A large wooden structure creaked in the wind from old age. Tall trees surrounded a cabin; giants with armor made of bark and dressed in green. A strong perfume of pine needles mixed heavily into the atmosphere. Beautiful mountains stood proud and elegant, guarding Gravity Falls like a fortress. Painted with dawn colors the landscape was fresh and energizing.

.

Dipper and Mabel's eyes bounced everywhere trying to absorb every new detail. "Is this really where we're staying?" Mabel exclaimed in surprise. The Mystery Shack was shabby but it was nothing a few decorations and a creative mind couldn't fix. To Mabel, this was her next challenge.

'It looks haunted.' Dipper thought.

"Yes. I know everything is mismatched but that's how I like it." Stanley replied. Looking back at Dipper he said, "The Mystery Shack isn't haunted its-"

The lights suddenly shut off.

.

"What was that?!"

Light was restored and flickered as it slowly regained strength. "Oh. That was Fiddleford. Like I said, this place isn't haunted."

Dipper's jaw dropped in shock. "Did you just read my mind?"

"No," Stanley chuckled. "I'm used to reading people's faces. Besides, children get spooked easily."

"I'm not scared!" Dipper protested.

"Your room is in the attic but before unpacking, I want to introduce you to Fiddleford. He's and old friend of mine."

.

Down a corridor the three stood by an oak door which had elegant floral carvings on the surface. It seemed to be made of a much studier quality than the rest of the house. Stanley knocked on the door.

"Yes? Who is it?" A gentle southern drawl answered.

"McGucket. It's me, Stanley." The Pines family entered the room but Fiddleford didn't notice, eyes glued to his paperwork. "You've returned! Say, did you manage to- oh. I see, this is wonderful Stanley!" Removing gold goggles from his face Fiddleford pushed aside heavy machinery and stood up from his work station. The scientist wore a white coat and constantly adjusted something on the desk, his jacket or tie, or kept clicking a pen, distracted by scientific calculations. McGucket's large nose almost hid a bright warm smile.

"Don't mind Fiddleford. He's always nervous."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Fiddleford McGucket. Dipper and Mabel right?"

"That's me! Hi!" Mabel shook the man's hand. "What do you do?"

"I'm an inventor. A scientist."

"Cool!"

"She reminds me of you Stanley. Very confident."

"Of course!" Mabel proudly agreed. Taking out a sketch pad she asked, "Do you want to see my drawings of waffles with big arms?"

Fiddleford chuckled. "Maybe later."

.

Dipper remained silent and instead observed all the complex machines in the office. Fascinated by them the boy wrote notes about the inventions in a notebook.

"And Dipper seems to be interested in science."

"Yes sir."

"Nerds." Stanley chuckled affectionately.

"Perhaps after your great uncle shows you around I can teach you a few things about my newest invention?"

"That'd be cool!"

.

McGucket's brows furrowed as he analyzed Dipper's face. For a moment pain and fear rippled in the scientist's eyes.

"Fiddleford." Stanley stated curtly.

The man cleared his throat and a smile reappeared. Ruffling Dipper's hair he walked away. "I'm going to get some coffee. See you later."

"C'mon kids. Let's make some breakfast."

"Yeah! Bacon and pancakes!" Mabel cheered.

.

In a blink Mabel's plate was gone. She almost knocked over a glass of orange juice quickly getting more food.

"Where's Fiddleford?"

"Out for a walk. That guy never stops moving." Tossing the newspaper aside Stanley stood up and traveled to the backyard. "After you eat and unpack everything, meet me outside."

"C'mon Dipper, let's go see what's in the attic!"

Speedily eating the rest of the food and grabbing his bags he followed Mabel up the steps.

.

The attic room was flooded with sunlight. A musty old smell of aging trees instantly hit Dipper's nose. At the back of the room were a triangle window, a long rectangular table (probably cut from a stump of an ancient pine tree), two stools, and an oil lamp. "This is so exciting!" Mabel said as she began redecorating. Dipper rolled his eyes at how girly the items were. A pink tea set, adorable stuffed animals, and sewing supplies were scattered around everywhere. Mabel hummed a happy song as she also put up boy band posters. Dipper however, admired the room just the way it was. A painting of a ship reminded him of adventure and there was even a bookshelf for his mystery novels. "What do you think Grunkle Stan is doing out there?"

"I don't know." Mabel paused in her work and looked at Dipper. "Do you think it has something to do with our symbols?"

"Maybe."

"Hey! Don't look so sad! What if Stan created a quest for us?"

"A quest?"

"Yeah! A mission only we could complete."

"Mabel I don't think that-"

The girl grinned and punched her brother's arm. "It'll be an epic quest you'll see! With my creativity and your smarts we can solve anything! Even if we have to defeat a giant!"

Dipper smiled. "Yeah, I guess so."

.

Stanley cursed as he wrapped bandages around multiple injuries. Though the man had amazing strength, constructing an obstacle course was difficult. 'Perhaps with dedicated training the twins would become heroic mages.' A few minutes later the two ran into the backyard. Dipper and Mabel equipped backpacks standing like soldiers ready for battle.

"Good. You two seem prepared for anything."

.

Stanley presented the colossal path. The track was made out of pine trees with various platforms that suggested tough exercise would be involved as well as puzzles. Each trail had an arc over it created by elements; fire, water, leaves, electricity, stone, ice, and clouds. "Whoa Grunkle Stan, this is fantastic!"

"Why did you build the obstacle course?"

"Is this about our symbols?" Mabel asked.

.

"Yes," Stanley nodded. "You two have magic powers."

"What?! That's awesome!"

"For real Grunkle Stan?!"

"Our family has a history here in Gravity Falls. There is a long line of mages in the Pines family, but its rare and only usually appears in twins." A gold symbol similar to a crescent was etched onto Stanley's palm. "I'm telepathic. I can't move objects like other psychics but I can read minds and emotions."

.

Confusion and shock swirled in Dipper's mind. This revelation was bittersweet. Being a mage – a real, spell casting, powerful one – was amazing! But, the boy was also disappointed. Dipper loved studying and searching for the paranormal, and looked for anything he could on the subject, only to realize that magic was right in front of him all along. 'Were my detective skills not good enough?'

"You're a great detective Dipper," Stanley encouraged. "With my abilities I am able to check in on those I care about. I remember you two and your parents went on a vacation. You found unusual paw prints, fur, and a tooth."

"He is telepathic!" Mabel gasped. "Cool!"

"Dipper analyzed the items for hours, calculating differences between wolf characteristics."

"At first I thought it was maybe a simple mutation."

"After days of studying the objects under a microscope you were amazed to discover a new wolf species. Dipper, you actually found a werewolf."

"I did?!"

Stanley nodded.

"No way!" He smiled. "I found something paranormal!"

"And Mabel, you often see gnomes around right?"

"Yeah! They're cute and tiny but always steal the cookies and pies mom baked."

Grunkle Stan rolled his eyes. "Gnomes are usually distracted by shiny items or food. The pests are worse than insects, more dangerous than them too."

"Wait, so does this mean magic exists?!"

"Yes, there is magic in this world. Gravity Falls is a town created for anyone studying magic. This town has been protected for at least a century for magical beings."

"I can't believe it Dipper! We're mages!" Mabel shouted and hugged her brother.

"Is this a dream? This is so cool!"

Stanley laughed.

.

"So, what's the obstacle course for?" Dipper asked.

"I built this to test your abilities. A mage can learn an unlimited amount of spells but they usually have a specific element magic they're good at." Stanley pointed to the arcs. "I can cast powerful earth magic. However, my psychic abilities lie within dream magic."

"Dream magic?"

"Light or dark magic that a mage discovers through dreams or meditation."

"Awesome! Think about the possibilities!" Dipper said.

"I wonder what spells we can cast!" Mabel added.

"Not much at first. Casting spells takes a lot of focus, confidence, and hard work."

"Let's do this!"

Dipper laughed. "I bet I'll be the best mage of all time!"

Stanley chuckled as the twins ran forward to the obstacle course. Sitting on a bench he examined their progress, noting the apprentices' flaws and strengths. Being a mage was no easy task and it took years to perfect, but Stanley was sure that through strict training and constant practice Dipper and Mabel would be outstanding mages in the future.