New Beginnings

Twilight was a very patient mare. After all the things she had to deal with in her life, she had to be. A trait that also allowed her to work difficult problems both numerical and chemical that required a great deal of time. She also had the stubbornness to keep going to solve any problem that came her way. In spite of all this, she was not exactly the most socially gifted pony. More often than not, she had a hard time connecting with most ponies outside of her circle of friends and family. Because of this, she had almost no idea what to do to help her new house guest. For the past three weeks she tried to initiate some form of interaction with the mystery stallion, but aside from the occasional nod or request for the bathroom, she got nothing. She did find out that he liked salads, a fact shown by how if she brought him anything else he'd ignore it. It was an improvement in attitudes of sorts when she compared it to how he had acted the day after she saved him, but just barely.

"I just don't know what to do Spike," she groaned as she laid her head down onto the kitchen table.

"Maybe if you talked to him, he'll open up," he suggested, nervously moving his spoon around in his serial bowl.

"I've tried, but he doesn't react! I could probably give him a lecture on the entire history of the Crystal Empire and be lucky if I got him to do more than blink!"

Spike put a claw to his chin.

"Maybe we could have Pinkie come over. If she can't get a reaction out of him, no pony can."

"That's what I'm afraid of," Twilight sighed, lifting her head. "What if he reacts badly to her goofball antics? What if he feels cornered and lashes out? We don't know enough about him to risk leaving him in a room alone with Pinkie Pie. For now, we'll need to be patient and see if we can get him to open up more before we resort to sicking Pinkie Pie on him."

"If you say so.

***

"Here's your lunch, a basic salad like always," Twilight said, lowering the plate and fork onto the table by the bed. The unicorn blankly stared at the offering.

"Thank you," he whispered.

At this point, Twilight would've normally left the room and let him eat whenever he got around to it, but this time, she opted to break away from said routine.

With a sigh, she walked up to the left side of the bed.

"Look, I understand that you have been through a lot and probably don't want to talk about it, but I want you to know that I'm willing to help if you'd let me. So.....please? Will you let me help you?"

He stared at her with the same dull violet eyes that he always did.

Twilight let out a defeated sigh and in a slightly sarcastic tone, said "Can I at least get a name?"

Then, something happened that made Twilight's jaw drop; he raised a hoof to his chin, as if contemplating something and with a bit more life in his eyes and voice said "Noon Scribe. My name is Noon Scribe."

Twilight's shock slowly shifted into glee as once again, she introduced herself to the stallion known as Noon Scribe.

Finally. Progress.

***

The first thing I noticed about my new body was that it was a lot easier to operate then I thought. After I got over my mental breakdown I decided I should at least see how it worked and found that walking on all fours as a pony didn't feel all that different from how it felt when I was human. The only main difference being that it actually felt comfortable to do so and my limbs weren't mix-matched so I didn't feel like an idiot. I also found that using my hooves to pickup things wasn't any different from using my old hands, though I'll admit the whole no finger thing took some getting use to. The only shock that came to me was when I got a look at my new reflection. I looked almost exactly like my profile pic on Fimfiction! The only differences were that my eye and mane colors were purple instead of white and black. I also seemed to have a somewhat bulkier build than most of the unicorns I saw in the show, not anywhere close to Bulk Biceps' proportions (Thank God), but maybe a little bigger than Big Mac. My Cutie Mark didn't surprise me that much; a quill and ink-pot that started out bright orange from the top but shifted into a dark red as you got to the bottom. My horn had another feature that made my body slightly differ from my profile pic. Instead of coming out to a point it curved up into the shape of a crescent moon.

Ever sense that day, I made it my mission to figure out how to use it. It was a long and taxing war that lasted for a somewhat disappointing two hours. Turns out being a human gave you a head start on magic channeling. All I had to do was pretend the purple energy coming out of my head was another arm and boom, basic levitation. Of course, I'm going to assume that other magic-related abilities take a hell of a lot more work and effort. Otherwise I'm gonna end up one-upping Star Swirl when it comes to magic.

But even with all that in mind, I still felt.......dead inside.

All drive to use any of my new features only went as far as what was absolutely necessary, such as fallowing Twilight to the bathroom or getting food to my mouth. The rest of the time was spent on sleeping, but with repeated nightmares of my former life haunting me, that time was anything but restful. Each day, Twilight would try to talk to me, but I kept my metaphorical distance. I knew that eventually, she would get sick of me and send me away and when she did, my mental defenses would keep as much of the pain out as possible. After a while, a routine had been built between us, she'd leave me food, try to engage in some small talk with me, then leave. It was a simple routine, but one that I grew to like to some degree. Then, Twilight did something I didn't think she was capable of; she broke the routine. Not only that, but when she asked me to let her help me, I could feel the sincerity in her words. She genuinely wanted to help me. With those words, a part of myself that I thought died a long time ago stirred, and no sooner had she asked me for a name, the gates to my emotional stronghold opened, not completely, but enough to grant her request.

When I saw that joyous smile grace her muzzle, I opened the doors to my heart a little further to let myself step out. And, with tears welling up in my eyes said something that at that point felt long over due.

"Thank you.......for saving me Twilight."

***

"Okay," I mumbled, skimming through a row of books in the library's walls. "Schools of Unicorn Magic..........Schools of Unicorn Magic....... Where is that damn book?"

It's been a week since I stepped out of my self-induced isolation and things have been really looking up. Twilight gave me full access to the castle. The only exceptions were Twilight's room and her lab, but that was kind've obvious. Most of the time I stayed in the Library trying to get a better grasp on my situation.

Today I thought I'd see if there was any kind of Unicorn magic that I would want to make my Focus. According to The Compendium Of The Arcane (Yesterday's bit of light reading) all Unicorns could use any one of eight different types of magic called Schools of Focus that tapped into that particular Unicorn's advanced magical abilities. The book didn't say what the Schools were, but it did mention a book that did.

Seriously, if the damn thing was going to mention them why not go the extra mile and actually talk about them, I thought bitterly as I continued my search through the maze of books.

Eventually, I managed to find the elusive tome hiding in the darkest corner of the library's rear shelves.

"Finally," I sighed as I pulled the book to me with my magic.

I still can't believe how easy levitation is, I thought, a slight grin tugging at my lips. Maybe that's my Focus. Huh.......Actually, now that I think of it, that would really kind've suck.

Gently laying the heavy book down onto one of the tables in the library's study areas, I sat down on my haunches and opened the cover. What happened next I should've seen coming. The second I opened the book a pink pony with a super curly dark pink mane popped out yelling "Surprise!!!" fallowed by a thick cloud of confetti and streamers.

With a startled yelp, I fell backwards and landed on my back with a hard thud.

Pinkie Pie......Of course.

"Hiya! Wereyousurprised!? Youlooksurprised! Myname'sPinkiePiebythewayandIwantedtoofficiallywelcomeyoutoPonyville!"

"Jesus Christ!" I exclaimed, hoof over my hammering heart. "You damn near gave me a heart attack!"

"Oh! Uh, sorry,"Pinkie said, smiling sheepishly as she stepped off of the table.

"It's....okay, I guess," I sighed, staggering to my hooves. "Just....don't do that again."

After what was probably the most awkward three minutes of Pinkie staring at me with borderline Cutie Map level creepiness.

"So...." I said, rubbing the back of my neck.

"Yeah!?"

"I'm gonna do a bit of research for a few minutes so if you'll excuse me."

"OH! Okay! Don't mind me," she smiled, sitting down next to me.

"Okay then."

With that I turned to the table of contents.

Let's see. Magical Focuses............Magical Focuses............AH FUCK IT!

"Can I help you?" I asked, flashing a stiff smile.

"What's you're hobbies?" she asked, ignoring my subtle display of irritation.

My temper dimmed as her sudden question took me aback.

"Hobbies?"

"Yeah!"

"Why ya wanna know?"

"Just cuz!"

I gave her a dead ban look then put a hoof to my chin in thought.

Would my hobbies make any sense over here? I mean, yeah, reading and writing work, but what about gaming and TCGs? I guess I could just go with the safer option for now and see if I can use the others later.

"I like books," I said finally.

Pinkie smiled.

"Oh, so your like Twilight!"

"I guess?"

"Neat! Where do you come from?"

"Uh....."

C'mon man! Think of something! Just pick a city! It's not that hard!
"Cloudsdale."

FUCKING DUMB ASS!!!

"Really? Wow! You must be really good at that cloud walking spell."

"Uh, yeah, absolutely," I laughed awkwardly.

Okay, mental note: make an origin story as soon as fucking possible!

"Did you work in a library before coming to Ponyville?"

"No, I was a writer."

Not technically a lie, I thought, feeling my Jimminy Cricket kicking me in the balls.

"Oh, so no wonder Twilight likes ya."

"I gu-wait what?"

"Your her coltfriend, right?"

My jaw dropped.

"What?! No! I'm NOT her coltfriend. I'm just some guy she pulled off of the streets"

"Oh," Pinkie awkwardly chuckled. "Sorry."

"It's okay," I sighed. "I guess anypony would make that call."

She nodded, scooting up a little closer.

"I guess. So, do ya drink or not?"

I rased a brow.

"Yeah I drink. Why?"

She laughed.

"So I know who I can invite to your 'Welcome to Ponyville' party silly!"

A Pinkie Party, with booze? Now that's something I could get behind!

"I'm all for a party," I smirked. "Just don't make the guest list all that big, please. I....don't like crowds all that much."

"A Fluttershy package with an Applejack add-on. Okie-dokie-lokie!"

At that moment the library doors opened and a vaguely familiar unicorn mare entered. Her coat was a light shade of pink and her mane and tail was dark purple with a light blue streak running through it. She scanned the room until her lavender eyes landed on Pinkie and I. With an aggravated sigh, she walked towards us.

"Pinkie," she said, sitting down on her haunches next to the mentioned pink mare. "When Princess Twilight said it was safe to visit him, I think she meant together."

"Sorry Starlight," she chuckled, scratching the back of her neck.

My eyes widened as recognition hit me.

This got her attention.

"Are you okay?" she asked, dragging Pinkie's attention back to me.

"Y-Yeah," I stuttered, snapping back to reality. "You just reminded me of somepony I knew, is all."

She eyed me suspiciously.

"You don't say? Anyway, sorry if Pinkie got in the way of anything. She tends to get a little....energetic when it comes to meeting new ponies."

"No problem," I said, enjoying the steady drop in tension in the conversation. "I was just doing a bit of research."

"On what?" Starlight said, tilting her head.

"Magical Focuses. I'm trying to figure out what mine is so I can learn some better spells."

A smirk crossed Starlight's muzzle at that bit of information.

"Really? If you want I could give you a rundown.

"Sure, why not," I shrugged.

Confidently, she straitened her poise, cleared her throat, and began her lecture.

"Aside from conventional spells such as levitation and teleportation, all Unicorns have eight different major forms of magic called Magical Focuses or Focuses for short. These are spells that are compatible with a caster's specific magical energy wavelength and if cast by anypony with an incompatible magic type will either not work or backfire disastrously. The eight Focus types are Illusion, Elemental, Temporal, Rune, Chaos, Security, Pulse, and Void. Illusion uses a pony's senses to create realistic hallucinations to confuse and even traumatize whoever they are used on, though most of the time these types of mages use their skills to entertain others as performers and storytellers."

Trixie immediately popped into my head.

"Elemental mages use their magic to manipulate different aspects of nature such as flames or wind. Most of the time, these mages use there talents to assist farmers, weather teams, or doctors. Temporal mages effect the flow of time and can either move back in time, show past events in a given area, or rewind time to repair damaged items. We often use our powers to provide case evidence in court as well as provide repair services.

"We?"

Starlight blinked.

"Uh, yes, my Focus is Temporal."

"Cool."

A light blush crosses her muzzle at my compliment.

"Thank you," she mumbles, clearing her throat. "Moving on. Rune mages can use words to change the world around them. This can be done either by writing or saying they want the magic to do for them. However, this type of magic can be very taxing on the caster as the more complex the word or sentence the more magic the mage will have to use. Also, it cannot be used to take over a Pony's mind or bend them to the caster's will. As this type of magic is extremely rare, not to many jobs are out there for ponies that have this Focus. Chaos mages can basically do anything, but much like Rune mages, their magic puts a massive tole on them. At the moment, only one living being has access to this type of Focus and not have it effect his health."

Three guesses who.

"Security mages specialize in healing and barrier magic, making them excellent doctors or guardsmen. Some of which have become very well known among the Canterlot elite."

And one point to Shining Armor.

"Pulse mages are one of the most common types of mages and are able to take bits and pieces from the other Focuses and combining them to create completely new spells, though most of the time these mages use their talents to shape their magic into something specifically aimed at their line of work. And finally there's Void, which is designed to cause harm to some pony in some way such as curses, magic draining, destruction, or even death."

That last one really got to me.

"Any Void Unicorns I should know about?"

Starlight sighed.

"Thankfully, no. The last surviving Void Unicorn was Sombra and he disappeared after he was purged from the Crystal Empire."

"That's good to know," I said, letting out a breath I didn't know I was holding.

"Tell me about it," she sighed. "So, from what I told you, do you have any ideas what your Focus might be?"

Before I could answer, Pinkie started hopping in place with a hoof in the air saying "Oo! Oo!".

"Yes Pinkie?" Starlight asked.

"What about Rune?!"

"Rune?" we said in unison.

"Yeah! You said you liked to write didn't ya?" she asked pointing at me.

"Well, yeah but-"

"And you have a ink and quill for a Cutie Mark so your special talent must have something to do with writing."

I couldn't really argue there. When I was human, I always had a love for books. Hell, I had a tenth grade reading and vocab level in fourth grade for beat's sake! The feeling of diving head first into another world gave me such a rush that it was almost like a drug. I liked it so much that I thought I'd give it a go and make my own stories. To my surprise, not only was it a bigger rush, but I wasn't that bad at it. I even thought that my writing could actually change the world in some way, but for my words to literally have that effect on the world around me was a bit much to take in.

"I don't know," I said, staring down at my flank.

"If you want, I could help you understand your magic a bit better," Starlight said, pulling my attention away from my ass.

"Ya sure? I don't wanna clutter up your schedule or anything."

"No it's fine," she laughed. "I live pretty close to the castle and helping out a fellow Unicorn would do wonders for my friendship studies."

An I help you you help me deal eh?

"Sure, why not," I shrugged. "I don't really have that much else to do."

"Excellent," she smiled. "We'll get started on your lessons two days from now."

"Two days? why not tomorrow?"

Starlight looked at Pinkie, smirked, and said, "Because you are gonna be busy tomorrow."