The Revival of a Heart

by TheMessenger

Our Little Resolution

Our Resolution

Ash's eyes fell to the ground. His head drooped heavily. He was silent.

Fluttershy took a step back. "No..." The Pegasus shook her head. "No..."

"A-are yah..." Applejack gulped. "Yah...yah not sayin'...yah can't..."

Ever so slightly, Ash nodded.

"You're kidding me!" Rainbow Dash tackled the Unicorn. "Tell me you're just joking! Well you got us, jokes over, ha ha." When Ash refused to answer, Rainbow grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him. "This isn't funny!"

"Rainbow!" Twilight exclaimed. "You'll hurt him."

"What about you?" the Pegasus asked with a snarl. "You heard what he said, what could happen. And you know what he told me last night?" Rainbow glared at the grey Unicorn laying on the ground, not bothering to move. "He told me not to worry, that everything will be fine. And you know what he did last night? Nothing! Absolutely nothing! He just sat in front of you like a creep. Isn't that right, Spike?"

"Well, I didn't want to say anything but, well, kinda..."

" He didn't do anything to help, anything at all!" Her voice grew louder, more shrill, and she shook Ash more violently. "You useless, no good...why, I...I ought to...ought to..."

"Rainbow Dash, please calm down," Rarity said as she helped Twilight pull the Pegasus away from Ash. She turned to the grey Unicorn. Still he laid. "There must be something we can do. Please, tell us, what can we do?"

Ash was silent.

With a roar, Rainbow Dash broke free and crash into him. Wrapping her hooves around his neck, she shouted, "Answer her! Answer us! Why. Won't. You. Help? After all we've done for you...you should have just died in your own world!"

Not even Applejack with all her strength could separate Rainbow Dash from Ash. "Rainbow, what are yah sayin'?"

"If he never came here, if he just stayed from whatever forsaken world he was from, Twilight would...would..."

Rainbow broke down. Her tears fell as her hooves fell from Ash's neck. "Tw...Twi..."

"I'm right here, Rainbow." The Unicorn-turned-Human, wrapped her arms around the blue Pegasus and embraced her. For a moment, Rainbow Dash struggled, then gave it and returned the hug.

"Rainbow, I'm still fine. I'm still here."

"But...bu..."

"We'll find a way. And even if we...I'm glad I met you. I'm glad I met all of you."

Twilight released Rainbow and looked into her eyes. Twilight's were indeed browner but Rainbow could still see through them that Twilight was still there, that she was still the pony she became friends with. Was still friends with.

The tender moment was broken as gentle snoring drew everypony's attention to stallion laying on the ground before them.

"Um, is he..." Fluttershy began.

"Of course I can fix it," Ash sudden said, snapping awake. "What do you think I spent all night doing..." The grey Unicorn began to feel a bit self-conscious as he notice how everypony in the room regarded him with confused, worried looks. "...is something wrong?"

Pinkie Pie fell to the floor, giggling. "He...he fell asleep in his own lecture!"

Twilight's laughter joined Pinkie. Soon, everypony was laughing and the library echoed with the sound of mirth. Even Ash cracked a smile, albeit somewhat embarrassed and a little bit confused. The mood before had been forgotten.

"Guess I did kind of black out. Sorry about that." Ash stifled a yawn. "Anyways, back on topic..."

"So you can fix this, right?" Rainbow Dash asked hesitantly.

"Yes, I have a solution. I don't like it but it'll work."

"Wha' do yah mean, yah don' like it?" Applejack questioned.

"It's a complicated process. I'll be using a spell similar to the one Twilight experimented with, one that allows you to project your conscious into the mind of another. Once there, I'll find the piece of my mind Twilight took with her, remove it, and if everything goes according to plan, we'll have the purple Unicorn we all know and love by tomorrow."

"That doesn't sound too complicated," exclaimed Rainbow.

"But it does sound rather risky," Rarity noted. "If the spell is similar to the one Twilight used, aren't there similar dangers? Couldn't you possibly take part of Twilight's mind with you after you get rid of your part in hers?"

"All magic has its risks. The trick is knowing what they are and being able to minimize them," Ash explained. "While it's not my expertise, I know this type of magic to a competent degree. I know how to performing it, I know how the possible dangers, and I know how to avoid them. I even took the uniqueness of our situation and did a quick diagnostic probe of Twilight's mind so I'd have a sort of idea of what I'd before facing." He gestured to the board. "The other side has a basic outline of her subconscious, if anyone's interested."

Everypony turned to the mess next to the equation. Suddenly, the complex formula of the oneirological monitorization/astro-self interjection spell looked like a schoolfoal's math homework, at least as understandable.

Rainbow Dash tilted her head to one side, then the next. "Uh, what am I looking at?"

"Ooh, ooh, I know!" Pinkie Pie leaped up in excitement. "They're lollipops! Yeah, lollipops! No wait, balloons! Twilight must want a party! With lollipops with lots of sticks sticking out of them and more lollipops on those. A multi-pop! I totally know what to do for your birthday. This is so much better than my other idea! I mean, who'd want a boring old book anyways?"

All eyes turned to Twilight. "...lollipops...they're okay, I guess," she mumbled.

"Sorry Pinkie but it's not that simple," Ash said. "And I'm not going to bother explaining how to understand the outline. It'll be almost easier to teach all of you how to read someone's mind."

"But you can read it, right?" Twilight asked.

"Eh, reading isn't exactly the right term. Feel or sense its meaning, know what it's conveying, yes, I can do that." Ash's brow furrowed as he added, "Curiously, and real convenient too, the basic layout isn't much different from a Human's mind. Whether this is a result of Twilight's transformation or simply that our minds are similar, I don't know."

"What about this section?" Twilight pointed to the erased part she had noted last night. "Will you still be able to perform the spell without this part missing?"

"What part's missing?"

"This part," Twilight said, jabbing at the area with her index finger. "It's all erased and vandalized. Rainbow, why would you do this?"

"I didn't do that," the Pegasus responded, confused.

"Well, somepony erased this section and wrote RD equals awesome."

"That's actually part of the map," Ash interrupted. "I don't know what I wrote but that's what was there. And it's all erased because because I thought it was a nice touch. You know, like mist. That part was actually the deepest my mental probe got without actually subjecting my conscious into your mind. Hence, the metaphorical fog and confusing, cryptic symbols that even I didn't understand. It seems a bit longer than I remember." The grey Unicorn shrugged. "Whatever, don't really need it now."

Rainbow, despite herself, snickered as Twilight blushed. "Nice to know I'm awesome even in your mind."

"I believe we are getting off topic," Rarity said, noting Twilight's discomfort. "Ash, you mentioned that you don't like your solution yet from what you've said, you seem rather confident that it will succeed. What is the issue?"

"First off, the spell makes me nauseous and and takes a lot of energy. I fainted after just probing the surface of Twilight's subconscious. If everything goes down smoothly and I get my piece out of Twilight, I'll probably be out for the rest of the day.

"Second, even with a basic map of Twilight's mind, I could still easily get lost. It's only a basic outline and that's all I can get without exposing her and myself to more risks. And even though I said the layout is similar to mine or another Human, it's still unique. Every mind is different. To lower the risk of getting lost, I'm keeping Twilight at least partially conscious to guide me through, but that adds a few other complications.

"Oh, and because I'm pretty sure I can only do this while I'm Human, we only have a couple of hours to find the foreign part in the entirety of Twilight's mind before I lose control of the spell and my conscious becomes a permanent part of Twilight's mind. And if we're not carefully, this little trip could easily drive both her and I insane. Seeing your own inner mental self does that. So yeah, I'm not a big fan about using this spell."

"But yah've done this before," Applejack questioned. "Right?"

"I've done it enough to know it's not my best area of magic." Ash sighed. It was times like these when he wish he could exchange his abilities for Sid's. The older boy was a master at mental magic. It was impossible to hide any thoughts, any secrets, anything from him. Ash's eyes grew misty as he remembered how the other Archmage apprentice temporarily deleted his knowledge of proper washroom use after Ash had set his pants aflame...

The Unicorn shook his head. No, his abilities would be adequate. There was no reason for envy. Never mind the last time he interjected his conscious into another's mind, the host woke up and killed himself in order to trap the Mage within his mind and prevent the revealing of a certain secret. There was no reason to worry. None at all...

"Well, is there anything we can do to help?" Twilight asked eagerly. Even in the face of danger, Twilight's appetite for learning could not be satisfied. Here was a different kind of magic, one that she didn't truly understand. If she had anything to say about, it wouldn't last that way. "You said you needed me to guide you. What do I have to do to prepare?"

"Just stay asleep while the process is taking place. Things'll get tricky if you wake up."

Twilight frowned, confused. "I thought you said you wanted me conscious."

"I don't want you conscious, I want your conscious."

"...what?"

"It's too hard to explain. You'll know when we get there, okay?"

"What 'bout tha rest of us?" Applejack asked. "How can we help?"

"I need someone watching over my body while I'm out. You know, keep me from choking on my own vomit, that kind of deal. And if things take a turn for the worst, someone needs to wake Twilight."

"Wait, I thought you said I need to stay asleep."

"You do. If you wake up, you could potential trap my conscious inside your mind. I'd like to avoid that if all possible but if things do get hairy..."

"How are we suppose to know when things go bad?" asked Rainbow Dash.

"When Twilight starts freaking you out, then something got royally screwed. Other than that, there's nothing else to be done. Oh, I do need a sedation. Something like that'll definitely help."

The entire room was dead silent. Each pony was left with her own personal thoughts. A storm of conflicting feelings was almost tangible. There was hope, a light at the end of the tunnel but what was at the end? Was there really any hope, any real chance?

Perhaps performing magic that dealt with the mind and conscious had left Ash with a higher sense of awareness as he noticed how quiet everypony had become and had guessed the reason why. "I know this is a lot to take in and I know it doesn't sound like a plan made for success. It's not foolproof, I'll admit, but it's not that bad." The Unicorn smiled, trying desperately to dispel the sense of despair in the room. "Everything will be fine, I...promise."

"If you say so..." Rainbow said, her normal confidence lacking.

"Ah trust yah." Applejack squeezed Ash's shoulder gently. "Ah know yah know what yah doin' and an' if yah say we've got nuthin tah worry..." The farmpony gave the Mage a playful shove. "Well, Ah'll believe yah."

One by one, the others nodded and voiced their support.

"We're behind you a hundred percent all the way," Rarity exclaimed, her eyes as determined as diamonds are hard.

"If you need me...I mean, if I can help..." Fluttershy took a breath. "I'm here for anything you need."

"I know you'll do great," Pinkie Pie said. "You're like the smartest Human-turned-pony I've ever met. 'Course, you're the only Human-turned-pony I've ever met. But I bet if I ever met another Human-pony, he wouldn't be half as smart as you are. You know what this calls for?"

Ash hazard a guess. "A party?"

Pinkie giggled. "No silly. This calls for party preparations! Then we can have a party!"

Rainbow Dash approached hesitantly. "Hey, I...you're a decent guy. I should have never doubted you." She extended a hoof. "We cool?"

"You don't have to sound so apologetic," Ash said, a little puzzled. He took the blue hoof in his own and shook it. His confusion grew as a grin spread across Rainbow's face and she soon began to shake.

"Heh, yeah, you're a pretty nice dude but you've got some things to know about being cool," the Pegasus said as she laughed. She slipped her hoof out of his and punched him in the shoulder jokingly.

Next was Spike. For a majority of the time, the young dragon was uncharacteristically silent. Now, he cleared his throat and opened his mouth. "I...you...uh...please?" Beneath his green scales, he turned a visible bright red as he stumbled and tripped over his words.

Ash nodded sternly. That was all the assurance Spike needed. It was a simple gesture but between the two males, it became a solemn oath.

Twilight was last. She knelt down so that she was eye level with the grey Unicorn. She moved closer and hugged him.

"Afraid?" Ash asked, his face and neck growing hot.

"Not really. You're in charge of all this. I know I'll be fine." She released the Unicorn and turned to the rest of her friends. With her arms opened, she invited them forward.

It was while Ash found himself in the middle of a massive group hug that the gravity of what he had said, what he had promised, finally hit him. He held all their hopes in his hands. All they could do was have faith and trust him. If he failed...

No, failure was not an option. He could not afford to fail and he wouldn't, this he swore on his soul.

He tried not to remember the last mission he couldn't fail.

“It would have been best if you had died by a single cut, my friend...”