Author's Note

Long time no see everyone! It's been a while since I've uploaded for this story, but that's because I've been writing all the chapters out with my friend Wolven who has been a tremendous help with writing all these scenes with me. I am currently writing the final chapter of Arc 1 and an epilogue leading into Arc 2.

Unfortunately these chapters are unedited and will take time to edit them. I promise that later on in the new year, I'll have all of these edited, but until than I hope you guys enjoy this chapter and what is to come. It's also the second year anniversary of Beyond Infinity and my birthday today :)

UPDATE: Chapter has officially been updated by my good friend UnamusedWaffle

Chapter Fifteen- Training & A New Face (Edited)

Chapter Fifteen- Training & A New Face

Day 1

It was 5:00 AM from what Marcus saw on his phone, an early morning. The sun wasn’t even up yet, as you could still see the night sky was just beginning to fade with the promise of a new day. Meanwhile, he stood in the backyard of Fluttershy’s home, facing his new mentor, Midnight, in his pony form. Although the dragon had obliged Marcus’s request to come in his unicorn form, there was yet a draconic impression.

At first glance, Midnight didn’t seem impressive. But Marcus could tell, as if hallucinating or simply anticipating his mentor, that under that girthy barrel was a strong and formidable individual. Midnight was enjoying a glass of ice water with a lime wedge, relaxing in Fluttershy’s patio furniture.

The charcoal alicorn had woken up before the crack of dawn, at Midnight’s instruction, and had ever so carefully exited the house, so as not to wake Fluttershy or any of her animals. Although he didn’t mind Fluttershy being present, Marcus did agree it would probably move things along if it was just him and his new mentor at the get-go.

After he downed the last of his water, Midnight set it aside and stood up, looking at Marcus and saying, “Follow me.”

Marcus did, and Midnight led them to the far side of the meadow between Fluttershy’s backyard and the edge of the nearby woods.

Turning, the dragon in disguise was now facing Marcus, and he eyed the Space Stone set within the regalia-like piece around Marcus’ neck.

“Take that off,” Midnight ordered. Marcus hesitated, but Midnight gave him a look that warned him not to argue.

Sighing, Marcus did as he was told, and once the neckpiece was off, he was a tad alarmed when Midnight took it into his telekinetic hold and levitated towards himself, “Before you even think of trying to wield this, you are going to first endeavor to master the basics of what I intend to teach you.”

Midnight’s mana then coalesced into a bubble around the stone and neckpiece, and as he reached up to tap the bubble with his hoof. To Marcus’s alarm, the bubble popped out of existence, taking the neckpiece and stone with it.

“What the fuck, man!?”

“Calm down, the Space Stone is safe,” Midnight assured before Marcus could say anything. “I’ve simply stored it away into a pocket dimension, one of the few powers I was able to learn during my time studying and protecting it. I shall return it to you by the end of each lesson, so don’t worry.””

“Fine…” Marcus eased up, but he was still wary.

“Before we begin, I want to know what I’m working with,” Midnight raised a brow, “Tell me what you know about magic, and what you can do with it.”

“Uh…” Marcus paused as he racked his brain trying to remember what he’d managed to learn about magic, and mentally kicked himself in the plot for having neglected his studies from Twilight. “Magic is… supernatural energy that’s used to… conjure a specific effect. I’ve… learned basic Levitation and… Illumination, and I… I can set things on fire?”

Marcus smiled sheepishly, getting a stony look from Midnight, who was clearly underwhelmed.

“Argh! Look, I spent most of my time trying to learn how to use the Space Stone and let’s not forget I do have other things going on in my life!”

“Obviously. This isn’t good but it’s not necessarily bad,” Midnight interrupted, his response surprising his student. “Coal, you’d be surprised by how much the Magic Arts are vaunted yet how little what I’m about to teach you is given much thought.”

“… meaning?” Marcus drawled, a little confused.

“You’re pretty much a blank slate,” answered Midnight. “You’ve learned very little about magic, less than what school age unicorns commonly learn, and yet you’re a full-grown stallion.”

Marcus suddenly felt rather self-conscious, but Midnight continued.

“It goes without saying there’s much about you that I don’t know or understand, but right now, that matters little. You have no preconceived notions or real opinions regarding magic, therefore you will be more open to my teachings, and that will help your training more than it will hinder it.”

“So… My, ignorance will make me a better student?” Marcus asked.

“Heh, from a certain point of view,” Midnight smirked before he lit up his horn and conjured a markerboard. “I will give you some instruction in magic, but my primary objective here is to teach you an art that will better enable you to learn how to wield the powers of the Space Stone.

“But before we even attempt that…” Midnight’s horn lit up again, and Marcus watched as lines of energy drew visual aids onto the board.

“We must first establish an understanding of all you must learn so you can grasp it, which will better enable you to master what you must learn in the time we have.”

“Which is only a month,” Marcus remembered.

“Yes. We must make each and every day count,” Midnight said fervently, “So let’s get started.”

Great… I traded one Princess Twilight Sparkle for the male version of her… I can already tell this is going to be SO much fun… Marcus thought sarcastically.

“The Art of Mana Wielding isn’t about learning spells, incantations, or some other overly-elaborate idea of Magic. In fact, you could almost say, it’s not Magic at all.”

“If it’s not magic, then… what is it?” Marcus was confused.

“It is and yet it’s not,” Midnight elaborated, “Magic is utilizing supernatural energies to create a magical effect, often in the form of Spells. These energies can come from different sources, like the Sun, the Moon, the Sky, the Ocean, the Earth itself, and even the Stars. But each and every one of these sources share something in common, the underlying energy that is the true power from which all Magic is derived.”

“Oh! Mana! I think I get it now!” Marcus realized, getting a nod from Midnight, before he asked, “But then… what is Mana, exactly?”

“Mana… is life,” Midnight said emphatically and gestured with his hoof for Marcus to look around.

He did and saw the grass, flowers, trees, the insects that crawled, birds and even the local critters going about their own business.

“Wherever there is life, there is mana,” Midnight went on, “It is an energy found in all living things. It is from mana we derive arcane powers that grant us the capabilities for the things we can do by utilizing mana to do magic.”

“Okay, but… what about that thing about it being ‘magic but not magic’?” Marcus brought up.

“Magic differs from Mana Wielding in a manner akin to fire,” Midnight answered, “To create fire, you need a source of fuel. But the fuel runs out, so the fire dies out.”

“So then… using magic is like using up mana?” asked Marcus.

“Exactly. Think of a spell like a match,” Midnight spoke with a subtle sense of excitement, as though he were starting to enjoy the lecture. “A match can only be used once, and the fire eventually burns it up or you snuff it out yourself. And at any given time, you typically only have a limited number of matches.”

Marcus wracked his brains to puzzle out Midnight’s words, Magic uses mana like fuel… so then… using magic… uses up mana… which means…!

His eyes started to light up, and Midnight chuckled a little, sounding pleased, “Looks like you got it.”

“Using magic means you exhaust your mana, and once you do that you can’t use your magic anymore,” Marcus gathered, “But… Mana Wielding is different?”

“Correct! Magic uses mana like fuel, but Mana Wielding is exactly what it sounds like,” Midnight declared, “Instead of using up your mana to create magic, you wield your mana directly, enabling you to perform mystical powers akin to spells yet don’t exhaust your mana in the ways Magic does.”

“Huh! So… if Mana Wielding uses your mana without expending it, why don’t more unicorns use it?” asked Marcus.

“There’s another difference between Mana Wielding and Magic,” Midnight answered, “While Magic can only be actively used by Unicorns, and other certain kinds of creatures, Mana Wielding can be used by anypony or even any creature!

“We’ll get more into that later, but for now… let’s get started.”

Two Hours Later

Marcus sat as still as he could, trying to meditate, as Midnight had instructed.

“Reach inward, tune out all external distraction,” Midnight bade as he walked around the alicorn, “find the light that shines deep within, it is there. It is always there.”

Marcus recollected their previous lessons, how Midnight had talked him through these meditative sessions, how he’d learned to feel mana yet now he was striving to learn so much more. His senses dulled, faded away, and the world around him was pulled into the abyss.

In his mind’s eye, Marcus saw darkness… before a radiance made itself known as a purple-colored light. It shined calmly yet there was an underlying sense of unease. His own anxiety, he guessed. Soon, the light spread, until it stopped at various points, and he realized it was forming an outline. A shape.

It’s… me, Marcus realized, as he saw the shape was his own body, sitting in its meditative pose while the light radiated from his center.

“Good. Now, turn your awareness outwards,” bade Midnight’s voice.

Marcus did so, and more lights, some dim, some bright, some of different colors while others were of similar shades and hues, made themselves known like a strange painting weaving itself to life in the background of his mind.

There were no outlines, and the colors were more… hazy and blended into one another. It reminded him of watercolors.

Then, he noticed what could only be the light of his mentor, as Midnight’s turquoise-colored mana continued to move around him. The mana itself was calm yet focused, serene as the glass-smooth surface of a body of water, and all the while something stirred beneath its surface.

“You must learn not only to sense mana, but also to focus it,” Midnight went on, “and that starts with your own. Think of your mana flowing throughout your body, like the blood in your veins or signals through your nervous system.

“The better you can focus and channel your mana, the better you will be able to wield it. This will in turn make it easier on your overall ability to wield your mana. It’s almost like… strengthening your magic muscles.”

Marcus got the basic gist of the metaphor, and continued to listen as Midnight then said, “Now, focus again on yourself. Don’t simply perceive your mana, but picture it, flowing through you, to various points of your body, from your brain, to your limbs, to your heart, to your joints.

“You must learn to channel your mana to specific points of your body in order to wield it in specific ways. You can use your mana to boost your senses, increase your strength, fortify your body, and heal from injuries.”

“But I can already heal almost instantly, I mean you did technically roast me alive. Literally!”

“That was a spontaneous action that was spurred by your survival instinct,” Midnight retorted before lifting a nearby stick and striking Marcus on the head, “Focus!”

“Argh…” Marcus gritted his teeth, feeling the throb on his head, but then did as Midnight had instructed. He focused, and envisioned his mana flowing towards his head. Specifically to the back of it, where he felt the aching pain.

Then, to his pleasant surprise, he felt the pain abate. As his mana gently focused on the head injury, he felt the pain gently fade away, replaced by a sensation akin to a massage.

“You see?” Midnight’s voice was just a tad smug, “Even at this early stage, you can alleviate the pain from an injury, helping your body to facilitate its natural healing ability.”

“I can see what you mean… but you said my healing from before was a survival instinct. What do you mean?” he asked, his head tilting to the side.

“What you did before was something akin to a reflex, reacting to the damage done to your body,” Midnight explained, “something you did not knowingly or intentionally do.

“There are times when, after suffering considerable injury, our survival instincts can cross with our mana, provoking a response to that damage by healing it in order to alleviate the pain and stress we suffer from the injury. But that doesn’t always happen nor should it. You can’t rely on your body healing itself in that manner because it’s not guaranteed to work every time.”

I guess he’s right, I can’t rely on my own regeneration to save me every time.

“Alright, let’s just keep going!” Marcus said, more determined than ever, earning an eager grin from the dragon.

“Settle down, there’s plenty to learn, but haste will hold you back,” Midnight warned.

“Shouldn’t we be hurrying since I only have a month?” debated Marcus.

“It’s enough time to teach you what you need and to prepare,” Midnight answered, “But rushing headlong will just lead to slip-ups. Slow and steady wins the race. “

Marcus considered those words, and thought to himself, He’s right… I can’t afford to get ahead of myself. Too much is at stake.

Day 2

The next day of training, Midnight suggested, “Now, let’s try something else.”

Midnight’s horn lit up and a strip of thick fabric appeared in a wink of light, which immediately flew to Marcus, wrapping itself around his eyes.

“Hey!” Marcus reached up, only to feel his hooves get swatted down.

“The blindfold stays, for your next lesson,” Midnight said firmly, “which is to use your mana to see without seeing.”

“This is going to suck…” sighed Marcus, “So I need to see without actually seeing right?”

“At least you’re keeping up,” Midnight responded.

“Well, I gotta if I want to beat Faerie, right?”

“More than you realize,” Midnight nodded, “This technique of Mana Wielding allows one who masters it not only to see the mana around them, but to perceive things they couldn’t before. Mana is life, so it also resonates with aspects of life. Care to guess what those could be?”

“I’m not entirely sure, to be honest?”

Sighing wearily, Midnight decided, Looks like it’s gonna be trial by fire… literally.

Then, to Marcus’s surprise, he felt a familiar sensation of intensity and heat, and then a stamp of great impact nearby, from where Midnight had been standing. Marcus immediately focused his mana, envisioning it concentrating to his eyes.

He flinched to see Midnight’s turquoise energy had grown vast and now blazed with sapphire intensity. Then, starting from the center of that energy, a surging fury that burned from deep within… before it traveled up the silhouette of Midnight's draconic form, and Marcus immediately knew what was going on, as the outline of Midnight’s form, while still glowing his turquoise color, suddenly gave off a radiance of red, the kind he would associate with a red alert.

“BLARGH!!!!” Midnight roared as he unleashed a gout of dragon fire towards Marcus, who immediately took flight, not caring that he couldn’t see, and zoomed straight up, avoiding the fire that could have incinerated him.

“WHAT THE HELL, MAN!??!?!” Although his student still couldn’t get the blindfold off, Midnight had no doubts that behind that cloth Coal was glaring with seething fury.

“And there you have it,” Midnight chuckled as he reverted back to his pony form, his form and power collapsing back down to his equine self.

Marcus landed back on the ground and got up in Midnight’s face, which might have been more effective if he could take off the blindfold.

“Have what!? My limbs and my skin are still attached!?” Marcus screamed, trying to remove the blindfold, but couldn’t. Refusing to give up, he kept pulling, but his frustration caused him to stumble and fall back onto his butt, much to his ire, “Why won’t this stupid thing come off?!”

“Haha, it’s enchanted to stay on until I take it off,” chuckled Midnight, “but Coal, tell me something. Just before I breathed my fire at you, what did you see?”

“I saw your mana taking form… and your flames taking form from inside you.” Marcus did his best to explain.

“Anything else…?” Midnight raised a brow.

Marcus softly growled in annoyance, but he thought it over, His energy surged… but then… just before he breathed his fire… it-it turned…!

“Your energy turned red!” Marcus said aloud in realization, “Right before you breathed fire!”

“There it is,” Midnight nodded in satisfaction. “In that moment, my mana reflected my intention to do you deliberate harm, as though I were an enemy.

“By broadening your perspective while utilizing your mana to enhance your vision, whether you can physically see or not, you will be able to discern so much more than just sources of mana but also emotions, intentions, whether one is friend or foe. You can do similar things in enhancing your other senses with mana, such as hearing the discordance of someone speaking a lie, smelling the nature of another being and telling whether they are fragrant with good intentions or reek of ill will, or even tasting something and perceiving whether it contains any hidden surprises. Another important application is sensing the world around you in a tactile manner, such as feeling the vibrations of movement in the earth through your hooves.”

“Whoa…!” This would render any tricks Faerie tries to pull meaningless! Mastering this would prepare me for anything she throws at me!

“Of course, that all depends on you yourself,” Midnight pointed out. “The capabilities of Mana Senses vary from individual to individual, with some being more attuned to one thing or another.

“In your case, you’ve confirmed that you can use your mana to perceive not only a source of mana energy without your physical vision, but also whether an individual can be friend or foe based on their intent and actions. You are likely capable of more, but that will have to be determined by exploring your abilities.”

Day 3

The next day, Midnight had insisted they continue Marcus’ training in using his mana to see, or rather enhance his vision. Like before, Marcus had a blindfold on, but unlike last time, Midnight had something else in mind.

“Today, you’re gonna expand your visionary capabilities, with some assistance from Fluttershy,” Midnight stated as the butter-yellow pegasus brought over the plate of freshly baked cookies he’d requested.

“Uh- M-me?” Fluttershy said sheepishly, her ears folding back.

“How’s Fluttershy gonna help with this part of my training?” Marcus could ‘see’ Midnight and Fluttershy, focusing his mana to his eyes and allowing the energies around him to paint a vivid picture of his surroundings.

Midnight’s energy was the same turquoise, outlined with sapphire, as usual, and he saw that energy reach out and levitate the plate of cookies Fluttershy was carrying to the table he sat at, immediately helping himself. Fluttershy’s energy was a gentle pink outlined yellow.

“Mm! Delicious…” Midnight moaned after swallowing the first cookie he’d scarfed down, and then giving Fluttershy a thankful smile, “You’re gonna make a stallion a very happy pony one day, Fluttershy!”

“Oh! Um… do you think so?” Fluttershy hid behind her long mane as she failed to avoid glancing at Marcus as she felt a rush of warmth.

“Anyway,” Midnight looked to his pupil, “Today, you’re going to see whether you have a special ability called Foresight.”

“The… ability to foresee the future?” Marcus asked dumbly.

“Yes and no,” Midnight waved Fluttershy over, and once she was close enough he whispered something into her ear, making her nod in understanding and even stifle a soft giggle of mischief. Then, he returned his attention to the alicorn, “You could sort of consider it seeing what’s going to happen, but not exactly.

“For starters, focus upon me,” Midnight instructed, and he could sense Marcus doing just that, “You see my energy? You see me sitting here? Enjoying my cookies?”

“Yes…” Marcus huffed a bit, the smell of those delicious chocolate chips teasing his snoot.

“Very good,” Midnight said.

And then, in Marcus’ mind’s eye, he saw something that baffled him. Midnight’s energy didn’t move from his position, but for a fleeting second, he thought he could see a blurry and transparent image of Midnight getting up and throwing one of the cookies at him.

“What th- !!!” Marcus was alarmed when Midnight did immediately that and he just barely managed to catch the cookie in his magic before it hit him square in the face. “Wha…!? I just… you… what?!”

“Ah, it seems you’ve got it!” Midnight nodded in satisfaction as he bit into another cookie.

“What just happened?! I… I saw you or… an image of you?” Marcus tried to wrap his mind around it, “Then… you-”

“You saw what appeared to be a blurry image of me throwing the cookie at you in your mind’s eye, and hardly a moment later I did it for real,” Midnight answered, getting a nod from Marcus. “That is Foresight!”

“I don’t understand, what happened?” asked Fluttershy.

“That’s what I’d like to know!” added Marcus.

“The Mana Wielding skill of Foresight enables one to foresee an immediate action before it happens, usually a moment, but more often only a split-second prior,” answered Midnight as he conjured a thermos and poured himself a cup of chilled lemonade he’d been saving, “However, it’s not guaranteed to work and it won’t predict every single thing around you before it happens.

“The ability has factors as to how it works and how effective it is, but one of the primary factors is the action itself. Care to take a guess?”

“I’m going to assume that this will help me with these outcomes, but I’ll have to take whatever information it provides and use it to my advantage?”

“Yes and no,” Midnight responded, and again Marcus saw something in his mind’s eye.

This time, he saw a blurry image of Midnight getting up from the table, stepping around it to stretch his legs and then collapse onto his back. To his lack of surprise, he saw Midnight actually do it, groaning in a pleased way from his stretch and then lying down in the grass with a relaxed sigh.

“Still haven’t figured it out yet?” Midnight asked with a subtle tease in his voice.

“Is Foresight showing me what’ll happen, but only by a few seconds? I-I honestly don’t know how else to explain this, Midnight?”

“Jeez, bud, if you’re that dense, I wonder if I'm just wasting my time…” Midnight sighed with weary understanding.

“Well excuse me! I literally learned about Mana three days ago! Give me a break!” Marcus argued.

Again, Marcus’ vision showed an image of Midnight getting up and then approaching him, and only a moment later Midnight did that for real. He stood there, standing in front of Marcus for a long and awkward moment, the look on his face blank, his eyes gazing at Marcus but not truly looking at him.

What is his deal? Marcus wondered when-

*THWACK*

“OUCH!!” Marcus stumbled backward onto his butt, clutching his aching head, and he felt the blindfold fall off, so now he could see Midnight with his actual vision. “Jeez! What was that for?!”

“That’s in the past. But if you can foresee what could happen, why didn’t you foresee me giving you a well-deserved bonk on your noggin?” Midnight inquired with a firm look.

“Because I wasn’t concentrating- OW!!” Marcus got another smack on his head and glared up at Midnight, “Would you stop hitting me?!”

“Wrong. Your focus was passive but it hadn’t stopped,” Midnight corrected. “Since you’re not getting it, I’ll just tell you:

“You foresaw my prior actions, because I’d already decided that I was going to do them.”

“So, kinda like reading your movements before you even make them!?”

“Again, yes and no. The future is ever in motion,” answered Midnight, “It is as formless as smoke until it condenses in the present and solidifies into the past. The Mana Wielding skill of Foresight is somewhat of a misnomer.

“You’re not so much as seeing into the future as you are sensing a target’s actions based on their own sense of will. You foresaw me throwing the cookie at you because I decided to do that action and then followed through on it. You foresaw me getting up and relaxing in the grass for the same reason.”

“I’m honestly thinking saying ‘Yes and No’ is your favorite thing to say?” Marcus stated bluntly, irritated as he wished he could glare at him.

Midnight gave Marcus a blank look, and then a mischievous smile before responding, “Maybe.”

“But hold on… so, the ability is reading a guy and getting a sense of what they’re gonna do because they’ve decided to do it and then follow through with it,” Marcus brought up, “So… why didn’t I foresee you conking me on the head?”

“Did you notice my behavior before I did so?” asked Midnight.

Marcus thought it over… and recalled how Midnight looked blank in his demeanor and empty in his eyes.

“I didn’t, the only thing I could see was a blank expression on that mug of yours, but maybe you were a bit disappointed that I couldn’t get it the first time. Again though, I barely knew what Mana was a few days ago.” Marcus did his best to explain.

“It’s not enough to learn these skills and master them, Coal,” Midnight stated, sounding serious yet caring, “You must come to understand them beyond face-value, to look past the surface and into the depths where the greater intricacies of Mana Wielding lie.

“The reason I was able to hit you on the head without you sensing it prior is because I emptied myself. I let go of my own emotions and thoughts in the forefront of my mind while keeping my actual intentions in the back of my mind. Then, once I brought that intent to the forefront I acted upon it immediately, allowing me to circumvent your Foresight.”

“Geez… I’m honestly starting to get annoyed by Foresight… I doubt I’ll get to your level anytime soon.” Marcus said, rubbing his head. “I need a break…”

“Come have some cookies, Coal,” Fluttershy said kindly, “I made extra helpings, just in case, and I even have some lemonade in my fridge to wash it down.”

“Thanks, Shy…” Marcus joined Midnight at the table, and they settled for a snack.

Her cheeks reddening at the nickname he had given her. “O-Oh of course… Help yourself as well Midnight, I’ll be back in a moment with a pot of freshly brewed tea.”

The air was pregnant with anxiety and dismay, and Midnight knew his pupil was daunted, “Coal… all you need to do is master the basics. The rest will come.”

“I’ll keep at it… but let’s be honest, I ain’t gonna reach that level by the time I have to face Faerie Tail…” Marcus stated, taking a bite out of one of the cookies.

“Mana Wielding is more than just a discipline of power, Coal,” assured Midnight, “It’s an understanding of life. The basics alone can take you far, but it’s experience, knowledge, the way you look at something from a different perspective that can broaden your understanding and your ability, not only in Mana Wielding but in life!

“Faerie Tail will not be an easy opponent to overcome. But even at this stage of your training, you already have a major advantage over her.”

“Oh yeah? And what’s that,” Marcus asked in a whatever manner.

“She underestimates you. She is of the mind that victory is assured and that no matter what you do, you’re going to lose,” answered Midnight.

“How is that an advantage?!” Marcus glared at the unicorn.

“Your advantage is her underestimating you,” clarified Midnight, “It’s one thing to face a challenge with the confidence that you can succeed. It’s another to assume you will be triumphant because you believe your challenge won’t be a challenge at all.

“Her arrogance will blind her, make her careless, give you the edge you need to knock her off her perch and show her how wrong she really is about you.”

Marcus simply looked down at the plate in front of him as he contemplated Midnight’s words. If Faerie underestimating him was his advantage, then the best course of action would be to find a way to learn Mana Wielding as fast as possible while also mastering the Space Stone at the same time.

“You, on the other hoof,” Midnight picked up a cookie with his bare hoof, examining it as though it were a relic of a bygone era, “will face her with the understanding that however prepared you may be once you do, you know that ultimately she is your superior in power, skill, and experience.

“You are taking Faerie Tail seriously, and she is foolishly denying you the same courtesy. I cannot say with absolute certainty that you can defeat her in your duel. But I will do everything I can to prepare you. Do you understand?”

“Thank you, Midnight… I think I know what I need to do now. This is going to make things so much harder for me… but I think I need to learn how to use Space Stone while also learning the basics of mana wielding.”

“The Space Stone is another matter,” Midnight shook his head, “I studied it for years, and only managed to learn what amount to parlor tricks compared to what one could truly do with it.

“As an alicorn, you should have a greater ability to wield the Space Stone, but trust me, Coal. In mastering the basics of Mana Wielding first, you will find learning to command the powers of Space a greater yet fulfilling challenge. If you tried it now, all you’d do is teleport yourself to the ends of the earth, if you were lucky…”

“Hey, I’ve managed to be able to open portals from one place to another with just visualizing it!”

“Hold on… do you mean you portaled to a place you could visualize in your mind, or only to someplace you could actually see?”

“I pictured it in my mind, granted the portals were the size of my hoof, but I got it down. As long as I remember the place exactly,”

“...you were able to traverse a portal the size of your hoof?!” Midnight looked skeptical. “Either you’re putting me on, or else that really hurt or was very uncomfortable.”

“I started small… Like you told me to!”

“Okay, okay, um…” Midnight gave it a thought. “Well, making small portals can be useful too, like making windows. What else were you able to do?”

“Aside from that… Not too much aside from channeling the energy of the stone throughout my body. Well my point is, I can do more!” Marcus said confidently.

Midnight considered Marcus’s words, evidently intrigued by them. Marcus watched as the dragon-in-pony form paced back and forth a few times before taking a deep breath. He faced his student and responded, “There are yet a few more things I must teach you, and after you’ve got the hang of them, then I will bring out the Space Stone… and we’ll see what you can really do with it.”

Marcus sighed inwardly, but had a feeling this was the best he was going to get, and so asked, “Alright, what next?”

“Thus far, I’ve been teaching you how to focus your mana internally,” Midnight answered before smirking, “Now? It’s time you learn to focus your mana externally.”

“Externally…? I’m not going to like it, am I?” Marcus didn’t understand.

“Your next assignment… is to learn the Mana Shield, so that you can master Arcane Armor,” declared Midnight as he was suddenly surrounded in a bubble of his turquoise mana.

“That’s two things,” Marcus pointed out in a deadpan.

“The Mana Shield is a basic yet necessary skill, especially for what you must learn next,” Midnight explained, and Marcus watched in confused awe as the bubble of mana surrounding Midnight enclosed, shrinking inwards around him.

For a moment, Marcus thought Midnight was about to squeeze himself inside his own bubble, but then… the bubble, instead of squeezing and contracting Midnight, it contorted and reshaped itself to fit onto Midnight instead. Marcus was puzzled yet found this strangely appealing, as the mana that was previously a bubble now appeared to be cloaking Midnight as though it were a second skin. Then his whole form shimmered, and the mana seemed to vanish, before Midnight gave him a sneaky smile and pointed to his cheek, saying, “Punch me in the face.”

“Eh?” uttered Marcus, completely baffled by what his mentor had just said.

*CRASH*

“What!?” Fluttershy shouted in disbelief of what she had just heard, her tea set that she had in hoof spilling and shattering all over the ground. “Coal will not be doing that! He’s already done enough for today and you’ve already hit him in the head enough! You can continue tomorrow!”

Midnight gave the yellow pegasus a dismissive look, before returning his gaze to Marcus, “I told you she’d be a distraction… deal with her. I will allow nothing to interfere with your training.”

Midnight returned to the table where he’d been eating those cookies, and waited, while Marcus looked over to Fluttershy and sighed from the very Mom-like look she had. He had a choice to make and he knew what the obvious choice was.

“No need for that Midnight… You can just return the Space Stone to me and leave. I made a promise to Fluttershy and I made it clear to you that I wasn’t going to tolerate you being rude to her. If I had to choose between losing the Infinity Stone to Faerie Tail and pushing Fluttershy away for the sake of my training, I’d choose losing the Space Stone a thousand times over.” Marcus stated clearly, before bracing himself.

He did not expect for Midnight to groan and tilt his head back tiresomely, and say, “I meant, talk to her! Help her understand why this is important, and if she truly cares about you she will support your training and help rather than hinder. So dramatic…”

“She does know, and a few days ago, we made a promise to each other. I wouldn’t worry her and she’d make sure I wouldn’t push myself too hard. If she says that’s enough… Then I’m with her… Instead of begging me to talk to her, you could trytalking to her. I think you’ll be surprised by how understanding she is.”

Midnight gave Marcus an unreadable look before looking back towards Fluttershy. The yellow pegasus couldn’t hold back a tiny ‘eep’ from his eyes, and yet she held firm. The sight of her actually gave Midnight pause, a nostalgic one. His eyes drifted downwards, and in that moment Fluttershy couldn’t help but see something in the sapphire stallion.

An old wound, the kind of which hurt deeply and profoundly.

Taking a deep breath, Midnight spoke gently and respectfully, “Miss Fluttershy… I understand and even respect your concern and care for Coal. It… gladdens me to know he has a friend like you in this world. I don’t know what you think of me… but do not be so obstinate in thinking you’re the only one here who cares about him.

“My training for Coal is not easy, and there will be times it’s hard and unpleasant. But it comes from a place that cares about him, believes in him, and I have given him my word that I would prepare him to the best of my ability for what he must face. I know you want him to be safe, that you don’t want for him to get hurt… but he needs this. He needs the knowledge and the skills I am imparting to him, so he will have the chance he needs to overcome whatever his future may hold. So please, Miss Fluttershy, for Coal’s sake… don’t worry about him. Believe in him. And trust that I have his best interests at heart.”

Fluttershy’s eyebrows furrowed as she took a moment to think about Midnight’s words. He sounded genuine, almost desperate, and despite how difficult it was to see Coal hurt himself or seeing him hurt others, she knew he needed this after everything he told her. The dragon in disguise didn’t seem like a bad pony, if only a little rude at times.

“Okay… I-I’ll trust you… a-and try to be understanding of your methods… O-O-only on o-one condition though!” Fluttershy stuttered, realizing that there was somepony that could help out.

“*Sigh* And that is…?”

“There’s somepony I want to bring to make sure this doesn’t get out of hoof. She’s one of my best friends and is Coal’s magic teacher, Twilight Sparkle,” Fluttershy said cheerfully, completely flooring both stallions as both Midnight’s and Marcus' eyes were as wide as dinner plates.

“H-Huh?” was all Midnight could utter.

“Would you excuse us for a moment? Thanks.” Marcus said, pulling the yellow pegasus away from his mentor who stood in what he could describe as a total stupor.

“Fluttershy… I don’t think that will be a good idea.” Marcus whispered to her.

“How come? She’s a great teacher and she can make sure that things don’t get out of hoof with these lessons. You also told me that you were learning from her right?” Fluttershy asked, her head tilting to the side in confusion.

“I know, but-I This- I Grr!” Marcus tried to form words as best he could to explain the situation to her without coming off as rude and saying that he didn’t want two “control freaks” involved with his lessons. Two control freaks with very different and annoying teaching methods. “I just… don’t think Midnight would get along with the Princess and, honestly?He’s barely tolerating you being involved.

“Well to be honest, I think he’d get along with her… and after talking with him, I think he’s a little lonely and I think it would be great to have her here. I don’t want you pushing yourself and I know from the looks of it, that both you, one or the other will push it too far and I don’t want that.” Fluttershy explained.

“But-”

“Coal, I may be scared and shy at times and I may let ponies at times walk all over me, but I care about my friends and that includes you. I’m not taking ‘no’ for an answer this time!”

“Geez…” Marcus muttered under his breath as he looked directly at Fluttershy’s eyes and he knew at that moment he couldn’t argue with her. “Alright… let’s get Princess Twilight.”

“You should just call her Twilight, she doesn’t really like being called Princess.”

“Maybe… Just doesn’t feel right to call her anything else though.” He said, before turning his head towards his mentor. “Hey, Midnight, I think we should continue this tomorrow… When Twilight gets involved.”

Midnight looked anxious even as he stood still as a statue. But his heart thumped in his chest, with that same anxiety, along with… a hopeful giddiness? The thumping softened, becoming a flutter, yet it felt no less intense, and he gulped, before saying, “We’re done for today. We’ll resume where we left off tomorrow.”

“Wait, why so suddenly? You were literally arguing-” Marcus tried to say.

Only for Midnight’s being to burst in blazing mana as he rose up, returning to his dragon form, and Fluttershy eep’d yet again, hiding behind Marcus, as the dragon gazed at them, saying, “Invite the princess if you must. But we will pick up where we left off tomorrow. This lesson is non-negotiable.”

Then, with a beat of his wings that felt like the gale of a storm, the dragon took flight and vanished over the treeline.

“Well, how do ya like that, not so much as a see-ya-later,” Marcus huffed while Fluttershy had a different impression.

Up until Midnight turned back into a dragon, Fluttershy had picked up on his behavior, which was a tad puzzling at first. But then she wondered, Does he… like Twilight?

Day 4

“This is truly fascinating,” Twilight said aloud, as she levitated a bag of books, papers, writing utensils, her typical go-to bag when it came to studying of any kind.

As she arrived in the meadow beside Fluttershy’s home, Twilight regarded Marcus with a scholarly giddiness, “To think you’re being mentored by a dragon in an obscure art of magic that I’ve only heard a few references to! Y’know, Coal, I would gladly have continued instructing you.”

“And I know I said I’d try harder to learn from you… Just so much has happened that I may have forgotten about it. You did have your ways of teaching… I wasn’t as enthusiastic about it, and Midnight has his way which I do feel like I’m starting to get a grasp on”

“Now, Coal, we agreed on this,” Fluttershy reminded him gently, “and Twilight only wishes to help and make sure things don’t go too far.”

“That being said, what exactly are you training under this Midnight for, Coal?” asked Twilight, curious.

“O-Oh, well it’s a long story… but I am… preparing for a duel,” Coal replied nervously.

“A duel? With who?” Twilight was suddenly concerned. “And why?”

“Again, a long story, and since Midnight isn’t here yet… I guess I should explain what happened a few weeks ago.” Marcus began to explain his situation involving his encounter with Faerie Tail and how she was trying to take the Space Stone from him. He made sure to keep his past and the purpose of why he’s looking for them hidden for the time being. He couldn’t tell them even if he wanted to.

“...I… don’t know what to think or say or…!” Twilight was flabbergasted by all Marcus had explained to her, “These… stones? And-and… this Faerie Tail? Coal Obsidian, what are you involved in?!”

“I wish I could explain everything, but… I physically can’t explain… Every time I try something prevents me from telling anyone. I know my word may not mean much, but you’ll have to trust me when I say that I’m not doing this to cause trouble or anything like that,” he answered as sincerely as he could.

Twilight groaned, able to tell Coal spoke sincerely, yet her logic-based mind, both a blessing and a curse, was firing synapses of thoughts, before she said aloud, “I believe you mean well, Coal, but that’s not good enough! I need to know-”

“Leave him alone.” Everyone startled and looked to the trees, seeing the paunchy unicorn emerge, looking shy, his gaze downwards, as he firmly stated, “This is Coal Obsidian’s destiny to face. You’re only here as a courtesy to Fluttershy.”

“Excuse me?!” Twilight looked like she’d been slapped in the face, but then Midnight approached her.

“Princess Twilight Sparkle, I am Midnight Blaze,” Midnight gave a respectful bow and dared to meet Twilight’s eyes with his own.

Almost instantly, there was a… something. He looked into her eyes, like amethysts, sparkling with brilliance and beauty. She looked into his, like turquoise-colored flames, blazing with gentle ferocity.

Whatever rancor Twilight had floated away without her even noticing while the apprehension Midnight felt found itself at ease, as the two unicorns gazed at each other with a strange euphoria, as though both had found something they’d been looking for without even knowing it.

Then, seizing the moment before he lost whatever nerve he had left, Midnight reached out and took Twilight’s hoof into his own, and spoke with profound sincerity, “I have long admired your dedication to learning… and you, even before you earned your wings.”

He then gave her hoof a kiss and stepped away while giving her yet another bow.

“... ” Marcus and Fluttershy both shared a look that said the same thing.

Didn’t see that coming.

Deciding to move things along, Marcus cleared his throat, “Uh, Midnight?”

The unicorn and alicorn snapped out of it and looked over to him, as he said, “The lesson?”

“Oh, yes, ahem,” Midnight cleared his throat and waved Marcus to follow.

Once they stood in the middle of the meadow, Midnight did as he did yesterday, and projected a bubble of turquoise mana around himself.

“As I said yesterday, now that you’re getting a handle on focusing your mana inwardly, you must now learn to focus it externally,” Midnight began, “and the Mana Shield will be your next-”

A hoof raised, not from Marcus, but from Twilight, and Midnight said, with just a touch of irritation, “Yes?”

“This Mana Shield you want to teach Coal, what sort of spell is it?” Twilight asked, levitating a notebook and pencil, “I recall Fluttershy and Coal mentioning this… Mana Wielding? But I don’t think I ever studied it.”

“Coal is my student, not you,” Midnight said a tad edgy but still respectfully, “and I have a limited amount of time to mentor him, Princess. So please, try to keep the interruptions at a minimum, if at all…?”

Twilight pinched her face just a bit, but sighed while waving him to continue.

“The Mana Shield is a basic skill in Mana Wielding yet an essential one,” Midnight went on, “It is taking your mana and projecting it outwards in the form of a bubble that serves as a defensive shield.

“Truth be told, mastering it is relatively easy. It’s the next defensive skill that requires more time and effort to get down to pat.”

“Ooh, ooh! What exactly can the Mana Shield work against?” Twilight interrupted yet again, “Is it purely a physical shield to repel physical assault? Can it defend against other magicks used against you? What’s the energy output needed to maintain it and what other factors-”

I knew inviting her here was a bad idea! If she keeps this up, I wouldn’t be surprised if Midnight blows a fuse. Marcus inwardly thought as he tried not to say anything. Maybe Midnight would say something or answer her questions as it does pertain to what he was teaching him.

“Twilight Sparkle…!” Midnight raised his voice at her, “You are only here as a courtesy! I do not appreciate these constant interruptions, however curious you are!

“It was endearing in school, but here - !!!”

Midnight suddenly covered his mouth, but Twilight had picked up on it.

“At school…? Are you talking about Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns?” asked Twilight.

“Er- I… never mind, I need to focus on my student!” Midnight responded, sounding a little defensive and looking away from Twilight before regarding the dark gray alicorn. Even so, his little slip did not fully escape Twilight’s notice, as she subtly scrutinized the sapphire stallion… and couldn’t help suddenly finding him a little familiar.

“So, for today, Coal,” Midnight regarded his student, “focus on channeling your mana throughout your body. The more you do it, the better you’ll get. Like I said before, it’s like building up your magic muscles.”

“Alright… shouldn’t be too hard…” Marcus shrugged, remembering how he was able to channel the energy of the infinity stone, it wasn’t difficult for him to tap into the well of energy within him. All he had to do was remember what Midnight had told him before and replicate that same feeling but from within himself this time.

Closing his eyes, he began to see within himself the same purple sphere of mana he had seen within himself before and he started tapping within that energy.

“Very good. Maintain that Mana Shield for as long as you can, and when you can’t any longer, you’re done for the day,” Midnight instructed, “we’ll finish this lesson tomorrow.”

He looked at Fluttershy and Twilight, giving a polite nod, “Ladies,” before walking away into the woods.

“Now, hold on! I still want to talk to you about this Mana wiel-” Twilight rushed to catch up with Midnight, but found he’d disappeared after stepping behind a tree. “How did he do that?!”

“Yeah… He can… be a bit of an ass… but he’s a good guy.” Marcus groaned, trying to maintain the shield like he was told to. “I didn’t think… you two knew each other?”

Twilight sighed, finding the whole thing a strange experience aggravating yet intriguing. Thinking back, she could actually recall a colt a little older than herself in her early school days at Celestia’s. A colt who matched Midnight’s appearance, albeit not as pudgy.

And yet… Twilight felt a flush of warmth on her face, he is kinda cute! And he’s learned about an obscure form of magic I know little about!

Twilight looked to the woods again, and found herself looking forward to tomorrow.

Day 5

The next day, Marcus decided that waiting for the dragon and princess to arrive at the usual time wasn’t going to be enough. After thinking long and hard about what Midnight had told him about Faerie Tail and what he had gone through, he knew then that training wasn’t going to be enough to defeat her. Pulling out his phone, he saw that the time was 4:00 am.

Turning on the lamp beside his bed with a flicker of magic emanating from his horn, he quietly reached under his bed and pulled out a small brown notebook and a black pen attached to the side of it.

Opening the book, it had the title “Personal Training” written on the top of the first page. Flipping through the pages until he reached a blank page. “Alright… Seeing as I have two hours before they arrive, that gives me enough time to work on strengthening my wings for an hour and another to practice with the space stone.”

Quietly, closing the book and slipping it back under the bed, he slowly began to tiptoe out of his room and down the hall. The sound of creaking floorboards with every step he took always made Marcus worry he’d wake Fluttershy up. The last thing he needed was for the pegasus to be worried about him.

It took him a few minutes for him to make it downstairs and out the door.

“Let’s do this…” He said to himself, making his way to the open field as he started flapping his wings.

“Ergh…!” Marcus moaned, facedown in the grass after his latest attempt to fly got him only a foot off the ground. Or was it a hoof now?

Lifting his head, Marcus spat out a bit of dirt that’d gotten into his mouth and blegh’d at the taste with a frustrated sigh before turning over to flop onto his back. He stared up at the early morning sky, not dark but not yet bright since the sun had yet to actually rise, though its aurora was not far off, given the color above.

Why is this so dang hard…?! Marcus thought in weary frustration. I got wings, so why can’t I get into their air…?

Slamming his hoof to the ground in anger, he stood up immediately, stretching his wings out wide, and started flapping again. Moving them as fast as he could, he felt himself start to lift off the ground again, but he wasn’t able to get much higher than a foot off the ground. His face started turning red as he flapped as hard as he could, but he ended up falling once again to the ground, face straight to the ground.

“Oww… Hello ground… my old friend… it’s been a while,” Marcus mumbled to himself in utter annoyance.

“Pfft… Oh! S-Sorry, I didn’t mean to laugh…” Marcus heard and he immediately jumped to his hooves and whipped his head around to catch sight of Fluttershy smiling shyly. She had a blanket draped around her small frame.

“F-Fluttershy! S-Shouldn’t you be asleep right now?!”

“W-Well, I-I should be asking you the s-same thing,” she responded with a flustered look of disapproval.

“I-Well- I just figured I’d… try to get some exercise you know? Strengthen my wings so that I can fly. I… I haven’t been able to fly yet,” Marcus explained hesitantly, as he scratched the back of his head with his hoof. He wasn’t sure why, but every time she gave him that look, it always made him feel guilty.

“Coal… I know that I agreed to let Midnight and Twilight help you with your training, but I also promised that I wouldn’t let you push yourself too far… It’s been five days and I know you're eager… but you… I don’t know… I’m worried you're going to hurt yourself,” Fluttershy choked, feeling herself get emotional whenever she saw him getting hurt. “I don’t know how to explain this, and I know it’s crazy since we only spent a little time together, but aside from my friends. You were the only stallion in my life to… have accepted me for who I am and not judge me because of my… shyness.”

“You were the one who saved my life Fluttershy, I was just a stranger who just so happened to stumble into your backyard by chance. Who knows where I would be right now or if I’d even still be here,” Smiling as he spoke. Memories flashed through his mind of waking up in an unfamiliar alien planet full of ponies, magic, monsters, and gods.

Everything he learned about this world was all because of her, and Marcus couldn’t help but be grateful for all that she has done. He tried not to think about the ‘what ifs’ or different paths as much before since he was going day by day. Not really caring about what the days could bring aside from him finding the Infinity Stones, but for the past month now, he came to really love this town, despite the townsfolk hating him and being banned. He managed to make so many friends in less than a month than he did back in his world.

He wouldn’t admit this to anyone and would prefer to take it to his grave, but he could tell that his mind and body were adapting to this world and he’d started liking everything. Plants and vegetables were almost as good as meat from back home, mares started to look sexy in his eyes (especially Pinkie) and a part of him wanted to give in, but his pride as a former human stubbornly held him back.

Despite things changing for him, he still longed for his home, to see his family, to enjoy the foods from his favorite restaurants, and to be in his family’s arms one more time at the very least and talk to them for a final time.

“Fluttershy, I want to thank you… For helping me on that day,”

“Coal, you don’t need to thank me, i-it was the least I could do,” Fluttershy turned her gaze away as she tried to hide her beet red face from the stallion. “Um, I-If you want… I can help you learn how to fly? I-If that’s okay with you, C-Coal?”

“Really? Yes please!”

“O-Okay, b-b-but y-you need to get some rest! When Midnight gets here, I’ll tell him that you needed to rest for a little longer.”

“Fluttershy you don’t-”

“I’ll… I’ll show you how to fly after Midnight’s lesson… but please… please get some rest? At least for another two hours.” Fluttershy begged the alicorn and before he could argue, her lip started to quiver as her eyes began to grow and get teary. Something that Pinkie Pie often used to get him to listen to her.

His one weakness…

“Damn puppy eyes…” He mumbled, before letting out a loud exasperated groan. “Fine! I’ll… Go to sleep, but only for two hours. Not a minute longer!”

Smiling widely, Fluttershy immediately ran up to him and pulled him into a tight hug, the blanket she had on falling off her.

I never noticed, but she smells really nice- NO! NOO! Bad brain, BAD! NO! YOU ARE A GODDAMN HUMAN! Marcus thought as he tried to forget, feeling his face heat up in embarrassment.

He’s really big and warm, even if he smells sweaty right now. Fluttershy thought.

Three Hours Later

“Concentrate, maintain focus, but don’t forget to keep your peace of mind,” Midnight instructed, watching his pupil sit while surrounded by his own Mana Shield of translucent purple.

Fluttershy and Twilight watched (silently, much to the stallions’ appreciation), as Midnight finally oversaw the next crucial aspect of his student’s training. Raising a Mana Shield, it turned out, was rather simple. All Marcus had had to do, was to imagine the shield and project his mana outwards, forming the bubble of mana around himself.

Midnight had explained the Mana Shield was a simple yet essential basic application of Mana Wielding. The Shield was akin to actually holding a physical shield, but in this case, Marcus had to focus on maintaining it while continuing to interact with his surroundings. More than once, the shield had popped like a bubble from his losing concentration, and every time Midnight had struck the shield Marcus felt it. Not so much physically but more of an awareness of the Shield being touched or exerted by outside force.

He’d then been subject to extreme force when Midnight, as a dragon, slammed his tail against Marcus’s Shield, which had sent the alicorn hurtling through the air and rolling around in his shield like a ball until he was so rattled he lost focus yet again.

Then, Midnight had instructed Marcus to maintain the Shield for as long as he could. To their amazement, Marcus had kept his Shield erect for nearly three hours straight until he gave out, feeling drained and mentally tired from the whole thing. Midnight had commended Marcus for such a feat, saying he himself could only maintain his own Shield for little over an hour.

Having finally satisfied Midnight’s prerequisites, they had moved on. Now, they were training for Marcus to master the Arcane Armor skill.

For this, Marcus had to project his Shield… and then focus on enclosing it onto his body, forming it to his shape, until it was like a second skin.

“Arcane Armor is a difficult skill, but once you master it it can save your life in the thick of battle,” Midnight had explained. “It works something like a suit of armor, a layer of protection that can turn what might have been a fatal blow into a survivable injury. You still feel the pain and experience the injury, but not as much as you would have without the Arcane Armor protecting you.

“Be warned however, that the Arcane Armor can only protect you to a point. It doesn’t make you invulnerable and some attacks or forces can inflict upon you a fatal injury no matter how strong your Arcane Armor is. This technique does indeed use up your mana, and once you’ve been exhausted of your mana it will fail, the Armor breaking and leaving you completely vulnerable.”

“...urgh, why’s it so hard to do?” Marcus furrowed his brows as he continued trying to focus his Shield to conform onto his body.

“It’s a skill, and any skill takes time and effort to master it,” explained Midnight, “it will take time, but soon enough it will become second nature, and you’ll be able to use Arcane Armor as easily as you breathe.”

“If I may…” Marcus kept his focus, but took notice of Twilight’s approach, “I know, I’m not supposed to interrupt. But, if you don’t mind, I’d like to offer my perspective?”

Marcus looked to Midnight, who shrugged, and both stallions waited for Twilight to start, and she took a breath, “This… Mana Wielding art. I must say, from what I’ve seen, it’s similar to magic and yet different in its execution.

“It seems more… instinctive, less about what you know and more about what you feel. Which, in all honesty, baffles me. The Mana Shield is very similar to the basic Shield Spell, and the Mana Sensing you talked about before, reminds me of Dowsing, magically detecting something. So, perhaps… in order to better understand it, you need some kind of… metaphor?”

Midnight widened his eyes, “Yes…! Yes, that’s exactly it! Like… I always imagined a spell to make something grow or shrink was like inflating or deflating a balloon, but instead of air you add or release energy.”

“So then… I gotta… think of all this with some weird metaphor?” Marcus considered it, and it actually made sense in a vague way that somehow struck a chord.

“Yes! One metaphor I use is thinking of certain spells as tying a knot,” added Twilight, “a knot can be used to secure something, so imagining a knot while casting the right kind of spell helps to facilitate the spell’s integrity and make it more lasting.”

“So I just need to think of a metaphor? Um… Let me think for a moment,” Marcus said, his face scrunching up as he tapped his chin, causing the pegasus to giggle quietly.

What’s a good metaphor… I shouldn’t overcomplicate this… Maybe I can picture it kinda like… A fireman’s uniform! Just like my dad’s! It helped protect him from fire and debris! Plus it wasn’t super heavy! So if I just…

Taking a deep breath, Marcus began to envision himself in his own firefighter’s uniform like he had always dreamed. Feeling this aura wrap around him in a warm embrace of sorts. It was different from anything he’s tried so far, but Marcus felt something change, a sensation of… warmth, comfort, a feeling that he was safe.

Midnight, Twilight, and even Fluttershy looked on in awe, as the Mana Shield’s energy, after it had enclosed to fit over Marcus’ whole shape, gave a prismatic shimmer before it dulled out, from the front to the end in a ripple of purple, and then seemingly disappeared.

Midnight smirked, and thought, Excellent!

Day 8

It was a cold breezy morning as Marcus sat down on his haunches, his eyes closed as his hoof gently pressed against the Infinity Stone within his metal brace. He could hear the quiet hum emitting from it as the energy within began to slowly wrap around his hoof. With a swift motion of his other hoof, he clapped his hooves together, as the energy began to spread to the other.

Opening his eyes, his gaze fell upon a broken log he had scavenged the day before and immediately he clapped his hooves together, and in a blink of an eye, Marcus and the log vanished and reappeared in the middle of the field, his face getting bashed by the log.

“FFFFFFUCK!” Marcus yelled, clasping his nose with his hoof as he fell on his back. “Damn… I thought I had it.”

“Sigh… hold on, lemme help you,” Midnight said wearily as he held his hoof just an inch above Marcus’ aching snoot, which had a trickle of blood flowing out. Midnight’s hoof gave off a gentle glow of turquoise, the glow spreading over to Marcus’ nose, and almost immediately the alicorn felt his agony abate.

After a few minutes, the pain was mostly gone and the blood had stopped flowing by the time Midnight stopped. There was still a noticeable ache but Marcus breathed a relieved inhale through his nose as he sat up, and then gave midnight a grateful smile, “Thanks…”

“I agreed to let you start training with the Space Stone because you promised you’d heed my instruction,” Midnight stated with a stony reminder. “The reason I let you wing it was to see what you’d do and how you might conjecture what you did wrong. Care to share?”

“I was trying to swap places with the log, without exerting too much energy. I was applying everything you told me before hand-”

“Hoof,” Fluttershy chimed in.

“Gesundheit, but I feel like I’m missing something,” Marcus mumbled, tapping his chin as he began to get lost in thought.

“You are. You tried to apply what I taught you to wielding the Space Stone,” Midnight clarified as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Marcus gave Midnight an indignant and confused look, but Midnight held up his hoof, prompting the alicorn to hold his tongue so his mentor could say, “Wielding Mana and wielding the Space Stone are two very different things. Granted there are a few things they have in common but I emphasize ‘few’.

“To wield your mana is to master your own power, but this is an Infinity Stone! A physical representation of a fundamental element of the universe itself!”

Narrowing his eyes, Marcus immediately stood up and began to channel the stone’s power to his hooves again. Taking a deep breath, he started channeling a little bit of energy to the log and a mischievous idea came to mind. Immediately clapping his hooves together, Midnight suddenly vanished from his side and the log had appeared in his place, while the dragon in pony form had fallen to the ground where the log was before.

“Pfft… HAHAHA! It worked!”

“Rgh, haha, very funny,” Midnight grumbled as he stood up and brushed himself off, before asking, “Now, what did you do differently this time?”

“Well what I did this time was channel some energy into the log this time, sharing a sorta link with it of sorts,” Marcus explained, wiping away a tear.

“Was it a deliberate act, or was it something that just came to you?” inquired Midnight with a raised brow.

“Kinda just came to me at the moment, but this was something I’ve been wanting to try for the longest time. Swapping places with objects and ponies would make it tricky for Faerie, I figured.”

Midnight nodded with approval, “You were thinking about it too hard, and allowing your anxiety to muddy your intentions and will. In order to wield the powers of an Infinity Stone, you must have some level of affinity for it, but you also need to be able to let the power flow through you without forcing it.

“Space is both nothing and everything… it spans the universe and yet it can fit even between the molecules that form the structure of physical matter. To truly tap into and wield the Space Stone, you need to possess a profound understanding of Space itself. When you can do that, you will wield the Space Stone in ways I never could. Here, let me show you a power I managed to master with it.”

Midnight held out his hoof for the stone, and Marcus hesitated only a moment before hooving it over. Midnight held the stone with care and respect, almost as though he were handling a priceless artifact more fragile than glass.

He looked over to the patio furniture Fluttershy had for enjoying tea and snacks outside her house, and his horn lit up to levitate them over. When they were only a pony-length away from himself, Midnight then levitated the Space Stone in his magic, and Marcus sensed a connection bridge the stone with the unicorn/dragon, and its power released a gentle vaporous energy that flowed over and enshrouded Midnight.

He then gave Marcus a playful wink… and then walked right through the patio table and chair! The points of contact created glows wherever the table and chair stuck out from how Midnight stood in them, as he moved through them as though they weren’t there at all. Like he had become a ghost.

Midnight then stepped out from the patio furniture and released the connection he had with the stone, the energy dissipating, before he levitated the Space Stone back to a peculiar alicorn who had his jaw meet the floor.

“How did you do that?!” Marcus was definitely intrigued.

“The Space Stone can potentially enable one to master the powers of Space in many ways, some are obvious, others more subtle,” Midnight explained, “What I just did, was move through, what you could call, alternate space, enabling me to move through the physical matter of this dimension while maintaining my presence in it even though I no longer physically exist in it because I displaced myself onto an alternate space. Does that make sense?”

“It does…” Marcus replied, already thinking how useful this power could be and how it might be implemented into his strategy for facing Faerie Tail.

“Um… Excuse me, Midnight, maybe now would be a good time to take a break, I have some errands and Twilight wanted some help. Do you think you could join me?” Fluttershy asked, putting on her saddle bags.

“Oh… uh… Twilight… I mean… Me, you, and… and her?” Midnight stuttered, his face starting to turn red.

“Coal, would you like to join us?” Fluttershy asked.

“Fluttershy… you know I can’t go back into town…”

“Oh, I’m sorry… I didn’t mean-”

“I know, and it’s okay… I’m kinda over it now,” Marcus chuckled. “You two go help Twilight, I’ll stay here and try to practice some more aaaaand… try to make sure the big guy doesn’t completely shut down around the princess… Or do and make sure to take plenty of pictures, will be great for blackmail down the road.”

“That isn’t very nice, Coal,” Fluttershy stated firmly, her eyes narrowing at the stallion starting to laugh.

“I’m just kidding… Mmm… mostly,” Marcus then tapped his mentor on the shoulder. “Hey, you still alive Midnight?”

“Uh…” Midnight responded dumbly for a moment before shaking his head to gather his wits. Clearing his throat, he gave his pupil a piercing look, “Continue to channel the Space Stone so you can become acclimated to its energies. That should help facilitate your ability to wield it, but do nothing else! I’m serious, Coal Obsidian…”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever, just try not to embarrass yourself! I seriously don’t understand why you keep shutting down when it comes to the princess!” Marcus shouted as the two headed off, leaving the alicorn alone.

“Pfft… Yeah like he’s gonna know what I’m going to be doing,”

Rolling his eyes, Marcus continued to practice swapping places with objects around the patio, while also being respectful of Fluttershy’s things.

*SNAP*

Marcus’s ears perked at the unmistakable sound of a twig snapping, but he made no sudden movements. He stopped using the Space Stone, and instead just casually moved around the yard in a calm manner. As he turned, he made a passive glance in the direction he’d heard the snap come from, and saw nothing but tall grass and shrubbery lining the foot of the nearby woods.

Remembering what he’d learned, Marcus focused his mana, and closed his eyes for a moment before opening them again, and his vision changed. The rest of the world was opaque and slightly blurry, but everything else, everything alive, gave off auras of color.

The plants were obvious yet subtle in their lack of independent action while the birds and critters nearby were more distinctive in how they moved, breathed, and interacted with their surroundings. But there was one aura of color that was trying to hold still, green with a tinge of indigo and blue, shaking a little as it hid in the tall grass.

“Hey, who’s there?” Marcus asked. “I can tell you are there!”

The presence kept their silence, but they started to shake, indicating they were nervous.

Hmm… From the mana I was able to see, it’s probably just a kid, or a small bear again… Don’t want to make that mistake again.

“You don’t have to be afraid, I’m not going to do anything to you, but this isn’t a place to play, kid,” Marcus spoke up, a lot clearer than before.

Through his mana-enhanced vision, Marcus noticed a change in the presence’s energy. A seething ripple of red that preceded a build-up of energy… before a bolt of green mana shot out from the underbrush and nearly struck Marcus in the face. He yipe’d as he dove for cover and then heard the sound of little hoofsteps running away, and he sprang to his own, growling, “Oh, hell no!”

He immediately gave chase and charged into the woods, his vision allowing him to keep a visual on the presence even as they had a head start.

Hmm… Maybe now’s a good time to use the Space Stone. Marcus thought, as he activated the infinity stone and channeled its infinite power into his hooves, and with a quick flicker of energy tossed towards a large tree trunk, he immediately clapped his hooves together and the tree trunk vanished, leaving what appeared to be a unicorn colt with indigo coat, a brandeis blue mane, and green eyes.

“What th- A kid?! Okay, what is your problem?” Marcus flabbergasted, “What’s the big idea of shooting me with magic?!”

The little unicorn looked scared but also aggravated, giving the alicorn a defiant look while keeping his mouth shut.

This is probably a dirty move to play on a kid, but he should really learn not to lash out at strangers when they haven’t done anything. Maybe it’ll teach him a lesson as well.

“You do know what you did can get you into prison right? Assault isn’t a laughing matter, kid,”

The colt responded by conjuring what was clearly a Mana Shield, a bubble of green mana surrounding him, as he started to back away while keeping his glare on the alicorn.

Giving a deadpan stare, Marcus brought his hooves up and clapped them together, bringing the colt beside him once more. The colt looked around in alarm, realizing what had just happened, but he managed to keep his shield up.

“Yeeeah… you can keep trying to run, but I got you… the only way you’re getting out of here is by answering my questions,” Marcus explained, glaring at the colt who continued to give him the stink eye. Rolling his eyes, Marcus sat down on a tree stump nearby. “Well? This is the part where you tell me who you are, kid?”

“...I’m… not supposed to talk to strangers…” the colt finally responded, sounding reluctant to say even that much. He continued to maintain his shield, unwilling to let go of that last line of defense.

“Yeah, I get that kid, but you did literally fire a laser at my face not that long ago, which is a lot worse, you know?” Marcus replied. “Well anyways, didn't your parents ever tell you it’s creepy to spy on strangers?”

The colt’s gaze lowered, looking a smidge guilty yet retaining a defensive vibe, before admitting, “You… you have a weird energy. I wanted to see what it was…”

“Well, weird is kinda my thing at this point… Anyways, do your parents know you're out here?”

“Huh! I don’t have parents and I don’t need them! Not like she cares how I feel or what I think…” the colt harrumph’d, sounding petulant, yet Marcus could tell there was something going on there.

Scratching the back of his head, Marcus couldn’t help but let out a sigh as he recalled many times he ‘attempted’ to run away from home because of some arguments he’s had with his own mother and immediately regretted it afterward.

“Alright kid, you have two choices… Your first choice is to go back to wherever it is you came from and I pretend that you’re a figment of my imagination and my sanity slowly slipping away. Or… you tell me what’s bothering you, and maybe I can give you some advice.”

“You don’t understand…” the colt said softly yet intensely, “you… you don’t get what it’s like!”

“I think I do… Cause I’ve been in you’re sh-hooves when I was your age, but probably for different reasons,” Marcus explained, genuinely smiling at the colt.

The colt noticed the smile and saw it was real. It was warm, sincere, and something he hadn’t expected. The defense he’d had up now had a chink, and the colt sulked a little as he sat down, and Marcus was honestly surprised when the Mana Shield faded away.

“Well… what’s eating ya, kid?”

“STOP CALLING ME ‘KID’!” The colt suddenly shouted, making Marcus flinch. He almost snapped back in response, but then he saw the colt’s eyes were tearing up, before they cracked with guilt, and the colt shrank back, almost as though he were expecting to get yelled at. Or hit.

“Well, what do you want me to call you then? Purple boy? Cause I can call you that if you want?” Marcus joked, trying to lighten the mood, as he could tell this lost colt was having a hard time.

Instead of getting riled up or answering, the colt started to heave, struggling in vain not to cry before the floodgates started to open.

“Woah! Hey hey! What’s with the waterworks?!” Marcus demanded, not sure what to do except pat the colt on the back. But the colt only started to openly sob, crying into his hooves as though he were afraid of something. Marcus didn’t really understand, but he knew this colt needed something more.

Some obscure instinct spurred him, as he gently sat down beside the colt and pulled him into a hug. The colt was startled and resisted at first. But then, in the alicorn’s embrace, the colt felt warm and safe, a feeling contrasting so confusingly with his emotional turmoil that he sobbed harder but returned the hug, as though he were clutching a lifeline, and Marcus gently held the colt, patting his back, softly saying “s’okay, s’okay…” for a long while before the colt’s crying finally began to calm down.

“Feel better?” Marcus said kindly as he loosened his hold of the colt, and the colt nodded while wiping his tears away, and after Marcus gently set the colt down, he just sat there with him, and waited.

“Twinken.” Marcus looked over to the colt, having waited maybe several minutes in silence, and the colt hesitantly peered up at the alicorn, “My name is Twinken.”

“Alright, Twinken, name’s Coal Obsidian… Think you’re good to tell me what’s bothering you now?”

The colt, Twinken, lowered his gaze, hesitating… before he finally said, “...I’m lonely. I don’t have any friends, and… my mom… she’s always away, busy, and makes me stay home by myself…”

“What about your dad? He’s around right?”

“...I don’t have one.”

Oh, shit.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to bring up… a sensitive topic, but have you talked to your mom? Told her how you felt, without the yelling and groaning, I mean?” He asked the young colt.

“She won’t listen!” Twinken teared up again, but he didn’t revert back into a sobbing mess. This time, he was frustrated, weary, sad. “I just wanna have a friend, someone to play with, someone to talk to, someone who… who isn’t my mom!”

“Well, I can’t exactly say I know what your mom is thinking, but for whatever reason, I’m sure she’s just doing this to keep you safe, but I do think you should genuinely talk to her. No yelling, no complaining, and I think she’ll listen.” Marcus suggested, before standing up. “For now, I’ll be your friend, or at least hear you out from time to time when I’m available. Can’t promise I’ll always be around though, so you gotta try to reach out to her and explain to her your true feelings.”

Twinken looked up to Marcus, looking hesitantly hopeful, “...you promise?”

“I’ll promise to listen whenever I can,” Marcus said. “For now, you should head back home. Last thing you want is for your mom to worry and start looking for you like a mad woman. Never underestimate a mother’s love, kid.”

Twinken angled his head in confusion. “What’s a woman?”

“Uh… Madmare… it’s a similar term to that back where I’m from, but don’t worry about that. I gotta head back, not sure if my mentor’s going to stay catatonic forever and will probably get pissed at me for slacking off. Have a safe journey back, Twinken, try not to worry your mom too much, she does care about you in her own way.”

Twinken regarded Marcus and considered his words. On some level, he knew they were true, and yet that truth conflicted with how things had been of late.

Sighing, he replied, “I’ll try…”

“Good, safe travels, kid, and don’t go shooting at strangers' faces! Faces don’t grow on trees, you know?” Marcus turned to leave and yelped when he felt a sudden sting to his rump. It didn’t really hurt, it was more the surprise that startled him, and he threw a stink eye at the colt, seeing the smarmy look on his face.

“I told you, don’t call me ‘kid’!” Twinken smirked before running off into the woods.

For a moment as he watched the colt go, reaching back to rub away the slight stinging sensation on his poor bottom, Marcus frowned in discontent… but then that frown pulled back into an amused smirk as he softly said, “Well played…”

As he made his way back, he was unaware of a pair of purple eyes watching him from the distance. The cloaked figure eagerly began to lick his lips.

“My, my, how unexpected… just as I’m about to hone in on one, I stumble across another. I’ll add you to my collection soon…