[Twilight POV]
I sit there at the now empty table, holding my sandwich a little too tightly.
“What...did I say?” I stand up and clean off the table.
“Spike! Are you here?” I call out. He walks in from the library.
“Yeah, what’s up?” He asks. That’s my number one assistant…
“Could you send a letter to the Princess for me?”
“Sure!” He pulls out a scroll and quill.
“Dear Princess Celestia, I’d like to report that the delusions Six suffers from aren’t delusions at all. They are very much real. He had a minor incident yesterday, but he’s here now. If you wouldn’t mind, I would like to politely request you to come here to meet with him. Something seems to be really troubling him, and I can’t figure out what. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle. Did you get all that. Spike?”
“Yeah...What delusions does he have?”
“I’ll explain later. Right now, send that letter and read me the response as soon as you get it, okay?”
He nods, and with a plume of green fire, it’s gone. I nod and finish up the dishes. Not ten seconds later, and Spike burps up a scroll.
“Already? That was fast… What’s it say?” Spike unrolls the scroll.
“Dear Twilight, I’m outside. Princess Celestia. She’s here?!” Spike jumps up.
“The Princess is already here?! Go answer the door!”
Spike rushes to the door, and I quickly fix my hair and clothes to look a little more presentable.
When Spike returns, princess Celestia is with him. She’s in her usual alabaster dress, tiara and all. Her complexion is perfect, just like always, and she walks with a motherly regalness about her.
“Princess, I-I wasn’t expecting you so suddenly….” I stutter.
“I’m sorry for the intrusion, but I had to speak to you in person. It would be easier than a letter.” She walks right up to me and hugs me. I blush softly and hug her right back. She’s warm, like a sunny morning.
“Where is he?” She asks suddenly.
“He’s up in the guest bedroom.” I look up at her eyes, and they were wide.
“Twilight, is anyone with him?” We seperate the hug.
“N-No. I thought he could use some privacy…” She runs to the stairs, and I quickly follow.
“Princess, slow down! What’s happening?!” I call out, hearing Spike behind me.
“You should never leave him alone!” She shouts back. We get to his room and she knocks.
“Six, this is Princess Celestia! Open the door! Twilight, was he wearing his necklace? Did you bring it up at all?! Please, tell me you didn’t…”
“I….I just wanted to know what it was…” Her hand glows brightly and the door explodes off its hinges. She rushes in, looking around for him frantically. I help her, but I don’t see him.
“G-guys….” Spike says, sounding shaky. He backs out of the doorway of the bathroom. Celestia pushes him aside and gasps. I look past her, and I cover my mouth.
He was lying shirtless in the bathtub, his wrists and chest bleeding heavily. A bloody razor was lying in a small pool of blood on the ground. He was breathing, but barely. The word “Rose” was written in blood on the wall.
“P-P-Princess, I….I….”
“Twilight, get Spike out of here.” Celestia says emotionlessly. I don’t dare to argue and take him out of the room, tears streaming down my cheeks.
[Celestia POV]
“Six...what did you do….” I touch his head gently and pulse healing magic into him. His cuts scar over, and his blood pulls back into his body. He gasps and coughs, looking up at me. His expression goes from surprise to anger.
“WHY!? Why did you do that?!”
“Six...you can’t do this to yourself….You almost died this time…”
“I WANTED TO DIE!” I gasp.
“I can’t live on like this!! I spend every waking moment in HELL! Just let me diiie!” He screams in my face.
I grab him and hug him close to me. He tries to push me away, but he eventually caves in, crying openly and loudly into my chest.
“It’s okay….Just let it out…” He squeezes the back of my dress.
“Why...why couldn’t it have been me….? Why did she….why!?”
“I know it’s hard, Six….But she made her choice. She saved your life, and you’re wasting it trying to end it. What would she say if she saw you now?”
He cries even harder, and I hold him closer.
“It should’ve been me….IT SHOULD’VE BEEN ME!!”
“Rest now, Six…” I press my glowing hand to his head, and he falls slack in my arms, fast asleep. I levitate him over to his bed and lay him down.
“You can come in, Twilight…You too, Spike.”
The door opens, and they both walk kn, fresh tears in their eyes.
“P-Princess….what...happened?”
I sigh and sit at Six’s side, gently caressing his head as he sleeps.
“It’s a long story, Twilight. And not a pleasant one. Are you sure you want to hear it?” She nods.
“Well, it was years ago, when he was just a young boy. He was only six…His mother and father had dropped him and his sister off at the Manehattan orphanage.”
“Sister? He never mentioned having a sister…”
“Yes, Twilight. Her name was Rose Mint. And he loved her with every fiber of his being. She was older than him. She was fifteen when they were left at the orphanage. She cared for him like a mother would, ever since he was born.”
“One day, he wanted to go to the nearby forest to pick flowers for his sister. So, he snuck out that afternoon and made his way in. But, he was attacked by a manticore. His sister heard his screams and rushed to his aid, but…”
“She...didn’t make it...did she, Princess?” I shake my head sadly.
“Ever since that day, he blames himself for her death. He spent years of his life trying to talk to her spirit. When the dean of the orphanage had found out about his delusions, he was locked in a mental ward until he broke out and ran when he was fifteen. He got to Canterlot, where he stayed in an abandoned home on the outskirts of town, away from everyone, taking every single burden along the way. Or, so he had said. But your letter today was evidence enough for me to believe that he can do all the things he has ever said and done. Twilight, have you ever noticed that there isn’t very much sadness in Canterlot?”
“....Yeah...Now that I think about it. I never really saw anyone sad the multitude of times I’ve gone.”
“Why do you think that is?” Her eyes widen, and she looks at Six.
“He….took all their sadness….and made it his own...Why?”
“He’s punishing himself...He still blames himself. And if everything he’s said is true, he has a demon in him. A powerful one.”
“P-Princess, what do we do? How can we help him?”
“We need Luna for this one…”
“Wh-Luna? But, why?”
“She’s, well….Before she was defeated by the Elements of Harmony, she, too, was possessed by a demon. You know her well.”
“N-Nightmare Moon….”
“Precisely. I’ll bring her here. She may be able to help him dispel all this...burden he’s taken on…”
“Please...he’s my friend….I-I can’t stand to see him like that...ever again….” I nod and shut my eyes.
Luna, if you can hear me, come to Friendship Castle immediately. It’s an emergency.
Right away, dear sister!
I open them again, and Luna was standing behind Twilight in her black dress.
“Sister, why did you call me? What’s happened?” She asks worriedly.
I look down at Six, and she gasps.
“S-Sister, his….oh, you….His soul is corrupted….”
“I know, sister. Can you help him dispel all of this?”
“I-I can try….But, sister. I don’t know the extent of this...Who knows what could happen if all of that was released…”
“That’s why I’m here. Twilight, hold him down. Just in case.”
She nods and sits at his side, her hands on his chest.
Luna walks over slowly, her hand glowing blue. She gently presses it to his forehead, and his eyes snap open, completely black.
“AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” He screams at the top of his lungs, a massive pillar of black, tar-like energy spewing from his mouth. It blasts through the ceiling and strait into the sky.
“PRINCESS, WHAT IS THIIIS?!” Twilight yells.
“I DON’T KNOW!” I take a step away, shaking slightly. I look over to Luna, who hasn’t moved.
“LUNA! LET GO OF HIM!” I yell.
“SISTER! HE’S IN SO MUCH PAIN! I HAVE TO SAVE HIM!” She looks back at me, her eyes slitted. Nightmare…
My hand glows and I yank her away from him. He instantly stops and blacks out again.
I grab Nightmare with my magic. “How are you back?!”
“S-siter, you’re hurting me….” Her eyes return to normal. I gasp and let her go.
“Why did you do that!? I almost had it!” Luna yells.
“Sister...you had Nightmare’s eyes...He was….Oh, me….He was trying to take your burden…”
She blushes. “My what?”
“Sister, he can absorb the sadness and burdens of others into his own body at the cost of his soul. That’s why he’s like this. He was trying to take the remnants of Nightmare from you.”
She looks up at the massive hole in the ceiling. “He...did that?”
“I think it best if you two kept seperate. Who knows what would happen if…” I see movement from the corner of my eye, and see him staring at me with soulless black eyes.
“You.” He jumps out of bed, knocking twilight over, and he rushes at me. But, before I can grab him with my magic, he has a hand around my throat. I wince and try to summon my magic, but nothing happens. He grins evilly.
“I must thank you for releasing me. His pitiful mind couldn’t handle the sheer volume of my power.”
“Let her go, Demon!” Luna shouts at him.
“Ah, the corrupt one finally speaks.”
“C-corrupt one?”
“You heard me, Luna. I took some of your burden from you, and look at me now! I really must-” He suddenly stops, dropping me. I gasp and cough.
“Not...possible!” He shouts. “I-I won’t let you h-hurt m-my friends, y-you demon!” His hand glows and he aims it at the sky, a huge blast of black fire three times wider than him blasts the roof completely off the castle.
His eyes shift back to grey and he collapses, his nose bleeding heavily.
Twilight stares at the blown-off roof of her home in shock.
“What...what just happened!?” Luna yells.
“I think...I think he fought back and won. Luna, what does his soul look like?’ She looks at him.
“It’s still dark, but less than before. He dispersed most of the demon out of himself!”
I sigh and rub my neck. “Luna, never let him do that again. That could’ve been a lot worse. Twilight, I think it would be best if he was blindfolded from now on. If he were to take in that much negativity again, we could be dealing with another Nightmare Moon.”
“Princess, that..that’s a bit of a rash thing to do...How could he live without being able to see?”
I hum in thought, tapping my chin gently.
“Do you think you could make a spell that filters out negative energy? Or possibly reflects it?”
“I...I could try…”
“Good. Luna and I will work on a blindfold that he can see through while you work on that spell. With any luck, we can make a blindfold he can still see with, but he won’t take in any burdens.”
“Can’t we just enchant his eyes with the same spell?”
“Twilight, you and I both know that you can’t do such complex enchantments on the human body. It could make him permanently blind, or worse!”
“R-Right, Princess. Right away.” She gets up and scurries downstairs. I look back at Luna.
“Sister, go home. Until he wakes up, I want you far from him. Can you manage that?”
“Y-Yes, sister.” She vanishes. I gently pick him up and lay him back in bed, my magic repairing the roof at the same time.
I grab a piece of a shredded pillow and rip the case off into a strip, gently tying it around his eyes.
“Just until we have your special one, we can’t risk it...Sleep now.” I sit back at his side, rubbing his head gently.