Friendship is Magic

Rarity looked on in horror as Twilight took the blast, smashing her into the ground.  Her body dug a trench in the earth as she was driven along, uprooting trees as she went.

She lay in the dirt and rubble and did not move.

The little white winged pony zoomed over their heads as it rushed to her aid. “Girl!  Twilight!  Speak to me!”

“Twilie?” Spike whimpered.

Rarity was overcome with emotion.  She wanted nothing more than to help Twilight, who was obviously injured terribly, if not already beyond all aid, but she wasn't a doctor.  She knew nothing of medicine.  She only desired to help her friend, her first real friend, but was helpless to do anything for her.

“Noooooo,” she howled.

Power erupted within her soul.  She felt she could do anything, including bring Twilight back from the brink.  Elaborate bracelets of blue and violet encircled her wrists while a beautiful helm of bejeweled alabaster perched on her brow.  Rarity turned in place as her senses expanded.  She could feel the vibrations within the earth beneath her feet.  The stone and soil spoke to her, swearing their fealty to their mighty queen.  The entire sensation was nearly orgasmic.  She giggled with giddiness.

“Rarity?  You too?”

She turned to Spike and saw that the dragon, now done with Twilight, had taken notice of them again.  It opened its mouth and prepared its aura for attack once more.  If that thing could take out Twilight like it did, she didn't want to think of what it would do to poor Spike.

“No!”  She roared, throwing up a hand.

A massive pillar of earth and stone launched from the ground and slammed with the sound of thunder into the serpent's midsection, causing it to grunt in pain.  It let out a low grown as it slowly collapsed to the ground.

“Rarity!”  She turned to see the tiny pony waving to her. “Come quickly!  Twilight needs your help!”

Her impromptu attack had bought them some time before the serpent was able to recover.  Rarity grabbed Spike's hand and raced over to Twilight.  She gasped when they arrived and took in the full extent of Twilight's injuries.

Part of the skin on her face was burned away, charred at the edges of the wound.  Blood ran from her nose and mouth.  Her left leg was twisted at a grotesque angle where the bone had broken and her back was arched, leading Rarity to believe that it might have been broken, as well.

“Is she...dead?”

The pony, Faust, shook her head. “No, but there isn't much time.  You must help her.”

A thousand objections sprang into Rarity's mind but, luckily, none of them left her mouth. “Tell me what to do.”

“You possess the ability to manipulate the earth in all of its forms.  Stone is at your command.  Jewels are at your beck and call but, as you were a unicorn, you possess other magics.”

“A unicorn?”

“Yes but you are not nearly as powerful as Twilight.  You can only perform four spells and one of these is Emergency Charity.  It will heal the worst of her wounds and call her from death but it will take a toll on your energy.”

Rarity fixed Faust with a determined stare. “What do I need to do?”

“Hold your hands over her body and repeat after me.”

Rarity did as she was told.

“Caritas subitis,” Faust intoned

“Caritas subitis.”

A green haze surrounded Twilight's body.  Rarity kept her eyes closed, denying the sight of the truly gruesome healing.  Her ears, however, betrayed her wishes while her mind painted a sickening picture, reenforced with the hisses, pops, and cracks emanating from Twilight.

x----x

At first, there was nothing but darkness.  Slowly, terrible aches began to creep their way up from my extremities.  I felt nauseated but was too weak to do anything other than lay there, in the dirt, and groan in misery.

Finally, I opened my eyes.  Rarity knelt over me, pale, shaking, and sweating.  She looked like she was on the verge of fainting but, somehow, managed to hold her composure.  I turned to Faust, who hovered at my other side. “I thought you said that attack would kill me.  Looks like you were wrong.”

Faust gave an adorable giggle and wiped a hoof across her eyes. “What did I tell you about sassing me, girl?”

I turned to Rarity. “You...You saved my life.”

“You would have done the same for me,” she replied, slipping an arm beneath my shoulders and helping me sit up.

Spike watched me with big, wet eyes.  I held out my arms. “C'mere, little brother.”

With a childish cry, he leaped into them, burying his face against my chest as he wept. “Twilight, I was so scared I had lost you.”

I held my brother and comforted him. “I'm okay.  It's okay.”

“It's getting back up,” Faust warned.

I turned to see that the serpent was recovering, dragging itself up the pillar of earth that had sprung from the ground.  A pillar that hadn't been there before.

Rarity noticed my gaze. “That was me,” she said, sheepishly.

I'm sure I wore the same shocked expression that she had when I first transformed. “You did that?”

“Yes.  The beast was about to attack Spike, but, oh, I showed him a thing or two.”

I smiled and held out a hand. “Let's finish this!”

Rarity returned my grin, took my hand, and pulled me to my feet. “It...is...on!”

I turned to Spike. “You stay here, kid.  Don't leave this trench.” I didn't wait for him to respond before joining Rarity. “How much control do you have over your power?”

“I'm not sure.  I can do big things but I'm not so certain if I could do anything that requires finesse.”

“We don't need finesse.  I just need you to restrain it while I remove the Discord jewel.”

Rarity glanced at me. “What's a Discord jewel?”

“It's what made this creature evil.  I'll explain later, if we survive.”

“I thought this creature was already evil.”

“No,” Faust corrected. “No creature of Equestria is purely evil.  They are often kind and intelligent creatures.  Serpents are largely concerned with their appearance and this one was fond of his mustache which SOMEBODY CUT OFF!”

“You led me to believe that was its weak point!”

“You would have understood if you had let me finish my sentence!”

“Stop it,” Rarity cried. “This is more important then some petty he-said-she-said argument.” She turned to Faust. “You said this creature is concerned with his appearance?”

“Nearly to the point of vanity.”

“Then I have an idea,” she declared.

“What are you going to do,” I asked.

“I'm going to reason with it!” She marched, resolutely, towards the creature.

I tried to grab her and missed, “Rarity, wait!  Don't go near it!"

With a stomp of her foot, a pillar grew beneath Rarity, catapulting her up to the serpent's level.

“Good morning,” she called.

The serpent responded with a growl.

“Terribly sorry.  We're still very new at this and I feel terrible about what happened to your beautiful mustache.  I have a feeling that you and I have a great deal in common, despite our physical differences.  As such, I want to fix this.”

“Excellent, Rarity!  Distract him so I can attack!”

Faust's hoof cracked across the back of my head. “You will do nothing but watch and learn!  Rarity uses her head to keep from using her power, something that you should try to do from time to time!”

I rubbed the lump that had developed from her repeated abuse. “I'm beginning to regret summoning you.”

“Watch and learn, girl!”

The serpent's mouth opened and he began to build for another attack.

“No, please!  Let me help you,” Rarity begged.  “We want to help you!  Trust us!”

The serpent paused and seemed to consider her words before dissappating his attack.

“Amazing,” I gasped. “It's supposed to be under the control of the Discord jewel but it's listening to her.”

“They are kindred spirits,” Faust responded, nodding sagely. “Her generosity is a stronger influence than the jewel's.”

“I love it!  Calming the beast with an act of selflessness, somebody should write a book about it.”

Rarity leaped down from her perch. “Spike, bring my purse please.”

Spike trotted up with the large bag and held it out as she dug through it while I looked on.

“What's your plan?”

“I'll restore his mustache,” she explained. “The wind scattered the piece you cut away so I'll have to use...my scarf!”  She triumphantly held the purple garment aloft.

“I saw you wearing that with your uniform on the first day of school.” I pointed out.

She nodded. “Yes, I like to wear it like a sort of tail, which makes sense since I was a unicorn.  I made it myself of a very expensive fabric, but I feel confident in giving it to somebody who will appreciate it as much as I have.  Besides, Steven Magnet deserves to have his mustache back.”

“Steven Magnet?” Faust and I said in unison.

“Oh, yes.  He's a magnificent creature and deserves a magnificent name to be known by.  Don't you agree?” She blinked. “Faust, you said I could do four spells.  What were the other three?”

“Transformation, Telekinesis, and Extraction,” Faust responded.

“How do I invoke Transformation?”

“Commuto.”

Rarity nodded and turned, remounting her pillar.  She held out the scarf, levitating it to wrap around the severed end of Steven Magnet's mustache.

She held up the two first fingers of each hand and crossed her arms over her chest. “Commuto.”

There was a flash and I blinked the spots from my eyes.  When I looked again, the scarf had transformed into an exact copy of the mustache half that had been cut away.  Unfortunately, it was slightly shorter than the other half.

Rarity squealed happily and applauded. “It's a bit short but I'm sure it'll grow out in no time at all.”

I blinked. “It took me a whole week to learn that spell.  How did she get it so quickly?”

I saw a flash as the Discord jewel was ejected from Steven's mouth.  It was flung high and, as it fell, shattered into a thousand glittery shards.  He began laughing, his deep booming chuckles shaking the ground.  I was almost afraid somebody would notice.

“Thank you!” He bellowed as he flickered and vanished.

I blinked, scarcely able to believe my ears. “The monster talked.”

Faust snorted. “I did mention that Equestrian creatures were intelligent.  It only follows logic that they should be able to speak as well.  How else do you think we were able to build the advanced society that we had.” She turned as Rarity landed beside her. “That was most excellent, Rarity.  You were able to destroy the Discord jewel without harming the serpent...”

“Steven Magnet,” Rarity corrected.

“...Steven Magnet, then. Most impressive.” She glanced over at me. “What's wrong with you, girl?”

I sighed. “I just don't understand.  Pinkie was able to manipulate her Element immediately, and now Rarity has that same ability, but I still struggle with mine.  Why?”

Faust rolled her eyes. “I'd think it would be obvious for someone of your intelligence.  Pinkie and Rarity have been practicing their Elements for most of their lives, long before they received their jewels.”

“I think I get it.  Pinkie has always worked to be everybody's friend and make them smile while Rarity led a generous life long before I gave her her jewel.”

“Well done.  As you grow more in tune with your Element, your powers will grow.  Trust me, this isn't the end for you.”

“What do you mean?”

“When you uncover the final Element Bearer, the others will receive a completely new transformation, but you, your power will grow a thousand-fold and you'll gain a new ability.”

“What ability?”

Faust smiled. “You'll find out but I've lingered too long.  I must leave, but, first...”  She fluttered over to my brother. “Your true name is 'Spike'?”

“Yeah. Have we met?”

“No, but I know you and I have a small bit of advice you must heed.  Should you come across a heart-shaped ruby, don't eat it.” She turned to the group and began to flicker. “Bye now.”

And Faust was gone.

“What did she say to you,” I asked him.

“Something about a heart-shaped ruby and not eating it.  Where would she get the idea that I would eat something like that?”

Rarity smiled. “Well, this has certainly been an interesting morning.  We should hurry or we'll be late for school.” She glanced down, saw her clothes, and screamed.

“What?  What is it?”

“What is it?”  She gestured to her uniform blouse. “Don't you see it?”

“What's wrong?  It's just a bit dirty, I'm sure nobody will notice.”

“Notice?!  I. Am. The. Class. President!  I must look at my absolute best at all times.  I don't dare show my face at that school looking like this!  I'll be a laughingstock!”  She snatched up her bag and stomped off. “Now, I have to go and change.  Just imagine the hours I'll have to spend washing and bleaching this!”

x----x

“It seems I've underestimated this girl.  She's already found a second Element Bearer.” Luna pulled her cloak tighter around her as she stared into a magical orb. “But I have found an Element Bearer as well.  This Rainbow Dash, should she be found by Twilight Sparkle and be convinced to take up her Element, they could become challenging to deal with.  I would prefer she be convinced to join us.”  She looked over at the trio standing near the entrance of the cave. “While I wish to deal with these Element Bearers myself, with the power I've granted you, they shouldn't pose a problem to you.”

“Don't worry, my Princess Luna,” the trio's leader proclaimed. “These Element Bearers won't be a thorn in your paw for much longer.”