Ace's Spell Shop

by Aceofgods

The Light of Life

Chapter Thirty: The Light of Life

After their lunch, Ace teleported himself and Twilight back to Ponyville. As the flash of light faded, he adjusted his glasses as he assessed his surroundings, standing before the library that served as his home away from home with a soft smile.

Shaking her head to recover her senses, Twilight asked, “Okay, so we need to tell everypony you’re not dead, and then we need to go back to Canterlot to help Luna… um, ‘fix’ Celestia. Do we have enough time?”

Ace nodded with a smile, his teeth now back to normal as well. “Perhaps not by ourselves, but I was sort of hoping Rainbow Dash would help us. That is really more an idea than a plan, since we cannot be sure where she is…” Ace said with a shrug. Still, I am sure she will show up eventually. In the meantime, let us make way for Rarity’s boutique, shall we?”

Twilight nodded with a smile, glad that Ace was starting to rely more on others rather than pushing himself to do everything on his own before they started through town. As they made it to the marketplace, however, Twilight was beginning to regret travelling by hoof.

Everypony who saw them stared for a moment or let out a sharp gasp whenever they noticed the bandages. A couple of ponies, likely some of the ponies that were around when Twilight had slammed herself into Sofas and Quills, looked concerned as well.

In fact, as the pair passed by the aforementioned shop, as well as the restaurant and flower stall, the owners of each looked worried; holding a hoof to their muzzle as they looked about, hoping nopony would believe them responsible for the injuries.

Twilight covered her muzzle with a hoof as she laughed to herself; Ace chuckling a bit as well as they made their way past the guilty-looking trio as they each loosed a sigh in relief.

Once they were out of earshot, Ace whispered slightly as he laughed once more. “We seem to have given them quite the scare,” he said as Twilight started giggling once more with a nod.

“Quite. Honestly, I am surprised you didn’t press the situation further as a joke. Honestly, we don’t exactly owe them any favors.” Ace shook his head, his laughter fading to his normal smile.

“Injuries are never a joke, my dear Starlight. To use bodily harm as a joke of any kind bodes ill, and would likely incur the wrath of the Fates in the form of more serious harm,” he said in a solemn voice that did not reach his smile.

Twilight looked for a moment, having only heard of the Fates in mythological stories and history, but never anypony else speaking of them. “You mean that the Fates are real? Clotho, the spinner of Life; Lachesis, the chooser of Destinies; and Atropos, Severer of the Threads?”

Ace shrugged as his smile widened, again surprised by how much his student knew. “Well, about as real as any other deity or mythological story, I suppose. I have no proof to claim they exist outside of circumstance, and no proof to prove they do not or cannot exist.”

Twilight brought a hoof to her chin, thinking as they strolled towards her friend’s store. Completely lost in her thoughts, she had not noticed that Ace’s horn began to glow black, a comparatively upset look marring his features before she heard a loud crashing sound directly behind her.

Startled, she turned to face the origin of the sound as Ace shook his head with a sigh. What she saw was Rainbow Dash sprawled against what she could only imagine was a barrier Ace had erected to protect her.

Ace fixed the rainbow-maned Pegasus as she slid down the spherical shield before landing on the ground with an ungraceful thud. However, she bounced back to her hooves and dusted herself off before meeting both of their gazes.

“Hey guys! What’s –“ she managed before she realized that it was Ace that stood beside Twilight. “Whoa! You’re not… you know… dead? That’s awesome! How’d you-“ she said before again looking to Twilight. “Holy cow! Are you okay?”

Twilight looked back at her bandages before twisting around a bit, noting that it still hurt quite a bit to move. “Yeah, I’m fine for the most part,” she said before glaring at her friend. “It could be much worse… if say… a Pegasus crashed into me doing almost a hundred miles per hour!”

Rainbow Dash smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of her mane with a hoof as she spoke, “Right… Sorry about that… It’s just that, you know, you keep disappearing now, and nopony has seen where you keep trotting off to… We get worried, you know?”

Twilight’s glare faded at the comment, realizing she had been moving about a lot lately with Ace, and it all happens so fast she forgets to tell her friends. “You’re right, I’m sorry… Still, crashing into me is not really how I want to be welcomed home, alright?”

Rainbow Dash nodded as the barrier around Twilight faded, bringing her attention to Ace again. “Still, weren’t you like, torn apart by Discord? What happened?” she asked before turning her gaze back to Twilight? “Ohmygosh! Did Twilight bring you back to life with her magic?! That is sooooo awesome! Is that why you’re hurt? Can you do it again? How long did-“

Twilight shook her head before interrupting the excited mare. “No, he never died! Right after Discord got him, he turned himself into magic and started living in my head as he recovered,” she said, only realizing how strange and ridiculous it sounded when she had said it.

Nevertheless, Rainbow looked awed by the idea anyways. “Wow! That’s almost as cool as bringing him back to life,” she said, her gaze now turning back to Ace as she seemed to unknowingly hover in front of him, her wings beating just enough to keep her aloft. “What was it like inside Twilight’s head? I always pictured it as another boring library.”

Ace stifled a laugh as Twilight sighed, nearly glaring at Rainbow again. “Well, you would be amazed at how ‘awesome’ a library can be, depending on what is kept within it,” he said, bringing a light blush to Twilight’s face. “I may be a bit biased, being as close to Twilight as I am, and having my own library, besides.”

Rainbow Dash nodded before she thought for a moment, her face turning to a mask of shock as her mouth formed a large ‘O’. “I almost forgot! Twilight said you were her special somepony when we were facing Discord!” Ace only nodded with a smile and a light blush, Twilight’s own deepening as well.

Rainbow Dash laughed, likely a bit harder than she meant to, before she spoke again. “That’s great news! We need somepony who can pull her stick out of the mud, ya know? Oh dang, wait until I tell the others,” she said, turning to take back to the skies before Ace caught her hoof.

“While you are at it, would you be so kind as to tell them that I am well, and Twilight and I will be spending the night in Canterlot?” he asked as she turned her head to see what the holdup was before nodding as he let go. “Many thanks!”

With a mid-air salute to Ace, she bolted off with a laugh. Ace and Twilight waved her off for a moment before turning back towards the path to Rarity’s boutique.

As they came near the shop, they could hear the sound of somepony sobbing, accompanied by lamenting moans. The two shared a look for a moment before knocking on the door, Twilight being the one to speak for the pair.

“Rarity? Is everything okay in there?” What greeted her was another, louder wave of sobbing screams. “We’re coming inside,” she said as she pushed open the door with a hoof, taking a few steps into the room as she looked around so that Ace could enter behind her.

What they saw was Rarity laying on her elegant red couch in the middle of the showroom, a bottle of Sweet Apple Acres Hard Cider, one each in her hoof and on the floor, while her other hoof covered her likely tear-stricken eyes.

“Oh, Twilight, it’s awful! Simply awful what happened to Ace!” she managed between sobs, making Twilight and Ace share a look – Twilight sighing as Ace stifled a small chuckle.

“Why must such terrible things happen to such handsome stallions? I knew him for a few days, and yet he trusted me with so many of his secrets!” Twilight and Ace shared a look again, this time making Twilight chuckle as Ace smiled sheepishly.

“He still had so much to live for…” Ace started to look a bit worried, making Twilight raise an eyebrow in question as he made his way to her side before she followed after him. “He commissioned some more work from me, you know… He was going to have me make your –“

Ace rested a hoof on her shoulder and cleared his threat before she could finish her thought. Rarity sniffled before she looked over and saw who it was that had touched her, and then let out an ear-piercing scream.

The sound literally brought Ace to the floor, laying down on the ground and covering his ears with his hooves before his horn lit up, making a sphere spread around the room that seemed to cancel out all sound before the bottle of cider reached the floor.

Rarity, with her eyes still closed, continued to lean back in her scream, Twilight watching her uvula wriggle in the effort before she finally realized there was no sound coming out.

Her cheeks and eyes still moist from her crying, Ace teleported a deep-red handkerchief and offered it to the mare. Taking it to wipe herself off, she attempted to voice what was most likely a thank you before Ace rescinded the silencing spell.

“Please, no loud noises… My ears are quite sensitive, and I do very much prefer that they not bleed.”

Once she had wiped her face, she threw the handkerchief away before latching herself around Ace’s neck, eliciting a sharp gasp as her hooves tightened around his neck, opening the bandaged wound around his neck.

Twilight sighed as Ace’s face flushed. “It’s so good to see you again; you had everypony so worried! We all thought you were dead, you know.” From the close proximity, Ace could smell the alcohol on her breath before Twilight pulled her away in her magic.

His hoof glowing, Ace mended the wound beneath the until-now clean bandage before sending a look of thanks to Twilight. “Yes, well, as you can see I am alive and well, and there is no need to speak of my secrets any further.”

Still floating in Twilight’s magic, Rarity looked between the two, only now realizing the two of them were hurt. “Oh no, please tell me that Discord is not back again. I do not want to have another gruesome fight that uncouth ruffian.”

Twilight shook her head as she brought Rarity back to the ground gently, though it was Ace the answered for them. “No, Discord is quite dead, I assure you,” he said, though his word choice left something to be desired as the inebriated mare looked equally depressed, though perhaps now for different reasons.

Hey gaze turning downcast, she spoke much less enthusiastically, “Well, better him than us, I guess… But still, if it wasn’t Discord, how come you two are all banged up? Trouble in the bedchamber?” she asked.

Twilight’s cheeks flushed, even more so as Ace nodded with a questioning look on his features. “Yes, actually,” he replied. “That would technically be the gist of what has happened. How did you know?”

Rarity looked between the two, a debauched grin on her face as she likely imagined something crudely perverse. “You two are both thinking two completely different things!” Twilight exclaimed, her cheeks flushing further.

Ace looked over the two, his face a painting of uncertainty. “I do not understand. What she said is true; our injuries are the result of a complication that took place in my bedchambers. What is there to be misconstrued?”

Rarity started to giggle lightly as she half-lidded her eyes to the stallion. “Well, if you would like, I could take you to my bedchambers and we can get into all sorts of trouble, and you may misconstrue it however you like,” she said with a wink.

Ace’s mouth worked wordlessly, though fortunately Twilight spoke before he could, “Cut it out Rarity, you’ve had too much to drink!” she exclaimed, a stream of water coming from somewhere in the backroom, carried in her magic, to wash over her lecherous friend.

Rarity let out a very loud screech of a gasp as the cold water cascaded over her body, her coat and mane falling flat as Ace covered his ears with a grimace. Twilight shied away with a sheepish smile in apology to Ace before fixing Rarity with a sterner glare.

“We should leave, Ace; Rarity has been known to be a bit… amorous when she drinks too much,” Twilight said before turning to leave. Ace, his right hoof over his ear, only nodded as he followed her, the two leaving the shop.

“Wait, come back!” Rarity said to their backs, quivering from the cold water, “I’m sorry! Please don’t leave me like this!”

Ace started to look back, but Twilight telecommunicated a warning to him, ’Don’t worry, she’s fine; she gets like this when she has too much to drink – fortunately, that isn’t very often.’

Ace looked as though he still wanted to turn around and help her. ’Are you certain? She sounds as though her life is in peril… I would hate to imagine that something might happen to her in this defenseless state.’

Twilight slammed the door shut behind them, locking the door just before Rarity could reach it, her bawling still reaching their ears. “Yes, trust me, it’s for the best that we leave her alone for now,” she said with a sigh. “Let’s just go and have another lesson or something until it’s time to go and help Princess Luna.”

Twilight started to make her way to the tree that rested a short ways from the boutique, but before she had made it very far, Ace said aloud, “I am going to teleport us, be prepared,” making her turn back around.

No sooner than she glanced at his glowing horn, Twilight’s world faded to black, causing her to quiver briefly in fear as a chill went down her spine. She started moving her head from side to side; though solid blackness greeted her no matter how much she looked around, disorienting her.

“Ace?” she called softly, afraid to test her voice further, “are you there?” What greeted her was a hoof resting against her back, eliciting a small noise from her in surprise.

“I am here, my student,” he said softly, nearly silently, into her ear.
“Originally, this lesson was planned to take place tonight, but instead we shall replace the night with the darkness of this cave.”

Twilight was still shaking in fear, afraid to test her voice, but Ace’s presence gave her at least a modicum of confidence and courage. “Ace… I really, really don’t like the dark… Do we have to have the lesson here?”

Ace stroked her back soothingly, though Twilight had a feeling they were going to be staying in the dark. “I am afraid we must, my Starlight. You see, the lesson I teach you today is how there is light in all life, and that life surrounds us even where we least expect.”

Twilight nodded before realizing that such a gesture was likely wasted in the darkness. “What light? All I can see is darkness and all I feel is… you…” she said, still uncertain of herself as she faced one of her fears.

“That is because you still fear the dark. What you must understand that darkness cannot exist if you only see the light that it hides,” he said as he walked in front of her, his hoof still on her back so that she could know he was there. “As this may be a bit difficult for you at first, we shall start slow. I want you to tell me what you hear.”

Twilight nodded again as she closed her eyes, useless as they were to her. “I hear… water dripping in a few places… and some… rustling noises…” Twilight was starting to lose her nerve even more the more she listened. “There’s a… a scratching sound… and a… a sound I don’t know…”

Ace moved his hoof to her cheek. “There is water dripping, and the crunching noises are the bats making themselves comfortable after the flash of our teleport disturbing them.” Twilight nearly jumped at the mention of the bats, but Ace’s hoof held her in place.

“The scratching sound is the sound of numerous insects moving amongst the rocks, and finally, the last sound is that of the cave – every breeze of wind entering and leaving as the cave breathes.”

Twilight was getting anxious again, her hooves refusing to remain still at the thought of bats, bugs and darkness all around her. “Then where’s the light? I like light; bats and bugs not so much.” She heard a soft chuckle in front of herself, her eyes opening out of reflex to glare at him.

Much to her surprise, she actually was glaring at him – she could see him in the pitch darkness, though only vaguely and not much else. “You are gaining some night vision as your eyes adjust. So used to the sun, your night vision will recover slowly and will not amount to as much as my Al Bhed eyesight.

“Thus, however, is the purpose to this lesson,” he said as he reached his hooves to his face, pulling off his glasses, bringing them to rest on her muzzle instead. “Emmisehyda,” he said in Al Bhed as the frames came into place, making them glow faintly before her vision changed.

No longer was the cave coated beneath the shroud of darkness, but now each wall and stone were swaddled in light – a light that was different over each individual object… and creature. Twilight made a sharp inhalation, preparing to scream, before Ace’s hoof came to her muzzle and stopped her.

“I believe you will find the denizens of the caves will be much more hospitable if you allow them their rest,” he said with a shake of his head. “What you see now are the lights of life, the luminescent glow of every living thing in this world.”

Twilight nodded once, hyperventilating as she came to terms with the situation in which she now found herself. Ace lowered his hoof just enough for her to breathe more easily as she took several deep, calming breaths.

Once she was sufficiently calmer, Ace came alongside her – enveloped in a white light of his own – as she looked around the cave at the various lights that surrounded various creatures and rocks.

All around them, the rocks bore an incredibly faint light, the color of that light fading to others all around her, almost as if in a pattern. Only marginally brighter were the lights of the water that flowed gently in a few lazy currents through the cave, or dripping from the stalactites into puddles of standing water.

The other, again only marginally brighter, lights that moved more erratically was what really sent a chill over her, however. Throughout the range of her vision, there was no shortage of bats on the ceiling, bugs on the walls and outcroppings. Worst of all, however, were the coiled masses of light, as well as the wriggling strings that moves hither and thither.

Twilight was shaking much more noticeable now before Ace draped a hoof over her back to comfort her. “Worry not, my student, for the animals of this cave carry only indifference to our presence, so long as we do not openly disturb them. Such is the way for most animals, truly.”

Twilight nodded, though shakily, as she started to recover her composure… Until one of the streamers of light – a snake – started making its way towards her. Were it not for the hoof over her back, she would have jumped away and bolted through the cave.

As it was, however, she instead wrapped her hooves around her instructor as she whimpered and quivered. Ace only laughed quietly as the snake came to them, stopped for a moment as it watched them, then went beneath Twilight as it made its way past her.

“You see, to these animals this cave is their home – much like your home is Ponyville. As we are, we are visitors to their home, and they will leave us to our own devices so long as we do not disturb them. Should we pose a threat to any of them, however, then each of them would make an attempt to get us to leave, and failing that, attack us.”

Twilight turned her head, still watching the snake who had passed them as it made its way towards some hole in the rocks, disappearing from her enlightened sight. “What about the lights? You said they are the lights of life?”

Ace nodded as she turned towards him. “Life is a form of magic in and of itself, my dearest Starlight. It is because of this that we are able to harness our own lives for the sake of our magic in the direst of circumstances.”

Twilight smiled innocently, recalling the number of times she had tried to use Life Magic thinking that Ace was in danger. Each and every time, he either had been just fine; or the one time he truly was in danger, she saved his life with only the minimalist use of her magic.

Twilight looked around the cave, relaxing a bit as it quieted down now that the bats had nestled back into their quiet slumber. She relaxed a bit more as a flush came to her cheeks when she realized she was still latched onto Ace, his hoof still draped over her back.

“Being able to see the lights of life is a magical talent,” Ace said, “but nearly anypony could learn to do it. I myself can see the lights on my own, though not as brightly as you can with the glasses.”

Twilight turned to listen to him more closely, and in so doing noticed that the light of his life was a glowing white color that, even with the glasses, appeared thin and frail – even broken in some places, leaving only darkness.

Twilight’s jaw fell open as she pressed a hoof to one of the broken patches, causing the light to shift to greet her in its place. “Your… your light, it’s…”

Ace nodded his head solemnly, taking her hoof in his own as she lowered herself back down. “I am afraid ‘tis one of the reasons I have chosen this lesson, my student… I am meant to die, and soon.”

Twilight did not think that her jaw could lower any further, but it somehow managed to do just that as she tried to form words, but could not. “’Tis not uncommon, my student; in fact, ‘tis why sister Luna is so very upset with me…”

Ace sat down on the cool rock of the cave, motioning for Twilight to do the same. “As I am not an Ascended Alicorn, the ritual of New Life is very dangerous for me to perform… Also, my body is actively rejecting the soul, though through my magic I am able to make it last much longer… About forty years at best.

“As I have mentioned before, it has been thirty-eight, nearly thirty-nine years since I last performed the ritual… With or without Princess Celestia’s aid, I must complete the ritual at the end of this year… I shall not lie to you or misguide you, my Starlight… I may not live for the endeavor.”

Twilight’s eyes went wide, still unable to work her mouth for the shock as tears started to form in her eyes before making their way down her cheeks. Ace wiped one side of the tears away before wrapping his hooves around her, bringing her into a warm, but sad, embrace.

Twilight returned the embrace seconds later, her mind still working feverishly to process what he had said. “But… New Year’s is just… a few months away, I… I don’t want to lose you… Not now… Not ever!” she finally managed as her body shook with her sobs.

“I know, my Starlight, but ‘tis only a chance that the ritual will not end well. Statistically, there is only a one in three chance, right? I am certain that everything will be fine… But, if not… I… I’m sorry…”

Twilight clung against him all the more as he stroked her back, the comforting touch only marginally making any difference in the way she felt. “Is there no other way? Surely Luna could help, or we could wait for Celestia to be well again… Something, anything!” she cried desperately.

Ace only shook his head against her before he pulled it back just enough to look her in the eyes, the two still wrapped in one another’s embrace. “I must perform the ritual this year. My body could not withstand waiting any longer, and there is little that Luna could do other than supervise the ritual and report to you the outcome…”

Twilight shook her head, a sad smile reaching her lips as the tears continued to form. “I see now why Luna has been so harsh with you lately… I want to punch you and hug you at the same time…”

Ace only nodded with a sad smile that matched hers. “I understand, but please know that this is what is best. Were there any other option open to me, I would take it… But, just in case, let us try to make the most of the time we have now, rather than lamenting over what the future may bring.”

Twilight nodded as she renewed the sad embrace once more, tightening her hooves around him, disregarding the trivial wounds they both shared to comfort the fresh wounds that were beginning to form in her mind and heart.

Author's Note:

Trying out a new formatting option... Please let me know how you like it comparison to the other chapters in the comments!

Comments

[Arcing Breeze]

what no! why? poor Twilight

[Aceofgods]

Greetings, everypony! I wanted to take a moment to make an honorable mention of Shadow-walker19 for making a hoof-drawn picture of Ace Deus Fenrir!