[Friday Evening]

I didn’t know how long I was running, but I just kept going, hoping my friends wouldn’t follow. I didn’t want to look at them right now after what happened. My legs were heating up from the running, but I just kept going and going, unaware of what was around me until one of my hooves tripped over something on the road, and I toppled to the cold hard ground. I lied there for a bit before I broke into sobs, and cried in anguish. I hit the hard ground with my fists repeatedly, not caring for the pain that I was bringing to them, but hoping those would help ignore the pain that was going on inside of me.

“It’s not fair…” I finally cried, my voice cracked from all the screaming that transpired today. “It’s just not fair… Why am I like this? Why can’t I do something right? Why was I not able to stand up for them? What the hell am I?” I asked with one side of my face on the ground with tears still rolling down my face, and sniffling every other second. Squinting through my swelled up, tear-filled eyes, I found myself in a dark alleyway, with a street light above me flickering on and off in the cold night.

It’s late… My parents are probably wondering where I am right now… As if I have the dignity to see them right now. I failed… I failed my parents, I failed Teala, I failed Roxxie, I’m nothing but a fucked up failure of a unicorn.

As I lied there, the streetlight above me turned off completely, and replaced by moonlight. As I lay on the ground still, I didn’t notice my shadow was stretching out in front of me, in a more abnormal way than how shadows were usually stretched.

My tears slowed down, I sniffled less, but I still lied there while my body was adjusting to the temperature of the ground. Moments later, I heard hoof steps slowly walking, and getting louder as the figure got closer until it stopped.

“… Go away… Please…” I muttered with my eyes closed shut. I didn’t hear a response, or hoof steps walking away from where it was standing. Instead, I felt a gentle, soft hand on my head, while what seemed to be a handkerchief was dabbing the dried up tears off my eyes and face. An unexpected gesture, but it suddenly got me to calm down a little. Another handkerchief was placed on the back of my hand. By instinct, but without looking, I brought the tissue to my nose, and blew the gross mucus that was clogging my nasal cavities. I wiped and blew what was left as I folded the handkerchief down until my nose was cleared up.

I finally opened my eyes, and saw that the handkerchief was black. I turned my head to where I saw a pair of black hooves. I trailed up, and saw a black mare, crouching down with hands on her knees as she looked at me with… Blank… Eyes… No irises, no pupils, they were just… White. At a closer look, she didn’t have lips on her muzzle either. She tilted her head to the side, which was in front of a full moon that was shown just within a clearing of clouds. Her black mane was waving to the side, like a gentle wind was blowing it like the Princess’s. I could barely see a point that sprouted from her head within the dark, signifying that I was looking at a unicorn like myself. She looked like she was wearing a matching black dress. I couldn't tell as it was dark, and looked like it just blended in with her coat

She stood there in that expression, as if waiting for something. It was getting really creepy, and the eyes were still bugging me. After a long dreadful silence, I made the initiative to make the first move. “Um… Hello?” I greeted with a questionable tone. She straightened her head, and waved her black hand.

I guess she's saying hello back? It seems she understands me.

After she finished waving, she stuck out that same hand, offering me a lift up. I hesitantly put my hand over hers, and I slowly got up to my bottom before I crossed my legs. She fell back on her own bottom on the ground, and crossed her legs as well with her hands resting in the opening. She still looked at me with those white eyes of hers, really attentive like. I had to say something once more to keep the conversation going.

“Can you uh… Speak?” I asked. She closed her eyes, her white circles waning to the shape of white, wide 'U’s,' and lightly shook her head in response before she opened them back to look at me once more.

I guess she can’t.

“Um… Thanks for the handkerchief. Did you want this back?” I asked as I held up the used, black handkerchief she lent me. She gingerly grabbed the corner of it, and placed it to the side before she looked back at me.

“Are you… Lost? Something I can help you with?” She shook her head once more before she added a new gesture. She pointed a finger at herself, and then to me. I had to think about what she was trying to say that followed my question, so I asked another one to confirm.

“You… Want to help… Me?” I asked, and she nodded in response.

Okay, so she wants to help me, I guess I can lower my guard a little but I should probably not get too comfortable just yet.

“Help me… With what exactly?” I asked. “If it’s from earlier, I appreciate your kindness, and I feel a little better, but I got some… Problems that you may not be able to help me with,” she tilted her head in response.

I guess she wants to know more?

“You see… I was trying to help my friends from getting insulted by this big bully from our school. We held a Magic Duel, hoping that if I won, he’d take back what he said to them, and from calling me a… Failure as a unicorn,” she sat there with full attention on me still as I continued. “When we got to the last round, I had to match a spell I couldn’t pull off, and got really hurt afterwards. Both physically, and emotionally, as the bully just laughed at my loss, and walked away, leaving me on the ground, failing to stand up for my friends… I ran from them when they tried to help me. I couldn’t look at them with a straight face, and I just kept running until I tripped in this alleyway and wound up how you found me…” I looked down to the ground with my ears folded.

“I honestly don’t know what to do anymore,” I continued. “No matter how much I studied magic, no matter how much effort I put into them, I can never get to perform any higher level spells at ease. If my skills can’t get any higher, what else is there for me to do? I mean it’s not like there are other kinds of magic unicorns can do is there?” I asked the mare before I realized that may be too specific of a question that could be answered with a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ response.

Instead, she held up a finger at me. I guessed she was asking me to wait one moment. She then picked up the used handkerchief she had put to the side at the corner, and held it up to me.

What is she doing?

“Um… I’m not crying if that’s what you’re asking, and I don’t think I’d want to use a ‘used’ handkerchief to dry my tears if I was,” I said before she closed her eyes, her circles waning to a frown shape now, and used her free hand to cover her mouth while she shook.

Wait, was she giggling? What the hell was funny with this?

After she calmed down, she held up that free finger up at me again.

Okay, that finger’s starting to bug me a little. I can understand that she can’t speak, but still.

With that free hand, she gestured it with an open palm under the hanging object, signifying that it was indeed, a used handkerchief. She took two fingers with that hand now, and point them at her eyes before changing the direction with one finger to the handkerchief.

“Um… Okay, I’m watching closely if that’s what you’re asking me,” I guessed.

Suddenly, she squashed the handkerchief with both hands and rubbing them together fiercely while her hands and horn had a black aura around them, white outlines showing the contours of those objects.

Wait, what is she doing?! My boogers were in that handkerchief! That’s gross! What am I trying to watch?!

She suddenly stops her hands from rubbing together and the black aura disappeared. She looked at me once more with her white eyes before turning back to her hands. She slowly opened them, revealing a black dove. It just stood on her hand, turning its head around, scanning the area with the same, white eyes the mare had. It looked to me, flapped its wings, and flew towards me before it landed on my shoulder.

…. WHAT THE FUCK DID I JUST WATCHED?!

I sat there awestruck with my eyes wide-open like dinner plates, before I realized what was on my shoulder, and panicked. I quickly scrambled around until my back was against a wall, and I hyperventilated. The dove flew off my shoulder and landed to the mare’s side, who was rolling on the floor laughing. At least I assumed she was, as I couldn't even hear anything out of her.

“H-how’d you do that? What WAS that? How did that even get there?!” I asked before the mare started to calm down and sat back up.

Suddenly, with a black aura around her horn and finger, she traced black lines… In the air… Writing something. I sat there in shock that something like that was even possible. After she was finished, she flipped the message around to me where it was readable.

Did you like it?

I sat there speechless, but tried to calm down before I retraced myself.

Okay, she turned a used handkerchief into a dove. I’m getting the feeling that this isn’t one of those stage performance or illusion types of magic that I sometimes see. The dove was alive, and it was not the kind of bird I would see every day, especially the eyes. What is up with those eyes? They were the same as the mare’s, no iris or pupils of the sort. Thinking back on it though, it was actually… Incredible. This was something I’ve never seen before, and I can’t help but feel… Excited, that something like this exists. I have to be honest with myself. Despite how it took me back for a moment, I have to put it straight with her.

“Yes. I definitely liked it,” I said with a nod. She seemed giddy at the response, as her eyes closed to the frown shaped lines, symbolizing happiness or joy I concluded, and clapped her hands together repeatedly. After that, she waved a hand over the message, making it disappear like an eraser on a chalkboard, before she wrote a new message, and flipped it to where I can read it.

What would you say if I want to teach you how to do this?

Wait… Is this what she wanted to help me with earlier? She wants to teach me a new type of magic? Is doing this even possible?

I had to think hard for a moment before I made my final decision.

If I learned this, the number of possibilities of where this could go would be endless. I’d be learning something I’ve never come across in my studies before. But most importantly, I don’t even know how high I could go if I learned this magic. It could even pass how much I was able to do up to this point. Is… Is this the potential Mom was talking about earlier? Could I go somewhere with this? Would this be the best of my abilities? I can’t pass this offer up. If I can do something to redeem myself with this, I may be able to protect my friends from whatever comes their way, and so much more.

I got to one knee, bowed my head to her, and closed my eyes.

“Please… If can perform this magic, I want to know all about it. Please be my teacher. I’ll follow whatever instructions required,” I pleaded. I knelt there in silence for a moment before I felt a hand on my shoulder. My head turned up with a finger on my chin. I opened my eyes and see the mare in front of me, but then she directed my attention to the side where a new message was written in the air.

Do you trust me?

I guess she wants to be absolutely sure I want to do this, since she’s the only one I know right now that can teach me. I’ll admit, up to this point, she is a unique individual I haven’t come across in my life so far. I still have a lot of questions to ask, but thinking back to where she first came to me, she showed kindness, possibly understanding, and even has a bit of a sense of humor. She doesn’t seem to have any hidden motives at the moment, and she hasn’t poised as a threat yet.

Suddenly, I felt a weight on my other shoulder. I looked to my right, and saw the same black dove from earlier, nuzzling my cheek with its little head.

Okay, that’s just not fair. This is just too cute for me not to be afraid of it anymore.

I couldn’t help but laugh a little at the gesture, and I gently pet its black, velvet-like feathers, which it accepted with great delight. I smiled, looked back to the mare who was still giving me her undivided attention and I nodded my head.

“Yes, I can trust you,” I said before she wrapped her arms around me, hugged me to her soft chest, and rested her chin on my head. I was taken aback by this gesture, but smiled as I hugged her back. The embrace felt warm, and I couldn’t help but feel safer being in her arms. Something seemed off though, as if there was something missing that I should feel or hear when I’m in this position. With my head on her chest, and ears perked up, I realized...

I couldn’t feel or hear her heart beat.

Before I said anything, she broke the embrace, placed a hand on my chest, closed her eyes to a wide ‘U’ shape, and a black aura appeared on said hand. I didn’t know what she was doing until I felt a large, painful pulse in my body that knocked the wind out of me. The force pushed me back to the wall, hitting me like a ton of bricks. I leaned back against the wall for stability as I gasped for air, like the force took every ounce of oxygen out of my body. Not too long after, the pain died down, and I felt… Lighter? Open? Free? I couldn’t describe it, but I just felt better than I was a moment ago.

“W-what the hell WAS that?! What just happened?!” I asked loudly to the mare. She quickly wrote something in the air, and flipped it.

Sorry. I had to open you up before I did anything.

“Open me up? What does THAT mean? And what for?” I asked in a demanding tone.

You’ll see. She wrote.

She finally stood up, and lent me a hand. I grabbed it, and pulled myself to standing on my hooves. My eyes only met to her muzzle now that I could see her fully. She held up one finger, and then changed it to a hand sign shaped like an ‘L.’

“One ‘L’… First lesson?” I asked before she nodded at my guess. She took a few steps back, held up one hand out front, looked at it, and soon enough, the same black aura appeared around her hand and horn, a white outline showing the contours of them. A black, six pointed star shape emerged from it, and floated in mid-air. I couldn’t believe how easy she made it look, like she made it out of nothing. She looked up to me and waited.

“…You want me to make this?” I asked, and she nodded. “But… How? I don’t know the concepts behind this… Spell. Maybe if you wrote something I could,” she stopped me mid sentence with a free finger on my lips. She stood back once more, and pointed with that same finger to her head. “…Head… Use my…Head? Maybe…My imagination?” I asked, and she snapped her finger in response. That may be her way of saying ‘bingo,’ that I was correct.

I held up my hand in the same position like the mare’s, and looked at it for a moment.

Okay, so somehow I just need to think about it right? It sounds so… Easy. There has to be more to go with this, but am I over thinking this?... Fuck it, I’ll just wing it.

I closed my eyes, and tried to imagine and visualize the same six pointed star the mare showed me. I made sure the points were the same size, length, and distance apart as the original. After a moment, I opened my eyes, and gasped.

There it was… The six pointed star… That was floating above my hand with a black aura around it like the mare’s. I tried the best I could to look up to where my horn would be, and could barely see the same black aura around it as well. I looked back to the star with disbelief.

“… I did it…” I said quietly. “I really did it…” I repeated a little louder with a smile slowly spreading across my face. “I REALLY DID IT!” I yelled, shouting to the night sky, and made a bunch of victory poises, and pumping my free fist in the air. “YESYESYESYESYES!” I yelled before I calmed down, and looked back to the star with excitement.

“Hah! This is really amazing! I wonder if I can make other shapes with this?” I asked. “Okay okay, let’s try… a square!” I asked as I visualized the shape. I looked with astonishment as the star morphed to a black square. “Holy crap this is AWESOME!” I then just kept my successful flow going as I tried making different shapes. The square turned into a triangle, and then a circle. I moved it around, and I was pretty much just playing with it at this point. “This is unbelievable! I still can’t believe I can do this! Miss! Thank you so much for-!” I exclaimed before I realized she was gone. I quickly looked around, to see if she was hiding in the darkness that the moonlight couldn’t reach but realized that light was gone.

She disappeared without a trace. Same goes for the black dove from earlier. I wondered where she went before something wet dropped to my head, and I flinched.

“Huh?” I asked before I mentally let go of the black circle to dissipate in thin air, while the black aura stopped appearing around my hand and horn. I looked up and felt more wet drops from the sky. It took me a moment to remember what was going on right then.

“OH SHIT THE RAINSTORM! I GOTTA GET HOME!” I yelled before I quickly ran out of the alleyway, and made my way home. The rain quickly changed from a light drizzle, to a heavy shower. Despite getting pummeled with buckets full of water, I couldn’t help but smiled like an idiot as I ran.

I had just learned a new kind of magic with near infinite possibilities of what I could do with it that hasn’t been taught from school before. I don’t know who that mare was, but I certainly have to thank her and get her name the next time I see her.

I had only one thing in mind as I was running through the streets, a mixture of excitement, and fear for who I have to talk to about this.

“I got to tell Mom and Dad,” I told myself as I kept running in the streets.

Next Chapter: Side Chapter 1: Teala and Roxxie's Frustrations, and Unexpected Events Estimated time remaining: 8 Hours, 41 Minutes