The Magic of the Night (Bellosh & Tacobob)

[Bellosh]

 

To Pocket Change:

 

Time now to answer the night’s call

Go beyond the wall

To the bottom of the great fall

And warp with your doll

 

Cryptic messages were ever so fun. Moondancer’s granny used to do that sort of thing back when she was still around, sending her little grandchild off on little goose chases with a reward at the end; usually, a bag of sweets or a new book. Most of the time, these treasure hunts started by stumbling upon a letter with a mysterious rhyme in. Moony would then have to guess the meaning and then follow the clue to another clue, and then another, until finally reaching her prize. Just like a proper treasure hunt!

 

For some time now, Moondancer wondered if her boyfriend Pocket Change would think these little treasure hunts fun too. After all, he was Spellbound’s resident archaeologist; somepony who lived for adventure (he even purchased the entire Adventure! clothing line, for Pete’s sake). So one time when Moony was able to find time in her schedule for a one-on-one magic session with Pocket, she chose to do something drastically different: the unicorn mare thought to tease him by first giving him a mini-adventure of her own design.

 

First Moondancer came up with the first mysterious clue; a work of rhyme which she had one of her other friends write out. That way, it’d make Pocket Change wonder just who wrote the thing. Moony then left the letter lying on the floor of Spellbound’s main hall very early in the morning, to ensure that it would be found and read. If the young mare’s beloved Pocket interpreted the clue correctly, he’ll trek down at night to the great waterfall base beneath Canterlot. Oh, Moondancer also needed to figure out which night her boyfriend had free in advance, just to make sure he could come the same night.

 

As she waited after nightfall from a concealed position, Moondancer hoped she wasn’t too clever for her own good. If Pocket Change couldn’t figure out that he needed to reach the misty noise-laden base of Canterlot’s majestic waterfall (which incidentally, shined and sparkled with reflective moonlight at night), the girl would have wasted an entire night, and Pocket’s too, for nothing. On the other hoof, wouldn’t it be superly awesome if everything worked out according to plan? It'll be totally worth it!

[tacobob]

 

 

Pocket Change stood proudly on the roof of the highest tower of the newly created Spellbound Castle. No longer was he a mere mortal, as he had ascended to realm of the Alicorn! The impressive pony flexed his new wings as he glanced towards the small smattering of powerful ponies he would now call 'equals'. There was Princess Celestia, Alicorn of The Sun, Princess Luna, Alicorn of the Moon, Princess Cadance, Alicorn of Love, and Princess Moondancer, Alicorn of Beauty, Smartypantsness and Dance. Princess Twilight was the only one that did not attend, because she was just SOOOO busy doing other things. Busy being a jerk that is!

 

After learning all the spells a unicorn could learn, and then mastering the great eight spells of Octavo, young Pocket had taken the title of 'Sorcerer Supreme', which had already gained him a set of very cool wings, a castle, and now an awesome wizard's robe and pointy hat of his own! Pretty impressive for a guy who got an 'B-' in Potions class! The castle would serve as the ultimate base of the Spellbound guild! And to imagine, just a few years ago, his newly formed guild members had to use a former storage facility to hold their meetings. Now his guild held the greatest and most impressive castle in all of the realms, and members numbered in the thousands with members from all over the world, and even from other dimensions!

 

Princess Celestia slowly made her way towards the stallion, followed by the other Alicorns. The moment her hooves touched the tower's stone floor, she spoke, "Pocket! Wake up you dummy!"

 

*               *                          *                    *                     *               *                    *               *                          *                    *                     *               *                   *               *                          *                   

 

"Erm?", The unicorn awoke in his own bed, and instead of the sun goddess, his sister Docket was staring down at him. "Dude, why are you still asleep? It's like one as in Peee-Em!", a small collection of envelopes floated towards his bed and landed unceremoniously on the nightstand. The mare let out a chuckle, "You weren't having that Alicorn dream again, were you? You'd make a beautiful Princess!", she chucked a bit more as she walked out of the stallion's room.

 

Pocket Change let out a groan as he turned to check his alarm clock. "Oh smeg, she wasn't kidding!", he yelped, "And is Smartypantsness a word?" After collecting his letters, the unicorn made his way into the kitchen, where a hot cup of tea had been waiting for him. As he slowly sipped his beverage, the future-archeologist flipped through his mail.  A few bills there, an 'really important offer', which went into the rubbish, and the finally something that did not look like it was mailed, "Er, Docket, what's with this?", a rather impressive looking scroll floated towards the mare who reflected it back towards her twin brother. "Oh, that's from Sprocket. I read it already, and I would tell you what he wants, but seriously, you need to read it. Big brother put a lot of time and effort into it."

 

Sure enough, Sprocket did put a good deal of time writing a simple request. The beautifully written and illustrated scroll could have been framed and sold for a ton of bits, if only an epic poem had been written on, instead it was a letter requesting a copy of 'Captain Wiggenweld's Illustrated Tome Of Forgotten Magical Mysteries.'. It was a fun little book that told the story of a unicorn detective who solved magical mysteries, using simple spells, any starting wizard could use and master. Both Pocket and Docket had read the book several times throughout their youth. It was one of the first books Pocket Change had donated to Spellbound's 'library'. He had planned on visiting his beloved guildhall anyway, so borrowing the book wouldn't be too much of a bother for him.

 

Once his coat and mane and teeth were brushed, and his trusty coat and jacket were tossed on, Pocket Change left his flat and headed towards the Guildhall. Thankfully the weather was perfect! This only made his trip more cheery. The trip was short, and in a moment's time, he was now in the hall. A quick search through the stacks spotted him the old novel, which he placed in his saddlebag. After properly filling out the 'borrow list', he started to head towards the entrance. "The hay?", he stopped dead in his tracks as he spotted a letter. What could it be?

 

Oddly enough, the letter was written for him! "How odd.", he quickly read the small message. Was this some sort of joke? He did not recognize the writing, but there were spells one could use to hide ones hoof or horn-writing. Maybe Nocturne Wisp was getting revenge for all the pranks Pocket had played on him over the years? What did it all mean? Call? Fall? Wall? Doll? They all rhymed, but he could at least get the idea this would all happen during nightfall! And thankfully Pocket was so clever that he had already figured out the riddle. Which he would take care of, once his assorted chores were finished. There was the book for Sprocket. Docket needed a few things at the store, and he needed new character sheets at the hobby shoppe...So much to do!

 

Night fell upon Canterlot, and Pocket was back at the guild hall. It was obvious, that the 'doll' was his beloved mare Moondancer, and she would be waiting where they had fallen all those months ago. Although it was a secret floor, not wall. What's with that? No longer was there a secret entrance, but a proper spiral staircase, which he took. "Hey Moon! I found out your hidden...spot...". Even with the light on, he could not see his beloved mare. Maybe this was an prank! But neither the prank, nor the mare were here. What else could this mean?

 

After moving to the corner of one of the training rooms, the stallion stood in a section marked 'Pocket's Thoughtful Spot' where he would sit and think. Think. Think. Think. What other falls were there? Princess Celestia's castle had a waterfall, but there were several falls. But most of them simply drizzled into each other, and into a lake near the entrance. She would not be there! Curious to see if this was it, he took a taxi straight to the entrance of the castle, where he slowly made his way down the hill the final falls, fell. Not that far from where he stood was the animal sanctuary, which was closed.  "Moon?", he glanced over the edge of the falls. Would she be down there? He slowly made his way back onto his hooves when the rocks benethe him started to move, "Ah crap..", he gulped, before he went over the edge.

 

Hopefully the water would be deep enough to break his fall!

[Bellosh]

 

So, how well-concealed was Moondancer’s hiding spot? Well, let’s just say it was hidden in plain sight... literally. As in longing in a tent made out of special invisibility fabric, pitched right next to the pools at the bottom of the falls. It actually had been a family heirloom of Moony’s, having originally belonged to her grandmother before it got lost in the attic. Invisible belongings after all had a nasty tendency of well, disappearing on their owners.

 

But Moondancer recovered it one day when she just happened to run into it in the attic, and now she hoped to use a “hidden in plain sight” clue once Pocket Change made his way to the waterfall base. Only thing was, hiking down the slope from Canterlot took some time, so Moony prepared herself for a long wait by bringing a book and lantern along. Fortunately, invisible tents allowed their occupants the capability to read at night without letting anypony know they’re there.

 

Moondancer however kept her ears on alert for Pocket in case he showed up. Meanwhile, the young mare could immerse herself in the sounds of the cascading waterfalls, the chirping crickets, and someone far above screaming his head off as if he was falling down the- wait, WHAT? Unsettled, Moony dashed out of her tent to locate the new sound’s source, and glimpsed the moon’s light reflecting off a stallion on a collision course with the ground! And that white-coated stallion sounded a lot like... POCKET CHANGE!!!

 

In times past, our unicorn mare would have wasted valuable time gasping while processing that something bad was happening. Yet as a veteran of such adventures as the Nightmare Night invasion, the visitation of the abandoned Everfree Castle, the rescue of Presteza, and whatever that strange thing with Hollow Shades was all about, Moondancer found herself automatically entering a state of serene awareness as she quickly powered up a telekinesis spell. Aiming her magic at her coltfriend, the girl commenced a grueling duel with the laws of physics as she valiantly tried gently decreasing the other pony’s velocity without giving him whiplash. Pocket had picked up a lot of speed during his dive though, and Moony only had a few more seconds to slow the stallion down before he hit all those pointy rocks down in the bubbling pool below.

[tacobob]

 

"Oh dear." Instead of a nice moonlit plunge-pool for him to fall in, there was an assortment of jagged rocks waiting there for him! And there it was. His life quickly started to flash before his eyes. His first day at school. His first crush as a school-colt. His first crush as a school-colt that did not involve one of the teachers. His first 'special somepony'. His look of horror as his filly-friend hit pony-puberty and got a good deal taller than he. This made dancing rather awkward as he stayed that way for a year longer. His first real dance. The first time he laid his eyes on Moondancer. His first illegal kegger. His first legal kegger. His first adventure!

 

All these things rushed before him, making it seem rather odd, as there were several ways he could avoid getting dashed upon the rocks. A feather-fall spell! Which he quickly cast, but as his body started to feel lighter and lighter, he felt another bit of magic touching his person! Where did this come from? "Moondancer?", he shouted out, hoping to sound over the falls as he slowly floated down.

[Bellosh]

 

To the good fortune of both unicorns, Moondancer’s magic did its job of sufficiently slowing down Pocket Change’s dive; perhaps a little too well. No wait; the young mare started feeling magical energy coming from within the stallion himself; meaning he must have also casted one of his feather-falling spells too. Come to think of it, wasn’t that what Pocket did that one time he fell down the shaft into the Spellbound basement?

 

At any rate, Pocket’s fall was slow enough now that Moondancer felt comfortable in stopping his descent altogether. Thus did the stallion hover in place several meters above the jagged rocks of the waterfall pool. Moony thought she might have heard her boyfriend call out her name, but she remained focused on levitating him over to soft ground. Fun fact: it took less effort than usual for the unicorn to magically move Pocket because his feather-falling spell made himself lighter. Perhaps that knowledge could come in handy for the future?

 

Since Pocket Change was now as light as a feather, Moondancer simply ceased her magical grip-hold on him once his body made it over to the grass in front of the mare. That cantrip of Pocket’s would make sure he landed smoothly on the ground, after all. Once the stallion landed on dry land, his anxious girlfriend’s hooves wasted no time in gripping his cheeks. “Pocket Change!!!” Moony’s eyes and voice expressed a mixture of concern and bafflement; “Why in Equestria were you falling off the edge of Canterlot?”

[tacobob]

 

When it came to falling down holes, Pocket Change was a true professional! From his first tumble that gave him his cutie mark, to this very fall that just happened, the young stallion had a long career of stumbling, bumbling, tripping, falling, slipping and sliding, he had done it all, and in places all over the world. He had a horrible habit of walking, talking and thinking all at once. This usually ended with him going over a cliff or down a rabbit hole. When his beloved Moondancer asked...“Why in Equestria were you falling off the edge of Canterlot?” A few dozen responses quickly all popped up in his head. All of them were very appropriate. So he went with honesty.

 

"You know me..", he glanced down at the grassy field as he shuffled his legs back and forth, "Always with my head in the clouds. I had a feeling you would be here.", he looked up at the mare, "And if you weren't, I would have had another spell that would have kept me from hitting the rocks below." That particular spell was a slight upgrade from the standard 'shield' spell. He would have simply bounced against the rocks and probably would have ended up a few hundred feet from where they stood. The walk back would have been annoying, but it sure beat the alternative.

 

"So who else is....er...". It then fully dawned on him that there was only Moondancer. There were no other members of the guild. Pocket had assumed this was going to be a super-secret guild event, but it was not. Just the two of them alone. In an awfully romantic, moonlit backed....whatever this area would be called...And there she was, the prettiest girl in all of Equestria just a step away. He felt a rather massive blush starting, but he had to play it cool. No hearts either. And he could not assume she only invited him down here for a night of smooches. This could still be guild related!

 

"So Miss Moon, I have deciphered and followed your message to the t.", he tried to sound clever, "What do you have on plan for this fine evening?"

[Bellosh]

 

"You know me..", he glanced down at the grassy field as he shuffled his legs back and forth, "Always with my head in the clouds. I had a feeling you would be here.", he looked up at the mare, "And if you weren't, I would have had another spell that would have kept me from hitting the rocks below."

 

Actually, it wasn’t much of a surprise to Moondancer that Pocket Change could have simply not have been paying attention, so she rolled with that explanation. However, the young mare wasn’t as bemused to hear that her efforts in saving her coltfriend may not have been completely necessary. Sure, Moony knew of Pocket’s big adventuring-spell arsenal, but still. “Very well hotshot,” the mare tried pouting, even though her voice and eyes betrayed a measure of mischief; ”I suppose I shouldn’t do anything at all the next time I see you fall from a plummeting height. You know Pocket, part of being a good boyfriend is letting your girl fear for your safety every now and then.” Moony childishly stuck her tongue out to show she was only being facetious.

 

"So who else is....er...".

 

“Nopony else down here this time of night,” Moondancer stretched her neck out and grinned at Pocket Change, holding back a snicker; “It’s just the twoooo of usssssssss.” Hoy boy, tempting this stallion was going to be so much fun.

 

"So Miss Moon, I have deciphered and followed your message to the t.", he tried to sound clever, "What do you have on plan for this fine evening?"

 

Giggling, Moondancer got up on one rear leg and twirled as if performing a dance move. Oddly enough, the moonlight reflecting off the dancing unicorn caused sparkles to appear around her graceful form. “Oh, just a little something that you’ve been wanting to do for a long time now.” The sly young mare had ceased her twirl and got her face within several inches of Pocket Change’s own, letting her eyes intently gaze into Pocket’s green orbs. That was, until she vanished a couple seconds later with a bright flash!

 

Moondancer instantly re-materialized with pizzazz to the stallion’s side, with a foreleg draped around his neck. The spellcaster burst out with energy as her other foreleg stretched out towards the heavens, proclaiming; “Tonight Mr. Change, I, the clever Moondancer, will finally teach you the mystical art of..... TELE-POR-TA-TION!!! TAH-DAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!!!!!!”

[tacobob]

 

"Weeeeeeeeelll.", Pocket Change couldn't shake the goofy look off his face as Moondancer gave him a raspberry, "If you did not come to my aid, I would have most likely bounced off the rocks and ended up somewhere else. Maybe a lake?" The stallion projected a cute little illusion of a stick figure version of himself being chased by an shark who wore a bib and carried over-sized silverware in its fins. "Maybe I would have ended up in the backyard of some crazy hermit who would have taken me hostage?", again another illusion of the stick-figure stallion, who this time was being forced to do chores for what appeared to be an troll. "Or into the yawning mouth of some large creature, which would have been incredibly annoying and very time consuming." a simple vision of Pocket plummeting into an open dragon's mouth, who swallowed him up and let out a mighty burp followed.

 

His eyes appeared to get a little bigger when the mare mentioned that they were alone. What plans did she have for him? His two green peepers almost popped out of his skull as the lovely mare got up and close, Oh, how he was waiting for this! From the first time he saw the bouncy filly he later would call a friend, to the time he first saw her not as another pony, but as full grown mare that was so out of his league, or he at least thought so. "Er-Yup.", he managed to croak out, before she poofed away.

 

He nearly hurled himself into the rock-filled pit when she announced her true intentions. "Oh.", he could only make out. Learning how to teleport was still a thing for him. He had received words of wisdom and encouragement from Princess Celestia during their last guild event, but he still need the courage to pull off the spell and become a smooth apparator! And just maybe if he could conquer his fears and lean the spell properly and quickly enough, there would still be time to get a few midnight-smooches in with the lovely lady.

 

But what about the horror stories he had heard when he was a colt? Unicorns teleporting into brick walls, or even other ponies? And the horror of Splinching was something that really happened! There was always a chance that an unfocused unicorn could leave something behind after an poorly cast teleportation! He had heard that his friend's cousin's uncle's neighbor had left behind the tip of her ear during apiration. Could this happen to Pocket Change?

 

"Let's do it!", he struck an similar pose as the mare, but quickly added, "As in me...learning to do....that spell. Heh-heh.", he nervously chuckled, "But seriously, teach me, wise and humble Sensei!", he did a quick bow and started to wish he had not read Docket's weird comic that she had left on the dining room table.

 

Learning time had now begun!

[Bellosh]

 

Delighted by her boyfriend’s willingness to be taught teleportation tonight, Moondancer returned Pocket Change’s bow; “I prefer the term ‘senpai’, but I uhhhh suppose ‘sensei’ is fine too. Sooooo, I guess it’s time to get started...” At this point, it finally occurred to the young mare that she would actually be personally teaching somepony in the use of an advanced spell for the first time. This wasn’t like all those times monitoring the practice halls at Celestia’s School or Spellbound HQ; Moondancer was completely responsible for ensuring that Pocket safely learned the basics of teleporting. That was a pretty big task!

 

If the young mare screwed up... well, it was best not to dwell too much on the possibilities. Moony was one of the few unicorns in existence who knew how to warp around on a whim, and she made a promise to pass down her knowledge to the stallion beside her. If nothing else, Moondancer kept her promises, and thus she cast aside all doubt as she resolved to transform Pocket into a beginner-level apparator by the dawn of the coming day!

 

---------------

 

A few minutes later, Moondancer was sitting down by the edge of the waterfall pool  with her eyes shut, as if she was a monk meditating under the Tree of Harmony. The girl had instructed Pocket Change to sit in front of her in the same way. Once Pocket was ready, Moony started lecturing. “Now, as I remember from my magic school days, the first step in knowing teleportation is knowing your own self. It’s your body that’s gonna’ get deconstructed down into its component atoms, and then completely rebuilt all in an instant, so you better be darn sure you know what you need to do to re-emerge intact.”

 

Hoping that Pocket wasn’t getting spooked already, Moondancer paused for a moment to open one of her eyes and peek at her unofficial student; “This isn’t, like, freaking you out or anything, right?”

[tacobob]

 

 

The white stallion nodded his head and slowly found a seat in front of the mare. Moondancer really picked the wrong day to do this! The weather was perfect, not too cold, not too hot. The sky was clear, and the water near them was probably just the right temperature was well. Learning was something one did in a boring old room while crummy weather was going on outside. But he REALLY wanted to learn how to apparate! It was not only a useful spell to move to one area as quickly as possible, there were more advanced versions of the spell that would allow its user to teleport in great distances, or even use the spell to transport others or items along as well.

 

After mastering the first step of sitting, Pocket Change glanced at his beloved as she spoke about....being deconstructed down into its component atoms, and then completely rebuilt all in an instant. His ears drooped down as the mental image formed. He knew the dangers of the spell quite too well. And in his classes, the spell was completely optional. And being such a lazy student at the time, young Pocket took and mastered only the spells that were required to pass his class.

 

"No...no...not at all.", the unicorn realized something needed to be changed, which was his attitude, "Actually...It does freak me out...a bit. But fear is something a pony should have in these situations and must be defeated before the process can began.  How do you suggest I do that?", he asked.

[Bellosh]

 

Having expected Pocket Change to put on a brave face, Moondancer was surprised to instead hear her partner readily admit his fear, which the young mare appreciated. “You’re off to a good start,” Moony smiled as she closed her eyes again; “Admitting your fears is the first and hardest step in defeating them. Even I had to go through the same process when I started learning teleportation, believe it or not. Everypony does.”

 

Sitting in a zen position didn’t stop Moondancer from giving Pocket an assuring giggle. “So let me guess: you’re afraid you might find yourself fused with another creature? Or maybe that a piece of you gets left behind when you reemerge? Or that you’ll end up splitting into good and evil halves? Or trapped in an alternate dimension?” The mare paused for a moment in case her fellow stallion needed to comment.

 

“Now then, the next step to overcoming your fears is understanding why they're there. In your case, whatever misconceptions you have about the horrors of teleportation all stem from one single source: a lack of knowledge about the subject. And what most ponies don’t know, even unicorns, is that you don’t just cast a simple teleportation spell and be done with it. Oh, nonononono. You see Pocket, the truth... is that apparition involves... a whole series of spells, all cast at more or less the same time! Usually, it takes months to get the entire set down pat. Unless you just happen to be a speedy learner.....“

 

Moony opened her eyes once more and tilted her head in curiosity; “Uhhhhh, how fast do you usually learn spells anyway?”

[tacobob]

 

 

The stallion nodded his head silently at a few of Moondancers suggestions. The horror! Start a spell and end up being shifted into a large pile of rocks, or suffer being merged with his beloved mare, forced to live as a two headed pony! This obviously wasn’t as bad as the rock, but it would still make their lives a bit more difficult. And there was always the horrors of leaving behind a part that normally would have been better off still attached. Again, he nodded, but couldn’t help but feel a little silly. “Well...”, he finally spoke up, “I do have an evil twin. My evil twin sister, but please don’t tell her I said that.” He did hope she would meet Docket soon. They would probably make good friends. Both were intelligent, hard working mares who were very passionate at what they did.

 

He clammed up for a moment to let the mare speak some more. While the spell was rather difficult to learn, it was generally fear that was holding him back, and what he feared was mostly silly, he even knew that. Again, he nodded his head. Most difficult spells were generally combinations of other spells, almost like a recipe. There were several different things that need to be made on the side before combining them into one big meal. “And yes.”, he spoke after she stopped, “This is really one of the few spells out there that unicorns are permitted to learn that can actually harm you if messed it up. Nopony ever gets hurt by an miscast illusion, spell, and while I did have an incident with my telekinesis a few years ago, but nobody was hurt by that.”

 

“As for learning a spell..”, Pocket Change took a moment to ponder this. “Depends. If it’s an advancement or enhancement of an spell I already know, it’s going to take a lot less to learn than something I’ve never touched before. Still.”, he stood tall. “I doubt anypony would learn this spell in one night, so this will be your way of getting me started...I’ll learn a little on the side, and we can spend some quality time when our schedules work to get in a few practices, but for now, I’m all yours and I’m eager to learn!”, he gave the mare one more smile before the lessons (hopefully) began.

[Bellosh]

 

“Okie dokie then,” Moondancer spoke, satisfied that Pocket Change was in the proper state to begin learning; “Let’s get started, shall we?” The young mare wasn’t sure how much of her instruction plan that she’d get through tonight. However, she absolutely knew that advanced magic lessons were things that couldn’t afford to be rushed, especially for extremely complicated stuff like teleportation. Hopefully, Pocket wouldn’t mind brushing up on some boring, fundamental stuff first.

 

Moony remained blissfully seated on the moonlight-touched grass; “First, let’s go over basic spell-casting theory. Yeah, I know, I know; this is kinda magic kindergarten-level material, but using the most advanced moves require that you absolutely keep your kindergarten lessons in mind. So, on that note..... can you give me a definition of the word magic?”

 

“..........Don’t worry babe, this isn’t a trick question.”

[tacobob]

 

 

While the stallion felt a little silly, he still answered Moondancer's question without delay, "It's a guiding force that one can use to alter the very fabric and being of time and space. Both physical and not.", that might have been a little much, but it was mostly the truth. This was something that was rather difficult to answer in one simple answer, and he was pretty sure the 'correct' answer he was given to while in kindergarten, was simply the teacher pointing back at him. He was magic. Geez. Still, he did realize what she was doing. The mare was simply helping to 'reset his magical palate' before learning such a difficult spell.

 

Hopefully this would help!

[Bellosh]

 

Yep, that was pretty much the basic answer that unicorns memorized in magic kindergarten. “That’s a pretty accurate description of magic,” Moondancer seemed to sound pleased; “Now, my kōhai... forget it entirely!” A devious grin flashed on the young mare’s face, having predicted that her protege would have provided the most conventional definition of magic. Pocket Change needn’t worry though (even if it would be funny to see his mind scrambled from such an unanticipated response); there was a point to this sudden turnabout.

 

“That’s not to say that you’re wrong Pocket. It’s just that well, the basic definition tends to leave out one very important aspect. As you may know, all living things are capable of generating the guiding force we call magic. You, me, the fish in the pool, the blades of grass around us; we’re all generating magic, even if each organism uses it in different ways. The thing though is that to use any type of magic, one must first transcend the boundaries of the physical world to connect with the things around them, even your own body. For example, you wouldn’t be able to levitate a simple rock if you weren’t able to reach out to it to begin with. And the list goes on and on and on....”

 

“The point I’m making however is that at its most basic level, magic isn’t about flashy spells or superequine strength or whatever. It’s all about the art of making connections. Once you embrace that fact and learn all about the metaphysical connections you’re able to forge, you’ll be prepared to move on to the highest levels of spellcasting, like I have! Doesn’t that sound fun, Pocket?” Holding back a giggle, Moondancer paused to give her boyfriend a chance to pipe in, just in case he had any questions.

[tacobob]

 

"Well, silly.", the stallion playfully added, "That's why they call it the 'basic definition', as it's very basic.", he gave the mare a wink, "And thank the maker we have these pointy things stuck on our foreheads. While they make kissing rather dangerous, they do a lovely job at collecting all the homeless magical bits that we can convert for our own uses.", his eyeballs quickly drifted up as he took a good look skywards at his single horn. "Also, most non-unicorns don't like it when we try on their hats.", he returned his gaze back to the lovely mare. He was not sure why he mentioned this, but he tended to be a little on the silly side when the mare was near.

 

"As for flashy spells, I did not even consider such a thing until we started doing this whole guild thing. All of my spells tended to have purely practical purposes. Still, I did manage to combine a few during our last meeting and make them seem interesting." His show had been rather decent to say the least,along with the others,  but Moondancer's showing had been beyond impressive. "I have been improving my illusionary magic, as somepony was nice enough to leave a copy of Professor Showboat's very useful guide to advanced illusionary magic at our ever-growing guild-library. I had assumed it was either you or possibly Ingrid Marie."

 

"And yes, everything is fun when you're around.", the stallion said without an single inch of sarcasm to his tone, "So let's get to funn'n!"

[Bellosh]

 

"So let's get to funn'n!"

 

“That’s the spirit!” Moondancer cheered Pocket on before continuing her lesson. “So yeah, I’m glad you brought up the thing about collecting stray magic earlier. Not only do nearly all living things generate their own magic, but they’re also able to naturally absorb the magical force radiating from everything. That’s really important, because a single being is only able to summon so much magic all by themselves, and for the most part, living creatures just plain ole’ stink at naturally absorbing a decent amount of magic.”

 

Her throat feeling a little dry, Moony took time to drink out of a soda can that conveniently only seemed to appear when she actually needed it. “That’s where all this connection stuff comes in. When you forge metaphysical bonds with all the life around you, that connection allows you to absorb much more of the magic coming from whatever you’re connected with. Even better, whatever that thing is will also be better able to receive the magic that radiates from you! When fully connected to the world around you, you possess far more magic ability than one pony could ever hope to accomplish by themself. Talk about synergy, right?”

 

Now, the unicorn mare went on a tangent to answer a mystery that was last referenced 2-3 minutes ago. “Oh, before I forget, I think it was Professor Hoofcourt that brought in that book on illusion magic. He’s pretty much a professional stage magician, so you’d think he’d have plenty of books on the subject lying around.”

[tacobob]

 

“Oh right! The old professor. I wanted him as a magic teacher, but I somehow ended up with a stallion that was also the hoofball coach. Go figure.”, Pocket Change let out a huff. While his classmates were learning advanced magical technics, the young unicorn was watching very old film strips, while their ‘teacher’ either napped or snuck outside for a smoke. Pocket eventually ended up with a decent teacher, but by then, he had lost interest in magic as a subject to further advance himself in. He was already fully involved in becoming an world-traveling, adventure seeking archeologist! And while most of his studies kept his ‘whiffermuzzle’ stuffed firmly into books, he had at least dreams of an exciting future!

As his eyes fell back on Moondancer, he could not help but continue to notice how incredibly gorgeous she was, and this was all further enhanced by the moonlight. “Erm.”, he turned his head to clear his throat. Cough. Cough.

 

 

“So Moony, what’s the next step? My mind is mostly clear. My magic is strong. My body is willing.”

[Bellosh]

 

Moondancer may not fancy herself a teacher, but she had a pretty strong ability to recognize the traits that made her like instructors. Ultimately, those teachers she grew to like the most were the ones who did more than lecture the entire class session. The best professors usually did stuff like demonstrating spells during lectures to serve as examples, encouraging magic students in-class to give a shot at a technique, or anything else that invited student participation. Those teachers who instead droned on and on were those Moony had trouble learning from; while she didn’t know for sure how Pocket Change best learned new material (outside of the Do or Die Method), the unicorn mare thought she wouldn’t be a good teacher if she continued her lesson without demonstrating what she just talked about.

 

As it turned out, there was one specific type of metaphysical connection that the two unicorns were easily capable of forging right now. To this end, Moondancer finally got up from her sitting position and gave her coltfriend an expectant glance. Funnily enough, moonlight also did wonders in making white-coated stallions glow in an irresistible radiance. “First,” Moony slyly gestured for Pocket to come her way; “I need to show you an example of what I’ve just talked about. Tehehe, it’ll only take a miiiiiinuttttttte.....”

[tacobob]

 

The stallion's ears perked up as Moondancer asked him to show an example of what she had just spoke about. In his mind, the mare had spoke to him in an extremely seductive tone, asking the unicorn to cover her in smoochies. There was also saxophone music playing in he background. Wait a second! That's not what she said. Or what had happened. Cripes! His flashbacks were just not working today. She obviously was still trying to teach him how to teleport, and he needed to concentrate. He needed to listen to the land. He needed to become one with nature and the magic that was part of the land.

 

Pocket Change slapped his front hoof on the ground. This ground was covered in dirt, which in turn was covered with grass. This grass was covered with life, from little bugs in the ground, to  small furry creatures that hid in the thicket. Tiny droplets of water from the nearby waterfalls were also filled with tiny, microscopic life such as single-celled organisms called archaea. Everything was full of life. Life is magic. Magic is life. The magic came from everywhere. It surrounded him and he too was part of this entire microcosm.

 

"How about this?", the stallion's eyes appeared to have an extra green glow to his already emerald hue.

[Bellosh]

 

So…  this didn’t feel awkward at all for Moony. Except not really; this was embarrassing to the extreme. Just when she thought her clever improvised plan to give Pocket Change some good lovin’ would work, Pocket turned out to have interpreted Moony’s rather differently. The young mare’s face turned beet red as she witnessed her boyfriend connecting with his surroundings, and doing a pretty decent job of it telling by his shinier eyes. Thing was, Moony wasn’t sure whether what Pocket was doing now would produce the desired result; at least not on the first try.

 

“Uhhhh,” the blushing unicorn stammered as she tried recovering her mental sense of dignity; “That’s actually… pretty good.” Moony nodded her head a bit too eagerly to feel authentic. “Now why don’t you, hmmmmm, cast the most energy-intensive spell that you’re skilled at?” If Pocket was doing things right, he’d feel far less drained from using the magic ability than usual. If he wasn’t... well, even the best have to learn from failures at one point or another.

[tacobob]

 

 

“Oh.”, the stallion was very sure he did something wrong. He was pretty sure he got the actual magic part right. He had officially hooked himself up to the very faucet of natural magic. If he had studied to become an Elementalist, he would be capable of some pretty nifty spells. The unicorn would be able to do many things, including being able to speak the language of the forest, and be able to communicate with its inhabitants. While this sounded like a useful ability, an old friend of his who studied druidic magic had told it was not. While in the ‘olden days’, Elementalists made excellent scouts, using their abilities to get information from the woodland creatures about enemy troop movement, along with being able to set off nearly invisible traps using the foliage.  Nowadays, badgers had very little of interest to say.

 

He did know one nature-based spell, a simple cantrip that sped up the growth speed of plants. Pocket bounced up as he could feel the grass grow under his hooves. He could see what Moondancer now wanted him to do. But there would be risks. He could fire something into the air, but knowing his luck, his harmless spell might be amplified a hundred times and end up taking out the Royal Castle. This would not be good.

 

"Moony, I know this spell. It's a spell to create group balance. 'Magicae Statera'.", after pulling himself free of the grass, he got a little closer to the mare. "It's useful when needing to work group magic, and your teammates need a little boost. I will give you some of my excess magic, and will release what I do not need back into nature. We will both be at equal standing. Normally.", a sly grin fell upon his face, "I could just put my hoof on your shoulder and be done with it, but I'd prefer it this way if you don't mind." He glanced directly into her sparkling periwinkle eyes and quickly covered his mouth with hers and awaited her response....This was hardly the way they taught this spell in class. She only needed to take in the kiss for the spell to work.

[Bellosh]

 

Well... ‘Magicae Statera’ was not quite the spell that Moony had in mind. Her reason for having Pocket Change cast his most energy-intensive spell was for him to see if it was easier for him to individually perform a task with extra energy; not give that energy away with the magic-sharing ritual he proposed. The young mare was thus still in her initial state of skepticism when her coltfriend came up to kiss her. Now that was unexpected, but it was just a bit too bad that Moony wasn’t in the romantic. True, her lips did return the kiss on reflex, but the girl pulled away as soon as she became aware of what her mouth was up to. Nothing against Pocket, but him making a romantic move out of left field right after his companion failed at the same task left the blushing Moony unable to get into the swing of things as it were.

 

Still though, Moony felt an increase in her own magical power even as she broke off contact. While the senior magic user still wished Pocket had chosen a more convenient way to showcase his aptitude with connecting with the world, at least he didn’t appear drained from using ‘Magicae Statera’. “You know,” Moony’s magic brightly flashed from her horn as she awkwardly avoided meeting Pocket’s gaze; “I do feel more energy inside me now. Ehhhhhh, good job... errrr, kōhai?”

[tacobob]

 

The stallion’s ears flattened ever so tightly against his skull as he realized he had utterly failed so far to do anything correctly. Moondancer was so embarrassed in his utterly horrid performance that she could not even look him in the eye. He wanted to apologize to the mare for wasting her time. He could go back to his old ways. He would give up serious magic study, quit the guild and go back to his old job. Surely there was somepony out there that needed help digging or dusting old broken jars, and while he probably burned all the bridges with the more serious teams out on the field, there were always those who would hire any poor slob that could handle long hours and poor working conditions. Maybe Dr. Merlot still needed somepony?

 

Celestia bless her, the mare was trying her very best to sound positive, but he knew the truth. "Moonie, I think I better....", and then another voice sounded in his head. Moondancer had not given up on him yet. Why should he give up on her? She obviously knew he wasn't the greatest student. Always distracted. His silly little mind always in several different places at once. And this night, this bloody night was just getting to him! Why did they have to do it in such a romantic evening? In such a romantic place?

 

"I'm sorry.", he could at least give it one more go. "Please tell me what I need to do next and I will try to my best of abilities to do so.", the pitiful pony added, "If I screw up again, we could always call it a night.."

[Bellosh]

 

“Don’t worry Pocket,” Moony hurriedly reassured her stallion; “I think we’re ready to move on to the next lesson.” Embarrassed as she felt right now, the young mare knew that the best way out of this hole for the both of them was to chug along. If nothing funky happened during the next portion of Pocket Change’s training, perhaps this uncomfortable situation would be mostly forgotten about, or at least transform into something to laugh about instead of fretting over.

 

------------

 

“Okay,” Moondancer was now sitting back down in a zen position; “For this next bit, we’re going to be exploring deeper into how magic flows through a pony’s body. Among other things, being aware of the energy pathways within yourself will help make performing crazy high-end spells like teleportation less of a pain in the rear. Otherwise, you’d have to account for every stinkin’ little atom in your body before deciding to warp somewhere.

 

So... my apprentice; what do you know of energy paths from books you've read and whatnot?”