Through the soul of friendship
Fanfiction by ShieldStar
15
The night before)
Twilight left the study with her friends making her way back to her room. But something bothered her some little nagging twitch at the edge of her memory. She thought back on the meeting they had with Reed. This creature from another world, a world living alone side her own. There had been magical theory on such things but nothing ever recorded, at least from what she knew. But there was something else that bothered her, Reed’s body language and the way he spoke. As if repeating things already said, acting to play a part to spare other’s great danger.
“Girls I catch up with you later, there’s something if forgot I had to look up in the library. I won’t be long.” And without waiting for a response she ran off to the library to get some answers.
Present day)
Twilight lay in one of the palace’s hospital beds, as and Magical doctors ran test after test. So far they were baffled as to what had happened and why Twilight Sparkle would not wake up. Meanwhile back in the princess’s’ study, Reed was being heavily questioned.
“What did you do?!” “How did this happen?!” “What is wrong with her?!” “She was fine last night what happened?!” Celestia’s questions rained down on him like firestorm.
“Thou hath better start talking.” Luna said in the coldest night wind.
“WAIT! Please I don’t know all the answers, but I did save her from a fate worse than death. Right now she is healing, when the darkness attacks and latches on to a host. Is feeds not only on the body but on every part of the being, most heavily on the spirit and life energy. Depending on how long and darkness has been joined with the host depends on if they can be saved. Luckily with Twilight the darkness hadn’t been joined too long to cause any lasting damage, but in order to keep her free and alive I need to be with her! Otherwise there is nothing stopping the darkness from moving back in. Right now she is healing yes, but when healing this kind of damage everything if focused on the healing as before there was a war for her life and the darkness was being fended off. Now she is utterly defenseless against any and all attacks. Have me at sword point if you wish but if you want her to live I need to be there.”
“Very well I shall watch you myself.”
“Quickly then, I must set up wards and help to speed the healing.”
The night before)
Twilight Sparkle sat in the library pouring over volumes of spells, body language and vision, glimpse of posable futures. So far Twilight had only figure out that the body language she’d see indicated that, Reed, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, were very worried, and they were hiding something from her and her friends.
“But that doesn’t make sense, why would they be acting that way. The Princesses are stressed daily, but I’ve never seen them like this. And Reed, well, maybe he was just nervous.” Twilight closed the book, “that’s probably it, I mean it seems logical that a creature from an entire different world meeting with eight other creatures that all know each other… He was just feeling overwhelmed, and based on my analysis so far Human’s seem to have higher emotional and reasoning capacity in place of magic.” Twilight was about to get up to put all the books back and leave when, “But they were all fairly fine with worry levels normal… then they were all freaked out. Like somepony and flicked a switch. What did I miss…” Twilight snatched a spell volume up and started wheeling through the pages with her magic. “That’s it I missed something, or something happened and the Princesses hide it from us…” Twilight stopped, “But why would they need to hide something, unless…” Twilight looked at the page she had stopped on, a spell for detecting and or removing memory spells. “It was something truly terrible.” She Knew this spell Celestia had her learn it incase somepony cast an amnesia spell on her as a prank. Though crime was rare, pranks going too far was not unheard of. “If it was so bad then I shouldn’t remove the spell they cast. But…” Twilight’s curiosity chewed on her brain. “If I look and it is that bad them I can just cast the memory lock again. It couldn’t hurt Right?”
Reed stood over Twilight’s hospital bed hands splayed above her. His gaze lost in focus of complex magic. Celestia watched closely for any signs of danger from Reed, Twilight was like a filly to her, she’d seen her grow up and become a mare. Reed twitched pulling Celestia back to reality, she looked from Twilight to Reed and was alarmed by the effects she saw. Twilight who was shaded from the darkness, was now glowing with color. While Reed seemed to whither, his hair color faded in and out with each heartbeat. His skin became patched with bruises and somewhat transparent. Shadow lifted off of twilight and dance about him, tendrils of energy flowed like water from his hands. Twilight let out a contented sigh, and Reed moved his hands to either side of her head. The energy pooled around his hands like gloves as he gently laid his hands on the sides of her head. There was a pulse of light and the energy dispelled from his hands, Reed stepped back and a little light lifted from twilight’s horn hovered above her then pulsed and faded away. Reed’s eyes closed and he leaned against the wall before sinking to the floor. The shadow still dance about him and his hair was only streaked with red now being mostly silver, he looked like a skeleton draped in clothe. Celestia moved to him but motioned her back.
“I… Need… Light… and… time…” he tried to get up and managed to kneel, “Stay… till she… wakes… but… don’t… wake her.” He slowly stood. “Which… way… to… Garden…s…?”
“I’ll have someone show you to them.” Celestia summoned a guard to show Reed to the Gardens. “Help him to the gardens, and stay with him until he is better.”
“Yes Princess.” The Guard moved to help Reed.
“Wait…” the Guard stopped, “You... most… Not… touch… Darkness.”
“Why?” Celestia and the Guard asked.
“Become… this…” and he gestured to himself. The guard backed up a bit.
“Right then if you will follow me.”
Twilight sat at the table so horrified to the point of the inability to do anything. When she was finally jarred into action by the clock tolling midnight all but one of her candles had gone out. She looked down at the spell book, “I shouldn’t have done that. I-I need to-“
“Do what my dear little pony? As I see it, it is far too late to even scream.” And with that said the candle went out. Twilight spun around lighting her horn but it was too late, the Darkness had already swooped in and soon her light spell flickered and was swallowed, as was the rest of her.
The last and only thing she was aware of was a word being chanted over and over.
Solus Solus Solus Solus Solus Solus …
Reed was sitting in the Palace Gardens, as soon as he had gotten outside into natural sunlight he had felt better. The shadows and slowly burned away and color returned to him. The guard had gotten closer on the way and Reed shooed him back, “I Just look… Better. Darkness… tricky… not safe… yet.”
The Guard had backed up as the continued to the gardens, where reed was now. He sat eyes closed, to any who watched he look as if he were just sitting. But what they couldn’t see was the wisps if shadow lifting from him, as Reed soaked up light and energy from his surroundings. Not enough to be harmful, but enough to slowly purge the shadows and refill his stores of magic. Reed knew it wasn’t truly magic, but it was quicker to just say it was. Besides magic was such a loose term that it could be applied to almost anything that defied explanation. If he had to describe his power it felt more like manipulation of the world around him, like sculpting with him will.
Reed experienced the gardens, he listened to the birds and the fountain, he felt the wind, the sun, and the soft vibrations of the ground, and He smelled the fresh air, the flowers, and the dirt. He did all this just sitting, soaking it all in. he breathed deeply then sighed, he was restored better than before he had healed twilight. Reed opened his eyes to find an audience before him. A few guards, Twilight’s friends, a few palace staff and Princess Luna, all sat around the gardens facing him.
“That was Beautiful!” Fluttershy whispered, there were nods of agreement.
“Where ever did you learn to do that?” Rarity asked in awe. Reed had no idea what they were talking about, all he had done was open his mind to everything in the garden. ‘Oh that.’ Reed realized that he had dropped all his walls and that meant his wards too.
“When I, recharge, my powers leak out and cause things like that to happen.”
“Wow Awesome.” Rainbow whispered. What they had exactly seen Reed would never know, but from what few people had seen/ heard and told him he could make a fair guess.
“So many Colors so peacefully flowing.” Rarity sighed
“And that music so,” Applejack commented.
“Wonderful,” Pinkie smiled and peace.
“Beautiful,” The Princess added.
“Peaceful.” A Guard spoke up. Reed had heard it all before, but this time those who had been around knew the source was him.
“What do you call this experience?” Princess Luna inquired.
“It’s never had a name, but Windspeak has been whispered.”
It’s perfect.” A guard came up and bowed to the princess.
“Princess Celestia Requests all of your presence.” He said to Reed, Princess Luna, and Twilight’s Friends. “Twilight Sparkle has awoken.”