Dead Heart

by Leila Drake

Level 7 - Twitchy Tail!

Applejack frowned at Priest. "I think ya actually do know somethin'", she said. "It's the exact same look Applebloom gave me when she failed at her Cutie Mark Crusader Firefighters project thingy two days ago."

A sudden image of himself bound to a chair, blinded by an uncomfortably bright beam of light, came to Priest's mind. Applejack didn't look particularly angry, though, just very concerned. Yet he was somehow cornered, maybe because she sensed that he felt guilty. How did she do that? He swallowed and gave in to the mare's stare.

"Argh, fine! I was at her cottage. And I scared the living crap outta her. So there you have it!"

During his last words, Rainbow Dash jumped up and hovered in front of his face. "What. Did. You. Do?!", she demanded angrily, inching closer with each word.

Priest jerked his head back, raising his arms defensively. "I didn't mean to! The moment she saw me, she fainted! And when I finally managed to wake her up, that Discord character popped up and messed around with what little success we'd made!"

That made Rainbow retreat a little. "Discord?", she mumbled, raising an eyebrow. Some of the mares gasped and Twilight asked with a dangerously calm voice, "What did he do?"

"He... he turned me into a pony."

That did not cause the reaction he had expected. Rainbow Dash snickered, Applejack just raised an eyebrow and the other ponies looked at each other cluelessly.

"Which is bad?", he added slowly. "Considering the circumstances?"

Understanding dawned in Twilight's eyes, her mouth forming a small 'O'. Rarity raised a hoof to her heart, muttering, "Oh dear..."

In the corner of his eye, Priest noticed that Mara, who was still talking with the wall-eyed pegasus, glared at him for a moment before returning to her conversation.

"I don't get it", said Pinkie. "Isn't being a pony fun? I think it's great! And he turned you back into yourself anyway so it was a... a species vacation!"

"No", said Priest, lowering his voice, "because as a pony, I was the same as when I'm human."

"Which means...?" Rainbow Dash started to get impatient, seemingly feeling left out of the big secret.

"You know, we should probably discuss that later", said Twilight and smiled desperately as a bead of sweat started to form on her brow.

Applejack opened her mouth, but Rarity cut her off by declaring, "I would like to postpone this discussion as well. I think I should go to Fluttershy and see how she is doing."

"I'm coming with you", offered Rainbow Dash, hovering above the ground, ready for action. "It sounds like she needs some serious cheering up."

"B-b-but the party is not over yet!", protested Pinkie half-heartedly. "There's still a lot of cake left!" She frowned thoughtfully. "On the other hoof, I really hope Fluttershy is okay... you should bring her a slice, it will make her feel better!"

Priest grimaced and sighed. "You two just go and take care of Fluttershy. I'm gonna stay here. After that messed up introduction I better stay out of her way to avoid further... mental scarring."

Rarity and Rainbow Dash hesitated for a moment, then, as they saw Twilight's subtle nod, they left.

She's probably locked herself up in her cottage and nailed the door and windows shut, mused Priest, his stomach turning despite the deliscious cake. I wonder if she's ever gonna come out again.

Twilight looked down. "I'm sorry it blew up in your face like that."

To Priest's disdain, Applejack still eyed him suspiciously. "I don't like this", she said. "You're sayin' it's not your fault? Then I believe ya, especially when Discord's involved. But somethin' definitely ain't right here!"

"Can't argue with that", said Priest and took another piece of cake. Maybe more of the same thing would help to calm his insides. Sugar makes you happy, right? "But I can't change it. And I certainly don't want to go into the details. Sorry, Applejack. What I can say is that you're not in danger because of me. Neither is Fluttershy or anyone else in Ponyville for that matter."

The mare nodded slowly and exhaled, then she smiled a little, not a sign of acceptance, but at least of a truce. "Fine then, we'll talk about it later. Would ya give me another bit o'cake?"

"Sure."

Pinkie Pie smiled widely. "So we are okay with each other? Great! This means we can move on to-", she gasped, then shrieked, "Twitchy Tail!!!"

Twilight grabbed Applejack and a confused Priest with her magic and pulled them below the table. Pinkie dove underneath the buffet, covering her face with an empty platter for good measure.

There was the dry sound of splintering wood, someone yelled, "Watch out!", then a deafening crash.

Ponies screamed and dashed around, trying to avoid tumbling debris.

"What's happening?", shouted Twilight above the noise.

"Ah... ah think somethin's exploded", said Applejack, squinting her eyes. "There's holes in the wall and the ceiling."

"Shouldn't we help them or something?", asked Priest. He could feel his training as a healer take over, urging him to rush over to the pile of rubble.

Twilight's eyes widened. "Right! You've got healing magic!"

They scrambled out from below the table and hurried over to the debris. Applejack and some other ponies Priest didn't know were now trying to lift the bricks, wood and plaster that had fallen down.

"Somepony's stuck under the pile!", realized Twilight, lighting up her horn to help.

Priest had a look around the shop, trying to get an overview of the situation. Half of the guests had left in a hurry. Spike was nowhere to be seen. The only ones left were the mares and stallions trying to lift the debris, Pinkie, who dashed to the kitchen to get the first-aid kit, and Mara Dust. The green earth pony stood as stiff as a statue, her eyes staring without focus.

"It's her", she muttered. "It's actually her...oh dear Celestia..."

Priest shook his head and rummaged in his bag for his own bandages – the ones he had gotten from the Princess. Mara might be under shock but if someone was stuck under the pile, they had to get help first. Then he realized the bandages were still in the library. He only found that useless oil lamp and stuffed it back into the bag.

Twilight lifted the last heavy piece of wood with her magic, revealing a grey pegasus.

"Oh mah gosh, Derpy!", gasped Applejack. "Let's get ya to the hospital right away!"

The mare whinced and shook with pain. Blood dripped to the ground. A wooden beam, the last one Twilight had removed, had struck her side, cutting it open and as far as Priest could tell from a quick glance her left wing seemed to be dislocated.

Priest kneeled down next to her, beckoning Pinkie Pie closer.

"We should remove the splinters first", he said, "and then I'll try and heal her. This doesn't look good. Let's hurry with the cleaning to keep the blood loss at a minimum."

Pinkie Pie nodded and pulled a pair of pincers out of her box. "I'll get the teeny-tiny splinters, too, they are the ones that itch the worst afterwards", she said with a serious expression, contrary to her cheerful demeanor from earlier.

Priest's respect for the pink pony grew. At first he had thought she was a bit shallow but it seemed she knew when it wasn't the time to fool around... And it looked as if Pinkie had a weak precognitive ability. It didn't really strike him as a surprise since seers often had a "sieze the day" attitude, trying to let their intuition guide them. That or they boarded the crazy train. Priest was sure he'd prefer the spontaneous, cheerful Pinkie Pie over a mad warlock any time.

Twilight frowned. "How do you know... nevermind. Spike!"

The baby dragon, who had seemingly leapt behind a curtain to shield himself, showed himself again and hurried to her side.

"Please go to the hospital and get help. I'm afraid we shouldn't move Derpy much until the doctors can take care of her. Applejack, can you accompany him there?"

Spike jumped onto Applejack's back, who nodded at Twilight without protesting and galloped outside so fast that Spike had to hold on to her mane.

"How did this happen?", asked Priest, turning to a bright yellow unicorn.

The stallion shook his head and frowned. "I'm not sure", he said hesitantly. "We were just talking when somepony accidentally bumped into Derpy. When she stumbled against the wall, it suddenly collapsed."

Pinkie pulled the splinters out of Derpy's wound at an incredible speed, her eyes wide with surprise. "Huuuh? I alwaysh thought that Sugarcube Corner wash a stable construction!", she managed to say through her teeth.

"You're right, this is weird", said Twilight. "Careful, Pinkie!"

Derpy was still trembling violently, so Twilight stroked her mane and muttered soothing words to her, trying to comfort her. The pegasus smiled shakily, acknowledging the effort. "I'm sorry", she whispered. "It just hurts so much. The w-wing, it hurts the most."

Mara snapped out of her daze. "It's not your fault", she said. "I saw it."

Priest frowned at that, then he felt a poke in his side.

"I'm done", said Pinkie and tilted her head to the side. "So what's the healing magic that Twilight was talking about?" He absently noticed she wasn't using any made-up adjectives at the moment, completely focused on the problem.

Priest nodded and said, "You'll see. Can someone get me some towels?"

Twilight looked over to the kitchen and concentrated, her horn glowing as she floated two towels over to him.

"Press one onto the wound. And keep it there. Yeah, like that. Cover her with the other one. Listen, Derpy", he added gently. "This is tough but you're gonna feel better in a moment. Just try to breathe normally. Got it?"

"Uh-huh."

Priest stretched his arms, then carefully reached for Derpy's back and wing, trying to locate the correct places to hold. He just had to assume her wing anatomy was similar to a griffin's and prayed that he wouldn't mess up.

"Here goes nothing", he muttered under his breath, positioning his knee on the side of Derpy's barrel to keep her body from shifting.

Then, with a soft but determined pull, he let the bone slip back into position.

Derpy let out a small sigh. "Thank you", she mumbled.

Twilight gave a small grunt of approval and opened her mouth to say something.

"Not now", said Priest, pointing at the wound. "I'm not done yet."

He bowed his head and tried to concentrate.

The undead reached out to the Light with his mind and found a connection. He could already feel the warmth flowing into his core and relaxed, his breathing slowing down. Being a corpse, the only time he did not feel cold was when he healed people. He tried to push the thought aside and focus.

And here comes the pain. A starp sting shot into Priest's hands, a certain indication that the Light was flowing through his dead body, ready to affect the physical realm. The warmth got quickly overshadowed by the trademark agony that all cursed beings had to bear when wielding pure magic. Sheer willpower kept him from screaming as he forced his limbs to remain steady.

Priest said another silent prayer, then moved his hands closer to Derpy's side, trying to direct the flow of magic.

The wound should close any moment now.

Pinkie held her breath, shaking with excitement. Mara and the yellow stallion with the orange mane watched curiously as the human mumbled to himself. The stallion pulled Mara closer with a hug, making her relax a little.

"Shouldn't it do... something?", muttered Twilight. "Priest, this is taking longer that it used to take when we were in Azeroth..."

The undead hesitated. "Wait for it", he said. He could feel the Light leaving his grasp again and tried to force back the tension building up in his limbs. A strange sensation hit him and it took him a moment to realize it was exhaustion. He was suddenly incredibly tired. His hands were shaking for real now. He lowered them with a ragged sigh.

Derpy's wound still looked the same. Priest could feel the warmth leave his body again, the painful fire inside subsiding as he let the Light go.

"I don't get it", he said, a hint of panic in his voice for the first time. "It feels as if I've been doing magic for days...I feel drained..."

Twilight looked up, forcing a smile. "Calm down, help is on its way. And you did great, Priest."

"Still", he insisted, "I should have been able to heal her!"

Derpy frowned. "What are you talking about?" Then she whinced again, her eyes unfocused and misty.

"Try... not to move", stuttered Priest. He covered his mouth. His head felt numb, his hands were still shaking like leaves.

This is no good. What is happening to me?! Why didn't it work?

"Don't worry, the doctors are here", cheered Pinkie, distracting him from his panicked train of thoughts with her usual ease. "Over here, Miss Redheart!"

- - -

Twilight and Priest sat at the table in the main room of the library, facing Mara and the unicorn stallion who had introduced himself as Spirit Rez.

Priest had to suppress a snicker when he had heard the name, it reminded him of an expression from home. It was usually being used when a group failed at raiding a dungeon, resulting in the need of a ressurrection. He very much doubted that the stallion with the orange mane and a cup of steaming coffee as a Cutie Mark was aware of that particular meaning.

The meeting wasn't about him anyway. He was mainly present because he was Mara's lover or, as the ponies called it, 'coltfriend'. The distraught mare was still trembling now and then but with Spirit's help she had calmed down enough to tell her side of the story.

"So let me get this straight", said Twilight. "You saw a pegasus punch the wall?"

Mara nodded.

"A translucent pegasus nopony else could see or hear?"

She nodded again, blushing.

"Sounds like a windigo", said Spirit Rez.

"Or an extremely powerful pony", offered Twilight.

"Or like a ghost", added Priest, getting stares for that. "What? I thought we were brainstorming."

Twilight smiled generously. "Ghosts are just an old mare's tale to spook fillies on Nightmare Night. Windigoes or powerful ponies – including pegasi capable of weather magic so strong it can destroy houses – on the other hoof are very real. Though I doubt it was a windigo, we would have felt cold and hatred - and the room temperature and mood were pretty normal at that time."

"Yeah, and that would totally be the first time the myth turns out to be real", snarked Spike who was sorting books and putting them back to their respective places on their shelves.

Spike's got a point, thought Priest. Twilight had told him about the day when Nightmare Moon had returned. She had voiced her concern about the approaching danger but no one had listened to her, telling her the return of the Mare of the Moon was 'just an old mare's tale'...

"I'm curious", said Spirit. "You're talking as if you've seen ghosts before."

"Duh", grinned Priest. "Seen them, fought them... some are harmless, though."

Mara swallowed. "You can actually see ghosts?"

The undead nodded, "Sometimes. It comes with my... condition. I probably didn't see yours at the party because I was... er, busy..."

Shifting around on his chair, he didn't exactly enjoy thinking back to the painful experience.

The earth pony nodded slowly. "Maybe - but it's not 'my' ghost!"

Priest waved dismissively, "You know what I mean."

"All of this happened so fast... There's still so many questions", said Twilight. "What exactly did it look like? What does it want? Are there more of its kind?"

Mara stared at the table. "It was tall, about as tall as Priest, I'd say", she began. "And it... she... was kind of blurry, as if I looked at it through water. She was... beautiful in a way... but she looked so angry. Her mane was really long and so was her tail and they were flowing in the breeze... I mean, there was no wind but it looked like it with the mane flowing..."

Twilight nodded. "So it is a mare? Could you see a Cutie Mark or anything that might give us a clue about her identity?"

Mara's ears drooped. "No", she said. "She was blurry and more like the image of a pony than... an actual one... sorry..."

"Don't be", said Spirit Rez firmly. "It wasn't your fault the ghost trashed the place."

She turned to him, her eyes filling up with tears. "But Derpy's h-hurt now, and the party has been ruined, and I should have said something, I just saw her floating there and d-did nothing... " Her voice died, she sniffed and cleared her throat.

Spirit shushed her gently and kept holding her close.

Priest felt a lump in his throat. Mara was new to this but he... He should have paid attention, he might have been able to sense the ghost, too! Instead, he had been whining about Discord and evading the truth! If not for Pinkie Pie's well-timed warning, even more ponies might have gotten hurt... or worse.

The tightening feeling in his chest made it hard to breathe. He noticed a sharp pain in his hands, too. Looking down, he realized that he had been clenching them into fists, his nails digging into the flesh.

Twilight leaned forward. "Sorry to keep asking, Mara, but I need to know: Was that the first time you saw a ghost?"

Mara looked directly into Twilight's eyes as tears of desperation made her vision blurry. "Not exactly. I've been able to see auras ever since I was a filly."

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