A Lesson in Magic

by OkieDokieLokie

First published May 26th, 2012 01:44

Cheerilee teaches her students about the magic that all Ponies have, but the Cutie Mark Crusaders are left with some unanswered questions. So they ask their personal heroes for more information.
My first attempt at posting this story failed for being too short, so I added a lot to it. Let's hope this version passes moderation.

Chapters

Cheerilee
Applejack
Rainbow Dash
Rarity

Cheerilee
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A Lesson in Magic

Cheerilee

“All right, my little ponies. It’s time for our final lesson of the day.” Cheerilee smiled at her students. “We’re going to learn about magic.” Sweetie Belle leaned forward so fast she tumbled out of her desk, earning snickers from Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. “No, no, Sweetie Belle, I can’t teach you to do magic, I’m going to teach you about magic. Now, who can tell me where a Pony stores her magic?”
“In her horn!” Sweetie Belle eagerly replied.
“Well, you’re partly right. Unicorns do have magic in their horns, but what about Peguses and Earth Ponies? Anypony?” Diamond Tiara raised her hoof. “Yes, Diamond Tiara?”
“Earth Ponies have magic in our hooves.” She and Silver Spoon high-hoofed.
“Very good. Now what about Peguses?”
“Ooh, ooh, ooh!” Scootaloo waved her foreleg in the air. “In our wings!”
“Well, you’re close. Technically, the magic is in your feathers,” Cheerilee replied, “Now what do horns, hooves, and feathers have in common?”
“They’re all magic.” Apple Bloom answered.
“Yes, but what I meant is that they’re all made on keratin.” Cheerilee picked up a piece of and wrote KERATIN on the blackboard. “Our coats, manes, and tails are also made of keratin. Now then, there are two types of keratin, magical and non-magical. Earth Ponies’ hooves, Unicorns’ horns, and Peguses’ feathers are made of magical keratin. Unicorns’ and Peguses’ hooves are made of non-magical keratin. All Ponies’ coats are made of non-magical keratin, but our manes and tails are made of magical keratin. That’s how we’re able to lift things with our tails, even though they have no muscles,” She lifted her chair with her tail to demonstrate, “and that’s also why Princess Celestia and Princess Luna’s manes and tails seem to move, even when there’s no wind.”
“Miss Cheerilee,” Silver Spoon asked, “since Earth Ponies have four hooves, Peguses have two wings, and Unicorns have one horn, does that mean Earth Ponies have the most magic, and Unicorns have the least?”
“That’s dumb,” Sweetie Belle glared at her, “everypony knows that Unicorns have the most magic and Earth Ponies have the least.”
“Whadaya mean bay that!?” Apple Bloom yelled at her friend.
“Yeah, nopony’s more powerful than Rainbow Dash!” Scootaloo chimed in.
“Quiet, all of you.” Cheerilee regained control of her students. “Actually, everypony, except for the princesses and a few others, has exactly the same amount of magic. The reason Unicorns seem more magical is because Unicorn magic is more concentrated, and not spread out life other Ponies. The bell cut the lesson short. “Well, that’s all the time we have. Have a wonderful afternoon, class.”

Applejack
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A Lesson in Magic

Applejack

Applejack returned from the orchard, pulling a wagonload of apples. She was ready to haul them to the market, when she saw her little sister, Apple Bloom, sitting by the barn, her hooves pressed together and her face twisted. “What in tarnation are you doin’?”
“Ah’m tryin’ ta do magic. We learned in school that all Ponies have the same amount of magic, but Unicorn magic is concentrated and Earth Pony magic is spread out. Ah thought if Ah put mah hooves together and concentrated, Ah could do magic like a Unicorn.” Apple Bloom’s attention returned to the hoof-sized rock she was trying to levitate.
“Ya silly filly,” Applejack couldn’t help but chuckle at her sister’s enthusiasm, “not that kinda concentrate. She meant that Unicorns have their magic crammed into those little horns, and us Earth Ponies got it spread out in our big ol’ hooves.” Apple Bloom looked disappointed. “Now doncha go makin’ that face. Earth Ponies like us can do magic without even tryin’.”
“Really?” Apple Bloom looked excited, then confused, “How?”
“It’s simple, really. Earth Pony magic is connected to every livin’ thing. Whenever an Earth Pony walks on the ground, her magic goes into the soil. Then the plants that grow in the soil get bigger and stronger. That’s why Earth Ponies make such great farmers. And there’s more. Me and Big Macintosh are so strong, we should be causin’ some serious harm to the trees when we’re Applebuckin’. But we don’t even scratch the bark, cause of our magic protectin’ the trees.”
“Cool.” Apple Bloom responded. Then a thought occurred to her. “But what about Earth Ponies who ain’t farmers?”
“They have different ways of usin’ their magic.” Applejack thought up a few examples. “Take a look Pinkie Pie. Her magic connects her to other Ponies. That’s how she can knows how to make anypony happy. And the Cakes are connected to the ingredients in their cookin’, that’s why their sweets taste so good. Cheerilee’s magic connects her to youngun’s, that’s why she’s such a good teacher. And there are others who are connected to critters and stones and metals and all sorts of things. Do ya understand Earth Pony magic now?”
“You’re the best, Applejack.”

Rainbow Dash
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A Lesson in Magic

Rainbow Dash

Scootaloo buzzed through town on her scooter, eagerly searching the clouds above her. Finally, she spotted her target, a rainbow-colored tail dangling off the edge of a cloud in a field outside of town. “HEY, RAINBOW DASH!!!” She yelled at the top of her lungs. Scootaloo saw the Pegasus she adores roll off the edge of the cloud and almost instantly recover, making a perfect landing in front of the filly. “Wow, nice recovery.”
“Kid,” Rainbow Dash looked slightly annoyed, “what is so important that you would interrupt my valuable naptime?”
“Rainbow Dash, how does Pegasus magic work?” Scootaloo looked at her hero with huge eyes.
“Sheesh, Scoots,” Dash rolled her eyes.” We use it to fly and walk on clouds and do Pegasus stuff. It’s intuitive.”
“But birds fly and walk on clouds without magic.” Scootaloo pointed out.
Rainbow Dash grabbed the filly by the tail and lifted her up into the air. The two settled down on the cloud and Dash began a lengthy explanation. “It’s like this, kiddo. Birds can fly without magic because they have hollow bones. But if Pegases had hollow bones, we would be too fragile to do all the awesome stunts, like the WonderBolts, or me. And if we didn’t have magic, we wouldn’t be able to fly, let alone carry a passenger.” Dash winked at Scootaloo. “We’d be too heavy. But thanks to Pegasus magic, I once flew with three fully grown Pegases on my back and Rarity in my hooves.”
“Wow, I wish I could have seen that.” Scootaloo looked at Dash with awe. “But how come some Pegases are way better at flying than others, like you.”
“Well, my special talent is flying fast, but other Pegases use their magic for their own special talents. Take a look at Fluttershy,” Rainbow Dash thought of her closest Pegasus friend. “You know that she’s not much of a flier, but that’s because she uses so much of her magic is used to communicate with her animal friends. She doesn’t have that much flight magic. It’s the same with all of us. Some Pegases use their magic to make clouds and snowflakes and rainbows, so they don’t have much magic left over for flying. You get it?”
“You’re the best, Rainbow Dash.” Scootaloo gave her a big hug. “I hope my special talent is flying fast, so I can be just like you.”

Rarity
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A Lesson in Magic

Rarity

After school, Sweetie Belle walked into The Carousel Boutique, her big sister Rarity’s business, and home. Sweetie wished Rarity still lived at home with her, but she understood that living in one’s place of business cut down on commute time, and allowed Ponies more flexible working hours. She hoped that her sister had time to chat, because Cheerilee’s lesson left her with a few questions. “Hay, Sis, are you busy?” she asked.
“I think I can spare a few minutes for my beloved little sister.” Rarity had been much nicer to Sweetie Belle since they had competed in The Sisterhooves Social. “What do you need, dear?”
“We learned about magic in school today, and Miss Cheerilee said that most Ponies have the same amount of magic. But Twilight Sparkle has way more magic than you do-” Sweetie didn’t get to finish her thought.
“Oh, you think so, do you?” Rarity looked angry at having her magical abilities called into question.
“Well, yeah, she can doo all sorts of cool spells, and she lifted an Ursa Minor, and she gave you wings, and-” Rarity cut her off again.
“Well, can Twilight Sparkle do this?” She closed her eyes, and her horn began to glow white. Suddenly, Rarity’s dressmaking dummies all jumped to life. She moved them in an elegant waltz, dancing to a melody that Rarity hummed. Sweetie Belle watched, mesmerized. Then, bolts of cloth, spools of thread, and chests of gems joined in the dance. After the song ended, Rarity put all of her items back in their original positions. To Sweetie’s amazement, Rarity had done the whole thing with her eyes closed. “No, she can’t.”
All Sweetie could say was, “Wow.”
“I know Twilight may seem more powerful than I, but that’s because we use different styles. Twilight can do many spells, but she stumbles with intricate details like what you just saw. My levitation spell is very strong, and my gem-finding spell is intuitive, but I struggle with more powerful magic. Do you understand now, Sweetie Bell?”
“I think so, Sis. Thanks for explaining it to me.”