The Revival of a Heart

by TheMessenger

Twilight's Library

Twilight's Library

All was silent, save for the frantic scratches of a feather quill against a sheet of parchment, like the scurrying of mice fleeing from a owl.

The only source of light was a flickering wax candle that was rapidly melting away. It did little to dispel the shadows and the room's details remained veiled and secret. What could be seen was a hunched figure leaning over the table the candle sat on, surrounded by large tomes. The noisy quill danced across the paper before him. He held the feather between ink-stained fingers.

Ash set the quill down and reviewed his notes by the dying candle light. His mouth moved as he read the words. His brown eyes stared so intensely it was a wonder the parchment did not combust. His concentration was so focused, so drawn and taken, he failed to notice the door creak open or the light footsteps or the shadows moving along the floor.

Even when the child was illuminated by the candle's flame as he approached the table's edge, Ash paid no heed. Instead, the Mage set the parchment back down and continued to scribble. This amused the boy; he wore an unsettling grin that failed to reach his blue eyes. He brushed his blond hair back as he placed his elbows on the table and rested his head in his hands.

"You're going to fail," the boy finally said after some time.

The quill continued its journey back and forth the sheet of paper. Beyond that, Ash did nothing.

The boy's grin widened. "What good are these final preparations? A waste of time, a waste of effort. You are going to fail," he repeated.

The intensity of the scratches seemed to increased.

"And you know it," the boy continued smugly. "This branch of magic was never your strong suit. You're lying to yourself and to your...new friends. Face it..." He leaned close, their heads almost touching. "You will fail."

The quill snapped, leaving a long ink slash across the parchment.

Ash drew in a breath. "What do you want, Ramth?"

The boy continued to wear his sadistic grin.

"I'm trying to keep you realistic, from throwing everything away so pointlessly," he answer. "We're...'friends', after all."

Ash collected his notes into a pile and straightened them out. "You know nothing," the Mage said confidently. "I will succeed."

Young Ramth sighed. "Your success will leave you nothing more than a shell, nothing more than a disembodied conscious doomed to wander the halls of another's mind. Is that truly success?"

"If I don't, Twilight will..."

The boy crossed his arms across his chest. "So you're willing to destroy yourself for another?" He shook his head and chuckled. "What a fool."

A sudden breeze killed what little fire and light the candle had been providing.

"Fool. Yes, you will not fail the Unicorn but you will pay at the cost of your own life..."

Another cruel chuckle echoed through the dark.

"Not that that matters in this world, I suppose..."

Ash stood in the darkness, in the silence.

"Don't count me dead yet," he muttered into the shadows. "A lot can happen in an hour."

*****

"Get off me, you freaks!" the girl snarled as she shrugged against Rainbow Dash and Rarity. Books littered the floor from when Rainbow tackled the Human into a shelf.

"Hold her still," Ash barked. He swept through Twilight's desk, tossing loose papers into the air. "I know I left here it somewhere."

"Sorry 'bout Twilight," Rainbow grunted as she used her entire body to pin down one of her friend's arms. The prisoner shifted her elbow into the Pegasus' stomach. "Ow, okay, maybe not too sorry."

Rarity was having just as much trouble with the girl's other side. Sections of her violet mane stuck out and sweat matted her normally pristine coat.

"Ash," she cried out between clenched teeth, "could you be a dear and hurry up?"

"Give me a sec...here it is!" Ash grabbed the vial with Zecora's sleep potion and held it up.

The Human girl glared furiously at the ponies and the man before her. She shook and struggled against her equine shackles. Her hands were tightly clenched into fists.

"I said...LET GO!"

"Whoa, look out!" Rainbow screamed, diving out of the way.

Ash sniffed. "Does anyone else smell something burning?" He look down. "Ah, it's me."

As he beat the flames off his pants, the girl knocked Rarity aside and got to her fight. Another small fireball rested in her palm as she slowly approached the Mage. The flames danced wickedly around her fingers as she lifted her hand.

"DIE!" she roared, tossing the ball of burning death with all her might at her pants-less adversary. Her laugh of triumph was cut short as the fireball flickered away and died as it left her hand.

The girl recovered from her confusion quickly however and soon her hands were full of flames. She flinched as the burned against her skin but ignored the pain. If this is what it took to deal with these bothersome pests, well, she could handle the pain. She grinned confidently, almost manically.

Ash, however, had not been idle either. He stood tall, with his chest pointed straight towards his foe, like a target. The Mage held his arms out, as if trying to receive a hug. He wore the same insane smile.

With another war cry, the girl charged forward, flames spinning around her wrists.

Dash finally reappeared from under a pile of texts. Her eyes widened as she watched Ash face certain death at the hands of one of her own friends. Rainbow opened her mouth to warn Ash just as the attacker fell onto her face.

The girl rolled onto her back. She tried to leap back up but something had caught hold of her ankle, something cold. She looked down and cursed.

Her foot had been caught in a sheet of ice. She struggled against the frozen trap but it held fast. Remembering the fireballs, she lifted her arm only to feel something pull it back. She turned and cursed again.

Her arm was caught in a similar icy snare. Futilely, she tried the other arm but it too was frozen.

"Damn it," she muttered. Her voice was deep, almost manlike. Rainbow Dash nearly snickered, despite the circumstances. Rarity glared at the her as the Pegasus failed to suppress a small snort.

Ash stood above the girl. She glared defiantly at the Mage.

"When I get out of here, you're dead," she said.

"Twilight, let's not get unpleasant. We don't want to scare Spike and Pinkie anymore than we already have."

"What are you...Spike...Pinkie?"

Ash grabbed the girl's nose and forced the potion down her throat. He watched with grim satisfaction as her throat bobbed up and down as the sedate went down.

With in seconds, the girl's struggles ceased as she closed her eyes and began to snore.

"Well, that's one approach, I suppose," Rarity said with a sniff.

"Not my first choice either." Ash tossed the empty bottle aside.

"You don't think you gave her too much, do you?" Rainbow asked, worried.

"Nah. It'll be fine. She'll probably be a bit drowsy, a bit loopy when she awakes though."

Ash knelt in front of Twilight and shook his head sadly. "You two know it wasn't Twilight fault, right? It's the mind piece fighting for control."

"Course we know that," Rainbow said gruffly. "Twilight not the type to hurt ponies like that, especially not us."

"Yes, we understand Twilight isn't herself right now," Rarity agreed. "Oh, but I hope she will be soon."

Ash nodded to the corner of the library, where a certain pony sat, staring at the wall. Her normally bubbly hair had flattened out like a deflated balloon. Her pink coat was slightly faded.

"Will she alright?"

"Pinkie? Yeah, of course," Rainbow assured. "We just have to keep her away from rocks, turnips, sharp objects, buckets, dolls..."

"We'll take of her," Rarity said, placing a hoof on his shoulder. "You have a job to do, don't you?"

"Oh, right."

Ash turned back to the unconscious girl. Amidst all the excitement he had nearly forgotten his purpose. Kneeling back down, Ash touched his forehead with one hand and with the other he held up the girl's head. She did not stir.

"So what do you need us to do on this side?" Rarity asked.

"Take care of Pinkie first, then just make sure the two of us are still breathing and keep a look out for anything unusual."

"Unusual?" Rainbow scoffed. "You mean besides having two hairless ape monsters try and beat the tar out of each other?"

Ash didn't reply. His arms fell to his sides and his head drooped over. The girl took a sudden deep breath, then continued to breathe normally.

"Is he..." Rainbow began.

Rarity approach the Human. "He's breathing," the Unicorn announced. She took a step forward and placed her ear where she assumed his heart to be. "I think he's alright-wait, something's wrong!"

Ash began to shake violent. Rarity grabbed him by the shoulders, trying to stabilize him. "Rainbow, help!"

Ash opened his mouth and a torrent of brown bile spewed out. When the stream ended, the Human stopped his shaking. Losing his balance, Ash fell on top of a sticky, aghast Rarity. Vile chunks dripped out of her mane.

Under all the abuse, the Unicorn grew redder and redder. An eye was twitching.

"You know," Rainbow ventured, "you don't look half bad."

For the second time since its transfer of ownership, the Olden Oak Library rocketed into the sky, roots and all.

*****

Twilight looked up from her book. A loud retching sound from behind her startled the Unicorn. She turned around.

"Ash," she gasped. Twilight leaped out of seat and ran to the Human. He continued to heave and clutch his stomach but no vomit left his mouth.

"Never'll get use to it," he mumbled.

"Ash, what's going on?" Twilight asked. "Are you alright? Wait, aren't we suppose to be doing something today? Oh, pony feathers! We only have an hour! Quick, what do we need for the spell? Spike, come here quick! Spike! Spike?"

"Twilight," Ash said calmly. "Look at yourself."

"Huh? What are you..." Twilight gasped and squealed. "I'm a Unicorn again! I have my hooves! I have my fur! I have my horn! Oh, my horn, how I've missed you!"

"Twilight..."

"I'm never taking you for granted again. I just don't know how I could live without magic."

"Twilight..."

"I mean, sure, fingers are nice and everything but it's so much easier this way-"

"TWILIGHT!"

The purple Unicorn stopped bouncing. "Huh? What's wrong?"

Ash got to his feet. Twilight looked up at the towering figure. She missed her former height but it was a small loss to what she considered gain.

"It's not over. You're not a Unicorn yet."

Twilight tilted her head in confusion. "What do you mean?" she asked.

"This," the Human explained, patting Twilight's back, "is only an avatar. It's a form of your conscious that you can control."

"Wait, I'm not me?"

"No, you're still you, just not...physically? It's, well..." Ash stumbled as he sought a valid explanation. "It'll take too much time to go into detail. Think of it as a vehicle for your conscious so that you can interact with the rest of your mind."

The ground shook as Twilight scratched her head.

"Wait, so if I'm my conscious...does this make...where are we?"

"I think you know that answer."

Twilight nodded. "That makes this my mind then, right? My subconscious?" She took a look around and frowned. "I thought it'd be a little more, I don't know, impressive?"

Ash followed her gaze and chuckled. Rows and rows of book shelves stared back. Beyond that, it was as if they stepped into an empty, white room.

Well, an empty sterile room that seemed to stretch into infinity.

"I'm sorry you don't find very mind-blowing," Ash said. He approached the shelves. As he walked, snow-white steps sprung from beneath his feet. "What exactly were you expecting?"

"I don't know, something unfamiliar or mind-boggling I guess. A library's wasn't exactly what I had in mind. Not that there's anything wrong with that," the Unicorn quickly added.

"Apparently it was. A library on your mind, I mean." Ash chuckled. "Come on, we don't have a lot of time."

"Alright then, what do we need to do?"

The two had reached one of the large shelves. Both had to crane their necks back to see the top. Ash reached out and removed one of the large books. Twilight Sparkle shivered involuntarily as the text left its proper place.

"Well, we do what anyone does in a library: we search for a book."

"A book?" Twilight questioned. "Will it tell us where that foreign piece of your mind is?"

"Not exactly," Ash said, cracking open the book.

Twilight took a look inside and gasped. The book, like most books, had words. What startled Twilight was how the words literally danced around and across on the pages, swirling into shapes and figures. The Unicorn watched in awe as sentences twisted and turned and sprung out of the paper, wiggling like earthworms out of soil.

They formed a skeletal figure of a pony, then another, larger than the first. As more and more words, letters, and punctuations flew out of the book and into the figures, more details were depicted until Twilight couldn't help but wonder why those two ponies seemed familiar.

How dare you not tell me in person that you were getting married! I'm your sister for pony's sake!

Ash shut the book and set it back on the shelf. The scene disappeared.

"You have a brother?"

Twilight realized her jaw was hanging. She shut it.

"What was that?" she asked. "Where did that come from?" She turned to Ash. "Was that..."

"A memory? Yes, one of its purest forms, at least for you. A person's depiction of memories and thoughts varies on the person. It would appear for you they're symbolized as books," explained Ash. "Wait, so you have a brother?"

"Yeah, his name is Shining Armor...hold on, you mean all my memories are all categorized in these books?"

"Memories, thoughts, emotions, anything of the subconscious can be viewed through these books, yes." He reached for another one.

"Wait," Twilight began, reaching out to grab her companion's arm. "So you can just read my thoughts just like that?"

Suddenly, the room began to shake. The books shuddered and began to rearrange themselves, sliding into different positions, switching places with other texts.

The entire shelf ducked into the ground like a startled mole, only for another one to pop back up. Ash leaned over and watched as the other books and shelves follow a similar pattern.

"Twilight..." he groaned.

"What? What? I didn't do anything!" the Unicorn protested. "What happened?"

"Well, no, not completely intentionally anyways." Ash tried grabbing another book. Like a frightened bird, it shied away, trading places with its neighbors until it was well away from the frustrated Human's hands. He turned back to Twilight.

"I told you, if this is going to work, I need your cooperation and your help."

"What do you mean?" asked Twilight.

"You don't want me to read your mind or anything. This..." Ash gestured to the shifting book shelves. "...is a defensive mechanism, and a damn clever one," he added.

"Oh...um..." Twilight slumped over and dug at the ground. "Sorry."

"Hey, it's fine." Ash knelt down and lifted the Unicorn's chin up. "I know it's an invasion of privacy. You'd be crazy if you didn't have a few things in your heart you'd want to keep to yourself. All I can promise is that I'll try not to pay to much attention to your thoughts. We're here for my memories, not yours. But I need your help. I need you to trust."

Twilight sighed. "Alright." She got to her feet. "I trust you. You're my friend and I can trust my friends."

At Twilight's words, the books stopped shifting and the shelves ceased their shuffling.

Ash stood up. "Thanks."

"So the piece of your mind is in one of these books?" Twilight carefully removed one of them but did not open it, holding it instead at a Human's arm length. "How are we going to know which one?"

"We don't." Ash looked up and held out a hand. Five large tomes fell and were caught by a golden aura, hovering over his outstretched hand. "This is why I needed your conscious with me. There's no way I can get through all of these in an hour-"

"We only have an hour to get through all of these books?" Twilight nearly screamed. "Are you kidding me?"

"Well, we wasted some time...getting you ready so probably fifty or forty minutes now." The hovering books sprung open.

...thought I could handle any test...

I'm Starswirl the Bearded...

...I got...

...pony is crazy...

...so sorry..

Ash waved and the books flew back onto the shelf. "We can do it. Believe me, it'll definitely feel longer," he asserted. "Besides, we don't have to go through all of them, just until we find my mind fragment."

"And how will we know if we find it?"

"You'll know. It's foreign so whatever feels foreign and out of place, well..."

Ash pointed at a series of shelves on the other side. "You'll start there and I'll handle this side. We'll figure out the rest after that."

"Okay then." Twilight set the book she was levitating back. "Um, hypothetically, what would happen if an hour passed and we didn't find whatever's causing all these problems?"

"Twilight, we don't have time for hypothetical situations."

"Right, sorry." The purple Unicorn galloped away.

Ash shook his head as he lifted his arms and emptied almost half the entire shelf. The stream of voices, sounds, and images was almost overwhelming. Amid all the chaos, Ash muttered.

"My body will turn back into a pony and end the spell, leaving my conscious in your mind." He sighed. "At least even then I'll still be able to look and remove whatever's causing all this grief..."

*****

Every so often, Ash would look up at the floating hourglass and watch as a few grains of sand slowly poured down. He would then dismiss the glass and return his attention to the books as they screamed and ejected images at him.

To the Mage, it was nothing more than a mess, a storm of white noise with only a handful of it actually comprehendible. It was fine, however. Ash didn't expect to understand much; they weren't his after all and he wasn't trying to interpret anything today.

...rap Up...

...clock is t...

...let me sleep...

...don't...leave...

"Not here either," Ash muttered, sending the books back. He glanced back to the hourglass. About half of the top glass was empty.

"We're running out of time."

On other hand, Ash had gotten through several rows of shelves already. If Ash had dared to be optimistic, he would have said he and Twilight were making good time, all things considered.

Speaking of Twilight...

Ash looked over toward the side the Unicorn had assigned herself, which was silent. The Human frowned. The lack of audio activity wasn't a sign of worry in itself but Ash couldn't shake off a feeling of dread. The mist that was rolling in was not helping.

"Twilight?" he called. "Twilight, where are you?"

There was no answer. Ash struggled to crush the rising surge of panic. He tried to make out a sign of the Unicorn within the fog, the outline of a pony or a hint of purple against the white background.

"Twilight?"

"I-I'm fine!"

Ash sighed in relief. He could barely make out the the Unicorn's slumped outline and began hurrying to her side. As he almost ran, Twilight's voice echoed passed him.

...are a bunch of jerks...

...don't need...friends...

...magic...is...dead...

At the sound of the Mage's heavy footsteps, Twilight's head jerked up and the book next to her slammed shut.

"Y-yeah?" the Unicorn said, wiping her eyes. They were red.

"Are you alright?" Ash asked. "What happened?"

"It's nothing," Twilight said quickly, turning away. "Nothing at all."

Ash remained unconvinced. He stared at the book Twilight tried to hide behind her. It was black, with a lock and a broken chain. The book reminded Ash of a diary. He reached forward.

"No!" the Unicorn screamed, shoving the Human back. "D-don't read it!"

Ash backed away, startled. "Twilight..."

"I'd never say that about my friends," she cried. "I...they..." Tears began to run anew.

"H-hey...wait don't..."

Twilight couldn't stop. She held her composure for another second before breaking down in earnest, burying her face in Ash's robes.

We don't have time for this... he thought, remembering the hourglass. ...but I can't leave her like this. This was not a good idea...

Ash closed his eyes. He remembered his first time visiting his own subconscious. Without realizing, he rubbed his neck, tracing an invisible, mental scar.

"Twilight, listen to me," he spoke over the Unicorn's sobs. "I don't know what you saw but there's a reason why it was in a sealed book."

Ash leaned against the bookshelf. The hourglass reappeared, as if acting as a warning. He ignored it and the reaper holding the sands.

"Everyone has some secrets in their hearts," he continued. "Secrets they keep from friends and family...and themselves." Ash picked up the black covered book. "Especially from themselves. There's not much you can do about that but that's okay."

"Okay?" Twilight lifted her head and glared at the Human. "How can you say that? How can I be okay that...that's-"

She pointed to the book.

"-is inside me, in my mind? How can I face my friends when I know that's how I feel about them?"

"How do you feel about them?"

"I...I don't want to-"

Ash shook his head. "No, not what the book said you thought. How do you feel about your friends?"

"I..."

Real friends don't care what your cover is

"I never thought I'd ever care for friends. I was always so busy with my studies..."

Friendship is a wondrous and powerful thing

"...but ever since I arrived to Ponyville, I haven't been able to get them out of my head, out of my thoughts, out of my heart..."

Everypony has a special magical connection with her friends...maybe even before she's met them

"...it hasn't always been easy..."

...friendship isn't always easy. But there's no doubt it's worth fighting for

"...but because of them, I could carry on..."

Big adventure...

"Rainbow Dash..."

Tons of fun...

"Pinkie Pie..."

A beautiful heart...Faithful and strong...

"Rarity...Applejack..."

Sharing kindness...

"Fluttershy..."

At each name, Twilight's voice grew stronger.

"I love every one of them so, so much. I'd do anything for them and I know they'd do anything for me as well. Even...even if o-one day I have to leave Ponyville...even if something happens and I can't come back...even if..."

...until you shared its magic with me...

"...we'll be together!" Twilight nearly screamed. She lifted her head, her eyes shining with dauntless conviction. "We're friends and we'll be friends until the very end. Whether together in Ponyville or in my heart, they won't leave me!"

Ash nodded. "Now tell me, what feels more real? What you just said..."

He laid a finger on the purple Unicorn's chest, where he assumed her heart was. It wasn't entirely accurate but she understood.

"...or what that book told you?" Ash finished.

"That had better be a rhetorical question," Twilight said with a scowl.

"Really? Twilight Sparkle's going to contradict the authority of a book?" Ash said in mock surprise.

Twilight returned the grin. "I'd say I'm a better authority on friendship than some dusty old tome."

"Agreed." Ash wrapped the book with the rust chain and held it out for Twilight. Her horn lit and a resounding click was heard as the lock was re-secured.

"Sometimes a mind can hold contradicting thoughts," Ash explained as he re-shelved the book. "It's one of the many mysteries of the mind. The one that is our true thought is the one we choose to act on...after all, what is a thought without an action?"

"I guess that makes sense...look out!"

Ash fell to his knees, clutching his head. Something fell on his head. Through his tears, he could make out another heavy book.

"I'm so sorry," Twilight apologized. "I have no idea how that happened."

"It's fine. I'm fine," assured Ash, slowly getting up. Still, it was odd that it just fell like that.

Ash pick it up. "You want this one or should I?"

"Um, do you think we could go through this one...together?"

"Of course." Ash opened the book and braced himself for the wave.

With Twilight by his side, it wasn't as overwhelming as the other times. Ash caught himself cooing several times as the images lasted long enough for him to examine.

"S-stop that. It's embarrassing!"

"But you're so cute as a baby...wait, wha-"

The putrid smell of smoke mixed with the disgusting aroma of charred flesh...an overpowering burning flood of heat...the tormented screams of souls slowly boiled and roasted...the urge to abandon hope...and a sickening pull within his stomach followed by sudden exhaustion and peace...

"We found it. Twilight, we did it! We found-"

Ash turned, expecting to find the Unicorn bouncing and bubbling with excitement.

There was no sign of Twilight. Instead, the book had transformed into a dark swirling pool. On the other side was a crumbling stone bridge leading to a dark, foreboding cathedral. On the bridge, heading in the direction of the cathedral was...

"Twilight!" Ash screamed. The Unicorn did not hear, continuing her path across the bridge.

"I hate mind magic," the Mage muttered before leaping into the murky portal.

Another grain of sand fell to the bottom.

Comments

[Azarias]

Ooh...

[BornEquestrian]

seems like we are reaching a climax of sorts

A few possible corrections:

"I know I left here somewhere."

should be "I know I left it here somewhere."

"Will this tell us where that foreign piece of your mind."

Shouldn't "is" be at the end of that and there be a question mark instead of a period? Such as: "Will this tell us where that foreign piece of your mind is?"

You'd be crazy if didn't have a few things in your heart you'd want to keep to yourself.

should have a "you" after the if "You'd be crazy if you didn't have a few things in your heart you'd want to keep to yourself."

[TheMessenger]

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