Equestria AM (after magic)

Chapter 3: New Beginnings

Twilight and Warding Soul walked away from the hay burger, Pinkie bouncing alone beside them. There where vary few ponies moving about the streets, giving the town an and empty feeling, something ward seldom felt in larger cites.

“Where is every pony?” Ward asked, looking around for any signs of life.

“Pones usually only come out to go to the market. Ever since the change in government, the market started closing early. Every pony tries to spend as little time outside as possible, hoping to avoid “Peace Keepers”.”

“That’s to bad.”

“Well, im going to go home now.” Pinkie said. “Its getting late, and I have to go feed Gummy. You seem a lot happier then you where Twilight, so, my work here is done.” Pinkie Pie leaped away, singing alone to a song only she could here.

“So,” Twilight said, turning towards ward. “Whats this quest your going on? How is it you have bat wings? Where did you come from.”

“The last town is as in was Detrot. As for the wings...The wings are a spell I made. I charmed myself with it.” He said, stretching out his wings and giving them a flap.

“You...what?”

“I gave myself wings using magic.” He said, shrugging.

“No pony has ever done that before, as in, never. Who taught you magic?”

“Luna took me on as her student shortly after you and your friends blasted her with the elements of harmony. She had me learn a number of spells, but I used my power and skill to...Take it up to the next level.”

“That must make you the most powerful unicorn in equestria.” Twilight said. “With magic like that...”

“Oh no, im not that powerful. I’m just really creative. Now, for my quest, it started about two months ago....”

“I had this odd dream one night, like none I had ever had before. It felt so real, almost like I could reach out and touch it. I was standing in the canterlot thrown room, standing before princess Luna.

“She told me she had little time, and that I had to pay attention. She used her magic to conjurer an image of a tree house. Not a house built in a tree, but an actual hallowed out tree that some pony was living in.

“Luna told me that I needed to find her sisters student, but before she could tell me who I was searching for, I woke up. I spent the next three nights hoping that luna would visit me again, but she never did. So, I decided to search equestria for who ever it was I was looking for, until I found him or her.”

Ward stopped, realizing that Twilight had stopped walking a few yards back. He turned tail, and walked up to the purple mare.

“Um, are you ok?” He asked.

Twilight sat down on the road, and looked up at warding soul. “You where told to find lunas sisters student? Who lived inside a tree? In a dream?”

“Ha, when you say it like that, I sound nuts.” Ward chuckled. “But yea. I've been flying across equestria looking for the tree house where he or she lives. I hope she still lives there. I was told the library was a tree, so I was going to check there after dinner.

“Is that, the house, you saw?” twilight said slowly, pointing towards her library.

Ward looked over at the house, and gasped. “That’s it! That’s the house from my vision! The library’s the house from my vision! Do you know the pony who lives there?”

“W-wow.” Twilight stammerer, looking at the ground.

“What?”

“That house, the student, shes...”

“Spit it out.”

“Me.

Warding soul wandered through Twilight’s library, looking at the vast selection of reading material that littered the walls. It wasn’t nearly as big as the canterlot library he was use to, but it was far greater then anything he had been in his travels.

The first thing ward had noticed about Twilight sparkles house was that it was vary clean. Everything was set up exactly where it belonged. Every book in the right place, every quill, ink well, and list perfectly set where they belonged.

This was one vary organized pony.

Once they had arrived at Twilight’s house, Twilight had polity excused herself from the room to go speak with her dragon spike, in the kitchen. He wished he could here them, knowing that he was the topic of conversation.

He sighed, continuing to go over the hundreds of books on the shelf. It was quite the library. Many of the books where on different forms of magic. Enchanting, amniomorphic spells, warding spells, combat magic.

Ward smiled as he found a book that was his speed. “Protective magic and warding spells, volume 3.” He had read the first two volumes of the book, but he didn’t know there was a third volume. He excitedly lied down on the floor and cracked it open.

Twilight came back out into the library, after her long chat with spike, to find her guest laying on the floor reading a book. At least he likes books, that was a start.

She had no clue where to start. There where so many questions she had for him, but didn’t know which ones to ask. It seemed rude to ask him a billion questions after he went on such a long trip to find her.

“So...” Twilight said, getting wards attention. “What are you reading?”

“Protective Magic and Warding Spells, volume 3.” He said, closing the book. “I’ve read the first two already, so I figured the three might have some cool stuff in it.

“Ah. So... what now?” She asked sheepishly.

“huh?” He asked, getting to his feet.

“You went all that way to find me. Now what are you going to do?”

Ward sighed. “I don’t really now. I was sort of hoping you had some sort of plan to save equestria. You have a way better track record then I do when it comes to saving the world.”

“Yea, but that was always with the elements of harmony. Without them, me and my friends are powerless.” She said, looking at the ground.

“Now I know that’s a lie.”

“What?”

“You saved ponyville from an Ursa minor. You saved it from the alicorn amulet. You exposed the changeling queen. You didn’t have the help of the elements then, did you?”

“Well no, but-”

“no buts. You didn’t need them then, and you don’t need them now.”

Twilight looked up and smiled. “I guess you might be right.”

“I am right.”

“can I ask you another question?”

“I was expecting a river of them, go on.” Ward said nodding.

“Tell me more about your bat wings. I understand you made them, but how? I haven’t seen you cast on them at all today.”

“Well,” He said, sitting down. “First I changed a wing growing spell I found in a book slightly, and charmed myself with it. Then, I used a bone regrowth spell, and a healing spell, both slightly modified, and grew bones into it. Grew on some flesh, then, boom, permanent wings.”

“You can that?” Twilight asked. “I didn’t think anything like that was possible.”

“Why wouldn’t it be? When your using magic, your only limited by knowledge and imagination.”

“But, how did you get that kind of power? I can barley do a normal wing spell.”

“Really? I don’t know why, but I always thought alicorns had a little more juice then unicorns.”

“Oh, this was back before I got my wings.”

“Oh. Luna taught me a lot of things, including how to increase the amount of magic I have. If you practice a lot, and strain yourself, overtime your magic reserves will get larger. Like how if you eat a lot, you stomach grows.”

“Wow.”

“Its nothing really. Just what I do.”

“So, why warding magic?”

“My special talent is defending people with magic. Since in my eyes, all magic can help pones, I can learn all magic. I just like warding and shielding magic. It comes easily to me.”

“Is that what you cutie mark means?” She asked, looking at the dark blue gem inside a blue force field on his flank.

“Yea, that’s right. I got it when my sister was about to get crushed by a rock slide. I knew vary little about magic at the time, and...i managed to put up a barrier of telekinesis over us, so that we wouldn’t get crushed. The gem is represents the boulders, but at the same time, those im protecting. It shows how close we are to danger, without even knowing.”

“That’s amazing.”

“Its really not.” Ward sighed, and picked up his saddle bags off the floor with his magic. “Well, it was nice talking to you, but its getting late. I had better go find an inn before Cerf.”

“You could sleep here.”

“Really?”

“Yea, if you don’t mind sleeping down here on an air mattress.”

“Wow, thank you.”

“Your vary welcome.”

An hour later, ward was laying down on an air mattress pumped up in twilight’s living room. Normally, he would never be in bed at such an early hour. It was only around nine. But, he was tired from the long journey, and enjoying the short brake that finding twilight had brought.

Twilight, however, wasn’t nearly as ready to hit the hay. She was up stairs, working away on some sort of project that she was to busy to talk about. Spike had told him that she would get like that whenever she found a new led on finding or speaking with the princesses.

Ward sighed, staring up at the ceiling of the cozy tree house. He wanted to sleep so badly, but when he lied down, his dreams refused to come. After about ten minutes, he decided if he cant sleep, he might as well bid his time.

Ward levitated the spell book he had been reading earlier over to him, and cracked it open. The book really did have some vary interesting spells in it, magic he would no doubt refit to be more useful.

He laughed quietly to himself. With all the spells hes rewired, he could publish his own spell book. Maybe that’s what he would do when the conflict finally ended.

So, is she really who we've been searching for?

Ward gasped a bit as he felt the flow of thoughts and emotions that accompanied the telepathic connection. There was no other feeling like it. For a brief moment as the minds connect, its impossible to tell what emotions and thoughts belong to who.

Ward closed his eyes, allowing the telepathy spell to connect to his mind, so he wouldn’t loss it. “I think so.” He thought. “She was celestias student, and she is vary gifted in magic.”

She has no drive, and no ambition. The other wielders have all joined causes to aid in the war except her. She just sits in this tree, waiting for her old teacher to tell her what to do.

“Have you been scrying me?”

No, I cant and you know it. I just peak into your head and tap into your senses on occasion.

“Shes been through a lot, ok? All she needs is some guidance, that’s why im here.” He said out loud this time

Your here, because you had a dream you had to be. While I don’t totally agree with the execution, I cant deny that with her and her friends, we might have an edge. Just remember, we know nothing about who this mare has become.

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Ward pushed his the mares mind out of his own, not forcefully, but enough for her to know that she was no longer welcome. As there minds separated, ward again felt the flow of confusing thoughts and emotions. He closed his eyes, waiting for them to pass.

With his mind free for the moment, he returned to his book.

Spike watched the powerful unicorn return to his book from the stairs, the light from his horn casting an eerie blue glow around the room. It was a good thing twilight had charmed the windows so no pony could see him casting spells through them.

He didn’t know why, but something about the pony made spike feel uneasy. And the way he was just talking to himself didn’t help him feel any safer around him.

Spike returned to his and twilight’s room, quietly pondering what he had just seen and heard.

“Ok, so either hes crazy, or he was using magic to talk to some pony. What did he mean by Twilight needing guidance, and what is he supposed to keep in mind?” Spike paced back and forth in front of his basket.

“Oh, if only I knew.”

“Who?” Owlishis asked, flying into the room. He landed on twilight’s bed post, and starred down at the baby dragon.

“Warding soul.” Spike said, walking up to the owl. “Theirs something off about him, but I don’t know what it is.”

“Who?”

“The pony downstairs, the unicorn!”

“Who!”

“Oh, never mind.” spike said, waving a claw at the owl.

“Oh, I thought I heard talking in here.” Twilight said, walking into the room, causing spike to jump. “Spike, what are you doing up, I thought you went to bed.”

“Oh, umm... I did, but I, ugh, went to get a drink. Yea. Then Owlishis flew in and started his, “who-ing”.”

“Well, try and get some sleep. We have a big day tomorrow.”

“Maybe you should get some rest to twilight. You look really tired.”

“I will in a bit. I'm really close to a brake through, I can feel it.”

“Alright, just don't burn yourself out.”

Twilight went over to her desk and continued her reading. Spike returned to his basket, to try and get some rest. He wasn’t sure how mush sleep he was going to get having a stranger in his house.