5-Magical Lesson and Cultural Shock

The hammer struck one final time as Daedalus finished shaping the scythe. It was nearing harvest time and The Hammer and Tongs, which Daedalus discovered was the name of Dust's shop, had received an order from Sunny Hills for several scythes for the wheat and hay harvest. Apparently, their blacksmith was under the weather with the feather flu and couldn't make the tools in time. The farm had contacted Dust and placed the order. In fact, Daedalus had just finished the last blade and only needed to let it cool before he could sharpen it.

It had amused the virus when he learned Equestria had a hay harvest. He had originally envisioned ponies going to nearest field and cutting the grass, then letting it die before eating it. Of course, this was wrong. While hay was dead grass, even in this world, it was not what he thought. Ponies used a magically modified grass that provided better nutrients, lasted longer, and tasted better. This was, of course, referred to as MMO, or Magically Modified Organics. Unlike Earth with GMOs, MMOs were accepted as an all around better substitute, which Daedalus agreed with.

This event led Daedalus to one conclusion. He needed to read up on the world he now found himself in. In fact, he intended to check out several cultural books from the library to learn equine social norms. While he did receive important information from Disarray, he did not learn how to truly act like a pony, nor did he learn physical cues as to a pony's emotional state.

The virus intended to use his story of having lived isolated from ponykind as his excuse to any questions his inquiries would undoubtedly raise.

I also have that meeting with the Princesses in two days. I'll need to let Dust know in advance so she can plan around it. I'm definitely finishing these scythe blades before I leave though.

He approached Dust as she was attaching a handle to a scythe he had finished the day before and tapped her shoulder to get her attention. When she looked over her shoulder at him, he starting speaking. "I've finished the blades so they just need to cool before they can be finished."

She nodded with a small smile on her face. "Having you around the last two days has really been helping. If you don't have anything else you want to work on, I'll get your pay and you can go."

He nodded and she left, returning moments later with his pay. She set they bits onto the counter, totaling sixty, and he added them to the pouch around his neck. Before she returned to her work, he spoke again. "Also, I wanted to warn you I won't be here Thursday. I have some personal business to attend to in Canterlot and likely won't be back until the next day."

She tilted her head slightly. "Today is Tuesday, right?" When he nodded, she continued.

"Yeah, that's fine. The order will easily be done by then, and if I got by ten years alone, I can go a day. Thanks for the warning."

He smiled and nodded his thanks before turning around to leave. Right at the edge of the sound field, she called his name. "Gene?"

He turned back. "Yeah, Dust?"

"The business. Its nothing bad, is it?" She asked, a little concern.

He gave a little chuckle, making her sigh with relief. "No, its nothing bad. Just somepony I have a meeting with to discuss a few things."

"Have fun in Canterlot then!"

He waved back and she turned back to the table she was working at. Seeing she had nothing else to say, he left, the sounds of scraping wood and fire fading behind him. Reaching up, he wiped a little sweat off his face. Annoying.

When he was still normal, Daedalus had a tendency to sweat easily, and he hated it. It was one redeeming quality of the virus when he learned he no longer needed to sweat. However, the forge was constantly hot, and no normal pony could experience that, plus the work, without sweating. To preserve his cover, he had created sweat glands that would work whenever he willed them too.

Having previously decided the next thing he would do, he set out for the library. Then, he changed his course to head to the inn to retrieve his saddlebags he had gotten from Ms. Belle, who was the only pony he had met so far that was fine with his formal nature.

Alpha

Daedalus entered the Golden Oaks Library, not bothering to knock simply because of the fact that it was a public library, a fact that the librarian seemed to agree with. "Finally! Somepony who understands this is a public library!"

Daedalus just chuckled at Twilight's nature. Granted, the virus did understand why other ponies would knock, but he also figured that since the actually living quarters were on the second floor, knocking was unnecessary.

"Good to see you too, Twilight."

The lavender mare blushed lightly as she realized how she had greeted her guest. She then gasped as she realized who it was. "Oh! I didn't realize it was you, Gene."

He simply laughed lightly. "I could tell, don't worry. However, I came to check out some books."

She started in excitement, quickly teleporting directly in front of him with a flash of light and a light pop. Immediately, she began speaking. "What kind of books? History, fiction, science, religion, magic, what?"

Daedalus diverted a part of his bloodstream into his cheeks, mimicking an embarrassed flush. "Books on pony culture and social norms."

Her head tilted, just as he expected, showing her confusion. "You are a pony. Why would you need books on understanding your own species?"

He cleared his throat before answering. "Well, I haven't had any form of contact with other ponies in years, so I wanted to make sure I don't misunderstand anything."

She thought for a moment, her hoof against her chin as she hummed, then spoke. "I suppose that makes sense. You wouldn't want to be caught in an awkward situation. I'll get you one, however be aware that books like these are meant for other species so it might teach interspecies facts as well."

Daedalus nodded. "That's fine with me."

Twilight, using her telekinesis, brought a book from a shelf across the room and floated it over to her desk as she and Daedalus moved to it. She quickly wrote something in a book before levitating the book into his saddlebags, all of which he watched with a contemplative expression.

"There you go! Signed out for two weeks. If you need any longer, come check it out again." She said cheerily.

"Hey, Twilight, may I also borrow a book on magic. I know I can't learn it, and won't understand some things in it, but I'd like to read one anyway." Daedalus asked after a moment of thought.

She nodded, repeating the process and signing another book out, placing it in his other saddlebag to balance the weight. "Anything else?"

When the virus shook his head, she continued. "The first book you requested, I gave you one on pony society. It covers everything from our leadership and social hierarchy to our courting rituals and customs. You never specified what you wanted to brush up on, so that's a good book for a little of everything."

"The other one, for magic, is an apprentice level spell book. It'll explain the process to cast spells as well as the effects of several spells. Do you know the rating of spells?"

Daedalus, once again, shook his head, magic being out of his league. So, she explained. "It goes, in order, from novice, apprentice, adept, expert, and master. Novice is for colts and fillies learning to levitate and manipulate objects. Apprentice spells are spells that, while aren't necessary, are useful and generally learned at a young ago."

"Don't confuse spell rating with spell class. A spell being an adept spell, or being elemental magic, are two different things. Understand?" Twilight asked after ending her little rant.

"Yes, actually. I never realized magic was cut into so many categories. What would you say is the hardest magic to learn?" Daedalus asked curiously.

"Either universal magic which is the power to manipulate our world, like the Princesses, creation magic, which nopony alive can do. Of course, the same goes for their counterparts, reality and destruction magic."

"Counterparts? Wait, I'm taking too much of your time. Nevermind." Daedalus said, then began making a turn for the door.

"No, wait!" Twilight yelled as she teleported in front of him. "My friends aren't interested in this and other ponies don't specialize in pure magic, and I love this subject."

"Are you sure?" Daedalus asked, receiving a near frantic nod in return.

"Come on, lets sit while you get a magic lesson." Twilight said as she teleported cushions in for them to sit on, both taking their seats as the talk resumed.

"Now, about counterparts. Every magic in existence has an opposite. While these magics aren't always directly opposite, they usually adversely interact, causing damages. One example of this is when universal and reality magic interact."

"Universal magic, like the Princesses use, allow them to manipulate our world within a certain set of boundaries. The sun and moon have to set and rise, yet they can change the length of a day. Reality magic, like what Discord does, allows the caster to take an ordinary item and changes it. When these two magics are mixed, they warp and affect their surroundings."

"Dangerously?"

"It can be. The two energies reject each other and detonate, imbuing the surrounding life with minute control over one or the other."

"What are some other types of magic? You mentioned creation and destruction." Daedalus asked, remembering what the Elements of Harmony said. They mentioned finding 'Creation.' Surely they didn't mean creation magic.

"Well, creation magic isn't pure good, just as destruction isn't bad. What if one creates a monster, or destroys a demon? There are ways to use both for either force. However, creation magic is the ability to create anything, similar to reality magic, but far more versatile. It actually creates rather than changes. Destruction magic is the exact opposite. The caster can destroy anything they can see. Living things can resist, but its hard. The affected has to match or best the caster's will to remain in existence. Spellbooks for these four magics do not exist, or at least publicly."

Daedalus hummed before asking a final question. "Last question. Where does magic come from?"

Twilight smiled, happy for the question and the evidence that he actually listened. "Scholars and scientists believed for centuries that our bodies allowed us to perform magic. However, with the advent of the highly experimental soul magic, it was discovered that magic is actually of the soul, not of the body. Our souls absorb energy from the natural leylines of Equis to power our spells."

So, if I don't already have the ability to cast spells, I'll never be able to. Damn it, is worth a try at least. "Thank you, Twilight. You've answered my questions and given me a lot to think about, not including the books."

"Happy to help, Gene. It was nice having somepony actually listen, not fall asleep. If you ever want to learn more, be sure to come back for either a talk or books."

"I will! I'll likely have more questions after reading these books." Daedalus said before leaving, happy to have learned some things and further solidified his friendships.

Beta

Daedalus shut the door behind him and shook his saddlebags off, letting them drop to the floor with a dull thud, courtesy of the books within. Sitting on the bed, he pulled open the bags and removed the two books. Glancing back and forth between the two, he settled on the culture book entitled The Workings of Equine Society.

Cracking open the book, he quickly flipped to the index and skimmed through it. The book was divided into three clear sections. The business, cultural, and courtship sections. Daedalus' eyes were drawn to the final section, firmly believing he would never have need of it. A part of him almost completely discarded this section until his sight drifted to the line below.

Herd Mentality, page 463.

Quickly flipping pages, he arrived at the first chapter of part three of the book and began reading.

"Of all the sentient species across this world, the ponies are the only ones without an even male to female ratio. For reasons unknown, they birth roughly five females for every male. This has led to, as other species call it, 'Herd Mentality.'"

Flipping the page, the virus continued reader, almost not believing what he was reading.

"This has, in time, led to adoption of a polygamous society among ponies. It is common, even expected, for stallions to have several mares as partners. However, to ensure that stallions do not abuse this societal expectation, several laws were passed protecting mares in herds. The next chapter will describe these laws. The chapter after will explain the structure of herds."

Daedalus, with merely a seconds thought, flipped ahead two chapters. While he never suspected this to be knowledge he would use, he was incredibly interested in just how different pony culture was from humans.

"Herds are structured upon the basis of seniority. The first mare that joins a stallion's had is referred to as the Alpha. Her responsibilities will be covered later. The second mare to join is the Beta. She takes the Alpha's place if the Alpha is unavailable. Any mare after has no responsibility but must listen to the Alpha and Beta within reason."

"The Alpha is tasked with ensuring the stallion spends time with each mare, both as a group and personally. She prevents quarrels between herdmates and settles those that arise. If necessary, she brings the mares to the stallion where he may, if necessary, remove one from the herd."

"The Beta, in addition to taking the Alpha's place when needed, also handles the herd's finances as well as runs the household if the herd lives together."

"The stallion, however, has an equally important, if not harder task. He is to keep all members of his herd and satisfied, showing the mares the affection they deserve. Many stallions have tried to take on to many mares and grew to regret it."

Flipping the page once again, Daedalus read the title and saw that the next chapter detailed how to create a herd as well as signs that a mare wants to join a herd. Closing the book, the virus leaned back in bed and glanced out his window to see the moon rising, his thoughts consumed with what he just read.

Herds. Its so different from Earth, and would be condemned there, yet here it is expected. They've even taken great pains to make sure the entire herd is happy. If Earth did the same, it may work better.

I can't think on this anymore. "Its not like I'll ever use it."

Closing his eyes, he allowed himself to drift off into slumber.

Delta

Celestia allowed the scroll to float down and land upon her desk. It was another letter from her student, Twilight. The contents of it were quickly pushing the solar Diarch into an alarming conclusion.

Her door burst open, causing her to spin around shock, magic surging to her horn. Immediately, Celestia dropped out of her chair in pain as the magic forced its way out of the severed tip. Luna, in concern for her sister, rushed over and helped her into a sitting position. "Sister, I am so sorry for that. I didn't mean to startle you so bad."

"Its fine, sister. You had no reason to suspect I would react that way." Celestia said after being helped into the bed, trying to calm her sister. When her words were met with silence, she turned to her head to see Luna with a look of anger.

"Lulu?"

"Daedalus will pay. He hurt you, Tia. You have to be careful with magic and can only cast the weakest of spells."

"It'll heal."

"It should have already healed! Something about that blade isn't right, Celestia!"

"Sister, read the letter on my desk." Was the only reply.

Luna levitated the paper over and began reading it as Celestia moved herself to her sister's side and draped a wing over her. Celestia could feel slightly tensing as she read further down the letter. Eventually, she placed the paper down. "Impossible."

They instantly understood the idea each other was forming, able to read each other after so long. "Think about it, Lulu. He's an Earth Pony interested in magic, needed to read up on his own culture, and conveniently lived somewhere nopony had ever seen him."

"But how, Tia?"

"I don't know, but it seems that Daedalus and Gene Splice are the same pony. He obviously isn't a changeling, but some other form of shapeshifter. He comes the day after tomorrow, so we'll find out soon enough. Now, enough worrying. What will be, will be."

Celestia then flipped Luna over onto her back and lied on top of her. "And besides, that display you did a couple nights ago has made me eager for a taste."

A blue glow covered the doorway, then faded. Adept spellcasters would have recognized it as a soundproofing spell, and a powerful one at that.