Through the Mist

Chapters

Chapter 6. Meeting of the Minds
Chapter 1. New Beginnings
Chapter 2. Welcome to Ponyville
Chapter 3. Magusitis
Chapter 4. Clouds on the Horizon
Chapter 5. Teaching Misty: The Art of Magic.

Chapter 6. Meeting of the Minds

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Chapter 1. New Beginnings

The Autumn air blew through the trees that surrounded the small town, bringing with it the scents of the season. Sunlight shone through the brightly colored canopies, bathing the area in a golden glow that lit the forest surrounding the town on fire with its brilliance. The rushing sounds of a large waterfall rumbled out through the area, almost drowning out the lighter cacophony of the busy town of Neighagara Falls. It vibrated through the very being of those too close to the waterfall to ignore its overwhelming noise. Mist rose up from the impact, obscuring the far side of the river from view and making it difficult to notice anypony nearby.

At the base of the waterfall could be seen a brown earth pony staring down into the water. Green eyes watching the water flow past with the odd fish as a minor change in scenery, a small contented sigh escaping her lips. As the puff of steam that escaped her muzzle dispersed into the chilled air, fading with the exhale that produced it, the earth pony could swear she heard a voice calling out to her over the rumble of the waterfall. Gazing up and back towards the town she saw another brown pony, this one a bit older than her, maternally loving smile upon the others ever so slightly wrinkled face. Wide brimmed hat and apron with a spade in pocket would easily mark her trade, even if one did not glance down to her flank which bore upon it a bouquet of roses for a cutie mark.

"Honestly, Misty, do I need to start borrowing Mayor Polls megaphone? You gotta start paying more attention," the mare said, concerned eyes surveying over the younger mares face, studying it in careful detail. The mare sighed before continuing to speak, "we got another letter from your brother today. He's doing wonderfully as the newest diplomat for Equestria. Honestly dear, I have to ask again, when are you going to go out and make something of your li-don't roll your eyes at me young lady!" she insisted irately, hoof coming down to the hardened ground with a firm clop to emphasize the final word.

Misty Water finished rolling her eyes and shook her head. "I get it mom, I get it. I need to start working on a career instead of a job!" Misty called back over the sound of the waterfall, gaze shifting back towards her flank, an unhappy look spreading across her face. "Problem is I don't know what I want to do with my life unlike you!" Misty stomped her hoof in frustration, tears starting to well up in her eyes a bit as the uncomfortable reality of the situation once again fell on her withers. Misty then felt a pair of forelegs wrap around her as the tears began to run down her cheeks.

Misty Waters mother Flower Bed gently stroked her mane. "Oh dear, I'm sorry Misty, I didn't mean it like that" she whispered comfortingly into the younger mares ear as she held her tight and close. "I know that it's been hard for you, I'm just worried is all" she said to her daughter.

After a few moments Misty pulled back, letting out a more despondent sigh. "I know, and it's not really anyponys fault that it's like this, I'm just scared I'll always be like this" the younger mare confessed. Mistys gaze was directed downward for a brief moment before she looked up once more. "So, Gentle Hooves is doing okay? I hear the Yaks can be...difficult" the younger mare said, rubbing her foreleg hesitantly. Even in their neck of the woods they'd heard about the trashing of Princess Twilights castle and the diplomatic debacle that was the Yaks visit.

Flower Bed gave a gentle chuckle and tousled Mistys hair "why don't you see for yourself? I left his letter on your bedside table so you could read it," she suggested, closing her eyes for a brief moment as she remembered the contents of the letter. "So, Misty, have you given any thought as t-Misty?!" as the older mare opened her eyes she noticed that Misty had apparently disappeared. When she looked back towards the town she saw her daughter rushing off, likely to read the letter. Flower Bed just gave a small chuckle and started to trot back to town herself at a gentler pace.

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Over in Ponyville, worlds away and in the dead of night, a party was being held.

It was clearly not a party of the pink party ponies planning, yet it was a party all the same. Town Hall was decorated rather well, with a banner overhead bidding a fond retirement to a pony known as 'Illusive Arcana.' Balloons and music filled the air as several unicorns either danced, or partook in food. Others chatted idly as a wizened, plum colored unicorn with a long flowing beard looked on, a saddened smile on his face.

A gray bespectacled unicorn with light brown hair reached out and touched his foreleg with concern. "Master Arcana, are you sure this is how you wish to select your replacement?" she whispered, her slow and methodical speaking patterns drawing out each syllable with almost mathematical perfection. "We do not know if this spell is even safe without even mentioning the ahem ethical concerns" she added, fidgeting a bit as she heard him chuckle.

Illusive turned his head slowly to face her, an unconcerned look on his face. "Now, now, there's no need to fret young Silver Cog. I know how you can be about testing before putting spells into practice, but one must follow their heart as well as their head in magic" the elderly unicorn advised, stroking his beard in an attempt to appear sagely.

The look Silver Cog gave to Illusive spoke entire volumes as she silently pointed her hoof towards a red unicorn standing on one fore hoof and juggling cups with her hind hooves to the chanting of others.

The older unicorn just gave a hearty chuckle in response, downing the last of his punch as he watched the spectacle. "Truly our Flaressence is a passionate one indeed!" he exclaimed ecstatically, applauding the unicorns act. Once he'd finished admiring the other unicorn however, his face turned serious and redirected his gaze towards Silver Cog. "It's true" he said, letting out a sigh "one of my regrets will most definitely be not helping her to better follow her mind, nor you your heart. Neither extreme is as palatable as a truly balanced combination," the elder explained as the clock struck twelve.

The music ceased as the final chime echoed out, drawing every set of eyes to the elderly unicorn who had stood up to address the crowd. "My fellow ponies of the Ponyville Magical Research Guild, it is my great honor to address you all this evening," Illusive started out, clearing his throat to continue on, despite the worried look that Silver Cog was giving him. "As you all know I have served my last day as the guilds master and must now select my replacement," his gaze traced over the crowd as he spoke, taking in each face whether they looked worried, saddened, or even hopeful that they would be chosen. "For this task I have devised a magical spell that will select for us the best possible candidate from across the multiverse. I trust that you will all respect my decision and welcome the new guild leader with open hearts" Illusive said, a serious tone entering his voice as he did.

The room was filled with concerned muttering upon the conclusion of the guild masters little speech. A green unicorn with a lyre for a cutie mark then stepped forward, a worried look in her eyes. "Master, you can't think this is a good idea!" the mare exclaimed to him.

Master Illusive sighed and shook his head, long beard swaying in pendulous rhythm. "I am sorry, my child, but it must be so. I'm afraid that I cannot choose any of you at this time. You are all wonderful ponies, but you all have much growing to do to reach your full potential" the wizened unicorn informed the crowd.

Yet another pony, this time a blue unicorn with a white mane who sported a safety pin for a cutie mark. "Bu-" was all he was able to get out before being cut off.

"I. Said. I've. Made. My. Decision" Master Illusive said through gritted teeth, his patience legendarily short when tested. His eyes flared up, radiating a sinister glow as the aged unicorn lifted up into the air, which was swirling with arcane energy. "As you will not accept me at my word, I shall be forced to demonstrate to you my successor!" the unicorn declared, horn lighting up with a radiant glow of rainbow colored energy. Runes of various colors began to form around him, swirling ever faster until Illusive was wrapped up in a cocoon of colorful magic. The cocoon then burst, sending out a shock wave of magic that scattered the decorations and nearly sent ponies flying.

When the burst finally faded and their eyes could once again adjust, the group looked up to see a portal of rainbow swirling colors, and they could hear a scream.

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Misty hummed a bit as she stepped into her bedroom, an exceptionally clean living space. Her green eyes scanned the room from her book shelves, to her Princess Cadance plushy laying upon her bed, to the autographed poster of Countess Coloratura. The brown earth pony smiled at how everything felt right. Her gaze did eventually fall on her bedside table however where there was a package and an open letter to be read. Slowly she trotted over, eager to see what her brother had written to them from his post in Yakyakistan. Sitting down on her bed, she reached over and opened the curtains to give herself some light to read by.

To my dear family:

It has been many moons since I last saw you all, I hope you're doing fantastic! Life up in Yakyakistan is cold, like really cold. I can already tell that dad's saying 'I told you so'.

Anyway, I miss you all and wanted to pass along some gifts to remember me by as I fear my post will be a long one. For Dad I've sent along a pile of books on traditional Yakistani forging techniques, we all know how much he loves learning about these kinds of things. For Mom of course are Yakistani Snowbelle seeds! I know how much you love gardening, so now you can even tend to plants in the Winter! Finally, for my baby sister I've sent a special treasure that was granted to me by Prince Rutherford himself! A supposedly magical eye patch taken as a trophy from an Equestrian battle mage a long time ago during the Pony/Yak war. It's supposed to have magic powers, but since we're earth ponies it's just a pretty patch.

Anyway, I miss you all so much, and hope to see you someday soon.

With love and regards:

Gentle Hooves

Misty felt a smile spreading on her face as she read through her brothers words. "Heh, yeah, he did tell you so, soooo many times" she giggled a bit, shocked to see a couple of drops falling onto the letter. She set it aside and lifted a hoof to her cheek, feeling a little moisture, and sighed. "I really miss you" she whispered to nopony in particular before reaching for the package.

As she held it in her hooves she could almost feel something strange, like something was being sucked out of the room. Yet the feeling was almost like background noise as she slowly opened the package, revealing that the content was indeed an eye patch with what looked like a diamond shaped emerald on the front. Hesitantly she lifted it up to her face and put it on under her white mane, visual input from her right eye disappearing as she did. Not wasting another second, she trotted on over to the bathroom to gaze into the mirror. She couldn't help but give a little giggle at the sight of herself wearing an eyepatch.

"Yarrrrr" she growled playfully before stepping back out. "It's kinda cool, but I hope I don't ever actually need it" Misty commented, the sound of metal hitting metal causing her ears to perk up. "Sounds like Dad's at the forge again, I'd better get my work apron so I can help" she said to herself, hoof hesitating as she reached for the handle to her bedroom. "I really need to stop talking to myself," she whispered under her breath before opening her door.

When she did, she saw a swirling mass of rainbow magic floating in the air. Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped, completely dumbfounded by the sudden change. "Gaaaahhhh..." she couldn't even speak as she suddenly felt suction on her body, as if a powerful wind was blowing her towards the portal. Without even thinking, she turned and tried to gallop away, only for the portals sucking power to increase. In one final attempt at not being pulled in to Celestia knew what, she grabbed onto the door frame and held on for dear life.

Eventually however the rainbow portal became too strong and the door frame began to crack. As it broke and sent her flying through the portal she let out a loud, desperate scream.

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Author's Note

Well, that's the first chapter down. Hope you liked it. If you didn't, or if you have any corrections that need to be made, feel free to comment about it. Until next chapter, have a lovely day!

Chapter 2. Welcome to Ponyville

The scream that escaped Misty Waters muzzle lasted for only the briefest of moments, seconds at best as she passed through the colorful field that she'd been sucked through. Her eyes dazzled at the passing colors that bled together into a rainbow of light and magic. It would have been fairly pretty for her to look at had she not been soaring off to what she could only assume would be her final moments.

Her scream cut off however as she felt herself impacting with something. 'Let's see...hard? check, big? check. Hurts? double check. Yep, wall,' she thought as she slid slowly down the wall a couple of inches. When she attempted to pull herself off however, she fell flat on her rump with an "oof!" and assurance that the impact would leave a bruise. Getting up slowly to her hooves, Misty looked up at the portal she'd flown through and her eyes widened. "No!" she screamed desperately, jumping up towards it and not getting very far. The portal shrunk away, disappearing in the blink of an eye before her.

"Ahem."

Misty jerked her head up, suddenly aware of the other ponies in the room. Slowly, ever so slowly, she turned her head around and faced them. All in all there were twenty unicorns in the room of various colors and talents. Despite having several ponies to choose from however, her attention was immediately drawn to the gray unicorn who'd cleared her throat. "Wh-who are you ponies?! And where am I?!" she shouted, trying and failing to back away as there was a wall behind her.

"Please, do not be afraid" the gray unicorn said, adjusting her glasses upon her muzzle. "We mean you no harm, we are the Ponyville branch of the Equestrian Magic Research Guild, or MRG for short." she explained, brushing some of her brown hair aside. "You are in ponyville. The town hall to be precise" she continued to exposit. "My name is Silver Cog, I am the guilds magitech expert and local inventor. Well, one of them," she shrugged before holding out a hoof in greeting.

Slowly, hesitantly, Misty extended her hoof and shook Silvers, shaking a bit from fear and admittedly a lack of social skills. "Misty Spell" she said in return, giving her name. "Wait...why'd I say Spell?! That makes no sense...I'm an Earth Pony" she said, more to herself than anypony else.

A chuckle came from her left as a red unicorn with a yellow mane trotted up beside her, giving her a pat on the withers. "Heh good one dude, but you're totally a unicorn! Got the horn and everything! Name's Fiora Everspark Flaressence, but you can call me Fire Flare, I kinda prefer it," she introduced herself, giving a bold grin as she did so. She suddenly found herself lifted off the ground by a green magical aura and tossed across the room. "Wooooah! Oof! Not cool Silver!" she called, falling to the floor, a pony shaped dent in the wall where she'd impacted.

"Ignore her, she is not the one you wish to come to for advice," she advised, rolling her eyes at the accusation of not being 'cool.'

"Advice for what?" was all Misty could ask, by and large still trying to catch up to her own situation. Though the fact that she was in ponyville gave her at least a general idea as to how to get home. Ponyville was more or less south of Neighagara Falls after all.

Silver Cog sighed, rubbing her temples in frustration. "Yes, well, I've spoken to the guild master about this several times already. You may not be aware of this, but you are the new guild master. The previous guild master insisted quite thoroughly, so we must make you the new master," she said, already bracing herself for the inevitable counter argument to follow.

Almost as if on cue, Misty shook her head rapidly, crossing her forelegs in front of her in a big X. "No! Not only am I not a unicorn, I know nothing about magic and I don't wanna be here!" she yelled, fuming a bit at having been abducted for such a ridiculous reason. After a moment however, something clicked in her head and her eyes shot open wide. "Wait, I have a horn?!" she exclaimed, hoof shooting to her forehead to feel for herself. When her hoof came into contact with something protruding from her skull she brought both hooves to her muzzle to suppress the scream that nearly emerged.

"Oh dear, were you not a unicorn before? You may wish to see yourself in the mirror," Silver Cog suggested, pointing a hoof at a door marked 'restroom.'

Wasting no time, Misty took off like a bat out of Tartarus, slamming the door behind her and locking it for good measure. After fumbling for the light switch for several seconds, she finally heard the sound of electricity powering up the lights. As soon as she could see again, she rushed to the nearby mirror and looked at herself. For the most part she seemed absolutely normal. She was still a brown colored pony with green eyes and a white mane. Everything seemed to check out until her eyes reached her forehead and what protruded from it. "A horn? Why?! I'm supposed to be an Earth Pony from Neighagara Falls!" she exclaimed, jumping back from shock.

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Meanwhile, just outside of the bathroom everypony was looking at each other nervously, unsure as to what to make of their new guild master. Whether they should be worried or not. It wasn't until Fire Flare spoke up near the front door that their mumbling stopped.

"Well, party's over folks, time to hit the road!" she suggested, horn glowing a bright orange as she magically opened the door. "Seriously, there's too many of us, take a hike for now everypony, I'm sure she'll have words for us at tomorrows meeting" she concluded, ushering ponies out the door, leaving only Silver Cog and herself present in the main hall. Once the door closed, Fire Flare hopped into a chair and popped a chip into her mouth crunching it as she spoke. "Mmm, so she was from Neighagara Falls huh? Neat," she commented, following up by swallowing the chip she'd been chewing.

"Yes, this is a most troubling turn of events. At any rate since she was an Earth Pony before she should be radiating out of control magic if that were the case, yet there is no clear reason for her to lie about such a thing." Silver mused, rolling her eyes at Fire Flares crude antics. "Honestly I know you were raised by crude masters but you could at least try to excersize basic manners...wait, how did you hear that? You were all the way by the front door!" she exclaimed in disbelief, eyes wide.

Fire Flare flashed Silver a cocky grin, leaning back in her seat and resting her head back on her hooves. "Never underestimate the power of martial arts!" she declared, letting off a small chuckle at the scientists disbelief.

'I knew that was going to be her response. I knew and yet I still asked,' she thought to herself, resisting every urge to slam her head against the wall. "Urgh, I do not know why I put up with you" she griped, popping a chip into her own mouth and chewing it carefully.

The red unicorns reply was short and to the point "you know you love me" she teased, giving a casual shrug.

"Keep telling yourself that and maybe someday it will even be true" Silver shot back, suppressing a chuckle that she would be damned if she'd ever let Fire Flare hear. "However, we must deal with our current situation, it is no time for jokes" she said, turning the conversation back to a serious tone.

Both unicorns looked at each other for a moment, then they let their eyes trail back to the restroom door. Neither of them wanted to claim the dubious honor, but both of them knew one of them would have to. Slowly however, Silver Cog lifted her hoof and pointed to Fire Flare. "You should do it," she suggested, though her eyes held firm as though it were a command.

Fire Flare looked at the pony who would so callously throw her under the bus bewilderedly, pointing towards herself. "Me?! Why me?" she demanded to know, voice cracking a bit. "What'd I do wrong to deserve this?" she asked, climbing off of her chair and standing up. She was about to say more when their gaze met. She could not hold her gaze however and she glanced off to the side. "Mnnn...fine" she mumbled, head lowered as she slowly made her way to the restroom door.

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While that conversation was going on, Misty was in the midst of trying not to panic. Nothing seemed to be making sense and the more she thought about it the worse things seemed to her. Her hooves were running up and down her horn desperately, as if she were trying to find some sort of seam where it had been glued on. When she found none, she slumped down and sighed bitterly. "Right, I was never unconscious for them to do it anyway" she admitted in defeat, looking up at her reflection from her place against the wall. She was about to say something else but was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Yo, uh, Misty Spell was it? Wanna...open the door maybe?" the voice of Fire Flare called through the wooden door. There was clear hesitation in her voice, as though this were a task she'd rather not do. "'Cuz, well, we got a lot to talk about and it's gettin' kinda late y'know?" she added, hoping that it would help.

"Th-this isn't supposed to be happening! I was supposed to be helping my dad in the forge today...wait, late?" she asked, caught off guard by the new information she'd been given.

The voice that came back through the door was rather excited "wait, you can work a forge? Sweet! I had a feeling we were gonna be best pals!" came the voice as an orange aura enveloped the handle of the door. Instead of unlocking the door however, the entire door ripped out of the frame. "Woops, aheh, I'll uhh fix that later" she said, tossing the door casually aside and stepping in. "Sorry to do this, but if we let ya lock yourself up in here you ain't gonna come out" she said, picking up Misty with more gentleness to her aura and carrying her out.

The brown unicorn flailed in Fire Flares magical grasp, though to no avail, being rather trapped in the air. "Put me down! Putmedownputmedownputmedown!" she yelled, struggling to break free and failing entirely.

Silver Cog could only stare on in amazement at the lack of tact displayed by her red friend. Her glasses slipped a bit, which brought her mind back into focus. "Fiora Everspark Flaressence, you put her down this instant!" she demanded, stomping a hoof for effect.

The aforementioned red unicorn flinched, letting her horns aura fade. When it did, she winced at the sight of Misty falling face first into the cake, splattering it everywhere. "Oops, errr sorry Silver but you kinda asked for it, you know I'm not that good with tact and stuff" she said, rubbing the back of her head.

Narrowing her eyes, the gray unicorn seemed about to lose her temper, yet at the last second she seemed to change her mind. Instead, she trotted on over to Misty and began to wipe icing off of her face, tsking all the while. "Sorry about her, she means well, but she is hardly the gentlest pony in town" she sighed, coming up short when she noticed the eye patch hidden under Mistys hair. "What is this?" she asked moving in much closer than courtesy would allow.

Misty blinked a bit, blushing at the sudden intrusion to her faces personal space. "I-it's just an eyepatch, it's no big deal or anything," she said nervously. Her eyes kept shifting back and forth between the two of them, unsure as to what to make of things. She had calmed down a bit now that she'd effectively been shaken from her panic, but she was still confused and lost. as before.

Silver Cog once again found herself aghast, this time however at her new guild masters words. "'Just an eyepatch?' 'Just an eyepatch?!' that eyepatch belonged to Emerald Enchant herself! It is one of the long lost relics of the Equestria/Yak war, and yet you think it just a patch?!" she practically screamed, much to the flinching Mistys dismay.

Misty was cowering a bit now, the yelling pony before her seeming apoplectic. "S-sorry, sorry! I didn't know it was so important!...Please don't hurt me" she squeaked. She glanced hopefully over to Fire Flare who simply shrugged and gave a look that said plainly 'you messed up, you fix it.' So, hesitantly she lifted a hoof up to the eyepatch and began to remove it. "H-here, just please stop yelli-."

"-No!" screamed Silver Cog as the world exploded in a flash of white.

Author's Note

Got something you wanna say? Say it. Don't got something you wanna say? Don't say it. Either way, another chapter done, hope you liked it. Here's a puppy.

Chapter 3. Magusitis

The blinding light finally faded away after a few moments, a ringing in everyponys ears letting everypony know that they were still alive. In the center of the room, floating in the air, Misty Spell was bobbing up and down. Her eyes were bright white, as magic flowed out of her horn, crackling in the air with raw energy. Her muzzle was wide in a silent scream as painful seeming spasms wracked her body.

Hidden behind an upturned table the two mares were glancing at each other in surprise. "She has magusitis?! Our new magic guild master has magusitis?!" Silver Cog exclaimed in disbelief, glancing over the table and swiftly scanning the room.

Fire Flare could only shake her head "I guess as an Earth Pony it wouldn't have been a problem" she said, gritting her teeth as a platter on the floor next to her transformed into a duck. When it leapt at her, she grabbed it in her orange aura and tossed it across the room where it was zapped again and turned into a cluster of grapes. "So what do we do?! This'll kill her!" she exclaimed, gaze returning to Silver Cog, who was still scanning the room.

"There!" the grey unicorn shouted, pointing a hoof at the discarded eyepatch that had been blasted across the room, now stuck to a window. "I'll put up a shield, go get it quickly," Silver Cog said, not even checking for a nod or response from Fire Flare, and lit up her horn. A wall of green came into view from floor to ceiling all the way to the window. The magic started blasting against it, unfiltered force straining against it.

A blast of wind signified Fire Flares burst, her body glowing as her physical capabilities were enhanced via magic. In the blink of an eye Fire Flare was across the room and had grabbed the eye patch. As the barrier went down, Fire Flare bolted forth, hoof colliding with Misty Spells face, slamming the eyepatch back in place. When she did this, Silver Cog used her own magic to fasten the eyepatch back into place.

The force from the impact had sent Misty Spell flying, slamming into some tables that had piled up by the wall. After a few uncertain moments she climbed out of the mess, struggling to get to her hooves. She was dazed and her face hurt badly, already able to tell it would be a shiner. "Ow owowowow, what WAS that?!" she asked, falling back on her rump as her legs were shaking.

"That was magusitis," Silver Cog said, walking out from behind the table, adjusting her glasses as she did so. "Allergy to magic," was added by means of explanation. "It's curable now, but back then a mage would wear an enchanted item to keep it in check" she said, reaching out and brushing some of Mistys hair out of the way to look at the eyepatch. "Hm, you'll need a new hairstyle, it looks like you cut it yourself" she said with a shake of her head.

Misty shook her head in bewilderment "my hair? I'm a unicorn allergic to magic, what was going on?!" she asked, clearly freaked out, even though she barely remembered any of it.

Fire Flare chuckled, patting Misty on the withers. "Well, ya almost died. Magusitis makes a unicorn expel all the magical energy in their body. Unfortunately the body can't differentiate between magical energy and regular energy very well, so it just...umm, what was it again?" Fire Flare asked, a sheepish grin on her face as her gaze went to Silver.

Rubbing her temple in frustration, Silver started to clean up, moving unbroken tables back into place. "Essentially you would have expelled every ounce of energy in your body, including the energy keeping your heart beating," Silver explained to an increasingly aghast Misty Spell.

Misty then smacked Fire upside the head. "And you laughed about that? You're horrible!" she shouted, tears welling up in her eyes as the realization of how close she was to dying crashed down on her.

Fire Flare rubbed the back of her head, wincing a bit "okay yeah, I deserve that. I guess I'm just kinda more used to near death experiences than most" she said. "I'm sorry I laughed" she added, realizing how messed up her words must have been. She was about to say something else when a knock came at the front door. When they all turned to look they saw Mayor Mare poking her head in through the door, a nervous look on her face.

"Is everything...alright in here?" she asked, making a point of not acknowledging the mess, having gotten used to such things during parties in town hall. "Ponies were complaining about strange lights and-oh, hello there. I don't believe we've met. Are you new to ponyville?" she inquired, attempting to make a good first impression with a potential new constituent.

"Not now mayor" Silver sighed, walking over to the mayor to explain what had happened.

While that was happening, Misty Spell wiped the tears from her eye, glancing over to Fire Flare who was still looking at her apologetically. "S-so I have to wear this eyepatch forever then?" she asked, voice a little shaky as she did. Her hoof went to the eyepatch and felt the gem embedded into it. 'This thing might have saved my life...thank you Gentle Hooves,' she thought to herself, letting out a relieved sigh.

Fire Flare shook her head "nah, ain't no big deal. It's curable now. Wasn't like a thousand years ago though, it's why folks had to wear enchanted junk to keep it in" she said with a smirk, pulling a broom and dust pan out from a nearby closet with her magic and bringing it over to them. "Still, ya gave us a major scare there," she added, broom starting to sweep up the mess. She moved to turn her attention to the broom, but both of them had their attention grabbed by a clearing throat. When they looked up both Mayor Mare and Silver Cog were looking at them.

Mayor Mare put on her best politicians smile and walked over to Misty, extending her hoof in greeting. Misty took the hoof and shook. "Welcome to Ponyville, Ms. Spell. While your abduction was quite unlawful I regret to inform you that Guild Master Arcana is quite outside of our reach, and we've no means of sending you back. However, we will do our best to accommodate your stay here."

Misty tilted her head in confusion "no means of sending me back? Can't I just walk? It's a few days north, but I could manage it," she offered, confused as to why she'd be stuck here any longer than necessary. Horn be damned, she had no intention of staying away from her family.

This seemed to catch the mayor by surprise, as she turned her gaze to each of the other unicorns in turn, both of whom were rather interested in things that were quite literally anywhere but where mayor mare was standing. "Oh. Oh dear you didn't know did you? Me and my big mouth. The previous guild master didn't just summon you from a town over. He pulled you from an alternate universe, at least that's what Silver Cog has told me," Mayor Mare explained, a worried look on her face.

Misty Spell felt faint. Then she looked faint. Then she fainted.

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The early morning sun fell in through the window, onto the large bed that was home to a rather large lump under some blankets. The lump, feeling the warmth of the sunlight started to squirm with annoyance. "Nnnng no, to tired mom" the muffled voice of Misty Spell called out groggily, eyes glued shut as she started to squirm her way out from under the blankets. When she did, she let out a long yawn and stretched, the pleasant popping of joints making the idea of waking up a little more palatable.

Her eyes opened slowly, green orbs scanning the room she was in for a moment. For one beautiful moment she thought she was home in bed and the strangeness of the previous night had been a dream. However, it registered all too soon that she was in a strange room she'd never seen before. True it was uncomfortably big, the majority of wall space dedicated to book space, and the only furniture seemed to be a large desk, three chairs, and the bed. Despite the alien surroundings, she lacked the energy for any big reaction. Instead, she noted the bathroom attached to the bedroom/office. "Who lives in their office anyway?" she mumbled to herself as she turned the light on and glanced at herself in the mirror.

Her reflection looked completely different from before. Though at first she couldn't figure it out. She checked her teeth, looked into her eyes, everything seemed to be normal. Even the horn, which she was weirdly used to already, didn't strike her as what was off. "Well, might as well brush this rats nest I call ha-hair! That's it, duh, stupid brain," she chuckled as she finally figured out what was off. Her hair was a lot longer than before. After a moment of self congratulations, however, Misty did a double take and looked at herself again. "No way my hair would grow this long naturally, how did thi-" she flashed back.

"Hm, you'll need a new hairstyle, it looks like you cut it yourself"

Misty narrowed her eyes, a deadpan look overtaking her face. "Oh. Right, well at least it's not too bad, I could get used to hair like this. I mean, I'm kinda liking the one eye covered thing I have going on, hides the eye...patch...wait," she drew up short once more. "Eyepatch! Ohno ohno ohno, where is it?! I'm gonna die with out it!" she fumbled around, trying to keep her right eye closed as she burst back into the bedroom/office and looked around frantically, not seeing it anywhere in sight. She was so panicked that she hadn't noticed Fire Flare standing in the doorway holding a brown paper takeout bag and munching on a hayburger.

"Lose somethin'?" she asked, watching the pandemonium and tilting her head to dodge a thrown pillow as Misty tried to find the eyepatch underneath it.

"M-my eyepatch, it's gone! I need it for my...my...wait, why am I still alive?" Misty asked, starting to calm down as she realized that nothing was happening. She heard a crinkling sound as the takeout bag was dropped on her desk. "What's that?" she asked, there being no burger joints or restaurants in the area she'd grown up in.

Fire Flare rolled her eyes, a good natured smirk on her face. "It's framed in the enchanted item storehouse, we cured ya last night, and breakfast. Sorry, Silver told me to feed ya but I can't cook to save my life" Fire Flare shrugged, finishing her own burger. "Now eat up, ya got some remedial magic lessons before our guild meeting starts. Ya won't be doin' anything right away, but it'll be good to start ya off as soon as possible," she explained, watching as Misty curiously fished the food out of the bag with her hooves. A package of fries and a hayburger with ketchup.

Misty Spell had completely calmed down now, and with burger in hoof, she took a bite. It wasn't bad, while she couldn't say it was great by any stretch of the imagination, it would be an alright meal. "So, why is my hair like this exactly?" she asked between bites.

Fire Flare looked her over carefully before getting up without a word and walking into the bathroom. "It's too late for a shower for now, but we can at least apply a little eyeliner and brush that hair," the red unicorn said, coming out with a mane brush and the stated makeup. "As the master of our guild it's your duty to look presentable. You looked like you were still living with your parents," she explained.

"I was," came Misty Spells response.

The items dropped to the floor as Fire Flare slapped her hoof to her face. "Celestias sun and moon, and you've been saddled with this much responsibility?! We're dead."

Misty Spell was about to object to the accusation that she couldn't handle it, but she realized fairly quickly that she quite honestly probably couldn't. However, she did have another objection "isn't the moon Lunas?" she asked, only to get a confused look from Fire Flare.

"Who's Luna?" the unicorn asked, picking up the brush and starting to stroke it through Mistys mane. "There's only Celestia, and I guess Cadance if you wanna count her, but she hasn't really come into her own yet," Fire Flare explained with a casual shrug.

Misty mulled this over in her head for a moment "umm, what year is it?" the brown unicorn asked as Fire Flare finished brushing the mane and tail into position and started to apply the eyeliner.

Fire Flare didn't answer until she'd finished. "The year 1000, next months Summer Sun Celebration's gonna be big. We're setting off magic fireworks for the party!" Fire Flare exclaimed excitedly, not noticing Misty Spell completely lost in thought.

Chapter 4. Clouds on the Horizon

"Woah, this place is huge!" Misty Spell exclaimed as she stepped out the door. She was in a square shaped building with several doors all around. In front of her was a railing from which she could look down what looked to be a good forty floors. "This place must be visible for miles!" she added, glancing back at Fire Flare who shrugged indifferently.

The red unicorn joined her at the railing and shook her head "nah, not really, it's actually just bigger on the inside. From outside it's just a single floor thatch roofed cottage," she said as if it were the most normal thing in the world. "The magic research guilds architects are the best in the business. Though it's really expensive, so it ain't like every blacksmith, baker, and candlestick maker's got it," she explained, nodding to Lyra who was waving up to them from all the way down on the first floor.

It was about this moment that how high up they were really dawned on Misty, who glanced around at the perfectly square floor they were on and noticed that none of the doors were marked for stairs, though there was one with an arrow pointing down. "So, are the stairs over there?" she asked, pointing a hoof at the door in question.

Fire Flare simply wagged her hoof back and forth in a 'sort of' motion. "Elevators actually, forty five floors is a lot of walking especially for our older members," she said, heading over towards the door. When she opened it up there was a translucent blue platform floating over what looked to be a large hole in the floor. The platform had a pole with a sphere in one of the back corners that Fire Flare zapped with magic. "C'mon, it'll start movin' without ya" she urged, gesturing with a hoof to hurry.

Taking the hint, Misty rushed forth to step onto the elevator platform. However, it had already started going down, so her hoof met air. She ended up falling forward, unable to stop herself in time and landed face first on the elevator platform. "Ow," was all she could say, sitting herself up and rubbing her muzzle. "Shouldn't we have closed the door?" she asked, looking up at where they'd come from, now a good eight or so floors away and growing.

The red unicorn blinked a bit, the words taking a moment to click before she nodded. "Ah, right! Thanks for reminding me!" she said, charging up her horn, the sound of a door slamming closed reaching down to them. "There, all done!" she declared proudly.

Misty Spell couldn't help but glance up, an envious look on her face. "Man, unicorns have it easy" she sighed, having often wished she'd had magic to make tedious tasks easier.

Fire Flare nodded "yep, that we do. Don't worry, you'll be able to do stuff like that in no time!" she said, clearly trying to cheer Misty up. She tilted her head curiously when Misty reached up and touched her horn again. "You forgot you were a unicorn for a second didn't ya?" she asked.

An embarrassed blush spread across Mistys face as she looked away. "N-no! I just...was stating the obvious, that's all!" she said, defensive tone obvious to any who could hear it. Though this only numbered one pony, Fire Flare, who only chuckled good naturedly. "So, ah, I'm really cured right? No more of that magical allergy stuff?" Misty asked hopefully.

Fire Flare shifted uncomfortably as they reached the ground floor, hurriedly stepping off. "No time for any of that, we gotta get ya into those lessons real qui-iiiick!" she drew up short as teeth closed down on her tail to prevent her from going anywhere.

"Fire Flaaaare," Misty said, walking around to the front of the red unicorn and looking her in the eye. "I am cured, right?" she demanded.

Fire Flare fidgeted a little more before sighing. "Alright, so we might have over exaggerated just a little. Less cured, more temporary remedy?" she said, growing more unsure by the word, and ending in a nervous squeak. Fire Flare may have been a lot of things. Strong, skilled, but when it came to social situations neither of those things were particularly useful.

Misty Spell sighed, feeling frustration taking her over, at least until she took a moment to breath in and out. Her next words came as forced and deliberate as she could make them. "Please. Explain," she insisted, eyes narrowed irately. It wasn't as though she was particularly short tempered, but with her life potentially on the line she couldn't very well afford not to know.

Sighing in defeat, Fire Flare nodded in assent. "Yeah, well, the actual cure is monumentally expensive. Like more than bankrupt the guild expensive, ya know? There's a spell that temporarily stops it though, so we cast that on ya" she said with a big grin spreading on her face. "I mean, ya could wear that eyepatch but it'd cut your magic power...in...half...you don't care do you?" she asked, grin falling to a frown as she saw the look on Mistys face.

Misty shook her head "no, I really, really don't. I'd rather wear the eyepatch," she insisted, looking around at the unicorns walking here and there. "So where's Sliver Tog?" she asked, not seeing the familiar face among them. She turned around when she heard some chuckling from Fire Flare. "Huh? Did I say something funny?" she asked curiously.

Fire Flare took a moment to get her chuckling under control, a big smile on her face from the amusement. "N-no, no! It's just...hah...her name's Silver Cog!" she said, breaking out into laughter, unaware that the gray pony in question had walked up behind her, casually sipping a styrofoam cup of coffee.

"Why yes, yes it is," Silver Cog said, watching as Fire Flare jumped high into the air from shock. Silver shook her head and took another sip of coffee. "Three...two...one...now," she counted down. Just as she said that final word Fire Flares hooves hit the ground and the bespectacled pony found the other unicorn in her face.

"Don't scare me like that!" Fire Flare complained, an accusatory look on her face, which only grew more so when Silver Cog took another sip from her coffee without responding.

After a moment of silence between the three of them Misty finally decided to speak up. "Soooo...when can I get the eye patch back?" she asked, fidgeting a bit from how awkward everything felt at the moment. Her eyes went from Fire Flare who gave a simple shrug to Silver Cog who guzzled down the rest of her coffee and teleported the cup to the nearest garbage can.

"After your introduction to the guild" Silver said, trotting alongside Misty and patting her on the withers. "Are you absolutely certain you wish to wear that eye patch?" she asked, receiving a nod from Misty. Nodding, Silver decided to change the subject to something a little more important at present. "Do you have any idea what you'll say at the introductory meeting?" she asked.

Misty Spell was about to say something when the front door to the guild was burst open. The silhouette of a pony backed by several stage lights shining into the building could be seen standing there in a bold pose. "BEHOLD!" boomed the voice of the pony in question, definitely a mare. She stepped into the building proper and closed the door behind her revealing herself. "I, the leader of the Entertainment Guild and greatest unicorn to ever live have heard that this meager guild has a new guild master" she said. The pony glanced around before seeing a pony she hadn't seen before. Stomping over to her, the pony spoke again. "I, the GREAT and POWERFUL Trixie challenge you to a magic duel!" the pony named Trixie said, pointing a challenging hoof.

After clearing her throat, Misty decided to speak up. "Umm, I'm over here" she said, raising a hoof.

Trixie looked over at Misty, then back to the purple and pink unicorn she'd been challenging, then finally back to Misty Spell. "Right...Trixie knew that, she was merely...testing you! yes, a test!" Trixie said, marching over to Misty, ignoring the previous unicorn who ran off as soon as Trixie had turned away. "Accept Trixies Great and Powerful challenge or face disgrace and shame!" Trixie demanded, shooting out a hoof to the side, causing a wizards hat to appear in her hoof. She then put it on and smirked cockily.

Misty Spell glanced back at Silver Cog and Fire Flare and they just shook their heads like Trixie was a nuisance, with Fire Flare even circling her ear with a hoof.

"Hay! I am not crazy!" Trixie shot back at Fire Flare, who was now giggling to herself at Trixies expense.

"Umm, lady, I don't even know you, and even if I did I don't know any magic" Misty said, trying to interrupt what she felt could easily have broken into a fight. Misty then recoiled as the glare that Trixie shot her was filled with absolute contempt. Stepping backwards, Misty glanced around for a way out.

"Hah! What kind of magic guild employs a unicorn that can't even cast spells?! Clearly Trixie is the superior unicorn, and Trixie shall prove it to everypony here! Meet me at the park in one week" Trixie grinned wickedly, adjusting her hat on her head. Trixie then began to walk towards the door, snapping her tail at Misty as she passed. "Show up then or be denounced as a coward before your entire 'guild' of pathetic peons, hmph!" Trixie then left the building, slamming the door behind her and leaving an entire building of gawkers staring in awe at the gall of the stage magician.

Misty took a deep breath, thought after thought rushing through her mind in rapid succession. If she were to be honest, she wouldn't have been able to say what emotion she was feeling. Confusion, ire, nerves. Eventually having made up her mind she decided she was annoyed. Turning back to her two companions she pointed at the door. "What. The. HAY was that?!" she asked, exasperation clear in her voice.

"That was the most amazing, most talented, and certainly the most beautiful pony in all of Equestria. The GREAT AND POWERFUL TRRRRRRIXIE!" Fire Flare yelled boldly in her best imitation of Trixie, rearing up for effect as she ran through all of that. "Ooooor at least that's what she thinks of herself. She's actually the biggest braggart and master of the Ponyville Entertainment Guild," she said.

"That pony can lead something?" came Mistys sarcastic reply.

Nodding and adjusting her glasses, Silver Cog glanced over at a window next to the door. Misty followed her gaze and saw Trixie standing out there, making the universal 'watching you' gesture before slowly backing away. "She is a braggart and an idiot, but she can perform amazing stage magic if she really applies herself." Silver said, taking Mistys foreleg and tugging, guiding her to start walking.

Misty Spell and Fire Flare both followed their scientific friend as they were lead into a large room lined with shelves laden with very thick, important looking books. The place had a high ceiling, several chandeliers providing light down below. The air was fairly thick with dust, and only an elderly stallion could be seen occupying the place. "So is this where we'll be doing these remedial lessons?" Misty asked, glancing around the room a little. She then walked over to a small oak table and sat down next to it, Silver Cog and Fire Flare joining her.

Nodding, Fire Flare leaned on the table and grinned wide "gonna have to work hard though! We only got a week to get you ready for that duel!" the fiery unicorn said, a fire clearly in her belly as she said this. Though her confidence diminished a little at Mistys arched eyebrow.

"Why in the name of Cadance would I take her up on that stupid challenge?" Misty asked, clearly surprised that anypony would think to do so.

"Oh thank Celestia!" Silver Cog let out a sigh of relief "finally a guild master with common sense!" she said, a smile gracing her face as she glanced at her compatriots. "Remember, she may be an inept nag, but she has a life time of experience with magic that you lack. There is no way to prepare you in a single week," Silver explained, reaching out with her magic and pulling down a book entitled 'Teaching Foals: The Art of Magic.'

Fire Flare however wasn't relieved, she was a little peeved. "Why not?! She stormed in and mocked you, doesn't that upset you even a little?" she asked, looking Misty Spell in the eye.

Shrugging, Misty Spell took the book in her hooves and started examining the cover, which featured a picture of a young colt and filly both too young for their cutie marks struggling at and succeeding to lift toy blocks. "I don't care what she thinks about me, she's clearly a jer-hey!" she was interrupted by a balled piece of paper bouncing off the back of her head. Reaching down she scooped it up and set it on the table in front of her, unfurling it to reveal a crude crayon drawing of herself. The picture depicted her as a fat pony with stink lines coming from her and the word 'coward' pointing at her. Glancing back at where she assumed the paper had come from she saw Trixie slowly and dramatically backing away out of sight through the doorway. "This is going to be my life now isn't it?" she asked, receiving a nod from both ponies. She rubbed her head as she felt a headache coming on. "Alright, let's begin."

Author's Note

Thoughts? Feelings? Positive? Negative? Feel free to say what you want!

Chapter 5. Teaching Misty: The Art of Magic.

The small library in which they sat was awash in a magical glow, individual dust particles all being pulled together into a spinning ball in mid air. Almost immediately the air around the three of them became significantly more breathable. Silver Cog smiled as the ball of dust lowered down through the air, the slow descent guiding the dust to the table between the three of them. "Telekinesis is the most basic of spells you shall likely ever encounter. Every colt and filly starts with this basic spell. However, you will need to learn to channel magic into your horn if you are to cast any form of magic," Silver Cog said, clearly used to lecturing ponies.

Rolling her eyes, Fire Flare leaned forward. "Nah, tk's cool and a- errr telekinesis," Fire Flare explained to Misty, whose face had contorted a little with confusion. "Anyway, tk's cool and all but beams are where it's at!" she said, firing off a beam from her horn that burst through the dust ball and scattering it, coating both Misty Spell and Silver Cog in dust. The beam then ricocheted off of the shelf, up off of a chandelier and out the door. Across the hall a hole was shot through the stone wall.

"Trixie's not impressed! She can do that too!" Trixie called from out in the hall.

Silver Cog rubbed her temples for a moment before lighting up her horn. "Go home Trixie!" she called out, a poofing sound coming from the direction Trixies voice had. "As for you, Miss Flare, must you behave in such a barbaric fashion?!" Silver Cog demanded, glancing over to the guild master, who'd recovered enough from the shock to cough, a little cloud of dust bursting out of her mouth.

Rolling her eyes, Fire Flare lifted the book in her magical aura and began flipping through it casually. "Duh, I'm a fighter! Of course I'm gonna gravitate towards combat spells! Geez, don't worry Mist, she's kinda uptight but she's a total sweetheart underneath," Fire Flare said, winking in Silvers direction. "Anyway, while Miss Teacher over here reboots, read this," Fire Flare shifted the book across the table to Misty Spell.

Misty glanced over, the bespectacled unicorn was staring into space, a bit of a blush on her face and glasses sliding down her muzzle. Reaching over, Misty slid the glasses back up before turning her attention back to the book. Flipping it open, Misty was greeted with a very simplistic font and a brief explanation as to how to channel magical energy.

Do you want to learn how to cast spells? Why of course you do little guy or girl! Spells are any effect caused with magical energy! What's magical energy you ask? Why that's a good question! It's the life energy that flows through every pony! It's what lets Pegasi fly, connects Earth Ponies to the land, and even lets Princess Celestia raise the sun and moon!

If you want to cast a spell first clear your mind! Cluttered thoughts do not a mage make! Clear mind and calm heart are vital.
Focus upon your horn and let your energy flow there. Let it fill your horn and then focus on what you want to happen.
Shape the energy into the spell as described in later parts of this book and release the energy!

Looking up from the book, Misty Spell glanced between the two of them. "So, that's all I have to do huh?" she asked, pointing at the first page. After receiving a nod she flipped through the book to the section on basic telekinesis. To the pony who knew nothing of magic this foals book might as well have been an advanced physics book. Upon reading the passage she stood up and brought her forehoof to her horn, feeling it again and sighing. "Alright, here goes nothing" she said, closing her eyes and focusing on directing energy to her horn. Misty felt something akin to a flowing sensation reaching up into the horn, though it was incredibly hard to maintain. After a few seconds she heard sparks crackling through the air before the sensation completely dispersed.

Silver Cog and Fire Flare both released a breath that neither of them knew they'd been holding onto, their eyes meeting across the table. "Well, that was far from the worst possible attempt. It takes most beginners much longer to get their magic to their horn!" Silver Cog said, clearly in an attempt to encourage the new guild master.

"Sure, I mean sure they're small foals without even a tiny bit of your magical energy but hey, who's counting right?" Fire Flare added with a grin. With her eyes on Misty she didn't notice Silver Cog trotting up to her until she felt a thwack upside the back of her head. "Owww!" she said, holding the back of her skull with both forehooves. "What was that for?!" she demanded to know, glaring over at Silver Cog with narrowed eyes.

Ignoring the antics of both of them Misty Spell decided to try again. She clenched her eyes shut tight and focused on her horn. "C'mon...nnng c'mon!" she urged through her teeth, feeling the flow of magical energy once again. This time she put her all into gathering that energy into her horn. When she felt she had enough energy contained, she began to direct her focus onto the book in an attempt to lift it.

"What'cha doooooin'?"

"AAAAAH!" Misty Spell shot up into the air, the sudden voice in her ear scaring her. She grasped onto the chandelier above her for dear life, but unfortunately lost control of the magic she'd summoned up. It fired off in a small, but uncontrolled beam of magic that severed the chandeliers connection to the ceiling and caused both herself and the chandelier to crash down towards the floor. Luckily she was caught in a mixture of green and orange auras before being lowered to the ground. Misty Spell glared over at the pony in question and saw the pinkest, bubbliest looking Earth Pony she'd ever seen. Letting out a gasp, she pointed a hoof. "P-P-Pinkie Pie?!" she gasped, shaking in awe.

Pinkie Pie let out an extremely exaggerated gasp. "How'd you know?! Was that a 'magically know ponies name' spell? Ohmigosh that's the bestest spell ever! I'm like the best pony planner in all of partyville! wait...party planner in ponyville! But partyville sounds like a superduperrific place!" the pink party pony rambled excitedly, bouncing up and down with glee apparently at the thought of a town named partyville.

Fire Flare trotted over with a big grin on her face. "Pinkie Piiiie, my mare! How's it goin'?" she asked, extending a hoof for a hoofbump which Pinkie happily reciprocated.

Pinkie Pie looked around conspiratorially briefly before pulling all three of the unicorns closer to her in a bit of a huddle. "Weeeeell, you see my pinkie senses were going off telling me there was a new pony in town! I mean, if there's a new pony I totally gotta be friends with them!" Pinkie Pie said, ignoring a groan from Silver Cog.

"Pinkie Pie, we've been over this time and time and time again. There's no such thing as Pinkie Sense!" Silver Cog said, glaring daggers at Pinkie Pie as though Pinkie had said the most offensive thing possible.

Reaching over Pinkie Pie pat Silvers head dismissively. "Whatever you say Doubty McDoubterson! So hiya, I'm Pinkie Pie, which you know 'cuz of that super duper spell of yours! What's your name?" she asked, blinking rapidly as she stared right at Misty.

"Can I have your autograph?" was all Misty Spell could say, still staring in awe at one of the future heroines of Equestria and soon to be bearer of the element of laughter.

Pinkie Pie tilted her head quizzically, smile faltering slightly but only by the tiniest of twitches. "That's an odd name, well it's nice to meet you Ms. Can-I-Have-Your-Autograph!" she said, taking Mistys hoof in hers and shaking it in greeting.

Shaking her head, Fire Flare watched as the two ponies shake began to blur from shear speed. "Naw, her name's Misty Spell, I think she was asking for an autograph," Fire Flare explained, trotting over to Silver Cog who had taken up a sudden interest in banging her head on the nearby table. Fire Flare patted her on the withers "there there, I'm sure she won't be here for too much longer" she whispered to her friend, rubbing her back a little.

Pinkie Pie seemed lost in thought for a moment before it finally clicked "ooooohhh, well why didn't you say so silly?" she asked, reaching into her mane and pulling out a clipboard and a pen. "We have got to throw you a super duper party! The guild was really mean and wouldn't let me join last night!" she pouted, ignoring a frustrated cry that the party was for guild members only from Silver Cog.

Misty nodded enthusiastically as she was handed a sheet of paper with Pinkies name written on it. Pinkies parties were legendary in Equestria, stories having even reached their backwaters neck of the woods up in Neighagara Falls. "That'd be amazing!" she said, looking down at the paper in her hooves then back up, blinking at the lack of Pinkie Pie. "Uhh where'd she go?" Misty asked, looking around perplexed. She knew all about the zaniness of Pinkie Pie, who didn't? But seeing it in pony was a horse of another color. When she didn't get a reply Misty trotted over to the two unicorns. "So...ah...mind filling me in on why you don't like her so much?" Misty Spell asked Silver Cog.

Even though Fire Flare was gesturing across her neck to cut that line of inquiry Silver was already ranting. "Because that pony is impossible! She doesn't make any sense at all! She does things that violate the laws of physics, and that Pinkie Sense violates every known law of magic!" Silver Cog stomped her hooves angrily. "I'm a super genius with technology thousands of years ahead of our time and yet she STILL eludes my understanding!" Silver Cog vented before sitting down with a huff. "Why is she so impossible?" she whispered to herself, resting her head in her forehooves and leaning on the table.

Fire Flare trotted over to Misty and gestured for Misty to follow. Fire Flare lead Misty to the other side of the small library and turned to face the guild master. "Alright, so spill. How do you know Pinkie Pie, and why'd you ask for her autograph?" Fire Flare asked, leaning against a book shelf as she waited for an answer.

Looking around to make sure nopony was listening, Misty leaned in close to whisper. "You know how I got sucked out of my own world?" she asked, getting a nod from the red unicorn. "Well my universe is a few years ahead of this one and Pinkie Pie's totally a hero in the future" she informed the now slack jawed unicorn. She was about to explain when she found her entire line of sight consumed by red as Fire Flare shot up real close to her.

"You're joking right? I mean, Pinkie's cool and everything but a hero? She's not really the evil bucking type," Fire Flare said incredulously, looking Misty Spell right in the eyes "gonna need you to predict something if you want me to believe you," she suggested, face turning serious as she braced herself for whatever prediction Misty might make.

Misty thought about it for a moment, hoof stroking her chin contemplatively. After the moment passed she nodded. "Alright, can you keep a secret?" Fire Flare nodded vigorously. "Alright, during the Summer Sun Celebration an evil moon goddess will come to bring about eternal night! Oh and she's Celestias little sister!" Misty said boldly, a grin on her face as she revealed this to the unsuspecting unicorn before her.

Just then Silver Cog trotted over, having worked herself through her issues enough to come around. "I apologize for my less than mature behavior back there, so, what are we talking about?" Silver Cog asked curiously, looking back and forth between the two of them.

Fire Flare was opening her mouth and closing it over and over again, a thousand yard stare in her eyes. This only lasted a moment however before she attempted to speak. "E-e-evil moo-mmph" she was silenced by a brown hoof over her mouth.

"Heheh...heh she's just shocked that Evil Moon is my favorite errrr comic book villain! Yeah, you don't really care about comics right?" she asked weakly, a forced smile on her face. Before Silver Cog had a chance to respond, Misty wrapped a foreleg around Fire Flares neck and dragged her off. "What're you thinking?! If you tell everypony you'll start a panic!" she harshly whispered at the red unicorn through her teeth.

Having finally regained herself, Fire Flare pulled the foreleg off of her and narrowed her eyes at Misty "suuuure, don't tell the pony that probably has an army of giant robots that evil is coming. Dude, the actual hay?!" she responded, looking at Misty Spell as though she were a little crazy.

"I like comic books," Silver Cog said, having trotted up behind them, a small smile on her face. "If I am being honest, it is a relief to know that I share something in common with you. Perhaps you could introduce me to the Evil Moon character some time?" Silver asked hopefully, tail swishing a bit from excitement.

"This is your mess, you clean it up," Fire Flare whispered before trotting back to the table, shaking her head a bit as she tried to gather her thoughts.

Looking between the two of them for a moment, Misty decided to change the subject. "Ahahah yeah, maybe later, but don't you have to teach me magic first?" she asked, pointing to her horn for emphasis. Silver Cog missed the 'are you kidding me?!' expression on Fire Flares face, but Misty Spell saw it clear as day.

Silver Cog cleared her throat and nodded "right, yes. I do apologize for my enthusiasm. Very little aside from science and magic brings me joy. Comic books are one of those things. However, you are correct. We should continue with your studies and you are not leaving this room until you can levitate that book," she insisted.

They trotted back to the table and joined Fire Flare, who was staring deadpan at Misty Spell. "You know this is just going to blow up in your face right?" she asked, not even bothering to hide it from Silver any more.

Tsking a bit at Fire Flare, Silver levitated the book and guided it towards Misty. "Don't listen to her, she's just being a negative nancy today" Silver said, narrowing her eyes at Fire Flare, who rolled her eyes. "The chances of a spell actually exploding in your face grows exponentially with the difficulty of the spell. A simple telekinesis spell will not explode, simply fail to produce results," Silver Cog explained.

Resting her head on a hoof, Fire Flare stared off into space. "Yeah, that's exactly what I meant," she said to no one in particular before she was lost to the world.

Misty Spell sighed, "this is gonna be a long day isn't it?" she asked, receiving a nod from Silver Cog.