When I woke up earlier, I was somewhat disappointed to find out that Mom wasn’t there when I woke up. However, I know for a fact that Mom still has Royal Duties that she has to do, something she possibly held off for a while. I was torn from my thoughts when I heard a knock on the door to my hospital room.
“Come in,” I called out, prompting the visitor to enter the room.
“Your Highness,” I heard Golden and Quick say.
“Hello Golden, Quick. What brings you here?” I asked. When I asked, I saw Golden glance around the room before speaking.
“~I’m seeing if you are truly a Spirit Alicorn~,” I heard him say.
“~Spirit Alicorn~?” I asked, unaware that I slipped into another language.
“~Yes, and it seems that I’m correct~,” he told me, prompting a confused look from me, “~Don’t you realize that you’re speaking a different language right now~?” He asked me with a smirk, causing my eyes to widen in surprise.
“Quid tu-,” I started to ask before mentally stopping myself, “What do you mean?”
“There are four types of ‘Spirit’ ponies,” Quick explained, trying to hold back his laughter at the display, “Spirit Pegasi,” he pointed at himself, “Spirit Unicorns,” he pointed at Golden, “Spirit Alicorns,” he pointed at me, “And Spirit Earth Ponies.”
“...And this...language?” I asked, excited about learning more about my past.
“Latin, the language of spirits, in spiritually embedded in your mind, making it impossible to forget,” Quick explained to me.
“Also,” Golden took over, “Even if you were to be reincarnated, it would still be there, waiting for you to use it,” I nodded, showing that I’m following along so far. “And now that we know that you’re a spirituale alicorn, we can start to teach you how to use your spirit magic.”
“Something that I’ll be doing,” Quick told me, “Seeing that you are a Proelium magus.” Battle Mage.
“That’ll likely be the case,” Golden admitted, “But it doesn’t explain how somepony as young and untrained as her managed a tier five spell without borrowing mana from Espiritu, something that, if anypony else did, would have drained their mana pool to the point of death.”
“Espiritu?” I parroted, tilting my head a bit.
“Goddess of Spirit,” Golden explained simply. When he said that, I felt a bit of pain shoot through my body; it was very weak, however, so I ignored it.
“So,” I started, “I heard Quick yell out something, what was that about?”
“A tier two spell,” Quick explained, “The only reason I had to say the incantation is because I didn’t have much practice using that particular spell.” I sent a questioning look towards him, causing him to facehoof, “That’s right, you’re new to this. Anyways, a spell a ~Battle Mage~ can use is categorized into five tiers, Tier one, the lowest, only requires you to understand the basic concept of the spell to cast it while Tier five requires that you to say the incantation,” he explained, “~Seeking Arrow~, the tier two spell you saw me use, basically infuses the arrows that I summon with a protosoul, allowing them to seek out their targets on their own.”
“How about the one I used?” I questioned, “~Spiritual Charger~?”
“That,” Golden started, “Is an example of a Tier five spell. Though how you managed to cast it without borrowing mana from Espiritu, I’ll never know.” He released a sigh, “The only pony I knew who could do that was…” he trailed off, his eyes going wide in realization.
“Golden?” Quick Shot asked hesitantly.
“That would explain a few things,” I heard Golden mutter to himself, “Quick, I think I know why she could do that.” This caused me and Quick Shot to raise an eyebrow in confusion, “Sunny is a Gloria Domine.” Spiritual Master. This caused Quick's eyes to widen in surprise while I just swiveled my head between the two in confusion.
“A what?” I asked, confused, and somewhat annoyed about being left out of the loop.
“A ~Spiritual Master~,” Golden started, “Usually, a spiritual pony can only master one type of spirit magic. However, a ~Spiritual Master~ can master all three of them: Lamina Praesule,” Blade Dancer, “~Battle Mage~, and Elementum Moderatoris,” Elemental Bender. “The thing about Spirituale Domini,”Spiritual Masters, “Is that they are very powerful, so powerful that they can cast any Tier four spell without any training.”
“But,” Quick interrupted, “That doesn’t explain how Sunny managed to cast a bucking Tier five spell without training!”
“Quick, Language!” Golden scolded, “Remember, Sunny’s still a foal!”
“Bucking?” I parroted as I tilted my head a bit, an innocent smile plastered on my face as I smelled shenanigans incoming, “What does that mean?”
“Something you shouldn’t be saying,” Golden responded, causing me to pout a bit.
“You aren’t teaching my daughter any bad habits, are you?” Mom’s voice said from behind them, causing them to stiffen up, eyes wide in surprise.
“N-no, Your Highness,” Golden managed, swallowing “H-how long have you been there?”
“While you were telling Sunny what a...Gloria Domine…right?” she asked, getting a nod from Golden, “While you were telling Sunny what a Gloria Domine is. Do you mind if you enlighten me?” she asked, causing Golden and Quick to slump in defeat.
“I was really hoping we didn’t have to reveal any more information than we already did during the Summer Sun Celebration a few weeks ago,” Golden sighed, “But I knew the consequences of revealing ourselves like we did.” Over the next ten minutes, Golden and Quick explained what they explained to me, including the fact that the three of us are Spirit Ponies (with myself just having found out this information myself). They then went on to explain what a Spiritual Master is. Once they were done, Mom looked at them with a gaze that I had trouble decoding.
“And I can trust that the two of you will teach her how to control this...magic?” Mom asked the two bullet sweating guards.
“Y-yes, Your Highness,” Quick managed to say. Suddenly, all the tension that was in the room just vanished into thin air as Mom’s face suddenly sported a gentle smile.
“Then I’ll leave you to do that once Sunny recovers,” she informed them, her normal motherly tone of voice returning, “Until then, I just want the two of you to relax. After your bravery at the Summer Sun Celebration, even with unfavorable odds against you, you’ve earned the right to recover and relax.”
“B-but Your Majesty!” Golden tried to argue, causing Mom to lose her smile.
“Don’t make me order you, lieutenant,” Mom said in an authoritative tone, causing Golden to sigh in defeat.
“Understood, Your Majesty.” The two spiritual ponies bowed to her before leaving the room, leaving just me and Mom there. Mom sighed before she turned to me, her smile having reappeared on her muzzle.
“Sorry about making them leave, but ever since you were admitted into the hospital, they would absolutely refuse to leave your side whenever I wasn’t in the room,” she informed me, “In fact, I’m pretty sure the most sleep they had was no more than sixteen hours overall. Even then, they wouldn’t leave this room unless they had to.” When she said this, my jaw dropped, the only other pony who went this far to make sure that I was okay was Mom herself, and even then, she wouldn’t make herself lose sleep just to make sure that I’m ok. I was torn out of my stupor when I released a yawn, my eyes starting to grow heavy as I tried to keep them open.
“You should get some rest,” she told me as I fought to stay awake, “After all, based on what Second Lieutenant Golden Sword and Sergeant Major Quick Shot told me, your magic is tied to your life force. While it allows for an increased mana pool, you can unintentionally kill yourself if you drain it fully.” As she said that, my eyes grew to an impossible level as I quickly woke up.
“Y-y-you mean...t-that I could’ve…” I tried to say before Mom gave me a solemn nod, causing all the blood to drain from my face.
“According to the doctors, you’ve drained your mana pool completely. Also, your body rejected almost every attempt to do a transfusion,” she informed me, “In fact, the only ponies whose mana your body wouldn’t reject was Golden’s and Quick’s.”
“A-and….why was this the case?” I asked, fearful at what could’ve happened if Golden and Quick weren’t there.
“I honestly don’t know,” she admitted, “Neither does Lieutenant Golden nor Sergeant Quick, but they allowed us to take some samples of their mana to try and figure out why that was the case.” Once again, a yawn forced it’s way out of my mouth as I, once again, tried to keep myself awake. Mom, having seen that I kept resisting every attempt to sleep, opened her mouth and started to sing while gently rubbing my back with a hoof. While the action was simple, it was quite effective in coaxing me into a deep slumber.
“-sults are in,” I heard a voice say as I started to return to the waking world, “It appears that their bodies are adapted to use a different form of mana, one that is much more powerful than the mana we’re accustomed to. Your daughter’s alones seems to exceed the power of yours by at least ten times.”
“Thank you, Nurse Feel Good,” I heard Mom’s say in surprise, but nowhere near as surprised as I am, “This information will be helpful in case another incident like this one arises.”
“In case another what arises?” I asked while opening my eyes, causing the two mares to jump before they whirled around to face me.
“Sunny,” Mom started, “How long have you been awake for?”
“Not long,” I yawned as I rubbed my eyes with my hooves a bit, “Though I did hear what the results of the tests were.” I turned my head towards the nurse, “Now, what is this about me being more powerful than Mom?”
Ten Days Later…
As I was resting (I wanted to leave yesterday, but my doctor forbade me from doing so due to the fear that I may over extend my Mana Pool as it’s still refilling (And at the same time, isn’t)), I heard a loud boom, causing me to swivel my head towards the open window where I saw a ring of colors expanding outwards from what I assumed was Cloudsdale. Not even a moment later, I felt a wall of energy pass through me, disorienting me and, somehow, completely refilling my Mana Pool. After I managed to rid myself of the disorientation, darkness quickly overtook me as the floor rapidly approached me.
“Mom, what are those?” I asked as we walked past three glowing items: a cloak; a necklace (freakily similar to the one Mom (my adoptive mother, that is) gave me); and a black sword. Each one seemed to glow a different color.
“They are very powerful artifacts that, when wielded by a single pony, can quite possible change the very world around us.” Mom explained.
“Possibly?!” I asked ludicrously.
“Nopony knows for sure,” she admitted, “The Artifacts have never accepted a single bearer before. But even so, I honestly hope nopony manages to be the bearer of all three.”
“W-what makes them so powerful?” I asked fearfully as what I was looking at finally bore down on me.
“Each artifact each holds a different component that, when combined together, could theoretically change the very world around us,” she explained before pointing towards the cloak, which was glowing green, “The Cloak of Courage compels the one who bears it to bravely overcome their obstacles, even if said obstacle is their greatest fear, ” she pointed towards the necklace, which was glowing blue, “The Pendant of Wisdom infuses the bearer with unparalleled foresight,” she finally pointed at the sword, which was glowing red, “The Blade of Power, or more commonly know as, Spirit’s Bane, a weapon powerful enough to destroy even a god.”
“And what’s stopping anypony from just taking them?!” I nearly screamed.
“From what we can tell, you have to prove yourself worthy to use the power within,” Mom explained, “Otherwise, the respective artifact is completely useless.”
“She….wo….p…!” I heard a mare’s voice yell in a panic as I started to regain consciousness. I tried to do something, anything, to show them that I’m awake, but my body wouldn’t respond at all.
“Her mana….going critical!” I managed to make out who I presumed is a doctor that time.
“Don’t worry,” I heard Golden attempt to calm down the occupants of the room, “Her body is just reacting to her Mana Pool suddenly filling beyond its normal capacity in a fraction of a second. She should wake up in a few minutes.” True to his word, I was slowly, but surely, regaining control of my limbs as my body started to adapt to the excess mana that flowed through my body.
“W-what happened,” I asked in a raspy voice as my eyesight starting to regain focus.
“The doctors heard a deafening boom come from this direction,” I heard Quick say from somewhere in front of me, “Not long after, they felt a wave of energy pass through them, causing them to scramble towards your room, fearing the worst. When they arrived, they found you unconscious on the floor.”
“B-before we continue, c-could somepony give me a cup of w-water?” I managed, my throat getting drier every second. A few moments later, one of the doctors lifted a cup of water, tilting it up a bit so it would flow into my mouth.
“Thank you,” I said once I finished. I took a look around the room and noticed a few new faces standing next to Mom: a lavender unicorn filly with a dark purple mane and tail with violet and pink streaks running down one side; a light grey unicorn mare with a purple and light grey mane and tail; and a greyish azure unicorn stallion with a dark blue mane and tail. I noticed that the four of them had worried expressions on their faces. I also noticed Mom trying to resist her motherly urges to see if I’m okay herself. Just as I’m about to greet the newcomers, a sharp pain blasted through my head, causing me to cry out in pain.
“Sunny!” I heard Mom yell out in alarm.
“Your Highness!” another voice that I cannot identify yelled out as well.
“I-I think I’m just going to rest for a few more hours,” I decided once the pain subsided, holding a hoof to my head.
“That...may be a good idea,” I heard Golden comment.
Later That Night…
“Gladium!”
“Apricus!”
I shot up in my bed, my heart beating a million miles a minute, as I tried to process what I just remembered. The two voices seemed familiar, and one of the voices is definitely me, as one of them said my original name: Apricus. However, the other seemed to be just out of reach, like something is preventing me from remembering. Before I could even try and translate the other name, the memory faded, causing me to slam my hoof against my hospital bed in frustration.
“Why?” I asked myself, “Why can’t I remember?”
“Sunny?” the familiar voice of Mom said somewhere off to my left, “Are you ok?” After a moment’s hesitation, I answered.
“Honesty, no,” I admitted, “It’s just that...the memories I get back fades just as quickly as they arrive. And the ones that do stay doesn’t really help me remember what happened,” I told her in a dejected tone of voice. Due to the silence that followed and darkness of the room, I was unprepared for the sudden embrace as Mom wrapped her wings and forelegs around my body before she nuzzled the top of my head.
“It’s okay,” she tried to reassure me, “Your memories will come in time. For now, just rest.” I gave her an acknowledging nod as I tried to bury my head as deep into her coat as I could.
She’s right, I thought to myself, My memories will return in time, I just need to Rest and Recover my strength for my upcoming training.