Moving the Stars

Moving the Stars

Story 2

Chapter 1: I Told You

By: FluttersIsAwesome

After his lecture, Astro had left me to my own devices, so I decided to actually do some work for once.  The library was dark, but a simple luminosity spell fixed that problem easily. I looked around for the book I was currently supposed to be reading: "Behind the Magic". It was somewhat hard to navigate through the narrow aisles that were formed by the immense bookshelves, but somehow I managed.

When I found the book, I pulled it out with a little spell. Setting it on the table, I began to flip through the pages. Seeing as how I was, and still am, such an amazing pony, reading posed no challenge to me. The more I read, the more immersed in the text I became. It delved deep into the secrets of mastering powerful spells, such as shape shifting, object materialization, and even a spell to give a non-pegasus pony wings.

Again, I am the Great and Powerful Trixie. I finished the book in about an hour despite its length. Closing the book with a great yawn, I stood up and began the trip back to my room. My bedroom was, without a doubt, my favorite room in the entire mansion. The large, queen-sized bed was tailored just for me. The brilliant silver sheets and gorgeous light-blue quilt and pillows matched me perfectly. Every morning I would awaken to the image of the greatest unicorn in Equestria looking at me from the other side of the gold-rimmed mirror, and the ceiling was painted to mimic a clear night sky. Each star was placed perfectly into its proper position with the glistening moon outshining them all.

As I tried to get to sleep, I began to recall how I even came here. I had been studying magic since I was a small filly, and my parents believe that I had the talent to take advanced studies. Thoroughly convinced of my amazing power, they signed me on to take the test required of all unicorns wishing to graduate to advanced studies. For a pony like myself, the test was simple: hatch a baby dragon. It would have been no small feat for any other pony, but for me hatching the dragon was easier than brushing my teeth.

After passing the test with flying colors, I was given a mentor and taken to his dwelling. When I first met Astro, however, I drew back. Before me stood a colt that was maybe a year older than me. I was incredibly reluctant to believe that he could even think he was powerful enough to teach me, but for the sake of making my parents happy I went along with it.

To this day I both regret my decision and praise myself for it.

That morning when I woke up, eager to make Astro eat his words. Contrary to my normal routine of making my bed neatly and grooming myself for an hour, I simply jumped out of bed and ran down the stairs toward the door. I opened it hastily and ran out into the courtyard where Astro was standing, tapping his hoof while waiting for me.

"So, you actually came. Good, I didn't think you would, Trixie."

The smile that appeared on his face made did nothing irritate me. “You’re a jerk.”

He ignored my comment. "So, are you ready? I found a spell I think you'll find very useful, especially considering the fact that you wish to be a Sage."

I nodded hurriedly. "Whatever it is you have, I'll master it in half the time you did!"

Astro laughed, irritating me further. "You have no idea how good it feels to hear you being so enthusiastic, nor any idea how delighted I was to find you in the library for once. It's quite the contrast to your normal attitude. Did my lecture last night make you change your perspective?"

Rolling my eyes, I agreed. "Kind of. I’m here to prove to you that I am deserving of my title. I am great and powerful."

Astro raised an eyebrow. “Alright then. Let’s see if you can actually do it."

Scoffing at him, I flipped my mane as a sign of brushing him off. “I can.”

His continued optimism and smiling began to change my attitude. I began to think that he really did have faith in me as he spoke. "Alright, Trixie. This is one of those spells that a pony must work on gradually in order to master." He motioned to a set of plates that were sitting on the left picnic table. "You see those plates there? This is a telekinesis spell, but not the simple kind. It involves much more concentration, and the spell renders the user immobile while it is being used. Now, I want you to-Trixie!"

My giggling was rather loud, and he caught on quick. Astro's accent always made it sound funny when he pronounced the "or" sound, and today, despite my excitement, was no different. However, I jumped up and focused on the subject at hand when he called my name. "Sorry, Astro, I-"

"Had your mind on other things?" He rolled his eyes, but chose to overlook my little distraction. "Okay, time to get back on track. The way this spell works is like this." He closed his eyes and his horn began to glow.

As I turned to the plates, one of them had risen and was spinning rather fast, like a saw. While I was still facing it, it flew right past me with blinding speed and lodged itself halfway into a large oak tree about 90 feet away. I turned to him and tapped my hoof. I wasn’t impressed.

"It's a bit more complicated than your average telekinetic magic. It's required to move heavier objects, but all unicorns that wish to learn this spell must first start off small. Are you ready?"

Eagerly I made my way over to him, picking up a plate with my own magic. When I saw him smile at me, for some reason I felt gratified to know that he was actually happy to have me there for once.

At once he began to explain, "The way this spell differs is in the way it's executed. A normal spell only consists of picking up an object and telling it where to go. This spell tells an item where to go and also how to get there. It's different because with a normal spell, you tell the plate to hit the tree. With this spell, you tell the plate to hit the tree at a 45 degree angle while doing seven loopy-loops and a u-turn. Not only that, but the reason the user becomes immobilized is because the pony quite literally puts their mind into an object, almost as if they are the object. This is what allows the unicorn in question to move heavier objects."

While he spoke I became lost in his words. My mind began to drift, and I soon found myself in a daydream.

I heard nothing around me and I wasn't really "seeing" anything around me, either. I looked around at the adoring crowd in front of my stage as I lifted up my front hooves. “Yes, yes, my adoring fans. I know it’s hard for you to contain your excitement, but be calm. The Great and Powerful Trixie shall not disappoint.” I turned to the sky and my horn glowed. I looked at the stars as they began to move, controlled by my spell.

I forced them to take the shape of my amazing and majestic profile, and all of my adoring fans screamed. It almost brought a tear to my eye as I observed the crowd. They knew who I was, and they respected me; everything was as it should be. I turned back to them with a smile and waved my hat. “Yes, yes, Trixie knows she is great.”

I then saw Astro in the crowd and drew back. "Trixie. Trixie. Trixie. TRIXIE!"

Reality came crashing down upon me again. Astro was looking at me with a rather angry expression, and I knew he had realized I drifted off.

"Repeat what I just told you."

I couldn’t and just hid behind a nervous grin, as I was far too lost with my fantasy to pay any attention to his instructions. I tried to think of something to say, but all that came out was, “Bah, you got me.”

"I thought as much. Trixie, I appreciate you trying to take magic seriously, but you've got to focus." He repeated his instructions to me, this time demonstrating while he explained. This made it easier to focus on.

Now that I had actually heard his explanation, I was ready. I picked up a plate and closed my eyes. The image of the plate rising and flying into the tree formed in my mind. I replayed this scene in my head, each time with a new addition. First I made the plate spin, then I made it curve as it flew, and finally I made it do a loopy-loop just for fun. I opened my eyes when I heard the sound of shattering ceramic, and saw that the plate had fallen in front of me.

Astro shook his head. "Trixie, listen to me. I told you that you have to do this quickly. An untrained unicorn will only be able to hold the object in this way for a short time, so you have to take it to its destination quickly. Try again."

I did just that. I took out the loopy-loop this time around, and although I didn't make it to the tree, I did make the plate move about nine feet. I kept trying, and eventually I began to get tired.

Astro heard me panting slightly and put a hoof on my shoulder. "Take a rest, multiple uses of this spell can get tiring. Sit down and I'll bring you some water."

Left to my own devices when he departed, I sat and continued my wonderful daydream. Astro had no idea how earnestly I wished for those dreams to come true, and I knew I was more than capable of making that dream come true. I looked at the stack of plates in front of me and realized that it had dwindled down to one. I wondered what he would say if I pulled it off without him even being there, so I closed my eyes, but before picking up the plate, I envisioned the movement. I pictured myself flying off of the table and toward the tree, cutting into it until my spin was finally slowed to a stop. I kept imagining it before picking up the plate, which made me a bit more confident in my ability to actually move the plate.

I opened my eyes at the sudden sound of glass breaking and turned to see where the sound had come from. My eyes widened as I saw Astro standing in front of me with a shallow cut on his cheek and the pieces of broken glass in the small water puddle in front of him. But what excited me the most was what I saw when I looked behind him. There, stuck in the tree right under Astro's plate...was my own! I did it! I turned to Astro, who was now almost in my face, and I looked at his cut again. "Um, sorry Astro."

He paused for a moment, as if to say something, then burst into laughter. "Well done, Trixie, well done! That was superb! Not only did you get the plate to the tree, you also pulled off a spin too, enough to cut my face, I might add." He stopped me as I went to speak. "Don't worry about it, I've had worse. This is just a scratch, don't worry about it! I'm proud of you, Trixie. It looks like you've remembered the reason you're here." He began to clap happily as he chuckled. “You may just prove me wrong.”

I grinned at him proudly. “See, Astro? I am great and powerful.”