The Magic Mare and her Filly Follower

[Gerrard]

It was a brilliant afternoon in Canterlot, the famed city bustling as ponies enjoyed a cool autumn afternoon. The capital of Equestria was moving along its usual schedule, children getting out of school and heading home while day laborers returned to finish of their day's work. Of course life wasn't always perfectly uniform in all regards, a particular mare returning to the town after quite the venture outside the walls of the famed city.

By any measure, most ponies would be horrified to have a dragon try and eat them. Anyone would be scared to be lunch for such a large monster, well anyone normal at least. Asteria was hired to deliver a care package to a dragon and the large winged reptile thought that the unicorn was part of the delivery. After consolidating her position in the dragon's lair many times, the fire breather reluctantly agreed not to eat her, the sheer challenge of the hunt deeming the action not worthy. In doing so, she proved herself a worthy client for a potential repeat customer, her ability to remain calm in the face of danger extremely developed.

After receiving a generous payment from the dragon, hazard pay included of course, the mare left the dragon to his own devices on the far side of the Everfree Forest while she returned to Canterlot. She made a quick return to Canterlot, as fast as an athletic unicorn could run across Equestria at least. Asteria found herself back in her native city, the black pelted mare wandering through the crowded streets of the city, her tall form hidden beneath a heavy dark cloak. She soon found herself in the one of the many parks of the city, the experienced courier cutting her way across the green expanse as she made her way back to her office. Her body was somewhat sore from making such a long trip in such a short time, though nobody would ever be able to tell by looking at her. The almost melancholy looking mare wore the most stoic of expression on her face as she moved on, the talented magic user highly adept at masking her thoughts from those around her.

[aFlatmajor]

It was another peacefull day in Canterlot. Though for some, this peace was torture, having to go to school as the light of day passed and taunted them. Except for one filly; Dawn Sunrise. She enjoyed her magic classes very much and listened intently to the teacher as she wrapped up class for the day.

[colour=#FF00FF]"- and class, don't forget to study your magic for your upcoming class. Perhaps you should find an older unicorn to assist you. And I would prefer it if you all would."[/colour]

These were the last words of the students' professor, for the bell signaling the end of school rang and the majority of the students quickly left without a trace. Dawn herself had fallen behind though, having to run around school collecting various books and other objects for studying later that evening.

Soon enough, she had her saddle bag equipped and everything she would need stuffed inside. The filly exits Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns and begins to walk her normal route home. Reciting spells through her head as she went and eventually accidentally running into another pony. Paper and quills sprang from her saddle bag upon impact with the other pony, and Dawn quickly scrambled to get everything back in order.

[colour=#F62817]"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to bump into you like that, I just got a little sidetracked and-"[/colour]

Dawn quickly quieted herself, noticing the the other pony's stature. It was a unicorn mare, a tall one at that, with bright red eyes and a nearly matching mane. She perked up quickly though. The youth's professor had told her to find a tutor. And the mare before her seemed Luke the perfect candidate. She opened her mouth to speak as she finished repacking her things.

[colour=#F62817]"Excuse me, miss? I'm Dawn Sunrise and I was wobdering of you would like to be my magic tutor?"[/colour]

She stepped back slightly and shied away, slightly intimidated, though smiling feebly.

[Gerrard]

The faintest of rustling in a nearby tree caught the attention of the mare, her crimson gaze drifting over to one of the nearby park trees as she stopped in place. Her honed senses couldn't detect anything further and she turned her gaze back forward while noting the sound for future reference in the back of her mind. Before she could take a step forward though, her progress was impeded by a young white filly with similarly shaded red eyes. She opened her mouth to speak to the child but was interrupted as the filly apologized and introduced herself.

Asteria paused for a moment, thinking over the request before piecing together an adequate response in her mind. "I should be the one apologizing, as an adult I am held responsible for my actions and I had my attention pulled away for a moment," she explained calmly for the filly, her voice showing no sign of anger, the unicorn seeming like the patient type of pony. "I am Asteria Stillheart, honored to meet you Lady Sunrise," she politely added for the young filly, the tall mare doing a curtsy for the smaller pony, as she lightly manipulated her own thick cloak. She still wasn't entirely sure about tutoring the young filly she had never met before, but soon decided it would be an interesting experience to add to her collection of memories, ponies never seeming to ask her for tutoring for one reason or another.

"I will agree to tutor you on one condition Lady Sunrise. You must agree to avoid talking to strangers. While most people are nice, it only takes one bad person to hurt you. If you must talk with a stranger, make sure to do it in a public area, preferably one with guards or some sort of protection service. I am still technically a stranger and we should heed my advice and go speak in a more secure area, perhaps near the guards at the park fountain," she explained in an almost protective manner, the mare seeming willing to help on the condition that Dawn tries to stay safe. Asteria lead her new young friend to an area near the fountain and looked back over to the filly as she lightly shuffled her sore legs.

"Before I can tutor you in magic I need to know the extent of your abilities, and you perspective on magic. Can you show or tell me what sort of magic you are familiar with. And can you also tell me what you know about magic and what it is for?" Asteria asked in a professional manner, asking her two basic questions that were designed to be more about how she viewed the world than anything. She reiterated them a bit a second time, clarifying them further in the event that Dawn didn't fully understand what she was speaking about.

[aFlatmajor]

((sorry for the super late response ))

Dawn sat herself infront of Miss Stillheart and took in a deep breath, ready to respond to the use of magic, and what it is. Making various movements corresponding to get dialogue.

[colour=#F62817]"Now I don't know much, but I can tell you this:

Magic is usually opinion. It is generally used to explain what science can't. But my view of magic may be different from yours and probally every other pony...Anyway, it is often used to explain unexplainable things and events.

Like pegasi and their cloud walking. How come us unicorn and earth ponies can't stand on clouds? Magic. But on another note, magic is the bending of physics and other laws of nature and the universe through an unexplained source. Take levitation...Moving an object around around with our coming into contact with it. That's the bending of space, or in other terms, magic.

That's about all I can really tell you, I only know so much but I hope that about covers it."[/colour]

She exhaled and looked up at Miss Stillheart, smiling nervously and hoping what she said was acceptable.

[Gerrard]

Asteria listened patiently to the young unicorn's description of magic. Her face remained as stoic as ever as she tried to describe that magic was a force that was hard to describe in a scientific manner. Most of her words seemed to be a text book definition of the force, the black mare very familiar with the words. "That is a very appropriate definition of magic, but I must stress that just because the source is hard to define, does not mean it should not be studied further. Unicorns use their horns in a manner to channel their physical energy and convert it into magic, the magic being used to create a wide variety of affects that depend on the individual," she explained in a more focused manner to the young filly. The older unicorn's expression remained static as she pooled her thoughts together for a more detailed response. Asteria preferred to be objective about everything, the odd mare deciding that almost nothing was particularly right or wrong, simply a different perspective on the same idea.

"There are many ways to use magic, and even a unicorn with limited magic potential can use it to manipulate the world in a satisfactory manner with enough training and creative thinking. May I ask for a description of your own abilities, as you see them? Many unicorns simply categorize their abilities by the spells they use, but sometimes it is more appropriate to view your abilities for their practical application. While knowing twenty spells may be nice, if they are all niche and situational, their practical application could be marginal at best. A talented pony may know many spells, but a trained pony can use a spell in many ways," she explained in a more specific manner, the mare not giving any specifics for the filly to think of. Asteria intended for the filly to show her a spell, and with some guidance, show the young pony a new perspective on using such magic. From her experience, while young ponies were creative, they tended to see things in a specific prism of good and evil, or right and wrong.

[aFlatmajor]

[colour=#F62817]"I don't think I understand....How can one spell have more use than twenty? That just doesn't make sense. Like, if I knew twenty spells, I could do twenty different things. Not to mention to the extra things I could do with one of those spells. But if I knew one spell, I could only do the few things it allowed."[/colour]

Dawn thought this over in her head for a while, though still not comprehending what the mare spoke.

Though only one example proved the filly wrong. If a pony did only know one simple fire spell, they could start fires, light matches and a plethora of other things. But.....It was all practically the same, right? For it's what the spell is intended to do.

[Gerrard]

Asteria listened as Dawn tried to explain that she didn't understand her words. Her statement was a bit extreme, most spells only having a few limited uses. But there was one spell that had a nearly infinite amount of uses. "Dawn, while knowing more spells is not bad in any way, seeking more spells to learn when you lack a complete understanding of your current ones is a path of study I would not recommend. The most basic of all spells is telekinesis, the ability to manipulate objects with our mind. While it is the easiest spell to learn, it is one of the hardest to truly master. Even if a unicorn only has access to this spell, they can manipulate their environment greatly," she explained, her long black horn glowing a dark red as she levitated a pair of scissors from her bag. "While I may not have the claws to use these, if I use my telekinesis in a deft manner, I can operate these as if I did," Asteria explained as she lowered them to the ground.

The glowing red scissors carefully opened and trimmed a small strip of grass that was over grown near the cobble stone that the fountain rested upon. "There are always ways to improve your magical abilities, because most spells do not have finite limits. The only limitations are what your skill and strength will allow. As a rule of thumb, unless you are a great master of magic, never try to exert more magical force than your body would physically be able to handle, doing so can greatly increase your chance of injury. With practice, you can make even telekinesis a powerful spell," she explained calmly for the filly, her horn glowing a darker shade of red as she pulled out a wide assortment of tools from her saddle bags, the mare able to freely manipulate them all with her will.

"While there is no particular trick to teaching you how to learn magic better, I can say that your proficiency is only limited by your desire to practice. Your range of spells that you can use might be limited to serve your special talent, but there are always more efficient ways to use your magic. Any unicorn can pick up an item by grasping it with magic, but a trained unicorn can pick one up by using the absolute minimum magic to support the weight of the object. By doing so, they limit the stress on their body and allow them to manipulate more items than they might otherwise be able to control," Asteria added while she slipped the tools back into her magic in unison, seeming to find their proper positions without bothering to look.

She shifted her attention back to Dawn, not exactly saying twenty ways a spell could be used, but showing her that a spell could be used for many different things. "May I ask what specific magic you know, and to what degree you can use it? Perhaps I can explain a few unique ways to apply it?" Asteria added patiently as she subconsciously shifted her tired legs. She was rather tired from such a long trip, but her stoic expression made it almost impossible to tell, the black mare seeming focused on her smaller white counterpart.