Dark Magic waited until everyone had settled down around him, Crusaders and Spike included, before he spoke again.
"It is no coincidence that I was near Ponyville the day that I met that young mare there." He stated.
"What do you mean?" Dash asked, suspiciously.
"It has to do with what I am about to tell you." Dark Magic answered.
"Tell us, then." Dash said, narrowing her eyes distrustfully.
"It happened years ago." The magician began. "When I was still young and new at my magic talents. A farmer was having problems with his two sons. They were both in love with the same young mare here in Ponyville, and a rivalry had started between them ... each one fighting the other over who was going to get her. It was beginning to tear the family apart. Their father learned of my particular magical talents and eventually contacted me to ask if I could assist him; some kind of magic spell to stop them fighting. So, I listened to the story, and because I wanted to help ponies with my magic, agreed to cast a spell.
Sadly, he could only see as far as his two sons and their rival attentions for the young mare, so he asked me to frame the spell calling upon the spirts to choose in their infinite wisdom what was best for her. He meant, of course, that she should be guided to one or other of his two sons. Naturally, each son believed himself to be the most appropriate suitor and therefore the best choice to win her affections, so they had both agreed to going along with it. However, when I cast the spell, something rather unexpected happened."
"What was it?" Twilight asked as the stallion paused to collect his thoughts.
"The spirits seemed to have other ideas for all involved." He replied. "Apparently they decided that both sons were bad news ... because the very next day, she received a contract to model for an upmarket fashion house in Manehattan and left town immediately. Needless to say, that really did not go over well with the family and they all blamed me for the turn of events. The good news is that the brothers stopped fighting and united together over a common interest ... bad news is, that interest was me. And their interest in me was purely for revenge purposes. So ... I fled Ponyville as fast as I could before they could get their hooves on me. I knew if I stayed, they would exact revenge somehow and decided to give this place a wide berth.”
"So why'd ya come back, then?" Applejack demanded.
“Well, all this took place many years ago, so I had rather hoped that they would have cooled down and found partners of their own by now. However, I found out today that they still appear to be carrying that grudge, and somewhat forcefully too, if I might say."
“Yuh still not answerin’ the question.” Observed Applejack, eyes narrowing.
"Truth to tell, I came to see you, Princess" said Dark Magic, turning to lock eyes with Twilight.
"Why me?" Twilight asked, frowning.
"I have only ever desired to help others" he replied, "But the form of magic which I have been chosen to carry has become too heavy a burden to bear. I was hoping that you, as the Bearer of the Element of Magic, could help me; take some of the weight off my shoulders, perhaps?”
While his tale did seem to have a ring of credibility to it, the group continued to maintain a healthy scepticism; the three Crusaders all had older sisters in this group, and all six of them were solidly united in not wanting any of them to come to any harm.
Twilight, edged closer to him, dissecting his expression with meticulous precision.
His gaze remained unwavering, a desperation burning behind his eyes, begging for release.
“So” she began warily, “You want me to take this magic off you? What do you want in return?”
“Nothing” he replied, “Just to live in peace.”
“But you would lose who you are, your magic, your identity. Is that price really worth paying?”
“Princess, we are both aware that magic can neither be created nor destroyed. If anypony has the ability to take away from me the ‘gift’ that has led me to so much misery and turn it into something good for the benefit of all Equestria, then it must be you.”
“Very well, I promise to look into it” agreed Twilight, ”But only once you have helped us finish what we have started”.
“Thank you Princess, that is all I ask.”
“Yeah, and we’ll be watching you” interjected Rainbow “Just to make sure you don’t change your mind.”
Dark Magic spent the week as the guest of Twilight in the Castle of Friendship, although with no shortage of volunteers to keep an eye on him, he was more of a prisoner in a gilded cage. He made no effort to defuse the mistrust evident all around him, but instead kept his own council as if planning something, merely deepening suspicion of his motives. Even when the primrose Bearer of the Element of Kindness made attempts to befriend him, he seemed focused on something faraway. He continued to maintain his clinical detachment, almost as if his whole turbulent life had dragged him into the eye of a storm from where he was steeling himself for the onslaught of facing the same again before he could finally be free.
Only one Element Bearer did not take a turn at guarding the castle’s visitor and that was Rarity. Everypony recognised how fragile her state of mind was and whatever grasp she could maintain on reality was best diverted to taking care of her sister’s needs without having to be reminded of the magician who had, for whatever reason, catalysed her sister’s current problems. Her absence was not considered a problem by two other big sisters; Applejack and especially Rainbow Dash who were evidently aching for an opportunity to mete out their own kind of justice should they catch him trying anything remotely suspicious.
Fluttershy had taken her turn at guarding him overnight partway through the week and had fallen asleep, tired out by the demands of her animals as well as her guarding duties. Dark Magic knew he could have taken the opportunity to escape if he had chosen and indeed left his room fleetingly, allowing just enough time to lay a pillow under the gentle pegasus’ head before returning obediently to his room. When Fluttershy awoke, she stretched and mewed like a kitten before recalling where she was and shooting a glance at her captive, who was in just the same place as she had seen him before dozing off many hours previously. She looked at the softly inviting pillow that bore the indentation of her head where she had lain, scanning around for some explanation of how it had got there. Dark Magic wore his inscrutable expression, betraying nothing of his kind act towards the Bearer of the Element of Kindness.
In fact the only pony who ever got anything out of her time with him was Twilight. With her, he opened up about the intricacy and subtleties of the spells ahead, priming her so that she would not be surprised by the rapacious demands on her power that the spell was expected to develop over three progressively more demanding stages.
The first spell had been easy, but Dark Magic dismissed any misunderstanding that it was them who had been in control – it was, he described, merely the living magic unleashed by the spell coming to terms with the spellcasters. Twilight felt a shiver run down her back at the thought of this unknown class of magic; a thrill of both excitement and fear. There were two more spells ahead during which the living magic having been awakened to their magical imprints would come to explore their individual potentials and demand increasing amounts of their essence to make the spell work. He went on to explain that the week’s gap in between was not just necessary for the two of them to recover, but also for the living magic to work its way through them and analyse what it found, so it could determine what and how much it would come to demand from the spellcasters.
Twilight felt her pulse quicken at the thought that she had helped conjure this living magic, which right at that very moment was working through her, analyzing her strengths and weaknesses. How deeply was it probing? Worse, would she be capable of delivering everything that it chose to demand from her?
****
On the sunrise one week to the day after the first spell had been cast, Twilight walked pensively down to see her guest, mulling over the open-ended requirements of the spellcasting that lay ahead.
Outside his room, she met an orange farm pony who still looked just as alert and deadly as she had when she came on duty the evening before; nothing having escaped her vigilant gaze from that second through to this.
“Good morning, Applejack” she greeted with more cheerfulness than she felt.
“G’mornin’ y’all” replied the farmer, moving to keep both Twilight and Dark Magic in her field of view without having to switch between them, “D’ya think he can be trusted to do what’s right by Apple Bloom and her two friends today, Twi?”
“Yes, Applejack” she replied confidently, “I believe so.”
“He don’t move much and says even less” commented the orange mare, “T’ain’t natural.”
“He has a lot on his mind, Applejack” reassured Twilight, “As have I.”
“Well, I figure you know what’s goin’ on better than anypony else. I guess I’ll jus leave y’all to it.”
“Thank you Applejack” said Twilight with an eerie finality, “Thank you for everything.”
The orange pony looked back over her shoulder as she left, pricked briefly by the tone of her friend’s parting comment, but dismissed what she thought she had heard as a product of her own tiredness.
“Well Dark Magic” began Twilight cautiously, sounding him out, “Do you feel ready?”
“Yes, thank you, Princess” he replied, “It is a path similar to many I have trodden before, but …”
“But what?” asked Twilight.
“Well, you see, this time the living magic has had a chance to assess both of us and although it now knows our capabilities, we do not yet know each other’s. It has us at a disadvantage, if you understand me.”
Twilight nodded, “I guess we shall soon find out for ourselves.”
“Quite so, Princess.”
The two of them walked through the corridors of the castle, each trying to scope the ability of the other and both facing their own individual fears about what lay ahead. Too soon they approached the throne room and Twilight stopped to greet two guards she had posted to ensure that there would be no interruptions as the spell was being worked.
“Good morning Sirs” she greeted politely, “Are our guests assembled?”
“ Yes Princess” responded one with stiff formality.
“And are you aware that you and the guards on the other doors are not to interrupt this morning’s spellcasting unless Equestria is in the gravest of peril?”
“Yes Princess” he snapped back smartly.
“Thank you Sirs, please see that it is done.”
Both guards stamped their hooves to attention as the last two guests opened the double doors and joined the gathering. Before them stood Sweetie Belle strapped into her wheeled frame with a teary eyed Rarity by her side, seemingly needing more support from her little sister than the other way around. Applejack and Rainbow stood resolutely by their sisters, looking strong and defiant, forelegs slightly apart and fixed expressions burning holes into Dark Magic as if daring him to make one false move. Stood back from the three pairs of siblings were Fluttershy and a serious looking Pinkie Pie.
The group of friends Twilight had always associated with happiness and laughter were all eyeing her fellow magician with varying degrees of mistrust and looking to her to not only keep him under control, but also ensure the safety of the young mares to whom they were all attached, if not by blood, but by the tightest bonds of friendship. She felt the full weight of the enormous responsibility dragging her down with every stride but was determined to instil confidence by sounding self-assured, even if her insides were turning to jelly.
“Thank you all for coming today” addressed the Princess, “Dark Magic and I have worked very closely throughout the week to ensure we are best prepared for this morning’s spell, the second in the sequence.”
Although she was keeping eye contact with her friends, she noticed that they were all looking to her side, directly at Dark Magic, their protective instincts unmistakable.
“Whatever happens, Sweetie Belle will still be carrying the same injuries once we have concluded today, so don’t expect anything physically different after this spellcasting. Judgement’s Blessing is a spell made of living magic that gets to know the petitioners, that’s those asking for help, and the spellcasters, that’s Dark Magic and myself who are facilitating the magic.
The process comprises three spells. The first calls the living magic into being and we presented your case for its consideration. During the last week, it has been assessing your worthiness; that was shown by Scootaloo’s repentance, Apple Bloom’s forbearance and friendship despite what had happened all those years ago, and Sweetie Belle’s act of charity in accepting the injuries to herself. It has also spent this week getting to know Dark Magic and myself, to assess whether we have what it takes to make the magic happen.
The second spell, that’s where it tests the three of you and us as if we were all being cross examined in Celestia’s Court. It then weighs up the evidence and in a week’s time you have judgement passed, but it will be up to Dark Magic and myself to facilitate the delivery of the curative magic, if that is what it decrees you have earned.”
“Why can’t it just make the spell happen by itself?” asked Applejack sceptically.
“The living magic doesn’t exist in this realm and has to act through us. That’s why it has to test our strength and our magical abilities before it attempts to download the spell through us. It would be like holding a live electric cable and only then finding out that the shock kills us. This is why Dark Magic is so important to the success of this spell.”
Dark Magic gave the merest nod of his head to confirm what Twilight had said as they both looked out across the faces before them, everypony visibly shocked by what they had heard, staring back with their eyes wide.
“Shall we start?” asked Twilight, breaking the stunned silence and jolting everypony back to the reality of the task ahead of them.
“Please would the Element Bearers move back so we can concentrate on our young friends” she continued, “Also, I don’t want any of you feeding any negativity into this spell, so I want you all to remember which Element you represent and think positive thoughts about how it can be brought to bear to help. If you don’t think you can do that, I would ask you respectfully to leave.”
At this, the Element Bearers looked at each other, each assessing their own worthiness as well as everypony else’s. Twilight made eye contact with each in turn, lingering on Applejack and Rainbow as each nodded their ascent and stood back.
“Thank you” said Twilight, before turning to Dark Magic, “Shall we?”
He nodded.
The alicorn and the unicorn, side by side, united in their common cause, began to meditate and after a few minutes a blue aura began to build around Dark Magic’s horn followed shortly after by a magenta glow around Twilight’s.
At an unseen prompt, the two auras suddenly shot forward together towards the three scared looking young mares, fusing together into a ball of white light that quickly grew to surround them.
Twilight felt fingers of ice run through her body and surge inside her head, pulsing like the onset of a particularly nasty migraine. She was being probed and evaluated; judged. She knew it was the same for the others too, but unlike the three young mares, she and Dark Magic had to keep feeding the magic as it ran its course. As the probing became more invasive, so it became harder to focus, more difficult to concentrate on keeping the spell going, but the need to see through what they had started became all the more vital if they were to deliver a positive outcome.
The pulsing in her head turned into an angry throbbing, burrowing deeper as the magic sought more to feed upon. The screaming pain in her head was so bad that she was crying in agony, her tears mixing with the sweat of concentration as she worked to her limit to hold the spell together.
Think of Scootaloo, think of her courage in facing her past sins; think of Sweetie Belle accepting willingly the injuries, knowing that she may be stuck with them forever; think of the courage Apple Bloom showed day to day, never feeling sorry for herself; keep it together for them …
“No! Sweet Celestia … help me!” she cried out, straining every fibre of her courage to keep the magic going until it had finished its task.
Her forelegs began to tremble, threatening to give way and let her fall, but she had to keep them locked in position. If she fell, the magic would be broken, and Dark Magic would have to compensate by providing double the power, and if he didn’t, what would happen to the three young mares? No, she had to keep going …
Twilight was crying out loud in between sobs of pain, but still refused to let go as the pain continued to increase, sweat now running down into her eyes as she fought bravely for breath, only to release it in sobs and screams.
Suddenly it stopped.
Twilight was kicked violently out of her meditation and returned full force into her shattered body, feeling the cumulation of pain.
She opened her eyes.
The magic had dissipated.
The three young mares were safe, but looked exhausted. The other Element Bearers were staring at her, shocked. She tried to turn her head to see if Dark Magic was alright too, but could not muster the strength. Instead, the effort of trying to turn took the last of her energy and she was caught off balance, unable to protect herself from falling and collapsed, unconscious.