It was a long walk from the hospital to Twilight’s castle. Fluttershy constantly needed to break and catch her breath, but Twilight and Starlight supporting most of her weight mitigated the strain immensely. Finally, they arrived at the castle’s front door. Pushing it open with her forehead, Twilight called out, “Spike! Where are you? I need your help!”
The dragon quickly came scampering down the stairs, “Twilight! There you are! Where in Equestria did you… Sweet Celestia! Fluttershy? Are you OK?”
“I’ll explain later, Spike. Can you help Starlight get her settled in one of the guest rooms? I’ve got some research I need to get done ASAP.”
“Uh, sure! Of course!” Spike responded instantly. Rushing forward, he took Twilight’s place at Fluttershy’s side. Shaking herself slightly, Twilight turned to her friends.
“I’ll be up as soon as I can, there’s just a couple of things I need to check.”
“Okay. Thank you so much Twilight. Sorry to be such a bother.” Fluttershy managed to pant out between gasps.
Twilight gave her a reassuring smile before making for the library. Her next ten minutes were spent frantically collecting, collating, and cross-referencing data in an effort to find the best way to safely discharge Fluttershy’s magic. Finally convinced that she had found a safe method, she grabbed her draiochtamometer and made for the guest room.
Twilight entered and found Fluttershy snuggled up in bed, looking exhausted but comfortable. Spike and Starlight were fussing together over some detail or other, but turned upon hearing her hoofsteps. “Twilight! Did you find something?”
She nodded. “Yes. I think the best method would be to form a sympathetic bridge between Fluttershy and myself, and use the resulting connection to siphon and burn off her excess magic.”
Starlight nodded, but Fluttershy seemed completely lost. “Er… sorry Twilight, but could you…?”
“Oh, sorry. Basically, I’ll be using your magic to power my spells. If I keep the spells simple , I’ll be able to siphon off a little bit of your magic without opening enough of a flow to be dangerous. If we keep repeating the process, we’ll eventually get your magic back down to normal levels.”
Fluttershy still appeared somewhat confused. “Did that help?”
She shook her head, “Sorry. I don’t really understand, but I trust you completely Twilight. Do whatever you think would be best.”
Twilight felt her gut flutter a bit at that, before getting her mind back on track. “If you’re up for it, I’d like to go ahead and try the procedure now. I think it’d be best if I handled the procedure, but I’d like Starlight to see it just in case there’s an emergency and she needs to take over for me. Is that ok with you Starlight?”
Starlight perked up noticeably at being asked to help. “Of course, Twilight! Anything you need.”
“Thanks. Are you ready Fluttershy?”
At her friend’s tentative nod, Twilight called upon her magic. However, rather than the rote process of reaching deep within herself for the needed energy, she instead cast her senses outside of her body, searching for an external source. After a bit of metaphysical fumbling, she came upon a wide, deep expanse. The first thing that struck her was a feeling of deep peace surrounding the well, a definite contrast to the crackling energy she always found within her own magic. Connecting herself to the energy by the most ephemeral link she could manage, she opened her eyes and began to cast a levitation spell on the surrounding furniture. Using another pony’s energy to fuel a spell was certainly an alien experience, but not an unpleasant one. There was simply a degree of separation she wasn’t accustomed to.
She continued in this way for several minutes, being careful not to take too much energy at a time. Eventually, the flow of energy became slightly restive, as if a big wave was beginning to form within its source. Twilight immediately cancelled the spell, preventing the energy from lashing out. She came back to herself panting, but with Fluttershy apparently no worse for wear.
“*pant* *pant* And that’s that. We’ll just repeat that procedure twice a day until your magic’s back down to normal.”
Spike walked over beside them “Do you feel any better Fluttershy?”
She considered it for a moment. “Not really, sorry. That felt strange, and the cramps let up a bit while Twilight was doing it, but now that it’s over I don’t feel any different.”
Twilight nodded. “I’m not surprised. You’ve got an immense amount of energy built up in there. It’ll take a few sessions before you feel much of a difference.”
Starlight chimed in, “So, the meter's to figure out exactly how much she’s got stored?”
“Exactly.” Twilight affirmed as she levitated the previously abandoned device, a rather cumbersome block of wood inlaid with 7 gradient gems, arranged from red to violet.
Fluttershy perked up, examining the device. “What’s that Twilight?”
“This is called a draiochtamometer, though most ponies just call it a magic meter. It’s a way of measuring the strength of a magical field. These gems light up in the when enough magical energy is nearby. Explaining the exact units is a bit complicated, but each crystal in the series takes about ten times the energy of the one before it to respond. I’d like you to hold it, and we’ll get an idea of how much energy we’re working with.“
Twilight levitated the device over to her, and Fluttershy nodded before tentatively taking it in her hooves. The four of them crowded around, watching the gems slowly light up. Twilight had been expecting her to top out around green, but was filled with shock as the crystals kept lighting up, finally stopping with Indigo. Twilight and Starlight both stared in disbelief, while spike let out a faint whistle. Fluttershy glanced around, a look of worry on her face. “What? What is it? Did I do it wrong?”
Twilight responded slowly, still amazed at the result, “No, no, you did it right. I just can’t believe you’ve got that large a magical potential.”
Starlight chimed in, “I’ve never heard of a Pegasus or Earth Pony with a reading this high. With no way to shunt it off it’s no wonder your system’s overloading.”
Fluttershy’s voice took on a tinge of fear, “Oh, does that mean your treatment won’t work?”
“No, it’ll work, but it’ll take a lot longer than I’d thought.”
“How long?”
“Minimum guess? Two months.” Noting Fluttershy’s look of worry, Twilight continued, “Sorry, but if I try to leech it off any faster than that I might strain your system and bring on another major attack.”
“I understand. Oh! But my animals! I can’t ask Applejack to look after them for that long!”
Abruptly, Twilight heard a knock on the window. Looking up, she saw a trio of Pegasi hovering outside. Swinging it open with her magic, She was surprised to see Rainbow Dash enter, followed by Derpy and (after some major squeezing) Bulk Biceps. “Hey, Twi! Grabbed these guys on the way back from Cloudsdale. Figured they’d want to check in too.”
“Derpy? Bulk? What are you guys doing here?” Fluttershy asked.
“Are you kidding Fluttershy? We’re teammates! And teammates always look out for each other! Right, Bulk?” Derpy asked her companion.
“YEAH! Anytime, anyplace, if you need us, we’ll come running little lady! “ Bulk enthusiastically agreed.
Rainbow turned to Twilight. “So, Twilight, what’s the story? How long before Fluttershy’s back on her hooves?”
“At least two months. I know, I know, but any faster and she may get hurt” She preemptively answered Rainbow’s incredulous look.
“Are you serious? Ugh, I’m getting sore just thinking about being cooped up in bed for two months.” She shook her wings, accentuating the point.
“Hopefully she’ll be up and about before then, but that’s how long it’ll take for me to get her magic back to normal. We were actually just discussing how to take care of her animals. We can’t ask Applejack to cover it for that long.”
A large grin broke out on Derpy’s face. “Oh! We can help out! Bulk and I would be happy to keep an eye on your critters! Right?” The stallion answered with an emphatic nod.
Fluttershy looked unsure. “Are you sure you two? Just the thought’s enough. It’s a lot of work, and I wouldn’t want you to spend too much time covering for me.”
Bulk shook his head. “No can do, Fluttershy. You’re sick, and we’re gonna help you out. End of story. We’ll take turns with Applejack.”
Fluttershy ducked her head. “Thanks, you guys. Thanks so much.” She then let out a tiny yawn.
“Oh, you must be exhausted! Come on everypony, let’s give her some space.” Twilight said, ushering the others out of the room. As she walked over to close the window, Fluttershy spoke up.
“Twilight, would you mind leaving the window open? The flowers just started blooming, and I just love the smells this time of year.”
“Sure, Fluttershy, anything you need. I’ll be back this evening for another session. If you need anything else, just pull the rope by your bed.”
“Thanks Twilight, you’re *yawn* the best.”
Twilight quietly exited the room as Fluttershy began snoring softly. As she closed the door with a click, she turned around to find Starlight waiting for her. “Starlight? What’s up?”
“Nothing much. I just wanted to see how you were doing.”
“Me? I’m fine. Why?”
“No reason, just with Fluttershy staying here for a few months I wanted to make sure you were alright.”
This statement caused the full scope of the situation to wash over her. Oh, horsefeathers! Fluttershy was going to be living upstairs, in her castle for two months! She’d have to make sure not to let her feelings get in the way of the treatments. There was no way she could take advantage of Fluttershy like that. Luckily, she managed to catch herself before any of her thoughts showed in her expression. “Of course! No trouble here! Why would there be? I’m just looking out for a friend. “
Starlight examined her, a complicated expression on her face. Eventually she shrugged, “Okay, if you say so.” She then turned and descended the stairs.
Twilight took a second to confirm her composure before following. Calm down, Sparkle. Just keep a lid on it, and we’ll get Fluttershy back to normal. Everything will be fine.