Chapter 34: The Healing Process
Everypony was in a state of utter shock, especially the princesses. Luna was the first to act. She quickly swept Twilight up in a hug.
“Oh, Twilight,” cried the lunar diarch, “Why did you not tell us of this sooner? Surely you know that I, of all ponies, know how you feel?”
“Luna?” Twilight began, “Do you still... feel it... inside you?”
Luna looked down at the smaller mare in sympathy, “All the time, my dear Twilight.”
“Twilight, I have to ask,” Celestia got her student's attention, “How did you seal it? You didn't have the Elements of Harmony.”
“Xander,” Twilight stated simply, “When he drained me of my magic I no longer had enough to sustain it, so it went into stasis. Right now, I've recovered just over half of my magic, so I'm still not a danger. But I'm afraid. What happens when my magic fully recovers? Will it take back over? If it does how will you stop me without the Elements? How much does my magic have to recover before I’m strong enough to sustain it? I can feel that it's still weak right now, so I know it's still safe but for how long? I'm scared.” She began to quiver again.
Celestia stood up with a determined glint in her eye, “I will find a way to seal it without the Elements. Perhaps, because it's dormant, we can seal it away from your magic.”
“I don't get it,” Spike chimed in, surprising a few others as he had been content to just listen for the most part, “Nightmares come from negative emotions manifesting into a semi-sentient parasitic entity, but you've never been negative. Yeah, you use to get a little... uh... stressed, but that's it. Another thing, Nightmare Moon took years to manifest, so how can you develop a Nightmare in less than a single year?”
“It was hate, Spike,” Twilight answered in shame, “Every time I'd hear about another settlement, colony, or ship that was destroyed by the Dratali I felt nothing but hatred for them. Then, when they killed Has-Ka...” Twilight wiped a tear away, “It was too much. The last thing I clearly remembered thinking was that I wanted them to suffer the same. It happened so fast because hate is a much stronger emotion than jealousy.”
“I just can't imagine you... like that.” said the young drake.
“I can barely imagine it, kid, and I had a front row seat,” Curt put in, “If you ask me, from what I've been told about the nature of Nightmares, it really wasn't her. A Nightmare takes over and once it does, you can't fight it. The only mistake she made was keeping her feelings bottled up, but then again, that was kind of our fault. We're taught to bury our emotions on the battlefield, because they get people killed, and they do. I've seen quite a few young soldiers get themselves and others killed because they got emotional. The problem lies in the fact that those suppressed emotions build up and with ponies as powerful as she is, that's especially dangerous.”
“Well, hey,” Twilight call in a more chipper tone, trying to lift the mood a little, “The good news is that that's the low point of my story, and things only get better. Come on around and let's finish this tale.”
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
Twilight slowly awoke to the sound of medical equipment. Her whole body hurt, especially her head.
This is familiar, she thought to herself as consciousness returned to her. Unlike last time however, she didn't try to move. Instead, she just laid there waiting for someone to come in. The clock on the wall ticked down seventeen minutes before a nurse walked in.
“Oh, Lieutenant, you're awake,” she said when she noticed. The nurse took her vitals and smiled at the unicorn. When she finished she told her, “I'll go get the doctor.”
After another four minutes an aviva walked in with a smile, “Lieutenant Sparkle, welcome back to the waking world. I'm Doctor Lim. You were out of it for two weeks with a list of injuries ranging from minor to severe, even near fatal... you're lucky to be alive, Lieutenant.”
Twilight swallowed and struggled to speak, “What were my injuries?”
“Well, the vast majority were rather minor,” the doctor began, “There were a few that required surgery to repair. Your left ocular nerve was completely destroyed and needed to be replaced with an artificial one. Same with your right lung, and three ribs. Other injuries include internal bleeding, several broken bones, a hemorrhage in the intestines and a broken horn.”
“What?” Twilight's heart skipped a beat at the last one. She reached a hoof up and felt her forehead. Tears filled her eyes when she felt the stump through the bandages.
“Captain Dupree told us that the crystalline structure that formed is part of the healing process.”
Twilight let out a sigh of relief, “Yes, it's crystallized magical energy that forms to rebuild the horn. At least that means my magic is working well enough.”
“Actually, Lieutenant, Captain Dupree also said that your magic was drained by someone named Xander. He's been coming in everyday to 'channel magic into the horn base to stimulate crystal growth'.”
Twilight barely heard anything passed the word 'drained'. She was starting to panic.
“Get me a mirror,” she demanded, “A portable one.”
The doctor looked confused but complied. He pulled a hand mirror from a drawer and held it up for the injured unicorn.
“I need to see my eyes,” she instructed.
Her breath caught as she looked into a pair a large, light brown pools. She closed her eyes quickly and took a breath to compose herself. She opened them again and studied her eyes more closely. At the sight of the few scattered spots of purple, she sighed in relief.
“May I ask what that was about?” the doctor asked.
“Ponies are, by nature, magical,” she began, “So much so that if a pony loses all their magic, their body will slowly deteriorate and die. The fact that there's at least a little purple in my eyes means that I still have some magic.”
“Oh, I didn't realize it was that serious. Are there other medical conditions that can arise from low magic levels?”
“Just minor ones like fatigue, inability to grasp objects with hooves, loss of control of bodily functions... nothing dangerous.”
“Well, I'm going to let you tell me what treatments you are going to need to aide in your recovery.” The doctor wrote a few notes on his datapad. “Captain Dupree should be here soon to begin your discharge. He's barely left your side since you came here. Last night was the first night he's been away, and then only because I convinced him he needed to be well rested for today.”
“He's a good friend,” Twilight smiled.
“Friend?” Lim raised an eyebrow, “I think he sees you as mo-”
“Twilight!” Curt ran into the room and gently wrapped the unicorn in his arms, “I'm so glad you're awake. How are you feeling? Are you in pain? Do you need anything?”
“I'm... fine, Curt,” she lied. She was far from fine. She was scared. Most of what happened after Has-Ka was killed was a blur, but she remembered enough to know what happened. She mutilated those Dratali. Even as bad as they were, they didn't deserve that. If that weren't enough, Xander was already dangerous, and now he has her power on top of what he already had and his seeming invulnerability. He terrified her.
Curt noticed her distress. “No you're not, but if you don't want to talk about it then fine. I'll be here for you when you're ready.”
“Thank you.”
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
“Where are we going?” Twilight asked for the dozenth time.
“It's a surprise,” Curt said for the dozenth time.
Twilight groaned and looked out the window of the personal transport. It wasn't a high end model, but it was plenty comfortable for himself and one of two others. It was FTL capable, and had a living quarters, kitchen, and lounge.
The past three days had been a test of humility. Twilight was practically helpless, needing Curt for everything. He had to feed her, bathe her, and worst of all, change her diapers. She hated not being able to do anything for herself, and she hated putting Curt through everything. Anger and self-loathing had become Twilight's standard emotions. All she could bring herself to think about was how far down the toilet everything had gone. She'd wake up screaming from nightmares about Xander finding her, or about her going crazy again and hurting her friends. While she was awake she'd sulk all day.
After a few hours in her thoughts, Curt spoke up again, “We're here.”
Twilight looked up as the ship exited FTL space just a few hundred miles from a green and blue planet. Twilight's eyes widened from excitement when she recognized where she was.
“I made a promise, and I'm keeping it,” said the human, “Twilight Sparkle, welcome to Earth.”
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
Curt wheeled Twilight down the boarding ramp where they were greeted by an older woman in her fifties. “Curtis, I’ve missed you.”
“Hi, mom, how have you been?” Curt replied.
“Oh, I’ve been good. Your father threw his back out trying to fix that old car of his again. So, this must be Twilight. I'm Patricia, Curt's mom.”
“It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Dupree,” Twilight replied, extending her metal hoof.
“Oh, Patricia is fine,” replied the older woman, “I'll show you to your room. All the medical equipment you need is already there.”
Patricia led them into the large house. It was a beautiful multistory mansion on the coast of Ireland. It had gorgeous marble pillars with ebony accents lining the foyer with a large family portrait with what looked like a ten year old Curt.
“Thank you for letting me stay here while I recover,” the injured unicorn said sincerely.
“Oh nonsense, you got hurt saving my son's life. The least I can do is help you recover. Here we are.”
Twilight hadn't even noticed when they arrived at a room close to the foyer. It wasn't big, but that might have been because the equipment inside.
“Supper will be ready soon,” Patricia told them, “I'll let you know when it's ready, so for now get settled in and make yourself at home.” She turned and began heading out the door, but stopped. “Oh, and no hanky-panky under my roof. Get a hotel for that.”
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
Twilight waited for Rainbow Dash to stop laughing. “Oh, man. That's rich! She knows you for five minutes and she knows you two are perfect for eachother!”
“Rainbow,” Twilight said menacingly, “Don't make me hurt you.”
The pegasus stopped quickly and looked at her friend with a touch a fear, “Y-you wouldn't really would you?”
Twilight laughed, and wrapped her right hoof around the rainbow maned one while giving her a noogie with the other, “Oh, I wouldn't hurt one hair on your pretty little head.”
“Hey, lemme go!” Dash pulled away and attempted to straighten out her mane, “Just get on with the story already.”
“There's not really much else to tell,” Twilight said, “My recovery was pretty routine. After a month, I recovered enough of my magic to start doing things for myself again. Another two weeks and Curt didn't have to stimulate the crystals anymore which also meant he had to return to duty. A while after that, my horn was finally fully functional, and I gave Seth a call. He ordered me to return here, and this time, I was all for it. They dropped off my fighter and a sled, and wished me luck.
“I was in orbit for two days, terrified of what you guys would think of me. I was watching through a scope when I saw the carriages from Canterlot. When I saw that all of you were gathering at a monument I couldn't see too well, I decided this was the best time to land. I didn't even realize it was the anniversary of my departure. Well, you guys know what happened after that.”
The group was silent for some time. Their thoughts were dwelling on everything their friend had been through over the past year. Their thoughts were interrupted by a flash of light and the gasping for breath.
“Damn... I really need a recharge.” All eyes fell on the figure as he stood upright.
“Well,” Twilight gave a little smirk, “I was wondering when you were going to show up, James.”
“Too tired... to make... a witty... retort...” gasped the former Chaos Lord.
“I've wanted to meet you for some time now,” Celestia said as she approached, “I think we have much to discuss. The one thing that has been bugging me the most, though, is why you’re helping us. You told Twilight that you were no longer a Chaos Lord, so you no longer have a responsibility to us.”
“Not to you your highness,” James smiled, “But to my wife and daughters, whom you already know. Isn’t that right Pinkie?”
Pinkie jumped up and threw her forehooves around his neck and said, “Yay! It’s about time I get to tell them, Daddy!”
Twilight looked from one to the other, “Why does this make sense?”
“Wait just an apple buckin' minute,” Applejack stepped up, “Ah met Pinkie's pa, and you ain't him. He's an earth...” the farm mare was rendered speechless as the biped was replaced by a familiar brown earth pony with graying mutton chop sideburns. “...pony?”
Pinkie smiled and bounced around her father, “How do you think I knew Twilight was okay and adventuring in space? My Pinkie senses aren't that good. Daddy told me where she was, but he didn’t say anything else. He said he didn’t want to ruin her story.”
The cow pony's jaw worked as if she was trying to speak, but couldn't form any words. The sound of laughter drew her attention away from the pink one. She was about to scold Rainbow Dash, but saw that she was just as dumbfounded. She looked around until she discovered the source.
“Twilight! What in tarnation is so funny?”
The lavender unicorn eventually managed to answer through her mirth, “For the first time, in all the years I’ve known her, Pinkie makes sense! I finally know the secret of her Pinkie powers! Victory is mine!”
“Laugh while you can, Twilight,” James said, “I'm not here for a reunion... Xander found Avol.”
Twilight's good mood vanished instantly, replaced by fear, “W-what do you mean?”
“I mean I got a little visit from Turmoil. She said Dratali mystics found a life-rich planet floating in the middle of nowhere. Avol is the only world like that. They're going to be here in three days.”
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Oh dear.
That escalated quickly....
Now for the real comment:
That escalated REALLY quickly.
Hey look, a chapter! Also of note, Pinkie being half Chaos Lord makes a lot of sense. Impressive.
DUN-DUN-DUNNNNNN!!!
DUN DUN DUN
So the new plot is in place! Onwards! to epic battles!
Shit, meet Fan
NNNNNNOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
the shit-storm has arrived
Finally, that GIANT missing piece of the puzzle has been found!
Pinkie being James' daughter! Nice one! 
Plot-twist?
No, not plot-twist. SHITSTORM!
global3.memecdn.com/end-well-this-will-not_o_582935.jpg
On a more serious note, I think this is going to break my top 5 favorite fics list.
Oh Fucknouggets...
Twist plot for shitstorm.
James is Pinkie's dad?! THAT EXPLAINS EVERYTHING!!!
dashie.mylittlefacewhen.com/media/f/img/mlfw5364-542436_324442467639115_687784111_n.jpg
denver.mylittlefacewhen.com/media/f/img/mlfw2948-Sequenz-01_11.gif
ROFL
Eyup. Now that makes total sense. It seems the Equestrians will have to be battle ready. Hmmm.
Where is a room of time and space when you need it? Making a day as long as a year would greatly help now for training ^^. Also being half Chaos lord, Pinkie should have far more abilities than her pinky sense and some odd form of appearance sometimes. I feel now we will see Celestia and Luna in a battle situation. Well, we know that they at least witnessed one war in their lifetime, so they should have some spells for that situation. Xanders Goal is also quite clear: Not only absorb Twilights power, but also Lunas and Celestias. AND we finally may see if Shining Armor has earned his Title of captain of the guard not only for his defensive capabilities. (His shield spells are very good, that is true, but can he fight? I think we will find out.)
oh my that actually makes sense pinkie pie being the daughter of a chaos lord and the dratalli showing up ain three days really sucks
2324895
you forgot the "caw" of the eagle at the end
2324897>>2324895
Is how it should have been done. For shame.
(speet out soda out of my mothe) W-What?! Oh shit there so doom now doom i'll tell you DDDDDOOOOOOOMMMM!!!!!!!!
Gets down on knees
And we close in on the end...
Oh and Pinkie beings James's daughter is absolutely perfect
I think this would be a matching battle music ;)
or this:
Or this:
If you think about it, Rimururu is a bit like Twilight. She also has a dark side in her (Reira).
Aaaaaaaannnnd... THEY'RE BONED.
hmm... they need Malzahar, Morgana, Syndra, and finally Thresh.
just to defeat Xander. Or a small tactical force of Zaurask Ayrukomaak.
...I wonder... If Celestia and Luna can move the sun and moon, would it be possible to make a coordinated effort and relocate the entire system? Because it'd be HILARIOUS if the Dratali fleet showed up and there's nothing there, leading to mass confusion and general uproar in their chain of command. They'd probably find the planet quickly enough, but in the meantime, Trollestia would get to laugh her ass off.
2325275
You forgot Starswell... Oh sorry, Merlin on that list.
Also. I think some red haired, little Flat chested (didn't say that) sorceres would be more than enough here.
She and her travelling companions. Ponified of course (Although Zelgadis as a pony would be hard to imaging ;) )
WAIT
...an immortal Lich King is coming to Equestia with an unstoppable army of crazy life-hating lizards and we only have 3 days to call in the Alliance fleet before we're all zombified?
...
ERMAHGERD!!!1!
INCOMING SHITSTORM!
BATTEN DOWN THE HATCHES! SECURE ALL DOORS AND WINDOWS! CANCEL THE THREE RING CIRCUS!
l.popoffka.ru/ponies/cmc/135490%20-%20animated%20apple_bloom%20ask_the_crusaders%20panic%20scootaloo%20shaking.gif
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2324895>>2324897
You guys always seem to think of this 2325057 inflection, but I've always preferred...
This is Australia...
Before I start reading, is there a prequel of sorts that I would need to read so that I'll know what the f*ck is going on?
So a Dratali fleet is going to be turning up soon. Heres hoping that a human fleet is also onroute and we see the turning point of the war. That would be epic.
Also, I'm with Twilight here. Pinkie finally makes sense.
I always suspected that Pinkie had a chaotic father
The situation is only made better since Twilight finally got Pinkie to make sense
Three days to combat? Plenty enough time to unveil the secret awesome OP as hell mega ultra tall robot that can transform into a spaceship (or vice versa). Otherwise known as Gurren Laggan
(why? cause there's a freaking ex chaos lord there and he can do whatever he wants
)
Shit just got real.
2325158 CHEESE IT!!!! (Couldn't find a good bender clip.)
2325366
To say it with Tom Hanks words:
I don't think there is enough time for the alliance fleet. MAybe they can use shield spells to at least save them from orbital fire, but then there would be a ground attack by several, fanatical zealots plus said immortal Lich king.
I think it is time to see if the royal guard actually earned their money. Another possibility, but maybe it is just my wish, would be, Cellies and Lunas parents, you know who were actually Artus and Guinevere have left some artifacts for such a scenario, like the original Excalibur for example? Or a form of a summon spell, like the famous Knights of the round from FF VII? All 12 Knights plus artus himself would be a nice backup ;)
You know actually what the name Guinevere, or Jennifer in todays form means? It means shadow.
Well. we will see how this attack will occur. Grab some popcorn and enjoy the show
2325391 Nope, its set up Twilight comes home after a year being "Dead" and they explains where she went, and then other things happen, your good to start, no prequel needed.
Oh before I forget. Excalibur could not just be a sword. Hell, I remember several weapons with that name, from a sword over a Space superioty fighter (the F-103) and a full fledged battle ship.
The last one is this:
lparchive.org/Xenogears-%28by-The-Dark-Id%29/Update%20140/57-3ZoCR.jpg
I don't know if anyone here played Xenogears and remembers the epic attack on the Merkava fortress involving this mighty spaceship.
I was really looking forward to Twilight visiting Earth, but it was rather anti climactic.
And seriously James, why would you tell the ponies about the imminent attack instead of Alliance command or someone who might be able to do something?
Maybe we can see the return of our favorite statued antagnonist to defend Avol?
2325610 Who said he didn't? Remember his bestest pal the Admiral?
2325667
Touche
why i see curt making baby talk to her while he changed her?
and in 3 days?
i hate to say it but magic vs starships? this won't end good. unless they could get backup or maybe get the legendary sword *wink wink*
Well I dunno about the rest of you but 'm looking foreward to Celestia going Supernova on that lich's undead flank. If Twilight can bash him to the point it takes him time to get back up, being vaporized into a black stain on the glassified earth should prove a bit more difficult to recover from. Problem I see for Celestia here is being able to use ALL her power without killing everything else around her as collateral damage.
Three days will not be enough time to do much but run for cover and/or hide in a cave for the rest of Avol. I'll assume they are going to attack Equestria, and start with the capital rather than spread themselves out so thin as to attack everyone at once. And since we'll be going all out to repel the invaders, why not use the resources around the ponies? Teleport Everfree Forest monsters into their ships, I'm sure critters like (semi-regenerating) timber wolves, (extremely violent) manticores, (sneaky petrifying) cockatrices, and other things will keep them busy. I'm not sure if a hydra will fit tho, unless it's the cargo bay or something.
The best strategy for the ground troops will be guerrilla tactics; hit and run because that superior hightech firepower will decimate anything the ponies can come up with and there's so few combat-spell effective unicorns versus the overall population of generally peaceful ponies.
In any case, this war might actually be good for Avol as it will force everyone to stop being difficult and work together if they want to live. This means changelings, gryphons, dragons, diamond dogs, and all the other species with half a brain.
2325366 So the shops in the mall are still open and the animals in the zoo are not secure?
2325540 I can think of 2 other things with names similar to Excalibur
images.wikia.com/kamenrider/images/c/ca/DeluXe_AxeCalibur_Preview.jpg
kamen-rider.com/database/2008_kiva/images/kiva-ar-ixacalibur.jpg
2325356 Well White mage would be overkill just think about it. *Holy* //// "9999^2"
not even cloud and Sepiroth have anything on that.
2325417 or just summon Alucard from the void.
Wait do they have the book, or do the dratli have it?
And the story just got better! Awesome chapter.
Finally at the climax for our story. I hope there's a sequel to this someday.
Keep up the good work.
i.imgur.com/9kMm8CP.gif
I really did not see that coming, at all. Well played good sir. Pinkie being James's daughter just makes so much sense. And I guess I'll join everyone else in preparing for the shit storm we all knew was coming.
2325760 Remember, though, he stole Twilight's power, so he's a lot stronger then before.