Brand New Stallion

— And... that's it!

After finishing resizing the hole and groove in the bracelet, Alan turned to Maud, who took on the role of turning the essence crystals into the desired shape. It is simply impossible to find a better specialist for such work. Even Alan himself was not sure how best to work with these crystals, but fortunately, Maud let him know that she was aware of what and how exactly to do.

Approaching the gray mare, Alan looked at her work and whistled.

— Wow, looks like you're almost done too. I didn't even know that this crystal needs to be cut only in a spiral.

Nodding, Maud said.

— This is exactly how the magic proceeds in this crystal. If you disrupt its structure by another method, then you can disrupt this flow of magic, and lose both the crystal and the hooves.

— You mean by working with these crystals, you can cause an explosion?

— Yes.

Alan swallowed as he was shocked by the possibility of such an outcome. He thanked the stars for not deciding to do this on his own, otherwise it was not difficult to imagine what could happen to him if he began to grind the crystal as he pleases.

Taking four processed crystals from the workplace at which Maud was sitting, he carefully examined each of them, and with a bright smile, said.

— Perfect! I think now we can insert them into bracelets and horn bases.

There were four samples in total, two small for bracelets, and two large ones for two artificial horns. After moving all the crystals to the table with the empty bracelets and the base of the horn prepared, Alan and Maud began to carefully insert the crystals into the sockets.

The whole process took them about twenty minutes, but when everything was properly secured, Alan sighed relaxedly, and putting the first bracelet on Maud's hoof and then the second on himself, he said.

— So, I think it's time to play with our new babies.

Hearing his words, Maud looked at Alan, and spoke in a monotone.

— Have we got babies? How fast time flies.

Hearing her words, Alan froze at first, and understanding how it all sounded, he said.

— W… what? No! I meant to test our bracelets. We haven't had any real babies yet. And, gee, Maud, I'm sure that you would have noticed something like that.

Looking at him, Maud smiled slightly and answered.

— I know. But your reaction was interesting.

«Is she now making fun of me? Wow, this is new.»

Smiling, he answered.

— Well, in my opinion it is too early for us to have babies. But, it is quite possible to arrange constant training before the real process.

— Good idea.

Although the mare's voice was monotonous, it was clear from her eyes that this idea was very much to her liking.

Having finished with all the little things and details, they left the workshop and headed towards their house. Only instead of going down into the cave, they moved away to the side of the forest, and stood in front of one large withered tree, and many scattered stones of different shapes and sizes.

— So, Maud, for a start, I propose to check the maximum weight that we can lift now.

After receiving a nod from her, they both aimed their bracelets at two cobblestones of approximately the same size. They were just over half a meter in diameter, and enveloping them with magic, they tried to lift them. As soon as the stones began to rise into the air, Alan was surprised and exclaimed.

— Wow! Can you feel it?

The mare nodded and answered.

— Yes. It's like magic has become our natural tool. It feels unusual.

— I agree. Previously, I had to concentrate heavily on one or another action. And now, as soon as you think about it, boom! Stone in the air.

After thinking a little, Maud said.

— I think this is due to the fact that the crystals of the essence have adjusted to our magic, as well as to the method of extracting it.

— Is that how it is?... Then, let's try to pick up something bigger.

Having lowered the stones to the ground, they turned their gaze to two large boulder stones. They were slightly larger than both of them, and Alan didn't have much confidence in his ability to lift them, but at least he could feel the resistance from trying, which would help him feel the exact difference between the previous and current bracelets.

Aiming bracelets at the boulders, Alan and Maud enveloped them in magic, and tried to lift them into the air. As Alan thought, it was extremely difficult, but what was his surprise when he felt that the resistance was gradually weakening, and inside him, the flow of magic began to rebuild a little, forming smoother channels for the flow of the magical essence into the bracelet.

The same thing happened inside Maud, which caused them to exchange glances with each other, in confirmation that these changes were happening to both of them. Returning their gaze to the boulders engulfed in magic, they closed their eyes, listening to their inner changes.

Following what was happening with his magic channels, Alan finally noticed something new. From his right hoof, straight from the essence crystal, a small thread of magic began to flow, running along his hoof along the magic channel, up to his center of the chest, where it made one revolution, and followed to the other hoof, where finally the restructuring of the channels of magic began, which accompanied by this very thread that had already reached his second bracelet, which was still the same and outdated version. At that moment, he felt a slight warmth on this bracelet.

«What the hell is going on?»

Sharply opening his eyes, he looked at his left hoof, where he discovered how the stone embedded in his bracelet began to change its color and structure, becoming more transparent and purer. Moving his gaze to Maud, he realized that the same thing was happening to her.

Closing his eyes again, Alan tried to listen to his feelings, and finally was able to notice the formed connection between the essence crystal and the second stone, and a slight pulsation from it, like the essence of the stone hints, to use them simultaneously.

Taking the hint, Alan sat down on the ground, and raising his second hoof, tried to add magic from the second bracelet to the boulder, and as soon as the magic began to come out, his entire magic system flowed with double strength, and the magic covering the boulder was no longer a faded veil, but became a clear magical cover, which began to gently lift the big boulder into the air.

Seeing this, Alan could not help but open his mouth in surprise. Moreover, he was not the only one who was surprised, since Maud also came to a similar decision, and using both hooves, lifted her boulder into the air. The only difference from Alan was that his boulder was raised a little higher, and you could see from his face that it was not as difficult for him as it was for her.

Then Alan remembered his recent increase in the amount of magic, thanks to the Equestria map. After thinking, he looked in surprise at Maud, who, without receiving any enhancement of magic, was still not far from him in success, solely due to her innate talent, and compatibility with stones.

Lowering the boulders, Maud spoke first.

— It was… something else.

— That's for sure. Damn, with these improvements, I'm sure we can learn most of the magic of unicorns. In the meantime, it remains to check the effectiveness of artificial horns. And seeing the effectiveness of the bracelets, I am now somehow scared to think what will happen to the horns.

— I know what will happen. Something cool.

Maud answered monotonously, causing Alan to smile with amusement. Taking artificial horns from their bag, Alan and Maud attached them to their head.

— It's good that I spent extra time taking measurements of our heads, and now these horns are sitting like a glove. Well, let's get started.

With that said, Alan and Maud prepared to test their horns.

* * * * * * * * * *

(An hour later. Evening.)

Walking through the evening streets of Ponyville, Alan and Maud were in excellent spirits, as the test of the horns went much better than they had originally thought. At the moment, they were walking towards Twilight Castle to take their first magic lesson.

Since it was already evening, Alan hoped that Starlight and Twilight would not refuse their training. Because of the successful testing of new bracelets, they were eager to learn some real spells.

Having reached the castle, they entered it, and without seeing anyone, Alan decided to let them know about himself.

— Hello! Is there anyone at home?

The echo of his voice echoed along the walls of the castle, and after a few seconds, the clatter of hooves sounded from the distant rooms, and Starlight came out into the light.

— Alan? Are you finished with your bracelets already?

— Yeah, now Maud and I have new jewelry, and we're ready to start learning magic. Hope we're not too late.

Demonstrating a new bracelet, Alan answered with a satisfied smile. Maud just silently lifted her hoof to show Starlight her bracelet.

Starlight looked curiously at their bracelets and asked.

— And how is it? Is it easier to use magic with them?

Alan and Maud exchanged glances, then Alan looked at Starlight and answered with a grin.

— Oh, you have no idea. Now I have full confidence that we can definitely learn more advanced magic.

Surprised, the mare nodded and answered.

— Even so? Then follow me, now I'm also curious how quickly you can master the basics of magic spells.

Following the unicorn, Alan and Maud found themselves in a fairly spacious room, which was slightly smaller than the throne room. Alan was surprised, as he did not expect to see such a place, since it was not shown on the show.

There were many different objects, targets, shelves with various books and parchments, and even a corner with growing crystals furnished with study equipment, which immediately attracted Maud's attention.

With deep interest and surprise, Alan asked.

— What kind of place is it?

— Ah, this is Twilight's and my place to practice magic and spells. We used to do this in the library, but after one case when we destroyed it, we decided that it was better to do this in a specially designated place.

— Sounds reasonable.

Maud said as she examined the minor damage marks on the walls around the targets. Approaching the area where there were two sofas in front of a table with different books and textbooks, Starlight sat down and invited the others to sit opposite.

— So, I've already warned Twilight, so she'll be here soon, but we can start without her. Objections?

— None, ready as ever!

Alan answered cheerfully, while Maud just nodded silently.

After receiving confirmation from them, Starlight began to explain the basics of magic theory, and an introduction to the fundamental formulas of all the simplest spells.

— For spells, you need to be able to form magic beams inside us, without releasing them outside. These beams are called "Nodes". The more Nodes you can form and hold inside the magical space at a time, the more difficult the spell will be.

While she was talking, she handed them two small books that contained all the information on the topic. When they opened them, they were able to see clear examples of what Starlight was explaining in the form of written spell basics. It was something like raw blanks, on the basis of which more complex variants could be formed.

— If a beginner magician learns to form more than one "Node", then it will be called "Link". And this is exactly the moment when the magician can begin to set the order and parameters of the spell.

Seeing that Alan and Maud had no questions and understood everything, Starlight continued her lecture.

— In the beginning, spells can be built on the basis of visual images, or mental commands, each of which is laid in its own separate Node. When two or more Nodes receive a command, the Link turns into a Formula.

Pointing to a specific page in the book, Starlight said.

— Usually, simple formulas of two or three factors do not require additional intervention, and the spell can work even like this. But if you want to change, improve or add something, then to each command or visual image in the Node, you need to add a numerical value. For example, here.

Pointing to a picture of one of the spells, Starlight began to explain.

— We have a spell to create fire for a bonfire. It uses a three-node formula. The first contains the image of the Spark, the second Node contains the Spread command, and the third is an empty Node representing your visual target, in this case a log in a fire. But if you add the numerical value 2 to the image of "Spark", then the fire will most likely flare up twice as strong. But in this case, you risk burning the logs ahead of time, and spending too much magic, which can lead to exhaustion. Any questions?

After thinking, Alan asked.

— What if, as the third empty Node, I add an image of, for example, water? What will happen?

— Nothing good. After the command "Spread", the spark will try to spread through the water, which is not there, which in the end can lead to a violation of the formula, and in the best case, waste a large amount of magic, and in the worst case, to an explosion.

Starlight answered with a serious face, making Alan look a little scared, forcing him to think about all the future subtleties.

At that moment, Twilight came into the room carrying additional books with information. Seeing Alan and Maud seated with their textbooks open, she said.

— Ah, so you already started.

— Yeap, I decided to start explaining the basics to them before we start a full lesson.

Starlight replied, taking books and new textbooks from Twilight, inviting her to sit next to her.

— Good thinking. Then, if they have already understood the basics, we can start testing their accuracy and control.

Alan thought about it and asked.

— Is it necessary for the formation of the Nodes?

— That's right! I see Starlight's explanations were very informative. Then let's get down to real learning!

And so the next hour of Alan and Maud passed.

After Twilight figured out that Alan and Maud had good enough control and accuracy to start practicing, they started trying to create their first Nodes, which turned out to be not that difficult. Only now, having created two at once, it was not as easy to hold them as desired, and control was lost after a few seconds.

Alan was a little dejected, because he understood that it was even without images and commands, and even more so without numeric variables. But he was very motivated to get better, as this whole magical topic was very interesting and exciting.

At the end of the lesson, he and Maud were finally able to hold two empty Nodes for more than ten seconds, and were even able to create a third, holding it for almost three seconds.

Such a speed of learning could not fail to amaze two unicorns, because both Alan and Maud were able to achieve in one hour what other unicorns achieve in a month.

But what's even more surprising is that Alan was able to use the fire spell, according to the instructions from the book. Then Maud repeated the same thing, except that it was much more difficult for her. It seems that spells are much worse for her than manipulation of magic itself, such as moving objects, or concentrated release.

After finishing the lesson, Alan said enthusiastically.

— Heck yeah! It was great, the first steps in magic were very exciting.

Starlight smiled and said just as enthusiastically.

— Right, huh? I was also excited when I started to study magic. And although it did not lead me in quite the right direction, but still. When I studied magic with Sunburst as a child, it was a truly magical time.

Then, looking at Alan, she added with a warm smile.

— And now, when I teach magic to you and Maud, I feel the same joy I did then as a child.

— It's nice to know that our training was not a burden for you.

— You're learning incredibly fast, so I don't think we'll be a burden, right, Twilight?

— Y... yes! I'm here... sitting… Zzz...

Starlight turned to her friend, who was sitting half asleep on the couch and blowing a bubble through her nose.

— Oh, looks like she's overworked again today. Don't worry, I'll take her to the room. See you tomorrow!

— Yeah, see you tomorrow. Hopefully tomorrow's lesson will be as awesome as today's.

— Hah, don't hesitate.

Saying goodbye, Alan took some magic textbooks provided by Twilight and headed home with Maud. On the way, they met Rainbow, who asked if he would come to training tomorrow, to which Alan of course agreed. Of course, this made the blue pegasus happy, and that with a happy face flew towards the house.

While Alan and Maud returned home after capturing Pinkie Pie and engaged in lecherous games, the map in Twilight Castle began to emit a slight glow, and after a while, in a certain part of Equestria, a small green dot appeared on it, over which an hourglass appeared.

A few hours later, the clock ended its countdown, and images of two cutie marks appeared above the map, but since everyone has been sleeping for a long time, this phenomenon will remain unnoticed until the morning.

* * * * * * * * * *

I hope you enjoy it. And yes, I understand that the plot is still moving slowly, but now, in the next chapter, there will be some adventures and action.

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