//------------------------------// // Interlude 5 // Story: The Balance of Harmony // by The Rising Tide of Night //------------------------------// “Twilight! Twilight!” Spike was shaking her hard, trying to get her attention. Her hand slipped, and she knocked over the inkwell, spilling ink on the floor and splattering it on her boots. She looked up at him in irritation, and saw him step back, suddenly unsure. She tried to soften her expression, but he stayed a few feet back from her. “What is it?” she asked in measured tones, shaking her head to clear her mind. For a brief moment, her face felt just as it had the day after she had lost her eye, but the pain faded as quickly as it had come. “It’s just that…” he paused, wringing his hands. “Twilight, I’ve been trying to get your attention for a while now, but you weren’t responding. It’s late, and you need your rest.” She blinked, and looked out the window. The sun was completely gone, and it was pitch-black outside. Stretching, she stood and tried to walk over to the kitchen to get something to drink. However, much like she had earlier, she stepped forward without her staff, and her bad leg gave out from under her. Falling with a cry, she landed hard on her shoulder, feeling a slight pop as it dislocated with a flash of pain that brought tears to her eyes. As she lay there crying, Spike rushed over to her, and knelt down beside her. “Twilight, are you ok?” he asked. She tried to push herself up, but the waves of pain coming from her shoulder were too much, and she slid back down to the floor. “I think I dislocated something,” she gasped, trying to shift off of her injured shoulder. Spike reached down, feeling the damaged shoulder, trying to ignore her gasps as he carefully realigned the bone into its socket. Sticking his arm in front of her mouth, he ordered her to bite down on his sleeve. As she did so, he quickly forced the bone back into position, and she let out a muffled scream as the pain reached its peak and receded. Gasping, she released his sleeve, and he helped her sit up. “What were you thinking, walking like that?” he demanded. “You know you can’t walk without your staff or something!” She sat there, crying, and he immediately felt bad about losing his temper. “Twilight? What’s going on?” Wiping the tears from her eye, she sniffed. “It’s just this spell,” she confessed. “I remember everything so clearly, it feels like I’m right there. And I’m walking normally, without a cane or a staff or someone’s arm.” She slapped her bad leg. “And then I come back to reality and I… forget about this.” She growled, frustrated. “It’s like the rug is pulled out from under me as soon as I take a step.” Spike hugged her tightly. “It’s ok, Twilight,” he whispered in her ear. Releasing her, he looked into her eye with a serious expression. “But tomorrow, you need to take a break. At least for the morning, ok? No spells, no writing. Just go outside and have a walk or something, or sit in the sun. It’s been beautiful out lately, and I’ve got a nice chair and table set up just by the front walk. I’ll even make your favorite breakfast.” She glared at him. She was determined to finish her story, for the sooner she was able to finish, the sooner the pain of loss might recede. Looking into his eyes and seeing the love and concern there, she was forced to concede his point. “All right,” she agreed. “I’ll take a break tomorrow morning. Then I need to get back to work.” He smiled at her gratefully. “Thanks, Twilight.” With that, he picked her up easily, and ignoring her protestations, carried her over to her bed and carefully set her down. She waved him away before he could get any ideas about undressing her, and proceeded to get herself ready for bed. Lying down, she closed her eyes, intending to meditate for a while to calm her racing memories, but fell asleep almost immediately. The following morning dawned brightly, birdsong calling to her as she lay in her warm bed. She rubbed the sleep from her eye and pushed herself up as the sunlight broke in through her window. Grabbing her staff, which Spike had thoughtfully brought over from her writing alcove, she pushed herself to her feet and proceeded to limp over to the kitchen, where Spike was cooking. She took in the delicious aroma of her favorite breakfast and sighed happily. Spike turned, noticing she was up, and smiled at her. “Good morning, Twilight. If you want, I can bring you your food outside. It’s nice and warm out there right now.” She smiled back at him. “That sounds lovely, Spike. Thanks.” She limped back over to her bed, got herself dressed, and headed outside into the sun. It was a lovely day outside. The birds were singing brightly, a warm wind blew softly, and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. As she settled herself in the chair in front of her cottage, she watched the rest of the town begin to move about their business, men and women moving about on various errands, and children running outside to play. Shortly after getting settled, Spike brought her breakfast out, and headed back inside to tidy up. She ate, grateful to Spike for forcing her to relax for a time, just watching everything, taking solace in the normalcy going on around her. As the morning ticked by towards noon, she noticed that a small group of children were watching her from the street. Looking over at them, she smiled, then froze as they screamed and ran away. Feeling furious and humiliated, she sat there watching their retreating backs. Is this how they all see me? She wondered. As some monster to fear? Grabbing her staff, she pushed herself to her feet, grabbed her empty dishes with her magic, and headed back inside the cottage. Depositing the dishes in the sink, she brushed past Spike, ignoring his question about how she was doing. Settling herself at her desk, she noticed that the ink mess had been cleaned and the inkwell refilled and replaced. Shooting a grateful glance at Spike, who was quietly washing her dishes, she leaned her staff to the side, and delved back into her memories as she prepared to write once more.