Perseverance

by ZachTheBrony

Part 3

Twilight Sparkle was just waking up when she received a letter. More like a loud belch from downstairs. For once in her life, she was in bed. The purple bedsheet slid down her mane slowly as her mouth opened and closed lightly after a large yawn.

After a long night of studying, the unicorn didn’t have the energy to stay up through the day. Although she knew that sleeping in the day was unhealthy, she had no choice, as her body’s needs were greater than her own willpower.

“H-huh?” Twilight snapped awake as the scroll which came from her number one assistant, Spike, smacked her in the face. The day was dawning the night with a sea of crimson at this time- rays of beautiful orange and red coming through the windows, growing ever-darker as the sun descended sleepily behind the shadowy mountains.

Lazily, the unicorn’s horn lit up. With her magic, she levitated the scroll in front of her face, and unrolled it to read it properly. “It’s from Princess Celestia...” Spike said groggily as he hiccupped, making himself jump. He hiccupped again, falling on his rump. Again and again, he hiccupped until he finally bounced down the stairs.

He was fine. Even though Twilight saw this happen many times, she giggled before reading the letter aloud in a rather quiet voice, with a sense of urgency.

“Dear Twilight Sparkle, my faithful student,

Recently I have sent out a team of explorers, who included the all-famous Indago Trail. You may or may not know of him, but it is a great chance that you do, due to all the books you’ve read. He, along with the team, investigated a disturbance in the Frozen North. I wanted to tell you about it before the disturbance was dealt with.

You see, this ‘disturbance’ isn’t truly a disturbance. It is a bipedal, sapient creature. This being was frozen, preserved in ice for thousands of years. I plan on sending a crew to excavate the creature from the frozen ice, bringing it back to the castle’s basement in Canterlot, and thawing it.

If it is dead, I will require your help to resurrect it. But Indago Trail assumed that it was either dead or in a coma. Resurrection spells are hard to perform, even for somebody of my caliber of expertise. I wish to thaw this creature in order to find out about a hunch I had.

Sincerely,

Princess Celestia.”

“What?! She sends a famous explorer and a few students, but not me!?!” Twilight’s tone clearly stated her envy with a bold green underline. How dare she!? How dare she send somepony else, rather than the Elements of Harmony! They dealt with Nightmare Moon, for pony’s sake!

“Twilight! Maybe she just didn’t want you getting hurt!” Spike reasoned from downstairs, having heard her outburst.

Considering what Spike had said, Twilight thought aloud, “Okay... now that I think about it...” Twilight sighed. She clearly realized how silly she sounded, getting all riled-up over a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see a- “I will head to Canterlot!” the unicorn decided. Sending a spell via scroll was obvious, but her interest was peaked. Just who was more qualified than her? Rubbing her eyes to get out the crust in them, the unicorn blinked a few times and removed her hooves from her face. Then, the Element of Magic hopped out of bed, as quick as a cat.

“Spike! Spike!” The mare called out.

“What?” Spike asked, his tone hinting at a bit of nausea. He was dawdling up the stairs with stars going around his head.

“I’m going to Canterlot sooner or later. Could you please look after the library for me?” Twilight requested as she began to pack a few books and notepads, along with some quills and ink vials.

Knowing that regardless of the answer he gave, Spike would end up staying here anyway. Yeah, sure. It made sense, letting a dragon younger than ten years old watch over a public library. Sheesh, he knew the library collection better than she herself did. “Why are you... going to Canterlot this time for?” the baby dragon asked, rather confused as to why Twilight would just, suddenly decide to do this for no reason.

“Read the letter.” Twilight ordered simply, levitating the scroll over to Spike.

He took it, and read it. “Wow, you’re... going to see some creature?” Spike didn’t really understand why Twilight was interested in these kinds of things. Nor could he really understand some of the words in the letter, like ‘sapient’ or ‘bipedal’.

Either way, though, Twilight replied, “Of course! It’s a sapient being!”

“Meaning...?” Spike cocked his head at the unicorn.

“Meaning that the creature can experience emotion, and can talk! Like a minotaur. You know what those are, right? You have read the books I gave you on Equestrian creatures, right?” Twilight asked.

The dragon squinted as he began to remember. “Uhhh... yes, I did. Minotaurs are like big, two-legged bull-type things, right? You know, you coulda said griffons and I would’ve gotten it too.”

The mare nodded. “Mhm! I’m glad that you’re starting to study things, Spike. You should be proud of yourself!” Twilight smiled at Spike.

Who just looked off a page, then put the book on Equestrian Creatures back where he found it, before Twilight saw. Even though this was so, Spike blushed a dim crimson. “Well uh... thanks, Twilight.”

“No problem. Thanks for keeping watch over the library for me! There’s a tub of strawberry ice cream in the fridge for you by the way!” Twilight said, after going downstairs.

“Phew,” Spike sighed in relief. ‘Twilight is like a hawk sometimes...’ He thought to himself, before grinning widely as he heard the door open, and Twilight walk out. “Strawberry? My favorite!”

He then proceeded to rush downstairs, to open the freezer and gorge on the ice cream like a pig.

“Sorry future Spike’s gut! OMNOMNOMNOMNOM!”

- - - - Half an Hour Later, The Ponyville Train Station...

“Ohhh, c’mon c’mon c’mon!” Twilight paced around impatiently. She had paid the price for the ticket, and was now paying the price for her impatience. By waiting for nearly twenty minutes at the train station. Her hooves moved up and down more than Rarity did when the alabaster unicorn was agitated. What was the word Pinkie Pie used? Nervecited?

Finally, Celestia answered her prayers and sent a savior to her. The train rolled down the tracks, and screeched to a stop at the station. “WOOHOO!” Twilight practically zoomed onto the train.

“All aboar-OOF!” The conductor was tackled by the lavender unicorn.

“Sorry sorry sorry sorry! I didn’t see you there and--”

“It’s... okay...” the stallion choked out, getting to his hooves with the help of the unicorn. He coughed, and cleared his throat. “All aboard for Canterlot city!” he declared. With his best rape face. ‘That oughta teach her to mind her manners,’ he thought. Twilight lowered her ears against her face, having the decency to at least be ashamed of her actions and trot away.

The other ponies in the area trotted onto the train, having paid for their tickets and what-not.

Soon enough, the train hustled and puffed, before it began to travel along the tracks to Canterlot. Twilight made sure to stay hidden from that conductor. By now, night had fell upon Equestria’s graceful skies.

- - - - Almost Two Hours Later, the Entrance to the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters...

As Twilight walked up to the gates, the guards did nothing to stop her, aside from a greeting from the one to the right. “Good evening Miss Sparkle.”

Twilight smiled. “Hello. Is Princess Celestia busy?” she asked.

Much to her surprise, the alicorn herself appeared before her, after the gates opened magically. “No, I am not busy. What do you need, my faithful student?” the Princess asked. “But before we get onto those matters, please, come with me.” she invited with a warm smile, turning around so Twilight could follow her mentor to the castle.

“Oh, o... kay.” the Princess’s prized pupil complied, following her closely. “I uh... was wondering if I could stay at the castle until the creature was... resurrected? And maybe help out if it is dead?” Twilight asked, being careful with her words. As this was a rather strange situation.

Celestia nodded. “Of course you can. And since you are one of the most powerful unicorns in this generation, we could certainly use your help to lift the ice that houses the creature.” She lead her into the elegant, silent castle.

Twilight hadn’t really been to the castle all that much, but since she lived in Canterlot in the past, she wasn’t too surprised by it. It was still an impressive structure, though. “Thank you, Princess.”

“Did you know that Indago Trail is staying here too?” Celestia looked to her student, who grew a look of excitement.

“Really? He is?” Twilight smiled.

The Princess of the Sun nodded. “Yes, indeed he is. He’s asleep though, so unfortunately you cannot visit with him. He needs his rest.”

“I see... well, I stayed up all night last night and slept through the day. So unfortunately, my sleeping schedule is all messed-up,” Twilight chuckled, joined by the Princess momentarily.

“That is fine, my student. I’ll have a guest room set up for you soon. The royal study is all yours tonight as well. I am getting rather tired.” Celestia did have bags under her eyes, after all.

Twilight grinned widely. “Thank you, Princess.”

The two of them hugged, and went their ways. “Have a good night.” Celestia said with a smile.

- - - - The Next Morning, in The Castle...

Indago Trail yawned as he cracked his eyes open. He was staring at the ceiling of his room in the Castle. “Well...” he said to himself, before thinking, ‘That had to be the best sleep I’ve had in years... I gotta get me one of these beds...’ He chuckled heartily as he got to his hooves. The professor then walked out of his room. Now, what should he expect today? Breakfast with the Princess? A ride home? Perhaps he would be asked to lead the digging team?

He decided that he could at least expect to have a well-prepared meal with royalty. Indago slowly walked down the corridor, looking for the dining room. Along the way, he heard some snoring coming from a room.

He chose to investigate this, and opened the door to said room. There was a lavender unicorn mare, sleeping on the bed. ‘Is that... Twilight Sparkle?’ Indago asked himself. He knew the Sparkle family. He had once been asked to watch over Twilight when she was a filly, before some ‘Cadence’ mare took his place. Twilight was a sweet filly, a lovely young lady. That is, within the time Indago knew her. But now she had grown up. ‘Has it really been that long?’ he smiled.

With a sigh, Indago left the room. Soon, he bumped into, well, more like found Celestia. She was in the dining hall, eating breakfast with her sister. “Mornin’ Princess Celestia, Princess Luna.” He had heard of Princess Luna before, but had never seen her in person. She was very pretty. It seemed that both of the alicorns had something in common; a flowing mane.

“Greetings and fair morning to thou, explorer Indago Trail. It is a vast pleasure to meet you.” Princess Luna stood from her seat, to shake hooves with the stallion.

With a chuckle, Indago accepted her hoof and shook it gently. “Thank ‘ya. It’s an honor to meet you as well.” He said, before sitting down.

Luna sat down after Indago did, and continued to munch down on her breakfast. Politely, as a Princess should, though.

“Your breakfast should be out in a moment or so.” Celestia told him, sipping on her tea.

“Y’know, ‘ya honor me Princess, but y’all shouldn’t’ve gone through the trouble. What did you get for me?” Indago asked.

“I heard of your adventures in the Gryphon Kingdom, and how you actually enjoyed the taste of venison. So I had our sous chef Jacque prepare you some homemade venison sausage with a hay and potato patty with some green onions. Does that sound good?” Celestia questioned.

Inda chuckled. “Sounds just amazin’, Princess. I feel spoiled.”

The three of them around the table shared a laugh. But they didn’t notice Twilight Sparkle standing in the doorway. Not yet, at least.

“Venison...?” Twilight mumbled under her breath. Wait a tick... that sounded like- meat? A pony that ate meat? She felt sick to her stomach, which was easily portrayed by her suddenly bulged-out cheeks and green face.

The unicorn then proceeded to zip out of the dining hall, faster than a deer running away after being startled.

“Was that... Twilight?” Celestia glanced over to the door.

Twilight panted, trying to get that image out of her head. A pony, famed archeologist and professor- killing a deer and eating it.

- - - - Two Hours Later, Celestia’s Quarters...

“I want you to simply excavate the creature which is encased in ice. Here are the coordinates, captain.” Celestia handed a piece of paper to a unicorn captain, who was in charge of the retrieval expedition. “All you need to do is simply dig straight down.”

The captain looked over the coordinates. “You ain’t got one thing to worry about, Princess. Me and my team’ll have it out by midnight, and my delivery crew will have it back here by morning.”

“Thank you very much, captain. You’re doing a great service to me by doing this.” Celestia smiled at the stallion.

“Anytime, sweet cheeks.” The captain let out a chuckle as he walked out of Celestia’s quarters.

The Princess smirked devilishly in response to this. ‘Sweet cheeks?’

- - - - The Next Day...

As promised, the hunk of ice containing the bipedal creature was delivered by morning. “Quite a reliable service...” Celestia said. Crowds were gathered outside of the castle, but were held back by the Royal Guard.

The Princesses, Twilight Sparkle and Indago Trail were in the basement of the castle, in a large room with a stone tub. Which contained the constantly-dripping water which came from the ice. Along with many other unicorns, most of them scholars. All of them were gawking at the creature, save for Indago and the Princesses. This wasn’t anything like anypony had ever seen before.

The unicorn scientists were at the ready. “Professor Indago, I recommend you remove yourself from the room. The temperature will rise immensely. They who are not unicorns or alicorns will be burned alive.” A stallion with a ‘nerdy’ voice and a lab coat ordered.

The plan was to melt the ice as quickly as possible. That is why so many unicorns were needed for the thawing. Indago quickly complied, removing himself from the room.

“Alright. Time to perform the thawing... get ready everypony.” The head scientist said. The sound of magic filled the air as nearly twenty horns ignited. “Ten... nine... eight... seven... six... five... four...”

Twilight bit her lip, as the sound of magic became louder. The energy in the room could be seen, it was so bright. Everypony had to close their eyes, and let their magic see for them, to not be blinded. Their target was in sight.

They locked on.

“... two...”

“One... commence the thawing!”

With all of the magic channeled into one target, the thick ice melted in seconds. “Stop!” The head scientist ordered, making everypony stop. The ice was melted, leaving the biped unscathed, but covered in almost two feet of water.

“Check its heart rate.” Celestia ordered. One scientist did as commanded, after levitating the being out of the water and onto a gurney.

“It’s dead, your highness.” He declared. Some gasps were heard.

Indago managed to hear this. “I knew it...” he thought aloud.

“No matter,” the Princess said. “Bring him to the hospital and set him into a recovery room.” Celestia’s horn lit up, and she quickly scanned the thawed blood and body of the creature. She couldn’t pinpoint his blood type. “Give him a positive O-type blood transfusion, so that he can survive when he wakes up. If the resurrection spell doesn’t work, see if you can restart his brain and heart with a minor electrical shock.”

It was obvious that the thing was male- due to its physical form and unmistakably male reproductive system (yes, she checked with her magic).

“A-at once, Princess.” the group quickly made the trip to the Canterlot hospital by teleportation.

Very quickly, the dead biped was set into a recovery room, on a large-sized bed. They had him hooked up to an IV with O+ type blood.

A team of unicorns, along with the Princesses and Twilight Sparkle, began to talk. “Okay,” the head scientist had come along too, who was speaking. “We all know the revival spell, don’t we?”

The entire team nodded. “Commence it on three. One.” The room lit-up with the colors of magic, coming from the horns of the unicorns and alicorns. “Two.” The lights got brighter, but not too bright. “Three!”

And all at once, the magic was channeled into the creature’s body. The ponies strained. This spell was supposed to be impossible to perform on your own. But with Twilight Sparkle, Princess Luna and Celestia with the team givin g it their all, it was starting to work.

- - - - ...

It hurt. Oh it hurt like a filly-fooler. The Princesses winced, as they could feel their very life force beginning to be taken away. The others were on the brink of screaming, some crying. It was that agonizing.

Two minutes. Two minutes which felt like two decades to everypony, finally passed, and the spell was finished. The only one standing, though weakly, was Princess Celestia. Everypony else was either unconscious, or on the brink of passing out.

You see, this spell wasn’t a normal spell. The zebra people made a necromantic incantation to bring back the dead, and it just so happened to pop up in the Canterlot archives. And since the ponies weren’t much of a ‘spiritual’ people as much as they were a ‘magical’ people, Celestia had to ‘translate’ it, if you would, into a spell. A spell that took away your own life force, and gave it to another who was dead. In a group is how the spell best worked.

Princess Celestia finally couldn’t handle the stress, and collapsed.

- - - - Two Hours Later...

Soon, everypony came to. All but the Princesses and Twilight left, dawdling back to their homes and/or workplaces. They looked to the heart rate monitor after standing up.

Their faces showed hopelessness as they saw nothing but a flat line.

But they lit-up, as my heart came back online. Its slow, weak, rhythmic beats being shown on the monitor. “He’s... alive...” Twilight said.

Their heads turned... as I took my first breath. Princess Celestia moved forward slowly now that she was feeling better. Eyes closed a little, she inspected my shirt.

Sometimes, I hate gag gifts. I really fucking hate them.

“What the... His shirt reads, ‘Chuck Norris likes his meat so rare, he only eats... unicorns’?”

Comments

[csabijoo]

2843667 tnx :D

[chavis54]

DAMNIT CHUCK!
WHY YOU GOTTA BE SO COOL?!?!?

[ZachTheBrony]

2848106 So, how'd you like it?

[Liaf112]

WOOTLES.

[JeremyPunk]

2848106 YOU QUESTION CHUCKS' COOLNESS?

YO THAT SHIT IS BLASPHEMY!

encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSXvcQMIpFNXC6rZDScz9rLT9zhK0mbTkItN2dskRc3BO-5PM_v

[ZachTheBrony]

2852963 That picture... my god, that was hilarious!