John Sampson's Story

It was a wonderful impromptu honeymoon but it is over. Time to get back to work. We are coming up on the Guard cafeteria at zero four fifty something. Twilight is supposed to meet us here to observe my PT and use of magic. I have my doubts about a Princess getting up at four AM, but who knows.

We walk in and my doubts are crushed. There sits Princess Twilight and Colonel Steel, apparently waiting for us.

“Swift, I want three eggs and oatmeal with fruit. Would you please order it for me? I’m going to go see what’s up.

As I approach the table the Colonel says, “Have a seat, John. Twilight and I have been talking about you.”

Informal, that’s better. “I hope it’s been an entertaining discussion.”

“It’s been a useful discussion. Twilight and I have agreed that you and Swift need better quarters. She is going to finance the remodeling of an officer’s suite in the Guard Sector. It will even have an office for you. You can expect to move in about four days.”

Twilight chimes in, “And best of all, John, it won’t have a balcony.”

“Oh well. I do like a balcony because you can leave the door open and get a nice breeze.”

“John, you do know doors work both ways?” from a serious Steel.

“And they pass more than just air?” From an equally serious Twilight.

Swift brings our food just then. “Quite a gathering we have here.”

“And they’re speaking in riddles,” I add.

“Now that we’re all here we can lay it on the table,” Steel says, “I’ve had three shifts of Guardponies entertained by you two.”

Twilight contributes, “The good news is that there are no foreign dignitaries on Ambassador’s Row right now. The bad news is that Celestia is in earshot.”

Steel is studying me, “You really are clueless, aren’t you. That balcony door you were talking about opens onto one of the main public courtyards. Half of the Castle has been listening to you two screw like rabbits for the last couple of days.”

“Half of the Castle and Princess Celestia Herself. The only thing that’s saved your butt is that she blames Cadance. She’s sure Cadance overspelled you two.” Twilight reveals.

“Who is ‘Cadance’?” I ask.

“Cadance is my sister-in-law and Celestia’s niece. She’s an Alicorn and the Princess of Love.”

Things are suddenly making sense.

“I think we broke John,” Twilight finally has her revenge.

“No, but some things are suddenly fitting together. She talks with Luna, doesn’t she?”

“Of course, John. Luna’s province is the Night and most love happens at night.”

“Celestia is right. Cadance didn’t change what happened but she did change when and how, probably for the better.”

“John, whatever you do, don’t tell Celestia that!” Twilight pleads.

“It’s Luna’s doing anyway. She has a special reason to ask Cadance for a favor like that. And you do know that doors can be knocked on too. Anypony could have just reminded us.”

“And interrupt the show? No way!” Twilight grins from ear to ear.

Steel drops off at his office while the rest of us continue to the gym. There is a hush when we walk in but conversation quickly returns to normal. I strip down to my tighty whities and hit the mat for some pushups. Then I rolled over for situps and finished with jacks. Twilight watches the whole sequence carefully.

“You aren’t using magic?”

“No Twilight, I’m warming up. Magic comes next.”

I go to my favorite bar set and load it with weights, set them on my shoulders, and go for a jog. As I come back around to Twilight, “Are you getting what you want?”

“Not really. Can you do something in one place?”

“Sure.” And I start doing squats.

Twilight walks around me waving her horn like a pointer tracing my body in the air. She stands back and admires the results. “You can stop now, John.”

Twilight looks serious. “John, I’ve just confirmed what I have been thinking all along. You, and probably Fred too, are half of an extremely powerful pony. You accumulate and store magic like an Alicorn but you have only the simplest of ways to express it. If you had a horn you would be as strong as Celestia. That’s why your Oath was so powerful. You had two years of magic stored and unused. If you breed a Unicorn, your foals could be the foundation of a new power in Equestria. As it is you can only do Earth pony magic which involves your muscles.”

“Could you give me a horn?”

“Don’t you think the world would be covered up in Alicorns if we could? Everything is educated speculation anyway. You could have some bizarre human way of using magic like throwing it from your fingertips. The only other creature in Equestria with hands is a Minotaur and they have two horns with no magic.

“I’m ready to go to Ponyville whenever you are.”

“Let me rack the weights and shower.”

We get to the rail station at exactly the right moment to catch the train. (I found out later that we couldn’t have got there at the wrong time. When a Princess reserves a train, the train moves on her schedule.)

But the train gave me a chance to think, always a dangerous situation.

“Twilight, you’ve told me that I can’t project magic and you’ve told me that I projected major magic when I took my Oath.”

“That says more about the imperfection of language than it does about you. We all project magic, the question is how the projection translates to action. Your magic is projected through your muscles and translates into movements like your muscles would make if they were stronger. My magic projects through my horn and translates however my will shapes it. You could push this train with your shoulder and move it, a feat far beyond ordinary muscle. I could sit on this train and will it to move and it would move at least as far and fast without any visible action on my part. That’s the difference between goal oriented magic and free magic.

“I get that, Twilight. My magic works through me, through my muscles so it can only do things that muscles do. So how did I ‘move’ an entire world when I took my Oath?”

“The only thing that moved was you. You used your magic to separate yourself from the world ‘Terra’ and attach yourself to the world ‘Equestria’. Nothing was changed but you. What everypony felt was Equestria, made up of all of us, acknowledge the change. We didn’t change, we recognized your change. What isn’t known is the nature of your change. Only you could know that and only by understanding your magic at that moment. Your will reshaped yourself to your desire using your extremely powerful stored magic. We will be a lifetime understanding all the nuances of that action.”

“What about this ‘overspell’ that Cadance is accused of?”

“Cadance denies that she did more than aim you at Swift and stand back. She says the banding was all you.”

“So how did I know what words to say or have such certainty that they were right for us? I’ve never even imagined that such a thing was possible much less been able to do it.”

“John, your Oath is the closest to free magic that you can come. To wield free magic one must be extremely careful and disciplined. If I were to say ‘I want water’ and use my magic to get it, I would most likely be rained on. If I want a drink, I have to say ‘I want a drinking glass filled with cool pure water right there on that table right now’. Any detail that I leave out of my visualization of my desire will be ‘filled in’ by something random. Then you stood up in Royal Court and cast the most general spell that you could devise. Who knows what random side effects it may manifest for the rest of your life.”

“So basically, I cursed myself.”

“I don’t think I’d refer to your banding to Swift as a curse. She is a trained warrior, you know.”

“I mean ‘cursed’ as in an ancient Terran curse, ‘May you live in interesting times’.”

“That’s a very good way of expressing it. Magic is a force, a kind of energy. It doesn’t do anything until we impose our will on it and shape it into our desire. As a manifestation of our will, it takes on the character of our will. That’s how magic gets to be ‘black’. Your Oath was cast with the best of intentions. Celestia would have never allowed it otherwise. So its random side effects will all tend to be good even if not what was expected or desired.”

“Twilight, please tell Celestia that if She’ll apologize to Cadance, I’ll apologize to Luna. I spelled my banding to Swift. When she and I discussed friendship, I also thought about the next level. She promised to teach me pony courtship in the future. I was thinking about her when I asked that question and I was thinking about how citizenship would affect a courtship before I took that Oath.”

“John, I’m beginning to see why Celestia values you so. Even as the newest foal in the pasture your instincts are spot on. I think you have a Fate.”

When the train pulled into the Ponyville station there was a pink blur waiting for us.

“Hello Twilight John Sampson Swift Trail!Oh you’ve changed.Congratulations Major Captain.”

And then the strangest thing happens, she just stops. Pinkie walks up to me and stands up, placing a hoof on my chest. “YES!” She blasts. Then she walks over to Swift and does the same. “YESYESYES!!!this is wonderful.We must rework everything.Be at City Hall by One PM.Don’t worry I’ll get you home by dark.” And pink blur shoots off the platform and into town.

Twilight smiles, “I told you so.”

Swift just grins.

“I’m guessing we’re about to have some sort of banding celebration?”

“At least.” Twilight laughed.

I shoulder my bag and we head into town with the goal of seeing Rarity first. Last time were through here my novelty drew a crowd. This time I am wearing Guard colors and insignia and the crowd is bigger if anything. I could blame some of that on the Princess next to me but she is a regular here. The good part, though, is that they want to get close. Last time there was a zone that nopony would cross around me. Now they all want to hoof bump or hug. It is wonderful.

Rarity is a gray Unicorn mare with a long dark blue mane and a serious devotion to style. She loves my choice of colors in clothes but detests the fit.

“Rarity, please, these were made in a few hours by copying my work clothes while I slept so I would have something for a Royal Audience the next morning. ‘Something better’ is why I’m here.”

“Very well. Up on the platform!” A tape measure starts flying around me. “Hmmm. Take those rags off.” So I strip down to tighty whities. “You’re not a stallion!”

“Rarity, most of Canterlot would argue that with you right now.”

Twilight is having convulsions trying not to fall down laughing.

Rarity looks back and forth between us, “What is somepony not telling me?”

Swift speaks up, “John and I are recently banded. Due to a series of unusual accidents our honeymoon has become the stuff of legends in Canterlot.”

“Oh. . . . What I was referring to is that we must allow a certain space for accidental expansion when we dress stallions. Otherwise there is a great potential for pain and embarrassment. John doesn’t seem to have that requirement.”

“Actually, I do. I just ‘dress’ down instead of up. The vertical spine has that effect.”

Rarity leans next to Swift, “Darling, you are going to have to fill me in on the details some day.” Coming back to me, “But right now we have this most wonderful opportunity. We can do things with this glorious stallion of yours that we can’t do with any other, starting with showing off those magnificent muscles.”

“Rarity, I need a little fancy dress, some Guard for humans, and a lot of daily work clothes with a light side of house dress. You can have all the fun you want with Swift here.” I figured that for a win-win.

The tape measure flies and some notes and sketches are made. I turn and bend on demand. Finally, “That should do it. We’ll have to do some fitting with a few of the pieces but this will do for most. You can get ‘dressed’.”

“Wait a minute! There’s something else.” I pull my whities down enough to expose my flank. “I want this on a few of the pieces,” pointing to my cutie mark.

“Oh yes. Why would anypony want to cover that up?” And we have another sketch, in color this time.

“Next!”

As Swift mounts the platform I say, “Mares, this is your opportunity to talk about me. I’m going to take a few minutes to run out to the Apple place. Where should we meet back? Here?”

Twilight thought for a moment, “Here, I guess. Unless you run late. About twelve thirty we’ll head for the party. Don’t get lost!”

“No problem.”

I finish dressing and leave the mare talk behind. Back across the square and out the other side of town from the train station should do it. Of course, there’s only about a hundred chances to confirm that as most of Ponyville seems to waiting for me to walk by. I have to turn down a number of offers for an escort because I plan to make up some time when I get out to open country.

Two minutes later I’m walking through the Farm gate. I can see Fred and Big Mac working in the next field over. Fred spots me and shrugs out of the harness as I trot over to meet them.

“Hi there, Big Guy.”

“Fred! You’re learning words.”