Chapter 3: It begins

I absently fiddled with the fob watch I had in my pocket

What? Ponies have pockets

Anyway I fiddled with it; a bit distracted and busy trying to figure out where to go next; StarFlight insisted that I choose our next place to be

"I have no idea in all of Equestria what to do now." I said finally

"What's that you got there?" StarFlight took the fob watch

"It's an old watch of mine" I dismissed

"Where did you get it?"

"I got it from-" I stopped; I didn't remember where I got the watch; just that I've had it for as long as I can remember

StarFlight stared off into space; as if she was hearing a voice in her head

"StarFlight" I waved my hoof in front of her face, "Are you still there?"

She shook her head, "You don't hear him?"

"Hear who?" I asked; slightly worried for some reason

"You should be able to hear him when you hold the watch…" she handed it to me

'She doesn't mean me before you ask; I was here for a while. Even when you didn't have the watch.' The voice said

"Sorry; I don't hear anything" I said, "Now what?"

I caught myself; that was something I never thought would leave my mouth

"Are you okay?" StarFlight asked

"I think so" I answered, "So why not go find something to do?"

StarFlight stopped me; she pointed to my flank

"What? I didn't get my cutie mark yet." I said

It was true; I had tried as hard as I could to get my mark but it never appeared; and I had my own theory

"Only when you acknowledge that something is your talent will your mark appear" I sighed, "I haven't yet."

"I can fly really high" StarFlight showed off her wings, "Up to the stars."

"Well I have yet to find what I can do." I looked at the sky, "And until my wing heals I'll be grounded."

"So; want to go talk to your aunt?" StarFlight asked

"Sure; aunt Twilight might like to meet you." I shrugged and went towards the library

But before we could get there…

I ran into a caravan; it was a big stage and a unicorn was there; a wizard hat and a light blue coat with an even lighter blue mane made up her outfit; she also had a cape; her cutie mark was a magic wand with energy behind it

Nopony seemed to be interested; no matter what she tried

"Welcome to the show of the Great And Powerful Trixie!" she shouted; fireworks going off

"Hmm?" StarFlight turned and I decided to see what the fuss was about

Trixie looked at us, "I promise anything that you can do; the Great And Powerful Trixie can do it better."

"Oh really?" I asked, "I seem to remember you fled town the last time you were here."

It was true; over nineteen years ago Trixie got run out of town because of her alicorn amulet scheme

"The Great and Powerful Trixie still is capable of defeating you in a magical contest!" Trixie boasted

"Really Trixie?" Twilight seemed to fade in out of nowhere, "I thought you stopped doing this."

"I need to keep myself fed you know" Trixie defended, "That and Trixie's learned plenty more magic since last time!"

"Aunt Twilight?" I asked

"What?"

"Can I show her up?" I turned to face her, "She's kind of getting on my nerves."

Twilight sighed, "Do you really think that's the answer?"

"Well she doesn't seem to be seeing reason" I shrugged, "I was willing to help her do so."

Twilight gave me a look

"I'm going to do it." I stepped onto the stage

"Are you ready to face defeat at the hooves of Trixie?" Trixie smirked

"I don't face defeat" I deadpanned, "Not at the hooves of you."

Trixie brought out a chessboard

'Chess?' I thought, 'The one thing I'm terrible at!'

Then she transformed it into a bouquet of flowers

"A magic transformation?" I asked, "Too easy to top."

I focused; staring at the ground; my magic enveloped the ground itself; becoming one major point

I hadn't been able to do this before; I was attempting to force the magical particles into a shape; creating matter

I focused harder; my horn felt like it was on fire; then it felt as if it was being enveloped in magma

Then it was over; I had done it

I looked up and saw a statue; it was of Joseph Daniels; but what wasn't what bothered me; what he was holding in his hand was:

An old fob watch; the same one I owned

"That hurt more than it should have." I noted

"Impossible!" Trixie accused

"Do you see this horn?" I asked, "Do you see my friends down in the crowd?" I questioned, "I vowed I wouldn't fail; and I didn't."

Then I fell over

Location: Canterlot

Dear B.B.B.F.F

Black Ink was a bit… roughed up by a giant pony yesterday; the pony demanded that he hand over 'the watch'; I was wondering if you knew what that was

Also he seems to be in better behavior lately; he's even made friends with a mare called StarFlight. He recently made a statue out of nothing with his magic; his wing is broken and his spirits seem a bit down. At the very least he hasn't said 'when I get home' for a while now

I think he's warming up

-Twilight Sparkle

Location: Ponyville

I was helped off the ground by StarFlight and Rainbowdash

"Making matter hurts…" I commented

"It isn't something normal ponies can do." Trixie didn't say anything boastful

"Neither of us are 'normal' are we?" I asked her

"Well; you're an alicorn and my talent is magic; I'm pretty normal compared to you."

"Can't debate that really…" I thought to myself

By now I had gotten over the things I didn't usually say and just smiled

"Maybe this is just something you need to do" I shrugged, "But maybe you should avoid trying to show others up."

I got off the stage and trotted towards the library; my horn felt rather sore but with it came the rush of completing a spell I hadn't before

"So" Twilight gave me a sidelong look, "Where did you learn to do that?"

I shrugged, "I'm more perceptive than most ponies expect."

"Now what do you plan to do?" Twilight asked

"Oh!" I stopped and gestured to StarFlight, "Twilight; meet StarFlight."

Twilight smiled, "I'm Twilight; Black Ink's aunt."

StarFlight smiled back, "I'm new to Ponyville and-"

Those were the magic words

Pinkie Pie seemed to drop out of the sky and she got up in StarFlight's face

"OhmygoshIhaven'tseenyoubeforewhereareyoufro mhowareyoudoyouknowBlackInka ndishenicetoyouIshouldthrowy ouaparty!"

Then she whizzed off

"And now you're getting a party; and a possible heart attack." I commented

"Who was that?" StarFlight asked; a bit dazed

"Pinkie Pie" Twilight answered, "She's thrown parties for the ponies of Ponyville for over twenty years; each as eccentric as the last."

"Well" I shrugged, "That doesn't make them bad parties."

It was then I realized; I was acting like a completely different pony; I was kinder and a bit more thoughtful and outspoken

I can't say I didn't like the change

"Let's get to the library" StarFlight suggested, "We can talk there."

So we went inside and Twilight put on tea; her assistant Spike had gotten too big for the place and had to go live in the Everfree

Twilight put the teapot down, "So; why did you make the statue that way?"

I shrugged, "I didn't think of what to make; just to make it."

"So what's bothering you?" StarFlight asked

"It was what the statue was of" I thought back to it, "He was holding something."

"What was he holding?" Twilight persisted

"It was…" I looked at her, "A fob watch."

StarFlight and Twilight both gasped; then I realized out of the three of us; I was the only one who had any idea what was going on

"The same watch the pony was after?" Twilight asked

"Is it because he might have heard him?" StarFlight asked

Then they looked at each other and put together that neither of them had the full story. Then they looked at me

After I filled each of them in on what I had learned about the watch; the whole hearing thing and the fact that some ponies were after it; willing to kill for it

It all made me worried

"So what's with the watch?" Twilight asked finally, "Has there been any signs pointing to it?"

"Well…" I trailed off; not wanting to reveal all

*BOOM*

The ground heaved underneath my hooves; I fell forwards and hit the ground; surprisingly it didn't hurt my wing and the bandage fell off; showing it was fine

I looked at StarFlight and she looked at me; we took off through the recently unhinged door and went out into Ponyville

"What-what-what!?" was what I was able to say