//------------------------------// // 6 - The Mirror's Pony // Story: Polygamy is Magic // by Ravenmane //------------------------------// When I came to, I was surrounded by a blue hue. As I looked around for the source, I found a single floating candle with a blue flame. Beyond the light of the candle was darkness, absolute and unyielding darkness. “Hello,” I called out. No response came. I paced around under the light of the candle, wracking my brain for options. Not much came to mind aside from testing the dark realm beyond the candle’s light. I carefully moved to the edge of the light, close enough to see nothing but darkness before me. I raised a cautious hoof and pushed it into the darkness. A smile came to my face when I pulled it back, nothing had happened. “So,” I said to myself, “the darkness isn’t harmful but if I venture into it I won’t have the light of the candle to make sure I don’t trip over anything or see what I may run into. However, if I stay by the candle then I run the risk of something out there finding me when it sees the candlelight.” I looked back, barely seeing the faint light of the candle. “This should be the extent of my moonlight vision after all.” I took in a deep breath. “I guess it’s into the breach,” I murmured to the emptiness before striding into absolute darkness. ***** I felt like I had been wandering around in the pitch-black void for hours with nothing but the dull sound of my hooves against the ground. The silence was maddening but it was nothing compared to emptiness. “Can you believe he actually thought that,” called a high voice in the darkness. “I know,” replied a second, “some ponies can be so naïve.” “Even after all that mushy stuff he still thought we were there for him,” said the first one with a laugh. “Too messed up even for me to tolerate,” murmured a third voice. It was deep and masculine. “What would you know,” shrieked the second one, “you seem like you’d sympathize with him.” “Well I-” “Remove the male sympathizer,” shrieked the first voice. I tried to nearer to the source of these voices as quietly as possible, the sound of the first two voices straining to move what I could only assume to be the source of the third one. By the time I was nearly on top of them I saw a large crack cut its way across the sky. Whatever the sources of the voices were had become nothing compared to the blinding light that shone through the crack in the sky. ***** My eyes snapped open and I barely rose a few inches before I was wracked by pain that didn’t stem from injuries. Everything was blurry and almost unrecognizable. “Hey stay down,” spoke a voice to my left. “Take it easy.” “What happened,” I asked weakly. “You’ve been out of it for a week Al,” replied a blurry array of colors. “Dashie?” “The doc said you would be fine after a few days, lotta broken bones from the fall and the initial impact.” “I remember being hit and the wall, but a week. I’ve been out that long?” “Yeah, Twilight went on ahead to Canterlot but she said she’d come back as soon as possible.” “We’re still in the Empire?” I squinted, trying desperately to focus on Rainbow. “Yeah, but just relax. I mean it. Your body’s still recovering and you shouldn’t push it. If we didn’t find you as fast as we did,” the blurry figure of Rainbow shuddered, “I dunno if you’d still be in one piece. I mean, even Princess Cadance said all she could do was make sure you got the best treatment. She helped Twilight set most of your bones back in place. They also had to restrain you when you started thrashing in bed.” “How bad was it Dashie?” “You ever see a bone sticking out of someone’s body before? There was a lot of that. When we got somepony up here with modern equipment, he said you broke nearly every bone in your body. I was afraid you were…” “I’m not and that’s what counts right?” “Yeah, get some rest now okay? I’m gonna tell Princess Cadance you woke up.” “Why do you want to tell her?” “You mean aside from being our sister-in-law? A bunch of the crystal ponies were really happy that you were still alive after what happened. You remember that one super old mare? She started a petition to make sure you got a medal or something. She’s been sending flowers every day like some crazy stalker too. I’ll find out if the princess decided to cave into the pressure.” “She shouldn’t play favorites to her brother-in-law, even if it appeases the masses.” Rainbow’s blurry figure came closer and kissed my cheek. “That’s enough talking for now. Get some more rest, focus on healing, and I’ll be back here before you know it.” I nodded and rested my head on my pillow. Focusing on healing sounded like a good idea after Rainbow left. ***** I spent the rest of the day gradually recovering my sight and listening to a few doctors drone on about how lucky I was to survive everything. Despite what doctors shuffling in through the day said, I didn’t feel like I was in pain at all. I shared this notion with Twilight after she came to visit me late that night. “I’m sure you feel that way because your body is nearly healthy enough to get you released from the hospital.” She leaned in and kissed me with a primal desire that made my body squirm, begging to be free. “Do you remember anything other than being hit so hard,” she asked as soon as our lips parted. “An expanse of pure darkness,” I replied, “hooves echoing against the hard ground.” I wrapped a foreleg around her neck and looked past her to Rainbow. “I never want to be anywhere like that again.” “You won’t have to,” Twilight looked over her shoulder to Rainbow, passed out in a nearby chair. “I’m sure she’d say the same thing if she didn’t try to stay awake since you were found.” “So, when am I getting out of this bed?” “Cadance wants to present you with a medal tomorrow afternoon and we can be on the first train after that.” “Do you think he did anything to me?” “He,” Twilight’s grip on me tightened, “he had a trap waiting for anyone who went looking for the Crystal Heart. It was a door that uses dark magic to enslave your mind; placing you in your greatest fears. If Spike didn’t go with me then I’m sure King Sombra would have us all under his spell. Because of that, I doubt he would’ve taken your means of defense lightly.” “Is everything okay Twi? He didn’t mess your head up did he?” “I don’t think so but it rattled me at the time. That was a trap in the castle but if he did something to you then-I don’t know what I could do to help. Your body was-I had a hard time looking at it some of the time I was supposed to be working and helping Cadance. If he did something to make you not really you anymore then I don’t think I-” “I’d put up a strong defense against you trying to keep me from harm’s way Twi. If there’s lasting damage then we’ll do what we can to mitigate it. We all made a choice to stand beside each other up there, on that altar, even though Dashie lost her train of thought when she was trying to remember the vows she came up with.” Twilight kissed my cheek. “I was hoping you’d bring up that. The part where we swore to be together I mean, not Rainbow’s mistake at the altar. Anyways, I hope you don’t mind if I get some rest over here.” She pointed her hoof to a nearby vacant couch. “I’d rather not wake Rainbow or try to find a way to fit us all on your bed.”