~Chapter 7~
~The Spell~
~Fluttershy~
She was falling. She was falling. The ground was there, pain waiting impatiently to viciously take over. "Stop..!" she heard the calling. The calling she was unsure who was coming from until she listened closer. It was her own voice. This situation- this moment of her life. She considered it quite surreal. She means, she was plummeting to her death, but she still had time to listen to her pitiful, unappreciated voice crying helplessly for an inexistent help. That wasn't all she listened to. She heard the birds chirping, the leaves of a nearby tree rustling peacefully in a soft wind. She heard some water gushing faintly in a river down below, and a pebble rolling down a bumpy, stone hill. She even had time to wonder why she wasn't using her wings. She guessed that the reason was because this fall was too satisfying to give it all up to a few elegant flaps of her dainty wings. Surreal it was. No better definition. Then she hit the ground.
"Fluttershy?" Her eyes flickered open. Reality had uncovered. It was just as contenting though. Just as satisfying as a dream of falling to her death.
"Discord?" Fluttershy found herself in a hospital room. The constant beep from a machine sat beside her, mimicking her heartbeat. It was quite steady, and Fluttershy stared at it in wonder for a few agonising seconds. She often found it difficult to find her pulse, having such a little heart for a little pony. She finally turned to Discord, who was watching her every movement intently.
"Why am I in a hospital room?" She finally asked after a few seconds which felt like a millennium.
"Because you fainted."
"Why did I faint?"
"Because you realised what's going to happen to Twilight."
"What's going to happen to Twilight?"
This was the first question Discord refused to answer, which sent an uncomfortable wave, vibrate through Fluttershy's emotions. He then asked her questions, which ate away the awkwardness for Fluttershy.
"How are you feeling?"
"Good."
"How good on a scale of ten?"
"Seven."
Discord nodded. "Good."
A few more seconds passed. Fluttershy's memory returned, rapidly. Everything which had happened before she fainted.
The dark spirit came.
It locked her in a cage.
She contacted Celestia.
Celestia came.
The princess made a deal with the dark spirit.
The dark spirit set Fluttershy and her friends free.
The dark spirit was caught.
Twilight was going to die.
"Oh." Was all Fluttershy murmured. Discord's ears pricked.
"Do you now remember?" He asked. She looked up an stared into his mismatched red and yellow eyes.
"I do." She narrowed her teal eyes. They shone like crystals. They also went as transparent as a Quartz with betrayal. "How come you lied to me?"
Discord bit his lip. "Celestia ordered Luna and me, it had to be preserved as a secret, strictly. Trust me, I honestly disagreed with her idea. Being all new to this friendship thing, made me unsure, but I know that honesty is part of it... Oh, why does this have to be so complicated? Anyway, I planned on telling you, truthfully, but the Celestia started mentioning all the bad things which could happen to you if you knew of the plans, and then it got even more complicated... In the end, I finally decided not to tell you- only for your safety. Sorry."
Fluttershy nodded, understandingly. "I forgive you. You made the right decision," she paused "and thank you for catching me before I fainted."
"How could I not?"
"Why have none of my friends come here, to the hospital, anyway?" She mentioned, raising an eyebrow.
"They did come... But they left. I was the only one who wanted to stay. You're my best friend Fluttershy!"
Fluttershy let out a purr of amusement, "best friends don't have to wait in a hospital when the other gets injured for this long, Discord!"
He looked down, "but..." He was cut off, as Fluttershy leaned over from in the bed and hugged him lightly, but lovingly.
"But thank you for waiting. You're my best friend too... And maybe even a bit more."
~Twilight Sparkle~
"Mother! Mother!" A little violet-purple unicorn filly ran excitedly up to a taller unicorn mare. She had albino fur, and a white and purple mane. She glanced down contentedly at the little filly canter up to her.
"Twilight Sparkle! Slow down!" She scolded, but her eyes disagreed with what she said, because the way she looked down at the filly, was in a motherly-loving expression. The filly giggled, and jumped into her mother's hooves excitedly.
"Mother! Look what me and Shining Armour can do!" Twilight Velvet peered over her daughter's shoulder to see an older unicorn colt. He had an amused expression on his face at the bliss of his younger sister. Shining Armour had a white pelt, like his mother, and he had a dark blue and light blue striped mane like his father.
"Ok. Show me what you two can do," Twilight Velvet beamed.
"Wait! I can I watch too?" There was the pattering sound of hooves, as a light pink alicorn galloped up. Her pink wings faded into a purple at the tips of the feathers, and a tiara perched between her horn and ears. Her curly mane was striped with purples, pinks and yellows, and had a blue crystal heart as her Cutie Mark. Her eyes were purple, and the older filly stood before them all with a bright smile on her face.
"Hi Cadance," Shining Armour greeted, shuffling on his hooves shyly.
"Shining Armour." Cadance dipped her head kindly, before turning to Twilight Sparkle, and sitting on her rump. Twilight Sparkle mirrored Cadance's movements as they both chanted, "Sunshine, sunshine! Ladybugs awake! Clap your hooves and do a little shake!" They ended the song by turning around and shaking their flanks. They both burst into giggles. Eventually, Cadance turned to Twilight Velvet.
"Sorry Mrs Velvet for being late to foal sit!" Cadance looked up wearily, only for Twilight Velvet to be smiling.
"Oh, Cadance. You're too kind. Of course I'll let this slide, I cannot thank you enough for looking after Twilight Sparkle in the first place- she really does love you. And please, just call me Twilight Velvet." Cadance nodded gratefully before standing besides Twilight Velvet as they watched Twilight Sparkle and Shining Armour perform their magic trick. Twilight Sparkle started by simply levitating a twig, before Shining Armour managed to levitate Twilight Sparkle into the sky.
"Weee! I'm a Pegasi!" Twilight squealed, flailing her hooves around vigorously as if they were wings. Cadance and Twilight Velvet laughed at this.
"Bravo!" Cadance cheered, clapping her hooves in glee, once they had finished the act.
"You two are getting better and better at magic by each day! I couldn't be any prouder." Twilight Velvet nuzzled her two foals lovingly.
...
Later that night, Twilight Sparkle had an upset tummy. She clutched it miserably, feeling the pain which she could not stop. "Mother..." She moaned. There was the sound of trotting hooves before Twilight Velvet entered her daughter's bedroom an glanced down worriedly.
"What's the matter, darling?" Twilight Velvet cradled her daughter's little head worriedly.
"I have an upset tummy," Twilight Sparkle whimpered.
"Oh no..." Twilight Velvet stared down at her ill daughter, and she couldn't bare to see her like this.
"What I am about to show you, you must never tell anyone else about it. Promise?" Twilight Velvet trusted Twilight Sparkle to keep her word.
"I promise," Twilight replied, staring into her mother's eyes curiously.
"There was a song that my mother taught me, and her mother taught her before that. This song goes through generations of family, and I trust you to keep it a secret... The only one you can tell is your daughter from the future, when you feel the time is right." Twilight Sparkle nodded obediently.
"Now this song... It's more like a spell. You must sing it when you feel you have to, and as least times as possible. If you sing this song, it gives you what you need at the time. So- if I needed food, it would maybe give me bits to buy food. If you're sick, it might give you a cure, or it might just make you feel better. Here is how the song goes."
Twilight Velvet sung the song one time through, and the second time she sung it, Twilight Sparkle joined in.
"Light changes darkness,
old changes new.
Colour changes grey
and I love you
Have a heart as pure as gold,
Don't wish for what you see.
Keep this secret for the best,
Pass it through the family."
A golden light came spurting out of their mouths, forming into the words, and spiralling around into a tiny whirlwind of golden light. It then showered over Twilight Sparkle, seeping into her heart. Twilight Sparkle watched in amazement, as every vein of hers sparked into a yellow, blinding light, which she could see, shining through her skin. Then it faded away. Twilight Sparkle looked surprised, and she sat as still as a rock.
"Did it work?" Twilight Velvet asked cautiously.
"Yes," Twilight Sparkle rasped. That one word was all she could muster. She could hardly breathe, she was so shocked.
~Dark Spirit~
Now is time to die. Well... I guess that is better than being shoved right into a book on Dark Magic. It was so boring! The dark spirit sat in the middle of a dim, grey room. Her legs were all chained up- actually, why was she just saying her legs? Every single part of her body was chained up. Her legs, her neck, her tail, her flank, her stomach, her head and so on. Her ear was really itchy right now, and how she longed to scratch it.
"Can you scratch my ear, it's really itchy?" She looked pleadingly up at a Royal Guard. He didn't even look at her, but he growled in a low voice, "maybe you should have thought about that before you took over Twilight Sparkle's body." The dark spirit just irritatedly stuck her tongue out at him. Rows and rows of ponies sat in the room. It was like a court room, but there was no lawyer to defend the dark spirit. Isn't that just great. They had really been cautious of the dark spirit. Every single precaution they had covered up. Alongside the chains, they had a magic proof field around the dark spirit. Every single pony who knew Twilight Sparkle was there, except Fluttershy, because she fainted. It was kind of funny actually. The dark spirit never knew that Twilight's friends loved her so much, that one of them would faint over her being murdered. Then again, that Pegasi was scared of her own shadow. The dark spirit then started wondering how it was going to be killed.
"Will I be drowned, beheaded, poisoned, electrocuted, stabbed or killed by magic?" The dark spirit peered up at the royal guard.
"Stabbed." He replied gruffly.
"Oh! Fancy! I like your taste. What weapon will you use? Knives, swords, bow and arrows, axes-"
"Swords," he answered before the dark spirit could finish.
"Typical for Royal Guards," the dark spirit muttered.
Half an hour passed until finally, a pony went on a stage and started saying what the dark spirit had done, and why they were going to murder her.
At some point, it asked, "have you any words to defend yourself?"
"Nope," the dark spirit replied with a mischievous grin on her face. Lots of ponies were crying, tears gushing down their faces miserably. Twilight did have a lot of ponies who loved her. This was the last time any of them were ever going to see their beloved friend, and the dark spirit loved that. No more element of magic! No more fourth princess.
~Twilight Sparkle~
Her eyes shot open. That dream she had just had... The dream was of my past! I remember it all now! Twilight got up excitedly, and peered out of her eye. "No!" She cried as she realised her old dream she had where Luna had protected her was coming true- the dark grey court room! "I am going to die..." She shook her head, "not if I can help it!" She gulped and began singing the lullaby her mother had taught her when she was younger. Her voice was shaky, but it was all she could do. I hope this works!
"Light changes darkness,
old changes new.
Colour changes grey
and I love you
Have a heart as pure as gold,
Don't wish for what you see.
Keep this secret for the best,
Pass it through the family."
Nothing happened. "No! I cannot give up now!"
"Light changes darkness,
old changes new.
Colour changes grey
and I love you
Have a heart as pure as gold,
Don't wish for what you see.
Keep this secret for the best,
Pass it through the family."
A dim light began to envelope it's way out of her words. Gulping, she began to sing more louder and clearer.
"Light changes darkness,
old changes new.
Colour changes grey
and I love you
Have a heart as pure as gold,
Don't wish for what you see.
Keep this secret for the best,
Pass it through the family."
Suddenly a bright golden light shot up and blazed it's way down on Twilight Sparkle like a waterfall. She shivered as she felt a tickling sensation run down her spine, as the light erupted through her body. This was so much magic, she was unsure she could handle it, as the radiant waves worked their way through her veins. She could barely stand, and her legs shook under the immense pressure. Finally the light died down, and she froze. "Nothing happened?" It was barely audible as tears streamed out of her eyes. "I will never see my friends again." Giving up all hope, she collapsed to the ground. Sobbing, she rubbed her nose with a shaky hoof. Suddenly, her head was buzzing in an unusual rhythm. She opened her eyes. Maybe the buzzing was just the aftermath of singing a useless lullaby. But then the buzzing got louder, and louder. Soon it erupted into words, words she could understand. It was a conversation she had had with the mist ages ago. When she had first attempted to use her magic. He had said: "Poor Twilight. I forgot to mention- Regular Magic doesn't work here." The sentence played over and over in her head. "Poor Twilight. I forgot to mention- Regular Magic doesn't work here." Twilight gritted her teeth in horror. "Is this all I get? A stupid sentence that the malice haze said? Why?" She screamed, the tears already returning. Then she sighed. "There must be something important about this sentence if the lullaby gave this to me." She listened to it several times, isolating each word, and considering the meaning. "Poor Twilight. I forgot to mention- Regular Magic doesn't work here." Then it hit her. "Regular Magic doesn't work here... Regular Magic doesn't work here!" She bounced up an down ecstatically. "Regular Magic doesn't work here! He said nothing about Dark Magic! Plus, I read lots of the spells from that 'The Alicorn's Book on the Proceeding Studies of Dark Magic' book!" Twilight gritted her teeth and thought of all the things she hated. Mainly the fog. To her triumph, her horn began to light up. A mysterious black, green and purple light worked it's way over her horn, and she shot the dark wave at the ground, making it begin to smoke. Twilight smirked. "Now I have a mist to kill."
~Pinkie Pie~
She stood on the stage sombrely. Everyone in the crowd stared at her, their heads down, praying.
"I will miss Twilight because she is my friend. When I first met her, she said her hellos to me, and all I did was gasp and run away. Hehe... I planned a party for her, and wow, she was surprised... And a bit angry. I will miss Twilight because whenever I am down, or don't know what to do, she'll always have faith in me. She respects my cheeriness, and she always laughs at my jokes. Thank you Twilight, for being such an amazing friend."
~Rarity~
"I will miss Twilight because she is my friend. When I first met her... Oh, I cannot deny, she had the most hideous hair... But I fixed it... Then she ran away. I will miss Twilight, because whenever I stray towards the wrong direction, she'll always get me back on the right path and talk sense into me. That is a skill that few friends possess. She is always there to compliment my ideas, and she is always there if any of us squabble, to get us together again. Thank you Twilight, for being the most splendid friend."
~Applejack~
"I'al miss Twilight cause she's mah friend. When I first met her, I had mah whole famileh' with mah, preparing food. Oh, we had simpleh' every possible thing ya could make with apples, and we got her to eat nearleh' everything. Oh, trust meh, she looked like she was readeh' to run away at any second, or when we turned our backs. I will miss Twilight, cause she is always there to test and challenge mah pride. She always understands mah ideas, and helps me in the toughest of times. Thanks Twilight, for being the most greatest friend."
~Rainbow Dash~
"I will miss Twilight because she is my friend. When I first met her, she was standing in the way of my routine, and I went crashing into her, and sending her into a pit of mud. Then I washed her... Hehe... She looked ridiculous after that. I will miss Twilight because she taught me, that eggheads aren't bad... She taught me that just because I'm sporty, doesn't mean I'm not smart... She taught me to be prepared to test, she taught me that I actually like reading, and she taught me new ways of friendship. Thanks Twilight, for being the most smart friend."