Chapter 16 - An Ancient Family Line (Edited by JBL 03.20.2017)
After Luna helped me back to bed, we began talking about her dream-walking ability. However, we barely exchanged a few words on the topic before we were interrupted by one of the bat pony guards, who barged into the room and whispered something into Luna's ear. Whatever he communicated was evidently not to her liking, as her face grew hard and stern. When he was done, Luna stood up and spread her wings, looking like she was prepared for a fight. I was amazed to see how broad her wings were, having looked relatively small when they were tucked to her body. When they were spread, the wingspan was pretty impressive.
She apologized for having to leave, explaining that her duties as Princess of the Night called for her to take immediate action. Pressed further, she revealed that a beast called an Ursa Major was seen prowling the edge of a forest and was heading towards a small village. Luna had to ‘persuade’ the beast to return to its lair and leave her subjects alone. Afterwards, she bade me goodnight and disappeared in a flash of light, similar to what Twilight Sparkle had done days prior.
After she left, only the guard and I remained. He headed towards the door but stopped before he opened it and turned to face me. “Thank you, Mister Powell,” he said with a smile. “Our beloved Princess of the Night is dear to us all, but to us Nocturnals, she means much more than you can possibly know.” I quirked an eyebrow, wondering what he meant. Before I had the chance to ask, he continued, “I overheard your conversation. I didn’t mean to, but we Nocturnals have excellent hearing, and the door is thin. You truly have nothing to fear from her. Our beloved princess’ nights can sometimes be lonely for her, so she often turns to us guards and the staff for company. By saying that you wish to see her night sky, you have made this night happier for her. I dare say that you have gained a new friend.”
I didn’t reply, merely nodding to him. He wished me a good night and left the room, leaving me alone with my thoughts.
I turned over in bed and stared at the small red pebble resting on the nightstand next to me, mulling over the talk Luna and I had. Fears and normality—that was what I was faced with now, and I was determined to deal with it head on, come hell or high water.
My loss of control in this situation had allowed my fear to take rein over my psyche. My fear of Luna had wounded her feelings, and I deeply regretted it. Now that I had apologized to her, I hoped that the situation had been taken care of permanently. Most likely Celestia would know by tomorrow, and she would probably drop by to see me. I had to be careful about what I said around her as well. I don’t know what kind of tricks she could pull, but I made a mental note to be prepared for anything she might say or do that would send my brain for a spin.
I had thought that things around here would work as they did back home, but I had been wrong about a lot of things so far. I had to be more observant to what happened around me and talk with the princesses, doctors, and nurses about Equestria about what ponies were like and try to get as much information about my surroundings. I wanted to be prepared, not caught off-guard by what might be weird by my standards but perfectly normal to them. I had to learn and educate myself, and fast.
I shook my head wryly, realizing how it seemed as though I was resigning myself to a lengthy stay here. The thought was still unnerving, and the feeling of homesickness increasing every time I thought about it. Rebuilding one’s life was never easy, not to mention the majority of the country didn’t even know I existed. How would they react? How were ponies different from humans, psychologically speaking? Would they accept me as readily as Celestia had said they would? I already knew they would stare, having seen plenty of eyes filled with curiosity, fright, and uncertainty. They’d have questions too, which I had to prepare for. The only way I could deal with all of this was by being prepared and that was what I had to start doing.
Tomorrow.
With a plan in mind, I relaxed as much as I could. The strain inflicted on my body by the brief, yet somehow monumental, four-meter walk had taken its toll on me. My legs ached when I tried to move, my muscles feeling like a wave of roiling heat was washing over them. The withdrawal symptoms, the sensation of fever, profound sweating—it had all receded significantly during the last three days. I had had my doubts regarding their medicine and Mgangah’s potion, but they had been obliterated. I was feeling better and the insane need for morphine, which earlier had been a screaming voice in my head, was now nothing but a hushed whisper.
‘Only a few more days and I’ll be up and about. I can’t wait to walk again,’ I thought as I lay there, staring at the red pebble. ‘What should I do first when I’m mobile? Taking a shower on my own is first on my list. And a decent meal. Wonder if they’ll let me make something myself? They’ve probably got a whole crew working the kitchen that’s able to make anything. I really want meat, a large medium steak with fried potatoes, salad, and béarnaise sauce. But that requires cattle and they talk around here, so that’s a no go. Darn. What about fish? That could work.’ Whenever I’d been sick and lacked appetite, I would jumpstart my taste buds by thinking of something scrumptious. My options were limited here, though, and the food made in the castle was way better than what I could whip up.
My culinary plan was put on hold and placed on my priority list, and I resumed my brooding. This time, my thoughts revolved around my magic and the red menace known as the pebble.
I closed my eyes and relaxed as much as I could. I felt my heart beating in my chest, my lungs expanding as I drew breath, and the steady pulse of magic being released into my body by the mana opal. I began my search, looking past the magic from the gem and its effect on me, and soon I felt my own magic deep within. Like warm embers in my heart, I focused on it and felt the mysterious energy respond in kind, converging in my chest, flowing like many tiny rivers from all over my body and meeting in my heart.
The feeling of magic… nothing could beat it. I loved how it made me feel whole and alive, how through it I had finally escaped the headaches that had followed me my entire life.
I commanded—no, I wished for my magic to gather into my horn, and slowly I felt the energy move. Through my body it went, touching every nerve, making me feel like I was on a major life rush. I felt it tingling up my spine, into my head, and converging on my forehead, then through the funnel that was my horn. The sound came again, like a gentle breeze playing with wind chimes hanging from a tree branch. I opened my eyes and saw my magic playing in front of my eyes. It was a pleasant shade of green, like summer grass, surrounded by a swirling white ribbon, Star Swirl’s own magic which he gave me a small piece of.
Star Swirl… Though he had brought me here because he wanted me to live, I was still trying to accept the fact that he manipulated me into coming here, not to mention how all of this unicorn heritage stuff had transformed me. All in all, I had taken it a lot better than I believed I would. Would I have died if I stayed on Earth? Now that I thought about it, the chances were very high that I would have died young. My mother had died when she was twenty-two, my grandfather was sixty-six, and my great-grandfather when he was around thirty. It was like I could trace my lineage back to Star Swirl by just looking for those that had died young. It was a depressing thought.
‘Grandpa, I really wish you were here right now. You would know exactly what to do or say in a situation like this.’
My attention went back to the pebble. I was determined to work my magic on it, but I had no idea how to do it or how the unicorns did it. I had a few ideas that I hadn’t tried out earlier in the day, and now it was time to test them. With my eyes on the pebble, I concentrated, trying to reach out with my magic and push the pebble to the side. Nothing happened. After several attempts, I was beginning to feel a slight headache and tiredness creeping up on me. Slowly, I allowed my magic to enter my horn and flow back into me.
“Magic is hard,” I huffed. What had I done wrong? I was less than a blundering amateur or a novice—of course I would run into problems when doing this. If I was a master of magic with my first spell, then what would the point be? Celestia had said that magic wasn’t as easy as I believed. It wasn’t like every few weeks or months I would learn a new spell, or hear a voice whisper, “Your magic level has increased by one point.” This wasn’t a game or a movie, and everything I knew about magic from Earth was practically useless.
How did unicorns do it? They didn’t have hands to pick up things with, using either magic or their mouths, and from what I had seen the other types of ponies manipulate objects with, it was either mouths, hooves, or even their wings. That was where the difference was, as I already had hands that I was proficient with.
“Hands…” I murmured as I held up my right hand and stared at it. “I imagined a hand that picked up the pebble and it didn’t work. I imagined my own magic reaching out and picking up the pebble and it didn’t work. Magic is shapeless, formless, not solid…” I mumbled out loud.
Then the thought came to me. “Maybe it’s a matter of pressure? Maybe willpower? Maybe it is the will that determines the strength of a spell?” Perhaps the idea I had in mind was worth something. It couldn’t hurt trying. I powered up my magic, and in a matter of seconds my horn was glowing, casting a faint green light into the room.
“Okay, it’s you and me, Monsieur Mineral! Put ‘em up!” I exclaimed and imagined the pebble with small legs, tiny arms, and small boxing gloves, bouncing around with a squeaky voice and shouting, “Let’s have a bout of fisticuffs!”
With my magic ready, I willed the pebble to move with all my might. Nothing happened, but I felt as if something had changed. It was as if I forced my magic out of my horn, like squeezing a ton of bread dough through a very small hole. The strain soon became apparent as my headache intensified. Gathering my last ounce of magic, I began forcing it onto the stone and quickly saw a light green glow appear on the side of it. It was working!
I felt the weight of the stone in my magic. It was immense, like trying to lift a car. The more I pushed, the more resistance I encountered. Gritting my teeth, I gave it my all and felt something shift. The stone began tilting to the side, slowly standing upright, performing a balancing act for a split second before falling over on its side.
Exhausted from holding on to my magic for so long, I allowed it to gradually flow back. I was sweating, my head was pounding, but I was satisfied. I was now the first human in existence to have performed real magic. My victory was complete! That insufferable little piece of red granite was utterly defeated! I had made a small pebble that weighed around forty grams move roughly five millimetres!
My exhausted state of body and mind finally claimed me, and I fell asleep.
***
The sun shone through the windows in the infirmary corridor as Celestia walked towards her destination, well rested, her stomach sated with breakfast and tea, ready to rule the day. A veritable mountain of paperwork awaited her this afternoon, and before that there were her usual morning duties that mostly consisted of meetings with the guard and the kitchen staff and hearing her subjects’ troubles and disputes. To top it all off, there was still the finishing touches to be placed on the new trade agreement between Equestria and Minoa. The duties of the day were many; it wasn’t always easy to be a princess.
She had taken the opportunity to speak with Luna during breakfast. Their usually busy schedule left little time for the two sisters to simply ‘hang out’, so each moment they spent together as sisters was a welcome relief to the tedium of ruling a kingdom.
She was currently in a pleasant mood, as her little talk with Magnus had worked out as she expected. Luna had spoken to Magnus during the night and even went as far as revealing her past to the hybrid. That had not been something she had expected, as it was a subject Luna avoided whenever she could. He had taken the news well, not seeking to flee or panic; he simply listened. Afterwards, he had reciprocated by explaining what he was afraid of. Luna had taken it very well, understanding that his world was different from Equus, so she couldn’t fault him for that. To top it all off, he had asked to see her night when he was released from the infirmary, a small request that meant the world to Luna.
Luna had been elated during breakfast, the energy she displayed when regaling Celestia about the events of the night rubbing off on her. With a smile, Celestia walked up to the door guarded by four royal guards who snapped to attention and saluted. Greeting the guards, Celestia opened the door and peeked in.
The lights were off, slightly shrouding the inhabitant of the bed. He lay on his stomach with his duvet pulled halfway up, sunlight warming his back. His head was resting peacefully on the pillow, his furry arms firmly placed underneath it. She had expected him to be awake by now; she had noticed that he tended to wake up early some days. This day, however, was not one of them by the looks of it. She walked in, closed the door behind her, and walked next to the bed.
Smiling, Celestia looked at the peaceful hybrid. ‘Such a small nose. How can you smell anything with such a tiny nose? Not once have I seen your ears move. How can you determine the direction of sounds if you cannot move them around? Such small eyes. How far can you see with them? Not much fur, but you wear clothes. I do not understand the nudity taboo Star Swirl spoke of. We wear no clothes; does this make you feel uncomfortable? Do you think you will be happy in Equestria?’ Despite his unfamiliar and strange appearance, he was ready to become a citizen of Equestria. The paperwork process was already underway for him to attain citizenship, a process she had started the day after they found out about Magnus’ and Star Swirl’s family bond.
Celestia still wondered how he would react when the news was broken to him. It was her hope that the process of him gradually accepting the fact would work, at least to a certain degree. Still, she felt bad about not giving him a definitive answer. He deserved that much at least. She knew that opening a portal to his world was impossible since humans could not use magic. However, if she knew of a way, would she send him back?
What Star Swirl had told Celestia and Luna about humans did scare her. Their advanced technology, their wars, how seemingly easy humans fell prey to greed and violence. However, what Star Swirl had described Magnus to be like did not seem to match those characteristics. He was fearful, anxious, and suspicious, but that was most likely attributed to being in a world that was unfamiliar and strange, and the stress he had suffered lately. Perhaps he would act different in the future. Still, Celestia could not rid herself of the question: If she knew a way, would she send him back? He deserved to be with his kind, but the problem was that Magnus belonged to two significantly different civilizations and species. He belonged in Equestria, but he also belonged on his home world. It was an extremely difficult dilemma. Luckily, Celestia was not the one to decide where he belonged as fate had already made that decision for her.
Magnus began to stir, moving his legs and hooves slightly and then turning around so he lay on his back. He yawned, exposing his teeth to Celestia, teeth made for chewing meat, vegetables, and fruit. He did not look much like a predator to her, but his canines was pointed enough to tell Celestia that meat was a part of his diet. He squinted his eyes at the sunlight that shone on his face before focusing on Celestia.
“...Grrmbml… morning,” he mumbled and yawned again, rubbing his eyes. “You’re doing it on purpose, aren’t you?”
“Whatever do you mean?” Celestia asked back, mentally berating herself for not waiting until he had awoken properly before entering. In her eagerness to speak with Magnus, she wondered if she had broken some unspoken human rule when it came to sleep. Quickly, she rummaged through her memories of what Star Swirl had told her and Luna about humans, coming up empty.
“That.” He pointed a finger towards the window. “If you can raise the sun, I guess you can determine its location in the sky. Such as aiming it straight at my face in order to wake me up.”
Celestia exhaled in relief. She was safe and no rule had been broken. It was actually an amusing comment she had not heard in quite some time. Many ponies believed that such accusations were insulting to her but they were wrong. She liked a joke as much as the next pony.
“I could move the sun slightly to the side, but many sundials all over the world would have to be adjusted as well to tell time correctly. And many ponies like being awakened by the rays of the sun.” Celestia chuckled gently.
“Ponies, yes, not this man.” Magnus extended his arms and stretched, eliciting a series of pops and cracks through his arms and hands. Sitting up, he leaned back on the headboard. “I prefer waking up by myself instead of alarms or the sun.” He reached for his clothes on the nightstand, and quickly put on his shirt. “So, why are you here so early?”
“Luna told me of the chat you two had last night,” Celestia replied. At hearing this, Magnus sighed and nodded.
“I can’t believe what happened to her.” He shook his head slightly and stared at the window. Slowly, he turned towards Celestia. “And what you had to do.” Celestia's smile vanished as she weakly nodded. That fateful day so long ago when she saw no other way than to use the Elements of Harmony on her own sister was forever branded into her memory. The weeks that followed were excruciating. She had been unable to perform her duties, only managing to raise the sun and moon while weeping for her sister. Each night she had cried herself to sleep, her dreams always revolving around Luna, wondering if there truly had been no other way. Each day, from sunrise to sunset, she had wandered the halls of the old castle, heavily damaged in the battle between the two. Everywhere she looked, she had seen memories of the two as they walked, talked, played pranks on each other and the guards, and thousands of other memories of over, until then, six hundred years of ruling a kingdom.
“I’m sorry for what you had to do,” Magnus said apologetically. “It couldn’t have been easy for you.”
“Thank you. It was a… It was the worst time of my life.” Her eyes began to moisten from the memories returning to her. Tears wouldn’t form, for the joy of having her sister back was stronger than the despair of the choice she made over a thousand years ago.
“I’ve been an idiot.” Magnus once more looked towards the window and the outside world. “I said so a few days ago, but… you scare me as well.” Before Celestia could respond, he turned towards her with a small smile. “But I just have to work on that, you know? Learn how things work around here.”
Celestia returned his smile. It seemed as if Magnus had turned over a new leaf. His words sounded genuine and the tone of his voice seemed relieved, like a heavy burden was lifted from him. It boded well for him concerning future events.
On some level, Celestia knew of the fears he spoke of. Over the many years she had ruled, Celestia had met many beings that feared her, mostly because of the great magical powers she held and over her control of the sun. Being one of the most powerful beings in the world did have its disadvantages, one of them being that some ponies were afraid that they would end up in the dungeons if they didn’t bow deeply enough or failed to address her properly. Sometimes she would think of what her life would be like if she hadn’t said yes the day the Equestrian Council offered her and Luna the crowns of Equestria after they defeated Discord. What would she have done instead? Continued her travels around the world? Become a teacher perhaps, or maybe even an historian? The choices were infinite, but they were all in the past. She was the Solar Diarch, the Ruler of the Sun, Princess of the Day, Sol Invictus. She had chosen what had felt right for her back then, and the choice still felt valid.
For half an hour, alicorn and man spoke of the events of the previous evening and those to come. As expected, Magnus asked how the progress of the portals went and Celestia answered the best she could. Twilight and her team were still at work, and they hoped a solution was found sometime during the day. Surprisingly, Magnus was content with the vague answer he received and did not ask any further questions. Perhaps he was coming to terms with the fact that he was going to be in Equestria for the remainder of his life? Celestia hoped so.
Magnus was also eager to demonstrate his magic to Celestia, showing that he had managed to push a tiny pebble. He was so excited about it, like a foal that had learned its first spell. As he strained until his face was red, Celestia performed a small thaumatic analysis on Magnus just to see how much magic he held within himself, and how powerful he was when exerting his magic. She didn’t have the heart to tell him that fillies and colts in magic kindergarten could outperform him in sheer power alone, not after seeing how hard he worked to tip over the tiny pebble.
What surprised Celestia the most was Magnus’ theory concerning magic and how willpower influenced it. His theory, made up in bed, was not entirely accurate, though there were elements of truth contained within. Willpower was indeed a factor, but a multitude of other things was also important, such as training, focus, and intimate knowledge of magic behaviour upon the mind and body. Without knowing it, Magnus had already made a small foundation to build his magic on, but Celestia didn’t tell him. If he someday wanted to pursue magic, he would surely find out. For now, recovering was his top priority. Still, she pitied his attempt and told him that focusing his magic and not using it would increase his magical constitution by a small amount.
Whatever doubts rested in the darkest corners of Celestia’s mind was washed away. Magnus was truly a child of House Galaxy. Although never knowing about true magic until recently, he seemed to possess a small innate knowledge of its workings, a trait that many members of the old family was said to inherit. Some of those born with this family trait rose to become quite powerful in olden times, although it had not happened in over a thousand years now. The names of the unicorns belonging to House Galaxy who had made their mark on Equestrian and the unicorn kingdom history were numerous.
Star Swirl the Bearded, Comet the Elder, Star Dancer—the student of Clover the Clever and later advisor to Chancellor Puddinghead, Commander Hurricane, and Princess Platinum. The famous twins Lady Sunshine and Lady Moonlight, leaders of the Council of the Sun and Council of the Moon, leading groups of unicorns in raising the sun and the moon four thousand years ago. Amber Eyes of the Four Towers Magic Council, widely recognized as the pony who had invented the invisibility spell in order to sneak sweet pastries into council meetings. Fluffy Hoof the Illusionist, Snake Scale the Banished, and many more, all of them powerful in their own ways. For a moment, Celestia entertained the idea that Magnus was to make his own mark in magical history but quickly dismissed the idea. He could barely move a pebble while grown unicorns his age could do so much more. Furthermore, with so many generations dividing Magnus and his unicorn heritage, it was quite possible that his magic could do very little at all.
Still, she could not help but wonder what fate had in store for the hybrid.
Just as Celestia was about to leave, Doctor Mgangah and a nurse came to visit Magnus. After a small check and a few questions, Mgangah declared that Magnus was ready for the final potion which he would receive later during the day. The final potion was a special one; it was stronger than normal that would serve to drain the remaining withdrawal symptoms within him in one fell swoop. He would fall into a deep sleep and awaken after an uncertain amount of time, following which he would feel as healthy as could be. Magnus showed his happiness by laughing loudly, praising the potions given to him, saying that their effects was something humanity had yet to discover, despite their advanced technology.
While Celestia was still with him, the nurse removed the bandages on his forehead and arm, along with his stitches. His injuries had left two small scars that had healed very nicely due to the healing ointment applied to the wounds early on. Magnus was not bothered by the scars, stating that “chicks likes scars”, a statement which confused Celestia due to him telling her that griffons did not exist on Earth. She remembered that females of his kind was referred to as women, and so assumed that it was another word for female.
After assuring herself that Magnus was indeed well, and his fears seemed to be laid to rest, Celestia left his bedroom and began her walk to the throne room. With a smile and a skip in her step, she was certain that everything would be fine. Now it was time to begin her arduous day.
***
“...and done!” Twilight exclaimed tiredly. Yawning, she let herself fall backwards onto her pillow as the last scroll was read and placed back on the table where it landed amongst many others that she had read. Rolling over onto her stomach, she gathered her legs underneath herself and stood up, stretching her limbs like a cat.
Looking over to the table, she was amazed to see just how many books and scrolls she had read. There was a veritable crate of scrolls and numerous thick books, volumes written on ley lines and ley line disharmony, and Princess Celestia and Princess Luna’s own encounters with them.
“Wow, I can’t remember the last time I had a study session like this.” Yawning again, she wandered over to another table that had a pot of coffee and cups on it. Pouring herself a cup, she gulped it all down in one go. “Whoo, that helped.” Next to her bed, Celestia's bed which she had slept in, was Spike. Still asleep in the small bed that had been made to him, he snored loudly and mumbled in his sleep. He wasn’t needed when it came to reading through all the materials sent to Twilight, so he had been blessed with an early bedtime. He deserved it, though; all the mail had given him an upset tummy, but Celestia had anticipated it and sent a bottle of medicine first to Spike along with a letter apologizing for all the mail.
“Wake up, Sir Sleeps-a-lot,” Twilight whispered into Spike’s ear. The baby dragon merely turned over in his bed, pulling the covers over his head. “Fine, be that way. I’ll just eat all the gems myself.”
“ZZZ... huh, what? Gems?” Spike’s head popped out from under the covers. “Morning, Twilight. What’s up?” He yawned expansively and sat up, scratching the soft scales on his belly.
“Breakfast,” Twilight replied and levitated the sleepy dragon onto her back. “Then I’m to give the expedition crew a briefing of what we’re going to do today.”
“You found out how to close the portals and how they’re made?” Spike asked as he rubbed his eyes. Twilight opened the door and trotted out, the two guards immediately saluting her.
“Yes, it’s called ley line disharmony. I wasn’t sure if what Pattern said was right, but the letter I received from Princess Celestia confirmed it. What’s causing the portals are two crossing ley lines that’s rubbing against each other, creating a type of magical friction. It’s like static electricity, but with magic. When a charge has been built up, it can release and all manner of magical mishaps can occur. In this case, a portal.”
Spike nodded and held his claw under his chin in a thoughtful pose. Once he thought about it, it wasn’t that hard to understand. When living with a pony who was a genius when it came to magic, he had picked up a few things over the years. Still, one detail was amiss.
“So, does this mean that—?”Spike paused and looked around. No pony was within earshot. It was best to be cautious, so he leaned forward and whispered into Twilight's ear, “You-know-who can’t go home?”
Twilight stopped. Spike was right; Magnus had absolutely no chance of getting home once the portal was closed. He would pass on long before the next portal appeared, and forcing a portal open would do nothing. The two portals would have to appear at the same time for a portal to open. To make matters worse, the thaumatic tests and magical signatures the expedition had found revealed no trace of where the portal led to. Portal and teleportation spells would leave a faint signature behind before fading away, joining with the magic that existed elsewhere. This portal did not, meaning that the Earth portal could very well just be an extremely short, but powerful burst of magic, leaving a very faint signature that faded quickly.
Everything that the expedition and Twilight had found so far confirmed Princess Celestia’s prediction. Magnus would never see Earth again.
Twilight nodded weakly. “He… He can’t go home…” Feeling the sensation of failure bubbling within her, Twilight sighed. It wasn’t her fault, nor was it Magnus’ or the princesses’. The only one that was to blame was Star Swirl himself, yet she couldn’t bring herself to do so. She knew that Magnus would have died if he had remained on Earth and that Star Swirl had done what he could with the resources he had available. He had done what he could to ensure his family line did not perish, even defying death in order to do so. Still… Twilight felt her faith in her idol, one of the two that had inspired her to study magic, shaken to its very core.
“Twilight, you okay?” she heard Spike call to her. Looking behind her, she saw him looking at her worriedly. “You kinda zoned out there for a moment. You feeling alright?”
“Yes, I’m fine. I just have a lot to think about.” She shot him a smile and began walking again. “Now, about that breakfast,” she said and opened the door to the galley.
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At least the 'no' is because of circumstance, and not just a decision.
Don't worry Celestia, Magnus might not have a whole lot of potential to leave a mark in terms of magic power, but maybe magic theory? You did say he came up with a theory that was neither entirely right nor wrong overnight. Forging new heights in magic at the desk might be his thing.
I've had the bad feeling ever since Twilight was assigned to reserch those portals, that she was going to get sucked into one by some event. Hope that doesn't happen...
Magic missiles incoming.
6624559 I love watching you squirm...
6624559
A portal isn't too scary, it's a known factor and they tend to stay put with a lot of fanfare declaring it's existence.
What you should be scared of is the unknown. Enough magic "static" builds again and... what happens? Another portal? Maybe a magic surge that puts every pony with a horn for miles into a near-coma? The surrounding water suddenly transforms into fire? Then there's just boring stuff like big explosions similar to a volcano such as Mount St.Helens going off in equivalent strength, resulting in earthquakes, tsunamis, maybe even a bit of a "wild" storm before pegasi can stamp it out.
It's kind of interesting puzzling out what happens around the magic version of world tectonic plates colliding-- and just regular tectonic plates contacting in their various ways is impressive.
Yay new chapter!
6624997 I was thinking more along the lines of her getting portaled to some other world and be stuck there, like Starswirl was. Though what you thought of is equally nerve-wracking. Lol
6624753
Awww shit it's coma time isn't it?
Hmm, I might have misunderstood but did you mean to tell us that Magnus will only ever have a paltry amount of magic to use? From most of the stories here describe it as exercising a muscle. The more you use magic the more power you will have at your disposal. This would mesh with how in exercising the first benefits is how you brain efficiently uses the muscle and then over time gets stronger. The talents of the unicorns just make learning or creating spells easier in certain areas.
Thinking as Magnus, the only benefit that has come from coming to Equestria other than no longer suffering from magic starvation is the gained ability to cast magic which he has become in awe of. Having the two time punch of Lies of Twilight and Celestia helping him to get home but actually cutting off any chance of it, and discovering he will only be pathetic at casting magic will destroy his remaining mental stability.
"Put. The castle. Back down....Slowly," I suddenly heard Celestia's voice from behind me.
Oh, futa
You know, I sorta hope our protagonist discovers immortality as to wait for the new portal. Stubornnes, and all that.
Ok I want to put my 2bits in love the story but what if mangus fell for Luna and Tia in the process
9305538
Yes... what if... derpicdn.net/img/view/2013/5/4/316710__safe_artist-colon-atomicgreymon_edit_pinkie+pie_animated_earth+pony_excited_extreme+speed+animation_grin_pony_rapeface_reaction+image_rubbing+h.gif
"I will not fear. I guess he never read "Dune"
Fear is the mind-killer.
I will face my fear.
I will let it pass through me.
When the fear has gone,
there shall be nothing.
Only I will remain."
9776268
I saw Dune once, but that was years ago, maybe when I was around fifteen or sixteen years old. Never cared much for it then, but might have to see it again; maight change my mind now that I'm older. But the fear part was not from Dune, and tbh, I can't remember where I came up with that from.
9776268
Fear is the mind killer.
Fear is the little death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.
Only I will remain.
The way I would attempt to use levitation magic is to combine both the idea of ‘The Force’ from Star Wars and Sir Isaac Newton’s three laws
-Step 1: Use ‘The Force’ (Magic) to feel the ‘Force’ of the object in question
-Step 2: Apply the force of gravity in opposite of the object rendering it to Zero G
-Step 3: Apply Newtons three laws to move the object
-Step 4: LEVITATION!!!
media.tenor.com/25W7yOwhkjoAAAAC/force-yoda.gif