//------------------------------// // Chapter 8: Repercussions // Story: The Lost Power // by helix412 //------------------------------// Chapter #8 James’ POV “’Twenty hundred years of training’, eh? Perhaps they could have used an instructor…” After hearing that faint, ominous voice, I opened my eyes, slowly gaining consciousness of my surroundings. I noticed that I could barely see anything, and that I was lying down on a cold, hard surface. I heard a faint voice cry out for help, which prompted me to get up and move toward the voice. Eventually, I ran into what felt like a wooden wall that was somehow cold and wet. I could feel that I had gotten some of the liquid on my hand, which made me lift it up to my face to try to identify it. It smelled distinctly like iron. I tasted a little of it, and it immediately caught me off guard. It was blood. As I investigated, the voice, which was definitely on the other side of the wall, seemed to become more distressed. I kept passing my hand over the wall, looking for a door. Finding no such thing, I decided I had no choice but to make one. The room I entered had slightly more light; it was enough to see what was going on. I wished that wasn’t the case after seeing what was in the room: What I saw was Dash strapped to a wall. She looked pale through her fur and one wing was bent at an awkward angle. Her face was covered in scrapes and gashes, along with a black eye and some torn out mane. Moving down, I saw more gashes with bone clearly visible at some places. I felt the need to help, so I stood up and started to walk over to Dash. “Dash, who did this?” As I got closer, her good eye’s pupil shrunk to the size of a pin and she started to shake, clearly terrified. She looked away from me, seemingly at something behind me. I could see drops of sweat starting to form. I knew that whatever did this was approaching from behind me. A deep, venomous voice, one I was all too familiar with, then started speaking from behind me. “It is really hard to find good help these days…” I turned around and looked him in the eye. His one uncovered eye, which was in an ever-present bloodshot state, was just as cruel-looking as I remembered it. I asked him, with much effort, one question that always had bothered me and had never been answered. “Why…? Why do you do this?” He laughed for a moment, and then started approaching while staring me in the eyes. “Let me ask you: Why do you breathe? Why do you eat? Why do you sleep?” He chuckled at that last one, knowing that his influence had made that question only borderline relevant. “You need to. If you don’t, you cannot survive. For me, it is the same. I thrive off of the pain and fear of others. It is what feeds me, sustains me. And as long as there is a mind to torment, I will continue to thrive.” I was surprised that he actually answered me. I didn’t think he would reveal his motive so quickly. However, he was quick to use my surprise against me. “You do not show it, but I know it’s there. I can feel it. You can’t help but fear me. And every tiny bit of fear that you feel…” He took a step closer and breathed deeply. “Makes me stronger.” He had gotten too close for comfort. In an attempt to make him pay for what he’d done, I attempted to kick him. He grabbed my foot mere inches before it hit him, and then threw me in an arc above him using only one hand. I landed back-first on the ground to his left. He walked over, bent down, and looked me in the eyes yet again. “Does not that very knowledge make you afraid?” He bent back upright and turned to Dash, as if he was checking to make sure she heard all of that too. He then proceeded to laugh. Maniacally. I took his distraction to try to sweep him off his feet, but he simply jumped before my legs could meet his. He landed directly on my chest with his needle-like legs punching right in. “Oh, I love it when they fight back! Makes it slightly more challenging!” He paused to look down at me. “Very slightly.” He once again began laughing, now doing so even harder than he had before. It was then that I remembered how I had destroyed our would-be assassins and realized how similar he looked to them. I put those facts together, and raised my hand enough to send an electrical shock at him. For once, something I did actually hit him. He immediately jumped off of me, and landed a few feet away, one knee on the ground, in a clear state of surprise. The blue ethereal fire that appeared to be coming from his left eye very briefly turned yellow before going back to its signature dark blue. He had stopped laughing and was now hyperventilating. I got up while he said simply, “Well… that’s new.” Once I was fully standing (albeit barely, due to the pain) I explained to him what just happened. “I can use magic now. I don’t know why, but I don’t care. It destroyed those things you sent for me, and it looks like it’ll do something to you.” I shot another shock at him, but he dodged. He didn’t seem as quick, but he could still move fast enough. I figured if one shot didn’t hit, several at once might. I tried to channel the electricity into a scatter-shot, but I was stopped by the pain in my chest and immediately fell onto my knees. He smiled and got up. He started walking towards me, and eventually got behind me. I couldn’t turn around to face him. He started speaking nonetheless. “I’ll have to remember this. This could be fun…” He paused, and I could tell he had his signature grin yet again. “…Later.” I felt a stabbing sensation from my back. It felt as if a railroad spike had been driven entirely through my body. I fell over. The last thing I saw was him walking over to Dash and doing the same to her. --------------------------------------------------------------------- A few moments later, I felt a violent shaking. My chest still hurt, but not in the same way as before. It seemed… healed. Not entirely, but it was manageable. My eyes slowly opened, revealing a more-than-worried Dashie trying her best to wake me up. Eventually, I opened my eyes, which caused a sigh of relief from seemingly everyone. The only ones who didn’t were Derrick, who I couldn’t see, Joe, who seemed surprised that I’d woken up, and Rarity and Pinkie, who were both asleep elsewhere in the house. With my newly opened eyes, I tried to look at myself to see how badly I’d been injured. Instead, my eyes stopped on my hands, which had arcs of electricity flowing between them. It didn’t surprise anyone, given last night’s events, but it still led to an inevitable statement from Twilight. “I didn’t even know humans could use magic! This is incredible!” Joe chipped in, being only slightly less excited. “Dang right it is! And better yet, he’s actually conscious! I’m better than I thought!” Twilight smacked the back of his head, prompting Joe to reach for it. “Ow! That hurts, y’know!” She looked up at him with an annoyed look. “Sorry. We’re better than I thought.” Twilight immediately changed the topic back to my magic, asking how long I’d known how to do it and why I never showed her. It took a bit of effort, but I eventually gave her an answer. “Not long … and I didn’t … know how.” Every sound came out painfully. I sat up, with some help from Joe and Dash, to see what had happened. There was surprisingly little damage, but I imagined that there must have been a cleanup to fix everything. On a nearby couch was Derrick, who was lying down on his side with his back facing me. I immediately noticed something odd. “…Joe… Why does Derrick have wings?” Joe, who was taking a look at my injuries, didn’t even look up to give his response. “He died and became an angel.” “Please … tell me you’re … joking.” He looked me straight in the eyes with one of the most serious faces he’d ever given me. “Of course I’m joking. I don’t think things’ve gone that cuckoo yet.” Twilight looked up at him curiously. “You mean this isn’t normal?” He responded abnormally seriously. “No. This is actually quite abnormal. First time either of these things have happened, as far as I know. And I know a lot.” He cracked a smile, and then turned to Twilight. “Any idea how this might’ve happened?” She shrugged. She didn’t say anything, but she seemed greatly surprised that this wasn’t normal. Joe read her nearly instantly and offered a solution. “All the more reason to go to a hospital.” I noticed a flaw in his plan, and immediately made it known. “Won’t they … find this odd? They might … report this to … the government.” Joe looked at me amusedly. “Y’honestly think I didn’t think of that? I meant Ponyville hospital. They’d probably be more… nice.” Derrick chimed in with his noticed flaw. “How are we gonna get there? I don’t think James can be walking any time soon, and I’m not sure if I’d make it on my own.” He cringed, but that was due to Fluttershy caring for his new wings. She, in turn, jumped back a few feet. She went quickly back to what she was doing, albeit much more carefully Joe turned to me and started speaking in a baby voice. “Do you want me to carry you, Jamey-wamey?” “Actually … that would be … much appreciated.” Joe seemed surprised and paused, but quickly regained his composure. “Fair enough.” He turned to AJ. “And would you carry Derrick if he needs it?” She looked Derrick straight in the eyes. “I would be glad to.” Joe clapped his hands and stood up. “Well then, what are we waiting for? Time’s a-wastin’.” Both Twilight and Fluttershy ran over to him and told him we couldn’t yet. They both had their reasons; Twilight told him I was a “ticking magical bomb” in my current state, and Fluttershy noted that Derrick’s wings hadn’t been exercised enough. I was personally offended by Twilight’s claim, and pointed at her to express my disapproval. In doing so, I sent out a bolt that nearly hit Joe and proceeded to singe the wall. “Dude, watch it! I have no idea what that does, and I’d rather not find out!” Twilight looked at him with a terrified expression. “See what I mean?! We need to get him under control!” Joe looked at her with a curious expression. “And how might we do that?” She thought for a moment, then her eyes brightened and she smiled. Just as quickly, she lost that look in favor of a less happy one. “There is something I can do, but it can only last for a few days. And it isn’t exactly pleasant for anypony involved…” She shuddered, but soon brought herself back together. “But, we don’t have any other choice.” She walked over to me and touched her horn to me. After a moment, I saw a bright flash of light, and had a very odd feeling that can only be described as a momentary loss of free will. As soon as I could see again, I saw Twilight sitting next to me, clearly dizzy. It didn’t seem like she was fully conscious. I looked down at my hands, and didn’t see any arcs. I took that to mean it worked. While all this was going on, Fluttershy and Dashie were working together to get Derrick up and stretch out his wings. They appeared to be resisting the team’s pulls, but eventually Dashie got her side’s wing fully extended. Fluttershy kept fumbling with hers until Dashie came over to help her. Throughout the entire process, Derrick was screaming and flinching. Once both wings were fully out, I could see that they were mostly white save for a few blood spots, and had a span of about ten feet. They immediately started twitching, and soon were making fluid movements. They weren’t going their full range, but it was a start. A few moments after Derrick started moving his newest appendages, Twilight shook her head and regained consciousness. Immediately after, she simply touched her head and said, “Ow…” She turned to me, head still in hoof, and said, “We’ll need to do this again in five days, and keep doing it until you can control yourself. The best way to do that is to learn some spells. There are plenty of books in the library you can read.” She closed her eyes and looked down. “But I’ve … never learned any. How … do I do it?” We both paused until an idea came to my mind. “Can you … teach me?” She opened her eyes and bolted her gaze in my direction. “Teach you? But I’ve never taught anypony before! I don’t even know how to do it!” Joe shook his head and laughed. “I’m sure there’s a book on teaching in that tree somewhere. ‘Teaching for Dummies’, perhaps?” She looked at him angrily, and he took on a more defensive look. “Well, just think of how you were taught. Just do the same stuff. You’ll be fine, I’m sure.” “But … I’m not Celestia. I can’t do what she did…” He crouched down and wrapped an arm around her. “You’re certainly not Celestia, true. But you are something better.” She turned and looked at him. He simply responded, “You’re you.” She looked away from him, out into space. She stayed there, silent, for a few seconds. Then she turned to me and said with a look of pure determination, “I’ll try my best!” Joe took this opportunity to clap his hands and stand up. “Well then, with all that done, what are we waiting for? Time’s a-wastin’.” We all agreed that it was time to go back. Dashie went to wake Pinkie up, and Fluttershy to wake Rarity up. Once we were all in the same room, we all stepped back into my “Closet to Equestria.” Once we had reached the other side, we took a moment to recover from the shock and get re-accustomed to the environment. Luckily, there was nothing around to attack us. However, we were on the complete opposite side of town from the hospital. We figured the straight route through town would be best, even if it attracted attention. We were about half of a mile from Fluttershy’s cottage, putting us about another quarter mile from town. I managed to walk to the outskirts on my own, but from that point, I needed Joe’s support. Derrick, meanwhile, seemed to be walking just fine. AJ was following closely behind him, just to be safe. Once we got to town, we got stares from everypony. Either they were shocked at my injuries and obvious pain, or they were awestruck by Derrick’s angelic new appearance. A few of them followed us for a bit, but stopped once we got to the edge of town. From there, it was about another half mile to the hospital. Just after leaving town, I had to stop walking, so Joe carried me the rest of the way. Derrick also got tired, and collapsed onto AJ’s back. Once the hospital was in sight, we all hurried up slightly. They had a pony out front looking for anyone who might need help. She immediately went in and got preparations started. By the time we got in, there were two beds ready in the upper levels. Derrick and I were taken to them immediately, and everyone but Dash was told to stay in the waiting room. After that, they put me in bed, assured me that I was in good hooves, and told me that I’d be out in a few days.