Chapter 10: Fundamentals
Perspective: Zecora
As I watched Twilight scurry past Dalandor he quickly pulled the door shut behind him. The noise startled her, electing a small squeak as her tail tucked between her legs. A couple moments of silence went by as she stared at the door, before she snapped her attention back to me with a manic look.
"I heard what happened and came by to see if you're okay! What's it still doing here?!" She hissed, prancing in place.
I raised a brow as I took in her demeanor, this wasn't a side of Twilight I've seen before. "I'm alright... in fact he saved my life. And if you must know I actually let him stay the night."
As I spoke she took on a look of bewilderment, before shaking her head and pointing to the door. "Zecora, remember that... thing that showed up at the hut a couple days ago? That was him! It even killed a hydra Zecora!"
My brow furrowed in frustration as I processed the new information. I'd already known that Lupine beast was him but... he killed a hydra?
This time it was my turn to be surprised. "A hydra? Surly not." I dismissed with a wave.
'I'd seen him knock out that griffon like it was nothing... but nopony can slay a hydra in single combat, except maybe the Princesses...'
"Zecora." Twilight stated seriously, putting her hooves on my shoulders and looking me in the eyes. "I saw the heart after it left. It brought it back as proof."
I could feel a sinking feeling in my gut, this Dalandor actually killed a hydra by himself... and he just spent the night in my house!
"Did he do something to you? Why aren't you rhyming?" Twilight asked as she shook me a bit.
Blinking a couple times I looked at her with confusion.
'I haven't been rhyming this whole time?'
Sighing, I rubbed my hoof on my forehead. "I hadn't noticed... I've been speaking like this for a couple days and it's hard to keep switching."
"Switching? Why would you be switching?" Twilight asked as she let go of my shoulders and moved over to the nearby table.
Moving with her, I was too late to stop her as she scanned the papers on the table. "Because he can't understand our language so he uses a translator." I started quickly as I placed a hoof on the spell matrix she currently was studying. "And I ask that you don't read any of that. I'm not sure how many ponies he wants to share it with yet."
As I said this, Twilight quickly perked up as she focused on my hoof... as if thinking if she stared hard enough she would see through it. "Share what? Is it what's on that paper? Is it dangerous?"
Shaking my head, I bit my lip as I tried to figure out how to explain it without offending her. "Twilight, I'm sorry but if you want to know about it you'll have to ask him. If I tried to explain this magic myself it might cause serious harm."
This seemed to be the wrong thing to say, as her pupils widened at the mention of magic. "Magic? Is that what that strange rune was? It didn't look like it made sense..." She rambled, horn igniting.
The sheet began to glow, quickly sliding out from my hoof and rising off the table. "Twilight!" I snapped, getting her to go quiet and look at me.
Reaching up, I pushed the page back onto the table before stacking them all up and sliding them into my notebook, closing it tight. Pushing the book away, I looked back to Twilight who had a nervous expression.
"I know the idea of new magic excites you." I began, Twilight watching me as I spoke. "However," I paused getting her to shift a bit, "This is not mine to give. If you want to learn, ask him yourself. He actually took me as an apprentice." I finished with a smug smile.
Twilight's mouth opened and closed a few times, as she fidgeted and looked around... before letting out a defeated sigh.
"Fine... I'll wait." She stated grumpily, plopping herself on the nearby stool. "But you have to tell me something. Anything!"
Scratching my chin, I felt an idea pop in my head as I retrieved the potion I'd made. He wouldn't be upset if I shared something I'd made myself... right? No, of course not.
"Well..." I began, pulling out the small red vial and gingerly placing it on the table. "How about this?" As I set it down, Twilights gaze locked onto it as she raised a brow.
"A potion?" She questioned, her horn lighting up and bringing it closer to her. "How is this... wait. What... is... this?" She asked slowly, watching the perpetually swirling crimson liquid inside. "What is this?!" She said again, louder this time as she popped the cork off and took out a drop of liquid suspended in magic. "What is this?!"
Recorking the vial and setting it on the table, she started pacing around the room as her eyes remained fixated on the small red droplet in her magical grasp. "This is amazing is what it is! I'm detecting 100% magical purity! It's runic blueprint is so advanced I can't even decipher it!" She exclaimed, starting to hyperventilate. "Zecora, where did you get this?!" She asked, turning to me with wild eyes.
"I made it." I stated simply, getting her jaw to drop.
"You made it?!" She repeated, getting a quick nod from me.
"...what does it do?" She asked with a tilt of her head.
Tapping my chin, I recalled what he'd told me about the potion. "He said it's called a 'Minor Healing Potion', for 'Pets, Small Cuts and Abrasions'. It's one of the most basic potions from what he's told me."
"Minor? Basic?!" Twilight exclaimed, her voice cracking a bit.
I just quickly nodded, eliciting a small giggle from her as I swear I could see her start vibrating in place.
'I think it might have been poor judgment to tell Twilight this...'
Perspective: Dalandor
During my walk through the forest something had occurred to me... I had no idea what this Rarity looked like, or where she was in town. However, the thought of going back was quickly shaken from my mind. I didn't need to, I could wait until Twilight was done her... visit.
Instead I had a new destination in mind as I neared the end of this depressing forest. Yellow's house quickly came into view, and I couldn't see her outside this time. The area was alive with early morning birdsong, as small critters scrambled about around the small cottage.
Quickly making my way across the field, I arrived at the bridge spanning the tiny stream. Pausing at the top, I did a quick scan of the area and still saw no-one. Shrugging, I closed the rest of the distance to the front door... noticing it's small stature even more up close.
As I leaned down to the tiny door I froze as a sound met my ears. Slowly standing, I focused more on the noise, a gentle tapping, coming from behind the cottage. Following the sound, I circled around the right wall around to the back and found it's source. My eyes locked onto the floating form of the yellow equine I'd seen before as she hovered off the ground, hammering a nail into the trunk of a tree.
'Not sure I'd even call that hammering...' I mused as I watched her efforts to drive in the nail, spotting a waiting to be hung birdhouse on the ground as I did.
Putting my hands on my waist, I whistled to get her attention.
"Eek!" With a sudden flap of her wings, she disappeared into the treetop's leaves.
Rolling my eyes, I couldn't help but chuckle a bit at the reaction.
'Certainly a timid one' I squinted at the tree, trying to see where she had hid herself.
The sound of rustling leaves caught my attention, as Yellow's head slowly peeked out from it's hiding place. The moment our eyes met, she shied away and gently descended to the ground... before landing and awkwardly pawing at the dirt. Realizing I'm not going to get anywhere like this, I carefully crossed the distance between us. Other than tensing up a bit, she didn't react.
I tried to look as unthreatening as possible as I went, aided by the fact I was still in my torn clothing instead of my armor. Coming up next to her, she stared up at me with wide eyes as I examined the spot she had been hammering at. The nail was barely holding itself up, I could probably push it in further with just my thumb...
Reaching down, I pulled out my axe and lift it to the nail before giving it a swift strike on it's blunt end. Giving a small nod, I sheathed the axe before looking back down to Yellow... who was now sprawled on her side.
My eyed widened in surprise and I quickly knelt down to her, checking her pulse wherever I could. However, I quickly stopped once I realized what had happened.
'She actually fainted...' I let out an annoyed groan, before reaching down and lifting her off the ground.
Cradling her in my arms, I carried her around the cottage and to the front. Taking a quick glance around to make sure no one saw me, I fumbled with the door handle before swinging it open.
'Of course it's unlocked... these ponies...'
Bending down, I squeezed through the small door... equine in hand. As I entered I was surprised to find I could stand to my full height, the interior being quite spacious with a high roof. Rolling my shoulders a bit, I made my way across the room and gently placed her on a couch. As I set her down I could feel a rapid thumping on my foot, getting me to raise a brow and look... just to see a small angry rabbit kicking me.
Ignoring the annoying critter, I dug into my pouch and retrieved one of the amulets, before affixing it around her neck. I quickly turned and made my way out of the cottage and back to the area I'd found her. I effortlessly lifted the small birdhouse up to where I drove the nail, and gave a small nod before making my way to the nearby tree.
As I sat down, leaning against the trunk, I pulled out my pouch and got to work on extracting seeds from the herbs I had. Using a small folding knife I kept inside the pouch, I scavenged what seeds I could from a few of each flower before wrapping up their butchered remains. Just because I removed the seeds doesn't mean the flower itself can't be used... and my pouch's' ability to freeze an items state makes rot a non-issue.
I'm not sure how much time had past, but the early morning sun had quickly risen high into the sky. The sound of a door creaking open caught my attention, as the yellow form of the pony hesitantly rounded the side of the cottage. Her eyes found me immediately, as she quickly stopped in place... before retrieving the necklace I had left her from her mane.
She motioned to the necklace with a curious glance, as I reached into my pouch and grabbed my own. Hooking it around my neck, I motioning for her to do the same. Looking between me and the jewelry a few times, she hesitantly clipped it around her neck... a heat radiating the moment the latch locked in place.
"Thanks." I started, eliciting a quick 'Eep!' from her again as she pulled behind her mane. "For the fish yesterday, I mean."
There was a long silence, until she finally spoke in such a small voice I was amazed I heard it at all, even with my improved hearing.
"You're welcome..." She squeaked out.
Another awkward few moments passed as I crossed my arms and squinted at her, getting her to shrink even more. "Apologies, I find it quite difficult not to scare you ponies. You're all quite timid."
"Oh, sorry..." She apologized, shrinking even more.
Shaking my head, I raised a hand up. "I didn't mean it as a bad thing, you don't have to apologize." I reassured.
"Oh... sorry..." She apologized again, getting me to groan and thump my head on the tree I was sitting against.
"It's fine!" I snapped in annoyance, making her recoil a bit and eliciting a small sigh from me. "It's... fine. Look, my name's Dalandor. As it stands right now I'm basically stuck here and I just need help finding a Tailor," I paused, putting my fingers through my torn shirt for emphasis, "I've heard the village over there has one." I finished, motioning in the general direction of the town.
After I finished explaining, I could see her scanning me before taking in a deep breath and slowly breathing out. "I'm F-Fluttershy..." She hesitantly squeaked out. "And I s-suppose Rarity can be considered a tailor."
'Fluttershy huh? Yeah that name makes a lot of sense'
"Well then 'Fluttershy', could you show me where? I haven't exactly gotten a tour of the village." I asked, getting her to look at me in surprise.
"You want me to help you?" She asked, blinking a couple times at me.
Shrugging, I crossed my arms again. "Well, considering you're one of the first ponies I've seen since arriving and you haven't tried to kill me yet puts you on my 'Okay' list." I explained with a raised eyebrow.
I saw her reel back quickly, a look of surprise on her face. "I-I'd never k-kill anypony!" She exclaimed in a hushed scream with a look of horror.
Quickly raising my hands, I tried my best to calm her down. "Woah woah, I never said you would. I actually said the opposite, you're already doing better than most of the people I've met in my travels."
"Oh... okay..." She replied, returning once more to pawing at the ground. "Where do you come from that so many people want to hurt you?"
Shifting a bit in place, I gave a small sigh. "Far from here, nothing to worry about anymore." I stated with finality, getting her ears to splay back a bit. "So, can you help me?" I asked again, getting her to squint in thought.
"Well, Rarity's boutique isn't normally open on Sundays, actually nothing is..." She paused for a moment as she shuffled around, "If it's just the holes you need fixed I can help." She finished as I raised a brow at her.
Before I could answer, she flapped her wings and took off into the air and around the cottage. There was a small wait until she gently glided back down to where I was sitting, a small case in her hooves. I watched her set it down in-front of me and unlatch the front, before opening it to reveal small needles and threads of many sizes and colors.
As I watched her pull out a white thread and push it through a needle, I snapped out of my stare and quickly shed my shirt. My sensitive pale skin felt hot against the intense sun as I scooched further under the tree and into the shade. Hot, dry days have always caused me grief.
Looking back to her, I could see her waiting expectantly... needle and thread in hoof. I gave another look to my shredded shirt before tossing it over to her, which she caught midair with her wing. It was almost mesmerizing, watching her thread the needle in and out of the cloth... if not just for how impossible it looked.
She hummed to herself as she sewed, patching up all the rips and tears I've accrued over time. Until she stopped on the particularly large, and recent, hole in the chest.
"Oh my... what caused this?" She paused her humming as she ran her hoof over it.
"Longsword." I stated, getting her to snap to me.
"What? You mean like a..." She trailed off, still looking at me.
"A weapon?" I cut in, getting her to slowly nod. "Yeah, specifically from one of Stormwind's guards. Crooked bastards." I growled out the last line, crossing my arms.
"You were attacked by a guard? Were you a criminal?" Fluttershy asked, her ears splaying back a bit.
Shaking my head, I waved the idea off. "No no, Nothing like that. I just have lots of... enemies." I explained, before slouching a bit in place and letting out a long, drawn out sigh. "Knew it was coming anyway, had assassins on me for the last couple months now..."
Shaking her head, I swear I could see her eyes glistening a bit. "Oh you poor thing! You must have been so scared!"
Before I could register what she was doing, I found myself embraced in a feathery hug. Wrapping her wings around my barrel, she held onto me weakly.
Groaning, I wedged my hands between us and carefully pried her off me. "Not really, I've basically been hunted as long as I can remember. Also don't hug me, I hate hugs."
I could see her give me another worried look, before tucking her wings against her side and sitting down a few feet from me. "But everypony loves hugs."
"Not a pony." I fired back, getting her to shrink a bit. "Don't take it personally. I said the same thing to the last pony that hugged me."
Sniffling a bit, she gave a small nod before looking down at the shirt she'd been working on. There was a stretch of silence as she got back to work on closing up the holes. As she sewed away, I took in the area behind the cottage.
All around the backyard were many kinds of flora and fauna, and the stream which flowed out front rounded back here. I followed the stream all the way until my eyes rest upon a fairly large body of water. I could see a couple ponies hanging out around the edge, swimming in the water... but much too far away to make out any details.
A small click yanked me back to the present as I turned to see Fluttershy sliding her sewing kit away. With a flap of her wing, she tossed the shirt back over to me. I gave it a quick glance before pulling it back on, running my fingers over the freshly stitched lines. With a nod I reach into my pouch, scooping a handful of gold coins before pulling them out and offering them to her.
"Here, for the trouble. I always pay for good help." I stated, noticing her quickly widening eyes.
In an instant, she crossed her hooves at me and shook her head. "No! That's way too much, I couldn't possibly take it. It was only a bit of sewing."
Shooting her a confused glance, I looked back down to the coins in my hand. "There's only five?" I questioned, tilting my head a bit.
Fishing the coins I'd given her the previous day out of her mane, she motioned to them. "But it's real gold, they must be worth a fortune!"
As she said this, I couldn't help but crack a smile as a chuckle escaped my lips. Before long, I was howling with laughter... much to her confusion.
"Tell me..." I began, composing myself and looking at her again, "How much is a ounce of gold worth here in your currency?"
"Around three hundred bits I think?" She answered, tapping her chin.
I slapped my hand on my face hard as she said this, not believing what I was hearing. I wasn't sure what a 'Bit' was, but I knew for sure money wasn't going to be a problem with the almost twenty thousand gold pieces I currently had. Of course, I'm going to want to keep such a thing secret, I could only imagine how many people out there would pounce on a chance like this.
Shaking my head again, I tossed the coins over to her. "Trust me, keep it. I'll be fine." I stated, motioning to them.
Nervously, she shuffled in place before eyeing the coins again. "Well... if you insist..."
The sound of my footsteps crunching though leaves and twigs reached my ears as I walked through the forest, occasionally broken by the stray tune of birdsong. I'd spent a little longer at Fluttershy's but I began to worry that my presence would soon start to bother her. It did take a lot of extra reassurance to get her to keep the coins, but in the end she relented and stashed them away... however not without telling me she'd get this 'Rarity' to make me new clothes.
She said she could share my measurements with her when she sees her next, and assured me there will be absolutely no funny dress business going on. I guess they must be friends and after all my whole purpose for coming out here was to get new clothes anyway. Seeing as all the shops are apparently closed on 'Sunday' finding a blacksmith was out of the question as well, so I agreed to let her take my measurements. The process was much less invasive than I thought, however she did ask me to take my pants off once... but after a firm no she didn't ask again.
So I trudged back through the woods and towards Zecora's hut, much earlier than I'd expected to return. The afternoon sun piercing through cracks in the treetops and dotting the path ahead. After the uneventful walk the hut quickly came into view, nothing looking amiss and no sign of Twilight... yet.
I neared the door before I felt a presence... my eyes picking up movement in the bushes to the right. I managed to keep myself from stealing a glance, and instead turned left around the hut, where I quickly broke sightline and shifted forms. As soon as I did I bolted into the nearby trees, taking in any smells I could.
A gentle upwind carried a peculiar mix of scents my way as I quickly followed them, rounding the clearing from inside the tree-line. I watched the spot I'd seen movement at, and scanned it for any anomalies as I moved. A small shift of the leaves told me all I needed to know as I quickly prowled along the ground, taking a with berth to avoid being noticed.
Situating myself behind the bush, I slowly crept up and closed the distance... before I began hearing frantic whispering. The words were nonsense to me, but now I was sure it wasn't some wild animal. Whatever was here had intent, which had just sealed their fate. I could feel my scowl grow as I neared the bush and began to make out a few shadows moving around inside.
The bush was only about ten feet away now, and I began running through my mind what spell I should try out. Plenty of options went through my mind, until I settled on a simple area of effect spell. Lifting one of my hands I just barely began to conjure the spell before my train of thought came crashing to a halt as a high pitched scream reached my ears. Instinctively my ears splayed back and my whole body tensed as I frantically looked around for it's source.
"Ahhh!" The bush just in-front of me suddenly came to life, and a small white filly came sprinting towards me screaming bloody murder.
I just blinked at the small equine charging me, and noticed a fairly large centipede currently tangled in it's mane. With a thump she crashed straight into me as I sat back, catching her with my arms. Her eyes were screwed shut as she flailed like mad, knocking the centipede loose from her mane and sending it somewhere behind me.
A series of noises from the brush caught my attention from the screaming filly as I turned to see a couple more ponies emerge. One was orange with wings and the other yellow with a big pink bow, both staring at me in absolute terror. The pony with the bow whimpered something as the one in my lap suddenly stopped squirming.
Breathing quick and labored, the small unicorn finally cracked her eyes open towards the two fillies... before turning to me. I could see her white coat pale immediately as her large expressive eyes locked with mine, and I barely had enough time to cover my ears before she let out another piercing cry.
In a flurry of movement, she leapt off my lap and flew towards the other two... before they all took off straight for the hut. They hurriedly crashed over each other as they piled into the doorway before slamming it shut.
I sat there in silence for a few more moments, running the recent scenario through my head over and over.
'I almost killed those kids...' The grim realization gripped my thoughts. 'I need to be more careful. This isn't Azeroth, maybe I don't need to be so cautious all the time...'
Letting out a deep sigh, I shifted back to my human form and stood to full height. Cautiously, I entered the clearing again and made my way to the door. Giving it a couple light knocks, there was an uncomfortable length of silence until the sound of a lock clicking reached my ears.
The door creaked open a bit, and I could see Zecora hesitantly peek out before sighing in relief. Motioning me in, she swung the door open fully and retreated inside. Bending down, I slowly entered the hut and took in the scene. Twilight was on the other side of the room, desperately trying to calm three panicked fillies, until she froze and locked eyes with me.
Ignoring her stare, I sat down at the table and looked around for the lessons I'd left, before spotting one sticking out of a nearby book. Pulling it over I flipped it open and spread out the two Spell Matrices I'd left, until I felt a gentle tap on my left shoulder. Glancing over I could see Zecora looking at me questioningly, before motioning to Twilight.
Rolling my eyes, I pulled out the translators and handed her one as I put on my own.
"Yes?" I asked, turning back to the pages before digging into my pouch for the required herbs.
"What happened?" Zecora spoke up from behind me, before coming up to my right and watching me. "Why are they here?"
Setting down various herbs and equipment, I turned to face her again. "Why don't you ask them, I found them sneaking around in the bushes outside." I paused, before sighing. "And I might have spooked them, they saw my other side."
As I said this, I could see her cast me a questioning gaze, before contorting to barely concealed dread. "Right... and by other side you mean..." She trailed off, and I just gave her a single nod before turning back to the table.
"The wolf-like form? Yes, I'll try not to make a habit of it. I saw something sneaking around and assumed the worst." I didn't bother looking in her direction as I straightened out all the potion supplies on the table.
More silence followed, until I heard her walking away as the warmth radiating from the necklace suddenly cut out. I payed it no mind as I rummaged around in my bag, before pulling out my crystal vial heater and gingerly placing it on the table. Rubbing my hands together, I got to work on setting out some vials when I felt the warmth ignite on my chest again.
"Um e-excuse me..." A new voice made me freeze, as I quickly glanced behind me and saw Twilight watching me, the three fillies from before hiding behind her and sparing me quick glances.
I furrowed my brow at her, before pushing the stool back a bit and spinning around to face her. As I stared her down, she shuffled a bit in place as I crossed my arms.
Finally, she cleared her throat and spoke again. "M-My name's-"
"I know who you are." I cut in quickly, getting her ears to splay back at my voice. "Why are you still here, I expected you to be finished your business by now."
Twilight shuffled a bit in place and seemed to have a hard time maintaining eye contact with me. "W-Well yes I am but Zecora told me you're in the possession of some kind of magic," My eyes flicked to Zecora who rubbed her foreleg and smiled sheepishly, "-and I was just wondering if you'd be willing to show me too!" She paused and fluttered her wings nervously. "...please." She finished with a forced smile.
I quickly shook my head. "No."
The effect was immediate. Her smile vanished and ears splayed back, her wings drooping slightly like I'd just murdered a puppy in front of her.
"N-No? Why not?!" She whined.
Groaning, I pinched the bridge of my nose. "I don't do apprentices."
"But you took Zecora?" She asked, pointing to the aforementioned Zebra.
Rolling my eyes, I spun back around to face the herbs I placed out. "She's an exception. We made a deal."
A flurry of hoof steps sounded behind me until I saw purple fill my peripheral vision right of the table. "You mean like the language thing? I can help with that, I'm a great teacher... learner too! I'm the element of magic I can take anything, please!"
Covering my face with my hands, I took in a deep breath and held it for a moment, before slowly breathing out and turning to face Twilight who was now uncomfortably close. You'd think this Princess would be more cautious about her personal space. Taking a peek around the room, I saw Zecora leaving the hut with the small fillies in tow.
'So much for sending Twilight away with them... wait, what'd she say?' My thoughts caught up with what I heard as I cast a curious glance at her.
"Element of magic? That's quite a ego you have Twilight." I stated getting her to go red in the face.
Puffing up her cheeks, she tried and failed to appear angry. "It's not an ego thing! I'm really the element of magic, it's my special talent!"
Giving a small chuckle, I grabbed a sheet of paper and pulled out a quill. "Alright miss 'Element of Magic', tell me... how many fundamental forces of magic are there in the universe?"
Blinking at me a couple times with wide eyes, she quickly squinted and scratched her chin as she hummed to herself. "Well... that'd have to be friendship, harmony and chaos." She stated with a smile and closed eyes.
I couldn't help but snicker a bit, getting her to crack an eye open and glare back to me. "Friendship huh? Well I don't know how to break it to you Miss Harmony but you're missing a few." As I said this, she raised an eyebrow at me as I motioned to the page in front of me. "The first two are the most important... Light and Shadow."
Brandishing the quill, I brought it to the parchment and drew a six pointed star. I scribbled 'Light' on the top point and 'Shadow' on the bottom.
"Life and Death, or otherwise called Nature and Fel." I continued, marking 'Life' on the top left point and 'Death' on the bottom right. "And finally, Order and Chaos." Pausing for a second, I wrote 'Order' on the bottom left point and 'Chaos' on the top right. "Order is usually just referred to as Arcane magic though. And I'm not even going to get into elemental magic right now."
As I finished my explanation, I set the quill down before reaching for the sheet. As I neared the page it was surrounded in a purple glow, before being ripped away and greedily scanned by Twilight... mere inches from her face.
"What?! That's impossible! I've studied magic all my life and I haven't even heard of half of these!" Locking eyes with me again, she closed the distance and placed her hooves on my shoulders, getting me to tense. "Please, you have to teach me!"
Slowly lifting my hands, I clasped them around her hooves and lift her off me. "Don't touch." I said quietly as I set her down. "And no."
As I said this, she let out an angry snort and shook her mane a bit. "You owe me!"
I looked at her bewildered. "...what?"
"Back at the library, you scared the hay out of me!" She puffed up her cheeks again, and I felt a small tinge of anger rise.
'Really? Guilt tripping me? Alright little girl, you want to play like this...' Squinting my eyes at her, I dug into my pouch for a specific item.
She watched me expectantly as I rummaged around before pulling out an old looking tome. Cracking it open, I quickly flipped through the pages until I found the one I was looking for. As I ran my finger over the paper, a small smile creeped onto my features as I stopped on my target.
"Tell you what Twilight." I began, getting her to perk up and her wings to open a bit. "I'll teach you, if you manage to cast this spell by tomorrow... Miss 'Element of Magic'."
Setting the book down, I got to work on copying over the correct Spell Matrix. I carefully compared the two as I went, after all this kind of magic wasn't my affinity so I had much less practice with it. Giving it one last glance, I gave a small nod and slid it across the table and towards Twilight.
Lighting up her horn, she brought it up to her face and quickly scanned it. "It looks... advanced. Is it dangerous?" She asked, getting a quick shake of my head.
"No, purely defensive magic." I held back my smile as she read it over some more.
"I... think I can do it. I'll have to really break it down tonight... wait, how'll you know If I cast it or not?" She asked, tilting her head.
"Oh I'll know." I said with a smile. "So, deal?" I reached out my hand, and she scanned it for a moment before smiling and reaching forward.
"Deal!" She shouted excitedly.
As she shook my hand, I raised a finger up with the other. "Remember, if you don't figure it out by tomorrow... don't ask me again."
Her ears splayed back for a moment, before she steeled her features and gave a nod. "I'll have it mastered by tomorrow, just wait and see!"
Stomping over to the door, her horn flared for a moment as it flung open, before she stormed out and closed it tight behind. Thinking for a moment, I shook my head and made my way to the door before yanking it open and whistling to the pony, who was now about twenty feet in the air. She looked at me puzzled, until I tapped to the amulet hanging around my neck.
She blinked once, before smiling sheepishly and letting out an embarrassed laugh as her horn lit up. The necklace clicked off her, before slowly floating down and into my hand. Scratching my chin, I watched her turn and take off towards the village.
'What if she actually does it?' I wondered to myself, before shaking the thought from my mind. 'Nah. Nobody can learn a spell from just a Spell Matrix alone. One needs deep understanding of the forces fueling the spell, hopefully she doesn't work herself up too much' I chuckled a bit at the thought, before turning back into the hut and shutting the door.
Perspective: Spike
The sound of the world slowly faded in as I let out a long yawn, stretching as much as I could.
'Wow... I feel awesome!'
And it was true, I felt like a million bits. Twilight came home in a hurry last night and just rambled on about some new spell or something. I was already wiped out after hauling in a brand new table, seeing as our last one got... chopped. So I decided to head to bed early... and judging from the angle the sun was casting in through my window, I overslept as well.
'Weird... Twilight usually wants me up early on Monday... oh well I'm not complaining' I let the thought go as I flopped over in my bed, before lazily getting to my feet.
Dragging one step in-front of the other I left my room, cringing at the light assaulting my eyes. Rubbing the sleep out with a claw, I let out another yawn as I peeked into Twilights room. Not seeing her, I shrugged to no-one and made my way downstairs. Glancing around, everything looked exactly as I left it when I went to bed... which was odd considering the sporadic nature of Twilight's 'Reading' pile.
'She's probably been in the lab all night again, she did mention a new spell'
Lumbering over to the kitchen, I poured out some apple juice in a cup before taking a long swig and refilling it again. Glass in hand, I make my way to the staircase leading to the lab. I gave a small huff, blowing the tassel which hung from my nightcap out of the way. As I descended the stairs, I felt a slight chill dance up my few exposed scales and electing an involuntary shiver from me.
Ignoring the feeling, I continued to the bottom until I reached Twilight's lab. The lab was in complete disarray, papers strewn everywhere and all her magic measuring machines all looked absolutely fried. However, all of these things paled in comparison to what I saw in the middle of the lab.
"T-Twilight?" I whimpered out as my grip loosened on the glass, causing it to shatter on the stone floor.
In the center of the room... surrounded by a thin layer of mist was a huge shard of ice, and inside that ice was none other than Twilight Sparkle herself.
Frozen mid triumphant pose with a victorious smile.