The Flow of Magic

University of Magicks, Canterlot

DRRRRIIIINGGG!!!

The bell echoed throughout the hallways, corridors, and spaces between, giving notice that class was now over. Students of all shapes and sizes, colors and forms exited their rooms, heading preferably back to their dorms or someplace else. Out of the herd of students, one in particular followed the teacher of the classroom she was just occupied in.

"Professor!" She called out, scurrying to keep up with him. "Professor, may I speak to you please?"

The stallion ignored her requests, pursuing his ongoing target, the staff buffet.

Easily angered by his rude response she charged her horn, and in a flash appeared in front of the old stallion. "Professor, I would like it if you speak to me."

"Oh, Miss Sparkle, good to see you again." He said sarcastically, before moving around her and continuing his journey to the magnificent spectacle of food set for him and his co-workers.

Miss Sparkle grunted, charging her horn once again, but this time levitating the professor back to her, holding him in place. He squirmed around, shooting daggers at her eyes.

"I demand you put me down this instant! I could get you expelled for this!" He shouted, only loud enough for the both to hear.

Miss Sparkle, in return and revenge, ignored his requests and brought him closer. "And I demand you speak to me about it."

The two stared at each other for what seemed like ages until the old stallion finally gave up. "Look Miss Sparkle, I've already told you this, I have nothing else to teach you!" He implied.

She pouted, but then remembered. "What about those other classes? I saw you teaching some colts around campus, what was that?"

The old stallion laughed, "Those were personal classes, and they are far too advanced for you."

She was shocked, "Too advanced, I-" She was cut off by his dismissing hoof.

"Look, you may have been taught by Celestia herself, but if you haven't figured out yet, some of the Mages in this university are more magically advanced than even her. You must learn from the best to be the best, which is why you are here." He said.

Hearing the tough truth about her mentor was much, but understanding that she must spend another 2 years in the same classes before she could move on was even worse. She already aced all the tests so far, she knows all the material, so what's the point?

"Professor, I have done everything this school has to offer, I have passed every class in every nook and cranny of the art of magic. So why won't you let me learn what those other ponies learn?" She begged.

The professor sighed, putting a hoof on her shoulder. "You should respect and love your youth. For the final magic we teach is far too dangerous for you to learn."

Miss Sparkle blinked, confused. "My youth...Dangerous? What do you mean dangerous?"

"Miss Sparkle, this entire time you have been learning defensive and conjuration magic. The only kind of magic any average pony would need right?" She nodded. "But beyond that is what we like to call offensive magic. It is the most dangerous kind. The power to conjure flames at will and incinerate your enemies..."

He sighed, continuing. "But it doesn't stop there. The most ancient kind of magic we teach is only available through the headmaster,  Professor Weavehoof. Remember these words Miss Sparkle.

"Arcane."

Sparkles mouth dropped, "Y-You mean?"

The professor nodded, "Yes, the very fabric of the universe, the threads that hold everything together. Even Starswirl could barely catch a glimpse of its true power."

Sparkle gulped, but then remembered. "But don't we use arcane every time we teleport?" She asked.

The professor nodded, "Yes, but only a small fragment of it. Any larger of a dose of its power could instantly kill you if not prepared. Arcane is volatile, unstable, and a vicious kind of magic." He said, trying his best to scare the young mare from trying it.

Sparkle spent a few seconds to regather her thoughts, but by the time she was back to ask more questions, the professor was gone. She looked around, calling his name. She heard a bubble sound next to her. She turned around to see a conjured message bubble. She cocked a brow and popped it, waiting to hear its contents.

"I'm sorry Miss Sparkle, I must be going, the buffet awaits me. Ta ta!" A voice replayed.

Sparkle blinked, turning back around to the hallway, still filled with hundreds of students. "Arcane...I know what I'll be writing to the princess about tonight." she squealed, heading back to class.

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The Great Throne, Canterlot

Among the festivities, and celebrations moving throughout the throne room, as it was Equestrian Independence Day, the two great leaders noticed something peculiar. This feeling, only noticed by them, exchanging glances, nodding and heading toward one another.

"Is it him?" The darker one asked, curiously.

The much larger one shook her head, "I think so. His presence has changed since we last saw him." She looked around at the ponies dancing, and eating. "Either way, we must return to our duties. I just can't shake this odd feeling."

The darker one nodded, heading back to her assigned position among the horde of ponies. Entertaining their subjects was the best they could do at the moment, but the slight feeling that something grand was happening still persisted. The two sisters brushed it off, allowing nothing to distract their night of celebration.

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For the ponies of Ponyville, it was just another average night. Very few ponies wandered the streets, most of them either late night shoppers or drunks just trying to find their way home from the local pub. The bar in town square just opened up not too long ago, and already half the town was using it as their new 'hang out' place. All of the ponies, even the elements inhabited the bar like it was their own house.

From outside the building, the echoes of ponies singing songs could be heard for miles, thus making everypony in Ponyville troubled with sleep deprivation.  Though it was no matter, for it was the most fun anypony has had in ages. A place where they could get together and celebrate their independence. Cider filled the pub, flowing down the throats of many ponies, laughter and joy filling the air.

For once, this was needed. The atmosphere in the most recent months were tough on most ponies, especially Ponyville. Sure, every day was a new adventure, usually leading to some disaster, but the sealing of Discord was a battle quite hard to recover from. Not only that, but the recent Royal Wedding was tiring as well. Can some things just not go perfectly? Tonight was no different.

As the night went on, many ponies eventually said their goodbyes and went along their jolly ways back home. Laughing and nearly tripping over themselves. It was truly a swell day for Ponyville, one they would never forget. The bar was almost empty, most of the ponies have already left. From inside voices were at but a whisper, coming from the obvious smart of the town, Twilight Sparkle. She had engaged a conversation with the town drunk, Berry Punch. An odd sight to be seen yes, but tonight everypony was great friends.

The two exchanged different topics, and Twilight found her new friends to be quite the conversationalist. If given a chance, even the most odd of ponies, or in this case 'drunk' could be proven to be much different than everypony thinks. After a few hours of drinking, which Twilight did almost never, she got up from her stool.

"Well I'm getting tired, Berry, it's been great speaking to you. Maybe we can talk again some other time?" She smiled, recieving a weak, tired nod from Berry.

"Why don't you have one shmore..." She said, burping loudly. The bartender snickered at her behavior, glad that he has a new loyal customer.

"No thanks, I think I'd rather find my way home then sleep on the side of the streets," She winced. "Who knows what could happen to me out there."

Berry's smile faded, and she nodded, as if seriously. "mmkay..I'll check wish you later Twi..." She paused, some drool coming out from her mouth. "Light." She finished rather late, much to the confusion of Twilight, who later registered it to be the effects of the alcohol.

Twilight giggled at her friends behavior, waving a dismissive hoof to Berry, and Mead, the bartender. As she approached the doorway, a peculiar stallion trotted in. Berry beamed with excitement, hoping this new customer would be her new replacement as a drinking buddy. He was a periwinkle coated unicorn, with a  dark violet mane. Twilight noticed that if it weren't for his eyes, they would blend perfectly together. His eyes were lime green, shining like emeralds. His cutie mark was strange, reflecting a collection of connected stars.

As he trotted in with a grin on his face, Twilight felt something that sent shivers down her spine. As he approached closer, his eyes set on the bartender, the feeling enhanced until Twilight felt a little dizzy. What is this feeling...? She thought.

Back in real time, the stallion trotted right past Twilight with ease, showing nothing of problem. Twilight stood still, her gaze still fixed at the door. The chills she previously felt were gone, along with everything else. Soon enough she felt herself slowly trot towards the exit. That is, until she remembered the feeling. It hit her like a train.

I always felt this way when I was learning magic at the university. Whenever somepony would cast a high level spell, it would send shivers down and up my whole body. Twilight stopped her train of thought, pondering something to herself. But...I didn't see him casting anything.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the annoying laughter of Berry Punch. Twilight glanced back, noticing that the two were already the best of friends. The unicorn was oddly enough, drinking his glass of hard cider with his hoof. Twilight thought this was odd and her suspicion caught the best of her.

"Why aren't you holding that glass with your magic?" She asked the colt, who simply shook his head.

"I don't remember there being any rules on how I handle things," he coughed rather hard. "Besides," he glared at Twilight, his sly smile still planted on his face. "Why do you care?" He asked. Twilight couldn't think of a response and just shrugged, "Sorry, I just found it a little odd."

The colt laughed, "I get that a lot actually."

Berry Punch had no idea what was going on but to be honest, she could care less. She bumped glasses with him, chugging down another glass. Twilight found herself trotting back to the stool, her curiousity growing with this colt. "Back for more 'eh?" Mead teased.

"No, I'm just here to see who this colt is." Twilight responded, receiving no attention the colt. "Excuse me, but may I ask you something?" She poked the colt, who flinched in response. He turned back to her, his deep lime green eyes syncing into the soul of the young mare. "Uhh, sure?" He said, rather nervously.

Twilight found herself stuck in his gaze for a second, before looking away suddenly. She noticed that she was blushing slightly, which she quickly corrected herself. "Just...Who are you? I've never seen your face in Ponyville before." She asked. "Come to think of it, neither have I." Berry added, a hoof to chin as she thought.

The unicorn set his last glass down, wiping his muzzle with his arm. "That's probably because I'm not from around here. In fact, I'm here on business."

Twilight cocked her head slightly to the left, "business? Of what sort, if you don't mind me asking?"

The colt waved his hoof dismissively, "I'm a traveling mage. Just came back home here to Equestria after traveling from across the world. I've been many places but trust me, I'm glad to be home." He explained rather blandly, still receiving interested expressions from all three ponies. "I was sent by Celestia herself to investigate...certain happenings in western Equestria and Deire. Though what I discovered there is still classified." He finished, consuming another glass of cider.

At this moment Twilight was straight up in his face, causing him to fall off his stool. Twilight giggled, feeling the barrage of questions about to pour from her mouth. But before she could even open her muzzle, he placed his hoof on her muzzle.

"No questions. No answers." He stated plainly, yet seriously. His glare told Twilight that he wasn't lying. Twilight whimpered, sinking back into her stool. The unicorn sighed, pulling himself back up to his stool. A silence filled the room as he gulped down glass after glass. Berry Punch stopped hers, to drop her jaw in amazement at the sheer amount of cider he was consuming.

Finally, after what seemed like ages, he gave her a chance. "Fine. Ask away." Twilight squealed in excitement, focusing her gaze on him, quill and paper in mist. "First, what is your name?"

"Arcane."

Twilight blinked, feeling a sense of dejavu flow throughout her body. She quickly dismissed the feeling, writing down the information on her parchment. "Home town?"

Arcane took a sip from his glass, "...Roulin."

Twilight stopped her writing, her gaze contorted into one of shock. "I'm so sorry..." Twilight felt horrible for asking him asking him anything now. When Discord was free for the few days he was out, he completely destroyed a small village off in Western Equestria. There were no survivors. That village was called Roulin, after the great Equestrian hero 'Roulin Breakmane'.

A small silence drifted through the bar, both Berry and the bartender minding their own business. With a small shrug and a flash of light, Arcanes' tab was on the bar. Letting himself down, he stretched his rather muscular body. Twilight couldn't help but noticed his build, finding herself impressed with him. He noticed her glance and grinned. Twilight hastily turned the other way, burying her muzzle in her own drink, a blush clear to all around her.

"You're quite adorable when your embarrassed Ms. Sparkle." Arcane teased, receiving a chuckle from the bartender who secretly agreed. Twilight blinked, her blush growing deeper in scarlet red. "Alright, I guess I'll stop before your whole face turns red." He chuckled to himself.

"By the way..." Arcane trailed off, looking around the pub. "Is there any houses for sale? I was hoping to settle down for a while. It's pretty nice here, the bar's got my favorite kind of cider." The bartender smiled, realizing he just received another loyal customer. "And...Not to mention, we got some pretty cute mares here." He said, blinking to Berry Punch, who just smiled in response.

"You could try the town hall to see if they have any for sale. Still going to have to wait until tomorrow, I doubt it's open at twelve at night." Mead said, cleaning out the few glasses Arcane chugged down beforehoof. Arcane frowned, "Damn. Guess I'll just have to find a hotel. Well see you later"-"You could stay with me!" Twilight hastily interrupted, receiving confused glances from Berry and Mead. Arcane blinked, trying to process the offer. "..What? Really?" He asked.

"Yes, I mean yeah, we always have an extra room for guests. And if you need a place to stay, theres no way I can turn that down." She said rather nervously.

Arcane grinned, "A thousand thanks to you, Ms. Sparkle."

Shortly after the conversation came to a close, the two left the bar. Paying their tab plus tips for such great service, they made their way to Twilights' home. Arcane noticed in the least that Twilight doesn't drink much. She was wobbling over, her face flushed with mixed emotions. It made Arcane wonder if they were even going the right way. Eventually, even through much needed guidance to her hooves, the two made it back home, or at least Twilights home.

Twilight showed him in, showing him the various things around her house. Arcane was...In the best described, quite amazed at the mass amount of books that could be stored in such a small tree house. Being a mage, books was nothing new to him. In fact, the canterlot ward of magicks was practically built of pure books on magic. Then Arcane realized something he hadn't before.

"Twilight?" He asked, gaining her attention. "Why are you even letting me in your house. You don't even know me. Besides, I could be a criminal or something!" She laughed slightly, "It's okay. I read your aura, I know you aren't lying." Arcane paused himself, giving this mare one good look. She can read auras? Just who is this mare?

Finally after their little tour, Twilight was yawning more profusely, showing her signs of extreme tiredness.

"You seem tired Twilight. You should go to sleep, you can show me around Ponyville tomorrow, okay?" He said with a smile.

She yawned again, "Yes, maybe you're right...." She gazed off, then snapped back into attention. "Your bed is upstairs, second room on the right. Mine is on the left." Arcane nodded, though he wasn't sure why she would give him her room location as well. A thought quickly passed through his mind but he mentally punched himself for even considering such a thing.

"Uhh, right..." He said, quickly finding himself blushing from his previous thought. "Thanks." Twilight smiled creepily, heading upstairs, tripping over herself a couple times just to get up the stairs.

Thoughts rain through his head as he thought of why she smiled like that. Then it hit him. Did she know? Does she know how to read minds? Arcane was beginning to sweat, as he processed the possibilities that he potentially screwed up his impression with this mare because of his male instincts.

Arcane quickly shrugged off his perverted thoughts, coming back into the main view of things. It was at that exact moment that all the fatigue from his long journey came back to him. He nearly collapsed from all the soars being strained on his body. Luckily, he managed to get himself over to the couch. He fell unto the couch with a thump, his moan being from both the pain and pleasure at the feeling of a soft cushion being against his body. Within seconds he was asleep, his light snore traveling through the air particles, only reaching a few feet away.

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The Great Throne, Canterlot

Two royal beings gave their last bows and courteous goodbyes to their guests as they slammed the regal grand door shut. A sigh emitted from both of them, finally coming to realization that it was over.