Disclaimer: Don't own, Hasbro does. OCs can be rented at a reasonable rate, cash only.

Chapter 3-Unexpected Help

Twilight felt like she was having a panic attack. "He's not breathing," she repeated. She looked at her friends, all of them looked scared and/or shocked. "What are we going to do?" She started gnawing on her hoof.

Surprisingly, Fluttershy was the fist to run to the fallen pony's side. She ran a hoof along his neck and placed her head near his mouth. Her eyes went wide with surprise and worry. "He's still alive!" she exclaimed. "Very weak, but alive."

This seemed to snap Twilight out of her shock and re-focus on the problem at hoof. "We need to get him to the hospital." It was order, not a request. "Rainbow Dash, I know you're tired, but I need you to fly there ahead of us and let them know that we have a pony coming in suffering from severe magic drain."

"Got it!" Rainbow turned and flew off in the direction of Ponyville, leaving a large cloud of dust behind her.

"Wow, she's gone already," gaped Pinkie Pie. "Was Dashie always that fast?"

Twilight ignored Pinkie and turned to Applejack. "AJ, do you think you will be able to carry him all the way back?"

"I think so, Twi," said Applejack. "But we'll need somethin' to tie him on, or he might fall off."

"Um… I can fly along side," began Fluttershy. "You know… to make sure he doesn't fall… if that's okay."

Twilight smiled. "Great idea, Fluttershy. Let's go, we're wasting time." She carefully levitated the red alicorn onto Applejack who took off with Fluttershy flying close. Twilight watched them go for a moment when a rustling in the nearby bushes grabbed her attention. She looked at the bush until her dragon assistant wobbled out.

"What happened?" moaned Spike as he looked like he just woke from a nap. "Did I miss anything important?"

"Spike!" called Twilight. "What happened to you? Didn't you see the fight?"

Spike seemed to blush as he scratched the back of his head. "I kinda… fainted after seeing the monster. Sorry."

Twilight rolled her eyes but decided not to chastise the young dragon. The Oni was pretty terrifying. "Spike, I need you to send a letter to the princess immediately. Mark it urgent."

Spike pulled a quill and paper from behind his back. "Okay…" He was a little unsure as to the importance of the letter. "I'm ready."

Twilight took a deep breath. This might get long. "Princess Celestia, I write you with confusing news that I believe that needs to be brought to your attention…"


Rainbow Dash flew towards Ponyville at top speed. "I don't know why, but I feel like I have more energy than I did this morning." This is unusual considering that she nearly passed out at the library. She blinked as she saw her destination come into view. "I'm here already? That took me less than half of my normal time." She shook her head. "I'll worry about it later. I need to talk with the docs." She busted through the main doors. "I need somepony's help!"


Fluttershy continued to keep Akama from falling off Applejack's back as the farmer pony ran as fast as she dared. Fluttershy could not help but notice that her friend was running faster than she had ever seen before. The fact that she kept pace without feeling tired did not escape her either. I wonder why I feel more athletic than ever? She looked at the unconscious alicorn. Did it have something to do with that light? A small moan broke her train of thought.

"Is he wakin' up?" asked Applejack.

"I don't know," Fluttershy replied. She brought her head close to the colt's face. "Are you okay? Can you tell us what you need?"

One of Akama's eyes barely opened to look at Fluttershy. "Ten… she…?" came the nearly inaudible response. He then glanced away. "Mah… nah…" He then passed out again.

Fluttershy gasped. "We need to hurry," her voice was full of worry and distress. "Can you go faster Applejack?"

The orange mare gave a smile. "If ya can keep up, then yes." At Fluttershy's nod, Applejack doubled her speed without any difficulty.


"… Please hurry. Your student, Twilight Sparkle," Twilight sighed as she finished relaying everything that happened. "Now send it."

Spike looked confused. "Are you sure? I mean, it's not like she can do anything right away."

Twilight gave the baby dragon a stern glare. "I don't CARE! She needs to know about this as soon as possible!" Spike flinched from the heat in her words before taking a deep breath and blowing a green flame on the scroll. He watched the enchanted ashes fly away as Twilight walked over to where Rarity and Pinkie where.

"What are you girls doing?" Twilight asked confused. Rarity turned and levitated a piece of metal over to her. "What is this?" Twilight was getting more confused.

"I think it is a piece of his ring," said Rarity as she turned back around to look at the ground. "I have a feeling it is important. So I thought of collecting the pieces, and Pinkie is helping."

"I sure am," the party pony smiled.

"How are you helping?" asked a doubtful Twilight.

Pinkie scoffed. "Duh! I saw where each of the pieces landed after the ring gave the super-amazing light show. Didn't you?"

Twilight blinked. Most of the time, Pinkie was hyper and almost scatterbrained, and then she does things that seem extremely gifted. She's always a surprise, Twilight thought. "Do you have them all?"

"I think so," said Rarity. "I just don't know where to put them."

"Hang on!" cried Pinkie. She ran over to a nearby pile of rocks and stuck her hoof in one of the openings. She then pulled out a small cloth bag with a tie. "I always keep bags like these all over the Ponyville area, for just such emergencies." Her trademark grin was on as she handed the bag over to Rarity.

The unicorns blinked at their pink haired friend, but still took the bag and placed the pieces inside. Twilight looked over at the folded cloak sitting nearby. "What should we do with that?" she asked.

Rarity shook her head. "I tried to lift that thing with my magic, but nothing happened. Also, Applejack and Rainbow Dash couldn't lift it either. It's very strange, Darling."

"Well, we won't get any answers standing around here, let's get to the hospital." Twilight levitated Spike onto her back as the three of them headed towards Ponyville.


Applejack and Fluttershy paced in the waiting room of the hospital, while Rainbow Dash flew in circles above them.

"I can't believe how fast the two of you got him here," commented Rainbow. "I mean, you where running faster than when we raced in The Running of the Leaves."

"I can't explain it, Rainbow," said Applejack as she stopped pacing for a moment. "He should've been slowing me down, but I barely felt the weight. Even Fluttershy was keeping pace."

Fluttershy shyly blushed. "I just wanted him to be safe…"

Applejack looked towards the door they took Akama through as soon as they arrived. "I sure hope he's gonna be okay."

"Me too," added Fluttershy. Rainbow just nodded as she continued to fly in nervous circles. They turned when they heard the main doors open to reveal the rest of their friends.

"How is he?" asked Twilight with more than a little worry.

Applejack just shook her head. "After we got here, they took him and we ain't heard nuthin' since."

Twilight gave a small sad sigh. "I wish I knew what was going on. Anyway, I sent a letter to the princess. Hopefully, she will have some ideas on how to help."

"Indeed I do, my faithful student," came a new voice.

Everyone turned to see the Sun Princess standing before them. Everypony bowed as soon as they got over the initial shock. Twilight was the first to find her voice. "Princess, I did not expect you to respond to my letter in person."

Celestia gave a small smile. "I need to see the pony for myself, before I can figure the right way I can help. Is there anything else anypony can tell me about this alicorn?"

Fluttershy seemed like she wanted to say something, but looked away instead.

Applejack rubbed the back of her neck. "He seemed ta wake up for a moment, while I was carrin' him. I think he said somethin' but I couldn't hear it." She looked at the yellow pegasus. "Did ya hear it, Fluttershy?"

Fluttershy nodded. "It didn't make any sense though."

"Please," asked the princess. "Anything can help." Her eyes where desperate, even scared.

Fluttershy sighed. "He only said two things: 'ten-she' and 'mah-nah.' I have no idea what either of those things mean."

Rainbow snickered. "He called for his 'Mama?' That's hilarious."

A stern glare from the princess silenced her immediately. "Please show some respect, Miss Dash. Also, I believe he was saying 'Mana.' If that is the case, he is more danger than we first thought."

As the others started to worry over what trouble could the young stallion be in, a doctor entered the waiting room, still dressed in scrubs.

"Are you the ponies who brought in the uh… alicorn?" he asked, unused to using the term.

Twilight stepped forward. "Yes, is everything alright?"

The doctor cleared his throat, as he removed his surgical mask. "Yes and No. He had a few other injuries that we addressed, but his vitals are below where they need to be. They're steady for now, but if they fall…" He looked at the group seriously. "His life would be in danger."

The mares looked at each other before Twilight spoke again. "Can we see him?"

"We have placed him in the ICU for now. Regulation say that only family are allowed there," he added regretfully.

"I think you can make an exception, just this once," stated Princess Celestia.

The doctor blinked then bowed. "No disrespect, Your Majesty. However, the rooms are small, only big enough for about three of you."

The princess nodded in understanding. "I will accept those terms. Now I wish to see this stranger who apparently saved us all."

The doctor looked confused but nodded. "O-of course. I will have a nurse show you the way." He then departed.

"If only two of us, plus Celestia, can go…" Twilight looked at her friends. "Who wants to stay?"

"As much as I want to, darling," began Rarity. "I promised Sweetie Belle that I'd be home as soon as that monster was defeated. I'm sure she's a nervous wreck."

Applejack nodded. "Same here. I gotta get back home and let Applebloom know what's goin' on."

"I'm sure Scootaloo knows that I'm safe," said Rainbow Dash, full of her usual bravado. "But it couldn't hurt to tell her myself."

Pinkie gasped. "I just remembered! I've got to make a triple-super party!"

"Triple?" asked Rainbow.

Pinkie looked up at the cyan pegasus. "Duh! A 'Welcome to Ponyville,' a 'Congratulation on Beating-Up the Monster,' and a 'Happy That You Got Out of the Hospital' party. I've got a lot of planning to do." She dashed out of the waiting room only to return a second later. "Do you think a six-tier cake is too much?"

"Yes," replied every one of her friends.

"Okie-Dokie-Lokie," she chimed as she sped off again.

As her friends left with a promise to check in later, Twilight turned back to her mentor. "Princess Celestia, you said that if he asked about 'Mana' that his life is in trouble?"

Celestia nodded. "It's rather complicated, and not really my place to say. I hope you understand," she said a bit sadly.

"Of course, Princess." She levitated a piece of paper and a pencil and wrote down a few titles. "Spike, could you run to home and get these books ready for me, please?"

"I guess," Spike shrugged, until he saw the list and groaned. "Twilight… These are some of the largest books in the library."

"I know. They have the most information I need," she stated like she was about to play a game. Spike sighed and walked out the door, leaving Twilight, Princess Celestia, and Fluttershy alone in the waiting room. Soon a nurse walked in and motioned them to follow her.


As they stood in the ICU Twilight could hear Fluttershy try and hold back tears. The yellow pegasus' heart was so large, any kind of suffering hurt her, and Akama looked like he was suffering.

He was laying on the standard hospital bed with both his forelegs bandaged and an IV in his right one. An oxygen mask fogged with every one of his weak breaths while another machine beeped in a slow consistent rhythm. The rest of his body was covered with blankets.

Celestia looked at the beeping machine with a concerned expression. "His heart rate and blood pressure are low, just as the doctor said. Most ponies would be in critical condition with these numbers." She walked to Akama's bedside and looked closely at his mane. "You said in your letter that his hair used to be black?"

Twilight did not understand the purpose of the question. "Yes. Does that have anything to do with why it's white now?"

The princess shook her head. "No, I just needed to be sure that he was in real danger, the spell could cause harm otherwise." She then shut the shades over the windows, and looked at the two ponies with her. "Now what the two of you are about to see, please don't tell anypony. Nopony should know what I'm about to do."

Twilight and Fluttershy looked at each other with confused expressions. What could this spell be that Celestia needs it to be kept secret? They turned back to the sun princess with a nod.

Celestia closed her eyes and stared muttering in a different language. Twilight instantly recognized it as the same language that Akama was chanting when he set up the banishing spell. Soon, Celestia's horn was surrounded by a ball of light, just like the light Twilight and her friends where covered in not long ago. The ball was smaller, but was just as bright. Celestia seemed to concentrate and move the ball from her horn over to the weak pony. As soon as the ball of light reached him, it vanished into his body. Celestia released a large breath and seemed to tire.

Twilight glanced at her mentor and blinked as she saw a streak of white in Celestia's colorful mane. What did she do? Twilight thought worriedly.

"That should help him," commented Celestia wearily. "He might even wake up soon. I need to get back to the palace now. I want you two to keep an eye on him, and let me know when he wakes up. I have a few questions of my own for him."

Twilight nodded. "Of course, Princess."

"I'll leave one of my guards here. Just tell him when our mysterious guest wakes, and he'll come get me." The sun princess gave a small bow to the two friends, then left.

Fluttershy slowly walked over to Akama and held one of his hooves in her own. She started rubbing it gently while humming. Twilight just watched. She never saw this side of Fluttershy before, even during the event with Celestia's pet phoenix. She had not seen such a caring gesture between two complete strangers.

Fluttershy is truly kind, thought Twilight as a smile came to her lips. "That's a pretty song, what's it called?"

Fluttershy stopped humming and blushed. "I… I don't know. It's just something my mother would do whenever I was sick. I can't think of anything else to do…"

Twilight shook her head. "I can't either. I guess anything is better than doing nothing but sit and worry." Her stomach started to grumble quietly. "I'll get something to eat. Do you want anything?"

"Um… a wheatgrass and clover sandwich would be nice."

"Okay, I'll see what the cafeteria has and be back soon." Twilight turned and walked out of the room while Fluttershy continued to hum the nice melody as she rubbed the red pony's hoof.

Unknown to them, Akama had opened his eyes briefly before falling asleep again. The only thought he had was: Tenshi and Hoshi.


Over the next few days, the friends plus the crusaders, took turns watching over the red hero. Even Celestia stopped in a couple of times to check up on him. The only positive event was that his vitals where steadily getting stronger. According to the doctors, that meant that he was on the road to recovery. Another interesting event was his hair was slowly regaining its color. Celestia seemed to take this as a good sign, though nopony could understand why.

It was nearly a week and a half since he was brought in when he finally woke up. Fluttershy was humming as usual as Twilight was reading a book and taking notes. Rainbow Dash was hovering above everypony a bit bored. It was her that noticed that Akama was starting to stir.

"Hey, I think he's waking up," she exclaimed as loud as she could without irritating the doctors, again.

Twilight looked up from her studies and hurried over to the bedside with Rainbow. The three mares watched as Akama softly groaned and slowly opened his eyes. He glanced at Fluttershy briefly before moving over to Twilight then Rainbow Dash. A small smile seemed to form behind the oxygen mask.

"It seems… nopony… got hurt…" His soft raspy voice appeared strained.

"Um… would you like some water?" asked Fluttershy as she motioned to the pitcher next to the bed. Akama nodded weakly and she pored a plastic cup full with a straw. "Twilight, could you um… help with the uh… mask?"

Twilight nodded as her horn started to glow. A purple aura surrounded the oxygen mask and gently removed it from Akama's face. The red stallion gave a small nod of thanks before focusing on the water.

"Drink it really slow," advised Fluttershy. "The doctors said you could upset you stomach otherwise."

The bedridden pony did as he was told and took a few slow sips of the cool liquid. He smiled again. "Arigato Tenshi," he said in a voice that seemed more natural.

"Uh… wha?" Fluttershy had a confused look as she continued to hold the cup.

Akama chuckled until he began to cough. "Huh… ow… Guess I hurt more than I thought… Anyway, I was just saying 'thank you' for being nice, Tenshi."

Before the pegasus could ask what that meant, Rainbow hovered over the bed and looked right at Akama. "I just want to know what happened with you," she stated authoritative but with genuine curiosity. "We all thought you died on us."

Akama looked around the room in a slight daze. "I'm in a hospital, aren't I?"

Twilight nodded. "Like Rainbow said, you where all but dead. This was the only place we could think of bringing you."

Akama closed his eyes and took a deep breath before letting it out slowly. "I want to know what happened to my artifact. Could you please tell me?"

The three mares looked at each other. "What artifact?" asked Twilight.

"My ring," Akama clarified. "It's very important to me. Please."

Twilight bit her lip nervously before sighing and levitated the small bag over to him. "I'm sorry…"

Akama gave her a confused look, unsure what she was apologizing for. As soon as he felt the bag, he felt his heart sink with dread. He moved it around his lap and gave a sad sigh. "So… that's what happened… it explains a lot."

"What do you mean?" asked Twilight, getting a mixture of excitement at learning something new, and worry over the stranger's well being.

Akama shook his head. "I'm not well enough to play Twenty Question right now. However, if you could get me out of here, like sooner than later, I'll be more than willing to answer anything you ask."

"Oh dear," said Fluttershy. "If you're not well, then you should stay here."

Akama gave a small groan as he laid his head back on the pillow. "You don't understand, I can't stand it here. The smells alone make me sick. Trust me, I'll recover a lot faster out of here." He took a few more sips of water. "The energy here is too stagnant. I can't draw out the Mana I need." His eyes bulged as he realized what he just said. "Uh… any chance of you forgetting that last sentence?"

Rainbow grinned. "Not a chance."

Akama sighed. "Fine, I'll tell you all everything, but only after I'm out of here and fully recovered. In that order." His stomach growled loudly. "… and maybe something to eat…"


"How much further, Hoshi?" Akama asked Twilight in a faux whinny voice.

"Almost there," she replied in monotone. "Why do you care, anyway?"

"Because this is slightly embarrassing," he complained from Applejack's back. "The roles should be reversed."

Applejack looked over her shoulder to send Akama a glare. "It's yer fault, ya know. If ya stayed in the hospital like yer suppose ta, ya could be walkin' yerself."

Akama smiled apologetically at the farmer. "It's not that I don't appreciate what you're doing, Jackie. I just feel uneasy. Normally I'm the hero carrying the rescued mare home on my back."

Applejack's glare vanished as she turned to look forward. "Ya still a hero to us. Still can't believe ya took down something as big as that Oni with only miner injuries."

Akama laughed. "That was an average sized one. You should've seen the one I took down in the middle of the desert last year. I was hurting for months afterwards."

Twilight stopped and stared at the red alicorn. "You fought and defeated an Oni bigger than the one we saw?' She could not believe what he was saying.

Akama saw the disbelief and sighed. "I didn't say I fought it alone. It was a tough battle, with many injuries. If you want more details, I need to be drunk."

Twilight turned around and continued her walk towards her home, the same place that Akama would be spending the rest of his recovery at. She rolled her eyes as she remembered the events that brought them to this position.

Flashback—

Akama was staring at Celestia with a determined expression, while the sun princess returned the stare. Twilight stood near the door watching the battle of wills.

"I'll say it one more time," began the bedridden alicorn. "Either you help me out of here, or you find me gone in the morning."

Celestia gave an annoyed sigh. "That would be a more convincing threat if you could actually walk out of here. You were in a near coma for over a week. Anypony's body would need time and therapy to recover."

Akama grimaced and looked away. "Alright, point to you." He looked at Celestia again with a more sedated expression. "Look, I'll stay anywhere you choose, just not here. I can't move, the odors make me ill, and the constant beeping of these machines are going to make me crazy. Please, help me out here."

Celestia continued to stare at the colt, her face not sowing any discernable emotion. "You have refused to answer nearly every question we ask of you, yet you continue to make a very demanding favor of me. What is to make me believe that you will be true to your word and not leave at soon as you're able?"

Akama closed his eyes, as he seemed to be in deep thought. He slowly opened them and bowed his as far as he could while still in the bed. "I invoke the offer of subjugation."

Twilight became confused as Celestia gave a small gasp. "Are you sure?" asked the princess.

Akama nodded from the bowed position. "I offer myself as a loyal servant of your rule. Your laws are now mine, and I will follow your call as I would my own leaders. I swear that on my honor. Do you accept?"

Celestia seemed to hesitate before nodding. "I accept you into my kingdom, on the condition I can free you at my decision."

"My life is yours to decide to do with," he sat back with a small smile. "Will that suffice?"

"Y-yes," replied the surprised princess. "I'm surprised anypony knows that old custom."

Twilight had enough. "What just happened?"

Akama turned to the purple unicorn. "Sort answer: I swore my allegiance to Princess Celestia, on my honor. I can't do anything against her wishes now. So when I say that I won't run off without answering her questions, I can't. Period."

Celestia gave a reassuring smile to her student. "Don't worry, Twilight. It is a very high honor that I was given." She turned back to Akama. "I'll see what I can do about your release. However, we need to figure out where you will stay as you finish your recovery."

"Um… He can stay with me," said Twilight before she realized the words came out of her mouth.

Celestia looked surprised, then relieved. "That's perfect. I can't think of anypony I trust more."

Akama shrugged. "Anywhere's better than here. So when can we leave?"

End—

"Here we are," said Twilight as the stopped in front of the town library

Akama's eyes grew as he looked at the tree house. "You live in the tree?" he asked with awe.

"Yep."

Akama smiled. "That's great! I know I'll get better faster here."

"Uh… how's that?" asked Applejack as she carried the colt inside.

"A secret," he replied with his hoof to his mouth. "Like I said before, I'll answer everything once I can move around under my own power." He looked away. "I hate using bedpans…" he mumbled under his breath.

"Is there anything you need?" asked Twilight as she levitated Akama off Applejack and set him on a couple of floor pillows.

"Actually, I think I might have left my bags on your farm, Jackie."

The orange mare seemed surprised. "Where'd ya leave 'em?"

Akama chuckled. "In the tree you kicked me out of." Twilight gave Applejack a confused look as the farmer blushed. "Also, do either of you know what happened to my cloak?"

Twilight gave a frustrated sigh. "None of us could move the thing, so it's still in the area where you fought the Oni, sorry."

Akama shook his head. "I'd be surprised if anypony was able to move it, with the spell in place. It should be fine for a couple more days."

Applejack turned towards the door. "If ya don't need me, I'll go fetch his bags." She gave Akama a nervous look. "Unless they have the same spell on them."

"Nope," assured Akama. "They just have my few materialistic possessions and my money. Nothing irreplaceable. Thanks in advance."

Applejack smiled as she said goodbye and left, leaving Twilight and Akama alone.

Akama looked at the unicorn that seemed to become more nervous by the minute, and a mischievous smile crossed his face. This could be fun…

To be continued…

A/N: Yes, I finally finished another chapter. Review if you like this story. Positive feedback is good stimuli for my muse. If I can find a better chair, I'll be able to type more without my butt or legs falling asleep on me.