I sigh and cross my legs, looking down at AJ and Twilight.
“Twi, ah still think that it’d be safer fer us if we was with Six. We could help protect him if we was there next to him! Whut if the guards fail? Six could die fer real! And ah….we’d be devastated!”
I chuckle softly to myself.
They’d miss me…
Hardly. You’re just their eye-candy.
“Oh, no...not now….”
AJ looks up at me. “What’s wrong?” Twilight looks at her, equally worried.
“It’s uh...n-nothing….Just, uh...can’t remember. a joke...heh.”
Good choice. They’re afraid of us like this.
Leave me alone...I expelled you!
You may have pushed me away, but you can’t expel yourself. I will always be here.
Why won’t you demons leave me alone?!
Now, what fun would that be? Hehehehehe….Ooh, looks like that Cinder did a marvelous job replenishing my strength. I’m very proud of her.
Wait….YOU’RE HER MASTER?!
Oh, Heavens no! We are! Haven’t you gotten it yet, you dull boy!? I’m not a demon! I’m you!
No….That’s not it….
You’re just the collective evils of everyone I’ve taken the burdens from….Nothing else…
Is that a fact? Then how could I possess your body and control you like a puppet? And why can you hear me now? You and I both know demons can’t do more than influence actions. Sorry, dumbass. You’ve got a split personality, so you’re stuck with me!
NO! After I expelled all that negativity, I didn’t hear you for days! I was able to heal back to my real self! Only a demon could do that!
Did you forget suppression magic is the main spell you know? Now, what were to happen if a young boy decided to suppress himself so he could die easier?
Don’t pull that crap with me! You’re the one that suppressed me!
Even so, demons aren’t tied to this world enough to directly influence anyone here. You know that.
This…..this isn’t true….it can’t be….
Oooh, but it is~ That’s what makes this fun! I’m the side of you that you’ve only been able to see in mirrors. I’m the better version of you.
You’re nothing but a confused demon….I took so much of Cinder’s burden that it drove the demon crazy...Yeah, that’s all it is…
You’re so dense! I could take control right now, and you couldn’t fight me. I could kill both of your little friends and you’d be helpless to do anything.
No.
No? Ha! Have you forgotten? I’m stronger than you! I can do whatever I want! I may be you, but my limits are few compared to yours. As a matter of fact, why don’t I just hop in the driver’s seat and kill them?
D-Don’t you dare hurt my friends, you bastard!
There he is! The good Six! Finally, you grow a pair! You know, I ought to have my own name, don’t you think? I mean, I am the improvement of you.
You want a name? I’ll give you a name.
Oh? You think if you name me that I’ll magically vanish? I’m not a djinn, Six. But, if you wish, then name me. I won’t stop you. Hell, I may even decide to spare you and your friends if I like it enough.
Why? What would a name help you gain?
It means that you’ve finally accepted me as a part of you!
I may one day accept you, but if we’re to coexist, I have a ground rule to set.
You want to set rules? You have no power over me!
Oh? Then why haven’t you been trying to control me this whole time? All you’ve done is threatened the Princess, and that was after being fueled by Nightmare Moon. You have no power unless I let you. Isn’t that right?
Tch...You think you’re so clever? You bastard….Fine. i’ll abide by your rules...if I make rules of my own. So, let’s make a deal, hmm?
Fine. One ground rule: Do not hurt, torment, kill, or torture anyone friendly towards me.
Towards US, Six.
Whatever. What’s your terms?
One: Cinder lives.
Wait, what? Why?! She ripped my...OUR arm off!
She was our friend before I pushed her too far…
Are you...showing sympathy?
What? Of course not! But that girl...She just doesn’t deserve the life she has.
You...you love her, don’t you?
I find her fascinating! That’s it! Now, do we have a deal?
Do you have any further rules?
Ah, yes. Of course. One more rule: I want to take control from time to time.
What!? Are you nuts?! Why would I let you do that!?
It’s simple. I may be just another personality in your broken mind, but I have power that you couldn’t use if you tried. And if a threat comes up, you can’t fight.
Hmm….You’re right….I’m no fighter. But, if you so much as think about breaking the rules, I will bury you.
My word is my bond. Do we have a deal? Name me, and we’ll call it a deal.
Alright. Hmm...What do I call my evil twin?
I’m not evil! Just….charismatic!
Right….Well….ah ha! I know. I’ll call you...Shade.
Aaah, a good choice. Alright, Six. It’s a deal.
“Six?! SIX!” AJ yells. I blink a few times and look down at her.
“H-huh?”
“Ah’ve been callin ya fer an hour! Are ya alright?”
“Uuh, yeah. I’ve just been, uh….”
Should I tell her about you, Shade?
Ooh, it feels good to be named.
Shade?!
Right. No, not yet. Last think we need is for her to be afraid of us.
Good point.
“Thinking about Cinder. I remember her being so nice back then….”
“Hey, her bein the way she is ain’t yer fault.”
“Thanks, AJ.”
If I may, I think I know how we can make ourself visible to everyone. It may be a long shot, but it’s possible.
Well, since you can’t be too far off, let’s hear it.
If Twinkle Sprinkle over there charges the room with enough electricity, we may be able to absorb enough to manifest.
Why didn’t I think of that?
You did. Well, we did.
“Hey, AJ. I think I know a way to be able to manifest. If I’m a ghost, it should work. Ask Twilight to pulse an electrical charge through the room.”
“Uuh...alright. Hey, uh...Twi?”
Twilight looks up from a book she was reading.
“Hmm?”
“Six says he might know how ta be able ta manifest. Can ya pulse some electricity through the room?”
“Of course! There’s a book I read that says that ghosts feed off of electrical charges to manifest! Let me try.” Her hand glows, and small bolts of electricity fire around the room, hitting the floors and walls.
I shudder, feeling an odd pulsing through my body.
[Twilight POV]
“...light…..Twi...light?” My eyes widen, hearing his voice.
“Six?! Can you hear me? Of course you can...Duh…”
“...ore….power…..Twi….”
“Oh! Yeah!” I push the spell harder, bolts of lightning firing around tge room. AJ’s hair starts to stand up from all the energy in the room, and I bet mine is too.
I see the air above AJ start to warp and grow thick until it takes the form of Six, clear as day. But armless.
“Six, I can see you! But...your arm is still missing! Shouldn’t it be back?”
He looks to his left. “..ouls don’t work like that. They’re only as complete as the body.”
“I can hear you! It worked!”
I drop the spell, and he starts to dissipate. I quickly cast it again, keeping him there.
“I have to maintain the energy to keep you here! Six, this won’t work forever.”
He stares off into space for a moment before looking back at me.
“Can you enchant an object to create a constant flow of energy?”
“I suppose so...It would take some time.”
“That’s fine. For now, AJ will be my messenger. Drop the spell.”
I drop it, and he vanishes again.
“He’s really a ghost….”
“Eeyup….And if he gits mad, he can move things.”
“Really? Ooh, I wish I could study him….”
AJ looks up to where he was floating, then back to me.
“He says ya can, but ya need ta focus on the energy source first.”
I beam. Finally, he’ll let me study him!
“I’ll get right on it! And I think I know just what to do!” I levitate a book from one of the shelves and flip through it until I find the right section.
“Ah ha! Right here. I can imbue energy into a piece of quartz that works as a battery! Wait, no….That won’t be a permanent fix….” I gasp as the pages of the book rapidly turn themselves until it stops on a section about alchemy.
“Alchemy? Hmm…..I suppose this could work. But, what do I use? I have to make a sacrifice of something to the cast or it won’t work…”
AJ looks at the air next to me. “He says that you don’t need to destroy the object to imbue it. You just need a host for the cast.”
I blush softly. “Just a host?” I reach in my pocket, pulling out his necklace.
“Ya kept it!? Twilight, no fair!”
“Well, I….you two were so close, I wanted to be close to him too!”
The necklace suddenly gets lifted out of my hand into the air.
“He says if we can’t git along, he might as well keep it himself.”
“Six, it’s not fair that you’re only visible to Applejack!”
“He says that he didn’t pick to possess me, it just happened cuz….”
“Because what?”
“He...he thinks he’s only visible to me because I touched him as his soul left his body. And that’s why he’s bound ta me. So, it ain’t cuz yer closer ta me….”
“Applejack, we barely even know him! Besides, he hasn’t picked which of us to date yet anyway…”
“He says that we’re getting off topic. Dangit, Six. Ya gotta pick at some point…”
The necklace drops back into my hand, and I take it.
I spend the next hour setting up the ritual and finally complete the setup.
“Are we ready, AJ?” I ask, looking back at her? I was standing outside of a circle on the floor, filled with runes. At the center was the necklace.
“Yeah...So, ah just need ta touch it when it starts floatin, right?”
“That should bind him to it so he can get its energy, yes.” She nods, and I hold out my hand.
My hand starts to glow brightly, and the once black runes start to glow a bright red, slowly shifting around as lightning leaps out of them, striking the necklace repeatedly.
As soon as it’s struck, it begins to slowly float and spin.
“Now, AJ!” She reaches in and touches it. It starts spinning rapidly, throwing off bright red sparks as it spins, going too fast to see its shape.
Then, everything stops, and the room is quiet, all except for a soft humming coming from the necklace that quickly silences.
“Did...did it work? Ah...Ah can’t see him!! Twilight!?”
I hold up my hand. “Hang on...give it a second.”
“....think it’s working. Twilight?” I hear him say, seeing his form appear, no longer floating. He was standing on the other side of the alchemy circle, his body a ghostly white, but not completely transparent anymore. It was like looking through a foggy window.
“I can see you! AJ, you see him too?” She nods.
“Yes! Finally! I can talk for myself. Sorry, AJ. But this is a lot easier. Now, i think….” He reaches down and picks up the necklace.
“Ah ha! Yes! Okay, I should be able to wear this now.” He puts it on. I can’t help but pout.
“So...I bound the necklace...to you?”
“Mhm! Which means I can interact with it. No need for you two to argue about it.”
I huff. “Can I study you now?”
He chuckles. “I guess so….I might be able to do what I want, but I can’t leave you guys anyway.”
“What? But, the spell says that-”
“It’s not the spell. I can’t leave you because I won’t. You two are my best friends, and I won’t let anyone hurt you. So I’m staying with you.”
“No offense, Six, but yer not much of a fighter. And ya don’t even know magic too much. Heck, ya can’t even do magic how ya are!”
He looks off into space for a moment before he shuts his eyes and rolls his shoulders, stretching.
“Oooh, how good it feels to be let out...He won’t need to fight. I’ll be doing the fighting.”
I growl. “You...What’re you doing here, you demon?!”
“Oh, calm down, Tinkle.”
“Twilight…”
“Whatever. And I am not a demon. I’m still him, but I’m his...other half, shall we say. Hmm?”
“You...of course….Six has a split personality!”
“Precisely! Finally, someone with common sense. Yes, demons can’t do things like this can they? No, you wouldn’t know that...Well, you do now.”
“Well, what now?” I ask.
“Didn’t you say you wanted to study me? Well, study away.”
“Couldn’t we study Six? Not...you?”
He holds his hand to his chest.
“How rude! He’s permitted me to be the subject since I know more about the spirit world than he does.”
“How does that work?”
“It’s simple. I was in the driver’s seat when we kicked the bucket the first time. Yes, I may have gone a tad too far...But, that’s all behind us.”
I grumble and huff. “Well, do you have a name? It feels wrong to call you Six…”
“Of course. You may call me...Shade.”