Magic Song

Chapter Two: Dropping In

Twilight Sparkle sat in the Golden Oak library, flipping through a book and humming to herself. It was a typical summer day in Ponyville, warm and peaceful, with shafts of sunlight streaming indoors from every angle. The violet-colored unicorn nestled deeper into the cushion of the window seat, making herself comfortable. She still had fifty-seven pages to read, and she wanted to get her assignment done by tonight.

Scrolls and quills littered the floor of the library; Twilight had been too busy to clean them up while Spike – her dragon assistant – was out running errands for her friend Rarity. The essay she had to write was, quite frankly, calling her name. As she delved deeper into the mysteries of spells, history, and unicorn lore, Twilight couldn’t help but feel as if all was right with the world. Nothing could faze her today.

Which just proved how wrong her instincts could be sometimes.

As Twilight turned another page, a sudden rush of cold air overwhelmed her, flicking the leaves of her open book until she'd hopelessly lost her page. It disappeared as quickly as it had come. However, even the lingering feeling chilled her to the bone. She squinted toward the windows, checking for open latches or wide cracks that could let breezes in, but each one was shut tight. The door was closed, too. So what had caused the shiver-inducing wind?

The unicorn stood, stretching the kinks in her withers, then trotted over to the front loft window and shifted the curtains just a tiny bit, gazing out into Ponyville’s main square. It looked the same as ever – small thatched-roof houses surrounding a fountain and bed of flowers, well-maintained to the point of perfection. Nothing seemed to have changed, and to Twilight's mind, that left only one logical solution: magic.

Twilight’s eyes crossed as she attempted to peer up at her horn and gauge the level of magic around her. Her horn always seemed more sensitive when someone performed any type of magic, large or small. The more her horn tingled, the larger the spell was. When she concentrated, Twilight could feel that the tip of the horn was making her lean a little to the right, signaling that the sudden flare of magical energy had originated nearby or inside the Everfree Forest, which did absolutely nothing to make her feel better. The forest was dark, mysterious, and creepy – no place for a pony in most cases, unless there was an emergency. She wondered whether a huge burst of magic was a cause for panic or not. No, she thought, but it’s definitely an emergency in one way or another.

Throwing a few scrolls, quills, and ink into a pair of saddlebags, along with a flask of water and an envelope for samples, Twilight trotted down the stairs into the main part of the library. It was just as messy as the second floor, but the violet unicorn didn’t blink an eye. She went to the bookstand and scribbled a hasty note to Spike on a scrap of parchment, informing him of her location and that she would be back shortly. Then she opened the door and left without a second glance.

The streets of Ponyville were broad and long, and Twilight could easily gallop along the road without being plowed down by wagons or other pedestrians. She passed the outdoor market, pausing only to wave a foreleg at her friend Applejack, who was in the midst of haggling with a customer at the Sweet Apple Acres stand. The cobblestones of the street were warm on her hooves, but Twilight barely noticed. The closer she got to the edge of the town, the more tingly her horn was growing. She was starting to get a little bit nervous.

Okay,a lot nervous.

The small stretch of countryside was quiet and heavy with the scent of wildflowers. As Twilight ran past the faded sign announcing Welcome to Ponyville!, a hard knot formed in the pit of her stomach. The horn’s magic sensor was pulling her down a familiar dirt road, one that led to a certain yellow pegasus’s cottage.

She picked up the pace, galloping harder than before in an attempt to get to Fluttershy’s home and discover what had happened. It wasn't hard to imagine the poor soft-spoken pony cowering in the corner while something large and black loomed over her, magical energy pouring from its body in waves.

It was a crazy thought, and Twilight knew it. But her shy friend could be frightened by the smallest things, and the purple unicorn knew that she might be needed. The cottage was coming into view atop a small hill, and in two seconds Twilight had sprinted to the door, her horn’s sensitivity off the charts. She was usually able to suppress magical auras when the need arose, but it had been a while since anything had required suppressing, and this spell was obviously a doozy. She knocked gently, trying with all her might to keep from pounding on the door with both hooves.

It slid open a tiny bit, and Twilight stuck her eye up to the crack. No one seemed to be answering, but by now the violet unicorn was used to looking down and spotting one of Fluttershy’s animal friends when she was let inside. Today, Angel the bunny was at the door. He looked suspicious at first, but spread the door wider at the sight of Twilight. “Thanks, Angel,” she said to him, a small smile twisting at the corners of her muzzle. “Would you mind telling me where Fluttershy is?”

Angel pointed a paw at the door to the backyard. Nothing seemed wrong inside the house, and Twilight was becoming increasingly confused. What magical energy, powerful enough to reach me in the library, would have come from Fluttershy’s backyard? she thought. It seemed so illogical. Fluttershy wasn’t even a unicorn, for Celestia’s sake.

Twilight pulled the back door open and stepped hesitantly out into the yard. The chicken coop stood in the corner, and a gate led farther out into the Everfree Forest. A pale yellow pegasus mare with a flowing pink mane and tail was hunched over something – no, multiple somethings – that were lying in a heap on the grass. Twilight cleared her throat, and the pegasus whirled around in surprise.

“Oh! Twilight, you startled me,” she said softly. Her muzzle broke into a relieved smile as the violet unicorn trotted over to give her a hug. “I wasn’t expecting to see you today. Did Angel let you in?”

“Yes, he did. I’m sorry I startled you.” Twilight said apologetically. She set down her saddlebags and peered over Fluttershy’s shoulder at the multicolored heap of fur. “What in Equestria is that? Are some of the animals sick?”

“Oh, no,” Fluttershy said, a slight blush creeping across her face. “No, the animals are fine. These are, um…”

As the Pegasus spoke, one of the colored blobs stirred and moaned. Twilight rushed over to it and, grabbing a clump of fur in her teeth, yanked. The orange blob fell away from the rest of the pile and gained shape and definition. Fluttershy let out a slow, timid breath; at the same time, Twilight realized exactly what had made her horn so tingly.

An unrecognizable unicorn pony lay on Fluttershy’s lawn, flanks heaving as he tried to breathe.

Twilight bent down to look at the unicorn, lifting the water flask out of her bag as she did so. “These ponies need help, Fluttershy,” she said. “Run into town and get Applejack and Rarity for me, okay?”

Fluttershy nodded, but hesitated. "Twilight...do you think they're okay? They don't look so good..."

"They're going to be fine," Twilight reassured her friend. She could feel her heart rate going down too, and the scenario she'd imagined with the big black monster was seeming more and more impossible. "It honestly just looks like he's never teleported so many, so far before. A little rest and some water, and they'll get over the headaches eventually."

Fluttershy still didn't look convinced, but after one more lingering look over the pony pile decorating her lawn, gave a quick nod and dashed back into her house. A door slammed, there was an inexplicable crash, then Twilight heard nothing but hoofsteps as her friend galloped up the dirt road back to Ponyville.

Turning back to the pile of unconscious ponies, Twilight reached her muzzle in and started to pull them apart.

Soon, Twilight had managed to separate the tangled ponies and lay them out on the grass. Their eyes were closed, and if not for the fact that they were all mumbling and gasping for air, they could have been sleeping soundly. When they woke up, Twilight remembered, they would be slightly dazed and unsure of their surroundings, all common symptoms for newbie teleporters. Twilight herself had been nauseous for a week after her first practice with the difficult spell.

The unicorn took the time to study each pony as she waited for them to relax. There were two grey Earth ponies; one lighter, one darker, but both the same color. They also both had spike black manes and tails. The bigger (and lighter) stallion had a red bandanna tied around his ears. His cutie mark was a pair of drumsticks, crossed in an x. His counterpart (brother?)'s cutie mark consisted of two connected bronze gears superimposed on a wavering musical staff.

The other two were unicorns. The green one, the smallest of all of them, had a bright red mane held in place by a securely fastened yellow clip. Twilight wasn't sure what her cutie mark - a pair of blue soundwaves - meant. The orange one -

The orange one coughed and stirred, eyes flickering open, so Twilight levitated the water flask to his lips and popped out the cork. “Here,” she said, shoving it into his face. “Drink this.”

The unicorn sputtered, water running down his chin. “What was that for,” he moaned. “I’m fine…”

“Well, you don’t look fine.” Twilight lifted one of the stallion's eyelids and examined his bright blue irises. “I mean, you look normal, but something’s wrong with you. I can’t put my hoof on it, but –”

“Huh? Hoof?”

The unicorn struggled to get up, but Twilight pushed him down.

“You need to rest. I think you’ve just been through the biggest teleportation in your life.” She placed her horn onto his, trying to gauge the level of magic he’d used, but there was no magical residue on him; he hadn’t caused the energy flash. In fact, it seemed like he’d never done any magic in his life. The orange unicorn fell back to the ground, unconscious, as Twilight took a deep breath and lifted her gaze to the others. Can the younger, smaller unicorn possibly have done this?

And if neither of these two performed the teleportation spell on their own, who had done it for them?