To Deny Thyself

It had been a week since Twilight had stopped Showing up to bring Konton to magic lessons after school and he was quite glade to have some time to himself again. He was even sporting a bandage on his front left leg that he had acquired on his latest attempt to help the crusaders, all of whom were sporting a similar array of bandages. Magic lessons had completely slipped his mind as the group came out of class to find the purple unicorn waiting for one of them.

“Sorry it took so long but that help I mentioned finally has an opening in her schedule to help us out today.”

Konton breathed a deep sigh, “Guess I have magic lessons again. See you tomorrow.”

As much as he didn’t want to go, this wasn’t about him or even Twilight, seeing as she had gotten somepony to help it and it would have been rude of him to be a no-show, so he dutifully followed the elder unicorn away from his friends.

When they arrived at the quarry Twilight explained they might have to wait a bit for the help to arrive. Konton took the time to look over the field. It was just as crater blasted as before and a hint of guilt clawed at his heart knowing that day after day he had single-hoofedly turned the abandon quarry into a chaotic war zone remnant.

Thankfully he didn’t have to wait long before a flash of light and a sound he recognized as a teliportation spell drew his attention skyward. The colt’s eye went wide in surprise as he realized that Twilight’s ‘help’ was none other then Princess Celestia herself.

“Hello, my faithful student and hello my little pony. You must be Konton,” the regal alicorn greeted the two unicorns. Konton was too mesmerized by the princess’ flowing ethereal multi-color mane to respond with anything other then a slight nod of his head. “Yes I see the resemblance,” Celestia commented, while looking at the colt’s cutie mark.

“Your notes said you think you know what it means. Do you think that might help us teach him to control his magic?” Twilight asked.

“I have a theory, yes. Though there is only one way to find out.” Celestia forced a smile though an otherwise grim expression.

Somehow that sad, almost pitying look from the princess’ eyes was just what Konton needed to snap himself out of his awestruck dazed state. She hadn’t even tossed a glance at the field of craters behind her and somehow he knew the alacorn princess understood his problem better then anypony he’d met before.

“What do you need me to do?” Konton asked, suddenly hopeful that this time would be different.

Celestia looked at the crater-covered quarry for the first time, “this will do. First I will need you to begin one of your magic storms, then restrain it as long as you can. Leave the rest to me and Twilight Sparkle.” Turning to the purple unicorn she added, “I will need you to follow my magic into his. I may need your help to shut down his magic.”

Twilight momentarily forgot the gravity of this situation and gave a joyful hop “Does that mean?”

“Yes, It’s long past time I taught you the spell I used to shut down your magic storm all those years ago.” Celestia laughed at her student’s conduct. In a serious she turned to the colt and added, “Whenever you’re ready Konton.”

“While you’re right next to me?”

“Both Twilight and I can teliport away if it gets too dangerous.”

Konton summoned a small amount of magic into his horn and used it to give a slight telekinetic nudge to a stone. That’s all it took to open the floodgates of his magic and the colt didn’t bother giving it a release, no random spells to vent it. He just let the magic build up inside, knowing it would overpower his will in a second or two and release itself as a magic storm. The inevitable happened, the glow around his horn got brighter and spread over his body. In a blink his sight was obscured by the powerful green light over his eye. The pain of his own magic escaping him against his will washed over the colt and he began fighting to vent or contain the torrent of magic flowing out of him, whatever it took to keep the storm going.

The white wing of Celestia pressed down on Twilight’s back, the regal pony’s hoof pressed against Konton’s side and Twilight felt the pull of Celestia’s magic so she used her own to follow it. Everything went white, then black.

Stars joined Twilight Sparkle in the void and soon she noticed a green haze around the edges of her vision. This place felt both familiar and alien all at once and Twilight knew why. Where she now stood was a spirit plane but the last time she had been here was years ago and it had been her own. But this time it was the core of Konton’s essence not her own.

“Oh my.” Celestia’s whisper drew Twilight’s attention to the alacorn beside her.

“What’s wrong?” Twilight gasped, startled by the princess’ tone, yet relieved to find her mentor at her side.

“Interesting, it is as I feared. And yet I wasn’t expecting to find this.” Celsetia gestured out toward the only other things in the star field.

Konton stood between two gates. One gate was silver and spewing forth a torrent of white energy. The other gate was made of obsidian and a similar torrent of black energy flowed from it. The colt stood between them hoofs outstretched trying to block the flows like a foal trying to push against a fire-hose. And getting about the same success, as the two streams of magic washed around him they merged and became green lightning where they met.

“How can he have two spirit gates?” Twilight asked.

“Be it one or many the form his gate takes isn’t really important it’s only a manifestation of how he views his own magic.”

“If that’s not the problem what is?”

“Can’t you feel it Twilight? You’ve faced this kind of magic before.”

“I have?” Twilight pondered the idea for a moment. Of course she had felt Konton’s magic before, almost every day for the better part of a month. But now here next to its source without all the elemental manifestation of that magic in the way she could feel something more, its true uncontrollable essence, “Discord…”

“That’s right, the child wields chaos magic.” With a heavy sigh Celsetia added, “Time may be distorted in here but we can not afford to delay much longer. Help him contain his light, I will face his darkness.”

A large golden disc appeared over Celestia emblazoned with the sun. The sun in the center split in two and slid open, disappearing into the frame. Once open, a stream of pure golden light flowed out and followed its master as the alicorn charged to Konton’s side, where the stream of Celestia’s magic split in two and smashed against the twin streams from the colt.

Twilight Sparkle summoned her own magic, taking a moment to glance over her shoulder to see her own spirit gate appear. When it did, she couldn’t help but smile, Celestia was right, because she knew for a fact that this wasn’t the same dull stone gate that had vexed her all those years ago in the exam room. Twilight’s new spirit gate was vibrant with color. The double doors were now purple with amethyst gems in the form of her cutie mark. The frame was made of five distinct colors, yellow, orange, blue, white and pink and in the center of each section were the cutie marks of her five best friends all highlighted as if they were the cornerstones holding the gate together. Yes, that’s definitely how I feel about the magic born of friendship. The doors of her gate swung open, a stream of purple energy flowed out and Twilight charged forward to join her mentor.

Celestia had only held back both torrents for a second by the time Twilight’s magic slammed into the stream of white magic from Konton’s silver gate. With the silver gate taken care of Celestia brought the full force of her magic down on the obsidian gate, forcing the dark stream of magic back beyond the gate.

“C-Celestia! Twilight!” Konton exclaimed, noticing that he had guests in his spirit plane for the first time.

“Konton help us close the gates!” Celestia commanded.

He nodded and ran to Twilight’s side, throwing his hooves against a silver door. While he only pushed against one, both of the silver doors began to close and the doors of the obsidian gate did likewise. As the opening narrowed Twilight struggled to keep the full force of her magic channeling through the closing gap.

“Now!” Celestia shouted as she lunged, slamming her hooves against the doors of the obsidian gate. Twilight Sparkle heeded her mentor’s command and slammed her shoulder into the free silver door. The gates slammed shut as Twilight and Celestia’s magic washed over them keeping them closed long enough for a locking sound to be heard. With that the world once again went pure white.

Twilight opened her eyes to find herself back in the abandon quarry or more accurately still in the quarry, as they had never physically left it. Konton was sitting still, staring at his hoof in bewilderment, “I-I’m still awake?” he muttered the source of his disbelief. A brief smile appeared on the colt’s face until his eye fell on the grim look on Celestia’s. “Did-Did you figure it out?”

“We did, the magic you wield is chaos magic, given its very nature I doubt that controlling it is even possible. I’m sorry.”

“So, in other words…” Konton began before trailing off, clearly still trying to figure out what to conclude.

“It is my understanding that before Twilight’s aid you were content to live without magic, correct?” Celestia asked. The colt nodded. The princess continued, “Then to paraphrase Applejack, you were right all along.”

“But Princess Celestia! He’s a unicorn, what about his nature? What about his cutie mark? His destiny! You aren’t really suggesting he just turn his back on a part of who he is are you?!” Twilight gasped.

Celestia continued to address her words to Konton even if they were equally meant for both unicorns in attendance “It would seem your destiny is to remind ponies of what makes us ponies rather then just wild animals. You saw the destructive nature of your magic, and rejected it. You chose to deny yourself over blindly following your instincts like some feral creature. And now you will choose to forge whatever destiny you can for yourself, reminding everypony that we have always been free to choose our own paths in life no matter what symbol may appear on your flank. Just as you chose not to embrace your chaos magic but to imprison it with your self restraint.”

As Konton listened to the princess a smile crept across his face. He had never thought of it that way and now with the princess’ vindication he felt like he had done the right thing ever since that miserable day his cutie mark first appeared.

The encouraging smile faded from Celestia’s face, replaced with a gentle, sorrowful one. “Before I go there is one more matter to settle with you. It’s nothing personal but by royal decree I hereby strictly, forbid you, Konton, from setting hoof in Canterlot. For your sake I will try to keep this order as quiet as possible as I hope you will self enforce it, but I will need to tell a select few of the guards.”

“What! Why?” Twilight objected once more.

Once more Celestia answered while keeping her words aimed at Konton, “A spirit of chaos named Discord is imprisoned there and I believe it would be unwise to allow such a powerful reservoir of chaos magic to draw near to him. I’m truly sorry but I trust you understand?”

Konton did the only thing he could think to do for a pony who had just received orders from a princess. He saluted and cheerfully said, “Stay away from Canterlot! Consider it done Princess!” The thought was just too much fun to him. After all, how many colts his age could say they had orders from a princess and mean it?

Running with what the young pony gave her, Celestia returned the salute and spoke in a tone fitting for addressing a royal guard, “Very well my little pony, dismissed!” With that Konton ran off back toward town.

“Princess?” Twilight said, her eyes asking if she could ask a full question.

“Yes?”

“When we first entered Konton’s spirit plane, you said you found something ‘interesting’ what did you mean by that?”

“Having faced Discord’s chaos before I had always figured chaos magic was neither ‘light’ nor ‘darkness’ as his actions were just as likely to mess up a tyrant as a just ruler. However it had never crossed my mind that maybe the true nature of chaos wasn’t that it was neither light nor darkness but that it might be both light and darkness.”

Twilight pondered the subtle difference between the two concepts for a moment. “If the end result is uncontrollable chaos magic either way, does it really make that much of a difference?”

“Perhaps. Perhaps not, only time will tell.” Celestia smiled in a distant fashion that showed her mind was already elsewhere, pondering both possibilities