The Equestrian Monomyth - Book 2 - Complexs of Disharmony

Spike was looking to Twilight with weariness, while she was giving turns and more turns around the center of her library: "Twilight, could you calm down, please? Giving turns and more turns wouldn't make the book to come sooner."

"But why it could be taking so long?! It's just a stupid book, it should be here already, for Celestia's sake!" Protested Twilight, like she wasn't heared the dragon.

Suddenly, somepony knocked the door, and Twilight angrily looked in that direction and said while walking to the door: "I swear that if it's anypony of those false friends coming to apolog..." She stopped speaking, because when she opened the door, she stood facing with Celestia herself. "Your Highness...? But... why are you here?" She asked, surprised.

"Hello, my faithful student... can we speak in private, please?" The alicorn asked.

Once they were in private, Celestia spoke: "My faithful student, it has came to my knowledge about the terrible news. How's the rascal doing? Are too serious his wounds?"

"I'm afraid so, your Highness, and I'm grateful... and surprised... that you've came ponially to ask, but... why are you here, exactly?" Twilight was suspicious.

"My faithful student, it also came to my knowledge, that you've asked for a very dangerous healing spell, and I'm sorry, Twilight, but I can't allow you to use it."

"What...?! WHAT?!!! Your Highness, you can't be serious! You want him to die?!!" Twilight freaked out. "You hate him so much?!! Your Highness, he's my husband-to-be!! I'm not gonna let him die!! And if you forbid me to save him, I'll kill myself!! I swear!!" She yelled with tearful eyes and sobbing voice.

"I'm not forbidding you to save him, I'm forbidding you to use the spell!" Replied Celestia. "It's an alicorn-level spell, you're not ready to cast it! You'll die if you do it, and I can't allow that!"

"But then how I'm supposed to save him?! I've tried everything else already!" Pleaded Twilight, slightly bending her four legs.

"I'm going to do it! I'm going to do it..." Assured Celestia, pointing herself with a hoof.

"What?" Twilight startled. "No, Your Highness! You could die too! You can't take that risk! You can't!" She raised a foreleg and denied with the head, scared.

"Yes, I can, Twilight, because, just like you, I'll do anything for the one I love!" Finally admitted Celestia with broken voice, putting a hoof in her chest again.

Twilight was taken aback by this confession: "What...? Then... then... this is all that was about? All those tantrums, all those scoldings and threatenings...? All those attempts of breaking us apart... because you're into my coltfriend?!"

Celestia lowered the head and the ears, and closed her eyes: "Sorry, my faithful student... I know that I should have told you before... sorry... I don't planned this to happen... I don't even wanted this to happen... it just... happened..."

Twilight sat on her haunches, trembling and sobbing: "Why, Your Highness...? Why the life has to be so cruel with me...? Why it has to put me with this painful decisions over and over again...? What have I done to deserve this...?"

"What are you talking about, my faithful student? It's not a painful decision at all!" Smiled Celestia, trying to be cheerful, even she was trembling and almost crying too. "I'll cast the healing spell instead of you, and that's all!"

Twilight turned her head, clenching the eyes and the teeth, because it was taking all her willpower and more, to say what she was going to say next: "Sorry, Your Highness... but you're far more important than me, to take all this risk for nothing... saving the one you love, even knowing that he'll run into the hooves of another mare... it's not fair... I'm just a mere soul... who'll pass by... like many others before and many others to come... I'm not that important... so I understand... I... I'll step away this time..." And saying that, she turned around, teleported and dissapeared.

When I finally opened my eyes again, surrounded by almost all my friends, I was surprised by having Celestia's face instead of Twilight's at first sight:

"Cellie?"

"Welcome back, rascal!" She cheerfully welcome back me. "How do you feel?"

"Me? Fine. Like if my skeleton were removed and another one were being put in its place. Besides that, fine."

Without time to even blink, I had Dashie hugging me. "Master! Master! You're alive, master!" She sobbed.

"Whoa whoa whoa, Dashie. It still hurts a bit. You know?"

"Ow! Sorry, master, sorry." She broke the hug, drying a tear.

I then looked around, realizing where I was: "What's that, Dashie? You only call me 'Master' when there is a hospital in the way?" I smirked.

All the ponies and I chuckled.

"No, it's not that!" She replied, giggling. "It's because you're my master, and that's all."

"Ah." I raised a brow, and then tried to stand up.

"No, no, no, patient! You're still in recovery! You must stay in bed to rest!" Nurse Redheart held me with a foreleg.

Her sudden stop made me to feel a mild sting in my chest, and, when I looked to my torse, it was featuring a large surgical scar. "But what's this?!" Then, I looked to Dashie with a fake angry look. "But, my student! What happened with all that I've taught to you? Why you didn't healed me? Why did you let those folks to cut me open like a pig?"

The smile dissapeared from Rainbow Dash's face, and was replaced by a scrambled grimace. She then closed the eyes and raised the head, about to cry, and she was about to fly away when I grabbed her for the shoulders: "Hey, hey, hey. It was a joke. OK? I don't mind, really."

"Are... are you telling the truth...? You're not mad with me?" She asked with sobbing voice.

"Awwww, come on. How could I be?" I hugged her and petted her mane, but then I quickly broke the hug: "Heh, I'll better don't cuddle you too much, or Twilight will freak out." Then, I looked around. "And where is she, by the way?"

"Don't worry, rascal. I've sent her home to rest. She had a very stressful time patching you up." Explained Celestia.

I relaxed. "Ah. Well, let me finish her job." And saying this, I raised a finger, cast a powerful regenerative spell, and the scar dissapeared like it never had existed. Then, I raised a fist and happily declared: "Ha! My resistance is not futile! I will not be pinkied!"

I wasn't surprised by the ponies not understanding the meme reference, but by their somber faces.

"Ah. Ow. Hummm, what I really meant is that I'm not mad with Pinkie. Ok?" I rubbed the back of my head, with an apologetic smile. "And how's she, by the way?"

"She's fine. She's at Sugarcube Corner, with her colfriend." Dashie explained me.

"With her coltfriend?! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!" I cackled. "No shit! How long I was out, a year?" Then, I put a hand in my hurting chest. "Whoa, it was so funny that it hurts."

"Well, rascal. You must rest now. Everypony, let's go! Let our friend recover!" Cheerfully ordered Celestia.

"Recover soon, darling! I'll keep your wedding dress for you for the time being!" Happily announced Rarity.

"Shhhhh!" Celestia commanded her to shut up, not so cheerfully this time.

"Thanks, Rares." The smile dissapeared from my face. Damn! The wedding! Twilight must be heartbroken! And I wonder how she'll be gettting along with Pinkie. Girls doesn't take too kindly when someone, or somepony, screws their weddings up.

It took another five days for me to fully recover. All the girls from the Mane 6 came to visit me at least once. All of them but my marefriend.

When Pinkie came. she spreaded herself in apologies, and she told me that I could hit her if I wanted to. She even brought a flogger. No idea how or where she got it. I just laughed and asked her why she doesn't want me in her parties.

"You look too much alike the other monkey. That gives me the thrills." She confessed.

I told her that I wasn't mad, that anyone, or anypony, commit mistakes. She only had to learn how to manage the anger and keep it cool, as she usually does.

She smiled and warned me: "Alright. Just... don't appear on my parties... just in case."

I smiled. "Noted it."

Next, I asked for my marefriend, but everytime I did, she, like all the others, just answered me with evasives, and AJ simply refused to answer:

"Ah can't tell you. Honestly." Was her answer.

I was starting to worry, and the first thing that I did when the doctor finally gave me the release, was to go to Twilight's library. When I arrived, I tried to open the door, finding with disgust that the lock has been changed, and my key doesn't opened it any longer. Then, I knocked the door: "Twilight, love, it's me, Gus. Open up, honey!"

No answer.

I knocked even harder: "Love, this isn't funny! Open up! Why did you changed the lock?! Open up!!"

Finally, a sobbing voice could be heard behind the door: Twilight's voice: "Gus, please... leave..."

"What? Honey, what are you talking about? What...?" I opened my arms, dumbfounded.

"Please..." She sobbed even harder. "Leave... don't make this even worse of what already is... just leave, please..."

"But, Twilight, love! I don't understand! Why do you want me to leave?! What did I do?!" I was about to cry too.

"It's not youuuuu... it's meeeee..." She was crying already. "I'm haviiiiiing... this feeling storm... please... don't talk to me again... don't look for me again... if you love me... just leave and don't come ba-a-a-a-ck!" Her crying was already heartbreaking. I simply couldn't stand it anymore. So, I turned around, put my hands in my pockets, and walked away.

Inside the house, Twilight turned loinside to the door and cried, heartbroken to the deepest core of her soul, as she had lost a part of herself, who was leaving with all her hopes and dreams, sinking her in the most painful grieve possible...

The next week was simply the worst time in all my life. I was just sleeping in a bench in the park, like a homeless, as I hadn't even the desire of building a new home. I barely had strenght to stood up, not to say to eat or anything. Thankfully I had some chores to do in my communal work, to help my friends in repairings and so, or I don't know what would have been of me. And bounty hunting, my preferred and most profitable job, was completely out the question.

Rainbow Dash kept coming all the afternoons, asking me if I wanted to start training again, but I always refused, argumenting that I still didn't feel well, which, in fact, was true. She also proposed to move with her, but I refused as well, as living in a cloud will make jumping very easy.

Celestia visited me twice, and offered to move to Canterlot, but I wanted to be close of Twilight. I was sure that it was just a temporary 'feeling storm' shit, and that any day she'll appear happily galloping back to me. So, no. I'm not moving.

Luckily, the eighth day, Rarity came asking me for help accomodating a recently arrived delivery. While I was in her shop, she was looking to me once and once again, worried for my state. Finally, she asked me:

"Darling, it breaks my heart looking at you like this. Please tell me. There's something I could do to help you?"

I hesitated a while, but then I thought: 'What I have to lose?'

"Rares, you're still in well terms with Twilight. Didn't you?"

"Oh yes. We still can talk like friends. I think that if I keep like this, I'll be able to convince her to forgive AJ, Rainbow and Pinkie!"

"Rares, can you... can you ask her why she broke with me? I still don't know, Rares, and that alone is killing me!"

Rarity gasped, facehoofing. "But of course, darling! Of course I'll ask her! I think she's in the library right now, so I can go right away!"

"Will you do that for me, Rares?" I smiled, hopeful. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

I tightly hugged her, and I didn't noticed it, but her mane and tail bristled, and a quick, but deep shiver traveled through her body.

A while later, Rarity was walking to Twilight's library, while thinking:

'Oh, he loves her so much! I just wish that somepony could love me like that.'

Then, her eyes went to a side: 'Of course, I want to marry Prince Blueblood. But get real, Rarity! What are the odds? He's a prince, and I'm just a pleb in a lowly town of the outskirts! And that handsome monkey it's right HERE, just in FRONT OF ME!'

Then, her eyes went to the other side: 'Wait! What I'm thinking?! He's Twilight's coltfriend, for Celestia's sake! I shouldn't been wanting something that's not mine!'

Then, her eyes went to the other side: 'Ohhh, but that hug that he gave me! It made me to shiver like a spring's waltz!' Her eyes went up and she smiled, enthralled.

Then, she shooked her head, annoyed. 'OW! No! No! Shush! Out, mean thinkings! That's not right! That's not right!'

Deep in her thoughts, she arrived to her destination without even noticing it. Then, she just stood in the door of the tree. She raised a hoof to knock, but her foreleg trembled, and she lowered it a bit. The foreleg went up again, ready to knock, but finally, Rarity changed her mind, and lowered the leg back to the floor. She shooked her head, annoyed:

"Hufff." She huffed. "I'm sure I'm going to regret this..." And she turned around and trotted away.

Rarity returned to the shop with a sad face: "Sorry, darling. There was nothing I could do..."

I lowered my shoulders, defeated. "Well. At least you tried. Thank you anyway." And how I had already finished my chores, I walked back to my bench.

However, after a while, Rarity decided that enough was enough, so she approached me, and started yet another of her annoying and endless speechs. As if I was hearing her anyway. That was when she hit me for the first time.

"Dear! Are you even listening?! It's very impolite and inconsiderate to keep a lady asking without any answer!" She protested.

I just turned around in the bench: "Stop pestering me, Rares. Go away. Leave me alone."

She hit me again: "I'm not leaving until you give me an answer about what I've asked!"

I raised the head a bit. The hell if I remember what she had asked. "Alright, Rares. If I answer your stupid question, will you go?"

"'Stupid question'?!" Rarity startled, offended. "How your good behalf could be a stupid question?! The winter is too close, and here are you, living in the park like an indigent! That's indignant!"

I chuckled. That even rhymed. "So, you want me to move with you. Isn't it?"

"No! I want to give you a job, so you can pay a rent! I'll pay you in advance, so you can have shelter inmediately!"

"Come on, Rares. I'm sure that Sweetie Belle can do that for free, whatever it is."

"But...!" Rarity was starting to get upset. "How could you propose such thing! I'll never disparage myself by using infant work! What do you think that I am?! Some sort of exploitative?!" She hit me again. This time hurts.

I rolled quickly, sitting in the bench and angrily looking to her. I was passing for too much emotional pain, and the last thing I wanted was to sum physical pain to it: "Rarity, where you hit me again..." I threateningly raised my finger, shrugging an eye.

And she stepped a hoof in my right big toe... Now she's gonna have it.

I don't know how long I chased her through the village. Being hungry and limping from a leg didn't help. However, after a while, I realized how fun was to chase her. Somehow it gave me a new purpose on my life. When I finally caught her, as she's not really an athletic portent or a speed demon, she was trembling, and, with a quick gasp, she put both forelegs in her head, thinking that was her end.

I smiled, because she had taken that risk, worried for my behalf, and just mildly slapped her flank.

"AHHH!" She yelled, and looked at me with fearful and quivering eyes.

"Alright, Rares. I'll take the job. Just don't hit me again." I waved my hands with a slapping gesture.

"What?" She asked, perplexed. "Ow! Ow. Sure, darling. You're hired." She smiled, relieved.

"This is what I have to do? Chase you?"

We both laughed.

"No!" Giggled Rarity. "Is nothing like that, dear! Let me explain you. It's that I've had problems recently with the deliveries and gem finding..." She started her speech again, adding excesive words to an explanation that could be done in just a few lines. However, what she was thinking was: 'So, you don't like to be hit, huh? Next time I'll bite you, stud...!'

Needless to say, next morning I was with better mood. Still wasn't on my usual prankster mode, but I finally started training with Rainbow Dash. And Ho! HO! This time she meant business! Nothing about shield bumping, this time she cast her lightning swords, forcing me to use my dispel sword! Oh yeah! I really missed those sword fightings!

But I had passed several days without feeding very well, so, after a while I had to say her to stop.

"Awwww!" She protested. "Just when I was starting to enjoy this!"

"Seriously?" I shrugged the eyes and pointed her with a finger. "You have a cut in a cheek."

"Did I?" She passed a hoof in the cheek, checking a little bleeding that she had in her face. "Oh. I hadn't noticed..." She quickly healed it.

"You have to think some moves ahead, Dashie. Your attacks are too reckless. It may work against a mindless monster, but you'll run into trouble with a more experienced fighter. That's why you lost against that gryphoon guard." I warned her. "Alright, that's enough for today. Class dismiss..."

"Alright. Hey, master."

"Yes, Dashie?"

"Will you..." She blushed "Will you move with me now?" Then, she started to jump in the place. "We can make our master plans when we go bounty hunting together! And we can compete in air racings! And we can also watch the stars on the night! That'll be 20 percent cooler!"

"Watch the stars? That's the only thing that we'll do in the night?" I teased her, smirking.

"Hey, don't get any ideas, you bucking worm. We're just friends. Remember?" She angrily protested. "And, if you try something, I'll rip you not one, but the two ears off. Got it?"

I laughed: "Alright, alright. It was just a joke, Ok?" Then, I looked to her home in the clouds. "Well, as a matter of fact, Rarity gave me a job so I could get a rent, but if I don't find anything that suits me, I'm in."

"Well, then I hope you to not find anything! Ha ha ha ha ha!" She pranked. Then, she looked like remembering something, and she asked to me: "By the way... do you happen to know... some kind of prediction spell? Just asking."

"Prediction?" I raised the head, closed an eye and scrambled the mouth. Sadly, I have to admit that I've screwed the show's timeline so much, that I don't even know what the hell is going to happen next. So, I looked to her again: "No idea, Dashie. Let me see if I can think on something..."

The oak library's door sounded, and Spike half opened it, checking that the visitors were Rarity and Fluttershy. When he saw the dressmaker mare he smiled, enchanted. "Hello, beautiful..."

"Spike! Who in the Tartarus is it?!" Twilight's angry and sobbing voice could be heard.

"Ah!" That snapped out Spike from his daydreaming. "Wait a moment, let me ask Twilight if she's gonna let you in!" He put a claw before them, indicating the two mares to wait, and turned the head back: "Twilight, you have visitors!"

"Who are they, anypony I told you to buck off?!" She replied.

"No, they're Rarity and Fluttershy!"

"Ah. Alright. Tell them that they can come in. I'll be there in a moment."

Rarity and Fluttershy were already at the center of the library, when Twilight, after a quick do out, finally approached them. The mares got worried seeing her hollow-eyed, pale and trembling. "Hello, friends." She said with sobbing voice. "I'm so relieved, that I had at least you to take care of me..." She slightly smiled. Then, she looked down, closed the eyes, and lowered the ears: "I don't know what I had done if I had been left alone... (sniff)" She almost cried.

"Oh, Twilight, darling, you look terrible." Concerned, Rarity picked a comb and started to dress Twilight's mane. "This's not doing you any good, dear. You shouldn't keep rejecting your friends, you need them more than anything else!"

"That's right, Twilight." Also spoke Fluttershy. "I know what's like being rejected and downtrodden by other ponies. I can tell they're suffering as well. Why don't you forgive them? It's that much effort?"

"Please, Twilight. Listen to Flutters. She knows of what she's talking about. Besides, we were a team, aren't we?" Added Rarity, with a soothing voice.

Twilight looked to Rarity, then to Fluttershy, and then, she smiled even more: "Alright, tell AJ and Dashie to come over."

"And Pinkie?" Asked Fluttershy.

Twilight's face became somber again: "Not Pinkie. At least, not yet..."