~~~I Fixed It!~~~
-hopefully-
It was much later the next day and I was laying butt naked in bed holding Zaxiel. She had her hands pressed up against my chest. Her chest pressed lightly against my own with every breath she took. Strangely though I could feel something else just as warm and soft behind me. I looked back to see that it was Itt who was holding me from behind... Last I checked she was supposed to be at twilight's house. I stared at her for a while wondering what she's doing here. It wasn't long however before she opened up her eyes and looked at me. She didn't wake up like she was tired, more like she had just been closing her eyes.
"Hello darling..." She said smiling.
"Uhm... When did you get back home?" I asked.
"An hour ago... I saw you and Zaxiel laying in bed and thought I may join you... The both of you just looked so comfy just sitting there." She said smiling.
Wh-what, time is it?" I asked still a bit lazy and my eyes were a bit fuzzy so I couldn't see the clock too well. Itt looked back at the clock and turned back.
"It's 2:34." She said smiling. "You two slept in..."
"Huh... We really did... Ugh, my head hurts..." I said rubbing my head.
"Do you want me to help?" She asked placing her hand on my forehead. Her hand started to glow a faint green. I felt my forehead start to clear up and the throbbing feeling in my head started to fade away. "Are you still feeling tired?"
"Yeah...I... I am." I said.
"That might be because you have less of a soul than from before... You might be feeling tired and fatigued for a while... It might be better if you stay in bed for a while." She said has her hand stopped glowing and she moved her hand from my forehead to the side of my face. She leaned over and placed a deep kiss on my cheek. Zaxiel, who was still next to me, reached over to me and clutched me tightly. She was pulling me into her like I was some kind of stuffed bear. Speaking of stuff bear, she was holding that too in her other hand. "Aww... She's cute." Said Itt smiling.
"I still feel a bit strange about all of this... And I feel really faint." I said laying back down feeling weak.
"Oh... Poor thing... You should take it easy today... Luckily the room has a TV so you can watch that... And I'll make you something to eat and bring it up to you..." She said placing another kiss on my cheek.
"Thanks honey... I love you." I said smiling as she got up out of the bed. She smiled and left the room. I didn't feel like watching TV right now, the noise might wake up Zaxiel. I just lie down and let her cling onto me. She nuzzled me tightly and cringed to my side. She was mumbling a few things in her sleep which was adorable, and it made me smile. She moaned a little bit and the opened her eyes and looked up at me. Before she even said anything she lifted herself up and placed and big kiss on my lips. She pulled away and smiled at me with her big heartwarming smile.
"Good morning..." She said smiling. "I love you." She said, she was being a bit awkward and was blushing. "Did... Did you have fun last night?" She asked.
"Last night was wonderful..." I said smiling and pulling her closer to me. "And what's even greater is that now you're free... You'll never be bossed around or ordered to do things again." I said. She looked at me with an unsure look but then a faint smile spread across her face and she rested her head on my chest.
"Mmmm... I'm finally free..." She said. "Truly... Free." With a smile she closed her eyes and placed her hands on my chest. "Thank you..." She said softly. I smiled and ended up closing my eyes as well. I didn't really want to fall asleep, but I ended up doing so anyway. I could feel myself slipping away, which was a shame because I knew that Itt was making me breakfast and I was feeling really hungry, but I couldn't help but fall asleep. I felt strange, even in my dreams I felt tired, actually tired. It was like just dreaming was putting strain on my body, I felt weak in every way possible, like it had just run a thousand miles. In my dreams I was following Zaxiel and Itt around. They had wings and could fly much faster than I could run, and I couldn't even run. I felt tired and had to sit down. But even sitting and resting didn't help much.
I didn't feel like I could even stand. The dream I was having felt very real, and for the time I was sleeping, I believed it was. The fatigue I felt was definitely something real, it was one of those dreams where you truly believe it's real until you wake up and then forget about everything. I had been asleep for a long while, but I suddenly started to feel myself wake up. I felt my eyes starting to loosen up and grow lighter. I was able to open them to see that I was lying in bed with my pajamas on, which means they must have put my pants on while I was sleeping... That's kinda weird... But whatever. I still felt weak and tired, but strong enough that I could sit up in the bed. I looked over and saw that the room was now empty and the lights off. I looked over to the alarm clock next to the bed and it was almost seven at night, I've been sleeping all day. I let out a tired yawn and suddenly the door opened up and Itt walked in.
"Oh... You're up." She said smiling and walking over. "You've been asleep all day, you must be hungry, or do you still want some rest?" She asked. "Are you feeling well?" She was bombarding me with questions. I saw the smile on her face, but I could tell that she was worried.
"I'm fine, just feeling a bit tired... But I think I'm starting to get better..." I said. "What have you been doing all day?"
"I went out for a while with Zaxiel..." She said. "We tried to get you something to help with your tiredness." She said. "So we got you this!" She said pulling a large green can out of almost nowhere. It was a big ass can of Monster energy drink. Just looking at that thing was making me sweat. "The people at the store said that this will give you energy. Here drink up." She said.
"Uh... Itt, I'm very grateful that you are trying to help... But... That isn't going to help as much as you think." I said.
"Oh... Why not?" She asked.
"It's not really some kind of magic drink as you might think it is." I said. "It's just a really sugary drink."
"Oh... But... I'm sorry, I thought it would work." She said. Her expression seemed a bit sad, like she had failed me and felt bad about it.
"I... Guess it wouldn't hurt to try though." I said. She smiled again which is just what I wanted to see. She handed me the energy drink and I opened up the can. The smell of the drink hit my nose and I couldn't even point out a certain flavor. It was just... It smelt like energy. I put the can to my lips and took a sip; it was a very strong taste. I took a few more sips and put the can down on the night stand.
"Feeling any better?" She asked.
"Well... No... Not really, but I appreciate the effort, thanks Itt." I said leaning over and giving her a small kiss on the cheek. "I think I just need some rest."
"Oh, you should eat something first though." She said. "Zaxiel is making dinner now; I'll bring it up to you." She said smiling.
"It's okay honey... I just need some rest; I don't feel like I could even eat." I said.
"I'll join you then." She said getting in the bed with me and holding me tight. "If you sleep in my arms I bet you'll start feeling better in no time." She said smiling. I smiled too and closed my eyes and fell asleep again. My fatigue lasted for a couple days. I was bed ridden for five days before I finally felt better. And by better I meant that I was able to get around on my own power. I still felt a bit lazy and sluggish, but I was doing much better. After the first four days I was finally able to get out of bed and move around, and go outside and stuff.
Itt and Zaxiel stayed by my side the whole time and kept me company. They brought me food and water so I could stay well fed, and they had to help me walk around for a few days, like to the bathroom and stuff, but I was able to muster up the strength to go to the bathroom on my own. But now I'm feeling much better, enough that I can handle myself now, but I still feel a bit lazy and sluggish, but I'm definitely getting better. It was Sunday now, and it was a bright and sunny summer day. It was about noon and I; Zaxiel and Itt were walking around town. I haven't taken any jobs since that day, but I've resolved to start again tomorrow.
"So where should we go next...?" Asked Itt.
"Are you feeling okay?" Asked Zaxiel. "Do you need to rest?"
"I'm fine... I've been feeling much better lately." I said.
"That's good... That means the remaining fraction of your soul has grown stronger now." Said Itt. "You're getting stronger spiritually... Which also means your magic should be stronger now too..." She said. By now we had entered the park and were walking through the dirt roads.
"Why don't we sit down for a minute and rest..." Said Zaxiel leading me to a park bench.
"Sure... Sounds good." I said following her. I sat down and the girls sat down next to me. I let out a sigh and let my legs rest for a bit. I feel like a decrepit old fool, having to be accompanied by two people and having to sit down and rest every now and then.
"Well look who it is!" Said a voice suddenly from our left. We all looked over to see a familiar person in a suit of armor walking by and smiling. It was sir. Varner from the other day.
"Oh hey... It's... You." I said not overly excited.
"You've been hiding from me for a while now... Have you considered my offer?" He asked.
"Well I haven't been hiding I've been sick... And no I haven't really thought about it too much, I've been preoccupied with other things." I said.
"Sick eh... Are you feeling any better yet?" He asked.
"He's been suffering from extreme fatigue..." Said Itt.
"I've been worse..." I said. "And I'm definitely feeling much better. In fact, I think tomorrow I'm going to grab my sword and get back to work."
"Fatigue... Sounds boring... I once knew a man who suffered from fatigue, poor guy, was a colleague of mine at the guild. There was a witch who put the spell on him, said it was what he got for trampling her garden, said it would ware off in a week or so... He didn't get any help though, and nobody was there to take care of him, so the poor guy ended up dehydrating and he died... You're lucky you have a wife to look after you, I'm sure she was a real big help." He said smiling.
"She sure was." I said holding her hand.
"I've also been meaning to ask since it's been bothering me." He said, "What's your relationship with him?" He asked Zaxiel who looked at him with a confused look. "I know you said she was her cousin... But I know that's a lie."
"Well, you see... She...uh." I stammered.
"I'm his personal maid!" She said sternly taking us all by surprise.
"Z-Zaxiel..." I said.
"Well... That makes sense... It also explains the uniform... I was just wondering, I usually have a sixth sense when it comes to people lying to me."
"So you think I've been lying to you?" I asked innocently.
"No..." He said before getting close up to my face and a serious expression washed over his face. It was a deadly look, the kind of which made him look terrifying. "But I know that you're definitely hiding something from me... I just haven't figured it out yet...but I will..." He said. "Anyway..." He said suddenly snapping back to his carefree attitude "have a nice day." He said as he waved goodbye and walked off. "And don't forget my offer, we'd love to have you."
"Holy shit... That was scary." I said.
"Do you think he knows?" Asked Itt.
"Well... We can't keep this hidden forever, eventually people are going to find out." I said.
"Well... We should still be careful." Said Itt.
"I agree... Something like that might cause a slight uproar... After all... Fairies aren't supposed to be real... Just an old legend." Said Zaxiel.
"I know... We'll be careful." I said. Just as I said that Zaxiel let out a small yawn.
"Oh, you're getting tired... I'm getting a bit tired too..." Said Itt. "Taking care of you is tiring work." Said Itt. "Why don't we head back home now..."
"You two go ahead... I still want to get some fresh air... Move around a bit, I've been in that bed for too long, I need to keep moving." I said.
"Oh, are you sure you should do that... We can stay with you..." Said Itt.
"I'll be fine." I said.
"Are you sure?" Asked Zaxiel.
"I'll be fine..." I reiterated. "You two go... I actually want to go and see twilight... We haven't talked in a while... Her house isn't far... You two head home and I'll be back before dinner." I said.
"Okay... Be safe..." Said it planting a kiss on my cheek. And when nobody was looking Zaxiel planted a kiss on my other cheek too and they both stood up."
"Be home before dinner... Okay darling?"
"Sure thing..." I said. I smiled and waved as the both of them walked off down the dirt road casually glancing back every few seconds to check on me which made me smile. Once they were gone I got back up and started to make my way through the park and soon I came out on the other side. It was a seemingly peaceful day out now, I'm sure that everybody is having fun. All of the ponies and the people laughing and playing, it feels refreshing to view the world in a positive way. I smiled and kept walking through the street and soon enough twilight's house had come into view. It must be nice for her to live so close to the park like this. I kept making my way and I soon enough came upon the walkway up to twilight's door.
I walked up the cobble path to her large tree house, library...place. I made my way up and knocked on her door. I waited for a little bit before I could hear the clapping of hooves making its way to the door and I heard her voice. She said she was coming and soon enough a bright purple haze appeared around the door as it flew open magically. On the other side was twilight with a faint glow fading away from her horn. When she looked at me she smiled and I smiled back at her. I got a look into her house and saw that it was a bit of a mess, there were books thrown about and piled up everywhere. It looks like she's in the middle of one of her infamous study sessions.
"Hey... Zack it's been a while... Please come in." She said walking away. I entered the house and started to look around. Yeah... She was definitely cramming for something. "I haven't seen you in a while, and you haven't answered my calls, are you okay?" She asked.
"Oh, yeah... Sorry. My phone must have been on vibrate, I didn't know you had been calling me... I've been a bit sick lately."
"Are you alright... What was it?" She asked.
"Major fatigue..." I said. "I'm just getting off it, and I still feel a bit sluggish lately." I said. "I'm doing better now though... What's with all the books... Study session?" I asked.
"Yeah... And a big one." She said. "I've been calling you because I wanted to tell you that the princess is going to be testing me soon..." She said. "She said there's going to be a big test and that I have to pass, but she didn't tell me what it was about, so I've been looking over everything and practicing my magic. I was calling to let you know."
"Ah... Well, good luck I suppose... I'm sure you'll pass with flying colors." I said.
"Thanks Zack..." She said smiling and walking over to one of the book stacks. "Youre lucky, you caught me in one of my breaks actually..." She said. "I suppose I should stop for a while, I can't overwork myself... So... What have you been up to?"
"Other than being bed ridden for these past five days, I've actually been rather well." I said.
"And how's that other fairy... What was her name again?" She asked.
"Zaxiel... And she's blending in well. She can be a bit shy but she's really nice when you get down to it." I said not having the guts to tell her what really happened.
"Itt came over here the other night and told me about her, she seems very nice." She said.
"She is... So when is this big test of yours?" I asked.
"Tomorrow actually." She said. "I'm leaving in the morning with my other friends... I'd like for you to come if you can..." She said.
"I'd love to... But I've been out of commission for a while now and some quests might have piled up on the notice board." I said.
"Oh, that might not be much of a problem... I saw some other guy in armor around going and helping everypony... He seemed really nice, he was one of the knights of the sun circle guild up in Canterlot, and I was surprised to see him around." She said.
"Oh... So sir. Varner has been keeping the town clean while I was out." I said.
"Sir...what?" Asked twilight. "Do you know him?"
"Oh... Yeah..." I said in a guilty voice. "I wanted to tell you sooner, but... You know, I've been sick... But he actually wanted to recruit me... He asked me about a week ago...I haven't told him my answer yet, but I actually saw him today in the park."
"That's amazing!" Said twilight. "You should definitely join, I hear they're one of the better guilds in Equestria." She said.
"I've been thinking about it... But I don't really know... I mean it sounds nice, but then I'd have to leave town... And who'll help out when I'm gone... I can't just leave." I said.
"It's not a far ride from ponyville to Canterlot... Only two or so hours..." Said twilight.
"Yeah, but commuting can be such a pain... I'd rather not." I said. "I'm still thinking about it... I just hope there aren't many other scouts that come looking for me." I said.
"Well... While you're thinking why don't you help me put away some of these books." She said. The ones in that pile to the left are ones that I haven't read through yet so leave them be...these ones can go back." She said gesturing to the rest of the books.
"Damn... Twilight you literally cleaned the shelves with your studies... Are you reading every freaking book in this library?" I asked glancing over all of the empty shelves.
"Hey, I need to be prepared." She said.
"Whatever..." I said.
"You start with the A's and I'll start with the Z's. Remember to put them in alphabetical order." She said.
"Yeah yeah, I know how you like it." I said jokingly. I started putting books away and it took a while for me to even get too far, but twilight usually asks me to help her with this a lot so my alphabetizing skills have gotten a bit better. I worked my way around and soon I got into the F's. I just finished piling up one of the bookshelves which were built into the wall and I grabbed the next book and slid it onto a fresh shelf. Once the book hit the wall behind the shelf it made a rather strange noise. Usually when these books touch the wall it makes a solid wooden thunk because this house is just a hollowed out tree. But when I put this book back and it hit the back of the shelf it made a very thin and hollow thud. I found it interesting and pulled the book back. I reached over and knocked my hand on the back wall and it was definitely hollow.
"Hey... What are you doing?" Asked twilight.
"This wall right here... I think it's hollow, like somebody just covered it up with a wooden board." I said.
"Hmm... This is a very old library... It might be a hidden compartment, I've found one here before, so it's not much surprise." She said.
"Yeah but... It looks like the tree had already grown back here... I mean look." I said as she walked over and looked with me. "You can see the grain of the wood and the rings of the tree... It's weird..." I said.
"It could be some kind of illusion spell... Let me see if I can break it." She said. She focused her power and her horn started to glow brightly. The area on the wall started to waver and glow purple, but the spell broke and the wall returned to normal. Twilight had strained herself and when the spell broke she started taking deep breaths. "Wow... It's a powerful illusion spell."
"Hmm..." I said starting to think. I looked over it until I noticed something. In the wall there was a picture of a U but it was more like a half circle with two lines down the middle. Like some kind of weird symbol. It looked like it had been ordinarily carved into the wood with a knife or something, but who would carve something like that into a bookshelf. "Hey... What's this?" I asked pointing out the symbol.
"I didn't notice that before..." Said twilight. "It looks strange..."
"It looks... Oddly familiar." I said. "I don't know why... Or how, but I feel like I've seen that somewhere else." I reached over and placed my finger on it and felt a strange shock jump from the symbol to my finger. I pulled my hand back quickly and shook it because it hurt and the symbol started to glow bright blue. "Oh what have I done?" I asked myself as the symbol soon started to spread and reveal other symbols that carved them into the wall. Soon the whole back wall of this shelf was covered with blue glowing symbols.
"What's happening?" Asked twilight. Suddenly the wood of the tree that made up the back of this shelf started to recede like vines of wood. They pulled back into the surrounding walls until the wall was completely gone revealing a secret compartment. Me and twilight walked over and looked inside. In the compartment was a single book, a thick book. It was huge with large leather bindings and the same strange symbols worked into the leather bindings. The book itself was wrapped in chains but they didn't actually keep the book closed, they just decorated the binding in a diamond pattern. I reached in and pulled the book out and looked at it. On the front was a kind of insignia with a picture of a sword with two sets of wings at the hilt. One set near the bottom which looked like devils wings, and another set which rested on top which looked like angels wings.
"What the..."
"Is there a title?" Asked twilight.
"Uhm... Yeah... It says... 'Fairy Law'." I said reading the title.
"Does it really?" Asked twilight.
"Yeah look." I said showing her the front of the book. She looked at it for a minute and made a strange face.
"Zack... How did you read that?" She asked.
"What kind of question is that?" I asked.
"What do you mean what kind of question is that?" She asked getting a bit disgruntled. "I can't read what the title says... It's in some weird other language."
"What are you talking about... No it's not, it's written in plain equestrian... Look..." I said. "Fairy...law..." I said slowly pointing out the words. "Can you really not read it?"
"No... I can't." She said.
"Really...? That's weird... I can read it plain as day." I said. "Are you sure you're not pulling my leg?"
"Zack... Why would I want to lie about not being able to read a book...?" She asked.
"Good point..." I said. " Huh... That's weird... How come only I can read it?" I asked.
"It's a book on fairies isn't it?" Asked Twi. "Maybe it's written in some kind of fairy language that only fairies can read." She suggested.
"But I'm not really a fairy..." I said.
"But you have half of the soul of one." She said. "You're like...half fairy I guess..."
"I suppose so... Either way, I'm curious as to what this book has to say." I said.
"So read it... I kinda want to know too." She said.
"Alright then..." I said. Twilight and I sat down right on the floor and I opened up the book to the very first page. The book was and the pages were yellowed and worn, but it was in a sturdy enough condition to read. I glanced at the top and started to read the first page. "Chapter one... Fairy history." I read. "In the year 260;Dragon, the first ever fairy city was built and ruled over in the great forests of Aramir, near the Dwarven Mountains of Arguul."
"260;Dragon..." Said twilight surprisingly. "That was the year of the dragon empowers rule. That was hundreds of thousands of years ago, well over half a million... This goes back for quite a while." She said. "Keep reading... If you don't understand some things I might be able to clarify."
"Alright..." I said getting back to the book. "Before these fairies had lived in small villages in forests, keeping distant from others until Ma'garthill, the first fairy king, defeated the burning scourge at the mountains of Arguul and helped to keep the dwarven city from destruction. With this in hand the dwarves repaid the fairy king by building him a city like no other in the great forest. There Ma'garthill brought the fairy tribes together under one rule. This rule lasted peacefully for hundreds of years before the king's successor, ki'tallus, inherited the throne..." I said then stopping. I read on ahead and kept reading in my head.
"What is it?" Asked twilight.
"Nothing, I'm just reading on and the other pages are just full of the names of the past kings." I said. "There isn't much of anything interesting... What's the next chapter?" I said skipping the pages until I came to the next one. "Here...chapter two...fairy nature... Now this seems more interesting." I said.
"Fine... Go ahead. Read." She said.
"Alright..." I said clearing my throat. "Fairies are very shy and timid creatures in nature. While they can be very lively and extravagant amongst their own kind they often almost never make contact with any other species. The only exception with this would be with the dwarves of Arguul. While the two cities do not intermingle, they have a long standing peace between to two and get along well. Fairies supply the dwarves with magic, and the dwarves supply metal in return."
"What else?"
"Let's see..." I said skipping over a few things. "Oh here... Fairies also have a deep connection with nature. When every fairy is born he/she is born to a certain element of magic which they can use freely, aside from this element every fairy is capable of fairy magic, which is much similar to nature magic, but far more advanced. Spells such as healing, are far more potent, and powerful fairy magic has been known to bring others back from the verge of death, as well as cure all illnesses. These kinds of magic also allow fairies to communicate with animals and dispel corruption, giving them a deep connection with nature itself." I read. "The rest of this stuff doesn't look too interesting... What else is there?" I said flipping a few pages.
"Hey... That was getting good." Said twilight.
"Ah... Here, fairy anatomy... This chapter looks short." I said. "Let's see...despite folklore and fairy tales (no pun intended), fairies don't actually have any wings, or live in flowers and such, they are exactly like humans, in every way. Though they are a bit more advanced than humans are. Humans are only capable of consciously controlling 10% of our brain! While fairies can control twenty. This grants them a better recollection of memory, and an advanced ability to learn faster than average. This also allows them better stability, and more control over balance and motor control, as well as allows them the use of magic." I said.
"What else?" Asked twilight.
"You really want to read this whole don't you?" I asked teasing her.
"Hey... Don't mock me... It's not my fault I can't read it." She said. I just chuckled silently and went back to the book.
"As well, fairies have a special blood type." I said reading on. "Their blood consists of more white blood cells, making them immune to most illnesses, and also increases the rate of which their bodies naturally heal." I kept reading on and kept skipping over a few things, until I reached an interesting looking chapter. It was the last chapter, according to the index at the beginning, but it took up half of the whole book. "This is the last chapter..."
"But you've still got half a book left..." Said twilight.
"Chapter 12...fairy spells, charms, and incantations." I read. This one seems interesting.
"Ooh...never mind, go ahead... Read it, I wanna see what kind of spells there are."
"Alright..." I said flipping to the next page. The next page had a large magical circle on it as well as a spell name at the top and some strange words under it. There was also a picture of a person with their hands out and what looks like a tornado surrounding them. There was text explaining what the spell was and how to chant it. "Let's see... Aerodance... An advanced wind spell which summons a great gust of wind to create a vicious tornado around the summoner. Depending on the strength with which the spell is chanted it can cause anything from a light gust of wind to a fierce tornado that cuts through metal like soft butter." I said. "Holy crap!"
"Wow... That's pretty amazing... Oh. I wish I could read the book." Said twilight. I looked over to the words under the name of the spell, and tried pronouncing them in my head. I started lip syncing them until I felt like I could pronounce it. "Let's see... Auroxill...andradance..."I said softly. Just then a strange breeze burst through the house as it forced open several of twilight's windows. The breeze kicked up all the scrolls and light papers around which all fluttered to the floor before the gust of wind vanished.
"Hey... Watch it!" Said twilight, her hair was all messy now from the wind.
"Did... Did I do it?" I asked.
"I think so..." Said twilight. "You are like... Half fairy, so it makes sense..."
"That's...SO COOL!" I said. "I really wanna try this out... We should do it outside next."
"Hold on their..." She said stopping me as I was eagerly getting up and rushing to the door. She grabbed my shirt with her magic and kept me from moving forward.
"Hey..."
"Zack... You can't just go summoning tornadoes in the middle of town..." She said. "I can understand your excitement, but why don't you try a simpler...safer spell." She said.
"Hmm... I suppose that's probably a good idea." I said. "I flipped the book back open and started looking through. "Oh... Here..." I said reading a random spell page deeper in the chapter. "Incancdecadence..." I said, that's a mouthful. "A novice spell that summons a bright ball of light which lingers depending how strongly the incantation is chanted. Simply chanting the first word however causes a brief, but strong flash which is capable of temporarily blinding others."
"Why don't we just try the whole thing, and not try and blind everypony." Said twilight.
"Alright..." I said. "It says the spell requires an open hand." I said placing the book down since it was too thick and heavy to hold with just one hand. I looked at the spell and held out one hand. I took a deep breath and read the spell. "Indaco...meladro..." I said as a sudden spark burst in my hand and suddenly there was a bright ball of light glowing vibrantly in the palm of my open hand. I looked at it and smiled. "Ahahaha...this is awesome." I said. The light was bright white but shone with different off put colors and lit up the house like the sun was shining right into it. Looking directly at it was a bit painful since it was so bright, but it didn't really hurt that bad. I decided to have some fun with it and I tossed the little ball of light into the air a couple times. It would fly up but then float gently down like a. Balloon. I tossed it up one last time and as it floated gently down it burnt up into a flash of sparks and it was gone. "Aww..."
"That was pretty amazing..." Said twilight. "I never would have thought that this was here..." She said placing her hoof on the open book.
"Yeah... It's a stroke of luck isn't it?" I said.
"Why don't you read one more... You seem to be having fun." She said smiling.
"I am... This is exciting..." I said. I flipped back until I got to the A section again and found a spell. I read the whole page aloud so twilight could hear what it was. "Let's see...this spell is... Ascendance..." I said. "This is one of the more advanced fairy spells capable of giving fairies a set of wings for which they can use to fly. While fairies who have been awakened by true love can create a pair of elemental wings, this spell causes the caster to sprout a physical pair of wings based on their own personality. The spell is irreversible, and requires a great deal of magic to perform, as well the spell has only been successfully cast a few times. The outcome of the spell varies on the casters soul. Thus the spell has been dubbed, Ascendance, as it is believed that these wings are the wings of your soul which guide you either to heaven or hell." I read.
"Uh... Maybe you should choose a different spell." Said twilight.
"Heh... Yeah... I will, but there a bit more... Hold on." I said. "The casters wings are also able to be hidden if the caster wishes, but they do not truly leave. They turn back into their "spirit form" as the fairies refer to it, though they cannot be seen or touched in the real world, there is a way to see them. They can be seen on the casters shadow as well as in his reflection. Upon the casting of this spell it has also been known to cause great physical pain as the bones of the wings are ripped out from the back and the skin and flesh must form around them." I read. "Oh god... Yeah, definitely not trying that one..." I said.
"Try a different one." Said twilight. "I don't think that's a good idea."
"Actually... The spell has been torn out of it..." I said lifting the page. To see that there was a hole where the incantation was. "Probably for the best..."
"Hmm... I wonder where it is..." Said twilight. "Well... I suppose it doesn't matter... Try a new one."
"Yeah..." I said turning back a page to the next spell. "Let's see...Avarice..." I read. "This spell allows the caster to walk on air for a brief period of time, depending on how strongly the spell is cast. Once cast a bluish glow covers the bottom of their feet and as the glow starts to fade the spell does as well, which acts as a warning the caster should have decided to travel high up into the air." I said.
"There... That sounds better." Said twilight.
"But the incantation for this one is big..." I said looking at the spell. There were seven words for this one, the others were just two.
"Try it anyway... I bet it'll be fun..." She said.
"Oh wait..." I said. " Put here's a little side note here..." I said. "It says... Some spells can be cast onto others by gesturing your hand at them and reciting the word Dos, at the end of the incantation."
"Oh cool... If it works you should try it on me... I wanna walk on air too." Said twilight happily.
"Let's make sure it works first..." I said. "Alright... Here it goes." I said as I cleared my throat and began to read the spell. "Novatrice...magnara...Xara...vox...dometa...incantatum...fiorus..." I said sturdily... I waited and waited... And nothing happened. "Did...did it work?"
"Do you feel different?" Asked twilight.
"Well... No... Not really." I said.
"Try saying it louder... The book says that the stronger you recite it the better it works... Maybe you just need to say it louder since it's might be an advanced spell..." She said.
"Okay... Let's see..." I said clearing my throat one more time. "NOVATRICE, MAGNARA, XARA VOX... DOMETA, INCANTATUM...FIORUS!" I shouted out in a deep and strong voice. I waited and still nothing happened.
"Still nothing?" Asked twilight.
"Yeah... What gives? Am I just not strong enough?" I asked.
"Maybe..." She said. "Let me see it..."
"You can't even read it..." I said.
"Well... I'm just trying to help..." She said. "Maybe try a new one..."
"Alright... One more and-" I said as I suddenly stopped while turning the page when I noticed something. "Wait..."
"What?" Asked twilight. I saw that the paper around the spell was...peeling off? I grabbed the edge of the paper and pulled it off to see that it was a piece of paper laced over the actual incantation to the spell. I held it in my hand and I felt my heartbeat start to slow down.
"I... Don't think I said the right spell..." I said in a soft voice.
"What was that doing there?" Asked twilight. She saw too that I had read a different spell. "Which spell is that?"
"I think I know which one..." I said.
"What...?" She asked. I looked at her and then her eyes widened. "Oh don't tell me..." She said. I turned the page back to the spell that gives you wings where the original spell had been torn out. I placed the incantation under the spell name and it was a perfect fit, it even matched the yellow marks on the page.
"Oh shit..." I said.
"Uh...it's okay...look, you already said it and nothing's happened... See, its fine." Said twilight.
"Yeah... I guess you're right." I said with an unsure smile. "Besides... It says that only the ones with the strongest souls could do it... I know that's definitely not me... I don't even have my full soul. Just half of one..." I said.
"True... God... That was one hell of a scare..." Said twilight starting to laugh. I started to laugh as well.
"Yeah... I literally felt my heart stop." I said. We continued to laugh about it and soon the laughter had died down.
"Alright... I think that's enough excitement for today." I said closing the book.
"I agree..." She said. "Here... Why don't I got and make some tea for us before you leave... We can catch up and relax a little..."
"That sounds good... I'm trembling right now..." I said holding up one of my hands which was shaking a little. Twilight giggled and got up. She started making her way to the kitchen and I got up as well and followed her to help her make the tea. She used her magic to bring a tea pot over to the sink and fill it with water before placing it in the stove to heat up. "So do you mind if I keep this?" I asked.
"Sure... I can't read it anyway... So it's probably better if you take it..."
"Cool, thanks..." I said.
"What kind of tea do you want?" Asked twilight. "We have lemon, green, or earl grey."
"Earl grey..." I said.
"Alright then..." She said. I helped twilight make the tea and once it was all done we sat down in her living room and let the tea bags soak in the hot water. We sat down and talked for a little bit about what we've been up to. We didn't talk about really big thing, but just normal friendly conversation about random things. Then I asked her a bit of a serious and odd question.
"So twilight... I know that you have that big important test tomorrow for the princess..." I said.
"Yeah, so?" She asked.
"What would you have done if that spell had worked and I had suddenly sprout wings." I said.
"Well...I don't really know, it's not every day that your friends just sprout wings." She said. "I assume from the description in the book you would have been in lots of pain and there would probably be a lot of blood and feathers..." She said making a joke which made us both chuckle a little. "I'd probably write to the princes once I knew you were okay, I'm sure she would understand and probably postpone the test... She'd actually be likely to come down here and see you herself... She does like to take interest in oddities like that."
"Thanks Twi... You're a good friend..." I said.
"So... What would YOU do if I sprouted wings?" She asked.
"Well... I'd probably freak out..." I said making her giggle a bit. "Then I'd most likely do what I can to make sure you don't die on me... Then...well, I don't know what I would do in that kind of situation. I suppose if you sprouted wings you'd be like the princess wouldn't you... Princess sparkle... Has a nice ring to it." I said.
"Hey! Stop that..." She said smiling. "If me sprouting wings makes me a princess, ls what does it make you then?"
"A freak of nature..." I said. She giggled a bit.
"Seriously... What is a human with wings... An angel, minus the halo?"
"Or a demon minus the horns..." I said. "The spell said the wings are based off of the casters soul..."
"They'd probably be angel wings... You are a nice guy after all..." She said.
"You don't know... I could be...EVIL!" I said jokingly putting my fingers in an evil triangle of contemplation. I then let out a fake evil laugh and twilight started to giggle.
"I wouldn't believe that..." She said. "You're a good guy... I know it." She said. "Now c'mon... The tea should be ready now... Let's drink up, then I can send you on your merry way home, I'm sure Itt and Zaxiel are missing you." She said.
"Yeah... Let's drink up." I said happily raising my little tea cup into the air like it was a pint of ale. Twilight giggled and took a sip of her tea. I brought the cup to my lips and took a sip as well. The tea was nice and warm. And earl grey is my favorite. I could definitely feel myself starting to calm down. I felt a bit lazy again so I sat back in the chair. I could feel my heart beating slowly in my chest. It beat once, twice... But then it started to beat a bit faster. I could feel my heart starting to race as my body suddenly burst with energy. It made me clasp my palm over my heart because at this point my chest felt like it was on fire. I let out a gasp of pain and fell out of the chair and onto my knees. I dropped my cup and it shattered on the ground.
"ZACK!" Twilight shouted quickly placing her cup down and getting beside me. "ZACK... What's wrong?!" She asked worriedly. I couldn't speak... But I managed to choke out a few words.
"T-twilight...agh..." I said clutching my chest again. My chest was burning, and I didn't know why. Am I having a heart attack right now? Why is this happening? The. I felt a sharp pain in my back which made me cry out in pain and arch my back. I flipped over onto my knees like I was crawling and I started to lose my breath. I tried to take in breaths of air, but it felt like something was keeping me from breathing. Then I let out a few coughs and I felt like I was going to puke. My whole body burned and I could feel myself gagging then I threw up onto the ground. I felt terrible, but once I opened my eyes I froze. I had realized with the site on the ground, and the taste in my mouth. I saw that I didn't throw up vomit... But blood. A large red pool of blood stained the ground now. More drops fell from my mouth and I could taste my own blood.
"Oh god Zack..." Said twilight.
"T-twilight... Get...h-help..." I choked out a few words.
"No... I can't leave you... There has to be something." She said. As she said that a large wave of pain rushed through my body. And I felt my back burning with pain. Then large red stains began to bleed through the back of my shirt. There were two at first, just around my shoulders, before they combined into one. I felt something starting to tug at my shirt until something terrifying happened. My shirt was torn off as bones of two large wings broke out of my back and flexed out. The base of the bone was jetting out from holes in my back and the wings were huge. Then muscles and sinew started to connect from my back to the bones of the wings. "T-this can't be happening..." Said twilight. I let out cries of pain, unable to do anything else. I writhed in pain as large strange of muscles shot out from my back and started to connect to the bones like ligaments and tissue. Slowly the webbing and tissue covered the bone which was covered in blood.
Then black, crow like feathers began to rapidly grow around the wings. I kept screaming in pain as the two large wings were decorated with dark black feathers. Some of which fell beside me along with the blood on the ground. I was wondering to myself why I haven't passed out from the pain yet, every part of me wanted me to pass out from the pain, but I just wouldn't. Soon, and thankfully, the pain started to go away leaving me on the ground, surrounded in a pile of blood and feathers. I was breathing heavily, and I couldn't move, I was weak, and numb. Everything was sore and I felt strange. I couldn't believe it, I had wings now... This wasn't a dream, or much of a nightmare... This was real. I could feel them, the warmth of the feathers, and the pulling of the muscles. I could feel them as part of me, and to test I tried moving them, and they moved just how I wanted them too, they were really there. I could move them just as easily as I could my own two arms or my legs... They felt like they were part of me. I let out moans of pain with each breath as the numbness that previously wrapped my body started to fade. My whole chest and my back were sore. My heart which was racing just a moment ago was now dying down to a subtle beat. I and my clothes were stained with blood, as well as the large black wings which jet from my back.
"Z-Zack... Are you okay...Zack?" Asked twilight kneeling down beside me, trying not to step into my puddle of blood. She poked her hoof out and nudged my still body, I was conscious, but I couldn't move. My wings covered my body being as big as they are. I wanted to say something but I couldn't let out any words. "Zack... Please...say something..." She said sounding very worried now. I let out a few grunts of pain letting her know I was still alive. "Zack... Say something... Are you alright... I'm going to go get help..." She said.
"No!" I said suddenly reaching my hand out and grabbing her hoof making her jump in surprise.
"Ah!...Zack..." She said.
"I'm... I'm fine...mostly..." I said picking myself up and propping I up on my knees. I let go of her leg and she settled down. I left a blood stain on her fur from my palm... But she'll be fine. I was still breathing heavily, but I could feel all of the pain washing away from my body and I started breathing more gently. I felt exhausted now, I wasn't in terrible pain anymore, even though pain like this doesn't just fade away like that... But, then again, this is fairy magic... It probably has something to do with that. "I...have wings...don't I?" I asked just checking to make sure I wasn't crazy.
"Zack... Y-yeah... I... I don't know what to say." She said.
"I feel tired..." I said.
"Zack you just lost quite a bit of blood... You need to rest..." She said. "You're covered in blood and feathers...uh...oh, what do I do?" Twilight said to herself trotting in place. I just let out a moan and tried to stand up, but I couldn't. I just fell back and sat on my ass. I was feeling light and dizzy, I felt physically lighter, like I had just dropped about twenty or so pounds. I opened up my eyes and looked at myself. I was covered in blood and my palms were soaked red.
"Oh god..." I said. "Why...? Why did this happen?" I asked. "Oh god why... This can't be happening." I said putting my face into my palms. "This can't be real...it's just a dream...a horrible nightmare." I said remaining in denial.
"Zack...you're in denial... C'mon... Snap out of it... I know it's bad... But there's got to be something we could do." She said. I kept my face in my hands and let out a huge sigh.
"I don't feel so well..." I said. "Can...Can I use your shower please? I want to get this blood off me..."
"Yeah... I think I've still got a pair of your clothes here that I missed a couple weeks ago when you moved... I-I'll clean this up... The clothes should be right in the bathroom next to the washing machine... Right on top of the shelf."
"Thanks..." I said making my way up to the bathroom upstairs. The room before the bathroom was the laundry room. Twilight was right and there was a set of my clothes on one of the shelves. A pair of jeans, a shirt, and underwear. I grabbed the clothes and a towel and started taking a shower. I stood in the shower and let the blood wash off of my body until there was none left. The water hit my newly formed wings and it felt strange. I tested out my wings and flapped them around a bit. They felt natural, like they had always been there. I wrapped them around myself and ran my hand through the feathers. They were soft and silky, they felt just like soft bird feathers. I kept feeling my wings and they were sturdy and strong... I still don't believe it, how did this even happen.
If I had even known that this would happen... I would have never read that stupid book. This doesn't make any sense at all... Why does this have to happen to me. I can't go outside like this, who the hell knows what kind of attention I'll get. I won't be able to go outside ever. Even if the book said that I can hide them, I don't know how to do that. What am I going to tell Itt and Zaxiel... How are they going to react to that. I don't know what to think...all I know is that I'm in trouble. I had been soaking in the shower for a while now wrapping my wings around myself. I unwrapped myself and kept my wings folded together on my back. I feel...strange, again, like I can't breathe...even though I was breathing, I couldn't feel it. I was scared, I know this feeling, of being a freak, but now it's visible, it's something real now, not just a thing people make up to discriminate me.
I'm afraid, really...truly afraid. Before I used to be afraid of stupid things, like if I was going to get robbed, or if I wasn't going to be included or something dumb like that...but the fear I feel now is real, it's there, and it's festering inside of me. I'm afraid of this new life I've built crumbling down on me, I know that Zaxiel and Itt would still love me...I know that much, but it doesn't ease my heart as much as I should let it. I still know that the problems that these wings are going to cause will be endless. If a pony has wings well then that's no big deal... They're just a Pegasus, but god forbid humans should sprout wings. I can see it now, people are going to call me a freak, they'll run from me, or I could be overreacting like I often do. I can also see all of the religious fanatics freaking out at me, calling me an angel... Or a demon... I don't know. I thought as I stepped out of the shower and looked at myself in the mirror.
I don't know if people would call me an angel or a demon... Or maybe both, I don't know. My wings aren't white like angel wings... They're black, but they're not exactly demon wings either. Why are they black...? What does that mean? Is that like the middle between angel and demon? What's between angel and demon anyway? I remember my mother used to read me stories about things called fallen angels. They were angels that had lost their way, they were sent to earth and had black wings... But I'm not an angel... I'm just some guy, well I suppose I'm not just some guy anymore... But I'd like to just be some guy again... That'd be nice, if I could be normal again. But that isn't going to happen...ever. I kept looking at myself in the mirror, and... I felt odd once more. I don't know why but...I...I smiled. Then I started to laugh... Hysterically actually. I don't know what exactly was funny, I guess the whole thing is pretty funny. It was like a sudden switch of attitude, like something inside of me snapped and I started to think positive. I started to think that having wings would be cool, it could be fun, and I could fly around and have fun. Plus, they do look pretty bad ass. I dried myself off, including my wings and started putting my clothes on, until I got to my shirt.
"How the hell... Am I supposed to wear this?" I asked myself. "Hmm..." I hummed as I took the pocket knife from my bloodied pants and cut two slits down the backside of the shirt. I tried putting the shirt on, and it was a bit of a struggle, but is managed to fit the new wings through the holes. They were a little tight. So I made the holes a bit bigger and the shirt fit comfortably. "Not bad..." I said looking at myself in the mirror. And if I recall the book did say there was a way to make the wings hidden... Though. I don't know how to do that... I'm sure I'll think of something.
"Hey Zack!" Asked twilight walking closer to the bathroom door. "Are you feeling any better?"
"Yeah... Much better." I replied.
"And...Are you okay?" She asked.
"I just told you I was better..." I said.
"That's not what I meant... I meant mentally...are you...going to be okay...do... You wanna talk about it?"
"No...I'm fine...I'm doing just fine... That was pretty scary though." I said.
"Well no kidding...!" She said. "I just barely managed to clean up your mess..."
"Sorry..." I replied.
"It's okay..." She said. "I sent a letter to the princess about this, I'm sure she can help."
"Don't you need spike for that?" I asked.
"He came back just as I was mopping up the blood." She said.
"Twilight!" Shouted spikes voice from downstairs. "The princess wrote back."
"I'll go see that now... You should come down with me... Relax... I'm sure she can figure something out." Said twilight.
"Alright..." I said opening the door and walking out. She looked over at me and of course her eyes were glued to my wings.
"You know... They don't look that bad...I see you tore holes in the back of your shirt... You might have to ruin the rest of your shirts though..." She said.
"Most of them are already ruined anyway..." I said.
"True..."
"Twilight! Are you still up there?" Asked spike.
"Yeah, I'm coming down, just hold on a minute." She said yelling down the stairs. "C'mon... Let's go." She said turning to me and smiling. I followed her down the stairs and out into the main room, she did a good job of cleaning for the most part, there were still few feathers here and there.
"Whoa..." Said spike looking at me. "That's cool..." She said.
"Spike! The note please?" Asked twilight. Spike handed her the note and she used her magic to levitate it in front of her and started to read. "My faithful student. I received your letter regarding the incident with your friend and I've found myself rather interested... I'll be over soon."
"That's it?" I asked.
"She didn't even sign it...she must really be interested." Said spike.
"So when do you think she'll be over...?" I asked. Just as I said so a giant flash of light brightened the room and suddenly the princess was standing before us. She had just hastily teleported into the room. She had a smile on her face and looked over to twilight that didn't seem too phased about the whole ordeal.
"Hello twilight." Said the princess calmly.
"Princess... Welcome." Said twilight making a short bow. The princes smiled and looked over at me. "And hello to you as well Zachary, it's been some time since we've met, from what I hear from twilight, it seems that you're having quite a bit of fun these days. Not to mention what the others are whispering about you... And now we're here... At the crossroads of yet another adventure."
"I suppose you can call it an adventure." I said.
"Twilight didn't brief me full about what happened... So do you mind explaining?" She asked.
"Well princess..." Said twilight. "We found this book hidden in one of the shelves, in another secret compartment... Zack can read it, but I can't because it must be written in fairy... In it we found some spells... And he accidentally read one of them and then... Well..." She said gesturing to me. She managed to sum the whole thing up pretty well. It was short sweet and to the point.
"A spell in a book... Which book?" She asked.
"This one..." I said picking up the book on the ground and showing it to her.
"Hmm..." She said examining the book. "I recognize the language, its fairy... Only people with the soul of a fairy can read it... That's why you can. To you it may appear as simple words, but to others, it is not..." She said. "Fairy runes are magic ones that take the shape of the reader's choice. I'm sure it's in equestrian for you since it's your native tongue... It could take other forms as well though."
"Alright... The book's title says 'fairy law'..." Said twilight. "Right Zack?"
"Yeah... It's a lot of history and stuff, but the last half of the book has spells in it," I said. "We were reading some for the fun of it... How I accidentally read that spell is a bit of a long and confusing story."
"Then I won't ask..." She said. "I must say though... I've never seem a human with wings before. Sure others have created them from magic, those who are gifted in the arts... But to have physical wings is unheard of."
"So basically you can't help." I said.
"I can't give you an immediate solution, and I can't make them go away... But I'm sure there are ways to help you hide them." She said.
"Didn't the book say that there was a way to hide them once you've got them?" Asked twilight.
"Yeah...but it didn't say how..." I said promptly letting out a deep sigh just after. "I feel like going to bed, I'm tired... And I'm just absolutely done with this." I said falling back and resting on twilights couch.
"Are you feeling well at all Mr. Miles?" Asked the princess.
"I suppose... I don't feel sick. But I've been having some problems with fatigue..." I said. I'm feeling very tired now..."
"Are you going to be okay?" Asked twilight. "Try and stay with us."
"Don't worry...I'm fine, I'm fine..." I said. "Though I don't even know how I'm supposed to explain all of this to Itt and Zaxiel..."
"I've already taken the liberty of doing that for you." Said the princess...
"Wait...what?" I asked.
"I figured that you wife and maid would like to hear the news..." She said. "And if I'm correct, they should be here about...now actually..." She said looking towards the door as it suddenly burst open and Itt came flying out of nowhere. She immediately found me and leapt on me. She hugged me tightly and buried my face into her chest like I was some kind of wounded child being held by his mother.
"Oh, my poor poor darling... Are you okay, are you feeling well, oh, I never should have left your side...I'm sorry..." She said blaring out a million things at once. Unlike Itt who was very clingy, Zaxiel stood by the side and watched with a worried face since she's rather shy. She isn't as wild and energetic as Itt. Well, I shouldn't say that, she isn't energetic all the time, but she can be if she wants to, you just gotta warm her up a little.
"Ack...Itt...can't...breathe..." I said being suffocated by her large breasts. I managed to get her off me as I pushed her away and took a deep breath of air. She hugged me again but didn't shove my face into her chest.
"I didn't believe it... But its true...darling you've grown wings." She said grabbing my black feathered wings.
"Ow...don't pinch them!" I said.
"Sorry..."
"Master, are you well?" Asked Zaxiel.
"Yes I'm fine..." I said answering that same question for the fifteenth time. "I just...feel...really...really tired." I said feeling myself starting to slip away. I was feeling more tired than I did before. And before I knew it I blacked out. I went under before I could even hit the ground and I was out like a light, completely oblivious to everything around me. I am a way, it was a nice way to escape from the horrible reality and drown in a sea of dreams.
Unfortunately I'll have to wake up eventually...
-Authors Note: Did it work? did i fix it? hopefully so, and if i haven't just send me a message or complain about it in the reviews section...whichever. so i hope you guys were able to read it last time, if you couldn't, or if you didn't even want to think about doing so, then you can read it now. ive only just fixed the problem, and its getting late so i only have enough time to post chapter 20, ill post 21 tomorrow. and ive also improved my system of saving and uploading files, so perhaps that will lead to fewer problems in the future. so i hope you guys enjoyed this chapter...i fixed the thing... maybe. if it isn't fixed then im getting excited over nothing. anyway, ill see you guys next time.
-Stay Shady~