The Line Between Fire and Light

by Stolenalicorn

38 Cutie Mark Mission

Celestia and Luna agreed that they should remain at Twilight's castle with Starlight, at least until James's magic returned so they could plan what was to happen next should theirs not. The day passed slowly, each time Starlight tried to use her magic she just got more frustrated at her inability to do anything. Luna was more sedate about things, opting to force herself to wait patiently and do things without magic. It was far more difficult than she had expected it to be, but Asriel and Celestia were there to help her.

Starlight's refusal to rest or accept help was already a concern by the end of the first day. James and Twilight sat in the throne room brainstorming.

“Trixie could help her until her magic returns.” Twilight suggested.

James just shook his head at the suggestion. “They're good friends, but you know better than I that Trixie isn't the most sympathetic of people. Maude certainly wouldn't make any judgments about her current condition.”

“But what if she thinks we're bringing in Maude because we don't expect her magic to return?” Twilight countered.

“And she needs an emotional outlet.” James realized as he wished the thrones could lean back. “Maude is a great listener, but she not expressive enough to come across as empathetic.”

“Sunburst?” Twilight asked, he was the only close friend she had left that they hadn't thought about. “But he's in the Crystal Empire. Noon tomorrow is the soonest he could be here.”

James shook his head. “Actually, I could get him here in just a couple minutes.”

Twilight wasn't completely sure what he meant, his magic hadn't recovered yet. It was just the end of the first day. “Your magic is gone too, isn't it?”

James nodded. He'd spent most of the day resting and had several good meals since arriving and had recovered some of his physical strength. “Yes it is. But magic isn't my only tool. Any technology sufficiently advanced enough is indistinguishable from magic. That and Ki composes most of what you assumed was magic. I can still use both. If I go get him, you must promise me you won't tell them that I still have magic like abilities.”

“Of course.” Twilight quickly said. She didn't know why that was important but if she had to to get help for Starlight she wouldn't tell anyone.

James brought his arm up as his omnitool blinked to life. With a few taps James activated a function he had programmed into it only a few years earlier. He looked around the room, the best place to accommodate a portal was on the wall between windows, or were they doors? He'd never seen them open to his recollection. With a shrug he aimed his onmitool at the wall behind him and in a flash what appeared to be a pool of dark blue water rippled along the surface. He was going to put off the inevitable fight with Lucca and Tali as long as he could, so he couldn't use the teleporter system again without alerting them. If they didn't know already.

“Be careful around that until Sunburst and I come through it.” James advised as his feet lifted off the floor. His omnitool continued to glow as he went for a window.

“Wait, you can fly without magic?!” Twilight harshly whispered. She had always thought that he used a spell to fly, but if his magic was gone that threw her theory out the window.

“Magic like abilities.” Was all James said before opening what was definitely a window and flying off into the moonless night.

James's omnitool presented him with a display of the area with the most direct path to his destination highlighted. Using the Station as a GPS satellite he was floating above Sunburst's home in no time. Most of the homes were dark, not everyone was sleeping yet but among the sleeping was Sunburst. James would be giving him an uncomfortable shock. With a thought James slowly lowered until he was standing at the door. He listened as he loudly knocked, hoping to rouse Sunburst before trying any other tactic.

“It's a little late for visitors.” Came a shout from inside. It wasn't unfriendly, more confused about the late night visitor.

James wasn't going to mince words at this time, he had neither the patience for explaining nor the will to delay. “Starlight Glimmer needs your help.” He said, his voice firm.

The sound of collapsing books reverberated as Sunburst hurried to the door and peaked out. “Who, and what, are you? And how do you know Starlight Glimmer?” He asked, more worried than upset.

“I'm James. You know me already, my shape is unimportant.” James said as he pointed his omnitool at the smooth road behind him and with a flash of light an orange oval appeared. Looking into it he could clearly see Twilight's throne room looking out towards the map table. Twilight herself walked into view as the portal completed, her mane blowing in the breeze as the air pressure tried to equalize between the two locations

“I'll be on the first train in the morning then.” He said as he went to close the door.

James stuck his foot in the door, he was the reason Starlight's magic was gone and he wasn't leaving until he got her help. “Starlight's completely drained of magic right now. There's a chance it will simply recover with time, but until then she needs a friend to talk to. Someone she's known longer than anyone else.”

The concept of being drained of magic wasn't completely foreign to Sunburst. He knew all too well what Tirek had done, but no information about it's effects had been documented. “How was she completely drained of her magic?”

“Collect every book that may have relevant information, we're leaving as soon as you're ready.” James turned and let the door close as he went to the portal. He saw Twilight examining it as he approached. “It's a portal. You can come through if you like, it's completely safe. Also very disorienting.”

“I know what a portal is. I just don't know how you did this without magic.” She said as she looked through.

As James was about to speak Sunburst's door opened and he came out. “I've got the only book I can think of that might have any information about lost magic. … What's that?”

James turned to the unicorn staring at the portal on the ground. “This is our path to Twilight's castle. It's best to take it with a jump. Twilight, would you please back away, this will preserve our inertia so we'll come out as fast as we fall.” Twilight nodded as Sunburst stared in awe of the sight.

“I've never seen a portal like this … Alright.” Sunburst awkwardly said as he took a deep breath and jumped. The sensation was truly strange as he felt gravity change immediately as he passed the threshold of the portal. He hit the floor and skidded a short distance before he got up and looked back.

Sunburst stepped to the side of the portal, examining the image of the place he had just left from this unusual vantage. James was next, he put his foot out and fell forwards through the portal. As he expected the shift in gravity, while disorienting, helped him simply walk into the throne room. The fact that it worked did make him feel a bit better though.

“I hope there's nothing you need to go back for right now. I'm going to close the portal and then the only way back is the train.” James said as he held his hand over his omnitool.

“I have no idea what we're dealing with. But hopefully this is enough.” He said as he indicated to his saddlebag.

James's omnitool vanished along with the portals and he took a seat in Applejack's throne at the table. “Okay, I think we need to give Sunburst an explanation before he goes to Starlight.” He didn't want to say too much, but he couldn't let Sunburst go in blind to the situation.

Twilight took her seat at the table, indicating Sunburst to sit as well. “I'd honestly like an explanation myself.” She said, Derpy's story hadn't been exactly complete, and she had yet to hear the rest from anyone else. Neither Starlight nor Luna wanted to talk about it at the moment.

James took a deep breath, he didn't want to explain any of this. But bottling it all up is what caused the map to send the ponies to him in the first place. “First, let me say this whole thing is my fault. I've been battling depression for my whole life, and with all of the mistakes I've made there are times I just can't take it. Normally there's someone who can distract me until the feeling passes, this time I just managed to slip out without anyone noticing. Problem is that were I went to there's a beast that feeds on negative emotions and it grew strong on my self loathing. Twilight's map table sent Princess Luna, Starlight Glimmer, Derpy Hooves, and Asriel Dreemurr to help me. Well, when the beast lost it's meal it decided that none of us were necessary and we needed to fight it. It had grown strong enough on my power that I knew of only one spell to stop it, but I was too weak to cast it. Starlight and Luna offered to help me, even after I told them everything that could and would happen. One of the side effects being that the spell would consume all of our magical power. And that's the abridged version.”

Sunburst stared wide eyed along with Twilight. “That asked more questions than it answered.” He said eventually. He wanted to ask this creature everything running through his mind but he had to settle on where to start first. “You just used magic.” He started.

James shook his head as he looked to the unicorn. “No, as I told Twilight before I left; Any technology sufficiently advanced is indistinguishable from magic. I have an abundance of just such technology, along with abilities that are like magic but not.”

Sunburst could see the validity of such an argument, a train would be difficult to explain to primitive ponies without just saying it's magic. As for the abilities, he'd have to ask about them later. “So what about this beast that feeds on negative emotions? What is it? Like some kind of powerful reverse changeling?”

“It's similar to a creature known as a Mazoku. They subsist entirely on the negative emotions of living creatures, sometimes called miasma, and it makes them stronger. Well with over five hundred years of self loathing, hatred, rage and regret I was a veritable smorgasbord and it grew very powerful on me.”

Sunburst's mouth hung open as he heard the explanation. It seemed insane to go to a place where such a creature was, doubly so if you knew all you would do is make it stronger. “Why did you go there if you knew about it then?”

“I thought I had destroyed it. As for why I went there … I'd prefer to not discuss it. I've said too much on the subject already.” James shook his head as he spoke, it was bad enough that so many had found out about his issues. And he knew that Starlight would eventually tell Twilight just how bad it was and it would then get to the others who would probably pester him about it constantly. Pinkie Pie would never leave him alone once she found out.

Sunburst didn't like the answer, but it was a question James clearly wasn't comfortable with. “What was this spell? I've been studying magic for years and never heard about any spell that consumed all of the magic of the caster.”

James leaned forward onto the table as he explained. “That makes sense. The spell itself is a secret, created by a friend of mine who doesn't know that I know the spell. And frankly, the fewer who know the spell the better. It's an attack spell designed to destroy even the strongest of opponents utterly, no shield can stop it. It involves summoning the strongest Mazoku in existence and the caster's magic is consumed limiting it's destructive potential. Which is the opposite of all other attack magic I know. If it were miscast or if it went out of control or anything else went wrong with it it's power would go wild destroying everything. I don't mean everything in the area, region, or continent. It would destroy the entire world if it even stopped there.”

Twilight and Sunburst stared at James with their mouths agape. The concept of such a spell was horrifying, let alone ever thinking it could be necessary to cast. Just how dangerous was this thing that James was fighting? Who created such a spell? How and where did James learn it?

Twilight went pale as she realized that James clearly had cast this spell before to know how long it takes him to recover. “It usually takes you three days to recover from casting it?” She hesitated to ask as she knew that any answer would paint a nightmarish picture. “… How many times have you cast it?”

James looked down at the table as he answered. “Counting this time … six. Each time I hope it's the last.”

They sat in silence absorbing the information. Six times he had gambled with the lives of everyone, six times he had won. While clearly he did it to save people the gamble itself was terrifying. And this time he had the help of Starlight and Luna. They both knew the spell now most likely. And the cost to them was high if they never recovered.

Sunburst had heard enough. It was obvious that his book didn't have any information that would help this. And he didn't want to think about just what had happened, or about that spell. “How can I help Starlight? You're the expert about the effects of this spell.”

James smiled, glad he didn't have to answer any more questions about himself or the Giga Slave directly. “She needs a friend who understands her, won't judge her, and that she can bare herself to. And if you could help her while she recovers that would be great. She can't even create a spark of light, and if she keeps pushing herself I don't know if she'll ever recover. I've never tried pushing myself when my magic was gone because I thought of it like a torn muscle. If you don't let it just rest and recover you could permanently damage it.”

Sunburst didn't know if there was anything he could do, but he couldn't let her hurt herself. “I'll see what I can do.” He said as he walked out of the room.

He could hear grunting as he approached Starlight's door, he didn't know what she was doing but he could guess. He gently knocked as he approached.

“Go away!” Starlight shouted through the door.

“Starlight? I just want to talk.”

“Sunburst?” Starlight asked. What was he doing here? When did he get here? How did she not know he was coming? She grunted again as she tried and failed open her dresser for a skirt or something to cover her blank flank. “Just give me a minute.” She rushed over and opened the drawer herself and began looking for something to cover herself with.

“Oh, that's alright.” He said as his magical field surrounded the knob and turned it. “I already know that your magic's been drained away.”

Starlight retreated further into her room as the door opened. If he didn't know she might have been able to bluff her way through, but not now. “Oh … Did Twilight tell you?” She asked, not coming out of the dark.

“No, James did. He also told me about the spell. It's actually really impressive, terrifying, but impressive. Uhm. You can come out, you know.” Sunburst said as he lit up his horn.

Starlight retreated from the light. She didn't know how much James had told Sunburst but she didn't want to been seen in her current state. At least in the morning she could visit Rarity and do something about her hair … maybe.

Sunburst took another step into the room, illuminating Starlight. Her white mane was obviously a side effect of the spell, or a side effect of having all of her magic drained away. He couldn't tell which as he had never seen the spell, nor now did he ever want to.

Starlight tried to hide in the shadows as Sunburst approached. “It's alright Starlight. I'm your friend, I only want to help you.”

Starlight was horrified! Help? She went to help and look what it did to her! Her cutie mark was gone! Her magic was gone! And there was only a guess that it might come back. Might! “Please Sunburst. I don't want you to see me like this.” She pleaded.

Sunburst narrowed his eyes and stood firm. “You know what, too bad! You're my friend and I don't care what's happened. I'm staying until you recover!”

Starlight felt a pang of guilt, if he knew there was a chance that she wouldn't recover he'd take those words back. And she hoped he would. She cared about him, but if she had to chase him off she would. “And what if I never recover?!” She shouted.

He was taken aback, did she really think he'd abandon her just because she might not get her magic back. He stomped his hoof as he shouted back at her. “Then I'm never leaving!”

She felt worse then ever as he made the declaration. “No, you have to go. You're important to the Crystal Empire.” Her voice was soft again as she tried to urge him to leave her. “I'm just a blank flank unicorn who can't use any magic.”

This was new information. “Blank Flank? You're a grown pony, I've seen your cutie mark.”

Starlight sighed, she knew this would send him away once he saw her. “That spell took all of my magic … including my cutie mark. She said as she stepped into Sunburst's light.

Sunburst looked her in the eye before allowing his gaze to go to her flank, he hid his reaction as he saw that her mark was no longer there. He had to keep her talking, she needed to open up so he could help her. “What was it like, the spell that is?”

Starlight shivered at the memory; The creeping cold, the darkness, the hollowness. Even her stomach turning was a welcome sensation compared to all of that. She felt what she could only assume was oblivion creeping through her, taking everything from her. She had felt it as her cutie mark faded from her flank, felt as a piece of her had been taken away. “It was horrible. It took all three of us just to control it, and even then it took everything we had.” Her eyes began to water as she spoke. “I felt the spell move through me like a living thing with it's own will. All it wanted was to destroy. It didn't care what as long as it got to destroy. I helped cast that spell! I brought that into being with my magic, and now I've paid the price! I'll never be able to do magic again!”

She didn't realize until she stopped talking that she was crying, and Sunburst had walked up next to her and had his foreleg around her shoulders. She rested her head against him and her voice wavered as she whispered. “Please don't go. I don't want to be alone.”

“I won't Starlight.” He said comfortingly. “I wont.”

Asriel sent a message to Lucca and Tali, explaining that they had found James and he was now in Twilight's castle. He knew that it wouldn't be long now before they arrived anyway. They were going to be furious with James and that wouldn't help, but they needed to know.

As predicted just over a minute later they teleported into the room Twilight had lent him. He had expected them to go right to James but he knew he would have to talk to them eventually anyway.

Lucca eyed him angrily as she stood in the room. “You were expecting to find him there, weren't you?” She asked, her eyes bored into him as she stared his way. Her face was even though clearly angry and she was just tall enough to look down to him. This would normally be intimidating, but it was an angle Asriel had gotten accustomed to as Flowey.

“I only expected to find some things to remind James of everything he had done to help us down in the Underground. To remind him of how much he means to everyone. And maybe get a piece or two of Mom's butterscotch cinnamon pie if there was any left.” Asreil calmly lied. He knew even back on the Einherriar that Lucca suspected he knew where James had gone and now he had to convince her that what they did was for the best. “When he SAVED us, he used triggers to remind us of the truth and pull us out of our doubt. I thought maybe he might need the same.”

Tali was clearly looking his way too, but her environmental suit kept him from seeing her face. However her body language clearly spoke that she was being defensive. “Was his problem the Friendship Problem the Ponies came to fix?” She flatly asked.

Asriel simply nodded. “It's not that you couldn't help, it's that he needed us there because we understood what he was going through in a way that you can only know if you've done the things we've done.”

Lucca and Tali both stared at him blankly. “What's Derpy done?” Lucca asked, her expression showing clear skepticism.

Asriel smiled, she was the odd one out. “She was Frisk. She didn't budge when she knew that she could help him by accepting what he had done and standing up to him without fear.” He thought about what he was saying himself. He had watched James become in essence Flowey. And like him, James needed someone who would stand up to him and tell him that they accepted him, and forgave him. Even if Asriel couldn't have done it himself, he was happy that someone could SAVE him.

Lucca smiled at the explanation. “It's good that he has friends like you.” She said as she walked out the door. “Of course now I've got to go tell him off.” She said with a laugh.

Tali nodded as she also went for the door. “She's going to need back up.”

James sat at a table across from Twilight as he flipped through the pages of the book in front of him scanning for keywords that might just have some clue about restoring magic or cutie marks. A larger pile sat to his right of unchecked books as Twilight collected a new stack for herself to go through. James reached into his bag of holding and brought out an energy drink and began to sip on it as he concentrated on the search.

Tali and Lucca entered the library and watched a moment as Twilight and James searched through books, unsure as to why they were doing that. They could see immediately that James had recently cast the Giga Slave by his completely white hair, clearly something more had happened that Asriel hadn't told them. What was the danger they faced that warranted that response?

Neither he nor Twilight noticed as Lucca and Tali approached. Lucca gently placed her hand on James's shoulder. “So what happened?” Lucca asked as James looked her way.

After the explanation Lucca opted to go and search the Sorcerer's Guild for possible answers while Tali offered to watch Amber and Sara until they returned. James thanked them and after wrapping each of them in a big hug he let them go on their way. The fight was still coming, but it would be after they handled this problem. He knew he had only made them angry by disappearing the way he had.

Once they had left James got another energy drink and got back to work searching the books. Later that night, Twilight made a quiet trip to New Guardia to use the Enertron. Much like James she had come to appreciate it's usefulness in situations like theirs.

By dawn James lay face down in a book as Twilight tossed the last one aside. “Nothing on the subject at all.” James moaned. “You'd think with Tirek there would be something about missing cutie marks. In an old book if nowhere else.” Even with his face buried in the book in front of him he could smell breakfast being made in the castle.

“Well this isn't the only library in Equestria.” Twilight offered hopefully as she placed the last book on her pile. Between Twilight's haphazard pile of books and James's stacking one would find it hard to believe that Twilight was the one who owned the books.

“Yeah, I've got V.I.s at the other major ones contributing to the Grand Archive. A keyword search in Equestria's section concerning Tirek only brought up history. But nothing about restoring cutie marks. And yes, I already searched restoring cutie marks. The closest is trying to make a cutie mark show up with magic, and that never works.” James said, not lifting his head from the book.

Twilight stood up, the smell of cooking breakfast was getting to her and their search was clearly going nowhere. “No reason to starve ourselves. Let's go eat and maybe something will come to us.”

James moaned as he stood up and trudged out of the room, opening another energy drink as he did so.

Twilight gave James a concerned look as she watched him drink yet another of the drinks he had warned them about. “Are you sure you should be drinking a sixth one of those? I thought they were dangerous.” She knew he had just come out of a depression and he was already acting like his own health was unimportant.

James nodded while he finished the can. “I shouldn't. They are. I don't care.” He said as he put the empty can in his bag. “Frankly there are more important things to worry about.”

Twilight fixed him with a harsh stare, she remembered that statement from their trip to the Crystal Empire. “Last time you said that you almost died.” Her voice was unmistakably angry as she teleported in front of him.

James stopped and looked down at her as he cocked an eyebrow. He wanted to tell her that it wasn't important, that he wasn't important. But that would just start a fight. What he did do was sigh and shake his head. “I'm not having this fight right now. I'm already going to be having it with Lucca and Tali later.” He walked past Twilight and continued onwards to the dining room.

Twilight stood still, mouth agape and blindsided by James's complete dismissal of her concern for his well being. Had he really come out of his depression or had he only stopped actively trying to hurt himself?

James smiled and nodded to Celestia and Luna as he entered the dining room. “It's nice to see you this morning.” He said as he took a seat. The smell of fresh made pancakes was inviting, and despite his foul mood he was looking forward to the breakfast Celestia had prepared. No doubt Luna had told her about his problem, but if she didn't bring it up he certainly wasn't going to.

Celestia put a plate of pancakes in front of James, a fruit face smiled back at him. He continued his forced smile, but lack of sleep meant that he could not truly hide his emotions. “Thank you.” He quietly said. He knew the pancakes were meant well, but he couldn't help but find himself a little frustrated at their smile.

Fuck you, fruit.

“What's wrong?” Luna asked as she took a bite of her pancakes. She realized now that she knew little about the man she called her friend, but she was learning a great deal about him now that she had seen his worst. That which he could not forgive himself for.

“There's been no information in the library about this.” He quickly said as a cover. “Twilight suggested that if we sit back and think something might come to us.” It was a cover, but not a lie. That was the most frustrating thing he was dealing with at the moment.

“That could well be.” Princess Celestia said as she brought another plate for Twilight. “Sometimes an answer can come where one least expects it.”

James genuinely laughed as he thought about it. “Yeah, that is certainly true.”

Sunburst felt awkward as he woke up with Starlight still holding him tightly. She did not want him to leave her alone and even insisted that they share her bed. He pushed the feeling away as he reminded himself just what she had lost. And that he was above the covers and still wearing his cape.

“I'm sorry Sunburst.” She whispered. She felt guilty for making him stay with her, but she also knew that even if she had asked him to leave, he most likely wouldn't.

“That's alright.” He quietly answered. “How are you feeling?”

“A little better.” She said as she climbed out of bed. She did feel better, especially with Sunburst there. But she also felt incomplete, and looking into her mirror just reminded her of what she had lost.

“You know Starlight.” Sunburst said with a grin. “Maybe it would be good to go out for a while.” Starlight looked his way and he could see the fear in her eyes. “I know you don't want anypony to see you without a cutie mark, and if you wear a dress nopony will notice.”

“What about my mane?” She said, her voice filled with as much fear as her face.

“Say you wanted to try something different.” He said with a shrug.

Starlight thought about seeing Trixie, or Maude. She didn't know how they might react to her condition. Though she could guess that Trixie might rub it in. Just do it. It's not like Maude would judge you. And Trixie's your friend, she wouldn't make fun of you for something like this. “I don't want to go out!” She cried as she ran back to her bed and covered herself completely.

“Starlight.” Sunburst groaned. “At least come out to get something to eat.” As he spoke he used his magic to lift the covers off her. She had curled up with her hooves over head and shivered, clearly going out was not an option right now.

“Starlight.” He gently said. “I know you're scared about ponies knowing you've lost your magic, but many of them did when Tirek attacked. Even I did. I know what it feels like to not be able to do anything. You're not alone.” He remembered vividly the feeling of his magic being ripped from him, and how empty he felt after. That feeling drove him to stay at Starlight's side throughout her ordeal , even if it meant never leaving. She was his friend, and she was more important.

Starlight slowly looked up at him. “You lost your magic and your cutie mark?” She never thought about it before. Twilight had told her about Tirek, it was a big event in Equestria she had missed, and how even Twilight's magic had been taken. As she thought she also remembered that James was there with her, fighting to save them even at the risk of his life. The loss of her cutie mark to help him didn't hurt as much when she thought about how readily he would fight for them.

“Yes, I did. Tirek ripped them away from me and many other unicorns. Even Pegesi and Earth ponies lost their cutie marks to him. I guess you dodged that one though.” Sunburst had a couple ideas as to why Tirek hadn't gotten to her, but he didn't want to say them out loud right now.

“Because of my village with no cutie marks.” She said, astonished.

Or she could just mention it first. “Probably. Now I don't know if it's possible to get your cutie mark back like I did, or like the ponies of your village did. But we've both known cutie marks to come back. It's far from hopeless, so please let's go out there and see what we can do.”

Starlight began to smile as she thought about it. “You're right. Cutie marks have come back, we just need to figure out how to do that with this situation.” She jumped down from her bed and hugged Sunburst. “Thanks, I needed that.”

“What are friends for.” He happily said.

“Not that I'm eager to know, but maybe a clue is in the spell you cast.” Twilight offered, the group had been bouncing ideas back and forth without any headway. Now Twilight had determined to look at the cause for a possible solution. The hair of the dog that bit them.

James shrugged as he swallowed his most recent bite, it was a lecture he had been considering for a while, but the subject matter was so that he couldn't really give it. At least until now, and even then only with a few select people. “It's not that complicated actually. After an amplification spell to ensure you can use the magic necessary to cast the spell and hope for control, you describe the Lord of Nightmares …”

Celestia was taken aback at the name as she interrupted. “Excuse me. The Lord of Nightmares?” Her tone was genuinely horrified.

“Yes.” James answered. “It's an attack spell, that doesn't come from a good place.” James took another bite of pancake as he began lecturing. “Besides, the Lord of Nightmares isn't as bad as she sounds. She's capricious, demented, and yes; evil. But she's also curious, funny, and reasonable. Her curiosity is how I talked her into making my Demon's Blood Talisman. She's not a villain, she's the beginning and end of her world.” He knew that most of what he was doing was rationalizing his association with the ultimate Mazoku of another universe, but she was more than just a one dimensional villain.

“From her chaos order came, she wants to return to chaos but order seeks to destroy chaos. As hard as it is to admit, chaos is preferable, order is ultimately absolute destruction. Order eventually leads to zero entropy in an isolated system and then nothing can ever happen again. The chaos that fuels such a destructive spell can bring new life.”

His diversion into the ethics of black magic done he returned to the point that Twilight had asked about. “Now after describing the Lord of Nightmares you ask her to grant you power to destroy that which stands before you. Now the real thing you need to know about the spell is that the Lord of Nightmares is nothing more than her power, so in granting you that power you're inviting her into yourself. Everything about you becomes temporarily part of her. Which is also why it's so dangerous if the spell goes out of control. Because then she's the one in charge, not you. And when she returns to her chaos pretty much anything can go with her.”

“Really?” Lucca said as she walked in and sat next to James. “A lesson on the Lord of Nightmares? Xellos wouldn’t be happy to hear about that.” Her tone was a bit sarcastic but she was interested in hearing what James came up with as he delved further into the magic of other worlds. He was nearly as good with magic as she was with machines, it just took him longer.

James shrugged. “Twilight thought there might be a clue in the spell that did this.”
“Oh a lesson on the Giga Slave, that's even better.” Lucca said as she rolled her eyes. James gave a half smile as he pushed the rest of his plate of pancakes to her and shook his head. Lucca looked at the plate and back to James. “No, you haven't eaten in days. Just be glad I'm not shoving bacon in your face.” She said pushing the plate back to him.

James gave Lucca a stern look and shook his head before he chuckled. “Why would I be glad about you not shoving bacon in my face? And you go days without eating all the time. Let's just both have something and not make each other worry.” A little compromise wasn't uncalled for here and James knew that the pancakes alone wouldn't be nearly enough for him.

Lucca scowled at James as she grabbed the fork and took a bite. Her face changed as she chewed and looked down at the plate. She was expecting to like them, but these were unusually good. She couldn't place what it was, but she really liked them.

James smiled as he saw her reaction. “Good, aren't they?”

Lucca smiled and took another bite, shaking her head as James had managed to once again change the subject with minimal effort.

“Glad to see you aren't angry anymore.” Twilight said as she watched the two.

“Oh, no.” James calmly said as he looked her way. “I'm still angry, I'm just angry with myself. Sorry if that came across as directed at you. It's just that none of you should have to deal with this.”

The pancakes finished, Lucca stood up and kissed James's cheek as she started to walk away. “Well, I bet Tali needs a break from Amber and Sara. And I'm thinking Toriel will want to know where her son's been for the last few days.” Lucca said with a smile. “Thank you very much for the pancakes, they were great.”

James looked back to her and nodded. “Tell the girls … that I'm sorry.” His tone dropped as he knew that they were keenly aware of his disappearance.

Lucca passed Starlight and Sunburst as she left, nodding at them as she went.

Starlight walked in as Sunburst got the door for her. Twilight forgot everything going on at the moment and ran over and hugged her. She was so happy to see Starlight in a good mood and that she was able to accept help for what she was having trouble doing on her own. Getting doors for her might be a bit much, but she clearly enjoyed him doing it.

Princess Celestia smiled as she looked to Starlight. “It's nice to see you out, Starlight Glimmer. And a pleasant surprise to see you Sunburst. I'm afraid I may not have made enough pancakes for everypony.”

“You made these?” Sunburst asked, genuinely surprised. He had no idea that the Princess cooked, or that she would just make them breakfast.

Celesita smiled as she nodded. “I enjoy it.” In addition to enjoying cooking she loved to see the reactions people gave her when they found out that she had made breakfast. The surprise that melted in to happiness and appreciation was a special thing for her to see.

“You need to try them.” Starlight said as she nudged him. “Take mine, they're almost too adorable to eat.”

Sunburst smiled back at the pancake. “They are pretty adorable.”

Princess Luna thought about the explanation James had given them, it meant calling another being into themselves rather than channeling their own power. “James, could you further explain how that spell works? The concept of channeling another entity through myself is rather strange.”

James shrugged, it was more advanced magic theory and they didn't have that particular framework to build on, but he could simplify it and teach an improvised class. There would be a lot of gaps however.

“Alright then, class time.” He said as he stretched his neck, this would be a variation on several common lectures he used give when he taught at the Sorcerers Guild. “Basic black magic. Spells like Dragon Slave and Gaav Flare are tied to a specific Mazoku in nature. Without a link to that Mazoku you can't cast the spell. Normally in that world just being there is a sufficient link. In my case my link to the Lord of Nightmares and her nature provides me a link to everything else in that world.”

“A splash of general magical theory. Now there's a limit to how much magical energy one has access to and how much one can use at a time. If you don't have enough to use at one time you can't cast the spell even if you have a large enough pool of magic to accommodate, the exception being chaos spells. What you use your magic for in black magic is creating a vessel to hold the power the Mazoku grants you and that then blasts things to pieces. I could go into other magics now, but that's not the subject.”

James looked to Twilight, he was getting into his lesson now. “May I use a pitcher of water and some glasses, please? It's time for the more advanced magical theory.”

Twilight was eager to get them for him, this was a lecture on a whole new type of magic! She placed them in front of James and went back to her seat desperately wishing she had a quill and parchment but had to be satisfied with paying close attention to him and taking notes later. She didn't want to interrupt his rhythm now that he had found it.

“Alright, this pitcher represents the Mazoku Lord, Ruby Eye Shabranigdu. When using his spell, the Dragon Slave, he grants you power from himself. But his body, or the seven or six fragments, is still there.” James poured out a measure of the water into a glass and threw it at his face. “The spell goes off, you expended some magic pulling in his power but he stays there.”

“The Lord of Nightmares is different. You'll just have to imagine the water floating around without the pitcher since I can't do that right now, or that instead of a pitcher we're overlooking a waterfall which would be slightly more accurate. She is nothing more than her power, so she can't give you power without coming herself. You expend your magic creating a vessel that can contain that power and in essence her, but the longer you do the more power you need. Since she's coming herself and making you a part of her you are able to use her individual spell capacity and not your own,” James held the pitcher over a glass and poured much more than he did for the Dragon Slave example. “which is necessary as she just keeps coming until you unleash the spell or it goes out of control.” He allowed the water to spill over the glass before he stopped pouring.

“And since you're the one calling on her and focusing the spell, that power travels through you. You're literally inviting her into your body.”

James sat back in the chair and drank the water as he looked around. “And that's the basic idea. I'd have to go into several full magical theory lectures including white and shamanistic magic as well as bucket and pool capacity to give you a better description.”

Everyone in the room was silent as they tried to absorb everything James had just told them. Princess Celestia had never encountered concepts like that in her life and she had been tutored along with her sister by Starswirl the Bearded himself. And James had just described it as the basic idea that would take several lectures to expand on.

Sunburst moved his glasses back up his face as he considered the lecture. “That was … enlightening.” He eventually said. “I'd not considered these concepts before. Would you be willing to do a more comprehensive lecture at some time. Particularly about capacity I don't think anypony's ever considered that before.”

James shrugged at the request. “It's a pretty general lecture, so yeah sometime after this is all cleared up I'll do a class you can all attend.”

“Another magic lecture, James. Really?” Tali said as she approached him. “Lucca told me you were talking about the Giga Slave just moments ago.”

Sunburst looked to James wide eyed. “You talked about that spell too?” His excitement for understanding outweighed the horror of the spell itself as he thought about it.

James nodded before turning to talk to Tali. Twilight reflected back on the short lecture and pieced together what she felt were important points at this time. “Hold on. If she comes herself, maybe that's why their cutie marks vanished. They weren't just themselves, her presence may have disrupted the magic of their cutie marks.”

“Not a bad idea Twilight.” Starlight said sullenly. “But we finished the spell. They should have come back after that if that were the case.”

“Not necessarily.” Twilight quickly countered. She felt she had latched onto something important in James's talk and was going to run with it. “You weren't in Equestria and James said it himself earlier, she's capricious and curious. What if a small piece of her stayed behind to learn?”

James shook his head. “Also not a bad idea, but she would have said something. We'd definitely have heard from her by now. And I'd be willing to bet their cutie marks would have come back by now if it was just their absence from Equestria.”

“Well.” Sunburst said he looked around. “A spell like that would definitely leave it's mark as it passed through. Maybe it's just a little residual power that is keeping their cutie marks away.” He suggested. He had no idea how plausible the idea was, but there had to be something to it if the magic were indeed that powerful. “Something like an injury, or disease. And like that it has to be treated to heal properly.”

Celestia was the one to speak up as she caught on. “If that's the case then the Tree of Harmony may be able to restore their cutie marks.”

“It couldn't hurt to try.” Sunburst eagerly said. There was a pause before he added in a calmer tone. “Though with that explanation, I do think James is right and it'll take a few days for your magic to recover.”

“So why isn't James coming with us again?” Rainbow Dash asked as they walked along the path towards the Castle of the Two Sisters.

“Because he's already there with Princesses Celestia and Luna as well as Starlight and Sunburst.” Twilight explained again.

“I get that, I mean why did he go on ahead?” Rainbow Dash asked as she rolled her eyes. “Normally he'd at least come by to say hi, not just run off without a word.”

“Because he feels that he can't go around Ponyville right now. He can't change his form or hide behind an illusion.” Twilight explained as they got deeper into the forest. She hadn't told them that James's magic was completely drained along with Luna's and Starlight's, but they were far enough away from anyone that it wasn't really a problem now.

“This have something to do with his implants again? Should I have brought some of those Senzu beans Lucca gave me?” Applejack asked. She rather liked the feeling of security that just having the beans gave her, but Ponyville was safe enough that she didn't bring them with her unless there was a possible threat.

“Oh, that's alright. I've got some if we need them.” Fluttershy quietly added. They had grown quite well in her care and she did use them sparingly, but they had accumulated so much that she had started using them on injured animals when her storage of them filled up.

“Not really. It just that James's lost his magic.” Twilight said uncomfortably, she didn't want to go into as much detail as James had about the Giga Slave.

“Twilight, dear, how does one just lose their magic.” Rarity asked sceptically. While she knew Twilight would know more about the subject than herself, she would have remembered such a thing even from an old wives’ tale.

“Apparently there's a spell that consumes all of your magic if you cast it. I know a bit about it now, but James's keeping the spell itself a secret.” Twilight explained. It was true too, while she could describe how it worked and what casting it entailed, she had no idea how to cast the spell itself.

“That why we're going to the Tree of Harmony?” Applejack asked as they walked into the small chasm where the Tree of Harmony resided in it's cave.

“Yes, but not for him. That spell also took Starlight's and Princess Luna's magic … and cutie marks.” She hesitantly said as they took the last step into the chasm.

“What!?” Everyone shouted in unison as the got to the bottom of the stairs. Without a second thought they broke into a run towards the cave where they saw everyone else gathered.

Celestia stood next to her silver haired sister while Sunburst talked to Starlight who's hair matched the Princess's and looking rather uncomfortable at being out. James and Tali stood next to the tree, their omnitools active and scanning it.

“I knew Twilight wouldn't lie about this.” Rarity said astonished as she looked to Luna's blank flank. “But what in Equestria could have done it?”

James raised his hand as he continued looking to his omnitool. “This idiot right here.”

Celestia was quick to respond. “Do not blame yourself for what happened, James.”

James cocked his eyebrow at her as he turned. “Care to point out which part wasn't entirely my fault? Because, frankly, I'm not seeing it.” His head throbbed more than the usual headache he got when he drank too many energy drinks. Almost as if some creature were digging through his brain.

Starlight spoke up, clearly irritated. “The part where we agreed, even knowing the risks.”

“Which wouldn't have been necessary if I wasn't an idiot.” James countered quickly, pointing at his own face.

“Keelah Sa-ligh! James will you stop already. It's done, we're here to try to fix it now.” Tali said, clearly as irritated as Starlight. He'd been unusually irritable since they entered the cave, but he was also drinking an energy drink an hour.

Luna patiently nodded as she began to explain. “Sunburst believes that the spell may have left it's own mark that must be healed before our cutie marks return. Our magic is expected to return in a few days as James's has when he's used this spell in the past.”

Twilight really wanted to change the subject as they were just getting further from their goal now. “Alright girls, let's see if this works.” She said as they walked further into the cave. As they approached, light shone from each gem centering on the pony they had aligned with long before. An explosion of rainbow filled the cave as they attempted to restore the lost cutie marks. However once the light had cleared it was obvious that it had failed.

“The Tree of Harmony didn't work?” Twilight asked, aghast.

“There was no guarantee it would heal them.” Princess Celestia said as she tried to comfort her. She would rather have had someone comfort her in this instance, but she hadn't had that luxury in centuries.

Gloom began to permeate the cave as they considered what options they had left, if any. With nothing forthcoming they began to walk out of the cave defeated. The word “Heal” bouncing around in Twilight's head. Something about that word tugged at her, told her that it was important. But she couldn't see just how. Pinkie Pie hummed a song as she walked out of the cave, oblivious as usual.

Celestia placed a hoof on Twilight's back, holding her back. Twilight turned to apologize to Celestia when she saw her gem in the Tree of Harmony pulsing. There was something important, but she didn't know what.

“Everypony, wait.” Twilight said as she tried to rack her brain. “The Tree of Harmony is trying to tell us something. Or just me, but I still want you here to help.”

She concentrated on everything in the cave as she tried to think about what the tree could be trying to tell her. “Everypony, maybe there's something here that has a clue.” She suggested as she strained her mind trying to concentrate through healing and that song Pinkie was humming.

“Maybe that's the clue.” Starlight suggested. “That the solution is magical, that is your cutie mark after all.” It was the most basic answer she could think of, but it was better than nothing at the moment.

Everything started to bounce around in Twilight's head; Luna, Magic, Healing, the song Pinkie Pie was humming. She started having trouble concentrating on anything else as these thoughts collided and twisted in her head. She got dizzy and staggered, but James caught her. Suddenly at James's touch everything was silent in her head. An image plucked from his mind was forced into hers. “Why would the moon be falling?”

James gave her a quizzical look as she stood back up, once again healing was bouncing around her head, but only that.

“Uh, Twilight …” Applejack hesitantly said as she stepped closer. “Why would you say that?”

“Yeah,” Pinkie Pie said as she approached. “That was pretty creepy.”

“I don't know. It's just that as soon as he touched me I Saw the moon falling, but not our moon. Do you know what it could mean?” Twilight hoped it meant something to him. Of course if Pinkie Pie would stop humming she could concentrate.

“Nothing helpful. That's from a game I played, there's no relevance to the situation.” James said as he tried to think of anything that it could mean in this context.

“Pinkie, could you stop humming please?” Twilight said as she shook her head. “I'm trying to think.”

Rainbow Dash dropped to the floor as she walked to her friend. “Twilight. Nopony's humming.” This was concerning, perhaps the stress of everything was getting to her. She stretched her wing across Twilight's back hoping to give her some comfort.

Twilight was losing her mind with healing and music! That's when it hit her; Music, healing, Luna, magic, James and their connection. “I've got it!” She shouted, suddenly her thoughts were quiet again.

“James, in that alternate time you had a song! The Song of Healing!” She happily said. “You used it to change Princess Luna back from Nightmare Moon. If you have a song that can do what it took the Elements of Harmony to do maybe with it and the Tree of Harmony we can bring back their cutie marks.”

“Complimentary magic would boost the effects of both exponentially, and that would also explain the falling moon. If not for it working in that time line I'd hesitate to try, but even still I can't do any magic right now. I can't even tap into the latent Bardic Magic that permeates all of Equestria.” James said as he followed her reasoning.

“The what?” Twilight asked, this was something James had never mentioned before.

“Right, I never explained that. Some of the magic I'm studying here is a magic that spreads throughout all of Equestria, you use it all the time when you improvise a song that everyone joins in on. But could any of you use it with a practiced song though? And how many of you can play an instrument besides Rarity and Pinkie Pie? The song's an instrumental.” If it could even work, I don't have the first idea about what to do.

“Well, there's an organ in the castle and we know Pinkie Pie can play it.” Rainbow Dash said happily.

“I can play the guitar and fiddle a bit.” Applejack offered. “Not that it really helps, only Princess Celestia Rarity and Twilight can use magic like that.”

“With all of you together, I know the problem will be sorted out soon.” Princess Celestia calmly said, she was comforted in James's conclusion of complimentary magic, and there were things she could no longer put off. “I'm afraid I cannot put off my duties any longer today either. I look forward to seeing you again soon sister.” With a nod Celestia walked out of the cave and flew away.

“But if one of us is playing the song, how can she help us with the elements of harmony?” Fluttershy asked.

“And Princess Luna and Starlight can't play because they can't use magic either.” Applejack reasoned along James's explanation.

“Not that I can play an organ anyway.” Starlight added.

James nodded, and with a helpless smile he pointed out another of the plan's flaws. “And we can't exactly bring the organ here, since the song probably has a range of effectiveness.” He said as he walked around the cave. “If we could get help from Rara that would also be great. She's got the ability and a strong connection to bardic magic. Her or Songbird Serenade.”

“Uh, Rara's not a unicorn.” Applejack said uncomfortably. “She's an earth pony like me.”

“I know. Earth ponies have magic, it's just not as overt as unicorn or pegasus magic.” James explained. “Tirek was able to steal power from them so it is definitely there. Besides, almost anyone can learn at least a simple spell with enough study and practice. And I'm not trying to teach Goury so this is certainly possible.”

The entire cave was silent as James finished speaking until Tali stepped forward. “I think you should put away the energy drinks for now James, you're getting twitchy.”

James tried to argue, but his head was starting to throb again. At least it wasn't being clawed at anymore. He knew he had passed his limit hours ago and was drinking another one each time he began to feel fuzzy. He'd had three more since Twilight had asked him to stop earlier and it was only nine am. “Sorry everyone. You're right, I should. I just need to stay alert.” James calmly said as his eyes drooped. The reminder of his time spent awake served to bring his exhaustion back in force.

“Maybe you should take a break for now.” Twilight offered, she was getting more and more concerned about James as the day went on.

James nodded weakly before shaking his head. “I'm just going to sit over there.” He said with a yawn, his exhaustion starting to catch up to him. It had been a long time since he had actually stayed up for more than twenty four hours, he normally relied on the enertron at times like this and the crash was hitting him hard. He sat down and leaned against the wall, almost immediately his eyes closed and he began to breathe deeply.

“Wow, he normally can't just go to sleep like that.” Rainbow Dash said as she watched him, eliciting awkward stares from the other ponies.

“He's not asleep.” Tali calmly said as she scanned him with her onmitool. “His body is resting to the point of being asleep, but his mind is going just as it was before. He's aware of everything going on right now he just can't act until his body is jarred awake. It's … actually creepy that he can do that.” James moaned in an attempt to speak but he wasn't understood.

“Is that what would have happened to me if he didn't give me that thing after I drank that thing?” Pinkie asked as she examined James closely even poking him a couple times. Unsure of just how much he was really aware of.

James moaned each time Pinkie poked him.

“Possibly, though it could be unique to him. I don't know anyone else who's ever done this.” Tali offered, unhelpfully.

“I guess I'll go write a letter to Rara.” Applejack offered, glad to get away from the oddity of the day.

“Is there some way you can get her here today?” Tali asked, still scanning James with her omnitool.

“Yes. If the letter goes out before the pony post.” Rarity said.

“Then I'd better get to work.” Applejack said as she ran off.

The more they watched James in his current sleep-like state the more they realized just how strange it was. Tali was still talking to him, even though his responses were limited to a simple yes or no. He was clearly paying attention to what was going on around him, even as his eyes were closed. And when Applejack came running back in James even attempted to greet her.

Applejack assured them that she had sent the letter and that it emphasized just how important this was. They could only guess the noise that came from James was an attempt at thanks.

“Wow, I'm really glad I didn't have to go through that.” Pinkie Pie said as she examined James once again, poking him a few more times. She had hated not being able to speak when afflicted by poison joke, but the thought of that in addition to not being able to move was just so much worse. James groaned for a moment before everyone looked to Tali for translation.

“I guess he's agreeing. I don't understand every noise he makes.” She said with a shrug, it was curious just how often it fell to her or Lucca to translate for James when he was anything less than coherent.

Noon had come and gone when they heard someone cautiously approaching the cave.

“Hello, A.J.?” A familiar voice called. “I got your letter and came as soon as I could. But how can I help a princess? I'm just a singer.”

Applejack turned to her and smiled. “Well, it's a little complicated.” She felt that was putting it mildly, but James had confidence in her so she had to trust this was going to work.

Tali shook James as she listened to the two speaking. His eyes opened as he stretched. “Thanks Tali. And I was agreeing, though there was a bit more to it then that.”

James was stiff and his joints creaked as he stood, resting stationary against the wall of the cave had been much more uncomfortable than he had expected. There was a shriek as he stood that no one was expecting, and as they turned they saw Rara hiding behind Applejack.

“A.J. what's that?!” Her voice quaked in fear as she looked to the strange creature that had stood up and was now looking directly at her.

“He's a friend of ours. His name is James,” Applejack said as she got out from between the two. “He's also the one who knows the magic I told you about.”

James smiled and nodded her way. “It's a pleasure to see you again, Miss Coloratura. My daughters particularly enjoyed your appearance at the Helping Hooves Concert.”

Rara did not want to get any closer, she trusted Applejack but this creature was terrifying. “That's nice. But how can I do this magic you seem to think I have?”

James shook his head as she spoke. “I know you have it, I felt it at that same concert. When you play or sing something from the heart you bring out your magic in a way I've not even seen the Princesses accomplish. And that's what we need, there's been a mishap with another spell of mine …” James took the time to calmly explain the situation to Rara.

Rara sat there, still a ways away from James, as she tried to understand everything James had told her. There was so much to take in and she was going to have to try to intentionally use this magic she just learned was there. James took a step forward and she immediately recoiled. As friendly as he appeared, this creature was still terrifying.

“I … I'll try the song. But I still don't know if it will work.” She cautiously said, she never heard of an Earth Pony doing any kind of magic like this. The thought still sounded strange to her.

“Do not worry.” Princess Luna said. “I believe that you can do this.”

Rara smiled uncomfortably. “I guess we may as well give it a try.”

James nodded to her. “Is there an instrument you would prefer? Vocals would work if there were a whole choir or you knew illusion magic, but solo needs an instrument.”

“I play the piano.” She said, clearly expecting him to have already drawn the connection.

James nodded. “Alright, I just didn't know if there was one you would be more comfortable with.” He turned to Tali and helped her up from the floor. Rara jumped as she saw there was another creature like James in the cave. James gave Tali a hug as he talked. “I'll get you to bed, and a Piano for Coloratura. Alright?” He quietly asked her. She simply nodded as they both violently melted away making Rara jump again.

“I know he seems odd, Rara.” Applejack said once they were gone. “And he is. But he's also a good guy, he'll help out wherever he can. Besides, you already met him once. He was helping out at the Concert, he just didn't look like that. When he's in Equestria he usually looks like an alicorn.”

Rara was flabbergasted at the statement. Not only could this creature disguise itself, but it did so as a pony? How many like him were there? A chill ran down her spine as she thought about it.

“That was before he knew what it meant to be an alicorn. Now he says that it's just how everypony knows him.” Twilight added, not helping her feel any more comfortable.

“He just can't use any of his magic right now, like Starlight and Princess Luna.” Fluttershy offered.

As they talked James eventually melted back into the room with a full sized concert piano. “Will this do, Miss Coloratura?”

James carefully moved away as Rara looked over the piano. “Yeah, it looks fine.” She said. “So what's the song?”

James nodded and got ready to explain. “It's called the Song of Healing. This one has to be played from the heart to be truly effective. And I'll only be teaching you the first eleven notes, once you play those the rest will come naturally if the magic takes.” James whistled out eleven notes as they listened, repeating them twice. He’d never tried this before, in fact until Twilight had told him about it working in another timeline he would have laughed that the song from a video game would actually work even with magic behind it.

Rara closed her eyes and listened, she knew where it all was. Almost automatically her hooves went to the keys and she played the notes, however nothing came after.

“That was good.” James calmly said.

“But it didn't work.” Rara said, not realizing why he was so calm about it's failure.

“No one gets it on their first attempt. You have to play it from the heart, feel the notes as they come. Don't feel like you need to stick to that tempo, or hit only those keys. Harmonize, adjust, as long as the song is there you'll do just fine. Focus on your charity, remember how much you love to help and the faces of the school ponies who look up to you.” He had no idea what he was doing. This was a terrible idea.

Rara closed her eyes and played through again, listening to it as she thought about it. Thought about her charity work, and she felt her hooves move to different keys as she began the song again. This time playing cords, and allowing the next part to come to her. She began to feel the song, as if it were trying to break out. She played more hoping to let it out but the feeling just built up more and more. It was nearly unbearable! She had to open her mouth, had to sing.

A rush of freedom overwhelmed her as the music escaped her mouth, it felt amazing. As if everything that had haunted her was washed away. Every doubt, every mistake, every fear just gone in an instant. She remembered when she got her cutie mark. It was such a small audience, but that didn't matter they were listening to her sing and she knew at that moment she was doing what she was supposed to be doing. She felt so much of that here, that she was here to help them, that she was here to use this magic.

She knew that she had done it, the music was coming from her and she couldn't stop it even if she had wanted to. The feeling was amazing!

They watched as Rara began to play, her hooves hitting all of the notes and nothing happened. She immediately began again, but this time she played it differently. They all began to smile as she passed the first eleven notes and continued on without hesitation. Watching her they could feel something stirring in them. Something familiar, something comfortable. Rara began to sweat as she played, she held her breath and twisted her face. Applejack knew there was something wrong and walked up to her friend.

As she got close Rara threw her head back and began to sing. There were no words, just pure notes erupted from her as her cutie mark glowed brilliantly. They each listened as the performance continued, captivated by the music.

The tree of harmony pulsated with the music and presence of the wielders of the elements. The light that filled the cave was not the dazzling burst of brilliance from earlier, but rather a gentle warm glow that radiated out and encircled them.

Luna and Starlight watched captivated as light from the Tree of harmony wrapped around each of their friends and began to transform them as it had once before. Even Rara was caught in the light of the spectacle as her song continued. The cave grew comfortably warm as they felt the light wash over them. There was something clean about the sensation, they didn't care if it never ended.

Sunburst felt the pull of the magic, felt it's calming notes, felt the comfort it offered. But the song was not for him. He could enjoy it, but all he was granted was an outside view. He saw the change in Twilight and her friends, he had seen it once before but only in Rarity and Twilight. He had forgotten that somehow. Forgotten the feeling of his returning magic and cutie mark, and those who had helped him. He should have felt confused, should have asked himself how. But all there was was peace.

The lights faded, the song ended, and Twilight and her friends returned to normal, never realizing the change had occurred at all. The only reminder that the song occurred were the inexplicable shadows of Luna and Starlight that did not move with them.

Luna and Starlight looked to their own flanks with some trepidation, not wanting to hope but unable to keep themselves from it.

Starlight jumped around happily until Luna grabbed her in a tight hug as relief flooded them both, wiping away all pretense. Twilight ran over and joined in the hug, overjoyed at the success.

“Rara! You did it!” Applejack said happily as she turned to find her friend sleeping on the keyboard.

“Magic that strong takes a lot out of you.” James calmly said as he looked at her. “She'll be up in a little bit, she just needs to recover from this.”

“We couldn't have done this without you.” Rainbow Dash said as she flew up to James. Something about the whole event made her feel happy, lighter, comfortable in a way she didn't know she could feel.

“Of course, because without me you wouldn't have needed to.” James said with a smile. Even he had felt the peace the song offered without being the one who needed it's magic.

Rainbow Dash and Applejack were confused and irritated by the statement. Even feeling at peace as they did they couldn't let their friend be upset with himself. “Now listen here.” They both said

Starlight and Luna interrupted them as they approached. “That's alright.” Starlight said.

“We forgive you.” Luna offered gently. “You did help set it right after all.”

James quietly nodded to them and said no more on the subject. “I should probably go now. I have a lot of work to catch up on.”

“I'll bet.” Starlight laughed. “And we should invite Asriel to our next game night.”

“Hey, can I tell you something first Sunburst?” Jim asked.

“Uhm, sure.” Sunburst said as he and Jim walked away from the group.

Jim knelt down and whispered to the unicorn stallion. “I have no idea what just happened.”

Author's Note:

He's not the only one having problems.