Twilight stares at me. I simply sigh and sit down next to her. She doesn't shy away like I had expected her to.
"Twilight," I begin, "I am so sorry for having caused you this sort of pain. I...I did it because I wanted to spare you from this pain. I was hoping that if you didn't know, then...only I would have to deal with it, not you. And Spike...I already told you why I did this for him." All Twilight does is blink at me. I see Trixie shifting her weight uncomfortably in the corner of the room, and Rainbow Dash giving the blue unicorn a distasteful glance. "And...if it means anything...I'll try my best to find another way to help Spike. I promise you that. You don't have to forgive me - in fact, I'd be quite surprised if you did. All I want is for you to understand why I did this." A moment of silence passes, during which Twilight looks away from me. I decide that I've overstayed my welcome, so I stand.
"When you speak to Spike, make sure he knows that you love him. He needs that right now. And make sure he understands - it's the least he deserves." When she doesn't respond I nod to myself and turn to leave. "C'mon," I urge Trixie. Rainbow Dash, understanding that these lessons require privacy due to the danger present, opts to stay with Twilight. I smile at the two mares as I leave.
I lead Trixie to a clearing in Whitetail Woods where we can be completely alone. I retrieve my new device from my bag and hesitantly strap it to my chest. It's going to burn, and I don't enjoy pain that much.
"Alright," I announce as I set my bag aside. "Take a seat." I motion towards the center of the clearing as I sit down. Trixie gulps as she nods, and sits directly across from me in the center.
"Do you understand what I'm going to be teaching you?" I ask her. She shakes her head, seemingly too nervous to use her voice. "I'm going to teach you how to fight the darkness, Trixie. This isn't regular magic - there are almost no spells involved. It's mostly the concentration and careful release of energy from a focal point - namely, your horn. You'll have to learn how to defend yourself against the Virals, and you will have to be able to kill them. Understand?" She nods, fear and excitement mixing in her eyes. "Do you have any questions?"
A moment of silence as she searches for her voice. Once she's found it, she speaks up. "I...I don't understand. Why did you choose me? And what are Virals?"
"I chose you because you have potential, and I want to mold that potential into someone I can count on to help me fight the darkness - the primary source of the Virals. I'm going to explain everything in this lesson, but I'll have to start from the beginning." She nods, and I nod in return. "Good."
I clear my throat before I begin to explain.
"There are two sides to the world. One is positive, and one is negative - they're polar opposites of each other. These two sides contain nothing but concepts - good, evil, happiness, sadness. They don't exist except for where the two sides overlap. This overlap creates two different worlds - one that leans towards the positive side, and one that leans towards the negative. These worlds are known as the Light World and the Dark World.
"We're in the Light World. Here, the positive concepts of reality are primarily represented, but the negative concepts of the world still exist. These concepts exist in the same exact amount - the world is half negative, half positive, but the positive is represented.
"Now, the Dark World is basically a mirror image of this world. But just like in mirrors, it's an opposite. The negative concepts of reality are primarily represented there, but the positive concepts of reality still have a strong pull there. Just like here, it's half negative and half positive, but the negative is represented there.
"Since these worlds are mirrors of each other, the reflections also contain individuals. Everypony in the Light World has a counterpart in the Dark World, and vice versa. So, yeah.
"Between these two worlds, there's a sort of homeostasis. This ensures that the negative and positive are constantly equal in both realms. To regulate this flow, there are four deities - two in each world. Here, they're Celestia and Luna; there, they are Nightmare Moon and Blistering Sun. Luna and Nightmare Moon switched places at one time - they both went mad when they looked through each others' eyes. But that time is long gone now."
I pause to ensure that Trixie understands everything. After a short conferral, I continue.
"If somepony from the Dark World were to switch worlds, they would go mad, and would attempt to recreate their world by killing and destroying. The same applies to somepony from the Light World - but the destruction would be in an attempt to 'purge' the evil from the world.
"However, I wasn't born here. As such, when I was brought into the Light World, my negative counterpart came with me - but it wasn't created in the Dark World. Rather, it was manifested in the Light World as something known as 'Grendel'. It didn't go insane, but it did end up killing and destroying to absorb the negative experiences of its victims.
"Now, when I sealed Grendel away within the Elements of Disharmony and the Element of Sacrifice, his kills were released. These kills became Virals, which is anything that has been killed by an opposite and then returned to life. There are a few exceptions to the general 'insanity' that holds them, but they all upset the balance between the worlds."
Before explaining what the upset of balance had caused (and is causing), I make sure Trixie understands it all again. She's a bit overwhelmed, but that's to be expected. Overall, she's a pretty good student.
"Between the Dark and the Light Worlds lies a boundary. In the boundary, there exists a world that has no definite form. All its inhabitants are mad and vicious, and to both the Dark and the Light World it would appear to be a grotesque and hideous place.
"This is known as the Other World. Its instability allows the two worlds to remain stable. But now that the Light and Dark are blending, the boundary is being eroded and the Other World is being released. One of the inhabitants calls himself 'Vanquel', and he's a denizen of darkness that now haunts the Light World. There's a similar being in the Dark World, but I have no idea what he calls himself. All I know is that they're both creating Virals and upsetting the balance further. I don't know how many other beings have escaped from the Other World, but I do know one thing: it's all leading up to something huge.
"At the heart of the Other World, there's something immensely powerful - and I have no idea what it is. But I know that when it's released it will be the end of everything as we know it. And...that's about it."
Trixie shakes her head for a moment. "That's...quite a lot," she admits.
"Yeah," I respond. "Hell, I barely understand it myself."
She stares at me for a moment. "What!?"
I shrug. "Celestia explained it to me. What, you thought I knew all of this off the top of my head?" I snicker a bit at the notion. "Nah, Celestia and Luna explained it all. I just repeated everything I remembered, but I tried to make it a bit shorter. I still don't get half of it - like what the negative and positive concepts are, or why Grendel came into the Light World with me. But seeing as how Celestia and Luna oversee the worlds and their balance, I'm going to assume that they know what they're talking about."
Trixie blinks a few times. "But I...but you sounded like you knew exactly what you were talking about!" She protests.
"Yeah, I memorized most of what they said so I could say it back to you. I barely understand any of it, I was just repeating what I was told. I mean, I think it could be condensed to: 'two worlds: Light, Dark. Other World in between. Grendel aberration. Insanity. Instability. Evil. Blah blah blah apocalypse.' But Celestia wanted me to explain everything to you. She said if I didn't, then you wouldn't be fit to protect anything."
Trixie sighs as she slumps against the ground. "My head hurts," she whimpers.
"Mine does too," I assure her. "Mine does too..."
After taking a deep breath, I stand and motion for her to follow suit. I show her a basic energy bolt and explain to her how it works. I clench my teeth as the radiation resulting from the magic is expelled from my body. After I'm done helping her find her inner energy, I begin to instruct her on how to channel it offensively.
One Hour Later...
"Good," I announce as Trixie's latest energy bolt crashes through the weak wall I had created. "Very good, actually. You're a fast learner."
She nods, panting as the use of so much energy takes its toll. I smile as I decide that it's been enough for today, and offer her a place to stay - namely, my house. She nods as she accepts the offer, and we start on our way back to Ponyville.
As I walk her to my home so she can take a shower, the blue unicorn receives dozens of distasteful glares. She hangs her head low, and I make sure to take the most out-of-the-way path so she's not shamed even further.
Once we get to my house, I guide her to the shower and put her cloak and hat in the wash. I sigh as I walk into my bedroom to take a nap and store away my device.
As soon as I enter, I'm greeted by Rainbow Dash. "Hey," I chirp before peeling off the device. I cringe as I see that there is now a severe burn on the skin. Rainbow Dash does, as well, and I quickly heal it with basic magic that doesn't create as much radiation as others. I'm intrigued when the device takes radiation from my body despite not even touching it. I let out a small "humph" as I place it in my drawer.
"How was the lesson?" She asks, beckoning me towards her. I smile as I sit on the bed and let my body fall into her eagerly waiting hooves, which immediately wrap around me and hold me close. I sigh in content as I rub into her, snuggling up to her soft form as I relax.
"It was good," I respond. "Trixie's a fast learner."
"Good..." I smile as she kisses me on the crown of my head. "So...why aren't you teaching me how to do this stuff, huh? Why'd you choose Trixie?" The smile falls away as I hear the bitterness in her voice.
"I chose Trixie because this could kill you," I inform her. "Plus, you're pregnant, remember? You could end up hurting the baby if you try to use magic. Not only that, but it'd be much more difficult to teach you magic." I give her a flirting smirk. "Plus, I doubt I'd be able to keep my hands off of you long enough to teach you anything..."
Rainbow snickers a bit. "Yeah, that's probably true." I smile as I lay my hand on her hoof and begin to kiss her neck.
"You okay?" I whisper into her soft fur. She lets out a small sigh of excitement as I kiss her lower jawline.
"Yeah," she whispers. "Just...a bit jealous of Trixie, that's all."
"And why's that?"
"She's gonna get to spend so much time alone with you now that you're teaching her..." She shrugs. "And...we've only been on one date...and you haven't even met my parents yet, so..." My eyes widen as that sinks in. I stare at her, and she frowns. "What?"
"Rainbow, you're pregnant with my kid, we're getting married, and I haven't even met your parents yet!" I cry, cringing a bit at the thought. "When can I meet them!?"
I receive a small smile and a kiss in response. "Tomorrow," she informs me. "I was gonna visit them anyway, so you can come with." She lets out a small squeak of excitement. "Oh, I can't believe you're finally meeting my parents!"
I smile as I nod into her coat. "Yeah," I whisper. I try to hide the paralyzing fear that's currently coursing through my veins. I didn't really think this through, did I?