Ash awoke early the next morning, though not by his own choice. The very first thing he became aware of is the sound of loud banging against his door, though it was neither particularly aggressive or violent, which revealed the fact that it was most likely a pony just knocking on the door with solid hooves. He rolled out of bed with a groan and, forgetting for the moment that he was shirtless, walked over to the door and opened it, rubbing his eyes. “Can I help you?”

“I was wondering if you would join my sister and I for breakfast, but you look tired.” He heard Celestia say with an amused tone of voice. He let his hand drop and opened his blurry eyes, seeing the Alicorn standing in front of him.

“Of course I’ll join you two, just let me put my socks and shoes on.” Ash said, walking back towards the bed and leaving the door open. Celestia took a couple steps in, content to wait for him before heading to breakfast. Ash sat down on the bed after grabbing his clothes from the nightstand beside the bed, stooping over to put his socks and shoes on.

“Socks? I thought you were male.” Celestia asked curiously.

“I don’t know what ponies use socks for, but humans use them to protect our feet while wearing shoes, which will chaff otherwise. Everyone, provided they can get them, wears socks, unless they choose to go barefoot or wear shoes that don’t require them.” Ash explained. “What do ponies use them for?”

“Well, for the most part, only mares wear them, with few exceptions. Usually, a mare will wear them to make themselves seem more attractive, but there are also socks that are sold for, ahem, use in the bedroom, if you get my meaning.” Celestia told him, her cheeks turning a very light pink toward the end.

“I understand.” Ash said. “What about winter clothing?”

“Winter clothing is very rare, though it does exist for ponies with thin coats. Winter clothes usually consists of a scarf, socks, and a saddle, though they are very visibly designed for functionality rather than appearance. As for saddles, they often have the same use as socks, though they tend to be more focused on lingerie.” Celestia explained, making him nod again.

“Winter clothing for humans consists of pants, like my jeans, and a jacket, which is a thicker shirt with longer sleeves.” Ash explained, not quite knowing if they used the same terminology for their clothing.

“The same terms apply for the same things here.” Celestia told him.

Ash pulled his shoes on quickly enough and stood, gesturing with his head toward the door. “I’m ready.”

“Let’s go. My sister and student are already there, though I think my student would rather be sleeping.” Celestia explained, causing the two to start walking.

“So, Celestia, what’s on the agenda for today?” Ash asked curiously.

“Well, I have royal duties today, though that doesn’t start until after my morning canter. Luna, on the other hoof, has nothing to do. The meeting is over, so she’s free for the next two days before she takes over for me. You’ll have to ask her what she plans to do.” Celestia told him, the pair walking toward the dining room once again.

“What’s your morning canter? I mean, I know what a canter is, it's a run, but you understand my point.” Ash questioned as the two turned a corner, passing by a trio of guards who were patrolling. Celestia nodded to the three, who all returned the greeting with a salute.

“Every morning, I canter a few laps around a track I had installed a few centuries back to keep in shape. It’s a half-mile straight path that is between the castle and the exterior wall, placed there before the Storage Quarter was built. Back then, I didn’t have days off like I do now, so a scheduled exercise was the only chance I had to make sure I wouldn’t gain weight from an otherwise sedentary lifestyle.” Celestia explained.

Ash knew damn well why she didn’t have any days off in the past. While asking would give him the chance to be able to say ‘Nightmare Moon’ without them wondering where he had learned the name, he didn’t want to bring up painful memories. Instead, he just continued with his original plan. “Do you mind if I join you for your run? My diet is a bit more substantial than it used to be, so I’m worried I’ll start gaining weight if I don’t start exercising in some way.”

“I don’t mind at all, as it’ll be nice to have a cantering partner, but why was your diet not ‘substantial,’ as you put it?”

“I was in a hospital for three years. The food there was specifically tailored to give the nutrients needed, but also be lacking enough to not make the patients gain weight unless they needed it.” Ash explained, making Celestia’s ears fold back.

“I’m sorry for bringing it up.” Celestia said softly.

“Don’t be, it was just a question.” Ash said, idly thinking how the situation could have been reversed had he asked the question he considered earlier. “In any case, how far do you run and how fast?”

“Five miles at a trot.” Celestia said simply, making Ash visibly wince. “Is something wrong?”

“Five miles is a lot for a human who doesn’t run often. I won’t be able to keep up for all of it. I probably won’t be able to run five miles a day for a good while.” Ash told her.

“I’ll lessen my distance, if that helps?” Celestia offered kindly, making Ash remember that she was born under the Lady stone.

“No need, Celestia. I’ll keep up with you for as long as I can, but I’ll stop once I’m really tired.” A thought hit him and he continued. “I’ll even be able to do it every day. I’ll be able to use Healing to stop myself from getting sore.”

Celestia nodded in understanding as they rounded another corner, the door to the dining hall coming up. “That is very useful, then. The only reason I canter five miles instead of ten or more is because I don’t want to be sore while ruling, just in case. If I could move further than that and not worry about the pain from my muscles, I would be able to lose the extra weight in my flanks.”

“First, you don’t have extra weight.” Ash began. In truth, she really didn’t. Her flanks were bigger than an average pony’s, but that was only because she was bigger overall. For her height, nothing about it seemed large or fat. “Second, I’d be happy to help you once I learn Healing Hands.”

“First, I do have extra weight on my flanks. Two hundred years ago, I weighed almost thirty pounds less, though I appreciate the compliment!” Celestia said with a slight grin, smacking him with her wing playfully. “Second, I’d appreiciate that very much, Ash.”

“Two hundred years ago? Wouldn’t you have been shorter and less muscled back then, hence smaller?” The man asked simply, making her blink twice before humming thoughtfully.

“Perhaps. I don’t quite know what my height was back then, so maybe I did just grow taller.” Celestia said as the two guards beside the dining room swung the door open, giving them entrance. The pair walked in, seeing that Luna and Twilight were both there already. Luna was wide awake and even gave him a large smile when she saw him, which he returned. Twilight, on the other hand, looked dead to the world with a fully zombified face, which was hovering over a cup and nurturing it like it was the Holy Grail...that apparently actually existed. Celestia walked toward the end of the table and took a seat by Luna and Ash sat across from Twilight, also next to Luna.

Breakfast had already been served, a large helping of pancakes, eggs, and orange juice. However, Ash also had several large strips of bacon, which he was very thankful for. In fact, Ash was thankful for meat in general. Not having to go vegetarian was amazing. However, before they began to eat, Luna smiled widely at the man and spoke. “Thank you for showing me such a wonderful time last night, Ash.”

Instantly, Twilight started coughing as a sip of her coffee went down the wrong pipe, with Celestia’s fork dropping to the table with a loud clink. Ash, doing nothing more than setting his head into his hand, sighed loudly. After a moment, Celestia apparently overcame her shock well enough to speak. “What? Luna!”

“What?” Ash could practically hear the honest innocence dripping off of her words, confusion in her voice. “All he did was show me something wonderful under the stars last night.”

All thoughts of Luna actually realizing what she said went out the window with that statement, so he looked up and cleared his throat loudly. Celestia and Twilight, who had calmed her coughing, looked up to him, bright blushes on their muzzles. “I invited Luna into my dreams last night. I showed her that Nirn has, in fact, two moons. I also told her the story of our constellations and showed them to her. We did not, in any way, have relations, despite what it sounds like Luna is saying.”

Now Luna’s muzzle was bright red, finally realizing what it sounded like she meant. “Y-yes, what he said! We didn’t do anything intimate except dancing!”

Seeing the look she received from Twilight, though Celestia had nothing more than an understanding smile, she spoke defensively. “It’s a hobby of mine and he could help! Nopony knows how to waltz anymore, so I asked him once I learned he could.”

With a sigh, Ash went back to eating once he saw Twilight calm down as she started to understand what had happened. Celestia, apparently piecing it together once he had spoken, had already started eating. After a moment, she spoke, though she made sure to swallow before she did. “I was somewhat worried you had managed to seduce my sister in one night. It’s good to know that you two simply spent some time together.”

I mean, I wouldn’t mind seducing her. If I thought I could, I’d probably try. Ash thought to himself, then spoke. “No worries there. I don’t think your sister is the type of mare to sleep with someone she met earlier that day.”

The two Alicorns nodded, agreeing with him, before they all turned back to their meals. Unlike the previous lunch and dinner, none of the four spoke until they were finished eating. Embarrassment and misunderstanding had seemingly killed the conversation for the time. The only thing to be heard was the soft clink of forks on plates, the sounds of cups being raised and lowered, and a single soft groan of delight when Ash tasted the first bacon strip. Ten minutes later, the four had finished.

“So, Ash, what do you plan to do today?” Twilight asked curiously.

“I’m going to run with Celestia for a bit, though I’m not going to be able to run as far as she will. After that, I plan on testing my Healing more and try to get closer to learning Healing Hands.” Ash explained. “So I’ll probably head back to Star’s Yard and continue to train there.”

“I’ll help you with that.” Luna said, nodding to him. “I’ll head to the Yard a half hour or so after this.”

“Thank you. What about you, Twilight?”

“I’ll be heading up to the Archives and possibly check out a few books to read before it’s time for me to head to the station. I won’t be here at lunch since I’m heading back to Ponyville.” The Unicorn said, receiving a nod from him. With plans shared, the four slowly stood up and made their way out. Twilight and Luna walked down a hallway together, the Alicorn likely accompanying her to the Archives. On the contrary, Ash followed Celestia down a similar route that had led him to Star’s Yard, which made sense. Star’s Yard was set close to the back of the Public Quarter while the track was built after it, from what he understood.

The ancient Alicorn- not that he would ever refer to her as that vocally- led him through the halls of the castle for what must have been easily twenty minutes, eventually coming across a door that was different than all the others. While it was still made of oak wood, the normal markings, a sun and moon, were missing from it. It was also much smaller than the other doors of the castle. Whereas Ash could kneel down on Celestia’s back and pass through most of the doors in the castle, this one required both Ash and Celestia to duck to walk through, which caused her to speak. “This is a back entrance into the castle, really only accessible from the Storage and Defense Quarters of the castle. It wasn’t built for somepony of our heights, so I usually teleport here. However, I wanted to show you the route so you can walk here if you decide to 'run' without me, or have to find me here on your own.”

Ash nodded, appreciating the sentiment. The more places he could successfully walk to alone, the better chance he had of eventually making a mental map of the Public Quarter of the castle. Now that they were outside, Ash took a look around and saw that the track really was small and nearly unnoticeable from the outside of the castle. About fifteen feet in front of him, a sheer rock wall of the mountain greeted his vision, while the track ran for a little over two thousand feet to his right before the mountain blocked the exit. Up above, the area gradually narrowed until a half-mile long and foot wide strip allowed light to fill the area.

Looking back toward the track, he saw that the path itself was marble, just like the rest of the castle, but the floor of the area was simple gray rock. In fact, it looked like this area had been carved out of the mountain and started to be turned into a full room before the builders gave up on it, broke a hole in the roof to make a light, and then abandoned the place to be used once a day by Celestia. “So why doesn’t Luna join us?”

“Luna never really developed this habit because we implemented our system a few months after… Anyway, rather than running every day with me, she goes camping sometimes. I don’t mind it when she goes to Whitetail Woods, but whenever she’s feeling particularly brave, she camps in the Everfree. I know she can’t really be hurt by anything in there, but I still worry nonetheless.” Celestia said, trailing off at first to avoid mentioning Luna’s banishment.

“Hmm. I might go with her one day, if she’ll allow me to, though probably not to the Everfree. You’ve mentioned that it was dangerous twice now, so I think I’d rather avoid it until I’m stronger, physically and magically.” Ash said, purposely changing the subject, as the pair started to walk the final ten or so feet to the start of the track.

Celestia flashed him a thankful smile. By this point, she no doubt knew that he figured something had happened involving Luna. She also likely knew he was avoiding bringing it up to respect their privacy, which she was grateful for. While the truth was that he already knew about Nightmare Moon, he still wasn’t going to bring it up until one of them directly offered the information. Ash had absolutely no doubt that it was a sore subject, so he felt no need to upset them to satisfy his curiosity.

The pair stopped at the beginning of the track, looking down the marble path that was clearly two thousand feet long and eight or so feet wide. Celestia turned her head and gazed at Ash with a grin, which he returned with a slightly nervous one as she spoke. “Try to keep up for at least two and a half miles. Remember, that’s five times across the track. When we get to the other side, we’ll stop and turn around and run back. If you are wondering why the track doesn’t loop around, I didn’t want to have a full oval track built in the mountain, so I chose to have a stop-and-go track.”

“Understood.” Ash said.

“Ready?” Celestia asked, receiving a nod in reply. “Go.”

The two started forward with Celestia leading, moving at a trot. Quickly matching her pace, he came up beside her, which was rather easy. A trot for a pony was a jog for a human, which made sense. If he remembered correctly, a horse had four speeds, those being a walk, a trot, a canter, and a gallop, which were walking, jogging, running, and sprinting, respectively. If Celestia moved at a trot the entire time, he might be able to keep up for three or so miles before getting tired.

Thirty Minutes Later

“Too much?” Celestia asked, trying and failing to keep an amused grin off of her muzzle. Ash had done rather well for a bipedal species who had not kept an active lifestyle. He kept up with her jogging easily for two miles. He knew how to breathe properly and kept it steady rather than panting or gasping, he kept his stride long but not long enough to strain himself, and he gradually slowed to a stop at the end of the track rather than stopping as quickly as he could. Nothing had happened for those four laps, not even talking, as Ash was too focused on measuring his paces and breathing to speak to her, not that she minded. Running was a chance to clear her mind and relax just as much as her days off were.

The change came from the fifth lap. Celestia had proposed the idea of speeding up to a canter for the final lap and Ash, not realizing that he was actually much more tired than he felt, agreed to it. When they stopped and turned for the fifth lap, both of them took off at a run and kept pace, though Ash started to slow down around halfway through. By the time they got to the end of the run, Ash had slowed to a trot again and promptly collapsed onto the hard rock, not even Celestia’s reaction speed allowing her to try to catch him.

While initially worried he was actually injured, his waving and weak but reassuring grin told her otherwise. Her own frown had faded, replaced by a grin as she watched him regain his breath. “Next time, we won’t run. We’ll just keep to a solid trot the entire time.”

“That’s good.” Ash breathed out, allowing his eyes to close for a moment. A few seconds later, he opened his eyes again and rose to his feet with a groan, having to transition to his knees before he could fully rise. “I think I’m done running for the day. I’m going to head to Star’s Yard.”

“How will you get there?” Celestia asked, a smug tone to her voice.

“I’ll ask a guard for directions.” Ash said, his tone still tired but resolute.

“Or you can just ask me to teleport you there.” Celestia said.

“It won’t be a problem?” Ash asked.

“Not at all.” Celestia said, her horn alighting in magic.

“This won’t make me throw up, will it?” The man questioned warily. He had read too many stories where first-time teleporters threw everything up and did not seek that fate for himself.

“Not even the slightest. That effect was fixed three decades ago.” Celestia said, flashing him a smile. With a pop that was much louder for him now that he was the one teleporting, Ash’s vision was replaced by a white field, likely the flash he could always see. A split second before he reappeared at Star’s Yard, his vision seemed to flicker with color for a split moment before the courtyard appeared with another pop.

Looking around, he took in the various plants and trees that filled the courtyard, flower bushes of bright colors dotted here and there. The white wood gazebo still sat in the same place it had before, the stream running right in front of it. Following the stream with his eyes, he noticed that Luna was already there waiting for him. She was on the flat-topped rock he had sat on last time, reclining on her back with her wings splayed out, likely sunbathing with her head hanging off the rock in his direction, her eyes closed. Ash slowly walked over, her upside-down ears perking as his shoes crunched old leaves and brushed aside grass.

Luna’s teal eyes opened as he neared, looking up, or down in her case, to meet his own. With a quick motion, she rolled and righted herself, now looking at him as mild amusement played through her eyes. She took in his sweaty hair, his disheveled clothing and heavy breathing. “Have fun?”

“I did, in fact, enjoy myself.” Ash replied. “Though I decided to accept her challenge to run the last half mile rather than jog it. I shouldn’t have.”

“Jog?”

“Trot.”

Luna made a noise of acknowledgement before continuing. “So, are you ready to continue practicing your magic or do you wish to rest some more?”

“Rest, most definitely rest. My mind’s muddled right now and my spells require focus. If I mess up Healing, it will worsen the wound I’m trying to fix and will even cause mana burn.” Ash explained, showing her his left hand. “It’s pretty much just a burn that magic can’t heal. My guide said it was entirely immune to magic, which is why it can’t be healed by anything other than time.”

His palm had been a bright red a few minutes after the burn had first formed, but it looked to have healed some in the sixteen or so hours it had been since it happened. The shiny red flesh had faded to a dull red, through it wasn’t quite the same color as the rest of his hand yet. While closing his hand into a fist did sting some, it didn’t hurt enough that he tried to avoid it.

“Very good idea, then. I’d rather not lose any of my fur and have to wait for a burn to heal before it regrows.” Luna said, hopping off of the rock and gesturing toward the gazebo with one wing. “Join me in the shade, then.”

The pair walked over toward the gazebo and walked up the two steps that kept it off of the wet ground. Luna took a seat on one of red cushions and grabbed the rest in her magic, setting one beside her and laying the rest out in a row. Luna moved, lying down on the two cushions she had while gesturing for him to take the other three, which he did with a nod of thanks. Ash lied down on them on his stomach, the position he was most comfortable in, and rested his head down on the side, toward Luna, before speaking. “Did you go with Twilight to the Archives?”

“I did.” Luna confirmed. “I took the chance to spend a little more time with her before she has to leave. She is a good friend of mine, and I usually visit her when I’m off, but it’s not quite as often as I would like. Do you plan to join Celestia’s runs more often?”

“Yeah, I do.” Ash said. “I want to get and stay in shape and running is a good way to do it.”

The Alicorn made a face. “I don’t like running, mostly because I hate being sweaty. It makes my fur mat, messes up my feathers, and stinks, though your smell isn’t nearly as strong as a pony’s. I think it’s because you don’t have heavy fur. Anyway, I’d rather camp in a forest, which is something I do quite often.”

“I heard from Celestia when I asked why you don’t join her. I’ve also heard twice now that the Everfree is unsafe. What makes it more dangerous that any other forest?”

“There’s wild, untamed magic that fills those woods. Outside of the Forest, ponies control almost everything. Plants are grown by Earth ponies, animals are taken care of by farmers and veterinarians, and the weather is controlled by Pegasi. In the Forest, everything runs on its own. The weather is wild, plants grow quickly and uncontrolled, and the beasts there follow primal instinct rather than pony discretion.” Luna explained, a fond look coming over her face as she spoke. “Of course, that’s not to mention the animals themselves. Sure, there are normal wolves and deer, but there are also timberwolves, manticores, cockatrices, hydras, cragodiles, quarray eels, chimeras, and so many more dangerous predators that would love to snack on an Alicorn.”

“And yet you camp there for the challenge, don’t you?” Ash asked, beginning to understand why the Alicorn liked the Everfree.

“Yes, I do. There’s something about knowing that a single mistake can end me that really gets me excited and my adrenaline pumping.” She said with a smile. “Of course, I’m always careful enough that I’m never really at risk, but the possibility of it is enough. What about you? Do you enjoy the thrill of danger?”

“I don’t rightly know.” Ash said. “I’ve never really been in that situation. For the most part, the area of my world I lived in had no ‘natural’ dangers. However, the Everfree does remind me of home, mostly.”

“What do you mean?” Luna questioned curiously, an interested look clear in her eyes.

“The weather, plants, and animals. In my world, the weather is entirely random and we try to predict it, but we don’t always get it right. The plants will grow wild and utterly take back any building, town, or city if they are left alone long enough, though it’s only really happened with buildings in the woods and old ghost towns. The animals are completely wild with the exception of certain domesticated species such as dogs and cats, and going into the true wild can be a death sentence if something decides your on the menu.” Ash explained to the Alicorn, who seemed equally interested and worried about an entire world that ran on Everfree logic.

“You should join me for my camping the next time I go into the Everfree, then.” Luna suggested. “It might remind you of your world, and it’ll give you the chance to find out if you like the thrill of being in danger or not, and with my magic, I can teleport us out should we actually be in danger.”

“I likely will, though I think it’ll be a long while before I actually do.” Ash said, then continued when Luna looked at him curiously. “I’d like to know a few more spells before I do such a thing, simply so I can be of assistance should we be attacked by an animal.”

“That’s a fair point, I suppose.” Luna said, nodding slowly in agreement. “Very well, then. It will be some time before you join me, then, but I will not forget.”

Then she grinned at him, continuing on. “You’ll go camping with me eventually, whether I have to trick you or not.”

Ash just chuckled. “I don’t think that’ll be necessary. As long as you actually give me time to learn a few new spells, I’ll happily come with you. I think I’m ready to practice my Healing now, in any case.”

“Eager to get started, hmm?” Luna asked, sitting up again as Ash followed suit.

He flashed her a smile as he replied. “The faster I learn, the faster I get to be in the Forest with you, alone.”

Her muzzle flushed lightly, understanding his joke, before she slapped him with a wing. “Cease your teasing or you’ll be testing your Healing on yourself.”

Ash chuckled, but then gave her a confused look as what she said registered. “I am testing it on myself, remember? I don’t know Healing Hands yet and Healing only works on the caster.”

She froze for a moment, her ears splaying back, making Ash laugh louder. “You forgot, didn’t you?”

“Perhaps.” She admitted. “I’ll still stay and try to help, though.”

“It’s appreciated.” Ash said. “Do you have a knife for me to use? I think a maid came in while I was sleeping and took the other one back to the kitchens.”

With a pop of magic, another simple kitchen knife appeared in her magical aura, which she held out to him. “What do you need to do to learn Healing Hands?”

“Honestly, Luna, I’m not quite sure.” Ash said. “My guide is magically connected to me through some very complex spells, and I unlock new information after certain events. I had never heard of mana burn before until I burned myself and unlocked the entry on my guide. It said that I need to get used to the casting Healing to gain access to Healing Hands, though I’m not sure what exactly counts as ‘used to casting Healing.’ It said something along the lines of ‘familiarity breeds understand, which breeds power.’”

“What is your guide, anyway? I’ve never seen it.” Luna asked curiously. Ash reached into his pocket and pulled out the phone, tapped the screen to switch it on, and loaded the guide. Once the index popped up, he held it out to her, which she took in her magic. He let go of it, and to his surprise, the phone fell straight to the floor of the gazebo. It hit the ground and bounced once before Ash picked it up, checking it over.

There weren’t any cracks on it, so he looked up to the confused Luna. “Sorry, I thought you had a hold on it.”

“I thought I did, too.” Luna said, confusion present in her voice. “Set it on the floor.”

He did so and, a moment later, her aura wrapped around it, yet the phone refused to move. Twice, the aura faded off of it before she tried again, eventually giving up. “I can’t lift it, Ash. The guide simply slips out of my grip every time I try to lift it. Do you know why?”

“No, I don’t.” Ash said, humming afterwards as he thought it over. “Perhaps it’s a spell wrapped around it to prevent it from being tampered with by magic?”

“Perhaps.” Luna mused for several moments before ultimately pushing it aside. “In any case, I suppose you should start practicing your magic, or do you wish to try to understand it instead?”

“How about both? I can practice my magic, and while waiting for it to recharge, we can try to learn more about the spell itself.” Ash suggested, receiving an affirmative nod from Luna.

Ash took the knife in his hand and, deciding not to test the spell on his right hand lest he burn himself on both hands and be unable to cast a spell, rolled up his pants leg enough to expose his lower leg. Setting the blade of the knife against the back of his leg, he prepared to quickly pull it across, though he would be careful not to cut deep. Just a light nick would work for Healing. No need to hurt himself worse, after all. However, before he could actually bring the blade across his leg, Luna spoke up, concern for him lacing her voice. “Ash, does this hurt you? I don’t know many ponies who would be willing to injure themselves just to learn a spell.”

Looking up at her, he replied. “Luna, I just nick myself. It’s not like I’m giving myself a gash or anything. Think of a papercut, just bigger, but not deeper. That’s about it. I have no desire to lacerate my flesh to practice Healing.”

Then, with a smirk, he continued. “That’ll be your job once I know Healing Hands.”

“Oh ha, ha, ha.” She said sarcastically, though she was smiling now. “Very well, continue. If you fail to heal yourself, I’ll take matters into my own hooves. Fair?”

“Fair.” Ash said, then brought the sharp blade across the back of his leg, opposite of his shin so he didn’t hit bone. True to his word, the cut barely bled, closer to a scratch than a cut. If Luna had to guess from the amount of blood, it really was practically a paper cut. It was no wonder he wasn’t learning anything about his spell with tiny cuts like those. Private Star had made it sound so much worse when she described the way he cut his hand to her.

Ash stared at the shallow but long scratch on his leg and focused, bringing his right hand near it. Imagining the golden ribbons of light once more and the tinkling sound of Healing, his imagination transitioned into reality much faster than it had before, likely because he had a chance to sleep, and talking with Luna had only given him a chance to rest again from his running. The cut quickly mended, the two sides coming together to leave sealed flesh, not a scar or scab left behind.

Looking over at Luna when he realized that was the first time she had seen a non-combat spell, he saw her gazing on with a curious look. A curious look that shifted into one of understanding as a smug grin came over her face as she sang out. “I understand it~”

“Understand what?”

Luna pointed at his hand with one of her hooves. “Healing. I understand how it works and why it works.”

“You were able to figure that out just by looking at it once?” Ash asked. If he was being truthful, it made him a little jealous. That was the kind of mastery of Magicka he wanted and Luna now had the first step. After a moment, he spoke again. “As much as I want to know, don’t tell me. I need to figure it out myself. How did you figure it out, though? You don’t even have Magicka!”

“Alicorn.” Luna said innocently, pointing toward herself with one of her blue hooves. “I’m very old and have a lot of experience with magic. Perhaps if you were four and a half thousand years old you would understand it just as I do.”

Ash’s eyes widened, surprised at her age. Truth be told, he expected her to be around sixteen hundred, not forty-five hundred. Then he saw the chance and took it. “You know, you don’t look half bad for your age.”

“Thank you, Ash.” She said with a slight flush and grin before continuing. “I may not be able to tell you how the magic works, but I can help you get there. You’re not healing enough. A Unicorn will never become better at levitation if she only lifts a pencil. If she, however, starts trying to lift a desk, she will become better.”

“So you want me to slice open my leg?” Ash asked to clarify. That’s what it sounded like she was hinting at. However, Luna just rolled her eyes and took the knife in her aura.

“Trust me.” Was all she said before she nicked the back of his leg again, his left hand above the burn, and his right arm. “Now try to heal all three at once. A full-body heal, if you will.”

Ash’s eyes widened as he understood her point, then nodded. It made sense, truthfully. The Healing spell had always covered the entire body in the game, which made sense. A soldier wouldn’t have the time to focus on his wounds one at a time, so he would heal them all at once. It also made sense why Healing wasn’t really draining his reserves at all- he wasn’t casting it in a large enough radius.

Making sure he kept his eyes wide open even though he wanted to close them as he tried to cast the spell, he focused as best he could with the feeling of blood dripping down his leg, arm, and hand. Luna had cut him deeper than he had, though the pain wasn’t very great, but the flowing warmth was a little distracting. Following Luna’s words to heal all three at once, he imagined golden light wrapping around all three cuts, the wounds mending as the blood faded, and the soft humming of the spell and the warmth that came with it.

He heard the spell cast, though he was looking at his left hand with his right behind held in front of him, out of his sight. Ribbons of light snaked around his left hand and he could see more on his leg out of the corner of his eye. He could feel warmth making its way down his right arm, to the aching cut, before the pain in all three areas began to fade away. The cut on his hand, which he was watching, was steadily closing, though he noticed that the ribbons of light avoided touching the mana burn in the slightest. A few moments later, he allowed the spell to drop, panting lightly. The strain in his chest had returned, showing that he was now doing it right. Now he was actually straining his reserves, which would allow it to expand.

“Good.” Luna praised from the side. Ash quickly looked over his arm and leg, having seen his hand heal, and saw that both cuts were gone. “But not quite what I asked for.”

“What? You said to heal all three at once.”

“As a full-body spell. The creature you fought in your dreams had used a spell that made a single line of golden light wrap around its entire body and I saw its wounds begin to close before your lightning bolt hit it. Isn’t that what a healing spell is supposed to look like?” Luna asked, making Ash blink twice. He hadn’t even noticed that the Dremora mage had casted a healing spell on himself, which made Ash respect Luna all the more for seeing something that must have only been a second or two.

“Yes, it is.” Ash said, looking back at her. “I hadn’t even noticed the Dremora had tried to heal itself. What did I look like?”

The Alicorn giggled lightly. “It looked like your hand was trying to turn you into a mummy.”

Then she got a gleam in her eyes, levitating the knife in the air again as it flickered through the air four times, four small aches appearing on his body. “Now, try again, and do it like the ‘Dremora’ did.”

Author's Note

And the second day begins! It's interesting how I can draw out a single day into thirty thousand words, but the first day of the arrival is almost always the most important. However, I don't plan to do that often, though it will most likely happen again.

As always, feel free to leave a comment on how you feel! I love reading what people think. Have something to say about Celestia's morning run? Share it! Feel like commenting on Luna's camping habits? What's the comment?

“Of course I’ll join you two, just let me put my shirt, socks, and shoes on.”

No one caught the fact that Ash didn't have a shirt when he arrived in Equestria? I just did.