5 Harvest Moon

Today, it was a Friday, and thus the last day of the first school week of the fillies and colts of Sunville. Emerald and Star had decided to take their lunch into the garden, as it was a warm, sunny day with little in the way of clouds. Perfect weather for sitting outside, thus.

‘’It’s a bit weird,’’ Star said, ‘’having to get used to this again.’’

Emerald nodded. ‘’I had to get used to it,’’ she agreed. ‘’The house felt… empty, if you know what I mean?’’

‘’I do,’’ Star acknowledged with a nod. ‘’But you get used to it.’’

Emerald surely hoped so. It wasn’t like she didn’t see Flurry at all - school ended at 3 o’clock in the afternoon - but it was still far less than the previous months, and she missed the filly quite a bit.

‘’It’ll be getting colder soon,’’ Star noted. ‘’Perhaps we should do this again tomorrow, with Flurry.’’

‘’Sounds good.’’

Star shifted how he laid on the ground slightly, and then a small orb of golden light formed at the tip of his horn. It kept at the spot it had been created for a few seconds, then drifted off.

‘’I like to keep simple spells like this in shape,’’ Star remarked before Emerald could ask what the Tartarus he was doing. ‘’It’s quite useful to be able to cast these things on the fly.’’

‘’Can you explain it to me?’’ To say Emerald knew little of magic like this was an understatement.

‘’With pleasure,’’ Star replied as he turned his head to face her. ‘’Is there anything in specific you’d like to know?’’

There was not. ‘’Just start from the beginning.’’

‘’As you wish.’’ Star cleared his throat. ‘’Some call magic a muscle, but that’s not quite right, in my opinion. Magic is a skill that one must develop and train with, with the end goal of course being to become a better spellcaster. Some people have more aptitude for magic than other people, and this can be because of a variety of factors. For example, from a young age I was already shown to be quite powerful, and this is in part because of my lineage. The Spellweavers can trace their family back to the Kingdom of Everfree, though it becomes muddled after there.’’

The Kingdom of Everfree?

Emerald hadn’t known that Star’s family went back all the way to the precursor of Equestria, founded by the Three Tribes in the Heartlands of Equestria. Very interesting.

‘’Of course, lineage is not the only thing that determines one’s power. Cutie Marks can also play a role, and you can train your magic to an extent. Plain dumb luck is also a factor. In any case, magic is a skill like any other in that you must use it lest you forget it. It’s a common strategy for spellcasters to continually train a few useful spells so that those are always ready if necessary.’’

‘’Why this spell in particular? Can’t all unicorns make a light like that?’’

‘’It’s one of the few instinctive bits of magic every unicorn with a working horn can cast, yes,’’ Star acknowledged with a nod. ‘’But my spell is a little different; it’s a standard one they teach in Spellcrafting. The first project you embark upon in that subject is creating a new version of one of the three standard spells - those being Telekinesis, Light and Bolt - as a way to understand how basic spellcrafting works. Mine differs from the standard in that it is brighter and follows rudimentary commands - Go there, stay, brighten, et cetera - at the expense of being a little harder to cast.’’

That sounded… reasonable. ‘’And you use it for making a light, I assume.’’

‘’Correct, but it’s actually pretty versatile. It can serve as a distraction, for example.’’

Star turned his gaze away, and Emerald followed it to see the orb of light had nestled itself in one of the trees, sitting snugly between the leaves. ‘’How long does it last?’’

‘’However long I can keep the spell running,’’ Star replied. ‘’Like this? Hours, at least.’’

Emerald gave him a flat look. ‘’And for a normal person?’’

Star shrugged. ‘’Fifteen minutes? They’d get tired at around ten or so and they’d be red-lining it by fifteen.’’

The spell dissipated. ‘’I’m not exactly standard, of course. I’ve got a deal of natural magical power from my lineage, exposure to magic from an early age to help my understanding of it, a magic-oriented Cutie Mark, and a great deal of training and experience with magic. Barring alicorns or powerful artefacts like the Idol of Boreas, I’m about the most powerful that a unicorn can get.’’

Star chuckled. ‘’I’ve been told by multiple people that it gave me a bit of an inflated ego when I was younger. Of course, none of those people are exactly free of that sin themselves, but I digress, seeing as I am rambling and I do not think you are very interested in said ramblings.’’

‘’I’ve been less interested in things before,’’ Emerald replied diplomatically, smiling slightly. ‘’But thank you for the explanation; it was quite informative.’’

‘’You’re welcome.’’ Star cast a glance at the crowd. ‘’Now then, I do believe it is high time we continue with our lunch.’’

‘’Agreed.’’

Lunch was eaten, and afterwards Star made himself scarce to… somewhere. Emerald had no idea, and she wasn’t that interested in finding out either, seeing as Daygleam had just arrived.

‘’Done working?’’ Emerald inquired after they’d exchanged a quick hug and kiss.

‘’Yes,’’ Daygleam replied, a brilliant lovable smile shining on her face. ‘’I have to do something while Magic’s at school.’’

‘’Can’t you do m-’’

‘’Whenever you like, love, but it’s a little hot for that now, don’t you think?” Daygleam cut her off, then kissed her again before she could reply, which was more than fair. Like Tartarus she was going to complain about being kissed.

‘’Mhmmm…’’

‘’That’s what I thought.’’ Daygleam’s smile was now mischievous, and Emerald found she loved it no less regardless. Everything about this mare was just so… so… the lack of words described exactly what she meant.

‘’Shall we head somewhere in the shade?’’ Daygleam suggested, snapping Emerald out of her haze. ‘’The sun’s bloody hot today.’’

‘’That it is,’’ Emerald agreed. ‘’There’s enough shade around here; choose your pick.’’

‘’As long as you are there…’’

‘’For someone who claims it’s too hot, you are coming on pretty strongly.’’

‘’Oh hush you.’’

Author's Note

I know this is a sham of a chapter, but a chapter is a chapter and CS will eventually reach the more interesting parts. Preferably before the next solar eclipse occurs, but I cannot promise anything.