Chapter VI: I Heal. I Explain.
Twilight and the two fillies galloped as fast as they could to the club house. She often turns her head to see if Zeratul was keeping up and indeed he was. Blinking from tree to tree, Zeratul was following them to their destination, prepared to face the worse. Arriving at the club house, they all saw a swirl of green energy around Scootaloo. Her wings were bigger than her body, at least twice as big with veins popping out. She was screaming in pain while Rainbow Dash was already there, trying her best to pierce through the green energy to no avail. The latter noticed the arrival of Twilight's group.
"We came as soon as we heard" Twilight said with worry "What happened?"
"I don't know... I was flying with the squirt when I heard she somehow could fly when her wings started to grow bigger and bigger and then she landed on the ground quite hard. That green thing appeared out of nowhere. I tried to break it but-" Rainbow's speech was interrupted by Zeratul's appearance. She glared at him then tackled him. Zeratul reacted by holding her frontal hooves and standing on his ground.
"YOU!" she bellowed "This is all your fault. We were in peace before you arrive and ruin it for that filly!" Zeratul couldn't face her.
"Now now, Rainbow. I'm sure Zeratul can-"
"She's right, friend Twilight" interrupted Zeratul "I am indeed responsible for this, despite my intentions." He remembered Vorazun, daughter of the matriarch he killed with his own blade. The similarity of the events were both astonishing in the Protoss's mind. But he decided something has to be done.
"Friend Twilight. I shall indeed try and atone for this mistake." He activated his Warp Blade which made all four ponies flinch but before they react, Zeratul removed the blade from his hand and planted it on the ground.
"If I ever survive and the little one doesn't make it, feel free to end my life with my own blade." He said, gesturing at the weapon.
"E-end your life? But what... why?" Rainbow asked, stammering. Zeratul turned towards her and said.
"That blade has spilled the blood of both the guilty and the innocent. I know that I've done many things in the past, some were beneficial, some... atrocious to even speak about them. But now, all I want is to save the little one." he answered as Scootaloo kept screaming. "We don't have much time before the Void consumes her completely. My life... for Aiur." As he uttered those last words, he rushed into the swirl of energy and put his palm on Scootaloo. Then he sat down and closed his eyes. The four mares could only hear the silence of the dead: Her fate is in Zeratul's hands as they could only stay patiently, awaiting for a miracle to happen.
The Void. An energy so unpredictable. A place so dark. That's where Zeratul is now. He is wandering into darkness, looking for the light of salvation for him and the little filly. As he walked, he could only see darkness until he saw a green glimmer entrapping the little filly. He rushed towards her.
"The pain! It's unbearable..." she said, clearly wanting to be free of her torment. She saw the creature from before, the one who gave her hope. "Heh, you finally arrived."
"I have." he replied "I am here to free you. Now please do as I say." She nodded painfully. "Close your eyes and try to embrace the energy around you. You are strong willed, little one, so I thought of giving you what you wished for, but I ended up causing you more pain and for that, apologizing doesn't cut it."
"No matter what you did to me, I forgive you." She said, eyes closed "You made my dream of flying come true. You did what nopony else did to me. Now I put my life into your hands. Please end this torment." Zeratul closed his eyes and put his palm into her head.
"Imagine yourself alone, no one by your side and no... pony to aid you. You are the only one who could save yourself. You have to believe that you can muster this energy on your own. I shall guide you with my voice." As his voice echoed into Scootaloo's mind, she pictured herself just as Zeratul mentioned: Lonely, with no help at all, just like her days in the orphanage. Mocked, bullied, shunned, made fun of because of her disability, she decided to remain strong for those who will believe in her one day. And when she finally found those who did just that, she was about to die.
"I will NOT allow myself to die so easily." she screamed as the energy engulfing her began to take shape: Her shape to be exact. Zeratul's presence dissipated from the Void as the Void shaped like Scootaloo went inside her body making her fall into unconsciousness.
"Look! The energy is dissipating." screamed Applebloom, getting the attention of the crowd. The energy was indeed going back inside of the filly's body. Her wings' size reduced and yet didn't return to normal. The filly didn't wake up. Zeratul was seen panting heavily, sweating bullets as he saw Scootaloo breathing, sound asleep.
"I... did it..." he weakly said as he slumped into the ground "No... she... did it..." As the ponies approached him, he raised his hand towards Twilight.
"Please take me back... to the castle... I need... to rest..." Twilight smiled at him "And you... Spectrum one... take the... young one... and let her rest... too..."
"What happened there?!" asked Rainbow.
"I will explain... but not... now..." He answered, closing his eyes and sleeping soundly.
"I still have a responsibility to take" he thought "Not only towards that filly, but towards this planet too... Is this why you brought me here Ouros?!"
"I can hardly believe this! You've killed your own matriarch!" said the Queen of Blades, Sarah Kerrigan, surprised yet gleeful.
"Better that I killed her than let her live as your slave, Kerrigan." retorted Zeratul, retracting his blade from his matriarch, who dissipated into thin air.
"Well, I have misjudged you, warrior. You are worthy indeed. You are free to go."
"What?"
"I said you are free to go. I've already taken your honor. I'll let you live because I know that from now on your every waking moment will be torture. You'll never be able to forgive yourself for what I've forced you to do. And that, Zeratul, is a better revenge than I could have ever dreamed of."
"You will regret this decision, Kerrigan. We shall meet again." he said, fleeing from sight. Yet the sight of his matriarch dying before his arm by his own blade was printed into his mind.
Zeratul awoke with a start. The memory of the murder of his matriarch is still haunting his slumbers. He found himself in the room allocated to him by Twilight Sparkle, then he remembered the little filly he saved from the Void's clutches. In exploring the Void and the little one's spirit, he had known the reason for its invasion and he has yet to explain it to everyone present in the castle and especially to Scootaloo, who is the most concerned about the subject. He found his blade, still active, lying on the table. He checked it, reequipped it and deactivated it. He then stood up and headed for the throne room. He overheard the ponies talking.
"It has been two days and none of them has woken up yet. I'm starting to worry about the squirt!" said Rainbow Dash.
"Now, Rainbow, calm down. Zeratul said she's out of danger so-" responded Twilight before being rudely interrupted.
"And you STILL trust him?! He's the reason for all that. If he didn't interfere, Scootaloo would be okay by now. We would have found other ways for her to overcome her disability." At this moment, Applejack has had enough.
"Do ya really think it's that simple, Rainbow? I've seen Zeratul and I can say he's a creature who has seen it all." she lowered her hat on her eyes.
"How can you be so calm about this?!" asked Rainbow, outraged.
"Didn't ya say he said to... kill him if he failed?" she answered venomously "Ah swear if it was me, ah would trust someone ready to risk their lives for others. Heck, I would honor his wish if that's what he wanted me to do."
"We're talking about killing here! The life of a creature!" shouted Rainbow. Applejack faced her, looked intensely in her eyes and whispered.
"You haven't seen what death looks like, did you, Rainbow?!" with those bone-chilling words, Applejack headed towards the door where she saw Zeratul standing there.
"I thank you for taking my defense, friend Applejack, but I shall, as promised, explain what happened until now." Applejack nodded, returning to her seat as Rainbow reluctantly took hers.
"Princess Twilight" he addressed formally "Prepare whatever recording material necessary for whatever I am to say. It is probably valuable for understanding the situation." Twilight beamed as she brought tons of ink, quills and paper way ahead of time and sat down. Zeratul eyed the material and sighed "Note to self: Show Twilight how Ihan crystals work later." he thought.
"I'm ready, Zeratul. The main question is what happened to Scootaloo?" This time, Zeratul has all the answers.
"What happened is that I tried to repair the flow of energy within the little one's body with the minimum of energy possible. Unfortunately as I said, Void energy and magic are at a big conflict."
"So you're saying that even at minimal quantities, as long as the body possesses other energies, they do not mix up?" Zeratul nodded.
"Correct, friend Twilight. However, little Scootaloo's case is far more complex than that" the ponies looked at him with worry then let him proceed "If I recall correctly, you told me that Earth ponies have the least amount of magic flowing into them" Twilight nodded at that then her eyes widened in understanding.
"Scootaloo's magic is way lower than even an Earth pony! The doctors can vouch for that." Twilight confirmed.
"Therefore, what happened is the following: Void energy tried to overtake little Scootaloo's body due to the lack of magic inside her. The pain she experienced was unbearable since she wasn't an adept of Void like my fellow Nerazim and I." he explained.
"What did you do back then?!" asked Twilight, thirsty for more knowledge.
"Me? I did nothing" the ponies face faulted "By that I mean I was merely a guide for the little one. I taught her what is needed to contain the Void energy within her body." Twilight dropped her quill at the information, jaw ajar.
"So... in conclusion... Scootaloo is-"
"I'm afraid so, friend Twilight. Little Scootaloo is a psion now, just like me" concluded Zeratul, lowering his head down. "It was the only way to save her."
"YOU MONSTER!" screamed Rainbow, hoofing Zeratul in the face. This time, it connected, but compared to what he felt, it was just a bee's sting. Before she could throw any buck, Twilight held her within her magic while she was struggling.
"You did this! I'll never forgive you for whatever you have done." Twilight dropped her down as she flew away from the castle.
"Ah should check on her." Applejack said as she trotted away after Rainbow.
"Are you okay, Zeratul?" asked Twilight.
"I am fine, friend Twilight. I have lost my pride before. This is nothing new to me" answered Zeratul with sorrow. "But let us concern about the little one because I have very good news for her."
"And what are the news?" asked Twilight
"I have to take her... as my student" answered Zeratul, making Twilight's eyes widen "Who else can teach her to control her psionic energy but me?!" She couldn't answer the rhetorical question as she smiled.
"I am sure you'll make a fine teacher, Zeratul." said Twilight, bumping his shoulder; a gesture Zeratul didn't understand very well.
Scootaloo awoke in a hospital bed, feeling weak and groggy. She slowly opened her eyes and tried to go to the restroom. She was surprised not to see any needles or IV attached to her body. Speaking of her body, it was heavy and numb, so numb that she reached her destination at a tortoise's pace. She washed her face and looked at herself in the mirror. She opened her eyes very wide in order to realize the truth: Her eyes were green instead of purple. She rushed out of the bathroom, containing her scream until she went back to her room only to find Applebloom and Sweetie Belle waiting for her. She hid her face with her newly obtained wings.
"Scootaloo! Yer finally awake. How are ya-" Applebloom interrupted her train of speech by looking at Scootaloo weirdly.
"What's the matter, Applebloom?" asked Sweetie Belle only to point at Scootaloo's flank. They both put their hooves in their mouths.
"W-what's wrong, girls?!" asked Scootaloo, afraid as she opened her eyes slightly seeing utter shock in their faces. She looked back at her flank only to see that her mark is different: The shield was still there but the wing and bolt disappeared only for a weirdly shaped N to take their places. Scootaloo's green eyes widened as she could only utter one thing.
"W-what is happening to me?!" she slumped on the ground, crying while Applebloom and Sweetie Belle try to console her.
"We'll notify Twilight! She has to know what's going on." declared Sweetie Belle as she rushed towards Twilight's castle.