Chapter 2: Interrogation, Part 11

{*First Person View, Ponyville Library*}

I needed a moment to calm down, and Twilight’s little huddle call with the rest of her friends gave me time to reflect. I realize that I may have blown up a bit a few seconds back, but that was for good reason!... I think. I also realize that yelling is never the answer, but I needed to get one thing across to these ponies… They can’t mess with me.

Oh sure, I’m not trying to be the tough guy around here, but when a rainbow-mane pony floors you, then that’s just crossing the line. I think my angry look did its job when I saw the fright in their faces. The only thing I regret is making Fluttershy cry. I really didn’t mean to do that, it just happened. But I have to move past that, and besides, I think that she’s forgiven me by now, don’t you?

Now, there’s one thing that I said in my rant that’s actually bothering me right now, and that’s my comment about my home. My home… I never really thought about it until now, but I must be trillions of trillions of light years away from Earth. How the heck am I ever gonna cross that distance? I don’t even know how long a light year is! Heck, I bet these ponies don’t know either? So that brings up another question. How long did it take to get here? If the fastest speed you could travel is the speed of light and I’m at a completely different planet with actual intelligent life form on it, then just how long? Furthermore, how did I even get here? I thought these colourful miniature horses brought me here, but apparently not. Did another alien species pick me up and dropped me off? Or was it a scientific experiment that I participated it (if I did participate in one, I can’t remember) that went horribly wrong? Or maybe-

“BREAK!”

Huh? Well, that snapped me out of my thinking trance. I sometimes zone out to have an inner talking session, like you just witnessed a few seconds ago. But anyways, I heard the girls use a very familiar shout to conclude their meeting of theirs. Football? Since when was football an inter-planetary sport? If it is, then sign me up!

The six ponies giggled as they broke away, disintegrating any traces of manliness in their conversation.

“Griffin, I… I want to apologize once again for my actions.” Twilight stated, seeming a bit hesitant in her words.

I frowned. I wasn’t ready to forgive them yet. You can’t make up mistakes that easily. They’re gonna have to work hard to earn my trust!

“So, to make it up to you, I want to teach you how to use and cast magic.”

“WHAT?” I accidentally bellowed. And accidentally saying that that word came out a bit louder than expected.

“Didn’t you hear her? She wants to teach you magic.” Rainbow Dash snapped. Wow, I wasn’t talking to you, you annoying ignoramus!

“Yeah, I heard that. Just making sure. But me, use magic? No offense Twilight, I know that ponies can cast and perform magic and everything, but I’ve already said that humans can’t use magic. We’ve never even heard the aspect of it before! So what makes you think that I can?”

“I can sense it, Griffin. I can sense it all around you. The magic, flowing in and out of you, filling you with energy and life. The thing is, you’ve just never noticed it, but you’ve always had the ability to use it, otherwise your aura wouldn’t be as powerful as I can sense it.” Twilight positively responded.

“Really? Is it that obvious that I can use magic?”

“Well, ah can’ tell, an’ neither can Pinkie or Rainbow or Fluttershy. However, Twi an’ Rarity can, and ah always trust Twilight’s word, especially when it comes to magic.” Applejack stepped in. All the others nodded in agreement with her.

“Well, I dunno… Where do I even start? I have no idea what magic is supposed to look like, and I can’t even sense it!”

“Let me be your guide. Trust me, and I will teach you how to use your power.” Twilight affirmed, approaching my sitting point.

“…Ok.”

I stood up, gathering will and courage. Could I really perform magic? Or were they just throwing me for a loop? I know magic’s impossible, but I’ve seen it with my very two eyes! And it’s not like I’m unwelcoming to the idea, it’s just…

I wonder if I can trust Twilight.

“Great! Ok everypony, spread out to the sides of the room. We can’t risk hurting anypony just in case something bad happens.” Twilight used some kind of spell to move the furniture away to the edges of the room, while her friends quickly shuffled out of the way. Her horn glowed again and a huge pinkish-purplish bubble surrounded the room. Twilight and I were standing inside the bubble with just an object-less floor for company.

“Umm… What danger?” I asked, slight concern filling my body.

“Oh, just ignore that last part, nothing to be worried about.” Twilight poorly reassured me, adding an awkward laugh to the end of her sentence.

Now I’m really not sure if I should trust Twilight.

With a great flash of light, a single potted plant appeared in the middle of the floor. It was a simple daisy, blossoming in the light of the fireplace.

“Woo! Go Griffin!” I could hear Fluttershy cheer from behind the bubble. Her voice seemed like it was being buffered by the magic, making her reassurance sound muffled.

“We’re cheerin’ you on from this side!” Applejack swiftly added.

Oh great, more confidence.

“Ok, I want you to close your eyes for a second.” Twilight instructed.

I did what she said. Letting my eyelids rest, I slowed down my breathing speed and let go of my muscled. I’ve done this procedure so many times before it’s like instinct. Even though I’ve never accomplished, much less try to complete a spell before, I knew that Twilight was trying to relax me. I was as if I was already using magic, reading her mind like this. I cleared my mind of any thought as much to my ability and waited for orders.

“Great, now, relax, take deep breaths and clear your mind of any thoughts or feelings.” Twilight continued.

“Mm hmm.” I hummed. See? I told you she wanted me to relax. Oops, that was an emotion. Let me reset myself…

“Now, picture magic in it essential form. It doesn’t matter what you imagine, just have picture of pure magic inside your mind.

I had no idea what ‘magic and nothing else’ looked like in this world, so I just used my own representation. Inside my mind, there was a glowing blue form of aura floating in a massive black expanse. It twinkled and shined with glory, creating an attracting appeal to it. The very center of the magic was a profound light blue, growing darker as it reached the edges of its power. It waved and morphed in the nothingness.

“Now, if you have your image, picture it floating all around you. Feel it with your body, as it surrounds that too. Feel it in every limb. Feel it in your legs, hands, fingers and head.”

I imagined. Suddenly, there was some sort of floating energy that I could feel caressing my non-existent arm hairs. Next think I know there some kind of static something that enveloped my entire body. It felt… blue. I mean, the colour blue. For somewhat reason, I could feel the colour of it. I guess it’s just that magical.

“Now, once you feel the magic, use it. Will yourself to power up your spirit. For now, just absorb a little bit, then focus it onto one part of your body. Don’t try too hard, and release the energy if you feel that it’s power it too much for you.”

Will myself to use it? How?... Ok, I think I’ve got it.

I took a deep breath in. Releasing, I felt my inner strength to build, creating a magnet for all the magic around me. Soon enough I felt the energy enter my system, filling me with some sort of power. It felt incredible! It was if I was being electrocuted! No, wait, that’s a bad analogy, because I’ve never been executed before. I dunno… It’s hard to explain. It was just pure, un-tainted energy flowing through my veins. It felt very blue. The colour, not the emotion.

There was just so much magic to go around! I couldn’t stop consuming it! After a few seconds, the magic was starting to buzz in my head. There was a ringing in my ears. I frowned, realizing something was wrong. When I tried to stop the absorbing process, I couldn’t! My will wasn’t listening to me and I just kept on gaining magical force! Aw crap! I frowned, desperately trying to find a way to stop myself. I heard voices off in the distance, but the ringing in my ears blocked out the sound. My body just kept taking in all the magic! There was a harsh pressure digging into my skin that was not beginning to hurt.

Seconds went by, but it felt more like minutes. I didn’t know how long I would last, but I couldn’t take any chances. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any, seeing as I couldn’t think of any ways to escape from my magical grasp. At this point, everything on my body hurt. A lot. I mean, A LOT. It felt like tiny needles were not only prodding, but jabbing into every individual nerve in my being. My head felt like it was going to explode! Before I died from a terrible magic accident, my brain had one last thought.

What did Twilight last say? Focus the energy onto a single part of my body? Ok.

In one fast instant, the ringing and pressure went away, leaving a refreshing sensation. All the magical vigor converted to my right hand, filling it with great amounts of energy. I heard the sound of a fire lighting itself. When I opened my eyes, I could see that the floor was scorched, the pot was in pieces, there was dirt scattered all over the floor and my hand was on fire.

Wait, what? My hand was on fire?

Yes, yes it was! My hand was somehow curled up into a fist with bright blue flames licking off the top of it. Not only was the entire being of my hand freaking on fire, but also a little bit of space around it that was a darker shade of blue. What’s even stranger was that it didn’t hurt. Nope, didn’t hurt one bit. I could still feel the intense heat both on the skin of my arm and the rest of my body, but it didn’t hurt. It didn’t appear to be burning my flesh either. All I could do to contain myself was to just stand and stare in awe at the feat I had achieved.

“Twilight, are you seeing this?” I eagerly questioned. After no response, I tried again. “Twilight?”

I turned around. That’s when she responded.

“*cough* yeah, *cough* I definitely saw that.

What I saw with my own two eyes shocked me. Not only was Twilight sprawled across the floor, but her mane was a mess and her tail was partially burnt off! What’s more is that she looked tired than before. Much more tired than before. Her own horn sparked with purple energy as if it too completed a spell.

“What… What happened?”

“Griffin… I…” Rarity began to explain, but stopped short.

I looked towards the rest of the crew. The magic bubble was no longer there. All of the ponies wore looks of shock, awe and fear. Each and every one of them was wide-eyed with nothing to say. Well, except for Rainbow Dash.

“You happened!” she suddenly burst out.

“Yeah! You were all glowy like and blue! And you were on fire! On fire! That was an amazing light show you put for us, Griffy-Griff!” Pinkie chimed in.

I was about to retort with something along the lines of ‘Don’t call me Griffy-Griff’, but I realized the meaning of her words. Apparently, my arm wasn’t the only thing on fire. Was I on fire? I couldn’t tell because the magic filled up my senses and I had my eyes closed at the time. If I did set ablaze, then I wouldn’t have known.

“Well ah’ll be…” I heard Applejack mutter. Fluttershy just whimpered behind one of the sofas. I looked around one more at all of them.

“Was it really that bad?”

“No, in fact, that was amazing!” Twilight got herself off the ground. She seemed shaky on her hooves (never thought I would be saying THAT sentence in my lifetime), so I helped her up. “That was the largest concentration of magic I have ever seen! Well, besides the princesses and that one time in magic kindergarten, but that’s not the point! The point is that I knew it! I knew you could do it and I knew you had immense magical power!” She had a wild grin on her face.

“Did… Did I do that to you?”

“Yes, yes you did! I’m safe, thanks to my own shielding spell, but by Celestia! You just took all the magic residue in the room and used it to set yourself on fire! Incredible!”

Twilight looked a little dazed after that. I wasn’t sure what exactly happened, but it couldn’t have been good if Twilight ended up like this. I turned my head to Applejack.

“Applejack, what really happened in this room?”

“Well…” she returned my eye contact and began to explain. “At first, it seemed like y’all were followin’ Twi’s advice as smooth as a polished apple, but things started to get sour when Twilight told you to take in and focus the magic onto your body. Then, y’all started floatin’ an’ quickly became alight with a blue fire! Just like yer hand there.”

She pointed to my hand. I looked back at its burning state for a split second before she continued.

“Th’ flames comin’ off o’ you were huge! They almost filled the entire room! Thankfully, Twilight’s bubble shield protected us from the heat. After, Twilight tried to yell some instructions at you, but for somewhat reason y’all didn’t respond. Next thing ah knew, she threw up a shield for herself and there was this bright light. Then she ended up on th’ floor, the magical bubble was gone and you were back on yer feet, and with only yer arm alight!”

My jaw dropped. I was floating? No, wait, I was COMPLETELY ON FIRE!? What is this madness I don’t even! How did that even happen! I know I somehow got carried away, but I didn’t expect that I almost blew up Twilight’s home! This is terrible! I once again looked at my torch-like right hand. The blue flames rose up in the air peacefully, a complete opposite as to how they were reacting a few moments ago.

“Yep, that’s what happened alright.” Twilight mentioned. I twisted my head towards her. She followed on to heave a great big sigh.

“I originally wanted you to learn how to control your magical power then levitate that plant over there, but you obliterated it in the process of your learning!”

“Umm… Oops?” was all I had to say.

“Well, it doesn’t matter now. At least we have a grasp of what kind of power you hold, Griffin.”

“Yeah, I guess so-“

I suddenly collapsed to my knees. “Griffin!” several of the mares rang out. With moment’s notice, I was out of breath and had no strength left in my legs. In fact, it felt as if I had no strength left at all! The blue fire on my arm had extinguished as my limbs flopped to my sides. My mind was moving as slow as a snail, just like the rest of my surroundings. Well, at least it felt like it. Everything around me was moving in slow motion, just like in a movie, except this time, it wasn’t a movie. It was real. Just like the exhaustion I was feeling right now.

I barely had the mind to put my arms up to stop my decent. I scrapped my palms as the hit the smooth wooden floor. All of the girls rushed up to me, but I actually felt myself rise to the upright position. When I looked, there was a purple energy surrounding me.

“Holy cow, you must have used up a lot of your energy, haven’t you? We need to get you to a bed. I’m impressed that you created such magic, but even the best unicorns get tired after great efforts such as yours.” Twilight lifted me up with her magic. My eyes felt glazed over, threatening to close any second now.

“Yeah, rest sounds good…” I muttered.

Twilight began to trot up the stairs to the guest room that I was sleeping in earlier. I floated steadily right beside her. Behind me I could hear the rest of the gang following her up the brown, wooden steps. It was really, really difficult to keep my eyes open, just to pay attention. I had no idea that magic could be this taxing! Unless, I did something wrong, which I probably did.

“Guuuhhh…” I moaned. My brain was half dead. I could barely think, feel or sense anything. I bet I wouldn’t be able to find my way out of a box in this state, so I just hovered in mid-air limply, allowing Twilight’s magic to guide me.

“Hang on a few more seconds, Griff, we’re almost there.” Fluttershy persuaded.

The door to the guest room opened. One by one we all entered the small space. I felt myself getting laid onto the bed. There was a sudden warmth all over my body. My eyelids were barely a squint before I saw all of their faces one last time. Each of them a different colour, the six ponies smiled honestly at my efforts to learn.

“Sleep well, Griffin Pegasus…” Twilight whispered.

My six newfound friends…

{END OF CHAPTER}

Thanks for reading chapter 1! If you haven't done so already, please leave a comment regarding my writing skills!