Magician

Starlight wiggled and squirmed in the hospital bed. The unicorn was currently resting in the medical ward of the Canterlot Castle. She arrived at the capital and was quickly detained for scaring the populace with her screams about 'monsters' and the infected stump that used to be her hindleg. The medical professionals opened up the stomp, so they could drain the puss and remove the dying tissue. They gave her antibiotics for good measure and enough painkillers to leave her in a stupor.

The unicorn was fighting off a fever; the infection and stress most likely caused it. "N-no, please, I'm sorry... I had no other choice." Starlight saw the faces of the two ponies she gotten killed, they didn't say anything, but their expressions said it all. Unfortunately, Princess Luna wasn't there to soothe her nightmares. Then she saw the faces of the foals she left behind in the village. "No more, please." Starlight watched as their mangled bodies were impaled onto spikes.

She could hear the villagers she once led chanting one name 'Henir.' It was too much for her; she took a fetal position and made her body as small as possible. Tears flowed free from her closed eyes as she sobbed. "Why..." she choked out between sobs. "me?" All the unicorn ever wanted was friends! And the only way to do so was to make everypony equal, and now it's all gone! "It's not fair!" She sobbed even harder.

Then she felt something warm wash over her body. The guilt, stress, pain, faces, and heartache were disappearing. Starlight opened her eyes, and what she saw amazed her. A goddess in physical form, pure white coat, a flowing multiple-colored mane, golden accessories, and crown. Her long magnificent horn had a golden aura around it; she was casting a spell that made her horn shine even brighter. "It's okay, my little pony. I am here for you." She spoke in her calming and motherly voice. The Princess of the Sun nuzzled the whimpering unicorn.

Starlight wanted to hate the pony by her bed. Princess Celestia was the sole reason why equality couldn't exist! She perpetuated the cutie mark system! This whorse was the reason why Sunburst left. "With one spell, I can take her cutie mark away. Yes, this is my chance." The matrix for the spell appeared in her mind. She was going to do it. Starlight would start the revolution! But she stared into the caring eyes of Princess Celestia; she came all the way here to see what troubled her. "I can do it!"

Without warning, Starlight started telling Princess Celestia everything, pouring her heart out. "I-I started a town without telling anypony and without a deed from the crown." Meaning she didn't pay any taxes. "It's between the Neighargra falls and Manehatten. Everything was fine, then there was this explosion, and every adult pony became a monster!" She said hysterically. "One of them cut off my hind leg! Then they went after the foals and...And!" Starlight wailed in anguish. Nearby unicorn nurses galloped over, ready to use a sedative spell.

Princess Celestia's horn glowed again; once it did, Starlight's screams were cut short as she fell into a deep slumber. The Princess nuzzled the sleeping unicorn again. "Rest easy for now; I'll take care of everything."

Once the medical ward's door shut behind her, Celestia's posture slumped. The Princess of the sun had another problem at hoof, and it was severe. Foal killers that were once ponies, if this information got out to the public, it would be disastrous! Princess Celestia took a calm breath; she needed more information. "Who can I send?" The elements were out of the question for multiple reasons; the Pillars are already busy. She couldn't send her sister as she feared the worse. The Princess considered sending the Wonderbolts but squashed that idea. After the giant Spike incident, she didn't trust them enough to fly headfirst into danger.

This left her with one choice, the Royal Guard! These ponies were tasked with guarding herself, the castle, and Equestria as a whole! Princess Celestia deflated when she remembered they hadn't been helpful for...Anything. Sure they were great for keeping the peace and calming down ponies after a disaster. The problem has been made worse with Shining's departure, leaving the captain's seat open. She could worry about that later because she was on a time limit; Celestia had called for a one-hour recess. If she hadn't, the Alicorn who have thrown Prince Rutherford out the window!

She took another calming breath; the Princess couldn't lose her composure now. "Commander Valkyrie." The Princess conjured paper, quill, and ink well. She wrote a letter, telling the Commander to gather two of the fastest pegasus and go to the unknown town. Celestia also made it clear that this was a scouting mission. If there were any signs of danger, they were to retreat immediately and report back to her. They had no time for heroics or ponies seeking glory through combat.

Once it was finished, the letter was engulfed by a blue flame. Princess Celestia straightened her posture and trotted down the hall. As she did, the Alicorn couldn't help but feel like this was the Human's fault. She groaned internally. "How could one ape be so troublesome!" Not even Discord was this big of a pain! Hopefully, once her niece, Shining Armor, and the elements find this creature, things will calm down. "Back to the meeting," she said, sounding defeated.

Memento, second floor

Raven was writing down new equations on the chalkboard. After Sonata's recent blunder with a simple math question, the Human thought it best if some of them practiced. Specifically, the twins and the Dj, as he found that their work was messy. As for Sonata, she was a special case, so he gave more addition equations. He even made it simpler by having all the problems be 1 + 10 or something even more basic. "She couldn't possibly mess this up.". Putting his feelings aside, he gave everypony in question chalk. The twins took the chalk with cheer, while Vinyl rolled her eyes, and Sonata took the chalk with her head lowered.

With that, Raven brought his attention to Moondancer, Amber, and Oleander. "While they practice, I will teach you three about Human magic." Amber jumped up and down in excitement at the prospect; Moondancer clapped her hooves together in excitement, while Oleander looked quizzical. Raven could hear Vinyl mumble, ' I get stuck with the boring stuff.' Even the changeling drone that Raven brought along was paying attention.

Raven held out the tablet that contained the necessary knowledge of essential Elrian magic. He got onto one knee and showed it to them. "Like unicorns, Humans use runes to create spell matrix, allowing us to create spells. And if someone is skilled enough, they can create runes and use them for combat; these people were called Rune Slayer." These types of knights were rare, as very few with proficient with a sword and magic.

Amber had no idea what she was looking at, but the two Ponies beside her did. Oleander found these runes to be fundamental and primordial. None of these spells had safety mechanisms if something were to go wrong. Meanwhile, Moondancer was shocked to see that none of these spells had any cast times. She had multiple problems with the teleportation spell; it was short-range, meant to be spammed, and it was a beginner spell! A spell like this should take years to learn and longer to master!

The two didn't even get past the first two spells before they looked up and gave Raven a worried look. "Mr.Maxwell, these spells seem rather destructive, and there aren't any safety measures. And they're all destructive spells." Moondancer told the Human. She didn't even see one single healing spell.

"These spells are destructive because Elrios was a dangerous place." Raven began. "Monsters, demons, evil spirits, vengeful nasods, bandits, dark elves, evil spirits, and shadow beasts. Then there were the wars with the other races. We had no use for non-combative spells or skills." Raven scoffed at the very notion. " If it didn't kill the enemy, give you a tactical advantage, or support your comrades, it was useless. Healing was either left to medical professionals or Alchemists. If you didn't live in a city or a village and didn't know how to defend yourself, you were good as dead. " It may sound like Humans only cared for killing and carnage, but it was survival of the fittest, and Humanity came out on top.

In Amber's mind, this translated to 'Human magic makes things go BOOM!'. This meant she could get to the good stuff right away. As for Oleander, it sounded like a bunch of monkeys were given fireworks and told to make them as dangerous as possible. Moondancer was disappointed; she expected a little more finesse than 'Make thing go boom!'. Fred laughed in his book; he found this amazing; if only more humans were around! "By the way, check the mana cost." Raven pointed out.

Oleander started sputtering as soon as she did, while Moondancer's glasses nearly fell off. The first two spells' mana costs were negligible, and the third spell, Chain Fireball, was ridiculous. "This spell requires one-third of my mana pool!" Oleander stammered out. Indeed the spell required the caster to use one-third of their mana to cast. The spell was terrible; the caster fired two small fireballs and ended it with a giant fireball.

"Yes, it does, and it's one of the reasons why I don't constantly chain my skills. Some of them even require me to use my entire mana pool." OIeander and Moondancer were horrified; using your entire mana pool was a big no-no for unicorns. Either the unicorn went through magical burnout, or they were left in a weakened state. Raven shrugged at their shocked faces and gave them an amused smile. "Don't worry; I'll teach you how to manage your mana." Raven wondered if he should tell them about mana eaters? He decided not to. "We'll cross that bridge when we get there; now try casting your first fireball."

Raven gestured for Oleander to start, which she did. The dark unicorn closed her eyes, and she saw the fire rune appear in her mind's eye. It was a roaring fire in the shape of a flower. Mana began to gather within her horn, and as soon as it did, it started heating up. Oleander grunted in pain as the heat became unbearable. Left with no other choice, she casts the spell.

Oleander opened her eyes and saw that the spell fizzled, creating a poof of dark smoke. "Wrong," Raven said simply, causing the unicorn's face to scrunch up in anger. Raven gestures for Moondancer to go next, and the same thing happens. The spell fizzled out, leaving them with a puff of smoke. The man lets out a disappointed sigh; then points at their horns. "Stop using your horns." The two scholars were about to object, but Raven was quicker and held out his claw. "Elrian magic is all or nothing; you need to use your entire body! The mana has to flow everywhere, not just your horn. Amber, you're next. Close your eyes!"

The filly flinched when she was suddenly called upon but nodded with a determined face. With that, Amber closed her eyes.

There was nothing but darkness; that's when Amber heard her father's voice. "Create the fire rune." Remembering what she saw, the filly recreated the rune within her mind. The blazing flower was dull, lifeless, and cold. Something was wrong; why wasn't it burning with life? "Now let go and find fuel for your fire." She did as she was told and let herself sink deeper into the darkness.

As Amber sank, she could hear Raven's voice, but it came quieter the further she fell. "It's there, the mana." But she couldn't find it; she was an earth pony. Earth ponies didn't have anything special like horns or wings, just their strong legs and hooves... That was it! Raven said you need to put your entire body into it.

Amber focused solely on her body and felt the warmth spread through it. Her hooves, legs, torso, head, and muscles were filled with mana! She was the fuel, and with that, she brought herself back to the surface. Like before, the fire rune floated there, grey and lifeless. Without hesitation, the filly hugs the rune, which causes the flower to ignite! Soon enough, the flames were on her and spreading throughout the filly's body.

It was intense but not painful; if anything, she felt powerful, like the filly could take any pony on. Burn everything in her path and still have some energy to spare. As she thought this, the flames became more intense as if it was trying to consume her. Amber couldn't control it! The filly whimpered in pain as the flame tried taking over. "Temper the fire with your joy." Amber thought about her mother, sister, new siblings, and new father. As the filly did this, the flames backed away, and she sighed in relief.

"Now hold your forelegs out and stay like that for ten seconds ." As soon as she did, the flames threatened to leave through there. It was the longest ten seconds of her life; the fire threatened to burn her hooves if it wasn't released. "Cast it!" Amber opened her eyes and cast her very first spell. It was a fireball and a big one too, bigger than an average pony!

"Oh shit!"

Everypony got out of Raven's way as he caught the fireball with his claw. The Valasia arm screamed at him for being so close to such heat. Raven didn't care because pride swelled within his chest. Amber did it; she could perform spells now! "Now to take care of this." He looked down at the fireball pushing him back; the man couldn't help but grin. "Chilling breath." Raven surrounded himself with a hellish mist that could freeze anything; he watched as the aura consumed the fireball, leaving nothing.

Oleander couldn't lie; she thought the filly's quest of learning magic was nothing more than a pipe dream. She didn't have the heart to crush the foal's dream, but this changed everything! But there was one thing she couldn't believe. "I got outclassed by an Earth pony!"

"The Canterlot nobles would want him dead if they found out about this!"Moondancer thought in a panic. She was referring to Canterlot unicorns. They would have the entire archive burned to the ground before they allowed 'lesser' pony races to learn magic. But she was amazed; she had just witnessed an earth pony perform magic! It was history in the making. The flood gates were open, a whole new field of magic! "So this is Elrian Magic."

Amber was breathing heavily, but she had a big grin."I-I did it; I can do magic!" She tried jumping around but became lightheaded. Before she could fall over, Raven sprinted forward and caught the little filly. Amber smiled up at her daddy. "Daddy, did you see I can do magic now!"

Raven smiled back. " I did, and congratulations! You're a Magician."

footnote:

Amber

Class Change: Magician

NEW SKILL TREE!

NEW ACTIVE SKILL:

Chain Fireball - - Fire 2 small fireballs and end with a big fireball. Enemies hit will be burned for 10 seconds.

Author's Note

Alright! Got another chapter out! Hope you're enjoying the story! Also, earth pony using magic! aw yeah!