Twilight calmly read the notes on the notepad she was holding, going through everything we talked the other times I visited her – which was basically the same shit I told her the first time I was here. She looked up at the clock on the wall and frowned. “She’s late…” She muttered under her breath before sighing in annoyance. We decided that every Friday afternoon I’d teach her about a few things I knew and could teach her; the first was that day after the picnic, the second was cancelled because Twilight was needed in Canterlot, and the third was basically a more in depth talk about how Hybrios was formed.

The door to her private library opened and the Guardians walked in, with me and Spike on the lead. “Sorry! Some friends of mine visited and I lost track of the time while showing them around.” I said sheepishly.

“I think I saw you with two girls earlier when I visited Rarity…” Twilight mused. “But I never saw that kind of pony.”

“Wolf ponies; diamond dog-pony hybrids.” Scarlett said.

The alicorn blinked. “Well, Rarity’s reaction will be a fun one.”

“Yeah, I’d have led them there, but they said they had to go.” I said with a smirk. “I even checked my phone’s memory to see if I could record it.”

Twilight nodded with a small smirk. Heh, and here I thought she was a complete stick in the mud. “Yes, well…” She looked at the other Guardians. “I see you brought company.”

“For once, we want to learn theory from her.” Eclipse pointed at me with a thumb. “I love the spell lessons, but the theory is a pain.”

“You guys aren’t used to your auras enough to cast those spells.” I sighed. “But with how well you guys are learning, I won’t be surprised if you start using the Soul Spells before my birthday.”

“Two months. I need to think of a present…” Spike said.

“Give me a good game, it’s not like I’m picky.”

“Back on track, please; you still have two months to think about that.” Twilight interrupted. “Sit so we can start.” We nodded and sat on nearby cushions and chairs that were scattered around that library. After we made a circle with the seats, Twilight nodded and turned to me. “You said we would talk about spells today.”

I confirmed with a nod. “Yes. More specifically, spell terminology.” I looked up, thinking on where to start. “Ok, the spells can be defined in multiple different ways; the more common are element, effect and availability. Definition by element is kind of obvious, so I’m skipping that.” I shrugged.

Twilight nodded. “Yeah, I can understand that.”

“Let’s start by availability since it’ll be faster and then I can just jump to what they want to know.” I motioned to my friends. “In that way, spells can be defined as Universal, Exclusive and Soul Spells. Universal spells are those that can be used by more than one element and Exclusive are those that can only be used by one element; Copycat and Mimic Spells don’t count. For example, Shields and Claws are Universal, since they can be used by more than one element.” I nodded to Spike and Scarlett, who both summoned their Claws when I mentioned them. “As for Exclusive Spells, there’s Overheat and Earthquake, which can be used only by Fire and Earth respectively.”

Twilight nodded as she wrote it on her notepad. “Interesting… What about the Soul Spells?”

“Those are spells that can be used by everyone, because they aren’t affected by what kind of aura you have.” I explained. “They are basically aura control; you don’t activate them like you do when you fire a spell. There are nine Soul Spells in total.”

“Just nine?” Soul asked.

“Ten, but two of them are so similar we count as two ways to use one.” I shrugged. “Anyways, they are really useful, but they use a lot of your energy, both mana and physical. Which one should I start?” I asked my family.

Scarlett, Dolph and Viper looked at each other before shrugging. “No idea.”

‘What about start with Aura Sense and Aura Vision? They’re simple.’ I heard Illuse talk in my head.

“And hard to use, in Vision’s case, but thanks.” I grumbled under my breath. “Ok, Aura Sense is a passive spell, is basically sensing high amounts of magic being used; everyone can use, but those with a trained aura can feel more clearly. Aura Vision is when you energize your eyesand you’re able to see other’s auras; it can be used to determine one’s aura, but is a bitch to learn. I never got the hang of it.

“Anyways, aside from those two, there’s also the Rift of the Aura, which is the arena we create before fighting. Energy Charge is when we put our aura in something to energize it, kind of like Mirror does with her passive or Viper does to fire her Stings. Soul Link is when you connect your aura to an object, normally your weapon, and as long as your aura is strong your weapon will be strong too. These five are the most basic and simple to explain, and then there are those that only elites can use, practically.”

“Because they’re hard?” Spike asked.

“And dangerous if you’re inexperienced.” I said sternly before sighing. “I won’t teach you those four until I’m certain you’re ready.” I shook my head. “Let’s start with the Mist of the Guardians; you charge a big portion of your aura and since the energy will always want out, if you hold it’ll try to escape at any cost. We don’t know why, but it always chooses to escape through our eyes.” I chuckled and activated the Mist, an energized light pink aura flowing through my eyes, causing it to also turn pink while both my irises glowed brightly.

“Wow…” Twilight sighed with wide eyes.

I cut off the energy, making my eyes return to normal. “Yeah, it’s really cool. And since everyone can feel its energy because of the Aura Sense, it’s also very intimidating.” I said with a smirk. “After that, there’s Aura Block. How do I explain it… You will mix your aura with your target and then pull out, really fast. It’ll disrupt both of your auras, turning both of you magicless for a few minutes. And I’m not talking about not being able to cast spells; after being Aura Blocked, earth ponies lose the power to control plants, pegasi won’t be able to fly, griffin will lose their hunter sense, seaponies will lose their ability to breath underwater… It’s a really dangerous spell.” I explained.

“That’s scary.” Spike commented with wide eyes.

“Yep. Fun fact, if you’re experienced enough, you can control the time of the disruption.” I cracked my knuckles with a smirk. “So, who wants to be Aura Blocked for a full minute?” Everyone immediately backed off, making me laugh. “C’mon, I’m just fucking with you guys.”

“It’s hard to know, since it’s you.” Scarlett deadpanned.

“Fair enough.” I snickered. “After that, there’s the two that I like the most. One is the Hybrid Spell, where two or more people mix their auras to unleash a really powerful spell. It’s possible to use this spell with anyone, but is way easier to use it with someone you’re close to, because of the next spell.”

I looked to Scarlett, Dolph and Viper, and we nodded with giggles. “What?” Twilight asked.

The three of them grabbed their seats and brought them closer to me, so that we made a line rather than a curve, and closed our eyes for a moment. When we opened them, it looked like nothing happened. And then we began. “The last is called Spiritual Synchrony. If the carters’ auras are somewhat familiar with each other, by using Hybrid spells or just spending large amounts of time with each other, they’ll enter a perfect synchrony with each other. They’ll know what the other will do and act accordingly, either doing the same at the same time – like we’re doing now – or by doing something to complete the first’s action. Ever saw a group combo on a videogame? It’s basically that.” We shrugged. “It’s perfect to using during dual fights, it makes Hybrid Spells easier to use since you’re going to know what the other want to do, and it’s also perfect to surprise those who don’t know of this spell.” We finished with shit-eating grins as the others stared open mouthed.

“Holy shit…” Spike, Soul and Eclipse said in unison, and Twilight, Luna and Sapphyra could only nod in agreement.

We laughed at their reactions and deactivated the Sync. “Anyways, that’s all about the availability way to define spells; wanna continue or that’s all?” I asked.

Twilight snapped out of her shock and shook her head. “L-Let’s continue. Now it’s definition by effect, isn’t it?” She asked for confirmation as she wrote down about the Spiritual Sync.

“Yes. Most of those terms are used more in games than in real life, but I think you’ll like to know.” I looked up again, trying to remember every definition before sighing. “I’m pretty sure I won’t be able to remember every term, but I’ll try; there’s a lot so I’ll keep it short and simple. The first is Energy and Solid; Energy attacks are attacks like Beams and Flamethrowers while Solid are Shields, Constructs, etc. That’s important because a few shields and spells can absorb Energy better than Solid and vice-versa. Since my Blast is more Solid than Energy, Spike’s Harmony Power – as well as Soul and Sapphyra’s – has a harder time to block it than Eclipse’s Light Beam, for example.”

“I was wondering about that.” Spike mused.

“Buff, Debuff and crowd Control are used more in games, but can also be used I real life. Buff is an effect spell that strengthens you; an example is Mirror’s Cosmic Aura, which makes her faster. Debuff is a spell you throw on your target to make him weaker; it’s a bit harder to find an example for this one, but there’s Moonlight’s Dark Curse which slows and causes damage over a few seconds. Crowd Control attacks are a lot like debuffs, but much heavier; snares, knock ups, petrifications… my Arcane Chain Trap is a good example.”

Twilight hummed in thought. “So those are spells that affect either you or your opponent… But what about different ways a spell acts?”

I smiled. “That’s the last ones, actually. There are a lot of terms in that area, so I’m going to talk only about those I remember, ok?” Twilight nodded. “Ok, now-”

‘EoT! Then you summon me!’ Illuse shouted in my mind, makng me wince.

“Alright, alright, jeez… Let’s start with Effect over Time spells, also known as EoT. These are the spells that you need to constantly put you magic into, and that if you cut the connection it’ll fade. Clones, Mirages, Blade Effects, and Familiars are good examples.” I said, holding my hands in front of me like I was holding something. “Arcane Familiar: Illuse.” My arms were covered in a pink aura, which quickly formed Illuse.

“Finally! You don’t know how annoying is to be inside someone’s mind without being able to talk.” The little feral griffoness said.

“I told you not to annoy me, not to keep your beak shut.” I said with a raised eyebrow.

Illuse kept silent for a few seconds before throwing her arms up. “Well, shit.” She grumbled angrily, making me laugh and hug her. Illuse teleported away from me and to Spike’s head before blowing a raspberry at me. She looked around and noticed the alicorn in the room and rapidly dashed to her. “Hey! I’m Illuse, Fairy’s Familiar.”

“Twilight Sparkle.” Twilight said slowly before blinking. “I didn’t know you had a Familiar, Fairy.”

“There’s a lot of things you don’t know about me, and I learned how to summon her like, four hours ago? Something like that.” I smiled and snatched Illuse by her tail, making her yelp. “She’s a cutie, but I really want to Ascend her. Niner said she’s going to teach me how to do that on my birthday.”

“I read about familiars, but I didn’t like the concept. It didn’t look like a useful spell.” The alicorn commented, closely examining the Familiar.

“They are. At any rate, let’s get back on track. A very similar to EoT spells are the DoT spells.” I said.

“Damage over Time. Basically Poisons, burns and Curses. Moonlight’s Dark Aura is a good example to this one too.” Illuse finished for me.

“And AoE are the Area of Effect spells. Sapphyra can use Winter Windstorm, a spell that, while it has a central point, it affects a large area. And that’s about it, I guess.” I concluded.

“Thanks Fairy, I feel that this information will help me a lot during our next encounters.” Twilight smiled.

“No problem. There isn’t much I can talk about left, actually. Most is about the cities. I could get started now, but it’s getting pretty late.” I nodded to the clock on the wall.

“Yeah, I have to raise the moon in a few minutes, and after that I’m back to Canterlot; got shit to do tonight.” Luna sighed.

“Let’s play later. You choose the game.” Sapphyra offered, and Luna smiled in gratitude.

“Um, Twilight?” Spike called, making the alicorn turn to him. “Next week is going to be held a big event in Hybrios, and Fairy’s family invited us. They have a way to go there and return fast, but I wanted to know if you’re going to need me during it.”

“It’s Saturday afternoon, but I’ll probably go there before lunch so I can meet a few friends. If you’re worried, I’ll break the legs of anyone who threatens Spike.” I added.

“I’m pretty sure I can defend myself, thank you.” Spike huffed.

“Not if they fight with all they got. You know I hold back during our fights.” I pointed out.

“Okay, point taken, but still.” He rolled his eyes.

“What kind of event?” Twilight asked.

“Paintball war.” We chorused.

Twilight looked at us for a few seconds before she sighed. “Ok, you can go. There isn’t much to do until next month.”

“Thanks sis.” Spike said before hugging Twilight.

“Where’s going to be the festival again?” Sapphyra asked.

“I checked on my way here, it’s going to be in the Battle Dome.” I said. “They’re going to down all the walls separating the environmental arenas to make a big, multi-biome arena and throw us there to fight. Already decided your guns?”

Most of them shook their heads while Soul, Viper and Dolph showed the weapons they already use. “Well, I was thinking about twin shotgun pistols.” Spike commented.

“I’m between submachine gun and rapid fire twin pistols.” I said, standing up. “Well, I’d love to stay, but I’m going. See ya online, Spike.”

“I’m Going too. Bye, guys.” Luna said as she also stood up along with the others.

“Later. “ Spike waved as I teleported the others outside and Luna teleported herself to Canterlot. “So, learned a lot, egghead?” Spike asked with a cheeky grin.

Twilight slapped Spike on the shoulder but still smiled. “I don’t know who’s the worse influence on you, if it’s Rainbow Dash or Fairy.”

“Fairy. Definitely Fairy.” Spike laughed as he stepped out of the library.

Author's Notes:

Like I said, information dump. Next chapter is going to be the Paintstorm! But I really need to choose a weapon that represents them.

Speaking of weapons, the weapon Spike said he was going to use is basically like that: It's a pistol that looks a lot like a shotgun, kind of like Reaper's from Overwatch, but smaller. And instead of the splash damage, it shoots a huge blast of magic that explode on contact, like a weaker version of the Dracon Blast. The recoil is the bitch we all know.