The Deal
Ah, the grand city of Canterlot. It was wonderful, built by skilled hoofs, with architecture only achievable when all three tribes of ponies collaborate. Built shortly after the unification of all the pony tribes, it is the ultimate monument to what total harmony can achieve. Of course, just because the city was built as a result of harmony, doesn't exactly mean that the residents of the city gather in droves and sing Kumbia. In fact, it was quite the opposite. With so many ponies and cultures all crammed in to a single place, one would suspect it would cause some... disturbances. Be it from heated talks, to drunken bar fight, there will always be conflict between those who are different from each other. Yet, none of those could ever mach the comedy of a good old family argument.
"But mom!" A lavender unicorn filly whined, "I'm a big girl now! I can do this!"
Twilight Velvet sighed as she packed her tools in to her bag, preparing for a trip down to a pony temple.
"Twilight, you may be a big girl, but this is still dangerous. I don't want you get hurt," But the little filly wouldn't be deterred. She sat down, looked up to her mother, and gave her the biggest, cutest set of puppy eyes she had in her arsenal. Velvet was on the verge on cracking under the weight of such a deadly weapon, but it was the voice of her husband that dealt the killing blow.
"Why not Velvet?" Night Light said, as he walked in to the room, bags already packed, "This isn't like a zebra temple. From what we saw last week, its just an early version of an earth pony temple," Twilight knew she had won.
She looked back to her mother, "See? Please let me go! I've been super good!"
Velvet accepted her defeat, and said, "Fine, but never go in the temple without one of us! Or touch anything! Or..." She than began to rattle off rules of what to do, but the little lavender filly wasn't listening. Twilight Sparkle was daydreaming, thinking of what she would find in the temple. Maybe an ancient artifact once thought long since lost. Or a cure to any sickness! Oh, there were so many possibilities, and she had to write it all down. While only being eight years of age, she was more organized than most adult ponies could ever dream of. Twilight wrote almost everything down, and organized it all by a system she had some how mesmerized. When ever she tried to explain it to one of her teachers, who questioned her seemingly disorganized method, they always left the conversation with a headache.
"Are you even listening?" Her mothers voice brought her back to reality.
"Um.." Twilight looked at the floor, a little embarrassed that she lost focus so easily, "Yes?" Velvet just rolled her eyes and smiled. The antics of foals were always amusing.
"Just remember, never open a door, or go anywhere, without one of us. Understand?" The filly mimicked a salute that her brother seemed to do ever since their father had taken him down to the barracks to watch the Royal guard train.
"Got it mom!" With that, she scurried upstairs to her room, to ready herself for the trip.
Velvet looked back to her husband, and said, "I've never broke that quickly before. Am I loosing my edge?" She Leaned against Night Light, who put a hoof over shoulder.
"Not at all Velvet," the unicorn replied, "It just shows how much you care about her,"
Velvet glared at her husband, "It also doesn't help that you turn traitor so easily," Night light smiled nervously.
"Hey, I never said I was perfect either," He was saved from the wrath of his wife when Twilight entered room, barely standing up under the weight of all the things she packed. Velvet gave her husband a look that said 'this isn't over', and went over to help her daughter.
"Come on. It's about time we left," Velvet said as she took some unnecessary items off of Twilight, "I already wrote Shining Armour the note of where we've gone for once he gets back from the guard barracks,"
(=¥=)
They walked along a beaten down forest path. It was beautiful this time of year, where snow covered everything, and all the animals were either sleeping, or hiding somewhere warm. The orange light produced by the setting sun danced across the snow, making it glitter. Twilight was amazed by it. She hastily scribbled down her observations, writing every single detail. From different species of trees to tracks in the snow, none escaped her sight. Night Light chuckled as he watched her collect data. He loved her to death, but by Celestia was she a strange little filly. She reminded him of himself when he was young. He had case of wanderlust. Night Light wanted nothing more than to just explore the world, more specifically, ancient ruins. History had always interested, and he loved connecting ancient designs to modern day contraptions. It was his wanderlust that led him to become a respected archeologist, and Royal Excavator. That was how he met Twilight Velvet.
Night Light had been charged with figuring out how to get into a particularly stubborn Minoan labyrinth, when he had met with Velvet. She was the one in charge of the site, and had requested his help. It was love at first sight. After they cracked open the labyrinth, at the center of which was ancient sword of gold, they worked together on every project after that. After a couple years they got married, and before they knew it, they had two foals. While Night Light smiled at the memories, they trotted in to the clearing which contained the temple. Twilight’s jaw dropped, along with her quill and notepad. It was a thing to behold, four huge towers stretched to the sky on the four corners. The temple was in the form of a pyramid, with four corners from which the towers sprouted. A grand gateway acted as the entrance to the huge building. Getting over her shock, Twilight immediately gathered up her notes, and began furiously writing. Velvet guided her over the camp site.
"Alright Twilight. Set your stuff down by the tent, and I'll take you inside while your father sets everything up for the night,"
"Okay! Oh, I can't wait!" With surprising speed, the filly raced over to the unpacked text, dumped her stuff, and zipped back to her mother. Velvet smiled as she began to walk toward the temple. It was certainly one of the more grand buildings she'd been in. Ancient carvings lines the walls, dust and darkness shrouding them from sight. It was unnaturally dark in the temple, and Velvet quickly lit a torch. Long winding hallways went in every direction, even down. Twilight was once again taking notes, her heart felt like it was going to burst with excitement! Here she was, exploring her first temple. Her mother led her down the hallways, checking them before letting her daughter cross, and this pattern continued for quite some time. Nothing much of interest in the hallways but more of those strange carvings and cobwebs, but the towers were different.
They had old ballista shots and cannon balls in them, and the users of such ammo had either rusted beyond recognition, or had rotted away. That sent off alarm bells in Velvets head. This place didn't look like a fort, nor did it have nearly enough ammunition to defend itself if it was. Her guess? That this was either a old research station set up near enemy territory, or more likely, a prison. A prison of a few, or single being. That theory alone making her nervous about going deeper in to the temple, she began to use more advanced detection spells. She prayed to Celestia that this was just a small POW camp, and not some kind of maximum security prison. With everything else checked, it only left the downwards hallway. Twilight was running out of paper, but thought she could make-do with what she had left. When they reached the bottom, there was an enormous door.
Carvings covered it, and it seemed to made out of metal. As she was scanning it for curses, Velvet felt some thing pulse from it. It was faint, but with her unicorn acting as both a receiver and exporter of magical currents, she felt the vibration it sent. Normally, only heavily enchanted object and ponies created that kind of pulse, because the concentrated magic would distort the reality around it. Yet this plain door had some how had enough magic in it to create a pulse. Wait a minute... Velvet held a torch closer to the door, and finally saw the carvings clearly. With a start, she realized it was a warded door. That the strange carvings were actually runes. She shivered, and realized her earlier theory was right. Something was being kept here, and it was just beyond the door. Quickly, she picked up Twilight with her magic, much to the little unicorn's dismay.
"Mom! I didn't finish my notes!" She said as she struggled against her mothers aura.
Velvet ignored as she quickly exited the temple, and made her way back to the camp. Night Light was setting up a fire, when he saw his distressed wife.
"Vel? What's wrong?" He trotted up to her, and looked at her with concern. Velvet put Twilight down on the ground.
"Twilight, go to your tent. Your father and I need to talk," The little filly grumbled while she walked towards her tent.
"What is it Velvet?" Night Light asked, after he watched Twilight enter her tent.
Velvet drew in a breath, "There were wards, Nighty. HUNDREDS of wards. I'm worried," Velvet sighed, and Night finished for her.
"Your worried that they're keeping something in there?"
Velvet nodded her head, "Something dangerous. The door alone had enough wards to create its own pulse of magic" Night Light mulled this over in his mind as they walked toward their own tent.
"We'll contact Celestia tomorrow. Right now, let's get some sleep," With that, the couple laid down on their sleeping bags and went to sleep.
(=¥=)
Twilight couldn't sleep. She tossed and turned, but could not find a way to sleep. And it was all because she didn't finish her notes. So close! She almost to finished the description of the door when her mom had interrupted. Well, both her parents were asleep now, she could hear their snoring from here. Twilight could go in there now, and finish her notes. But her mother had said... No! Her mother had explored and scanned the temple earlier, and found no traps. She could do this! With her mind made up, the filly gathered her notes, soundlessly made her way out of the tent and towards the temple. Twilight entered, and quickly went down the hallway toward the door. When she got there, she illuminated her horn, allowing to see it. She began to write the rest of her notes, and then felt something strange. A felt like a wave of warm water splashed against her horn.
And it came from the door.
She set her notes down, and looked at the door curiously looked at it. It happens again. It sent out that pulse. Twilight put her hold on her chin as she thought. It couldn't be coming from the door. Doors don't do that, even the ones in the castle didn't send out pulses. So, it had to be something behind the door! Her heart once again thumped with excitement at the prospect of it. Her parents and Shiny would be so proud of her to discover an artifact all by herself! So, with confidence, she pushed on the door.....
But it wouldn't budge. She frowned at it, before an idea came to mind. Her father had recently began teaching her how to teleport, and she has been preforming great! So, she could just teleport through the door. Twilight began channeling her magic into the teleport, and then unleashed the spell. It was like moving through molasses, she was moving so slow. Her body was halfway through the door, Eager that this was working, she waited for her to go all the way through. Nothing happening, she began to panic. Twilight couldn't draw breath, and still, she didn't move. She began to channel more and more magic in to the spell. There was a flash, and then the lavender filly unceremoniously landed on her face. But she had landed on her face, on the other side of the door. As she picked herself up off the ground, she celebrated. She had done it! Twilight then fell back down. The magic wouldn't stop flowing! She tried to stop it, but it just kept coming. Her horn sparked, and she was beginning to get tired. Black started to make itself known in her vision, before a faint golden light drove it away. Then she felt something gently pinch her horn, and the magic flow stopped. As she started to recover, she looked up to see who had helped her. She saw a giant, golden, transparent creature.
It spoke.
"Hello, little one. Could you please tell me how you managed to teleport through sixty wards?"
(=¥=)
"Seriously, Nighty! Pee before bed!" A disgruntled Velvet murmured to her husband who was stepping out of the tent.
"Sorry!" He whispered, before galloping to the forest to heed the call of nature. As soon he was finished, he went to check and see if Twilight had fallen asleep. That filly could read until dawn. As he wandered in to the campsite, he saw that her tent zip was undone. His eyes widened, and he dashed to the tent. It was empty. "VELVET!"
(=¥=)
Twilight just stared at the apparition. It was giant, impossible so. It could even dwarf Princess Celestia, and it was completely armored. Even its face was obscured by ordinate helmet. All its armor was smooth, and it wore some sort of cloak over it all. It was semi-transparent, and she could almost see right through it. It was also extremely warm, and Twilight could feel its warmth from where she lay
"It's rude to stare you know," the being said with a chuckle. Twilight shook her head, bring her back to her senses.
"I-I just teleported" she managed to say, still marveling at the spirit.
"Oh? Teleported through sixty, ancient, sealing wards? Just like that?" The spirit paused, and then asked, "How old are you?"
"I'm ei-eight, sir" At least she remembered to use her manners this time. Twilight looked around the room. It was big, and empty, except for the giant, multilevel dais. It had a large stone in the middle.
"Just eight? Impressive, you have great power, miss...”
"Twilight. Twilight Sparkle," She answered. The effect of the magic drain was wearing off, and she began to speak clearly again.
"Twilight. That's a nice name," the spirit looked at her, as though he was studying her, analyzing every detail. Twilight shivered. It's eyes had no pupils, just golden light came from the holes in his helmet. Then, she decided it was her turn to ask questions.
"If you don't mind me asking, what's your name?" The spectral being once again chuckled. Twilight liked the sound of it. It was a nice, warm laugh.
"I have gone by many names in my time of existing. However, the latest title that I have obtained is The Spirit of Knowledge. Many have come to me seeking advice and tutelage. That of course, was before I was imprisoned here,"
At that, Twilight raised an eyebrow, which was quite cute when a foal did it. Imprisoned? She guessed that's why there were so many wards on the door. She then thought about what he could have possibly done to warrant such security. Idiot! She thought, your still in the same room with it! Get out! But her curiosity won out.
"What did you do?" The Spirit seemed to deflate at the question. Twilight could almost taste the misery coming from it. The Spirit tapped his fingers together for a little bit, thinking carefully of how to respond.
"Have you ever done something bad, and so you were punished?" Twilight nodded slightly cringing at the memory of when she accidental turned all of her fathers fish into gummy fish while practicing a spell. She didn't have access to books for a week! "I did some.... Really bad things. I was not myself for quite a long time. It took some my closest and most powerful friends to bring me down. Of course, those friends haven't talked to me ever since," it sighed, "I've been alone with my thoughts for a very long time. I brought myself from the brink of eternal insanity. But I still have to serve my punishment," The Spirit sat down and looked at the lavender filly. "You are the first in fifty thousand years to talk to me,"
(=¥=)
"What do you mean she's not here?" Velvet frantically scrambled to get some gear before shearing out of the tent.
"She's not here! I did a life scan of the entire area!" Night Light panted. He had run around the edge of the entire clearing scanning.
"Well, is she's not in the forest, where else could she have go-," Velvet paused, as she remembered something her daughter said. "Mom! I didn't finish my notes!" She looked to the temple. "The door! She's at the door!"
With that, the pair began to gallop to the temple.
(=¥=)
Twilight felt bad for the creature. Fifty thousand years of isolation, she thought. It was a wonder it hadn't gone insane. She moved a little closer to The Spirit, and put a tiny hoof on it's leg. "I think your punishment is over." The Spirit looked at her, no doubt with surprise.
"You don't even know what I've done, yet you believe I've earned my freedom?" The glowing being asked, sounding confused.
"Well, yeah. My mom says punishments are a way to learn a lesson, and to make you understand why what you did was wrong. While I may not know what you've done, it doesn't matter," Twilight looked the Spirit right in the eyes, and it could see a spark in them, "You obviously regret it. That's the point. You've understood where you went wrong, and now you understand why it was wrong. You've learned from your mistakes, and now, you get another chance! A chance to make amends" The lavender filly took a deep breath after her speech. The Spirit was stunned. Never in it's long, LONG, existence, it had never had a child speak with such convection. The innocence of children was a wonderful thing, but it also left them ignorant of the real world. He couldn't just leave, for there was a second part to his punishment. This was to make sure even if he broke past all of the wards his captors placed, he couldn't wander around himself, or have his full power. The Spirit sighed.
"While I appreciate you kind words, little one, I cannot leave. I require a willing host in order to leave and take my power with me, and I doubt an adult with your kind of power will ever enter this prison. Unless that happens, most of my power will remain trapped in that stone. Now, your parents are most likely worried sick about you, you should go. It was wonderful talking to you, goodbye,”
With that, the Spirit began to slowly walk over to the dais. Twilight was crestfallen. Even with her speech, the Spirit of Knowledge could not leave, for it needed a willing host. The kindness of another being. Then, a thought crossed her mind. What if SHE was it's host. It said she had great power, and she didn't know how to control that power. Her spell practice sessions were all the proof she needed to prove that. But it was a spirit of knowledge! It could teach her things her instructors couldn't possibly teach her. In turn, she could let it experience the outside world for himself. The only problem in this relationship was her parents and brother might not be to inclined to have some sort of knowledge spirit in her head. Eh, she'd cross that bridge when it came to it. She ran up to him on the dais.
"Wait!" Twilight cried. The Spirit stopped and turned around.
"Yes, young Twilight?" It said, curious as to what the filly had to say now.
"What if I was your host?"
(=¥=)
They stopped at the door.
"Where is she? Her notes are here, she wouldn't go anywhere without them,"
Night Light continue to scan for life in the temple, but with no result. Velvet was going berserk, zooming around the temple in search for her daughter.
"She isn't anywhere else. She has to be past the door," she panted, walking up to her husband.
"Impossible. There's enough wards on that door to deter a dragon,"
Night light dismissed.
"You've seen her power! I wouldn't be surprised if she teleported through the door without even applying her full power,"
Velvet than began to look for a way to open the door.
(=¥=)
"What?" Was all the Spirit managed to say in her stunned state. This FOAL had just asked to become It's host. Why? Why did she show such compassion to someone she just met?
"I want to be your host! Think about it! You could teach me things nopony could! You could help me control my power, and in turn, I would be your willing host,"
The filly brought up a good point. It could teach her how to control her power, and in return, she would let hit finally experience the outside world, but this was only just a child. It had never tried this before.
"Are you sure? Do you even know what your asking? I'd be in your mind, your thoughts. Is this what you want?" Twilight nodded and smiled at the Spirit.
"I trust you. I trust you wouldn't go through anything private, or manipulate my thoughts. I trust you, because I want, no, need help. I trust you because I believe you’re a kind soul, no matter what you think yourself to be," Once again, the convection and confidence of which this filly spoke with was amazing. And convincing. It did not deny the thought of finally being free was tantalizing.
"Maybe. Yes, this could work. But once again, before you shake my hand, are you sure this is what you want?"
Twilight flashed it a smile with so much confidence, it could taste it. "Yes. I'm sure of it!"
(=¥=)
"Velvet, shooting the door won't help! We need Celestia!"
Night desperately tried to calm his wife, who was firing magic bolts at the door.
"I'm making cracks! If you help me, these next few blasts will break it down!"
He sighed, and then joined his wife.
"If these next few shots don't knock it out, I'm getting Celestia,"
He took a stance, and channels his power, released a powerful shot of magic, at the same time as his wife. The door began to buckle. After a few more shots, the ancient door finally gave way. Pieces went everywhere, yet even as the smoke was still settling, Velvet charged through the crumbling door frame.
Just in time to see her daughter shaking the huge hand of a giant glowing, armored apparition.
"Twilight! No!" But it was to late. The deal was made. The couple were thrown back by a shock wave of magic that burst out from a stone behind the the creature. Bright golden streams of lights were now swirling around her daughter, and whatever fiend that creature was. She heard a sharp cracking sound, and saw several pieces of the temple ceiling fall to the ground.
"Velvet, the temple is collapsing! We have to go!" Her husband began to drag her away from the rising dais.
"No! Not without Twilight!"
"It's to late Velvet. That thing got to her before we did," tears began forming as he reached the hallway leading out of the crumbling structure. If they survived, he swore he would avenge his lost daughter. He would die, if it meant that the demon would be destroyed.
Meanwhile, in the middle of the swirling storm of magic, Twilight was holding on for dear life. The dais was shaking, and the winds generated by the storm did not help.
"What's going on?! Why is the happening?!" The Spirit knelt down, grabbed the filly with one hand, pressed her against it's chest, and gripped the side of the dais in the other.
"We are joining, little Twilight!" It sounded ecstatic, "All my magic that was in the stone is now realesed. Now all that magic, and the feast of my power, is being fed into you!" Incredible! It seemed that children more easily absorbed magic than adults. This is most peculiar, and the Spirits best guess was that it was because the little unicorn was still developing, and so the body naturally soaked in more magic for the filly to use to protect herself with. She was acting like a power container, and when threatened, she could unleash all that power.
"How much longer does this last!" Twilight cries from her place on the Spirits hand.
"It will soon be over. Trust me," the little filly was scared. There were so many loud noises, and bright lights. Her instincts told her to run, to get away from it all. But she came to her senses, and huddled deeper in to the Spirits chest. Though transparent, it was solid, and very warm. If not for the magic maelstrom raging around her, she would have slept against the giant body of warmth. There was a sudden flash of light, and Twilight saw one of the tendrils of golden magic had attached itself to her barrel. She began to scream and panic as more tendrils began to follow suite. The Spirit tried desperately to calm her down, and remain balanced at the same time. "They will do no harm to you, they are simply transferring power to you. Just listen to my voice," Twilight looked at the golden orbs that were the Spirits eyes, and saw they were full of concern for her. She took a deep breath, and once again looked at the tendrils. She had to admit, she didn't feel anything. It was like her entire body had gone numb. Then, they were gone. There was still a swirling storm of magic though, so what was causing it?
She looked to the Spirit for an answer. "It is my time to join with you. The storm is being caused by your body absorbing magic at an accelerated pace. Neutral magic is being pulled from the environment. Now I'm going to dissolve in to magic as well, which you are going absorb, okay?" The lavender filly nodded weakly, the numbness starting to effect her mind.
"I'm going to dissolve into the storm, but I'll be gone only for a few moments. I'll see you soon," it pulled the filly into a gentle hug, "Thank you, thank you so much," Then, the Spirit of Knowledge slowly dissolved into golden mist, and moved into the storm. There was a final flash of light, and Twilight knew no more.
(=¥=)
Night Light cracked his eyes open. His head felt like it was splitting at his horn, and his vision was blurry. Shakily, he stood up and looked around. The clearing around him was desolated, and chunks of the temple were scattered around. The last thing he remembered was that he was dragging Velvet back to the camp site, and then the temple had exploded. With Twilight and the creature still inside. Twilight! He looked around, and saw Velvet starting to get up, but saw no sign of his beloved little filly. Night dashed to the crater where the temple once resided, and preformed a life-scan. He sighed with immense relief, as a little body in the middle of the crater was highlighted a bright green. Night Light galloped to Twilight’s sleeping form, and stopped at what he saw. He saw her resting easily, snoring softly as her newly acquired cutiemark shown brightly on her flank.