An Affinity With the Sun: Act II: Chapter V

~An Affinity With the Sun~
{Act II}
[Chapter V]
|Birds Who Prey on Shoes|
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

>You awake with the familiar warmth absent from your side
>It bothered you to not see her off, but she insisted you stay in bed
>The clock above the vanity read 2:55 and the Sun had long since completed it's climb
>It was time for you to remove yourself from bed and try to spend the day however you liked
>Adorning your usual wear, complimented with your favorite red tie you make way for the door
>The door opens with the faintest of creaks as you pace down the steps of Canterlot's tallest spire
>This counted as your days exercise, you found yourself playing games with yourself
>Sometimes skipping the third step, or walking on one side or the other
>These games entertained you long enough for you to reach the bottom, usually
>You exist into Canterlot's palace halls, it seemed almost empty and void
>Though there were plenty of guards and staff, the marble walls seemed to lose their luster in the absence of their princess
>The gloomy halls seemed cramped enough, you spent a month living inside them, you decided to take this rare opportunity to take your first, legal step outside your 'prison' walls
>Maybe you'd visit your old job and help out for the day, maybe you'd visit the vacant lot where your home once stood, who knows what the rest of the day could hold
>You near the draw bridge, passing by workers and guests alike
>You're nearly through the alabaster gates until the combined wingspans of two guards halt you
>"I'm sorry Sir. Anonymous. But by order of the princess you are restricted from leaving the castle grounds until her majesty returns. Please remain inside your chambers until she returns."

>The guards look at you stoically
>Unfortunately, you can't say the same
>Your face is switching from various expressions of different emotions
>All you can do is stand there and watch your day of freedom burn to a crisp
>There were no words to describe the immense since of anger you felt
>It was sort of like watching every little achievement you've made with Celestia this month go up in smoke
>It may have actually just been that
>You stand there in shock a little while longer
>The guards remaining as indifferent as before
>The guard on the left repeats himself
>"Sir Anonymous, please return to your chambers until the princesses have returned from the trip abroad."
>There was no point fighting now, you felt utterly hopeless and defeated
"Yeah, alright. I'll do that.."
>Their wings fold inward and they resume their position of attention
>They don't bat an eye as you slowly sulk your way inside
>Not only did she leave you for an entire month, but she locked you up again
>It was the biggest betrayal yet!
>You'd never let her hear the end of it
>Through the door, through the halls, and up the stairs brought you back to your 'cell'
>You nearly hover over to the bed and collapse onto it
>A loud groan escapes your body
>In response to your call of grief you hear a flutter make it's way in from the open balcony
>Philomena perches herself on your head, singing her greeting to you
>But you're hardly in the mood for it and you shake your head, causing her to instead perch on the bed's head rest
>She sits proudly, expecting you to notice and compliment her vibrant feathers, you do no such thing
>But you do sit up, making eye contact with her as she cocks her head to the right
>It seems she can read the sadness on your face and glides a bit closer to offer what little comfort she can

>Your extended hand finds itself petting Philomena's heated feathers and she coos in approval but she could tell you weren't in the mood to play
>At least in your isolation you can have some form of companion
"To tell you the truth, I wish I had wings right now. It sucks being locked up in here, and when she gets back I'm gonna tell her off you hear me!?"
>Philomena cranes her neck to the side in response and you find yourself laughing at the fact you're speaking with a Pheonix who may or may not be completely sentient
>You decide not to think about it and begin to remove your shoes
>You weren't going anywhere anyway
>Carefully placing your shoes at the side of the bed you turn back the the flaming bird only to see her absent
"Don't tell me she in ashes..."
>It'd be hell to clean that from the bed spread
>Instead she caws at you from your feet
>You can't help but laugh at the fact that she's snugged happily in your size 10's
"Get out of my shoe, I don't want to make the smell worse."
>Instead she locks her talons on the rim of your loafers and carries it into the air
"God dammit put it down!"
>You reach out for your abducted footwear, but with each reach it rises higher and higher
>You're standing on the bed now, jumping as high as you can to rescue your shoe from it's assailant, you're unsuccessful
>One miscalculated jump and your falling off the bed, in the time between the air and the floor you hear "No more monkeys jumping on the bed!"
>The impact is painful, as well as pride damaging
>You'd be damned if you were outsmarted by a damn bird!
>You spin your head backwards, nearly catching whiplash
>Philomena makes her way out into the hall, carrying your shoe with her
>Without a second thought you give chase

>For the second time today you're traveling down these incredibly long stairs
>Philomena's descent is far greater than your own, on account that she isn't limited to the stairs
>You double-time it and hit the bottom just a few seconds after she flies into the halls
>Chasing her proves to be difficult on account of your socks sliding on the polished floor
>You nearly ran into seven ponies so far
>But you were determined to get your shoe from that damn bird!
>You can feel her taunting you as she caws back at you
>She was always a trouble maker but now she's just being an ass
>No one in the halls opt to help you on your wild pheonix chase, instead the stare at the amusement of your pleight
>She's really giving you a run for your money and you soon find yourself chasing her into Canterlot's library
>You only catch a glimpse of her as she ducks behind her desk from Philomena's fiery trail
>All this for a shoe. You though
>She's dodging into corridors of books and shelves evading your pursuit
>Books and pages rustle as she flies past, your tiring body following
>Maybe this was your body's way of telling you to hit the track
>Philomena darts behind a corner and you follow suit
>However, she disappears beyond sight and what greets you is a massive door stricken with runes and enchantments
>You approach it, feeling oddly drawn in
>Without your control your hand moves forward, an ambient feeling overtaking you
>But before you could lay a hand on it your shoe hits the hard floor in front of you, startling your hand away
>Above you see Philomena perched ontop of the arched doorway
>The feeling vanishes as you pick up your shoe, Philomena gliding down to 'congratulate' you for catching her
>Instead of a thank you, she receives a pluck to the head and she caws in disapproval
>You could care less

>Right now you're more interested in this thing you've never seen before
>Maybe it was some forbidden archieves, maybe it was some sort of portal to a world where everyone were multicolored humans
>It did intrigue you, like it had some sort of spell over you
>And that was the moment you had an idea
>Celestia once told you that every creature had some form of magical energy in one way or another
>Theories say that animals evolve because of magic
>So far only unicorns have been the only pony race to be able to exploit magic for all it was worth
>Who knows what a human would be able to do?
>You feel a tinge of excitement at the prospect and Philomena looks at you curiously
"Hey Philomena. As a reward for catching you, why don't you show me where I can find books on basic magic."
>She casually preens her feathers, ignoring you
>Again you wonder why you're talking to a bird
>However, she does guide you out of the maze of books and into the main lobby of the library
>At the front desk you ask the librarian about the books in question
>Although surprised and hesitant, she relents and hands over a small book titled "Understanding the Magical Spectrum"
>It was a light book, so you weren't going to be doing any heavy reading
"Thank God.."
>You thank the librarian and check out
>Tonight was going to be long, but you did nothing but sleep in these days anyway
>It's not like you had your old job at the bakery
>Philomena joins you as you walk back to your room, bare foot, with a shoe in one hand, and a book in the other


>The room is exactly as you left it, now that you put your shoe next to it's twin, making them a pair again
>It was slightly darker than when you left, so you had plenty of time before you'd need to light a candle
>Philomena left your side on your way up the stairs
>Who knows what that bird is doing
>Probably causing trouble with staff
>The first thing on your mind is the book you borrowed
>You immediately crack it open to a random page in the middle
>You read aloud
"Perceiving the mind of another is an odyssey not to be taken lightly. For the mind is a deadly labyrinth. Prod too much in the wrong corners and your drawn down into the repressed. Slack your effort too hard and you'll wander into their process of thought. However, with enough practice you'll be able to master the art of psychonauts."
>It seemed interesting, you'd love to see what goes on in that crazy horse's head
>You make a note to return to that section later
>Skimming through the thin pages you find yourself in the physical side of magic
>A catalog of pyromancies, necromancies, and different variations of the prefix
>The one that draws you in the most is "Holy" magic
>The book says it was once used by paladins, those who gave their lives in the name of the princess
>The field ranged from healing to arrows of light shooting from the Sun itself
>That'd take a lot of mana for sure
"I wonder if mana is an actual thing.." you trail off as you continue reading
"Holy magic is thought to be magic's purist form given shape. The strongest heart could bend light at his will and use it to either smite his enemies, or bless those unfortunate."
>Light magic sounds the most promising and interesting
>You doubt you'd get anything out of it, but you were going to be here for a long time without any supervision

"Holy magic being one of the only forms of 'natural' magic we know of. Most species are able to perform with some ease. You must concentrate on a single thought. One that brings you the most intense emotion. It can be something that makes you angry, sad, or stricken with love. So long as you can focus on it. Pinpoint it's exact location within your heart."
>It sounds....'easy' enough
>There's definitely someone who sends you spinning on the emotional wheel
>So you decide to focus on the thought of her
>You recall the moment you first saw her raise the Sun
>The emotion you felt then was ever present now
>You were trying to perform a simple illumination spell
>Starting with the very basic is never a bad idea
>You shut your eyes in concentration
>Imagining everything about Celestia that makes you teem with life, as well as cause you despair
>From behind your eyelids you feel white light breaking through
>But you dare not open your eyes
>As you concentrate on her, the light grows brighter and brighter
>You're sure it's brighter than the Sun
>The light feeds off your heart as emotions sore in your mind
>Happiness, joy, love, and anger course through your mind in an emotional overload causing you to lose control of the spell
>The light is so immense you feel heat singe your finger tips as the spell implodes and propels you backward off of the bed in a loud explosion of sound and light
>Your eyes have remained shut, you doubt you could even open them now
>You feel fatigued, and drained of all energy
>huffing and puffing, you trying to regain your breath
>There is no point to even attempt to make your way into bed
>Sleep is overtaking you for now
>Before you give over to the spirits of the night you look on the 'bright' side
>The fact that actually caused something to happen is enough proof that you're at least capable of using magic
>This month would surely hold new surprises