTOP-”

“For fuck’s sake, just die already,” I said, pulling my knife from his chest and chopping his head. “I hate it when they try to monologue.” I shook my head as I turned to the kid. “Not bad newbie.” I put my hand out. “Name’s Trace by the way, Trace Reinhart.”

“Louis, Louis Allens,” He said, taking my hand and shaking it. “So, what do we do with him?” he pointed to the corpse.

“General rule of thumb is to burn the body after you kill,” I said before getting an idea. “Actually, do you have a pair of pliers? There’s an old tradition I just remembered.”

“Can’t believe it’s been nine years,” I muttered as I watched the screen fade. “Heh, I still have that fang.” I sighed and turned to the endless void of my Dreamscape. “Hey asshole! If you’re still here I want some damn answers.” I was met with only silence. I growled and started walking off towards where he showed up the first time.

I got maybe halfway there before a sharp spike of pain shot through my head, forcing a howl of pain out of me. I fell to my knees as my vision blurred as another spike of pain hit me, making me collapse as words began to slowly appear in my vision.

Two... lovers... Kiss...

Another spike, this one weaker, shot up as more words began appearing, each clearer than the last.

A Crying Moon

The toll of bells

A blade of ice

Images began forming with the words, vague at first, but they became clearer over time.

A bronze Necklace

A secret revealed

A maiden in tears running into the forest

Anima... 

I felt anger well up inside me at that, but it was quickly shot down as the visions picked up pace

A ballroom in flames

Chaos running wild

A loved one laying injured in the hospital.

‘Two black dragons stand against each other, as they released the power in their roars I heard two voices shout a single word: ULTIMA!’

The last image I saw before the pain began to fade was two rings, the larger one copper, the smaller silver.

As my vision cleared a pair of black boots stepped in front of me. “Sorry I’m late,” a familiar voice said as he picked me up. “Had some things to take care of.” I glared at the Magus as he waved towards an open door. “I believe you want some answers, come along and I’ll explain.” I frowned but followed him through the door

“What the?” I muttered as I see the other side. It looked like my office at the Cathedral, only... newer. The old wood paneling seemed fresh, and the desk was different, oak I think. I slowly looked around the room until stopping at the Magus, who had taken a seat behind the desk. “Looks like my old office.”

“Technically true, but this is how it was when it was my office,” he said as he tossed his hat onto the hook on the wall. I blinked as I stared at the man.

he was young, maybe mid to late twenties. His onyx hair was tied back in a ponytail just a little past shoulder length. He had a long vertical scar over his left eye. What caught my attention more than anything was his bright red eyes. They were slitted like a dragon’s, and seemed to glow slightly. He smiled as he stood up and drew off his gloves, revealing sharp black nails. He extended his hand towards me “My name is Leonidas Valentine, more commonly known in the history books as-”

“Zero,” I finished, slowly taking his hand. “The most powerful black magic user on record.” His smile widened. “And who would later bind the Black Circle to the Order, becoming the first archmage.” I couldn’t help being a bit amazed. This man founded so many of the principles I’ve helped enforce within the Circle.

“You are correct,” he sighed at sat back down, waving towards the seat next to me. “Sadly I did not come here to partake in a game of trivia. I’ve come to talk about the encroaching threat, the one Lady Shiva warned you of.”

“She said it was nothing too dangerous.” I said with a frown. “But that vision tells me she’s only half-right.” Zero nodded.

“It will be simple at first, but the one doing this will not stop after the first failure. She will continue until she has been directly defeated.” He pulled out a spell book. “Sadly, at your current level you’d die in less than a minute against her.” He began flipping through the tome. “That’s why I’m going to help you.” he stopped on a Spell code I didn’t recognize. “I shall help you master the art of black magic. More than just becoming a magus, I will show you the true path of black magic, that which has been all but lost to the veil of time.”

“...” I was speechless. Not only was I speaking to one of the most well known figures in the history of magic, but he offered to teach me how to master my magic. “I-I would be honored,” I finally managed. His grin returned as he shook my hand once more. “One question though, how do you know this?”

“I can’t say exactly,” He replied with a  shrug. “Lets just say I’ve got an acquaintance from the spirit world keeping an eye on the enemy.” His head suddenly snapped to the clock. “Time to go.” He hit me again, forcing me out of my slumber.

“Son of a-” I muttered as I sat up, rubbing my face with the weird green cast on my arm. I shifted my eyes to the window, seeing the the sun just beginning to rise. I heard a small growl and turned to see Fei looking through her bag. “Something wrong.”

She turned to me, lifting up a simple dress. “All my clothes are still sized for my adult body.” She looked down at the pajamas she had on. “And I can’t keep using illusions, it’ll get tiring after awhile.” I nodded and got out of the bed.

“Easily fixed, I can just bind a resizing enchantment onto them.” I rubbed my chin and looked down at the cast. “Might be a bit difficult with only one hand.” I shrugged. “Oh well. Got a stick of chalk?”

> Chapter 10
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


THE MAGE’S JUMP
BY GENOSABER
CHAPTER 10



(Laura)


‘What happened to you, Croma?’ I wondered as I heard her let out an angered shout as she worked on the Seeds. ‘Trace spoke highly of you in the past. What happened to the Croma that taught him to control his magic? The one that was like an older sister to him.’ I sighed as I looked around the crystalline pool. While it offered me access to this place from the afterlife, I couldn’t move beyond it’s borders. With a final sigh I left the Void and returned to the Spirit realm.

“Anything to report?” Zero asked in a calm tone.

“She seems to be experiencing... difficulties,” I said. Zero smirked as he walked  around the “room” he had constructed in this realm.

“Prefect, that should give me the time I need to prepare Trace,” He said before turning back to me. “Thank for your assistance Laura, I know you care for him.”

“Yes. Though I can’t help but wonder why you have taken part in this,” I sighed. Zero stopped and turned to me, his expression a bit somber.

“Let’s just say I owe his family a great deal,” he muttered before disappearing. 

“Just as he always is, Zero the Enigma,” I muttered before lying down on a cot. “Just what do you have planned for Trace?”




(Trace)


“So the reason Emerald was annoyed was that you didn’t ask him before coating a portion of the floor in chalk.” Twilight raised a brow. “Why did you do that anyway?”

“I was fixing Fei’s clothes, simple resizing enchantment to help them fit her new form,” I replied as I waved my hand to the child in question. Fei ignored me, more concerned with trying to remain unnoticed. “Relax Fei, there’s no reason for you to be afraid of anyone at this party”

“I know, but I just can’t help but be nervous.” She said with a frown, her ears dropping slightly. I gave a faint sigh and picked her up, bringing her to eye level. “What the-” I placed a hand over her mouth to stop her.

“Fei, listen to me. Everything will be fine, you have nothing to fear. I can assure you that everyone at the party will be friendly, and if anyone has a problem they can come to me. Understood” She nodded slowly. I set her back down before continuing. “And besides, I’m sure you’ll get along fine with the children there.” Her eyes widened at that.

"W-what?" she asked in a slight panic, her eyes darting around the area as if the objects of her fear were about to pounce on her. I shrugged before responding.

“Fei, you’ve been given a second chance at having a decent childhood. you’re ten, why not try and make friends with some of the children in town.” I turned to Twilight. “I’m sure the, what did they call themselves, ‘Cutie Mark Crusaders?’” Twilight nodded. “I’m sure they’ll be there, see if they’d want to be friends with you.”

“Fine,” She sighed, her ears twitching. “But what if-” she stopped as I placed a hand on her head, looking down at her with a calm smile. “Sorry, just worrying too much.” She quickly turned and wrapped her arms around me, almost knocking me over. “Thanks... dad.”

This was strange, I hadn’t felt this kind of responsibility for another in years, it's crushing yet it makes me light as a feather. "It's odd, being called that, but I like it. I really do," I said as I gave a hug in return. Fei stepped back and chuckled nervously.

“Yeah, it’ll definitely take some getting used to,” Fei agreed. “But I’m still happy to say it. Now, I know that I have a family again.”

I smiled as I placed my hand on her head and rustled her hair a bit, scratching near her ears. She yelped slightly and started giggling, before quickly knocking my hand away.

Twi looked back with a raised brow. I gestured to Fei to explain.

"...I'm ticklish," she muttered quietly. I raised a brow and moved my hand towards her again. “Stop! I’m ticklish okay!” she half-shouted. “You’re a jerk sometimes, you know that?”

I chuckled and placed my hand back in my pocket. “What kind of father would I didn’t embarrass you once in awhile? And since I can’t really tell any embarrassing stories, I’ll just have to tease you a bit,” I said with a smirk. Twilight giggled and Fei held a pout for a couple seconds before joining in.

“We’re here,” Twi said suddenly. I looked over to her to find we had reached Sugarcube Corner. I looked at one of the windows and saw that the lights had been turned off. I sighed a bit when I noticed a few shadows moving amongst the darkness.

Do they honestly need to do a surprise party? Pinkie said it would just be a few friends.

“You seem to underestimate how the pink one’s mind works,” Zero said, his voice resonating throughout my mind.

“Wait,” I said, stopping Twilight from entering the bakery. I held my index and middle finger up, allowing a small ball of wind to gather. “Aero.” I released the ball in a horizontal slash, cutting the sling the doctors had given me. ‘Though, forced on me would be a better way of putting it.’ I grabbed my shoulder and applied a bit of pressure as my arm hung limply at my side. With a satisfying pop! I felt the tension in my arm fade. “My arm always end up sore as hell when I wear a sling.” I looked down at the green cast, thankful I wasn’t experiencing any itch. “What is this stuff anyway? I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“Gelatinous, Antimicrobial, Ailment-Healing, Cellulose,” Twilight said. “Otherwise known as G.A.A.H.C.. Emerald uses it on patients when healing magic isn’t an option.”

“Gaahc,” I muttered. Mulling it over for a second. “Name leaves an odd taste in my mouth.” Fei took a sniff, giving it a thoughtful look.

“Smells... odd, kinda like those herbal ointments miss Cecilia makes,” she said. I blinked and looked down at the cast for a second before shrugging.

“Ready?” Twilight asked as she placed a hoof on the door. I nodded as I glanced back at the window, just in time to see another silhouette move out of sight.

“SURPRISE!” a small crowd of ponies shouted at nearly eardrum shattering level as we entered the building. I waited for my ears to stop ringing before checking out the situation.

The crowd was more than double what I had expected. A quick glance at Twilight showed she was just as surprised, and the shaking behind me told me Fei had taken to hiding in fright. I pushed her back, keeping a hand on her shoulder. After a second Alex and Matthew walked over to us.

“You have anything to do with this?” I asked.

“Do you really think someone wearing this much armor and weapons thinks a surprise party is a good idea?” Matt shrugs.

“Nope,” he said simply, gesturing to the crowd. “Pinkie thought it’d be easier for you to get used to the town if you met more ponies.” I nodded in understanding.

After a few minutes I had gotten used to the strange ponies and had taken a spot at an empty table. I had just finished talking with a brown earth pony stallion, apparently Pinkie’s “coltfriend,” when I noticed a familiar group of fillies walking over. “Hello girls,” I said, giving them a polite wave. 

“Hi!” they replied in unison, smiling brightly before turning to Fei. She looked up from what I could only assume was a quarter of a blackberry cheesecake, bits of cake around her mouth, and stared back at them, a mix of curiosity and nervousness in her eyes. “Hi,” Sweetie Belle spoke up, smiling at my daughter.

“Uh... hello,” she replied cautiously, eyes darting slightly between the fillies and myself. I gave her a small smile and gestured to the group. “My name’s F-Fei. what’s your’s?”

“I’m Applebloom.”

“Sweetie Belle.”

“I’m Scootaloo”

Sapphire beamed happily, using her odd form of thought projection to make herself known. Fei gave a slight smile, her ears twitching. This seemed to get the fillies’ attention as they looked up towards her head.

“My daughter is a fox,” I stated simply, earning the attention of all five of them.

“She doesn’t really look like a fox,” Scootaloo said. “Except for the ears.”

“I’m a kitsune, a type of fox that can change it’s shape with magic,” Fei replied, finishing off her treat before sitting up and standing beside me. With a small burst of smoke, Fei returned to her true form. I grabbed her clothes and quickly stuffed them back into her bag under the table. “There,” she said, now looking up at the crusaders.

“Fei, why don’t you go play with your new friends,” I said absently. The kit looked back at me, unsure of what to do. “Go on, shoo,” Fei sighed and followed them as they trotted off towards the other end of the bakery. I turned back to the table and prepared to take a bite out of the chocolate chip muffin I had until-

“Ahem.”

I turned around to find Emerald, the annoyed look on his face matching my own. “Mr. Trace, do you humans have something against slings?” he asked, lifting up the aforementioned item with his magic.

“Yes,” I deadpanned, quickly taking a bite out of my muffin. ‘A little too sweet for my tastes, but still quite good’. “Slings tend to irritate my shoulder. If I wear one too long it becomes hard to move my entire arm,” I explained while taking a second bite.

“Well of course it does. Your shoulder becomes stiff because the muscles need to rest while the rest of the arm heals itself. Constant movement disrupts blood flow, so the body restricts movement in the tendons. As for the irritation, what is that saying? ‘It has to hurt before it gets better’,” the doctor continued.

“I get it, doc,” I finished the muffin and took a sip of water. “I’m guessing one of the other humans avoided wearing a sling, so the nurse chose to use one that proved difficult to put on or take off. It would have been hard to remove it without irritating my shoulder any more than it was from just wearing the damned thing.” Emerald opened his mouth to retaliate, but I cut him off. “Before you try and lecture me again, I was smacked around like a ragdoll less than twenty four hours ago, my head is still hurting a bit from that. So if you want to lecture me on something, drop by the library tomorrow, because honestly, I’d like to go the day without feeling the urge to rip someone's head off!” my voice took an edge at the last few words, making Emerald flinch. He nodded reluctantly and trotted away.

Matt tapped me on my uninjured shoulder and handed me a slice of apple pie. “Do me a favor, cut him some slack. He’s got it a lot rougher than you’d think and doesn’t deserve to be shouted down by people he’s got no reason to help,” he said before heading off after the dear doctor.

“Something wrong?” Twilight asked as she sat down beside me. I sighed and rubbed my temples before replying.

“I’m still not feeling too great after that little run-in with the dire bear. I snapped at Emerald.” Twilight frowned. “I’ll apologize later, right now I can't bring myself to do so.” She nodded, her frown lifting slightly.

We remained silent for a moment before Twilight spoke up. “There’s something I want to talk to you about,” she said nervously.

“Yeah, same here actually,” I replied, My tone no less nervous. I had an idea of what she was going to say, so I figured it’d be best to get it over with. “On three?” I asked, earning a confused look from Twilight. “On the count of three, we say what we want to say.” 

Twilight nodded. “All right.” I held up a hand and started counting silently. one... two... three-

“I love you.” We both stared at each other for a second, giving me time to notice the light blush on her face. Slowly, we smiled at one another as Twilight moved closer, before taking me by surprise and quickly me into a kiss, just as she’d done when we first arrived. I placed my hand on her withers and held myself in the kiss, taking in the feeling of her emotions, the taste on her lips, and the pleasant scent I could smell from her mane.

A familiar mock gag drew our attention, snapping us out of our trance and making us turn to find most of the guests staring at us. Most of the ponies looked with either indifference or slight interest,  but there were a few that stood out.

Twilight’s friends, as well as the crusaders all had positive expressions. Alex and Matt both smiled honestly, Alex giving a nod of approval. Emerald’s was odd, for a split second his looked... upset, but he quickly gave a smile. Spike had a look of mild of mild annoyance, but gave a small, honest smile all the same. The girls seemed to have varying degrees of happiness. Pinkie and the the fillies seemed to be most noticeable, as they appeared to be having a hard time standing still.

They hopped around us chanting, "He's a special some-monkey! He's a special some-monkey! He's a special some-monkey!" I let out a small chuckle at the crusaders’ words, Fei and Twi started laughing as well after a second.

Rainbow Dash calmly walked up to the table, her smile more relaxed than that of the fillies. "So, you and this guy, eh? Don't blame ya. If he’s half as awesome as Alex, you'll be real happy." Twilight smiled while I let out an amused snort. Glancing at the humans, I noticed Alex laughing slightly. Matt had a look of quiet contemplation on his face that I’d have never expected to see, or maybe it was a case of gas. Judging on how he snuck off towards the exit it was probably gas.

"We need a 'Twilight's not an old maid anymore!' party!!" Pinkie exclaimed. I bit back my laughter as Twi glared at her.

“Pinkie, I’m only two years older than you,” she deadpanned. everyone else chuckled before slowly drifting back into the party. I wrapped my arm around Twilight, planting a small kiss on her cheek. After sitting there for a minute I started to stand. “Something the matter?” she asked with a small hint of concern.

“No, just thinking about going outside for some fresh air,” I said, giving her a reassuring smile. “You’re more than welcome to join me.” Her smile was all I need for confirmation. After minute we found ourselves sitting on a bench a short walk away from the bakery, Twilight leaning comfortably against me, my hand running through her mane.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” I said absently, staring up at the clear sky. Twilight looked up at the sky and smiled.

“Yeah, it is,” she said, before shivering slightly as a cold breeze passed up by. I wrapped my arm around her tightly and summoned a small ball of flame, letting it float calmly in front of us. I returned to watching the sky while I held the mare I loved in my arms, seeing the first few stars appear.

I returned to running my hand through her mane after a second, feeling perfectly content to just sit here for the rest of the party. I hadn’t felt this calm in a long time. Sitting under the night sky, someone I loved in my arms, it was nice, not having to worry about anything lurking in the darkness, just enjoying each other’s company. Eventually I heard a sigh, I craned my neck back to find Matt sitting on the roof above me with an amused smirk.

“I came out here to watch the show put on by the Princesses. I didn’t think I’d be interrupting anyone. Want me to give you two some privacy or are you headed out?”

“We were just taking a break from the party, we’ll be heading back inside in a second,” I replied calmly, slowly rising from my seat. “Besides, I need to apologize to Emerald for my tone earlier.” With that, we headed back inside.





(Later)


“That was fun,” I said simply as I followed Twilight back to the library, the little bundle of fur I call my daughter in my arms. Twilight smiled as she trotted up to the door. We made our way upstairs, Twilight taking the sleeping dragon off her back and placing him gently into his basket. I set Fei down in a similar one nearby.

Turning to Twilight, I saw her writing something into her diary. “Think I’ll take a quick shower,” I said, making my way to the lower section on the room. Twi gave a quick glance at me and nodded with a smile before returning to her task.

By the time I had gotten out she was already asleep. I carefully slid in next to her, placing my injured hand on her chest. She moved closer to me, placing her hooves over my hand. “Codladh go maith, mo ghrá, (Sleep well, my love)” I whispered before laying down and falling asleep beside her.
> Interlude: History's Mistakes
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


THE MAGE'S JUMP
BY GENOSABER
INTERLUDE: HISTORY'S MISTAKES


Long ago, an old man called his three children to him on his death bed. Once present, he asked them each a simple question, “What is the most powerful tool a person has, and how do they make it stronger?”

The oldest, a well built man named Jedrek, knowing that his father was a proud and honored warrior in his youth, answered that it was the body that was the most powerful, and that the only way to improve it was through constant training.

The second, a slender young man named Aldwyn, having spent many hours in his father’s library reading the countless tomes he had amassed over the years, argued that is was in fact not the body, but the mind, and it could only be improved through studying.

Lastly, the youngest, a beautiful young lady named Ashia, told her brothers they were both wrong, and that it was the spirit, which could only be strengthened through both the body and mind. The brothers however, dismissed their fair sister, believing she was still too young to know the right answer.

After their father’s passing, the three siblings split the inheritance and went their separate ways. Jedrak would go to lead the city guard, following his belief in strengthening the body through combat. Aldwyn went to work at the central library, donating his father’s rarer books to it’s already vast collection. Ashia however, chose to live a simple life, buying a house in the poorer district of the city and giving most of her money to the less fortunate.

Every day she would rise and go for a light jog before going to help the farmers outside the city. Every night she would return home to read through one of the books her brother had given her. The brothers paid little attention to their younger sister, normally only speaking to her when she would visit them. Despite this, they both cared deeply for her and swore to always be there for if she needed anything. Everything remained as it was until one day, the sister vanished.

The brothers went into a panic, searching through the city and surrounding countryside for their sister, but alas, they could find no trace of her. Saddened over the loss of their younger sibling, the brothers made amends over the past and eventually opened a school, naming it “Ashia Academy” in their sister’s honor. 

They continued their paths, one training students to become soldiers, while the other taught young minds the ways of the scholar. Everything seemed at ease with the brothers until one day, ten years since their dear sister’s disappearance, they heard of a strange figure had arrived in town. 

Deciding to see what all the commotion was about, the brothers headed to the market district to find, to their shock, that the figure was none other than their dear sister.

The sister explained to her brothers that she had left town in the dead of night after reading a passage from their father’s journal about a powerful and wise creature living on the southern continent. She had travelled for nearly a year before reaching her destination, a giant mountain located in the center of the continent. Within, she found none other than the legendary dragon Bahamut.

Astonished by her discovery, the brothers listened intently as she went on to tell them of how she spent the next nine years learning everything she could from the dragon king, including his teachings in the fabled art of magic. In the end, she was given a tome containing knowledge of spells to further her teachings and pass them on to younger minds, and a new name: Matoya to signify her rebirth as a mage.

Jedrek, though skeptical of the idea of magic, was overjoyed to see his sister once again, and offered her both a place in his home and the position as headmistress of the academy. Aldwyn agreed wholeheartedly, no less happy to see his younger sibling return. Over time though, the scholarly brother became interested in his sister’s newfound wisdom and talents, spending much of his free time watching her teach students how to not only bend the elements to their whim, but also harness the powers of the magic around them to heal others.

Over the next fifteen years Aldwyn would pour every waking moment of free time he had into studying and understanding the magic Matoya practiced. While he himself was unable to harness the power his sister had, he managed to develop his own abilities, using the power of his mind to manipulate the world around him. Despite his discovery, Aldwyn’s hunger for knowledge only grew, becoming a lust for power and eventually, dissolving into madness.

On the thirtieth anniversary of their father’s death, Aldwyn challenged his brother to a duel intent on proving he was right all those years ago. Though he was concerned for his brother’s state of mind, Jedrek knew their was no turning back on the challenge and accepted.

The battle between the brothers was fierce and though Jedrek held his own from quite some time, in the end he proved no match for Aldwyn’s powers. Unfortunately, the mad brother didn’t let it end at his older sibling’s defeat, using the darkest skill he had developed, Aldwyn used his power to render his brother brain dead.

Not long after, Matoya learned of what had happened. Distraught, she vowed to avenge Jedrek and bring Aldwyn to justice. She spent the next several days locked away, going over every spell she had learned under Bahamut’s tutelage until finally, she felt she was ready to confront her brother for the crime he had committed.



Twilight blinked in confusion as she turned the page, only to find the final page in the book missing. The only thing she could find was a picture on the other side of the page featuring two figures whom she could only assume were Aldwyn and Matoya, preparing to fight each other. “Hey Trace, what happened to this book?” She asked has the mage entered the bedroom.

“Hmm?” He leaned over and started at the open book for several seconds before shrugging. “Legends and Fables of Cardia? Probably got damaged during Arcana’s childhood, she managed to pull down a few of my books and ended up tearing a few pages out of them. I think I replaced most of them, but that book is pretty rare, been in my family for generations, so I just decided to hold on to it, no sense in throwing it away over one story being incomplete.”

“Oh,” Twilight said, her ears folding back in disappointment. “You wouldn’t happen to know the rest of the story, would you?”

Trace chuckled and faced his marefriend with a grin. “Not word for word, but I can give you a summary of what happened.” He slid into the bed beside Twilight, staring at the picture for a second before speaking again, “Well, Aldwyn had been expecting Matoya to challenge him, knowing how close she was to Jedrek. The fight that ensued when they met again was fierce. Most scholars claim that it might have lasted for over a day, but in the end, Matoya won, launching Aldwyn off a cliff, resulting in his death.”

Twilight stared at him in horror. “Couldn’t she have saved him? Try to find a way to repair the damage done to his mind?”

Trace just shook his head, “He was too far gone, using the mind break is a double edged sword, it not only destroys the target's mind, but does irreversible damage to the caster’s as well. Even if she had tried, it would have only been prolonging the inevitable.” He looked down at her, “She was heartbroken at what she did, despite knowing it was the only answer. Not long after she had helped bury her brothers did she leave the city, travelling to the harsh wilds of northern Cardia.

“What they don’t mention though, is that the brothers had both started a family.” He rubbed his chin in thought, “Jedrek’s family would later become known under the clan name Ryder. Much like their founder they focus on physical strength, very few of the current generation have any magic at all, and those that do put as little practice as possible into it. Aldwyn’s however were ashamed by his actions, swearing to never practice such dark talents as those he had created. They later became rather well known, one head of the clan being an advisor to the last King before the monarchy disbanded.” He sighed and leaned back, staring at the ceiling thoughtfully.

“And their name?” Twilight asked. Trace looked back down at the mare, a calm smile gracing his lips.

“Reinhart.”
> Chapter 11
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


THE MAGE’S JUMP
BY GENOSABER
CHAPTER 11


As I awoke my first conscious action was to squeeze my eyes shut. It didn't help, but it gave me illusion of striking at the light. As my closed eyes adjusted to the light, I thanked Grian, quickly correcting myself and thanking Celestia for the curtain that diffused the light streaming in from the window. Her scent made me recall where I was and made my heart glad. I sighed as I sat up, thankful for the small curtain blocking most of the sunlight from entering the room this early. I couldn’t help but smile as I looked beside me, seeing the sleeping form of my marefriend. ‘Still feels weird to say that.’ I chuckled quietly before leaning down a planting a small kiss on her cheek. After a minute I finally decide to get up and make breakfast.

Once I had gotten dressed I made my way down to the kitchen. As I started fixing an omelette I couldn’t help but sigh at the small workstation. The stove only had two burners and the oven wasn’t much better, being almost half that of a normal one. “I should ask Twilight if she’d be okay with me buying a larger stove,” I muttered as I started up the second burner, adding a few slices of bacon into a skillet. ‘I can’t thank Alex enough for showing me where I could buy some meat.  I'm glad I didn't have to go through the same pet food phase he did.’ I turned the flames down to let the food cook slowly before setting a pot of water over the small fireplace to boil.

“Good morning,” Twilight said with a yawn as she trotted into the kitchen. I smiled as I turned to greet her, noticing her mane was still a bit unkempt.

“If it isn’t the most beautiful mare in the world,” I said as she walked over and stood on her hind legs, keeping a hoof on my shoulder for support. She smiled for a second before leaning forward and joining our lips in a kiss. 

I welcomed her joyfully, placing a hand on her back while letting the other run through her mane. Twilight acted in kind, wrapping her hooves around me and pulling herself closer.

“Ugh, do you two have to do that every morning?” Fei groaned as she and Spike made their way past the kitchen. We ignored them, holding the kiss for a moment longer before finally separating.

“How’s your hand?” Twilight asked as she returned to her usual stance. In response I raised my left hand, staring at the appendage before closing it into a fist.

“A little stiff, but definitely better than last night,” I replied. It had only taken a few days for my arm to heal, and we had just removed the cast last night. Twilight gave a small smile before turning towards the doorway. “Hey Twi,” I said, making her pause and look back. “You want to split this omelette, seems I wasn’t paying attention and made one big enough to feed two people.” Twilight smiled again and nodded before heading into the main room. I took the omelette off and set it to the side before following Twilight.

Stopping in the doorway, I leaned into the room and looked over at Spike and Fei. “Anything you two would like for breakfast?”

“Chocolate chip pancakes,” Fei said with a grin, earning a quick nod from Spike.

I chuckled and shook my head. “Sure thing. Guessing you’ll want some crushed gems in yours Spike?” The little dragon nodded his head eagerly. I gave one last smile before heading back into the kitchen.

A little while later we were all seated at one of the tables enjoying our breakfast. Spike and Fei were happily digging into their pancakes while Twilight and I calmly ate our omelette, sharing a small smile at the sight before us. Twilight’s expression turned somewhat squeamish once I started eating my bacon, turning her head and muttering a small request that I brush my teeth once I was done.

“I ran into Miss Cheerilee yesterday,” I said, breaking the silence. “She’ll be dropping by tomorrow to discuss plans to have you enrolled once school starts back up in the Spring.”

“W-what!?” she shouted, staring at me wide eyed. I sighed and gave her a comforting look.

“Fei, you need to get an education. While Twilight has agreed to help you with learning about both Equestria and Gaia, you also need to get over your shyness.” I reached over and placed my hand on her head. “I asked Cheerilee to come by later so we could discuss how to handle this situation, and so you’d be able to get to know her a bit, okay?”

“But, what if the other students pick on me?” I stared at her for a second as my brain tried to process what she just said. Fei, former fangblade of the Black Circle, afraid of getting picked on?

‘She’s definitely getting into the whole “being a kid again” aspect of her life.’ I gave a small grin. “The Crusaders will be there to help you out if that happens, and if they still don’t stop, let me know. I’ll have a talk with their parents.”

She gave me a deadpan look. “You really think that’ll work?”

“Oh, I’m sure a little talk with their parents will work, if my history is any evidence,” I said, my smile widening enough to show my fangs.

Twilight cleared her throat, “Parents usually do a pretty good job of handling their foals in regard to bullying, so a simple chat with them should clear up any problems Fei might have.”

“Sorry Twi, still getting used to how different ponies are compared to humans at times. Not to mention I’ve always been rather protective of children in my care,” I said, giving my daughter a loving smile. 

Fei gave a small smile of her own, letting the topic drop for now as we returned to our meal. Once everyone finished Twilight took the dishes into the kitchen, opting to clean them while Fei and Spike found something to occupy their time. I followed Twilight to help out. Once we were done, I stuck in the room, enjoying a second cup of coffee with Twilight, but I couldn’t help but notice Twilight glancing at me oddly when my attention was elsewhere, then looking away when I looked at her.

“Something wrong?” I asked her, pouring myself another cup of coffee.

“N-no!” Twilight said quickly, a blush forming on her face. “It’s just, the way you’re dressed.” I blinked and looked down, immediately realizing what she was talking about.

Rather than the simple shirt and jeans I’d normally worn, I was dressed in a short sleeved buttoned shirt, waistcoat, and slacks. “Huh, wasn’t even paying attention when I got dressed, haven’t worn these in years,” I mused, glancing back at Twilight. “I know it’s not my best clothing, but if you think it’s bad-”

“Not at all!” Twilight quickly shouted, her blush becoming more prominent. “Actually, you look very handsome.”

I smiled and pulled Twilight into my arms, forcing her to stand on her hind legs again. “Guess I’ll have to start dressing like this more often.” Twilight gave a small laugh before leaning into me, laying her head on my shoulder as her forelegs wrapped around me. I tightened my hold on her, closing my eyes and blocking out the rest of the world as I took comfort in the feeling of holding someone I loved so dearly again.

“Uh, dad?” Fei called, breaking me from my trance. I opened my eyes to find her standing in the doorway. “Don’t want to interupt, but weren’t you planning on meeting up with Matt soon?” I raised a brow, turning my head to check the clock.

“You’re right,” I said, giving Twilight a quick kiss on the cheek before releasing my hold on her. Once she was back on all fours I wasted no time hurrying out of the library.



I groaned as I dropped onto the bench, rubbing the sides of my head as I felt a small headache forming.

“Are you okay? You look like you’ve been having trouble sleeping,” Matt said as he walked over.

“I’ve been sleeping just fine,” I sighed. “Better than I have in years actually, turns out cuddling with a pony is a damn good cure for insomnia.” I let out another sigh as I looked up at him. “The problem has to do with money. I’ve been going over my current savings, along with the cost of things like food, from what I can tell I should be able to last a few months at least, a year tops. However that doesn’t entirely factor in my daughter’s appetite, every time she transforms she needs to eat enough to cover the increase in mass.” I leaned back on the bench. “In other words, I need a job. Sadly not many places are hiring, and the few that are at the moment are outside my skill set.” 

“... telling you Dash, she’s just a high energy kid. They all are,” a familiar voice said behind me.

“Yeah, but they keep causing property damage, Alex. That store front window ain’t cheap. With almost all your cash tied into the theatre, my pay is getting thin, you know?” I turned my head to find Alex and Rainbow Dash walking towards us, the mare directing a tired, somewhat annoyed look at her husband.

“Sweetheart, I’ll have another talk with Rarity and AJ, and all of us, kids included, can see-” Alex stopped and looked up, as if noticing Matt and I for the first time. “Hi Trace, Matt. How are you guys doing?”

“Hey Alex, hi Rainbow. As a matter of fact, Trace was just telling me about a problem he’s been having,” Matt said, causing them to turn their attention to me. 

“To summarize it: daughter eats too much, need a job, nowhere I can think of that’d I’d be able to work due to a somewhat limited list of skills,” I explained.

“Well, what’d you do back on, what was is called? Gaia?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Other than my position in the Order, I worked as an enchanter and potion maker. Last I checked this town already has a zebra working in potions, and from the research I’ve done, enchanting isn’t that profitable, least not the kind I excel in.” I sighed and slumped in my seat.

“What about something from your world that doesn’t exist here in Equestria?” Alex offered. I stared up at him in curiosity as his words sunk in.

Why didn’t I think of that option? It’s not like it would be that hard, I have plenty of knowledge on subjects from both Cardian and Elven culture, mostly culinary with the latter but still, I could always introduce something to this world. Outside of food and drinks, I knew of a decent number of Elven songs and stories I could have modified to fit in this world, or possibly-


I was pulled from my thoughts as a familiar light purple coat appeared out of the corner of my eye. “Miss Punch!” I called out, stopping her. “I’ve been meaning to ask, you wouldn’t happen to carry mead at the Grain Bucket, would you?” 

“What?” She asked with a raised brow.

“Mead. Wine made from honey instead of grapes. Do you have it?” I said the last few words slowly, my stress causing a bit of annoyance to worm it’s way into my voice.

“I would suggest another trip to the forest, but I’d rather you didn’t earn another trip to the hospital so soon.”

‘Piss off Zero, I’m in no mood to deal with you at the moment.’

“Sorry, never heard of it,” Berry Punch finally responded before turning and continuing on her path.

“You okay dude?” Rainbow Dash asked. I paid her no mind as I took a quick glance at the clock tower before rising and heading towards the market district of town.

“Tell everyone to come to the library in about three hours!” I called back, not slowing down as my brain went through my plan.



“So, do you mind explaining what it is you plan on doing?” Emerald asked as I finished drawing a simple three point ritual circle next to the library. I sighed as I placed a five gallon wine barrel in the center, before turning to find everyone staring at me in confusion.

“Nothing much, just messing with the passage of time,” I said nonchalantly, reaching into my hat and pulling out a trio of staves wrapped in cloth.

"You notice I have to submit a writ for an investigation to make sure you are not violating the space time continuum. Also, Twilight will be heading the investigation," the good doctor replied plainly. I stopped and stared at him with a raised brow.

“Okay, first off, it’s nothing that big, I’m just using a simple ritual based around the haste spell,” I said as I grabbed my spellbook from off the ground and opened it to the page detailing the spell in question. “It’s basic chronomancy, all it does is increase the speed of a target, be it the caster or an ally. I showed Twilight a demonstration back on Gaia when I was able to reserve a training room for a day.” I turned the book over and showed it to him. “The ritual will instead cause the contents of the barrel to age faster than normal, nothing else will be affected.”

“Have you at least asked Twilight for approval?” He asked. I turned to Twilight in response.

“You haven’t made any objections, so I’m going to assume it’s okay?”

Twilight nodded. “I’ve looked over the spell before, as far as I can tell it’s perfectly safe.”

I nodded and turned back towards the circle. I channeled a bit of magic into it, forcing it ‘closed’. Once that was done, I began placing the staves. The first two were simple, nothing more than quarterstaves with a crystal attached to the top, allowing it to focus magic to a certain point. The third one was a bit more complex, the top featuring a brass ring holding an hourglass surrounded by several flat discs covered in old runes. I carefully rotated the discs, setting the spell to move forward six months. Once that was done, I placed the staff onto the last point of the circle, feeling a spark of energy as it connected, before moving to the other side of the circle. I took a deep breath, exhaling slowly as I raised my hands to the channeling staves.

Open, gate of time: Haste.

As soon as I attempted to draw in magic for the spell, I was hit by a massive wave of raw magic, threatening to break my control over the spell. Gritting my teeth, I pushed back, reeling in the magic and directing it into the seal.

“Trace, stop! At the rate this is going you'll risk an overcharge.” I ignored Zero’s warning, pushing further until a perfect link had been formed. As the timer reached three months, I began having trouble standing, nearly dropping to my knees for a second. I could vaguely hear someone shout my name as I tasted a small amount of blood. ‘Just a little more.’

With a click! the timer stopped, breaking the seal and making the released energy throw me back a couple feet. As I tried to get my thoughts together, a purple blur entered my vision.

“Are you okay!?” I heard Twilight’s voice ask, her face coming into focus a second or two later. I stared at her as I tried to process what must happened, her beautiful eyes staring back worriedly.

“I-I’m fine,” I finally managed to say. “Someone mind helping me inside?” In response I felt myself lifted up as someone- judging by the sudden pained energy I felt, it had to be Matt- put himself under my arm as support. A moment later I was carefully dropped onto the couch.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Twilight said as she walked over to me, a glass of water floating beside her. I took the glass and downed about half of it before answering.

“Yes I’m fine, just experiencing the side effects of an overcharge,” I said slowly. “Fei, can you get me potion number thirty seven?” She complied, handing me a glass flask covered with cloth. With a hint of disdain I downed the contents.

After spending a few minutes trying to hold back the vile contents of the flask, I decided I had waited long enough to explain. “An overcharge is an effect when a magic user draws in magic from the world around him. More specifically, when they pull in more than their body can handle. Generally it grants a boost in our magic, but at the cost of making us feel like utter crap for a while afterwards if we’re not careful. I, however, don’t really get the benefits, due to already an abnormally high level of magical energy, as well as my increased sensitivity to magic, that’s where this come in,” I said, pouring what little of the thick black substance was left onto the table. 

“This sludge is a special potion designed for restricting a person’s magic for a period of time, normally used on prisoners, I take the stuff when I end up getting an overcharge.” I pulled the cloth off the bottle and wiped up the tiny puddle before tossing both the rag and flask into the trash. “Only downsides are that it tastes as bad as gysahl pickles smell.” I ignored the looks of confusion from everyone present as I continued, “And I’m stuck without pretty much all my magic for the next… thirteen hours or so.” 

After a moment Alex walked in with the barrel and still smoking staves, placing them against the wall before bringing the barrel over to me. I wordlessly removed the cork and carefully poured the Golden liquid into my glass.

‘Time to see if it turned out alright.’ Gingerly, I brought the glass to my lips and took a sip...

“It’s good, better than I expected it to be,” I said, honestly surprised by how it turned out. Twilight lifted the glass from my hand before bringing it to her own lips.

“You’re right, it’s good, very sweet,” she said, taking another drink from it. Deciding I wasn’t going to get that back, I made my way into the kitchen and collected several glasses before retrieving a wooden tap from my hat and returning to my seat.

“May I try it?” I handed Alex a glass in response. “Very nice. I still can’t stand the stuff, but this is very good.” The ponies gave various sounds of agreement as they drank their own glasses, methods ranging from Applejack and Rainbow Dash downing it like cheap ale to Rarity and Fluttershy treating like a fine wine, carefully taking sips from the glass without making a sound.

“Y’know dad, with your skills you could probably open a meadery,” Fei piped up, earning everyone’s attention. 

‘...Why hadn’t I thought of that of that?’

“Because you’ve been too stressed to think clearly.”

“Fei, you’re a genius!” I exclaimed, grabbing my daughter and holding up in my arms with a grin. Fei, for her part, simply hung limply, trying to process my actions. “But just plain mead won’t be enough, need something else.” I began going over the different variants I knew of before one stuck out. “Of course!” I placed Fei on the ground before reaching back into my hat, this time producing an old wine bottle and a corkscrew.

After opening the bottle, I quickly poured two glasses and passed them to Alex and Applejack. “Drink.” The mare stared at me like I was mad, while Alex eyed the glass warily. I rolled my eyes and took a drink from the bottle. “Drink,” I repeated, giving them both a half-hearted glare.

After a second Applejack shrugged downed her glass. “...Doesn’t taste much different, though I can tell there’s somethin’ added… apples?” she asked,.

“Aye,” I said with a nod. “This is a type of mead know as cyser, same basic recipe, except it uses cider instead of water, so it’s like a mix between mead and hard cider.”

“I think I can see what you’re getting at, you could sell a plain version using this recipe,” Alex said, tapping the barrel, “As well as one using cider from Sweet Apple Acres.” I grinned and nodded.

“Exactly. You see, I’ve done a bit of research recently, and from what I could find, Sweet Apple Acres is pretty well known throughout Equestria, correct?” Applejack gave a slow nod. “Right, well I see this as a way to benefit both of us. Since most ponies seem to already know of your apples, if they see a bottle of cyser that claims to use fresh cider from Sweet Apple Acres, they might be more interested in buying it. In exchange for your cider, I will give you and your family a decent cut of the total profits.”

Applejack rubbed her chin in thought. “I reckon that’s sounds fair, but have you thought about what you’ll do if this doesn’t go as planned?”

My expression turned somber. “In the event that this fails, I will do everything in my power to ensure I am the only one that suffers any major effects, I will do what I can to pay off everyone involved, no matter how much it hurts me.” The ponies in the room stared at me in shock. “I will still find a way to cover my day to day costs, but I can’t feel comfortable leaving debts lying around.”

“I’d be happy to help you financially, and you won’t have to worry repaying me if it all goes south, think of it as a gift.” I turned Alex and prepared to deny him, but I could tell by look in his eyes he wasn’t about to take no for an answer, so i just gave a simple nod. “Good. Now, I can’t offer much, since I’m currently tied up with the theater…” He leaned over and whispered something to his wife, earning a nod. “How’s a hundred thousand bits sound?” No sooner did the words leave his mouth did several jaws in the room, Twilight’s and my own included, drop.

“...” My mouth moved silently as I tried to find a response. “Alex, I was able to make just this batch,” I pointed to the barrel, “With what was basically pocket change. That single batch could make at least twenty bottles, what you’re offering is along the lines of payment for a building to work out of.”

“So I’ll take that as a yes?” I nodded silently, still too stunned to come up with any real response. I closed my eyes and took a moment to collect myself before I continued.

“That just leaves one thing if I’m going to make this work,” I sighed and sat back down, “I can’t do this alone, it would become too much work for me to handle, and I‘d like to know if any of you would be able to work with me?”

“Well, it would give me a source of income other than being a musical sideshow act… Best case scenario I end up sitting on a bar stool ‘taste testing,’ at the very least it’s a change of pace, sign me up.” Matt said.

I gave a tired smile, “Thank you,” I sighed before standing. “Come by tomorrow morning if you can, I’ll show you what to do. For now, I’m going to go look into some things around town.”




“I was thinking we make this stuff in twenty five gallon batches,” I told Matt as I showed him how to bottle and cork a batch of mead. “That’ll make about a hundred bottle each, we can make two or three for every batch we sell.” I set the bottle aside before taking the next barrel of the smaller magic circle I had set up in the basement. After the little incident yesterday with my original circle I decided to set up a smaller one that worked independently, all I had to do was reset the timer each time.

“Sounds like a good idea, are you sure we’ll be able to cover the costs?” He asked, he would grab a bottle from the pile and toss it end over end before catching it by the neck and sliding it onto the wine rack, I wasn’t sure if I should be nervous or impressed that he managed to do so without seeming to pay any attention to what he was actually doing.

“Luckily Barnyard Bargains has bottles and corks in bulk, yeast is pretty cheap, and I met with Miss Honeydew this morning, she’s agreed to come by to negotiate a deal once the paperwork was cleared.” A knock from upstairs drew my attention. “Yes?”

“Miss Cheerilee’s here,” Fei responded, poking her head into the basement.

“Think we can hold off on this last one till I’m done talking with her?” I asked, turning back to Matt.

“Sure, if you think you can handle the school teacher alone I’ll head on down to City Hall for the next truckload of paperwork.” I nodded and headed up stairs, Matt following right behind me.

“Miss Cheerilee!” I said with a grin as I entered the main room, “Thank you so much for dropping by, can I get you something to drink?”

She smiled at my entry, “Thank you, but I’m fine. You mentioned when we talked yesterday?” She asked, taking a seat at the center table.

I picked Fei up and joined her. “Yes. It actually concerns her age.” The mare tilted her head in confusion. I sighed and rubbed my temples. “I’ll be blunt, prior to going through the portal, Fei was an adult. She was changed into a child due to a problem caused by her natural fox magic reacting to the magic used to create the portal. I was given the adoption papers when I sent a letter to Princess Celestia concerning her appearance in this world.”

I looked at my daughter and smiled. “I chose to sign them because for one, I wanted to provide her with something she lost a long time ago, a family. And I’ve always wanted to be a parent.” Fei returned my smile before wrapping her arms around me in a hug. “I wanted to tell you because, well, Fei is still adjusting to being a child, she’ll likely act older than she currently is at times, and I wanted to make sure she wouldn’t be treated differently than the other students.”

“Trace Reinhart,” she said in a firm, but gentle voice, “I can assure you, no matter the circumstance behind your daughter’s current state, I will treat her the same as I treat all my students. Honestly, I’m surprised you would even ask that.”

I rubbed the back of my head nervously, “Sorry, guess you could say I’m a bit paranoid.” She just chuckled and waved a hoof dismissively. “Since that’s out of the way, I suppose we should move on to discussing what my daughter will need to get caught up on before she enrolls into your class in the Spring.”

“Of course,” she replied, taking a sheet of paper out of her saddlebags. “I brought along a list of the subjects we’ve covered last semester. I assume you will be able to provide a tutor? No offense Trace Reinhart, but it might be best if she was taught by somepony more familiar with this world.”

“Understandable,” I said, giving her a polite smile. “I was planning on asking Twilight, but I’ve been working since this morning and haven’t gotten the chance.”

“I’d be happy to, as long as Fei’s okay with it.” I turned my head to find Twilight descending the stairs, her mane still in a slight mess.

“Spend an unknown time with someone I know and trust, or find a pony I’ve never met before to teach me this stuff, those are my options?” Fei said, pausing for a second before dashing over to Twilight. Twilight stumbled slightly as Fei charged into her, throwing her arms around the mare’s neck. “Yes. Please. Thank you.”

I chuckled for a second before turning back to Cheerilee. “Anything else we need to go over?”

She paused for a second before answering “Just two things. I have a few tests mentioned on the sheet I’d like your daughter to take, Twilight can pick them up when she feels Fei is ready. Also, is she able to use magic?”

“Yes, but not in the same way a pony does, I have a decent understanding of how it works, so I’ll be helping Twilight keep an eye on her progress.” 

“Well, that covers just about everything,” Cheerilee said as she stood up, making her way towards the door. “Good day Twilight, Trace Reinhart.” She got up and grinned, "I must say, I'm very excited to have your daughter as a student and I know she will fit in perfectly." 

“Thank you Miss Cheerilee, but please, just call me Trace.” She smiled and nodded before leaving. Once the door closed I slumped down in the nearest couch, a small slice of dread worming it’s way into my thoughts as I remembered what Matt left to get. ‘Paperwork, one thing I never look forward to… maybe I can get a quick nap before he returns.’

No sooner did that thought pass through my head did the door open to reveal Matt carrying two large stacks of paper.

“If everything requires this much paperwork I’m amazed there are any trees left in Equestria. Hold on, I got one more stack outside.”

‘Fuck...’



(two weeks later, Ponyville Town Hall)

Y’know, I think I’ve figured out why I hate paperwork so much. It’s not really hard to figure out, but I’ve never put any thought into it.

The reason I hate it, is, quite simply, that it’s just so bloody boring!

I mean really, it’s the same damned thing over and over again. If you aren’t being instructed to put your name here, initial there, signature on the dotted line, then you’re putting in numbers. THAT was a common thing with my position in the Order. How many people on a mission, estimated body count, actual body. By Cosmos it’s no wonder the previous archmage quit after only four years. And then there’s the environment. They expected me to fill out hundreds of papers a week in a cramped room with nothing to keep me company? No one to talk to, nothing to do but fill out forms, they didn’t like me stopping and going on walks around the gardens. Despite that being one of the few things that kept me sane. At the very least they could have let me install a song materia to provide a little background noise. But no, they-

“Mr. Reinhart!” A female voice suddenly half-shouted, pulling me out of my thoughts. I looked up to find a bespectacled grey earth pony mare staring at me with a slight look of annoyance. A quick glance showed several other ponies in the room staring at us.

“Sorry ma’am, got lost in thought for a minute there,” I said as I felt myself blush slightly.

“It’s fine,” she sighed. “I just wanted to let you know that you have been approved to sell this, ‘mead’, so long as you can find a building to work in-”

“And fill out the paperwork for that,” I finished for her, earning a curt nod from the mare. “In that case, I’ll be back later to pick them up.” I gave her a quick nod before leaving.

It didn’t take long to reach my next destination, a simple old building situated just a short walk away from the library. As I got closer, I noticed Matt and a light brown earth pony with a darker brown mane and tail sitting in front of the building playing- 

“Cards? Really?” I said as I got closer.

They simply shrugged, not even bothering to look up from their game. “You were taking too long, we needed something to do,” Matt said, folding his cards and placing them back on the deck. “Any good news?”

“We’ve been cleared to start looking for a building,” I said before turning to the pony. “Shall we take a look, Mr. Beam?”

“Sure thing. But please, call me Jim,” he replied, tossing the deck into her saddlebags and trotting over to the door. “Sorry if there’s a mess, haven’t used this old storage place since we finished the theatre for that Roberts fella.” As if to emphasise his point, a small cloud of dust kicked up as soon as he opened the door. With a small dejected sigh, I walked up behind him and poked my head inside, hoping that it wasn’t too bad.

Thankfully, the building itself was in decent shape, the only real damage being a couple broken windows. Unfortunately, the place was a mess. Old buckets of nails turned over, random wooden beams strewn about, broken lumber and a few tools laying everywhere. “Could’ve been worse.” I turned to find Matt on the other side, inspecting the interior with a relaxed look. “So we’ll have to do some cleaning and replace a few windows, at least we have somewhere to work. Not to mention it’s pretty cheap.” He pointed down to Jim, who gave a nod in response.

“Company doesn’t really need this place anymore, we’ve already moved to a bigger warehouse, and it ain’t in the best condition.” He rubbed his chin in thought. “I was thinking between five and ten thousand.”

I mulled his offer over for a moment, moving into the building and looking around some more. ‘Hmm, low lighting, good for storing bottles without risk of spoiling. Shouldn’t be too hard to keep it humid enough in here to prevent corks from drying out, and ventilation will help keep it dry enough to any minor problems with storage. Plenty of room up front, and judging by the door in the back there’s probably another room, could be used to store certain supplies. Overall, a good start.’ I turned back to the stallion, “Ten, you help move all this crap out?”

He grinned and chuckled. “Shoot, for ten I’ll get one of my workers to help you install new windows.”

“Deal,” I said, giving his hoof a firm shake. “I’ll pick up the papers later today and bring them by tomorrow, until then, I have a meeting to get to back at the library.” I gave him one final nod before leaving, Matt following behind wordlessly.

As we neared the library, I turned to Matt, “You wanna help with the interview, or just stand in the back and look intimidating?”

"Well I mean if they're afraid of me they won't scam us or rip us off," he replied, unclipping his helmet from his side and sliding it over his head.

“That’s the idea.” I placed my palm on the door, muttering a quick “Aero” before releasing my pent up magic, forcefully blowing the door open with a gust of air.

I didn’t waste a second, redirecting the air to push a stool to the table where the two stunned unicorns were seated. Without a single word, I sat down and opened a suitcase that had been left on the table, taking a plain manilla folder out and looking over the contents.

Matt leaned against a nearby pillar and slowly ran the blades from his armor against each other in a manner that set even my teeth on edge… Perfect.

“Flim and Flam,” I said after a moment, looking up at them. “Brothers, currently under the employ of one Alex Roberts, Paladin of Redemption and owner of Ponyville Theater, as talent scouts. Prior to that you made a living as conmen, using various tricks to rob innocent ponies of their bits before leaving town.” My neutral gaze turned into a glare. “If I had met to two of you in that time I would have had no qualms with beating you both senseless and dragging you to the nearest authorities. However-” I dropped the folder back into the case and turned back to them, switching to a more friendly look, “Alex is my friend, and he trusts you, therefore I’m willing to give you both a chance. Any questions?”

They just stared, a mix of shock and confusion plastered on their faces. “Are you still there?” I said, snapping my finger in front of them a few times to see if it would get their attention. Seeing no response, I turned back to Matt, “I think they’re broken.”

“Your entry was a bit much,” he replied with a shrug. “Maybe next time you should skip the poltergeist act and just leave the vaguely menacing stuff to me.” He retracted his blades but left the helmet on.

After a second, the brothers finally snapped out of there shock. “L-look, we’ve done some things we’re not proud of in the past, but we’re reformed,” the mustached one, Flam, pleaded quickly. His younger brother nodded furiously.

“Indeed, we work as talent scouts now. We haven’t done anything illegal since we started working for Alex, promise!” I stared blankly at the two stallions, keeping any emotions from crossing my face as I judged their reaction.

‘I think they’re telling the truth, you?’

“Are you kidding? You can almost smell their fear, you’d have to be stupid to try to lie in such a situation.” Giving a mental nod to Zero’s words, I lightened my gaze a gave a light chuckle.

“Relax you two, I’m not gonna hurt ya, just needed to make sure you could be trusted.” They relaxed a bit at my response, but were still a bit nervous. “Alex reassured me you wouldn’t cause in a problems, but I had to make sure.” I leaned forward and gave them a calm smile. “I value loyalty, and dispise betrayal, so I hope you’ll forgive me if I came off a bit too frightening.”

“Also,” I stood up and walked over to the coat rack I had placed my hat on. “I am willing to make an offer upfront.” I reached in and withdrew a large bag of bits. Flim just barely managed to catch it as I tossed it to them, “Five hundred bits each upfront, you won’t be receiving this much as regular payment, but I hope this is enough for you to consider working with us.”

“B-but of course,” Flam said after a moment, adopting a calm look. “We’d be more than happy to help out, right brother?” 

After another second of staring at the bag, Flim nodded as his brother’s words registered, “Absolutely, but there’s just one problem: we know nothing about what we’re going to be trying to sell.”

Wordlessly I rose and went into the kitchen, returning a moment later with a bottle of mead and four cups. I fill each cup and passed one to each brother and handed the third to Matt. They exchanged a glance before closing their eyes and carefully taking a drink.

Almost instantly, their eyes snapped back open as they stared at their glasses in surprise. “I must say, this is pretty good,” Flim said. Flam gave a nod of agreement before taking another drink.

“Sweet, but with a hint of bitterness, and it has a slight kick to it, tell me, what’s in it?”

I gave a smirk as I counted off the ingredients, “Honey, water, some mixed herbs I’m not exactly willing to reveal, and yeast. Do we have a deal?”

They nodded in unison as they refilling their cups, “It should be fairly easy to sell, sweet, flavorful, smooth, it’ll definitely appeal to the masses. It'll make a great kiddie drink. Might even appeal to adults with the right salt added.” They paused for a minute, waiting till they had finished drinking before presenting their hooves. “You’ve got yourselves a deal.”

Matt and I gave them a quick shake. “Glad to hear it, feel free to keep the rest of that bottle and-” I reached under the table and produced another bottle, “Give this a try, it’s called cyser. Same recipe, but with cider instead of water.”

After another session of taste testing and agreeing that they could sell it they finally decided it was time to leave. I gave them a quick farewell, promising to let them know the name of the meadery once everything had been set up. “That went pretty well,” sighed before turning to Matt. “Think I’m gonna lay down for a bit, probably pick the next stack of papers in an hour or so.”

“Good, I think they’ve finished turning an entire acre of Everfree into paperwork… Remember to lift with your knees.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” I said with a chuckle, giving Matt a final nod before heading upstairs to catch up on my sleep.



(One month later, Golden Oaks Library)

“Thank you all for coming on such short notice. Sorry about the mess,” I said, gesturing to the papers scattered about the other tables. “I was up late last night going over some things.” 

“Ah’m pretty sure that ain’t healthy,” Applejack muttered, earning a nod of agreement from the other ponies gathered.

“It isn’t, but it’s not the first time, and likely won’t be the last.” I picked up a sheet of paper and looked over it. “I just wanted to talk to you all about how the income from the meadery will be split.” I placed the sheet on the table and slid it over to them.

Trace: 25%
Matt: 25%
Sweet Apple Acres: 20%
Supplies: 15%
Flim Flam bros.: 10%
Alex: 5%

“Question, why does Sweet Apple Acres get a higher amount than the cost of supplies?” Honeydew, a golden colored earth pony mare, asked.

“Overall most of the money for supplies will be going into buying honey from you, as bottle, corks and labels are pretty cheap. Not too mention we’ll need apples to make cyser.” I pulled a second sheet out and slid it to them. “Factoring the price range Filthy Rich,” I gave a quick nod to the aforementioned stallion, “Gave me, this should be a reasonably accurate estimate of the monthly income, as well as the amount each party will receive from it.”

Estimated total profit: 2000 bits
Trace: 500
Matt: 500
Sweet Apple Acres-400
Supply costs-300
Flim and Flam-200
Alex-100

Applejack let out a small whistle as her eyes glanced over the page. “You sure this is right? Seems a bit high.”

“What do you think I was doing last night?” I grabbed a stack from a nearby table and began flipping through them. “Each batch will take less than an hour to make, we can make two at a time, and we’ll get about a hundred bottles from every barrel.” I handed the papers to Twilight.

“The estimate comes from the assumption that we sell each bottle at a cost of seven bits each, minus a two bits for tax. Then, through various distributors, we sell at least four hundred bottles a month, which can be easily replaced, we’ll make about two thousand a month.” I leaned back and gestured to Twilight. “Is the math wrong?”

“No,” She replied, looking the papers over several times. “Everything looks to be in order. Though, how are you going to get this much right away?”

“I have a friend in Canterlot that would be willing to buy a few bottles as well,” Filthy Rich said, his calm smile never leaving his face.

“Isn’t the cost a bit high though? It looks like most places will sell it for close to around ten bits a bottle.”

“Well you see Miss Honeydew, mead is a type of wine, and I’ve notice most wines go for more than that, saw a few that were about twenty bits each,” I replied.

She thought about it for a second before nodding, “True, not to mention since you’re the only ones making this stuff, so there’s no real competition.”

“Exactly,” I said before rising. “And some good news, I stopped by Town Hall this morning and was informed that all the paperwork had been approved. Which means all that’s left is to clean out the building and set everything up.”

“I’m still waiting for them to come back and demand the paperwork in triplicate.” Matt cleared his throat and continued in a arrogant voice, “our forms will blot out the sun!” 

He finished with a gruff voice, “then we shall write in the shade.”

Ignoring him, I continued, “Speaking of, I think we should get started on the clean up now, sooner we get this done the better.” With a bit of concentration I levitated my staff into my hands before walking to the door. “And once that’s over, I say we have a celebration.”



I breathed a sigh of relief as we finished getting everything set up. It took almost two months, countless hours of paperwork, and over half my savings, but the meadery was complete. “Thanks guys, without your help I wouldn’t have been able to get this done,” I said, turning to Alex, Matt, and the ponies Alex had brought along to help out.

The first of the two ponies I hadn’t met before, a pale blue unicorn stallion named Elusive, wave a hoof dismissively. “Think nothing of it, we were more than happy to help.”

“Eeyup,” the other, a large red earth pony named Big Macintosh, said simply.

Beatrix smiled, "Your mead is a wonderful drink. I know I can barely keep Apple Bloom out of it when she comes over."

"Shucks, Aunty Bea. Y'all said to make myself at home. Anyway, that stuff almost as good as our cider." I chuckled at the filly’s response. It was still a bit weird that children were permitted to drink, but considering ponies had incredibly high alcohol tolerances and instead used salt, it made sense in a way.

Matt was looking over the extensive checklist Twilight had assembled. "Alright. Looks like we've got everything ready. Now, all we need is a name."

“Can I make a suggestion?” An all too familiar high pitched voice piped up. Everyone looked up to find Fei laying on one of the joists in the open space between them and the rafters. “What about ‘Crying Moon’?”

“...The old werewolf legend?” I said, earning confused looks from those around me. “Basic summary, Luna, Goddess of the moon and the hunt on Gaia, fell in love with a mortal.

“This, sadly, was forbidden among the pantheon. Every night, Luna would watch the man as he hunted, shedding a single tear at the knowledge that she could never have him. As she cried, her followers, the lycan, would feel that their goddess was in pain, and in turn would howl up at the moon in sorrow. Touched by their concern, she guided one young pup to a well where her tears had been gathered. Once the pup had reached the well, Luna instructed her to drink from it.

“Upon doing so, the pup gained the ability to draw power from the moon, becoming the first lunar priestess. Since then the priestess of each tribe ventures to the moonwell to “commune” with Luna.” I stopped and rubbed the back of my head. “At least I think that's the story, there are so many variants of it it's hard to tell which is true.”

“Same here, I just thought the name sounded interesting… and because I got bored and made this,” Fei said, dropping a length of wood in front of us.

Turning it over, I found, to no surprise, Crying Moon carved out and covered with silver paint. The symbol in center was odd though, it showed a black full moon with the side profile of a pony, whom I could only assume was Luna, imprinted onto the face of the moon. In keeping with the name, the pony’s eye was closed, and single silver tear rolling down its cheek.

“It’s certainly eye catching,” I muttered absently, turning back to the others, “What do you guys think?”

The young ponies all crowded around excitedly. 

Sweetie Belle’s voice squeaked, “I love the silver, and the name is sad but pretty at the same time. I think Rarity would call it… elegant.”

Apple Bloom’s eyes narrowed. “I think Sweetie’s right. It’s a mighty fine name.”

Scootaloo buzzed a little off the ground to get a better look. "That's so cool! Is that Luna, Dad? Is that really the Princess?"

Alex reached over and traced the image with his finger tips. He had a hopeful little smile. "I think so, pumpkin." He turned to me, "Trace? You may want to ask her permission, but I can't see her saying no. Especially if you send her a barrel for taste testing."

Dash gave me one of her confident grins, “This is good stuff, and even if the story behind the name is a little creepy, it’s still cool. About the only thing that would make it even better would be a little yellow salt. If you’re sending stuff to Princess Luna, you should also send some to Princess Celestia. You know, so she doesn’t feel left out.”

I shrugged and nodded, “That wouldn’t be a problem, I was already considering it anyway.”

Beatrix and Mac, as always side by side, smiled at each other. Bea spoke in her Trixie voice, “The Great and Powerful Trixie finds the product and the name to be… acceptable. Of course if we had done it it would have been far more spectacular, but this will do.” Everyone chuckled along with her then she spoke in her much warmer normal voice, “The name suits you and the honey wine perfectly.”

Mac’s subsonic baritone agreed, “Eeyup.”

Alex taped Matt on the elbow, “What about you? You worked your ass off on this as much as anyone else. Why don’t you throw in your nickel's worth?”

Matt looked up from his clipboard, placing it carefully on the table, “Me? I just helped out of boredom and pity, no need to bring me into this,” He smiled, “I think it’d be a crying shame not to use that name.”

“Great, Crying Moon it is,” I said with a smile, grabbing the sign and heading for the door. “Let’s set this up, then go celebrate.” I stopped and looked out the window, noticing the already setting sun. “Actually, bit too late for that, guess we could see if Pinkie would be willing to help set up a party tomorrow.”
> Chapter 12
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


THE MAGE’S JUMP
BY GENOSABER
CHAPTER 12


“Hmm, I never would have expected you were a craftsman,” Zero noted as I inspected my work, looking for any imperfection I may have missed, and was please to find none.

‘Only some basic tools and weapons, nothing too elaborate.’ I grabbed a piece of sandpaper. ‘Though given a few days and some studying in one of my books, I could probably build a catapult.’ I began humming an old tune as I set about sanding the lengths of wood, making sure to smooth the rounded ends. Once that was done, I grabbed my burin and set about engraving a series of runes near each end. ‘Now to bind the enchantment.’ I dipped my fingers in a bowl of water for a second, before slowly running across each rune, causing them to glow a faint white light.

Once all the runes were glowing, I dropped the staves into a small trough of dark liquid, watching lightning dance across the surface for a moment. After the lighting died down, I took the now finished staves out, noting the new markings- or ‘burns’ as they were commonly called- running down them, connecting the two sets of runes on each staff.

“Impressive, though I don’t recognize the pattern you used. Your own design?”

‘Not really, I just combined two different types of runes.’ I stood up and walked over to the other end of the room, stopping in front of a table with a small crate placed on it. ‘I used a dwarven enchantment, making the staff borderline unbreakable, then mixed that with a lycan pattern used for training weapons, dispelling the force of the blow to prevent any major injury.’ I took a deep breath, holding the weapons at my sides.

“Stailc!” I shouted, slamming both staves onto the crate, noting the small burst of air as the enchantments expelled the force of my attack. Just as planned, neither the staves nor the crate showed any signs of damage. With a grin, I wrapped the staves in cloth before heading up into the main room, finding Twilight at the table in the center of the room.

“I’ll be heading out for a bit,” I said. Twilight nodded without looking up, too engrossed in her reading. With a chuckle, I turned and headed out the door. I let out a small sigh as the cold winter breeze blew past me, my breath forming into a small cloud. “Warp,” I muttered, teleporting myself to the path leading to Alex’s house. 

“Hey!” I called out as I noticed the man in question walking down the path, taking one of the staves out and tossing it to him. “Up for a little sparring?”

He gave me a roguish smirk and chuckle. “I don’t know, kid. A rogue versus a wizard, and no magic?”

I chuckled and shook my head. “No magic, only these staves.”

“The ones you told me about? Some of the runes looks dwarven. I can’t read them, of course, but I can recognise it. Never was a fan of dwarven design, too angular.” He examined the staff with a practised eye. Once he was satisfied, he stood back and gave it an easy swing, like a club. Then, he slowly started waving it around his body, spinning it, twirling it, causing the snow around us to be thrown about as the ends of the staff brushed through it. It was an elven combat dance, a simple one, but it was surprising to see a human with that knowledge. He stopped, slapping the staff into the gravel. As designed, the stones barely moved. “Balance is a little off. I would add about one hundred grams to the non-striking end or shave a hundred off the other. Mind you, that’s for me, and you no doubt got a chuckle from my clumsy attempt at a proper rince cogadh. Make sure Miss Butterscotch, or if what the flower sisters are saying, Mrs Butterscotch Coins, gets a crack at this too. If you can‘t get a hold of her, I can pull some strings and get Captain Nightshade to recommend a combat expert to help us out.” He handed the staff and looked sheepish, “Sorry, I don’t mean to steamroller.”

“It’s fine,” I said, waving my hand dismissively. “Though if you’re done can we go find a place to spar?”

“Yeah. I’m a little worried about doing this kind of stuff where Scoots can see me. You know kids; monkey see, monkey do.” He chuckled affectionately, “I don’t want the Cutie Mark Crusaders trying to get their combat cutie marks.”

I gave a knowing smile. “I’m sure we can find somewhere,” I said, turning and walking down the path with Alex.




(Twilight)


“Coming,” I called as I heard somepony knock on the door. Placing my book on the table, I stood and trotted over to the door. “Welcome to Golden Oaks Library, how can I- Mom? Dad?” I gasped, staring wide eyed at my parents on the other side of the door. “What’re you doing here?”

“Do we need a reason to visit our daughter?” Dad said, throwing his foreleg around me and pulling me into a hug. “We thought we’d come down and see how you’re doing, hope you don’t mind.”

“Of course not, it’s just a little sudden is all,” I said, slipping out of my Dad’s embrace. “Can I get you anything to drink?”

“Water’s fine,” Mom said absently, looking around the room nervously.

“Uh, Mom, is everything okay?” I asked.

“Hmm? Oh yes, just noticed that strange fellow in the robe wasn’t here.”

I sighed and put a hoof to my forehead. “Mother, his name is Trace, and I wish you’d just give him a chance instead of criticising my choice to be with him.”

“I’ll try,” she sighed. “Though I still can’t understand why you want to date such a weird creature.” I gave a sigh of resignation.

“I guess that’s the best I can hope for, just-” I paused at the sound of footsteps. Turning towards the stairs, I saw Spike and Fei walking down, a tired look on the latter’s face. “Good morning you two.”

“Mornin’ Twi,” Spike said, yawning slightly before noticing my parents. “Hey Twilight Velvet, Night Light!” he exclaimed, running down the stairs towards them.

Fei on the other hoof, just stood there, her tired expression turning somewhat nervous as she stared at my parents. As soon as my father looked up at her she snapped out of her surprised state and leapt to the side, changing back into her normal form with small puff of smoke. A moment later I noticed her hiding underneath the couch, staring at my parents with a hint of fear.

Ducking down in front of her, I offered a comforting smile. “It’s okay, there’s no reason to be afraid, it’s just my parents.” Fei hesitated at first, looking back and forth between me and them several seconds before finally darting onto my back.

“Twilight, who is that?” Mom asked, casting a wary glance at Fei.

“This is Fei, Trace’s,” I hesitated for a second before finishing with a sheepish look, “daughter.”

“W-what!?” Mom exclaimed, “You didn’t think to mention this before?”

“Honey, I’m sure our daughter had a good reason not to tell us,” Dad said, placing hoof on her shoulder. “You do have a good reason, right?” he asked, turning to me.

“It’s… a long story,” I said nervously, rubbing the back of my head. “Do yo know where Trace is?” I asked, turning to look at Fei.

“I think he mentioned something about hanging out with Alex by the lake,” she said. I nodded and turned back to my parents.

“I’ll explain on the way,” I offered. Mom hesitated for a moment before nodding and heading for the door with Dad following right behind her. I waited for Spike to climb onto my back beside Fei before trotting out with them.



“And that’s what happened,” I said as I finished telling my parents of the day Trace adopted Fei.

“I see… so she’s actually an adult?” Mom asked.

“Not exactly. Trace explained that while she still has all her memories and the majority of her personality, physically, biologically, and to an extent mentally, she’s now a child,” I explained. They stared at me for a moment before finally nodding. As I turned my attention back to the path, I noticed we were almost to the lake, and I could make out two figures moving oddly. As we got closer, I could make out the figures as Alex and Trace fighting with a pair of staves.

I opened my mouth to call out to them, but stopped as I watched Trace disarm Alex and land several light blows on him before sweeping his staff and knocking Alex’s legs out from under him, knocking him into the snow coating the gro. I was worried Alex might be hurt, but after seeing the amused look on Trace’s face I got the feeling this wasn’t a serious fight.

My mother on the other hoof…

“What the Discord do you think you’re doing!” she screeched, galloping towards him. Trace simply blinked in confusion staring at her, planting his staff in the ground and leaning against it as my mother stopped in front of him. 

“Why would you savagely thrash him like that? He's old and weak. Twilight said you two were friends, but after what I just saw I can’t imagine you two could possibly be friends.” She let out a growl, “You’d better have a good explanation mister, cause if not there’s no way I’ll let somepony like you date my daughter.”

Trace, for his part, just stood there, calmly listening to my mother rant. Once she was done he remained still for a second before bending down and holding his hand out to Alex. “Need some help getting up?”

“Thanks,” Alex said, grabbing Trace’s hand and lifting himself up. “Didn’t think to go easy on me? I told you I’m not that good with a staff.”

Trace shrugged, moving his staff to his other hand and brushing Alex’s back off. “Sorry, I still have a bit of stress left over from setting up the meadery. Besides, you got a few good hits in, not bad against someone that’s been training for over ten years,” he said in a light, friendly tone, giving Alex a grin before turning to my mom. “As for an explanation, we were just sparring, no harm was done.”

She just stared, her anger having melted away into confusion as her mouth opened and closed several times, trying to form a response.

“O-okay,” she said finally, a slight blush creeping onto her face. “I am so sorry for jumping to conclusions.”

Trace waved his hand dismissively and went to pick up the other staff. “No harm done, I probably would have acted like that if I was in your position.” He pulled two strips of cloth and tied the staves together before passing them over to Alex. “Mind holding onto these? I’ll come and pick them up tomorrow.”

“Sure thing, I’ll bring them with me to the bar and give them back then,” he replied, taking the staves before turning to face the rest of us.

“You must be Twilight’s parents, it’s a pleasure to meet you. My name is Alex Roberts, Paladin of Redemption and good friend of your daughter. And as Trace said, we were just sparring, no harm done. Where I come from, martial arts are considered a recreational activity. At the risk of disturbing you, we," he indicated Trace and himself with his finger, "are predatory species." He chuckled, "But we're quite tame." He smiled and held out a hand


Mom gave him a polite but nervous smile and a nod Dad while shook his hand and grinned. “Didn’t believe my friends when they said Princess Luna had some kind of weird creature pledging its allegiance to her. Now that I see you for myself, I think they were exaggerating, said you look like a shaved Diamond Dog.” He looked Alex up and down before shrugging. “Proportions aren’t right, and quite frankly I think a shaved diamond Dog would be uglier. You’re not much better- no offence- but definitely not that bad.”

“No offense taken, I’m aware I’m not exactly a pleasant sight,” Alex replied with a shrug. “I’d love to stay and chat, but I need to get to the theater and help plan for the Hearths warming play.”

“That’s not for a couple more weeks,” Trace said, raising an eyebrow as he walked over to me.

“True, but it doesn’t hurt get things ready ahead of time,” Alex explained. Trace nodded his head in understanding, muttering something in elvish. “Still going to to help out with the effects?”

Trace nodded once more, this time pulling a folded piece of paper out of his pocket and passing it to Alex. “I went through the list of special effects usually used in the play and found a handful of temporary wards I could set up to give off the same effects, maybe even adding a bit of feeling to things.”

Alex raised an eyebrow. “Such as?”

“Making it actually feel a bit cold, or warm, or creating realistic winds,” Trace said with a shrug. “I specialize in defense and security wards, but those are all pretty simple, so it won’t be a problem.”

“Thanks, I’ll let you know when we’re ready to have them set up.” Alex gave a final goodbye before heading back town.

“So then, now that we’re all here, anyone have an idea where-” Trace stopped at a sudden low growling sound. I felt my cheeks heat up as everypony turned towards me.

“Sorry, guess I probably should’ve had something to eat besides just an apple earlier,”  I said. My parents sighed a bit while Trace chuckled and shook his head.

“I offered to make you something for breakfast, but you were so engrossed in one of the books I gave you that you weren’t paying attention,” Trace said. I gave another embarrassed smile. I was spending a bit too much time with those, but they were just so interesting. After I had gone through the book on alchemy he gave me, he gave me two more books, one was apparently a fairly common book on Gaian history and geography, while the other was another rare book of myths and legends. It’s a bit saddening that the last few pages were torn out, but even so, the stories are still so fascinating! And from what Trace has said, a lot of them are actually true events in Gaia’s history from before the first Chaos incident.

“Which book was it?” Trace asked.

“The complete guide to the history of the continents of Gaia,” I answered immediately. “I was looking into the southern continent, Lufenia. Their culture was rather interesting. From what I could make out, it seems as though they live in an almost utopian society.”

“As far as anybody can tell, it was,” Trace said with a nod. “Lufenians were probably the most peaceful civilization I’ve ever heard of, which makes it all the weirder as to how they ended-”

“Stop!” I shouted, earning confused looks from everypony. “S-sorry, it’s just I wasn’t finished reading about their history, I know it covers the fall of their civilization, but I’d rather not have it spoiled.”

“I understand love,” Trace said, kneeling down and giving me a quick kiss. The blush that had been slowly fading returned full force as my mind tried to process his actions ‘He just kissed me in front of my parents!’ In panic, I glanced at my parents, only to find them looking at me with mildly surprised expression.

“Twilight, is something wrong?” Mom asked.

“What? No, it’s just I thought you’d be more surprised by Trace kissing me, considering what you said earlier.”

“Though I still have doubts about this relationship, I said I was going to give him the benefit of the doubt. I do expect you two to act like a couple,” she said. I guess she has a point there, maybe I’m just overreacting.

“If I may interrupt,” Trace said, gaining our attention. “I was going to suggest we go get something to eat, perhaps at Le Bouffe?”

Another growl escaped my stomach, prompting me to nod in agreement. “That sounds great.”



We had opted to sit inside due to the weather, taking a nice table by the window. Each of us had our own seat except Fei, who chose to sit in Trace’s lap to make up for her small size. I couldn’t help but smile at the rather cute sight. ‘It’s so hard to believe she was a child at one point.’

“So Trace, what do you do for a living?” Dad asked once we had placed our orders.

“I’m co-owner of Crying Moon Meadery, little place Matt- another human, a “jumper” like Alex- and I set up,” he explained. “We only started selling mead last week, but so far it’s become pretty popular here in town.” As if on cue, the waiter brought a bottle to our table. “Not sure how it’s doing in other cities, we’ve sold a few boxes full to some stores in Canterlot but we won’t know how it’s doing for a couple weeks at least.”

“I see,” mom muttered, looking at the bottles label. “ I think saw a few bottles like that last time I went to the store, though I didn’t bother to ask the clerk about it.” She turned to Trace. “What is it though”

“Mead is simply wine made from honey, though I use a few herbs to add a bit more flavor to it,” Trace said as he poured us each a glass. While my parents hesitated, I immediately took a sip, smiling at the sweet taste of honey and… apples?

“Cyser,” I said, earning everypony’s attention. My parents stared in confusion while Trace raised and eyebrow and gave a slight smirk. “Cyser, it’s like mead, but made with honey and cider instead of water.”

“So it is,” Trace replied as he looked at the label again and took a sip. “Not exactly what I asked for, but I can’t complain.” 

My Mom seemed to take this as a sign to quit eyeing her glass nervously and finally take a drink, while my Dad stilled eyed the glass. ‘He never has been much of a wine fan. Always thought it was fine for foals, but not a proper adult drink.’

“Not bad,” Mom said, licking her lips. “Very sweet. You can definitely taste the honey and herb, and the cider does add a nice touch to it.”

“I’m glad you like it,” Trace said with a slight smile, changing from his usually casual tone to one more formal and polite. “If you’d like, I’d be happy to give you a couple bottles from my personal stock at the library.” He lifted his glass, eyeing it with a calm gaze. “We’re currently only selling cyser here in town, as Sweet Apple Acres is only producing a few barrels of cider until ‘cider season’ comes around and they won’t have to worry about using up their stored harvest on cider.”

“T-that won’t be necessary,” Mom stammered, clearly caught off guard. “Night Light and I don’t really drink wine that often, so they’d probably just wind up sitting in the cabinet collecting dust.”

“At least take a bottle of mead, I insist,” Trace said, giving a sincere smile to match his tone. “Whether you drink it right away or not doesn’t matter, think of it as a gift, a simple act of kindness and generosity on my part.”

“Well, when you put it like that, I guess it’d be rude of me to say no,”  Mom finally relented, offer a somewhat embarrassed smile.

A moment later the waiter brought us our food. Mom and Dad both had a roasted butternut squash salad, I stuck with a couple daffodil and daisy sandwiches and a hay shake, Spike had a plate of hay fries, and Trace split a fruit salad with Fei, since he had already eaten earlier. We ate in relative silence, content to simply enjoy our meals in peace. “So Mom, did you and Dad come down here for any reason other than to say hi?” I asked once we had finished eating.

“Well, we weren’t planning on bringing it up till we were ready to leave, but we were wondering if you planned on coming to Canterlot for Hearth’s Warming.”

“Actually, I was planning on watching the Hearth’s warming play at Alex’s theater with Trace this year,” I said. She frowned slightly but nodded, pausing as Dad began whispering something into her ear.

“Would it be okay if we came down to visit then?” She asked after a moment.

“Of course,” I said immediately, “You don’t need to ask.” I glanced back at Trace. “We were planning to treat ourselves by going to the play on a date, but you could always come early.”

“Then it’s settled,” Dad said as he and mom stood up. “We’ll arrive in the morning and we can spend time until it’s time for the play, and then we’ll leave you two your date,” I smiled and nodded with a faint blush.

“We should probably be heading home soon,” Mom said, looking up at the clock tower. “Sorry to cut things short. I guess we should head to the library to get that bottle of mead first, though.” I nodded once more and headed for the library, Trace and my parents following right behind.




(Trace)


I leaned back on the couch as Twilight gave a final farewell to her parents before trotting over and and laying over me on her back and throwing a small blanket over us. As Twi reopened her book and held it above her with her magic, I began scratching one of her ears, earning a relaxed sigh from her as she tilted her head towards my hand.

After a few minutes, I stopped and moved my hand to begin rubbing her stomach out of curiosity. As I did so, Twilight let out another relaxed sigh and laid her head back, nearly letting go of her book before catching it just before it landed on her. “Good?” I asked her.

She nodded. “Very good.” I smiled and leaned down to give her a kiss, taking care to avoid her horn. We held it for a moment before I broke the kiss and leaned back, placing my free arm behind my head while twilight returned to reading with half closed eyes. After a moment I laid my head back and closed my eyes, content to lay here with my marefriend.

> Chapter 13
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


THE MAGE’S JUMP
BY GENOSABER
CHAPTER 13



(Fei)


“Mornin’,” I muttered, walking down the stairs. Dad looked up from his reading while Twilight lay next to him and he scratched her ears with his free hand.

“I was wondering when you’d wake up,” he said with a smirk, before looking back down at his book. “There’s some muffins in the kitchen, if you hurry you might be able to leave in time to get to your meeting with the crusaders.” I blinked and looked at the clock. ‘What’s he talking ab- by the gods, I’ve slept in!’

“Why didn’t anyone wake me?” I shouted, bolting into the kitchen and grabbing about half the muffins and wolfing them down.

“I was going to, but Trace said something about it being ‘bad luck’ to wake you up,” Spike said. I looked over at Dad with a look of confusion mixed with a glare.

“Whenever I tried to wake you up for your training back on Gaia, you tried to bite my hand. A few times you succeeded,” he replied.

“Oh come on! I only bit you one time,” I said between bites, already down to the last three muffins.

“Yes, because I had a steel gauntlet made afterwards,” he countered, not bothering to even look up from his book. I let the subject drop and finished my breakfast, rushing to the door as soon as I was done.

“Wait,” Dad said, making me pause. “A gift from Matt, we had a few extra jars of honey we didn’t need, so he asked a friend of his if she could use it.” He pulled out a paper bag and tossed it to me. I caught the bag, opening it to find it filled with what looked like hard candy. “No added sugar, so it shouldn’t cause any problems, and I know you’ve always had a sweet tooth.” Out of curiousity, I popped one of the candies into my mouth. ‘They can’t be that go-’

‘By Helios. these are magnificent.’

I zoned out for a moment, snapping back into reality when Spike tugged on my jacket. “Mind if I tag along?”

“If you want to.” I turned back to Dad. “Tell Matt I said ‘thank you’ for these,” I said, holding up the bag.

“I’ll let him know,” he said. I gave him a quick smile before heading out the door, Spike following right behind me.



A few minutes later we caught sight of Sweet Apple Acres.

“Hey Spike,” I said, tossing another hard candy in my mouth. “Is there some reason you dislike my dad?”

“It’s not that I don’t like, he seems like an okay guy,” Spike said quickly, caught off guard by question. “It’s just, something about him makes me uncomfortable around him.”

“Aura,” I said simply. Spike stared back in confusion. “Dragons on Gaia can sense the aura of magic users. My guess is you’re picking up his natural black magic aura, tends to make smaller dragons a bit unnerved. Most creatures can’t sense it, but dragons tend to notice it.”

“So you think it’s just due to his magic?” Spike asked. I nodded as we turned down down the path to the orchard. “You can probably guess the other reason.”

“You’re uncomfortable with your older sister/mother figure being in a relationship, especially with a guy that makes you uncomfortable?” I deadpanned. Spike stumbled and fell face-first into the dirt. I stopped and waited for him to pick himself up, keeping my hands in the pockets of my jacket. “Too blunt?” I asked.

“Just a bit,” he replied with a scowl. I shrugged and walked over to the fence, just on the edge of the orchard. Taking a seat, I pulled out two more candies, tossing one in my mouth and holding the other out to Spike. He kept his scowl for a second longer before taking it and sitting down next to me. “But you’re right,” he sighed. “It’s not like I don’t want Twilight to be happy, but just...”

“You’re not used to her being in a relationship, much less one where the other half is living under the same roof,” I finished. Spike nodded before looking down. “Look, I can’t force you to like Trace, but give him a chance. You might find he’s not such a bad guy.” I paused as something came to mind. “Do you know when the last time Twilight was in a relationship was?”

“Well, there was that diamond dog a couple years back, but as far as I know they didn’t have anything major, and it ended after a couple weeks.” I nodded. “Why’d you ask?”

“Just curious,” I said absently. “Trace hasn’t been in love for about five years. I can’t go into any detail, but he was hurt pretty badly. When I moved to Cornelia he was just starting to recover.” I paused and stood up. “I guess you could say that in a way, this relationship could be… ‘therapeutic’ for him.” Spike just stared at me blankly. “What I mean is-”

“I get it, you think that being able to love somepony again, and being able to spend time with them, might help Trace recover from his pain,” Spike finished. “I guess that makes sense, but it’s still a little odd.”

“As I said, just give him a chance,” I said as we resumed our walk. It was peacefully silent for a minute before Spike spoke up.

“Why don’t you wear shoes?” I blinked and looked down, seeing my bare feet.

“Never liked shoes, I’ve always prefered the feeling of the earth under my feet, regardless of how cold it is” I answered. “Why do you always wear nose plugs?”

“Humans stink,” he said simply. I tilted my head and stared at him, ears twitching in confusion. “Don’t know why, but humans just smell really bad to me.” I nodded in acceptance, before remembering something Dad told me.

“Just remembered, Dad is planning on going camping with Alex and Matt, along with taking the crusaders.” Spike tilted his head. “Remember, give Trace a chance, come along on the camping trip with us. I know Twilight is planning a slumber party with her friends at the same time, so it might be for the best.”

“Count me in,” he said quickly. “Don’t get me wrong, Twilight and the girls are great. But I don't want to be around when they get all frou-frou for a slumber party."

I chuckled before shivering as a cool breeze blew past us. I pulled my my jacket tighter and cursed my choice to be in my human form ‘At least if I stayed in my true form I’d have my winter coat.’ I glanced over at Spike, seeing that he was unaffected by the weather. ‘Guess being a fire breathing dragon has its advantages.’

“So, what do you normally do while camping?” Spike asked.

I raised an eyebrow. “You can’t be serious.”

He gave me a flat look. “In case you haven’t noticed, Twilight isn’t really the ‘outdoorsy’ type,” he deadpanned.

“...Good point,” I admitted. “Usually camping includes sleeping in tents, sitting around a fire toasting marshmallows or telling stories.” I scratched my head and shrugged. “Some people might do more than that, such as hunting or just walking around the forest to see what’s there,” I finished in a bored tone.

“You don’t seem very enthusiastic,” Spike said as we passed by the barn.

“You’re talking to a girl that’s lived most of her life in a forest, after a while it all looks the same most of the time.” Spike nodded and let the topic drop for now, allowing us to walk the way in peaceful silence. 

As we neared the clubhouse, I noticed Sapphire sitting in the watchtower, pausing as she spotted Spike and I, then descending down to the main room. A moment later all four of them came running out towards us.

“Hi Fei. Hi Spike,” they chorused.

“Hey girls,” I said before shivering as another breeze, this one a bit stronger, blew by. “Please tell me you got that little heater you showed me last week set up.”

“Yep,” Apple Bloom said with a grin as we started walking to the clubhouse. “Fixed it yesterday.”

I gave a small squeak of joy at the thought of warmth and picked up my pace to keep up with them.

Is something wrong? you seemed upset a moment ago. I turned to find Sapphire beside me, staring back at me with a curious expression.

“I’m fine, just never liked the cold that much,” I replied with a shrug. Once we were inside I shrugged my jacket and threw it in the corner as I sat down by the heater. “So, any plans for today?”

“We were thinking of going sledding,” Scootaloo said, pointing a simple wooden sled by the doorway.

“Sounds… interesting,” I muttered, tilting my head. I had heard of sledding, but I wasn’t really familiar with it personally.

“It’s really fun!” Sweetie Belle said with her usual smile. “Have you ever ridden on a sled before?”

“Can’t say I have. There was never a lot of snow in Cornelia, and well, you know how I was when I was originally growing up.” I shifted nervously. I still wasn’t that comfortable with them knowing the majority of my past but Dad convinced me it would be better than leaving them in the dark for some unknown amount of time and risk causing any problems in the future. ‘At least I didn’t have to bring up the necromancer and dark knight.’ “Don’t know if I’d enjoy it though, Winter’s never really been my favorite season.”

After an uncomfortable pause, Scootaloo spoke up, “Then shouldn’t that be all the more reason for you to have fun now?”

“Scootaloo’s right.” I turned to Apple Bloom as she spoke up. “Yer dad said ya should look at this as a chance at a new childhood, right?” I nodded slowly. “Then ah think what Scoots is sayin’ is that you should give it a chance, since ya never got to before.”

‘That’s a pretty good point.’

“I guess,” I said, earning excited grins from the girls. “Do you mind waiting outside for me, I’d like to change into my fox form.” They nodded and made their way out.

Considering the past experience those fillies have, I can’t help but wonder-’



‘-Just what have I gotten myself into?’

“Girls, are you sure about this?” I asked as I looked down the hill. The hill they had chosen as the perfect spot to start out on, which was located just a short trip outside town, seemed terrifyingly large in my current state. ‘Don’t know why I’m scared, I’ve jumped off a tower before, this shouldn’t be intimidating at all. I glanced over the the others as they were setting up the sled, before looking back down. ‘Of course, I was running from a troll at the time and had a grappling hook on hand.’

“We’ll be fine,” Scootaloo said as her and Apple Bloom finished setting up the sled. “You ready?”

‘Too late to say no I guess.’

“I suppose,” I muttered as I walked over to them, taking a seat between Sapphire and Apple Bloom in the back, allowing me to see the field of snow in front of us. “Not joining in?” I asked, turning to Spike as he stood by the scooter and wagon.

“Nah, the sled’s not really big enough to hold more than four ponies at once,” he pointed out. I nodded in acceptance and turned back to the front of the sled.

I gave a sigh as I stared down at the slope. “Everyone ready?” They nodded and placed their hooves to the side to give the sled a quick push.

‘Stay calm, Fei, I’m sure it won’t be-’ My thoughts were cut short as we quickly picked up speed, resulting in the sled rocketing down the slope as the cold winter wind slammed in to my face. ‘This is not fun, this is freaking terrifying!’

My panic quickly turned to excitement as the familiar feeling of adrenaline came back to me. 

‘Scratch that, this actually is pretty fun.’

Carefully, I rose to my hind legs, placing my front paws on Apple Bloom's shoulders. Trees were rushing past us. The snow was flying up on either side. More trees came rushing past way too close. Up ahead, I saw a lump at the bottom of the hill.

Before I could react, the sled crashed into the snow covered rock. The girls went over it. I was the lightest and furthest back, so I was catapulted up by the back of the sled.

I landed face first in a nearby pile of snow...

Despite being buried upside down in the snow, I could still faintly hear the others getting up. Shaking some of the snow from my face, I gave a couple quick yips to get their attention. After a moment I felt someone bite down on my tail pull me out, making me roll slightly before landing on my back as Scootaloo’s face came into view.

“Are you okay?” she asked. In response I rolled over onto my feet before shaking any extra snow from my fur.

“Yeah, just… cold.” I glanced over to the rock pile, seeing Sweetie Belle and Sapphire pulling the broken sled out. “Guess we won’t be riding on that anytime soon.”

“Yeah,” Scootaloo muttered, before looking at everyone else. “Any ideas on what to do now?”

We could get some hot chocolate at Sugarcube Corner, Sapphie offered.

“Yeah, that sounds good,” I said, making my way back up the hill to the wagon.

“Can you even eat chocolate while you’re like that?” Sweetie asked.

I paused and put a paw to my chin in thought. “Sort of. I can eat it, but much less than a human can while I’m in this form. A single cup of cocoa shouldn’t be a problem, even in my current state, two might be okay, but three or four would likely make me sick.” I quickly turned and started running up back to the top. “Race ya there!”



“Hot chocolate, no marshmallows, and a candy cane,” I said as Mrs. Cake turned to take my order. “Oh, and as always, can you please put this all on my Dad’s tab?” She smiled and nodded as she continued writing down everyone’s orders. We waited in silence, everyone content to let simply let the heat in the bakery wash over us and fight back the cold air from outside. After a few moments the scent of sugar filled my nostrils, signalling the arrival of Pinkie Pie with our drinks.

I glanced over at the girls as they gripped their mugs with thier hooves, then looked down at my paws. ‘Yeah, that’s not going to work.’ Calling on a bit of magic, I willed my tail to stretch out and wrap itself around the mug before bringing it to my muzzle and carefully taking a sip.

“Um, how are you doing that?” Spike asked, staring at me wide-eyed. A quick glance at the girls showed them with similar expressions.

“It’s a form of kitsune magic. I never really figured out the exact reason for it, but nowadays it’s normally used to make up for a lack of hands while in our true form,” I explained, taking another sip of my drink. “Also found out a couple years ago that our tails don’t have any bones in them, it’s all muscle. So, with a bit of magic, we can make them not only prehensile, but extend them to a certain degree.”

We drifted into a silence for a few minutes, before Sweetie Belle spoke up. “So Fei, did you enjoy your first time sledding?”

I bit a piece of my candy cane off and turned to her. “It was… pretty fun. Except for for the part at the end. That I could have done without,” I said over the crunching of the peppermint fragment. “Shame the sled’s broken.”

“It’s not that bad,” Apple Bloom commented. “Just some dents in the metal and couple cracked boards, ah should have no trouble fixin’ it in a couple days.”

I nodded and took another bite of my candy. “Guess we’ll have to find something else to do for the rest of the day.”

We could just work out our plans for tomorrow, Sapphire suggested as the others finished off their snacks and began making their way out.

“Better than nothing I suppose,” I muttered as I jumped down and headed towards the door, giving Mrs. Cake and Pinkie a quick farewell as I passed by them.




“We’re home,” I called as Spike and I entered the library. ‘And I should not have stayed in human for as long as I have,’ I added mentally as my stomach growled off third time since leaving the clubhouse. I looked back at the setting sun one last time before closing the door.

“Welcome home,” Dad said as he stepped out of the kitchen, holding a piece of cloth. “Dinner’s almost ready, we’re having fettuccine alfredo with shiitake mushrooms, kale, and sun dried tomatoes, eggplant steak, and I’ve got a few slices of cod in the oven.”

“Cod?” I said in mild disbelief. “But… you hate fish.”

“I don’t hate it, I just can’t eat it without being sick to my stomach,” he corrected, holding up the cloth. “Frankly I can’t stand the smell in there, but I remember you love fish, so I thought I’d bake some for dinner.”

I stared at him for a moment, before running over and hugging him. He hesitated for a second, before lifting me up and returning the hug. “You’re a great dad, y’know that?”

“I’m glad you feel that way, but I doubt a simple meal justifies that,” he replied.

“Not just that. It’s… ” I paused, trying to find the right words. “It’s everything you’ve done for me. Adopting me, helping me build a life here, everything back in Cardia...” I stopped and placed a hand on the sigil, a few tears sliding down my cheeks. “...And saving my life,” I added quietly, tightening my grip around him. “I love you Dad.”

“I love you too, Fei,” he said, holding me for a few more seconds before letting me down. “I should get back to cooking, go find something to do, dinner will ready shortly.” I nodded and made my way over to the couch, noticing a misty eyed Twilight sitting there with a smile on her face. ‘Guess she was watching us just now.’ I tried not to blush as I picked up one of the books she’d been using for my studies on Gaian history and opened it to where I placed my bookmark. ‘Chapter 5: The Cardia-Elfheim pact...’
> Chapter 14
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


THE MAGE’S JUMP
BY GENOSABER
CHAPTER 14


Alex pulled off his pack and turned to us theatrically, "This seems like a good place to set up camp." He threw his arms out, "So, what do you guys think?"

“That you're a ham.”

I paused and glanced around at the surroundings. “Tree cover’s rather scarce, and most of the branches look too fragile to support any real weight,” I muttered, adjusting my grip on my staff.

“Relax Dad, you know there’s none of them here,” Fei said as she set her pack down with Spike and the crusaders. “You’ve checked every single book in the library on the fauna of this world, and you couldn’t find one creature that even resembles them.”

“The little kit’s got a point.” 

“I suppose you’re right,” I said reluctantly, removing my hat as I began pulling out camping supplies.

“Something wrong?” Matt asked as he sat down beside Alex.

“My Dad’s terrified of Tonberries,” Fei snickered.

“Tonberries?” Spike echoed, giving Fei and I a confused look.

“Three feet high green skinned chaos-spawn with an addiction to stabbing things,” I grumbled. “I had a run in once a few years after I finished my training while I was traveling with some more experienced members of the Order to the northern regions of Cardia. Woke up in the middle of the night to find one of them less than five feet from me. Next thing I know I’m hiding up in a tree while the others made short work of it.” I paused and looked up at them. “Since then I’ve always made sure to sleep out of range of such dangers.”

“They’re not that bad, during the day at least,” Fei commented, earning everyone’s attention. “While they are considered one of the most dangerous creatures on gaia, they’re also one of the slowest, it’s actually very easy to get away from them.”

“True, but they can be pretty damn scary when you wake up to find one near you,” I said as I finished pulling out my tent and sleeping mats from my hat.

“You carry a lot of crap in that thing, you know that right?”

‘I’ve thrown a lot of things in here and forgot about them over the years, sue me.’ Suddenly, I pulled out a set of faintly glowing carved gems. ‘Oooh, I remember these.’

“What are those?” Sweetie Belle asked, staring at the gemstones.

“Just a little trinket I made after reading some enchantment tomes while staying in Ivalice.” I turned one of the gems over in my hand, noting that the energy stored in it hadn’t faded in the years it had been left in my hat. “They’re mostly harmless, and used for distractions instead of doing any damage to a target. If you’d like, I could show you what they do later.”

Their faces lit up for as they all turned to Alex. “Can we dad?” Scootaloo asked.

Alex gave a hesitant look before turning to me. “Are you sure they’re safe?”

“Positive,” I assured him before dropping my voice down to a whisper. “They just let out a burst of colored light, perfectly harmless if you set it off far enough away.”

He remained silent for a moment, concern still evident on his face, before finally nodding. “As long as no one gets hurt, I guess it’s okay.”

“He may act like a ham and a fool, but it’s definitely just that, an act.”

The crusaders let out a small cheer before we finally returned to unpacking. Once everything was said and done Alex, Matt, and I decided on who would cover which tasks.

“So let’s go over this one last time,” I started. “Alex, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo will cover setting up the tents. Fei, Sapphire and I will be placing simple wards around the camp to help keep any possible wild animals out-”

“And because you’re about as paranoid as it gets, and can’t sleep well without some kind of security measure in place out here.” I turned to glare at my daughter, who simply smiled, her ears twitching playfully.

“Yes, that too,” I admitted. “And lastly, Matt, Spike, and Sweetie Belle will be gathering firewood. Sound good?” They nodded and set about their tasks. Alex began setting up one tent while Matt lead his group off further into the woods and I pulled a small deck of cards out of my hat. I split it into three equal stacks and handed both children one. “Fei, would you mind showing Sapphire how to set these up?” She nodded and headed for the other end of camp.

“By the way,” I said, glancing at Alex as I placed a card on one of the many trees, the magic imbued in it gluing it to the trunk as the runes on the face began emitting a faint glow. “Apparently the girls got together earlier and decided on their plans for Hearth’s Warming.”

Alex paused and looked back at me. “And?”

“Fei and I have been elected to help in preparing food and sweets, Pinkie and Applejack taking up the other half of the work in their respective fields. Twilight’s parents have confirmed they’ll be coming back down for the holiday…” I trailed off as I placed several more cards. “And your house has been elected as the meeting place for everyone.”

Alex stopped what he was doing once more as he stared at me with a blank expression. “I don’t get a say in this?”

“I wasn’t really given a choice in getting elected as a cook, besides, Rainbow Dash made the argument that your house had enough room to fit everyone, as well as a large enough kitchen that I’d be able to work if you let me.”

“Wouldn’t Applejack’s house be just as good, if not better for hosting a party?” He countered.

“That was brought up as well,” I finished placing the last card and turned to him. “Applejack and Rainbow Dash flipped a coin. Your wife won, they asked me to let you know now so to make sure you’d be okay with it.”

“I guess. Just wish they would’ve let me know first. A man's house his castle? Only as long as his wife lets him rule.,” he sighed as his posture stooped momentarily.

“I wasn’t asked if I’d be willing to cook for everyone, but I’m not complaining.” I sat down on one of the logs and crossed my legs. Once I was comfortable, I pulled out a small carved stick, placing it in my mouth and biting down. I glanced over at Alex and the fillies, each of them staring at me in confusion. “It helps me focus and is a hell of a lot healthier than a pipe.”

Not waiting for a response I took a deep breath and began the the process of entering a trance state.

”First, you must block out your physical senses, starting with sight, then following in the order of smell, sound, taste, and finally, the most difficult of all, touch.” As I recalled my mentor’s instructions, I slowly closed off each sense, my body becoming more and more numb in each sense before finally forcing all sense of feeling out. “Once this has been completed, you must reopen them. Not with your mind though, but with your heart and soul, thus opening them not to the material plane, but to the plane of magic.” After a moment of concentration, I managed to “open” my eyes to find myself in a blurry, mist filled forest.

“Lastly, you must remember that while in this state you are at your weakest, so spend as little time as you can in trance, and make sure there are no enemies nearby before entering.” I gave an unconscious nod at my mentor’s words as I took in my surroundings. Along with an nearly endless amount of shapes vaguely resembling trees, near me were four figures, two bipedal and two quadrupedal that carried different “colors” than the rest of the forest. Looking off to one side, I noticed another patch of magic slowly making it’s way towards us. 

‘Most likely Matt’s group.’ Looking behind me I saw… That can’t be right. I stared in mild shock at the strange cloud of magic blocking my sense in the distance. ‘It almost feels like… No, the Everfree is too far away, and in the opposite direction.’

‘Focus on the task at hand, it doesn’t appear to be an immediate danger, so it shouldn’t be a major concern at the moment.’ Reluctantly opting to look into it later, I turned my attention back to the area around me. Extending my senses, I reached out and took hold of each seal one by one, pulling them to me so that I could begin tying them together. Locking the last one in place, I added a piece of my own magic so that I could trigger the wards at will. With everything done, I repeated the process of blocking out my senses and reopened them to see the others staring at me oddly.

“We’ve got a problem,” Matt said as he entered the camp, distracting the others from asking any questions.

“Matt, where’s Spike?” I asked with almost disturbing calmness, narrowing my eyes as I noticed the lack of said dragon by his side.

“That’s the problem,” he replied somewhat nervously. “Everything was going okay, then Sweetie Belle and I hear something hit the ground. We turned to find the wood Spike was carrying on the ground, but Spike nowhere to be found..” He rubbed the back of his head. “We tried looking for him, but he wasn’t anywhere nearby.”

“We decided to come back and let everypony know, since it might be easier to find him if we all went out to find him,” Sweetie Belle added, concern evident in her voice.

‘Or,’ I turned to the direction of the “cloud” I noticed earlier and forced my eyes to open to the magical plane once more. It was a stupid and dangerous action, any mage with even the most basic training would know that doing something like this too often can cause one to go blind, but every second is needed at the moment. I add more force as I push my senses past the cloud, seeing a familiar blur of energy shifting in the distance.

“I might know where he is,” I said as I switched back to my normal vision once more, quickly heading in the direction.

“Wait!” Sweetie Belle shouted.

“I’ll be faster on my own. Just wait here, I’ll be back with Spike soon.” Not waiting for a reply, I called forth my magic, whispering a simple “Warp” and vanishing into thin air. 



Spike gulped as he glanced around the now unfamiliar forest, looking far less like the peaceful White Tail Woods he knew of, and more like a piece of the Everfree. Failing to calm his nerves, the dragon began walking carefully in the direction he believed the camp was. 

After just a few minutes though, Spike as he heard something growl behind him. Shakily, Spike turned his head to find three timberwolves standing a short distance away from him. They didn’t look like normal timberwolves though, the bark that made up their bodies seemed much darker, with small branches sticking out like spikes at random points. The oddest part though, was that their eyes. Instead of being the usual yellow, were a bright teal.

Spike froze in horror as the beasts took another step towards him. It wasn’t until they were just a couple feet from him that Spike finally snapped to his senses. Remembering what he was, Spike inhaled deeply before launching a minor burst of fire at the head wolf.

The wolf paused for a second before looking down at the green flames around his paws, before giving a quick breath and blowing them out. Satisfied, the wolf looked back at his prey with a savage grin as he moved closer.

Spike stumbled back against a tree as the wolves brushed off his meager attempt at using his fire to fight them. As they slowly stalked closer, baring their sharpened stake like teeth as their strange teal eyes brightened, Spike picked up footsteps coming from behind him.

“Timberwolves this far from the Everfree, never would've expected that.” Spike glanced back to find Trace walking over calmly, an almost bored expression on his face as his eyes began glowing faintly. “Ah, there you are Spike, I was wondering where you wondered off to.” He paused and glanced back at the timberwolves, his expression turning serious. “You aren’t hurt, are you?”

“N-no,” Spike stuttered, caught off guard by Trace’s sudden change.

Almost immediately, the human’s expression switched to a calm smile. “Good, I would’ve been rather upset if these vermin had harmed you in any way.”

“Now then,” he said, turning back to the timberwolves as he stepped in front of Spike, blocking his view of the creatures. “I don’t know how you ended up in this area, and frankly I don’t care. The second you decided to threaten my little friend here I decided I wouldn’t show you any mercy.” The timberwolves moved closer as Trace began rummaging through his sleeves. “You have two options, you can either leave of your own free will, or I can make you leave,” he finished, his eyes glowing brighter as the wolves growled at him.

“So be it,” Trace sighed, pulling one of the glowing emeralds out of his sleeve and tossing at the wolves as he tilted his head down. “Flash!” At his command, a burst of brilliant green light erupted from the gemstone, startling the timberwolves and blinding them for a moment. As soon as the light faded, Trace threw his hand forward. “Spiritus venti audierit vocem meam, Aeroga!”

Spike peaked out from behind the mage, watching in shock as a giant gust of wind shot forth from around them, slamming into the unexpecting timberwolves and launching them back several feet.

“And now,” Trace muttered, pulling a dark green orb and tossing it at the stunned timberwolves. “Begone.” As he snapped his fingers, causing the orb and wolves to vanish.

“Wh-what’d you do to them?” Spike asked nervously.

Trace looked at him with small smile. “I sent them safely back to their natural habitat.”



Deep within the Everfree, the dark forest’s sole occupant, Zecora, jumped slightly at the sound of something crashing through the trees outside her hut, causing her cauldron to shake and the arcane liquids within to slosh. Taking a cautious step towards her window, Zecora blinked at the sight of three confused Timberwolves piled up next to a strange crystal orb.



“Well, I hope they arrived safely, don’t really have control of their exact destination beyond the general area,” Trace muttered under his breath. Giving off a small sigh, he looked back down at Spike. “Ready to head back to camp?”

Spike nodded quickly and followed the mage as they started walking through the woods. Both of them were silent for several minutes, simply allowing the sounds of their surroundings fill the void. “Thanks,” Spike said, glancing up at Trace. “And… I’m sorry.”

Trace blinked and looked down at the little dragon in confusion. “What for?”

“Just… How I’ve been acting since you showed up with Twilight,” Spike replied, looking down. “I’ve pretty much been avoiding you since day one. It’s just, whenever I see you and Twilight together, I can’t help but feel… I don’t know, sad, annoyed, maybe jealous.” He sighed and closed his eyes. “I know I should be happy that Twi’s actually gotten into a real relationship again, even if her previous one didn’t last that long. Not to mention every time I’m around you I can’t help feel uncomfortable.”

“Ah, my magic’s aura,” Trace said.

“Yeah,” Spike replied, nodding. “At least, that’s what Fei says it is.”

“Do you feel it now?” Trace asked, stopping and leaning against a tree.

Spike paused for a moment before nodding again. “Yeah, but it feels… different. It still feels kind of disturbing, but not in any way...” The little dragon searched for the words.

“Malicious,” Trace offered.

“Yeah, malicious. And I guess I was kind of worried that Twilight might have stopped caring as much about everypony while she was gone, since she ended up falling in love with you.” Spike sighed once more and looked back down. “Again, all I can really say is, I’m sorry.”

Trace remained silent for a moment, before kneeling down and placing a hand on Spike’s head, earning the little dragon’s attention. “Spike, while Twilight may have gained new interests and occupied her mind with various information back on Gaia, she never once stopped thinking about the time she would be able to return to Equestria,” he said, giving Spike a friendly smile. “And I’ll let you in on little secret. Of all the people she missed here in Equestria, you were the one she missed the most.”

Spike stared wide-eyed at Trace. “R-really?”

“Yes.” Trace said with a nod. “As an empath, whenever she would tell me about her friends and the adventures they’ve had, I could feel the emotions she felt. Joy at the memories, pride at the accomplishments such as purifying Nightmare Moon or sealing Discord.” He paused for a second, a look of disgust flashing across his face before he quickly switched back to his calm, friendly look. “And of course, sorrow at being trapped in another reality. It was when she talked about you that her emotions were their strongest.”

Spike looked down for a moment, choking back a weak sob as tears began to form in his eyes. “Y-you mean it?” he stammered.

Trace smiled at Spike and pulled him into a small hug. “Yes, I do. Twilight cares about you deeply. You’re practically family to her.” He picked Spike up and resumed walking at a slower, more relaxed pace. “You think of her as something of a motherly figure, don’t you?”

Spike hesitated for a moment, before nodding. “Yeah, but, I don’t really know how else I could think of her.” He paused and looked up at the mage, a few tears still present in his eyes. “She’s the one that hatched my egg, and she’s been there for me pretty much since day one.” He gave another pause before adding, “Well, she had help from Princess Celestia for the first year or so I think, but you get the idea.”

Trace nodded and adjusted his hat. “Twilight cares for you almost the same way, even if she herself does not realize it.” Spike opened his mouth to speak, but stopped when Trace placed his hand in front of him. “Try not to question it, emotions are… complicated.” He paused and looked up at the cloud filled sky. “The easiest way to explain it would be that because Twilight has never really thought of herself as a mother figure, her brain has decided that you’d be better suited as a younger sibling. In her heart though, she does see you as if you were her son.” He looked back down. “That make any sense?”

“Not really,” Spike admitted. “I can kind of get what you’re saying, but it doesn’t make a lot of sense.”

“As I said, emotions are complicated. Elves, especially high elves, have always had an acute understanding of emotions, but trying to explain them is harder than most people think.”

They drifted off into silence as Trace continued down the path back to the camp. After a few moments, Spike removed his nose plugs and took a curious sniff. “Huh, not that bad,” he muttered, earning Trace’s attention. “The human scent’s still there, but it’s mostly masked by much more… pleasant, scents. Kind of like a mix of various flowers, herbs, and… coffee?” he finished, looking up at Trace in confusion.

“That last one is likely less a natural aroma, and more a warning sign I need to lower my caffeine intake,” Trace grumbled, vaguely recalling what Twilight had told him about Spike’s problem with humans. After a moment he stopped and sighed once more. “As much as I enjoy the weather, I think just walking back to camp might take a bit too long.” He looked down at his companion. “Hang on.”

Spike complied, grabbing the mage’s robe with his claws Trace raised his hand into the air, muttering a quick “warp” as he snapped his fingers, making both Spike and him vanish into thin air




(Trace)


I stumbled as we landed, just barely keeping my grip on Spike as I braced myself against a tree. Carefully, I set Spike down to allow him to brace himself against the trees well as we both tried to fight back the urge to vomit. ‘Right, this is why I don’t do non-single entity trans-location too often.’

“Sorry about that,” I said once the sickness faded. “It’s been a while since I’ve used that spell on more than just myself.”

“It’s fine,” Spike groaned, the effects hitting him a little harder due to his smaller form. “Let’s just get back to camp.” I nodded as we set off, keeping our pace slow to allow Spike time to get over his nausea.

After a few minutes, we found ourselves at the edge of camp. As I gave a quick tap on one of the trees, everyone snapped to us and began hurrying over.

“Spike!” the Crusaders shouted as they tackled the little dragon.

Alex smiled as he watched the fillies began looking over Spike before turning to me. “Were there any problems?”

“Nothing too dangerous, just a few timberwolves that wandered away from the Everfree. I managed to send them back to where they belong.” ’And removed some strange magic that had mutated them’.

“So then” I said as I pulled out the gems, along with a special launcher. “Which color should I use first, just as a demonstration?”

“Red?” Spike offered with a shrug.

“Good enough.” I dropped the selected gem into the launcher before pointing it into the air. Using a bit of magic, I activated the launcher, sending the gemstone into the air before it exploded in a burst of light.

“Oooh,” the fillies chorused, staring up at the explosion.

“That’s it? We had better fireworks back home, probably cheaper too.” Matt asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Not exactly,” I said, pulling a small etching tool from my hat and using it to scratch three diamonds on one of the sapphires. “Watch.” I repeated the process, only this time the explosion appeared in the shape I had marked on the stone.

This time the children gasped. “Rarity’s cutie mark!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed, jumping in place.

I smiled and pulled out a few more gems. “Any requests?”



We continued firing gems until the moon had risen high into the sky before deciding that we should call it a night. As everyone was making their way into the tents I offered mine to Fei and Spike and opted to sleep outside, arguing that the tent wasn’t big enough for the three of us.

Alex, Matt, and I stayed up for a little while longer, mostly discussing plans for the next few days, as well as what to do for Hearth’s Warming. Eventually we decided to call it a night, with Matt opting to stand guard. He scaled a tree saying something about the view.

I armed the wards before lying down in front Spike and Fei’s tent, looking up at the clear night sky. “Go raibh maith agat as an oíche álainn, Luna, (Thank you for this beautiful night, Luna)” I whispered before closing my eyes and drifting off to sleep.

> Chapter 15
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


THE MAGE’S JUMP
BY GENOSABER
CHAPTER 15
(Twilight)


‘Let’s see…

Room cleaned? Check.

Furniture moved to provide everypony room to set up sleeping bags? Check.

Drinks and snacks set up? check.

Trace and Spike thanked for helping set up said drinks and snacks before leaving on their camping trip? Check, and check.

All this done with at least thirty minutes before my friends get here?’ I smiled as I scratched off the last item on my list. “Check.”

“Now then, I still have about another hour before they’re supposed to arrive,” I muttered. I immediately found myself scanning the room, trying to think of something that could help pass the time. Almost instantly, my eyes landed on the stack of books Trace had finished digging out of his bag this morning. I teleported over to the stack and lifted the first book on the stack and inspected the cover.


To Love the Darkness
By Melethainiel Blackwood
Cardian Translation by Tamera Breckenridge


‘A romance novel? Not my first choice, but it’s better than nothing, and I have been rather fond of the other elven stories I’ve read.’ Trotting back down into the main room, I grabbed a couple of the various fruit kebabs Trace had laid out for me before settling on the couch and opening the book.




(Later)


I turned the page to the next chapter just as somepony began knocking on the door. I placed a bookmark on at my stopping point before teleporting it back upstairs. Smiling, I opened the door to find the six ponies I had been waiting for on the other side.

“Hey Girls, glad you could make it,” I said as I stepped aside to let them in.

“Well of course Darling, why in the world wouldn’t we?” Rarity said as she and Fluttershy trotted in, her usual pleasant expression never fading. “After all, we haven’t really gotten a chance to get together and talk in such a long time.” Her smile turned somewhat mischievous. “Of course, most of us have all been rather busy the past few months. And I can’t blame you for wanting to spend as much time as possible with your new coltfriend.”


“I-I haven’t been spending that much time with him,” I tried to argue.

“No offense sugarcube, but the two of ya have been practically inseparable lately,” Applejack said. “Ain't nothing wrong with that. Ah’d say we’re all glad to see you spending that time with somepony yer happy with.”

"Yup!" Pinkie bounced over, grinning. "Especially since it's your first big relationship, not counting that stupid rover..." Her smile drooped for a second before she shoved her face right in front of mine. "This is your first biggie relationship, right?"

“Y-yes,” I stammered, caught off guard by the question. ‘I… I guess I hadn’t really put much thought into it. So much has been happening since we got here that I haven’t had the chance to really think about this.’

I was so caught up in my own thoughts that I hadn’t noticed Pinkie had begun talking again before she stopped and hopped away. As the rest of the girls entered I gave each of them a quick greeting as I continued to dwell on my thoughts.

‘To think, just a couple years ago I never would have even considered being in a relationship. I was so caught up in my studies that I isolated myself from everypony other than my family and Princess Celestia. When I told Trace I loved him though, I don’t think I’ve been that happy since I moved to Ponyville.’

‘The same could be said about my friends. Before meeting them I was content to just keep to myself, but since moving here, I can’t help but look back at how I was before and realise just how foolish it seems. Living everyday like the one before, with only slight change in each one. The idea seemed fine to me at first, but now it just seems so… boring. I guess-’

“Hey, Equestria to Twilight, come in Twilight.” I blinked and looked to my side, finding Rainbow Dash giving me an odd look. “You okay? You seem kind of... distracted,” she said, gesture in front of me with her hoof. 

I turned back to find myself just a few steps away from one of the tables. “Oh.” I quickly took a step back, turning back to Dash. “Yeah, I guess I did get lost in my thoughts,” I said, giving a sheepish smile.

She just chuckled and shook her head. “It happens to everypony once in a while,” she said with a small smile. “So, anything in particular on your mind?”

“Just thinking about how much has changed over the years,” I said as we moved away from where everypony else was. “I was thinking about how I changed when I first came here and met everypony, how I was overjoyed when Celestia let me stay here in Ponyville. And then there’s what Pinkie said, about this being my first real relationship.”

Her smile faltered as she looked away for a second. “Yeah, there was actually something I wanted to talk to you about concerning that,” she said as she adopted an sorrowful expression. “You know that Alex has some pretty bad scars from his past. Not just physical ones either.” She glanced over at the others. “And from what I’ve heard from Fluttershy, Matt’s no better. I don’t know if it’s the same with Trace, but from what he’s said about his world, I can’t imagine his life was perfect.”

I thought back to when we went to Canterlot. “I don’t know about physical, but I’ve heard him mention something about a ‘magical’ scar. I tried to ask him about it once, but he said he’d rather not talk about it.” I suppressed a shudder at the memory of the tone he had used when I brought it up.

Dash simply nodded. “If it’s anything like what Alex went through, it best if you don’t force him to. There may come a point in the future where he feels comfortable enough to talk about it with you, but until then Twi, just wait.” I opened my mouth to speak, but she stopped me with her hoof. “I’m serious Twilight, nothing good will come of you trying to force him to talk about any darker points in his past. The only things you can really do is wait till he’s ready. Even if you feel like you need to know, wait. Forcing him to talk about it will just end in both of you being hurt, understand?” I blinked a bit before nodding, surprised by her tone.

Almost instantly, her expression brightened, and she gave an almost forced smile. “Come on, don’t want the others to start wondering why we’re just standing in the corner looking depressed while they’re enjoying themselves.” I nodded and trotted over to the tables, noticing Rarity and Trixie looking over the various snacks that had been laid out.

“I must say, Twilight, you’ve outdone yourself with the catering,” Rarity commented as she grabbed a lemon bar and took a bite. “These are simply divine.”

I gave a nervous chuckle. “You can thank Trace and Spike for the food. They spent most of their free time today making everything.”

“I’ll be sure to give my thanks next time I see them,” Trixie said as she finished a pastry, grabbing a napkin to wipe off a few stray crumbs from her muzzle. Once she was done, she set the napkin done before turning to me with a curious expression. “By the way Twilight, I wondering how your research on a way to help Alex with his problem with magic. You mentioned last time we talked that the information from Trace’s medical examination might help find an answer?”

“Well, yes… but at the same time, no,” I said with a small sheepish look. “It’s a little difficult to explain, but unfortunately- ” I quickly teleported my notes in front of me, “I haven’t made any major progress in actually finding a cure for Alex’s problem, but I’ve got some ideas that might work.

“Unlike ponies, who draw magic in from the world around us through our starswirl glands, Trace, and I suspect every other magic user on Gaia, instead draw magic from within themselves without any discernible origin or-”

“But, that doesn’t make any sense,” Trixie interrupted, looking over the notes. “How can his body produce magic without a definable source?”

“I asked Trace about it the other day. He stated that magic on Gaia comes from the user’s soul.”

“But, wouldn’t that mean that using is magic would shorten his life span?” Trixie’ asked, her face turning pale at the thought.

“Not exactly,” I said quickly, flipping through the papers before finding one with a series of quotes written on it. “Basically, mages drawn on excess energy generated by their souls, mixing it with a small amount of the magic generated by the world around them to reshape the energy into various spells. However, there are a few types of magic that do draw directly from ones life energy. These are not widely practiced and the few that know of them are to only use them when no other option exists.”

I gave a small sigh of relief as Trixie’s face regained some of it’s color. “That’s the basic idea anyway. I’m pretty sure Trace has a few books on the subject in his collection if you’d like to read up on it tomorrow.”

“I’ll think about it,” she said after a moment. “I think I’ll go see how the others are doing. I truly hope your research goes well, Twilight.” With that, she turned and began trotting with Rarity over towards where Rainbow and Applejack were seated. 

“So do I,” I whispered before glancing around the room. After a moment I caught sight of Fluttershy sitting by herself at one of the tables. ‘Guess now would be as good a time as any to ask her.’ I quickly teleported my notes back to the bedroom before trotting over towards Fluttershy.

“Oh, hello Twilight,” she said as I got close, giving me a curious look. “Is something wrong?”

“No,” I said quickly giving her a reassuring smile. “I was actually just wondering if you’d seen Owlowiscious? I haven't seen him that much since I got back.”

“Oh.” Almost immediately her lips turned up in a small smile. “I guess I should have told you, Owlowiscious found a mate not long after you returned. He’s probably been too busy hunting to visit that often.”

“T-that’s great,” I said, failing to hold back a grin. “I’m glad he’s finally settled down to start a family.” I sighed as my expression dropped. “Still hope I can see him again though.”

“I’m sure that in another month or so when the owlets are able to fend for themselves he’ll be sure to come visit more often,” she replied, giving a comforting smile.

I couldn’t help but smile in return. “You’re right, when he can he’ll drop by the library,” I said, taking a seat across from Fluttershy. “Was there anything you wanted to talk about?”

She hesitated for a moment before speaking “Well… I was wondering how Fei was doing. I’m sure it’s been difficult adjusting to life here.”

“Not really,” I said after a minute. “Overall it seems like she’d adjusting just fine. I guess her past has something to do with that.” Fluttershy quickly looked down with sorrowful expression, remembering what Trace had said about what happened to her parents. “Though from what Trace has said, she actually seems to be in a much better state emotionally. He thinks it might be due to her having a chance at a real childhood again, as well as the support from both her new father and the crusaders.”

“Oh, that’s wonderful,” she said. “Though I’m sure she must be quite a hoof full at times, considering how energetic she can get.”

“Yeah, I was actually wondering that myself.” Dash’s voice behind me caused me to jump slightly. “I mean, Scootaloo’s great and all, but she can be pretty tiring when she wants to be.”

“Well, I can say for sure, since for the most part I’ve only had to help her with her studies so far,” I commented. “Though, Trace would definitely agree that she can be a hoof full at times.”

Dash chuckled as she sat down next to Fluttershy. “Something tells me you have a few stories from personal experience.”

“Well, there have a been a few times that Trace wasn’t around to see,” I admitted, already expecting what she was going to say next.

“Oh I gotta hear this,” she said as she leaned forward.

I gave a brief hesitant look before sighing. “I suppose it wouldn’t hurt. Now, where should I begin...”




(later)


As everypony began settling in for the night, Dash spoke up. “Hey Twi, there was something I wanted to ask you.” I turned to find both her and Rarity looking at me with rather… mischievous expressions.

‘I have a bad feeling about this.’ “Okay, what’d you want to know?”

“Well, Rarity and I were wondering if you gotten to… ‘experience’ how Trace’s fingers feel?” 

‘And that would be why.’ “W-what!?” I stammered as I felt heat rush to my face.

“Ah don’t need ta hear this,” Applejack muttered, covering her ears with her pillow. After a moment Trixie and Fluttershy followed suit.

“Oh yes darling, you simply must give us the details,” Rarity added, ignoring Applejack’s comment. “From what Rainbow Dash has said, human fingers can be very… satisfying.”

“I-I haven’t anything like that with him,” I stammered, my blush deepening. “I haven’t even thought of doing anything like that with him. I’m not even sure he’d want to doing something like that!”

Dash just rolled her eyes. “Twi, I’ve seen how to two of you act when you’re together, how happy both of you are. Do you honestly think he’d be against being frisky with you just because of something like the fact that you’re a different species? Last I checked he said his parents were of different species, even if they looked similar.” After a moment's pause he expression turned mischievous again. “And honestly, you never once thought about anything with him?”

“Oh fer Celestia’s sake,” Applejack muttered, turning to glare at Rainbow Dash. “If she said she hasn’t thought about, then she hasn’t thought about it. Besides, what the two of them do in the privacy of their own bedroom is none of yer business.” She quickly turned back over, laying her head on her pillow. “Now if you wouldn’t mind, some of us would like to get some sleep!”

“Killjoy,” Dash muttered before laying down. “Maybe if Elusive gave you more slap and tickle, it might loosen you up.” Moments later the sound of her snoring confirmed she had fallen asleep.

Not long after everypony else had followed suit and drifted off to sleep, while I tossed and turned for several minutes trying to get comfortable as Rainbow Dash’s words echoed in my mind.

‘Gah! why did Dash have to bring up something like that!? Of course I’ve never thought of doing that with Trace...’ I let out a soft sigh and turned over once more. ‘Okay, maybe I have thought about it once in the past. But that was Rarity’s fault! I never would have thought about it if she hadn’t brought it up in the first place. Besides it’s just like I tried to tell Dash, we’re two completely different species, I can’t help but feel like that he wouldn’t want to take the relationship that far. Not yet at least.

‘Though, maybe Dash is right. I’m sure Alex had some reservations about it at first, but it’s not like it’s a secret that he and Dash have… consummated their relationship.’ I let out another sigh and turned onto my back. ‘I suppose it might help that Trace, despite only knowing me for little over a week, was willing to leave everything he had behind, all because of the feeling he had for me.’ I paused as a memory from a few weeks ago popped into my mind.



“H-hey Trace?” I said hesitantly, making him look up from his cup of coffee. “I have to ask, do you ever miss your friends and family back on Gaia? Or ever regret coming here?”

“I miss them every day of my life Twilight,” he said without any hesitation, a solemn expression growing on his face. “But it’s not just people like Arcana and Louis, everyone that I’ve lost, my mother and father, Laura, ” his voiced dropped to a low enough whisper that I couldn’t hear what he said next, before quickly returning to his normal volume, “But do I regret it? never.” He leaned back in his seat, calmly taking a drink of his coffee before continuing.

“While I may have left the majority of my life behind when I came here, it’s given me opportunities I likely never would’ve gotten if I stayed on Gaia. A job I love, a peaceful life, the chance to raise a family of my own,” he stopped and turned to me, his usual calm smile appearing once more, “And of course, the chance to be with a woman that I love again.” Without another word he stood up and walked around the table before sitting down and wrapping his arms around me. I remained silent as he simply held me there for a minute before speaking once more.

“It’s unlikely I would have gotten this chance if I remained on Gaia. I had become such a shut in that I rarely ever really interacted with anyone anymore. My life had fallen into an endless pattern of either working for hours on end or moping around my house with nothing to do and no reason to go outside. I didn’t think I’d ever fall in love again… until you dropped into my life.” He tightened his hold one my a bit, to the point where I could hear his heart beating in his chest. “Thank you, Twilight.”

I sat there stunned, unable to even form a response. Finally I settled on adjusting myself so that I could wrap my forelegs around him in return, closing my eyes as I pressed my head against his chest as his words repeated themselves in my mind.



‘Maybe… maybe I’m just overthinking this. It’s still a bit too early to really consider doing anything with Trace just yet. I should really just go to sleep.’ I gave a small grunt of annoyance as I tried to adjust to a comfortable position. ‘Easier said than done. I’ve been trying to get comfortable for Celestia knows how long now, and so it seems as if-’ I paused as it finally dawned on me. ‘Right, this is the first time I’ve slept alone since I told Trace I loved him. I guess I’ve just gotten so used to cuddling up next to him at night that it feels weird to lay be myself now. I suppose I was too busy thinking about what Rainbow Dash said to really notice.’

I turned my head over to the upper section of the room, seeing part of Trace’s pillow hanging off the edge of the bed. Carefully, I grabbed the pillow with my magic and pulled it down to me. “I suppose this will have to do,” I whispered as I wrapped my forelegs around the pillow in the same way I usually did with Trace, laying my head on it as I let out a final sigh before closing my eyes. After a few moments, I felt my sleepiness take over as I slowly fell asleep.

> Chapter 16
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


THE MAGE’S JUMP
BY GENOSABER
CHAPTER 16


As I awoke, I smiled at the feeling of my senses returning to me. The most obvious ones being the feeling of soft fur pressed against my chest, mixed with the familiar light yet fragrant scent notifying me of the sleeping mare beside me.

‘Gods how I’ve missed this feeling,’ I carefully opened my eyes, finding Twilight’s face  mere inches from my own. A small, relaxed smile on her muzzle.

“You’ve been saying that almost every day lately,” Zero mused in a tone indicating he was only half paying attention.

‘Zero?’

“Hmm?”

‘The last five years of my life have been, to put it simply, hell when it came to trying to get any sleep. Half the time I would just end up lying awake for hours on end in that oversized, empty bed. The few times I could get to sleep I’d either wake up within a few hours, crying from the memories of my wife’s death, or in the past couple years, screaming in agony from the nightmares. Compared to that, this is euphoric.’

“...Fair enough. Now then, your ‘marefriend’ should be waking up soon, so I’ll go ahead and leave you two alone for a while.”

Right on cue, I felt Twilight shift slightly, letting out a soft moan as she was pulled from her slumber. Carefully, I leaned closer, dragging my hand from its place on her withers to her nape before bringing our lips together in a kiss.

She reacted instantly, giving another moan as she pressed herself closer. I held the embrace for several moments, relishing in the feeling of her body’s warmth, along with the joyful feeling of her love before finally pulling myself away.

“Good morning, mo ghrá (my love),” I said.

“Morning,” she yawned, before smiling at me with half-lidded eyes. “How long have you been up?”

“Just a few minutes.” I brushed a stray bit of her mane away from her eyes, before adjusting myself to see the clock behind us. “Six thirty, still about two hours before I have to go help Alex finish setting up the illusion wards,” I commented before returning to my original position. “And if I recall correctly, your parents shouldn’t be arriving until about noon.”

“Which should be around the time you get back from the theater before they get here,” Twilight added with another yawn. “Factor in about forty five minutes for breakfast before you go, and that leaves us with seventy five minutes of free time.”

“True.” I turned onto my back, moving my free hand behind my head while my other hand began lightly scratching Twilight’s ear. “Any idea how to spend that time?” I asked.

She smiled before laying her head on my chest, her horn glowing as she grabbed a book off the nightstand. I smiled and laid my head back as she opened the book and began reading from where she had left off. Setting a simple mental alarm, I closed my eyes and stuck to calmly scratching Twilight’s ear while she read.



‘Chalk, compact channeling staves, powdered ether crystals, book of wards, incense and oils… Likely won’t be needing those last two.’ Satisfied that I had everything I would need, I closed the pack and threw it over my shoulder before turning to Twilight over on the couch. “Fei said she’d be back from her meeting with the crusaders by the time your parents get here.” I adjusted my scarf before taking a pair of wool gloves from my coat pocket, slipping them on as I continued. “So, barring some major problem with the setup, we could all go out to eat as soon as I get off.” She nodded and smiled.

“Take care,” she said. I nodded with a smile of my own before heading out the door.

Within seconds I picked up the nauseating scent of fish. Glancing upwards, I found the source of the smell hanging on one of the library’s branches just a few feet out of my reach.

“This is the… third time this has happened, correct?”

‘So far.’ I began glancing around the area. ‘Any sign of that strange green mare that’s seems to be around whenever this happens?’

“Not in the immediate area. My guess is she learned from you using that ‘Evil Eye’ trick on her last time that it’s wiser to observe from a distance.”

‘Guess so.’ I turned towards the library, judging the distance to it and the height of the branch, before running forward and using the momentum to launch myself high enough to grab the branch. ‘Now comes the hard part.’ I carefully started making my way to the fish, silently praying that the branch wouldn’t break.

“Y’know, this would be a lot easier if you just used a simple ‘aero’ spell to cut the line.”

‘Magic is not meant to be used so lightly, to do so is considered lazy. Magic is not a shortcut in life, it’s a gift that is to be handled and used with great care and years of training.’ I stopped as I got within reach of the small rope holding the fish up. ‘Those that would abuse magic to accomplish an otherwise simple task do not deserve that gift.’ I quickly pulled out a small knife I normally used for carving runes into wood or dirt.

“Then what of the time you used magic to burn a handful of used bandages the day you arrived, or using magic to cut the sling after you left the hospital?” Zero asked in an odd tone.

‘Simple.’ I reached over and, with a single quick motion of the razor-sharp blade, severed the line near the branch, causing the fish to fall to the ground. ‘Burning the bandages was the quickest and safest way to dispose of them. As for the sling, I didn’t have my knife on me at the time, and they had made it all but impossible to remove otherwise.’ I dropped down and grabbed the rope, keeping it at arm’s length as I made my way to the nearest trash and dropped it in. ‘A bit of a waste I suppose. But I don’t have anything to hold it in, and I’ve already wasted too much time.'

I heard Zero give a low chuckle as I switched to a light jog. ‘Something you find amusing?’

“I was just thinking of your answers. It is rather uncommon to find a mage as young as yourself so disciplined. Your teacher must have been very wise.”

‘She was.’ I smiled at the memories of my teacher. ‘One of the greatest of her generation. While her teaching methods were a bit… unconventional at time, and she was rather well known for being a very strict teacher. She was also very kind and caring, always making sure I was never actually harmed during training, and offering any advice she could if I was faced with a problem in life I couldn’t figure out.’ My smile turned somewhat melancholy. ‘I still miss her, and wish I knew what had happened to her to cause her disappearance.’

“One must not dwell on the past. But instead use the knowledge they have gained to move forward in the present.” I stumbled a bit, caught off guard by his words. “Sound familiar?”

‘It’s one of the minor teachings of lady Shiva. Though it’s a rather uncommon one, most people that quote it don’t even know where it’s from, or mistake it for one of the teaching of Ramuh.’

“I had quite a bit of free time in life after becoming the first archmage, it was much simpler back then. But the point still stands, you shouldn’t spend your time dwelling on the past, for that cannot be changed. You should focus on your life now, think of the family and friends you have gained, and use the skills you have learned to push forward in life.”

I couldn’t help but find myself agreeing with him. With this in mind, I picked up my pace as I neared the theater, choosing to focus on the task at hand rather than the that of the past.



(Later, Twilight)

“Hi Mom. Hi Dad,” I said as I opened the door, wrapping my forelegs around my parents. “You’re,” I glanced at the clock. “... Almost an hour early?” I looked back at them confused.

“We decided to catch an earlier train,” Mom explained. “We had nothing to do, and thought it would be better than just lounging around the house with nothing to do until we were supposed to leave.”

“Fair enough,” I said, stepping back to let them inside. “Is there anything I can get you to drink?” I asked, taking a few steps towards the kitchen.

“Tea would be nice,” Dad offered. I nodded and began trotting to the doorway.

Just as I was about to head into the kitchen to get our drinks, I heard the front door open. Turning around, I saw Fei walk in before quickly shutting the door, a somewhat annoyed look on her face, as well her ears, hair, and clothes being covered in twigs, dirt, and…

‘Tree sap?’ Curious, I trotted over to her, seeing that she was also shaking slightly from the cold. “Um, is everything okay?”

“Could be better,” she muttered before glancing towards my parents, giving them a nervous wave.

“Well, what happened?” I asked, gesturing to the patch of tree sap on her sleeves.

“I don’t know!” she exclaimed, throwing her arms outward. “One minute I’m sitting in the the wagon with the others, the next Scootaloo hits something and we get sent flying. After that we decided we’d all just head home and stay warm.” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “Was too damn cold to be outside anyway.”

“Why didn't you wear something… warmer?” I asked, noticing the only clothing she had on to protect herself from the cold was a scarf and a long sleeved shirt. ‘Actually, that’s all I’ve really seen her wear apart from those “kimonos” she had when she arrived.’

“I don’t have anything warmer,” she replied, a hint of annoyance in her voice. “Cardian winter is rarely that bad.” She let out a small growl. “And the weather hasn’t even been all that bad here either, up till today anyway…”

“I’ll bring it up with Trace later, we’ll see if Rarity would be willing to make something a bit more fitting for the current weather.” I gave her a small smile. “For now, let’s focus on getting you warmed up. Does a hot bath sound nice?”

“That sounds wonderful right now,” she said, a pleading look in her eyes as she continued to shake slightly. I gave her a pleasant smile before ushering her up the stairs. “I’ll be back in a few minutes,” I said, turning back to my parents. They simply smiled and nodded before turning back to Spike, continuing their conversation as I lead the shivering child upstairs.



“Ahh,” she sighed as she sunk into the water, her ears twitching joyfully. “Thank you so much for this.”

“I’m happy to help, Fei,” I said, dropping her clothes in a small tub of water to soak before turning back to her. “Is there anything else you need?”

“I’m fine. Think I’ll just stay in here for a bit, then go lie down in a nice, warm blanket until Dad comes home,” she said, sinking further into the water. I smiled once more before heading back downstairs.

“So,” Dad started as I reentered the room. “How’s the little one doing?”

“She’s fine. Much happier now that she’s not freezing cold or covered in tree sap,” I said, before noticing he was the only one in the room. “Where did mom and Spike go?”

“They decided that some snacks to go along with the tea would be nice,” he said, gesturing to the kitchen before looking at me with a curious expression. “But your mother and I were wondering something.”

I blinked before taking a seat on couch. “And what would that be?”

“Well, you and Trace have been together for a few months now, and Fei is his daughter, right?” I nodded, a vague idea of what he was getting at forming in my mind. “Well your mother and I were concerned about what your relationship with her is. We know you're happy with Trace, and he seems like a fine young gentlecolt, but we’re about what would happen if things didn’t work out in the future.” He glanced up to the door leading to the bedroom. “If things went south, it would hurt everyone involved. We don’t want to see you or Trace in that situation, nor do we want to see Spike and Fei caught up in the aftermath of it.”

I bit back a small spark of annoyance, managing to keep a calm expression as I spoke. “I understand your concern, and I’d be lying if I said it hadn’t crossed my mind as well.” I took a deep breath before speaking. “I talked to Trace about it the once, he said ‘you can never really plan for a relationship failing, as things will almost always change between the time you made the plan and when it  actually happens. All you can really do is put effort in keep both yourself and your significant other happy, and if the relations does come to an end, do your best to make sure no one is too hurt by the separation’.” I sighed and shrugged. “And I have to agree, all we can really do is try to keep both of us happy, and if we break up, do what we can to not cause the other too much suffering.” I gave a small, somewhat sad smile. “I hope that never comes to pass, though. I haven’t been this happy since I moved to Ponyville and I know Trace is recovering from… something that happened to him several years ago.” ‘Might be best not to bring up Laura to them yet, no telling how they’d react, and I know Trace is still a bit uncomfortable talking about it.’

He smiled and gave a quick nod. “That’s good to hear, and your mother and I hope it stays-” he was cut off by the sound of screaming from the kitchen. Casting a quick glance, we both jumped off the couch and galloped towards the doorway.

looking inside, we found Mom having stumbled back from the open fridge, staring at it in shock. Spike on the other hand was simply standing beside the fridge with a claw pressed to his face.

“Dear? Is everything alright?” Dad asked in a confused tone as he trotted up to her, placing a hoof on her shoulder.

She pointed a hoof forward. “I-in the fridge,” she said nervously. Confused, I turned and looked to see what had caused my mother’s sudden panic. ‘Doesn’t look like there’s anything bad in here. Milk, eggs, some vegetables, meat, and-’

‘Oh. Right...

Turning back to my parents, I gave a sheepish chuckle. “Heh, guess I probably should have mentioned Trace and Fei are omnivores...”

Dad sighed but gave a slight smile. “That would have likely saved us any trouble.”

“Well, it’s not like it’s ever actually come up before,” I offered. They both thought about it for a moment before nodding in acceptance. “Anyway, I think I’ll help Spike finish getting the snacks, you two go and relax,” I said, giving them a small smile.

They both nodded and made their way out as I began helping Spike finish setting everything up.

“So,” I started as Spike and I took a seat at the center table. “We still have time before Trace is supposed to get back, is there anything you want to talk about?”

“Well, you never did talk about how you and Trace met,” Spike said. “I mean, we got a summary of what happened from him the day you got back, but there’s still some parts that are a bit vague.”

“I’m actually interested in that myself. To be honest,” Mom added. “I mean, travelling to another reality, it’s only ever heard of in magic fiction stories and the occasional ramblings of lunatics. To think of it actually happening… ” She trailed off, at a loss for words.

I gave a small smile. “Before I met Alex, I didn’t think such a thing could happen, but now…” I shook my head. “Things just keep getting crazier since then. First he shows up, changes the lives of several ponies in town. Then Matt shows up, and while he hasn’t been as influential, he’s still affected a few ponies here.” My expression drops a bit. “Then I get a strange package in the mail. I guess that would be a good place to start.” I took a deep breath before closing my eyes as I tried to recall everything that happened. “It all started about five months ago….”




(Trace)


“Now then,” I said as I finished placing the final ward before turning to the unicorn stallion standing a few feet away. “Do you recall the instructions properly, or shall we go over them one last time?”

“I think I’ve got it,” he replied, pulling out an iron rod with several colorful gems embedded in it, each one glowing with a faint hint of magic. “All I have to do is put a bit of magic into the crystal the matches the color of the ward needed for the scene, and it’ll trigger the effect you’ve put in them until I stop, right?”

I nodded. “That’s right. And,” I glanced over at Alex a few meters away, where he had been watching me with slight caution since I had started. “I’ve made sure to double check each ward to ensure they are absolutely safe.”

I started walking over as I noticed him breathing a sigh, grabbing my coat from the rack next to him. “I don’t mean to sound rude, but I thought we already discussed that I’m not a bad guy,” I said with a hint of annoyance. I put up a hand as he tried to speak. “Alex, I know your reason for not trusting me as mage. But at the same time you watching me like a hawk while I’m working is, in some way, an insult to my practice. I’ve studied magic seals and enchanting in my free since I was thirteen, same age my magical abilities began to develop. I take great pride in my work, and the fact that illusions and defensives wards are my specialty makes this job a bit more important to me.”

He let out another sigh. “I… apologize. But while I’m still admittedly a little cautious about trusting you, it’s hard to ignore a lifetime of bad experiences, but what I’m even more worried about is something going wrong during the play,” he explained. “The Hearth’s Warming play is a major tradition in Equestria, and if anything goes wrong, there’s no telling how badly it’ll affect everyone involved.” He shrugged. “It’s nothing personal Trace, I’m just concerned about anything happening that could cause problems for this theater, those who depend on this place for their daily bread, and anyone else involved in this play.” He looked me in the eye with a light smile, “And that definitely includes you.”

I mulled it over for a moment, before relenting. “I suppose you're right,” I sighed. “I’m just letting my pride get the better of me. But as I’ve said, I made sure each seal is stable.” I grabbed my pack and began packing things up.

“You’re welcome to stay and watch the rehearsal,” he offered. “Get a chance to see how well your seals work.”

I smiled and shook my head. “Thank you for the offer, but I’m supposed to spend time with Twilight and her parents before the play.” I gave a questioning look. “I assume the little agreement we had earlier still stands?”

He smiled. “As I said before, if there’s at least one empty box, it’s yours, otherwise you’ll have to simply pay for the extra seats. Other than that, yes, you’ll get a five percent discount for helping set up.”

I nodded once before throwing my pack over my shoulder. “Thank you Alex. I’ll see you later.” He gave a similar farewell as I exited the theater, giving a relaxed sigh as a cold breeze hit me.

Thankfully, the trip back home was uneventful. Reaching the door, I stopped as I heard multiple voices inside. ‘Guess they got here a little bit early.’ Putting a on a small smile, I opened the door to find Twilight, her parents, and Spike seated at the center table.

“Hello Trace. We were just talking about you,” Velvet said, giving a small smile.

I raised an eyebrow as I made my way over to the couch. “Oh? Should I be worried?” I asked, glancing at Twilight as I dropped my pack on the couch.

She gave a light chuckle. “I was simply telling them how we met.”

“A yes, the nine insane days that would end up changing the lives of several people, a pony, and a kitsune.” I dropped down into the open seat beside her. “So, what day where we on?”

“Three,” Twilight answered. “Your meeting with the council, and my time alone with Arcana.”

Velvet smiled once more. “Your sister sounds like a wonderful young…”

“Lady,” I stated.

“Lady,” she amended. “It’s hard to believe you would have raised her all on your own. And at a rather young age if I’m not mistaken?”

“Aye,” I nodded solemnly. “I was seventeen when she was born, with our father having fallen in battle against a cult of Chaos mages and our mother dying in childbirth, I was the only family in the area that could care for her. Though I had some help from a few friends of the family. Primarily lady Cecilia, who looked after her when I would have to go out on work for the Order.” My mood brightened as a thought crossed my mind. “Though, I did manage to prove those narrow minded morons that believed someone such as myself was not fit to raise a child, even one of my own blood.”

Night Light gave a curious expression. “What do you mean?”

I raised a hand and snapped my fingers, earning surprised expressions from both of them as my hand was coated in flames. “Black mages such as myself are masters of evocation, the art of using our magic to harness the elements and use it for mainly… destructive purposes.” I closed my hand, extinguishing the fire. “Up until a couple centuries ago mankind’s fear of us lead them to act… violently… whenever a person was revealed to practice such magic. Even now however, plenty of people are a bit nervous about us, and a rather sizable group of them argued that I, as a black mage, would not be able to raise her properly. A few even outright stated they believed I would “corrupt” the child and turn her to the path of black magic.” I gave a smug smile. “Not only did she choose to be a white mage, she’s a model citizen. Wouldn’t dream of hurting anyone unless they committed some horrid crime or something.”

“That’s good to hear,” Velvet said, offering a sad smile. “You must miss her greatly.”

I nodded. “Aye. While I don’t regret my choice to come here, I still wish I could see her again.” We drifted off into an uneasy silence for a moment, before I sighed and stood up. “But that is out of my control. I should focus more on the now than the past.” I looked at each of them. “I’ll prepare something a bit more filling than light snacks and help fight the cold. Twilight, I’m assuming Fei’s already home?”

“Yes, but there’s something I wanted to talk to you about,” she said. I nodded and motioned her to follow me as I head into the kitchen.

As we entered I grabbed a pot and placed it in the sink. “I assume this has something to do with the weather?” I asked, turning the faucet on and  letting the pot slowly fill with water.

She nodded. “When she came back earlier she was practically freezing, and when I asked her she said she didn’t have anything better to wear in winter because Cardia isn’t normally as bad.”

I sighed as I grabbed a knife. “I had a feeling that would happen. Fei hasn’t spent much time outside of Cornelia since she moved there about four years ago, and the region the city is in rarely ever gets that cold,” I explained as I began chopping up carrots. “If I had known it would get this bad I’d have made sure to ask Rarity if she’d be willing to make something for her to wear. As it stands I’ll have to simply ask her tomorrow at the party.”

Twilight smirked. “I’m sure Rarity would be happy to do so. She’s probably got a few ideas for clothes already planned out. She told me a while back that she's been dying to get her hooves on a female human ever since Alex showed up.”

I chuckled. “I wouldn’t be surprised.” I stopped for a moment and turned to Twilight. “Anyway, why don't you go back and spend some more time with your folks, I’m sure they’d like to know the rest of the story. Though I’d appreciate it if you could go wake Fei up first.”

She nodded. “Sure thing,” she replied before turning and trotting out of the room. Once she was gone I returned to my task, humming a simple tune while I worked.




(later)


“Are you sure this looks alright?” Twilight asked as she inspected herself in the mirror, looking over the rather simple gown she was wearing. “It seems a little… casual.”

“You look fine love,” I replied, turning to her as I adjusted my tie. “As for casual, I’ll agree the gown is simple in design, but it looks wonderful either way.” I grabbed the strip of cloth and began tying my hair back. “Besides, is it really that necessary for you to get dressed up for something like the theater?”

“It’s not just that, it’s our first real date.” She grabbed the brush with her magic and began running it through her mane. “And how can you say that with what you’re wearing?” She gestured at me with a hoof.

I glanced down at my waistcoat before rolling my eyes. “Yes, but I dress like this almost every day. But what I mean, Twilight, is that where you go and what you wear honestly isn’t that important. A date isn’t so much about the location or the clothing you're wearing, but rather, it’s about spending time with the one you care about in an area you can both be at ease in.” I shrugged. “Some people prefer going to fancy restaurants, personally I prefer a nice picnic or stroll through the woods. Somewhere that I can simply slow down and take in the scenery.”

“You make a pretty good point,” she sighed, setting the brush down and trotting over to the bed, taking a seat beside me. “I should be focussing on simply having a good time, not worrying about what I’m wearing.”

“Exactly,” I agreed, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek before standing. “Now then, I suggest we head downstairs before the little ones grow any more impatient.” She giggled and hopped down to walk with me as we exited the room.

“It’s about time!” Fei exclaimed as she stopped pacing beside Twilight Velvet, having switched back into her fox form. “Do you two have any idea how long we’ve been waiting for you get ready?”

“Just under an hour,” Twilight answered immediately.

“Fifty minutes, to be precise,” Spike added with a thin smile.

“Some of us prefer to take our time when we’re getting ready to go out,” I said, absentmindedly checking my watch before slipping it back into my pocket. “But on a different matter, did you drink coffee or something? You’re not normally this energetic this late in the evening.”

She looked hesitant for a moment, before answering. “I may have had a slice of cake from the fridge right after you and Twilight went upstairs.”

I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Cake?” She nodded. “As in, the cake I bought yesterday from Sugarcube Corner? the one covered in a rather generous layer of frosting?” She nodded once more, a slight guilty look on her features. “Hold on a moment,” I sighed before heading back upstairs, returning a moment later with a vial of dark pink liquid and a shot glass.

“Drink,” I commanded, pouring a bit of the potion into the glass. She did so, coughing a bit at the bitter taste of the potion. “Better?” I asked after a moment.

She nodded. “A bit. I don’t feel as hyper as before,” she said as she hopped onto Velvet’s back.

“What is that?” Night Light asked, staring at the vial questioningly.

“A simple calming potion used on Gaia. Primarily given to people that are suffering from uncontrolled bursts of energy.” I replaced the cork on the vial before walking over to the coatrack the door, dropping the potion and shot glass into my hat. “Normally, it’s recommend that the subject take a full vial, but considering Fei’s size, a small shot of it should be enough to cancel out the energy from the sugar intake without knocking her out.”

`	“Are you sure it’s safe?” Velvet asked.

“Yes. I’ve given it to her once or twice in the past. Worse case scenario, she falls asleep part-way through the play.” I grabbed my coat off the rack. “Speaking of, thank you for offering to watch her tonight. ”

“It’s nothing,” she said, waving her hoof dismissively. “You two deserve to be able to spend a peaceful night together, and we we’re already going to be keeping an eye on Spike for the night anyways.”

“Still, thank you,” I said once more, offering her a kind smile. She returned the gesture before turning back to her husband as Twilight trotted over beside me. “Now if everyone’s ready, let’s not waste another minute.” With that, I pushed the door open and made my way outside, followed shortly by Twilight and her parents.

The walk to the theater was peaceful, the calm silence of the evening broken only by the handful of ponies that were still making their way to see the Hearth’s Warming play.

“Hello Director’s Cut,” I said to the young stallion. “How was the rehearsal?”

The young stallion smiled and gave a short nod. “Good evening Mr. Reinhart. The rehearsal went wonderfully, and the seals you set up worked perfectly.”

This time is was my turn to smile. “That’s good to hear, I hope the actual play goes just as well,” I said as I reached into my pocket for the two bit bags I had on hand. “So, what’s the status on the arrangement I set up with Alex?”

He looked down at his clipboard for a moment, flipping through the papers as he muttered to himself. “You’re in luck, there’s a couple boxes still open, so you can take one of those, just pay for two seats and we’ll redirect any other ponies to the other seats unless we run out of space. But it looks like we’ve about hit our limit, so it’s unlikely.” I nodded and handed him the bags of coin, taking a pair of tickets in return.

“This should also cover the cost of Spike and Fei,” I said as I handed him another, slightly smaller bag, gesturing to the children in question. “If there’s any bits left over, take it off the cost of Night Light and Twilight Velvet’s tickets.”

“There’s no need for that,” Velvet argued, a hint of nervousness in her voice. “We have more than enough to pay for our own tickets.”

“Regardless, I’m doing this out of the goodness of my heart,” I countered, giving her an honest smile. “Whether you need it or not is not important, it’s the fact I want to help pay for your ticket, as a sign of thanks.”

She met my gaze nervously, staring at me for a moment before sighing. “I guess it would be rude of me not to accept such a kind offer,” she said, giving a small, almost reluctant smile. I watched silently as she paid for her and Night Light’s tickets, the overall cost being little over half the original price.

“Must have added a little too much to the bag,” I answered as she turned to me in shock. Glancing to the side, I saw both Twilight and her father giving me knowing, somewhat amused looks. ‘Shouldn’t be surprised. A trained soldier and a scholar should have no trouble telling when someone is pulling a trick like this.’ Once they had received their tickets, Twilight and I followed them in before splitting off and heading up the stairs to the box seats.

“So,” Twilight started as we walked down the hallway to our seats. “Mind telling me why you tricked my mother into accepting a gift like that?” 


“It’s part of an incredibly old Cardian tradition,” I answered calmly. “Normally only practiced among the more prosperous families nowadays. When a couple enter a relationship, it’s customary of the male to give a form of payment to the woman’s parents, often without them asking for it. This can take the form of various gifts, donating money to any businesses or charities they might control, or just straight up giving them the money.” I shrugged. “It usually goes on until either the parents or the woman decided he’s given a proper amount, though with the few less prosperous families it’ll go on until the day of the couple’s wedding.” Twilight stumbled a bit at that, staring at me in shock. “Something wrong?”

“It’s just… I didn’t expect you to bring something like that up so casually,” she replied.

I gave another shrug. “I was simply explaining how this works,” I explained. “Marriage is a bit far off for us. I’m not against the idea, but I think we should give it time, see how this relation works out in the long run, okay?” She nodded. “Anyway, the original idea behind the custom was that the man was more or less “buying” his lover. Thankfully, this idea has long since been replaced with a number of different ideas depending on the household. The Reinharts as a way of building a friendly relationship with the other family, and often continue giving occasional payments even after the marriage, as a way of helping support the family even if they don’t actually require it.”

“My mom would have probably prefered you actually explain that earlier. She might have actually accepted the idea more willingly if she knew your motivation behind it,” Twilight said as we entered our box.

“True,” I agreed as I sat down, setting my coat to the side. “But I honestly just wanted to have a bit of fun with her. I’ll make sure to explain it tomorrow at the party.”

Twilight’s expression grew hesitant for a moment as she sat down. “Did, did you do this with Laura’s family?” she asked nervously.

I couldn’t help but grimace. ‘Should’ve expected this, she can’t help but be curious’. “Not exactly,” I sighed, rubbing the back of my neck. “She didn’t have the best relationship with her mother after we got together. Let’s just say she wasn’t exactly supportive of humans and elves breeding. I did however help her older brother get a decent job for the merchant’s guild in Cardia transporting rare and valuable goods all over the world.” I shifted uncomfortably before moving an arm around her. “But that isn’t important. All that matters right now is that we enjoy the night together.” I offered her a reassuring smile.

She sighed and nodded, leaning into my embrace. “Sorry for bringing it up. I let my curiosity get the better of me.”

Silently, I moved my hand to her chin, giving a slight push to guide her into looking me directly in the eyes. “Twilight, don’t apologize for simply asking a question. You were simply curious, a trait I’ve come to love about you.” I paused, leaning over and giving her a small kiss before pulling back. “One of many, of course.”

She gave small smile before pulling herself towards me and wrapping her forelegs around in an almost bone-crushing hug. Despite the pain, I smiled and returned the embrace, relishing in both the warmth of her fur and slight pain caused by her love. We held each other for a few moments before finally separating as the area darkened. Curious, I turned my attention to the stage just as a young pegasus mare dressed in storyteller’s garb moved into the remaining light. ‘Guess the play’s about to begin’.

I leaned back as the mare began telling the audience of the time before the three tribes joined together, Twilight wrapping a foreleg around me as she watched the storyteller calmy. After a few moments, the mare stepped to the side and the curtain opened, showing the a group of earth ponies looking mournfully over an empty field.

‘Well, let’s see how this goes’.



As time went on, I paid only mild interest in the play, instead simply enjoying the comfort of having Twilight by my side. So far, the few seals that had been used proved effective, though we still had yet to see the ones I had really put effort into. After a while, I moved my hand to Twilight’s head and began scratching her ears absentmindedly as the actors moved in the cave.

Twilight gave a relaxed sigh of content, leaning into me as the actors began arguing with one another as the magical chill in the air began to slowly intensify. I smirked as, on cue, a faint blue ring appeared beneath each leader while ice began forming around there hooves before crawling up their legs.

“Well now, this is an interesting turn of events.” I glanced to my right to find Zero sitting on the railing dressed in traditional winter clothes, looking down at the audience.

‘I thought we agreed you wouldn’t bother me while I was with my marefriend today?’ I asked with mild annoyance. Truthfully, I was just happy that Twilight couldn’t see or hear him, not telling how she’d react to his sudden appearance.

“That was the original plan,” he said before pointing into the crowd. Curious, I followed his hand to a pair of oddly familiar ponies sitting together near the far wall of the theater.

“Twilight,” I whispered, earning her attention. “Is that who I think it is?” I pointed her towards the couple.

She stared at them for several moments, before blinking. “It looks like, Rarity and… Doctor Emerald?” She said in surprise, only barely managing to keep her voice down.

“It seems so,” I replied, staring at the ponies with mild interest. “And judging by how they’re acting, it’s not just coincidence they’re sitting together.”

She looked at me in shock. “You, you don’t think they’re on a date, do you?”

“That’s what it appears to be,” I leaned back and turned my attention to Twilight. “Though it begs the question, if they’re together, why wouldn’t anyone know of it till now?”

“Maybe they just got together in the past few days,” Twilight offered. “Or, they could be trying to keep more or less hidden for now. Though I wouldn’t put it past Rarity to have gone out of her way to get Emerald to come here with her tonight.” I nodded, glancing at the windigo circling the stage. “Either way, I think we should keep this to ourselves for now, in case they really are keeping it secret for now.”

I nodded once more in agreement. “Rarity managed to keep our relationship a secret when you told her, it would only be right to do the same, even if they don’t ask us,” I said, before spotting a number of pink runes appear on the stage. “Let's see just how well this works.” Twilight turned her attention to the stage as the the flaming heart appeared above the unfrozen ponies, illuminating the entire theater and replacing the chill with a calm, relaxing warmth.

‘Perfect’.



“That went rather well,” I commented as we exited the theater, stepping aside to let others leave while we waited for Twilight’s parents. “Better than I expected, actually.”

“You didn’t expect your seals to work as well as they did?” Twilight asked.

“No, I expected those to work stupendously,” I said, adjusting my coat. “I’m surprised by how well the actors and stagehands did with so little time to practice.”

“It was a rather interesting addition to the play,” Night Light commented as he and Velvet trotted out. “It normally takes a lot of effort from several unicorns to pull something like that off.”

“As it would normally be with mages on Gaia, but I’ve studied runic magic for some time now and have become rather skilled in the use of seals such as the ones used in the play,” I replied.

“Runic magic?” Velvet echoed, raising an eyebrow.

“It’s what you could call a “lesser” magic on Gaia. It’s not as widely practiced by magic users there, as it usually requires more time to prepare than more common magic,” I answered. “I took the time to study it while not working, and once I became archmage, I decided to add my own findings to the tomes that the Order has in its possession. I hoped that future practitioners may find uses for it.”

Twilight started to speak before being cut off by a yawn from Fei as she jumped off Velvet’s back and into one of the larger pockets on my coat. “Guess it is getting a little late,” she chuckled.

Night Light nodded in agreement. “We should be heading back to our hotel room for the night,” he said, wrapping a foreleg around Twilight for a moment. “Night Twi, we’ll see you tomorrow.”

As soon he stepped away, Velvet pulled Twilight into a hug of her own. While the two embraced, Spike slipped off Velvet’s back before and climbing onto Twilight’s, letting out a small yawn of his own.

“Good night Mom. Good night Dad. I love you,” Twilight said as she stepped away from her mother.

“We love you too,” Velvet replied, before turning to me. “Good night Trace, it was nice seeing you again.”

I gave a slight bow. “Likewise, Mrs. Velvet. I wish you both safe passage on this night, and hope to see you at the party tomorrow.” She gave an odd look at my phrasing, before simply nodding.

“We’ll be there,” she replied with a smile before turning and trotting off, her husband following closely behind. 

“So then,” I said after a few moments of silence. “What did you think of the play?”

Twilight remained silent for a moment, before answering. “The effects were definitely an interesting touch, but the play as a whole wasn’t anything special.” She looked up at me and smiled. “Though being able to watch it with you made it perfect.”


I matched her smile with one of my own. “My thoughts exactly,” I said, before turning my attention to the star-filled sky. “This night has been perfect.”

‘So then why can’t I shake this sense of impending dread’?

> Chapter 17
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


THE MAGE’S JUMP
BY GENOSABER
CHAPTER 17


I sighed and checked my watch one last time, noting it had been over half an hour since I arrived. Tucking the timepiece back into my pocket, I turned to Fei. “Go wake Scootaloo and have her come out here, I’ve given Alex enough time.” She nodded and jumped off my shoulder, triggering the enchanted pads on her paws as she moved silently up the wall and into the open window. A few minutes later the back door opened as Fei bounced out with a still half-asleep Scootaloo in tow.

“Morning Mister Reinhart,” she muttered with a yawn.

“Good morning Scootaloo,” I replied, giving her a polite smile before looking up at the closed window. “I’m guessing your parents haven’t woken up?”

She shook her head. “I tried to wake them, but they're both pretty tired.”

I nodded and turned to Fei. “Would you mind taking her to the library, I’m sure Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Sapphire should be there by now.” She nodded and guided Scootaloo over to the makeshift teleportation circle I had set up. As soon as they touched the gem in the center, they vanished, arriving safely at the library.

Turning back to the house, I couldn’t help but grin slightly at what I planned to do. It was no secret among the Black Circle that I took some joy in finding new ways to wake up lazy recruits. Reaching into my hat, I produced a small crossbow-like slingshot, a pair of earplugs, and a bright red materia the size of a marble. After a moment of preparation, I aimed the slingshot at one of the few trees behind me. 

Even with the earplugs, the sound was almost deafening as the materia struck the trunk, destroying most of the tree and leaving only a burning stump behind.

As soon as I removed the earplugs as my hearing returned, the sound of Alex shouting reached me from within the house. 

“- Grab Scoots and get in the basement.” 

I quickly tossed the slingshot, hat, and plugs to the side and turned towards the house as Alex leapt from his bedroom balcony.

Reacting quickly, I relaxed my stance as Alex tackled me, knocking us both to the ground. Alex pulled his arm back, his sword morphed into an armoured sleeve and gauntlet, ready to strike the supposed threat to his family, before stopping at seeing my deadpan expression.

“Tabarnak Trace! What’s wrong with you!?” he shouted, before looking up at the burning stump. In a calm, almost serene expression he asked, “Why, exactly, is my pear tree now a burning stump?”

I reached into my waistcoat pocket and retrieved my watch, bringing it to his face. “You were supposed to be up half an hour ago. I told you a few days ago to be up by dawn, and even warned I have little tolerance for those that cannot follow simple orders.”

Alex scowled as he stood up, gesturing to the stump. “Do you have any idea how long I’ve worked on that pear tree?”

I sat up and shrugged. “I like to be creative in my methods. Besides, trees can be replaced with little trouble.” ‘Though Laura would have had my head if she saw what I had done.’

“Alex!” Rainbow Dash shouted as she appeared in the doorway, a panic evident on her features. “I can’t find Scootaloo anywhe-” she stopped as he eyes focused on the still burning stump, then onto me.

“Your daughter is fine,” I assured her as I stood up, dusting myself off. “I had Fei wake her and take her to the library to meet up with the other crusaders.”

She nodded as her body relaxed a bit, before trotting over beside Alex and turning back to the stump. “So… why is Alex’s tree on fire again?”

I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose. “I used what is called a fire materia on it. It’s what caused the sound that woke both of you, as well as a few neighbors and nearby animals most likely.” I dropped my hand to my side and looked at them. “Now before either of you press the subject I would like to make an offer. I will fix the tree to it’s original condition, and you will drop the topic altogether, agreed?”

They glanced at each other before nodding. Alex said, slowly, “Double the yield, make ‘em ripe and sweet. All is forgiven.” 

I rolled my eyes and nodded, quickly dropping to my knee and reaching by into my hat again as I pointed my free hand at the stump. “Watera.” At my command, a small burst of water shot forth from the ground around the stump, drenching it and extinguishing the fire. After another moment, I twisted my body and flung my other hand at the stump, sending a small green materia flying towards it.

As the materia connected, it glowed brightly before being absorbed into the stump. Immediately, the stump began to grow rapidly, new life sprouting from the charred remains. Within seconds, the tree was restored and full of ripened fruit, without even the slightest trace of the fire visible.

Nodding in satisfaction, I turned back to Alex and Dash. “You’re lucky I had one of those left. Good restoration materia is a tad hard to come by.”

Alex walked over to the tree, inspecting it carefully. Dash followed behind, looking a little worried. She turned to me and whispered, “He loves that tree.” 

He reached up, plucked a plump ripe pear and bit into it. He chewed thoughtfully for a moment, and smiled. Dash flashed her normal overconfident grin me. Alex wiped the juice from his chin. “I’ll get my chef at the theatre come help. Simple Pleasures loves to cook for-”

I held up hand. “No. If I had wanted her to cook, I would have hired her. I prefer to do things on my own if I can, with only as much assistance as necessary.”

“I can respect that. Would you like to start working in the kitchen?” 

“That would be nice,” I said, picking up my hat and dusting it off. “I have a rather large order to fill and only so many hours to get it done.” I gestured to the six large carts placed near the doorway.

Alex stared at the cart for a moment before turning back to me. “Want any help? I’m sure an extra pair of hands couldn’t hurt.”

I paused, unsure of how to answer. ‘It’s… been some time since I’ve had someone volunteer to help me with cooking, and even then it was only for events where it such help would be needed….’ “I-I suppose. I don’t really need the assistance, but it would be rude of me to turn down an offer from my host.”

“You two have fun with that, I’m going back to bed,” Rainbow said with a yawn, turning and trotting back into the house.

Alex followed behind his wife, stopping in the doorway before turning to me once more. “Coffee sound good?”

I gave a nod as I walked over to one of the carts and began rummaging around in one of the bags. “That would be very much appreciated. I still have to get some things ready, so there should be plenty of time for you to go through any morning rituals you might have. Or just making the coffee, Whatever you choose.” He nodded and headed inside. After a few moments of searching, I shot up and turned my head to the door, raising my voice to ensure he heard me. “And for Luna’s sake, put some bloody clothes on!”



(Five hours later)
Rainbow Dash yawned as she trotted lazily down the stairs, following the unique mixture of scents coming from within the kitchen. Looking inside, she couldn’t help but blink in surprise at the sight before her.

Flying about the room were a number of small creatures Dash could only describe as the cross between a ball of fur and a bat, each with a red pompom on its head. They were systematically picking up trays and flying them out the back door before coming back in for another.

“Good morning Mrs. Dash,” the half-elf commented as he glanced in her direction.

“Uh, morning,” she replied, still staring at the little flying furballs. “Um, what are those things?”

Trace tucked his watch back into his pocket and craned his head back. “Moogles,” he stated, before grabbing a potholder and reaching into the oven.

“...And those are?” Rainbow Dash asked, looking at him in confusion.

“Creatures native to Gaia’s astral plane, commonly used by mages and members of wealthy families as messengers, though they also happen to be useful when you need various objects carried over a short distance quickly but are low on staff,” Trace explained, pulling a pan out of the oven and setting it on the counter and turning around. “Would you mind letting Alex know the last dish will be out in a minute, just need to let it cool a bit.”

“Sure...” she replied absentmindedly, still looking at the moogles oddly as she trotted out the back door.

Once she had stepped out the door, one of the moogles flew up to Trace. “Kupo?”

“Hmm? Oh, that was Alex’s wife, Rainbow Dash,” Trace explained, walking over to the fridge and extracting a bowl of ground spices.

“Ku… po?” the moogle questioned, looking at Trace oddly.

“Yes, his wife,” he repeated, gently sprinkling the spices over the dish.

“Ku, kupo?” the moogle asked as it landed on the counter.

Trace sighed. “Technically the proper term for her kind is ‘pony’ or ‘pegasus’ if you wish to be specific, but yes, he is very much aware she is a talking colorful equine, they are the dominant species in this world,” he explained, setting the spices aside as he inspected the dish. 

The moogle nodded silently, before looking over the dish. “Kupo?”

“This? It’s an old elven dish I wanted to try.” Trace grabbed a pair of oven mitts and lifted the dish. “Simple vegetable bake, seemed like it’d be enjoyable for ponies… well that and it’s delicious and I haven’t had it in years.”

The moogle jumped onto his shoulder as he made his way outside, turning its attention to Alex and Rainbow Dash and watching them chat while Trace set the last dish onto the tables.

“That’s the last of it,” Trace announced as he walked over to the couple.

“Positive? Did you double check?” Alex asked.

Trace nodded. “Don’t worry, Twilight gave me a list. All that’s left is what Pinkie and Applejack will be bringing.” He looked down at Rainbow Dash, gesturing to the tables. “What do you think, Mrs. Dash?” 

Dash moved her gaze over the dozen or so table set up, half of them covered by trays of food. “Think you made enough?” she asked with a sarcastic grin.

Trace shrugged. “Perhaps. But it’s certainly much less stressful than the usual parties I have to help cater for around this time.”

“How bad is it then?” Dash asked.

Trace tapped his chin in thought. “Last year’s family gathering had about… three hundred and fifty attendants. I had to prepare enough food to feed at least half that more or less on my own.”

Alex stared at the mage for a moment. “"That's... a lot of people. The Roberts family only had about 90 or 100. Had a killer lobster boil..." He paused as Trace and Dash turned a shade of green. "That would interest no one else but me and maybe Matt.”

“So thankful my relatives from the coast opted to cook their own food last year,” Trace muttered under his breath, before turning his attention back to Alex. “Unfortunately my family is one of the larger houses on Cardia, which makes the annual party each winter solstice all the more stressful for myself and several other members.”

“So why do it?” Dash asked. “I mean, I doubt they’d force a family member to do something like that, unless your’s are a bunch of cruel monsters.”

The mage chuckled slightly. “Nothing of the sort, I actually volunteered to help cater.” He walked over to the only cart with anything left in it and began rummaging through the bags. “While I’ve prefered a modest lifestyle, my family is wealthy enough that many of my relatives choose to show off that wealth. Living in large mansions and hiring servants to do most of the work. I opted to help out because I wanted to give most of them a chance to spend the holiday with their own families, rather than have to work for a bunch of snobs that only barely know how to take care of themselves.”

“Sounds like you don’t care that much about them,” Alex mused.

“I care deeply about them. I just find their choice of lifestyle to be one that will become problematic in the future,” he said. “Thankfully most of them aren’t completely snobbish, and only hire servants for part-time work or important events where they themselves at the time are unable to take care of things. Though I worry for the future generation of the ones that rely on the family’s wealth, I fear they may never truly know what our house stands for.”

Dash’s eyes narrowed slightly, “What does it stand for, exactly?”

“Simple. That above all else, family is the most important part our lives. Even if we were to lose every coin we had, so long as we have our family by our side, everything will be okay. It is something that I, and every member of the Reinhart clan has been told throughout our lives. And is something we all hold true to our heart.” His expression darkened for a moment, his voice gaining a hint of bitterness to it. “Well, most of us do anyway, one relative has decided that our nobility is far more important to them than the ideals of the family.” Not wishing to dwell on the matter, Trace cleared his throat as he finally retrieved a simple cloth sack from the cart. “But enough about that, I believe it’s time to pay the moogles for their service.” Turning to the creatures in question, he snapped his fingers.

In an instant, the entire herd of moogles compacted in front of him. “Kupo?” they all said at once.

Smiling, Trace set the sack down and pulled it open, revealing a pile of chestnuts filling the bag. Without warning, the moogles descended upon the nuts, giving Trace barely enough time to jump back as they began devouring the treats.

“Are they.. always like this?” Dash asked, staring at the feeding frenzy with a mix of fascination and horror.

“Disturbingly enough, yes,” Trace answered nonchalantly, watching the mass with a bored expression. “Kupo nuts- or ‘chestnuts’, as they’re called here- are the most beloved food of the moogles, which is a problem as they are incredibly rare in their area the ethereal plane.”

After a few moments, the moogles finished their meal and floated back up in front of Trace, satisfied smiles on each of them. “Ready?” he asked, earning eager nods from the mass. “Very well then. Thank you for your assistance, and I hope you will be willing to return in the future if you are called upon.” Trace brought up a hand, chanting a series of verses in an unknown language before snapping his fingers and causing a large magic seal appear underneath them. In an instant, a blinding light enveloped the moogles, before vanishing a few seconds later to reveal an empty space where they once floated.

“... Well, now that that’s settled, why don’t we finish setting everything up before Pinkie and Fei get here?” The mage asked, spinning around to face the married couple.

Alex looked around, “Alright, what’s left to do?”

“Not much, mostly just getting dishes and silverware out, as well as setting up these,” Trace answered, pulling a bundle of staves, each one of similar design and topped with a red gem, out of the largest cart. “Magic torches, keep the area warm and provide light if the party goes on till late in the day.”

“You go ahead and set the table big guy, I’ll help out skinny here.” Trace snorted at Dash’s comment, but smirked as he handed her a bundle of staves.

With that, the trio split up as each of them set about on their chosen tasks.



“We’re here!” Pinkie shouted as her and Fei came around the corner, a decent sized cart full of various baked goods in tow.

“Just in time,” I said as I finished sitting up the last staff, brilliant flames surrounding the gem as the enchantment took hold. “Everyone should be arriving so-” I stopped as I finally turned my full attention to them, noticing the patches of white powder covering Fei’s hair and clothes. “...Fei, what are you covered in?”

“Flower,” She responded, rubbing the back of her head in embarrassment. “Turns out my new body has trouble lifting bags of flower that weigh almost as much as I do.”

I sighed. “Alex, do you mind if-”

“Not at all,” he replied, not looking up from his task.

“Thank you,” I said, before turning back to my daughter. “Go clean yourself up, I’ll be back in a moment with a change of clothes.” She nodded and ran into the house as I took a deep breath and focused on my destination.

“Warp.” In an instant, the world vanished around me, replaced only by an endless darkness for a split second before I found myself in the library’s living quarters. “Perfect, didn’t think the spell would be as precise as to put me exactly where I needed to be. Guess this world’s magic is having an effect on my own,” I mused absentmindedly as I walked over to where Fei kept her clothes, grabbing a simple kimono before making my way to the lower part of the room.

Just as I began to repeat the spell, I picked up voices from the main room. ‘Twi, Spike, and her parents most likely, probably getting ready to head to Alex’s.’ Shutting out the voices, I cast the spell once more, reappearing back in Alex’s backyard.

Without hesitating, I turned and made my way into the house and towards the bathroom. Giving the door a simple knock, I wait for a moment before the door opened slightly, allowing Fei’s hand to poke out, allowing me to pass the dress to her before darting back through the opening as the door shut once more.

Opting to wait for her, I sat down to the side of the door and crossing my legs, taking a deep breath before extending my senses out, scanning the magic.

“What’re you looking for?”

‘There’s an old elven belief that the magic within a domicile carries with it the history of it’s residents. I thought I had picked up something… odd, about this house when I was waiting earlier.’ I concentrated on the energy around me for several seconds before I finally found what I was looking for. ‘Faint, no doubt it was quite some time between the previous resident moving out and Alex moving in.’

“So what are you getting?”

‘... Sorrow. The previous occupant was, even with how weak the memory is, clearly distraught over something… A loss by the look of it. Something so personal that it’d be next to impossible to replace. Perhaps if I dig a bit deeper I can-’

I was brought out of my trance by a soft tapping on my shoulder. “Dad? You in there?” Fei asked, looking at me curiously.

I blinked in confusion for moment, before recalling why I sitting here in the first place. “Sorry, guessing I zoned out a for a minute there.” I sighed and rubbed my temples, feeling a small headache forming.

Fei chuckled. “Yeah, I can see that,” she said, giving a small smile before leaping forward and wrapping her arms around me. “Thanks again. For everything.”

“Fei,” I started, draping my arm around her. “I have told you several times in the past, there is no need to thank me so many times. I did what I did because I care about you, and because it was the right thing to do.”

“That’s where you’re wrong,” she argued as she pushed herself away, looking me squarely in the eye . “I can’t thank you enough dad. For adopting me and helping me adjust to my new life, as well as working to ensure I actually get a real childhood. Back in Gaia, it was you that paid for my lodgings and helped me get recruited by the Order, as well as assign me as your second in command.” She stopped and touched her chest, directly over the sigil. “And before all that, you sacrificed years off your own lifespan to save my own.”

My eyes grew wide for a second. “Fei, I-”

“I researched the ritual Trace,” she said, adopting a tone I hadn’t heard since before meeting Twilight. “Considering my condition, and the effects of both Siegfried’s blade and the necromancer’s magic, it would have taken at least two, possibly even three, decades off your lifespan.” I opened my mouth to speak, but was immediately cut off. “And don’t even try to say that’s not a big deal, anyone with half a brain would tell you that you’re wrong.”

I remained silent for a moment, trying to form a response, before simply smiling and pulling her into another hug. “You have a point, guess I have a habit of downplaying my actions.”

She chuckled once more. “Yeah, but at least we know the pride of the elves doesn’t have as much an effect on you as others of their blood.”

I let out chuckle of my own as I tightened my embrace, holding my daughter for a few moments in silence.

Well, relative silence. “Think I may have finally figured out why she was turned into a ten-year old.”

‘Oh?’

“Well, it’s been about… ten years since everything with the necromancer occurred, correct?”

‘Yes. Why?’

“Just confirming. Anyway, you essentially brought her back from the brink of death that day by using your own blood, which I will get to in a second, and it was ten years ago. Simply put, the magic used for it linked with the magic used in the ritual. Which is where your blood comes in.

“It made her ten years old as that is the age of her “rebirth” in a sense. How old she would have been if she had been born that day. It also means one other thing that I’m sure you can figure out.”

I blinked and looked down at Fei as realization dawned on me. ‘You mean…’

“She is indead of your blood Trace. It first came to me when I recalled the spell used to send you and Twilight here. It’s designed so that only the chosen party- in this case Twilight- can pass through, but those that share the blood of the common family in the ritual- in this case, the Reinharts, such as you, your sister, and your grandmother- can also use it, Fei should not have been able to come here at all by that logic unless-”

‘Unless she was related to the Reinhart family by blood.’

“Exactly. And I think she knows this on a subconscious level, seeing as how quickly she attached to you after signing the papers.” Zero paused for a moment, before speaking again. “So… yes... you’re a father both in the legal sense and biologically. Congratulations.”

‘Not used to this kind of thing, are you?’

“I have more knowledge and experience with dragons and the undead than I do children and parenthood.”

I felt his essence vanish before I could reply, leaving me to sit and ponder this new information. “Mo chuid fola féin (My own blood),” I whispered, making Fei’s ears twitch.

“What was that?” she asked as she pushed away, sitting down in front of me with a quizzical expression.

I simply smiled. “Nothing important,” I said and I stood up, helping Fei up afterwards. “We should probably head back out, see how things are going with the setup.”

She smiled and nodded, following me as I made my way to the exit. As we neared the door, I picked the sound of Alex talking to someone.

“- Don’t see why not, I’m sure everyone else will agree they’re more than welcome to join us, and there should be enough food prepared for a couple extra guests.”

“More than enough, really,” I interjected as I stepped out, see it was Matt he was speaking with. “Honestly there’s enough food here it’s likely the guests will be able to take some of it home by the end, so one or two more ponies wouldn’t hur-” I stopped as I noticed a hint of green out of the corner of my eye. Looking over, I found myself staring at an all too familiar green unicorn mare.

Slowly, my surprised look turned into a light glare, causing the mare to adapt a nervous expression while Matt and another pony, this one a beige earth mare with a pink and blue mane and tail, to look between us in confusion.

“Am I missing something?” Matt asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Your friend here has been hanging fish in places I go by every now and again for some insane reason,” I answered in a sharp tone. “Always placing them in my path. If this were Gaia it’d be seen as some kind of insult towards my heritage.” At that, the mare’s eyes grew wide in shock.

Before she could say anything however, Matt suddenly burst out laughing, causing both of us to turn to him in confusion.

"I know you're not going to get the reference but is she chanting 'the power of Celestia compels you' whenever she sees you?" he asked as his laugh died down to a chuckle.

I stared at him for a moment, before sighing and turning to the mare. “I’m just going to cut right to the point, who are you and why have you been hanging fish from trees that I would be passing by?”

The mare chuckled nervously “Well, Matt told me you could could use magic, and I wanted to see how it worked for myself.”

I raised an eyebrow. “So why the fish? You could have just asked and I’d have been happy to give a demonstration.”

“I thought you’d be more willing to use magic if you didn’t know you were being watched, that’s why I waited till you took paths that were less populated,” she defended, before adding, “Though I guess that plan kind of got ruined when you started spotting me while I was trying to hide.”

I gave a light chuckle. “Yes, though that is not the only reason.” She raised an eyebrow. “One, mages in my home reality are taught that our skill in magic is a gift, and should not be wasted on tasks that can be easily performed on our own. Two, my magic, at least the more readily available spells, tend to be more focused on combat and destruction, so I’m not exactly going to just use it in somewhere populated. Three, I have something akin to an allergy when it comes to fish, even the stench of it makes me gag, and for future reference, hanging something like that up around one of dark elf blood, such as myself, would be considered a rather grave insult.”

She folded back her ears. "Oh... I am so sorry... I didn't mean to offend. I was just hoping to study your magic without the observer bias. I sincerely hope you will accept my apology."


I smiled and waved my hand dismissively. “Apology accepted. You were unaware of fish’s effect on me, and in that regard the only one I can blame is chuckles over here,” I said, waving a hand at Matt. “However, if you are honestly interested in studying my magic, I could always give a demonstration, even answer any questions you may have.”

Her ears perked back up in an instant. “Really?”

“Certainly,” I answered, turning my head and mumbling to myself, “Let’s see, it’ll take a while to get some of the more delicate rituals prepared, not to mention, with this current weather, the chances of finding the proper reagents are slim...” I turned back to the mare. “It’ll take some time for me to get everything I’ll need ready to give a full demonstration, Do you think you could wait until Spring, about… two months in? Gives time for things to settle down after the season and for me to gather what I’ll need.”

Her eyes went wide and she drew in a sharp breath before pronking about and squeaking out a screams of joy. “YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES!”

After a minute, the mare stopped in her tracks and began mumbling to herself. “Need to revise my notes, start figuring out which questions to ask… ” her rambling became incoherent for a second, before she snapped her head towards the rest of us “I’ll be right back!” she exclaimed as she teleported away.

… Only for her to reappear just a few meters away, looking around in shock before blushing nervously. 

“Eh, heh heh... Magic surge,” she stated, seemingly embarrassed by her uncontrolled magic. After a moment, she remembered her plans, quickly turning and galloping away.

The earth pony mare gave a tired sigh and shook her head. “I’m sorry for my marefriend’s actions. She can get a little excited whenever a new human shows up.”

I waved a hand. “It’s fine, really,” I replied, holding out a hand. “Trace Reinhart, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Bon Bon, and the overgrown filly you just had the joy of meeting was Lyra,” she responded, shaking my hand. “As much as I’d love to stay and chat, I need to go remind her it’s considered rude to just up and leave in the middle of speaking with somepony.”

“Please, go easy on her,” I stated. “She was merely excited, I doubt she meant to come off as rude by leaving so suddenly.” I gave a quiet chuckle. “And I may have been guilty of acting in a similar fashion when I was younger.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” she said with a small smile. “I’ll be back shortly, once I’ve gotten Lyra to calm down.”

I bid her farewell as she trotted away, before turning to Matt. “You have some rather… interesting friends.”

“"Life is never dull with those two. Its like a sitcom,” he replied with a chuckle.

I nodded absentmindedly for a moment, before turning to him in confusion. “What’s a sitcom?”



The remaining guests all arrived within the hour, several of them bringing more food and treats, as well as small gifts to be given to friends. Once everyone arrived, they quickly set about passing out gifts, filling their plates with food from each of the tables, or simply chatting with each other.

I, for the most part, resigned myself to discussing my world with Twilight’s parents, both of them curious about where Their daughter had been sent to.

“I must say Trace, your world’s history is fascinating, if a bit…” Night Light gulped a little, “violent.” This just as I finished telling them of the Light Warriors.

I nodded. “I don’t deny it, but I suppose that is the greatest difference between humans and ponies. I am not ashamed of what my kind has done, thought I am in no way proud of it. Much of what they did was done because they had little choice. Fight and kill, or be killed... ”

Night Light nodded solemnly while Velvet gave a somewhat concerned look. “You mentioned your grandmother was one of these ‘Light Warriors’, if so, that would make her well over a two hundred years old from what you said. Are humans really capable of living that long?” she asked, hoping to change the subject.

I shook my head. “Not normally, there have been a few cases of humans living that long, but generally such longevity is restricted to the elves. No, what really happened is a bit more complicated.

“About five years after the defeat of Chaos, my grandmother, about twenty seven at the time, came in contact with what is known as a ‘Chaos Seed’, one of the fragments of that god’s power that had been scattered throughout time and space, which also brought your daughter to my world. The chaotic magic inside trapped her in a petrified state for roughly a hundred and fifty years before being released. Less than a year later, she married my grandfather, had a son who went on to marry the bastard child of a dark elf and some pompous high elf noble, and they went on to bring my sister and myself into this world,” I explained. “So while technically she could be considered two hundred, biologically she is only in her eighties, which is still an impressive age.” I paused and took of sip of my glass. “Though, considering her stubbornness, I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if she did live past a hundred.”

“Something tells me it runs in the family,” Velvet commented.

I shrugged. “Well, stubbornness is a trait most humans have from what I’ve seen.” I smiled as I leaned my head. “I’ll admit, I’ve gotten in over my heads a few times due it myself, but I was fortunate enough to have wonderful friends by my side.”

Night Light chuckled and shook his head. “Yeah, I’ve had a few run ins with some… less than pleasant folks when Princess Celestia would travel to other countries. Glad I had my squadmates by my side back then.”

Velvet groaned. “Dear, don’t go off one one of your old stories from your time in the guard, I’m sure we’ve taken up enough of Trace’s time. Besides, Didn’t you want to meet Twilight’s friends?”

Night Light rubbed the back of his head, giving an embarrassed look. “Right, sorry about that,” he replied, before turning to me. “It’s been a pleasure speaking with you Trace, perhaps I’ll get to tell you some of my old stories another time.”

“Of course,” I replied, giving them a smile as the couple nodded and made their way to where Twilight and her friends were gathered.

Once they had left, I turned my attention back to the party. Within seconds, I caught sight of Rarity passing Twilight a small giftwrapped box, quickly placing a hoof and shaking her head as Twilight attempted to open it. They exchanged a few more words before Rarity seemed to bid Twilight farewell and trotted off, leaving Twilight to stare at the gift in confusion.

Raising an eyebrow, I finished off what little was left in my mug and made my way over to her. “Something wrong love?” I asked, kneeling down beside her.

She jumped a slightly as her head snapped towards me, before relaxing and giving a small smile. “No, just… thinking,” she replied after a second of hesitation.

“What about, if I might ask?” I inquired, placing a hand on her withers.

“Rarity’s behavior. When I tried to open the present she stopped me and insisted I wait till I get home,” she explain. “I’m honestly a little worried as to what could possibly be in this box that she wouldn’t want me to look until I was home.”

“I’m sure whatever’s in there can’t be that bad,” I said, offering a reassuring smile. “It’s Rarity afterall, I don’t recall her being the type to give her friends anything dangerous or questionable.”

“Questionable is a possibility, at least in an embarrassing way,” Twilight whispered, earning an amused snort from me in response. “Though I see your point,” she sighed. “I’m probably just overthinking things, it’ll probably turn out to be nothing serious, and I’ll have just made a fool of myself for getting worried.”

“Know that feeling all too well,” I commented, earning a small giggle from Twilight. “But on the topic of gift...” I stood and made my way over to the carts, Twilight following close behind. “It’s not much, but I hope you like it.” I reached into the bag and retrieved a black rectangular box secured with a ribbon, passing it to Twilight.

She set Rarity’s gift down before calmy removing the ribbon and opening the box, revealing a simple silver necklace with a small (by pony standards) amethyst shaped like a heart set in the center. Flipping it over, she spotted the small engraving on the back of it.

“Grá, saol, agus eolas?” she read slowly, looking at me in confusion.

“Love, life, and knowledge,” I translated. “Old elven saying, meant to be the three things high elves consider most important.” I smiled. “Bit of a personal touch on my part I guess.”

Twilight returned the smile in kind. “It’s beautiful,” she commented, before looking down nervously. “I’ll be back in a second.” Before I could respond, she vanished in a flash of light, appearing just as quickly, Rarity’s gift replaced with a blue wrapped present. “Sorry, had to go back to get this,” she said, floating the present over to me.

Carefully, I took the present, opening it to find what appeared to be a folded lump of black cloth. Raising an eyebrow, I pulled the cloth from the box, letting Twilight take hold of the box as I quickly unfolded the cloth into a longcoat.

“I got Elusive to make it,” Twilight explained as I slipped the coat on, quickly buttoning it up. “I had him base it off your old robe, I thought it would fit better with your normal wardrobe.”

‘Light, flexible.’ I folded up the collar, revealing that it could cover my face just as my old robe did. ‘Practical, at least for a black mage. And she has a point, this does go well with my outfit, not to mention it’s easier to get on than the robe. Turning to Twilight, I kneeled down and pulled her into an embrace. “Thank you Twilight, I love it.”

She smiled and returned the hug, wrapping her forelegs around me tightly. I gave a contented sigh, relaxing in her grip as I felt a small burst of joy from her. Eventually, Twilight pulled away, stopping midway to plant a quick kiss before breaking the embrace entirely.

“Mind lending a hand?” she asked, holding up the necklace. I nodded, carefully pulling it out of her telekinetic grasp before placing it around her neck and hooking the two ends together. “How does it look?” she inquired as she took a step back.

“A wonderful compliment to a beautiful mare,” I answered, earning a blush from Twilight.

“Y-you think so?” she asked nervously.

“Absolutely,” I stated, placing a hand on her cheek. “I cannot say this enough Twilight: you are a beautiful, wonderful mare, and I could not be happier knowing you and being with you.” She looked down as her bush darkened. “I love you Twilight, and there’s no one else I’d rather be with.”

“I love you too Trace,” she replied, a hint of pride in her voice. I smiled before glancing back towards the party, noticing a few of the guests looking in our direction.

I chuckled and rose from my position. “Seems we’re attracting a bit of attention,” I commented, gesturing to the crowd. “Shall we return to the party, my dear?”

Twilight nuzzled my neck before trotting towards our friends, smiling like this was the best day of her life.



(later)
“I’ve attended dozens of annual parties with my family, and only one Hearth’s Warming,” I mused as Twilight and I were walking home. “I have to say, I think I prefer Hearth’s Warming.”

Twilight giggled. “Let me guess, it’s much more peaceful than Reinhart family gatherings?”

“Oh so very much so,” I said with a quick nod. “As much as I love my family, having to help plan a party that includes every single member… well, let’s just say that if I had to choose between that or taking a mission to take down a Hydra that was attacking a village, I’d probably take the hydra.”

“It can’t be that bad,” she insisted.

“Three hundred and fifty people,” I stated slowly. “All scattered across Cardia, Ivalice, and Elfheim. I mainly handled catering, which means I had to keep track of each and every members tastes and diets based on where they lived. It was a hectic nightmare that generally resulted in me getting very little sleep for the week or so leading up to it.”

Twilight smiled. “Okay, I’ll admit that does sound rather stressful.” She glanced back at the cart she was pulling. “They certainly enjoyed themselves” she commented, looking at Fei and Spike asleep against the contents of the cart.

“I would hope so. The crusaders didn’t seem to give them a moments rest,” I sighed. “Though I have to admit, I was a little cautious about how Fei’d react in a crowd, even with people she knew to an extent. Seems being with the crusaders helps her interact with others,” I took another moment to look at her. “I just hope that still applies when it’s time for her to go to school.”

“She’ll be fine, Trace, I promise,” Twilight insisted as we arrived at the library. I gently lifted Fei while Twilight floated Spike onto her back before throwing a tarp over the supplies and heading inside.

Once upstairs, I tucked Fei into her bed before turning to Twilight. “Think I’ll head out onto the balcony for a bit. The night seems rather peaceful tonight, would be nice to cool off and relax after the party.” I motioned towards the balcony. “You’re welcome to join if you want,” I offered.

“I’ll be out there in a bit,” she responded as she tucked Spike in. I nodded and headed out, leaning on the railing as I stared up at the moon. 

‘Luna, thank you for providing such a pleasant end to a wonderful day’ I mused as my gaze drifted across the seemingly endless expanse stars, a full moon shining brightly in the center of it all. After a few minutes, Twilight made her way onto the balcony, saying nothing as she stood against the railing, leaning against me as I wrapped my arm around her.

We remained there for what seemed like hours, not saying a word, but instead simply enjoying the comfort of being together on such a peaceful night. Nights like this had always been one of the few joys I never lost back on Gaia. Whether I had finished a hard day of training, got back from a stressful mission, or simply couldn’t sleep that night, staring up at the clear night sky always helped me relax and forget the troubles of the day.

After a while, Twilight finally broke the silence as she grabbed Rarity’s gift from the table near the door, stepping away from the railing and bringing the box in front of her. “Suppose I should probably find out what’s in here,” she sighed.

I shrugged. “As good a time as any.”

Cautiously, Twilight lifted the lid until she could peek at it’s contents, before eyes went wide and she quickly slapped the lid back on.

“Um, everything alright?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Y-yes,” she stammered quickly, a light blush forming on her cheeks.

“So… what was the gift?” I reached for the box, but stopped as Twilight pulled the box away.

“Nothing, nothing at all,” she stated, her blush deepening.

“Twilight, please, let me have a look.” I said, dropping to one knee. “I can promise that no matter what’s in there, no matter how embarrassing or bizarre, I will not think any different of you. If you choose not to, I will accept, but I would really like knowing if it would do no harm to you.” I gave a sympathetic look. “Please?”

She looked away nervously, debating her options, before sighing and setting the box down in front of me. Calmly, I grabbed the lid, slowly lifting it away from the container to reveal-

“Socks? Really?” Sure enough, there were four purple and black striped socks folded in the box. I gave Twilight an odd look. “I have a feeling this is some cultural misunderstanding on my part, but I honestly cannot see what you got so worked up about.”

“Well, you see...” she leaned in and whispered into my ear. “There considered… ‘bedroom wear’ by ponies.”

“Bedroom wear? Seriously!?” Zero exclaimed, before dissolving into a fit of laughter within my head.

“Twilight, I mean no offense to you in particular when I say this: Ponies have some odd fetishes,” I commented, lifting on of the socks up and inspecting it. “I honestly cannot see how these would be considered ‘sexy’. If anything, I’d say you’d probably look cute in them.”

“Y-you can’t seriously be expecting me to wear those!” Twilight stammered, her voice louder than it should have been.

I winced and rubbed my ears. “I’m not expecting anything, merely making an observation. As far as I’m concerned it’s your choice alone to wear these or not.”

She opened her mouth to object, only to stop and look down in thought. After a few seconds, she looked back up. “I-I’ll think about it,” she replied nervously, carefully placing the lid back on the container. “But for now, I think it’s time we head to bed, it’s getting pretty late.”

I let out a yawn. “Couldn’t agree more love,” I said as I followed her back inside.

> Chapter 18
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


THE MAGE’S JUMP
BY MARVELOUS CHESHIRE
CHAPTER 18 



“The weather team certainly pulled out all the stops today,” I mused, looking out the window into the ongoing blizzard. “I don’t think they’ve put out anything this strong all season.”

“They do tend to go a bit overboard in the last week or so of winter,” Twilight commented, levitating a mug of fresh coffee to me as she trotted into the main room. “Just means more work when it comes time to wrap up winter,” she added with a sigh.

I couldn’t help but give a light chuckle at her statement. “I still can’t get over the idea of controlling the seasons like this,” I said, taking a sip of my drink. “The wood elves would no doubt have a fit if they saw this,” I added under my breath.

“So wait, your world doesn’t have any control of the seasons? Even though you have magic?” Spike asked.

“The magic of Gaia is different from that of Equestria,” I answered. “Common spellcraft follows very specific rules, and what little magic there is that has control over the weather is a just tad too advanced for most practitioners.” I shrug. “Besides, even if we had access to such powers, most mages prefer to avoid tampering with the natural order too much.”

“Can’t say the same for the Lufenians,” Fei added in a bored tone, not looking up from her book. “They seemed to love using magic to do whatever they pleased.”

“All the more reason to not tamper with nature, just look at what happened to them,” I replied sternly, moving away from the window.

“Um, who are the Lufenians?” Spike asked. “I don’t recall you or Twi mentioning them before.”

“The ‘Ancient race’. A civilization said to have predated even the elves. Often considered to be some form of predecessor to humans, elves, and several other races throughout Gaia; as well as the first-and to some extent, only- masters of true magic.” I replied.

“Wait, I thought you said Matoya was the first mage?” Twilight interrupted.

I nodded. “She is. The first ‘modern’ mage,” I answered, downing the rest of my coffee. “By the time she had made her pilgrimage to the Dragon King’s lair, the original arcane arts were all but lost to mortals.

“Nowadays, practitioners must rely on constant study and various foci to perform any significant feats of magic.” I snapped my finger, a few sparks flying from the tips. “But the Lufenians, they lived and breathed magic. What now exists as nothing more than complex rituals, they could pull off with little more than a thought and flick of the wrist.”

I began pacing about the room. “With magic, they could build an empire, move mountains, and create fantastic machines that have long served as the basis for modern magitech on Gaia.”

I could feel my excitement growing. “And the architecture, beauty and brilliance seemingly unmatched by anything the races of Gaia have seen. I had the honor of joining a summoner in their pilgrimage to the lost continent almost a decade ago, and not even the countless centuries could truly destroy the magnificence of it all.”

Stopping, I shook my head with a sigh. “If it had not been for their fall, they may have ended up being treated much in the same way the Princesses are here.”

“If their civilization was as great as you say, then… what happened to them?” Twilight asked, intrigue evident on her face. I noticed the papyrus and inked feather ready to write down notes.

“No one truly knows,” I answered solemnly, slumping onto the couch. “Even without Chaos wiping out major parts of ancient history during his first uprising, there is little recorded knowledge of what happened to them in their final days.

“That doesn’t mean there aren’t hypotheses though.” I added. “What little info that has been discovered has lead scholars to come up with countless ideas of how they met their end,” I added, seeing Twilight’s disappointed expression. “Let’s see...” I leaned back in my seat, trying to recall all I could. “I believe the most commonly accepted theory was that their magic seemed to turn on them, some lost most of their magic, becoming the ancestors of the first humans after they were exiled.

“Others began to… change. A handful of the old ruins show evidence that suggest they took to the sky and became harpies; humanoids with bird-like legs and wings on their arms,” I added, seeing the questioning looks on Twilight and Spike. “Which would at least explain their existence on the Continent.” I waved my hand dismissively. “Though, admittedly, there’s only limited evidence to support all but the harpy theory. A few scholars would argue that it’s just the ramblings of the historians desperate to link humans to an empire as great as the Lufenians.

“Another common one arguably the most unpleasant of the bunch, is that they sought what they were never meant to have. Capturing the power of the Air Crystal to create their glorious Flying Fortress, lifting their empire into the endless Sky. However, Bahamut created the Crystals as a means to bind Chaos and maintain the balance, not aid in the affairs of mortals such as the Luenians. In his rage, he broke from his chambers and unleashed chaos and destruction upon the kingdom.” I sighed. “Struck down by the very god they revered for so long; a rather ironic end.”

Twilight and Spike’s expressions turned from intrigue to horror. “But, if they worshipped him like that, why would he turn on them!?” Spike asked. “This ‘Bahamut’ doesn’t seem like such a nice guy.”

I shook my head. “The Hallowed Father is not a god of “niceness” sadly. He is the keeper of balance and the father of magic. He exists to ensure order and chaos never overwhelm the other, and, if ever something come to upset that balance, he must take action to keep everything in check.” I looked down, the lessons of my early days coming back to me. “In many ways the mages follow the same path, though we would never go such extremes.”

“But why would he do this if all they did was create a flying fortress?” Twilight asked, her horror slowly dissolving back to her normal scholarly interest.

“As I said, they harnessed the power of the Air Crystal to create it, and such an artifact was not meant to be bound by mortal control. Bahamut would have felt its power being bound to the fortress and acted out of rage over the people of Lufenia trying to take control of it.” I let out another sigh. “I admittedly hope such a fate is false, but for the time being it serves as a cautionary tale for many, lest we fall down the same path as our predecessors.”

Seeing Twilight's melancholy expression, I quickly changed my tone “On a lighter note, there is one one theory I’ve found interesting- though sadly, it has rarely been considered by scholars- is that they may have “ascended” beyond their mortal form. Either through magic discovery or the blessing of Bahamut, they would become the first dragons of Gaia, and going on to bless the mortals with the teachings of “Draconic Magic”, such as what I practice.” I gave a small smile and snapped my fingers, creating a another series of sparks. “Perhaps they did not upset the balance, but instead proved to be faithful in the teachings of their god, taking care to prevent the actions of their people from shifting the balance too far to one side.”

I felt my excitement rise once more. “Perhaps it could even explain some of the other theories. If you go with the former cause, perhaps the humans were born of Lufenians who found their magic diminished, sparking their more powerful brethren to rush to find a way to hold on to their power. It wouldn’t have taken long for them to discover a means to change what they were, and if the god of magic is a dragon, why not mirror his form?

“Of course, no spell is perfect the first time around, and it wouldn’t be unreasonable to assume a group as desperate as they were might be willing to have a few “tests” done, resulting in imperfect transformations like the harpies.” I bolted from my seat, pacing about the room as ideas flowed through my mind. “But it wouldn’t take long for them find the right formula, and once they had it, they’d waste no time unleashing their last-ditch effort to “save” them from their supposed fate.

I stopped mid-step, spinning around to face my audience. “And just think of all the possibilities this could open up, not to mention the questions that would need to be answered. Why would the Lufenians’ magic begin to diminish? Could they have used the Air Crystal to power the ritual that did this? What even happened to the ritual!? It all-” I stopped as my attention, seeing the differing expressions on their faces. “Um, I got a tad carried away, didn’t I?”

“Just a bit,” Fei replied with an amused smirk. “I don’t think you’ve been so enthusiastic about something since you helped present that theory to the council.” She glanced over to Twilight. “Heh, looks like you’re not the only one.” She added.

“This is amazing!” Twilight exclaimed, ink, quill, and paper flying about as she began jotting down notes. “I’ve read most of your books, but I don’t recall any even mentioning the Lufenians. The idea of an ancient race renowned for their magic that just vanished without warning? This just begs to be researched!” Pausing from her writing, she looked up at me with a fanatic expression. “Just think, if we could solve this, there’s no telling what kind of opportunities it could open up! Please tell me you have more information?”

I couldn’t help but give an awkward chuckle. “Twilight, I’d hate to be the bearer of bad news, but… solving this mystery, apart from being borderline impossible, wouldn’t serve much good. Everything tied to it is on Gaia, and there not much chance of getting back there at this point,” I said nervously.

“...Oh, right,” she replied quietly, her expression having turned solemn. “I guess I hadn’t thought of that. You’re right. It wouldn’t do any good, given the circumstances.” With that, she sighed and slumped in her seat, the various writing materials slowly falling around her.

I winced as I watched her. ‘By the gods, I can’t stand to see her like this.’ “Well, now that I think about it, there isn’t really any harm in researching it, at least as a hobby project,” I offered calmly, her ears jolting up. “I do have all my old notes on the Lufenians, and a book or two I think. Though I believe they’re still packed in my bag with my alchemy supplies.”

“R-really?” Twilight stammered, her melancholy appearance slowly fading away.

I nodded. “I haven’t had much reason to go digging through that mess, given the lack of workspace available, so if I do have the books with me they’d have to be there.” I smiled. “Who knows, maybe you’ll find something that others have been missing for so long. And, even if we can’t connect to Gaia now-”

“-Doesn’t mean we can’t find a way in the future!” Twilight finished, her previous enthusiasm returning in full force. “In fact, if we may even be able to discover a way to recreate some of their accomplishments!” She quickly gathered her notes, bouncing in her seat. “Oooh this is going to be so exciting! When can we start?” She asked, an eager smile gracing her muzzle.

“I’ll dig the notes out tomorrow, dear,” I said, offering a smile of my own, albeit much calmer. “For now, I think it’s time I start making something for dinner.”

Twilight opened her mouth to speak, only to be cut off by sudden rumbling. “That… sounds like a good idea,” She admitted, a hint of embarrassment in her tone.

I gave a light chuckle. “It’ll be ready in a bit.” With that, I turned and headed for the kitchen.