Six-Thirteen was having his favorite dream. He was sitting on the bank of Lake Anime back in the Fictional Republic, his family lounging around him. The pure air and the shade from the huge leafy tree above them made him happy and appreciative. He lay back and watched the sunlight bounce off the lake surface, filling the clear waters with a thousand colors. The sound of laughing and the wind rushing through the grass brought the best out of 613. Being with his family was the biggest bonus of them all. Together, they were whole, complete and most importantly, thankful. Together their faith was strong and they stood before any problem, no matter how big or difficult it was.
It's a shame that those times are gone.
All at once, the sky got dark. The leaves of the tree rustled menacingly and black storm clouds covered the sky. 613 sighed. Here it was happening again. Every time he has this dream, it always takes the dark detour. He turned away as his family disappeared from the fast-vanishing paradise the Republic usually was. The prophet stood up, his black cloak flying behind him in the wind.
"We've been through this!" he shouted up at the black sky. "What, you wanna try again?"
A funnel of dark cloudstuff shot down from above. It slammed into the ground and dispersed, leaving a black-shrouded creature standing before 613. The being straightened up and smiled an evil grin. 613 gave it a look of disgust, glancing left and right before talking.
"Okay, which one are you?"
The thing's smile just widened as the scene disappeared from sight, the whole area becoming a bleak nothingness. The prophet's stare bored right through the creature in front of him.
"Not cool," 613 stated simply. "Here's an idea: Hit the road."
The dark being turned-tail and ran, laughing like a madman. 613 was not easily shaken off and began pursuing him. There was nowhere and everywhere to go, the two of them were currently in a dreamscape that went on forever, as long as the universe existed. The creature kept pulling off insane stunts, using invisible and possibly non-existent objects to bounce, fly and leap off of to escape 613. The prophet, however, was not giving up and matched him for every trick, firing beams of bright-blue energy whenever he could. After what seemed to be several minutes of jumping, rolling, flying, blasting, maniacal laughing, warcrys and shouts, 613 succeeded in pinning the creepy dude to the ground. The dark creature didn't even struggle, it just lay there, its hood covering the top half of its face.
"Are we done here?" demanded 613, his body not showing a trace of fatigue.
The creature just chuckled before answering. "I hope you didn't think you could get away so easily," it said in a low, gruff voice.
613 rolled his eyes. "I can't believe I'm trying to talk sense with a manifestation of evil. You interrupted my dream just to screw around with me?"
"No stupid," it replied, "I'm just hear to inform you that you're about to be put through the most horrible experience you'll ever go through in your life."
"Sorry. Been there, felt that, can't be worse than losing my family. As you guys are constantly reminding me!"
The creature blew of its hood and revealed the rest of its face. Its nose was a short beak and its eyes were like coals with irises a forbidding red color. Its hair was jet black and fell down past its neck.
"Shut up and listen. This is going to sound stupid coming from me, but there's more trouble in Equestria than it seems."
613 cocked his head to one side in confusion. "Say what?"
"When you made the jump, the TDST was left open long enough for us to get through. In other words, you are responsible for letting us into this world."
"Go jump in a portal, why don't cha?" 613 suggested, climbing off of the manifestation and pushing it away from him. It rolled several times before halting and rising to its feet.
"I'll take your advice to my non-existent heart," it called over, "But first—" The manifestation discharged a black inky aura that wrapped around him, covering it from head to toe. Shining flashes of lighting erupted within the dark cloud, followed by the manifestation's groans. It seemed to be causing itself unnecessary pain.
At one point, the black mist started to vanish, revealing the manifestation in a new form. It had transformed itself into a black pegasus stallion, although its body seemed to be insubstantial and wisps of dark matter connected to its head fluttered in the air. Its cutie mark was an eye with a dilated silver iris.
The pegasus spread its wings and began hovering. "You have time, 613," it said, almost sympathetically, "A lot of time. My advice is to learn as much as you can before the rest of us get wind of your actions. Until then—"
FWOOOSH! A blast of midnight-blue energy fell out of the non-sky above, encasing the manifestation in a pillar of magic. When the energy dispersed, the being was gone.
613 couldn't quite believe what just happened. Almost nothing could get into his part of the dreamscape. And yet something had not only entered but also manipulated energy, probably their own. The thought was so alien he just couldn't find a word to express himself.
Worry not, a voice called out.
The prophet spun around, trying to find the speaker. "Who's there? Who are you? How did you get in here?"
I can enter anypony's dreams, the voice answered. It is part of my duty to watch over those who dream.
"I still don't know who you are," 613 continued. "I don't know if I can trust you."
A flash of light caught his attention. In front of 613 an orb of shining energy floated. The orb was seemingly pockmarked, like the moon, and inside it he could see a silhouette. A majestic looking equine, with wings, a horn and a flowing, floating mane.
We shall meet soon, young one, the voice replied, but now you must wake. You're friends need you. The other presence vanished and 613 found his subconscious floating off, back to the world.
Friends? the boy said to himself, trying to understand the implied fact the other being had laid before him.
*
"I've got something!"
"Quick! Bring him up!"
Twilight was overflowing with excitement and sparks. She increased the spell's power and mentally pulled on the other end. The ground before her shuddered as the magic flew out of the earth and back into her horn. Suddenly, when the spell had almost completely ended, the soil exploded in an eruption of pebbles, loose earth and something wrapped in black. All of these things hit the ground with equal force, shaking the ground once more. The black object unrolled, revealing a black figure, proportioned much like Avi.
Twilight ran over to it, eager to find out more about whoever it was she just rescued. She gently tapped the creature with her hoof before saying, "Hello? Sir, are you okay?"
"What's going on?" Avi called over, not moving from where he lay with Spike at his side. "Are his eyes still blue?"
Twilight gently lifted the human's eyelids, and found herself staring into a pair of beautiful sapphire-blue eyes, full of calm and understanding, both unmoving. "Yes they're still blue," she answered back, letting the lids drop over the boy's eyes, "But he's not moving."
At that moment, the second human popped up, both eyes shot open, glowing like searchlights, sending blue light across the crater. A combination of a teenager's shout, a child's scream and an adult's roar echoed around them, the odd sound issuing from the boy's mouth. When the unexpected cacophony ended, the figure fell back down upon the crater floor, as lifeless as a fallen tree.
Twilight approached warily and tried again. "Excuse me," she whispered softly into his ear, "But who are you?"
The boy opened his eyes again, slower this time, his gaze coming to rest upon the purple mare. "613," he answered, coughing up a cloud of dust.
When Avi heard this, he was overjoyed. So overjoyed he forgot he was badly injured. He stood up, and immediately fell down again, but not before he called over, "Thank G-d, you're alive. You feeling okay, 613?"
The prophet shook his arm. It rolled uselessly to the side. "No, not really. I'm in a really bad shape." He looked up at Twilight, who was looking rather disappointed, probably from being ignored. "Sorry about that," 613 said apologetically. "Might I know the name of the one who saved me."
Twilight was quick to continue. "My name is Twilight Sparkle, and that's Spike," she said, pointing to herself and Spike. "What's your name?"
Spreading his arms, the answer came. "I am 613, prophet of G-d, father of Fictionationality and friend to all." He fell into a fit of coughing and wheezing. "Yet I can't imagine what went wrong. We weren't supposed to land so hard and my powers should have slowed us down."
"Uh, speaking of powers, 613," Avi announced, "My cards have shorted out."
The prophet's eyes went wide with surprise. "Since when?"
"Since I pulled them out of my pocket a few minutes ago, that's when. I would've made myself look more presentable by now, in and out, but all my cards are blank."
"Okay, okay, calm down." 613 cracked his fingers and rubbed his hands together. "Just how bad is your present condition? Please list."
Avi began his analysis. "Shattered ribs, fractured femur, splintered spine, cracked skull, flattened tarsals, punctured lung, mashed carpals, skin burns—" he started coughing and hacking violently, drops of red liquid splattering onto the ground from his mouth. He looked down at the dark stains on the floor and smiled in spite of himself. "Bit my tongue."
Twilight almost smiled when she caught herself. Now is not the time to be silly, she reminded herself.
"Looks like I'll be doing the clean-up this time around," 613 said matter-of-factly. "Again."
"Rubbish," scoffed Avi. "You love doing clean-ups."
"Fine, I'll get to it." He closed his eyes and slowly began to levitate. Twilight took a step backwards as rings of blue energy appeared around the prophet, giving off a serene sense of calm and understanding. 613 lifted his hands towards the heavens and the bands of energy began to hum, growing louder and louder with every passing second. Twilight could feel the power, the joy and happiness 613 was emitting. Spike watched the spectacle in awe, putting a claw on Avi's arm, who nodded in appreciation at his friend's abilities.
All these feeling disappeared when all at once, the blue rings vanished and 613 crashed to the ground, grunting in pain. Twilight hurried over and lifted his head off the ground, the boy's face a mask of surprise. "Prophets and plagues," he muttered. "This is really bad."
"What? What happened?" Spike asked desperately. "Why did it stop?"
"Only one thing," Avi said gravely.
613 nodded. "My powers are gone."
Twilight gasped. Carefully propping 613 up against the crater wall, she continued, "What do you mean? Your powers were working fine. I saw them all over the place."
The prophet smiled at the unicorn's observations. "Yes Twilight. My powers were working, but now it seems that I can't activate them. Even worse, I can't feel my divine spark."
"Not as worse," Avi piped up, "we're both in fading conditions!"
"What?" Spike blurted out. "Could somepony please talk normal?"
"The damage we've sustained is draining our life force," 613 explained. "We have no contacts from our world that can help us. Gabriel told me that they have no access to Equestria."
"Crud," Avi mumbled, then sighed. "Guess that means it's game over."
"Wait, you mean you're just going to die?" Twilight said in disbelief, tears starting to form. "You can't do that!"
"Twilight, believe me, I had plans," 613 said calmly. "I just wish I was going to pass away in the presence of G-d, with a death system I'm familiar with."
"613, that's just stinking thinking," Avi muttered. "There's no fun in knowing what comes afterwards." He glanced over at Spike, who was trying to stem a flow of liquid misery. "Don't worry, Spike. It's not so bad."
"I'm not going to let this happen!" Twilight shouted. "We have doctors. They can help you!"
Avi raised his hand. "Not wanting to sound like a downer, but one, they probably won't know what to do with us and two, we don't need that kind of help; we need an infusion, a power boost."
Twilight blinked the tears away. "A p-power boost?"
"Wait a second." 613 pointed at Twilight. "You used magic to get me out of the ground, right?"
Twilight nodded, finding it hard to speak.
613 continued. "Spike, you can breath fire, I assume?"
"Most of the time," the dragon admitted. "I'm still working on it."
The prophet slammed a fist into his palm, then winced in pain. "This could work, but we have to move quickly. Twilight, give me your hoof."
Feeling slightly odd, the unicorn mare placed her front right hoof in the boy's open hand. His fingers wrapped slowly around the hoof, tightening the connection.
613 called over to the other two. "Avi, Spike, hold hands."
The teen and the dragon did as they were told, claw in hand.
Turning back to his own partner, 613 explained the rest of his plan. "If you use your magic, Twilight, we might be able to convert it into a life energy. As long as we keep a connection between the four of us, Avi should gain some of Spike's firepower and I'll have enough energy to complete a healing. Don't worry," he added when he saw the confused looks he got. "It should only replicate your energy, not drain it."
Avi felt the need to mention something. "You might want to get started; I feel weak."
The prophet redirected his attention to Twilight. "Are you ready?"
Twilight looked into 613's eyes. Giving this creature access to her magic could help the two humans recover from their serious life-threatening injuries, but it could also put her and Spike at risk. She didn't know the full extent of the prophet's power or what he could do with magic. This decision was a dangerous one and the answer was obvious.
"Let's do this thing."
613 nodded contentedly. "Okay, let's begin. Miss Sparkle?"
"Right." Twilight let her magic flow through her, untamed, wild, possibly uncontrollable. She glanced at 613, his eyes closed, his arms seemingly directing the continuous stream of purple energy. A thick strand of magic leapt from their connection to the other pair on the opposite side of the crater, wrapping them in a magical bond. The two humans rose into the air, their companion's appendages falling from their grip. 613 put his right fist over his heart, praying with all his might. Avi was looking around, taking in the amazing sight. The purple glow encased them in magical cocoons and Twilight and Spike could only watch in admiration at 613's control over the magic she'd given him. The two boys drifted close together, the magic that cloaked them growing stronger as they merged into one. A bright blue flash emitted from the magic casing and temporarily blinded the pony and her dragon friend.
When they had blinked the last of the flashing spots from their eyes, a new scene came into view. The crater's sides had become smooth, any piece of rock or soil replaced by shiny iridium. But what was even more surprising were the two beings lying in the center. One was a dragon, slightly larger than Spike, with dark-green scales and brown spikes and a pair of wings folded against its back. The other was a dark-azure unicorn stallion, with a mane and tail two separate shades of blue. His cutie mark was a blue six-pointed star.
Twilight warily approached the new arrivals, trying to take in the most likely possibility. What did 613 do? she wondered. Did use the energy to transform himself and Avi? How did he know how to control magic? What's the significance of this pony's cutie mark?
The two bodies began to stir. The dragon sat up and flexed his claws, admiring the sharp appendages. The stallion shook his head and opened his eyes. They were a beautiful sapphire color, just like 613's.
Spike crept closer and stood by Twilight's side. "Is it them?" he asked.
"I'm not sure," was the mare's reply. She walked closer to the other pony and caught his attention.
The black stallion smiled. "Thank you," he whispered. His eyes rolled upwards and he fell to the ground unconscious , while the green dragon beside him fell into the same state.
Twilight rushed over and put her ear against the stallion's chest. "He's still breathing," she muttered thankfully. Levitating the dark-blue unicorn onto her back, she called to her loyal assistant. "Come on Spike. Let's take them to the hospital."
Spike grabbed the green dragon's arm and hoisted him up, half dragging half carrying him. They hurried past the remaining ponies that had come to check out the meteor's explosion and, once they saw Twilight Sparkle leaving the crash sight with an unconscious pony on her back, they decided it was time to follow in the steps of their neighbors and they all dispersed.
As soon as the last pony had gone home, Pinkie Pie showed up, saddlebags overflowing with streamers, balloons and a banner with a picture of a meteor on it. She stopped at the crater lip and looked around.
"Where is everpony?"
*
Together, Twilight and Spike took the two unconscious strangers to Ponyville Hospital, where they were rushed to a ward and laid in beds.
"Will they be alright, Doctor?" Twilight asked, having a hard time excepting the facts.
Doctor Stable raised his eyes from the printed information he had gleaned from his two patients. "I honestly can't say, Miss Sparkle. Their conditions are very strange. They appear to be healthy, their still breathing okay, but their bodies are silent. It's as if they're still alive, but they're locked up."
"What does that mean?" Spike asked. "What do we do?"
The doctor pinned his report onto the black stallion's bed. "We can only wait and hope for the best. In the meantime, I suggest you two return home and get some sleep."
Twilight looked at the clock on the wall. It was past sundown and neither she nor Spike had noticed because of all the excitement and their concern for the stallion and the dragon. Turning to the doctor, she asked, "Can we have a few more minutes, please?"
Doctor Stable looked at Twilight and Spike, then at his patients, then at the clock. "All right. Just let yourselves out when your done, okay?"
"Don't worry, we will."
The doctor nodded and left the room, the door swinging shut behind him. Twilight walked over to the stallion's bed while Spike made his way to the green dragon's side. They spent a while examining the two bedridden individuals, checking the doctor's notes and cleaning up the room.
Spike found himself at the dragon's bedside, fondly stroking the larger reptile's claw. He glanced sadly at the closed eyes, the still tail, the dark-green scales. Thinking that he won't ever get up again brought tears to Spike's eyes. All alone, thought Spike, Just him and his friend in a place neither of them saw before. It wouldn't be right if he didn't have a chance to see it. Opening the green dragon's claw, Spike breathed a small ember into it, closing the fingers around the glowing orb of dragonfire. There, now you have a piece of Equestria.
Twilight watched the actions of her dragon friend. It touched her heart the way Spike treated the unconscious dragon, like a friend he had known for a long time, not like someone he had just met. She looked at the unicorn stallion, the combined light- and dark-blue mane, the calm look on his unmoving face, the bright blue star on his flank. She wished she had more time to talk to him. He seemed to know so much. If he were awake we could talk about all kinds of things, about friends, magic and where he's from. There's so much I want to know from him. But now his life and the life of the green dragon were in the hooves of Fate.
There has to be something, anything that I can do to help, Twilight thought. Then an idea came to her. Wait a minute. As a unicorn, I do have something to share. Bending down over the resting pony, she lowered her horn until it came in contact with the stallion's horn. She then released a stream of magic through their connecting point, sending her energy into the black pony's system. She let the magic flow for a minute before stemming it, raising her horn and ending their connection.
Spike walked over to Twilight's side. "What did you give him?" he asked.
Twilight took her time before answering. "The one thing I could give him: hope. A chance."
Side by side, the two friends left the ward, stopping at the door to take one more look at the patients. Glancing sadly at one another, they departed the room their, hearts filled with shared grief.
The ward was dark. The only light came in through the window, where the moon was shining bright. Slowly, the green dragon closed his claw tight over Spike's ember, drawing in the warmth of the flame. Beneath the stallion's dark eyelids, a soft sapphire-blue light trickled.