Episode 3: Mageismoiras

by mr lovecolt

Ara, Crater, Octans

Twilight Sparkle hid behind the chicken coop in front of Fluttershy’s cottage as she watched Spike walk up to the front door with Owlowiscious on his shoulder. The guard simply watched him as he made his way closer. With each step she watched as the guard’s eyebrow rose higher.

“Uh, excuse me,” Spike said, “But Princess Sparkle’s pet bird is sick, and she wanted me to bring him over to Fluttershy to see what she could do.”

“There is no entry allowed into Miss Fluttershy’s cottage, by order of Princess Celestia.”

“And I completely understand that,” Spike replied as he tried to put his best charm techniques to use, “But you know how these princesses are with their birds. Surely you know what happened when somepony tried to heal Philamena on her own, right?”

The guard remained motionless.

“Right?”

“There is no entry allowed into Miss Fluttershy’s cottage.”

Spike scratched his head and turned to Owlowiscious, who simply hooted at him.

“How about if I just let Owlowiscious try to fly into the cottage without me?”

“I thought you said he was sick.”

“Well, yeah, but,” Spike stuttered, “I don’t think the problem is with his wings, I think there’s something wrong with his neck.”

Spike reached up to Owlowiscious’s head and spun it around in a complete circle. He turned back to the guard and gave an awkward smile.

“Owls do that normally.”

“Oh, right.”

“Who,” Owliscious hooted.

“Owls do,” The guard replied, after which he immediately placed a hoof on his forehead, “Listen, I know Princess Twilight Sparkle wants you to bring her owl to Fluttershy, but I am under strict orders by her Royal Highness Princess Celestia not to let anypony in.”

“Hmm,” Spike thought, “Yes, and Twilight is a princess, too. So, what happens when two princesses give two conflicting orders?”

The guard opened his mouth to speak, but froze before he could begin his sentence. His eyes twitched nervously from side to side. Spike sighed, grateful for the opportunity to distract the guard for a moment.

Twilight Sparkle watched from the coop and decided that this was her chance. She closed her eyes and teleported into the cottage. She materialized in the main room. When Fluttershy was alive, the entire cottage was filled with the sounds of creatures as they scurried and slithered on the floor or fluttered through the air. Twilight Sparkle remembered that, even at this hour, when she would spend the night, the sound of creatures sleeping would fill the cottage. But now, the cottage was silent. After Fluttershy’s death, the creatures that she cared for left the cottage, most of them relocating to the Everfree Forest. The birdhouses above her were empty; each dark hole that once held life now contained only emptiness.

Twilight Sparkle shook her head and climbed the stairs to Fluttershy’s room. When Princess Celestia arrived, she had placed a stasis spell on Fluttershy’s body. Twilight Sparkle looked at the form of her friend. A faint white glow surrounded her as she stood in place in front of the bed. Two small bumps protruded from her back where her wings once were. Her barrel had been wrapped with bandages, but after the attack, they lay next to the bed. Twilight Sparkle edged closer to better inspect her friend’s body. As she circled her, she levitated a notebook from her saddlebag and made quick notes of her observations.

Flutter

Flut

The patient shows signs of minor head trauma. An open wound on the barrel indicates possible removal of organs. This must be investigated further. Blood loss is severe and considering the pegasus blood type will have to be reintroduced via transfusion. The wings were removed prior to the incident.

Twilight Sparkle continued to speak to herself like this until she completed her initial observations. Luckily for her, upon closer inspection none of Fluttershy’s organs had been removed, but they were severely damaged. She made a mental list of the other places she would need to visit before she could begin to reconstruct her friend. She knew she could obtain vials of blood at the Ponyville Hospital, but there would be no way for her to collect a pair of wings from another pegasus from the morgue without raising suspicion. Her only option was the Ponyville Cemetery. Content with her work, Twilight Sparkle closed the notebook and placed it back in her saddlebag. She focused her energy on Fluttershy and transported her to the basement of the library. She then began to cast the spell to transport outside, but a small book on Fluttershy’s desk caught her attention. It was her journal. Twilight Sparkle gulped and immediately grabbed the book and placed it in her saddlebag before leaving the cottage.

*****

“So you see,” The guard continued, oblivious to the bored expression on Spike’s face, “That decision brought about the Guard War between Princess Celestia’s Royal Guards and Princess Luna’s Lunar Guards, which was essentially the precursor to the Lunar War, which took place in year 3 Meta Anax Discord.”

Spike took a moment to look up into the window of Fluttershy’s room. A purple glow filled the room for a moment, and then was gone. Please, let her be finished soon, he thought.

*****

The front doors of the Ponyville Hospital were already open when Twilight Sparkle appeared in front of them. As she ruffled her feathers and entered the building, she watched as Doctor Stable and Nurse Tenderheart made their way to the front desk. Doctor Stable was looking over a small chart, his eyes moving to the places that the nurse pointed to.

“As far as she is concerned,” Nurse Tenderheart said, “The shock of white hair had to have come from some traumatic experience.”

“The glossolalia would have been a side effect, as well. But there appears to be no physical damage to her; at least, not from what I’ve seen so far. We have to keep her for closer observations, there’s no way around that.”

"Have the others been able to tell us what happened?"

"None of them are speaking, doctor."

“Doctor,” Nurse Tenderheart asked, “She was bucking and screaming as she was brought in by the orderlies. You and I both know how strong of a flyer she is. Are we going to have to-?”

“You know the protocol as much as I do,” Doctor Stable replied as he placed a hoof on his forehead, “We cannot make any exceptions. If she shows signs of being a danger to others, we have to.”

“Very well,” Nurse Tenderheart said, “I’ll prepare her.”

Twilight Sparkle watched as Nurse Tenderheart turned and made her way to the psychiatric ward of Ponyville Hospital. Doctor Stable sighed. When he turned and saw Twilight Sparkle, he gasped.

“Miss Twilight,” Doctor Stable said, “How did you already find out?”

“Find out what?” Twilight Sparkle asked.

“Oh, so you haven’t found out.” Doctor Stable let forth another sigh.

Doctor Stable began to make his way to the recovery ward. He motioned for Twilight Sparkle to follow him. As they made their way down the hall, Twilight Sparkle took notice of the room to her left with the biohazard symbol on it.

“Your Highness,” Doctor Stable began.

“Please, just call me Miss Twilight.”

“In order to discuss this particular patient’s status, I have to refer to you using your title.”

“What’s wrong?”

The two ponies passed a window. Doctor Stable continued to look at his chart, but Twilight Sparkle looked over and saw a small white unicorn colt with a splint on his horn. A black spark emitted from the tip, and the colt flinched in pain. Another black spark emitted from the horn, and a chill ran up Twilight Sparkle’s spine as a tear formed in the colt’s eyes.

“He’s not going to be able to use active magic anymore, is he?”

Doctor Stable looked up from his chart to Twilight Sparkle, and then through the window. He focused his magic, and on the other side of the window, a brown aura enveloped the curtain and slowly drew over the colt, blocking him from view.

“Approximately an hour ago, at ten o’clock, Miss Pinkie and my brother came in with Rainbow Dash and Edger. My brother-”

Doctor Stable paused for a moment and took a deep breath. His eyes closed, and Twilight Sparkle watched his body tremble for a moment.

“My brother looked as though he had been to the gates of Tartarus and back. They wouldn’t let me perform the operation on him. I had to get Doctor Hippocrates to come in. Luckily, he looks like he’ll survive his physical injuries.”

“And Rainbow Dash?” Twilight Sparkle asked.

“The main reason I’m telling you this is because I know how important Rainbow Dash is to you, as one of the Elements of Harmony, and I would hate to think of what would happen to Equestria if we were to lose one of you.”

Twilight Sparkle’s eyes shifted from side to side. Luckily for her, Doctor Stable didn’t seem to notice.

“Rainbow Dash had to be restrained by two orderlies when she came in, she kept speaking incoherently, except for when she repeated 'destiny'. We have to-”

“Doctor!” Nurse Tenderheart shouted from the other side of the hall, “We need you in East Ward.”

“Is it Rainbow Dash?”

“Please hurry.”

“Wait!” Twilight Sparkle shouted, but Doctor Stable stopped her.

“I will give you an update soon enough, your Highness.” He said before galloping to join the nurse.

Twilight Sparkle stood alone in the hallway, unsure of which direction to go. Twilight looked at her saddlebag and then turned around to the room she had passed earlier on. She looked back and forth down the hallway to make sure that nopony was watching. If the books she read on hospital orientation were correct, she knew exactly where in the room the blood supplies would be. She knew that they always placed pegasus blood types on the top shelf and they were marked with blue toppers. She could gallop in, grab the bags necessary, and then disappear without anypony noticing. Twilight Sparkle hoped that the hospital would have enough bags, considering the large pegasus population that resided there. She opened the door but stopped when she heard a sob. She turned around and saw the silhouette of the colt as he turned his head back and forth. A buzzing sound filled the air, but nothing happened. Finally, the buzzing stopped, but the sobbing continued as a small hoof emerged from the side of the curtain and began to pull it away. Twilight Sparkle covered her muzzle as she entered the blood supply room.

*****

Spike’s eye began to twitch as the guard continued his speech.

“And using a more humorous anecdote, during the first year that Princess Luna had returned, she had decreed that all of the Lunar Guard were to return to the formal uniforms from the time before she was banished to the moon. Needless to say, those uniforms were a bit more... elaborate... than the ceremonial uniforms of today. And since it was summer, those poor thestrals nearly fainted from the heat. Princess Celestia obviously had to command them to change back to the modern uniforms, but Princess Luna would not hear it.”

Spike’s attention went to the chicken coop, where he thought he saw a figure slink away into the Everfree Forest. Please, Spike thought, let it be a timberwolf that can put me out of my misery.

*****

Luna’s Moon was directly overhead as Twilight Sparkle entered the Ponyville Cemetery. Row upon row of whitewashed stone greeted her, and Twilight Sparkle couldn’t shake the feeling of walking into the multi-toothed jaw of some unnamable animal. The wind began to pick up speed, flipping her hair carelessly in the wind. The dirt path wound throughout the cemetery, and Twilight Sparkle turned from stone to stone to find the fresh grave. She knew that a pegasus had been laid to rest somewhere not long ago, and it would be her only opportunity to find a pair of wings.

Twilight Sparkle’s hooves stopped when she came across the statue of The Hostler. She had read a book once on the subject of Concordian Era art. The Hostler was the mare that would lead all ponies to their final destination. Her right wing and hoof rose into the air, leading good ponies to the Fields of Elysia. In her left hoof she held a riding crop to banish evil ponies to Tartarus. Her stone visage looked down at Twilight Sparkle. Though the eyes were meant to be calm and objective, Twilight Sparkle felt another chill run down her spine. She shook her head and continued down the path. In the distance, Twilight Sparkle found what she was looking for – a fresh plot of earth. She went to the newly created grave and looked over the gravestone.

Airheart
July 24, 994 M.A.D – September 11, 1006 M.A.D
Courage is the price that Life exacts for granting peace

Twilight Sparkle’s breathing became shallow. She closed her eyes and focused her energy on the six strides of earth that lay before her. A purple aura surrounded the bed of soil, and small lines broke it into little cubes. The cubes of soil rose into the air and were set back down next to the grave until Twilight Sparkle looked at the black coffin at the bottom of the grave. A final burst of magic and the coffin lid levitated open, revealing a thin pony with almost white fur and wings save for a hint of pink. Twilight Sparkle knew that the wings could be dyed easily with such pale plumage. Exhaustion overcame Twilight Sparkle as she prepared herself to transport the final piece she needed to begin the operation. The familiar purple aura surrounded Airheart’s body, and a moment later, it disappeared. Twilight Sparkle closed the lid of the coffin and moved the soil back to where it originally was. She shook her head as a throb of pain rose in her skull. She knew she had overdone it with the magic she had used that night, but she hoped she could at least try to close the distance between herself and Spike so they could return home. Twilight Sparkle sighed and prepared herself for one more spell. When she reappeared, Twilight Sparkle found herself on top of a hill overlooking Ponyville.

She remembered this hill.

This was the hill where she and her friends had gathered to watch the centennial meteor shower. It was the night she met her pet, Owlowiscious. The wind continued to blow, and Twilight Sparkle allowed herself to let her head flow with its ebbs and flows. A lump formed in her throat as she remembered the bursts of white light that streaked across the sky. She took a few steps forward and placed a hoof at the edge of the hill, where she had sat with Fluttershy to teach her about the constellations.

*****

“Oh, and which one is that, Twilight?”

“That one is called Ara, The Altar.”

“And that one?” Fluttershy had asked as she pointed towards the horizon.

“Crater, The Cup.”

“And that one?”

“Wow, I can’t believe you see that. That one is called Octans.”

"I always feel like I get smarter when I'm around you, Twilight."

"Fluttershy, you are smart. don't let anypony tell you otherwise."

"..."

"Fluttershy, promise me."

"...okay."

*****

Twilight Sparkle remembered how she felt when Fluttershy looked up into her eyes. The way her eyes lit up, Twilight Sparkle had wondered at that time whether anypony had given her praise before. As she had gotten to know Fluttershy better, she began to make it a point to compliment her any chance she got. She loved to watch the smile that lit up Fluttershy’s face every time she said something nice. Twilight Sparkle shook her head and left her memories. For a moment, though, her heart fluttered. Twilight Sparkle continued down the hill. Sweet Apple Acres appeared in front of her, and another mile beyond that would be Fluttershy’s cottage. As she trotted down the path, two familiar figures approached her.

“Howdy, Twilight.” Applejack said, “What brings y’all ‘round these parts? It’s almost midnight.”

“Oh,” Twilight replied as she shuffled her hooves in the dirt, “I was just thinking about things.”

“'bout Fluttershy?”

Twilight Sparkle froze just as her hoof hit the ground. She immediately looked up to her friend. Applejack simply nodded and reached forward to embrace her. Big Macintosh looked on and then back to the two ponies.

“I was up on the hill.” Twilight Sparkle said after a few moments.

“The hill where ya taught Fluttershy about the constellations?”

“Yes.” Twilight Sparkle replied, “That one.”

“She really appreciated how smart ya made her feel.”

Twilight Sparkle jerked her head back and glared at Applejack. Applejack and Big Macintosh both gave Twilight Sparkle a confused look.

“I didn’t ‘make’ her feel smart, Applejack,” Twilight Sparkle snapped, “She was already smart, but nopony even took the time to appreciate her for it.”

“Ah-Ah didn’t mean it like that, sugarcube,” Applejack stammered, “What I meant was-”

“Fluttershy is the kindest and most dependable pony that I know.” Twilight Sparkle continued, “She always made sure to put others first, no matter what. I am not going to let her down. I am not going to let her go like this.”

Twilight Sparkle took off in a gallop towards Fluttershy’s cottage, leaving a shocked Applejack and Big Macintosh in a cloud of dust.

“What in the hay was that about?” Applejack asked.

“Ah haven’t the foggiest.” Her brother replied.

“Did she say that Fluttershy is the kindest and most dependable pony she knows?”

“Eeyup.”

“Y’all have any idea what she meant by that?”

“Nope.”

Twilight Sparkle continued to gallop until she came near the chicken coop near Fluttershy’s cottage, where she could hear the guard speaking to Spike. As she approached, she could see Spike’s eyes as they drooped closed and opened more slowly each time. She took a series of calming breaths before she emerged from the shadows.

“In short,” the guard concluded, “That would be my guess as to what could happen if two princesses say something that contradicted the other.”

“Sergeant Longwinder,” Twilight Sparkle called out, “I’m so sorry, has Spike been bothering you?”

Spike shot a glare in Twilight Sparkle’s direction as Owlowiscious left Spike’s arm which he had turned into a perch and flew onto his owner’s back.

“Not at all, your Highness. I was just giving Spike here a brief history lesson.”

“Oh, well that’s always fascinating, isn’t that right, Spike?”

Twilight Sparkle turned to her assistant, only to see that he was already fast asleep. Good, Twilight Sparkle thought, now I don’t have to worry about any interruptions. She nodded to the guard, who saluted her, and then she turned around to head for the library. She remembered Doctor Stable’s words.

I would hate to think of what would happen to Equestria if we were to lose one of you.

Comments

[MaskedWriter]

And so it begins...