Ace's Spell Shop

Chapters

Welcome to Dragon Eyes Spell Shop!
Along Came Inspiration
Literary Lunacy
The Cover Up
Then There Were Apples; or, Twilight's First Lesson
The Pink Panther
Twilight's Second Lesson
Tame Critter Pony
The Spy in the Sky
Twilight's First History Lesson
Early Morning Exercises
The Real Lessons Begin
Perfection
Joy Ride
Escape Plans
Rest and Recovery
Restless Nights
Preparations
Workshop Playshop
While the Draconequus is Away, the Ponies Will Play
Starlight
Calm Before the Storm
Weathering the Storm
Landfall in Ponyville
Fall of the Mighty
Mind Games
First Blood in the Bedchamber
The Light of Life
The Empty Throne
The Royal Ruse
The Experiment Begins

Welcome to Dragon Eyes Spell Shop!

Chapter One: Welcome to Dragon Eyes Spell Shop!

--Written by Aceofgods, edited with the help of Shockhoof

Ace stood in the backroom of his humble store, using only his horn to light the dark room. His eyes quickly scanned over the supplies kept within: a few spell books, tall stacks of blank parchment, and a shelf of inkwells; some glowing a dim navy-blue color that did nothing to light the room. He took one of the glowing inkwells in his magic, as well as a quill hidden in a box. He opened the door out of the storeroom just as the bell above the door at the front of the store clattered and rang as a pony wandered into the shop.

"Greetings, and welcome to the Dragon Eyes spell shop!” Ace said cheerfully. “How may I be of assistance?" Ace said out of habit. The cream-colored pony looked over the shop a bit as though she expected some sort of enchanted book to come flying off the shelves to serve her instead of a pony.

Noticing the expression, Ace thought to himself, Hmm, maybe that's not such a bad idea, before shaking his head to clear his thoughts.

The well-aged cream-colored mare gazed at Ace for a moment, taken aback by his dark gray, nearly black coat and two-toned dark-crimson and light-crimson mane. Her posture returned to normal as she noticed the sapphire eyes, gently framed by a pair of black, round rimmed glasses that covered all angles of his eyes, as if they put her at ease.

Ace absent-mindedly adjusted his frames as she spoke. "I was told that I could buy a spell here, can you help me?" The elderly mare spoke with a deadpan expression on her face.

"Oh,” Ace didn't like the idea of selling magic to somepony he hardly knew, but of course it was a spell shop “I'm sorry. We're out of spells for the week. Might I interest you in some tea instead?" Ace asked as he set the quill and inkwell on the counter.

The elder mare sighed a low sound that was laced with sadness, her eyes turning to the floor. She hung her head down low as she closed her eyes and started to turn away as she said in a near-monotone voice.

"No,” She shook her head slowly, “I'm afraid that the only thing I need today is a spell. Good day..."

Before the earth pony could turn all the way around, Ace nodded his head, with a small knowing smile. "But of course, 'tis a spell shop, after all,” he said echoing his earlier thoughts as he pulled the quill up in his magic. “Perhaps you would like me to craft a spell for you personally, miss?"

The earth pony turned her head to look at the prank-loving shopkeeper who had pulled a cruel joke on the aged mare. She tried to be indifferent, but couldn't keep herself from being tainted by his infectious smile as the corners of her mouth started to work into a smile of her own after what seemed like such a simple play on words he pulled on her.

She turned to face the unicorn and sat down on the floor as she prepared to explain. The saddlebags on her back attempted to slide a bit at the shift.

"My name is Winter Hollow, and I need a spell for my injured cat. He got in a fight with a neighbor cat a day or two ago. That would be fine, but I think he may have broken his jaw,” she said as a new wave of sadness worked its way across her features.

“My poor darling hasn't eaten since the fight and I’m beginning to worry it may be affecting his health. Please, do you have any spells that could help him eat?"

Ace looked thoughtful as he sat and listened to the gentle mare. He nodded when she had finished and motioned with a hoof to the compartmentalized shelves that lined the walls around the shop. Nearly every cubbyhole filled with parchment. Some were rolled up loosely, while others were tied closed and many laid haphazardly in their five-walled prisons.

"Well I'm sorry to say that all of these parchments are blank and bare, as many ponies find it fit to come in and steal from the shop. Then they would run back down the hill and into town before considering what sort of magic spell or enchantment they may have taken.

"So I regret to say that we do not 'have' any spells that may help your cat eat with a broken jaw, nor do I know of any such spell."

The mare hung her head again, but as she opened her mouth to speak, Ace interrupted: "However, I do know the perfect spell to heal your poor kitten’s jaw in just a few shakes of its tail. I could certainly craft that instead, if you would prefer? It should only take a few moments to prepare, Miss Hollow." As he spoke, he made his way behind the store counter, bringing with him a piece of parchment.

The earth pony's eyes lit up for a moment before they glanced over to the chart behind the counter. The listing of prices pinned upon the wall - for different magnitudes of spells - brought worry to her eyes. Ace caught a glimpse as her eyes changed from joy to newfound pain.

"Is there a problem, Miss Hollow?"

The elder pony averted her gaze as she slowly nodded. "I don't have the bits to pay for an expensive spell. Is there any other way I could be leaving here with that spell?"

Winter Hollow looked up into Ace's eyes pleading before he averted his gaze to the poster as well, shaking his head with a soft smile as he motioned to the chart displaying the prices of services and the store's policies.

"Please, see for yourself."

Winter did as she was asked and started to read the policies at the top of the large poster, policies such as the ‘Right Spell Guarantee,’ and similar facts about the shop and its wares. After reading the policies, she looked down the chart displaying the prices for different levels of spells.

Her heart sank as the price just got higher and higher the further down she read. She made her way to the bottom of the list, the print was a bit smaller than the rest - harder to read for her, but perhaps easier for a younger pony.

Leaning forward, she started to read aloud, "Should anypony be unable to pay for a spell they require, (especially cases pertaining to a pony’s well-being) trade for services or trade goods, (or for other legal tender) is also accepted at the discretion of the shop handler,"

Winter Hollow started to visibly brighten. She carefully shrugged the saddlebags off of her back and pulled them in front of her with her muzzle. As soon as she lifted the clasp from one of her bags a pleasant aroma started to fill the shop.

Ace looked on with interest, still holding the quill and parchment in his magic as he waited and smiled at the smell that started to fill the small shop.

"I baked this just this morning and tried to take it to my dear nephew, but he wasn't at home when I arrived. I passed one of my ol' marefriends and told her about the cat not eating and she recommended this shop lickety split."

She dug a covered pie dish out of the bag and held it out with a smile, proudly holding the pie as if it were a trophy. "It's a Hollow family recipe, no other pumpkin pie in town quite like it, not that I've ever seen!"

Ace took the dish gingerly in his magic as he asked softly, "A pie? Might I have a small taste before I take it off your hooves?" He set the pie on the counter as Miss Hollow nodded proudly. Ace took a letter opener out of the drawer behind the counter while removing the cover from the pie, instantly catching a strong whiff of its alluring scent.

He cut off a small slice of pumpkin pie as he removed the cover. Lifting the slice to his muzzle in his magic, he basked in the sweet smell before taking a small bite, his features almost immediately spreading into a wide smile as the elderly mare smiled a little softer in pride.

"Miss Hollow, you have yourself a deal, though I must say I think I'm getting the better end of the bargain here!" he managed before taking another bite out of his slice of pie before replacing the cover.

He began writing the spell on the parchment, stopping occasionally to dip the quill in the inkwell again. "Being an earth pony, you'll need a way to activate the spell. Do you happen to know any Unicorns who could help you when you get home, Miss Hollow?"

Winter looked thoughtful for a moment, the proud chef's smile fading a bit as she thought of her neighbors. "Well there is Tuxedo Bow-tie, but he's away on business until later this week..." She started to look sad again as Ace was finishing the last of the slice of pie, nodding as he swallowed the decadent dessert.

"No matter," he said as he furled up the finished spell and pulled what appeared to be a Unicorn's horn from a separate, vertically compartmentalized shelf beside the policies poster, laying it on the counter next to the rolled up scroll. Winter looked over at the horn and grimaced.

Noticing the expression on her face, stifling a small laugh, Ace started to explain. "Oh, no need to be so morbid, miss. 'Tis a clay model made to impersonate a Unicorn's horn. It’s called a 'Spell Activator'. Of course, it doesn't need to look like a Unicorn's horn, but many ponies requested it look similar so that they can remember the purpose of the object.” Ace pulled a similar activator, a compass, to show his point before returning it.

“Anyhow, it's enchanted with enough residual magic to activate the spell scrolls we sell here, but not quite enough to cast any spells of their own."

The deadpan expression returned to the cream-colored mare's face as she mentioned in an almost depressed voice, "I haven't got the bits to afford anything like that, and the only thing I had to offer was that pumpkin pie..."

Ace laughed joyfully at the misunderstanding. "As I mentioned before, Miss Hollow, I feel I'm getting the better end of this bargain. The activators we sell are simple to make and are only worth a few bits. The activator is yours, no charge."

He used his magic to stow the spell and activator into her still-open saddlebag before he continued, her face regaining some of the emotion it had lost.

"Since it’s your first trip to the Dragon Eyes, let me explain how our spells work, this healing spell specifically: Once you get home, unfurl the scroll and press the activator to the words on the front. After a few moments, the ink will light up a pleasing gold,” Ace said as he held a blank parchment against his horn as an example.

“After that, just press the scroll as close as you can to the poor kitty's jaw and the spell will do the rest. Oh, but do be sure to have some water and food set out beforehoof. The spell uses the creature in question's own body and healing to recover any injuries, so it uses the nutrients and water already present to perform the healing.

"Usually it just causes a mild case of hunger or thirst, but since the poor critter hasn't ate in a while, I would imagine the pangs of hunger will be a tad more forceful. Understand, Miss Hollow?"

Winter Hollow smiled and nodded ecstatically as she settled the saddlebags onto her back, closing the clasp and tightening the cinch around her stomach. "Yes, I understand! Thank you so much, uh... I don't believe I caught your name, mister?"

Ace was taken aback, seemingly offended by his own lack of proper etiquette. He stepped out from behind the counter, standing face-to-face with the elder mare before pressing a hoof to his chest and bowing deeply. "My name is Ace Deus Fenrir, and this is my shop. Customers always welcome!"

Winter Hollow looked a bit confused at the odd name, more specifically the odd pronunciation of his first name, properly pronounced 'Ah-chay.' Ace came back up with a soft smile on his muzzle as he nodded once.

"Yes, it is an unusual name. Most ponies find it easier to just call me Ace. Please feel free to do so as well." The older mare smiled, relaxing a bit at the easier, more familiar pronunciation of the strange name.

She nodded before turning towards the door as she said over her shoulder, "Well thank you Ace, for helping to save my dear cat. Have a nice day!"

She walked through the doorway, the door being held by Ace's magic, his dark black horn glowing in the gentle gesture as Miss Hollow nearly trotted down the grassy hill towards town as he waved her off with a hoof and a smile.

After she had disappeared from sight, he started to check the spell he had around the hill and the shop. The spell was due to last until tomorrow, but Ace saw no reason not to renew the simple perimeter spell now and save himself the trip.

Being a simple spell, it would allow Ace to know when somepony approached the shop no matter where he was and took moments to cast. This would allow him to relax without worrying about the establishment being untended.

Ace walked back into the shop, casting an intention spell on the lock. The spell was a somewhat aggressive method for security, which would bring harm to anypony who was not a good-natured customer.

Ace stowed the ink and quill as he passed the counter before flash-teleporting the pie to rest in the refrigerator in his home, entering the storeroom behind it and locking the door behind him. A black flash went off around Ace, and the room faded to darkness again, leaving the inkwells and parchment to ponder their existence alone.

Ace re-materialized in a room surrounded on all sides with a series of shelves lining the walls, each reaching several stories high stopping just before the ceiling started to form into a dome. Painted upon the ceiling was a mural of Canterlot Castle with Celestia’s Sun and Princess Luna’s full Moon shining their shared light down upon the city.

The light of the tall windows around the room was accompanied by the light shining from the sun of the enchanted painting.

Perhaps I should change the enchantments to allow the moon to be alight at all times, rather than the sun during the day....

Ace proceeded into the next room of his exquisite home in silence, which was only natural as nopony else would be here today. He strode into the foyer, and made his way towards one of the two symmetrical winding staircases that ascended to the third floor.

Not wishing to waste time with the manual climb, he flashed himself up to the top of the stairs. He then calmly walked across the landing and through the carved doors that led to the Library.

This room, much like the first, was filled to bursting with books. A good number of them glowed tenderly, while a few others shone more fiercely. Unlike the first room, this room was a true library, filled with books lining the walls, and bookcases creating well organized aisles along the floor - though the books were anything but organized.

Similar to the initial receiving room there was a mural on the domed ceiling, this one bearing the image of Celestia and Princess Luna, yet in this depiction the two were ruling over their separate domains of day and night on equal halves of Equestria. Much as the last mural, the sun shone brightly from the painted sky above, though it offered no warmth.

Ace looked at the disorganized shelves as he passed, sighing. He collected the books, though he easily knew each of the spells contained within. The books were saved should he need a reference or to loan the book to another, but for now, Ace had other concerns.

Proceeding out of the library through the double doors that bore a carving of Princess Luna holding the moon aloft in her hooves, he entered the master bedroom. The room was lit softly by the overhead mural on the slanted ceiling.

The mural was of Princess Luna raising the moon over Equestria. Taking only a moment to bask in the gentler light, he then proceeded past the four poster canopy bed and a portrait done in his likeness along his path to the vanity set. The vanity was bare, save for the solitary necklace that gave flaw to its otherwise faultless surface.

Taking the woven-fiber strand with his magic as he brought the necklace to rest around his neck. He centered the petrified Raven’s talon to his chest as he admired the lightly glowing, spherical ruby it clutched in the mirror. The necklace in place once more, Ace proceeded through one final door into the master bathroom.

Ace longed to feel the water run through his coat after being interrupted by a customer coming to the Dragon Eyes spell shop, this time intending to take the precious necklace with him should he be interrupted again.

The gem laid host to an enchantment that filled Ace with renewed vigor, making him stretch as his muscles flexed and calmed under the magic that flowed through them.

Ace stepped out of the shower, levitating his towel to him from off the nearby rack. Wiping away the water from his face first, proceeding to his mane then his chest, back, legs and tail. Ace kept his eyes closed out of habit until after he replaced his glasses.

Ace admired his emblem - his cutie mark - for a moment as he toweled down his flank: an image of a dark grey hoof not unlike his own grasping another, as though the opposing pony had fallen and needed a hoof regaining their balance again. Behind the grasping hooves was the full moon. Ace’s thoughts wandered as he lost himself in the image.

Helping other ponies is just a way to further the race, right? Of course, helping others is still a kind thing to do, but it shouldn’t be regarded as a talent or skill… Anypony can do it, and everypony should, Ace thought to himself as he toweled himself off.

But ponies do not always think of others, holding only themselves in their minds as they hide in the shadows; waiting to take what is not theirs to bring themselves pleasure, and others pain and sorrow. Ace took a moment to dry off the woven-fiber band of his necklace as he thought to himself.

Ponies often find one thing that makes them happy, and lose themselves in it. Sometimes harming only themselves, but more often hurting those around them in their lust for themselves. Anypony, everypony, is at risk of such a fate... Ace shook his head and shrugged away the deeper thoughts as he returned to his morning routine.

Ace, now dried off, discarded the dirty towel to the nearby basket, then proceeded through the master bedroom, the library, and the foyer to enter the ballroom that was situated below the library.

The ballroom was massive, taking up both the first and second floor all to itself, a grandiose mirror to the Library above it. With picturesque double doors on each wall of the grand space; Ace smiled as he remembered how Prim and Proper - the twin butlers that tended to the large home - had mentioned that it had taken them years to differentiate the four doorways from one another.

The ballroom featured a glossy hardwood floor - perfect for dancing of any sort, - soft wood walls that would help cancel out the echo of the huge room, and a pristine ceiling that matched the floor almost perfectly.

In a three-by-three pattern, fine crystalline chandeliers hung from the ceiling, which could easily be willed into putting off soft moonlight or oppressive sunlight through magic, - though Ace cared little for the harsh light of Celestia’s sun - or even spread multiple lights around the room like a disco or a laser light-show should the fancy strike.

However, Ace did not come to the ballroom to plan a party, not by any means. Having only woken up an hour or two ago, just before being summoned to the shop by a passing customer, Ace wanted to partake in a light breakfast as he proceeded towards the kitchen.

Ace opened the large double doors on the left made his way through. He set out a few ingredients through levitation, laying them out on the fine black granite that featured a rare cobalt impurity that spread varying hues of blue across the white-spotted countertops, modeled after the star field that is Princess Luna’s wondrous night sky, the nighttime Princess having returned from her imprisonment only a few years prior.

The counter rested in the center of the kitchen as an island, often operating as Ace or his butlers’ meal preparation station. Ace often cooked his own breakfast, though his attendants were frequently kind enough to cook as well.

Ace made a mental note to thank Prim and Proper for all of their assistance when next he saw them. He was always happy to allow the twins to take a day off, should they request it, though today was a weekly holiday for the duo.

The refrigerator was black with painted constellations and a crescent moon upon the top of the freezer side. To the left was the black stove that bore heating elements in the shape of Celestia’s scathing sun, while to the right rested the latest target of Ace’s desires: the coffee maker.

Being the only white appliance in the kitchen was the mark of its age, as well as the coffee pot that had been replaced from a different model, the pot itself no longer matched the brewer due to some nondescript accident that Ace never bothered to commit to memory.

Ace prepared the coffee maker, set a new filter inside of it, and pouring a cup of the finest coffee grounds. He then filled it to the top with water from the sink. Flipping the coffee maker on, he proceeded to examine the ingredients for his breakfast: a few cups of flour, two eggs, some baking powder, a pinch of salt, milk, and a bit of butter.

Pancakes, the breakfast of champions, Ace thought to himself as he kicked on the stove, then pulled out some bowls and a skillet.

Whistling a jaunty tune while he mixed the ingredients, Ace tossed his flank and moved about as his magic did all the work making the batter for his bountiful feast. Completing the batter, he dripped a bit into the skillet, then looked over to the coffee pot to see that the brewing was not going as swiftly as he wanted.

Never being one known for extremes of patience where haste was possible, and normally having his personalized hot beverage, over an hour or two ago, he used a simple spell to speed up the brewing process…

Ace’s horn suddenly pulsed too brightly for the spell, sending him into an instinctive dive for cover behind the island. The coffee pot, glowing brightly through his spell, exploded violently, rupturing the coffee maker as well. Parts scattered across the countertops, as shrapnel was sent flying over his head.

Coffee grounds flew high into the air sending a thorough dusting all over the kitchen floor and Ace’s back. The filter disintegrated and spread among the mess, being torn to shreds by the force.

Ace came out from behind the countertop with a sigh as he shook the powder from his coat, coughing from the dust that lingered in the air around him.

A misfire? Have I really used that many spells already... Teleported to the store, renewed the perimeter spell, teleported back, flashed up the steps…

“Fangs and Talons, I need to start keeping a list for this sort of thing…”Ace sighed and flipped the unfinished pancake, then prepared a time reversal spell to cast on the coffee pot.

With a heavy sigh, Ace shrugged off the mishap, which he had accepted as part of his daily life as a regular occurrence, then began to think of how he could mend the damage done using another spell, rather than dwelling on the mishap.

Ace had studied the misfires in the past, hoping to find a solution, a cure, or at least a way of predicting exactly when a misfire would happen, but to no avail. Ace reflected on his past, remembering the experiments and the lessons he learned in the process, but quickly shook his head to clear his thoughts as he begun to remedy the result of the latest misfire.

The coffee maker reassembled slowly through the time magic, cracks mending themselves as though they had never happened. Once the coffee maker was whole again, the mess created by the mishap was pulled toward the coffee maker and reformed. Recasting the acceleration spell, the coffee was brewed instantly.

Removing the now cooked pancake from the skillet with the familiar black glow, Ace began to prepare another. He simultaneously prepared to pour the freshly brewed beverage into a mug from the overhead cabinet.

He added the powdered chocolate first, then poured the coffee in to mix the powder, followed by a serving of whipped cream upon the top that was dusted with a helping of powdered sugar, more powdered chocolate, followed by stiff, dark chocolate curls.

Taking a quick sip to admire his work, Ace then refocused himself on the task of preparing his actual meal. He flipped the pancake, taking a bite of the previous, already cooked one without the need for unhealthy, sticky mess of maple syrup.

This continued, Ace moving his hooves and whistling to a tune nopony else could hear, making and eating pancakes and finishing his pot of coffee similar to the first cup.

Author's Note

Shout out to Shockhoof for his awesome help editing the chapter! ^_^

Along Came Inspiration

Chapter Two: Along Came Inspiration

--Written by Aceofgods, edited with the help of Shockhoof

Ace felt a twinge in his horn, something like a spark of magic: the sign that a pony was entering his perimeter spell. Ace finished his coffee and set it aside, having finished his breakfast not long prior. Ace then teleported himself to the room behind the counter in his shop, his eyes taking a moment to adjust.

Shapes started to take form from the darkness as he was greeted by the pale glow of his enchanted inkwells. The twinge in his horn tightening as the pony outside neared the shop.

Ace liked to enter the shop at the same time as the customers, adding to the mystique of the shop. As he waited, he took stock of his wares, making a note to order another box of quills, just to be on the safe side.

After a time, the twinge began nearing its apex before Ace opened the door in time with the entrance to the shop.

"Welcome to the Dragon Eyes spell shop! I don’t believe I’ve seen you around here before." he called to the tender brown coated Pegasus with a brown, round-brimmed hat with green fabric over the front.

The hat covered her mane, which faded from dingy white to black. She wore a green vest covered in pockets. The ruby of her irises quickly met Ace’s own sapphire gaze.

"I need a spell that will make me immune to magic," the mare voiced in a confident tone that matched the look in her eyes.

Ace pondered for a moment, rubbing his jaw with his hoof and closing his eyes, nodding slowly.

"Well I'm sorry ma'am, but we sell spells here, not manners," he concluded with a shrug. The Pegasus looked confused for a moment before she sighed and started over, trying to keep her voice from sounding annoyed at the distraction.

"You're right, I'm sorry,” she said as she shook her head for a moment. “My name is Daring Do, and I'd like to purchase a spell that will make me immune to magic.”

Ace nodded with a grin as he stepped forward to shake hooves with the better behaved Daring Do. "Ace Deus Fenrir, nice to meet you Miss Do."

Ace shifted uncomfortably when he saw Daring’s eyes alight with intrigue at the ancient name. He cut in quickly to avoid any prying questions, "And to answer your inquiry, I'm afraid there are no spells I can sell to make a pony immune to magic. Blocking spells cast at a pony, however, is a spell I can sell, if that would suit your intention.

‘However, perhaps if a pony were to be coated in pre-magic, they could be immune to all manners of magic… Perhaps an experiment could bear the fruit of such a spell...’ Ace thought to himself…

Daring shook her head almost violently. "Daring, if you please, and the spell must be able to protect me from a constant and ever present magical force,” Daring spread her hooves wide in the air, as if for emphasis. “Anything less could mean my death."

Ace was taken back a bit by this, recovering with a nod, his gentle smile giving way to the look of concern that he felt as he gazed into Daring’s eyes.

“Perhaps if you tell me a bit more, I could tailor something to your specific situation. As it stands however, I must say there is no spell that makes a pony immune to magic; There have been a number of attempts, but none a success.”

Daring stood still for a moment, appearing to consider whether or not Ace was likely to use the information to steal the adventure and possibly valuable artifacts from her. Finally she nodded, having come to a decision.

“I’m an explorer, and a client has recently provided me with a pretty big job with what is meant to be a treasure trove of artifacts. However, before I can get to anything in the depths of that trove, I need to get past a room filled with what could only be a magical gas, as well as numerous other traps, physical and magical alike.” Daring took on a triumphant pose, remembering previous exploits before continuing.

“The physical traps I can handle well enough on my own, but what I need is a little protection from the magic traps. Worse than the traps though is the gas: it constantly fills the room, and from what the rumors mention is that it eats away and decays anypony who tries to enter the area. Stranger still is that I really do mean pony, as other wildlife pass by just fine; totally unaffected by the gas. I can easily extract the stuff and get paid if I don’t have to worry about the gas.”

Ace wasn’t one who would have appreciated defacing ancient temples or the like, but he could tell Daring would extract whatever she found whole and undamaged, and would likely have a buyer in mind for the things she did extract.

Of course, even if he asked, Daring wouldn’t likely divulge who her buyers were, but Ace could easily guess it’d be somepony interested in preserving or studying the relics.

Deciding study was likely the best future for artifacts, Ace reasoned that helping Daring would do no harm, and possibly save the artifacts from the careless hooves of jewel hunters, and others raiding the area for things of immediate value.

Looking thoughtful for a moment, he proceeded behind the counter, readying some parchment, his dark-gray quill and one of the enchanted inkwells.

“Well, Miss Daring, I do know a few spells that might help. I could enchant that hat of yours with a barrier spell that would nullify any magic within it. Bear in mind however, that physical objects moved by things such as propulsion spells or levitation will still pass through the barrier and can easily hurt you.

Also, this is a high level spell, and as per the rules of the shop, I need to receive payment in advance for spells over level 5.” he said as he motioned towards the poster on the wall to his left.

Pointing out the level 7 row of the chart, the spell would cost four hundred bits. For most ponies the price would have been staggering, but Daring looked unphased. She pulled off her hat and from it pulled an object wrapped in a red silk cloth.

She placed it on the counter and unwrapped it slowly, revealing a black amulet formed in the effigy of an Alicorn, small rubies serving as its eyes, and a larger one as the centerpiece on a plate where the Alicorn’s chest would have been.

She set her hat back on her head and took a step back from the counter. A triumphant smile played at the edges of Daring’s lips as Ace gazed upon the unusual neckwear unbelievingly.

“It’s the Amulet of the Alicorn, an ancient artifact that boosts the magical prowess of the Unicorn that wears it,” Daring said as she passed a cursory glance over the chart. “I’m told you accept trades in lieu of cash.”

Ace continued to look at the familiar amulet, having thought it was lost to the ages.

“Of course, but not without knowing more about the artifact. Would you mind if I cast an appraising spell before I agree to the trade?” Daring nodded in affirmation. Ace’s horn lit up, his eyes focused on the relic. Through his mind, a well-read female voice relayed the information to him.

Type: Artifact. Classification: Enchanted, magical; class 4. Power: Amplifies magic in Unicorns; Amplifies flight in Pegasi. Side effects: Only the wearer can remove the artifact. The wearer descends into a primordial obedience to their emotions.

The more the wearer uses the power of the amulet, the more they are overcome with: Lust for power, anger, envy and jealousy.

History: The Amulet of the Alicorn was created by the apprentice of one Luna Nightblade. Seeking to grow more powerful than his mentor, the student cast an enchantment spell on his favorite necklace, once given to him by Luna Nightblade herself, and within the enchantment placed all of his magic, including the magic of emotion.

Drained by magical fatigue, the student fell asleep until the following day, his magic recovered. Bearing the Amulet of the Alicorn, in addition to his already measurable power, the student sought to overthrow his mentor.

After the— ‘Stop. Value?’ Estimated value: one thousand two hundred seventy three bits.

Ace finally blinked, unaware that he had failed to do so in the time that had passed as he watched the images play through his mind as he listened to the appraisal spell, the sight of a pony about to challenge Luna Nightblade in a duel of spells. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he finally nodded with a soft smile.

“Yes, this will make a fine trade for the spell.” Ace rubbed his eyes for a moment before continuing. “In fact, you could walk out of here with three of these spells, unless you have any other magical needs, Miss Daring?”

Daring Do looked thoughtful for a moment, then shook her head. “I think I’ll take the three copies of the spell, if that’s what you’re offering, Ace.” Ace tensed at first as she pronounced his name with the proper ‘Ah-chay’ before shrugging off the danger and taking pleasure that somepony liked his given name.

Already preparing the spells, his horn glowing as the quill dipped in the inkwell, followed by eight others, each writing on different sections of the three pieces of parchment that were considerably longer than the others, as the more complicated spell required multiple layers of magic to function.

The quills easily set to work making the copies of the more complex spell as Ace pulled a light brown activator from the shelf behind him, in the shape of a fully functional compass.

“In case you’ve never activated a written spell before, allow me to inform you: This is a Spell Activator. You’ll need it to trigger the spell, since you are unable to control magic yourself. Simply unfurl the scroll and press the activator, in this case the compass I’ve provided, to the words on the spell until they glow. At which point, for this spell, simply press the scroll to your hat to set it as the focus of the spell.

“Also, I’ve laced the spell with a small binding spell; what that means is your hat will only come off if you take it off by hoof, which if you do so, please keep the hat in hoof. If it ceases making contact with you, you will no longer gain the effects of the spell. The spell will last for about an hour and a half, assuming you enchant the hat.

“Should you choose to enchant, say, your vest, the spell would last quite a bit shorter, somewhere around thirty-five minutes instead.

"One last thing, the spell has a built in warning system as well: with ten minutes remaining, the enchanted piece will begin to tighten around you, just enough to be slightly uncomfortable; at five minutes, it will begin to glow a solid color, and as time continues to run out, the glow will fade.

"Should you feel the need to re-enchant the item, simply recast the spell at any point you wish. Will that be all today, Miss Daring?”

Ace finished writing the spells, sliding the quills into the drawer beneath the counter, leaving the enchanted inkwell, before rolling up and tying the spells and offering them to Daring, who held out her hat in a hoof to receive the spells before putting it back on, effectively stowing them.

“I believe that this concludes our transaction, have a good day, Ace,” the proper name sent delighted chills down Ace’s back. “I do believe we’ll be seeing each other again,” She said with a wink before she turned towards the door.

Ace held open the door as he watched her descending the hill back to Hoofsdale, waving a hoof as he called out, “To you as well, and happy hunting!”

Once Daring Do was out of sight, Ace hung a sign reading: “Away on business, write the nature of the spell you need and where you can be reached.”

Ace then turned back towards the storage room, stowing the enchanted inkwell in the desk before taking the Alicorn Amulet in his magic.

’Such a fortunate find… Of course, I have no intention of using such a double edged sword, but ‘tis always nice to expand my collection.’

He stepped into the storeroom and closed the door before bathing the room in a dark-gray light as he teleported, this time to his workshop rather than the manor.

The lights of the workshop kicked on as Ace appeared in the room, his vision blurry as his eyes still tried to cling to the darkness of the storeroom. To Ace’s back was a terribly long hallway, while in front of him was a solid metal door.

Using his magic, Ace flipped the switch near the door to the small room, kicking on the sprayers overhead. The chemicals were designed to gently cleanse the coat while killing any infectious or malignant bacteria that could brought into the workshop.

The workshop was right below the spell shop, though the only ways one could arrive there would be to dig all the way, teleport there directly, or open the thick doors that only responded to Ace’s magic.

It was for the best that the workshop stayed secret, that way should something go wrong, such as a misfire during an experiment, much like the one Ace was about to exact, little damage would be done that could not easily be mended.

Of course, there were any number of safety procedures, such as the doors to the lab opening automatically in the case of an uncontrolled fire.

After the cleansing cycle had finished, Ace flipped the opposite switch to open the doors and proceeded out of the hallway and into the main room of the workshop: the test lab.

The room was expansive, to say the least, with solid stone flooring and walls. As he entered the lab, a pair of stones marred by glowing glyphs greeted him, scanning him in a purple light.

”Welcome back, Ace Deus Fenrir, the moon lights your path. Noblesse Oblige,” the stones spoke into his mind through their magic, programmed to act as an assistant. After the greeting, they retreated through the room, dodging one of the few support columns as they went.

The lightly glowing blue spheres affixed to the ceiling throughout the room lit his path in their pale glow as he proceeded to a door on the left of the large room.

Making way towards his trophy room, Ace looked to the back wall and saw all of the tables and equipment neatly placed along its length, making a mental note of the location of the equipment he would soon need.

Once inside, Ace admired his trophy room, which played host to a number of pedestals and displays.

The most favored of these was the large display in the back, which showed off a large metal machine about the size of a pony, though it more resembled a sphere with arms and legs. The other displays held jewelry or weapons, some pulsing with a light glow in their silent prisons of glass.

Ace picked up a gold-leaf plaque from the wall along with an enchanted chisel. Using the chisel, Ace marked the plaque with the date, as well as the title in large, bold script: Alicorn Amulet.

Finishing the plaque, Ace prepared a marble pedestal for the amulet, with a pony’s bust to set it upon and a glass dome of a lid to set over it, enchanted with a longevity spell since its creation to keep the contents free from the erosion of age. Ace admired the amulet for the briefest of moments before proceeding back into the lab.

Back in the main room, Ace quickly marched to the supplies closet and pulled out a few things and stacked them on a table - specifically one with a built in magnifying lens - he pulled from the wall.

Before long, the table was covered in an assortment of books, and some writing supplies. Ace placed the table in the center of the room, securing it with his magic before he was satisfied with the arrangement.

Continuing past the table, now set up proper and only furthering his lust to experiment, he proceeded to the metal door straight across from the display room. Ace smiled sadly at the sign on the door reading: “WARNING: Beyond this door lies a firing range intended for the use of magic. Enter at your own risk.”

Opening the door and stepping inside the padded room, Ace locked the door and braced himself, setting up several targets at the far end of the room.

Always check for misfires before conducting insane experiments, and don’t try this at home, fillies and colts.

Ace’s horn lit softly in its black glow as he prepared to cast a fireball at the first target, striking it solid in the chest and setting it ablaze before countermeasures at the far end of the room put out the magic flames.

Moving on to the next target, Ace hurled a series of ice shards into the chest, head and front hooves of the second target, not a single one missing the intended mark. Again, the barrier magic of the countermeasures ran over the targets at the end of the range, melting the ice as it passed.

Preparing to cast another spell, Ace’s horn started glowing violently. Electricity started arcing down his horn and into his head, which made him jump just before the electricity surged and exploded with a loud flash and a bang as the electricity struck his skull, chest, neck and back all at once with enough force to slam him into the padded wall behind him.

The air knocked from his lungs and his coat noticeably burnt in some places, Ace battled the swimming spots in his vision for consciousness.

Moments later, the countermeasures ran over his body, dispelling the electricity that he had not noticed was still jumping across his mane and tail, then passing over again to heal the burnt patches of his coat. A few passes later, and Ace was good as new and out the door to the testing lab.

Taking one of the books in his magic, he began to read the terribly old book, “What is Magic? A Beginner’s Guide to Magic and how it Works.” Despite the name, it was a rather advanced tome by the current standards, as the book was an introductory tome depicting the ‘Old Magic,’ the majority of which was violent combat spells, or powerful alteration magic.

The first third of the book was about using a Unicorn’s horn, controlling magic, using magic to sense things around you, and touched lightly upon levitation. The middle section of the book (and primary reason Ace had chosen the tome), was about Pre-Magic.

Pre-Magic is the magic that builds in a Unicorn’s horn as they prepare a spell. Pre-Magic has a number of uses and countless functions in the use of spell casting and spell crafting. The most notable function of Pre-Magic is that it absorbs any other form of magic that comes in contact with it, and turns it into magical fuel to power the spell it was designed for.

Example: Pony A is preparing a class 3 fireball spell, when Pony B casts a class 4 ice column spell; Pony A, its horn encased in pre-magic, blocks the spell with its horn; the pre-magic absorbs the magic of the class 4 spell along with magic Pony A is putting into the horn for the class 3 spell, turning the fireball spell into a class 5 spell that fatigues Pony A as though it were a class 3.

When pre-magic is created, it is created to serve a purpose. Once the pre-magic has the means to fulfill that purpose, it does so. Should the pre-magic gain more magical fuel than what is required for its purpose, the pre-magic will unload any excess magic into its purpose.

When it comes to combat spells, this is a boon, but when it comes to alteration magic, this can be catastrophic. Example: Pony A casts a spell to turn a tree into a bed, the pre-magic coating its horn; Pony B casts a class 4 fireball spell at Pony A; Pony A guards itself by absorbing the spell; Now overloaded by magical energy, the spell Pony A prepared casts, but now the bed is comically three times larger than what was intended. . . .

Ace read the entirety of the book, having brought the coffee maker out of the storage room, yet the book did not answer the pivotal questions that his whole experiment hinged upon.

What happens if the pre-magic is removed from the horn, and placed on something else, such as a pony? What if pre-magic is created with the purpose being to simply exist, or simply not having a purpose?

What happens to excess magic that cannot be discharged when the pre-magic has no purpose? What happens when pre-magic comes in contact with something that is innately magical, such as something enchanted?

What happens when a pony covered in pre-magic casts a spell? Is there a way to remove pre-magic from a pony? Is there a way to move pre-magic at all?

There were many questions and few answers on the ancient subject. Ace reviewed all the books he had found that so much as mentioned pre-magic, but they offered precious little information. Books of old spoke of pre-magic as though it was as common as a levitation spell and everypony would know about it through its use.

Newer tomes rarely made mention of it, and those that did said little more than a single line, granting the subject an air of taboo and mystery. Growing frustrated with the research stage of his experiment, Ace decided to write a hypothesis for the results of the experiment.

An hour passed, his hypothesis now completed, Ace was ready to prepare the experiment. Setting his notes on a second table with the books, Ace enchanted the magnifying glass with an amplification spell that could easily be adjusted on the fly as the experiment progressed. After the magnifying glass was satisfactory, he set the A.C.S. (Anti-magic Countermeasure System) on testing mode.

The preparations almost complete, Ace set a few instruments on the table that would help should something go wrong as well as calibrating the instruments built into the table.

The safety instruments included various spherical enchanted gems that Ace could swap for the sapphire that presently rested in his necklace - the sapphire enchanted to strengthen his magical strength and stamina - and a knife that was enchanted with the purpose of carving magical runes or glyphs that would ward against magic.

In addition to the gems, there was the first, most helpful book he had read on pre-magic, and two first-aid kits, one regular, and one magic in nature. Preparations finished, Ace braced himself for the experiment.

Don’t try this at home, fillies and colts.

Author's Note

Special thanks to Shockhoof for helping edit this chapter! ^_^

Literary Lunacy

Chapter Four: Literary Lunacy

Ace appeared out of nowhere with the usual black flash of light that accompanied his magic, standing before a rather large, hollowed out tree in the small town of Ponyville...

Or, rather, he would have, had his teleportation spell not misfired. As it had, however, Ace stood before not a singular, large tree, but instead stood among hundreds of rather normal, wild trees with numerous other flora not seen within the small pony town.

Letting out a growl of frustration, Ace cast the magic once more, leaving the forest, dark with the veil of night, behind as the dark flash of magic appeared around him once more, occupying both the forest and the front of the library at the same time for only the briefest of moments.

Regaining his senses and his orientation with the aid of his ever-present extrasensory magic, having to visually confirm that his hoof was still in fact attached, the pre-magic encasing it preventing Ace from feeling it with his magic despite the constant pain he felt from the glyphs carved in his flesh.

Having finally arrived before the grand, hollowed out tree that served as the town's library, Ace adjusted his glasses as he moved forward to knock on the door. Please be home, Miss Twilight Sparkle...

Moments passed by agonizingly slow as Ace sat before the door, his observation of time distorted in his panicked, pained and caffeinated state. Knocking on the door once more, a voice, sounding like a young colt, came from the other side of the door, "Hold your apples, I'm coming."

A colt? I think Princess Celestia would have mentioned that her star student was a mother... Do I have the wrong address? This was definitely the library last time I was in town... When was the last time-

The door opened to reveal a small purple and green dragon, pulling Ace out of his thoughts. "What do you want," - the obviously tired, baby dragon sleepily rubbed the back of his clawed hand over one eye - "the library is closed. Do you even know what time it is?"

"Approximately two forty-eight A.M., but the current time is not a concern at the forefront of my mind at present. Is this the home of Miss Twilight Sparkle, student of Princess Celestia? I urgently need to speak with her immediately."

Ace tried desperately to be courteous, despite his body all but demanding he take more drastic and effective approach, such as probing the structure with his magic and teleporting any and all Unicorns within out here post-haste.

The dragon, in response to the stranger's inquiry, turned and sleepily shambled back into the building, leaving the door open as he raised a hand to his mouth as he called up to the second floor, "Twilight, you have a visitor! He says it's urgent!"

From the second floor answered the voice of a mare that was like silky velvet to Ace's ears, even as the grogginess of having just awoken clung to it like a parasitic Leechvine, "Tell them to come back tomorrow, the library is closed..."

Shaking his head as he slowly climbed the stairs, the young dragon lowered his voice to a whisper that Ace wouldn't have heard without the help of his extrasensory magic, "I think he knows Princess Celestia."

With that, the space upstairs was filled with the sound of a pony literally falling out of bed, followed by hurried hoofsteps and a tangled mane being brushed before a purple flash filled Ace's vision, accompanied by the lantern within the room being lit when the pony appeared out of the blinding light, causing the enchanted lenses of Ace's glasses to darken, his sapphire eyes wincing as his night vision was completely destroyed.

The lavender Unicorn standing before Ace was all nervous smiles, her tri-colored mane recently brushed out of her bed-head by both brush and magic was perfectly composed.

"My name is Twilight Sparkle, librarian and Princess Celestia's star pupil. My assistant said that you wanted to speak with me?"

Nodding once, Ace replied: "In a sense. What I require does involve speaking with you, as I am in need of your assistance -" Ace held up the afflicted hoof, which Twilight began to examine more closely, "- in helping to mend the latest result of an experiment turned disaster.

"There's some seriously powerful magic involved, and you're the only Unicorn I know who may be able to help me." Ace was careful to say 'Unicorn' and not pony, as such would then involve the Alicorn princesses, who could, likely help, but awaiting audience would be intolerable.

Twilight's purple colored horn began to glow with a similar light as her face was studious, her gaze locked on the unusual, likely unfamiliar mass that encased the hoof.

Swiftly, almost furiously, Ace slammed the hoof onto the ground, leaving small cracks in the compacted dirt before the doorway, a new wave of pain making its way through his leg, as he exclaimed; "NO! You must not use any magic in close proximity of pre-magic! The pre-magic absorbs magic like a sponge, which brings me to my first question: Do you have any Anti-Magic Stone in your possession?"

Still reeling from the sudden assault Ace had made on the ground, in addition to the sudden shouting, Twilight thought for a moment before speaking, "As a matter of fact, I do have a sample that Princess Celestia sent me to examine... It's in the trunk upstairs."

Looking thankful for Princess Celestia's over-cautionary foresight, Ace let a small sigh of relief escape his muzzle before speaking, "Most excellent. Please bring it here. May I come in, Miss Sparkle?"

Looking almost hesitant, Twilight rubbed her leg with a hoof. "Umm, sure..." Twilight managed, sounding as though she expected something beforehoof when Ace realized he had quite rudely forgotten to introduce himself for the second time in twenty-four hours.

Taken aback by his own ungentlecoltly conduct, Ace took a step back as he pressed his good hoof to his chest and dipped into an introductory bow as he spoke, "Ace Deus Fenrir, though many call me Ace, talented-in-magic Unicorn, humbly requesting your assistance in this matter most grave, Miss Sparkle," he said, first properly pronouncing his name before using the common interpretation.

Nodding more honestly now, Twilight motioned for him to come in. "Call me Twilight. Pleasure to meet you, Ace. I'll be back in a moment with the stone, please make yourself comfortable."

With that, Twilight ascended the stairs to fetch the vital crystal, normally an annoyance to Unicorns. As she left, Ace perused the books that marked the humble home as a library, not wishing to risk using his magic until he had the insurance of the AMS.

Ace noted the white flecks that were forming on the afflicted limb as the pre-magic soaked up the magic that radiated from the dark Unicorn's body from his extrasensory magic, not wanting to cut the flow of magic as it would bring about a wave of nausea at the loss of such a sense that he relied so heavily upon.

After glancing over a number of titles occupying a number of shelves, Twilight again descended the stairs down into the library. "Please place the stone in the floor near the center of the room, if you would be so kind."

Twilight did as she was asked. The pink stone, nearly five inches long and two inches wide, rested within a woven wicker basket that Twilight carried in her mouth by the handle, unable to move such an object in her magic.

Twilight gently placed the basket in front of Ace before retreating a few steps back, eyes warily watching the afflicted appendage as though it may attack her, which was a welcomed sign since it very well could, should caution not be properly observed.

Placing his unnaturally blackened hoof into the basket to rest upon the stone within, an bestial hissing noise filled the small building, eliciting a startled cry from the assistant that rested upstairs and causing Twilight to cringe as she retreated back another step.

"Does it do that often?" Twilight said almost in a whisper, watching as the white spots faded from view.

With a sigh, Ace nodded as his horn lit up with the usual black glow as he prepared a searching spell, giving voice to his query as all of the books in the room, shelved or otherwise, lit up in the black glow that represented his magic, “Filter word: Pre-magic.”

The searching spell would find the given word or phrase in any of the tomes affected by Ace’s magic, and present any works that had a sample within them. Before long, the spell answered the query with a silken voice that spoke within Ace’s mind:

No positive results. Query?

With a sigh, Ace verbally brought the spell to a halt before pivoting on his hoof, away from the books, to face Twilight. “Lacking any of the proper course material, I assume Princess Celestia has yet to teach you about pre-magic. As I am asking you to help me in a matter involving the dangerous substance, I shall take it upon myself to teach you in her stead.”

Eager at the mention of a late-night lesson, Twilight used her magic to gather her stationary supplies from the nearby desk; a quill, an inkwell and an amount of parchment.

Thus prepared, Twilight sat with the ink-dipped quill hovering above the parchment in her magic, the look set upon her feature scholarly. Nodding before he continued, Ace began the crash-course lesson.

“First, history: Pre-magic was used prior to and during the early Mare-in-the-Moon era. Before Mare-in-the-Moon, pre-magic was used to fuel the powerful combat and alteration spells that was the staple of any magic-savvy Unicorn’s arsenal.

"As magic developed and began to be used for simpler things, such as menial tasks, fewer and fewer spells needed pre-magic to be used. In the current era, pre-magic is only used for level 9 and higher spells.”

Pausing for a moment to be certain Twilight was able to keep up and understand, Ace had to wait for only a moment before Twilight looked up and nodded to continue.

“Second, function: Pre-magic is used to fuel spells that cannot be cast instantaneously, which is why few spells today require the use of pre-magic. Most spells, such as the flash spell you showcased earlier, can easily be done with a single burst or flare of magic.

"Higher level spells, however, need a more substantial amount of magic. Since the Unicorn casting the spell is unable to complete the spell in a burst, they create pre-magic around their horn with the purpose of casting the spell, the pre-magic then draining the magic as it is generated in the Unicorn and led through the horn to the pre-magic.

The pre-magic stores magical energy as a fuel source to complete its purpose. When the pre-magic has accumulated enough fuel, it discharges the spell and then dissipates. This is fine, so long as the Unicorn still wishes to cast the spell, however should they require a different spell, they will be unable to cast it, as the pre-magic will absorb their magic should they try, unless they cast the spell using something other than their horn, but that’s a separate lesson.”

Again waiting for Twilight to signal to continue, Ace waited, though this time it took a moment for the information to sink in, a puzzled look setting on Twilight’s features, though she saved her questions until the end of the lesson.

“Third, why I need your help and a summary of what happened: In an attempt to craft a method to make a pony immune to magic, I have created a spell which could be called a level 0 spell, or a spell without purpose or function, which to my knowledge has never been done.

"Using this spell, I accumulated and then manipulated a few units of pre-magic in an attempt to experiment with the possibility of achieving my goal. Due to a blunder entirely my own, the experiment was halted and put on indefinite hiatus until I can figure out a method of removing pre-magic from a pony once afflicted. Questions?”

Twilight looked as though she was mulling over which question would be best to ask first. After a few moments had passed, she finally nodded and, pointed at the markings just above the affliction, “What are those glyphs?” Ace smiled at her inquisitive nature as he pondered how deeply he should answer the question.

“The glyphs are wards from an ancient language, Al Bhed, which I am using to keep the pre-magic at bay. The glyphs are a form of physical magic, rather than magical magic, so the pre-magic cannot drain the magic from them.

"I personally carved the glyphs myself with a class 7 enchanted knife, so they are powerful enough to keep the pre-magic at bay for at least 9 months before I need to imbue them again, though I am hoping that won’t be a concern by then. If you were asking for the translation, it is ‘Hu sykel ouhtan,’ or ‘No magic yonder’ in Common Equestrian.”

Somewhat flabbergasted by the unusual language, Twilight nodded that she understood the gist of it.

“What and how do you think I can do to help? I’ve never used pre-magic before, and know next to nothing about it, especially about removing it. If you needed the anti-magic stone, feel free to take it, as I finished my studies of the crystal’s properties a week ago.”

Twilight set her notes aside as she continued to ponder questions and possibilities as she moved the quill to its resting place on the desk along with the inkwell, set in a row of similar inkwells.

Raising an eyebrow, Ace took a short glance up the stairs, “Including what would happen should a crystallivore, such as a dragon, were to ingest a sample of it? I would very much like to compare notes sometime on the matter, but I digress.

"The reason I came here is to brainstorm with you a solution that will not require the pre-magic being immediately removed. As it stands now, I cannot even enter small crowds for fear that an unknowing Unicorn might do something so simple as levitate an object too close to me before the pre-magic leaps from my hoof onto their horn.

"While I am presently capable of keeping the pre-magic from spreading amongst my body, I can make no guarantee that I can keep it away from other Unicorns. The AMS is a good start, and I have no small quantity of the mineral in my workshop, though I would have to transport it manually out of said location, hence why I have brought none with me through my teleportation.”

Sitting now as Twilight was, Ace used his magic to take some of her stationary to form a makeshift drawing board between the two without obstructing their view of one another.

After the drawing board was in place, Ace took a few more pieces of stationary and worked and wove it into a circlet to fit around his hoof, working the Anti-Magic Stone into a pocket in the weave among the inner side of the circlet, leaving it open and bare as he slid it around the afflicted hoof.

Ace moved the basket aside and tapping his hoof to the floor a number of times before being satisfied the circlet wouldn’t slip or fall off.

“Much to my dismay, this is as far as I can think to prevent such an accident, but it does nothing for the frightful appearance, nor can I flash or teleport without the circlet falling off, as it would be unaffected by my magic. Any ideas you can present would be much appreciated.”

Scrunching up her face as she thought, Twilight Sparkle pondered for a brief time before hanging her head with an exasperated sigh before shaking it.

“I’m sorry, but without magic, I can’t think of anything that would help. As far as keeping the pre-magic hidden, though, I think I know another Unicorn here in town that may be able to help. She runs the town’s clothing store and she is quite good at what she does.

"You’re welcome to stay the night downstairs, and we’ll go and see Rarity at the Carousel Boutique first thing tomorrow morning.” Ace perked up a bit at the thought of meeting another Unicorn as promising a student as Twilight Sparkle, voicing no protest at meeting her posthaste.

“If Rarity isn’t able to help you, then I’ll have Spike – my dragon assistant from before – write a letter to the Princess asking for her help.”

That idea wasn’t so ideal for Ace, as he was uncertain if the princesses would recognize him from before or not, and the past was always something better left behind in his experience.

Voicing a protest against the idea would give off the wrong message, however, so Ace only nodded in agreement while hoping Rarity would be even half as skilled as Twilight in magic and have some way of helping him out.

Plans planned and discussions discussed, Twilight used her magic to pull down a pillow and blanket for Ace, placing them a fair enough distance away that the black, gooey substance about his hoof so that it couldn’t cling to it, then began to head upstairs to go back to sleep. “Good night, Ace. We’ll work things out tomorrow.”

“Luna’s blessing upon you, Twilight. Sleep well.” Ace said out of an old habit, having been thinking about princesses after the last plan of action, though fortunate that Twilight either hadn’t caught the archaic phrase, or passed it off as another one of his eccentricities.

Stifling a chuckle at the thoughts the latter had brought, Ace prepared his bedding off to a corner and attempted to rest, but found himself unable…

Well, ‘tis a library after all. Perhaps I shall occupy my caffeine and leftover-adrenaline fueled night with some light reading.

Going through the books in the library, Ace pulled down a number of titles. Some of them were fictional stories, which he assumed was more for the library’s sake than Twilight’s.

Others were accounts of stories and legends of the past, a few were filled with poems or sagas of other legends and one was filled with the ballads that went into the details of a soldier from the Great Magic War that occurred during the Mare-in-the-Moon era.

Meanwhile, the final tome was one that was familiar to Ace, as he wrote it a number of years ago, though it was a tad bit outdated… by several revisions.

Coming away from the shelves with about thirteen different books, including his own, Ace cozied up in the blanket, the pillow beneath him as he read, using an extrasensory spell to read the books much faster than normal.

After reading a few books, he noticed a schedule pinned near the calendar by Twilight’s desk. Examining the schedule, he noted the time that Twilight and Spike would wake up before continuing his reading.

“Twilight? Twilight, wake up.” Spike whispered and nudged Twilight, who turned over on her side.

I want to go back to that dream with the strange Unicorn stallion…

“Come on Twilight, you’ve gotta wake up. There’s someone downstairs going through the kitchen!” Twilight snapped her head up off of the bed, tossing the blanket aside as she leapt to her hooves, taking off down the stairs as quick as she could without making too much noise.

Looking around the room to see if anything was damaged or missing, she saw a number of books on the table in the middle of the room, as well as a brownish tan colored drawing board that looked oddly familiar…

It’s just like in my dream last night!

Being brought out of her inward thoughts by a whistling coming from the kitchen through the closed door, Twilight started snaking towards the room with Spike following silently and nervously behind her.

As they neared the door, Twilight used her magic to open it as quietly as possible, and just as she got a good look at the intruder, her jaw went slack as a pair of plates, loaded down with pancakes floated towards the shocked Unicorn and her nervous assistant.

“Celestia’s light shine upon you both. Good morning Twilight! I don’t think I’ve properly introduced myself, Spike.”

Dipping into the usual introductory bow that was his custom, Ace introduced himself to the young dragon, first with the proper pronunciation and later with the Common Equestrian interpretation.

Through the whole introduction, Spike held a look of incredulity until Twilight nudged him and gave him a look of discontent.

“What, he breaks into our home, cooks us breakfast and introduces himself, so it’s okay?” Spike planted his wrists on his hips as Twilight let out a sigh of exasperation.

“Spike, not only was Ace here last night, not only did he spend the night downstairs, not only has he been nothing but polite, but YOU are the one who let him in and woke me up to talk to him last night.”

Spike looked dumbfounded for a moment, all of his ego deflating as he started to remember the events of last night.

“Oh, um… Sorry?” Spike tried to look apologetic as well as innocent, like he had done nothing wrong at the same time.

Ace laughed as he took a small bite out of the pancake floating near his muzzle, the skillet in his magic preparing another as he flipped it in the air without looking before taking the coffee pot out of the coffee maker and levitating it over to Spike as he set his plate on the table.

“Tell you what, heat this up and we’ll call it even. Been fiddling with your coffee maker all morning, but I don’t think she likes me very much. I put magic through her but she doesn’t get hot at all.”

Ace exemplified this by again putting magic through the coffee maker, making it glow a black color as he sighed and shrugged.

Spike let out a steady spout of green dragon flame that matched his scales under the pot for a few seconds, knowing when to stop out of habit before drowning the pancakes in the syrup that was laid out on the table, next to a pitcher of orange juice.

“There, we're even,” Ace said as he pulled a stick of chocolate out of a cabinet, cutting it into two pieces consisting of three quarters and a quarter.

Bringing the three quarter chunk to powder using pressure magic, Ace dumped half of the powder evenly between three coffee mugs before pouring in the coffee, adding Whip cream, a dusting of sugar and chocolate powder, and topping each with a pair of long curls freshly cut off the last chunk.

“Sorry, I forgot to ask, but I hope you both like your coffee hot.”

Spike nodded as he took the cup offered to him while Twilight held up a hoof and shook her head. “Sorry, I don’t much like coffee.” Ace was shocked, grimacing and recoiling, holding his right hoof to his chest as though offended.

“Twilight, everyone likes coffee, they just like it differently, which is why there are so many different kinds of coffee. Give this cup a try, and if you don’t like it, I’ll tell you which of your books I edited while I was up last night.”

Ace took a sip of his coffee as he tried hard to stifle a laugh as Twilight looked appalled at the idea of one of her books being changed for any reason. Spike laughed heartily as well as he watched to make sure Twilight didn’t have a meltdown before she ran into the main room of the otherwise quiet home.

The panicked rasp of her voice rang through to the kitchen as she frantically cast spell after spell, hoping to find the defaced tome.

“You won’t have any spells that can find it Twilight,” she growled in frustration as she tensed her features, casting a more powerful spell, a level 4 spell Ace was familiar with.

“Nope, not even a True Work of the Artist spell. I’m not bluffing Twilight, either try the coffee or suffer for the rest of your days, never knowing which book was changed.”

Coming back into the kitchen, her face a mask bearing a mixture of anger, surprise, discontent, OCD overload, defeat, pain and surrender all at once.

Taking the coffee in her magic, almost sloshing the cream out as she yanked at the cup. Still glaring daggers at the invasive guest, Twilight started to take a small sip at first, followed by a louder gulp, and another as her eyes opened wide at the taste of the caffeinated beverage Ace had made for her.

The cup coming away from her muzzle, blushing as she looked both sorry and satisfied at the same time, the blush growing larger as Ace wiped some of the cream off her lip with a napkin in his magic.

“Told ya.”

Spike couldn’t stifle his laughter before taking a drink from his cup as well, savoring the taste as much as she had, minus the blush. Ace stood triumphant as he took the final pancake from the skillet, carrying it with him in his magic, still eating the one before.

“Okay, I admit, the coffee is amazing and I’ll probably make one every morning when Spike brews the coffee, but can you please tell me what book you edited last night?” Twilight looked sheepish, asking for the opposite result of the concluded bet.

Shaking his head, Ace only smiled slightly. “Sorry, but rules are rules and you lost the bet. I’m not heartless though, and totally understand the whole Obsessive Compulsive Disorder thing, so I will admit that you’ll likely figure it out after we get back and you’ve got a clearer head about everything.”

Spike was finishing his pancakes as Twilight set hers on the table with a sigh, just now beginning to eat. Taking the bottle of syrup in her magic, turning it over the stack of several pancakes to little service, the bottle being empty.

Glaring at Spike as he shrugged apologetically, she pulled another bottle from the refrigerator, replacing it after pouring just enough to run over the sides of the stack. “So where are we going, exactly?” Spike asked after the syrup crisis was averted.

Ace spoke in Twilight’s stead so she could at least somewhat enjoy her breakfast, still frantic about the edited volume.

Holding up the afflicted hoof so Spike could see over the table, “We need to go and talk to Twilight’s friend Rarity. Twilight thinks Rarity will be able to help me keep this covered up, but I don’t know anything about her at all.

"The only ponies I know in Ponyville are Twilight Sparkle, Ditzy Doo, Granny Smith, and Pinkie Pie.” Ace put his hoof back on the floor, continuing to finish his dry pancakes.

Twilight, finishing a bite of her pancakes, looked incredulous for a moment as she asked, “Okay, I can likely imagine where Pinkie Pie came from, but how do you know the other two, Ditzy and Granny Smith?” Spike got up from the table to wash his plate as Ace started to explain.

“Well I’m not sure if you recall, but I work at – or rather I own, run and supply – a spell shop on the outskirts of Hoofsdale.

"A long time ago, I sold a spell to Granny Smith and her family to help with a new harvest they were working on. I hear the spell still gives them a bountiful harvest each year, but I’ve never been out here to look; I was thinking about doing so while I was in town.”

Ace looked like he was contemplating either not telling about how he had met Ditzy Doo, or was thinking what parts he needed to leave out.

“Ditzy Doo is a little more complex: she’s never bought a spell from me, but a spell sold in my shop brought her much grief, which I had never known would happen when I sold the spell.”

Ace paused for a moment to take a drink of his coffee before he continued. “You see, Ditzy Doo has had a birth defect since she was a little filly. I’m sure it’s no secret around here, but her eyesight isn’t quite as it could be, as one of her eyes isn’t entirely under her control. Of course, I know and have sold no small amount of spells that could correct her defect, but she doesn’t want her eyes fixed, because she likes being different.

"A long time ago, Ditzy was dating a stallion who saw only her potential beauty instead of her natural splendor. Thinking that he was doing her a favor, he purchased a corrective spell from me and had used it on her when she was asleep.

"When Ditzy woke up, she was worried – and I know it sounds odd, but the naivety of this part makes me smile a little – poor Ditzy had thought that her eye had escaped. Panicked, she flew to the mirror – this is where the grief part kicks in and makes me feel bad for the naïve bit – noticed that her eye had not escaped from her, but instead her lazy eye had been cured.

"Cue the coltfriend, coming in and congratulating her. Ditzy was very upset with him and, well, long story short they’re not together any more for a reason.”

Finishing his coffee as Twilight finished her meal, Ace took the dishes and cleaned them in the sink as he continued. “This is where I’m blessed to meet such a wonderful mare, as she came to my shop all by herself this time.

"Not knowing that she was in a tiff because of my accidental meddling, she goes off on a tirade, telling me off about how I don’t have any right to change another pony’s life – which I totally and whole-heartedly agree – and how much she wishes that ponies would just see her for who she is and not what she could be.

"Before she could close her eyes and turn to tears, I corrected the correction spell, no charge of course – it’s actually a part of our ‘Right Spell Guarantee,’ if a spell we sell fails to satisfy, we’ll replace, mend or refund any purchases made.

"More embarrassed over the mix up than angry at this point, she flew through my window and left Cloudsdale to move to Ponyville, and I haven’t seen her since.”

“Wow, I never knew she wanted to stay like that. I thought she just couldn’t afford treatment or something, or maybe I’ve never even thought about it at all.” Twilight started to sound really sorry for the Pegasus mare whose history was a mystery. Ace nodded as he laid the dishes out on the rack to dry next to the sink.

“There’s a fair number of ponies who really don’t think about others or their problems, Twilight, and from what I’ve heard from Princess Celestia, you couldn’t be any further from those selfish ponies, so don’t beat yourself up, okay?

"Come on, I want to consult Rarity as soon as we can. The sooner I know if she can help me or not, the sooner I can start working out a plan to fix all this.”

Breakfast finished, Dishes washed and laid out to dry, and stories concluded, the two ponies and a dragon were ready to start their day, first making a stop at Rarity’s Carousel Boutique.

As the ponies were passing through the main room of the library, Twilight looked painfully at her collection of books before glancing at Ace with pleading eyes. “Could you at least give me an idea of what book you changed?”

Shaking his head in defeat, Ace stepped toward the center of the room, away from the door as his horn started to glow. “I suppose I should, I might not be around much longer, depending on what happens when we talk to Rarity.

"Search for edits, author: Ace Deus Fenrir.” No sooner than Ace had spoken the verbal command for the search spell, his horn flared several times brighter, along with all the books in the library as they all slid a few inches away from the shelves before falling to the ground in a heap. Ace hung his head, annoyed by the untimely misfire.

Twilight, likely thinking that Ace was lowering his head in shame, stood with her mouth agape staring in absolute horror at the now disheveled room. Spike was covering his mouth, either in a snicker or total shock as well.

“You… You… You DEFACED ALL OF MY BOOKS?!” Ace looked at her incredulously for a moment as his horn lit up again, once more having to use a reversal spell, this time to replace all the books on the shelves.

“Twilight, I’m playful, not chaotic. I did not ‘deface’ any of your books. There was a singular copy in your collection that was out of date and obsolete, behind by several revisions which I kindly introduced to the book.

"Search for edits, author: Ace Deus Fenrir“ this time, the spell only brought a singular tome forward, titled Everything Known about Anti-Magic Stone, by Ace Deus Fenrir

“The previous spell was a misfire, which happens whenever I cast too many spells without keeping count, generally every five to ten spells.” Twilight took the book in her magic, reviewing each page, a fair number of them marred with ink.

“I figured, since I had the time, and because I took your only sample of the stuff, I would at least share what I know about the Anti-Magic Stone. Upon finding a lesser copy of my notes, I decided the easiest and most OCD friendly way would be to simply amend the copy to be concurrent with the latest notes I keep personally.

"However, your copy is more up to date at present, as I have not yet added the chapter mentioning reactions the stone has when in contact with pre-magic. Enjoy.”

Understanding that Twilight needed some time to settle, Ace proceeded outside to wait for her and Spike. Also, he was hoping that leaving her be for a moment would detract attention from the fact that he had authored a book written nearly eight decades ago, and instead make her ask the question involving misfires.

One can only hope.

Author's Note

Was on the plane all day today, typing this out one letter at a time on a touch screen eReader. During this time, my eReader decided to freeze and lock up, deleting several pages of work... Sorry for the delay fillies and gentlecolts!

The Cover Up

Chapter Five: The Cover Up

The marketplace in the center of Ponyville was still quiet, only a few stalls open and many stores still preparing their wares for the coming day. Here and there, a few ponies were talking amongst themselves, exchanging pleasantries or sitting at a table to enjoy their morning meal.

Twilight Sparkle, Ace and Spike had just left the library, Twilight being considerably calmer now, having apologized for making assumptions and jumping to conclusions about a pony she had just met and barely knew.

Not being one to hold a grudge, Ace nodded, smiled and motioned for Twilight to lead the way to Rarity’s Carousel Boutique.

As they walked through the market, Ace was viewing the goods for sale while trying to keep a fair distance from any Unicorns while also trying not to look like he was avoiding anypony.

“So, Rarity... What kind of Unicorn is she? What sort of magic is she most proficient in? What’s her special talent?” Ace was thrilled at the idea of meeting more Unicorns, rarely meeting any in his line of work.

Maybe I should start doing magic lessons in the shop when this is over?

Twilight looked back at him for a moment as she thought.

“Well, Rarity’s magic is mostly focused toward her special talent, which is clothing design. Many of her designs feature fabulous, well-cut gems. One of her favorite spells is one that she uses to locate gems below ground. She’s also one of the most skilled Unicorns I’ve seen when it comes to telekinesis.”

Ace was beginning to like this Rarity mare more and more. Preparing to ask another question until he saw the round, pastel colored two-story building.

With the bright blues and pinks, checkered and flowing designs, Ace thought the building more clashed than matched, but then again his talent was helping others, not fashion.

When Twilight started to head toward the building, Ace couldn’t help but ask, “Is that the Carousel Boutique?”

Twilight simply nodded with a light smile at the sight of her friend’s home.

“I must be further away from the latest fashions than I thought, because the building really isn’t much to look at. The structure is nice, I mean, but the choice of color, as well as the designs and decorations just put me off.”

As they neared the building, Ace started to make out the carousel ponies displayed on the second floor, as well as the yellow painted one on the sign, marking the store as Carousel Boutique beyond the shadow of a doubt.

Ace sighed in relief when they approached the boutique, glad that nopony in town had noticed the strange substance on his left fore-hoof, possibly because from a distance, it likely looked like a color mutation compared to the rest of the dark Unicorn’s coat.

When they approached the door, it flew open to reveal a pure white Unicorn with a purple mane and matching tail, spreading one hoof in a welcoming gesture.

“Twilight, darling! Have you finally decided to let me work my magic on your mane? It truly is a shame you choose to wear it down all the time, it’s such a wonderful color and body!”

After a moment or two, Rarity locked eyes with Ace, standing behind Twilight, and just stared for a moment. When Ace rose an eyebrow in question, she turned back to Twilight, “Twilight! Where did you find such a charming coltfriend! Aren’t you going to introduce me, dear?”

Twilight, a blush forming around her cheeks, started the introduction. “Rarity, this is –“

Ace, never wanting to miss a chance to be polite, interjected as he dipped in an introductory bow. “Ace Deus Fenrir, but feel free to call me Ace. Pleasure to meet you, Miss Rarity.”

Twilight, still holding her hoof out, planted it back on the ground as she spoke, “And he’s not my coltfriend. Listen, Rarity, Ace needs your help with something."

Rarity started looking over the features of the stallion before her, getting a little too close for Ace’s comfort, who took a step back as she examined him, a look of concentration adding a serious look to her own features.

“We could start by dying his mane, solid red manes are in this season. The necklace is just too gaudy, we’ll need to replace it. Honestly, silver and sapphire on a woven-fiber necklace? Not to mention the design features a dead carrion fowl! You really do need my help!”

Ace, not wishing to be patronized nor turned into a fashion model, picked Rarity up in his magic, gently, and set her back in her doorway a few steps before he held up the afflicted hoof.

“Beg your pardon, Miss Rarity, while I do appreciate the honest effort to help, you wound me. No, my personal appearance is not the state of emergency, but rather concealing this while also keeping it contained is the predicament that has brought Twilight and I to your doorstep this morning.

"Please bear in mind that the affliction is comprised of pre-magic, so we cannot use any magic to conceal it and I beg you do not use magic near it as well, as it is still very much a dangerous entity.”

Rarity examined the presented hoof for a moment before nodding once and turning back to lead them into her home.

“Please, come on in. Let’s see what we can do about that, shall we?” Rarity shut the door behind them after Twilight, Spike and Ace had come through the doorway into the showroom.

Looking around the room, Ace noted that Twilight was not exaggerating when she said that many of her works featured well-cut gems. There were more than twenty mannequins, most bearing an outfit or article of clothing that would likely cost a large sum of bits, even by his standards.

Surely there cannot be too much business for such expensive clothing here in Ponyville, the ponies wouldn’t have enough bits to buy such extravagant clothing. Even if they did, most ponies here are workponies, their clothes would get dirty or tarnished too easily.

Rarity retreated to the back room while Ace was looking at the lavish ensembles.

“Twilight, has Rarity always sold her clothes in Ponyville? These outfits would likely cost most of the ponies around Ponyville more than a year’s worth of their salaries. Wouldn’t these be more appropriate for someplace like Canterlot, or the Crystal Empire?

"Wait, would it be a faux pas to wear gems in the Crystal Empire?” Before Twilight could answer, Rarity’s voice came from the back room as several bolts of cloth came floating through the doorway.

“Well you see dear, since I harvest all of the gems myself, I can sell these marvelous dresses for much more affordable prices! I have often thought about moving my business to Canterlot, but I wouldn’t be able to gather the gems I need there, and I wouldn’t wish to export the gems from anywhere, and even if I did, it would mean being away from the shop while I was looking for more.”

Finally accompanying the last of the fabrics into the room, she started to use her levitation magic to bring the cloths alongside the affliction for whatever reason.

Immediately, Ace cast a force spell, bringing everything and everypony in the room to the floor aside from him, then he used a restriction spell embodied by a golden lock and chain that soon wound itself around Rarity’s horn.

“NO! You cannot bring magic near the pre-magic, or it’ll become more powerful and jump to one of our horns. If that happens, it won’t detach for any reason, and with the shear amount of pre-magic involved, it would encase that pony’s entire head, cutting off their intake of oxygen or worse, spreading within that pony’s body.

"You MUST exhibit caution, Miss Rarity.”

Cutting off the force spell before righting the mannequins that had fallen, and using a reparation spell on the outfits or mannequins that were harmed, Ace looked over Rarity with a stern look, awaiting her confirmation.

Twilight and Rarity rose to their hooves with a groan as Spike got to his feet and dusted himself off, perhaps more from the sudden shift more than actual pain.

Rarity met Ace’s glare before she realized she had almost made a very grave mistake. “I… I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking, I was too focused on my work to have any caution.”

With the crises averted and the point clearly driven in, possibly too deeply, Ace nodded and smiled as he released the lock from her solid white horn. “So long as you understand and realize this is no trivial matter, then all is well. I bear you no ill will, just remember that everypony’s safety is the largest of my worries.”

Rarity, still nervous and shaken after the sudden assault, looked to Twilight. Twilight nodded her support, but was no less shaken after the outburst, still unsure of just what Ace was capable of.

Regaining her composure with a short, practiced breathing exercise, Rarity took the nearest bolt of cloth in her hooves and held it up against Ace’s coat to compare the colors. Rarity was clearly having some trouble, never before needing to handle the delicate cloth by hoof, always relying on her magic.

Starting to get frustrated after five shades of blue, a single shade of yellow and two shades of green were rejected, Rarity sat before the stallion once more, studying his whole form and not just his head this time.

“Do you really need all of those accessories? I can understand the glasses, and the black frames suit your coat and mane superbly dear, but the necklace and bracelet are raising all sorts of difficulty in making a new outfit for you.”

Ace looked quizzically at Rarity, wishing to reprimand her for making an outfit and not a cover-up for the single hoof, but feeling as though he was already off to a bad start after having to so harshly remind her of the nature of the visit once already.

“The glasses are non-negotiable, as I need them for my eyes, and I suppose to the necklace can be replaced for some other article I can transplant my spherical, enchanted gems to, but the bracelet is only being used to hold the anti-magic stone to the pre-magic so that it doesn’t get any stronger.

"If you could work the stone into something else I can wear, such as a stocking or another bracelet, then that would be acceptable.” Ace took the bracelet off by hoof, then slid it over to Rarity so she could look at it more closely. After a few moments, her eyes lit up with an idea.

“What if we crushed the stone into a powder, and wove it into fabric that matched your coat, and you just wore that until I am able to make something more suitable?” Glad to finally hear a plausible solution to his problem, Ace’s eyes went wide at the idea.

“Yes! Yes, that should work superbly! With the stone being shattered into a fine powder, it will still retain the strength to drain the magic the pre-magic can soak up residually.

"With the fabric preventing the pre-magic from making physical contact with other magic, it shouldn’t be able to gather enough strength to attempt an escape, and with the powder being placed inside of something solid such as fabric, I will be able to teleport or flash with it since I can transport the thing the remnants of the stone are locked within.

"Yes, that is a perfect solution! Can you do it?” While Ace was talking, Rarity had pulled out a loom and some fine dark-gray fabric that matched the stallion’s coat splendidly.

“But of course, dear! This is a clothing store, after all. I wouldn’t be very good at my job if I couldn’t weave fabric the old fashioned way.” Rarity walked up to Ace as she spoke, a roll of measuring tape wrapped around her hoof that she used to take the measurements she needed.

When she went to the do the length, pulling the tape up along the hoof, starting from the floor and ending at the crest of the gooey mass, clearly not liking the feel of the substance, Ace cleared his throat a moment.

“If you’d be so kind, I’d like to cover up the scars as well. The unusual markings might make some ponies uncomfortable.” Rarity nodded, not wanting to test her voice as she was preoccupied keeping her mind away from the feeling of the grotesque, messy mass she was working around as she amended the length measurement as Twilight spoke her mind.

“Do you really need to cover them up? I really wanted to study them, and I think they look appealing.” Twilight’s cheeks flushed as the two looked at her for a moment.

“I – I mean they are so precise, so meticulous, and they really compliment your handsome face. I – I mean…” Twilight’s face turned an entirely different shade as she started to lower herself nervously.

“I’m going to wait outside!” she almost shouted as she ran out the door, closing it a tad loudly as she left, leaving the two to stare at the door dumbly for a moment before Ace broke the silence.

“Let’s keep the scars then; just cover the pre-magic, if you’d be so kind, Miss Rarity.” Nodding as she inwardly cringed when she had to touch the black mass, which had begun to show white stars upon itself, she took the measurements and immediately backed away from the afflicted limb before using her magic to cut off a section of the fine black cloth, then pull it apart thread by thread to work it into the loom.

“Would you like me to crush the stone? I’ll need something to collect the powder in.”

Rarity nodded as she went back into the room beyond the showroom, being gone for a moment before returning with a classy, metal tea tray, setting it in the floor near the paper-weave bracelet.

“Do try not to hurt the tray if you can help it dear, I am quite fond of it.” Nodding as he set the bracelet in the tray before unraveling it, dropping the stone onto the platter with a clatter, Ace pressed his contaminated hoof to the crystal, resulting in a high pitched hiss filling the room.

Rarity sprawled across the floor as she panicked while Spike just covered his ear-fins as he continued admiring Rarity while trying not to look like he was admiring Rarity. “Wha- What was that?!”

Ace looked sheepish for a moment before he spoke, “Sorry, I keep forgetting that it does that. When the magic leaves the pre-magic, it makes that sound. I didn’t mean to frighten you… again.”

Rarity got back on her hooves, watching as the last of the white stars faded from view on the surface of Ace’s left fore-hoof before he pressed the hoof hard against the crystal, forming little cracks at first. Ace continued adding pressure a little at a time, being careful not to dent the fine tray Rarity had provided.

Before long, the stone made one last cracking sound before it shattered, leaving small fragments around the tray, which Ace proceeded to crush into a fine powder.

Once all of the fragments had been dealt with, Ace used his magic to form a glass dish, pouring the powder into it from a corner of the tray before handing the finished product to Rarity, unsure of how she intended to work the powder into the cloth.

Taking the powder into the back room, returning moments later with the glass container holding a quantity of water turned a light pink by the powder.

“I see now; to make sure that the powder merges with the fabric, you mixed it in with the water. Then you’ll soak the fabric in the water for a moment before running it through the loom. Once the threads have come together inside the loom, the powder will be locked within the cloth. Rarity, you’re more brilliant than I thought!”

Rarity beamed at the praise as she set to work on the loom as Ace watched closely, rarely having the chance to watch the process personally. As they were both preoccupied, Spike slipped out to check on Twilight.

Twilight sat alone, brooding silent and alone under a nearby tree. As focused on her own thoughts as she was, she noticeably jumped when Spike rested a clawed hand on her shoulder.

Letting out a sigh to try and relax herself before confronting her assistant, now standing beside her as he tried to figure out what she was thinking about, but letting her work it all out herself before asking any questions.

“Spike, what do you think about Ace? We haven’t known him very long, yet he still seems to almost… Fit in, no matter where he goes.”

Spike held a claw to his chin a moment as he thought earnestly about the question. “To tell you the truth, I haven’t thought about it much. He does make good pancakes, and brews some of the best coffee I’ve ever tasted.

"He seems to know some serious things about magic - even I can tell that much. To be quite honest, I haven’t given it much thought, since I thought he’d just get his hoof fixed and then go back to Hoofsdale.”

Twilight just looked at her assistant for a moment before nodding slowly. “You’re probably right, there isn’t really much keeping him in Ponyville after he gets what he needs from Rarity. He’ll probably wave us off before teleporting back to his shop… But I don’t think I want him to leave just yet, Spike.

"It’s like… I want to get to know him better. Kind of like when we first came to Ponyville, after we helped Princess Luna seal away Nightmare Moon. Once I knew just a little bit about my friends, I didn’t want to stop learning about them, and that’s worked out well, right?”

Spike nodded his agreement. After the fight with Nightmare Moon, Twilight, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rarity and Rainbow Dash had all become the best of friends.

“Well why don’t you just ask Ace to stay? Even if he doesn’t stay here all the time, I’m sure he’d visit from time to time if you let him know you want to get to know him better.”

Twilight shook her head, having already thought that far. “But he knows Granny Smith and Pinkie Pie, and I’m sure that one of them would have mentioned if he had ever come to town recently. I don’t really think he gets out much, or at least not to Ponyville. I’m just one pony, Spike. He might not take time out of his busy day to drop in and say hello just because I asked nicely.”

Spike could agree that it was a possibility, but he didn’t think it was a good enough one to drop the whole idea over.

“Well why don’t you ask him to teach you magic? It seems like he’s really good at magic. He even runs a successful spell shop, and it is your talent after all. The worst that could happen is he says no and you can said you tried. Heck, even if he does say no, you could always stop by his shop and pay him a visit instead.”

Twilight looked like she was deeply considering all the possibilities such an idea could bring forth. Once again losing her confidence, she let out another sigh before she spoke.

“What am I supposed to say? ‘Hey Ace, I was thinking, and I’d really like for you to teach me magic, if you’re not too busy.’” Half-way through her dialogue, Spike had to cover his mouth to keep from laughing.

“Of course Twilight, I’d be happy to help you. When would you like to begin?”

Ace had come outside to talk to Twilight when Rarity asked to be left alone with her work, saying that it’d be a few minutes before she had finished. Twilight turned around with a flush on her cheeks as she looked up at him.

“Oh, but I’d like to stop by the Apple family’s orchard before we go back to the library.” Ace sat down beside Twilight in the shadow of the tree while he waited for Rarity to finish with the cover-up for his hoof.

Twilight looked at the blackened hoof that was only inches away from hers. The hoof was beginning to be covered in white spots, much like when she had first met Ace outside the library. “So each of those white spots is a collection of magic? What happens when it gets too much magical power?”

Staring at the hoof himself, Ace looked as though he was pondering the answer himself.

“To be quite honest, I have no idea. Ideally, given enough magical power, the pre-magic will realize it cannot complete its purpose and dissipate on its own – or even get so overloaded that is disintegrates.

"Much more likely, the pre-magic will turn entirely white, and stop gathering magical energy as it can no longer store any more – this would be much more dangerous than it sounds, as the pre-magic has actually displayed that it has primitive use of the magic energy it gains, and I have not yet concluded to what extent it can control it.

"Thus far it has been able to shift its form using magical energy to gain more energy, and the reason why I am in this predicament is that the pre-magic was actually able to jump onto me when it sensed the magic in my horn. Possibly, the shear amount of magic may even completely overload the black mass and cause it to burn out and change into something other than pre-magic.”

Ace shrugged a bit as he shook his head. “I simply don’t know Twilight, and if I’m going to do any further testing or experimentation on the subject, I’ll likely do it in my workshop where I can properly monitor the results, as well as ensuring that nopony else gets hurt.”

Twilight looked as though she hung on every word on the subject, likely taking mental notes that she would properly lend ink to when they returned to the library.

“Does it hurt? It certainly doesn’t look very comfortable.” Ace held up the plagued hoof as though it would help show how it felt.

“Under normal circumstances, that is if it were another pony, it would just feel like putting your hoof in a large jar of jelly and leaving it there for a while. To me, however, since I constantly trickle magic through my whole body to power an extrasensory spell that lets me not only see, but feel and grasp my surroundings, that sense has been cut off where the pre-magic touches.

"To me, it feels like my hoof has been cut off at the knee, even though my mind, my muscles and my eyes all tell me otherwise.”

He let out what sounded like a forced chuckle as he set the hoof back down, “I’ve had to actually look at my own hoof just to make sure it’s still there; it’s very unnerving.

"As for physical pain, the scars I used to make the glyphs still hurt when I move the hoof… More than I show, at any rate. The line you see below the glyphs cuts all the way down to my bone, so the muscle tissue there was severed for nearly three minutes as I worked out the glyphs.”

Twilight’s features paled a bit as she tried to imagine how that must have felt. Without thinking, she reached a hoof out and stroked the strange symbols, not realizing what she had done until her hoof strayed to the perfectly circular scar just above the pre-magic, which caused Ace to visibly tense at the contact to such a tender area.

Pulling her hoof back and not knowing what to say, all she could manage was, “Sorry…”

Ace nodded that it was fine, but before he could speak, Rarity came out of the boutique. Spike went running towards her immediately, before she motioned for the others to come as well as she disappeared back into the brightly colored building.

In a bit of a hurry to get the anti-magic laced clothing Rarity had been working on, Ace started towards the store, stopping a few steps away to make sure Twilight was coming before he continued.

Once the group had all made it into the showroom, Rarity used her magic to pull her latest work out from the hiding place in the back room.

The cover looked exactly like Ace’s hoof, though a bit thicker to make room for the pre-magic. From a distance, for all intents and purposes, it looked exactly like his hoof. Taking the creation in her hooves, she presented the clothing to the dark stallion.

Moving forward, he held out his hoof so that Rarity could help him put it on. As the cover contacted the pre-magic, it let out a high-pitched hiss again, though everypony had already heard it before and was ready to cover their ears.

Once the cover had slid all the way up his hoof, stopping past the pre-magic, but before the first linear scar, Ace started tapping the floor to test the fit. Making sure the cover was completely on, Ace lightly trotted around the spacious room, making sure the cover wouldn’t slip off or loosen under normal conditions.

Coming to a halt before the three, he nodded once as he looked at Rarity. “It’s fantastic, Rarity. It looks just like my hoof at a distance, and it’s tight enough to stay secure without being uncomfortable. Please, wait here for a moment.”

With that, the room lit up in an incredibly bright gray-black light, with the ponies still in the room averting their eyes for a moment before looking up again and realizing that Ace had left. Twilight’s heart sank as her posture slackened.

“He’s coming back, right Spike?” Spike looked like he was at a loss for words as he looked around the room, hoping to find something that would provide an answer for his friend.

The room was eerily silent for a time, nopony wanting to move or say anything. After a few more seconds, the room lit up with a much dimmer light than before as Ace showed up with a pouch hanging from his mouth, which he set on the ground as he bowed his head forward in apology.

“Sorry about that, I had another misfire.” Twilight let out a sigh of relief as she visibly relaxed when Ace rose back up, his usual playful-business demeanor returned.

“I always pay for good work, Miss Rarity, and this work is certainly deserving in every respect; not only is it a custom fitted piece of clothing, but even I can tell the fabric used is top-notch quality, not to mention it had to be hoof-crafted and personally treated with anti-magic powder, as well as being made with a rush order.

"Please, accept these bits as payment for a job well done, you’ve earned it.”

Rarity was taken aback, appalled even, at the very notion. “Ace, darling, you’re a friend of Twilight’s and thereby a close friend to me. I could never charge you for only half an hour of work, it would be must distasteful! Please, keep your money and go about your way, and feel free to visit me any time you want.

"Maybe next time you’ll let me make you a whole outfit, and find some more suitable jewelry to complement it as well.” Understanding that Rarity clearly didn’t want to discuss the payment, Ace flash-teleported the pouch containing four-hundred bits into the backroom for her to discover after they had left under the guise of having taken it back.

“That’s truly generous Rarity, and I will certainly have to visit again sometime while I’m in town assisting Twilight with her studies, but I can’t guarantee you’ll get the chance to make clothing for me.

"Of course, should the need arise, you’ll be at the top of my list. Farewell, Miss Rarity.” Waving to their friend as they left, the three made their way out of the shop.

Twilight, never one to miss a beat, remarked as soon as they were out of earshot of the Carousel Boutique, “You moved the pouch somewhere in her house so she’d have to keep it, didn’t you?” Caught in his deception, Ace could only smile as they started on the road to Sweet Apple Acres before Spike interjected.

“As much fun as seeing everypony would be Twilight, I’m going to go back and mind the library while you’re gone. Tell Applejack I said hello when you see her.” Spike started heading home as the other two waved good bye to him as well.

Author's Note

There were so many scenes that didn't make the cut for this chapter. I'm half tempted to start writing a "Deleted Scenes" branch of the book and publish it at the end. Of course, the deleted scenes would be non-canon to the story...

Then There Were Apples; or, Twilight's First Lesson

Chapter Six: Then There Were Apples
or, ' ' Twilight's First Lesson

Twilight and Ace walked side-by-side down the long road that would lead them to the outskirts of town and onto the Apple family’s property, the Sweet Apple Acres.

“Can you tell me again how you know the Apple family?” Twilight asked, not wanting to walk the long way in silence, and taking the chance to maybe learn more about her new mentor.

“Of course. A number of years ago, the Apple family sent Granny Smith to my spell shop to buy a spell that would help protect their trees from any dangers that could present themselves from the nearby Everfree Forest. Never one to miss a chance to upgrade a spell, I added something to it that would make sure the trees provided a bountiful harvest each year as well, assuming the trees were properly cared for of course.

"However, such a spell wasn’t cheap, especially not when the spell had to work every year for an indefinite amount of time. Being a level 8 spell, it would have cost the Apple family one thousand bits to purchase the spell, but they just didn’t have the money.”

Twilight was leaning on every word, wanting to learn more about not just her new friend, Ace, but also about the history of Applejack’s family. “If they didn’t have the money, how did they afford the spell?”

Ace smiled before he continued, enjoying going through and reliving the memories as well.

“Well at the Dragon Eyes, we don’t like turning down a customer who is clearly in need, which is why we also accept trades in exchange for our spells. Granny Smith had about eighty bits to put down for the spell, which I took fifty of and sold her the spell.

"I told her that she could have the spell if she would instead let me have one of the trees in the orchard. ‘But we don’t have any way of bringing you the tree,’ she said, ‘how are we going to give you something we can’t move?’

"I laughed at the idea of moving something like a tree by carriage and could certainly see why she was at a loss. ‘Well tell you what Miss Smith, you bring me the apples that tree puts out every harvest, and we’ll call it even,’ I told her.

"To this day, every harvest season I get a nice big bushel of apples at the shop in the name of the Apple Family. That single tree has kept me fed for weeks each year, and every year I find more and more recipes involving apples.”

Twilight looked thoughtful for a moment even as she laughed. “So that’s how you knew the spell was still holding up then, you’ve been keeping track of the apples you’ve been getting each year.”

Ace nodded that this was true with a smile as they continued down the path.

“Each year I check the apples for any signs of the spell I sold the family ages past, and last year I noticed the spell was starting to weaken. It’s not the first time it’s happened, I normally just send a spell scroll and an activator to the Apple residence with instructions on how to renew the spell.

"This year I’ve decided I’d just drop in for a visit instead, being in the area and all.” Ace looked up at the sky as he spoke, “I don’t really get out much, usually just making the occasional house call for a spell, or going out to research some new topic of interest or making an appearance at some gathering.

"Sometimes I attend random towns for a holiday or festival. Normally, the peak of my day is when a new customer comes to the Dragon Eyes, as it’s really the only way I’ve met new ponies. It’s not that I’m anti-social or anything, I just don’t talk to many ponies.”

Twilight nodded as she realized just how familiar Ace’s situation was to how she acted before coming to Ponyville.

“What about your family? Do you have any brothers or sisters or anything?” Ace stopped looking at the clouds overhead as the question seemed to pain him. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to bring back bad memories or anything.” Ace smiled a bit before he spoke, though the smile seemed somehow sadder than the pained look.

“No, no it’s fine. ‘Tis a perfectly normal question, after all. No, I don’t really have any blood relatives, though there are two mares I’d almost count as sisters. We don’t really talk much and I can’t even be certain they’d say the same about me.

"I’d like not to talk about it, if that’s alright with you.” Twilight hadn’t meant to dredge up a painful past, so she just let the subject drop as she thought of something else to talk about.

“Running a spell shop must be a lot of work for one Unicorn. Wouldn’t your misfires get in the way, anyways? They don’t seem to happen too often, but couldn’t you accidentally sell a spell that could get somepony hurt?”

The question had been bothering Twilight for some time now, and it seemed like as good of a time as any to bring it up. Ace shook his head before he replied.

“Running the shop is pretty simple, really. The only thing the shop needs to operate is me, the enchanted inkwells I make, quills and parchment. On occasion, I need to make a few spell activators, which are just hoofmade clay figures or sculptures that have been laced with residual magic.

"I don’t even need to be in the shop often, as I just put a perimeter spell around the shop and teleport back whenever I can sense a customer coming up the hill. As for the misfires, they can be troublesome for house calls, but otherwise they’re just an annoyance at best.

"Inscribing spell scrolls, levitation or telekinesis, and enchantments can never be misfired, so that isn’t a concern except for when I need to cast the spell directly. There are of course days where I don’t want to work the shop, such as when I was working on the Magic Immunity Experiment.

"However, that’s as simple as leaving a note on the door for ponies to write out where I can find them when I re-open the shop – hence the house calls.”

A cart came up on the road, causing Ace and Twilight to walk alongside of the road, rather than on it for a bit. “What do you normally do when you’re not tending to the shop? Do you live near the Dragon Eyes? What do you do for fun?” Ace laughed a bit at the last question before he continued to answer his inquisitive new student’s questions.

“Well I do live somewhat close to the shop, about seven miles in the opposite direction of Hoofsdale. As for how I occupy my time, usually by reading or crafting and practicing new spells, sometimes working on experiments in the workshop.

"I have a sort of hobby of collecting old things as well, but that’s more passive than active. Whenever the fancy strikes, I pick up a new skill or try out a new past time, the latest of which is training other Unicorns in the ways of magic.” He tossed an amused look to Twilight with the last bit, to which she smiled before they both laughed.

“Speaking of training in magic, are there any lessons we can discuss on the way to Sweet Apple Acres?” Twilight asked, eager to know what sort of teacher Ace would turn out to be.

“Maybe you could teach me that extrasensory spell; it seems like it would be really useful. How does it work?” Ace kept the amused smile as he nodded, starting the early lesson as they walked.

“Well it’s not a spell, really, much like levitation or telekinesis is a use for magic that is not a spell. Much like levitation is achieved through the channeling of our magic into an object so that we can control it, the extrasensory skill allows us to spread our magic around us, sort of like an aura, to feel our surroundings.

"If I had to keep either my sight or my extrasensory skill, I would keep the extrasensory magic as it allows me to see so much more than my eyes can, but make no mistake that sight is still important. Extrasensory magic allows me to always tell where everything around me is, though I cannot tell what color it all is.

"With my extrasensory magic, I can tell whether a tree is an Oak or a Yew without looking at it, or when a passing pony has the flu before they show any of the symptoms.

"As far as spells go, it’s pretty easy to learn to use it at will, but you’d need to learn to control your magic with your entire body, and not just your horn, before you can always have the sense.” Ace started to look around, as though he was looking for something, but not being able to find whatever it was.

“Here, let’s have you try and use extrasensory magic; no lesson better than practical application, after all.” He turned off of the road to sit under the shade of nearby tree, motioning for Twilight to sit in front of him. As she did, he closed his eyes before Twilight mimicked the gesture.

“Okay, the first thing you need to do is gather magic in your horn, like you’re using levitation magic. Once you can feel your horn glowing with the magic, let up just a bit and spread the magic all around you in a circle. As the magic passes over things, you’ll be able to see them, even with your eyes closed.”

Twilight did as Ace said, her horn glowing dimly before she let it flow freely from her horn, passing over Ace, the tree, the ground and the nearby road. In the blackness of her vision, she could see all around herself, like she was having an out of body experience.

As her magic passed over things, she could feel them throughout her body as if she was pressed against it. Anything her magic touched lit up with a purple color similar to her magic, and if she looked at it closely, it was as though she was reading a book about it.

The tree they sat under was a Yew, roughly one hundred and eighty seven years old. In its branches there was a nest, long ago abandoned by the yellow finches that had raised a family within. The roots of the tree passed underneath the road.

She could feel the ladybug that was thirteen meters to her right as it looked at her warily. The ladybug had just finished eating from a nearby blade of grass and was scanning the area for predators before it took flight and flew away. She could count the number of times it beat its wings each second, feeling the wind being displaced as the insect propelled itself through the air.

Then she turned her attention to Ace, aside from the hoof that was veiled from her magic by the pre-magic as well as the anti-magic stone laced cover.

He’s right, it really is debilitating not being able to feel something, and yet know it’s there… It feels as though his hoof has been cut off.

Above the severed limb, she could feel the glyphs and the deeper scar beneath them. The glyphs glowed as they danced and blurred in her vision the more she focused on them, but when she felt Ace as a whole, she could clearly make out the markings, even read them: ‘Hu sykel ouhtan.’

Twilight could feel the extrasensory magic that radiated from him as well, and she could tell that he was feeling her the same way she was feeling him… It made her feel uncomfortable, but at the same time she sort of… liked that he was watching her so closely. It even made her feel safe.

Twilight could feel her face flushing slowly, as though everything was moving in slow motion, when she heard – felt – Ace’s voice speaking slowly to her.

“Your observation of time is slower when you use your extrasensory magic, your mind literally works so quickly to understand the vast volume of information that you no longer perceive time the same way. Only a few seconds have passed since you closed your eyes, Twilight.”

Twilight was stunned, as it felt that Ace had been speaking for almost a minute alone. Just as she was about to open her eyes, she noticed that Ace’s glasses were glowing, somewhat like the glyphs on his missing hoof. She focused her magic on the glasses for a moment and she could tell they were enchanted with several enchantments.

Opening her eyes to see Ace’s eyes looking back into hers, her cheeks now fully flushed, she could do little more than just look into his sapphire irises that lied behind the enchanted lenses. Twilight was the first to break the silence in a whisper.

“So this is how things always look to you, all the time?” Ace nodded without breaking eye contact. “Surely it must get tiring, seeing the world move in slow motion, and all that information… Doesn’t it get overwhelming?”

Ace shrugged as he replied. “You get used to it after a year or two, and the headaches stop after a while, when your mind learns to process the information faster.”

Twilight thought there was more to it, thinking that the glasses must have helped in some way. Being as close as they were in this moment, she took the glasses in her magic – Ace immediately closing his left eye when the frames began to move, but making no effort to stop her.

Twilight turned the glasses around and slid them into place on her muzzle. She could see through the lenses perfectly, so they clearly weren’t prescription, but she could feel that they were different in other ways.

She knew one of the enchantments darkened the lenses in the presence of bright light, having seen them do as much the night she had met Ace, but there were several other enchantments as well.

“You look nice with sapphire eyes, Twilight, but you should stick to Amethyst. It suits you better.” Twilight looked puzzled for a moment before she realized that Ace still hadn’t opened his left eye, and his right seemed to be a somewhat dimmer shade of blue.

Ace's horn lit as he conjured a shard of glass in his magic. Turning it into a reflective mirror, Ace held it before Twilight so she could see herself more clearly.

Her eyes had indeed turned into the brilliant sapphire that normally shone is Ace’s gaze. The large black frames of the glasses were designed to always fully envelop his eyes, she now realized, because they had an illusion spell cast upon them that changed the wearer’s eyes to a bright sapphire blue.

Taking the mirror in her own magic and setting it aside, Twilight just had to ask, “Why? Is there something wrong with your eye?” Ace sat for a moment, just looking into Twilight’s now-sapphire eyes, his left eye still closed. Twilight started to feel like she was being a bit too nosy and personal with the pony she had just met.

Before Twilight could apologize, Ace spoke first. “Can you keep a secret, Twilight? A secret from everypony in Equestria, a secret from Princess Luna and Princess Celestia? Can you keep a secret from now until the day that they cremate my body and place my horn in the Canterlot Royal Archives?”

Ace continued to lock gazes with Twilight, looking no less fierce for the lack of his second eye. Twilight nodded nervously, not quite sure of what she was getting herself into. A few moments passed before Ace slowly slid his left eye open.

Twilight was surprised by the red and blue eyes that looked back at hers. Without realizing it, she had leaned closer to the red eye, examining the strange pattern of the pupil: the pupil started at the center of the eye, but spiraled out to the right, making a three-hundred-sixty degree spiral, ending near the top of the iris.

The deep red iris was much larger than anypony’s eye she had ever seen. Where most ponies had large pupils and small irises, Ace’s left eye seemed to consist entirely of iris with the pupil spiraling through the center of it instead of filling it outright. “This eye is one of the few links I still have to my blood-right heritage. It is the mark of an Al Bhed.”

Their muzzles almost touching, Twilight pulled her head away with a blush before she repeated the name of a race she was unfamiliar with. “Who, or what, are the Al Bhed?” Ace seemed hurt at the honest question, but answered all the same.

“The Al Bhed are a race of ponies who shun magic and instead create technology - tools and machines - to perform their tasks for them. Unicorns skilled in magic who have Al Bhed blood in their veins, even just a small amount, will always have one red eye with the signature spiral of the Al Bhed heritage.

"Unicorns not born with a vast amount of magical strength bear only the normal green Al Bhed eyes, sometimes one if they are half-bloods or none at all if they are less. Red-eyed Al Bhed Unicorns are shunned from the Al Bhed society as soon as their cutie mark develops.

"Some Unicorns have deliberately avoided finding their cutie mark, avoiding anything that would involve them using magic, just so they don’t have to leave the settlements, their homes and family.”

Twilight, feeling pained and sorry for the life Ace must have endured as a colt, took the glasses in her hooves and placed them back on his muzzle gently as he nodded his thanks.

“I’m… I’m sorry, I just saw the glasses were in enchanted with the extrasensory magic… I thought they helped you with your extrasensory magic, so I wanted to try them… I didn’t mean to-“

Ace put a hoof to her muzzle, “’Tis okay, the Al Bhed never did me any favor greater than letting me out into Equestria so I could explore my magic. If you want help with your magic, that is something I can do.”

Taking his hoof away from her muzzle, he pulled off the Raven Talon necklace, currently grasping the enchanted sapphire that boosted a pony’s magic strength and stamina, and draped it over her neck.

The sudden, unexpected burst of magic that flowed through Twilight caught her off guard, sending a single pulse of light through her horn as the excess magic was dispelled.

A look of ‘wow’ set on her face, Twilight could feel the magic pulsing through her much more swiftly, like she could cast a hundred spells without feeling tired. She rose a hoof to hold the necklace, looking it over in a new light.

“This… This must have cost a fortune, I can’t accept this, Ace.”

Ace rose a brow quizzically as he started to get up. “Of course not, I’m just letting you use it while we’re training. However, do not think that the jewelry is expensive simply because it is strong. I made the talon bit myself, wove the cord of the thong part from plant fibres, harvested that naturally cut spherical sapphire, and of course enchanted it myself.

"The way I see it, so long as you’re wearing that necklace, I have permission to make the lessons as rigorous as I see fit, and note that I always resort to practical application as my primary means of education. I trust you’ll be a good student, Twilight, and that is why I’m entrusting the necklace to you for the length of the course.

"Our lessons will continue later, but for now, we should make our way to Sweet Apple Acres.” Ace headed back to the road and waited for Twilight to join him at his side before he continued, again walking side-by-side on the narrow dirt road.

Twilight and Ace didn’t have much further to walk, arriving at the edge of the Apple property after just a few minutes. Approaching the property, Ace could feel the spell over the orchard.

“Twilight, why don’t you run on ahead and tell the Apples I’ll be paying them a visit in just a few minutes. I’m going to look around and make sure the spell has been working evenly through the whole area. Also, I’d like to meet the tree I’ve owned for years and never seen.”

Twilight hesitated for a moment like she was going to voice an argument, but seemed to decide that Ace could handle himself before nodding and heading towards the family house while Ace traveled amongst the trees of the orchard.

Being amongst the trees, Ace was in no hurry as he casually strolled, inspecting each individual tree he passed with both his eyes and his magic. Much as he had expected, each and every one of the trees was splendidly healthy, having been given special love and care by each working member of the local Apple family.

The few trees that had gotten sick showed no residual signs of illness or poor health, looking to all the world as though it never once was unwell, such was the caring affection the Apples had for their trees.

Continuing to follow the residual magic from the Floral Fortitude magic over the orchard, it didn’t take very long before Ace arrived in the middle of the orchard, standing before the largest tree in all of Sweet Apple Acres - the source of the magic that protected the crops not only from minor cases of illness, but also from the wandering foragers of the Everfree Forest – his tree.

Pressing his good hoof to the tree as he closed his eyes, he focused his magic on the large apple tree, reviewing the enchanted tree’s past. “You’ve done well, my friend, keeping your family safe. Let me help you myself, this time, no more messengers.”

Ace’s horn glowed, its black light spreading to wash over the magically-enlarged apple tree. After several moments, the leaves and apples of the tree glowed a bright gold as the spell took hold, Ace basking in the glow even as it began to fade.

Once the glow had faded completely, Ace pulled down a single apple from his tree, taking a casual bite as he just watched the branches sway in the light breeze.

“Now who do ya think you are, coming onto our property, casting yer magic and eatin’ our apples?” a southern-laced voice rang over the orchard from a few trees away, coming closer at a gallop as it went.

Ace turned to look at the orange coated, yellow-maned earth pony that was approaching him from behind. The pony rushed towards Ace, stopping only a couple of meters away as Ace finished his apple.

Dipping into the introductory bow that was his usual greeting, he introduced himself. “Ace Deus Fenrir is my name, but you may call me Ace if you wish.” Ace came out of the bow as he plucked another apple from his tree in his magic, taking another bite out of it, knowing that it would annoy the earth pony before him.

“You must be one of Granny Smith’s grandchildren. How is she, by the way?”

The freckled pony smiled for a moment as she replied, “Oh, granny’s doing great after the hip replacement, but-“ the smile faded from her face when Ace pulled the apple into another large bite, “wait a minute, don’t ya distract me! Just ‘cause you know granny, that don’t mean ya can come in here and eat all of our apples!”

Ace nodded earnestly as he replied, “Oh, I whole-heartedly agree, as there wouldn’t be much business for apples if anypony could just come and take them whenever they wanted,” he said as he finished his second apple before pulling down a third.

“Why, it would be pure chaos if somepony could just take another pony’s belongings. As we are creatures of order, there are of course laws that forbid such conduct,” he finished by taking a bite out of the apple, chewing with his mouth open to hide his laugh and foolish smile as he pushed the pony’s buttons.

The orange earth pony was visibly losing her cool as each second passed.

“Okay, ya listen her now mister city-stallion: if ya’ll take one more apple off’a any of our trees, ya’ll be rubbing yer flank all the way back to town when I buck ya off’a our property, got it?” Ace nodded, taking another bite out of the apple, chewing it slowly before he spoke.

“I do not understand why you’re getting so bent out of shape, Miss. This here is my tree, after all. The way you speak, one would think that I had been stealing from you this whole time.” Ace sat down as he took another bite from the apple, putting on an air of innocence an actor would adore.

The earth pony’s features changed from anger, to confusion, and back again before she spoke. “How do ya figure that, exactly? Every way I look at it, ya been plucking our apples since I’ve got here.” The orange pony’s hoof scraped against the ground once, lowering her head as though if Ace didn’t answer correctly, he was going to have a fight on his hooves.

Ace took the last bite from his third apple before he spoke, locking gazes with the pony he had knowingly pushed over the edge in the most casual of looks. “Because this tree is mine. Granny Smith traded it to me a long time ago in exchange for a spell to keep the orchard safe.

"Of course, I don’t expect you to take me at my word. Perhaps you’d like to take me to see Miss Smith so she can tell you all about the situation herself? It has been quite some time since I’ve met with the kind mare, and I would like to see her before I leave.”

The earth pony eased up in posture, but her eyes still dared the Unicorn to make one wrong move on her watch. “Maybe I would, but ya’ll best not try any funny business, or I’ll buck you clean back into town, ya’hear?”

Laughing, a lopsided grin on his face after having so much fun toying with a stranger so easily. “But of course, I couldn’t even dream of funny business if I wanted to.”

Falling into stride behind the angry pony, Ace made sure to match her pace, the angered mare looking over her shoulder every so often to make sure he was obeying her orders.

The Pink Panther

Chapter Seven: The Pink Panther

“…and this one here was Applejack’s first Zap Apple harvest. She was so excited, she must have tried to buck those trees at least ten times a day before they were ready, getting zapped each time.” Granny Smith laughed as she smiled at Twilight Sparkle, pointing out the picture in the Apple family photo album.

“Why, one of the times she got zapped so hard, she almost came back in through the window! I ain’t never heard Big Mac laugh so hard at his sister. Oh, he tried his best to hide it, but the look she gave him told that she wasn’t too happy at her big brother.”

Twilight looked over the pictures, having heard the story a number of times before, but still smiling – which wasn’t hard, as it was always fun to hear about Applejack and her family.

The little yellow filly next to Twilight was enjoyed the story even more than she was, “Sis really got zapped all the way back to the house, granny?” Applebloom asked, leaning from the arm of the couch she and Twilight sat on to get a better look at the well-aged album.

“Ee-yup,” Big MacIntosh replied from the other side of Granny’s rocking chair, a smile on his face as he looked at the picture. The four ponies started to laugh at the mental image that went with a filly-sized Applejack trying to buck the magical trees by herself, only to be sent flying by the hexed trees electrical properties.

The laughing was ended abruptly, the front door to the house slamming open as a rather furious-looking orange earth pony stormed into the house. “Granny, we need to talk!”

The four ponies looked concernedly at the mare, Applebloom breaking the silence when nopony said anything for a moment.

“Calm down big sis, we were just laughing ‘cause it was funny, and it happened a long time ago, anyways.” Applejack’s features twitched for a moment, as if seeing her little sister started to calm her down, but didn’t quite cut it.

“Long time ago or not, I’d still like to know why this pony shows up out of nowhere claiming one of our best trees ain’t even ours! Granny, he says you gave him the tree! What in tarnation were you thinking giving out trees to strangers?!”

Granny, never one to take any gruff, batted the orange pony over the head with her cane when she started to invade her personal space. Applejack, covering her head with her hooves as she backed up, visibly cooled, though still running over at a simmer.

“Don’t you come in here and start yelling at your granny like that, show some respect in front of our guest. Now what snake crawled up your hoof and got ya on th’ flank ta put ya up hollerin’?” Granny shook the cane at her, losing her control over her accent as she started to boil up her own temper.

Still rubbing her head after the unexpected blow, she pointed a hoof to the front door, which still sat open as a dark-coated Unicorn walked through the doorway, looking around the room a moment before smiling and nodding to Applebloom and Big Mac.

Lowering himself with a hoof on his chest, he introduced himself, “Ace Deus Fenrir, call me Ace. I’m a friend of Granny and Twilight.”

Twilight looked around the room as Applebloom and Big Mac mimicked the bow and introduced themselves as well, - much to Applejack’s dismay – while Granny’s jaw went slack as she stared at the polite pony.

As locked up as she was, the precious picture book fell to the ground… or rather it would have if Twilight hadn’t caught the book with her magic to set it on the couch.

“Applebloom dear, go get granny her pill. I think I’m seeing things again.”

Ace smiled a stupid grin that oddly fit him as he walked forward and warmly embraced the elder pony, a tear falling down her cheek. Pulling away after several moments, Ace nodded his head to the aged green mare as he smiled.

“Nope, it’s me in the flesh, Miss Smith. I came to make sure you were taking good care of my tree, and I was not disappointed in the least.”

Granny was at a loss for words as she just stared at the Unicorn she clearly knew, Applejack shrinking down to make herself as small as she could after the way she treated one of her granny’s friends.

“Ace, you… you haven’t aged a day since then, have you? You still look like a twenty-something colt and I’m just an ol’ bag o’ bones…”

Ace wiped the rolling tear away from her face as he shook his head softly. “Now don’t say that, Miss Smith. Not only have you raised this great farm right up out of the ground, and kept true to your word in taking care of my tree for me, but you’ve even managed to raise an amazing family along the way, though one of your granddaughter’s still has yet to properly introduce herself.”

Ace sent an amused grin to Applejack, who was standing in the doorway, unsure of whether it would be best to leave while nopony was looking, or to stand quietly and hope for the best.

Now out of options, she looked sheepishly at the Unicorn and held out a hoof as she introduced herself, “My name’s Applejack, and I guess I owe you an apology mister Fenrir. I wouldn’t have treated ya that way if I had known it really was your tree.”

Ace gladly shook the offered hoof with a smile, “Please, just call me Ace; somepony might think I’m a wolf in pony’s clothing if you call me Fenrir.”

Twilight seemed to be the only one who got the joke, her expression unchanged while Big Mac and Applebloom exchanged a look and a shrug.

“As for the apology, I’ll accept it though I don’t think I deserve it. As far as I’m concerned, I’m more at fault for knowingly setting you off on your own property. I won’t lie though, it was terribly good fun.”

Applejack put a little more strength than needed into the handshake after the last comment, but Ace hardly seemed to notice as he continued to smile. Meanwhile, Granny leaned over in her chair to pick up the photo album off the couch, turning to a page near the start of the book.

“What are you looking for, granny?” Applebloom tilted her head as she got up on the arm of the couch to look at the album more clearly, the other ponies starting to look as well.

Turning back a few more pages, she found what she was looking for with a ‘Here it is!’ as she held the book up and pointed out a black-and-white picture taken in front of a store, the sign of which pictured a dragon that was facing the photo as well as the two ponies standing in front of the stop.

The two ponies were shaking hooves, one exactly like Ace, and the opposite a mare in her early years. “This here is when we passed by Ace’s shop, and when we told him we were looking for a place to lay up roots, he sold us a spell that’d keep the hungry beasts in the Everfree Forest outta our manes.

"This ‘ere photo was taken as proof o’ the deal to plant one tree that’d belong to Ace when it got full grown.” Granny Smith set the album back in her lap as she continued the story.

“We put those seeds in the ground with a hope and a prayer, and as soon as they sprung up we put that spell on those li’l ol’ saplings, and just a few months later they were puttin’ out apples every year. Each year that tree would put out more apples’n any other tree we ever planted, and we barrel’d ‘em up and shipped them every year.

"Up ‘till today, Ace ‘ere never even set hoof on the farm, I don’t reckon.”

Ace put a hoof behind his head at the mention of his absence. “Right, sorry about that.” Setting his hoof back on the ground, he nodded to the Apple family.

“I knew you’d all take good care of the tree though, and I can certainly say I wasn’t wrong. Those apples kept me fed more than I’d care to admit, and they certainly afforded me a lot of opportunity to try my hoof at cooking, to be sure.”

Granny’s features set with a look of pride at the mention of how well her family handled the farm, but before she could say anything on the matter, Twilight was staring at the still open photo album, looking at the picture of Ace and ‘Filly Smith’ standing side by side. Looking at Ace, he inwardly cringed at the question he knew was coming.

“Ace, just how old are you? Now that I think about it, you said you wrote that book, Everything Known about Anti-Magic Stone as well. If all of this is true, then you should be even older than Granny Smith, and yet you still look like you’re twenty-something like she said… What are you hiding?”

Ace started to wear a look of desperation as he bowed his head to the Apples. “It was nice seeing you again Miss Smith, and a pleasure to meet your family as well. Farewell-“ speaking in double time, he moved twice as fast as he turned and ran through the open doorway and towards the road back into town.

Shocked for only long enough for him to beat her outside, Twilight hopped to her hooves and started after the dark pony, voicing only a quick ‘Got to go,’ to the Apple family before she left.

Ace was easily faster than her, but with no cover between the house and the road to town, Twilight could easily keep her eyes on him at all times. After a few moments of running, however, Twilight started to put a bit of magic into her horn so she could flash-teleport in front of him.

Attuned to his extrasensory magic, however, Ace could easily tell what she was planning, and flashed himself away before she could even set the location of her own spell. Skidding to a halt where Ace had disappeared, Twilight closed her eyes and used the magic still in her horn to fuel an extrasensory spell.

The darkness of the back of her eyelids lit up with a purple outline that covered her surroundings as she turned her magical focus on where Ace was just a moment ago. Just as she had hoped, doing this had an effect, which was bringing out a cloud of residual magic from Ace’s flash.

From that small sample of leftover-magic, she could feel where he had went, seeing it in her magical sight as the center of Sweet Apple Acres, sitting in the shade of a taller-than-most apple tree. Lighting up her horn without opening her eyes, she flashed herself in front of Ace with a burst of light, opening her eyes with a sense of prideful accomplishment.

Ace let out a low whistle as the lenses of his glasses readjusted after darkening to block out the bright light as Twilight appeared only half a meter in front of him.

“You really are a good student, and a quick study too. I’m going to have to be really careful with what I teach you, aren’t I?” Ace let out a short chuckle, hoping but doubting he’d be able to change the subject so easily.

“I have two really great teachers, but neither of them seem to think they can trust me. Why is it such a big deal to tell your student your age? What’s the big deal if you’re older than you look?” Twilight leaned forward to close the already short distance between the two, a look of scolding in her eyes.

Ace didn’t take too kindly to this, his eyes aglow with anger for the first time. Twilight had seen Ace do a number of things that she had thought was out of anger, but he always had a light-hearted smile or wise look in his eyes, but this was the first time she had actually seen him angry.

“You don’t have any right to say what is or is not important to other ponies, Twilight Sparkle. If I say that my age is something I don’t want to talk about, that doesn’t mean you get to talk about it just because you want to. I have already trusted you with a secret that practicality nopony has known since I left the place of my birth.

"If this is not acceptable conduct to you, I can easily erase your memory of me and be on my way, and the only thing keeping me from doing so now is that I have made a promise to you that I would teach you what I can about magic. This is not something I have done only because I owe you a debt, but it is because I see great things in you, Twilight Sparkle.

“When I see you performing magic, it reminds me that there are still other Unicorns out there who are like me, who understand that Magic is something that requires work and effort, whereas most Unicorns know maybe ten spells pertaining only to their talent and nothing more, never wanting to know anything further about magic other than what they were born with.

"In you, Twilight, I not only see hope for Unicorns, not only for other ponies throughout Equestria, but I see hope for myself. I see that maybe I’m not so strange, not so much an alien among other ponies; I see that maybe I can have friends, too.

“I’d like to think that’s what we are, or what we can be, Twilight – Friends, - but you need to understand that friends have boundaries, and one of mine is my past, and that includes my age especially.”

Ace let out a sigh, visibly relaxing as he leaned back away from her a little bit, giving her enough room to properly sit upright again after the close confrontation. He put a hoof against his forehead, brushing his mane out of the way as he continued.

“I’m sorry Twilight, but I can’t talk about my past without other ponies’ secrets being told through my own indiscretion, and I’ve made a promise that their secrets would remain as such. There are four things I hold sacred above all else in this world, and those are:

"All forms of Life, Promises, Magic and any form of Relationship. Wantonly sharing my past would breach all of these statuettes I’ve set for myself. Fear not, however, my student, as everything you need to know about me will work itself out in time, but you must not force it. Do you understand?”

The singular question left an almost pleading look on the dark Unicorn’s features as he all but begged for understanding. Twilight nodded almost nervously,

“You’re right, I had no right to try and force you to tell me anything when you’ve already done so much.” Ace visibly relaxed even further, glad that he hadn’t pushed Twilight away in his anger. “I’m sorry that I chased you out of the house.”

Ace nodded once at the apology. “It’s okay, I didn’t really have much to contribute in a conversation, anyways. Twilight, if it’s all the same to you, I’m just going to teleport back home – to the library, I mean – and I’ll meet you when you get back, okay?”

Waiting only just long enough for Twilight to nod, Ace’s horn lit up with its black glow... just before the glow intensified on a large scale before Ace disappeared. Shortly after he had disappeared, there was a crunching and crashing sound that worked its way down the limbs of the tall apple tree in the middle of the orchard.

Twilight looked up at the tree to see Ace hanging loosely over one of the lowest branches, a look of disgust on his face as he stared to the mountains over the East horizon, his mouth forming words she couldn’t make out from as far off the ground as he was.

Multiple cuts and bruises marring his skin, Ace sighed in defeat as he looked down and waved at Twilight as though he hadn’t seen her in a while. “Funny meeting you here stranger, care to help me down? I have a long walk home ahead of me.”

As if in response to what he had said, a pair of branches fell out of the large tree, which made Ace look angrily at the mountains again. “And I could really use some company, if you’d be so kind.”

Not entirely sure who he was trying to be sure heard what he said, Twilight used her levitation magic to pull Ace out of the tree, gently setting him on the ground as he dusted himself off, his wounds glowing as he did so before mending themselves shut and patching a tear on the cover over his left hoof.

“Much obliged, friend,” he said as he began to repair the damage done to the tree once the worst of his injuries were tended to. “Let us make way now, before I make anypony else displeased with me.” Twilight nodded as they both made their way back to the road side by side once more.

Once they made it to the road, Twilight couldn’t take the silent tension anymore. “So, I suppose that the reason for the misfires are also a boundary as well?” Twilight said, bracing herself for the worst, but relaxing a bit as Ace just nodded. “And who you were talking to while you were in the tree, that’s another one, isn’t it?”

Ace looked at Twilight for a moment before shrugging a bit as he spoke. “I was talking to the moon.” Twilight was half expecting a reprimand, but was far more taken aback by the response he had given. “I know it sounds odd, but talking to the moon is a habit I developed during the Mare-in-the-Moon era.

"The moon is the guiding force in much more than ponies think. Some ponies believe that the moon can control a pony’s luck, their fate or even their destiny.” Ace looked back at his cutie mark as he continued. “As for me, the moon and I have a certain understanding for one another.”

The response raised more questions than answers, but Twilight didn’t want to press him any further. “Your special talent is helping others, right? How did you get your cutie mark? You had to get it before you left your home, if I remember correctly.” Ace seriously pondered the question before shaking his head.

Before Ace could open his mouth to explain, a voice came from up ahead in a startled yell, “Itchy eye!” As soon as Twilight heard the high pitched voice, she immediately dropped to the road and covered her head.

Ace simply stood and stared up the road, a smile on his face as one eyebrow rose in an expecting yet questioning look. Twilight tried to pull Ace to the ground with a hoof, but he shrugged her off and pranced forward happily.

“There you are!” the rapidly approaching pink pony exclaimed as she pounced on the dark Unicorn.

The two went rolling backward comically, landing with the pink earth pony on top just past Twilight, pinning Ace to the ground with her hooves.

Ace laughed heartily as he spoke, “Pinkie! It’s so good to see you again!” Twilight just looked at the two as they laughed at each other, questioning what was happening before recalling that Ace had said he knew Pinkie Pie, but had thought it was nothing more than one of Pinkie’s ‘Welcome to Ponyville!’ parties.

The pink pony stared at Ace for a moment, a look of accusation in her light-cerulean blue eyes that didn’t reach the smile on her face. “Why didn’t you send me a letter saying you’d be in Ponyville? I would have prepared a huge welcoming party in the middle of town for you!”

Ace shrugged apologetically as his features turned sheepish for the briefest of moments. “Sorry Pinkie, it just kind of came up. I’ll send you two letters next time to make up for it, okay?”

Pinkie happily nodded ecstatically at the reply, agreeing that would work. Counter-clockwise logic was always the easiest way to get anything through to the pink party-crazed pony.

Twilight walked over to the two as Pinkie was helping Ace back to his hooves after the unexpected attack. “So how exactly do you know Pinkie Pie, Ace? I had just assumed that you were at one of her ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ parties.”

Pinkie Pie looked at Twilight with a look of exasperation, “I wish! I threw him a welcome party and he never showed up! Acey came to Ponyville during one of the Summer Sun Celebrations – before Princess Luna came back – when Princess Celestia came here.

"Turns out he never misses any Summer Sun Celebration that the Princess goes to, no matter what town it’s in! Isn’t that amazing?” The pink pony’s features lit up with wonder at never missing such a great festival, then when she looked back to Ace she let a short sound of awe.

“Hey, you got new glasses! Can I try them on?” Pinkie was already reaching for the black frames, Twilight started to protest but Ace just smiled politely and bowed his head so Pinkie could more easily remove the eyewear. Ace’s Al Bhed eye came into full view.

Twilight’s face turned to shock as Pinkie’s eyes changed from a light blue to a darker one as she hopped around the two ponies laughing.

The laughter was infectious as Ace turned his head as much as he could to watch the happy pony. “Pinkie, you look like a secretary or a librarian with those on.” Stopping mid bounce, hovering in the air for a moment as an idea struck, she acted as though she was sitting behind a desk, tapping away at a typewriter.

Ace casually approached the invisible desk as he spoke, “Yes, I have an appointment this afternoon to speak with Mr. Bellevue. Would he happen to be in at the moment?”

The party-pony-turned-secretary looked up for only a moment, a smile on her face that betrayed her role, as she shook her head softly. “Mr. Bellevue has stepped out to lunch and will not be back for some time. You may take a seat in the lobby until he returns.”

Nodding as he turned away, Ace proceeded to one of the imaginary chairs and sat down, and when he did a rather impolite sound filled the road.

Pinkie and Ace both busted up laughing as Pinkie held out a whoopee cushion in her hooves, never being one to miss out on a joke. Twilight, still in a state of shock and confusion, looked to Ace with a look that expressed the latter. “So wait a minute, Pinkie Pie knows that you’re-“

Ace hurriedly cut her off before she could say more than what was true. “Heterochromatic, having two different colored irises? Yes, but she knows that it’s a secret I’d like to keep. You see, when Pinkie and I attended the same Summer Sun Celebration, her curious Pinkie Sense had a new reaction-“

Pinkie Pie, rubbing a hoof against her eye, said, “Itchy eye! I’ve never had an itchy eye sense before, so I followed it through the crowd and it led me to Acey, and I followed him and followed him and followed him all through the festival. After I watched all the ponies he talked to and realized he wasn’t dangerous, I ran up to him and said-“

Making a game of interrupting each other now, Ace interjected with a voice that matched Pinkie’s perfectly as his horn began to glow with the mimicry spell.

“’Hi! Welcome to Ponyville! You must be new here because I’ve never seen you here before and I remember everypony! My name’s Pinkie Pie, and I wanna throw you a party!’ Of course, I was quite surprised at the sudden burst of emotion from somepony I didn’t know, so I told her-“

Pinkie pressed her hoof against his muzzle as she used the other to point to her throat, bouncing excitedly. Ace smiled and nodded behind the pink hoof as his horn continued to glow. Pinkie started to talk, but it was Ace’s voice that came out.

“’I’ve been to Ponyville before, during some of the other festivals, but I’ve never had a welcome party before. I don’t plan to be here after the festival, but you can throw the party if you want.’” Pinkie mimicked the bow that always accompanied Ace’s introductions, including the proper name, “’My name is Ace Deus Fenrir, but you can call me one of the three instead.’”

Ace’s speaking role concluded, he took up Pinkie’s lines as he continued the story, “’Then I’ll just call you Acey!’” Ace’s horn stopped glowing as he bounced away, mimicking what Twilight assumed was what Pinkie did, before walking back to the group. Ace continued in his normal voice, the two having concluded their past conversation.

“Pinkie bounced away, presumably to prepare the party, and I continued to make my way through the celebration, offering my spells to the ponies around town. You see, during festivals and celebrations, I offer basic level spells free of charge while telling other ponies about the Dragon Eyes spell shop in Hoofsdale.

"It helps put the name out to other towns, and ‘tis good publicity for the store. After the Summer Sun Celebration had died down, I teleported back to the store to work on the larger spells the ponies in Ponyville had needed, having wrote down where I could find them and what they wanted to buy.”

Pinkie took up the story again, continuing from the Ponyville side. “Meanwhile, I was throwing the biggest and bestest after-party-and-welcome-party in Ponyville history, but Ace never showed up! A few of the ponies said that Ace had gone home to make spells for them, and that he’d be coming back in a week once all of the spells were made.

"I couldn’t wait a week! The day after the party, I went and booked a hot-air balloon straight to Hoofsdale! Nopony misses out on an official Perfect Pinkie Pie Power Party and I was going to be sure he knew that.”

Ace took the opportunity to take control of the story again with a nod. “While I was working on the spells, I hadn’t been paying attention to the perimeter spell around the shop, so I was a little more than startled when the Pink Panther of a pony burst into my shop, one eye twitching as though she had gone crazy.

:When I jumped back, the smaller glasses I had at the time slid down my muzzle, giving Pinkie the briefest of glances at my left eye before I had adjusted them. With a look of shock on her face, she jumped up and down on two hooves, pointing and yelling ‘That’s it, that’s it! That’s what Itchy Eye means!’”

The mimicry spell returning, Pinkie happily stole the story once more as she continued, “’What are you talking about? Are you saying you knew about my eye before now?’” Ace started to bounce around Pinkie and Twilight, presumably due to the role he played in the story as Pinkie Pie.

“’Yup, that’s right! My Pinkie Sense was telling me there was something different about you, and now I know what Itchy Eye means! It means you’re a special pony who has two different eyes! Can I see them?’”

Ace bounced up to Pinkie Pie, leaning over the invisible desk to take his glasses back. “’Wow, these glasses are really nifty! Not only did they change the color of your eye, but the shape of it too! Still, I think I like it better this way; you really stand out!’”

Still swapping their lines, Pinkie Pie spoke with Ace’s voice as the story concluded. “’Miss Pie, as much as I do appreciate the compliment, please don’t tell anypony else about my left eye, okay? Now, why don’t you sit down and tell me a little more about this ‘Pinkie Sense’ you mentioned…’” Pinkie’s voice went back to her own, much to the pony’s disappointment, as she continued.

“Then I stayed with Acey for a week until he teleported us back to Ponyville. He did all kinds of funny tests but even he couldn’t explain it. Just like when you tried to figure it out, Twilight! You actually remind me of him a lot sometimes…”

Ace nodded that it was all true. “Since then, Pinkie and I became pen-ponies, writing letters to each other every now and then. She’s probably one of the few ponies I can really call a friend. Oh, speaking of friends, I’m going to be staying in Ponyville for a while, Pinkie, as Twilight’s new magic tutor.”

Pinkie floated in the air for a moment, again defying gravity, as she looked at the two in shock. “That’s splendiferous! I need to go plan a party!” With that, the manic pony ran off towards town as quick as her hooves could carry her, Ace laughing as she faded from view before he turned his gaze on Twilight, a soft smile still on his face.

“I wasn’t lying when I said that you’re the only pony in all of Equestria who knew my secret, Twilight. I’d really prefer if you’d make sure it stays that way for as long as possible.”

Ace continued to walk slowly down the road towards town as Twilight hung her head, looking sorry for the trouble she had almost so easily caused. After a few moments, she caught up to and walked alongside Ace, picking up the pace now that his student had returned to his side.

Twilight's Second Lesson

Chapter Eight: Twilight's Second Lesson

Twilight and Ace walked down the road in silence for a way, Ace still smiling a bit after the brief encounter with one of his few friends. Twilight was still somewhat reprimanding herself over almost letting Ace’s secret slip so shortly after learning it.

When they had made it back to town, Ace was looking over the wares for sell from the stalls in the middle of the marketplace, now buzzing with activity as it was mid-afternoon on a workday. Seeing all the ponies that were congregating in the middle of town, an idea came to Twilight’s mind.

Coming up alongside Ace as he was looking over a stall that was selling a variety of gems, Twilight gave voice to her thoughts, “You know, Ace, you’ve met three of my five closest friends, and it’s still early in the day, perhaps we could meet Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash as well before we head back home?” Twilight could tell that Ace was focusing his magical sight on the gems, unsure whether or not he had heard her.

After looking more closely at a couple of gems with prices Twilight couldn’t think of affording, he looked to her and nodded before walking away a ways and motioning for her to come along. After they were out of earshot of the Unicorn who was running the stall, he finally whispered softly in her ear.

“Those were synth-gems. The Unicorn had made those gems with his magic, using a number of nutrients, some sand, and a supplement of magic applied regularly over a number of days. They are not terribly expensive to make, and are much like normal gems as far as looks are concerned, but for the purpose of magic, one would have equal result enchanting a button on a vest.”

Twilight looked back at the pony, who was attempting to talk a customer into buying a ruby. “Should we do something? He’s selling fake gems for as much as a normal gem, maybe even more.”

Ace shook his head as he pointed a hoof at the emerald the pony was now showing to the same customer. “Tell me Twilight, do you see anything different about the synth-gems that stallion is selling that would set them apart from a normal gem?”

Twilight looked at the gems, but saw nothing different about them. Not wanting to leave anything to chance should this be some sort of test, she used her extrasensory magic to look over the gems more closely as well.

Twilight, her eyes closed in the concentration of the magic, could only tell that the gems were indeed created with magic, but nothing else stood out. Coming back to her normal senses with a sigh, Twilight shook her head as she looked to Ace, expecting a lecture.

With a nod, Ace continued away from the stall. “Then why should we stop the pony from making bits using his talent, when it brings no ill fortune to others? The synth-gems are in every way like a normal gem, except that they are already attuned to a certain spell – the spell that created them – and are, for all intents and purposes aside from magic, normal gems.

"I’m sure that if another Unicorn were to buy the gems for the sake of enchanting them or using them in a spell, the stall-tender would alert them to their origins.”

Twilight took another look at the Unicorn who minded the stall, waving to a customer who had just bought some of his wares. Ace looked over his shoulder at his student as he spoke, “I believe you mentioned something about meeting more of your friends before heading home? I’d be happy to pay them a visit, if you’re still interested.”

Twilight nodded as she took the lead, heading down a road away from the market. “The next two of my closest friends are Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash.

"They’re both Pegasi, but they couldn’t be any more different. Fluttershy takes care of the town’s animals, and Rainbow Dash keeps the weather in check. Rainbow Dash likes to fly as fast as she can, while Fluttershy can barely get off the ground some days.”

Ace nodded as Twilight did her best to describe her friends’ personalities as quickly and concisely as possible. “So which one are we going to be meeting first, Rainbow Dash or Fluttershy?”

Twilight shook her head a bit as she continued, “We’re going to go and see Fluttershy at her cottage just outside of town. As for Rainbow Dash, it’s hard to say when we’ll meet her, since she lives in a sky-mansion: her home is made of clouds, floating above the mountains outside of town. Since only Pegasi can tread on clouds, I think Fluttershy is the only one of us to ever go inside of Rainbow Dash’s house.”

Ace nodded, but commented on the last bit. “Technically, even without magic, Alicorns, Wingless-Hornless Alicorns, Pegasi, and Wingless Pegasi can all cloud-tread. Just as Wingless-Hornless Alicorns and Hornless Unicorns can technically perform magic, and often times boast a greater resilience to magic as well.”

Twilight stopped to look back at Ace as they walked down the back road that would lead to her friend’s house, but Ace was walking to the shade of a nearby tree once more.

Ace motioned for her to join him once more as he sat facing the road, his back to the tree. Twilight didn’t see any reason not to rest, so she sat down just to his right. “Sorry, but you looked as though you wanted to know more on the subject, and I prefer to give my lessons under the shade of a tree. Just more relaxing, I guess.

"But yes, Unicorns are not the only ponies who can naturally perform magic, nor are Pegasi the only ones who can tread upon the clouds. It is not unusual for an earth pony foal to be born to a Pegasi, Unicorn or mixed couple. However, much of the time, the foal is not truly an earth pony. It is possible for a Pegasi to be born without wings, or a Unicorn without a horn, or without the horn protruding all the way out of the skin, instead being a nub of bone on the skull.”

Ace waved to a pony that was walking by and was looking oddly at the two, the pony smiling and waving back as he continued down the road. “In addition, it is also possible for a Hornless-Wingless Alicorn to be born, and of course the combination of Hornless Pegasi and Wingless Unicorn.

"The only way these ponies would know of their missing elements is to try to perform magic or to tread upon the clouds. In fact, Twilight, one of your friends happens to be a Hornless Unicorn herself.”

Twilight turned her head to look at Ace in surprise, but he just smiled a knowing smile as he nodded. “Really? Who is it? Does that mean she can use magic as well? How can you tell that they are a hornless Unicorn?” Twilight’s mind was clearly abuzz with questions and possibilities.

Ace chuckled as he laid back with his hooves behind his head as he explained further, watching the leaves as they shifted in the light breeze that passed by. “Yes, Pinkie Pie, she already is touched by magic – though saying that she ‘uses’ it is debatable – and I can tell first of all because I studied her closely for a week in my home as well as my workshop, secondly because of my extrasensory magic.”

Ace closed his eyes, and Twilight thought she could physically feel the presence of his entirely passive magical sense, almost envious at the ease of which he could use the magic.

Laying down beside her mentor, she watched the leaves as they shifted with the branches, inwardly agreeing that it really was quite relaxing. “So Pinkie Pie is able to use magic? How much magic could she use, if she were to learn to control it?”

Ace’s eyes remained closed, and Twilight waited for a moment for him to answer the question. After a few moments, and still feeling his magical presence pressing against her from all sides, she decided to use her extrasensory magic as well.

Twilight’s eyes closed, the blackness of her vision being overtaken with the purple outline of her magic that covered everything around, and including, herself as her horn begun to glow, the magic running over from it and dancing over her surroundings.

She could feel Ace’s body beside her, but it felt different from before. She started to look around, and finally looked up into the tree to see a near duplicate of Ace sitting on one of the low branches. The difference was that the tree bound doppelganger actually felt like the Ace she had felt the last two times she used her magical senses.

The duplicate looked down from the branches with a smile as he motioned for Twilight to join him. “It’s easy, just control the magic of your senses and bring them up here without using the muscles of your body.” Ace’s voice called more from inside of her – not necessarily inside her head, but inside of her – than it did from the body beside her or the magical representation in the tree.

Having nothing to lose, Twilight focused on her magic instead of her body, and found that it was actually quite easy to move around like this. It was like using her levitation magic, except that the magic was her body, her limbs, and moving it around moved her around.

Still not quite sure how she would use her newfound mobility to climb the tree, she tried literally just walking up the trunk. This surprisingly worked out well, ascending the tree as though she was still walking along the ground.

Once she had made it onto the branch, she sat down right next to him as he gave her a silly smile that seemed to fit him perfectly. “Good job,” his voice echoed through her magical form, “though a bit flashy; I just kind of floated up her like a ghost.”

At the mention of the incorporeal form, he floated around Twilight’s magical form, making non-convincing ghost sounds reverberate through her as he made it a very memorable lesson.

Twilight, unsure of whether or not Ace had heard her questions in the corporeal form, she asked them again. “So if Pinkie can do magic, how much could she learn, if she were to apply herself?” Ace hovered lightly in front of her as he shook his head, purple with her tinted view of the world.

“I don’t think you understood, as I said that Pinkie Pie is magictouched, not magically inclined or gifted. What this means is that she herself is magical, whether she chooses to do anything or not. Pinkie’s magical affinity is her Pinkie Sense, not a capacity to perform magic like you or I.

"‘Tis not unusual for a hornless Unicorn’s magic to be reflected as a skill or trait, though I must say that Pinkie’s is one of the most powerful I’ve seen. The magical affinity might be something like a pony who is luckier than most, or a documented case where an earth pony was able to walk on water at will.

"Pinkie Pie, however, can nearly see the future, react to it, and sometimes even break the natural laws of physics.”

Twilight listened in awe at the explanation of her friend’s unusual trait as Ace’s magical avatar sat before her, hovering in the air. “So because Pinkie has her Pinkie Sense, which is derived of magic, she cannot perform other magic, even though she herself is a magical pony?”

Ace nodded that this was true. “Then how come when I tested her, I couldn’t tell that it was magical?”

Ace nodded as he spoke, having already contemplated the answer. “Assuming you were using that apparatus you have in your lab above the second floor of the library, it is because that machine is built to detect magical magic.

"If you were to strap me to it, for example, and boost the power to it by a magnitude of four, so it can detect smaller traces of magic, you’d be able to detect the constant flow of magic that fuels my extrasensory skills and maybe the enchantments in my glasses.

"Be that as it may, no matter how powerful that machine was, it would not be able to detect the physical magic of the glyphs that prevent the pre-magic from devouring my body.”

At the mention of the glyphs, Twilight used her peripheral vision to admire the Al Bhed words, ‘Hu sykel ouhtan,’ that were written on her mentor’s hoof, just above the knee, only able to read the glyphs in her extrasensory state.

Whenever she focused on the glyphs fully, they disappeared, likely dispelling her magic as it passed over the glyphs more pointedly. “So Pinkie’s Pinkie Sense is magic that is not magical?”

Ace nodded, and growing bored at mundanely hovering in place, he started to slowly rotate in place centered around his left eye, its gaze never leaving hers.

“That’s right, because the sense does not require a flow of magic to function, just like my glyphs. Her Pinkie Sense is entirely uninhibited by outside sources. What this means, is that even if her entire body were coated in Anti-Magic Stone, she would still be able to find me in a crowd with her itchy eye sense.”

Twilight nodded, understanding now why her tests had failed: she just didn’t have the proper research materials or equipment for the task. Her Pinkie Sense questions concluded, she moved onto other questions as Ace continued to mildly disturbingly, rotate in place.

“So there are even hornless-wingless Alicorns, as well? Wouldn’t that just make them earth ponies?” Ace shook his head at the absurdity of the idea.

“A hornless-wingless Alicorn is able to tread clouds, and either has a magical affinity – normally stronger or more useful than a hornless Unicorn or Pegasi – or the capacity to use magic to some degree. Such ponies need to be taught to use magic without their horns, however, and few ponies of this nation still know how to do such feats.

"In addition, all hornless sub-races have an increased tolerance to magic, even more so than normal Unicorns, though the lesser of the sub-races are not on par with the magic resilience of a normal Alicorn. As for Immortal Alicorns, such as Princesses Luna and Celestia, they exhibit the greatest resistance to magic.

“A resistance to magic might sound like nothing but a good thing, as the first thought to spring to mind is that offensive spells will hurt less; this is not the case. You see, Twilight, the magic does not differentiate between aggressive and helpful magic.

"Say a hornless-wingless Alicorn were to be hurt in battle by a sword or other some-such, and a novice healer Unicorn was attempting to mend the injured pony’s wounds; the resistance of that pony would make it so only level 6 or higher healing spells could heal the deep wound, and an entry-level novice would know maybe one spell higher than a level 3.

"Because of this, the pony cannot be healed and bleeds to death on the battlefield or stretcher, wherever the novice was unable to aid them.”

Ace, having done several full rotations, stopped and laid down on his stomach, raising himself so he was still eye to eye with Twilight, his unmoving muzzle only an inch away from hers as his voice echoed through her magical body.

“Because Unicorns no longer learn to use extrasensory magic, they have no way of telling the difference between an earth pony and a hornless-wingless Alicorn. In addition to these sub-races, there is one last one: the Lesser Alicorn.

"A Lesser Alicorn is a hornless Pegasi who has the nub of bone that represents the undeveloped horn present in some hornless Unicorns. There are also wingless Unicorns that have the capacity to grow wings, given the proper stimulation with magic, though only the Princesses know that spell and they are quite reluctant to share it.

"Mwanwhile, I cannot even seem to detect these ponies, or they are so rare that not even I have met any. What little research I have managed to do on the matter say that, under certain circumstances, these ponies can become full-fledged Alicorns, but the circumstance varies from case to case.”

Twilight nodded as she took mental note of all the sub-races, running over each of them as though she was preparing for a test. Never one to discourage a pony from memorizing a lesson, Ace just sat and watched her eyes working through whatever memory boosting technique she was attempting.

After a time, Twilight’s magically displayed eyes refocused and she nodded. Ace continued looking into her eyes calmly, his tail flicking behind him as though he were a cat.

Figuring this was supposed to be her last chance to ask any questions, Twilight thought for a moment before replying. “So what are Immortal Alicorns, exactly? Are they born that way, or is there something especially special about them?”

Twilight had wondered this for a long time, but could never get an answer from Princess Celestia the one time she had asked, and didn’t want to bother the Princess by asking again.

Ace nodded at the question as he explained, his tail no longer flicking as he contemplated the answer. “They are born as a Lesser Alicorn at first, likely the wingless Unicorn variant, and then they ascend to full-fledged by achieving their circumstance.

"However, a Lesser Alicorn that becomes Half-Fledged by using magic to ascend is ineligible to become an immortal. Once they have ascended to Full-Fledged, there is a ritual that allows the Alicorn to…” Ace stopped as he looked as though he had just took a blow to the head. “What are your beliefs when it comes to death?”

Twilight’s magical self was taken aback by the philosophical question that caught her off-guard. “I guess I haven’t really thought about it too much, as the only physical evidence I have to base the question upon is that a pony’s physical form continues to exist here in Equestria…”

Ace nodded at the answer he had expected. “Then you shouldn’t mind if I tell you more. There is a ritual that can be performed at a certain time each year, when the present year merges with the new year, that allows an ascended Full-Fledged Alicorn to sort of ‘charge’ their living souls with the soul of one who would be born the following year.

"It sounds a lot worse than it actually is; the soul that is used to charge the Alicorn’s soul isn’t ‘killed,’ or ‘destroyed’ or anything, it just goes back into the network of souls to be renewed. In its place, a different soul is brought into the world to give life to the one who is yet unborn.

"The soul that a pony has only changes what their initial personality is that they have at birth, before they are affected by things such as their upbringing and experiences. This is a pretty big difference, but there’s no way for anypony to tell what sort of soul they are using to charge their own.

“I know the ritual, and have even seen it being performed, but it is only a full-fledged, ascended Alicorn that can safely benefit from the ritual. Once an ascended Alicorn becomes an Immortal Alicorn, they need only perform the ritual once every hundred or so years, gaining the life of that soul.

"If they do not perform the ritual, their power starts to fade and they begin to rapidly age, at a rate of nearly a year an hour. Since the ritual can only be performed once a year, it is important that it be done when necessary or beforehoof.”

Ace’s tail started flicking again as Twilight’s magical eyes danced around again. Twilight nodded, and opened her mouth to speak, but Ace’s voice reverberated, resonated, through her deep enough that her magical avatar quavered as he spoke and his eyes narrowed sharply at her, more to make sure she listened carefully than in emotion.

“This is yet another secret, Twilight Sparkle. Nopony is to know we had this discussion, nor that the ritual exists, nor that Princesses Luna and Celestia require said ritual. This information is never to be spoken aloud.” Ace’s magical form stared intently into Twilight’s eyes until she nodded her understanding.

Ace’s face, tinted purple in Twilight’s magical vision, relaxed back into a smile as he gave her a little more space, but still hovering in front of her at a personal distance. “Good. The fact that the greater sub-races can ascend into Alicorns is a secret as well, but Princess Luna and Celestia know it already, whether or not they’d wish to discuss it with you is unknown to me, however.

"As for the existence of the sub-races, it use to be public knowledge, decayed by the erosion of time. You’re welcome to speak of that as you feel, but if someone asks where you learned it, I’d appreciate you telling them it was in a book; which I can provide, if you wish to learn more about it later.”

Twilight started to feel tired, being in the extrasensory state for so long. Wanting to lay down, she turned so that she sat lengthwise on the tree branch so she could lay down. As she did, Ace hovered around and laid down on the branch with her, again only an inch or two away.

“Yes, that’s normal. As I mentioned, using your magic to fuel extrasensory spells is tiring. You have done well to last for as long as you have, but I would like for you stay a bit longer, but if it starts to hurt, please return to the corporeal immediately.

"You’re not in any physical danger, but if you use all of your magical energy at once this way, you’ll be unable to use magic for a time. Should anything happen, I’ll lend you some of my power when we return to our bodies.”

Twilight nodded softly, feeling tired, but not in pain or uncomfortable. “I’ve been asking you a lot of questions, haven’t I? I don’t think you’ve asked me very many in return. Surely there must be something you want to know about me, too?”

Twilight laid her head in her hooves, though the comfort it offered was only psychological as there was no way to rest her magic while in a magical form.

Ace nodded once as he watched her eyes close in his own magical sight. “I was sort of wondering what you did before coming to Ponyville? I had heard you attended Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns, but I don’t really know much more than that.”

Twilight, having figured out how to speak directly to Ace without the use of her muzzle now, spoke without moving as she laid on the branch of the tree. “I use to read and study all the time, and occasionally playing with my older brother, Shining Armor.

"I didn’t spend much time trying to make friends, or playing with other fillies or colts. Once I made it past the entrance exam, I attended my classes and studied all day, never talking with my fellow classmates, often doing the group projects by myself when I could…

"I’m really glad that Princess Celestia brought me out of my shell when she sent me to Ponyville; it might just be the best thing that ever happened to me in my life.”

Still unmoving, Twilight’s magical muzzle spread softly in a smile. This brought Ace to another question he likely knew the answer to, but made for good conversation. “You really have a lot of respect for Princess Celestia, don’t you? More than the normal Student/Teacher respect, I mean.”

This seemed to breathe a little bit more energy into Twilight’s tired magical avatar as she opened her eyes with a nod to lazily peer into the eyes of her new mentor’s magical image.

“Of course. Not only is Celestia my friend, but she is a truly perfect pony that everypony should admire, even aspire to emulate. Without Celestia, who would raise the Sun each morning, and who would have lowered the moon at night in her younger sister’s absence? Celestia is a pony truly deserving of respect, and I give her only what she deserves.”

Ace only listened to her as she spoke, keeping his affectionate gaze locked with hers. “I’m afraid I cannot tell you much, but while I do hold Princess Celestia in high regard, she has caused me to lose much of my respect for her.

"True, Celestia fills a role that Equestria requires, but I believe there is much she could have done differently. I hold no ill-will against her, truly, but I simply lack the amount of respect for her that you have shown.”

Twilight, as tired as she was, lifted her head to look at her mentor more evenly. “What could Celestia have possibly done to make you lose respect for her?” The tired pony looked as though she wouldn’t be able to sustain her magical form much longer. Ace replied with a shake of his head, his eyes closing as he laid his head down as she did before.

“I wouldn’t want to change your view of neither me, nor the Princess, so I won’t say just yet. What I will tell you is that through Celestia’s error in judgment, as well as having ignored my words of advice for much too long, she brought great pain and suffering to one of my dearest friends.

"Though Celestia had meant well, though Celestia did what she thought was best at the time, she did not think her actions through. There were other options even at the time of her mistake, but there were many options when I had first warned her.

"Because of Celestia, who thought she could never err, a number of ponies’ lives were cut short. The friend I had mentioned bears this burden wrongly upon their head as well, and while they do accept this as though it were their own sin, I have lost respect for Celestia because of it.

"I accept that everypony makes mistakes, and that second chances should be afforded to all, but this mistake was graver than most and it affected me personally, though indirectly.”

Ace opened his eyes, a simple gesture as he could feel everything around himself with or without them, so that Twilight would know that he was paying attention. Twilight looked pained as she watched her mentor as he told his inconclusive story.

“I’m sorry… I had no idea. Celestia rarely speaks of her past, and I dare say that I may know more about your past than I do about Celestia’s, aside from stories or legends.”

Ace nodded at the apology, not feeling as though it was necessary. “It is fine, my friend. It is likely not our friends who speak the most of themselves, rather it is their actions who describes them best. While my actions of late have been questionable, you likely do not see much of your beloved teacher, as busy as she is.

"Take not my story to heart, as it is painted by my own emotion as much as it is by truth, and I would not wish to taint your vision of your role model, nor would I want you to view me in a different light merely because I said so.”

Raising his head now to look her directly in her magical eyes, his tone changed back to that of a teacher, whether he had meant it to or not. “More importantly, are you well? You look as though you are straining yourself.”

Twilight nodded slightly, a movement that would have been invisible were they not both in their incorporeal shells, perceiving their world not with eyes, but with magic. “I should be fine, but it is starting to hurt to stay this way.” A look of concern crossed Ace’s face as he nodded.

“’Twould be best if we cease our lesson for now. Know that many of my lessons will take place outside of our bodies so that we do not bring harm to ourselves or our surroundings. You do not need to return your magic to your body to come back to it, simply cease the flow of magic to your extrasensory self.”

With the last part, Ace leapt from the branch and onto his body as his physical right eye opened, making sure his lenses were in place before the other eye opened.

When Twilight came to, she felt a weight on her chest before she had a full grasp of her surroundings, addled after the loss of her magical senses and her mind adjusting to her normal senses that gave less information. As she regained herself, she realized it was Ace’s hoof holding her down as he laid beside her, facing her.

Seeing that she was cognitive once more, he nodded once. “You need to rest. You used too much of your magic during our lesson. Fear not, all is well, but you should let your body recoup your strength before we do anything further. Sleep, and I shall protect you.”

Sleep had already sounded amazing to her cloudy mind, not taking much to persuade her to slumber, but at the mention of Ace’s protection, any doubt faded from her mind as she drifted swiftly to sleep. As she rested, Ace stood vigil over her like a sphinx, sitting upright and observing all that happened around the pair with his eyes closed and his mind wide open to his extrasensory magic.

Tame Critter Pony

Chapter Nine: Tame Critter Pony

Ace stood over Twilight as she slept on the side of the road, relaxing in the shade of the tree along the way to Fluttershy’s cottage, which rested on the outskirts of Ponyville near the Everfree Forest.

Preferring his magical senses to his normal ones, Ace looked as though he had fallen asleep as well, with his eyes closed peacefully. Monitoring his student’s vitals with his magic senses, he could tell that she was having a mildly troubling dream; likely based upon the latest snippet of her dear Princess Celestia’s past she heard, tinted by Ace’s view of the matter.

’Do not be partial, trust only what you can personally prove as truth.’ The lesson that Ace had learned the hard way echoed in his mind at the thought of Twilight lending too much weight to his words.

Time passed slowly, his mind distorted by the flood of information his extrasensory skills afforded his mind, but this fact was not unaccounted for by Ace’s wisdom. Having long ago learned how easy it is to lose one’s self to the flow of time when one traveled the water differently, Ace had started to use a simple clockwork spell to maintain a view of the present time within in his own mind.

Ace mused to himself for a time, again contemplating just how much he truly relied upon his unnatural senses, as he checked for maybe the hundredth time that day to be sure his left limb, coated in pre-magic that prevented his magic from feeling the appendage, had not in fact been removed.

As he did, he felt a pony – a Pegasus – coming up the road and away from town. This was, of course, natural – it was a road, after all. Not quite in proper view yet, Ace could only use his magic to sense that the Pegasus was carrying a load of birdseed on her back as she walked.

The Pegasus was having a difficult time carrying the heavy load, but appeared to be familiar with the weight as she ignored the strain, slowly making her way towards him.

Not very long after the yellow Pegasus had come into view, she had looked up at Ace and waved somewhat bashfully before lowering her head once more in the effort of carrying the large load.

When she came twenty some steps closer, however, she looked up again and her face became painted in a look of shock as she dropped the birdseed to run over to the tree.

Arching an eyebrow at her hurried approach, Ace took the birdseed in his magic before it could hit the ground and brought it alongside him as he raised a hoof to his muzzle and gazed into the calm-blue colored eyes of the pale yellow Pegasus, though her expression was anything but calm.

Coming only a short distance away now, the mare looked over Twilight who laid upon the ground intently before returning her gaze to Ace. “Excuse me… But is Twilight okay?” the Pegasus asked in a voice that was as much whisper as it was whimper.

Nodding to the Pegasus who was clearly outside her comfort zone as he laid the birdseed on the ground softly, “She’s just tired after one of our lessons.”

Dipping into one of his usual bows before continuing, Ace introduced himself, “Ace Deus Fenrir, magically gifted Unicorn and Twilight Sparkle’s new tutor, though you may call me Ace if you wish.” Ace first pronounced his name as ‘Ah-Chay,’ which was the proper pronunciation, but the name was unusual enough in Equestria, so he had long ago adopted the normal ace pronunciation to make it easier to address him.

The yellow Pegasus hunkered back and retreated into a small half-standing ball as she introduced herself in return, whimpering an inaudible “F-Fluttershy,” that would have been impossible to hear without his magic.

Ace put on a knowing smile as he nodded his head at the introduction, knowing that a hoofshake would only make the clearly shy pony more uncomfortable.

“A pleasure to meet you, Miss Fluttershy. If I recall, Twilight and I were on our way to visit your cottage after our lesson had concluded. Would you be so kind as to wait here until she awakes from her nap? In return, I will gladly take that birdseed to your home with us.”

Ace spoke with as soft of a voice as he could manage, making sure not to let the polite smile fade from his features and not forcing the shy pony to make eye contact as he spoke to her.

After a moment, the Pegasus responded in a voice that was somewhat louder than before, though Ace believed most ponies would still be unable to hear it with their ears alone. “T-that would be v-very kind of you, M-mister Ace, the bag is quite heavy, and I could r-really use the rest.”

To say she sat next to Ace would be a loose use of the word, as she sat at least three meters away. Silence ensued for several minutes as the two ponies sat while Twilight slept.

Not wanting to make Twilight’s friend uncomfortable, Ace didn’t try to force conversation, instead sitting patiently next to Twilight as she slept, and monitoring Fluttershy lightly with his magic, not wanting to look directly at her should she become worried.

Through his magic, he could feel that she had calmed quite a bit and based upon her vitals, that she had likely fallen asleep.

Protecting the two ponies, Ace sat between them with the bag of birdseed laying at his side. Ponies passed infrequently, but Ace made it a point to smile and nod or wave as they went past, not wanting to be anti-social.

Much to his surprise, the unmoving and thought-to-be-asleep Fluttershy spoke – otherwise inaudibly - after quite some time, “If it’s not too much trouble, how did you meet Twilight? I-if you don’t mind talking to me, I mean…”

Surprised that the pony could be so still without being asleep, Ace was imperceptibly startled for a moment before he nodded and smiled, looking over at the shy, but very polite friend of Twilight.

“Of course, Fluttershy, it would be a pleasure. I had some trouble with an experiment –“ Ace lifted his covered-up, afflicted hoof, but was unsure whether or not the somewhat far-away pony could see it properly “- and I came to see her for help after hearing her mentor, Princess Celestia, speak so highly of her. Twilight was unable to help me directly - not for a lack of trying of course, - but she did send me to see Rarity, who was able to help quite a bit.

"In return for the debt of gratitude I owe Twilight after I paid Rarity, she has asked me to become her tutor.” Ace made sure to keep his voice quiet, not only for Twilight, but for Fluttershy as well.

Despite his efforts, speaking just loud enough so that the distant Pegasus could hear him was enough for Twilight to stir as well. As she awoke, Fluttershy spoke too quietly for her to hear without her magic, “Does that mean you’re going to be staying here in Ponyville? I-I’m sorry, I just don’t think I’ve seen you in town before, a-and everypony comes to Pinkie Pie’s parties…”

Fluttershy was beginning to speak more clearly, though still much too quietly to be practical for conversation.

Not wishing to be rude, Ace replied to Fluttershy while offering a hoof to help Twilight to her hooves. “Of course, I will be staying in town while I teach Twilight what I can about magic. You’re right, as well, that I do not frequent the town, nor have I been to many of Pinkie’s parties, though I did attend one once before and enjoyed myself thoroughly.”

Twilight, being brought to her hooves by Ace as he spoke, looked inquisitively at him before voicing the question she clearly displayed on her face, “Who are you talking to?”

Now standing with her own strength, her mane glowing lightly as Ace straightened it in his magic for her, she looked around, first seeing the birdseed but soon noticing her friend. “Fluttershy? When did you get here?” Twilight started to walk towards the Pegasus, who met her half way.

Ace, stifling a small laugh as he spoke, “Glad to see you’re awake, Twilight. Your snoring was so loud, you scared away all of the animals. Fluttershy had to come and make sure a dragon hadn’t come to eat her friends.” Ace couldn’t keep a straight face, his goofy smile marring his features.

Twilight blushed and looked to Fluttershy as if asking if it was true, but the shy pony could only manage a small smile before Twilight turned her head to look back at Ace, the blush in her cheeks starting to be overtaken with hopeful disbelief.

“Was not!” was all she could manage before Ace started to laugh, revealing the truth behind his evil plot, earning him a look from Twilight before she turned back to Fluttershy.

Fluttershy, looking as though she wanted to laugh too, but not wanting to embarrass her friend, just explained what had happened instead. “I was on my way back home from the market with a bag of birdseed, when I saw you lying on the side of the road with a stranger.

"I wasn’t sure what had happened, and I wanted to make sure you weren’t hurt, so I came over as fast as I could until Ace had told me you were just tired after a lesson. He told me how you were coming to see me, and offered to carry the heavy birdseed if I could wait until you were ready to come to my cottage, so I waited here.”

Twilight nodded at the explanation, looking to Ace who also nodded that it was true. “Well I’m awake and ready to leave, if you’re both still waiting on me.” Ace took the birdseed in his magic and set it on his back, turning and preparing to leave.

Ace looked over and saw the two hurrying to catch up to him, given the distance that had separated the trio, making their way to his side as he made it onto the road. “Isn’t that heavy? Wouldn’t it be easier to carry it in your magic?” Twilight asked when they started to head up the road away from town.

Ace nodded his head, but continued to carry the heavy load on his back. “My magic is strong, and it would indeed be easy to carry such a load in my magic, and would be of no consequence to do so.

"However, I am instead taking the opportunity to strengthen my body and muscles instead, since my magic would not get stronger by doing something that is easy to me. It is important to be strong in body, mind and magic, my student.”

Fluttershy, walking on the side of Twilight opposite of Ace, looked troubled as she spoke in a whisper. “I’m sorry, i-if I had known that you were going to c-carry it, I would have done it myself.”

Ace just smiled and laughed a bit as he clarified. “Consider it doing me a favor, Fluttershy. I have been a bit behind in maintaining my body, and this was a good way to remind me; thank you.”

Fluttershy seemed to be starting to relax a bit more, both with Twilight by her side, as well as because she was starting to understand Ace was a good pony. “So Twilight tells me you tend to the animals around Ponyville. That must be quite the undertaking for just one Pegasus, I’m quite impressed.”

Fluttershy seemed to perk up a bit at the mention of her furry friends, losing the stutter as she was immersed in the thoughts of the animals. “Oh, it’s no trouble at all. Most of the animals around here are quite well-behaved. My job mostly calls me to make medicine for the poor little critters when they aren’t feeling well. Other than that, I make the food when the animals can’t find their own.”

Fluttershy was now off the ground, fluttering slightly as she spoke about animals.

Ace nodded with a smile as he watched Fluttershy act much more naturally. “You know, I’ve had quite a few animal friends over the years. One of my favorite animals are Dragons, but my absolute favorite is the resplendent Phoenix. It has been my great fortune to play host to one of each of these in my home. The dragon grew mature and needed to be free so that he could be happy, and the phoenix I gave to somepony who would take good care of her as a gift.”

Fluttershy looked impressed as she leaned on every word Ace said about his experience with such fascinating creatures. “You actually had a dragon and a phoenix? They are both quite rare. I know that dragons eat gems, but what does a phoenix eat? I know Princess Celestia has one, but I’ve never seen her eat.”

Ace nodded at the simple question. “It’s true that some dragons, such as Twilight’s assistant Spike, are crystallivores, but most species are carnivorous, as are phoenixes.

"The dragon that I kept was a Magivore, however, which means that he ate magic. He was a rarer-than-most species called a Void Dragon, the name coming from their solid black scales as well as the method they use to eat, which is a black vortex that forms around their mouth that sucks in magic.

"For the most part, Void Dragons are quite kind to ponies, but they have been known to be aggressive towards Unicorns with high amounts of magic when they are hungry, but the worst they do is drain the magic from the Unicorn, leaving them unable to use magic for a time. When they are fed regularly, they make for great friends.”

Fluttershy was at first startled when she heard that most dragons and phoenixes ate meat, but was excited to hear about a new species of beast she hadn’t heard of before. “If a Void Dragon needs to eat magic to live, what do they eat in the wild? Dragons usually wander around, and rarely come to pony towns or cities.”

Ace smiled as he clearly reminisced about happy memories of his pets. “Void Dragons become symbiotic, relying on other dragons to live. They join a group of dragons – often called a flight or a wing, - and they provide protection to the dragons from magic in exchange for their dragon fire.

"You see, Void Dragons aren’t very strong physically, but they are nimble, even agile, and can absorb any form of magic, even the stare of a cockatrice or the ever-burning flame of a phoenix’s breath. Lacking these predatory creatures, however, the Void Dragon will exchange protection for the magic of a dragon’s flame.

“While we’re on the subject, I might also add that a Void Dragon can often learn to use the magic they absorb, which has some pretty interesting effects when their daily diet consists of magical energy from a Unicorn.

"Because the magic from the Unicorn does not innately have purpose until one is given, the Void Dragon who eats it may actually learn to use magic the way a Unicorn does. Once a Void Dragon learns to do this, they can turn any magic into magical energy and learn to cast spells even in the wilds. Void Dragons are truly an awe-inspiring species to behold.”

Fluttershy had nearly flown into a pony that passed the group on the road as both she and Twilight were intrigued in the short story about such a mystical creature.

“Where in Equestria did you find such a rare specimen, Ace?" Twilight couldn’t help but ask. "I’ve never even heard of the Void Dragon before,”

Smiling at a pony couple who were enjoying each other’s company as they passed, Ace answered the question when he looked back to the road. “The same way I get many strange things: A pony needed a spell, and had wanted to trade.

"That pony was Draconis Ivory, a white-coated, red-maned business pony who worked with dragons for a living. Supposedly, he had found the egg as part of a mating clutch that he frequented each year after the dragon’s mating and hatchling season had passed. He found the egg and a few others who were left as empty shells, and used a spell to attempt to breathe life back into them, as was his talent.

“He ran a dragon aviary where he cared for the precious creatures, and the aviary is normally enchanted with a special spell that keeps the dragons from breaching it with dragon fire. Well, the little Void Dragon hatched, and was eating at the shield.

"Fortunately, Draconis Ivory noticed the rare find and had traded me the little guy for a spell to replace the shield. I gratefully accepted the trade, but not before the poor darling had suffered a rough-but-playful wound over his left eye that stuck with him for the rest of his life.

“In addition to the scar, his left eye also had sustained shaped physical heterochromatic trauma. The normally black eyes of the Void Dragon was scarred red in the shape of a pointed fang in the one eye. In light of this, as well as the fact that most Void Dragons never develop teeth, I named the cute guy Fang.

"I fed him some of my magic twice a day, and as the years passed, I taught him how to control magical energy, and eventually, he grew much too large to fit in my home. With no regrets over the time we spent together, I took him to a resting site for dragons during the mating season, so that all the dragons would be gone to their mating clutch, and I spent the last of my time with him there.”

A tear was forming in Ace’s eye over the happy memories that spread his muzzle in a smile. “I stayed with him until the dragons had all landed, and I made sure that they would accept him. Negotiations were not going well, and the dragons began to circle around him.

"When they did, I prepared a powerful meteor spell that could have possibly brought the whole mountain to rubble, myself included. When the meteor formed in the sky above and began its descent, all of the dragons panicked, except for Fang.

"With one last look of thanks, he looked at me for a moment before flying to meet the deadly inferno above the mountain. For minutes, each second ticking away slowly, he held fast with the black vortex forming around his toothless maw as the huge, flaming rock started to shrink down into nothing as it hurtled towards him.

"Halfway through the show, I was already at the bottom of the mountain, waving my goodbye to his back.

“After a few years, I went back to check up on him - without being noticed, of course. When I saw him, he was with a beautiful mate, and was preparing to leave for the mating clutch the next month.

"Despite my best efforts and cloaking spells, however, he still looked at me and waved. I had trained him so well, that he would have known I were there no matter what I had done; I’m certain of it.”

Fluttershy and Twilight smiled softly at the happy tale, which punctually ended just as they were arriving at a cottage that looked more like a small tree, or overgrown bush with a door and windows than a home. All around, there were countless birdhouses, and further away from the house were a number of animals such as squirrels and rabbits.

Not wanting to be intrusive, Ace and Twilight let Fluttershy go ahead first, as she crossed the small bridge over the quiet stream that ran below, walking up to the house as the door opened and a little white rabbit stood which his front paws crossed over his chest as he stood tapping one foot rapidly and glared at Fluttershy.

Ace and Twilight crossed the bridge as Fluttershy started to talk to the furry, and apparently unhappy-about-something critter. “Oh, I’m so sorry Angel Bunny, I’ll get you something to eat as soon as we put the birdseed away, okay?” The fluffy bunny chased after Fluttershy as she went inside, still wearing the look of displeasure.

Twilight, followed by Ace, walked into the small-but-comfortable home as Fluttershy proceeded back into the kitchen, just to come back out with a salad comprised of lettuce, tomatoes, croutons and two halves of a carrot.

Fluttershy pointed to a near-empty bag of birdseed against the wall as she brought the bowl of leafy greens to the impatiently waiting Angel Bunny as Ace used his magic to place the birdseed next to the existing bag.

“I’m so sorry Angel, I didn’t forget to feed you, but I ran into Twilight and her friend along the way home and I had to stop and talk to them for a little bit.” Angel seemed to just wave it off as he ate his food gluttonously, making no effort to mask the crunching noise that accompanied the crisp vegetables.

Fluttershy looked at the clock, a sort of worried look on her face as she spoke. “Um… it’s lunch time, and I need to feed my hungry critters before I make something to eat, but… you’re welcome to stay if you want. I’d be happy to make you something if you want to wait, but I need to make sure the animals are fed first, if that’s o-okay.”

The nervousness returning was a clear flag that Fluttershy was uncomfortable having lunch guests, so Ace shook his head at the offer. “Thanks for offering, we do appreciate it, but would you like some help feeding the animals? I’m sure with two Unicorns, we could easily get it done in no time.”

Fluttershy held up her hooves and shook her head softly. “Oh no, no, no! I couldn’t ask you to do that. The animals are easily frightened by ponies they don’t know, and they don’t very much like magic. Thank you for your concern, but feeding the animals is my job, I couldn’t ask you to do it for me.”

With a look to Twilight before saying his goodbyes to make sure she didn’t have anything to say to the yellow Pegasus, she and Ace said their goodbyes and left so briefly after having just arrived.

Once they were a ways away, the cottage fading from view behind them, Ace was the first to start conversation this time. “She seems really nice, but she’s debilitatingly shy. I can see how she fits her name well. She certainly does care for the animals a lot, though.”

Twilight nodded with a smile at the praise her friend was getting. “Yes, Fluttershy is very polite, and she’s really shy when she first meets somepony. Once she gets to know you though, she opens up a lot more. Now that you’ve met Fluttershy, you just need to see Rainbow Dash and you’ll have met all of my best friends!”

Twilight smiled earnestly at the idea, and Ace smiled too, until their conversation was interrupted by somepony’s stomach growling.

Both of their smiles faded for a moment before they came back bigger than before. “I think my stomach wants to make some friends as well. What do you say I get us something to eat? My treat. But, uh, I don’t know any place around here other than Sugarcube Corner, and Pinkie would consider it a sneak attack if I showed up there while she’s planning, so you pick a place.”

Twilight seemed to ponder for a moment, but the only place she could think of was, “Horte Cuisine’s Ponyville Café. Spike and I eat there sometimes, and they serve a really good daffodil and daisy sandwich. It’s been a while since we’ve ate there, so I’m not quite sure what else is on the menu.”

Ace looked as though he were pondering what sort of foods he wanted to eat. “I’m sure they will have something. I don’t eat out often, but worst case scenario, I’ll just order some daffodil and daisy sandwiches as well.”

The lunch plan settled, Ace shifted gears to something more to his interests, “So, how’s your magic feeling? You were quite exhausted after that last lesson, even with the enchanted Spell-Strength sapphire I loaned you.”

Twilight’s horn lit up in her normal gentle purple glow, tinted almost imperceptibly a lighter shade of blue by the magic of the sapphire that had kicked in due to her weakened state. The necklace glowed with the same aura as Twilight lifted it up to her face to look at it. Twilight didn’t show any physical signs of being worn out, but Ace could tell that she wouldn’t be back to full strength until sometime tonight.

“I feel fine normally, but using any magic is pretty tiring. I had no idea that using the extrasensory magic would be so draining… The necklace really helped, but you use extrasensory spells all the time and I’ve never even seen you need to concentrate to use it.”

Ace nodded with a sigh, having had the feeling that he would have to tell her another of his secrets at some point, anyways. “Well, if it wasn’t for the extrasensory magic draining my magical energy, along with a number of other small spells, I would actually suffer from ‘Magic Overflow.’

"You see, after years and years of magical stamina training, my body is actually capable of storing a massive amount of magic energy at once. So much so, that I can almost cast level 10 spells without using pre-magic, if I were to cut off the flow to all of my passive spells. That might sound amazing, but it’s dangerous.

“When magic forms together with a purpose, we call it a spell. However, whenever a large amount of magical energy forms together without a purpose, it begins to condense. This condensing is what allows a Unicorn to keep the magical energy within themselves: it’s just a skill that we passively know, though there were a small number of recorded cases where handicapped Unicorns were born without this control - they exuded their magic, and distorted any spell that was cast near them, but that’s another lecture.

“As for me, since I have so much energy condensing into such a small area, it actually becomes sort of like a bomb. Once the energy accumulates, the condensed form collapses on itself, and bursts outwards. It hurts me like being chewed up and spit out by a carnivorous dragon, but to any non-magical creature around me it’s just a massive flash of light. To magic and magical creatures, it drains all their magical power. If I were to ‘detonate’ it’d be about the size of Ponyville.

“The lesson in this that I want to be sure you know, is that a Unicorn’s magic is like a muscle; the more you use it, the stronger it gets. Also like a muscle, if it becomes too powerful without something to control it, it can actually tear itself and hurt like dragon teeth.”

Looking to Twilight to be sure she understood, she nodded. “I’ve spent a lot of time training my magic, and I did go to Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. I do know something so basic as how a Unicorn’s magic can be improved through practice, but nowhere have I ever been told that too much magic could cause such a thing to happen.”

Ace shook his head at the response, “Given an infinite amount of time, my student, anything is bad. If we ate our favorite food every day, then it would eventually become our least favorite. If a pony drinks too much water, they suffer hydration poisoning and get sick. When a Unicorn commands too much magic, they become a ticking time bomb. That’s just the way the world works, I’m afraid.”

Twilight contemplated the lesson for a moment, likely being sure she would memorize it. Waiting until she looked as though she was finished cataloguing the lesson in the archives that were her mind, Ace had a question for his student.

“I know that you like to study, train your magical skill, and further educate yourself in any other such ways, but do you have any other sort of hobbies? I saw a number of fictional stories, but I cannot be sure if you enjoy them or not, as it is a library, after all.”

Twilight looked to contemplate the question before lighting up in her response. “I suppose I didn’t use to, but now I enjoy nothing more than spending time with my friends here in Ponyville. Whenever one of us needs help with something, we’re always quick to give each other a helping hoof. Often times we get together just to talk and eat lunch, usually at a picnic or in Sugarcube Corner.

"There’s nothing that my friends and I can’t do if it means helping everypony in the end.” Ace gazed upon his student with a look of adoration at the bond Twilight and her friends had together. “What about you? It sounds like you have any number of hobbies.”

Ace laughed lightly as he answered, “Well though it is a secret, by now you’ve realized I am quite old, and as such I have had a longer time to develop those hobbies. Trying new things is an adventure anypony can go on, and many things I have tried.

"I suppose to list my hobbies, I would of course start with Magic. I enjoy researching, performing, creating new spells, enchanting and divining and even collecting artifacts. The most recent Artifact I’ve laid claim to is the Amulet of the Alicorn; Daring Do traded it for a few spells shortly before I came to request your aid.”

Twilight’s jaw dropped at the mention of such a powerful artifact, one that she had thought her friend Zecora had been taking care of. “Really? The Alicorn Amulet? Someone recently challenged me with the amulet and lost, and I had thought my friend was keeping it safe.”

Ace looked at Twilight, impressed with the feat. “Truly? You beat a Unicorn who was under the influence of the Alicorn Amulet? That is truly an accomplishment worthy of praise – Good show! As for how Daring Do managed to get the Amulet, I am sorry, but I do not question my clients, I only make sure their goods are what they say they are. I used an appraisal spell on the Amulet to verify the artifact, but I didn’t think to use an origins spell, and it is much too late now.”

Twilight blushed a bit at the praise, but lost it again when she had heard he had not known where the artifact had come from. “I suppose as long as the artifact is in safe hooves, it doesn’t much matter who keeps hold of it… Although, in hindsight, perhaps we should have taken the amulet to Princess Celestia for safekeeping.”

Ace laughed a bit, wondering why that wasn’t already the case. “Yes, I suppose the Amulet of the Alicorn would be well guarded in the palace, and I’m quite sure that neither Princess Luna nor Celestia would have need to use the Amulet. However, keeping all of the artifacts in Equestria in Canterlot would be a scary thought.”

As they spoke, they came into the marketplace of Ponyville, the stalls still abuzz with activity and the nearby stores tending to their customers. From here, Twilight pointed out the café and the two headed for it, though Ace snuck a peek or two around at the stalls.

The pair sat at a table, a purple mushroom with purple spots with piles of hay for seating and an edible centerpiece of flowers resting in a vase. Shortly after being seated, the solitary, well-dressed waiter that was minding the outer tables came and asked if they were ready to order.

“I’ll have a daffodil and daisy sandwich, with a glass of orange juice, please.” The earth pony waiter turned his head to Ace, his quill and notepad in hoof as he waited expectantly.

“Beg your pardon, it’s my first time here. Would you happen to have Leechvine and lettuce soup?” The waiter raised an eyebrow and shook his head. “Whole wheat spinach lasagna?” Again the waiter shook his head.

“Fontal polenta with mushroom sauté?” The waiter shook his head, clearly losing patience and wanting to attend to other tables. “Four-alarm chili?” Another no. “Do you have any chili?”

The waiter stared with an angry look as he shook his head one final time. With a sigh, Ace resigned to his fallback plan. “I’ll have five daffodil and daisy sandwiches, then. Apple juice, if you have it, water if you don’t.”

Ace shook his head with a sigh as he situated himself better onto the pile of hay. Looking back up, he saw the contagiously large awkward smile on Twilight’s face. Unable to keep from laughing lightly, Ace had trouble speaking.

“I don’t think he liked me very much. Think he’ll spit in my food?” Twilight couldn’t keep from laughing earnestly at the question. “Yeah, I think so, too. Think I’ll cast a cleansing spell on my sandwiches…”

Author's Note

There were so many deleted scenarios for how Ace would meet Fluttershy, but I didn't want to cause any character conflicts with tender, caring and shy Fluttershy!

The Spy in the Sky

Chapter Ten: The Spy in the Sky

Ace and Twilight sat at one of the spotted mushroom tables outside of Horte Cuisine’s Ponyville Café, each enjoying their daffodil and daisy sandwiches. Having accidentally angered the waiter, Ace was being wary with each of his sandwiches, making sure that none of them had any… ‘Extra ingredients.’

Satisfied that none of his sandwiches had been tainted by outside contaminants, Ace started to enjoy his meal in earnest. Twilight ate her food slowly, enjoying each bite as Ace ate at a startling rate, and having already ate two of the five of his sandwiches before Twilight had ate half of hers.

While the pace was swift, Ace was by no means making a mess or being disgraceful. Ace chewed with his mouth closed, kept his hooves off of the table and wiped his hooves in his napkin between each of the morsels.

Twilight swallowed her latest bite as Ace picked up his fourth sandwich before she spoke. “Why do you eat so fast? Not to sound rude, but you also have quite an amount of food, as well.” Ace laid the half of a sandwich he was eating before he took the napkin in his magic to dab gently against the corners of his mouth before he spoke.

“’Tis not rude to speak the truth, my student, do not let anypony tell you otherwise. Yes, I do have a habit of eating quite fast, and I do often eat more than I should.

"Answering the former first, it is just something I am in habit of doing. Many times I would be more concerned with what I was doing than the need to sustain my body with things such as food, or water. To meet the middle ground, I would often eat quite swiftly to return to the matter at the forefront of my mind. In addition, I do not need to eat slowly to enjoy food, as my perception is distorted by the extrasensory spells.

"Essentially, to my view, I am chewing no faster than you are. As for the amount, I just enjoy food.” Twilight shook her head, stifling a laugh as Ace shrugged with the short, simple answer, Twilight unsure of what she had expected.

Without warning, Ace took Twilight, her sandwich, his water and his sandwich in his magic and moved all of them away from the table as he put the last of his sandwich into his muzzle while he leapt away from the table as well.

No sooner than Twilight had opened her mouth to question what was going on, something streaked by in her vision before the table they were at mere moments ago exploded into a puff of dirt brown smoke as somepony nearby yelped out in pain whilst there were shocked gasps around the restaurant.

Ace, putting his last sandwich in his mouth and washing it down with half of the glass of water, proceeded to the edge of the cloud of smoke, pressing his hoof into its depths.

Not long afterwards, as the smoke started to thin a bit, Ace managed to fish something out of the smoke, but couldn’t tell what from where she rested, barely realizing she was sitting on bale of hay a short ways away.

“Thanks," spoke the cloud. "I guess that I should probably stop trying out new tricks above town…” Now assuming that whatever had come falling out of the sky was a pony, Ace nodded to it and offered it the half-full glass of water as he finished chewing his sandwich.

The smoke finally beginning to clear enough to see through, Twilight could make out the silhouette of the mare as it began to come into color. Twilight had to focus her eyes, but could only tell that the mare had a tender blue coat, and soon noticed she also had wings, though that was already apparent given the young mare’s entrance.

The mare started to clear the smoke with her wings, giving them two swift strokes before tucking them softly back against her side as many of the restaurant’s patrons resumed their meals after seeing nopony was hurt.

Her line of sight clear, Twilight could much more easily make out the multiple colors of the mare’s mane and tail: a red brighter than either of Ace’s, a sweet orange, angel’s strand gold, a soft green, shallow-ocean blue and a deep violet.

Realization came to Twilight’s face, knowing only one pony in all of Ponyville who had such a colorful mane and tail. Advancing toward the Pegasus, she could more clearly hear the conversation that had quieted, no longer needing to speak through the dust or over the mutters of the other ponies.

“...then I was trying to do a triple corkscrew dive into a loop-de-loop followed by a free-fall with a breakneck recovery, but when I pulled out of the third corkscrew, I musta lost balance or something ‘cause I ended up here,” the Pegasus said as Ace nodded, listening quite intently.

Ace looked as though he was concentrating a bit as he looked at her, “Well the momentum from the triple corkscrew wouldn’t tie into a loop, so you’d need to do a wide-berth recovery before going into the loop, but it wouldn’t look too flashy by itself. Perhaps instead of doing the loop-de-loop, you could do an airbrake backflip into the freefall instead? You can use the airbrake to stop the momentum from the corkscrews and it’d tie into the dive.”

The Pegasus’s bright purple-pink colored eyes lit up as she ran through the tricks in her head. “Yeah… Yeah, that might just work! Stay here, and prepare to be amazed!” The multi-colored Pegasus darted high into the air, preparing to try out her new short routine.

Ace and Twilight kept their eyes locked on the event that was about to transpire as they spoke in her absence. “That’s Rainbow Dash, if I had to make a guess. She certainly matches the name perfectly, I must say,” Ace commented as the Pegasus started to spiral down towards the two, doing three wide circles as she flew towards the ground.

“That’s right, and she truly does love flying, specifically speed and tricks.” Twilight mentioned with a smile before her mouth formed into the shape of an ‘O’ when Rainbow Dash spread her wings wide to slow her descent, and before she could lose control and stall, she kicked her hooves with her wings still stiff, causing her to pivot in place as she did a no-wing backflip that led her to face the ground before tucking her wings in and freefalling to the ground muzzle first.

“She also enjoys spying on her friend and her new tutor, as well.” Twilight started to look shocked, but before she could glance at Ace to determine if it was another one of his jokes or if he was quite serious, her gaze was stuck riveted to Rainbow Dash as she neared the ground, and just before striking the dirt, she nosed-up and spread her wings wide, causing a wave of dust to kick off the ground with how close she had been before her hooves graced the ground as her wings flapped one last time and tucked themselves away.

The trio trotted towards one another, all of them bearing large smiles after the extravagant show while several ponies at the restaurant applauded and some others cheered, a few doing both.

“Did you see that?! Don’t try that at home, colts and fillies, I can only do it cause I’m totally awesome! Thanks for the advice, Ace; I couldn’t have done it without you!”

Ace nodded as he replied. “I’m always happy to help, miss... Oh, I’m sorry, I don’t think we’ve met,” Ace said as he dipped into his customary bow, “my name is Ace Deus Fenrir, but you seem to already know me as Ace.” A knowing smirk spread across his face as he used the proper name and common interpretation.

Rainbow Dash started to look as though she had been caught stealing in the market. “Oh, yeah… I guess I must have heard it somewhere… Um, my name’s Rainbow Dash, but you can call me whatever ya want.”

Ace nodded as he put a hoof to his chin as though he was lost in thought. “Then it would be alright if I called you Rainbow Spy? Rainbow Dash is a beautiful name, but it doesn’t cover all of your talents, it would seem.”

Rainbow Dash visibly winced. “How long have you known?” Rainbow Dash was clearly caught, and Twilight and Ace were both watching her as though she really might have stolen from the market as well.

“’Twould be a conundrum to say the whole time, but I can easily say that I’ve known you started following us shortly after we started to leave the Apple family farm. I’ve known you were following and spying on us, which was why I sat up while Twilight rested along the road to see Fluttershy.

"I would do anything to protect Twilight Sparkle, so losing a little sleep is of little consequence. Perhaps you would like to enlighten us as to why you were following us?” Ace asked the question pointedly, but Twilight could tell he was just more curious and wanted to appear intimidating, but wasn’t really angry or upset.

Now that Twilight had thought of it, Ace hadn’t slept since he arrived in Ponyville, and likely hadn’t rested much at all since he started the experiment that had brought him to her.

Rainbow Dash let out a sigh as she nodded. “Yeah, that would really be the whole time. I saw Ace fall out of the sky when I was resting on a cloud nearby when you two were at Sweet Apple Acres. Wondering what had made a strange Unicorn fall out of the sky, I started to follow you two around.

"I could only hear what Twilight was saying though, like Ace wasn’t even talking back. After a while, I started to assume it was some sort of magic.” Ace nodded with another smirk as he motioned for the curious Pegasus to continue.

“After a while, I thought I should stop, but there was no way I was going to miss out on watching Twilight going on a date with her boyfriend! Speaking of which, where did you two meet, anyways?”

Twilight’s face lit up with a blush as she looked over to Ace, expecting him to say something to her assuming friend. However, instead of speaking against the thought, he looked Twilight in the eyes deeply as he wiggled his eyebrows at her.

Blushing even further, Twilight closed her eyes and charged her horn with magic. “He’s my new magic teacher!” she exclaimed as she prepared a force spell to push Ace away.

Ace’s eyes lit up with fear as he started to reach up with his left hoof, but was too late. Twilight cast the spell, and Ace went flying harmlessly down the road toward the marketplace… Or at least, he would have, if he hadn’t had a reflection barrier cast around himself; a self-defense he had prepared as he was protecting Twilight under the tree before should the spy have malicious intentions.

Twilight’s senses started to come back slowly. She couldn’t feel anything other than the pulsing pain both in her head and her horn. She could feel her eyes opening and closing loosely, like leaves shaking in a breeze, but couldn’t see anything clearly.

Her ears were ringing, but she could hear the muffled sound of other ponies around her. Shaking her head from side to side, she was able to reclaim the use of her eyes at the cost of her headache worsening, but it had felt like her horn was getting better.

With her eyes opened, her vision was still strange to her. She looked around, and she could see everything fine, but there was a darkness around everything.

Is it nighttime? Have I been unconscious the whole day? What even happened?...

Twilight’s headache was debilitating, and the recovering use of her hearing wasn’t making the headache any more friendly. She could see Ace, tinted a much darker black as he stood over her with Rainbow Dash hovering behind him as she watched over the two.

Ace’s hoof started to wave in front of Twilight’s face, and Twilight reached up to grab it, but with the lack of feeling in her muscles, lightly hit him on the side of his muzzle instead.

Unfazed by the lighthearted blow, he took her hoof in his as he started to talk, but Twilight couldn’t make out what he was saying even as the ringing was fading.

“…eat this un… I am go… can hear…” Twilight shook her head, worsening the headache but feeling the pain in her horn was almost entirely gone. “…you can hear me. I am going to repeat this until you can hear me. I am going to repeat this until you can hear me.”

Twilight finally could hear what her mentor was saying. Finally hearing what he was saying, she was able to reply. “Okay, I can hear you. Please say something else, but say it quietly ‘cause my head is killing me…”

Ace only nodded as he and Rainbow Dash helped her back to her hooves, Ace keeping hold of her until he was sure she could stand on her own. Fortunately he did, cause Twilight couldn’t stand straight, instead deciding to sit down. “What happened? Why is it so dark?”

Ace nodded, his horn ceasing to glow – Twilight hadn’t even realized that it was to begin with – and the world lit up in Celestia’s daylight. “Sorry, I had to refill your magic with my own. Your body used the last of your remaining magic to block the spell. Tell me, what is the last thing you remember? Please, take your time. You took quite a blow, and there’s no need to hurry. Dash, would you be so kind to bring her some water?”

Rainbow Dash nodded once before bolting off towards the restaurant… Which was much further than it should have been, all the way on the other side of the market.

Looking around to see where she was, Twilight saw that there was a store right behind her, with a large section of wall that was busted in, and looking as though it might collapse at any moment. Between her and the market, there was a knocked over stall of flowers - which the owner was not very pleased about, but didn’t want to come bother the injured Unicorn until she was well, - and a number of ponies who were watching her concernedly. Looking herself over, she could see a few places that were still being mended by whatever spell Ace had used to recover her strength.

Twilight closed her eyes as she probed her mind, throbbing in pain, for the nearest memories. “I… I was eating and talking to you, and then Rainbow Dash came crashing into the table… You helped her learn a new trick, and then…”

Twilight’s head was starting to feel a little clearer, the regeneration spell likely making its way to her head after mending her other injuries. She could feel Ace rest his hoof on her shoulder to remind her to take it slowly, but she wanted to remember what had happened. “And then… We were talking to Dash, and I got embarrassed. You said something that made it worse, and I was going to use a kinetic spell to knock you through the market, and…”

Ace rested his other hoof against the side of her face, then started to feel around her head with both hooves as he spoke. “After that, you cast the spell and hit a reflection barrier I had erected to counter any attempts to attack us while we rested near Fluttershy’s house. What I hadn’t known is that the spell misfired and caused the reflection barrier to become a combination of reflection and amplification.

"The level 3 kinetic force spell you used was amplified to either a level 5 or 6 and redirected back at you. I attempted to negate the spell with my bad hoof, but I failed to react swiftly enough. I would have used magic instead, but to do so may have only caused the spell to amplify further with the charge of magic within the shield.”

Twilight finally opened her eyes as the headache faded, but was greeted by Ace being only centimeters in front of her as she blushed. He concluded checking her for serious injury and sat back. “How do you feel? Anything hurt? I do mean anything; even the slightest pain right now could mean serious damage after the spell wears off.”

Twilight looked over herself as she tried all of her limbs and joints. Noticing her mane and tail being a mess, she started to work at it with her hooves, but Ace straightened it in his magic instead. Rainbow Dash came up alongside the two, a glass of water in each hoof, which she held out to them.

Twilight lit up her horn to take the water offered to her, but stopped when she saw the aura that matched Ace’s take over the glass instead. When she had cut off her magic, apparently Ace had done the same, as the glass fell to the ground.

Not being sure Ace would catch it in time, she quickly caught it herself, but was amazed when she saw that Ace was watching her, his black horn not glowing in the slightest, as the glass glowed black while the water flowed back into the glass under Twilight’s magic. Taking the glass in her hooves, she looked to Ace to see if he could explain what was happening.

Ace nodded before taking his own glass from Rainbow Dash so she could land and sit down beside the two. “For a little while, your magic will take on the glow of my own, as it is my magic that is inside of you for now, until yours has been given time to recover.

"While you’re close to me, you’ll be using the magic from me through your horn’s ability to control it, so feel free to use your magic like normal. However, if we become separated before you recover, do try to use it sparingly, as you’ll only have as much as your body could hold normally, and it won’t recover again until your close by me once more. Worry not, by the time you wake up tomorrow, everything will be back to normal.”

Rainbow Dash, seeing that her friend was going to be okay, reverted back to her chaotic-prankster alignment as she spoke, failing to hide her smile and barely stifling her laugh. “So, how does it feel to have your boyfriend’s magic inside of you, Twilight?” Twilight, blushing at the comment, as laced as it was in innuendo.

Wanting to experiment with her newfound wealth of magical power, she decided to cast a powerful spell she had learned combating Discord – a Draconequus and powerful user of Chaos magic, - but was never able to cast on her own. Twilight’s purple horn lit up with Ace’s black-colored magic before it spread to Rainbow Dash’s wings until they disappeared.

Ace at first looked with shock between the two ponies, before nearly falling over as he started laughing his flank off when he saw the pure look of ‘why!’ on Dash’s face as she looked back and forth between her wings. “You know, it feels pretty good, actually.”

Ace, laughing further, had to wipe a tear from his eye, making sure his left eye was closed as he lifted the glasses away for a moment. “Bravo, Twilight! That was quite the spell. However, I should technically reprimand you for using your magic frivolously, I should also commend you for so swiftly grasping the situation and taking advantage of the circumstances to conduct an experiment. As it is, I’ll just pretend this didn’t happen, but do be more careful with my magic, please.”

Rainbow Dash, having tried to jump off the ground and fly away, instead ended up landing flat upon the ground and was starting to become quite delirious. She started to look at Twilight with true sorrow and remorse as she laid on the ground.

“Okay, okay! I’m sorry! Please give me my wings back!” Twilight’s horn lit up, the black color of Ace’s magic flowing through it as Rainbow Dash’s wings started to form, growing out feather by feather in a stream before fully forming and flapping once, twice before she leapt into the air and started doing all sorts of aerial acrobatics.

Twilight, it’s Ace. I’m using our connection through my magic to communicate with you, Ace’s voice echoed through Twilight’s mind. Brace yourself; I have withheld using my extrasensory magic so that you could recover your physical ones.

I am telling you this because, through our connection, you will see what I see with my senses. It will likely be quite debilitating, so I’m going to try and take it slow. Twilight looked to her magically-bonded mentor with an uneasy nod to signal she was as ready as she was going to be as she closed her eyes.

The dark world behind her eyelids lit up all of its surroundings in a dim gray-black, but despite the near-matching color, it was still bright and distinct, perhaps even more so than Twilight’s purple-laced magical senses.

The near-black lines first appeared around Ace and Twilight, but slowly expanded meter by meter. It passed over the damaged section of building, then into the building to reveal the sofas that were for sell inside, then the quills that were on the shelves on the opposite side. The magic passed over the pony who minded the shop, who was assessing the damage to his store.

The magic began to give form to the earth pony who had started to approach the two in near-slow-motion as the magic passed beyond her and over the lilies, petunias, and roses of the flower stall that Twilight had recently been propelled through.

Ace’s magic began to envelop the entire marketplace in its light that only the two of them could see, flooding her mind with information with each new element that lit up with its glow. High above the market, she could tell the difference in each of the clouds before Rainbow Dash came bolting through the magic in slow motion before slowing further to land next to the two ponies.

Twilight opened her eyes to greet her friend, but immediately regretted the decision…

“Twilight, are you sure you’re okay? You look like you’re about to spew that sandwich back up.” Twilight put her hooves over her stomach as she winced at the overload of information that was flooding her senses. Up until now, Twilight had managed the information by shutting out her physical senses when she had to use her magical ones, but it would be impractical to do that now, as use as she was to her physical senses.

She would ask Ace to stop using his magical senses, but she knew that he relied on his magical senses as much as she had on her physical ones, yet knew that he would gladly go through the nausea she was feeling to prevent her from suffering if she had asked.

Ace wrapped a hoof around Twilight’s shoulders to keep her from swaying with the nausea he knew was overtaking her. “She’s having to share my magic, and it’s making her feel unwell. Sorry to depart so briefly after meeting you, Miss Dash, but I need to take Twilight home.”

Twilight could only nod as she rubbed her stomach. What made her nausea even worse was that she could feel the feeling of the feeling of the nausea through the sense, perpetuating the feeling. Ace’s horn lit up as picked up his water and enchanted it before offering it to Twilight.

Drink this. I’ve enchanted it to help ward against the nausea for so long as it’s in your system. It should bring a few hours of relief, and perhaps by then you’ll be more accustomed to the senses.

Twilight greedily reached for the glass of water as though it were her only lifeline in an open ocean. Despite her desperation, she made sure not to drink the water too swiftly, lest she spill any of the precious contents.

Rainbow Dash started to feel uneasy watching her friend suffer and having no way to help her. “Well, I hope you get to feeling better, Twilight, and it’s nice to meet ya Ace, but I need to go to a Weather Patrol meeting.” With that, Rainbow flew off, stopping only for a moment to wave goodbye.

Twilight set the now-empty glass aside as she looked over the damage the trio had brought to the marketplace as the flower merchant, Horte Cuisine, and the pony tending Sofas and Quills started to come towards the two with a sour look on each of their faces.

Ace sighed, using a reparation spell on each of the three afflicted establishments before flash-teleporting a coin pouch onto his good hoof, opposite Twilight, and took his other off of her shoulders. It truly was debilitating using magical senses on objects immune to the effect, as Twilight had entirely forgotten the hoof was draped around her until it was pulled away again, unable to feel it through the dominating magical senses.

The three continued to approach, glancing at their individual claims before two of the three softened, the third being Horte Cuisine, who was the waiter for their lunchtime mischief.

Told you he didn’t like me.

Ace negotiated a price to account for the damages Twilight and her friends had caused, then Ace had paid their price with a fifty-percent mark up to ‘cover for any unforeseen, unaccounted damages that had occurred.’ Needless to say, this was more than sufficient to get the three to return to their businesses while Ace looked over Twilight to be sure she could move.

Twilight got up on her hooves and started, quite slowly, down the road towards the library. Every step she took cycled the elements her and Ace’s senses spread over, bringing in and removing pockets of information of everything around them for what had to be more than twenty meters around.

“I’m sorry, Twilight. ‘Tis by my negligence that you were hurt, and because of it you have to suffer the painful stress of my own magical senses.”

Twilight looked at her mentor, knowing his apology was sincere through their joined magical senses, as well as the connection that bound them itself. “It’s as much my fault as it is yours. I shouldn’t have cast a spell on you, even if it wasn’t meant to hurt you. Because of it, you had to spend a lot of bits to fix the damage I had caused, as well. I’m afraid I don’t have the money to repay you…”

Ace shook his head with a smile. “Twilight, money is of little concern to me. So long as I have my magic, I will always be able to live a comfortable life, with or without money. As such, I can only imagine how it must feel to be without magic, and since it is partially my fault that you are in this situation, I am happy to share my magic with you, Twilight.”

Twilight blushed deeply, more because of a pony couple were ‘enjoying each other’s company’ a bit too passionately as Ace and Twilight’s senses flooded over them. Ace, a blush reaching his cheeks as well as he made it a point to focus the magic away from the couple. “Yes, that happens on occasion. Magic knows no privacy, I’m afraid.”

Breaking their eye contact, Twilight turned her eyes ahead, away from Ace’s, as she started to move ahead as swiftly as was socially acceptable to try and be away from the loving couple as quickly as she could, wishing to afford them privacy as Ace followed behind her.

Race you to the library! Ace’s voice echoed through Twilight’s head as her face went up with shock as he ran past her.

You’re gonna have to go faster than that if you wanna beat me! Twilight kicked it into gear as she caught up to Ace, and then the race truly begun.

Twilight's First History Lesson

Chapter Eleven: Twilight's First History Lesson

Ace and Twilight were nearing the library, both of them running the whole way through the nearby market and the short distance between the two.

'First one inside wins!' Twilight said through their magical bond, her voice echoing in Ace’s head now that she had deciphered the way to manipulate her magic to send the message.

'I’m already half way there!' Ace messaged back to her, being at least three meters ahead of his student. 'Remember, we said no magic.' In reply to his simple reminder, Twilight’s laugh echoed through his mind.

Ace made it to the door, and as he was attempting to open the door, he realized it was locked. Turning, smiling at his student’s clever trick, he noticed she was heading to the side of the library-house rather than the door. Pulling just ahead of her, he noticed a window that was ajar that would lead into the study area by the desk on the first floor.

'A brilliant trick, and it almost won the race for you!'

Not even a meter ahead of her now, Ace turned and vaulted through the window, being sure to leap out of the way when she came through as well.

'Okay, okay; you win. Good race.' The two sat and laughed amongst themselves when Ace realized that Spike, upstairs, was not the only other presence in Twilight’s home. “Hoo?”

Ace turned to visually see the light and dark brown owl who sat on a perch in the midst of the library. Ace dipped into his normal bow, “Call me Ace, though my name is Ace Deus Fenrir. I am Twilight’s new magical tutor. Might I ask who you are?”

Twilight smiled as Ace tried to hold conversation with the owl when Spike came down the stairs to contribute as well. “Don’t worry about him, he only asks questions and rarely answers or acknowledges anything you ask him. Besides, I’m Twilight’s Number One Assistant, and he’s just number two.” Ace rose an eyebrow as he and the owl both looked at Spike before turning to each other again.

The owl seemed to mimic Ace’s introductory gesture, bowing in the middle as he held a wing in front of himself. “My name is Owlowiscious, and I help Twilight at night when Spike needs to sleep. A pleasure to meet you, and please do take good care of Twilight.”

Twilight’s mouth hung open, never having heard her nocturnal assistant speak before. “See? All he says is ‘hoo hoo hoo, hoo,’ no matter how many times you remind him ‘hoo’ you are. Clearly I am the superior assistant.”

Ace laughed at the young dragon’s boasts as he explained to Twilight through their magical bond. 'It’s called the Sense of Tongues, and it’s one of the magical senses I employ. Boosted by some of my magical power, it even works on critters, while the normal sense only works for ponies.'

“Pleased to meet you as well, Owlowiscious, and I always take great care of my students, rest assured,” Ace said in response before turning to speak to Twilight as Spike went to the kitchen with a shake of his head while he muttered to himself.

“Which reminds me; what would you like to do? We’ve already went around Ponyville, which was what you were meant to do today: ‘Check around Ponyville to be sure that everything is perfectly fine.’ Celestia’s day still has an hour or two before it relinquishes the sky to Princess Luna’s Night.”

Twilight thought about the question before coming to a realization, “Because we’re bonded to one another, we can’t do a magic lesson because I’d only be using your magic, not my own…” Ace nodded, glad his student understood the new concept so well. “Well, I still know so little about you, and I’m not quite sure how much you know about me. I guess that’d be a good start, if it doesn’t make you feel uncomfortable I mean.”

Ace nodded as he sat at the table and closed his eyes, a magical representation of himself appearing alongside the table as well, motioning for her to join him. Even though she was using his magic and not hers, she was able to create an avatar in her own image by sculpting the magic before manipulating it.

Ace’s avatar smiled at how well his student was adapting to using magical senses, even if she was currently borrowing from his own power. “As I said, most of our lessons will take place in the magical realm, rather than the physical. As much as I trust you - not only for you are my student and a trustworthy pony, but also because Celestia has placed a modicum of trust in you herself, - I do not wish to speak of my past in the physical world, where spies such as Rainbow Dash might attempt to hear us.

"Now, surely you must have had at least a few questions prepared, what’s on your mind?”

Twilight’s magical avatar, lit up in Ace’s dim-black glow rather than her own purple one, began to ponder what questions she should ask now, and what ones should wait until Ace was more comfortable to speak about them. “Your name is really strange for a pony, does it have any meaning other than the Latin and mythological ones?”

Ace nodded with a smile as he spoke through her, rather than moving his mouth to speak in their magical forms. “Yes. My true name, the name given to me at birth, is Ace,” Ace explained, using the odd pronunciation. “You see, in Al Bhed culture, you are given a name by your family, and then as you age you are given a title by your hometown.

"For a magically inclined Unicorn, these titles are often insulting or derogatory, granted to the pony as they are forced to leave the settlements. However, as the act that led to my removal from the settlement actually saved hundreds of lives, they made an exception at least as far as the title was concerned, though I was still forced to leave.”

Before he continued, Twilight felt something in her mouth and ears, a tingling as though she had just had something taken out, but couldn’t tell what. “Without the Sense of Tongues, it would be Ace uv dra Kutc, or Ace of the Gods. That is where the name Deus comes from, because I would get funny looks if I introduced myself as Ace of the Gods, or Ace Gods or Ace Gods Fenrir, though the Fenrir bit came later.

“For a time, I was known as Ace Deus to those who were not of Al Bhed descent, which there were a few when I first left the settlements; ponies who had left the tribe, but still wandered or stayed in towns nearby. I, however, wanted to put as much distance between myself and them as I could so that I may practice my magic unhindered.

"In my travels, I stayed with a shamanistic tribe of ponies, most of which who were Unicorns or one of the magical sub-races. There were few who were not able to use magic, as often the ones who could not perform magic left of their own accord, but it was not a rule, and those who left were still regarded as family to the tribe.

“Needless to say, this tribe was much different from my own, and it was a welcomed change. There was a translator among the tribe who spoke both Al Bhed and Common Equestrian, and I was so gratefully blessed at this. I stayed with the tribe, who I had learned called themselves the Watchers of the Stars.

"I spent many years with them, and it was they who taught me to speak Common, and how to use my magic to sense the entire world around me, no longer needing to rely on my eyes, ears and hooves to be a part of the world. Before I came of age, they had accepted me as a part of their tribe with open hooves, and I embraced them as my new family. When I had come of age, they sent me on a ritual to find my guiding force.”

Ace motioned Twilight’s avatar over to him as he pointed to the flank of his physical body. When she came over, she saw he had been pointing to his cutie mark. The mark she knew from memory, a hoof that matched Ace’s grasping the hoof of a white-coated pony as though the other had fallen and needed a hoof to get back up, with a full moon framing the hooves in the background. Twilight nodded to Ace’s magical projection, waiting for him to continue.

“Naturally, a pony earns their cutie mark when they learn their special talent, and their cutie mark reflects that talent. As you know, my special talent is to help other ponies. Thus, my Cutie Mark is that of a pony giving aid to another. Tell me Twilight, what does the glowing full moon behind the cutie mark mean?”

Twilight looked at Ace’s cutie mark as his physical form sat before her. Never having thought about it, she really didn’t have much idea as she looked to the dim-black cutie mark on dark-gray coat as she felt the cutie mark with their magic more than her sight.

“I’m honestly not sure. Are you better at helping ponies at night?” Twilight, accepting that the cutie mark wouldn’t tell her more no matter how much she stared at it, looked into Ace’s magical eyes for an answer instead.

A soft laugh echoed through her before her mentor spoke. “Well, yes, but that is not the purpose. There are conditions that, when met, can alter a pony’s cutie mark in certain ways. The Watchers of the Stars had taught me much in the time I spent with them, and this was one of those lessons.

"I left their small village at night to wander the forest to find what my destiny was. Many ponies believe that their cutie mark reveals their destiny, but the mark that most ponies bear is only their talent, not their destiny. To find your destiny through your emblem, you must find all three conditions: The first is your talent; second is your objective, your means, or your motive; and third is achieved when your destiny is within your grasp. The moon is my second mark.”

Twilight’s magical being shifted as her face became painted with shock at the mention of the true meaning behind a pony’s cutie mark. Ace only nodded that it was true before he continued. “You see, when I was in the forest that night, the whole day having passed as I sustained myself upon the bountiful gifts of the forest, I ascended a cliff so that I could watch as the moon ascended its throne in the sky.

"Having no destination to go, not wanting to return to the village so shortly after beginning my journey, I sat upon the cliff, contemplating my life and what my goals were. The longer I sat, watching over the forest that surrounded me, I realized that, though I helped other ponies with their goals when I could, I myself had no goal beyond helping ponies. Helping others is a reaction, an act, not a goal or worldly endeavor.

“When the moon reached the apex of its journey through the nighttime sky, amongst its millions of brilliantly shining children, I looked up to it pleadingly as I spoke, hoping but not expecting an answer.

"‘Tell me, O God who controls the nighttime sphere of the moon,’ – this was before I had ever met or heard of Celestia and Princess Luna, - ‘if there really is a meaningful place for me in this world, what is it? Make me thine servant, thine messenger, and I shalt sing of thou and thine graces if only for but a sign of my destiny.’

"Well, I learned that day to always ask for more precise answers when bartering with Gods, as the only reply was this mark upon my emblem and nary an answer beyond the image.

“Blessed, but not enlightened, I returned to the village with a… um, bit of food in my maw with the red… juices staining my coat, my head hung low as I reflected upon my trial. The elder of the village greeted me with a smile, asking how my journey had fared.

"Not wishing to drop my food, I merely showed him the image that graced my emblem, and he stared in shock before bowing low in the bow that you see me perform when I greet somepony new. ‘Thou hath received a mark most holy to our people, and hath earned thine name,’ the elder said as others who saw my emblem bowed as well. ‘Thou shalt be known as Fenrir to thine subjects, but there is nothing more that our humble tribe can offer you, noble Wolf of the End.’

“After a few days, I could no longer take being bowed to every time I would pass somepony. These ponies whom I had considered family, brothers and sisters all of them, now treated me no longer as an equal, but as though I were a God given physical form upon the dirt.

"Taking only a few provisions, I left their tribe with only a farewell. The whole tribe, even the hunt- I mean even the foragers who were meant to go and gather food for the tribe that day, had gathered to bid me farewell, not with waves or hugs or tears at my departure, but with that customary bow that they always greeted me with.

"Normally when a pony left the tribe, they were given hugs by those who were closest to them, which would have been my adoptive mother and father from my younger years, but even they only bowed. They called in unison after me as I left, ‘Fenrir, the Wolf of the End walks among us, and we are graced with his blessing. Be well on thine journey, valiant Wolf.’ I left, and I never returned.”

Twilight stood dumbstruck even in her magical body, her mind knocked ajar no longer only by the secret of the cutie marks, but also by how Ace had earned his name, and mostly by how anypony could be so cold to one who was a part of their family.

"Twilight, unable to contain herself, embraced Ace’s avatar in the hooves of her own. Surprised by the contact, Ace was shocked at first before he embraced her back, a tear running down the cheek of his physical counterpart. After several comfortingly long moments, Twilight finally let go of her mentor as she backed away, Ace’s physical self wiping away the tear as Twilight spoke. “I’m sorry… It sounds like you’ve had terrible luck with families…”

Ace nodded, agreeing that nopony he had ever called mother or father were ever what he pictured they would be in the end. “It’s… It’s fine, Twilight, it’s something I accepted a long time ago and moved on. Are there any other questions that you’d like to ask?”

Twilight nodded, still unclear on a part of the story of Ace’s name that wasn’t mentioned, but she was unsure if that was intentional or not. “You said that you had done something to save hundreds of ponies, but you didn’t explain what it was.”

Ace thought for a moment, and for a second Twilight thought he wasn’t going to tell her. “I skipped over it for a reason, but not for what you would think. As I mentioned before, the Al Bhed are a race that prefer technology over magic, and to power their technology they developed a generator that creates electricity without magic using a turbine to gather power as it rotates within a cylinder.

"However, like magic, if you put too much power in one place, it overloads and explodes. Somepony was experimenting in harnessing larger amounts of power using a stronger turbine. The method was successful, but the machine didn’t have any way of storing all the excess power, and the failsafe that was implemented was for the device to use the extra energy itself.

"With the turbine spinning faster and faster as it generated more and more energy each second, it was soon going so fast that it melted the casing it was held within. The pony fled, screaming, as the generator started to wildly arc electricity through the building and around it.

“Everypony around the settlement started to flee, screaming and yelling, but they wouldn’t have been able to make it through the narrow gateway that led out of the town. I knew that there was no chance everypony would make it out before the town, contained within a cave within the side of a mountain, exploded and was crushed in the resulting cave-in.

"Instead of making my way toward the gate, I ran for the malfunctioning turbine generator, gathering as much magic as I could manage in my young age in my horn. Using one of the only spells I knew, I shielded the generator, and for the first time changing a spell, I turned the shield to be inverted, focusing all of its strength to prevent escape, rather than entrance.

"Every moment I had before the generator went up, I put every ounce of magical energy I could recover in reinforcing the shield. After what was likely the longest fourty-eight seconds of my life, the generator exploded. My shield shattered, the trauma of the shield bursting sent me sprawling as metal and rock flew through the town like streamers at one of Pinkie’s parties. Something must have struck me on the head, because I lost consciousness.

“When I regained my senses, I laid in the infirmary in town with a medical machina and several ponies standing over me. My mother and father looked over me, with the strangest mixture of both pride and disgust that I will never forget.

"The high elder of our settlement pulled them aside so that he may speak to me amongst the number of ponies who watched in wonder. 'Fa femm hajan vunkad fryd oui ryja tuha vun ic, Ace uv dra Kutc,’” Ace started, speaking in the Al Bhed language as Twilight’s face contorted with confusion.

“Oh, right. Sorry.” Ace’s physical horn lit up for a moment when Twilight felt a small tingle in her mouth and ears for a moment before Ace continued, “’We will never forget what you have done for us, Ace of the Gods, but as is our tradition, you will still be removed from our settlements. "In light of your courageous act, you may rest until your wounds have healed, but as soon as your Yevon touched blood is cleansed from the bed-lining, you are to take what is yours and leave this town. May your gears be moist in your travels, young one.’”

"Ace paused only long enough to admire his cutie mark once more. “That was how I got my cutie mark, and was thus removed from my birth home in the Al Bhed settlements, and the last time that I had seen my birth mother. Two days later, my injuries – a few cuts and scrapes – were healed and I was sent away from the settlements, fortunate that a pony gave me some bread to last me on my journey.”

Twilight was again pained by what little she knew about Ace’s past, completely unable to fathom just how much it must have hurt to be shunned or treated with such prejudice by not just one, but two different families. Twilight started to feel angry for Ace, angry that everypony he ever knew as a colt seemed to treat him unjustly, judging him by things that were beyond his control, when Ace shook his head at her.

“I hold no contempt or ill-will towards those who have shaped my past, Twilight. Were it not for leaving the Al Bhed, I would never have developed my magic. Were it not for the Watchers of the Stars, I would not have learned to speak Common. Everything has reason, purpose, and everything that happens in our lives shapes our futures. I would never wish to change my past, because I am happy with who I am at present. Would you like me to be different, Twilight?”

Twilight’s face deflated back into her calm, studious look, losing any trace of the anger she had been working towards. “No! I mean, no, I think you’re wonderful just the way you are. I don’t think you should have to change anything just because other ponies don’t like it.”

Twilight was glad they were having their talk through their magical senses, or she would be visibly blushing again. Ace smiled as he nodded, “Our present selves represent the summation of our past, and our future self is a variable, ever changing with every step we take.

"To alter even just one thing of a pony’s past is to change who that pony is, and who they will be. ‘Tis why I refuse to create Time spells that could cause a pony to change. Speaking of difficult magic, why did thou learn that Chaos spell to revoke a Pegasus’s wings? I was not aware you knew any level 7 spells.”

Twilight shied away slightly at the question. “Well, it actually wasn’t my own spell. I watched Discord cast the spell before, and I was able to mimic it with your power, but I was never able to cast it on my own.”

Ace looked thoughtful for a moment, as though he were trying to recall something. “Discord… Discord… If I recall correctly, he’s the Draconequus who bested Princess Luna and Celestia in multiple duels, until Princess Luna cast an inverted reversal shield on him without his knowledge, and a reflection spell on a statue in town.

"She challenged him to a dare, saying that if he could turn the statue to flesh and bone, then the princesses would leave him be for a century, uninhibited. When Discord struck the deal, he cast the spell and through the shield, it became a petrification spell instead, then rebounded from the shield on the statue back to him and turned him to stone. How would you have seen a statue cast a spell? Or perhaps you know somepony named Discord?”

Twilight, having been told that the Princess used the six Elements of Harmony – special relics able to harness the power of friendship and certain elements within their wearers to perform otherwise impossible feats of magic, - to turn the Draconequus to stone, not trickery, was quite surprised at the retelling of the historic event.

It was the defeat of Discord that led to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna becoming the princesses, rulers of the very Equestria everypony knew today. “How do you know about the way Princess Celestia and Luna defeated Discord?” Twilight asked.

Ace’s magical representation raised a singular brow as he looked at Twilight as through she asked why water was wet. “’Tis history, and one that surely has been retold for many years, I daresay.”

Twilight just shook her head as she replied, “No, I’ve never heard the story told like that before. The way we retell the battle, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna bore the Elements of Harmony, and used their magic to defeat the spirit of Discord and Chaos using Order and Harmony.” Ace’s look changed from incredulity to disbelief. “The way you tell the story, one would think the Elements of Harmony were not involved at all.”

Ace shook his head. “Of course not, for they were still known as the Elements of Disharmony. Discord bore the elements into each of his battles against Sol Light, now known as Celestia, and Moonlit Embrace, now known as Luna. In each of their battles, Discord overpowered them and laughed at their efforts to thwart him while he wore the ancient relics.

"He wore the Chaos Crown upon his head, the Amulet of Tears upon his neck, the Bracelets of Lies and Treachery upon his wrists, and the Anklets of Theft and Cruelty upon his feet. When Discord turned himself into a statue, he also turned the relics to stone as well. The spell, affected by the reversal shield’s effect, also reversed the relics, turning them into the Elements of Harmony.

"This was not realized until Sol Light hired a craftspony to remove the relics without harming the statue, and a Unicorn whose talent was to analyze artifacts of magical nature. After they had learned of the change to the relics, they undid the petrification spell, and started to study the elements more closely. What happened to them after that, the history books do not say, I am afraid.”

Twilight sat in shock after hearing the origins of the Elements of Harmony that her and her friends used. After a while of letting the history lesson soak in, Ace cleared his throat – or rather, he made the sound of a throat clearing reverberate through Twilight, - as he queried the question again. “So I must ask, how did you learn that Chaos spell, Twilight? If it is a secret or something you wish not to speak of, simply say so.”

Twilight hastily answered so as not to be misunderstood. “No, it’s not a secret. It truly was Discord, who is alive again now. He came back one day and stole the Elements of Harmony from my friends and I, forcing us to become the opposite of what each of our elements represented, and using the spell to make sure nopony could escape his maze we were forced into.

"Eventually, I was able to break free of his magic, and used my own to bring my friends to their senses as well, and together we used the Elements of Harmony to turn Discord back into stone. However, we later brought him back to life, as per Princess Celestia’s orders, and Fluttershy helped him realize that he needed friendship as well. The last time I saw him, he was staying at the castle and taking remedial lessons under the Princesses.”

For the first time since she had met him, Ace finally was truly shocked and surprised by something, even rendered speechless. Ace appeared to be lost in thought for quite some time, as though he were trying to solve a great mystery that only he knew the clues to.

“So what you mean to say is that Discord came back to life, had the Elements of Harmony, played a game with you, lost, and was turned back into stone?” Ace paused for a moment, looking to Twilight for a reply as she nodded. “Then, not long after Discord was once more imprisoned, Princess Celestia ordered you to free him and befriend him?” Again, Twilight nodded, making Ace focus his thoughts once more.

“You said you’ve seen him since then; did he have anything different on? A necklace, or bracelets, or maybe something on his horns?” Twilight shook her head this time, as Discord was just as he always was. Ace pondered for a moment, before coming up with a theory.

“Celestia knew that the Elements of Harmony, once obedient to Discord as the Elements of Disharmony, would be unable to hold him for long. Knowing that she and Princess Luna would be unable to fight him, she instead attempted to befriend the Draconequus. Discord, having already attempted to steal and reconvert the relics back to the Elements of Disharmony and failed, must have accepted the friendship as a truce.”

Ace nodded to himself as he thought out loud through their magic. “Now, for the motive… Celestia wouldn’t go so far as to befriend an old enemy if she didn’t have something to gain as well… Certainly Discord is a powerful opponent and must be monitored, but there must be something further, something she would gain more directly from the endeavor… You mentioned that Discord was taking remedial lessons from the Princesses, is this true?” Twilight nodded as Ace’s eyes regained their focus on her before fading away again as he thought.

“If Celestia is personally reeducating him, then that would attest that she is monitoring him… Perhaps she is in need of Chaos magic more powerful than she and Luna can do themselves… Unless, she needs to do the spell without Luna knowing about it, in which case she would not be able to join her magic with her sister’s…

"Alternative: Perhaps Celestia merely wishes to expand her power, either physically or magically, and seeks to learn Chaos magic from the very embodiment of the element…” Ace’s face contorted in his concentration before he sighed and shook his head with a shrug.

Ace bowed as he spoke, though not as deeply as his normal bow, “My apologies, Twilight, I seem to have gotten quite distracted. Certainly you must have a number of questions for me, and here I am rambling on about conspiracy theories.” Rising up after voicing his apology, Ace awaited to hear the next question Twilight would give voice to.

Twilight looked bashful as she tried to word her question carefully. “Well, you haven’t had much sleep the past few days, and I know you didn’t sleep at all last night, - I can sense it through your magic when I look at the pillow and blanket I left you, - so I was thinking maybe you would like sleeping upstairs, with me, a bit better? I-in a different bed, I mean!”

Ace smiled kindly at the offer as Spike came into the room, appearing to walk terribly slowly through their magical senses as he carried a tray of tea. “Thank you, Twilight, and I will certainly accept the offer. ‘Tis true, it has been at least three days since last I’ve slept, and it certainly would feel nice to sleep on a bed after so long.”

As Spike neared the table, Ace’s magical avatar walked into his physical self and merged with it as he brought his physical senses to the forefront once again. Twilight mimicked the motion, coming back to her physical self bringing about the blush that was concealed on her magical form, but all too clear in her physical one.

“Thanks for the tea, Spike, I can certainly see how you would be Twilight’s Number One Assistant.” Spike visibly beamed at the compliment.

Ace took a silent sip of the tea using his hooves, keeping the saucer just below the cup as Twilight used their magic to manage the warm beverage, blowing at it lightly to dispel the steam and cool it down enough to take a sip. “Oh wow, Twilight! Your magic looks just like Ace’s now! What happened?”

Ace stifled a laugh as he set the saucer and teacup down on the table. Before Twilight could do the same so she could speak, Ace had beat her to it. “Well you see, Spike, when two Unicorns become a mated pair, for a time after the act, the female’s magic will take on the appearance of the male’s magic.”

Spike and Twilight both blushed deeply as their jaws dropped, Twilight looking at Ace as Spike moved his gaze between both of them. Ace kept a straight face the whole time, taking another sip of his tea without cooling it first.

“Wait, so the two of you are-“

“No! We didn’t do anything like that, he’s just joking! That’s not even true, anyways!” At this point, Ace could no longer hold onto his laughter as he set the cup back upon the table again.

When the laughing stopped enough for him to reign it in and speak, Ace couldn’t help but push the joke further. “But Twilight dear, I thought we were having such a good time together…” Twilight didn’t think her cheeks could get any pinker as he looked at her.

“We were! I mean, we are! But we didn’t! I, you, we… Ugh! Please stop doing that!” Ace resumed his laughing as he sat back again.

Once the laughing had died down again, Ace spoke once more on her behalf. “I’m sorry, you just look really cute when you blush. Even more so when you get tongue-tied or don’t know what to say or do.

"No, Spike, Twilight and I had perfectly chaste fun today as I met a few of her closest friends. Her magic looks like mine because it is mine. Twilight exhausted her reserves of magic during our lessons, and then something happened that pushed her magic over the limit, so she’s borrowing my magic power for the evening.

"She’ll be fine after she sleeps tonight.” Spike nodded at the explanation while Twilight sighed, the color leaving her cheeks as Ace’s tricks came to an end. “But you really are pretty, Twilight.” Ace smiled sincerely as Twilight’s cheeks turned pink once more, bringing both him and Spike into a fit of laughter one last time.

The day came to a winding end as Luna’s moon took claim of the sky while Celestia’s sun slept beyond the horizon. After their tea, Twilight and Ace explained their day’s events to Spike, and later used some spare pillows to transfigure into a bed the shape of the full moon for Ace to sleep on next to Twilight’s bed upstairs, the three of them retiring for the evening.

Author's Note

Interested in learning more about the language of the Al-Bhed? Be sure to double check the book's description!

Early Morning Exercises

Chapter Twelve: Early Morning Exercises

Ace sat upon the terrace at the top of Twilight’s library/home next to the telescope as he admired the stars of Princess Luna’s night. Twilight and Spike laid asleep in the bedroom of the second floor of their tree home.

The breeze carried soft whispers in the wind as the leaves and branches sang their timid song. Ace let go of his senses, both physical and magical, as he basked in the embrace of the dark, lit only by the waning full moon. An hour passed as Ace relaxed, nearly asleep, beneath the stars.

“Ace? Are you feeling okay? I can’t feel anything through your senses, but I’m still using your magic…” Twilight asked, having just flash-teleported to the terrace.

Ace answered with a yawn, covering his mouth with one hoof while the other pointed towards the sky aimlessly. Twilight, thinking he had wanted her to see something specifically, came up alongside him to stare along his hoof, but saw nothing other than the stars and the sky.

Ace allowed himself to lean against her as his hoof fell to his side. I was just admiring the stars so that I may sleep. I didn’t mean to cause you any concern, Ace’s voice echoed through Twilight’s head as he spoke to her through their magical bond, Ace being too tired to speak physically.

I was having trouble sleeping, so I came out here instead. The stars in the sky always help me sleep better.

Twilight looked up to the sky as Ace laid his head on her shoulder, sounding as though he was more asleep than awake. Twilight’s face turned pinker and pinker the longer he laid against her, until she looked down and saw that he was fully sleep.

A tender smile spread across her muzzle as the blush began to fade. Twilight sat with Ace sleeping against her for nearly an hour before using his magic to teleport both of them back to their individual beds.

Good night, and sweet dreams, Ace.

Ace awoke in a cold sweat, two of his hooves shaking violently and his horn glowing brilliantly bright in the black glow of his magic.

Swiftly, Ace flickered on his magical senses, then began to prepare an invigoration spell to dispel the grogginess of having just woke up. Looking quickly around the room to be certain where he had awoken, he saw Twilight and Spike still asleep in their beds and Celestia’s sunlight breaching the second story room of the library they lived in.

Still needing to use more of his magic, his horn glowing brightly though he was starting to regain control of his hooves, Ace distributed the magic overflowing from his horn to the rest of his body.

The glow now covering his entire form, save for his left hoof, he cast a Strength of Body spell, using enough magic to make it a level 7 spell. Ace’s muscles lurched and tightened with the sudden strength, but the glow in his horn was only nearly gone. Ace removed the spell with a disenchantment spell and repeated it once more to bring out the last of his magic.

Ace collapsed muzzle first onto his pillow and bed after disenchanting the spell, not even realizing he had stood up.

He groaned in pain as he struck the soft circular bed, his whole body sore from the use of the physical spell that would multiply his body’s strength, but swiftly disabling the spell repeatedly caused the effect of his muscles tearing instead, as though he had just went through a difficult full-body exercise routine.

Twilight stirred at the sound, raising up in a start while Spike just rolled over and muttered in his sleep. Ace used his magic to levitate the upstairs trash bin close to Twilight before she spoke. “Ace? Are you-“ was all she managed before she doubled over and took the trash receptacle in her own magic before holding it in her hooves as she vomited into the thankfully empty bin.

Spike finally realized it was time to wake up and started looking between the two; Ace lying flat on his bed, knowing the slightest movements would send pain through his body, and Twilight losing whatever remained in her stomach into the trash can.

Ace spoke aloud the answers to the questions they would both ask. “Twilight, being cut off from my magic somewhere in the middle of the night, is having a whiplash effect. She’ll be back to normal in a minute. As for me, I must have fallen asleep watching the stars, as I did not have my magical senses while I slept.

"Because of this, my magic accumulated and I nearly overloaded. Not wanting to damage anything in Twilight’s home, I cast a few spells on myself to be rid of the excess magic. For now, I’ll just rest here until Twilight has regained her senses, then cast a rejuvenation spell to restore my torn muscles. Spike, could you make breakfast this morning?”

Twilight lurched and placed more of the contents of her stomach into the basket in her hooves as Spike quickly nodded and ran down the stairs to be away from the terrible sound of the miserable ponies. Some time passed, Twilight emptying herself once more before Ace used his magic to painfully mend his muscles.

Once his spell was nearly finished, he rose out of his bed to sit next to Twilight on hers as he stroked her back softly with a hoof. “I’m sorry, but lending you the use of my magic was the only way I knew to keep you from depleting your magic entirely yesterday. Were that to happen, you could have been without your magic for nearly a week, and the withdrawal symptoms would be worse, I’m afraid.”

Twilight nodded, her eyes closed so as not to see the once-contents of her stomach in front of her. “It’s okay, I trust that you did what was best.” Twilight waited to speak further as a wave of nausea passed over her. “Do you remember last night?” Twilight set the half-full bucket in front of her, still within hooves reach, so that she could look over her shoulder at him.

Ace thought for a moment at the question. “I think so: We raced home, I won, then I met Owlowiscious, then I taught you a bit about history – both my own and some of Equestria’s, - then we drank tea and explained the day’s events to Spike, then we made me a bed – literally, then we retired for the evening…

"I think that about covers what I was awake for. Though, I do foggily remember teleporting someplace as I laid in bed awake so that I could watch the stars to relax.” Twilight’s face regained its color after the wave of sickness passed, then a lighter hue graced her cheeks as she remembered finding him on the terrace. “Why? Did something happen?”

Twilight shook her head a little faster than she probably needed to. “No, no nothing happened. How are you feeling?” Twilight looked over his body to see if he was hurt as he looked over himself as well.

He nodded his head after looking everywhere. “Sore, but no worse for wear. How are you feeling? Your breathing has leveled out and your magic is stabilizing.” Twilight put her hooves over her stomach as if in reflex, but nodded her head as well.

“I feel better, but I’m not sure if I actually am better or not. It’s not going to come back again without warning, is it?” Twilight grasped her stomach tighter, hoping that the experiences was over.

Ace’s horn started to glow and Twilight’s horn and stomach shared the blackness of his magic. “It feels like most of your magic is coming back, and it feels as though your stomach is as it should be. The necklace will aid in the recovery of your magic, so you should be back to normal after we eat breakfast. Do you feel like you can eat?”

Twilight was holding the necklace that Ace had loaned her. She had nearly forgotten it was even draped around her neck, already getting used to the feel of it. She nodded to Ace before the two of them worked their way downstairs, Twilight taking a moment in front of the vanity to straighten her mane and tail while Ace used his magic to straighten his, not needing a mirror to view himself using his magical senses.

While Twilight was tending to her mane, Ace snuck his way through the library to the cracked-open door of the kitchen. As he neared the door, there was a green light coming from the kitchen, which if Ace’s hopes were correct, was green dragon fire that Spike was using to cook breakfast. While Ace could easily feel the dragon fire with his magic, he wanted to see it with his own eyes as well.

Now in position against the door frame with a single eye peering through the crack, Ace could see Spike cooking flapjacks over the stove. After a few seconds, he saw Spike flip the cake into the air and accurately torch one side of the flipping mass of half-cooked batter, bringing it to just over a golden brown without burning the side that had been cooked on the skillet.

Twilight came down the stairs, her mane and tail perfectly cared for with not a single strand out of place. When she saw Ace standing at the side of the kitchen door, she was at first concerned, until Ace turned his head and held his hoof to his muzzle with a smile as he looked at her. He motioned for her to come over and watch from the other side before going back to spying on the dragon. Twilight did as she was asked.

When she came to the doorway, all she could see through the crack was Spike making flapjacks, but then Ace had pointed up.

Spike, his focus on cooking, hadn’t noticed that Ace was accumulating the dragon fire just above him. The black from Ace’s magic mixed and swirled within the green dragon flame, making a sinister looking swirl of magic.

Stifling a laugh with a hoof, Ace’s horn began to light up as he manipulated the magic and making his throat glow a bit with the magic as well. The black-and-green magic began to swirl around in the air, with a thundering sound for added effect as the room darkened.

Spike flipped a pancake higher than he intended to when the thunder sounded, causing the gooey side to adhere to the ceiling as the magical flaming mass started to coalesce into the form of a pony before Spike.

“Boo!” said the swirling flame-formed pony who was starting to resemble Ace. “Got you pretty good, huh?” The flame-pony said as Spike scrambled to his feet before realizing it was just a prank.

“Uh-oh, look out!” The fires charged forward and washed harmlessly over Spike, though he still cowered down anyways. Twilight watched, scared that the prank might have gone too far.

Ace walked into the room, a tinge of concern as well keeping him from laughing as he dusted Spike off and helped him up. “Sorry! I thought you knew that dragons were immune to their own flames, but I guess I should have asked first, or something. Are you okay?”

Spike looked up at Ace with a look of semi-fear, semi-disbelief as though he had just had a nightmare. Getting up and dusting himself off as he looked himself over, Spike realized that the only damage was done to his ego.

"Realizing it was meant to be a good-natured joke that had just gone wrong, he loosened up. “Yeah, I think I’m fine. That would have been funnier if I wasn’t frightened out of my scales though!”

Twilight came into the room with a small laugh while Ace took a few of the pancakes in his magic, including the ceiling-cake, and a cup of coffee from the coffee maker.

Realizing he had used all of the chocolate yesterday morning, he drank the coffee black, as Spike did, and started to eat his breakfast. “Guess we can add shopping to today’s activities. Is there anything else that we need to do today, Twilight?”

Twilight thought for a moment as she pulled a plate of pancakes from the counter as well as Spike cooked a couple more to finish off his and Ace’s plates. “Not really. I need to write a letter to Princess Celestia later today, but other than that I suppose we can go shopping today.”

Ace nodded as he ate his pancakes through his magic rather than on a plate. “Well before we go shopping, we should get started with our magic lessons. I was thinking we’d find someplace quiet, probably under another tree in town. After that, we can go shopping as your magic recovers and then we’ll resume the lesson before bringing the groceries home. Sound good?”

Twilight poured a small amount of syrup, just enough to run over the edges, before replacing the bottle in the center of the table. “Sure, but what are we going to be doing for our lessons? I know you’ve agreed to help me with my magic, but I do not know exactly how you intend to help me. Are you going to be teaching me spells?”

Spike launched a finished pancake towards Ace straight from the skillet, which he immediately caught in his mouth with a bow as the others applauded softly.

Taking a bite before holding the pancake in his magic, Ace continued. “While I could do that, it would mean little if you are not strong enough to use the spells. Also, once you’ve developed your magical skills enough, you’ll be able to craft your own spells for most common applications.

“No, for our first lesson, I must first evaluate your magical ability. While I have a general idea of how powerful your magic is through my magical senses, it is still better to know for certain through actual testing. Once we have concluded with the first lesson, I’ll have more of an idea of what we need to do to further your magic ability.

"The magical senses are a good start, however. If you could learn to use them more often, the lessons will progress faster, though as I know it can be hard at first, I will only require you to use the senses during our lessons.”

Twilight thought for a moment as she cut a piece from her stack of pancakes, Ace taking the chance to eat another of his as well. Spike finally sat down at the table with his plate as well, serving himself last as he emptied half of the bottle of syrup onto his pancakes.

Closing her eyes, Twilight’s horn lit up dimly as she gathered the small magic it took to ignite her magical senses. Ace felt her senses spread over his body, save for his left fore-hoof. Twilight opened her eyes slowly, but when they had opened she began to get a headache and she thought another wave of nausea was going to pass over her.

Ace’s horn lit up in its black glow, as did Twilight. She started to feel a little better, but the headache was persisting through the soothing spell. “You’ll likely experience headaches, as well as Sensory Overflow. You may see bodies of magic where another Unicorn used magic, like you did with my flash spell earlier. With your physical senses, you may think you can interact with them, but you’ll learn to observe them without perceiving them.”

Twilight hadn’t realized what Ace had meant at first, until she noticed the magical aura that filled the room from when Ace had pulled the prank on Spike. With both her magical senses and her physical senses, she had the feeling that it was a solid object, though in her mind she knew it was only a magical element that wouldn’t impede her.

"Testing a theory, Twilight reached out with a hoof to try and touch it. When her hoof passed through the non-existent, magical-residue of a pony, her headache worsened slightly and a small wave of nausea passed over her.

Ace nodded, a knowing smile on his muzzle. “Yes, that will happen. Your mind and your physical senses don’t like it when you move through something they perceive as solid. You have to train your mind, body and magic to properly employ magical senses.

"The more you use your magic to perceive the world around you, the more your mind will come to understand it. Afterwards, your body will slowly adapt as well. For the time being, try to avoid looking at magic residue too intently unless you’re analyzing it, and don’t pass through it if you can help it.”

Twilight closed her eyes as she gathered her magical senses, returning the magical energy to herself rather than cutting it off completely. Ace watched as she did so, a look showing just how impressed he was. “My, wherever did you learn to do that, my student?”

Twilight’s face lit up pink again, not wanting to voice the truth that she had learned it when Ace had done so on the terrace last night, but not wishing to lie to her teacher. “Well… Last night, when you were watching the stars, I, um… I felt… I felt you withdraw your magic when you were falling asleep.” Ace’s expression did not falter at the explanation as he nodded.

Ace rested a hoof under his muzzle as he thought. “So what you’re telling me, is that after witnessing a Unicorn performing a spell once, you are able to recreate the spell? Every nuance?” Twilight nodded, her flushed cheeks remaining so.

“Do you know what that is called, my student?” Twilight shook her head. “’Tis called an Eidetic Spell Memory, and is a blessing most rare. I myself have a semi-eidetic spell memory, which is also quite rare. I’ve met very few ponies as fortunate as thou. My, this will make our lessons quite interesting; yes, quite interesting indeed…”

Ace continued to muse at the implications of Twilight’s gift, eating the last two of his pancakes as he thought while Twilight took the opportunity to eat hers as well. When Twilight and Ace had finished eating, Ace downed the last of his coffee before cleaning the dishes in his magic, saying ‘it’s the least I can do, since Spike did the cooking for us.’

With breakfast done, Twilight grabbed her coin pouch and her saddlebags before leaving, Ace raising an eyebrow, but voicing no protest. As they left, Ace ran over the to-do list, “Magic lesson, then shopping, and then a follow-up lesson pending the results of the first lesson.”

Ace nodded, thinking that he had everything in mind. “What all do we need to pick up? I know I initially said just Chocolate for the coffee, but certainly there must be more to it than that.”

Twilight looked over the saddlebags as she nodded. “I thought I’d take the chance to pick up some more groceries. We have enough to last a day or two, but wouldn’t hurt to do the shopping now rather than later. Also, as much as I’m sure you enjoy pancakes, ‘given an indefinite amount of time, a pony’s favorite food can become their least favorite,’ if I remember correctly.”

Ace was taken aback as if offended, “Certainly, but that does not include pancakes! There are so many flavors… Cinnamon, blueberry, blackberry, wild berry, raspberry, chocolate, chocolate chip, double chocolate-chocolate chip, seasonal…

"Oh, and the varieties! You can use hazelnut batter, peanut-butter batter, any sort of berry batter, red velvet, cream cheese, cheese cake batter. And you can make crepes instead, or waffles, or waffle cones for ice cream or other foods…”

Twilight laughed, almost thinking perhaps Ace’s true destiny was in cooking pancakes. “Okay, okay; I get it, you like pancakes. Still, we can’t have normal pancakes every morning, and we don’t have many other ingredients back at home. Is there really nothing else you want to get when we go shopping today?”

Ace pretended to think for the briefest of moments, before shaking his head comically. Twilight and Ace both laughing, Ace truly did look thoughtful for a moment. “I always do enjoy looking around the bazaars of other towns. Whether or not I buy anything or not does not impede my enjoyment, of course.

"‘Tis just nice to look around, see what people are buying and selling. I didn’t have much of a chance to look around the other day, but I figured I would be here for quite some time, and the market is not far from our home. Perhaps if I could find a-“

Ace stopped mid-sentence as he stopped in his tracks for a moment. Twilight turned to watch, having walked a step or two ahead at the sudden halt. “Beg your pardon, Twilight, but I need to return to the shop for a time. Find a good place to partake of the lesson, and I shall return as soon as my business is concluded.” Twilight nodded, and shortly afterward Ace dipped into a bow a slight bit deeper than his normal introduction before he had teleported away in a black flash of light.

Twilight wandered around the market for a time, closing her eyes and using her magic senses to survey some of the wares as a warm-up for their lesson. After twenty or thirty minutes, Twilight spotted a hill with a tree upon it that provided an ample amount of shade. Twilight flash-teleported beneath the tree to sit and wait for Ace.

Not that she thought about it, Twilight hadn’t left Ace’s side much since he had showed up on her doorstep two nights ago. Up until now, the longest she had been away from him, he had been visiting his tree at Sweet Apple Acres while she was meant to be letting the Apple Family know he was stopping by. Twilight almost felt… lonely without him.

Twilight shook her head at the thought. I haven’t known him for seventy-two hours, and now I’m afraid to not have him by my side? Preposterous… Twilight let out a sigh and held the necklace up to admire it once again. She turned the talon over in her hoof, and then she noticed that there was writing on the side of the necklace… or rather, she thought it was writing. There were symbols going from the top of the necklace and down one of the claws.

An idea springing in her head, she gathered magic in her horn and prepared her magical senses. Without opening her eyes, she could see the necklace, the tree, the hill and every leaf and blade of grass in the area around her, until she focused intently on the necklace. Focusing her magic, she was able to look much more closely at the accessory than she could otherwise. Still, however, the writing was not common Equestrian, but Twilight had already though of such.

Having watched, even felt, Ace using the Sense of Tongues, she was able to ignite her magic into the same sense as well, but she allowed the spell to wash over her eyes as well as her ears and mouth. Again turning her magic to the necklace, she found she was able to read it as though it were written in common Equestrian. That is, the letters were familiar, but they weren’t forming words she knew, aside from the last two that read: “Little Raven?”

Speaking the words out loud brought sudden clarity to her mind, though it only showed that she had pronounced the name right. Having no reason not to, Twilight tried to speak the strange language that preceded the name. “Eh sasuno uv Little Raven.” Speaking the words out loud brought the common Equestrian version to the forefront of her mind, ‘In memory of Little Raven.’

However, as though speaking these words were some sort of summons, a bright black light flashed behind her, though through her magical senses she could tell it was Ace returning from his home. “Ah, you’re already using the senses, I see. Very good-“

"Ace looked over her shoulder as he approached, setting aside the saddlebags he had brought with him, which Twilight could feel were full of spells. In addition to the saddlebags, Ace also wore a coin pouch on a leather-and-chain strap around his right hoof.

Ace was quiet for a moment as he stared at the necklace, Twilight fearing she had crossed another one of her mentor’s boundaries without knowing it. “Nacd eh bayla, so Little Raven, yht syo dra Kutc knyhd oui y meva ajah rymv yc puihdevim yc dra meva fa uhla mejat dukadran.”

Through her magical senses, she could hear what Ace had said as though it were common Equestrian: ‘Rest in peace, my Little Raven, and may the Gods grant you a life even half as bountiful as the life we once lived together.’

Twilight looked over her shoulder at him, seeing a solemn expression upon his features that seemed to contradict the usual smile he always wore. “I’m sorry, I was just… She must have been someone very dear to you.” Twilight wasn’t sure who Little Raven was, but it was clear that she meant a lot to Ace at one time.

Ace nodded, putting a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. “It’s okay, you have done nothing wrong. To think I had almost forgotten that was writ upon something I held so dear…” Ace shook his head as he wiped away a tear that was forming in his eye, lifting the lenses just high enough for Twilight to see his Al-Bhed eye.

“Yes, Little Raven was once my wife, a very, very long time ago. Seeing you wearing the betrothal necklace I had crafted for her has brought back many happy memories for me. You remind me of her a lot more than I had realized, perhaps.”

Ace let his hoof slide down to the ground before moving to sit in front of Twilight. “All I will say for now, is that Little Raven was a Unicorn, and my wife a great many seasons ago, and we were happily married until the day that she died peacefully of age.

“Should you have any more questions, I’d like for you to hold onto them for another time, dear Twilight. For now, let us begin our lessons. I see you are already using your magical senses, as well as the Sense of Tongue, but I want you to make a magical entity for yourself while I do the same. Then, our lesson can truly begin.”

The Real Lessons Begin

Chapter Thirteen: The Real Lessons Begin

Ace’s magical avatar strolled away from their physical selves as Twilight’s magical entity followed, nervous about her first real lesson under her new mentor. Ace’s horn began to glow even through their magical senses as he pointed to a location with a hoof. Out of the ground, a magical manifestation of a pony appeared.

“For this test, I need you to cast a combat spell with as much magical strength as you feel comfortable with. Again, if you go over your limit, I will grant you some of my magic to aid your recovery. Do you know of a good combat spell for this test?”

Twilight thought a moment, but realized that combat spells truly weren’t something she had studied often. “Well, I know a couple… But I don’t think I’d want to use them, one of them actually hurts to use it.” Ace nodded, having already thought that Twilight would know of none.

“Very well then, please observe.” The horn of Ace’s magical form radiated magical power once again, but this time, as Ace was lining up the target, his horn shone much more brightly than it should have before exploding and sending his magical self scattering among the grass and hillside.

Fortunately, as it was only a magical form, Ace slowly reformed before the target, shaking his head as he was pieced back together. “And that, my student, is a surefire way to give yourself a headache…”

Ace’s avatar placed a hoof against its head as he tried to shake away the pain once more. Accepting that the pain was going to stay, he began to charge his spell once more, this time forming a ball of fire before himself.

The fire grew slightly in size, becoming about the size of Ace’s head as it glowed purple in Twilight’s senses through her magic. The fireball shot like a sparrow into the target and immediately fizzled, the target magic-turned-pony still standing, unharmed.

“Gather the magic in front of yourself, but keep it a safe distance so as not to get burnt. Once you have put as much magic into it as you feel you are able, launch the projectile into the target. Doing this will give me a proper gauge of your magic capacity.” Twilight nodded as she started to focus.

Twilight’s horn lit up, a small flame starting to form in front of her. Once the flame came into being, she started feeding it more of her magic; a little at first, but working into larger amounts as the fire grew. Before long, the fire had grown to be three times as large as Twilight’s head. The flame grew slightly larger, but Twilight began to feel she was exhausting too much of her magical energy.

Being uncomfortable feeding the fireball any further, Twilight used a kinetic spell to propel the ball of fire into the target. Ace watched as the flame flew lazily towards the target before hitting it and fizzling out into nothing.

Nodding as he took his notes aloud, “Good. It would appear you can cast some level 5 spells comfortably, and with much effort, perhaps a level 6. However, remember for spells to effectively interact, the spell affecting them must be of equal or greater strength; you tried to launch a level 5 fireball spell using a level 2 kinetic spell. I assume you saw the results.”

Twilight nodded, embarrassed, that she had. “I had only copied the spell that you had used, I didn’t think that it would need to be changed, since it had worked before.” Ace’s avatar nodded with a smile.

“Yes, and that is another lesson by itself: Whenever you change another spell in any way, especially making it stronger by adding more magic to it, you always need to be mindful of all of the effects and attributes that will be affected. This can also apply to more than just magic; whenever you plan a course of action, you must bear in mind there is always a reaction.”

Twilight’s magical representation nodded as she took mental note of the lesson. “Are we done? I’m starting to feel tired.” Ace nodded with a smile as his magical self made an otherwise impossible leap up the hill and into his physical shell, Twilight mimicking the action as she withdrew her magical senses, rather than cutting off the magic completely.

While Twilight was regaining the use of her physical senses, she could tell that Ace was watching her. Ace, having both his magical and physical senses active at once, was already recovered and looking into Twilight’s eyes.

When Twilight finally had her senses about her once more, she could feel her magic was quite depleted after only a single spell. After a sigh of exhaustion, Ace’s black glow embraced her body, and she could feel his magic flowing into her to supplement a small portion of her depleted magic.

Twilight’s cheeks flushed as Ace watched her. “Ace? We should get ready to go shopping. I-if the lesson is over, I mean.” Ace shook his head as if he were dazed before nodding. Ace and Twilight headed down the hill towards the marketplace.

Once they were close, she could tell Ace was reviewing each of the wares in his magic. There was a stall where an earth pony was selling hoof-crafted puppets, a stall selling honey with the beehives buzzing upon the counter, a number of vegetable stalls and even the Unicorn selling his magically made synth-gems.

Ace stopped by the puppet stall, looking at each of the individual puppets with a smile before the attendant took notice. “You seem to have a fine eye for puppets. Are you a puppeteer?”

Ace smiled at the attendant, but Twilight wasn’t quite sure he had even heard the stallion. “The white-coated blue-maned mare has an imperfection in both of her left hooves, and her partner stallion has a similar defect in his neck. Likely a trait of the wood they were crafted from, honestly. Still, there are many fine marionettes here. Would you happen to take requests?”

The earth pony minding the stall seemed astonished that Ace had noticed the minor details so quickly, but then recovered with a smile as he praised the pony’s work. “I suppose I might. Did you have something in mind?” Ace nodded before saying ‘Wait here,’ and teleporting away.

A couple of moments later, Ace returned with a framed a picture in his hoof that he presented to the craftspony. Twilight managed to catch a look as Ace was handing the photograph to the pony, but all she could tell was that it was a black-and-white picture of what looked to be a young Unicorn filly. “She looks nice. Is she yours?”

Ace nodded proudly. “Yes, and I’m sorry, but this is the only photo I have of her. She has a deep sapphire blue coat and a vivid sap green mane and tail, complimenting her dark emerald eyes. If you choose to craft her for me, I’d like her to be made from Yew wood. Can you do it? I will pay quite well, of course.”

The stall tender looked devotedly at the picture, likely painting the image in his mind. After a few moments, he nodded with a smile as he handed back the picture. “Sure, I’m always happy to bring a family closer together with my work. However, I am afraid I do not have any yew that I can craft with. It might be some time before I have the proper materials.”

Ace took the picture and cradled it against his chest lovingly. “Sadly, Forest Wave is no longer with us, but I do appreciate the sentiment. Still, I can pay for your materials to hurry the process along, of course.” Ace started to pull some coins from his pouch, which Twilight saw was filled with all gold bits.

Ace placed a few of the coins onto the counter with a smile. “Seventy-five now, for the materials and as an incentive, and I’ll pay another one-hundred-twenty-five when I receive the finished work. Is this fair, mister?”

The craftspony looked at the coins in disbelief, nearly forgetting his own name. “You can call me Deft Hoof, but this is far more than I normally charge for a request. Surely you’ve misspoken, mister Unicorn. I’ll gladly craft the marionette for you, but this is just too much.”

Ace dipped into his introduction as he spoke, “Ace Deus Fenrir, but you may call me Ace. If you feel I am paying too much, then I would consider it a favor for you to push the order as far forward as you are able. The price is, however, non-negotiable.

"If this is still too much, then use the excess bits to buy the best quality yew wood you can, and perhaps some finer tools if you need. Please deliver the puppet in the likeness of my dear filly to the Golden Oak Library. Fare tidings, Mister Deft Hoof.”

Ace teleported the picture back to his home as he and Twilight turned and walked away, Deft Hoof still staring at the coins upon his stall. Twilight had so many questions, she thought she was going to get a headache as they spun through her mind. She thought she would start with the easier one first, “You know how to handle a marionette?”

Ace smiled sincerely without looking at her as he replied, likely recalling some fond memory or another. “I took up a number of childish hobbies when Forest Wave was born. She used to love watching me make puppets dance and put on shows for her. It may have been just a simple passing interest to learn the skill, but watching her smile and laugh like that… really makes a pony think that nothing is childish, so long as it makes somepony happy.”

Twilight admired the loving look on Ace’s features as he spoke of his daughter. “Why did the marionette need to be made of yew specifically? Wouldn’t it normally be made of a more common wood? Yew is normally used to craft bows, if I’m not mistaken.”

Ace nodded, still not making eye contact as he stared off into his memories. “Forest Wave’s special talent was tending for forests and gardens, especially trees. As soon as her cutie mark appeared, we allowed her to plant a Yew tree in our yard, which grew almost as quickly as she did, and she always cared for that tree with her magic.

"When she had passed away, her mother and I buried her below that tree… It was a central part of our family, and was her dearest possession. Rather, it was her dearest childhood friend.

“Of course, there are other reasons as well. The Yew tree is a symbol of sadness, and is often found in graveyards. Also, the Yew tree is thought to be connected to the mythological Yggdrasil. Depending on who tells the story, Yggdrasil may be the Tree of Life, or the World Tree, or the physical embodiment of Mother Nature. Still, the largest reason is because it was her favorite of all the known trees in Equestria.”

Twilight was beginning to contemplate asking the more difficult questions, but with the grocery store close by, she only had time to ask one. “What happened to Forest Wave? It sounds like both you and Little Raven were both around when she had passed away.” Twilight braced herself, hoping Ace wouldn’t get mad at her.

Ace let out a sigh of pain and sorrow as he sat in the road just before the store, with nopony nearby enough to hear them talk. “Forest Wave was a quarter-blooded Al Bhed, and was gifted in the ways of magic. Because of this, she bore the mark of the Al Bhed in her right eye.

"When she was a filly, I shielded her eye with an illusion spell whenever we left our wooded homestead, but when she grew old enough to make her own decisions, she questioned why she must hide her lineage when she had done nothing wrong.

“I explained as softly as I could that the world is not always a just place, but she made the decision to leave home one day without the illusion spell. Things were going good at first; her friends were thrilled to know about her heritage, and thought her unique eye was beautiful.

"However, ponies who did not know her were afraid, and fear and difference often leads to anger and mistrust. A few days passed, but the more ponies who saw her eye, the more they began to speak of it, and the more ponies spoke of it, the more ponies gathered and rallied against it.

“After only three days of going without the illusion spell, an angry mob of ponies came to our home with make-shift weapons and torches to kill her, her family and burn down our home.” A pair of tears rolled down Ace’s cheeks as he lowered his head, closing his eyes as he continued.

“Forest Wave and Little Raven hid in the cellar as I confronted the ponies. I asked them to see reason, I asked them to spare the life of my child and to lay down their weapons. I asked them to hold love and tolerance in their hearts, to lay aside their hatred for what they could not understand.

“The mob yelled and screamed, saying that my child was an abomination, that something so different should not be called a pony. They said that only monsters could bear such a gaze. I had known many of these ponies, had helped many of them build their homes or cultivate their crops in town. I had watched them raise their children as I had raised my own. I revealed my own Al Bhed eye, and I asked them if I too were a monster.

“For a time, there was silence. Then there were whispers. Then there were yells, and battle cries as they charged at me, calling me names and insulting my family and my lineage. There were precisely thirty-four ponies in that mob. Not a single one of them reached my home.

"By the time Forest Wave and Little Raven poked their noses out of the cellar, there were precisely thirty-four corpses scattered among the forest.

“I am not proud of what I had to do. I am not proud that I single-hoofedly defended my family. I am not proud that my only daughter had to see her father coated in blood, looking to all of Equestria like the very monster that the mob had claimed my family to be. I do not, however, carry any regret about doing what I had to. I do not regret that they died so that my family may live. If I had to, I would have burned down that entire town to protect my daughter and wife.

“Forest Wave lived that day, and she knew what had been the cause of the assault on our home. For a time, she hid her Al Bhed eye from the world. When she grew older, stronger, she decided to once again be proud of her heritage.

"She displayed her Al Bhed eye proudly, and would openly accept any challenge from any other pony who did not feel the same way. In numerous horn-foiling, spell duels, and hoof fights, she defended the honor of her heritage proudly. However, not all ponies will challenge their opponent to a straight-up fight.

“Several years passed, and she had garnered many enemies. Forest Wave was strong; powerful in mind, body and magic. Strong as she was, she could not defend herself against another mob of ponies, having been bound by somepony she had trusted, a lover. After she was killed, I eliminated the traitor, and then Little Raven and I moved away from that town, and we never returned, save to pay our respects to our daughter’s grave every year.”

Ace had sat, crying hopelessly through the whole story, a small illusion barrier around the pair to prevent the curious looks of passing ponies. For the second time, Twilight embraced her mentor to comfort him, and he had accepted the embrace, openly sobbing on his student’s shoulder.

For a time, Ace shared in the embrace, allowing himself to calm down before wiping the tears away with his hooves. Once he had, he dried his face, chin and Twilight’s shoulder with his magic as he looked embarrassed sitting before her.

“I… I’m sorry for telling you all this, Twilight. I’m not entirely certain why I do, really. I’ll admit it feels good to tell somepony, after all these years. Sadly, my family only lives on through me and my memories.

"Little Raven and I never had another child, terrified as we were after what had happened to Forest Wave. There have been many times where I contemplated breaking my vow to never alter the past using time magic so that I may save my daughter.”

Twilight shook her head as she lifted Ace’s muzzle with a hoof so he was looking into her eyes. The look of sadness marring her mentor’s features, which looked all the sadder in contrast to his normally happy-about-everything appearance. “You’re a stronger pony than most, Ace,” Twilight spoke using the original pronunciation.

“After what you’ve been through, even only what you have been so kind as to tell me, most ponies would have given up on the world, would have never talked to anypony ever again. You, on the other hoof, go out of your way to help other ponies.

"You saw the dust on Deft Hoof’s tools and the slimming waistline of his stomach – don’t deny it, I saw you looking at them, - and you knew that he was having trouble getting by. You helped him by commissioning work from him, and even paid him up front for the work that I know you could have done yourself for a fraction of the cost.

“Most ponies who have lived your life would be hateful, and mean. You are not most ponies, and I know that it hurts you to remember your past, and that is why you try not to talk about it. Be that as it may, you have happy memories too, and I know that you are capable of great things.

"You are a good pony, Ace, a great pony. I know you sometimes think about the bad things you’ve done, I’ve seen the sorrow in your eyes, but in your case the good outweighs the bad. You’re a great pony, and I look forward to studying magic under your tutelage.”

Ace took Twilight into another embrace, but this time – for the first time, - it was a cheerful embrace rather than a sad one. Twilight was taken aback this time before she wrapped her hooves around him. Ace was the first to separate, his features in a sincere smile as he a spoke a silent ‘Thank you,’ as he lowered the barrier and made for the grocery store.

Twilight and Ace emerged from the grocery store, Ace carrying a few of the groceries in his spare saddlebag while she took much of it in her bags, telling her it is best to train one’s body whenever the opportunity arises.

Twilight had intended to pay for the groceries, but before she had even carried them to the counter, he had already paid for them in exact change – that is, he gave the cashier as close to exact change as he could with gold bits, and said to keep the change. As he did so, he gave Twilight a knowing smirk as though he knew it would bother her.

Twilight was so confused with Ace sometimes. One moment it was almost as though they had known each other for years, while other moments he acted like a complete stranger. Aside from times when he spoke of his past, which Twilight noted was certainly getting more and more frequent, he always had a smile or grin on his muzzle.

In a word, he was truly blithe; happy and not worried about anything. Much of what Twilight heard of his past were terribly sad, so she couldn’t tell what his ‘deal’ was. Was it a mask? Did he truly just not care about anything anymore? Maybe he had a spell that let him forget about the bad stuff that had happened?

Twilight let out a sigh of vexation without realizing she had done so physically. Ace looked over at her with an eyebrow raised, “Come now, surely you’re not tired of carrying the groceries already. I can tell you still have plenty of strength left, and I can tell from how you’re walking that you’re not tired or sore.”

Twilight shook her head. “No, it isn’t that. I was just wondering… Oh, never mind, it’s not a very pleasant topic. We’re going to do another magic lesson before we go home, right?”

Ace nodded as he looked forward again, though Twilight could tell his magical senses were still directed at her. “Of course, unless you’re not feeling up to it. You know, you can talk to me, Twilight. If there’s something bothering you, it’d make me feel better knowing what it was.” Twilight shook her head, and a soft smile spread across his face. “Having boy trouble?”

Twilight’s face flushed as she nearly missed a step as Ace’s smile turned into his casual, goofy grin that somehow looked elegant on him. “That. That’s what’s bothering me. You always know how to push my buttons as though we’ve known each other for a really long time.

"In addition to that, another thing that bothers me is how you can always play everything off with a joke or a grin as though it were nothing. Despite your- sorry, that’s going too far…”

Ace cocked an eyebrow and looked back in her direction as they headed for the hill they had been at before. “I know your buttons because you remind of Little Raven, Twilight Sparkle.” Twilight’s cheeks lit up again at the mention of her resemblance to his wife. “Raven and I were happily married for more than fourty years, Twilight. However, we’ve been apart for much, much longer than that.

“As for why I’m able to play everything off as a joke, or just laugh my worries away, that’s just a part of my personality – a part of who I am. Also, assuming you were about to say ‘Despite my troubled past,’ ‘tis not too far at all. Wrong, but not too far. I have been telling you the painful parts of my past because those are the parts you have been asking about.

“You asked about how I got my name, and I told you. You asked about who Little Raven was, and I told you. You asked about how my daughter, Forest Wave, had passed away - did you honestly think that would be a happy story, by the way? You haven’t asked me about the first time I sold a pony a spell, or the first time I went fishing, or the first time I met Princess Luna and Celestia.

"I have many happy memories, and I have many sad memories. I have many memories that make me proud, and many memories that I wish could have happened differently. I’ve traveled Equestria - and beyond! - for a very long time, Twilight, and I have many memories because of it.”

Twilight cringed away slightly, having realized that many of her questions were sort of barbed without her meaning them to be. Given the options, she went with what sounded the most innocent. “What happened the first time you went fishing?”

That question couldn’t possibly go wrong, right?

Ace started laughing hysterically at the memory. “I had a coltfriend who had a special talent for fishing, and he had invited me to come a number of times. He showed me how to tie and bait a hook, and he had this really good, pungent stinkroot-and-leechvine mixed bait he was using.

"Well he shows me how to tie and bait with his line, then let me try to do mine on my own. I had thought I did everything right, but what I didn’t notice was he had dipped his hook in the water first.

“You see, when you put stinkroot and leechvine together, it makes a light adhesive when it touches something wet, which lets it stay on the hook. Well, I baited a dry hook and tried to cast my line, but the bait flew off the hook when I did that, and it landed right on his muzzle. He started kicking and flailing and about tipped the boat over trying kick the gunk off.”

Twilight was at first covering her mouth with a hoof to stop from laughing, the two of them sitting in the shade of the tree on the hill now. Try as she might, the laugh burst through anyways.

“Well, now that he told me how to do it right a second time, I cast my line out prim and proper this time. Some time passed as we talked with one another, me anxiously wanting to reel my line in to check it as he told me to let it sit.

“After a while, a finally landed a hit on my line and my rod bobbed and about pulled out of my hooves. I yanked the rod and cranked the reel with my coltfriend yelling in my ear ‘Get it, get it!’ the whole time. I fought the fish the whole way, and finally got into the boat. I’m holding the fish up, marveling at my first catch, which if you don’t already know, is a bad idea.

“That catfish flapped its tailfin and hopped right out of my hooves and landed right on my friend’s lap before flapping up again – nailing him in a tender spot as it did so, I might add, - and bounced up and whacked him right across the muzzle before leaping back into the water.

"My friend just stared at me angrily as I rolled around the boat laughing my flank off. Another lesson for you: don’t make the other pony in the boat mad enough at you to toss you overboard; he’ll do it. Being a strong earth pony, he lifted me up and threw me right into the water; being a stronger Unicorn, I picked his flank up and took him with me.

"We both hit the water glaring at each other, but both crawled out of it cracking up with laughter.”

Twilight was having trouble keeping on her hooves with how hard she was laughing at the story. Ace wasn’t really faring much better, resorting instead to mimicking the act of him and his friend splashing in the water as they were thrown in, making Twilight laugh all the harder. Ace let the laughter fade on its own as he sat, waiting for his student to regain her composure.

Once Twilight could keep a straight face long enough to nod, Ace returned the gesture with a smile. “Okay, for the first real lesson, aside from the test, we’ll be discussing Efficient Casting. If you’ll please make a magical body, we can begin." Twilight nodded, her face studious now that the lesson had commenced. Twilight closed her eyes, igniting her magical senses and letting them flow about her, taking control of her normal senses.

She looked around for a moment, expecting to see Ace. “Efficient Casting is the act of using only the exact amount of magic necessary to cast a spell,” Ace’s voice resonated through Twilight’s magical body as he spoke to her through her magic before appearing in front of her.

“Much like when you found me under my apple tree at Sweet Apple Acres, when a spell is cast, the excess magic becomes Spell Residue; I believe we’ve spoken about the lingering effects spell residue can have on our senses recently.” Twilight nodded that she had remembered.

“There are a number of things Spell Residue can be used for. The first you seem to be at least slightly versed in, and that is tracking. When you analyze spell residue, you can tell who cast the spell, what spell was cast, how it was cast and what it was cast at.

"The second is more of a sub-category of the first, as for you, you can learn the spell just by feeling it from the spell residue with your eidetic spell memory. The third is called Spell Homing. This is an advanced technique that we’ll discuss later, but I want to bring it up now as well: Spell Homing is using the spell residue of another Unicorn’s magic to use them as an acquired target for another spell.

"This is often done with hexes and the like, but can be useful for other spells, even spells such as healing spells. The fourth and final use for this lesson, is gathering. Assuming the spell that was cast didn’t have a lingering effect, such as a hex, an enchantment, or a trigger-spell, you can harvest the magic to supplement your own.”

Ace paused, knowing that Twilight would be taking every word he said and be committing it to memory in case it would be on a test. Even in her magical form, Ace could see her eyes darting around using some memory mechanic known only to her. When her eyes had stopped moving about and she nodded, Ace continued. “For this lesson, I want you to perfect using your signature spell, that flash-teleport spell, without leaving any magic residue behind.

“You may use your physical form or your magical form for this lesson, as you will pose very little danger to others, so long as you keep your teleports along the hill. The lesson will conclude when you successfully cast the spell efficiently three times in a row, or when you deplete your magic. You may begin whenever you feel prepared.”

Twilight nodded, returning to her more familiar physical body and waiting as her normal senses recovered. She could see Ace getting comfortable and laying on his back in the shadows of the tree, watching the leaves and branches dance in the breeze. She could also feel his familiar magical presence washing over her with his focused attention being solely on her. Twilight’s horn lit up as she started to teleport around the hill, beginning the lesson.

Perfection

Chapter Fourteen: Perfection

Twilight spent just over an hour teleporting around the hill, the occasional passerby stopping to watch for a moment before taking their leave, resuming whatever business brought them to pass the hillside. Twilight was beginning to tire, having been able to efficiently cast the teleport spell twice in a row a number of times, but the third time using either too much or too little.

Whenever she used too little, the spell would either fizzle, or take her to a location near her target, which Ace had informed her, “Would be quite dangerous for longer-ranged teleportation. An imperfect cast could place you within a solid object, which will either cancel the spell as your body is flung at the solid mass at faster than light speeds, or transplant you inside the object, which is even worse.”

Feeling that she was beginning to wear herself out, Ace came closer and watched her put too much magic into another teleportation with a short growl of frustration. “Think of the objective, not the difficulty. Is there not a simpler way to complete this test, Twilight? Surely there must be some way to do something with the excess power…”

Twilight thought for a moment before her eyes went wide and she planted her hoof against her face before charging her horn for one last try at the challenge. She knew she was using too much power, but when she appeared at her target location, she kept the excess magic in her horn before the spell had ended.

Ace smiled with a nod as he watched her teleport again and again in a line. Once she had finished, she lit up her horn to ignite her magic senses to check if she had left any spell residue behind.

The hillside lit up in the purple glow of Twilight’s magic behind her eyelids, and small forms of mist formed in a number of spots around the hillside, but not where she had just teleported. Twilight’s smile widened as Ace’s magical form appeared before her, applauding.

“You have done well, my student, though I did expect you would figure it out sooner. Worry not, it is still a skill most Unicorns never learn in all their lives.” Twilight was at first embarrassed she hadn’t thought of the simple trick sooner, but looking at the big picture did make her feel better. “For the last segment of this lesson, please gather the excess magic and we shall make our way home.”

Twilight kept her magical senses open, not sure how she was meant to gather the energy. Figuring it was likely the same as controlling her own energy, she used levitation magic to gather one of the mists and pull it to herself. Once it was close enough, she studied it for a moment before attempting to use the levitation magic to pull it into herself, which seemed to be the simplest method. Twilight pulled all of the nearby masses into herself at once, but winced at the feeling.

Ace nodded as he watched. “Yes, trying to pull too much in at once will provide an unpleasant feeling of your magic being pulled out, rather than in. The spell residue is attempting to take your magic from you to give itself greater form. Normally, it wouldn’t have the strength to, but in large quantities, especially connected to you through your manipulation of it, it will certainly try to. It would be best to keep the spell residue separate as you pull it in.”

Twilight nodded, barely needing to take mental note of the feeling to remember the lesson. Taking it much more slowly now, she pulled the spell residue to herself a portion at a time, feeling her magic recover as she did so. “If I were to pull in enough residual energy, would I be able to cast a stronger spell I couldn’t normally cast, using the excess energy?”

Ace nodded as he watched her work. “Technically, yes. You can use the spare energy to cast a stronger spell, but doing so will put a great strain on your magic, and perhaps even your body depending on the spell and its level. I certainly wouldn’t make a habit of it, but it could do in a pinch.”

Once Twilight had absorbed all of the excess energy from the hillside, her and Ace proceeded through the marketplace on their way back home. “I’m not sure what they teach at Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns, but I won’t be teaching you many spells; not directly, at any rate.

"No, my lessons will be centered on applications of magic, practice of magic, strengthening and supplementing your magical abilities, and any recreational magic activities you’re interested in. My primary hobby for magic is enchanting, and I’d be happy to teach it to you as well, but there are any number of hobbies you may prefer.”

Ace and Twilight walked past Deft Hoof and his puppet stall as he was enjoying a sandwich as though it were crafted of the finest produce in all of Equestria. Noticing the pair, he started to panic, but Ace just waved with a smile as he continued through the bazaar. Deft Hoof looked as though he had almost had a heart attack as he waved back nervously with a smile of his own.

Twilight shifted the saddlebags on her back as she began to wonder why Ace was carrying the spell scrolls with him. “Ace, how come you don’t deliver those spells? Surely the ponies who ordered them would be glad to receive them.”

Ace looked over his shoulder at the spells as though he had forgotten about them altogether. “I haven’t finished making all of them yet. It wouldn’t be fair to deliver somepony’s spells before another’s, so I’m making all of them before I sell them. Most of them are pretty simple spells, but I can’t leave spells in the shop unattended. Believe it or not, Princess Celestia herself has forbade me from leaving the shop while there are spells inside.”

Twilight could understand there being a rule or a law against leaving the spells alone someplace, but for Princess Celestia to personally enforce the law; “Did something happen that made the Princess upset?”

Ace laughed a bit to himself before he spoke. “Well you see, Princess Luna and Celestia were doing me a favor by requesting a pair of spells. Princess Luna requested a spell that would revert her to a normal pony’s size and hide her wings so that she could mingle with her subjects for the evening. Celestia, on the other hoof, wanted a pyrotechnics spell to set off fireworks for a Summer Sun Celebration festival. I crafted the spells and left them on the counter for the sisters to pick up at their leisure as I stepped out to make more of the enchanted ink.

“I told Celestia and Princess Luna to take the spells when they stopped by, and they did. However, they mixed up the spells.” Ace was laughing too hard to speak for a moment before he continued. “Celestia received Princess Luna’s spell and vice-versa. As Celestia was preparing to give her speech, she cast the spell and turned into a normal Unicorn pony as Princess Luna ran into the crowd with her mane ablaze and fireworks flying out of it.”

Twilight had to literally stop in the road for moment as the scene played through in her mind, unable to keep herself from laughing at the mental images. “They were both okay though, right? I mean you wouldn’t laugh if they had been hurt…”

Ace’s features quickly recovered from laughing to serious with a twinge of hurt. “Of course, they were both quite fine, though Princess Luna was quite shaken. Being Immortal Alicorns, Luna’s resistance to the spell kept it from hurting her, and most ponies gave her a wide path to run through as she fled through the crowd.

"Celestia was most unhappy, though, and passed the law over my shop as I removed the spell and created a new pair, properly labeling it with their emblems on the outside. Best. Summer Sun Celebration. Ever,” Ace finished with another bout of laughter.

As Twilight and Ace neared the library, Ace stopped with a look as he motioned for Twilight to stop as well. And then his smile came back bigger than ever as he motioned for her to follow him as he went around the back of the tree-home and motioned to the second story window. Ace used his magic to silently form a staircase up to the window, ascending the steps and motioning to her from the window before placing a hoof over his muzzle, begging for stealth.

Twilight did as she was told before Ace took back the magic forming the staircase and looking over the banister to the ground floor, which housed a number of ponies who were watching the door expectantly. Ace drew Twilight’s attention away from the large number of ponies and put his front hooves into the air, mouthing the word ‘Surprise!’ Twilight nodded that she understood, a smile spreading on her muzzle as she understood what was going on.

Twilight and Ace counted to three to themselves before flashing their horns over the group of ponies and yelling “Surprise!” in unison as they let streamers of their magic fall over the group as they turned swiftly around at the pair, many of them laughing, others mimicking the gesture, but certainly everypony was surprised.

Except for Pinkie Pie, who leapt from behind Ace’s bed to tackle into him as he was distracted. ‘DOUBLE Surprise!’ she shouted with a laugh as Ace was knocked over to the floor, laughing all the louder. Twilight helped the two of them up as she began laughing as well. “Pinkie, what’s going on here?”

Ace and Twilight both looked at her as though she had asked why Pegasi had wings, each of them raising an eyebrow in unison while Ace’s horn lit up to use the mimicry spell from before. “It’s a Perfectly Planned Pinkie Pie Pinkie Power Party! P7 for short,” they both spoke in Pinkie Pie’s voice.

The mimicry spell ending, Ace turned to Pinkie as he pondered something. “Pinkie, I’m surprised you didn’t host the party in the ballroom of my home. You’re always welcome there, you know.”

Pinkie’s face froze for a moment as she looked as though she was about to implode. After a few moments, she finally spoke. “Darn it! I hadn’t thought of that! I guess that makes this a Semi-Perfectly Planned Pinkie Pie Pinkie Party. Can I throw you a party there next time?” Pinkie started to bounce around the pair, likely planning another party already.

Ace laughed as he nodded, but still left Twilight with more and more questions. “You have a ballroom in your house? And how is Pinkie supposed to get all the way to Hoofsdale to play host to a party? Wouldn’t the other ponies need to get there as well?”

The noise of the party below was starting to get a little louder as Ace whispered to Pinkie, ‘Did you bring that drink I like?’ as she bounced by. Pinkie nodded before answering Twilight as Ace raced down the steps to the concession table. “Acey has a really huge mansion! It’s soooooo big I could throw five whole parties in there at once! After Acey and I started writing letters to each other, one of the letters never made it and he got upset, so he set up a two-way teleporty thingy in my room! The other ponies can just teleport with me, silly!”

Pinkie started to bounce down the stairs after Ace. Twilight still had too many questions, but didn’t want to miss the party, so she went down the stairs as well. At the bottom of the stairs, she could see Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Fluttershy together talking to each other as Rarity was talking to Ace next to the drinks. Wondering what they could be talking about, she decided to visit them first as Pinkie tended to the party and thanked everypony for coming.

“…nopony has said a thing; even I have a hard time telling the difference myself,” Ace said before taking a large drink of whatever concoction Pinkie Pie had prepared for her friend. “Ah, Twilight, perhaps you could contribute to the topic at hoof. Rarity believes that I shouldn’t pay her for the fine work she has done for me. What do you think on the matter?”

Twilight looked hesitantly between the two as Rarity spoke her side of the argument, “I could never dream of charging a friend for so simple a task! Oh, do tell him, Twilight, that there is no need to exchange bits between friends!” Ace was nearly shocked when he heard Rarity call him her friend. Twilight could understand what was going on, now.

“Ace, Rarity is your friend, and we don’t charge our friends for something as simple as a few minutes of our work. You really should-“ Ace was preparing to pour another drink without looking as she spoke when she saw him pick up the bottle of hot sauce that Twilight had drank at her first Pinkie Pie party; “wait, don’t drink that!”

Ace cocked an eyebrow at her as he took a deep drink of the spicy concoction and Twilight cringed as she recalled when she had done the same the first day she came to Ponyville.

Ace, however, just set the half-full glass aside and continued to look at her as though she had lost her mind. Twilight and Rarity both stared in awe at him, finally taking a closer look at the bottle and then looking back at the two. “I don’t understand. If you want some, I’ll be happy to pour you both a glass, there’s plenty to go around.”

Ace motioned to the table, and Twilight realized there were at least five bottles of the liquid flame that was Pinkie’s special mixture. Twilight and Rarity just looked at Ace as though he had just announced that he enjoyed the taste of meat. “How… how can you drink that stuff? It’s like fire melted down and put inside a bottle.”

Ace nodded as he took another drink from the glass. “I know! Fantastic, isn’t it? Pinkie told me she’d show me how to make it someday. It goes great with nearly everything too. I used to cook with it, but I could never get Pinkie to make me enough of it, so I started saving them for special occasions. Pinkie says she started to bring to her parties ever since I drank some at one, but I rarely can make it to her parties.”

Twilight shook her head to clear her thoughts and return to the previous conversation. “Well, I’m glad somepony likes that stuff… Anyways, Rarity is our friend, and she doesn’t want to charge her friends for a simple order that only took a few minutes. If she says she doesn’t want to take your bits, then you should listen to her wishes.”

Ace looked shocked again, staring in silence for a moment. “We’re… Friends?” Twilight and Rarity exchanged a look for a moment, nearly stifling a laugh as they looked back at him. Rarity was the one to speak what they were both thinking.

“But of course we are, darling! Any friend of Twilight’s is a friend of mine, and I think I can say the same for the others, too! In fact, everypony here is a friend to you, whether you believe it or not.” His mouth agape, Ace looked around the room for a moment, realizing that aside from Twilight and her five friends, there were any number of ponies that Ace had sold spells to or given them away to during the local festivals he attended. Even Ditzy Doo was there.

Ace’s face lit up a bit as he started to recognize each of the ponies and the spells he had crafted for them. Two of the ponies saw him looking at them and waved politely from across the room, making Ace smile and wave back awkwardly before the two went back to their conversation. Twilight smiled as Ace’s features brightened the more he looked around the room.

Having seen Ace looking around, Pinkie and Applejack came over, followed by Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. “Howdy, Ace. Enjoyin’ the party? You look like a hen that found her way into the wrong henhouse.” Ace watched the group come by as Applejack spoke.

Ace nodded, placing a hoof behind his head as he smiled a goofy smile again, “Yeah, that’s about how I feel, too. I barely know all of you, and being called your friend caught me off-guard, is all. N-not that it’s bad, or anything; just, uh, unexpected.”

Twilight laughed, having never seen Ace seem unsure about anything. She took a mental note of the situation as Ace’s cheeks started to flush a bit. “Well it’s not like you’re going anywhere any time soon,” Rainbow Dash said as she hovered by the group. “Besides, you can’t leave without watching all of my amazing tricks!”

Applejack pulled the flying mare to the ground, earning her a look as she told Dash to keep her hooves down indoors before she spoke. “Granny wanted me ta’ invite ya over for dinner some night soon, too. She was awful glad to see ya up ‘til you and Twilight ran off in a hurry.”

Rarity was next to chime in as she looked Ace over again. “And you simply must tell me all about the latest fashions in Hoofsdale! After I return what you left in my home, perhaps you could even model for me! Oh, it would be so much fun making a nice suit for such a statuesque pony.”

Fluttershy, hiding behind Rarity as she watched over as much of the party as she could see from her vantage point, spoke in a whisper. “After you’re finished helping everypony else, I would like to hear more about the rare animals you’ve seen. I-if you’re not too busy, I mean.”

Pinkie bounced up and down excitedly as she finally got her turn. “Oh! Oh! Now that you’re in town, you can come to all of my amazing parties! Can you still do those one-pony plays? Those were always soooo cool!”

Twilight smiled as Ace looked as though her were about to explode from all of the positive attention. “We’re all your friends Ace, and we’d really like for you to stay here in Ponyville with us.” Ace looked around at the group, his goofy smile returning as everypony else smiled at him as well.

The party lasted for a few hours, Ace taking the chance better acquaint himself with the ponies who had come just to wish him well and celebrate his visiting their town. After a while, the party started to die down, and Ace made sure to bid farewell to everypony he had seen at the party. Ace and Twilight used their magic to clean up after the party as they waved goodbye to Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Applejack.

Spike took the accumulated trash outside to incinerate it with his dragon fire as the sun was beginning to set. Twilight set her plot down and closed her eyes with a soft sigh from all of the day’s excitement. However, before she could touch the floor, she could feel Ace’s magic wash over her as there was a flash of magic.

Opening her eyes to glare at him and whatever prank or joke he was about to pull, she saw the sunset from the top of her house upon the terrace where she had found Ace the night before. Twilight’s cheeks started to tint as Ace sat beside her admiring the view. “Perhaps we should have our lessons up here. It’s truly peaceful, and you don’t seem to use it for much, aside from whatever that telescope is used for. It truly is a nice view from here.”

Ace turned his head to look at Twilight when next he spoke, as Celestia’s golden sun was fading behind the mountains, his glasses tinted a much darker shade after starting at the bright light. “Do you know what my favorite part of the sunset is, Twilight?” Twilight could only manage to shake her head as Ace turned the opposite direction of the sunset as he removed his glasses with his hooves and set them aside.

“The moonrise. Many ponies view the sunset as a sad occasion; the last of the sun’s bright life fading to darkness as it slips behind the cover of night, assassinated by the moon as it ascends the throne of the sky.

"However, the moon does not wish to see the sun run from it so. The moon wishes to be friends with the sun, but the sun does not trust the moon, and leaves the moon only the darkness to keep it company. But the moon isn’t sad about its fate; in fact, it embraces it. Do you know why?”

Twilight turned around to watch the moonrise as well as the silver of the waning moon began to crest the peak of the distant horizon. Unsure of the answer, Twilight shook her head again. Ace’s horn lit up in its black glow, and soon after a sphere, like a barrier, expanded all around the pair and spread far into the sky as it blacked out all the light from everywhere but the sky. “Because the moon has made friends with the stars.”

Twilight’s mouth hung open in awe as she saw the nighttime sky, really saw it, for the first time. All around the pair it was pitch black as though there were no more light in all of Equestria, save for the brilliant light of the moon and the countless stars in the sky.

“Each of the stars has accepted the moon, and they welcome it. The stars, blinded by the radiance and snuffed out in the presence of the sun, thrive and are cheerful in the presence of the moon. The moon is a softer light, a light that is rarely appreciated by the ponies of Equestria.

“The moon wishes only to be loved, only to have friends, and yet the ponies of Equestria turn their heads and close their eyes as they await the harsh, golden rays of Celestia’s sun. Shunned by the ponies of the world, the moon has turned its embrace to the stars above. Still, the moon is kind, and does not wish to leave the ponies with no light at all during the night.

"The moon, not wanting to disappoint neither the stars nor the ponies, turns its light repeatedly so that all may bask in its glorious glow.” Ace turned to look Twilight in the eyes with a soft, sincere smile. “‘Twas the night when the moon smiles upon the ponies that I met you, Twilight, as my fortune is always greatest when the moon smiles upon Equestria.”

Twilight didn’t think her cheeks could get any pinker if she had changed the color of her coat to match Pinkie’s. Knowing that Twilight was getting uncomfortable, Ace simply turned back to the moon and watched it silently climb its way into the sky. For the longest time, Twilight truly didn’t know what to say, so she just sat and watched the moon as well, simply enjoying being next to him.

Wanting to say something, wanting to fill the silence and be heard, Twilight spoke what was on her mind. “I really do envy you, you know…” Ace watched the moon for a moment more before turning his gaze to Twilight. Thinking he would say something, Twilight had waited until he cocked his head to one side, waiting for her to continue.

“You have so much magic power that you have to vent it out, you have more money than I’ll likely ever see in my lifetime, and you speak of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna as though you know them… You even make a business selling spells, and you have many talents and skills…”

Ace shook his head as he looked at her, his one deep sapphire eye and his red Al-Bhed eye strangely comforting as she looked into them. “Twilight, these are all things that I worked for, things that anypony can have given time and effort. Twilight, you could easily have all these things and more, if you set your mind to it. Since we’re on the topic, you have something that I envy as well; your friends.

“I think that somewhere along the way, I must have lost my trust for most ponies. Countless times I had thought that I could trust somepony, and they misused my trust in the hopes of taking things from me. Money, my home, my spells and my magic, the artifacts I have accumulated in my travels…

"Whenever a pony started to get close enough to me that these things were within their reach, they would toss me aside and try to take what wasn’t theirs, and so many times I stopped them that I just stopped trying to trust anypony. I guess I never even realized it happened until all of you opened my eyes.” He laughed softly as he spoke, “It would appear my debt to you is only increasing the longer I stay around you, Twilight.”

Twilight laid a hoof on his shoulder as she whispered softly with a shake of her head. “Friends don’t have debts, remember?” Ace blushed slightly, his cheeks starting to match her own as he nodded. “I hope you’re not staying here just because you feel that you owe me anything…”

Ace shook his head with a sincere smile before he leaned closer to Twilight, his muzzle just below her ear now as he speak in the slightest of whispers. “No, I stay here because I like you, Twilight.” Twilight’s blush spread all the way across her face now as Ace took her into a tender hug. “And because it makes me happy to be by your side.”

Twilight returned the gesture, delighting in the feeling of it despite the warmth gathering in her face. A few moments passed before Ace pulled away, a sharp blush covering his features as well. Again putting the hoof behind his head that Twilight now knew was a tell that he was nervous or unsure of himself, he spoke softly, though uncertainly. “You, uh, should probably write that letter to Celestia. She’ll be worried if it’s too late.”

Twilight’s blush faded as she realized just how late it was and that she hadn’t even begun writing her letter yet. She swiftly teleported downstairs to get started on the pre-rough draft immediately. Meanwhile, Ace sat and watched the stars for a while longer by himself.

'’Because I like you.’ All this time apart, and that’s the best I could come up with?' Ace sighed before turning his gaze to the moon with reverence combined with a glare. “I do hope that your sister does not know a spell to divine the origin of a soul, for if I find out she does, then there will be a price to pay.” As if in response, a star shot across the sky before blinking out. “Yeah, my thoughts exactly.”

Meanwhile, Twilight was working on her letter to Celestia, allowing her number one assistant Spike to take the letter as she dictated for him. “Dear Princess Celestia, This week, I met a very unique Unicorn who has taught me a number of things in so short a time. He goes by the name of Ace, and he has decided to help me with my studies for a time while he is in Ponyville.

"From him, I have learned that no matter how much you want to know more about somepony, even one of your friends, you shouldn't try and force them to tell you about themselves just because it would make you feel better. Some ponies don't want to talk about their past, or even about themselves at all. I learned that these ponies will talk to you when they feel comfortable, and that trying to make them talk isn't very nice. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle.”

Spike repeated the last few words before finishing the letter and rolling it up and torching it in a special variation of his dragon fire that would send the letter directly to Celestia herself.

Spike and Twilight were preparing to go to bed when Spike’s stomach rumbled before he belched up a similar dragon fire to the last, this time receiving a letter from the princess than sending one. Twilight hastily retrieved the note in her magic and unfurled it so that she could read it to her assistant.

“Dearest Twilight, It would be my greatest pleasure to meet this new friend of yours. Should you be able, I would like for you and Ace to come by train to Canterlot Castle at your earliest convenience. Signed, Princess Celestia.”

As Twilight finished reading the letter, Spike belched up a pair of train tickets for Canterlot, which Twilight took in addition to the parchment and laid the items on her desk to be dealt with tomorrow. Twilight teleported herself to the terrace to ask Ace if he would like to leave for Canterlot in the morning, but the terrace was empty.

Twilight teleported to the second floor, as was greeted by Ace lying in his bed, already asleep after watching the stars. Figuring that it would be a good surprise in the morning, she and Spike went to bed as the dragon came up the stairs with a yawn.

Joy Ride

Chapter Fifteen: Joy Ride

Ace awoke softly to the sound of breakfast being prepared downstairs. Keeping his left eye closed as he rubbed the sleep-dust from it, he took his glasses in his magic to set them in place as he yawned and stretched.

Ace’s horn lit up as he prepared a flash spell to transport himself to the kitchen. With a sigh of frustration, his horn burned brightly before Ace landed muzzle first on the kitchen floor, knocking his glasses sprawling across the floor to Spike’s feet.

The dragon, scared that there was another prank being played, jumped and landed on the glasses with a resounding ‘crack!’ followed by several crunching noises as Spike realized what had happened.

Twilight looked concerned as she turned away from the stove to see what noise was, a look of shock when she saw Ace in the floor without the enchanted lenses, but relaxed slightly as he kept his revealing eye closed.

“Oh my gosh! I’m so sorry, it was an accident!”

Ace nodded with a sigh as he motioned for the dragon to move aside. When he had, Ace took the shattered remains of the glasses in his magic and they started to piece themselves back together into the familiar black, large-circled frames and the lenses glowed slightly as the enchantments were put back in place.

“It’s okay, I can just already tell I’m going to have an imbalanced day, don’t worry about it,” he said as he placed the glasses back upon his muzzle.

“Well I made some mixed berry crepes, so hopefully we can balance the scales a little with a healthy and nutritional breakfast,” Twilight said as she brought the plates over to the table. Spike jumped into his seat at the table, then proceeded to drown the plate in syrup as he licked his lips. “Well, at least it was meant to be healthy.”

The young dragon, already taking a bit of the sticky, sugary mass that occupied his plate. “F’whut? ‘tss gud!” Twilight shook her head, disappointed, before putting a minimum amount of syrup on hers and replacing the near-empty bottle in the refrigerator, knowing that Ace would eat his without syrup.

Smiling, almost blushing, at the familiarity of the scene, Ace levitated the crepe to his muzzle as he took a bite and pulled a piece of parchment from the next room to review as he ate.

Twilight looked at the note questionably. “What’s that? A message?” Ace shook his head as he took mental note of a few more details before floating the paper before Twilight so she could see it.

It looked as though it were a list of seemingly unrelated spells and addresses. “Is that a work order for the shop? I thought you were going to finish making all of the spells first.”

Ace nodded as he took the note back and sent it to wherever he had taken it from. “I woke up in the middle of the night, sometime shortly after you and Spike came to bed, I think. Not wanting to waste the time, I returned to my shop and finished the spells on the rooftop as I watched the stars. I went back to bed immediately after finishing the last one, planning to deliver them today. Did you have any plans for today?”

Twilight looked thoughtful for a moment before nodding her head. “The Princess wanted to meet you today, if you’re not too busy.” Ace froze in place just as he was about to take a bite of the crepe. “Is there something wrong?” Ace shook his head as though he were shaking a thought from his mind.

“Um, maybe… Which Princess wanted to see me, exactly?” he asked before taking a smaller bite than normal from the breakfast treat.

Twilight, unsure of what was bothering him, just raised an eyebrow at the odd question. “The Princess. Princess Celestia. The Princess I wrote the letter to last night? She said she wanted to meet you personally.” Ace swallowed the pastry with perhaps a louder noise than was necessary.

“Yeah… That’s the Princess I had thought you meant. Why, exactly, did she ask for me? I hadn’t even known she knew I was here. Wait, did the letter you write involve me?” Ace started to look more and more worried as the conversation went on, his normal casual smile fading to a guilty, nervous equivalent.

Twilight looked as though she was a filly with her hoof caught in the cookie jar. “Uh, I might have. Was I not supposed to?” Ace sighed with a shake of his head.

“Well I suppose it would be natural that you mention me to your original teacher. I must say though, it does put me in quite the spot. Do you happen to keep a copy of the letters you send?” Twilight nodded, pulling the latest copy from the next room in her magic as Ace relaxed slightly as he read it. “Good, thankfully you only used my first name. Maybe she won’t even recognize me.” Ace hunched he shoulders down in a hope he knew wouldn’t likely come true.

“Well, I’m going to deliver these spells before we leave. Knowing Celestia, she’ll have already sent the train tickets for the ride, so I’ll meet you there in a short while. See you soon.” Ace took the last of his crepe into his mouth before walking into the next room to put on his saddlebags and teleport to the first house.

Twilight felt a knot in the pit of her stomach, unable to think of a single way this could end well if Ace had reacted in such a way. Shaking such thoughts from her head, she decided to err on the side of doubt.

Surely it can’t be anything bad, right? He’s probably just nervous to meet the Princess. Yes, that would make perfect sense; even I get nervous around her sometimes.

Twilight started to clean the dishes, with Spike’s help. When they were finished, Twilight went back into the library and retrieved the train tickets.

Up until now, she hadn’t looked closely at the tickets, but now that she had, she realized they weren’t generic tickets like she had thought. These tickets had a marked time and date, and the train was about to leave in twenty minutes!

Twilight, not taking the time to prepare a saddlebag, slammed the door open as she shouted that she had to leave to Spike and charging through the door before slamming it shut again. As Twilight ran towards the station, remembering that she could just teleport once she had made it half-way, she thought to herself.

What exactly is Ace’s relationship to the Princess that he knew she would send us a specifically timed ticket?

Twilight appeared at the station with only five minutes before the train would depart, shortly followed by Ace appearing beside her with a nervous smile before they boarded the train. Twilight was inspecting the tickets as Ace led them to the personal rooms in the luxury car. “Wait a moment, I think these tickets are for a specific room, I think it’s-“

Ace nodded as he interrupted her, “Second car from the front, room four, upon the 7:57 AM to Canterlot. Yes, Celestia is never one to forget and rarely do I forget as well. Celestia does so very much love her little tricks and mind games.” Ace pulled open the door to the room and bowed softly to allow Twilight to enter ahead of him, “Please, after you.”

Bowing her head in thanks, Twilight entered first, and noticed the cabin was rather plush, with opulent curtains and red plush seats. The seat pillows were puffy with swirling or solid designs and each with golden tassels. “Why did it have to be this room, in this car, on this train specifically?” she asked as she took her seat.

Ace sat himself in the seat opposite of her as he laid down on the seat, making uncreative use of the pillows. “It all started when I was a child…” he started as though he were at a psychiatrist.

"No, I’m kidding, and it didn’t happen that long ago. Well, you remember how Princess Luna was locked in the moon, thus bringing about the Mare-in-the-Moon era?” Twilight nodded as if he asked if Twilight knew her own name.

“Right, of course. Well, do you remember the lesson I taught you about how the princesses sustain themselves?” Twilight nodded more curiously, not understanding how the two questions could coincide as the train began final boarding call.

“Well, tell me, dear student; if Princess Luna was kept in the moon and unable to perform the ceremony, how is it that she is still alive today?”

Twilight thought for a moment, then she realized that Princess Luna wouldn’t have been able to absorb the souls of ponies during the New Year’s Eve ritual herself if she was on the moon. “I’m going to guess that Princess Celestia must have used some sort of magic to keep Princess Luna alive?”

Ace shook his head from the cushion he laid upon. “Half credit for the effort, but no. Princess Celestia had to sort of… capture the souls and then use them to sort of feed her dear sister every ninety or so years, when she performed the ritual herself.

"There’s a reason why the normal ritual does not allow the capturing or storing of souls, Twilight. Would you like to guess why?”

The train started moving as Twilight thought for a moment. “Is it because the souls would decay and not be as potent otherwise?” Ace shook his head. “Is it because something happen to the souls when they are kept here for too long?”

Ace shook his head. “Sort of, but not quite. Remember that I mentioned that the souls are not yet claimed, and thus using them brings no ill tidings to the ones they belong to?” Twilight nodded that she did remember.

“Well, that’s not true if the soul resides here over night during the Ritual of New Life. Should the souls remain, they are assigned unborn bodies that they will be born to during the following year.

"Because they are confined, they never make it to that body. Celestia kept the soul for a number of days to allow for the claimed souls to settle and the unclaimed souls to return to… wherever souls go. Once our world is free of loose souls, she would mirror the ritual and cast the soul to the moon so that Princess Luna could be revitalized in her prison.

"Because of this, because Celestia had to lock her sister away through her inaction, because she had to perform this abomination upon the Ritual of New Life, eleven pony foals were born without life.”

Twilight could only stare in horror at the thought, at the feeling those poor mothers must have felt when their little foals were born still and lifeless. Ace nodded solemnly before he continued. “Because of this, the soul of somepony very important to me never made it to Equestria that generation. It was an incredibly slim chance, one in a billion odds, but one of those souls was the soul of a certain mare who is very, very important to me.

“It is for this reason that I lost all respect for Celestia as a pony. I still respect her position, and I still respect that she is the law in Equestria, but in all matters not regarding to the country or the law, she is lower than a stranger to me.”

The room was silent for several long moments, no pony moving or saying anything as the implications and images of what Ace had said sunk in. “Ace, I’m… I’m so sorry, I had no idea that…” Ace only shook his head.

“Sorry about what, Twilight? That you know Celestia? That Celestia is your teacher? That you attended Celestia’s school? None of these things is of any consequence. Sorry for what Celestia did? You’re not the one who needs to apologize or make amends for that.

"Never be sorry for what somepony else does, Twilight, especially when you had nothing to do with it and could do nothing to stop or change it.”

Ace shook his head as he whispered the next part almost inaudibly, “Besides, you’re as much a victim as I am.”

Twilight wasn’t sure she had heard the last part correctly, so she decided to move on to another question instead. “What does all of that have to do about this train ride, exactly?”

Ace lolled his head to the side to face her as he spoke. “This is the same room, of the same car, of the same train, at the same time that Celestia first told me that she had found out who the soul she had most recently gave to Princess Luna belonged to.

"How she knew, I never thought to ask, but for the rest of that train ride, I sat here on this very bench,” Ace pulled one of the cushions over his face before he continued, “and I cried here, just like this. I wept for the loss of somepony who was so very dear to me. Perhaps loss is the wrong word, as that pony would not be born again for at least another hundred years.”

Twilight’s heart sank as she listened to yet another sad recollection of Ace’s past. Before she could give Ace her condolences, he continued further. “Princess Luna, upon her return, spoke with me. ‘We are truly remorseful for the loss of Little Raven’s soul,’ she said to me, using the royal ‘we’ to address herself, not her and Celestia.

"‘We know that we could never replace her in thine heart. However, should thou ever have need of anything that is within our power to grant, thou shalt need only to call upon us.’” Ace tossed the pillow against the window of the car in frustration.

“Princess Luna, not Celestia, apologized for her actions. Princess Luna, not Celestia, tried to make amends. Princess Luna, not Celestia, attempted to console me when I was inconsolable. Princess Luna, the victim, not Celestia, the perpetrator, apologized for the sole need of her kind to live.”

Ace threw another pillow, followed by another, against the window as he spoke. “Celestia does not deserve respect when she cannot do what is right for a single subject, a subject she had once called her ‘brother.’ Celestia took from me a lesson and bastardized it to fuel her own selfish ends, and then roundly spat in my face as she brought me pain.”

Ace picked up the pillows in his magic before fluffing them and replacing them on the bench he laid upon. Then, with a sigh, he shook his head as he spoke. “Second chances should be given to all, and many times have I forgiven Celestia for her mistakes, but such a grave error that was an accumulation of many mistakes…”

Ace rested his face against his hoof for a moment at the memory, “There were so many other options presented to her, but she could never admit that she had made the single mistake that brought the events to fruition. Were it a single mistake, I would forgive her with so little as an apology. However, she has made many mistakes when others tried to aid her, and has uttered not a single apology, only explanations as to why what she did was right.

“I would never argue that Celestia should not care for her sister, locked away in her prison, but ‘twas Celestia who put her there in the first place, and she should own up to her actions rather than explain the circumstances.” Ace started to throw the pillow once again, but stopped mid throw to cradle the pillow to his chest instead. “I bear no ill-will towards Celestia, truly, but I haven’t spoken to her since the incident, and I find it difficult to look her in the eyes.”

Twilight, seeing the opportunity to turn the tone of the conversation, seized it. “Well, maybe this could be just what you two need. Would it really be so bad to talk to her after so long? I’m sure she must remember you, if she went through all the trouble of booking this train specifically.” Twilight ended with a smile, hoping to convey her good wishes on the matter.

Ace sighed softly before nodding. “Maybe. But I have to say, that I do not find this tacitly planned train ride to be a good omen, Twilight. True, this is the last time Celestia and I had a civil conversation, but it was hardly a joyous one.” Ace held the pillow more tightly, “Though it would be nice to speak to my sisters more often again.”

Twilight had a number of questions, but couldn’t overlook that he referred to the Princesses as ‘sisters’. “Ace, when did the Princesses start calling their brother, exactly?” Ace laughed at the question softly before throwing the pillow and softly hitting her in the face with the single word, ‘boundary,’ as he watched the pillow hit the floor in a flop with a light-hearted smile.

Twilight glared at Ace, feigning anger as she did so. Noting the fake emotion, Ace held his hooves in mock surrender as he moved the pillow beneath her chin without using the magic in his horn to playfully strike her again. Taken aback by the sudden assault without seeing Ace’s magic, she could only stare in shock as the pillow repeatedly, though not harmfully, bashed against her face.

Ace still sat with his hooves up and his horn not glowing as he laughed heartily. Twilight was still dazed and confused how Ace was manipulating the pillow without his horn taking on the black glow of his magic.

“How are you doing that?” In response, Ace allowed his red tail that matched his mane to flow over the seat beside him as it was lit up black with his magic. Twilight’s mouth fully agape, Ace picked up two more pillows from his bench in his tail-magic as he used them to assault his student as he fell over the bench laughing with his hooves wrapped around his stomach.

Twilight didn’t like being laughed at, so she started to pick up three of her pillows as well.

Started, but never finished, as each time she would put the magic into her horn, Ace would hit it with a pillow to throw off her spell. “While our magic is more proficiently controlled by our horn, relying on a single part of your body during combat is impractical,” he managed through bouts of laughter.

“It is for this reason that you must learn to control magic with your mind and body, not only your horn. Also, it is a required skill for casting multiple spells at once, using each limb or segment of your body to cast a different spell. For this lesson, I want you to attempt to control your magic while being surrounded and beaten by my,” Ace took a deep breath and altered his voice for dramatic effect, ”vicious army of pillow knights!”

Ace was reduced to a short bout of coughing-mixed-with-laughter after stressing his throat, but Twilight was also laughing as the pillow knights continued their quest to defeat the unusually large purple Unicorn that had stumbled into their home.

Twilight focused her magic into her hoof, but all she could feel was her muscles tightening before she tried to bat the pillow away and it instead exploded into a mist of feathers and fabric. Ace’s hoof lit up as the pillow began to reform in front of her, followed by an explanation.

“That’s a good first step. You managed to move your magic to your hoof, but you focused the power too intensely, and it instead strengthened your muscles. You need to move the magic delicately to a new home, not force it into slave labor.”

Ace took control of his revitalized pillow knight, which gave Twilight a soft uppercut for her efforts as Ace’s hoof stopped glowing. Twilight was beginning to grasp the lesson, moving a portion of her magic to her hoof. However, once she did so, she had trouble controlling the magic and making it do what she wanted.

Ace noted this with a nod. “It will take practice. For now, just try to move the pillows in a set pattern. The familiarity will make it easier, and you’ll be able to feel the variations more swiftly. If it helps you at all, try first touching the hoof to the object you wish to levitate. This will help you transfer the magic to the object, while also learning the feeling of it as well.”

Twilight nodded in her determination as the vicious army of pillow knights retreated across the gorge to the safety of the bench. Then, touching her glowing hoof to one of her own, less vicious pillow knights, she was able to pick it up in her magic, repeatedly moving it in the shape of a ‘C’ in front of her, now controlling it without touching it now that she had a presence of magic inside of it. At first, the shape was shaky and difficult to determine, but as time went on, Twilight was able to consistently make the letter before her.

That was, until she started to pick up another one of her knights to start forming another letter. Twilight at first had trouble differentiating her control over the two knights, forming two letters that were a combination of a capital ‘A’ and a now lower case ‘c’.

Twilight started to get the hang of it, and once she had, she used the third and final of her pillow knights to form a lower case ‘e’ at the end, proudly make an acrobatic show out of her knights to appease her opponent into accepting her surrender.

Ace stifled a laugh as he acted out his head-canon, “Yes, fair Twilight, the acrobatic show that thine knights have displayed pleases your new king, and he humbly accepts your surrender on the single condition that you take him to meet the Princess of the land.”

Twilight blushed at the role-play, not being entirely experienced at such things as the train pulled into the station in Canterlot. “Ah, I see we have arrived at the Princess’ dwelling. Please, fair Twilight, lead the way,” he said with a bow.

Twilight’s blush heightened as she got off of her bench. “You’re doing that thing where you keep doing something you know makes me blush intentionally again, aren’t you?”

Ace was taken aback at first, feigning his feelings were hurt, then he looked upward for a moment as if in thought before nodding committedly. “You truly are beautiful when you blush, I wasn’t lying or joking when I said that, Twilight. That also includes now.”

Twilight’s blush grew larger, nodding in thanks to the compliment as Ace took her by the hoof and pulled her out of the room. “Come on, I want to look around in the marketplace before Celestia starts to get impatient and just teleports me to the dungeon to save herself the effort.”

Twilight was stunned for a moment, both by him all but dragging her off of the train, as well as the thought that Celestia would throw somepony she had once called her brother into the dungeon. “Surely you can’t mean that!” she said as they made it off of the train.

Ace looked over his shoulder with a cocked eyebrow as he let go of her. “I assure you, I can mean what I choose to mean. Though you are right; Celestia would want to speak to me beforehoof. Hey, I think I can see the market from here! Come on, let’s go!” As he said that, his horn lit up and brought the chain-and-leather strapped coin pouch out of nowhere to rest around his right hoof.

Ace and Twilight strolled through the marketplace that rested outside the walls of the castle – that is, as close the castle as they could be without the guards being wary. Twilight was looking at each of the wares as Ace simply used his magical senses for most of his reviewing.

The further in they went, however, the more Ace’s expression soured, though only subtle enough that Twilight would notice the difference. When they passed a stall that was selling various coin pouches, Ace’s expression soured much more than before.

Finally, Twilight just had to ask, “What’s wrong? I thought you wanted to go shopping.” Ace looked at Twilight with a sweeter expression, an eyebrow raising in question before he shook his head.

“No, I think you misunderstand my interest in the market area of a town. Where the castle, or town hall or so on is the brains of a town, the marketplace is the heart and soul of a settlement. In the market, all of the denizens of that settlement will come, and it is from these ponies and their wares that I can judge much of the town.

"For example, did you see that coin pouch stall we passed a moment ago?” he asked as his face started to sour again, no longer keeping eye contact, not wanting to look at Twilight with a sour look.

Twilight looked back at the simple stall that looked as though it were constructed overnight. “Yes, he had quite the variety there. He must have worked hard to make so many of them.”

Ace spat to the side opposite Twilight before he spoke. “Do not praise that pony for his craft, Twilight, ‘tis unbefitting. That pony did not ‘make’ those coin pouches; he stole them.” Twilight looked as though she had just witnessed a murder.

“Don’t act as though it is uncommon. Thievery is an easy way to make money, and there is no shortage of ponies here who have much to give. Despite this, there are still ponies who must work two jobs, maybe more, simply to feed themselves and their family.”

Twilight looked around at the elegant city, each of the building constructed of stone, as well as the cobblestone street they walked upon. As she was admiring the masonry of the city, Ace bought a couple baskets of bread from a nearby stall. “What’s that for? I’m sure Celestia has already planned an extravagant lunch for us.”

Ace looked at his student as though she had just said that the sky was pink. “Twilight, I care not for what meal plans Celestia has in store for us, we had breakfast just this morning. Come, I will show you the tainted flesh this city hides beneath its thin veil of stone.”

Twilight, perplexed by the contradictions of that last statement, followed as much out of curiosity as anything else. After leaving the market and traveling a few more steps, Ace turned down a slim alleyway that the sunlight could not reach between the close together buildings. When the alleyway crossed another, it was then that was when Twilight realized what Ace had wanted her to see.

Here, hidden from Celestia’s light, as well as the prying eyes of those more fortunate, laid many a pony who had no home and no work, as well as refuse and… leavings. Ace whistled sharply, bringing the attention of all the ponies in the alleyway as they stared hungrily at the bread he carried. He motioned for them to come and gather around him.

Starved as they were, Twilight was able to count their rib bones. The alleyway was suddenly frightfully loud with the yells of the ponies as they rushed toward the nourishment they so desperately needed.

“Calm down, calm down, all of you. Make a line and you each shall receive what I offer. I have brought enough that each of you may have half a loaf of bread. Be kind to your fellow ponies, my friends, and fortune will favor you.”

All of the ponies served a single-file line, which was made easier by the small space the alley provided. After a few ponies had taken their bread and returned to their small claim in the trash, Twilight took some of the bread from Ace in her purple glow to help hand out the food. Each of the ponies they served happily and graciously thanked them, some even bowing to kiss their hooves.

Once all of the bread was gone, and each of the ponies had what they needed to live for at least a few more days, Ace bowed courteously to them as he bid them farewell. “And remember everypony, you shall be stronger together than apart. Be kind to your pony brethren, and fortune will come to you.”

Many of the ponies waved their goodbyes, others simply ate their bread nearly a crumb at a time as Ace and Twilight walked away. Once they were out of earshot, Ace had a short quiz for his student. “So tell me Twilight, out of all those ponies, who needed the food most: the ones who was finished with their bread before we left, or the ones who were still eating?”

Twilight thought for a moment, certain that Ace wouldn’t have asked without a reason. “I would suppose the ones who ate it the fastest would have needed it the most.” Ace shook his head solemnly.

“You are mistaken, my student. They ate swiftly because they were hungry, of course, but they had eaten recently. However, the ones who had to eat more slowly were the ones who needed the food the most. They ate more slowly because of a number of reasons.

"One, they were too weak to properly ingest their food. Two, they wanted to savor every bite, knowing it may be quite some time before they find more. Three, their body had actually shut down their stomach, meaning that they had to eat slowly or they would fall ill, and the food would be wasted. Four, many of them likely wanted to keep some of the bread to eat later, so they could ration it out and make it last longer.”

Twilight was horrified at the thought of needing food for so long that she would need to do any of those things. “Why… Why do they have to live like that when there is so much wealth, so many ponies in Canterlot who have more than what they need?”

Ace shook his head at her naivety. “Because such is the way of many ponies. They keep what they have for themselves, even if they do not need it.” Ace led them along the path that would take them to the Canterlot Castle as he teleported he coin pouch back to their home.

Twilight still didn’t know how such injustice could persist in Equestria. “Why doesn’t Celestia help them? Surely the Princess would have some way of helping them.”

Ace sighed deeply as he looked at the sky, the lenses of his glasses darkening to shield his eyes from the offensive brightness. “Perhaps there is much that somepony in a seat of power such as Celestia could do, but the Celestia I know is cold and calculating. She would gain little from aiding the ponies who hold no power she can exploit. A life lesson for you, my student: judge not a pony by their words alone, but by the way they treat somepony who can do nothing for them in return.”

Twilight took note of the lesson, as well as the implications it held for both of her teachers. Once she had catalogued the lesson, she turned her eyes upward as well, as the pair headed for the palace where the Princess would hopefully shed some light on more than just Equestria today.

Escape Plans

Chapter Seventeen: Escape Plans

Ace had been alone in his cell for a number of hours when he awoke to an odd tearing sound. When he arose, he saw the familiar Draconequus appearing out of the dimensional tear of his chaos magic variant of the basic teleportation spell.

“Glad to see you could make it, Fenrir.” Ace sat up to glare at the opponent, unsure of what his intentions were. When he did, he realized that his horn was glowing vibrantly with the dark color of his magic and his hooves were starting to shake, though not quite violently yet.

I’m going to overload soon, but not for at least another hour… he thought at the sight.

“Perhaps you are wondering why I’ve gathered all of you here today, gentlecolts. I wish to discuss an offer that you cannot refuse,” the Draconequus spoke in his normal method, sounding as though he were replying to another conversation or circumstance entirely, though somehow conveying his meaning as intended.

Ace sat as still as he could with the magic trying to control his movements, a mask of indifference over his features to not reveal his thoughts to the manipulative creature. “Perhaps I am. What is this offer that you speak of?” The Draconequus rested upon some object that wasn’t there and held an apple in his lion’s paw.

Discord took a drink from the apple, some of the color draining from it before he continued. “Well you see, Fenrir, I need your assistance with something, and there’s nothing you can do to stop me,” he said before pausing to drink from the fruit once more. “Perhaps offer is the wrong word… More of an inevitability, really. Anyhow, you’re just the pony I need to move ahead in my scheme.”

Ace laughed heartily at the idea. Maybe I can trick him into helping me out of here before I overload by playing along… Worth a shot, right? Ace thought as he laughed. “Well I’ll tell you what, if this plan of your involved manipulating Celestia, then it’s probably a plan I can help out with. What did you have in mind?”

Discord finished drinking his apple, all the color effectively drained from it, before tossing it over his shoulder where it disappeared through a wall. “As I’m sure Goody-Goody Sparkle has already told you, the Elements of Harmony did fall into my possession, and I was unable to convert them to the Elements of Disharmony once again. I thought everything was ruined, until you came to Ponyville when I was spying on Twilight.”

Discord shrunk down to the size of a fly as he walked around on the ceiling, speaking in a squeaky voice as Ace worked hard to prevent his anger from showing on his face.

“You see, through several layers of thick stone, above this very cell, is the Castle Vault. Within that vault, protected by dozens of layers of impenetrable magic, are the Elements of Harmony.” Discord pointed through the floor, then dived into it as though he were a professional diver. When next he appeared, he came from the nearby wall in the shape of a mouse.

“You see, Fenrir, even I cannot change the powerful order magic that resides in the elements, and neither can I access them through the vault.” Mouse-cord then started gathering small blocks of cheese he summoned around the room and put them in front of Ace as he spoke. “However, through spying on Twilight, I learned that you can. You can disable the magic of the vault, and drain all of the elements of their power simply by staying in this cell, gathering your magic.”

Mouse-cord gathered all of his cheese, and as he set the least slice, it started to shake and then exploded, covering the rodent in the resulting cheese-goo. “Fortunately, this is something new over the last however-many-hundred years you haven’t spoken to Sol Light. Because of this, she is none the wiser, and soon she’ll be blaming you for the Elements of Disharmony returning to my possession! Oh, it’s so perfect I could almost die!”

Mouse-cord proceeded to wander into a mouse-trap that violently came down with enough force to sever the rodent’s vertebrae, swiftly incapacitating the critter. Discord then came out of the ceiling as though he were still swimming in it.

“Except that it won’t be me in the trap, but instead you. Instead of cheese, the bait is Goody-Sparkle and the trap will be Celestia. Oh, you can hardly write such a tragedy!” Discord pulled a pony skull out of nowhere and held it aloft like Whinny Shakehorn.

“What soft light through which yonder skull doth break, but were it not for the silence of the ages, thou would be happy with thine sister and wife. Silent though thou were, thine voice carried the words of thine demise.” Discord took a bow, his slaughtered rendition of the famous work completed.

Ace rolled his eyes, clopping his front hooves in applaud to amuse the spirit of chaos. “I have to admit, I’m pretty much helpless in this scenario. I see Celestia’s lessons have taught you well.” The yellow-and-red eyes of Discord inverted, the eyes becoming red while the irises were yellow.

Discord snaked up real close to Ace, staring intently into his unmatched eyes as he was up in his face. “Listen here, Fenrir, Celestia is the pawn in my plan this time. Celestia has not served any purpose except to allow me into the castle so that I could research the vault and the elements more closely.

"She is nothing to me, and has taught me only how weak even the strongest of ponies are.” Discord's eyes returned to normal, backing away swiftly when Ace made a motion to scratch his nose.

“Okay, if you say so Lover-cord, but that sure didn’t sound like acting up there in the audience chamber. It sure would be chaotic if the Master of chaos fell in love with the Queen of Order,” Ace watched the Draconequus closely, and noticed that his features were unmoving, meaning he was hiding something. “Fangs and talons, imagine the foals! Wait, do Draconequus do the whole mating thing?”

Discord, having nothing further to say to the pony, opened a tear with his lion’s paw and departed through it swiftly. My, my, my. Looks like our little Chaos spirit is all grown up… Ace started to laugh at the thoughts, but sobered quickly as his hooves started to shake more violently. I am not looking forward to this…

“Thanks mom. I hope this wasn’t too much trouble,” Twilight said as Twilight Velvet set a plate of food squarely in front of her, between the full assortment of dinnerware from soup spoon to salad fork. “I didn’t mean to drop in unannounced, but I was in the area with… a friend. We got separated while he went to talk to… his sister, so I decided to stop by.” Twilight smiled nervously, hoping her explanation was enough.

Twilight Velvet, her mother, smiled with a nod. “Don’t be silly, Twilight! This is your home, and you’re always welcome here. Isn’t that right dear?”

Night Light sat at the head of the dinner table. “Of course! It’s nice to know that one of our little foals still thinks about her parents from time to time.” Twilight Velvet was a very light grey Unicorn with a streaked white and light-purple mane that resembled Twilight’s style. Night Light was a solid blue pony, featuring a light blue coat and a darker blue mane and tail; the latter of which was frequently disheveled, much to Twilight Velvet’s displeasure.

Twilight Sparkle admired the home-cooked meal that sat before her, consisting of roasted asparagus and tomato penne salad with goat cheese. To drink, Twilight Sparkle had orange juice, while her parents had some sort of grape wine. Taking the salad fork in her levitation, she picked up a piece of tomato and spoke before taking a bite.

“Speaking of Shining Armor, how are he and Princess Cadence doing in the Crystal Kingdom?” Twilight took the bite as she thought about her big brother. He was a Unicorn with a solid white coat and had a streaked three-tone blue mane.

Night Light nodded as he chewed his food before politely swallowing so he could speak. “We don’t hear from him much, but his last letter said that he was doing quite well in the Crystal Kingdom. He and Cadence were having trouble getting many of the crystal ponies up to speed with the thousand years they had missed out on; a lot has changed, truly.”

Twilight Sparkle prepared a piece of asparagus before commenting, “I’m sure that if anypony can help them, Shining and Cadence are just the ponies for the job,” she said before enjoying the morsel.

Twilight Velvet nodded, swallowing her food and wiping her mouth with a napkin in her magic before she spoke. “Of course. Shining has been a great role model for everypony. He was the Captain of the Canterlot Royal Guard for many years, after all,” she said as she cut a piece of asparagus in half with her utensils.

“You know, that reminds me. My editor has been hinting that I should write a book about your adventure overthrowing the Changeling Queen’s plans. I wanted to ask you before I committed to anything, but it would really help my career.”

Twilight Sparkle thought for a moment as she chewed her food, then washed the food down with a sip of her juice. “Well, I certainly wouldn’t mind. I’d be happy to help any way I can, but what about Shining and Cadence? What do they think of the idea?”

Night Light took up the question after taking a short drink as well. “Well Cadence liked the idea, but Shining took a little convincing, since he didn’t want his wife to suffer any bad publicity. For the first potion of the book, it would seem as though she were doing all the horrible things Chrysalis did as she was disguised as her. Fortunately, Cadence talked him into it.”

Twilight Sparkle nodded, “Well, then I don’t see any reason not to. By all means, write the book. But I want two copies when it’s done, one for me and one for the library,” she said before taking another bite of her meal.

Twilight Velvet’s face lit up, glad that she could get started on the book right away. “Well, now that business is out of the way, have you met a nice stallion yet?” Twilight Sparkle’s eyes went wide as she nearly choked on her food.

Ace sat in his cell… by the loosest stretch of the word. Even though he was sitting, his hooves were shaking as though they were about to explode – and after shaking for more than an hour, that was an apt description of how they felt as well.

Ace’s entire body was shuddering at shortening intervals, and his horn was glowing so brightly with its black light that it hurt just to keep his eyes open without his protective lenses. With so much magic flowing to his horn, and from the stress of the brilliantly bright light, even his horn ached. Diverting his attention from the pain, Ace started to think about what’ll have to happen after the overload.

Any minute now, the final symptoms will cross and I’ll need to make a break for it. First, I need to break these restraints. After that, buck open the door. None of the guards carry weapons on the upper floors of the castle, but down here I’ll need to fight at least one guard who will likely carry a sword, an axe or a dagger.

My body is going to be sore, but I need to fight without my magic, as I will be unable to use it. By the time I make it to the upper floors, I should have enough magic for a single location and close-range teleport spell. I hope Twilight is still in the city… And I hope she’s not mad at me.

Ace repeated the thoughts over and over, knowing that he’d be delirious with the pain of the overload, and he would need to have the plan imprinted on his mind, or he’d forget and be in deep hay.

As he focused on his thoughts, Ace’s coat started to turn a brilliant, glowing white and his mane turned a much brighter red, waving about as though it were on fire. Ace braced himself as best he could with his shaking limbs as his body started shaking nonstop, rather than in intervals.

Ace’s head jerked back, his horn pointing straight into the air as all of his magic burst out of his body through every pore, every strand of hair. All around Ace in a sphere, a white silence over took the air, every object it passed over crackled with electric power without sound as it spread forth, occupying all of Canterlot Castle in its glow.

Ace scrambled to his hooves, uncertain of how long he had been unconscious.

'First, I need to break these restraints.'

Ace mustered what little strength he could in his body, which ached as though a dragon had torched him, filleted him, then chewed the bones as a light snack, then slammed the shackles, chains and bonds against the wall closest to him. The metal was strong, but the clasps were made up mostly of magic, now dispelled after the overload. The restraints came off reluctantly at the introduction of force, though the effort was exhausting on Ace’s already low reserves of strength and stamina.

Ace moved to the door, his own voice echoing through his mind;

'After that, buck open the door.'

Ace spun on his front hooves, swinging his back hooves out with as much force as he could muster. The flimsy door flew open, the grate flying across the room, flipping and spinning until it hit the far wall with a loud clang.

Ace’s ears were ringing with the sound that echoed through the lower levels of the castle. Ace held a hoof to his head for a moment, but shook it out before proceeding through the door and attempting to navigate the darkness of the dungeon without the aid of his magical senses. Not far out, a Pegasus in shiny golden armor and a sword on its back turned the corner and pointed a hoof at him.

'I’ll need to fight at least one guard who will likely carry a sword, an axe or a dagger. My body is going to be sore, but I need to fight without my magic, as I will be unable to use it.'

The Pegasus used his wings to propel himself forward down the hallway, coming at Ace from the front, but slightly above, as he brandished the sword in an overhead swing. Ace blocked the blow with his left hoof as it tore into it. That is, it tore up the cover that Rarity had made for him and contacting the pre-magic that was held within. The soldier’s eyes went wide as he thought he was fighting the shadows themselves as the pre-magic engulfed the foreign object.

Not knowing what to do, the Pegasus relinquished the blade to the hoof and leapt back. As the weapon fell, Ace took the hilt in his right hoof and leapt forward with an underhoofed diagonal swing that caught the Pegasus across the throat, severing its head from its body. The corpse hit the floor, allowing Ace to take the scabbard and affix it to his own back before continuing through the hallway, muttering a prayer for the fallen out of habit.

“The night brings swift death to its foes, but weep not for the dead, as it is through the action of death that life is granted meaning. Shun not death, live for those who have fallen.”

Ace saw a light out of the end of a hallway, and turned down it. As it neared the light, he saw it was a staircase. Before he could reach it, a Unicorn descended the steps. The Unicorn caught sight of the pony, and started to prepare a spell, but was unable to as the overload had drained all of their magic.

Ace leapt forward, dodging to the side when he neared the pony for fear of retaliation, and drove the sword through the pony’s side, twisting then sweeping the blade through his foe to ensure a swift death before sheathing the bloodied blade. Ace ascended the stairs, wincing in pain with each step as he went.

Ace’s vision was blurry, and he could only make out the shapes of ponies. He checked each to see if any carried weapons, and made note of the Unicorns. Some of them were talking, though none of them moved. Ace tried to heed their words, but his ears were ringing loudly in exertion and pain. Ace proceeded past the ponies, when one pony made a motion towards him as he passed.

Ace swung the blade in a curving arc around himself that severed the pony’s hoof as he approached. Ace turned, wielding the blade behind his head and ready swing should any of the others attempt to halt him. They all either stared, frozen, or ran the opposite direction. Appraising the pony he had injured, Ace looked to see if he still intended to fight. The pony trembled with fear, staring at the severed hoof that laid before him.

No longer viewing the aggressor as a threat, Ace replaced the blade on his back before he continued to the entrance of the castle. As he neared the gate, two armed guards were waiting for him. Ace gritted his teeth and rested a hoof on the hilt of the blade.

The three ponies stared at each other for a time, nopony daring to make a move in the standoff. A larger pony came into Ace’s view, but he did not falter. After a time, the three ponies moved aside, opening the gate and lowering themselves in a bow. Ace watched the three warily as he passed. Once he was out of the castle, the doors closed tight behind him.

'By the time I make it to the upper floors, I should have enough magic for a single location and close-range teleport spell.'

Ace’s horn lit with the black light of his magic, and he closed his bleary eyes as the location spell started to reveal the location of the last pony he could recall being with, Twilight Sparkle. Once the spell had found her, he teleported to her side.

'I hope Twilight is still in the city… And I hope she’s not mad at me.'

Twilight Sparkle, her mother and her father all sat in the living room of their home, Twilight Sparkle telling them about a certain stallion she had met recently.

“-and he even knew Pinkie Pie before we met. They said they met at a Summer Sun Celebration, and that he never misses one when the Princess will be there, no matter what city or town she goes to that year. He frequently goes to festivals and the like to hand out spells to ponies who need them while he sells stronger ones to those who can afford them. He’s really nice; I hope you both get to meet him sometime soon. Oh, but he doesn’t like to talk about his past too much, so-“

A bright flash of light the color of the darkest night filled the room as a pony appeared out of it and flopped down painfully onto the coffee table, which broke under the weight and force of the landing pony. Twilight Velvet and Night Light leapt to opposite walls of the room at the intrusion. Twilight Sparkle hunched down as she got off the couch to try and help the pony up.

The pony accepted her aid as he spoke, “Oh good, it’s you Twilight. I… Huh, that’s odd, I had something very important to tell you, but I can’t remember what it was…” The pony looked to be struggling with his own weight. “You know, I’m actually very, very tired. I think I’ll just take a short nap. Good-“ the pony collapsed back to the floor with a thud as the sword on his back thudded against the floor at his side.”

“Sparkle dear, who is this strange pony? Why does he know your name?” Twilight saw the blood that covered Ace’s front and ran out of the sheath of the sword and nearly doubled over with worry and panic.

“It’s Ace, mom, and he looks like he’s hurt - badly. Quick! Go get the first aid kit!” Twilight Velvet quickly left the room towards the upstairs bathroom as Night Light helped her get the strange black Unicorn onto the couch.

Once Ace was more comfortable, Twilight lit her horn as she ignited her magical senses to examine Ace. She could tell he didn’t have any injuries, and that the blood wasn’t his own, except for the nosebleed. She could tell his entire body was past its breaking point, but she couldn’t see or feel any injuries. She looked to the sword next…and saw that it belonged to a Canterlot Guard!

'Please don’t tell me you killed Celestia, Ace… Please, tell me anything but that.' Twilight started to look for Ace’s magical presence around her, but all she could feel was residual magic from her parents inside the house. Worried, she let her magic envelop Ace to try and feel how much magic power he had left.

It was then she noticed two things: the cover on his hoof looked as though it was torn, and the pre-magic was starting to flood out before she withdrew her magic and jumped back, announcing, “Don’t use any magic near him!” The second thing she noticed, was that Ace’s magic was incredibly low, and that he was going to need some time to recover, even with his vast amount of magic. 'Oh, Ace… What have you done?'

Remembering the necklace with the magical sapphire gem, she took off the necklace and put it over Ace’s head, lifting it slightly to be sure the necklace slid all the way down his neck. “I brought the first aid!” Twilight Velvet called as she came down the steps again.

Twilight Sparkle nodded as she took the kit in her magic and took a cleaning wipe out of it to start wiping the blood off of Ace by hoof. “Mom, I’m going to need the sewing kit as well. Could you bring it here please?”

Night Light and Twilight Velvet shared a look fearing the worst before the mare ran into the downstairs bedroom to retrieve the kit. Twilight Sparkle cleaned the blood from his chest and right hoof, but his nose was still bleeding. Twilight Velvet came into the room with the sewing kit and laid it next to Twilight Sparkle.

Twilight Sparkle opened the kit and took out a needle and threaded it carefully in her magic before taking the needle and thread in hoof, along with a patch of black cloth. “Remember, don’t use any magic near him until I get this patched up.”

Twilight Velvet and Night Light cringed as they watched Twilight Sparkle sewing what they believed was Ace’s flesh, not knowing what the black pre-magic was. They left and went into the kitchen to leave Twilight Sparkle to what they thought was a grim task.

'I’m sorry Ace, it won’t be as good as Rarity’s work, but at least it’ll be functional again.'

Rest and Recovery

Chapter Eighteen: Rest and Recovery

Ace awoke in a place that was unfamiliar to him, his entire body sore and tense as though he had just been in a battle. He could feel a weight against his right side. Without opening his eyes or moving a muscle, Ace ignited his magical senses to survey his surroundings. There were four ponies in the building with him: he knew two of them, both being quite dear to him. The other two reminded him of Twilight, but he couldn’t recall having ever met either of them.

Analyzing the rest of the area, Ace could tell that the structure was a house, made of stone, and a mildly expensive one at that. Further examination revealed they were in Canterlot, some distance away from the castle and a shorter distance from the market.

Is this Twilight’s home?

Ace observed the room, noticing the broken coffee table in the center and a sword leaning against one of the walls. Examining the sword more closely, Ace could tell it originally belonged to Canterlot Guard, as did the blood that was eating away at the edge and the inside of the scabbard.

”How long doth thou intend to layabout? The night is young, and thou wouldst wish to waste it so?” a familiar voice echoed through Ace’s mind as a smile crossed his features.

”I see that thou still enjoys spying on her little ponies, dearest sister. Whilst I do enjoy the glories of night, I would not wish to disturb the others who prefer the daylight’s embrace.” With that, Ace rose his head and looked upon the weight that was upon his side, smiling tenderly at Twilight as she slept.

”It would seem that Celestia’s student is quite fond of thou, dear brother. As much as we enjoy toying with our sister, might we ask why that is?” The voice spoke again before Ace looked the source of it in the cyan eyes, lit by the cobalt magic that waved around the Light sapphire mane. The mare was larger-than-most, bearing a long pointed horn, upon which rested a small black tiara of a crown as well as a pair of wings. In addition to the crown, the Immortal Alicorn bore an onyx peytral plate that proudly displayed the mare’s emblem – the waxing gibbous stage of the moon.

”Has our sister informed not even thou? Twilight carries the soul of our dear Little Raven, and is to be our student by her own choice.” A look of shock spread silently over the mare’s dark sapphire features as she was taken aback by the telecommunicated news.

”No, she has told us nothing of the sort. From when has our sister known of such things?” Ace shook his head at the disappointing news that Celestia had told not even Princess Luna about such an important discovery, though glad to know Princess Luna had not been keeping secrets from him as well.

”Apparently, she has claimed to have known since Twilight had first enrolled in Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. By her own admittance, she had been looking for Little Raven’s soul for some time, and had not expected her to ‘walk into her hooves so easily.’”

”Sister has been keeping far too many secrets of late, even from us. It is most unbecoming of one in her position!” Princess Luna’s wings spread wide in her fury, nearly knocking over a vase before Ace took it in his magic and righted it again.

”Calm yourself, dearest sister. Surely thou didst not come this night to question mine motives with Twilight,” Ace said through their telepathic link as he softly stroked the sleeping pony’s mane. ”To what do we owe the honor of thine presence this blessed night?”

The princess shook her head solemnly. ”Thou were cleaving a path through the castle some hours ago. Thou looked to be unconscious as thou battled thine way to the exit,” Luna leaned forward to look closely into Ace’s unshielded eyes as she spoke. ”Were it not for mine intervention, many other ponies would dirty the floor of the castle. We will always trust thine judgment, dear brother, but what were thou doing?”

Ace cast a recollection spell to review the foggy memories through his more alert state, his eyes going wide at his actions. When his review had ended, he motioned politely for Luna to give him some room as he silently sighed. ” Queen Celestia brought us in for an interrogation under the guise of an audience. Twilight learned from Celestia that she carries the soul of my wife.

At the mention of her, Ace shook Twilight lightly to rouse her from her slumber before moving a hoof to beg silence from his student. When she had nodded, Ace pointed to Princess Luna. Twilight’s face lit up in surprise as Luna smiled. Ace spoke in a low whisper now that she had joined the conversation.

“What happened next should concern both of you. After Twilight left the audience chambers, Celestia called Discord to apprehend me.” Twilight looked over at Ace, still holding the same look of shock as she used her magic to straighten her mane and tail. Ace nodded as he went on, “Discord imprisoned me in bonds laced with Anti-Magic stone, preventing me from using magic. Once they were in place, Celestia teleported me to the Canterlot dungeons.”

Ace looked at Twilight with a smile. “By the way, I told you so.” Twilight rolled her eyes as Ace continued. “Due to my unstable magical power, being unable to use it caused me to suffer an Overload,” Luna’s face was stricken in shock, but she remained silent as she listened. “Discord apparently had this all planned, as my cell was directly under the magically protected vault, which housed the magical artifacts, the Elements of Harmony.”

Twilight and Luna audibly gasped at this news. “So Discord now has the Elements of Harmony?!” Twilight said, trying to mix urgency in her voice while also speaking in a whisper. Ace shook his head solemnly.

“Worse, my student. Discord has the Elements of Power, which when they have been affected by his chaos magic for a time, will become the Elements of Disharmony.” A moment of silence filled the room, each of the ponies needing time to let the information soak in while also thinking of all of the implications that the event implied.

Princess Luna was the first to speak, still not having the answers she sought. “This is very grave news indeed, dear brother, but why hath thou slain innocent ponies within the castle?” Twilight’s face twisted up in disgust mixed with shock, then she turned to the sword with a grimace.

Ace nodded solemnly. “The overload left me delirious, nearly unconscious, from the pain. I proceeded through the castle in an attempt to leave, when a guard stopped me. After that, I was halted by a Unicorn. When I had made it to the upper floors, I was unable to differentiate between foe and friend.” Ace shook his head as the remorse he felt crossed his features. “The pony wished only to help me, but I attacked him without knowing his intentions. I have wronged, and I can utter no apology strong enough that it may give rise to the dead. I will fund the injured pony’s recovery and care, but I can do little more.”

Luna nodded respectfully as she spoke. “All is well, my dear brother. By all accounts, it would sound that our misguided sister is the pony to blame for all of this. I must say, sister has been quite odd of late,” Luna said, trying to choose her words carefully as she spoke. “Ever since Discord agreed to our remedial lessons, she has been acting strange…” The princess shook her head solemnly. “Perhaps strange is the wrong word… She appears to be reverting to her past self.”

Ace nodded thoughtfully as well before he responded with a whisper as well. “’Twould make sense of a number of quandaries, such as why the Celestia we spoke with today and the Celestia Twilight speaks of are so very different. Honestly, to me it felt as though she had never changed at all in two hundred years that I hadn’t spoken with her.”

Luna raised an eyebrow, perplexed, to Twilight Sparkle. “Twilight is privy to thine age, my brother?” Ace bowed his head as if in shame.

“No, but I no longer see reason to hide it, either.” Ace looked Twilight in the eyes as he wore a mask of stoicism. “Twilight, I am nearly as old as Moonlit Embrace and Sol Light, who you know as Princess Luna and Princess Celestia.”

Twilight was floored, her plot landing upon the ground with a soft thud as her jaw attempted to make the same journey. She was silent as Ace and Luna awaited her response. She looked to the princess, who nodded that it was true. “T-then that would mean…. That you’re a…”

Ace shook his head. “No, I am not an Immortal Alicorn, though I am a Wingless Unicorn, a lesser species of Immortal Alicorn who can ascend to the higher race by fulfilling an unknown condition that varies from pony to pony.”

Twilight still stared in awe, unable to reclaim control of her emotions at the noise, fighting to keep her voice in a low whisper. “Then how… How could you be alive still if you were not an immortal?”

Luna looked to Ace for a moment, who nodded. “Through the Ritual of New Life, dear Twilight. Ace has performed the ritual more times than we have.”

Twilight stared at the two, once more needing to organize her scrambled thoughts. “But only Immortal Alicorns can perform the ritual, you said that yourself!”

Ace motioned for Twilight to control her voice as he spoke. “I said that it is only safe for Immortal Alicorns to perform the ritual, though technically anypony can do it. This is why the ritual is kept secret.”

Twilight’s face contorted in a mix or worry, concern and the ever-present shock she was feeling. “Then… It’s dangerous for you to perform the ritual?” Ace nodded. “What makes it dangerous?”

Ace began to speak, but Luna glared at him and interjected as Ace shied away from his sister. “Were a non-immortal to perform the ritual, the first symptom would be an incredible amount of stress on the pony’s body, resulting in an untold amount of pain. The reason the ritual is best intended for Alicorns, however, is because of the nature of the ritual.”

Luna spread her wings – being mindful of her surroundings, this time – as if to exemplify her lesson. “When the pony chooses a soul to absorb, the soul is already destined to be one of the primary races of pony. Should, say, a Pure Pegasus attempt to absorb the soul of a Pure Unicorn, the Pegasus would no longer be able to fly until the next time they perform the ritual when they attempt to absorb another soul, hopefully a Pegasus or one of the off-races of Pegasi.”

Ace rose a hoof and opened his mouth to continue the story, but Princess Luna glared at him again and he retreated once more. “Should a Wingless Unicorn receive the soul of a Pure Earth Pony, then that Wingless Unicorn will have trouble with their magic,” Ace motioned that he would speak the rest, but Luna placed a hoof on his chest to force him back onto the couch with a wince, his body still sore.

“The first time, that pony will suffer from misfires,” Luna applied a bit more pressure at the comment, “Should they receive the soul of a pure earth pony again, their magic will begin to disobey them and cause overloads,” Luna pressed harder against her brother’s chest as Twilight started to cringe from the sound of Ace being in so much pain, but not voicing a single protest or trying to stop her.

“Should that pony receive yet another pure blooded earth pony’s soul, without receiving a Unicorn or lesser species of Unicorn, then their magic will devour their physical body from the inside out,” Luna was now putting her weight onto Ace’s chest as Twilight’s eyes went wide. “Is this not true, mine brother?”

Coughing from the pressure and the pain, Ace could only nod that it was. Princess Luna looked as though she wanted more from him, but lifted her hoof away so that he could speak. “I last performed the ritual thirty-eight years ago.” Princess Luna’s expression changed from anger to shock with a hint of concern in her eyes.

“That is why I need Celestia to work with me, as it would appear she has found a way to divine the origins of a soul, having admitted that she knew who Twilight’s soul belonged to during today’s audience. I don’t suppose you would happen to know the spell or method she used, my dear sister?”

Luna shook her head dejectedly as any signs of anger left her expression. Ace went rigid as he motioned for the others to be quiet. A few seconds passed before the trio could hear hoofsteps upstairs before the lights turned on. “Twilight dear, are you okay down there? Is Ace awake?”

A kind-looking mare who resembled Twilight stood before the banister on the second floor as Ace turned his head to be sure she couldn’t see his eye, looking down at the two, unable to see Luna from her vantage point. “That’s my mother, Twilight Velvet,” Twilight explained before motioning for her to come down. “Yes, and he’s feeling a bit better. Get dad and come down, we have company.” Twilight Velvet nodded and went into the bedroom while Ace teleported his glasses onto his muzzle before returning with a stallion and proceeding down the stairs.

“Glad to see you’re feeling better, Ace,” she started as she and her husband started down the steps. “Twilight was quite-“ she stopped when she saw the princess, who waved and smiled bashfully. The stallion nearly sent her sprawling down the rest of the stairs before he, too, saw the princess. Twilight Velvet hastily set her magic to work straightening her mane and tail, as well as her husband’s, as they came into the living room.

“Oh my, I didn’t expect to see one of the princesses tonight! Please, pardon the mess, we weren’t expecting visitors I’m afraid. Would you care for some tea? Night Light, dear, go make some tea for our guests.”

Twilight Velvet was visibly nervous at the sight of the princess, but Princess Luna looked to be nervous as well, still unsure of herself when interacting with her subjects. “Oh, no, please, that won’t be necessary. Perhaps ‘twould be best if I were to take my leave for the evening. Good night to you.” Princess Luna’s horn lit up as she prepared her teleportation spell. “Oh, and as for you, Ace and Twilight, I would like to speak with you further on this matter on the morrow. Farewell.”

Princess Luna teleported someplace else just as Night Light was returning with the refreshments. He neared the remains of the coffee table in the center of the room before Ace saw the action and the troubled look on his face. With an embarrassed look on his face as his horn lit up and the remains started to resemble a table again. “Sorry about that, by the way.”

Night Light nodded as he set the tea set and a tray of crackers and cheese down on the newly reconstructed table. Twilight Velvet and Night Light took a seat on their separate seats across the table from the couch as Velvet spoke, “So why was Princess Luna here, exactly?”

Ace prepared a cup of tea and pair of crackers-and-cheese for himself as he nodded. “She saw me at the castle, and wanted to come and make sure I was doing well.”

Ace acted as though the gesture were nothing, but Night Light and Twilight Velvet shared a look before looking at Twilight as if they wanted her to confirm his mental health. Twilight just nodded with a proud smile, “Ace and Princess Luna are quite close, though he doesn’t speak to Princess Celestia very often. Isn’t that right?”

Ace nodded as he took a bite out of the second cracker. Night Light regained his composure first as he thought to ask, “Where did you happen to meet the princesses, exactly?”

Twilight Sparkle looked quite nervous as Ace’s eyes went slightly wide before he stalled by taking a drink of his tea. “Well, I don’t think you’d believe me if I were to tell you, truly.” Velvet and Night Light looked at him as though they wanted him to continue motioning with their hooves.

Ace sighed as he set his teacup on a saucer on the table. “Well, I met them in an Adventurer’s Guild. I suppose you wouldn’t see too many of them around here, though. The guild is where one would go to find out what sort of… work needs done around the town.” Ace was stalling over a few words, trying to describe the event as close to the truth as possible, without saying anything that could reveal too much about himself or relation to the princesses. “The Princesses were there to try and lend aid where they could, and we sort of just… came together… in an effort to help.”

Ace was rubbing the back of his head with a hoof at this point. “So then you met the princesses while doing community service in town?” Ace nodded, grateful that she jumped to an assumption rather than questioning him. “What was it like working with the princesses?”

Ace took a sip of tea as he thought how to answer the question. “Well, they weren’t princesses at the time – to me, I mean. They were certainly… capable at what they did. Celestia was always… precise and certain with her actions and planned out every step of the… service,” Ace said as he prepared a few more of the crackers as he spoke. “Princess Luna, however, preferred to jump straight to the… work, and would always rely on her strength to allow her to succeed.”

Night Light nodded as he made himself some crackers as well, while Velvet took a sip of her tea. Instead, it was Twilight sparkle that asked the next question. “Do you mean to say that Princess Luna is stronger than Princess Celestia?”

Ace nodded. “Physically, Princess Luna is stronger, but Celestia is stronger in cases of magic.” Ace covered his mouth with a hoof as he stifled a laugh. “Which is good, because Celestia often has to help Princess Luna out of some pretty tight spots. Celestia has a few faults, but one could never say she doesn’t do what she can for her little sister.”

Twilight Velvet looked at the clock upon the wall when she had finished her tea before looking at Night Light for a moment. “Well, it was a pleasure to meet you Ace, but it’s late, and Night Light and I should go back to bed. Perhaps we will speak more tomorrow before you and Twilight leave. Good night.”

Ace waved at the pair as they ascended the stairs. “Luna’s blessing upon you, Twilight Velvet and Night Light. Sleep well,” Ace said in the archaic form without thinking for the second time that week. Once the two were back in bed, Ace looked to Twilight for a moment. When she smiled awkwardly, Ace teleported the two of them to the rooftop.

Ace stifled a laugh as Twilight looked around, worried. Not happy with the trick, she pushed against him as the pair sat down. Ace winced in pain, his body still tender from the recent overload, but Twilight just asked him, “How did you really meet the princesses?”

Rubbing the sore shoulder, Ace looked up at the stars. “Well, before Equestria was Equestria, the Princesses and I were all just adventurers; we went from place to place, using our skills to help ponies that could pay us or give us something we needed, like food and water.” Ace laid back as he spoke, and Twilight felt his magic flowing over her as he focused on his magical senses. Twilight laid beside him and mirrored the action as well.

“We met at the Adventurer’s Guild, where ponies in town place their more difficult, and more troubling, tasks that require a little more effort and pay a little better,” Ace said, his voice reverberating through her senses in their magical forms. “The particular mission was to slay a hydra that was terrorizing a nearby crossing.

“Hydras are troublesome to slay, as they multiply when cut with bladed weapons, and regenerate when struck with magic. So, what we had to do, was incapacitate the Hydra, and then poison.” Ace’s magical form raised a hoof, and out over the street was a display of a river, with their house being the start of a bridge that crossed it. One of the alleyways turned into a large cave in the presentation.

“Sol Light made the plans for our mission, as well as gathering information on the particular hydra and mixing the poison we were to use. What we found out was that the hydra was particularly fond of Behemoth meat. Of course, behemoth meat is quite rare, and thus expensive.” Ace’s magical form leapt down to the river, his voice still reaching her through the magic.

“So this is where Moonlit Embrace’s role begins,” Ace’s magical form doubled in size as he turned into a large beast with long tusks, pointed spines running down its back, and a spiked ball at the end of its tail. “Moonlit Embrace used an illusion spell to shroud me in the form of a baby behemoth that wandered too far from its family.”

Ace proceeded towards the cave, and as he did a gigantic hydra with two heads roared as it started to come out of the cave and eyed the behemoth. “Once I lured the beast from its cave, I was to run towards the bridge and allow Moonlit Embrace to put the creature to sleep in a slumber spell. While it was true that Sol Light was the better mage, Moonlit Embrace’s magic embodied the elements of night, such as illusion and sleep.”

Ace-turned-behemoth ran towards the home, and the hydra followed. “Once the beast was asleep, I took the poison and slid it down its throat with magic. The poison was powerful, I must say, and it acted quickly, too.” The hydra started to erode, part of its body melting and being washed away by the river as Ace tread upon the waters. “I removed the hydra’s fangs to take with us as proof of the deed, and we collected our reward. After that, we started to travel together for a while.”

Ace appeared, now himself again, beside Twilight as the scene melted away. “So then you and the princesses traveled for a while? That must have been remarkable.” Ace’s avatar cocked an eyebrow at her and shook his head.

“True, the sisters are quite powerful, but I was by no means weak, either. I had worked with Alicorns in the past, though many of them were unpleasant. Moonlit Embrace was actually a joy to be around, and Sol Light was tolerable.” Ace looked as though he was enjoying reviewing his own memories. “We went on a good number of adventures. After a while of working together, we decided to take on some really big jobs.”

Ace teleported something to his physical self and then pointed to it. Upon his hoof as he was getting up from the roof was a bracelet. Twilight rejoined her physical self and awaited her physical senses to recover as Ace stroked the silver of the bracelet lovingly. To Twilight, it just looked like any silver band somepony could find at a jewelry store.

“We first started as relic hunters. Sol Light would research what had happened to an ancient and powerful artifact, and then we would go and see if we could beat back the beast that guarded it, or triumph over the tomb or labyrinth that housed it.” Ace swung his hoof out straight, and out of the bracelet shot a sword of the purest silver.

“This artifact is known as Loki’s Key. It’s named after a mythological entity who once ruled over chaos and mischief, long before Discord was around. The bracelet is how I choose to carry the artifact, but it is able to change its form, shape and qualities to anything the wielder chooses.” Ace threw the blade into the air, and caught a spear in its place, spinning around and twirling the weapon over his head before stopping and pointing the blade in the opposite direction in a defensive stance with the weapon pointed to the ground.

Ace threw the spear straight up as though it were javelin, and when it came down it took on the shape of a mask with a long, pointed nose and hollowed eyes. Ace placed the mask over his features, and then from the bracelet came a full suit of armor, including a shield on his back that could be attached to the left hoof.

“The metal is limitless, and it served me well on more missions than I care to count,” he said as the metal took on a liquid looking form before flowing back into the bracelet. “I would carry the artifact more frequently, but I fear overloading with it nearby and losing the beloved possession forever.”

Ace’s horn lit up and the bracelet disappeared once more. “That does look quite amazing, I must admit. Did Sol Li- I mean, did Celestia and Luna get anything like that during their adventures?” Ace nodded with a smile.

“We wouldn’t be very good relic hunters if otherwise. For our first expeditions, we returned empty-hoofed. On the third outing, we found the Loki’s Key, and our luck changed. I took the artifact, and made weapons and gear for each of us for our ventures.” Ace laughed as he spoke. “Now that we weren’t needing to pay for repairs, we were making money each time whether we got what we were looking for or not.

“Every time we went on an adventure, we’d bring back valuables to sell. Sometimes it’d just be things like animal hides or medicinal herbs, others we’d bring back ancient pottery or a trove of gems and treasure.” Ace stretched as he yawned. “With Loki’s Key, we were able to open any locked doors or chests we found, so the money just rolled our way. Eventually, each of us had a similar artifact to enhance our natural abilities.”

Ace started acting as though he were swinging the sword around once again. “I had Loki’s Key to arm myself with whatever weapon fitted the foe I faced. Sol Light had a ring for her horn that increased her magic exponentially, though it tired her to use it. Moonlit Embrace had the Shadow’s Gift, which was a cloak that would render its wearer invisible for a short time.”

A sad look of realization set across Ace’s face as he sank back to his hooves. “I sure hope they weren’t keeping too many artifacts in the vault in Canterlot… I’d hate to think I just destroyed any priceless relics…” A recovered, clenching a hoof in anger. “When I next see Discord, I’m going to make him wish he never even heard the word ‘magic’.”

Twilight nodded. “What exactly are we going to do? If Discord has the Elements of Disharmony, won’t he be incredibly powerful? You said the Princesses never managed to beat him when before.”

Ace shook his head. “Right now, he had the Elements of Power; they’re completely devoid of their own magic, but once they have been in the presence of powerful magic for a time, they gather it and enhance it. For example, if a powerful Unicorn were to wear an Element of Power and cast only powerful Fire spells the whole time, that element would become an Element of Fire until all of the fire magic was removed from it somehow.” Twilight nodded that she understood.

“We won’t be able to stop Discord from charging the elements, as he’ll be sitting in his dimensional tear until they are prepared, but it does give us some time. For now, all we can do is rest until we speak to Princess Luna tomorrow. Which begs the question of what you want to do, Twilight.” Twilight looked confused as she looked at him.

“Well, frankly I need to sleep. My body feels like I rode underneath the train all the way from Ponyville, and my magic needs to recover fully as well. I could teleport us back to Ponyville, or to my house, or we can sleep here.”

Twilight’s face flushed as she nodded. “W-well, I wanted to sleep here… But my parents only have one bedroom here, and that’s me and my brother’s old room.” Ace nodded and teleported both of them into the bedroom he noticed earlier when he was examining the house in his magic as he flicked on the light.

“Well then in that case, good night Twilight. Sleep well.” Ace crawled into the bed, under the pink bedcovers, as he rested his head against the matching pillows. Twilight’s face matched the shade of the bedspread as she watched him get comfortable in her queen sized bed.

Twilight stammered as she tried to protest, “Wa-wait, is-isn’t this a bit awkward? I-I mean we’d be sleeping i-in the same bed!” Ace shrugged beneath the covers.

“It’s only awkward if you think it’s awkward, Twilight.” He sat up so that he could look at her. “If it makes you uncomfortable, I can teleport us to my house and you can sleep in one of the guestrooms. Optionally, I can teleport us home and we’ll each have a bed in the same room.” Ace shrugged again, shaking his head. “Honestly, I don’t see how this arrangement is too terribly different from our two-beds one-room set-up back at the library, but it’s your choice.”

Twilight thought for a moment, her face still complimenting the color of the blankets, sheets and pillows. Finally, she sighed and nodded, tired and wanting to sleep in her old bed after sleeping in the living room hunched over the couch. Ace turned over and got comfortable again as Twilight climbed into the bed, only inches away from Ace’s back. “Good night, Twilight. Sleep well.”

Twilight adjusted her pillow in her magic to get more comfortable, but couldn’t quite get it right. Eventually, she just laid her head down and closed her eyes. “Good night to you, too, Ace,” Twilight said as she turned out the light.

Restless Nights

Chapter Nineteen: Restless Nights

Princess Celestia sat upon her Sunlit Throne, the windows of the audience chamber attempting to flood the room with darkness as the standing torches throughout the room battled the tide with light.

How… How could this have happened… the defeated princess thought to herself as she wallowed in self-loathing. I planned every single detail. Ace shouldn’t have been able to use any magic, contained by the anti-magic as he was by Discord…

She pressed a hoof to her forehead to staunch the pain that was flowing through her mind, both from the loss of her magic in the shockwave of whatever spell Ace had used to escape, as well as from the numerous times she had reviewed the events and her plans.

That cell was specifically warded with level 15 spells that I specifically designed to keep Ace locked in the dungeon… I cast the spell with the aid of sister Luna’s magic as well as my own. There’s no conceivable way he could have been strong enough to withstand the anti-magic stone, let alone break out of the cell! He would have needed help, but none of the reports show anypony going to the dungeons, save for the two guards on duty, before that… that… whatever it was that he did!

Princess Celestia thrust a hoof against the nearby stone wall, a few small cracks spreading at the impact. The guards gathered around the room jumped and looked over to make sure no harm was befalling the princess. Shortly after, one of the massive double doors opened as a messenger entered. “The report from Princess Luna’s Shadow Sentinels, your highness.” Celestia swiftly claimed the scroll in her golden glow before slamming the door shut in the pony’s face.

‘Time: 9:41 PM. Subject: Escaped Prisoner.

At approximately 9:34, a large magical sphere pulsed throughout the castle. The source of the event has been traced to an unregistered Unicorn prisoner housed within an enchanted cell of the dungeons.

During the event, all sound was rendered mute within its confines, and all magic in the area of effect was drained. This includes any enchantments, artifacts, and all of the magic within the bodies of all afflicted Unicorns. A number of other strange side effects were expressed by a number of non-Unicorn individuals. Pending medical testing.

After the event, the Canterlot Vault has been broken into and the only things that have been proven missing thus far has been the Elements of Harmony, though all artifacts appear to have been affected in some way by the initial event. Pending study and testing.

The unregistered prisoner who appears to be the cause of the event bested a suntouched guard and taken claim of his weapon. The guard was found decapitated, his weapon in the hooves of the prisoner. Once the jailer was killed, the prisoner proceeded to the exit, where he was spotted by a Unicorn bystander. The Unicorn was sliced from the lungs to the plot by the jailer’s sword.

Once the prisoner ascended the steps, he passed a number of servants and visitors. According to eye-witness reports of the servants, one of the visitors saw the blood on the prisoner, and offered to escort him to the medical ward for treatment. Only when the visitor approached the pony did the prisoner attack.

When the prisoner then entered the main hall, two Shadow Sentinels encountered him. The prisoner laid a hoof to his weapon, but did not draw it as the Sentinels did the same. After a moment, her highness Princess Luna, High Captain of the Sentinels ordered the pair to stand down and let the prisoner to pass.

The Sentinels opened the door and allowed the pony to pass, closing the doors behind him. Princess Luna informed the guards that they would not have been able to challenge the prisoner were there another ten of the warriors. The prisoner then teleported out of the castle. Whereabouts unknown, pending search.’

Princess Celestia wadded the report in her magic and set it on fire, learning from the parchment only that it was Luna who allowed Ace to leave through the front door, but she did not fault her sister, knowing that nopony in the castle would be able to stop Ace once he had a weapon.

It’s all too well orchestrated… First, all the Unicorns in the castle lose their magic, then the Vault and the elements are compromised, then Ace somehow claims a weapon from an armed guard who had shown signs of struggle – a Pegasus, no less! Celestia scattered the ashes as she narrowed her eyes in frustration.

Ace is a master of single combat, so it is likely that he easily overpowered the Pegasus and took his weapon, but not so swiftly… The whole thing happened in only SEVEN MINUTES! With no magic, and a level 15 spell blocking his exit, how! How did he do it! It. Is. IMPOSSIBLE! My plans were PERFECT!

“DISCORD! Discord, answer me this instant!” Celestia shouted, each of the guards turning to look at the princess before quickly averting their eyes once more. Where is he? Why does he not answer my summons? Was he working for Ace the whole time? Celestia pressed her hooves against the sides of her skull, at first to stem the pain gathering in her skull, but later to scratch her mane vigorously in frustration. This CAN’T be happening!

Princess Luna appeared in a dark blue flash of light as she teleported to her bedchambers. She took a moment to admire the tapestry that hung above her large circular bed. The tapestry depicted the scenes that followed the fateful Summer Sun Celebration that marked her return. She had requested the tapestry be made as soon as she had recovered, though it had only been completed a week prior.

Some ponies believe that our return was a disaster, she thought to herself as she admired the work, 'and while Nightmare Moon was truly unpleasant that night, we only wish for ponies to admire our night as they do Celestia’s day.

Princess Luna sighed as she removed her peytral plate preparing for her rest, when there was a knock at the door. Replacing the ornamental armor, she called, “You may enter.”

The door opened just enough for a visibly worried Unicorn to poke his head through. “I come b-bearing the r-report for t-today’s event, y-your majesty.” Princess Luna nodded with a smile as she took the parchment in her magic.

“You have my thanks. You may retire for the night, if you wish.” The Unicorn nodded hesitantly before closing the door as quick as he could without making a sound. Why do even mine own servants fear us so? she thought to herself before shaking her head as she unfurled the note.

Giving it only a cursory glance, she ignited the parchment in a blue flame and disposed of the ashes in a nearby urn, having already learned all she needed from the event by speaking with Ace.

Princess Luna removed her peytral plate and laid it across the armor stand, and with a final sigh, retired to bed for the evening. Ace was always the only pony who truly admired my night…

Moonlit Embrace awoke with a start and examined her surroundings. She was in the middle of the camp they had set up the night before. Beside her to one side was her sister, Sol Light, still asleep in her sleeping bag. To the other side was an empty sleeping bag that belonged to their latest companion.

Out of habit, Moonlit Embrace examined her packs as well as her sister’s to be certain that their acquaintance hadn’t made off with their things in the night. Once she was certain that nothing was missing, she started to look around to be sure no other mischievous plots were underway.

On a nearby rock that overlooked the plains, the strange ally sat, looking up at the dark night sky. Curious as to what he could be looking at, Moonlit Embrace snuck up behind him and stopped just short of the large boulder before spying on the pony.

A number of silent moments passed before the pony spoke out loud, as though he knew he was being watched. “’Tis truly beautiful, is it not?” Moonlit Embrace continued to watch silently, unsure of who the stallion spoke to. He turned and gazed into her eyes, his one swirled, red eye looking no less fierce in the darkness of the night. “The moon, a solemn entity unlike any other, filling the night sky with only the twinkling lights we call stars for company.”

Moonlit Embrace strode alongside Ace as he returned his view to the sky above. “How doth thou always know thine surroundings without the use of thine eyes nor thine magic? Is it some sort of Al Bhed technique?” she asked as she sat.

Ace shook his head with a laugh. “’Tis no technique the Al Bhed would ever employ, I assure you, nor have I ever stated that I need not use mine magic to do so.” Ace’s gaze still admired the moon, his expression appearing subtly sadder. “Do you think the moon is alone? Or perhaps those twinkling lights are also moons, just further away or smaller. How is a pony to know something that a pony cannot know?”

Moonlit Embrace gazed upon the moon as well, nearly full this night as it waned, granting its light softly upon the plains. “The moon is not alone, I think. The moon has the sun to keep it company, and they circle the globe like a pair of foals who run about in the town. Infrequently, the two even embrace in what we call the eclipse.”

Ace’s expression turned lightly to envy as he thought about what she had said. “Then truly the moon is more blessed than even I. The moon has its many twinkling lights, as well as the sun to call its own family.” Ace shook his head with a soft smile as he thought of the eclipse. “A loving embrace so bright that nopony alive could cast their gaze upon it without feeling pain or being blinded by the sight. How truly fortunate the moon must be.”

Twilight was awake, but she kept her eyes closed, wanting to sleep just a little longer in the warm, comfortable bed. She startled to pull the covers over her head, and she realized that she was sleeping at an odd angle. In an attempt to straighten herself, she bumped her head against… something. Still wanting to just remain in the bed for a few minutes longer, she laid her head back down as she nestled back under the covers.

As she started to become more aware, she realized that her pillow was moving, calmly rising and falling. She opened her eyes to look at what she had bumped into, and bolted upright with a bright flush over her face and ears when she realized it was a dark grey hoof.

She pivoted her head around to see Ace sleeping beside her as he rolled off of his back, now facing her, though his eyes were still closed. Now fully awake, she slowly descended the bed, not wanting to awaken him. She carefully opened the door, snuck around to the other side, her eyes never leaving his sleeping gaze.

Once the door was silently closed, she leaned back against it as she started to straighten her tail and mane with her magic as she sighed a deep breath of relief. “Good morning, Twilight. Did you sleep well?” Twilight’s face flushed again as her eyes bolted open at the male voice.

Placing a hoof over her chest as the blush faded, she realized it was only Night Light, sitting in the living room as he read the newspaper and sipped his coffee. “Good morning! Yes, it was quite… nice. To be back in my old room, I mean!”

Night Light raised an eyebrow in question at the odd behavior as he took a sip of the warm beverage. “What happened to your friend? I haven’t seen him since last night.” Twilight’s flush returned as she started to think of a way to avoid the question.

“He’s, um… around. Say, is there more coffee left? I think I’d like to have a cup. I’m going to go make a cup of coffee.” Twilight hastily retreated to the kitchen through the dining room, while trying not to look like she was hastily retreating. With a sigh of relief, she started to make her coffee the way Ace had done before.

Ace awoke, no longer feeling sore as he stretched and pulled his glasses off of the table. Ace looked around the room as he focused on his magical senses to reveal his location before he remembered he was in Twilight’s home in Canterlot. Ace straightened the bed, as well as himself, with his magic before he opened the door to the living room. “Ah, you’re Twilight’s friend if I remember correctly. Good morning.”

Ace nodded as he smiled. “You’re Night Light, Twilight’s father if I recall. I don’t believe we’ve been properly introduced.” Ace tucked into his deep bow, resting his right hoof over his chest as he did so. “Please, call me Ace. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

The stallion nodded as he sat in his chair near the coffee table. “That’s right. I’d introduce you to Twilight’s mother, but she’s still asleep upstairs I’m afraid.” Night Light looked at Ace’s left hoof with an odd look that made Ace do the same, raising the hoof to examine it. “Looks like Twilight did a pretty good job sewing you up. How’s it feel?”

It wasn’t until then that he saw the black, square cloth that was used to repair the hole in the cover over his left hoof. He tapped the hoof to the floor a few times to be certain the stitching was secure before he smiled to the stallion with a nod. “Feels no different than before, truly. She has done a fine job; I hadn’t even noticed it until now, honestly.”

It was then that Twilight came into the room, her eyes closed as she basked in the scent of the aromatic beverage she had prepared for herself. “Well, good morning, Twilight. Did you sleep well?” Twilight froze in her steps as she realized that Ace had awoken not long after she had.

“I-I slept well. I t-trust you did as well?” she managed with a smile, hoping that her father hadn’t realized they had slept in the same room last night while she fought the color that was trying to form in her cheeks. Ace just nodded before he noticed the coffee, and with a look of excited surprise, started his way towards the kitchen happily to make his own.

Night Light calmly sipped his coffee as he eyed hers. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you drinking coffee, Twilight,” he said as he eyed the unusually prepared drink. Twilight just managed to nod before taking a small drink of it.

“Ace was right when he said that everypony just need to find the kind of coffee they like.” She licked some of the whipped cream from her lips as she spoke. “Coincidentally, Ace taught me how to make this one. It’s really good.”

Night Light nodded with a smirk. “He seems really nice. He’s very polite, he knows the princesses, and according to you, he’s very skilled in magic,” they both paused to sip at their coffee. “You two must be very close, having slept in the same room and all.”

Twilight nearly choked on her coffee as she started coughing and spluttering. Ace came from the kitchen, his hoofmade coffee in his magic as he patted her on the back. “Easy Twilight, I know it’s good, but you need to be more careful.”

Twilight fixed him with a look that gave voice to her displeasure at his untimely appearance as he backed away with his hooves up in surrender, not sure of what he did wrong. “So what did you two do last night after Velvet and I went to bed?”

Twilight was still recovering her breath, so Ace spoke for her, much to her dismay. “We sat on the roof and watched the stars as I told Twilight a story or two. After that, we went to bed ourselves.” Twilight batted him on the shoulder. Again, Ace looked at her with a gaze that showed he had no clue why she was being so violent today.

There was a sound of hoofsteps upstairs as somepony asked, “Is everypony okay down there? Is somepony sick?”

Night Light looked up the stairs as he called back, “No, nopony is sick dear, you can come down. Twilight just drank her coffee a tad too quickly, it seems.”

Twilight Velvet started down the steps, her mane and tail already straightened. Ace offered her his coffee when she had reached the bottom of the steps, not yet having taken a drink from it just yet. She accepted it with a nod and a word of thanks before Ace smiled and returned to the kitchen to prepare another cup.

Twilight Velvet took a drink of the custom beverage, her expression lighting up almost instantly at the sweet taste. “He really is very nice, dear. To top it all off, this coffee is phenomenal! Did he make it himself?”

Twilight nodded as she took a sip of her own. “He showed me how to make it some time ago, and it’s been the only coffee I’ve ever liked. Even Spike prefers it over black.”

Twilight Velvet took a slightly larger sip as she nodded. “As well he should. I cannot think of anypony who would be displeased with this drink.” Night Light shrugged as he drank from his own cream-and-sugar coffee with a smile.

“So when are you and Ace getting married?” Twilight Velvet and Twilight Sparkled both looked at the smirking stallion, though Twilight Sparkle’s face was much pinker and her mouth agape.

As per his usual perfect timing, Ace came into the room as he carried his coffee in his magic. “Well, personally I’d rather it be in the fall, during the night of the harvest moon.” Ace took a quiet sip of his coffee as he watched Twilight looking between her smiling father, shocked mother, and smirking mentor. “What do you think, Twilight?”

Twilight’s face and ears were now fully flushed, while Ace’s was lightly tinged as well. It took Twilight several seconds before she fully registered what just happened. “I- uh, I mean… It’s not that I- that is, I…” Ace started laughing as he turned to her parents.

“She really is the cutest little mare when she’s unsure of what to do,” he said, looking directly at Night Light. “Has she always been like that?” Night Light laughed heartily as Twilight Velvet sighed in relief while Twilight Sparkle body checked his side with her flank.

Ace nearly coated himself in his coffee at the sudden, forceful contact. Once he recovered he smiled at Twilight, which didn’t help her blushing expression at all. “So how did you meet Twilight, Ace?” Twilight Velvet asked.

Ace nodded with a smile as he prepared to reply, but Twilight took his coffee in her own magic, and spoke as he reached out for it with his hooves before fixing her with another ‘why’ glare.

“Ace was doing some experiments in his spell shop-“ Ace rose a hoof as he interjected.

“In my workshop. The workshop is under my shop, not in it.”

Twilight rolled her eyes as she rephrased her statement. “UNDER his spell shop, in his WORKSHOP,” she said, staring at Ace as he shrunk away from her glare, “when he made a miscalculation, and then needed my help. He came to Ponyville to see me, having heard from Celestia that I was a capable student.”

Ace shook his head, “Actually, it wasn’t from Celestia, it was hearsay from somepony else.” Twilight fixed Ace with another glare. “I think I’ll just not talk for the rest of the day…”

Twilight downed the last of her coffee before she floated her cup into the sink two rooms away. “Well, it was nice seeing you again mom and dad, but Ace and I need to go and see what Princess Luna wanted to talk about last night.” Twilight hugged her parents as Ace finished his coffee and repeated the action.

“Oh, well it’s a shame you two need to leave so soon. It was a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Ace, we hope to see you again real soon,” Twilight Velvet said when she had recovered from Twilight’s hug.

“Yes, don’t feel the need to act like a stranger; Twilight’s friends are always welcome around here,” Night Light said as he patted Ace on the back. “Feel free to drop in sometime, but try to land on something a bit sturdier next time.” Ace smiled as Night Light laughed.

Twilight opened the door and motioned impatiently for Ace to leave. Proceeding through the door, Ace waved farewell to Twilight’s parents. Once they were finally outside of the house, Twilight glared at Ace as though he had just stepped on her tail.

Ace just shrugged and took a couple of steps away to be sure he was out of her reach. “What were you thinking just walking out of my room like nothing happened?” Ace looked as though he were pondering the question, but offered no reply. “You could have totally given the wrong message to my parents!”

Ace continued looking as though he were thinking about the question, but only shrugged and shook his head without a reply. “Why are you giving me the silent treatment? Do you really think that’ll help?”

Ace shrunk back, pantomiming his words: He pointed to himself, then moved his mouth with his hoof mimicking him like a sock puppet. Then, he pointed to her and shook his hoof with an angry look on his face. He then pointed to himself again, and shrunk away once more. Twilight placed her face in her hoof as she shook her head, “You can speak, I’m not mad at you for talking.”

With a sigh of relief, Ace acted as though he were wiping sweat from his brow. “I don’t see why it matters. Why is it odd that we came out of the same room in the morning? I don’t understand.”

Twilight’s face flushed, her cheeks burning from needing to explain something of the sort to him. “Because what would happen if my parents thought we were sleeping together in their house? Don’t you think that would give them the wrong message?” Twilight looked at Ace expectantly, but Ace just shook his head, still not comprehending what she was talking about.

“Twilight, you’re a big mare now. Your parents can’t tell you who you can and can’t spend time with.” Ace shrugged, again shaking his head, not seeing the point she was making. “Besides, we sleep in the same room back home, too. Spike doesn’t think it’s unusual, so why would your parents?”

Twilight face-hoofed once again, as she tried the more direct approach. “Remember when my dad asked when we were getting married?” Ace smiled as he nodded, likely remembering the joke he had pulled. “Well, he probably meant it on a more serious note than you thought, because he thought we did more than just sleep in the same bed.”

It took Ace a moment, but as Twilight watched him, she saw him go from thinking about the implied meaning, then realization, and then she finally saw that he had qualms over the misunderstanding… Then he started to turn around and head back towards her house. “Wait, where are you going?”

Ace stopped, turning to look at her with an expression showing that he thought it should be obvious. “I need to go and clear up the misunderstanding. It’s not right to lie to ponies, even if it was only an implied lie.” He was preparing to run down the street, but Twilight picked him up in her magic before he covered much distance.

Ace spun lightly in her magic as his weight shifted. Realizing she wasn’t going to put him down until she said what she had wanted, Ace appeared as though he were sitting in a comfy chair with his legs crossed. “Ace, just let it go. It’s not a lie, and nopony is calling you a liar. Besides, you’d make more trouble for all of us if you went back in there now.”

Ace truly looked like he was about to just teleport back to the house. “But Twilight, I don’t think you realize how much it grates on my nerves having lied to somepony.” Ace looked at the house as he floated above the ground. “It’ll only take a second, then we can leave, okay?”

Twilight shook and hung her head with a sigh. “What, exactly, do you intend to say to him? Are you just going to jump in there, say ‘Oh, sorry for the misunderstanding, but I’m not bucking your daughter,’ and then jump back out?”

Ace looked as though he had been caught in another lie. “Why? Would that be bad?” Twilight stared at him in disbelief for a moment before face-hoofing again.

“Yes, Ace, very bad. You really haven’t spoken to very many ponies in the last thousand years, have you?” Ace fell out of her magic, landing roughly on his stomach, but was unphased as he started to think about the ponies he had spoken to over the past millennium. Twilight just shook her head again. “That was a rhetorical question, Ace, you’re not supposed to answer it.” Ace lowered his head with a timid smile up at Twilight before getting back on his hooves.

“I’ll just, uh, tell him next time I see him,” Ace said, still appearing to be uncomfortable with the idea, but trusting Twilight’s better judgment. “Onto another, equally pressing matter: when would you like to meet with Princess Luna?”

Twilight nodded, preferring the newer topic over the old. “Anytime, I suppose. Where are we going to meet her, exactly? Oh, but before we go, could you give me the train tickets? If we get separated again, I want to at least have one option open to me, since I left my bags at home.”

Ace nodded at the idea, and his horn lit up as he teleported the coin pouch to them. This time, however, it was around Twilight’s forearm instead. Twilight opened her mouth to protest, but realized Ace’s horn was still glowing and hesitated. “As for meeting Luna, I can take care of that,” he said as they were enveloped in the black light of his teleportation spell.

Preparations

Chapter Twenty: Preparations

Ace and Twilight emerged in a room that was both dark, but warm at the same time. Twilight observed the aged stone of the walls, lit up in a pleasing, soft blue light from the sphere that hung suspended from the ceiling in the center of the room. Ace removed his glasses and set them on a nearby writing desk, which was rather bare.

Twilight looked around the room, noticing the large circular bed that was currently occupied by a sleeping pony. In addition to the bed, there was a number of old artworks and other paraphernalia pertaining to the night. The flat ceiling was painted in such a way that Twilight almost thought it was domed, featuring a large number of painted stars.

Twilight was admiring the tapestry above the bed that depicted the night that Princess Luna returned as Nightmare Moon, when she saw that Ace was walking to the side of the bed to awaken the sleeping pony. Twilight started to protest, but Ace motioned for her to come over next to him. Unsure of what he was up to, Twilight came up beside him to look upon the sleeping pony.

Princess Luna laid in her bed, sound asleep, appearing to be in the middle of a pleasant dream. Twilight smiled softly at the sleeping princess, her mane slightly a mess and without her normal black crown. As she observed her, however, she felt Ace picking her up from below before being thrown onto the bed on top of the princess.

Twilight landed with a thud in the princess’s middle as she shot upward with a gasp and started to flail about at the sudden contact, Twilight trying her best to deflect the wild attacks without harming the princess. Meanwhile, Ace was all but rolling in the floor as he laughed loudly.

After several moments, Princess Luna looked with shock at the rather angry looking Twilight before the pair fixed Ace in their upset stare. Princess Luna threw back the covers in her magic before rolling out from under Twilight, then lifted herself into the air with a powerful stroke of her wings, then took Ace in her magic and threw him onto Twilight. Once the pair were fumbling around over each other, Luna dropped herself onto the pair with a laugh.

Twilight, unfortunate enough to be on the bottom of the pony-pile, heaved a heavy breath as the wind was knocked from her lungs as the others were laughing. “Oh what fun it is to roughhouse again!” Luna said as she laughed. Ace laughed as well as he thrust his back into the air, both relieving the pressure from Twilight and knocking Luna over to the other side of the bed before lightly leaping on top of her.

Twilight shook her head as she stepped off of the bed, straightening herself once more. Princess Luna and Ace were playfully pushing against each other’s faces as they laughed. “Twilight, do you not wish to make merry with Ace and I?” Twilight’s cheeks flushed before she realized she had originally misunderstood the question. With a sigh, Twilight turned to face the pair with the look of discontent a mother would give a misbehaving foal.

“I had thought we had come to speak about Discord having the Elements of Power, and what we were going to do to stop him,” she said, as Ace and Luna turned to look at each other, Ace still pinning the princess to the bed. “We need to make plans, prepare ourselves for the fight; be ready when he comes. Not playing around in bed like a couple of foals.”

Princess Luna caught him on the cheek with one last playful attack before Ace smiled shyly and climbed off of her, helping her to her hooves before laying on the edge of the bed closest to Twilight. “Well if you have any ideas, we’re open to them. For right now, we are unable to do much until Discord makes the first move.”

Princess Luna moved to the same side of the bed as well, the blankets laying somewhere in the floor. “Twilight does have a point though, dear brother. ‘Twould be best that we be ready with at least a general plan,” Luna shook her head as she spoke. “If it were as easy as just casting spells upon him, then we would have bested him long ago.”

Ace nodded that he could agree with being prepared. “Very well, then. What did you have in mind, my student?” Luna and Ace both leaned closer to Twilight, a small smile on each of their faces. “Lead us, Twilight. Lead us, Twilight.” The pair laughed as Twilight attempted to ignore the startlingly creepy pairing of their voices in stereo.

“Well, I really don’t feel like I know enough about the situation to make an effective plan…” She held a hoof to her chin as she thought. “How was Discord able to use magic after your overload at the castle? You said he stole the elements from the vault when it had ended.”

Ace thought for a moment and shrugged. “Well, I’m already starting to not like the course this plan is taking, but I’d say that Discord just waited somewhere outside the castle, or from his tear between dimensions, and then teleported in and took the elements to safety when it had ended.”

Twilight nodded as she was thinking about the information. “So Discord is safe from your overloads when he’s in the chaos dimension?” Ace nodded, but held his front hooves in the form of an ‘X’.

“While that would also be true, Discord has been severed from the chaos dimension,” Ace punctuated the phrase with a slitting motion over his throat. “He cannot return, though he can still exist in the plane between dimensions, while a pony cannot.” Princess Luna and Twilight both looked at him with disbelief. Ace’s gaze darted between the pair. “What? Not all Draconequus from the chaos dimension are malicious.”

Ignoring the unnecessary comments, Twilight continued explaining her plan. “Okay… Well, the fact of the matter is that we have to wait for Discord to come to us.” Twilight turned her gaze to look at Ace, “How often can you overload?”

Ace’s entire body shuddered at the thought of overloading again. “This. This is the part of the plan I don’t like… Um, once a day, I guess? If I overload too often, my body would be destroyed in the process…” Princess Luna glared at Ace, again angry at his dire situation. Ace matched the glare, and the princess shrunk away with a sigh and a nod. “Why do you ask, Twilight?”

Twilight looked sheepish for a moment as she spoke. “How easily can you bring about an overload? Would you be able to perform an overload the moment Discord comes out of the tear?” Twilight asked, flinching when Ace’s body shuddered from the thought.

Ace thought for a moment. “Well, I suppose by myself, it’d take an hour or two…” Ace nodded his head with a look to Princess Luna. “However, if somepony were to give me their magical power and push me to an overload, it could only take a few seconds,” Ace said as he had another shiver. “Did I mention I really don’t like my part in this plan?”

Twilight nodded, a sheepish smile on her face as she took note of the response. “So then, we could have Luna and I with you, and we’ll give you all of our magic so that you overload, and –“ Ace held his front hooves in the formation and shook his head violently as Luna looked concerned, as well. “What is it?”

Ace looked to Luna, but she just shook her head and pointed at him. Ace sighed and nodded. “Well, this is going to be tricky, Twilight. If I’m given too much magic, then the overload will kill me.” Twilight gasped, a solemn look on her face as Ace let the information sink in. “Don’t get me wrong, it’s still probably the best idea we have, but we can’t just dump all of our magic on me and hope for the best.” Ace looked to Luna as though she were speaking to him. Ace nodded.

Princess Luna was the next to speak, a cold acceptance for the delicate task in her voice. “I will be the one to siphon my magic into Ace, as I know the signs of the overload, and am familiar with Ace’s magic,” Princess Luna shook her head slowly. “However, we cannot be so hopeful as to expect that Discord will simply stay in one place whilst we do this.”

Twilight put a hoof to her chin as she thought for a moment, sitting on the floor while Ace and Luna looked into each other’s eyes as though they were talking. After a short time of the trio thinking, Luna nodded as they both looked at Twilight, bringing her out of her own thoughts.

“Ace says that he has a large quantity of anti-magic stone. Perhaps you could help to devise a way to make use of it?” Ace nodded as he looked between the two.

“For the most part, I use it for my experiments, but I certainly have plenty to spare. However, it’s all in my workshop, and we can’t teleport it in its raw form, or use magic on it in any way, really.” Princess Luna looked into his eyes for a moment. “No, I don’t have a forge, but if we could take them to one, we could melt them down, and mould them into a more usable form.”

Twilight thought for a moment, unable to think of any forges in Canterlot or Ponyville, since both mostly used magic to craft their metalwork. And then, an idea struck; “What if we were to crush the stones into a powder, and use the powder to weave some rope, and then use the rope to make a net?” The two looked at each other again, nodding to each other with a smile. “Rarity would be able to make the rope if we ask.”

Ace and Princess Luna both nodded to her, favoring the idea. “Once we know where Discord will come first, we’ll toss the anti-magic net onto him. Then, to begin the overload, Princess Luna will be with me and siphon her magic into mine.” Ace looked to Twilight to be sure she heard and understood the next part. “Twilight will sit back, away from the initial confrontation, and watch in waiting for the overload to pass.

Twilight nodded at the instructions. “Then, once the overload has passed, I come in, fresh and full of magic, to do… what, exactly?” Twilight’s gaze passed between the two.

Ace pointed to his head, neck and hooves as he spoke, “We’ll need somepony who can retrieve the elements from Discord without getting too close. Once you have the elements, you’ll need to teleport them somewhere safe…” Ace looked into Luna’s eyes before he continued. “Though, we’re not quite sure of where such a place would be.” Ace shrugged as he returned his gaze to Twilight.

Twilight thought for a moment, but could only think of what she assumed Ace and Luna had already discussed. “Well, what about the Canterlot Vault, or your workshop? Surely you’ve kept the workshop a secret, for the most part, and protected it with various spells.

Ace and Luna shook their head synchronously, though it was Ace that spoke. “Discord would have surveyed my workshop while he was spying on us, and I cannot cast any spells strong enough to stop a Draconequus from just opening a tear inside; that’s really more Celestia’s thing.”

Ace and Luna shared a look before they turned back to her. “Also, it would seem that Celestia blames me for the event that occurred in the dungeons, and is in no condition to see or listen to reason.” Ace shook his head with a sigh. “She has not even heeded Princess Luna’s summons to reestablish the protective spells over the vault, though Luna has placed the lesser equivalents for the time being.”

An idea sprung into Twilight’s head at the mention of the vault, “What if we took some of the artifacts from the vault? Surely there must be something we can use against Discord in there.” Ace and Luna both shook their heads one more.

“Mine sister, should she find that we had taken the relics from the vault, would have the evidence she needs to send her armies against Ace.” Luna shook her head before turning a reprimanding gaze towards her brother, “While he may view such as little concern, he must not make an enemy of Celestia.”

Ace retreated back slightly with a sheepish smile to the stern look. “Besides, the artifacts would have been drained of their magic,” Ace said, turning his gaze away from his sister. “At best, some of the artifacts may be usable in a week’s time, though most of them may takes years to recover their magic.”

Twilight nodded as she took the needed writing supplies from the writing desk across the room. “Okay, so the plan thus far is to wait for Discord to appear out of the dimensional tear,” she said as she wrote down the same words. “Once he appears, we’ll use an anti-magic net to trap him. Then, Princess Luna helps Ace reach an overload, after which I will teleport in and take the elements… elsewhere.”

Ace and Luna nodded, until Luna questioned the group with another problem. “What are we going to do to ensure Discord does not pursue the elements again? Draconequus are not exactly given to surrender.”

Ace held up a hoof to interject politely. “Not all Draconequus share such a trait, Discord simply expresses it himself,” he said as Twilight and Luna fixed him with a glare that made him sink back. “Right, well, as for what we could do with him, we could always kill him.”

Twilight was taken aback as her jaw dropped in shock, while Princess Luna simply nodded at the idea. “While that is an option, it perhaps would not be the best one. As I hear it told, a Draconequus must exist in each dimension. Something about ‘Without Chaos, no entity may exhibit Order.’”

Twilight nodded as she voiced her opinion on the matter. “Couldn’t we just use magic to make him do as we please? Well, not like taking away his freedom or anything, just make it so that he can’t hurt anypony.”

Luna sighed as Ace suffered a small laugh as Twilight looked between the two, unsure of what was wrong with what she had said. “Did you hear that, sister? Twilight agrees that we should just do away with the chaos spirit.”

Luna fixed Ace with another stern glare while he continued to laugh, Luna speaking in a softer voice as she spoke to Twilight. “Dearest Twilight, such a spell would be in the affinity of Order magic, and for a Chaos spirit to be afflicted with such magic would bring about their end.”

Twilight was shocked to hear that she had even almost accidentally brought about Discord’s death. “But… What about the Elements of Harmony? When we used the Elements of Discord before, he only turned to stone, and they are the strongest embodiment of Order that I know of. Are you saying they could have killed him?”

Luna nodded solemnly while Ace explained the situation to her. “You see, Twilight, since Discord had used the elements for so long, they had a certain affinity to him and could not be used to bring about his death. Due to this overlooked fact, the elements only petrified him, rather than killing him. Were the Elements of Harmony to be used on a different Draconequus, or if another Element of Harmony were created and then used on him, then it would bring about their death.”

Twilight was relieved that Discord hadn’t died from her and her friends fighting him, but it was something in his explanation that stuck in her mind. “What do you mean if another Element of Harmony were created? I thought there were only six of the elements in existence? How could more be made?”

Ace nodded his head at the question as he replied. “Well, anything that exists was created, my student. In the case of the elements, you already know that there were originally just Elements of Power; artifacts that had a capacity for storing magic and using the stored magic to boost the abilities of the pony who bore them.” Twilight nodded that she had remembered.

“Well, given enough magical power, a Unicorn could technically turn anything magical into an element of power, though the original six will still be far stronger, as not even Celestia and Luna could make such power relics were their magic to be combined in the effort.” Ace turned to Luna with a sheepish smile as he brought up another sensitive fact. “By the way, the Alicorn Amulet has come into my possession…”

Princess Luna gasped and stared Ace down as they had their own conversation again. Eventually she backed away from him enough for him raise back up, but the look on her face was still narrowed in displeasure. Ace looked back to Twilight, the sheepish smile still marring his features. “So, uh, Twilight, I think we should go and talk to Rarity. Like, now.”

Ace’s horn lit up, and the two of them were teleported to the middle of Ponyville. Ace gasped after a moment when he caught a weird look from somepony who was walking past. Ace closed his left eye before teleporting his glasses onto his muzzle, having forgotten them in Luna’s bedchambers. The passing pony shook their head as though they had just seen an illusion before Ace waved and smiled.

With that crises averted, came another; “Wait, we weren’t done planning yet, why did we leave?” Ace started down the path towards Rarity’s boutique. “Hey, wait for me!” Twilight ran up alongside him, nearly trotting to keep up with Ace’s powerful strides as he walked. “This has something to do with the Alicorn Amulet, doesn’t it?”

”Thou art asking for information thee art not privy to once again, mine student,” Ace’s voice echoed through her mind as a look of surprise crossed her features as she realized that Luna and Ace really were talking to each other. ”Sorry, I was speaking Old Equestrian with Luna, and I suppose it carried over.”

Twilight’s horn lit up as she mimicked the telecommunication spell for the first time, assuming Ace had a reason for not discussing the situation publicly. ”So why did we have to leave so suddenly? Was Princess Luna angry?” Ace shook his head.

”Less angry, more like upset. The Alicorn Amulet was crafted by a student who once wished to surpass her. It is a troubling memory for her, but she had a right to know that I had the relic.” Ace looked to his student as he started to slow his pacing so she could more easily keep in step with him. “Besides, making plans is great, but without the means to carry them out, they are useless.”

Twilight nodded as she ended the telecommunication spell. “So we’re going to ask Rarity if she can make the net?” Ace nodded. “What if she can’t make the rope? Now that I think about it, it’s not really a part of her skill set.”

“Then I will kindly request that she make the strings, and I will simply wind them together into rope, and from there make the rope into a net or two,” he said as they neared the flamboyant shop. Ace held the door open for her as he bowed politely. “After you, my dear.”

Twilight nodded to him as she passed, and fortunately, Rarity was in the back, coming to the front as Ace was closing the door behind himself. “Twilight! Oh, and Ace as well! To what do I owe the pleasure?” she said, her red glasses and measuring tape showing the signs that she was working on some project or another.

Ace sat for in the middle of the showroom as he spoke, “Well, we were actually hoping to commission your aid in making some anti-magic nets. I’ll pay for any necessary materials, and I’ll provide the anti-magic stone as well. We’d like for-“ Rarity’s eyes went wide as she gasped and zipped closer to Ace, staring intently at his left hoof.

Ace raised the hoof to examine it himself. That was when he remembered that Twilight had patched it for him after the battle at the castle. “Oh, yes. I had forgotten about that. It’s really of no consequence, but-“

Rarity’s gaze passed from the damaged cover to Ace’s eyes with a heated flare within them. “No consequence? Darling, if you’re going to showcase my work then you simply must be more passionate about your appearance!” she said as she pulled the patch off while pulling another of the matching tone to Ace’s coat from the back room, along with scissors, thread and a needle.

Rarity took his hoof and pulled him forward uncomfortably as she started to work on the afflicted limb. Once the patch had been removed, she started to continue the replacement manually. “Rarity, we really need your help with-“ Rarity made a shushing noise as she set to work on the hoof, as focused as she was.

Twilight and Ace both shared a soft sigh as the fashion-conscious Unicorn mended the tear, though both were grateful she had remembered the reason for the cover. Twilight took the opportunity to admire the glyphs that kept the pre-magic in place. After a couple of minutes, Rarity had concluded the repair, taking a few steps back to admire her work. Ace examined the hoof as well, only marginally able to tell where the tear had been. “Another fine job, Rarity, but Twilight and I need your help with something more important than my appearances.”

Rarity recoiled, feigning shock and appall. “Well then it had best be quite important indeed, as there is little that is as important as appearances! A good appearance can grant you a great many things, my dear.”

Twilight and Ace both nodded as they watched her dramatic show of emotions. “We need you to make us some rope, if you’d be so kind. I can pay for any resources or labor charges, of course.”

Rarity’s mouth hung open as her gaze darted between the two, both wearing serious expressions. “Oh, my. Twilight, darling, I had no idea that you and Ace were in such a relationship, nor that you had such… perverse tastes.” Twilight’s face flamed with the blush that filled her cheeks and ears.

Ace, unsure of what she was talking about, looked between two in confusion. “I don’t understand, what sort of relationship do we have? How could rope be perverse?” Twilight’s cheeks heated further as she turned away from the pair as she spoke.

“Oh my goodness, Rarity, it’s not for anything like that! We need you to make anti-magic rope for a net because Discord has stolen the Elements of Harmony and intends to use them as a weapon against us.” Twilight’s blush had started to fade as she turned back to her assuming friend. “Ace will bring you the anti-magic stone from his workshop, but we need to know if you can weave a rope or even craft a net for us.”

Rarity’s cheeks turned a tint of pink as well at the misunderstanding as she smiled sheepishly in apology. “Oh! Well, in that case, I would be happy to help. Is that really all you need? Surely you might need more help, if Discord is really involved.” Twilight looked to Ace, as though questioning if she could help out, which Rarity then mimicked the gaze as well.

Ace shook his head as he replied. “As much as I do appreciate the offer, we need the element of surprise, and Discord will be wary if there are multiple previous-wielders of the elements gathering around him. Does this mean you can craft the nets? If you could at least form the rope or the threads, I could take it from there.”

Rarity nodded. “It’s not really my talent, per se, but I could certainly make the nets given time.” Rarity started towards the backroom again. “I’ll have the materials delivered immediately, since all of the high thread count fabrics I have here would be useless for making such things. I should have the materials tomorrow afternoon, and I’ll be ready to work on the rope as soon as you bring me the stones.” Ace and Twilight left the shop as Rarity disappeared into the backroom, letting her return to her work.

Workshop Playshop

Chapter Twenty-one: Workshop Playshop

Twilight and Ace appeared in a dark room, Ace expressing an aggravated sigh as the flash of his magic faded around the pair. “Wh-what happened, where are we? Why is it so dark? How come there’s no room in here?” The room was dark, but there were a few small lights to her right, though they were only bright enough to illuminate themselves, and not the room. Twilight could feel that Ace stood behind her, though even turning her head was not enough to allow her to see him in the darkness. “I really don’t like cramped, dark spaces…”

Ace spoke softly, though she could tell he was slightly aggravated at whatever had brought the pair here. “Just calm down, dear Twilight. It would appear that we are in the backroom of the Dragon Eyes. Sadly, I’ve never taken the time to install a light in the room, as normally ‘tis only I who must use it.”

Twilight started looking frantically around the room, though it was still much too dark to see her surroundings. No matter where she turned, it was as though her gaze was destined to return to the few lights that were in the room. “Well could you get us out of here? I really don’t like dark, narrow spaces, Ace…”

Ace rested a hoof upon her back from behind, causing Twilight to nearly jump into the air out of surprise. “You are closest to the door, on your left side.” Once the initial scare had passed, the contact was somewhat comforting, giving her a sense of direction in the pitch darkness. Raising her left forehoof, she first contacted a shelf, then moved her hoof over more and more, making contact with a wall before touching a doorframe. Almost hysterically, she groped along the height of the door, searching for the doorknob.

Once she had found it, she thrust the door open and burst forth into the connecting room. Twilight laid sprawled upon the floor, breathing deeply and rapidly, not even realizing before that she had been short of breath. From out of the dark room, Ace came into the shop, skirting his way around Twilight as he closed the door and looked down upon her inquisitively. When he had made his way to the front of the hyperventilating heap of a pony, he asked, “Are you okay?”

Twilight nodded as she regained her composure. After a few moments, when Twilight’s labored breathing had nearly evened out, Ace offered her a hoof to help her up. Twilight accepted the proffered hoof with a sheepish smile. Now in a saner state of mind, Twilight looked around the shop, admiring the organized shelves, though the contents were less organized than she had originally thought. “Are all of these spells? There’s so many of them…”

Ace followed her gaze around the shop with a smile as he shook his head. “I am afraid they are just parchment, though the intended assumption is that they are spells,” he said as he pulled one of the blank parchments away from its home upon the shelves. Holding the parchment before her as he spoke, he continued. “As a kindness to all of our customers, each spell is lovingly hoof-crafted, custom tailored to suit the need of the user and made to order!”

Ace replaced the parchment with a soft smile after he had finished what Twilight assumed was once an advertising slogan. Twilight noted the writing desk and pricing chart, as well as another shelf, though she could not tell the contents of the former or the latter with her eyes alone. “Aren’t you worried that another Unicorn might watch how you make the spell scrolls, then start doing so themselves? Surely you must have some competition.”

Ace shook his head as he rested in the center of the shop. “The spell scrolls are written in Al Bhed. Though the manner of script is only a preference of mine, the Unicorn who wouldst try to divine my methods would believe it to be some sort of magical language.” Twilight admired the Al Bhed glyphs of Ace’s scar, noting it would be difficult to duplicate without proper teaching. “Aside from that, the quills and inkwells are enchanted, allowing them to transcribe the spell directly to the parchment, and allowing it to remain dormant until the spell is activated.”

Ace pulled a clay sculpture from the shelf near the poster that resembled a Unicorn’s horn and laid upon the desk. Twilight leaned close to the clay model and noted that while it was weak, there was the smallest glow of magic over the false horn. “So you store a portion of your magic into an inanimate object, and sell it alongside your spells so that everypony can use them?” Ace nodded as he replaced the implement in the shelf. Twilight glanced around the shop once more, noting the grassy hill beyond the glass doors. “Is this all of your home? It seems so… utilitarian, even by my own standards.”

Ace quizzically raised an eyebrow to the pony as though she had just suggested that stone would make for a good nutritional supplement for elder ponies. “This is the Dragon Eyes spell shop, not my home, Twilight. We only arrived here because my teleportation spell misfired.” Ace shook his head softly. “Fortunately, the backroom of the shop has a return spell upon it, making it easier to teleport here when needed. When the spell misfired, it took us to the easier location, rather than landing us inside the ground between the shop and workshop as it likely would have otherwise.”

Twilight sighed in relief, no longer worried that Ace lived in such a small building. “Then why are we still here? Surely it would be simple to teleport us to the workshop from so close a distance. Is there something in the store that we need?” Ace shook his head as he started for the door, opening with a hoof as he bowed for her to pass. As the two passed the doorway, Ace turned to lock the door with his magic before he spoke.

“It would matter little, as we still need to open the way to my workshop so that we can transport the anti-magic stone.” The two started to circle around the shop to the back. “Honestly, the workshop is easier to open from the outside than the inside; a safety precaution should an experiment take to a bitter result.”

The pair started to descend the grassy hill beyond the shop. Twilight looked around and noted to herself that there was not much for wildlife or plant life upon the hill; only a solitary Yew tree that grew beside the shop. “Ace, how come there are so few plants around the shop? Is there a reason behind it, or is it mere coincidence?”

Ace shook his head with a smile. “You are quite the observant student, I must say. There is method to such madness, as with the spell shop as well as the workshop, there is no telling when a spell might go awry and afflict something even as innocent as a plant.” Ace turned his head to admire the Yew tree beside his shop. “It is true that the Yew tree presents a risk all the same, but it is a valued tradition of mine that I grow a Yew to honor my family wherever I spend many years. That includes the shop and my home as well.”

Twilight bowed her head at the commendable tradition as Ace stopped at the bottom of the hill, standing just off of the gentle slope. “Tell me Twilight, is there anything that appears odd in this area?” Twilight was perplexed by the question, but looked around all the same. In the far distance away from the hill, she saw there were trees and other plants, but all around them was nothing but grass, a few boulders, and little else. She shrugged and shook her head in response.

Ace horn lit up, and a section of the hill rose up like a wing, resting at a forty-five degree angle. Beneath the hillside exterior, the gate was constructed of metal, as was the large locked door that rested before them. In the center of the solid metal wall of an entrance was a small hole that Twilight thought looked familiar. Around the door, there were markings that Twilight identified as Al Bhed. Ace approached the thick iron structure and placed his horn into the cavity in the center. The glyphs upon the door lit up as Ace stepped back, the doors opening outward, walking between them as soon as he was able, motioning for her to follow.

Twilight nodded, her likely reflecting her awe at the elaborately hidden entrance as she proceeded into a long, dark hallway alongside Ace. The structure easily wide enough for a pair of Pegasi to fly alongside each other without their wings touching. The doors behind them begun to close, the light from the outside no longer reaching them. Twilight started to panic, but Ace engulfed in an embrace as he held a hoof to his lips to calm her. Twilight shakily watched as the hallway succumbed to the darkness.

As soon as the sound of the doors resealing themselves reached her ears, the entire length of the hallway was alight with a magical, pale blue glow that came from numerous spheres that ran all throughout the corridor in threes. Twilight grinned sheepishly as she retreated from Ace’s calming embrace, though grateful for the consideration.

Twilight regained her composure once more as the pair moved through the empty passage, finally giving voice to the question in her mind; “This hallway seems quite long… Is it really necessary?” Ace shrugged as they proceeded through the expanse.

“In all technicality, not really. I simply chose the center of the workshop to be in the center of the hill, as it would afford me the most options where expansion is concerned.” Ace stifled a laugh before he continued. “The original concept involved a slide down to the initial workshop, allowing for both vertical and horizontal expansion, but was later discarded, as moving objects by hoof would have been too difficult with steps. Blessed foresight, some may say.”

Twilight nodded nervously as she contemplated the current effort that would be required to move the anti-magic stone, then compared it to the idea of moving it up stairs the whole way. A playful smile fell across Ace’s features as he looked over at her. “How about we race to the workshop to pass the time, shall we?”

Twilight, remembering their last race, was ready for a rematch, but already knew that she couldn’t easily win without at least a head start. “Are you sure you should be racing so shortly after receiving that injury? I would think running with your hoof that way would likely hurt far too much…”

Ace lifted each of his hooves in turn, a questioning look on his face. After examining each of his hooves with both his eyes and his magical senses, he could feel nothing out of the ordinary. “I don’t understand; what injury do you mean?” Ace raised his head, and realized that while his magical senses were focused, Twilight had ran on ahead without him. Laughing as he started to work into a gallop, he called after the tricky mare, “You learn much too swiftly, my dear student!”

Ace was certainly faster than Twilight, but she had quite the lead on him. Twilight ran and ran as efficiently as she could, making sure that her pace was not only fast, but also conservative. After several moments, Ace came alongside her at a gallop, but trotted at her side for quite some time, neither pony speaking. Ace was winded after his strenuous effort to shorten the distance, which gave Twilight an advantage.

In the distance, a double-door entrance came into view, which Twilight assumed was likely the finish line for their race. Ace and Twilight both put in a final burst of speed, both of them turning their trot into a gallop as the gate loomed closer and closer. Twilight pulled ahead, though she thought she had heard something from behind her. Twilight pressed her hoof against the doors first, with no sign of Ace immediately behind her.

She looked behind her to see that Ace was laughing quite uncontrollably as his horn lit up in his dark magical glow. It was then that Twilight noticed a few things… First, the floor she stood on had small holes, as though they had been meant to allow something to pass through. The second, Ace had allowed her to win, perhaps. The third, the door she had her hoof against had no handle and was locked. The fourth, there was a double-handled switch upon the wall beside the door. The fifth, and much too late fact, was the multiple perforated discs that hung out in difference angles above her. The sixth and final fact, was the ice cold liquid flooding over her body from the fifth fact.

Twilight let out a squeal as the ice-water cascaded over her form, which only afforded her a mouth full of the sweet-but-foul tasting fluid, lightly burning her mouth where it touched. Meanwhile, Ace was all but rolling around on the floor behind her as he laughed. Twilight fixed him with a solid glare as she spat out the foul liquid that burned her senses. Nodding at the glare, but still laughing uncontrollably, he took the end of his cover in his mouth and pulled it off, along with his glasses, and sat them on the floor before joining her in her shower.

Twilight’s glare turned into a blush as he made certain the fluid reached all over his body, and scrubbing it into the pre-magic over his hoof. Twilight started to do the same as Ace smiled sincerely, his laugh long gone. “That was by far the cutest noise you’ve made since I’ve met you. Care to do it again?” Twilight’s face alit in red as her blush returned in full force as she body checked him with her flank.

Ace laughed as he lightly body checked her back. She smiled at him despite herself as she spoke. “So why are taking a shower, exactly?” Ace nodded as he arced his body in various positions, allowing the water to pass over himself thoroughly. “The water feels like it’s… almost biting into my skin; it tastes terrible and it burns my mouth like cheap cider. The smell makes my nostrils burn, as well.”

Ace nodded, still keeping an eye on the pre-magic as the water worked its way through the amorphous mass. “It’s a powerful cleaning agent, and I wouldn’t suggest swallowing it; it will make you sick if you swallow a large enough amount.” Twilight immediately spat out the small bit that had accumulated in her mouth as she spoke. “Yes, that would be best. You see, the workshop is a pristine environment, and it needs to remain so, as it is not always spells or magical experiments that occur within.”

Ace made his way past Twilight, lightly brushing himself against her as he did so, eliciting another blush from her as he turned off the showerheads from one of the switches upon the wall. After the water had turned off, he turned and stared at Twilight for a moment, a gauche smile gracing his features as he watched her. “Wh- Now what are you doing?”

Ace just shook his head without his gaze leaving hers, his one Al Bhed swirled eye watching her. “Just admiring the view.” Twilight flush was now in full effect, reaching even her ears as she sat, sopping wet with the not-quite-biting fluid, her coat hanging taut and showing off her frame perfectly, laid bare before the stallion who was equally soaked.

Twilight started to cover herself with a hoof as she shifted her weight uncomfortably. “Well- Not that I mind, but- I mean I – Shouldn’t we be –“ Twilight was all sorts of flustered, to the point she wasn’t even able to properly form a sentence. Ace smiled lovingly at the embarrassed mare when she felt his magic flooding over her as his horn lit up. She all but basked in the warm glow of the drying spell that encompassed her entire form, feeling his magic flowing all around her, all through her body.

When the magic had faded and her coat was pleasingly silky smooth again, she blushed deeper than she had thought possible with a sheepish smile as Ace used his spell to dry himself as well, flicking a hoof over the second switch to open the doors to the workshop, proceeding ahead of her this time rather than bowing to allow her to pass.

When he entered the workshop, a purple field of light passed over his body. Now that she thought about it, the light almost matched the color of her magic. She proceeded through the doorway into the solid stone and metal room. As she did so, however, the magical field of light passed over her as well. As it did, the room lit up with red as a klaxon alarm sounded throughout the room. “Subject: Twilight Sparkle. Class: Assistant Unicorn. Clearance level: Three. Authorization: Ace Deus Fenrir. Confirmation: Two-seven-six-six.”

The alarm halted as the red faded from the room, replaced again by the pleasant blue glow of the spheres. Welcome to the Workshop, Twilight Sparkle, and may the moon grant its divine blessing upon you. Noblesse Oblige. Twilight was taken aback by the magical, female voice that filled her head, sounding almost like a secretary. Twilight looked up to see where the light had come from as it faded, and she saw what looked like two stones, riddled with glyphs, floating above her before they retreated to a recess in the wall.

“Anti-magic Countermeasure System, A.C.S. if you are taken to acronyms.” Twilight nodded, but still wished to know more as she looked around the barren room, noting the doors and the stacks of tables and equipment to the far side of the room. “It’s a system of magical spells with set conditions and emergence values. Whenever the sensory spells detect the doors have opened, for example, they run a check to see if somepony has entered the lab, or left. If somepony has entered, they scan the pony or ponies and greets them, as well as updating to any relevant information left by the previous visitors.”

Twilight followed Ace as he proceeded through the large room towards the equipment pile in the back of the room. “When the system detects that the last pony has left, it cleanses all of the magic in the room by means of absorption. Whenever somepony it doesn’t know enters, it sounds the alarm and contacts me, as well as locking down the lab as necessary.” Twilight marveled at the concept, as well as the implications and uses of such a system. “Much more importantly, if it detects the vitals of a pony reaching unfavorable values, it will give them medical aid using magic, as well as a few surgical tools kept in the lab. In addition, it can bring dangerous experiments to a halt. Of course, there are also overrides in place to prevent any bugs or glitches from impeding more… risky experiments.”

Ace’s magic began to glow around what resembled a mining cart as he pulled it from the stacks of equipment. It was then that Twilight realized that what appeared to be a disorganized pile of desks, benches, tables, and various tools and equipment was actually a very organized shelving system, each of the objects having small rings for pegs upon the wall to fit into to hold the wares in place.

Ace pushed the cart to a nearby door, opening it in his magic as he picked up a box that had fallen into the floor, picking the pink stones from the floor as he refilled the box. Twilight moved into the cramped room to help as she spoke. “So what does it mean that I have a level three clearance?” she asked as she put a few of the anti-magic stones into the box, the pure form of the crystals not affecting her, though it made the pre-magic of Ace’s hoof hiss each time it touched them.

Ace nodded, noticeably wincing at the sound of the hissing so close to his ear. “It means that you have access to the entirety of the lab when accompanied by me. Without me, your access is limited to the storage rooms and the recordings. As an Assistant, you also have access to the firing range and equipment.” The box once again full, upright and closed, the two carried it, two hooves each on the box as well as on ground, more for stability than for the weight. They hefted the box into the mining cart, setting it gently into it.

Ace closed the door, taking the cart to another storage room on the other side of the equipment racks. “So does this mean I can watch the recording from the experiments with the pre-magic?” Ace nodded. “What other rooms are there? I assume one of the rooms is for the recordings.” Ace shook his head.

Pointing to the room to the right from the entrance, “That’s the firing range. You’re welcome to use it to practice combat spells, but for the most part, it’s meant for triggering my misfires before an experiment.” Twilight nodded as Ace’s hoof pointed to the doors to the left, first closes to the exit, then furthest. “That’s the trophy room, where I keep my artifacts, such as the Alicorn Amulet. This room is off-limits to you unless I open it first; it’s the experiment storage. It houses the experiments that cannot be cleansed, destroyed or repurposed. It also keeps written records for said experiments.”

Twilight nodded as the pair neared the storage room opposite of the previous one. “I take all the other doors are just storage rooms?” Ace nodded. “What about the recordings? Surely you must keep them somewhere.” Ace pulled an amethyst gem to the pair in his magic before he moved it in front of Twilight, who took the hint and held it in her magic.

As she did so, she could tell that the gem was enchanted in such a way that it absorbed magic around it, allowing it to record its use. “As you can likely tell, the gem is enchanted. Amethyst gems have an affinity for magic unlike any other gem. Amethysts can be enchanted to record magic levels and activity. In conjunction with my magical senses, the gem is able to record the activity of everything my magic passes over. If you gaze upon the gem with your magical senses, you can review the recordings.” Twilight nodded, doing exactly that as Ace pulled the next box out of the storage room and placing it into the cart.

Twilight could feel Ace leaving her side, proceeding to the next storage room, but all of her senses were locked on the gem she held in her hooves. The recording started off with Ace prattling off his name and other information for sake of review before conducting the actual experiment. The recording then played in swiftly, the time passing quickly as it progressed past the monotonous stage of collecting the pre-magic from Ace’s horn, which looked more difficult than she had thought.

Once the fast-forward of the recording had ended, however, it didn’t take long for the experiment to take a terrible turn for the worse as Twilight watched the accident that led to Ace’s current affliction. Once the pre-magic grasped hold of Ace’s left hoof, Twilight could not only watch as Ace impaled his own limb with glass, but could feel it, too. The pain nearly brought Twilight to her knees, dropping the Amethyst recording to the ground, using her magical focus to levitate the gem delicately along the fall so as not to break it. Twilight watched with a strange mixture of both awe and nausea as she both watched and felt Ace carving the Al Bhed glyphs into his own hoof with the enchanted knife.

When Twilight had finished reviewing the gem, Ace took it in his magic and replaced it upon a pedestal that was hidden behind a moving wall, the wall enclosing upon the gem once more as it was replaced. Twilight looked to Ace, who was standing at the entrance of the workshop alongside the cart, which now carried four boxes of anti-magic stone. Twilight trotted across the room, and upon reaching him, took his left hoof into her own.

Twilight gingerly ran the tip of her hoof over the markings, all but wincing as she recalled the pain that Ace had to have endured, Twilight likely having felt only a portion of the pain from the recording. “Does it… Does it still hurt?” Ace shook his head slowly as she started to feel the pre-magic for the first time as well. It felt almost like uncooked batter, except that it moved and pulsed as though it were alive. Ace and Twilight’s eyes met for a moment before Twilight realized how intimate her actions were. A flush flooded across her features as she released his hoof. “Uh, um – We should go.”

Ace nodded, pushing the cart through the door, a light flush framing his cheeks as well after the brief contact. Once the door was closed, Ace took his glasses and replaced them on his muzzle before asking Twilight to help him replace the sleeve. The two shared another intimate look into each other’s eyes, but Ace turned his head and just nodded his head with a word of thanks. The two pushed the cart through the tunnel in awkward silence.

Author's Note

The book has officially reached 100,000 words! Wooo! I hope you enjoy the shower scene... ;)

While the Draconequus is Away, the Ponies Will Play

Chapter Twenty-two: While the Draconequus is Away, the Ponies Will Play

Ace and Twilight has just finished pushing the cart through the hillside entrance, the doors closing behind them as they stopped to rest. “Are we really going to push this cart all the way back to Ponyville, by hoof, in silence?” Twilight asked as they came to a stop to take a short break.

Ace sat down with a sheepish smile to the mare as he replied. “Well… Not in silence, at least?” Ace shrugged as Twilight’s eyes went wide as her jaw slackened. She stared in disbelief before collapsing to the ground in a heap. “Oh, wait, did you say Ponyville? I meant Hoofsdale,” he said, covering his mouth with a hoof as he laughed.

Twilight glared at the trickster pony from her vantage point upon the ground before she sighed. Twilight felt Ace’s magic flowing around and through her body as she was revitalized. She opened her eyes to the black glow that surrounded her, Ace casting an invigoration spell over her to recoup her strength.

Twilight sighed at the gentle push to continue working, pressing her hooves against the cart. While the cart was large and made of a sturdy metal, the stones within were relatively light, but what really made the task easier was the rubber wheels, rather than the wooden or metal ones that were more common. “So, why are we taking them to Hoofsdale instead of Ponyville?” Twilight asked as they pushed their load around the hill.

“I have a friend who owes me a few favors, and he happens to be the owner of the local Hot Air Balloon station,” Ace stifled a laugh as best as he could without the use of his hooves. “I think you’d like him, given the chance.” Twilight was unsure of what Ace found so funny about the statement, but decided to ignore it for the time being.

The two pushed in silence for a time, until they made it into the town. They stopped next to a fountain, sitting on a bench as they relaxed and watched the other ponies. A few of them seemed to know Ace, waving and smiling at him as he returned the gesture. A couple of the ponies offered to help, but Ace politely declined, saying that he didn’t want to owe anypony any favors when the two of them could do it just as easily as three ponies. “Besides, my friend like to be a bit… Secretive. I’m sure you’ll understand why.”

Despite her efforts, Twilight was unable to get more than a laugh and a “You’ll see,” from him. Twilight only sighed as she resigned herself to the fact Ace would not be forthcoming with information this day, and went back to work pushing the cart with him.

After another half hour of pushing, they made it to the base of another hill. Twilight heaved a heavy sigh at the thought of pushing the cart up the hill, until she saw Ace getting a big goofy smile again as he ran up the hill. A questioning look on her face, she followed after him, realizing he was headed towards the building at the top of the hill. “Cloud Striker? Are you home, my friend?”

Twilight neared the crest of the hill, and she noticed a number of hot air balloon pads beyond, a number of them holding down a balloon. A short, dark-blue maned Pegasus with a softer baby blue coat poked his head from the top section of the two-part doorway. At first he appeared somewhat grouchy, until he saw Ace coming up the hill and he threw open the gate with a smile. “Ace, friend! Have come much sooner than Cloud Striker expect!”

Ace laughed as the pair raised their hooves into the air before smacking them together. “Cloud Striker thought was going to race next month, but Cloud Striker always ready for challenge!” Cloud Striker put on a triumphant pose as though he had already won. He then looked at Twilight for a moment before pointing at the mare. “There, Unicorn mare, balloon shop close for race. Come back tomorrow if pleases you.” Ace batted the stallion playfully on the chin. “What? Is true, yes?”

Ace shook his head, his goofy grin still marring his features. Twilight came alongside him just in time for Ace to drape a hoof over her and point at her with the other. “Twilight Sparkle is with me, yes? But I didn’t came for a race Striker. I need to call in a favor; I need some product moved to Ponyville. Are the brothers up for some work?”

Striker’s eyes went wide before he took Twilight’s hoof in both of his, shaking it violently enough to remind her she spent the last few hours pushing a cart. “Is very nice meet Twilight Sparkle. Cloud Striker always friend of Ace friend!” Striker relinquished the hoof as he looked at Ace, then back down at the cart. “What is weight of shipment? Cloud Striker have two balloons offer for favor, but spare no more.”

Ace looked over his shoulder as he still hung over top of Twilight. “I’d say about forty pounds a box, four boxes in total. With two balloons that’d be about eighty pounds per balloon.” Ace looked back to the Pegasus, though his thoughts spread into Twilight’s mind as he spoke only to her. ”Gaze upon him with your magic, my dear student. I have a lesson for you today.”

Twilight nodded her head subtly, her expression attempting to change to confusion and wonder, but she kept a straight face as Ace climbed down off of her. Twilight lit her magical senses, being careful to use only the right amount of power so that her horn didn’t give her away. When her magic flowed over the pony, she realized that he wasn’t actually a Pegasus… he was a changeling! Her face turned to shock as she turned to her mentor. ”Ace! He’s a changeling! We need to get away from him!”

Ace nodded with a smile as he spoke to his friend. “That’s right, tomorrow morning. Have the shipment delivered to Rarity of the Carousel Boutique.” Ace looked back to Twilight as he spoke to her through their telecommunication magic as Striker wrote something on a notepad. ”I know my friend’s race, Twilight. Why, precisely, should I be concerned that he is different from other ponies? Al Bhed is a different race of pony, yet I am with you.”

Twilight shook her head as she matched his gaze. ”You don’t understand; the changelings follow Queen Chrysalis, and they cannot think for themselves. He is a danger to everypony here!” Ace only sighed, wrapping a hoof around his friend as he led them back into the house. When they passed the doorway, Ace shut both of them and closed the curtains. Striker raised an eyebrow at the gesture, but didn’t openly question it.

Ace nodded with a goofy smile again, though it was more sheepish now. “Let’s extend the favor a bit, my friend. My student would like to meet you. It’d help me explain a lesson to her, and I’m sure you wouldn’t mind showing off your magic for a moment,” Ace said as his horn lit up, spreading an aura around the walls and windows that Twilight could only imagine were some sort of ward or barrier for added safety.

Striker shook his head with a smile as he laid the notepad on a table within the small home. “Ace always play fun games, Cloud Striker like,” he said before he shook his coat like a dog drying off after splashing in a puddle. As he did so, the room lit up brighter in a green glow, his coat turning into a dull carapace, black on the body but blue in the shell over his back. His hooves developed holes, as did his wings as the feathers turned into an insect’s webby membrane. Upon his head formed a small, curved horn, while his mane and tail receded and gave way to frills that resembled the fins of a fish.

Striker’s eyes turned a solid, soft shade of blue that matched his previous coat as he spread his wings and arced his back. Twilight could only stare as she watched the transformation happen before her eyes, her mouth agape as she felt her hooves tremble lightly after the last time she had seen a changeling. She looked to Ace, but he only smiled and sat down as he motioned towards the being before them, telling her to pay attention.

Cloud Striker nodded enthusiastically as he gazed at the mare. “Yes, is true. Cloud Striker is changeling and Ace friend. Cloud Striker removed from Changeling hive as thinker. Cloud Striker have thoughts, have wants and feelings. Cloud Striker learn own magic!” he turned on the lights with his magic, brightening the room that was darkened from closing the curtains. “Because Cloud Striker different, Cloud Striker taken out of Queen Nightshade hive mind. Because this, Cloud Striker no longer have home or friend. Then Cloud Striker meet Ace pony friend! Ace friend help Striker make business!”

Ace nodded to Twilight, filling in the holes the changeling left in his story. “Because he developed self-consciously, he was excommunicated from the hive. After the initial wave of loneliness and self-doubt, he started to wander until I found him in the plains near my spell shop.” Ace looked over the changeling with a smile. “Thanks to him, Hoofsdale finally started to grow. Until he came, it was just my spell shop and a few ponies who lived nearby because they needed my magic regularly. Once Cloud Striker started his balloon business, we became a transit hub for earth ponies and Unicorns.”

Striker nodded enthusiastically as he leaned towards the pair. “Ace friend teach Cloud Striker how be pony! Ace friend teach magic to make balloon! Business go very good, Cloud Striker taking ponies many place for pony money!” The excited insect-pony bounced, his wings fluttering as he thought about flying. “Cloud Striker fly and push balloon, make go very fast. After time, more pony come, want work with Cloud Striker! Cloud Striker make more balloon; make more business!”

Ace nodded as he motioned for Striker to calm down a little. “Striker’s business became well known as one of the fastest travel stations in Equestria. Eventually, more business came to the town, which brought more ponies to set up shop here.” Ace pulled out an old map of the area from a nearby cabinet and set it in the floor, pointing to an area to the Southwest of Ponyville, where Hoofsdale was on newer maps. “Essentially, the more ideal location for such a large transit hub would be Ponyville or Canterlot, but the price for construction in Canterlot was too high, and Ponyville was still developing as well.”

Twilight was beginning to understand how the two had met, and was learning that stereotyping after meeting only a single group was wrong of her. However, there was still one thing she felt was overlooked. “I understand that Ace taught you how to make the balloons in the beginning when you were working alone, but how did you use magic to make the other balloons for the other Pegasi? Wouldn’t ponies ask questions if they saw a Pegasi using spells to make the balloons?”

Cloud Striker nodded as Ace smiled. Cloud Striker’s form started to shift once more, this time turning back into a pony, with a silver mane and tail that complimented a light red coat. The insect wings disappeared to become the lustrous coat, though the horn grew and straightened into a normal Unicorn horn. “Silver Striker says greetings! Silver Striker is Cloud Striker out-town brother. Striker brothers don’t stay much, but work together needed!”

Twilight’s mouth hung open loosely before she shook her head, unsure of why she found a changeling changing to be startling. Ace laughed slightly at the sight. “For a while, there were a number of ponies who were suspicious of why the two were never seen together, so I had a friend in Appleloosa send a couple of letters each week. The next time Striker needed a balloon, I had one flown in from there as well. After that, ponies just accepted that the odd pair really were just unusual siblings.” Twilight nodded at the odd plan, which reeked of Ace’s usual antics.

Striker cycled from Silver, to changeling, then back to Cloud Striker as he spoke. “Ace friend, is good see again, but much work need done. Lesson over, yes?” Ace nodded with a smile as he opened the curtains and retrieved his magic from around the building. “Cloud Striker send best ponies with product Ponyville, no charge for Ace friend! Ace still race next month, yes?” Ace nodded, a slightly competitive look crossing his features before the two laughed as Twilight and Ace left the building. As they left, they could hear Striker ordering some of the ponies to load up the balloons.

Ace and Twilight walked for a time through the town, Ace smiling and waving at the ponies who seemed to know him. “So what’s next? How are we going to know where Discord will appear?” Ace mimicked the gesture of tipping his hat to somepony who did so before he found a place and sat in the middle of the road just long enough to place a hoof to his chin before shrugging.

“To be quite honest Twilight, I have not even a clue.” Twilight eyed him as though he had just said ponies didn’t need oxygen to live. “All I can do is guess, and if guessing is how you want to go about this, I’d say the odds are fifty-fifty between Canterlot and Ponyville.”

Twilight shook her head, but didn’t have any better options to offer. Discord did seem to have an affinity for Ponyville, his last two recurrences featuring the small town as the center of his reign. On the other hoof, the princesses would have the best hope to stop him, and a surprise attack would be his best bet to eliminate or disorient the sisters. On top of that, Canterlot was the capital of Equestria, and should it fall, the rest of the nation would soon follow.

“I guess that waiting for Discord to make the first move really is our only option…” Twilight sat beside Ace, the other ponies granting them a small berth as they walked around them in the road. “What are we going to do in the meantime, exactly? Walk around town?” Ace thought for a moment again, before nodding repeatedly with a silly smile.

Twilight sighed at the antics of her mentor. Ace cocked his head to a side at the gesture. “Well, there are other options…” Twilight fixed him with a glare that begged ‘Like what?’ which only made Ace smile a goofy grin again as his horn began to glow. “Such as this!” the magic of his horn spread around the pair, and when it faded, Twilight was someplace else, once again pulled along by Ace’s teleportation spell.

“You know, we really need to talk about your love for teleporting… me… for no…” Twilight’s words faded to silence as she gazed around the room she had been brought to against her will. The floor appeared to be made of a cold stone, and the ceiling was painted with a mural that featured Princess Luna and Celestia. However, it was the books all around the room that begged Twilight’s attention.

Twilight headed straight for the books as Ace stifled a laugh, his young student glancing over the spines of the numerous volumes. Many of the tomes had no name upon their spine, while others were in different languages. “Ah, welcome home, young master. Will you be staying for long?” asked a rather polite voice from a nearby doorway.

Twilight turned to look at the source of the voice and saw a light gray Pegasus who had silver hair and red eyes. “Greetings, Proper. Yes, I had planned on staying the night, though my student Twilight Sparkle may wish to leave before long,” Ace said before covering yet another laugh as he spoke. “If she doesn’t find the library first, that is.”

The young Pegasus stallion stepped forward to take Twilight’s hoof with a bow. “A pleasure to meet you, Miss Sparkle. My name is Proper Attitude,” he said as he came out of the bow. “Though you may call me Proper. I attend to the young master’s home when he is away.” Twilight nodded to the Pegasus, who nodded in turn before he turned towards the doorway with a hoof to his mouth; “Hey Rose, the young master is staying the night! Make us some grub!” he called through the house with a rather loud yell.

Ace stifled another laugh before proceeding through the large doors as Twilight cringed at the sudden, unexpected noise. Not long after he had disappeared into the next room, a voice called back, sounding as though she must have been on the other side of the house. “As if, Attitude! You just want me to make your dinner again and you know it!”

Proper Attitude just shook his head with a smile that resembled Ace’s, then leaned over with a short ‘Watch this,’ as he motioned with a hoof to the door. Not long after he had said that, the same voice let loose a wild scream before another Pegasus came running, the scream coming with her, and hid behind the stallion. Proper laughed as the mare hid behind him, glaring at him as he laughed.

Ace came back through the door laughing hysterically, his glasses floating beside him as his Al Bhed eye watched the three of them. “Young Master Ace, you know your father would not appreciate such behavior in his home!” Twilight arched an eyebrow at the unusual statement before she realized that must be the story he told them to cover his age.

Ace and Proper Attitude smacked their hooves over the poor, terrified mare. “Twilight, this is Proper’s sister, Primrose. Prim and Proper take care of the trivial chores around the house for me, such as restocking the food, and dusting,” the pair nodded at the explanation.

Now straightening up to greet the guest, Twilight could see Primrose’s light yellow coat, as well as her red mane and silver eyes that were the inverse of her brother’s. Twilight started to look between the two as they stood next to each other. Primrose bowed, taking Twilight’s hoof as she introduced herself. “Primrose, Proper Attitude’s twin sister. I handle the cooking and cleaning around the house.”

Twilight wanted to know how deep the twins’ relationship with Ace was, not wanting to say too much without meaning to. “So, Prim and Proper, was it?” the pair nodded with a smile. “You two must know a lot about Ace, having spent so much time by his side.” Twilight made sure to watch both the twins and Ace as she spoke, as Ace would likely motion if they were mistaken or not, as their backs were turned to him.

Prim was the first to speak, Proper laughing a bit too much to speak coherently. “Oh, yes, of course. We know all of the young master’s secrets,” she said with a smile as Ace held his hooves in an ‘X’ formation. “You must know a lot about him as well, if he’s not embarrassed to show you his heterochromatic eye.” Prim looked back at Ace, who only smiled and nodded.

Proper, on the otherhoof, used the opportunity to actually share a bit about Ace. “Don’t forget about his hour long showers, or his little love-crush with Princess Luna!” Proper laughed hysterically as Ace just shrugged with a smile. “His bedroom, the kitchen, the ballroom doors, even the library are all devoted to her.” Ace nodded as he agreed with the enthused pony. “So, are you his marefriend or something?”

Twilight could feel the heat gathering in her face, but she fought back the blush as she shook her head, having to mentally remind herself not to shake her head too swiftly, or she’d seem suspicious. “Oh, no. Ace and I are student and mentor,” she started, but realized that wasn’t really true either. “Well, I guess we’re more than that, we’re-“

Ace rolled his eyes as he interjected, apparently bored with her beating around the bush as he finished for her. “She’s my wife, and that’s the truth.” Twilight’s jaw dropped, her cheeks finally winning the battle and turning pink. Proper started to laugh, but then he saw the necklace draped around her neck. Prim and Proper both looked at the necklace, then to Ace and saw he wasn’t wearing it, then looked back to it around Twilight’s neck.

The twins’ eyes went wide as their mouths turned into large, open smiles as they both shouted their congratulations. Twilight started to protest, but Ace came and draped a hoof over her shoulders before she could. “Could you two go get dinner started? My wife and I want to spend some time upstairs. Alone.” Prim blushed deeply as she nodded while Proper just laughed, the two of them flying through the house.

Twilight looked around the room one last time before Ace dropped his hoof from her back and started motioning for her to follow him through to the next room. When Twilight entered the foyer, she looked around at the mere size of the elegant room. The floor was graced with a red plush carpet with a gold trim along its edges. Overhead was a large crystal chandelier, ahead of them were two wings of staircases that ascended ten meters up to what seemed like the third floor, as the first floor led to large double doors, which had just closed behind Prim and Proper.

They started up the stairs, Ace whispering under his breath into Twilight’s ear as they went. “I want you in my bedroom, my dear wife, but I don’t think we’re going to make it all way there without you losing control of yourself.” Twilight’s face and ears burned as they flushed at the intimation. “I don’t think you’ll make all the way through the next room.” Twilight attempted to glare at Ace, but her increased heart rate and flushed features may have given mixed signals as he smiled softly at her.

With his eyes still locked on hers, he pushed one of the large double doors open with a hoof, and when Twilight finally managed to look away, her mouth dropped as she gasped, her flush fading. She ran into the beautiful room presented before her as she spun all around to take it all in.

On the ceiling was a mural of Equestria, ruled in halves by the princesses. On the floor was a dark indigo colored carpet that was soft on the hooves. All around her were enough books to open a new wing of the Canterlot Royal Archives. Twilight looked at the nearest shelf and saw three books glowing in different variations. Ace laughed as Twilight pulled them off the shelves.

“Take care, my student. Many of these books house powerful spells. Don’t attempt to practice any unusual spells without me now, you understand?” Twilight nodded absentmindedly as she opened the books. One looked as though it described various potions, while the other two were written in different languages, one of them appearing to be Al Bhed. Twilight replaced the other two books back on the shelves before laying the Al Bhed book on a nearby reading table.

Ace started to look worried for a moment, but Twilight was too absorbed in the books to fully notice. “Twilight, you don’t want to read that book. Put it back.” Twilight nodded, but didn’t fully hear or heed his words as her eyes closed and she opened her magical senses, preparing her Sense of Tongues so she could read the tome. Twilight started to read the book, her face paling before Ace managed to run up and close the book with a hoof. Twilight turned away from the table and held a hoof to her mouth as she dry-heaved, the other hoof wrapping around her stomach as she succumbed to a wave of nausea.

Ace sighed and rubbed her back, his hoof glowing slightly in a spell to comfort her. “That… That spell… That whole book… I-it was…” Ace only nodded as he made a shushing noise, rubbing her back softly for a couple of minutes until Twilight’s stomach had settled.

Once Twilight felt better, Ace levitated the book away, replacing it on the shelves. He pulled her close to him as he explained a very important lesson. “Twilight, I’m afraid… Not all magic is meant to be used for a noble purpose. The spell you saw… The whole book you had wanted to read… It’s a tome filled with some of the most potent Blood Magic I know.” Twilight lurched forward, nearly dry heaving again at the reminder of the few brief images that passed in her mind as she read that spell. “I think it’s best we leave the library for now, and pretend you never saw that book, okay?”

Twilight only managed to nod softly as she held her stomach. “Come on, let’s get you cleaned up before dinner is ready,” he said as he helped her to her hooves, leading her through the next set of doors. When Twilight managed to look up again, she saw she was in Ace’s bedroom. The color came back to her face, then turned a shade of pink. Ace didn’t seem to notice or mind, however, as he led her to the door beyond and ushered her into the room.

The master bathroom was simple compared to the rest of the house, having all the porcelain amenities any other bathroom would have. The curtain was a see-through plastic veil only meant to keep the water to one side, the knobs for the water being in the form of the sun for hot, and the moon for cool. Ace reached into the cabinet to lay out a towel for her and helped her into the tub.

Twilight stood for a moment as she bent her head forward in a sigh, grateful for all of the extra space as the shower looked as though it could accommodate two or even three ponies. Then she heard Ace climbing in behind her and her face flushed all over again. “Wha- what are you-“ she managed before the refreshingly cool water cascaded over both of their bodies. The cool water eased her nerves a bit, as well as combating the warmth gathering in her face.

“It’s only awkward if you think of it the wrong way, Twilight,” he said from behind her as he applied an amount of soap to his hooves. “I care about you, Twilight, and I worry about your health as well.” Twilight started to protest, but before the words could leave her lips, she felt his hooves press against her back as he massaged the soap into her coat. The firm pressure against her sore back and shoulders after pushing a cart all day felt like magic, though she knew it wasn’t.

Any protest she had begun instantly melted, along with the sore tenseness in her back, her body loosening and relaxing at his touch. 'What does all of this mean?' she thought to herself, fighting to keep her thoughts orderly. 'Ace is socially inept, but surely he must realize how… intimate all of this is.'

Ace’s hooves worked up to and in front her neck, taking on a gentler touch but still firm enough to be thorough and relaxing. Twilight’s attention was momentarily drawn to the necklace he had loaned her, the sapphire glowing more brightly than before as the soap and water ran over it. 'He trusts me with something so sentimental as his dead wife’s betrothal necklace…' Twilight shook her head to herself slightly as Ace was washing her mane. 'How does he really feel about me? I… I really need to know…'

Twilight waited for the soap and water to fall across her features before she dared attempt to open her mouth to speak. Once it had, her voice quavered as she spoke. “Ace,” she said using the ‘Ah-chay’ pronunciation, “what am I to you really?” Ace’s hooves stopped on her back as he leaned his head over her shoulder.

The heat of Twilight’s blush ran all the way up to her ears again, despite the cool water. “I- I mean… The way you act, you would think we… We really were married, and…” Ace just watched her, wanting her to finish her thought without his intervention, looking as though he was as shy about the topic as she was. “And, at other times, it feels like… We’re just teacher and student…”

Twilight turned to face the stallion, making him lean back to a sitting position, though the distance between them was negligible at best, their gazes locking as their muzzles were only centimeters apart. “Ace, I really want to know… How do you feel about me?” Twilight shifted a hoof uncomfortably as another doubt lingered in her mind. “Is it… Is it just because… I have Little Raven’s soul?”

Ace shook his head slowly at the sensitive question. “Twilight, the way I feel about you is in no way related to Little Raven. It is true that Little Raven was very dear to me, but you need to understand that the past is the past, and I do not dwell upon it.” Ace nodded subtly as he spoke. “Little Raven’s time was a long time ago, and I did love her deeply, but she led a long and happy life. That time ended, Twilight. I bear no lingering emotion for it, only happy memories.”

Twilight was relieved to know that Ace wasn’t only with her because of the origin of her birth. However, Ace hadn’t answered the most important question, and she intended to hear how he felt, or at least hear him say he didn’t want to tell her. “Ace, I…” she started, using the proper ‘Ah-chay.’ “I really need to know… How do you feel about me? Right now?”

No sooner than Twilight finished her thought, Ace closed the centimeters that separated their muzzles, his lips meeting hers as his eyes closed. Twilight’s eyes widened at the sudden contact, but after a moment they drifted closed as her lips worked against his, the heat in her face intensifying in contrast to the cool water greeting her back.

For several long moments, they worked their lips against one another’s, until Ace broke the sensual contact. When her eyes opened, she could see that Ace’s face had flooded in a color that attempted to match his left eye as well. “Th-that’s how… How I feel about you, Twilight. I know we haven’t spent much time together, but I can’t stand to be anywhere else but by your side,” he said as he brushed her mane back and out of her face. “I… I really hope… That you feel the same way, Twilight.” Twilight could only manage a nod before kissing him deeply once more, not wanting to test her voice at that moment.

The two spent the rest of their time alone slowly washing, massaging and caressing one another. As they stepped out of the shower, toweling each other off, Twilight nearly jumped when she heard Prim’s voice announce that dinner was ready, her voice coming from a small box in an upper corner of the bathroom. Ace laughed as he explained that it was a public address system that spread through the house.

Ace and Twilight made their way back through the large home, but when they reached the ballroom, Twilight was stricken with awe once more. “You’re house is… so huge! Do you throw lots of parties in here? It almost looks like you could host the Grand Galloping Gala in here!” Ace shook his head with a laugh.

“The ballroom is scarcely used, really. Pinkie Pie has seen it before,” he leaned close to her, covering one side of his mouth with a hoof as he continued, “and don’t tell Prim and Proper, but I know they threw a party or two in here as well.” The two shared a short laugh as Twilight admired the polished wood floor, as well as the three-by-three crystalline chandeliers that hung overhead.

As she did so, they lit up in a soft pink glow. Twilight looked to Ace as music started playing throughout the room. After a few moments, Twilight identified the song as Johoof Strauss II's On The Beautiful Blue River. Ace offered a hoof with a gentle smile as he asked, “May I have this dance?”

Twilight smiled shyly, but shook her head slowly. “I’m… not that great of a dancer, honestly.” Ace stifled a small laugh as he took her right hoof in his anyways, despite the excuse. He picked her up so that they both stood on two hooves, Twilight rested her left hoof over his shoulder suddenly for support. Ace wrapped his right hoof around to her back.

The two of them stood now, looking into each other’s eyes, Ace having left his glasses elsewhere. “It’s easy, let me show you,” he said as he stepped a bit to the left, bringing Twilight’s right leg to align between both of his as he held her right hoof out in his own. “Just keep pace with me as we draw a sort of square. Are you ready?” Twilight nodded nervously, having to watch her own legs rather than watching him.

Ace stepped back with his left leg as Twilight followed with her right. As soon as their hooves were firm on the ground, Ace moved his right leg to meet with his left as Twilight mirrored him again. Ace then moved his right leg a step to the right, bringing his left along after as Twilight matched the step. Ace pressed Twilight back a bit, signaling it was her turn to perform the steps, and as she did, Ace followed along seamlessly. Twilight stepped to the right, Ace taking her lead before they started to repeat the steps in time to the music.

Ace chuckled happily as Twilight finally felt confident enough to bring her eyes forward. After a few strides, Ace turned Twilight to her right as the steps repeated, allowing them to repeat the steps without running out of dance floor. It was then that Twilight realized that Prim and Proper had come into the ballroom as well, doing the same dance without Ace’s instructions. “You see, Twilight? You’re a natural on the floor; you just needed somepony to be your partner.”

Twilight blushed a bit as she nodded, the two of them continuing the waltz as the song repeated for a time, neither of them talking, only enjoying the music, as well as each other’s company.

Starlight

Chapter Twenty-three: Starlight

Ace, Twilight, Prim and Proper all sat at the dinner table, enjoying their meal. Primrose had cooked one of Ace’s most favored dishes, Fontal Polenta with Mushroom Sauté. Twilight looked at the dish, served within a bread bowl gratin filled with the cheese and milk broth that was topped with more cheese and mushrooms, as well as a number of veggies.

“Is the meal not to your liking, Twilight?” Ace asked, noticing that Twilight was doing more viewing than eating. “I will happily relieve you of it if that is the case?” Twilight shook her head, Ace sitting by her side at the round table.

The dining room that was connected to the ballroom consisted of numerous such tables, and a long narrow table that could easily seat seventy or eighty ponies ran down the center of the room. Twilight shook her head, taking the first bite of the polenta. The savory taste of the mushrooms conjoined with the texture of the melted cheese merged together, along with the crisp crunch of the veggies as the flavors danced upon her palate. Twilight’s expression brightened as she took another bite, the other three smiling as she enjoyed her food.

Primrose beamed as she watched Twilight’s expression change from scrutiny to delight as she sampled the dish. “Do you cook much, Twilight?” she asked from her place across from the mare. “I could teach you how to make it, and then you could surprise the young master one day when he comes home,” she said with a wink.

Twilight’s face flushed at the suggestion, only just then remembering that Ace had said she was his wife. “Well, I – uh…” Twilight shook her head to clear thoughts, as well as dispel some of the added color from her cheeks. “No, I don’t cook very much, I’m afraid. My assistant and I often eat out.”

Prim and Proper shared a look for a moment before Proper turned and asked what they were thinking, “So, you’re Ace’s student and wife, and you have your own assistant?” Twilight nodded, Prim and Proper sharing another look. “Please don’t tell me your assistant has a secretary.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow at the question, and then she realized from a chain of command point of view, the situation must seem pretty odd. Twilight covered her hoof to hide her laugh before she spoke.

“Oh no, nothing like that,” she explained. “Spike is actually my friend. He helps me with the studies Princess Celestia tasks me with. In fact, he’s the dragon I hatched during my entrance exam for Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns.”

The twins shared another look, Prim expressing awe, while Proper appeared as though he was thinking of something. A flash of realization flooded over Prim’s features before she fixed her brother with a reprimanding glare. He waved it off as Prim shook her head, Proper turning to face Ace as he spoke.

“You’re not just using Twilight to get to Princess Luna, are you?” he asked. Ace wore a sour look and slapped Proper with a hoof hard enough to turn him back towards Prim. “Jus’ ha’ ta make shore,” he said, rubbing his jaw.

Prim covered her mouth, laughing as she spoke. “I told you not to make the young master upset,” she said. “One of these times, he’s going to get really mad and actually hurt you.” Proper stared into Prim’s eyes before she spoke again. “Perhaps, but you should still watch what you say.”

Twilight looked to Ace as if to confirm the twins’ sanity. Ace just nodded as he swallowed another bite of the polenta, “You see, the twins are both magic-touched hornless Pegasi. Their magical affinity is that they can communicate with each other telepathically.” He had another spoonful of the dish before he continued. “Normally they make eye contact when they do it, but they could just as easily do so from a mile away.”

Twilight looked at the twins in a new light, two beaming as she did – at least, Proper did his best to, as one side of his face was starting to swell. “That must really come in handy. When did your magical affinity first develop?” The twins looked at each other for a moment, Prim speaking for the pair, presumably because talking would cause Proper pain, already having trouble eating the soft food, though he still seemed to be all smiles.

“Well, for as long as we have been able to speak, though perhaps longer, Mistress,” she said, the new title bringing a bit of a flush to Twilight cheeks, as it was intended to claim her as a head of the house. “When my brother and I were foals, we thought that everypony could do it.”

Twilight took another bite of her polenta, and as she did so, she noticed that Ace had already finished his and was preparing to eat the bread bowl. With a shake of her head, she laughed inwardly at how much he seemed to enjoy the dish.

’Maybe I really should learn to make the dish?’ she thought to herself, a light blush forming on her face as she thought about really being Ace’s special somepony…

After lunch, the twins left, saying they would be late tomorrow because they were going to visit their mother before coming over. Ace nodded that they could come whenever they pleased, then thanked them for the work they had done. Once they had left, Ace and Twilight headed up to the library to do a lesson or two before bed.

The pair sat at one of the tables, Twilight in her magical form surveying the books with Ace’s avatar strolling beside her to be sure not to repeat the previous mishap. “Are there going to be any lessons about the Ritual of New Life?” Twilight asked as they viewed the books.

Ace’s avatar shook his head as he spoke, his voice reverberating through her though his lips didn’t move. “Likely not, as it is a heavily kept secret. Before long, however, I will need to perform the ritual; most likely at the end of this year or the next.”

Twilight nodded as she passed by the shelf that held the blood magic tome she had viewed upon earlier. Her stomach turned as she glanced at the book. “Did you wish to learn blood magic?” Twilight hastily shook her head, though it wasn’t until moments later that she was able to avert her eyes from the grimoire.

“Ace, what do you know about life magic?” Ace froze in place for a moment, staring at the shelves of books, before he turned his head to look at her.

“Twilight, Life magic is something far more grave than any magic you know as of yet.” Ace shook his head for a moment as he turned his magical self to face her. “What do you know of Life magic, and why do you ask?”

Twilight sat as she looked at her mentor, before he closed the distance to sit across from her. “Well, I have only heard that life magic is unlike any other magic, in that it does not use a pony’s magical power, but rather their very life force.” Ace nodded.

“Life magic is indeed powerful, and ‘tis true that it drains a pony’s life force rather than their magic,” Ace said before shaking his head, his magical features taking a solemn look. “It is possible for a pony to deplete their magic by using it. The same applies to life magic; only instead of being without magic for a week or so, the pony would be without life for eternity.”

Twilight had expected as much, but was taken aback nonetheless. Twilight feared the answer would bring back haunting memories, but she asked, “You have had to use life magic before, haven’t you?” Ace nodded.

The room around Twilight disappeared, fading to darkness, save for Ace sitting before her. He motioned with a hoof to the side, and when Twilight looked, she saw what looked like an old hospital room. Ace strode to the side of a bed, and Twilight followed. In the bed was a pony with a sapphire blue coat, and emerald an emerald green mane and tail. The pony looked as though she had just been through a rough battle; a rapier laid on the table close by, bent and broken like the body of the one who once carried it into battle.

As they observed the barely breathing, broken mess of a pony that laid upon the bed, the doors nearby burst open, a doppelganger of Ace came through, followed by an elder looking Unicorn mare with a dark coat and a mane as black as pitch. They quickly ran to the opposite side of the bed, staring at the same pony with all the color from their faces paled and tears forming in their eyes. Another pony came into view as they watched the pony, a doctor.

“I am sorry, but I fear that this pony will not live through the night,” the doctor said, nearing the patient, hanging his head low as his voice carried sympathetic sorrow for the couple. “There is simply not enough magic in all of the realms to mend her broken heart, nor her broken soul or body.” The doctor turned to leave, his voice mournful. “You may spend as much time as you need with the patient. Should you require me, you need only call.”

When the doctor left, the doppelganger’s horn glowed brilliantly in its black glow, the same light surrounding the injured pony. The wounds looked as though they were beginning to mend, but would reopen as soon as the magic had faded from her, the bones never being able to properly set.

The pained pony started to move a hoof, turning her head to face the two, one eye flooded with blood and nearly torn from the socket, the other bruised and swollen, though Twilight could vaguely make out the red Al Bhed swirl that matched Ace’s. “Fa…ther… Why?... Why… do th…ey… hate us?...” The voice came in labored rasps, only vaguely audible, and only slightly reminiscent of a mare’s voice. “We… are… just… ponies… like them… Why?...”

Twilight looked at the three ponies who were sitting in the room, each rendered catatonic with tears as they watched the mare. Ace and his doppelganger both spoke in the same voice, both being worn by their tears, “Because, Forest Wave, they are afraid. They fear that we are better than them, and it scares them. It was never your fault, my blessed daughter.”

Forest Wave coughed up a puddle of blood before she was finally able to speak again. “Night… Sky and I… we… I… loved him… Why?... Why wou…ld he…” The mare’s question was never finished, her head lolling to one side, eliciting a sickening sound as the last of the words escaped her lungs.

The doppelganger let loose a howl of pain, his entire body brightening in a glorious white glow. The real Ace turned his back as his only daughter’s corpse laid before him. The doppelganger’s glow spread across the heap of a mare.

Again, the Aces both spoke in unison, though the false copy’s voice was tainted with pure anger and rage while the real Ace could only mutter in sadness. “Heed my words, Fates! Take my own life, and spare the life of my daughter, Forest Wave! Take from me what you will, only grant me my daughter’s health and I shall offer the ultimate price!”

The elder mare shook the fake, pleading him to forego his action as the luminescent stallion’s body began to all but decay on the spot. Twilight could tell whatever magic he was using was incredibly strong, as the broken body of Forest Wave was stitched and mended, but her eyes remained closed and her chest remained still. The elder mare, desperate for action, picked up a nearby object that was clouded in the memory and landed a solid blow to the back of faux-Ace’s head. The world faded to black again before Ace and Twilight emerged in the library once more, now in their physical forms.

Ace wept, his back turned to her as Twilight moved towards him. “Such is the power of Life magic, Twilight. Strong enough to take a life, but not powerful enough to grant it.”

Twilight circled around to the front of him, Ace raising his head to meet the gaze of the beloved mare. His body shook once with the pain of the memory as streaks of tears marred his features. Twilight took the tormented stallion into her caring embrace, Ace wrapping his hooves firmly around her as they were both reduced to sobs at the memory.

Several long minutes passed before they broke the contact, wiping the tears from each other before Ace nodded softly. “I will not forbid you practice the art, my student, as I know you know how to perform life magic after watching my past self perform the technique,” Twilight only managed to nod that she had, a grim look on her face at the idea of needing to use such a skill. “I instead make the more painful request that you practice the craft, should you choose, with the utmost of care.”

Twilight nodded, her hoof over her heart as she spoke the promise. “I swear that I will use Life magic, aside from the few training sessions, in only the most dire of circumstances.”

Ace shook his head slowly before returning his gaze to hers. “Never give your life for the life of another, Twilight. There is no equivalent exchange where lives are involved; no one life is ever worth the same as another life. Let the Fates decide who shall live, and who shall return to the network of souls. The only time that death is justified is in self-defense, not self-sacrifice. Do you understand?”

Twilight took mental note of the lesson for a moment before nodding. Ace smiled half-heartedly, but nodded in return. Ace looked to the ceiling, Twilight’s eyes following soon after. The mural on the ceiling that once showed a glowing sun as the two princesses ruled separate halves of Equestria now had a darkened sun and shining moon.

“The hour grows late. Will you accompany me to the roof, that we may admire the stars before we retire for the evening?” Twilight nodded with a soft smile. Ace’s horn lit up the area around the two, the light temporarily blinding Twilight before she appeared on the roof of the house.

When Twilight’s vision returned, she noticed a few things: The first, Ace was now beside her rather than in front of her, already admiring the stars. The second, the pair were high above a wooded area, seemingly North of Hoofsdale. The third, they sat upon a cloud rather than a rooftop. The last thing she noticed, aside from Ace’s delighted laughter, and the fact that she had been sitting upon the cloud without falling, was that somewhere in her observations, she had all but melded to Ace as she clung to his side.

“Sorry, I forgot to mention this, but I live in a cloud mansion above White Tail Woods.” Twilight, still clinging to him, cocked her head in an angry tilt that conveyed ‘You don’t say?’ Ace laughed, though not as heartily as before, “Um… Surprise?” he said with a hopeful smile.

Twilight sighed, climbing down off of the stallion to rest flank-to-flank beside him as she looked up at the stars and the moon as well. Being as high above and as far away from all the major cities, the stars were bright and numerous in the sky, not having to contend with city lights for their rule over the darkness of night.

As they admired the stars, Twilight felt Ace grasp her hoof in his. She blushed, still watching the stars as the moon crawled atop its throne in the sky, waning slightly after the recent full moon; the full moon that was aloft when Twilight had first met him, her… special somepony. The pink in her cheeks brightened at the thought, as she wondered if Ace was thinking the same thing.

“What are you thinking of, right now?” she asked, still watching the stars, as though they would answer her question as easily as Ace might. From the corner of her eye, she could tell that he was blushing lightly as well.

“Nicknames,” was the only word he offered. Twilight averted her gaze from the starfield to raise an eyebrow in response, which afforded her a nod in reply. “I was thinking; it’s become a custom in recent years that couples have meaningful nicknames for their special somepony,” he said before looking to her, still blushing lightly with his goofy-but-attractive smile. “And I think I’ve found the perfect one for you.”

Twilight’s blush deepened as their gazes held, delighted that he had been thinking of her as well. She smiled softly as she watched him, anxious to hear the name he had chosen for her.

“Starlight.” Twilight continued to hold his gaze, neither wanting to look anywhere but one another’s eyes. “In the darkness, you shine brightest. When I am lost, you give me direction like the North Star. When I look at the moon, and I feel that I am alone, I look to all of the stars and I smile, because I know that my Starlight will always remain by my side.” Twilight’s blush deepened further as Ace kissed her cheek, the two still holding hooves beneath the stars.

“Thank you, it’s beautiful – really beautiful, but…” A look of worry started to cross Ace’s face as she paused. “I don’t have one for you…” Ace used his other hoof to stifle a laugh as she spoke.

“Worry not, my dearest Starlight,” Twilight couldn’t help but smile sincerely as she heard the loving name. “The name will come to you as it did to me. It is not something you think about; it is something you feel,” he said as he pressed his hoof against her chest. “I look forward to the name you find, but it is something that will sound only sweeter with time.” They shared a soft smile before their gazes drifted back to the starfield that was portrayed above them. Twilight gazed upon the twinkling lights with a newfound passion, the stars above becoming her new namesake.

As Twilight admired the stars, she felt Ace relinquish his grasp of her hoof. Before she could look to him, he wrapped the hoof around her shoulder and pulled her more firmly against him. She smiled and wrapped a hoof around him as well, resting her head against his shoulder, still watching the stars, only a light blush on her face as she relaxed.

After a time, Twilight yawned, her eyes beginning to feel heavy. Ace shared in the yawn as well before stroking her mane tenderly once as he spoke. “I believe we should retire for the night, my dearest Starlight.” Twilight nodded against his shoulder lazily. “I had Prim prepare a guestroom for you, should you choose,” he said, Twilight lifting her heavy head to look her special somepony in the eyes as she shook her head.

“I… I want to sleep with you. I-in your bed I mean… with you.” Ace smiled warmly as his horn glowed mutely before he teleported the pair to his bedroom, standing on different sides of the large bed before they both got in, meeting in the middle as they got comfortable, only a hoof’s width apart from each other.

Ace leaned his head forward to meet hers, and she greeted him with a brief but deep kiss before they each said their goodnights. As they did, the canopy over the bed was alight with tender starlight, much like the stars they had just watched together.

“I am truly blessed to never be far from my beloved Starlight,” Ace said as they both closed their eyes in slumber.

Author's Note

Sorry this one is shorter than the others. I wanted the chapter to end on the note of the day ending, and I didn't want to extend any of the scenes. I do hope you all enjoy it!

Calm Before the Storm

Chapter Twenty-four: Calm Before the Storm

Twilight awoke to the feeling of something rubbing against her torso and stomach. The warm, caressing touch put a smile and a light blush over her features without her even needing to open her eyes. She rolled onto her side to face the pony that laid with her in the spacious bed. When she did, he kissed her forehead with a smile as his hoof came to rest on her flank, near her cutie mark.

“Good morning, my Starlight,” he said as she stroked his mane. “I trust you slept well?” She nodded. “I am glad to hear it, but I am afraid we have much to do today, and we will be hard pressed to do so from our bedchamber.”

Twilight knew this was her cue to get out of the bed, but her body felt heavy beneath the blankets with the comfort the bed offered as she gazed into his heterochromatic eyes. With a soft laugh, Ace raised his hoof and landed it playfully on her flank, eliciting a sharp gasp as her blush intensified.

“Come on lazy haunch, we have work to do!” he called, still laughing as he threw the covers off of the pair and leapt from the bed. Twilight, a playfully sour expression on her face, bounced from the bed to her hooves as she prepared to pounce on him. Seeing the intention in her eyes, however, he started to run through to the library with a playful smile on his face.

Twilight gave chase, following him through the library. Once they made the foyer, Ace turned with a smile and a wave. Just as Twilight was coming through the doors, he leapt backwards over the banister. Worried, Twilight pressed herself against the banister in time to see Ace land gracefully on all fours, looking up and sticking his tongue out at her before running into the ballroom.

Twilight raced down the stairs while also being careful not to fall. As soon as she could, she turned into the ballroom and looked around to try and find where her prey may be hiding. Seeing no sign of him, she closed her eyes to focus upon her magical senses.

As soon as she did, however, she heard him call out “Now the hunter becomes the hunted!” just as he leapt from the wall above the door and landed softly onto her back, wrapping his hooves around her as he playfully nibbled at the side of her neck while snarling and growling like a rabid dog.

Despite her playfully dire situation, Twilight couldn’t help but giggle as his mouth played at the side of her neck, tickling her. After a moment of feasting on her flesh, Ace stopped and just rested on her back. Twilight thought that he would feel heavy or that his weight would put her uncomfortably off balance, but it didn’t.

“How are you doing that?” she asked, making him reposition his head to the side of hers. Ace smiled the goofy grin that denoted he was about to play another one of his tricks as he came into Twilight’s view.

“It’s a special technique used to control one’s weight. All of my muscles are loose and relaxed right now, making my body lighter. However…” Ace’s weight suddenly intensified, making Twilight buckle her knees at the unexpected shift before he slid off of her. “If I stop, my weight returns to normal. If I were to tense myself, I could increase my weight as well.”

Twilight nodded as Ace started to move towards one of the side doors of the ballroom. Following along, she thought she’d ask about the other feat Ace had performed, “Is that how you jumped ten meters without getting hurt?” Ace shook his head.

“That’s a similar trick, but not the same. For that, I shifted the weight of my body, and when the first hoof hits the ground, I move all of the weight to that hoof as the others alight. It’s pretty difficult to do by itself, but since my perception of time is askewed by my magical senses, it is considerably easier.”

As he spoke, he opened the door to what looked like the kitchen. As Twilight entered the polished room, she couldn’t help but remember Proper’s comment about the room being a tribute to Princess Luna. The countertops were a glistening black marble that somehow featured not only white specks that resembled twinkling stars, but also a swirling undertone of cobalt blue, even resembling nebulae in a few places.

The stove was fashioned to look the same as the countertops, the only difference being the absence of the stars on it, and the four suns that embodied the heating elements. In the center of the room was a marble countertop island, upon which ingredients were beginning to gather as Ace tended to the coffeepot, which was a standout white compared to the starlit night décor the rest of the room represented.

Twilight shook her head with a soft smile as she examined the ingredients as they gathered on the island, “Pancakes again?” she asked before he nodded with a smile. Twilight wasn’t sure why she had expected anything different. Nevertheless, Twilight took the ingredients in her magic to prepare the batter, wanting to contribute in their breakfast as well. Ace prepared two skillets on the stove, awaiting the batter.

Twilight decided to try and eat her pancakes the same way he always does, not putting any syrup on them as she ate them from her magic without a plate. She tried, however she couldn’t get past the dryness of the first one before surrendering and putting a small amount of syrup on it.

When Ace saw this, he stifled a laugh. “Here, try this next one,” he said as he pulled a small slice from a stick of butter and melted it in her skillet before adding the batter. Once the pancake was fully cooked, he offered it to her as she tried it without syrup.

The butter melted into the morsel made it much moister, making it easier to swallow without the syrup and giving the food a better texture as she chewed it. Before she realized it, she had eaten the whole thing as Ace offered her another one.

“I eat them without syrup out of habit from my adventuring days, but it helps to add some extra butter if you intend to get used to it as well,” he said as he offered it to her.

After they ate their breakfast, Ace teleported the duo to Ponyville, this time remembering to take his glasses with him as he did so. Twilight looked around a bit to regain her bearings.

“So what errands do we have on our agenda for today? I know we need to speak with Rarity, but the way you mentioned it, it sounded as though there were any number of additional tasks,” she asked as they made their way towards the Carousel Boutique.

Ace nodded. “We have no shortage of things we can be doing to prepare ourselves, my student. After we affirm Rarity’s progress, we may need to check on your other friends as well.” Twilight nodded, a short moment passing before Ace spoke again, as though the next task had skipped his mind completely. “Oh, and we also need to meet with Princess Luna later today.”

Twilight nearly froze at the mention of the princess, being almost entirely unprepared for a royal encounter. Twilight glanced back in the direction of her home nervously, but Ace just stifled a laugh. “You need not be ‘prepared’ to meet the princess, Twilight; she is our friend and we shall greet her as such.”

Twilight nodded, supposing he was right. Twilight nodded with a sigh as the pair made it to Rarity’s store, allowing themselves inside before they found the mare hard at work in the backroom. So enraptured was she in her work, she hadn’t heard Ace come to stand directly behind her, leaning his head over her shoulder as she worked the loom in a fevered pitch with a few jars of anti-magic powder mixed with water soaking some of the threads at her side.

Twilight came alongside him, both of them watching over the mare’s shoulders. After a time, Rarity paused to run a hoof across her forehead, and in doing so struck Ace lightly under the chin. Ace only smiled as Rarity turned to look at him, screaming as she fell backwards into Twilight, eliciting an immediate second scream as the pair laughed.

Rarity held a hoof to her chest, breathing heavily at the excitement before they both offered a hoof to help her up. When she had calmed down enough, she took each of their hooves as they pulled her upright again. Ace and Twilight shared a laugh before he spoke.

“Sorry about that, Rarity. You were just really zoned out as you were working. We came by to see how the nets were going, and it looks like you are doing a splendid job so far.” Twilight nodded that she agreed as Rarity sighed, righting her stool that had fallen with her.

“I’ll have the nets ready by tonight. If I get them done before then, I’ll let you know.” Rarity looked as though she was troubled by something, her head tilted downward with a pout as she returned to face the loom.

Twilight and Ace shared a look and a nod before they both hovered over her shoulders again. Not being so focused on her work, she noticed almost immediately, but worked for a few moments before spinning on the stool to face them with a sigh.

“Are you sure you two don’t need any help? I mean, I could make a lasso for Applejack, and Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash could drop the nets on him…” Twilight looked to Ace, who held his hooves in an ‘X’ formation as he shook his head.

“While I do appreciate the offer Rarity – I truly do, - but I can’t risk Discord catching scent of our plan too swiftly. With the Elements of Chaos back in his control, he would actually have enough magical power to withstand the nets, if he had charged the magic beforehoof.” Ace sat back, his arms crossed and his head lowered as he thought.

“This plan is very much reliant on Discord not knowing a thing about it. He’ll be suspicious of the Elements of Harmony standing around waiting for him,” Ace said as he shrugged. “It’s actually possible that you still retain a part of the Elements of Harmony inside of each of you, making it possible to use a portion of their power.” Ace shook his head as he stood back up. “However, since he has the Elements of Chaos, it may only feed him more than hurt him.”

Rarity turned back to her work with a solemn nod, Twilight resting a hoof against her back to show her sympathy. “I’m sorry Rarity, but this is our best chance to stop Discord before anypony gets hurt. I’m not saying that it’ll be easy, just this is our best chance.”

Ace nodded with a smile. “Besides, we’re not saying you can’t help, just that you aren’t part of the plan. If Discord comes, and he’s not taken care of before you can make it there, then by all means, come and do what you can.” Twilight smiled as well at the news, and Rarity’s expression brightened as well. “I’m not saying you should make a lasso, per se, but if there’s a few leftover materials, it wouldn’t hurt to make something somepony could make use of. Oh, but I want to keep one of the boxes of anti-magic stones, if you’d be so kind – just in case.”

Rarity nodded with a smile, now much happier about her role in things. She would likely spread the news that they would possibly get to help out to the others, as well. Twilight decided it would be a good idea to leave the mare so that she could finish her work in peace. Ace motioned for her to go on ahead. Twilight raised an eyebrow, but didn’t openly question him as she left.

Twilight went outside and waited under a tree on a hill a short distance from the shop. She took the short reprieve to reflect on recent events…

’I’ve only known Ace for a few days… He just showed up out of nowhere at my home, asking for help that I could hardly provide; in truth, it was really Rarity who helped him more than I, and yet he felt that he owed me. After I helped him, he insisted that he pay me back by teaching me…

Actually, thinking back, that wasn’t what had happened… I had actually asked him to help me, though in context I was talking to Spike about what I should say, and he just happened to hear me… Such an unlikely coincidence; though he actually seems to always be in the right place at the right time…

At first, Ace wasn’t really willing to part with much information, but after we spent some time together, it’s like he would trust me with his life; he always had some story from his past that was relevant to the situation… I suppose that would make sense, considering his true age is almost that of the Princesses.

When I became Ace’s student, I thought he would just be teaching me powerful spells, but in the end he was teaching me much more valuable skills and techniques I likely would never have learned elsewhere…

If it wasn’t for Ace being there, Discord would never have gotten the Elements of Harmony, but I think that was really more Princess Celestia’s fault… Then again, perhaps Ace is right that Discord’s Chaos magic is doing something strange to Princess Celestia’s mind, and she’s not really acting herself… If that’s true, then it’s a good thing that Ace came when he did.

If it wasn’t for Ace, we wouldn’t have a plan to combat Discord, either… I may have come up with the plan, but Ace has more anti-magic stone than I have ever seen… Then again, he also wrote the book that describes the unusual element’s properties.'

Twilight felt Ace’s familiar magic wash over her, and she smiled warmly as she refocused her attention. Doing so brought her to realize she was in her magical form, unsure of when she had done so. Ace’s magical form smiled warmly back at her as he sat at a close distance in front of her.

“Were you practicing your magical senses, my Starlight?” he asked, his voice pulsing through her magical form as his lips remained still.

Twilight shook her head as she replied in the same way. “I was just thinking. I believe I went into my magical form instinctually, since I wasn’t paying attention anyways.” Ace’s smile widened slightly.

“That’s a good thing, then. It means that your body is beginning to trust your magical senses more. Before long you will-“ Ace’s lesson was cut off as both his magical and physical bodies turned his head to the side as a goofy grin graced both of his features.

Twilight and Ace both returned their magic to their bodies, Twilight recovering her physical senses just in time to see a pink blur leap past her and pounce on Ace. Twilight moved a hoof to hide her laugh as Pinkie triumphed over the powerful Unicorn who was caught off guard, pinning him to the ground.

The two laughed at their playful roughhousing before Ace started laughing, looking at Twilight sideways. Twilight’s expression changed to playful panic as he spoke, “Hey Pinkie, I think Twilight might need a hug.” The pink earth pony’s face changed to surprise as she leapt off of Ace and pursued Twilight, who circled around the tree.

When Pinkie finally caught her, she pulled her into a large hug that threatened to break her ribs, were it any tighter. As soon as Twilight’s hooves were taken off of the ground, Ace ran up from behind, pouncing on the pair and yelling, “Pony Pile!”

The three tumbled to the ground laughing as Ace triumphed, landing on top until Pinkie bucked him off and leapt over him again. This left Twilight free to jump onto the pile, finally on top as the trio laughed. Ace grasped Twilight’s front hooves and braced her against the pony between her.

When Pinkie tried to buck her off, she realized that Twilight and Ace were working together against her. As soon as she had, Ace turned and rolled the pile over, placing himself on top again as they laughed.

“Wow, when did you two start working together?” the overturned Pinkie said as she laughed. “I don’t think I can win like this!” Ace climbed down from the pile with a smile, offering a hoof to help each of the mares to their hooves.

He pulled them both up, both he and Twilight looking to Pinkie as though she had something to say. She looked around at the two, her hoof meeting her chin as she thought for a moment. Eventually, she just shook her head and shrugged.

“I was just walking past, and I felt my eye getting all itchy, so I thought to myself, ‘Oh my goodness, it’s Acey and Twilight!’” she said as she pressed her hooves against her cheeks in shock. “So I came running up here as quick as I could, and here you were!”

Ace nodded with a smile as he removed his glasses and laid them to the side beneath the tree. Twilight and Pinkie both smiled at the subtle gesture that showed Ace was truly comfortable around the mares as they all sat in the shade of the tall tree.

“So where have you two been up until now? Nopony has seen you since the day before the day before yesterday!” Pinkie said before placing a hoof against her chin. “Well, that’s not entirely true, because Rarity saw you, and Rarity is a pony…” she said with a shake of her head. “But very few ponies have seen you in Ponyville over the last few days! Were you two on a date?”

Twilight’s cheeks started to turn rosy as Ace put a hoof to his chin, thinking as he spoke. “Not really, no, not a date. However, that is a terrific idea,” he said as he turned to Twilight with a warm smile. “Perhaps my Starlight and I should go on a date soon. With her consent, of course.”

Twilight cheeks turned a full shade of pink as she nodded, Pinkie’s jaw dropping before turning up in a smile as she looked between the two. “Oh my light, I knew you two were perfect for each other!” she said as she started to bounce around the pair as Ace’s cheeks turned a lighter shade as well. “’Pinkie,’ I said to myself, ‘Acey and Twilight are so much alike! They would be perfect for each other!’ That’s exactly what I said!”

Ace laughed as his head turned to keep track of the prancing pony. “Yes, Pinkie, we believe you. Nopony here doubts your judgment.” Pinkie was reduced to giggles as she bounced around the pair.

“You even have a nickname, Twilight! And it’s soooo cute!” Pinkie stopped in mid bounce and turned her head to look somewhere into town. “Awww, I really would like to stay and talk about how cute of a couple you guys are, but I gotta go,” she said as she started to bounce down the hill. “See you soon!” she called as the two waved and said their farewells as well.

Once she was out of earshot, Ace turned back to Twilight as he nodded. “It really would help to have Pinkie’s assistance with the Discord problem as well,” he said with a shake of his head. “I used to teach Pinkie self-defense lessons, most specifically the use of defensive weapons such as the Rapier.”

Twilight stifled a laugh as she listened. “I can’t imagine that the lessons went too well; Pinkie was probably bouncing around more than she was listening.” Ace shook his head with a reminiscent look on his face.

“Actually, she is the single most capable duelist I have ever had the good pleasure to meet.” Twilight’s jaw dropped a bit as she stared at him in disbelief. He just nodded as he replied. “You see, Pinkie has an unimaginable control over her body that I can only attribute to her magic-touched lineage. In addition to this, her Pinkie Sense gives her a three-sixty view of the battle akin to my magic senses, though much more passively.”

Twilight placed a hoof to her chin as she thought about the implications. “You see, Pinkie can actually throw her weight in the same way that a ventriloquist would throw their voice. In addition to this unheard of skill, she is able to predict the motions of the enemy, easily countering their attempts to avoid her, while also making minimal motions to avoid her opponent’s weapon within the nearest millimeter of the blow. It is quite the beautiful sight to behold, Pinkie fighting an opponent. Personally, I have never bested her in combat.”

Twilight, recalling the events that were retold to her about his escape from Canterlot Castle, found such an idea astonishing. Ace nodded that it was true. “I would attempt to strike her during our sparring matches, and she would easily outmaneuver me, her laugh never faltering. When she struck, even as I blocked the attack with my own weapon, the weapon would either break under the force of her entire weight slamming into it, or I would be brought to my knees by the sudden force.”

Twilight looked after where Pinkie had bounced off into the distance, her face the picture of awe as her mouth hung loosely open. “You mean to say that Pinkie is better with a sword than you are?” Ace nodded.

“She excels in the use of defense weapons, such as staves and rapiers. When it comes to deadlier weapons, however, I would still outperform her, but against her she would still win given a weapon of her choice. She is unable to use bladed or other lethal weapons, as she cannot stand the thought of harming another pony. Also, were I to use Loki’s Key against her, I would prevail only due to the properties of the artifact.” Twilight nodded, still amazed that her friend was so skilled in single combat.

Ace looked distant for a moment, his features set in a look of concentration. Before long, he smiled his goofy friend-or-prank smile and started to trot down the hill, pausing only for a moment to look and be certain she was following. She followed him down, and they headed for the market.

“What’s going on, Ace? You look like one of your friends just came to town.” Ace looked back at her as they ran, the smile still in place as he nodded.

“That’s because she has just come to town; we’re going to go and meet her,” Ace said as he turned back forward as they neared the market.

Twilight kept pace behind him, until Ace found who he was looking for and immediately jumped up to pounce onto their back. This was his intention, at least, until the Unicorn - with a coat that matched Ace’s, though she bore a cobalt mane and tail, - lit up her horn and blasted him backwards through the market as he came behind her.

The mare and Twilight both turned and watched as Ace was sent flying through the market. Just before he would have hit one of the stalls, he pulled his hooves to himself in a protective gesture, and a sphere of his magic encompassed his form and held him in place as the pony behind the stall cowered on the ground. Twilight and the mystery mare both ran towards the sphere, calling his name in worry.

When the two neared the sphere, it started to come apart slowly, like an egg that was starting to hatch in midair. Ace fell out of the sphere, landing on his face as the mystery mare glared at him. Ace started to rise up, a hoof to the side of his head as his nose was bleeding, along with several places on his body.

“Po dra Vydac, E ryda secvenac...” he said as he started to rise to his feet, the mare’s horn lighting in a spell to heal his wounds. “Thanks. Could you look before you fire next time, maybe?”

She only glared at him before as she replied, “Uhmo ev oui fuimt dyga paddan lyna, so pnudran.” Twilight was beginning to get confused with all of the Al Bhed being spoken, and a few other ponies were starting to stare as well.

Ace stood more steadily, shaking his head to clear it as the last of his wounds were healing. “Sister, we should probably speak Equestrian; Twilight is here and we are in public besides.”

The mare looked around and planted a hoof to her mouth as she blushed. “’Twas by your design, my brother! You spoke in the olden tongue first and have caused me to do so as well!” Ace motioned for her to calm down, as well as lower her voice.

As she took a calming breath, Ace held a hoof out to her, turning to Twilight who stood beside her. “Twilight, this is Night Scroll,” he said as the mare bowed her head in greeting. “She is my sister and she has come to speak with us on a matter most grave. Do you understand?”

Twilight nodded as she looked to the mare in a new light, seeing that her emblem was a scroll that looked aged, the writing on it featuring Al Bhed script in a solid black color. Ace motioned toward Twilight’s home after the two had looked at each other for a sufficient amount of time.

“Come, let us go speak in private so that we can discuss what course of action we should follow.”

Weathering the Storm

Chapter Twenty-five: Weathering the Storm

Ace, Twilight, and Night Scroll sat upstairs in the library; Ace and Twilight rested flank-to-flank upon her bed while Night Scroll laid on Ace’s circular one. Night Scroll was looking around the small room, a smile on her face as though she had never seen the inside of another pony’s home before.

“What news doth thou bring from Canterlot, my sister? Has there been any minor disturbances in the kingdom that can be attributed to the chaos spirit?” Night Scroll brought her eyes to gaze at the pair again, her features portraying a more serious look now.

Night Scroll shook her head. “There were a few leads, but the Shadow Sentinels have declared they are nothing worthy of mine attention; if the spirit has returned since his departure, it hath not been in Canterlot.”

Ace held a hoof to his chin as he nodded. “Likely, the elements are not yet charged. I must say, I know not how long it would take them to do so in a dimensional shard created entirely of Chaos. It could take only days, or maybe take weeks,” Ace shrugged as he shook his head. “I just don’t have any way of knowing, no way of testing.”

Twilight nodded, pulling a piece of parchment and an inkwell and quill from the writing desk downstairs. “So, the plan so far is-“ Night Scroll’s horn lit in a black aura that matched Ace’s as the same glow wafted around the parchment as it burned in a brilliant blue flame. Twilight nearly jumped away, but Ace rested a hoof over her back to reassure her as well as hold her in place.

“We must not allow the plan to be written, my dear Twilight,” Ace said as Night Scroll moved the ashes to a waste bin. “As I mentioned to Rarity, the plan is reliant on the Chaos Spirit knowing nothing about it.” Twilight only managed to nod in reply as the quill and inkwell found their way back to the writing desk.

“Okay… Well the plan so far, is that we wait for Discord to appear,” she said, which caused Ace to laugh slightly as Night Scroll shook her head with a sigh. “What now?”

Twilight looked to Ace, his laugh persisting as he shook his head now as well. “We had been avoiding calling the Chaos Spirit by name to ensure he wasn’t paying attention, but it would seem that ship has sailed.” Twilight’s cheeks tinted pink as she realized how little attention she had been paying.

Night Scroll sighed once again with a nod as she spoke, “The plan requires finding the spirit as he appears, trapping him in an anti-magic trap, and then triggering my brother’s magical overload. Once he has overloaded, Twilight Sparkle is to teleport in with her magic and take the elements…” her hoof met her face before she continued, glaring at Ace as she said the final word, “’elsewhere.’”

Twilight nodded at the mention of her role in the plan. “Princess Luna is going to help Ace reach the overload by flooding him with her magic, since she knows the most about it and too much magic could cause the overload to kill him.” They both looked at her for a moment with their eyebrows raised before they both shared a sigh.

Twilight was only growing more and more confused as the pair had apparently set their own rules and made their own code for the conversation, and Twilight appeared to be breaking every one of them. Ace pulled off his glasses and laid them on the nightstand by his bed.

“After the overload, Night Scroll and I are going to find a way to… make sure that the chaos spirit doesn’t pose any more… problems in the future.” Night Scroll nodded, the serious look almost appearing to deepen. “I’m going to go and double check Rarity’s progress. Wait here.”

With that, Ace teleported away in the black flash of his magic. This left Twilight alone with Night, who stretched with a yawn. Before Night had finished her stretching, Ace reappeared next to Twilight in the same black flash. “As she mentioned, the nets will not be finished until later tonight.”

Everypony was quiet for a moment, both of them looking at Twilight as if they were expecting something. Twilight looked between the two trying to think of what it was. “So, um, you’re Ace’s sister? Are you as old as he is?”

This seemed to make both of them relax as Night nodded with a smile. “Indeed I am, as I am the older sister. In fact, Ace is the youngest of us. Ace and I are not related by blood, if that was meant to be your next inquiry.” Twilight nodded, remembering that Ace had said he was the last of his bloodline.

“But you are able to speak Al Bhed fluently enough that you don’t realize that you’re doing it. You must have been speaking Al Bhed for a very long time.” Ace and Night both nodded in synchronicity before Night smiled sheepishly.

“Yes, Ace taught me a long time ago while we were adventuring together. It’s actually a cypheric language in regards to Equestrian. For example, the letter ‘D’ in common Equestrian is the letter ‘T’ in Al Bhed.” Night Scroll nodded as Ace smiled and continued the story.

“Each night when we stopped to rest, I would teach her the glyphs, and once she had memorized each of them, I started to teach her the pronunciations. In total, it only took a week or two,” Ace shrugged before he continued. “A day to learn and a lifetime to master, however, as it took quite some time before she was able to speak it entirely fluently.”

Twilight thought about the beautiful script of the language that was like artwork in its own right. “Does that mean that you could teach me how to speak it as well?” she asked, looking between the two. They nodded in unison again, but this time it was Ace who smiled nervously.

“Certainly. Once the chaos spirit is taken care of, we could likely start lessons as soon as you ask. There may be other pressing matters that come into view, but as of now I can see no reason not to, my student,” Ace said as Twilight beamed at the thought of not only learning a new language, but her special somepony’s mother tongue.

“So you and Ace use to travel together? What was it-“ before she could finish, they both looked to the town as if they could see straight through the walls that blocked their view. “What is it? Is there something wrong?”

Night Scroll was already leaping from the bed as Ace was affixing his lenses. “There is something right, my student. Discord is about to appear, and he has come to us. It is time to begin the plan.” Twilight’s mind started racing at a mile a minute. Her mouth started to work, but Ace only shook his head. “Nets or not, we must confront the threat now. We won’t get a second chance. Come, my dear student.” With that, he was chasing after Night Scroll as Twilight followed close behind him.

They raced through the small home and towards the marketplace. As they arrived, coming alongside Night Scroll who was already scowling at the air, a dimensional tear began to open. As it did, Night Scroll’s size magnified, her coat’s color changed to a dark sapphire blue, and a black peytral plate bearing the crest of the moon appeared as he cutie mark changed to that same crest with a black splotch over her haunch. When she had reached her full size, a pair of wings gave a powerful flap that kicked up some of the dust around her before they folded back to her sides.

As she changed, Princess Luna kept her gaze solid on the tear, awaiting the eventual appearance of their foe. “Twilight, this is the part of the plan where you retreat; do you not recall?” Twilight’s face paled at her own incompetence as Luna’s horn began to glow, gifting a visible stream of magic to her brother as his body started to shake.

Twilight teleported herself back to her house, standing upon the terrace with her arms over the banister as she fought for the best view she could afford. She managed to see the pair, but it was such a distance that she could only tell they were there and little else. The dimensional tear, however, was quite easily visible – as was Discord, who could be seen stepping out of it with a clawed hand reaching towards Ace as he did so.

The Draconequus appeared to be laughing, Ace appeared to be hurt and Luna appeared distraught. It was then that Twilight realized that Discord’s hand was feeding a stream of magic into Ace as well, causing him to over-overload! The white sphere that expanded from Ace before began to appear as his coat turned a brilliantly white and his mane and tail appeared to be aflame.

Not long after the sphere had begun to expand, however, it turned a solid black color while the lighting that arced from it was stark white. Instead of expanding, the black sphere was retracing, imploding; Ace looked to be in a great deal of pain as the blackness closed around his body. Parts of Ace’s body begun to disintegrate as Luna did her best to stop Discord, but the demon of a spirit only deflected her attacks the way one would bat away a fly.

Discord, draped in the six Elements of Chaos, was far stronger than even Luna could hope to be. Knowing that her magic could only fail her, she charged her horn full of magic and attempted to charge at the foe, but he only grasped her horn with his lion’s paw and shook his head as he threw her over a shoulder.

Discord’s stream of magic that flowed into Ace’s being halted, and the black sphere collapsed fully, causing a small explosion of magical energy that left only a charred mark upon the ground. Twilight’s hooves hit the flooring of the terrace hard as she watched the event unfold before her very eyes, and could do nothing to stop it.

Luna rose to her hooves, regaining her senses with a shake of her head. Once her vision had cleared, she saw Twilight standing where Ace had fought Discord. Luna trotted to the pony and came to a halt alongside her.

Twilight’s eyes overflowed with her emotions as she stood over the black streak – here in this very spot was all that remained of her special somepony. She could think of nothing. All that flew into her mind were the few memories she had of the pony. It was as though her life was flashing before her eyes, now ended after so very brief a time.

She felt something touch her shoulder, and she turned to see Luna standing over her. Sniffling, she tried to speak to the princess, but was only barely able to manage a blubber of a voice, “He’s…. Luna, he’s… Ace is dead…”

Before Luna could even open her mouth to reply, Twilight’s body became encompassed in a brilliant white glow. “He can’t be dead! There’s no way that Ace could ever die!” Twilight’s glow passed over the ground as her body buckled under the force of the powerful life magic.

Luna lifted the hoof off of her shoulder, but swiftly redelivered it across the tormented mare’s face. Twilight flew across the ground, her face swelling before she ever touched the earth.

“I know not for what purpose Ace has taught you to harness Life Magic, but this is not the time for you to offer your life for nothing in return, Twilight. I am certain that Ace has told you the very same.”

Twilight rested on her back, a single hoof supporting her as she angrily glared at her aggressor. “I have to save him! He would do the same thing for me!” Princess Luna only approached the injured Unicorn with a disdainful look on her features.

“Such was Ace’s way – Ace would give his right hoof to save the life of a stranger, if needs be. Be that as it may, Twilight, there is still an enemy that we must face. We know where he is likely to head next, but we cannot fight this foe on our own. Come with me, and together, we will finish what Ace could never do on his own.”

Princess Luna offered a hoof to the mare, who stared at it for a moment before finally nodding and taking it in her own. As she did, she was thrown onto Luna’s back as her wings spread wide, beating once before she leapt into the air. She flew southwest of the town, her speed causing Twilight to wrap her hooves around her neck for safety.

Discord tore a hole in space with his clawed hand, which bore the Element of Treachery. He stepped into the spacious underground room with a stretch, reacquainting himself with the weight of his beloved accessories. They were no longer the necklaces they were when he had stolen them from the vault, now taking on the form that most befitted their host.

As he was doing so, a pair of floating rocks flew over his head, spreading a purple light over himself. Once the light had crossed over his entire body, red lights shot on as a klaxon alarm soon followed; filling the room with both offensive light and sound.

Discord pressed his lion paw, which bored the Element of Lies, to his throat, just above the Element of Tears. As he spoke, his voice sounded precisely like Ace’s, “Subject: Discord Draconequus. Class: Assistant Unicorn. Clearance level: Five. Authorization: Ace Deus Fenrir. Confirmation: Two-seven-six-six.”

The alarm halted as the harsh red lights returned to a soft blue glow and the stones returned to their recesses. ’Welcome to the Workshop, Discord Draconequus, and may the moon grant its divine blessing upon you. Noblesse Oblige.’

Discord only laughed, commenting, “This is far too easy…” in his normal voice as the paw fell away at the voice in his head. As he did so, however, one of the doors in the lab opened. A Unicorn came through with a red-and-black amulet around his neck and a silver bracelet over his right shoulder that mirrored the pouch over his left.

“Override: Intruder! Belay previous order indefinitely! Deny Access: Discord Draconequus is an intruder!” As the Unicorn spoke, the alarm and lights returned, a sour face falling upon Discord’s features.

“My, my, my… You truly are full of surprises, aren’t you?” Discord said with a shrug as the stones from before flew out of the holes in the wall. His temper flaring, the Elements of Disharmony began to glow sharply. “Just what does it take to kill you, Wolf?!”

The lab tilted, bringing the equipment stacked against the back wall sliding past as the Unicorn’s hooves glowed – That is, all but one of his hooves glowed – in a spell he used to keep himself from losing his footing. As the equipment flew past, it started to come alive and attack the Unicorn.

A desk lounged at him, but the silver bracelet pulsed and a sword flew into his hoof in time to cleave the desk in two before it ever came within harm’s reach. As a pair of beakers flew towards the pony’s eyes, the sword changed into a shield as he deflected the projectiles. The bracelet pulsed again, this time beginning to form a suit of armor around the pony.

As the Unicorn was getting geared up, the stones of the lab attacked the Draconequus on their own, at first catching him off guard from behind with a short concussive blast that knocked Discord forward as he floated in the air.

Discord turned to assault the stones in his anger, but as he did so, he felt a pair of piercing pains in his back that tore through his being. He looked down to see two javelin heads peeking through the front of his chest. With a snarl, he tore them out through the front, crying out in pain with a howl as the javelins turned into large, jagged blades. The expanding of the metal tore at his insides.

The chaos spirit blasted a concussive force throughout the room, knocking the metal from his body as it fell to the bottom of the room. When he turned to face the opponent, the Unicorn was directly behind him, greeting him with a swing of a sword that caught him across his face as he reached a hoof toward the Amulet of Tears. The clasp of the amulet gave way under the force of the pony pulling it and the spirit recoiling from the normally lethal blow.

The Unicorn’s horn lit up and teleported the amulet away as he assumed his fighting stance against the floor-turned-slanted-wall with his hooves glowing, his silver armor glinting in the blue light. “Face it, Discord! So long as I wield the Amulet of the Alicorn, I am as strong as you even with the Elements under your command once more! Admit your defeat, and you may yet live to see Celestia again!”

Discord glared at the pony, his wounds healing rapidly in an orange glow. “I already told you, Fenrir, that Celestia means nothing to me! She is a pawn to server my schemes and nothing more!” The last of his injuries healed as he spoke, and as he did so, he snapped his clawed hand with a clack as the room filled with a pink mist.

“Do you think that your tricks will save you, Discord? I can still see through my magical senses, you fool. You have already lost and you only work to prolong the inevitable!” Discord’s laugh filled the room as his body darted all about the topsy-turvy room.

As he did so, he left duplicates of himself that then spread and started to do the same. Knowing that even he could not hope fend off countless Discords, Ace’s bracelet, the Loki’s Key, pulsed and released countless shards of metal at each of the doppelgangers. When they neared their target, they expanded into various types of swords. Many, but not all, of the swords found their mark, others chased after their foes.

’I can control only one hundred and fourty-two swords while maintaining my magical senses, the armor, and the wall-tread spell.’ Ace thought to himself as the battle carried on. ’If he makes too many clones, I will be far too distracted to fight properly. I must not allow that to happen!’

Despite his best efforts, however, it did happen. One of the Dis-clones appeared behind him, and before he could leap away, tore a hole through the back of his armor. As he leapt away, another clone was waiting behind him, tearing more holes in his defenses before a set of swords found their mark in the clone and destroyed it.

Ace brought some of his attention to his armor, attempting to mend the equipment, but before he could, one of the desks crashed into him and sent him sprawling. Ace’s horn lit brought, recasting the wall-tread spell. Using the opportunity, another clone tore through the silver armor as though it were paper.

Shredded as it was, the body plate and peytral plate fell from his body as he cursed. Before he could reform the armor, one of the clones appeared through a tear and tore the loosely-clasped Amulet of the Alicorn from his neck.

As the artifact was torn away from him, a number of swords in the room fell to the ground before dissolving and eventually disappearing into a cloud of steam that flew back into the Loki’s Key.

Discord’s laugh filled the room as the clones all merged back into him and the pink mist all coalesced around Ace, turning into what looked like cotton candy, yet had the resilience and feel of solid steel. Ace was fully entrapped, leaving only his helmeted head free.

The Draconequus appearing before the Unicorn, no longer fearing the opponent. “Well, look what we have here,” he said as he dangled the Amulet of the Alicorn in a single claw. “I wonder what would happen if one were to bear five of the Elements of Power in addition to such a powerful relic! Can you imagine the chaos, Ace?” Ace’s jaw dropped at the poor situation he found himself in, muttering another curse.

No sooner than he had, however, the door to the workshop opened, revealing Twilight and Princess Luna. The two attempted to enter the room normally, and nearly fell as they set hoof on the steep incline. Princess Luna’s hooves lit with the glow of her magic as she cast the wall-tread spell, Twilight watching and lighting her horn to mimic the spell as well.

“Ace, we’re here now! Just tell us what you need us to do!” Twilight called from Luna’s side by the door, the two afraid to enter any further for fear of throwing off any sort of plan he was currently taking part in.

Discord laughed triumphantly before he spoke. “Oh, isn’t that just serendipitous! Now all of you will bear witness to my ascension to power as I don the Alicorn Amulet!” he shouted as the pink mist formed around the others as well, eliciting a sharp gasp from both of them.

“I am sorry, my most beloved ponies. I have tried to best Discord under my own strength, and have failed. Through my incompetence, Discord is now stronger than ever…” Ace said, his expression downcast as the spirit only laughed.

“As you should be! Let this be a lesson that nopony will ever be any match for a spirit of pure chaos!” he called as he prepared to put on the amulet.

The moment the clasp was cinched, the Elements of Disharmony pulsated in a bright light. Discord laughed maniacally at his good fortune. That was, however, until the elements lost their glow, and the Amulet begun to burn far more brightly than they had.

The mist-turned-metal that had formed around the ponies started to fade as the Amulet’s light grew brighter and brighter. “Wha- You, Wolf! What have you done to the Elements of Disharmony?!” Discord’s previous injuries started to open slowly as well. “What have you done to me?!”

Ace’s expression turned brighter as he smiled like he had just allowed himself the winning move in a chess game. “It is what you have done to yourself, Discord. By trying to merge the powers of the Elements of Disharmony with the power of the Amulet of the Alicorn, you have sealed your own fate.

“The Amulet of the Alicorn siphons the magic of the one who wears it to create a store of power. In a Unicorn, this is only a sense of tiredness when first wearing the necklace. In a being of pure chaos magic, such as yourself, it means temporarily becoming mortal. In addition to that, it has drained the power of the elements as well, reverting them back to Elements of Power.”

Discord, now bleeding from the two large holes in chest along with the cut across his face, attempted to laugh but only coughed up blood. “Well that still leaves me with the power of the Amulet! Your fate shall be no better than mine!”

Ace shook his head as he teleported Loki’s Key someplace and opened the pouch on the opposite hoof. From within it, he took out a large glowing stone that resembled the ACS stones that had aided him in his battle with the spirit. Luna and Discord both stared at the glowing stone in surprise, leaving Twilight clueless.

“You wouldn’t!” Discord said as his gaze was affixed to the glowing blue rock. “All of your precious artifacts! All your experiments! Your spell shop! You would dispel all of them! You’ll kill yourself overloading again!” Ace shook his head again with a wider smile.

“I have already relocated all of those things, you fool. We knew you were watching Twilight closely, so we developed our plan in secret. The Ace you killed was a clone comprised entirely of Luna’s magic.” The magic from the stone Ace held started to link its magic to Ace the way Luna and Discord had done to the previous Ace Clone.

“This Magicite is specifically attuned to my magic, and has only just enough magic to cause an overload. You are unable to interfere as your magic is still being drained by the Amulet, making you unable to command it. You have lost, Discord. Your life is forfeit.”

Princess Luna started to make her way towards the two, the room now level again as it was no longer distorted by Discord’s chaos magic. Discord struggled to his feet and charged towards Ace, raising his claws in a futile attempt to stop him.

Ace placed the Magicite in his mouth and shook his head, lowering himself down for the fight. Discord clawed at Ace’s neck, no longer protected by the armor of the Loki’s Key. Ace dodged back and took only a glancing blow, but still deep enough to draw blood before he bounced back and planted a hoof in Discord’s middle, bringing the spirit to his knees as Ace spun on his front hooves, swinging his backside around to land a bucking kick right to his opponent’s jaw.

Discord hit the floor hard, headfirst as the Element of Power that rest on his head flew across the room. Discord slid across the floor as well, coming to a stop in front of Luna, who brought her hoof down hard into his face as the Amulet glowed all the brighter.

Discord laid on the floor for a time, bloodied and unconscious as Ace’s form shifted to the bright-white coat and flaming hair once more. Twilight winced as Ace let out a howl of pain as the overload dominated his body, sending the intense sphere of white spreading throughout the workshop, and likely all the way into Hoofsdale. Electric energy pulsed harmlessly through the sphere, draining all the magic it came across. Once the blast was over, it retracted as Ace collapsed in a heap onto the floor.

Twilight ran to Ace’s side as Princess Luna took the amulet from around Discord’s neck, tossing it and the elements into a pile. She looked around the room for the Amulet of Tears – which would have remained unaffected, as Discord was not wearing it when he donned the Amulet of the Alicorn. Failing to see it anywhere, she shook her head with a sigh as she watched Discord laying on the floor, bleeding to death.

Disregarding the dying enemy, Princess Luna simply strolled to Ace’s side as well, resting a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. “Worry not, dear Twilight. Ace is only exhausted, whereas any other pony would likely be dead from the trials he has faced.” Twilight nodded as she turned him over so that he may be more comfortable.

She laid on her side and rested his head on her flank, intending to stay with him until he awoke. Ace’s chest rose and fell with the laboring breaths he took. Twilight examined the stone that laid on the floor to her side.

Luna nodded at the mineral as she spoke. “’Tis Magicite; a rare mineral that is not found in Equestria – how Ace manages to find such valuable things always astounds me, but he has traveled the world over in his travels whereas I have rarely left Equestria. The mineral is valued not for its rarity, but for its ability to absorb and hold magic for an indefinite amount of time.”

Twilight could only shake her head, worried more about Ace than his rare finds. “Why couldn’t you have teleported us here? Ace says your magic is stronger than his, and yet you flew us here where he would have teleported… We could have been here sooner, he didn’t need to fight Discord alone!”

Luna shook her head before she brought herself to rest curled around Twilight as she spoke. “While my magic is stronger than Ace’s, I have not worked to train my magic – I simply am strong because of my race, where he has had to work hard for what he has. His teleportation skills are most exemplary, more so than even Celestia’s. ‘Tis a secret he keeps well from us; a secret weapon should he ever need to keep himself from us, he says.” She stifled a laugh before she continued. “Sister does find it most vexing, but has not yet found the secret out no matter how hard she has tried.”

Twilight could definitely believe that. Ace was not the type to be caught unaware should his friends become enemies. “So… Is that it? I mean, we won, right?” Twilight looked to the pool of blood that was forming around Discord with a shudder. “Discord has been… dealt with, and we have the elements back again.”

Luna shook her head slowly. “We have won the battle, but there is still much to do. After Discord is dead, the Draconequus will need to send another Chaos spirit to watch over our dimension. Apart from that, we need to reform the elements of power back into the Elements of Harmony. Furthermore, there is still the matter of Celestia that we must tend to.”

Twilight sighed as she listened to the princess before laying her head across Ace’s chest, her eyes closing. “I was afraid of that…”

Landfall in Ponyville

Chapter Twenty-six: Landfall in Ponyville

Ace awoke with a terrible assortment of symptoms and feelings. The first, was that his magical senses were shut down, causing him a terrible headache – though it was likely not the sole cause, only one that made it worse. Secondly, his entire body was sore, as though he had just fallen down the wrong side of a cliff. Next, he could feel his neck was wet; given the condition of the rest of his body, it was likely blood. As for his stomach, it was tormented with a mixture of hunger and nausea. Finally, there was a weight on his chest that kept him from moving properly.

Ace ignited his magical senses without lighting his horn or opening his eyes, ever wary of the worst possible outcomes. His consciousness spread throughout the room, which he could now identify as his workshop. Finding that the weight on his chest was Twilight, whose flank his head now rested upon, a tender smile spread across his face. Wrapped around her was Princess Luna, who managed to look as though she was reprimanding him even in her sleep.

Not sensing he was in any immediate danger, Ace relaxed as he assessed the damage to his body, recalling his fight with Discord. His entire body suffered muscular distress; a result of both fighting and overloading against the foe. After the exertion that was fueled by only the light breakfast, his stomach was both drained and upset for the effort. As for his neck, it was only a small injury that bled profusely due to its location.

Judging by the amount of blood he had lost from the injury, he could tell it had been a number of hours since the battle. Ace opened his eyes slowly, his horn lighting in a spell to mend his neck as he admired his precious Starlight. Looking around the workshop, marred with the damaged remains of equipment, he was glad that he used luminescent crystals rather than spells to keep the space lit. The workshop was empty, save for his small family that laid together in their slumber. Ace noted the pool of blood that had likely been Discord’s bleeding form, and noted that Luna had likely delivered a final blow to the spirit before taking her rest.

Ace stroked Twilight’s mane with a hoof as he rested against her, making her eyes open slowly. Once they had opened half way, they shot through the other half as her head came away from his chest and a scowl fitted upon her features.

“What were you thinking?! You could have been hurt, or even killed!” Ace shrunk back as best he could, a sheepish smile on his features as he retreated. The yelling had also roused Princess Luna from her slumber as she raised her head, looking around the battle-worn squalor of the room, but not speaking just yet as she admired the two.

“You need to rely on others! I know you’re strong, Ace… And I know you’re used to being alone for more years than I can imagine…” Twilight’s features softened as she shook her head sadly. “But you’re not alone anymore. You have me, and my friends. You have your dear sister Luna,” she said as she draped a hoof over the princess’s neck, “who loves you and only wants what’s best for you.”

Luna nodded that it was true as she wrapped a wing around the pair, drawing all three of them closer together. “Your actions are often foolish, dear brother, and they make me worry for you so. I know I do not always show mine affections as I should, but you need not be the only pony in harm’s way any longer.”

Ace nodded solemnly, admitting his mistakes. “This is why I do what I can alone, dearest Twilight. I fear that somepony other than I will be hurt or even killed by my own inaction or by my own failures.” Ace’s gaze fell away from the two as his features became downcast. “It was in no small part my own fault Discord came into possession of the elements, and as such it was my duty to stop him. I could never forgive myself if somepony else died for my mistakes.”

Twilight put a hoof around him, turning him to face her once more. “This is what friends are for, Ace. When somepony has a problem, they rely not only on their own strength, but the strength of their friends as well. I know you never had a real family, but we are your new family now,” she said, Ace’s features brightening at the foreign word. “Whenever you are in any sort of trouble, we will be there to help you out. Okay?”

Ace nodded with a soft smile before Twilight pulled the three of them together in a warm embrace. When the embrace had ended, Ace couldn’t help but have attention pulled to the pool of Discord’s blood that remained near the center of the room. Twilight noted a separate collection of blood, which happened to be upon her flank and down her hind leg, though Ace’s side, back and neck fared no better.

“Sister, what have you done with Discord? I assume it was you who finished the bastard of a spirit off before we rested.” Twilight looked to Luna, their expressions nearly mirroring one another’s as they looked upon the blood with a look of apprehension.

“I have done no such thing, my brother. I had thought you disposed of the body when you awoke,” she said as Twilight nodded, having thought the same. “I had left the doomed creature to bleed to death,” she said, looking about the room. “I was unable to find the Amulet of Tears after his defeat, what has happened to the relic?”

Ace’s face was apprehensive now as well as his horn lit up in its blackened glow. “So focused was I on the battle, I only managed to teleport it to Twilight’s home. Discord could easily have determined the destination of the spell!” he said before igniting the teleportation spell and bringing the trio to the main room of the library. Ace, a new pair of glasses that matched his old ones, ran upstairs before the mares’ senses had recovered.

Twilight looked around the room, which had been turned upside down as Discord searched for his precious neckwear. The shelves of books were thrown to the floor, some of them losing a few pages in the endeavor. The table and writing desk were overturned as well. From the upstairs room, somepony yelled out in fear and surprise.

“Calm yourself, Spike! ‘Tis only I, Ace Deus Fenrir. Did you see where Discord went?” she heard Ace saying as she and Luna ran up the stairs.

Spike was cowering inside of a wardrobe, wielding an umbrella in his defense against the Unicorn who had stumbled upon his hiding place. Spike shook his head, pointing back down the stairs. “D-D-D-Discord c-c-came in h-here and h-he took s-something. W-when he c-came he w-was a-all b-b-b-bloodied up, b-but when he p-put on t-the necklace h-he started t-to get b-better,” he managed as he shook from the excitement. “H-he ran d-d-own the s-stairs and I h-heard the d-door slam shut.”

Ace nodded as he turned, leaping over the banister of the second story down to the first so as not to need to pass the two that were in front of the stairs. Luna cursed under her breath as her form started to shift back to Night Scroll. Twilight took no time to admire the sight as she bolted down the stairs after the stallion, chasing him through the door into town.

When Twilight left the building, she was expecting the town to be in chaotic disarray, with buildings floating in midair and unusual creatures doing the same. However, she was greeted by the same town it had always been as Ace stood not far in front of the house looking around frantically.

“He wishes to remain hidden, for now,” he said as Night Scroll came through the door as well. “He is still a mortal, weakened by the draining effect of the Amulet of the Alicorn. He has recovered the use of his magic, but not his chaotic powers. He can teleport, but cannot open a dimensional tear,” he said as he locked onto something in his magical senses, running towards it. “You’re right, Twilight; I cannot do everything alone. Fortunately, we have no shortage of friends who can help us.”

Twilight smiled to herself as she and Night Scroll followed along behind Ace. “The foul creature will assume the form of a pony,” Night scroll called from behind them. “However are we to find one who can blend in as he pleases? I know a scant few of the ponies in Canterlot Castle, fewer still in Ponyville.”

Ace nodded with a smile as he looked back at the two. “Likewise, I am afraid. However, there is one pony who can aid us; a pony who never forgets a face and remembers every small detail about anypony she meets.”

Night Scroll and Twilight shared a look as they both exclaimed, “Pinkie Pie!” as their expressions brightened. Ace nodded again, his smile turning wider as he turned forward, their pace quickening towards Sugarcube Corner.

Ace slowed to a casual walk as he neared the door, opening it in his magic as he walked in, not wanting to breed panic in the other ponies until Discord was found. He was greeted by Mr. and Mrs. Cake, who owned the store.

The Cakes were both earth ponies, doing all their confectionary work by hoof. Mr. Carrot Cake had a yellow coat with an orange mane that was covered by his white-and-orange paper hat. Mrs. Cup Cake had a baby blue coat with a two-tone pink-and-lighter-pink mane. She wore a feathered apron, whereas Mr. Cake wore a plain white apron with a peppermint-striped bow-tie.

“Well if it isn’t Ace,” Mrs. Cake said as her husband waved his greeting as he worked on frosting a large cake himself. “Pinkie Pie said you would be in town for quite some time. Have you come to place an order?” she asked before noticing the blood that clung to the ponies’ coats.

Ace shook his head, keeping a courteous smile on his lips as he politely declined. “Actually, Mrs. Cake, my friends and I were hoping you would know where Pinkie Pie was, if you would be so kind as to tell us.” Mrs. Cake pointed up the stairs behind the counter.

“S-she’s taking care of Pumpkin and Pound Cake, our f-foal twins, upstairs. Y-you’re all welcome to go and see her, i-if you’d like.” The trio nodded their thanks as they proceeded up the stairs. Ace opened a door on the left, knowing where to go through his magical senses.

What they found inside the room was Pumpkin and Pound Cake sitting in their individual cribs. Pound Cake, the male, had a very light-tannish coat and a dark brown mane, while his sister Pumpkin Cake had a very light-yellow coat and an orange mane. Pound Cake was a Pegasus, while Pumpkin Cake was a Unicorn. Both of them, however were laughing and pointing at a strange solid-white earth pony who was dancing around the room.

When the ghost of a pony noticed the three of them, she ran up and bounced in front of Ace. “Did you guys come to play with the foals, too? I love foals! They always smile the widest and laugh the loudest of anypony!”

Ace only shook his head with a solemn look. “I’m afraid not, Pinkie. We need your help; everypony’s help.” As he spoke, the ghost pony shook out her coat like a dog, sending white powder to coat the rest of the room, including the foals who only smiled and laughed louder for it. “Can you come and help us?”

Pinkie nodded swiftly as Ace’s horn lit up, cleaning the room and the ponies the powder and landed on, taking the chance to take the blood out of his and Twilight’s coats as well. “What kind of help do you need? Is it a party? Is that why you need everypony’s help?” Pinkie gasped. “It’s a party for everypony in Ponyville, isn’t it? This is going to be soooo exciting!” The pink pony started bouncing again as her thoughts spiraled out of control.

Ace put both of his hooves on her shoulders, locking his gaze with hers. “Pinkie, this is important. We need your help to find Discord. He’s hiding in the form of another pony, and we need your eidetic memory of everypony in Ponyville to point out anypony unusual. Understand.”

Pinkie nodded swiftly again. “So the first party game is Hide and Seek, and we’re all it; got it!” she said as she rushed past the trio and out into town, bringing the others to follow her, Ace quietly closing the door behind them.

Once the party had made it to the entrance of Sugarcube Corner, they all started looking around, as if Discord would be in the first place they looked. “We should get the others as well, just in case we need to use the Elements to stop him,” Ace said as they all nodded.

The closest home where they were likely to find Twilight’s friends was the Carousel Boutique, so the group turned and headed down the road. Night Scroll watched Pinkie, unsure of why the earth pony had not yet made some sort of motion to welcome her to Ponyville, as the two had technically never met before.

“Tell me, Pinkie Pie, do you know who I am? Thou did not seem unfamiliar though I do not believe we have met.” Pinkie looked offended as she eyes the Unicorn. “Of course we’ve met before, Princess Luna! I was there when you first came back to Equestria! Don’t you remember?”

Night Scroll wore a mask of shock upon her features as the pink pony so easily disassembled her carefully formulated disguise. Ace was laughing while Twilight only shook her head with a smile. “That’s Pinkie Pie for you,” they both said in unison. Night Scroll could only nod her head with a sigh as she agreed.

Once they neared Rarity’s home, Pinkie was the first to bounce through the door. “Come out, come out, wherever you are!” she called as she bounced through the shop. Soon after, there was a rustling sound, followed by a scream and what sounded like bottles and objects being thrown.

Shortly after the noise had ended, Pinkie backed up into the view of the others as Rarity was dragged into the room, her back hoof being pulled by Pinkie’s mouth like a dog with a toy. Rarity was completely drenched, her mane pulled up in a towel as she crossed her arms over her chest, resigning herself to whatever Pinkie had wanted her for.

When she saw Ace and Night Scroll, she immediately let out another screech before retreating back into the backroom. “Pinkie, what were you thinking pulling a mare out of the bath in the presence of not only a stallion, but another stranger as well! ‘Tis not very mare-like behavior to meet company in only a towel!”

Ace and Night Scroll nodded their heads in agreement as Twilight rolled her eyes at what she could only view as a waste of time. As they did, Pinkie disappeared into the room after Rarity with a short growl of frustration.

“Pinkie, what are you- Ah!” Rarity screamed as the roaring sound of a powerful mane-dryer kicked on. “No, stop it! Stop it this instant! Eek!” she exclaimed as the towel she previously wore was cast through the doorway.

“Hold still! You’re going to make me miss a spot!” Pinkie shouted. Ace and Night Scroll exchanged a look of amused confusion before the loud noise of the mane-dryer finally ended.

Rarity was the first to enter the room, being pushed by Pinkie, a rather unhappy look on her features as her mane was a tangled mess and her coat was puffed out like a cotton ball. A number of items drifted into the room as Rarity’s horn lit in her magic.

Rarity was still being pushed by Pinkie as she sent the instruments to work on her dryer-scarred form. A pair of brushes worked at her coat, while several others worked at detangling her mane and tail. As the tangles were dealt with, Rarity’s features could be seen contorting with the effort.

Once her mane and tail were tangle-free, she sat for a moment staring at Pinkie Pie. The long, flat purple mane hung over a portion of her face, but it was no question that the glare was a scathing one. With a calming sigh, she set to work applying an amount of styling product to herself as more brushes flew into the room to handle the task.

Pinkie came alongside the others, watching as Rarity tended to her appearance until she finally sighed and examined herself. Once she was certain the party pony had not caused any persisting harm, she sent her brushes and other things back to their respective places.

“Let us pretend this never occurred, shall we?” The four of them nodded, followed by Rarity sighing. “Now, what exactly was so important as to disrupt a mare’s personal alone time?”

Ace took a step forward as he spoke for the group. “Discord is loose, and we have a very brief window of time to find him before he recovers his strength.” A panicked expression danced onto Rarity’s face. There was a moment of silence as the others nodded.

“Okay, that does cut it pretty close,” she said. “What can we do to stop him?” she asked, looking between the ponies until her gaze settled on Night Scroll. “Also, who is this elegant looking pony? Your sister, perhaps?”

Night Scroll spoke as Ace nodded. She placed a hoof to her chest as she bowed her head lightly, “I am Ace’s sister, Princess Luna. However, I would rather call me Night Scroll in this form.”

Rarity’s jaw dropped, looking between the two. “You… you’re Princess Luna’s… brother?” A fine red couch appeared seemingly out of nowhere, which she immediately swooned onto. Ace and Night Scroll both rose an eyebrow as Twilight rolled her eyes again.

“Yes, well, we are in a bit of a hurry, Rarity. My sister and I can explain such details as our relation after we put a stop to Discord,” Ace said as he started for the door. The four of them left the building, leaving Rarity’s performance to fall on deaf ears as she harrumphed at the lack of interest before following after them.

The four of them trotted while Pinkie Pie bounced alongside them, easily keeping pace. “Next stop is Fluttershy’s cottage. We’ll ask her to go and fetch Rainbow Dash while we go and see Applejack at Sweet Apple Acres,” Ace said as they ran.

Pinkie bounced in front of Ace, still keeping pace as she bounced backwards to face him. “But Acey, today’s Saturday! Applejack sells apples in town every weekend,” she said with a laugh as though he was being silly. “She’ll probably still be in the market.”

Ace nodded, a smile on his face. “That’s perfect; Pinkie, could you go and get Applejack while we go and get Fluttershy? Please tell her to meet us in the library.” Pinkie saluted with a hoof, still bouncing backwards before giving a stronger bounce straight up as the group ran beneath her. The rest of them continued to run towards the edge of town, where they would find Fluttershy’s cottage.

When they neared the small home, Ace allowed Twilight to be the one to knock on the door, fearful that he would frighten the timid pony with his urgency. After several agonizingly slow moments, Angel answered the door with a glare in Fluttershy’s place. He pointed into the room to Fluttershy who was being pestered by a number of little critters as she carried heavy bags of food.

She was clearly in the process of delivering dinner to each of the small animals while constantly apologizing to each of them, pleading they wait their turn. Without warning, the bags of food lifted from the Pegasus without any magical glow around them, and carried their contents to each of the bowls of food, promptly filling them all evenly.

Twilight noted the look on Ace’s face that denoted he was in no mood to delay the task further, likely being the cause of the flying bags. Fluttershy looked around worriedly as all of the animals scurried to each of their individual food bowls as quickly as they were filled. Once all of the food was given out, Ace laid the remainder of the bags on a shelf out of reach for many of the animals.

Around this time, Fluttershy realized she was no longer the only pony in her home and blushed lightly with a sheepish smile at her friends having seen her with her hooves full. The four ponies walked into the room; Ace and Twilight kept their gaze on Fluttershy, Rarity eyes the animals warily while Night Scroll admired the furnishings of the home, as well as the behavior of the furry creatures with a large smile.

Twilight cleared her throat as Ace started to speak, being sure to remind him that Fluttershy would scare easily, and that it would be best if she spoke for them. “Fluttershy, we need your help,” she started as Fluttershy eyed Ace and Night Scroll worriedly. “Discord is back, and we need to stop him immediately. Can you go and get Rainbow Dash and meet us at the library?”

Fluttershy nodded hesitantly. “I-I guess I could, b-but do we really have to fight Discord?” she asked as her eyes turned to the floor. “He was doing s-so well in his remedial lessons… I just think we should give him a c-chance.” Her eyes turned back to Twilight, hopefully pleading, “Maybe he’s not really being bad this time?”

Twilight started to speak, but Ace rest a hoof on her shoulder as he spoke instead. “Fluttershy, I’m not sure what you think you know about the Draconequus, but Discord is not one to see reason. He has already attempted to end my life today. Twice, technically.”

Fluttershy’s wings expanded as she covered her gasp with a hoof. “B-But Discord was doing so well! He wouldn’t hurt anypony without reason; he’s… he’s my friend.” Night Scroll stepped forward, resting a comforting hoof to Fluttershy’s back as she spoke, eliciting a quiver from Fluttershy at the unexpected contact with the stranger.

“I know you find it difficult to grasp, my little pony, but Discord is a being of chaos. It is in his nature to deceive and destroy. He has tainted mine sister’s mind with his foul magic,” she said before lowering her head in sympathetic sorrow. “And ‘tis as mine brother has said; Discord has tried to kill him twice today, and will not falter in making it thrice should we not resist him.”

Ace retreated sheepishly as Night Scroll glared at him pointedly. “Yes, well, the matter at hoof now is bringing together the ponies who wield the Elements of Harmony and hope that we are able to stop him while he is still weak. Would you be so kind as to help us, Fluttershy?”

Fluttershy looked like she was seriously debating the idea, but finally nodded. “I’ll go and find Rainbow Dash and bring her to the library. I can’t promise I’ll be of much use for anything else though…”

Ace shook his head softly. “Everypony has a part to play, Fluttershy. If even a single pony didn’t do their part, things can only get worse.” Fluttershy’s expression brightened, if only slightly, at hearing the kind words before she nodded and left the house.

Rarity, Twilight, Ace and Night Scroll watch the yellow Pegasus as she flew to fetch Rainbow Dash. When she had flown out of sight, they started to proceed through the town back to the library.

Applejack and Pinkie Pie were sitting at the table in the main room of the library as Spike brought out a tray of drinks for everypony. Twilight, Ace, and Rarity took a seat at the table while Night Scroll looked around the room as she always did when she entered a pony’s home.

Applejack cleared her throat, “So what’re we all doing here, exactly? Pinkie says we’re playing hide an’ seek, but I get the feelin’ that ain’t right,” she said as she shot a look to the party pony who was fighting just to remain still as she nodded.

Ace nodded as well, preparing to speak, but never got the chance. Upstairs there was a loud crashing sound as somepony came through the – luckily open – window. Ace shook his head with a sigh as a blue Pegasus came to the stairs.

“Hi g-“ was all she managed to say before Ace’s horn lit up, teleporting her elsewhere. The others looked at him, an annoyed look on his face before there was a knock at the door.

After another knock, Spike was kind enough to open it. As he did so, a blue Pegasus with a rainbow-colored mane stood at the door, looking in with a sheepish smile. “Uh... Hi guys. Sorry about the landing…” Ace just motioned for her to come in without looking.

No sooner than she had sat down and Spike had closed the door, another – much more timid – knocking came almost silently into the room. Ace opened the door slowly with his magic, turning to it with a smile as he motioned much more kindly for Fluttershy to come in.

Rainbow Dash grumbled something under her breath as Fluttershy sat at the table. “So, what’s the big deal, anyways? Fluttershy just said to wait until everyone got here before she would tell me anything.”

Ace stood to address the group with a nod. “Discord has obtained the Elements of Harmony, and has instead changed them into the Elements of Disharmony.” A round of gasps went through everypony, save for Ace, Twilight and Nigh Scroll.

Night Scroll came to stand as she spoke as well, “My brother tried to fight Discord alone, and had nearly succeeded and is well spent for the effort,” she said as she planted a hoof firmly against his side, bringing a sharp gasp of pain that sent Ace nearly reeling into Twilight. “He managed to disarm five of the six elements, though the Amulet of Tears is still in Discord’s control.”

Everypony exchanged looks with one another as Ace and Night Scroll glared at one another. Twilight wrapped her hooves around Ace instinctually, hoping to shoulder some of his burden and comfort his pains. Ace relaxed with a sigh as he broke the gaze with Night Scroll.

“Now just hold on a second,” Applejack said. “You mean ta tell us that you went blow-for-blow with Discord, wit’ him all juiced up with tha’ elements? How in tarnation did ya’ll manage that?” The others looked at him as well, begging for an answer.

Ace sighed as he turned to face the group. “I suppose that, as my friends, you should be privy to a few of my secrets as well,” he said as he pulled off his glasses, standing as Twilight relinquished her hold of him. “Contrary to Pinkie’s belief, I am not a normal heterochromatic pony; I’m an Al Bhed. On top of that, I’m nearly as old as the Princesses of Equestria, and have been more than friends with them since before Equestria was known as such.”

Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Applejack, Spike and Fluttershy all stared in awe, mouths agape, while Pinkie just bounced in place while laughing giddily. “How are we supposed to believe that, exactly?” Rainbow questioned. “You can’t expect us to just take your word for it, can ya?”

Night Scroll brought a hoof to rest loudly upon the table. “Then take my word for it, as I shall vouch that ‘tis true.” Everypony just looked at her as if to say, ‘And who are you supposed to be?’

Twilight stifled a laugh as Ace shook his head with a sigh. “You know, sister Night Scroll, that’s not really all that convincing when they don’t know who you are.” Night Scroll looked down at herself before smiling sheepishly at the group.

Night Scroll’s form was alight in the magical glow that matched Ace’s as she grew in size, her coat and emblem changing to that of the lunar princess, gaining the wings that befit the title as the tiara and peytral plate formed from the magic. Once she had fully transformed, she stretched herself as everypony stared in awe once more.

Ace stole their attention once more as he cleared his throat. “As I was saying… By the method that elongates my life, my magic has become unstable. Perhaps you have heard of the magical event that befell Canterlot Castle in recent days?” Everypony nodded, the event likely making all the local newspapers the next day.

“Such is a sample of my power,” Ace said as he cast his gaze downwards, shameful of the mishap. “Discord used that imbalance to steal the elements while also bring Celestia to believe me the culprit. I had used that same malfunction of my magic to drain the elements, and the Amulet of the Alicorn to drain Discord’s magic. This has made him weak, though he still possesses the amulet, as well as one of the elements. And, all of the drained elements and amulet as well.”

At the last part, it was Princess Luna’s turn to look shameful, having neglected the opportunity to deal out the ultimate judgment upon the chaos spirit. Rainbow Dash spread her wings, hovering over seat seemingly without noticing it.

“Well if you’re so awesome, why can’t you just fight Discord again and kick his plot all the way back to the Canterlot Dungeons?” she asked. “It’s gotta be like, a hundred times easier now that he doesn’t have all the elements.”

Twilight, Ace and Luna all shook their heads at the question. “While I have no doubt in my mind that Ace is strong,” Twilight said, “what he did was foolish and nearly got him killed.” She fixed him with a glare as he retreated sheepishly. “He’s exhausted from the battle, and though he won’t show it, I know he’s in a lot of pain as well. We’ll have to finish what he started ourselves. Now, while Discord is too weak to stop us.”

Applejack was still staring between Ace and Luna, her features set in a mask of shock and awe. “Ace is the princesses’ brother?!” she asked, still in disbelief. Ace shook his head as he attempted to clear the misunderstanding.

“As I said, I have known the princesses for a long time – back when they were known as Moonlit Embrace and Sol Light. Back then, we were adventurers and brothers/sisters in arms.” Luna nodded each time somepony looked to her, as if to ask if the words sang true. “We traveled together for quite some time, developing a brotherly/sisterly bond that, while it doesn’t run nearly as deep as blood, is still quite deep indeed.”

Twilight rolled her eyes as Applejack continued to look awed and incredulous. “Right, well, at any rate… Discord is currently hiding somewhere in town in the form of somepony we may or may not know,” she said before pointing to Pinkie, who was still bouncing excitedly. “We’ll need Pinkie to use her memory and knowledge of everypony in Ponyville to help us find him.”

Applejack finally returned to her senses, shaking her head to clear the last of her foggy thoughts. “Well that sounds all well and good, sugarcube, but what are we s’posed to do once we find him? Ask him kindly to stop his tomfoolery? There ain’t much to reason wit’ Discord.”

Ace looked among the group as Twilight and her friends all looked to him as though he were the only pony who could make a plan. Ace just shook his head with a shrug. “Honestly, I say kill him,” Twilight sighed as the others gasped at the idea. “However, since I know none of you like that idea, just use the Inner Elements of Harmony that reside in all of you to try and turn him to stone again. Short of that, I have not a single clue how to handle the situation; my plan already failed, remember?”

Twilight sighed as everypony nodded, still looking a bit grim at the mention of killing the spirit. “Well, I guess it’s a start. We don’t have much time, so it’ll have to do for now.”

Fall of the Mighty

Chapter Twenty-seven: Fall of the Mighty

Ace sat alone in the upstairs section of the library, having used his magic to form a work desk from a few deadened branches of the tree. Everypony else had left to search for Discord as Twilight bade him rest in her home. Ace was exhausted, having brought a box up from downstairs by hoof to provide the materials he needed for his craft at the desk.

Releasing a deep breath, Ace admired the Loki’s Key that rested around his right shoulder as he took a short break from his work. While it was true that Ace often used the quicksilver relic as a weapon, it was an invaluable tool as well.

Ace’s concentration was focused not only on his work, but also on the use of Loki’s Key. By using his mind to command the metal, it took shape of whatever he so chose. This was both a blessing and a curse, as it required the wielder to be unfaltering in their control of the object, lest it begin to shift and take on undesirable forms that matched the pony’s thoughts.

At present, the given forms of the Key were a chisel, a clamp rail affixed to the work desk, and a pair of tongs. However, Ace was finished with the chisel, leaving a few shards and splinters of the material he worked on upon the desk.

Ace shifted his concentration, imploring the Key to shift the chisel into a convex compass plane. Using said plane, Ace started to mould the material into a sphere, working the object in a circle around the clamp with his hooves. After several rotations, he loosened the clamp rail to readjust the crystalline object to level the other side as well.

The compass plane worked its way around the raw material, guided by Ace’s hooves for a time. After a number of rotations, Ace laid the compass plane to the side, again using the tongs to pick up the now-spherical object to examine it. It glowed slightly in the light as Ace smiled at his finished work.

Ace placed the pink crystal to the side of the desk in a dish that contained a few similar objects. Wiping the sweat from his brow, he pulled another rough crystal from the box, changing the compass plane to a chisel once more as he continued his task.

Twilight, Applejack and Fluttershy ran through the town, glancing into various windows and examining everypony as quickly as they could. The three of them had broken away from Pinkie’s group after Applejack said that she knew almost every face in Ponyville, though not as well as Pinkie did.

The three of them decided to split away after Twilight taught Rarity a simple Signal Flare spell so that she could let the others know if they found Discord. However, it was still proving quite the difficult task as Applejack had to stop and look at everypony where Pinkie could just glance at a pony and know who they were.

Given the circumstances, however, Twilight was grateful that Applejack had sold her apples for so long that she knew nearly everypony by face, and many by name as well; such knowledge allowed them to work faster with only a minimal decrease in efficiency.

Also, while it was unlikely, Twilight thought that she may be able to find Discord through her magical senses. Regardless, it was not a bad idea for her to take the opportunity to train herself in the use of it on top of her physical senses. The flood of information was staggering as she watched her friends moving in slow motion. After using the senses for almost an hour, she was beginning to get a headache.

Flutter started to speak, though Twilight could feel the vibrations in her voice box before she ever heard the sounds. “How are we going to stop Discord if he has the elements? We’re not really going to… k-kill him, are we, Twilight?” she said, clearly feeling uncomfortable about hunting down one of her friends.

Twilight put a hoof to her chin as she sat in the middle of the road, having a moment to stop and think as Applejack went into a nearby store to double-check. “Well, Ace said something about using the Inner Elements of Harmony to stop him… So I guess we’ll just try and do that.”

Fluttershy nodded to show she understood her. “That sounds… safe. What are the Inner Elements of Harmony, and how do we use them?” Twilight’s eyes shot wide for a moment at the reply.

“I, uh… That is… I’m not quite sure, exactly…” she said as she scratched her head for a moment. “Ace didn’t say anything else about them, really…”

Fluttershy looked apprehensive at the uncertain response. “I’m sorry, but um, how are we going to use something we don’t know how to use against Discord? We probably should have asked Ace…”

Twilight smiled sheepishly as she retreated back slightly. “Well, uh, maybe I should have… I guess I just got so use to Ace explaining everything to me, I didn’t think we’d need to know anything else…”

Twilight recovered her posture and started to run past Fluttershy, calling out behind her as she went, “Tell Applejack to keep looking! If you find him, just follow him around until I get back!”

Twilight ran swiftly, recalling her magical senses to try and soothe the headache that was beginning to worsen.

Pinkie bounced through the town, greeting everypony she saw and waving to them. Behind her, Rainbow Dash and Rarity, with Spike riding on her back, followed after her. Despite the dire situation, Pinkie still managed to be optimistic – or perhaps entirely oblivious – as she waved and said hello to anypony she saw.

Rainbow Dash flew high in the air, keeping an eye out for anything that seemed out of place or anypony that looked suspicious. However, as itching for action as she was, she zipped around the sky far too swiftly to be casual and kicked any clouds that came too close, leaving the sky clear of the puffy obstructions.

Rarity, on the other hoof, was taking the stroll through town slowly, admiring each and every pony and market as she looked for her next muse, contemplating perhaps making a line of chaos derived clothing. The difficulty, of course, was making it look chaotic while still matching, never clashing.

Spike rested atop Rarity’s back, basking in the feel of her soft coat and supple mane as she was too distracted to take notice his love-struck gaze and lighthearted fondling of her locks. Originally, Spike had accompanied the Pinkie group in case Rarity was unable to perform the signal spell. In which case, he would run back to Ace at the library to warn him.

However, everypony in the group was beginning to believe that Discord was quite well hidden indeed, as they were entirely unable to find any trace of him. Of course, nopony would give voice to such concerns, but the message was clear in the looks of their eyes when they exchanged glances. Nevertheless, they still searched high and low for the threat to ponies everywhere.

Princess Luna crossed her hooves over her chest as she sat on a metal work bench. She looked around the room to admire the work she had just recently finished; the floor was no longer marred with the blood of neither Ace nor that of the chaos spirit, the broken equipment was no longer broken, the damaged pillars had been repaired and the ACS was repaired…

From the corner of the room came a muted thumping sound as one of the ACS stones pounded a staccato rhythm against the walls. Luna shook her head with a sigh, a hoof coming to greet her features as she did so…

’Well, as fixed as I can make them at any rate… Dear brother has so many spells inside those tiny stones not even sister could decipher them all in a year’s time… Speaking of time, I do hope that brother Ace remembers to teleport me back… ‘Twould be most aggravating to miss out on the battle with Discord…’

Ace allowed himself to fall over onto his back shortly after he placed the final sphere into its dish amongst the others. As he flopped over, the metals of his tools dissolved into a fluid and flowed seamlessly into the bracelet he wore over his shoulder.

He let out a deep sigh of relaxation as he wriggled around on the floor, a goofy grin on his face as he attempted to get comfortable. Once he had found a suitable position, he stretched with a yawn, kicking the empty box down to the first floor in his negligence. Disregarding the useless container, Ace simply laid on the comfortable floor in an effort to fall asleep, despite the pair of beds that rested behind him.

As he was beginning to drift out of consciousness, however, he felt the magic of a teleport spell leading somepony into the home directly behind him. He swiftly brought his hooves around in a sweeping motion that would have floored whoever stood behind him as he brought himself to stand.

Despite the attack, however, the intruder was unphased. The intruder being a floating earth pony with a light violet coat, a violet-and-white mane that flowed like smoke, and dark violet eyes that were a swirled mockery of his Al Bhed eye. Upon the mare’s head rested a hat with a spinning propeller, as though it were the only thing keeping her afloat.

“Did you miss me, Fenrir?” came Discord’s voice out of the mouth of the hovering pony. “Cause I sure am going to miss you, my dearest rival; you were always so resourceful – willing to take risks where Celestia would only lie in wait for a better opportunity…”

Ace lowered his front half, bringing his center of gravity lower on his body should he need to move swiftly to avoid the foe, or make an attack of his own. “What makes you so sure you have me beat now, Discord? As near as I can tell, we’re still equally matched.” As he spoke, Ace concentrated on controlling Loki’s Key, sending a tiny sliver of the weapon running down the back of his hoof, out of Discord’s sight.

“Elementary, my dear Fenrir! I have the Element of tears, and you only have a fraction of your strength,” Discord said as he shifted his form back to that of his Draconequus self, draped in all of the elements – the Amulet of Tears glowing bright as the others were a dull white color. “Even with your quicksilver blade, you cannot match me now.”

The sliver of the Key bored a hole just large enough for it to pass freely, silently boring through the wood towards the dish near his workbench. For the sake of remaining silent, the progress was slow, but steady.

“You are weak, Fenrir. After our battle, your body was sore. The overload drained all of your magic, and you’ve not had the time to rest, whereas I have slept peacefully this whole time as the Amulet recovered my strength.”

The Key reached the dish, and started to slither down to the bottom of the bowl. Once it was in position, Ace guided the metal over each of the pink crystal spheres as it devoured each like a snake, holding them in place as it traveled among them.

“You’re right on all accounts, Discord. However, I still have my wits about me, where as you Draconequus can scarcely form a thought in those small, chaos-driven minds of yours."

Discord rested his paw-and-claw against his middle as he bent over backwards, his head reaching the floor, in his laughter. “Oh, you still have your mind, do you? Are you going to challenge me to a game of draughts, Wolf?”

Ace smiled a goofy grin, his horn lighting up as Discord glared menacingly at the stallion’s horn, fearful of what might happen. All that did, however, was a checkered board and a bag of game pieces floated up the stairs. “Certainly. Fire or smoke?”

Discord growled his frustration, batting away the game set, scattering pieces throughout both the upstairs and downstairs rooms. “For the first time in my life, Wolf, I’m not here to play games. Never have I wanted to kill somepony… That was until I spent countless years trapped in a stone prison. Were it not for your meddling, Equestria would be known as the Chaos Capital of the world! But you ruined that, Fenrir! You and those goody princesses!”

The quicksilver snake of Loki’s Key had finished gathering each of the spheres, and Ace was preparing his attack when there was a sound from downstairs, followed by another. A twisted smile spread across Discord’s face as Ace’s eyes went wide, realizing through his magical senses what had happened.

“Ace? Are you here?” came Twilight’s voice from the first floor. “I need to ask you a question… Sorry if I’m interrupting your nap, but it’s really important!” There was silence for a moment as Ace watched Discord’s every muscular twitch for sign of his next move. “I’m coming up!” she called up the steps.

As soon as the top of her head came into view, Discord started to turn to her as she gasped. This gave Ace the perfect opportunity to go on the offensive, the quicksilver snake of the Loki’s Key flying through the air and coiling around Discord’s body, several round bulges in its form as it tightened around various parts of the Draconequus.

Discord looked around himself as Twilight watched from her place on the stairs, unsure of what she should do. Discord noticed that while the metal of the Key was strong, it was barely able to restrain his movements. He laughed, feeling no pain from the dull edge.

“Did you really think tying me up would stop me? You are thrice the fool, Fenrir; may the Fates greet you!” he called as he snapped his fingers, a smug smile on his face for a moment.

Twilight flinched from her viewpoint, anticipating the worst as her eyes darted between the two. After a moment of silence, nothing happened. Discord looked all the more upset, his smile swiftly decaying into a frown as he snapped his fingers again; nothing happened. He snapped his fingers repeatedly now.

“You! What have you done, Wolf? How are you cancelling my magic?!” The Draconequus was snapping relentlessly, Twilight still watching with a sense of worry.

“Anti-Magic Stones, Discord,” he said as the snake of a weapon worked its way around the beast. “That weapon is carrying them, and so long as those stone touch you, there is little you can do.” The snake worked its way to the Draconequus’ mouth, forcing it open.

Discord flailed and thrashed around the room, Ace standing his ground as he focused his mind on controlling the quicksilver. Once his maw was opened, the weapon worked its way down Discord’s throat, bringing about a fit of coughing and hacking as the metal and stone were forced down his esophagus.

“You… Basthard! I’ll havth… yer he’d… fir thisth!” Discord worked to try and pull the metal out, but this only worked so far as getting his paw cut open on his own fangs as the metal moved unceasingly into his body.

When the foe realized that any form of resistance was futile, he instead charged at Ace, who was still focused on controlling the weapon. As such, he was unable to dodge the attack in time, and Discord landed a fatal blow to the stallion’s neck as he leapt to the side, away from Twilight. Loki’s Key was wrapped in Ace’s magic before it disappeared – the few stones not already inside of Discord bounced and rolled on the floor.

Blood sprayed across the room as Twilight screamed. Ace’s body fell to the floor with a hard thud before his body appeared to burst into a spray of black fluid that dissipated as it struck anything solid. Twilight’s horn lit up as her coat started to turn white.

’Stop, my student! I am alive,’ Ace’s voice called through her mind as she felt his magical presence flooding through her body, mixing and merging with her own. Her coat returned to its natural color as she felt her magic becoming stronger as it merged with his. Discord was reduced to dry-heaving on the floor.

’Hurry, my student! Use my magic and summon your friends to aid you! The chaos spirit will not be hindered by my trickery for long, and he will remain mortal for a shorter time still yet!’

Twilight nodded, unsure of whether or not the gesture was needed. Her horn lit up in Ace’s black glow mixed with her own purple one, her features setting in her concentration.

After a few brief moments that felt terribly longer than they should have due to Ace’s magical senses flooding her mind, there were six flashes of black-purple light around the Draconequus. Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Spike all looked around in confusion as their senses cleared.

Each of their faces lit up in surprise before turning into a snarl or glare – aside from Pinkie, who bounced as though she were at a party. Everypony stood their ground, watching the sick form of Discord as he worked his stomach hard in an attempt to cough up the hindering jewels. So far, he had managed to bring three of them out.

Twilight looked at everypony and started to glare at Discord as well. She lit her horn in an attempt to ignite the power of the Elements of Harmony, but then looked at her head and remembered they didn’t have the Elements of Harmony.

’Ace! The elements! How are we supposed to use them to fight Discord?! You never told us how to use them!’ she called within her head using the telecommunication spell she learned during their lessons.

’You hold the residual magic of the elements in each of you, kept alive by the key element that each of you hold that is the affinity with the elements. Yours is the initial element – the key trigger to starting the reaction. The magic is inside of you, my student, you need only use it. Allow me to show you…’

Twilight could feel the strength and warmth of Ace’s magic moving throughout her body, moving from her horn, to her mind, and then finally down her neck and into the center of her chest. Twilight could feel the power that resembled the last time she activated the elements to stop Discord.

A powerful glow came from her chest as she lifted off of the steps. Slowly, the chests of everypony else – except Spike, who was back to hiding in the wardrobe with his trusty umbrella – as they lifted from the ground as well. Unlike them, however, Twilight’s eyes started to glow a brilliant white.

Discord held up a paw in a pathetic attempt to shield himself. “No! No, I cannot be defeated so easily! Equestria is mine! It was always meant to be mine, and mine alone to rule!” Discord’s pleas fell on deaf ears as the glow of the magic intensified.

“You have crossed not only my friends, Discord, but you have even tried to kill my special somepony three times in a single day. You have lied to us, you have deceived us, and you have even tainted the Princess with your evils. No longer will we stand by, offering you chances to become good only so that you may use them to stab us in the back!

“No Discord, we will not be fooled by you any longer. My friends and I are not as weak as you seem to think – together, our strength is far more powerful than you could ever hope to be!”

The blinding light of the inner elements shot towards the beaten foe, each shooting a separate color that became a brilliant rainbow as it collided and swirled around the Draconequus. The beast let loose a deep bellow of a yell as he was reduced to dust beneath the strength of the power that assaulted him.

Once Discord’s body was turned entirely to powder, the ponies fell to the floor, Twilight landing at the top of the stairs as everypony but her landed on their knees, exhausted. Everypony but Twilight breathed heavily to regain their strength as Spike shook violently in the wardrobe.

Fluttershy moved forwards on her knees slowly toward the powdered pile of her former friend. She touched a hoof to it as tears flooded in her eyes. As she did so, the dust fell aground to reveal the six relics he bore unto his death – now charged with harmonic energy, they had returned to form the Elements of Harmony.

This, however, did little to console the heartbroken pony who had just taken a life. “I-I thought… Discord… statue…” The others shared a look as they felt sorry for what their friend was going through.

’Originally, Discord had an affiliation with the Elements of Power, which granted him a small resistance to their effects… However, the inner elements that reside in all of you had no such connection, and so he was assaulted by the entirety of the Order magic housed within… Being a creature borne of chaos, such concentration of order magic was lethal.’

Twilight nodded to her mentor’s explanation, which only she could hear. She chose not to give voice to the explanation, knowing it would be of little solace to the mare who had just killed one of her friends.

Rarity and Applejack each rested a hoof over Fluttershy’s back, more in an effort to show that they were there for her than an attempt to console the pony as her tears fell like rain upon the floor, her body wracked with her powerful sobs. Even Pinkie wasn’t her normal, bubbly self as she just stared at the powdery remains. Rainbow Dash rubbed her hoof against her knee as she sat close to Fluttershy, unsure of what to do, but not wanting to fly for fear of spreading the ashes.

’What about you, Ace? Your body was… I mean, you’re going to be okay, right?’ Twilight said to her magical roommate inside her head.

’Yes, I will be fine. My body is here, inside of you, recovering.’

Twilight blushed at the innuendo-laced phrasing of the statement, still unsure whether or not Ace did such things intentionally, or obliviously.

’If it’s all the same to you, my dearest Starlight, I think I would like to sleep here for a while. I am very tired from the events of the past week, and reforming my body would take all of my strength from me.’

Twilight nodded with a soft smile, turning her head away from her friends for the moment so as not to be misunderstood. ’Of course, Wolf of the Moon, my body is yours.’

Twilight could feel Ace’s blush as she turned to go downstairs, despite his incorporeal form existing only in her mind. However, the blush was not alone, as her cheeks flushed as well, rarely having the confidence to use such innuendo.

’Tis a very majestic name, and I do appreciate it very much, my Starlight. May I ask how such a name came to you?’

Twilight came to rest on a cushion near the table, first clearing it of a pair of checker pieces that had fallen upon it. She laid her head down with a sigh, beginning to feel the fatigue of the day all over again.

’The moon is a loyal companion. It never leaves. It’s always there, watching, steadfast, knowing us in our light and dark moments, changing forever just as we do. Every day it’s a different version of itself. Sometimes weak and wan, sometimes strong and full of light. The moon understands what it means to be a pony. Uncertain. Alone. Cratered by imperfections.

Also, it reminds of a story that I may read to you sometime when you are better.’

Twilight could feel Ace’s emotions inside of her mind, knowing that he was deeply moved by the loving adoration she showed for not only him, but something he held sacred while many others scarcely noticed.

Twilight’s lips burned for a moment, as though she were being kissed. Her eyes opened in surprise before she noticed a magical avatar bearing Ace’s resemblance appeared in front of her.

She returned the gesture, glad that nopony else was downstairs to notice her osculating with the air. Despite her nervousness, she was glad for the feeling as her blush deepened. Twilight knew that Ace was just using his connection with her to stimulate her senses to believe they were kissing one another, but she reveled in it all the same.

All too quickly, the encounter ended as Ace’s magical avatar faded back into Twilight’s body. Normally, the thought of somepony being not only inside of her body, but her mind as well, gave Twilight an awkward feeling. However, while Ace was merged together with her, it almost felt like a missing part of her suddenly returned.

Twilight knew that she should be helping to console Fluttershy, or tending to the safety of the Elements of Harmony, or telling Spike that everything was over, or planning out how they were going to return Celestia to her senses… But her body felt heavy, her headache was worsening and she just all around felt tired…

Twilight couldn’t find the motivation to do anything, really. She attributed the soreness of her body and the fatigue she felt to Ace joining his consciousness to hers as he recovered. She was likely only feeling a small fragment, a tiny sliver of what he felt, and was enough to drive her to slumber.

Twilight rested on the cushion as though it were the finest cloud-bed from Cloudsdale. Twilight took a deep breath to relax herself, but she was already asleep before it ever left her tender lips.

Author's Note

OPTIONAL READING: "Chapter 27.5" (It is canon)

“The moon is a loyal companion.
It never leaves. It’s always there, watching, steadfast, knowing us in our light and dark moments, changing forever just as we do. Every day it’s a different version of itself. Sometimes weak and wan, sometimes strong and full of light. The moon understands what it means to be human.
Uncertain. Alone. Cratered by imperfections.”
― Tahereh Mafi, Shatter Me

I had sooo much trouble coming up with a nickname for Ace... I'm not entirely pleased with the outcome, but it sounds majestic, and I can easily work into the canon... While I was looking I found that quote, and I just pointed at my screen and said, "I want that!"

Mind Games

Chapter Twenty-eight: Mind Games

Twilight awoke, but she hardly felt rested. Her eyes still closed, she rolled over onto her side in the hopes of sleeping in today. The bed felt different - softer than usual. The pillows, on the offset, were firmer than she remembered as well, but the two differences together made her more comfortable than usual.

’That was quite the dream you had, my Starlight,’ called a voice that echoed inside of her mind.

Twilight was at first shocked by the telecommunicated voice inside of her head, but then recalled that it was only Ace, taking up residence inside of her mind as he recovered.

’You can… see my dreams?’ Twilight asked warily in a telecommunication of her own, unsure of whether or not just thinking the message was enough.

With her eyes still closed, a magical avatar of Ace appeared through the darkness of her eyelids. With little more than a thought, she was able to make a magical version of her own body to accompany him, making him smile slightly wider.

’More than just see, Starlight, I can feel your dreams through you. Conjoined as we are, anything that you feel, I will likewise feel – ‘tis as though your body was mine as well.’

Twilight blushed at the thought of the two of them sharing her body – even more so at the thoughts that followed, and even more so at the thought of Ace knowing the thoughts of her thoughts. Thinking of her thoughts that made her blush as she did, even her magical avatar blushed as well.

Ace chuckled before he spoke through her body once more. ’You are likely wondering if I know your thoughts, but the answer is more complicated than a yes or a no. You see, I can hear your loud thoughts, as well as thoughts that involve myself, but not your personal or passive ones.’

Twilight’s magical self tilted its head to one side as she thought about what he said, but she may have been more confused by the statement than at the actual question that led to it.

’I don’t think I understand… I think I know how a thought can be passive, but aren’t all thoughts personal – and quiet?’

Ace only shook his head with a smile. ’You see, a thought that is passive does not provoke further thought. These are things like, “I really like the taste of this ice cream.” A personal thought is one that is only about yourself, such as “After I get off work, I think I’ll have some eggnog.”

Twilight nodded that she was beginning to get the idea. ’So if both of those are quiet thoughts, then what is a loud thought?’ she asked, which made Ace nod, likely glad that she caught on quickly.

’A loud thought is a thought that provokes many other thoughts, and may affect both you and other ponies close to or around you. An example of this would be when you think about using the Elements of Harmony, or think about casting a spell.’

Twilight’s magical avatar nodded before disappearing, the real Twilight opening her eyes to greet the daylight. As she did so, she realized the reason her bed had felt different was that it was actually Ace’s circular bed beside hers. She blushed lightly with a smile, thinking that Ace had brought her here as she slept.

’Actually, you sleepwalked up here on your own, around the time you found out what had happened to me in your dream,’ Ace’s disembodied voice called from within her mind. ’It was actually quite endearing, my Starlight, that you subconsciously sought my comfort even as you slumbered.’

Twilight’s blush deepened, but her smile lingered as she crawled to the foot of the bed, leaning over the side to peer into Spike’s basket-bed that rested at the foot of her own. Seeing that it was empty, Twilight ignited her magical senses – rather, she ignited Ace’s magical senses and shared them.

Through their shared senses, she was able to mix both magical and physical feeling, allowing her to coordinate herself while also finding that Spike was in the kitchen preparing breakfast. Having not ate anything in longer than she cared to remember, she excitedly climbed out of bed and made her way down the stairs and towards the kitchen.

What greeted her was the sweet aroma of chocolate melting in a pot over a slow flame as Spike prepared two plates of crepes while slicing up some bananas. Twilight came into the room as he was pouring the last of the batter.

“Those smell really good, Spike,” she said, making him jump slightly before placing a clawed hand to his chest. “Sorry, didn’t mean to surprise you.”

Spike just shook his head as he laid the batter bowl aside. “It’s fine, Twilight. I’m just glad to see you’re doing much better today.” Twilight cocked her head to one side as she took her plate, along with a pair of the sliced fruit, in her magic and set it on the table as she took a seat.

“What are you talking about? What was wrong with me yesterday?” Twilight asked, unsure of what her assistant was talking about. Spike rubbed a claw behind his head, either nervous or hesitant in discussing the topic.

“Well, it’s just that… After what happened to Ace, you sort of just… shut down. Nopony was able to wake you up, and later that night you slept in Ace’s bed… You were silently crying, too…”

Twilight brought a hoof to her cheek, and found that her tears had mussed her coat, though it was now dry. Twilight smiled and shook her head. “I just had a bad dream is all; Ace is just fine. Well, not entirely fine – he’s still hurt, but he’s recovering using his magic inside my head.”

Spike only looked more concerned than before, looking at her with a mixture of sadness and disbelief. Twilight heard Ace laughing inside of her head as she felt a portion of his magic flowing through her to a hoof – which became alighted in his black glow hidden away behind the table from Spike’s view.

Twilight was not sure what Ace had in mind, until she saw the spoon in the batter bowl picking up bits of the left over batter and writing on the wall behind Spike. Twilight could not help but read the words aloud as they completed, her eyes squinting to make out the segmented lettering.

“Spike,… do… you… believe in… ghosts?” she read aloud, as Spike raised an eyebrow at her before she pointed at the wall behind him. As he turned around, a look of shock crossed his features as the spoon hovered in Ace’s black magic glow, moving tauntingly towards him.

“C-c-c-cut it out T-Twilight! T-this isn’t fu-fu-funny anymore!” he stammered, all but shaking from fear as he backed away from the encroaching utensil that bobbed from side to side as though it were taking measured steps.

Twilight covered her mouth with a hoof, masking her laughter as she shook her head. “It’s not me, Spike – my horn isn’t even lit up, you see?” Spike looked back for only a moment to make sure she was telling the truth. As he turned back, however, the spoon had already came to a pointing stance, aimed directly at his forehead.

Before he could react to the threat, the seemingly possessed cookware prodded Spike’s forehead, leaving a chocolate-and-batter stain on his scales. Unable to take such abuse, he ran out of the room screaming. Fortunately, he had not made it very far before Ace pulled him back into the room by a glow that encased the young dragon’s tail, pulling him back in as he ran blindly in place.

Apparently unable to realize he wasn’t going anywhere with his eyes shut, Ace pulled Spike into the air – his legs still kicking helplessly – and brought him to face Twilight. Eventually, he ran out of energy and began hyperventilating as he floated in midair.

“Spike, Ace is not dead – and he is not a ghost! Um, I think… Technically, he is a cloud of magic that has merged with my magic while he recovers – but not dead!” Spike only nodded, liking her idea better than the thought of ghosts.

Ace placed Spike back on the ground, the little dragon immediately laying on his back in the middle of the kitchen as he caught his breath. Once Spike was back on solid ground again, Twilight’s horn lit in a black glow as Ace brought the pot of melted chocolate over to the table, dipping the banana slices in it half way before returning them to her plate.

Once each of the banana slices were half coated in chocolate, he wrapped them in the chocolate quinoa crepes , topping each with whipped cream and a dash of chocolate powder before drizzling more of the chocolate over them with the mixing spoon. ’Bon appétit, my Starlight.’

Twilight nodded her head in thanks before taking up the fork and trying a bite while her horn was alight with both her purple magic and Ace’s blackened glow, making a swirling mix of their unique colors that Twilight admired from the corner of her gaze. Ace prepared Spike’s plate the same way he had hers.

The morsel of chocolate quinoa crepe, banana, crème and additional chocolate danced onto her palate as she brought it to her mouth – the earthly flavor of the quinoa being a stark contrast to the bitter-but-sweet dark chocolate partner in its dance, the two being stellar opposites while also bringing out the best in one another.

Twilight nearly dropped her fork in the ecstasy she experienced as she rolled the food across the top of her mouth rather than chewing it, not wanting to misplace a single decadent crumb in the effort of gnashing her teeth together. Little by little, she swallowed the small bite of food in segments, still savoring each individual element of the meal.

Once her mouth was clear of the scrumptious food, the flavor still lingered, teasing her tastebuds that all but begged her take another bite. “Spike, where in Equestria did you learn to make these?” she asked as he started to seat himself at the table.

Spike took a forkful of the delicious cuisine, basking in the bliss of it as she had, which led Twilight to take a bite as she awaited the response as well. “I just followed the recipe that was next to the stove when I came down here. I thought you wrote it, but it must have been Ace if it wasn’t.”

Twilight could see Ace nodding with a sheepish smile as he rubbed the back of his head with a hoof within her mind. ’Well, do not be mad at me, he said nervously, ’but I scribed the recipe specifically as a pick-me-up of sorts, should the worst come to pass in my conflict with Discord.’

Twilight looked at him angrily with a mental projection of herself in her mind, but found it amazingly hard to be angry when the food was so delectable. Twilight took another bite as a thought crossed her mind: ’Aren’t you going to come out and eat with us? I would be happy to share,’ she offered.

Ace just shook his head with a smile from inside of her mind. ’I am still recovering – it would be possible for me to give form to my body, but I would still need immediate medical aid at this point. Additionally, I can feel what you feel, my dearest Starlight, and this includes tastes.’

Twilight only shrugged happily at the explanation, taking another bite and only being half through with the first of her three chocolate quinoa crepes. She could feel that Ace was tense in anticipation of some conversation that was inevitable, but Twilight left well-enough alone for the time being as she enjoyed her breakfast.

Twilight had just finished the dishes and had put away the remaining chocolate at Ace’s behest as he said he would make use of it again later. For the present, however, Twilight wanted to know what was on Ace’s mind, and preferably sooner rather than later.

’Well as much as I would rather put off the task myself,’ he said as Twilight remembered that he could hear her thoughts that involved him, ’we need to go and see Celestia today.’

Twilight had nearly forgotten that Discord’s chaos magic had infiltrated and tainted Princess Celestia’s mind. Now that Discord was gone, Celestia should have recovered, right? ’As much sense as that would make, I am afraid we cannot be certain – Chaos Magic has a nasty habit of having the least expected outcome rather than the most logical.’

Twilight sighed inwardly, chastising herself for forgetting such a simple concept. ’Well what should we do, my Wolf of the Moon?’ Twilight asked, feeling the gentle blush form in both her cheeks as well as her mental roommate’s.

Twilight’s horn lit up in Ace’s black glow as they teleported to Canterlot. This time, however, Twilight could feel that the teleportation spell was actually several teleportation spells tied together in a sequence, and she felt the bouncing of her body between more than two locations.

Faster than the blink of an eye, they appeared at a quiet table at a restaurant in Canterlot, Twilight now understanding why Ace’s teleportation always drained the senses for a moment, but she still could not comprehend how such a feat was possible without being a major strain on even Ace’s vast store of magical energy.

’Tis a well-guarded secret, my student,’ Twilight nodded, thinking that Ace did not wish to tell her such a secret. ’Secret though it is, ‘tis quite simple: I leave a small beacon of my magic in the form of enchanted spell residue. My teleportation magic locks onto these beacons and I use them to relay the spell to other beacons until I reach my destination. It’s a powerful technique I developed, though it requires me physically going someplace to set up the beacon.’

Twilight sat in awe for a moment as she thought about the implications of such a network of beacons. Knowing Ace, he likely added a concealment enchantment onto the beacons to be certain that nopony could trace his magic through them. Ace simply nodded with a smile within her mind.

’Are the beacons made only for the teleportation spells,’ Twilight asked through telecommunication, ’or can you use other spells through them as well?’ Ace’s mental projection held a hoof over its mouth, though it did nothing to mask the short laugh that echoed through her body.

’I truly do love your ability to always ask the right questions, my student,’ Ace said within her mind, eliciting a blush from both Twilight’s physical and mental selves at the sudden use of the powerful word. ‘Tis true, the beacons will relay any spell of my choosing, should I handle such methods delicately.’

Twilight marveled once more at the implications, picturing Ace casting a spell over something from countless miles away. Before Twilight could imagine any grander use of the beacons, Ace drew her attention and waved a hoof around within her mind. ’Do you notice anything odd, my student?’

Twilight looked around the restaurant, seeing a good number of ponies who were stopping in for either their breakfast, lunch or brunch. Several waiters and waitresses tended tables alongside busponies. ’Um… Nopony has taken my order yet?’

Ace again covered his mouth, though it did nothing to subvert the chuckle that ran through her body. ’While this is true, ‘tis to be expected when somepony appears at a table, rather than being escorted. No, something about the entire city, and not the restaurant, my Starlight – look at the grander picture.’

Twilight looked out the window, and saw a procession of sorts going through the street. Unsure at first what the procession could be for, she noted that many of the ponies had on fine clothes, and many more traveled as a family. With a short gasp, she noted that there were actually two processions – one moving toward, and one away from Canterlot Castle.

Looking around the restaurant at the pony patrons, she noticed that many of the ponies were dressed in fine attire here as well – at first she attributed it to the four or five star establishment, but she now saw it was actually because; ’Today’s Sunday! The Princess is meant to be at the Castle listening to the woes of her subjects, as well as addressing everypony with the latest events, having already made a show of raising the sun.’

Ace nodded within her mind once more. ’Very good observation. Now, perhaps you could tell me what the apparent state of that address might be, judging by the looks of the ponies proceeding away from the castle?’

Twilight needed only make a short look over the ponies to tell that their address had not went as they had hoped. ’I would guess that there must be some sour news indeed, as everypony appears to be sad or depressed. Alternatively, perhaps… There’s no news at all!’

Ace nodded once again as he sat back in her mind, a hoof raising to rub against his chin. ’A keen observation if ever there was one, my student. The question now is why, and I cannot help but conclude that ‘tis because the Princess is unwell.’

“Beg your pardon, but has madam not yet received her menu?” came a mare’s voice, bringing Twilight out of her thoughts as well as her conversation with Ace. The voice belonged to one of the servers who were frantically tending to the rush of customers.

“Oh, well, um…” Twilight began before she thought of an excuse. “I was actually waiting here for somepony, but it would seem he won’t be coming… I think I will take my leave, instead,” Twilight said as she proceeded away from the table. “Good day.”

The server raised an eyebrow before sadly shaking her head, sending her off with a practiced farewell and the wave of a hoof. Once Twilight made it outside, she openly sighed at narrowly avoiding trouble, slim though it might have been

’Beg pardon for the inconvenience, but I believe ‘twould be best that we make way for the castle as soon as possible. While Celestia is not the favorite of my sisters, her well-being is a pressing concern for more than just myself.’

Twilight nodded her head in agreement as she started for the castle, which was only a short distance from the marketplace where she presently found herself. As she went, she noted how there were no short number of ponies making the same trip, and quite a few business ponies were already spreading word that Celestia had taken ill.

Twilight moved with the crowd as she made her way to the castle, up until she reached the main gate of the castle – which was closed. A number of Canterlot Royal Guards blocked the entrance as easily as the massive wooden gate they stood before. Earth pony guards turned the pedestrians away with a sorrowful shake of their head and only the briefest explanation as Pegasi patrolled the skies for fear that dissent may spread through the crowd.

When Twilight reached the gate, she waved for a guard’s attention. Once he had made his way over to her, she could easily see the displeasure the guard displayed on his features at Twilight pulling him away from his post. “The Sunday Service has been cancelled indefinitely this week. Please go back to the city and return next week,” he said in an impatient voice.

Twilight’s horn lit in her purple glow as she attempted to use Ace’s spell beacons to teleport her royal passport from home. However, cloaked as they were, she could not find them to use them. Fortunately, Ace had heard the intention of her magic from within her mind, his magic spreading to one of her hooves as he performed the spell instead.

Clearing her throat as she caught the passport that showed her as Princess Celestia’s private pupil, she flipped the small booklet open and held it before the guard. “My name is Twilight Sparkle, and I study under the Princess. Could you please let me through – I wish to offer my help to the Princesses.”

The guard studied the proffered document before nodding his head and pointing a hoof to a smaller section of the gate that opened for individual use, in front of which stood another guard. Twilight nodded her thanks before doing the same with the other guard before a guard escorted her to the castle proper.

’While I do applaud you for knowing how to use the beacons, my student, you cannot use mine as they are imprinted only with my magic. Should you wish to make use of the technique; I would not stop you, but please be sure to take the proper precautions as I have.’ Twilight mentally smiled sheepishly at the short, chastising lecture.

As they made their way through the castle, Twilight and Ace both realized that the guard was not escorting them to the Chamber of the Sun, where Celestia normally governed from atop her sunlit throne. Twilight actually was not sure where they were going, rarely having the chance to explore the expansive castle.

’The guard leads us to the Sun’s Bedchamber, I am afraid. Makes sense, of course, as even Celestia would need her bed rest if she has fallen ill. As I have explained before, even Immortal Alicorns are as weak as anypony else, physically.’

Twilight felt a pit developing in her stomach as she worried over Celestia’s well-being. ’What do you think it could be? Surely the Princess would not make such a scene over something such as a cold or the flu.’

Ace’s mental form shook his head. ’You would be correct, my Starlight. If you are asking me to make a guess, I would daresay that ‘tis a withdrawal from Discord’s chaos magic. The dreaded spirit, thrice damned though he may be, was likely threading a small trickle of chaos magic into Celestia’s mind to sway her judgment. Without that small thread of magic, her mind has become imbalanced – the suddenness of the severance likely not aiding this fact.’

Twilight could feel Ace admiring the paintings and large mosaic windows as they passed through several corridors as she simply tried to map out the route in her head. Despite Twilight’s relationship with Celestia, she barely knew anything about her. In truth, she only knew marginally more than somepony could read from a book or bed time story.

’Tis likely no accident, my Starlight. Celestia is more protective of her secrets than even I, and she considers nearly everything a secret. Being in her position, any fleck of knowledge could become harmful in the wrong hooves,’ Ace said to her as he uselessly attempted to stifle his laugh again.

’One year, Princess Luna discovered her sister had a weakness for Cloud Cake. For months she bribed Celestia into doing numerous uncouth acts for both of our amusement using the frosted treat.’

Twilight found the story positively infectious, but she could not laugh while following the guard for fear of misunderstanding, and explaining that she was laughing at the story of the Unicorn inside her head would likely get her removes from the premises.

As she recovered her composure, the trio stopped in front of a pair of large, ivory doors with a single engraving encompassing both. The engraving was a very large representation of Princess Celestia’s archaic sun cutie mark. The guard bowed, motioning towards the door, before silently brushing past them, likely not wishing to be the one to awaken the Princess.

Through Ace’s magical senses, Twilight could feel Celestia inside the room, her breathing labored and her entire body sore. Worst of all, was the incredible pain her head and horn were suffering.

Taking a deep breath to steel herself for whatever followed, Twilight opened the door and entered the room. “Hey, Princess Celestia… How are you feeling?” she asked, not entirely sure of what else she should say.

Princess Celestia’s head rolled more than turned to face her atop a pile of pillows ravaged by the tossing and turning of the sick Alicorn. Celestia’s eyes were cloudy, her ears were askew, and her body was thrown upon the bed in what could only be a painfully uncomfortable contortion. The covers rested half on and half of her tangled and twisted as they spilled over into the floor.

“Who goes there? The Gooey-Gumdrop Empire will not fall so easily to thine aggressions, Silver Lancet of Willow Brooke!” Celestia was clearly delirious, and Twilight could almost see the waves of heat that rose from her feverish forehead.

“Our armies may have fallen in the battle of Tangerine Grove, and you may have bested our naval forces at Chocolate Falls, but the Draconis Knights are still strong and airworthy! The liquid fire of their bowels will rain over your cities, rendering your cause lost to the ages as the Gooey-Gumdrops write of their victory!”

Twilight’s horn lit up in Ace’s black magical glow, along with Celestia’s head and horn. As it did so, Celestia’s words started to trail off as she spoke of her fantasy world. The princess calmed down – or fell unconscious – as her head and body slackened under the effect of whatever magic Ace had used.

’I am afraid there is little I can do. The withdrawal from Discord’s magic combined with the sudden severance brought about by the spirit’s death has left Celestia trapped within a chaotic world of her own making. Technically speaking, she is more of that made-up world than she is of ours right now.’

Twilight inched closer to the large four-poster bed, both wary and concerned as she watched over the stricken princess. ’Is there truly nothing we can do for her? Surely there must be something you can do – you know more magic than anypony I know!’

Twilight could see Ace shaking his head within her mind. ’Spells are crafted out of need, and there has never been a need for such a spell, as only Discord could bring about this affliction. As much power as I command, I dare not experiment magic that would affect somepony’s mind on my sister.’

Twilight bowed her head, realizing that she asked for much thinking it was little. ’What can we do, then? Certainly you are not suggesting we leave her like this; we have to at least try to help her!’ Twilight was trying to keep her tone level, but doing so inside of her own mind was more difficult than normal, and she knew it sounded as if she was yelling at him.

Ace appeared beside her in the form of a magical projection of himself and rested a hoof against her shoulder as he sat with her. ’I could never leave a pony without aid, Starlight. I used a few spells to soothe the fever, relieve her pain, and help her sleep.

‘I also threaded a small amount of chaos magic into her mind.’ Twilight did a double take, at first thinking she had misheard him until she realized that he was communicating directly through her mind, not with sound. She stared incredulous for a moment before scowl crossed her features.

’You did what?! How is that meant to help her, exactly? It’s chaos magic that made her this way!’ Twilight made no effort to stifle her voice now, wanting Ace to know full well she expected an explanation – a damned good one.

’I am not certain how much you know about drugs or other addictive substances, my student, but Chaos Magic is among them. A small amount of chaos magic embedded directly into the brain of somepony who is magic-touched or capable of using magic creates a euphoric sense as the mind is led to believe it is in a fantasy world of its own design.

‘What Discord did was create an addiction in Celestia, making her mind dependent on the stuff to properly function. Now, after being dropped cold turkey, her mind is stuck in that world. We must wean her from the dependence slowly.’

Twilight shrunk back, sorry that she had doubted him even for a moment. She passed her look over Princess Celestia, noting that she was breathing much easier, and her body looked much more comfortable. ’I’m sorry… It’s just that I’m really scared… Is she going to be okay?’

Ace shook his head solemnly with a frown. ’I am afraid ‘tis out of my hooves. She could be like this for the rest of her life, or she could be better tomorrow – I just do not have any data of a case this severe. What I can say, is that Princess Luna and I will do all that we can to help her. Speaking of, we should go and inform Luna of the diagnosis, as well as the best method of treatment.’

Twilight nodded once before her horn was alight with Ace’s black glow, and the room around her faded in the flash of dark light that followed. When next she could see, she was in Luna’s bedchamber instead, though the moonlit princess was nowhere to be found.

Twilight could feel Ace’s magical senses scanning sections of the room, and finally locked onto a blank piece of parchment on the writing desk. Through his senses, Twilight could tell there was some small spell cast upon the innocuous object, but was not sure what it was.

Ace flash-teleported again, bring Twilight to stand in the Canterlot Royal Archives. Directly in front of her was a pony sitting at a table with a stack of books to either side, many of them floating in their magic. Only through Ace’s magical senses could she tell that it was Princess Luna.

Twilight took a few steps forward to rest a hoof on Luna’s shoulder, finding that she was in the guise of Night Scroll. Doing so brought the mare out of her concentration, bringing the books held in her magic to come crashing down as Night Scroll turned with a gasp.

Once Night Scroll saw who had found her, she immediately stood up from the chair, and turned to face Twilight as she swiftly wrapped her hooves around her before tears started to run down her cheeks.

“Oh Twilight, ‘tis most awful! Something has befallen sister Celestia and nopony in all of Canterlot knows what to do! We have called for the greatest physicians and studiers of magic, yet what they send us are fools who only shake their heads!”

Twilight wrapped her hooves around the distraught mare as she returned to her normal self. “If only brother Ace was here… Rainbow Dash told me what had befallen him after the battle with Discord… May the thrice damned beast never find peace.”

Twilight pulled away from the embrace, holding Luna at hoof’s length. “Luna, Ace is still alive - he is inside of me.” Princess Luna’s expression only fell further as her tears flowed faster before she embraced Twilight once more.

“You’re right, Twilight – Ace lives on through all of us, and he would not wish for us to wallow in self-pity. Thank you for your kind words, Twilight.” Twilight shook her head with an audible sigh, once again reminding herself she needed to choose her words better.

Twilight held Luna at hoof’s length once again, a more serious look on her face. “No, I mean before he died, Ace turned his body into magic and merged himself with me. He is currently recovering from the grievous wound that Discord left him in his parting.”

Princess Luna’s features started to shift – from sadness, to shock, to wonton happiness and surprise, then settling on solemn seriousness. “This is very grand news indeed. Can he hear me?” Twilight nodded. “That is good, I will need say it only once then: Sister Celestia has fallen gravely ill since Discord’s body and soul were destroyed.”

Twilight’s face sank as she heard of the spirit’s demise in a way she had not heard before. “Wh-what do you mean his soul was d-destroyed? I mean, I knew the Elements of Harmony had reduced his body to p-powder… but what do you mean his s-soul was destroyed?”

Luna rose an eyebrow, questioning why this was the most pressing matter to consider from her statement. “Discord has been thrice damned, – meaning that his body and soul was destroyed – this means that he can never return to the cycle of souls, and can never be reincarnated.”

Luna answered the immediate question, but Ace picked up on the how of it all. ’You see, Discord is a Draconequus – he is a creature not indigenous to our world. As such, when he died here, his soul was a foreign entity, and was destroyed by the Magic That Be – the omnipresent power the world holds over itself.’

Twilight fell back to a sitting position, feeling a pit form in her stomach… She had come to accept that she had taken Discord’s life, but to destroy his very life-giving soul… She felt that nopony should possess such a skill, and nopony should ever deserve such a fate.

Princess Luna cleared her throat before she continued. “Regardless of what befell our foe, mine concern lies with the well-being of mine sister. ‘Twould seem that nopony in Canterlot can tell us what ails her, and fewer still have any idea how to help her.”

Twilight shook her head as Ace made a magical projection of himself to rub a hoof against her back, using his magic inside of her to stimulate her senses to believe he was truly there – it helped only a little. “Ace knows. If you use your magic senses, he can explain it all.”

Ace’s magical self pulled his other hoof to cover his muzzle as he futilely attempted to hide his laugh that echoed through Twilight’s being as Princess Luna blushed, averting her gaze.

“Er, yes, well… I am much too, erm… tired, to use my magical senses – yes, so very tired. Perhaps you could tell me what he says, instead?” Ace slid his hoof from her back he hopped onto Luna’s head started dancing as he laughed, humming a simple beat to accompany his lively steps.

’You see, my Starlight, Princess Luna has never successfully manipulated her magical senses. She puts forth so much strength into them, that time almost moves backwards for her, and they would stretch all the way throughout Canterlot. She lacks proper control and just brazenly puts forth all her magic in all her spells.’

Princess Luna sighed as Twilight covered her laugh politely, but was unable to hide it. “If I were to guess, I would wager that mine brother is dancing on mine head. Is this not true?” Twilight shook her head as she laughed harder while Ace moved onto Luna’s back, dancing the Can-Can while humming the beat as he brought the appropriate attire into form around his hips.

“Is it mine back, then?” Luna asked dully before Twilight fell over with laughter when Ace defied thinking by dancing upside down on his sister’s stomach. “Enough tomfoolery, brother! Our sister ails while you make merry at my expense!” Luna yelled, clearly not enjoying being made fun of.

Twilight came back to her hooves as she sat before the Princess, a sheepish smile on her face as a single tear fell down her cheek in her laughter. After she had recovered her composure, she noticed that Ace’s magical glow encased her horn. Twilight looked past Luna to the table, and saw that Ace was writing on a parchment at the table.

Twilight felt Ace’s magic flow from her horn down to her throat as it began to glow. “I have written down the diagnosis, as well as the suggested treatment,” said Ace’s voice as he spoke through Twilight’s mouth. “I have already provided today’s treatment. Twilight and I shall return tonight to supervise you in the administration of the same treatment.”

Princess Luna reviewed the parchment no sooner than the quill had raised from it, and her face contorted in shock further and further the more she read it. “Brother, this is- how did you… How are we meant to help- We must give her what kind of magic?!” Ace sighed through Twilight as his sister glared at them.

“I am afraid it must be so,” Ace said again. “We will suffuse chaos magic into Celestia’s mind, and slowly diminish both the amount and frequency of the magic. Hopefully, ‘twill not be long before she starts to show signs of improvement.”

Luna nodded, clearly not liking the plan as she teleported the parchment elsewhere. “If this is what you know is best, we will heed your judgment, dear brother, but are you certain that I should assist? Truly there must be somepony else who could perform the treatments, somepony more… delicate than I.”

Ace only shook Twilight’s head. “There is nopony else, I am afraid. Twilight is the most skilled in magic aside from the three of us, but she cannot use magic strong enough to effect an Ascended Alicorn, much less that of an Immortal Alicorn. It must be you and I, but before long, I…”

Princess Luna nodded glumly as Twilight felt there were words that caught in her throat, but could not be certain what they were. “I understand, mine brother, but… surely there must be somepony other than I? I may only make matters worse, as I cannot fully control mine magic… You know this.”

Ace only shook Twilight’s head once more, and it was beginning to grow very uncomfortable, the way he controlled her like a puppet. “What I know, dear sister, is that you were once a student of mine as well, and that you had asked I find a way to help you control your powers. You have made much progress since then, and I can think of no greater follow-up test than using your magic to heal our sister. I have faith in you, Moonlit Embrace.”

Twilight felt Ace retracting his magic as he apologized for using her as a marionette within her mind. As he did, Princess Luna’s gaze became very serious as she seemed to mentally steel herself, preparing for her big test at the end of the day. She nodded before her horn was alight, and she disappeared elsewhere in a flash.

Twilight’s horn lit up in Ace’s black glow as well as he prepared a teleport spell of his own. Moments later, Twilight felt her consciousness bounce through his teleportation magic as he used the beacons to take them away.

Author's Note

I'm sorry for the delayed chapter... I will shortly be taking a brief hiatus, as I have a family funeral to attend... I will be concluding the book soon, never you worry. Noblesse Oblige, everypony.

First Blood in the Bedchamber

Chapter Twenty-nine: First Blood in the Bedchamber

Twilight shook her head to clear her vision, as well as regain her senses. Even though she was connected to Ace and his magic, traveling through his shrouded beacons caused her to become disoriented.

’Do you really need to teleport us without warning every time?’ she asked him as she looked around the room, realizing they were back in his house. ’What are we doing back here, by the way?’

Within her mind, Twilight could see Ace rubbing the back of his head with a hoof as he smiled sheepishly. ’Right, I forget sometimes… Most times… Anyways, I thought you would be getting tired of me overstaying my welcome up here, so I was going to reform.’

Proper Attitude poked his head around the corner as Twilight and Ace thought to one another, turning his head to call to his sister. “Hey, Rose! The Mistress is here, make us some grub!”

Twilight sighed as Proper smiled at her before Prim called back, “You are only saying that because you are too lazy to make your own food, only the young Master can teleport here.”

“Okay,” Proper called back, “but if you get us fired, it’s not my fault!” With a slight snicker, Proper bowed before lowering his voice to address the guest. “Welcome home, Milady. Is there perhaps something that we can assist you with?”

’Tell him to bring First Aid Kit 1A to the Master Bedroom. My body has recovered for the most part, but it will still need some bandages to stop the bleeding.’

Twilight relayed the message, was not too happy about the idea. Proper looked stunned for a moment, but saluted with a hoof before flying off to fetch the aforementioned supply. ’Are you sure this is a good idea?’

Twilight could see Ace nodding through her mind’s eye. ’I do not much care for staying in one place for long, and even I feel uncomfortable away from my body for so long. Also, your friends appear to think that I have died, and I do not wish to elongate the misunderstanding.’

Twilight nodded, seeing how that could be a problem as she walked through the mansion of a home on her way to Ace’s bedroom. Along the way, she caught a glimpse of Proper as he flew up the stairs with the medical supplies, his sister Prim watching him fly through the house before she saw Twilight.

“Oh my, he was not lying after all!” she said before she bowed in greeting. “Welcome home, young Mistress. Lunch will be served in a couple of hours, or perhaps you wish for me to begin preparing immediately, madam?”

Twilight shook her head. “Oh no, there’s no reason to hurry. To be quite honest, I am not quite sure we will be staying for lunch.” Prim nodded with a smile before curtsying her farewell and returning through the large double doors that led to the ballroom.

Twilight proceeded up the stairs to head into the library, passing by Proper as she went. She knew she should just pass through the library on her way to the bedroom, but she could not help but admire the books as she went.

Twilight still could not get over just how many books Ace kept in his home… Twilight had a large number of books as well, but many of them were actually the library’s books and not her own. In fact, most of her books were actually at her parents’ house.

’These books may hold many spells, my Starlight, but they are filled only with words and diagrams. Spells are nice, but without the knowledge of how to use them, they are meaningless. Many of the books you lay claim to are filled with much more useful information, such as history or alchemical recipes.’

Twilight was shocked to hear such an idea, an idea that spells were less valuable than history lessons. To Twilight, history was of course important, but magic was a far grander matter altogether.

Ace chuckled slightly inside of her head. ’After I have recovered my physical form, permit me to show you the Watchers of the Stars passed on their spells.’

Twilight wasn’t sure what she was agreeing to, but she nodded her head in wonder nonetheless. What she did know, however, is that whatever lesson she had could not begin without Ace recovering, so she proceeded past the library and into the master bedroom.

Past the wooden doors that bore a carving of Princess Luna cradling the moon, Twilight entered the room and immediately saw the medical kit lying open in the center of the bed. ’Do you know much of first aid, my Starlight?’

Twilight averted her gaze from the kit as she rubbed the back of her hoof nervously. ’Well, um… a little, I suppose. Just what I’ve read about, that is. Blood really make me… uneasy.’

’Then you will likely wish to be quick in the task, as the wound is on my neck and will be bleeding quite profusely.’ Twilight’s face paled as she looked at the aid kit, as well as all of the tools that lied within. ’Worry not about the other things my dear; you need only bandage the wound.’

’Couldn’t you just bandage the wound yourself with magic? Better question, would it not be easier to simply mend the injury using magic? I feel as though this a lot of unneeded effort,’ she mentioned, despite already crawling onto the large bed towards the bandages.

Ace shook his head within her mind. ’I would have done so had it been so easy. I am afraid that after my body has been restored, I will not be able to use magic for a time. The time is not terribly long, but enough for me to lose a fair amount of blood from such a wound.

‘As for using magic to mend the wound, this is a possibility, but it would have to be you that casts the spell. Bear in mind, however, that I have a high tolerance for magic, though not quite as high as that of mine sisters. It would take a level 5 or higher healing spell to aid me.’

Twilight sighed with a nod, resigning herself to the task as she lifted the rolled up bandage in a hoof as her horn began to glow. Much to her surprise, the bandage actually felt wet.

’Tis laced with a mixture of flaxseed and leechvine oil,’ Ace said as she examined the gauze. Brace yourself, as this may feel a bit… uncomfortable.’

Twilight wasn’t sure how she was meant to brace herself, but she replaced the bandage and curled into a defensive position nevertheless. No sooner than she had, a warm tingling sensation passed over ever centimeter of body, like a warm feather stroking her from every angle.

What followed immediately after, however, was a very sharp pain in her horn and a buzzing migraine that was made worse by the flash of black light pulsing around her horn and accumulating in front of her. Another pain radiated in her chest and her core, feeling almost akin to a dragon’s claws ripping the magic from her body.

Twilight doubled over, clenching her hooves against her body and breathing heavily. In addition to her own groans, she could hear Ace writhing in a similar or worse pain in front of her as his magic began to solidify. Twilight’s pains suddenly seemed far away as she realized that something was going wrong – Ace’s left hoof wasn’t materializing.

Twilight’s breath caught in her burning chest as she watched Ace rise from the bed on three hooves, the missing one spurting blood as he did so, as well as the laceration over his neck. Twilight started to raise up to stop him from moving in his condition, but when she attempted to get up, she fell back over as the pain sent a wave of force through her body.

Ace fell to the floor from the bed with a painful thud, coming back to his hooves moments-that-felt-like-hours later. His missing hoof and torn neck leaving a trail of blood in his wake, he hobbled his way to the dresser and opened a drawer. From within the drawer, he seemed to pull something out, but Twilight could not see what before doubling over in another pulsing wave of pain.

When she was able to look back to Ace, she saw him crawling on the bed towards her, with a lightly glowing, ornate looking knife in his hoof and what looked like the cover Rarity had made in his mouth. Her eyes went wide as she saw the fatal instrument moving closer to her, her gaze moving between Ace and the knife.

She started to scream, but her voice wouldn’t come. She tried to move, but her muscles wouldn’t respond. She tried to use her magic, but when she tried to connect to her magic, she couldn’t; in fact, the effort sent another, larger wave of pain through her body.

She doubled over in pain again, cursing herself for her weakness. “I am… sorry… my love… but you must… remain still…” Ace’s voice filled her ears, each passing moment bringing him closer to her, the knife still in hoof. “This will… hurt… but it must be… I am… so sorry…”

Twilight managed to control her head once more, moving it up just in time to see Ace laying over her with the knife and the bandages. Twilight opened her mouth to scream, but before she could beg her voice to allow her to beg for her life, a terrible taste filled her palate.

“Suck the oil… from the bandages… It will he…he… help to… st…stem the pain…” Twilight’s head was starting to feel light, and her vision was getting cloudy. She could only barely hear Ace’s labored voice over the buzzing in her ears.

Twilight’s head fell to the side, nearly rendered unconscious. The oils from the bandages slid down her throat despite her futile resistance. Her tongue and mouth fell numb from the contact. The stench that arose from the chemicals, combined with the large accumulation of blood that spilled over her from Ace’s severed hoof made her woozier.

Twilight was about to fade into unconsciousness, her view fading to black, when she felt a sudden pain in her exposed side. She raised her head, and she saw Ace holding the knife in her side, working it and twisting it before turning to look at her.

He pulled out the knife, causing another source of blood to begin flooding the bed. “You mu…mu…must remain… still… The ru…ru…runes must be… precise…” Twilight tried to scream through the bandages again, not wishing to move her body for fear of furthering the damage.

“I am… I am so… so sorry…” Twilight could see that Ace’s cheeks were almost as wet with tears as the bed with blood. “This was… not… meant to… happen…” Ace drove the knife into Twilight’s side once more, making her jolt in pain again.

Ace removed the knife and laid it aside, his hoof coming up to head as he stroked her mane. “Please… you must… remain still… I… I know… it hurts…” Twilight no longer had enough energy to even raise her head. She felt the blade of the knife drive into her side once more before everything turned black.

Ace drove the enchanted glyph/rune carving knife into Twilight's side one last time, rotating the knife in a circular motion to form a period, completing the passage as he read the words aloud: “Na…suja… dra a…jem… fe…dreh…”

As he read the Al Bhed script aloud, the wounds he left on the side of his beautiful Starlight began to glow, each letter carved at an exact, precise depth and with delicate, loving care.

The glow brightened, and Twilight began coughing and spluttering, the medicine soaked bandage falling from her mouth as a black sludge that pulsed with vibrant white lights overflowed from her body.

The sludge began accumulating in front of Twilight’s mouth as Ace reached for the spare cover he had Rarity deliver to his home, fortunate that he requested it when he left the anti-magic stones at the boutique when she was making the ropes.

As Ace managed to grasp the anti-magic cover, the sludge – now fully formed and no longer leaking from Twilight - leapt onto the necklace that laid around Twilight’s neck.

Fortunately, this is exactly what Ace had expected, his hoof already carrying the cover towards the accessory. As soon as the cover and the sludge collided, a violent hissing sound fell across the room.

A gray mist started forming around the sludge as the lights faded, slowly coalescing around Ace’s missing hoof. Once the hoof had fully formed and all of the lights on the dark sludge had faded, Ace moved the cover away and placed his left hoof onto the sludge.

Putting a slight stream of magic into his left hoof, the pre-magic greedily clung to the limb before Ace replaced the cover over it, eliciting another screaming hiss from the material.

His vision blurry, Ace hastily groped around the bed for the bandages. His left hoof radiated pain throughout his whole being as the nerves reattached themselves to his central nervous system, but he had one last thing to do before he could rest.

Finally finding the bandages as he fumbled around, he quickly lifted Twilight shakily to her hooves, leaning her against his side as he gasped in pain beneath her weight. With one hoof holding the start of the bandage against her side, he started wrapping her in the gauze.

The wounds that made a circle around Twilight's side were deep and bled hard, but fortunately were not large. After wrapping the bandages over her wound, he pulled the gauze tight and used the metal clasp to assure it stayed in place before easing her back onto the bed.

Ace pulled the second wrap out of the first aid kit, starting to wrap it around his neck. He managed to wrap it twice before falling over, finally losing consciousness from the loss of blood.

Twilight awoke from her nightmare with a bitter taste in her mouth, and her entire body being completely soaked. Before she could even open her eyes, her head felt like it had exploded from the pain she felt, her horn had a dull pain as well while her side felt like she had slept on a cactus. To top it all off, there was a powerful, nauseating smell filling her sinuses.

Opening her eyes, she immediately found the cause of the smell, and the soaked feeling: the bed she was sleeping on was covered with blood, forming a pool around the pit caused from her weight. Not only hers, but Ace’s as well.

Looking around the bed, she concluded that her nightmare had been reality, – or she was still asleep – except that she was now bandaged and could feel her magic. In addition, Ace had his hoof back, though the cover was not on all the way – likely because Ace was unable to put it on properly by himself.

Spitting out the blood as she rose up, Twilight nearly froze when the knife slide towards her shifting weight, the blade coming to rest harmlessly against her stomach. Looking closely, she realized where she had seen the knife before… It was the knife that Ace used to carve the runes on his arm!

Taking the knife in hoof, she could tell it had powerful enchantments both on it and on the sapphire crystal embedded within the strange light-blue blade. Not letting go of the tool, she looked more closely at Ace’s hoof, but noted that the runes carved upon it were scarred over, not new, when an idea struck.

Testing her theory, she spread her magical senses around herself, focusing on both her and Ace to feel the wounds he had left on her. Sure enough, she could tell that the injuries she had were in the shapes of Al Bhed letters.

Focusing on them more closely as she ignited the Sense of Tongues, she read the runes aloud: “Nasuja dra ajem fedreh?” As she spoke the words, the Common Equestrian definition flew into her mind: ‘Remove the evil within.’

In that moment, she realized a couple of things: First, something had gone horribly wrong when Ace tried to form his body. Second, the pre-magic had been inside of her, leeching Ace’s strength from him as he was an entity entirely made of magic. Third, he wasn’t trying to kill her, but rather remove the pre-magic from her body the only way he knew how before it killed her.

Fourth, the bandages around his neck were done with far less care than the ones around her side, and she should stop analyzing everything and start trying to save his life, instead.

Panicked, she turned him over onto his back and started feeling around his chest to be certain he was still breathing. Fortunately, he was – but it was labored and becoming more and more infrequent and shallow.

Knowing that time was short and the bandages would do nothing to help right now, she threw them aside as her horn lit up in her magic as she recalled the forbidden tome from Ace’s library.

With a hoof against his chest as she straddled his stomach, - the other over her mouth to keep from throwing up all over him, - she pulled the tome from the library to the bed with her magic. Taking a deep breath, she turned to the spell she had glanced at before.

The spell she had laid witness to was a lethal spell that drained all of the blood from the victim’s body, then turned it into solid spikes that would then impale the body and hang it from a nearby wall or pin them to the ceiling or ground… Twilight swallowed the bile that threatened to spill from her mouth as she read.

Disregarding the spikes, she inverted the spell as she pulled the blood from the covers and mattress, holding it all around her in her magic before trying to clean it as best she could, as well as groping the neck wound with her magic senses.

Turning her head, averting her eyes and covering her mouth, the blood was slowly introduced to Ace’s body through the reversed spell. Twilight was careful to introduce the blood only a little at a time, unsure how much of it was her own and how much was his.

Twilight could feel Ace’s breathing becoming more rapid, his chest heaving beneath her hoof. She turned her head to check on the progress, sneaking a peek only long enough to see the color returning to his features as his eyes were winced shut in his unconscious pain before turning back the other way again.

The process carried on, Twilight feeling Ace’s blood level with her extrasensory magic to be sure not to give him too much. When he had the appropriate amount, she cleaned the bandages with her magic and wrapped it firmly around his neck to cover the wound.

Still, Ace’s breathing was better, but still uneven and labored. Twilight shook him and slapped his face lightly several times, but he still didn’t awake. Out of options, Twilight did the one last thing she could think of – cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

Using one hoof, she started beating pressure into his chest with enough force to indent two and a half inches into his chest at a rate of almost three times per second. As she did this, she started to gather an electric charge in both of her hooves – one negative, one positive – using her magic.

Once she had a sufficient amount of electricity in both hooves, she pressed them against his chest, causing them to spark slightly as his body jolted under the shock. Nothing happened.

Not wanting to give up, she continued stimulating his heart with the pressure as she prepared to jolt him again, this time storing just a little more power in her hooves. Once the power had charged, she brought both of her hooves down upon him again, his body lurching before he started coughing loudly.

Twilight was beaming, only now noticing the tears that were falling from her cheeks as Ace coughed violently, one hoof on his chest and the other covering his mouth. The action flooded the bandage with blood, but the fact was that Ace was still alive and, for the most part, well.

Once the coughing had died down enough that he could speak and his vision cleared, he looked at her for a moment before he spoke. “Twilight?” he managed before his eyes went wide, then started to rove over her entire body slowly as she was straddling his stomach.

“Twilight… Twilight, I’m so sorry… Are you okay? Does it hurt? You’re still bleeding – covered in blood – we need to change those ban-“

Before he could say another word, Twilight bent over and kissed him deeply. His eyes remained wide, his mouth still attempting to work at his words before he relaxed and returned the kiss, wrapping his hooves around her in a caring embrace, though he was mindful of her wounds.

Once their lip-locking came to an end, Twilight laid against Ace’s chest, too tired and too sore to raise back to her full height. Ace’s horn lit in his black glow as all of the blood on the bed and in the floor pulled together to form a sphere, then solidified into a crystalline ball half the size of her head before falling to the floor.

All around them remained the stains of the tragic experience, as well as the blood in their coats, but at least she could stomach the color now that the source had been dealt with.

Ace ran a hoof through Twilight’s mane before bringing it to her side, gently allowing it to pass over her injuries as it glowed. She winced in pain at the contact, a short, sharp gasp crossing her lips before the soothing touch of his magic eased the pain away. “Are you sure you are okay, my Starlight? We should –“

Twilight brought a hoof to his muzzle, silencing him before he could say anything further. “What we must do is rest, my Wolf. You scarcely fare any better than I, and I know my pain is nothing compared to yours. Sleep now, and let me worry about myself.”

A sad look fell across his face before Ace nodded. “I am… I’m sorry, Twilight… Because of me, you-“ Twilight only shook her head as she brought a pair of pillows for them to rest their heads on.

“I know what has happened, and everypony makes mistakes,” Twilight said as she rested her head against the pillow to the side of him as she gently rose herself off him to lay at his side.

“I’ll admit… when you were coming towards me with the knife, I… I was scared – frightened. At first I thought it was dream, but then you –“ this time it was Ace’s turn to raise a hoof and silence her.

“I could never hurt you without reason, my Starlight. I made a mistake, a very large one, and you were hurt because of it… I-“ Twilight silenced him back with another, lighter kiss as she brushed away his hoof with her muzzle.

“I know, and I accept your apology a thousand times over. Nopony else would have even tried to help me,” she said as she stroked his left hoof, feeling the pre-magic once more before helping him straighten the cover. “Anypony else would have taken the chance to be rid of this curse, but you risked your life for me instead. Thank you.”

Twilight and Ace embraced one another once more before falling asleep in each other’s hooves. Though it was still midday, the two were exhausted from the bloodied endeavor.

Despite his slumber, through his magical senses, Ace was able to feel the knocking at the door to his bedroom as somepony called his name.

“Young Master? Mistress? It is Primrose. As per instruction eighteen, addendum three, of the Master’s House Rules and Regulations form, I am required to check on you precisely one hour and fourteen minutes after the request of an unopened first aid kit. I am entering your room as per this easement.”

Ace raised his head before the door started to open in an attempt to protest, but the sudden pain and moisture he felt at the base of his neck bade him return to a reclined position. The door opened, and Prim craned her neck to peer inside politely, her features dropping at the sight.

The door thrust the rest of the way open as her hoof came to her muzzle, covering her gasp. Twilight rose her head up to peer over Ace, her hooves draped over his chest as she was nestled against him. “What’s going on?” she asked blearily, unable to see well.

Prim’s cheeks started to flush as she started to back away from the room. “A thousand pardons, milord and lady! I had not known you would be, erm, having ‘intimate relations,’ or I would not have barged in…”

Twilight started looking around the room, lingering perhaps a bit too long on Ace and herself. Her cheeks started to match Primrose’s as Ace sighed, unable to properly turn his head to speak for himself.

“If you would please excuse me,” Prim called as she started to turn away. “Lunch will be served soon, so um… I am glad to see you both have worked up an appetite… Take care!” she managed nervously before hastily walking the opposite direction, not wishing to run or fly indoors.

Twilight’s face flushed deeper at the misunderstanding as Ace only sighed, unable to move his head without reopening the wound in his neck. Twilight looked around the room at all of the bloodstains, her stomach starting to feel uneasy after realizing she had slept in them.

“We should probably use more protection next time,” Ace said as he saw her looking around. Twilight nodded. “They say a Primrose is a sign of fertility, after all.” Twilight’s blush increased threefold, spreading to her ears as she realized he was not talking about their injuries.

Despite her embarrassment, Twilight could not help but share a laugh with him as she so easily walked into his little trap. Once the laughter had ended, she started to climb off the bed before she remembered that Ace would need help to do the same.

She offered a hoof to help him up, which he gladly took with a toothy grin. Twilight nearly dropped him when she saw his teeth – rather than being normal, square-and-flat teeth, his third and fourth teeth were sharply pointed while the rest beyond them were smoother, but still pointed as well.

Ace rose an eyebrow to her odd expression before he realized what was wrong. He shot a hoof to his muzzle before his horn lit and he shied away sheepishly – as best as he could without moving his neck. “Surprise, I can eat meat…”

Twilight could only manage to gasp again as she covered her muzzle and backed away a step. “Since when- how long have you- how did you-“ she had so many questions, they were unable to come out right.

Ace lowered his hoof, his teeth being the two flat rows every normal pony had. “Um… Since birth – well, since I was old enough to eat solid food, I suppose. As long as I can remember, and genetics,” he explained in reply to her incoherent questions. “The typical Al Bhed diet consists primarily of fish and hunted game… ‘Tis quite difficult to grow healthy vegetables and wheat in a cave, I fear.”

Ace started towards the bathroom, the two of them still covered in dried blood, as he motioned for her to follow. Twilight, however, was still under shock and awe. “So… you eat meat?” she asked, fearful of the answer.

“Please note that I said ‘can eat meat,’” he called from the bathroom as Twilight started to enter as well. “Typically, I only eat meat when I am gravely injured and need the protein – like now – or when I am travelling and there is nothing more to eat.”

Twilight nodded nervously, guessing that that would make sense. “How come we never saw your teeth before? I mean… You overloaded a number of times… How come they never showed up before?”

Ace nodded before he pulled a hoof-held mirror from the countertop and held it in his mouth, tilting his head as best he could while injured to provide the best view. Through the reflection, she saw Al Bhed script carved into the roof of his mouth before he replaced the mirror on the counter.

“It says ‘Luhlaym,’ or ‘Conceal.’ Since ‘tis a physical magic, ‘tis not affected by my overload,” he said as he began to draw the bath water, stoppering the drain as well. “The reason you saw them now is because I was in dire need of protein to mend my damaged muscles, as well as replenish my blood.”

Twilight still had a number of questions, but the thought of a number of them made her a bit woozy. “Can anypony start to… eat meat, or… is it just certain ponies? Or only the races who eat meat, or-“

Ace nodded as he checked the temperature of the water. “Anypony could eat meat, though their body would not know how to digest it at first. For a few weeks, their body will suffer a number of symptoms, depending on the meat and the pony. After a month or two of steady intake, they will be able to eat it without problem, though it would be another few weeks after that before their body learned to use the nutrients properly.”

Twilight did not feel well as she contemplated such a practice, but had one last, simple question to ask before letting the topic drop. “Can I… Can I feel them – your… your fangs?” she asked as Ace adjusted the water. Ace smiled at her with a nod as his mouth and horn glowed black.

“Of course, my Starlight, but they are called Canines,” he said as he closed the short distance between them. Twilight started to lift a hoof, but Ace instead greeted her in a deep kiss.

Twilight’s eyes went wide for only a moment before she caught on, her tongue gliding gracefully into Ace’s open mouth. His tongue greeted her at the entry, politely guiding her to one of the four canine teeth.

Twilight was worried at first, thinking they would be sharp or dangerous, but instead they were no sharper than the teeth she had – the point of the tooth was actually wider than she first thought, likely unable to hurt anything without actually meaning to bite.

The heat of his mouth enveloped her senses as she felt her own heat spreading across her cheeks in a deep blush. The wet smoothness of his tongue danced with her for a moment before she wrapped her tongue around his in a wet, slippery grip. Their tongues grappled one another, filling each other’s tastes as the tiny bumps mingled together.

Twilight’s tongue retreated back into her mouth, followed swiftly after by her partner’s as it briefly greeted her before feeling, probing all around her mouth – her lips, her teeth, her cheeks, above and below her tongue before they mingled and danced together once more.

Twilight exhaled the deep breath she had not realized she had been holding as Ace’s tongue departed from her mouth, leaving it feeling almost cold and lonely before she swallowed a little harder than may have been necessary, tasting him one final time.

Twilight’s blush spread to her ears as Ace slowly backed away from her, having to take steps rather than moving his neck as his horn and teeth glowed one last time.

“A-actually,” she stammered in her shy nervousness, “you can k-keep them o-out… I-if you w-want to, I mean!” Ace smiled as his horn glowed again as he stepped into the not-quite-full bathtub.

He smiled a toothy grin that showed off the unusual pointed teeth. “Then I think I shall. ‘Twould be nice to eat with them again, honestly.” Twilight dipped her hoof in the water, nearly yanking her hoof back out again before adjusting the faucet accordingly with a sheepish smile.

“Does that mean Prim and Proper know about the fan- canines as well?” Ace nodded, his smile fading a bit, but not enough to diminish his usual, natural smile. “Did something happen?”

Ace nodded again. “I was hurt pretty badly during an expedition, so I came back home with a dee- with some food since they were supposed to have the day off as per a request. I started to bring my meal to the kitchen, carrying it in my mouth and making a terrible mess along the way, when Proper saw me.”

Twilight cringed a bit, but was grateful he at least tried to censor the memory. “What did you tell them? I mean, they are not exactly in on your secrets, right?” Ace nodded his head with a smile as he leaned onto the edge of the tub.

“That’s right. As far as they know, I can eat meat because of an experiment – whether they believe it was a successful one or a failed one, you would have to ask them,” he said before pointing to the bandage around his neck. “Would you be so kind? I have a terrible time with these things on the best of days.”

Twilight nodded with a smile as she kneeled down to assist him. As she did so, Ace started to undo her bandages as well, tickling her sides by mistake as he did so, making them both laugh as she gently tried to squirm without hurting either of them.

“Well well,” he said as he laughed, “I am going to have to remember this for some time when we are not hurt.” Twilight laughed a bit as well as she discarded his bandages, Ace doing the same with hers, before she leaned over him and tickled his sides, making him laugh and squirm as well.

“Treat others the way you wish to be treated, or so they say.” Ace squirmed a bit before grasping both of her hooves with his own and pulling her into the bath – using his magic to lift her other end to be sure not to hurt her side.

She cringed at first, the water still being quite a bit hotter than her tastes, fearful that the water would hurt her wound more than help it. However, as the water lapped against her, it started to feel much better. “Enchanted faucet,” Ace said. “The spell is meant for small injuries, but it helps a bit for others too.”

Twilight turned her head to examine the injury, having only seen it in her magic until now. Ace drifted a little closer as well, causing a small wave to wash over her back.

“Right, sorry about that… I did it as small and as shallow as I dared, not wanting to risk needing to do it again… Does it still hurt?” Twilight nodded her head, running a hoof over the intricate Al Bhed letterings as Ace turned off the water.

“Fifty-two,” Ace said quietly, making Twilight look at him expectantly. “Twenty different characters… Nineteen letters, one punctuation… Fifty-two marks in all…” Twilight looked over the characters that went in a circle on her side, admiring them. “I’m sorry, Twilight… If I would have waited to fight Discord, or if I had been more careful – if I had been stronger…”

Twilight wrapped her hooves around his middle, avoiding his neck for fear of harming his injury. “It’s okay, really. You did more than anypony else could have, and what is done is done. Besides,” she said as she pulled up his left hoof, stroking the glyphs that kept the pre-magic at bay. “We're a pair now, right?” Ace only managed to nod with a smile before he took her into another embrace.

The Light of Life

Chapter Thirty: The Light of Life

After their lunch, Ace teleported himself and Twilight back to Ponyville. As the flash of light faded, he adjusted his glasses as he assessed his surroundings, standing before the library that served as his home away from home with a soft smile.

Shaking her head to recover her senses, Twilight asked, “Okay, so we need to tell everypony you’re not dead, and then we need to go back to Canterlot to help Luna… um, ‘fix’ Celestia. Do we have enough time?”

Ace nodded with a smile, his teeth now back to normal as well. “Perhaps not by ourselves, but I was sort of hoping Rainbow Dash would help us. That is really more an idea than a plan, since we cannot be sure where she is…” Ace said with a shrug. Still, I am sure she will show up eventually. In the meantime, let us make way for Rarity’s boutique, shall we?”

Twilight nodded with a smile, glad that Ace was starting to rely more on others rather than pushing himself to do everything on his own before they started through town. As they made it to the marketplace, however, Twilight was beginning to regret travelling by hoof.

Everypony who saw them stared for a moment or let out a sharp gasp whenever they noticed the bandages. A couple of ponies, likely some of the ponies that were around when Twilight had slammed herself into Sofas and Quills, looked concerned as well.

In fact, as the pair passed by the aforementioned shop, as well as the restaurant and flower stall, the owners of each looked worried; holding a hoof to their muzzle as they looked about, hoping nopony would believe them responsible for the injuries.

Twilight covered her muzzle with a hoof as she laughed to herself; Ace chuckling a bit as well as they made their way past the guilty-looking trio as they each loosed a sigh in relief.

Once they were out of earshot, Ace whispered slightly as he laughed once more. “We seem to have given them quite the scare,” he said as Twilight started giggling once more with a nod.

“Quite. Honestly, I am surprised you didn’t press the situation further as a joke. Honestly, we don’t exactly owe them any favors.” Ace shook his head, his laughter fading to his normal smile.

“Injuries are never a joke, my dear Starlight. To use bodily harm as a joke of any kind bodes ill, and would likely incur the wrath of the Fates in the form of more serious harm,” he said in a solemn voice that did not reach his smile.

Twilight looked for a moment, having only heard of the Fates in mythological stories and history, but never anypony else speaking of them. “You mean that the Fates are real? Clotho, the spinner of Life; Lachesis, the chooser of Destinies; and Atropos, Severer of the Threads?”

Ace shrugged as his smile widened, again surprised by how much his student knew. “Well, about as real as any other deity or mythological story, I suppose. I have no proof to claim they exist outside of circumstance, and no proof to prove they do not or cannot exist.”

Twilight brought a hoof to her chin, thinking as they strolled towards her friend’s store. Completely lost in her thoughts, she had not noticed that Ace’s horn began to glow black, a comparatively upset look marring his features before she heard a loud crashing sound directly behind her.

Startled, she turned to face the origin of the sound as Ace shook his head with a sigh. What she saw was Rainbow Dash sprawled against what she could only imagine was a barrier Ace had erected to protect her.

Ace fixed the rainbow-maned Pegasus as she slid down the spherical shield before landing on the ground with an ungraceful thud. However, she bounced back to her hooves and dusted herself off before meeting both of their gazes.

“Hey guys! What’s –“ she managed before she realized that it was Ace that stood beside Twilight. “Whoa! You’re not… you know… dead? That’s awesome! How’d you-“ she said before again looking to Twilight. “Holy cow! Are you okay?”

Twilight looked back at her bandages before twisting around a bit, noting that it still hurt quite a bit to move. “Yeah, I’m fine for the most part,” she said before glaring at her friend. “It could be much worse… if say… a Pegasus crashed into me doing almost a hundred miles per hour!”

Rainbow Dash smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of her mane with a hoof as she spoke, “Right… Sorry about that… It’s just that, you know, you keep disappearing now, and nopony has seen where you keep trotting off to… We get worried, you know?”

Twilight’s glare faded at the comment, realizing she had been moving about a lot lately with Ace, and it all happens so fast she forgets to tell her friends. “You’re right, I’m sorry… Still, crashing into me is not really how I want to be welcomed home, alright?”

Rainbow Dash nodded as the barrier around Twilight faded, bringing her attention to Ace again. “Still, weren’t you like, torn apart by Discord? What happened?” she asked before turning her gaze back to Twilight? “Ohmygosh! Did Twilight bring you back to life with her magic?! That is sooooo awesome! Is that why you’re hurt? Can you do it again? How long did-“

Twilight shook her head before interrupting the excited mare. “No, he never died! Right after Discord got him, he turned himself into magic and started living in my head as he recovered,” she said, only realizing how strange and ridiculous it sounded when she had said it.

Nevertheless, Rainbow looked awed by the idea anyways. “Wow! That’s almost as cool as bringing him back to life,” she said, her gaze now turning back to Ace as she seemed to unknowingly hover in front of him, her wings beating just enough to keep her aloft. “What was it like inside Twilight’s head? I always pictured it as another boring library.”

Ace stifled a laugh as Twilight sighed, nearly glaring at Rainbow again. “Well, you would be amazed at how ‘awesome’ a library can be, depending on what is kept within it,” he said, bringing a light blush to Twilight’s face. “I may be a bit biased, being as close to Twilight as I am, and having my own library, besides.”

Rainbow Dash nodded before she thought for a moment, her face turning to a mask of shock as her mouth formed a large ‘O’. “I almost forgot! Twilight said you were her special somepony when we were facing Discord!” Ace only nodded with a smile and a light blush, Twilight’s own deepening as well.

Rainbow Dash laughed, likely a bit harder than she meant to, before she spoke again. “That’s great news! We need somepony who can pull her stick out of the mud, ya know? Oh dang, wait until I tell the others,” she said, turning to take back to the skies before Ace caught her hoof.

“While you are at it, would you be so kind as to tell them that I am well, and Twilight and I will be spending the night in Canterlot?” he asked as she turned her head to see what the holdup was before nodding as he let go. “Many thanks!”

With a mid-air salute to Ace, she bolted off with a laugh. Ace and Twilight waved her off for a moment before turning back towards the path to Rarity’s boutique.

As they came near the shop, they could hear the sound of somepony sobbing, accompanied by lamenting moans. The two shared a look for a moment before knocking on the door, Twilight being the one to speak for the pair.

“Rarity? Is everything okay in there?” What greeted her was another, louder wave of sobbing screams. “We’re coming inside,” she said as she pushed open the door with a hoof, taking a few steps into the room as she looked around so that Ace could enter behind her.

What they saw was Rarity laying on her elegant red couch in the middle of the showroom, a bottle of Sweet Apple Acres Hard Cider, one each in her hoof and on the floor, while her other hoof covered her likely tear-stricken eyes.

“Oh, Twilight, it’s awful! Simply awful what happened to Ace!” she managed between sobs, making Twilight and Ace share a look – Twilight sighing as Ace stifled a small chuckle.

“Why must such terrible things happen to such handsome stallions? I knew him for a few days, and yet he trusted me with so many of his secrets!” Twilight and Ace shared a look again, this time making Twilight chuckle as Ace smiled sheepishly.

“He still had so much to live for…” Ace started to look a bit worried, making Twilight raise an eyebrow in question as he made his way to her side before she followed after him. “He commissioned some more work from me, you know… He was going to have me make your –“

Ace rested a hoof on her shoulder and cleared his threat before she could finish her thought. Rarity sniffled before she looked over and saw who it was that had touched her, and then let out an ear-piercing scream.

The sound literally brought Ace to the floor, laying down on the ground and covering his ears with his hooves before his horn lit up, making a sphere spread around the room that seemed to cancel out all sound before the bottle of cider reached the floor.

Rarity, with her eyes still closed, continued to lean back in her scream, Twilight watching her uvula wriggle in the effort before she finally realized there was no sound coming out.

Her cheeks and eyes still moist from her crying, Ace teleported a deep-red handkerchief and offered it to the mare. Taking it to wipe herself off, she attempted to voice what was most likely a thank you before Ace rescinded the silencing spell.

“Please, no loud noises… My ears are quite sensitive, and I do very much prefer that they not bleed.”

Once she had wiped her face, she threw the handkerchief away before latching herself around Ace’s neck, eliciting a sharp gasp as her hooves tightened around his neck, opening the bandaged wound around his neck.

Twilight sighed as Ace’s face flushed. “It’s so good to see you again; you had everypony so worried! We all thought you were dead, you know.” From the close proximity, Ace could smell the alcohol on her breath before Twilight pulled her away in her magic.

His hoof glowing, Ace mended the wound beneath the until-now clean bandage before sending a look of thanks to Twilight. “Yes, well, as you can see I am alive and well, and there is no need to speak of my secrets any further.”

Still floating in Twilight’s magic, Rarity looked between the two, only now realizing the two of them were hurt. “Oh no, please tell me that Discord is not back again. I do not want to have another gruesome fight that uncouth ruffian.”

Twilight shook her head as she brought Rarity back to the ground gently, though it was Ace the answered for them. “No, Discord is quite dead, I assure you,” he said, though his word choice left something to be desired as the inebriated mare looked equally depressed, though perhaps now for different reasons.

Hey gaze turning downcast, she spoke much less enthusiastically, “Well, better him than us, I guess… But still, if it wasn’t Discord, how come you two are all banged up? Trouble in the bedchamber?” she asked.

Twilight’s cheeks flushed, even more so as Ace nodded with a questioning look on his features. “Yes, actually,” he replied. “That would technically be the gist of what has happened. How did you know?”

Rarity looked between the two, a debauched grin on her face as she likely imagined something crudely perverse. “You two are both thinking two completely different things!” Twilight exclaimed, her cheeks flushing further.

Ace looked over the two, his face a painting of uncertainty. “I do not understand. What she said is true; our injuries are the result of a complication that took place in my bedchambers. What is there to be misconstrued?”

Rarity started to giggle lightly as she half-lidded her eyes to the stallion. “Well, if you would like, I could take you to my bedchambers and we can get into all sorts of trouble, and you may misconstrue it however you like,” she said with a wink.

Ace’s mouth worked wordlessly, though fortunately Twilight spoke before he could, “Cut it out Rarity, you’ve had too much to drink!” she exclaimed, a stream of water coming from somewhere in the backroom, carried in her magic, to wash over her lecherous friend.

Rarity let out a very loud screech of a gasp as the cold water cascaded over her body, her coat and mane falling flat as Ace covered his ears with a grimace. Twilight shied away with a sheepish smile in apology to Ace before fixing Rarity with a sterner glare.

“We should leave, Ace; Rarity has been known to be a bit… amorous when she drinks too much,” Twilight said before turning to leave. Ace, his right hoof over his ear, only nodded as he followed her, the two leaving the shop.

“Wait, come back!” Rarity said to their backs, quivering from the cold water, “I’m sorry! Please don’t leave me like this!”

Ace started to look back, but Twilight telecommunicated a warning to him, ’Don’t worry, she’s fine; she gets like this when she has too much to drink – fortunately, that isn’t very often.’

Ace looked as though he still wanted to turn around and help her. ’Are you certain? She sounds as though her life is in peril… I would hate to imagine that something might happen to her in this defenseless state.’

Twilight slammed the door shut behind them, locking the door just before Rarity could reach it, her bawling still reaching their ears. “Yes, trust me, it’s for the best that we leave her alone for now,” she said with a sigh. “Let’s just go and have another lesson or something until it’s time to go and help Princess Luna.”

Twilight started to make her way to the tree that rested a short ways from the boutique, but before she had made it very far, Ace said aloud, “I am going to teleport us, be prepared,” making her turn back around.

No sooner than she glanced at his glowing horn, Twilight’s world faded to black, causing her to quiver briefly in fear as a chill went down her spine. She started moving her head from side to side; though solid blackness greeted her no matter how much she looked around, disorienting her.

“Ace?” she called softly, afraid to test her voice further, “are you there?” What greeted her was a hoof resting against her back, eliciting a small noise from her in surprise.

“I am here, my student,” he said softly, nearly silently, into her ear.
“Originally, this lesson was planned to take place tonight, but instead we shall replace the night with the darkness of this cave.”

Twilight was still shaking in fear, afraid to test her voice, but Ace’s presence gave her at least a modicum of confidence and courage. “Ace… I really, really don’t like the dark… Do we have to have the lesson here?”

Ace stroked her back soothingly, though Twilight had a feeling they were going to be staying in the dark. “I am afraid we must, my Starlight. You see, the lesson I teach you today is how there is light in all life, and that life surrounds us even where we least expect.”

Twilight nodded before realizing that such a gesture was likely wasted in the darkness. “What light? All I can see is darkness and all I feel is… you…” she said, still uncertain of herself as she faced one of her fears.

“That is because you still fear the dark. What you must understand that darkness cannot exist if you only see the light that it hides,” he said as he walked in front of her, his hoof still on her back so that she could know he was there. “As this may be a bit difficult for you at first, we shall start slow. I want you to tell me what you hear.”

Twilight nodded again as she closed her eyes, useless as they were to her. “I hear… water dripping in a few places… and some… rustling noises…” Twilight was starting to lose her nerve even more the more she listened. “There’s a… a scratching sound… and a… a sound I don’t know…”

Ace moved his hoof to her cheek. “There is water dripping, and the crunching noises are the bats making themselves comfortable after the flash of our teleport disturbing them.” Twilight nearly jumped at the mention of the bats, but Ace’s hoof held her in place.

“The scratching sound is the sound of numerous insects moving amongst the rocks, and finally, the last sound is that of the cave – every breeze of wind entering and leaving as the cave breathes.”

Twilight was getting anxious again, her hooves refusing to remain still at the thought of bats, bugs and darkness all around her. “Then where’s the light? I like light; bats and bugs not so much.” She heard a soft chuckle in front of herself, her eyes opening out of reflex to glare at him.

Much to her surprise, she actually was glaring at him – she could see him in the pitch darkness, though only vaguely and not much else. “You are gaining some night vision as your eyes adjust. So used to the sun, your night vision will recover slowly and will not amount to as much as my Al Bhed eyesight.

“Thus, however, is the purpose to this lesson,” he said as he reached his hooves to his face, pulling off his glasses, bringing them to rest on her muzzle instead. “Emmisehyda,” he said in Al Bhed as the frames came into place, making them glow faintly before her vision changed.

No longer was the cave coated beneath the shroud of darkness, but now each wall and stone were swaddled in light – a light that was different over each individual object… and creature. Twilight made a sharp inhalation, preparing to scream, before Ace’s hoof came to her muzzle and stopped her.

“I believe you will find the denizens of the caves will be much more hospitable if you allow them their rest,” he said with a shake of his head. “What you see now are the lights of life, the luminescent glow of every living thing in this world.”

Twilight nodded once, hyperventilating as she came to terms with the situation in which she now found herself. Ace lowered his hoof just enough for her to breathe more easily as she took several deep, calming breaths.

Once she was sufficiently calmer, Ace came alongside her – enveloped in a white light of his own – as she looked around the cave at the various lights that surrounded various creatures and rocks.

All around them, the rocks bore an incredibly faint light, the color of that light fading to others all around her, almost as if in a pattern. Only marginally brighter were the lights of the water that flowed gently in a few lazy currents through the cave, or dripping from the stalactites into puddles of standing water.

The other, again only marginally brighter, lights that moved more erratically was what really sent a chill over her, however. Throughout the range of her vision, there was no shortage of bats on the ceiling, bugs on the walls and outcroppings. Worst of all, however, were the coiled masses of light, as well as the wriggling strings that moves hither and thither.

Twilight was shaking much more noticeable now before Ace draped a hoof over her back to comfort her. “Worry not, my student, for the animals of this cave carry only indifference to our presence, so long as we do not openly disturb them. Such is the way for most animals, truly.”

Twilight nodded, though shakily, as she started to recover her composure… Until one of the streamers of light – a snake – started making its way towards her. Were it not for the hoof over her back, she would have jumped away and bolted through the cave.

As it was, however, she instead wrapped her hooves around her instructor as she whimpered and quivered. Ace only laughed quietly as the snake came to them, stopped for a moment as it watched them, then went beneath Twilight as it made its way past her.

“You see, to these animals this cave is their home – much like your home is Ponyville. As we are, we are visitors to their home, and they will leave us to our own devices so long as we do not disturb them. Should we pose a threat to any of them, however, then each of them would make an attempt to get us to leave, and failing that, attack us.”

Twilight turned her head, still watching the snake who had passed them as it made its way towards some hole in the rocks, disappearing from her enlightened sight. “What about the lights? You said they are the lights of life?”

Ace nodded as she turned towards him. “Life is a form of magic in and of itself, my dearest Starlight. It is because of this that we are able to harness our own lives for the sake of our magic in the direst of circumstances.”

Twilight smiled innocently, recalling the number of times she had tried to use Life Magic thinking that Ace was in danger. Each and every time, he either had been just fine; or the one time he truly was in danger, she saved his life with only the minimalist use of her magic.

Twilight looked around the cave, relaxing a bit as it quieted down now that the bats had nestled back into their quiet slumber. She relaxed a bit more as a flush came to her cheeks when she realized she was still latched onto Ace, his hoof still draped over her back.

“Being able to see the lights of life is a magical talent,” Ace said, “but nearly anypony could learn to do it. I myself can see the lights on my own, though not as brightly as you can with the glasses.”

Twilight turned to listen to him more closely, and in so doing noticed that the light of his life was a glowing white color that, even with the glasses, appeared thin and frail – even broken in some places, leaving only darkness.

Twilight’s jaw fell open as she pressed a hoof to one of the broken patches, causing the light to shift to greet her in its place. “Your… your light, it’s…”

Ace nodded his head solemnly, taking her hoof in his own as she lowered herself back down. “I am afraid ‘tis one of the reasons I have chosen this lesson, my student… I am meant to die, and soon.”

Twilight did not think that her jaw could lower any further, but it somehow managed to do just that as she tried to form words, but could not. “’Tis not uncommon, my student; in fact, ‘tis why sister Luna is so very upset with me…”

Ace sat down on the cool rock of the cave, motioning for Twilight to do the same. “As I am not an Ascended Alicorn, the ritual of New Life is very dangerous for me to perform… Also, my body is actively rejecting the soul, though through my magic I am able to make it last much longer… About forty years at best.

“As I have mentioned before, it has been thirty-eight, nearly thirty-nine years since I last performed the ritual… With or without Princess Celestia’s aid, I must complete the ritual at the end of this year… I shall not lie to you or misguide you, my Starlight… I may not live for the endeavor.”

Twilight’s eyes went wide, still unable to work her mouth for the shock as tears started to form in her eyes before making their way down her cheeks. Ace wiped one side of the tears away before wrapping his hooves around her, bringing her into a warm, but sad, embrace.

Twilight returned the embrace seconds later, her mind still working feverishly to process what he had said. “But… New Year’s is just… a few months away, I… I don’t want to lose you… Not now… Not ever!” she finally managed as her body shook with her sobs.

“I know, my Starlight, but ‘tis only a chance that the ritual will not end well. Statistically, there is only a one in three chance, right? I am certain that everything will be fine… But, if not… I… I’m sorry…”

Twilight clung against him all the more as he stroked her back, the comforting touch only marginally making any difference in the way she felt. “Is there no other way? Surely Luna could help, or we could wait for Celestia to be well again… Something, anything!” she cried desperately.

Ace only shook his head against her before he pulled it back just enough to look her in the eyes, the two still wrapped in one another’s embrace. “I must perform the ritual this year. My body could not withstand waiting any longer, and there is little that Luna could do other than supervise the ritual and report to you the outcome…”

Twilight shook her head, a sad smile reaching her lips as the tears continued to form. “I see now why Luna has been so harsh with you lately… I want to punch you and hug you at the same time…”

Ace only nodded with a sad smile that matched hers. “I understand, but please know that this is what is best. Were there any other option open to me, I would take it… But, just in case, let us try to make the most of the time we have now, rather than lamenting over what the future may bring.”

Twilight nodded as she renewed the sad embrace once more, tightening her hooves around him, disregarding the trivial wounds they both shared to comfort the fresh wounds that were beginning to form in her mind and heart.

Author's Note

Trying out a new formatting option... Please let me know how you like it comparison to the other chapters in the comments!

The Empty Throne

Final Chapter: The Empty Throne

Twilight and Ace appeared in their usual flash of light within Canterlot Castle, or more specifically, Princess Luna’s bedchamber. Twilight was looking around the well-kept room as Luna entered from the balcony, having just raised the moon as nighttime fell across Equestria, a smile attempting to combat the solemn look on her face.

She looked for a moment to each of them, looking a bit closely at Twilight’s reddened eyes, nearly making her shy away from the Princess. “I take it she now understands the direness of your situation in full, my brother?” Ace averted his gaze with a sad nod. “’Tis for the best; ‘tis better that she find out before rather than after should something happen.”

Ace nodded once more before returning his gaze to his well-meaning sister. “Still, I would much prefer no risks need be taken, should I be able to avoid them. Speaking of avoiding trouble, have you prepared yourself for thine own perilous task?”

Luna nodded her head with much more confidence than Ace had as she pointed a hoof to the large circular bed. “Remembering our old lessons, I have practiced focusing my magic more delicately with small, precise crafts.” Upon the bed rested a set of four dolls of varying colors.

Ace smiled at the precious cloth dolls as Twilight moved towards the bed for a closer look. “I see you made it a point to include the whole family,” he said as Twilight picked up one of them, now noticing it was crafted in her very likeness; the mane was cut even above the eyes with three different colors, her horn poking out between two of them, and a matching tail.

The other three dolls each resembled Princess Celestia, Princess Luna and Ace – with the red Al Bhed eye rather than his glasses. Ace took his doll-based doppelganger in his magic, bringing it closer to examine the stitching and other details before smiling with a nod and taking the Twilight doll from her hooves.

“Perhaps we should trade,” he said as he placed his doll in her hooves and examined hers closely as well. Once his inspection was complete, he cradled the doll to his chest lovingly as he spoke to Luna, “The craftsmanship is quite well. Be that as it may, practice will only reach so far. Are you certain that you are prepared to aid our sister?”

Princess Luna only stared for a moment before noticeably steeling herself with a nod. “If this is what must be done to help Celestia, then no trial or test shall be too difficult nor too trying.” Ace nodded with a proud smile before bringing the Twilight doll to rest upon the top of his head. Twilight giggled slightly at the silly, yet endearing gesture.

“Then let us away,” he said as he took the Luna and Celestia dolls in his magic, bringing them to float before Luna as he continued, “but first, would you be so kind as to spread your wings?” Luna was surprised for a moment, but nodded as she complied. As her wings unfolded, Ace laid one of the dolls on each, making certain they both faced the same direction as her. “Then we are prepared; let us go.”

Twilight mimicked what Ace had done, resting his doll upon her head as he opened the door and left the room ahead of them. She followed closely behind, but Princess Luna was having a bit of trouble figuring a way through the door without folding her wings or removing the dolls.

Ace sat for a moment with a sigh as he watched her attempting to overcome the absurd challenge. She first attempted simply walking through – likely already forgetting about her wings, - which only caused her to bump against the frame with a flush of embarrassment. After that, she attempted to leave the room sideways, which worked as far as bringing a single wing through, though it was only the Luna doll and not Luna herself who made it through.

Twilight could not help but laugh slightly as she watched the normally regal princess fluster herself with such a trivial affair. “Thou art not to laugh at thine Princess, Twilight! ‘Tis not proper!” she exclaimed in her frustration, making Ace shake his head at the affair.

After a couple more tries, Luna finally decided to pass through the doorway sideways on two hooves, her wings still being held straight out as she carried the princess dolls. As she placed her front hooves back onto the ground, she looked to each side to confirm that each of the dolls were still in place, a triumphant smile on her face.

Ace only shook his head slowly, being careful not to allow the Twilight doll to fall out of place on his head, before turning back down the hallway as the three continued on their way, though Twilight could tell he was smiling as though he was planning another trick. Usually finding his tricks entertaining, she could not help but smile as well as she fell into step alongside him.

The three of them walked through the carpeted corridors of the castle in silence for a time, Ace making no effort to hide the interest or disinterest that befell his features as he admired various paintings or mosaic windows along the way.

Finally, Luna broke the silence as she asked a question that likely had been bothering her for quite some time. “Pray tell brother, you intend to perform the ritual this year, do you not?” Ace only nodded slightly, mindful of the Twilight doll. “With or without sister’s help?” another nod, “knowing the danger? Knowing that you may very well die in the effort?

Ace growled slightly in his throat – a sound that intimidated even Twilight with its primal, animalistic tone and depth – with yet another small nod. “And what would you have me do differently, my sister? For near to a century I have awaited Princess Celestia’s aid, having requested such after the first earth pony soul, and have yet to receive it.

“Now she is no longer in any such condition to be of any help to anypony, and I will die most assuredly before I have the chance to perform the ritual again should I wait any longer. I beg of you, if you can see an alternative that I am blind to, please give voice to it.”

Relenting for the first time in her assault over his situation, Luna visibly retreated from the conversation, causing the ponies to walk in silence for a time once more. This time, however, Ace did not look as though he was paying much attention to the artwork or décor of the castle, seemingly lost in his own thoughts as his eyes passed over the panes and canvasses.

Unable to take the brooding atmosphere any longer, Twilight broke the silence on a happier topic. “The dolls look really nice, Princess Luna. You both mentioned that you made them to practice your magic?” Luna perked up at the change of conversation with a delighted nod and smile.

“Indeed. You see, when the three of us were traveling together, brother noticed that I had trouble controlling my magic properly,” she said as she looked to the ceiling, as if recalling the memories. “As I recall, he said something along the lines of-“

“Thou allows thine emotions to run over into thine magic,” Ace interjected, “causing the magic to grasp at thine wishes much too firmly, making the magic nearly subservient to thine subconscious desires. Without proper care, thou may lose the control of thine magic completely, causing it to react only by thine emotion, not by thine command.”

Luna nodded with a smile. “Yes, precisely that. Later that evening, I asked what I could do to prevent such an outcome as we prepared our camp. What I had expected was meditation, or perhaps a spell. However, he asked me to do all of the chores myself, using only my magic.” Ace stifled a laugh with a hoof as she glared at him.

“Thankfully,” Ace said as he picked up the story, “she did all of them before questioning me – and question me she did – to which I replied that I simply wished for her to do my chores for me,” he said with a shrug, making Twilight laugh a bit as well as Luna continued to glare.

“After hearing that,” Luna said as she resumed her portion of the tale, “I nearly lost my temper, making my horn glow as I prepared to… I do not recall, really, but I had intended to do something to him, I am sure… Regardless, it was then that he pointed a hoof to me and said,”

“There!” Ace said, pointing a hoof at her as they walked. “’Thou art angry, and so thine magic is angry as well. Thou must dissociate these feelings from one another through delicate, precise manipulation of thine magic,’ I told her. Once I had, I fetched a canvas cloth and a needle from our bags, taking some cotton from a nearby field and presented it to her.”

“Though I had detested the idea that he may have been tricking me once more,” Luna began, “I decided to trust him once more. He told me to make something that pictured what I felt at the time, and so I made a rather crude representation of him, though it truly was no work of art.”

Ace nodded as he smiled, his gaze wandering to the doll that rested on Twilight’s head. “I must say that her skills have vastly improved since then. The most noticeable improvement is that all of the stuffing manages to remain within the dolls, now.” Luna fixed him with a gaze that somehow exemplified both malcontent and sisterly care, though he only smiled it away innocently.

“Brother was most callous in the way that he treated the admittedly inappropriate figure,” Luna said, still staring at him, “as he appraised its worth before setting it ablaze with his magic!” Ace nodded, his smile almost appearing larger.

“That is correct, and just as the flames that reduced the plaything to ash, so too did your temper rise. As I recall, you insulted me roundly and brought my methods into question. I then asked for you to, precisely, cleave a rock in two: would you care to tell Twilight the fate that befell that poor stone?”

Luna sighed before she muttered almost inaudibly, “The stone was blasted to rubble, only causing me to become ever more enraged by my inability to control my magic in my anger.” Ace nodded.

Twilight started to tilt her head to the side before remembering the Ace doll still laid against her horn. “But I thought that making the doll was meant to help her control her magic, what happened?” Ace shook his head with a shrug.

“Sister Luna did not focus on the task, instead just rushing through it for the sake of doing it.” Ace looked back to Luna with a playful grin once more. “After that, I made a bet with her: I would do the dishes in her stead for a week if she could make a high quality plaything.”

Luna nodded with a smile before it faded back into a still-caring frown. “I had accepted the challenge, and had won, though it was of little consequence… What I had forgotten was that each day that ‘tis my turn to do the dishes are the nights that brother prepares the food. Each night that week he would need to do the dishes, he made simple hoof-held foods to save himself the effort.”

Ace covered his muzzle as he laughed while Twilight made no effort to hide her own enjoyment of the tale. “Let that be a lesson my student: Always examine any bet closely.” Twilight nodded, still recovering from her laughter while Luna just glowered at the pair.

“Nevertheless,” Ace said as he continued the story, “after she had focused intently on the craft of making a doll in her own image, her anger had faded, leaving her without an emotion strong enough to affect her magic. Afterwards, she found she had much better control of her magic.”

Luna nodded with a sigh. “Sadly, I do not have many hobbies to focus mine attention upon, though sewing has always been the most effective,” she said before raising her wings to look closely at the pair of princess dolls she carried. “Speaking of such things, why must I carry the dolls like so?”

Ace looked over at her, raising his eyebrow in question before looking between her and the dolls. “I never said it was required for you to carry the dolls like so, I was merely giving them to you so that you could carry them… Though in hindsight, that was not needed, either.” Luna’s jaw dropped as she looked at her brother in disbelief as Twilight stifled a laugh at the simple trick.

“Brother!” she said as she regained her composure, “Our sister ails and yet you continue to make fun at my expense! Why, if somepony did not know better, one might be led to believe that you care not for our dear sister!” she said, now stopping to turn and glare in his direction. Not much further ahead of the trio rested the grand double doors of the Sun’s Bedchamber.

Ace continued to walk past, Twilight hesitating for a moment before following behind him as well. “You insult me, dearest Luna. While ‘tis true I have played a harmless trick on you that does not mean that the dolls will not serve a purpose,” Ace said before halting a moment to turn his head and throw a reprimanding look to his sister. “I assure you, I can find use or meaning in the smallest of things, and this situation is no different.”

Luna’s eyes widened slightly in shock before she hung her head with a nod, remorseful that she had doubted not only her brother’s judgment, but also his love for their sister. Ace motioned towards the doors that led to Celestia’s room, a guard on either side of the door, brining Princess Luna forward at a slightly mopey pace.

At first, the guards appeared as though they had wanted to stop the group from entering, but then thought better of it as they watched the Lunar Princess proceeding towards the room as well. Instead of barring their passage, the guards each took a door in hoof and opened it, closing it again as the three ponies entered.

What the trio found within was a room that appeared to be more battleground than residence: the bed was in tattered shreds - likely torn asunder by Celestia’s horn, - the opulent curtains were pulled from their mountings and thrown into the floor to create a makeshift bed. Around the room, both on the furniture as well as walls and floor, there was varying shades of stains where soup or other foodstuffs had been thrown. Nearly anything that could be broken within the room – lamps, pillows, food trays and a stuffed animal somepony had sent as a get-well gift – as Celestia rested fitfully on the drapery-turned-bed.

Luna hung her head with a sigh as Ace and Twilight entered the room, looking about at the damage wrought by the enfeebled princess. “I fear that mine sister has grown more and more aggressive in her episodes… I must admit, the treatment you administered helped tremendously, though others may not see the results so clearly.”

Ace nodded solemnly with a sad smile at the praise before moving to Celestia’s impromptu bedside, Twilight and Luna following behind him. As they crossed the large room, they noticed that Celestia was not only fitting in her slumber, but also sweating profusely and taking short, shallow breaths.

Ace hurried to her side, a hoof rising to move her disheveled mane from her face to check her temperature as Twilight and Luna bore a look of shock. “She is suffering increasing levels of withdrawals,” he said in a whisper as he turned to face them. “Her horn likely causes her no small amount of pain as it works to balance her mind and her magic, which would explain the thrashing.”

Luna stepped forward, laying the two dolls she carried beside the curtain-bed, out of the way. “If I am not mistaken, treatment is to begin with 35 artices per treatment, two treatments a day, with a decrement of two artices every other week, yes?” Luna asked with a look to Ace who nodded. Her horn started to glow as her face was set in concentration.

Ace’s gaze met with Twilight’s as he spoke to her telepathically, ’An Artix is a single unit of magic, my dear Starlight, though ‘tis not oft that magic is measured in modern times, such affairs calls for such. A single Artix is the amount of magic required to use levitation magic on a single unit of air. For further reference, your flash-teleport spell requires nearly a thousand artices.’

Twilight’s mouth nearly fell in awe as she admired Luna’s determination before she replied. ’So then, for Luna to apply the treatment for Celestia, she has to manipulate magic twenty-eight times more sensitive than my teleport spell, without using too much magic, and eventually work the magic down to a thousand times more precise?’ Ace nodded.

Ace watched closely as Luna’s magical glow faded from around her horn, as well as Celestia’s head and horn. Luna relaxed with a sigh, though Celestia seemed only scarcely better. “Dearest Luna, do try to aid her recovery with sedative and fever reducing spells.” Luna’s eyes went slightly wider for a moment before smiling sheepishly as her horn alit once more.

Luna looked at the princess dolls before glancing to the Twilight and Ace dolls as she spoke. “What purpose do you have in mind for our plush counterparts? I can think of no spell nor magic where they would be needed…”

Ace rose an eyebrow to his sister before taking the princess dolls in hoof and gently setting them beside Celestia on her bed. “’Tis no magic, but rather a small gesture to show her that we are still here for her,” he said as he took a step back to admire the scene with a soft, sad smile.

“There will be small windows of time when she will awake as herself, and during such times, being alone will be devastating to her psyche. The dolls will grant her some small solace during these times, though I do wish that she need not suffer alone.” Luna started to reach for the Twilight doll that rested on Ace’s head, but he ducked and sidestepped away from the grasp. “If you would be so kind, dearest sister, I would like to keep this one…”

Luna looked at him with a small amount of surprise before looking to the Ace doll on Twilight’s head, leading her to take it and cradle it against her chest. Luna shook her head with a knowing smile. “As you wish, my little ponies. Worry not – I shall make more of the dolls when next I train my concentration.”

Ace smiled as he came to stand beside Twilight. “You have my thanks. With this, I believe that you are fully capable of caring for our sister should… the worst come to pass…” Twilight’s mood sank once more as she recalled why Luna had to learn to treat Celestia’s condition. “Did you have any further questions?”

Luna shook her head before Ace nodded once as his horn lit in its black glow, causing Ace and Twilight to disappear in a dark flash of light. Once they were gone, Luna turned to place a tender hoof to her sister’s chest with a sad look upon her features.

“Do recover swiftly, dear sister… I fear that our brother’s recklessness knows no bounds, and I cannot protect him without you…”

Ace and Twilight appeared in a dark flash that enveloped the second floor of the library they called home, making Spike roll over in his basket-bed. As Twilight regained her senses, Ace laid his Twilight doll on her pillow. Once Twilight had recovered her senses, she mimicked the action, placing the Ace doll directly beside his Twilight doll.

Taking precautions so as not to disturb Twilight’s sleeping assistant, Ace motioned toward the door that led to the observation deck, having a hunch that Twilight would wish to speak before they went to bed. She nodded and followed him as he made his way outside.

As they ascended the final step onto the deck, Ace placed his hooves over the banister as his gaze drifted over all of Ponyville as Twilight did the same. They sat in silence for a time as they each looked over points of interest, remembering the short time they had spent together.

After a time, Ace came down from the banister and laid down, still facing the town. After he had made himself comfortable, Twilight came down as well and laid against him, causing him to lower his head, kissing her tenderly before she nuzzled against him.

“The ritual…” she said against him, her voice reaching though his body as much as his ears, “is it truly the safest option? I mean… Is there any way you could wait another year? So that Celestia can help you?”

Ace shook his head as he wrapped a hoof around her to try to console her pain. “I am afraid not, my dearest Starlight… To go without the ritual would only seal my fate… The ritual is my greatest chance, and even so, ‘twill be a few months before that time comes. Until then, let us make the most of our time together.”

Twilight pulled her head away to look over her special somepony, her eye eyes still showing the sadness and fear that betrayed her smile. “Before we lock this discussion away, I want to ask you… You’re taking all sorts of precautions and setting a number of fail-safes into play already, should the worst come to pass… aren’t you?”

Ace smiled softly with a look of sadness in his gaze as well as he ran a hoof through her silky smooth mane. “You know me so well… Yes, you are right: even as we speak, I am preparing a number of events that will trigger should I die.” Twilight shivered at the morbid word, though she knew it was the truth. “Worry not my beloved Starlight, as I do not intend to die so easily; I take many precautions to prevent such a fate as well as account for it.”

Twilight was beginning to feel her heart sink even further the more they discussed this topic, so instead of pressing things further, she laid her head against him once more an closed her eyes as she started to feel sleepy. “I trust you, my Wolf, but still it does little to ease my fears…”

Ace wrapped a hoof around her before laying his head against her as well, the two resting peacefully beneath the stars as the light of the three-quarter moon shined upon them.

For a time, they simply laid together on the deck as the ever-watchful moon traveled across the starry sky. Ace lingered on the deck, basking in their joined embrace even after Twilight had fallen asleep, her breathing slowing as she drifted into peaceful slumber. Ace looked up to the moon with a sad look as he started to feel the wispy tendrils of sleep creeping over his consciousness.

’Lend me your strength, that I may overcome this ordeal…’

In an area separated from civilization, surrounded by overgrowth that had been untouched for millennia, in the center of a ring of stones – some standing, some fallen, and a few resting atop standing stones, - there opened a rift in the air that swirled on the inside with a black and white spiral. From within this eerie vortex came a single white dragon’s clawed hand as a face looked about on the cusp on view with a smile that emulated that of the mythical Cheshire Cat.

“As the king descends his throne,
The peasants will rise as the gold is thrown.
The blacksmiths forge weapons as the jesters smile in glee,
Down in the dungeons the uncouth criminals have been set free,
The power of order has been stretched thin,
Now is the time; let the chaos begin!”

To be continued...

The Royal Ruse

Chapter Sixteen: The Royal Ruse

Ace stood outside of the royal audience chambers, Twilight having already gone inside to speak to Celestia. Ace stood upon the opulent red and gold carpet that lined the halls, a royal Canterlot Guard standing to either side of the door, Pegasi who wore special armor that was enchanted to make them all look alike.

Throughout the halls, there were paintings of beautiful landscapes and various portraits of important and powerful ponies. Ace viewed each of the paintings, but the lack of creativity in the each of the works made them feel less like artwork, and more like fact… Like comparing a fictional story to a textbook.

How very like Celestia to even take the wonder out of paintings, he thought as he reviewed the colored, framed canvases that passed for art.

Aside from the art, the elaborate stone corridors played host to various golden sconces and candelabras, though they were not lit now in the daylight, as the tall mosaic windows provided the light for the castle. The mosaic paintings each depicted a different story of either history or mystery.

Ace was admiring the mosaics, until he looked upon one that bore the scene of Celestia locking Princess Luna within the moon. A shallow wave of anger passed over Ace as he beheld the work, anger at the idea that Celestia would have such a thing that celebrated what Ace viewed as the biggest mistake in all of Equestrian history.

With a sigh as he shook his head, he allowed the emotion to pass before he, too, made a mistake he would regret.

This is going to be nice, right? I’ll get to talk to my sisters again, and maybe even move my shop to Canterlot. Surely there’s no end to the ponies who need help in such a vast settlement, he mused as he tried to remain hopeful.

After several long, nerve racking moments, the guards finally opened the large, two story double doors that led to the royal audience chamber. With a deep breath to calm his nerves and to readjust his posture, Ace swallowed hard and moved into the chamber, which played host to Celestia on her Sunlit Throne of gold and white, as well as Twilight, and several royal guards spread symmetrically through the room; all of which had their eyes locked on him when he came in.

Celestia, the ruling Princess of Equestria, sat in her throne, adorned at the top with her emblem, a golden and radiant sun, stylized in an archaic fashion. Her coat was a splendid white tinted with the lightest touch of cerise, and her mane flowed with pastel colors of blue, green, purple and pink.

Upon her head, resting against her long pointed horn, was a golden crown that was beset with an amethyst. Upon her chest and around her neck was a golden peytral plate that rested over her wings. Being an immortal Alicorn, specifically one of great power, her body was larger than most as she occupied the otherwise massive throne.

Ace, his head just high enough to be proud, but low enough to show he still respected the Ruler of Equestria who sat before him, he strode through the room until he stood alongside Twilight.

Now standing beside his student, his sole fortification, his only confidence, in his battle against his nerves as everypony else gazed upon him as though he were an intruder, Ace took a deep bow as he introduced himself in the hopes that Celestia did indeed believe his appearance a coincidence. “Greetings, your highness. I am –“

Celestia gazed upon him as though he were a court jester who had uttered an offensive joke at her expense. “I know who you are, Ace Deus Fenrir,” she said in a calm, though perhaps louder than needed voice as she used the archaic ‘Ah-chay’ to announce his name in an accent that Ace has not heard in more years than he would like to admit. “Do you think me so shallow as to forget one who I once called my brother?”

Twilight and Ace both winced, followed by Ace ending his bow in a flourish, though it made him appear more confident than he felt. He then removed his glasses and teleported them away before he continued.

Celestia narrowed her gaze at the gesture, no doubt noting that Ace was not afraid to reveal his Al Bhed eye. “Good, for I truly loathe formality amongst family. Surely you had something to say if you have personally requested an audience, sister. I shall let you speak first, as is the custom.”

Celestia nodded as she looked to Twilight, as if appraising her to see how much she was worth. It made Twilight feel awkward, being looked upon so by her teacher. She wanted to cover herself, to make herself appear smaller so as not to be noticed, but she withheld the motion. Whether out of respect or trust for the Princess, or just utter fear, she was unsure. “How much does she know?”

Ace shook his head at the gross misconduct before he spoke. “Well she is well-versed in proper etiquette, so I daresay more than you, sister. She knows of my Al Bhed heritage, and quite a bit of my past, but she knows not our age. However, I could ask you the same question, Queen Celestia.”

Ace knowingly called her Queen, as he knew that the title infuriated her when he used it, for it was with the utmost disdain. For Celestia to be Queen, it would mean that Princess Luna would have to have no power in Equestria. “How much have you told Twilight? As far as I can tell, very little.”

Celestia’s eyes narrowed as she stared at him. “What I do or do not teach my student is of my own business and none of yours. Which brings to mind another fact that has come to my attention: I believe Twilight mentioned that you were to become her tutor. Why is that?”

Ace mirrored the gaze he was given as he spoke. “Because Twilight has asked me to assist her in her teachings, and I was recently indebted to her. Originally, that was the reason, but now the reason is much deeper than that. In regards to your actions, I have reason to believe you know why that is. Does Twilight know?”

Twilight was confused and Celestia was shocked. The princess retreated her offensive stance in the conversation to shy away from Ace’s gaze. “Well… It’s not that I’ve been hiding it from her, per se, but… No. Twilight does not know. I must admit, that I had hoped that you would not, either.”

Ace sighed as he relaxed his tense muscles so that he could speak calmly, rather than harshly. “I do not know what magic you have used to learn such truths, but I do not know them myself. However, I have spent much time with her, and I know the truth more than if I were to use such a spell.”

Celestia nodded, recovering her regal posture as she began to relax a little. “Well, I do not know how much you know, Twilight, but you are…”

Ace shook his head lightly. “She knows about the Ritual of New Life.” Celestia’s eyes went wide as she looked as though she had just been struck from behind.

Celestia froze for a moment, before she resumed staring at Ace angrily. When she spoke, her voice was thunderous and nearly shook the room with its volume, “She knows WHAT?! Guards! Leave us!”

The guards all looked at her in confusion, until she moved her angered glare to them before they hastily retreated from the room and closed the door tight. “By what authority have you told her such a thing? I could have you sent to the dungeons on account of treason for less than this!”

Ace was totally unphased by the roar of the larger-than-most pony, simply sitting with a blasé expression as she threatened him. “As she is my student as well, it is my decision what is and is not pertinent to her lessons. I believe we have a larger issue to discuss, dear sister, as Twilight would like to hear this secret of yours.”

Celestia shrank away slightly, likely hoping that she had managed to change the subject. Recovering with a sigh, she nodded. “Twilight, your soul is one that is very personal to Ace,” Celestia said, using the archaic ‘ah-chay’ with the appropriate accent to always pronounce the name.

“That soul, as I believe Ace may have told you, was one that I had to use to sustain my sister, Luna, during her imprisonment.” Celestia looked with a gaze of sorrow and remorse at the two ponies. “The soul of Little Raven, his long-dead wife.”

Twilight was stunned beyond words, glancing between the two as they stared at each other. Ace broke the stare down to look kindly to her with a solemn nod to attest that it was true. Twilight was speechless for several long moments as was forced to sit down against the regal carpet by the recoil of the knowledge. “How… How long have you known?”

Ace and Twilight both turned their gaze to Celestia as she looked uncomfortable. “Well, I… I’ve known since you enrolled in my school. I had been trying to look out for the soul of Little Raven for quite some time, but I had never thought that you would walk right into my hooves so easily.”

Ace looked as though he wanted nothing more than to tear Celestia’s horn off and assault her with it the way he glared daggers at the princess. Fortunately, he decided silence would sound better than anger, as it was Twilight who spoke her frustrations. “So, what does that mean, exactly? You were just trying to keep me around because I was an asset to you that you could use to try and manipulate Ace?”

Celestia looked offended as she recoiled before speaking in a shaky voice. “N-no, Twilight, I would never! Well, yes that was originally the idea, but-“

Twilight growled in frustration, interrupting the sorry excuse Celestia was attempting. “You intended to use me! I was just something that you needed to regain Ace’s trust! Is that all anypony is to you, Celestia? An object, something to be used and then discarded? Is that what happened to all the ponies in Canterlot who cannot even feed themselves? Just tools to be used, then discarded?” Twilight was hyperventilating with her anger at the breach of trust for the princess.

Celestia shook her head, reaching out with a hoof pleadingly. “Please, Twilight, this isn’t what I wanted. I was going to present you to Ace when you had mastered your studies, and I was going to allow him to further your education. That’s the truth!”

Ace nodded to Twilight at the explanation. “Yes, Twilight, can you not see? The dear princess has just admitted to the very thing you accused her of, and yet she believes she is innocent,” Ace said pointedly as he turned back to Celestia with a glare.

“This is the Celestia that I have known, the pony I called sister out of respect for her ability to remain calm and to plan out every detail in a plot that could span decades. This is the Celestia who would involve even her brother in such a plot, rather than telling him immediately about such joyous news as his wife’s soul rejoining the physical world.”

Celestia was furious, but Twilight fared no better while Ace simply sat beside his student with a blasé look upon his face, having expected that the event would turn out as well it had. “I’ve had enough of your lies, Celestia! When you feel like telling me the truth, come and find me in Ponyville!”

Celestia lost her anger as she reached out further with her hoof, nearly falling off the throne as Twilight’s horn lit up in the teleportation spell that flashed throughout the room before she disappeared in its violent light.

Ace shook his head at the pitiable ruler. “Well sister, when you buck up, you sure buck up big, don’t you?” Celestia’s face was scathing in anger as she regained her posture before addressing him.

“This is all by your design! You have driven my student from me with your words and your actions!” Ace could only shake his head as he rested himself upon the carpet.

“No, my dear sister, you have. You would not tell her the truth, so I took it upon myself, for she has a right to know. You brought us here to attempt to humiliate me, and it backfired. Were you to speak to me privately, we could have settled this like true brother and sister, but you had to involve Twilight from the start.”

Ace looked upon the ruler as though she was a child who had just learned the way of the world. “You never think of others, and this is your fault. You draw up plans and strategies, but you always forget the greatest, most powerful elements in all of existence: Life, and Free-will. Twilight and I are not things, we have emotions, and we can see and think for ourselves while you try to think for us.

"You believe that everypony is simply an asset for you to control, and this is why you could never be the true ruler of this country. Princess Luna is somepony who cares for each of her subjects.” Celestia softened slightly at the mention of her dear sister, but was still visibly furious.

“Princess Luna does not seek power, she seeks friendship. That is why I respect Sister Luna, whereas I had once respected you for your cunning mind. However, you have turned that blessing into a curse as you attempt to involve everypony who would love you in a scheme of some sort or another. That reminds me, what is your goal with Discord?”

Celestia was shocked that Ace had knew about Discord’s rehabilitation lessons. “That is none of your concern! The spirit of Chaos is being reformed, and he will become a contributing member of Equestria.”

Ace paid careful attention to Celestia’s word choice, and learned all that he needed to piece together what was going on. With a shake of his head, he pointed out more of her mistakes. “You believe that Discord will submit to order? You are sadly mistaken, sister, and I pity you.

"The Draconequus are a race that cannot physically submit to order, or they would be destroyed from within, like a slug who wanders into a line of salt. Whatever power, whatever spells, you hope to learn from Discord, will only lead Equestria to ruin. This is my only warning to you. I will not help you further your own ends.”

Celestia narrowed her gaze as she shouted, once more shaking the whole form of the room. “You think that I am without the means to carry out my own plans? You are mistaken! DISCORD!” She smiled a grim, sinister smile as a dimensional tear appeared next to her throne, and a rather darker version of her throne floated into the room.

The throne featured an all-seeing-eye emblem at the top, and was comprised of various elements of wood, stone, liquids and jewels. Upon the throne sat the Draconequus, Discord.

The Draconequus bore the long neck of a gray Giraffe, with a black mane and white eyebrows and beard. His head featured the horns of both a goat and a deer. His eyes were yellow instead of white, and his pupils were two differently sized red dots. He had the ears of a bat and a single wing to match, while the other was similar to a blue Pegasus wing. His body was primarily a brown coat of fur while his left arm was that of a bird of prey, and the right that of a lion. His legs were mismatched as well, one being that of a green dragon that complimented his red dragon tail, and the other a Minotaur’s hoof.

Discord floated to the other side of Celestia before he spoke. “What is it, my sweet little princess? Do we have company? Is it somepony I know? Oh, I do so love guests!” Celestia held a hoof aloft as though she were showing off a prized possession.

She nodded with a smirk. “Why yes, Discord, we do have a guest. Perhaps you remember him?” Discord looked shocked. The Draconequus leapt out of the throne, throwing it into the wall, where it shattered to pieces, and each of the pieces became a butterfly that flew to a nearby wall and merged with it.

The Draconequus floated upside down around Ace as he remained stoic in his stance. Still upside down, the Draconequus posed with his legs crossed and his claw against his chin as he thought. “Perhaps if I had a closer look, maybe?” Discord reached into his eye sockets and plucked the spheres out and turned around, looking at the pony with his back turned as he made another pass around him.

Then he replaced his eyes with a sound of realization. “That’s right, I remember now. You’re the pony who aided the princesses when they beat me and turned me into stone. If I recall, you were the one who cast the reflect barrier on the statue in a way that it couldn’t be detected, thus assuring my demise as Moonlit Embrace mimicked the skill to cast an undetectable reversal barrier as well.”

He planted the lion paw to his face as he righted himself, making the sound of a hollow space as it impacted. “How could I have ever forgotten? Why, were it not for you, I would not be in this position right now.”

Celestia smiled triumphantly, as though she had just bested Ace in a game of chess with a brilliant finishing move. “Discord dear, why don’t you make sure our guest is comfortable. We wouldn’t want him to get up and leave now, would we?”

Discord turned and bowed to the princess, his nose reaching his feet as he floated between the two. “But of course, my sweet, it would be my pleasure.” Discord snapped his fingers as he returned to an upright floating position, and a tea kettle appeared to pour an upside-down bowl of cereal that he offered to Ace.

Ace shook his head and held out a hoof to politely decline as he continued to watch the spirit of chaos with a mask that revealed nothing. “Oh my, how rude! Perhaps this will better accommodate you, then?”

Discord snapped his fingers, and when he did so, a number of objects appeared on all sides of Ace. Not waiting to see what they were, Ace leapt into the air and then used his magic to bolt backwards to the ground. The objects shot past his face as he did, before he slid backwards on the carpet. Looking upon the objects now, he noted they appeared to be shackles and other bindings.

Ace dodged to the right, the objects brushing past him again, then he flashed himself directly behind Celestia, who froze in terror as the restraints flew towards her. Discord, however, snapped his fingers and Celestia became immaterial, along with her throne. Ace started to leap out of the way, but was unable to avoid one of the chains as they wrapped around his right hoof.

Ace looked at the chain for a moment, and realized it was made of a heavy metal, and the metal was laced with Anti Magic Stone at the molten stage of the production of the bonds. The weight of the chain threw off his balance, and he was unable to focus his magic properly. He dodged the flying restraints another two times, but was unable to keep up the effort without his magic.

Ace sat before Discord and Celestia as she came back to the physical plane. “Well, that took longer than I expected, but now that you are properly entertained, allow me to show you to your room.” Celestia’s horn begun to glow, then Ace was engulfed in its golden light as he was teleported to the Canterlot Dungeons.

I wish Twilight was here, I would bet she doesn’t hear the phrase ‘I told you so’ very often, he thought as he examined the situation.

The cell he was in was a solitary cell, with only a single window slightly thinner than a pony’s hoof. The walls were stone on five sides, counting the ceiling and floor, and the entrance was constructed of metal bars. Even without his magic senses, he could tell the bars were enchanted with powerful magic to prevent physical force from breaking them open, which would have been easy otherwise with the rusted, aged metal.

Resigning himself to his fate, he set upon the floor, against a wall, uncomfortable in the anti-magic restraints that would prevent him from using his magic, though it would still accumulate, though slowly… Which was going to hurt like hell when it overloaded, but at least he would be free then. The restraints were held together in chaos magic, though it was rather loosely. Loose though it was, there was nothing he could do about it without magic of his own.

With the analysis of his dismal situation complete, Ace decided that it would be best to just sleep while he could, and wait for his magic to overload. While the overload would hurt like being chewed up and spat out, it would destroy any magic in the area. Once that happened, his restraints would be easy to break, and he could buck the door open to make his escape. Until then, he rested.

I sure hope that Twilight is okay…

Twilight appeared in a flash of light just beyond the walls of the castle, near the marketplace. If I had enough magical power, I could be in Ponyville right now… she thought harshly to herself, still upset that Celestia was not forthcoming with information about Twilight’s entire life. Is this really all I was? Just something for her to use to get Ace to trust her again? Well, that sure worked wonders.

Twilight sighed as she walked amongst the ponies of the marketplace absently, focusing on her thoughts as she used her magic senses to avoid colliding with anypony, her eyes closed. Was I only accepted to Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns because I have Little Raven’s soul? Is she the only reason I am as good with magic as I am? Is she the only reason Ace wants to be around me so much?

Twilight’s cheeks flushed when another thought came to her mind, Is she the reason I feel this way when I’m around him? Twilight wandered around town aimlessly, using her magic to feel her way around town as her physical senses were all but shut down.

Or at least, they were, until Twilight had been wandered around for almost an hour when her stomach grumbled to remind her that she still needed to eat. Embarrassed, she looked around to catch her bearings, as well as make sure nopony heard her stomach.

She saw a number of food stalls and restaurants, but she looked over her back and hooves before remembering that she had been in such a hurry, she had left her money at home.

Okay, options… I could return to the castle and apologize to the Princess… Twilight shook her head. Nope, still too mad. Okay… I could get on the train back to Ponyville…

Twilight looked over herself again before deflating with a frown. Except that Ace had the tickets in his coin pouch, which he teleported back home... Helpful. Twilight started to turn back to the main thoroughfare with a shake of her head.

Okay then, time for every mare’s ultimate backup plan… Go and visit the parents. I suppose it has been quite some time since I’ve talked to them…

Twilight proceeded to think out her thoughts about Ace and Celestia as she made her way back to her beloved home where her parents lived, fortunately only about fifteen minutes away from where had wandered to.

I guess it’s natural to wander back to our parents when something is bothering us…

The Experiment Begins

Chapter Three: The Experiment Begins

--Written by Aceofgods, edited with the help of Shockhoof

Ace knitted his brow and started to concentrate on preparing a spell.

His mind had be clear of all distractions for it to work. The slightest thought, the smallest notion, might give the spell a focus rather than being the empty, purposeless gathering of power that he needed to form pre-magic without it being consumed in the spell.

The hardest part about the spell was that it had to be very powerful, but without a purpose, the pre-magic would form slowly rather than instantly. While the pre-magic was gathering, Ace needed his mind to remain clear of thought; were it not for the pristine environment of his workshop, the task would be nigh impossible.

Focusing on his solid black horn, Ace put forth a small, barely measurable amount of magic, which was likely one of the most difficult things he had done in months. For the spell to do what was needed, Ace had to keep his mind completely devoid of thought or purpose.

Pre-magic began to form around the black point, working slowly down the length as he focused on nothing. Finally, after what had felt like almost an hour, he felt a chill around his forehead.

Slowly and carefully, Ace lowered his focus and let the magic fade from his horn.

’Twenty, nineteen, eighteen, seventeen…’ Ace waited as the pre-magic settled on his horn, before gently caressing it with his magic, but feeling absolutely nothing there.

Ace’s eyes went wide as he could no longer sense his horn. He frantically felt around his environment, coating it in a layer of his magic, emitting the power from his entire body, rather than his horn.

Focusing the field, he analyzed his body to assess any damage. He swallowed hard, combating the panic that rose to meet him in his throat as he could no longer feel his horn through his magic. The only reassurance he could rely upon was the distinct lack of feeling, as though even the air itself had been removed from the space.

Ace, ever reliant on the magical senses that always overflowed from his body at his behest, used said senses to feel his surroundings more than anypony used their physical ones.

The inability to feel a particular object or area was not a first, though it was debilitating at every occurrence regardless; to another pony, it would be the equivalent of touching something you could not see, or seeing something you could not touch.

Ace was a powerful and experienced Unicorn, and had always used his magic to feel everything around him using extrasensory magic. Now, without it, he felt as though he was a newborn foal who had not yet learned to interact with the world around them.

Putting a bit of magic into his horn, he formed a glass container around his horn and lifted it away… Or rather, he meant to, but couldn’t as the pre-magic around his horn prevented him from putting any magic into it, lest it be absorbed by the very stuff the experiment centered upon.

Well, this experiment is off to a terrific start!

Counting his blessings, Ace was glad he had learned to use magic with the rest of his body, though it was nowhere near as effective as a Unicorn’s horn. Using this rare skill, Ace used his chest as a medium to control his magic instead as he formed a sort of glass vase and materialized it, making it solid and no longer needing magic to maintain its form.

With his hooves, Ace delicately scraped the pre-magic off one side of his horn using the reflection in the magnifying glass to guide him, almost staggering as he regained a conic portion of his extrasensory magic all at once.

Peering into the vase he held admiringly before him, Ace finally got a good look at what may yet be his best or worst idea this week; the black semi-fluid-semi-solid, almost gel-like substance drifted slowly to the bottom of the container.

The gooey stuff was a shade of black that appeared to drain all of the light around it like a black hole, while there were still unusual white specs that hovered and flickered like stars in the nighttime sky.

His extrasensory magic helping to guide him, knowing more where the stuff wasn’t than where it was, Ace managed to get all of the pre-magic off his horn, the horn-sized vase nearly half full.

It’s not enough, I need another batch.

Ace emptied the half full vase onto the table, below the enchanted magnifying lens, then set the vase aside as he modified the inside of it to have a hatch-like filter and expanded the width of the opening to fit part of his head instead of just his horn, which would help with the next batch of the pre-magic.

His tools properly prepared, Ace peered through the lens to study the star-scarred black mass, adjusting the lens as needed to get a closer look.

Even upon his closest inspection, the mass appeared to have no texture. It was as though it were water, completely smooth and slick, yet it latched on to anything it could as though it were alive, and being separate from everything would mean certain death.

Ace pulled away from the magnifying lens, noting that the black mass had appeared to lose a portion of its white flecks with the passage of time. Testing a theory, he cast a spell to transform the black mass into a bracelet.

The result was meant to be the black mass changing shape and form as it formed a circle and a hole began to form in the middle the size of a hoof, a clasp forming on one side. The actual result was that more white specks flickered to life on the mass as it leeched the magic of the simple spell.

Did it just move closer to me?

Ace stared for a moment before shaking his head lightly.

Of course not, the pre-magic has no purpose, and thus, no sentience. ‘Tis not a creature before my eyes, but a manifestation of magic given form.

Proceeding with the experiment, Ace began casting the spell that would do nothing once again, beginning the slow process of gathering pre-magic around his horn.

Were the spell something stronger, something with a definite cause, effect or purpose, the pre-magic would form as swiftly as a Unicorn can light their horn, but since the spell had no purpose, building the magic was difficult; the pre-magic needed magic to form, and gathering magic without magic was no easy task.

After what felt like an hour, the pre-magic seemed to have formed, Ace fighting a shiver as the cold touch reached the base of his horn. Ace mentally reminded himself that the loss of his magical senses was to be expected as he combated the panic forming in his subconscious.

Using his chest to control the glass trap he had prepared from the vase, he positioned it directly above his horn. Ace slowly lowered the vase onto his horn with all the grace of a dancer in a play at theatre - that is, he would have, if the contact the trap-vase made with the black substance hadn’t broke the control Ace had over the levitation spell.

Since it did, however, the vase instead came crashing into Ace’s forehead and muzzle, sliding down the length of his horn as the glass-and-wire-mesh hatch spread within the inside of the vase.

Ace used his hooves to center the vase over his horn, the mesh resting against his forehead, touching the base of his horn, beneath the pre-magic. Lowering his head to the floor, he slowly pulled the vase off, the ends of the hatch scraping slightly against the horn, ensuring no pre-magic remained behind.

The vase was again half full, but it would be enough to continue with the experiment for now. For the next step, Ace had to attempt to merge the two different globs of pre-magic into one.

Lifting the vase onto the table and turning it open-side-down, the wire-glass hatch dropping open as the black, amorphous mass clung to the glass, dropping out slowly as though it were a condiment bottle.

While the dark ashen Unicorn waited for the inevitable, unable to aid the descent with magic, he instead used magic to create a pair of glass planes that could be moved by hoof to relocate the black masses around the table.

After a time, the black, starless mass fell to the table with a sloppy sound that resembled forcing something into a vat of gelatin.

Ace prepared for the worst, setting aside the trap-vase and taking up one of the panes to move the new, starless mass under the magnifying lens. Not quite allowing the two masses to touch just yet, Ace left less than a hoof’s width between them.

He adjusted the magnifying lens to focus on the gap that separated the two valuable test materials, zooming in on each and taking mental note of how they seemed to long for each other.

Nearly microscopic tendrils formed on the star-scarred of the two, whilst the pure-black twin seemed to be trying to shift its weight forward, but not having the strength to do anything.

“The separate forms of pre-magic seem to act as a single entity. When in close proximity, they attempt to make contact with one another. The stars that mar the surface of the blobs signify the amount of magic they hold.

"Given enough magic, they appear to be capable of forming tendrils to reach for their goals. Lacking magic, they seem to attempt to… Shift their weight toward their goal, perhaps moving at a rate of three centimeters per hour,” he said, speaking for the express purpose of recording his thoughts through the ACS.

Ace began to make a cup of coffee across the room using his magic as he continued, “The next phase of the experiment will involve… Feeding, for lack of a better word.

First, the ‘food’ will be placed between the two to examine how they interact when there is another entity, a sort of ‘prey’ entity before them.” He took a few drinks of coffee before setting the half-empty mug aside on the far end of the table. The dark gray Unicorn’s black horn continued to glow, preparing to cast an illusion spell.

After a moment, still gazing through the magnifying lens at the gap between the two forms, he formed a simple square with the spell.

Within moments the star-scarred blob reached out a single long tendril that drained all of the magic from the illusion, removing the form from existence. This was to be expected, but what was truly unexpected, was that the star-scarred blob, now filled with a larger number of brighter stars, lurched inches towards the Unicorn before the black glow in his horn was cut short, having cut all flow of magic to the horn the moment the blob moved.

“The subject shows a ravenous hunger for magic, while also being… almost intelligent enough to realize the source of magic and not just seeking spells. Thus far, the experi-“

Ace’s monologue was cut short when the bright star-scarred mass did another unexpected thing; it grew another large tendril and reached the several inches that separated it from its purer sibling, conjoining the two near the center of the magnifying lens. Sparing no time, the Unicorn all but pressed his muzzle against the lens to get a solid look at his valuable test subjects as they merged.

Ace informed the ACS of the developments that took place before his very eyes; the pre-magic twins merged together with nary a single scar or seam to reveal the effort.

The elder twin shared its magic with the younger, the entirety of the mass now speckled with white lights. Ace could only hope that the ACS was capable of recording the pre-magic, lest he look a fool in footage. Ace began to traverse the room towards the firing range.

“To prevent accident, I will now force a misfire. Upon my return, the next stage of the experiment will involve practicality testing.”

Ace opened the door to the secured room, sealing the door as he entered. The dark Unicorn prepared a number of combat spells to achieve the planned misfire, causing a loud slam to echo through the workshop.

A few minutes passed before Ace emerged from the room, pulling his coffee towards him, careful to avoid bringing the levitation spell anywhere near the experiment. Finishing the coffee as he reached the table, he began to give voice to the thoughts that filled his mind.

“Next is the practicality test. For this segment of the experiment, I will attempt to coax the pre-magic form onto a solid object before assaulting said object with a spell. Should the object consistently survive with minimal harm, the experiment will advance to the next stage.

As he spoke he pulled another blank table from the back and set it some distance away, locking it in position with a single-use spell so as not to leave behind any magic.

Ace used his magic to create a glass dish, twice the size of his coffee cup, forming a holder on the side of the table to place it.

Next, taking the pane of glass used to move the pre-magic in a hoof, he slid the gooey stuff into the new dish, which landed with another solid, moist sounding flop, before placing a dish-like handled-tray below the glass, should the next step end in the almost expected failure.

“With the test material in a container, I will attempt to teleport the dish and its pre-magical contents to the testing table.” Ending the statement as much with a flash of magic as punctuation, the glass dish appeared on the table across the room evenly, still containing the amorphous mass. Ace nodded as he mentally noted the results.

“Introducing solid test object: one recently used coffee mug, laced with levitation magic.” As he spoke, the attentive Unicorn lifted the aforementioned object over to the opposite table, lowering it slowly into the container to introduce it carefully to the test material.

That was the intended outcome, had the material in question not reached up almost immediately with a long, black tendril the moment the mug breached the surface of the container, draining the magic as the mug landed dead center of the mass, being absorbed as easily as the magic that once surrounded the porcelain vessel.

Ace expected to hear the clatter of the cup against the glass dish, though he never did. The pre-magic caught the cup, taking it into the center of itself and used it take on a solid form as it molded itself to the form of its new host.

“Given a physical object, the mass seems to change form to the object, clinging to it. Proceeding to combat application.” Ace’s horn lit up brightly, casting a level 4 lightning spell over the top of the dish, out of reach of the tendrils.

The testing lab lit up with the flash of the lightning as it struck down into the center of the dish, gone as quickly as it appeared, leaving a long black tendril reaching listlessly out of the top of the dish, attempting to gather more magic, given the chance.

After a few moments, the tendril retreated back to the inside of the dish, gathering around the mass as it disappeared in the black starfield, glowing brighter now. The tendril out of sight, the Unicorn cast the same spell once again, with the same results, the tendril reaching to precisely the same place again, going no further.

“Absorbing more magic has left the mass positively filled with radiant white spots, resembling stars, though the longer time passes, the dimmer the spots become. Mass uses a single tendril comprised of itself to reach toward any source of magic it comes in contact with. Proceeding to verification.”

Casting a teleportation spell, Ace flashed the container back under the magnifying lens, the lip of the glass dish nearly touching the magnifying lens. Peering through the lens, Ace analyzed the white spots, not needing to adjust the spell yet. He noted the magical, electrical arcs that passed as lights as he admired his work.

Wanting a closer look, the Unicorn’s horn lit up as he began to adjust the lens, zooming in on one of the white spots…

As he did so, however, the tendril shot up from the surface of the ooze to make contact with the lens, draining the magic out of it as Ace jumped back, just managing to cut the magic from his horn before the tendril could shoot up and make contact with him, which it certainly had attempted to do as it longed to feed on the magic he held.

“Note: Subject still displays ravenous hunger, as well as lightning reflexes,” Ace noted with a nervous laugh.

Using the pane of glass to move the dish out from under the lens, Ace then reached for the trap-vase with his hooves, dipping it into the dish as the wire-and-glass mesh parted over the coffee cup.

Pulling the vase back out of the dish, the mesh scraping against the cup, the scientist studied the cup to examine if it had sustained any damage… Perhaps he would have, that is, if any of the pre-magic had come off the cup and into the vase.

Attempting the process once more, and gaining equal results, Ace sighed before taking a note: “Now stronger with the magic fuel it gained, the mass more tenaciously clings to its host. As a countermeasure, moving a future step to present.”

Whilst taking the note, he headed towards the storage room beside the spare tables and equipment. Within the room, Ace withdrew a box from a low shelf, the heavy parcel falling to his hooves as the weight within shifted when it moved over the edge of the shelf.

A small curse escaped his muzzle as Ace witnessed the pink colored, almost-crystalline stones within the box spilling across the floor, two of which touched his hoof and caused him to jump at the almost shocking contact.

Forming a glass container with his magic, the Unicorn scooped a number of the stones into it and kept it several feet away from his body, taking up a nearby book in his magic as he proceeded back to the experiment’s table, reading the book as he went. Everything Known about Anti-Magic Stone (a Study conducted by Ace Deus Fenrir).

Having written the informational text years past when he had discovered an island upon which no Unicorn could cast magic, Ace knew nearly every fact written herein, but still wanted to have the original copy should he need to make an amendment as the experiment he was presently engrossed in revealed some new light upon the mysterious stones.

Nearing the experiment table, Ace pulled a metal tray from the rack of equipment, then laid the stones upon the tray on the floor before stomping and grinding the Anti-Magic stones into powder, save for a shard that he lifted with a tool resembling a pair of tweezers, then dropped the sliver onto the black pre-magic mass-turned-coffee-cup.

As the sliver neared the mass, and inevitably landed in the center of the cup, the gooey solid let out an almost audible hiss as the white stars flickered before blinking out entirely.

“I have introduced a foreign contaminant to the mass of pre-magic: a sample of Anti-Magic Stone, discovered around eighty five years ago. The stone’s natural properties of dispelling any magic it comes in contact with have left the ooze defenseless against the gravity-fueled assault.

“Upon making contact with the substance, the pre-magic emitted a form of hissing sound – Result of magic leaving the ooze, or perhaps a feeling of pain passing through the form…”

Ace paused a moment to shake his head, “Likely the former, rather than the latter. The following tests will consist of testing the changes in behavior of the test material while exposed to the foreign contaminant, an Anti-Magic Stone.”

Using one of the glass panes, Ace moved the experiment dish to the center of the table, away from the disenchanted magnifying lens, before levitating the pane over the top of the dish. The gooey substance encasing the porcelain figure looked as though it were attempting to crawl out of the dish to make contact with the magic-touched glass pane, but with little result. Setting the pane aside, Ace took a number of steps away from the table for the next test.

“Testing capacity for absorbing aggressive magic.” Once again punctuating his sentence with a jolt of lightning, the room lit up with a flash and the bolt struck the center of the pre-magical substance, again raising a tentacle that was spotted with stars…

For just under a second, the tendril remained in position before the hissing noise returned, the tendril disappearing into the mass as quickly as the bolt struck, the stars blinking out of existence once more.

“Result is as expected, the pre-magic absorbed the attack that would have normally overloaded the sliver of Anti-Magic Stone, which in turn saved the contaminant within. Within moments, the Anti-Magic Stone dispelled the magic from the form, once again making the sound of a bestial hiss.”

Ace used his magic to pull a metal cart from the side of the room, pulling it alongside the table before taking note of the action for the ACS recording the events that transpired.

“One last test remains for this sample; Physical impact trauma testing.” With that, Ace teleported the mass to the top of the room, about 30 feet to the left of himself.

The dark, gooey coffee cup shaped mass fell to the floor within the container until it hit the ground.

The coffee cup within shattered to pieces, flying about the room and small bits of shrapnel reaching out to fleck against the dark Unicorn’s coat… At least, that is what would have happened, had the gooey mess not held the cup together, as Ace had anticipated.

While the glass dish of a container shattered to bits and filled the floor of the workshop, the coffee cup landed with a solid yet liquid ba-bloosh sound, open face down.

“The pre-magic mold around the cup has saved the porcelain container from a fragmented demise. Tests have concluded for this sample, as the sample cannot be removed from the cup without endangering myself.”

Casting a reparation spell on the glass that laid strewn through the workshop, Ace reformed the dish next to him as he proceeded toward the black mess in the floor, relying on his eyes to see the form rather than his magic, which was still debilitating to the dark Unicorn, so accustomed to relying on his extrasensory magic.

Taking the pane from the table as well, Ace coaxed the gooey solid into the dish once more, then carried the dish to the cart.

“The sample will be taken to the experiment storage room, pedestal number one-five-one, as it is the only Anti-Magic Stone pedestal already prepared. My name is Ace Deus Fenrir, this is Experiment ‘Magic Immunity Test Number Zero.’ The date is-“

Ace continued prattling off information for the end of the recording, as was necessary for the system to categorize and archive the recording, though the crystal would not be moved to the archives for a month, for the sake of review.

As Ace recited the figures the recording required, he pushed the cart to the door closest to the trophy room, though this thicker, pink door was operated by a hoof-crank as the solid door was made of Anti-Magic Stone to prevent any magic from the workshop leaking through to affect any of the leftover samples and materials within.

Working the door open, the Ace pushed the cart inside, leading the cart to the fifth row, the first column on the left. Pushing the cart alongside the pink pedestal, comprised of carved Anti-Magic Stone, with a matching pink see-through dome, composed of glass that was blown with powdered Anti-Magic Stone mixed in with the molten form.

Carefully removing the dome with his hooves, setting it on the cart before transplanting the glass dish to the pedestal and replacing the dome. His work here finished, the Unicorn proceeded out of the room, sealing it once more and placing the cart where it once rested before.

“ACS, begin recording. My name is Ace Deus Fenrir, and this is a recording for experiment ‘Magic Immunity Test Number One – Application of Pre-Magic to Living Organisms. The date is-“

This time choosing to recite the information at the beginning, while the information was fresh on his mind, Ace prepared the table for the coming experiment, stowing the magnifying glass down within the compartment built into the table, as it will not be used now that Ace had recorded the properties of the gooey mass in the previous experiment.

“The first section of this experiment will require that I amass a sizeable, usable amount of pre-magic.” With this, Ace braced himself and cleared his mind, casting the spell that was not a spell as he allowed the pre-magic to gather around his horn until he felt the cold absence around his forehead.

Once again, Ace gathered the pre-magic in the trap-vase used previously, then emptying the contents on the table.

What felt like hours passed as Ace repeated the collection process another five times, making a cup of coffee a time or two along the way, being careful not to introduce any magic to the growing mass of pure black goo.

The collection phase finished, Ace leaned down to inspect the goo, making sure there were no complication in conjoining so many different section of pre-magic without ever introducing magic to fuel the process.

"Where am I going to find a living organism to experiment on? I dare not use ponies, but I don’t want to hurt any animals either… Perhaps I should-“

Ace felt a twinge of magic pass through his horn, his eyes going wide as he bolted backwards, but too late – the pre-magic goo leapt toward his horn, the source of the magic it had felt, lusting for food, a ravenous hunger fueling the primitive, bestial urge to feed.

Out of reflex, Ace began to prepare a barrier spell, quickly reprimanding himself mentally at his own foolishness, as the magic charging in his horn was about the least helpful thing he could have done.

His next reaction, a much more helpful one, was to lift his left hoof to guard his head and horn from the gelatinous assault. More helpful, but still a problem – Ace’s extrasensory magic pulsed through all of his body, not just his horn, which meant the ooze had effectively made contact with magic.

Thinking quick as the white spots began to form on the ooze, fueling the tendrils that began to inch along the dark Unicorn’s leg, the panicked pony slammed his hoof into the tray in the floor by the table, which was covered in Anti-Magic Stone Powder.

A loud hiss filled the lab as Ace used his magic to pull the emergency glyph/rune carving knife to his other hoof, the other, afflicted limb still standing in the savior that was the fine pink powder.

With the enchanted knife in hoof, Ace hesitated as he considered the options.

The knife is enchanted, thereby magic. If the ooze makes contact with it, even for a moment, the magic will be drained from it. Without the magic, the knife is next to useless and the enchantments are complex, it could take me an hour to make another.

I need to stop the pre-magic from touching it, but I must save my limb at all costs. I cannot shed the pre-magic, as it would cling to my body, the only source of magic in the room, too tenaciously. Fangs and talons, this is going to sting…

Forming a ring of glass around his afflicted limb using his magic, just out of reach of the ooze before it could ascend the dark coated hoof any higher, Ace slammed the glass into the limb, severing the muscle and contacting the bone.

Biting his lip to fight the pain, blood attempting to pass by the glass to greet the wound, but the cut was, fortunately, too clean for the blood to escape. Ace cut the cord of magic he used to control the glass, the only thing holding it now being the muscle and bone it was braced against.

Working fast and having no time for compromise, the panicked and fatigued Unicorn drove the knife into his hoof much less deeply, cutting only deep enough that the tissue would scar above the glass barrier.

With the practiced grace of either an assassin, a surgeon or an artist, any of the roles describing the action, Ace carved the runes into his left hoof, just above the knee.

Groaning in pain, the Ace could not close his eyes or avert his gaze, the process being far too delicate to perform with only feeling alone. Using his magical sense to feel the runes, he could tell he was not making any mistakes.

The runes were a non-magical spell in and of themselves, enhanced by the blood and flesh it was carved in, and enhanced even further as they were carved using a ceremonial carving knife with an opal hilt, a sapphire studded in the mithril blade, and enchanted with a spell specifically for crafting ritualistic runes and glyphs.

Since the runes were a symbolic nature, they were not innately magical once they were enacted, but until they were all carved together, they remained a magical entity until they were put in effect, which was why they had to be separated from the anti-magic affliction.

Once activated, they would prevent the passing of any magic, or anything created by magic.

Fortunately, the pre-magic was still an entity of magic, which Ace believed was how the pre-magic melded together so well, and why it literally longed to join with other parts of itself.

Ace was in a dead-sweat as he finished carving the last of the runes, the symbols each glowing a dark color that matched the signature of his magic one at a time, until all of the symbols were glowing, then they all stopped glowing, leaving only the running blood that was amassing on the glass barrier behind.

Casting a rapid regeneration spell on his shoulder that would affect his whole leg, he placed the knife on the table and took a deep breath to steady himself, the pure black, still lightly hissing ooze pressed against the underside of the glass barricade.

As the spell took effect, the runes he had carved sealed themselves and scarred, easily noticed up close but indiscernible at a distance.

Ace winced back as a new wave of pain passed through his arm as the spell attempted to remove the glass from the wound, breaking and fracturing it in places as it was pushed from the wound, cutting nicks and chunks alongside the until-now clean wound, but healing it over all the same.

This scar, as he thought, was much larger and could easily be seen by the naked eye as clearly as his solid black horn. Ace began to regain feeling in his hoof as the muscles and nerves connected, having the thousand-needles feeling throughout the appendage.

Ace could no longer do this alone, he needed help, and he knew of only one pony who could help him in his troubles of magic other than the Princesses, who could possibly be very angered by his experimentation and getting reprimanded after waiting hours to be granted an audience would not help whatsoever.

I have little other option, but Princess Celestia is always granting praise to her star pupil… Time to put her through her paces… I need to visit Twilight Sparkle.

“Cease recording! I leave to seek aid!”

And with that, Ace teleported out of the lab, hoping that the only pony he knew could help him, a total stranger, would be at home…

Author's Note

Special thanks to Shockhoof for helping with the edit! ^_^