The return to Ponyville had not been much different than the train ride to Canterlot. Kayl was busy in his own thoughts. How much of this world could he trust to be real? He had seen great magic performed right before him, but how could he believe such ridiculous religious teaching of friendship. Celestia had spoken in riddles and theories. But, if talking flying magical horses were possible in this world, there could easily be more that he could not see. It was the thought of the unknown that scared Kayl the most, but thankfully it kept conversation with Twilight to a minimum. She didn't have much to say to Kayl, and neither did he to her. It wasn't until dinner on the train that Twilight spoke up.
“Kayl, do you think we can talk about something? I think maybe I should be honest about something that bugs me about, well, you.”
Kayl had just begun to dig into a sandwich with his mouth again as he had been forced to before when she brought the question up. He was dreading this, but thinking back to Celestia's words, if he wanted to be forgiven, than Twilight would forgive him. So, whether or not she was still mad, she clearly wasn't going to hate Kayl.
“Alright,” said Kayl with a nod, “I suppose it's too late to say I'm sorry, but I didn't mean...”
Twilight shook her head and cut him off, “No, that's not what I mean. I'm way over that, I told you. I understand that there are a great deal of things different about our worlds. Besides, I'm sure Celestia said more than I could since you did agree to come back with me. No, what I wanted to talk about was something you said.”
Kayl had said many things that she might want to comment on, but it was certainly going to be about friendship.
“You said you had no time for friendship, that it was no use, and you had a great deal of responsibilities in your own world. The thing is, I think what stung most about what you said was that, well, I was once that way too.”
Than this is what Celestia had meant? Kayl found it hard to believe that Twilight had ever thought that way, but he didn't contradict her.
“When I was very young, I was performing my entrance exam for magic academy. It was there that Celestia and I had met, and she took me under her wing—no pun intended—to help me learn more about magic. From the youngest age I dove into my studies and ignored everything else. I didn't take time for friends, well, unless you counted my brother and my foal sitter. But it wasn't until I became an adult that it finally changed.”
Kayl finished another bite of his sandwich and asked the obvious question, “What happened?”
Twilight looked out the window, recalling the memory.
“I had been researching the legend of Nightmare Moon, the pony in the moon that had been banished by Celestia for attempting to cover the land in darkness. I had learned that she was destined to return at the night of the Summer Sun celebration. I knew I had to do something to help, but Celestia instead sent me to Ponyville to help with the preparations of the celebration.”
“But you live there now. And I take it that Ponyville is more of a home to you than Canterlot.”
Twilight smiled at Kayl, “You're very observant aren't you? Yeah, I suppose that might be true. But it's a hard thing to admit. But that's not the point I think. When I arrived in Ponyville, most of the ponies there wanted to be my friend, and honestly, I responded—exactly, I might I add—like you did with me.”
Kayl pondered this, “But if you know how I feel, than why are you mad?”
Twilight groaned, “I just told you I'm not mad. But there's a reason why I'm concerned about it. You see, what I had learned from my research was that the elements of harmony were the power that had banished Nightmare Moon in the first place, and I knew they would be needed to stop her again.”
Kayl perked up, remembering Celestia's words, “Yes, Celestia mentioned something about them. What are they? I take it you found them?”
Twilight smiled and laughed, “Yes, sort of. But that's what I thought. That the elements were things. Tools, something that could be understood and used like a trough or a spade. Little did I know, that the elements were something much more mysterious. You see, it was those friends that I was turning away that actually made up the elements of harmony! When I finally realized it, it ignited a spark that...”
Kayl recited Celestia's words, “...that holds the magic that protects this land against the threat of evil.”
Twilight blinked, and then laughed, “Yes. It created the sixth element of magic. Something that, I've been tasked with learning a great deal about since I have since lived in Ponyville. After unleashing the elements of harmony, we were able to stop Luna and quell the darkness in her heart.”
Kayl's eyes widened, “Luna!? Celestia told me she was her sister. She banished her own sister to the moon? But how? And why? And...”
Twilight cut him off, “Kayl! Calm down! Long ago, Luna had let darkness into her heart, and was upset because she was alone at night. She became Nightmare Moon, and tried to cover the world in darkness. Yes, Celestia did banish Luna to the moon. But that's not my point. The point is with the magic of friendship, and the true elements of harmony, we were able to destroy that darkness. My point is I learned how important friendship is, and if I hadn't realized it, we would all have been destroyed.”
The darkness seeping into his heart, taking control, and filling him with evil. So that is why Celestia was so concerned. Her own sister had fallen down this very path and had almost destroyed their world. Kayl was saddened to see that everyone merely saw him as a threat. He knew that friendship was bogus, but if he didn't at least show concern, he might just as well be banished to the moon too.
“So, I need to learn the magic of friendship or else I'll also become a dark evil that will have to get banished to the moon? Well I certainly don't want that. I suppose that's why Celestia wants me to meet these elements...”
Twilight raised an eyebrow, “Celestia wants you to...oh! Of course! Well that makes sense! I was going to introduce you to my friends anyway! What did she say to you? I mean, I don't want to pry, you don't have to tell me. But I'm really interested since not many have that honor to talk privately with her.”
Kayl cleared his throat. He was just beginning to get a grip on himself after being around Celestia. He didn't want to lie, but if Twilight didn't know about this darkness in his heart, than she would certainly be less inclined to trust him.
“Well, she told me that friendship was the source of all the magic in the world. She showed me how she could move the sun, or rather, make the planet turn so...or maybe it was the sun. I don't know.”
Twilight gasped, “So she did show you! Oh that's quite a sight to see isn't it? I'm always spellbound when I see Celestia raise the sun.”
“Yeah but,” Kayl chose his words carefully, “She does that everyday?”
Twilight nodded, “I bet it seems pretty crazy doesn't it? But yes, and Luna brings out the moon at night. When Luna was banished in the moon for a thousand years, Celestia had taken control of both sun and moon.”
A thousand years. The words echoed in his mind. The creature that he had defied had lived for over a thousand years. Perhaps she was immortal. Perhaps Celestia really was a god. If she was, Kayl's fear would have been confirmed, that he was in threat of banishment if he didn't at least prove that he was not a threat of evil.
“Kayl? You look horrible. I know Celestia can be overwhelming, but she wouldn't hurt you. She tasked me and my friends to help you return home. If she had hated you, I guess she could have banished you to the moon too.” Twilight finished her comment with a laugh.
Kayl took a deep breath, “I guess that's just crazy to see a god in real form...”
Twilight laughed, “Oh, I don't think she's a god. She's been...well she's old...”
With that Twilight began to laugh, long and loud; and Kayl found himself laughing too. He hadn't thought of it like that, but Celestia really was an old hag when you put it that way.
The rest of the trip home was quite happier. Kayl talked about his family, about his work, and about his travels around his world. Twilight told him stories about some of the different kinds of battles she's had. She told him all of the stories about Discord, The Changeling Queen, and Lord Sombra. When they finally arrived in Ponyville, Kayl realized something that he hadn't thought about since arriving.
“Twilight, I don't have a place to stay. I don't suppose, I mean I hate to impose, and I know you've said you would help and...”
Twilight giggled, “Kayl, you can stay with me for tonight. I know you might not understand it yet. But it's really easy to be friends with someone. If it'll make you feel better, you can do me a favor tomorrow.”
Oddly, it did make Kayl feel better. Doing a favor for a favor seemed the easiest way to make sense of all the help he was getting. He wondered how he was going to meet these elements of harmony. However, he hoped that he would not have to meet these things until tomorrow. He was exhausted tonight and felt like sleeping soon.
He would soon get his wish. Just as soon as they had finished speaking and eating. They found the train back in Ponyville. Since it was late, they decided it would be best to head home and wait till tomorrow to meet the others.
When the pair finally returned to the library, Spike was waiting for them at the door.
“Twilight! Come quick! There's so many of them! They're everywhere!”
Twilight gasped and with a flash of light she popped into the house. Kayl ran in after to see a laughing Twilight and the source of the excitement. The entire house had been filled with books. Stacks and stacks of books lined one whole half of the room, and a nice sign had been place on the empty side of the room that said “read books”. Kayl began to chuckle in spite of his worries.
“Haha, Twilight,” Spike exclaimed with thick sarcasm. “You know when you run off like that, you should probably give me more info than just “I'm leaving to Canterlot, tell Celestia you may drop in” you know?”
Twilight smiled at Spike, “Well, I knew my number one assistant wouldn't have any trouble with interpreting me. I'm sorry Spike, but we were hard pressed for time. I promise I'll make it up to you though if you want to go to Canterlot next time.”
Spike gave a laugh and waved his hand, “Nah, I had a good time relaxing around here. Without the large list of tasks you normally write for me, I was free to just relax, that was until the books began arriving magically. What are all of these?”
Kayl walked over to some of the books, looking at their covers. They had bizarre titles. He also realized he could read the language, to him it appeared normal, but the writing was foreign to him. He wondered if speaking was the same way. Perhaps being in the new body, despite having no logical basis in reality, also gave him the ability to read and speak the language. He wondered if he could write it as well, then realizing he had no hands to write with, ignored this.
“Forbidden Magic: Chronicles of the Necromancer, My Portal and Me, Dimensional Theory: How I learned to stop being afraid and embrace worm holes?”
Twilight turned to Kayl, “Wow, I've never heard of those books. Do you think we're going to find what we need here?”
Kayl turned to Twilight with a confused look on his face, “Shouldn't I be asking you that? I have no idea what any of this. I suppose if we don't than I'm doomed, so I surely hope we do...”
Twilight trotted over to Kayl and placed a hoof on the back of Kayl's neck, “Keep up that hope than. We should get ready for bed. Let's see if we can get you set up with something.”
Kayl tried his best to help Twilight, who was able to use her magic to summon a plethora of extra blankets to the spare room. Kayl used his mouth to grab a few blankets as well but was little help in this. Suddenly the blankets stopped and Kayl looked towards Twilight.
“I'm not really much help am I?”
Twilight sighed, “look at the blanket on the ground.”
Kayl did as he was told, wondering what he was going to learn.
“Now, the elements of harmony draw from the magic of friendship. But a unicorn's magic is inherit to their structure. I can tell you have the ability to perform magic, you just need to tap into that ability.”
Kayl looked over at Twilight with confusion, “Do I need to harness some kind of element of harmony? If I say you're a pretty pony will that allow me to levitate the blanket?”
Twilight turned red and laughed, “Well, you can if you want, but no it wouldn't help. Here, let me try and show you the way I learned.”
Twilight walked over to Kayl, and with her horn glowing she reached up and touched her horn to his. He felt the spark of magic hit him like a jolt sensation. It was pleasant, and oddly it felt like had had reached out and touched Twilight with an invisible hand. He felt that spark travel through his body, and in his thoughts he could see points in him that were like little balls of energy. He hadn't noticed them before, but suddenly he could see them. They were numerous and very small, but there they were.
“I feel weird, like I'm covered in small dots...”
Twilight nodded and bounced around in excitement, “That's great! It normally takes foals weeks to see just one of the sparks. How many do you see?”
Kayl didn't have to look with his eyes to see them. It was more like seeing with in himself. It was like feeling a touching sensation on a point of his body, he just knew where it was. And at the same time, he knew where they all were. But they were also fading, and quickly.
“Oh, well, they're fading. But...there's at least a hundred...”
As quickly as she started bouncing, Twilight stopped short, “at least a hundred? And fading? That's incredible. Are you sure you're not over exaggerating?”
Kayl shook his head, “I'm not sure, but it's a lot, I'm trying to hold on to as many as I can, but at best I can only still see twenty or so.”
Twilight gave a sharp whistle, “That's impressive. Perhaps you have a talent for magic Kayl!”
He looked at Twilight with surprise, “Really? Well what are these things?”
Twilight took a deep breath, “Well, think of them as little balls of magic that surround you. You use your thoughts to bring the balls of energy to your horn. That lights it up and prepares your magic, you have to visualize the magic you're about to perform, and with more complex magic you have to align the energy in such a way as to channel that energy. Once you've done both of those things, you can begin to levitate objects with considerable ease. It takes about one ball of magic, and all you have to do is visualize the blanket floating with you. It's sort of the first...”
Twilight hadn't finished her sentenced when Kayl had caught on, and with ease that he didn't think possible, picked up the blanket. It floated there and moved around him at his thought. All he had to do was hold on to that tiny ball of energy in his thoughts.
Kayl was very excited, it wasn't much, but being able to help Twilight was all he needed to feel better. Together Twilight and Kayl finished making a bed, and Kayl was delighted at himself for his new found power.
“I've gotta say Kayl, any foal who was just learning magic would have been so jealous of you right there. It can take months for a foal to focus their ability like that. Are you sure you didn't do some research while I wasn't looking?”
Kayl shook his head, laughing as he did, “No, I have no idea how I did that. But it wasn't all that much, you know? I mean, you were moving like ten at a time.”
Twilight scoffed, “Kayl, I've been studying magic since...well probably since before you were born. I really don't know...how old are you?”
“Twenty-five years. Um...that's three hundred and sixty five days.”
Twilight pondered, “How does that work?”
“Thirty days, have September, April, June, and November. All the others have thirty-one, accept for February which has has twenty-eight, and on leap years it's twenty-nine. There's twelve months. So...yeah, three hundred and sixty five.”
Twilight did some quick math in her head, than her eyes popped and she laughed, “That would make me twenty-five too!”
She gave a laugh, and Kayl joined in. The author laughed, but was not going to explain his own theories on the calendar of Equestria. It was hardly important. Twilight was just making small talk. And that's exactly what they continued to do. Resting on the newly made bed of blankets, they began to talk more of magic. Kayl wanted to learn more about it, and he continued to ask about these sparks. Every now and then, Twilight would give Kayl another spark from her horn so he could see all the little balls of energy around him.
“So couldn't every pony perform the same magic? Because of these balls of energy?”
Twilight shook her head, “Not really. To be honest, you and I might be pretty special. My special talent happens to be magic. So I'm pretty well versed in many different kinds. Most ponies can use levitation, since it eventually helps them in their talents, but pony magic generally focuses around the talent that they have. What do you think your special talent is?”
Kayl wondered that himself. His special talent wasn't magic, since he had never been able to perform magic before. So what would it be?
“What exactly is a talent?”
Twilight chuckled, “You don't have talents where you're from?”
Kayl sighed, “You know what I mean. What makes talents in your world make little things pop up on your ass.”
Twilight blushed, “Don't say that...it's...called a flank.”
Kayl laughed, “I'm sorry. But it is weird, it's an odd place to find something like that, and odder that it just grows on a pony. How do you figure out what your talent is?”
“Well, we often tell our fillies that when they discover the special something that makes them unique that their cutie mark will appear. It's more complicated than that though, and it's kind of a strange phenomena that occurs in ponies. It also happens to zebras, but not to bison, buffalo, cows, griffons, dragons, or other kinds of creatures you'd find in the Everfree Forest.”
Kayl shook his head, “Griffons and dragons? There are griffons and dragons in this world?”
Twilight nodded with a smile, “Pretty neat huh?”
Kayl groaned, “People at work have talked of those, and I never really paid attention. Who would have thought that I would need to be prepared for that.”
Twilight laughed, “But Spike is a dragon! What about him?”
Kayl looked out into the main room where spike's small pudgy body was running around with an owl.
“That's a dragon? Yeah, I suppose that is pretty neat to have a dragon pet.”
Twilight shook her head, “Oh no, Spike is not a pet. He's my assistant. Owilicious is more of a pet, Spike is equal to me as anyone else is.”
Kayl turned red, “Oh, sorry...”
Twilight got up and smiled, “No, it's alright. You don't need to apologize. I'm sure in time you'll start to figure things out around here. Of course, I'm sure you'll want to return home soon too.”
Kayl nodded, “Yeah, that's true. Well...I suppose I should get to sleep. It's been a long day.”
Twilight nodded, “Yep, tomorrow I'll introduce you to Apple Jack. And don't worry, I'm sure everyone is going to really like you!”
Kayl sighed, and then with a yawn curled up into the makeshift bed.
“Goodnight Kayl.”
“Good night Twilight.”
With that Twilight closed the door behind her and went to bed herself. From the room he could hear Spike grumbling and asking questions about himself, but he clearly heard Twilight tell Spike to not be nosy and that Kayl was a good person who needed help. That was comforting to Kayl, whether he saw Twilight as a friend or not, she was certainly a good pony.
Kayl fell to a deep sleep and began to dream. He dream that tiny balls of lights were dragging him around, and carrying him into the sky. As the dream continued, it became hard to see, and there again was a bright flash of light, and suddenly he was scared. He tried to run from the light, but he couldn't move. He heard someone calling out, but couldn't understand them. Than he saw it. The same shape in his last dream. It was the alicorn, but it certainly wasn't Twilight. She was dark, with a dark sparkling mane. Her eyes were pure white and as Kayl saw her she called out to him.
“Embrace the light!”
And then he awoke. And it was morning.