Chapter 38: Training

"Alright... now we think we've figured it out." Said a pony wearing a white lab coat.

I was currently standing next to Luna in the labs in Canterlot, a few days after the "Poisoning" incident, and was eagerly awaiting an explanation that made sense.

"You see, your body was not enhanced right away in the super solder program." A human also wearing a white lab coat said beside her pony assistant. "They are serums that cause your body to go through enormous changes over time." She finished as she motioned down to some charts.

"Yeah yeah." I said waving my hand. "I know how the super soldier program works. Why is that an issue?"

The two scientists looked at each other and the human stepped forward, handing me a report. "Are you familiar with the radiation issue during early uses of the serums?" She asked as I took the report and read it over, noting how old it looked.

"I... can't say I am. Why?" I asked back reading through the report.

"Well..." The woman began, motioning to the report. "As you can see, some things had very interesting reactions to the serums."

I skimmed farther down until I found what I was looking for, and my eyes widened.

"This... this really happened?" I asked getting her to nod.

"Yes. During the early stages of the serums making changes to the body, it seems if you are brought into contact with low doses of radiation, the cells of your body mutate to allow themselves to absorb it." The woman paused motioning her pony assistant.

The pony continued his speech. "From what I've read about this 'Radiation' it behaves slightly like latent magic would in this case. Latent magic covers our planet like a shroud, so it's no doubt you've picked a lot up. Perhaps when you landed here, your body's cells mutated to store this magic, just like the radiation."

I put the paper down and leaned on the table, letting this all sink in.

"Well... I guess what Celestia said about my magical signature makes sense now... but why did I get sick from it? In the report it says the radiation proved harmless to the carrier?" I asked getting the pony to shrug.

"I guess that's just the nature of how magic works. I don't think it was the latent magic that made you sick, but simply being in contact, or close proximity to active magic for so long without... how do I put this... 'Using up' what you have?" He said getting me to sigh.

"Yeah... now that I think about it, Luna has used a lot of magic around me. So... what do I do about this?" I asked getting the two to look at each other.

"Well..." The human girl spoke up. "I'm out of my league when it comes to magic, but I guess... learn to harness it?" She asked getting a look from all three of us. "...what?"

Luna finally spoke up. "Well combined with him being a creature of no magical heritage. Learning the proper control of magic can take years." Luna said as she looked me up and down.

"Actually, what she says probably isn't that far fetched after all." The pony said as he walked over to me and lifted my hand, examining it. "I don't see why he can't use his hands as an output for the magic, and he doesn't need control. He just needs to know how to vent it. All he needs is a teacher."

There was a few moments of silence before Luna spoke up. "Well... I suppose I could teach you some fairly simple techniques." She said low getting me to smile.

Shaking my head, I let out a small chuckle, getting the others attention.

"What's so funny?" The pony asked getting me to wave it off.

"Guess I'm humanity's first mage huh?" I said getting him to shrug.

"I suppose so."

'This shouldn't be so hard. Luna makes it look so easy'

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"How the fuck do you make this look so easy?!" I shouted in anger as I kicked a stone into the nearby treeline.

We currently were standing in the field I had first walked across to get to Ponyville, just outside the Everfree forest.

"Well I'm sorry! I'm not the greatest of teachers alright!" Luna replied back. "Now try it again!"

Growling low, I straightened myself up, and breathed out. I tried to calm myself down as I closed my eyes and slowly raised my hand... I tried to feel for the energy running through my body, and focus it to my chest, and out my hand in a delicate and calm manner.

"IT'S NOT WORKING!" I shouted as I kicked at the ground again.

"You need to be patient! It'll never work if you don't wait!" Luna shouted back.

"We've been going at it for HOURS! The sun is already starting to set!" I exclaimed, pointing at the setting ball of fire.

"Then we keep going until dawn! You're never gonna get this if you don't follow my instructions! All you have to do... is keep a clear picture in your mind of what makes you happy! IT'S THAT EASY! Stars above you're acting like a foal!"

"So you're telling me ponies can't use magic when they're angry?" I asked annoyed.

"No I'm not saying that... I'm just saying it's the best way! Magic used through hatred is un-paralleled in power, but incredibly volatile and dangerous! Many ponies have been consumed by it! Now try again!" She finished, motioning to me.

I huffed and shook my head, before closing my eyes and letting out a deep breath.

'What makes me happy'

The thought drifted around in my head for a little while, before some images began to overtake my mind. However this time, unlike all of my other attempts... they were of only one pony in particular.

"Good... now hold onto that feeling, let the calmness pass through you." Luna said low as her voice began to echo in my mind.

I continued to hold onto the image in my mind, the one pony who I truly considered a friend. No... not just a friend... but a-

*zzZZZZT*

My eyes flew open as I looked at my extended palm, and saw it glowing a deep blue, like a darker version of Luna's magic.

"Yes! You have it! Now quick before you lose it... do as I taught you!" Luna exclaimed as I quickly blinked and mimicked the movements she had shown me earlier this day.

After getting into a stance, I looked up and spotted a cloud in the sky. I slowly brought my hand to the target and breathed out slowly. I remembered the symbols Luna had showed me before, and pictured it vividly in my mind... the runes of water and air together. I shut my eyes as I recalled an idea for it to hold onto.

'Rain'

I closed my fingers together as a bolt of energy surged out towards a cloud. The moment it struck it the cloud became darkened, and began emitting lightning. I quickly ran out from beneath it and stared at the area and back to my hands a few times, before throwing them in the air.

"YES! FINALLY I DID IT WOOOOO! Not exactly what I wanted to happen but WOOOOO!" I shouted as I pranced around.

Luna came galloping towards me, smiling. "I can see that! But you need to work a bit on your spell weaving still." She said watching the cloud.

I looked to her a few moments after staring at the cloud and cleared my throat. "Will it always be that hard to um... prepare the magic?" I asked getting her to shake her head.

"Nope! You've allowed the flow of magic through your body now! Just remember whatever memory made you happy, and it should activate your magic." She said as I nodded and looked down at my hand.

I let the thought into the front of my mind again, and my hand began to glow blue once again.

"Wow... you can't understand how amazing this is. Being a Alicorn and all... it's natural to you. But to us humans it's just... unbelievable." I trailed off as she nodded.

"It's alright. Now practice whenever you can. BUT if you feel tired, give yourself a break. Just like magic poisoning, theres magic exhaustion too." She said as I nodded in agreement.

"Alright... I think I've got it. So what now?" I asked getting her to shrug.

"Well..." She began as she looked to the sky. "The sun is down, we can call it a night if you wish. Have another session tomorrow maybe?" She asked back.

After a few moments of thought, I shook my head. "Nah, how about we go to Canterlot? I'd love to read up some more on magic. You know, be more prepared." I asked getting a small nod from her.

I gave her a few minutes to quickly raise the moon, before she turned to me and spoke up.

"Well alright... but remember. You'll never have the finesse of a Unicorn. You just don't have the biology for it." She replied as her horn began to glow. "Just don't try anything too complex."

I tilted my head a bit and smiled as I walked to her and placed my hand on her side. "Awww, are you worried about me?" I asked jokingly.

Shaking her head, she chuckled a bit. "I'm more worried about damage to the castle." She finished as a bright flash blinded me for a moment before we both appeared in Luna's bedroom.

She walked ahead of me and opened the door, as we both stepped out and we came to a halt. Standing just in front of us is a stunned Cadence.

"Oh! Hey Cadence. What brings you here?" I said getting her to blink and look at the two of us, then the room behind us.

She gave a small smile, and motioned down the hall. "Just uh... stopped by to see how Luna is uh... doing... Hey um, mind if I steal Jake from you for a moment?" Cadence asked Luna who was behind me.

Luna shrugged then nodded. "Yeah, I don't see why not. When you're done could you show Jake to the library? He wants to study up some more before our next session. I'll be in the throne room." She said more to me than Cadence, before teleporting away.

Immediately Cadence began blushing deeply as she quickly turned away and cleared her throat. "A-alright, let's go."

Shrugging, I began walking next to her through the halls of Canterlot. Silence fell over us for a good few minutes before she spoke up.

"So uh... how was it?" She said blushing a bit.

I shrugged back. "It wasn't that hard. The session took all day but we finally finished a few minutes before we ran into you."

She cleared her throat again, blushing deeper. "O-Oh wow... all day? Wow you put shining to shame..."

I picked up on her whisper and cocked my head at her. "What? I thought Shining would be good at magic. Being a Unicorn and all."

"M-Magic?" She asked back as she thought over the conversation again. "Oooooh... oh my Celestia" She said as she began laughing. "I thought...! Oh my word!" She said trying to calm down and catch her breath.

Raising an eyebrow, I spoke up. "What? What's so funny?" I asked as she began to calm down and waved a hoof at me. "Have I missed something here?"

Finally calmed down, she turned to me as we walked. "Are you seriously telling me... you two aren't together yet?" She asked getting my face to flush bright red.

I looked around us to make sure nopony was around before pulling her to the side, while trying to hide my huge blush. "W-WHAT?! Did you SERIOUSLY just ask that?!"

Shaking her head, she smiled some more. "Well I'm sorry but it's just beyond obvious now. I had thought you two could sort it out but... it seems you need a little push. And who better than the princess of love herself?" She said aloud as I made hand motions to quiet down.

"Would you keep your voice down?! Alright look... I can't lie about this because you know... princess of love." I paused for a second, again making sure nopony was around. "I... ALRIGHT! I have feelings for her! Are you happy now?! But I'm just... terrified on how to advance with this..." I said to her defeated, still not believing what I was currently talking to her about.

"What's so hard about it! Just go tell her how you feel!" Cadence said passively.

I gave a small laugh. "Ha, easy for you to say, you're a god damn princess just like her. OF LOVE EVEN. I've fought in wars, killed Verix after Verix. I've stared down my own death in the eyes and didn't even flinch, and let me tell you... this terrifies me more than any of that." I said getting her to laugh.

She let out a huff before speaking up. "Alright, let's go, you're setting up a date with her NOW."

Bewildered, I began shaking my head as she started pushing me down the hall, presumably towards the throne room. "No! What are you nuts?! She's probably busy with paperwork or ponies or something! Come on!"

"Nope. No one ever comes during night court." She said happily.

A few seconds later, I took off in a full sprint down the hall in an attempt to escape, before being quickly stopped by a magical aura. That's when the feeling really sank in.

'Oh god... I'm about to ask a pony princess on a date...' I thought as I hovered closer and closer to the throne room doors.

'God help me...'

Author's Note

Yeah I'm back... MY BAD SCHOOL AND SHIT SORRY!

Anyway... I think you should all enjoy the 'Happy' chapters while they last, because let me tell you... they wont.

At all.

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