An Introduction To Magic - 01
Your steel gray hoof knocked twice against the red painted door, the two knocks producing a loud satisfying thud with each strike. You had been initially unsure on whether or not to knock or just walk in, the place was technically a public library after all. It was also however, if you remembered correctly, someone’s living space and while you didn’t know if anyone was living there now you would prefer to err on the side of caution and not get yelled at for invading someone’s privacy. Still you needed knowledge and libraries were always wondrous sources for knowledge in your humble opinion…
Okay that was a bald faced lie, you’ve been to a library maybe five times in your entire life and those were always in relation to high-school. You, like many younglings of your generation, simply preferred the ease of the internet, unfortunately you didn’t have the internet here, at least not anything as wide spanning as the internet was back home.
Shaking yourself from those rambling thoughts after noticing that no-one had responded to your knocks you decided to give it one last try before just walking in. Three wonderfully impactful thuds came from the door as you smashed your hoof into it, you don’t think you will ever really get over the noise of a hoof against wood like that. Something about the noise just made you feel all satisfied, like popping bubble wrap or peeling off wrapping paper from a Christmas present.
“Ah, just come in already, yer interrupting my nap!” You winced at that and reached out to open the door with your hoof. Yet another marvel of being a pony, one could with a bit of will and effort manipulate anything touching their hooves as if they didn’t lack hands at all! You had absolutely no idea how it worked but you were very eager to try and find out!
Pulling the door open you got your first real life look inside the infamous Golden Oak Library, a large open wooden floor littered with numerous alcoves which held in their confines a spattering of books. Not actually as many as you expected, in fact even a quick glance around the place showed the astonishingly small amount of books, so much that you briefly reconsidered if this place could even be classified as a library. Of course your gaze was eventually drawn away from the books and to the centerpiece of the room, a golden colored wooden horse head centered on a tree stump like pedestal. It felt like an odd decoration at first but then you remembered that this was Equestria and so maybe this was like the equivalent of a busk of a famous person or something.
Someone clearing their throat drew your attention away from the décor of the room and towards the only pony currently in the room. Your first thought upon seeing them was ‘old’, of which you admonished yourself for almost immediately, it really wouldn't do to judge a book by its cover. Especially here in Equestria where any ‘old crone’ could in actuality be a powerful sorcerer or some super wise elder!
“You just gonna keep staring laddy or are ye gonna introduce yourself, I ain't got all day!” The old and withered looking stallion sitting in a rocking chair shouted, he was a… very old looking unicorn. His green fur looked wrinkled, his teeth were yellow and obviously decaying from a lack of proper dental hygiene and his light gray mane looked disheveled, messy, and like it was fraying at the edges. Currently the old unicorn was sitting in a very well worn rocking chair that looked like it was carved from the same wood as the rest of the tree while levitating an open book in front of him. Squinting you tried to make out what book he was reading but to your surprise every time you tried to make the words out it kept switching rearranging!
You shook yourself from the incredibly interesting phenomena, you had already deduced earlier that you were capable of somehow reading the strange language they used here. You personally never remembered learning how to read Equish or whatever they may call it but you could nonetheless.
Clearing your throat you finally got to answering the old stallion’s question, “Ah, my name is Spirit Quill sir. Sorry for interrupting your day but I was just wanting to peruse the local library for a couple books!” You said simply, a small smile on your face as your eyes drifted from the old unicorn towards the books lining the alcoves in the walls.
“Uh huh, you look new. Got a library card?” The stallion said in the same tone a minimum wage grocery worker might use and all without moving his eyes from the book he was reading. You blinked at his question before realizing what he meant and wanting to smack yourself in the face, you would if you didn’t have hooves which would probably make the whole thing beyond painful to do.
“Ah… no sir, your right I’m afraid, just moved to Ponyville today so I haven’t actually had time to settle in at all an-” You said but were quickly interrupted by the old stallion once again.
“Fine whatever, library card is ten bits and proof of residence.” The old stallion said making your heart sink.
“Ah, I was afraid you’d say that, I… don’t actually have any bits either I'm afraid.” That was apparently interesting enough to get the old stallion to lower his book and raise an inquisitive bushy eyebrow at you.
“No bits? At all?” He said in a short choppy sentence, surprise evident in his voice.
You nodded a little sorrowfully, “I’ve fell a bit on hard times and the last of my bits were used to purchase food and a residence here i'm afraid, i'm going to go looking for jobs tomorrow but I was kind of just hoping to see what the library situation here was like, and if possible maybe look at a couple books of interest.”
The old stallion grunted, “Want to check out books, you need a library card.”
“Ah that's fine, maybe I could just stay and read them in here for a litt-” The old stallion cut your words before you could finish.
“No. Don’t like ponies in my library for so long.” He stated outright, the room basked in an awkward silence for a second as you processed… annoying information. Said awkwardness was shattered as the old man’s horn flickered and a tarnished golden aura grew into existence around it, somewhere below the both of you a series of clattering noises echoed out and from some stairs leading to what you assume is some kind of basement came one of those old fashioned dusters. Slowly in a similarly tarnished golden aura the duster floated over to you before the aura audibly popped and it began to fall, only being caught by your own quickly spun telekinesis.
You blinked at the duster in your own baby blue aura before turning an inquisitive eye towards the old stallion, now back to reading his incomprehensible book. “Clean all the shelves, ten bits a day no more, no less.”
It was… probably the crappiest pay you could probably ever receive, barely enough to let you scrape by. Still it was… nice of him to offer that to a complete and total stranger, especially since he didn’t really seem to like visitors. Which is… weird considering he was a librarian.
“Ah, I’m not sure how to thank you!” You settled for, the place was small enough that you’d probably be done dusting the shelves in a couple hours at most. Which would leave you more than enough time to check out a book and go job searching for something a little more high paying.
“Don’t be, just don’t want you hanging out here more than you should need to. And be sure to find yourself a darn job and quickly understand? Don’t want you foals loitering in my home.” Then why is your home also a library is what you wanted to ask but pointedly didn’t, wouldn’t do to offend your current temporary source of income.
Considering the attitude of the old stallion you didn’t bother anymore with words and instead got to work, which took an even shorter amount of time than you had initially guessed. You had never realized just how absolutely useful telekinesis was for cleaning till now! Done in nearly an hour of the easiest work you’ve ever done you searched for the one book you most wanted, you had noticed as you were cleaning and knew it was the perfect book to start with.
‘Starswhirl’s Magical Kindergarten’
An… odd name for a book in your opinion but a brief perusal of the book showed that it was essentially a magic for dummies book. Exactly what you needed!
Excitedly rushing up to the old man, you pulled out your proof of residency card from your saddle bag, a small card with a bunch of odd symbols you couldn’t understand that apparently certified that you were a homeowner within the legal bounds of Ponyville. Before you can even speak a word the card is ripped from your telekinetic grasp and you are forced to hold back a shiver at the feeling of your two magical fields interacting with one another, you can feel how much stronger magically then you he is and it sets you off kilter a bit. The guy could probably twitch his head and snap your spine into two if he felt like it, not that he’d probably ever even consider such a thing. This was Equestria after all, people here were… nice? Nicer than you considered most other people at the minimum.
The old stallion squinted at your card briefly before harrumphing, throwing the card back at you and letting you catch it with your own telekinesis once again. “Good enough, consider today’s pay as going towards your library card, now take the book and get out of here colt.”
You blinked, “Ah, aren’t I supposed to get…”
The green unicorn snorted, “I ain’t some youngster who can conjure up something willy nilly, come back tomorrow and I’ll have to card ready.”
You stared at the old stallion for a second before shrugging, picking up your chosen book and casually walking out of the Golden Oaks Library. Smiling as you walked out the door, your horn lit up with its baby blue aura and ‘Starswhirl’s Magical Kindergarten’ floated in front of you, opening to the first page. Unable to help yourself, you delved into the book as you started to walk home…
“Magic as it is most basically defined is an act of wonder produced by those with the skill, knowledge, and talent to shape their Thaumic Field. In this absolute beginner’s guide to magic we will teach you the knowledge necessary to begin accumulating your own skill in the art!
First we will discuss Thaumic Fields, there are three primary sources of Thaumic Fields; that being those found within Magik Artifaks, the thin layer found throughout all of Equ, and finally the most commonly used field for any Mage worth their salt, the one within themselves. A Thaumic Field is quite simply a large and dense concentration of Mana that radiates out an Aura, said Aura can be manipulated with Willpower.”
You frowned, briefly putting your book away as you entered the Ponyville market street, you didn’t want to bump into anyone accidently. Numerous vendors hawked their wares and chatted amicable with their customer among the lush smooth grass pathways. You ignored them in favor of idly ruminating on the book you had picked up, judging from its title you had assumed it would have been a book given to young children but the words used and the terms suggested otherwise. Which was annoying because to get a true grasp of magic you really did need baby's first spell book, not this’.
“Hello there Spirit Quill!” A cheery voice called out, breaking you from your thoughts. Stopping in your tracks and looking towards the voice you smile lightly as you see the dark pink swirly hair of Chiffon. You remembered her of course if only barely, she was supposed to be the mother of those two children who have yet to be born. You of course never actually watched the show you now seem to inhabit, but you had somehow found your way onto one of their fiction sites and at least by osmosis became somewhat aware of the plot and some of the episodes. So you at least tangentially knew of her existence when you first met her, of course over the course of the next couple days you got to know her a little better as a person rather than someone you just knew existed.
“Hello there Chiffon Swirl, are you having a fine day today?” You replied politely, you were a bit tired and would have loved nothing more than to escape from the conversation but if you were dismissive of her it might ruin the progress you made.
Chiffon waved her hoof shyly, a tint of embarrassment heating her cheeks. “Oh shucks hun, you know you don’t need to keep being so formal with me, just Chiffon is fine.”
You laughed lightly, “I know, I know, it was just how I was raised though dear. Polite to a fault never hurts anyone!”
You briefly appeared as if you were remembering something, “Ah! I’m sorry dear but I almost forgot that I was a bit busy before you approached, was there something you needed before I headed out?”
Chiffon looked a bit guilty as you spoke, “Ah im sorry hun, I was just going to see if you wanted any of this new batch of samples I just cooked up! It’s a new flavor I'm trying out!” She said, getting more excited as she talked about her newest experiment, revealing a plate of scrumptious looking cream covered cupcakes on her back that you hadn’t seen until now. You paused from where you had been subtly moving away from the mare and considered her offer… well you could never really help yourself around sweets.
“Ah… maybe one wouldn’t hurt then?” You said guilty, moving over to the plate of cupcakes to snag one for yourself.
Chiffon giggled at your hesitance, “Nope, wouldn’t hurt a fly!”
Picking up one of the cupcakes in your telekinesis you considered it for a moment before taking a big bite from the delicious treat. It’s creamy and rich chocolatey flavoring filled your mouth, it felt like liquid sweetness melting into one continuous smooth taste, absolutely positively amazing! You will never get over what the denizens of this world are capable of simply by having a ‘cutie mark’ in something. Chiffon’s cupcakes were always amazing, but whether it was pure skill, magical enhancement in some way, or maybe magically enchanted skill due to her Cutie Mark literally being a picture of cup cakes you didn’t know. Not yet at least, in time you definitely planned on delving into the mysteries of this world one by one and hopefully get a little something out of it along the way.
You hummed in delight as you quickly finished up the cupcake, “As always dear your cupcakes remain the best in the town!”
She waved you off again, her cheeks once again tinting in blushing embarrassment. “Oh shucks, you can’t say that you’ve only been here a week.”
You simply smiled serenely back at her, “I only need a week to tell me who’s the best, you are surely the best cook I think I’ve ever met!” You said, delighting in the way her blush seemed to grow at your statement.
Your smile slipped a bit, “Ah unfortunately I really should get going, I’ve got plenty to do today. Are we still good for our usual tea time?”
Chiffon blinked, “Of course dear, same time as always, have a wonderful day!” She shouted as you hurried away. While exhausting the conversation did go well if nothing else, could probably move your schedule up a bit judging by the way she reacted. You of course had soon realized when you had met dear little Chiffon that she was quite younger then she appeared in the show, and a bit of inquisitiveness into her social life revealed that she hasn’t even met the future Mr. Carrot Cake yet! That and you think her name in the show was supposed to be Cup Cake or something…? You were unsure, Pony naming conventions were already very confusing and you were yet to make sense of it at all.
As you rushed through the late afternoon traffic of market street you eventually made your way out and managed to finally make it to your humble abode! Seeing the small and simple thatch house brought a smile to your face, you had to put in a lot of effort to get the deed to this house but you managed it. Putting your hoof on the door you manipulated the simple inbuilt lock on the door that was matched to your magical signature, it unlocked for you without any trouble and you quickly stepped inside and away from the low hustle and bustle of the afternoon.
Sighing you let the public face you kept up slip in the relaxation and safety of your home. Being nice and friendly like everyone else seemed to do so naturally here could start to be taxing at times. Back home you could go through life comfortably in the knowledge that nobody really cared what you were feeling, but it was different here. If a stranger saw you frowning angrily on the street they might walk up and ask what's wrong, if a friend saw you a bit downcast they might bring you a gift to brighten your mood.
Gently you brought your hooves to your faces and rubbed it, kneading your flesh with the magic in your hooves. Though thinking about it you were probably instinctually using your Thaumic Field to do that weren’t you? The terms the book had mentioned were certainly confusing but you could probably make some pretty good guesses based on context clues alone. Mana, was quite obviously either some kind of substance or energy that lied within a unicorn and radiated something called an Aura. You were currently hedging your bets on it being some kind of weird substance, a bit like a radioactive waste but you could instinctually manipulate the radiation it emitted to do things like levitate your groceries.
A frown settled on your face and idly you telekinetically removed the book from your saddle bag, glancing only briefly at the flowing letters that spoke the book's title. Walking over to the other half of your single room house you gently placed the book down next to a worn and somewhat tattered looking notebook. The notebook was thick with papers and a couple sticky notes sticking out the denote categories and where to find certain information, but you spared all that no more mind.
Gently telekinetically lifting your saddlebag off your body you tried your best not to look at the glaring empty spot that adorned your blank and instead opened your notebook. You picked up a quill in your telekinetic grasp but before you put it to paper an idle thought passed by.
Maybe you should eventually either look into getting the book enchanted or enchant it yourself? An endless notebook would be incredibly useful!
Author's Note
Criticism is always welcome.