Soul In the Sword

Chapter Five: Contemplation and Concern

I looked at what was a battlefield moments before, passing my gaze over the scattered timberwolf corpses and scorched vegetation.

"How..."

The bright flames had quickly burned through the timberwolves, the wooden monsters having no chance against the being whose flames seemed to embody righteous fury, burning the guilty to ash. I looked at the unconscious biped that lay in the middle of the now burnt clearing in front of the cave.

"What was..."

I couldn't form a proper sentence, my mind galloping at a mile a minute trying to process what I had just seen. I've always been a fantastic mage, learning new spells with ease and mastering them quickly, but...

"What is he?"

I had never seen magic like that before in my life. I knew a few of the combat spells that they taught in the Royal Guard since my brother Shining Armor was their captain, but those spells were nothing like this. Those spells were meant to stun and contain creatures using non lethal magic tailored to prevent harming the one being arrested or contained, but his spells weren't like that. They were lethal, designed to kill and destroy the target with prejudice. Only evil creatures used those kinds of spells, but...

If he were evil, why would he save us?

I glanced over at Fluttershy, the pegasus mare still frozen in shock from her near death experience.

Why would he save Fluttershy?

Hearing the crunch of hoofsteps on burnt grass, I turned around to see Princess Celestia approaching the prone creature with a look of worry and concern on her face.

Why is the princess so concerned about him? He's...evil, isn't he? Good ponies don't...kill others...

I hung my head as I thought back to when I first entered the cave. Seeing the strange creature armed, the source of the magical anomaly, next to my teacher...

Then why was I prepared to do the same to him?

Princess Celestia had quickly reached the unconscious anomaly and her horn glowed as she cast a spell.

"Liam!"

Her near panicked eyes rapidly moved from place to place, examining the injuries on his body. I recognized the spell Princess Celestia had cast on...Liam. It was a basic mana level detection spell, taught to most unicorns as foals so they can tell how much mana they had left in their mana pool. It was also used by trained medical professionals to detect problems in a pony's magic, in case of mana exhaustion or anything that would impair a unicorn's magic. Whatever the information the spell had informed the princess of seemed to calm her greatly as she let out a huge sigh and relaxed her posture.

"Oh thank goodness, it's just mana exhaustion..."

I slowly trotted over to Princess Celestia and stood next to her before trying to get her attention.

"Princess, what...what was that? What did he do?"

Looking over at me, Princess Celestia's eyes widened a bit before returning to her usual serene smile.

"He used up all his mana protecting us, is what he did. I know you are a bit suspicious of him right now, and I'm sure you have many questions about what just happened, but..."

She looked at Liam, her gaze changing to slight worry.

"We need to get Liam to Ponyville as soon as we can. He may have defeated those timberwolves, but these woods hold much worse, and I can't protect you all. I'll answer any questions I can when we return to safety."

Standing on her four slender legs, she looked back to me and smiled softly.

"Twilight, can you please lift our new friend onto my back? You girls aren't big enough to safely carry him, and I would rather avoid any further injuries."

This was really hard for me to accept. I couldn't wrap my head around it. The Princess knew next to nothing about this creature, and she wanted us to bring him right into Ponyville? What if he uses that dangerous magic on somepony? But...this was Princess Celestia asking me to do this. I couldn't just ignore what she asked me to do. I had to real reason to refuse, besides my own worry.

"Okay, Princess...I just hope you know what you're doing."

My horn glowed as I lifted Liam off of the ground before gently laying him on Princess Celestia's back. He had been much heavier than I expected, and I was panting with exertion after the surprisingly heavy lifting. His weight didn't seem to be too much for the princess to bear though, since she hadn't even shifted when I placed him on her back.

"Thank you, my faithful student. Come, let us leave this forest."

Princess Celestia trotted over to the tree that had the timberwolf pinned to it by the sword turned spear. Her horn glowed a golden color, and the glow surrounded the spear before she sharply pulled it from the tree, depositing the timberwolf corpse onto the forest floor. The sight and sound of the spear exiting something that used to be alive turned my stomach, and it took effort to not be sick. She held the spear next to her in a golden glow and held it near in her telekinetic grip. The Princess headed for the forest again, and we followed her.

"Is...is he going to be alright, Princess?"

Fluttershy had called out to Princess Celestia, seemingly worried about the biped. Everypony else was standing and had started to follow Princess Celestia's request to leave. She looked back at Fluttershy and smiled warmly.

"Not to worry, my little pony. He is just exhausted, and needs only rest to recover."

Fluttershy sighed in relief, before returning the smile.

"Thank goodness. I haven't had the chance to thank him yet."

Princess Celestia seemed happy about Fluttershy's response, and she nodded softly before turning back to the forest, walking into the foreboding sea of trees.

The walk through the forest had been surprisingly calm. Despite how nervous we were, nothing had come to try and eat us. Everypony had been quiet throughout the trip, not wanting to draw any attention.

"Let's get Liam inside and somewhere he can rest before I answer your questions, Twilight."

I opened the door to the Golden Oaks library with my magic, holding it open for everypony to enter before closing and locking the door behind me. Princess Celestia was gently placing Liam down on the couch in the center of the room, with the rest of the girls taking a seat on various pillows that were left for that exact purpose. After all, I'ts not very comfortable to be sitting on a wood floor for hours at a time when you are engrossed in a good book.

"I believe this is good enough. He isn't too injured, he's just exhausted." Princess Celestia turned to me and smiled.

"Now, what questions do you have, my faithful student?"

I looked at the ground as I tried to organize my train of thought, my mind a mess of questions and thoughts. One question jumped to the forefront though, and I asked before I could stop myself.

"What is he?"

The Princess' eyebrow cocked, and she sighed heavily.

"I do not know for certain, Twilight. What I do know is that Liam is not from this world."

Small gasps came from my friends. I wasn't...too surprised, but it still sounds odd to hear it said.

"I believe that, for whatever reason, he was taken against his will and brought here by someone, or something. When I found him, he was exhausted from running from a timberwolf. I doubt he was aware of what he could do, and my telekinesis startled him. He looked like he had never seen magic before."

My eyes widened as the implications became clear.

"But Princess! Every sapient species on Equus has some kind of magic! Everything on this planet has some kind of magic in them, how could he have never seen magic before...unless..."

Princess Celestia nodded at me, a serious expression on her face.

"Indeed. It means he comes from a place with no magic. What I'm more surprised about is..."

Glancing over to Liam, Princess Celestia's face took on a look of worry.

"What is more concerning is his magical potential. I did a reading of his mana reserve while we were in that cave, and..."

She was silent for a moment, before locking eyes with me.

"His mana reserve is massive in size. I have no idea how a creature that is brand new to magic could have a reserve of that size, but...it almost rivals mine."

My jaw fell when I heard those words.

There's...no way. No way could something that has never used magic before today could have a mana reserve that size! It's impossible!

"Princess, there's no way! Nothing could grow to have a reserve that large without either constantly pushing themselves, or living for as long as you have!"

A small nod was given by the Princess before she sighed and looked away.

"I know, my student. I worry about what could happen if he were to lose control. He hasn't had the time to learn to control his magic like most unicorns do. If he were to lose control..."

Princess Celestia visibly shuddered as she stared at the unconscious biped.

"It would be a devastating, catastrophic event."

I shivered at the thought of what such an event could look like. I felt like what Discord did would be considered foal's play compared to the destruction that would be unleashed.

"Princess, doesn't that mean...that we should lock him up? From what you have told me, he would just be a danger."

Princess Celestia's eyes narrowed into a glare as she looked back to me.

"Twilight Sparkle! I have already told you, more than once! He is not an enemy! He is new to his own power, and bears no ill intent! There is no reason to imprison an innocent creature because of what he might do!"

My ears pinned to my head at her shouting, and I opened my mouth to respond, but a small groan interrupted me. Liam was moaning and groaning in pain or exhaustion, and his eyes slowly opened as everypony present looked to him.

"What...happened?"

I slowly opened my eyes, a soft groan escaping from my lips. I could only stare at the scene in front of me. What used to be a dark, foreboding forest was replaced with a field of green that went on for as far as I could see. Looking up, I saw that I had my back propped up against a large tree, shading me from the sun that beat down from overhead. I felt a weight on my lap, and I looked down to an adorable sight.

Sunlight was laying on her stomach and resting her head on my lap, her eyes shut with a happy smile on her face. My hand was laying on her head, as though I had been petting her. She looked...peaceful. It wasn't meant to last, and my movement seemed to wake her as her golden eyes opened and looked into mine.

"Hello again, Liam."

She smiled warmly at me, her expression serene.

"Sunlight...what happened?"

Nuzzling into my stomach, Sunlight closed her eyes and made a sound similar to a purr.

"I'm not surprised that you don't remember. You had a magical surge when you pushed yourself as hard as you did."

I started to idly pet Sunlight, feeling how soft her mane was, and finding the action strangely relaxing. Sunlight started to purr louder and softly pushed her head upwards into my hand.

"Mmmm, that feels amazing. I'm sure you're wondering where you are right now. Celestia seemed to be bringing you somewhere safe."

I looked down at the all too cute unicorn in my lap and raised an eyebrow.

"How would you know that?"

Giggling softly, Sunlight opened her eyes again, though they were half lidded and seemed almost glazed over.

"When she retrieved Dawnbreaker from that tree with her magic, I could sense what was around her. They are moving through the forest right now, though it seems they will soon reach the exit."

Sunlight gave me a cocky smirk before nuzzling into my stomach again.

"Now Liam, you shouldn't be so rough with a lady, you know. Throwing me at that timberwolf like you did, one might mistake you for a ruffian of a stallion who is rough with his mare."

Her gaze turned almost sultry, giving me a smile that made me feel as though she were looking at me like a piece of meat. I'm not sure I entirely disliked it.

"Though I know some mares like that kind of treatment. I know I wouldn't mind."

I stopped petting Sunlight and turned away with a blush on my face. A small giggle came from the unicorn who seemed to relish in my embarrassment.

"I'm kidding, Liam. Don't take everything so seriously."

Seeing how I could get back at this prankster of a unicorn, I leaned forward as far as I could and whispered into her ear.

"I don't know, Sunlight. Maybe I wouldn't mind that."

A shit eating grin was on my face as I gently nipped Sunlight's ear, earning a small squeak of surprise and a blushing unicorn in my lap.

"L-Liam! What are you-"

My laughter interrupted what she was going to say as I sat up and resumed petting her, the unicorn not at all amused by my antics. Sunlight huffed and closed her eyes, an adorable pout on her face.

"That's not funny..."

Laughter dying down to a chuckle, I lightly ruffled her mane before going back to petting.

"Turnabout is fair play, my little equine friend."

A soft sigh was the only response I got for my comment. A smile was slowly growing on her face though, and she had started purring again. We sat like that for several minutes, not saying a word and just enjoying each other's company. The silence didn't last much longer, as a question came to mind that I felt I needed to ask.

"So...what now?"

Sunlight's eyes cracked open almost blearily, as though she were about to fall asleep.

"Now...now you learn to control your newfound power."

Shifting her position, I ceased petting Sunlight as she moved to lay on her back, her head still in my lap. Smiling up at me with a peaceful look on her face and her hooves folded over her fuzzy chest.

How can something so dangerous be so cute?

Sunlight giggled and held a forehoof to her mouth.

"Oh my! Cute, am I? And to think I had assumed you were joking earlier about accepting my offer."

I blushed again, but maintained eye contact with the flirtatious mare.

"You can hear my thoughts?"

"Indeed I can. We are in your mind, after all. The barrier between spoken word and thought is only broken by what you choose to say. In the mindscape though, your thoughts are much more open and are all but broadcast."

Finishing her statement with poking her tongue out, she giggled softly at my expression.

"Well that could become annoying...but what do you mean by 'learning to control your newfound power?' What would I need to do to accomplish that?"

Retracting her tongue back into her mouth, she nuzzled into my stomach again.

"It would be best to rest for a day or so before trying to do any kind of training. Your body is exhausted and still needs to acclimatize to the new power flowing through you. You could irreversibly damage yourself if you were to do the training I have in mind in your current state. Though..."

Sunlight looked away with a small blush and moved her forehooves aside, exposing her plush chest.

"Would you mind...petting me more?"

I could only look down at this adorable creature as she seemed to have an almost pleading tone in her voice. This unicorn who barely knew me seemed to have grown quite comfortable with me. This seemed like more than just appreciation for saving her from that cave. This was downright affectionate, and...I wasn't really opposed to it. Chuckling softly, I placed my hand on her chest and started petting her from chest to belly, smiling at the happy noises that Sunlight was making.

"You're quite soft...and you seem to be enjoying this more than I thought you would."

Sunlight weakly nodded as her hind hoof started kicking in the air like a dog. A bright blush was visible on her face as her eyes were almost shut in apparent bliss.

"Mmhmm, your hands feel amazing. I didn't think it would feel this good."

A small moan escaped her mouth and I paused in my petting.

"Should I...stop?"

Groaning in annoyance at my lack of petting, she looked at me with pleading eyes.

"No! Please don't! It feels too good, I never felt anything like that when I was still in my body!"

I cocked an eyebrow and gave her a suspicious look.

"I feel like this is crossing into inappropriate territory very quickly."

Her forehooves gently wrapped themselves around my arm and held my hand to her chest as she sighed softly and smiled up at me. The blush on her face was gone, replaced with a happy expression that seemed quite affectionate.

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to make you uncomfortable. It's just...been so long since I've seen anypony, let alone...touched them..."

Sunlight's expression grew somber as she admitted this to me. Frowning in thought, I decided that if this pony just wanted some affection and physical contact, then I wouldn't deny it. I trusted Sunlight to not do anything outright inappropriate, even if I wasn't entirely sure as to why. I gently pulled my hand from her grip, which made her frown deepen before changing into a look of surprise as I gently wrapped my hands around her midsection and lifted her to my chest, her stomach resting against mine as her head rested on my shoulder.

"Liam, what-"

I had started to pet her, holding her to me with one arm while the other traced down from her mane to her back before repeating.

"You're...sure this doesn't make you uncomfortable?"

I shushed her softly as I held the contact deprived mare more firmly and leaned my head against hers as I pet her. The trepidation in her voice was clear as day. She truly valued my comfort over her own, not wanting to make me uncomfortable.

"Shhhh, just relax and enjoy it, you silly pony."

She shook a single time and then wrapped her forehooves around my neck, hugging me tightly. I could feel her shaking with sobs, and hear her sniffling in my ear. A wet spot was quickly growing on my shoulder as the crimson unicorn buried her muzzle into it and wept. I started to hum a soft melody as I continued to pet her, doing my best to provide the comfort that this mare had been deprived of for centuries.

"Thank you...I'm sorry I'm such a mess..."

Her words had been interrupted by sobs and she spoke with so much emotion that I felt myself tearing up as well. I rubbed my cheek against hers, and hugged her tightly.

"There is nothing to apologize for, Sunlight. There is no shame in feeling sadness or loneliness. We all feel these emotions, and you...you felt these emotions for a very long time. I'm proud of you."

Her sobbing grew in intensity as she hugged me tighter, her grip bordering on painful.

"Thank...thank you so much...I can't even begin to...to put into words just how much this means to me."

I smiled softly, despite the crushing grip.

"It's alright, Sunlight. You won't ever be alone again, not if I can help it."

Her sobs lessened and her grip slackened a bit.

"You...you really mean that?"

Nuzzling her cheek again as I hugged her with both arms, I could feel her tension melt away.

"I really mean it. You've saved my life, swore to be my knight, and...you gave me a friend."

Sunlight leaned back, looking into my eyes with a confused look. Tear streaks were visible on her face, and she looked exhausted.

"A...friend?"

Chuckling softly, I booped her nose with my own, causing her muzzle to scrunch up in the cutest way.

"Yes, Sunlight. You are my friend."

It was like a switch had been flicked, changing the sad and lonely mare into a happy and joyful one. Her eyes lit up and she hugged me tightly, giggling happily. Her voice sounded strained though, likely from the crying.

"Thank you! I'll be the best friend you could ever ask for! I won't let you down!"

My smile shrank a bit as she spoke.

"Sunlight, it isn't about letting me down or not. We will both likely make mistakes, but friends are those who will stick around even after those mistakes are made."

She sniffled once, and leaned back so she could look me in the eye.

"I...I'll remember that. Thank you for...being my friend, Liam."

Looking around, her expression changed to one of disappointment.

"It seems...our time tonight is nearing its end. Celestia and her entourage exited the forest a while back, and brought you to some kind of...tree building?"

A look of confusion passed on her face as she looked back to me.

"Whatever it is, it's in the middle of a town and it's safe. I feel that you will be waking up soon."

I saw the truth in her statement as I looked to the field, only to see an encroaching darkness that was getting closer every second.

"Well, it won't be long before we see each other again. Even then, we can talk outside of my dreams too."

Smiling softly at me, she nodded before hugging me gently.

"You are correct, my friend. I will hear from you soon."

The last thing I saw before the darkness engulfed us was the golden eyes of my newest friend.

My body ached. There really wasn't any better way to describe what I felt at that moment, the pain suffusing every part of my body and leaving me groaning softly as I returned to consciousness. I tried to open my eyes, and succeeded in opening them a small amount before looking around at the ponies who seemed to have taken a sudden interest in me as I became the center of attention.

"What...happened?"

Author's Note

Took longer than I would like, but Chapter 5 is finally finished! As always, please point out any typos or errors, and any constructive criticism is encouraged!

Have a good day, everybody!