//------------------------------// // The letter // Story: Nights light // by soulyman //------------------------------// With books upon books stacked up to the ceiling, a purple unicorn sat, skimming through her collection with unmatched speed. Having returned from the hospital she had began to search through books titled “Illnesses and diseases” through to “The strange and queerie”. She had been useless when her friends needed her and it brought a shiver down her spine thinking about what could happen to Sweetie Belle. “Spike how’s the research going?” She called out. A little purple dragon with green spines emerged from behind a large pile of books only to be seen carrying even more books in his tiny claws towards Twilight. “Well, these are all the books about cures and healing spells, but I can’t find anything on the weird disease you were talking about,” He put the books down next to Twilight. “Maybe we just don’t have the book here. I’m sure Canterlot would have the book we’re looking for,” She put a hoof to her chin in thought before a face lit up with enlightenment. “That’s it!” she exclaimed accidentally knocking the book tower over. “We just need to ask Princess Celestia to send a book that could help us with this. I’m sure if we explain the situation to her she’ll happily lend us a book from the royal archives,” She turned to Spike who now lay buried in the book stack she had tipped over. “You sure about that Twilight?” he questioned as he dug his way to the surface. “Celestia’s always busy, do you think she’ll agree?” He began to re shelve the books clearing a minority of the floor. Twilight turned to her desk, grabbing hold of a quill in her magical grasp. She began to scribble on a parchment. “We can at least try. What’s the harm in that?” She rolled up the parchment tying it with a red ribbon before giving it to Spike. “Could you send that to Celestia, please?” The dragon took a deep breath, but held it in for a moment before gently exhaling. With the scroll still in claw, he turned to Twilight. “I’ll do it on one condition. You have to clean up your mess this time,” He gestured to the room and it’s state of chaos. Books were lying everywhere, on the floor to shelves, the kitchen sink all the way to the doorway. “Okay, you win Spike,” With a glow of her horn every book in the house began to levitate. They began to order themselves, aligning with the shelves before neatly sliding into place. A minute later, the floor, kitchen and bedroom were all clear of the books. “There, wasn’t to hard,” she smirked at the little dragon whose jaw had been left open at the display of magic. “Now it’s your turn to hold up your end of the bargain. The dragon shook his head before smiling at her. “That never gets old,” he said, blowing on the scroll with his green flames. The scroll evaporated into a mist that flew up into the air. They watched as it circled the room a few times before flying out the open window, towards Canterlot in the distance. The purple unicorn turned to her companion. “That, also, never gets old,” they chuckled to each other, glad that their work was done for the moment. They were about to relax when a knock at the door followed by a friendly voice called out to them. “Hello? Twilight dear, are you home?” “Oh, I’ll get it!” The little dragon offered excitedly. “Rarity how are you?” he said pulling open the door. “What in the world is that thing? I didn’t know mud brown was in season.” He chuckled. The white unicorn entered carrying a musty old cloth on her back. It was a dark red with different coloured patches all over it. Someone had tried to fix it up, but had unfortunately made a mess of the sewing. She draped it over the nearby coat rack. “That, my dear Spikey, belongs to my sister’s guardian angel,” Twilight and Spike looked at each other confused. “Oh, you haven’t heard the news? My sister’s all better now,” Twilight’s eyes lit up at the news. “That’s wonderful news, how did the doctors do it? Did they use an antidote? Or was it surgery? I’d really like to know.” She headed over to shut the open door that brought in a draft. Glancing at the red cloak that now sat on the coat rack she gave Rarity a puzzled look. “Wait, doesn’t that belong to um… that stallion?” Rarity nodded. “It’s quite scary actually. He squeezed the Poison Jokes juice into a cup and made my sister drink it. could feel my sister getting really hot and she was screaming in pain. I’ve never heard her cry so much before. I thought she would die! Oh Twilight, it was horrible,” she covered her mouth with a hoof, trying to control the sobbing that was to cause her to tear up. Twilight and Spike saw this. They stood next to her, holding her in a comforting warm hug. “Shhhh,” It’s okay. It’s over now.” They stood there for a few moments longer until Rarity was sure she could continue confidently. “Well, after he cured my sister of the dreadful…” “Umm, Rarity,” Twilight interrupted. “Not to be rude, but you missed a bit,” “Oh, well, while I restrained my sister to the bed, he used a spell to literally pull out the umm… bad stuff. That’s how he described it anyway. It looked like a slimy eel and I think he swallowed it,” “That strange, I’ve never heard of a spell capable of extracting illnesses like that,” “You haven’t exactly read every book in Canterlot, so there’s bound to be stuff you don’t know,” Spike informed. “True, true,” Twilight paced back and forth as she often did when she was thinking hard. “Did he give his name?” “Umm.. well… Now that I think about it he didn’t. Not even when I visited him in jail did he tell me, which is quite rude. Alas I can not be complaining for what he did,” She picked up the patched cloak examining it closely. “Do you think he perhaps may want it repaired?” She turned it inside out looking closely at the fabric. A small torn note fell from it. Spike picked it up, skimming over it quickly. ---------------------------------------------- If you don’t remember Dearest Night, I hope you have arrived safely in Ponyville, I can only hope you make the most of your time in the town. You know why I have sent you there, thus I shall not bother repeating myself in this letter. Please, understand that this is a necessity, for studying and staying indoors is not a true life, even for someone with skills such as you. Know that I do this for your benefit. Stay safe and worry not about your job. You are on leave for now, but will still be kept up to date if the need arrises. Sincerely, Your teacher in the dark arts, ------------------------------------------------- “Umm, I think you should read this,” He held it out for Twilight to grab with her magic. She read it aloud to them making sure not to miss any details. She finished reading only to turn it over, searching for what seemed to be a missing paragraph. “Who is it from?” Rarity asked curiously having put the cloak down. Twilight shrugged. “I’m not sure, the bottom line is torn off. Did you do that?” She shook her head. “It does tell us some interesting things though,” Both Spike and Rarity listened intently. “Firstly, it tells us that his name is Night,” “But couldn’t that be night time as well?” Spike questioned, thinking he had outwitted Twilight in someway. He only got an unamused glare back. “Really, Spike? Now who in the world would address the night?” Spike looked to the floor. “Anyway, this also tells us that he’s a hermit. It says that he basically lives indoors.” “I think you could relate to that,” Spike joked, receiving a deadpan look from Twilight “Anyway, problem is that it’s written from his “teacher in the dark arts,” She looked up to find her audience staring at her confused. “Is that a bad thing,” Rarity asked. “I didn’t even know there was a dark arts.” “Well, I’ll do my best to explain, but Celestia hasn’t let me into that part of the library yet. She says that dark magic is unpredictable and dangerous and it will be some time before I’m allowed to even look at a book,” She paced back and forth. “There are many forms of magic, but the two main sources come from positive and negative energy. Like Ying and Yang. With me so far?” They nodded. “Mine obviously derives from the light or Ying. Although unicorns usually have positively influenced magic, there are many cases in which they may be capable of dark as well, although they never develop the skill to unlock said power. The ones that do usually end up in insane asylums or prisons, because of breaking the law or they just can’t control the power. My theory is that it messes with their head although I’ve never been up close to one with the dark power before. That’s most of what little I know. However, seeing this strange stallion just walking around with such dangerous magic makes me worried and It doesn’t bode well with me,” “He didn’t seem too dangerous when I was in his cell. He just seemed to really want his belongings back,” Rarity pointed a hoof to his cloak. “Twilight dear, I hope you don’t intend on accusing him of being evil or dangerous just yet. He has only helped me so far,” Twilight stopped her pacing. “I won’t accuse him Rarity. I just need to know how powerful he is. Very little is known about dark magic. I don’t even know what spells are capable,” She continued to pace around the room, looking at the floor as if in search of something lost. “Too bad you can’t just read his mind or something,” Spike said as he walked to the kitchen picking up a cookie out of the glass jar. A light switch flicked on inside Twilight's head as she gasped in delight. “Or maybe I can! Spike get the dolly, we’re going to move some equipment.” ______________________________________________________________________________ They knocked the front door of Biceps office, waiting for a reply. Heavy hoof steps could be heard approaching the door before it opened, revealing the muscular white pegasus behind it. “Hello girls, come in,” Twilight, Rarity and spike walked through the doorway to a very messy room. What had been an organised neat room had been turned upside down. Now covered in documents and large books labeled ‘law and order’, it looked as if biceps had suddenly been drowned with an important research task. “Sorry about the mess, I needed to find out about something and it’s been bothering me,” He leaned in closer, only a nose away from Twilight. “You girls wouldn’t be here to see him, would you?” They looked at each other before Rarity answered him. “Is there somepony else here? Who else would we see? He rubbed his neck, turning to his desk to grab a stapled document. He hoofed it to twilight. “I found something quite scary about this guy,” Twilights ears lowered as her jaw fell, leaving her mouth agape. “It doesn’t give a name for some reason, but it does show that he has a lengthy criminal record; and when I say lengthy, I mean you're looking at fourteen pages of arrests and fines he’s had since he was a young colt,” “No name?” Twilight asked. He shook his head in reply. “That’s certainly odd. All the files should have the name at the very least.” “Wait, he’s done all of these things? But he seemed like such a nice stallion.” She pouted cutely trying to take the frightening information as a joke. “This is serious Rarity!” She flipped through the numerous pages. “Since he was about Sweetie Belle’s age. He’s committed an unbelievable number of thefts, been diagnosed as insane, and even… Oh my,” Twilight’s breathing became deep slow and heavy. She hoofed the papers back to biceps before turning to the others. “What is it Twilight?” Spike asked, impatiently tugging on her hair. “What else has he done?” She looked directly at Rarity. “He’s killed somepony before,” The room went silent save for a gasp from a shocked mare. “Although it happened a long time ago, when he was really young and here it says ‘involuntary pony slaughter’. Imagine what he could do, now that he’s all grown up,” A fainting couch was magically pulled through the door as the white unicorn fell head over hooves. Spike quickly grabbed a small book and began to fan the mare in despair. “Are you okay Rarity?” “Yes I’ll be quite fine thank you. It’s just a bit of a shock. Just the thought that I was recently in the same room with such a frightening creature is making me faint, little poor me could have been hurt,” Biceps returned to his desk. “Well, since you surely don’t want to meet this guy, I’ll be seeing you later. Yeah?” He returned to reading a rather thick book labeled ‘Justice’. “Actually,” Twilight spoke up over Spike’s comforting words towards Rarity. “I would like to meet him,” Bicep’s jaw slammed onto the table. He picked it up and shook his astounded expression off his face. “Are you crazy?! You know what he’s done and what he can do. What in Celestia’s name makes you want to even know of him?” “I don’t need to get to know him personally. I’m just going to run some tests with my ‘Magical Power Interpretation Evaluation-ator’ or also known as the MPIE.” Spike giggled behind her back. “Err, what is it?” “it’s a machine that determines the strength of a unicorns current capabilities and turns it into data that I can interpret. Spike, could you bring it in please?” “Sure,” He ran out of the front door returning within a few seconds with a dolly carrying a large metal box. Lights, switches and button riddled every face. A small metal helmet with wires attached from it to the machine, sat on top. “With this I can determine if he’s a serious threat. If he’s weak enough I will be able to control him myself. I am a pretty powerful unicorn, if I do say so myself. If he’s somehow stronger than me, I’ve already sent a letter to Celestia telling her of our circumstances. One can never be too careful.” “Hmm, I still don’t know about this,” Biceps put a hoof to his chin in thought. “ I trust your judgement, but I would rather have him locked up than out and about being tested on. I don’t think he’d like being a guinea pig any more than being in his cell either. It’s probably best just to let him sit out his three week sentance, then watch him carefully.” “Only three weeks?” Spike asked. “Well, he’s being jailed here for a minor assault, not for his previous crimes despite what they are.” Well, if he’s able to leave so soon, don’t you think it’s best to be prepared. You know, learn what he may do so you can prepare, or put a warning in the local paper or something? And if I am able to take some data, we’ll have more information about his magic, it’s the least known material in Equestria. Even the Canterlot archives are limited in what they can tell. The more we know, the safer we can make the town.” She gave him a smug smirk, knowing she had the upper hoof. “Soooooo? For the safety of the town and Equestria, will you let me make a small study out of him?” He gave a long exasperated sigh in defeat. “Fine you win, I guess if it’s for the safety of the town I’ll let you through just this once and no more. But for you safety I have to be right there the entire time, okay? With a big smile on her face, Twilight trotted past him into the hallway of cells hidden behind the door. Biceps rolled his eyes before grabbing his keys and doing the same followed by Spike who carried the metal flashing box. Rarity sat comfortably on her fainting couch while she held firmly onto the cloak. Biceps unlocked and opened the door to the unsafe lair of the mysterious stallion. Entering first, saw the dark pony leaning against the wall panting heavily. His mane drenched in sweat. He stared back at his pegasus guard with lazy sleep deprived eyes. Twilight and spike walked through the doorway, humming machine in tow. They both froze and stared at the exhausted stallion. *Huff* “Afternoon, what can i do for you?” *Huff* “Umm, are you alright? You look like you just ran the ‘Running Of The Leaves.” She attempted to approach him, but biceps placed his large hoof in the way. “I’m fine, don’t mind me-” He wiped the sweat from his face and brushed away his heavy mane revealing the dark rings that hung low around the eye sockets. “-just ask me what you want and leave.” She was a little taken back, but didn’t delay her curiosity. “My name is Twilight, I read this letter that fell out of your hood and from what I can tell, I presume you use an, err, uncommon type of magic,” She gave him the letter. He looked at it before scrunching it up and throwing it over the the straw bed. “Am I right in saying that you use umm, dark magic?” She uttered the words quietly as if it were taboo. “Get to the point,” He breathed, obviously agitated. “Yes, sorry. Well you see, dark magic is very uncommon and little is known about how it works and it’s capabilities. So with your permission I would like to conduct some simple tests, that would allow me to-” “No.” He interrupted. “No what?” “No, you can’t do any ‘tests’ on me.” He raised his hooves in the air creating some air quotations at the word tests. The word itself seemed to displease him. “May I ask why?” “Will you leave if I answer this one question?” Seeing as though she wouldn’t be able to get a willing volunteer she had no choice but to get what little information she could. “Yes, I’ll leave after you answer that at least.” “Because I’ve been ‘tested’ on before and I don’t enjoy being prodded, poked, and examined like some kind of creature. I’m just like you, but you won’t see that. Your experiments show you data, what I’m made of, not who I am. Now I’ve answered your question, you can go now.” He turned his back to them as they did the same. Spike left first with the humming box. Twilight and biceps were about to follow when they were called out to. “Wait, did you say you got this from the inside… of my cloak?!” The urgency in his voice grabbed the full attention of Twilight. “Yes, Rarity’s in the front office with it.” “Could I have it back? It’s important to me. Just make sure it’s not damaged.” “Important huh?” A shifty smile spread across her face. “Well how about we make a deal, if I give you back your belongings, you will let me do a quick study of your magic. Deal?” With a confident upper hoof over the navy stallion, she raised a hoof ready to shake in agreement. “No. There’s no way I’m agreeing to that.” “All you have to do is put a helmet on and cast a spell or two, it won’t be that bad. I promise.” “Don’t make promises you can’t keep,” He stamped his hoof, displaying the firmness and unmovable mentality he had. “Listen, it’s for your own safety that I won’t let you put that thing on my head. I can’t leave to get my cloak and I won’t let you experiment on me. Isn’t there another way I can get my things back?” They sat there for a few seconds, each contemplating a compromise to their predicament. “What if we were to duel?” He proposed. “If I win, I get my cloak back, and if you win, I’ll be apart of your experiment.” “Do you know the rules to a duel?” She quickly asked. “Yeah,” “I think we have-” “Hold it right there missy,” Biceps interrupted. “Can I talk to you outside for a second?” A few seconds later, the cell door was locked and the two ponies were once again talking at the front desk. “I thought you were supposed to be princess Celestia’s logical smart pupil. What are you thinking?” “It’s the only way that I’m ever going to be able to study dark magic. I may even discover something that nopony has ever seen before. This is a chance of a lifetime.” “Your giving him a chance to be a criminal again. It hasn’t even been a day and you’re giving him a chance to commit a second crime, one that may even leave you scarred! I can’t let you do this.” “This is my decision and nothing within the law can stop me from challenging him.” “What if I don’t let him out? How are you going to duel him if he’s in here.” “Well, then we are going to have a duel in a very cramped space now aren’t we?” Biceps shook his head, no matter what he or the law said, he had no legitimate power over her. She had worked around the law and could easily halt his movements with a swish of her horn. *Sigh* “You unicorns are devilish to deal with. I’ll be right there at the match when you start, I’m the authority around here and I’ll kick myself if somepony gets hurt. “I won’t lose, trust me. If winning that duel means collecting information that can keep my friends safe, then there’s nothing that can beat me. Now bring the keys if you will,” Twilight shoved her way passed and into the corridor of cell doors. “I’ve got some arrangements to make.”