//------------------------------// // Coalesce (Chapter 10) // Story: Letters To No one // by cutedementia //------------------------------// Twilight had been resting on the balcony for a few hours now. It was becoming night and the sun was setting. Luna was standing next to her, staring off toward her moon which by now was raising high into the sky. Twilight smiled, standing up and nuzzling her cheek into Luna's neck. "Did you want to raise the moon tonight?" Luna asked, looking down at Twilight. "No, I'm sorry. It's just a bit too much work for me some nights," Twilight explained, resting against Luna. "Princess, I have somepony sighted... I can't tell who it is," the colt above them on the roof explained. He had binoculars held with his magic in front of his eyes. "White coat," he said quickly after that. "It's probably my brother, I'll go see," Twilight said, sounding rather happy. "No, princess, you can't go without guards-" Before the colt could finish his sentence, Twilight had already teleported down to the figure far off in the distance. She stood a few feet in front of him, smiling upon seeing the familiar blue mane. "Shining! Where are your guards?" she asked running over to him, stopping a few feet short watching him slowly wobble side to side before collapsing onto the floor. "Shining!" she yelled running over to him, her magic picking up her brother from the ground. His horn was glowing very lightly. He was using his magic, but for what she couldn't tell. She heard more guards teleporting in behind her as she turned his face to her. "Shining, what's going on?" Shining was coughing; his magic had created a small barrier around his mouth and chin as if trying to create a mask. "No, no, Twilight, go back. Air...the air is sick," he said with a frown. "The air is sick?" Twilight asked. "Shining, what are you talking about?" she frowned, greatly concerned by how he was acting. "Guards," he coughed, tapping the blue magic covering his mouth and nose. "Mask..get the princess a mask," he said, starting to pant heavily now as if running out of breath. She heard the magic of five ponies behind her starting up, and soon she was yanked away from her brother with the strange tingling of somepony’s magic coating her mouth. It was hard to breathe at first, but soon a rush of fresh air flooded into her mouth as the guards dragged her away from her brother, who had now collapsed fully onto the floor. "No, what are you doing!? I have to help him!" she shouted at the guards pulling her away. Her eyes soon locked on Myraid, who was running toward Shining. She looked over her shoulder, shouting back at Twilight. "I'll bring him to your room as soon as I can, just wait there," she said in a hurry, running off to help him. With another whisk of unfamiliar magic, she was teleported back into her room where Luna was waiting for her. "Twilight, you need to stay inside," Luna said in a panic, looking out the window as the guard’s magic locked down the windows. The other girls seemed just as confused as she was as they sat on the other side of the room. "What's going on? What is this stupid mask?" she asked, her magic prying off the magic from her muzzle. "He said the air was sick, what is going on!?" "I don't know, but we’re trusting him on this," Luna frowned, walking over to Twilight, her magic re-creating the mask around Twilight's mouth and nose. "I'm sorry, I know it's confusing, I don't understand either. He will have to explain when he wakes up," she frowned, running her hoof over Twilight's mane, trying to calm her. "Wakes up?! Is he hurt!?" Twilight said in panic. "I don't know. Myraid hasn't told me much, she just said we need to get everypony a mask. We can speak with both of them within the hour," Luna said with a frown, still trying to calm Twilight. "I...okay..." Twilight sighed. "Just...he's going to be okay right?" she asked, still concerned. "As far as I know yes, but we can't get in contact with any of his personal guards. He would not have made the trip on his own, never," Luna said, guiding Twilight over to her friends. "Please sit with the others while I figure out what's going on," Luna insisted. Twilight nodded, taking a seat next to Scootaloo and Applebloom, watching Luna walk out of the room in a hurry. "So...we still don't know what's going on?" Applebloom asked with a frown. "No...I have no idea. Shining is here, but he was talking crazy when I got to him. He said the air was sick...what does that mean?" Twilight questioned, her magic drifting across the room to her collection of books. "Maybe I can find something on this," she said standing up. She stopped her rush for a moment when she felt a hoof on hers. "Wait," coughed Pinkie Pie. "You should sit with us for a bit, you need to keep calm," she said with a concerned smile. "Thanks, Pinkie," Twilihgt said with a frown, pressing a hoof to her face. "Ugh, just...I haven't seen him and years and when I finally do he's too weak to stand." "Don’t worry, darling. Relax for now and you can help your brother later," Rarity said from the couch across from them. Fluttershy was now wrapped in her hooves, looking quite tired. "Is something wrong with Fluttershy?" Twilight asked walking over. "Does she...not have a mask on!?" she asked in a panic. Rarity looked down, moving Fluttershy so her muzzle was now no longer buried in her chest. "The unicorns must have missed her," Rarity said sitting up. "I don't know the spell!" she said clearly panicked despite not really knowing what could happen if Fluttershy was not wearing one. Twilight looked over at the guards, calling one over who quickly put a mask on Fluttershy. "She should be fine ma'am, this is just a precaution," the guard assured her. Fluttershy, who had been looking nervous and scared since Twilight had run over, finally spoke up in her whispered voice. "T..Twilight I'm not hurt, I'm just tired," she said, shrinking back. "S...Sorry." Twilight sighed, sitting down on the floor in front of them. "No, no, I'm sorry, I just panicked..." she said shaking her head. "Perhaps you should check those books of yours now sugarcube..." Applejack suggested. "Perhaps.." Twilight sighed, standing up and walking over to her book collection. "He said the air was sick. I've never read anything about that before. And these masks, what is all this about?" "Check diseases and cotangents," Applebloom suggested, quickly getting strange looks from the others in the group. "What? I trained with Zecora you know. Sure, only for a couple years, but I still trained with her." Twilight took as many books off the shelves as she could about different types of sicknesses, and laid them all out on the floor. "I should cross off anything that's not airborne...that removes a good fifteen books," she said, tossing those books back on the shelves. "Is there any specific name you can remember?" Rarity asked Applebloom. Myraid stepped up behind Twilight with a frown. "Try Coalesce," she suggested with a heavy frown. "Your brother nearly got it, and it's spreading..."