I unrolled the scroll across the table and, using a few supplies to keep it flat, I studied the circle. It looked simple. Just a basic circle. The Flash was more complex, but that didn't mean I felt confident… not after that.
I had used magic before, of course, but this was different. It wasn't about moving an object or lighting a spark. This was about… shaping magic until it took form in the space before me, all while keeping its nature neutral. The books called it the phenomenon of integration. Magic wants to be free, and it will always try to take the easiest path—that is, becoming ambient magical energy. And once you release raw magical power, the next step is for it to merge into ambient energy… which makes it incredibly easy to lose control.
The real challenge wasn't creating a perfect circle… it was maintaining the structure and stability of the circle so that it would be functional. Something that not only responded to your will, but also reflected it—something that showed others that this was your magic.
I stared at the scroll for a moment. I could feel the magical vibration in the enchanted ink that outlined the guide circle. Almost like it was saying: "Here I am."
I traced the circle with my magical sense, the same one I used for telekinesis. It was like running a finger made of magic along the entire outline.
"Hard?" Lyra asked quietly, leaning over from her seat to look at me. She had her own scroll unrolled on the table as well.
"More demanding than I expected," I admitted, not taking my eyes off the circle as I tried to burn its image into my mind.
"I almost got it," Twilight said, frowning as her horn began to glow. A faint magical halo formed a circle above her head, but it distorted instantly and vanished like vapor. The magic immediately dispersed into the ambient field.
"Nope, you don't," Lyra muttered with a teasing smile.
Twilight shot her a quick glance but didn't say anything.
I closed my eyes. Focused on the circle. Memorized it. I tried to picture it not as a drawing, but as an idea. A promise of something that could be—if I made it real.
I took a deep breath.
"Visualize it, feel it, shape it, release it… but don't let it slip away."
I felt the magic rush along the most efficient path toward my horn. In response, it warmed slightly, while the magical circle became vivid in my mind: a white ring with a yellow aura.
The resistance I felt while shaping it was very low. That only made me more excited and helped me keep the pace—though I wanted to rush the process.
A shape began to take form above me. It wasn't as bright as I had imagined, nor as polished as the one on the scroll… but it was there.
Floating and stable: my magic circle.
I opened my eyes and looked at it. Maintaining control wasn't all that hard. And though I smiled at the result, my happiness didn't last long as I started noticing the flaws.
My magic circle was a bit translucent due to magical energy loss; also, it was slightly more oval than the original. At times, its shape would flicker with magical interference because of all the chaotic magic in the classroom.
Lyra glanced at me from the side and raised her eyebrows, clearly surprised. Twilight turned her head slightly and mumbled something I didn't catch, but she seemed to focus even more on her scroll, staring at it intently.
Miss Maple, who happened to be walking by, stopped for a second. She looked at my circle closely for a few moments, then smiled.
"Hm. Very stable for a first attempt. Well done, Mister Star," she said with a small smile. It wasn't a wide one, but coming from her, it felt like a round of applause.
After a few more seconds, I let go of the circle. I needed to redo it—and do it right.
"That was awesome!" Lyra whispered. "Mine still doesn't last more than two seconds. As soon as I see it, it disappears."
To prove her point, she summoned a circle—one so translucent it immediately fell apart.
"Let's try something easier. Try copying what I'm going to do."
Twilight, who had also been struggling, stopped whatever she was doing and turned her attention to me.
I remembered a simple exercise to develop multitasking skills. To show them, I summoned two light orbs. Once they were ready, I began with the one on the left. I started moving it in a pattern that formed a cross... or an infinity symbol.
Left, right, back to the center, curving upward, then lowering it. When I was no longer planning to bring it down, I curved slightly to the left, returning to the starting point.
Now, with the light orb on my right, I kept a simple horizontal movement rhythm.
"You can practice like this, but I think it's a bit complex. It'll be easier if you move one vertically and the other horizontally. If you don't have enough self-control, you'll end up copying the rhythm of one of them. The idea is to avoid that and do slightly more complex activities, like making circles and squares in the same direction, then changing a few details to make it harder."
They understood my idea instantly, as they both began doing more difficult combinations. Well, they're both geniuses: one in music and the other in magic. Of course they're good at multitasking.
"Another small gift of your talents: multitasking. Well done, Mister Star, in developing that skill. It's very useful and essential in the world of magic," Miss Maple said with a satisfied nod.
Soon, the other fillies who had been struggling with the magic circle also began training using my method.
After a few minutes, some of the more desperate ones started to show signs of a minor magical agitation wave. Their horns were releasing sparks uncontrollably.
"Let's take a break. Everyone, stop trying to summon the magic circle. Pay attention and take notes," Miss Maple instructed as she returned to the podium, holding a piece of chalk with her magic.
"Now, a short explanation before recess. I'll explain the spell system and how it differs from magic itself." With mastered precision, the teacher drew the silhouette of a pony and a magic circle on the board.
"Magical abilities are, at their core, instinctual skills unique to each pony. We've currently managed to create a simple system to replicate a pony's magic in others using a general formula. Telekinesis is an instinctual form of magic in all unicorns. None of you had to learn a complex formula to understand how to manipulate objects around you without your magic being disrupted by ambient magic. Even now! You're all trying to create a simple magic circle—a magical manifestation… something that, on a scale, would be considered level zero... and yet you can't do it!" The entire class focused immediately on her words.
It was true. I could hold the scroll, flip it, throw it, or even tear it apart using telekinesis—something that, magically speaking, was far more complex than simply forming the image of a circle in the air.
"This is because of the distinction in magical branch between the two phenomena. One is instinctual. By instinct, you'll know how to do it; your magic will travel through the most efficient path it can find, making it easier to control. But now I'm asking you to take that same magic and release it outside your body to form a circle." The teacher formed one in front of the class, letting everyone observe as it slowly took shape.
"The magic is no longer inside your body, under your control and protection. Now it's in the air, where it's affected by external stimuli and no longer has a magical circuit to flow through. That's where the importance of creating a proper magic circle comes in—it becomes the new magical circuit that will contain the energy."
At first, the circle Miss Maple created was a little unstable. But once it closed—like a lock clicking into place—the energy stabilized, stopped fluctuating, and held steady.
"This simple distinction makes a huge difference… and opens up infinite possibilities. Magics that once destroyed magic circuits are no longer dangerous, because the circuit is now external. It doesn't matter if the magic breaks it: we simply form another one." The professor showed a complex formula on the circle. When she activated it, the magic stirred and shattered the circle. However, she calmly formed another one and adjusted the formula, avoiding the part that had caused the failure.
"Thanks to Star Swirl the Bearded, for the discoveries he and his clan made. It was thanks to them that we unicorns lost the fear of magic that limited us to living in frozen wastelands. That knowledge soon spread among ponies, until we had the strength to face the adversities of that time."
"Before, magic was very simple. If your talent allowed you to use a certain type of magic, you could use it. But if not… it's better not to try, or you'll end up with your magic circuit destroyed." Unless, of course, you were a prodigy. However, after the Star Swirl era, magic was categorized, and the spell classification system was created.
"Rank F: Magic that even a colt can use without understanding," Miss Maple wrote on the board with her chalk as she began to write down the different ranks.
"Rank E: This includes basic elemental magic, such as creating fire, light, or shooting water.
"Rank D: Magic that only an adult unicorn could learn, with its circuitry fully developed.
"Rank C: Specialized magic. Real magic begins here. Healing magic falls into this rank.
"Rank B: The danger of a mistake at this rank can be fatal. This category includes spells like teleportation and unique spells tied to cutie mark gifts.
"A-Rank: The magical exhaustion it causes and the risks of learning it mean that spells like reality-altering fall into this category… or the magic Princess Celestia uses to move the sun and moon. (It takes ten mages to replicate what she does naturally.)
"S-Rank: Unique, non-replicable magic. Attempting to do so only leads to an inevitable fate.
I took careful notes, adding some information I'd read. In the end, this was basically an immortality classification. If I remember correctly, Flash falls between A and B-Rank…
"These ranks are a bit abstract, but you can interpret them like this: the more dangerous a magic is to learn, the higher its rank. Of course, depending on each pony's magical talent, a Rank B spell can feel like a Rank D."
"These are the ranks for magic. For spells, we have another, much more studied branch of classification." Miss Maple erased part of the board and began writing again.
"Spells are classified according to how many points and lines they comprise. A basic formula, such as converting magical power into light, is considered one point. Adding formulas that react with each other to produce a more complex result makes it a one-line spell. For this, the minimum is 2 points per line, and the maximum is 7, before breaking the stability of the magic circuit."
Spell Classification:
1-Point Spell2-Point Spell = 1 Line7-Point Spell = 1 Line (stability limit). To move to 2 lines, a new magical concept must be added.
"For example," Miss Maple continued, "if you summon a snowball with one line, the second line could add the projectile function, allowing the caster to throw it. If you then add a curve so it doesn't have a straight trajectory, it's still 2 lines. But if the snowball explodes in a cold draft that freezes everything in its path, then we move to 3 or 4 lines." At this point, the spell structure begins to take shape:
Linear Spell = 1 LineDual Spell = 2 LinesTriangular Spell = 3 LinesSquare Spell = 4 LinesPentagon Spell = 5 LinesHexagon Spell = 6 LinesHeptagon Spell = 7 Lines
"And so on, as long as you can maintain the stability of the spell. So far, the most complex spells that have been attempted reach 7 lines. Beyond that, it can only be continued by combining several magic circles."
Miss Maple paused and put down the chalk.
"Spells with more than 7 lines have never existed. And that's not for lack of talent... but for magical stability. It's not for nothing that the number 7 is considered... magical."
She fell silent, her gaze fixed on the clock hanging behind everyone, on the wall opposite the blackboard.
"Well, time sure flies. Gather your things, because You will have a 45-minute break. Leave when the bell rings and return when you hear it again," Miss Maple announced with a friendly smile.
The room instantly filled with murmurs, laughter, and the sound of chairs being shuffled. Everyone was getting ready to leave for break, including me. From my bag, I took out the lunch my mom had so lovingly prepared for me.
The corridor descended into chaos.
I hadn't taken a step away from my table when the bell rang... and with it, a herd of wild fillies filled the hall, pushing each other to be first out. All I could see was a sea of colors passing in front of me. I stood still, waiting for the chaos to subside.
...
"Come on, follow me! I know where there's a quiet place," Lyra said, taking the lead. She was carrying a lunchbox decorated with gold details and her lyre hanging off to the side.
"Make it a nice place to read... I have a lot of research to do," Twilight added, carrying two books with titles hidden by her arms.
'!'
As I followed Lyra, I noticed something curious. All of our classmates were also following us... but they kept a certain distance. They didn't run frantically toward the landing like the others. On the contrary, now they were calm and organized.
Every time I looked at them, they smiled at me or waved, so I responded back... which only caused small giggles among them.
It didn't take long for us to reach the spot Lyra wanted to show us. A tree with a thick trunk and leafy leaves. Its shade was wide and cast a cool breeze, making it perfect for resting.
As I was packing my things to sit on the grass, one of the fillies, Blooming Soul—who usually stood out for her good attitude and confidence—approached our group and headed straight for Lyra.
"Can we join you guys under the tree too?" Her tone no longer held the same confidence I remembered from class.
"Sure! The tree is big, there's space for everyone," Lyra replied with a smile, extending her arms to indicate the wide shade.
Blooming Soul was silent for a moment and then nodded with a shy smile.
"Thanks. Girls, let's take this spot!" she called out with renewed confidence, claiming a space near ours.
Gradually, more fillies from the class approached, all asking similar questions. Each representative of their small group went straight to Lyra to ask for the same thing.
Lyra, obviously confused, responded politely, but couldn't hide her bewilderment.
"I don't understand why they ask my permission to sit under the tree... I never do that when I come to my lyre lessons," she said, tilting her head and placing a hoof on her lower lip, clearly trying to decipher this strange behavior.
"Don't overthink it. Enjoy your meal instead. Look at Twilight, none of this fazes her," I said, pointing at our friend.
Twilight had traces of chocolate crumbs on her cheeks, she held two cupcakes, and, at the same time, used her telekinesis to read one of her books: Star Swirl's Autobiography.