Harmless practice

[Deleted]

It was a few hours since class ended, and Compass had gotten an idea for what he could try doing. Despite being a unicorn, he had hardly ever used magic- something he wondered if changing that would help him get his cutie mark. So here he was, in the corner of a library with an open book and a few inanimate objects. He had been testing out different spells- levitating objects, turning the pages of the book when he needed to read more of it. Having been at it for about an hour, the colt had nearly finished reading the book and testing each spell he came across. He didn't do exceedingly well, otherwise he might have found a cutiemark appear on his flank, but he didn't fail at it either. Closing the book, he yawned and pushed up his glasses while thinking. I tried everything in that book- still nothing.. he thought as he used the levitation spell to carefully put the book back where he found it, and the small object he brought with him back in his saddle-pack. He had been a bit lost in his own world, having completely forgotten that other ponies might have seen what he was up to. Even if they were there, at least they were polite enough not to interrupt.

[Deleted]

It had been another usual day at that library, which involved making sure things were neat and organized, books shelved where they belonged according to what category they were based on. Moving around other ponies so she didn't want to disturb their reading (since she knew how important reading was), Twilight Sparkle managed to get the loaned books put away and nodded in satisfaction. All was well.

Well, almost.

There were a few books missing, but only because a few ponies had taken them out to read, which was well and fine, but that only meant she would have to reorganize them all at a later date. Glancing over at the others, she noticed one unicorn looking a bit lonely. There was a time where all I wanted to do was hide somewhere and just read, read, read... She thought to herself. Heck, at times, she still would rather do that than go outside sometimes. But now that she had a lot of friends since her arrival in Ponyville all those months ago, perhaps she could help this one not be so awkward. Approaching him softly as to not disturb his reading, the purple unicorn softly cleared her throat to get his attention. "Was there something I can help you with?" She asked, putting on a friendly smile. Twilight noticed that his flank was blank...another reminder on how she acted back then. It wasn't until she performed real magic for the first time that she had gotten hers, realizing that magic itself was her special talent, and it had only grown in recent months since her arrival here. Maybe she could help him find out what his talent was; that would make a rather interesting letter to Princess Celestia should she succeed.

[Deleted]

Having had only a split second to think of a response after being snapped back to awareness, Compass couldn't help but seem awkward. "N-No, I'm fine...sorry for the trouble." he instinctively apologized. He had tried to stay out of the way- but it seemed like all it did was make it look like he needed help, which was partly true. He did need help- but he neither knew that fact nor what he needed help with. In hopes of buying a bit of time to think more about what was going on, he focused his attention on picking out another book from the shelf. Out of pure happenstance, it was another book on magic, similar to the first one he was using for reference before. In his haste, however, he put a little too much effort into the holding spell- smacking himself in the face with the book, knocking him off of his seat as his glasses fell off.

Well, that happened... he thought to himself as he picked the book back up, glad it wasn't damaged by the comedic impact. Out of habit, he went to push his glasses back up- only then to realize they had been knocked off of his face as well.

[Deleted]

This pony seemed a bit nervous; she didn't mean for the situation to escalate as it did, but by the time Twilight got ready to make a recommendation on what it was he was looking for - since he happened to grab a book similar to what he was reading before, the yellow unicorn had knocked himself backwards and the glasses he was wearing fell from his face. She cringed a bit before using her own magic to pick up the glasses and placed them back on his face, then saw to the book he was trying to get before.

"There's no trouble at all. I'm the librarian here, so it's my job to help out anypony find the right book for what they need. That and you happen to remind me of myself when I was a little filly." She added, blushing a bit at the memory. "I was such a bookworm back then, delving into every single book I could get my hooves on, especially on magic in general. Back then, I also had a blank flank, so I wasn't sure what my destiny was back then. Looking back, I suppose magic just came to me naturally. You'll find your talent soon; just take it easy and keep doing what you love. It'll make sense." Twilight smiled before using her magic again, this time to grab a slightly larger book with a fancy embroidery on the cover. "If you're trying to increase your magic prowess, try this one. This has some easy spells for beginners."

[Deleted]

"Oh..T-Thanks." he thanked the librarian, who had placed his glasses back on his face. He then began to listen as Twilight Sparkle began explaining why she wanted to help- she was the librarian of this place, so it was her job. That made sense, but then she began talking about how he apparently reminded her of herself in the past. It was a little odd to hear that coming from another pony. Being a bookworm wasn't anything to be ashamed of, yet he was now wondering why she was drawing parallels between them. However, she had assured him that he'd find his talent soon, he just needed to let it happen.

It was odd to hear it, but he actually felt a little relieved for some reason. He then looked at the book she had grabbed, using his magic to place the book he had just grabbed back onto the shelf. Blushing a bit, Compass Rose carefully took the book, opening it to start reading to see which spells he could try from it. "Thanks again, ma'am." he smiled to the librarian.

[Deleted]

"Please, call me Twilight. Everypony does." She replied with a smile. Twilight wanted to help people, and if it meant them trying to figure out who they were meant to be, then that was fine. "No need to thank me, young colt. I'm just doing what I can. I actually know three other fillies that oh-so-badly want their cutie marks as well, and I told them the same thing. FInd out what you're good at, and keep at it. Once you realize that, your cutie mark would show up."

As for the book, it was one that contained second-level spells. Nothing simple like levitation, but then again it wasn't anything completely complicated either. More like graduating from 'baby mush' to 'finger food'. Twilight checked on the other ponies to make sure they had what they needed, and checked out a few books for those waiting at the desk for her. She then returned to the yellow unicorn, checking up on his progress. "Did you need anything else? I don't think I ever got your name."

[Deleted]

Keeping a mental note to call her 'Twilight', Compass nodded before she brought up the Cutie Mark Crusaders- one of whom he had met already. He was curious as to some of the spells written down in the book. Some of them seemed like more advance versions of what he tried out before, while others were completely new to him. One in particular caught his eye while Twilight was preoccupied with the other ponies in the library, and he couldn't help but test it out. Focusing his magic, his body was surrounded by a very faint aura before a translucent copy floated from him to be two feet from his right. Looking at the double as it became more opaque, the unicorn gave into temptation and poked it with his hoof, phasing through it.

He had come across an illusion spell on a stuck page- one that used magic to create an identical, yet harmless copy of himself. While it may have been odd for such a spell, it was a basic illusion according to the book- presumably meant to be just for show as the double couldn't really do much but copy his movements. However, his focus broke once Twilight asked him if there was anything else he needed, the copy fading away as a result. "I'm fine, but thank you, Twilight." he thanked her, only to be told that she never got his name. "Oh...And...My name is Compass Rose. It's very nice to meet you, Twilight." he introduced himself as politely as he could.

[Deleted]

Unicorns and magic went along, but it was the type of magic that each unicorn possessed that was unique...as almost as unique as their cutie marks. Generally being able to move things with their magic was one thing, but that generally escalated and went along with whatever their talent was. Rarity's had to do with her fashion - and gems in general, hence why her cutie mark was three pale blue diamonds. Princess Celestia's was with raising the sun, Princess Luna's raising the moon...with their respective marks as well. But Twilight seemed to be a bit of an exception considering her special talent was magic in it of itself. Anything she learned, regardless of skill level, was almost as easy to pick up on, such as a gem-finding spell that Rarity had used for her work at the Carousel Boutique...among other things.

When she returned to where the yellow unicorn was standing, he had managed to use one of the spells in the book to make a faded duplicate of himself, which caused her to smile. I wonder if he's been through the School for Gifted Unicorns yet... Twilight thought for herself. Approaching him, she regretted breaking his focus, but he introduced himself as Compass Rose. "And the pleasure is mine, Compass Rose. Actually, my full name is Twilight Sparkle, but everyone else just calls me Twilight. I've been in Ponyville for some time now, but living in a library with so many interesting books is so cool...that and I get to help other ponies find what they need is nice."

[Deleted]

Although disappointed that the duplication spell broke the moment his concentration was broken, he felt accomplished at having actually cast the spell. He was wondering if he was able to take out this book to practice at home- but he was also nervous as to how his sisters would take it. He wanted to knock them down a peg- heck, even if he could find a spell that could keep them from flying for, he would get a laugh. He did feel jealous of Twilight Sparkle for being able to live in a library. Able to just be alone, reading books- that was something he thought he'd like.

He couldn't help but wonder what other spells he could try out, but he decided to listen to Twilight, who explained she had been in Ponyville for some time- and that she enjoyed helping other ponies. "That's really nice- helping others that is." he replied, absent mindedly turning the pages of the book, not sure what spell was going to be shown next.

[Deleted]

Twilight noticed that he had doubled himself, but after losing concentration on keeping the second image up, Compass had decided to try something else in the book. Although she read that same book before (several times), it was still an interesting read for the various illusion-like spells...something similar to a certain unicorn she knew. As he had turned the page, the purple unicorn gasped and pointed at the page. "Oh, I bet you would like this one. It makes you really quiet, so no need to tiptoe around sleeping babies and such. It's one of my favorites from this particular book. Why don't you give it a try, Compass?"

Living in a library was almost a dream come true to someone like her, but if it were the Canterlot library - where there were hundreds, no thousands of scrolls and books were residing - now that would make her day! Shoving the daydream aside, Twilight looked at Compass, waiting to see the result of the 'silent feet' spell she pointed out to him. "If you like, I can let you take that book home for a few days so you can read it some more." The mare offered, smiling a bit more.

[Deleted]

He couldn't find anything interesting, at least not until Twilight Sparkle had pointed at the page containing the silencing-spell. He was excited to try it, but he didn't know if it would really work. The spell itself was easy to think about, and as he focused a bit- a very faint aura around him as the blue markings on his body gave off a very faint glow. The aura dissipated, the glow on his marks fading as it looked like the spell did nothing. Having no way to tell whether or not the spell worked, his first instinct was to ask if it even did anything. "Did it work, Twilight?"he questioned, but he was visibly shocked when he couldn't hardly hear his own voice. He was a little scared- his voice had been muffled by the spell, but he took a breath and calmed down a bit, bringing his hooves to his right ear, smacking them against one another. He couldn't even hear it when it was right in his ear. This brought a smile to his face- the spell worked!

Then the idea of bringing the book back home to study and practice came up from Twilight. He was about to jump on the opportunity- but then he realized how bad of an idea that was. As much as he wanted to- it would also be something he would end up having bad luck with. He wanted to keep this thing a secret from his sisters- having the book in the house would raise a bunch of flags, even if he could sneak it in with the muffle-spell. Ultimately, he shook his head, adjusting his glasses again. "Thanks...but it's alright, really...It'd be better if another pony was able to use it." he declined, carefully putting the book back on the shelf with his magic. The muffle-spell didn't wear off yet- so his voice was still rendered to barely more than a whisper.

[Deleted]

She wasn't sure if Compass would try the spell she mentioned, but if he worked his magic on making a copy of himself, perhaps that was his special talent, and would lead to finding his cutie mark. But he had to discover that talent out of himself...Twilight was just lending an extra hoof to help it along. After pointing out the muffling spell, Compass Rose had decided to give it a try, to which she watched in anticipation and to lend support if needed. The young unicorn's body glowed a bit with the spell attempt, and with a final bit of effort, the spell seemed to take effect. But then he startled himself by speaking, which caused Twilight to chuckle a bit before answering, "I would say that it did. But for that one, if you wanted to just silence yourself instead of lowering the volume of your voice and any other noise you make, concentrate a bit harder on what you need it to do. When you concentrate, once that final bit of effort is made, you'll know that the spell's successfully cast, so no need to surprise yourself."

But then he seemed to want to refuse the offer of being able to take the book home, stating that somepony else could use it instead. The purple unicorn shook her head. "Nonsense. What good are books if they are just sitting on a shelf waiting for somepony to pick them up? You're coming home from school, right? Why not put it in your belongings? I remember when Rainbow Dash didn't want to start reading at first; she tried to hide the fact that she got really deep in the Daring Do series...and couldn't stop. Go on ahead and take it home; you could always say it's more homework from school that you need to focus on." With that, she used her own magic to take the book off of the shelf once more and set it on the table nearby. "It's alright. I'll let you borrow it, and return it whenever you're finished." She smiled a bit more, hoping that Compass Rose would take her up on the offer. He seemed to like that particular book, so what was wrong with him taking it home?

[Deleted]

The colt couldn't help but blush a little when Twilight gave him advice on what he neglected on when it came to the muffling spell. It was fear that held him back- he was scared of the possibility of muting himself permanently- which resulted in him subconsciously stopping himself from using the spell completely. It was then that Twilight had countered his refusal by insisting that a book was better off being read rather than just waiting on the shelf for another pony to read it. To drive her point home she decided to use her friend, Rainbow Dash, as an example. He couldn't argue with her logic, and he really did want to bring the book him. After some convincing, he nodded and smiled, looking up at Twilight. "Thank you. I promise to keep it in good condition." he thanked her, his voice back to normal.

He could keep practicing the spells at home, and with the muffling spell, he wouldn't make much of a scene in the house. However, there was one tiny problem when he tried to put the book in his saddle bag- it wouldn't fit- not with the book he had brought along already in there. Using his magic, he pulled out the book he always carried around since before he moved to Ponyville, leaving it on the table as he carefully slid in the new book. The cover was rather old, but the title was strange as it was in another language, a translation being right underneath it: Chronicles of The Sleeping Dragon. It was a book about a unicorn pony from a far away land, who was known for his peerless wisdom, an unparalleled sorcerer of his time. Whether it was factual or not was up for debate, but it looked like a book that had been out of print for quite some time and passed around for at least a century.

[Deleted]

"There is also the counter spell in there on the next page if you wanted to cancel it prematurely." Twilight Sparkle offered. "It'll wear off after a day if you leave it alone." Hearing that Compass would take great care of the book, she nodded and smiled; it was nice to see good books being used and appreciated for the wisdom they contained...too bad not all ponies liked to read aside from schoolwork. "Most spells are like that though, so it won't stay on forever in case you really have something important to do...like say walking on clouds or growing wings for instance." She chuckled again, recalling another memory; this time of Rarity and the time that the six friends went to Cloudsdale to watch Rainbow Dash in the Young Fliers Competition. Testing out a new spell, Twilight had given Rarity a set of beautiful butterfly wings made of gossamer and morning dew (VERY fragile, she warned the fashionista), but it was too exhausting to duplicate, so a second spell was needed for her friends to simply walk on clouds for three days. It was fun, but unfortunately for Rarity who got caught up in the hype over her wings, she had to stay in the balloon basket for the rest of the trip after the competition was done.

Watching as the yellow unicorn tried to slide the book into his bag, Twilight arched a brow when she saw that it wouldn't fit into the bag with his other books. She was about ready to get him an extra bag when he took out a rather old-looking book bearing a language she hadn't seen before. Taking a closer inspection, she saw the title had been translated, and read it softly to herself. "Chronicles of the Sleeping Dragon...I don't think I've ever seen this one before. How did you come by this book, Compass?" A bit awestruck, the purple unicorn used her magic to flip the cover carefully as to not cause any more damage to it, then flipped through the pages seeing if the rest was translated...or at least in some way comprehensible considerings its aged appearance. "This is incredible... Maybe I should make an extra copy of this book just in case...I'm sure everypony would want to check this one out...or at least anypony with a bit of an interest in dragon lore."

[Deleted]

The book was indeed translated, although the original text was still in tact. While Twilight was asking how Compass ever came by the book, the unicorn hesitated a bit. It was something he had normally kept to himself, at least the copy of the book he had carried around. He had another few books like it at home, which were equally battered from age. "My grandma gave it along with a few others to me before we moved here." he replied, looking at it. He had fond memories of reading it under candle light, imagining as the wise unicorn outsmarted a large group of ponies with a maze constructed out of little more than piles of dirt. It was always fun to imagine it, and The Sleeping Dragon served as a sort of personal hero the colt wanted to strive to be like. Then came the idea of making a replica book for the sake of the library. While it made sense, considering he had probably the last of the originals, he blinked when she had mentioned dragon lore.

"Dragon Lore?" he asked before realizing- she had barely started reading. "Oh, no. 'The Sleeping Dragon' was a unicorn. He was given that nickname for the feats of magic he displayed in his time." he hoped to clarify, but then figured out a great example. "Page 375 has my favorite one, The Stone Sentinel Maze." he suggested one of the chapters. The Stone Sentinel Maze, it was a labyrinth that The Sleeping Dragon had been said to have created with magic- any of his enemies who entered were trapped inside of it, fighting what they believed to be living statues. After a night of trying to fight or run away from the statues, the sun rose and the maze vanished, the ponies whom the unicorn eluded being revealed to have been fighting piles of dust in the middle of nowhere, with nothing more than rocks and boulders surrounding them. Of course, the tale went into much greater detail then that- but that was the summary of it.