Silver Sparks - Wizard for Hire
A Day in the Life of Silver Sparks
I followed my client through his front door, and saw the remains of a fancy - and expensive looking - ceramic vase spread throughout the hallway.
“So... Can you fix it?”
He was a human boy by the name of Danny, maybe 11 years old, and he was chewing on his fingernails as he asked the question.
“Almost certainly! Just to be sure though, was a poltergeist, demon, or other malevolent entity trapped inside it?”
If the vase had been used in a binding spell, we could have had bigger issues than a kid getting grounded for breaking something.
“Uhh... No? At least, I don't think so.”
“Excellent. Stand back please, I need some space. And don't break the circle.”
“What circle?” He asked, taking a few steps backward.
“The one I'm about to draw.” I replied, as I took a piece of chalk out of my saddlebags.
“Oh. Okay.”
I drew a circle on the floorboards, encompassing both myself and the vase fragments. Danny looked concerned.
“Don't worry, I'll clean it up when I'm done.” I interrupted his protest before he could give voice to it.
“Okay...”
“First, I need to figure out which piece connects to which. I'm going to fiddle with it for a bit, can you tell me when it looks right?”
He just nodded at that.
Normally, telekinesis is really easy to do, not requiring any sort of focusing element even in Earth's low-magic environment. However, manipulating this many tiny objects, and not all in the same way, required a bit more effort. The circle helped by keeping out random flickers of background energy, but I also wanted a verbal component – the Norse words 'hefja' and 'vinda', meaning 'lift' and 'turn'.
Why Norse? I thought it was cool. Humans seemed to expect magic words anyway, for some reason.
I lit my horn, the violet glow engulfing the shattered vase and reflecting off Danny's wide-eyed stare. Murmuring “hefja, vinda” over and over, I lifted the pieces into the air, moving them around and fitting them together until Danny nodded at me again.
“Efling!” I shouted, invoking the Norse word for 'repair' as I channeled more magic through my horn. There was a bright flash of purple, and when it faded, the vase was hovering in my aura, whole once more.
“That was so cool!” Danny cheered, holding out a fist. I put the vase down before I gave him a hoof-bump, then looked at him expectantly.
He looked confused for a moment, then shook his head and asked “Oh, right. How much do I owe you?”
“Twenty bits.”
“Um... Bits of what?”
Whoops. I'm not in Equestria anymore. What did they call the money here again? Pounds? Pesos? No, wait, I'm in Australia.
“Sorry, I meant dollars. Twenty dollars.”
The kid's jaw dropped at that, and I had to stifle a smirk. I guess that's a lot of money to someone his age.
“Oh... Just wait here a minute.” He scurried off, and I cleaned up the chalk while I waited for him to return. I hoped he didn't take too long, I had another job that afternoon.
There was a lot of stuff in the hallway, and I found myself looking into an antique mirror. Sky blue coat, bright violet eyes, long black mane with silver tips. That's me, Silver Sparks, wizard for hire.
Eventually, Danny returned with a pile of coins that probably added up to around $10, and looked at me hopefully.
“Sorry miss, it's all I've got.”
Stupid adorable human children. I took a moment to mull it over, mostly so he didn't think I was a complete pushover, when he opened his mouth again.
“My mum made a fresh batch of cookies this morning, you can have some of those, too... if you want.”
“Hmm... what kind of cookies?”
“Peanut butter choc-chip,” he replied with a grin. “My mum bakes the best ones in the whole world!”
“Ooh, my favourite! It's a deal!”
He dashed into the kitchen, and I followed. He took a large plastic container out of a cupboard and opened it, revealing a couple dozen cookies inside. I grabbed one with my magic, and took a bite.
“Oh, sweet Sun above! That's sooooo good!”
“Uh-huh! You can take a few more, if you want.”
“Oh, thank you!”
I pulled a (clean!) handkerchief out of my saddlebags, and wrapped a couple more cookies in it, before putting them away for later.
“Anyway, I should go, it would probably be a bit awkward if your mother came back and I was still here.”
“Oh, right. Seeya, miss! Thanks for the help!”
“No worries! Thanks for the business.”
Outside, it was a beautiful day in Melbourne. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and there was a nice breeze blowing through my mane. It's a shame I was too busy galloping down Riversdale Road and dodging humans to enjoy it. I hate being late.
I got more stares than usual as I hurried along, but I ignored them. Most immigrants from Equestria stayed in England, near the portal at Stonehenge – one of Earth's major leylines.
I ended up in Melbourne because London was too cold, plus Australia has a major leyline too, under a gigantic red rock named Uluru. The other option was Chile, with its leyline under Easter Island, but I'd elected to learn English (and a bit of Old Norse) instead of Spanish, so living there would've been a bit difficult.
Anyway, after several minutes of alternatively galloping down the footpath and waiting at traffic lights, I arrived home. It was a big house, and the front door had a nameplate on it that read 'Silver Sparks – Wizard', with a picture of my cutie mark, an eight-pointed star within a circle. Technically I'm a Magus, but the word 'Wizard' seems to resonate better with humans.
The front room of the house serves as my office, with a book-covered desk in the middle, posters of the leyline landmarks on the walls between overflowing bookshelves, and my teleportation circle in the corner.
The door to the living room opened, and my housemate, Elsie, walked in. She's pretty big, even by human standards. My head only comes up to her thighs, whereas I'm about waist-high on an average human.
“Hey, little pony! Don't you have a party to get to?” She asked, reaching down to scratch my ears.
“Hey, big girl! I do, but I need to use that map on your computer first.” I replied, as I ducked her hand. Ear scratches are nice sometimes, but I was in a hurry.
“Oh, you're going to teleport there? I could drive you if you want?”
“Thanks, but I'm already behind schedule, and this'll be faster. I'd appreciate it if you picked me up afterwards, though.”
“Sure thing, Sparky. What's the address?”
I rolled my eyes at the nickname as I answered her. She helped me use her computer to find the latitude and longitude, with which I then calibrated my teleportation circle.
I could blink short distances alright back in Equestria, but doing it on Earth usually takes too much time and effort to be viable. My circle, however, can get me anywhere within a dozen kilometers in as many seconds. It's a one-way trip, though, and sometimes there's... side effects. Nausea, dizziness, even temporary blindness once. Thankfully, they usually wear off pretty quickly.
“Break a leg!” She said happily, to which I just stared at her. Why would she wish such an awful thing on me? She must have noticed my look of shock, because she quickly explained.
“Oh, sorry, I'm a bit of a drongo sometimes, it's just a way of saying 'Good luck'!”
“Oh. Uh, thanks, I guess? See you later!” Humans are weird sometimes.
“See y-”
Elsie's last sentence was cut off as I disappeared in a flash of light.
Moments in the future, but not many...
“I'm really sorry about your petunias, Mrs Bowen...”
“Oh, it's quite alright, dear. I'm just glad you didn't end up stuck halfway through the wall.” I shuddered at that, I’d seen it happen once.
“My prior engagement ran long, so I was in a hurry, and I guess I didn't aim quite right. May I use your bathroom? I'd like to clean up a bit before the show.”
“Of course, dear, just follow me,” she said, ushering me inside. I followed her down a hallway with lots of family photos on display, until she stopped at a door.
“It's just in here. Take all the time you need, dear. I just got a message that the Smith twins are going to be late.”
“Thank you. I shan't be too long.”
She walked off back down the hall, and I went into the bathroom.
After cleaning the dirt and crushed flowers off my hooves and muzzle, I ate one of the cookies I got from Danny. I don't like performing on an empty stomach.
Then, I put on my robe and wizard hat. Showtime!
Back outside, a bunch of children had gathered. They were mostly talking to one another, and hadn't noticed me.
Yet.
I took my saddlebags off, then got their attention with an illusionary firework that spelled out 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY' in bright purple fire, and announced myself.
“Fillies and gentlecolts, boys and girls! I'm the Spectacular Silver Sparks, and I'll be your entertainment this afternoon!”
That got a chorus of excited “ooh”s from the crowd.
“If you'll just give me one moment to get ready...”
I opened one of my saddlebags, and started pulling out a bunch of random things that I'd packed the night before. Books, cutlery, cushions, a few cardboard boxes, and even a pair of Elsie's old shoes were lifted out in my aura and dumped in a pile – a pile that quickly grew far larger than should've been able to fit. The children looked bewildered at that, then one started laughing as I pulled out the final object, a beanbag chair.
“Bother.” I said, as I sat down. “There should've been a rabbit in there.”
That got the rest of the kids laughing. I waited for them to quiet down before speaking again.
“I don't suppose anyone wants to help me look?”
“I will!” One of the girls shouted.
“Excellent! Just put your head in, please.”
I held the bag up, and she put her head in. Then I winked at the audience, and pulled the bag down. It stretched out a little as she vanished inside it, and then it was sitting on the lawn looking perfectly normal again. There was a gasp from the audience, and a muffled scream from inside the bag.
“Are you alright in there?” I asked.
“Yeah, just... I... It's bigger on the inside!”
“Any sign of Sir Fluffybutt?”
A few giggles from the crowd filled the moment's pause before her reply.
“Nope!”
“Ah well, I must've left him at home. Silly me. Do you need help getting out?”
“Um. Maybe?”
I reached a hoof in, and helped her climb out.
“Thanks. Sorry I couldn't find your bunny.”
“It's alright. Thank you for looking.”
As she went to sit back down, I pretended to be lost in thought for a moment, but really, I was just preparing my next spell.
“Oh, now I remember!” I shouted, as I pulled my hat off. “He's in here!”
A rabbit jumped out of the hat, and took off running around the lawn. A few of the kids tried to catch it, but had they been quick enough to touch it, their hands would've passed right through the illusion. After a couple of laps, I made a show of grabbing the bunny in my telekinesis and putting it in one of my bags.
“Give it up for Sir Fluffybutt!” I shouted, and the children started laughing again. Excellent.
I was about to prepare my next trick, when my phone rang. That wasn't in the script. Bother. Also, my phone was buried among all the junk I took out of my saddlebags. Double bother.
Right, time to improvise. I started grabbing random objects in my aura and whirling them above my head in an imitation of a human juggling act. Once I'd uncovered my phone, I answered it, whilst still focusing on keeping everything in the air.
“Hello! This is Silver Sparks, wiz-”
“Dammit Silver, no time for your spiel! We've got timberwolves in the park!”
I nearly dropped a shoe on my head as Stormlight shouted in my ear. She's a pegasus friend that I met while I was working for the Planar Exploration Society, back before I left Equestria. The PES still hires me sometimes when they need spell-work done on Earth, as the Society's unicorns (in fact, most unicorns in general) vastly prefer to stay in Equestria's magic-rich environment.
“That's... worrying. I had hoped the manticore last month was a fluke.”
“Guess not. You need the co-ords?”
“Oh... I'm actually in the middle of a show right now.” Speaking of which, I needed to fancy up my juggling, some of the kids were starting to look bored. I lifted the beanbag into the air and set everything else orbiting around it.
“No worries, I'll come pick you up... Uh, where are you?”
“Jersey Street, near Balwyn Park... I don't suppose that's where the timberwolves are?” I tried not to sound too hopeful. When Stormlight offered to pick me up, she meant it literally.
“Nope!” She exclaimed, all too excitedly. I groaned.
“Alright. Try to make a flashy entrance, I'm going to have to cut this girl's party short.”
“You got it, Silver. See you in a few.”
I put the things I was juggling down, and my ears went down with them as I addressed the crowd of confused children.
“Sorry kids, I'm gonna have to cut the show a bit short, there's an emergency. If you want to stick around a bit longer though, you'll get to see a real live pegasus! Thank you for being such a wonderful audience.”
Turning to Mrs Bowen, I apologised.
“I'm really sorry that I have to leave, but people's lives could be at stake.”
“Oh my, I didn't realise it was that serious. Well, I can hardly hold it against you then. Take care.”
“Thanks for understanding.” I silently thanked Harmony that she was a nice lady. Some of my other clients would’ve thrown a fit if I’d had to cut a show short.
I sent Elsie a text message to tell her that my plans had changed, then started packing most of my things away, including my magician’s outfit. Instead, I put on a sapphire earring, and a pair of silver bangles – one set with a large ruby, which went on my front-left fetlock, and the other studded with small diamonds, for my front-right.
My jewelry got the attention of some of the girls, but I didn't have time to talk to them, as I'd spotted a certain distant yellow speck in the sky. I shot up a bright purple flare, which earned a few excited squeals from the children.
The yellow speck soon resolved itself into the shape of a pegasus pony with an electric-blue mane and tail. Stormlight dived down in a tight corkscrew, before breaking into a sequence of loop-de-loops right above the crowd of excited children. As she came out the last loop, her hooves wrapped around my barrel. I screwed my eyes shut and muffled a squeak of terror as I was lifted into the air.
“Gotcha! Come on, Silver, open your eyes! How often does a ground-pounder like you get a view like this?”
“Ideally, never!”
“Pfft. Spoilsport!”
“Hey, if I were meant to fly, Harmony would've made me a pegasus.”
Minutes in the future, but not many...
“You really should open your eyes now, Silver. We're nearly there.”
I did so, trying not to shriek at seeing the ground a few dozen meters below my dangling hooves. We soared over some treetops and into the park itself. There, we saw three timberwolves, surrounding a young woman who was desperately trying to fend them off with a guitar case.
Bother.
Stormlight swooped down, and I hit the ground at a canter, relieved to have something solid beneath my hooves once more. I wanted to stop and kiss (and maybe nibble on) the grass, but there was no time for that.
I ditched my saddlebags as my friend soared back up into the sky. Then, I swiftly formulated a spell to protect the human. My horn and earring started glowing as I gathered the magic, and released it with a loud cry.
“Svell!”
A wall of ice sprang into existence around the girl as I ripped the heat from the air and dumped it into my ruby for later.
I'm not sure if it was my shout or my spell that got the timberwolves' attention, but either way, the result was the same. They charged at me, snarling in anger. Perfect.
Another moment of focus, another shout of 'svell', and a large spear of ice formed from the air next to me. It hovered for a split-second, engulfed in my purple aura, before it shot forward and the nearest timberwolf found it lodged in his throat.
After that, I had plenty of heat stored up, and decided to unleash it on the second timberwolf. A flick of my left hoof, a cry of 'brenna', and a gout of fire spewed from my ruby to incinerate the wooden beast.
The third one got close enough to leap at me, but a murmur of 'hlif' had it bouncing off a shield spell as my diamonds flashed. It sat on the ground with a confused look on its face, momentarily stunned by the impact. An easy target, but not for me.
The sky lit up as Stormlight plummeted downwards, lightning trailing in her wake. Her forehooves slammed into the timberwolf's head with a thunderous crack as it exploded, sending a storm of smouldering splinters scattering off my shield.
I stood still for a moment as the adrenaline wore off, then collapsed on the grass, and took a small bite. Blech. I always forget how much worse the grass tastes on Earth compared to back home.
“Hey hey, would you little cuties mind getting me out of here?”
I shot a confused look at Stormlight, who just rolled her eyes and pointed at the human face peeking over the top of the ice wall.
Oh, right. Duh.
I got up and walked over, calling out as I did so.
“Sure can, miss. You should probably stand back, though.” I lifted my hoof, and carefully released more fire from my ruby at the wall, causing a decent chunk of it to collapse into half-melted slush.
She stepped over it and grinned as we came face-to-face. (Well, face-to-waist. Humans are tall.)
“Oh wow! I really like your mane!”
“Thanks, I like yours too!” That wasn't just a pleasantry. Her hair was a similar colour to mine, but with bright blue and pink streaks instead of silver tips.
“No, I should be thanking you, you totally saved my bacon! I'm Mia, bee-tee-dubs.” She held out a hand, and I let her shake my hoof.
“Pleasure to meet you, Miss Mia. I'm Silver Sparks, and my friend over there is Stormlight.”
“'Sup?” Stormlight said, as she lifted a hoof and waved.
“Ooh, a pegasus! That trick with the lightning was totally badass!”
“I know, right?”
I left them to chat for a bit, while I went and recovered my saddlebags. I put my foci away, and sent Elsie a message before rejoining the others, just in time to catch the tail end of a joke.
“...and then I said: Better Nate than lever!”
While Stormlight was rolling on the ground laughing, I pulled a business card out of my saddlebag and passed it to Mia.
It had my phone number, address, and standard fees on one side, and a bit of a blurb on the other.
Silver Sparks – Wizard.
Lost things found, broken things fixed.
Various other spells, just ask!
No love potions or turning lead into gold.
Yes, I do birthday parties!
“Here, my details, just in case you ever need a magical helping hoof.”'
“Ooh, thanks!”
She took a moment to glance over it, then let out an excited squeal.
“Ohmigosh, you do parties!? That is just SO CUTE! Also, I gotta run. Gonna upload that video I took of you little ponies beating the snot out of those big mean wooden... thingys to my YouTube channel! It's gonna go viral, I just know it! Later, cuties! Thanks again for the rescue!”
Stormlight and I just glanced at each other in confusion, while Mia skipped away through the park.
“Do you think I could get away with billing you for the party I had to cut short, too?” I wondered out loud.
“Oh? Well, I think that's fair enough, but I can't say the boss'll like it,” she replied, as she spread her wings and made ready to fly. “Speaking of which, I should probably get back. See you around!”
“Bye, Stormy. Fly safe!” I called out as she flew away, but I’m not sure if she heard me.
I watched her go until she was out of sight, then I gathered up the remains of the timberwolves and burned the rest of them, just in case they reanimated.
A short while later, a familiar blue pick-up truck pulled up.
“Hey, little pony! You alright?” Elsie greeted me as she got out.
“Hey, big girl. I'm fine, just tired. Thanks so much for coming to get me.”
“Any time, Sparky.” Elsie scooped me up in a hug. Normally I'd protest against her treating me like a pet or a stuffed toy, but between the show and the timberwolves I was too exhausted to care. Besides, she was warm and soft and also carrying me back to the truck, which meant I didn't have to walk.
She put me on the passenger seat, and I was curled up and fast asleep by the time we got home.
Author's Note
Many thanks to JamesNotABot for pre-reading! 
Norse Source
The punchline for the joke Mia told Stormlight is taken from The Longest Joke in the World. Presumably she told an abridged version. 
Yes, Stormlight's name is a reference to Sanderson's Stormlight Archive series.
Silver Sparks
Stormlight
Art Source
Silver Sparks - Wizard for Hire
Silver Sparks and the Nothing Between
“Hello, this is Silver Sparks, wizard for hire!”
“Hey, are you any good with potions?” The voice on the other end of my phone was young, probably human, almost certainly male.
“Not really… What are you looking for?”
“A love potion. See, there’s this girl-”
“Nope!” I cut him off. “Not happening. How did you get this number?”
“Uh… I got one of your cards from a friend-of-a-friend.”
“Did you read the whole thing?” I glared. The guy on the phone couldn’t see me, so I glared at a novel that was lying on my desk.
“Yeah?” He sounded confused.
“Both sides?”
A pause. Then a beep. Then a sigh, but from me, not my phone. The sigh was quickly followed by a groan. I needed coffee.
The night before, Elsie had lent me a book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, claiming that it might help me understand human perceptions of wizards. I stayed up far too late reading it, then had nightmares about humans plucking my mane and tail to make wands.
I gave the book another glare, and retreated into the kitchen.
Instant coffee, while not quite as good as the real thing, is much more convenient. Also cheaper, which is important when you’re a broke wizard, and your housemate is a broke university student.
Unfortunately, my phone rang again as I was making my coffee. Bother. Better not keep a potential client waiting.
“Hello, this is Sil-”
“Yeah yeah, I know who you are.” The same voice from earlier cut me off. “Listen, it doesn’t have to be a love potion. How about mind control?”
“That’s illegal! The Grey Tower nearly took my horn when I was a filly, I’m not giving them another excuse.”
“Huh? Grey Tower?”
“To put it really, really, simply? Wizard police.” A vast oversimplification, but good enough, considering my caffeine-deprived state.
Silence. Beep. Slurp. Then a sigh, but this one was of satisfaction. My coffee was delicious.
“What’s illegal?” Elsie was looking at me over a huge bowl of Coco Pops. She’d waited for me to finish my drink, Harmony bless her.
“Mind control.”
“Oh.” She frowned. “I don’t think we actually have laws against that yet.”
“You should,” I said, as I went back to my office.
My phone rang again as I was about to get back to Harry Potter, and I eyed it warily for a moment before answering. I didn’t even get a chance to say anything before the guy started talking.
“Hey, me again, are you sure you won’t make a love pot-”
I hung up on him this time.
The next time the phone rang, I decided that I had had enough.
“For the last time, I am not going to make a bucking love potion! If you ask again I shall cast a hex through this phone that will melt your teeth, tie your bones in knots, and then hurl you through the Nothing Between and leave you stranded in a desolate wasteland!”
Teeth-melting was theoretically doable – not that I actually would! Certainly not through a phone. Bone-knotting was right out. Banishing him to another plane I could probably do – with enough preparation – but the Planar Exploration Society would never allow it, and Director Dawn might even make Stormlight drag me back to Equestria for trying.
Speaking of Stormlight, I thought I could hear her laughing for some reason.
Oh.
Maybe I should’ve held my tongue until I knew who was calling.
“Somebody's having a rough morning, aren’t they?” She burst into another fit of giggles.
“Yeah… I kept getting called by this creep who wouldn’t take no for an answer. Anyway, what can I do for you?”
“Well, old Mr. Sweep picked up another rift, only this one’s staying open. Nothing’s come through it yet, but it’s – Hey! Stay away from that! – attracting some attention. Think you can close it?”
“I can certainly try. Where is it?”
“Camberwell Station, west end of platform three.”
“Oh, that’s really close, I can walk there.”
“Bet that’s a relief, huh?” I could hear the smirk in her voice. “See you in a few.”
“Yeah, see you soon.”
After putting my phone away, I checked the contents of my saddlebags, then tossed in a small jar of acorns. I grabbed an extra stick of chalk too, just in case, and then, after a moment’s hesitation, a small black box. Better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it.
I put my saddlebags on, shouted a goodbye to Elsie, scribbled ‘Out for business, back soon (hopefully)’ on a sticky note, and put it on my door. Then I set off.
A few minutes later, I arrived at the station, and sure enough, there was a tear in reality near the end of the platform. At first glance, it looked like the portal at Stonehenge, dull grey in the middle with rainbow light around the edges. However, the edges were frayed, and wobbling slightly. It was roughly circular, and just over a meter in diameter.
Stormlight was standing in front of it, along with a pale brown pegasus stallion I didn’t recognise. I walked over to her, and she started talking before I could even say hello.
“I wanna go through. My brother might be out there.”
Of course she did. The reason Stormlight joined the PES was because her brother, Stormrage, vanished into a rift like this when they were just foals. The odds of him being on the other end of this one – or even still alive – were incredibly low. Still, I knew that wouldn’t stop her. At least she’d waited for me.
“Stormy, we have no idea what’s on the other side. There might not even be any air!”
“So? You can scope it out, right? Like Astral Step does?” She was referring to my mentor, back in Equestria. He could create a sort of magical duplicate of himself, which he could move separately from his physical body, and see, hear and feel what it could.
“He never offered to teach me, and I never asked. It was his special talent, not mine.” If he’d offered, that would’ve been one thing, but even thinking about asking him felt weird.
“C’mon, Silver, surely you can think of something. You’re like, the smartest unicorn I know!”
“I’m really not.” She doesn’t know many unicorns, but I’m not saying I’m stupid. However, the list of unicorns she does know includes not only Master Step, but also Luster Dawn - the director of the PES.
“Most versatile?” That… was probably true. Besides, if I didn’t even try, she’d sulk for at least a week.
“Fine, but I’m charging you double. Triple if anything tries to eat me.”
“Done.” We bumped hooves. The stallion cleared his throat and raised an eyebrow.
“Oh please, she’s only joking.” Stormy lightly punched him on the shoulder, before introducing us.
“Oh, right. Silver, this is Spear Kicker, one of my coworkers. Kicker, I’m sure you’ve heard all about Silver Sparks.”
“Oh yeah, the infamous Magus Sparks. I didn’t realise you’d be so… normal.”
“Infamous? What, were you expecting tall, dark, and terrifying?” That made him flinch.
“Uh… sort of, yeah.” He chuckled, but didn’t meet my eyes. “Sorry...”
“Don’t listen to the rumours. Listen to… Well, I guess listen to Stormlight, and remember that she likes to exaggerate sometimes.”
Stormlight pouted at that, but decided to change the subject instead of denying it.
“So, Silver, how are you gonna scout it out?”
I didn’t answer her straight away. Instead, I poked around in my saddlebags for a moment, pretending to think. Then, I pulled out an acorn.
“With this.”
“Huh?” Spear Kicker looked baffled. Stormlight grinned at him.
“Oh, this oughta be good.”
I stepped closer to the rift, and retrieved some chalk from my bags to draw a circle on the ground. Part of the rift was above the inside of the circle – it was right there, after all, so it made more sense to use that than to poke another hole in reality.
Putting the acorn in the center of the circle, I reached out to the rift with my magic, and pulled forth a small trickle of Nothing. Nothing is the stuff between worlds, and the base material for most conjuration spells. Lady Luna calls it ‘Ectoplasm’, and Director Dawn calls it ‘Aether’, but Master Step calls it ‘Nothing’, so I do too.
I wrapped the acorn in Nothing, focused my magic, and uttered a name.
“Ratatoskr!”
There was a flash of violet light, and then a squirrel was sitting in front of me. Spear Kicker’s mouth dropped open, Stormlight burst out laughing, and an old lady muttered something about witchcraft.
I picked up the squirrel with telekinesis, gave it some mental instructions, and pushed it through the tear in the universe.
“...Now what?” Spear Kicker asked.
“Now we wait.”
Two minutes later, the squirrel came back through the rift.
“Well, it survived, that’s a good sign.” I grabbed it in my aura and gleaned what I could from its mind - or at least, what passed for its mind. It was only a conjuration, after all. The information came across as flashes of feelings, sensations, and colours.
Warmth. Green. Damp air. Earthy scents. Birdsong. Dim light. Purple. The faint smell of blood.
“I think the other end is in some kind of rainforest. I can’t tell if there’s any magic there, though,” I said, as I dismissed the spell holding the squirrel together. It dissolved into a rainbow mist that faded into the air, drawing a few ‘ooh’s from the surrounding humans.
“Hmm. That could be a problem. I still wanna check it out, though. Got any rope?” Stormlight’s response drew a gasp from Spear Kicker, and he sputtered for a moment before speaking.
“Please tell me you’re not thinking what I think you’re thinking…”
“I’m gonna go through, take a quick peek around, and then come back in thirty seconds, tops. If I’m not, you two pull me back. If it closes behind me, Silver, you’ll be able to open it again, right?” I nodded slowly. It’d probably be only for a few moments, but it should be long enough for her to get back to Earth.
I dug through my saddlebags, retrieved a coil of rope, and tied it around her middle, under her wings. I levitated the other end over to Spear Kicker, who bit down on it, and I held part of it with my aura.
Spear Kicker gulped, and Stormlight smirked at him.
“Don’t worry, I’ve done this before.”
“You’ve gone through a wild rift before?” Even talking around the rope, he managed to sound incredulous. I didn’t blame him.
“Oh. When you put it that way, no.” She shrugged, stepped through, and vanished. Spear Kicker’s jaw dropped open again, and the rope fell out. I sighed.
Five seconds passed.
Then ten.
Then twenty.
Then, at twenty-four, the rift snapped shut.
Buck.
There were a few gasps from the onlookers, and a rapid string of curses from Spear Kicker. He turned to me, his eyes wide, just like mine.
“Please tell me you can get her back, please please please, Sensor Sweep will have my head if he finds out I let her pull a stunt like this!”
“Not with you babbling at me like that, I can’t. Give me some space.”
He took a few steps back, and I took a deep breath, to try to stop myself from panicking.
I stepped back into the chalk circle and lit my horn, probing for what I can only describe as a tiny scar in the fabric of reality. I was hoping to find some remnant of the rift, for without it I had no chance of rescuing my best friend.
I found it.
Now, I just had to open it.
I gathered my magic, as much as I could, and forced it through the ‘scar’ with a yell.
“BIFRÖST!”
The violet light of my magic flickered with rainbows for a brief moment, then went out. Spear Kicker let out a few more curses, and there were a few more gasps from the crowd, as well.
Buck. Time for plan B.
“It’s okay,” I told everyone, fervently hoping that was true. “Just… stand a bit further back, and don’t panic. Please, don’t panic.”
I searched my saddlebag, pulled out my little black box, and took a deep breath before opening it. Inside were thirteen shards of silver.
I levitated the shards out, fitting them together into a blade as I floated the box over to Spear Kicker.
“Don’t lose this.” He gave me a horrified look and sputtered something, but I ignored him.
“Hrím.” Frost coated the sword as I spoke its name, and poured not just my magic into it, but a little piece of my soul as well. It was a dangerous and powerful spell, and one of the few necromantic arts that wasn’t outright forbidden.
It took me a moment to find the last trace of the rift, as it was fading fast. I carefully slid the tip of my sword into it, then slashed down, cutting a hole in the universe.
I lost track of everything but colours for a few moments after that.
Purple light from my horn, flaring into rainbows as the portal opened.
The empty grey, seeming to stretch for eternity, as I wondered if I’d ever see Stormlight again.
Then a familiar combination of yellow and blue, as she flew out of the portal – and right into me!
The impact broke my concentration, causing the portal to vanish and Hrím to fall to the ground in pieces. But that was okay. I didn’t need them anymore.
The humans cheered as Stormlight landed on top of me. She was shaking. I could hear her breathing, shallow and rapid, and feel her heartbeat, fast and strong. I raised a hoof and awkwardly stroked her mane.
“Stormlight. Stormy! Hey! It’s okay! I’ve got you. You’re safe. You’re here. You’re safe.”
“Yeah… Yeah thanks, Silver. I- I knew you’d be able to do it. It’s why I wanted you here, heh.”
She got off me, and I stood up and pressed my side against hers. She was still shaking a little.
“Hey, Silver, are you okay? You’re really cold. Oh…” Stormlight’s voice trailed off as she noticed the silver shards lying on the ground. Among them was a small branch with purple leaves, which definitely hadn’t been there before. I gathered up the fragments of my sword, relieved Spear Kicker of the box, then stuffed them all into my bags.
“I’ll be fine.”
“You’re insane! Both of you! I guess the rumours were true after all.” Spear Kicker’s wings flared and he stomped his hooves. I just ignored him, but Stormy flared her own wings and got in his face.
“Shut it, Kicker! Silver’s twice the mare you’ll ever be! Twice the mage, too. Come on Sparky, let’s get you home, my shift’s pretty much over and it’ll be nice to see Elsie again.”
Spear Kicker just stood there, a puzzled frown on his face. Stormy grabbed the branch and put it in my saddlebags, then flung some of my business cards into the dispersing crowd.
“Silver Sparks, wizard for hire, everybody!”
As we turned to leave, I heard Spear Kicker say something, more to himself than anyone else.
“I’m a stallion. A pegasus stallion.” He sounded absolutely baffled.
Author's Note
Hmm, I didn't quite get this out by the end of the year, sorry. I ended up writing a bit more than what's published here, then decided it might work better as two separate chapters, so this one's kinda short, but the good news is I've already gotten some writing done for the next one!
Many thanks to the lovely Shilic for pre-reading!
Silver's sword was very much inspired by The Immortal Game, which I highly recommend - though it is M rated for gore, so take caution.
