He Who Lets Light Fade

by Eternally Anonymous

Rating: teen
Tags: Dark, Comedy, Crossover
Length: 6419

Leonard Knox, the Bard of Light, explores the new friendships he has.

(WARNING THIS STORY IS BAD BAD BAD DO NOT READ IT WILL BE DELETED SOON)

(HomeStuck/MLP Crossover with original characters)

Your name is Leonard Knox, the Bard of Light. You and your fellow players have recently been transported into a new world that sounds SO much better than your old one. You're a rather calm and snarky guy, and always wear your fedora(which is also your weapon of choice) in case you need to tip it to any nice ladies. You're no flirt, but your hat tippings and good looks tend to earn you quite a bit of attention. Your Chumhandle is classySnarker and you have new friends to be with. What do you do?

I literally just used random.org to find who would be first in line. This story is written in the same way as Jay-The-Brony's story "Of Rainbooms and Dazzlings." This particular genre is not my creation, and if asked, I will take this story down asap.

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2016-01-04 05:56:55 UTC

> Spend day with Twilight

It was late afternoon in Ponyville, and the residents of the small town were going about their routines. The marketplace was brimming with activity, the colts and fillies were playing around in the park celebrating the end of the school day, and many adults were just sitting on benches enjoying the relaxation. However, in the Friendship Castle, things were much less than relaxing.

Twilight Sparkle was in the middle of a task she was desperate to complete. Hours of checking as many books in the library as she could, and she still had more than half to look at. She had already finished the Sci-fi section, and was, at the moment, reading through a rather large encyclopedia. Normally, his behavior would not be surprising at all, but the reason why she was doing this certainly was. After all, few things are as surprising as Leonard.

Leonard Knox, one of the 12 ponies she came to know as "The Heroes of Skaia", was visiting Twilight today. He took interest in the library within the castle, but while Twilight would love for somepony to lose themselves within the glory of reading, she was terrified. Leo was the Bard of Light, and Twilight knew that that meant knowledge and luck were destroyed around him. On his first day in Equestria, he told her that he didn't really affect knowledge with his power, but the thought of losing so many books was too much for Twilight to bear. Thankfully, he went to talk to Spike hours ago, something about helping him win over Rarity. She didn't want him to see what she was doing, as it would make it look like she didn't trust his word. She did, of course, but the mounting paranoia was eating away at her. Doing this helped with it, but now the sensation she felt was guilt.

Leo was a nice stallion, one who respected Twilight's wishes to not be treated like royalty by her friends. Plus, she couldn't deny he was handsome, though she had no attraction to him. The many mares of Ponyville certainly did, though, and pretty soon he was garnering attention from several of the attracted females, some of said attention bordering on the line of harassment. The last thing he needed was a friend who so openly welcomed him doubting him.

As she was about to open another tome, she heard voices coming closer. They were done, and would surely recognize the alicorn's frazzled appearance as something wrong, even if she put away all of the books with magic. Idea after idea flew through her head, but she couldn't think of a way to hide what she was doing. All she could do was sigh and face the music. The voices were clear enough for her to understand their conversation.

"...and THEN I give her the gem bouquet, right?"

"Yup. Trust me, kid, you do that and Rarity'll swoon faster than you can say-"

He didn't get to finish, as he opened the door and took note of the state of the library...and the librarian. Spike raised an eyebrow at the sight while Leo rubbed his eyes. Before either of them could speak, Twilight said "Spike, I need you to go to another part of the castle. I need to speak with Leonard."

Spike shrugged and left, while Leo raised one of HIS eyebrows. Twilight hadn't called him Leonard at all since the Heroes arrived, and if the movies were right, then using someone's proper name when they prefer a nickname meant something was wrong. Twilight gestured to a chair, which he sat down on. There was an awkward silence before he spoke. "...Twi, everything okay?"

"...no. No, I'm not."

Tears started forming in her eyes. "I TRIED, Leonard, but I just couldn't shake away the worry in the back of my mind. You gave me your word, and I STILL doubted you! I just...I had to check the books. I had to know that the knowledge in them didn't get destroyed. You have so much on your plate with the mares in town, and here I am-"

"Stop right there, Twi."

Leo's expression was one of concern. "Twilight, what made you think I had problems with any lady in Ponyville?"

Twilight was struck with disbelief. "Leonard, I practically betrayed you, and you care more about-"

"Twilight. Listen to me right now. I understand what you were afraid of, all right? Bards are Sburb's wild cards. The target of our abilities could change instantly. I could be so lucky monsters just die on their own without me I me doing squat one minute, but the next minute people around me could go straight stupid. I don't blame you for being cautious, but just know that I'll do everything I can to make sure that these pages are inked 'till they degrade away. Now, back to what I asked, please.”

Twilight was confused, but more relieved than anything else. Though, her confusion soon turned to his question. "They're crazy about you. I've seen some of them tailing you through the marketplace! How could you not have a problem?"

Leo chuckled and tapped his fedora. "Twi, I tip this thingy constantly. Back home, the girls went crazy over that. I wasn't really trying to flirt, but I guess I just liked their reactions. Before long, I was literally called the Sultan of Suave. I got used to the girls at school following me around and taking pictures of me. Some of them even tried to break into my locker room and take my clothes. Compared to that, what the ladies here are doing is nothing."

Twilight smiled for the first time in what seemed like hours to her. "I'm so glad you're comfortable here. And thanks for not getting mad at me, Leo."

Leo chuckled again. "There's the nickname. Looks like the movies were right. Who'da thunk it?"

"...wait, what? Sorry, can you repeat that last part?"

"'Who'da thunk it'? What's weird about that?"

"I think I'm losing brain cells trying to understand that."

"Woops. Might be the wild card factor. My bad."

The two just stared at each other before laughing, with Spike listening in from behind the door all the while, smiling at the whole situation before heading off to practice Leo's teachings.

>Spend day with Applejack

The best way to describe Applejack's current situation would be "bizarre." Applebloom somehow managed to touch Poison Joke, and the local Spa was closed for the day, meaning that the herbal medicine to cure its effects was unavailable. Seeing as how nopony else had the cure, she opted to visit Zecora at her hut in hopes of the zebra still having some of it.

"So, how much farther is this Zecora gal anyways?"

Applejack glanced over her shoulder at the fedora-wearing pegasus behind her. Randall Osiris, whose powers of destruction could trump every single menace the Elements of Harmony had faced, had also touched the flowers. For some reason, all they did was give his voice a helium-like effect, which would be funny if it wasn't for the fact that he threatened to be as annoying as possible if they didn't fix it. Seeing as how there were reports coming in of a lone Timberwolf hanging around Zecora's path, Leo decided to put his powers to good use and volunteered to come with Applejack as a sort of shield. While the farmer would normally object, she knew that he would probably go anyway. Besides, what's there to complain about, really?

"Not that far. Her hut's purdy close to town, so it should only be a couple'a minutes."

"Good. I hope that Randall isn't being TOO much of an issue. The dude was scary before, but I'll take scary over squeaky any day."

"How'd ya put up with his outbursts before? He seems like he's get on your nerves after a while."

"He did at first, but...well..."

Applejack looked over at her companion again to find him glancing at the ground. "We learned what the guy went through, and believe me, it wasn't pretty. It's not my story to tell, though, and there's NO way he'll tell you guys until he warms up to you."

They continued walking in relative silence until AJ asked "So, I heard that you were giving' Spike advice on getting' Rarity's attention?"

"Ha-ha, yeah. The little guy's head over heels for her, but I don't know why he thought no-one else knew about it. I didn't have the heart to tell him that it was like a beaver standing next to a fallen tree and thinking that no one would suspect it."

"Ah know, right? Poor feller. Ah'm not even sure if he's old enough for Rares."

"Pssh, relax, AJ. It's not like he's a baby or anything, right?"

Before the farmer could comment on the irony of that response, a growl erupted from a nearby bush. Faster than either of the two could react, a Timberwolf jumped out in front of them, its glowing eyes leering at them with malicious intent. As it was about to leap forwards, a cracking sounds echoed from above, and a large and sharp branch fell down, tumbling through the air until it landed point down into the Timberwolf's head. Applejack crept towards it, sadness etched on her face.

"The poor thang. Ah mean, Ah know it wuz trying' to eat us or somethin', but that don't mean in deserves THAT. It's probably in so much pain..."

She looked over at the branch in its head, and then her sorrow turned into confusion. "Wait a minute. This branch wuz healthy! No marks on it from chewing or anything! And it fell in just tha right way to spear the Timberwolf's noggin...that's probably the worst luck Ah've seen!"

"No, it was good luck, at least for us. The wolf was destroyed before it could even touch us. We're very lucky."

The orange pony grew angry. "No, if we were lucky, it never would have found us at all! Now the poor thang's sufferin'! How can you say-"

She stopped. In her ranting, she had turned to face Leo, but her attention was drawn to his Cutie Mark. The sun on his flank was faintly glowing, the light getting dimmer and dimmer until it faded. She looked up at him with shock, but before she could say anything, Leo said in a somber voice:

"That's the bad thing about being me. You don't get to have the option to just be lucky. You're stuck with a luck that can only destroy anything that threatens you, and you can just barely keep it in check."

The two said nothing on the rest of the way to Zecora's.

>Spend day with Fluttershy

Though it was a small town, Ponyville still had some of the hustle and bustle you'd expect of a city. And as there were always going to be those who partook in the rush, there were always be those who preferred to avoid it, or, in this case, preferred a different kind of hustle. On the outskirts of Ponyville, on the edge of the Everfree Forest, there was a cottage that was surrounded by animals of many varieties. Within the small house, there were still many more to be seen, being watched over by the famous animal-lover, Fluttershy. The pegasus wasn't the only pony here today, however, as Leo was visiting today.

While Fluttershy was happy to have him over, her fuzzy and feathery friends kept their distance from the newcomer. News of what happened in the Forest spread lie wildfire among the animals, and naturally Fluttershy had picked up on it too. Thankfully for the Bard, she knew he had no intention of using his powers, but the many animals around sensed the potential disaster that he embodied. The two were having a little tea when Fluttershy asked:

"So, um, if you don't mind me asking, how unlucky would you have to be for your powers to, um, 'kick in'?"

"They others and I were playing a card game, and my hand...er, hoof? Whatever you call it here, it was about to lose to Carl's. At the moment before he put showed us his cards, a rock flew through the window and punched a hole in the cards...and very nearly hit Carl's head."

"Oh, my! What would you bet on a card game to make losing it unlucky enough to warrant that?"

"We weren't betting. And we were on my planet, The Land of Igloos and Satire. There were no rocks on the entire planet."

"...oh."

Leo took a sip of his tea before putting the cup down and straightening his hat. "Yeah. Apparently, anything unlucky that could happen to me is met with a stroke of luck-induced destruction. I try to control it, but it's like my Classpect has a mind of its own! Trying to discipline the thing is like trying to call off an attack tiger! Or an attack chihuahua! Or ANY chihuahua!"

Fluttershy looked at him as one would do if a fairly obvious joke of theirs flew over the recipient's head. "Was it possible to train a chihuahua in your world?"

"Yes, but I'm pretty sure you'd wanna wear some kevlar."

Fluttershy looked confused until Leo said "Really tough material. Used in vests made to protect against dangerous weapons."

Fluttershy nodded in understanding, then continued. "Then think of controlling your 'Classpect' like training a chihuahua. It's going to be hard, and you might need to find some sort of 'kevlar', but when it's all happy and adorable, soon you won't need to go so many extra miles to keep it from attacking ponies."

Leo blinked before resting his chin on his hoof. "You really think that'll work? Just try to keep it calm until I don't need to try anymore?"

Fluttershy smiled. "It's certainly a start. And after all you've been through...I think you can manage that."

Leo smiled back. "Thanks, Shy. I'll give it my best. By the way, you might wanna invite Topaz over for tea. The people where she's from love the stuff, and this is some of the best tea I've ever had."

Fluttershy smiled even wider. "I'll set a date as soon as possible."

>Spend day with Pinkie

The entire town was abuzz with gossip. Yesterday, Countess Coloratura, or Rara, as she had preferred to be called now, had come to Ponyville for a charity event, and it was certainly an event to remember. Her manager, an unpleasant fellow by the name of Svengallop, was revealed to have been a slimebag who was using Rara's success to get whatever his greedy heart desired. Thankfully, he was caught in the act and abandoned the Countess, who turned out much better off for it. Twilight, in order to make sure that he would never do anything like this again, made sure that details of the event were in newspapers all over Equestria. To be honest, she wanted to do a lot worse to him, considering how he treated Pinkie, but she was forced to act in a more diplomatic manner. Speaking of Pinkie, the earth pony was helping with the clean up, aided by Leo.

"So, Pinkie", he asked, "was this a success or what?"

Pinkie popped out from behind a bunch of balloons. "It was a TOTAL success! Did you see how those foals looked when Rara was talking to them? It was SOOOOOO cute! And her final performance was AMAZING!"

"Yeah, that girl had some pipes on her. How she can play piano with hooves, though, I have NO clue."

"How's that a big deal? Octavia can play the cello."

"Isn't she an earth pony?"

"Yuppers!"

Leo stared off into space for a bit before saying "This world is insane and I love it."

A pink mass of fluff popped up in front of him. It took only a fraction of a second to identify it as Pinkie's mane. The pony it belonged to was crouching down underneath him, looking right at his bemused face. "Well, duh! Of course you'd love it! So many fun things to do, so many types of cake to eat, and so many nice ponies to be friends with!"

Leo chuckled before saying "Yeah, but Svengallop certainly isn't on that list. If I wasn't keeping my cool, I'd show that guy just how you can use a fedora as a flying guillotine."

Pinkie stood back up. "That doesn't sound fun. But yeah, he was a meany. I can't believe he used Rara as a way to get expensive stuff. I wish I'd asked her if she knew what he was doing."

Leo raised an eyebrow. "Why didn't you, anyways?"

"Well, those foals were so excited to see Coloratura here in Ponyville, and if Svengallop found out that I asked too many questions, he might have come up with a lie to make her leave! I didn't want those foals to think that their idol deserted them! They wanted to be like her, and if they thought that she was rotten, their little hearts would break into pieces! Heck, I thought for a second that Rara would leave if I didn't do anything Svengallop wanted!"

Leo sighed and motioned for Pinkie to sit down. After they both did, he began to speak.

"When I was a kid, there was this band who came to town for a concert. My dad took me to see if, and it was awesome. The lead singer was in charge, and he was just amazing at what he did. I thought that I'd found what I wanted to do when I grew up. Play on the stage in front of hundreds of people, who all came to see me. At the end, the band thanked everyone for coming and offered to sign autographs. But then a man burst into the room, and the look on his face was one I'll never forget.

He told the crowd that he was the singer's brother, and he told the singer that he was ashamed of what he'd become. He handed his brother a testimony from a doctor who worked at a local children's hospital, and it said that the band refused to perform because they wouldn't get any money for doing so. He asked the singer how he could be so heartless, and so many people in the audience wished that he didn't respond.

He yelled at his own brother to mind his own business, that it shouldn't matter to him what he did or didn't do. I can't even remember some of what he said next, but he apparently forgot just how popular he was, 'cause he called the band's fans his little banks in front of a full house.

The whole place emptied out, and I was heartbroken. I didn't want to be in a big band anymore. What if I became a monster like that guy who valued money over the happiness of children who needed joy? I could never live with myself if that's what I would become. But then my dad told me something.

'Leonard, my son, that band wasn't corrupted by money or fame. They were corrupt from the start. It takes a truly good person to keep their soul when they become successful, and those people were not good. But there were kids in that audience, including you, that have souls that can't be bent and twisted by stuff like that. You can be anything you want to be, and as famous as you can, and as long as your soul shines bright, none of that will matter to you.' "

Leo smiled at Pinkie. "Sure, it would sting if Rara left for whatever reason, but as long as those foals knew what was important about her job, and if they dedicated themselves to being as free from corruption before their careers even started, then the sting wouldn't be all that bad. It would be a reminder of what not to become. But between you and me, I'm glad it turned out this way instead."

Pinkie smiled back at him before wrapping him in a warm and fuzzy hug. "Thanks, Leo."

"No prob, Pinks. Now, let's-"

He paused and looked around him. There was nothing left to clean up. Even with the both of them working on it, it would have taken about 20 minutes, and he was sure that his story wasn't THAT long. "...what the heck happened to the rest of the stuff?"

"Oh, I finished cleaning while listening to your story. I paid attention, though, don't worry!"

"But how...wha...when could you have...WHAAAAAAAAAAAAT!?"

Pinkie giggled before bouncing off. "Bye-bye, Leo!"

As Leonard Knox sat their, pondering the mysteries of one Pinkamena Diane Pie, only one thought could emerge in his mind.

"...this world is insane and I love it."

>Spend day with Rainbow

"You know, I'm all for acting a little crazy now and then, but this is the absolute worst idea I have ever heard in my entire life."

High above the skies of Ponyville was Cloudsdale, a city built on, what else but, clouds. Nearly an all pegasus society, Rainbow Dash and Leo didn't look out of place here. At the moment, the two were away from the city(and the may mares who were eager to greet the new arrival) and were standing on a wide, barren cloud. After Leo initial shock at the ability to walk on clouds in the first place, Rainbow took him to this cloud in order to practice something. To the surprise of anypony that would be watching(which there were none), this something wasn't racing or flight techniques.

"Oh, come on, Leo. How else are you gonna find out if you can control your powers?"

"By putting myself in a situation where no one has a chance of getting hurt but me. That way, if I still can't control them, the destruction will be pretty much harmless. I hope."

"Dude, your powers revolve around luck. How would you getting hurt be considered lucky?"

"...I hate everything so much right now."

After a moment of VERY awkward silence, the prismatic pegasus opened up her mouth to speak, but Leo beat her to it with a quick and firm "The answer's still no, RD."

"Dude, I'm not gonna paint a big target on myself! I'm just gonna watch! There should be a storm cloud coming over soon. Throw a piece of cloud at it and it'll zap you."

"WHAT!? RD, LIGHTNING WILL KILL ME IF I GET THIS WRONG!"

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "Don't be a baby. It'll hurt a little, yeah, but lightning's harmless. The magic in your body sort of acts like a conductor that keeps it away from your organs."

"...you could have told me that first, you know. Humans aren't supposed to have magic in the first place."

"Oh, yeah. That's weird."

"Also, with the way lightning works, the only way to keep it from striking me would be to destroy the cloud, which my powers would do anyways, regardless of control."

"Dangit! So, now what?"

Before Leo could answer, a rumble in the air signalled the coming of the storm. A black cloud moved overhead, crackling with its shocking payload. Rainbow looked like she was pondering something, and then grabbed a chunk of the cloud they were standing on, throwing it at the angry puff. The expression on Leo's face was one of shock and horror.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!?"

"What? I wanna see how this cloud gets the boot."

"RD, MY POWERS WOULDN'T AFFECT ANYONE IF I CAUSED SOMETHING LIKE THIS, BUT NOW-"

He didn't get to finish, as a bright glow emitted from his Cutie Mark. The cloud overhead was popping with electricity all the while.

"...you just painted a big, red target on yourself."

Rainbow looked legitimately terrified. "W-what!? How!?"

"You started the lightning storm, and now my aspect thinks that it'll be really lucky if you get destroyed with the cloud. It doesn't care if you're my friend or not, it just thinks you're a threat!"

"WHAT!? C-CAN WE STOP IT!?"

"I don't know what 'it' is yet!"

"N-NO! I CAN'T DIE YET! I HAVEN'T SAID GOODBYE! OH, SWEET MOTHER OF CELESTIA, LEO, DON'T LET ME DIE!"

Leo, after a small moment of silence, nodded and closed his eyes.

{Okay, Light. You're not going to kill my friend, you got that!? Just hit the cloud with something! ONLY. HIT. THE CLOUD!}

Rainbow Dash was paralyzed. What was the point of moving if you couldn't escape? Leo's stupid aspect would track her down and kill her, all because it thought that it decided what was lucky for him! He wasn't moving, but she could tell that some sort of war was going on in his mind. The cloud shot out bolts of lightning in several directions, as if the cloud was confused as to where they were.

{No, no no! Treat it like a dog! Don't wrestle it around! I need to...to...oh, screw it! I don't think I have too much time left!}

Leo, with all of the strength his wings gave him, lunged at Rainbow and held her as close to him as possible. A boom was heard as the cloud overhead crackled and sputtered, about to shoot them both with a painful bolt. Before that happened, a large rock was shot off of a volcano through a large amount of escaping heat and gases, and struck the storm, turning it into little black puffs. Rainbow Dash looked at Leo in disbelief and joy. "H-how'd you know that would work!?"

"My powers wouldn't consider me dying lucky. I knew that it would take what it deemed as the next luckiest way to destroy. But I can't just lunge at everything like I did today. I need to learn how to control this beast on my own."

As he unwrapped his forelegs from around Rainbow's body, she only clenched on tighter. "Please...don't leave yet. I need just a little more time..."

He looked at her with compassion and understanding before holding on to her again. She looked up at him and asked "L-Leo?"

"Hm?"

"Don't tell the others, please. The last thing I need is for them to know that I nearly got myself killed."

"Gotcha."

"And...how are you gonna test your new method? Your powers can't be forced or stuff like that."

"...I don't know, RD. I just...don't know."

>Spend day with Rarity

It was no secret that Ponyville was FAR from being a fancy place. Dirt paths, houses with straw roofs, and a farm just down the way. However, if somepony were to step into the Carousel Boutique, they could be excused for thinking that they were teleported right to Canterlot. Regal and comfortable, it was clear that no expense was spared to give this place its signature flair. Flair, of course, was Rarity's specialty, and she adored every minute of adding it to the clothes she made here. At the present time, however, she was not making clothes, but rather making sure that her guest was as comfortable as possible. She had heard what had happened to Rainbow Dash, and she was NOT going to have Leo worry about hurting her. Sure, she was worried about herself, too, but the poor stallion's mind was probably wracked with worry. The Bard was sitting on a couch that somehow seemed more comfy than the clouds he was on yesterday, waiting for Rarity to return from the "powder room", as she called it.

"How is this even possible? You'd think clouds would be the most relaxing thing to lie on in the whole world, and then you have this couch that just takes that way of thinking and SMASHES it."

"Rarity said that it's an import."

He looked over the arm of the couch to see a tiny white filly standing there. If he remembered correctly, her name was...

"Sweetie Belle, right?"

"Yep! I'm about to go to school, but I'm waiting for Rarity."

"You wanna say goodbye to her, right?"

"Mmhmm. That's what sisters do! Do you have any sisters?"

"One sister and one brother."

"Did they come with you from your world?"

"Yep. We didn't even know we were related until...well, certain things happened?"

"What things?"

Before Leo could think of something that wasn't "my people all died except for my friends and we were thrown into a sicko's game", Rarity came downstairs. "All right, Sweetie Belle. Ready for school?"

"Yep! Leo was just about to tell me how he met his siblings!"

"Really? I didn't know you had any. Oh right. Sweetie Belle, I'll see you later!"

"Goodbye, Rarity!"

With that, Sweetie Belle left the boutique, leaving Leo and Rarity alone. Rarity immediately said what was on her mind. "I'm sorry about your siblings. Losing them when your world was destroyed must have been hard."

"What? Rares, you got it wrong. They're players of Sburb, too. You've already met them."

"What? I didn't know that! Why didn't you tell us?"

"We were all made by ectobiology. It's a really complicated thing and it would take too long to explain. But yeah, maybe Zach could have told you all about that without making it mind numbing."

"So, who are they?"

"Topaz and Carl. I was surprised as heck when I found out. I mean, Topaz and I lived in separate countries, and Carl was on the other side of mine."

"And the others?"

"Randall's related to Valerie and Amber, Zachary's related to Rita and Kylee, and Sam's related to Pierce and Skyla."

"Interesting. Well, one good thing about that horrid game is that it brought you all together."

"Yeah. That, and I got to weaponize my fedora."

"How did you do that?"

"Complicated stuff. But all you need to know is that I'm wearing a flying guillotine."

"...I see."

There was an awkward silence as the two couldn't figure out a way to follow that up. However, Rarity thought of a question. "When you learned you were related, what did you do, exactly?"

"We agreed to make up for lost time. Be the sibs that we couldn't be before. But we had no clue what siblings did that friends didn't do, too. We still don't know."

"Well, that's easy, darling!"

Leo looked at her in confusion. "It is?"

"Certainly! You don't do anything that friends wouldn't do!"

"...what. Rarity, that makes about as much sense as Pinkie."

"A brother or sister is like a friend, but you just feel closer because of your relationship with them. Everything is your blood tells you that they mean something more to you than other people, and you have to honor that! You don't have to do anything different aside from know what they are to you."

Leo looked like he had been told the secrets of the universe. It was clear that this was something that he had worried about for a long time before they arrived in Equestria. He lunged forward and wrapped Rarity in a hug. "Rarity, you're a genius!"

Rarity went red in the face. "Oh, darling, I was only speaking from experience. There's no need to shower such praise on me."

"Just try and stop me, madame."

She went even redder. "Oh, stop it!"

"Ha-ha, okay. We don't need to make this something it isn't." He backed away from the hug. "But hey, seriously, thanks."

"You're most certainly welcome darling. Feel free to come to me for help anytime."

He chuckled at that. "Rarity, if I came to you every time I needed help, you'd tear your mane out."

==>

Tears. Tears were all he could see as salty moisture blotted his eyes. Leonard Knox, the Bard of Light, who had constantly struggled for control over his powers, had failed. He had mentally avoided the topic when he spent time with Rarity, but his conversation with Rainbow Dash was continuously beating in his brain like an unholy drum solo.

{"Oh, come on, Leo. How else are you gonna find out if you can control your powers?"

"By putting myself in a situation where no one has a chance of getting hurt but me. That way, if I still can't control them, the destruction will be pretty much harmless. I hope."

"Dude, your powers revolve around luck. How would you getting hurt be considered lucky?"}

She was right. No matter what he did, the only way Leo could be sure that his powers didn't hurt anyone was to put them in harm's way and try again if he died. There wouldn't be a point to controlling them if the mere threat of his powers made him kill people. And the chances of something unlucky happening to Leo were too high for his liking. There was no way to prevent it. He couldn't do anything. He had failed his friends, old and new. All he could do was cry and hide away in a secluded part of Applejack's orchard.

"There you are! We've been worried about you!"

All of his new friends and some of his old ones were in front of him. Before any of them could say anything, he put his hat over his face.

"Go away, guys. I want to be alone."

Topaz looked at him with a serious expression. "For how long?"

"Forever. I'm too dangerous."

"Rubbish. Come on, up you get."

He uncovered his face and glared.

"Don't you get it? Anything I think is unlucky happens to me gets destroyed! I invite destruction through luck! I'm too picky for my own good!"

Fluttershy walked over to him, on the verge of tears herself. "But what about your new method? The chihuahua one?"

Rainbow put a wing on her friend.

"We talked about it, Shy. It won't work."

The dam broke. Fluttershy cried her eyes out, being embraced by a few of her friends all the while. Rainbow suddenly flew over to Leo with a look of confusion.

"Wait, you said that your aspect destroys anything IT considers unlucky, but now you say that it destroys what YOU consider unlucky."

"So what? That's even worse! I can't change what my aspect thinks! It isn't sentient!"

Zachary walked over to him, as stony faced as one could be.

"Leonard, it might not be sentient, but you've been treating it like it is. Arguing with it in your head as if it's talking back at you, now treating it like an animal with a Napoleon Complex."

"All that proves is that I'm an idiot. Oh, look at that! My knowledge is being affected now, too! GREAT!"

Randall stood there in silence. He was worried about HIS powers for a while, but because he thought they dictated his path. He had complete control, and he ignored it. How can you help someone going through what you are when there's nothing to ignore?

"Maybe there is, Randy!"

Randall's eyes nearly shot out of his skull. He looked over to Pinkie, who somehow read his mind.

"How did you-"

Pinkie trotted over to Leo. Her mane was slowly rising from the flatness it once had, probably because she thought she had the solution.

"What if you stop fighting it, and instead think of it as a superpower?"

"...what."

"If you keep treating it like a bad guy, then it'll keep acting like a bad guy! Start letting it help you!"

Twilight sighed. Pinkie may have had the right intentions, but this was just wrong.

So then why was Leo looking like he was thinking about it?

"Well...when I figured out my powers, I liked them. Monsters were getting destroyed by a wind blowing my hat off my head and activating it. It bounced off all of my enemies and flying back to me in seconds. But that card game I told Fluttershy about? That was when I started thinking of them as a problem."

Zachary's eyes widened just a smidge. Quite frankly, everypony was surprised they could even do that.

"The more you thought of them as a dangerous force, the more dangerous to us they became. That one slip up triggered a chain reaction. How could I not have seen this before?"

Leo stood up slowly but surely. He developed a smirk at a snail's pace, but it was still there.

"Sorry, my bad. Guess I need to control THAT, too."

Rarity looked rather incredulous. From what she knew of their powers, they were stranger than any magic in Equestria. Not sentient, but you could be forgiven for thinking so.

"You mean that's it? Just stop antagonizing them and they'll stop being...antagonistic?"

"No clue. But we have something that none of us can see any major flaws in, right?"

Zach's small smile finally appeared.

"I see no issues at the moment. I don't think the horrorterrors do, either."

Applejack's pupils shrunk to pinpricks.

"Ya mean ya still have them in yer head!? Not that Ah want ta derail tha conversation, but why in tarnation didn't ya tell us!?"

Randall rolled his eyes. That was something he was glad to be able to bring himself to do again.

"You just derailed the conversation anyways. Way to go, Ms. Sawyer."

"Who tha hay is-"

"Guys, guys!"

Leo was smirking as broadly as ever, hat firmly on his head.

"Let's not forget why we're gathered here today. We're here to witness the holy matrimony of Leonard Knox and his powers as the Bard of Light."

Everypony but Randall chuckled at that. When he noticed the looks he was getting, he responded with "I'm not gonna laugh. You can't make me. Wait, seriously though, that's it!? All we had to do was have Pinkie break the laws of reality, read my mind or some bullcrap, and then have a nice, heartfelt conversation that BARELY LASTED 2 FREAKING MINUTES!?"

Leo rolled HIS eyes this time, but with a smirk ever present.

"Dude, it's not the movies. Sometimes the littlest thing can go the longest way. And hey, it still hurts to know that I could've hurt any of you at nearly any moment, but I think I'll get over it. Anybody wanna group hug or something?"

And they did. Most of them, anyways. Randall just snickered a bit and proceeded to deny it happening. But then, out of nowhere, Rainbow Dash asked a question that was on at least 5 of the ponies' minds.

"What are the movies, anyway?"