Author's Note

AN: This is the rewritten version of Mordane chapter two. Please check my blogpost for further details.

Time Sweetly Spent

“Mordane?”

He stirred, head rolling as he woke up, yawning.

His muscles felt stretchy, and his skin pulled taut. Like he had spent a day in the sun and dried out. With trembling hooves, he pushed himself into a sitting position and opened his eyes.

A large creature, from his perspective, the mare looked down at him in the small crib, her eyes practically sparkling over a grin.

“You already know your name? Ohhh,” she cooed, reaching down to pick him up.

As she did so, the fog slipped from his mind, and once again, he was entirely himself. A headache threatening to surge ahead.

”I can mostly understand her now. Is this what learning is like for a newborn?” He yawned, fighting off the urge to sleep. The room he was in seemed similar to when he had last been aware leading him to believe he was slowly settling in. The headaches like static slowly shifting into tune.

“One month old and already responding to his name.” Stone trotted out of Mordane’s sight. “Guess that is what we can expect from an alicorn.”

“Shush. Though he does worry me, he rarely cries.”

“It's okay, dear. Isn’t it, little guy?”

Mordane turned, blinking a few times. He mouthed the word for dear.

“Oh, his head swiveled to you. That's really early as well.”

“He’ll be speaking pretty soon at this rate, come to think of it. Isn’t he a little bigger than yesterday?”

Seeing the mare something in him welled up the word ‘mom’ but another name snapped into focus.

“Well, he has been feeding a lot. Let me weigh him again.” She frowned and trotted across the room before moving Mordane onto a bed of straw.

With his heightened mental state, he could tell it was a kitchen weighing scale of some kind. Primitive in design but sturdy. From the click of stones, he guessed she was adding weight to the other side.

“… And three more stones than last week.”

“Whoa.”

John’s ear twitched. He recognized that new voice. And sure enough, his new brother’s head poked over the basket edge.

“What was his name again?” Mordane thought before it came to him.

“Flashwung!” Mordane gurgled in his tiny voice.

The young colt shouted excitedly, hopping across the room with a broad smile to embrace Mordane with his wings.

Mordane immediately broke from his swaddle and flapped his wings, making his brother slide wide-eyed to a stop.

“Shhh, quiet, Mordane.”

“Mom,” Little Flashwing reached out, looking at Mordane’s hooves as his eyes widened.

“Brother is an alicorn—”

He was cut off by Stone, who clamped a hoof over his mouth.

“Quiet colt! Don’t say that. Don’t ever say that.”

Flashwing shrunk back, looking up at his glowering father. “But why? Won’t that make him a prince? Would that make me a-”

“No, boy, no,” Stone chastised. “It wouldn’t. Remember your stories. Celestia banished her own sister. How much worse would it be for someone, not her kin, to take even a bit of her power?”

Gaping again, the colt's eyes began to water as he whimpered.

“Shh, you're scaring him, dear.” Sunnyfield glared at Stone and pulled Flashwing into a hug. “Don't worry. We are far away from the Sun Tyrant. Luna will guard our dreams and little Mordane. Just. don’t speak about what he is where a neighbor might hear.”

“I’m sorry, son.” Stone reached over to rub Flashwings head. “You are a good colt. Just be more careful, okay?”

“I will, Papa. I’ll protect Mordane. I promise.”

John wobbled around the small room. It had been a few weeks since coming to this world and it was still mentally taxing to move his tiny hooves across the impacted earth.

He was desperate to avoid the two little demons pretending to be his sisters lest they start pinching and poking his sensitive skin again. In his mouth, he carried his mother's small mirror.

The hovel he found himself in was strange, to say the least. The walls were smooth cut stone, worn with age and weathering, while the floor was dirt and gravel stomped flat by hard hooves.

He dodged around Flashwing, who was bolting for the front door. He made it across the room, his wings flopping and horn sparking, before tossing the mirror onto a raised chair and climbing up after it.

Once up there, he surveyed his new world.

The hovel was about twenty by ten in size; one side was taken up by the kitchen and the sitting area, while the other had dressers and mats for sleeping.

The smell of what seemed like oatcakes cooking on the wood stove mixed with hickory and applewood, a small stack chimney leading it to the outside.

He hid from his two sisters as they ran past.

Across the room, a stone fireplace burned, fighting against the chill from outside. In the corner, a crank phonograph played. Its simple tune sounded tinny as it echoed quietly off the walls.

The curtains were pulled open on the window, letting him see the blue sky and green hills beyond. Tiny flowers and daffodils could be seen swaying in the chilled breeze. In the distance, he could see a tower, its roof caved in, and a small herd of sheep grazing around its base.

It was beautiful.

John closed his eyes, feeling the wind blow through his hair as another moment of clarity washed over him.

He thought of his home. His train set, his house, and his family.

His lip trembled at the overwhelming loss.

He did not know how he had managed to get to this place, but he would not be able to return. Nor would a body be waiting for him.

By now, he was likely buried and rotting. His home is on the market, and his mother fretting over what to keep and toss.

Screaming with his father just because she couldn’t deal with it.

He opened his eyes, wiping away the tears before looking down at the wet patch on his hoof. Face twisting in disgust.

“I’m better than this.” Hardening his heart, he looked out the window again with an objective eye.

“Mordane,” he whispered. Feeling it curl throughout his mouth. “That's my name now.”

“Mordane,” he said again, swinging in his seat.

A sickly laugh tried to work its way out, but Mordane pushed it down. He pushed the mirror up against the chairs back till he could see his image.

Looking back at him was definitely a pony. A ‘colt’ from what his parents had said.

His emerald blue eyes reminded him of the sea and matched with his new mother’s. His coat was light brown, and slightly lighter brown hooves matched his new father's. This was topped by a stony gray mane that matched none of the other family members.

“This is me,” he said softly. “I’m Mordane, a pony. A unicorn, pegasus thing.”

He took a shaking breath before sitting in front of the mirror.

“Yes. I’ll live as Mordane Stronghoof.”

It was a good day for him. Finally! He would no longer have to drink milk from the mare and they had finally set some food in front of him.

However, his pride was too great to be fed. The breastfeeding may have been necessary, but he would eat the mashed-up peas alone!

Sunny Fields tried everything, but young Mordane would not eat no matter what. In the end, she put the spoon down in the bowl and went to scold one of the other children.

Mordane moved his hoof over to the spoon. Months of watching the others had given him the confidence to hold it. However, seeing and knowing is different from doing. When the mother returned, he was still trying to pick up the spoon with one hoof. Quickly, he clamped both hooves on the short handle, dipped it in the peas, and put them in his mouth.

Sunny could not believe what she was seeing. The baby was feeding himself! Though he seemed unable to hold the spoon with one hoof.

She smiled big, sliding into the seat beside him.

“Not like that, my little Morty. Hold it like this.”

She pulled the spoon from his mouth, setting it in the bowl again. Taking one of his hooves, she held it to the spoon.

Mordane frowned, trying to flex his hoof to grip, but he felt something.

A strange force emanated from his mother's hoof like it was suddenly oozing a warm sticky field. It grabbed his hair as she had him scoop his food and put it into his mouth.

“Good! Now yourself.”

Mordane frowned as she moved her hoof away, but he tried to remember the sensation. Placing his own hoof on the spoon, he forced himself to reach.

And the spoon clicked to his hoof.

Excitedly he lifted the spoon but found that it spun in his hoof. His mother laughed as he put it down and tried again. Her eyes winded slightly as he lifted them successfully this time and began to eat, slow and steady.

“You’re doing amazing, dear!” She kissed him, turning away to leave him before adding softly. “as expected.”

“I’m gonna catch you!” screamed Merry chasing a giggling Berry in circles.

Stone smiled, seeing his small girls before his mirth faded seeing Mordane. He was sitting near the fireplace.

Mordane rarely spoke. He was coming up on a year old but was still not allowed outside.

And Stone was starting to get worried.

Mordane spent much of his time with the book his mother had started teaching him words from, and Stone was beginning to expect he had already picked it up. He only occasionally pointed at a word in the book that his mother would tell him.

Stone could tell that Mordane understood what they were saying. He seemed to pick up words like a sponge soaked up water.

However, except for a few words, he basically never spoke.

“Mordane,” he said, causing the small colt to turn to him. “Take this cup to your mother.”

A test.

He placed down the cup and a plate. The little colt looked up at him, nose scrunching a little before wobbling over to the cup and picking it up. He then pointed at the plate.

“I’ll get that myself,” Stone replied as he shuffled through a newspaper.

Mordane looked at him for a few moments before waddling off to the other side of the room toward the kitchen.

Sunnyfield looked at him knowingly, causing Stone to smile. He decided not to worry; Mordane would talk when he was ready.

Mordane handed over the cup and was rewarded with a head pat and cookie as he turned.

“Hey, no fair. Stop!” Merry shouted, taking a detour to the kitchen.

Stone's heart jumped; he wasn't sure how he foresaw the disaster. Perhaps the way Merry had been looking back or how the pot was closer to the edge than usual.

He was rushing over even as the disaster began to unfold.

Mordane was sitting beside the stove. Occasionally pointing to a word to have his mother say it. Then Berry turned to crash into the counter next to the stove. The shaking slowly tipped the large pot of boiling water.

Which tipped right over Mordane.

Stone arrived just in time. He roared in pain as the boiling water poured over his back.

Sunnyfields screamed in horror as she grabbed her water bucket and threw the contents onto his back to cool.

Stone stood tall as a tower. He was barely trembling as his wife moved quickly to throw moist towels over him.

However, Stone just looked down at the little Mordane. His eyes were soft and relieved.

“A-are you okay, son?”

An hour later, Stone was sitting in the bed with his wife rubbing salve onto the burns. Mordane had climbed onto the bed beside his parents to look at the wounds.

"If he had hesitated, I would be dead. There is no way my small form could've survived that. He just threw himself over me." Mordane thought

For the first time, the human-turned-pony looked into the eyes of the mare who birthed him, really looked, and saw the love for him there. A part of him that had doubted that love was swept away. Then he looked at the stallion who took on pain, so he would not. Instead of a pony bound by an obligation, he saw a stallion full of honor and strength.

His father's eyes fluttered open. "Are you alright, Mordane?" Tears came to the colt’s eyes.

After a moment, Mordane finally spoke, "I- I love you, dad." Mordane's eyes opened wide at the tiny voice, reflecting the shocked expressions on his mother’s and father’s faces. "I love you both."

The two parents had only been as happy three other times in their lives. They hugged him as his father winced in pain.

"They are nothing like my par- no, they are my parents. I am home."

And for the first time, he felt like he just might be Mordane Stronghoof.

It wasn’t long after that Mordane was allowed to leave home and explore the area, though he was forbidden from getting outside of sight of home.

He also had to promise to wear a cloak at all times and never show his wings to anyone.

His older brother excitedly showed him around the tiny village. Though calling it a village would be a stretch.

There were four families within the village with 20 buildings. Theirs was the only one with children, and from what Mordane had heard, the rest were ready to leave at any time.

The road was an ancient cobbled path that led north into the wilderness, while the actual road to civilization went south and was dirt.

“You're gonna love this, Mordane.” Flashwing flew with Mordane on his back, giving Mordane an expansive view.

Rolling hills as far as the eyes could see and a few fields surrounding their tiny village. In the distance was an extensive mountain range.

“What are those mountains called?”

“Crystal Mountains, Edge of the frozen north.”

Down below, he could see his father working the land with three others. They worked along a narrow river with irrigation ditches.

While the village looked rundown, Mordane could see the outlines of more buildings no longer standing.

As they approached the tower, Mordane realized something.

“It's quartz!”

The tower was a solid piece with a wooden structure on top. It appears as a solid white cristal stretching out of the grass.

“Let's land there!” Mordane exclaimed, pointing at the tower.

“Okay, hang on!” Flashwing tilted down, coming to a landing.

The tower itself was even stranger up close. On the wooden palisade at the top, Mordane could see the seal of Equestria. He had seen one in the book his mother had given him. Its gold filigree was still brilliant, but the iron was rusted and potted beyond even the worth of salvage. The wooden structure seemed ready to blow off in the following wind and could be heard to creak and groan.

The column it sat on, though, was pristine, and on the entrance, he could see a seal in the shape of a heart.

“Is that the Crystal Empire’s seal?”

“Yeah, the Crystal Empire no longer exists. They say it was destroyed long ago by Discord. At least, that's what mom said.”

“If I was guessing, I’d say Equestria took over later but it doesn’t know how to make this crystal stuff.” Mordane gave the tower a slight kick. “I wonder why they didn’t make the wall from it.”

“The wall?” His brother quickly flew around the tower. “I don’t see a wall.”

“Look at the bend of the land. It's been raised, and a moat lowered. They definitely had a wall there, but one of stone. You can see the remnants lying around.”

Mordane trotted up into the open doorway. The inside was barren save for the piles of dues and tufts of grass growing on them. The walls allow light to pass through, lighting up the interior.

“Mordane? Be careful!”

He could barely reach the steps, but Mordane moved up the stairs as quickly as he could. At the top, he carefully placed his hoof down on the wooden floor.

He began to explore.

The room seemed to have been occupied in the last few years before being quickly abandoned. A few raised platforms for mats, a rack for spears, and a space for hanging packs. There were also two chests. The first was empty, but the second contained several wooden dishes and metal utensils.

Grinning, Mordane took the dinnerware and wrapped it up in a cloth he found. Then he went into the central tower before jumping onto the seal, he waved at Flashwing, who swooped back to grab him.

“What did you find?”

“Some utensils! Let's drop them off. I wanna see that town you talked about.”

“There? I don’t know, it's pretty depressing.”

“Come ooon. I’m curious.” Mordane climbed back onto his back.

“Uhhh, okay, fine.”

Stopping by the hovel, they dropped Mordanes' finds, which got him a crushing hug before heading off.

Flying high, they headed north.

Mordane's breath was taken. Unlike the quick trip before, this one had them go high into the air.

The mountains were covered in white caps sitting above rolling hills of green.

As they flew on, Mordane shivered. The air became noticeably cooler the closer they came to the Crystal mountains.

It wasn’t long until they came upon the few stone buildings sitting in a clearing.

Trees were dotted around, and Mordane was surprised to see another crystal tower with no structure on top.

The two of them landed on top. What Mordane now saw held a slight lip and surface the other structure had been set upon.

“Why was the village abandoned?” he whispered quietly.

“Probably the cold. Do you feel that? It's what, early fall? This place is already as cold as winter. I doubt you can grow anything here anymore.”

But Mordane could see where the fields had been, now overgrown with shrubs and small trees.

“Will our village be like this one day?” Mordane asked softly.

“Yeah, probably. Winter is getting longer, according to the old Patterhoof. He’s been in our village his whole life. Says winter comes a week earlier than when he was a foal.”

Mordane scrunched his nose. Trying to wrap his head around this idea. Perhaps this planet was undergoing an ice age, or maybe it was magic.

Shaking his head, he turned to grin at his brother.

“It was really pretty flying here.”

“Yeah, it is.” Flashwing sighed.

“... do you think you can teach me to fly?” Mordane asked quietly.

Flashwing frowned before reaching over to lift Mordanes wing cloak, then a wing.

“Huh, your primaries are in. Old Patterhoof said that means you can fly outside. I’ll ask mom, but we will have to wait till next spring, winter is coming soon. Lots of sudden gusts from the mountains.”

Mordane nodded, turning to look back out at the waste for a short while. His ears drooped.

Flashwing reached out and scooped him close with a wing.

“Let's head back. In a few minutes. We don’t want dad to know we got out of sight of home,” Mordane mumbled.

“Yeah, let's pick up some wood for the Soles; they probably forgot to again."

Mordane clung to his brother for a few seconds longer than needed as he marveled at the warmth blossoming in his chest.

The sun was low, Mordane stared into the fireplace enjoying the light and warmth from the wood he had collected.

“Come here.” Mordane’s ears perked up and he trotted over to his mother's mat.

She held at her hooves, pulling him in close. “You did well today,” she whispered.

“Thank you,” Mordane mumbled.

“What's wrong?”

“I was just thinking about the future of our town.”

“Big thoughts for such a little pony.”

“It's just. I’m wondering if we will need to move one day closer to Equestria.”

“Shh. don’t worry. The cold won’t make it this far until your grandfoals grand-” She stopped for a moment before starting again. “It will be a thousand moons before we have to leave.”

“I’ll never see that, hahaha! But that's not what I meant.”
Sunnyfields sat silently, the crackle of the fire filling the room as Flashwing and Stone sat near the fire.

“Let me tell you a story. It's an old one.”

Mordane waited for her to begin. Letting his eyes rest. She sat Mordane in front of her tilting up his chin. Mordane’s ears perked up. “Over a thousand years ago, in the blessed land of Equestria.”

“There were two regal sisters who brought harmony throughout the land. Celestia ruled the day, and Luna the night. By the grace of harmony, they were brought into this world with a destiny, a destiny to move the sun and moon across the sky and guard little ponies against those evil forces from the north. Thus, they maintained the balance of the three pony races for a time.”

Mordane nodded, his ears cocked forward.

“Celestia was big and strong. She wielded the fires of the sun and her hammer to fight against the dark, evil, and cold. Luna slipped into shadows and dreams. Guarding against the evil found there. But in time, Celestia grew hot and bright. The light of her own brilliance blinded her. She grew too blind, and the shadows of her heart were too deep. So reluctantly, Luna turned against her. They fought, and they clashed. The mountains themselves shook with their power until the younger sister lay defeated and cast into the sky. You can see her face on the moon, still watching and protecting her ponies. Celestia stood triumphant, but diminished. Luna fought her for control of the heavens. Even now, she is keeping Celestia locked in her Canterlot tower in a daily struggle. For if the moon were to anchor in the sky and stay for but a time, then Celestia’s magic would be broken. Perhaps one day the sisters shall heal, or Luna will reign.”

Mordane shook his head.

“Doesn’t Celestia rule Equestria?”

“Yes, she has for a thousand years,” Stone spoke up, shifting in his chair.

“But.”

“Harmony gives us all the talent needed to meet our destiny. All ponies need day and night, and so the two of them were given the gift of eternal youth.” Mordane looked down at his hooves, his brow furrowed.

“... Is this why I need to hide?”

Stone stood up and placed his hoof on Mordanes head.

“She banished her own sister. I cannot imagine what she would do to an alicorn that doesn’t share her blood.”

Mordane slowly nodded, his mouth pressed into a firm line.

“Seven plus four is, what?” Mordane asked, looking at his brother expectantly.

“Uhh, eleven?”

“Yeah!” Mordane beamed.

“Awesome!” Flashwing grinned.

“You’re getting the hang of it now.”

“What are you boys doing?” Sunnyfields asked, coming in from the garden.

“Mordane is teaching me math.” Flashwing trotted away from the short table to her, offering to take the food.

Sunnyfields stopped mid-hoofing them over. “... what?”

“Mordane is teaching me math.”

She hoofed over the carrots smiling at Flashwing.

“That's great. Take these to the back and stock them, okay?”

“Sure thing, mom.” Flashing trotted out the backdoor. Mordane started backing away the charcoal and wood state they had been writing with, but Sunnyfields trotted up to stop him.

“Let me see.”

Mordane sheepishly hoofed over the slate, standing nervous as she looked it over. She gently stroked his face to comfort him even as her eyes widened.

“Mordane.”

“Yes, mom?”

“What is twelve plus three minus seven?”

Mordane was silent for a moment, considering if he should lie, then nearly smacked his head at the silly impulse. He had already decided to teach. There was no reason to lie. But even though the cause was there, he still had to fight through a shaking voice.

“E-Eight.”

“... how did you learn this?”

“Well, when you read me the story scroll, I was able to figure out what sounds make what symbols.”

“You did?” She said softly. “That's,” she coughed. “Good, Mordane. That's very good. But I see your spelling on some of the words up here is wrong. We will need to go over that.”

“Oh, sorry.”

“No! No, this is very good. Can you read it as well?” She sat down on the slate before facing him with a bright smile.”

“It's… a little slow. I’d like more books to practice with.”

“Hmm, well. We only have a few. Tell you what, we have some savings. When your father goes to Manehattan next spring, he will purchase more. Until then…”

Turning to a cabinet, Sunnyfields reached the top before pulling down a bound book. Hoofing it over to Mordane.

“Wow, is this a real book?”

“Yes. Treat it with reverence. A cow gave its skin so it could be bound.”
Mordane nearly dropped the book at that, but the title overrides any desire to ever let it go.

Magic:
All you need to know about basic spells and a brief summary of their nature.
A Self-help Guide
Written by Star Swirl the Bearded
Copied by Silver Pen

“I learned from that book myself,” Sunnyfields said.

“Read through it slowly.”

“I will, mom, and if I have any questions I’ll ask you.”

Sunnyfields smile faded as her ears wilted.

“I’m sorry, son, I couldn’t help you more.” She reached up, touching her broken horn.

Mordane jumped up to give her a hug and told her “It's okay, Mom, I’ll be careful” before running off to a corner and opening it to give a read. What surprised him at first was how large the print was. Just like the scrolls and just how few pages a book like this had.

Most pages had only a few lines with pictures drawn to illustrate. It was far different from what he remembered as a human.

The first thing I must say concerning magic is. There is neither a greater tool nor a more powerful weapon. Magic can rend souls, bend wills, and kill with the utmost ease. In fact, it is too easy. Most unicorns who try to teach themselves beyond the most basic telekinesis die. They die in fire and blood, frozen and impaled. So, my suggestion to you is to put this book down and go get a teacher. I do not care how talented you are. Nopony should teach themselves magic, unless there is no one around to teach them. This is my final warning. Magic will kill you without the utmost control. Think carefully before proceeding.

I see. So you are resolute. Then I will do my best to teach you. At least you did not try to cast spells on your own. It is unlikely you would have survived. Please read these chapters carefully. Memorize them until you can recite them by heart, for any mistakes will kill you.

The Nature of Magic
Magic is the manipulation of rules. This manipulation can be split into three categories: Force, Binding, and Making.

Force: This is the manipulation of a rule, such as to counteract gravity or heat something up.

Binding: This is taking two existing rules and connecting them, such as making a sword able to burst into flame by having it absorb heat from sunlight.

Making: This is the creation of new rules. Whatever they may be.

The first question one may ask is what a rule is. You are a rule. I am a rule. Gravity is a rule. All things that exist and affect other things are rules. Your body is one such rule, while your spirit is another.

There are physical rules and intangible ones, but they all are just as binding.

There is one rule that cannot be broken. You cannot make something from nothing or cause something to cease.

Energy must always be moved, never unmade. If you try to make energy, you will fail and receive a headache. However, if you try to unmake something, then you will be utterly destroyed. The parts that make you will be torn away with no hope of survival or recovery. If you want to destroy something, just break it apart. Do not try to make it cease to exist.

The Pony Races

1. Unicorns: The most gifted in the magic of the races. They have the ability to reach out and draw on the magic around them with their minds. This allows them to have conscious control of its effects.

2. Pegasi: This race’s magic naturally helps them manipulate gravity. They are far lighter than they should be, about 1/4 their weight, without magic. This is caused by a binding that forms naturally at birth. This is also how they walk on clouds.

3. Earth Ponies: The manipulation of relative density accounts for all of the earth ponies’ abilities. Not to say that their mass changes, but that it behaves as if it changes.

Your First Spell

The first spell to learn is levitation. It is by far the easiest to accomplish and can be done in three easy steps.

1. Feel the energy within you.

2. Direct that energy around the object you wish to move.

3. Believe it can be moved and will do so.

This is the most basic form of levitation. Be careful to not let your mind wander, and then give it a try.

Mordane read through slowly, stopping to ask his mother what certain words were. Then he read through it again and again. Faster the third time, knowing the words. Making sure he hadn’t missed anything before calling out to Sunnyfields.

“Mom, I’m ready to try.”

“Already? You only got the book earlier today.”

“Yes. Thank you for your help. I believe I understand it. “ He waved his hoof with a small grin on his lips. “Magic is all around us. It penetrates us and binds this world together.”

“Hmm, not really, son,” she said, “It's more than that, magic is laid over the world. It is bound by the stronger will. It doesn’t make the world, but it does shape it.”

Mordane nodded. “So you have to give it a new rule. One that is more insistent than the normal rules?”

“Yes. That and provide the energy. Your well can only store so much,” she said, tapping his chest. ”You must use that energy to draw in fire from around you.”

“Okay. I think I get it now.”

Mordane sat down and closed his eyes.

Will was something he knew of. Though it has been just over five years, those skills never truly leave you.

He breathed, reaching into himself, and there he found a space like a small bucket. Full of energy. Calling it up to his horn, he could feel it flow through mana veins like those shown in the text.

“Good! Now hold it. Find the book with your magic,” his mother encouraged.

Mordane tried but splitting his attention proved too much. With a crack, he felt the energy leave him a little tired.

“Try again, dear. Keep your eyes open. It helps.”

Mordane nodded, opening his eyes and glaring at the book. His cheeks were a bit red.

“Stupid magic,” he thought, “if it's just this, I should have been able to do it. I must do it!”

He gritted his teeth. A flare came from his small horn, reaching out to the book.

‘Move’ he mentally insisted.

The book did not comply.

“Move,” he insisted, still the book seemed unaffected.

“YOU WILL OBEY!” he mentally shouted. “MOVE!”

Shakingly a blue arora covered the book, and it slipped into the air after a moment.

Mordane beamed, shouting, “I did it!”

Causing his horn to wink out and him to grow in frustration even as his mother laughed.

The winter was long and harsh. Mordane's birthday came and went, leaving him six years old.

He had been practicing magic regularly with his mother in the garden. Still left to his own devices, he often devoured all the books in the village a half dozen times to appease his curiosity. He would have started asking to do chores but seeing his brother let him know that no allowance would be incoming. Though his brother did get some extra income by charging for his weather control in nearby villages, that path wasn’t open to him.

Mordane instead became a scribe. Several locals could neither read nor write, including in the nearby towns. So they would come, and he would charge a sum to write and read their letters.

Then, he learned exactly what the tax rates were like in Equestria.

“I knew this world was primitive, but thirty percent?” The scale of the tax really shocked him. Historically on earth, the rates could have been higher, but he wasn’t sure how anypony could survive if they were.

Mordane found out shortly after the break of spring.

It was a typical day when a pony from the neighboring village further south came running into town. The fieldworkers heard his shouting and quickly rushed to meet him.

Mordane had been busy reading when the pony came running up with tears in his eyes.

“Colt, colt! Please, I don’t have any coin, but you must read this. You must.”

“Featherweight? What's wrong? I’ll read it. Come on. I know you will pay me later.”

He shook his head, tears brimming in his eyes.

“No, colt, I won’t be able to. I think they are taking me farm.”

“Your farm?” Mordane gasped as his father and other stallions rushed up.

Mordane floated over the letter. Taking a moment to read it aloud.

To Featherweight. Farmer
From, Her Royal Majesty's treasurer.

In lue of paying taxes, you are hereby ordered to report to Maypony for the season of Autumn

Please note that this will be for taxes you currently owe, not those of next year.

Signed. Royal Treasure.

“Oh, Celestia,” hissed Old Sole. “I got to go.”

He turned and sped off, running to his house and shouting for Peapod to hide the dried fruit.

“Mordane. Go to your mother. Flashwing is in Clearwater out west, so he should be okay. He knows what to do. Let your mother know and do as she says.”

Mordane nodded, jumping up and grabbing his book.

“And hide that book!”

“What are we gonna do, Stone? There's no way we can make winter if–”

Mordane dashed to their home. Finding his mother tending the garden, he slid to a stop.

“Mordane! What did I tell you about rushing up on me like that!?”

“Mom! The Royal taxpony. The royal taxpony is coming. I don’t know what that means, but–”

“Oh, ponyfeathers,” his mother cursed. “I take it back. Hoof me that book.”

Mordane did so as she turned and ran in. Shouting at him to float things over as she dragged out their eating grain barrel. Now half full and an empty one.

She grabbed a sheet and laid it over the barred opening before things. A metal pot. A bag of sweetroot. A crate of honey before Mordane finished placing what she had called for. Anything made of metal. Anything they had spent coin on when the trader came to town.

She folded the sheet, leaving all the items in the barrel, before taking her large cutting board and wedging it in.

“Come on, Mordane, help me.” She grunted as she tilted over the grain into the now half-full barrel. Filling it up the rest of the way.

Mordane did the best he could to help, and when she finished, he started floating single kernels into the barrel that had fallen to the side even as she scooped up hoof fulls of them.

“What is different about a royal tax pony?” Mordane asked, gasping.

“They come from Celestia herself. They're not from the local lord. It means she will levy an extra tax this year.”

“More tax!” Mordane gasped. “But–”

“Shhh, quiet. Eat this apple, core and all.” She thrust it to him. “Go stand outside.”

Mordane saw she was holding a small leather purse. One they kept under the mattress. She had a grim look on her face.

“Mother has to hide the purse. Go outside and roll in the dirt. Make your cloak look dirty, okay?”

Mordane nodded and ran out the door, jumping into the currently empty garden bed. Rolling around for a minute.

He then curled up next to the door.

A minute later, his mother came trotting out, her hair now in a bun, coming to sit down and fused over Mordanes cloak.

“Whatever happens, you cannot let them find out you have wings and a horn, okay?” She picked him up, taking him to an old broken barrel next to their house. “Stay in here, don’t come out no matter what.”

Mordane nodded, pulling his cloak close. The barrel smelled of sawdust and mites, but he made sure to pull back into the darkness.

It didn’t take long for his father to return, his parents exchanging a few whispered words before Stone looked over to the barrel. Then to the sky, as the other towns' ponies gathered.

A few minutes later, Mordanes' heart began to pound as a chariot came to a landing. He had been in this world for six years and had grown used to the dirty nature of things. Dirt just went everywhere, and you couldn’t really get clean. Not like back on earth.

At least, that is what he had thought.

Two pegasi pulled a unicorn to a standstill in the street. Their armor was bright and clean as their fur color. Brilliant white.

He didn’t need to know much about magic to know that these ponies were heavily enchanted. The sky had dimmed ever so slightly. Their armor was uniform, with a large shaped crystal in the chest piece. A crystal, he surmised, to sustain the illusion placed over them.

Mordane was struck by the uniformity of the two stallions, and he tried to imagine why someone would do such a thing.

But it was not hard to think.

One action by a guard would be taken as an action by any guard, with no personal glory or recognition. If you were to report a guard, what would you even say? Under anonymity, one of these guards could do anything, anything at all, then go home safe in the knowledge they could not be identified. It reminded him of stormtrooper helmets.

The stallions snorted as they landed, moving in unison as they unhooked their bridle.

In the chariot the two pegasi had carried, a thin, tall unicorn stallion stood floating an open paper book beside him with a cover marked the current year and was bound in leather. Something Mordane knew to be a luxury even if it felt somehow wrong for ponies.

The unicorn looked up with a sour look on his face.

“Where are the others?” he said flatly, looking at Stone.

“... others?”

“The others of your town. Come now, dirt pony; I know it may be hard for you to keep up, but please pay attention. I am here as a representative of the realm.” He turned up his nose. “And you shall address me as My lord.”

“... my lord,” Stone said, looking down the road at nothing. “Please forgive my rudeness and slowness. I only wish to answer your question as correctly as possible. I’m afraid I don’t know what others you are referring to.”

“The other town ponies! There are at least twenty ponies in this town. Why have so few come out to meet me?”

“My lord, this town's population is only twelve, including my family.”

“Twelve? Really, then why so many houses?” he asked, eyes glaring.

“I’m sorry, lord, but the good land is shrinking here. Many ponies could move further south. We earth ponies are tied to the land, but if the land is to turn fallow, none would wish to set down generational roots.”

“I see,” his irritation was prevalent. “Unfortunately, I have accounts to balance, and the amount must be met. It is by the royal authority, after all.”

“... of course,” mumbled Stone.

The pony opened his book, asking each family how many they had and their names.

Once getting back to Stone, he asked for more.

“And your family. Stone was it?” Stone stood silent for a moment. Every stallion tensed up as he did so.

“I remind you, this is the royal tax pony,” one of the guards snapped.

“Four members, one foal.”

“Children? Only ones in the village. Where are they?”

“Out of town,” Stone grunted.

“I see. Well then, what was your town's yield?”

Everypony stiffened. Mordane's heart skipped as well.

Typically, taxes were paid by the head, but asking for the yield could only mean that they would take a percentage of the crop.

“... Twelve parcels.”

"Then the tax will be eight parcels.” Everypony shivered. Several of the elderly ponies sat in shock.

The tax pony seemed unconcerned, marking down his notes before turning to the second cart.

“Go to the local mill. You there.” He pointed to Stone and another. “Follow them and load the grain.”

Stone's face kept his namesake as he followed as the cart started downtown street. The unicorn was tissing as he worked more. Ponies began to break away to head back to their homes, heads hanging low.

A few minutes later, he looked up again.

“You, mare. Is this your home?”

“Yes.”

“Search it,” he stated.

The stallions stomped past Sunnyfield moving into their home.

Mordane cocked an ear, hearing the sounds of slamming draws and the crash of a plate.

He shook in rage as he watched his mother's head droop.

“You're rather small for a dirt pony mare.” the stallion said suddenly.

Sunnyfields said nothing, continuing to look at the ground.

“Hmm.” The stallion's horn began to glow, his magic gathering quickly to pulse out. The wave splashed over Mordane, and he felt a vibration in his horn.

“Oh! So that's why. Soldier, that barrel.”

“No!”

Mordanes' heart leapt into his throat as a guard started to stomp over to him. He wanted to run, to struggle. His mind was in chaos.

Suddenly, his adult sensibility reasserted itself. His tearing eyes dulled.

His mother stood definitely in front of the barrel as the guards moved closer. The implied threat made him furious but that settled into a dull lump in his stomach. The certainty of someone who knew they could not run.

Slowly he walked out of the barrel. Sunnyfields was being held down.

“Oh, there you are.” The sickly stallion's dismissive tone had disappeared, his eyes lighting up. “Little unicorn, what's your name? You're a good colt for coming out.”

“Can you please let up my mother?”

The stallion frowned slightly, looking down at the mare.

“This… earth pony, are you sure she is your mother?” He turned stern, “ I won’t be having any lies now.”

Mordane's blood ran a bit cold. He could tell the stallion was trying to intimidate him. Trying to get him to say something. He remembered what his mother had spoken about Unicorns begging to be taken to Celestia's school. Was that the justification?

“Yes. We share the same eyes.”

“Oh, that doesn’t mean–”

“She is my mom. Stone is my dad.” Mordane stated bluntly. The stallion looked a little more irritated but nodded to the guards.

Sunnfields rushed over to Mordane wrapping her hooves around him. Trembling, she glared at the tax pony.

“Young mare. I realize that things can be difficult raising a unicorn colt in an earth pony village like this. That could entitle you to tax relief. After all, if he has not been receiving magical education–”

“He has,” she snapped.

“It is a crime to lie to a Royal representative. Who has he been learning from?”

“I know magic,” Mordane cut in.

The stallion stopped again, frowning.

“You do?”

“Yes.” Mordane reached out for energy but was surprised to find that he couldn't feel any around him. Like it had all been scooped up already.

“Well, why don’t you show me?” the stallion asked, smiling kindly.

Mordane nearly spat at him. How was he to do anything without Energy? A possibility he hadn’t considered before. He suddenly realized this stallion had taken over all the energy in the environment.

“You can do it, son,” his mother whispered. “Be strong.”

Mordane thought back to his lesson. All the energy was taken, so what?

Then it struck him.

The energy around them was gone, but perhaps he could fuel the spell with only his internal power.

Mordane took a deep breath, pushing hard. He filled his horn with his internal reservoir. There was little room for inefficiency, but he didn’t think about that. His horn glowed, and a small stone rose with a wobble into the air.

“I see.”

“Sir. we found a purse.”

The second guard came out holding up the family coin purse. A purse Mordane noted was substantially emptier than when he saw it earlier.

“Okay. That should be enough. Let's go to the next house.” The unicorn stallion glared at Mordane. “You’ll regret not coming with me, colt. Your magic will be limited here.”

The stallions and guards marched down the street, leaving Mordane alone with his mother gripping him tightly.

A year passed and Mordane read his book in between pushing clouds over fields. Human schooling proved very useful to him. The more one understood about the physics of what was happening, the easier it became to cast a spell. He had taken both physics and calculus in high school, and didn't do too badly in either class, as well. He would have even gone on to college if he had not chosen a different path. In the years since he had grown pretty rusty, but it seemed that even knowing the basics of how different forces interacted helped immensely. As he learned, he discovered more differences in pony understanding. They did not know Einstein's energy equation, nor did they seem to know calculus. Their science was surprisingly empty. Soon he realized that magic was to blame. They could not know what was fundamental, and what a spell was. In fact, they thought of everything as magic, even gravity and force.

Soon he could levitate multiple objects, light candles, and make water cold. However, the book did not go beyond such topics. Soon he had learned all it could teach him. Most of the book was about physics, or as it called them, "The Fundamental Rules.”

Mordane was hidden in a ravine on the other side of the valley. He did not want to disappoint his father, but he wanted to learn more. This world was unknown to him. He may need to defend himself and there were no weapons on the farm.

He focused and brought out the well of power.

"Ok, let's review. In order to light a candle or brushfire one must take heat from somewhere and pour it into something that can burn. Will something you want to burn. What if I was attacked? How could I fight with this? Pouring heat is too slow, I need something like a stream of fire. If I just use my innate power I will lose all of it in seconds. That is why you draw heat from something else. Well, I know heat is just motion on a smaller scale, so what if I take the energy from some kind of motion and make it into heat? No, no. then it would just burn in one spot, I need it to shoot out. Ok, I’ll make a cone of air just in front of my horn then pour heat into it. No that would cost too much power. I guess I could just use it for small explosions."

He drew a tiny bit of the motion from the surrounding wind, and put it into an even smaller bit of air.

An explosion rocketed through the valley.

Mordane had luckily gotten behind a large stone. He started laughing. It was good that the ravine was isolated. The townsponies would not hear. He went back to continue his studies.

The family was busy cleaning the house from earlier as Mordane sat on a mat rereading his magical book. His eyes practically tried to bore a hole through it.

“There is nothing more to learn from this…”

“I won’t ever be at someponies mercy again. This world is no different. No worse. I must become strong to survive'' He looked up, eyes hard as steel. “I won’t lose someone again.”

“Shh, little one.” His mother's hooves slipped around him. “What's wrong?”

“I’m tired of just practicing mana control and levitation. Teach me something else.”

“Something else?” she asked, rocking slightly. “Hmm, it's hard for me. I can’t cast magic myself. But I know a lot about illusions. It's a little advanced. You don’t have to learn if you don’t want to. If it's not your talent–”

“Mom, I want to learn magic. All the magic.”

Sunnyfields held him for a moment, worrying about washing over her like a sickly mire.

“Well, that is probably for the best. You’re a bit young, but you're an alicorn. So it should be okay. I’ll teach you what I know. The first lesson is that with illusions, you must know the truth of the world better than anypony. Do not forget that it is only a dream–”

Mordane listened intently. Burning the memory into his mind of what she said as he let his mind begin to work.

Mordane carefully poured the water over the plants before pressing down with his hooves around the plant to cover the rabbit droppings he had just placed there.

Around him, the garden looked full and in bloom. Its petals are coming in nicely this mid-spring.

This year his mother had left the garden to him alone. A break away from his obsessive magic practice.

He took a moment to breathe in the deep chilly evening air. Stone packing away his tools into the shed.

“Garden looks well,” he said while looking it over.

“Yeah. I’ve enjoyed tending it.”

“–a little too well,” Stone mumbled.

“What?”

“You’ve been using your hooves?

Mordane sat down his supplies, frowning.

“Yes.”

“Why not your horn?” he asked.

“Uh, I don’t know. Just didn’t seem right.”

Stone nodded, closing the shed.

“Let me show you something.” Trotting to the garden, he sat down among the seedlings. Reaching out, he passed his hooves over them. “Yep, you feel this?”

Mordane frowned, passing his hoof over the plant as well.

“Not really.”

“Hmmm.” He stopped on an empty spot. “This one didn’t grow.”

“Yeah. I’m not sure what I did wrong,” Mordane said with a shrug.

“Nothing, most likely.” He grabbed Mordanes' hooves and placed them over the dirt. Glancing around before turning back and leaning down. “Focus on this feeling. I don’t know about your magic, but Earth ponies do theirs through their hooves.“

Mordane nodded slowly before closing his eyes and reaching inside.

“Nah, that's not right. It's more like–” Mordane felt as his hoof grip extended through his. But it was different from his mother, more like warm honey than heat.

He felt it seep into the ground. Then the ground sent something back, stronger than before.

“There.” Stone lifted away his hoof, revealing a tiny sprout. “You give to the ground, and it gives back. That's the magic of us Earth Ponies.”

“Wow,” he whispered.

“You’ve been getting stronger lately. I’ve noticed.” Stone started trotting to the house. “You’ve been putting yourself in the dirt, and getting it back.”

He stopped, turning back to Mordane with a stern look on his face.

“The whole town knows you as a Unicorn. Some of the other stallions asked how you grew this garden so well. I told em I was working on it as well as your mum’.” He stared sternly into Mordanes' eyes.

“I–, I didn’t realize,” Mordane stuttered.

“You need to be careful. You’ve been wanting flying lessons with your brother, right?”

“...” Mordane looked down to the ground. His ears drooped.

“You aren’t allowed to use your hooves for growing things from now on. As for lessons, they will need to wait for one more year until I know you can protect your secret.”

“Yes, dad.”

Stone started to turn away before Mordane spoke up again.

“But dad, can I go exploring away from home?”

Stone turned back, raising an eyebrow.

“I will keep the secret, I promise.”

Stone scratched his chin, his stern gaze softening.

“We’ll see. Now come on, your mom has made carrot pie tonight, and I’m starving.” He smiled, rubbing Mordane on the head, getting a grin from the small colt before turning and heading back to the house.

Mordane waited a moment. The smile slowly fell from his face. He turned to look at the garden before shifting his wings under his coat.

The feelings and thoughts of the adult reasserting themselves.

“How did I not realize?” he asked flatly under his breath. “I need to focus more on magic. No matter what my mother says.”

Turning, he galloped after his father. Letting the moment of heightened awareness fall back behind the colt. Only to find the door no longer fully closed.

Spring turned to fall. The soft, chilly summer winds turned into the biting cold of winter.

Flashwing fought hard to climb. The generally cold air gave him little updrafts. Instead, he was forced to push himself up the whole way.

He had already checked south among the fields and was instead heading north. Once he closed in on the mountains, he went west, seeing a small clearing next to a stream with a black blob sitting near it.

He turned down diving before coming to a landing.

“At least you went far enough this time…”

“Ah, yes. I’ll leave shortly, brother.”

Trotting closer, he came to a stop staring at the fish still gaping on the ground in front of him. Mordane's horn was glowing along with the creature's open chest.

“What are you doing?” Flashwing asked, “That… why haven’t you killed it already?”

Mordane turned and blinked, looking at him. In front of the young colt lay a fish, its chest split open and organs exposed, heart still beating.

“It is dead,” Mordane snorted. “Come take a look.”

Flashwing slowly shook his head but stepped closer anyway.

Pegasi would occasionally eat fish, but they didn’t cut them open. Instead, they would pick them up and fly high, allowing them to drop onto the rocks. The minerals and oils from the flesh were essential to wax production in their saliva.

Once they got down, there wasn’t much left but paste, which was preferable to the ponies.

This, though, Mordane had obviously used a knife and telekinetic grip to slit the fish clean in half from head to tail.

“The fish has been dead for about ten seconds. I could actually feel the life leaving it, surprisingly, as a large part of its magic dissipated within a few moments.”

Mordane looked at him, concern showing up in his eyes. He reached over and touched Flashwings wing. Giving a reassuring smile.

“Why are you doing this?” Flashwing asked tersely.

“To understand why I can’t kill with magic. I tried to crush this fish, rip it apart, or anything with my telekinesis. However, it doesn’t seem to hold on. I can’t get the magic to transfer heat directly either.” He pointed at the fish, his eyes lighting up. “However, the knife I held could still cut, so I could quickly split the creature in half.”

Flashwing looked at the fish and the still-beating heart. Indeed, Mordane had succeeded in only removing the outer layer of skin.

“Is that its stomach?”

“Yes, this here is the heart, that is the brain, then there is the bladder,” Mordane said, pointing with his knife before frowning. “Hmm, I wonder.”

Mordane dropped the knife before igniting another spell. Much to Flashwing's surprise, he heard Mordane grunt.

The fish’s heart collapsed as if put under a press. A few bones cracked, and the blood leaked out everywhere.

“Well. That confirms that. This thing’s still harder to manipulate than a rock, but it is far easier than when it was alive and getting easier all the time.”

Mordane frowned.

“Does this mean it had a soul?” Stumbling back, Flashwing turned and threw up into the creek. His stomach emptied as he thought of that idea.

“Mordane.”

“Yes?” Mordane asked, frowning as he looked back at Flashwing.

“Do you, do you not think this is wrong?”

“No, do you?”

“Yes! Mordane, to eat is one thing, but that thing was in pain. And you're doing it for a spell?” He narrowed his eyes “are you thinking of becoming a dark wizard, because if so…”

“What!? No! I just said–” His mouth gaping, “–I just, wanted to know.”

He looked Mordane down, eyes watering.

“I’m sorry,” Mordane whispered. “I… I didn’t think. I just,” Mordane bit his lip. His eyes were watering too.

“I'm sorry.” Mordane ran up to his brother, falling into his hooves

“What is the answer to this one?” Berry mumbled. Holding her head in her hoof. She and Mordane were sitting down at the table.

“Break it down.” Mordane pointed with a pencil held by his horn.

She stared at the slate for a few minutes. Chewing her bottom lip.

“So twenty-three times fifteen,” Mordane said. “What do you break it down into?”

“Uhh. Five and ten?” Berry mumbled.

“Correct. Twenty-three times ten is?”

“Uhh, you said to move the decimal, so, two hundred and thirty?”

“Yes. Now Five times twenty-three.”

She wrote it and mumbled.

“Twenty times five, one hundred?”

“Yes.” Mordane smiled

“And five and three is fifteen.” She scrunched her nose.

“So,” Mordane said, writing down the three numbers, “Two hundred thirty plus one hundred plus fifteen.”

“Three hundred and forty-five?” she replied.

Mordane nodded; a cloth floated up, erasing the slate.

“Okay, now do this one.”

Stone and Sunnyfields stole glances into the window, unable to get enough of the odd sight.

“This is the fourth letter. That horn head is persistent. I'll give him that.” Stone growled. His eyes glared at the letter as if, by doing so, he could burn the sender.

“He is a bigot, dear, but at least he thinks he has Mordane's interest in mind.”

“Mordane would run circles around him in a matter of weeks, and she would either lie about him or have him thrown out as soon as the idiot realized he was a threat.”

Sunny chuckled, looking over to see as Berry fled into the fields, leaving Mordane who shrugged and floated up a thick history book.

“He really spends all his time reading. I wish we could provide him all the books he could want.”

“He’s smart,” grunted Stone

“She’s four years his senior.” Stone slapped some more mortar on the wall, patching a hole. “Smart doesn’t cover it.”

“And he is an alicorn.” Stunnyfield lifted up her bag of picked and sorted flowers. “Should we be that surprised?”

“Still, he is only eight. Soon I'll be taking Flashwing to Manehattan for his Education certification..”

He stopped frowning and looked at Mordane.

“Do you think Mordane could pass that test?”

Sunnyfield frowned.

“His math and magical law studies are excellent. His history, though, needs some work. However,” her eyes gleamed a little “If he goes ahead, they will finally be off our backs.”

Stone sighed.

They had received a dozen inquiring letters from the Manehattan school board concerning his wife’s ‘neglect’ of her foals. A view he found slightly amusing as his wife had insisted on all the children's education. Still, it had not ever come up until the Royal tax collector had seen Mordane as a ‘unicorn.’

“Him being certified would put a stop to that, wouldn’t it. Very well. When winter breaks, I’ll take both him and Flashwing. As for Merry and Berry–”

The two parents flinched as Berry’s scream of frustration reached them.

“I’m going to say they are not yet ready.”

“You must hold the image firmly in your mind. The sharper the image, the more precise the spell's structure will form.”

Mordane nodded before he closed his eyes and pulled in on the ambient magic, focusing on the small iron plate hanging on the strap around his neck.

The symbols he had carefully carved over two months began to glow. The plate warmed to the touch.

“Remember, the symbols are the slate. Your mental image is charcoal. Focus.”

Mordane frowned but pushed on. A shimmer covered his wings in a few moments, causing them to fade.

“Good job! It's working well.”

Mordane anchored the spell into the pendant. He lifted his hoof toward the fireplace.

His horn began to blaze as he drew in the heat energy from the fire pit, causing it to suddenly dim.

“Your horn is too bright. You are holding fire well.”

Mordane mentally retranslated that to ‘not converting the energy efficiently.

She touched his forehead with her hoof, looking away from the now blinding light of his horn.

“You're a little warm. Focus, Mordane.”

Mordane gritted his teeth before stopping and taking a moment to breathe.

“There is a lot to remember. I guess I’ll need to split my focus.” It was something he could have done with little effort as a human, but it had been over a decade.

Mordane blinked, and suddenly he was two. One focusing on maintaining the spell structure, the other on directing the energy.

He drew out the extra energy that had spilled over into his body, cooling down. Then slowed and dimmed his horn.

“Good, now fill its cup.”

Mordane poured the energy in his horn into the metal, keeping focus to ensure it was in the stable mana matrix. No conversion to heat or other energy forms should occur in a perfect cast. A state he was far, far from doing.

The metal warmed his chest slightly, but only slightly.

“Good. Now, before leaving every morning, you should fill the reservoir.”

“It's very leaky,” Mordane mumbled, looking at the metal.

“Good magical channeling gems are expensive. This metal will have to do,” his mother replied, turning away to start on another task. “You're coming to the end of what I know.”

Mordanes' head jerked.

“What!? But we only just started. You just–”

“It's true, son. I’m sorry.”

Mordane stopped, seeing his mother's shoulders trembling slightly. He trotted over, hugging her from behind.

“No, thank you. It's a good start.”

Mordane glanced down at his mother's mark. A hoof swinging with a field of stars.

“Well, we will just have to move on to the next thing then,” she said suddenly, pulling away from him.

Mordane stepped back, his eyes opening wide as his mother pulled four books out from a cabinet.

“Mom?” Mordane's voice croaked. “Where did you?”

“Your dad ordered them through the mail. It cost a lot, but there was little choice.” She slapped down the books “History, Grammar, and Horn Writing. These are your weakest subjects, and you're not going to pass the graduation test in the summer without them.”

“Uh-wha?”

“I am not having you dragged off to Canterlot by that dunderhead just to be chopped up by that tyrant Celestia! Luna, preserve us.” She huffed before turning to glare at him. “Well?”

Mordane swallowed; reading the title, he shivered. ‘Hornwriting perfection, a beginners guide.’

“Well, I don’t know why unicorns need a separate writing system, but I’ll learn it. I promise.” He paused. “What do you mean dragged off to Canterlot?”

Mordane turned slowly, looking back over his shoulders, marveling at how the cloak seemed to cling to him. The minor inlay enchantments hummed warmly against him.

“Looks like you empowered them correctly.” His mother beamed.

“Thank you for working through it with me,” Mordane replied softly. He reached over to hug her, an opportunity she took to ruffle his wings.

“Don't forget to not let anypony touch your back. Okay?”

“I won’t. I promise.” Mordane nuzzled her softly.

“And if you see Celestia, run. Okay?”

“I will, mom.”

Giving one more big hug, mordane turned and trotted out of the house, outside his brother and father, waiting for him and on his first journey from home.