Spellbound [Canterlot] Magic Practice (Open to Spellbound Members)

[Bellosh]

“Come on, come on...” came the frustrated gripes of Moondancer; “Hold still and let me shoot you!” Down in the basement beneath Spellbound’s main hall, the unicorn mare had been working for the past hour or so on improving her spellcasting aim. The white unicorn’s opponent; an enchanted silver orb with fast-flapping mechanical wings. There wasn’t much to this hovering automaton brought to life by magic, other than that it was designed to dodge both physical and spell-cast projectiles. That quality made it good for target practice, naturally leading Moondancer to purchase it in a Canterlot specialty store and take it back to Spellbound HQ.

Unlike up above, little decoration could be found in the spartan cellar, refurbished explicitly to provide a safe place for guild members to experiment with magic. The most remarkable feature of this surprisingly voluminous chamber were its walls, floor, and ceiling, refurbished with exotic askrwood from distant Whitescar. Askrwood was the only harvestable substance known to resist magic, making it perfect for use in a magic sparing room. Moondancer went to great lengths to obtain enough askrwood for the basement, even going so far as to calling in a few favors in the right places.

“Moondancer,” the voice of Ingrid Marie, Moondancer’s old counselor from magic school and fellow Spellbound member, attempted to advise; “Remember that the eyes can play tricks on you. Don’t trust them.”

“So you’re saying I should close my eyes then?” Moony incredulously replied, having just missed another shot at the magic automaton; “I can’t hit that thing if I’m blind!”

“The magic of harmony flows through all living and non-living things. Let go of your uncertainty, mmkay, and feel your connection to the target. Please don’t tell me you’ve forgotten your basic Magic 101 lessons while you’ve been working for your aetherology degree.”

“Errr, of course I haven’t Immie!” Inhaling and exhaling, Moondancer tried clearing her mind to put herself at ease before attempting to hit the automaton again. Just as long as nopony else came down to the Magic Sparring Chamber, Moony wouldn't become distracted from the task at hoof.....

Because we're over in the Gathering section, all ponies will be able to wield more advanced magic as permitted by Canterlot Chronicles rules.

[Lux]

It had been a while since Fire Heart attended the grand opening of the Spellbound Guild Hall. All her lessons, practices, and exams prevented the young mare from visiting the guild, not to mention that she wasn't a fan of journeying in the snow unless absolutely necessary like from her dorm to classes or the cafeteria. Still she longed to see the friends she met and try out her magic in a safe place. Celestia's School was safe of course but it always felt like when she was in a practice room she couldn't relax much and try her own magic.

She entered the basement, expecting to find a dark damp and dreary place but instead found the training area was very nice. And there practicing was her friend Moondancer and her counselor Ingrid Marie.

"Hello you two," she waved as a strange orb with wings suddenly fly by her, "Whoa what was that thing?"

[Elderflower]

What a lovely day it was in Canterlot! Elderflower, the willowy owner of the Elder Tree Teahouse, was positively shining with good cheer as she pranced over cobblestone streets. Today marked her first day of practicing advanced arcane arts alongside the other ponies of Spellbound, and the mare was truly ecstatic. Hitched up to her slight frame and trundling just as cheerfully behind her was an antique card with countless little compartments. It was clearly old and worn, the eggshell-blue paint chipping and stripping away in places, but it possessed the same pleasant charm that the unicorn pulling it along radiated. The journey from her home to the basement of the guild hall was brief, and soon enough El found herself standing before a steep set of stairs that wound down and down and down...The mare cast her cart a long look and then puffed up her cheeks with a look of determination. There was only one way forward!

Golden light began to shine from El’s horn as she stepped down the staircase, moving to grab hold of her cart and lift it gently. Her cheeks puffed a little larger as the strain of carrying the weight of her gig hit her, but soon enough she was in the basement and her pleasant smile was at home once more. And it looked like she wasn’t the first to arrive! Without hesitating, El unhitched herself from her cart and left it tucked out of the way for now, then took long wispy strides over towards the three mares who had arrived before her. One of them had even begun her training already, throwing aetheric blasts at a silver orb that was proving very difficult to hit.

“Hello there!” the mare called out softly once she had reached the others, smiling, “My name is Elderflower. I haven’t been formally introduced to any of you yet, but I’m a new member of Spellbound. I’m looking forward to improving my arcane skills together with everypony!”

[RainbowFoxxy]

The white unicorn trotted out the door to "All That Glitters" while humming a little tum. She bumped the door with her rump just enough for the hasp to click into place. Hitching the saddle bag she carried up higher on her side she proceeded to trot out into the snow dusted streets, headed for Spellbound. She had applied for entry to the acclaimed magic guild just a few weeks before. To her joy she had received an acceptance letter! She was now off to her first practice. Her heart fluttered a bit, wondering what ponies she might meet today. Would they be welcoming to a new pony? Would they be kind? She hoped so!

Touch Stone entered the academy and looked around. A door leading down to the practice chamber stood open and she thought she could faintly make out a golden light descending the steps. The unicorn shook herself a little, ridding her hooves and coat from stray snow. It was much warmer inside the academy, giving it a homey feel.

"I guess that's where everypony is!" She spoke softly to herself as she took the steps one at a time.

Soon she was in the basement which had a very nice look about it. Walled in wood with plenty of room for ponies to practice the arcane arts.

My name is Elderflower. I haven’t been formally introduced to any of you yet, but I’m a new member of Spellbound. I’m looking forward to improving my arcane skills together with everypony!

Touch Stone smiled. This pony seemed friendly enough. She trotted up next to her and offered a soft smile.

"Hello Elderflower! My name's Touch Stone and I'm new here too. So, what are you thinking you'll practice today?" She gave the other unicorn and the others near her another soft smile. The flap on her saddle back had moved back slightly, allowing the glitter of myriad gems to be seen.

[Bellosh]

 

"Hello you two. Whoa what was that thing?" 

 

Well, Moondancer supposed that now was as good as time as any to momentarily disengage from her accuracy training, and chat it up with the pyromancer on the cusp of graduating from Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. “What’s up, Fire?” the moon-flanked unicorn returned the greeting; “Oh, that thing’s one of those new MagiTargets that test a unicorn’s accuracy. I heard its designers are trying to get the Royal Guard into using MagiTargets in their training routines.” As the airborne automaton wasn’t currently being fired upon, it hovered around in a slower and more graceful flight path than a minute ago.

 

"Hello Elderflower! My name's Touch Stone and I'm new here too. So, what are you thinking you'll practice today?" 

 

Ah cool, two of the new guild members are here now! “Welcome to Spellbound girls!” Moondancer waved the two girls on over; “Since we don’t have an official workshop thingy going on right now, you’re basically free to practice any spell you want, or show off your slick moves, or whatever's fun for you! Only rule we have is that you don’t point a charged-up horn at anything you don’t intend to cast a spell towards. Believe me, I’ve seen some nasty stuff from ponies getting hit by stray transformation spells, eh heh heh heh.” Off to the side, Counselor Marie grimly nodded at the description of what happens when unicorns lack aiming discipline.

 

“Hello there! My name is Elderflower. I haven’t been formally introduced to any of you yet, but I’m a new member of Spellbound. I’m looking forward to improving my arcane skills together with everypony!” 

 

Perceiving that Elderflower was one of those unicorns who simply wished to improve their overall magic abilities, Ms. Marie quickly cantered up to the younger mare and took her aside after Moondancer explained the practice hall's Golden Rule. “So glad you could join us today Ms. Elderflower!” the congenial magic tutor shook Elderflower’s hoof; “My name’s Ingrid Marie; I’m the guidance counselor down over at Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. Tell me, what sort of magic do you specialize in?”

[Lux]

“What’s up, Fire? Oh, that thing’s one of those new MagiTargets that test a unicorn’s accuracy. I heard its designers are trying to get the Royal Guard into using MagiTargets in their training routines.” 

 

"That's cool," Fire said alternating her gaze between the white unicorn and the floating winged orb, "Not much has happened to me. Going to be graduating soon so I've been really busy making sure everything is getting done before that. That's the reason why you really haven't seen me here since the grand opening. Well now I'm here for a little practice and I brought some things that I can use to help my fire magic. You don't happen to have any extra unlit candles here, do you? I'll reimburse the cost if you do."

 

Two new ponies came to the guild, well new to Fire Heart. One was a cream colored mare and another was a white unicorn. 

 

My name is Elderflower. I haven’t been formally introduced to any of you yet, but I’m a new member of Spellbound. I’m looking forward to improving my arcane skills together with everypony!

 

"Hello Elderflower! My name's Touch Stone and I'm new here too. So, what are you thinking you'll practice today?" 

 

Fire waited as Moondancer made her introduction, letting her explain about the new practice space and the main rule. Being in Celestia's School, Fire heard this rule before. It seemed obvious not to point a magically charged horn at a pony or thing, but it was better to be safe that sorry.

 

"Yes, definitely don't want to do that, especially with my magic," Fire said with a chuckle, "Nice to meet you both. I'm Fire Heart, a student at Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns and specializing in fire magic. That's my talent actually. I'd like to know what you two do magically myself," 

[Pretzelparty]

 

This was going to be an interesting day. Presteza wasn't the best when it came to magic, specifically magical control... at least when it came to this stage in her life. When she was a younger filly she was very adept at using telekinesis, but as she grew she found her control over it grew worse and worse. That combined with a strange quirk her and her mother shared of having magical surges whenever they sneezed had resulted in a source of embarrassment in her magical shortcomings.

 

Since she'd joined Moondancer's guild, Presteza had been on all sorts of crazy adventures... and even before that things had been starting to get interesting. Before she'd even met Moondancer, she'd wound up being one of the ponies who freed Rainbow Dash on the Nightmare Night invasion of the Changelings. It was at the awards banquet that followed where she first met the magic student and her special somepony, Pocket change. The two spoke of interesting adventures and incredible finds that piqued the young artist's interests and before she knew it she had become a member and was getting to know some of the founders, two of which were already here; Moondancer, and Fire heart. On one particular mission to the old castle of the sisters in Everfree Forest, Moondancer and company had found some very interesting things of note. What wound up being of the most interest was a book of theoretical spells, spells which were bound in a tome labeled "Magic in Artistry". 

 

There were a whole bunch of fascinating ideas in this book. Spells that could allow one to enter realms imagined entirely by an individual's mind, Magic that allowed an artist to command elements to a point, the ability to mend things in an instant, and most interestingly... the ability to give an artist's creations the spark of life for a short time. If Presteza could learn to do anyone of these things... it would be an incredible boon to her artwork! Imagine, ponies being able to walk through painstakingly painted world's that she herself had created... and this was just the first chapter of the book!

 

Already there were a few ponies present, in fact there were some new faces here. One of the newcomers seemed to be showing quite a bit of enthusiasm, if the young unicorn heard her right, her name was Elderflower. The other pony who was here was a soft blur colored unicorn, from an interaction with the aforementioned Elderflower she gather her name was Touch stone, "Can't wait ta see wot these two can do!"

 

Ah cool, two of the new guild members are here now! “Welcome to Spellbound girls!” Moondancer waved the two girls on over; “Since we don’t have an official workshop thingy going on right now, you’re basically free to practice any spell you want, or show off your slick moves, or whatever's fun for you! Only rule we have is that you don’t point a charged-up horn at anything you don’t intend to cast a spell towards. Believe me, I’ve seen some nasty stuff from ponies getting hit by stray transformation spells, eh heh heh heh.” Off to the side, Counselor Marie grimly nodded at the description of what happens when unicorns lack aiming discipline.

 

The painter reared up enthusiastically and grinned, "I'm ready and rarin' ta go moony!" Pressy galloped over and took out the sizable tome and placed it on the ground before shuffling about the pages and thinking a moment, "Maybe I could start with somethin easier taday... anypony have a torch?" The mare froze for a moment before slappign herself in the face. How could she forget?! "Um..." she chuckled before looking up and waving to everyone, "Hi there! I'm Presteza... one of the older members of the guild!"

[Elderflower]

Elderflower continued beaming pleasantly as more ponies gathered in the basement, and she waved a friendly hello to each new face. My, but she was chipper today! She turned to Touch Stone first, then wiggled her nose as her horn lit up with a soft, golden glow. A small pouch swathed in the same wash of the same aetheric light floated over from her cart before the willowy mare took it in her hoof. She gave the bag a little toss, proving that it was quite light.

“These are hips from tea roses I grow in my garden,” she replied in her soft voice, “They make lovely teas and are great in cooking as well, but this strain also has some pretty impressive thorns...I’ve been working on utilizing these for combat through acceleration and kinetic magic. I’ll be continuing that practice today!”

She nodded a polite hello to Fire Heart and Presteza, then, and chimed out a, “Nice to meet you two as well!” before the unicorn named Ingrid Marie pulled her aside. Blinking and confused as to why she’d be pulled apart from the group, El took a moment to shake off her puzzled expression before smiling at her fellow magical mare.

“Thank you for the warm reception,” the tea enthusiast said politely and with a respectful dip of her head, “I have spent most of my life focusing on kinetic magics that would allow me to multitask. Nothing flashy, just useful for running a tea shop. As I’ve begun to build upon my garden, however, growth and accelerating magics have been quite useful in helping me develop new strains of my plants through breeding. I never use magic to grow anything I use in my teas, though!”

El wore an absolutely mortified expression at the very idea of serving her customers magically-enhanced teas. It would be outrageous.

“Er...the magic just helps me get an idea of what crossing certain plants together will do, but lately...lately my old adventurous lifestyle has been beckoning to me, and I want to be armed with more useful arcane mastery in case of trouble! Lately I’ve been working on turning my lovely, thorny tea roses into defensive barriers and shields, cages for pesky monsters or foes, and dangerous tentacles under my control which could be used for offensive purposes. I may look like nothing more than a gentle slip of a mare, but I’m quite tough you know! Mastering these forms will be great fun, and working away at it has gotten me in the adventurous spirit once more!

[RainbowFoxxy]

 

Nice to meet you both. I'm Fire Heart, a student at Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns and specializing in fire magic. That's my talent actually. I'd like to know what you two do magically myself.

 

Touch Stone smiled as Fire Heart introduced herself. Everypony here was so so so excited to use their magic! The soft colored unicorn found herself wishing she had just a little better grip on her magic abilities. As it was, she was still working out what being able to make stones glow was really all about. It just had to be more than for making them look pretty. She spoke to Fire Heart, trotting nearer to her in the process.

 

"Wow Fire Heart, fire magic sounds so exciting! So what exactly  do you do with the fire? It sounds like that could be dangerous!" She was found herself very interested in how this pony could conjure fire. Perhaps she would show Touch Stone what she could do?  At least that might draw some of the attention away from the fact that she herself still didn't really know what her magic could do.

 

"Hi there! I'm Presteza... one of the older members of the guild!"

 

Another new face! And this pony was also so excited and ready to go! Touch Stone just couldn't wait to see what these unicorns could do!

[Bellosh]

 

"You don't happen to have any extra unlit candles here, do you? I'll reimburse the cost if you do." 

"Maybe I could start with somethin easier taday... anypony have a torch?"

 

“Spare candles huh,” Moondancer scratched her chin, thinking over if Spellbound had some of those around. She hadn’t purchased any of those herself recently, but maybe another guild member did. “Why don’t you check the storage room behind that mural over there?” Moony pointed to an old mural of Princess Celestia, which was about the only thing left from the original basement; “The magic seal locking it should be deactivated, so you can walk right in.”

 

Moondancer heard Presteza just as she finished advising Fire Heart; “Oh Pressy, maybe you can find torches in there too.”

 

“Thank you for the warm reception,” the tea enthusiast said politely and with a respectful dip of her head, “I have spent most of my life focusing on kinetic magics that would allow me to multitask. Nothing flashy, just useful for running a tea shop. As I’ve begun to build upon my garden, however, growth and accelerating magics have been quite useful in helping me develop new strains of my plants through breeding. I never use magic to grow anything I use in my teas, though!”

El wore an absolutely mortified expression at the very idea of serving her customers magically-enhanced teas. It would be outrageous.

“Er...the magic just helps me get an idea of what crossing certain plants together will do, but lately...lately my old adventurous lifestyle has been beckoning to me, and I want to be armed with more useful arcane mastery in case of trouble! Lately I’ve been working on turning my lovely, thorny tea roses into defensive barriers and shields, cages for pesky monsters or foes, and dangerous tentacles under my control which could be used for offensive purposes. I may look like nothing more than a gentle slip of a mare, but I’m quite tough you know! Mastering these forms will be great fun, and working away at it has gotten me in the adventurous spirit once more!

 

Ingrid Marie paid close attention to Elderflower as she spoke about her magic skills. In all honesty, the magic counselor didn’t mind consuming magically modified organisms. Just as long as the spells used for MMOs were implemented correctly, Ingrid saw limitless potential for such applications of magic in her eyes. Other than that, the elder mare was glad to hear that another unicorn was proficient in plant-manipulation magic, given Ingrid’s background as a member of the Apple family. Such magic was Ingrid’s bread-and-butter back in the old days, before she became a magic counselor and spent more of her time demonstrating general magic spells to young students.

 

Due to Ingrid Marie’s input back during the renovation of Spellbound HQ, there was indeed a space for ponies like Elderflower to safely practice growth magic. “Well then you’re in luck,” an excited Ingrid stated as she cantered off towards one of the underground room’s corners; “We have a space specifically designed for unicorns like you to practice your special talents!” The middle-aged mare’s horn glowed, and a large piece of askrwood lifted itself up from the floor. Below the panel laid a patch of rich, well-moisturized soil. Perfect for Elderflower’s needs! “Ha, this just goes to show you that we think of everything here at Spellbound.”

[Lux]

"Maybe I could start with somethin easier taday... anypony have a torch?" 

 

"Um..." Fire said as she gave a little grin to the mare while a tiny flame lit up on the top of her horn, "Just tell me what you need lit and I'll light it!" 

 

“Thank you for the warm reception,” the tea enthusiast said politely and with a respectful dip of her head, “I have spent most of my life focusing on kinetic magics that would allow me to multitask. Nothing flashy, just useful for running a tea shop. As I’ve begun to build upon my garden, however, growth and accelerating magics have been quite useful in helping me develop new strains of my plants through breeding. I never use magic to grow anything I use in my teas, though!”

El wore an absolutely mortified expression at the very idea of serving her customers magically-enhanced teas. It would be outrageous.

“Er...the magic just helps me get an idea of what crossing certain plants together will do, but lately...lately my old adventurous lifestyle has been beckoning to me, and I want to be armed with more useful arcane mastery in case of trouble! Lately I’ve been working on turning my lovely, thorny tea roses into defensive barriers and shields, cages for pesky monsters or foes, and dangerous tentacles under my control which could be used for offensive purposes. I may look like nothing more than a gentle slip of a mare, but I’m quite tough you know! Mastering these forms will be great fun, and working away at it has gotten me in the adventurous spirit once more!

 

It was interesting to learn about the abilities of the newcomers to the guild. The mare explained that she operated a tea shop and mentioned she wanted to learn more about telekinesis to multitask at her shop. What really interested her though was her recent interest in a type of magic, how she wanted to grow and shape plants in her favor as protection. She mentioned though that she appeared innocent but she was very tough! 

 

"Wow, that's really neat magic you want to pursue. Do you live in an area where you need to defend yourself from lots of nasty creatures? I have to say when I think of plant magic I think of earth ponies, but you are able to grow them with magic. As for multitasking with telekinesis, that is something that I can help you with. It's not that I'm really that good with moving many things at once, maybe two or three items and nothing big. If you need help with that let me know!" 

 

"Wow Fire Heart, fire magic sounds so exciting! So what exactly  do you do with the fire? It sounds like that could be dangerous!" 

 

The red unicorn expected that there would be one pony that would mention the danger of fire magic. 

 

"Oh, well fire in general can be both dangerous and beautiful. Without fire there could be no warmth, no cooking food and no light. Not to mention fire makes a very nice protection from enemies. Right now I use it to dance with, but I'm always looking for new things to try with it. Which is what I plan to do now!"

 

“Spare candles huh,” Moondancer scratched her chin, thinking over if Spellbound had some of those around. She hadn’t purchased any of those herself recently, but maybe another guild member did. “Why don’t you check the storage room behind that mural over there?”Moony pointed to an old mural of Princess Celestia, which was about the only thing left from the original basement; “The magic seal locking it should be deactivated, so you can walk right in.”

 

"Thanks Moony!" Fire said to her friend, "I'll take a look!" 

 

The mare trotted over to where a beautiful portrait of Princess Celestia hung on a wall in good condition despite being in the basement for who knew how long. Pulling on it with her magic the portrait swung open like a door, revealing a large storage room. Everything imaginable could be found there from parchment, quills and ink pots to glass beakers and flasks for potions to even stranger unfamiliar things. To her luck the unicorn found a series of thick column candles. She always liked these above tapered candles as there was less of a chance for them to knock over of melt down as quickly.

 

"Alright, candles are a go," she said levitating the box of them with her and taking them to the open area of the training area. 

 

"So Touchstone, want to see fire magic? Can you help me put these candles around me in a circle?"

[Pretzelparty]

 

“Spare candles huh,” Moondancer scratched her chin, thinking over if Spellbound had some of those around. She hadn’t purchased any of those herself recently, but maybe another guild member did. “Why don’t you check the storage room behind that mural over there?” Moony pointed to an old mural of Princess Celestia, which was about the only thing left from the original basement; “The magic seal locking it should be deactivated, so you can walk right in.”

 

Moondancer heard Presteza just as she finished advising Fire Heart; “Oh Pressy, maybe you can find torches in there too.”

"Um..." Fire said as she gave a little grin to the mare while a tiny flame lit up on the top of her horn, "Just tell me what you need lit and I'll light it!" 

 

"Thanks Moony!" Fire said to her friend, "I'll take a look!" 

 

"Alright, candles are a go," she said levitating the box of them with her and taking them to the open area of the training area. 

 

"So Touchstone, want to see fire magic? Can you help me put these candles around me in a circle?"

 

Before the painter could take Moondancer's advice, FIreheart had beaten her to it. It was rather impressive to see how the guild had hidden the storage room, she had to admit though that it seemed a bit much to hide it behind a painting of the Princess. Was it perhaps a commentary on how Princess Celestia was more or less funding Moony's guild? Well no point in dwelling on this now. Her fiery fellow guild member had retrieved the candles she was looking for and after a bit of looking, Pressy managed to find the torches. "That offer ta light a torch still open?... now Could somepony hold it fer me while I get ready?" She asked, looking somewhat expectantly at Moondancer.

 

 

(sorry for the terrible post quality )

[Elderflower]

El beamed at the mare the others were calling Fire and shook her head gently. “I live in Canterlot, so I typically don’t have to fend off anything worse than a sniffle around flu season. I want to get back into adventuring, though, as I mentioned. It’s the best way to find exciting new plants for making teas! So my focus here is going revolve around acceleration and growth magic relative to my tea roses. I’m actually quite comfortable with my kinetic magic. I’ve been running my shop on my own for quite some time, after all! Thank you for the offer, though. It is greatly appreciated!”

The willowly mare politely bowed her head and drifted away after Ingrid Marie, giggling a little as an indignant chirp came from her mane. It seemed as though Blue wasn’t impressed by her saying she worked at the Elder Tree alone. The little fairy wren popped his handsome little head out from her soft, pink hair and chirped again. “Yes, yes - I’m sorry, Blue - I'd never have been able to keep things running without your help!” she laughed. Her apology seemed to appease the tiny avian critter, who flapped free from her mane and flew up to perch on her horn.

When Ingrid Marie revealed her little surprise the mare gasped happily. “It’s lovely!” she nearly sang, scooching close to the patch of soil that had been hidden beneath the wooden floor. Completely in her glee, El crouched close to the rich soil and took a deep breath. It smelled sweet and damp: she could tell it was full of life-giving nutrients. One touch of her hoof to the precious dirt told her that it was, indeed, perfect. “It’s really, really lovely! I can definitely work with this!”

El’s golden gaze met Ingrid’s, then, and her smile blossomed from cheek to cheek. “You really did think of everything, I can’t wait to get started!”

[RainbowFoxxy]

 

Touch Stone did a little jig of excitement. Oh this would be just great! She was going to get to watch some magic experts practice their art! The white unicorn hoped that she would be a magic expert someday, that was why she had joined the guild. But she had such a long way to go! Watching these other ponies would help build her confidence...and maybe even help her to discover the secret to her own magic!

 

"So Touchstone, want to see fire magic? Can you help me put these candles around me in a circle?"

 

"Sure Fire Heart, I can help with that!" Touch Stone trotted over to get some of the candles once they had been taken out of the storage area. "Just a circle around you right?" She asked as she began setting up the candles. It wasn't too difficult a task. The candles had large enough bases on them to stand up without a problem. Soon a nice ring was forming around Fire Heart.

 

"Oh, I just can't wait to see what you can do! How long have you known that fire magic was your thing? Did you know since you were a filly? I figure because of your name that might be true?" Touch Stone was asking a lot of questions, she was super excited to watch her new friend preform magic!

[Zeig]

 

 

Nocturne Wisp was not feeling all that confident. A rather rare feat in and of itself.

Though not for the same reasons most ponies would probably be feeling a little overwhelmed. It wasn't a matter of being ridiculed for a failed casting or misfired spell - as if Moondancer would allow anypony to laugh at the expense of another in her guild. It wasn't a matter, either, of nerves overtaking him, essentially performing in front of other ponies.

It was…well. The other ponies that were the problem.

The dark-colored unicorn tossed a lock of mane from his face as he slowly made his way towards the Spellbound guild hall, a look Dazzle often ascribed as 'sour' affixed firmly on his face. Researchers guarded their work with all the ferocity of a tiger hunting for lunch, and unique spells and castings fell under that same category. It was tiresome enough, making sure to cover his tracks and safeguard his findings so no other pony could swoop in and publish a paper before he could - but it was a little harder to hide his skills in the middle of a room filled with ponies so desperate and eager to learn.

Ironically, Nocturne Wisp could admit that he, himself, was in fact attending this open practice for the same reason - to study and observe like he would at an open research conference, see what others were doing and compare with his own techniques. Modify a few of his spells to better serve his purposes, or learn new ones that would come in handily. So it wasn't all that far-fetched to assume the other learners at the hall would be doing the same.

Still…better safe than sorry. His truly unique, specialized spells would be safeguarded quite carefully. No chance for a wandering eye to take note and decide to attempt a copy.

With all his dark inner thoughts about research-stealing underlings and competitors, the grey Unicorn was rather surprised to find himself suddenly upon the guild hall, and with only a little hesitation in his step, Nocturne found himself heading down the stairs leading to the basement. Immediately, the sight and sound of a myriad of Unicorns getting ready for practice hit his senses, but not before the Unicorn felt the wood beneath his hoofs, causing him to raise one foreleg slightly to study it further. "Askrwood, Dani?" Nocturne murmured lowly under his breath, impressed despite himself. "Only the best for Spellbound, huh?" The rhetorical question went unanswered as Nocturne lowered his leg once again, taking the time to look - really look this time - around the basement area.

As if a beacon suddenly lit up the room, Moondancer's shining white pelt immediately caught his eyes, from where she seemed to be conversing with some unfamiliar ponies. A rather wispy, pink color Unicorn was fawning over what looked like…a patch of dirt, right under the askrwood flooring. Briefly, Nocturne entertained the thought that Moondancer had gotten her hooves on an enchanted, never-ending bag, akin to that one film, where she could just pull out anything and everything she needed.

Honestly, he wouldn't put it past her.

It was the last group of ponies, however, that really caught Nocturne's attention, changing his half-slit gaze to something sharper, ears perking up slightly. Seeing no need to introduce himself to the other attendees - despite the fact that he only recognized Moondancer and Ingrid Marie, from Celestia's School - Nocturne Wisp made his way over towards the two Unicorns, coming up to stand behind the white and blue-maned one as he focused on the circle of candles, a carefully impassive look on his face. The other Unicorn seemed to be getting ready for some sort of demonstration, and despite his reservations, Nocturne had never been one to pass up a potential opportunity to study, learn, and recreate.

 

 

[tacobob]

 

 

“Ah nutbunnies.”, Pocket Change managed a muffled mutter as he quickly ran through the streets of Canterlot. The hurried stallion had a half bagel stuffed into his moth, and was followed by an ‘Wirklich Großen Kaffee’ from ‘Hans’ Kafee Haus’ that magically trailed behind him. The unicorn wanted to be with Moondancer and Ingrid the moment they opened the doors to the former warehouse turned Magic Guild-house, but overslept. While the spell-caster had greatly increased his magical studies over the last few years, he still had a few spells that he count not conquer. One of them, was teleportation. He was ready to learn the difficult spell, but he was rather terrified of even trying to learn it. Unlike most popular spells, apparition as it was also know as, could harm a spell-caster if not done correctly, or even outright kill them if they were apparated into a solid object, such as a wall. He had even heard stories of other ponies teleporting into other living creatures! Of course, there were all just stories. In order to learn this spell, he would need to conquer all of his fears, both real and imagined.

 

After turning a corner and nearly running right into an fruit cart, Pocket Change's eyes fell upon the entrance of his beloved guild-hall. Once the interior had been taken care of, the exterior had been given a face-lift to complete its transformation. They still needed to figure out how to stop the catalogs and magazines from landing on their doorstop. The building had stopped being an warehouse for a few years now, but they still continued to get monthly copies of 'Canterlot Storage Monthly' and 'Import Import Import!'. Although, Pocket would miss the former, as last month's 'Miss Pallet' was kind of hot.

 

After finishing off the remainder of his bagel, Pocket Change sipped his last sip of coffee before properly disposing the cup into the nearest trash receptacle. While it would have been easy to just push the door open with an front hoof, he knew it would not be 'proper'. A light telekinetic tap was more than enough to push open the door. "Moony? Hey Moon?", he called out as he had entered the large building.

 

After checking out the entrance hall, the lobby, and the dining hall, he spotted his very favorite mare surrounded by even more female ponies. Yikes! There was nothing but chicas in the hall! Mares of all sizes and colors! And while their differences made them all very unique, they had shared a few things in common. They were unicorns and they were all very pretty. And while he had hoped learned ponies like Professor Hoofcourt and Gray Lexis would have been there to help him with his teleportation skills, he knew both Moondancer and Ingrid would be more than suitable teachers. A deep smile formed on his face as he spotted a familiar hat resting on one of the stands. He knew Memory Lane was not in the hall,  as the clever stallion had been out of town for a bit. This must be one of his backup hats! With a simple telekinetic 'snatch' he grabbed the hat and continued to canter about. He wanted to say something to Moondancer, but she was busy. He could wait. But he still managed to wave his front right hoof at the mare as he passed by.

 

Ending the streak of mares, stood his very old friend and school-chum, Nocturne Wisp being his usual and moody and broody self. Good gravy, that guy needed a mare-friend! Nothing like a bit of love to push away the frownies. While he always believed the bouncy Dazzle Dawn would be suitable mate, maybe he needed a mare as clever as he? Maybe Fire Heart? Oh wait, wasn't she still in high school? Maybe Presteza? Or maybe he should keep his mind centered on what he needed to do today, and that was making magic!

 

Pocket Change playfully levitated Memory Lane's bright yellow fez onto the stallion's head. How could anypony be moody while wearing the very cheery and sunny hat? "Hey Knocky!", the stallion greeted his old friend.

[Bellosh]

 

Pressy managed to find the torches. "That offer ta light a torch still open?... now Could somepony hold it fer me while I get ready?" She asked, looking somewhat expectantly at Moondancer.

 

While the girls looked through the super-secret storage closet, Moondancer took the time to wave hello to the new arrivals; first her magic school pal Nocturne Wisp, and then her awesome coltfriend Pocket Change. Moony was glad to see those two stallions here today, but her attention remained focused on the girls who found the candles and torches they were looking for. And it looked like Presteza needed Moony’s assistance with whatever she had planned. “Sure thing Pressy,” the moon-flanked mare levitated the torch in front of her as she asked; “Errr, what do you’ve got planned for this baby?”

 

When Ingrid Marie revealed her little surprise the mare gasped happily. “It’s lovely!” she nearly sang, scooching close to the patch of soil that had been hidden beneath the wooden floor. Completely in her glee, El crouched close to the rich soil and took a deep breath. It smelled sweet and damp: she could tell it was full of life-giving nutrients. One touch of her hoof to the precious dirt told her that it was, indeed, perfect. “It’s really, really lovely! I can definitely work with this!”

El’s golden gaze met Ingrid’s, then, and her smile blossomed from cheek to cheek. “You really did think of everything, I can’t wait to get started!”

 

Ingrid Marie returned Elderflower’s smile in equal measure, glad to know that the plot of dirt met with approval. The magic counselor went to great lengths in obtaining the best sort of earth available, all the way from the Lake Cirrus region. Spared no expense. “You know,” Ms. Marie kept eye contact with the other mare, enthusiastically revealing a little about herself; “I happen to know quite a bit of gardening magic myself. Used to be something of a… special talent of mine before I got into the magic education field. I’m a bit out of practice though, but I suppose I can afford to... brush up on it too, ah hah hah.”

 

After laughing at her own pun, Ingrid looked over at the dirt patch. “So Ms. Elderflower,” the older mare asked, sensing a good excuse as any to put her desire into action; “What spell would you like to practice with first?”

[Mojo]

Professor Hoofcourt Magic

 

 

Entering the place is an elderly unicorn stallion, the highly respected Professor Hoofcourt 'Starswirl' Magic, retired Professor of Magical Arts.  He was pleased to see the members of Spellbound practicing their magical skills.  Hoofcourt was even more pleased to see his old friend, Ingrid Marie, leading the practice.

 

"Professor Marie," Hoofcourt said, "I don't want to interfere with your work, but I would like to observe this practice session, if I may.  I'm always very interested in passing on the vital art of magic to the next generation of unicorns."

[Lux]

As Fire Heart and Touch Stone set the candles in a circle wide enough for a pony to stand in without accidentally knocking them over Presteza came by asking about the torch. 

 

"Oh, yeah right," Fire Heart said as the tip of her horn erupted in a little flame, "Sorry, I got distracted with these candles. What do you need lit?"

 

It was funny to watch as two stallions entered the practice area, only to notice that up until that moment there were only mares there! Well it wasn't too unsettling for them as one stallion that she had seen during the open house walk over and talk to Elderflower who had her hooves literally busy in soil on the floor of the basement, very content with what she was doing. Fire Heart certainly didn't have a green hoof but was always there to help her get things if needed. The other stallion that entered which she knew as Pocket Change took his time examining each mare in attendance as if he was in a museum. Fire wondered if by practicing he was intended on practicing some pick up lines. There was no denying that she like the others in attendance were pretty and could easily draw stallions to them like bees to flowers. But he settled on talking with the other stallion. 

 

"Oh, I just can't wait to see what you can do! How long have you known that fire magic was your thing? Did you know since you were a filly? I figure because of your name that might be true?" 

 

"Thanks for the help," Fire said turning to the task at hoof and the mare before her, "Well, my name comes from parts of my parents' names. My day is Warm Heart and my mom is Fire Dancer so they named me Fire Heart. I don't think that they expected me to have fire magic as none of them did. My dad is a psychologist and my mom owns a dance school. As for my magic, I actually learned about it when I was a filly and it's what I got my cutie mark for. What about your talent? It looks like something with gems, but I don't know what that dark thing above it is." 

[Elderflower]

El remained where she was on the floor, one leg folded beneath her small chest while the other began to dig gently into the soil, a cheerful smile upon her face. She seemed totally entranced by the stuff, but when Ingrid Marie spoke the willowy mare’s ears flicked and she smiled up at her fellow arcane enthusiast. A quick flick of her soft, yellow eyes over the other mare’s flank and she nodded in understanding at the words.

“If I might hazard a guess…” she said thoughtfully, her voice rolling with a light touch of laughter at Ingrid’s pun, “Did you use those gardening skills for growing apples?”

Once she had hollowed out a decent patch of earth, El pulled open her small pouch of seeds with her golden-hued magic and held them in front of her face a moment. To the others it probably looked like nothing more than a kooky dirt-obsessed unicorn was staring really hard at some seeds. What she was doing, however, was completely saturating the seeds of her tea roses with magic. Her magic. She was imposing a part of herself upon the tiny beads, something that she had found was necessary for this tricky magic she had taken it upon herself to learn. If the roses were familiar with her magical tough as little seeds, then it would be easier for her to guide and maneuver them once they had grown. When she had first begun to practice at home, this step took her quite a bit of time. Now, however, it was over in a few moments. When she was satisfied, Ella gently lowered them into the earth and buried them with another delicate motion of her hoof.

“I’ll begin with rapidly accelerating and reversing the growth of the tea roses. During acceleration I’ll be applying enlarging spells as well,” she responded, finally standing and fixing Ingrid Marie with a fired-up grin. She was eager to get started!

“After that, I’ll mix kinetic magic with both steps. I’ve been practicing this a bit at home in my gardens, but...well, it’s the kinetic step that throws it for a loop. Working different spells like that into one is challenging! Which is why I need a better practice space. Large, thorny vines can get dangerous...one of them almost took out my precious elder tree, and if that had happened...well, I don’t even want to imagine. Ah! And before I forget!”

El turned about to face the ponies preparing to get to work with fire spells. “Excuse me!” she called out politely, “I’ll be working with some large plants here shortly, ones that will get their nourishment from magic instead of sunshine or water...they’ll be more flammable than your typical rose bushes, so it will be in everypony’s best interests for us all to be careful! I apologize if this is an inconvenience for you…”

Bowing her head in apology, El stepped back and screwed up her face in concentration. No more delays. Her horn lit up with soft, golden magic - glowing at first, and then nearly bubbling with aetheric light. The soil before her began to shine the same hue until a few tiny sprouts poked out and twirled up into the room. As soon as the little green stems had popped out of the earth, they began to grow rapidly. First to the size of your average rosebush, then they kept growing...and growing. Large rosebuds the size of your average foal began to blossom and fill the basement with a pleasant, floral aroma. A bead of sweat rolled down the mare’s face, until finally she relinquished her magical hold on the tea roses. The “bush” had grown all the way up to the ceiling! Step one complete!

“There! Smell that? Aren’t tea roses just perfectly divine? Ooo, I’ll have to take some of those petals for tea…”

Completely unable to resist, she pranced happily up to the giant, sinister-looking rosebush covered in thorns and carefully tugged at some of the foal-sized blooms with her hooves. When she had three blooms removed from the enormous plant, she spun around to face Ingrid Marie. Her expression had become rather sheepish, a faint touch of colour on her cheeks.

“Ah - um...so...what do you think so far?”

[RainbowFoxxy]

 

As for my magic, I actually learned about it when I was a filly and it's what I got my cutie mark for. What about your talent? It looks like something with gems, but I don't know what that dark thing above it is.

 

The unicorn nodded at Fire Heart's response. So her family hadn't had the same magic she did? it was the same for Touch Stone. The only problem was, she still didn't know the full extent of what her abilities were. That was why she had come to the academy. Perhaps here, while having the chance to watch other ponies practice their magic, she could learn her own.

 

"Oh, well my cutie mark is a touch stone and three different gems." She glanced at her mark and then back to Fire Heart. "I work with gems for a living and I can make them glow inside. I'm also good at figuring out what a gem is made up of. That's what a touch stone is used for. To measure the purity of gems. So, I guess you could say i work with gems and i can make them look pretty. I'm just not sure what I can do that for yet...that's why I'm here."

 

Touch Stone turned as a unicorn stallion came to stand near her. She was really quite excited to see what Fire Heart could do having never met somepony who practiced fire magic. She smiled at the new comer and kept herself as calm as she could. He certainly was handsome!

 

"Hello! Want to watch Fire Heart preform her fire magic? I'm not sure what she's going to do, but I'm sure it's gonna be interesting!"

 

The unicorn had her bag of gems open next to her. As she watched Fire Heart random magical glows pulsed through her horn, illuminating various gems in the bag. She did that quite often just for fun.

[Zeig]

 

Well this had been a waste of ten seconds.

Nocturne felt his brow dip downwards into a scowl as the two mares setting up the circle of candles did…nothing, except gabber on about their cutie marks and what they meant. The dark-colored unicorn resolutely kept his eyes on the circle of candles, as if his glare could light them on fire to catalyze some actual magic practice, the thing they were all, supposedly, gathered for today. Briefly, the naught thought of lighting the candles in one fell swoop with his own pale blue flame crossed the Unicorn's mind, but Nocturne dismissed the thought almost as quickly as it had appeared. The mares were obviously setting up for some magical display.

Now if only they could get on with it.

Which was really all Nocturne had time to think about before something solid and such an obnoxiously bright yellow that it almost blinded him landed on top of his head. The Unicorn couldn't help a sudden start, the hat teetering dangerously lop-sided on its perch, but the alarm vanished as a voice rang out next to him - a voice familiar enough to almost bring a smile to his face.

Almost.

"Cket," he muttered darkly, covering up his glee at seeing his old friend with annoyance over the other Unicorn's choice of accessories. Nocturne didn't bother with levitation, instead flipping his head forward enough for the hat to land in a sad, yet still obnoxiously yellow puddle at his hooves. "Always good to see you, sans horribly egregious fashion statements." It was hard to keep annoyance and irritation at the forefront as Nocturne moved a step closer to his dear friend, privately glad that he would have at least one credible pony to practice magic with. Moondancer was here as well - obviously - but given her leadership during the open house, Nocturne wouldn't be surprised to learn she was leading this practice session, which would make her a poor practice partner.

The dark-colored Unicorn might have had a few more choice words about certain fashion statements to give the other stallion, but the cream and pink Unicorn he'd notice around the dirt patch earlier suddenly spoke up, asking for the candle-playing mares to be wary of their fire. She seemed to be doing something - something that involved magic. Nocturne felt his ears perk up slightly as he moved around to Pocket Change's other side, half-lidded stare sharpening as he watched the Unicorn - and her plot of dirt - expectantly.

He wasn't disappointed.

The resulting rose bush ended up pressed against the ceiling of the practice hall, and Nocturne let his silver gaze roam around the giant buds briefly, more interested and amazed at the overall appearance of the thorny nightmare. The dark-colored stallion knew better than anyone how appearances could often be deceiving - how easily an anomaly could appears as an innocent spark of light or a brilliantly flashing scale along the waterbed - but still, he couldn't help be surprised. An intrigued.

Was the Unicorn purposely ignoring leaf growth to focus on bulking up the overall size and bud effectiveness, leaving more thorns exposed like dragon's teeth? Or had she simply not mastered creating a full rose bush with enough leaf coverage to look slightly less sinister, slightly less liable to poke a pony's eyes out? Or perhaps something about the way she applied her magic to accelerate and enhance the plant growth gave more priority to the roots, and therefor the thorny stems and buds, since the plant needed no sunlight to grow and thus, no need for a plethora of leaves?

Question after question filled through Nocturne's mind, and it might have been enough to make him go over to the Unicorn and demand an explanation for her account of nutrients and long-term longevity, had a voice not suddenly spoken up nearby - a voice that was decidedly not Pocket Change's. Nocturne tore his gaze away from the rose bush long enough to see that yes, one of the candle-firing mares was indeed speaking to him, asking if he was intending to watch the other Unicorn's display. Fire Heart was her name, apparently - the other Unicorn, not the one speaking to him.

"Hn," was all Nocturne grunted as a response, eyes once again fixed expectantly on the circle of candles, none of which were doing anything as extraordinary as the cream and pink Unicorn's patch of dirt had. The dark-colored Unicorn left it to Pocket Change to make the niceties, if he was feeling so inclined - it should be fairly obvious to any pony with a half a brain what Nocturne was interested in, and the dark-colored Unicorn left his pale gaze flicker from the circle of candles, to the blue and white Unicorn that had spoken to him, to Fire Heart, content to wait and watch whatever "interesting" thing the Unicorn would be doing.

For now, at least.

 

[Pretzelparty]

 

"Oh, yeah right," Fire Heart said as the tip of her horn erupted in a little flame, "Sorry, I got distracted with these candles. What do you need lit?"

 

“Sure thing Pressy,” the moon-flanked mare levitated the torch in front of her as she asked; “Errr, what do you’ve got planned for this baby?”

 

Moondancer approached fireheart and manged to get the torch lit, "Thanks, Fire! you too moony!" Said the painter in an excited tone, this was gonna be so awesome! In response to her friend's question, The cream colored unicorn walked over with the book and flipped it over to the one of the first spells. Presteza cleared her voice and spoke up, quoting the tome. "Guiding the elements..." She began, pointing the tip of her hoof to an series of simple illustrations. "While not able to control elemental magics to the extent of a pony specializing in that school, 'guiding' is a useful tool for any situation aware pony with a creative mind. With this skill it is possible to lead flames through the air, lead ice along the ground, and if timed correctly, alter the course of a lightning strike... Requires a paintbrush." The eager young mare closed up the book, a small puff of dust coming from the old text which the carrier swiftly waved away from her with her hoof.

 

"Now what I'm gonna try and do here... Is 'lead' the flames through the air in the pattern of cursive writing to spell out something. If it works right then you guys should be able to see what I've written for a few seconds." The mare though a moment about how this spell might get out of hand if kept too close to one of their newer member's plant magic, "Although maybe you could go a few yards towards the other end of the room first so I don't hit anythin' and set it on fire..."

[tacobob]

 

 

Pocket Change let out an woeful ‘awww’ at his old friends rejection of the possibly mystical and life changing fez. “Memory Lane’s little hat could have bestowed great magical powers, and you turned it all down?”, he let out a dramatic sigh as he magically lifted the hat from the ground, shook off any dust and returned it to its proper resting spot. Once again, it would make the long wait for the next pony who dared to wear the fez. Or maybe it was just a silly little hat that failed to cover one’s head, but succeed at making its wearer look silly. The stallion quickly glanced towards the moon flanked mare before turning his gaze back to Nocturne Wisp. The young unicorn had been hit by the love bug, and he had been hit hard. Thankfully he managed to avoid projecting the hordes of pink, purple and red hearts that normally would appear when Pocket Change thought of his very special somepony.

 

"So, I'm assuming you're here to learn. We have more than a few experienced teachers there, ooh!", his eyes fell upon Professor Hoofcourt. The wizard might as well been a walking, talking spell-book for all the magic he possessed. "This is the guy I always wanted back in school, but I was never that lucky. His classes always filled up the quickest.", he whispered. "Would have preferred to learn teleportation with Moony, but she's already got her hooves filled. Hopefully she won't be too busy once we're finished here today. Wouldn't mind spending some alone time with her." This time, the hearts came....

 

[Bellosh]

 

"Now what I'm gonna try and do here... Is 'lead' the flames through the air in the pattern of cursive writing to spell out something. If it works right then you guys should be able to see what I've written for a few seconds." The mare though a moment about how this spell might get out of hand if kept too close to one of their newer member's plant magic, "Although maybe you could go a few yards towards the other end of the room first so I don't hit anythin' and set it on fire..."

 

Moondancer performed a juggling act with her attention as she tried paying attention to both her friend Presteza and the new member Elderflower. As much as Moony wanted to figure out what Pressy was up to, it was hard to not get distracted by the giant rosebush growing in their basement practice hall. True to Immie’s claims, that patch of dirt she lobbied for was working like magic already. Anywho, Moondancer nodded at her friend as she telekinetically carried her ignited torch to the other end of the room, giggling as she hearts popping out from Pocket Change. That reminded her; she did promise to teach her boyfriend some teleportation.....

 

Completely unable to resist, she pranced happily up to the giant, sinister-looking rosebush covered in thorns and carefully tugged at some of the foal-sized blooms with her hooves. When she had three blooms removed from the enormous plant, she spun around to face Ingrid Marie. Her expression had become rather sheepish, a faint touch of colour on her cheeks.

“Ah - um...so...what do you think so far?”

 

"Professor Marie," Hoofcourt said, "I don't want to interfere with your work, but I would like to observe this practice session, if I may.  I'm always very interested in passing on the vital art of magic to the next generation of unicorns."

 

To say that Ingrid Marie was impressed by Elderflower’s magic would be a gross understatement. Actually, the magic counselor was pretty mesmerized by it all. She had to admit that she has never done anything this visually impressive with her own growth magic abilities. Gaping in awe, Ingrid really felt inspired now to get back to practicing it regularly again.

 

But before Counselor Marie could respond, her old colleague Prof. Hoofcourt Magic walked down into the basement, which was always a welcome occasion in the middle-aged mare’s book. “Oh, hello Professor Hoofcourt,” the counselor snapped back to reality; “I haven’t really done all that much work tonight, at least not yet. This oversized plant here for example is all the doing of this fine lady here.” Ingrid beckoned Eldeflower on over; “Ms. Elderflower, I’d like you to meet Hoofcourt Magic, professor emeritus at Canterlot University. You might have heard of him as the father of the touring magician Mighty Magic.”