Three days have come and gone in a blur since my return with a terminally ill Luna. Celestia forcefully throwing me out of the castle shortly there after when she found out what happened saying I was to blame. And then she called all the best doctors from around the world to canterlot to cure Luna. And they worked tirelessly around the clock, but even with all there combined knowledge. The doctors couldn't cure her it mattered not whether they tried magic, or herbs the results were all the same.
During this time I could do nothing but rely on the changelings I had in the castle to update me on Luna's condition. And the updates I received were seldom good, every report said the same thing. Luna has shown no signs of improving, and to make things worse a plague began to spread. First through Eqeustria and then to all the neighboring country's and there people. The symptoms were similar to what I saw in the town Pestilence destroyed. Ponies and others just rotting away, oozing that putrid yellow puss that seemed to spread the sickness faster. And last time i heard the collective death toll had reached almost one hundred thousand poor souls around the world.
All these things and more passed through my mind as I scoured every medical book and book of cures I could get my hands on. Only to come to the same conclusion as the doctors late on the third day as I poured over countless books in Twilight's library. Only to jump from my seat with a howl of rage and fling all the books from the table before me and across the room. Striking the wall and then the floor with enough noise to wake the dead. With a defeated sigh I slid down the wall and lay my hands across my knees as I pondered and worried about how I was going to fix this. Only for my rage and desperation to grow worse the more I was left to my thoughts. Thankfully i was pulled from my brooding by the sound of multiple ponies coming down the stairs. Making me look in time to see Chrysalis and Twilight appear on the stairs, taking the whole room in at a glance. Before they cautiously approached me with worried expressions. And i watched them from behind my bangs as they approached both releaved and saddened by the fact Twilight had allowed us to use her library. Relieved for obvious reasons, but saddened by the fact my mistakes had made a little bit of Chrysalis's powers of persuasion necessary.
"Thomas we will find a way to help Luna i'm sure of it." Twilight said trying to be reassuring. But the way Chrysalis stopped in her tracks and motioned for Twilight to do the same showed her how much I disagreed before I even spoke.
"Twilight you of any pony should know how wrong that statement is." I said coldly staring her in the eyes with a blood shot, tear soaked gaze. " Every book on medicine and illnesses in this library had no way to cure this plague Pestilence has released upon the world. And you have read each and every one of them, even committed some of them to memory. So you know there is no way through modern medicine to cure this."
A long silence passed while Twilight tried to think of something to say and Chrysalis tried to console me. Only for her words to fall on deaf ears as I stared off into space convinced there was no aiding Luna. And that fact did not sit well with me, especially since it was my fault the horsemen came to equestria. And it was my fault that Luna was even put in a position to be harmed by any of them.
"Maybe we could ask Zecora?" Twilight said timidly glancing out a nearby window towards the everfree forest with uncertainty.
"And just who is this Zecora you speak of?" I asked sarcastically. "Are they some sort of voodoo witch doctor or some thing?"
"You could say that." Twilight said chuckling nervously. "She is real good with herbal remedies and unorthodox cures maybe she can help us."
Another long second passed in silence as i stared at Twilight as if she were a fool. Making her grown in frustration and head towards the door saying over her shoulder.
"We have exhausted all our other options it cant hurt to at least see if she can help us."
Slowly Chrysalis stood and made to follow Twilight stopping just short of the door. She turned and quirked an eyebrow at me and motioned for me to follow. Getting a growl of frustration from me as i stood and made my way towards the door. Only to be stopped short of it by Chrysalis as she looked me up and down before giving me the' oh really look'. Reminding me i was supposed to be in disguise, especially since i have yet to convince the rest of the girls to trust me. Even the pink one, the one who showed me the most kindness was wary of me. Not all out hostile like the rest, but still wary of me none the less. So with but a thought I took the form we had agreed on. A large but otherwise unassuming Thestral or bat pony as the towns ponies called them. And the official story was I was a lunar guard sent by Celestia to aid Twilight in her research into a cure. A story the towns ponies bought, thought was a little odd for obvious reasons but they bought it. When she was satisfied with my disguise Chrysalis took one of her own, a thestral same as me. And then we both made our way out the door to follow Twilight as she led us towards the forest that Chrysalis had called home, and the place where I came into this world.
After what felt like hours of aimless wondering, our odd trio came to a small clearing with a little hut built into a tree. Chrysalis and I stopped at the edge of the clearing,Twilight on the other hand marched right up to the door and knocked. A few seconds later the door opened to reveal a zebra mare. Her neck adorned with golden wrings and her mane sticking up like a Mohawk. She glanced at Twilight and then Chrysalis and I with a raised eye brow. Before she waived us all in stepping aside as we made our way to the door. Only for a orange blur in the near bye bushes to catch my eyes and make me stop just outside the door. With a aggravated hiss I continued into the hut hoping that it was just some animal passing by, but something in my gut told me otherwise. And my suspicion was confirmed when I caught another glimpse of whatever it was heading back in the direction of ponyvile.
"Twilight dearest friend your company I do not mind, but what brought you this way by?" The zebra said snapping me out of my brooding as I watched her with surprise. "Ohh could it be, this strange creature that stands before me?" Twilight nodded yes and smiled at her friend and turned to face Chrysalis and i, motioning for us to speak to Zecora.
"Please miss we come in the hopes of..." I began only to have Zecora wave her hoof dismissively and approach me as she said.
"There is no need for that disguise, there will be no harsh judgement or fear in my eyes. So face me as you truly are, so we may discuss why it is you have come so far."
For a long second I simply stared at Zecora too dumbfounded to respond. Chrysalis's silent words of caution, being the only coherent thought in my head. until I simply complied, taking human form only able to get a single word past my confusion.
"How?"
"My eyes cant be fooled by magics lies." Zecora said with a thoughtful look. ". Now tell me what brings you here to my home, Could it be some remedy not found in a tome?"
"Actually that's it exactly." I said still not entirely sure what to make of this mare. "As i'm sure you've heard Luna has fallen ill and no amount of medicine or magic can cure her. Twilight suggested we talk to you since you don't practice conventional medicine, thinking you might have a idea on how to cure Luna."
As soon as I mentioned Luna the thoughtful look on zecora's face vanished. To be quickly replaced by one of fearful understanding. For a moment no one spoke or even moved as Zecora just seemed to stare off into space lost in thought. Until she finally spoke breaking the uncomfortable silence that had filled the room.
"This illness can not be cured by a earthy brew, But cure the princess we still can do. This ritual is very old, and of this very few have been told. But the way to success i can impart to you" She said as she trotted past the three of us and pulled a old dusty tome from a shelf, and lay it open before us. On the page was a illustration of two ponies one a zebra who looked oddly similar to zecora. And the other was just a simple earth pony on its back with the zebra standing over it.
"To complete this ritual there is no spell, all you need is within yourself." Zecora said motioning to the next page. That showed the same image, except the zebra was surrounded in blue. While the pony was surrounded by yellow, the two colors meeting between the two.
"To complete this task, there is but one thing to ask. Are you willing to sacrifice of yourself, to ensure the other pony's health?" Zecora said staring me in the eye awaiting my reply.
"I am." I said resolutely never once breaking eye contact. Earning a satisfied smile from Zecora as she nodded her head approvingly and continued.
"Then to perform this task there is only one thing to do, you must reach out to the ill and take the sickness unto you."
"And how exactly do i do that Zecora?" I asked confused knowing this had to be more complicated than it seemed.
"You can not remove this illness by any method you've seen, you must will it gone with every fiber of your being."
I continued to stare at Zecora confused and was about to voice my confusion. But I was interrupted by the sound of pounding hooves on the door and many voices shouting.
"It would seem that we have brought trouble to your home miss Zecora." Chrysalis said shying away from the warping, groaning door.
"So it would seem, the door will soon burst its seams." And sure enough just as Zecora said that the door shattered inward raining splinters and wood chunks on us all. And when it all cleared Celestia could be seen scowling at Chrysalis and i, her coat and main haggard and unkempt. And her eyes were blood shot from countless hours of crying and full of despair. And the rest of Twilight's friends could be seen peeking in from the shattered door.
"Thomas what have you done to my sister?" Celestia said her voice shaking with barely contained emotion. Earning a tired sigh from me as i shook my head and moved away from the three mares, unable to shake the feeling things were about to turn bad and fast.
"I did nothing to her, she followed me of her own volition and knew the danger." i said coming to a stop on the other side of the hut from Zecora and the others. "The only thing I've done is search as tirelessly as your doctors to try and find a way to cure Luna."
And my saying her sisters name seemed to be the straw that broke the camels back. Since Celestia's muzzle scrunched up in rage and despair, the room getting noticeably hotter by the second. I quickly shot Chrysalis a silent plea and in answer her and the other two mares dissipated in green flames. A fact Celestia either missed completely or decided to pay it little mind.
"you will pay for what you have don't to my sister." Celestia said menacingly her horn glowing as bright as the sun.
"I have done nothing to her, i am trying to save her." I shot back in reply my anger getting the better of me.
"LIES!!!!!" Celestia screamed as she released her spell only for it to miss me just barely and vaporize the wall behind me. While i crouched down into a pouncing stance and lunged forward directly at Celestia. Only to dive directly under her and skid out the door brushing off the mares attempts to capture me outside. And rocketing into the sky with a desperate scream, shifting form mid air. Beating my massive wings as fast as they would carry me heading towards the Castle nestled on the horizon.
once more a anguished scream pierced the air and a fireball easily the size of a semi flew past me, with but an inch to spare. Only my scales natural resistance to high heats saving me from being cooked alive just from the sheer heat. I quickly glanced back to see Celestial hot on my trail with tears of rage and anguish pouring down her face. Firing any and ever spell her distressed mind could think of to prevent what she feared most in that moment. And that fear was my saving grace, for she feared I would reach Luna and take her away. And so thanks to Timor's power I could reach Luna, but I wouldn't take her away.
And as the seconds flew by I began to pull farther and farther away from Celestia much to her dismay. And her spells became more eradicate most of them impacting the ground far below us. And then the spells stopped coming and I hoped against hope that Celestia had admitted defeat and given up the chase. But I was quickly proven wrong when I was blinded by a golden flash over the now tantalizingly close castle. Only for it to dissipate to reveal Celestia charging me head on in a mad game of Chicken. Once more the spells flew as she charged me, many finding there marks on my body. But i just grit my teeth and put every ounce of power I had into continuing forward, leaving only one possible outcome. And it came all to quickly, pitting might vs magic.
With a deranged scream Celestia charged one last spell as we closed the narrow gap between us. Only to be knocked to the side by my foreleg as I barreled past her shifting form at the last minute. And smashed through the balcony window to Luna's room. And for a second all was silent as the doctors stared at my limp form on the ground as they were huddled around Luna's bed. But they quickly began to move away as I shifted and groaned rising to my feet slowly. After a few seconds I regained my bearings and began to move towards Luna's bed. Only to have a brave but foolish earth pony doctor put himself between my objective and myself. He held firm under my burning gaze and undaunted advance for a short while. Before quickly realizing I would get to Luna, through him if it had to come to that. He quickly scampered out of my way only to have a gryphon put herself in his place.
"You will come no closer to the Princess." She said her tone carrying finality. "You are the reason she is ill, and i wont let you finish her off."
"So is that the lies Celestia told you in her grief?" I said my voice a growling abyssal bass that vibrated the room around us. " Luna is ill of her own accord, and ill be damned if you or anyone gets in the way of me fixing this." I finished screaming in her face, making her wither in fear and crawl out from between me and Luna.
The sight that greeted me was one that would haunt my breams for years to come. Luna lied motionless on her bed, her once ever flowing mane and radiant coat. Were dull and lifeless growing dimmer the longer i looked at her. And that sickly yellow puss was oozing from her mouth and nose. There were patches of skin visible where the fur had simply fallen out. The skin cracked and oozing a combination of blood and puss.
"I'm so sorry Luna." i said choking back tears as i sat on the bed beside her and angled her head towards me. "I'm going to make this right if it kills me."
"My king Celestia is approaching, we will move to intercept." One of my changelings in disguise said to me over our link.
"No you wont!" I snapped over the link at her. "You will not put yourselves in harms way for me am i clear."
"But my king?"
"I said am i CLEAR?!?!"
"Yes my king." She finally conceded though I could feel how much she hated too. With that out of the way I concentrated on the problem at hand. I had learned absolutely nothing about this ritual I was going to try and perform. And to make matters worse a desperately mad alicorn sister was seconds away from burning me alive with all the furry of the sun itself.
"I'm so sorry." I whispered as I leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on Luna's lips. Every fiber of my being resonating with the need to cure her, to fix this. And as soon as our lips touched. It was like getting hit by a lightning bolt, as both pain and nausea flooded my every sense. My eyes snapped open in panic to see the color returning to Luna, while my skin began to turn a disgusting shade of yellow. I broke the kiss in shock, only to see a yellow tendril coming from Luna's barely parted lips and snaking its way to my own. The more I took in, the more my energy faded and the pain grew. But at the same time the color had almost completely returned to Luna's coat, and she was beginning to twitch beside me. And finally realization dawned on me as the last of the sickness left Luna and she slowly began to wake. And when her eyes finally opened they fell on me full of confusion and worry. But that was all i saw before a searing pain exploded all over my side and i was blown away from Luna. Her voice screaming my name being the last thing i could discern from the noise and pain before i slipped into unconsciousness.